The Campbells of Carlisle (PA!)

I rented a car early on Saturday morning and drove over 200 miles to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to visit the lovely Campbell family! I was very excited to see them. The journey took me about 3 and 1/2 hours and was pretty easy. The car that I got from the rental company was a black Mercury Sable and was fairly nice. Insanely spacious (which I didn't need cos it was only me in the car!), excessively sensitive brakes (but then again, most cars have sensitive brakes compared to the truck I drive here!!) and poor acceleration (stopped me from speeding too much!).

I drove through a lot of rain so I was worried that the weekend would be a wash out but I came through the other side to beautiful sunshine!

I arrived at Craig Lane at about 12pm. Meg and Mairi arrived just after me. Megan's practice (I still haven't worked out what for!) ran on longer than they expected so when I arrived there was no one there.

We had lunch and then Megan and I found a geocache on the school's cross country route. Since they live right next to the school it wasn't a very long walk!Megan found the cache. She was very happy about it!

Meg introduced me to her fish which she got recently. He is rather handsome and very much aloof. Can you guess which literary character he is named after?? Of course, it is Mr Darcy!

After that we walked round to the church to meet Tina who had been paint balling with the youth group. After that we drove in my wonderful rental to Wal Mart to copy a photo for Megan. On the way we played Lou Fellingham really loudly with the windows down and we were, of course, singing along too. Carlisle needed it. We then tried to find a couple of geocaches but only had success with one (a virtual cache). One of the others I knew was up a tree. Well, if ever you need a tree climbed the best person to have with you in Caitriona Campbell! Only, she was wearing crocs! She put on my trainers and we tried getting the cache but couldn't place it. Oh well.

In the evening we went to Bonanza. Such a great restaurant! We ate far too much but it was all so delicious!

Megan had homework to do in the evening so Tina and I watched Hello, Dolly! I've never seen it before, despite it being about Yonkers! It is so wonderful! Very funny! The only thing was that both Tina and I were excessively tired by this point and the film seemed to go on FOREVER!

On Sunday we went to church (fairly obviously seeing as David is the minister!). The girls went off to their Sunday School and I went with Mairi to a class on James. It was really great. James is one of my favourite books in the Bible and it is always good to hear more on it. In church we looked at the first 4 verses of Luke.

There was a church luncheon so we stayed for that. It was good fun and there was lots of good food. When we went home Megan, Tina and I played and sang our way through most of the Keswick songbook and then went for a walk.

Then I had to head home. The journey was fine and I made it home soon after 8pm.

What a great weekend!

10 today! and my new charge.....

I also forgot to say:

It is Julianna's birthday today! She is now 10 years old! Hooray!

We just had cupcakes with Mary and Sal (Vinny's parents) and are having a party with more family tomorrow night!

The cupcakes looked like neither of these pictures but they are pretty and they are cupcakes so here they are..... and I really want to eat another cupcake now!


The fun never ends!!


Their Uncle Joe got Michella a Tamagotchi yesterday (very similar to the one pictured!). Now I have another child to look after (because I so desperately need more!!! :-S) but Michella says that she will give me Saturday and Sundays off as well as the holidays that they have from school. So I guess I am getting a good deal..... except, of course, that I am not being paid!

She only got it yesterday and I already had to confiscate it this evening...... that didn't go down well! Especially considering that it went to sleep at 8pm and didn't wake up until she was at school so she actually hasn't gotten to play with it much at all!

*I edited this post about 7 times!!*

Visitors

I should probably have written this post a couple of weeks ago...... because it happened a couple of weeks ago. But, oh well! Better late than never as they say.

