My new nickname is now Elphaba..Just kidding. After two days of bagging cut grass by hand I have turned green. Thankfully, ample soap and water have turned me back to my pasty pale self.
It has been a great week. I love working with the kiddos at IR. I got to help with a group of 4-5 year old boys and girls and they were adorable. At one point they were playing 2v2 to small goals and one of the teams had a really little girl and a bigger boy who was dominating the game. After a few minutes he stopped trying to score and did whatever he could to get her to score. It was precious. There are two boys who are 8 and love coming to my goalkeeper sessions. They made me feel so awesome this week because everyday they asked if they got to train with me, when I said I didn't know they went and begged the youth director and their coach to let me do a gk session with them. It is always more fun when you know they are enjoying it as much as I am...I will definitely miss these kids.
I am busy planning my mom and dad's visit. So excited to show them around.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Biking
Yesterday was my day off and it was a beautiful day. I decided to ride my bike downtown to do a little shopping and walk around. I wasn't exactly sure what the best way to go would be but I set off knowing the general direction I was headed. Along the way I stopped by a museum and walked around outside, because they had some pretty interesting sculptures. I continued along the bike path and stopped to take a picture of a French couple. I made it downtown, did my shopping and ate a pizza place. It took about an hour and a half to go there and back. Finished off the day with soccer practice and guess what I rode my bike there too. So it was about 2 hours and 15 minutes of biking. My butt is officially sore.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Long time, no blog
Sorry for such a delay in updating my blog. I was still recovering from the last two weeks.
Funny story (to me anyway): I was walking to the grocery store and there was a man standing out front that was trying to talk to people walking by. I do what I always do in that situation (even in the states, but especially here since I have no idea what they are saying) and avoid eye contact and just keep walking. I was doing good too, no eye contact, moving quickly...Then he started speaking to me and I just said "sorry" and shrugged my shoulders. His only response was "Oh, I thought you were Icelandic." Made my day....Tinna always says that I don't look Icelandic or Nordic, maybe German, but not really. It was a short moment of triumph.
I am now donning the title Master of Painting and Manual Labor. I have been working hard at painting an old covered bench, blue. It has been a four day painting job and many flies have met their end in the sticky blue paint. Unfortunately, so has some of my hair. I always end up with blue paint in my hair and it always breaks off. I almost have bangs now with how much hair has broken off. Currently I have blue tips at the end of my ponytail. I accidentally dipped it in when I was reaching across the paint pan.
I had been planning to cook dinner for my team and decided to sneak it in as a July 4th celebration. About 12 of the girls met at Ulla's house and I made Basil Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms. They loved it. I wore my Old Navy American Flag shirt and Lady Liberty hat that my mom and sister brought me when they visited. I am waiting to get the picture and will post it when I do. It was a fun night and it was great to spend time with my teammates away from practice and games. They are all so nice and fun.
We played Helena's old team on the 5th and got dominated 3-0. I don't think we even took a shot the whole game. They were just bigger, faster, stronger, and more technical than us. The positive thing that came out of the night was a Horned Frog Reunion. Helena Sverrisdottir and her mom came out to watch me play and I got to chat with them for a bit before going into the locker room. It was great to see a familiar face.
We are halfway through our season and haven't won a game. Hopefully the second half of the season will be a little better.
I have my Harry Potter tickets pre-ordered and in the VIP section (lazy boy recliners and all you can eat popcorn and drinks) It is gonna be awesome....Yes, I know I am a Weird, but that's ok.
Starting to get really homesick missing friends and family. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but sometimes wish home was a little closer..
Love,
Walls
Funny story (to me anyway): I was walking to the grocery store and there was a man standing out front that was trying to talk to people walking by. I do what I always do in that situation (even in the states, but especially here since I have no idea what they are saying) and avoid eye contact and just keep walking. I was doing good too, no eye contact, moving quickly...Then he started speaking to me and I just said "sorry" and shrugged my shoulders. His only response was "Oh, I thought you were Icelandic." Made my day....Tinna always says that I don't look Icelandic or Nordic, maybe German, but not really. It was a short moment of triumph.
I am now donning the title Master of Painting and Manual Labor. I have been working hard at painting an old covered bench, blue. It has been a four day painting job and many flies have met their end in the sticky blue paint. Unfortunately, so has some of my hair. I always end up with blue paint in my hair and it always breaks off. I almost have bangs now with how much hair has broken off. Currently I have blue tips at the end of my ponytail. I accidentally dipped it in when I was reaching across the paint pan.
