SURPRISE! It's Me!

I will start off by saying our original plan was to go to Liverpool (which we obviously did...keep reading), but a friend of ours sent us a website letting us know that United was having tickets to the states for $75.  So, on Wednesday Jeff checked it out and got me a first class ticket for $90 to go back home! I was over the moon excited to see family, friends, and new babies that have entered this world since we've been abroad.  By Wednesday night, United had voided all the tickets that were purchased during the glitch, which meant I was not going home on Saturday as planned (which meant no Liverpool).  I was still holding out, but we knew there was no way around it.  Jeff tried calling a couple times, and even some of the customer service people didn't know what was going on... I think the time change worked in our favor for a second. All-in-all, I was super bummed about not going back home...but was very thankful to spend the weekend with Jeff.

The weekend passed, and I was excited we were able to still go to Liverpool and just chill on Sunday.  I was still pretty bummed about not heading home and broke the news to my family and friends that I would not be coming back due to the voiding of the ticket.  Jeff got to thinking, and felt bad for me...so we decided to book a ticket anyway! So on Sunday night, we booked a ticket and drove to the airport only 8 hours later! 

We woke up at 2:30 on Monday so Jeff could drive me to the airport.  It was pretty sad leaving Jeff, given we have not spent a day apart since we moved here. Crazy, huh?  I was in the states by 2:15 in the afternoon on Monday. My dad, Jeff's dad, and a few friends were the only ones that knew at that time I was coming home.  It was all so last minute! I had my own little fan club waiting for me as I came out of the terminal.  My mom surprised me at the airport as well.  It was nice to be in the states, and hear American-English. I immediately fit in again! We then headed to my sister's house to surprise her and her family.  It was especially exciting because she just had her 3rd baby a week and a half earlier.  The look on her face was priceless, and it was so good to see my nephews, brother-in-law, and meet my new baby niece as well.  We were able to hang out for the rest of the afternoon, and then the jet lag started hitting so I headed to my parents for my "home-base" for the week.

Tuesday was filled with another day of surprising someone.  I was able to surprise my grandma, which was hysterical and scary all at the same time. My mom ran some errands with her, and then I my dad and I met her at a restaurant.  I came up behind her and said "Hi Grandma! and she just stared and then my mom said she turned white.  I got a bit nervous...as I didn't want to give my grandma a heart attack! It was so great having lunch with her and spending the afternoon popping into a few stores.  I also met up with her later in the week for brunch. I was able to meet some of her friends and have some quality 1-1 time with her, which I don't often get to do. My mom and I were also able to run some errands during my time.  We stopped by Hardee's and I just started laughing when I was given my medium drink and small fry. The sizes are just so huge compared to English versions. The English-large was smaller than our medium. And the small fries in the states are bigger than the English-large. No wonder the obesity rate is so high in the US.

My grandma and I

Mom modeling the medium and large drinks.

I spent the next couple of days snuggling on my nephews & niece and catching up with my sister. My nephews, who are 4 years old, definitely made me feel like a VIP! "That's Aunt Sarah's seat." "Play with us." "We missed you!" They are really starting to get that I don't live close anymore.  They understand I live in London and have to take a plane to get to their house.  They also asked a lot about Uncle Jeff and Mackey.  It was pretty neat to see their transition from the months I have been gone. Such smart and adorable boys! And that new baby niece of mine, so sweet and go with the flow.  I assume you'd have to be with 4 year old brothers!  I got my snuggle time, and loved every minute of it.  My sister and I were able to spend some quality time together and pick up like we hadn't missed a beat...which didn't surprise me at all.

 Always difficult to make them sit still...

My sweet baby niece

On Friday I borrowed my mom's car to head to Indy to meet some other new additions into the world.  Which sidenote, driving and belting out my favorite tunes felt amazing! I was nervous to drive at first, but it all came back to me!  (Back to the babies) Of my closest 5 friends, 4 of them are having (or already had) a baby while I moved over here.  Great timing, ladies! Just kidding! I was able to meet one of my best friends from work's little girl who was born in December.  It was also great to hang out with her momma as well.  Catching up on all of the things we had not been able to chat about since our last Skype date. It was so great to just feel normal, and be around close friends again.  Next on my stop, was a lunch date with another close friend who had a baby back in October.  I picked up Panera, which I was craving, and hung out with her for a bit.  We caught up and had a great time, while I got to see some sweet baby giggles and smiles from her little one as well. And of course, gossiped about The Bachelor.

