Tag london

Queen Elizabeth II – She would have been PROUD!

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Yesterday, I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 2:30 AM CT. Annoyed, I turned on the TV.

I GOT SO LUCKY!

My annoyance was short lived. Suddenly, I was watching the BBC Channel, so many amazing back stories about the Queen and her generosity. Heart warming to hear them all.

I was able to see the Bagpipers. They were INCREDIBLE! If I had not been up, I would have missed them.

The funeral had so many amazing moments. We have not seen something so regal like this in years.

The weather was beautiful too. I found this picture of The Queen in yellow. How perfect since the sun came out for her yesterday. Someone interviewed said there was a rainbow the day before.

I LOVED how she had her signature style. ALWAYS the same hat / dress / coat, but in a variety of vibrant colors. Just wonderful! We always knew it was her!

She had two funerals yesterday. They were absolutely beautiful. This gave us time to be at peace.

One young man who was in the procession said he met King Charles. The interviewer asked, “What did he say?”

The young man, not used to being on camera, was nervous, but finally shared, “The King said his mother liked drills and precision, so to be precise.”

AND BY GOSH – THEY WERE ALL PRECISE!!

The young men who carried the coffin were incredible. I’ve moved furniture with another person, it’s hard going up stairs with a heavy load. They did it perfectly!

I wish she could have seen it!

The Queen would have have given her beautiful smile, waived and been PROUD!

A job well done!

We will miss you!

Seattle -> London, a Librarian sets up an Elementray School Library (books for children)

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As I am writing a children’s picture book, I have to do research. While my degree is in Elementary Education, I went into business after College. I know, you’re thinking, WHY did you do that. Good question.

Just kidding, it was not lack of effort. Life happens — I moved to California to get married, it was February, I sent out 200 applications for teaching positions, took the CBEST test for licensing, but could not find a job. Nothing! Teaching was not my destiny at the time.

So, I found a job as a Technical Writer. I know, again, you’re thinking, “HOW did that happen?” A twist of fate. I was terrified on my first day. I knew nothing about technical writing. Turns out, I did not need to be technical. I needed to be “smart” and ask the engineers a lot of questions, so I could turn their scribbles into a User Manual. I enjoyed working with the engineers. My biggest question was, “What did you mean by this?

Fast forward to 2015, my heart was “still” with elementary education. I was getting closer to following my passion of writing a children’s book, I had made it to the “research stage.”

One day, clicking here and there, I came across a wonderful Blog called, “LibrarianArika.” I needed to better understand the children’s picture book market AND every week Ms Arika was sharing books she had read, giving her review and sharing lesson plan ideas too.

THEN came the DREADED post: I’M MOVING TO LONDON!

My heart sunk. Did that mean Ms Arika was going to quit writing?

No, she’s back stronger than ever!

Always wanting to teach, she decided to Skype with her old classroom in Seattle, so they could see London (virtual field trip). She wrote a detailed post on that called, “Bringing Literature to Life with Skype.” She used the Harry Potter books for this.

Ms Arika found a Librarian job in her children’s International school in London. In this post, she shares how she was setting up the Library for the start of school, “Week 1 in a new Library: the behind-the-scenes work.” You’ll be amazed at how much she had to do, I was.

I’m excited that she is back! She’s an excellent Librarian and I know her students will one day say, “Remember when Ms Arika read (insert book name) !” What a great feeling that will be!

I still remember my 4th grade teacher, Mrs Landrum, reading “Charlotte’s Web.” Teachers/Librarians have a big impact on our lives! A big thank you to ALL of them!

Craving a Cronut®, visit London

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tower-bridge-londonBack in 2013, Pastry Chef Dominique Ansel introduced the first “Cronut®” in New York. Now 2016, he’s opening his first European Bakery in London. You’ll enjoy this YouTube video from the “Financial Times: The Cronut® Lands in London,” where Pastry Chef Ansel shares his story.

The Cronut® is the mixture of a croissant and a doughnut. He created the Cronut® when he didn’t have a doughnut recipe; however, he knew a lot about making croissants. So, he put his pastry skills to the test and with a “little bit of this” and a “little bit of that,” the Cronut® was created.

cronut2

Cronut photo from     Dominique Ansel’s website

I’ve never had a Cronut®. From the photo you can see that it looks like a tall croissant in the shape of a doughnut, very decadent for sure. Apparently, due to temperature changes between NY and London, when Pastry Chef Ansel arrived in London, he had to fine tune his Cronut® recipe before the grand opening. THAT must have been stressful!

Now is the perfect time to visit London, the US dollar is strong from what I hear, and you can see from Eater.com’s article, “Dominque Ansel London Opens to a Line of 200 Cronut® Lovers,” by Whitney Filloon that the Cronut® is a hit over there. When you come back from London, tell us what you thought! Are you now a Cronut® fan? Was it worth the trip? You can always go to New York first… London second.