So while I was home, I picked up a Flat Stanley from my former coworkers at St. Francis to take to England to show their students what fun things I get to do while I'm here. After some some deep contemplation, I thought what a cute idea to start a Flat Stanley abroad website/blog written in a kid friendly tone that Everett and I can maybe someday turn into a book for our kids! I decided I wanted to try my hand at wordpress.com instead of blogger as I have been using. I designed the website, upoaded my pictures, and got the brilliant idea that I should add a map to the website to show where he's been. After an hour of searching for a good host... yes it took me that long... I created my map and was super proud of it... I went to put it into my blog.... and it won't work.
To make it work, I would have to actually download the wordpress software, learn html code, be super smart at computers/website creating, buy a website, etc etc... you get the point... I'm not computer savvy enough to do it.. So I decided to try and put it on this blog just to see if it would work.. and it did right away... SOOOO... even though I like the layouts of wordpress better... I'm going to have to do my Stanley blog at blogger.com instead (unless someone can figure out how to put my map into wordpress... HINT HINT!)
Lucky for you though, you can see my Stanley map if you scroll down to the bottom of this page! It is interactive, so zoom in, zoom out, click on the icons, look at the pictures, and read the descriptions!
I liked it so much that I have decided to create one for just Everett and I, but might not get that one up for a while so you will have to make due with Stanley!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Spring Update
Dang it... I'm sorry!! I told myself when I was going to start this that I was going to be really good about posting.. but alas.. I have failed!! I guess the reason is that I don't want to bore you with the mundane details of my every day life... Living in England, one would expect it to be somewhat glamourous... but it really isn't... I cook, I clean, and I take care of my dogs... pretty much the same thing you do, just half way around the world!!
Spring has been pretty good to us. Since my last post, I have had my 25th birthday! Spent it surrounded by great friends! I also got to come home for Easter as a birthday surprise for my Dad. I had a great time, but I spent it with those who read this, so I don't really have to update you on what I did while I was there!! Haha!
I did get the results back from the test I took while I was home, and I passed with flying colors!! I officially get to add the ESOL endorsement to my license as soon as I send in my $39 fee... boo...
The beginning of May has been great. Everett and I have been trying to spend as much time together as we can before he has to leave for France for a few months. We found out a few weeks ago that he was getting deployed there from the end of May to the beginning of July. Unfortunately that means that he won't be here for when my parents are here. He was extremely disappointed. But then again, he will be in the South of France swimming at beautiful beaches in the warm sunshine.. so he can't be TOO disappointed right?!
Also in the time that I have been back in the surprisingly sunny (but not warm) England, I think I have figured out my job situation for next year. The day after I got back, I had a school visit with another British school. This time they actually knew I was American! The principal was out for the day, so I was shown around by the vice principal. She was so wonderful and helpful as she attempted to compare the British school to the American school so I could have a better idea of what I would be dealing with. I met the staff and they were friendly and inviting. On the way out the vice principal gave me some important points to bring up if I were to get an interview, so I thought my chances were looking great. But... I never got a phone call...
My confidence as a teacher was at an all time low at this point, but a few days later I received a phone call from the middle school on the base here requesting an interview for an aide position. After much thought and contemplation, I decided to decline. I have had bad experiences with middle school, and the school is 45 mins from my house, so with the price of gas as it is, I wouldn't be making much money. Then 2 days after that I got called by the elementary school on base for an interview as an special education aide. I was so excited, but as a backup plan I decided to finally finish my 30 page application to sub there as well. I went in for the interview, thinking it was with the SPED lady, but it was actually with the principal! I wasn't fully prepared for that one! She was really nice and the interview was just a basic conversation about the job. The bad part was that the job was nothing like I was expecting. Since it was an aide position, I assumed that I would be working with students... but you know what they say about those that assume............. In reality, I would be a secretary for SPED, working with parents and administration, very rarely working with students. I took the weekend to think about it. The hours weren't fabulous, and as a teacher, I obviously feel more comfortable working in a classroom than an office. I ended up being offered the position, but I declined and asked just to sub. I'm hoping the subbing pans out though... I can't seem to get a hold of the lady in charge! She was sick all last week when I was supposed to finish up my paperwork, and she hasn't returned any of my phone calls or emails this week! I'll keep you posted!
Everett has been busy with his football. He has played in two games so far, one loss and one win. We got to go to Oxford for his game this weekend which is 2.5 hours away. The weather would have been perfect, except for the 50mph winds blowing in my face! He got to play pretty much the whole game because he was playing offense AND defense! He scored a touch down and had a lot of great plays! Way to go babe!
We have also been playing intramural volleyball since I got back. We play for his squadron's team and because of the crazy flying schedule these guys have had to deal with, you never know how many would show up! We played with anywhere from 5 to 10 people! Our championship game was yesterday, and so of course there were tons of people there, but at least they came when it counted!! We ended up losing the first game due to too many substitutions, we just couldn't get a rhythm going. For the second game, we had a lot just sit out, and even though it ended up being a very close match we won! So it came down to a 3rd game... once again very close, but because of Everett's amazing spikes yesterday we won!! He pounded down a good 4 or 5... and no one could return them! So... we were the league champs and have a shirt to prove it!!
Everett was supposed to leave today for France, but due to the lovely volcano eruption, and his jet breaking down, I might have a few more days with him! Sometimes things like that work out for the better!! During his time away I plan on losing weight (we'll see how that goes......) and traveling!! Mom, Dad, Steph, and Haley will get here on the 4th, pending the volcano considering they have a layover in Iceland : ( We have lots of fun things planned including trips to Dublin and Paris.. and of course London! Can't wait to have them on this side of the pond! I'm also hoping to make a trip to visit Everett while he is deployed with a few of the wives here whose husbands are there as well. On top of that, two of my good friends over here have birthdays coming up so we have fun things planned for that too!! Hopefully Everett will be home around the same time that Renae and Renee will be coming over... Such a busy summer planned! I'm sure it will go fast and August will be here before we know it and we will be seeing all of you again!!
Whew.. I'm tired just thinking about my summer.... Alright.. It is time for me to sign off...
Love you all and see you soon!!!
Spring has been pretty good to us. Since my last post, I have had my 25th birthday! Spent it surrounded by great friends! I also got to come home for Easter as a birthday surprise for my Dad. I had a great time, but I spent it with those who read this, so I don't really have to update you on what I did while I was there!! Haha!
I did get the results back from the test I took while I was home, and I passed with flying colors!! I officially get to add the ESOL endorsement to my license as soon as I send in my $39 fee... boo...
The beginning of May has been great. Everett and I have been trying to spend as much time together as we can before he has to leave for France for a few months. We found out a few weeks ago that he was getting deployed there from the end of May to the beginning of July. Unfortunately that means that he won't be here for when my parents are here. He was extremely disappointed. But then again, he will be in the South of France swimming at beautiful beaches in the warm sunshine.. so he can't be TOO disappointed right?!
Also in the time that I have been back in the surprisingly sunny (but not warm) England, I think I have figured out my job situation for next year. The day after I got back, I had a school visit with another British school. This time they actually knew I was American! The principal was out for the day, so I was shown around by the vice principal. She was so wonderful and helpful as she attempted to compare the British school to the American school so I could have a better idea of what I would be dealing with. I met the staff and they were friendly and inviting. On the way out the vice principal gave me some important points to bring up if I were to get an interview, so I thought my chances were looking great. But... I never got a phone call...
