Inishowen

Yesterday Ray and I went on our first excursion since I arrived here. We started out by taking the ferry over to the Republic of Ireland.

Pay particular attention to the wonderful blue skies in this picture. We zipped right across to Inishowen. We stopped at a lovely village called Molville where we ate at a pub called "The Town Clock". I had a particularly delightful meal of Fresh Seafood chowder and brown bread. This chowder was honestly the most delicious thing I've had since I arrived. It had fresh salmon and some white fish and some mussels in it. It was TDF for sure. I also had a Diet Coke which Ray was quick to inform me probably cost the equivalent of 4 US dollars. But I chose to not let that fact mar the enjoyment of the day.

Here they have a saying, "if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes" After having only been here but a short time I can attest to the fact that this is true. You'll notice from the picture above that we left with blue skies. We had determined to go to a place called Malin.As you can see by the time we arrived there it was a torrential down pour. Here we are trying to stay dry and warm. Neverless we continued on and were rewarded when not 5 minutes later the weather changed again and we were able to capture these pictures.


This one is from the top of the hills at Malin Head. Malin Head is the most Northernly part of Ireland.



This next picture is after we had driven down the hill. It was at a little beach area and it was beautiful. The beach was made up entirely of stones and as the water would rush back out into the sea it made the most beautiful noise like thousands of hands clapping with joy. I must admit I joined in and clapped my hands in glee with appreciation for the beauty of this place.

Ray and I have decided to make Saturday's our day of explorations. This country I find myself in is truly beautiful. We had such a perfect day that I can hardly wait for Saturday to come around again. There is much here to be explored and I'm anxious to get started!

Christmas Fun

Christmas has come to a close here in beautiful N. Ireland and I can definitively say that my first Christmas here was an absolute delight. Let me recap a few of the highlights.

The Wednesday before Christmas Margaret and I went to Tallin's Christmas Play. He was one of the 3 kings and did a wonderful job. Sadly I forgot the digital so I don't have the photographic proof of how amazing he was but trust me he did a wonderful job. That evening we went to a Carol Service where Judith's (Ray's Brother Stewart's Fiance) son Harry sang beautifully.

This is a picture of the church the Carol Service was held in. Taken courtesy of Ray's camera phone.


Thursday Ray and I finally finished painting our living room. Margaret had arranged for some movers to move the furniture ( which she generously donated to our cause) from her house to ours. We were so grateful because the move happened with no inconvenience to ourselves. We then went out and about and bought a Christmas tree and decorated it to the hilt.
This is our tree in all it's glory. I was so relieved to be done painting and to have a tree. It just wouldn't have felt like Christmas without one.

Friday Ray and I went to Brogans Carol Service. Here a Carol service is done in the church and it's hymns and the nativity. Here is a picture of the church where it was held.
















Brogan played the recorder and he did a marvelous job. I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching him perform. Here he is giving us a personal performance.

Saturday we just got ready, did any last minute grocery shopping for the big holiday.

Sunday we had a wonderful Carol Service at Church. I was asked to play the organ for said service and after a frantic phone call to C.S. Walker I felt like it was going to be ok. It did end up going fine.

After church we had Stewart & Judith over for lunch. I made Connie Allen's famous Broccoli Cheese Soup. It was delish. We hung out with them and chatted and played some Phase 10.

That evening we spent with Stephen Smyth and his family. We read Luke 2 and the B of M account to the birth of Christ and their was a nativity play. I was so appreciative of them inviting us over to share that with them. I really felt the spirit once again whisper to me of the divinity of Jesus Christ and I love doing things that are centered on Him and to take time to remember what the season is all about.

Christmas morning Ray came over and we opened our gifts from each other and the package that my parents had sent. It was so nice having a little piece of home in a foreign land on Christmas Day. My favorite gift had to be a book that Lacy had made of pictures of Canyon. I think the fam had a fun day in Utah as well. Here was one of the pictures Dad sent me that was taken on Mom's new digital camera.
We spent Christmas Day with Ray's family. His mother made us a wonderful Christmas dinner and we enjoyed spending time with Ray's parents and his brother and fiance. I have to say that Margaret and Ray Sr. spoiled us terribly at Christmas as well. They gave us many fine and thoughtful gifts that were greatly appreciated.

The following day here is a holiday as well. It's known as St. Stephen's day or Boxing day. It started out that people here used to give gifts in boxes instead of wrapping paper so the day after Christmas they would put their leftovers into these boxes and administer to the needy. Now it seems more just a day to be with loved ones and not at work!

