Jeff Goes to the British Open

Unfortunately, there will not be many words to this post (minus the ones I am writing as an intro).  Since Jeff isn't going to write about his experience at the British Open.  The Open took place at St. Andrew's (one of the oldest golf courses in the world)...I thought I would at least share a few of his pictures and a little of the back story for you all.

Jeff drove up to Edinburgh, Scotland (about 5 hours from Nottingham) on July 18-19th to meet up with some of our other American friends (Julie and Andrew) living in England.  The three of them enjoyed the experience, although I am not sure how much golf they were able to see because it was so windy that they postponed play until the weather cooperated.  He was able to see Tiger Woods play and a few other people, which would have been awesome. I am definitely jealous I missed out on this trip. 

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...

Final Dinners/Lunches with Friends

After a few people could not make our Leaving Do, we met up in smaller groups so we could have our proper goodbyes with one another.  One night, I rode the bus into Derby to meet up with 2 other couples (and obviously Jeff) to have a fantastic steak dinner.  This is the first time I have had steak over here, and in the last 3 years... It was really good and I left completely stuffed! It was fun hanging out one last time as a group.  I am extremely appreciative of these people, as they took Jeff and I in and treated us as if we had been friends for a long time.  That was such a great feeling so early on in our journey living over here.

We will miss them all dearly, and hope to meet up with them regularly with trips in the United States or over here in Europe.

Also, I had a Mexican Fiesta at our flat for my American friends in the Better Halves Club.  If you do not remember, we get together 1-2x a month for lunch.  We are able to share stories, give travel tips, and be a person to talk to get advice about living abroad.  Being a part of this group was wonderful, as I came out with a few really close friends.  It also gave me a lot of information, so I could go back and share with Jeff.  I'm not sure we would have known the procedure for getting his driver's license without these wonderful women.  Anyway, I wanted to see the group one last time before flying out.  We normally meet in Derby, but they all graciously came the long hull to see me for a change.  We were able to munch on tacos and other Mexican dishes.  It makes me even more excited to eat about 500 Taco Bell tacos within the week!!

I was also able to give them some of my "extras" or things we were not taking back with us to the states.  It was nice to give them to people who could use them instead of trashing things like cleaning products.  The rest of the stuff they didn't want will make its way to the charity shops  or some other local friends in the next couple of days.  

 

Jo and I

Luela and I 

  The Better Halves Club (minus the photographer, Luela)

On to the next adventure...

#30daysofappreciation {Round 2}

If you're new to the blog, we are down to the last couple weeks in our journey abroad. I can't believe I am typing that. It has flown by, and I definitely have mixed feelings about leaving.  I am getting pumped for the events and new things planned in the upcoming months.

On my instagram account, I started a #30daysofappreciation daily picture post.  Since many of you are not followers of mine on instagram, I thought I would share the pictures and reasons behind my appreciation or "I'm really going to miss ______" posts.  Check out the Round 1 pictures 1-10, here.

#Day11: Energy Saving Outlets
This is a weird thing to appreciation...but I love the electrical outlets in England. I love how you can keep something plugged in (i.e. phone charger) all the time without it using electricity by turning the switch off.  What a great invention!

#Day12: Cheap Airlines
I LOVE the cheap airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, jet2.com, flybe, etc. They quick (although annoying during the flight at times) and efficient.  We can be in Rome for 30 pounds and in 2 hours...that is amazing! I know airlines in the continental United States are expensive, so I know we won't have this luxury when we return back. 

#Day13: Experiencing New Traditions
I have already posted about friendships, but experiencing new cultural traditions, like our friends' wedding.  It was fun wearing a fascinator (hat or hairpiece English women wear during special events), seeing the differences in the ceremony & reception, and enjoying the fun with our local friends. 

#Day14: Breads, Eggs, and Cheese
Another food obsession, shocker! I will miss the amazing bread, eggs, and especially...cheese over here.  Wow, it tastes so much better.  Not only do they all have less preservatives, but you can just tell they are made with the right ingredients.  I wish I could take all the different cheeses back with me, because I love ending my meal with a cheese plate. Such a great idea!

#Day15: Adventures with my Best Friend
Here's the one you were all waiting for...the sappy appreciation!  I have loved spending the last 18 months with my best friend, traveling around Europe.  Not only have we gotten even closer, but we also feel like we can conquer anything! What a great man I married!

#Day16: No Alarm!
This is one I can honestly say I have thought about every morning, and appreciated it every single day.  I know Jeff and my parents can attest to the fact that I despise my alarm clock.  So every morning, waking up naturally for the last 18 months (minus the early rise flights) has been amazing.  Now before you think I'm a lazy bum, I don't sleep in.  I usually wake up when Jeff leaves for work, and just enjoy my leisurely mornings.  Don't hate me.

