Stonehenge...

There is much debate as to whether Stonehenge is actually on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It's definitely one of Britain's Wonders, and some call it a Medieval Wonder, but one thing is for sure - when you visit it, you are left wondering. What the heck is this thing? Matt and I didn't really know how to feel about it. Impressed? Yes, of course. Stupefied? A little bit. Really, who put this there and why? Honestly, it's on the verge of being frustrating. How do we not have a concise theory with all our technological advancements?

The points that most historians/archeologists/scientists agree on:
- It is some type of calendar because you can see the winter and summer solstice sunrises and sunsets through certain spots at certain times of the year.
- Its construction began around 3500BC. Wow!
- They have just discovered the archaeological remains of a relatively large city very close by with ancient roads that lead to the Stonehenge site.
- It was something of importance because it took a lot of effort to build. The stones had to be hauled from miles away, and then they must have shaped them to make the corners so squared. They must have built elaborate pulley systems to hoist the connecting horizontal stones on top of the vertical ones.

The ideas that are left up to debate and can never be proven entirely accurate or inaccurate (hence, the frustrating part):
- It could be a temple, but there is no record to indicate that the ancient Britons were particularly religious. The stone slab in the innermost center of the circle has taken the label of "Altar Stone" anyway.
- It could be a burial ground, a sort of land of the dead. Stone could be symbolic for the permanence of death, and the peoples could have spread the ashes of their ancestors there.
- Aliens built it as a monument to the dinosaurs.
- God just put it there as a joke so that humans would waste centuries worrying about its origin and purpose.
Blah, blah, blah.

By the end of our visit, which lasted just under an hour, I walked away with a stirred up mixture of thoughts: "That's so crazy. Silly. Bizarre. Kind of stupid. Or maybe it makes me feel stupid... Don't really know why it's there. It's weird that it's such a mystery. Why can't we figure it out? The only correct way to refer to the structure is to call it an 'it' since we don't really know what it is.... I expected it to be a bigger circle, not just 100 yards in diameter... I can't believe I just walked around a place that I've only seen in textbooks... I'm going with the theory that God put it there for a good laugh... I find it strange that we are only a few feet from a highway, and I've heard more American English here than anywhere we have visited so far... Why are there so many sheep grazing around us? Do those birds that are pooping on Stonehenge have any idea what they are pooping on?" etc.

Like I said before, it just leaves you wondering and feeling unsettled. But, we got some pretty good pictures. Here are some of the best.

In case you were just driving in the middle of nowhere and didn't know what these huge rocks on the side of the road were.

You can't get very close to the stones, so they have a nicely designated path for you to stay on. At one point in time, you used to be able to rent a hammer and chip off part of the stone as a souvenir. They finally got smart and figured out a more sustainable business plan in which you could charge people more for admittance and not let them touch it. You just walk counterclockwise once around, and you're done. That's it. I got an audio guide that was supposedly in English but was actually in Russian or something. So, I stole Matt's. He didn't care. He was taking pictures.

Here I am!

Here's hubby!

Here's us together (thanks to the two eclectic Canadian middle-aged women who took this one)!

See the knob the bird is sitting (and probably pooping) on? That is how the horizontal stones stayed in place on top of the vertical ones. There is kind of a ball-and-socket joint on each connection point.

This is one of the better ones we got of the entire site. It reminded me of the Colosseum in that you wish you could have seen it before it was ruined.

Oh, hey sheep. You got birds on your back. And grass in your mouth.

This guy was taking it pretty easy and having a nice snooze.

That mound is one of many burial mounds that surround Stonehenge. They have found one body per mound, meaning that each person buried in these was well-to-do somehow. In one, they supposedly found a Swiss man with his weapon, indicating that Stonehenge was incredibly important if someone was willing to travel so far to see it. (This leads me to wonder how many of these stories are purely fictional. I vaguely felt like I was ingesting a big ol' bologna sandwich when I heard that one.)

The "Heel Stone." I can't really remember its made-up function. I think the solstice sunlight shines on it or something. Also worth mentioning is that this is as close as the footpath ever came to the stones. The main circle would be out to the left of the people on the path. You can also see how close the Heel Stone is to the road on the right.

Taken from the path near the Heel Stone, this picture shows more of the intact side of the circle.

And finally, I thought this was the most epic of the pictures we got. It is currently my laptop screensaver. I would like to properly claim it as one that I took because otherwise Matthew will claim that it was his. He laughs at me for squatting down on the ground and employing photography's "Rule of Thirds," but I think the end result turns out nicely.

That's all from Stonehenge. Have any of you been there and also felt confused? Stay tuned to bathe in the beauty of Bath tomorrow. (Sorry, couldn't help myself with that little pun.) Cheers!

Lots and lots...

