It was my birthday...

..and I rode on a cow.

I wish I had a photo to share with you, but it was a totally spontaneous event that I wasn't expecting at all, and definitely couldn't have planned for.

Before you get too excited, it wasn't a real cow, but two people in costume. The poor guy who was the back half of the cow unexpectedly had to bear the weight of the two other birthday girls at a birthday party for a friend of ours.

Overall, it was a good day. It was, after all, my golden birthday: 28 years on the 28th of June. There was lots of lying around, doing not much of anything, movie watching, present receiving, basically whatever I felt like doing. It was very nice.

James made reservations for us to have dinner at a place in Dornoch called Luigi's. It's not Italian, as you would expect from the name, but just a mix of different types of dishes. James had a steak, I had some fish. Delicious.

We got home and two of our girls (high school aged) came by with a cake they had made for me. It was a chocolate double layer cake with homemade chocolate icing. YUM. We ate some and hung out with them for a bit.

Then we attended the above mentioned 18th birthday party of a friend. That's where the cow riding happened.

It's kinda bizarre to be getting closer to 30, because, wow that seems a lot older than how I feel. Seriously, I feel like I'm 22. Maybe it's partly because our job includes hanging out with high school kids all the time? But I don't so much mind getting older because I really am enjoying my life.

Ask me again at 30, I might have something different to say about getting older when I hit that milestone.

Hil.lar.i.ous.

This won't mean a thing to most of you, but my friend Anna has posted some memories from high school in light of our upcoming TEN year reunion. Yup. I'm getting that old. Old enough to be out of high school for a decade. She's listed some ridiculously funny memories from those 4 years. Just in case there are some other HHS Class of '98 friends out there, I wanted you to join in the reminiscing too.

*Disclaimer: In case you read Anna's list, and are wondering, I really didn't seriously think we should steal the bus. Moving it to the other side of the parking lot might have been funny though. But all you kids should never consider doing anything like that. Never ever.

Weekend Review: It's Back!

I used to do this a while back (I copied the idea from Val) and stopped after we moved to Scotland. We're in more of a rhythm now, so I'll attempt to get back in the habit. Here goes...

Friday
-Up at 8:00
-Prepared for Scripture Union(SU)
-Cycled around town with James to run a couple of errands
-Intended to cycle to the Secondary School (middle and high school) for SU, but decided to ride home and get the car since it started raining.
-Hung out with the kids at SU, taught a lesson
-Home, did some other stuff, can't remember what
-Left for a farewell ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee. I know. Looks nothing like it.) for some American friends who are moving back to America. It was in a place called Nairn, about 1.5 hours from Dornoch. Guess who lives there.
-Did some Scottish country dancing, socialized, heard some gaelic singing (fyi, in Scotland, it's pronounced like garlic without the r.)
-Home around midnight.

Saturday
-Up around 10:00
-Cleaned the house
-Made dinner, had James' and our young friend Alisha's help.
-Had two couple's over for dinner, had a great time.
-Cleaned up, to bed.

Sunday
-Up at 8
-Left for Nairn again to be at our previously mentioned American friend's church for their last Sunday before they move.
-Attended the lunch afterward.
-Home around 3
-Was exhausted for some reason, rested, watched Grey's Anatomy via the internets.
-Kids came over at 7 for Youth Fellowship. James taught a lesson, had pizza, played some games
-Left the house at 9:30 to take some kids home and hang out at a friends house for the ritual Sunday night hang out with these friends.
-Was too exhausted, got James take me home so I could rest and so he could go back, eat Chinese, and hang out for a while without me needing to go home early.
-Resting, preparing for Scripture Union at the Primary (Elementary) School tomorrow.
-To sleep soon.

A Day to Celebrate!

It's James' 27th Birthday!!! If you'd like, give him a call or send him an email and wish him a great day; feel free to tell him how fabulous we all know he is!

One more midge picture

This orange thing is an emergency shelter, which was affectionately referred to as the "orange bubble." When the midges were really bad, about 11 kids would crowd in it and cover themselves. My favorite part would be when suddenly and rapidly, they would all disperse in various directions yelling and pinching their noses. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure that one out.

The Midge

Since we've been in Scotland, we've heard about an infamous insect that plagues the country during the summer months: the Midge (pronounced Midgie).