 
#Day17: "The Gym"
I have really enjoyed having a place that gets me out every day.  The gym I go to is called "The Gym" and it is not anything special.  It is large in size with many different types of equipment.  Although, all I need are a few weights and a treadmill, and I am happy.  It has been a nice getaway during the day, and it has been nice on those rainy days....it forces me outside. Ha!

#Day18: Reading
As a teacher, I am sad to say I did not have a love for reading growing up.  I started my passion as an adult, and it has been fantastic to be able to have time to actually sit down and read a book (or 15).  I made it a goal to start reading books that were soon to be coming out as films.  I am still hitting my list pretty hard, but the local library doesn't have the ones I need to finish my list.  I am looking forward to continuing this new found hobby in the states. 

#Day19: Road Trips
Love, love, love our road trips.  It is probably easy for me to say that given, I don't have to do any of the driving.  So thankful for Jeff and his fantastic English driving skills.  Although there are times I get car sick on these windy roads, I still love seeing the countryside and being to a new place in just a couple hours.  I will miss jumping in the car, knowing I get to experience a new place and new things.  I am hoping Jeff and I continue this in the states and visit places fairly close to home on our free weekends. (P.s. The picture is from last spring at the Peak District)

#Day20: New/Favorite Restaurants
Brown's is one of our favorite restaurants in Nottingham.  The restaurant is a block from our flat.  We used to just go there for drinks, as there is a cute little patio to the side of the restaurant.  Although, we have been there for dinner quite a few times, and each time the menu has changed and it has been fantastic! It has a classy feel, but still the classic British food (fish & chips, pies, etc.).  We were excited to have our "Leaving Do" with close friends there on Saturday night to enjoy the spot one more time.

On to the next adventure...

Enjoying a Beautiful English Wedding

This past Saturday, we headed down to to Hereford (about 2 hours southwest) to a couple of our friends' wedding.  Jeff met the groom, Tom, at work and I was lucky enough to become friends with the bride, Sarah, last spring.  The ceremony was at this quaint church out in the countryside.  It was so interesting experiencing the differences between and American vs. an English wedding.  As we sat down, we enjoyed the company of some of our other friends.  I learned that often times the bride comes down before the bridesmaids.  This is so that the bridesmaids can hold the train of the bride's dress, although Sarah came down after the bridesmaids in her wedding.  There was no groomsmen, only ushers (including a best man).  They did not stand up front or go down the isle. 

 

Not the clearest picture, but you can see the adorable invitations. 

Inside of the programs

The wedding began, and there was lots of hymns and readings.  The minister asked if there were any objections, which I had not heard at a wedding in a long time.  I also found it interesting that they signed the legal documents during the ceremony.  Our friends laughed when Jeff told them we signed it at our reception on the back of our best man, Scott.  We threw dried flower petals at the couple as they walked out of the church and into their cute little ride. 

Flower send-off!

We headed straight to the reception, which was held at this winery. It was a beautiful set up, as we all sipped on cocktails outside on a beautiful day!  They came around with a few hors d'oeuvres, and then the reception began around 4:30.  Our meal, which was called the Wedding Breakfast.  I asked weeks ago about this, and it is called a breakfast because it is the first meal as husband and wife.  Cute, right? We sat down for our three course meal.  Jeff had chicken liver pate, chicken breast & vegetables, and eton mess for dessert.  I had the pea & mint soup, chicken & vegetables, and chocolate roulade.  No cake for dessert, but it is still tradition to cut the cake.  They cut the cake and put it out later for you to eat later in the night or take it home.

Loved picking out my fascinator for the wedding.  So much fun!

If the Mackins are reading this, we decided to wear the exact same attire we wore to your wedding since it was about a year ago.  We partied in your honor. 

We enjoyed the wonderful meal, and left completely stuffed.  The speeches started, and there was legit betting going on at how long the best man's speech was going to be.   Apparently, it is known that the best man always takes a really long time embarrassing the groom.  Jeff and I put down 7 minutes and 22 seconds for our bet.  We ALMOST won, as the winning number was 7 minutes and 35 seconds.  People started to heckle the best man to keep talking, so I think if they didn't do that...we would have won. Ha, wishful thinking?! The money is normally used to pay for drinks at the bar anyway.  All three speeches were great! The father of the bride spoke, the groom, and of course the best man.  It was really cute to see the groom speak at his own wedding.  I liked that.  

