MO and RO on the GO

Signing Off

2011-01-03T19:58:00.000Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Another year has come and gone and a new one is in its place. It's always a sad and yet exciting time. The organization is in "full steam ahead" mode for this week on our side of the house. Time to clear out and refresh a multitude of things.

For awhile now I've been contemplating officially ending this blog. As I'm sure you've noticed, I have lacked blogging energies for quite some time. I've gone back and forth about putting this blog out of its misery and have finally decided to do it. For the time being all the old posts will remain, but I will not be planning to post any new posts.

Mark and I both are on Facebook and email regularly so feel free to contact us there if you are wondering what we are up to!

Thanks for journeying with us to Scotland and back. It's been a wild ride at times, but a truly fantastic one as well.

So long from MO and RO (who are incidentally still somewhat) on the GO.

Merry Christmas Island Style!

2010-12-25T18:41:00.000Z

We got to enjoy this island special last week and I thought it would be fun to share with you today. The video isn't the best. It was really low lights and I'm new at filming on my photography camera.

Merry Christmas to all! May Christ indeed bring JOY to you this day and New Year.

5 Months Later

2010-11-14T01:01:00.000Z

It's hard to believe tomorrow we are at the 5 month "mile marker" of our time back in the U.S. Most of the time it just feels longer than that. I know things have been incredibly quiet around here so I figured it was time for a recap of the past 6 weeks or so. Here are the highlights in no particular order:

-- Mark's been workin' like a beast researching, reading, writing, revising. Progress is slower than anticipated, but to Mark's credit, he's been both writing the 6th and final chapter while also editing and polishing several previous chapters.

-- My photography business has finally taken off. It's all those families looking for Christmas photos/presents. Best place to see some of that work is here.

-- I've also been working a temp job off and on as needed at Baptist Press (BP). It started with me working as the fill-in Event Coordinator for the 2010 Collegiate Journalism Conference in early October that BP puts on every year. The Event Planner was due with her firstborn the day after the conference ended, so they brought me in as a "just in case" person hoping she would still be able to work. There was another BP staff member who was going to still take charge and help me along. But then the Event Planner had her baby 2 days before the conference started and the other staff's grandfather passed away 3 days before the event, so she was out for most of the conference at the out of town funeral. That left ME in charge of a conference hosting around 15 universities from around the nation, including 80+ college students and 30+ faculty/staff/speakers! But, the Lord gave me strength through the long days (two of them being 14 hour days!), as well as wisdom to learn quickly and manage situations well. All in all it went smoothly and I was grateful for the opportunity to work and make money. As a bonus, I got to rub shoulders with some great Christian photographers and journalists. It was personally a very inspiring weekend.

-- Mark's been enjoying the blessing of being able to watch SEC football every Saturday again, and in particular, his Bulldogs. Too bad they haven't had as strong of a season as he first hoped.

-- Fall in TN has been everything I hoped it would be -- colorful and warm. I am still not ready for winter! Go here and here to see more TN fall goodness!

-- The last day of Sept we took a quick trip up to Louisville, KY for Mark to do some research at Southern Seminary. My cousin and his family live there (and he's a student at Southern), so it was fun to see them again after 6 years! I went with my cousin's wife and 3 kiddos (see the two oldest below) to the Louisville Zoo where they have a membership. I could have spent all day there with my camera :)

-- Mark's taken up running since we've been back. He's enjoyed talking to my dad about all things running. Currently, though, Mark's laying low to let his leg injury (shin splints? stress fracture?) heal up.

-- Speaking of running, in mid-Oct. we got to see my dad run in a half marathon. It think it was his 4th, but he ran the first 3 when we were in Scotland. He did a great job and we enjoyed the chance to cheer him on. He's currently training for a marathon in about a month, though has also had a couple of injuries this month that are hindering his training. We're all praying his body can heal enough to still run it.

(My dad is in the blue shirt with black cap.)

-- The past couple of weeks I've spent more time at Baptist Press filling in for the lady who posts the daily stories/photos on the Baptist Press website. It has been a crash course in some parts of journalism and working in a "press room" (though a very, very quiet one!). I feel like it's been a valuable experience for me as a photographer. You just never know when I might need some of the experience I've gained.

-- In early Sept. Mark started co-teaching a new Sunday School class for singles. We've both enjoyed the opportunity to serve and reach out to other young adults in our church. Mark's also been teaching a discipleship class on Sunday night on how to study the Bible. He's done an excellent job teaching in both classes and I've taken much pleasure in seeing him do what I know God has gifted him to do.

-- We are still being daily barked into shape by the spoiled prince of the house, Yafo. We love him dearly, but he's very needy - some might even say co-dependent. Especially this week since the fleas were feasting on his poor body. Thankfully a little pill and much cleaning later and he's doing better.

How can I say no to this little face?!

-- Mark's eagerly anticipating a few days at the yearly Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) conference next week in Atlanta. It's so wonderful that we are so close this year!

-- We are looking forward to our two week trip to see Mark's family in just one month! Vacation is calling our name so the official countdown is on!

Thanks for stopping by again despite my irregularity of posting.

I'm Published!

2010-10-21T01:00:00.000+01:00

It seems only appropriate that for my 301st post (since I didn't realize when I posted Mark's b-day post 2 weeks ago (!) that it was my 300th post we missed that celebration - but we'll do it now), that I share with you the very happy news that I am published! It was here on this blog that I first started my photographic journey and you all encouraged me on to keep pursuing this form of creativity. So thank you.

My first published work is in The University of Aberdeen's new Chinese prospectus!

(link is on the right of the page)

Love this shield!

Here it is!

Credit given in English in the back of the booklet.

And credit in Chinese (I think the "9" means my photo is on page 9.)

My former colleague in Student Recruitment and Admissions who is the International Officer for China (meaning her "market" includes China) asked me to go with her to the on-campus Chinese New Year celebration this past February to take photos so that she could use some of them for this publication as well as on-line. It's fun to see this project come to fruition.

Let's hope there'll be more in the years to come :)

Happy 35th Birthday, Mark!

2010-10-05T21:16:00.000+01:00

Just a quick shout out to my hubby who is celebrating his 35th year of life today! I'm so blessed to get to journey through this life together with him.

Love you, Mark!

Satisfaction

2010-09-25T16:21:00.000+01:00

In the time that I have been pursuing photography, I have printed out very few of my photos. Partially due to cost, partially due to knowing I'd just have to move them.

So this birthday I thought I'd splurge a little and took some birthday money from my generous mother-in-law (thanks Darlene!) and purchased one of my favorite Scotland photos on canvas board. I really want to go all out and get a larger size, but I decided on 11x16 because it is small enough to move around until the day we finally settle and it didn't require any cropping.

Remember this day?

I went back and forth about which print to have made, but finally settled on this one (though, this photo hardly does it justice!):

Can I just say I'm in love!!

It looks just like a painting (if you click on the picture, you can see the canvas detail) and makes me smile every time I see it. We just need to get it matted, framed, and then hung one of these days. I love the vibrant colors and reminder of dear Dunnottar and the memories of spending time there with Mark and others who came to visit.

I also got a print of this dahlia I took in front of the house this summer and framed it. I was planning to sell it but am pretty much in love with this one too so might have to keep it for myself :)

It has truly been satisfying to finally see some of my work printed in a way that I envisioned as I took the photos. I look forward to seeing more printed!

Wedding Photos

2010-09-08T21:12:00.000+01:00

For those of you who want to see 376 worth of wedding photos that I took in July, click on the photo below and it should take you to see the gallery. You can then use the arrow keys to scroll through. Or, close the pop up window and start from the beginning and watch the slideshow. All are good options if you have time :) However, for those of you wanting just one more photo, the below was one of my top favorites for artistic/photojournalistic quality. Not sure exactly what it is, but I love it!

I should make one disclaimer and give credit to my second shooter, Bob Yang. Bob knew the bride from church and was an excellent help that day. I so appreciate his willingness to photograph with me! You will see some of his lovely photos too, though, I'd like to think you won't necessarily know which ones.

Three Years Later....

2010-09-02T22:47:00.049+01:00

***Sorry to those of you got this on Thursday via email or in your reader blog feeds. I was typing it out as my first draft but accidentally hit "publish" instead of "save draft." So while I realized my mistake right away, it was too late. Blogger had already dispersed said new post. Anyways, here it is again with a few updates - today, on the actual anniversary of our departure.

My sheer lack of blogging in the past couple of months is not just your imagination. Google Chrome (my wonderful internet browser - you really should switch) is also picking up on this phenomenon. Blogger used to be my 3rd or 4th on my most used websites tabs. Now it is 6th. To those of you still reading, I am sorry. I just haven't had it in me to blog.

But that's not really why I'm writing this post. I'm writing this post to say it was three years ago today that we (or at least me) said our tearful goodbyes to my parents at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and boarded a plane headed for Aberdeen via Chicago via Manchester before landing on Sept. 5th.

Oh, the memories.

I feel that our lack of internet in our home for the first 2.5 or 3 months of our time in Aberdeen means that there are so many things I never got to record. Like I'm not sure that I ever shared that I actually lost my trans-Atlantic boarding pass in the O'Hare Airport. Imagine with me the sheer terror of being psyched up for this flight for months and months and then realizing it might not be happening. After a couple minutes of frantic searching Mark jogged from our gate (where the discovery took place) back to the security checkpoint (the last place I knew I had the ticket). Thankfully we had plenty of time for all of this to transpire, thankfully I didn't discover as we were about to board, and thankfully some honest and helpful citizen found my ticket around the security checkpoint area and turned it in where Mark reclaimed it. Whew. Crisis adverted. This was just a small reminder that God was looking out for us, each step of the way.

I still vividly remember arriving at the small Aberdeen airport with clouds drizzling some rain. I remember being ecstatic that all 4 pieces of our luggage had arrived. I remember taking it all in as we tried to maneuver our luggage carts to the taxi queue where they had to bring a 5 passenger mini-van-type vehicle to the front of the ranks so we and our luggage could all fit. I remember the taxi driver being kind enough to let us question him about this or that regarding the city. I think he actually kind of relished it and took us down particular streets so he could show us various things as we drove to the Duthie Park area of town to stay with another student family for the first 2 nights. I'm also pretty sure that Aberdeen introduced us on that trip with its usual antics of drizzle, sun, rain, sun, drizzle, etc. I remember I was cold!!! There are so many more things I remember from our first few hours and days in Aberdeen, but I will spare you.

So transition to three years later. We now have 2 years, 9 months and 9 days of living in the UK under our belt and have survived around 2 and a half months of re-entry to the US. We have learned a ton about life, life in the UK, life in the US and about ourselves. We changed, we've grown, we've grown up. We've made some great American friends with whom we will always have a deep common bond from having lived together in Aberdeen. And we've also made new British friends that we learned a lot from. And we most definitely learned more about our mighty and awesome God. Most notably, I personally was reminded a multitude of times that I have an incredibly faithful God.

And that is where I find myself today. With more questions than answers, with uncertainties and at times discouragement - but also with hope - hope in the faithfulness of God. I am reminded most of all that we had very few answers when we headed to Aberdeen. We knew only where we were staying for the first 6 nights of our time there, we had no flat lined up, no certainty that I could find all the foods I needed for my diet, no phones, no friends (except two guys Mark had had some email communication with), no church, no jobs, no car, only a few possessions, and very little know-how regarding navigating in a foreign city.

And yet (or another way Scripture often puts it that I love, "BUT GOD") there was our faithful God giving to us each day as we needed. Perhaps some looked at us and said we were crazy and foolish. Some days I looked at us and wondered if we were crazy and foolish. But God. He delights in blessing those who "foolishly" and whole-heartedly follow after Him. He delights in showing Himself faithful to those who trust (at times without having answers to the whole picture) and obey (to whatever it is He asks even when it at times can seem "foolish").

So in the midst of more uncertainty I'm trying to cling again to my faithful God in areas where I could tell you this or that isn't how I want it to be, or this doesn't seem to be going like I wanted, or that isn't what I expected, but I'd rather tell you how I am hoping (albeit weak at times) in the faithfulness of God. I'm clinging to the But God mentality and can't wait to see what is going to happen on the other side! I am excited to see how God will show Himself faithful yet again so He will receive the praise He deserves!

And that's where I am three years later....

The Ups and Downs

2010-08-17T19:36:00.000+01:00

The past couple weeks of life have been full of highs and lows. One of the highs this past weekend was finally meeting several other people our age. We also agreed to co-teach/lead a new singles ministry for 25-35 year olds in our church. Mark's excited about the chance to teach again and we are both excited about the opportunity to serve together in our new church.

But last night we also had a low point of our time here. One of the active youth in the church committed suicide. And while Mark and I didn't know him we had seen him and definitely recognized his picture when my mom showed it to us. The church family is reeling from this tragedy and seeking to serve both the young man's family and other youth/youth workers. I'd ask for specific prayer for my dad as he leads the staff and as they all lead the church to grieve well and still give God glory. It's been amazing to recently see God at work in the hearts of many in the congregation. We pray that this will serve to further God's work and not hinder it.

Tonight there is a counseling time for parents and youth, and others will be meeting to pray. Wednesday night there will be more times of counseling for the youth, Thursday evening is the visitation and the funeral service is on Friday morning.

Thanks for your prayers....

Thoughts on Being Back

2010-07-27T02:48:00.000+01:00

I was going to post this for our one month/4 week "anniversary" but life was busy and I couldn't quite get my thoughts together. But I think this 6 week update will suffice better anyways.

So after 6 weeks of being back in the U.S. I'm still hesitant when I cross the street because I am unsure which way traffic will be approaching me. I almost always still want to look right-left-right, instead of left-right-left. Thankfully my driving doesn't seem to have suffered too much except for the one minor "freak out" moment I had last week when I pulled onto a 2 lane road where there was no traffic. As I pulled out I thought I was going to the wrong side of the road, but turns out I was headed to the right side which in this country is the right side to be on, so it was all okay. Just a mere .5 second adrenaline rush. I'm glad that doesn't happen too often.

I have discovered I miss my local Scottish grocery store, Sainsbury's, way more than I thought I would. I mean, I knew I was going to miss my granola cereal from there, my Frutis granola bars (though, brought some with me and am just now down to my last 3), and my oatcakes (I have still had those too - just down to my last two packets now. Sad!), and we knew Mark would miss his Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits, but I was unprepared to miss the produce section (especially £1.50 amazing pineapple or £1 for 8 kiwi) or dried fruit and nut section. I am slowly figuring out where I can get the best selection of those items without paying an arm and a leg. Still, I obviously got more used to it than I realized and have walked out of a grocery store dejected more than once.

Just like when you go to a new country for the first time and are more aware of everything around you, I have had that on some level here too. One thing I have really noticed this time being here is the prevalence of obesity. I mean, I have heard repeatedly that obesity is endemic in the U.S. but never noticed it like I have recently. It's not that there aren't overweight people in Scotland, because there are. I just knew or saw much fewer obese people. Its actually quite disturbing to realize how many people here are eating themselves to the grave.

Most other changes I've noticed have been of the imperceptible kind - like I know they are there, I know I am different, I know I think differently than a typical American (or even American believer) but can't quite pinpoint why. Every now and then someone will say something or do something that before moving to Scotland I would have dismissed or not noticed, but now I notice it, think about it and more than likely disagree or find it not quite how I would see things. Maybe at some point I will be able to put into words what those things are exactly. Or maybe not.

I think more than ever before I am now faced with the desire to live "the American Dream." It's more than slightly depressing to be nearly 32 (and 35, if I can speak for Mark too) and have no home to call our own (and living with mom/dad (though we are no doubt incredibly grateful to be here!), no jobs (though I'm working hard on creating a photography one and Mark is definitely still working hard on his thesis), no children, and no "real security" (from a worldly, financial standpoint, that is) to speak of. However, in the midst of struggling through some of these thoughts I saw my dad reading "Radical" by David Platt. He's actually challenging the entire church to read the book so Mark and I have both started reading it.

If you haven't gotten your hands on a copy yet, you need to ASAP! It is phenomenal. Or maybe I should say phenomenally challenging. Reading the book has been a refreshing reminder of why we don't have so many of the things I want right now. A reminder of why we have sacrificed so much for Mark to follow what he believes (and I support) God wants him to do with his life. It's all been for God, Jesus, the Gospel -- they are all undoubtedly worth every last sacrifice and anything that we don't have that I am desiring. I've been exhorted that I indeed have been given much! I have been given the thing I need MOST in this life - a Savior and forgiveness of my sins. And also other needs and wants abundantly provided for. Speaking of which, I've been humbled by how God has provided for us during this transition time. Money has come from some unexpected sources and God is most certainly providing for our needs. Anyways, I'm sure at some point you'll be hearing more on this book....until then, go read it!

So that's my lengthy and unrelated thoughts on life back in the good 'ole U.S. of A. Thanks to those of you who made it this far!

***Some of these flag photos I took on or around the 4th of July (which really did deserve it's own post) but just never got around to posting. The rest are from my trip to Philly. Oh, and the first one was to record the little note and flags my mom left on our bedside table the very late night we returned "home." It was a very happy sight! Thanks, Mom!

Crisps and Chips

2010-07-23T20:43:00.001+01:00

While we were in the UK we were continually amazed by the flavors of their "crisps." Take for instance, this bag I found discarded on a sidewalk the month before we left: "Argentinean Flame Grilled Steak."

Not sure why it has to be "Argentinean" and how that taste differs to a NY Steak Strip in chip flavors, but it must. Mark's personal fav was the below somewhat healthier option "Sun Ripened Sweet Chilli" (yes, they spell Chili differently).

These are just the beginning of exotic chip flavors. According to Wiki here are Walker's current flavors with corresponding pack colors:

Current flavours and packet colours

BBQ Rib (Black)
Cheddar Cheese (Yellow)
Cheddar Cheese & Bacon (Light Orange)
Cheese & Onion (Blue)
Jamaican Jerk Chicken (Light Yellow & Green)
Lamb and Mint (Dark Green)
ManGo-Karting Chutney (Light Brown with Orange)
Pickled Onion (Lime Green)
Ploughman's (Dark Green)^[7]
Prawn Cocktail (Pink)
Ready Salted (Red)
Roast Beef and Horseradish (Dark Gold)
Roast Chicken (Orange)
Roast Gammon (Dark Pink)^[7]
Salt & Vinegar (Green)
Smoky Bacon (Maroon)
Sour Cream and Chive (Cream)
Steak & Onion (Brown)
Sweet Cumberland Sausage (Dark Gold)^[7]
Thai Sweet Chicken (Turquoise)
Tomato Ketchup (Dark Green and Red)
Worcester Sauce (Purple)

Walker's is once again running its "Do Us a Flavour" campaign where the public submits ideas and the company makes them on a limited edition basis - go see for yourself (look under "choose a flavour"). There are some scary flavors there.

Anyhoo, we always thought interesting chip flavors were just a UK thing. Imagine my shock when I was in Target yesterday and saw what I think I remember to be Doritos All Nighter Cheeseburger. Just not sure how I feel about meals being marked on a chip. It's just, well, wrong. Not that I eat them anyways. I'm just sayin'.

Philadelphia Recap

2010-07-19T02:09:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd give you a quick Philadelphia recap in photos (what else would you expect by now?). My watermark accidentally ended up on some of these and I don't want to reimport them so I hope you don't mind!

While in Philly I stayed with my long-time friend, Lisa. We have been friends since 8th grade. It was great to see her again and catch up. We saw each other last year when she came to visit us in Aberdeen, but a lot has change since then -- she is now married! I was so sad that I had to miss their wedding in March so it was so fun seeing the pictures from the wedding and watching the video, and in general hearing wedding stories (like the horror one of having to buy a new wedding dress 2 weeks before the wedding).

