Stat Laugh...

I was spending a few minutes looking at my blog stats and I just happened to notice that someone found my blog by googling, "feelingstowardsplants" with no spaces. It's just been one of those days where it made me laugh out loud. :)

Have a great day!

Good News! Update!

I went to the neurologist last week and got some great news; all I need to do is take some medication and watch my dang tumor. My tumor is called a micro adenoma and it’s very small. I started some medication that’s supposed to help keep it small and I’ll be getting MRI’s once a year to make sure that it isn’t growing. I will also be getting blood work done frequently to make sure that my hormone levels are staying in the normal range. If the blood work gets wacky then I get an MRI sooner. The concern for growths like this is that they are close to the optic nerve and if they grow large enough they can press on it causing vision problems and headaches. So, deep breath and relax! I’ve dealt with a ton of stress over this for a few weeks and I’m finally starting to feel better about all of it.

Now, my doctor told me that there’s no way to know how long I’ve had this growth or what caused it to decide that my head was a good place to live. However, this whole scare did make me realize that I need to make some changes for the better. I realize that I didn’t cause this tumor to happen, but I do think that I can do a better job of taking care of myself. Hugh and I are both healthy people. We work out and are in healthy ranges for our weight/cholesterol/blood pressure, etc. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement (ok, the only person that really needs improvement is me. Hugh has almost no body fat so let’s just stop pretending that any of this applies to him). I do a great job of maintaining my weight, but I don’t eat consistently. There may be times when I eat too much and then times when I don’t eat much at all.

Changes:

·         No more caffeine/cokes. I go through phases with coke. There will be times when I could drink two in a day and then I go through periods where I’ll not have them for a while. In the past, I’ve stopped drinking regular coke only to start sucking down the diet cokes. No more. I’m sure whatever is in them isn’t good for you.

·         Less processed food. Now I’m not going to go to the extreme and say that I won’t eat any processed foods, but I think I should significantly cut down on the amount of processed food that I consume. This includes processed sugar.

·         More fruit! I’ve tended to stay away from fruit because so much of it has a really high amount of sugar in it. No more. Fruit is healthy, and I like it.

·         Take vitamins. Ugh. I’m the worlds worst about taking vitamins. Maybe I need gummies.

While I know that these things may have no affect on my pituitary growth, I think they will do wonders to help me feel better overall. I want to be healthier and I think this will help me achieve that.

Thanks again to everyone that said prayers for me. I know it helped!

Love,

A hard week.....

I’ve had a tough week. Not since Monday. More of a Tuesday through Wednesday kind of thing.

About two weeks ago I had to have my blood drawn. I take medication for my thyroid and needed to have it checked. My Dr. decided to run a full hormone panel on me just to make sure that I wasn’t having any other types of issues. (Thyroid is a hormone) Last Tuesday I got a phone call at home from my Dr. calling to let me know that one of my hormone levels was high and that I needed to have an MRI of my brain done. I was really confused. She explained to me that in some cases if that particular hormone level is high that it can mean there is a tumor on the pituitary gland causing it to secrete too much hormone.

I was in shock. I never in a million years expected to get a phone call like that. The hospital called me and set up my MRI for last Friday. The MRI itself sucked. It took a few tries to get my IV in since they had to do it with and without contrast. They put these sandbag type things around your head and a cage that looks like something Darth Vader wore over your face. They kept asking me if I was claustrophobic, and I have to say that I was starting to feel a tiny bit closed in. Bleh.

I spent the next few days stressed beyond belief with worry about what the results would be. I got the call today at work. I have a small tumor in my brain on my pituitary gland. I’m being referred to a neurologist to be evaluated. The good news is that IT’S NOT CANCER! I’m happy about that. Thrilled, in fact. However; I’m still not exactly excited to know that I have a tumor in my head. I feel violated just knowing it’s there. Yuck.

As much as I love the internet it can also be a little TOO much information. From what I’ve read the type of tumor that I have is usually treated either with a life-long medication regimen or by having it surgically removed. I think the best thing is to just stop reading about it and wait to see what the neurologist suggests. 

