USA trip 2006 – This is just the first bit – Carlisle, NYC and Washington D.C.

Ok so first my parents and I went to Pennsylvania to visit the Campbell family. We flew from Teesside on 2nd June 2006 very early in the morning. We flew to Washington D.C. via Amsterdam. The flight went without hitch (I watched various things like Without A Trace, Harry Potter 4, Walk The Line and Pride and Prejudice to pass the time). When we got to the car rental place they had our details down wrong (they thought that we were picking the car up from Fort Lauderdale in Florida – er no! We are clearly in Washington D.C.). We did eventually get it sorted but it took AGES! After driving through a huge thunder storm we reached Carlisle, PA and were greeted by David, Mairi and Tina. Megan came later as she had been at some kind of service for some reason!! lol! We caught up for a while but then went to bed cos we were pretty tired. Had been up for 24 hours! So here is a list of basically what we did:

Saturday 3rd: Had a lazy morning to try and recover from the journey over. In afternoon went to a kind of craft fair in Boiling Springs. The craft fair was kind of boring but we got this ice cream called Dippin’ Dots which was just little tiny little balls of ice cream. Kind of strange but fun. Megan, Tina and I then went for a wander and headed to the boiling part of the spring and hung out there for a while. Some guy was watching us and then started chatting us up. He said to us, ‘I think your accent is really sexy. What do you think of mine?’ We were like – ERRR?? Thankfully he went away after a while of uncomfortable silence! Just relaxed in evening.
Tina (left) and Megan with the Dippin' Dots

Sunday 4th: Just went to church. Went to Sunday School with Megan, which was good. Church also good. Congregation was learning Name of All Majesty and had learned In Christ Alone last month so we sang that as well! Very nice! Met the Summer intern, his wife and son who came round to the Campbell’s after the evening service.

Monday 5th: Megan had school. The rest of us went to Gettysburg and drove round the battlefields. Was a really nice day so was a shame to be stuck in the car for a lot of it. Enjoyed looking round the battlefield but still don’t have a clue what went on and why! Went to Bonanza for tea (dinner for all you Americans – supper if you are Keagan!). When we went last time we were in the US I was just recovering from flu so hadn’t enjoyed it. This time I think I could have eaten the whole restaurant! Delicious! Started watching DVD of North and South (4 episodes).

Tuesday 6th: Went to Old Bedford Village. Have lots of original little houses and other buildings which have been moved to the site. It is like a living history museum or something. Was really nice but terribly hot.
Old Bedford Village - v pretty

Wednesday 7th: Had a Carlisle day today. I slept in then we went to the Capital City Mall somewhere near Carlisle. Just bought some little things. When Megan came back from school we went to a shop called Old Susquehanna House which is filled with lots of interesting things. Then to Target (which we don’t have in Britain), it is so cheap! I love it! Went to prayer meeting in evening.

Thursday 8th: Went to Lancaster County. Went on the Strasburg – Paradise steam train (so yes, I have been to Paradise but I’m pretty sure that heaven will be better!). Then went to the B&B where we were staying for the night. Is on a farm and is run by some Mennonite people. There were the owners kids and a family of kids staying there so it was a lot of fun meeting them. There were lots of animals – a dog, many, many cows including some v cute calves, some small rabbits and some gorgeous kittens (2 sets). In the evening we went to an Amish house to have a meal. The family staying at the B&B were also there, as well as a few others. The food was amazing. Mrs Esh, the Amish lady whose house we were at was so pleasant and friendly. It was just fantastic!
Daniel and Lauren with two of the kittens

Friday 9th: Went to the Pretzel Factory at Intercourse and learnt how to twist pretzels (I was not good!!). Then went to the Kitchen Kettle Village and some quilt shops. Finally we went to Bird-in-Hand farmers market before heading back to Carlisle. Watched more North and South.

Saturday 10th: Straightened Megan’s hair which took AAAGGGEEESSS!!! Then went to Hershey. Went on the little ride that they have which had changed since we were last there. Wanted to get our picture taken in the same thing that we had done it before but they had changed it so we were v. disappointed. Bought a lot of chocolate. Then we went to Harrisburg and had a look round the Capitol building. We then had ice cream at Strawberry Square. While crossing the Susquehanna Dad lost his hat which was amusing. Went to a Chinese Buffet for tea.
Taken just after Dad's hat flew into the Susquehanna

Sunday 11th: Church and Sunday School again. Both very good. In the afternoon we went into the church to play on the grand piano in the church and sing. Twas a lot of fun!
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Monday 12th: Drove to Washington D.C and dropped off car which caused a lot of trouble – was getting so angry. Took train to New York just after 2pm. Arrived at around 5.30pm. New York = very loud and dirty but great. Hotel on 49th and Lexington and was really nice. Megan couldn’t come to NYC as planned cos her teachers had been on strike and they needed to make up the time. Didn’t do much in the evening.
NYC

Tuesday 13th: Went to Empire State Building very early so that we wouldn’t have to wait. Great view from up there on the 86th floor. Then went to Macys!! YAY!! Walked back to hotel via Times Square which was awesome even in daylight. Went into Toys R Us where they have a 3 storey ferris wheel which Tina and I went on. Also went to the American Girl Place which Tina wanted to go to. In evening went to Grand Central Station which was quite a sight.
Toys R Us Ferris Wheel

Wednesday 14th: Took metro to get to ferry for Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Felt so sick on ferry that I couldn’t even go into the museum at the statue. Took a ranger tour around Ellis Island then headed back to the mainland. Went to Ground Zero which I couldn’t really comprehend and then to Wall Street.
Tina and Statue of Liberty



Polar Bear at Central Park Zoo

Thursday 15th: Had breakfast out which is something that isn’t really done in Britain. Walked to Bloomingdales then took metro back to Macys (which is clearly better). Then went back to hotel to watch England beat Trinidad and Tobago sadly. In afternoon had a carriage ride around Central Park, then went to zoo. Polar Bear definitely the highlight. In evening Tina and I went to see The Lion King on Broadway – AMAZING!!!!!

Friday 16th: Mum’s birthday. Took train back to D.C. Then went to Shady Grove where David, Mairi and Megan came to pick up Tina. The hotel in Washington was a bit poor – I had to share a room with my parents – NOT GOOD!

