Scappy Lessons

The last time I went to England, it took me about 4 months to finish my scrapbook of the photos.  I was lazy, and uninspired and by the time I finished it, I wasn't its biggest fan, and I had already shown everyone my photos on my phone, so no one really cared about looking at the album.  After this trip I decided I would be better about scrapping the photos, and I would get it done as quickly as possible.  It's been a little over 2 weeks, and I just finished printing all of the photos, and a great deal of the journaling.  All that's left is some fun embellishing and filling a few holes.  I'm feeling so much better this time around!  But I did learn a few lessons along the way.

~ When you have a goal in mind, every Best Buy in the metropolitan area will stop selling Canon Selphy printer ink, so you'll be forced to wait on an order from Amazon.  The same will go for 6 x 8 album inserts.  Thank goodness for Scrapbook.com!  Speaking of 6 x 8 albums..

~ The rings in this size binder are either too small or I feel the need to print way too many photos.  That album is bursting at the seems...here's hoping the rings, while too tiny, are strong.

~ A SAG/AFTRA Backstage Broadway interview with Andrew Rannells is the perfect accompaniment for the "watching paint dry" activity level of printing photos.  I almost didn't realize I wasted hours of my life watching a printer spit out photos...

~ Not all photos look great printed.  I'm convinced iPhones trick your eye somehow by making you think you have an award-winning photo on your phone, but when it's printed, it looks like you took it underwater.

~ You will always lose the scissors, stickers, tape roll, or glue amongst your work area, and will then find it 20 minutes later, after you've opened a new one or grabbed another pair.

~ And lastly, getting the scrapbook done early, helps you remember all the lovely stories that happened on vacation which totally helps with the journaling.  Not everyone will read it, but at least it will make you happy!

The Story Behind a Photo

This is one of my most favorite photos I took on my trip. First off, it's Ice Cream which is always a good thing. Secondly, I think we can agree that it's pretty Instagram-worthy.  It's one of those photos that's just begging for a clever hashtag on Instagram. However, what I find even more interesting - and stressful since it happened to me - is the story behind the photo.

In this case, we were wandering around Padstow trying to decide on which Ice Cream shop would get our business.  There were so many, and we couldn't really decide.  We wandered just a bit further, and found an Ice Cream Parlor with homemade ice creams in all sorts of specialty flavors.  It was the perfect find!  After some indecision, I decided on 2 flavors.  Chocolate and the one I always get in England, Banoffee, in a waffle cone.  Both flavors were to die for!  So while I was waiting on my friend to choose hers, I went outside and snapped this photo so I could remember to scrapbook this yumminess when I got home.

As we both ate our ice creams, we mosied down to the coach stop to catch a ride back to our car.  That's when it happened.  One scary-a&$ seagull dive bombed my head a bit.  He got so close he brushed his feet against the top of my head.  I recovered and continued to walk. Then it happened again.  Though this time, I was a little too close to the edge of the sidewalk, and it took me a bit too off guard, and the stupid bird knocked me down, and made me drop my perfect ice cream cone - which he then pounced on and ate like he hadn't been fed in days! Of course, since it scared my friend too - who is more afraid of birds than I am - she just chucked her cone at him which is what he wanted in the first place.

So the moral of this story is, not all ice cream photos are perfect.  And sometimes they are - and if they are, a possibly homicidal bird may want it for himself...  Also, as a life lesson (I learned after this incident) when eating outside near birds, stay close to the wall.  They have to dive to get to you, and they won't do that if you're too close to the wall because they may dive into the wall (which I wouldn't mind really - since I now blame all birds for the loss of my perfect ice cream! - but I don't think they would like it...)

Friday Five

1. Even though, I'm still dealing with some terribly awful tech issues - some my fault, others not so much - I've been enjoying scrapbooking my England trip.  I love the way it's turning out.  I'm only half way through the trip, but now it's getting to the Cornwall fun, which is all beachy all the time, so that should be super fun to see come together!

2. I cannot wait to listen to this Podcast.  I love Jonathan Groff and honestly, how could a musical podcast be anything but fabulous?!