Next up was dancing.  There was a good amount of people dancing throughout the night, and often times to songs I had never heard.  My favorite part was when they brought out more desserts and cheeses to nibble on throughout the night.  Me being obsessed with food, shocker...right? This was mostly for the second round of guests that had arrived.  There were two invitations.  One invitation was for the entire day's events, and the other was to come after dinner. We had a great time, and felt so lucky to be able to not only experience and English wedding, but to celebrate with our dear friends, Tom & Sarah.  Congrats, Tom & Sarah!!

On to the next adventure...

 

#30daysofappreciation {Round 1}

Tuesday, May 12th was officially our one month left mark.  In honor of that, I decided to post a photo a day on my Instagram account to show my appreciation of our amazing time over here.  Pictures include anything from food (shocker), daily life, and/or things for which I am very thankful.  It really made me stop and smell the roses one last time of those things I will miss when moving back to the states.

Since many of my blog followers are not followers on Instagram (*cough, Christin), I decided to share my photos of the last 10 days of appreciation.  I will post two more times to share the other 20 photographs.

#Day1: Relocation Assessment
The relocation company came by to assess how much stuff we have to ship back to the states.  It was kind of funny it landed right on our 1 month mark.  We chatted for a bit, and then he assessed our stuff. He said we were right at our limit, so I best not go out and buy anything over the next month.

 

 #Day2: Time to Cook

I have absolutely LOVED my time in the kitchen over here.  I could start dinner at 5:30 some days, knowing Jeff wouldn't be home until 7.   It really allowed me to play with recipes, explore, and have time to make healthy foods.  I know I am going to miss that, as I will be working, and the amount of prep time will be eliminated.  I have already been trying to think about ways to prep over the weekends, so I am able to cook more clean and healthy.  Wish me luck!

 

#Day3: Mackey

Although it has been expensive to keep him over here in terms of getting him to/from the states, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  He has become even more loveable! Who knew that was possible?  His personality has changed, but for the better.  I think he has enjoyed his time over here, watching pigeons and sleeping in every windowsill possible.  I definitely enjoyed having that "piece of home" with me.

#Day4: Friends

We have made some great friends (both Americans and locals).  We have been able to travel, have nights out, girls and boys nights, and plenty of time to chat about life.  That was one thing I was really nervous about when moving over here, as we both have amazing friends at home.  We will miss our local friends, but hope to still see our new American friends in the states once we all move back. 

#Day5: Beer

I should probably point out that these are in no particular order.  As you have yet to see a picture of Jeff, does not mean he is not my #1 thing I appreciate over here.  Okay, now that we have cleared that up...beer.  We have enjoyed trying all the different kinds of beer over here.  During the first year, we took a picture of every new pint we had.  That got old pretty quickly, so we stopped taking a a picture of each pint.  Jeff had a project envisioned.  We definitely enjoyed that part of England, but in the same sense, we won't miss the crazy amount of drinking.  

#Day6: Traveling

The bag below barely made it over the one year mark before being thrown away.  I thought for sure that when we were in London a couple weeks ago it was going to completely break.  It made it home before saying my final farewell to it.  It was the perfect size, as you have to have a fairly small bag to fly on budget airlines, like we do.  It would fit in the top bin or under the seat with no problems.  I never had to worry about it! I definitely got my 12 pounds worth out of this bag, as it traveled to many amazing places around Europe.

 

#Day7: Beautiful Spots

This one goes along with #6, but all of the beautiful places we were able to see during our time abroad is something I will never under appreciate.   I will speak on behalf of Jeff (I geuss I always do that, but...) and say that were very appreciative of how many trips, whether big or small, that we were able to go on.  We were so glad we spent our money on traveling, as we will have those memories, pictures, and video forever. 

#Day8: Visitors

We had so many visitors over the last year and a half! Seventeen, but who's counting?   We have loved every visit, and each one was unique in its own way.  We tried to do something a little different with each visitor, whether it was a local restaurant, new European trip, or a tourist attraction we had never been to in our own city! We enjoyed showing off "our world"

#Day9: Tea

In the states I would NEVER drink tea. Not iced tea, hot tea, flavored tea...etc.  My friends here continued to "bully" me into liking tea. I tried it each time we were together.  Now, I can officially say I drink a cup of hot tea every morning and no longer drink coffee at all.  What a transition!

 

#Day10: House/Flat

I definitely do not spend enough time appreciating the house, which was converted into 8 flats that we live in. It is in a fantastic location with a beautiful view from every window.  If I want ice cream, I can have it in hand within 5 minutes. Amazing! It is definitely an English feeling house, which is nice.  We want to embrace the culture as much, and I think our single pane windows that make our flat colder than it is outside is embracing it! Ha!