The week (or two) in pictures

You can check out the pictures from my trip home here! I had a lot of great ones but I tried to narrow it down.

I'm back

I'm back in London after a great visit in Cincinnati! I've got a busy week ahead so I guess I won't have time to get homesick. I'll post more pictures once I get myself together but here are a few to get you interested.
View of downtown from the Purple People Bridge
Me and Julie on the field after the Bengals vs. Jets game
Plus I can't resist this super-cute picture of Kaelyn!

Lucky Charm

Shout out to my awesome cousin Julie for hooking me up with a ticket to today's Bengals game! I've never been to a game before so I was really excited. It was fun to sit in the suite, walk in the tunnel and go on the field after the game...but even better, it was great to see a Bengals win!! I think I should go to all the home games, I must be good luck.

(I forgot my camera cord so I'll have to wait to post the pictures til I get back to London)

this just in:

Money doesn't buy happiness. Maybe you didn't need a Newsweek article or economic study...you probably only need to live a little to figure this out. I'd say man had this figured out a long time ago.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 says:

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

Maybe the most interesting quote in the article was this: "Economies thrive when individuals strive, but because individuals will strive only for their own happiness, it is essential that they mistakenly believe that producing and consuming are routes to personal well being." Hmmm...So what is the real key to happiness?

"But seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness..." Matthew 6:33.

John 4:13-14: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

The question may not seem as simple as this since God never promises "happiness" the way most of the world defines it, but maybe we should redefine our expectations and search for what God provides.

a little snack to hold you over

Last week was a busy week so I didn't get to post much. Work was busy but now 2 major presentations are out of the way and I am coasting my way towards vacation. So get your floats ready and call the marching bands...I'm coming home tomorrow!

But just to hold you over until you see me I thought I'd leave you with another piece of language confusion. Pancakes are one of my favorite foods. But what Americans call pancakes are not what British or South Africans call them. Pancakes here are what I call crepes. South Africans call American pancakes crumpets...but crumpets aren't the same thing in England. You can't call them flapjacks either because flapjacks in England are more like softer, chewier granola bars. So honestly, I can't win either way. I haven't actually figured out what British people would call American pancakes but whatever, I know what real pancakes are!

Just to confuse you, here is an interesting video of an obviously British person making pancakes. You can also get an idea of the different types of toppings they use other than maple syrup. If there was one thing that could beat maple syrup it would be Nutella!

8 miles...

Sunday I ran my longest distance to date - 8 miles! I haven't been able to train much in weeks leading up to it so I was so proud that I could actually run the whole thing. It was a beautiful day and the route was along the Thames so it was a nice run. I did it in about 1 hour and 15 minutes which is decent, honestly I was just glad to finish.

I ran it with my friend Sue-Ellen who has run "ultra-marathons" before (52 miles!!). Afterwards she sent me a text to say "good job" and also, "we'll have to train harder when you get back to London." Hmmm, what does that mean exactly? I'm not sure what I'm going to get myself into but I guess we need to set the next goal.That's me in the blue hat.

Rugby World Cup 2007

Is anyone in America watching the Rugby World Cup?? Last weekend was full of upsets and now, amazingly, England is through to the final next weekend. Who will they play? Argentina or South Africa. I suppose I should be supporting England but since a lot of my friends are South African and they are the ones who taught me the rules...I am a South Africa supporter! Tomorrow night we are watching South Africa vs Argentina on the big screen after church. (It reminds me of the time we watched the Bengals vs. Colts at Echo.) Too bad I won't be here for the final game. I'll have to try and watch from Cincinnati.

I may not be an England fan but I am a fan of one of the players...Johnny Wilkinson...he is cute!

Twentysomething

Most of my friends (and anyone else who has had to talk to me for a signficant period of time since graduating from grad school) know that I'm big into this twentysomething/quarter-life crisis phenomenon that seems to be affecting my generation. This is an interesting article on it.

Human Trafficking in my backyard

A member of a human trafficking ring was sentenced in London today. Apparently the ring leader, who lived in Wimbledon, is yet to be sentenced.

this is awesome.

I guess the link is the joy? Or maybe it is just shock factor...somehow it works- and is hilarious!

well at least the party was fun anyway...Skyline and my chocolate chip cookies were a hit!

[belated] Gameday party

DON'T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!!

Tonight I'm having over a bunch of friends to watch the Bengals vs. the Patriots. I decided to get the Sky Sports channels for the football season and since the Bengals were on Monday Night Football it's included in the games Sky shows. The only problem is MNF starts at 1am in London! So I recorded the game and we'll have Tuesday Night Football instead. I had to give them the opportunity to watch a game since I'm always hearing them talk about rugby and soccer and make fun of football.

But this introduces another problem. I now have to sit through the entire day wondering who won the game last night. I have to avoid my Google homepage and ESPN so I don't see any scores. If things turn out badly at least I'll have good food. I'm making Skyline chili! It will be quite a Cincinnati night.

my latest discovery...

So I think everyone is aware of my obsession with gummy candies. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. But I've discovered a new variety! They are called Percy Pigs and they sell them at Marks & Spencer...just one more reason to love that store! They are shaped like, you guessed it - pigs! I'll bring some home in a few weeks...

mielies?

This weekend I had some corn on the cob...it made me happy (it doesn't always take much!). I also learned that in South Africa they call it mielies. Interesting. They had a good time making fun of my American accent saying "corn on the cob." I don't always notice my accent until people start mocking it. It's pretty funny.