Day 168

What a day!!!! It was AWESOME!!!!!! How it ended...just made me laugh. That's where I'm going to start tonight's blog.

We pull up in Toni's car, and there are no lights on outside. Nice. She parks beside Tim's car, and the inside light is on. That can't be good for the battery. I go to the front door, put my key in, unlock the top part and open the door. It stops. What the heck? They put the chain on! Luckily Toni saw that I couldn't get in, and she stopped to make sure everything was fine. Because it was 1:15, I did not want to have to call them. I shoved my arm through the space between the door and the wall, and bent it in a strange manner in an attempt to get the chain off. It wasn't working. I shut the door to tell Toni what had happened without making too much noise as I didn't want to wake them...and then I tried my 2nd attempt. It hurt, but I got the job done. I somehow unhooked the chain (which doesn't make me feel too safe up here), and I opened the door...Only to walk into bags of garbage. It was like an obstacle course. I put my things on the stairs, stuck a pear in the fridge *Thanks for the idea sis* for morning, grabbed Tim's keys, and headed back around the garbage and out the door to turn the light off in the car. Who knows if it'll start in the morning. I left him a note, and came upstairs to jump in the shower. Then I crawled into bed to write this.

Before the house mishap, was one of the best nights ever! A great day as well actually. I woke up earlier than I wanted, to Josh screaming - I think at a video game - perhaps cheering, but whatever it was, it was loud and high pitched. That was around 9. TOP NOTCH! I was too excited to go back to sleep. I tried a couple of times, but it didn't work. Up I got. I showered, got dressed and did my makeup before venturing downstairs. I thought I looked rather nice when emerging from my room...I really liked the way I'd done my makeup, but I didn't want anyone seeing that I had put such a nice top on, so I threw on a hoodie. (Kinda silly to have to hide things like that, but it's better than being made fun of). I went down and got my breakfast, and went to sit on the couch with Zach. There was a lot of screaming going on, so as fast as I sat down, I stood back up, and came up to my room. Such a hectic house.

It was peeing down with rain so Toni and I decided we wouldn't be going on the London Eye this weekend...we'd go on a sunny day. Today, we'd go for a Starbucks, and to a movie before going into town. She was picking me up at 12:30, so I went downstairs around 12, and sat with Heloise and Zach as they finished lunch. Then Zach was asking me all kinds of questions about Robin Hood, then Pirates of the Caribbean, and then about the wooden birds he was using to peck my legs. I was debating what coat to where, and also what footwear. The rain was coming down hard...but I'd feel like a tool if I was in London in Wellies and the rain had stopped. I voiced my opinion out loud, and that's when I realized, Heloise clearly does not like them. She turned to me and said "Just wear your trainers. NO ONE in London will be wearing wellies, there probably aren't people who even own a pair in London". Well then...running shoes it was. Although I think my wellies are quite fashionable. Anyway, Toni picked me up, and we drove to Braintree. We had to get the car through some pretty huge puddles that we weren't sure we'd make it through, but we got there safely. Once we arrived, we went in to get our tickets and popcorn/chocolate/drinks, and then went into the theatre. We were seeing "Leap Year". The two of us absolutely loved it, and wanted to go back in to watch it again. Heloise had made a comment yesterday, about how she doesn't want to see it, it's meant to be crap, and only got one star. Well, I'm not the type of person that's going to let a critic tell me whether or not to see a movie...and I'm glad cuz I thought it was great. We came out of it with warm hearts, smiles on our faces, and madly in love with the main character.

It was 10 to 4, and we thought Starbucks closed at 4, so we drove to the entrance closest to it, and ran in. We later found out it didn't close until 5...but anyway. We ordered our drinks, and after a few spillages, we headed off to Billericay. Once there we bought our train tickets, hopped on and went into London. I was SO excited by this point. In fact, it was hard for me to not think about it during the movie. Toni still felt like it was a dream, like she wasn't really going, so she had yet to get excited. We got off the train at Liverpool Street, and jumped on the Tube to Hammersmith. - We saw some very interesting people throughout our transportation process...one of which was wearing a cowboy hat type sombrero, and sat with his legs stretched out and spread in front of us. The two of us could hardly hold in our laughs, I almost lost it a couple of times and was wishing Stephen was with us...the comments he would have come up with would have been priceless - When we got off, we double checked where we had to go, but weren't sure if we understood the man at the Newspaper stand, so when we stopped in Starbucks, we asked there. The girl we asked wasn't sure, so we took our food and drink and ventured out. We asked someone who was able to assure us we were in fact going in the right direction, and we continued on our journey.

We were walking fast at first...then decided we should slow down because we wouldn't be allowed in with our drinks...then decided to speed up again once we saw the line up outside. It was huge! Luckily we weren't waiting in the cold too long before they started letting everyone in, and it had stopped raining, so it definitely could have been worse. In we went, and the first thing I did was stop at the merchandise counter. I bought a really nice shirt, and a great coloured hoodie. I'll get made fun of for wearing it tomorrow...but I really don't care. I love both. We headed into the washrooms, and after quite a long line up, did what we had to do, and came back out to find a spot on the floor in front of the stage. Our tickets were standing tickets, so it was a free for all for those of us on the bottom level of the Apollo. It was a great venue.

We made it to the side and were about 6 people away from the stage. Not too shabby at all. The opening act was a 21 year old - Erik Hassle - from Sweden, and his band. While I was really looking forward to Mika, and couldn't wait for him to come on, that didn't stop me from enjoying this guy's voice. He hit some notes that really impressed me, and I really liked the lyrics to some of the songs. Not to mention how hot his drummer was...that was just a bonus. He's from Brighton - one of my favourite places -

9 o'clock rolled around, and what we had been waiting for - knees aching - began. I didn't think he'd be able to top the last concert I saw him in, but My GOD did he ever! It was absolutely amazing! I love the fact that you can see how much he truly enjoys what he does. The smile on his face while he performs, the intensity in his actions, and the emotion in his voice and eyes just made you smile ear to ear. The costumes were amazing, and he proved that he is no Diva. Something happened to the equipment not even midway through the concert, and instead of complaining about it, he turned to the audience and said he guessed it was just them, and us. He said we'd have to help him out, and said he didn't want to cancel the show. That's when you know it's not just about the money for some people. He still gave it his all, even though you knew he was nervous. He commented on how scary it is to come back to where he started...and then to come back to where he started and not have the equipment work...he really wanted to put on a good show, and he did just that. The visuals in the background were unbelievable, the gold paper, confetti and big balloons that floated around in the crowd added to the atmosphere, and when he stood there in "snow", it was magnificent. Toni and I had the time of our lives, and I had brought 2 cameras to capture it all. It's a good thing I brought 2, because the first one died just before the encore. We looked at the pictures on the tube and the train because neither of us could wait until tomorrow, and I can't believe how some of them turned out. I'm really pleased, and Toni was impressed. We're going to go to Boots and get some printed off in the next week or so.

When we arrived in Billericay, we jumped in Toni's car, and about 30 minutes later, arrived to find I was locked out. Now it's 2:30...I have to be up at 6:30, guess I should get some sleep. Good Night :) xx

Day 167

Today's gonna be a good day. That's what I've told myself as I'm folding laundry, listening to country music, and cleaning my room. I'm still in a bit of pain, but I've also taken some pain killers, so I'll be ok.

I was right. My day is now over, and I really enjoyed myself. Finally. I had a lot of laughs, and have begun (a little late, but oh well) to make my room a little more...homey. I've put some pictures up, and will get some standing frames for them sometime this week.

Once I got ready today, I headed downstairs for some fruit. I grabbed it and came back upstairs to eat it. (I hadn't put any makeup on yet so I didn't want to be hanging out downstairs). Josh had about 6 friends over, John was on the couch, and I still had some stuff I wanted to get done. Tim came up and asked if I'd mind dropping him and John at the train station. At that point I still hadn't done my makeup so I asked him how long I had. His answer...10-15 minutes. I said ok, ran to do my teeth and then just managed to get some eyeshadow on when I decided it was time to go downstairs. Well...I could have finished my makeup by the time they were ready to head out the door. Oh well. I drove them up to Witham, and I found my way home just fine. Ok...there was one turn I missed, but that's cuz I wasn't paying attention, and as soon as I drove past the street, I knew I had gone too far so I found a place to turn around, and was back on track soon enough.

When I got back, I returned to my room for a little bit, until Heloise was getting ready to take all of the boys home. I went downstairs and helped Josh and Nathaniel with their homework while Zach watched TV. When Heloise got back, she took Nathaniel and Zach to a birthday party, Josh came up to my room to read, and I did some more cleaning. When he was finished, we headed out.

We parked close to the theatre, I bought us tickets to "Sherlock Holmes", and then we walked over to Starbucks. We had left later than I wanted to because Josh was told he had to read until just after 3, so we didn't have as much time at Starbucks as I wanted. This lead to me burning my tongue, and not enjoying my drink. The first one since Monday, and I didn't enjoy it. Sigh. Hopefully I'll get one tomorrow. It was nice speaking to Josh as usual though. We sat at a table and talked until he finished the drink I bought him. Then we walked back to the theatre. I got our popcorn, chocolate and drinks, and then we went to the guy taking tickets. The previous showing wasn't done yet, so we were asked to wait. We did...and as we did, the line began to build. It took them ages to clean the theatre. Josh was halfway through his popcorn by the time we got in. We got good seats which was nice. This time I'd be able to enjoy it without tilting my head through the whole thing. Unfortunately the people beside me didn't realize their talking in a movie theatre got on people's nerves...I enjoyed myself anyway though, and Josh says he did as well.

When we got home, I emptied the dishwasher, Josh had some dinner and we spoke with Heloise. I also got to speak to my parents on the phone. We put John's CD on and listened to a few tracks (I had put it on my computer earlier, and will have to listen to it more closely later). Tim and John got home and had Indian food with them. Heloise had asked if I wanted to get Chinese or something, and as much as my mind wanted to, I was soooo full. In fact, I still am. And I even got the smaller size popcorn at the theatre! Crazy! That reminds me...I'd really like some Canadian popcorn. Hot and with butter! This cold popcorn during a movie just isn't right...but it's the way they do it here.

