If you're on Facebook you know that everyone has been writing a note with 25 random facts about them. I'm always trying to think of new blog posts so I thought I would write my list here instead of on Facebook. Hopefully I can come up with 25 things! Here goes: (and I'll try not to make them all about traveling and Scotland!)
1. My parents have four daughters and my two oldest sisters each have two daughters. Sister #2 is due WITH A BOY! any day now. It's about time, eh?
2. I LOVE cowboys. Anything with a cowboy design on it I love. I have a set of sheets that I got from Target with cowboys on them. I got them a few years ago but I still love them...even though I'm now 22.
3. I have dreams of marrying a cowboy and living on a ranch in Montana with lots of horses. I also have dreams of being a big shot book publisher in New York City. I'll probably grow up to be a stay-at-home mom of three with a mortgage, a duplex and a mini-van...which I would be very happy with :)
4. I love visiting my Grandparents in Phoenix. I love waking up in the morning, going into their backyard and picking a grapefruit or tangelo to have for breakfast. If I could move there I would. I've looked into moving and working in the states countless times, but unfortunately, unless you have a uni. degree its hard to get a work visa. If only my parents had gotten us girls dual citizenship back when it was a matter of signing some papers and paying the $100 fee.
5. To go along with #4, I love traveling. My first trip without my parents was a roadtrip from Vancouver to Calgary through the Rocky Mountains. It was amazing! My first trip out of North America was flying over to Scotland.
6. I hate being late for things. I hate it even more when other people make me late.
7. I love baking and I am famous for my Chocolate Lava Cakes. They are to die for, if I do say so myself! They are actually very easy to make and I use the recipe from the T.V. show Take Home Chef (with a few changes).
8. If I could change anything about myself it would be to be able to sing like Carrie Underwood (or someone equally fantastic) and to draw/paint.
9. I love my huge/crazy/fun extended family. The Whitfields usually get together twice a year, with many smaller get togethers in between, and we always have a fantastic time. Every summer we all go to our grandparents farm in Northern Ontario. This summer will be the first time in 22 years that I won't be going to the farm. *tear* We don't get together as often with my mom's family because most of them live in the states. I wish we could see each other more because we always have so much fun together.
10. My favourite TV shows are Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters and The Amazing Race. I can't live without these shows and watch them online every week to stay caught up with this season.
11. I've never broken any bones.
12. I got my eyebrow pierced a few months ago. My mom thinks its too 'harsh' for me, but I love it!
13. I don't like driving. I would much rather sit shotgun and relax or read a book. With that being said, I am glad I have my license and am able to drive somewhere (the mall!) whenever I want.
14. I LOVE reading. One of my favourite stores is Book Depot in St. Catharines. I love going there to find amazing deals on books. I have a bookshelf full of books at home that I have never read but I still continue to go to Book Depot to buy new ones. It's kind of an addiction.
15. I love spending time with my nieces. One of the hardest things about living so far away is knowing I will miss out on the changes they will go through in the year. I am very thankful my sisters had kids before me because I have learned a lot from them. Kids are hard work but totally worth it!
16. I think I have some pretty amazing friends. Two of my closest friends just booked tickets to Scotland for 12 days for an awesome Scottish roadtrip. I can't wait!
17. My grade 5 teacher, Miss Moore, is a professional curler. In her first appearance at the Scott Tournament of Hearts her team got second place to Sandra Schmirler (a famous Canadian curler, for those of you who aren't Canadian). I just googled her and apparetnly she had her own team for a while before joining another. Way to go Miss Moore!
18. I have no desire to be an actress but I would gladly become one if I could be in a period movie, just to wear one of those fancy dresses...corset and all.
19. When I was three or so I watched Chipmunk Adventure every afternoon for months.
20. Again when I was three or so a babysitter made my sisters and I watch Friday the 13th. As you can imagine it freaked me out and I had to sleep in my parents room for about a year after.
21. I have a really hard time not laughing when I see someone fall.
22. I can't burp.
23. I have always wanted to learn to play the violin.
24. I'm ashamed to say I love reading celebrity gossip magazines, watching shows like TMZ and Entertainment Tonight and reading celebrity news from the MSN homepage. But, I hate that the celebrities get hounded by paparazzi every where they go to get the pictures and stories that I love to see and read.
25. I secretly want to be a celebrity or model for a day or two, just to see what it would be like to be famous. I would also love to go to the Oscars wearing some fabulous gown that some designer like Vera Wang or Oscar de la Renta handmade just for me. It would be the ultimate game of dress-up.
Finally finished! Hope you enjoy it. :)
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Scottish Borders and Hadrian's Wall
One of the worst things about being unemployed is having so much time on your hands. This is especially frustrating when you are surrounded by countless cheap travel options but don't want to spend any money because you don't know when your next paycheck will be. Since we got back to Edinburgh Amy and I have been really good with our money so we decided to reward ourselves with a little day trip :)
Car rentals are rather cheap so in all we each spent about 30 pounds on the rental, gas, entrance fees and a few snacks (it would have been cheaper but Amy got suckered into buying the extra insurance on the car). We packed our own lunch and snacks, but it wouldn't be a proper road trip without stopping at a little bakery for some delicious Scottish desserts.