I managed to meet up with my Mum's cousin, Marj, and her family one Thursday night in NYC. It was so nice to see them. We met at Grand Central (thankfully I was able to get off work a little early because Michella had gone to a birthday party and Robbin dropped me off at the station on the way home.) and then had some dinner. We caught up on the football..... no one is too impressed by George Burley (really, he is awful!) and how the rest of their holiday had gone so far. Sounds like they had a great time. They flew into Atlanta and travelled round a few places before heading to Memphis. They know some people from there through church connections so I think they had a good time catching up with everybody. So, the last stop was NYC. They were staying in Hospitality House which is the hotel that my parents and I have always stayed in. Pure coincidence though! And to think how many hotels there are in New York!

Olivia with Hello Kitty

We ended up wandering the streets for the rest of the evening just catching up and chatting. I did force them to help me with a geocache though. It was Ali who eventually found it so thank you to him!! I'm not sure that they are convinced about geocaching (I think they thought that I was a bit weird!) but we'll see! Maybe we'll have hooked in somebody else!

Ali found it!

Mike, Ali and Marj with the log. It was really difficult to get it back in the cache. It was also VERY, VERY full!

At the Berlin Wall.... in NYC (l-r: Laura, Marj, Mike, Olivia, Ali)

Marj also found a new connection to Rachael (the au pair who was here before me) as our grannies used to go to the same bible study. All these connections are a little bit scary now! There are too many! Scotland is too small a place!

In other news, the infrared rubbish bin opened and closed by itself the other day. That is what it is meant to do, I hear you cry!............ But not when nobody is in the vicinity at all!!! Spooky! lol

My newest purchase

I bought some new boots yesterday. Aren't they wonderful?

The most random, unconnected post ever!

There is an outbreak of headlice at the girls' school. What joy! Yesterday's count was 22 kids and it rose again today but I'm not sure by how much. The nurses haven't even gotten round to checking all the kids yet! Unreal! We're keeping a close eye on things here. I got worried cos my scalp has been itchy, really itchy. This CANNOT happen! Robbin just checked me and I've been given the all clear! Yay!........ And my head has stopped itching! Miraculous!

We're trying all the preventative measures that we can. Tea tree oil apparently works to repel lice which is great because it is natural. I dislike the idea of the really strong lice treatments on the kids' hair. Today we got some hair care products from Fairy Tales. We got shampoo, conditioner and a spray. It works like bug spray. It repels the insects. Hopefully it works! I don't want headlice! I also don't want to keep my hair dirty. I hate it when my hair is dirty. It has to be clean........ which, of course, headlice love!! Well, fingers crossed for the shampoo!

Darlington played Bradford last night. It was on Sky and I even got a text from my uncle, Iain, who was watching it in a bar in Tenerife! We won 2-1 which was awesome. It saw the return of Barry Conlon (urgh!!) to Darlington. He drives me up the wall. This photo shows that he really hasn't changed one bit.

He is the guy in not in the black and white (I'm struggling to describe Bradford's colours!). This is the pose that he was constantly using when playing for us. Stop complaining and play football, Barry! Just get on with it!

Lastly, here is a pic of my Mum and Dad at Sophie's 18th ceilidh. Beth said I could use it so thank you, Beth! Don't they look wonderful! I miss them everyday but I spoke to them today so I'm happy!

I'm just wondering where the rest of the people at the party are!

Apples, Apples, and Shepherd's Pie

I have been quite the domesticated little housewife this week (despite the fact that I am actually unmarried!). Usually I don't spend anytime longer than I need to in the kitchen preparing food. It isn't because I don't like it but it is more that there is always someone, whether they be aged 6, 9 or 13, who needs my attention. This week I have spent rather a lot of time in the kitchen and have enjoyed it immensely.

Last Sunday Robbin took the younger girls apple picking (Alex had a softball game in Connecticut so she and Vinny couldn't go). Now I'm sure apple picking is lots of fun. There is just one problem. Apples. We now have what seems like a truck load! So, I had to come up with some apple recipes to use up some. First I made apple sauce (or as I would call it at home, apple puree). It turned out pretty well. I have made this before at home but this was different purely because the recipe called for cinnamon. I didn't use the blender (see previous post!) so left it lumpy which actually was fine.

