Reagan Family Christmas

Happy Holidays!

Here we are in the cloudy UK,
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
When the sun comes up, to Manchester we go,
Then through the Lake lands and on to Glasgow.
At a cozy bed and breakfast we shall stay,
Run through Scotland; frolick and play.
Then southward to York, and onward to London
Where we'll conclude our trip with plenty ... fun-don.
Our adventure we will capture on film for sure,
And by the end of the trip we shall definitely be poor.
But until we've dropped all our pounds,
Keep an eye on the blogs as we continue our rounds.

Love from the Reagans :)

Now...the first pictures of our adventure in Bristol and Cardiff.


Let us introduce you to our best friend in the UK...Ms. Kensington...our GPS tour guide! (we'd be lost...literally...without her)


Here's the fancy, schmancy Mercedes we got upgraded to. Delays have their benefits! But it's a trip with dad driving on the right side of the car, and the wrong side of the road.


Bristol Ferris Wheel all lit up for Christmas Eve


Bristol City Center all aglow (and...a blur)


View of Bristol from Hotel Window


Heather and Patrick on the Balcony (brrrr!)


Us on a street in Cardiff


Tower on Cardiff Castle


Pretty Church in Cardiff


This rad looking building is the government of Wales!


View of Cardiff Bay with the Norwegian Church (the red building)


The only place open on Christmas day and it's got a 20 pence cover charge!!


With nothing open on Christmas day...we made our own fun!


Patrick made some friends.


Picking a nose...yes....Bored...no! :)

Winter Solstice and all things Magical

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and is occurring...well...right now. I don't really know much about the winter solstice, and what it means for our energy. I know people used to feast before a hibernation and conduct rituals to ensure the sun came back. And there are hundreds, if not thousands of ancient structures that were built simply to honor and track the cycles of the sun and moon - Stonehenge (which I get to see soon!!) is one of them.

It's funny how in our daily lives we are unaware of these things that happen every year, movements of planets that change our energy...work with us or against us. We just passed through the new moon too...a time to plant the seeds of intention...to begin to manifest what we want. Maybe the Winter Solstice is that time too...since it is always in the darkest times that the light shines the brightest.

I'm rambling...but mostly...I wanted to share the Winter Solstice with you. The recognition that whether we know it or not, the world will keep on turning, the sun will keep on shining and every 28 days, the moon will be made anew. And if we begin to pay attention to these cycles, maybe we'll feel more connected to the earth and to each other. And if there's one thing I've learned from living in a big city...it's the importance of connecting with the earth and with each other, because it's all to easy to get distracted and lost in the concrete jungle.

The solstice is officially at 00:22 (22 Dec) Greenwich mean time (i.e. My Time) which means that at 16:22 today (21 Dec) for all you west coasters - it'll be the solstice. If you get this before then...just take a moment to...well...do whatever you want...but take the moment anyway. And for those of you who are woo woo like me, you might like to know that as an angelic sign...22 means "Your deep conviction manifests miracles and wonderful new opportunities. Keep the faith!" A really good sign going into the new year.

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and hug filled holiday season! Endulge...Rest...Rejuvenate...Give Hugs...Get Hugs...Tell people how you feel about them...Don't worry about presents or plans...just be...You deserve it :)

Lots of Love,
Heather

Fun solstice facts here: http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html. And the Daily OM for today is worth a read.


This is the statue of an angel on Brighton Beach...I got it at sunset...and loved it.


Pretty winter picture...I found it online at dreamstime and loved their spiral in it. Spirals are sacred. Spirals mean movement. Spirals are my life right now.


Frosty Trees (I didn't take this one...it's clip art...but it's appropriate.)


Moon...nuf said (I didn't take this one either...can't take the credit)


Skiers at Mammoth...wish I were there, but grateful I'm here.
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. - Helen Keller

Color of the Month: Yellow!

This weekend was yet another busy weekend for me. On Saturday I went to my Jitsu grading (read: physically exhausting test!) and got my Yellow belt! (Yipee!) Really...that just means that higher grades can throw us around now cause we know how to land and we can start to learn how to throw people around in really cool ways. It's good fun and 9 of us graded so our club is getting good :)

Yesterday I ventured out with my friend Lynn to wander the city and we ended up at the Natural History Museum. It was really amazing because as you'll see in the pictures below...the building it's housed in is incredible! And then we tried to go to Harrod's, but alas, even the Christmas hours means it closes at 6pm on a Sunday. Not cool for those of us who want to shop later, very cool for employees because they can go home and be with their families on Sunday evenings...depends on your priorities.