When it all comes down to it I’m thankful that it’s not cancerous. I know that it’s going to be ok. BUT, it’s scary as hell. It’s hard to go through my normal day and to try and not think about it. I’m just ready to get with the neurologist and get some more answers. I’m happy knowing that Hugh will be by my side. He does a good job of keeping me from allowing my imagination to run wild. 

I’ll keep you guys posted on what I learn. If you’re the praying type I’d appreciate you sending some my way.

Love,

Running Conversations...

I’ve been working very hard at getting ready for the MUDRUN that’s coming up in less than two weeks. I essentially picked up my Couch 2 5k app up at week 4 (ouch!) and I’ve been pounding the pavement ever since. I’m doing well. I’ve stopped staring at the ground when I run and I’m now happily moving along at 17 minute increments. Anything more than that and I’m an unhappy camper. However; if I will slow down and walk for only a minute I can get right back into running mode and do another long installment. CRAZY! I’m the most MENTAL person when it comes to running. I’m working as hard as I can to become a “runner” but I’m starting to wonder if it’s ever going to be something that I really and truly enjoy.

Hugh is a great runner. He has the build of a long distance runner but he doesn’t enjoy it. In fact, let me share with you a conversation we had while walking around the lake in our subdivision Sunday morning.

Jenn: “As hard as I’m working with the running thing I’m just not sure that I’ll ever love it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be a runner.”

Hugh: “I hate running.”

Jenn: “I know you hate it, but you’re good at it. Do you even keep track? How do you know how far you’re going?”

Hugh: “I don’t. I just run until I’m tired and then I stop.”

Jenn: “Um. Yeah. If I did that I wouldn’t make it past the mailbox.”

We changed subjects for a minute because I was busy looking at someone’s amazing backyard and almost stepped on a fish head that had been left on the sidewalk (we’re walking on the sidewalk between the houses and their docks) and Hugh thought I was having a seizure when I was simply attempting to not step on said fish head.

Jenn: “So you have no desire to ever become a marathon runner?”

Hugh: “No. In fact; my worst nightmare involves me having to run a long distance with someone following me and brushing their teeth the entire time.”

Jenn: “Hmm….I think my worst nightmare would be running a long distance with someone NOT brushing their teeth behind me. Dirty teeth are so gross.”

So there you have it. An insider’s look to what Hugh and I spend our time discussing while we’re out and about. Also, you now know that Hugh hates the sound of someone brushing their teeth.

I know that I’ll be ready for the MUDRUN on October 8^th. It’ll be fun and I know we will both enjoy it. I’m just going to keep at it with the running and focus on what I’m going to wear instead of worrying about the run.

Love,

Jenn

Today I co-hosted a Jack & Jill shower for my sister Chelsey and future brother-in-law Eddie. We held the shower at the Wings & More Party Room in College Station and it was great! The shower was for all of their friends and family in the B/CS area and we all had a good time. We had all of the yummy food from Wings & More and we even let had the Texans game on for entertainment. I think Chelsey and Eddie had fun and we made it as painless as possible for two people that particularly care to be in the spotlight. We are all excited about the upcoming wedding festivities! Check out some of the pictures from the afternoon.

 The cake! My mom got this from Kroger and it was delicious. She bought the ornament at Michael's and designed the cake around it. 

 The bridal party!

 Melissa Jo and Chelsey

 The bride and groom!!!! Chelsey and Eddie

 My parents with Chelsey and Eddie. Oh, and Jackson too. 

 The party room. We all had a great time.

Me with my cutie sister the bride! I don't think we look alike, but I think we both clean up pretty well. ;)

A big thanks goes out to Hugh for taking such great pictures.

Epic European Adventure, Volume 7

After Hugh and I had been up for 3.5 hours (with about 3 hours of sleep) we met up with our free tour and headed out towards the Highlands. The day promptly turned from cold and sunny to cold and rainy. We started out of town and but first stopped to take pictures of a bridge. It’s a cool bridge, and if I could recall the name I would tell you. It is very cool looking, though.

Hugh spent the majority of our travel time during this tour sleeping. I might have dozed a little myself, but who can blame us? We’d been up for hours and then sat in a small tour bus for a long drive. The weather was gloomy and we were SLEEPY! Hugh and I probably spent $25 this day on hot drinks and coke. Every time we stopped we were looking for something to help keep us awake.