The next apple recipe was an apple cobbler. I was a bit apprehensive about this one because I have never made a cobbler before in my life. Ever! The recipe was also a bit strange so I took a few liberties with it. I'm not sure that you are meant to do that the first time that you make something but oh well! It turned out GREAT! I'm not even kidding (nor am I humble!). Definitely a keeper and probably the first foray into the world of cobblers. What to try next? Peach?

My apple cobbler. Maybe it doesn't look so appetising but I can tell you, it was delicious!

With my masterpiece. I'm not sure if I should be able to hold it up like that but it doesn't matter cos it tasted good. Got that??

I also made a shepherd's pie this week. Technically it was a cottage pie because I made it with beef and not lamb..... but does it really matter? I love making things with mince (ground meat) because it is a great way to slip all those disliked (and therefore unused) vegetables in the fridge. Chop them up really small and they have absolutely no clue! This week I chopped up courgette (zucchini) and no one had a clue. Mushrooms and carrots are a favourite too. It always pleases me to see kids who don't like mushrooms or courgettes wolf down a portion without realising!! With this shepherd's pie I also mixed sweet potato into the mash. Michella wondered why it was orange and though not liking sweet potato gobbled it all up and told me it was the most delicious mashed potato she had ever had. She never realised about why it was orange. She thought it was food colouring.

I wonder what I'll make next week. Probably it'll just be back to normal and I'll spend as little time in the kitchen as possible!

Hooray for Glasgow

Check out this story on the BBC website. I love Glasgow. It is really a great city. Although I didn't enjoy my time at university there, I loved the city. There is so much going on and something there for everyone.

My favourite places in Glasgow are the Botanic Gardens and the Necropolis. Both are definitely worth a visit!

The Necropolis

The Big Whoopsie!

The girls had (another!) day off school today. It is Columbus Day. This is (obviously) a holiday that we don't celebrate in Britain so, here are some facts about Christopher Columbus:

Born: 1451 in Genoa
Died: 1506 in Valladolid, Spain
Nationality: Italian (Genovese)
First sea voyage: 1465 aged 14
First voyage across Atlantic: 1492 - arriving in October
Commisioned by: Spanish monarchy (esp Queen Isabella)
He thought he had found a new naval route to India.
He crossed the Atlantic 4 times in 10 years.
No one knows for sure where he is buried.

Not, it has to be said, that I heard anything about Christopher Columbus at all today.

The younger girls mostly played with Barbies.... pretty much all day. I did take them geocaching and we found two - of course we were helped by HSM Sharpay doll. Always in need of extra pairs of eyes when geocaching!

I had my first major accident in the kitchen today. It happened with a blender while making smoothies. Nope, no digits missing and nope, the smoothie didn't shoot out the top of the blender like it does in the movies (although this is actually possible with this blender. I know. I've tried.). Apparently, I didn't secure the bottom of the blender so when I lifted it up to pour it..........
Well, needless to say, it went EVERYWHERE!!! It didn't help that there were blueberries in it so when it got on the carpet, it was insanely difficult to get out! It didn't help that dinner was ready at that precise moment and, you know, we couldn't have overcooked broccoli.

It all ended well. The mess was cleared up, the carpet de-blueberried, and dinner served on time with no soggy broccoli. I made some more smoothies. I was nervous but you know what they say, if you fall off the horse you get straight back in the saddle! The new batch did make it to the glasses but wasn't as good as the first. No more blueberries!

Not sure what lessons were learnt.... maybe just that not everything is like it is in the movies!

Hallowed Harold

When you work with kids stuff happens that you really just couldn't make up.
Michella has just started to take CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine - yup I looked it up on Wikipedia because I had no idea what it stood for either! Actually, I still don't understand it!) which she was very excited about because it means that on Wednesdays she gets signed out of school early, like Julianna does. She even gets CCD homework and we were going over it one afternoon. They have started by teaching them the Lord's Prayer which they are having to memorise.
So here is how it went:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
HAROLD be thy name..........