So much has happened since my last post, and I don't know where to begin. Today I think I'll update you on the little goings-on starting with the end of last week, and then tomorrow and Tuesday, I'll attempt to post about Stonehenge and Bath. We went on our rescheduled tour of those two places yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to mess with all 180 pictures we took. Once I have a few edited, I'll get them up here along with the stories they tell. It was a really educational and fun trip...(Also, quick sidenote, most of the pictures for this post are ones I found online. I couldn't really take them myself for these particular anecdotes. But, I promise that all the pictures of Bath and Stonehenge will be from my camera!)

That little preview aside, I guess I'll start with Thursday. Before I posted about Lexi, I had a morning tea with Paola!!! Remember her? She is my friend/new grandma from the international tea last month. She got back from her trip to Palermo, Italy, and invited me to her home. She is just about the most hospitable person ever. I rode my bike to her adorable townhouse, which is only about 15 minutes from our flat. Her front door is awesome; it's original to the structure, which was built in 1901. That's at least 110 years old! In relation to most buildings around Cambridge, that is laughably young, but I just thought about my parent's house in Broken Arrow. It's only like 3 years old.

This is probably really stalker-ish of me, but this is the street view of her house from Google Maps. As you can see, it is a very nice residence. It was a couple stories, quite narrow but surprisingly deep, with beautiful gardens in the back.

She showed me around her gardens, and she picked out a nice vase for the flowers I had brought her as a thank you gift. I was a little worried thinking, "What if she is allergic to flowers, and I bring her some, and she is too nice to get rid of them, and then she goes into anaphalactic shock or something?" I was really relieved when I saw her massive gardens. No allergies. She does have mild asthma though, which is weird, because I do too. Just one of the many things Paola and I have in common.

Anyway, she made me some scrumptious breakfast tea and stuffed me full of biscuits. We sat around and talked about movies, how I'm adjusting to Cambridge, etc. She showed me pictures on her iMac (I'm telling you, this lady is up to date with technology) of her Palermo trip and of her family. She told me more stories of the places she has lived and showed me the awesome antique maps that she has lining her stairway of all of those places. India, Senegal, Sweden, Italy, England. It's an impressive display. (I am a sucker for antique maps, and I will definitely be purchasing one here before we move to Texas.) She entranced me with the story of a Bosnian refugee that lived in the upstairs of her house because she was an indirect friend of her son's Iranian friend. She made me tear up as she showed me the letters she had written to her mother when she was away at school around the time she was 16 or 18. She didn't know her mother had kept them all until she came across the box as she was cleaning out her mother's home when she died. Paola also had me wiping away tears that were streaming uncontrollably down my face as she told me of one of her friends whose son had just passed away. Her friend is 81 years old, and her son was 58. He had been born with cerebral palsy, and his mother had cared for him his whole life - almost 6 decades! Paola handed me a tissue, apologizing for making me sad, and said, "You cry so easily!" Haha. If only she knew. I was already emotional about my childhood pet being put to sleep, and then this woman has to go and tell me the world's most touching and inspiring stories. If she would just stick to mundane topics like the weather, she'd never get a sniffle out of me... Well, probably not. I am a bawl bag, so I'm sure I could find something related to weather that would leave me sobbing. I rode my bike home (in the pouring rain) so grateful for those two hours of kindness. I invited Paola to our place next time. I informed her that I didn't know how to host a proper English tea, but I would do my best to whip up some funfetti cookies! I'm already looking forward to it.

That was Thursday. Then came Friday, which was unremarkable for the most part. One highlight was that I finally finished reading The Help. I know, I'm a little behind the bandwagon on this one. I saw the movie months ago when it initially came out. If you haven't read or seen it, you should. Such a feel-good and inspirational story. It shocks me that our country was ever so divided on something as inconsequential as skin color, but this book takes a good honest look at that time. I'm so thankful that my generation doesn't know those particular injustices firsthand, although there are plenty of other problems, but I find that era of our history fascinating. Maybe that's why I like the television series Mad Men as well.

Friday night, Matthew and I were invited to a Diwali celebration at the graduate housing complex across the street. (In all honesty, I'm ignorant as to what Diwali actually celebrates.) We were under the impression that there would be curry galore and entertainment, including Bollywood-type dancing. This was what I had envisioned:

Turns out, my expectations were a little off. I was offered a red dot for my forehead; in other words, a nice girl from Dallas wanted to smudge her lipstick on my face. I politely declined. We were unaware that we had not gotten in on some secret order of Indian food, and thus would be excluded from consuming whatever small amount of food would be arriving. I heard upbeat Bollywood music but did not see anyone dancing. So, Matthew and I gave each other the glance that says, "I'm ready to leave if you are because I feel so awkward and don't know what excuse to use to get out of here." So, I said something to the group of people around us about how we had leftovers at home that we could eat and maybe we would come back when they started the movie that was rumored to begin after the food arrived. Don't get me wrong - everyone we met was really friendly, but once we got home, we stayed there. We shared an oven-baked frozen pizza, and I crocheted a scarf for Milosh. At least we had tried to be cultured.