We spent that evening with the Elder's again and this time got to be with the Nephews and give them our Christmas gifts. We also got to stay that evening and I got to meet all of Margarets siblings and their spouses. Most of whom I was meeting for the first time.

Schwoo.......clearly we had a jam packed and wonderful Christmas. I must admit that the last 2 days Ray and I have taken things VERY easy. We have both been exhausted from all the fun and merriment. Here's hoping that everyone else had as fun and as merry a Christmas as we did in beautiful N. Ireland.

Freezing Mist and How I Keep Warm

The temperature here has dropped. It's now -2 celcius. I realise that in Utah it's probably still colder than this but it really is true what they say about cold and Humidity. It does sort of seep into your bones. Here's a picture I took from my bedroom and out the front door yesterday. This would be what is know as Freezing Mist.

Even with this mist and the cold temperatures I still bundled up and walked down to the little market we have in town. I had to get a few items to stuff Ray's stocking with you see.

Although it has been quite cold we manage to keep warm. Here instead of having say central heat, people would use radiators. They are actually quite delightful. We have one in every room of the house and in the halls. What's nice about them is that you can adjust them individually. So I can have the radiator turned off or down in any room that we don't really use. Also this means that I can turn it up say in my bedroom to keep it quite toasty warm. Here is a picture of the radiator in my bedroom in all of it's glory.

Also speaking of my bedroom. Since I arrived here I have been sleeping on an air mattress which was generously supplied by Dr. Ray and Margaret (Ray's parents). It is a deluxe model and I am so grateful just to have had somewhere to sleep. But long term it was not working out. Last weekend Ray and I went to a store just down the road from us know as CFC Interiors. We met with a lovely old 'gent named Stanley who gave us a great deal on a mattress, bed frame and 2 end tables. Here is a picture of my delightfully redecorated room.

Let me just say that last night I had an amazing nights sleep. I also now have a place to put my glasses and my book (and a comfortable place to read at night).

My heart and my back feel happy with this new purchase.





Last bit of news.........The Elder's generously let us come over and borrow their total gym. Let me just say that I feel my muscle's building all ready. I've used it 3 days and it is a wonderful workout. I hope to use it many more days so that I can look AMAZING on my wedding day. More time to get in shape I suppose is a reason to be grateful that we don't have a date yet(Hopefully we will have one by the new year, More on this in another post).

Fridge Space Is At A Premium

It's the first part of week 2 and I am still settling in. We haven't finished painting our living rooom yet. We run and run at a million miles an hour and still don't manage to accomplish every thing we were hoping to. Ray is currently working and I'm just on the computer typing a few IM's and writing this blog entry. As soon as he finishes we will go and hopefully complete the painting in the living room.

I thought I would share a few of the joys that I have discovered living here thus far. The first is the power of the mini fridge. Only here they just call it the fridge. It's the size everyone has and while at first it might seem inconvenient, I'm discovering that actually it can be a delight. I don't think we will have very much food that goes to waste due to the fact that the fridge only holds about 2 meals worth of food. Because this is the case we also have to go shopping pretty much every other day, but it always makes sure that the food is fresh.

Also I can always find everything because you don't have very many places to look. I think we should all downgrade to the Mini. A Mini Fridge revolution should be just what America needs to fight the obesity epedemic. I'm just saying.


The next delight that I have discovered here is the art of the Christmas card. Here everyone exchanges Christmas cards. They don't really write anything in them. They pretty much let the card do the talking. And that is fine by me. Easy to the point. Open up the card and it gives you a little holiday message no reason to embellish. Then one signs ones name. BOOM done.

Case in point. On Sunday Ray was getting mass amounts of Christmas cards. The woman who sat in front of us in Sacrament meeting passed one back for him. Then she realised that she hadn't included my name on the envelope. No stress she simple reached into her bag and gave me a card (Notice that we have two with birds on them). It's genius really. It's like Valentine's Day cards for kids in America. Everyone gets just the card. Although come to think of it they do give candy with the cards. That might be the only thing that could make this tradition more delightful.

Well that's me signing off. I'm just going to run downstairs and have a little pre -painting snack. Something I'll no doubt get out of my Mini fridge whilst looking at my Christmas cards. More later!

Virtual Tour

I thought I'd give you all a virtual tour of our cute house. Here is a shot from the outside.

