Jeff's in Norway!

Like the British Open post, I won't be commentating this post although I wish I would because *SPOILER ALERT* these pictures are gorgeous.  Jeff had an amazing time in Norway.  He did many new things that we had never experienced before...so lots of jealousy rolling in!

Jeff flew from Edinburgh, right after The Open to head to Oslo, Norway.  He got in late, and then caught a really early train to head to the Fjords.  This is an absolutely stunning area with mountains and lakes (about 6 hours away from Oslo by train). Jeff rode a few trains to get to this magical area.  He was able to get off the train a few times to snap a few photos. You can tell a difference in the beginning of his trip, and later as there was snow on the mountains later on in his trip.  I asked him about the weather, as he wore a warm jacket but was wearing shorts---you do the math on the temperature.

He said the boat ride was amazing, and the pictures did not do the scenery justice.  After his time in the Fjords, he took a night train back to Oslo.  Jeff said this was a really cool experience, as he had his own little room with bunk beds.  He slept great in the area and arrived in Oslo really early the next morning.  He explored the city and headed to the airport.

This country was especially important to him to visit, as his grandfather is Norwegian.  His grandfather & grandmother are so special to him, so I know he is so happy to be able to share this experience with him.  For those that remember, we also visited Denmark, as his grandmother is Danish.

Enjoy these gorgeous pictures. I know I did!

If you'd like more information or commentary on these pictures...feel free to ask Jeff. Muahahahaha!

On to the next adventure...

So Many Updates from America

So many of you want a bit of an update on our adventure over the last few weeks months in the United States.  I have started writing this post a few times, but then was distracted and never finished...  Most of you know that Jeff, Mackey, and I all headed back on the same flight.  Unfortunately, Jeff had to go back for the month of July.  But we sure did accomplish a lot in the 3 weeks he was home.

Our home for the first two weeks was the Omni Hotel.  We enjoyed our stay here, and it definitely started feeling like "home".  Although, we absolutely were over the whole eating out thing.  It is difficult to eat out and still stay healthy.  I think we did pretty well with our food choices, given what we had.  But I'm not going to lie, we had Mexican food three times (2x was Taco Bell alone).  Haha!  We enjoyed seeing family and friends.  We also enjoyed picking out an apartment the first day we were back.  I had planned on living with my parents and couch surfing while Jeff was back in England, but we found a great deal on an apartment downtown...so we went for it.

Every few days we were moving things from our storage unit into the apartment.  We didn't take too many loads, and we only have the bare essentials in the apartment.  It still looks nice, and will be a great home until our renters move out of our house.  We get possession back September 1st  August 29th (things change when you start and don't finish posts).  We had a great location for the fireworks on July 4th! It is fun being a resident of another part of downtown.  We also just picked up all of our UK belongings.  They arrived at my parents house 2 weeks after Jeff returned from England.  Lots of boxes to move into our apartment, and move back out in a few weeks. Moving. Moving. Moving.

Moving Day in our apartment

 Our lazy spot to watch fireworks.  Still pretty good view, but it would have been even better on the parking garage to the right in our community. 

Our boxes from the UK. They are still just sitting there. Other than finding a few pieces of clothing, those boxes are staying there until Move #3 of the year! 

I also was able to move things from my old elementary school and storage into my new classroom.  I love my new classroom, as it has so much storage!  I hate when clutter sits out, so it allows me to hide all of my teaching materials.  I have also been able to meet a few members of the staff, which has been great. Update: I have been in school now since July 30th, and I am loving every minute of being a first grade teacher.  The kids came in so small and clueless on Day 1, but we are already seeing some improvements and growths..which is awesome!  I'll try to add some classroom pictures before ending the blog. 

We also bought a VEHICLE! We test drove quite a few small SUVs, and ended up purchasing a 2015 Jeep Cherokee, which I am in love with! It is the perfect size for us, and has all the new features we were looking for in a vehicle.  No pictures to post, as Jeff and I don't want to jinx it! ;)

Jeff has a rental property he owns with a few buddies. We also spent a late night cleaning that place from top to bottom.  We put in a new microwave, did some painting, heavy duty cleaning, and made sure it was all ready for the new tenants to move in the next day.  This was one of the reasons Jeff had to come back for those 3 weeks. 