Milosh is kind of a long story, but the abbreviated version is this: Alberto and Magda have an ongoing joke with Matthew that Milosh is their pet goat. For Matt's birthday, they surprised him with this cute little stuffed "Milosh." He has now become part of the family and can be found helping Matt with homework, eating my gardenia plant, etc. (Note: my plant is still ALIVE!!! No blossoms, but still, it has lasted longer than anticipated. Matt claims it is fake.)

That pretty much brings me to Saturday morning when we left at the crack of dawn (again) to catch our tour bus to Stonehenge and Bath. It was an especially foggy morning, and I felt like we were riding our bikes into a scary Halloween movie or something. It was simultaneously eerie and beautiful.

We didn't have time to pull over so I could take pictures, but this is basically what our morning looked like. Half of me was thinking that Freddie Kruger would hop out from behind a corner at any moment, and the other half of me could hear the piano and strings of the Pride & Prejudice soundtrack playing.

 Luckily, there were no bus breakdowns, and we met up with our group right on schedule.

This is what the Mercedes minibus looked like. High class 16 passenger van. It was apparently rented because the broken down bus had yet to be "mended," according to our tour guide, who was also named Matt. 

Hopped on the bus, which was my first car ride in over a month, and sat behind a couple from Boston. Yay for Americans! I slept most of the way to our first destination, Stonehenge, but opened my eyes long enough to see some magnificent fall foliage. I guess the trees in Cambridge are just a little slow getting into the fall festive mood, but once we got out of town and on the motorway, we got some spectacular scenery. Best way to describe it would be that it reminded me of the hilliness of Arkansas with the greenery of New Hampshire.

Our drive made me recall this picture I took one fall in Stillwater. You know when the leaves are so fiery that the bark is a dark charcoal color, almost like it got burnt? That's my favorite. Contrast those colors against the darkest gray-blue of a sky right before a storm, and I'm in heaven. Gorgeous.

Also in the few minutes that I was not dead to the world and leaning back with my mouth wide open, I saw some fun road signs. They are a little different than those in the U.S. I dare say that people follow them better here because I haven't really noticed any bad drivers.

No, we did not drive through a war zone. However, we did drive through a portion of the Salisbury plain, which is where military training takes place. No tanks spotted crossing, but we did see some pheasant hunters shoot down some birds literally ten feet from the edge of the road. Did not feel safe knowing bullets were flying so nearby.

Give Way = Yield, same shaped sign with more extensive wordage.

And finally, among the thousands of sheep dotting the countryside on our road trip was a lone English gent. He was trekking through his pasture, decked out in riding cap, galoshes, and smart knickers. He looked very similar to this picture I found on the internet when I typed in "English country gent."

Love it when Google knows exactly what I'm looking for.

Well, apparently more than just a few little goings-on have been going on. I did not intend for that post to be so lengthy. Thanks for making it through. Like I said, you really have a treat coming your way tomorrow and Tuesday. I'll post some real life pictures from our visits to Stonehenge and the city of Bath. Until then, I'd just like to throw a shout out to my 8-0 Cowboys!!! Whoo hoo! Also, congrats you Thetas at OSU for finally doing well in the homecoming house deck competition. My best to you all!!!

Our Black Lexus...

Today is an especially gloomy day, and the rainy dismal weather seems fitting... our little Lexi has gone to doggie heaven. That's the one thing that stinks about getting older and celebrating our own birthdays: the ones we love age right along with us. I don't understand how dogs become part of the family, but they do. They wag and chew and bark their way in our hearts.

Lexi was my childhood pet, the only one I can remember from start to finish - from the time we got her as a puppy until her more recent elderly years. I wish I had a picture of her from when we first brought her home. She was a really tiny black ball of fur with one little white stripe down her chest. She was so small she couldn't even jump up on our back porch after she went out into the yard to go to the bathroom. We got her from one of my sister's classmates in elementary school. (Jordan is now a sophomore in college, so that tells you how long Lexi has been around.) We went out to Shelby's house "just to look" at the puppies her family was giving away. My dad should have known that you can't take your wife and two young daughters "just to look" at puppies. You are walking away with one of them, no doubt about it. Maybe he did know that from the get-go but decided to act like it wasn't going to happen. Dad's a softie when it comes to animals, I mean come on, he's a veterinarian. Anyway, I remember trying to come up with a name for our new pup. Eventually, we settled on Lexus (Lexi for short) because it would be as close as our family would get to owning a black Lexus car.

Some of my most vivid memories from Lexi's crazy adolescent phase involve the things she chewed and subsequently destroyed - my leather sandals, our trampoline cover, souvenirs from Disney World, a few supposedly indestructible Kong toys. She was a handful, probably two handfuls, but she was just so lovable. You couldn't stay mad at her for long.

