These are a few of my favorite things...

As of late I am really beginning to miss the ole US of A. Being away from the states for such a long time has forced me to realize all the wonderful items that I took for granted while living in the land of the free and home of the brave. So the following are items that I miss and can't wait to have back (in no particular order):

1. Cut the polite crap...Give me a crude and loud American any day of the week.

2. Food that I don't have to google to make sure I'm not eating cow balls or something of that nature.

3. Any sport besides cricket, rugby or soccer.

4. Not having to plan my grocery trips around the 274 bus.

5. Being Tan.

6. Saying "y'all" without being aware of it.

7. Large portions.

8. The Texas heat.

9. A cell phone plan that includes free nights and weekends.

10. A good healthcare system.

11. The American Standard Dictionary - no more "u's or s's"

Now of course the obvious items are included such as family, friends and the babies of the world - so don't go getting in a huff because those aren't on the list :). I miss everything! How am I going to make it to December?

Tea for Two

I am now going to reflect on an English past time which should be called an English all the time, the art form of drinking tea. I think I can single handedly blame tea consumption on the UK's inability to outperform the US in productivity. Tea time is a common misconception, every minute is tea time. Every ten minutes at the firm someone around me will call out, "Everyone ok for drinks?" The answer is never yes. The answer is always, "Well, I could use a cup of tea." This answer comes from everyone and was the answer 10 minutes ago and so on and so forth. Paper tea cups line their desks, tea bags fill the trash cans, and reports go unfinished because...gasp, we haven't had tea in 15 minutes - the shame, the blasphemy, the horror.

After witnessing this mass consumption of tea, it forces one to ponder several items.
1) Has the English bladder somehow evolved to take on this much tea? No one ever seems to go to the "loo" except for me, new to the game of binge tea drinking.

2) The Boston Tea Party must have been more than a protest to the Brits, but a complete tragedy. There was probably wailing in the streets, clothes torn in mourning, and possibly sipping from the surrounding waters from the loyalists.

3) Will I upon my arrival back in the US suffer some sort of massive caffeine withdrawal where I might need to check into the Betty Ford of tea drinkers just to survive?

Maybe a cup of tea will help me find the answers.

If It's Not Scottish It's Crap

Welcome once again to Courtney's Euro adventures! This time we join our heroine in the idyllic setting of Ayr, Scotland...
Well the beginning of the trip was hellish. I had to be up by 5am to catch a cab to the airport. I was not a happy camper. I think I spoke about 2 words to my production team the whole day. My hotel room situation was problematic in that I kept finding spiders in my bed. I don't know about you but I'm not a big fan of sharing my bed with them, the hotel however, wasn't too bothered. I kicked up a fuss and moved rooms only to find more spiders. I started trapping them under glasses as evidence for the hotel staff. But they viewed this as odd (this coming from people who eat haggis, a pig's stomach deep fried and stuffed with unmentionable meat), but I digress. I worked all day everyday and didn't get to see as much of Scotland as I would have liked to. For the times I actually spoke to a Scot it never amounted to much because most everything they said was lost in translation. For the majority of the trip I merely nodded and smiled alot. But now I'm back in sunny (not) England counting down the days until I'm back in Texas. I keep making mental lists of things I want to do/eat. I'm praying I won't come back fat but I have a feeling that's inevitable. I can't wait to see y'all. 14 more days! Get excited!
Love y'all,
Court

When in Rome...

...Make sure to stay away from the Gladiators trying to rip you off. Rome was absolutely amazing, and below I will highlight some of the most interesting events (in no particular order).

6. Finding a beach outside of Rome complete with Roman men in Speedos sprawled out in all their glory as they bronze in the sun. Imagine any stereotypical greasy Italian man in a spread eagle position complete with medallion and mustache.

5. Eating Gelati (the best ice cream ever) three times a day - 4 scoops each time. Having the Gelati man try to get me to give him a kiss in exchange for my cone. I told him maybe next time which I'm sure he probably didn't understand.

4. Accidentally joining a pro-marijuana protest because we thought it was a parade.

3. Joining a random tour group in St. Peter's only to have the best tour guide ever. Learned that Madonna's baby wasn't allowed to be baptized there because it was a bastard child, and that Ben Affleck and J. Lo had tried to have their wedding there, but the pope wouldn't allow it. Strangely enough a marching band went through the plaza playing "Downtown" and some Stevie Wonder song.

2. Meeting two Italian girls who took us to a local hangout. One was a translator for films and is currently working on Dead Man Walking. We proceeded to meet way too many Italian men who couldn't speak English except for "Me boy, you Girl, we pretty." Typical Italian dress consisted of a tight t-shirt with some sort of Euro expression or some sort of random athletic jersey (child's small) from the states. They had an obsession for US pop music and sang every word without knowing what they were singing. According to them my name was Broke.

1. Being approached by a cab driver late at night who had some sort of throat issue, and had the electronic voice box thing...very darth vader like, very scary.

