An adventure to start an adventure.

Im in LONDON!! it is so surreal to be here. I guess I was just expecting it to feel different, kind of like you do on your sixteenth birthday, but it never does. Its always just a normal day, but with celebration. Thats how London feels. Its just a normal town, but with lots of changes. Im still the same person, i wasnt magically enlightened by London ways. But getting here was an adventure...hold on to your britches here we go.


9 20. leave provo for the airport. thanks nate once again for taking me.
10 30. find out my flight was delayed and and will now get to texas at 6 for a 5 50 connection. flight switched.
2 00. board flight to dallas/fort worth
5 20. arrive in texas, realize i could have made my flight, and am very depressed about the switched flight and now having to wait until 7 40 for the next flight.
7 00. flight attendent calls for volunteers to be bumped. ellie volunteers. and then finds out current flight is delayed until 8 30
8 00. "elizabeth jane hall" is called over the loud speaker. was asked to be bumped. give 400 dollars for American Airlines and upgraded to business class.
8 01- 9 00. ellie giggles happily
10 00. board flight to london in the most amazing seats ever.


8 1/2 hours later arrived in london

RIght after we found out we were bumped. we were soooo excited! i giggled a lot.

in business class i could straighten my legs completely without touching the seat in front of me. also the seats would recline all the way. it was so comfy.

This guy was my favorite. he was the nicest and would bring us anything and everything.

Dinner was amazing! we had a salad with chicken and then four cheese ravioli and bread and then toped it off with ice cream. I could definitely get used to business class.

Once we got to london the adventure of customs and the tube began, and it was grand. Except ellie overpacked. Mom, you were right.

Once we made it to our flat we went on a walking tour to see where are classes would be. then went to dinner at nandos, picked up some groceries, jumped on the tube, and then went to the heart of london. It was beautiful! we saw parliament and big ben, westminster abbey, and the eye of london. It was wonderful. But happy jet lag. I am as sleepy as could be. Here are a few other picture highlights.

The cool wall at Nando's that was all pop cans. I loved it. We had way good chicken, as well as chips (french fries) and corn on the cob. It was delicious.

Big Ben how i love thee. Peter Pan teach me to fly please.

Cali and I at Westminister abbey. Its kind of dark, but i adore this girl. 

more of the minster

 double decker!! oh london how i love thee!

Dear boys. Im not engaged.

Contrary to popular belief I am not engaged. In fact I am not even close.

Last night I was standing on the porch talking to some friends at a going away party when a boy in the ward approached me and said congratulations I hear you are getting married! Thinking he was being funny I laughed and then realized he was being serious. I spent the next little bit explaining that I in fact was not engaged, which you would think he would have realized based on the fact that i had no ring on my left hand- but alas he had not made the connection. After much discussion, I realized he was very justified in his thoughts that I was engaged...now what made him come to this conclusion you ask. I blame my roommates.

Incident #1. 

Two Sundays ago, I was having a rough day- Nothing was necessarily wrong, I was just feeling a little blue. So I come back from family dinner, open the door, and become overwhelmed as all of my roommates and some friends in the ward start cheering, and hugging me. I just started laughing. Things like "yay ellie!" "you made it" "we missed you" "we love you" and all other kind things flew from their mouths to my ears. They had no clue I was feeling down, because that morning I had been chipper as could be. It was definitely one of those tender mercies. The door however was left open, and as this continued on for a good five minutes, it makes sense that someone might have thought I had just gotten engaged. After all why else would a group of girls be cheering one of there roommates and hugging. It makes complete sense. I just have ridiculously good roommates where that is a normal occurance.


Incident #2.
Last weekend I ran a 1/2 marathon. Yes, it was supposed to be a full, but after listening to the advice of my wise mother, I realized running a marathon with out properly training would be torture. The run was grand. A friend from work and I ran the whole thing together. The weather was perfect. And we never stopped running which was my goal. My darling mom came in from Chicago to cheer me on along the way. I have never been so excited to hear my name as I was when I would her yelling it from the side of the road. And did I mentioned she did this all on her birthday with a hurt knee. Talk about selfless. Anyways back to the story. So my wonderful roommates. I get back from being in Salt Lake for the last day and a half to find a "Congratulations Ellie!!" sign on my door. It made my day. I am amazed what homemade signs can do...but this one made my life! So it makes sense that he would think I was engaged...after all my roommates had cheered for me for five minutes and there was a congratulations sign on the door. But dont worry it gets even more convincing.