She was also notorious for running around the neighborhood whenever she got the chance to bolt out the front door. When Matt came to my house to pick me up for our first official date (aka, my sixteenth birthday) he opened the front door and Lexi shot right past him. Poor Matthew, all nervous and prepared with a bouquet of flowers, had to help me and my mom chase Lexi around the cul-de-sac. 

Once she settled into her adult life, you couldn't have asked for a better companion. We would poke fun at her for being a knot-head because she wasn't the brightest, and she had a literal knot on her head where her bony skull stuck out. She had many a nickname. For a while, she was fondly known as "BBAS" (pronounced "bee-bass") because she was Big, Black, And Stupid. Of course, we meant that in the most respectful way possible. Often, she was Lexi Schmexi or Lexi Loodle. She didn't care. She befriended all the other pets that we added to our brood, including Bullitt (despite his misguided attempts at getting her to play with him.) It was sad to see that she was slowing down tremendously over the past couple of years, but that sweet girl stayed sweet, wagging her tail til the very end.

I'm sorry if this is either incredibly depressing or overly dramatic to those of you reading this, but I guess it's my way of coping for not being there with her. I think it's better that I didn't have to accompany her on the long car ride to the clinic. She really loved going for car rides. Yesterday, I got to Skype with her (thanks to my mom) and to see her one last time. Obviously, life goes on, and worse things happen every day. I just thought I could take a minute to give Lexi some love; Lord knows she gave us more.

Like I said, she loved car rides. As soon as she heard those words, she was waiting at the door to go.

Back in 2009 at the bark park. She didn't really want to socialize with the other dogs, but there were so many great smells to be sniffed!

A day or two before we left to move to England. She was supervising as we were packing.

Her and her newest best buddy, Bullitt. They were attached at the hip most days.

And finally, this one was also taken while we were packing. She liked warming up in the sunshine from the window. She also liked guarding the tennis ball, even if she wasn't going to play with it. I think it was her way of claiming her rightful place as the matriarch among the other animals. Haha.

I love you, Lexi. I missed you as soon as I left the house to go to the airport, and I'll miss you even more when I get back and you're not there. I will reminisce about all our time together and cherish it always. Thanks for so many years of being my friend!

Great surprises!

Last night's birthday dinner was fantastic. We went to the India House with Alberto, Magda, and Chad. The food was the spiciest we have had yet while in Britain, and it was really good! Matt tried vindaloo for the first time, despite being warned by the menu that it was like the hottest thing in the world. He was expecting to sweat profusely, or at least have a burnt tongue, but neither of these things happened. We have found that our taste buds are skewed to handle spice thanks to Mexican food, Buffalo Wild Wings, and our inclination to put crushed red pepper on everything.

The India House, which (surprise!) looks more like an English Tudor house. Whatever, it was yummy.

After dinner was over, Alberto and Magda told us that Sir Roger Moore was giving a talk at the Cambridge Student Union. Seriously??? The 007??? How did we not know about this?

Bond, James Bond.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the union where Roger gave his talk, we were about a half an hour too late. He had already finished speaking! No worries, we would still track him down. We headed down a hallway where we heard lots of voices, and I was asking everyone I ran into, "Is Sir Roger still in the building?" I'm sure they couldn't tell I was a celebrity-craving American. I restrained myself from asking if James Bond was around there somewhere. Kelsey, he has done more than just be in movies, hence the reason he is a "Sir." Anyway, someone finally pointed me toward a particular closed door at the end of the hallway. Of course, I opened it, and there before me, surrounded by an entourage and several other James-Bond-loving fans, was this man:

(Surprise!) Sir Roger Moore. This was not a picture we snapped because we were too starstruck to grab our cameras, but this is pretty much what he looked like. Plus, you suddenly feel really rude for wanting to shove your Kodak in the face of such a regal and distinguished guest.

His entourage was not about to let anyone else in the room, and so we backed out respectfully and closed the door. However, we did know that this particular door was the only way out of that room, so Sir Roger had to pass through it at some point. We loitered around for a few minutes, and then the door opened from the inside. Since I was standing right there, I grabbed the door and held it open. Yes, I held the door open as people streamed out of the room, and about 6 inches in front of me passed Sir Roger Moore and Mrs. Sir Roger Moore!!! I held the door for James Bond. I was giddy but trying to play it cool. I eavesdropped as he passed and learned that the poor guy was trying to find his way to the bathroom and then to the back exit. We contemplated boldly asking if he would take a picture with Matthew for his birthday, but decided against it. I'm sure he has never heard that before, "Hey, Roger! Can you take a pic with me? It's my birthday." Uh huh. Nevertheless, it was a celebrity encounter. We felt cool. When we visited here in March, Julian Assange (the founder of WikiLeaks) was giving a speech in that very same building. What can we say? We are magnets for the famous. Now if Will and Kate come here, I will pee my pants and make an absolute fool of myself, but I don't care...as long as I get to see them in person.