My confidence as a teacher was at an all time low at this point, but a few days later I received a phone call from the middle school on the base here requesting an interview for an aide position. After much thought and contemplation, I decided to decline. I have had bad experiences with middle school, and the school is 45 mins from my house, so with the price of gas as it is, I wouldn't be making much money. Then 2 days after that I got called by the elementary school on base for an interview as an special education aide. I was so excited, but as a backup plan I decided to finally finish my 30 page application to sub there as well. I went in for the interview, thinking it was with the SPED lady, but it was actually with the principal! I wasn't fully prepared for that one! She was really nice and the interview was just a basic conversation about the job. The bad part was that the job was nothing like I was expecting. Since it was an aide position, I assumed that I would be working with students... but you know what they say about those that assume............. In reality, I would be a secretary for SPED, working with parents and administration, very rarely working with students. I took the weekend to think about it. The hours weren't fabulous, and as a teacher, I obviously feel more comfortable working in a classroom than an office. I ended up being offered the position, but I declined and asked just to sub. I'm hoping the subbing pans out though... I can't seem to get a hold of the lady in charge! She was sick all last week when I was supposed to finish up my paperwork, and she hasn't returned any of my phone calls or emails this week! I'll keep you posted!
Everett has been busy with his football. He has played in two games so far, one loss and one win. We got to go to Oxford for his game this weekend which is 2.5 hours away. The weather would have been perfect, except for the 50mph winds blowing in my face! He got to play pretty much the whole game because he was playing offense AND defense! He scored a touch down and had a lot of great plays! Way to go babe!
We have also been playing intramural volleyball since I got back. We play for his squadron's team and because of the crazy flying schedule these guys have had to deal with, you never know how many would show up! We played with anywhere from 5 to 10 people! Our championship game was yesterday, and so of course there were tons of people there, but at least they came when it counted!! We ended up losing the first game due to too many substitutions, we just couldn't get a rhythm going. For the second game, we had a lot just sit out, and even though it ended up being a very close match we won! So it came down to a 3rd game... once again very close, but because of Everett's amazing spikes yesterday we won!! He pounded down a good 4 or 5... and no one could return them! So... we were the league champs and have a shirt to prove it!!
Everett was supposed to leave today for France, but due to the lovely volcano eruption, and his jet breaking down, I might have a few more days with him! Sometimes things like that work out for the better!! During his time away I plan on losing weight (we'll see how that goes......) and traveling!! Mom, Dad, Steph, and Haley will get here on the 4th, pending the volcano considering they have a layover in Iceland : ( We have lots of fun things planned including trips to Dublin and Paris.. and of course London! Can't wait to have them on this side of the pond! I'm also hoping to make a trip to visit Everett while he is deployed with a few of the wives here whose husbands are there as well. On top of that, two of my good friends over here have birthdays coming up so we have fun things planned for that too!! Hopefully Everett will be home around the same time that Renae and Renee will be coming over... Such a busy summer planned! I'm sure it will go fast and August will be here before we know it and we will be seeing all of you again!!
Whew.. I'm tired just thinking about my summer.... Alright.. It is time for me to sign off...
Love you all and see you soon!!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I've got the job hunting blues....
So as some of you know, my lastest and greatest adventure in England has been trying to find a job. I really want to teach, since it's kind of my favorite thing to do, but I haven't had any luck with the school system on base. It is extremely competitive and very rarely are there any openings. All along Everett has been asking me why I'm not looking into the British school system, and every time I tell him that I'm not qualified and have no idea how to get qualified...
Well.. last week I was bored so I thought.. hmm... maybe I should find out how to get qualified to teach over here.. my chances of getting a job would probably increase.. I thought why not.... So how does one find this information?! I couldn't think of anything so I just googled it.... and to my delighted surprise all the websites were telling me that I was qualified to teach in England as long as I had a license from another country! Awesome right??!!
Straight away (as they say here) I began looking for a website that listed vacancies. Their school systems work a lot differently here, there is no "unified school district".. it's each to their own run by a board of governors... at least that's what I've gathered so far... I finally found a website that listed all the vacancies in our county and to my even more delighted surprise, there was an opening for a Year 4 (or 3rd grade) teacher at the school that is less than half a mile from our house! I couldn't believe it! I had to go pick up the application at the school, so I did that the very next day...
After learning more about the school, I got really excited about the job... I liked what the school stood for, and it seemed like it would mesh well with my own teaching philosophies.. so I began to fill out the application when I ran into my first problem.. it kept asking me to list all of these random numbers that I had no clue what they were. I emailed the secretary of the school and asked her what they were, and if I could just put my license number from the States there (thinking it was the UK version of a license number)... well she emails me back and explains that if I do not have these numbers already, then I am not registered as a teacher here in the UK and that I must do that before I can be considered for a position.... oh...... so maybe there WERE a few more hoops that I had to jump through before I can teach here... thanks google for letting me down....
The secretary gave me a website to find out how to register and all that good stuff... then a friend of mine who worked in England asked if I had my National Insurance (NI) number yet... that I had to have one of those too before I could be hired to work here.. of course I don't have one of those...
So for the last week I have been trying to get all of that stuff done.. I have to have an NI number before I can register as a teacher, but I have to go to an interview before I can get an NI number.. so my interview is on the 29th, and my registration will be sent in that day.. takes about a month to process... so I should be officially a registered UK teacher by the end of April! Woohoo!!! The one thing I think is funny about registering as a teacher is that they only require to see your passport/visa... they don't even ask to see your license! So I guess any Joe Schmoe could say he has a license from somewhere else and he can register as a teacher! Oh... only in the UK....
So me being me.. I still submitted my application to the school after explaining my situation, and I had a meeting with the head teacher (principal) and the other applicants today to get a tour of the school. It was very eye opening to witness the differences between this school and our schools in America... And I shall try to explain as follows:
So with that, all I ask is for some prayers that I find the right school for me, because I really do miss teaching!!
Well.. last week I was bored so I thought.. hmm... maybe I should find out how to get qualified to teach over here.. my chances of getting a job would probably increase.. I thought why not.... So how does one find this information?! I couldn't think of anything so I just googled it.... and to my delighted surprise all the websites were telling me that I was qualified to teach in England as long as I had a license from another country! Awesome right??!!
Straight away (as they say here) I began looking for a website that listed vacancies. Their school systems work a lot differently here, there is no "unified school district".. it's each to their own run by a board of governors... at least that's what I've gathered so far... I finally found a website that listed all the vacancies in our county and to my even more delighted surprise, there was an opening for a Year 4 (or 3rd grade) teacher at the school that is less than half a mile from our house! I couldn't believe it! I had to go pick up the application at the school, so I did that the very next day...
After learning more about the school, I got really excited about the job... I liked what the school stood for, and it seemed like it would mesh well with my own teaching philosophies.. so I began to fill out the application when I ran into my first problem.. it kept asking me to list all of these random numbers that I had no clue what they were. I emailed the secretary of the school and asked her what they were, and if I could just put my license number from the States there (thinking it was the UK version of a license number)... well she emails me back and explains that if I do not have these numbers already, then I am not registered as a teacher here in the UK and that I must do that before I can be considered for a position.... oh...... so maybe there WERE a few more hoops that I had to jump through before I can teach here... thanks google for letting me down....
The secretary gave me a website to find out how to register and all that good stuff... then a friend of mine who worked in England asked if I had my National Insurance (NI) number yet... that I had to have one of those too before I could be hired to work here.. of course I don't have one of those...