I got to meet our close friends' sweet baby girl and catch up with her wonderful momma!

Next on my Friday agenda was one of the craziest surprises. I walked into the elementary school where I taught before resigning.  It was hilarious as everyone gave me a double take, assuming I would be one of the last people to walk the halls or into the building.  One of my close friends knew I was coming, but kept it a secret from the staff and students (who are my former 3rd grade students).  I was able to catch up with many people, give a lot of hugs, and make me miss that place even more! I stayed for about 3 and a half hours, and barely made it down one hallway.  I wished I could have spent more time with everyone.

The last part of my Friday was dinner with Jeff's family.  We had a great time catching up, swapping stories, and enjoying quality time together before I headed back to my parent's house. It was great to swap traveling stories, especially to see pictures of places his grandparents went that we are going to be able to visit in the next couple of months.  Jeff's mom and I also started to discuss her visit in the upcoming months as well.  It was a great time, and I am glad I was able to see them during my short visit home.

 Quality time with Jeff's grandparents

Jeff's sister and mom

Saturday, I was lucky enough to spend the entire day hanging out with my parents.  They humored me by allowing me to hijack their TV during my time there. HGTV was my main channel of choice, because over here home improvement shows are nothing like what we have in the states. I was pretty much glued to that all morning. We headed out for some errands, an early dinner, and some shopping afterwards. I loved having a shopping buddy and seeing the deals, especially at Macy's.  I felt like I was getting quality products (aka all I bought was shoes...) for a great deal.  It is just amazing how much cheaper it is in the states to get these quality items.  We went to the grocery store next where I pretty much stopped and stared. My mom went off on a mission to get what she needed and my dad stuck around laughing at me go on and on about how many options of tomatoes and beans they had.  You laugh, but it is so true! 

Wow, this post is becoming so long...sorry.  I guess you can tell I really needed a trip home!

Sunday was filled with more family time.  As I mentioned earlier, I had brunch with my grandma.  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephews, and niece. All we needed was Jeff there, and I know he wanted to be!  We were able to play, catch up, and spend quality time over dinner and dessert.  I think we were all exhausted after the day was over, especially my nephews you were asleep by the time they got home (20 minute drive).

 Aunt and niece photo

My sister and I with the sweet little addition

Monday, my mom and I went to look for future housing for Jeff and I when we moved back.  It was a good start to figuring it all out.  For those of you who may not know, we rented our townhouse out downtown for two years. The lease is not up until February 2016, so we need some temporary housing until then.  More to come on this part of our move the closer we get to our "deportation". I ended my lovely time home with a big authentic Mexican dinner nearby with my family.  It was a great way to end my holiday back home.

My flight was on Tuesday around 5:00, but unfortunately my flight kept getting delayed to D.C.  I think I received 4 emails of continuous delays. I went to change my flight, so I ended up switching from United to Delta (the irony, right?).  Instead of D.C., I flew into Detroit and then into Heathrow (London).  Like my flight to the states, not many people so I received my own row.  I normally do not sleep much on a flight, but two seats to myself meant I could spread out and lay down.  It is pretty unheard of that I only get through 1 movie on the 6-8 hour flight home. Unfortunately, switching flights meant I missed my train I had set up to get me back to Nottingham.  I had to book another one, as I missed the first one by 30 minutes.

 Last photos at the airport

Farewell for now

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me when I arrived back to our flat. Jeff had decorated our living room/kitchen area with decor that said "Welcome Back". Pretty sweet man I married.  Jeff's dad was also in town, so we went out to dinner that night. This morning I tried to get myself back on the correct time zone...but failed and ended up sleeping in past 11! It is much harder coming here than going back...wish me luck I get back to normal soon!

 Welcome Back!

On to the next adventure...

Can't Buy Me Love

Thought the title of this post would be fitting given it is about our Valentine's Day in Liverpool, England...home of The Beatles. Hints the song lyrics.