Here's Julian. Thought you might recognize him more by face than by name.

Also, this is kind of random, but after we saw Sir Roger, I kept thinking he looked an awful lot like James Garner. My generation would know this fellow-Okie as the older Noah character in the movie The Notebook.

Maybe it's just me, but there is something similar about them.

So anyway, we spent a few more hours hanging out at the bar in the union just talking, discussing politics and health care in the US, Greece, Italy, and the UK. It truly was a fun night and a good actual birthday day for Matt. (PS - I had a dream last night that my dad and I met Michael Jordan outside a grocery store as he was getting into his pickup truck. I guess my subconscious was still focused on our celeb sighting and the fact that Matt and I listened to part of the Space Jam soundtrack the other day.)

This morning, I assumed that my surprising and exciting events quota had been met for the next few weeks, but then I was awoken by the door buzzer. I shot out of bed, threw on my robe and glasses, and found a lovely package waiting for me. (Surprise!)

I knew my mom had sent us this box, but I had no idea what treasures awaited me on its interior.

I felt a twinge of guilt as I looked at how much it cost to send such a small box such a long way. Thanks, mom! I know it was expensive, but I wish you could have seen me ripping into it. I was like a kid on Christmas morning!

Evidence of the box mutilation that occurred due to my enthusiasm.

Makeup, Tide To Go pens, Static Guard, funfetti cookie mix and icing, peanut butter M&Ms, Reese Cups, Kit Kats, and fuzzy socks!!! All things that are good and right from my dear U-S of A!!! Best nation in the world on so many levels.

My mother knows me and my affinity for chocolate too well. So much for the weight I have lost since we got here. I should be back to being a fat American in no time! Totally worth it. I just love good surprises. The past 24 hours have been stellar. Can't wait to see what the next 24 hold.

Veintitres...

On behalf of Matthew, I am writing today's post in order to say thank you for all of the birthday wishes! He had a long day of classes, but when he came home, he opened all of the cards that had come in the mail. Every single one was deeply appreciated! Also, thank you for everyone who posted birthday wishes to Matt on my facebook wall. I know it would be so much easier to post them directly to his wall if he would ever surrender and make his own profile...but, don't hold your breath. I don't think that will be happening anytime soon. Maybe I will eat my words one day? In all likelihood I will not.

I wanted to share a couple of his favorite birthday greetings with you all. We found these particular ones to be quite humorous, and I hope you get a kick out of them as well. First, in the card from my grandparents on the McWilliams side, my grandpa's note read, "'I say old chap' - I've heard this line in several English movies and thought it might be useful." If you know my grandfather, you can just envision the way he would say that. To help those of you who don't know him, picture Mr. Fredericksen from the movie "Up" talking in a an exaggerated British accent. I'm pretty sure my grandpa is due some royalties from Pixar because Mr. Fredericksen is his animated alter ego. It is spot on.

Subtract the walker and bow tie, add a smile, and you have my grandpa.

Second, Matthew got a card from his bestest buddy...

Front of the card. No, Mama and Papa Grant did not dress our doggie in this chemist regalia, but it does highly resemble our Bullitt. 

Inside of the card. What a perfect message for Matthew, a chemical engineer. We love that Bullitt signed his paw print in mud and dirt. Typical.

And lastly, Alberto (our Italian friend) sent Matthew this youtube video. You should take a minute to watch it. We were laughing out loud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NJFi7EJF60&feature=related

For dinner tonight we are going to an Indian restaurant with Chad, Alberto, and Magda. Should be a grand ol' time. Thank you again for making this day a special day for a very special someone. Your love can be felt all the way across the pond.

A very merry un-birthday to you!

Today we celebrated (at least partially) Matthew's 23rd birthday, which is actually tomorrow. He didn't have class, so it felt like a nice laid back Sunday. Once again, we slept in as late as we wanted. I think we finally got up around 10:30. Matthew claims that he is getting this excessive number of sleep hours in the hopes of not getting sick. Practically everyone else in his program has got some sort of illness right now. Whatever he needs to say to justify it. I, on the other hand, am just flat out lazy when allowed to be.

Upon waking, we discovered that our electricity was not working. No lights, no refrigeration, no hot water. A few brief minutes of panic passed as we wondered whether we had somehow missed a utilities payment or something. Luckily, once we finished our bowls of Curiously Cinnamon cereal (we had to utilize our milk immediately so it wouldn't go bad...) the power came back on. Hallelujah. Must have just had a glitch in the system or something.