We even had time to go on a mini vacation to Cincinnati, Ohio for a wedding. We were able to catch up with close friends and have quality time to catch up on things we may have missed.  The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time.  Jeff and I were also lucky to be able to fit in a small vacation with Jeff's family to French Lick, Indiana.  His family go almost every year, and we missed out last year---so we were looking forward to that quality time with his family.  We had a great time hitting up the casino (and winning a little money!), golfing, tennis, and some pool time (although the sun was not being our friend that week).

French Lick, golfing (I won!)

Jeff headed back to England for the month of July and even did some traveling (a few posts to come on that...and no he is not writing them).  Are you surprised!?  During the month of July, I was in my classroom almost daily setting things up and preparing for my new adventure in a new school/grade.  My mom was a huge help, as always.  She spent a couple days downtown with me to help with my classroom and spend some time together!   I spent lots of time with my nephews, niece, and sister...making up for lost time.  I also had the pleasure of going on a small vacation to my family to St. Joseph, Michigan to get a little beach time in! We had a great time and beautiful weather.  I enjoyed the quality time with them all.

 Indianapolis Zoo day with my sister, nephews, and niece. 

 Spending time with my wonderful parents

 The construction site. This kid was literally rolling in the dirt at one point. I think there was even some snow sand angels....

 Covering Daddy with sand!

 And Miss. C. had the best place in the house with her own personal tent!

 My sister, Mom, and I

Sweet baby, Corina

Let's see...what else. Well, Jeff is now home from England, as of July 29th.  It is great to have him home and be on the same page.  We have been really busy getting back into the swing of things at work, packing for our next move, and continuing to see family/friends.

A few more posts to catch up. I am trying to finish all of these posts that have been sitting in my Drafts section of my blog now for, well 2 months.  Whoops! I guess people were right when they say Americans are always go-go-go. No time for anything! I know you are all patiently awaiting closure to our amazing experience abroad.

On to the next adventure...

#30daysofappreciation {Round 3}

The final round of my 30 days of appreciation is here! I hope you have had fun following the random and silly things I have appreciated over our time here. Obviously the list could go on, and I am appreciative of more than 30 things! I have lots to be thankful and appreciate in the next few days and weeks as we will be reunited with family and friends (most of who we have not seen in a year and a half).  We have some exciting things happening for us in the upcoming weeks, thinking about housing, cars, new jobs, etc. For rounds 1 and 2, click here!

Here goes my final tribute to my #30daysof appreciation instagram challenge...

#Day21:Pigeons
I got some "heat" on this one for posting it on instagram.  Many not understanding why I will miss them.  One of my best friends commented, "Luckily we have them in the US."  I never see them in Indy, and to most people (like Jeff) they are just an annoyance.  Jeff calls them "winged rats".  I just like watching kids chase after them, their unpredictable nature, and just the fact that they live such simple lives.  I think we could all learn a thing or two.  Pigeons just worry about eating and being their the rest of their crew.  If you think about it, getting things we need to survive and being around people we love is all that really matters.

#Day22: Bus (Public Transportation)

I have mentioned how appreciative I have been of the cheap airlines, but the bus, tram, and train systems around here are amazing.  I wish the United States had a more reliable method of getting places other than our own vehicles.  I take the bus to/from Derby-Nottingham pretty frequently.  I meet up with friends, go to the gym with Jeff, and use it as a change of scenery.  It is a really easy bus ride, and fairly enjoyable as long as it is not stuck in stop/go traffic.  Jeff has looked into how long it would take me to get to my new job via the bus (over an hour) and it would only be a 13 minute drive.  There is a perfect example of how they do not function as well as they do over here.                 

 

#Day23:  Education Courses

I was so lucky to find out that Rolls will pay for spousal education.  It has been fun, kept me up to date in the field of education, and occupied at times throughout the last year.  I am only a few weeks away from having my Certificate for Literacy Instruction (15 credit hours) through Ball State University.  This was an area I was passionate about, and I am hoping to take it back to the classroom with me in the fall.

#Day24: No Job
This one is definitely bittersweet, because I definitely missed teaching over the last year and a half.  But I really tried to reflect every single day, enjoying the freedom.  I could make plans during the day, have lunch with friends, go to the gym on non-busy hours, and complete many personal projects because I had the time to do it.  My favorite was grabbing a blanket, book, and sitting in the sun enjoying the afternoon.  Although, I will miss the freedom, I am so excited for my new adventure as a first grade (ages 6-7) teacher starting next month!