Nope, you just can't make this stuff up. It certainly gave me a giggle!

The Jeans of Humility

Yesterday I came to the realisation that I have very few clothes to wear. With the cold weather (oh, so cold!) and the fact that I had pretty much worn out last years cold weather clothes, a shopping trip was definitely on the cards. I took myself off to Cross County Mall and there the damage was done!
I had some things in mind to buy - a body warmer, a fleece, some jeans and maybe a couple of shirts. Most things I got and duly wore them to pick up the girls from school.
My new jeans are a really dark wash, a size smaller than the last pair I got and fit really nicely. I felt so smart and I decided to wear my boots with them for added effect! So I'm strutting along... pick up Michella and then walk to the other end of the school to pick up Julianna. I was chatting to one of the mums.... for no less than 10 minutes!!..... all the while feeling really great about myself when she goes, 'Hang on a sec' and peels a label off my jeans. It was one of those long sticky labels which helps you find the size in the shop. Unfortunately it also helps other people see the size that you recently bought when you forget to peel the label off. Ooops!!! Most embarrassing and certainly put me back in my place!
What can I say? Pride surely does come before a fall!

God The All

O God whose will conquers all,
There is no comfort in anything
apart from enjoying thee
and being engaged in thy service;
Thou art All in all, and all enjoyments are what to me
thou makest them, and no more.
I am well pleased with thy will, whatever it is,
or should be in all respects,
And if thou bidst me decide for myself in any affair
I would choose to refer all to thee,
for thou art infinitely wise and cannot do amiss,
as I am in danger of doing.
I rejoice to think that all things are at thy disposal,
and it delights me to leave them there.
Then prayer turns wholly into praise,
and all I can do is to adore and bless thee.
What shall I give thee for all thy benefits?
I am in a strait betwixt two, knowing not what to do;
I long to make some return, but have nothing to offer,
and can only rejoice that thou doest all,
that none in heaven or on earth shares thy honour;
I can of myself do nothing to glorify thy blessed name,
but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body to thee,
I know that thou art the author and finisher of faith,
that the whole work of redemption is thine alone,
that every good work or thought found in me
is the effect of thy power and grace,
that thy sole motive in working in me to will and to do
is for thy good pleasure.
O God, it is amazing that men can talk so much
about man's creaturely power and goodness,
when, if thou didst not hold us back every moment,
we should be devils incarnate.
This, by bitter experience, thou hast taught me concerning myself.

Taken from The Valley of Vision - Arthur Bennett

'I can of myself do nothing to glorify thy blessed name, but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body to thee' This is something that I am learning...... learning slowly, but still learning.

Geocaching

I don't know how I managed to get into this game. I really don't. What I can tell you is how enjoyable it is!
I first came across geocaching when Rob, a man in our church, started doing it and then a few more started to get interested. My first real taste of geocaching was when I was home this summer and we spent an afternoon with the Hackers. We found two geocaches that day.
My Dad bought his GPS this summer and we found his first one (hidden by the Hackers) on my last night at home.
What is geocaching? I don't think that I could describe it better than it is on the website so give that a look.

I decided to look into how many geocaches were in my area over here in America. I found rather a lot. I thought, 'What better way to explore my surroundings?' So I got myself a GPS and started searching!
I took the younger girls to find one on Friday evening. They LOVED it!! I'll definitely be taking them to find another tomorrow or Wednesday when they have no school.
I also looked out a few in NYC on Saturday. It was so difficult because there were so many people about..... I felt very conspicuous! But I managed to get five!
I can't wait to look for some more!

From Liechtenstein To Darlington

This is a little article about one of our recent signings at Darlo:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2008/09/from_liechtenstein_to_darlingt.html#037148

I think his last five fixtures are definitely interesting playing Macclesfield one week and Germany the next!

