Easter Break

So, I am pretty jealous of the British school holiday schedule. These guys get a week off half-way between each term and a break at the end of each term, too! Today, the England kids started their Easter break. They are off until April 19th!

God was definitely answering some prayers of mine today. I have been feeling so tired for the past few days, just completely shattered! And in effect, I have been pretty grumpy, too. I knew today would be a challenge, so I prayed that God would wake me up and give me some patience and love for these kids! Not only was I full of energy today, I only shouted at the kids once! Crazy. I know that the Spirit's been helping me today, because I totally get way too frustrated to not shout!

Today, I had Youngest all day and I picked the girls up at noon. We all had a nice time at lunch… it was pretty chill. I made them whatever they wanted for lunch and they actually ate it all! Then, I had a nice surprise for their dessert: 'Corners' yogurt in their favourite flavour, strawberry shortcake. After that, they did a little Easter-egg hunt in the kitchen that I had set up for them. I even made them some bunny and swan balloons and set up the 'pin-the-egg-on-the-bunny' we used at church on Sunday.

Later, we went back to 'Hickory Dickory's' for some play-time. It was a good day… until I forgot to take Middle to her tutor's—yikes! But then I played with Willow and forgot all about it :P

The Effects of Time Travel

So, I went to the quiz tonight with Aussie and we competed again under our team name 'The Foreigners'. We lost again, BUT the last question of the game was 'What sci-fi program features 'Dr. Sam Beckett?'

The answer is obvioiusly Quantum Leap, the greatest sci-fi program ever to grace the small screen… so at least we got that one right :P

I have been sooo exhausted this week! I am sleeping well and eating right, but I just so fatigued all day long! *yawn* It must be this 'springing ahead' business with the clocks.

P.S. Creme Egg Mobile

Sometimes my plans don't work out… but then something awesome happens anyway!

Big Ben

http://www.caminandosinrumbo.com/england/london/bigben/bigben4.jpg

Good Evening! Over here in the UK, we have just changed our clocks this weekend! For some reason North America set their clocks ahead 2 weeks ago! Anyways, I am exhausted right now and it's only just passed 9:00 pm. *yawn!*

So, the plan for this weekend was for Aussie and I to attend the Everything Conference in London on Saturday with my church, meet up with Stefa for a dinner party, stay over in a hostel and visit Hillsong in the morning.  But Aussie and I just didn't plan very well. On Friday, I decided to look for a hostel to stay in… but every hostel I called was either much too expensive or booked up!! We had to come back to Birmingham. In the morning, we set out to find the park where we would catch our coach to London. We ended up being half an hour late because we were looking at the wrong park on the map! Eventually, we got on the bus and left Brum. When we arrived, we were one of the last groups to be seated. Pretty soon, I began to feel pretty bad about holding up the bus ride… it turns out, since we were late, we couldn't get in to the seminars we wanted because we hadn't come soon enough to choose. So, instead of hearing a talk about the Gospel & Arts and Media, I ended up sitting in on a talk about the Gospel & Work in general. It was still a great talk and I definitely made some relevant notes, but it was a shame to go all the way to London to not hear about arts and media… Oh well. I was a bit disappointed to miss seeing Stefa, but I had a great chat with a few people on the bus ride home and Aussie and I decided to get some curry upon our return.

One of our friends from church suggested a local Balti house and we decided to give it a go. But there turned out to be a queue when we arrived— the wait was 45 mins! Luckily, a couple offered to share a table with us! (Let's call them Poppy and Mick). I have to admit, although I was quite grateful to get a table so quickly, I was a little wary about sharing a table with strangers. But we got into some small talk and 'what do you do's' and Mick mentioned that he worked in the media and had interviewed some obscure Canadian bands. Then he asked me 'have you heard of downhere?' Now, you probably haven't heard of downhere, but I LOVE THEM! Their album 'Wide-Eyed and Mystified' is actually number 2 on my desert island list, no joke. I said 'yeah, I love downhere!' and looking to Aussie 'they're that Christian band I'm always telling you about'. We had just found some common ground. Mick and Pippa turned out to be Christians as well! We ended up having a lovely night of good food and great conversation. Hmmm… I have just read that back and the way I have written it does make it seem as if I can only enjoy meeting new people if they are Christian, which is not the case at all. And certainly, good conversation can be had with anyone of any religion… but it was a nice surprise, I guess.