On Thursday Lisa and I went to the National Constitution Center. Her husband, Micah, knows someone who works there who was able to get us free tickets (a $20 value including the Ancient Rome & America exhibit) It was a great center and they gave a fabulous presentation about "We the People." Just a fun factoid - the constitution was signed on my birthday - a few years prior :)

They had a hall with statues of all the signers of the constitution. It was actually kinda freaky. I kept thinking they were real people.

We both got to sign the visitors book that was in the form of how the constitution is. Yes! That's me - in a sleeveless shirt with shorts (I know, you've probably never seen that on this blog - forgive the whiteness). Y'all - it.was.hot! Actually, this day it had cooled down to about 93F instead of being 102F from the previous day! Lisa and Micah don't have central air in their flat (I kept calling it that - too hard to say apartment. Flat is soooo much easier!) and their little room units couldn't keep up so it was about 87F in their place on Wed. Anyways, we were all thankful for the cool-down on Thursday and afterwards.

I loved how all the flags were hanging in the center of the center :)

And I was rather proud that I was able to find the Tennessee flag without looking at the name plate.

A view of Independence Mall in Philly

I got to briefly stop by Love Park before heading to see my friend Becky. I had fun hanging out with her family, taking their photos and eating a delicious Rachel-friendly dinner.

After a very long day on Saturday of photographing the wedding Lisa picked me up from the reception. She asked if I was up for seeing Boathouse Row all lit up. Their place isn't far from it so I said sure. It made for some wonderful photos.

As we got out of the car to head in for the night I saw this serene little image. The photo hardly does it justice, but it was just a quaint view and one reason I love Philly. It was nice to be in a city and not see granite :)

Proof!

2010-07-15T03:31:00.000+01:00

Here's proof that Dad and Mark did indeed catch fish as large as they said they did!

Impressive, huh?!

Never Say Never

2010-07-12T01:58:00.001+01:00

It's hard to know where to even start. I wanted to post something this past week and it just never happened. There are multiple things I could post about, but perhaps I'll focus on the one main one. The thing I said I'd never do. And yet did. Yesterday.

I photographed a wedding.

And guess what?! I loved it! It was an amazing day and I still can't believe how much fun I had! And how relaxed I felt. (Thanks for your prayers!)

The past 6 months or so I've been following various wedding photographers' blogs to be inspired and to learn from their work. Over and over I have read the photographers describe what an absolute joy and privilege it is to be with a bride and groom on their wedding day. Yesterday, in the midst of various moments both happy and mundane, I had the same feelings that I had been reading about for months. I felt incredibly honored to have been asked to be the photographer - the one to share such intimate moments with the couple and family throughout the day. A day that none of them will forget. Nor will I. A bride and groom have great faith in their photographer. The weight of that did not escape me in the months and days leading up to The Big Day, nor did it when the day actually arrived. Their faith in me both inspired me and humbled me.

As I started getting more and more involved and passionate about photography in the past 12-18 months I was asked repeatedly if I would do wedding photography. At times people assumed that would be the next step for me. I vividly remember telling multiple people I would not do wedding photography. Too much pressure. Too many chances for failure.

Never say never.

The funny thing is that when I was first asked to photograph this wedding I rather quickly in my head and heart knew that I didn't want to do it, especially based on my previous assessment of what I thought wedding photography was all about. I agonized deeply over the decision, asked for multiple people's opinions, and prayed often for wisdom about making the right decision. At the end of those two weeks my outlook had changed and it seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up, but I also knew what I needed to do prepare in various ways so that I could be the photographer I wanted to be on that day. Since that time I've worked diligently to be ready.

Over and over the past few days I knew I had made the right decision. Everything just felt right. Sarah and Matt (the bride and groom) were wonderful to work with, as was the family. And despite the pouring rain and ominous clouds (at least 1/3 of the skyscrapers in Philly were covered with dark, thick clouds as Sarah's dad drove me to their house around 10:45am), God heard my pleas for some sun and kept my heart at rest (I was dying for some of that beautiful natural light to help me make better photos). It was still raining when we arrived at the church a little after 1pm.

But, my friends, miraculously (literally) it began to clear!! By the wedding's start at 3pm the sun was streaming in the large side windows. Throw in some outstanding music provided by stellar musicians, a radiant bride walking down the aisle to bagpipe music (I wish you could have heard it! It was perfect and I was nearly in tears looking through the viewfinder!), and a convicting wedding sermon and it was a recipe for the best first wedding I could have had.

God is good. And I haven't stopped praising Him since.

Week 2+ of Re-entry

2010-07-01T03:07:00.000+01:00

In many ways it seems like we've been here longer than two weeks and 2 days. Not sure why that is, but just how it feels to me at least. Thought I'd give you some highlights of the past week or so.

Last Wednesday I got to shoot my first photo session of the two most adorable girls. They go to my parents' church (now our church too!). Their mom told me about a fabulous public place that has tons of old barns and buildings. I'm in love and will definitely take future clients there for more photo ops. Check my photo blog for more photos in the next day or two.

Don't you just LOVE their Americana outfits?!

Thursday Mark and I drove nearly 3 hours east to Knoxville to meet up with some dear friends from Raleigh (who were visiting family in Knoxville). Mark and Travis used to be in a small guys group together. When the guys all got married (within about a year of each other) several of them kept meeting and just added their wives. We always enjoyed getting together with Travis and Julie (and Phil and MaryAnn) during that first year of marriage. It was great to see part of Tennessee while driving, as well as to go to the World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville. But seeing T & J and their 4 blessings (meeting the youngest for the first time) again was a real joy!

***Sadly I just discovered that I accidentally deleted all those photos before downloading then on my computer, so you'll have to take my word for it that they are some cute kids and that Knoxville looks pretty cool from the Sunsphere.

Friday Mark spent the majority of the day car hunting and FINALLY FOUND ONE!!! Hurray and praise the Lord! It's a black 2001 Nissan Sentra that seems to be a decent little car with wonderful AC.

Our new little car as seen from our bedroom window.

Saturday was a big (and long) day for me. I shot my first wedding as an assistant to Sarah from Eyeris Photography. She was great and overall it was fairly low-key wedding, so a good one to get my feet wet with.

A quick shot I took before going to the balcony for the rest of the ceremony.

This is the brother and nephew of the bride. I kept finding myself drawn to the babies and children during the wedding - maybe a sign that that truly is my photographic passion. Or maybe just what I'm comfortable with at this point.

Monday I woke up with a summer cold passed on to me probably by my dear mother. I was thankful it skipped the sore throat stage and was mainly just annoying sniffles. And thankful it is basically already gone. Monday also marked the day we became official Tennesseans by obtaining our TN drivers licenses - FIVE forms of ID later, mind you. But, as proof that Tennesseans are hands down the friendliest folks I ever did meet, I had the best DMV experience I ever remember - and it only took 30 minutes!

Yesterday Mark and Dad took mental health days and spent the day fishing on a boat on the Caney Fork River. It is reported they caught tons of fish with 2 strippers weighing in around 20lbs, but Mom and I are dubious due to no photos yet being produced. They came home beat but contented (and hungry).

This morning I did editing, editing, editing, then spent part of the afternoon at the massive and incredible downtown Nashville library with my mom. I just wish we lived closer than 25 minutes from it. It was amazing! Mark has been back at reading, writing, reading, writing. Fun times.

So that's what we've been up to!

A Week of Reverse Culture Shock

2010-06-22T15:36:00.000+01:00

Overall it's been a good first week back. The worst part has been not being able to find a decent car to buy. You have to be extra careful buying a car in these parts due to all the flooding in May in the Nashville area. We'd appreciate your prayers that God would provide one quickly for us and within our price range. In the meantime, my parents have been great at letting us borrow their cars when we need them.

I thought I'd share some reverse culture shock happenings. More than likely it will be our Aberdeen friends that will most appreciate these.

-I was at the grocery store and was going to pay for my items, so took out my credit card and held it like I was going to insert it in the "chip and pin" slot. I was slightly flustered to realize it had no chip and I no longer live in the land of "chip and pin" but in the land of swipe-your-card-then-sign-your-name.

-I have had a hard time remembering that when writing my birthdate the month comes first instead of the day. This kind of shocked me since it took ages for me to get this one (in regards to my birthdate) into my head in Aberdeen. Mark's birthday, for some reason, has really thrown me for a loop.

-Writing the date in general. I knew this was going to be a problem since within the first 6 months or so in Aberdeen I had embraced this one rather wholeheartedly both at work and in my personal life.

-Mark and I were at Wal-Mart. He was in line while I went to the, well, the "bathroom" (since it is no longer as acceptable to call it the "toilet" or "loo"). When I finished he said to me, "I started to bag the stuff." I had a good laugh. Though, since there is no conveyer-belt, he said he didn't get any further than opening the bag on the turntable thing when the checkout clerk obviously started to pack the groceries.

-Turning right on red. Mark and I had a discussion trying to remember if this was okay.

-The emptiness of the grocery stores. I really can't get over this one. Maybe it is just the area my parents live in, or maybe American grocery stores just aren't as crazy busy (during most times) as Scottish ones since people don't shop every stinkin' day.

-Of course I've already called "cell" phones "mobile" phones. This will be hard to break, at least this first month, I think.

-You wave at your neighbors when you pass in your car. Right. I remember this one was new to me when I moved from Ohio to NC. I am no longer a hard-nosed city northerner so I must not act like one.

-It actually being hot when the sun is out. And in the evenings. Don't get me wrong, I'm lovin' it! My brother noted (when he visited this weekend) that he hadn't heard me complain about the 90+ temps we've had almost the entire week we've been back. I said, "No, I haven't. And you won't hear me. At least not for a very long time."

-The laundry, when placed outside to dry on a drying rack, (yes, this habit is harder to break. It's one I kind of like now, so will still line dry some) dries in about .4 seconds.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T17:45:00.000+01:00

For the record, I love my dad! It's great to be able to be here with him this year for Father's Day, especially after missing the past two. As a family we talked about how my brother and I haven't both been together with my dad on Father's day for nearly a decade due to one of us always living overseas for the past 8 years.

Here are just a few reasons I love my daddy:
1. He loves the Lord with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.
2. He loves my mom devotedly.
3. He loves and prays regularly for my brother, Mark and me.
4. He isn't perfect but is willing to ask for forgiveness when he's wrong.
5. He's super silly and fun! (see photo with pink shirt - this week was VBS and he promised the kids he'd wear a pink shirt [he hates pink BTW] if they got over 400 kids this week - they were close so he agreed to still wear one. His staff picked this out for him and he wore it today to church. What a trooper!)
6. He's modeled Christ, His Kingdom and ways to us since we were young.

I LOVE YOU, DAD!!

(New) Home Sweet (New) Home!

2010-06-15T16:47:00.000+01:00

Well, after arriving to my parents last night at 11:15pm (instead of 8pm) after flight delays, and some sleep, we are now chillin' for the day. My parents are at VBS at their church so we've barely even seen them yet. But there's lots of time to catch up. Hope you enjoy the below that I wrote (mostly) last night while desperately trying to stay awake in O'Hare.

Since our final flight from Chicago to Nashville is delayed (bad weather in the midwest, I think, though not actually in Chicago), and I have nothing better to do, I thought I'd write an update about this very, very long 14th of June. I hope you enjoy the stats about the day.

Current time in Aberdeen - 1:42am (I need to change my computer clock because that is just depressing!)
Current time in Chicago - 7:42pm
Time we woke up this morning - 4:00am
Hour slept Sunday night - a rough 5
Pieces of checked luggage - 5 at 50lbs
Pieces of carry on - 4 heavy ones
Amount paid for the extra piece of luggage - ZERO! (God is so good! I had only been praying that BMI was indeed going to let us follow United's (our long haul flight carrier) baggage restrictions, which were much more generous - 2 checked luggages per person for free - like we had been told. But you just don't always know if you can trust what you are told these days! So not only did they not charge us for a bag or two that might have been 1-2 lbs over 50lbs, but the lady didn't even charge us for the extra piece of luggage - saving us £130!!) I literally walked away with tears in my eyes at God's mercy via that lady and for answering our prayers.
Number of people carrying a large (2 piece) winter coat besides me - ZERO! (Do you know how much weight and space winter coats take up?!)
Airports visited - 4 (Aberdeen, Heathrow, O'Hare, Nashville)
Number of times food was consumed - at least 15, maybe more!
Pages read in my new Jodi Picoult book ("Handle with Care") - 100
Number of minor meltdowns - 1 - when they took my ice pack in the O'Hare security checkpoint. There might have been a few tears shed over the incident (after the fact), but it was more the injustice of it all (and lack of sleep!) than the loss of my ice pack. They didn't care that we'd been traveling at that point for 16 or so hours, the ice pack was melted and could not be permitted because it was now a liquid. Never mind. At least not much food was left needing the refrigeration.
Number of concourses/terminals toured in O'Hare - 4
Number of Starbucks passed while touring O'Hare - 7
Miles walked in O'Hare - close to two
Number of people in O'Hare also traveling and/or with delayed/cancelled flights- 23,787,093,639,845 (yes, that many!)
Number of times our last flight has been delayed - 5 or 6 (lost count, really)
Number of gate changes - 2
Number of hours delayed - 3
Hours spent in O'Hare - nearly 6
Pieces of luggage arrived safely in Nashville - 5 - HURRAY!
Hours I hope to sleep tonight - 14
Actual numbers slept - 9
Estimated temp for today - 96
Things planned for today - ZERO!

LIVE!

2010-06-11T13:55:00.001+01:00

We are on the final 2.5 day countdown! Seems so weird, though now that most items are packed or in stacks waiting to be given away it is starting to feel more real - and getting more exciting! If we can just press on for a couple more days doing all those things that you have to do when packing and moving, then we can crash once we arrive in Nashville. If I keep sleeping poorly crash is most certainly what I will do!

While I had really wanted to blog about a few things that I've had on my mind to blog about the entire time we've been here, but haven't, it just hasn't happened. Too much else going on, I'm afraid.

One of those "too much" items has been frantically working on my new photography website! After much debate, I settled on www.rachelowensphotography.com which is now LIVE so be sure to check it out and in case you haven't found my photography business on Facebook, you can do that here. If you know anyone in the Nashville area please send them to my site! Thanks!

In case we don't have another opportunity to blog, we'll see you on the other side!

Eight Years and Counting!

2010-06-01T22:20:00.000+01:00

So hard to believe that 8 years ago Mark and I tied the knot! It seems like ages ago and yet there are so many happy memories that don't seem so far away. I so wish we had photos here I could look through. Or our video. I've already told Mark I want to watch at least some of it when we get back. It's been awhile since we've seen it.

Lucerne Lake - I dream of going back here some day!

But I have to admit, my thoughts have probably been more focused on our anniversary last year that started in Zurich and ended in a quaint village outside Freiburg, Germany. Those were happy memories too (except for Zurich - that place tested our sanity and our marriage but the below sunset made it worth it!). As crazy as our own Amazing Race adventures were those few days, I would love to relive them. But, since that's impossible, I did take a trip down memory lane via viewing the gazillions of photos I took. If these few photos aren't enough for you, click the link above and you can see many more as you look through the four parts of our amazing race posts.

Lake Zurich

The Lord's been so good to us these 8 years! I never would have guessed some of the things that we've been through and yet I wouldn't really want to change a thing. All things have come by God's grace and for His glory and I'm just thankful to have gone through it with my Mark. I can't wait for the new things God has in store for us as we head into another 8+8+8+8+8!

From our walk through the village and some fields after our dinner at our B&B in Germany the night of our anniversary last year.

The Love Continues

2010-05-28T16:38:00.001+01:00

I'm not sure how it has been over a week since I've last posted, but alas, the time is flying.

I had one main goal for today and I'm happy to say I somehow accomplished it.

But first, a brief recap of last night's fun. Vicki (see photo below), is an amazing dancer and was in The Wedding Singer last night (and the next two nights). It was a musical based off of the Adam Sandler movie by the same title. After dinner out with Gemma and Fiona, we headed to see Vicki. We all really enjoyed the show and just spending a little time together for my "leaving do." Sorry, I opted to leave the camera home, sorry no photos, you'll have to take my word, it was a nice night out.

Now back to today: So what was that one goal? Not to cry as I said goodbye to everyone at work. Not an easy feat, but somehow managed with only a slight mist in the eyes at one point. I had lay down the rules to the other girls in my immediate room:

Behind me: Fiona, Vicki, Gemma

1. No crying.
2. No looking me in the eye.
3. Jokes and laughter must abound.
4. No reading of cards.
5. Remember number one.

I was proud. They did well too! But I won't lie, as I got home and read the sweet cards I was given and looked again at the abundance of gifts I'd been given, the flood came. Mostly gratitude to my God for His graciousness in giving me this job. I remember praying a good deal before I moved here about my job. I prayed for one I would enjoy and not dislike. I knew it was going to be hard enough living overseas without having a job I despised to go to. God answered my prayers in big ways. Aside from the few odd days, I have rarely had that "I really dislike work" or "don't want to go to work" feeling. And it has made the world of difference. And I will never be the same for having had the chance to work in Student Recruitment and Admissions.

I don't think I could have worked with a more generous bunch! Check out a few of the things I was given.

See ewe Jimmy reusable "carrier" bag - love it! Painting by Thomas Joseph; Thistle key chain and thistle earrings and celtic pendant (see below).

I was floored that the girls in my room got me this among other little things!! The Ness store is amazing. I enjoyed browsing the one last year in Edinburgh when my friend Lisa was visiting.

The whole department chipped in and got me these thistle earrings.

And this (what I guess would be described as) Celtic necklace. Such sweet gifts to take home!

One of the cards was a watercolor painting of the Unicorn in King's (right outside of Mark's office).

As a special treat they ordered in some soldiers and a piper band just for me! Just kidding, of course. The real reason was this. (If you click the link, at least in the next day or two, there is a slideshow of other photos too.) Anyways, Fiona, Vicki, Gemma and I quickly ran across campus to see the end of the show. We missed most of it, but I still managed a few shots.

I liked their massive feathers. Gemma (who grew up in Wales) said it is a Welsh thing.

As we were leaving and passing by the group of soldiers getting on their bus, Gemma (who is also known to be a bit crazy at times), bear-hugged me and drug me over to the soldiers saying, "She's moving back to America, can she have her photo taken with you." Not my favorite thing, but what was I to do?

The best part was right before the photo when their commanding officer told them to remove their bayonets from their guns first. I guess that was so I wouldn't get hurt :)

So there you have it, my last day of work in review. It was a good day and I even got a little work done before all the partying and goodbyes started.

The Goodness of Kale

2010-05-20T17:56:00.000+01:00

When food allergies became my all consuming life about 5-6 years ago (years I'd rather forget most of the time!) I had to pour a lot of time and energy into reading about how to cook with allergies. And what in the world to eat! One food I ran across several times in my researching was kale. I discovered pretty early on in changing my diet that I could only experiment so much within a given week or month. Sometimes it was lack of time, sometimes it was I could only handle so many failures! So kale, by nature of being a dark, green, leafy vegetable was left by the wayside. But it has always lurked in the back of my mind. What exactly does that stuff taste like? Could it be something to expand my diet?