Ok here are some pics of our trip to Paris. You'll be getting a link to look at more pics of Paris and my bday. Enjoy! Love y'all miss y'all, 

Eiffel Tower - Alex 

Eiffel Tower 

Notre Dame 

TEXAS, pamplona, green day and i hate jude law

Well, we've finally booked it....and i CAN'T WAIT for some Texan sunshine, Mi Cocina, and Bruty tooty oh rooty.
Luckily Court's been keeping this thing up to date because Brooke and I have been a bit useless on the old Blog front. Anyhoo, not a lot to report. Court & I are going to Paris next weekend for her birthday present so I'll be able to impress her with my attempt at the language of love. Er, sacre bleu, votre chien est apelle Bruty tooty.
OK, yes, I'm crap.
On to Green Day. I finished my first book. All 20,000 words, and I was pretty stressed at the end of last week. Grandmommy, I know you're a huge fan so I'll make sure to send you a copy.
By the way, before I forget... Brooke.... look up Pamplona on Google. Running with the Bulls. A Spanish tradition. Maybe you could organise a competition for the first person to run a certain distance, finishing a full carton of Ben and Jerry's whilst a herd of Bulls are chasing them through the streets. Or something.
OK.. back to Jude. Did I tell you I can't stand Jude Law.
Love Alex
x
P.s.... let's all head down to Austin for a few days!!!

Calling all Ice Cream Lovers

Hello Dear Family and Friends,

I'm calling on all of those creative Getters/Hannafords to put on their thinking caps for my very first pseudo Cambridge Assignment. Ok kids...this is a fun one. I have a group project so everyone get their Elmers glue, glitter, and poster board ready. Here is the objective: Come up with a Marketing plan for Ben and Jerry's in Spain. Yes Dad you heard me right, we have to market those libral hippy low lifes. Right now I'm in need of a radical idea similar to Red Bull's Flutaag contest where people make their own homemade flying machines (Grandmommy don't worry about understanding any of this). So what can Ben and Jerry's do...especially in Spain. Here they sponsor the world toe wrestling championship, but I want something better. So drink some Sangria, put on the Grateful Dead, turn on the black light, get yourself in that Ben and Jerry's mentality with Orka sounds in the background and think of something totally awesome dudes. Gracias.

Beardog

Gone To Texas!

Below please see the itinerary for passenger(s):
Mr Hannaford, Alex
Miss Getter, Courtney

Departure
London [LHR]
Heathrow
Great Britain (UK)
TERMINAL 3
08:30 Tue 31 May 05

Arrival
Dallas-Fort Worth [DFW]
Dallas / Fort Worth International
United States
TERMINAL C
14:53 Tue 31 May 05

I'm scared of old big angry Irishmen

I'm currently at my desk at work commiserating over the fact that it's Monday. The weekend wasn't as long as I'd like it to be but I had some fun anyways. Friday was Matt Gyves' birthday (aka one of Alex's best men, the redheaded one). Saturday we went to a wedding (naturally it wasn't as good as mine, plus it was a cash bar, so that's a no-no). Sunday we nursed everyone's hangovers from their Saturday ventures the night before with our attempt at a Tex-Mex breakfast. Good attempt but not the same. However we have found that Alex can make really good salsa so Brooke and I are happy about that. Sunday night led us to our local pub. Al and I were joined by Bear Dog, Mark and Russell and boy did we partake in some wonderful pub delights. First the girls bathroom was let's say 'out of order.' In so many words, there was poo everywhere so I had to hold it until I couldn't hold it any more. I got clearance from the manager to use the guys' bathroom and Brooke came too. My turn was fine, but when I had to guard the door for Brooke I was approached by a 7 foot Irishman aged about 65 and missing teeth. Some expletives ensued as I nervously stood guard and made sure my sister emptied her bladder at the expense of being used as a punching bag by the chap. Thank God nothing happened but the gentleman was told to leave. If he would have tried anything I would have just employed the tactic my dad taught us girls from an early age, aim for his balls and run like hell. Thankfully that needn't be used. Then we had our entertainment for the night. An aging 'beauty' began to dance solo to the pub music offered by a lone guitarist. This included writhing on the floor, rubbing herself on a pole, and taking her top off. After laughing hysterically at this drunken tragedy she came over to me to say that we ruined her bachlorette party. Keep in mind NO ONE WAS WITH HER! And she was definitely trying to grab the guitarist's package while he was playing. So basically I think she was just a drunk whore. Oh the delights of England! I love y'all!
-Court