We woke up on Saturday with a list of things to accomplish in Liverpool.  We drove about 2 hours to get to the home of The Beatles.  The city was one of the more modern cities in England, and it definitely surprised me when driving through the city centre.  We found a parking spot, and began our walk around the city.  It was neat to finally be on the west side of the country on the water.  It was a gloomy day, but it was interesting to see all of the boats in the dock area.  One of my favorites was these hotels on the water that looked like "the yellow submarine".  I looked into them later, very expensive and it fits a group--not worth it for just two people.

 You can see the "Yellow Submarine" in this photo

Our view from the snack/lunch spot we picked in Albert Dock (shops & restaurants surrounded the dock area)

We didn't really have much of a mission on this trip, as we mainly walked around the city.  We both thought it was a very liveable city.  Although the city was all about The Beatles, they still had some great shopping areas and the streets were clean and nice to walk on.  We did make it to The Cavern Club, which is where The Beatles used to play early on in their career.  It was down a few flights of stairs in this cave-like atmosphere.  We stayed around to watch a couple bands play.  They played a few cover songs from The Beatles, but also played newer cover songs as well.  It was a lot of fun.  Jeff and I weren't planning on staying the night, but we had thought about getting a hotel room so we could stay and have a few more pints.  It was just a really great environment, as I had been told by another friend who had already been there. We decided to not do it, partly because Jeff couldn't get any service to look up local hotel information. It was probably for the best, as we had plans on Sunday.  

 The outside of the club. 

The stairwell leading down to the club

Everyone singing along to "Hey, Jude"

We finished our time at the club, walked around, grabbed dinner, and hit the road to see two more famous Beatles places before heading home. Our first stop was Penny Lane.  It was not really worth it, as we just took a picture of the sign and then drove away.  It was just neat to rewatch the video to see a bit of the city, although it doesn't look the same.  Jeff was then convinced that the famous Abbey Road was in Liverpool, but when he looked it up, he found out his was mistaken as it is in London.

Exciting picture, right?

Our last stop before heading home was the Strawberry Fields.  Although it was a replica of the strawberry fields gate, it was neat to see.  By this time, it was pretty dark so we snapped a few photos and headed on our way.  This area was famous, due to the song and John Lennon growing up nearby. Overall, it was a great day. I'm glad I was able to check this city off of our "to visit" list.  Not much left on our list, as our schedule is packed up until we leave.  Really other than another couple visits to London and two other UK spots...that pretty much wraps up our local trips.  That is pretty crazy to think about.

On to the next adventure...

Girls Weekend...Plus Jeff

I was so excited to find out that one of my best friends, Kelsey, was coming over to London for work for a few days.  She let me know, and the planning began.  Jeff and I decided to go down to London to spend it with her, do some tourist things, and just catch up since we don't live close even back in the states.

Jeff and I drove down to London on Friday evening to meet up with her.  We got a bit of a late start, so it was pretty late when we finally arrived in the city.  I ended up meeting up with Kelsey at a local bar, while Jeff hung back at the hotel.  Kelsey and I had some much needed "catch-up" time together.

The next morning, Jeff and I headed to Westminster Abbey after grabbing a fantastic breakfast with beautiful views of the London Eye.  The location of our hotel was great, as it was right on the River Thames.  Westminster is one we have been trying to get to since moving here. It is always on our agenda to get to, but we always time it poorly.  Either we get into the city or that particular location late or there is an event going on that prevents us from going inside.  I think I have a ton of pictures of the outside though. Once arrived, we were astonished of the entry fee...20 pounds each. Yowza! I think that might be one of the most expensive entry fees of the tourist places we visit. We entered nonetheless, and it was beautiful.  Great history learned through the audio guides, but not sure it was worth the amount of money we paid.  No pictures to show of the inside, sorry! Rules. Rules. Rules.

 Britain's oldest door and the court yard inside Westminster.

Afterwards we met up with Kelsey and walked down by the River Thames for a while.  We popped into have a pint and get out of the cold weather for a bit.  We made it to the Tower Bridge, which is also been on our agenda for a while. It is my favorite building in London.

 

You know our rule...if you take a picture or stop to enjoy the street performers...you owe them some money.  This guy was playing "Putting on the Ritz" and fire would come out of the top of his instrument as the beat continued. 

 In front of the Tower Bridge

Jeff and I in front of the bridge

Once arriving, we took the elevator up to the top.  There were videos throughout the experience teaching us about the history and the 8 years it took to build. Our favorite part was the glass floor on the halls that connect both sides of the tower.  It was pretty crazy and almost hard to walk on knowing you could see 139 feet below you.  Cars, buses, people, and the river flowing beneath you...crazy!