So for the last week I have been trying to get all of that stuff done.. I have to have an NI number before I can register as a teacher, but I have to go to an interview before I can get an NI number.. so my interview is on the 29th, and my registration will be sent in that day.. takes about a month to process... so I should be officially a registered UK teacher by the end of April! Woohoo!!! The one thing I think is funny about registering as a teacher is that they only require to see your passport/visa... they don't even ask to see your license! So I guess any Joe Schmoe could say he has a license from somewhere else and he can register as a teacher! Oh... only in the UK....
So me being me.. I still submitted my application to the school after explaining my situation, and I had a meeting with the head teacher (principal) and the other applicants today to get a tour of the school. It was very eye opening to witness the differences between this school and our schools in America... And I shall try to explain as follows:
- They do all year school here.. there are 3 terms each lasting approximately 3 months, with a month break in between terms and a week off for half term (like a spring break).
- The primary schools are VERY small.. each only having one classroom per grade level with approximately 30 students in a classroom. (This could be different in other areas in the country.. but that's how it is here..) Each classroom also has a full time teachers aide for just that classroom which is a huge plus!
- The classroom teacher is in charge of ALL subjects.. including, but not limited to Art, Music, PE, Non-denominational religion, Technology, Sex Education (even in primary....), Health, and British History, along with all of your typical subjects.
- They have an hour off for lunch, in which parents may pick up their students to take them home for the hour...
- The school day begins at 9:15 and ends at 3:30
- Since you are in charge of your own specials, you may be wondering when the teacher gets plan time, well that would be when the principal takes over your class for you.......
- The interview process is an all day affair, first you have a formal interview with the board of governors, then they take you on a tour of the school, you have a buffet lunch, and then you are handed an envelope with a lesson that you must present to a group of students with the board of governors watching.... with no prep time at all..... (That part terrifies me.. not because I'm not good at coming up with stuff last minute... I consider myself a pro at that one... it's the fact that I'm terrified I'm going to get a subject that I know nothing about such as.. say.. British history......)
So with that, all I ask is for some prayers that I find the right school for me, because I really do miss teaching!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
What?! The British actually TRUST their people????!!!!!
So I've decided to do a take a new approach to this blog... Since I talk to most of you enough for you to know all of the big events taking place, I have decided to not only include those large events in this blog, but the small and every day ones as well... I have finally come to realize that it's not all those adventures I get to go on BECAUSE I live in England that make this time exciting.. Just living abroad is an adventure all on it's own! Heck.. I still have to remind myself about every other day that I really am living in England and not some place in the States that just happens to be heavily populated with British people!
I'm only going to assume that most of my dear readers have never lived abroad, so I'm going to let you in on what life is like... As with everything.. there are pros and cons to it all.. I'm not going to do this as one long post, just whenever I come to realize a difference.. I'll let you in on it!
But before I can begin that.. we have one event I want to talk about... Everett's Birthday!!!! Since March 1st has come and gone, I hope you guys got the chance to wish him a happy birthday in the various forms available... and if not, then I can tell him for you! From what I can tell it was a good birthday for him.. he certainly was busy!! He of course had to work, which was a bummer, but he picked me up on his lunch break so that I could get some things done on base during the second half of the day.. One which included actually buying him a birthday present... I'm terrible at keeping secrets from him so it's safer to have little amount of time between the purchase of a gift and the giving of a gift! As soon as I picked him up from the class he had to teach, we zipped over to RAF Lakenheath (where I got to watch a few F-15s take off which is always a good time) to go to the grocery store to pick up some essentials I didn't have to make his "cake". Then it was time to go home where I prepared some Chicken Parmesan (he is on a chicken and salad only diet until his PT test later this month..) and a cherry cheesecake. He had to quickly eat dinner before running off to his basketball game, which they lost : ( By the time he got home, all we had time to do was blow out the candles, open presents, and eat cheesecake before going to bed! He refused to allow me to put 27 candles into his cheesecake, so I made him compromise with a 2 and 7 candle.. which of course didn't actually stay in the cake.. So he had to hold them up while holding the cake up for the picture... Fire hazard?? Nah.... I made sure to give him as many spankings as I could get in for the day.. but I believe my count was only up to about 12... Overall a good but busy day!!
Ok... back to life in England...
I reserved a copy of the 7th Harry Potter book at the Newmarket Library.. and have been waiting a few days to go get it since I have been without a car.. I decided that through hell and high water I was going to get this book today because I have been so excited to read it, so I made the 3 mile roundtrip journey to downtown Newmarket and back to get it. This 45 minute walk gave me WAAAAYYYYY too much thinking time, so now I get to share with you what I thought about/experienced..
When borrowing books from a library in the states, it always requires a short visit with a librarian in order to check out books especially if you have reserved one. So, when walking into a library in England, who do I head straight for? Yes.. you guessed correct... the librarian... well... I guess that was my first mistake...
While waiting in line for the librarian to become available, I noticed a sign that said "Checkpoint for reservations" over two computers... Right as I noticed the sign, the librarian asked me what I needed, so I confirmed that I was supposed to be over by the sign... she said yes.... that all reservations were on the shelf in order by surname... STILL thinking I had to have some sort of permission to get my book off a reservation shelf, I go to the computer, scan my library card, and sure enough... It tells me my reservation is there.. to go pick it up... I hesitantly walked over to the shelf, feeling extremely guilty for getting into the reservation shelf, grab my book, then wonder what the heck I do next!! So I sit there and watch a man who just grabbed a book as well to see what he did. He walked up to those computers, scanned his card, scanned his book, and walked out the door... So.. I gave it a try.. scanned my card, scanned my book, printed out a receipt for good measure.. then looked around for someone to give me an OK that I could go... After a few seconds, I realized this wasn't going to happen, so I sneakily left... still uncertain about whether or not I had just stolen a library book...
Now most of you are probably thinking "Cool! A 'self checkout' at the library.. sounds convenient!!" But that's not what I thought.... I was thinking... Why would they do that at the library?? People could steal books and they would never know!! But then I have to take a step back and realize... this is England.. where people are held accountable for their own actions, and 95% are responsible for themselves.... Let's think about America... is there probably a reason why we don't have a self checkout at the library?? Could it be because most Americans aren't even responsible enough to borrow from the library and actually return their books?! Not to go on a rant against Americans.. I just think it's sad that we aren't raised to be more responsible! Although I'm sure everyone reading this does not apply.... : )
And this isn't the only time I have witnessed how the British allow their citizens to be held accountable for their actions, or just trust each other.. Here are a few other examples:
Well.. Before I get onto something else, I guess I better get off this!! Until next time!!
I'm only going to assume that most of my dear readers have never lived abroad, so I'm going to let you in on what life is like... As with everything.. there are pros and cons to it all.. I'm not going to do this as one long post, just whenever I come to realize a difference.. I'll let you in on it!
But before I can begin that.. we have one event I want to talk about... Everett's Birthday!!!! Since March 1st has come and gone, I hope you guys got the chance to wish him a happy birthday in the various forms available... and if not, then I can tell him for you! From what I can tell it was a good birthday for him.. he certainly was busy!! He of course had to work, which was a bummer, but he picked me up on his lunch break so that I could get some things done on base during the second half of the day.. One which included actually buying him a birthday present... I'm terrible at keeping secrets from him so it's safer to have little amount of time between the purchase of a gift and the giving of a gift! As soon as I picked him up from the class he had to teach, we zipped over to RAF Lakenheath (where I got to watch a few F-15s take off which is always a good time) to go to the grocery store to pick up some essentials I didn't have to make his "cake". Then it was time to go home where I prepared some Chicken Parmesan (he is on a chicken and salad only diet until his PT test later this month..) and a cherry cheesecake. He had to quickly eat dinner before running off to his basketball game, which they lost : ( By the time he got home, all we had time to do was blow out the candles, open presents, and eat cheesecake before going to bed! He refused to allow me to put 27 candles into his cheesecake, so I made him compromise with a 2 and 7 candle.. which of course didn't actually stay in the cake.. So he had to hold them up while holding the cake up for the picture... Fire hazard?? Nah.... I made sure to give him as many spankings as I could get in for the day.. but I believe my count was only up to about 12... Overall a good but busy day!!
