Here's the Headlines

Hello, friends!
Hey look at me - I'm blogging again! I have had yet another streak of busy busy busy days. I love keeping myself busy, especially when I can see the results of my hard work. I really feel like the relationships I've been working so hard to build over the last year and a half have been growing even more than I thought possible! There's no feeling like having someone you genuinely care about asking you for advice, or feeling comfortable enough with you to vent all of their issues to you. I praise God for giving me these friendships and opportunities to share His love!

As for what I've been up to lately, here's a quick snapshot into my life:

Half term week
"Half Term" is a week in the middle of each school term where there is a week off of school. The girls in our after-school club (called "The Zone") always complain of being bored during half-terms, so Amy (my teammate/housemate) and I decided to offer a special edition of A2B ("Alternative 2 Boredom," our summer club) and host a different event each day of the half-term out of our home (want a tour of my home?). Monday was glass painting, Tuesday was cinema day, Wednesday was baking day, Thursday we had a special party night at our youth club, and Friday night we had a girly sleep-over. It was an intense week filled with tons of fun (and sugar), and was definitely worth it! The sleep-over on Friday night proved to be another step forward in building our relationships with the girls. We had a ton of fun playing games, watching chick flicks, painting nails...being all-around ridiculously girly.

A week in the local school
A few hours ago I was at the Nottingham Railway Station to meet up with 17 college students from Lincoln Christian College (Lincoln, IL). Every year during its Spring Break, LCC sends a group of students to Nottingham for a week of mission service with our team. This group has become such a staple to the team here in Nottingham that it is actually planned into the local school's curriculum! These 17 students, 2 adults that came with them, plus our team of 4 will be teaching every R.E. ('religious education') class at the local school this coming week - - coming face-to-face with literally thousands of teenagers. This week, we will become the first real, live Christians that many of these kids have ever met. We will give our 'Christian' perspective on a variety of topics, from abortion to animal rights, assisted suicide to pre-marital sex, world poverty to homosexuality, and everything between. We will tell Bible stories these kids have never heard, and will give our own testimonies about 'experiencing' Christ in our own lives. To some of these kids we will probably just be another homework assignment, but hopefully we will spark the curiosity of others while planting seeds in a really interesting field. Other than being in the schools this week, we will also host a Sunday night service at a local church, have a prayer walk around the town centre, invite every student in West Bridgford to a special cafe night (Thursday night), tour around Nottingham city, and take a short trip up to Warwick Castle! Man...it's going to be a busy week...and I couldn't be more excited!

And now, a bit of English culture for you...
One interesting annual event in England is coming up on the 13th of March - Red Nose Day. For the last few weeks charity shops, grocery stores and certain other shops have been selling red ball noses (yep, just like a clown's nose!). On Red Nose Day, people will proudly wear their noses around during the day, and will host humor related charity fund-raising events in order to support Comic Relief (a charity organization founded by a comedian in the '80s which raised money for areas struck by famine - now has raised over £600 million for various charitable causes). I just love me some British humor, and for a good cause no less ;)

...and yet a bit more English culture!
There are two commercials on TV that have really been making a buzz lately. One is for a credit card, and the other is for a chocolate bar. Very different products, but both making a splash with their eye-raising fun...you'll understand my cheesiness if you watch the commercials: Barclay's Card and Cadbury's Dairy Milk bar.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, I send you love from the other side of the pond ~

King of Kings

So, it's 2009 now. Is that strange to anyone else? I remember being a little girl and hearing people talk about how "one day" it was going to be the year 2000-something. I remember thinking how unrealistic of a year it sounded...Two thousand? It sounds way to space age-y. And now, here we are - nearly a decade into living in the space age of the 00's. Or whatever you call this decade. I'm still not used it it, apparently.

