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...

Life Post-Fairytale

I always joke with people (although there is some seriousness to it all), that we live the life of a fairy tale over here.  Being so removed from our daily life in the states makes us feel like we just live in a different world...it is a really odd feeling.  And obviously our life over here will be nothing like our life back in the states, given we travel or are busy every single weekend.  Also, never spending time with family over here makes it feel like a different world.

My dad suggested a blog post for what life after this experience will be like when I asked for suggestions in my "Your Turn" post.  I do not have all the answers in terms of jobs, plans, or even housing quite yet...but we are getting there.

Jobs

Many of you have asked if my position in my former school district will be held for me, and the answer is no.  Although I was developing curriculum online for the district when I first moved over here, it was a contracted out position and I am not considered an employee of the district as I do not receive regular checks.  I have talked with my district at home, and that is my priority to get back into the same district, especially the same elementary school.  But if any of you have experience with getting a teaching job, they become available quickly and not very long.  I never thought I would be applying for jobs, as many of you know, I loved my job before moving over here.  So send good vibes and prayers that I will be able to find a job when I get back.  Also, that I don't lose my mind when applying to all these districts again. Yuck!

As for Jeff, I know it surprises many of you when I say he has to interview for jobs when he moves back.  Yes, he will have a position at Rolls-Royce, but it won't necessarily mean he is going back in the same position. After having international experience, we hope this opens new doors for him in terms of positions when he moves back.  I mean, that is the big reason we moved over here, that it would provide him with new opportunities. 

Stay tuned for updates on our future jobs in posts later on. I am hoping I can report back good news to you all very soon.

Housing

I also posted about this "issue" in my "Surprise! It's Me!" post when I went to the states for my impromptu visit.  For those of you that missed that post, we have a townhouse in Downtown Indianapolis, but we are renting it to expats who work for another Indianapolis company.  We allowed them to sign a 2-year lease, therefore they will not be out of our place until February 1, 2016.  This means...we are homeless. Ha, in all reality we haven't quite figured out where we will be living.  We had debated another house to live in for the 7 months and we have thought about apartments downtown for the time being.  Either way, we have a lot to think about in the upcoming months. I think Jeff and I both want to get things planned and figured out before we move back.  Easier said than done...

Traveling

Well this one will definitely change when it comes to what we are "used to" now.  Jeff has already told me he plans on sitting on our big comfy couches and never getting up.  Ha! Myself, well I think I want to become more active on the weekends.  I am not saying I want to jump on a plane every other weekend to go to California or Texas...but taking advantage of festivals downtown or local state parks would be more of what I was thinking.  But I agree with Jeff, it will be nice to have down weekends where we can just relax in the comfort of our own home. I'm thinking we'll find a common ground somewhere...

Jeff and I both agreed that we would like to plan more mini-trips when we move back.  Once again, not every other weekend, but make a more conscious effort to head to Chicago, Cincinnati, or Nashville more often.  These places are not too far, and definitely do-able for a weekend trip.  But you won't be hearing about a big trip any time soon. I think we need to save some money and take it easy for a while. We will make sure to enjoy every second of our remaining trips.


Daily Life

One thing I am excited for is the return of a consistent daily schedule. As much fun as it may sound to not work, not all days have been that enjoyable.  It is fun to go to the gym in the middle of the day, walk around, shop, long lunches with girlfriends, and actually have time to complete projects & household work.  But there were days that I just wished I was working again and had that routine.  So, I am definitely looking forward to getting back to work, making plans with girlfriends in the evenings, and seeing family on a normal routine.  Jeff has a pretty good routine here as he goes to work daily (obviously), and then plays squash with a few buddies a few times a week.  He comes home to have dinner, relax, and head to bed.  He has a pretty consistent schedule, so I don't see that changing much for him, although I know he will miss playing squash with his friends.


Food

This one I have a love/hate relationship with...I am SO excited for the large grocery stores with an array of options.  I mean different types and brands of canned beans has me almost giddy.  I miss getting a shopping cart, looking at the new products in each isle, and taking my time filling up my cart with things we'll need for the next couple of weeks.  I enjoy grocery shopping.  Here in England, on the other hand, is fun to see all of the different products, but it is always so hectic in the grocery store.  With the grocery stores being so small, people are bopping around like crazy to get what they need and get out of there. Surprising that I am saying this about the locals and not about Americans, right? 