I had one thing that I can't remember the name of...Popadom I think...and I shouldn't have even had that. Josh had gone up to bed by then, so the 4 of us sat around talking about John's life and having a laugh. I was more interested than anyone else I think. I could probably sit and listen to his stories for a very long time. For those of you who don't know, he's Tim's dad. He is famous in Russia and performs Frank Sinatra songs in sold out arenas. He's done a lot in his 70 years, and is a very interesting person. Despite what others might say. He's also the man who allowed me to go to South Africa and stay in his villa, plus gave me Man U tickets, and tickets to the England game this Wednesday. He's very generous, and fun to be around.

We talked for a while, and then I helped him set Yahoo Messenger up on his laptop so that he could speak to his girlfriend while he's away. He was so grateful and couldn't seem to believe how much I knew about computers. Some more talking, and I made some tea and coffee for everyone, then we watched a bit of the Office Christmas special. We were all really tired, and no one was admitting it. Tim was falling asleep on the couch, Heloise and I were yawning, and John was asking if anyone was going up to bed. Eventually Heloise gave in, and then the rest of us instantly caved. I'm sure the 3 of them are actually asleep right now though...where as I choose to, for some reason, fight it. I'm so sleepy, but I don't want to go to sleep. I wish I wasn't like that, but there's no changing it now. I will try to sleep soon though, so Good Night xx

Day 166

So today was much of the same. I was able to sleep in again as Heloise had arranged for the boys to go elsewhere before school. Unfortunately my phone kept going off and waking me up...but on the plus side, it was messages that were making me smile. Eventually I gave up on sleep, thinking that I should head to the doctors before lunch. Well, I got ready, and still wasn't hungry so I called the doctors, told them I had to come in and see them, but because I didn't have a car, I wanted to make sure they could see me before I walked up in pain. They told me to call back 20 minutes later...then 10 minutes after that, and then finally said they'd call me back when they heard from the doctor. Well, they did, and they told me she couldn't see me. I decided as I wasn't feeling well, that I better eat whether I was hungry or not. After that point...I couldn't stop eating. And it wasn't all healthy either. This week was kind of a gong show for health food. I poured myself a cup of tea, and brought my toast into the family room. I then had heart failure when I spilled tea on Heloise's carpet. Luckily I was able to soak it up without leaving a mark, and no one (except for all of you) will ever know it happened. SHHHHH!

I remained on the couch for the majority of the day...AGAIN. Someone else was picking up the boys and having Josh and Zach around their place. All I had to do was have Nathaniel eat before 4:45 so he could go to soccer. I had his dinner ready and in his hand when he walked in the door. He was so thankful I couldn't believe it. It was nice. My Uncle had brought him home, so he stayed to visit a bit. Turned out soccer was cancelled, so we just hung out. Nathaniel read part of his fact book on whales to me, and did his spellings...then the two of us played Wii. We weren't doing so well in Super Mario Brothers levels. He starts telling you what to do (I don't know how he watches your player while he moves his), but he freaks and tells you to run, and instead of looking at what you're doing, you're doing what he says...and you die. Oops. I kept getting interrupted once Zach got home. He was with a friend and the two of them wanted toast after Zach ate his apple that I had chopped up. I'll have to make it up to Nathaniel soon. I had to leave him in the end, to go to the doctors. Luckily as I was putting my coat on, Heloise walked in and had the car. She gave me the key so that I wouldn't have to walk up.

I waited about 20 minutes to see the doctor...the receptionist seemed to find it weird of course, that I was 10 minutes early. - She doesn't seem like a very nice lady. She was rude when I left, and I think she's the one that was rude to me on the phone the other day - I got some pain killers, and I came home.

I ate dinner, and I spoke to my Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister online. I watched some of the Olympics, and Tim's Dad arrived. I said hi to him, and sat downstairs for a little bit, but when they turned the rugby on, I decided to come upstairs.

I've been taking notes on American Idol (Call me a nerd), over the past 2 days while I watched, so I'll put my thoughts at the bottom of this blog. If you're not interested, it's not going to hurt my feelings if you stop reading here. For those of you who do, Good Night. xx PS - I haven't had a Starbucks since Tuesday :|

For those of you who haven't...here are Maija Views.

Girl's Night

Paige Davis is ok. I expected better after her speech of wanting to get out there.
Maybe it doesn't sound as good on the internet.
And she thanks Kara but not Simon. Muppet.
As if Ryan just made her say she has to pee - on air.

Ashley Rodriguez has a good voice, she seems a little bumpy though. Don't think she'll make it to the final. HAHA I agree with Siomn about "Battlefield" CLUMSY Good word Simon.

Janell Wheeler - Is it weird that I can't remember any of these girls from their auditions? Oh yep, I do recognize this one. She was good in hollywood. She's a cutie as well. Yep, I really like her voice. I think she'll be safe this round. Although her voice did start to fade after the first chorus, I still like her. I would like her to sing something out of the ordinary next. I actually agree with Randy right now :o
Simon too, but that's a given.

Lilly Scott - Here we go, the ones I remember are beginning to show up. She's 20 and was living in her car? Wow. Oooh the Beatles, I hope she does well. I love her voice. I think she just had a flat note, or a couple. But for the most part, I really like listening to her. You can tell she feels the music as well. Yup I like her. She's done exactly what they're saying with her song choice as well. See even Ellen says so! WOW I agree with all of the judges. Yup, I think she'll go far.

Katelyn Epperly - She's got the look...let's see how she does. I can only imagine my Dad cringing as the songs by the Beatles are being announced. She is good though. I think she'll go far. I don't like her outfit so much...but she's definitely got a good voice. She's safe this week for sure. Haha Kara's right about the makeover...and about the word that Katelyn was thinking.

Oh no not Haeley Vaughn. I really don't like her, or her attitude. She'll have to do something major to impress me. I find her soooo annoying. Maybe it's just cuz she's 16 but oh dear...if she butchers this song :| Nope, don't like it. AHHHHHH! I love this song. She's ruining it :( My ears are hurting. I can't wait to hear what Simon says about this. She yells soooo much! And tries to be country but isn't. Look at her face when Kara's talking to her. She doesn't want any criticism. THANK YOU SIMON! I can always count on him. "I'm only saying what you're thinking" haha so true Simon...so true. Ryan's thinking, get away from me lol.

Lacey Brown - I hope she does well. She's cute. Oh I don't like this song. "Landslide" - Fleetwood Mac. I don't think it was the right song choice for her. I did like her last note...but the rest of it sort of had me falling asleep. Wow Randy even just said it was terrible. Yes Ellen! She is better than that. YES DEPRESSING! Simon's so right. Even to the remark he makes about her eyes. Hahaha she did 8 instead of 7 on her fingers.

I'm looking forward to Didi's performance, but first, Michelle Delamor. I didn't like her lead in to the song. She's good, but it's too...same-y for me. She's not changing it up at all. I'm finding her boring...I'm looking for other things to do while she's performing. The last note would have woken me up, but it still wasn't amazing. Right Simon, no Wow!

Didi Benami - She's so pretty. Oh I love this song!!!! - As you know from previous auditions. They're going to say something about her singing it in the first round of auditions though. She does do it extremely well, but I'm afraid the judges are going to wonder if she can sing anything else. The Rogaine part is definitely going to trigger their memory. Yeah, they're right about sleepy.

Siobhan Magnus - I'm getting bored now. They should have split the slow song singers up by sticking the upbeat ones in between. She does have a nice voice...but I'm really thinking about getting up to get some tea and some fruit now. Hahaha oh Simon.

Crystal Bowersox - Good song choice I think...I hope she proves me right. I like her. Yup, still good. I think she's actually one of the best. Yay for Simon :D So for tonight...I think my choices so far are Crystal, Janell, Katelyn, and Lily Scott.

We do still have Katie Stevens though...and she's been good before. And she's singing Michael Buble!!!! I think she's good. She's got natural talent. She looks comfortable up there as well. She actually had me singing along in my head. Great performance I think. Haha Simon covered his mouth while Ellen was speaking. I like that he doesn't interrupt. I do like her though. She's polite too! Agrees with what they're saying. Good for her. I like her. She's going through too I think.

Guy's Night

Alex looked petrified in the lineup. Simon's wearing white :) HAHA "If we're saying you don't sound good here...you don't sound good at home" Funny Ellen. I love how Simon's so blunt.

OOOOH Todrick's singing Kelly Clarkson. I don't think I like it though...He's talking rather than singing. I think Simon might hate it. It's not very good. He might have the crowd going...but he's not showing his vocals very well. That was risky. Simon's about right. No one would buy that.

Aaron Kelly - I wasn't sold on him getting to this point, so let's see what he's got. Rascal Flatts are hard to beat...his voice is so unique, that's a tough song choice...but I think he did well...he's just sort of average for me. A bit amateurish. Maybe the judges are right...maybe it's just the confidence thing. He looked like he was going to cry the whole time Ryan was talking to him.

Jermaine Sellers - I'm glad he realized his mistake when he commented to the band after his last audition. I hope he does well cuz he has a great voice. I didn't enjoy the beginning of that song, but think he definitely stepped it up as he got into it, and I really liked the ending. So...middle and end good. Oh dear, Simon's not happy with the performance at all. I'm not sure about his attitude...

Tim Urban - I think I'm glad he came back. I still wish they could have brought Shelby back (the girl) but oh well. This isn't the best performance. He should stop trying to go high, it's not working well for him I don't think. I think Simon's right. This guy looks crushed. Poor thing, but it's true, he's not very good. Not compared to anyone else.

Joe Munoz - I don't know if it's nerves...but I'm not enjoying this one either. He doesn't sound like he belongs on such a big stage. I think it was the wrong song choice. I disagree with Ellen, I don't think he was comfortable being up there. Surprise Surprise I agree with Simon. He puts my thoughts into words.

EEEEEE Tyler Grady! - I still really like him. I know my Mom doesn't agree, but I think he's a good performer, and I think he has a good voice. Oh..a couple of the notes were a little sloppy though. I get what the judges are saying, I totally agree with what they've said. And he's good at taking criticism.

Lee Dewyze - I liked his performance. A little nasally at one point, but I really enjoyed it for the most part. I don't agree with Randy, I don't think this guy needs to be rock. YAY SIMON DOES IT AGAIN! He is a naturally good singer! It's true. Enough said! - That line of never wanting to lose this feeling again...just made my heart melt, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. He just got A LOT of votes.