 Pretty scary, right?

 Looking down!

One of the beautiful views! The Shard is the tall building...used to be the tallest in Europe.

Afterwards we grabbed a late lunch and had a relaxing evening.  We finished our night walking around the city, seeing a few of the sites at night.  Jeff and I headed back on Sunday morning after a late breakfast and parted ways with Kelsey.  It was so great being able to just hang up and not missing a beat while doing so. We are so incredibly lucky to have so many friends and family members come over to see us. Thanks again, Kelsey!

On to the next adventure...

Theatre Night in Nottingham

This past weekend (January 31st...I'm behind on publishing my posts), Jeff and I went to the Nottingham Playhouse to see a play.  We had to walk a whoppin' 1 minute to get there. If you're not following it is directly outside of our front door. I have taken pictures from our living room, which is a direct shot of the playhouse.  So lucky us, as everyone was finding parking, we were walking across the street.

 The view of the playhouse from the front of our house.

I had been looking for over a year for tickets that appealed to us.  We used to have season tickets to the plays at the Indianapolis Repertory Theatre downtown Indy a couple years ago. We both enjoy it, so don't think Jeff was dragged against his will to see it. Although, I think I enjoy them a bit more than he does; I will say that.  I picked a comedy called, Forever Young, which was about six senior citizens in a retirement home.

Albert Hall (convention center type of place) and the playhouse restaurant are attached to the theatre.

Right from the few first lines, we could tell our humor didn't quite match up with the local humor.  Not in a bad way, we just felt things we found "corny" were considered hilarious over here.  I guess that sounds bad. Maybe I should say you could tell our humor was different when it comes to the arts. Although some of it was a bit silly, they did have a few lines of what we would consider inappropriate. It was all in good fun, and funny to see some of the things these senior citizens were doing.  Overall, the moral was age should never be a factor when having fun.  Live each day to the fullest because you never know how much longer you have on earth.  Each of the cast members played an resident of this retirement community and had the spunk of a 13 year old.  You can read more about the summary of the play from the link in the previous paragraph if you wish.

Not sure if all plays are like this over here, but it felt more like a musical (minus the choreographed dancing) as there was very little dialogue.  Once one song ended, a few minutes later, a new one began.  They played mostly songs we knew (80's hits, Nirvana, Beetles, etc. ) although they ended it with a "sing-along" of a song we had never heard of...assuming it was a famous British song.  They started singing "We Shall Overcome" which we learned when researching at home was the anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement and was first sung in Charleston, South Carolina.  So many of you may know this song, unlike us. 

They are doing some construction on this rainy day...so it's not the best pictures!

Overall, I am glad we were able to have this cultural experience.  I think Jeff was not overly impressed, but oh well. We have a few other artsy things on our list for the upcoming months, so look out for those soon.

On to the next adventure...

Your Turn!

As our final months are quickly approaching, I thought I would extend this post out to our readers.  What have I not covered about living abroad that you'd like to you know about? Looking back, I was really good about blogging about the differences between England and America in our first month or two here.  Now that things are "normal" I probably do not discuss things that you're curious about as they don't seem new to me anymore.

I know I Skype with many of our loyal readers, so some of your questions have been asked and answered.  Those that we may not talk regularly, this is your chance.

In the comment section below this post, ask a question or make a comment. Here in the upcoming weeks, I will answer all those questions to the best that I can in another post. No questions? No problem! See you all in the upcoming months.

I look forward to reading and responding to your thoughts.

On to the next adventure...

Farewell Costco

Many of you know, we do our bulk shopping over here at Costco. Not only is it a taste of home aka Skippy's peanut butter and Frank's hot sauce, but it is so much easier to get large quantities of things....obviously. 

We got a membership last January mostly to buy toilet paper, paper towels, soda, beer, and meat.  Ya know, the essentials in life. ha!  The grocery stores over here sell really small quantities of chicken and ground beef.  You can normally only find two small chicken breasts in one package.  Although I have the time, I don't really want to make a top priority to go to the grocery store every day for a year and a half. No thank you, I have better things to do be doing. Plus, I walk to/from the grocery so I can only carry so much per trip.  Excuses, perhaps?