Now...it's the last week of term so I have reading and two 5,000 word essays to write and I'm wondering where the last 3 months went. Time is flying by so quickly I feel like I now have less and less time to see and do everything I want. But...mom, dad and Patrick arrive in less than 2 weeks so I'll have plenty more pictures as we wander our way around the country and up into Scotland. A whirlwind trip of Great Britain! So stay tuned for that. In the meantime....pretty (really blurry-but-you-get-the-idea) pictures.


Here's the outside of the Museum at night with the little Christmas Village shops (yummy fudge!)


Natural History Museum Main Hall...speechless!


A view in the other direction.


Big Dinosaur Bones! Totally Rad!


This is a slice from a giant Sequoia from the Sierra Nevadas, CA (woo hoo!), otherwise called the "Big Tree" (how original). That tree was growing before the start of Islam...now that's old!


Here are Lynn and I in front of the Big Tree.


Here we snagged someone to take a picture of us so we could get more than half of our heads.


Tree and lights outside Harrods.

Internal Meanderings

I had a really fantastic day, in a very ordinary way, but in a way that makes me realize what I'm doing here in London. And I began to think that so far, this blog has focused on where I've been physically, not necessarily where I've been mentally. So what you have here is a recap of my day and simply what's on my mind because I had to tell someone...and better that it be all of you!

The early part of my day consisted mainly of reading about Christianity and Africa, attending a lecture on African American religion, discussing both of the above with other MA students in our seminar and then grocery shopping (a fun task for me because I like to eat!). That was all pretty much status quo. A regular day in the london life of Heather. My day began to take on some meaning at about 4:30pm when I attended a lecture on Technological novelty and temporality (don't worry...I didn't really know what I was going to learn about either). The talk, though interesting in its own right, was more interesting to me because of the context in which it was given...the woman, an anthropologist with a PhD who was employed by intel to do research. It's probably not anything new to some of you, nor actually to me, but it really struck me because it was the first time I really let myself think that I could completely combine my academic self with my professional self. I could be one in the same...be an academic from within a corporation. Utlize all this theory and rhetoric and research I'm doing to really effect change somewhere from the inside out. Really...I thought that was cool.

When the talk was over the day's theme of "Interconnectedness" continued because we all went to the pub (where so many outings and even innings end up in London). I by chance met a tutor who will be lecturing in one of my courses, the one I have to present for, and had some fantastically interesting chats with people from other programs whom I knew but not in the same way before. And as I sat there I was struck by the realization that for so long I've had this belief that you are who you need to be in whatever area of your life...student...employee...friend...etc. And I naively kept these parts of my world rather separate - thinking that to be a good student or employee...you do your work and go home. But here...you do your work, you talk about it...and then you go to the pub and you talk about it and everything else under the planet some more. There is no dividing line between the student Heather and the social Heather...but oddly enough I've never really tried to be both at the same time. It's an odd realization I know...and I could very well not be making any sense at all (it is about midnight here). But I just wanted to share that with everyone because what's going on with me mentally...is that I'm gaining a better understanding of who I am as a whole person. Because I can't be who I've been anymore, nor can I be who I will become. I can just be me and learn as I go how all the pieces of me fit together. In the words of Hugh Prather from a little book called Love and Courage that I read and re-read:

"Change is the return of something once known, something that will not be abandoned. I look down the line of my life and I see it surfacing again and again. I recognize it. I am that thing. I am being put back together."

I know this is an incredibly long blog and I thank you for being my journal for today...I just have one more thing which, arrived in my email from a friend today, and seeming fitting with my blog-o-logue...I'll share it with you:

Saint Theresa Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance.
It is there for each and every one of you .

And now...we return to our regularly scheduled programming...HEZ in LONDON!


I've decided this will be a random collection...so this is a boat on Brighton beach...Sail away!


The title of this picture is "I want one!". A wood carver sets up shop in this little cove just off the south bank of the Thames and sets out all his carvings, most of which are benches and the most beautiful rockers in different animal shapes. Oh to have dispensible income...I'd get 10.


This is a picture of my kitchen...just in case you were wondering. (Note the itty bitty refrigerator...for 5 people to share)


The Greenwich Clock...it really does tell time!! (uh...when the sun is out...)


This is...my head. I was trying to get my whole face...but...I'm a spaz and this is funnier :)

Thanksgiving in London

Just yesterday my American friends and I celebrated Thanksgiving by cooking up a storm and having a bunch of people crammed into our tiny hall kitchen and introducing them to the yummiest American holiday :) It was nice to have a little bit of home in Britain (a big shout out to Mom who sent me key ingredients for the Green bean casserole and pumpkin pies!)

Here are some pictures of our event:


Props to Molly and Mike for fantabulous turkeys!


Tight space...but we're all friends. This is everyone waiting for the food!


Here's the spread...we had everything - mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, salad, bread and I made sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and pumpkin pies. I was feeling quite domestic!