The Shack

I was recently lent a book to read. It is called The Shack by William P. Young.

Now apparently this book has caused quite a stir (just look at the sheer amount of customer reviews on amazon.com!) but I hadn't heard of it until it was loaned to me. When I took it to one of the girls' soccer practices two of the mums jumped on it and told me that they had heard rave reviews on it.

I can understand why this book has had such an effect on people because it challenges so much about modern Christianity. The problem is that it really does not challenge it in a biblical way. The book left me confused as to what it was really talking about and when I came to discuss it, I was really lost for words. I felt so muddled up about it and I knew that The Shack didn't sit right with me but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I was also given this critique to read on The Shack and found it extremely helpful. It raised all the points that were nagging at the back of my mind and couldn't put into words.

I think the most worrying part was when he creates the idea that Jesus is only one of many ways to get to God. Here's the thing:

Jesus is the only way to God.... He is not just the best way but the ONLY way!

No doubt I am glad that I read the book. It gives me a new understanding on what I believe but probably not in the way that the author intended. He has challenged me to look more to scripture than to other people and books for what I believe (He hardly mentions anything in Scripture at all in the book). I just hope that those who read the book will not take it as another Bible or a holy book. That would certainly be very dangerous!

Trash Cans and Big Bottoms

Last week Vinny bought a new bin for the kitchen. It is not just any bin, however, oh no! It is an Automatic Infrared Trash Can! Who'd have thought that we needed one of those! The girls had great fun with it when they came home from school on Friday - who needs expensive toys like a Wii or a Nintendo DS when you have an Automatic Infrared Trash Can??
I say all this but actually it is quite a handy thing. No hands required! The only problem is that I walk passed it and my bum sets off the infrared causing the bin to open! Now that is an incentive to lose weight if ever there was one! I think I'll just try and give it a wider berth in the future... it really isn't good for the morale!

Summer 2008

Such a long time since I've posted!! Ooops!!

I had a great summer, despite the fact that Darlo didn't get promoted!!

Spent most of the time in Rhode Island getting very burnt at the beach. It was so fun and it turns out that I love the water... except when there are jellyfish! We went crabbing which was great! I caught four - I'm an expert already!! :-)

The highlight of the summer was my two weeks at home. I surprised my Mum, Beth and so many others by arriving a week early (it was always planned that way! Aha!).

I had such a good time surprising them all!!

We had a week at Keswick - wonderful as always! We went to the meetings, sang lots of Stuart Townend songs (cos he was leading the worship!!), went geocaching, rowing, had two birthday parties (for Beth and Meg), had a girly day with face masks, popcorn & M&Ms and Cranford! and finally made beautiful music with Beth's Boom Whackers! We got the William Tell Overture down!!Beth and Meg blowing out the candles!

Our girly day!

Geocaching with the Hackers. Ben was our guide!

Castlerigg Stone Circle. With Ben and Bethan!Boom Whackers! So Keswick was fun but there was more!! At home we had a 'Pudding Party' Open House - lots and lots of desserts! Wonderful! I made a chocolate meringue pie! Glad it worked out cos it was the first time I made it!

Over that weekend I met two new little people who I've never met before:

Molly, the third little one next door.

and Jack, Lucy's little boy.
On Sunday afternoon I drove up to Glasgow and went to church there in the evening. Then Dad came up by train on Monday morning and we drove up to Grandpa's. Grandpa took Dad, me, and the Dunballochs to The Priory for high tea, then I watched the girls dance in the Inverness Tattoo.

We drove home again on Tuesday (stopping at the Ross's in Edinburgh where Mum met us - not totally sure why!). The rest of the week was filled with seeing people and being places. Sarah and I babysitted Jack, I had tea at the Hackers' new house.

