100 Years of Style

Enjoy this little video about 100 years of style in London. I was saving it for today because of the date at the end. :)

I think I won't be posting on Wednesdays any more because of my duties at school lasting until 10:30. See you again on Thursday! We'll be getting ready to clear out of the North Barn. Friday is our last day here. 

I DID IT!!!

Thanks everyone who checked to make sure I was still alive after the race yesterday. God was so good to me for my first race! We had gorgeous fall weather, and I made it through the 6.5 miles (I know that a 10K is 6.2 miles, but this was 6.5 for some reason) without stopping. In fact, I felt like I could keep going!

Pamela, me, Ashley

On Saturday night before race day, Nathan and I went to Adam and Ashley's at had a fabulous dinner. Ashley made a delicious baked ziti, salad, and bread, and a fabulous dessert of home made granola, hand picked local blackberries, creme fraiche, and chocolate shavings. I chugged a lot of water too, so much that I went to the bathroom twice at her house, twice again before bed, and twice in the middle of the night. I wanted to make sure I was properly hydrated.


While at their house, Nathan decided that he would run the race too. Yes, the night before. Cullen was running along with Pamela, Ashley, and me, and Nathan said he didn't want to be the fat guy at the finish line with the camera around his neck eating bon bons.


We arrived at the cricket club and signed up. There weren't too many people there - maybe 80-100 runners at most - which seemed a really nice size to me. Most of them were in their official running club jerseys and taking warm up laps around the cricket pitch. We Americans decided that the first mile of the race would be our warm up, and the last mile would be our cool down. No excessive exercise here.

Cullen and the girls

At the starting line, the guy with the whistle directed us to have a minute of silence in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks. I really appreciated that.


The whistle blew and we were off through the tall grass in a field. It wasn't three minutes later that Ashley, Nathan, and I were left in the dust by the running clubbers, along with the super fit former University of Georgia athletes Cullen (wrestling) and Pamela (soccer). We quickly figured out that this was not a "fun run" with dogs and baby strollers. This was a serious run. We didn't see anyone ahead of us for the rest of the race. There was one woman we passed about five minutes into things, who I admired immensely for even attempting the race. 


The course was really well marked and well manned. There was even a guy who had the job of keeping cows away from runners. One woman had cups of water for people out of the back of her van halfway through the race. We ran on trails through all kinds of scenery: classic English countryside with sheep, fields of grass, dense forest, a golf course, around ponds with fountains and shimmering lakes, through a neatly manicured park... It was really gorgeous. Some parts were muddy, and on the highest points of the course it was quite windy, but I really enjoyed the whole thing. The scenery was a great distraction.


Praise be to God, there wasn't any point where I thought, "I can't do this." I was kind of saving that thought for the worst part of the course. And, since I'd never been on the course, I didn't know where the worst part was exactly, so I didn't have to think it. Having Nathan behind me and Ashley ahead of me was a huge blessing. Ashley said, "If you get tired, start writing your blog post about the race in your head." Nathan carried my juice and would pat me on the back every once in a while and tell me he was so proud of me. It was awesome. 

Are you really surprised?

Nathan asked if we could hold hands across the finish line, so we did - tied for second-to-last. Which is better than last. Which is better than "did not finish." Which is better than "did not start." Frankly, I'm more proud of myself for starting the journey to fitness and sticking with it than for finishing this one race. 


When the path was wide enough at some points, the three of us would run side by side by side and talk. Ashley and I decided to plan a 5K Turkey Trot Thanksgiving weekend. We'll make our own course and invite friends to run off our big meals. And maybe we'll have a Jingle Bell Jog around Christmas. I'm kind of excited about that one too. Now that I've run a 10K+, I have to keep up my fitness. I am tired of starting over, so I guess that means I have to stop quitting. 

Sedgefield Serpentine Race Runners, extraordinaire!

Anyway, with everyone running, we didn't get any pictures crossing the finish line, but we took the ones above before and this one of Ashley and me after. You'll know it's after because my face is really red.

We did it!

If I can do it with God's help, anyone can.

One Last Visit

On Sunday we said some goodbyes. Our friend and my running/prayer buddy, Kristine, moved to London yesterday, and I miss her already! Before she left, we had lunch after church and then visited Crook Hall. Here are the last pictures we'll have there as official neighbors. Don't worry though. I'm sure we'll be back for more visits. Nathan might even dress up as an elf again.

Happy weekend, friends! Do you have anything exciting planned? I'm running the 10K this Sunday. Prayers are much needed. I'll be sure to update you on Monday with pictures of my tomato-red, sweaty face at the finish line.

The First Week O' School

Have I really been MIA for three days? Thanks for stopping by again despite my lack of posting this week. As expected, I have been just zonked from the first week of school. 