Incident #3.
I leave for london in...6 days...however at the 8 day mark my facebook status..oh facebook..said "8 days. Family in Town. Oh happy day." So another friend of the male assortment commented something along the lines of 'I didnt realize you were getting married in 8 days" which was comical because he knew i was not getting married...however to a boy who already things you are engaged this would solidify the fact that I was engaged. Throw in the fact Ive been seen with the same boy multiple times. and pooof you have one engaged ellie. But besides being engaged in a good cause (haha cheesy) i am in no way engaged.


Side note: If anyone is reading this, and wishes to change this fact. The ring below is my absolute favorite in case you were wondering. joke. well i really do love it. anyways. happy day.

dear time, go slower.

The official countdown is 13 days. In thirteen days, I will drive to SLC airport, fly to dallas/fort worth. not so scary. go through customs (hmph, how do i do that?) board a plane, sit for an extremely long period of time, and get off in the far off land of london.

LONDON! I will be in london in 13 days! holy moly, guacamole. I feel like life is on fast forward and I need it to go slower. but alas it will not. Things standing in the way of me being in london (aka things that need to be done before london): Finals. boo. Packing for London and EFY. bigger boo. Packing up my apartment, and putting it into storage. Biggest boo.

While these might not seem like the biggest thing, the fact that I am not a fan of any of them makes life a little harder. but exciting things that stand in my way. SLC half marathon on saturday (after much debate, the full marathon is now a half. oh Cathy and her wisdom), earning lots of money at work (yay extra hours), EFY conference call, my mom coming into town (she is coming to cheer me on in my 13.1 mile adventure), and getting to play with friends before I leave.

While the end of the semester is a fun time. Today is the last day of classes, I cant help but be a little sad. I love my classes, I love the people in my classes, I love my ward, I just love my life right now. So it is hard to say goodbye to it. And knowing next year I will be in a completely new place, well apartment complex that is, saddens me and excites me all at the same time. I am excited for new adventures, new people, having a laundry machine, and living with diana. But i am sad to leave my old ward, my old friends, and the joys of living  at "the colon"

Moral of the story- I want the best of both worlds. Miley Cyrus, how did you do it?

This Crazy Little Thing Called....Life

I am amazed at how busy life can get. Its kind of ridiculous when you realize on a Wednesday that you have no free time until the next Monday. Don't get me wrong I love staying busy and having things to do, but a girl needs a break. A break that her body forces her to take by feeling sick. Dumb stomach. So after a night filled of homework and a morning filled with presentations- my stomach rejected me. Luckily work is slow and so it was okay for me to take the day off. So I am home. Soon to be sleeping and trying to get my body to forgive me.

As I was walking home I realized I am very irrational when I feel sick. Aka when at the top of stairs and not wanting to have to walk down them I considered the option of just falling down them, thinking that it would be a lot faster than walking. Dont worry I realized the severe pain it would cause, and that walking down them wouldn't take that long. Second irrational thought. I was walking past an open roofed jeep and had the urge to hid everything in their car. Who does that? Don't worry my mischievous nature was subdued by my morals and the fact that I just wanted to get home.

Moral of the story. Ellie is ridiculous when she feels sick. Beware.

EFY anxiety much?

 

It has started. The EFY dreams. I remember waking up all throughout the night thinking that a meeting was going on in my room and being very worried that I was missing something, and the fact that there were boys in my room and i was wearing too short of shorts. I wish I could say this was a one time occurrence, but unfortunately it was very VERY repetitive. 

Recently- I have had some slight anxiety about this summer. One fact being that I get back from London on the 10th and I'm technically supposed to be in Minnesota on the 9th, and also the fact that I have no idea what im doing. Not a clue. No worries, I am still excited- and will learn what im doing at training on friday and saturday- 

Side note: saturday is the death of me- rex lee run, dancesport, mountain west tournament, bridal shower, seminar...will i go to any? no. i have training. (while i could miss part of it, that whole having no clue what im doing thing makes it very appealing not to miss any part)

So what is the point of all this random rambling? The best dream ever. or worst. one of the two. It was thursday night. I went to sleep. It was grand. Oh hello efy world, its been awhile. So there I am at a variety show and I feel as though i had taken the place of a much more competent ellie. You know when you realize you know nothing but everyone thinks you know what is going on. So instead of figuring out my BC duties I instead sat down by a participant and made them my instant friend. So there I am cheering for the variety show- all the other BC's are not very happy with me- when suddenly three boys on stage are missing shirts. soo not allowed at efy. how does ellie solve the problem.

another side note is needed: at efy you cant have holes in your jeans. so we have duct tape to cover said holes. its great.

so how i solved the problem. i used duct tape. Yep i duct taped the boys until they were modest. good call ellie, good call. lets just hope i get my problem solving skills in check before june.