Not staying in London overnight also meant that I could help out with the kids at church this morning. We had an Easter party, complete with 'pin the egg on the Easter bunny', egg rolling competitions, crafts and lots and lots of chocolate and sweets. It was pretty fun to run around with a bunch of kids that actually want to play! It reminded me of camp *tear*. There are these two boys whose Dad is a real Brummie and they just have THE BEST accents you have ever heard. Oi reellay luhv the why thay spayk! After church, I was invited over for lunch to the house of a couple in church who are in leadership. It was great to sit around and chat with them and some of the other kids' work people that joined us. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon.


In true Sunday form, I didn't arrive home from lunch until nearly 5pm!

Hello Man Sitting in the Park

It was raining quite heavily this morning, but after I had finished the ironing for the day, the sun came out! I convinced myself to go for a run (it always takes a lot of convincing I hate exercise more than Oprah). I ran down to the local park, which is looking more beautiful every day as the trees grow little buds and the first crocuses of Spring blanket the grass. Soon, the paddle boats will be available to rent for paddling around the fountains and more and more people will be seen sitting on the many park benches and walking their dogs. Warm weather is on it's way!

I discovered last week that my Visa makes me eligible to volunteer to work with Oxfam at some of the UK's summer music festivals! I applied to work in the Oxfam shop at the Isle of Wight Festival, Glastonbury Festival, and Bestival. Festivals have become the thing to do in the UK if you are a music fan and I definitely am! There are so many great bands playing these events, but obviously I am most excited to see Mumford & Sons! I have been listening to their album all day today. It is beautiful.

I will have to turn my weekend trips into staycations so I can save $ for my crazy summer!

What Youngest said:

Youngest: "Do you have a baby in your tummy?"

Me: "No!!!"

Youngest: "Then why is it so big?"

I am slightly mortified by Youngest's observation. My tummy's not that big! Especially not big enough to look pregnant!!!

Spring Showers

Today, it rained the soft kind of rain that you imagine when you hear Norah Jones sing 'I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof'. The April Showers are early!

I had to run an errand for The Mum, so I stopped off in Harborne after dropping the kids at school. I took a stroll up and down the High Street until the shops open and then I got myself a nice coffee. I did a bit of long-overdue shopping for certain hygiene products that I have been going without. I also splurged this week and got myself an iTunes gift card so I could buy some of my favourite UK music! Unfortunately, that gift card didn't cover everything on my list, so I'll have to go back and get a few more tracks later on. There are just so many great bands over here! I got the Mumford & Sons album 'Sigh No More', a few Paolo Nutini Songs, 'Kiss With a Fist' by Florence and the Machine and…







Enjoy!

Summer Heights High

Check out some clips! Hope you enjoy!

I love when I hear new terms for 'redhead'. Jonah and his friends are Polynesian islanders and they've been picking on this 'Ranga'(orangutan). I especially enjoy the moment at 0:23. bahahaha!


Ja'mie is an exchange student from a private school and she wants to plan a formal, but they've been banned at Summer Heights High. So, she puts on this presentation to convince her principal to allow a formal.


Mr. G writes a musical about a Summer Heights High student who has recently died from an overdose of ecstasy.


(Jonah, Ja'mie and Mr. G are all played by writer and creator, Chris Lilley)

My Friday

I had quite a busy day yesterday— it was great!

After the kids were in school, I went for a run in the park. It was such a beautiful morning! The sun was shining, the grass is green and crocuses are poking their way up through the soil. Later on, I took a walk to the French café in Moseley and enjoyed a delicious smoked-salmon sandwich. The café was pretty busy, though and a bit noisy, so I came home to enjoy some quiet. I played some worship songs on my guitar for the first time in weeks! It was great… although my fingers are a bit sore today. I need to play more often. In the evening, Aussie and I went to an event called 'Impact' that is put on by the students and 20's group at church. They had 3 acts playing, including this folky/celtic band that has actually played Glastonbury in the past! Later, we same back to mine (the family were away) to watch some Australian comedy. OMG, check out 'Summer Heights High' and 'We Can Be Heroes'. The humour is similar to 'The Office', so if you are a fan of Michael Scott, and PB&J, check it out!