I attended one of the two local baptist churches in my area of Nottingham today. This church is probably my favorite of our local churches to attend on a Sunday morning. The people are very nice, and they remind me of the church I attended when I was at Florida Christian College (probably because they meet on a school campus!). Anyhow, we sang a song today that I've only ever heard here in England, though perhaps you have heard it - "King of Kings, Majesty." You can watch a big church in London sing it (with worship leader, Tim Hughes, whom I met over the summer at Soul Survivor): King of Kings, Majesty

While we were singing this song today, the royal images in the song hit me hard. I've always sang songs and heard Scripture that talks about God being our King. However, it became like new today in my mind. Here I am...living in a country that once WAS a monarchy. They even have a Queen right now! When I was in Florida, I had lots of people asking me about the Queen, and what the English people think of her. From what I can tell, and from what I've heard from my English friends is that they love the Queen. She's a strong woman that they admire. On her birthday (which isn't actually her birthday, but rather one date that they celebrate the current monarch's birthday) they all tune in to watch a silly parade with the Queen sitting by with a tight smile on her face, as she waves in approval. But still...no matter how much they may love that woman, she is still only a figurehead. The monarchist system has long ago stepped aside in favor of the wonderful world of democracy.

Thinking back to the complete power the Kings of England once had in this land, and the many that took advantage of the hard working people in the country...I wonder if they did with The King of Kings what they did to their earthly Kings. Stripped of their power, and turned into nothing more than something fun to watch. Maybe even celebrate his birthday in a silly way as everyone watches on TV. Many of the teens we speak with in schools have this idea in their head that if there is a God, then He must be this all-powerful beast that lords his power over the little people, crushing them on his way to greatness. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I can only imagine how difficult it must be for someone who had an abusive father to understand when people compare God to being a heavenly father. It only makes sense for it to be just as difficult to understand Him being a King worthy to be served with joy and peace. Just a thought.

My new photos are up from my holiday to Prague, Sweden, and around Germany! Click here if you want to see them! I had an amazing time. I feel very blessed to be able to live an adventure in Europe for however long God has for me here.

As always, thanks for reading :) May God bless you in 2009!

Happy Christmas to all

Greetings from the lovely island of England :)

Don't you just love the Christmas season? I am a big fan of Christmas, and everything that goes along with it. I'm also excited to add new traditions to my Christmas - things that I will take with me forever to add an English taste to my holiday repertoire. Things like...

CHRISTINGLES: Christingles SHOULD be a tradition in Florida! The whole craft of a Christingle centers around an orange. They are a little way for teachers to explain different aspects of the Christmas season to children. I had the pleasure of helping kids make Christingles in Religious Education classes last week! It was a ton of fun, and it made the school smell like home (mmm, orange blossoms)!

DIFFERENT TUNES: Lots of classic Christmas carols are set to different tunes in England. Right now, I'm in LOVE with their "Away in a Manger" version. If you click on this link, click the little play icon under "listen to 4 parts." (Click here to listen) OR you can listen to this cute girl on YouTube sing it - Adorable!

CAROL SERVICES: Nothing is more amazing than a good old fashioned Christmas Carol service, complete with a spread of Yule Logs and Mince Pies!

PANTOMIMES: It's VERY traditional to attend a Pantomime during the Christmas season. All the major theaters will have one on, and all of the school children will perform them as well. Basically, a Panto is a classic story (like Peter Pan, Snow White...) that everyone knows. Then, the Panto twist is that the story is tweaked a bit, and turned into a comedic performance with major female roles played by men. There is a lot of audience participation, and usually a few sing-a-long parts as well (with well known or currently popular songs worked in to the story line). Last year, I attended a professional Panto of Peter Pan, and this year I attended one at the local school with lots of kids in it that I know from the community (they did Cinderella). It's fun, and makes me feel like I have an inside joke with England! I now know all of the audience cues, like whenever a character starts a sentence like "Oh no, I did not!" we all have to enthusiastically shout "OH YES YOU DID!" Very dorky, and VERY fun :)

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: I can't help it...I just love them so much. It's such a simple thing, but it's so much fun for some reason! It's hard to describe the Christmas cracker, so just watch this video to understand the basic concept if you don't know it already. Inside the crackers, though, is a little trinket, a paper crown (which you of course HAVE to wear immediately), and the worst, cheeeeeeeziest jokes ever. Again, I don't know why...but I love 'em.

GERMAN MARKETS: Ahh...I saved the best for last! Apparently, Germany knows how to do Christmas. They know it SO well in fact, that they spread their Christmas joy all over European cities in the form of German Markets. Basically, they set up little stalls in major city areas that sell handicrafts from all over the world. The BEST part is the food - amazing German sausages (!!!) and tons of sweets! Chocolate covered waffles, apples stuffed with marzipan, sandwiches inside massive soft pretzels, coconut covered marshmallows, skewers of fruit dipped in chocolate, and...the crown jewel of them all...German crepes! Ooooh yes...and a giant mechanical moose singing Christmas songs in German.