3. I love those dreamy Supernatural boys, and I'm always hoping they'll get some recognition from the late night shows.  Of course, it usually doesn't happen.  However, this week is Comic Con and they finally (finally!) appeared on Conan.  They were dreamy, and hilarious.  Jensen's Birthday surprise keg for Jared, with an added Keg Stand on national television will be hard to beat.  

4. Speaking of Comic Con - what about the new casting for the next Doctor.  A woman and a woman as super-talented as Jodie Whitaker?  Fabulous news!  I'm so happy to see the show move forward.  I loved Jodie on Broadchurch, and I think she'll be awesome as the Doctor.  And I'm also so happy to see so many of the fans getting on board - we won't mention the jerks that are actually taking the time to complain to the BBC about it being a woman...

5. Last but not least, I'm going to New York tomorrow to see a show I know NOTHING about.  Apparently it's called Puffs and it's about Harry Potter, other than that, I've got no idea.  One of my friends is a big HP fan, and she's seen it - and loved it.  Now she wants all of us to go see it too.  I was a little taken aback when everyone was planning to wear HP gear, since I have none, but I side-stepped the themed outfit, and now I'm just super ready to see it!

Home Again

After 2 lovely weeks spent in England, I'm back home again.  It was a positively wonderful trip full of brand new experiences.  Some of these fun things were planned and some were decidedly not planned, but that's the best part of travel - happening into wonderful places, and doing something brand new.  

On this trip, for example, I drove in England for the first time.  That was actually not the best thing ever.  I have no idea how people drive so quickly through those scary tiny streets in the countryside.  I've probably shaved a few years off of my life just fretting about blind curves and possible cow crossings.  However, I did it and we survived so at least there's that.

There were other most wonderful things that happened that had nothing to do with me being behind a steering wheel (on the opposite side of the car than I usually am...), for instance:

I ate my weight in food during a Borough Market Food Tour.

I finally saw Platform 9 3/4 however, the line was much too long to get the super cool photo.

I rocked out with 98,000 other people who loved Adele at Wembley Stadium.

I saw one lonely little Puffin, who was most assuredly Neil coming to visit me.

I climbed to the top of 2 different castles in flip flops.

And I sat where David Tennant sat in Broadchurch.

And these were just my favorites.  The other days were also filled with amazing trips, foods, and experiences, all of which I'll be sharing in the coming weeks - whether you care or not : )

My Heart is in London

It's sad to see a city I love so much splashed all over the news today for something so awful. But in the true spirit of the Brits, there were everyday heroes that did what needed to be done to help others.  These policemen and ordinary people are the true heroes of the day, and they won't be forgotten.  Stay safe London!  Know the world is standing with you and sending our love to you this evening.

Friday Five

1. Excuse the language on this one, but it's amazing!  Our President's press conference yesterday was ridiculous to say the least, and Seth lets him have it for it.  
            

2. Seeing a show I've never seen before live.  I had read Peter and the Starcatcher but never caught it on Broadway.  So when Bowie Playhouse announced they'd be doing it, I was pretty excited.  I gotta say, even though the actors were pretty great, the show is still just as weird as it was when I read it.  I just don't get it.  But the rest of the audience seemed to love it, so maybe there's something wrong with me...

3. The best news I've heard all week is the casting of Miranda Hart as Mrs. Hanigan in Annie in the West End.  I've been wanting to see Miranda Hart in something fabulous since her television show went off the air, and now that I'll be in England this summer, this is the perfect excuse.  I'm pretty sure she'll be brilliant!

4. I'm sort of a sucker for Children's books about very diverse things.  I like kids books to share stories about lives in other places or about things that you don't usually see kids books about.  Add to that, great art that I've always loved and you've got a winner.  That's why I'm pretty excited about this kids book about Keith Haring.  I've always loved his simple drawings (his artwork was the logo for the original Falsettos!) and now there's a great kids book about his life and why art's so important.  Can't wait to snag it!

5. Coming from someone who saw this show in person, I have to say that this review is spot on!  I'm so happy for Brandon Uranowitz and also I'm pretty happy for me, because with reviews like this, it means he's gotta do another engagement, right?!

