Camping

So, over Halloween when everyone else in the state was dancing like crazy to silly music, I was freezing my butt off camping in Moab. I had a fantastic time with my friend, Denise, but it was a bit chilly. And there was even a bird in our tent! We named him Fredrick. It was my first experience with a tent heater, and I was very skeptical, although it's probably the only thing that kept my fingers from frostbite. We camped up a canyon, drove through parts of Arches, and hiked Negro Bill Canyon. It was beautiful. I can't believe I forgot about it, but here are some of the pictures. Yes, I know I'm a dork. I'm embracing my dorkiness!

Ridiculous!

Sometimes I find myself awkward. :) For example, I can't put on my mascara or put in my contacts without opening my mouth. Eyes open, mouth open. Ridiculous. I also can't swish with mouth rinse and take out my contacts at the same time. I find myself stopping the swishing while my finger goes into my eyeball to grab my contact. I can't quite figure it out because it's not like the motion of my finger is connected to the swishing of my mouth. Anyway, I figure it's like the whole walk and chew gum thing, which, I guess by pure luck, I can do!

The strange things I think about when I'm getting ready for bed.
Am I the only one?

Not My Babies, But I Love Them as if They Are

Watching the rain . . .

Our Cheesiest Grins

Just Me and the Boys

My Zoe Girl

A Phone Conversation I had with Zoe:

Zoe: Hi Shelley.

Me: What are you doing?

Zoe: I'm shopping. Guess what?

Me: What is it?

Zoe: (Screaming in excitement) We bought donuts!

Me: You what?

Zoe: (Screaming a little less): We bought donuts!

Me: Those will be yummy! Guess what I'm doing?

Zoe: What is it?

Me: I'm shopping for a birthday!

Zoe: *Gasps*

Me: A girl's birthday that's coming up soon.

Zoe: *Gasps*

Me: What might a girl want for her birthday?

Zoe: (Screams) Everything! Bye, Shelley, Love you!

At which point Jenni takes the phone and tells me Zoe really does want everything. How cute!

Because Sometimes I Need a Laugh

So, the other night I was out with a bunch of friends. We were going to a formal dance in our party dresses, and therefore, nobody had pockets. Well, I did want to take a piece of gum with me, so I put it in my bra (along with a few other things). Somewhere down the evening, I mentioned something about, "Oh, it's in my second purse," to which a girl replied, "Oh, your brocket?" I about died laughing right there. I don't know why, but that word just makes me giggle. Now, I know there may be some very confused men out there right now (if there are any reading this, that is). So, here's the definition of a brocket, provided by urbandictionary.com. It also makes me laugh.
BROCKET: When one uses their bra as a pocket, it is called a "brocket". A common requirement to having a brocket is to have boobs.
Man: Can you carry my cell? Woman: I don't have any pockets. Man: Put it in your brocket.

Have a great day! :)

Things to Smile About

My Grandma Wood, in her decreasing sanity, thinks that bottled water is the most ridiculous and hilarious thing on earth. Just even mention the words bottled water, and she used to laugh almost to the point of crying. I'm pretty sure she still thinks this. Anyway, today I saw a coupon for canned air. She would surely get a kick out of that! We're bottling and selling all these seemingly useless resources that are, in essence, free. :)

Today, I was showing my class an explicit example of what I wanted them to do. I said, "I want you to write your name here," as I'm putting my marker to paper, "Just like this!" And I proceeded to write Michelle--which is normal because it's my name--and then realizing I'd written that instead of Miss Husbands, quickly colored over it and wrote Miss Husbands. One girl sitting near the front began to laugh hysterically. I just turned and looked at her, and she said, "You wrote your real name!" She was laughing, I was laughing, my class was trying to guess my name, which they did, and we all had a short laugh. It was funny, awkward, and human. Have I mentioned how much I love my little class this year?

I heart my roommates; whichever one of them scraped my car off this morning is a saint. Too bad I slept in forever and didn't get to appreciate the full effect. Yes, I had to scrape my car again. :) This cement-like frost has got to go. It's going to be a long winter.

