Here I am Again!

One post a month doesn't seem too bad, so here I am updating again! Not sure if anyone reads anymore and I have to add links to my friends who still blog - I WILL do that soon I promise!

Our latest news is that last week we went to see Billy Connolly live in Southend. He was wonderful! So funny!! We didn't even know he was touring until someone at work mentioned they were going and we were lucky enough to find www.ticketssoldout.co.uk and purchase the last two tickets!!

We got this mug as a souvenier:



Not too much has really been going on. I'm trying to get organized and get all the Christmas presents for my family so I can give them out when I'm home again for Thanksgiving. Hopefully I can get it all done in time!

Here We Go Again

I'm dusting off this blog again for a little update :) I spent a week with my family at home in July and it was really nice to catch up with everyone! Since then the time has flown by and a lot of good things have happened. My employment contract was extended for another 6 months, and I started to learn how to drive here in the UK. I've had 6 lessons so far and this past Thursday I passed the Theory Test! I got 50 out of 50 questions correct on the multiple choice and 50 out of 75 points on the Hazard Perception (mostly because on the first video clip I clicked too many times and it didn't count any of my responses - oops!)

The other week I also booked a flight to Florida in November for Thanksgiving, I'll only be going for a week again though as that's all the holiday I had left to take off work. Unfortunately Pete can't come with me, but we're planning a trip there for his 30th birthday next year :)

So, all in all, things are progressing nicely here. Though I'm as impatient as ever for everything to fall into place! Oh well, we'll get there eventually!

When it rains, it pours...literally...

So if you're in England you know that we're having record breaking rain and flooding all over the country. Now, I know that brits in general are OBSESSED with the weather, it's all they talk (complain) about. This time last year it was a record breaking heatwave. After months of wishing for the sun, everyone complained that it was way too hot (which is was, sometimes around 100F) in a country with little or no air conditioning it wasn't pretty. This year they predicted much of the same, but due to our friend CLIMATE CHANGE, the small island is being blessed with the opposite.

This morning I woke up to a rather bright day, luckily the rain hasn't been bad here compared to other parts of the country. So with the best of intentions I put a set of sheets in the washing machine. About two hours later, when they finally finished the spin cycle, I went to hang them on the line. The majority of people in the UK line-dry their clothing, since tumble dryers (which are built in to the washers) aren't very practical and use up LOTS of energy (spending loads of £ on the electric bill). So...I walk out in to the garden, the wind is picking up, and to the left of the house is a big black cloud. WONDERFUL. Ironically, to the right the sun is shining. After almost a year here I know the unpredictability of British weather, so I decided to take the safe (more expensive) route and shove them in the dryer.

I think I'm officially becoming British...I just waste a whole blog post on the weather! Ahahaha! Now I'll state that I'm really excited about getting away from the rain and going home to sunny (freaking hot) Florida in less than a month! Woohoo!

You Can Go Home Again...(but you might have to clean the house)

The reality of living in a different country, far from home, can never really be explained to someone. Before you depart from home you know that you'll miss your family and friends, your local area, the familiarity of it all. A few months go by, you start to miss your family, start missing certain foods and ways of doing things. A few more months pass, you start feeling isolated, like a stranger in this foreign land that should feel like your home by now (at least a little). It edges towards the year mark, and suddenly it hits you. You've been living this alternative life for nearly a year, feel a bit lonely, and totally out of touch with what's going on at home. As that mark inches toward for me (it'll be in August), I've decided that contrary to popular belief, you can go home again. So with a week off work at the end of July I'm traveling for about 12 hours each way (with connecting flights, not counting the waiting in airports bit) to go home for a week. Desperation makes you do funny things! I'm excited but realize that I will be well and truly knackered (very tired) by the time I get back!

The Great British Summer...Again?

Yes, it's official, I'm becoming more British every day because all I seem to think about this the weather. Well not really, but it seemed to be the easiest topic to start off this post. Today was an absolutely beautiful day - sunny, probably around 70F, with a bit of a breeze. But this comes after a few weeks of nothing but grey rainy days that opitimized traditional British weather. As I said in my last post, the weather was lovely in April, so many believed that perhaps the country had used up all its summer weather then. But it's back again!