 Lots and lots of chicken.

And the beef

We ended up getting more than just those items, and would go 1-2x a month for our grocery needs.   We found it worked well since it was in Derby. I would make the grocery list and Jeff would pick it all up on his way home. I would still need to pick up things at the local grocery store to make certain meals or things we did not need in bulk. I mean we really don't need a large tub of butter that wouldn't be able to even fit in our fridge. 

 You can see the size of our freezer drawers...small right? (veggies and cheese)

Our membership ran out at the end of the month (January), so we decided to make one last trip to last us the next 4-5 months.  I just finished bagging up the meat to freeze. 20 bags of chicken and 18 bags of ground beef you'd think we were preparing for a snowpocalypse like many are in the states.  Sidenote: We did get some snow yesterday! Covered grounds...really pretty!

Anyway...hoping the meat lasts us the rest of our time here. Not sure it will, which is gross to think about in my opinion.  We also loaded up on cheese, Dr. Pepper, tortilla chips, and bottled water. Hoping those items will last as well, but doubtful on the Dr. Pepper and chips. Jeff...
 
We will miss our Costco trips...or maybe that's just me.  We thought about continuing our membership to use in the states, but the Costco in Indianapolis isn't too close to where we live---not worth the monthly or bimonthly effort. I'll be looking forward to doing the large quantity trips to the grocery store when we move back home, as I do enjoy those outings.  I was talking to my mom yesterday, and we both agreed it may be an odd transition going from the size of stores over here to the massive stores like Meijer and Kroger back home.  I might just stop and stare.

Now what to make with all of this food...Does anyone else have the feeling after going grocery shopping and putting it all away, to just order a pizza? So much hard work and overwhelmingness (yes, I'm making that a word) that you just don't have the energy to cook. What's wrong with me?!

2014 flashbacks about food preparation: Becoming a Local, Eggs, & Food Preparation

Update since writing this post: Our small 3-drawer freezer is filled to the max. So full that one of the drawers was so full its contents froze to the top...which meant it was frozen shut. After about 10+ minutes of sticking a wooden spoon in the small opening and prying it open...we got it open! Did I mention how excited I am to have my large refrigerator and freezer back? PLUS the garage freezer. Ahhhh the food selections, I can hardly wait!

On to our next adventure...

Jeff is Officially a UK Driver

I tried to get Jeff to write this post...ha, that didn't happen.  So I will be a proud wife saying that Jeff is officially a UK driver. I should also say this post has been backlogged and happened early on in January.  I'll try to catch up on posts soon.

Before he could even take any of the driving tests, he had to send his passport in to get a provisional driver's license...almost like a learner's permit. We had to go to a grocery store to get his photo taken, as they do not do that at the driver's branch.  It was in one of those booths you see in the mall to take silly pictures. Normally 13 year old girls are using them. Not here. Also, no smiling in this picture, which means it is a pretty creepy picture.

After being in the country for a year, Jeff needed to pass the United Kingdom driving test to still be insured under the company car.  Friends of ours let us borrow their practice books and videos so Jeff could study.  He passed the first part, the theory and hazards test on his first try.  He was asked to sit down to take a written test and then a virtual test where he had to click the computer screen when he saw hazards (people, other cars, etc).  He didn't miss any...smarty pants.

Before January 2nd, he needed to pass the practical test with an instructor.  Many of our American friends hired driving instructors to teach them the ins-outs of the test and the specifics of driving here in the UK.  He decided not to get the driving instructor to save a little money and time.  He asked another American friend to drive around with him a few days before his test to tell him what he was doing right and wrong.

I rode with him after he practiced with our friend.  I almost felt more unsafe having him drive the "correct" way.  He was constantly checking his mirrors...and he looked pretty odd doing it.  He practiced parallel parking, a 3-point turn, and backing up on to a road.  We practiced backing up in a parking spot and correctly going in a round about.

I'm proud to announce Jeff passed the first time. I'm not sure I would have passed at all.  So he received his new driver's license in the mail a couple weeks ago for an automatic car (separate test to be able to drive a manual).  We were even able to say we were a part of the European Union (EU) at a museum to get a discount since he has proof now that he is a resident of the EU.  Pretty cool!

I'll make sure Jeff holds on to it, so you can giggle at the picture. 

See if you can pass the tests here....


On to the next adventure...