Day 171

As CRAZY excited and WIRED as I am right now after an AMAZING EXPERIENCE...I really should try to sleep. It's 2:46am, and I have to be up at 6:30...possibly 6:45...and won't have time for a nap in the day, so I really need to go. I will write my blog as soon as I have the chance tomorrow, but it might not be until night. Sorry to leave you hanging again. I really don't want to get sick. Good Night xx

Alright, here we go...get ready for a long one.

Wow! In case you didn't get it from my VERY short post last night...I HAD AN AMAZING TIME LAST NIGHT!

My goodness where to start? Well...as you know, I hate Wednesdays, and although the England game was last night, I wasn't excited when I woke up. The usual chaos and stress had to happen throughout the day first.

I got up, got ready, and went downstairs to get the boys ready. Much of the morning is a blur as I've only had 3 and a half hours between then and now. What I do know though, is that after their homework, I walked them up to the school, quickly walked back, and jumped in the car to go to Starbucks.

When I arrived in Braintree, I remembered the stores at Freeport didn't open until 10. NOOOOOOO! I was sure all of my plans were about to get crushed. It was only about 20 past 9, so I strolled in praying Starbucks would be open for the Freeport employees. - Someone was on my side - Turns out they open at 9. Score! I got my chai tea latte, and drove home.

I had spent the time in the car planning out my day so that I wouldn't get stressed out. Yes, I decided it would be a relaxing, pamper me kind of day as I had until 3:20 to do what I wanted when I wanted. Going with that theory, I came home and began looking at how to get to the stadium, the dress code, and the times we had to be there. A number of texts trying to sort out whether or not Toni's friend could make it was delaying me a bit, but I wasn't letting it bother me too much. I still had plenty of time to do what I had to do. I shaved my legs. <---This was important...I was going to be wearing a skirt after all. I did that, and after sorting through and trying on numerous tops, I settled for an outfit I thought I looked decent in. I put on my slippers and went downstairs. I made myself a delicious salad, and I watched Lost. After eating, still focusing on Lost, I flat ironed my hair. In the hour that that took me, I went from being very confused watching Lost, to pretty bored watching the first bit of American Idol. Things began to pick up a bit in the show, and I'll tell you about that probably in tonight's blog, but I didn't get to finish watching it. I had just brought my laptop downstairs with my nail polish, when the doorbell rang :| I now had my converse boots on. I answered the door to my Uncle and Aunt. They had just got back from taking Josh to cross country...apparently it finished early so they were just going to hang around here in case Heloise didn't get home to pick Nathaniel up from Beavers. Something I had been told earlier was not going to be a problem. I asked my Uncle about my boots and he wasn't sure if they'd be funny about it...he told me to just bring a spare pair of heels, but had he of seen what they looked like, he would have realized that it was more hassle to carry them, than it was to actually wear them. He had to run up to the post office and said he'd pick Josh and Nathaniel up on the way back. Zach was going to a friends.

I quickly painted my nails, had American Idol on hold and decided there was no way I was going to get to finish it. I shut down my computer, and started folding laundry. When I finished that, my Uncle got home with the boys. Nathaniel didn't want to go to Rugby but Josh did...which meant Nathaniel would be going, so I had to make him his dinner before Beavers. I popped the leftovers from a couple of nights ago in the microwave. This wasn't good enough for him. He fought with me about the fact that there was no way his mom said to make him cabbage, and I showed him the note. I also had to whip up some gravy for him. He then had about 10 minutes to shovel it all in, I threw on some wellies (which looked GREAT with my skirt by the way), and I drove him up to Beavers. When I got back, I changed into my heels, and Toni arrived. The two of us quickly looked at the directions I had gotten, and we headed out to the train station. Once there, we didn't know where to park. Apparently the first turn we took was for people who paid monthly. Fine. We went to the next parking lot and spent a bit searching for a spot. We finally found one, but the trek to the platform would have my feet crying before I even got to the train. Ok, so they weren't hurting too much...but they're not exactly the first pair of heels I would have picked for a long trek. We bought our tickets no problem, and got on the train.