Ok... back to life in England...
I reserved a copy of the 7th Harry Potter book at the Newmarket Library.. and have been waiting a few days to go get it since I have been without a car.. I decided that through hell and high water I was going to get this book today because I have been so excited to read it, so I made the 3 mile roundtrip journey to downtown Newmarket and back to get it. This 45 minute walk gave me WAAAAYYYYY too much thinking time, so now I get to share with you what I thought about/experienced..
When borrowing books from a library in the states, it always requires a short visit with a librarian in order to check out books especially if you have reserved one. So, when walking into a library in England, who do I head straight for? Yes.. you guessed correct... the librarian... well... I guess that was my first mistake...
While waiting in line for the librarian to become available, I noticed a sign that said "Checkpoint for reservations" over two computers... Right as I noticed the sign, the librarian asked me what I needed, so I confirmed that I was supposed to be over by the sign... she said yes.... that all reservations were on the shelf in order by surname... STILL thinking I had to have some sort of permission to get my book off a reservation shelf, I go to the computer, scan my library card, and sure enough... It tells me my reservation is there.. to go pick it up... I hesitantly walked over to the shelf, feeling extremely guilty for getting into the reservation shelf, grab my book, then wonder what the heck I do next!! So I sit there and watch a man who just grabbed a book as well to see what he did. He walked up to those computers, scanned his card, scanned his book, and walked out the door... So.. I gave it a try.. scanned my card, scanned my book, printed out a receipt for good measure.. then looked around for someone to give me an OK that I could go... After a few seconds, I realized this wasn't going to happen, so I sneakily left... still uncertain about whether or not I had just stolen a library book...
Now most of you are probably thinking "Cool! A 'self checkout' at the library.. sounds convenient!!" But that's not what I thought.... I was thinking... Why would they do that at the library?? People could steal books and they would never know!! But then I have to take a step back and realize... this is England.. where people are held accountable for their own actions, and 95% are responsible for themselves.... Let's think about America... is there probably a reason why we don't have a self checkout at the library?? Could it be because most Americans aren't even responsible enough to borrow from the library and actually return their books?! Not to go on a rant against Americans.. I just think it's sad that we aren't raised to be more responsible! Although I'm sure everyone reading this does not apply.... : )
And this isn't the only time I have witnessed how the British allow their citizens to be held accountable for their actions, or just trust each other.. Here are a few other examples:
- While waiting in the long line for the librarian, the young man in front of me who was probably my age or a few years younger was returning a late book. He told the lady that he knew it was late, but didn't have any money on him to pay the fee. Would there be any way he could come back tomorrow with the money? She said of course, and he was off without any other questions... Come to find out he only owed 12 pence which isn't even a quarter, and if I had change on me I would have paid it for him! But the fact that she had no problem letting him leave, no condescending look or rude tone of voice... I just thought it was nice!
- On the roads here they have speed cameras placed randomly. Instead of having cops hid out on the road to speed trap people, they use these. The cameras measure how fast you are going based on the time it takes you to cross these little lines in the road. If you are going too fast, it takes a picture of your license plate and you get a ticket in the mail... Much similar to the Running a Red Light cameras they have been putting up in the States. The best part about these speed cameras, is that there are SIGNS telling you when you are about to get to one... They give you all the warning in the world to slow down! So, if you don't, it really is your fault and you do deserve the ticket! I just think it's such a nicer thing that sneaky cops wanting to catch you doing bad... Once again.. they are giving their citizen's a chance to be held accountable for their own actions..
Well.. Before I get onto something else, I guess I better get off this!! Until next time!!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Super Blog: Our First British Winter
Sorry.. no clever title to this one.. it's ALLLLL business!! I have been meaning to blog since.. ummm... well the middle of December, but with the holidays and our cruise.. time just went by too fast!! Then after it died down, I was so overwhelmed that I have just been putting it off! No excuse... I know...... Instead of doing a million singular blogs, I'm just going to do one big super blog.. subtitles included!! Here goes nothing!
Christmas
As many of you know, I was a little bummed about being away for my very first Christmas, so we decided to cheer ourselves up by making it an exciting one! On Christmas Eve morning, we woke up bright and early, and headed for the closest Tube station. We began our hour long journey into the center of London, and went to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It is basically a Christmas themed carnival/Renaissance festival.. some of my very favorite things! We started off the day with the hard work: Ice skating!
After we worked our behinds off at ice skating, it was time to explore the Christmas markets there and EAT!! The markets were filled with all sorts of interesting things... from fake snow to wooden ties! Everett decided he couldn't resist the opportunity to purchase a wooden tie.. here he is modeling it for you--------------------->
I decided I didn't need any of the goods they had available.. instead I went straight for the food! I had a Christmas tree shaped waffle.. it was very very delicious!
After we had all our fun at Winter Wonderland, we headed off to go to Christmas Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral. We arrived over an hour early in hopes of getting a seat inside, but as soon as we walked up and joined the queue we were informed that all of the seats inside had been filled.. However, in the square next to the church they had a large screen in which they were broadcasting the Mass. By the time Mass started, the square was filled with tons of people, which was nice because then we kept warm! It was a carol Mass, and my first experience with the Anglican church, and here is how I interpreted it: Sing a carol, an important person says a reading, rinse and repeat oh about 10 times.. Then the Arch Bishop of London says a few words and Mass is over! The choir was an all boys choir which I have never seen before in person, so that was really cool... They were extremely talented, and we got to see them as they paraded out front after the Mass. I didn't know many of the carols, but the ones I did know I was sure to sing!
After the Mass was over, our friends Jonathan and Ashley Taylor met up with us for some touring and dinner. We first headed to Trafalgar Square to see this big Christmas tree that is said to rival the one in NYC.. Well it was only decorated in white lights, so in my opinion... not as great! We also went and looked at some of the streets that were supposed to be heavily decorated, but once again we were disappointed. Cold, tired, and hungry, we headed off to our dinner reservations at the only restaurant in the city of London that seemed to be open... and I tell you what.. It was definitely no substitute for Grandma Gerstenkorn's Christmas Eve meal, but it was really really delicious! After dinner, Ashley and I were presented with roses from the owner, and we once again headed off to Winter Wonderland so that Ashley and Jonathan could see what it was all about. After a quick walk through, we decided to go visit Kensington Palace, which is also in Hyde Park... but after walking around 3 of the 4 corners of Hyde Park (no easy feat considering the size of Hyde Park) without finding it, we gave up and found the closest Tube station back to our cars... Ashley and Jonathan looked it up the next day and found out that if we would have walked in the opposite direction to begin with.. we would have walked right into it.. WHOOPS!!
On our way home, around midnight, when I should have been enjoying Grandpa and Grandpa Cooley's company, our luck had apparently run its course for the day as Everett noticed some sparks flying up in the rear view mirror. Fortunately, the Taylors were following us and pulled up behind us. Using their headlights, because we didn't have a flashlight and the high ways here are very poorly lit.. and by poorly lit I mean not lit at all, Everett discovered that our muffler had fallen down from its correct position. Unfortunately, the only tools in the car we had to fix it were a screwdriver and a paperclip. After about 15 minutes, Everett successfully Macgyvered it and we were on our way home to get a good night's rest before our busy Christmas day!