Tea Totaller

In the book I told you all about yesterday, Susan Branch spent about a page and a half outlining her love of tea.  I most definitely could relate to her story.  I have always preferred tea over coffee.  I actually quite like the smell of coffee - if only it tasted as good as it smelled.  But it doesn't.  That's its major issue. 

Tea on the other hand is not as bitter as coffee.  It warms you up without giving you the caffeine rush. It settles your tummy if  you're not feeling well.  It even comes in all sorts of flavors if that's your thing. Though, as a strictly black tea lover, I don't understand you people that drink the weird passion fruit or cardamom or any of the other hundreds of flavors out there.  All you need in your cup of black tea is enough milk to turn it tan.  Nothing else. It's perfect!

This has always been my preferred method of drinking it as well - milk only, no sugar.  I first started drinking tea at my grandparent's house when I was little.  It was their preferred drink of choice, so it became mine too.  We would all have a tiny - teeny-tiny - cup of tea each afternoon as we sat on the front porch. At the time, based on the size of the cups, I'd say the ratio of milk to tea was about 3:1, but I loved it.  When I got a little older I was finally allowed to try coffee and I decided that it was terrible.  I don't understand how people get addicted to that stuff, when there's perfectly good tea in the world.

So that's when it all started.  This life-long love of tea.  I've tried all sorts of teas - loose leaf, tea bags, tea sachets.  And while it may not be the most sophisticated, I much prefer the tea bags to loose leaf. The problem with the loose leaf is that strainers don't always work, and there's nothing worse than having bits of tea floating in your cup.  Tea bags are quick, easy and delicious!  Though, in England, where most of the tea in restaurants are served in tea pots with looseleaf tea - I'm quite happy with it.  Somehow, the Brits have figured out the whole straining situation, and really should we argue with the foremost tea drinkers in the world?  It's best not to.  Just drink what they give you and enjoy!

Love for the Villages

Since I woke up this morning, I've been dreaming about coming home this evening and finishing up some craft projects I'm in the middle of.  However, after 10 hours - dark to dark - the only thing I could do when I got home was curl up on the sofa, where it was warm and cozy.  

Unfortunately, the craft projects were a bust, but it's ok because I did have about 30 pages in a fabulous book to finish so I dove right in.  Let me tell you, this book might just need to go in the top 10.  It's just so wonderful!

Susan Branch is a watercolorist and primarily a cookbook writer.  I actually have tons of her stickers for scrapbooking.  But I never realized she wrote other books as well.  Apparently, this is the 3rd in a series of her journals.  She and her husband live in Martha's Vineyard, but they travelled on the Queen Mary 2 to England for a 2 month adventure in the English Countryside.  I'm not I can express just how much I wish I could have gone on their trip!  What a chance!

What's really neat about the book, is that it's not just her observations about the places she visited.  Like I said, she's a watercolorist, so all throughout the book there are little paintings and doodles and drawings.  She's also included photos of the places they visited, quotes she loves, and recipes as well.  And, the whole thing is in her handwriting.  How fun!  It's not only a great tale of a trip of a lifetime, but it's also crafty and creative as well.  It's a total package for me which I think is why I loved it so much.

The other reason is that she just gets it.  She has the same sensibility about England that I have.  She loves the people for being who they are.  She loves the accents and the turns of phrase.  She loves the simple food and the very best tea.  She loves the beauty of the countryside as well as the fun of the big cities. And she loves the history and historical figures that have contributed so much to the world, that made their home there.  It's sometimes hard for me to explain just what it is about Great Britain that I love.  Reading this book, I realized it's everything I just said.  It's all of these things together that make it such a happy place for me.  And now, I'm just itching to return more so than I usually am - good thing there's a trip coming up soon!

The Time I Got Bitten by a Bug

In 2005 I was given the chance to travel to the UK.  It was a random happenstance that will probably never happen again - though I'm constantly hoping it will.  I was teaching at the time, and one of the families I was close with traveled a great deal.  They were headed off to London right after Christmas, and wanted someone to go with them to watch the kids a night or 2 so they could have some alone time in the city.  Since the kids were lovely and the family was lovely, I was totally cool with that arrangement.