I love long weekends

So over here across the pond, they give us Good Friday and Easter Monday off for the blessed resurrection. And now that I'm back at work, I'm in a grumpy mood. Let me explain. Last Friday, we went to Pat & Pete's friends for a party. It was a big celebration and I mingled with what the English call Gypsies. There was lots of folk music, people brought their 8 (or more) children, and old people smoked hash. It was hilarious to say the least. The rest of the break we spent at Pat & Pete's in the serene country side. And then the big news came. We are going to have a new addition to the family. We were given a car! The Hannaford's friends gave us a 1985 (yes, the same year Brittany was born) VW Polo GL Hatchback! Boy is he a beauty! He's red, awkward, and has low mileage. Based on the first two criteria I've christened him Napolean (after the movie Napolean Dynamite, out on DVD/VHS now). Alex took him to get inspected today and he failed (bad windshield wipers, and something about oil), but it's all easily fixed supposedly with minimum cost to us. So we will be mobile baby! And not to fret, I'm taking lessons to learn driving over here. Here are some pics of the pride and joy...they're not actual ones but other models that look just like him.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9873&item=4538887224&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9873&item=4538402336&rd=1

Enjoy!
Love,
Court

Guess who?

http://www.cnbceurope.com/ibn/members/apc/index.php?url=1

Lost in London

Let's talk about how many times I've been lost in London in the last week...oh wait they are too many to recount. I did manage to take five different tube lines yesterday in the space of an hour. I do believe that has got to be some sort of record. I also got on a bus, the right number, but wrong direction and took it until they told me to get off, far far away from home. Today I actually managed to successfully take the bus to the tube station, but I think the getting home part is actually going to be a bit trickier. It doesn't matter today though because I locked myself out of the flat, and I'm meeting up with a flatmate after work so that I won't have to spend the night on the front steps. So I'm a bit of a mess.

It's My Birthday!

Hello I'm 23 today yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Have a Guinness for me or wear something green.
Love y'all,
Court

In a Mood

Ok so since my last wedding ring (you know the one where not 1 but 2 diamonds had fallen out after having it for 2 weeks?) I've been reinstated with a new one. And upon first glance today I realized that yet again a diamond is missing. Therefore I'm in a mood. I've been told to only wear the ring on special occassions but it's my damn wedding ring for crying out loud, I'd like to wear it everyday. I hate the thought of having my marriage being recognized when I decide to dress up b/c if that's the case it'll be next to never. I was out filming yesterday yet again at another auction house. Our contributors were interesting to say the least. One team broke a very expensive vase before the auction even started. The auction house had a gigantic bison head up for sale that when the sale concluded decided it didn't want to be hung up high on the wall anymore, crashed down and broke some chairs into splinters. I spent an HOUR AND A HALF trying to get home on what I call the slowest train ever to be created EVER (this conclusion takes into account trains made during Victorian times). Ok I'm going to go sulk over my ring. I'm really ANNOYED!
-Courtney

I'm I an official Londoner yet?

I don't think I am considering that I need a map everywhere I go. I have yet to realize which tubes trains are the fast ones, and I still smile on the tube while everyone else looks as if they might go medieval on my ass at any minute.

Speaking of medieval kill tactics, some dude about 10 minutes away from me was killed by an ax in broad day light. Go figure that I would live in one of the nicest areas of London and an ax murderer would be out and about. Now for all of you across the pond that are super excitable and worry warts (read Grandmommy), the ax murderer was apprehended and there were bobbies all of the place this morning.

Back to my really nice neighborhood. Let's talk about how I live near Jude Law and Gwen Stefani. My flat has an amazing panoramic view of London. Now here is the downside. My shower is like someone is peeing on me, and my provided pillow is like sleeping on a piece of paper, two pieces if I double it up. My bed is about as comfortable as a camp bed. So I'm going to have to take the good with the bad.

Things have been great so far. The peeps at my job are super nice, and I just hope that I can finally get past my shy stage to my laugh really loud and be sarcastic stage. I'm sure there will be comments about that last sentence.

Anyway I guess I should be doing some work now. I've got to warrant my 26 days vacation somehow haha.

Brooke "The unofficial Londoner" Getter

Note to Bear Doggie

Package of Poorly Packed Paraphernalia Leaving Pronto

Your box of various unimportant trash items is leaving tomorrow - supposedly. Based on the cost, I should just mail myself - but I think that's been done...

Hurtin' 4 Certain

weekend good, working on weekend bad

Ok so the weekend (if you can call it that) is officially over. It really wasn't the end of my week b/c I had to work on Saturday. I spent 8 hrs. in a sub zero temperature auction room filming two teams buy crap. It was gripping TV. Alex wanted to fall asleep fast last night and asked which drug to take to induce this, I suggested he take Ambien, and 30 minutes later Alex was high on his sleeping drug. He claimed he saw shapes. Instead of messing with him I tried to wrangle him to bed in hopes that he would stop grasping at the air (or what he called 'pretties'). It was interesting to say the least. When he missed his alarm this morning for his volunteer life boat duties that was hilarious too. So let's recap...
1. didn't have a weekend
2. Alex got happy on Ambien
3. Alex sees shapes
4. Alex slept thru alarm
5. Courtney laughed at him in her head at 7:30 this morning

*note to self: keep Ambien for own personal use. If husband needs to fall asleep, give him alcohol.*

Love y'all,
Court