My input on the gay marriage debate..

With all the gay marriage debates going on in America, I thought this was worth sharing:

:)

Made it to America!

The perks of changing from British time to American time - it's not even 8 am yet and I've already eaten breakfast, worked out, showered, and am doing some research!  The downside is I'll be falling asleep by 9 pm tonight.

As you can probably tell, I made it safely back to America, the best country in the world - I know it's the best country in the world because I was told it's the best country in the world about 483935 times from the time I got off the plane in Chicago to when I flew home to Madison.  I never used to notice how much Americans love America but I see it now. They even played a video in the immigration line that shows rocket ships taking off at Cape Canaveral and American flags and Americans just loving America. Too funny!

No big plans for today.... except driving around and singing in the car :)  I've just finished my tea and will be hitting the road shortly to drive around aimlessly and belt out some tunes! Oh America, how I've missed you!

Three exciting things

1. THE SUN CAME OUT YESTERDAY! I know.. it's hard to believe.  But it happened. I even took a picture to document it.

2. We got our first Graze box in the mail!  It's my new favourite thing. You sign up online, fill out the snacks you'd like and the snacks you wouldn't and decide how often you want it delivered.  They put it in a box small enough to fit through the postbox so you don't have to be home to get it from the delivery guy.  And it's full of healthy snacks and treats!  This time, we had dried fruit, flapjacks, a bread thing, and some more dried fruit.  I love it. We only get one every two weeks, but the way Mat devoured the first box I think we're going to need to get one a week :)

3. We're going to see Louis C.K. at the O2 tonight!  I think he's the most hilarious man on the planet and I am SO excited.  If you've never heard him, watch this video - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8m5d0_everything-is-amazing-and-nobody-i_fun#.UUmiq6WWRSU 

I just think he's so funny :)

Right. That's all. Off to lunch!

Nothing exciting but a post nonetheless!

Hello blog followers!  Mat had the day off on Friday and Saturday so we did a lot of laying around and eating.  We did make it to the gym though!  We have to walk to the gym because the road the bus goes down is closed.. it's 1.3 miles which is quite a long way in the cold rain.  There was a protest on our walk, so we stopped and checked it out.  There was over 1000 people.  They had a bus and police escorts!

After we spent the afternoon at the gym, we came home and baked cookies (as you do).  Then we watched England get spanked in the Six Nations rugby.  Then we went to check out the pub around the corner.  It's about a 15 second walk from our house and we'd never been there!  It's called the Swimmer at the Grafton Arms.

I think we'll be going back. It was cute and little and affordable.

That's all! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone :)

Tuesday

Today a few girls in my programme and I had the chance to visit a youth court to observe the morning proceedings.  To say it was a depressing experience is an understatement.  I actually cried a little bit (yes, heart-of-stone Allie actually teared up!).  It's really difficult to watch a child get sent to juvenile detention.

I've written and rewritten this post about 5 times trying to articulate my feelings about how society is failing its youth but it doesn't sound right. So I've decided to just leave it at I think society is failing its youth and it makes me very sad.

Now here's a picture of my first dim-sum experience with Mat this afternoon!  It was really yummy!  I had a vegetarian option because most dim-sum has fish in it and I just don't like to eat things that come from the ocean.  I have to say I liked the fried stuff better than the steamed stuff.. how very American of me :)

I also chopped a few inches off my hair and got some highlights at a very posh salon in Marble Arch.  I could only afford it because I bought a groupon :)

We're right in the eye of the coursework storm here.  I've been spending every waking second reading about alternative responses to child protection or pretending to write intelligent things in my dissertation about juvenile detention facilities or working on a presentation about child abuse.  Needless to say, we don't learn about many positive happy things on my course, but I am learning a lot and working really hard!  

NEWSFLASH: Hey America.. I'll be in you in a few weeks.  March 26-April 14. And I'll get to see Logan's handsome little face. CAN'T WAIT!

That's all for now because it's bed time!

Paris and Abby's visit

What an insane month it has been!  February definitely kept me busy!  After Kelsey's visit, Mat and I went to Paris for a couple days, then Abby came to visit for a week... all while I was frantically trying to finish a paper.  Needless to say I'm happy to have a day today to do nothing! My brain needs a break!
Here are just a few pictures from the last few weeks.  I took about 2 million pictures but blogger won't let me post that many :)

Paris Metro.. definitely not as nice as the London Underground.. London FOR THE WIN!

Me with my crepe and the Eiffel Tower!

We asked a random girl to take our picture.. just to Mat's right behind us is the beautiful glass pyramid in the Louvre courtyard.. clearly not a fantastic photographer but she did her best :)

See the pretty pyramid?

Notre Dame Cathedral

Arc de Triomphe

Mat with his disgustingly meaty frog's legs.. course number two after his snail appetiser. Yuck. French food is not for me!

Now onto Abby's visit!  We did so many touristy things and SO much walking!  The highlight was our absolutely freezing cold trip to Stonehenge. Probably the coldest day of the year and not a tree or building in sight to block the wind.  Needless to say we didn't meander around the rocks.. we practically ran!

Biffles at Stonehenge. That girl would not move out of our picture!

Me and some rocks :)

Harrods all lit up. Apparently it's something like 9000 lightbulbs!

British Museum! Cam and I have a photo in this exact spot from when we came to London in 2007.

It's my dream to go to Easter Island and see all these creepy statues.  Until I win the lottery, I'll have to settle for just seeing this one in the British Museum.

Pretty ceiling :)

Abby's last night in London. Twinkles and British food at Canteen!

I'll post the rest of the pictures on Facebook in the next few days (hopefully)! Also, I've been sitting here watching TV and accidentally watched Made in Chelsea.. I feel like it has made me lose a ton of brain cells.  How are these people famous?  If you're in America, it's similar to Laguna Beach but in Chelsea, the ritzy part of London, and WAY more scripted. 

Righty-o! Off to the gym!