We had been planning a trip to the Scottish Borders for quite a while but Amy's license got lost in the mail so we haven't been able to rent a car for a few months. Thankfully, when we were back in Canada she was able to get a replacement. So off we went! The area is called the Borders because, surprisingly, it is very near the Scotland/England border. Although, because it is the same country its not really much of a border. There are two big rocks, one on each side of the road, with Scotland and England written on either side to mark the border. But I'm getting ahead of myself...we visited a few abbeys in Scotland before we made it to the border.
The firs abbey was called Kelso. It was very much a ruin, with not a lot to see. This abbey was free to get into, but was closed the day we were there. This wasn't horribly disappointing though because we were still able to take some pictures while standing outside the gates. Compared to the other ruins we've seen it really wasn't all that special and I won't even bother putting a picture of it up. Kelso was about an hour and a half from Edinburgh. The next stop was Jedburgh, another half hour down the road. Amy was very excited to see this abbey. A few years ago she found a picture of it and has been wanting to see it in person ever since. It didn't dissapoint! This place was beautiful and we had great weather to match. We were the only ones at the abbey which added to the beauty. I don't think it would have been as amazing if we had been one of 150 tourists snapping photos.
We both decided that it would be the perfect place for a wedding. I even did a little bridal walk to make sure. Yep, perfect.
Thats me half way up the next hill. The tree was just over the next hill but Amy decided to stay where she was.
I made it! It doesn't look like much but I'm sure in the summer when the leaves and grass are green it would be a lot nicer. I didn't go down the hill because it was starting to get dark and we had a LONG hike back to the car and I didn't want to be hiking down huge rocky hills in the dark. I didn't really get a good picture of it but if you google Sycamore Gap you'll see some nice ones.
As always, we've put all of our pictures up on our flickr account: www.flickr.com/iheartscotland.
Car rentals are rather cheap so in all we each spent about 30 pounds on the rental, gas, entrance fees and a few snacks (it would have been cheaper but Amy got suckered into buying the extra insurance on the car). We packed our own lunch and snacks, but it wouldn't be a proper road trip without stopping at a little bakery for some delicious Scottish desserts.
We had been planning a trip to the Scottish Borders for quite a while but Amy's license got lost in the mail so we haven't been able to rent a car for a few months. Thankfully, when we were back in Canada she was able to get a replacement. So off we went! The area is called the Borders because, surprisingly, it is very near the Scotland/England border. Although, because it is the same country its not really much of a border. There are two big rocks, one on each side of the road, with Scotland and England written on either side to mark the border. But I'm getting ahead of myself...we visited a few abbeys in Scotland before we made it to the border.
The firs abbey was called Kelso. It was very much a ruin, with not a lot to see. This abbey was free to get into, but was closed the day we were there. This wasn't horribly disappointing though because we were still able to take some pictures while standing outside the gates. Compared to the other ruins we've seen it really wasn't all that special and I won't even bother putting a picture of it up. Kelso was about an hour and a half from Edinburgh. The next stop was Jedburgh, another half hour down the road. Amy was very excited to see this abbey. A few years ago she found a picture of it and has been wanting to see it in person ever since. It didn't dissapoint! This place was beautiful and we had great weather to match. We were the only ones at the abbey which added to the beauty. I don't think it would have been as amazing if we had been one of 150 tourists snapping photos.
We both decided that it would be the perfect place for a wedding. I even did a little bridal walk to make sure. Yep, perfect.
As you can see it was very sunny! Amy didn't even have her coat on. Yeah for warmth!
Our next stop was Hadrian's Wall across the English border. This wall is REALLY old. Definitely the oldest thing we've seen so far. The Romans started building it in 112 AD to keep out the Pictish people (the guys in Scotland at the time). Besides the historical appeal, one of the reasons I wanted to see the wall was because it was in one of my favourite movies, Robin Hood. Kevin Costner walks along Hadrian's Wall at the beginning of the movie and eventually comes across this now famous spot, known as the Sycamore Gap. So, we were driving along the road when we suddenly come across this tree in the distance! Yeah :) We found a car park and started walking. And we walked (more like climbed) and walked and walked. I guess we didn't realize how far down we drove to get to the car park. We had to climb up and down four rocky mountain like hills to get to the tree. It was cold and windy and quite beautiful. The wall ran all the way along these hills and most of it is in realy good condition for being so old.
