Changes... (Cue Tupac song)

WOW... I was doing so good there for a while.. then life hit the fan! : )

So I wanted to share a blog that kind of brings everything in our lives up to date.. Starting with the end of April.. Towards the end of April I began working a bunch again, and we went into full time house hunting mode in preparation for my visit home in May. So those last few weeks of April, first few weeks of May pretty much flew by!

Then on May 14th I was on a plane that was Kansas bound!! I got to spend 2 3 weeks in Kansas (my trip got extended a little due to what we'll just refer to as an over booked flight). While home, I hardly had time for anything but house hunting! It was looking pretty bleak at first... On the first day we went and saw 5 houses... and all I could say was.. eh... They were nice.. just not perfect! I was about ready to give up when we broadened our search a bit and chose our top 10 houses of the 87 new houses our realtor sent us. Of those 10 we I got to go see our most favorite 5. And surprisingly I loved 3 of those 5!! I invited my parents to come along to help with the decision, and we decided to move forward with Everett's favorite. If you go to this website you can read all about our new house and see some pictures: Our New House!! I call these pictures "before" pictures.. because I have LOTS of changes planned!! : )

So with the house found, we started getting paperwork together! And in a few short days we will officially be home owners!! (And I can officially cross one of my 30 before 30's off!!) On a home Everett has never even seen before!! Wow.. he's a trusting guy.. that's why I love him! : )

So, with a job acquired and a place to live under my belt, my only task is to finish packing up and figuring out how to get me and the dogs back to the states! I should be arriving on July 9th via military jet, and the pups should be coming around the 18th, but I'll have to go pick them up in Texas! So that means I only have 2 weeks and 1.5 days left in England.. SAD FACE!!!!!

I have really really enjoyed my time here, seriously one of the best experiences in my life!! Definitely got to check a lot of bucket list items off! I know that many of you are worried about how Everett and I will deal with the distance. Obviously it is not going to be easy, but we already have numerous trips planned back in forth for the year. For example I'm coming back to England for Christmas and next summer, and he's coming back to the states in September, October, and maybe sometime in the spring. I will be extremely busy as a Middle School teacher, and he has been and will be super busy finishing up his degree so he can move forward in his career!!

This next month will be bringing lots of changes for the Marshalls.. some we look forward to, others not so much! I plan to continue this blog sharing experiences I had overseas, including future ones!

XOXO : )

I Will Survive!

At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you down the street, but then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong and I grew strong; I learned how to get along!

Part Three: Surviving without Walmart

So, I'm obviously doing these posts in a very haphazard order... I just post what I'm feeling that day, and today I'm feeling Walmart (not literally, of course). Off subject, you can thank my Mom for the little ditty above, her ability to turn any mundane thing into a song throughout my youth has carried over to me. My students thank her every day I'm sure of it!

Back on subject.. Yes, I have lived the last 2 years without Walmart.. and I LOVED IT!! Do you realize how much extra money is spent in superstores such as that?!?! I didn't until I moved here! We are way old school here in England, like we still have butchers and bakers, and probably candlestick makers... And they all set up shop on High Street. The closest thing they have to Walmart here is called ASDA, and the closest one is about 30 mins away. Too far.

I'm not going to lie, this was one of my biggest fears of moving overseas. Yes, I was afraid of not having a Walmart within 1 mile of my house. Where in the world was I going to buy my shampoo at?! Luckily we do have the BX on base (that's the Base eXchange for all you non mil out there) where I buy most of my household goodies now. But it's just not convenient like Walmart. Because there are 3 bases within about 15 miles of each other over here, our BX is split up between the 3 bases which makes it way inconvenient. On RAF Mildenhall (where Everett works), we have sporting goods, pets, toys, gardening, and tools. On RAF Lakenheath (where I work), we have household goods, clothing, make up, and electronics. On RAF Feltwell, they have furniture. If I wanted pet food, a new desk, and a waffle iron, I'd have to go to THREE stores instead of just one. Oh, and don't even think about buying food there! You have to go to a commissary for that....