When you walk in the front door the living room is on the right and the stairs are on the left.





Straight ahead down the hallway is the kitchen. In the kitchen to the right is the actual kitchen area. Behind the door is the utility room with washer dryer etc. To the right is the breakfast nook. It's all one big room.






When you walk upstairs the first door on your left is our Spare room. It's the only room in the house with a mirror so I do my makeup in there every day. This will be your accomodations when you come to visit us. We are in the process of purchasing a bed for the room so you will be very comfortable when you come.






Next on the left is my office where I will be helping Ray with his ebay sales and writing many emails and IM's. On the right is Ray's office where he will probably be shutting the door hoping for some peace and quiet.

Finally at the end of the Hallway is the Master. It comes compete with an "En Suite" bathroom as they call it here. Which is just a shower, pedestal sink and toilet. Also has 2 built in closets.

My First Week

Well my first week didn't go quite as planned. My luggage didn't arrive until late Monday night and so we didn't do much on Monday. We finally left a note on the door asking them to leave the luggage should they arrive and headed out to the grocery store. The "Walmart"over here is actually called Tesco's. So we headed over and I experienced things on the metric system. Which makes things a bit difficult when trying to convert some of the recipe's that I brought over with me. Highlight of the day had to be sharing breakfast with Ray ( We haven't been able to do that for ages)

Tuesday we had the missionaries over. They gave us a discussion and we also read and discussed Elder Ballards talk on "Creating a Gospel Sharing Home". Since we were still getting settled we fed them frozen pizza. Here they are in all their glory.

Tuesday night was also Enrichment night. It was the Christmas Enrichment and we had a lesson on having more of Christ in Christmas. Many of the ladies shared ideas of how to have more of Christ in Christmas. I shared my favorite holiday tradition. That of bearing our testimonies on Christmas Eve. I'm going to miss that very much.

We had a nice dinner afterward. It was Chicken Curry and Rice which was delish. They start a little later than normal here. The program started at 7:30 and I didn't get home until 11:00 p.m.

In between all the planned activities Ray and I have been runnin here and there trying to get a few things for the house. We are both so exhausted. We keep thinking that things are going to slow down but so far no luck.

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. Although we did go out to lunch with Ray's Mother Margaret and Judith, his brother's Fiance. We had a lovely time and I've been so grateful to the Elder's who have been so welcoming. They are helping me to feel right at home.

Today the missionaries came over to do a bit of service. We are painting and they painted the ceiling of our living room. I fed them breakfast (quiche) then fed them lunch (broccoli cheese soup). I've become quite domesticated it would seem living over here.

Ray is off to London tomorrow for his physical. I asked him tonight how he felt about it he said and I quote, "well, 600 dollars (which is what we had to pay to have him fly down there and for the physical) seems like a lot of money to pay just to have a doctor stick his finger up my bum." He then proceeded to hum the tune to "families can be together for ever".

That said, I'm going to assume from the humming that despite the finger he feels it will all be worth it when we can finally be together for ever. It was a tender moment indeed.

I have a vitual tour of the house to share but I'll end this post here and post those pictures immediately following.

I've arrived

But unfortunately my luggage has not. Apparently it got lost in the transfer from SLC to Newark. But a lovely gentleman from the Belfast International Airport with the most delightful accent just called me to inform me that it would be arriving shortly.

It's 10:30 a.m. at the minute and it's a bit surreal to think most of you lovely folk are still fast asleep in your beds as I write this. Ray is currently off helping with geneology at the church house. So I'm having a little me time.

Since today is my first "real" day in Ireland. Or at least the first day I'm not so tired I want to do harm to myself. I'm documenting it with pictures. Tomorrow I"ll have some picutres of the house. Also of all the activities which I participated in today.

More tomorrow!

Countdown

It's only a few more days until my big move. I'm really getting excited about it. I haven't been able to sleep very much the last 2 nights because I've been so excited. I went to Target last night and bought some more bins and packed up my room. So I'll be living out of suitcases for the next few days. I can't wait to get out to N. Ireland and be with Ray!

This feeling of excitement is a bit different from last week. Last week I was still excited but more emotional about the move. My mom calls it the "Peter Pan" complex. I think she's right. I really have to grow up now it seems. I find it a bit uncomfortable the thought of leaving my own neverland. The truth is it feels like the end of an era. How blessed I have been to have had so much of my family all around me for so long. To associate daily with them. Not to mention the amazing and wondrful friends I have made here and who I cherish.

