Weigh-in Wednesday

Another goal, besides Frugal Friday, that I have for 2010 is to lose some weight, tone up and become more healthy. So, I've created "Weigh-in Wednesday" on my blog. Now like any sane woman, there's no way I'm going to tell you my actual weight!! But I will be posting a plus or minus amount (such as -1lb)for each week so I can track my results. Hopefully posting on this blog will keep me accountable and aware of my goal, since I know that others (even if it's just a few people) will be reading it. At least it adds some pressure anyway!!

I hope to share not only my progress, but also:

-My struggles with exercising consistently

-The fact that I love food (especially desserts!!) and finding healthy recipes to satisfy this love

-Tips that I find to help me stay motivated

-And anything else about getting in shape and eating better

So since today is the first post of Weigh-in Wednesday, I will be starting at Zero for my weigh-in! Tune in next week to see if it's a + or - number!

European Adventure Recap - Leaving London

Saturday October 24, 2009
London, England

Early this morning we packed up and boarded a Eurostar train that would take us over to France - going under the English Channel. The tunnel that goes under the Channel is nicknamed the "Chunnel" (channel and tunnel smooshed into one word). The Chunnel itself is 31.4 miles, 23.5 of that actually being under water. The lowest part of the Chunnel is 250 Feet below ground.

All Aboard! It was so nice to not have to drag suitcases around - I'm so glad we backpacked!

Isn't the inside nice? Kind of reminded me of a coach bus.

The train ride from London to Paris took about 2.5 hours

Shannon slept and I read. (Hopefully she won't kill me for posting this picture, but then again it's not great of me either!)

European Adventure Recap - Afternoon Tea....at Night

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

Our last event in London was to have a Traditional English Tea. We realized that we might be a little late if we walked there from where we were, so we hired a Rickshaw to get us there. And this guy did just that! We were cracking up as we sped around curves and took 90 degree turns on what seemed like only one half of the wheels. The view from the inside

The funniest part, and something Shannon and I still laugh out loud at now, is this: We were having the Tea at a restaurant in a fancy hotel. (We didn't realize it was all that fancy until we got there). Our rickshaw driver whipped into the hotel and we came to a tire-screeching, belly-laugh inducing, jerking to a halt stop right at the front doors of this nice hotel! Not only that, but the motion sensor made the sliding doors open right as we pulled up so our presence to those inside the hotel did not go unnoticed as our cackling billowed into the lobby through the now open doors. All heads turned in our direction.

Leave it to two hillbilly girls from Kentucky to ride a rickshaw to a fancy hotel for Tea and then practically ride right in through the front door! Still, we didn't care - we were in Europe for crying out loud!

Here we are in the rickshaw!

Once we tumbled out of the rickshaw and made our way into the hotel, we were seated (we had reservations) and given menus. I was a little perplexed because I had made reservations for Tea....which was kind of a set menu....so we didn't need menus. Shannon and I both thought that it was odd that we were having "Afternoon Tea" with a 7:00pm reservation, but I was able to make the reservation online that clearly stated it was for Tea. We asked the waitress and she confirmed that Tea Time was, in fact, already over. She must have seen how disappointed we looked, because she pulled a few strings and before we knew it we were having Afternoon Tea....at Night!

Would you like a spot of tea? I tried a raspberry flavored tea - it was yummy. Since we were in England, Shannon wanted to drink her tea English-style, so she put a bit of milk into regular tea, which she enjoyed too.No Afternoon Tea would be complete without tiny finger-sandwiches and desserts. The bottom layer of this tiered server included several different types of sandwiches such as cucumber, salmon & egg salad. The middle layer were warm biscuits (with lots of butter to spread on them!). And the top layer was a chocolate eclair, strawberry tort and fruit cake slice for each of us.

European Adventure Recap - Marble Arch

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

The Marble Arch was built in 1828 and was originally the entrance to Buckingham Palace.

At one point, they did some additions to Buckingham and ran out of room for the Arch.

So it was moved to Park Lane just across from Hyde Park.

This picture really shows the detail of the columns and moldings

This was a sign next to the Marble Arch at the entrance to a small park....clearly erected in the 80's with it's reference to "tape machines"

Frugal Friday

I'd like to start a new series for 2010 on my blog called "Frugal Friday." 2009 was a year of vacations for me! I took several trips - both flying and driving - to many destinations. This year, I'll have to tighten my purse strings a bit and focus on ways to save money and reuse/re-purpose items. What many of my friends do not know yet is that I have purchased a house! Yes, I am once again taking the plunge. I have purchased a home right here in the Ville that is very close to where I work. So this fuels my need to keep a closer eye on my finances. I was blessed this last year to be able to live with a friend (and now my parents) after selling my first house, so my living costs were pretty minimal, making it possible for me to go to so many great places in 2009. Not to say that I won't spend money on things or won't eat out some or won't take a road trip or two, but I'd like to spend a little less and save a little more this year. So, my Frugal Friday posts will be a way to document this and keep me accountable and aware of my spending....and maybe give anyone who reads my blog some ideas too. I'll post some pics of my new house (I won't be moving in until late February) and the decision to stay put here in the Ville at a later date, but for now - enjoy my first Frugal Friday Post!