Skiing- two "i"s two times

Skiing with the family circa 1994

I wouldn't consider myself an avid skiier by any means, even though I learned how to ski at the young age of four. I still remember wearing a harness so my dad could make sure I didn't run into a tree. The day I graduated from that thing was a glorious day! Unfortunately I have yet to perfect my form and or skill because it a very expensive hobby to have. But i have a very VERY loving father who takes me skiing when he is in town. Hello monday. We relived the glory days. In the morning it was just Bill and I, which was so wonderful. The ski lift is a perfect place for story time and heart to hearts. And the mountain is a perfect place to ski your pops to the ground. Minus the fact that he is the most amazing skiier I have ever seen. Seriously, his form. sickening.

Side note. but on topic. Saturday i went on a run. makes sense if you are training for a marathon. but unfortunately i have been slacking majorly in running. time just gets filled so quickly that running has to take a backseat. but saturday morning was dedicated to running. I woke up bright and early, got on my running garb, laced up my shoes, opened the front door...and hello snow! but did it stop me, no sir. I was meeting Kelsey to run, and I wasnt about to bail. So off i went into the snow and slush i went. Kelsey and I had a lovely run avoiding puddles and talking (thats the best part of running- with people- you have someone to talk to) and five miles later we were back at her apartment. But i was in the groove. I find the first 3 are the worst, but once you pass that you can go forever. So i kept going. and going. and going. until my feet were so wet that i could hear the sloshing in my shoes. GROSS. so I came home. The final mileage. 10.5. i only have to do that approximately 2.6 more times and im at a marathon.

Example of the awful slush- look at how disgusting. no bueno.

Now how does this have to relate to skiing at all you ask. Well I luckily wasnt sore saturday or sunday. or even on monday. Until i was skiing down the hill. holy moly. no bueno. but it wasnt awful, and was still a wonderful day of skiing with the pops. Oh yes and then we went back that night. two times. one day. wondrous.

embarrassing moment. we get to the ski hill and i go to put on my snow pants. oh no worries i left them home. who forgets their snow pants skiing. thats right folks. miss ellie hall.

Flash, Crackle, and Pop

I am a proud aunt of 8 of the cutest children in the world. truth. look at this kid.

Meet Will. He is 11. Old, I know! Will is in his elementary school choir. Said choir performed the National Anthem at the Flash game on Friday. Meet the Flash. They are Utah county's basketball team. Meet Ellie. The supportive aunt who went to said game to see said choir perform. 


(picture to come)


If you have ever been to a BYU basketball game- the Flash game is NOTHING like it. It was incredibly boring. However, I had my lovely sister-in-law to talk to which made life so much more enjoyable. We all voted to leave at half time. Best decision ever. Hmph that sounds very negative- but honestly, so boring. 


Also I have rekindled a recent love. That is right peanut butter and cereal is back. Now I know that sounds way weird but it is delicious. Here is your how to-

1. Get a bowl.

2. Get milk.

3. Get cereal of your choice (Rice checks, rice krispies, or something of the sort)

4. Get peanut butter.

5. Pour cereal into bowl.

6. Add milk.

7. Put a spoonful of peanut butter on the side of the bowl.

8. Get a small amount of peanut butter and take a bite.

9. Devour.

10. Have your life changed forever.

After a long run on Saturday nothing made me happier than my cereal and peanut butter- however, be careful. It is delicious, and you might end up eating your body weight in cereal.


 Another random tidbit from Ellie's life- we had our ward talent show on Saturday. I have no talents. lie. I have one. Which was displayed in a competition in front of the whole world. I can fit my fist in my mouth. I don't know if this ability is due to my abnormally large mouth (see below) or slightly small hands. My guess. A mixture of both.

Ever heard of the wide mouthed frog. Its name is Ellie.

Also- I get to spend 6 weeks with this girl in London. Im pumped.

Fantastic Ellie's

Fantastic Sam's has a new employee. I am officially a pro hair stylist- well cutter- and by pro, I mean if you want a semi good hair cut and have an hour and a half to spare I'm your girl.