John Park - He does too much of the Mariah. If he carries another note out like that, going up and down...I may cry. And there it is. I didn't like that at all. He may go. I can't believe people thought Simon said he had an incredible voice lol. Ooh John's Mom and Dad do not look happy with Simon hahaha.

Big Mike - I hope he does well. I've liked him from the beginning. Interesting song choice. I wouldn't have guessed that he'd sing Maroon 5. It's not my favourite performance. He's too jumpy...and nasally. Oh dear, I don't think the boys are going to do so well this year. I really don't like this performance. The judges are talking more about his personality than his singing. Simon's going to let him know how it is. There we go! I don't like the way Mike's making noises and faces at the comments. I've changed my mind about him. He can go as well.

Alex Lambert - I think he needs a new haircut but wow! He's already done well in the first sentence. I love this song, and it's the perfect choice for him. He's safe. This is good. He's going to have to make his next song a little different than the original arrangement...but this is good to keep him in the competition I think. I approve. Oh no! Simon didn't like it. Oh, no he just didn't like the performance. I agree with Kara, he does sound SO MUCH like James Morrison. Oh my God he's only 19! HAAHHAHAHAHAHA Ellen just commented on the mullet. Lol. Now she's comparing him to a banana. She's the greatest. His face reminds me of Evan.

CASEY JAMES IS NEXT!!!! Now here's a good looking guy. He's a real sweetheart too I think. He'll go far. He can even sing while he laughs at the judges. He just got the female vote. Wow. Look at that smile. Oh yeah, and I love the tone of his voice. YAYYYYYY for everything the judges said about him!

Andrew Garcia - He's the other one I think is good. Hopefully I'm right. Good song choice. I like the way he's changing it up. He's got a nice voice. I think he'll be in the top 3 guys.

Results show - Why is Randy still booing Simon? No one does that anymore...get over it. I think it's hilarious that they've grouped them the way they have for the start of the show performance. 3 of my favourites were together, and they seemed to have put some of the worst together.

I do not believe Hayley is safe. I was sure she'd be one of the first to go. Omg they're getting rid of one of my two favourite girls already. WOW! I am shocked. It may not have been the best song choice, but I don't think Janell deserved to leave.

What on earth did they bring Alison back to sing for? I'm not watching this part, I couldn't stand her last year. I'm so glad it's Didi that is safe!

Haha I loved Tyler's outfit, the bathrobe with the boots...he may have a bit of an ego...but hopefully that will fade a bit. I think they're sending Tim home. Big Mike is getting on my nerves. OH MY GOD! What is America doing?! Joe wasn't great, but even Tim is shocked.

I liked Kris' performance. To be completely honest, I couldn't remember who had won American Idol last year...but he is good. I wonder why we haven't heard much from him.

Hahaha I knew Ryan was going to start with Casey. OMG I can't believe who it's between. Tyler and Alex...what the heck??? Alex looks like he's going to throw up. Wow Was I wrong about Tyler. Oh dear...and he's blaming the judges. I now understand what my Mom was talking about. I can't believe what he just said. Well eff that. His ego got too big too fast. Guess the right guy went home. I'm not even going to listen to his last song now.

And there you have it. My uhhh views :p Good Night xx

Day 165

Another day in pain. This is getting annoying :( I thought I was feeling better when I woke up...and then I stood up. That's when all positive thoughts faded. Ugh. I showered, got dressed and went downstairs. I grabbed some cereal, and sat on the couch. - That is where I spent most of my day. That couch and I are becoming best friends. I got up to do some laundry...that hurt. I put it in, and sat back down. I made lunch...that hurt. I sat back down. You can imagine how the rest of the afternoon continued.

Eventually 2 o'clock came around...(I had been up since about 8:30 so it had been a long pretty boring but calm day), I had done my make up, and knew my Aunt would be around shortly so I got ready and waited. She came in, I shutdown my computer, and we went to get the boys. Getting my coat from upstairs hurt...and so did sitting in the car. When we got to the boys school, I waited as long as I could in the car, and when the gates opened, I went in to get the boys. It hurt to stand there.

They eventually came out, we got in the car, and came home. I did a couple of things I needed to do, got Zach his snack and a drink for him, and retired to the couch again until dinner...and then again after dinner. Moved up to my room after a little while, where I sit in pain speaking to my Mom. Hopefully I'll be asleep relatively soon. Good Night xx

Day 164

Another short one, as I didn't get up to much at all today, and for some reason I'm exhausted and don't feel like typing. - Sorry -

I was woken up a couple of times by everyone downstairs, but was so tired I was luckily able to fall back to sleep each time. I didn't get out of bed until 10 o'clock. And the only reason I even did then, is because I didn't want anyone commenting on how long I slept for.

I showered and went downstairs to sit on the couch and catch up on TV on my laptop while Heloise worked at the computer. I think I told you yesterday, but luckily she had the day off, which is why I slept in.

I spent the rest of the day on the couch, aside from getting up to get food or drinks etc. The boys came home and I stayed on the couch. I watched some TV with them, but they weren't too interested in TV today so they soon disappeared. Zach had a friend over, so it was noisy and I didn't hear much of anything I was watching, but oh well. I had dinner, watched a bit of the cross country, and then came up to bed. I'm hurting still, and am so tired I'll be going to sleep soon. I've just been informed I don't have to get up in the morning which is nice. I could use another day of a little more sleep. Good Night xx

Day 163

What a day. I'm really not in the mood to type tonight. It's almost 12, and I'm exhausted. I'm still going to write my blog, but unfortunately I think I'm going to do a quick rundown instead of a detailed write up.

Woke up in pain - not nearly as much as last night - but got ready, the boys drew while I spoke to my mom online, and I walked them up to school. Then I walked to the doctors. They couldn't see me right away. I walked home and went to bed. Did some cleaning and watched American Idol, then got some lunch and watched Desperate Housewives. Walked back up to the doctors, cried, got in. Cried some more, doctor poked around and thought it might be my appendix. She told me to go to Emerg.

Walked home, my Uncle picked me up. Got the boys, dropped them at my Aunt's. Josh's first comment when he got in the car? "I have no idea if what you have is contagious". Thanks Josh :p He did however tell me a couple of times as he got out of the car, that he hopes I feel better soon. Drove to the hospital, was there 6 HOURS! They don't think it's my appendix, they think it's an infection. Gave me some anti bitotics, watched me for the next 30 mins to make sure I didn't have a reaction to them, and sent me home. Told me to make sure someone was watching me over the next day or two, and if I get worse to go back and see them. got home at about 11, spoke to my Mom on the phone briefly, had some cereal for dinner and am now speaking to my sister on Skype as I fall asleep. Luckily Heloise has the day off tomorrow and has told me I don't have to get up in the morning. That being said, I really need some rest. Good night xx

Day 162

Well, with the morning I've had, it's a wonder I'm in such a good mood. Honestly. I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking nothing will bring me down today. And a little extra bonus that's helping to keep my mood the way it is - Giant snowflakes outside.

After getting ready, liking my outfit and deciding I wouldn't let anyone phase me today, I headed downstairs. Well...the second I saw Josh, there wasn't a "hello", it was a "7:20 and there's Maija". I almost lost it. I was so angry. I asked him why he did that and told him that when he does things like that he puts me in a bad mood right away. I later had a chat with him about how he analyzes every little thing I do. From the amount of time I take in the washroom, to my watching the olympics...it's getting on my nerves, and I made sure he knew that. I explained how hard I'm trying with him, and how sometimes he makes me feel like nothing I do is good enough. I hope he understood. He couldn't look at me cuz he hates getting in trouble, so I think I got through to him.

I made my breakfast, they had already had theirs, and I got Zach a plum that he didn't finish. I sat down to eat. When they all came back down from doing teeth and hair, Nathaniel read on the couch, Josh read a bit to me, then on his own, and I read some Mr. Men books to Zach. We were ready super early so I asked Nathaniel to get his Diary of the Wimpy Kid book, and I read some of that to him. Josh asked how my trip to London was.

It was pouring rain, so I had scratched the capris and boots idea (even though I said I wouldn't let the rain ruin my planned outfit), and I went for my jeans and wellington boots instead. It still looked nice, I think. We went out the door and jumped in the car. They were early to school but headed straight in because of the weather. Josh made a comment about being early for once, and off he went. I took some money for their lunches to the office and then drove home to look for directions to the hospital.

After searching for what seemed like way too long, I eventually made it out of the house. I found the hospital just fine...it was no problem. It was what was to come that began the unfortunate events. I found a parking spot, and it was free parking, SCORE! I went in and filled out the form I needed to, and then sat and waited. I was trying not to get nervous, and was thinking of how much worse other people have it. A blood test was nothing. I told myself I wouldn't let myself cry, I'd stay calm and just get it done. My name was called, and I followed the nurse into the room. I put my stuff down on the chair, and as I took a seat I decided to give her a heads up. "Just to let you know, they normally have a tough time finding a vein because I hate needles". She said that was fine, and I sat down. She found a vein and stuck the needle in...she couldn't get any blood...she had to try again. She found a different vein, same arm, and stuck the needle in. Still, no blood. She said she'd have to go get someone else and see if they could get anything, while apologizing for having to poke me more than once. As soon as she left the room, I felt my face go green. I got super light headed and thought I was going to be sick. GREAT! She came back with the other lady, and I was not feeling well at all. The 2nd lady approached me and I considered not telling her, but I know what fainting feels like, and I was certainly on the verge of doing it. I looked up and said "If I'm not feeling well...should I let you know?" She looked at me and asked if I felt light headed and told me to put my head down towards my knees. I did that while she sent the first nurse to get me some water. Nothing was really helping. After a few sips of water, she thought it might be a good idea for me to lie down. HOW EMBARRASSING! I kept apologizing and told them that normally I cry, and get it over with, that I've never had this happen before. - I only just remembered I almost fainted the last time I was in the hospital for my shoulder. - She told me not to worry, and I didn't have to be sorry. She picked up my things and moved me across the hall to the room with the bed. She told me to lie down for a bit, and once I had some water and was feeling a little better, she looked for a vein in my right arm. She found one, and put the needle in. I could tell nothing was coming out. She was rubbing down the vein, I'm guessing to try and get blood flowing. What seemed like way too long later, I was finally finished, but still not feeling great. I sat up, and she asked me to lie down. I did for a bit, and when I felt just embarrassed enough, I sat up. She asked if I was sure I felt ok, and told me I could sit there for a bit before leaving. So I did. After a while, I got up, grabbed my stuff, apologized again - that's when she told me not to worry and to trust her, she's dealt with much worse. I was still embarrassed. I collected my things and left the room.