#Day25: Better Halves Club
About twice a month, a group called the Better Halves Club meets up for lunch (normally in Derby).  I had my final luncheon with the group, and they all came to Nottingham for a Mexican Fiesta at our flat.  It is so nice to have other Americans here to ask for advice whether it be general living questions or traveling tips.  We are able to comfort one another on those "bad days" that no one really understands but each other. I think we will all hold a special bond for the rest of our lives. 

#Day26: Skype
What an amazing invention!! It has been so wonderful to see family and friends on a regular basis. A few of my friends go out of their way to chat every so often (and it is always fun to meet their new additions through Skype since I can't be there in person), and my family is so sweet to dedicate an hour+ a week to chat and catch up.  It has also been amazing to watch my niece and nephews over the course of the last year and a half.  I have been able to be in the picture, chat about their lives, and have tickle fights though the tablet...which is always hilarious.

#Day27: Historic Spots
Many times we head to a place because it is a beautiful or I fall in love with the pictures online.  It is an added bonus when we visit these incredible spots that we find so much history embedded within.  Of course, we have our outings that are all about the history.  It is so neat to experience and see so many old places around just England or around all of Europe.  

#Day28: Fresh Flowers 
People over in here in England are always carrying around fresh flowers they pick up from the market.  When you go to friends' houses they will always have a vase filled with fresh flowers.  It is a nice touch! Jeff brought me home some "just because" lilies the other day...and they are just gorgeous!

#Day29: Unique [and Delicious] Cafes:
One of my good American friends comes to Nottingham quite frequently so we can try new restaurants around the city.  The quaint little cafes seem to be our favorites.  We tried one final cafe before my "deportation".  The cafe was called the Kitty Cafe, and you guessed it...it has real cats inside! You have to book in advance, but you can enjoy a cup of tea/coffee and/or lunch all while enjoying the sweet (to be adopted) cats.  What a cool idea! We had a blast, and loved continuing our destinies by being crazy cat ladies! Thanks, Emily for a great afternoon!

#Day30: Jeff
Okay, okay, I know I already posted an appreciation for him.  But the both of us have been reflecting on our journey over the last week and we truly will miss life just being about the two of us. Before you think I am a mean person or take that the wrong way---OF COURSE we are excited to see our family and friends!  Life is just so simple over here.  We don't have very many belongings, we travel on the weekends, and we eat in almost every week night.  We enjoy our nights filled with dinner, chatting, and Netflix marathons.  We will miss this quality time together, and hope the hustle and bustle of the US lifestyle doesn't take our quality time away.

Hope you all enjoyed my #30daysofappreciation through instagram and the blog.  It was a great way for me to reflect and get some closure on our whole experience.  I could have continued for another 70 days and did a #100daysofappreciation, but obviously I didn't think that far in advance.  Thank you for letting me share all my trips, the items I'll miss, and all of the items/people I have appreciated while being abroad.  I could have put each and every one of your faces on an instagram post, as you all have been so supportive...even if you are 4,000 miles away!

On to the next adventure...

Our Last Visitors

Jeff's mom and sister, Lori and Michelle, came back to Nottingham on Monday afternoon.  We met up for dinner at a Moroccan place Jeff and I have been meaning to go to for well, a year.  I pass by it almost every day.  Our food was pretty good, and I think everyone enjoyed trying something new.

Lori, Michelle, and I met up on Tuesday for a quick lunch at one of my favorite cafes in Nottingham, Ugly Bread Bakery.  We all enjoyed our lunch, each one of us trying something new.  I got this roasted pepper sandwich, Michelle tried one of the great pizzas, and Lori tried these pita sandwich...well it was more of a taco.  Next up on our list was a lonnnnggg walk to Wollaton Hall. Jeff and I have been here a few times.  If you don't remember this place, it was where Dark Knight Rises (Batman) was filmed.  It was about an hour walk, and very enjoyable as the weather held off on our walk to the hall.  I think they were pretty impressed, especially the outside "wow" factor.  The gardens were beautiful, and we were able take a stroll around the lake, which I had never done before.  It was a nice trail around, mostly covered by trees which made it extra pretty. Although, it was sad that the deer were hiding, as it is a deer park as well as the hall.  The inside of the building, which is a natural history museum, had changed a lot since the last time I went there.  They took away a few of the exhibits, put in a tea room, and added guided tours (for money).  So it still looks like they are making lots of changes at the hall.