Seeing as the family would pay for my plane ticket, as well as my hotel, the trip was virtually a no brainer.  That is why I found myself flying to London - completely on my own (they had left before Christmas and I was due to meet them there a few days later.) I've never felt so brave or bold.  There's not much I remember about the flight - 8 hours in a plane next to a snorer so I probably blocked most of it out.  I do remember I read "700 Sundays" by Billy Crystal and proceeded to cry silently over that for at least an hour.  Fun times.

As I'm writing this I'm just realizing I don't even remember anything about Customs or baggage claim (even then I hadn't mastered the ability to only pack using a carry on.)  As someone who's landed at Heathrow twice since, I can't believe I ever found my way out of there onto the Tube and then into a cab.  I get lost in my hometown all the time, and this was a foreign country in a HUGE city.  How am I not still wandering around Heathrow? Blocking all of that out, the very first thing I do remember is the ride in the cab to the flat in Notting Hill.  I managed to call a cab and find the flat all by my lonesome - yet another feat of bravery on my part, even if I do say so myself.

I was amazed at the row of houses on Edgware Road.  This was like no apartment I've ever seen.  When Americans think of apartments, they picture tall buildings not beautiful brownstones.  And yet here I was, on the second floor of a walk-up entering a cute flat where I'd be staying for the next 4 days.  It was Christmas-time.  It was snowing. I was in London. And it was GORGEOUS!

The family never did ask me to watch the kids, even though I offered many times.  We all went out together to see Tower Bridge, the London Eye and do some other sight-seeing. They even gave me time to myself one day.  That's when I discovered wandering around.  I hadn't a clue where I was and I could most definitely not read a map.  So I wandered.  I walked around Carnaby Street and through Picadilly.  I found Fortnum & Mason and bought massive amounts of tea. I walked the Portobello Road market - imagining bumping into Hugh Grant a la Notting Hill the entire time.  I even went into a pub - The Blue Post - and had Bangers and Mash.  It was quite perfect and utterly wonderful.

After 4 days, I left and flew home, alone again as they were headed to see family in another state.  I don't remember anything at all about that flight either.  Though, I'm assuming I slept since that's what I do in any moving vehicle that I'm not driving. It was a quick trip, but it sealed the deal for me.  I would have the travel bug for good now.  And I was bitten by the specific European travel bug - the one that says, why stay in the states when you could visit somewhere more exotic? (I suppose exotic isn't the first word you think of when you think of the UK, but you get the picture.)  

That one small adventure taught me how to travel and how I like to travel - food, shopping, wandering, no set in stone plans, as often as I can- and I'll always be eternally grateful.  

Thoughts on Harry Potter 2.0

So I wasn't even going to read it.  I was going to wait to see the show - hopefully I'll be in England some time next year - and be surprised by it.  But then Costco had a great sale and the book was all anyone could talk about.  And basically here we are and it's been finished over the course of the last 24 hours.  So what did I think?

If you'd asked me about it last night, after I had put it down after reading about 80 pages, I would have said - Ehh.  I didn't like the play format.  I read plays all the time, but for some reason this material was difficult to read in that format.  However, now that it's through, my mind has changed.  It was marvelous!  I just loved having another Harry Potter story to read after all these years.  It was a lovely story that included almost all of the beloved characters while keeping the heart and the humor that the original books had.  

That's not to say that I don't have bones to pick.  One being that I'm still not crazy for the play format.  It would have been awesome if it was written in novel format, if for no other reason than it would have been a much more involved story.  The second issue I have is a question.  Who in the world is the kid on the front of the book?  I could guess one of 2 characters, neither one is a blondish kid about 10 years old.  

Last but not least, is more of a pondering rather than a bone to pick.  How on earth did the directors and production people manage to pull off the insane amount of magic and scenery changes?  This performance must cost a fortune, which is why I'm guessing they chose to run it in rep.  2 shows means twice the ticket sales.  Even knowing that, I'm still ridiculously excited to somehow get tickets to see it, because let's face it, it's another Harry Potter when we had heard there wouldn't be any more.  Who wouldn't be excited?

