Day 283 of 365: Vroom Vroom

So, I know it's only for my provisional license, but it's nice to see that it's been issued and on its way. :)

And yes I have been M.I.A. lately with the whole blog...but been a bit stressed out lately due to work and not been taking any photos. Will try and shape up yet again....

Day 282 of 365: I Loathe Being a Girl (Sometimes)

Thanks to the powers that be and my parents choosing that I should be female, I spent most of the day on the couch playing UNO on Yahoo! and watching America's Next Top Model.

After numbing myself with paracetamol, and taking a hot bath, I feel a bit more normal now.

Oh, how I love being a girl! :p

Day 281 of 365: Books...Check 'Em Out

I finished Juliet, Naked today, and if you love Nick Hornby, I highly recommend that you check this book out. The ending left everything open for a possible sequel book, which would be rather cool.

So now that I've finished my Hornby book, Ian has requested that the only book I read until I get my UK driving license is this one below:


I'm not doing too bad when I go through the questions. There are a few that I didn't know answers to, buuuttt....they give explanations as to why the answers are what they are.

So HOPEFULLY if I read it religiously for a few weeks I'll feel confident enough to book my theory test, take a few more driving lessons, then book my practical test.

Day 280 of 365: London Calling

I'm cheating in this post, because the day was a bit too busy to take a photo, plus I was teetering on the line between sober and drunk all evening at the "do."

Spent the morning running around, getting our food shopping done, going to the post office, and I posted off all the documents to the DVLA so I can finally get my provisional license. Hopefully will have that in my hand by the end of next week. I can't believe I have 3 months until I HAVE to have my UK driving license. Eeps!

Anyway, so.....the Christmas do tonight was quite.....interesting. Met Ian's boss for the first time, and she seemed really great. Although, a few of the ladies got a bit TOO drunk, and everyone wanted to discuss how difficult it must be for me to be so far away from my family (twice I had to ask to have the conversation changed because I started to cry).

I just wish people would stop talking to me about how difficult it is and asking questions. I don't know how often other expats have the topic brought up, but I've been in England for 9 months now and I'm starting to become bored of answering and talking. Of course it's hard not knowing when I'll see my family again. Of course it's difficult getting used to things in England. Of course it's hard feeling lonely. But I made the decision to move, and I'm trying to do the best I can to fit into this new culture.....but I do not, however, need constant reminders that either I am different OR that I'm thousands of miles away from my family, because I know this.

I have some great supporters here, and even friends that live outside of the UK, and I'm ever so grateful for them. They have gotten to know me for who I am, and the ladies that are experiencing the same things as me have been a great way to vent how hard it is to be a foreign national.

But I don't want to leave. Maybe go back to Ohio and visit, of course, because I want to see my family, friends, and Ashes again. But, unfortunately, when I feel homesick it makes Ian feel that I don't want to be here with him. Not. True. I wouldn't change the decision that I've made for the world, because it's making me grow as a person and I couldn't imagine living life without the most amazing man I have ever met.

It just takes time to get used to it all......

Day 279 of 365: I Saw The Light

I absolutely love turning this light on in the bedroom at night and just looking at the images it produces on the wall. And to think that originally we were going to get rid of it!

Today was a bit of a boring day, buuuttt....I had a VERY long day at work. Got there at 10am, got home at 9pm. I stayed on late because we had entertainment tonight, but goodness....I am knackered!

Thankfully, I have a 3-day weekend coming up. I requested tomorrow off because we're going up to London for Ian's work's Christmas do. Hopefully it'll be a good time.

Day 278 of 365: Another Snow Day

Ian and I knew that we were going to get some snow (well, I think I knew more than he did...lol), and when we woke up this morning, he looked out the window as he was sleepily strolling to the bathroom, and noticed that we got as much snow last night as we had last week.

Soooo....I had a meeting in Eastleigh today for activity co-ordinators, but didn't go because the roads were terrible this morning.

I spent the day on the couch, putzing on the computer, and watching TV...all the while wrapped up in my Snuggie.

But, I did venture outside for a moment to put the trash in the bin.

I had been meaning to take a photo of this for quite some time, but never did until now.



The phone box is in our front garden, but I often wonder what the point of it is if it doesn't take coins???

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the fact that a phone box is in our front garden, but word from the neighbors is that no one's gone into the phone box in years.

Also, I noticed that it wasn't as cold as yesterday for some reason, then I looked at the drain pipe:


Proof that the snow is melting already.

Day 277 of 365: Non-Eventful Day

Today was a typical day of work. I had a supervision this morning, where I let out some of my feelings and some tears......but that's what I do - my feelings always come out of my eyeballs.

On a lighter note, Ian's cousin Liz had her baby boy on the 7th and emailed out photos of the little guy:



Isn't he a cutie?! :)

Ian and I are going to pop in and visit the little guy, Liz, and her husband Tim Saturday morning for a little bit.

Day 276 of 365: New Guilty Pleasure....

Saw the first two episodes of "Glee" tonight and fell in love with it!!!

Ian was not too keen, but I think it's an American thing that we just eat up any program/movie where singing is involved.

