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...

Flat Stanley Takes on Europe

Well here is an unusual blog post...

My aunt, a 3rd grade teacher, back home is having her class complete the Flat Stanley project.  If you're not a teacher or a parent with a child in elementary, you may not be familiar with the character.  Stanley is a character who is flatten by a bulletin board that falls on him in his sleep. He makes the best of a bad situation and uses his flatten body to go under doors, and better yet go in an envelope to visit friends and family around the world.  Now this is something students all over the world do, like a pen pal program.  A student from my aunt's class, wrote me a letter and sent me a small paper Stanley.  Jeff and I took pictures with him on a few of our trips. I thought I would share a few of the pictures I plan to send to my 3rd grade pen pal.

We first took Stanley out in Bruges, taking a few photos of him around the canals, windmills, and city life. He also stopped for a quick bite at a fast food restaurant before hitting the road. 

  

We then took him out for a photo shoot in Blankenberge, so he could experience the sea (North Sea) for the first time!

Although, we forgot to take some pictures with him in London, I decided to extend his time in Europe by bringing him with me around Nottingham. His favorite spots were the Nottingham Castle and the famous, Robin Hood statue. He even did the "famous" pose.

Next on Stanley's visit was the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. It was pretty windy for him, as I thought his head might rip off...

He also came to Limerick with us to see King John's Castle. He braved some rain in this one as well. 

Stanley was supposed to head to our next trip, but he needed to get back to his student.  I mailed him back to the US.  Hoping to hear from my Aunt Carol on how the activity went and her student's reaction to the photographs I took.

Farewell Stanley.

On to the next adventure...

What do I DO During the Day?

Many people have been asking me: "What are you doing to keep yourself busy while Jeff is at work?" I don't take any offense to it, but I thought I would show people what I have been up to in our first month here. By the way, can you believe we've been here a month already!?

One of my tasks during the day is creating curriculum for an online course through my school district back home. I am creating 4th grade English Language Arts lessons through this program called My Big Campus. It is a combination of Blackboard and Facebook. Students have access to it, as well as teachers. I have been creating "bundles" for numerous topics. Within each bundle is a lesson I have designed with videos, games, assessments, and me lecturing. The lecturing part is not so fun...I hate my voice on video. Ugh!

Just a few of the lessons I have created for just Unit 1. I have 3 more units to complete before I am finished with the first semester.

Another thing I have been working on is my store on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT). I have created printables, lessons, activities, etc. on this site and other teachers can purchase my downloads. I have hit this pretty hard, and have even added a teaching Blog called: 3L +1T.  I have been enjoying the design aspect of both TPT and the teaching blog.

 My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

  My teaching Blog.

Final Goodbye At Work

This wasn't my favorite day, but definitely one I will remember my entire life. Saying goodbye to my students and coworkers was rough. I really tried hard all day to be strong for my 23 third graders. I made it though the day and let loose the river after mostly everyone was gone. Not sure what I would do without my support system at school. They truly are not only the best educators, but amazing people and friends. 

It is so crazy how things happen for a reason. I remember having trouble getting a job when I first graduated. I remember not understanding why I was not getting the jobs, and then I was hired. I was so excited to have a job, to experience this new school, and to begin my new professional life as well. I know I was meant to be at that school, and learned so many different things while being there. 

I learned to never take life for granted. 
I learned to be strong and stand up for myself. 
I learned how truly blessed I was a child. 
I learned to be open and honest.  
I learned that you have to take the long To-Do list one day at a time.
I learned how hard teachers work for so little recognition. 
I learned that teachers make the best friends. 
I learned how to become a great educator. 
I learned to listen. 
I learned to take a stand on my own beliefs.  
I learned to step out of my comfort zone. 
I learned to find the answer and find the help needed for any situation.
I learned the only way to get through the stress is to just laugh and smile.
I learned to give. 
I learned new technology. 
I learned teachers are not only role models, but support systems.
I learned it's okay to be a little crazy.
I learned to believe in myself. 
I learned to go above and beyond to help out. 
I learned that teaching is absolutely an amazing profession, and I learned I'll truly miss it.