It's Almost Christmas!

I'm glad it's almost Christmas. Not just because I get to spend time with the English family, but because I get some time off of work, which is MUCH needed.

I've been ill for almost a week now. I am feeling soooooo run down it's not even funny. Yesterday my body shut down two hours before it was supposed to at work, and I swear I think I almost dozed off while visiting one of the residents. I apologised and told her that I haven't been well (which she knew) but I still felt bad. Even drinking a gallon of coffee didn't help.

And today I even slept in until about 9:30am and I STILL feel tired.

Tonight is a late night at work too (well, I'll get out at 8pm). Tomorrow I'll be going in early with my colleague so we can go home a little early. Then it's off to the MIL's with all of the Christmas dinner food. Atleast we can relax at my MIL's.

Anywho, I can't complain though. This Christmas season has been good so far.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!

Tis the Season....

....to feel blah.

I don't feel blah because of Christmas, really....I think it's just been blah leading up to this point in time.

Ian has had some medical difficulties, and the Dr. said he has to lower his stress levels, and since Angel had been tearing up carpet and not really calming down even though he was on medication, we had to give him back up for re-adoption yesterday. I worked, and Ian took Angel back to the shelter. I miss Angel, but it's for the better. Maybe one day Ian and I will be able to get a cat again, but this time Ian said we can get a kitten so we can raise it the way we want it to be and train it and not have problems (even though I love adopting rescue cats).

So Angel's huge scratching post is now being used for the Mummies and Kittens part of the shelter so there is a place for the kittens to climb on, and they said that Angel should be adopted REAL fast.

Ian also got an update on Spike. Spike was adopted about a month after we took him back to the shelter, and his owners really tried with him. He had major health issues that the vet could not figure out (when we had Spike he would poo and also throw up quite a bit). Well, the other night Spike's new owners came downstairs in the morning and found that Spike had passed away in his sleep. I'm more upset about Spike passing than Angel being gone. Angle is a healthy cat and has more of a chance at living. Spike is now gone. So sad.

Now the house seems bigger, and quieter. I have to wash everything that Angel used to sleep on and we need to hoover like mad to get all the cat fur out of the carpet and whatnot.

Hopefully this is all for the better....

Rainy Days and Mondays

I suppose today is a perfect day to be home ill from work.


Quick rundown (since we had no internet for two weeks).

The Wednesday before we moved (so that was 21st Oct.) I started to get this cough. It went on and on for weeks. Friday my boss was concerned thinking I had a chest infection, and asked if I could get checked out. Went to the walk-in centre (thank you NHS) on Saturday and saw a nurse, who confirmed that yes, I have a chest infection.

Now, I'm home sick from work, and I can barely walk up and down our stairs without getting out of breath.

Thankfully, the new surgery that we registered with could fit me in today to see at Dr. and have my asthma rescue inhailer prescription renewed since I have run out of it.

Atleast I can lay in bed in a nice, warm house in (new) comfy pajamas and slippers while watching TV. And looking forward to this evening when Ian and I can watch more of this (I think my latest obsession):

But now it is back to coffee and watching TV. I'll probably have to dig out some movies or something because day time television is rubbish here.

Happy Birthday, To Ya!

Today would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. It's amazing to think how life would be if he were still alive today.

Ian thinks John would be like Paul - a sell out, making music just for the sake of making music, and still touring to generate millions+ £'s.

I don't think John would've been like that. I don't know if he would still be making music like Paul does today. I think John would've much rather had a simple life, maybe doing a peace rally every now and then, but not tour around like mad. I could see John maybe playing bars or something in NYC, or doing art. I don't think John would've been the man that Ian thinks he would've been.

But even though I never knew you personally, John, I do wish you a very happy birthday. The world loves and misses you.


Other things that happened today:

Ian and I started to pack up some things since we're moving in two weeks time.

We also went and purchased a new sofa for the new place that has a sofa bed in it. That way, when guests come to stay, although the bed is small, atleast they can sleep on it and not on the floor. So Dad, you get your own bed at ours when you visit!

Now, it's time to shift some things over the Mum's for storage for a couple of weeks. Let the fun begin!

Glad All Over

Well, I'm glad that's over with...

Now I can read whatever book I want. No more tests to take in order to live in the UK.

*phew*

Here Comes the Bride...

Congratulations goes out to our very near and dear friends Mel and Rob on their wedding yesterday!

Mel made a beautiful bride, and Rob made an even more beautiful groom. :p

Thank you for letting us share in your special day, my loves!

Day 365 of 365: Good Bye, My Friend....