I got into the bad habit at work of going out to eat almost every single day for lunch. Although it is nice to get out of the office for an hour, go laugh with my co-workers and to have the food prepared for me, this is a very costly habit (not to mention the unnecessary calories!). Each lunch was an average of about $8-10, plus a tip!

So my solution for eating out was to make sure I have several options to choose from if I stayed in instead (or going out would continue to look better than staying in!). This picture shows what's hiding in the drawers beneath my desk at work.

The left side are 100 calorie Pringle Packs and a variety of potato chips (okay, not the healthiest, but let's take this one step at a time!). On the right in the top drawer are oatmeal packets (for breakfast) and protein bars (for when I hit the gym). The next two drawers down are Chef Boyardee canned pastas and several different types of soups. Like I said, I will work on the healthy part as I go, but for now I am just concentrating on not eating out (which is already saving some calories) and not getting bored with my lunch options. So for a fraction of the cost (about $45), I'll eat lunch for a month for what it would have cost me to eat lunch out every day for just a week.

European Adventure Recap - Umbrella Art

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

We saw this big Umbrella Art thing that we weren't really sure what to make of, but snapped a picture anyway.

I did a quick Internet search and found out that this Art Piece is right in front of London's Channel 4 Building. It was done by Stephanie Imbeau and it's called "Shelter".

My picture doesn't do justice to how it is really supposed to be looked at (because of the angle I was at), so here is a picture of how the artist meant for it to be seen:

Isn't that cool? It's a big #4 made out of Umbrellas in front of Channel 4's Building!

European Adventure Recap - The Albert

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England Just thought this building was too darling to not take a picture of! It's a local Tavern called "The Albert". I love the balconies, the flowers baskets, the curved window heads, the rich dark wood at the entrance, the lighting down each side (kinda hard to see, but it's right where the 2nd floor starts) and all the detailing around the roofline. You can click on the picture to enlarge.

I have no doubt the ambiance on the inside matches that of the outside.

European Adventure Recap - Leicester Square

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

Leicester Square (pronounced Lester) is London's version of NYC's Times Square

We were quickly passing through the area on our way elsewhere, but managed to get a couple snapshots. Then it was back to the Tube! Off to our next destination. I really like this shot because I captured the movement of the train but the lady with the backpack stood still enough not to blur too.

European Adventure Recap - Feeling at Home

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

See, even in London, they know about Kentucky

European Adventure Recap - Funny Signs

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

We loved all the signs in London! Even though they speak English, they use different words or phrases than we are used to here in the good ole US.

For instance this is their "Yield" sign:

And this is their "Detour" sign:

European Adventure Recap - Not Cheap To Go!

Friday, October 23, 2009

London, England

Just about everywhere we went in Europe, we had to pay to use a public restroom. We only got a free spot when we had eaten at a restaurant or just got lucky in finding a no-pay place.

Here's Shannon at the turn-style where you put your money in for the use of the facilities.

One great thing about the pay-toilets is that they were typically very clean. Since they charge you to use them, they have money to pay someone to upkeep the cleanliness of them. Don't you love this shiny throne? The handle above is the flusher.

European Adventure Recap - I Hope I Am Eccentric Like This Lady When I'm Old

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

Shannon captured this shot from the top of the London Double-Decker Bus. And to think it wasn't even St. Patty's Day.

European Adventure Recap - St. Margaret's Church

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

St. Margaret's Church sits near the Westminster Abbey. It's unsure when it was built but the best guess is around the 11th century. Unfortunately the church is beginning to go into disrepair. It's hard to see from this one picture, but their website lists that the walls are starting to flake apart and part of the roof is severely damaged among other things.

European Adventure Recap - Westminster Abbey

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

Originally called The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, most people simply refer to it as Westminster Abbey. In this photo it resembles Notre Dame in Paris.

"An abbey is a Christian monastery or convent, under the government of an Abbot (Father) or an Abbess (Mother Superior), who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community. The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey, but continues to carry the name—in some cases for centuries." Westminster Abbey is one such establishment. It no longer functions as an Abbey, but still carries the name.

The picture below shows the tall cement columns that run along the outside of the building.

The front facade

This is a close-up of the large round window over the front doors

In this view you can see the front of the building and the two towers that stand to the side of the building

It's hard to grasp the scale of just how tall this is

The detail of all the buildings not just in London, but everywhere we went in Europe, simply amazed me

See the faces?

Quite the Gargoyle - this should definitely keep out evil spirits!

European Adventure Recap - Westminster School

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

As we approached from the South heading towards Westminster Abbey, we first came upon Westminster School. It is a very prestigious school that dates back before the 12th century. It has about 750 students, about 185 of which are boarders at the school.

One of the long standing (and odd) traditions that the school has, happens every year on Shrove Tuesday - the day before Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday has historically been the day rich foods (such as pancakes) would be consumed in indulgence before Lent started the next day....also earning Shrove Tuesday the nickname of Pancake Day.

So, each year on Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day), Westminster School has "The Greaze." A competition that started back in 1753. "The head cook ceremoniously tosses a horsehair-reinforced pancake over a high bar...members of the school fight for the pancake for one minute." The student who ends up gathering the most (determined by weighing the pancake on a scale), wins a Gold Sovereign - a gold coin. I love the doors (above and below) with their carvings and the architectural features in the above canopy.