Enter a grocery trip with my mom when we were home at Christmas. We were in the veggie section and I mentioned something about how I'd like to try kale sometime, but had no idea what to do with it - not to mention you can only buy it in what seems like a bulk amount. I don't like wasting things so why would a buy a large amount when it was just Mark and me and we might not like it? Here's the best part, my mom, being the healthy cook/eater that she is knew what to do with it and bought some on the spot saying she'd teach me. Thanks Mom!

To me kale looks a lot like collard greens. And according to that link from Wiki, both are in the cabbage family so I suppose they might look similar. Not that I've eaten collard greens. The name is a bit off-putting (whereas kale almost sounds posh). And I've had the impression it is bitter. I'm not sure if that is founded or not, but it's what I've always thought. And I expected the same of kale. But, to my surprise, it had a pleasant not overbearing taste. And strangely enough Mark liked it too. Hurray! A new food - a very healthy food - for both of us to eat. We already know that makes me happy :)

So when I looked for kale here I noticed it comes pre-cut and packaged (see photo above) and it is generally a £1 or under. So not only is it a steal of a deal, but the hardest part is done for me! All I have to do is dump it in a colander, rinse with water, chop some onion, use my garlic press for some instant minced garlic and heat up some olive oil, saute the onion/garlic and then toss in the kale. I love the simplicity of this side dish.

The only slight draw back is that it looks like a ginormous amount when it goes in the pan. The stuff is springy but quickly starts to shrink/wilt as it heats up. This pan is sans a lid, so I either use a plate, or better yet because it is already dirty, the colander.

I think I usually let it cook for around 20-25 minutes. I forgot to take a picture before Mark and I already had servings on our plates, but you can still get the idea how much it shrinks down. We've found we don't mind the leftovers reheated in the microwave so it does last several days.

I've also heard it can be frozen and is great in soups, though I haven't tried either of those options yet. Maybe some day soon! And, for the very adventuresome chef, here's a recipe for kale chips. It was originally the kale chips that got my interest in this veggie. Haven't tried those yet either (I'm not sure how well it would work with the pre-chopped kale) but hope to when we are back in the U.S.

One last tidbit for my Aberdeen friends - I've found this in ASDA (can even order it online) or Sainsbury's, but sadly found out on Sunday Morrison's doesn't stock it. Sorry.

So now you have no excuse for trying out this yummy and healthy veg!

Golden Fields

2010-05-16T16:03:00.000+01:00

Mark and I headed out yesterday morning for what possibly might have been our last Scottish adventure. I'm still hoping for one more final adventure, but am unsure where the time will come from to do so. Even yesterday's jaunt was a bit of a stretch. So this might have been it. If so, it was a phenomenal day to end our exploring of Scotland on. The sky was a deep blue, the sun bright, the clouds white and puffy, the grass a glorious green, and the fields a golden yellow. Just see for yourself.

I had forgotten the rapeseed would be in bloom across the hills so it was an unexpected treat as we headed to St. Andrew's. Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog some more about our time there. If not, you'll just have to trust me it was a wonderful quick trip out of the city on a rare gem of a day.

One Month and Counting!

2010-05-14T16:06:00.000+01:00

Hard to believe that today marks one month until we leave! It's on June 14th bright and early that we'll make our journey back to the U.S. Sadly, goodbyes are already beginning. Last week I said goodbye to a co-worker who was leaving for maternity leave. This week I said goodbye to two more who will be on holiday and overseas work trips and won't return before my last day of work. I'm not really looking forward to another 4 weeks of goodbyes.

One of the ladies, Wilma, that I said goodbye to this week is also one of the women that has enjoyed teaching me doric. The past few months, especially after I say, "huh?" occasionally to something she says, has said she should get me a doric dictionary so I can attempt to better understand her. So this week when she gave me a gift I was pleasantly surprised to find these inside the gift bag:

Though, she herself admitted, she really should have given me these when I first started working. Nonetheless, it was a rather special gift from her which will always allow me the chance to remember a few of the things I learned during our time here.

I was surprised to find that the bottom book in the photo above, "Doric - Alive and Kickin" was also signed by the author. I had to show you the funny woman on the front. She reminds me a lot of Princess Fiona, Shrek's wife. Once I read the book I'll have to let you know why she looks so scary.

Speaking of reading....after attempting to read the first paragraph I quickly concluded it was a VERY good idea that Wilma had also included the dictionary. See for yourself.

I just wish the books came with a CD of pronunciations. Or a CD of someone (preferably one of the women I work with) reading the book so I can forever remember the accent and pronunciations. Perhaps one of the other women in my office would like to give that to me as a going away present.

The Big Red Crane

2010-05-11T15:41:00.000+01:00

I feel I would be remiss to not blog about The Big Red Crane and all that it signifies. I actually took these photos a month or so after it was first erected (sometime in October, I think).

This is The Big Red Crane as seen from our kitchen window. The crane has become a permanent fixture on The University of Aberdeen campus. Namely, at the site of the new library that is being built. You get a sense for how tall the crane is since our flat is almost entirely uphill from campus and on the (U.S.) 3rd floor. No matter where you are in the area or on campus you can almost always see the crane looming large.

I had my camera on campus yesterday so I wanted to take a few shots to show the progress. Somewhat just for my own record, somewhat for our friends that used to be here and are now gone so they can see the changes around campus. And of course, just to inform you, my dear readers of life here.

My personal favorite part of the site - built-in windows in the wall surrounding the project for the curious of heart. I did notice, though, the bars are new and an obvious safety feature now that they are doing more work at eye level and less foundation work.

So you can't see the progress quite as well as prior to the bars.

And because I love you, I hiked up 4 flights of stairs to get you this view. You can see just how close the new library is being built to the old one - they basically touch (or maybe they do? see the 3rd photo on the blog to decide for yourself).

I really liked how you can already see the middle part (that is a major feature of the library) taking shape.

I wanted to give you a shot looking straight down, but they've put up more safety plastic/glass in the library windows where the construction is so it was inhibiting any decent downward looking shots.

Since the new library is one of my departments big sells for the University, I've heard a fair bit about it, thus being remiss if I didn't show it off a little to you! To read more about the new library, go here. Be sure to also to watch the video they have on their simulating the new library. There you should see the interior portion I was mentioning above.

Busy, busy, busy....

2010-05-08T20:17:00.000+01:00

I'm going to ask for a few days back this week because they are going by too quickly. The past 24 hours alone has been jam packed full of fun.

First, our department (SRAS - Student Recruitment and Admissions Service), had a night out (or, as they say in Doric, "night oot"). It was a whopping £20 to go so I was not going to participate. But, when a very kind co-worker discovered that was why I wasn't going she offered to pay and let that be my "leaving" present. I was going to decline, but she persisted so I agreed. She was too kind and I think I will forever be grateful. I really enjoyed myself. One of the most interesting parts was beholding some of my co-workers consume more alcohol than I thought possible in the space of 4 hours, though I always hear stories at work so I was not surprised. They weren't all like that, just a handful. Thankfully the night ended before I could see things get worse!

It was a full night of Dodgems (bumper cars), dinner (the chef did an amazing job catering to my needs, so props to him), indoor miniature golf (which I think I heard referred to as "crazy golf" and was so happy it was indoors), and "ten-pin bowling" (it took me a long time realize they call it 10-pin bowling to differentiate it from lawn bowling, which is quite a popular sport amongst the older generations of Scots). All in all it was a great night out and I enjoyed getting to observe a different side of the Scottish culture than I had before. Oh, and two hole-in-ones, one strike and a couple spares helped things too! To see some of the fun, go to my Facebook album SRAS Night Oot.

This morning first thing I finished up some photos of the Stratis family that we took on Monday (in the FREEZING cold, I might add). Here's a couple teasers to get you to click and see the rest of the cuteness.

Oh, and while you are there, be sure to check out the shots from Luke's two year photos that I put up a couple days ago. And just because I know you can't wait to see his cute face, here's one to get you started:

Then, it was off to my friend, Allison's baby shower. Allison and her husband arrived in Aberdeen a few days after Mark and I did. We met them the first Sunday we went to church here and have been friends ever since. We've been through the ups and downs of living overseas together, and I'm confident that she is an answer to my prayers before moving here that God would give me friends upon arrival. To see highlights of the shower, go here.

Right after the shower Mark picked me up and we headed to our friend, Ivan's, for our first taste of haggis (hmmm....it sounds much worse than it tastes if you read what it is)! We met Ivan our second week at church when we had been invited to someone's house for Sunday lunch and he was there as another guest. Since then we've enjoyed chatting with him before or after various services at church. A few weeks ago, when he found out we hadn't had haggis yet, he offered to have us over so we could try it. So today was the day! Mark was committed to trying it and I was going to take the "out" because of food allergies. But, after looking at the packaging and determining it was safe enough, and feeling rather bold, I decided to just go for it and try it too! I'm glad I did just so I know what it is like. My stomach has been a bit of a mess since then, but it might have been a couple other things I ate that I don't typically eat, or perhaps the combination of all of them. But, you only live in Scotland once (I hope!) so it was worth it and I'm still glad I did it. To see documentation of monumental said event, click here.

Whew. So that has been my busy 24 hours and now that all photos are on-line for others to enjoy, I'm going to sit back and watch a movie with Mark. Or maybe LOST. Mark somehow roped me into starting to watch it, so now there is no turning back - we are officially LOST junkies.

Our Faithful Father

2010-05-02T16:46:00.000+01:00

If you have known me for any length of time or been reading here any length of time you know that I like to look back at life and reflect on God's goodness, especially at milestones in life. Moves, like birthdays, often precipitate such reflection in me. I am not generally one to take life changes too well, so it helps for me to spend time before the change dwelling on the past and preparing for the future.

Maybe it was the amazing rainbow that God displayed on Friday evening that started such thoughts, may be it was the reality that now that it is May our move feels more imminent, maybe it was that 6 weeks from today is our last full day in Aberdeen. Whatever the cause (and probably more likely all of them together), this morning before church I spent a great deal of time reflecting on God's amazing goodness and faithfulness, especially in relations to our lives here.

I think it was the rainbow - perhaps the brightest and certainly one of the longest lasting - that first made me remember a rainbow shortly after arriving in Aberdeen over 2 and a half years ago. As I hung out of our window awestruck and shutter happy, I remembered that post. And I remembered God's faithfulness. Even rereading the post now brings tears to my eyes. God went before us into the unknown of this city and the move here and provided ever so much for us.

This morning I reflected on so many prayer requests we prayed in the months prior to our arrival - a church to call home, friends to share our hearts with and to laugh with, a flat that would meet our needs and be near to the University, a job I would enjoy, financial provision of paying for tuition and other expenses, better health for me (I was quite sick right before we came and once we arrived), and on and on the list goes. It was so good to remember because I saw how perfectly and uniquely God answered our needs and many of our wants.

Looking back is so comforting as I look forward, praying many of those same prayers again that I was praying 3 years ago - a church family to be a part of, jobs we enjoy, financial provisions, friends, etc. Nothing can give you confidence and faith in God quite like remembering how faithful He has been to you in the past. He is worthy of my trust and He will not fail me/us.

If you read the post I wrote back in Sept 2007 that I linked above, you read that we had sung a song that Sunday in church called "What a Faithful God Have I." I am pretty sure that I've written out the lyrics before as well (though at the moment can't remember where that post is), so I've included a video for you to hear the tune/lyrics. In many ways I suppose this song has become a bit of a theme song to me personally during our time here. I will not soon forget it, nor the things God has done in our lives while we've been here.

Sniffing Menth

2010-04-30T21:00:00.001+01:00

I said Menth, not Meth! I had a cold last week and over the weekend. As far as colds go it was actually pretty mild. But the worst part was that the junk got in my ears and has stayed there the entire week. Mornings, as you might imagine are the worst, though as the week has gone on it does seem to be lessening and for that I am grateful!

But last Saturday and Sunday my ears were in pain from the pressure. When I'm sick I try very hard not to take any meds because the meds themselves can sometimes just give me other pains (usually of the abdominal variety, if you catch my drift). So I didn't want to take anything like Sudafed (besides, that stuff just makes me feel weird) to drain my ears. But I also knew I needed to do something.

I hopped on Google. No surprise there. I found some home remedy type recipes. I also read in my Coconut Cures book for a remedy for ear aches/infections. In the end I combined two recipes and made a little concoction of coconut oil (melted - as an anti-bacterial), essential peppermint oil (to numb the pain a little), and some garlic oil (also anti-bacterial, I think, which was harder to extract that you might imagine - I kept getting small parts of the garlic in there). We had an unused sterile dropper so I had Mark drop the mixture in my ear. We repeated with the other ear after 20 minutes of letting the first one sit in there and do its thing.

I was hoping for a miracle cure but it didn't come. I was bummed and still in pain.

By Monday the pain was lessening, but it was like I was listening through hands cupped over my ears. Not fun. So I headed to the Chemist and asked for anything that might help that didn't have Sudafed in it. I had them stumped temporarily. Then, the nice lady suggested Menth crystals :)

I was skeptical.

How was breathing menthol diluted in steaming water going to clear my ears? I asked and she said the nose and ears are all connected. Fair enough. And for a £1.70 I didn't have much to lose.

I nearly gagged the first big breath a took. That was STRONG stuff that took my breath away. But I persisted, just not so close to the water. The longer I breathed in nice and deep, the more it got into me. Good stuff. I thought I'd also try letting it seep into my ear so turned my ear towards the steam. I was desperate, folks.

Within the hour my ear that had been clogged for 48 hours finally "popped!" Maybe that stuff actually worked! I repeated again later that night and again the next day. Each time it seemed to help. In fact, now I like the soothing, tingly, relaxing feeling it brings so much I just might start using them for stress relief even when I am not sick.

If they don't sell these Menth Crystals in the U.S. you better believe I'm taking bottles of the stuff back with us. I just hope none of you warn customs :)

Those Friendly Skies

2010-04-24T21:33:00.000+01:00

In the past few days since the Aberdeen Airport has been opened again, I've once again been hearing the whirl of the helicopters fly past our flat as they go to and from the oil rigs offshore. It is a uniquely Aberdeen sound (I should think) and one that I think I might miss. I hadn't realized just how quiet the skies had been without planes and helicopters until I heard them again after not hearing them for 5 days. Strange how that happens sometimes. You forget about something until you see it or hear it again, and then it brings a wave of familiarity and a sense of the world just being right.

Time's a Tickin'

2010-04-20T17:24:00.002+01:00

The days are flying off the calendar and it dawned on me we only have 8 weeks from yesterday left here. I have been trying to soak up the moments. (Except for the moments of snow yesterday and today - those I'm trying to erase from my memory. If only flights were flying regularly [and not messed up due to the volcanic ash] I would have hopped the first one to Nashville. Snow in April is WRONG!)

It's becoming strange to me that soon my "diary" (day planner) will be filled with things happening in another country and not this one.

We'd appreciated your prayers as we look forward to what is to come. Mark doesn't have a job (nor any viable leads at this point) and I hope to pursue my own photography business. We look forward seeing how the Lord leads and provides for us both in work and other ways.

As Usual....

2010-04-15T20:39:00.000+01:00

Well it's same 'ole, same 'ole around here. I've been behind the camera (or editing) in my spare time. Mark's been pluggin' away. And is ready to be done. And I wouldn't mind that either! I am at a loss of words and lacking motivation to write the posts I have been wanting to write. So, as usual, I'll let some photos I've taken the past 4 days do the talking. Did I mention I love photography? :) :) :)

Oh, glorious spring! You do my heart good!

I chased quite a few bumble bees Sunday evening. Miraculously got one in focus in the eyes!

I know how you feel buddy. (What's not to love about children's photography. Seriously!)

Or seniors for that matter. One last lady who couldn't get her photo taken last week.

All Things Photography

2010-04-07T22:07:00.000+01:00

It's been an eventful 24+ hours for me and my photography "business."

First, (and I can't believe I'm saying this!) I've agreed to photograph my first wedding! After 2 weeks of deliberation, prayer, getting Mark and other friends' input, emailing the bride about various things, doing some researching on equipment upgrades I need to make, etc, I finally decided to go for it! I've said repeatedly I'd never shoot a wedding and here I am not very far into my photography career already breaking said vow. Never say never. It'll bite you every time! I'm not exactly sure what made me stop and ponder this request, but ponder it I did. And the biggest shock of it to me, I'm super excited! Nervous, yes, but excited about yet another new challenge! The bride-to-be is a sister of one of my friends who used to live here in Aberdeen, but has returned to the Philly area (where the wedding will also be). July 10th is the big day!

In light of said commitment, I decided it would be advantageous to get some training (however small) from an actual wedding photographer before the big day. I contacted a couple of photographers in the Nashville area to see if anyone would let me shadow for a couple of weddings that they are shooting. So far I've had one lady come back to me and agree! We're still ironing out the details, but hopefully that will work out so I don't have to shoot the wedding blind :)

This afternoon was my afternoon to take portraits of my friends at Cafe Plus (the ministry I referenced a couple weeks ago that is at our church for the 55+ on Wednesday afternoons). God was so gracious to give me an assistant (who it turns out, knew waaaaay more about photography than I did [though that really wouldn't be super hard!] and had much better equipment also [again, not too hard to do!]) and was a huge asset to the 1.5 hours of straight portrait shooting for about 20 individuals/couples. I was so grateful God answered my prayers for sunshine! It was out a good part of our time of shooting making for some nice portraits. After most everyone had left the church building I took some shots to remember our church by. These are shots that I've been plotting in my head (while listening to every word of the sermons!) for a long time now. This was also on my bucket list (see this post if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Without further ado, a few favs of the day....

This actually wasn't a very typical shot, but I did try it on a few ladies I know better.

Grandma, the next time I see you, I want to get one like this of you!

No, thankfully the minister doesn't preach from up there :) I didn't ever put on my wider lens so I have no good shots of the whole of the church. Sorry!

Part of the "In Remembrance" of fallen soldiers from the Aberdeen area. I've always wondered, is this in reference to THE Rober Burns?

A portion of one of the stained glass windows

Centre (ha, make that center) of the rose window at the back of the church

Ever since I've known what shallow depth of field is I've wanted to get this shot! It's the very purple carpet :)

The pilars are oh so nice. I like the purple/gold detailing on them at the top.

More purple and gold detailing that I enjoy looking at.

So you can see where that purple and gold detailing are.

Give Away and a Moving Date!

2010-03-26T16:42:00.000Z

First things first, my friend Emily is having a delish give away on her blog. Go here to take part, leave a comment and let her know I sent you. If you like tea or even if you aren't a big tea fan (like myself) I can pretty much guarantee you will love this tea! We had a tea tasting night for one our monthly ladies fellowship meetings and this was the best tea we tasted.

Secondly, but perhaps slightly more importantly (sorry Em!) - we booked our flights! This is a bit of old news for those of you on FB, but that's just how it goes. We fly out at 7:40am on Monday June 14th! I am perhaps most looking forward to sweating the WHOLE summer! (Please remind me of that when I'm roasting.) And so the adventures of getting rid our belongings begin again. Only 3 short years ago and we were in the same spot. Except this time there is much less to get rid of - thank goodness!

We'd appreciate your prayers today and into next week about our future. Some of our future plans are potentially being decided during this time frame. But for now, when we return to the U.S. we'll be staying with my parents in Nashville. And we are waiting on God to show us what to do from there.

Happy weekend to you all. Hurray for British Summer Time beginning here tomorrow night!! Bring on the long evenings!

God's Economy

2010-03-24T21:50:00.000Z

I love God's economy. I love that in giving I receive. I love that when I am empty, He fills.