Well, I'm off to a party at Aussie's house!

Erin Go Bragh (most often translated as 'Ireland Forever')

Last night, I had donned my favourite pyjamas, opened my laptop and curled up in front of the couch to watch 'American Idol'. Wednesday is usually a stay-in-and-babysit night for me, so I had resigned myself to missing out on the local St. Patrick's Day celebrations. But, at last minute, I was released from my duties as The Mum and The Dad had decided to forgo their trip to the cinema. Hurriedly, I peeled off my pj's and jumped into a a basic white tank, a black cardigan, a denim skirt, my black boots and—not to forget the occassion— hulk-green tights. I texted Germany to retract my previous refusal of her invitation to join her at the local Irish pub and legged it down the hill into Moseley.

We ended up having a great time! I met some more of her German friends and we all took advantage of the free hat giveaway, all modeling leprechaun hats! I enjoyed some Irish Smithwick's shandy (beer and red lemonade) and we all sang along to some live oldies, provided by a lively tenor and his acoustic guitar. We, uh, made some friends, too. A gentleman at the neighboring table had us pose in a photo with a little laminated cut-out of his friend who had chosen to spend St. Paddy's Day with his wife at home, instead of with his man-friends at the pub. It was great! I'm so glad I could go out to celebrate after all!

Car Tunes

I've been listening to waaaaay too much BBC Radio 1 lately, so I went in search of cassette tapes. Luckily, one of the charity shops in Harbourne still has a pretty healthy collection of cassettes. So, I picked up some CLASSICS!

U2's The Joshua Tree

The Verve's Urban Hymns

Supertramp's Breakfast in America (which is actually horrible quality)

Paul Simon's Graceland

Time and Tide Concert

This weekend was so busy! I was in rehearsal all afternoon on Saturday for my concert with the University of Birmingham Choir. It was pretty rough, to be honest. We were rehearsing with the orchestra in a room completely wrong for the number of people in there. We couldn't see the conductor and it was really difficult to hear all the parts… it was a bit worrying since it was pretty much our last rehearsal before our performance!

On Saturday night, Aussie and I texted everyone we could think of to come out to meet us at the local Irish pub. We had a great time, just sitting around and chatting! I was a little disappointed at the lack of St. Patrick's Day festivities going on! I guess the real parties are happening on the 17th, but it will be in the middle of the week— not very practical for late-night partying! But I guess there were a lot of green decorations.

Sunday was the big day! Our run-through started quite early in the afternoon, so I had to leave church early. Fortunately, I was able to stay long enough to see the professional story-teller in the congregation perform her version of the book of Esther.  I felt a little better about our performance after we sang through our pieces again—plus, I saw how gorgeous the Symphony Hall is! We took a break between the rehearsal and the performance, so my choir-stall buddies and I headed over to 'The Copthorne' Hotel for some tea.

The performance actually turned out pretty well! The orchestra is full of so many talented musicians and we were privileged to be joined by a wonderful mezzo-soprano as we performed Elgar's 'The Music Makers'. Verdi's 'Te Deum' was so beautiful— and now I can't get it out of my head!!!

My Day with Youngest

Today, both The Mum and The Dad had to work today, so I had the privilege of spending my day with Mr.Youngest while the girls were at school. It was kind of fun, actually.

After some early morning television, Youngest and I took a little walk into Moseley to do some shopping for fruits and veggies. I also treated him to some chocolate milk and a magazine. He doesn't really like magazines per se, but he really likes the toys that come with them. Today, it was some kind of mini action figure, a toy gun and a 'toxic snot'-coloured pen. We stopped at the new French café beside the supermarket for a cookie (and a coffee for me). This new café is lovely! It is decorated so nicely, with Art Nouveau posters and has a great selection of pastries and baked-goods and they even play 1930's French music. I'll definitely be making regular visits… especially if they set up wifi. It started to rain on the way home, so we had to pick up the pace so avoid getting too wet.