In other news, my contract at work was extended to 6 months, so that my job will probably end when the British summer does (at the end of August). I'm not 100% happy in my job, it's ok but it's not what I ideally want to do forever, so I've been applying for a few jobs and have at least one hopeful response.

Something not weather related, after around 6 months going to Slimming World meetings and following the food optimizing plan, I've lost 20lbs in total! Considering I put on 10lbs after I moved here, I think that's pretty good :) I still have a way to go but it's a start :)

Yes I'm Alive, Only Just Barely

So, as so many others, I've been neglecting my electronic world to become a functioning member of the real world. I know, a total cop out. I've been super busy, it all started when I went to Scotland at the end of March for a few days to see my bestest friends Sara and Tiffany. Sara lives in Edinburgh where she's in vet school and Tiff lives in Florida. We went to HS together and they were bridesmaids at my wedding. It was REALLY great to see them and be with proper friends again. So since then I've been playing catch up with work and sleep. I had a full week of work last week, so I could have Easter Sunday and Monday off...soo I only had 2 days of work this week! Now Pete's at work and I'm bored...argh...I can never win, can I?

We got a new TV at the weekend. It's this one:


That's the extent of the news from this end. The weather is really lovely so I may go and read my driving Theory test book outside in the garden :)

How Many of Me?

My maiden name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 33 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

My married name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Working Girl

Well, the week is ending and a new one is about to begin. I officially survived my first week of working in England. My hours are insane: 13 hour shifts for two days, the 9 hours on Weds, and 4 hours on Sunday. Ah the hussle and bussle of the newspaper industry. I'm dealing with QuarkExpress pretty well, considering I was only introduced to it a few years ago when I did a summer course at Flagler for graphic design. I'm figuring out all the tricks of the trade (ie keyboard shortcuts) and getting faster with it.

In other news, I've given up the 365 days challenge on Flickr - I just couldn't find enough inspiration! Oh well...

Other than that we're going to be saving money once I get paid (I get paid monthly, so I have to wait until the 26th). We really want to be in our own place next year if possible. Pete's been laid off from his temp job (again) but they should be calling him again soon, so they said, he's not holding his breathe and looking for other work in the meantime. Oh, AND he's decided to start an Open University degree in Criminology and Psychology soon :) I'm VERY proud of him for deciding on a career focus.

Well, that's my update so far for March. I CAN'T BELIEVE it's already March!!! Where has the time gone???!!! One of these days I'll get to adding all my friends links too...lol.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Valentine's Balloon
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

We had a great Valentine's Day! It was our first together in person, since we met up in 2000. I got a lovely card and flowers, a balloon, teddy bear, and chocolates delivered to the door :) Then we had a nice meal with Pete's parents since we were too broke to go out to dinner lol.

Good News!

Good News!
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

I finally got a job! I start next Monday, exactly 6 months since I moved here! I'll be working for the local newspaper as a Display Ad Typesetter :)

FourPlay...no, not that kind!

Here I go again with a review of another cheap DVD. Sensibly I know that romantic comedies that are below about the £7 mark, are not well-known, and have a bunch of nobody actors in them aren't going to be Oscar-worthy. But, something inside of me compels me to buy them. This is what happened with "FourPlay" when I found it in Woolworth's for £2. It has Colin Firth in it (no he's not appearing in a wet, white shirt, and I'm not doing a paper on him this time;) which is it's only redeeming quality. The cover states that it's "In the tradition of 'Notting Hill' and 'Four Weddings,'" but really that's not entirely accurate. If they mean that it has more than one wedding in it (it does) and it's set in London and has an actress in it (it does) then yes, I can see the stretch. But alas "Four Play" was really only an hour and a half of boredom wrapped up in a Love Actually-esque box pretending to be something it's not. I give it 2 out of 10 bags of popcorn...it isn't even worth £2.