While camping, I was introduced to them. Yes, they are as horrible as everyone says. Actually it's worse.

Imagine gnats, but in much larger quantities, that bite, and leave itchy spots that might swell up. They're attracted to carbon dioxide, so they love to be right in your face. They are absolutely horrible and when they're really bad, it makes doing anything outside almost impossible.

They love damp, cloudy conditions, and don't do well with the wind or sunshine.

The first and last days of our camping expedition, we were invaded by midges at our campsite. Before I left, I'd been informed as to what types of repellent to use, and stocked up with a few different kinds; I was prepared. Or so I thought.

The first day, as the midges began to get bad, everyone pulled out something called a midge net and put it over their head. I had no idea these things even existed. Life would have been much more bearable if I had one of them. Here's what they look like:

If you take a close look at the sky in this photo, all those black circles you see aren't smudges on my camera, but midges. But that doesn't even begin to capture how many there were.

Here is a photo of how midges can cover an object. I was trying to wash some dishes one night and it was useless; as soon as a dish was washed, it was covered in midges. We'd open our tent, and suddenly there'd be 50 midges in there. Thankfully, they were only around for two days.

Here's my bit of advice for you: if you come to Scotland in the summer, bring a midge net.

More on Camping

The camping trip I just returned from was run by an organization called World Challenge, and took place on Alladale Wildlife Reserve.

Twenty-two kids ages 13-14, 3 adults, and one 16 year old helper, all from Dornoch, attended the trip. The leaders from World Challenge were very focused on making sure the kids learned a lot by trial and error and worked through the difficulties they come across as a team, with little to no interference from the adults. Translation: I didn't have to do much.

I stayed in a tent with another girl about my age who works for the school. Have you ever met a stranger and then had to share a tent with them for a week, as well as deal with all the other challenges that come with wild camping? It's a situation that could prove to be awkward. But it couldn't have been better; we got along so well and were able to laugh a lot which, I found, was a necessity.

Besides dealing with our own tent and camping equipment, the kids did all the other camping jobs for us. They cooked and cleaned up, they did the navigating when we were backpacking, they led the group and made most of the decisions. It was pretty stress free. Well, I take it back, this aspect of the trip was slightly stressful. Especially finding a spot that was discrete. But, we all had to do it, so it got less awkward as the week progressed.

Here are a few photos from Day 1:
This is the team of kids I was with; they were getting all the intro information and basics of what the week would entail. That's why they look bored.

The tents, aka my home for a week:

Our campsite the first and last nights was next to a beautiful river and some falls:




I found myself continually overwhelmed with the beauty of our surroundings. It was magnificent. With all the challenges, it was such a privilege to be able to be a part of this trip. Would I do it again? Yup. I think knowing what to expect and how to be prepared would help a lot.

More to come on the animals we encountered (including the really annoying ones)and the fun activities.

Back from the Wild

I made it. I survived 5 nights and 5.5 days in the wild outdoors. I didn't step foot in a building other than a tent for the entire time. I've never spent that much time outside in my life.

It was an awesome trip. Challenging, yes, but really great. Thanks to all of you who prayed, I'm happy to report, there was no illness, scorching sun for two days, and it only rained for two of the evenings and a couple of hours during one day. That, in Scotland, is weather near perfection. The other thing I was worried about was that the battery in my electric toothbrush would last the entire week; my teeth and I are happy to report that it did.

I've never been so glad to see running water in my entire life. The first thing I did when I walked into our house was turn on the tap and drink directly from it. Then I used the bathroom. INSIDE! These are amazing things I'll never take for granted ever again.

I'm sure I'll be posting lots of stories and photos from the trip, but I'll start you off with before and after photos of me.

This was taken the night before I left. Notice here the enthusiastic grin, the strong back able to hold all that weight in the backpack no problem, the clean clothes and hair. What you can't tell is that I smell clean also.


This was taken today, not long after I got to our house. Notice here that although I'm smiling, it's a bit less enthusiastic. Note also the sun-kissed nose and cheeks, droopy eyes, bag full of the dirtiest clothes (everything in the backpack was only slightly dirty), and sore muscles. What you can't tell from the photo (and be glad) is that I don't smell clean and my hair is so oily from not washing it for a week that it looks wet.


