It's the only way to eat muffins, really

     Goodness, I had such a wonderful week!  Liz and I joined Andreas and his two friends, Dani and June at the theatre Saturday to see an afternoon showing of The Importance of Being Earnest.  It was a really good production and, of course, Oscar Wilde is sharp in his prose so just the dialogue in itself is entertaining.  After that we walked through St. James park and to Buckingham palace to show the girls some of the city and wandered our way to Wagamama for dinner.  Trevor, this totally made me think of you!  The two of us ate there when Breanna and I went to visit them.  This time I had some much longed for soba noodles with veggies, shrimp and chicken (why do I always describe my food like other people care what went into my belly?).  Whatever because it was delicious!  As planned we headed home to get ready to go to 4th Floor, which was rather empty compared to a usual Saturday night but we still had a good time.       I wonder if I've ever explained the night bus before.  Typically we take the N29 home, but we can also take the 243 home.  Either way, as is probably expected on a late night bus ride, we always manage to come home with a story.  This particular evening we caught the 243, which isn't as frequent as the N29 so we waited quite a while, engaged in the usual kebauchery while we waited and pounded on the side of the bus as it drove by us without stopping despite our very obviously flagging it down.  Once we got on the next one (about a half hour later) we sat down and a very crazy woman speaking a very bad mixture of languages started heckling Paul.  She looked at June and shouted JAPANESE! (which she's not) and then among the mumbling shouted CRUISE MISSILE!  It was great.  

     Sunday was spent in writing a paper and then meeting Jenni to go to church at Holy Trinity.  It was a really neat message this week about "What are you doing with what you've been given?"  Meaning a lot of things, money, time, other resources, your self in general, etc.  One of the things the pastor mentioned was addiction and how, among other things, the city is addicted to constant stimulation (which seems ironic since I'm writing a blog) which can come in the form of feeling the need for text messages or facebook messages or any other form of instant gratification.  Considering how much time I spend on a computer, it gave me a good deal to think about.

     Monday was much the same as Sunday up until 4pm when my paper was due.  Monday also marked the day when I started possibly the most radical diet I've ever been on (shocking considering what I was eating 2 winters ago).  I decided for a little health boost I'd do a 7 day detox diet (which, due to an overnight trip to Dover this Saturday will now be a 6 day detox diet).  This means I'm eating nothing but fresh fruits and veggies, brown rice, raw nuts, plain yoghurt, beans (no added salt or sugar), and fish (which I don't do because I'm afraid I won't clean it properly and end up sick as a dog... not exactly the point, right?).  It's been really interesting and hard but it's 6 days of my life so I can't complain too much.  Plus my body needed a break from chocolate, bread and beer (all of which make me blow up like a balloon).  Sorry, as is customary, whenever I'm on a diet all I can talk about is food... moving on. :)

     Tuesday was probably the best day of my week so far, I woke up early and took the tube to Oxford Circus and decided to just spend the day walking, from about 11 to 3 I walked around, down to the Thames past parliament (where I saw a giant pig as part of a protest on ham prices).  Then I retraced my steps until I ended up in Regents Park and it was the most stunning place (as far as cultivated landscape goes) that I've ever seen.  I was completely in awe the entire time I was there; it definitely trumps St. James Park and Hyde Park by a long shot.  The picture/s below is/are from Regents Park, I don't know what's wrong with my uploading system today but for some reason only one of the pictures shows up for me so perhaps I'll have to make a separate post again.

     I've spent the last couple of days mostly inside, catching up on reading and booking an overnight trip to Dover on a whim.  Dover is in the southeast off the coast and is home to Dover Castle, famous White Cliffs, and a whole lot of retired people.  Paul, Liz, Chris and I are going to stay Saturday night in a bed and breakfast and despite the laughs we get when we tell people we're going to Dover, we anticipate a good time.  Plus it was cheap and we have nothing better to do here that we can't do any other weekend so why not?!  Tomorrow night I am going out with Chris again (sorry daddy) for sushi and a movie (sashimi and edemame are the only loopholes I could find in my diet so we really had few choices for cuisine... not that I'm complaining).  Should be loads of fun.  Afterwards if we get done early I may go meet up with everyone from here because I think they're going to some big traveling karaoke thing (I'm not sure exactly what it is or I'd explain it better).  Next week is my last week of school before spring break and I'm SO excited to leave for Ireland!  Fun times lay ahead (after I turn in one last paper on Monday that is!)  Love you all!