When I got to the hospital doors, I saw snowflakes. It put an instant smile on my face. I didn't bother putting my umbrella up. I stepped into the cool air which helped my body temperature go back to normal, and I strolled my way to the car. When I got in, I sat there for a minute, not wanting to pull away until I was sure, I was feeling better. I eventually left the car park, and found my way to the Colchester shopping area. I parked there, and walked through Williams and Griffiths. I looked in MAC, but the new releases aren't out til the 4th, so I kept my hands off my wallet, and left. I put my umbrella up, and walked through NEXT hoping to find some long sleeve shirts. ...Nothing... I walked out the other side, and over to Starbucks where they told me they knew how to make a London Fog...but I think they lied. I picked up an England mug, and saw one for Edinburgh! There are tons of different ones! I also got the London Starbucks card I've been searching for since I gave mine away in Winnipeg. I left there and went to Paperchase where I bought a couple of things, and my umbrella broke for the 2nd time. I guess there's no fixing it now :( It was no longer snowing by the way, just rain. I'm definitely not one of those people that carry umbrellas in snow. I left, paid for parking, and drove home.

When I arrived, I made myself a salad, sat down, and wrote some cards. Time passed quickly, and soon enough Heloise was home. - I wasn't expecting her - We agreed that she'd take Nathaniel and Zach to swimming, and I'd pick Josh up (as his football was cancelled), and the two of us would go to the garage to get the light fixed. I drove up to the post office first, and then met Heloise at the school. The boys came out, I took their bags, and Josh, and we headed back to the car. I asked Josh if after the garage he would want to go to Starbucks. He said yes, and followed it with a "Why do you want to take me to Starbucks?" I simply said "Because I feel like it", and that was that. He asked me to turn the music up, and off we went. The guy changed the light as we stood there, and all I could think of was the fact that my mom knew how to do what he was doing. I wish I had of paid more attention so that I could have impressed Heloise and Tim. Oh well. It didn't take the guy long, and after correcting his assumption of me being American, we talked about the trip to New York he and his girlfriend are taking. I paid, and Josh and I left. When we got to Braintree, we had a nice talk on the way to Starbucks. Josh told me all about the lesson he had about brail today. He's such a sweetie. I bought him a hot chocolate, and got my tea, and we decided we better drink them in the car. I drove home, and as I came onto the High Street, Heloise pulled up behind me. Guess our little trip wouldn't be a secret. When we parked in the driveway Nathaniel peered in the window. Then he asked where Josh and I had been. I said we'd gone out, and noting what was in my hand he went "They did go to Starbucks!!" I knew I should have finished it, and left the cup in the car. He asked Josh what he got to drink, and that was the end of it. We all went inside.

Heloise didn't need any help with dinner, so I sat down with the boys to watch the Hockey game. I answered a lot of questions about rules and such, and then placed my "dinner order" with Zach while he told me what he did or didn't have in his kitchen set. Nathaniel clearly got bored and went to play Wii, and Josh went on the computer. I enjoyed the game. I clearly hoped for a better result, but I already knew the end result. I paused the last period for dinner, ate, and was full before I finished, so Josh finished what was on my plate. I turned the game back on, then made hot chocolate for Nathaniel and Zach, and then sat down to finish the game when the boys went up to bed. Now I'm watching Ski jump, and can't wait for Glee to start :D I'm going to sign off of here now, speak to my Mom, and make a mocha. Good Night xx

Day 161

Sitting in bed, drinking my mocha. Things are good.
I've finally finished one of the very stressful things on my my to do list, and now I can relax a bit. Now the only stressful things going through my mind are going for blood tests tomorrow (Nothing to worry about, I just hate needles), and catching up on TV - Not really something to stress over...but you know how it is.

I woke up at 8, and thought I'd get 15 more minutes of sleep. But then, as I lay there after resetting my alarm, I decided I should probably just get out of bed and get ready. So that's what I did. I couldn't exactly dress nicely, as my winter coat was going to cover it up anyway...I threw on a hoodie. Bad decision. The rest of the day had me feeling like a scrub. I miss wearing my nice clothes. Tomorrow, I don't care if it's raining as much as it did today, I'm putting on my capris, sneaker boots, scarf and black sweater and going out looking my best. FORGET YOU RAIN!

I was all ready to go when I decided maybe I should grab some breakfast. I had just cut up an apple and a pear and taken a couple of bites when Rebecca called me. She was on her way, but was lost. I explained to her how to get here, and she was outside the house instantly. I said bye to the boys, took my bowl of fruit and my spoon, and went to get in the car. I had had a conversation with Zach earlier about where I was going. First he wanted to know where - London, then what for - The Chinese New Year Parade. After that, he wanted to know if I was going to have Chinese Food for dinner. When I said I wasn't sure but it was a possibility, his answer was "Cuz Chinese would be nice". Haha what a cutie.

When I got in the car, Rebecca drove to Toni's Mom's house. We waited for Toni and Hannah to show up, and they joined us for the drive to Billericay. Once there, we hopped on a train to London - Liverpool Street. I LOVE LONDON! The buildings are amazing, and the fashion is unreal. One of the first things we passed was the tent for the BAFTA's - British Academy Film Awards. I had no idea they were taking place tonight, and that's when I took out my camera, and became a Canadian tourist. As we passed buildings rented out for media, and satellite trucks, I wished I wasn't a tourist, but was an employee for the event. I sucked it up, and walked around with the others.

One of the first things I saw was Starbucks...Yes, this was a good day! A city with Starbucks...and more than one! It reminded me of home.

Our first stop (after Starbucks) was Covent Garden. What a great place! You could hear street performers, and you knew you were in the city. There was an opera singer down one level, who had me truly impressed as she hit the high notes in various songs including "Time to Say Goodbye". She was great. The girls got a waffle each, and then we went through the market to do some shopping. I am officially done shopping for my sister's birthday...which isn't until July :p Rebecca bought a hat, and Hannah got a really pretty top. We stopped to listen to some good looking guy tell us about the candles he was selling (With no intention of buying one), and then we went on our way.

We saw two other street performers. Brothers apparently. One was doing the limbo, - You'll have to look at the pictures to believe how low he got - and the other, was doing a hand stand, on a ladder, with his hands on piled up blocks. They had the crowd laughing and were really fun to watch.

Another thing we saw was beside a phone booth...it was a video e-mail booth! My goodness technology really is taking over. What a cool idea. I could have a video conference with my parents from DOWNTOWN LONDON! Amazing!!

As we came up to China Town, the streets were filled with people. We saw one of the dragon mascot things, reach up for the bokchoy dangling from the window. It had the lucky red envelope on the end, and once the dragon got that...the lettuce was thrown to the ground. We spent a good amount of time there, and eventually moved on to Trafalgar Square where the main stage was set up. I didn't really pay attention to the flexible girl on stage. I was too busy taking pictures of everything else around me. Incase you didn't believe me when I said it the first time...I LOVE LONDON! When we were bored with what was happening on stage, and the annoying presenters, we walked to (are you ready for this?)...the Haagen Dazs store! YEAH! Not just a place that sells it..but an entire store and restaurant dedicated to it. That's all it sells! We went in, and I can proudly say, I've finally gotten my will power back! I refrained from getting anything! When Rebecca and Hannah finished their ice creams, the girls decided they didn't really feel like sticking around for the fireworks. We walked back to the train, missed the first one after stopping to buy some drinks for the ride, and eventually caught the 2nd one...about 20 minutes later. We rode back to the parking lot, and Rebecca drove me home. I gathered my bowl and spoon, and came into the house.

No one was home. I made myself some dinner, and gathered some fruit for dessert. I then hopped in the shower to wash my hair, and then finished up some work. I spoke to my dad on the phone, and now I'm speaking to my Mom on Skype. I'm super tired though and should get to sleep. Good Night xx

Day 160

This will most definitely be the shortest blog I have written thus far.

As I didn't get to sleep until after 2:30 this morning, I decided I would sleep in today. While I did get numerous knocks on my door, had the door swing open with a Zach on the handle, and have a conversation with Nathaniel through the door...I did get to sleep in. It clearly wasn't uninterrupted...but it was sleep nonetheless. There was yelling downstairs, and some hammering from Zach in the hall...but I didn't officially wake up and start my day, until 12.

When I did get up, I rolled over, grabbed my laptop, and got comfy. I then proceeded to catch up on American Idol. I've only got one episode left to watch. I stayed in my room for pretty much the entire day. There were bathroom breaks, food and drink breaks...and at one point, I was downstairs watching the Olympics for about an hour and a half while everyone else was out and I made my dinner. When everyone got home, I was made fun of for watching the Olympics, I got a hug from Nathaniel, then had a statement from him about being in bed all day, and that's when I returned to my room. Only to leave once more to make my mocha, and then retire for the night. Although, I will go shower in a few minutes.

Yes today has been relaxing, rather quiet, and very nice. I am missing home, and got to speak to my parents on Skype for a bit so that was good. Now I'm going to say Good Night, shower and go to sleep xx

Day 159

Un autre jour magnifique, et je suis vraiment fatigue!

I woke up at 6:30 again and was ready before anyone else. Good! Everyone else got ready, and we headed down for breakfast. Tim had told me I could go down with the boys ahead of time, but by the time Josh finished getting his shoes on, Heloise was ready. I couldn't find the toast again...so I settled for a pain au chocolat. Sigh. Maybe I'll have toast and honey for lunch tomorrow. It's a craving that needs to be filled. Anyway, we left there, grabbed our things from the hotel room, Tim checked us out, and we headed to the park. I carried Zach again. It's funny, on this vacation it's like he's been attached at my hip. I expect that will end Monday though.

We walked into the main village, and Heloise asked Tim if we had time to stop for Starbucks. No one was making up their minds, and then said the park wasn't open yet...so I made up their minds for them. I said if it wasn't open, I was grabbing myself a coffee, and asked Heloise if she wanted one. She followed me in. The guy that had recognized me the day before, was the one making the drinks today. He said hi as I walked in the door, and asked how much longer I was visiting the park. After I ordered, he told the cashier to give me a discount. What a sweetie, and what a great way to start my day :D When we went outside however, Tim had gone ahead with the boys, and by the time we reached them, he was pacing back and forth. Heloise and I were not impressed, and kept our comments...no...that's not true...I kept my comments between the two of us, she was a little more vocal about hers. It was a whole time issue, and us not being able to have time for a coffee at breakfast, then him telling us we could stop, then being angry that we stopped, and then having the nerve to drink some of her coffee because he had told her to get a large so he could have some. MON DIEU!