I didn't want my last 365 post to be a sad one, but to be honest, with the year of officially having to blog coming to a close, so does another aspect of this past year's chapter.

For a little while now, Spike had unfortunately been spraying in the house. I caught him one night spraying the outside of the cat box, and then he kept spraying at the bottom of the stairs.

Ian and I were at a complete loss and had no clue what to do.

So we asked experts, tried Feliway, got rid of odor, tried baking soda, the lot...and it still wouldn't stop. But on top of the spraying, Spike eventually became very bitter, swiping at Angel whenever he walked by. If Angel wanted some attention, Spike revolted with a swish of his tail, his back to us, and his ears back. Our living situation wasn't fair on any of us.

This past Saturday I phoned the shelter where we adopted Spike and Angel from and asked for advice. They basically said we had tried everything we could, but maybe it would be better if Spike and Angel were separated after 8 years of living together. Unfortunately, the shelter had no history on Spike and Angel, so they probably just "tolerated" each other those years. It got the to the point where we had an upstairs cat (Angel) and a downstairs cat (Spike).

Sunday came, and Ian and I woke up and packed up Spike's things. We sent him back with his food bowl, bowl mat, scratching post, food, and his toy mouse he played with the most. It was tough taking him back, and I cried so much it looked like I had been punched in the face, but it's for the best. Hopefully, he will be adopted out to another home real soon. His coat had grown back beautifully, and it felt so much better because we actually took CARE of him and Angel.

I do miss Spike, I won't lie. I don't miss his spraying, the awful smell, and his constant meowing when I got in from work just to feed him (that's another thing too, he was pushing poor Angel out of the way and eating HIS food as well). But I miss how silly Spike was, and him laying on my lap, or watching TV with Ian and I.

We just hope he finds a great home that he deserves.

Day 364 of 365: Saturday Fun

Lookie lookie who I married!

Ian has had a beard for over a month now, and I've grown to really love the look on him. So today when I was doing laundry and whatnot, and I heard the beard trimmer going I said "Oh no! You're getting rid of it!"

I didn't see Ian because as soon as he was finished with his trim, I hopped in the shower. When I came down stairs he was reading so I couldn't see his face until he unveiled the Hitler 'stache!

I busted up laughing and asked him if he would keep it for the day. Unfortunately, he only kept it long enough for me to take photos of it.


Anywho....onto the day's events.

Went into Winchester to hand in our notice that we are not staying in the cottage here. We love the place, buuttt...we feel we're not getting much for our money, and need to find some place cheaper so we can start saving money instead of living paycheck to paycheck. Plus, the people in the village are just too snooty. A couple of people I have met are nice, but we're constantly struggling for parking for Ian and getting nasty notes if Ian has to park somewhere else. Not neat.

So we're going to look around the Romsey area. We spoke to my MIL about it and she said "Don't move too far away from me!" Thought that was cute. But we need to be close for her, so we shall see. There was a place in North Baddesley that we liked, but it's being processed at the moment. So we shall see. We have 3 months to find a place, and even if time runs over, my MIL said we could stay with her for a few weeks until we find the best place for us and the boys. It'll be nice to stay put somewhere for atleast a couple of years, because this move will be my 3rd in a year and a half...lol. But we definitely need a 2 bedroom place now since my Dad and his fiancee, Pam, are going to be coming to visit next year (HOPEFULLY) for two weeks. I can't wait to have them here because I miss them like crazy! Will speak to my Dad more about it tomorrow when Ian and I get in from our date night.

Fingers crossed for all!

Day 363 of 365: Just Another Maniac Thursday

Had a regular day at work today, but the evening was what I looked forward to the most.

Ian went out paintballing with The Round Table lads (Chris and Vik are members of the Andover branch) while I hung out with Lucy at her place.

Lucy told me lots and lots of stories....."Eh you....do you like tamales?!!!"

Got in late, but it was well worth it.

Although on the drive home, some chavy bastard was driving too fast and ended up spinning out right after he passed us.

Photos of the day though were taken at the beginning of the day. I was getting ready for work and the boys were sitting in the hallway. I noticed how long Spike's hair is getting now:



And Angel is just cute. :)


And my goodness, I'm almost finished with the 365. It's taken me a year and a half to do it, but it's almost finished! Don't know if I should continue after the last entry though. Maybe I will, but not religiously....heck, it took me this long to do a blog when it should've really only taken me one year to do it!

Day 362 of 365: Searchin....

Went up to Andover tonight with Ian to check out a place to live that Lucy suggested to us (she knows the owner).

After we went and checked the place out (which we really liked it, but it needs a lot of work) we went to the pub and had a meal.

