All aboard the fun bus

I don't know how these thing happen to me, I really don't.

On my way home from Colorado I thought it was high time I stopped in at the Carolinas. I needed to rent a car here too and to cut the story short I have another SUV.

Jose met me at the airport and so as I'm signing we're catching and all that. The lady gave me the key and off I went to N26, the allotted space.

As I walk down the parking lot, one SUV stands out among all the other cars. Like literally stands out every way possible. Tall ways, length ways, every which way. But I keep telling myself it's not in N26. Mine must be the Rav 4 beside it.

Can you tell where this is going?! Yeah, so this is my 'intermediate SUV'.

I think the Why Bird stop is next.

Are you frigging joking me?! I think my Yaris would fit in its glove compartment.

It has 3 rows of seats. I could run a passenger service.

Not having my bus license I questioned whether they really wanted me to take this 'car' and the guy said it was all they had. Seriously?! You're a car rental company! You must have something slightly smaller, say that actually fits in a regular parking space. But no. This is what I have.

Good luck everybody.

Drive an SUV, save the world

Our car here is an SUV. Well, you've got to with tricky mountain roads and snowy conditions. We like it especially because of its eco-friendliness.


Here we are driving at around 40mph, getting 20.2 miles per gallon with the eco light on.

End global warming now, get an SUV.

The return of the prettiest skis the world has ever known

You would think when you're on a trip taking photos of yourself would be dead easy. But no, this was a challenge because it involved three different cameras, two memory cards, emailing, a photo editor app (to turn them to black and white), more emailing and finally blogging. But I doubt you'll feel sorry for me when you see the photos so I shan't complain.

Anyway, here are the photos, I confess I didn't take them all but hopefully you won't hold that against me.

Sunday 17th January

Eating the world famous Newark broccoli pizza. Now served in slices. (As opposed to 7" pizzas which were cut. Also into slices, but you know what I mean.)

Monday 18th January

Skating on a frozen lake! Check me out, I got skills! And a cool hat! Thanks Ruth!

Tuesday 19th January

After last year's head injury, ski helmets are the way forward. I love, love, love mine. The snow was really coming in here, you can see the flakes in the shot. Makes for cold skiing, but good powder. Gosh, I sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Wednesday 20th January


We went to a rodeo on Wednesday, which is a whole other blog! Best $11 I ever spent. Hi-lar-ious.

Thursday 21st January

On the tundra. Do you get tundras at 12,000 feet? I'm not sure, I dropped Geography like...it was hot(?) But it was as cold as the tundra, I am sure.

Friday 22nd January

Any run called Nightmare is a run I want to do. Thankfully it did not turn out to be one. Seriously though?! Who names these? Why can't they be called Fluffy Cloud and Lemon Squeezy?

See, told you you wouldn't feel sorry for me. Not even a little bit.

Knitting Nannas

My mum has quite taken to knitting. We think it's the Nanna gene. She's knitted John all sorts of wondrous blue garments and blankets. I am in actual, genuine awe. She can cast on and cast off and everything! Whereas I'm pretty sure the bunny goes around the tree. Although that could be in tying your shoelaces now that I've said it.

Her latest patten is this one which, it turns out, is modelled by Barack Obama.

Who knew Barack was a knitwear model on his down days?!

Food, sleep and silly faces

Well just one as it turned out. I'm going to let you into a little secret. Two times this week I forgot to take my photo until late. See if you can work out which two.

Monday 11th January

Subway lunch! I got the Monday sub of the day, chicken tikka. Not bad at all. I'd have it again. If it was Monday.

Tuesday 12th January

I made my return to running. It was a nice sabbatical.

Wedneday 13th January

Night night.

Thursday 14th January

Brusha brusha brusha.

Friday 15th January

Pizza Express with Ruth. I feel like I need to justify a pizza that big - it was the Romano base which is rolled (spun? stretched?) really thin.