General Conference this weekend was wonderful! I had the opportunity to go to the Conference Center and listen to the Sunday morning session. Before the session started, we were able to listen to Music and the Spoken Word. The theme of the program today focused around the song Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing and talked about the Lord's help in our lives. It was a wonderful program! Then, a wonderful session of conference. Right now, my heart is full. Here is the wonderful message from Music and the Spoken Word today.

Hither by Thy Help I'm Come
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell
Some 3,000 years ago, Samuel the prophet led ancient Israel to victory over a powerful enemy. Samuel placed a large stone at the place of their deliverance and dedicated it as a monument to God’s assistance. He called the stone “Eben-ezer,” which meant “stone of help.” The stone became a symbol of the Lord’s goodness and strength.
This practice of raising memorials to divine help has deep roots in ancient Israel. Generations earlier, after the Israelites crossed the mighty Jordan River on dry ground and entered the promised land, their leader, Joshua, commanded the people to gather 12 stones from the river and build a monument. He explained that the purpose of the monument was to build faith in future generations, that “when [their] children ask . . . in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?” they could tell their children how the Lord helped them in their hour of need. The beloved hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” alludes to this biblical practice with these words:
Here I raise my Ebenezer;Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.Life is full of rivers to cross, full of challenges to overcome. However, those who see with an eye of faith understand that they did not cross their rivers alone. In a way, each of us could raise an Ebenezer, a memorial of the divine assistance, heavenly favor, and forgiveness extended to us. It may not be a monument of stone—indeed, hearts filled with humility and gratitude are the most meaningful memorials. Whatever form our memorial takes, acknowledging the help we’ve received renews our hope that by His good pleasure and in His due time, we will safely arrive at home.

www.musicandthespokenword.com

When Mom's Away

This is what happened when both of my sisters left the house at the same time. One baby saying, "Bye, Mom! Bye, Mom!" and the other sucking on his hand, whining a bit wondering where his mom is going. They were standing there for about five minutes! It was so stinking cute! Then, we had snacks and everything was fine. These boys LOVE popcorn! Oh, and one is wondering how much cookie he can get in his mouth at once.

What Matters Most

Home

I'm home. My vacation was wonderful, and I had a fantastic time. More pictures to come, hopefully sooner than later. But, I am home. I definitely know that I love living in America, and more specifically, Utah. Maybe this is where I'm supposed to be because no matter where I travel, I just love coming home to here. What a beautiful and clean state I live in. Lucky me.

Lazy Sunday

Today we got up early and took the bus across town to attend church. Church was from 10 to 1, and the people were very friendly. The ward was an older ward, with only just a handful of children. The lessons were wonderful, although it was exhausting listening to the Irish accent for three hours straight. A few of the older sisters that we talked to had visited Salt Lake City and one had even lived there for forty years. She was born here, lived downtown Salt Lake for most of her life, and moved back to Ireland to retire. There was also a sister missionary there from Hyde Park in Logan. I guess it just goes to show that it's a small, small world after all.
After church, we just hung out at the hotel, napping and reading, and then I went for a walk a bit later. Pretty uneventful day.

A Giant Excursion

Today we got up early, again, to go on a tour to the Giant's Causeway. Our tickets said that our bus departed at 9am. Well, when we got there at 8:50, they said, "Oh, it may be about 9:45 at this location." So, we walked over to the other location and were told, "It will be about 10 just around the corner." So, bascially, we just stood around forever trying to figure out where our coach was leaving from. Who knows where they were. Maybe they were just fittering about. Thursday, when we came in from the ferry, one of the bus guys said everyone in Scotland runs late. I guess he really wasn't kidding.

I love Asian tourists. While we were waiting, there was a group of Asian tourists who all quickly piled off the bus, took about 200 flashing photos while saying, "Ohhh . . . ahhh . . . ohhh," and then quickly climbed back on the bus, drove about three blocks, and did the same thing. They are so cute and funny to watch. Plus they are all about 5 feet tall. I feel giant. I kind of wish that I could be on their tour bus.

We got started on the tour at about 10:20 and stopped soon after that to look at another castle. We only had ten minutes, and by the time everyone got off the bus, we had about five minutes left. I didn't even get off the bus because I have enough castle pictures, and this castle wasn't that impressive. Our tour guide said that many of the guides joke about ABC tours: Another Bloody Castle. That made me laugh a bit.