Now as I move away it seems that much will be different. My only consolation is that I'm not alone in the family in moving away. It seems to make the idea of moving more bearable to know that others will be experiencing some of the same things as I. It would be much harder to call home and have everyone hanging out together every day while I was in a foreign land.

So now comes the hard part. The goodbye's. Turns out I don't think I'm very good at them. I guess I just haven't had a lot of practice. I have a feeling I'm going to get more practice at them then I would care to. Despite that, I'm looking forward to the move with joy and my sense of adventure firmly in place. I'm excited to find out what's ahead and to hear about all of your adventures while I'm at it.

My newest purchases

Only 2 and a half more weeks until I go to Northern Ireland and I'm getting so excited. In preparation for the big move I have recently purchased some Ugg boots. Here is a picture of them in all their glory. Let me just say that they are indeed glorious. So warm and you feel as if you are walking around in super supportive and comfy slippers. I wish a pair for each of you believe me.

The plural part of the purchases is that last week Ray purchased a new car for us. I know it's a volkswagon and I believe it's a golf. Although I really couldn't be sure and I would ask Ray to clear it up for us but as he is not a faithful reader of this blog I will just have to ask him the next time we talk. But for now here are the pics he sent to me of the new vehicle. I'm excited to get behind the wheel and give it a test drive!

Quote of the day

Sydnee calls me this afternoon and says, "Did you know that Britney and Kevin brokeup? PopoZao!"

Showtunes

Clearly I have long been a fan of the showtune. I can remember our trip to Nauvoo when I purchased Guys and Dolls . I remember listening to it over and over and over again. Until I'm quite certain H.B. wanted to snap his own neck. I can't understand this attitude as I don't feel I could ever, even to this day tire of it. I especially enjoyed Sit Down Your Rockin' The Boat.

It's no secret that lately I have been in LOVE with Wicked as well as Thouroghly Modern Millie. So in preparation for me leaving the Country I have decided to revel in my love by adding to my collection. I feel this will shore me up for the adventure lying just ahead. I recently purchased the following:

My Fair lady-This is the original with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, Not that imposter Audrey.
*Note-I adore Audrey Hepburn and am in love with her in the movie version of My Fair Lady but where Broadway is concerned I worship at Ms. Andrews altar.

Camelot- As a lover of all things Arthur how could I help myself.

Monty Python's Spamalot- For reasons as stated above.

In reminiscing about Guys and Dolls I am realising that I will have to pick up a copy of that as well. I want nothing more than at this moment to be listening to Sit Down Your Rockin' the Boat.

A little tip for all of you Utahns. If you haven't already experinced Kosy 106.5 and their showtune Saturday I would highly recommend it to you. You can always hear all of the old classics and maybe find a new tune or two destined to become a classic.

Well Then

First things first. I know I am biased but I have the cutest niece. Someone in my family needs to get a digital camera because this pic taken on Sydnee's cell phone is simply not cutting the mustard. Still I think you can clearly see that she is the cutest fairy princess of all time.


Some of you are probably wondering where we are at on the Visa thing. It turns out that even though we are "approved" the process will take a little bit longer. The application still needs to go to a National Visa processing center which is in New Hampshire. From there they issue it a new number and it goes to the London embassy. Once the embassy has it they will issue a packet of information for Ray to fill out. Once that has been filled out and returned they will set up an interview with him. Apparently that interview is really just a double check that all the paperwork is completed and he will get the Visa at that time.

In the meantime Ray and I are sick of being apart and we decided to do something about it! My last day at Condie Construction is November 29th and on December 2nd I move to Northern Ireland! Exciting times to be sure. Ray is currently trying to secure both housing and a car and we are both very excited to finally get to be together. The plan is that I'll move there and then when the Visa is approved we will fly back to Utah and get married here. We are so looking forward to being together and I'm excited for my new adventure in Northern Ireland

Heroes and Lost

So am I the only one who has gotten into Heroes. I've been Tivoing it since it started and I must say I am sucked in with a capital S. Um hello random people with superhero powers? Plus creepy guys following them around with unexplained intentions? Count me in!

If you haven't checked it out let me recommend that you do so immediately. Monday night at 8. You can catch up by watching reruns on both USA and Sci Fi network. Or online at NBC.com.

Next let's talk lost. 1st thanks to Devry for sharing the Lost blog. It has some amazing stuff on there. But now let's discuss yesterday.