We went into the actual park area, and began our day. I can't remember what ride we went on first, but what I can tell you, is that when we were standing in line for the carousel...I saw the gorgeous guy again! It was from afar, but still made me smile. Sadly, that was the last viewing I had of him. We did a little bit of Disney first, and then quickly made our way to the Studios park. When we got there, none of the rides had opened yet. The boys still really wanted to go on the "Crush" Rollercoaster, and the line was already an hour and a half long, so while they stood in that...I went off to the "Tower of Terror". It was AWESOME! Honestly one of the best rides I've ever been on! I'm getting ahead of myself though. First, I got in the line...the very long line. Then people began to leave, and I got closer to the front. One of the employees was saying there was a technical difficulty and the ride could be shut anywhere from 5 minutes, to 2 hours. I decided to wait. He came back when I was about 5 minutes from the front of the line, and told us we had 2 options. He said not to waste the day standing around, to either line up to get a fast pass, or go to a different ride and come back. He told us not to just stand there. Thinking I was getting in the way, I decided to go to the fast pass line...You can guess what happened next. That's right. As soon as I got there...not 5 minutes later, they opened the line and I had to run to the back...where I had been standing in the first place. Luckily it moved relatively fast, or I would have been extremely upset. Anyways, once I finished the ride, I came out into the store. There was a really nice Tower of Terror green shirt that I wanted to get, but they only had it in small. I did buy the picture of me on the ride though.

I walked out of the store, and figured I still had some time, so as I walked back to "Crush" to meet the others...I decided to take some fun pictures. After all, Goofy and Pluto were just walking around messing with people...and it was something I Wanted to do, but knew I'd get ridiculed for by the others, so now was my chance. How can you go to Disney and not get a picture with a character? I had been hoping for Tigger...but oh well. I waited my turn, and then asked Goofy if I could get a pic with him. He forcefully grabbed my hand and camera and I had no idea what he was doing. I asked him not to break it, and then he passed it off to some random guy standing there. I had seen him take someone else's sunglasses and put them on someone else, so I hadn't clued in to what he was trying to do. I had been prepared to take the pic myself, but he was getting this random guy to do it for us. He put his arm around me, and brought me down to the ground. Then when the guy knelt down to take our picture, Goofy stood up, pulling me with him so that the camera man would have to follow. He did this twice, and I eventually got my picture. I couldn't stop laughing. I went by the ride the boys were on, and I couldn't see them. I wondered if they were in the line inside, or if they had finished earlier than expected, and disappeared. Oh well. I clearly wasn't too bothered, I liked being able to do what I wanted, where and when I wanted. That's when I saw Daisy. Another photo op. She was a little more laid back. After her, I went to Donald, but his security guard was getting ready to help him get back to Daisy, so I walked away. Back to the ride line up where I waited...and waited. I asked a few people as they came off, whether they had been in line from the time the ride opened. They said yes. I stood and waited longer, and eventually saw Heloise (who was supposed to be on the ride), standing by the rail. I went over to talk to her. She's not a huge rollercoaster fan, so she decided against it. The two of us stood there waiting, and luckily she remembered what the people in front of them were wearing, so I was able to catch them on camera when they came out of the cave on the rollercoaster. They walked out soon after that, and we went for lunch at the oldest restaurant at any Disneyland location. It was a little diner type place on a caravan. It was cute, and played good oldies music. When we finished there, Nathaniel, Tim and Josh headed off to the Aerosmith ride because they had fast passes. Heloise, Zach and I went to meet Jack Sparrow. We couldn't find him, and met up with the others...then we asked where he was supposed to be, and went and got our pictures taken. Unfortunately it's not a great picture because Tim took it...but what can you do. Jack was a little bit of an ass I think. We followed him for about 10 minutes before he stood with us. I can't tell if it's cuz he was trying to be in character, or cuz he didn't want to deal with children...but he was freaking Zach out. I had asked him if we could get a picture, he said yes, and walked away. It was after a number of other tables and people he visited that he turned around and saw us again and said ah yes, and walked towards us. We almost got to pose, when Tim took the picture. - It took Zach a minute to shake his hand, and I could completely understand where he was coming from, but didn't want to pass on my hatrid for mascots, so I told him it was fine, and to do it - He was happy he did in the end.

After that, Tim and I fast passed Tower of Terror. Tim hates heights. He said in the car afterwards that it was his favourite ride...but I'm still not sure he really enjoyed it. I still did though. When we came out, Heloise and the boys were in Cinemagique. A show that apparently was really good, and perhaps I should have seen. Anyway, Tim went off to get fast pass tickets for Indiana Jones - that he didn't end up getting - and I went shopping, and looked around. We headed back to the Disneyland park when everyone was together again, and we hit up some more rides. Josh, Tim and I went on Indiana Jones twice...no fast pass required, it was pretty much a straight walk on. Not busy at all. It wasn't my favourite ride though, so twice was enough for me. Once was really, but Josh wanted to go again. He killed my hand...AGAIN...- he tries to hold on to it, and the metal bit on the harness, and it just doesn't work - We came out of the ride and walked across a bridge in Adventureland, and we were in some kind of a treehouse type thing. It was pretty cool. We met up with the others, and I saw that Genie was standing in front of us. I told Zach, and you should have seen his face! Now this was a guy he wanted his picture taken with. But not without me. We went over, and Josh attempted to take our pic. Tons of people were waiting, and he can never quite manage to do it quickly, so someone took over for him, and he got in the picture with us. We went back to sit on the steps with everyone, when they told us Mickey was close by as well. That was our next mission. We got that done, and then sat on the steps to relax a bit. Some not so quick decision making happened, and we split up. Zach, Heloise and I were going on "It's A Small World", and the others were going on the Pirates of the Caribbean one again. - I had told them I didn't need to go on that for a 3rd time, and would stay with Zach because he didn't want to either, but he wanted Heloise to come with us as well -

We got to the line, and after smelling some disgusting man smoking a cigar in line, and waiting a few minutes...the others were behind us. They decided that was the place to be instead of waiting in the longer lineup at Pirates. We went through before them, and then waited for them to finish. I think that was our last ride. We then hoofed it to the car so that we wouldn't miss our train ride back. Everyone aside from Tim fell asleep in the car for a bit, and we arrived at the Chunnel early so we got to get on one that would get us home sooner. We grabbed some food, and then boarded. In the car, I put the Goonies on my laptop and we watched the first half hour or so. Then on the drive from the chunnel home, we listened to James Morrison, and everyone but Tim and I fell asleep. I began to in the last 5-10 minutes, but I woke myself up, and soon enough we were home. I unloaded the car, and exhausted, I decided to hop in the shower so that I could wake up enough to write this, check e-mails, check my farm, and speak to my Brother and my Mom.

Now that my Mom is online, I'm going to go. Good Night xx

Day 158

Une journee plus meilleur aujourd'hui. - You'll have to pardon my french spelling. I may be able to speak it still, but it's been even longer since I've written it so the correct grammar escapes me.

Today was much better. Josh woke me up at God knows what time, to as me...guess what...What time it was! It had to of been like 3am cuz I was fast asleep, and know I hadn't been that way for long. My alarm went off at 6:30, he was still asleep, so I got up quietly and got ready. He was awake by the time I finished getting dressed, and whispered to me while I did my makeup, and he watched the Olympics. The others opened the doors eventually, and I was so glad I was all ready. I will do the same tomorrow morning. I should put my makeup on now so that I can sleep longer haha. Now there's a new way to get more sleep!

We went down for breakfast. It was a buffet. Continental, and simple. You could order an american breakfast which was bacon, eggs, sausages etc, but nobody at our table was. I got a croissant, a yogurt and a tiny bowl of fruit. A hot chocolate started my day with a smile :) Nathaniel however, got cucumbers, cheese and salami for breakfast! He soon decided (after the cheese), that that was not the best idea he's ever had. He got up and got yogurt and honey instead. I think I'm going to go on a toast hunt tomorrow morning and get me some honey.

We left, grabbed our coats from the room, and went straight to the park. There was instant complaints about line ups of course. Even at the entrance gate. I refrained from starting my day with a Starbucks. I just kept my mouth shut, as I didn't want to be ridiculed. I was offered a soft drink later in the afternoon, and that's when I took my chance to say "No, I'm ok thanks, I'm saving up for a Starbucks".

We went into Disneyland first and did a couple of rides. I think our first one today was Space Mountain, which we went on again a little later. It's one of Josh's favourites although he hates the beginning, and almost broke my wrist on it this morning. Nathaniel is very disappointed that he didn't grow the "centimetre" - it's more than that - that he needed to to get on the ride. We did the Buzz Lightyear ride, where I believe I destroyed the rest of them when it came to shooting targets. You spun your cart around, and aimed at the Z targets, and had a little counter in front of you that added up your points. I can't remember how many I had, it was in the 40,000's and had me on level 3. Heloise said she reached that level as well, but neither her or Tim gave a number after I said mine. We must have gone on other rides, but I can't think of which ones. Then we headed for lunch. TO STARBUCKS! Hooray! I got a salmon salad with lentils, cheese, and tomatoes, Heloise got a sandwich, and the boys got cookies. They'd get more of a lunch a little later, as they are far too picky to like anything Starbucks serves. I was full before I got to the bottom of the salad, but it was pretty good. When we finished, they were all coming back to the hotel for a swim. They asked me if I wanted to, and Heloise told me I was allowed to stay at the park if I wanted. That's what I did. It was WONDERFUL! I wandered alone. I didn't even go on any rides. I just took the opportunity to take some pictures (without being ridiculed), and to look around. I went through the Dragon tunnel which was kind of cool, and explored the castle. I also watched the parade. I had a smile on my face for most of the time, and had completely random people taking pictures for me so that I could be in some. Yesterday I had to refrain from taking too many. 1 - because my battery was dying, and stupid me forgot my charger, 2 - because there's always a comment on how many pictures I take, and 3 - because it's a chore for anyone besides Josh to take a picture of me with anything...and although he is very helpful, he's not at quite the right height to take the most decent pictures just yet. Anyways, I roamed around and went in some stores. I really wanted a souvenire, so when I came out of the dragon's tunnel, I tried on a ring. It was a mickey mouse head (all diamond looking stones), blended into an eiffel tower made of the same stones. I didn't fall in love with the way it looked on my finger immediately, so I chose to give it back to the employee and walk away.