We stopped in Witham where we were meeting Toni's friend, and she had walked by our window. After speaking to a very...perhaps overly friendly man, the two of us got up and walked through doors to try and find Louise. We got to the end of the car only to realize she was clearly in a different one. At the next stop, we jumped off and hurried to the next car. There was no way I was making it to another doorway after the whistle blew. I can run in heels...but that was just asking for injury. I jumped in the closest doorway. Luckily, It was still in the same section of the train. I met back up with Toni, and was introduced to Louise. She was stoked to be going to the game. While I was starting to get excited, I still didn't want to get too overwhelmed, as I didn't have my tickets in hand, and there was still so much that could go wrong when you thought about that and switching from train to tube, and tube to tube.

Well...we made each of our transfers, and got extremely close with some strangers on the tube. 3 guys in particular were asking if we'd ever been to a match and were joking around about one of the girls supporting Tottenham and when we mentioned we had to go to the East Entrance when we got there, it turned out they did too. I so wanted to bring up the Bobby Moore Lounge, but I decided against it. Turns out I should have because Louise was thinking the same thing. Once we saw where we were sitting as well, we were just wishing we could see them and wave. Anyway, when we got off the tube, and walked out of the station...OH MY GOD! You can't miss the stadium, it's right in front of you and is AMAZING! Nothing else like it. I started getting giddy but needed to calm myself down. I think all 3 of us were in the same boat. Thinking it was all too good to be true, and that it was all about to end.

We walked up to the East Entrance, and on our way there were men selling England VS Egypt scarves. I wanted one so bad, but with the way the rest of my day had gone, I didn't have time to stop and get cash...IDIOT! I asked the man how much they were and he put one around my neck and said 10 pound. I said aw I don't have any money on me. (Not meaning for it to come out as it sounded). He tutted and took it off my neck. I said sorry and said I only had a 5 pound on me...and he called something after me but I didn't hear what it was. I have a terrible feeling he was saying he'd give it to me for that...but I was so worried about getting the tickets, that I didn't go back to talk to him :( I'm regretting it.

We walked in the doors, and the little man in the orange vest told us to go to the West entrance. I looked at the e-mail in my hands and said but it says to go East. He repeated himself when I asked if he was certain, telling me that they were only selling tickets in the East wing, not giving them out. Stupid me, did as I was told instead of sticking to my guns, and I walked over to the West wing. When I got there, the other 2 were asked to stand against the wall as only one person was supposed to line up for the tickets. I went to get in line and one of the men noticed how I was dressed and asked if I was supposed to be in the FA Cup line...he redirected me to the line up that was only allowed to go to one window (Go figure...season's tickets holders, and the line goes slower). When I finally made it to the man at the window...he told me I had to go to the East wing. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Toni, Louise and I walked over to where we had been headed in the first place, and guess what...No line. We should have gone there first. I approached the window and without a problem, the lady handed me the tickets. THIS is where we let our excitement kick in. We couldn't stop smiling, and it had only just begun! The guy at the line directed us upstairs. We let out another OH MY GOD! And got up the stairs as fast as we could. A challenge that would be difficult for most, in the heels I was wearing...but for me...I felt like I was walking on a cloud. I didn't care. I was on a mission!