The highlights of the day trip would have to be the William Wallace monument, meeting Hamish the famous cow, the pretty “drunken” loch, and the Monty Python castle. The William Wallace monument is really interesting. The structure is beautiful and it’s high up on a hill. It took us about a 10 minute hike in the rain, but it was worth it for the view. Unfortunately the rain was coming down at a pretty quick rate so we didn’t pull the camera out. Hugh did manage to get a few pictures from the bottom of the hill looking up at the monument, but there’s condensation on the lens. At this particular location we both drank some hot tea to try and wake up.

Hairy Coo’s!!! I know in a previous post I mentioned that the name of the tour was called The Hairy Coo. (Coo=Cow when you have a brogue) Did I mention that the bus was actually painted to look like one? It was orange, had a smile face and two ears hanging off the side. We stopped in a small town where we got to meet Hamish the famous bull. Hamish is a bull that had spent his life on the roadside where people would stop and feed him. According to our tour guide he’d even starred in a few movies. He’s quite large and had the required Justin Bieber hair cut. A few years ago England was struck with a spreading case of Mad Cow Disease. All cattle that were under the age of 7 would get a vaccine, but any cattle that were older would have to be put to death. At this time Hamish was 10. The woman that owned Hamish started a petition to have his life spared. Apparently he gets thousands of visitors a day so she was able to rack up a large amount of signatures. The petition ended up on the Queen’s desk and she granted him a royal pardon. She even came out and visited him one day. YAY!!! Hamish was saved! I do have to say that the cows were cute. Much cuter than our cows. You can buy parsnips to feed them, but if you touch a cow when you’re overseas you can get into trouble with the customs people. Humans can transfer Mad Cow Disease (aka Foot & Mouth disease) and they don’t take that very lightly when you’re coming through customs in Houston. Hugh and I just took pictures and let the Scottish guide get his hands slobbery. Oh, I think we had a coke on this stop.

I love, love, LOVE Monty Python. Hilarious. Simply hilarious. If you’ve never watched Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail you must correct this oversight. It’s awesome. We stopped at the castle where the movie was filmed. It was fun to walk around and hear the story of how it was the comedy troupe’s only option for a castle. Apparently they’d been trying to rent a castle for a while but nobody wanted to rent out their castle to them. Our guide had some coconuts on a string that we walked around with while we were there so we could sound like the “horses” in the movie. This is also where Hugh decided to pull out our new lens and take a few photos of the flowers on the property. He did a great job!

Our last stop for the day was at some various lochs through the Highlands. They were all gorgeous. It’s hard to put into words the beauty of the land. Hugh and I decided that if we ever make it back to Scotland we’d like to spend some extended time out in the Highlands. You can hike forever and all of the water you see is crystal clear (and cold!). My only wish would have been for it to have rained a little less. We were prepared with our raincoats; but it’s still a hindrance. However, as green as Scotland is I have a feeling that the rain is a common occurrence.

We finished our day by coming home and going to bed! We were exhausted but happy that we took the tour and see the Highlands.

 This is the really cool bridge on the way out of town.

 The William Wallace Monument from the bottom of the hill. Now that I look at it I see that it kind of looks like a penis. Hmmm..

 Loch Drunkie: Its name comes from a time when bootleggers would toss barrels of whisky into the lake to hide from the authorities. There's a small wall on the right side that is actually ruins from the Normans.

 Oh yeah...we rode around in this.

 Hairy Coo!!! Notice the bangs?

 Hugh and the Hairy Coo. It sounds like a great name for a children's book....or one of those shows that require a subscription to watch.

 The Monty Python castle. 

 Hugh's practice with the fixed 50mm lens. Love the flowers!

Alright guys...I've only got London and Stonehenge left to write. I might break London down into two parts so I can give the British Museum its own post. :)

Love,

Where did Jenn go??

Whoa! I haven’t blogged in forever.