We drove down to a small seaside town called Carrick-a-rede. There was a rope bridge that we could cross, but I didn't do it. We didn't have a ton of time there, and I was feeling a wee bit car sick. Our bus had problems with the air conditioning, and it smelled a bit like a gym locker. It was nice to walk along the cliffs of the beach and just get some fresh air.

We finally arrived at Giant's Causeway where we had lunch at the Causeway Hotel. After, we walked down the trail to the beach and causeway. It was beautiful! I wish that we would have spent the entire day here instead of going anywhere else! We were there for about 2 and a half hours, including lunch, and it was only enough time to do the first part of the trail. That place is just enormous! Here are some pictures and a short video of parts of the trail along Giant's Causeway.

Here are the Basalt Stepping Stones.

This is me relaxing on The Giant's Boot.

I know, I need to do a slideshow! That will be later for those, if any, that are interested.

Here are some pictures of a castle called Dunluc Castle. We didn't have time to walk down to it, only to take pictures. Sad! This is one that I would have liked to go in. Maybe because it's old and falling apart and not modernized. Misty, I know you will like that because it's kind of like erosion. :)

On the way home, I basically slept the whole way. Just more mountains and rolling hills, and one non-carsick girl.

Sicko

Friday, September 11, 2009

Today, I slept in! Yes, I think that sleeping in and naps are underrated. I think they are especially underrated when you don't feel well, which is the case today. I have a horrible chest cough. Hopefully I feel better soon and haven't picked up some strange foreign disease from the UK. Anyway, it was nice to sleep in because every day we've been up early and out doing something. I like to just relax on vacation.

At about 11, I walked down to St. George's Market which is a craft market that is held on Friday's in a corner of the city centre. It was actually a craft market and food market. I walked around looking at a few of the crafts, but there was nothing that I was crazy about. Then, I walked through the food sections. I have never seen so many types of fresh seafood in my life! I'm pretty sure I had the deer in the headlights look. There were squid, octopus, all types of shellfish, crabs, lobster, monkfish, salmon, prawns, shrimp, and a lot of things that I had no idea what they were. I think that I'll have to actually try more seafood one of these days. It would have to be in a city that is by the sea because I want it to be fresh! Today is not that day, but oh well!

After spending a few hours walking through the market, I bought a sandwich, soup, and rolls and came back to the hotel. Basically, the rest of my day went like this: lunch, sleep, sleep, drink, sleep, sleep, dinner, sleep, sleep, TV, sleep. Yep, I basically slept all day. I really needed it, especially since I was feeling so crappy! I hate it because I didn't come here to sleep, but when you're sick, you're sick. I can't tell if I'm getting better, but the sleep sure helped!

Land, Ho!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Today we rode the ferry from Stranraer to Belfast. The journey took about 2 hours and was calm the whole way. I was disappointed that we couldn't stand up top or on the sides. We could stand on the back of the ship, so here is a picture of that. It was pretty noisy though!
We took the hop on/hop off bus from the airport and around the city for the tour. It was the worst tour ever! We were sitting on top because it was a nice day. Then, they got on the expressway, and it was freezing! I had my hoodie zipped up and tightened around my face because it was so windy that my hair was practically braiding itself and the wind was turning my ears purple with cold.

Even though it was freezing, here are some of the things that I did learn. Belfast was the port city that built the Titanic. We saw the dry dock where the ship was built. The guide said, "Even though the Titanic was built here, we insist that it was fine when it left. That ship had an English Captain, a Scottish navigator, and hit a Canadian iceberg. We had nothing to do with it's sinking."
Other lame jokes, or slow torture, given by our guide:
Q: What's red and bad for your teeth? A: A brick.
Q: What's brown and sticky? A: A stick.

We got to see the Irish Parliment building. It was huge! Apparently, during WWII, the building was covered with manure, poop, and mud to hide it from the bombers that were flying over. The guide added, "If they would have opened their cockpits, they would have smelled it from a mile away." It is quite a beautiful building. There was heavy security, too. Our bus was searched, and for a minute I thought they were going to take our backpacks, but they didn't.

