A Very Lucky Girl

Last weekend I ventured off to London, England with Kiera, a friend who hails from Ontario. In the days leading up to the flight I played Joey Tribbiani's voice saying "London, baby!" over and over again in my head.  We took the train to Edinburgh on Thursday afternoon because most flights to major cities leave from Edinburgh for the cheapest price. Our flight left at 6:20 AM on Friday so we stayed with Kiera's family on Thursday evening. We read books to young Kate before turning in for bed around 8:30 PM without shame. Our cab was scheduled to come for us at 4:45 AM.  The ride to the airport is a blur and we both passed out on the flight. We arrived at Gatwick airport, south of London. Our welcome included completely armed security personnel meandering with AK47s and dogs. We exchanged glances and hurried to the train station.  We sat on a train for an hour before it decided to begin moving, due to a broken down train north of the station. We finally left Gatwi...

I embarked upon my first train adventure last week. A family friend whom I had never met before conversed with me via email and invited me to spend time with her and her family in their Scottish town of North Berwick. Nat and I purchased tickets and successfully navigated the giant Waverly station in Edinburgh to find the little train shuttling passengers to the wee town.  Jana and her family call New York home, but are currently spending a year in North Berwick while her husband works on a new business. They have lived there before and are old hands at understanding Scottish brogue and knowing where to find fried chicken.  Nat and I arrived in North Berwick around 3:15 PM on Wednesday afternoon and followed our ears to the ocean immediately. Jana had told me to email her when and where we were ready to be picked up that evening, but I never found WiFi again after disembarking the train in Edinburgh. Nat and I wandered the beach for an hour, marveling at the foamy waves an...

I went on a rainy adventure on Sunday. I got on a moving vehicle for the first time in two weeks! We walk everywhere in Scotland. Literally EVERYWHERE. I'm going to have killer legs when I return to America. We paid 6 pounds return to board the bus headed to St. Andrews and I tried not to think about the cars coming toward us on the wrong side of the road. Seeing backwards traffic literally makes my brain hurt. I've lived with the other way for so long! Someone is going to need to teach me how to drive again.  We arrived in St. Andrews around 11 AM and went straight to the beach. We did pass the St. Andrews Links golf course, the oldest in the world, but I went back later in the day to get proper pictures. I found a few seashells on the shore of the rocky beach and pulled my hood up to stave off the wet wind.  From there we wandered down the street until we found an alley that led us to the  University of St. Andrews! It was so amazing to stand in a quad that was 600 ye...

The Holocaust is one of my favorite historic events to study, next to the sinking of the Titanic. Tragedy is riveting, as terrible as it may sound. I've read endless books about the horrors that happened in concentration camps, to many different people groups, but especially to God's own-the Jewish nation.  Corrie ten Boom and Elie Wiesel are my two favorite authors on the subject. Their separate, firsthand experiences in Auschwitz, coupled with their insight, make for meaningful reads. I highly recommend Ms. ten Boom's "The Hiding Place" and Elie Wiesel's "Night." I've read both, multiple times. I'm currently working through Corrie's "Each New Day" devotional and received "Open Heart" by Mr. Wiesel on Christmas. I finished "Open Heart" and it was phenomenal!  I learned a lot about Elie Wiesel, his life after the Holocaust, that I didn't know before. He is currently a professor at Boston University (M...

It seems fitting that the 5th phone I will ever own will be the iPhone 5, courtesy of my wonderfully amazing father, Paul Arceneaux.  talk about being A Very Lucky Girl... If all goes according to plan, my new technology should arrive in Oklahoma City TODAY. And then it should enter my life the next weekend when I go home to spend time with my grandparents. So...less than 10 days? I can handle that!  It's been a long road to this day in Taylor history. I was one of the few (the proud?) that lacked a cellular device all throughout middle school and even freshman year! Who remembers that HOME PHONES have speed dial? The deal I made with Paul and Sharbear aided in my achievement of all A's (barely-damn geometry with Mrs. Kucik!) to kick start high school. The move to Beaumont and my stellar grades culminated in... The red one. Sharbear took one for the team and claimed the brown model. I don't recommend TMobile to anyone, by the way. But I do recommend an unlimite...