 Wayne Manor..I mean Wollaton Hall & Deer Park

 There was a tree in one of the halls that asked what you liked about the hall, and I  loved this sweet little answer. Love little kids! The picture to the right is Michelle pretending to be Batman.

 This was BEFORE the squirrel tried to attack us.  No...really.  It was charging at us.  We screamed and ran away.  

Love this view! You can see Wollaton Hall in the background

We began our journey back, the weather started to look a bit sketchy.  We kept going, but I think put our umbrellas up/down at least 5 times.  HA! At one point, it was starting to hail, and we debated grabbing the next bus to head into the city centre.  We pushed through, and I'm glad we did as we ended up at a pub that I had never been into.  Lori and Michelle had a cider, which was yummy and I grabbed a pint I had never had before.  I am excited to take Jeff back to this pub, as the restaurant portion looked amazing.  It was in the back of the building, lit up with icicle lights and it almost looked like a cave.  You know how Jeff and I are with our caves...

We grabbed some items at the grocery store, and then headed back to our flat to relax before dinner.  Michelle snuggled up with Mackey and took a "quick" nap while I started dinner.  We had a great meal, although Jeff was unable to join us as he had a late meeting.  Bummer!

Mackey doesn't care if you're allergic or not...he does what he wants.

Wednesday, was Lori and Michelle's last day in England.  They flew out of Manchester on Thursday and headed to Copehhagen, Denmark.  Michelle is studying abroad for the next 6-weeks, so that is really exciting she gets to continue her European adventure! But back to Wednesday's adventures...I took Lori and Michelle and Derby for an afternoon day trip.  We had pretty much done every attraction there was left to do in Nottingham, so we decided to try a new city.

We got into Derby via the bus.  The bus was on its best behavior as it was only a 20-25 minute bus ride, and not the dreadful 45 minutes that it can be.  We walked around the city for a bit, tried to go into the cathedral, but it was closed.  We hopped into Primark, one of my favorite cheap stores.  I think Michelle enjoyed it, as she picked up a couple items.  We headed into the mall to pick up some candy that Lori and Michelle really like that is only in England.  Then we were on our way to the Royal Crown Derby, where we had a factory tour of how the china is made! I was pretty excited to do this, as I had been to the Denby Pottery stores on site (located outside of Derby) before, but never the "fancy" brand in the city.

Definitely a small, but mighty factory

No pictures allowed, which was a bummer.  Completely understandable as people were working, and that would be EXTRA annoying for tourists to be snapping photos of you when you are trying to do your job.   We got to watch the entire process, the molding, kilning process, smoothing, and decorating.  It was really interesting, especially since they use liquid gold on many of their pieces.  It was crazy to see the gold when painted on, as it just looks brown.  Once it dries, they buff it out and it shines.  It was amazing! We definitely understand why one teacup and saucer costs 50 pounds ($75).  So much goes into the process, and many of it is inspected and created by hand.  We watched one lady use these decals, where she had warmed the plates, moistened the decal, and placed it perfectly around the rim of the plate.  To meet quota (and get paid accordingly) she had to complete each plate in between 3 and 4 minutes. If it didn't meet expectation, the plate would come back to her the next day to fix.  She would not get paid for working on the piece twice.  How do they know it was her piece, you might ask? Each plate has an initial on the back to tell inspectors who was in charge of that one.  That makes each plate Royal Crown Derby makes individual and unique.  If you own any pieces, check out the little initials on the back of the product to see what I mean.  I should have taken a picture in the factory shop.

I had this all planned out in my head that following the tour we would have afternoon tea.  Unfortunately, they told me I had to book a day in advance.  Which, I'm not going to lie, made me really mad because their website or the lady I was corresponding with through email did not say anything about.   So, if you are reading this Royal Crown Derby...take this as my review and constructive criticism!  Michelle and Lori were very understanding with my honest mess up, so we just had a cup of tea and a sweet to hold us over until our early dinner.  It was fun still being able to eat and drink out of the cups and plates we had witnessed being made minutes before.

Tea and sweets. Is there any other way?!

