sweet /spicy summer time

With summer just beginning, it's difficult to say with any certainty that I have overcome summertime monotony. HOWEVER, I think I'm off to a darn good start. I will give credit where it is due though. So, thank you to...

Luke and Colette for having wedding showers.
Emily, Jenna, Mary, and Lauren for loving the Bachelorette as much as I do.
Colby for having a birthday...at Choctaw...with vests...and sequins.
Amy and Sarah, Lauren, Elizabeth, and Katie for much-needed porch time.
Harry Potter for being there any time I call (or pick up the book rather).
Various television networks for the seamless rollover from spring to summer shows. Well done. SYTYCD has yet to disappoint. Neither has My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
Brandon for racing motorcycles (and letting me watch despite the nervous pit it created within me.)
Bryan and Zachary for being hopeless sports enthusiasts that love good food.

That being said...I've taken on the task (with the strong urging of my boyfriend) to work my way through the Pioneer Woman cookbook--Julie&Julia style. I am sure he has zero selfish motivation in this challenge...

But the task could turn out to be a weekly tasty experience...especially since the bad boys below turned out so well!


Perhaps I'll add exercising to my list of things to do each day since it seems I'll be eating myself into an oblivion...of course I'll dabble in all different types of exercise (just to maintain my power and control over the monotony).

Happy Monday!

A few new additions to the apartment. I'd be lying if I said I hated it. And I predict already: Milo and Poppy will be thrilled by the new napping spots. Now...if only I could find a good chair (or fabric) to replace (or recover) that old blue and white striped chair!

the time they let me in...

Spring break. One of the many perks of entering into the field of education. Last week, I (slightly hesitantly) boarded a London-bound plane once again. The flight was pleasant...the movies were lovely...the food was delightful. But as I exited the plane, all sorts of memories came flooding back.

If you are confused at this point, read the posts from January below...

I would be lying if I said my entry into the UK went seamlessly. A little detainment is becoming quite the norm for me!!! Imagine my excitement, however, when the hiatus only lasted for 45 minutes this time around...AND it ended with me coming out on the other end! It was beautiful moment.

This beautiful moment was followed by many, many more as I met Candice for a week of exploring, wayyy too much walking, and more stairs than I have climbed in the past 5 years of my life combined. (Emily...do my calves look bigger?) From "sunny Lewisham" to Paris...we hit all the hot spots. I took a million pictures that unfortunately, we will never see. This is where I pause to pay my respect to my long lost camera...may she rest in peace...wherever she may be! Sad story, but very true. Somewhere along the way, the camera got misplaced. Good thing my mind is young and nimble and can still hold things in like a steel trap.


Now I am back in Dallas, back to school, but I'm rapidly approaching several other turns in life...so I'll be sure to keep posting.

Yes I have said that before, but this time I mean it.

peer-pressure

Dear Shelby,

I promise to update more frequently on my boring life.

This mini-post is for you.

-Ricola

Back in Texas!

It has definitely been quite a while since I last updated this blog. I was waiting to report good news about our trip to London, but it seems as though that is not coming!!! That does not mean that I don't have good news, though.

After working in San Diego for several weeks, we were told that in order to go back to London, we would need to pay for our own trip. This made sense. Non-profits all over the place are struggling because of the economy, thus Invisible Children couldn't possibly afford to send six of us back to the UK. At that point, I decided to come back to Dallas in order to substitute teach and make some money. My plan was to live with my sister, save up some cash, and be ready when we got the call about our visas. With the plan in place, I packed up my stuff (which wasn't hard since I'd been living out of my suitcase anyway!) and, sadly, boarded a place bound for the Lone Star state.

Leaving all of the friends I had made was really miserable. Although many of them were out on the road, so many were still in San Diego and I hated to leave them. At the same time, I was really excited to see my friends and family back home...and of course I was ready for some unbeatable Tex-Mex!!!

A week in Lubbock...a couple of weeks in Dallas...then I made another decision. I realized that it would be best for me to get my life back on track. I found an apartment and have been getting settled in ever since! At this point, my teammates in California STILL haven't heard about their visas, but are working tirelessly from the office there. The teams in the UK are doing really well despite their smaller teams, and based on pictures I've seen, they are having a good time! I wish I could be there too, but I know that I am supposed to be in Dallas and am enjoying not sitting on pins and needles waiting on a work visa! My poor teammates!

Although the adventure did not go exactly as planned, I have made some incredible friends along the way and am so glad to have had the experience. Maybe one day I'll actually make it past Heathrow...

This video has gotten us through the past couple of weeks. Parents...if you have any videos like this of me...I'd like to see them immediately.

Caitlan...did you know that you flew to England and back? Because you did.

For those of you who are unaware of how awesome and creative my roommate is, see the photo above. Caitlan put her head (and Heidi Klum's body) on a stick in order to make me feel at home even when I'm away. She's made multiple appearances in several different geographical locations...including the flight to London! Everyone knows her as the girl on a stick. Isn't that sweet? Moving on...

After my first weekend off since arriving in San Diego, I would love to say that I'm feeling extremely rested and ready for another week at the office. Mentally, I am completely refreshed. But for one reason or another, I doze off at any given chance!...during the super bowl for example...oops. Having a few days off has proven to be good for me though. My friends Kimmy and Jed and I have tried to take it as easy as possible. Yesterday, we ate at In-n-Out Burger...my first time ever...then went on an adventure through some park in San Diego. We basically ran around and explored (like we were 12). It amazes me how good it feels to run around when you've been cooped up in an office/airport for the past two weeks! Since Kimmy introduced me to In-n-Out, I decided it was necessary to introduce her to queso. That's right folks...Kimmy is from San Diego, CA, and has never had queso made at a restaurant. Depressing. The only place I knew of that would definitely have it was Chili's (which she'd never had either)...so off we went! All in all, our Saturday was relaxing and perfect. We're currently in the process of making a few music videos that I will be sure to share with yall...I'm sure you're shaking with excitement.

Five of us got to watch the super bowl today at a fellow Roadie's parents house here in La Mesa. (Did I mention that our house is just outside of San Diego?) I cannot express how wonderful it was to be around a family and to sit back and eat chili dogs. Not to mention that game...

Kimmy has been working tirelessly to get all of the documents necessary to someone over in Durham, England, and hopefully we'll hear from them tomorrow. If they can rush our stuff (I'm not sure what it is), then the British Consolate in Los Angeles seems extremely confident that he can get our visas to us in a day or two...as opposed to twelve weeks! Jed and Kimmy have gone to LA to eat lunch with him (Matthew is his name) tomorrow in order to put some faces with their voices. We also sent off a box of IC stuff...videos...bracelets...post cards. He is the nicest guy any of us have ever encountered, which has been an enormous blessing.

There are a few things that I would love for you to include in your prayers, if you don't mind. First of all, as I'm sure you can assume, we are READY to be in London. Besides feeling like we can't contribute very much to our team from over here, we're all starting to feel a little bit of cabin fever...in our own country! I know that the Lord works on his own time-table, so I pray instead for patience. It's very easy to get wrapped up in the idea that we're "supposed" to be in London...but let's be honest...if we were supposed to be in London...we'd be there, wouldn't we? Secondly (and lastly), I ask that you pray for the teammates that are already over there. They have already had one screening and are still booking the rest of the tour. I know that they are logging a lot of hours and putting in endless amounts of work, so I pray for rest for them. I also pray that they understand that we appreciate every minute they work and that we are doing all that we can to be of service from San Diego. :) Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! Hopefully I'll post some good traveling news ASAP! Love you all.