As D and I were discussing this morning why do the Others act like it's the plane survivors that are just so violent and acting crazy against them. I mean let's review a few things
1. Did you or did you not abduct Claire for her baby?
2. Did you or did you not infiltrate the plane survivors for what appears to be sinister purposes.
3. Are you not currently threatning/abducting people.

Let's just say the others are a puzzlement.

A Change of Venue If No One Minds

Today I recieved the following email:

The following is the latest information on your case status

Receipt Number: WAC0623053359

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status:

This case has been approved. On October 17, 2006, an approval notice was mailed.
If 30 days have passed and you have not received this notice, you may wish to
verify or update your address. To update your address, please speak to an
Immigration Information Officer during business hours.

So the latest and greatest it that we can get married in Utah!! YIPEE! What happens now is that the Visa goes to the London Embassy and Ray will have to have a physical and an interview but once that is completed he gets the Visa.

We haven't talked to the embassy yet. But once we have chatted with them and gotten approximate processing times we can at that point set a date for our UTAH wedding!

We are so excited about this development. I'll of course keep you posted.

Shaping up to be a fun week

I'm excited about the upcoming week for a few reasons.

Reason #1 My sisters are all going to be home as of tomorrow. Lacy and Lex fly in tomorrow morning and Syd is already home. I love when sisters reunite!

Reason# 2 Even though I think she is callous and unfeeling for not spilling her guts today about the gender of her baby, I am very excited to learn the sex of my newest niece or nephew (my bets on the latter).

Reason# 3 Kinzie's wedding. I do so look forward to a wedding. Especially one that involves my dearest family. Just think of the delights to be sampled. I've always said, "a little wedding can set me up forever!"

Reason# 4 More fun family times. Auntie Kathleen, Jeff and Pam, and I've heard rumors that even Cliff and Cathy will be joining in the fun! I can't wait!!

Viva Los Mexico

I met with our attorney yesterday. The news we got is that the visa isn't really close to being processed. After counseling with her we determined that the very best course of action we can take (so as to avoid any immigration complications later on) is to get married "abroad". We have decided that this means we will be heading to Ciudad-Juarez, Mexico.

This is right across the river (apparently walking distance) from El Paso, TX. So sometime in December we will be making a run for the border. Immediately following that we will set up our first home as Mr. and Mrs. Ray Elder in the beautiful country of Northern Ireland.

So much to do between now and then. I've been researching the rules of getting a marriage license in Mexico. It appears that Mexico only recognizes civil marriages so we will have a civil ceremony and then hop on over to the temple.

All are obviously invited to attend. All you will need is a birth certificate and a government issued photo id (or passport, obviously). Start brushing up on your Spanish and I'll keep you posted on when an official date is set.

Women's Conference

This weekend I, as I'm sure a lot of you had the opportunity to watch Women's Conference. Unlike many of you I have a very contrary nature when it comes to things spiritual. The thing is, I adore General Conference in all of it's varieties. I LOVE Women's Conference, and yet whenever it rolls around there always seems to be an internal struggle between something that's "come up" and Women's Conference specifically (I don't seem to have the same internal struggles about General Conference proper).

I'm so grateful that I listened to the words of our General Relief Society Presidency and our wonderful Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckly. I honestly felt the spirit so strong as they talked about the importance of finding ways that each of us personally can feel the love of our Heavenly Father and his son, our Savior Jesus Christ daily. I felt the spirit confirm to me that they do indeed love me and a renewed commitment to feeling and seeking out that love daily.

I'm so glad that I choose to spend my Saturday night in that way and am truly grateful for the ability to be forgiven for my contrary nature. Now I'm just so excited for this weekend and the rest of the General Conference sessions. This truly is one of my favorite times of the year!

Ireland part 3

This is probably my favorite part. There is a beach Ray took me to. From the beach up on the cliffs you can see this domed building. I asked him what it was and he told me it was called Mussenden Temple.
The Bishop of Down Hill house built this temple for his mistress (who was also his cousin) it was a library. Can you imagine how divine this would be as your library? I can completely imagine myself here. The view was breathtaking. Here is a shot from this cliff down to the beach below.







And here is a picture of me in front of the temple fantasizing about having just such a library for my very own one day!

Ireland part 2

The following day we just took it easy and lazed about. Tuesday we drove out the this Irish ring fort. I don't know how to spell the name of it but it is prounounced green a gollya (maybe Dr. Ray can leave a comment and tell us all how it's really spelt).
It's a dwelling that was built 5000 years ago by an Irish king. and the view from the countryside there was incredible.