Saturday 17th: My only full day in Washington. Took a trolley ride round the sights. Stopped off at the White House to walk around for a bit and have some lunch (unfortunately we weren’t invited in!) and then got back on the trolley for a while. It gave me a good overview of the city.

The White House

Ok, well I'm back now from my trip to the USA. I'm still feeling pretty spaced out so I will be updating this thing when:
1) I am feeling better and over the jet lag!!
2) When I have the time because there is a lot to talk about!!!

Hope some of my Summit pals are reading this. If you are out there somewhere please leave me a message!! (thank you deborah!! - love ya!!) I am missing everyone so much!!! Hope you all got home safely!!!

Currently in Washington D.C. Have been to Carlisle, PA and had a great time with the Campbells and also to NYC which was just frantic!! Absolutely amazing though! Off to Colorado tomorrow so I'm excited but also pretty nervous! Hope everyone is ok back home!!

P.S. Beth - I hope your family isn't sick of all the postcards!!

I thought that I'd just write a quick post now because I will probably not have another chance before I go jetting off to the USA.
I finished my exams yesterday and am now back in Darlo. My parents came to pick up my stuff on Monday and were very helpful in tidying my flat!! lol! I'm relieved to be home but I just don't seem to have a lot of time. We are leaving at 4am on Friday so I've only really got tomorrow left to do everything. I guess that I don't have that much to do but there just seems to be an endless list of little bits and bobs that need to be done. In reality it probably won't take too long! One thing that I need to do is clean Zinzan out as he is going on his holidays to the Ainscoughs' (THANK YOU!!). Hattie is also going on her hols to Arthur and Margaret's.
I'm kinda sad just now cos Megan isn't going to be finished school when we are there. The teachers went on a week long strike and they have to make up the time. Personally I think that it defeats the point of the strike if you are going to make up the time but never mind. It is such a shame though because it would have been lovely to spend more time with her!! Anyway, I guess that there isn't a lot that can be done about it!
I've been trying to load all of my CDs onto my MP3 player which is proving to be slightly annoying because it doesn't recognise the names of all the Summit lecturers and their lectures so over a hundred items get labelled 'unknown' which is not helpful at all. I managed to get all my photos and videos onto it though and I'm quite pleased.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful month of June. Sorry that I probably won't be posting on my blog for a month but maybe I'll get a chance to. You'll just have to keep checking and see!

I have just been listening to Overtone, one of my favourite bands. I thought I would put some of the lyrics from one of the songs up:

Unconditional

Shattered dreams lie at your feet
Like broken mirror glass
Reflections of society
They never look behind the mask
Changing faces with the times
So transitional
It leaves you longing for a love
That's unconditional

You are loved and accepted
The way you are
He won't reject
You are loved there's no mistaking
Come be His child
He won't forsake you

Shattered dreams can be remade
Hope can live again
If you leave the masquerade
You can learn to love again
For the past does not compare
With His reality
Come and live for evermore
In eternity

There is then a little random rappy bit but part of it goes like this:

It's really all about the heart so get a fresh start
It might seem bizarre but it's true God loves you as you are!

Fantastic!!!!!

I'm just going to apologise cos I go on about football so much. I can't help it, it makes either so happy that I can't shut up about it or so angry that I just wanna scream and shout and hit Barry Conlon! Plus to be honest at the moment there isn't a great deal else going on in my life so all I can talk about is something like football. It is far more interesting than my own life!
Can't believe that this time next week I will be in the USA!!!!! Fantastic!

P.S. How dumb is the spell checker for this thing? It brings up words like 'it', 'fun' and 'was'. I'm pretty sure that I spelled them right!

Today makes it a whole year since I got the keys to my flat! I can't believe that I have been here for a year already - it has just flown by (granted I did spend at least 5 months of the year in Darlington!). I really like my flat - it is probably about the only thing that I like about Glasgow. It is such a haven compared to living in halls last year which I hated so much! Where my flat is it is pretty quiet which I like but recently some one has started playing some kind of brass instrument (I'm thinking French Horn) really loudly. They are really not good - Mary Had A Little Lamb has never sounded so terrible. It took me a while to actually work out what tune they were trying to play! Hopefully they will get very good very quickly!
I am kind of annoyed this morning because I really don't know what David Hodgeson, the Darlington manager, is thinking. We have made two new signings. The first is Michael Cummins, a midfielder from Port Vale. The second, which I am really fuming about, is striker Barry Conlon. WHY??????? Barry Conlon used to play for Darlo. He left to go to Barnsley two seasons ago and I was so happy!! It seemed as if everyone really loved him when he played for Darlo - I certainly did not. Neither did Cath. He was the most frustrating player ever. He never put in any effort. The only time I saw him put in any effort was in his last game for Darlo when we were playing Scunthorpe and he clearly wanted a new club so he made an effort to look good. Even that didn't last for the whole match. The most annoying thing that he did, and I don't think I can express how annoying this was, was during a match and the ball was played into the box by one of our players and there was Barry Conlon lying down in the middle of the box doing nothing, not even making an effort to get up (he wasn't injured by the way). Good effort Barry! Totally sums him up.
I hope that he plays better for us this time - and granted he did get more goals than our whole team did this year - but I am not holding my breath. Gareth thinks that he will play better with a better team - well he didn't exactly play better with Barnsley who are in the league above us so I don't have much hope.
It is just so annoying because he is the only Darlo player who I REALLY don't like! I would stick a picture of him on here but just the thought of him makes me want to scream!

Just one exam to go now! History today wasn't too bad - the first question (on the opposition to the Union of 1707) was really great so I hope that I answered it ok! The second question (on the Jacobites) was alright but I'm not sure that I did as well on that one. I've got to say that I am so relieved that it is over because I think that this is the one that I was dreading the most!
Now I just need to give my flat a good tidy - it is so messy! I'll also have to do some revision for my Biblical Studies exam on Tuesday. It is just fun, fun, fun!!
I'm really missing Zinzan just now. My flat is so quiet without him! I don't know how I will cope when I am in the USA and I won't get to see him for a whole month! I know that it sounds utterly ridiculous because he is just a hamster but I've got so used to having him around. He is a real character and is so funny!

He is so small in this picture - he is a big, beefy hamster now!! He loves his chocolate (hamster chocolate) and is pretty fat!! lol I can't wait to see him on Tuesday. I felt so sick when he went missing the other week. If I had been in Darlington when he escaped I would have ripped the house apart to find him. I felt so helpless cos I was in Glasgow!

