Terror and Frozen Britain

The weeks leading up to the European Extravaganza were tense. To chronicle this I am taking a leaf out of Letterman's book and doing a Top 10 list. Please note however, these are real.


Top 10 CNN Headlines Leading Up To Our Trip:

"Newark terminal locked down; search continues for man"

"Delta flight aborted due to smoky smell"

"London breeding Islamic terrorists"

"UK to tighten airport security after failed bombing"

"UK crippled by snow, freezing temperatures"

"TSA takes responsibility for Newark airport breach"

"Stop the panic on air security"

"Snow-hit UK struggles against big freeze"

"3 arrested after bomb threat at Heathrow"

"Gormet Burger closes it's doors, Cody cancels trip"


Okay so they weren't all real, only one of them was fake...there were only two people arrested after the Heathrow thing.


Just Kidding!


Okay so Terror was abounding as well as idiot security guards and airports everywhere were raising their security levels. Still...I was determined. I would go to the airport early and wait in the stupid lines and I would go through the strip search with grace and pride and by God I was going to make it to London. Nothing could stop me, Hell would have to freeze over.



News Flash: I didn't need to be worried about hell. Everything was freezing over.

Neurotic Monica

My favorite t.v. show is Friends. It is the best. Ever. And as much as I don't like admitting it, my personality is very much like Monica's. I specialize in a specific version of Monica's character which the writers of the show call "Neurotic Monica". Scared? You should be.


Neurotic Monica has some lovely qualities such as her timeliness, her organization, her cleanliness, her self discipline...but, like everyone else she does have some flaws. These include a slight tendency towards the dramatic, an unreasonable level of self-expectation and then of course there is the ever present neurosis.


Hey...I resemble that remark!


And since this is a deeply ingrained and pivotal part of my personality (sorry family and friends) I of course have to apply it to all aspects of my life. Including trip planning. Sorry Cody.


So once we had decided that our European Extravaganza was our new reality I got a move on! And I carted Cody along with me!


We waited in line at the post office to have our passport photos taken only to be told that the lady who is qualified to work a digital camera was on her lunch break; we booked six plane tickets before asking for the time off from work to make sure we could actually go; we researched the climate in the areas we would travel to and were assured that it only snows a few inches in London in the dead of winter, tops (more on that later); Cody talked to his phone company and was told that his phone should work in Europe; Christina bought a phone card just in case; and finally we went back to the damn post office so that the lady could take our photos. Cheese.


It wasn't always the smoothest of journeys but it was happening. I made 1,784,263 to-do lists and I planned. I could have received a Gold Medal for the amount of planning I did. I bought double decker bus tour tickets, I ordered money from the bank in both currencies, I made a travel folder which had all of our documents and receipts organized in the order in which we would need them in the airport. I bought a digital camera, I held Cody's passport hostage and I printed out seven pages worth of Spanish vocabulary for Cody and I to study on the plane. Next time see Cody, ask him to speak to you in Spanish, he's real good at it.


I also stressed. Did you know that I do that? Well, I do. A smidge. And I broke down and cried and yelled sometimes. I overworked myself and was frustrated about the Tube system and the flight connection in Madrid and I still hadn't found time to get a new heavy jacket. And it was all becoming just too much.


But whenever I got overwhelmed or upset or just needed to rant for awhile Cody did a really good job of being there for me. He helped me prioritize, tried to handle some of the to-do's I couldn't get to and he gave me lots of hugs when I needed them. Yep, Cody was there for me through thick and thin; reminding me that I needed to snap out of my hysteria and keep my eyes on the prize...that hamburger.

It All Started With A Hamburger...

Okay it didn't all really start with a hamburger, but sometimes it sure felt that way.

It actually started with her...

And her...

And their ability to branch out and do something incredible. They decided to study abroad.

In Spain.

Can you say jealous???

To be honest I was mostly just jealous of the gall it took to commit to a foreign land for a year without ever having been there. They had the cojones (note: like my fab spanish skills?) to take advantage of an awesome opportunity and I was stuck here in my self made and maintained straightjacket.

Can you say boring???

So I did what any reasonable person would do...I started dreaming about visiting them. Hmm, visiting...how bold.

ANYWHO...so I started dreaming and whining...to him...

And let me just mention that Cody here is the King of Home Bodys, that is actually his middle name. Not really. And Cody King of Home Bodys was NOT having it.

"No way, Christina, that is not happening, we don't have the money, we don't have the time, we don't have the cojones."

All were great arguments but none of them topped Christina On A Mission. That is my middle name. Not really.

So I came back with "Yes way, Cody, it is SO happening! We will spend half as much money if we do this now then we would at any other point in our lives. And do you really want to live your life thinking about money all the time??? And we do have this handy seven week long break in the middle of the year. And I think we should also go to London! Oh and darling sweet Cody would you please look at this picture...?"

It was right about here that the Heavens parted and Baby Jesus descended with clouds full of angels singing behind him and just like that, it was decided...because I had found perhaps the only thing Cody loves more then America...a hamburger. And you can bet that I am shallow enough to use it as a bargaining chip. So we decided, Spain would be our frontier with a pit stop at Gormet Burger in London on the way (more on that later).

That's right people! I was going to Spain. And London. And I was bringing Cody the Connoisseur of Hamburgers along with me (Note: like my fab French skills? I think I am ready for another trip...).

We had the cojones!!!

New Beginning

Awhile back I created this blog and it went nowhere fast, this is attempt number two. Let's hope the whole "third time's a charm" rule doesn't apply here. The good thing is I actually have things to blog about now. I also have a good camera. I might even have "time". And since these were my excuses last time, hopefully I will find a way to battle through and stick to something in my life. Next up: Europe!