Really it was an amazing experience. I was so pleased to see that the kids who went on the trip learned tons and grew in so many ways.

Now it's time to sleep. In a bed. In a glorious bed with pillows. In a climate controlled environment. It's going to be a good night.

Away 'till the 7th

I'll be "under canvas" until Saturday. If you love me you'll pray for these things:
-no rain
-no illness'
-a scorching sun every day all week, because in Scotland that is a miracle.

I'll be back soon to fill you in on the adventure, because I have no doubt that it will be quite an adventure.

The word "challenge" should have clued me in.

James and I are both going camping next week. But we will be on different trips, very different trips.

Here's where I'll be. Did you check it out? See those nice rooms and the sauna, full gym, and even clay pigeon shooting?

Oh, wait, I'm actually on the Alladale Wilderness Reserve on the Alladale Challenge trip. Did you see the photo of the kids all bundled up in their rain suits? Yup, that'll be me all next week.

The secondary school (middle and high schools) in Dornoch asked James and I if we were interested in helping out with any of the school trips that were happening during the week where most kids can choose a school-sponsored trip to attend. Some are going to Belgium, France, or Denmark, others are staying in Scotland for camping style trips. Of course, there isn't a shortage of chaperone's on any of the international trips; shocking. We told the school just to sign us up wherever we were needed.

Giving someone else complete control over planning a week for me wasn't the best idea I've ever had.

My week will include living "under canvas" (who knows what that means), no showering (unless I want to wash in the river), digging a hole to use the toilet, and all sorts of other challenging outdoor experiences.

James' week includes sleeping inside on a bed and going to a theme park during the week.

Seriously though, even though I'll probably smell horrible, be very cold and wet the entire time, and pee on myself a couple of times (if only I knew about these in time to order them for the trip. darn.), I know it's going to be a great experience. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the girls that are going on the trip. The most important question many of the girls had was, "will we be able to take our hair straighteners?"

It will be a week sure to push us all pretty far out of our comfort zones.

Hi there. Let's get reacquainted.

I'd like to introduce myself, I'm the author of this blog, but you might not remember me, I've been away for quite some time.

If you look here, you'll find one of the reasons I've been MIA. When I wrote that post back in the beginning of April, I thought internet would be up and running in two weeks. That, I've found, was a gross underestimation. It has now been two months, and the possibility of internet access in our home is still barely visible on the horizon.

I'd tell you the ridiculous story of why our attempts at transferring internet to our new house has been foiled many, many times, but seriously, it's a horrible thing to even think of complaining about, when I have food, shelter, water, and lots of other stuff that so many people in the world only dream of having. I'm feeling slightly ashamed of my spoiled self at the moment, so let's move on.

Our trip home was AMAZING. Relaxing? Definitely not. Invigorating? Absolutely. We ran from social event to social event, soaked in the love of our family and friends, hugged at least a bajillion people, and totally crashed in the planes and airports on our way home to Dornoch. (Yes I did just call both places home, because at the moment, we have two homes. Kinda weird, but nice.)

Thanks to everyone at home for fitting us into your schedules and for making us feel so welcomed and missed, we miss you all so much! It felt like we'd barely been away.

So now what? Well, we've got about 15.5 months left of our two year commitment to live in Dornoch, Scotland and work with the kids here. It's going well so far; amazingly well, really. There are frustrations, of course, but those frustrations don't have anything to do with the kids we've gotten to know. They're all awesome!

Hopefully I'll be updating you more frequently, but I'm not making any promises. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

The Price of Petrol

Surprise, these might be the first positive comments you'll hear about gas prices (or petrol, as it's referred to in the UK). I'm thrilled that gas is only $3.50 here in Virginia, compared to about $10 per gallon in Scotland.

Here's my encouragement for you Americans for the next time you're filling up your tank: just remember it could always be worse, and for some people it already is.

Ahhhhh...

It's so great to be home. I can't express the joy and relief I felt when our flight from Edinburgh landed in Newark, New Jersey. No, New Jersey is not home, but it is America, and it was an amazing feeling just to be in America.

The first 5 days of being home in Richmond were a whirlwind. Mostly they were filled with lots of fun wedding activities for our great friends Blair and Zach's wedding. It's been wonderful to see so many of our friends and family. And the weather, oh, it's been so relaxing, I'm soaking it in and wishing I could store it up for later.