Jeff met up with us in Derby, and we went out for an earlier dinner (given we had only ate sweets since we woke up...whoops!).  I was pretty excited to try the Silk Mill, which is a famous pub in Derby.  We had a couple pints, and the food was excellent.  We all left will full bellies.  Lori and Michelle were able to experience riding in a car on the "wrong side of the road" or as locals say, "the correct side of the road."   We dropped them off at their hotel, as they had a 5:20AM train ride in the morning to head up to Manchester, to then get to Denmark.  I can only imagine how tired they were!

What a great couple of weeks it has been, seeing and hanging out with so many loved ones.  I can't believe we had 17 visitors (2 of them came more than once) over our time here. And 9 of them were in the last two weeks!  That is basically an average of a person a month! CRAZY! A big thank you to everyone who came to experience "our world" while living abroad.  It was fun to travel, show you our favorite spots, eat some of our favorite foods, and enjoy each others company! See you in a couple years when we do it again.....calm down, I'm joking.

On to the next adventure...

More Visitors...We are so Lucky!

As you know, after our group of friends left, we immediately picked up Jeff's family (his mom, sister, brother, aunt, and cousin).  We were so excited to hang out with them throughout their time here.  After our lunch, walking tour, and quick pint...we left them in London.  Haha, that sounds funny!  They were going to explore London and surrounding areas a bit more before heading up to Nottingham for a couple days of their trip.  They were able to see the big attractions in London, Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath, and another small village.  They were busy!  It was fun to be able to talk about these places with them because we had been there before!

They got into Nottingham on Thursday, and I was able to take them to the famous, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.  It was so busy, and I was bummed because the upstairs (which is the coolest part) was all reserved, so I could not show that part off.  We enjoyed a great lunch, and then headed up to the castle.

 (L-R) His aunt, Susan; sister, Michelle; cousin, Nathan; mom, Lori; and brother, Matthew

Always can count on Michelle (my sister-in-law) to take a goofy picture with me!

It was the time of year that the castle just had boring paintings, and not the awesome war exhibits like it did in the fall.  We were able to explore the outside area, and point out different buildings and sights from afar.  We headed inside, and walked around the building.  I was able to visit my favorite exhibit (all about the riots), and reflected that it would be the last time I would go in there before moving home! I took it all in, appreciating it all.

Afterwards, we headed for a quick tour around town, grabbed some groceries, and then headed back to our flat so we could hang out until dinner time.  They had all been on the move for the last 5 days, so we chilled for a bit as I made dinner.  We ate dinner, caught up, and enjoyed the relaxing evening.

The next day, they headed to Liverpool, and I stayed back as I had a few things to take care of.  We all met up on Saturday to explore Nottingham a bit more.  They all went to the Galleries of Justice, and I stayed behind as I had already been to the attraction twice.  Jeff went with them, and I think they enjoyed the history side of things.  It sounds like they had a bit of a different experience where they were able to recreate a trial in the courtroom, which sounded really interesting.  I think a few of them were participants, which would have been funny to see! Jeff should be writing this post, so he can tell you more about the experience!

 Siblings reunited after quite a long time

In the entryway of Pitcher & Piano

I met up with everyone at Pitcher and Piano, which is the church that was converted into a bar.  One of my favorite places to grab a pint and/or lunch.  And we grabbed both!  Afterwards, we headed to another pub which is right on the canal, called The Canalhouse.  It is really neat, as there is a boat garage that goes through the restaurant.  There is even a boat inside!  Next up, we explored the caves of Nottingham.  Nottingham is actually known as the City of Caves.  This is something we had not done before, so we were excited to do a new tourist attraction in our own city! It was a 45 minute tour, exploring the caves.  We were even given little hard hats, which we took advantage of! It was interesting to see hear and see what the caves were used for in the past.  It was like another world down there!

 Blurry shot...but having fun underground!  One of the shopping centres was built on top of the caves!

 Digging for bones!

 Our sweet hard hats!

We ended our night taking everyone to one of our favorite Indian restaurants.  Yummy! We hung out at our house later that night.  It was the last night in England for his brother, as he was heading back the following day.  Everyone headed back to London with him, as his aunt and cousin were flying out on Monday.  They enjoyed a few more attractions, like the London Eye and Wimbledon.  Their tour looked fantastic! They were able to see some things we were obviously not allowed or able to see during our time at Wimbledon, so it was fun hearing about their experience.  Jeff's mom and sister are staying a couple extra days in Nottingham, so I'll post about our adventures on the next post!


On to the next adventure...