Obviously, though, I'm fairing much better than if we were to solely live off the economy (that means buying off base). I don't even know where I would purchase something like a waffle iron at here in England!

I promise I didn't intend for this post to sound like a huge rant. My point was to say, "Yes America, it is possible to live without Walmart!" Second, I'm truly scared of seeing my money saving skills go down the drain once I live closer to a Walmart again. Third, well... I don't have a third reason... Really I'm just bored and procrastinating on studying for an upcoming test...

On a last and final random note, I didn't really think about it until I was discussing this with friends the other day, but whenever us overseas folks go back home and enter a Walmart again for the first time it is extremely overwhelming to us. Because we don't have stores so large over here, it takes us a bit of time to get used to it again. So don't laugh when I'm home next and you take me to Walmart and I cower in the corner with pee dribbling down my leg... Just take my hand and let me know that everything's gonna be alright...

What's up, Your Majesty?!

Part Two: What is the likelihood of meeting royalty?

To give you a picture of your odds of meeting royalty, I will give you a few statistics... According to the 2010 Census, the population of Great Britain (to see what area of land is included refer to Part One) is 62,218,761 (google.com). The number of members of the Royal Family residing in Great Britain are approx. 25 (wikipedia.com). That means you have a .0000004% chance of seeing a Royal. Right? Eh.. whatever I'm not a statistician...

Now we all know that our chances are significantly increased when we attend a function where Royalty will be present. For example, the Queen holds the Royal Ascot races every summer in June and attends all 6 days of the races. She also does a Royal Parade before the races every day, so as long as you are there and paying attention, you will be able to see the Queen!

Picture I took of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Royal Ascot 2011

  I did not get to meet her, but at least I can say that I've seen her!

So let's say for some odd reason, you actually get to meet the Queen... what do you do?!?! Here are a few tips taken from Hello, Your Majesty: Rules for Meeting the Royal Family:

Do rise when the queen walks into the room. The only person who was exempt from this particular rule was the Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002.
Don’t introduce yourself. Wait to be presented by a host or attaché.
Do bow or curtsy if you’re a British subject or a citizen of any part of the Commonwealth. Americans are under no obligation to show deference in this way (since they are not her subjects), but a small nod of the head or curtsy-like motion is still appropriate and appreciated.
Don’t make exaggerated displays of fealty, such as a Japanese-style bow from the waist or a low, sweeping curtsy. A low nod is the proper form for a bow, and a small, dainty curtsy is fine. However, if you happen to be particularly graceful or well-practiced in the art of the curtsy, it’s said that Her Majesty greatly appreciates the gesture.
Do feel free to make eye contact and smile.
Don’t offer your hand to be shaken or touch the queen in any way. Even after a first meeting, it’s a good rule of thumb to never attempt to touch any member of the royal family.
Do take her hand to shake if she offers it.
Don’t grasp tightly or shake vigorously.
Do refer to the queen as “Your Majesty” the first time you address her. After this first time, feel free to address her as “Ma’am.” The queen, since she is the monarch, is the only member of the royal family who should ever be referred to as “Majesty”; anyone else should be called “Your Royal Highness” on first meeting and “Sir” or “Ma’am” on subsequent meetings.
Don’t ever refer to any member of the royal family by his or her first name. Instead, refer to him or her by title. The queen should always be referred to as “Her Majesty,” and other members of the family should be referred to as The Prince of Wales or The Duchess of Cornwall instead of Prince Charles or Lady Camilla.
Do dress appropriately and conservatively to meet the queen. Modest sleeveless dresses are acceptable for ladies; if a woman chooses to wear gloves, it’s not necessary to remove them. It’s also not necessary for men to wear hats, but it is still appropriate. If a hat is worn, it should be removed before being presented to the queen.
Don’t ask the Queen or any member of the royal family any questions about their personal lives, political opinions, or anything even the least bit controversial. If you have even the slightest doubt about whether a question or comment is appropriate, skip it.
Do make polite conversation, following Her Majesty’s lead. Keep conversation general, impersonal, and suited to the occasion. There’s no need to be overly serious or formal, but it’s also not the time to crack jokes.
Don’t address any royal personage as “you.” Refer to whomever you’re speaking to in the third person. Rather than “Are you enjoying the weather?” ask, “Is Your Majesty enjoying the weather?”