I had been planning to cook dinner for my team and decided to sneak it in as a July 4th celebration. About 12 of the girls met at Ulla's house and I made Basil Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms. They loved it. I wore my Old Navy American Flag shirt and Lady Liberty hat that my mom and sister brought me when they visited. I am waiting to get the picture and will post it when I do. It was a fun night and it was great to spend time with my teammates away from practice and games. They are all so nice and fun.
We played Helena's old team on the 5th and got dominated 3-0. I don't think we even took a shot the whole game. They were just bigger, faster, stronger, and more technical than us. The positive thing that came out of the night was a Horned Frog Reunion. Helena Sverrisdottir and her mom came out to watch me play and I got to chat with them for a bit before going into the locker room. It was great to see a familiar face.
We are halfway through our season and haven't won a game. Hopefully the second half of the season will be a little better.
I have my Harry Potter tickets pre-ordered and in the VIP section (lazy boy recliners and all you can eat popcorn and drinks) It is gonna be awesome....Yes, I know I am a Weird, but that's ok.
Starting to get really homesick missing friends and family. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but sometimes wish home was a little closer..
Love,
Walls
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
London!!!!
Last weekend was jam packed with excitement. Friday we had a game and weren't able to go to sleep until 1 in the morning. We had to wake up at 5 a.m. so we could drive to the airport and make our flight. We arrived in Gatwick at around noon caught the train to London and took the Underground in search of The Who Shop. unfortunately when we put in the address into Google Maps it sent us to the wrong place, so we tried again and it gave us the wrong directions again. We ended up walking 2 hours and took a bus only to find out it was like a block from where we had started. It was worth it though. The Who Shop is awesome and was a lot of fun. After that we headed to Leilani's house (Tinna's RA from college). From there we headed to the O2 for the Glee concert. Fan-freaking-tastic is all I can say about Glee. It was awesome and was such a wonderful experience.
Sunday we ventured out to a Wine and Tapas festival near the Tower Bridge. I got to sample wines from the Rioja region of Spain and this awesome Rice dish with chorizo, ribs, and some other meat and pepper that I didn't recognize. Everything was delicious.
One of my favorite things to watch on the History Channel when I was younger was all about the Tower of London so I had to go. It was so cool and it was great to see it in person.
All in all the trip was a great success. I hope to go back when I have more than just 30 hours.
I have a lot of photos to post, but the internet connection has slowed down so I will post them next month.
Sunday we ventured out to a Wine and Tapas festival near the Tower Bridge. I got to sample wines from the Rioja region of Spain and this awesome Rice dish with chorizo, ribs, and some other meat and pepper that I didn't recognize. Everything was delicious.
One of my favorite things to watch on the History Channel when I was younger was all about the Tower of London so I had to go. It was so cool and it was great to see it in person.
All in all the trip was a great success. I hope to go back when I have more than just 30 hours.
I have a lot of photos to post, but the internet connection has slowed down so I will post them next month.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Walters WO"MAN" trip.
While the Walters' men are off on their "Man" trip in Florida, the Walters' Women came to visit me in Iceland. They have been here for three days so far and we have packed the days full of adventures.
The first adventure was finding their luggage. Somewhere along the way Delta lost their bags and they had to be re-routed through Amsterdam and arrived Sunday night. Sunday morning we woke up and went to wander around Downtown Reykjavik and look at shops. We had got hot dogs at the world famous hot dog stand at the harbor and then headed to a lobster soup lunch. Both were delicious and it was time to head home so that we could get ready for our game vs. the Greenland National team. Didn't know they had a national team, but did find out that they aren't even recognized by FIFA. They were not very good, and it was a pretty boring game. In the second half I punted a ball straight down the middle and one of our forwards got a toe on it and scored. My coach had thought I got the goal because he didn't see her touch it. Either way I was pumped. Then with about 10 minutes left in the game Greenland got a PK. My teammates were being very encouraging saying, "you got it." I was nervous as usual when it comes to PK's but she hit it directly at me. I guess I was intimidating. (hahaha) After the game we came back to the apartment to wait for luggage and Tinna picked up pizza for us. Her mom joined us for dinner and we had a great time chatting. I made a meringue that is very popular here. It took me two tries to get it right, and the final product still needed some help with the finishing touches but it tasted great.