Friday Five

1. There will never be a better representation of Boris Johnson in the middle of this #Brexit madness.  I love it!

Boris pops in to see how the #brexit plan is coming along pic.twitter.com/bfSfnssRd4

— Hilly (@HillyFoz) June 27, 2016

2. Word of warning, this montage is heartbreaking.  But Ryan Murphy and Friends created a beautiful tribute to the 49 Orlando victims, as well as a call to action to outlaw the guns that killed these people.  


3. This week on Twitter, not only did I discover that a local newsman was following me (I have NO idea why seeing as I post nothing about Baltimore or Maryland), but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Stephanie Block who is going to play Trina in Falsettos actually liked my tweet about reading Falsettos. First Fully Committed commented to me and now Stephanie Block?  I'm famous! : )

4. BookDepository.com - Do you have any idea how amazing this website is?  Thousands upon thousands of books from all over the world - including all the British ones I adore - for absolutely, positively free shipping!  Apparently they come at the pace of a snail but if you can wait for them, you'll get a great deal.  I may or may not have bought 11 books that I've been wanting for the last year...

5. The best thing I learned all week was all about my godforsaken computer.  A few weeks ago, after 2 years of ignoring the calls to update to Windows 10, my dumb computer decided to auto-update to 10.  That caused all sorts of issues - we're talking 10 minutes just to log on, having to restart 8-10 times just to log on, crazy ghost like moving of my cursor and windows.  So after a bit of googling - thank goodness for Google! - I learned you can roll back to what you had before within 30 days of the update.  Thankfully it hadn't been 30 days yet and in a matter of a half hour, my computer was back to working well again.  Now I just have to figure out why 24 hours later, I can't launch Chrome...

Friday Five: England Edition

Because of the EU referendum, England has been in my mind a lot today. I have no idea how it happened but England will be leaving the EU, and it seems most people are quite unhappy about it.  I feel terrible for those people and have been silently wishing them good thoughts all day.  They're going to need the good vibes over the coming months and years. The vote however doesn't make me love the UK any less. It's still one of my most favorite places in the world. And because of that, here are my favorites from my last few trips...

1. Of course The Globe is on the list!  I mention the Globe specifically because I'm a Shakespeare nerd, however the other theatres I visited were also equally cared for.  The Barbican in London and the Swan in Stratford are 2 of the best theatre experiences I've ever had.  I'm in awe of how the arts are treated in the UK.  It's a major focus which is amazing to see.

2. Next up are the gorgeous homes in the Cotswolds - not forgetting the gorgeous people of the Cotswolds.  I've never felt so welcome and so taken care of than I did in the smaller villages.  People are just genuinely kind. 

3. York Minster Abbey is just as impressive is everyone says it's going to be.  It's quite the feat of architecture.  And the best part is, there are tons of other beautiful, historic and important buildings & churches scattered everywhere you look in the UK.  I'm always in shock of the age of the places I'm looking at.  To see them still standing and still thriving is just a testament to the dedication the monarchy and the government has for honoring the past.

4. Life - most specifically in some of the bigger cities like London and Edinburgh, but everyone is just so full of life.  It's chaotic and crazy and noisy and maddening, but it's also exciting and a jolt to the system.  Everyone is headed somewhere to do something.  You feel like you're a part of something when you're right in the thick of it all.  There are different accents and colors and races, and yet everyone is just sort of living and existing as one.

5. The green space.  Even in a major city like London, there are little parks and spaces to go to catch your breath when city life gets a little too hectic.  And the green spaces are actually green, with flowers and plants and trees everywhere.  In the US, where most cities are pretty much just cities, it's neat to see a dedication to calm and tranquility as well as to the environment. I'm more of a city girl at heart, but wandering around a bustling village like Stratford surrounded by trees, a river and fresh flowers, I started to day-dream about a little cottage in the hills with a back garden of my own.

To Exit or Not to Exit?

Before I go on for a paragraph or two, I'd like the record to reflect that there are many, many things I don't understand about the EU Referendum.  For all my love of England, I'm fairly clueless on this one.  I've tried to read articles and do the research, and yet it's still not making sense.  So be forewarned, if you do understand what's happening in England tonight, the next sentences may make me sound like a dunce.  I'm really not, just confused that's all.