After we dried off, I made us some eggs for lunch. I had an egg and cheese sandwich and Youngest had a dippy-egg—I had no idea what a 'dippy-egg' was before I came to England, although I'm sure I must have eaten one or two as a child. A dippy-egg is a soft-boiled egg into which you dip toasty, buttered 'soldiers'.

Later still, we went back to that giant indoor playground where we have been many times. It was a great idea, since I had to forgo my usual Friday run to hang out with Youngest. I definitely got a lot of exercise chasing the boy up the ladders, down the slides, through the ball-pits and around the trampolines.

I am exhausted now, though. Thankfully, The Mum was at the girls' school at 4pm to help out with the school's 'disco', so I dropped him off so I could have a couple hours of rest before they all arrived home. *yawn* I'll sleep well tonight!

More Canals than Venice!

Hiya! So, I went on a little run in the park yesterday and I decided to go a bit further than normal. I turned left at one of my usual right-turns and soon found myself jogging along one of Birmingham's many canals. I don't think that this particular canal is used for water transport these days, but Birmingham is home to over 100 miles of navigable canals that are still in use! Birmingham actually has more canals than Venice, believe it or not! The canals were first built during the Industrial Revolution in the 1700's and were used mainly for transporting raw materials and manufactured goods in and out of the city. This transport of good was essential for local industrialists like Josiah Wedgewood and Matthew Boulton.

Image: http://home.clara.net/rod.beavon/bham.htm

Although the canal I ran along was overgrown with moss, hidden away and a little smelly, many of Birmingham's canals are well-kept attractions. In fact, many of the main canals run through the city centre. I remember seeing restaurant-boats floating by as I ate dinner in Brindley place with Aussie in the autumn. Hmmm… maybe I'll have to visit the canal system to take a closer look!

The Sun'll come out!

Well, spring has sprung in the UK! I probably shouldn't get used to it, but the sky has been a gorgeous periwinkle blue and so sunny for the past 5 days! It is gorgeous! I guess I'd better make the most of it while it lasts…

First Weekend of March!

I had a very lovely weekend over here across the pond. On Friday, I cooked my famous 'Tortilla Soup' (a recipe that I have borrowed from Canadian Living) with Hungary and some friends from church. We had fun cooking together and laughing and sharing stories. Later, we curled up for a chick flick! It was definitely a great way to spend a Friday night!

Saturday, I woke up absurdly early because one of our neighbors' burglar alarm went off… and continued to ring for hours!!! When I had properly woken up, Hungary and I got in my car for a little road trip to a little town called Chipping Campden. We drove along the windy roads in the beautiful countryside of the Midlands and eventually reached the gently rolling hills of the Cotswolds. As we got closer to our destination, we began to see cottages and houses made from 'Cotswold stone', a sort of sandy-yellow limestone.

Chipping Campden is a town that flourished because of the wool trade in the Middle Ages and in effect displays a series of large stone houses on the main High Street. There is also a really cool 'Market Hall', where merchants would gather to sell their wares. We saw a couple of beautiful churches and also some very old cottages with thatched roofs. I really enjoyed strolling through the graveyards and looking at the beautiful lettering on each of the gravestones. In one of the cemeteries, Each grave seemed to be used as a flowerbed; many graves had sprouted flowers, plants and even bushes. I loved how new life came out of the graves… a nice illustration for the coming Easter season.

My favourite thing we did in Chipping Campden was having tea at 'The Bantam Tea Rooms'. When we first arrived, we stopped in for some tea (Hungary had coffee) and a crumpet. At the end of our visit, we returned to the tea shop, where Hungary had some cake and I enjoyed a delicious 'cream tea', complete with scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and 2 hot cups of tea.

I want to make a return trip to the Cotswolds in the future. Absolutely I do! Coming from Birmingham, it was only about a  hour's drive and it was such a contrast to the big city! It was so quiet and just lovely!

Today, I went to church and joined some friends for a Sunday lunch! I was having such a good time that I didn't get home until after 4 pm!

Well, hope you enjoy the pictures!