We drove through the town, and basically saw a bunch of murals and blown up buildings and car parks where the buildings used to be. Our guide said that during the civil war here about 10 years ago, if a building was blown up, they just turned it into a car park (parking lot). Apparently, Belfast has the best city parking of any large city around these parts.

The tour was basically a short history tour of the fighting that went on here during the civil war. We were told about all of the groups that were fighting: IRA, IRC, etc. Then, the guide said, "Even though many of these groups are no longer around, there is one group that is still going strong here in Belfast. It's the KFC, and their leader, the Colonel, is working hard to blow people up." Cheesy, but a bit funny. I admit, I laughed.

We drove by this church which has the biggest Celtic cross in the world. However, they also have a huge spire that was added to the building called the Hope Spire. This was added to remember the victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States. It's interesting to see and hear what other people around the world think about this event. We talked with a couple about it on the train the other day. I guess I didn't realize how much other people in other countries were impacted as much as they were. I guess it's because we all could have been on those planes or in the towers.

We truly live in a wonderful country. I love it here, but I love home more. I miss the beautiful Rocky Mountains and my beautiful state more each day.

09/09/09

What a day! First of all, the numbers just line up. September is a great month for numbers. I like it.
It's exhausting listening to people speak in a foreign language! Yes, I know that they speak English here, but with the thick accents, it takes extra brain power to listen and process what people are saying! More then once I've had to say, "Say that again," or "Slow down. I'm American." Usually people just laugh.
I had part of a traditional Scottish breakfast this morning. It consisted of a baked tomato, mushroom, potato scone, and a fried egg. I say part of a breakfast because I just couldn't eat it. I'm feeling sick lately. It's like a got bus sick and never got over it. I just woke up sick feeling. Blah.
We walked a bit around Loch Lomond today. The weather was beautiful for once! I actually felt the warm sun on my face! We walked to the pier and saw a few of the boats. We saw a group from Glascow College learning how to kyak and canoe in the loch. When we walked by about two hours later, they were still there! It makes me feel better about my canoe mishaps in the past.

While on the train for about four hours, we were able to see a lot of scenic Scotland. Very rural and hilly. I love the mountains. I love the rolling hills. And life is a musical.

We took the train from Balloch to Glascow to Ayr to Stranraer where we are staying the night at another bed and breakfast. Our train pulled right out onto the pier, where the line ended. It was beautiful! On recommendation from a local, we went to a Chinese/Cantonese place for dinner called Sun Kai. I had the orange chicken, and it was like breaded chicken in orange juice with pineapple. It was suprisingly quite good. Probably the best dinner that I've had yet in Scotland.

Tomorrow we're off to Belfast! Sorry, pictures later. :)

On the Road Again

Monday, September 7

Today, we rode the bus. Exciting and new, I know. After doing our laundry, we took a bus 2 and a half hours south to the town of Fort William. The same route we came home on yesterday. Yes, I was extremely bus sick. No, I didn't barf on the bus. However, I have reaffirmed my decision to have purchased a car and be contributing to the rise of greenhouse gases.

We had dinner at a small pub called Loch Iall. I had a chicken breast with BBQ sauce, chips (fries), and coleslaw. It's only the third time I've had a sit down dinner or lunch since we've been here--9 days now! Yesterday, we didn't want to have to buy food on Sunday, so we had apples, cheese, and bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The day before that, we had cheese and bread. I'm pretty sick of cheese and bread. I actually would love a nice salad or a big plate of veggies!

Well, it's about eight o'clock and the town has gone to bed. So, since I'm not going out to a pub, I guess I'll just be here at the hotel, watching bad British comedies and drinking hot chocolate.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Today we rode the Hogwart's Express . . . or the Jacobite Steam Train. You decide. We rode it to Mallaig, which is right on the coast. It was so cold and windy! Here are some pictures and videos of the ride and standing on the seashore.

Our train got back at 4, and at 5 we caught a bus to take us to the outskirts of Balloch. I have never been so close to throwing up on a bus! I think our bus driver thought he was a race car driver. Two plus hours on a narrow, mountainous road in the rain is not my idea of a good time. Hours later, as I am sitting here in my bed at the B&B, I'm still trying not to loose my earlier lunch of fish and chips. I could not be more excited to get on another long bus ride tomorrow . . . or something.