Here is a picture of Ray and I at the ring fort.
Also a picture of some of the Heather that was growing up on the hill. Who knew that the Heather plant could be so pretty?
Wednesday we went into Londonderry and walked along the walls of the city. Londonderry is the site of a famous siege and the city itself has a very rich history. From the wall I took this picture of an area in Londonderry known as the “bog” it was here that the incident known as Bloody Sunday occurred.










Wednesday we went shopping with Ray's mom which was a delight and then Thursday we went out to a national park known as Glen Veigh. Margaret (Ray's mom) was supposed to go with us but unfortunately that day she was feeling poorly and actually ended up in the hospital. She wanted us to go regardless and so we did. Immediately after we went and spent some time with her at the hospital where she has been for almost a week.

Here are some pictures of the grounds at Glen Veigh it was truly gorgeous.

This is a picture of the castle from the walled garden.




This is a picture looking out from the Castle to the Loch (lake)

Back from Ireland

I'm back! I had a most wonderful time being with Ray and his family and visiting the beautiful Irish countryside. I arrived on Sunday at 8:30 in the morning. To try and keep the jet lag away Ray drove me to his parents house to shower and then we collected his parents and visited the Giants Causeway.

Here is a picture of Dr. Ray, myself and Margaret. I had the most fun visiting with them and they were the hosts with the most :)

Here is another picture at the cause way taken by Dr. Ray of Ray and I. From there we drove down the coast to a place called Ballintoy which was a beautiful little place.

All Ready To Go

Only 3 more days until I head out to beautiful Northern Ireland!

I spent all of this last Labor Day laboring to get ready to go on this trip. After trips to the Mall, Old Navy and Walmart, I finally have enough outfits and supplies to get me through.

I also purchase this little beauty yesterday at Target (Where incidentally I had my first random Chad siting. Which was most exciting!). I'm hoping that this will allow me to at least get some sleep whilst winging my way to the Emerald Isle.

Now I have only to wait until Saturday when I will head out at the crack of dawn for my delightful 17 hour door to door excursion. Hopefully I can convince HB to take me to the airport at 6 in the morning.

Wish me luck!

My Government- Actually working backwards?

As most of you know Ray and I are patiently waiting for the government to let us know when we can get married. We have a receipt number that they kindly gave us when they received our application. This doesn't actually mean they are processing anything, just that they received it. However, with this number I am able to go to their website and track what dates they are currently working on.

Yesterday while checking things out I had quite the shock. When I checked the website on August 3rd of this month they were processing March 6th's applications (ours is July 10th). However yesterday when I checked, as of August 25th they were processing February 23rd.

Could someone please explain to me how this is possible? Can it be true that our government has actually started working in reverse? Say it isn't so!!

Hopefully this is just some sort of typo that will quickly be corrected so we can actually know where they are in processing these things.

Don't worry that when I called their hotline that the woman there told me she had "no information" about it, but that she had already received a few calls regarding this same thing and would let her superviser know. What a comfort indeed.

Sisters, Soccer and Oh yeah......BECKHAM!

Sydnee Nicole will soon be leaving us to head to the St. G for some sweet college action. Because this is the case, she and I decided to have a last hurrah at the Real Salt Lake vs. Real Madrid soccer game held at Rice Eccles stadium on Saturday night.

The reason we were so keen initially could be summed up in one word...... Beckham. Lest any of you need a reference please feast your eyes on the picture to your left.


So obviously we knew immediately that we would have a good time. Sydnee borrowed some binoculars from H.B. because as she said, "a good stalker always brings their own equipment." She then proceeded to ogle him with her binoculars for most of the game.

Clearly I wasn't expecting to get much more out of this game then a fun night with my sister(which it really was). Surprisingly I found I had more fun than expected. The thing is, I actually got into game itself. I just really found myself being entertained in plenty of ways that had nothing to do with Beckham.

In fact I liked it so much I might even consider myself a fledgling fan.

So many things have combined to bring me to this moment that I feel I can't let it pass with out a few shout outs.

First to David Beckham- Dave, thanks for being so hot. It was this hotness that sucked me into the sport in the first place.

and

Second to Dave Checketts and Sandy city- Guys, thanks for coming to a not so official (but we all have high hopes) agreement that will allow my love for this sport to develop.