What I learned in April

So, for the past few months, I've either been delinquent here, or not shown up at all for the What I Learned post. Oh, I know it doesn't really matter if I write these silly or not so silly things I learned in April. But, I really WANT to, so here goes. Even though it is already a fourth of the way into May.



Things I learned in April.

1.  I've realized that I've done a "180" with mugs in my cupboard. I remember not too long ago, I bemoaned the fact that none of my mugs matched and I had a cupboard full of unmatched mugs. 

Yorkshire Fog tea in York, England

Funny. Now, I seem to be collecting ones that I love. See, I am addicted to tea, whether in tea cups and saucers or in mugs. I bought two mugs in England. A Kath Kidston mug which is floral and I adore, and a London mug with little red busses and Buckinham Palace guards on it.  I even have a thrifted mug with cowboy boots. I've become a mug-aholic.

2.  I've declared that I love immigration movies. Hubby was on a trip to Europe in April and I rented Brooklyn on redbox. Loved, loved it! I wonder if my fascination with immigrant movies has to do with the fact that my dad immigrated from Sweden when he was 16. Yes, most likely.

3.  A hair straightener does more than straighten hair. At my April hair appt. I told my stylist I'd really like a perm, like soon. She said they didn't offer them, but she said I could get more texture in my very straight hair using a straightener to put some "bend" in, and maybe even get some curl. 

What? I went out right away and bought a low expense straightener from Target and wallah, I had textured and slightly curly hair. Took ten minutes and I'm hooked.

4.  I also watched Room while hubby was in Germany. It was intense, but great great acting. I realized only after watching, that Brie Larson, the main character won best actress for her role. SO WELL DESERVED!

5.  Typing the word "cross" in my phone makes an actual cross icon show up. I had no idea.


Well, folks, I know I learned a ton more, but I'll share more in the May post, because, you know. I just keep learning stuff! Isn't that the beauty?

Blessings to you,
Anne

Linking up over at Emily P. Freeman's blog for the What I learned link up.

What I learned in March

This is going to be the fastest "what I learned" post in the history of my "what I learned in a month" posts. Emily's link up closes in about 20 minutes and I desperately want to join in because, well, I learned a lot in March.



Joining in a bit late for Emily Freeman's "What I Learned" link up at emilypfreeman.com

It's going to be a bulleted list, and who knows, maybe I'll elaborate on some of them in future blog posts.


On March 14th, hubby and I left for Europe and we were gone for 20 days. We traveled to Denmark and Germany for his work, toured a bit in Germany over a weekend, spent a day and a half in Paris, and then went on to England to visit our daughter who's on a Gap Year there doing youth work.



Here are some things I learned on our travels throughout Europe in 20 days.

1.  I have more stamina than I thought.

I didn't prepare near enough in the walking department. I barely squeaked out a mile or so every other day (if that) in preparing for walking to sites. My hubby's iPhone app told us we averaged 7 miles a day of walking and 20 flights of stairs/day on our travels!! What?? I did that??!! (p.s. I could feel it)

2.  I like London better than Paris.  I'll explain more in a future blog post.

3. Paris was still awesome. Arch de Triumph was breathtaking coming up on the escalator from the subway. O.M.G.

And, the Eiffel Tower. I need say no more. Astonishing and beautiful.  Seeing it at night was icing on the cake.

4. Our Paris Hotel was very old and very Parisian. (lol) The gal at the desk said, "we upgraded you to a suite, but it's on the 6th floor and the elevator only goes to the 5th floor. Are you okay with going the extra floor with stairs?"  

Huh? Before I could protest, hubby said sure. He carried our bags. And, the stairs were crooked. Oh, but it was the cutest place.

5.  Europe knows how to do gluten free bread. Oh my gosh. I was in roll and bread heaven. Too bad I couldn't bring any back with me.

6. Seeing my daughter's smile in person after 6 months of just seeing it on video chat was priceless.

7. Our son met us in London on our England visit to see his sister. Seeing our son and daughter interact again was pure bliss.

8. I love Yorkshire tea. Anytime of day. And, I'll take it with milk, or half and half please.

9. First ever double decker bus ride that I can remember (in London). We sat on the top and even at my old age, it was a thrill. 

10.  We traveled in Denmark, Germany and France and England and met friendly people in every place. People that spoke English well, and People that struggled with English. 

Our world got smaller.


Well, this is all I have time for right now, but I feel I could write a book. Maybe Emily could give me tips on how to get started.

"Out of Shape Iowa girl goes to Europe for 20 days and Survives", or some title like that.


Thanks for joining me today.

I have so much more to say. Talk about an inspiring month.

Anne

What I learned in April

I'm linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky for her "What I learned" link up. Below I'm sharing some things I learned in April in no particular order. Come on over to chattingatthesky.com to read what other writers are learning. Both the silly and the serious!


1. The first thing I've learned since writing these end of the month posts is that if I do not keep notes during the month, I get to the end and it feels like I haven't learned anything. Not true, of course.


2. If you ask clearly for what you need, you just might get it. We had to travel from Iowa to Indiana last weekend. I had a seminar and my husband had to drive on Saturday to Columbus, OH. I didn't have a way to get to my seminar. (call a taxi? I've never.) 

So, I emailed the bed and breakfast we were planning to stay in and they said, sure, they could drop me at my seminar on Saturday morning. (Actually, they made their eighteen year old son get up early on Saturday morning to take me. No joke. He was not too talkative on the drive.) No charge. 

And, John, the Innkeeper, made my gourmet breakfast an hour earlier than everyone else. I will tell all of my friends about Prairie Guest House in Fishers, IN. Plus, the room "Courtney", in the 100 year old house, was sweet. Here's a pic from their website because I forgot to take a picture!

prairieguesthouse.com

3. We finally named our new-to-us Camry. His name is Wilson (not my choice, but it is approved by my husband and adult children, and of course the car could not be a girl's name.) It's growing on me. Named aptly after the dealership where we purchased him.

Yes, we name our vehicles. You should try it. It makes life a lot more fun.

My husband's previous car was J-LO, not necessarily after the actress, but because the license plate randomly said JLO before the numbers. My husband's current commuting car is named Scotty. He is red, and Scotty from Star Trek wears a red shirt. And since Scotty from Star Trek is my husband's hero, his red car became Scotty. (are you ready to commit our family yet?)

And, last but not least, the van we just traded off had been named endearingly  "The Meatwagon" by our three kids. How heartwarming! My daugher was actually sad when we got rid of the Meatwagon.

4. My "new" Camry has an awesome sound system and I've newly discovered that Josh Groban's voice is the perfect road trip companion.

5. My birthday was April 23rd and I wanted to go to a new restaurant that we hadn't tried before. I always have to check for a gluten free menu. When I saw that they served sandwiches on gluten free buns, I was all in. 

We went to Granite City Food and Brewery, and I ordered a Reuben sandwich. The first Reuben I've had in at least five years. It was like sandwich heaven. My husband liked his burger too, so we'll definitely be going back! 

6. I tried a new dishcloth knitting pattern. I only had to rip three of the points out one time and then, success! I finished a new dishcloth on our roadtrip last weekend. All I need to do is sew up the side and cinch up the center. I think this one is rather pretty! 

Thanks for stopping by!