I know that you all think that I am crazy but I DON'T CARE!!!! Sorry about going on so much though!

Today hasn't been too bad a day so far - it has been quite sunny which is a nice change from the continuous rain that we have been having over the past few days. I've been attempting some revision for my History exam tomorrow but have been listening to The Corrs as well so I think I've probably done more singing than revision! It is nearly a year since I saw them in concert in Bonn, Germany. They were so, so amazing!! Definitely the best concert I have been to - although having said that the only other band that I have seen is Busted so there is not really any comparison there!! The concert was a standing one and we had queued for ages and ages on the hottest day that we were in Germany with no shade - but we ended up on the 2nd row right in front of Jim Corr so that was great! I would totally recommend them for anyone to go and see in concert. I would jump at the chance to go again!

I had another driving lesson today. This is my last one for about six weeks so it is a bit annoying. Today we did some 'controlled stops' i.e. emergency stops. They aren't exactly difficult but I always put the clutch down too quickly but I was starting to alter that by the end. My instructor said that my general driving is excellent - it is just the manoeuvers that I need to work on. Well, mainly reversing round a corner - I JUST CANNOT DO IT!!!!!! IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN!!! This has been a plague in my life for nearly three years now (on and off I'll just add - I have been a bit stop/start with my driving lessons) and it is really bugging me.
Tomorrow I head back to Glasgow. I have my second exam on Thursday and then my last on Tuesday. My parents are coming up to Glasgow next Monday hopefully to come and pick up most of my stuff and then I will get a train home on Tuesday after my exam. I'll be listening to more of the lectures from Summit on the train (via my laptop) so actually I'm looking forward to the train journeys. I've listened to so many of them already and they are SOOOOO good!! I always put one onto a CD (I'm not with the technology!!) and listen to one last thing at night. I was telling my driving instructor about my trip to America today and when I was trying to explain about Summit he was like, 'Oh like happy clappy?' when I said that it was a Christian thing. lol it made me laugh A LOT!!! It just made me think of Keswick!! lol So funny!

P.S. Beth - Jonathan sent me a pic of you with your hair short - it is very nice (from what I could tell of the very blurry pic) and Sophie with her straight hair - also very nice!

I just want to say.... Yay!!!! Someone else other than Beth reads my blog!! Thanks for posting a comment Adam, hope the revision is going well!! Actually I do know that Sophie has been on a few times so if anyone views my blog PLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEE leave a comment even if it just says hey!!

Firstly here are just a few photos of the players who were let go by Darlington today. Generally I think that they were expected but I am gutted about Jonjo!! He was one of my favourites. I know Cath'll be gutted about Matty Appleby..... the dream is finally over! These are pictures of Guy Bates, Jonjo Dickman, Joe Kendrick, Adrian Webster and Matty Appleby:

Unfortunately Matt Clark is still a Darlo player (actually he can be good sometimes).

I'm worried about Ryan though. Apparently he has an opportunity to return to Wales which he always said that he would do if he got the chance. DON'T GO RYAN!!!!!!!

I'm just going to have a World Cup rant now so be warned. I am so glad that I am in the States when it is on. English people become insufferable when it is World Cup time. Every four years they win the World Cup before they have even kicked a ball! The hype is just too much and then they feel absolutely crushed when things don't turn out the way that they planned. I know that Scotland hardly ever get passed the qualifiers but at least we know that there isn't a chance of us winning it! We don't have that false hope.
Maybe I will support the USA during the World Cup. They were really good when they played Scotland in a friendly (although you could say that any team would look good when playing Scotland - the Faroe Islands for instance - why do they get put in our group for every single qualifying round!). I don't think very much of the USA players' personalities though - they seem like idiots so maybe Sweden is the team for me. I have kind of followed Sweden through supporting Celtic!

If only he played for Darlo!! One funny thing though was that when Bobby Petta came to Darlo he was on my wall in a Celtic poster (I know, I'm the coolest person in the whole world!!). That was really awesome! He wasn't very good though!!

So in answer to Adam's question (see comment in previous post) I'm going to Colorado on a Christian camp thingy. They called it a Christian leadership camp and it looks at world views and covers such things as cults, environment and science and so on. It is just basically on the Christian arguments about these kinds of things. Am I making any sense? If you want a better explanation then it might be better to go to the website:
http://www.summit.org/conference/summer/
I'm going on the end of my family holiday to Pennsylvania/New York/Washington D.C. So I'm going to be in the US for a whole month (2nd June - 1st July, actually arrive back home in Darlo on 2nd!!) and I am so, so excited about it!! I have been buying lots of modest clothes - I'm not allowed to show too much leg or shoulder (seriously!!). Actually I have been in need of some new clothes for a while so this was a great opportunity to get some!!
Well, got to go and have some tea (it is sooooo good to be home!!).

One exam down - two to go!! I'm glad that my Classical Civilisation one is over now because I think that this is the subject that I'm worst at (although overall I my grades are better in it than in any of my other subjects!). Anyway it is over now so I'm really happy. My next exam is on the 25th May so I've got a wee while. I'm going to see the nurse this afternoon to discuss all the injections that I need updating before I go to the US - Mum gave me a huge long list which I've got to ask her about and I can't remember them all so I guess I'd better give her a quick call. I handed in my History honours application today -so I'm hoping that I get in and get the courses which I liked the look of.
Tomorrow I go home again. I've got a driving lesson on Thursday which I won't forget about like last week!! I get nearly a week at home which is good.
Here's a picture or two of Adam Rundle - my former Darlington favourite who was released by Mansfield last week. I'm still bitter about the football shirt to be honest!

