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For a day when I slept 14 hours, walked to a canal and then sat in a coffee shop, it sure seems like a lot has happened and I have a lot to say (Me, a lot to say?!? I know, what a shock!). Imagine all that I would have to tell if I had actually done something with my day!! The theme of the day seems to be: God’s Provision & being thankful for the little things.
To start, my hair LOVES the water here. (And it has to be the water because my blowdryer does not work here and the one in Ingrid’s house would barley dry a bald man’s head. Can I get a little power, please?!?!) I am having some wonderful hair days!!! No frizz at all! ☺ (Ok, you can stop laughing… just keep in mind the theme of this entry is being thankful for the little things!) In addition to my good hair days I am still incredibly thankful for my new pillow. Where I would normally wake-up several times throughout the night with a stiff neck, I have slept soundly and not had any neck pain since using it!! Now that is a BIG thing!! A few more BIG praises… my spots, while still itchy, appear to be getting better!!!! And, each day I am experiencing less and less spondolytis realted pain! I truly forget that I have it until night time and morning (at which times it is normally much worse). I am so thankful for both the big and small blessings.
As for my day (well, the half that I was awake for), my stoll this afternoon was just lovely. The canal, which was filled with boats named everything from Lucy R. to Poacher (hmmm)… was ravishingly beautiful. It was in what is known as Little Venice. Nice area, offering everything from cafes to theatres on boats on the water. I successfully navigated myself amongst the beautiful buildings and found my way back to a shopping area near my flat where I located an organic store (not that they don’t have them everywhere). I must say, the recycling bins on every corner and organic food on every store shelf are quite wonderful!!! I’m truly enjoying it. However, it was a bit of a shock to run into the American Dry Cleaning Company: the greener way to dry clean. I had a quick chuckle to myself as I hardly view anything American to be more green than what I have experienced thus far here.
Speakng of healthy living, my new staple, the organic granola that I purchased from the pound store, has impressed me even more. The Granola, which is called muesli here, had the following on their packaging - FAIR: to all our suppliers, WILDLIFE FRIENDLY: ingredients grown in harmony with nature, BRITISH: high quality wholegrain cereals grown on British farms, HEALTHY LIVING: only natural ingredients for great tasting food that’s good for you, ROOTS: a British family owned company, experts in organic food for over 30 years, ENVIRONMENT: the packaging is biodegradable. Jordans Organic Muesli: organic wholegrain cereal with vine fruits, coconut chips, roasted hazelnuts and sunflower seeds. It’s like bettering the planet and your health for only a pound. (I won’t mention the fact that I got it at the Pound store in Bromley and that in order to get more I would have to spend a fortune on tube fairs and practically kill the environment with pollutants from the tube.) Oh well…
My love of children and crazy nature to make googly faces at any that I see proved to work in my favor today. After making whooo-ing noises at the chunkiest 8 ½ month old, Sabastian, for about five mintues, I ended up engaging in a rather lengthy conversation with his mother, Michelle. Her and her husband are from New York and have been living in London for about 2 ½ years now. She works for the London School of Business and he works for Goodle. We talked about everything from Vonage being the cheapest way to call internationally (aside from Skype) to churches. Her and her husband attend a Catholic church and she wasn’t terribly familiar with any other churches in the area. However, we exchanged contact information and she told me to let her know if I ever needed anything. SO nice!! After Michelle and Sabastian left I moved to a chair closer to an outlet plug as my computer was dying. In doing so, I sat across from a lady. I would soon learn that her name was Ross. Not a moment after sitting down she said, "I couldn't help but over hear your conversation. I go to a wonderful church called Hillsong London. I wasn't going to say anything and then I thought, well... if she moves in the chair across from me I will." SO glad I moved!!! God is good. I am sure many of you are familiar with Hillsong’s famous worship music and their youth band, United. Ross even said that her sister is part of a cell group that meets in this area. SO great!! This is even more amazing as a gentleman from the church I attend reccommended this very church. I am very excited to check it out on Sunday! An even cooler part of the story though is that I was at Starbucks (I prefer local cafes and coffee shops both here and in the states) because I discovered that, while they do not offer free wireless, I am able to pick up someone else’s wireless network in the store, which means that I do not have to pay to go to an internet café. Additionally, the store is big enough that I can sit in the back corner and don’t feel obligated to buy something (not that I have managed to walk through the doors without at least buying a cup of tea yet).
Having mentioned both Vonage and wireless previously, I was also incredibly excited to find out that the flat I will be moving to on Thursday is rumored to have both wireless and a land line that I am able to use free of charge. This is great as my parents have recently purchased vonage, which can only be used to call a land line. Speaking of calling… I got in touch with my agent today and she kindly, again in a think and proper British accent said, “Where have you disappeared to these last days? We have been calling and calling and your phone has been off.“ I nicely explained that my phone has in fact been on and that I have not received any missed calls. Turns out they had been calling the wrong number. Lovely. Anyways, God’s provision again, good thing I called as she has an interview set up for me tomorrow in Havering, a little more than an hour away. I am quite excited about this position and find the area to be more fitting. I didn’t care for Bromley and if I live in Surrey (Yes, the very place where the movie The Holiday was filmed) I will be required to have a car. (I am still confused about this driving on the other side of the road business and am not sure I am ready to endanger the entire country by getting behind the wheel. Not to mention that pedestrians always have the right away and if you are getting ready to cross the road a car will stop for you. What if I see my green light and don’t stop and hit someone?!?! Ahhhhh!) Should I get the job tomorrow I will start as soon as this Friday, be close to Westminster, which I love so much, and not be required to have a car. Additonally, Havering has one of the lowerest crime rates around. Sounds perfect. Again, trusting that the Lord will either open or close this door according to His will, but very excited about the possibility!
One more small blessing… I was able to go by the grocery store on my way home and picked up: Organic potato and leek soup, hommous and melba crackers and a Crunchie Bar (crunchie: milk chocolate with golden honey combed centre – unique & different, not sure that it is my favorite but it was nice to try something new and it was a welcomed sweet treat), all for 4 pounds and 19 pence. That’s like food for a week, or a least a few days!! My day concluded around 7:30 when I walked home (in the dark, the night sky again lit by the simple glow of street lights), had a lovely conversaton with Ingrid regarding foods that naturally cause inflammation versus those that naturally decrease inflammation, and then listened intently as she taught me all about the benefits of mixing honey, cinnamon powder, and turmeric (for good measure) and drinking it with some hot warer. I even got a two page handout regarding the concoxion… apparently, this simple concuction prevents heart attacks and cures: arthritis, hair loss, bladder infections, toothaches, choloesterol problems, upset stomaches, gas, barren woman (I laughed at that one), pimples, skin infections, indigestion, cancer, bad breath, and hearing loss. It also boosts the immune system, arrests the ravages of old age, helps degcrease fatigue and increase alertness and flexibility, and promotes weight loss. Bring on the honey and cinnamon. Ingrid swears by it (and we know what a gem of health she has been lately)! Ha ha