Monday on the way back from California I got a text message from a friend asking if i know how to cut hair- heck no. unless you count cutting my dad's hair...

(he is my favorite! this is where i get my amazing faces from. thank you William)

his hair is very tricky to cut... said friend did not realize the lack of father's hair and thought I was being modest and convinced me to cut his hair. I dont think I have ever been so nervous in my life. True, hair grows, but i couldn't live with myself if I knew I was the cause for an odd bald spot and weird looks.

He soon realized my lack of confidence but still was up for the free hair cut. So with a little Google and help from another friend, we had one successful haircut. I was probably the most timid hair cutter ever- it took forever- and I didn't take much off. But it was shorter, and off his ears. Thank you BYU honor code.

Thank You Presidents For a Day Off School

So this one time BYU had a three day weekend, and it is pretty much the closest thing we have to a spring break. Depressing right. Now true we get out of school earlier than everyone else, which can be seen as an advantage in the summer job hunt, but really have a week off in the spring would do wonders for mental health! But I am lucky enough to have great friends at work, and one of which just happens to live in LA- enter road trip.

Road Trip: There were 5 girls. 1 car. 1 iPod. and many many snacks. (I swear I at my body weight in sugar this weekend). If you have ever seen Brian Regan you know the "back seat middle feet on the hump" joke- and it is one of my favorites. So I spent my weekend. Back seat. middle. feet on the hump. But no worries I have a new found skill of falling asleep anywhere and everywhere so I was out for the majority of the 9 hour drive down there. California was wonderful, except for the fact it rained- note: This was my 2nd time going to California, both times it has rained. Psh whoever named it the sunshine state lied. But the trip was great. filled with going to Griffith Park, Hollywood, the Beach, and the LA temple. It was a perfect weekend! Below I will attempt to show the highlights via pictures...ive never done pictures in a blog before so wish me luck.

This was at Griffith Park- which is this way neat observatory that looks over the city and has a astronomy museum. Im kind of a nerd and loved it. It also provided for many a picture opportunity.

We found this amazing tree- perfect for climbing. I learned that I am awful at climbing trees, and have an innate fear of falling out of trees. Whatever happened to the days were I wasn't scared of anything. Im not a fan of this new fear thing. No bueno.

That night we went to El Tarasco and I have never been so full in my life. We all went back and laid on our right side to help us digest faster. It was wonderful, and awful, and wonderful.

The Beach: Saturday we went to the beach- i love the beach. The water was freezing, but that didn't stop us from getting in the water and playing in the sand. Highlight was going for a run with Kelsey down the beach- and by run I mean run and then just walk and talk. It was perfect.

The temple: Sunday night we went to the LA temple visitor's center. I was amazed at how the integrated modern technology into everything. The temple was beautiful as well- especially during the sunset.

El Segundo High: We finished out the trip at El Segundo High- the high school in Even Stevens and other tv shows, which just happened to be Megan's high school. And of course had to have an epic photo shoot.

Moral of the story it was a wonderful weekend and break from reality. Now back to the old grind.

life is good. no. life is great.

As we can see, Ellie and blogging don't get along very well.. I would say that I will try to be better, but that would be an epic lie. But exciting news in Ellie's life. One is i am going to LONDON for a study abroad! I have never left the country before so I keep going back and forth between complete excitement and complete terror. Usually it is excitement though! The best part is that I get to go with one of my bestest friends Cali. Six weeks with her I think might be what I am most excited about. Not to mention, seeing 12 shows in 6 weeks, hearing English accents everywhere I go, and getting to travel around Europe! Second exciting news- I got hired as a BC (Building Counselor) for EFY this summer. I absolutely love EFY and I cant wait for the summer. But really..im the most impatient person ever. I found out on monday (Valentine's Day) and I swear I walked around beaming all day. and then I got really worried that people would think it was because i was in love, and then realized it didnt matter...but I am in love- with life!EFY will be wonderful this summer- but like london I have brief moments of freak out. One because it is a new position and I have no idea what I am doing- i have this fear of failure. and then two because I get back from London on the 10th- and need to be in Minnesota on the 10th. So crazy! But at the same time so very exciting and fun.

Also the weather has been beautiful recently. Especially for February- i am just waiting for it to change back. But I am amazed at how closely my mood is tied to the weather. I sometimes think I should be a bear and hibernate in the winter because i feel like im such a grump. But as soon as the sun comes out I feel like I can face anything- that the world is my playground. I no longer feel like everyday is the same. Moral of the story- these last few days have been amazing.