Here are the American hotesses...Me, Lynn and Molly (she's not really that short).

Brighton, Canterbury, Dover...Oh My!

Sorry for being a blog slacker! Things have been quite busy recently with school and trips and we had a computer downtime (I lost all connection with the outside world!) but that's been remedied and I'm back!

Last week I went to Brighton on my own for my first outside of London trip. I spent most of my time wandering along the pebbley beach enjoying the ocean. It reminded me of San Diego less the sand and sun :) But it was a beautiful day nonetheless and Brighton is an adorable place. The waterfront has a ton of cute shops and really good artist stores with handmade jewlery, paintings, carvings and so many other great things. I'll definitely need to go back there sometime!

The very next day after Brighton I went on a tour of Canterbury and Dover Castle. It was a whirlwind trip because there was so much to see in one day, but the town of Canterbury is adorable with really great shopping! And the Canterbury Cathedral is something everyone should see. It really is incredible and from what I understand is considered the main cathedral for the Church of England. Well worth the visit! And Dover Castle is like going back in time. It's so funny to think that I'm wandering around a castle that's hundreds of years old and I could have visited in a past life or something. Really neat. And the view is incredible looking out over the English Channel. That's where you can catch the ferry to France! We quickly drove past the white cliffs of Dover but my pictures came out as a blur...otherwise...I'd show you those too!

School has been keeping me busy too. I turned in my first essay last Wednesday and I have to get reading and researching for my next two essays and presentations. Time to really get into school mode! The great part though is that I'm reading about things that really interest me so the reading isn't tough to make myself do...it's just the time that seems to fly by so I never get through everything I want!

Oooh...I will have some fun footage for you all soon! I spent this last weekend in Birmingham for the Jitsu Nationals (I have few pictures cause I was inside pretty much the whole time!). I got to train and compete with novices from all across the country and watch competitions for the higher grades including the black belts which was awesome! My friend Lynn got video of my competition so when she gets me the clip I'll post the link so you can all see me in action. I'm not super good (cause I got punched in the face during my gauntlet! - my fault) but I'm still learning and in the end it's a ton of fun and the people I've met are just awesome :)

That's all for now! I have some pictures for you below. Hope you enjoy!

Pictures:

The Tower Bridge at Twilight - I'm proud of this pretty picture :)


Royal Pavilion in Brighton


Brighton Pier - Really good chips!! (That's fries to you americans!)


View from Brighton Beach...Love that!!


Canterbury Cathedral...the picture doesn't do it justice.


One inside part of Canterbury Cathedral.


The Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral


Dover Castle...the far away shot is necessary...it's too big to get up close!


View from the top of the Castle.


Saint Mary's Church within the walls of Dover Castle

Guy Fawkes Day - Funny Holiday!

It's been a little while since my last post mostly because there hasn't been much going on besides school. Plus I got a cold which is just now starting to go away so I slept my way through almost a whole week :) That's the benefit of not working right now...I can sleep in!

We did have a couple of Halloween parties which was fun. I...the punny person I am...went as a ceiling fan by making a T-shirt that said "Go Ceilings!". It was lost on a few people...but it made laugh. I was unaware that the focus for costumes (or "fancy dress" as it's called here) is still on the scary stuff and not so much on just dressing up. Who knew! We had a good time though and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning. I forgot to bring my camera though so unfortunately...no good party pictures for the blog!

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes day which I have to say is the oddest holiday I've experienced. Basically...this guy (Guy Fawkes) and his crew tried to blow up Parlaiment in 1605 in order to overthrow the king. He put 36 barrels of gunpowder under parlaiment and they were prepared to fire them until it occurred to them they'd be killing some innocent people so someone from the group sent an anonymous letter to tell them about the plot. So...today...we celebrate their great failure by firing off gazillions of fireworks for days at a time! Unlike in Reno, fireworks are readily accessible in the grocery store so there were firework displays everywhere. Sounded like gunfire for 3 days straight! There's a song too...I'll need to learn that! Either way...it was fun to see fireworks cause I love them!

I am headed to Brigton and Canturbury and Dover Castle this weekend so I'll post some new pictures of fancy new places soon. In the meantime, I just added a few more of my pictures for kicks.

Happy Guy Fawkes to everyone! And Happy Full Moon (as of 1pm my time yesterday)...watch out for the crazies :)

Pictures: (1) Cutty Sark - fancy old boat in Greenwich that's cemented in (2) Burlington Arcade in downtown - expensive shops, but its soo pretty! (3) Artsy Sidewalk along Green Park (4) Really expensive Street! If you can afford to shop at Chanel, Harry Winston, Armani and others...go here! (5) Girls on a pub Crawl :) [left to right - Molly, Alison, Joanna, Vanessa and ME!