At the moment I'm in Glasgow. I was home at the weekend because all my lectures have finished now (just exams left). I was meant to be staying down there until my first exam but the History department decided that it would be a good idea to put the compulsary Honours meeting on Monday at 4pm after everyone had been planning to go home before their exams. Typical!
I had to go home this weekend because it was the last game of the 2005/2006 football season so, of course, was unmissable. We were playing Wrexham and Ryan was captain for the match (clearly should be captain all the time as he is Darlo's most consistent player!). To be fair, the game wasn't the most exciting ever. Wrexham went 1-0 up before half time although I thought we were better. In the second half Darlo were just starting to pick it up and looked slightly more threatening when Dave Hodgeson made a triple substitution - what a bad idea!!!! The only one of those subs who brought anything to the game was Wainy (who is clearly genius!) - he just isn't scared to run at people. With 5 minutes to go until the 90 mins were up, all the kids started congregating at the edge of the pitch - no guessing what they were planning on doing. Darlo equalised in injury time and all the kids ran on the pitch! YOU IDIOTS! THERE'S STILL TIME LEFT TO PLAY IN THE MATCH!! LOSERS!!! Finally all the kids (and some stupid adults) were ushered off the pitch and the match restarted only to finish a couple of seconds later so all the kids ran on again. It made me so angry! It actually made me a little scared as well because people could so easily get injured! One good thing about the match though was that Ryan was finally named Man of the Match - how he doesn't get that every week I don't know!! Cath and I probably sounded a bit stupid because we started cheering this news before everyone else in the crowd did!!!
I hate this part of the season because it means that players will leave the club or be forced to leave. I never like that bit. I feel so bad for the players who are released and the manager always seems to include at least one of my favourites!
Well, after the football James picked up Beth and I, and then Paul, and we all went through to Middlesbrough where everyone was meeting for a meal and then a DVD at Jon Plant's. For tea we went to a restaurant called the China Buffet King which was really nice - good food! Then Jon, Beth and I had to choose the DVD. We ended up with The Brothers Grimm (Jon's choice). It wouldn't work in the DVD player so Israel had to go to his house and get his Play Station 2 to play it in. So after a disasterous start the film was quite good - a bit weird and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again but it wasn't bad!
Sunday was Sunday. We had a fellowship tea at church where Mark showed slides of the trip that he, Abigail and Luke made to Cyprus to visit the Swansons. It was quite interesting. After church Beth and I played hide and seek with Luke and Fiona which was quite amusing!
Yesterday I came back to Glasgow on the train which seemed to take forever. At 3.20pm I had a meeting with my History tutor to go over my essay. I got a B so I was pretty pleased! Then I went to the Honours meeting. I have to take 6 history courses (or modules I guess) next year and there was quite a big choice. It was annoying though because a lot of the courses that I wanted to do clashed times. I have chosen my favourites (I can't remember them all just now) but I will hand in my Honours application very soon! Hopefully I will be accepted on the courses that I want to do.
Today I am going shopping to buy 1 or 2 things for my holiday to America!!!

I had a really nice weekend. On Saturday I didn't do much, just cleaned my flat up a bit while listening to the Darlington match on the internet on TFM. We won the game (against Wycombe Wanderers) even though we only had 10 men for the second half. Unfortuneatly Lincoln City also won and so are still 3 points ahead of us with one game to go. This means that to get into the play offs Lincoln would have to lose on Saturday and we would have to win and make up 6 goals because Lincoln's goal difference is so much better than ours. Oh well - someday it'll happen!!!
In the evening Graeme and Christine came over (followed by Esther later in the evening). We ate pizza and watched Christine's New York video. Then we played the Cluedo card game that Christine gave me for my birthday. It was a lot of fun and it was only when we were nearing the end that we realised that Christine had dealt out the cards that would tell us who did it etc - so we all had different answers. It was really funny! Graeme gave me back my first Alias DVD which he's had for nearly a year so I was really happy - just watching it now - genius!!
Yesterday (Sunday) I went to Partick Baptist as usual in the morning. There were quite a few visitors there which was really great - hopefully they will come back! I also got a tour of the church cos I had only seen the main bits of it. It is such a huge building!! There is a balcony with loads of seats (used at the moment for storage) - I would love to see that full on a week to week basis. Saw the baptism pool thing, then went round the back and saw the vestry and prayer meeting room. There is an oraganisation that has its offices there and then there is also a two bedroom flat. There were loads of rooms that is didn't see as well!! I couldn't believe it! In the evening I went to Gardner St as usual.
Today is Monday and is a Bank Holiday - this doesn't really affect me though because I have Mondays off anyway! I'm not planning on doing very much!

Yay!! I got accepted for the Colorado Summer Conference!!!!!! SO excited!!!

Well the last few days haven't been too bad surprisingly! Yesterday I just had 2 lectures and a tutorial. The tutorial was for Biblical Studies which was really bad cos only 2 of us turned up - me and a guy who was clearly still drunk from the night before. Disaster! So our tutor decided that we would go and join the other tutorial group of whom there was only one!!!!!! So we didn't exactly do a lot in that tutorial!! Then I had History and then went for lunch with Fiona which was nice. After that I had Classical Civilisation and that was me finished for the day.
At around 4.30pm I went round to Fiona's flat for tea. I hadn't been to her flat before so it was interesting. It isn't too far away from my flat really, just a 15 minute walk. She shares with 2 girls who study at Jordanhill and are from Lewis. They were really nice and very friendly. They are Christians who go to Free Churches in Glasgow (one to Dowanvale, the other to St Vincent St). It was slightly bizarre cos they had a lot of photos up on their kitchen wall and I recognised quite a few of the people in them, including my cousins' cousin. Anyway, we had a really nice tea of pasta and then fruit salad - good job Fiona! We then watched a DVD. After that I was speaking to one of Fiona's flatmates, Annabel. It was so strange because we then realised that we'd been to a Free Church camp together when we were younger, and not only that but we were in the same dorm!! It is a very small world! Crazy!
Well today I had the usual 3 lectures. After C.Civ I went for a coffee (well, hot chocolate) with Laura. It was so great - we got into a very good discussion about all things Christianity etc. She gave me her views and I gave her mine as well as I could. I don't really want to go into what precisely we talked about because I don't think that is right or appropriate to but it was very interesting. It was a shame that we weren't able to carry on the conversation, though, because she had to go to an Italian Literature lecture.

If you get a chance please have a look at this video (hope it works). It Bury's Chris Brass scoring a howler of an own goal at the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena on Saturday . Shame they made up for it and won but this video really is funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csQG0ZciFQ

Yay!! All my coursework for second year is handed in. The end is in sight!!! I've only got two more weeks of lectures left (only a week of Biblical Studies). I was so relieved to hand in those two essays today. After I handed them in I took the subway into the city centre and got some volunteer forms for camp this summer. Camp last year was so good so I'm looking forward to it again this year. After I got my forms I came back home, cleaned Zinzan out and then just relaxed. I am so tired still!!!!
Hopefully this week'll be a lot more interesting! I wish there was more news!!