I was to meet the others in the Disney Studio lot, so I walked over there. I knew I'd want to take some pictures there before meeting up with them, so I went a little early. I got a few pictures, and saw a parade. Then, I was standing near Walt Disney's statue (where I was due to meet them), trying to get a picture of me with it, and of course, first thing I hear is "Ah yes, look for the person taking self portraits". That was Tim incase you couldn't guess. He always ridicules me for doing that, but if you ask him to take a picture, he spends 10 minutes trying to get it just right, and then still somehow manages to mess it up. Anyway, I didn't answer him. I just smiled, rolled my eyes in my mind, and walked in front talking to the boys. We went on an Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride, and also did the "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" film simulator thing. The second I saw them let rats out of the box on the screen...I knew I did not want to be in there. You could feel what was supposed to be rat tails on the back of your legs. Gross! Good thing I knew it was coming though. I think it really scared the boys, except Zach because his legs weren't long enough to feel it. At the end, the dog sneezes on you. Nice. There was one point where I jumped, as the inventor zoomed out of the screen, and you could have sworn he was going to hit you in the face.

After that, Josh, Nathaniel, Tim and I ran to Aerosmith Rock N Roller coaster. I was so excited! I had heard about this ride, and had always wanted to go on it, but had no idea there was one in Paris. It was awesome! One of the best rollercoasters I've ever been on. It goes super fast, plays music in your headrest, and does all kinds of loop de loops. We loved it. We got off and went to meet back up with Heloise and Zach who were watching a show. They weren't finished yet, so Josh and I headed over to a store, but got sidetracked when I saw part of the animation studio. I had to go in there and take pictures for Stephen. It was very cool, and I got to record my voice as if I was Belle in Beauty and the Beast. I loved it! Tim and Nathaniel came to get us, and told us Heloise and Zach were going into another show. When asked, the boys decided they wanted to do the Aerosmith ride again, so off we went. It was still awesome. I really wanted to do the Tower of Terror, but the boys didn't, and it didn't sound like I was allowed to wait in line. We went to meet the other 2, and when they still hadn't come out, Josh and I asked if we could go to the store. Tim didn't feel like coming to get us though, so we didn't. The other 2 eventually came out, and they decided that they would wait in line for Autopia or something like that. - Something they thought was cars on a track, but turned out to be tea cups - and Tim and I would go line up for Tower of Terror. While standing in line for that, I saw one of the most gorgeous guys I've ever seen. He had the most amazing blue eyes, shaggy dirty blonde hair that you could see just out the bottom of his toque, and a goatee the same colour. He was VERY nice looking. I couldn't stop staring...until we walked by each other about the 3rd time, and I got to shy and looked away. Idiot. I stared after he'd passed again, but when he came back beside us, I looked away again. I could tell I'd be blushing if I looked up. He was gorgeous. One of those ones you think you should definitely tell, because they deserve to know, not cuz you're hitting on them...but with Tim there, and the girl I couldn't figure out if it was his girlfriend or sister there, I decided against it. I just smiled lots. The line was moving pretty quickly, then when we were maybe 5 minutes from the entrance, it had stopped. Tim says we were delayed about 15 minutes, and I guess he was right cuz he kept checking his watch and stating everytime 5 minutes passed, when we had to leave because we had a dinner reservation. DAMMIT! I hope I get to go on it tomorrow. We jumped out of the line, and walked briskly back to the others. We then had to leg it to the restaurant. Although, once we got there, we had no idea why we had walked so fast. We had to wait for our table, and then it took ages to get our food. Granted some people at our table were being difficult, but it still shouldn't have taken so long. We got an appetizer to share, pretty quickly, and the boys all got their meals right away...but Zach's was cold and sent back. I couldn't decide between a steak and prawn and scallop pasta...Little word of advice...when you're at a steakhouse, no matter what anyone else says, go for the steak! Heloise said to choose the fish, and so I did. Well...when it finally arrived, I was horrified. Mom, you'll understand this. My food was staring back at me! It took everything in me not to cringe in disgust, and to hold back any tears that may have been on the verge of breaking through. I quietly ate my pasta that tasted burnt, and only ate the middle of the shrimp, where the tails and heads weren't. Wasting a lot of meat I am sure, but I could not bring myself to do it. I chewed a couple of shells which was gross...but I eventually got through it all. Everyone else was complaining about their meals, so when I had finished, I quietly said to Heloise that I didn't understand how you could make pasta taste burnt. The boys got their dessert - by this time Zach's meal had been sent back a 2nd time, and when received the 3rd time...he didn't eat it - I had some of Josh's brownies as he didn't want them all, and we were out of there, what was definitely hours later.

Heloise was taking Nathaniel and Zach back to the hotel for a swim, because it turned out to be closed earlier in the day, and Josh, Tim and I ran to see if we could get on the Indiana Jones rollercoaster before the park closed. We couldn't. The line up was closed off. Instead we ran to the shortest lines we could find. What did Josh pick first? The Pirates of the Caribbean one. "Oh Crap!" I thought to myself. I kept myself occupied in it taking pictures and trying not to think of horror movies. Although keeping my mind off of that was difficult when we came to a hault. This was one ride I would not want to get stuck on. Turned out we weren't stuck, we were just waiting for the boats in front to move. Thank Goodness! When we got out of there, we ran to Space Mountain and did it again. This time, Josh only held my hand for the first couple of seconds. Either I gave him too much grief for practically breaking my wrist earlier, or he was getting less scared of it. He said he had kept his eyes open for the picture that time, but when we got to the screens, they had already been shut off for the night, so who knows if that's true :p He has said it everytime so far, and has yet to actually do it. He did have them open for the Aerosmith one, but he looked absolutely terrified! I don't know why he's doing it if he's so scared, but anyway...

We began to leave the park, and on the way out, I stopped at Starbucks. I needed something that tasted good and was sweet after that dinner. I was so happy it was open. Tim and Josh were waiting outside, so I thought GREAT, I can get my souvenir here! After I picked up the mug that said FRANCE across it though, guess who walked in. I kept it out of sight until I got to the cash, and even then Tim hadn't seen it. But as I was paying, Josh saw it and thought I had brought it from home to be filled up. I explained that it said France across it, thinking that would stop any comments. Yeah right! He instantly went and told his dad I was buying a Starbucks mug. Perfect. I went to the end to collect my drink, and when the guy asked what I had ordered, then before I could finish, repeated the order back, placing it on the counter knowing exactly which one was mine...Tim began to make fun of me. He told me that would have been the first order like that that they had gotten all day. (I'm sure he knows that). Seeing as he is not a Starbucks drinker, I told him he was wrong. - He didn't even know what I had ordered - I told him people asked for extra vanilla all the time...at least in Canada they did. A lady who clearly drinks there often was laughing at the situation. I couldn't tell if she was American of Canadian as I only heard maybe a sentence she had said, but I knew she knew where I was coming from as she smiled at me. I told Tim to go look at the menu, as he said people DEFINITELY wouldn't order it with Soy milk. I told him that the menu actually had Chai Tea SOYA latte written on it. Of course he had to make sure I was telling the truth. Off he went. When he came back he said "Surely it doesn't say that on the menu in England". I would have loved to have said yes, actually it does...but I knew that was a full out lie, so instead I said...Ummm...no I don't think it does. He then proceeded to question me about what exactly a Chai Tea Latte was. I explained it, he asked if it was more of a dessert drink and you add extra vanilla to it, etc. I wasn't going to correct him and say, that's not what I got this time when I added the vanilla...as some people do get vanilla chais. Instead, I just went with it, and in the end, he said ok, I can understand that then. FINALLY! He had honestly been fine with it just being the 3 of us, up until this point.

We walked back to the hotel, and met up with the other 3 in the stairwell. They told us what a "disaster" the swimming was. I'm still not sure why, but I'm not really bothered either. The boys went to bed right away, and by the time I got out of the shower, Josh was already asleep. Now I'm just sitting here writing this, and I have the Olympics on, but muted. Josh got in trouble this morning for staying up so late lastnight, so I didn't want anything to wake him up, cuz I knew he'd then want to stay up and talk. Would have been nice, but I don't want him getting yelled at. Now I'm going to do some crosswords, and possibly some writing, so I will say Good Night xx

Day 157

Oh Mon Dieu! Quel journee.
Oh My God! I am losing my mind. While I am having a great time in Paris - who wouldn't be? But seriously, some things just get on your nerves. Heloise is so angry right now...but that's all to do with dinner, so first, let's talk about the beginning of the day.

I woke up at 4, to prove my point, and quickly thought, "Nope, not worth it". So instead, I got up at 4:30. I got myself ready, and while I was brushing my teeth, there was a knock at the bathroom door. It was Tim. He called through saying he needed to leave in 15 minutes. I replied with "That's fine, I'm ready". I finished up, and went down as quickly as I could, and got in the car. Heloise had just loaded Zach in, and Josh was already sitting in the back. - Not a good spot for someone who gets motion sickness by the way - Tim came out looking for a DS charger, Nathaniel was plopped in the car, and eventually, we were on our way.

We were driving to the Chunnel when Josh asked if he could have the window open as he was feeling sick. He was told not to be so silly. Minutes later, he was sick. Great. Moods escalated, and I just kept my mouth shut. Poor guy. We made it to the Chunnel, and Tim ran into the store to get some breakfast for everyone. We had Pain au Chocolat (How french! And we hadn't even arrived in France yet), and he had got us tea and coffee as well. We ate outside of the car, and then I sat back inside, as they advised you didn't stand around the vehicles. Others didn't seem to care, but considering you couldn't see anything outside anyway, I was perfectly fine resting. The boys and I were looking at our passports, and the different stamps throughout each of ours, and then I felt sick. That's when I shut my eyes and tried to get some sleep. That didn't happen. The boys were understandably pretty excited, so it wasn't the quietest trip...not that it ever is with them.