We'll be here for another 9 days, the schedule is pretty packed, we're hoping to fit in a couple hours of relaxation at some point. If we don't find that time, it's alright, being exhausted is totally worth the craziness of running around like mad people spending time with the people we love.

Hope to see you while we're here!

Two Weeks Until I'm At HOME!

In exactly two weeks we will be about to land in Newark, NJ to then transfer to a flight that will take us to the very best place in the world...RICHMOND, VIRGINIA!!!

I can not wait for our visit. It's going to be so great.

James and I are in a wedding and there will be all kinds of fun wedding festivities to partake in, which are always a good time. I'll get to hug so many wonderful people and I'm sure will cry tons of happy tears. I'll also get to go to all of my own doctors, such a treat! I've avoided any sort of medical office here, not wanting to have to get used to a new doctor, never any fun.

And most importantly, I've got a running list of restaurants we will be visiting. You want to see us? Let me know and I'll give you a choice of restaurants you can meet us at!

See you soon!

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!

I'm so stoked for Val and Ross! They're having their first baby! Seriously I want to tell everyone I know, even the people here in Dornoch who have know clue who they are, because, I'm sure they'll be absolutely thrilled for them, how could you not!?!

You need to add the two blogs linked to, to your list of blogs you read, because it's sure to be an adventure you won't want to miss.

I can't wait to hold little Catrow and snuggle against his/her wonderful baby smelling head!

The Joys of Moving

I Probably won't be around much in the next, oh, 10-15 days. That's how long it takes to transfer our internet service to a house 6 doors down.

But there are many many positives to our move, so I'll accept the inconvenience of limited internet access with a smile.

Moving Day

Tomorrow we're moving from our current house to a new one that's only 6 houses down. There are a few different reasons for this, and the new house is an answer to all those!

Today we've packed up pretty much everything in record time; it only took about 4 hours. I was thinking back to all the places I've lived and times I've moved, it's really quite ridiculous. This will be the 14th place I've lived in the last 10 years, and (including all the times I've gone from college to home for the summers, and back to college again) I've physically moved all my possessions 18 times. Nineteen if you count moving half of our possessions into storage before we came to Scotland.

I say "I've" moved my possessions, but that is actually very inaccurate. The one person who has been there for every single move is my Dad; my Mom has been there for almost all of them, and James was there for all the ones since we started dating. So really, there's no way I could've moved myself even once without those people. Thanks you three, and to the many others who have helped us move!

Shattered

Scots use this word as as a descriptor when one is exhausted to the point of uselessness. Shattered would be an accurate way to describe my state at the moment.

The past week has been hectic, inspiring, stressful, encouraging, joyful, sad, exciting, and jam-packed; overall, completely awesome. We just got back from dropping off the 12 team members from our church in Richmond at the Edinburgh airport. I'm in desperate need of a nap.

The American's are Here!

I've been MIA. It's because there are TWELVE Americans here in Dornoch! Those 12 Americans are all from our home church in Richmond, Virginia. And of those 12, they are all awesome friends of ours, one of them is James' mom! It's absolutely amazing. The only thing that would make it better is if my family was here too. After they leave and I have more than ten minutes to sit down in one place, I'll update you about what we've been doing and how fabulous the week has been!

Air-Con

That's how people here refer to air conditioning, or A/C as we would say. Air-con isn't used much, actually next to never. I was surprised to find that our car doesn't have it, neither do any cars that I've ever ridden in. My spoiled American question was, "well what do you do if there's a really hot day?." One answer would be, roll down the window. The Scottish answer would be, "what does a really hot day feel like?" Most houses don't have it either.

I went to a gym tonight with a couple of friends. During my introduction session, the girl showing us around told us all about the air-con and how it helps to keep the place from smelling. She also made sure we knew not to open the windows, or we'd just be negating the effects of the air-con and wasting money. I realized that even though that's common sense for people who live in a society used to air-con, it probably wouldn't cross the minds of people here.

It makes me wonder how many things are common sense to Scots that I have no idea about. I'll never know exactly how many times I've made a fool of myself when i didn't have a clue about something that is common knowledge. Scots are just too kind to call me out on these things.