If you can't remember what to do, just do what comes naturally... Unless what comes naturally looks something like this:

Amsterdam and My 30 before 30 Page

Amsterdam
Ok, so the last few weeks have been... interesting.. I can't remember if I blogged about Amsterdam yet.. don't think I did, but it was fantastic! So far my favorite CITY in Europe. I feel like that was because I didn't go there with any real expectations on what it should be like, so I didn't set it up for failure! : ) As great as Paris and Rome were (ok Paris wasn't great.. it was yucky..).. I thought they would be these magical places, which they were not! Don't get me wrong, there are magical places INSIDE these cities, but the cities themselves were just.. well.. cities!

Back to Amsterdam... Everett took me as a birthday present and we went with another couple with whom we are great friends, Jonathan and Ashley Taylor!

Ashley and Jonathan Taylor

We didn't really DO much, but we SAW a lot! On the very first day we were there, we got to know just how much walking we would be doing, so on the second day we decided to rent bicycles for the remainder of the trip. At first, Ashley and I thought this idea was completely stupid as we were swerving in and out of traffic, that included large trams that did NOT stop! I, of course, haven't rode a non-stationary bike in about 10 years.. and considering my past track record, which may or may not include running into a parked vehicle, I started off on the bike very, very wobbly! By the second half of the day, I got my confidence and did much better! Although whenever I had to maneuver in tight spaces my wobbliness came back!

Me on the bike in front of our apartment!

Anyway, the bikes ended up being a brilliant idea. They allowed us to get to and from places quickly, which enabled us to see more! The downside was that I was unable to take pictures while riding, but I have a lot of mental images! : ) What we got to do was: go to both the Albert Cuyp market and the Flower market (Bloemenmarkt), the Heineken Brewery Experience, Anne Frank House, and the Red Light District. We didn't really DO the Red Light District, but we definitely spent a few evenings there people watching..

Everett and I in front of a windmill.

We stayed in a really cute apartment in a really nice part of town. Of course I forgot to take pictures of inside the apartment, but just trust me.. it was cute! The canals there were beautiful.. no pictures could ever do it justice! It was just a really great time with really great friends! We did not get to go out to the tulip fields, they were just beginning to bloom, and we were having so much fun in the city that we didn't want to take away our time by finding a way out into the country! I did get to see one little tulip blooming while I was riding my bike and that was enough for me!

Overall, I found Amsterdam to be a very interesting city, with plenty to do, wonderfully kind people who spoke English, beautiful sites to see, and a place I could actually see myself living! I can't say that about any of the larger cities I've visited thus far! If you would like to view more photos of my trip you can do that here!

30 before 30 Page

So I installed a new page to the blog called 30 before 30. It's just a page listing 30 goals I want to accomplish before I turn 30. Now I have 4 years to do this, but as I'm sure you have experienced, 4 years can FLY BY!! Some of the goals are serious, some are silly, but I hope to accomplish all within the next 4 years!

So really... What's the difference?

Sorry my blog has been down for a bit.. I have been trying to decide on whether I will keep it a private blog with invitation only or public. Also, I had a lot on my mind this week, and wasn't really in the blogging mood.. I was really disappointed that Everett was gone for the 2nd St. Patty's Day in a row due to his stupid airplane breaking down on a beautiful island in the Southern region of Europe... Poor him.... 

Anyways, I'm very excited about this week, and have decided to embark on Part 1 of sharing my England experiences with you all!

Part One: What exactly is the difference between the UK, England, Great Britain, etc.?

The best way for me to describe this to you is by showing you a video. So please watch!

So, as the video tells you, I live in the UK on the island of Great Britain, in the country of England. By the way, England's flag looks like this:

Most people (i.e. me before moving here), thought that the Union Jack was the flag of England. That is false, it is the flag of the United Kingdom, and is a combination of the flags of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. If you don't believe me.. google it!

