Sweet disposition, reckless abandon, like no one's watching you

Sweet, sweet saturday afternoon. I want to compile a list.

British-isms That Make Me Laugh:

• Saying something is "jokes" instead of "funny"
• Calling movies "films" and the movie theater "the cinema"
• Crumpets = English muffins
• Hot cross buns. They are more than a stupid song over here, they are real.
• Everyone, even the guys, say "lovely" and "darling" in a genuine way, frequently
• The loo. (come on, really?) 
• Fit, to mean good looking
• Calling someone a "knob" as an insult, ie. instead of "he's a prick/dick/other word for male genitalia"
• A burner (on the stovetop) is a hob
• Yogurt is pronounced "yogHUrt"
• The letter H is "haych"
• The word proper applies to mean something is done the right way, kind of the equivalent of saying "we were good and tired" ie, "proper tired"... "well" is used similarly
• "Nackered" to mean tired
• "You alright?" is the equivalent of "How are you?" in that you're supposed to respond "Yeah I'm alright, you alright/okay?" (hard for me to accept, sometimes I still respond with "um, yeah, I'm fine? do I look upset? why?") 

There's so many more that I can't think of at the moment. I laugh at my flatmates all the time like the rude, ignorant American that I am. But they also laugh at me, so it's a two way street. I'll keep adding to the list as I remember them.

Cooking has gone well. I have not burned anything or injured anyone or myself! I have cut vegetables and cooked chicken -- wait for it... without supervision! -- and made several things from recipes (read: instead of pasta + pasta sauce, etc.) My mother is proud, I am healthy, and I feel less like a helpless child every day. 

In other news, Harry Potter LCR was essentially a dream come true for me. 

All that really needs to be said is that I am a Ravenclaw.

As for the past few days, I've had a bit of a cold... which I am denying the existence of. It's really too much to ask that I deal with illness whilst I have so many other demands. I've been drinking a lot of tea and pretending that is equivalent to medicine. I have been allowing myself to sleep a lot, though, so that's probably good. Today I went for a long, long swim and all of my bones and joints and muscles feel calm and happy now. Every time I swim here I miss Clark, especially this weekend while my girls are at championships. Knowing everyone was getting ready and leaving, every bone in my body wanted to be on that bus to Mount Holyoke. Still, as much as I'm missing them, it really feels right that I'm here, and I can still think of them like a proud mama from across the pond.

On a brighter note, I booked flights to Italy and Spain! The month of April is looking ridiculous: Venice, Florence, Rome, London, Madrid, Barcelona, and one more week of travel that I have yet to book. So far I've only booked three flights but they add up to only $125 total so I'm feeling really good about RyanAir right about now. In March, Liz is coming for the week and we're going to London to meet up with Alana and stay with Emily, and then I'm going to Scotland to visit Becca. Hailey and Kelsey also want to do another weekend, maybe an Amsterdam or a Paris. I'm out of control with the travel planning, I could waste hours online searching for the cheapest flights and not even realize it, by far my favorite means of procrastination. 

I'm all over the place, literally and figuratively, but I feel good. Now, just to keep that feeling going for the next four months... :) xx