Awww...

Seriously, every time I see this picture it tugs at my heart. This is a picture of a koala bear, Sam, getting some relief from the fires in Australia. Sam was rescued and treated for burnt paws. Poor little Sam, but I am glad he got some help.

Beauty

After looking at these pictures, I give all of you permission to be jealous of me! Seriously, the city looks wonderful covered in snow. Last night, we hit a nice -17 Celsius (1 Fahrenheit). That's the coldest these parts have ever seen...of course who knows how far back the records go! Anyway, enjoy the pics as I enjoy the view in real life...







Lastly, a cryptic message for my mom. I don't think the rest of you will get it...

Winter Wonderland

In the span of a couple short hours, Edinburgh has turned into a winder wonderland. Normally the snow doesn't stick where we live, as our house is right on the sea. Well, tonight has been an exception to this. Seriously, snow has been dumping for only a couple short hours and it is sticking. I can only imagine what the castle looks like right now!

Banking in Britain

I got a rebate check in the mail from Canon (not that you need to know this, but it was for my fabulous new camera!) and needed to put it in my account. For some strange reason, you can't deposit anything into ATMs here...maybe that's why they call them "cash machines"?!? So, Ian and I stopped by the bank today. I was just going to cash the check, but apparently it could only be deposited, as it was that "kind of check". What kind of check can only be deposited and not cashed?!? Anyway, we also did not bring a deposit slip with us, which is a big no-no. The lady finally got enough info from us, left her little desk, went behind a locked door for a few minutes before deciding that is was in fact okay for her to deposit the check. Seriously, all this trouble for a check?!? Good thing checks aren't used very often here!

The Best Job in the World

Just what you all have been waiting for....my application video for the best job in the world! It is a little cheesy, but don't be a hater, at least I did one! How many of you can say that?!?

Now I present to you, the dorkiest video ever...

Drum roll please...

Oh, after all that anticipation, you have to go to the website (click on "website", as that is the direct link) and see it for yourself! Be sure to rate it!

Self Medication

I was out and about today when I saw an old lady (like late 70's) totally drunk. She was so drunk, she could barely stand. Good thing there was a cop there holding her up! At the sight of this, I decided to look at what time it was...2:27. 2:27 in the afternoon and this old lady was so drunk she couldn't even stand on her own. This got me thinking...

What makes us go from being our parent's miracle (tiny newborn babies) to people who self medicate ourselves (drink or use drugs to not deal with life)? Somewhere in life we make some bad decisions. Those bad decisions sometimes follow us around. They create stress in our life. That stress adds up and eventually we can't take it anymore. So, we self medicate.

The problem is in feeling out of control, feeling trapped. Getting snowballed in life and not knowing how to pick ourselves back up. But really, with so few years on this earth, does anyone want to spend them medicated? Not feeling what real life feels like? There is pain in life. There is disappointment. But, there is also joy, happiness, love, friendship, family, fun and more. Feeling all the greatness in life is worth feeling the pain for. Plus, no one wants to be the old lady stumbling around drunk on the sidewalk at 2:27.

Scars

Scars tell a story. They tell of who we are, where we've been, what life has been like. I have a good many scars, and a good many stories.

I have a scar on my upper thigh from the first time my parents left me with a babysitter that wasn't a relative. She put me in my car seat, ignored my cries, and allowed my leg to get a hole burned into it from the hot metal. When I was growing up, my dad introduced me to that lady as the lady who burnt your leg. She seemed less that thrilled about this. Even though I know he was joking, I also know he never wanted this to happen to me and was surely very angry at this babysitter.

I got stitches on my chin six times before I was 8. There are some nice stories there. It tells of being a crazy little kid. Playing in the pool. Jumping (stupidly, I admit) from the fence into the trailer...and not making it the whole way there!

I have a huge scar on my right knee. This is from when I was 13 at church camp. Being the cool kid I thought I was, I left my cabin when I wasn't supposed to and ended up falling down a hill. It was a nasty injury, so wide that stitches weren't even an option. It took a long time for that one to heal!

A couple weeks ago, I badly burned my left hand at work. There now is a scar. Every time I look at that scar from now on, I will remember living in Scotland.

See, scars bring back memories! We can choose to forgo the memory of the pain and remember all the good times we had! Scars tell a story; they are like a permanent reminder of life.