I hope this lesson has allowed you to learn some new information today!

Repurposing...

OK, do you believe me about my return to the blogging world yet? Well.. my husband says I only last a week when I get into something... I blame it on my self diagnosed Adult Onset ADHD...

Anyway.. Is it true that Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together??!!! I just heard this on the radio and was shocked...

Back to the real story at hand.. Since I've started this blog, it's gone through a few changes (once again blaming the ADHD)... The direction I'm going to head it towards now is my take on living in England. Most, well a lot, of my readers (all three of you) have never lived in England, or anywhere besides the great US of A, before and I'm always getting asked questions about what it's like. Well I've decided to take it topic by topic. I am going to list some of these topics here so I don't forget... (ADHD)

Things you get to look forward to reading about:

• The people
• The language
• British radio (believe me I have a lot to say on this one..)
• Driving
• Shopping
•  Restaurants
• What is the difference between Great Britain, England, Wales, ect.??
•  Housing
• Modes of transportation
• Likelihood of meeting Royalty
• Likelihood of becoming Royalty
• Beer
• Surprisingly, yes, there are other cities in England besides London..
• London
• The "Traveling Community" or as I lovingly, not derogatorily (yup that's a word), refer to them.. Gypsies..
• Why you should come visit me
•  Castles
• Fashion
• Surviving without Walmart
• No I haven't seen Harry Potter yet... But I do giggle when I see people walking around in dress robes in Cambridge.. 
• Owning pets
• Being a minority 

That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have questions for me, I'd be more than happy to give you an answer.. or maybe even your own post!

More Thankful.. Less Whining...

While perusing the travel pins on Pinterest this morning, I began to realize how many wonderful opportunities this life has afforded me in my 25 and 11/12 years. I can be a pretty big whiner and complainer when things don't go my way, which I'm fairly certain my husband takes as some of my more charming qualities... but sometimes things catch me and I have to stop and be thankful for what I do have...

One of the biggest things I complain about on a daily basis is living in England.. The weather isn't warm enough, the people think I'm an over-emotional, rude American (what??), I'm thousands of miles away from the people who love me, they talk funny and I can't always understand them (the English.. not my family), my husband is always gone, blah blah blah..

What I seem to forget is that holy crap.. I LIVE IN ENGLAND!! That's like a huge bucket list item for at least 80% of Americans right? Well.. maybe not living in England specifically, but definitely packing up and moving to a pretty cool international destination for a few years! And as much as I miss the convenience that America offers, I know without a doubt that I will miss what England has been offering me these last 20 or so odd months way more! I'll miss knowing that when I have to make a right turn (the one that's across traffic in these neck of the woods), it's almost 100% guaranteed that if there's tons of traffic, the car that has the right of way will stop to let me go.. yeah.. they are that nice here.. And I will miss speaking in a "British" accent during Mass so that I don't get stared at.. (that's in quotation marks because I still haven't perfected that accent.. but I have gotten significantly less stares..) And I will miss knowing that I can figure out how to get Road Tax while my husband is gone or navigate around letting agencies who refuse to fix your moldy ceiling for 2+ months or listening to your neighbors have an all out fight in their backyard at 3am because it's the middle of summer and your windows are open because you don't have air conditioning.

No doubt it does suck being what seems like millions of miles away from my family during holidays or other special events, but I can't forget that I have a new family that I made with my wonderful friends here.. Friends who DO in fact love me or else they wouldn't put up with my crap! And it does suck that I wish I could get a full time teaching job here since that's what I worked my butt off for 4.5 years in college to do, but I can't forget the amazing people I'm meeting and the new classroom experiences/techniques/ideas that I am getting from Lakenheath Elementary. And it does suck that my husband has deployed more here than he did at McConnell (at least that's how it feels..), but I can't forget all the cool places I've gotten to visit because of his deployments.. not many people have been to Iceland before!!

Life might not always be what you pictured it to be, but it is probably better that way! If I had my way when I was 16, I'd already have like a 5 year old now... And not that I don't want kids.. but I wouldn't be who I was and have the experiences that I do if I would have locked down at such an early age..