Little tid-bits…
1. When asking for walking directions to places I am often given the location of the nearest bus. I am finding that the British scoff at the idea of walking more than a few blocks. Places that are considered unwalkable end up being less than a mile away. So silly!

2. The day after Christmas is known as, Boxing Day, and it a large shopping day, the equivilant of the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. (Apparently, Boxing Day is also celebrated in Canada and is the biggst shoping day of the year there.)

3. Dragon’s Den is an incredibly popular TV show all over the world, yet has failed to make its way to America. On the show tonight they even made mention of the fact that American’s are usually quick to jump on the train, but have failed to do so, and are actually the last to do so in this case. I only caught a few minutes of the show, but Ingrid was explaing to me that the Dragons are four self made millioners who at as the council and persons with ideas/inventions/etc… come to them proposing their idea and the Dragons can either give them the money they are asking for to get their idea started, give them a connection, give them part of the money, etc… Essentially it is entreprenuers helping entreprenuers. (Anu, I think you would really like this one!!) I’m not much of a TV person, but it seemed intriguing enough.

4. I still haven’t a clue what is going on… pounds instead of dollars, Celsius instead of fairenheight, and nutrition facts in kj… hello?!?!?

Question:
Does anyone know how I can get my blog page back to it’s original format? I don’t care for this new format at all and all of the ones offered on the customize page appear to have the same narrow blog format.


From my flat to your home,

Carina