For starters, the whole act of a referendum in the first place is totally alien to me.  A few months ago, there was a Scottish referendum on whether or not to leave the UK.  Now there's another for leaving the EU.  How do these referendums get decided on?  I know people vote on the actual referendum, but who is the deciding body that makes the decision for what the country will be voting on?  For an entire country to secede from a union, seems like a HUGE deal.  Was this a parliamentary decision, or did one of the parties just decide that it might be fun to completely re-write geography, finance, and history because they were bored?

And that's not even addressing the point of leaving the union in the first place.  I understand why some Scots wanted to leave the UK.  They wanted to exert their independence and stand on their own feet.  That I could see.  But in this case, the UK is already its own independent country.  They don't even have the same money system as the rest of the Union.  There doesn't seem to be an upside to leaving. What's the point?  

Finally there's the reporting and opinions on the referendum.  From what I've read, seen and heard over the last few months, no one has openly said they want to leave the EU (except of course the politicians - I'm speaking more on the public in general).  However, in the exit polls that I'm watching right now, it looks like the country is split almost 50/50.  It's pretty close.  Of course, on one of the paper's front pages for tomorrow, there's a quote from a pro-Brexit politician conceding the vote to the Remain-ers.  I'm confused.  Don't all the returns have to be counted first? Shouldn't he check with the rest of his party before he goes about waving a white flag willy nilly?

Like I said, I have no idea what's going on.  In my opinion, without a shred of understanding, I like the idea of staying in the Union.  How different would it be for the Brits to not have the ability to freely travel around Europe?  Passports and visas would be a bit of hassle for members that have never had to deal with them before.  Also, they're pretty much already getting the best of both worlds - support from the greater Union and their own government & financial system (which is doing better than a lot of places, it must be said.) 

But then again, there's every possibility that I'm wrong...I suppose I'll just wait to hear what Twitter says in the morning to determine my real feelings on the subject : ) 

Shakespeare 400

It seems weird for people all over the world to celebrate the day someone died.  But that is just the case today.  William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today.  And yet somehow the scholars not entirely certain when he was born - they assume it was the same day.  So I guess we should be celebrating his birthday today too.  I'm of the theory, we should be celebrating Shakespeare every day, not just April 23, but that's just me. (I may be a bit of a fan girl...)

There's a lot of discussion on whether or not Shakespeare was even one person.  And if you read the articles, there's a great deal of evidence why that might be true - reasons that actually make a lot of sense.  However, the biggest reason the scholars have is that not one person could be this influential - multiple people had to have written the sonnets and plays in his name.  I personally hate that excuse.  Why can't one amazing person be as talented as William was? Some people are just gifted and to think that some writer from Stratford couldn't have been born with that gift is just a cop out.

I'd like to think that today's international celebrations prove that theory wrong.  Like I said, there are millions of people in England and all over the world celebrating his life and his work today.  They're reading his plays, and watching productions and performing in his honor.  My favorite tribute is, of course, out of England: The 37 walk.  London's holding a walk where productions of all 37 of his plays are playing at intervals.  What a fantastic idea! Then there is the HUGE celebration taking place at the RSC that's being shown at theatres all over the UK. (We of course have to wait until next month to see it - boo!)  And those are just a few of the ones I know about.  I'm sure there are tons of other celebrations happening over the globe.  

And that's not even mentioning just how beloved his works are.  Many people say that Hamlet is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written.  (While I think Hamlet is equally brilliant, I'd like to make a case for Richard II and A Midsummer Night's Dream as well...) And in my opinion it's made even more beautiful in performance. I'm fascinated by the idea that Shakespeare was able to write those gorgeous words, while picturing just how much better they'd be with the right actor saying them. His works have influenced actors and writers alike, and I think that's why so many performers are still drawing inspiration from him today.

And I think he deserves to be given the credit he's due.    