Only one more essay to write!! I will be so relieved tomorrow afternoon when that essay is done. I have two essays to hand in tomorrow but I've already finished one of them. After this there is no more coursework for this year - YAY!! Only exams - BOO!!!!! I am feeling really tired right now so I can't wait until I have done all my work. I don't really have any news since all I have been doing recently is working, so very boring!!

Yay!!! My favourites!! These were taken from the Cheltenham game which was played on Monday (the result = 1-1 but we are still in the play off race!!) Not my pictures by the way - I got them from the Darlo website.

Well, I'm going to go back in time from my last post and tell you about my birthday which was on Friday (14th).
The day started off not so well. The daughter of our elderly neighbour called to say that he had sadly passed away that morning. He was 95 years old and was a really nice man so it was very sad news.
For most of the day I didn't do very much, only going to Sainsbury's with my mum. At 4.30pm I went round to the Hackers' house for my party. It was really so much fun. We played lots of party games (Pass the Parcel, Egg Hunt, Jigsaw Game, Musical Foam Squares (a variation of Musical Chairs), Musical Bumps and Pin the Tail on The Donkey), ate lots of party food and even got party bags!!! There were many laughs too!! It was such a good birthday in the end. The party was so much fun,I enjoyed it a great deal! Thank you to Clair and Simon for holding this party for me!!! You're fab!!
I've got one or two pictures of it:
Playing Pass the Parcel - Cath and James

Ben

Bethan

CAKE!!!!

I'm not really going to write a whole lot today. Just to say Happy Easter. Such a good day!!
I am planning to put up some pictures from my birthday up but will do that when I go back to Glasgow tomorrow and I have my laptop. Just for now though I'll post a picture of two of my favourite Darlo players, Ryan Valentine (of course) and Clark Keltie (I honestly don't know why he is one of my favourites!!). Its taken from yesterdays match which we lost 1-0. Both of them did some really stupid but funny things yesterday and it was really quite amusing!!! I wish we had won that match but we still have a good chance of making the playoffs, especially if we beat Cheltenham tomorrow.
Yesterday morning Mum, Dad and I made a trip to Durham to meet a man who is one of the speakers who does the Summit Summer Conferences (www.summit.org). I am hoping to attend one of these conferences this year in Colorado. They are also held in Ohio and Tennessee. I had e-mailed Mr Bywater because I thought that he would be a good contact seeing as he and his family are staying in Durham just now while he is doing a PhD. So we went to meet him and his family (his wife and 3 daughters). They were really very nice people and very enthusiastic about the Conferences and were really encouraging about it. Now I just have to get my act together and get it booked!!!
So I will fill you in about my birthday very soon when I sort out the pictures!!!!!

Just to update you quickly...... Had the greatest birthday ever, quite unlike how I thought that it was going to be. It really couldn't have been better!!!! Can't believe I'm 20!! Ancient!

Yay, going home today!!!! Just finishing off my essay just now! So excited! Can't wait to be at home again!

Happy Birthday Tig!!!!

I'm back in Glasgow now. It is pretty stressful really - I've got an essay to do which is due in on Thursday. I just can't wait until it is finished because then I am going home for the Easter weekend. It is my birthday on Friday so I'm looking forward to spending it at home. It is getting a bit annoying though because on Friday itself one of the guys from school is having a big party for his birthday and then the next night one of the girls from school has planned a night out for her birthday and then to top that off all of my friends seem to be going away for the weekend so I can either celebrate other peoples birthdays or celebrate mine on my own. Not much of a choice really.
I'm really missing Zinzan at the moment. I know it sounds weird to miss a hamster but my flat is so quiet and empty without him. He is still in Darlington because this time I'm only in Glasgow for a few days. I'll bring him back here next Monday when I come back from my weekend in Darlo. I hope that he is being well behaved and not making Hattie too jealous with the attention that he gets. I can't wait to see him (very sad I know!).
On a happier note - Darlo seem to be doing slightly better football wise. We had 3 matches last week and we managed to win all 3 of them. This has put us up to just 1 point off the playoffs so hopefully we can keep on winning. They don't like to make things easy for themselves though so that will probably not be the case.
So I went to church yesterday. Dad and I went to the baptist church in the morning which was nice. The minister was a bit difficult to follow but it was nice to be back there. They even announced that I was back in the notices which I thought was really sweet, albeit a bit embarrassing! It was good to catch up with people again. I went to Gardner Street in the evening which was good as usual. I went there on my own because Dad went back to Darlington after lunch time.
I'm glad that I'm only in Glasgow for a few days this time. I can't wait to go home again!!

Well I haven't really been up to much since I've been home - I can't believe that my holiday is nearly over (I go back to Glasgow on Saturday!). Yesterday Mum and I traveled to Centre Parks to visit her cousin, Marj, and family (husband - Ali, son - Mike, and daughters Laura and Olivia) who are having a holiday there at the moment. It was so much fun!! Am feeling really sore today though from the exertions of cycling and badminton and clearly being the Air Hockey CHAMPION!!!!! Ali does not like to lose! Gotta say that Centre Parks looks like a really great place to have a holiday. There is so much to do there. I have been to Centre Parks Whinfell Forest (formerly Oasis) before and that was pretty good - but Sherwood Forest is definitely nicer I'd say.
Sorry I've not got more to write but I've really not got a lot going on at the moment!!!!!

Having a great time at home. I haven't really done a lot to be honest. I had my first driving lesson for a year on Thursday which went great - things just seemed to click. My instructor is really nice so it is really good!!
Have been to the gym a few times this week - I actually enjoyed it and was impressed at how much I was able to do considering I haven't done any proper exercise for a while.
On Friday evening I went to YL for the first time. It was great and very funny at times. I enjoyed it a lot!!!
On Saturday evening we all invaded the Plants' house, took over the living room and watched a DVD. The one chosen was Cinderella Man. It was a very good film, with a very good story but I wasn't too keen on all the boxing scenes - not my cup of tea!! But generally pretty enjoyable. We got home so late last night. James gave me a lift home and stopped at a green light which was funny. I got home at midnight exactly but counting the clocks changing it was one o'clock!!!!! So I'm very tired today and kept yawning through church this morning!!!!

Happy Birthday Stuart!!!