We woke up around noon on Christmas day.. yes the perks of being without children and opened our presents shortly after. I had gotten the dogs some treat filled stockings, and being the crazy dog lady that I am, I made my dogs run down the stairs towards the Christmas tree for a photo op... After 20 attempts I finally got a decent shot.. and they got their treats! Everett and I were very excited about all of our presents, but we didn't get a chance to play with them before we had to be over at Everett's coworkers house for Christmas lunch!
We were joined there with about 10 other coworkers and spouses, enjoyed some really really delicious food, although it wasn't the same as being at Grandma and Grandpa Slusser's house!! We did a gift exchange, we got some really cool presents, and then Everett settled down to a 3 hour long game of Monopoly. This being my least favorite game in all the world, I was not too excited about that. I was really ready to go home to enjoy my Christmas presents!! On our way home, the Taylor's invited us over to their house to end the night with a bit of drinking. My only request was that I could bring over my Christmas presents so I could enjoy them! They agreed, which turned the night into one large dance/karoke party... It was a LOT of fun!
Overall, we had a great first Christmas together. Although I was sad not to be home doing our normal Christmas traditions, it was still a good Christmas!!
To see the entire album of our Christmas, please go here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2540891&id=16800957&l=2a2d54e602
New Year's 2011
New Year's this year was a bit of a mixed up mess. We really wanted to go do it big in a really cool location, but planning that only a few days in advance was not such a great idea. In the end, we just decided to do a party at our house, and then go to a club on High Street to ring it in. This plan was further complicated when Everett got called to go fly, and as typical Air Force business goes, his plane broke and he was delayed with a possibility of not being home on New Year's Eve. But, the Air Force came through for once and he landed at about 6pm, when our guests were scheduled to arrive around 8.
As hectic as it was, we still had a lot of fun, although pretty uneventful!
Our Cruise/Quick Visit Home
Only a few days after New Years, we were scheduled to come home for our cruise!! We decided to take the military route home in order to save some money, but that ended up being yet another fiasco! Normally, there is a direct plane going from our base to the base in Wichita once a week. However, due to wintry weather conditions, this plane did not come to England, and went to Spain instead. So with no other choice, we decided to take a hop over to the base in Germany and see if we could get a flight into the US from there. Little did we know, our flight from England to Germany would be the last of our luck for the ENTIRE trip!
We wanted to get into Wichita a few days early so we could spend some time with the family. This, however, did not occur because of the huge mess that is Ramstein AFB in Germany. We arrived at approximately 8am on Tuesday morning, thinking we were definitely early enough to catch any flight back to the US no matter where it went. We had done a little research on where it would be easiest and cheapest to get to Wichita from, but beggers can't be choosers so we were open to anything. However, we decided that we would ask anyway if we could get onto this flight going to Balitmore. Since it was flying into an actual airport instead of a base, we could just hop onto the next flight to Wichita once we got there, instead of having to rent a car or taxi to take us from a base to an airport.
Well.... Things apparently don't work that way at Ramstein...... Since most of you are not in the military, you most likely have never flown Space A before, so let me explain how it works before I move on in my story. First, you have to put your name on a list saying you want a seat (or two in our case)... check.... Next, you have to show up and once again, your name is put on a list... check... While you are putting your name on the list, generally you tell them which aircraft heading towards a specific base you want to be on (for example, if I want to come back home I would tell them I want the McConnell jet)..... well in this case... no check.... but in general, you get the plane you want, they figure out priority, such as rank and importance, then you get notified that you are on the plane.. or not...
Back to the story, we got in line to tell them we were here, and that we wanted the flight to Baltimore. At that point they pretty much laughed in our faces and said that we don't get to chose which airplane we get to take back into the states, we just get to chose to GO to the states. Our name gets put on this super long list, it was long because of the wintry weather mentioned before, and once an aircraft for the states is ready to board, they take the first however many seats are available off the list. If your name gets called.. you're in.. if it doesn't.. you wait for the next plane... Great...........
So since we were approximately 100 people down on the list, we knew it could be a while. The first gets called.. 40 seats going to McGuire in New Jersey... Our name doesn't get called... Second plane gets called.. 40 seats going to Baltimore (the jet we wanted on)... Our name doesn't get called.... then, by a stroke of luck... a bunch of people hadn't shown up so they were calling additional names... 10 names go by.... then 5 more... we knew at this point we were getting close! It was announced that there were 2 seats left, and only 3 more names needed to be called before it was our turn! Two names were called... and then it was announced that there was only one seat left, so at this point we knew we weren't going to be on that jet.
Our hearts sank a little, but now we were at the top of the list, with 3 more flights leaving that day.. One to Charleston, one to New Jersey, and one to Travis AFB in California. Sure enough, we were one of the first people called for the Charleston flight. We got our tickets, and went over and checked our bags. (For a time check, this was about 3pm.) About an hour later, we were called down to come get our bags back because the flight was being canceled. Not to worry though, there were still those other two flights! So New Jersey was next, we got called, checked our bags, and went over to the Mall to get some food as it was about 5pm now.
By the time we made it back over to the terminal, our newly found friends let us know that our flight was delayed due to maintenance issues. 30 minutes later, it was announced that the flight would be delayed until the next day. Since there was still a chance at the California flight, we marched over to the bag check and asked for our bags back. We canceled our tickets, and waited for the California flight to be announced. Sure enough, we were on the plane, checked our bags, and did some more waiting (8pm)... About 2 hours later, it was announced that we were delayed once again, and didn't need to show back up until 3am. At this point, we got our bags back from the bag check (3rd time in one day), and headed for the hotel. After a few hours of sleep, we made our way back to the terminal for day 2. Our flight was still scheduled to go, so we checked our bags, and headed to some chairs for a little nap. Apparently we slept through our boarding call because it was announced that the Marshall's needed to make their way to Gate 2... We hurried off, making our way through security and immigration, and onto the plane. It was 5am, take off was supposed to be at 6am... We spread out on the plane, waiting for take off... and waiting.... and waiting... and waiting.... we did not end up taking off until 8am.. so yes.. for exactly 24 hours we were stuck at the Ramstein AFB terminal......
The good thing was that we did actually take off, and about 2 hours into the flight they announced that we were no longer gong to California, but instead we would be landing in Dover, Delaware... Awesome, thought Everett and I, they are dropping us off in the only state that does NOT have an airport..... wonderful! So, once we landed, we got a rental car, traveled an hour to get the the Philadelphia airport, went straight to the ticket counter and asked for the first plane leaving to Wichita (I totally felt like I was on the Amazing Race). We knew there was one leaving in 35 minutes and asked if there was any way we could get on it. Sure enough he got us on it, we rushed through security, and made it to the gate just as they were finishing boarding.
From there, we had a pretty smooth flight, nice little 45 minute lay over in Atlanta, and we arrive in Wichita around 11pm. Almost exactly 48 hours after we left England.... What a journey that was.... UGH!!!!
Since it was 11pm on Wednesday when we landed, and we were planning on leaving Thursday afternoon, we did not get to see ANYONE in Wichita.... I was super bummed, but figured we would catch them on our way back. We had a great time in Texas. We got to visit both of Everett's Grandmas, most of his family, and of course we got to see Zach for a little bit!