Friday Five

1. "The Night Manager": I've been waiting for months to see this hit American television.  Now that this adaptation of the John LeCarre novel started, I'm hooked.  It's fantastic!  I suppose Tom Hiddelston is dreamy enough, but I'm really watching for Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman.  They're both just so, so good.  Can't wait to see where the next 5 episodes go - whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be a twisty ride. 

2. Honestly, the Hamilton cast can do no wrong.  They even say farewell to a music icon perfectly.  How else to honor Prince than by having a curtain call dance party to "Let's Go Crazy"?

3. Not only was David Tennant the absolute perfect Doctor, but he also has the perfect idea for an American Doctor, should that ever be a possibility.  Bradley Whitford!  I can totally see it and while I'd never thought of it before, I'm now in love with it.  I'm fairly certain we Americans would be under attack by the Whovians if we ever tried to produce a Who here, but if we ever do, this needs to happen!

4. Kickstarters aren't really my thing.  I love the idea in practice, but I prefer to wait until the item's out before I spend my money.  But if this amazing photo creation hadn't been completely funded, I would have spent a little cash to get it there.  Having the chance to more easily take really good photos with my phone is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  With all the fancy buttons and whistles, this thing is sure to be a knock-out product.  Can't wait until it hits shelves!

5. Could the little Prince be any darn cuter?!

Happy & Sad Day

The day started out happily enough - Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 years old with  the celebration of an entire nation.  I have to say, the Queen received all sorts of perks that I don't remember President Obama getting when it was his birthday.  I suppose though that President Obama has only been in power for 7 years where as Elizabeth has been Queen for almost 70.  

I know many people don't get the monarchy, and to a point I don't really either.  However, I do like the Queen.  She just seems like a sweet grandmother you'd like to have afternoon tea with.  I'm fairly certain the adorable photos they released of her with her grandchildren, didn't hurt that image one bit.  And I know she's notoriously reserved - she definitely has the English stoicism down to a tee - but I hope she's happy to see such a fuss being made about her.  After all she's weathered, she deserves a celebration. Happy Birthday Your Majesty!

After the birthday celebrations, the day continued on quite happily with the celebrations of my parent's 37th anniversary.  They are definitely my most favorite couple in the world (obviously!) They are a loving, funny, kind, playful and all around fabulous couple and they deserve all the love and happiness in the world. Here's to at least 37 more years, buds! Love you tons!

Then of course, the day took a bit of a curve with the news that Prince had died.  Now I don't count myself as a huge music person - I love music but I know next to nothing about things that aren't Billy Joel or Showtunes. So I was quite shocked by the outpouring of mourning for the last few hours. I knew he was good, but I didn't realize just how much he had contributed to the music industry and how much people loved him. When someone so relatively young dies, it's always sad, but it seems that this death is going to take a little more time for some to get over than others.

Life, Lately...

To be honest, life lately has been a bit full.  I mean, April is always quite busy since there's Easter, and at least a half dozen birthdays and anniversaries sprinkled throughout the month.  But for some reason, this year is even busier than usual.  Because of that and being completely bored at work, I've been a lazy bum in the evenings when there's nothing happening.  

This means, that the usual scrapping, reading and general puttering I usually do isn't getting done.  But that doesn't mean it's gone completely out the window, there's still a little bit happening here and there.  I've finished one book already - all about Meredith Wilson writing the Music Man (a musical I'm not even all that crazy about) - still pretty great stuff! - and I'm working on another I purchased in England almost 3 years ago. See what I mean about a backlog?  

As for scrapbooking, the one big project I'd really like to finish is the album of my England pictures.  It's coming around slowly but surely.  In fact I just spent 3 hours on it this evening, but due to some stupid photo printing on my behalf, and my general flakiness with ideas, it's taking longer than anticipated.  I love it so far, but there's still ALOT of embellishing and journaling to do - you know, that pesky, difficult part of scrapbooking.  And I've got the NYC album in progress as well, which is coming along swimmingly.  Of course, I haven't had a trip there since last month, so that might explain why it's still up to date. 