Have you ever waited so much you start to feel you really can wait no longer? That's where I was yesterday and this morning. But today throughout the day, I have been pleading with God to change me in the wait. (And not because I'm spiritual, but because I've been miserable!) Because that's why I'm here, right?

Probably.

The amazing thing. He's been answering. All day. In little ways.

Ever since November I've been helping out on Wednesday afternoons at a ministry through our church called CafePlus. Basically just a gathering for over 55's to get out of the house, see some friendly faces, have their bodies stretched (they do chair aerobic-type things), mind challenged (by various speakers/topics), and tummies filled (tea/coffe and "homebakes"). This has slowly become my favorite time of the week. Each week I get to chat with, smile at, get smiled at, serve these beautiful people. And every week, no matter how much I give (which really isn't that much all things considered), I receive more than I give. I always walk away blessed, filled, encouraged. Only in God's economy.

Another way God has filled my tired heart today, just came via a friend's blog. We knew and her family from our church in Raleigh. You've got to read this post. She spelled out so much of what God has been teaching me and challenging me with. And not only that, she posted the most amazing song on there. It's my new theme song.

May God be glorified in the wait.

Life

2010-03-16T19:19:00.000Z

Not much blogging the past week+ because there hasn't been much to report and we're just busy with life. I had my first family photo shoot of the year on Saturday morning. I was so very thankful the sprinkles held off until the very end. I always forget how much I enjoy the madness of photo shoots until I do one. And then I edit them. And then I see adorable faces like these....

And it just reminds me of why I love doing this so much! This picture must typify life with 4 boys! The sweetness and the chaos all in one :) I have to give shout out to Brady (on left) who looked like this in pretty much every photo. No matter what was going on around him, that kid was looking straight at me and smiling sweetly! And while I only have a handful (out of about 500!) where all 6 family members are looking at me, I (thankfully) did get a few. But my favorite shot so far is this one....

It was a good reminder that I just might want to do this "for real" when we get back to the U.S.

Mark continues to plug away. I'm so proud of his hard work and determination to finish up as much as possible before we leave. And speaking of leaving, we're leaning more and more to leaving in early June. Stay tuned for a final date....

As one last hurrah and a much needed "spring break," we are headed south this weekend to England --the Lake District to be exact. We are both looking forward to getting out of town for awhile. I've been wanting to go there for quite some time so am excited about it. We don't have many plans other than to rest and relax. I'm also pretty excited about having Friday and Monday off. Two four days weeks in a row is something to blog about!

I'm sure there will be travel photos forthcoming. Until then enjoy the rest of your week and weekend!

Yummy Chicken Recipe

2010-03-06T11:54:00.000Z

I know I don't usually share recipes on here (maybe never have, in fact), but since we've had this one twice now and both really enjoy it, I thought this time I would.

It's from a recipe card I picked up at Sainsbury's (our local supermarket). I got it because it looked like something both Mark and I could eat - which is always what I'm on the hunt for since I often cook separate meals for us. Any time I can cook something the same (that we will both like) I'm always extremely thankful.

Here's exactly what the card says (except for the parenthesis, those are my US translations):

Butterfly Chicken with dry rub

Why not try....slicing 4 chicken breasts horizontally, but not all the way through, then setting aside. In a bowl combine 1 Tbsp Paprika, 1 Tbsp Rosemary, 1 Tbsp Thyme, 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin, 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander (Cilantro), 2 crushed garlic cloves and the zest and juice of 2 limes. Rub the mixture onto the chicken breasts and allow to marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before cooking on the BBQ (grill) or under the grill (broiler).

My adjustments: I haven't used the paprika just because with my allergies I generally stay away from that one, and I haven't used as much Rosemary because it isn't my favorite herb. But, I absolutely love the garlic, thyme and cumin with the lime juice (I've never included the zest because I never saw that part until typing it out!). And this last time I used fresh coriander since I had it.

The best part of this whole story is that when I served it to Mark on Thursday night he said, "Chicken breasts? What did I do to deserve chicken breasts?!" You'd think I'd served the guy a grilled, juicy fatty steak with his favorite sides! We rarely eat just chicken breasts because it is cheaper to use them in something else, or to use whole chickens or parts of chickens with bones, but very rarely (so much so Mark made that comment!) we'll splurge. If you are on a tight budget and going to splurge, this is a good recipe to splurge with.

I like to cut the chicken up and put it on a salad. Or, make guacamole and put it with the chicken on large romaine or cos lettuce leaves (that's my "wrap" since I can't have the flour ones).

Hope you can enjoy this recipe too! Let me know if you try it and like it.

They're Back....

2010-03-04T19:51:00.000Z

It's about time these luscious snowdrops made their return! I think they have maybe been around for a week or two, but it has been so cold and windy that I haven't attempted to photograph them yet. But, today, despite having plenty on the to-do list, thought I'd better take advantage of the blue skies and low winds before the rain moves in tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly time flies when I'm photographing! I'm sure at some point you'll see more of these guys, but for now this is all I have had the chance to work on.

This little robin was so fun! He moved so quickly when he moved. But the funny part was that he seemed to think I should stop photographing the flowers and let him be my model. He flitted and fluttered, stopped, hopped, stopped, hopped closer, etc, until he was literally down the barrel of my zoom lens. For this shot I had to carefully lean back to get him in focus! Oh, he was so gorgeous with the orange/red belly gleaming in the sun!

And to prove there were some blue skies around...

Oh the hope of spring! These are the first little buds this year of a rhododendron bush that I photographed last year. Pure bliss!

The Doric Dialect

2010-03-02T21:10:00.000Z

So you've heard me mention Doric some in the past, especially recently on my post about my colleagues teaching me "Blanahoolie".

Today at work I got an email that had an article about the new library going up on campus written in Doric. I can only read most of it because I have heard it spoken for over 2 years at work. Just have a look for yourself (scroll down to the section "Mair Doric"). If you click here, it might help you translate some of it. Just helps you understand it really is like a different language at times!

The Season of Waiting

2010-02-25T20:36:00.000Z

I dare say that this year "Winter" should be renamed "Waiting." Maybe every year it should. And while I'm speaking more from personal waiting (on jobs, children, a place to put down roots, etc), I was thinking this week about how each winter is really a season of waiting - and more so than the other 3 seasons. Each winter (as it grows longer and longer with each passing week and month!) we yearn - we WAIT - for the newness of spring and it's life-giving sprouts, buds, warmth.

Similarly, Mark and I find ourselves looking forward to the next season of our lives as his studies here will (at least in some form) come to an end in a few months. We look forward to what new things lie ahead, what new joys there might be. But, at the same time, we WAIT.

Like all periods of waiting I find myself driven closer to our Father, totally dependent on Him and His plans and timing - daily needing to offer to Him my plans and what I want. These past 6 months or so (or maybe even longer!) I have repeatedly cried out for His help as I WAIT. I've learned I'm not very patient in the WAIT. I want things NOW and in MY time. Repeatedly God has said WAIT.

I've been participating the past month in a ladies small group with some friends here. We've been going through the book "A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World" by Paul E. Miller. It has been a refreshing look at how to pray, why we pray, when to pray, etc. And while (like most Christian-living type books) there are things I don't agree with that are said, there are many ideas Miller presents that have just made sense. I have repeatedly been challenged to review my beliefs on prayer, as well as my practices. If you feel your prayer life needs a jump start or tune-up, this may just be the book for you!

As I was reading one of the chapters this week, there was some Scripture quoted from Psalm:

"O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You;
   my soul thirsts for You;
   my flesh faints for You,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)

In the midst of my own personal "dry and weary land" (known as "the land of waiting") I was convicted that in my heart (and subsequently in my prayers) I have rewritten the verse along these lines:

"O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek Your plans;
  my soul thirsts for Your answers;
  my flesh faints for You to do things my way...."

This wasn't the first time in this season of waiting that God has challenged me about what I am truly seeking after each day. Do I seek HIM or do I just seek what things He can give me? There is a huge, but sometimes subtle, difference. Not to say that we can't seek His wisdom, or pray for our heart's desires, or ask things from Him (because He tells us to do all those things in Scripture!), but rather to make the distinction of what my heart longs after MOST. I have come to see that often I am just praying and seeking for results from God rather than desiring most to know and love Him - which is more what prayer is about - cultivating a relationship with God my Father.

So as our season of waiting goes on and on (just as the winter rages on!), I am striving to seek God Himself, hopeful that when He chooses for this season to be over I will know Him more intimately, and also take great delight in the paths He will lead us down - just as I am joyful each year when spring arrives and refreshes my soul.

Of Sun, Snow and Randomness

2010-02-19T15:20:00.000Z

The closer we get to a probable departure for returning permanently to the U.S. the more I see things around me I will miss here. So in an effort to never forget, I'm trying to capture them on the camera (how else?!). Here's a first photo installment of something I love and will miss when we are gone:

Dark skies, with a sunrise peaking through lighting up the granite and chimneys to an amazing golden color and a seagull quietly taking it all in too. (I didn't even edit it so you can see it just as I did!)

Doesn't it just take your breath away?! It actually didn't last long. Those mean clouds swallowed up my sun, but at least for a few moments (and now forever) I was able to enjoy the brilliance of an Aberdeen morning as the sun made its journey upwards.

Sometimes when you can't beat the snow (and this winter it doesn't seem we can), you just have to put on your wellies, grab your camera and go join it. As I was walking in the door after work (when we got 1-2 inches of snow in the span of an hour!) I saw (heard?) the bright red berries begging to be photographed in the snow. I particularly liked how our neighbor's bright red door added extra cheer.

Yesterday I had company from my high view of the world. It was a bit odd to look out and see 4 men at eye level with me. At least, though, our eyes didn't meet and I don't think they noticed my ninja photography skills. I give you, the ladder people....

My personal fav is the man chatting it up whilst hanging out the open window. These slaters (roofers who "roof" using slates), were putting in new skylights to the building across the street. I really wish they'd hurry up and finish their renovations. But, it seems they will be with us for some time still. The other part of the building they were working on last summer/fall has finally been occupied by at least a few people. They probably think I'm stalking them because their flats are the only thing I have to watch while doing dishes so I stare endlessly out our kitchen window (that has no blinds). ~~We are~~ I am in the process of giving them names (which aren't politically correct, so I won't share them), figuring out their lives, and how they spend their time. I told you I wasn't stalking them. What can I say, dishes are boring!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T17:04:00.000Z

Mark and I don't go all out in our Valentine's Day celebrations, but we often do exchange cards and sometimes we get each other little gifts or I receive flowers.

This year I decided to make Mark a card (in red and black Georgia Bulldog colors, of course!) and use the 3 pounds or so I would have spent to buy him a small gift. (Which ended up being a used box set of 80's hits someone at the University was selling crazy cheap. Too bad a lot of them are British 80's hits so he probably won't recognize some of them. Never thought of that when I bought it! Nonetheless, his ipod will be grateful for some new tunes, I'm sure! Oh, and he got some Toblerone chocolate. I do usually try to buy him chocolate. He ate some for breakfast. That's my Mark!)

He got me a breath of spring in the form of 8 delightful yellow tulips. I've been loving them! Of course I've also been putting them to use as photography subjects. Here are few shots that I liked.

Mark also treated me to lunch out after church at the Handmade Burger Co. at Aberdeen's "new" mall, Union Square. I say "new" because it opened in Oct or Nov but we have just now gotten around to going after some other friends raved about the burgers at the above mentioned restaurant. If you are in Aberdeen and are looking for a cheap place to eat for a date night, consider taking advantage of this 2 for 1 burger deal that (although the coupon still says until 12 Feb) is good until 28 Feb now. We were able to get two large burgers (one hamburger, one chicken) with an side order of "chips" and pay for 2 hours of parking for just over 10 pounds. Not too bad :) I just wish I got to taste these good burgers but unfortunately they aren't as 100% beef as they claim since they contaminate them with Worcestershire Sauce. I was just grateful I found that out prior to ordering and that they had uncontaminated chicken breast sandwiches as another option.

Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you have a splendid Valentine's Day and can take a moment to reflect on The Greatest Lover, God our Father and Christ His Son who demonstrated His love for us by dying on the cross. Oh, to love with that kind of love!

Glimmer of Hope

2010-02-10T16:37:00.000Z

Yesterday I awoke very groggy and as I stumbled into the living room, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this:

I had to do a double take to see if I was dreaming. Nothing like the first bud of spring to bring a HUGE smile to my face. The sun all day yesterday and today has helped as well. I have been praising the Lord that the seasons do change and am ever so grateful that spring is slowly approaching.

The Duck Finale

2010-02-07T21:14:00.001Z

Since many of you have been left wondering about The DUCK, I thought I better give an update. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about read the previous post "The Duck" to get caught up to speed.)

I was so grateful that we did have friends who offered on Saturday morning to take the duck off of our hands. But before we actually had time to drive it their house, our neighbor buzzed again at our door. This time Mark answered it and Jim (our neighbor) asked Mark, "How did you get on with the duck?" Mark tried to stall by saying nothing just yet since I wasn't feeling too great and he was too busy. Both of which were true, but he also didn't want to let on that the duck was soon being transported to a new home.

In the meantime I started feeling better and was about to put some make-up on so I could take a few photos with my duck :) But the buzzer buzzed again - Guess who?! This time I answered. It was Jim now saying he had plucked and gutted a different duck, so if I'd just bring down the first duck we could swap. I told him I'd be right down, asked Mark to grab the camera, took 2 shots (sans make-up!) and hurried downstairs to receive the new duck.

Jim holds out the new duck by its feet. The head and wings are gone, along with the insides and feathers. He starts telling me how to roast it (in a very thick Scottish accent) and then says, "Do you want me to chop the feet off." Yes, please! So he goes back in the house and I hear a chop as the axe falls. He comes back out and proceeds to hand me the fresh duck with drops of blood occasionally falling. Fabulous.

I say thanks for the gift and his hard work and head for our outside door. As I'm opening said door, a nice drop of blood falls on my jeans. I decide I better make a mad dash up the two flights of stairs to our flat. I run into the kitchen exclaiming, "It's dripping blood!" and plop it onto a plastic bag on the counter. Mark is in awe he didn't give me anything to carry it upstairs in.

Shortly thereafter I set to work on preparing it for roasting, but only after contacting Joe and Katrina I was going to have to renege on my offer. I definitely couldn't let Jim down now by not tasting the thing! I roast whole chickens all the time so basically just did the same thing I usually do for those. In the end I think it got a little over cooked, but still edible. When I went to take the meat off the bones, I couldn't believe how little meat there actually was. It was maybe two very small chicken breasts worth (except they looked more like roast beef, than chicken). All that work (which then I was very glad I had not done!) and so little return. Not something worth repeating any time soon.

We didn't even get to eat it for dinner since we were going to a friend's house to eat. But Mark ate some tonight with Mango Chili Chutney on top and said it was rather delish. I had one small bite yesterday after it was done roasting and haven't yet decided if the little bit that is leftover will be my lunch or dinner tomorrow. Somehow, I'm just a little put off of duck at the moment. Can you blame me?!

I am so glad the duck drama is OVER! What a weekend!

The Duck

2010-02-05T19:41:00.002Z

For anyone who might have missed the note I posted on my Facebook page entitled "Does Anyone Want my Duck?" Here it is again, with photos:

So our downstairs neighbor just rang our buzzer (while I'm talking to the bank) and says "do you want a duck?" HUH? Not an every day question you ask your neighbor. I say I'm not sure. My head is racing. "A duck?" I think. A waddling, live one?

He says, we'll it's an organic duck thought you might like it. I can tell he's a bit hurt. I'm confused. I say "well, I guess so." Then he leaves and I finish the phone call.

I decide I better go make amends and figure I can figure out how to cook a duck. Mind you, I'm thinking of a duck from the store.

Oh no. He comes out with a dead duck, feathers, head, wings, feet. He shot it yesterday. Seriously? So then I am standing there telling him I'm really not sure what to do with it (trying to graciously decline this gift). He tells me it is easy, just pluck, cut open and take out the innards. Great. This is just getting better.

"Makes a tasty dish, like." Exact words.

So, like a good neighbor I grab the thing by it's broken and wobbly neck and carry it up to my flat where I say outloud, "what the stink am I supposed to do with this?"

I plop it on the counter. Then think better of it. It probably needs to be refrigerated. So I put it in two grocery bags, sanitize the counter and laugh at all that just transpired.

I really have no idea what to do with the thing. And not only that, I'm not sure I have the stomach to do anything with it.

Please, does anyone (in Aberdeen) want my duck?

Here are some additional thoughts:

--I purposely kept his eyes away from the camera so as not to scare my readers/viewers.

--He was (is!) so soft! If I wasn't grossed out by him, I might have put my head on him, or stroked him the way I used to stroke my cats when I needed comfort.

--Mark just might get to use some of the feathers for his fly-tying.

--Mark is incredibly adamant I got myself into this mess and I have to get myself out -- without his help! (He self-admittedly is not one big on giving sympathy/empathy.)

--I wish my Grandma lived down the road. Not only would she know what to do, she would show me gladly and willingly! (Grandma, you might be getting a phone call!)

--I am seriously contemplating attempting to do something with this creature that is hanging out in my fridge.

--Tomorrow I will try to take a portrait of me and The Duck. I need that for posterities sake. And my readers need it for hilarities sake.

--I really wish you could see/meet our very Scottish bachelor neighbor (probably in his late 50's, early 60's). He really is kind and he seems to have taken to us. We've helped him out a couple times so I guess that's why he thought to give this to us. I've just never been offered such an unusual gift before. But the great this is, he thought nothing of it being weird.

--Sadly, no one has taken up my offer of a free duck.

--If nothing else, I have a fabulous memory of this day. And probably some of you do too now!

Reverse Parking

2010-02-04T13:53:00.000Z

Can you believe I reverse parked into my parking spot yesterday and today?! Not something I really do -- ever -- so two days in a row is something to blog about. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "reverse parking" it is the same as saying "backing in." Reverse parking is rather big around here. When we were taking our driving exams here 1.5 years ago we opted out of taking it at the exam center where they make you reverse park as one of the things they test on. (Seems slightly odd that they wouldn't have this at our test center, but we were told they didn't have a good "car park" in the area where the test could be performed. Worked for me!)

At first I couldn't figure out why the Scots/Brits back into spots soooo much more than Americans. I thought maybe it was the small cars versus large SUV's and vans. Maybe they like being ready for a speedy get-away. Maybe it's easier? No, couldn't be easier, especially not into the tiny spots they allow for you to park in.

But one day I discovered it is more of safety issue. The Scots are big on Health and Safety. (Just read about one of our fellow American's recent experiences on the matter.) One of my co-workers said she previously worked at a place where you were forced to reverse park due to the safety matters. I had to think about this one. Is it really safer to back into a spot than back out of it? After pondering this for a very long time, I have concluded that maybe it is. When you back into a spot, there shouldn't be anyone walking behind you. But when you back out of a spot, there might be someone walking there. Maybe they are onto something.

In any case, the thought of backing into a small space has daunted me for years now. I have thought of it more from a safety issue of the two cars I'm trying to fit between (and my own!). I most often look for what Mark has termed "a through and through." You know, the double open spot where you drive through the first spot, to get to the second spot so it looks like you backed in, but you didn't? THOSE are my FAVORITE!

But recently I have been studying the technique of reverse parking while watching others as I wait for them to finish so I can drive by. That, coupled with the few things I remember our instructor said about reverse parking, and I had this uncanny desire to try it for myself yesterday when arriving to work. It helped that there were not many other cars around, so I only had to fit next to one car and not in between two. I successfully reverse parked "in one go!" Because it went so well, I thought today I'd try again. I parked in a different location today and it was slightly more challenging, I had someone waiting on me (I definitely hate others watching! same with parallel parking), and it took two tries, but I didn't hit the car next to me and it still wasn't a half bad attempt.