When we got to the top we had no idea what we were doing haha. Our bags were checked, and we scanned our tickets, and walked through this posh glass barrier that opened when the light hit your barcode. We looked to our left, and there it was...the BOBBY EFFIN MOORE LOUNGE! And it looked MAGNIFICENT! I walked excitedly up to the door, and showed the man my ticket. He tried to tell me I wasn't supposed to be going in there. He pointed and really snobby like, said that there was a reception area where I could get a drink, just down the hall. I began to walk away, and then thought, hang on a second! I was not backing down this time. I looked at the e-mail in my hand, and walked right back up to him. I showed him the e-mail and said, I believe it doesn't say Bobby Moore on the ticket because it's been re-issued. He told me to follow him, but made the other 2 wait at the doors. He then brought me to an uptight snooty fellow at a computer. The two looked me over, and discussed. He looked at the e-mail but clearly didn't read it. He told me my ticket was not for the area. That's when the doorman said "I told her reception is down the hall". I was not impressed with these guys at all. The one at the computer asked for the last name, so I gave it and spelled it for him. He clearly wasn't listening because he must have typed it in wrong. He told me nothing came up. I stood my ground and said, "Do those 2 numbers on that e-mail not mean anything to you?" He looked at the e-mail again and went OH! He typed in the last name again, and looked up. I saw JOHN DOWNES appear on the screen. He looked at the doorman and told him he had misspelled the last name the first time he typed it in. He instantly looked at me and became very apologetic. I acted as if this wasn't my first time there, and shrugged it off. Told him it was fine. He apologized over and over again, and told me the ladies upstairs would take myself and my guests to our table and bring us champagne. I walked away head held high and towards Toni and Louise. They were smiling ear to ear as the doorman handed them their lanyards. He apologized to me and gave me mine. The 3 of us on yet another high, paraded through the lounge to our table. We were then served our appetizers, and because of all the time it took us to get there with all the hassle, the game was about to start when our main courses arrived. We asked if we could have them at half time instead, and were assured that that would be fine.

We walked out into the stadium, and I'm pretty sure there was a good...2 minutes, where neither of us could breathe. It was shocking. We showed our tickets to one of the ushers, and Louise said he looked like he was impressed with out seats. Once he showed us where they were...we could see why. We were just rows up from the player's bench, and even with my zoom off, I was so close that I couldn't fit the field in it's entirety onto my camera! WOW! I was in heaven. I recognized one of the guys sitting to our left, and got Toni to take a picture of "me" - him. I still can't put my finger on a name, but I know I know him. The boys kicked off, and I was in awe. I couldn't stop taking pictures. I told myself I'd only take a few, but then thought OH come on! How often does this happen?!?! Then Beckham came out to stretch, and all limitations on my picture taking went out the window. My goodness he's a good looking man. At half time, as promised, we were served our main courses, then it was back to the game. ENGLAND ended up winning 3-1. It was great!!! We came back in the lounge for drinks, and there were warm meat and cheese pies on our table. Next was coffee and biscotti...and then just relaxation. We listened to the lounge singers, and didn't leave until they began shutting everything down. I had walked up to one of the security guards to ask him if I could take a picture of the empty stadium, but as I walked up, camera in hand, he said unfortunately the answer is no. It's all shut up. Oh well...can't say I didn't try.

We eventually left, and walked back to the tube station stopping to take a pic of me in front of Wembley. We were getting what I considered to be, some very nice looks, from very nice looking football fans. I wouldn't mind going each week, and dressing up for it. Finally somewhere to go in my nice clothes! Something tells me I won't experience anything like that again though.

We got on the tube that would take us all the way to Stratford...when we arrived, all the trains were delayed due to someone being hit by one. We stood outside on the platform in the cold, blocked only by the wind when we ducked into a shelter. We met a guy from South Africa, and randomly enough, a guy he used to go to school with that he didn't remember, and we talked to them until the train came. It was 1am by that time. Louise shared a cab with one of them from Witham, as they were going in the same direction, and Toni and I went back to our original destination. We got off, and walked a very long walk back to her car. I wasn't tired at all.

When she dropped me off, I came in, showered, and went online. There was no way I could just go to sleep. I had to tell people about the night I had just had. My trouble was...words couldn't even describe the way I was feeling. 3 and a half hours of sleep....a 14 hour day, and I'm STILL on a high! It's insanity! I better go write today's blog now though :p xx