Day 20 1/30/12

1/30/12 Day 20

Today has been quite the adventure. That is how I will start this off. Woke up to go to Westminster this morning to take a tour of parliament. It was a very interesting tour and very tiring at some points because there were barely any times we could sit down and it was a little bit over an hour. The worst part was going into to see the house of lords and commoners and having to stand right in between the seats was so tempting to sit down but we were not allowed to. I would have pictures to show but we are not allowed to take pictures while touring parliament, which makes sense since people actually do work there and it is a government type of building. I defiantly learned a lot from it though. After the tour was done I went with Jordan back to the flatts because just about everyone else had art history and we did not. When I got back I had a little to eat, did some dishes and then went out to pick up a few items. Today was the day we were cooking two English meals (Spotted Dick and Toad in a hole) for Lyndon and his wife. No, sadly, there was no grade to it but I know my flat would have aced it! I went to Sainsbury, got some house cleaning items, and picked up some food such as cauliflower and beans. With Toad in a hole, you can eat it with many things such as vegetables and or baked beans. Of course, I never made the beans. When I got back from shopping, I seemed to go on a bit of a cleaning spree. Cleaned the counter tops and did some dishes. For some reason when I am not home, I like to clean around the house. When I get a house of my own of apartment, I am going to make sure I have a clean house. I know mom and dad you think I am lying but I actually do clean up here. Not long after I decided to take a few minute break everyone started coming back from Art History. At that time Michelle decided to start making the batter for Toad in the hole and I started working on my mashed cauliflower. Before judging it actually is delicious. It’s a healthy substitute for mashed potatoes and it is easy to make. Soon enough the others (Jordan, Adam and later on Jack) come on to help. After about 2-3 hours of cooking, we had all the meals just about done (including my mashed cauliflower that I thought would go well with the Toad in a hole. Right before Lyndon came to the flatts Jordan, Michelle and I went to go pick up some cider to drink. When we got back Lyndon had not long after arrived to start going to the four flatts to test out the dishes with his wife. I am in flatt 3 aka the shaft. We call it that because out of all the flatts we kind of got jipped. We have no heat (yet), our kitchen is not as nice as others, we a smaller tv then others and etc. At least we have a cute little mouse I have yet to see named Oscar. Back to the story now. Soon Lyndon came over to the flat with his wife to try the food. They sat down (oh by the way I actually set the table, shocking I know) and a few of my flat mates went to go prepare their plates with the dishes. I stayed outside for a few minutes because I had written up some random facts about the dishes for them to read. Turns out I did a good job on my research. I did learn some interesting facts, facts I would share but if you are reading this that probably means you have access to a computer and Internet so you can just go look it up on wikipedia. After that I went to go get my mashed cauliflower. I was so excited they liked it. It was the first thing I had ever cooked on a stove that was no grilled cheese or scrambled eggs. I seriously was proud of myself and I really liked it myself. They gave us positive reviews that were great news. After they both left we all went into try the dishes for ourselves. They were actually delicious. I’d love to make the recipes for when I get home and have people I know (family and friends) try it. I bet they would like it as well. After that we all went to flatt 1 to hear who cooked the dishes the best and for random prizes. My flatt won the prize for healthiest because instead of using regular flour we had used whole wheat. Our prize was pears and apples. Get it? They are healthy foods because you know an apple a day keeps that doctor away….. Hah if only that were true then maybe my doctors would ban me from apples because without me or my sister they couldn’t get such great business! When all the prize giving was done it turned out that flatt 2 had locked themselves out. So, what happened was they got a ladder and one guy, Rob picked up Aj and had him climb on this ledge/flower pot area to open the window to climb in and open up their door for them. I could not believe it had actually worked! It wasn’t long until I just had about two ciders for the night and I got to book a trip to Scotland for the 3 day weekend we have (Lyndon was kind enough to give us some Fridays off). I am going with Amanda, Vicky, Jordan and Krista. I am so excited to get to see the beautifulness of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its going to a be a short but fun filled week and I cannot wait to see what adventures are going to come about this week. Oh just to let you all know if you do not drink much be careful when you have two ciders. It might surprise you that it might make you a tad tipsy. Just a helpful hint. =]