We may have lost but he is still immense! (I'm not quite sure what he is doing here really!!!!)


I'm back home now for 'Spring Vacation'. I have 3 weeks off which is great and I am so pleased to be home. It has been really good to catch up with the few people who are at home at the moment.
Dad and I travelled back to Darlo on Saturday morning in time for the football match against Carlisle. Cath decided to go too so it was very nice to see her again! To be honest it would have been a great day really if the match had ended at half time. In the first half we matched Carlisle move for move and they only scored just before half time. If the match had ended then we would only have lost 1-0. Unfortunately we had another 45 minutes to play - what a disaster!!!!!! We just collapsed!! The match ended at 5-0 although that probably didn't reflect how the match went. Carlisle were pretty lucky to get that many goals. We saw John and Mr Fuller driving out of the ground at the end of the match and they were gloating but what can you do!!
Haven't done much else really - just church and the games night on Saturday. Both were great. Mark's dad was preaching on Sunday. I thought he was pretty good really! It was good seeing people again - was speaking esp to Cilla and to Fred but of course saw people like Beth, Stuart, Cath etc etc etc


Finally just gotta say well done to Mathew on his silver medal for the Rugby 7s - how awesome!!!

Well the snow was pretty mental yesterday. It stopped snowing just as I was leaving for church at around 11.45am. It was so deep already though and it made the normally very easy walk to church a bit more treacherous. Because of this there were on 5 of us at church. I expected this really because most of the congregation is elderly. So we all had a cup of tea before we began, then sang two songs, read a bit of Ruth which Fraser then talked a wee bit on and then had a time of open prayer. So it wasn’t really a proper service but it was good all the same. After the service we had another cup of tea, although Bill had to head home because he had come all the way from Bishopbriggs to be there. I was amazed that he even made it because he is over 80!! So I headed home to do some work on my essay. As I was going home it was clear that the snow was already melting. Jean told me that she doesn’t think that they had snow this bad for 20years!
In the evening I watched Songs of Praise. It was from Ireland because of St Patrick’s Day. The only reason that I am mentioning this is because I got the fright of my life when the camera did a close up on the face of my friend from the Tron, Jude. That part had been filmed a couple of years ago because she was in school uniform. So Songs of Praise has been found out – they reuse their material!! Shocking!! lol
At around 6.30pm I headed to Gardner St where again there were very few people although 12 seemed like a crowd compared to the numbers that had been at PBC.
Well onto today. I got up at 4.30am to write my essay. That may seem silly or whatever to some people but I actually find it a lot easier to work once I’ve had a few hours sleep rather than keeping on working and trying to get things done! I got my essay finished anyway and went to hand it in. I honestly thought that I was going to break my neck trying to get to uni today because the pavements were not clear at all and very slippy. Nightmare!! But I managed anyway. I’m having the rest of the day off now (I don’t have any lectures today anyway) and I’m so pleased that my 9am Biblical Studies lecture is cancelled tomorrow!!! Brilliant! (not my car sadly!)

It is snowing like mad here just now. It has been snowing all night and it is quite deep now. It doesn't look like it is going to stop any time soon either. I wish I didn't have to walk to church this morning. If I'd thought about it I could have just gone to Gardner St (on the corner of my street) but that starts like now so even though it would take me half a second to get there I don't think that I'd make it in time. I'll go there in the evening though as usual!
Glasgow looks so pretty in the snow. I wish it looked like this all the time!

I'm sitting in the library just now which is slightly depressing because I can think of so many more things that I would rather be doing on a Saturday! But it is my own fault I guess because I always leave things until the last minute, mainly because I work much better under pressure (or at least that is what I tell myself) but I do normally do better in exams than in essays or coursework where I have a lot more time to ponder things. So as you can see I am trying to distract myself from the prospect of work by posting just now (I have done a little it must be said).
While I am working I am listening to www.crossrhythms.co.uk (i always have to think Rejoice Heartly Your Teacher Has Measles to spell rhythm!) which is an online Christian radio station and has been playing some really good songs this morning. In 15 mins I will be changing radio stations to listen to TFM online. TFM is a local north east radio station that does really good coverage of some of the north east football teams - Darlo, Middlebrough and Hartlepool - (bleurgh!) and they cover their matches. So it is especially good when they are at a Darlo match because you can hear what is going on rather than having to wait for the result. TFM's football shows start at 12pm with Soccer Saturday, which is usually very funny and entertaining so I shall definitely be listening in! Darlo are playing Chester at home today. It is a really important game for me because I was born in Chester so I always feel satisfaction when we beat the team that I probably would have supported if we'd stayed there. The last time we played them the result was a 4-4 draw which was gutting because we were ahead for most of the match! Hopefully we will beat them today!
I should probably get back to my work now though! :'-(
Hope everyone else is having a great Saturday!

Have just found out the fixture list for Scotland's group B qualifying fixtures for Euro 2008. We have a really tough group including France, Italy, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia and the Faroe Islands. So there will be some difficult fixtures but they should be exciting as well!
Here is the fixture list:

2006
Saturday, 2 September - Scotland v Faroe Islands
Wednesday, 6 September - Lithuania v Scotland
Saturday, 7 October - Scotland v France
Wednesday, 11 October - Ukraine v Scotland

2007
Saturday 24 March - Scotland v Georgia
Wednesday, 28 March - Italy v Scotland
Saturday, 2 June - no game
Wednesday, 6 June - Faroe Islands v Scotland
Saturday, 8 September - Scotland v Lithuania
Wednesday, 12 September - France v Scotland
Saturday, 13 October - Scotland v Ukraine
Wednesday, 17 October - Georgia v Scotland
Saturday, 17 November - Scotland v Italy
Wednesday, 21 November - no game

All of the home games are on Saturdays and the away games on Wednesdays which I guess is good but it kind of eliminates the chance of going to the away matches in say France and Italy which would have been quite good ones to go to! I don't know how well we will do in these games really. We'll probably fall flat on our faces when we play the Faroes cos that is what usually happens when we play them!