Who knows, this just may become a new habit! Not bad for a (formerly) blond, female American (all of which are 3 strikes against me for being a reverse parker)!!

Good Riddance!

2010-01-31T17:52:00.001Z

I don't think I've ever been more excited to say good-bye to a month as I am to January 2010!! The past 4 weeks have made up some of the longest weeks I think I've ever lived through (well, as an adult anyway). Between the abnormal amounts of snow we've gotten this year (I think in January alone snow fell more days than all the other days of the previous 2.5 years we've lived here!), the cloudy days (which seemed more abundant in recent days than past winters I remember), the short days (which are always hard), and Mark and I being sick for a combination of 2 weeks, it has been a very, very long month. I have been counting the days until February gets here. Not exactly sure why, because I'm sure February will bring more of the same, but at least there are usually some flowers that start popping up by the end signaling spring will eventually get here. Plus, according to this website, the sun now sets after 4:30pm and before long will be rising before 8am! I've noticed this week that there are even little bits of light left at 5pm most nights now. Hurray!!! The longer days are fast approaching!

But, before January left, it thought it would bring more snow, so here are some happy moments from the past few days. It started snowing Friday and due to a co-worker stuck on a bus for nearly 3 hours trying to get to work from outside the city, I spent the morning at the Town House in her place. Here is a photo of one of the snow squalls from the front door:

It snowed off and on most of the day until late afternoon. Overnight we got around 6 inches more. When I cleaned the car off the next day, I realized how insufficient our tiny (think hand-sized) scraper was. It was taking me ages to clear all the snow from the roof of the car, especially (it's law here you are supposed to get it all off your roof so as to not blind those driving behind you when you start moving and it starts blowing. This Yank laughs at this. You'd never get anywhere if you did this where I grew up! But I digress). I resorted to just using my entire arm to scoop snow off. Much quicker! Good thing I brought an extra set of gloves for my photographing excursion on campus. To see some images from that trip, go here. They are some of my new favs! I had tons of fun creating the images thanks to Photoshop Elements I got for Christmas and have been trying to learn how to use. While you are at my photo blog, be sure to check out all the portrait posts I've put up this month. There are a few more from this fall still to come so stay tuned!

Here are a few more photos from my trip to campus:

When first walking on after parking on the street. I love this walk!

The sun was just starting to get far enough above the horizon to see it. Still the "sweet light" hour!

It's hard to see here, but I was enamored by the way the snow stuck out from the walls in small drifts, sometimes a couple inches away from the wall. See the above pic for what it looked like at a distance.

Do you see that BLUE sky?! It was a glorious morning in Old Aberdeen!

A fun tree I saw and added some texture to!

And last night we had a couple over that just moved here from Wake Forest and SEBTS, so that was fun finally getting to meet them (for me - Mark had already met them). So weird to talk about road names and places. It almost hurt my brain to come up with some of the places. Have we been gone that long?!

Now bring on FEBRUARY!!

View From Where I Sit

2010-01-22T12:48:00.000Z

Or should I say "from where I lie?" (or is lay?)

No news to report on this week other than what you see. BBC iPlayer has been trying to keep me company and I've discovered a half decent BBC drama called Lark Rise to Candleford. Definitely not for the men :)

I called a friend today and I was surprised she didn't hang up on me, considering about all she heard was "e...o.....ow.....u?" (And that wasn't a-e-i-o-u!) I hadn't spoken to anyone in several hours and didn't realize my voice was as intermittent as it was. Yesterday it was better, but today it is touch and go.

Just a quick hello to say we are alive (though more alive some moments than others) and now off to partake in my favorite past-time in recent days -- the afternoon nap.

Here's to hoping next week will be a sick-free week for our family and yours....

"Blanahoolie" (blahn-ah-who-lee)

2010-01-13T18:39:00.001Z

You know those days where it takes every ounce of energy and willpower to get out of bed and into the (cold) bathroom for a (not hot enough) shower? Yeah. Today was one of those days. A bad night's sleep and too much darkness. I barely made it to work on time - and definitely not in the best of moods.

The office next to mine is in the middle of a refurbishment. It was, of course, supposed to be done over the two weeks the University is closed, thus minimally impacting workflow. Yeah, that didn't happen. So 12 or so of my colleagues have been without their own computers and phones for over a week now. They have been displaced to desks of other colleagues who are away on holiday or business. But for the most part, it's just been mayhem.

There is one lady who has been in dire need of a computer due to time sensitive work, so she's been using my computer in the afternoons when I leave. But the past two days she's needed one in the morning too so I offered my desk since the work I have been doing hasn't required a computer. Instead, I've been next door in the office that is in upheaval. I like getting to work in there from time to time because there are some entertaining characters that work in there that are also known as my co-workers. Since there are desks in there, we've been doing non-computer related work while the electricians string wires and make weird noises with saws and drills.

Most of the other secretaries in Nov. pre-refurbishment when we took a picture to send to a former secretary who moved back to China.)

Today we were talking about how I need to learn more Doric (the Scottish dialect in this area) before we move away. Two of above said characters are fluent and fast Doric speakers. I have to listen hard to keep up with what they are saying when they talk to one another. But I absolutely love listening to it! One of the ladies previously taught me to say "scoofin' oot a bott-le" (drinking out of a bottle...water bottle, in my case, lest you get other images in your head). So we were "havin' a carry-on" and a little bit later the other lady says, "It's blanahoolie." They she looks at me and says, "There's one for you to learn."

They explain it means the wind is blowing hard. I proceed to repeat it. (It's easier to say than "scoofin' oot a bott-le," by the way....they were entertained at my accent saying that.) I decide this is my new favorite word. It's fun to say and it describes something that happens frequently here, so why not make it fun to say?! So I ask them to spell it. It's really "blawning (blowing - but you drop the "ing" when saying it) a hoolie." I ask what a "hoolie" is. They say it can also mean "party." To which I reply, "the wind is having a party."

The past couple of days I read something in a book that was expounding on Psalm 23:5, "My cup overflows with blessings" (NLT). I have been pondering how full my cup is and how God has blessed me. It was a day I was glad I went to work. It reminded me that I do love living here amongst the Scots. I have to remember that on days like today. Things (especially the weather!) may not always go how I want, but I am indeed blessed and my cup is overflowing. And I am grateful.

So if you ever hear me say, "It's blanahoolie" (which most certainly you will), you can be in the know and even use it yourself.

A New Sign & Some Snow

2010-01-11T13:30:00.000Z

Those of you who have been around for awhile on here know that I have enjoyed finding "fun" (or more appropriate, perhaps, "funny") signs. Yesterday I found one that about tops them all.

I am not quite sure how that works, but it sounds scary. For all involved.

After we'd had a good laugh about it, Mark remembered that the place where we were (Lochter Activity Centre) had team building type activities. I just looked it up, and he's right, it is one of their fun activities. But still sounds a bit dangerous/scary. Nice of them to give a wee sign to warn you :)

Mark had the itch already to get out of the city and see some countryside. Well, more like snow covered fields. I wasn't quite as excited to go as he was, but at some point it hit me that I grew up with feet and feet of snow each winter in Ohio and he didn't. Maybe I got jaded at some point?! But after putting him off Saturday I agreed to go yesterday since it was nice and sunny. It was a beautiful day, albeit rather cold. We drove somewhat aimlessly until we ended up at the above mentioned place. I was glad we went, though since it offered a few new photos. And the fields and hills really were lovely. Maybe not as jaded as I thought.

That tiny speck in the centre is the orange life preserver. While Aberdeen city only had about 1-2 inches of snow in the past few days, it seems all the shire received more like a foot. We drove through various parts and couldn't believe the amount of snow they had. The fishery/pond below looked very different than when I was there in Oct. 2008.

Sunset reflecting off the snow rows.

Frozen Tundra covered in sunlight.

I'll spare you the rest :) I took the new header while driving in the car. Unfortunately, I only had a second to react (thus not having time to adjust the settings) when I saw it so it is slightly blurry at the bottom, but something about that makes it all the more intriguing to me.

Pictorial Update

2010-01-08T18:49:00.001Z

I really, really wish that when I think of blogs they would automatically post on here. Most of the time anyways. I have written numerous posts over the week, in my head of course. I write them while doing dishes, walking, driving, cleaning house, falling asleep, etc. But rarely these days do they actually make it to the screen nor to you. So I thought I'd give you the best kind of update there is (in my mind), a pictorial one with some descriptions.

But first, thanks for your prayers for our flights back to Aberdeen. All went smoothly and no ice packs were procured by security agents. No one even asked to look at it. We were so grateful! So thank you for remembering us.

Now onto the good stuff....

I finally got the nice portrait shot of a rooster I was looking for. This guy was so kind to let me run into the house, get my camera and still be there when I returned, and even to pose. Bless him.

The Birthday Cheese. Alison on her 1st birthday. She wouldn't usually smile until the flash went off, so my quick fire camera was one of the only ways to catch her hamming it up for the camera since she wouldn't smile on the first photo.

Can you tell I enjoyed being Auntie Rachel :) No one was wearing their party hats except Alison, so I got Dominic and Chad to join me in the fun. (That's Mark's mom enjoying the entertainment provided by her daughter-in-law.)

One of my requests of our last week at my parents was to go back to Opryland Hotel and get some photos of the outside lights. They were AMAZING! It was so cold this night and I was in a hurry so most of them didn't turn out, but these two weren't so bad. But the photos don't do it justice. The lights were sooooo thick and beautiful!

Yafi "twirling" for his treat. When his nightly biscuit (around 8pm and he will bark and bark until he gets it) time comes around, my parents have trained him that he has to "twirl" for it. This usually consists of him doing a half twirl in excitement as he hops to the rug (so he has better traction). He often is too hyper to do a good job, so then he gets reprimanded with "gracefully." My parents crack me up. The dog too.

I love when Yafi does his "Ewok Ears" (as I dubbed them). It's even better when he isn't lying down but just looking up at you, but I couldn't ever get that on film.

"If I close my eyes maybe she will go away." (I was trying to get a picture of his adorable long lashes.)

Airplane Sunrise (reflected from the other side of the plane onto the engine)

Since there isn't much to do towards the end of an all night flight and there is a nice sunrise, why not take photos?!

It was a small miracle that I got to see London in full SUN and BLUE SKIES!!! It was my 6th or so time there but this was the first of its kind. It was very cool flying in and trying to pick out landmarks. I really had my doubts that it was ever nice in London, but now I know differently.

This is what you do when you are bored and waiting for your last flight.

And this. Take photos of someone else's abandoned Costa cup and your knees thinking it will be artistic. Delirium was setting in, I know.

And this is what you do while circling 3 times over Aberdeen City/North Sea while the runway is approved for landing after the most recent snow squall. (For those locals, pretty sure this is East Tullos/Torry area.)

It was quite picturesque flying over the city with the snowy fields and sun peaking out of the clouds. Note the snow shower on the left side. So much for sun like London. It was somewhere around here that reality set in that we were back.

And what do you do when you wake up Friday morning after a long, challenging, cold, snowy, icy, jet-lagged week? You praise God for the clear sky and sunrise and His many blessing of the week in-spite of the hardships.

And then you praise Him again in the late afternoon as the sun sets - praise Him for your life and that He knows best and is Sovereign and Good.

Up, Up and Away on New Year's Day!

2009-12-31T12:00:00.001Z

Our time in the U.S./Cayman has quickly come to an end. We aren't quite sure where the 6 and 7 weeks we spent here went. But the calendar tells us it's time to go so we'll trust it. We'd ask for your prayers as we travel back to Aberdeen on Friday 5pm (Central time) until Saturday afternoon 2:30pmish (Aberdeen time). We particularly ask for prayer that we'll make our flight in Philly that is headed to Heathrow. When we booked he flight we had a 2 hour layover, but our flight got switched and now we have a meare 1 hour and 20 minutes. If I didn't think we'd have to go from a commuter terminal to another one via an airport transfer bus, and if I didn't think we'd also have to go through security again due to such a move, and if there hadn't just been a terror attach beefing up security, then I would probably feel better about it all. I mean, last year we only had a 55 minute layover in Philly and miraculously landed and took off about 3 gates from each other. Let's pray that happens again!

Thank you for your prayers thus far about my health, eating and taking my thyroid pills. I have probably felt better the past 6 weeks than I have felt since I first started getting sick about 6 years ago. The thyroid pill taking seems to be going well and I'm almost up to the full dose the doctor wants me on before retesting my blood to see if we need to readjust the levels again. I'd ask you keep praying for good health as we travel and re-adjust to being back in Aberdeen.

And you can keep praying they let me keep my ice pack on the plane with me (so I can keep my salad with meat cold since it is all I'll get for dinner)! I've had two guards try to take it from me (one in Aberdeen and one in Charlotte) during our various travels. Praise the Lord the doctor's note has saved me both times. I pray that it will continue to be sufficient for these new security measures. We shall see!

To those of you in Aberdeen, we look forward to being reunited! To those of you here, we'll miss you but are grateful for the time we've had to spend with you!

To all: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (And no, we aren't going to ring in the New Year. We need our sleep in preparation for not getting any the following night.)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T23:14:00.000Z

We hope that everyone is having/has had a good Christmas! I know we have. We continue to be grateful for all of the blessings God has given us -- not the least of which is His Son, Jesus.

My parents joke about how there are two types of family Christmas traditions regarding opening presents -- "rip and tear" and "savor the moment." My parents came from opposing family traditions and had to decide early which our family would be. They settled on "savor the moment" -- when each person takes a turn opening a gift and the others watch. We laughed today, though, that Yafo, upon receiving his one gift, instantly dug in deciding "rip and tear" was the way to go.

After he opened his one gift, he snuggled up to Dad and spent the rest of the "savor the moment" ritual like this

While I was given some fantastic gifts, one deserves special mention -- the peptobismol pink Snuggie (actually, it's the Breast Cancer Awareness one). Thank you Mark and Grandma (they both had the great idea to give me one since I'm freezing pretty much always). I've had it on most of the day. It will be perfect for Scotland. Like Mark said, he should have gotten me one years ago. Here's me with both the Snuggie and another blanket.

Love to you all. May your heart have the joy of Christ within despite where you are and how you are celebrating this holiday season.

Superstar

2009-12-21T00:32:00.000Z

Mark has a new name. Superstar. Yes, folks, his littlest fan is pretty hardcore. Today, Alison, our niece came over for a visit. Mark's started coming down with a cold today so was napping when she first arrived. But when he woke up and came into the living room she got so excited! She just wanted to go straight to him. We had to deny her this time so that he didn't get her sick. (The photo is from the other night.) Can't have her sick for her first birthday on Tuesday! But they waved at each other from across the room and she squealed with delight - until he left the room. Three times she repeatedly cried when he walked away. That's hard core infatuation right there. Her poor Daddy tried to see if he could get the same response (because he was the original Superstar and I think feeling a bit slighted), but it seems Mark's powers are greater at this point because she had no problem with her Dad leaving. So at least until Wednesday when we leave, Mark will hold the title as reigning Superstar.

Virtual Postcard

2009-12-18T23:13:00.001Z

I'll try not to torture you with too many more paradise photos, but I did want to include this one....a new fav of mine taken today between the torrential rains we had off and on. Take it as a virtual postcard from MO and RO since we don't have enough money or time to send them to all of you.

And in case you haven't seen the sweet little lizards I took yesterday, see them here.

Without further ado:

Top 6 Reasons to Love Cayman

2009-12-16T01:23:00.002Z

Well, these may not be the exact top six (and there really are more than 6), but they are up there.

1. Sun, Sand and Sea (and I'd add to that Snorkeling - it had been several years since I had done that until the other day. It was so peaceful and amazing to see/swim among God's brilliant Caribbean fish. And yes, I did think of y'all and wished you could have all experienced it with me.)

2. Year Round Flip Flop Wearing

(I'm trying to make up for my lack of flip flop wearing the past 2.5 years)

3. Getting to be Auntie Rachel and Uncle Mark

(This is priceless since we miss so much of our nephews and niece growing up.)

Dominic (age 8 - he's wearing the purple jersey with the ball) playing football and winning!

Chad (age 4.5) in his Christmas concert/play today (he's top right behind "Halo-girl" as I dubbed her because her halo was almost always blocking his face making photographing him difficult.)

Alison, who will be one a week from today! We met her for the first time last Thursday when we arrived. She adores Mark (we think because he looks like her Daddy, pictured below, and she's a Daddy's girl). In fact, when we went to meet her, she lunged for Mark before we were even in the doorway! I went to intervene (as I usually do when babies are being offered to Mark), and took her, but she still wanted him and lunged again...he did not deny her request:-) It was adorable! I'll have to get a photo of them together at some point.

4. Washing Dries Quickly (even outside)!

5. Wild Things!

My hunt for the perfect Rooster photo continues.

I was delighted to see this lizard out the car window today, even if he refused to look at me.

Palm Trees

6. Sunsets

Yes, we are enjoying our time - in case there was any doubt.

Little Buddy

2009-12-12T10:00:00.000Z

I promised photos of "His Royal Cuteness" but haven't posted any -- mainly because I've taken surprisingly few. Yafi, that this trip I've given yet another nickname, "Little Buddy," has a very funny habit of not eating his food out of his bowl. Instead, he likes to pick it up like so:

And then toss it, hoping some food will spill out. Sometimes it doesn't work, like below, but you can see it is sort of bouncing off of the floor. He wasn't too cooperative when I was photographing him. That was when he chose to actually eat out of the bowl like a proper dog.

Maybe that's why he seems to grumpy in this photo! Not his most flattering photo. Nonetheless, he is still a precious little buddy and Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed giving into (nearly) every whim he had to play tug-of-war or fetch. And we even sometime filled his food bowl when it was empty and he chucked that at us (another very funny think to watch).

I'll also have to photograph him "twirling" for his biscuit when we are back for Christmas. He's quite the two-legged performer/dancer.

Blast From the Past

2009-12-11T22:28:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of silence. I've started two posts and haven't finished them. So here is one of them!

How do I describe the joy of having the opportunity last Friday night to meet up with a friend that I met half my lifetime ago?! The summer of 1995, just months before turning 16, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime -- a 7 (or was it 8?) week mission trip to Honduras. I signed up with Teen Missions not knowing what the summer would hold. Turns out it held a lot - both good and challenging! My faith in God and relationship with Christ grew 100-fold that summer making all the challenges worth it.

Around 30 other teens and 6 leaders (none of whom I knew or met ahead of time) converged at "The Lord's Boot Camp" (yes, it's really called that!) in Florida for 10 days of intense training/preparation. Each team going out had to run a mile or so long obstacle course each morning. Somehow our team was the lucky one who got to go first every morning at 6:00am. And somehow we also had one of the tent sites the furthest away (at least a 1/2 mile). In addition to physical preparation we also had construction-type classes, as well as puppet practice. It was honestly a very grueling 10 days in the hot, humid Florida summer heat (remember I said we were staying in tents!) But in the midst of these challenges some amazing friendships were beginning to be formed.