Self-Portrait

Colored Foil Me - 59 of 365 Days
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

I'm finding my entries for the 365 Days group on Flickr to be very uninspired lately. Anyone have any good ideas?

PS Check out my new haircut too :)

Say What?

I found this Accent quiz on Stacey's blog. When I first took it the quiz said I had a Northern Inland accent (ie Ohio or Wisconsin), then I took it again and had an accent from Minnesota (I don't think so!) Finally, the third time was the charm and it stated:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
North Central
Boston
The West
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

That's more like it! I really don't have an accent, some words I say sound North Eastern (both of my parents were originally from New Jersey and for the most part kept their accents) but I lived in Florida since I was two years old. I don't have a southern accent either though.

Friends

So, since I changed my blog template I deleted all my friends links. If you're a friend of mine, have a blog, and don't mind if I link to it, let me know your address and I'll add you.

On an unrelated note, this is a clip I found awhile ago and thought was too hilarious for words: Nobody's Watching FRIENDS

Friday night

Pete and I went to Pizza Hut and to the movies last night. We left after he got home from work (around 4pm) and then got stuck waiting for the bus for ages. So when we got to Basildon we really had to rush to get to the festival leisure park (sarcastically known as Bas-Vegas) in time to get pizza and make the movie. I was far more excited about eating Pizza Hut's cheesy bites Hawaiian pizza than making the movie (I haven't had pizza in 2 months due to the diet). We managed to eat in good time, without rushing, and then went to see the movie. I wasn't sure what to expect from The Holiday, but after a slow start and probably a bit too much background on the part of Kate Winslet's character, it turned out to be the quintessential holiday movie. It isn't exactly an Oscar winner but if you're looking for a bit of fluff to inspire a rather dull January, this movie is for you. I give it 8 out of 10 buckets of popcorn.

Resolution, Resolution

Right, I'm back, again. It's a new year and although 2006 was for the most part a great one, I'm looking forward to enjoying "real life" in the "real world" starting this year. As many of you know, Pete and I are finally married and living together in Essex, England. It is really nice to be together all the time, it's bizarre that now it feels strange to think we were ever in a long distance relationship and had to leave each other all the time. So, yes, we're enjoying married life, and no, we don't have any immediate plans for starting a family (those seem to be the two most prevalent questions asked of us).

Little update over, here's my list of New Year's Resolutions:

1. Lose Weight - I've lost 10lbs since the beginning of November by attending Slimming World meetings once a week (Thursday nights) and following their food optomizing plan. It's by far the easiest and most fulfilling diet I've ever been on, it's a shame it's only available in the U.K. Anyway, promotion over, I want to lose around another 40 lbs if I can. But I'm definitely not getting over-obsessed with the plan.

2. Find a Job - This really should be the first on my list, but so far this year the dieting has been more successful. I've been seriously job searching since September 2006, have had 4 serious interviews (only 1 of which I felt went well) but unfortunately no job offers yet. Since businesses have started up again after the "festive season" there has been more job advertisement online and in local papers so hopefully something will happen soon.

3. Go on a holiday - Pete and I didn't have a honeymoon because couldn't afford it, so this year we want to go away somewhere this year. We're thinking maybe Dublin for my birthday in May, but nothing is booked yet.

4. Find Our Own Place - Of course this can't happened if I don't have a job, so as soon as I do we'll be saving to get our own place to rent (currently living with the inlaws, which isn't bad but not ideal either).

I'm sure I have more resolutions but I can't think of any more at the moment.

Our Christmas

Four British Christmases
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

I did this mosiac in Flickr to show off our British Christmases over the past few years. The one on the left is us this past Christmas, our fourth in England, and our first as a married couple.

I'm back!

I'm back! It's a new year, there's a new Blogger (has Google taken over the world?), and I finally found a new template that I like. Not a lot has been happening lately, hence the absence from blogging, but things are changing (hopefully for the better) and I should have some news to share. I'm sorry for dropping off the face of blogland (that's if I have any reader's left. I'll post again soon about New Year Resolutions and all that jazz.