December 28-29

       Yesterday morning, I woke up with a headache, but that didn't stop me from making more pancakes! You guys are gonna think I'm a pig after all these posts about pancakes! But maybe I am . . . I shared them, if that makes a difference. They were delicious as usual, and they were even better with nutella. After breakfast and trying to get some work done, my headache wouldn't go away so I took a nap. In the past 8 months or so, I have developed this new weakness of wanting to take naps too soon after I wake up. I don't know what that's all about, but it surfaces every now and then. When I woke up, my headache was gone and I got to work on some homework. The next thing I know, Sarah comes barging in my room (she tried to knock but I had my earbuds in) a while later telling me that she almost chopped off her finger trying to cut herself some leftover Christmas ham! I grabbed my mini first aid kit and wrapped her finger in gauze. She must have overdramatized the situation because I didn't see any blood.
       With her all patched up, I decided to take a break from my work and take a walk. I layered up and power walked for an hour hoping that the physical exertion would help me sleep better than I had the past few nights. It didn't really work, but at least I was awake and feeling good afterwards. Instead of getting right back to homework, I got distracted by music and spent some solid time jammin' and eating dinner. More whole wheat spaghetti - yum. It hits the spot everytime. When I finally sat down and faced the music (literally, I had music homework to do), I got overwhelmed by the whole academic situation over here again. I don't really want to go into detail right now because it makes me tense to think about it. Sarah came into my room a little later to decompress from her homework too, so we both had a chance to vent. Aside from all that, yesterday was pretty uneventful actually. I was trying to make a dent in my homework before Ashley got here so I would have less to worry about. It didn't entirely work, but oh well. That's how things go over here. I'll figure it out.
       This morning, I set my alarm for 5:50 and woke up to a club beat version of Katy Perry's "California Girls" which I hate. I literally plugged the ear that wasn't on my pillow with my finger and tried to cram the pillow over my ear to block out that crap. Next, "Over the Rainbow" by Israel (something or other . . . you know, that fat Hawaiian guy who plays the ukulele?) came on, and I thought, "Now this is the kind of music you're supposed to wake up to." Norah Jones was up next, but I wasn't diggin' it so I finally got up and turned off my alarm. After some leftover pancakes and some tea, I caught my cab to Oakwood (the shuttle doesn't run that early) and hopped on the tube for the 1.5. hour ride to Heathrow to meet Ashley! To make a long story short, I ended up waiting at the airport for 4.5 hours, but Ash finally made it! She had missed her connection in Chicago and had to catch the next flight out to London. After all the disappointment over Natalie's flight being cancelled, I was starting to think something like that was going to happen with Ashley and I would have to spend my last week here sightseeing by myself. Well, she made it but her bag didn't (of course something like that would happen). She was chill about it, and we're hoping it arrives before we both head back to the States! I've got enough to cover her in the meantime.
       From the airport, we went back to campus to get her settled in, ate dinner, watched Rat Race and just chilled. Later, we went out with Sarah and Kim to a pub called Ye Old Cherry Tree because we thought the name was entertaining enough to warrant a visit. It was so adorable! The pubs over here are very cozy and cute. I had fish cakes and chips (fries), and my stomach is very happy and full right now. Surprisingly, Ash seemed very energetic considering her long journey here and her high level of sleep deprivation. The four of us had a very nice evening out and made it back to Oakwood just in time to catch the last shuttle bus back to campus.
       I'm starting to lose a bit of motivation with making these posts particularly interesting, but I'm getting really excited to be coming home in a week! Ash and I are gonna go out with a bang. We were hoping to make it over to Dublin, but we decided against it for a number of reasons. So, London has our full attention, and we're gonna rock this town!

Prayer Request of the Day: That we would enjoy as much as possible before we leave!