"Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

Today is has done nothing but rain. My hair is crazy. My feet are damp. There's only ever one thing to counteract that. It's Raining Men by the Weather Girls. Yes, maybe I played it on repeat the whole way to campus thing morning. I'm not ashamed. It was fabulous.

Well, Halloween came and went again! Definitely one of my favourite times of the year. What's not to like? Costumes, candy candy candy, Hocus Pocus, the Monster Mash, dance parties! I love it. I do. I do.

You know it's a good Halloween when you have 3 costumes spread out over the course of a few days...

Costume 1: Lady Gaga (with the fish I won)

Costumes 2 & 3: Sandy (from Grease) before and after

Oh and this year I won a goldfish at the Ward Halloween Party. Yes, I proved myself a very talented player of 'get the ping pong ball in the cup.' So now we have a teeny tiny goldfish in the trifle bowl in the kitchen! I wasn't sure if I was ready to take on the responsibility of a goldfish. I mean, I can't even remember to feed myself. I'll admit, there were some anxious mornings early on when I was so sure I'd come into the kitchen and find Diego floating on the surface. We also didn't have any fish food at this point, so we resorted to tuna. I think that was a good decision. Now he's our little cannibal goldfish. One day when I leave the Dev, I'll have to release him into the wild, and I'd much prefer him to be able to eat his way to the top of the food chain. So that was the first week, and he made it. Wallis bought some Tetra Fin (possibly the stinkiest fish food around) to fatten him up!
But nothing's simple when you become a guardian. Rachel and I realised that little Diego had been swimming around in his poop water for a long time. Operation change the water and move him from the scales bowl to the trifle bowl was about as nerve-wracking as stubbing your toe and wondering if you'll lose it. But you know what, Diego made it. Bless his little goldfish heart. He's probably the smallest goldfish around, but he made it through!

One time I took a Marriage and Family Class and the professor had us plant a seed and let it grow throughout the semester. Obviously, this was a metaphor for nourishing and nurturing our relationships. Well my plant grew about an inch high, and then it died. It's just a metaphor right? Right?!

This time I'm determined to nurture the heck out of that little goldfish! I will not let him die!

"Oh me, oh my, what a lot of funny things go by"

Again, apologies for being the world's most unreliable blogger. Really. As Jane Bennett said, "there always seem to be so many other things to do." Yes, I did just quote Pride and Prejudice. You know you loved it!

Anyway, where did I get to in my life. Ah yes, we left off at Christmas in England. Well, that's exactly where I want to start today. I originally had a flight to come back to England during the summer to support Team GB during the Olympics, well, and Team Baldock... I definitely come home for those crazies too! For financial reasons I decided to cancel the flight and move it to this coming Christmas. Yes, I was a little devastated about that for a day or so. Then about 2 months later my dad randomly found a very very cheap flight to London, so we snapped that up. I definitely felt like I needed to be back in England. Definitely started to miss marmite, chocolate, and little Tunbridge Wells. So I went home, and it was wonderful. As usual, my parents picked me up from the airport. This time, my dad (bless his heart) had a bunch of my favourite flowers for me with a note that said "Welcome back to 'Zion'"... love love love my dad! Mum even said it was his idea. Having so many girls in the house definitely did good things for his sensitivity levels!

So, the 2012 Olympics were in London. Before they began, the Olympic flame made its way across the UK, running through my little hometown. My mum and I had planned out the whole morning. The local schools let out all of the children to watch the flame run through the town, so there we were, waving our little British flags, standing with the school children, giggling with excitement. All of the kids around us were calling out and beckoning the runner to bring the torch over. So my mum nudges me, and says "go on, go on, bring the runner over, touch the torch!" So I did, and it was awesome! The torch was cool, but the runner, not so much... he was a middle-aged German man. Not quite sure what that was all about!

This year was a truly excellent year to be English. The Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics. I was so lucky to be home for some of it. All I can say is us Brits know how to put on a good show! The Opening Ceremony was a great indication of the games... the best of British... Mr. Bean, the Queen and James Bond, Harry Potter... say no more. Maybe I cried a little.

I know you're all wondering, so yes, the vibe in London was electric. Yes, it was amazing to be a part of it. Also, yes, there were attractive athletes walking around the city. One rainy London day I ventured into the city centre, and a group of tall Spanish athletes in Olympic tracksuits walked past me, big maps of the city out in front of them. In my mind I looked up, winked at them, and then spoke in dulcet tones, "¡Hola Señores!" But no, in real life, my umbrella was blown inside out, and I fumbled around trying to fix it muttering to myself, almost walking into them. Zero points for Siân-Amy 'breeziness'. 10 points for London breeziness!

Going home definitely put things into perspective for me. I got to spend a lot of time with my little sister Ell. She's kind of a cool kid. Also put me through my paces everyday in badminton. Loved that. Not. But really.

What else happened this summer... oh, my best friend got married to my other friend. They're all in love and stuff. So so so so happy for them. I definitely deserve a hi-5 for my match-making skills.

Oh, on a different note, I recently became a columnist for the Daily Herald. That was a good day! It's exactly what I was looking for, and it literally was handed to me on a plate. I basically didn't stop smiling all day when I found out!  I write about food from all over the world, and experiencing it here in Utah. So that's that. Just making my way in the journalist world.

Anywhoo... that's my life right now. It's pretty great!