Short post...

I have a subscription to Gwyneth Paltrow's online newsletter called GOOP. It is completely free and every week or so I get a lovely email either filled with information about travel, food, art, exercise, or tips for better living. It is mostly her opinions (which I of course appreciate), but sometimes she gets other experts and even some of her famous friends to contribute. I got into it because one of her newsletters was about her favorite places to visit when she's living in London.
Well this week was Paris and I am of course going to Paris while I'm hear so I popped open the email to hear what she had to say. I was so excited a touched though by the story she shared at the beginning. I had heard this story ages ago when she did an interview with Oprah following her dad's death. I cannot tell the story or think of the story without getting emotional and tearing up, but as I was planning my trip over to Europe, I kept thinking of the story and found myself telling so many people about what she shared... so here is the story:

Paris
When I was ten years old, my father and I took a trip to Paris, leaving my younger brother and mother in London where she was filming a movie. My dad believed in one-on-one time with us, and sometimes that extended to a weekend away. We stayed at a great hotel and he said I could order whatever I wanted for breakfast (French fries). We went to the Pompidou museum, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre - the usual spots. It was pretty great. On the plane back to London he asked me if I knew why we had gone, just he and I, to Paris for the weekend. I said no, but I felt so lucky for the trip. He said, “I wanted you to see Paris for the first time with a man who would always love you, no matter what.” From that time on, Paris was and continues to be very special to me. I lived there for five months in 1994 and I have made many trips back. These are the places in Paris I stay and eat and toast my dad.

I love that story because I feel like God is saying just what her dad said to her... "I want you to see [Europe] for the first time with a man who WILL always love you, no matter what" ... and loves me in a way that no one can ever compare. When I read the story in the newsletter, I got emotional all over again (seriously guys, you have to know something about me... I didn't use to cry hardly at ALL - you can ask my mom, she'll agree. But, in the last probably 6 months, I have become a huge baby). I just cannot believe that God is doing all that he is doing for me... I feel so honored and blessed and humble... INCREDIBLY humble.

Okay... so sorry for the lack of posting in the last couple of days, I know there are several of you who check everyday looking for news. It has been slow around here, so bullet points it is.
- I am up to my ears in essay writing... this essay is for my english class and doesn't have to be as long as the others, but I am actually excited to write on this topic because I think I have a very interesting angle and am finding TONS of sources to back me up, which is always awesome.
- I leave for Scotland bright and early tomorrow morning... I have to leave the school by 6:30 to make it to Kings Cross station (yes the one from Harry Potter) to catch a train to Scotland with my tour. I am BEYOND EXCITED and can't wait to start packing. It is however supposed to rain most of the weekend, but pray that it is miraculously sunny, which is what I intend to be doing all the way up there.
- I strained my wrist the other night while sleeping (I think it was stuck in a twisted state for an extended period of time) and it has been bothering me ever since. Today it is much better, but I bought a wrist bandage to help me.
- I am planning a post soon all about Founder's Hall, my place of residence... but I need more pictures of the inside.
- The cute leather purse I bought in Camden smells badly (abnormally strong new leather scent) and I have been trying to air it out for a couple of days. In doing research online of different deodorizing methods I discovered that the leather was more than likely tanned and prepared with horse pee... that's right. It is very common in foreign countries to do that... and therefore removing the scent becomes that much harder if not impossible. Fortunately, Phoebe assures me that she can't smell it unless it's RIGHT under her nose, so at least I don't smell like horse urine. But, currently my bag in hanging out of my window airing out... I also bought am regularly using febreeze on it and I bought some orange blossom scented sachets to put in it. But, yuck. I still love it though.
- I am starting to plan out my plans for the exam term. I get my exam schedule on March 16th and more than likely I will have a couple of weeks of exams only and then 5 weeks of nothing... TRAVEL TIME!! I am hoping to get to France, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, and Ireland. I will get Germany out of the way over Easter break.
- I am seeing my cousin Matt and his wife Sylvia and their little boy Elijah in London next week (then I'll be visiting them in Germany in April)
- You'll get another post from me probably on monday.