Our leaders gave us a number in order of our arrival to Boot Camp. You would think after calling my number out a gazillion times I could remember if I was 19, 20 or 21, but I sadly can't. Regardless, it was one of those. The dear friend, Kelley, I met up with last week was number 22. This meant that all summer we were in line near each other as we ordered ourselves numerically. Each time we moved from place to place we had to make sure all members were present and we had to "count off." Anyhoo, Kelley and Josh (who was also near us), kept me in stiches the entire summer since both of them are rather witty and always up for a good time. They, along with many other friends, made the summer what it was - amazing and life-changing. Although many of us do not keep in close contact any more, I still hold them dear to my heart for what we endured together. It was our own sort of "Survivor" experience (except instead of getting to vote people off we had to learn to love each other since we were stuck with one another for so many weeks!).

While I could go on and on and on about this trip, suffice it to say, it was truly wonderful to meet up again with Kelley. Hopefully, since she lives in Nashville and now Mom and Dad do too, maybe we can see a little more of each other.

I had a photo to post, but just realized that I think I accidentally deleted it! Oh no! To see Kelley's cute face, and to hear her version of our time in Honduras, see this post. (Oh, and there are some crazy old [and scary!!!] photos of me on there if you are that hard core and need to see them.)

Still Thankful

2009-12-03T03:59:00.000Z

Every Thanksgiving affords a great opportunity to stop and reflect on what we are thankful for, this year has been no exception.

Being back in the U.S. during Thanksgiving after being away for the last two was extra special. We are grateful we had the chance to be here. It was the first time our entire immediate family was together since Mark and I were married. I think we figured the last time we were all together on Thanksgiving day was about a week after Mark and I started dating 8 years ago!

And if that wasn't enough, my Grandma and her husband, Marv came to visit from Missouri for a whole week. This was my Grandma that had triple bypass heart surgery this summer so we were all incredibly thankful that she was doing well enough to make the long trip. We had a great week together, including some time at Opryland Hotel. Here are some shots of our trip.

Two shots of the inside of two of the atriums. And these weren't even the two largest ones!

There was this nice waterfall with a little bench so we all stopped to get photos (this was the day before my brother arrived that's why he isn't pictured)

My new favorite photo of us :)

There were tons of different orchid varieties, as well as many other flowers. I could have spent a very long time photographing in there!

Aren't Grandma and Marv cute?!

And finally, Nessy is visiting Nashville this Christmas too!

Another fun time was taking photos of my single, hot bro. Let me know if you have a good, Christian girl wanting to meet him :) Go here to see those shots. I had fun not only taking those shots with him, but editing them. And in case anyone wonders what the haze is in some of the photos (like the first one), we were going for some fun sunflare shots, but it was an added bonus that some neighbors (we took the shots in my parents' neighborhood) must have been burning leaves so there were small particles floating adding a funky texture/ambiance to the photos.

Other fun family times included playing Apples to Apples (I forgot how fun that game was!), playing Smith Family Cut Throat Spades and watching Nacho Libre. And of course being entertained by Yafi. Sadly I haven't taken many shots of him yet. Keep watching this space.

Mark's been studying hard in my parents' bonus room. I've been impressed he's kept working so diligently. But not too much that he hasn't been able to enjoy being here. Don't worry, he's been taking breaks too!

Monday I got to take a long walk with a friend, Avery, we met in NC at my parents old church. Her parents and my parents have been good friends for years now. It was her parents that put my dad's name in the hat to come and be their pastor here. Avery and her husband (and 4 year old son) are missionaries in Cambodia, so it was great to catch up with her. On our walk I saw this sign that I enjoyed.

Last night we got a call from my Uncle Harry who lives in Chicago saying he was flying down for business in Nashville, so we met up with him for dinner. It had been about 4 years since I'd seen him (5 for Mark we decided) so that was a special treat as well.

All in all we have felt and continue to feel incredibly blessed and thankful for this chance to be home during this time.

On the Other Side

2009-11-23T02:57:00.000Z

Thank you so much for your prayers about my trip yesterday. I arrived safely after a fairly uneventful trip. Each flight was 30-45 minutes late leaving, but it had little impact on the overall trip. The one time my stomach hurt for awhile was short lived and I was able to rest in the airport while it passed. The worst part of the day was not having my luggage arrive in Philly when I did, but it hasn't been a big deal. Thankfully I found some clothes I had stashed in my parents attic so I had something to wear to church today. It was great to finally meet the great people in my parents church and take part in the largest Thanksgiving feast I've probably ever seen. So far I haven't been phased by jet lag and it has surprised me! We'll see how it continues to go. Hopefully my luggage will show up by tomorrow! Later.

P.S. Yafi says "Hi."

Soon Yafi!!

2009-11-20T17:44:00.000Z

Mark and I have a fun saying at our house: "Soon Yafi." We say it more frequently the closer we get to returning to my parents (and subsequently their dog, Yafo, whom I affectionately call Yafi). It's to be said both in excitement and by way of encouragement. For instance, if one of us has had a rough day the other will say "Soon Yafi" to encourage the other one to press on a little bit more. You know, just that little something happy to look forward to can sometimes keep you going in the darkest of days.

But it can also be said in a sheer state of glee, such as my title post today - SOON YAFI! Finally, I will get to see him (and mom and dad, of course!) tomorrow night! Maybe you've got to meet the little guy to fully comprehend his sweetness. I am not a dog-lover, nor have I ever been, but as I've said on here before, Yafi is the coolest dog ever. He loves people and is always super excited to see us. How can I not love him? To be sure there will be photos of His Royal Cuteness taken and posted so stay tuned and see if you don't also fall in love with him as well.

As I fly to Nashville tomorrow (via London and Philly), just wanted to post a few requests and ask you to join us in praying:

-Obviously for me as I fly. Stamina and easy connections/flights, etc. It's always a bit extra tough for me to travel for so many hours and have to bring 3 meals and umpteen number of snacks with me. I am always a bit apprehensive at flight delays and running out of food. Not to mention my stomach doesn't do well with little sleep. It is already grumpy at me for the 2-3 hours less it has gotten the past two nights. (To be fair, last night wasn't all my fault. Some girls decided it would be a great idea to stand outside our flat in the road and scream at one another from about 2:15am-3:00am. Despite having the window closed, fan on, ear plugs in and pillow over my head I could still ocassionally hear a screech from the yelling. I mean, come on!) Tonight I could really do with some solid sleep even though I'll be up at 4:30am. Prayers to that end will be appreciated!

-Some of you won't know that 3 weeks ago I found out I have low thyroid function contributing to much tiredness at time, as well as other things. I've been having a hard time with the pill I'm on and have not been able to consistently take this yet. Pray that while away I can work on adjusting my body to this medicine and that there will be alternative medicines available if I need them. (One thing that seems to be working against me is the lactose and corn starch used as binders in this med - both of which I'm allergic/sensitive to.)

-A good last few days for Mark at his conferences. He flies back to Nashville on Monday but in the meantime, pray he makes some good connections as he looks for a future job and that in general his time would be encouraging and beneficial.

-Rest and relaxation for both of us! We've had a pretty crazy few months with both of us doing more than usual. Pray that our time with family and each other would be refreshing.

Thanks so much for your prayers. We appreciate having friends like you.

See you on the other side! SOON YAFI!!

Biding my Time

2009-11-18T17:44:00.000Z

Many of you know that Mark left last Friday to head back to the US. He was with my parents over the weekend getting over jetlag, repacking, buying a few essentials, etc. He flew to New Orleans yesterday where he's attending one conference the remainder of this week and another over the weekend. Meanwhile, I've been biding my time at home until I jetset on Saturday morning! It's nearly here and I can't believe it. At this point I still have a lot to do and keep reminding myself I only have 2 days a few hours to complete them all - BUT, I think it can be done!

Since Mark left on Friday I have noticed a few things....

--How does one less person in the house equate to 2/3rds less dishes? (I'm going to blame it on the coffee addiction Mark doesn't have.)

--A couple nights somewhere between about 8-9pm I've found I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. It seems like time for bed since the sun has set 4-5 hours ago, but even that's a little early for me to hit the sack. (I think that must be the time Mark and I usually watch a show together.)

--My toothbrush is lonely. Everytime I look at the glass cup that holds our toothbrushes it takes me by surprise. My toothbrush looks so alone sitting there by itself.

--Despite enjoying a clean house staying clean this week, it's a good reminder that I'd rather a dirty, messy house filled with my husband too.

I've missed you, Mark, and am counting the days till I see you again too!

Celebrate the Little Things!

2009-11-10T19:08:00.000Z

When you live in a world of strict diets, it is definitely the little things that keep you going. Here in my local grocery store I have found various such food items that deserve their own blog post. Take, for instance, the delectible treat on the left. Rice cake with chocolate on top. You thought rice cakes were bland, boring and downright disgusting? Well, maybe. But certainly not with chocolate on top! And it isn't just any chocolate -- it's (or seems to be) dairy and soy free. Not easy done in the world of chocolate. Thank you, Kallo, for these sweet treats. (And also for the rice milk you make which is the only one not contaminated with other allergens. As well as your regular rice cakes. They really are way better than most folks think!)

The next thank you goes to Lyme Regis for their amazing fruit bars, "fruitus." They come in 4 flavors, but I think my fav is the blueberry-pomagranate one. The really surprising thing is that I can usually find them for a reasonable price. This is truly a rarity in the world of pre-packaged, non-allergenic foods. My life has been transformed (well, okay, maybe a slight exaggeration....sorry Bible study ladies!) since finding this food-on-the-go. Since I can rarely find pre-packaged foods that are "safe" and always need food, you can see why this has been a great find.

I almost feel normal.

Until Mark reminds me that I just got really excited about chocolate rice cakes.

The Hazards of Hymns

2009-11-05T16:30:00.000Z

Our church sings a lot of hymns. Many of them I had not heard before moving here, but have grown to love some of them, especially the more modern, newer ones by writers like Stuart Townend. However, we do sing some more traditional ones like "Be Thou My Vision, " which I have always loved.

Since coming here, however, I have realized that there is a big hazard with singing hymns. Apparently Scottish hymns are at times different than American hymns. As I was reminded on Sunday the words can change without any warning.

I was singing away "Be Thou My Vision" and we were on verse 2: "Be Thou my wisdon, be Thou my true word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father and I thy true heir - wait - what? I hear an American friend next to me belt out SON (how it's usually sung in America) while I grin and chuckle. Thank goodness I was looking at the words and didn't make that mistake. But you know what the Bible says, "Pride comes before the fall."

Verse 3 was totally unrecognizable:
"Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight; be Thou my armour and be Thou my might; Thou my soul's shelter and Thou my high tower; raise Thou me heav'nward, O Power of my power."

So by verse 4 I was excited we were back to something I knew. You know, didn't need the words for -- could actually worship and sing from the heart. Now I'm the one belting it out, "Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise...." While everyone else sings: "Riches I heed not, nor all the world's praise." That'll stop the flow of worship real fast, and humble you too!

The moral of the story is, when singing in church here, it is best to ALWAYS look at the screen or songsheet. I guess two years of learning this hasn't been enough. Maybe I just keep hoping one day they'll use the words I know.

P.S. At the bottom of the songsheet it is written that the words we were singing are from a 1993 edition of the song, so I think it is one that has been "updated." That would make the "heir" part more politically correct and gender neutral. So for this particular song that must be the "problem."

Even Nature Celebrates

2009-10-31T20:17:00.000Z

I've been holding onto this photo for months now -- since spring, so it'd be a shame to not share it. It is was one of my favorite photos -- until Mark said it looked like a ghost. I was mad at first because I liked the photo so much. Then I saw he was right. Then I was really mad because that was all I could see. Then I used my editing program and took out the "eyes." Then I liked it again. I guess this little guy was trying to scare off the photographer that day.

500th Birthday!

2009-10-23T15:19:00.000+01:00

(Two posts in 3 days - I know!)

Even after two years of being here I am still amazed that I daily work at an institution that has been around for over 500 years. And Mark's office overlooks the now 500 year old King's College Chapel. The first weekend of this month there was a big weekend celebration to commemorate the impressive birthday of King's. Also to mark this special occasion there has been a display in the Old Town House where I work from time to time. It's called "Images of King's: The artistic portrayal of King's College, Aberdeen." I've enjoyed looking at the very old paintings and drawings of how King's used to look "back in the day." The paintings are also some of the ones used in a the new book King’s College, Aberdeen: history, building and artistic portrayal and is now on my "to-get-before-leaving-Aberdeen" list.

The painting above is my favorite of the exhibition. Having learned this year that photography is all about light, I gather painting is the same. I love the light in this one!

If you are in Aberdeen and enjoy art, you should "come have a look."

Wind Factor

2009-10-21T19:11:00.000+01:00

Since living here we've discovered classifications of wind. Who knew they existed? On checking one local weather website (a nearly daily occurrance at our house, and more so when photo shoots are scheduled) we noticed they always categorized the wind speed with ratings like F4 or F5, and then a brief description of that wind speed. Our personal favorite classification (which we see far too often) is the F5 "Fresh Breeze." Take today, for instance, it is an F5. Friends, that ain't no "breeze" out there! Earlier I was walking to my car (yes, praise the Lord for such a luxury on a day such as this) from my office and was literally being pushed from behind by the wind. The wind was gusting so hard it put me into a brief jog. I do not classify that as a breeze. More along the lines of nearly a hurricane. And for the 3 minutes I was outside, my "trouser" legs were soggy. I need fully body rain gear with this wind/rain combo.

Up until about 2 weeks ago, I thought that perhaps Scotland (or the whole of the UK) had made their own classifications of wind just because there is rarely a day without it. Kind of like how I've been told the Eskimos have many descriptions of snow. They get it so often and with varying degrees so it needs to be explained just which one will be encountered on any given day. So that was my theory on wind speed ratings here.

But that theory was debunked when I discovered a website talking about the "F" numbers and the wind speeds, complete with each number's description as well. Apparently these "F" numbers make up the Beaufort scale. Wikipedia's chart is exceptionally helpful as you can see the effects on the land, as well. Based on my observations we are more likely to be in the F7 or F8 category today. And for what it is worth, I'm not sure I've ever seen it at F1 during our time here. The F2 days are far too few, though are so very nice when we get them! (Incidentally, we miraculously had one on Saturday when I photographed 6 families outside. That was a HUGE praise!)

Other than just being a meteorological nerd, I often have my eye on the wind reports because of the loudness in our bedroom. Remember this post almost exactly a year ago? Yeah, it's been a long year of wind. I can pretty much determine ahead of time now if I will need to sleep in the living room (my solution for getting some sleep on noisy nights) depending on the wind speed and direction. For instance, anything constantly blowing over about 25mph in a South or South-East direction at night (probably a good 10 times a month) and I'm pulling out our fold out chair for a bed because our slates are bound to be jumping. Last night it was so bad I even had a hard time sleeping in there.

All told, perhaps the thing I will miss LEAST about living in Scotland is the WIND (and our slates)!!

This Week's Cultural Lesson

2009-10-08T18:47:00.000+01:00

I have been exposed to yet another part of the British culture. Once again by way of a student worker (though techinically she's graduated and is working with us as a full-time staff member now). Ayme came in wearing a Blue Peter Badge (more by way of a joke) and was proudly showing it off to me. Too bad I had no idea what it was!

Then came the 10 or so minutes of catching this daft American up to speed on this rather big children's program run by the BBC. Here is the BBC site where children can go and find out how they can earn the famed Blue Peter Badge. From what I can gather, children have to submit letters or do things to impress the "presenters" (hosts of the show). It seems it must be somewhat challenging to actually get a badge so that's why it was a big deal Ayme had received one. The awards have been given out since the early 60's so have quite a heritage by now. The coveted award also allows the under 16 children to gain free entry into some of the larger attractions in the UK, like Legoland. In searching the net to find out more, I uncovered a scandal with the badges from a few years ago. People were selling their badges on E-bay offering free entry into the attractions at a minimal cost! The BBC now also awards an ID card along with the badge to stop such falsifications.

The final thing my co-workers mentioned was all the bloopers that would happen on the show as a result of it being broadcast live. They specifically told me one of the most memorable occurred when they had an elephant relieve himself on national television. I had to look it up. See for yourself.

P.S. If you see any spelling errors (here or in the future) please ignore! I'm a terrible speller and since Blogger has "updated" some features it has decided to take this feature away. Grrrr....

It's Time for an Update!

2009-09-28T20:44:00.001+01:00

Two weeks without blogging and it feels like maybe 2 days. Okay, slight exaggeration, but the past two weeks have flown by, been full and wonderful and tiring. Thought that maybe I should write about some significant and also random things. So here goes, in my fav, bullet point style:

I've been home all day with a man who looks like he was in a pub brawl or domestic dispute. Your choice. Said man claims to be my husband, but looks more like a creepy man I can't look too long and hard at without scaring myself. Poor guy has a swollen eye that is half shut. Due to it being a "bank holiday" (more on that later) he hasn't been able to see a doctor to find out what in the world is going on. I think Mark was just jealous I had the day off work and decided to poke himself in the eye so he could stay home "sick" too. In all seriousness, we'd really appreicate your prayers that his eye would heal soon and he would stay HEALTHY. Mark's been sick waaaaaay too much this year and really can't afford much more time away from his thesis.

As mentioned, today is a lovely, random day off work. They call them "bank holidays" or "local holidays" but in all my digging I still can't quite figure out why they have them. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about time off work, it's just counter-intuataive to this American to have a day off when you aren't actually celebrating something. At church another member and I were discussing various cultural differences regarding holidays and I brought up this point. He was surprised we didn't have "local holidays" (each city or town here has their own days and they don't always coincide with the neighboring towns), but only really national holidays. I mentioned the fact that when we have days off we are usually celebrating something. He sort of took offense at this. I think they just celebrate the seasons instead. There are two days off in the spring, one in July and one in September (and of course ones for Christmas). Note to self, be careful how I talk about this in the future :)

I received an orchid as a gift (same time as the chocolate on the previous post) and while I have been known to have a green thumb, I've been leary of killing the orchid. It's my first so I've had to do some reading and talking to friends to make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

Turning 31 was MUCH easier than turning 30! I'm grateful. I had a delightful and restful few days on and around my birthday. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, cards, gifts, etc. Mark obliged my one birthday wish and took me to Dunnottar Castle to get some photos of the castle as the sunset. Too bad the clouds creeped in. But, I did get these and the one below, so the evening wasn't a total disappointment. Just means we have to go again to get the shot I'm looking for :)

It's been a full few weeks of welcoming new students/families to the University, both at work and also personally amongst my group of friends and our Aberdeen Women's Fellowship. I look forward to this time of year, so I've enjoyed the opportunity to meet new folk and help them settle in to Aberdeen.

The nights are quickly becoming darker and longer. The longer summer nights are but a faint memory. There is nothing exciting about this except that it signals that the time for us to go "home" for the holidays is creeping ever so closer! We are both now under 2 months to go before being back on US soil! (I say both because we are leaving about a week apart. Mark will go early for 2 conferences while I stay behind and work and then we'll be reunited on the Monday before Thanksgiving.)

While many in the US have been drowning in buckets of rain, we've had two weeks of very little rain and large amounts of sunshine and fairly warm temps. It's been those days that I am reminded of why I love it here. On one such Saturday afternoon/evening, Mark and I hopped in the car and headed for the hills of Aberdeenshire so Mark could do some fishing and I could (what else) photograph! Here are a few favorite photos from the adventure....

Mark's in the lower left getting his gear ready and Bennachie is the hill range in the background, with Mither Tap being the peak farthest left. We still need to hike that before we leave.

Beautiful purple heather in the glowing evening sun.

I love me some b/w reflections and lines.

Bennachie again, with maybe Oxen Craig in the distance? I was drawn in by the golden fields as the sunset on them, constrasting with the darker areas around.

More glowing sun on flowers.