I’m going to quit beating myself up about it and simply tell you about what all Hugh and I have been up to. Hugh and I have gotten moved in and semi-settled. We’re down to one room full of boxes and we’re in no hurry to get them unpacked. We LOVE the new place. The dogs are enjoying all of the extra room to the extent that I have to DRAG them inside every afternoon to cool down for a while and we’ve had to increase their food intake because they were losing weight. One of the best moments we’ve had in the house happened this past Sunday. Hugh and I had gotten up early so we went down to the Heights and got tacos for breakfast. We came back and sat on the back porch and read the paper (ok, I read the ads and comics) while the puppies played in the yard. It was so relaxing and we were both so very happy. :) Of course, the temperature was in the 70’s. That might have helped a little.

I decided last January to do an administrative certification program that didn’t seem too tough or time consuming. The deal was that I would be able to use my technology internship documents for the internship thus making it not a big deal. I mean, who would sign up to write an additional thesis when you’ve already completed one? Well….come to find out there’s a lot more work involved in this last class and I’m semi-drowning in the paperwork. I only have 2 ½ weeks left to get it all done and then I can relax and be home free, but getting there is consuming most of my time. That is essentially what I’ve been up to and why I haven’t been blogging.

Hugh and I hosted our nephew Jackson’s first birthday party last weekend at our new place. It was a great success and I’ll post pictures as soon as I get a chance.

I will also finish blogging about our summer travels. I PROMISE!

Last Monday Hugh and I decided to sign up for the Houston Mud Run sponsored by the National MS Society. This is the same group that does the MS 150 bike ride every year.  It’s a 10k run (6.4 miles) with over 15 muddy obstacles thrown in. I think it’s going to be a ton of fun but there’s a wee small problem with my running ability: I have none. Hugh swears that it’s all mental with me. I can swim miles at a time and yet when you ask me to run a mile it’s as if my legs don’t understand.  So, I did the only think I could think of: I decided to pick up the Couch to 5k program on my iPod starting at week 5. I had been using this back in January when I decided that I wanted to be able to run 3 miles without stopping. I quit using it when I was swimming 5 days a week. Thus far I’m doing fine and I’m having no problems keeping up with the running program. In fact, when I ran yesterday I was able to continue on past the stopping point. Since I only have 4 weeks left my goal is simply to be able to run for 30 minutes at a time without stopping. If I can get to that point I know I’ll be fine. Plus, signing up and paying my money was definitely the best motivation I could give myself. We’ll see! I’ll keep you updated on the progress.

Monday Goals: I decided to give them a try and I have to be honest and say that I seem to suck at them. I write the goals down and then stress about getting them done, and then I give myself a hard time if I wasn’t able to complete them. Since the whole point of goal setting is motivation and focus I feel like I’m missing the whole point. Maybe I just need therapy. Lots of therapy. So, for now I’m going to hold off on them. I might try doing them again in a few weeks when my stress level is a little bit lower, or I might just try something different. We’ll see what happens.

Have a great week!

Weekly Goals-Second Week

Goals for the week!

Ok. Here’s an update on last week’s goals.

·         Finish packing the kitchen by Wednesday. I know this might sound like a silly goal, but you haven’t seen my kitchen! Done! Here’s a thought though: if you pack up your toaster, don’t wonder why you can’t locate it the next morning. 

·        Find and buy a pair of khaki pants for work. Didn’t happen.

·        Have three sugar-free days this week. Sure as heck didn’t happen.

·        Workout 5 of the 7 days. (This is usually the normal, but last week I only made it twice and I felt like crap for doing so.) I made it to the gym twice and ran outside once. The rest of the week was devoted to moving. I do think that the three days I spent moving stuff outside in the heat should count!

·        Find the time to do something just for me this week. HA! I wish.

Hopefully I can do better this week. Last week was completely nutso with the move but I am confident that things can be a little more normal this week.

Goals for the week of August 15-21^st.

• Workout 5 days! We’re in the process of switching gyms, so this will most likely be cardio in the new neighborhood.

• Change our address with the chronicle, banks, credit cards and license.

• Unpack the guest bathrooms

• Find a pair of khaki pants for work. (Trying this again!)

 I'll keep you updated!

Epic European Adventure, Volume 6A

The Highlands! (Please hum the theme song from the show Highlander while reading this post.)