I fell asleep for a few minutes on the other side, but not long at all. We listened to Michael Jackson, then to Tim insulting him, then some more Michael Jackson. We were in France, and I was taking it all in. Reading the french signs as we passed them, and smiling to myself because I was the only one in the car that understood them. Then we passed a park. Guess what it was...Tara...remember Asterix???? IT'S Parc Asterix! CRAZY!!!! Anyway, we passed that and started seeing the signs for Disney. WOO! There was a wrong turn, and some panic in the car before we made it, but the point is...we made it. I was asked to speak to the lady at the toll booth, and to the guy at the gate to the hotel. - No pressure! - My goodness, when was the last time I spoke French? I did what I had to do, not too many words at all actually. Mostly Bonjour and Merci. My Dad could have done that much :p We parked, and walked into our MASSIVE hotel.

We checked in, I waited by the bags in the lobby while Tim spoke to the receptionist, and Heloise took Josh to the washroom to clean him up, as when we arrived, he had a massive nose bleed. I looked behind me in the car, and it was as if he had been punched in the face.

After checking in, and dropping our bags in our rooms, we headed straight out to DISNEYLAND! I was so giddy it was insane! I don't think the boys were even as excited as I was. They certainly didn't show it. But I guess that tells you just how easy I am to please compared to them. It was great! The first stop was the Haunted House. There was no way I was going in there. I took some pictures, and looked in a store while everyone else went in. I then waited for them at the exit. The two who had been begging to go in at the start, were the two who enjoyed it the least. Apparently Nathaniel and Zach were terrified. Poor things. We didn't get on too many rides, as Tim hates waiting in lines :| We went through a cool Alice in Wonderland maze, and eventually got to go on the teacups. Josh and I rode together, and we spun the cup as much as we could. You have to be strong for those things! I told Josh he had to keep looking at me so he wouldn't feel sick. We got off and were fine. We made our way to Space Mountain, and had a fast pass, so we ran up the side, and got in that line. When we got to the lady taking tickets, Nathaniel was too short (which we all knew already, but Tim was trying to get him in anyway). The two of them left the line, and Josh and I continued on our way. He wasn't sure he wanted to do it. Part of him was saying yes, and the other part was saying no. I told him it was too late for the part that was saying no. As we waited in line, loads of people left. Something had happened to the ride, and they kept sending it for test runs. Josh and I stuck it out, and soon enough we were on and excited to go. Josh held onto my hand for the entire ride, and at one point was imprinting one of my fingers with my ring...but in the end, he really enjoyed it, and he can't wait to go again tomorrow morning. From there we headed to Thunder Mountain. An awesome rollercoaster Zach sat with me on. We discovered after the ride that we had been under water twice without even knowing. At two different times on the ride, you went into pitch black. Well when you came out and looked at the ride, there were two mountains that you had been on, and you couldn't see where they connected. It was a pretty long ride as well. It was good. We found our way to a Snow White ride, and then to a Pirate's of the Caribbean one. That one was a little bit creepy, and Zach and Nathaniel who were sitting with me, couldn't have gotten any closer. They don't like the dark, and creepy moving plastic people too much. All I could think of was being in a horror movie. Not my favourite ride.

After that, we made our way back to the hotel, while looking for a restaurant to go into. It never happened. Long story short, Tim ended up running out to God knows where, and buying a chicken, some baguettes, chips, strawberries and carrots. We had a picnic on the hotel room floor.

Now we're in bed. Josh and I are sharing a room and are watching the Olympics. He should probably be asleep, but how often does he get to branch out on his own and have a good time? I figure as long as we whisper, we'll be ok. I better end this now though, and turn the TV off soon, or he'll never go to sleep, and I'll end up getting in trouble tomorrow. So Good Night xx

PS - There's a Starbucks here! Right at the entrance. SCORE! The only thing is, they don't take Starbucks cards. Oh well. I can't wait to be able to get a great cup of tea first thing tomorrow morning!!! It's been forever since I've been able to wake up, and be so close to a Starbucks that I can have one right after breakfast! I'm a little excited :p

Day 156

Fat Tuesday is right. Damn you pancake day!

I woke up today and was not ready to get out of bed. I reset my alarm for 15 minutes later, and then when I eventually got up, I decided to hop in the shower and wash my hair. Luckily, although it felt like forever, it didn't take me too long, and I was downstairs just 20 minutes later than normal. Josh had yet to come down, and Nathaniel hadn't even finished his breakfast, so I wasn't late :D

We ate, and got ready, and then headed up to Peterborough! It was peeing down with rain, but that didn't matter...the DVD screen had to be put in for Zach. I stood in the rain for a couple of minutes trying to attach it to my head rest, and when that didn't work and I was fed up of getting soaked, I sat on my seat and did it that way. Unfortunately the seat was already wet, as the rain was pretty much coming down sideways. I finally got the screen attached, sat properly, and soon enough we were on our way. For real this time.

The boys are really learning about music, which is nice. It seems like their minds are opening a little more each day. They now know each artist on my new CD. As the song starts they guess it. They mixed them up today, but had more right than they did yesterday. It's cute.

We got to Nan's, and I made sure to go in first, so that the boys didn't steal all of my love from her :p She was so happy to see us. Her new furniture and TV are really nice, and I absolutely loved the fact that she still had her old pillows on the new couch. Others didn't, and thought the fact that they didn't match was tacky...but to me, it was a little bit of the old...and I never want that old to go away. It's what I've known for years, and to lose it all just cuz she got a new couch...wouldn't feel right.

We hung out there for a bit, and I was watching the Olympics. Josh showed SOME interest, and after the figure skating, we went to the mall for some lunch. My Nan looked in a store and bought a couple of things, and then her and I waited on the bench while Heloise shopped in Gap with the boys. We weren't there long before the boys were bored, and the 6 of us headed back to Nan's. When we arrived Josh asked Nan if we could have the Olympics on, so the two of us watched some together. Tom arrived, and he went for a walk to the park and the Rainbow (a store) with Heloise and the boys. I stayed with Nan and got to spend some quality time with her. Charlie stopped by to see me, with his girlfriend and her 2 little girls Lilly (Whose name if you ask her, is Chloe), and Leila. They are so cute! I looked at a book with Lilly, she's 3, and she had all sorts of questions about what Harvey the beaver was doing in the kitchen. We looked at the pictures, and she told me she bakes like he does. The two girls had been shy at first, but it didn't take her long to warm up to me. It was really nice. And she seems to love Charlie (of course! He's great). They stayed for a bit, and Charlie showed as much enthusiasm in the Olympics as I do! It was so nice to be around someone else who appreciated them! They decided they had better leave and go make dinner...and pancakes, so off they went. Just as they pulled away, Heloise and Zach came up the drive. Charlie turned the car around, and parked again. He had a conversation with them in the driveway, and then said hi to Tom, Josh and Nathaniel as they walked up. They came inside, and he drove off. We put Harry Potter in and were watching that when I decided I was going to stop talking to Josh for a while. He was being extremely rude, and was in show off mode. When Tom is around Josh decides it's funny to make fun of me. He brought up the fact that I don't like Rooney's attitude, and he would not be quiet about it. Luckily, after me getting fed up with it, and telling him to remember this day, he asked me what I meant. I told him I'd been sticking up for him a lot lately, and he wasn't being very nice. He didn't seem to care. He continued talking the way he had been for the last couple of hours, but when I was in the kitchen, I heard Tom tell him to stop. Glad to know my cousin's got my back :D

Heloise left to get fish and chips, and Zach decided to play up. Nathaniel was cuddling me, and we were trying to pay attention to Harry Potter (the movie Zach wanted on), and Zach wouldn't be quiet. He was bugging Tom, and not listening when we asked him to be quiet so I told him if he didn't listen, I would sit him in the chair and he would have to sit alone instead of with Tom. He said fine, and walked over to the chair on his own but continued to talk. I told him to be quiet, and every 2 seconds he went "Hello", and looked straight at me, knowing he was being bad. I told him he better be quiet or he was going on the steps. "Hello" he said. I picked him up, furious, and put him at the top of the stairs. I told him he had to sit there for 5 minutes quietly. I came back down and he said it again. In my most stern voice, I told him to keep going. That was the last we heard of him for the next 5 minutes. I had put the stopwatch on my phone on, and when the time was up, I went to talk to him, to make sure he knew he wasn't sitting there because he wasn't quiet, it was because of the way he was acting. Being a smarty pants, and rude. I explained that it had been a long time since I'd punished him last, and I wasn't sure if it was because he was in show off mode or what, but I didn't like it. He was fine for the rest of the night.

Heloise got back with dinner, and we ate. I was getting full before I finished my chips, and by the time my plate was clean, I was done. I couldn't understand why they were going to have a 2nd dinner. Yes it was pancake day...but how could you possibly eat pancakes after that??? Well...I was sitting next to Nathaniel when Josh brought him his pancake. It wasn't a pancake at all. It was a crepe. Well that's not dinner! That's dessert! I decided to have one, and am wishing I didn't. Stupid Fat Tuesday Pancake Day. I had been so good (minus a couple of candies), and my new diet was suddenly out the window. Idiot! I've felt like a whale ever since.

We said goodbye to Nan, and headed home. Nathaniel fell asleep in the car, and the other 2 were ready for bed by the time we got to the driveway. I unloaded the car. Heloise carried Nathaniel in, and Zach wanted to be carried, but wouldn't let me be the one to do it. He wanted me to wait with him for Heloise to get back though. That's hardly fair. I told him I had to unload the car, so I could either carry him in, or he could wait on his own for her. He waited on his own for her. (Not the option I was hoping he would take). I called my Nan to let her know we arrived safely, and then I came up, showered, PACKED FOR PARIS!!!!!! and came online. Now I really need to go to sleep as I need to be up at 4. Tim didn't know what time we're leaving tomorrow, he just told me early. So...I'm going to be ready early. He had eventually told me we'd leave at least, probably, by 5:30...well, I'm going to be ready by 5 so that no one can blame me for anything. On that note, I better get some shut eye. Good Night xx

Day 155

Hmm...how did my day start? Let me think back...
Ah yes, my alarm went off at 6:30, but I wasn't ready to get out of bed, so I reset it for another 15 minutes. Once that was up, I got out of bed and into the shower. I got dressed and went downstairs. Nathaniel and Zach had already eaten breakfast and were sitting on the couch watching Spongebob, and Josh hadn't come down yet.