More amazing Scottish scenery. Had to go slightly off the beaten path for this, but well worth it. I like the new header version even more (though the header doesn't do it justice, in my opinion). Mark really liked this version, though, so here it is!

While we are sad that Jack is not back (until January), it's been nice to welcome other old friends like Gibbs and gang, as well as Office-mates back into our home.

Planning a surprise get-away weekend for my dear hubby has proved challenging. He knows we are going way this weekend to celebrate his birthday (and just to give him a much needed break after working so diligently the past couple months), but he doesn't want to know where we are going. I, however, keep forgetting that he doesn't know and have had several near misses of spewing vital information. I will be glad when Friday gets here and I can share my secrets!

I'm sure I could go on and on, but in the interest of your time and mine, mabye we should call it a night. Hopefully it won't be another 2 weeks before I write, but we'll see!

Word of the Week

2009-09-15T14:50:00.000+01:00

I love that even after 2 years here I am still learning more things about the culture and language. Thought I would share with you today's word of the week. I was just reading the box of some chocolates we were given to us recently. On it there was the word "moreish." I've heard this word at work and gathered sort of what it meant, but never fully appreciated it until I looked it up on an on-line dictionary. It is an adjective used of food in British culture to describe when something tastes so good you just want more. And just so you can see the word in context, the box states, "...this delicious assortment of moreish chocolates captures Throntons quality and craftsmanship in an indulgent moment."

No wonder it was on a box of chocolate. I like this word.

A Wedding: Scottish Style

2009-09-06T14:20:00.006+01:00

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to my first Scottish wedding this past Friday. It was of Pip and Alec that I took photos of on Saturday. Mark was bummed he had a NT conference on campus to attend so he was unable to join me for the festivities. And I had some girl friends unable to go as well, so this post is as much for them as the rest of you :) We've all been wondering how a Scottish wedding compared to an American one. And while I do realize that even amongst American weddings there is diversity, and assume the same is true of Scottish ones, I thought I'd still share what I observed as different in this particular Scottish wedding compared to the multiple American ones I've attended.

For starters, it poured all day the day before. Like for over 24 hours it just kept coming down hard and steady. Things were flooding, roads were closing, train lines stopped. I kept waiting for Noah and his ark to go floating by. I think everyone participating in the wedding must have been praying overtime, because around 20-30 minutes before the wedding the sun came out!! It was so great to see again and that way the bride didn't have to get drenched going into the wedding.

In Scotland many more weddings are conducted on Friday's. Often on summer Friday afternoon's on campus there are weddings taking place at the chapel. I'm unsure why this is such a popular time to get married, but it is. All I can figure is that everyone gets plenty of days off work so it isn't such a big deal for all of your guests to take a day off to participate in your wedding activities.

There was, of course, the traditional piper (bag piper, that is) outside the church playing signaling to all wedding was about to start. Sorry, no photo. Couldn't bring myself to be a tourist this time.

Another thing you would notice quickly at most weddings here are the hats. Many women, especially the, er, more mature generations, would be wearing hats. At this wedding there weren't too many worn, but some of the weddings I've seen on campus have had nearly all ladies in hats.

They did have the bride side and groom side, but the ushers didn't properly escort anyone to their seats. Just more of a "go find your own seat" approach. I noticed that even when the bride's mother went down the aisle no one really escorted her. There was an usher with her, but he just walked behind her.

The dad still escorts the bride into the ceremony, and the groom with groomsmen were waiting at the end of the aisle. However, the bridesmaids and then the minister followed the bride in! (You can just see the bride's sister and maid-of-honor in the back of this photo.) Isn't Pip beautiful?! Her dress was amazing and I'm not sure if I've ever liked a wedding dress quite as much as I liked hers. Might have even liked it more than my own (which I loved). But I digress. There were no ringbearers or flower girls. Not sure if this is standard or just this particular wedding.

Another thing that caught my attention was how there were two groomsman (his brothers) and 3 bridesmaids, but the other two bridesmaids didn't actually stand up during the ceremony (just her sister). (Note large purple hat on bottom right.) Also, decorations much more simple. One large arrangement at front of church and then small arrangements hanging from the columns on either side of the stage (though not sure they are pictured in any of these photos.)

As for the ceremony. It was definitely a worship service, which was great. Lots of singing which I have seen at some US weddings. The thing I found most interesting was how quickly into the hour or so wedding they were pronounced man and wife and got to kiss. There was the giving away of the bride, a song, Scripture reading, and then the exchange of the vows and rings (which the minister [his dad] had and gave to them), the kiss and lots of people taking pictures. Then we kept singing. Then there was a charge or sermonette from the other minister [our church minister, he's pictured above]. During this charge the couple, as well as their attendents, sat down. I liked that idea as usually everyone gets tired of standing and this keeps anyone from wanting to faint. I wish we had done this! It is probably easier to listen and concentrate on what is actually being said. Then again, that might be why everyone gets videos to watch later :)

After more singing the couple, their attendents, and the ministers went to the back room to sign the marriage register while everyone else stayed put and listened to two songs sung by a duet. It felt kind of weird not to have the couple there for so long. Finally they came back, think we sang one last song and had a prayer, and then they got to go down the aisle. Slightly anti-climactic (in my opinion) but joyous nonetheless as you will see below.

Below is my personal favorite photo of the day for it's artistic quality. It paid to be on the back row and have the glass window looking into the vestibule at my disposal. Despite the sunny look, it was drizzling again at this point. In the words of another guest, the day was very "changeable." I love that Scottish description of the run/sun/run/sun/rain/sun pattern on many days here. It embodies the "you can never be quite sure what will be happening in the next moment weather-wise" reality.

I think they were scheduled to do photos outside, but because of the drizzle kept them inside. Seemed very typical. Bride/groom ones, family ones, wedding party ones. Do you see that dress? Lovely. And while we are on clothing, yes it is very traditional and typical of the gentlemen to be in kilts (wearing the tarten plaid/colors of one side of their family) with those socks/shoes and a tux-like suitcoat. Oh, and wearing the traditional sporran which is possibly the Scottish version of a "murse." Awesome. I also noted that the men's lapels were unopened thistles, which is the Scottish flower/national emblem.

And wedding party ones.

Just to give you a better idea of the kilts. Mark was disappointed Alec wasn't wearing a dagger in his sock like you sometime see. This also is a good place to mention other men (other than the groom) at weddings will be in kilts (again sporting their personal family tarten, though at times maybe they just have whatever pattern they like most). Definitely the wedding party men, male musicians and many other male guests who are Scottish.

I was sad that I never got a chance to say congrats to the couple afterwards, but the tea/coffee/sandwiches/cakes (which means, sweet baked goods, not THE cake) reception through the "hall" was jam packed. Plus I think they were still taking photos and maybe even braved a few outside at some point.

The partying would have continued later in the evening with many of the guests attending a ceilidh. Maybe even a dinner? To read more about another friend's wedding experience (though more just the reception experience since she says that usually only family and close friends attend the actual wedding ceremony. I think that because this was a Christian wedding maybe it was different?) go here.

So think that is it. All in all, it really wasn't too different than what I've experienced at American weddings. I'm thankful Pip and Alec invited the entire church to attend their ceremony so that I could celebrate with them, but also gain another cultural experience.

You Know You've Adapted to Aberdeen if....Part Two

2009-09-05T16:29:00.002+01:00

So today is our 2 year anniversary of arriving in Aberdeen. In some ways it feels every bit of the two years. In other ways, it feels much shorter. In honor of said occasion, I thought it only appropriate to bring to you the sequal to last year's one year anniversary post. So here they are in no particular order:

You know you've adapted to Aberdeen if.......

1. You actually go out of the house without a coat more often! (I must be finally becoming more Scottish and used to the cooler air. That or it has indeed been warmer this year.)

2. The US date structure of mm/dd/yy looks odd to you and you've come to prefer the dd/mm/yy UK version. (It's honestly challenging to think of the date in US style any more. It took a while for this one to come, but now that it is here, it is pretty engrained in me. Except for our birthdays, I still think both sound better in the US version.)

3. More Scottish phrases/words/sentence structures have worked their way unknowingly into your vocabulary. (I was shocked nearly 2 weeks ago when I was talking to some American friends and I phrased something in a very Scottish way unintentionally. After I said it I looked at them and said "Wow, that was really Scottish. I would never have said it like that in the US.)

4. Related to the above: You can't even always remember how it would be said in the US because you are so used to hearing it said another way. (This scares me as I think about going back to the US!)

5. You've come to greatly appreciate the fresh air and actually look forward to opening your windows to let that air circulate.

6. Roundabouts are your friend.

7. It doesn't scare you nearly as much to play chicken with another car in the middle of the road that is only one and a half lanes wide.

8. "Wee" has replaced "little" in your vocabulary.

9. The seagulls finally annoy you nearly as much as they annoy the locals. (See last year's post at the bottom. Though, there is one exception -- when they are soaring in the wind.)

10. You can understand an increasing amount of doric conversation. You can even sometimes speak a little.

11. You forget at times that you live overseas because things are so familiar and comfortable to you. (It's nice that this has happened in some areas of life. Too bad it's not in all areas.)

This is more of a "You Know You've Lived in Aberdeen Too Long if..."

You get pretty excited when you go to someone's house and they have a real TV with real channels and you get to watch it (i.e. you aren't watching a "film" or show on your laptop).

How you know you've got more adapting to do:

1. You do not at all care for the lack of using "cups" in recipes.

2. The sides and backs of food packaging with various values and percentages still means nothing to you because it is all in grams and litres, and uses different words, like "energy" and "kilojoules." (What the stink are kilojoules?!)

3. The weather still amazes you. (How in the world can it change so quickly! In the blink of an eye?!)

***For further cultural musings and probably more entertainment, visit our friend's blog whose one year anniversary of arriving was yesterday.

Photographer for a Day!

2009-09-02T08:13:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I got a taste of what it might be like to be a photographer for a day. I kinda liked it :) Every year our university holds an Open Day, like a preview day other institutions hold. Not sure how many visitors actually came, but we were expecting somewhere near 5,000 and we might have exceeded that. So this is a huge event. When my co-woker who is in charge of the Open Day asked us all what we'd like to do to help, I threw out there "be the photographer," not really knowing if the marketing team I work with would go for it. But, they did! So after some of my usual secretarial duties were completed I pounded the pavement with my camera and bag. For two hours I stalked visitors and my colleagues (yah, they probably won't be big fans of that!) with my camera. I'm not sure that I got any super-fantastic shots worthy of being reproduced anywhere, but even if we don't use any of them, it was a wonderful experience and I'd like to think I learned a lot. Here's a shot I took yesterday just for me :) I found the bobbies also pounding the pavement with our huge promotional banner (that's beyond just banner, let's say billboard) in the background.

Since I had the camera in tow and it was a phenomenal fall day (yes, it is already beginning to feel/look like fall -- boo!), I thought I'd cross another thing off of my "to-do-before-leaving-Aberdeen" list. And that was take photos of the gi-normous hydrangea bushes. Here are two of my favorites I pass while walking to work.

Do you see how full these things are?!

And, then I saw these lovely orange flowers that I've been noticing everywhere lately. They seem like some type of lily but I'm unsure what they actually are. I loved this old rusted fence.

And why let the photography stop when I was home? Here is the progress on the building across the street. What a mess! At least it is quieter. I think they are putting in gas lines.

My experience as a photographer continued with lots of editing of photos. I was of course looking at the Open Day ones, as well as finishing (finally) Ian and Lauren's and Alec and Pip's that I just took on Saturday. It was a full, fun day of photography. Now back to the normal routine :)

Balmedie Beach

2009-08-23T15:38:00.008+01:00

One place I've wanted to go for awhile now is Belmedie Beach -- a beach just north of Aberdeen a few miles. It is part of an area that Donald Trump wants to develop. From what I can tell, the Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to let him develop part of the land. Here is a link for people in the area who are determined on Tripping Up Trump. After having seen this lovely beach, I can see why the locals are outraged a man with money thinks he can come in and take over their precious public beach.

Despite what the first link above indicates, the beach is not as well sign posted as it claims! It was about a year ago that I first attempted to find it while practicing my driving for our then upcoming practical driving exam. But after not finding it I gave up. There are a few signs to the beach from the highway, but then all of a sudden they disappear and you have to make lucky guesses which way to turn based on where the sea is.But, should you be lucky enough to happen upon it (like we did last night), you will find a beautiful Scottish treasure. The beach area is quite extensive and full of massive sand dunes.

Peaks of the dunes

You can sort of appreciate how large these dunes are when you see the steepness of the dunes. We were brave and decided to go down. Then I was sad to suddenly realize we'd also have to go back up! Thankfully both were easier than I first thought they might be.

At the bottom of the dunes there was a large expanse of water kind of like a river, but its water looked stagnant like a small lake. We couldn't tell what it was or why it was there. It might be partially from the high tides waters or where the rain run-off from the dunes goes.

The closer we got to the sea, the smaller the above "river" got. It was definitely flowing and the water made a neat pattern in the sand kind of like tire tracks.

There were five horse riders (though here you can only see 3) out for an evening stroll as well. I thought it made for a nice photo with the fog settling in the background.

After we reached a certain point we thought we better head back. It was a cold walk back with the wind gusting in our faces. But what would a coast in Scotland be without the strong, cold wind? Even in August!

All That Racket

2009-08-19T18:14:00.006+01:00

For over a year now, the building across the street has been undergoing renovations. When Mark first talked to someone about it way back when he said it would take a long time to make the property into flats (it was once an old medical practice). He wasn't kidding. The weirdest thing is that I think at least 3 (maybe 4 now) various people seemed to have been in charge over there from time to time. And yes, it is hard not to spy on them and notice everything since it is the only thing I can see out of my kitchen window so while I'm bored out of my mind washing dishes or preparing food, I watch :)

First there was one man who did most everything on his own. We affectionately called him "Warrior Man" because well, he did it all and he drove a Nissan Warrior truck. Then came the 3 older gentlemen who did some hard manual labor and made me think one of them would go into cardiac arrest, especially because they smoked a lot too. Then no one did anything for months. I thought maybe it was because it was winter - cold and dark with no electricity. But even when spring came no one showed up. Until one day new people started working on it with a vengeance. It underwent quick transformation for a period of time. Like one day I looked and said "is that a new window?" That was the same day it got a new entrance. The next day I looked again, another new window (see two boarded windows on either side of the real window). You might also notice the hole in the roof covered with blue plastic. That's been there a good month. This week someone finally worked on it again. I wondered if the downpour we had the other day prompted that action. It's not done yet, though.

So after all this progress, then there was nothing. Until this new guy (let's call him Bob) shows up and started causing tons of racket for the past week. He loves him some jackhammer. Me, not so much. All I know is Saturday morning at about 8:30am that thing started and ruined my nice quiet Saturday morning plans. Yesterday I could finally tell what he was doing.

He dug way down and then laid some tube or pipe down, so it must be for water or electric. I was so excited that he was almost done....until today he started on the main entrance door. I need to have a talk with Bob because his racket and my dislike for loud, continuous noises (especially for hours on end) are not mixing well. Makes me wonder if he's deaf.

Here's the truck Bob puts all kinda of junk in to cart away.

Mish Mash

2009-08-13T18:13:00.007+01:00

I've sure been a blogger slacker lately. Not for lack of things to write about because I have had several posts floating around in my head for the past couple of weeks. More just lack of motivation combined with busyness to actually write those posts. Leave it to some photos to get me back in the blogosphere.

But before those photos, a few updates. Work has gotten busier as it is again Clearing time. Last week I worked 6 days and nearly my double usual hours, which isn't bad considering I was just around full-time hours and many of my co-workers were doing way more hours than that. This week isn't so bad, but next week will be manic so I'm resting up now in preparation.

I've also been busy communicating with some new American/Canadian students that will be arriving to start studying a similar program as Mark. My friends and I have put together some welcome packets for them again this year. It will be exciting to welcome them in to our community.

Mark's been plugging away as usual, with a slight extra determination to try to finish this marathon up within the year (not 2009 year, I mean school year). Your continued prayers as he presses on are appreciated. He's also gearing up for college football to start again with a close eye to what the season might bring for his Bulldogs.

The weather has been warmer and sunnier again. I am thankful this summer has seemed warmer on the whole, with definitely warmer weeks/days than last summer. It has felt slightly more like summer this time around. Maybe it is a combination of being more adapted and the weather more cooperative.

Without further ado, here are today's fun photos. I had to pick our car up today (after a week of repairs - bleh. We were thankful for a loaner car from the garage). Where we take it is in the country outside of the city about 10 miles. I always take my camera along when I go out that way - just in case. Turns out today that was a good idea. Last week when I dropped the car off I saw some hairy coos near the car place. Today I saw them again on my way there and noted where I could park to get out and take some shots. Despite the cows having moved from being close to the fence (where I saw them on the way there). And despite the fact that I had to walk on the edge of large ditch next to a barbed-wire fence (that I had to keep reminding myself I could not grab if I started to fall), I think I still got some cute shots. I was rather enamored with the adorable baby coos!

He kept picking this clod of dirt/weeds (hopefully not poo!) up and tossing it like it was a toy. Very cute!
This little baby was sleeping, then his mom went over and started licking him. Again very cute. Then the little guy thought maybe he'd get up. He posed like this for a little bit. Mommy kept her eye on me :)
At first I thought he couldn't even walk yet.

Apparently the mom was getting a little tired of being photographed.

But, then little buddy got up and posed quite nicely. If you look closely you'll see he's even saying "cheese."

Check One Complete

2009-08-04T19:52:00.007+01:00

Hard to believe that Mark and I are thinking we may be down to a our final 12 months here! It's not for certain yet and in reality there may be more like 16 months. In any case, we're starting a "things-to-do-before-leaving-Aberdeen/UK" list. Top of the list (well, MY list) was seeing the roses in full bloom at the massive rose gardens in Hazelhead Park. I actually really wanted to take my parents to see this when they were here, but we were always doing too many other things. I guess they'll have to enjoy it via photos.

Here are some photos showing the overall picture of how big these two gardens are. To see some of the more artistic/fun ones, go here.

Couple Updates

2009-07-26T17:40:00.002+01:00

So sorry for the silence after asking for prayer and saying my Grandma was in surgery. We are praising God that He brought her through the surgery just fine and she has been stable ever since. What a blessing. She is obviously in pain, but at this point the healing has started so we rejoice!

Not a whole lot else to report. I had two fabulous photo shoots yesterday and enjoyed them both immensely. Photography is just intoxicating for me :) Check out http://rophoto.wordpress.com in the next day or so to see some new photos.

Grandma Update

2009-07-22T21:50:00.002+01:00

Things change fast sometimes with medical updates! Because they couldn't stabilize my Grandma to the doctor's liking, they decided emergency open heart/bypass surgery was the best option, so she is currently in surgery. It's been roughly 2 hours with another 2-3 to go. We'll know more tomorrow.

Urgent Prayer Needed!

2009-07-22T18:30:00.002+01:00

Would you all pray with us about my Grandma (Mom's mom)? For the past couple of weeks she has been having various heart related issues, and has been in out of the doctors/hospital for the past week. Today they did a heart cath and have determined her arteries are very blocked. She has been experiencing chest pains since that time and her blood pressure has dropped. They are currently trying to stabilize her with the hopes of doing open heart surgery tomorrow if she is strong enough. Please pray to that end.

Thankfully my mother is there in Missouri with my grandma, my grandma's husband and her 3 sisters. Pray for all of them as they support my grandma during this time. And obviously, please pray for my peace of mind as I am painfully feeling the distance of being an ocean and and half the US away. I will try to update with other requests as I know them.