Hugh decided that he wanted us to take a day trip to see the Highlands in Scotland. We discussed renting a car and driving on our own, but after looking at the landscape (rough inclines) and thinking about driving a standard on the opposite side of the road; we decided to go on a tour. Hugh looked around on Tripdavisor and discovered a tour called “The Hairy Coo”. I’m not joking. It’s supposed to be a play on words in order to sound like “hairy cow”, not a porno tour. The way this tour works is that it’s actually free. They simply work on a tips only basis, and they had good reviews. Hugh reserved us seats for a tour and we were set.

Now before I begin telling about all the cool things from the Highlands you’ll have to take a step back in time to the night before we left for the tour. We had to meet at a specific location between 8:30 and 8:45 on Friday morning. The location was on the Royal Mile, and we were staying about 2 miles away, down a very large incline. The night before we decided to go down the street to a nice little pub called The Orchard. It had great drinks and an incredible atmosphere. We thought we’d get a light dinner and one drink before turning in early since we had the tour in the morning. Well…..we ran into the guy that owns the property where we were staying and he invites us to join him. He starts buying us beer and the time slips by. Hugh and Stephen then move on to some whisky, and even though we know we have to get up early we just decide to go with it. We were on vacation and having a good time. It was after midnight when we all three walk the 300 yards back to where we’re staying. As we’re falling into bed, I set the alarm on my watch for 7 a.m. local time.  

I wake up to Hugh telling me that we overslept like crazy and that I have 20 minutes to shower and get ready before we have to leave. I stumbled into the bathroom trying to force myself awake and take the world’s quickest shower. We leave with Hugh wearing the camera and I have the backpack with our rain gear and other stuff.

 This is the street view of the hill. We walked to the red "X" and then would take a quick left and walk up an even STEEPER hill to the Royal Mile. I NEED all of you to understand that this is more of a taxi situation.

We start up the hill. It’s lined with businesses on both sides, but it’s very steep. Hugh informs me that we have fifteen minutes to get up the hill and find the place that we’re supposed to meet the tour. I want to remind you that it’s in the upper 40’s and we are literally half-running up this hill. Let me share some dialogue:

Jenn: “Shouldn’t we take a taxi?”

Hugh: “No, we can make it. We just have to run a little bit.”

Jenn: “Um. I’m sweating and it’s cold out here. I didn’t know we were working out this morning or I would have brought my inhaler.”

Hugh: “I don’t want to spend seven pounds on a three minute taxi ride.”

Jenn: “@$#% @%$$*@@$%)%”

We make it up the hill with about 7 minutes to spare. At this point I’m thinking that The Hairy Coo better be worth all of this effort. I was confused and sleepy. I couldn’t figure out why my watch alarm hadn’t gone off, and I was pissed that I’d just taken a shower to simply sweat like a man before we even left town.

We locate the meeting place, but it’s closed. In fact, other than a few delivery men around, everything is closed. We start wandering around thinking that we must have the wrong address. We were approached by a woman that asked us if we were lost. Let me share our lovely conversation with her:

Nice Scottish Lady: “Are you guys lost? Can I help you find something?”

Hugh: “Yes! We’re looking for so-and-so pub on so-and-so street. Can you tell me if this is the right place?”

Nice Scottish Lady: “This is the right place. What time are you supposed to be there?”

Hugh: “The tour information says that we have to be there between 8:30 and 8:45. We’re starting to get worried since nobody seems to be there.”

Nice Scottish Lady: “Well, um…it’s only a quarter to six.”

Hugh: “WHAT?”

Jenn: (in background starts to laugh hysterically)

Nice Scottish Lady: “Yes, it’s actually only a quarter to six. You’re quite a bit early. This is the right place though.”

YUP!! That’s right. We were a bit early. Hugh had woken up to go to the bathroom and decided to check the time on our iPod, which was set to Houston time. He did the math in his head and decided that we had overslept. MY BANKER HUSBAND apparently had a small problem adding. Instead of waking me up at 7, he woke me up at 4. We had less than three hours of sleep and were standing in the middle of the street pouring sweat in the cold. Hugh started apologizing like crazy. I wasn’t mad at all; it was obviously an honest mistake. However, I was a bit pissed that we hadn’t taken a taxi. We ended up walking around and exploring and then sitting in a Starbucks to have a hot chocolate and warm up. While we were sitting there my watch alarm starting going off. 