The biggest events of the almost-birthday-day celebration were: 1. The Lion King in 3D; 2. Dinner at La Tasca. It goes without saying that The Lion King rocked. I was worried that the afternoon showing would be sold out because all the kiddos around here are on their 'half-term break,' or 'fall break' as it's known in our homeland. I was relieved to find that our assigned seats (yes, they were assigned) were in the middle of the screen about half-way up in the theater. Perfect! So we, and the other 8 people in the theater ('theatre'), immensely enjoyed the movie ('film') spread out in our own little spaces. It was nice of the seat assigners to not pack us all side by side. That would have been awkward. I just don't get why they assign the seats. The other strange thing is that periodically, someone employed by the theater comes into the auditorium with night vision goggles to ensure that no one is illegally recording the movie. Everything is ridiculously regulated over here.

Ready and waiting with our 3D glasses on. Cue epic animated sunrise. "NAAAHHHHH SIN BUENYA!!!" (That was the phonetic spelling of the opening of Circle of Life.)

After a quick ride to the grocery store and then home to unpack our basket o' groceries, we went to La Tasca for dinner. This beautiful little Spanish restaurant served us a bountiful feast of delicious tapas. End result = stuffed tummies and a profound desire to revisit our beloved Spain. Our waiter looked exactly like Cristiano Ronaldo and had a pure, smooth Spanish accent. I wish I would have photographed our food because it was the best meal I've eaten since our 1 year anniversary dinner at Pierponts in Kansas City back in August. We had patatas bravas, chorizo, albondigas (meatballs), a tortilla (not the flat flour things we think of), croquetas, paella, and churros con chocolate. Wow. So flipping good. We previously ate at La Tasca in London back in 2009 at the end of our study abroad in Spain. At the time, we judged it to be mediocre. I'm sure it has been just long enough since we were in Spain for us to forget what authentic cuisine tastes like, but this was the closest thing I think we could have found, and infinitely better than we remembered. I know where I want to eat for my birthday! To quote the birthday boy, our intake of this Spanish meal "solidified Spanish food as the number one ethnic food in all of civilization."

Exterior view. I just pulled this off the internet so you could see it.

Interior view (also from the internet.) We sat at the little two-person table closest to the bar on the far left of this picture.

Our waiter's doppleganger.

All in all, it was a low key and successful un-birthday un-extravaganza. I convinced Matthew to open part of his gift from me, which wasn't very exciting, but he now has some nice "Cosmetic Lad" after-shave lotion from a store called Lush Cosmetics. I think they exist in the States, just not in Oklahoma.

As appealing as this natural display of almonds and grass and what appears to be saw dust is, this is not the presentation format Matthew received when he got this present. It was more like, "Here. Close your eyes. Stick out your hands. Ta-dah! Unwrapped present. Hope you like it." He did.

Tomorrow, since it is his actual birthday, Matthew will open his other cards from our sweet families that sent them all the way across the Atlantic. Despite his blatant disregard for other rules, my man is very particular about gift-opening ones. You do NOT open them early. Period. If you do, you ruined the occasion. I prefer to spread my gifts out over the longest period of time possible, making a birthday into a birthweek or birthmonth if necessary.

Quick disclaimer: I'm going to get sentimental for a short minute and do a cliché blog tribute. You have been forewarned.

I am very proud of my 23 year-old husband. He has accomplished a lot in his two decades. He has traveled to 8 countries (if you count the Vatican as 1), including two trips to Honduras and Mexico for missions work. He has gotten an outstanding education, completing a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with minors in Economics and Spanish. Of course now he is working on the Master's in Bioscience Enterprise at the most prestigious institution in the world before going on to Baylor College of Medicine. He is incredibly smart, and yet socially adept. He is approachable and friendly and humble. (In fact, he will hate reading this part of my post and ask that I remove it immediately due to his embarrassment.) I could go on and on. But above all his other impressive characteristics, my favorite is his heart. He earnestly seeks to follow and please the Lord, giving the glory back to Him for all his achievements. He tells me how pretty I look when I know my face is pimply, my butt is flabby, and my clothes don't fit. He puts up with my emotional eruptions, ugly crying and all. I have no doubt that he will be the best father to our future children... that's a very, very distant future, by the way. He is going to become a great physician, modeling his career after that of The Great Physician. These first 23 years are but a glimpse of the adventure ahead. I'm just glad I get tag along. I will go ahead and steal this quote from Pinterest because I think it sums up how I feel: "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." Thank you to everyone who played a part in making Matthew Tyler the man he is today. You did a splendid job, and I appreciate him more than I could ever explain. I love my hubby. Happy 23rd birthday!

One Kings 19...

Turned the alarms off this morning instead of hitting snooze, so we didn't get up in time for church. Nay, not even in time for the 11:30am service. (Sorry, I've always wanted an occasion to use the word "nay.") We must be more tired than we realize because we have gotten more sleep in the past two days than I ever dreamed (no pun intended) that we could need.

Although the morning was already gone, we still managed to have a fairly productive afternoon. Matthew worked rather diligently on his "Prezi," which is just a fancy format for a presentation. I crafted and wrapped some Christmas gifts. (I have now begun the countdown. 62 days, 4 hours, 20 minutes, and some seconds. Thank you, xmasclock.com. I understand that it is not even Halloween, but it doesn't feel very autumnal around these parts. Not seeing very many colorful leaves or festive pumpkins...so I'm skipping straight to Christmas. It's better anyway.)