One thing I will miss when it comes to the local food is the lack of preservatives and junk in the products.  We have definitely changed the way we eat over here, as it is mostly whole foods, and very little from a box, can, or even items from the freezer section.  We have developed some great eating habits, so I really hope we can continue this when moving back home.  I have also heard from fellow Americans that the food back home was an adjustment to their digestive systems.  So...this should be interesting.

Vehicles & Driving

I, for one, will be so excited to start driving daily again. I didn't realize how much I missed it until my recent trip home, borrowing my mom's crossover. I loved the feeling of being alone (no offense, Jeff) and jamming out to my favorite tunes.  It was such a great, independent feeling.  Which this brings our next adventure...buying a new vehicle. Jeff and I sold my jeep before moving over here, therefore I come back car-less as well.  I am looking to get some sort of SUV or Crossover again, as I really like driving something like that in the Indiana winters. We have not decided, but will be looking into this our first week back over here.  Although we will have to rent a car for the first couple of days to get around.  Jeff still has his truck.  He left it at my parent's house, up on blocks with a tarp over it (see picture below).  He will have to do a little work on it before it is running again, but least we do not have to buy two vehicles when we move back.  I know Jeff is really excited to drive his truck and blare his country music! We have only seen a handful of trucks over here, so when we see one, we normally make a big deal out of it.

His poor, cold truck under the tarp on the basketball court. ha!  I'm sure my parents are ready to look out their back windows and not see this anymore!

Return Date(s)

The subject many of you have been wondering about... I plan on moving home on June 12th.  My flight isn't booked, but the timing is right as we have a play in London on the 11th of June.  As of right now, I plan on moving back earlier than Jeff, as I want to get our house set up, find a job, and hopefully use the month of July to set up my classroom (fingers crossed).  Jeff needs to stay for the remainder of our allotted Visa time (July 30th, the VISA expires). He is filling in for a colleague who will be on a paternity leave.  Not sure his exact date home...either way he will be deported when it comes to July 30th. Ha, so funny to think about! Jeff is planning on flying home with Mackey and I on June 12th for 3-weeks so he can help get us settled before flying back to England for the month of July.  In those 3-weeks, we plan on finding a house, car, phones, and move out belongings out of the storage unit.  We also have a family vacation and a wedding during that time period...so we will be super busy for sure!

Mackey

As many of you know, Mackey has gained a few pounds (and I do not mean the currency!) while we've been over here. I am looking forward to him having a bigger area with stairs to run up/down to lose some of his weight.  Poor guy! He is still such an amazing cat, so loveable and sweet. I think he will transition just fine, once he goes through another awful 8+ hr flight as cargo.  I will be looking forward to him not being alone while we go on all of these long weekend trips. It is hard leaving him, so all he has to do is make it through the work days without us.  

He thinks he owns the place...annoying

Overall Adjustments

Overall, I think it might be a difficult transition back.  Jeff and I are just used to it being us, so although it will be very exciting to be around family/friends again...it might just be an adjustment for us.  I think another adjustment will be time management.  Our evenings are pretty boring around here, as when Jeff gets home from work, we eat dinner and relax.  I have a feeling our evenings are going to go back to the hectic late nights at work, dinners with friends, and projects around the house when we move back to the states.  But we both hope and will try our best to stay grounded.  I, for one, am a little nervous about moving back.  I know things will just go back to "normal", but it is nerve wracking when thinking about if things will be the same as before we left.   Another adjustment is going to be time.  Jeff and I have a great system right now, so when I go back to work it is going to change a lot.  AKA, Jeff might have to actually do the dishes!

So other than the whole get a house, buy a car, get jobs, new phones, and move all our stuff into a new place...doesn't sound too stressful at all, does it? It is like we are starting over from scratch! I promise to keep you posted in the upcoming months as we have updates.

On to the next adventure...