Good times...good times. :)

We'll see if the place in Andover works out!

Day 361 of 365: Ka-Boom!

Had a really awesome day with Ian and Chris.

Ian and I saw a few weeks ago a poster for an event called Blast From the Past in Romsey, and we thought "Chris and Lucy might like this!" so invited them along. Unfortunately, Luce had some family things to do, so she dropped Chris off this morning and the three of us headed to Romsey for the event.

We parked up at my MIL's and walked down to Broadlands where the event was being held.

We saw EVERYTHING! This event was MUCH better than our D-Day out. They had everything set up from the Vietnam War, WWII, cowboys and indians, the American Civil War, Zulu, Romans, you name it, they had it....

A few examples:

Medieval Soldiers



American Civil War (Union Soldiers)


Our personal favorite: Ian and I wearing helmets in a WWII English bunker


Vietnam

The walk back from Broadlands just about killed us, and it down poured on us twice, but we didn't care.

After relaxing a bit and freshening up, we went to The Dolphin and had a drink and some food. Then Lucy arrived....so we came back to the house and chatted for a couple of hours. Lucy gave me some great tips about the cats, AND she also told Ian and I about a nice place in Andover we will hopefully get a chance to go and see this week and rent out after our lease is up here. We love the cottage where we live, we just don't like the village we live in. Plus, we'll be half a mile away from Lucy and Chris.

And speaking of Chris, the day really DID wipe him out:

Good night!

Day 360 of 365: I Like To Eat Eat Eat...

...apples and bananas...

as well as tons of other fruit! :)



Just wanted to show how nice it is to have a full fridge freezer unit. We can purchase fresh fruits and veg now and not worry about where we're going to put it!

Day 359 of 365: You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Nothing too exciting today. Went for a nice 2.5 mile walk with Ian today out in Chandler's Ford, and spoke with Jantina on the phone for a bit.

And we also got this aromatherapy thingie for Spike since I have failed to mention that the little guy has been spraying. Hopefully it'll work in stopping Spike from spraying, because I don't want to get rid of the boys. Spike seems really fine tonight though snuggled up between Ian and I.

But, photos of today....some pictures of flowers that the residents and I have grown from seeds at work:

Lady Bird Poppies

One of the dozen sunflowers that have come up

And of course, as soon as I finished watering this morning, the really dark clouds rolled in and it even thunder stormed today!

Day 358 of 365: Milestones

Took four residents to Milestones Living Museum today. Spent literally the last month planning for this day, and the last week freaking out about how we were even going to get there, and were there enough people to help escort. But all in all, it worked out.

Absolutely Knackered now that I pushed the heaviest resident in her wheelchair, as well as did an almost 2 mile walk with Ian when I got in. Goodness. Can barely keep my eyes open doing this post, so will keep it short.

Here are some photos from the day:

A pub inside Milestones that is a Fuller's pub, but called the original brewery name.

A real book published in 1956.

A REALLY scary fake cat at the grocers.

Now....I need sleep......

Day 357 of 365: I'll Walk with You

Ian and I went for an exploratory walk this afternoon to 1) check out the area and 2) get in some fitness!


Ian promised me that if I studied for my Life in the UK test and took it soon, that he would get serious about exercise and losing some weight with me. So today we went on our first walk. Nothing strenuous because it was day 1, but we walked up a hill to find a cemetery that Ian had seen on Google maps.



We found what could possibly be a grave to one of the women that used to live in our cottage before us as well. There are two headstones in the cemetery that have the woman's surname, so will have to ask the landlord which woman it is for sure.

We figured if we walk the walk we did every evening after we get in from work, it'll take us about an hour and once we're fit enough to do the walk without getting TOO out of breath, then we'll move on to a further distance.

Sounds good to me!

Day 356 of 365: T.G.I.F.

Sooooo glad today was Friday. Had a bit of a stressful feel at work this week because I was busy trying to get people to help with an outing that was planned for this coming Tuesday. All is o.k. though.

Annnddd I know I cheated today but not taking the photo, but I just love Lolcats!

Day 355 of 365: Everybody Wants to Be a Cat

Got in from work and wanted a snuggle with all of my boys. So I got down on the floor and cuddled the really furry boys first.

Spike wasn't a really happy camper because I tried to clean his back paw...


And Angel wouldn't sit still!


Cuddle time with Ian came afterwards. ;)

Day 354 of 365: Ohhhh.....FAIL!

I had it in my head that I was going to have a "girlie day" today..consisting of a good leg shave (TMI, I know...), plucking my eyebrow(s), and then baking.

I found recipes online that use Splenda. Ian is diabetic, so I wanted to try something different.