I got my breakfast, and of course, before getting to sit down...there was Josh. He wanted some mango so I chopped it up for him. Then he wasn't feeling well so he didn't want it. He asked if he could go back to bed. I said yes. I went to sit down and he came back saying he was told to have some dry toast. I made him that, asked if he wanted butter...he said no. I went to sit down...he changed his mind. I spread the butter for him, finally sat down...and he wasn't feeling well enough to eat it. I remained calm and ate. He couldn't decide if he wanted to lie down or eat or what. He was wandering. At one point he thought he was going to be sick, but then he decided he was feeling much better. He said he only felt sick when he tried to eat. I told him he'd be sick at multi sports if he didn't eat anything...he didn't seem to mind...or believe me. I'm not sure which.

After breakfast I did my make up, and after making sure the boys did their teeth and hair, I went to my room to do my hair. I soon had visitors. First Nathaniel stood and talked to me. We did his math homework, and after putting that away, he came back with his spellings and Zach. Then Josh came up to read his book. When I finished my hair, we all came downstairs. Nathaniel and Zach watched TV, and Josh read in his head. He didn't really...but he was supposed to be. Then Zach came and did his flash cards. Eventually, it was time to head out. I drove the boys to multi sports, and you should have seen the shock on Josh's face when we arrived. They were the first children there, and the coaches opened the doors for us. Josh turned to me and said "We're really early! We've still got 10 minutes!" I said yeah...and then turned to one of the coaches and made sure that was fine. He said yes, to which Josh said "We've never been early for anything before!" I laughed, said goodbye, and left.

I drove to Chelmsford. Ok, that's not entirely true. First, I headed towards Colchester. Oops! I realized, and turned around. On my way to Chelmsford I couldn't even pay attention to where I was going. I all of a sudden was not feeling well at all. I had to pull over, but eventually I was alright and continued on my way. When I got to Chelmsford, I parked and walked to Next. I found a pair of jeans, and upset about how much they cost when I JUST bought a pair (Unfortunately cheap ones that began falling apart), I paid for them and went to find a memory card. Got that, and some razors, and disgusted with how much everything costs here...I went to Starbucks. I went to a different store with my tea to compare prices on the memory card I just bought, and when I was satisfied with the fact that I'd have to pay that much no matter what store I went to...I drove home.

I got here, and Monika was still cleaning. I went up to my room, switched my brain on, and did some work that I really wanted to get done. I finished just in time, and headed out to get the boys. I was early for them (Imagine that!). When they were ready to go, we headed back to the car.

I drove them to the movies, and when we got there Josh commented on how we were early again. "We're never early for the movies" he said. I told him I had a feeling they weren't normally early for anything. He told me I was right. We sat back and enjoyed the movie. It was great! Seriously, I loved it. We were watching the "Princess and the Frog". Disney has done it again! I can't wait to go see it again. The boys really enjoyed it as well. Zach was a little scared at one point, because the shadows are a little bit creepy, but when I explained that they were just shadows like in Peter Pan, he seemed to be ok. He came to sit on my lap for the last maybe 20 minutes. That was nice. I love my Zach cuddles. Every now and then, same as in Avatar, Josh would lean over and cuddle my arm as well. Nathaniel was too far away to reach. The movie ended, and Zach asked me to carry him out. He fell asleep on the car ride home.

When we got back we watched a bit of Spongebob, and I got to speak to my Mom online. Heloise had made dinner, and was dishing mine up. Dammit! It's a good thing I skipped lunch and had room for the popcorn, plus room to shovel in dinner. I was full...but I bit my tongue and did it anyway. I had turned the Olympics on during dinner so that I could listen to Men's Downhill Skiing...HAHAHAHA listen...in this household...yeah right. After dinner I sat on the couch and watched some more, then switched it over for "Glee" - still one of my favourite shows ever! - and then back to the Olympics. I was going crazy as I watched the Snowboarding. It was intense. I really enjoyed it.

It had started snowing tonight, which I thought was kind of funny as I was the only one in town walking around without a coat this afternoon, and I wasn't cold at all. Everyone else had coats, mitts, and some even had hats on. Anyway, the ground was white when I looked out the window. Beautiful!

I've been watching the Olympics for the majority of the night, and bored Tim so much that he's gone to bed. After asking me if I had even heard of any of these athletes before, Heloise headed to bed as well. I'm not going to lie, it was nice to sit down here and enjoy the sports without hearing any comments. I wish I was with my family (immediate family) to watch it...but if I can't be, then silence is the way to go. Now I better go to bed though. It's almost midnight. OOPS! Good Night xx

Ooh, another good dream lastnight! Here's hoping for tonight :D

Day 154

It was a relatively good today. I had a few minor upsets...actually, just one really...but I won't go into that too much.

I was woken up a few times by the voices coming from downstairs, but was able to go back to sleep. I had been up pretty late, so I really wanted to get a good rest. Well somewhere close to 10 o'clock I heard Zach walking around the house saying "Mummy???" He couldn't find her, and no one was answering him. He knocked on my door, and started having a conversation with me through the door. I told him he could come in. He asked if I knew where his mom was. I told him she was probably still in bed if he hadn't seen her yet. He didn't seem to agree. I asked if he wanted to come cuddle on my bed. He said no it was ok, but he looked lost. I asked if he wanted to play DS, and I picked his up from my bed side table. He said he did, and then said oh but it's out of battery. I told him there was a charger beside my mirror. He picked it up and asked if it was plugged in. I said nope, expecting him to want to take it downstairs. He just stood there. I said do you want to take it downstairs or plug it in and play it up here? He asked to stay up here. I piled the pillows up for him to sit against, and plugged the charger in for him. He came over to the bed and got up beside me. I laid back down and closed my eyes. He started to play, but then would tell me about the game, or ask me questions. I opened my eyes and answered the questions, or helped him through the levels. In the end he told me I could play if I wanted, and he'd just watch. I picked up the DS, and we played a couple of games. I then heard some arguing downstairs between Heloise and Josh. They were clearly looking for Zach. I heard them call his name, so I told him to run out and tell them he was with me. I expected him to stay with Heloise, but he didn't. He told them where he was, and came right back in. Not caring at all that they were worried about him. I felt privileged. He sat back down next to me, and played some more. Josh came in a few minutes later, and told him it was time to go to soccer. The two of them left together and I laid back down. I contemplated going back to sleep. I wondered what the chances were of me returning to the great dream I was having when he had come in. I tried to fall back to sleep, but fearing I would lose that dream, and drift onto something else...I decided to stay in my happy mood, and stay awake. I rolled over, and got my laptop. I spoke to my brother for a bit, and then when I remembered no one was in the house, I wandered down to get some fruit and some juice. I came back up to eat and watch "LOST". Finally! What a great episode!

When that finished, I jumped in the shower and got ready before anyone came home. That way no one would know how long I lazed around for. I heard them come in as I was watching "The Office", and after doing my make up, I went down for some tea. I said hi and bye to my Uncle and Aunt, and came back upstairs. I went down again a little later to get another cup of tea, and asked Heloise if she had made plans for the boys already, or was it ok that I was planning on taking them bowling. She told me that would be fine as long as I had Josh back in time to leave for swimming at 4:30. I got all ready, and was getting their shoes on, and realized it would not just be me taking them. Tim was coming as well. You may not think it's very nice of me to say...but I was really disappointed. I had been looking forward to having a day of fun with the 3 of them, and now I wasn't going to be able to. We got ready and walked out to the car. I was told I was getting in the wrong one. We were now taking Tim's car, and instead of going to Braintree's Bowling Alley, we were going to one in Whitham...which also meant I couldn't take the boys for a hot chocolate at Starbucks. Sigh. I was no longer in a happy mood.

We got to the bowling alley and Tim paid for one game. He asked the lady how long it would take, and thought 40 minutes would be plenty. We had a pretty boring game, whizzed through it, and got back in the car. Heloise had mentioned stopping at Costa, so when we pulled into the parking lot, I wasn't shocked. However, Tim then got out and told the rest of us to wait there. We sat in the car for about 10 minutes while he got some groceries. He returned to the car, and we drove home. No coffee then? Guess not.

I had been texting Toni while I was out, which the boys probably didn't understand and it's not really fair that I wasn't as into bowling with them as I would have been had it of been just the 4 of us, but I was upset. Anyway, Toni was at Freeport and asked if I wanted to meet her for a Starbucks. I made sure no one was using the car, jumped in and drove to meet her. We got our drinks, and then went into a couple of stores. I picked up a pair of jeans, but when I found out you weren't allowed to try them on in the store...I put them back. The employee said there were no change rooms, but I could take them home and if they didn't fit, I could bring them back to any Next. I turned to Toni and said "Or, I could go shop at a Next with a change room". She bought a couple of tops she needed for work, and we left the store. She asked if I wanted to go anywhere specific, and silly me, not expecting to buy anything, said BENCH. Well...we both came out with purchases. Toni hadn't planned on buying anything either. I tried on 2 hoodies, and in the end convinced myself I should only REALLY buy 1 if any. I picked the one without a price tag. Oops! I was a little worried when I got to the cash, but I put it on the counter anyway. That's when the cashier told me it was 15 pound! My God, I should have picked up another one!

Toni had some stuff she had to get done before she went out tonight, so we said bye, and I drove home. When I got back, no one was home! I walked into the peaceful house, grabbed my laptop
and went down to the family room. There was a fire and the room was warm! BEAUTIFUL! I sat down and began watching American Idol. I also got a Valentine's text that made my day :D I text back and forth with that person for a bit, and when Nathaniel got home he asked if he could watch American Idol with me. I said yes, and we sat there, but he wouldn't stop talking. I paused it to get up and return a text (my phone was charging so I had to walk to the plug), and when I was up, Zach turned the TV on. I said "I guess I'm not watching the rest of my show down here". To which Nathaniel said, "No I guess you're not". And he found something they wanted to watch. I brought everything upstairs and finished watching the show. I was called for dinner so I unfortunately had to end the conversation I was having.

I went down and ate with everyone, then sat down to watch some of Land Before Time 5 with the boys. When they went up to bed, I did as well. I've been sitting up here on Skype with my Mom and my Sister ever since. Now that it's almost 10:30, I should be getting to bed. I need a good night's sleep before tomorrow begins. Good Night xx