Our next stop was Hadrian's Wall across the English border. This wall is REALLY old. Definitely the oldest thing we've seen so far. The Romans started building it in 112 AD to keep out the Pictish people (the guys in Scotland at the time). Besides the historical appeal, one of the reasons I wanted to see the wall was because it was in one of my favourite movies, Robin Hood. Kevin Costner walks along Hadrian's Wall at the beginning of the movie and eventually comes across this now famous spot, known as the Sycamore Gap. So, we were driving along the road when we suddenly come across this tree in the distance! Yeah :) We found a car park and started walking. And we walked (more like climbed) and walked and walked. I guess we didn't realize how far down we drove to get to the car park. We had to climb up and down four rocky mountain like hills to get to the tree. It was cold and windy and quite beautiful. The wall ran all the way along these hills and most of it is in realy good condition for being so old.
Thats me half way up the next hill. The tree was just over the next hill but Amy decided to stay where she was.
I made it! It doesn't look like much but I'm sure in the summer when the leaves and grass are green it would be a lot nicer. I didn't go down the hill because it was starting to get dark and we had a LONG hike back to the car and I didn't want to be hiking down huge rocky hills in the dark. I didn't really get a good picture of it but if you google Sycamore Gap you'll see some nice ones.
We're almost done at this point. The hill in the background is one of three or four that we climbed. We're crazy.
In other news...Amy got a job! Yippee!!! She starts on Thursday at Gala Bingo! She's not exactly sure what she'll be doing but all the flatmates are excited to hit up the bingo hall with the old people. My job search is still ongoing but hopefully I'll get something soon.
As always, we've put all of our pictures up on our flickr account: www.flickr.com/iheartscotland.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
What a pilot SHOULDN'T tell the passengers before take off
Amy and I flew back to Edinburgh Tuesday evening and as we were waiting for the plane to start moving the pilot came on over the PA and announced that a passenger had decided not to travel at the last minute. This meant they had to sift through all the luggage in the cargo hold to get to his bag. That wasn't the problem because they had the bag out within a few minutes and we were on our way, it was the crazy thoughts of plane crashes that had us worried! Why didn't he want to travel!??! Did he have a 'feeling'!?!? Is the plane going to crash!?!?
Obviously we made it here safe and sound. We've started our job search and hope that we'll hear something within a few days. We had an amazing time at home visiting with everyone, but are excited to start working again so we can start traveling.
We're not sure where we'll go next, but we're hoping it will be somewhere WARM!
Obviously we made it here safe and sound. We've started our job search and hope that we'll hear something within a few days. We had an amazing time at home visiting with everyone, but are excited to start working again so we can start traveling.
We're not sure where we'll go next, but we're hoping it will be somewhere WARM!
Friday, 6 February 2009
A Blessing in Disguise
I am writing this blog from the comforts of my own home...in CANADA! That's right, I am home. Not for good...just for a two week visit, but a visit none the less. It feels so weird, but so good to be home. Some of the things I've missed: sleeping in my very comfortable double bed, looking in the fridge or pantry and having more than one thing to choose from to eat, going shopping at all my favourite stores (although I was quite disappointed...no good sales!) and of course seeing my friends and family after five long months! We kept the trip home on the DL because we wanted to surprise my best friend, Lucy from Lucy's Life. My parents had the difficult task of keeping it a secret and they did very well. We got here on Wednesday and that evening Lucy and her hubby were set to have dinner with my parents. When they got here, mom told them that one of my nieces was hiding and wanted Lucy and hubby to find her. Amy and I were hiding as well and gave them the shock of their lives. There was a lot of screaming, a lot of hugging and a little bit of crying. It was so fun! We are here until the 17th, when we will go back to Edinburgh and start looking for a job. Now a little about that...
On January 31st, Amy I worked our last shift at Baxters. The store isn't doing well financially so they decided not to keep the Christmas staff. Thats why this post is called 'A Blessing in Disguise' because if it weren't for loosing our jobs we wouldn't have had the time off to come home. The Tuesday before our last day we were checking tickets on-line for fun and found insanely cheap flights to Toronto. They were 258 pounds round trip! Our amazing parents agreed to pay for half of the ticket so we're talking 129 pounds each for two weeks. We would spend some of that on food and just living, so we figured we might as well go home where we can see our family and eat our parents food for two weeks!
It will be stressful trying to look for a new job when we get back, but it will all be worth it.
I'm off to get ready to go out for lunch with my parents to the Mandarin...oh, how I missed the Mandarin!
On January 31st, Amy I worked our last shift at Baxters. The store isn't doing well financially so they decided not to keep the Christmas staff. Thats why this post is called 'A Blessing in Disguise' because if it weren't for loosing our jobs we wouldn't have had the time off to come home. The Tuesday before our last day we were checking tickets on-line for fun and found insanely cheap flights to Toronto. They were 258 pounds round trip! Our amazing parents agreed to pay for half of the ticket so we're talking 129 pounds each for two weeks. We would spend some of that on food and just living, so we figured we might as well go home where we can see our family and eat our parents food for two weeks!
It will be stressful trying to look for a new job when we get back, but it will all be worth it.
I'm off to get ready to go out for lunch with my parents to the Mandarin...oh, how I missed the Mandarin!
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