I found a recipe for an apple and cinnamon cake, as well as blueberry muffins. Well, I didn't have any blueberries, so I used strawberries.

Here I thought I'm a baking genius!

Well the muffins are darker than I thought they would be:


And the cake is not a cake...it's apple mush:


Oh well. Ian and I will still eat them, because they cooked long enough to be safe, but not the result I wanted.

FAIL!

Day 353 of 365: We Are Officially...

....an adult, married couple.

Why, you ask? Why didn't it happen before? Well, because we never had a fridge freezer unit!

At our wedding party we received gracious gifts of money in some of our cards, and although we were hoping to have enough for a honeymoon, unfortunately we fell a bit short...so we went for Option No. 2 which was a fridge freezer (and had wanted since we moved into our place).

Up until today we had separate units. And we were always fighting for space in our old fridge. Plus our freezer was starting to get warmer than our oven on the outside.

But today Ian noticed that there was a deal going on at Comet, so we went and picked one up. The rest of the money we got we have put in the savings for when we can afford a honeymoon.

Oh, and please don't laugh at the little bear magnet on the fridge.....I've had it since I was in kindergarten. Thanks. :)

Also, we went into Pets at Home to see if they had a litter mat that had been out of stock for months, and it was.....then Ian spotted this and wanted it for the boys:

Ian has learned that it's all about keeping indoor cats busy. The only one that has ventured on it is Angel so far...and he just rubbed the little arms that hold the ball thingies. But still, it's progress!

Day 352 of 365: Dream a Little Dream

Not feeling quite right today. Had a weird dream last night that led me to waking up crying from my sleep. I've had a few dreams like that, but nothing that has affected me the way this dream has.

Can't go into detail, but I feel odd about the future because of it. I hope this dream doesn't come true.

Day 351 of 365: Good Times

Yes, you're seeing right! That there in the middle of the lovely picture above on the bottom is Meg and Ryan!

Jamie, Reagan, Ian and I made our way down today to visit the two lovelies. Unfortunately, Alan and Matt both had to work, so we were unable to have two of the 3 husbands together. But next time we will all DEFINITELY be together.

Was lovely meeting Meg and seeing the infamous Ryan and Myst in the flesh!

And Ryan and Reagan hit it off. We'll all be at their wedding in 18 or so years. :p

We had lunch at Subway today, where we chit chatted, laughed, talked babies, and had to avoid eye contact with a very creepy, smelly, insane tramp (a.k.a. a bum in American).

But it was a good time...and thankfully the rain held out until our drive home.

So now we are back home, after eating at a really nice Chinese buffet in Swindon.

Tomorrow? Who knows. We've got shopping to do, and hopefully some Beatles RockBand to play since the guitar dongle came in the post while we were gone. :)

Day 350 of 365: Movin' On Up

Up in Middlewich today to visit Jamie, Alan, and Reagan.

Ian and I felt bad that we couldn't spend as much time with them as we wanted over the weekend, so we thought since we had the week off, head up to see them (so yes, essentially we invited ourselves).

Ian went to Alan to watch him play pool, while I had girl time with Jamie and Reagan.

Bath time for Reagan

Then we laughed until the late hours of the night.

Good times with good friends. :)

Day 349 of 365: Talky Tuesday

It's Tuesday. Seems like our week off is flying by already.

Today was not an eventful day, other than speaking to Meg and Jamie on the phone. Ian and I are going up to see Jamie, Alan, and Reagan tomorrow, and then Jamie, Ian, Reagan, and I are meeting up with Meg and Ryan on Thursday. Will be nice. :)

I did, however, need to go into Winchester to pick up a few things. I FINALLY went into Paperchase, which I've wanted to do since I first saw the store. It's a really cute stationary store and I wanted to spend TONS of money in there, but I only spent about £10.

I got the things I needed, and picked up something I wanted. Since Ian and I are still trying to save money by me taking the bus, I purchased a bus pass holder:


Isn't it cute? And it totally fulfills my "crazy cat lady" fix. :)

And speaking of, I was looking at a photo of Ashes that we have on our shelf and thought I wonder if I took one of Angel how much they would look alike. Let's compare....

Angel:

Ashes:

I love them both. :)

Right.....need to get some things together so I'm not running around like mad in the morning.

Day 348 of 365: I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye I Say Hello

It's the morning! We got SOME sleep last night, but nothing fantastic. Ian and I slept in the guest room. Jan, Abel, and V had our room. Roger slept on the couch.

Angel and Spike kept coming in and out of our room all night. At one point I rolled over to see Angel sitting next to my head, where he let out a very quite "meow" looking oh-so-adorable. Spike settled at my feet for a little bit.