Sunday morning bright and early, we left the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to make our way to Galveston for our cruise. We had our friends Charlie and Bethany with us who were going on the cruise too! Since we got there a little early, we decided to check out the NASA area, although there wasn't much to see. So we headed further down and dropped Charlie and Bethany off at the port so they could check in early while we met up with Grandpa and Grandpa Slusser, Rita and Jim, and Renae and Jacquelyn at the hotel to park the car. I was really excited to see all of them, and shortly after we got there, it was our turn to get on the shuttle to get to the port!
We made our way through the line, we were some of the last passengers there. Unfortunately, halfway through the line we spotted Charlie and Bethany being pulled off to the side. Apparently they did not accept Bethany's birth certificate, so they were waiting for her Mom to find the correct one and fax it in. So we kept on going, got checked in, took our picture, and made our way on to the boat. About an hour later, we found out that since they couldn't find Bethany's birth certificate, they would not be allowed on the boat. We were really bummed since we were looking forward to spending time with them... plus Charlie had plans to propose during the cruise.. it was a real let down : (
Cruise Day 1: We left the port, had a really great dinner, and began our Cruise Bingo game! Socks with sandals? Check! Speedo? Check! Home grown sweater? Check check!!
Cruise Day 2: We had our first day at sea! The weather was beautiful and the sun was out, so we laid out and got our tans started! We also participated in a few events, Rita even judged the Hairiest Chest competition!!
Cruise Day 3: Our second day at sea, laying out and getting a tan! Once more we participated in the ship events... Failed miserably at the photo scavenger hunt and I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in ice cream!!
Cruise Day 4: Our first port... Jamaica!! Jim, Renae, Jacquelyn, Everett, and I participated in some zip lining through the forests! The guides taught us a little Jamaican... in which I practiced on the other guides. At one point, after saying "What's Up?" (in jamaican of course) to one of the guides, he shouted out, "Oh my gosh... we have J'Americans with us today!!" We had a lot of fun, wish we could have done a few more zip lines, but we thoroughly enjoyed the 4-wheel drive jeep tour on our way to and from some zip lines... The theme.. "Drive it like you stole it!" And they did... Renae almost fell out because of it! Once back at the port, none of us really needed any souvenirs so we made our way back on the ship. Everett and Jim participated in a corn hole competition while us "Gold Card Members" (Renae, Jacquelyn, Gma, Gpa, and I) got to drink as much as we could in an hour at the Past Guest Party... Needless to say we got VERY close to our waitress Sylvia!
Cruise Day 5: We woke up to a VERY rocky boat, and some really terrible rumors that we weren't going to be making it to our next port: Grand Cayman. Since we needed tenders for to get to the port, regardless of the rumors, we made our way to get into line so if we DID get to go, we would be on the first tender out. 10 minutes into waiting, the announcement was made that the waves were too big for the tenders to safely take us to shore, so we would be moving on to our next port early... And we would use this day as our 3rd day at sea. We immediately went back to bed, to sleep in little. To make up for the disappointment, a few members of our party decided that it would be their goal to be drunk by noon... which most of us achieved! We spent the day laying by the pool with no sun : ( and once again participating in ship events. Renae and I accidentally took 2nd place in the corn hole competition! We were pretty excited to receive our medals!
Cruise Day 6: Cozumel-Since we made it to port very early, and our SCUBA diving wasn't until later, we decided to sleep in a bit. Once we woke up and went up for breakfast, we overheard rumors that all water activities were being canceled due to high waves. We went to the guest services desk to check, and sure enough... yet another excursion canceled..... So... once again.. how do we make up for the disappointment?? We drink!!! I personally love Mexico, especially their margaritas, so we headed downtown to find a good restaurant.... and boy did we! We got 2 for $5 margaritas.. and as always they were delicious! After two rounds, Everett, Jacquelyn and I decided to make our way back to the port since there wasn't much we could do downtown.. Once at the port, we decided we weren't done drinking just yet, and got a couple yards at Fat Tuesdays, and as luck would have it Renae, who had spent the day with the rest of our party, found us and began to drink with us too! A few yards later we were feeling REEEEEAAAALLLLYYY good and it was time to get back on the ship! We got to watch the sunset from the pier and that was about the end of our day considering we all took a very long nap once we were back in our cabins!
Cruise Day 7: Our 4th fun day at sea, we decided to end the trip with a bang and participate and medal in every competition we could.. including the build a boat competition in which Renae and Everett were the only two competitors they had.... in the last few months!! By the end of the day, as a group, we had won 10 medals, 7 ships, and 1 bottle of champagne. What a success!!
Cruise Day 8: Back at port in Galveston! We were pretty ready to get off the boat considering it had been an EXTREMELY rocky ride since day 4. After waiting over an hour for our shuttle to pick us up, we met Charlie and Bethany back at the hotel where they announced that they had gotten engaged!!! We were so excited for them, and happy they made the best of their failed trip by spending some quality time in the Houston area. We drove straight home that day.. and ended up getting back at the house around 1 or 2 in the morning.
As much as I tried to talk Everett into letting me stay an extra week to see everyone, he reminded me that I had left the paperwork necessary for me to travel by myself back home in England, so there was no way. All I had was Monday to see as many people as I could.. Of course.. Grandparents were of highest importance, so they were the only ones I got to see... besides Kelly, Ben, Paige, and Kate who made a surprise appearance at the house! I was so happy I got to see them, since I probably won't see Kate again until after she is 1!!
After a busy Monday, Tuesday rolled around and it was time go to McConnell to get on our jet back to England... After another 7-8 hour wait in the terminal there due to maintenance issues... we took off and made it home early Wednesday morning! Although it wasn't the trip we were hoping for, we were glad we got a little bit of a vacation!!
To see all of our cruise pictures, please click here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2550750&id=16800957&l=b76dd0a4e2
February
In late January, we celebrated the puppies' very first half birthday, and our 6 month wedding anniversary... As always, time has flown by.. including February!! I can't believe it's almost March!! February has been kind of a lazy month. We have been trying to change our diet around a little bit and working out some more... we are still working on that.. haha!! Also, after a horrific experience in taking the puppies to the vet by myself, we enlisted the help of a trainer to teach them a few things. I have been trying to work on it with them.. Kacee is my smart girl, very quick learner!! And Dallas... well... as the trainer put it, he's my "special" child... Haha!! He tries hard, but has more brawn than brain!! And boy... are they GROWING!! Dallas is quickly approaching 80 pounds, while Kacee is trailing behind at about 60 pounds.
Click here to see updated pictures of the puppies:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2526367&id=16800957&l=0ba088e7cf
Everett has been flying a lot this month. He switched jobs at work so he is no longer at a desk job. This allows him to fly more often.. usually at least 3 times a week! He has been out of town the last two weekends doing different missions.. I sure do miss him!! Especially since he will be leaving soon to spend almost two months in Spain for work... the only good news on that is that I get to visit him!!! Kind of like Iceland!! When he's not flying, he has been playing on a tackle football team here called the Cambridgeshire Cats. Their games start this spring and they will be playing all over England! I'm excited to get to watch him out on the field!!
As for me, I have been my good ol' procrastinating self... Two of my good friends and I have joined the Newmarket Leisure Center (the gym) and have been swimming 3 mornings a week... and by mornings I mean 7am.... VERY early for me!! It has been a great way for me to get in shape, and I have been improving every week!! The first day I swam only 6 laps in 30 minutes. Now I am up to almost 20 in 30 mins!! I also received my military passport while we were on our cruise, and as soon as we got back I applied for my Visa. I should be getting it back this next week so I can start looking for a job finally!!! I will keep you updated on that one!