Day 275 of 365: You Say You Want a Revolution!!

The photo above is what greeted me this morning when I first logged onto Facebook.

Basically, they did not like the fact that Ian's bottom was hanging out in the Snuggie photo, although, I'm sure there's MUCH worse on Facebook.

Becca gave me a good idea of doing a "censored" version of the shot, so I came up with this about an hour ago:


Also, worked on personalizing the wedding party invites for this coming July to send to all the English/European people that we're inviting. Emailed the majority of them out. Here's a sneak peek:


The photo was taken at our wedding dinner last year. We put bubbles out on the tables, and after a few drinks and going around to tables, we thought the bubbles were amazing.

Day 274 of 365: Another Lazy Saturday

(Warning: Partial Nudity In This Blog)

Today was a nice, relaxing day.

Ian and I didn't get out of bed until about 11am. Didn't have really anything on the agenda today, since we wanted a lazy weekend.

So, I made breakfast, and then met my Mom on Windows Messenger for a web cam chat around 1pm. Unfortunately, her web cam wasn't working for me, so I was only able to hear her. She was able to see me though, which I felt sorry for her since I looked like hell this morning...lol.

Ian and I did, however, venture out to Sainsbury's to pick up a few things. Thankfully the car started.

The rest of the day we putzed online.

Ian wore his snuggie:



And I made Ian and I into John and Yoko:



Now, time for bed!

Day 273 of 365: Snowmen, Old Ladies, and Snuggies

FINALLY took a photo of the snowman that they made at work when I was home on Wednesday. Apparently some of the old dears sat and watched as one of the line managers, and our registered manager's son built the snowman. I have to say though, that the snow has made everyone work together at work, annndd the atmosphere is getting better. If only we could do away with some of the negative people, it would be MUCH better.

Anyways, Ian took me to and from work again today. Got in and our Snuggies had arrived!

And, btw, if my husband sees that I've posted this photo, he'll kill me. :p Taken on the sly with my mobile:

We're like kangaroos now because the Snuggies have a pocket in the front!

Day 272 of 365: Ahh You're My Best Friend

This is the heater in our bedroom...

...and it's my best friend this winter.

I usually switch it on an hour or so before we go to bed, because since it's so cold you can see your breath in the darn bedroom, the place needs to be slightly warm when we go in. Also helpes me look forward to bedtime because by the time we head up, the storage heaters aren't putting any heat out anymore, so the bedroom (which is usually the coldest room in the house) is the warmest room in the house.

And winter has only started!

Day 271 of 365: "I'm Surviving On Only Water!"

The title is a quote from one of our neighbors this morning.

Last night, shortly after Ian and I had turned out the lights in bed (about 11pm), we heard this large humming noise, and then the sky lit up outside our window.

About 10-20 minutes later, it happened again.

Between the sparks, I realised that we no longer had electricity. The heater in our bedroom was off, no lights, no nothing. Ian looked out the window and noticed that the village was starting to gather up the street, so he opened the window (and let any heat we had out! lol) to listen to what everyone was saying.

At one point, he heard someone saying "Oh, it's on fire now!"

So, we huddled up in bed (well, I huddled up to Ian because he can handle the cold better than I can) and we hoped that everything would be turned back on in the morning.

Woke up about 6:30am today and still no power, and I was freezing! I also looked outside and the road didn't look too good. So, I phoned work well before I had to be in, and told them I would try and get in, but would doubt I'd be able to get in today. Ian's boss told him not to go anywhere. The A3 was closed, and Ian takes that to get into Horndean for work (no chance today).

So, after laying in bed trying to stay warm for awhile, we got up when we noticed it was starting to get light out, threw on some clothes, and walked up the road to see what happened. Someone living in a house just up the way from ours told us what happened, because he lives right across from where the "Oh, it's on fire now!" came from.

Basically, the snow was heavy and knocked a large branch onto a power line. It sparked, and the tree caught on fire. "The snow eventually put the tree out" our neighborhood informer told us.

So, Ian and I didn't know what to do. It was cold, snowing heavily, and we still couldn't even boil the kettle for a hot drink. We met a few other villagers as well.

One man, named Gil, we met when we walked up to the pub to see if they maybe had power so we could atleast go somewhere warm. He yelled out "It's a little early for a drink!" and laughed. We talked with him for a bit, and he offered to come around with a flask of coffee, which he did after about an hour. Bless his heart! He was also checking on some of the elderly in the area. "The Old Dears" as he called them. Probably the nicest guy we've met in the village, apart from the woman that works in the post office. :)

Ian and I couldn't do anything or go anywhere. I huddled under 3 blankets and we read our books for awhile. I fell asleep at one point, and woke up to the lights coming back on.


Ian then brought the heater from our bedroom downstairs (night storage heaters don't work when you've had a power outage, so we had no heat in the house). We sat with the lights off most of the day still...lol. Watched Batteries Not Included, we made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and I slept a lot.

Tomorrow Ian will most likely drive me to and from work, because I'm afraid to take on the large hill I have to drive during my journey to/from work.