Mum, Dad and I went to Betty's and we had the prayer meeting at our house because of all the work going on at the church! I even managed to visit the shrine....... no shirts! Still waiting, Dad!!

All in all, an amazing trip home! I think I got the only two weeks of nice weather that Britain had this summer! Saw many people and many places...... felt like I'd never been away!

Back in NY we were visited by an old nanny, Liz (great girl!!) and an old friend, Sophie! (I love ya!).

With Liz we were in Rhode Island..... we went to Six Flags New England and Mystic.

With Sophie I stayed in the city for the weekend. It was awesome! We went EVERYWHERE!! It was so great to have a good friend around!!

Well, that just about brings me bang up to date. The girls are back at school, Michella turned 6 yesterday........ We're all just trying to get back into a routine!

At the moment I'm pretty much gutted. Darlington lost the play-off semi final against Rochdale. Believe me, it went down to the wire. Penalties. Jason Kennedy missed. We lost. Gutted.

I'm annoyed for a couple of reasons. The game was at 12pm UK time which means it was on at 7am here. So I had to get to Nevada Smiths for then which meant I had to catch the 5.51 train. Not fun. Especially since one of the neighbours decided to have a really loud party until 2am this morning.
Darlington had a 2 goal lead at one point. We should have held it. We should have gone to Wembly. I'm annoyed. I'm gutted. I'm sick of League 2!

Ok, so I never did review the year. I think basically I was going to say that the year ended in a way that I could never have forseen at the beginning of the year! I thought I would be in my fourth year at Glasgow Uni but I ended up in Westchester in New York looking after 3 girls.
Who'd have thought it??

I've now been here for 7 months and I can't quite believe it! Time really does fly!

I'll have to write more later!

Some time soon, probably later on in the week, I think I am going to sit down and review my 2007. A lot has happened!

To be honest, not much has happened here lately so I don't quite know why I am updating this. I'm sure I'll be able to find something to ramble on about though!

On Saturday it was Julianna's last official Saturday in the city. It was a bitter day..... so cold! We wandered round China town trying to find things for her to take back home as presents. I hate China town. It is so busy and people are always in your face trying to sell you things. It is grim. But eventually Julianna got what she wanted (or didn't want as it turned out) and we headed to Times Square and met with Sara........ and had some pizza, looked around a few more stores.... I bought Relient K's new record called 'Let it snow baby.... Let it reindeer'. Catchy! We went to the Rockerfeller Center to check out the famous tree. Pretty impressive. Then a Starbucks stop where we met up with Carina. Finally the Connelly's the Irish pub. Great fun.

Will be very sad when Julianna leaves!

but at least England won't be going to Austria and Switzerland either........ shame!!..........

Just a quick note on the Scotland match being totally objective.....
Now I know Italy had a goal wrongly disallowed but (ok, objective bit over!) COME ON! That should never have been a free kick to Italy at the end.
We deserved to go to Austria and Switzerland more than anyone. We worked our socks of (and by we I include the fans!) to get where we did and it all came to nothing!
My Dad said, 'It is just sport.'

Yeah. Whatever.

Wow! It has been so long since I updated my blog!! Ooops! Been kinda busy!

So I'm in the US of A. At the moment I'm having a great time (even if I did weep a lot on Saturday when Scotland lost to Italy. So emotionally draining!). The family that I am working for and living with are great. The girls are generally ok, although can be difficult. I'm making some new friends..... two of which are the ones I hang out with most - Julianna from Brazil and Sara from Italy. Wonderful girls!

So I'm living about 40 minutes on the train away from NYC. It is great. We go there almost every weekend. I love it, although when it is really cold it ain't so fun!

Have been to two amazing gigs since I've been here - Kaiser Chiefs and Switchfoot and Relient K. Going to see KT Tunstall on Wednesday. I love that I have the opportunity to do that kind of thing.

It is also Thanksgiving on Thursday. Of course, I am going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade in the city and I'm really looking forward to it even though I'll have to get up excessively early! But it is a once in a lifetime thing so I can't miss it!!