In the other activities arena, April's been a bit mad.  I usually have no luck with interviews and job offers, but this month, I've had one interview already and another set up next week. There's even been a very bad but very tempting offer that I finally turned down after much hemming and hawing. I realized, that while I don't know what I want to do, that job wasn't it.  Also, I'm not terribly unhappy at my job right now, so I can afford to be picky.  I do admit though, that I'm loving getting the practice.  Maybe the next time I talk to someone out of state about a cool job I won't actually bomb as badly as I did the last time.  One could hope...

And in the fun area, there's been lots happening too.  I'm seeing The Secret Garden this weekend in Annapolis.  I have my very own solo trip to Manhattan coming up quite quickly. There's some sort of German Dinner coming up next weekend that I know next to nothing about, except that I'm going.  And to top it all off, Shakespeare's Birthday celebration is being broadcast here and tickets go on sale tomorrow. Between those tickets and the ones that I got for BroadwayCon, and the money that was spent at Supernatural's DCCon, you could say that along with April being a busy month, it was also an expensive month.  Of course, I'm choosing to live by my new philosophy - you only live once. (Note I'm spelling it out, because I'm definitely not young enough or cool enough to get away with the newfangled YOLO variation : )

Friday Five: The NYC Edition (sort of...)

1. I'm a big fan of Stephen Fry, so I was very happy to see that he was working with Heathrow on some ads.  The final video is pretty perfect for him and England.  So very true and so very cute!

2. I think I've written about Serious Eats before, but if I haven't, you must visit immediately if you love to eat and travel.  This listing of places to eat in NYC is perfect!  It's what I've been looking for all week to help with my trip this weekend.  I love the idea of organizing by neighborhood.  The only problem is now I want to eat at every single establishment in every single article... 

3. Today Tix: So here's the thing.  If you like the theatre, and you don't like spending a lot of money, this app is your new best friend.  They have discounted tickets to some of the biggest shows in the biggest cities.  The only caveat is that you have to buy them a week or less in advance.  But if you're ok with that, you can find some really great deals!

4. One of the 3 million and 32 reasons why Manhattan is one of the greatest cities in the world - they have places like 54 Below where current Broadway Stars, stop by to sing show tunes.  Do you know how poor I'd be if something like 54 Below resided in my city?  I'd be there for every show! (P.S. - This is my favorite song from Something Rotten - mine as well continue on with the theme for the week : )


5. Love me some Billy Joel!

Friday Six: Thankful Edition

1. I'm most thankful for these two.  I have no idea what I'd do without them and can't imagine my life without them.  They are fun, funny, loving, and have giant hearts.  I love them dearly and can only hope they know just how crazy I am about them!

2. On top of my awesome parents, I have other awesome family members!  They're fun and funny and always there when I need them.  Thank goodness for email and text messages.  Living in the future makes it easy to stay in touch.

3. This group of friends.  We're all a little weird but we have fun and we laugh and that's all that matters. Love getting to see them each week at Trivia!

4. The chance to travel to my most favorite place in the world and explore some more.  I'm still completely head over heels in love with England.  It's still on the top of my list for future living - if only.  For now, I'm just happy to be able to afford the travel there every few years.  

5. #SPNFamily: It's sort of just a show.  I realize that.  But the fandom itself is like anything I've ever seen.  Between the cast supporting so many causes, to the fans helping each other, it's astounding the good they do.  The cast is super close in a way you can tell it's not fake. And at least once a day one of them or just one of the fans makes me laugh out loud with a tweet or some sort of post.  It's unbelievable and super awesome to just be a little part of it.  I'm extremely happy to say that I am.

6. My 3 favorite things - Books, Craftiness and Food.  Simple pleasures for sure, but my life would be very boring without them ; )

Reader Girl

I'm loving this book!  I'm a pretty big fan of the Lonely Planet books to begin with.  I've read tons of them in the last few years.  But it's difficult to find them around here for some reason.  I think it may have something to do with Lonely Planet being a British company - so what other place to find it than in a little shop in Oxford England (have I mentioned just how awesome the book shops are in England, lately?)  

I'm so hooked on it that I haven't much to say this evening. Basically, I'm totally ignoring the blog tonight in favor of getting back to reading my wonderful book and hopefully finishing it in the next hour or so : )