Well, that's all for my list! I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas. I am VERY excited today...because I get to have a proper Christmas holiday! I'm leaving early tomorrow morning with my housemate Amy to visit Prague for a couple of nights. After that, we're flying up to Sweden (just north of Stockholm) to spend Christmas with a friend's family. Then...why just go home after that? Oh no - we're going to stop in Germany and visit some REAL German markets before heading back to Nottingham. Oh the joys of cheap travel within Europe! I know I'm going to miss my family a lot (again) this year, so I'm glad that Amy and I have found something fun to distract ourselves with!

I thought I'd post another video up here that I put together for one of the local Anglican churches. This was for their Christmas Carol service last Sunday night. I hope you enjoy! Happy Christmas everyone :)

Crystal's TOP 5 LIST

Well folks, I made it back to England! I had an amazing trip to my favorite peninsula, and would like to send a huge, resounding "THANK YOU" to each of you who took part in hosting me while I was in your area. I had a lot of fun getting to visit family and friends, and only wish my time there could have been longer! I'm still going through all my paperwork to see if I raised enough money for this coming year, so I would appreciate your continued prayers for my funding. It was a rough time to raise money with the economy the way it is right now, so I am thankful to have a God who provides for all things within His perfect will.

And now for a little bit of ridiculous fun. Since I'm quite a list-maker, I decided to come up with a list...the TOP 5 MOST AMERICAN THINGS I DID WHILE I WAS HOME. Enjoy :)

5. Ate hot dogs
While it is true that England has hot dogs available, it is NOT true to say that they are any good. The English pride themselves on having an excellent selection of sausages (each region has its own famous flavor), however, hot dogs in England come in a can. Usually, the hot dogs are in cans wrapped in an American flag. As a general rule, I have learned to steer clear of any foods in England that claim to be "All-American." Also disgusting is something found in England called "Florida Salad." Lies!

4. Watched the World Series
Oh c'mon Rays...why couldn't you pull it off?? I guess I can't really be too upset at them. Going from the worst team in the series to the 2nd best the following year isn't all bad when you really think about it. Also, I find it interesting to hear what one of my English friends said about the World Series in general. It was something like: "Only in America would they label something a 'WORLD' series and yet only allow American teams to play." Hmmmmm... :)

3. Purchased a can of pumpkin
It's true - Thanksgiving is pretty much only an American tradition (I say "pretty much" because apparently Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October. But we all know that Canada is really just America's hat, so they're allowed to celebrate the day of thanks with us). This year, Amy (my American housemate) and I are going to throw a Thanksgiving celebration at our house like never before! Our lovely British friends are ecstatic and curious to learn about this crazy American tradition...including figuring out what exactly YAMS are, and learning how to create a piece of turkey artwork simply out of the outline of their hand. It's going to blow them away! Now if I could just figure out a way to get the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast in the UK...

2. I went to Church
This doesn't need much explanation...I don't want to be a Debbie Downer in the middle of this blog, but seriously - only 2% of the British go to church anymore...and I must admit, it was nice to go to a church where you have to rush in to secure yourself a seat.

AND the number one most American thing I did while I was home...(insert drum roll)...
1. I Voted
YES, of course I voted! I voted the only way I've ever voted, actually...absentee ballot. It's fun, but you never get a sticker...boo. I was flying in the air on election day. It's funny how many people in England were concerned about me seeming to "skip out" on election day! I reassured them that I did my duty as a citizen of that great non-canned-hot-dog-eating nation. I'm not exactly sure which conversation I dread more with the English - the one about my feelings on how the election went, or the one where they want me to explain the workings of our electoral college. Keep in mind that the fastest way to make me look like an idiot is to ask me anything about the inner-workings of our great American government.