This is just a short update. But I will post some pictures soon!!

I also agreed on a placement yesterday. I am really happy with the family that I am going to live with next year! They live in New York and have three girls aged 12, 8 and 4. Six families contacted me in all which I was really pleased with but it made for some difficult decision making!
I am now really excited to start my year in America!

I am now:

Miss Joanna Macdonald MA (Historical Studies) with Merit!

Ok, some pics from Austria...... This is the view from Sophie's garden!
Her house
Sophie and her Mum and Gran
Sophie's younger sister Valerie
Sophie and me

And again
Peter (whose flat we stayed in in Vienna) with sons Bernhard and Georg with Sophie

Gosh! It has been a long time since I posted on here........ I guess that is cos I thought no one reads this but now I now that at least one person does! Hi Sophie!! :-)
Quick round up:

Had a brilliant time in Austria..... just fab! Apart from shoes that ruin feet in Vienna.... not fun and they still are not back to normal! Was awesome to see Sophie and her family and mainly just relax! Brilliant! I will maybe try and put some photos up when I next use the laptop!

I managed to pass all my uni exams so I am graduating next Wednesday at 4pm. I really can't be bothered with it all but I guess it is just one afternoon.

Finally, I got accepted onto the au pair program. SO excited and extremely nervous!!!!

Also the Campbells are coming to Darlington today. I can not wait to see them! It is a shame that David isn't coming too. It is weird that he won't be preaching in our church at all this year. But it shall be great to catch up with Mairi, Meg and Tina!

I'm currently totally stressing about getting my au pair stuff organised before I go away to Austria. I am not stressing about my World Religions exam. It is just a complete nuisance!

ANNOYING!!!!!

I can't believe that I only have a couple of weeks left at uni. It is such a strange feeling! I am currently working on my Christian Theology project which I am doing on The Truman Show. After that I only have two exams and then I am done!! WOOHOO!
I'm really excited because at the weekend I booked my tickets to go to Austria to visit Sophie. I haven't seen her for a few years so I really can't wait. We are planning to go to the Austria-Scotland friendly (football) if we can get tickets for it which is amazing! Hopefully there'll not be too much tension! lol

Not too much news at the moment because I am so busy with uni work! Joy of joys!!

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands One who is my Savior

I take Him at his word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
For Him to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, but once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God He's always gonna be.

Yes, living, dying; let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, My Savior Lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, My God He is
My God He's always gonna be.

~ Aaron Shust, My Saviour My God

I realise that I haven't updated my blog for a long time now! Not that anyone really reads it!! lol
Anyway, what have I been up to? Well, I'll give you a rundown of what I've done over the past week.....
Monday: drove to Glasgow to get some library books, bought lots of decorations etc for my party. All in all I spent about an hour and a half in Glasgow before driving home again. I wasn't expecting to do that, I thought I would stay longer or even overnight. But I'm glad I did it cos now I know I can! I didn't think that I could drive so much in one day! I enjoyed it!
Tuesday: I got up, had breakfast and then went back to bed until about 1pm!! In the afternoon Mum and I went round to June's house (she is a lady from our church) to help her clear her sitting room and bedroom to have new carpets fitted. It was fun.
Wednesday: I didn't do much during the day. Then in the early evening June called because she needed a lift to the hospital so Mum and I took her. After June was safely back at home again I went to pick up Beth to just hang out.
Thursday: Beth and I went to a party shop in the morning to buy a few more things for my party. Also went to a craft store where I had to reverse into a bay in between two cars for the first time!! It was awful! In the afternoon Clair came round with Bethan and Ben. We took her car to the garage and while we waited for it to be fixed we went to the park. After that Clair and I went into town because she needed an outfit for a wedding - she had most of it sorted but needed a top to go with it.
Friday: Dad, Cath and I went to Chester. We saw Darlo play absolutely appallingly! But we managed to get a draw 1-1. At least we came away with something but we certainly didn't deserve it. I was thinking while watching the match that Sam Russell was the only one who was playing for us at the end of last season. The rest were all new (apart from Alun Armstrong who went away then came back). It's weird.
Saturday: It was another glorious sunny day and Mum, Dad, Hattie and I went for a walk. Just an easy one but made very tough due to the lack of shade (we went at lunch time as well - on reflection that was pretty dumb!) and the fact that we didn't bring any drinks. So I did struggle a bit but still enjoyed it. Hattie certainly did! She loves going into the river!
Sunday: church as usual - a bit thin on the ground though this week cos everyone was away! But lovely to see those who were there! It was nice to see Sarah again because she was away last week.