Monday, as you'll recall, I didn't get home until very late because there was a dinner at school for the staff and their significant others after a full day of inservice. Tuesday we went to dinner at some friends' house (I had amazing guacamole, thanks to our American friend, Emily). Wednesday I had house duties at the girls' boarding house until 10:30. 

Tonight I left school at 5 p.m. and felt like I was playing hooky. The school day officially ends at 5 p.m., which is much later than I'm used to. However, the kids have an hour for lunch and two more 20 minute breaks during the day. Still, it makes for a long day.

On Tuesday I discovered a few changes in my schedule. I'll be working every Wednesday from 5-10:30 p.m. being the tutor on duty in the girls' boarding house. And, I'll be organizing and implementing Saturday school for the internationals, where they'll get intensive English help and go on some cultural field trips. This means that I'll be taking Fridays and Sundays off. We won't start until next Saturday at the latest, so I'll still be working tomorrow.

I'm a little bummed that I won't get two days in a row off this school year, but I think I'll be more motivated to do housekeeping things on Fridays and take a Sabbath and truly rest on Sundays.

And, for my mom, here is a picture of me on the first day of school, looking a little lopsided I'm afraid. We  had a late start and I didn't have to be there until 9:15, in case you were looking at the clock. :)

And, this week we said goodbye to Harriet. We sold her for scrap the other day and are truly carless. We tried to buy two different cars in the last week or so, but both deals fell through. The first one we agreed over the phone to purchase (after we looked at it) and the sellers said they'd deliver the car the next day. We never heard from them again, and all attempts to make contact have been fruitless. The second one we were keen to buy, but the seller sold it to someone else before we could get it. Grrr...

Does anyone have a car to sell us?

First Day of School

Source

It's nearly 9 p.m., and I just got home from my first day of school. All I wanted was a cup of tea, which Nathan obligingly made for me.


Like the lady pictured above, my eyes are bugging out from sensory overload. Although we've been in England for over a year now, I feel like I just landed in another country all over again. School here is so, so different. All of the terms, acronyms, jargon... it's like a foreign language. And the way meetings are run, hand outs are written, colleagues interact, everything. It's all different! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found myself incredibly confused more often than not. This school experience is going to be a major adjustment. 


On the whole though, I am encouraged today. I met some fantastic people who I'll be working with. I found out that I can eat all of my meals there for free - breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I wanted. I have another day of inservice (aka "inset") tomorrow, when I'll learn all about being an advisor (aka "tutor") in a girls' house (a la Hogwarts). New kids come tomorrow as well, and then everyone will be back on Wednesday for classes (aka "lessons"). I feel supremely grateful for this job, and I know that it will be a great year.


Thanks for checking in...

I Think I Did Something Cool

I added a new blog feature. Woop woop!


It's called "Link Within," and all it does is suggest more posts it thinks you might like based on the labels of the post you just read. I feel fancy today.


In case you were wondering about my new job, I think I will have more to tell you after the inservice on Monday. I wasn't able to do much yesterday because the room I'm supposed to be in is full of someone else's stuff, and the people I need to talk to were not available to help. I spent three hours there trying to get something done, but after pushing every metaphorical door I could to no avail, I gave up and went home.


Sigh...


Stuff like that really makes me miss a few things:

My mom's milkshakes

Chick-Fil-A

Whitefield

America

After my frustrating morning, I wanted all of the above. Bad. But here's to a day off one day after I start a new job! I suppose I'll be taking my Labor Day on a Friday. 


Happy (U.S.) holiday weekend everyone. I will hopefully have more interesting news about school related things when everyone comes back to kick off the new year on Monday.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, we landed on this little island to start a new chapter in our lives. It was a good year and a hard year. It was definitely the most well documented year and will probably hold that record for life. I asked Nathan what some of his highlights were of our first year in England and he said, "Being married to you." Yesss...


Whether you're new here or have been following every. single. post, I hope you enjoy the year in summary. 

From here...

We left on three jetplanes...


Landed at barn #1...


And then settled into barn #2...


Met our first English friends...


Did a bit of charity shopping...


Found some things that we quite like...


And rather dislike...


Spent Thanksgiving in Scotland...


And Christmas in Durham...


Were saved from winter blues by care packages...


And by sharing the American miracle of chocolate chip cookies...


Had another niece born...


Threw a birthday party for a stranger...


Had the worst school day of my life...


Was brought spring by friends from Atlanta...


Experienced the royal wedding bonanza...


Fell in love with Cambridge...


Got a job...


Turned 30...


Went on an Eastern European vacay with dear friends...


Started a new business...


And started training for a 10K...

To here...

These links absolutely do not cover other important relationships and visits and events with friends and family. Those were just too hard to slim down!


What has been your favorite post on the blog this year? What would you like to see/read more about? I'm curious...