It's amazing though that we only got a few inches of snow, and yet we still couldn't go anywhere. When we were venturing out this morning meeting the villagers, the roads were absolutely atrocious! Buses weren't even running (I was going to take one in an attempt to get to work).

So anywho, my last photo of today is of the front garden....taken through the post flap in our front door (no way I was going outside again after I FINALLY feel warm).


Be safe, everyone!

Day 270 of 365: Winter Watch - Winchester Style

So, the snow has just really started to fall here in Winchester...and it's almost 10pm.

(Sorry about the poor quality of photo.....where I live, even though we pay big quid for council tax, they don't really believe in street lights).

Hampshire is supposed to get 10-15" of snow over night tonight (some worse than others). I know up north, they've gotten more snow. Might not be able to get into work tomorrow if it keeps up, or if I just don't feel like driving, I will take the bus into work for atleast half a day...we shall see.

Anywho, so what I did today. I had a meeting for activity co-ordinators in Basingstoke this morning. I broke out Tim, the (not so trusty) SatNav. I was driving along, driving along, following Tim...when all of a sudden it hit me that I was getting onto the M3! I got a little nervous at first, because I've only ever been on the M3 once on my own, and I was only getting off at the next exit. But today, I thought I would brave the ride from Winchester to Basingstoke...

...and I survived. :)

It was the first time I had traveled that far on the motorway by myself.

Yay!

I even overtook people too! lol

The meeting was good. Got there a bit early. At one point this guy came into the room and said "I don't know who most of you are, and I don't know where you've come from, but it's snowing in Salisbury so I would get out of here as soon as you can!"

We ended our meeting a bit earlier than normal. But no snow fell on the journey back. I took the A road on the way home though...didn't feel like attempting the M3 once again, especially if it WAS going to start snowing.

Then Ian kept saying "We're not going to get any snow...we're not going to get anything" but then he looked at the weather forecast online, and we rushed to the co-op to pick up "emergency items" (which, one of them was ham) for us and my MIL. We stopped by hers really quick to drop the things off, pick up mail that made it's way to the house, and came back to ours.

Now, we're just huddled up on the couch watching some show with traffic cops, and walking past the window to see if more snow has fallen.

Let's see what we see in the morning!

Be safe everyone that has to venture out to work tomorrow.

Day 269 of 365: *chattering teeth*

This is, embarrassingly, what I look like most of the time at night in the house.

We live in a house that's about 110 yrs. old, have night storage heaters (with NO afternoon boost), and single pane glass windows (most homes have double pane).

Sooo...by the time Ian and I get home from work, the heat is barely around in the house.

But, Ian ordered Snuggies tonight, so hopefully we should be getting them in the next few days, since it's supposed to be even colder at the end of the week.

Also, spoke to my Dad and younger brother, Michael tonight. Was good to talk to them. My Dad is up to some hijinx at the moment, but he'll get it all sorted out. Broke my heart though to hear my Dad ask when we'll be going back to Ohio next, and I couldn't give an answer. He was very serious and said "Because we really miss you." Made me want to cry, but it's nice to know that I'm missed, because I miss them like crazy.

So, but, hopefully only 7 months until I see them again. Something to look forward to this summer.

Day 268 of 365: BB is Back!

Oh, life is worth living again because....

BIG BROTHER IS BACK!

And this time, it's Celebrity Big Brother!!

Might I say, I was sooooo excited when I saw Sisqo enter the house! lol


Let's see what the next 27 days have in store!

Day 267 of 365: It Makes No Sense....

Rugby, that is....

Went to watch the London Welsh vs. Exeter match this afternoon with Ian, one if his bosses, and his boss's family. And it was bloody FREEZING!!!

I had NO clue what was going on with the match. It's nothing like American football (which I thought it would be). But basically, it was just guys running around in short shorts, some wearing foam helmets (I called them the "special ones"), and dog piling each other.

Oh well...chock this one up to experience!

Afterwards Ian and I went to my SIL, Cheryl's place for tea and some Beatles RockBand (my nephews wanted me to play with them, and yet I only sang one song and the boys wouldn't even let me touch the guitar or drums).

Now, home for bed.

Day 266 of 365: New Year's Day

A bank holiday where I have another day off, but unfortunately, Ian was on call.

He had to go down past Chichester today to do a repair, so I went along for moral support/the ride/some company.

Ian and I got into the van and couldn't go anywhere because an old bus had pulled up and parked.

Now, this is the usual bus stop, buuuttt...people were getting out of the bus and taking pictures of it while standing on the side. So, hopefully somewhere someone got Ian's work van in the shot.

So, I "stooped to their level" and took photos of the people taking photos of the bus:


Oh, and after the bus moved and we could move, we had to follow it up the road a minute or two and there was a guy taking a photo of the thing driving out of our village! What a way to spend New Year's day...lol.

Anyways, so today was a good day. Made honey ham again for tea tonight, along with veg, sprouts, mashed potatoes (which is my specialty), and some rolls. Now I'm warm thanks to the glass of wine.

And tomorrow I get to experience another first - my first rugby match.