Long story short, we went to the evening service at Holy Trinity. It was the most similar to a "normal" evangelical format that we've been a part of since we've been here. They sang Phil Wickham, which is always a glorious thing, and the guest speaker's message was targeted right at me. There was a time for invitation at the end, which was apparently a foreign concept for this congregation. The normal head vicar (pastor) got up and explained the situation. He said not to be "freaked" by the show of emotion of the people who had come forward for prayer. It wasn't like there was a crazy revival going on with people speaking in tongues or screaming or jumping up and down. It was a very orderly time. Some people were crying, but that happens quite commonly when you break down enough to admit that you need someone else's help or prayers. I guess it goes back to the stoicism that characterizes the British. Always maintain that stiff upper lip. Keep calm and carry on and all that jazz.

As I mentioned, the guest speaker (Mike Pilavachi), could have probably pointed his finger straight at me and I wouldn't have been offended because the message was so specifically tailored to what I needed to hear. He taught out of "One Kings 19" (not "First Kings 19"), which is the story of Elijah being encouraged by God at a particularly low point. I'll let you do the background reading if you wish, but basically, Elijah had just come off a pretty significant high. On Mt. Carmel he had shown the prophets of Baal (a false god) who was really Boss (aka, our God). However, Elijah was discouraged when he came down from his literal and figurative mountain because he was feeling very alone. Four times in this short passage he mentions that he "is the only one <follower of God> left." He kind of throws himself a pity party under a tree and falls asleep asking God to just kill him now and get it over with.

Now, I am by no means at the point that I am wishing I were dead. All you moms out there that are reading this do not need to drop everything to call me and make sure that I'm alright. I promise, I'm fine!!! I also do not feel super lonely because I have Matthew here with me. But, there have been a few days when I have come down from the high of traveling to a new place or going on a small adventure and thought, "I would really love to be on the other side of that ocean right now with my friends and family..." or "Gee, wasn't it nice when I had a consistent group of people my age that I could spend time with and bond with over a movie or snacks or crafting?" etc.

Then, I heard this sermon. Here are the key points as I interpreted them and as I felt God was conveying them to me:

When Elijah hit his lowest and was down in the valley (literally), feeling like the only one out there who felt so estranged, God didn't respond to Elijah in the way we might expect. He didn't tell him to suck it up, quit feeling sorry for himself, and get back out there to convert people. In His neverending grace and mercy, He did the opposite.
1. He encouraged Elijah to rest and He took care of his physical needs. An angel (from the "catering corp") brought him food and water and told him to go back to sleep and take another nap. Funny how our problems seem way more insurmountable when we are physically and emotionally drained. (We all know that can't be my excuse anymore after all the sleep I've gotten this weekend! haha)
2. He took Elijah up Mt. Horeb and showed him that the 'big events' were not where He could be found. He has Elijah experience an earthquake, a mighty wind, and a blazing fire; but, God is not in any of those impressive and obvious phenomena. Instead, He reconnects with Elijah through a still, small whisper. The high Elijah had felt on Mt. Carmel was not meant to sustain him. A sweet and personal intimacy with God on Mt. Horeb would be his renewal. As much as we can become addicted to the adrenaline highs that come from seeing God do blatant and miraculous things for us, we have to remember that He will provide for us in the most subtle ways if we stop to pay attention.
3. He gave Elijah a partner and encourager in the faith. As soon as Elijah comes down Mt. Horeb, he meets Elisha. Elisha would serve as a fellow believer and friend in ministry for Elijah. Isn't it so thoughtful of God to bring just the right people to our lives at just the right time? (Most recently for me - Paola and Jen and John Cooper.)
4. He revealed to Elijah that he really wasn't "the only one left." In verse 18, He tells him that there are yet 7,000 Israelites that have not bowed down to Baal. Of course, God only shared this little tidbit after having Elijah learn all those other key points. Again, isn't it just like God to have the direct answer to our prominent complaint but decide to treat the underlying issues first?

I came away from that message extremely encouraged and wanted to get it written down (or typed) so that I could look back and remember it. It's good for me to be reminded that the God of Elijah is the same God of Kelsey. His character has not and will not change. I can learn from stories of the Old Testament, and they can be realistically applicable to the 21st Century.

If this post was not your cup of tea, feel free to disregard it. There will be a new one tomorrow. However, I hope at least one other person can take something away from the lesson I have learned today. Thanks for reading!

Re"shed"uled...