Saturday 16th January

I had lunch with Karen today. For the photo we were messing about, pulling faces. But somehow Karen's face doesn't look weird, yet mine does. Must be because she's a pro at this malarky.

Burj City Hospital

I know some people who don't get on that well with their parents. My parents make me laugh.

We were sitting together in the living room the other day and when I brought up about the Dubai tower, you know the one that's now the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa.

Me: I can't believe they built something that big. How huge does it look?!

Mum: Yeah, I would hate to go into it. I get scared enough when I'm in the City Hospital.

Bizarrely they left the City Hospital off this handy guide of the world's tallest buildings. Apparently they though 76m wasn't that huge.

Yeah. It's not really the same, is it?

Once I'd stopped laughing, my mum was able to explain that she is worried about how they evacuate so many invalided people from all the floors if there was some kind of emergency in the hospital.

But that got totally lost.

Project 365

Upon Karen Marathon's recommendation I have downloaded the Project 365 app and thus, this is what my project shall be called. I think I have set myself a fairly hard task though because:

1. I never remember to take a photo

2. I remember at night when I am be jammied, looking tired with make up removed.

3. Self-photoing yourself is quite hard on your phone. Although I have just downloaded another app that has a timer and a 'tap anywhere' function which should help.

4. Taking a photo of yourself is a bit self-centred. And hard to get you doing something different each day. But I shall keep trying.

Here's the rest of this week's collection.

Tuesday 5th January

Starbucks is ace!

Wednesday 6th January

This would be one of those occasions when it was late when I remembered. But also a photo of one of my favourite (and already most used) Christmas presents, my slippers. They look way cooler than they just sounded (and indeed look from the photo). They are bright pink knitted boots with, what one hopes is fake, fur inside. Cosy.

Thursday 7th January

Talking to Megann on the phone, hatching our next plan.

Friday 8th January

Cracked lips are no fun. They hurt.

Saturday 9th January

Watching the news; a serious face for a serious story about Togo football.

Sunday 10th January

Working again. Hmm...blank page though. (Eagle eyed president fans will notice George's W's smiling face above my forefinger. This is part of my 43 presidents mat which my computer rests on not some sort of fan paraphernalia of W.)

Oh Iris

Well there you have it. When you thought NI politics couldn't get any more...surprising? hypocritical? embarrassing? It has emerged that the woman who called gay people an abomination had an affair with another man. There she was flinging names about, calling homosexuality worse than child abuse, and quoting the Bible at people, while it seems just a few months later she was going against numero 7 in Moses' big list of 'things we shouldn't ever do'. It is kind of hard not to smile, even just a little bit.

And there was Peter, sitting in his v-neck sweater, in front of a 'best dad ever' sign (or words to that effect) looking every bit the Grimm brother, but for all the wrong reasons, saying he'd forgiven his wife and that they were trying to work through their problems.

Boom. The smile went right from my face (eh...assuming it was there in the first place).

You see, I don't get to look on her, no matter what I think of her, and laugh. Or judge. It's something about casting the first stone. And yes, maybe that's something Iris should have thought about before she said what she said about gay people. But maybe it's not helpful to point that out. In her statement, Iris said she had asked for forgiveness from God and that's for her to do. Nothing to do with me.

But tonight I was reminded that He is the God of second chances, of fourteenth chances, of fourteenth hundred chances. And that no matter how dark the hour, God hearts me. And you.

New project

Someone I follow on Twitter (no one you know, or come to think of it, I know) took a picture of himself everyday last year and every so often would post it. So that's what I'm going to do. Do not expect my photos to be as arty as Karen Marathon's. Mine are just going to be a record of what I got up to on a particular day.

Saturday 2nd January

Working late into the night at my desk. I am too cool.

Sunday 3rd January

At YF we had Bex back. She's in Chicago for a year doing Mission Year. Last night she told us all about it, pretty intense, hard stuff. In a good way.

Monday 4th January

At my desk again. This is going to be my theme, I can tell.

Happy New 2010

This is part of my concerted effort of blogging more this year. I will blog more. Promise.