I am so tired at the moment! I'm working on an essay that is due in on Monday and it seems to be taking forever. I'm having to read a big chunk of Herodotus' Histories for Classical Civilisation. Herodotus is considered to be the father of history. Ok, lesson over! It sounds really boring but it is actually quite interesting and easy to read - some of it is actually quite funny. It is definately not like the history that we have now! All the little anecdotes and rumors that he has included in his work are really funny and I don't know how he believed it - although he does say that he doesn't believe everything that he has written. It isn't too bad really but it seems to be taking an awful long time! I can't wait until I've handed it in and then I can think about the hols!!
I had a bit of an idea yesterday - well, I've actually had the idea before but never stuck at it for more than a day - and that is for a prayer journal. During the day I write down anything that I want to pray about that comes up during the day - whether on the news or something one of my friends says etc and then I don't forget about it when it comes to my devos at night. It also helps with my concentration cos I lose that really easily and lose track of what I was trying to say. So hopefully I'll be able to try and keep the journal up cos it really is helpful!
I'm just about to watch Crufts now. I don't think my dog, Hattie, would do so well there even in the events where non pedigree dogs are allowed to enter!! She's not the brightest dog in the world but I still miss her A LOT when I'm in Glasgow. Maybe that is a bit sad but I can't speak to her on the phone like I can my Mum and Dad!!
Anyway I must go and attend to my hamster who has got very fat now!! He is such a greedy wee man!

I don't really know why I am updating my blog today. I don't really have any news at all. The last few days have been nothing special, pretty boring really. This is the start of a really busy spell for me at the moment though because I have about a million bits of coursework that need to be done. So my schedule goes like this:

13th March: 1st Classical Civilisation essay
17th March: History essay (but can actually hand it in at a later date) Spring vacation starts.
11th April: Spring vacation ends
13th April: Final History deadline
14th April: Good Friday and my birthday
20th April: History seminar paper
24th April: 2nd Classical Civilisation essay and Biblical studies essay

So there is a lot to be getting on with. I'm hoping to get as much as possible done over the holidays and I'm also going to take a few driving lesson because I have been learning to drive on and off for 3 years now which is pretty ridiculous. I'm really hoping to get going with that over the next few months. It has been nearly a year now since I stopped my driving lessons last time.
I can't wait for the Commonwealth Games which are starting in a few weeks. I've been missing the sport on the TV since the Winter Olympics finished not so long ago. Hopefully there will be some exciting events!! Definitely looking forward to the Rugby Sevens where Mathew will hopefully be playing!
I think that I forgot to mention how the ice skating went! It was A LOT of fun! There were so many neds though which was a bit annoying but we just laughed at them to be honest. That may sound horrible but if you've ever come across Glasgow neds then you'll know what I'm talking about! I think Christine and I took to the ice quite well. The problem was that I kept laughing and had to stop skating. I fell over twice (I have a big bruise on my knee) and Christine fell over once but that was my fault because I brought her down with me when I fell! Ooops!
Well I should probably go and read either Aristotle or Herodotus for my first Classical Civilisation essay!! Oh and Beth, cheer up honey! I will reply to your e-mail very soon okay?

Well the football didn't really go to plan. Scotland lost 3-1 to Switzerland and it was very, very dull and incredibly cold!! The only thing of note was that there was a streaker - mental person!! There were some Swiss people who weren't wearing any tops and I thought that they were crazy (as I was wrapped up in about 20 layers!) but the Scots had to go one better!!! Also although Shaun Maloney was a sub, he never played. I paid good money to see that match so I was angry that he didn't play!
Yesterday I went to lectures as my dad stayed in my flat to wait for an electrician to come who was going to fix the cellar light and reinstall a smoke alarm in my hall. Unfortunately he was only able to do the second of those things but a least that is done now. When my lectures had finished my dad went to PC World to get me a new printer as my old one was completely broken and a printer is pretty vital when you've got essays to write! While he was doing this I took Zinzan to the vets because he has been having nosebleeds. The vet said that it is probably because he is allergic to something and when he sneezes (which I haven't noticed - but imagine a hamster sneezing!!! SO cute!!) it will cause a nosebleed. The problem is it could be ANYTHING!!! So I've got to change one thing at a time to see what it could be, starting with the wood shavings. I hope that it isn't the bedding because Dad and I just bought a HUGE bag of the stuff!! I've also got be careful about spraying anything near the cage etc. Credit to Zinzan cos he behaved very well on his first outing, even though it was freezing, and he didn't bite the vet!! Yay!!
Just had one lecture and one tutorial today. Both quite interesting I guess but nothing special. I'm excited cos tonight I'm going ice skating with Christine, her dad, her little bro' Cameron and his friend. I love ice skating so I can't wait - I hope I don't fall over too much!

Had a really great evening. Christine came over for tea and we made pancakes. It was such good fun! Ok, so the first one ended up in the bin but generally we were pretty good at it! Now, I've got to say I'm a very traditional 'lemon and sugar' pancake type of girl and I was totally shocked to learn that Christine has never tried that combination. Thats like the original pancake thing!!! How can she not have tried it??! She wouldn't even try it tonight! Loser!!! lol
I'm really excited cos my dad should be arriving really soon. He is staying here for a couple of days, mainly because we are planning to go to the Scotland v Switzerland friendly at Hampden tomorrow night. I can't wait! I hope that Shaun Maloney is playing because although he used to be my favourite footballer (except Ryan) I have never really seen him play as I've never been to a Celtic match before. He is no longer one of my favourite players because I learned that really he's a bit of an idiot as my cousin's cousin who has played against him will testify! But I'd still like to see him play because he is a good footballer so fingers crossed! I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my dad again - even though I only saw him on Saturday! I haven't seen Mum for what seems like ages and ages so I wish she was coming up too but unfortunately she isn't cos she has to work and she doesn't care one bit about football!! Anyway my dad should be here any minute so I'd better go!

Seeing as I have recently figured out how to put photos on my blog I thought I'd just put up some pics of my favourite footballer ever - Ryan Valentine. Oh the brilliance!!! In the picture below he is the one shouting and pointing!