Valentine's Day wasn't much for us! Everett was in Germany, and didn't get home until 11pm that day. He woke me up when he got home by stuffing the flowers he bought me in my face... Thanks honey....... We didn't really do much celebrating.. I just cooked him a really yummy dinner the next day! Good enough for us, especially since our birthdays are quickly approaching!!!
Whew.... I think I'm done!! All caught up!! I will TRY not to put these off any more!
Miss you and love ALL of you!!
Christmas
As many of you know, I was a little bummed about being away for my very first Christmas, so we decided to cheer ourselves up by making it an exciting one! On Christmas Eve morning, we woke up bright and early, and headed for the closest Tube station. We began our hour long journey into the center of London, and went to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It is basically a Christmas themed carnival/Renaissance festival.. some of my very favorite things! We started off the day with the hard work: Ice skating!
After we worked our behinds off at ice skating, it was time to explore the Christmas markets there and EAT!! The markets were filled with all sorts of interesting things... from fake snow to wooden ties! Everett decided he couldn't resist the opportunity to purchase a wooden tie.. here he is modeling it for you--------------------->
I decided I didn't need any of the goods they had available.. instead I went straight for the food! I had a Christmas tree shaped waffle.. it was very very delicious! 
After we had all our fun at Winter Wonderland, we headed off to go to Christmas Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral. We arrived over an hour early in hopes of getting a seat inside, but as soon as we walked up and joined the queue we were informed that all of the seats inside had been filled.. However, in the square next to the church they had a large screen in which they were broadcasting the Mass. By the time Mass started, the square was filled with tons of people, which was nice because then we kept warm! It was a carol Mass, and my first experience with the Anglican church, and here is how I interpreted it: Sing a carol, an important person says a reading, rinse and repeat oh about 10 times.. Then the Arch Bishop of London says a few words and Mass is over! The choir was an all boys choir which I have never seen before in person, so that was really cool... They were extremely talented, and we got to see them as they paraded out front after the Mass. I didn't know many of the carols, but the ones I did know I was sure to sing! |
| Trafalgar Square at night |
On our way home, around midnight, when I should have been enjoying Grandpa and Grandpa Cooley's company, our luck had apparently run its course for the day as Everett noticed some sparks flying up in the rear view mirror. Fortunately, the Taylors were following us and pulled up behind us. Using their headlights, because we didn't have a flashlight and the high ways here are very poorly lit.. and by poorly lit I mean not lit at all, Everett discovered that our muffler had fallen down from its correct position. Unfortunately, the only tools in the car we had to fix it were a screwdriver and a paperclip. After about 15 minutes, Everett successfully Macgyvered it and we were on our way home to get a good night's rest before our busy Christmas day!
We were joined there with about 10 other coworkers and spouses, enjoyed some really really delicious food, although it wasn't the same as being at Grandma and Grandpa Slusser's house!! We did a gift exchange, we got some really cool presents, and then Everett settled down to a 3 hour long game of Monopoly. This being my least favorite game in all the world, I was not too excited about that. I was really ready to go home to enjoy my Christmas presents!! On our way home, the Taylor's invited us over to their house to end the night with a bit of drinking. My only request was that I could bring over my Christmas presents so I could enjoy them! They agreed, which turned the night into one large dance/karoke party... It was a LOT of fun!
Overall, we had a great first Christmas together. Although I was sad not to be home doing our normal Christmas traditions, it was still a good Christmas!!
To see the entire album of our Christmas, please go here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2540891&id=16800957&l=2a2d54e602
New Year's 2011
New Year's this year was a bit of a mixed up mess. We really wanted to go do it big in a really cool location, but planning that only a few days in advance was not such a great idea. In the end, we just decided to do a party at our house, and then go to a club on High Street to ring it in. This plan was further complicated when Everett got called to go fly, and as typical Air Force business goes, his plane broke and he was delayed with a possibility of not being home on New Year's Eve. But, the Air Force came through for once and he landed at about 6pm, when our guests were scheduled to arrive around 8.
As hectic as it was, we still had a lot of fun, although pretty uneventful!
Our Cruise/Quick Visit Home
Only a few days after New Years, we were scheduled to come home for our cruise!! We decided to take the military route home in order to save some money, but that ended up being yet another fiasco! Normally, there is a direct plane going from our base to the base in Wichita once a week. However, due to wintry weather conditions, this plane did not come to England, and went to Spain instead. So with no other choice, we decided to take a hop over to the base in Germany and see if we could get a flight into the US from there. Little did we know, our flight from England to Germany would be the last of our luck for the ENTIRE trip!
We wanted to get into Wichita a few days early so we could spend some time with the family. This, however, did not occur because of the huge mess that is Ramstein AFB in Germany. We arrived at approximately 8am on Tuesday morning, thinking we were definitely early enough to catch any flight back to the US no matter where it went. We had done a little research on where it would be easiest and cheapest to get to Wichita from, but beggers can't be choosers so we were open to anything. However, we decided that we would ask anyway if we could get onto this flight going to Balitmore. Since it was flying into an actual airport instead of a base, we could just hop onto the next flight to Wichita once we got there, instead of having to rent a car or taxi to take us from a base to an airport.
Well.... Things apparently don't work that way at Ramstein...... Since most of you are not in the military, you most likely have never flown Space A before, so let me explain how it works before I move on in my story. First, you have to put your name on a list saying you want a seat (or two in our case)... check.... Next, you have to show up and once again, your name is put on a list... check... While you are putting your name on the list, generally you tell them which aircraft heading towards a specific base you want to be on (for example, if I want to come back home I would tell them I want the McConnell jet)..... well in this case... no check.... but in general, you get the plane you want, they figure out priority, such as rank and importance, then you get notified that you are on the plane.. or not...
Back to the story, we got in line to tell them we were here, and that we wanted the flight to Baltimore. At that point they pretty much laughed in our faces and said that we don't get to chose which airplane we get to take back into the states, we just get to chose to GO to the states. Our name gets put on this super long list, it was long because of the wintry weather mentioned before, and once an aircraft for the states is ready to board, they take the first however many seats are available off the list. If your name gets called.. you're in.. if it doesn't.. you wait for the next plane... Great...........
So since we were approximately 100 people down on the list, we knew it could be a while. The first gets called.. 40 seats going to McGuire in New Jersey... Our name doesn't get called... Second plane gets called.. 40 seats going to Baltimore (the jet we wanted on)... Our name doesn't get called.... then, by a stroke of luck... a bunch of people hadn't shown up so they were calling additional names... 10 names go by.... then 5 more... we knew at this point we were getting close! It was announced that there were 2 seats left, and only 3 more names needed to be called before it was our turn! Two names were called... and then it was announced that there was only one seat left, so at this point we knew we weren't going to be on that jet.
Our hearts sank a little, but now we were at the top of the list, with 3 more flights leaving that day.. One to Charleston, one to New Jersey, and one to Travis AFB in California. Sure enough, we were one of the first people called for the Charleston flight. We got our tickets, and went over and checked our bags. (For a time check, this was about 3pm.) About an hour later, we were called down to come get our bags back because the flight was being canceled. Not to worry though, there were still those other two flights! So New Jersey was next, we got called, checked our bags, and went over to the Mall to get some food as it was about 5pm now.