We all got up, Ian made breakfast for The Dutchies and Roger, and then we had to depart.

But not without our traditional couch shot!


We sat in the same order as we did the first week we all met...except this time we have Veerle in the photo!

The original couch shot....back in 2008

Afterwards, Ian made he and I breakfast, then played with the cats. Abel discovered last night while we were playing the Wii that our war gun has a red light on the end, so he decided to run Angel ragged (Spike wasn't havin' it). So today, Ian played with the boys and the gun once again. Will post the video at a later date! :p

Oh yes, and spoke to Jamie today for a bit to catch up on yesterday, and made plans for the middle of the week. :)

Ian and I then had to run errands (like, return the bar things, look for a few other things, etc). We got a few more things for the Wii (and we only spent £7!)

The very busy weekend definitely caught up with us though, as we fell asleep on the couches for an hour or so this evening, and we couldn't even eat all of our tea. So now we relax a bit more then hit the hay (we NEEEEED sleep).

Day 347 of 365: Summer Sun Something's Begun

Woke with a nasty hangover this morning (surprise surprise!!). But we had a nice day ahead of us. Ian and I were going to go with Jan, Abel, Roger, and Veerle to Portsmouth. Ian wanted to show the boys around at different military boats and things since Portsmouth played a huge part in WWII.

Everyone came back to ours for a bit (which included Mel and Rob). We chit chatted, had a cup of tea, etc. until Mel and Rob had to hit the road and head home. After Veerle woke from her nap we headed down to Portsmouth to see the sites.

While the lads checked out war ships, Jan and I walked around with Veerle. We tried to find a solution to my Rock Band mess up. When we put the game together this morning, Abel realised that we had a part missing. The drums and the guitar have these wireless dongles, and we were supposed to have one for each. Instead we got two drum ones.

So Jan, V, and I went to HMV and didn't get a final result, but had some questions answered.

After HMV and looking around for postcards, we walked some more through the city. Veerle loved the boats.


We had ice cream (or ijs as I learned in Dutch). Jan and I shared ours with V.


Then after the lads were finished with the ships, Jan, Roger and I went up in the Spinniker Tower to look around.


Then after we had tea at the pub, we got home and played games, chit chatted, showered, etc.

The guys played Ian's F1 game for awhile, which was quite difficult.


But, now I'm completely knackered, but also not looking forward to tomorrow. I dislike when ANY of my friends have to part from us.

So we shall all go to bed now and hopefully since we barely got any sleep last night, we will all sleep well tonight!

Day 346 of 365: It's My Party and I'll Drink if I Want To!

It's Saturday, which that means it's time for our English wedding party!

Since none of our English/European friends and family could make it to the wedding in America last year, Ian and I decided to throw a party so they could enjoy your life together as well.

It was a stressful morning, but it was well worth it in the end.

Jamie and Alan arrived at 11am at our place. We sat around the house for a little over an hour and then made our way down to the New Forest to The White Buck Inn where our party was being held. Ian, bless his heart, had been so focused on making this party not only good for us, but exceptionally good for those that we care about the most. We knew it would be hectic, so we arranged to have a small picnic in the Forest with Jamie, Alan, Reagan, Abel, Jantina, Veerle, Roger, Mel, and Rob. Unfortunately, Veerle was ill on Saturday, so Jan stayed behind at the Inn to look after Lil' V.

Ian and I packed sandwiches, drinks, fruit, and other little nibbles for us to eat. We drove up by the cricket pitch where a game was going on. The meal began when just as we were digging in, a small family of horses came by and ambushed our meal. People scattered everywhere, the younger horse nibbled on my shirt sleeve, and we were trying to salvage as much of the food as we could.

Eventually we were able to settle, chic chat, and whatnot and eat some, until ANOTHER family of horses!


After our picnic, Ian and I went back to the White Buck with everyone except the Forster family who were staying at a local B&B. We had a few drinks, met more family, and then finally I went to take a shower while Ian set up the rest of the things that needed to be done. In the last 20 minutes before the party started I think everyone ran around like crazy finalizing things.

But, I think the party was a great success. People that mean something in our lives got to mingle with others. It was amazing to see everyone I know here in one place at the same time. It was AWESOME! :)

One of the many attempts at a group shot. Thanks, Jamie, for being our photographer!

I did, however, get VERY drunk thanks to The Hubba Bubba working for a brewery and having loads of drinks provided for free! The bed sure did spin when I got in!

So I want to say thank you to anyone and everyone that came to our "do" and made it a wonderful night. We TRULY appreciate it. :)