I simply let it beep until it had finished, looked at Hugh and said, “It’s time to get up.”

Side note: We’ve told a few people this story and everyone asks the same question. “Why didn’t you realize that it was earlier since it was obviously dark outside?” Well- it’s not dark outside for more than about 4 hours in Edinburgh during the week of the Summer Solstice. It’s very similar to Alaska where they get periods of all light and darkness. In fact, if we’d traveled a few hours north we’d have been in Aberdeen which stays light all summer long.

I'll do the actual post on The Highlands tomorrow. I'm exhausted from reliving this situation. ;)

Weekly Goals- First Edition

A friend of mine started doing a weekly goals list every Monday on her blog, and when she asked if anyone was interested in joining her plan I volunteered. I love to make lists and cross things off as I accomplish them, so I’m hoping this will help me stay motivated.

Here goes: Goals for the week of August 8-14.

• Finish packing the kitchen by Wednesday. I know this might sound like a silly goal, but you haven’t seen my kitchen!

• Find and buy a pair of khaki pants for work.

• Have three sugar-free days this week.

• Workout 5 of the 7 days. (This is usually the normal, but last week I only made it twice and I felt like crap for doing so.)

• Find the time to do something just for me this week. :)

There they are! I’ll post new goals next Monday and update on the ones from this week. Have a great week!

Love,

Moving Update: A really long Saturday!

We move next Saturday. I’m really excited and ready to get into the house. So….a cat happened to live in the house before us. It was a short stay for the cat (I’ll refer to him as Mr. Whiskers even though I’ve never been pleasured to make his acquaintance.) While this normally wouldn’t be an issue I happen to be married to a man that has a serious cat allergy. And by cat allergy I mean: Please pass me the Benadryl pez that I can swish down with my epinephrine martini.

No problem! The house has hardwood floors and ceramic tile in every room but the actual bedrooms. The bedrooms have a nice plush carpet. I called a carpet cleaner and had them come out and clean the carpets. The day before we move in I’m having a cleaning company come out and literally clean the house from top to bottom, including washing the walls. There will be no remaining bits of Mr. Whiskers to bother my poor Hughbear’s delicate nasal passages.

Today we had the majority of our respective families come over and help work. We have one length of the fence in the backyard that we needed to reinforce to make sure that our doggies don’t decide to leave. We worked very hard and got a ton of things accomplished outside. We’re definitely ready to go for next weekend. I am very thankful to all of them that took time from their weekends to help us out. All we could do was pay them with lunch and candy bars, but they all seemed pretty happy. Plus, it gave everyone a chance to see where we’re going to be living. Everybody loved the house, and I’m glad that they’re all so happy for us.

It’s 8:40 and Hugh’s already asleep. He cut his leg right below his knee on a brick today. I think he needs stitches but his comment to me was, “I’m too tired to go get stitches.” It’s quite a deep gash, and even though I put a butterfly bandage on it I don’t think it’s going to stay closed. We’ll see. Maybe tomorrow it will have magically shrunk and closed together. And maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow to a French toast breakfast. Not likely, but it’s always a possibility.

Random Note: I’m currently shedding like a sheepdog. It’s driving me crazy and it’s pretty gross. There’s hair everywhere! I’m taking my thyroid medicine like a good girl so I’m not sure what’s going on. Maybe I should just cut off all my hair and the problem will be solved.

Thank you to the following people for all of your help today! We couldn’t have done it without you:
Renee
Frank
Mac
Theresa
Jordan
Krystal
Chelsey
Eddie
Jackson
Fredi
Jeanne

We love you guys, so very much!

Love,

Epic European Adventure, Volume 5

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

If I had to choose one place from our trip to actually live, I would have chosen Edinburgh. It’s a beautiful capitol city, and yet it seems so quaint and friendly that you’d never know it. Hugh and I chose to visit Scotland for a few reasons. Hugh’s favorite drink is scotch (whisky is what you call it over there) and with a last name of McCrea, it’s obvious that this is the ancestral lands. Now, I have to say that Germany was the most beautiful place we visited but Scotland stands out because of the people. 