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog :)

The first day I landed in England my teammates and I started a new program that we have called "The Point." The point of The Point is to be an intro to Christianity for youth. After having taught in a lot of the Religious Education courses here, we've heard a lot of the same questions over and over. Right now is the perfect time for our team (along with other local youth workers) to address these questions head-on with youth in the community. We've invited anyone interested in learning more about the basics of Christianity to meet with us at a lovely place called Mr. Pizza for free pizza (who'da thunk?) and a soda for an hour after school on Tuesday afternoons for 6-weeks. That first week our topic was simply "Who is Jesus?" and last week we looked into "Why did Jesus have to die?" Tomorrow we are studying "How can we thank Jesus for that?" (basically, we're going over the whole "believe, repent, confess, baptism" thing). I'm really excited about tomorrow! Each week, we've had more kids show up (last week we had 10 kids). A lot of them have very little to no church background whatsoever. However, one of the girls who DOES go to church with her grandma sometimes told my teammate last week that she had never heard of any of this stuff we are teaching them! That's crazy! I'm so proud to be part of something like this. The kids are going out of their way to come to something blatantly about Christianity...they're learning AND having fun...AND bringing friends. And I don't think it's just for the free slices of pizza...but that definitely makes it just that much more of an enjoyable experience.

Other than that, life in England seems to be getting back to normal. I have a new place to live this year (pictures coming soon, hopefully!) and I just had a birthday. 25 years old...holy canoli, what a weird milestone to reach. A man once told me that the more birthdays you have, the longer you live, so...birthdays must be pretty healthy.

Until next time...Cheers!

Mind the Gap

Hello, lovely people who read my blog! If you're reading this, just know that you are my favorite.

So, it's been just about 2 weeks since I landed in Florida. So far, everything has been great! I've finally met my new niece (adorable, by the way!), had more waffle fries from Chic-Fil-A than one should normally consume in a two-week period, got to see friends at Florida Christian College, taught a lesson in Route 56 (my old stomping ground at Christ's Church Mandarin)...I have such a surreal life right now! I have to keep reminding myself that life in the US doesn't always involve people shrieking your name in high (happy) tones while running towards you in the prepare-to-hug position. Who else in the world gets to take a month out of life to travel around and see all of their favorite people?? I'm the luckiest girl in the world, and that's the truth. Remember: If you're ever feeling down in the dumps, just leave for a year...come back, and see how dramatic people get, going out of their way to make your life wonderful.

As for my schedule while I'm here - - I'm in Jacksonville now, but soon will be in Port Richey. Then, a week of Mount Dora, Orlando, Cocoa...then on to Tallahassee, Panama City...Woah doggies! I'm already knackered (haven't used that British-ism in a while), but obviously very excited to see my supporting churches in these areas, and hoping to add a few new churches to my repertoire as well.

Right now, I'm sitting in the living room of one of my favorite families in the whole world: the Davis family. It's really strange being back in Jacksonville, and hanging out at the church that I worked at for the year before I went to England. I was sitting in my old cubicle today, working away at the computer. It almost feels like this past year was a dream! Or, like I had gone on one really long summer break, and now I'm back to normal life. It's a strange reality.

One thing I'm really excited about is getting the chance to tell my story to so many people! I've been asked if I'm already annoyed with answering the same questions over and over again, and I can honestly say "no way, Jose!" I am finding that more and more, I LOVE talking with people about what I get to do in England. God is doing some amazing things, and I just want to tell the world. So, to those of you who I'll be coming to see soon, get your questions ready...fire away. Bring it.

I'm also very excited about my new "campaign slogan," if you will. I'm no Sarah Palin, but I think I came up with a pretty creative way to promote our ministry in Nottingham! It's simple: "Mind the Gap." "Mind the Gap" is used in public transport around Britain, most famously at the Tube stations in London, to warn travelers of the gap between the platform and the train. I think this phrase quickly sums up what my team in England is doing - "minding the gap" that exists between the youth of Nottingham and the church. Our team is working each day trying to bridge the gaping chasm between culture and Christ (you can tell I went to Bible college because I can throw out spiritual alliterations like nobody's business). I'm so used to being around teenagers who have no concept of Christ or the church, which makes being in Jacksonville that much more encouraging. The youth that I left behind here just over a year ago are still able to inspire me with the way they grasp and refine their own faith. I love these kids - and can't wait to see what adventure God has planned for their lives.