Duncan Hodge - Scotland's Calcutta Cup hero in 2000 when he scored all of Scotland's points in the last game that Scotland beat England. He is definately one of my favourite Scotland players ever.
Well what can I say? I think I'll start with the simple - Scotland 18-12 England!! I started the day by catching the 12.15 train from Glasgow to Edinburgh Haymarket. My Dad was travelling up from Darlington and hadn't arrived in Edinburgh yet so I waited in Starbucks just by the station and actually he didn't arrive too much later. I had lunch there and then Dad and I just sat in the car for ages listening to the radio. At around 4pm we started to make our way to Murrayfield which is about 20 mins walk from where our car was parked. When we reached the ground Sarah (who was also there) and I were texting and she came from her seat to shout hello from the steps going up the side of the stadium. Then Dad and I made our way to our seats which were excellent and just in front of the BBC Sport box thingy. We got ourselves comfortable then to our dismay a couple came up with identical tickets to ours. So my Dad and the guy went to sort the whole situation. It turns out that it was the computer's fault. We managed to catch the anthems in our original seats then we let the couple who arrived after us (so really it should have been them that moved) stay in the West stand and the great seats while we moved to the North stand. Sarah and co were also in the North stand but were on the other side so not sitting very close. We did wave to each other though. The first half flew by and ended with a scoreline of 3-3. In the second half it was very exciting - England took the lead once but Scotland quickly sorted that out. Certainly England did put a lot of pressure on Scotland but Scotland were the ones who came closest to scoring a try when the ball was put into touch just on the wrong side of the try line. The final ten minutes of so were so stressful and nervewracking for the Scots as England put their all into trying to find some winning points. Thankfully thought they weren't able to and the final whistle meant that Scotland had beaten England for the first time in six years and finally placed the Calcutta Cup in Scottish hands once more.

Jason White, Scotland captain, raises the Calcutta Cup aloft having been presented it by Princess Anne. He made his Scotland debut against England in the win of 2000.

The atmosphere at Murrayfield was electric, it was thoroughly amazing. This was the first proper rugby match that I've ever been to and I loved it. I love how the fans aren't segregated like they are in football. There is no way that that could be the case in football. There was banter and a competetive atmosphere between the fans but it was all so good natured and there was very little bad language. I think it was just great. Football fans could really learn something from rugby fans.

Chris Paterson who scored all but 3 of Scotland's points and only one of two of the current Scotland players to have beaten England before.

Scotland: Southwell; Paterson, Di Rollo, Henderson, Lamont; Parks, Blair; Kerr, Hall, Douglas; MacLeod, Kellock; White (capt), Taylor, Hogg. Replacements: Ford, Smith, Hines, Petrie, Cusiter, Ross, Webster

England: Lewsey; Cueto, Noon, Tindall, Cohen; Hodgson, Ellis; Sheridan, Thompson, White; Borthwick, Grewcock; Worsley, Moody, Corry (capt). Replacements: Chuter, Freshwater, Shaw, Dallaglio, Dawson, Goode, Voyce.

Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

Man of the match: Jason White

TIMELINE:

3 – 0: Chris Paterson penalty (1 min)

3 – 3: Charlie Hodgson penalty (7 mins)Yellow card: Danny Grewcock (22 mins)

England sub: Perry Freshwater for Andrew Sheridan (blood) (38mins)

HALF TIME

England sub: Sheridan returns from blood bin

3 – 6: Charlie Hodgson penalty (41mins)

6 – 6: Chris Paterson penalty (42 mins)

9 – 6: Chris Paterson penalty (47 mins)

England sub: Matt Dawson for Harry Ellis (blood) (50 mins)

Scotland sub: Nathan Hines for Scott MacLeod (51 mins)

12 – 6: Dan Parks drop goal (56 mins)

Scotland sub: Ross Ford for Dougie Hall (58 mins)

Scotland sub: Craig Smith for Bruce Douglas (60 mins)

12 – 9: Charlie Hodgson penalty (61 mins)

England sub: Ellis returns from blood bin

Scotland subs: Gordon Ross for Dan Parks and Chris Cusiter for Mike Blair (63 mins)

England sub: Lawrence Dallaglio for Martin Corry (63 mins)

England sub: Simon Shaw for Danny Grewcock (67 mins)

England sub: Perry Freshwater for Andrew Sheridan (72 mins)

England sub: Matt Dawson for Harry Ellis (72 mins)

15 - 12: Charlie Hodgson penalty (74 mins)

18 – 12: Chris Paterson penalty (77 mins)

Scotland sub: Simon Webster for Marcus Di Rollo (78 mins)

FULL TIME: SCOTLAND 18 ENGLAND 12

I spent the day trying to recover from the visit of Beth, Sophie and Helen to Glasgow on Wed/Thurs!!! It was actually really great - I really enjoyed having them here (and I'm not just saying that because Beth is like the only person who reads my blog!!). I was quite sad when they left. They arrived here on Wednesday morning and I met them at Central Station. We went back to my flat for a while so they could dump their stuff etc and then Beth and Helen went to Jordanhill for Beth's interview. Sophie and I stayed at the flat and watched 10 Things I Hate About You (genius film!) and played with Zinzan until he bit Sophie and made her bleed. I was mortified! What a nice way to treat visitors!! Christine came round for a while in the afternoon because she had a screening in the evening.
When Beth and Helen came back we were starving so went to get pizza and garlic bread, yummy! We then watched the end of the mens curling in the Winter Olympics (LOVE IT!) and then an ultimate cheese fest film, A Cinderella Story which stars Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.
David Murdoch, the British Olympic curling captain
As my flat is very, very small Beth and I were sharing the sofa bed but we also had to share the room with the hamster who decided that he would make as much noise as he possibly could so I didn't get very much sleep. On Thursday we went shopping. We went for lunch at Wesley Owen where I bumped into Agnes which was nice because I haven't seen her for ages. The Ainscough Ladies caught a train back home at 6pm so I was all alone in the evening and just watched TV - very boring!!
Today I went into town to buy a lemon juicer - very random but thats all I did. Such an interesting life!! CANNOT WAIT FOR THE RUGBY TOMORROW!!!!! Oh and well done Beth on getting that offer!

Hello! I'm back! I'm so excited today because yesterday I managed to get tickets for the Scotland v England rugby match on Saturday!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!! The match had been sold out but around 1000 had been returned or recovered from ebay and they went on sale at 10am yesterday. So for about half an hour yesterday I tried unsuccessfully to get through on the phone whilst trying on the internet at the same time!! Then I gave up on the phone because I managed to get through on the net. Then I had loads of problems with the website but I was able to find 2 tickets together for my dad and I and finally managed to book them!!! I was panicking though because I never got the confirmation e-mail. But the tickets arrived this morning!!!!!! YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! SO excited!
Also I thought I'd put a pic (if it works) of my hamster, Zinzan, up. He is so so cute! I know that the pic is really dark but you get the idea!