Thoughts on my Week

2009-07-17T18:05:00.002+01:00

Thought I'd share some things about my week that I've learned/thought about:

1. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). I appreciate that every month in our church bulletin there is a verse to memorize and meditate on for the whole month. This month's has been very timely shared.

2. The University campus floods (in parts) when large amounts of rain fall in a short amount of time. I now know where those parts are.

3. When it is said of a company that they've "gone into administration" it means they've gone bankrupt. I was thankful for a co-worker's explanation on this one.

4. Discussing tax matters with the city's Council is similar to a David and Goliath story. I long to see God's hand move in mighty ways like He did on David (and Israel's) behalf.

5. The thought of having to give an hour long campus tour to prospective students is an overwhelming thought. I do not think my 1.5 hours of training will suffice. But if anyone wants to let me practice on them, let me know :)

6. The book "My Sister's Keeper" is difficult to put down, thought-provoking, and evokes all sorts of emotions.

7. I'm married to a wonderful man and I'm so grateful for him. I continue to enjoy the adventure called life with him.

8. Looking back on life: We left Raleigh 2 years ago on Wednesday and started our crazy Scottish adventures, that began with 7 weeks or so of seeing family and finishing preparations for the big move. Sometimes it feels longer than 2 years.

9. The UK's new visa laws that have just gone into effect are wreaking havoc on our department at work. I will be impressed to see international students arrive on time in September.

10. Waking up to an alarm again daily this week has been a slap in the face after enjoying some lazy mornings during my 2 and a half weeks off. I'm thankful it is the weekend.

I know there are others, but think I will leave it at that. Since today's post if sans photos, go here to enjoy some of my favorites from when my parents were here.

Seen in Scotland

2009-07-13T15:06:00.006+01:00

Since it has been awhile since we've shared any fun Scottish signs I thought I'd post some that we found while on our trip. For those wanting to see previous posts with signs, go here and here. They both have links to other photos as well.

Sadly, one sign is missing that I saw just on Friday morning at 4:50am after dropping my parents off at the airport. It was written on a similar sign as the "Frustration Can Cause Accidents" sign previously posted (and which we saw multiple times while driving this trip). But this sign said "Tiredness Can Kill." Kinda funny to see that at 4:50am after getting to bed late. I'm pretty sure that some coffee company should use that as their slogan. Maybe I should market that along with some photos and see if I have any takers :)

This one we saw the first time we were at Balmoral in Nov. '07, but I never got a shot of it. I just like the little squirrel. Not too funny, but documenting the red squirrels that they have around some parts of Scotland that, I think, are endangered so they don't want you running them over.

Found this at The Heather Centre near Aviemore. It (the Heather Centre) was not quite what we expected, but still enjoyable. We liked the picture going with the words.

Also at the Heather Centre. Note the last sentence. We thought that was cute.

This one is just funny. Perhaps offensive, but funny nonetheless. If you are ever in the UK and want to rent a minivan/camper, go to wickedcampers.co.uk and you too can "hire" this van :) Saw this at the Highland Games in Glengarry.
Just another favorite stick figure showing the action. Urquhart Castle....well, really the car park wall that drops way off down to the castle.
Ditto with this one. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" St. Andrew's University near the Divinity School.
And this just might now be my favorite sign. I found it months ago on the way to a friend's flat here in Aberdeen, but finally took my camera to go photograph it. Really? While I wait?! Is there any other kind of dentist? Just wondering. Cuz if there is, I want to know about it. I hate waiting for my "dental repairs."

Like Queen's

2009-07-11T18:32:00.007+01:00

We had a great visit with my parents. As is usually the case, the visit went too quickly and now it is back to normal life. Thought I would highlight one particular part of my parent's visit because it was more unusual than some of the things we did.

I was sent from the US a "traveling tea pot." Sort of along the lines of the "traveling pants" movies for those of you who have seen that (and for you UKer's not familiar with the movie, it's a pair of jeans that is sent from friend to friend, not errrr, well, not "pants." Just thought we should clear that up!) Anyways, so this teapot has sojourned with a couple of my aunts and eventually made it's way to me. Each person receiving the tea pot has to have a tea party, or the very least, tea with another person, then journal about their experience. It's a rather interesting idea and though I was a bit skeptical at first it was sort of fun. Since it was going to be expensive to ship back to the US I decided I better do something while my mom was here, and since we were traveling so much off and on during their visit, organizing a proper tea party with friends was out. I was stumped as to where mom and I should have our tea party. Then I had the brilliant idea to take the tea "party" to Balmoral Castle (the Queen's holiday home).

It was July 1st and one of the hottest days we've ever had here in Scotland. (Side note, the entire first week my parents were here we kept saying, "this isn't normal, it isn't usually this warm or sunny." We all enjoyed it, us because it was warmer, them because it was cooler. However, it did get a bit toasty travelling in our non-air conditioned car in upper 70's and low 80 degree temps cross-country. I even managed to sunburn my arm on this particular day while riding in the car!)

Mark opted for a coffee shop and sat out the Balmoral tour. We had done it before and he thought that was good enough for him. So my parents and I enjoyed walking around and learning more about the royal family and their estate. Towards the end of our time Mom and I broke out the thermos of hot water we had brought, poured it into the traveling tea pot with two tea bags, then poured into disposable cups. We left the Royal Photographer (i.e. Dad) in charge of photographing the event (you are to include photos in the journal entry) while we enjoyed a few moments of sipping tea with the castle in the background.

Lisa's Visit!

2009-06-25T18:32:00.003+01:00

Before any more time passes by (and before my parents arrive on Monday!) I wanted to share some pics from my time with my friend, Lisa. Lisa was here for a whole week and it was so wonderful to catch up and have leisurely time together. Usually we fit in 6 months worth of life's details in an hour or two's phone conversation. Not easily done!

Lisa is one of those friends that you thank God has been in your life and is still in your life. She and I met I think at the end of our 8th grade year. Her family started attending the church my dad pastored. I'm pretty sure we became friends almost immediately and spent many formative moments together in youth group, high school and the tennis team together. When we chose rival Christian universities to attend (equally in the middle of nowhere, I might add - her going to Taylor and me Cedarville) we still kept in touch and hung out as often as possible on breaks at home. Life has taken us in very different directions in terms of jobs and cities, but unfortunately we have shared allergies together! While mine are mainly food issues, hers are environmental that trigger bad asthma. What's crazy is both of us got them about 5 or 6 years ago. We joke it was because we grew up near a nuclear power plant! Through all 15 years we've been friends the main source of our friendship has stemmed from our love for the Lord and our desire to serve Him in whatever we do in life. That has looked different for both of us, but that is the beauty of the Body of Christ. Friends like this don't come along too often, nor do they usually remain, so I praise God for Lisa! Lisa, thanks again for coming, listening, freezing (hah!), and just sharing in our lives here. We so enjoyed it and will forever miss your company when watching The Office again.

To see more photos and see a video with a piper at Dunnottar click the below slideshow.

Summer Solstice Sadness

2009-06-21T20:45:00.003+01:00

First things first, Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there! And Happy Father's Day (again) to my dad, truly the best dad a daughter could have. I love you and can't wait to see you in a week!!!

The longest day of the year is upon us (and nearly over in this part of the world). The official start to summer has surprisingly been a mild and sunny one. I wish there were more like it here. To show you just what the longest day of the year is like here, I will show you this (not so great picture) I took at 3:15am after a trip to the loo. Not sure how I managed to even think to do this, but all the brightness streaming in the windows awakens my mind more than I'd like some nights. In any case, I think it actually seemed brighter than this but it is generally what what it was like.
According to this website, this photo would have been taken about 15 minutes after civil twilight (when it first starts getting light) and about an hour before the sun actually rose. All in all, you gotta love the fact that today we 20 hours and 16 minutes of visible light! Unfortunately, it is all downhill from here.

Knight for a Boss

2009-06-18T13:00:00.000+01:00

It's not often you get the chance to work for an individual who has been knighted by Her Majesty the Queen, but I can now say that I have :) Granted, I've never met the man, but his office is just on the other side of my building and I've heard him speak a couple times so that should count for something. The University of Aberdeen's Principal (yes, that's his title, not president), Professor Sir Duncan C Rice was knighted this past weekend as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours. Interestingly enough, these birthday honours don't take place on Queen Elizabeth's actual birthday, April 21, which she shares with my mother (though, my mom is much younger!). The Queen's Official Birthday is the day that it is celebrated by the nation. Sounds like this tradition started in the early 1900's by Edward VII who moved the celebrations to the summer in hopes of better weather.

Flying High

2009-06-17T09:41:00.005+01:00

For about a year and a half now I have been trying to capture the beauty of the seagulls when they are soaring on the wind, especially when it's blowing strongly. To see one of my earliest attempts, see an older post "Ode to the Seagull." Like I explained there, it is fascinating to see these large birds soar against the sky (or sometimes dark clouds) and then have their white bellies gleam as the setting sunlight hits them.

Last night I decided to take advantage of the sunny evening and photograph some flowers in our garden that have recently bloomed. I did that for awhile and then realized the seagulls were doing what I just described above - gliding on the wind. So I turned the zoom lens upwards. I very quickly discovered what I had previously, it is hard to take a clear shot of these guys! But persistence, manual focus, and some 100 shots later, I ended up with a few that were clear. The birds, as you can tell, were even kind enough to fly right over me at times. I think our neighbors must have been laughing at me because I am sure I was a sight to see standing there with my camera waiting for them to quit circling other areas and come back to me!
One thing is for sure, I will more fully appreciate any photograph I see of a bird flying. It's harder to take than it looks!

The Amazing Race - Part 4

2009-06-14T21:06:00.002+01:00

Monday, June 1 st was our anniversary. When we finally made it out of Zurich (in case you missed that from the slideshow captions from Part 3, we had a very difficult time finding the right road because of confusing signposting), we had a nice drive through the countryside back into Germany. We enjoyed a stop at Lake Titisee before arriving in time for an afternoon nap at our hotel in a small German village outside of Freiburg. After a very busy trip up until that point it was nice to have a relaxing evening together.

The next day we packed up and headed north to Heidelberg for a quick 3 hour tour of the castle and old town, including lunch. I could say a lot more about this, but I'll let the slideshow/captions do the talking.

From there we were counting the hours until we had to get on the airplane, but we had about 1 hour to spare. We saw on the map that Worms was about 10 miles out of our way, so we made an even quicker stop there to see where the Diet of Worms took place. There was a large Luther Monument that we spent some time looking at. Our favorite photos are the two below.

This is to immortalize the words that Luther supposedly said as he left the Diet of Worms, "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me! Amen."

We had an uneventful trip to the airport, flight home, and trip to our friend's flat in Glasgow for the night. Before we hit the clouds on Wednesday on our way back to Aberdeen we saw the Scottish Saltire in the sky. What a nice welcome home.

Here are the rest of the photos from the remainder of our trip (click to view larger/with captions):

The Amazing Race - Part 3

2009-06-12T20:23:00.007+01:00

I am determined to get through these pics from our trip! Here are some photos from our 3rd full day away, which started off in Germany and ended in Switzerland. Lucerne was just about all I was hoping for, and in many ways even better. Mark and I agreed it was the favorite part of our trip even though we were there for about 5 hours. When we arrived late morning it was a little overcast, but as the afternoon wore on the clouds kept parting showing us more and more of the alps in the distance. Very cool!

Below is Kapellbrücke meaning, "chapel bridge." It is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe, though it caught fire in 1993 so much of it has been restored.

From the bridge

Swan from where we ate lunch

We strolled along the river for awhile and I loved this flag flying in front of the mountains.

Just before we left we walked under this huge monument thing (kinda looked like the arc de triumph) near the train station. Mark asked me to take a few shots. I'm glad he did because I like how they came out.

I feel like these are very much just the tip of the iceberg of our day in Lucerne. We spent the night in Zurich, an altogether very interesting experience. You just never know what you are going to get with "hostels" :) But after the amazing sunset I think it was worth it! To see more and read more, click on the slideshow.

Switzerland - Day 3

The Amazing Race - Part 2

2009-06-05T21:27:00.004+01:00

I have a few minutes since Lisa obviously needed to get to bed early after travelling so much. I can't get Facebook to cooperate, so we are trying out Picasa web albums slideshow (see bottom of post). Here are a few others photos from day 2. On Saturday we left my cousins and headed to Triberg, Germany set in the picturesque Black Forest. The drive was so scenic and the town of Triberg didn't disappoint either. They are known for cuckoo clocks, and this tourist shop was known as "House of a 1,000 Clocks" or something like that. There were at least that many ticking clocks in there, though I never heard one actually cuckoo.

Triberg is known for it's cascading waterfall. We enjoyed a scenic and steep hike up to the top of the waterfall.

Germany and Switzerland both were filled with tons of tunnels because of the many hills/mountains. Some were even fairly long. I decided to do some experimenting with my camera settings and motion photography since I haven't really done any of that (other than moving children!) We liked this one best out of all of them (edited of course to make even more dramatic), though viewing it here at low resolution it doesn't look quite as cool as it does large and clear.

I think if you click on the slidshow you can view it larger and with captions. Enjoy!

The Amazing Race - Part 1

2009-06-03T21:38:00.008+01:00

We enjoyed a fantastic 6 or so days away from home! Thanks for your prayers. We were safe and I was healthy.

Not sure how much or how quickly I can share the many things I'd like to share. My good friend, Lisa, arrives this Friday for a week of fun and catching up. I can't wait!

Mark and I totalled up today that we have driven around 1,100 miles in Scotland, Germany and Switzerland in a week's time. Whew. It was so worth it, despite the number of times we got lost and frustrated over Germany's poor signage on some roads (actually, Switzerland wasn't all that hot at times either). Somehow, by God's grace, we always ended up where we needed to be. We also enjoyed getting the car up to 155kmh or so -- roughly 100 mph on the Autobahn . (Don't worry, moms, it wasn't for long!) You can't drive that fast in all areas (nor would you want to!), but we thought that wasn't too bad for our Ford Focus rental.
Last Thursday night as we drove to my cousins house in the middle of no where in Germany (very lost I might say with darkness approaching and few who spoke English) I was thinking about how it was like we were on our own Amazing Race adventure. I love that show. My respect for the contestants driving in other countries and trying to communicate with those who don't speak English went up ten-fold. My respect for missionaries (or any expats) living in non-English speaking countries also increased immensely. Makes me grateful we live here! Anyways, the first "leg" of our journey in Germany didn't go so hot and a 45 minute drive took closer to 2 and a quarter or 2 and a half hours. Not fun. However, we did survive and arrived before my cousin sent out the search party.

For sake of time, I've included three favorite photos of mine from the trip. Go to Facebook to see some more photos from our time with my cousin and his wife/son. I will try to link the album here some day, but can't figure that out right now!

I leave you with God's handiwork over Zurich. I barely edited this photo....just stunning colors that night!

What do you do when....

2009-05-27T16:18:00.002+01:00

...you and your spouse enjoy travelling/exploring new places together?
...and one of you has been wanting to go back to the Black Forest where he has great childhood memories from a trip to Europe?
...and you find flights for the both of you for £4 return including taxes (plus £50 in other misc fees!)?
...and you have a cousin in Germany who is willing to offer free accommodation for a couple nights?
...and you have no kids to worry about?
...and it's your 7th anniversary?

You book said cheap tickets and starting planning!

And what do you do when....
...you realize you will be a mere hour's drive from Switzerland?

You say sweetly to your husband, "Surely you won't take me that close to Switzerland and not let me go?!"

Thus was the initial stages of our upcoming trip. We leave tomorrow to fly out of Glasgow to go Hahn in Germany for a whirlwind tour of part of Germany and hopefully a couple cities in Switzerland. I'm sure there will pictures a-plenty to share upon our return next Wednesday, along with stories. Though, I have a good friend flying in for a week's stay the Friday after we get back so it might take some time to get around to sharing.

We'd covet your prayers as we go, especially for my food allergies. After we booked the tickets I had a dreadful thought that I've never travelled any where (with food allergies) that English wasn't really the primary language. While I know many people will speak it, it's still a bit frightening to not know ingredients and be unsure if I will be able to find what I need, etc. Since my brother is fluent in German and used to live there, he's translated some words/phrases for me to use when ordering food so that should be helpful. Nonetheless, we both ask you'd pray that I'd be free from any allergy issues, and that in general we'd both stay healthy.

You can also pray for us as Mark drives again on the right side of the road and I help navigate and read German signs :)

See you when we get back!

Weekly Cultural Lessons

2009-05-22T21:26:00.004+01:00

I have recently been enlightened with some cultural lessons I thought it only fair to share my new knowledge.

About two weeks ago I had a mystery solved. At the end of term here students have "Revision Week." Ever since the first time I heard this I wondered exactly what it was. I figured it was like a Reading Week or Study Week that many American universities have. When I was working with one of our student workers I finally asked her the question burning in my mind. Here is kind of how our conversation went:

Me: "What is revision week? What exactly are you revising?" (I thought maybe they were revising essays since they write a lot of those here and are often a large part of their grades.)
Ayme: "It's where you revise for your exams."

(Okay, not super helpful to use the term you are trying to define in your definition.)

We continued to talk and I offered: "Is it where you study for your exams?"
Ayme: "Uh, yeah, revise."

Right. So I was on the right track in my initial thoughts. But the question remained in this American mind, "But why is it called revision if you aren't rewriting something?" It's all in the terminology. So I used my trusty friend, Google, to help me get to the bottom of this by looking up "revising definition." That lead me to get this definition: "A revised or new version, as of a book or other written material." That's what I thought revision was, so how do the Brits/Scots have a different version? I had the brilliant thought to check a UK published (I think) dictionary. Oxford says "the process of learning work for an exam" and Cambridge says it is equivalent to the US "review." Now it makes a little more sense though albeit still confusing to this American mind. What I am going to ask now is "do you use the term 'study' for anything?"

Friday I learned another cultural lesson from another student worker. They are apparently a wealth of information. This lesson came in the form of being asked "Did you watch Eurovision?" Now mind you, I've was asked this multiple times this past week by co-workers, especially on Monday. But then they remember (or I remind them) that we don't have a TV and so other than "bits and bobs" I overheard I didn't really pay any attention. I'm used to hearing about various shows and knowing some about them without ever having watched them (especially during Big Brother seasons and lately it's been The Apprentice - both UK versions).

I think I proceeded to ask the student, David, if it was like American Idol? He said sort of. Come to find out, it's like American Idol meets the Olympics, meets a large music concert. (American Idol because it is a contest with judges and viewer voting; the Olympics because so many countries are involved and country pride is huge; and a large music concert because of the singing [of course], dancing, acrobatics, flashing lights, immodest and other crazy outfits, etc.) David told me that originally contestants representing their countries sang in their local language, dressed in the traditional dress, and sang to traditional music. Some countries still do that each year, but many of them now sing in English to reach a wider audience (thereby getting more votes probably!)

It's a once a year deal that has been going on for 54 years. Apparently it's a huge event. Like one of the largest (the largest?) televised and watched events each year. How did I miss this last year? And this year? But fear not, I have been caught up to speed both on the background of the song contest, as well as actually listening to parts of the songs sung by the 25 countries in the final. Wiki has all the info you need to know about Eurovision 2009. I hoped to also post the link to BBC's iplayer so you could see it for yourself (like I finally realized I could do!) but they only run them for a week after airing so it's gone now. So sad. However, I'd encourage you to check out the winner's song (Norway) by going here. It's actually really good!