Today I came back to Glasgow again. The roads were so quiet! It was great. I have an exam on Wednesday that I am not looking forward to.... joy of joys! Can't wait till it is over and I can go home for my birthday!! YAY!

This is a Tennents advert that was on the back of the match day programme at the Scotland v Georgia game on Saturday. This is about football (or soccer!!) for those of you who don't know. The first time I saw this was on the Glasgow subway and I couldn't stop laughing. I think it is just brilliant! At the moment we are topping our group for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. It has been dubbed 'The Group of Death' because it includes Italy (world champions), France (runners up at the world cup), Ukraine (also a very good team), along with Lithuania, Georgia and the Faroe Islands. It is amazing that we are in the position that we are in and who knows if we will qualifiy so I will savour it while it lasts! But heres hoping!!

So here it is:

Scotland Hopes.

Hope is knowing that football fans, like the scarves we wear, are made to be lifted up.

Because our greatest glory consists not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius said that. Or was it Steven Pressley?

Like Hampden’s fearsome roar, hope arouses a passion for the possible. It helps us achieve the unthinkable –

Scotland 1 France 0

Hope 89’

We can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water and 8 minutes without air. We can live 4 days in the Ukraine without changing our replica shirts. But we cannot live 1 second without hope.

Hope is not caring if we lose every game, as long as we top the group.

Hope is calculating that we only need 6 points from our last 2 games, provided the Faroes hold Italy and Ukraine beat France by 2 clear goals. And Hope is pricing flights from Glasgow to Zurich ‘just in case’.

But most of all, hope is like a path in the country – there never was a path, but when many of us walk the same ground, the path comes into existence. This is the path we follow – WHEREVER IT TAKES US, WHATEVER IT TAKES.

I started my new courses today! They went really well. I went to Philosophy at 10am (the same class is held at 2pm as well - needless to say more people go to the 2pm one!!), then Christian Theology at 11am. Both were good and both were actually very similar in nature although not in content.
Then I met Laura for lunch, which was lovely, and then I went home for a while. My next class, World Religions, was at 4pm. It was also good.
At the start of the classes I did feel out of my depth somewhat cos I have missed a few lectures but I soon got into it. I'm feeling pretty tired now. It is weird coming home after 5pm!

My hamster, Zinzan, has discovered a new trick. In hamster cages there are wheels that they run around in to get exercise. But Zinzan is not your usual hamster. She has started running ON TOP of the wheel instead of in it! I don't have a clue why she started doing this or how she discovered she could do it! I bought Zinzan a new cage a few weeks back and I think she is used to it now. She has a lot more space anyway which is good!

I read an article on the bbc website today about where the loudest and quietest urban areas are in England. To see the article follow this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6320799.stm
Quite frankly I think it is utter rubbish. Darlington was placed fourth noisiest on the list..... erm, what?? Darlington isn't noisy! What is that about?? I just don't get it! What stupid things scientists do studies on! Like doing a study on whether dogs get jealous or not! I could have told them that without them having to spend lots of time, effort and money studying it. Dogs get jealous!! Hattie is a prime example! Wow! What a ground breaking statement I have just made!