Well, another day is up...one less day filled with sunshine and waffle fries. One day closer to being back in the land of tea and monarchy. I am torn between two wonderful worlds, and I love it :)

Hurricane Crystal heading to Florida

I didn't think I was one of those people whose life shuts down when their technology shuts down, but apparently...I am. I suppose that since I now live somewhere in the ballpark of 5,000 miles away from home, I have become more thankful to technology for allowing me to keep in touch. Lately, however, I just want to find whoever created computers and give them a swift kick in the knickers! Don't get me wrong, computers are GREAT. So great in fact, that I apparently became addicted to my trusty iMac laptop, and trusted it to keep my (incredibly necessary and all-important) "To-Do" lists, schedules, ideas...all the things that make my life run smoothly. Then, about two weeks ago, my computer decided it was done. It's never good when you turn on a laptop and see nothing but a black screen with a giant "X" symbol. Now I'm finding out that I've lost all of my files on that computer, along with the "To-Do" lists that made my life a happy place, much like the forests in a Bob Ross painting. Tomorrow I will be getting my iMac back, but our relationship with no longer be the same. I'm going to be keeping my lists and life on paper as much as possible.

So now that I've played my tiny violins for you and begged for your pity, allow me to tell you some stories of my life from the past couple of months since I haven't blogged in a while (which I would love to blame on my laptop, now nick-named "the Scape Goat").

First of all, THE OLYMPICS! When it comes to me and sports, I have stories of me faking nausea on the soccer team in 8th grade, or me running from volleyballs in high school. I have to admit, I'm not much of a sport's fan...unless the Braves are having a good season, in which case I tend to profess that I've been a life-long die hard fan...OR, whenever any sort of Olympic event is being held. I ADORE the Olympics, and have since the day I decided I wanted to become Kristi Yamaguchi. Watching the Olympics in a different country was an interesting experience, to say the least. First of all, the sports that their media focuses on here are more of the boating/kayaking events, badminton, archery, etc. The funniest thing I noticed about seeing the Olympics through English eyes was (again) the Eeyore-ish mindset. They never expect to win, and even the commentators will often say things like "Honestly, team GB isn't going to pull through to get a medal, and we all know it." Wow, what a positive attitude! They did blame most of their losses on the fact that they plugged most of the athletes in there trying to get them experience for 2012 - the London games. I HAD written out an amazing list of people and things I'd like to see in London's Olympic opening ceremonies (since I'm obviously qualified to make such important decisions in the country's history), but unfortunately, that was one of the notes that got blown up inside my laptop. Here come the tiny violins again... But for those of you who really care, here is a list of some of my favo(u)rite British things that (in my expert opinion) should be featured in 2012:

5. The Cadbury chocolate gorilla: This is the commercial I cannot seem to get away from. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

4. The Edinburgh Tattoo: Umm, bagpipes, kilts, and a castle...need I say more?

3. The Queen's wave: Of the utmost importance, obviously.

2. Paul Potts: From "Britain's Got Talent," and the video that brings instant tears to my eyes...every single time.

1. The infamous "Charlie Bit My Finger" children: Adorable and hilarious. Don't you love little British kids?

The big news in my life right now is that I'm going to Florida in just THREE WEEKS! I've been fortunate enough this year to not suffer too badly from home sickness, but I'm finding that as the hours tick by and the day gets closer, I am getting SO excited about going home and spending time with my family and friends that I'm finding it hard to sleep! The reason for the trip home is to raise continued and new support for my next year in England. Please pray for me! Raising money is the hardest thing I've ever done, and having to return to do it again in short timespan is difficult. Also, pray that I don't spend too much of my own personal money on stuff I've been missing this past year! FLORIDIANS BEWARE: From September 22nd through the 3rd of November, there may be nothing left in Target or Old Navy. Also, Chic-Fil-A will be out of waffle fries and Moe's will be emptied of their Moo-Moo burritos.

I don't want to write too much in these posts and get all boring, so I'll wait to tell you my other tales of England in a couple of weeks. I'm moving in a week and a half, so hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of my new British home! Stay tuned, and I'll be seeing some of you in just a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WWII and eating jackets

Can I come up with weirder titles for my blog posts? Perhaps.

