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. :)

Day 345 of 365: Two Cool Cats

It's Sunday....that means back to work tomorrow. Bah!

Woke up and Spike and Angel came into the bedroom. Spike was all over the place, but Angel kept his distance a bit.

But when we came downstairs, Angel decided to have his proper hellow.


I had to venture into Romsey this afternoon and get some cat food and litter, and since the little critters poo and everything stinks up the house like crazy, I purchased a new little box with a flap and a filter on top.

It's a bit bigger than the old one, annnnndddddd it's a corner one (hence the flap) so it takes up less space.

We didn't think that the boys would like it or even use it....but Spike proved us wrong:

Day 344 of 365: Sizzling Saturday

The morning started earlier than normal for our Saturdays.

Need to back track a bit though...

Here in England, people have different types of showers. Some have shower "rooms" built into their bathroom, some have electric showers, and some have a shower head attached to the bath taps (which rental agencies call this "shower over the bath"). We have an electric shower. Well, this past Tuesday I was getting in the shower, turned it on, and water was coming out of the bottom of the box (which holds all of the electrics). Me, never having an electric shower before, decided to put my hand under the water pouring out, proceeding to be electrically shocked.

So I shut the shower off after thinking "What the hell???" and took a bath.

Told the landlord. He said he would get someone out to fix it. Nothing for a few days. Ian left a note for our landlord (who is also the butcher) saying I was shocked and could someone please come and fix it. Our landlord's plumber came out and said it was completely knackered, so he would be here Saturday morning at 9am to fit a new one.

He was 45 minutes late this morning, but we got our new shower, which is AMAZING!!!


Our old shower just piddled on us, and now this one actually WASHES us!

And I wanted to take a picture of the plumber because he had this awesome, old school mustache, but of course it would be rude of me. So Ian demonstrated the 'stache using Spike's tail:


After our showers, we headed out to Andover to spend the day shopping with Chris and Lucy. I needed an outfit for our family & friend wedding party next weekend. Lucy had a dress that a friend gave her that is too short for her, so she gave it to me! I kept looking for another outfit, but nothing struck me except for one dress at Debenhams but it was too big and didn't have to next size down. Oh well......

So I got giant "Bridget Jones pants" to wear under the dress that Luce gave me, and that's what I'm going to wear. Now I just need some shoes. :)

After shopping, we went back to Chris and Lucy's and had a BBQ. Vik came over with some kebabs and ribs. Ian had GOOD steak for the first time, and it was just a lovely evening meal. Lucy and I watched Big Brother while the boys talked about war, army, etc. A lovely evening with lovely friends. Good times. :)

ANNNNNNNDDDD I must say that I have the BEST husband in the world, because while Lucy and I were doing our girlie thing, I got a text from Ian saying not to spend TOO much and he would show me when we met up again. He bought us The Beatles RockBand for the Wii!!!! Annnndddddd....it was on an incredible sale!!

My flabber was gasted!!

And of course, Spike had to check it out when we brought it in the house:

So all in all, this Saturday was a lovely day.

Tomorrow it's shopping, laundry, and cleaning for me while my loverly husband watches the British Grand Prix.

And, we only have a 4 day work week this week, then we're off for a little over a week! WOO HOO!!!!

Day 343 of 365: Holy Hairball, Batman!

Right....so when we were getting the boys, the lovely Kim suggested I get the Furminator (click on name for webpage) to groom the little lads.

I have been trying to brush Angel's hair at least once a week. I thought he wouldn't like it, but he absolutely flippin' LOVES it!

It alarms me though at the amount of hair that comes off with only a 10 minute brush:


But it doesn't seem to hurt Angel, and at the moment, Spike's fur is still too short to groom.

Angel seems to be a happy camper though:


OH yes, and the rest of the evening:

-Spoke with Jamie on the phone for about 45 minutes....call to continue tomorrow night. :)
-Watching the Germany vs. Spain football match but with Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave doing commentary.
-Worked out some plans for Girlie Shopping Saturday with Lucy

Now, back to the football!

Day 342 of 365: Happy 4th of July (From England Again)

Isn't it strange how life works out sometimes?

My forefathers fought for freedom from the British, and America was born.

Fast forward about 204 years and I was born.

Then jump ahead 27 yrs. and where do I move to? England.

Now enjoy some Stars and Stripes Forever!

Day 341 of 365: America the Beautiful

Barry, Barbara, Shanthi, James, Saria, Ian, Vik, and Chris..Lucy and I were behind the pillar.

Met up with some of the ladies and lads from BrittaniAmerica today for lunch at Nelson's American Diner out in Newbury. Was a nice afternoon of talking about our experiences, how we wound up in England, etc. It was nice to hear American voices, and want to get together again in Reading.

The food at Nelson's was good:


And we owe the meet up all to Lucy for organizing it! :) Love you, Luce!


And we also love America!!

Day 340 of 365: What An Adventure

No photo today, because it was a bit too busy to take one.

Buuuttt....

Went with Mum to her memory clinic today to see how she's doing. Not too bad, was the result, which is good.

Then had to take the boys to the vet today because Spike has blood in his urine again, and Angel has been throwing up a little bit. So they both had jabs and now are on meds for a few days. That'll be fun giving those to the little hairy boys!

Tomorrow is our American diner meet up! Yay!