By the time we made it back over to the terminal, our newly found friends let us know that our flight was delayed due to maintenance issues. 30 minutes later, it was announced that the flight would be delayed until the next day. Since there was still a chance at the California flight, we marched over to the bag check and asked for our bags back. We canceled our tickets, and waited for the California flight to be announced. Sure enough, we were on the plane, checked our bags, and did some more waiting (8pm)... About 2 hours later, it was announced that we were delayed once again, and didn't need to show back up until 3am. At this point, we got our bags back from the bag check (3rd time in one day), and headed for the hotel. After a few hours of sleep, we made our way back to the terminal for day 2. Our flight was still scheduled to go, so we checked our bags, and headed to some chairs for a little nap. Apparently we slept through our boarding call because it was announced that the Marshall's needed to make their way to Gate 2... We hurried off, making our way through security and immigration, and onto the plane. It was 5am, take off was supposed to be at 6am... We spread out on the plane, waiting for take off... and waiting.... and waiting... and waiting.... we did not end up taking off until 8am.. so yes.. for exactly 24 hours we were stuck at the Ramstein AFB terminal......
The good thing was that we did actually take off, and about 2 hours into the flight they announced that we were no longer gong to California, but instead we would be landing in Dover, Delaware... Awesome, thought Everett and I, they are dropping us off in the only state that does NOT have an airport..... wonderful! So, once we landed, we got a rental car, traveled an hour to get the the Philadelphia airport, went straight to the ticket counter and asked for the first plane leaving to Wichita (I totally felt like I was on the Amazing Race). We knew there was one leaving in 35 minutes and asked if there was any way we could get on it. Sure enough he got us on it, we rushed through security, and made it to the gate just as they were finishing boarding.
From there, we had a pretty smooth flight, nice little 45 minute lay over in Atlanta, and we arrive in Wichita around 11pm. Almost exactly 48 hours after we left England.... What a journey that was.... UGH!!!!
Since it was 11pm on Wednesday when we landed, and we were planning on leaving Thursday afternoon, we did not get to see ANYONE in Wichita.... I was super bummed, but figured we would catch them on our way back. We had a great time in Texas. We got to visit both of Everett's Grandmas, most of his family, and of course we got to see Zach for a little bit!
Sunday morning bright and early, we left the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to make our way to Galveston for our cruise. We had our friends Charlie and Bethany with us who were going on the cruise too! Since we got there a little early, we decided to check out the NASA area, although there wasn't much to see. So we headed further down and dropped Charlie and Bethany off at the port so they could check in early while we met up with Grandpa and Grandpa Slusser, Rita and Jim, and Renae and Jacquelyn at the hotel to park the car. I was really excited to see all of them, and shortly after we got there, it was our turn to get on the shuttle to get to the port!
We made our way through the line, we were some of the last passengers there. Unfortunately, halfway through the line we spotted Charlie and Bethany being pulled off to the side. Apparently they did not accept Bethany's birth certificate, so they were waiting for her Mom to find the correct one and fax it in. So we kept on going, got checked in, took our picture, and made our way on to the boat. About an hour later, we found out that since they couldn't find Bethany's birth certificate, they would not be allowed on the boat. We were really bummed since we were looking forward to spending time with them... plus Charlie had plans to propose during the cruise.. it was a real let down : (
Cruise Day 2: We had our first day at sea! The weather was beautiful and the sun was out, so we laid out and got our tans started! We also participated in a few events, Rita even judged the Hairiest Chest competition!!
Cruise Day 3: Our second day at sea, laying out and getting a tan! Once more we participated in the ship events... Failed miserably at the photo scavenger hunt and I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in ice cream!!
Cruise Day 5: We woke up to a VERY rocky boat, and some really terrible rumors that we weren't going to be making it to our next port: Grand Cayman. Since we needed tenders for to get to the port, regardless of the rumors, we made our way to get into line so if we DID get to go, we would be on the first tender out. 10 minutes into waiting, the announcement was made that the waves were too big for the tenders to safely take us to shore, so we would be moving on to our next port early... And we would use this day as our 3rd day at sea. We immediately went back to bed, to sleep in little. To make up for the disappointment, a few members of our party decided that it would be their goal to be drunk by noon... which most of us achieved! We spent the day laying by the pool with no sun : ( and once again participating in ship events. Renae and I accidentally took 2nd place in the corn hole competition! We were pretty excited to receive our medals!
Cruise Day 8: Back at port in Galveston! We were pretty ready to get off the boat considering it had been an EXTREMELY rocky ride since day 4. After waiting over an hour for our shuttle to pick us up, we met Charlie and Bethany back at the hotel where they announced that they had gotten engaged!!! We were so excited for them, and happy they made the best of their failed trip by spending some quality time in the Houston area. We drove straight home that day.. and ended up getting back at the house around 1 or 2 in the morning.
As much as I tried to talk Everett into letting me stay an extra week to see everyone, he reminded me that I had left the paperwork necessary for me to travel by myself back home in England, so there was no way. All I had was Monday to see as many people as I could.. Of course.. Grandparents were of highest importance, so they were the only ones I got to see... besides Kelly, Ben, Paige, and Kate who made a surprise appearance at the house! I was so happy I got to see them, since I probably won't see Kate again until after she is 1!!
After a busy Monday, Tuesday rolled around and it was time go to McConnell to get on our jet back to England... After another 7-8 hour wait in the terminal there due to maintenance issues... we took off and made it home early Wednesday morning! Although it wasn't the trip we were hoping for, we were glad we got a little bit of a vacation!!
To see all of our cruise pictures, please click here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2550750&id=16800957&l=b76dd0a4e2
February
In late January, we celebrated the puppies' very first half birthday, and our 6 month wedding anniversary... As always, time has flown by.. including February!! I can't believe it's almost March!! February has been kind of a lazy month. We have been trying to change our diet around a little bit and working out some more... we are still working on that.. haha!! Also, after a horrific experience in taking the puppies to the vet by myself, we enlisted the help of a trainer to teach them a few things. I have been trying to work on it with them.. Kacee is my smart girl, very quick learner!! And Dallas... well... as the trainer put it, he's my "special" child... Haha!! He tries hard, but has more brawn than brain!! And boy... are they GROWING!! Dallas is quickly approaching 80 pounds, while Kacee is trailing behind at about 60 pounds.
Click here to see updated pictures of the puppies:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2526367&id=16800957&l=0ba088e7cf
Everett has been flying a lot this month. He switched jobs at work so he is no longer at a desk job. This allows him to fly more often.. usually at least 3 times a week! He has been out of town the last two weekends doing different missions.. I sure do miss him!! Especially since he will be leaving soon to spend almost two months in Spain for work... the only good news on that is that I get to visit him!!! Kind of like Iceland!! When he's not flying, he has been playing on a tackle football team here called the Cambridgeshire Cats. Their games start this spring and they will be playing all over England! I'm excited to get to watch him out on the field!!
As for me, I have been my good ol' procrastinating self... Two of my good friends and I have joined the Newmarket Leisure Center (the gym) and have been swimming 3 mornings a week... and by mornings I mean 7am.... VERY early for me!! It has been a great way for me to get in shape, and I have been improving every week!! The first day I swam only 6 laps in 30 minutes. Now I am up to almost 20 in 30 mins!! I also received my military passport while we were on our cruise, and as soon as we got back I applied for my Visa. I should be getting it back this next week so I can start looking for a job finally!!! I will keep you updated on that one!
Valentine's Day wasn't much for us! Everett was in Germany, and didn't get home until 11pm that day. He woke me up when he got home by stuffing the flowers he bought me in my face... Thanks honey....... We didn't really do much celebrating.. I just cooked him a really yummy dinner the next day! Good enough for us, especially since our birthdays are quickly approaching!!!
Whew.... I think I'm done!! All caught up!! I will TRY not to put these off any more!
Miss you and love ALL of you!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)