I think I've mentioned this before, but there are so many theories floating around about what exactly happened in England to land it in this current state of spiritual vapidness (is that a word? It sounds good anyways...). In other words, everyone wants to know what (or whom) we should point our fingers at. I've been overwhelmed in the past at the amount of theories, but one recently has struck me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

Ever since I arrived in England, I've been surprised at how many scars are still left behind by World War II. Damage to old buildings are still apparent, every town has at least one memorial, and they're STILL finding un-exploded bombs in some areas of England! I knew that WWII was a big deal in England, not because I learned about it in school (my history classes never went past WWI), but rather because I remember being sad for the broken family in one of my favorite Hailey Mills films (the WWI period piece, "Back Home" - just one of many Hailey Mills classics! Seriously..."Pollyanna" changed my life). So what does a world war have to do with the demise of an entire country's spirituality? Well, parts of the answer are too obvious for me to even type. Another aspect that I found somewhat less obvious (or maybe I'm just slow) is lost leadership. When WWII broke out on English soil, the church leaders wanted to set a good example, and as such, became many of the first to the front lines. Can you imagine an entire generation of church leaders wiped out by a MASSIVE war? I refuse to point fingers of blame in one direction, but I can't imagine it would be easy for any single church (much less an entire country worth of churches) to bounce back from that. I guess not all scars of war are as visible as a monument. Come to think of it, I wonder if people would notice if I built a monument in remembrance of the church.

This theory has now got me thinking a lot lately about the importance of leadership. I'm finding myself in an interesting stage of life where I'm watching many of the friends I graduated from Bible college with now becoming the new generation of church leadership. How bizarre is that! It just boggles my mind. I recently visited the Hillsong Church in London (what an experience!) and heard a sermon there on leadership. The precher compared it to a baton race, and that each generation is responsible for not only taking on the baton of leadership and running faithfully, but also for learning how best to perform the baton exchange when it's the next runner's turn. It's so true that races are won or lost in the exchange zone! It's such a quick process, but it makes all the difference how the baton is handed from runner to runner. I've started to pray even more fervently for my friends taking up roles of leadership, as well as for the current leadership that can train my friends and build them into incredible men and women ready to bear the baton for a season.

On a lighter note, I've been listening to BBC Radio 1 while writing this, and a news bulletin just came on saying that a woman recently had twins and tried to have them named "Fish" and "Chips," and was actually denied that naming right. Maybe I should be praying for these kids as well...haha! At least she didn't want them to be called "Bangers" and "Mash."

Speaking of food, I've had a request for me to write a bit about my English food experience! I absolutely LOVE English food. Most of the classic English dishes are very homey, comfort-ish foods, which I love. Plus I've always been a huge fan of cheese, and it turns out that each region of England has at least one type of its own cheese...heaven! So far, I love Derby (pronounced "Darby") and Red Leicester (pronounced "Lester") cheeses. Traditional English breakfasts are a fave (eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomato, sausage...), also pancakes (more like what we think of as crepes), Scotch Eggs (boiled egg wrapped in sausage and breading, then fried), Damson Jam (it's a type of plum), carrot & corriander soup, sandwiches with cucumber, anything with Nutella, Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding (!!!) and of course the classics like meat pies, fish 'n chips, kebabs...gosh, this is making me hungry. I'd have to say that the two types of food that I eat the most in England is Indian food (somehow England thinks it originated Indian food...but who cares, it's good! Rogan Josh is my choice of curry) and Jacket Potatoes. Jacket Potatoes are basically baked potatoes with whatever topping (the most popular being beans, tuna, sweetcorn, curry, pickle, pineapple...yeah, weird I know). I love visiting our local JPM ("Jacket Potato Man") to order a jacket with cheese, tuna, and sweetcorn. Classic English cuisine.

As for things like scones, crumpets and tea...what we think of as "proper English tea rooms" are getting harder to find (they're slowly being replaced by Starbucks and the like), therefore proper scones and crumpets are hard to find! I do love when we find a proper tea place (usually in smaller, cutesy towns like the Cotswolds) and we get to stop for an afternoon cream tea (scones with jam and hand-whipped cream....oooooh yeah). And as for tea, I'm becoming ever more English as I've slowly changed from drinking something that more resembled tea-flavored candy into now a proper cup of "white tea," meaning tea with just milk. Yay me!

I hope you all are having a lovely July! I'm currently dog sitting, so I get to enjoy the English summer weather even more than usual :) But for now, I'm going to go grab myself some lunch and then off for some more adventures in Nottingham.

Cheers!