Monday morning we set off for the golden circle. We saw the same sights I mentioned last time I went to the golden circle and had a blast. We got home in time for soccer practice. While we were practicing mom and Erin stayed at the apartment and made us hamburgers. We left practice 15 minutes early, rushed home to change and eat our burgers, and then sped downtown to make our whale watching tour. It was a lot of fun, but not very successful. We did see a few whales, but only their fins as they came up for air and dove back down.
Today was our trip to the Blue Lagoon. It was incredible. We all enjoyed in water massages and facials and just floated around for a while. On the way home we stopped for gelato and then had Indian food from my favorite restaurant here, Saffran.
Tomorrow we are headed to museums.
The first adventure was finding their luggage. Somewhere along the way Delta lost their bags and they had to be re-routed through Amsterdam and arrived Sunday night. Sunday morning we woke up and went to wander around Downtown Reykjavik and look at shops. We had got hot dogs at the world famous hot dog stand at the harbor and then headed to a lobster soup lunch. Both were delicious and it was time to head home so that we could get ready for our game vs. the Greenland National team. Didn't know they had a national team, but did find out that they aren't even recognized by FIFA. They were not very good, and it was a pretty boring game. In the second half I punted a ball straight down the middle and one of our forwards got a toe on it and scored. My coach had thought I got the goal because he didn't see her touch it. Either way I was pumped. Then with about 10 minutes left in the game Greenland got a PK. My teammates were being very encouraging saying, "you got it." I was nervous as usual when it comes to PK's but she hit it directly at me. I guess I was intimidating. (hahaha) After the game we came back to the apartment to wait for luggage and Tinna picked up pizza for us. Her mom joined us for dinner and we had a great time chatting. I made a meringue that is very popular here. It took me two tries to get it right, and the final product still needed some help with the finishing touches but it tasted great.
Monday morning we set off for the golden circle. We saw the same sights I mentioned last time I went to the golden circle and had a blast. We got home in time for soccer practice. While we were practicing mom and Erin stayed at the apartment and made us hamburgers. We left practice 15 minutes early, rushed home to change and eat our burgers, and then sped downtown to make our whale watching tour. It was a lot of fun, but not very successful. We did see a few whales, but only their fins as they came up for air and dove back down.
Today was our trip to the Blue Lagoon. It was incredible. We all enjoyed in water massages and facials and just floated around for a while. On the way home we stopped for gelato and then had Indian food from my favorite restaurant here, Saffran.
Tomorrow we are headed to museums.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Update
Growing up, my dad wouldn't ever let me mow the lawn because he was scared I would get hurt and I need all my toes and fingers so I can play soccer. This week I had to mow all the grass around the club and there are rocks everywhere in Iceland. Every time I hit a rock I was scared to death that it was going to fly up and hit me in the eye. Luckily that didn't happen. Mowing is not fun and I have knots in my forearms. I can't wait until Tuesday at the Blue Lagoon. We have booked massages and I couldn't need one more.
I got a "new" (to me) bike from IR and it is great, although the seat could be a little more comfortable, but that is just typical of a bike seat. It is a man's bike and I have to lower the seat all the way because I am short, and it probably should be a little lower. I am just thankful I don't have to walk to work and I get in a little extra exercise which is nice.
My Mom and Sister get in tomorrow night and I couldn't be happier. I am so excited to see them and show them how amazing Iceland is. We have a lot of fun activities planned and I will post pictures later. We are going on a whale watching tour, driving the golden circle, taking advantage of the spa at the Blue Lagoon, and spending some time in Downtown Reykjavik.
Tinna has a friend in London who had 2 extra tickets to see Glee live, so on the 25th we are catching a flight and going to the concert. I am SO EXCITED. It is such a great opportunity and I am so grateful to my parents for letting me go. I love you guys.
I got a "new" (to me) bike from IR and it is great, although the seat could be a little more comfortable, but that is just typical of a bike seat. It is a man's bike and I have to lower the seat all the way because I am short, and it probably should be a little lower. I am just thankful I don't have to walk to work and I get in a little extra exercise which is nice.
My Mom and Sister get in tomorrow night and I couldn't be happier. I am so excited to see them and show them how amazing Iceland is. We have a lot of fun activities planned and I will post pictures later. We are going on a whale watching tour, driving the golden circle, taking advantage of the spa at the Blue Lagoon, and spending some time in Downtown Reykjavik.
Tinna has a friend in London who had 2 extra tickets to see Glee live, so on the 25th we are catching a flight and going to the concert. I am SO EXCITED. It is such a great opportunity and I am so grateful to my parents for letting me go. I love you guys.
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