Hugh and I wanted to stay at Bed & Breakfast, and in my exhaustive search I located a place to stay that doesn’t advertise. They don’t have a website, and you won’t find them on trip advisor. All they have is a listing on Scotland’s version of HAR for vacationers. I had originally contacted a B&B about staying for our trip and the owner was going to be out of town. She referred me to a good friend of hers and promised that we’d LOVE the property. The price was right and the two pictures I saw looked great so we booked it. I was a little nervous that I was making a mistake but we were both shocked beyond belief. We stayed in a ground level apartment beneath an impressive residence. It was located on a crescent which is what you and I would call a cul-de-sac. Come to find out, the street we stayed on is considered to be the most expensive property in all of Edinburgh. It was gorgeous! We had our own entrance with a small kitchenette, a beautifully decorated bathroom that couldn’t have been cleaner if it’d tried, and the most comfortable room we’ve had the pleasure of staying in. There were fresh flowers on a small table in our room, two wingback chairs, and a gas fire that was simply lovely. Hugh and I would have happily lived there. 

Our host, Stephen, was exceptional. He pointed out a few places to eat and suggested a pub at the end of the road. Hugh and I chose to hang out there on our first night and we ran into Stephen while we were there. He invited us to join him and we had a very interesting night. He mentioned that he was retired from the hotelier business. He then mentioned something about trains. Come to find out, he was the owner of the number one luxury vacation train in the world. A few weeks before we’d left for our trip I recalled reading something on MSN about luxury train travel and I’d actually read about his train. It was incredible! Here we were staying in the house and having drinks with very famous hotel owner. He was so very interesting and so genuinely nice. He shared great stories from his experience in owning and operating the train and telling us about how he came up with the idea. Needless to say, this is one part of our trip that we’ll never forget. 

Stephen suggested that we visit a few places while we were in Edinburgh. One of them was Kay’s Bar. This is a tiny little pub run by a man named Fraser. He has a true handlebar mustache and he’s a former rugby player. Hugh and I escaped a rain storm one afternoon by ducking in to the bar. Fraser was very sweet and we enjoyed the locals immensely. This place is known as a “posh” bar by some people because the clientele are mainly college professors, lawyers, and judges. You’d never know it seeing as how warm, cozy, and non-pretentious it was. Stephen had told us to mention his name when we went and Fraser insisted that we sit at the actual bar and entertain him. We had great food and drinks, and he even removed three beer pull tabs from the wall that were from a beer called Houston and Texas and gave them to us as a souvenir. He asked us if we’d tried haggis, to which we both replied “NO!”. For those of you who don’t know; Haggis is sheep heart, liver, and lungs all mixed together with onions and spices and then cooked in a sheep stomach. It’s a national dish in Scotland and they take it very seriously. In fact, they even have a holiday devoted to it. Well, Fraser went back to the kitchen (he’s also the cook) and brought out a very gourmet looking plate of haggis for us to try. It was haggis on the bottom topped with ‘neeps (turnips) and then garnished with mashed potatoes. We both gave it a try (the two gin drinks I’d enjoyed seemed to help with the bravery) and honestly: It was quite good. I was prepared to hate it but I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, the visit to Kay’s Bar was quite unforgettable.

Hugh and I wandered around the city. It’s beautiful, and we took tons of photos. We went through the Whisky Experience which is essentially a distillery tour followed by a visit to the world’s largest collection of whiskies. It was a lot of fun and I know Hugh really enjoyed getting to see the collection; so much that he had six bottles of not-cheap scotch shipped back to our house. 

We took a tour out to the Highland’s and I’ll share that in the next post.

This is one of many churches in Edinburgh. They all have the dark stains from coal soot that can't be removed. The stone is sandstone of some sort and is too porous to be cleaned.

 I had to include this picture because Hugh did a great job of getting it backlit with the sun. So pretty!

 The whisky collection and tasting. 

 Some of the collection.

 More of the collection. The Johnny Walker company bought the collection from a private collector for the equivalent of $5 million U.S. Dollars.

 Edinburgh Castle.

 Part of the Royal Mile-it's a very long hill.

 

This is the street we stayed on. 

 

 Our entrance.

 Bedroom.

 The fire, window, and chairs. We would open the window and turn on the fire and just sit and relax.

 This is the cute little kitchen!

Love,