Kelsey Kathleen does NOT get up before the sunrise for many things. Working out? Heck no. Disney vacation? Heck yes. Meteor shower? Possibly. Tour of Bath and Stonehenge this morning? Absolutely, yes. Got up at the crack of dawn, nagged Matthew until he got up, and then we both rode our bikes in the dark (with our lights flashing) to the tour bus pickup point. Estimated departure of the bus was at 7:30am. When we arrived at 7:20, there was not a bus in sight. At 7:30 we began to wonder if we had showed up at the wrong place or time. A few minutes later, I got a call from our tour guide (also named Matt) saying that the bus had unfortunately "broken down on the way to collect you. I'm afraid we will have to re"shed"ule for next weekend or you can certainly get a full refund." Well, that was a giant bummer.

On the upside, we were not on the bus hours from home when it decided to malfunction. Thank you, Lord, for looking out for us. Another plus, we returned home and immediately fell back asleep. I finally dragged my hiney out of bed for lunch around 11:30am (I know, rough life), and forced Matthew to get up around noon. So, we are well rested and refreshed, ready for a long weekend with virtually no plans for the next two days. (Matt does not have class on Monday due to a professor being out of town.)

We decided our only feasible option was to explore locally because you can't exactly plan a cheap excursion or book an inexpensive hotel on the same day that you want to leave. Thus, we decided to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum, which is currently showcasing a Vermeer exhibit and has free admission. (By Vermeer exhibit, I mean 3 Vermeer paintings mixed in among other Dutch contemporaries housed in a hall that was exceptionally crowded and warm. Not what I had envisioned.) There are a wide variety of collections though, from ancient Egyptian artifacts to Renaissance furniture to Picasso sketches. I decided that my favorite room had a bunch of sparkly shiny things in it. The collection was entitled, "Splendor and Power: Imperial Treasures from Vienna." Basically, I concluded that homegirl can appreciate some gold and diamonds and various precious metals and gemstones more than she can paintings of naked ladies and medieval cannons. Call me unrefined or whatever, but I like the pretty stuff. By the way, there were a pair of gold earrings in the Cyprus exhibit that were approximately 2200 years old, and they could easily have passed for today's latest style. What goes around comes around I guess.

I couldn't take any pictures of the actual artwork, so I did what I could to show you how cool the architecture of the building itself was.

Walking up to the entrance. The door is under that arch in the bottom of the picture.

A little out of order, but this was the vantage point from where we parked our bikes before we walked up.

Under the portico from the back side of the Vermeer banners.

Central dome of the building in the entryway. Thought it was pretty impressive with the windows letting the sky inside.

Another dome in one of the galleries. Had a creepy Medusa face in the middle. Once again, the sky lights were a nice touch and really made it feel open.

Instead of going straight home and being lame, we biked towards King's College for an impromptu self-guided tour. I am intrinsically a rule-follower, so when I saw a sign that said "College closed to visitors today" and noted the person checking student IDs at the door, I was inclined to go on home and resume my craft projects from yesterday. "Kelsey, Kelsey. It's all about the perception. If you look like you know what you're doing and walk with a purpose, they will let you in," Matthew informed me. He corrupts my character. He flashed his Girton College ID, I walked beside him like I owned the joint, and we strolled right past the guard. Exhilarating! There must have been some kind of formal occasion in the King's Chapel because everyone was walking around in their Harry Potter robes and formal attire. I'm sure we stuck out like a sore thumb, especially because we stopped every five seconds to take pictures, but no one kicked us out. Matt also mentioned that I looked more like a local today and that I could totally pass for a Cambridge student because I was wearing a collared shirt under a sweater with messy hair and hipster glasses. I was secretly kind of proud of how native I looked.

I know we showed you some pictures before of King's during our punting adventure, but here are some more. Wish we could do it justice.

From the bridge crossing the river. Those punts are in the same area that we were when I was driving our punt a couple weeks ago.

Don't really know why there are cattle grazing on the other side of the river directly behind King's. Man, do they have the best view in town! Lucky animals.

The river was crowded today! We saw many traffic jams.

When panorama 'stitching' goes awry. This would have been a great view of the inner courtyard with the chapel straight ahead and the front entrance to the college on the right. The river would be hidden behind the building on the left. Oops!

View of the front entrance from the inside. Can't believe we snuck in. We used the back entrance though. It's less conspicuous.

A less messed up view of the inner court.

This is the closest we've gotten to the King's Chapel yet. Each pane of glass reflects the light a little differently. It's an imposing structure.

Ahh...when panoramas go right. Definitely one of my favorite spots. It's just quintessential Cambridge. If you see a post card, it probably has an image similar to this on it. Wasn't really a bad day afterall. I'm still astounded that we live here.

After church tomorrow we will probably be boring old fogies and come home so Matt can finish an assignment... but then... Monday is going to be "Celebrate-Matthew's-23rd Birthday-A-Day-Early-Day!" Since he doesn't have class, our tentative plan involves going to see Lion King 3D at the Grafton Center Vue Cinema and then going to dinner either at a Spanish tapas restaurant or an Indian food place. Yummy, yummy! I'll let you know how the festivities go.