You may be asking yourself.. what in the world does this have to do with the Travel pins on Pinterest? Well.. when you realize that those are probably the top destinations that people want to go see.. and you have already been to quite  a few of them.. it humbles you a bit..

Blue Lagoon in Iceland.. Oh how I wanna go back!

And now a post with pictures...

My Current Dilemma: 

Or

Disclaimer: All pictures have been stolen off Google Images. Thank you.

On a side note.. I google searched "hot female body". Only after I clicked enter did I realize the types of pictures that might show up... (Surprisingly there were NOT any pornographic pictures much to my relief!) It is pretty sad to note that NONE of the hundreds of pictures that did show up were my idea of a hot female body. They were either steroid muscle builders or anorexic "models". That makes me really sad! I had to specifically search for this picture of what my husband considers a "hot female body". On the other hand, googling "cake" brought up tons of pictures of cakes that I would be more than happy to eat! : )

My Facebook Fast... and my return to blogging?

Hello again world! It's been a LOOONG time!

So much has changed since my last post, but I feel like with all the other social media(s) (is that word pluralized??) out there you already know what's been going on! So, I don't really feel the need to update you on the past, but instead the present and future!

So a few weeks ago I decided that I had had enough with Facebook. It has always been a source of annoyance for Everett ("Why are you so OBSESSED with Facebook??" Let's face it.. it got annoying just hearing that everyday..), so with Lent coming up I decided to give it up. Now I knew better than to completed delete my account.. I have been on it since 2004, the beginning of college, and I feel like it's been a great chronicle of my adulthood. Yes, I AM one of those people who reminisces of the "gold ol' days" on Facebook, where the only colleges, I repeat COLLEGES, that had access to Facebook were Harvard and the University of Kansas.. OK and maybe a few other.. COLLEGES. It made networking and making friends at my new school so much easier. But then things started to change.. first they let colleges like Missouri join.. Mistake #1. Then they let students in high school join.. Mistake #2. THEN, the cherry on top of that cake o' mistakes, they let anyone join. And that is when Facebook fell apart.

A lot of people are embarrassed by the fact that their parents are on Facebook. I can't say that because my mom joined back when it was only for college students.. because she WAS in college. My biggest problem is all of those people out there who use Facebook for what it was not intended, and after my few week hiatus I want to share what I have discovered.

THINGS FACEBOOK IS NOT FOR:
1. Making inappropriate announcements on Facebook: Please don't immediately get on Facebook to announce the death of someone or that someone, like my grandma, is in the hospital. It is very troublesome for those of us not in immediate contact with family... Make sure everyone knows about it before posting it all over the internet.

2. Talking to Facebook directly: Facebook is not a person, don't tell it good morning.. It won't respond back... I promise.

3. Airing your dirty laundry: Do I really want to hear that your baby daddy isn't paying child support? Not really.. It only makes me talk crap about you behind your back... Which is my reason for why it was appropriate to give up for Lent- It makes me become judgmental...

4. Telling your "friends" about your day.. step.. by.. step..: Again, I promise, we don't care how many grapes your child ate for snack. We don't care that you had to pee as soon as you woke up. We don't care that you are bored or tired or any other mundane thing you have to say about your day. If you would like to share step by step let me give you two other places to air that information: invent your own blog or go to twitter. *I may have previously broken this rule, but it has since stopped.

5. Using Facebook as your personal therapist: What really gets me going are these people who complain NONSTOP about their problems.. no not the occasional bad day.. I'm talking every day they want to tell us their problems. I'm fairly certain most of your Facebook friends are not licensed therapists. If you "want a boyfriend", get off Facebook and find one. If you are "sad and lonely", get off Facebook and find some friends. Hey.. it's what we're all thinking..

6. Using Facebook to repeatedly promote something: Once a day is fine. When you post something once an hour I consider you spam.. and will report you.

7. Only using Facebook to play the lame games: Ok, once again I may have broken this one in the past. But I have been off the games for at least a year.

8. Your only means of communication to your friends: Let's face it, if you don't talk to them outside of Facebook, then they aren't your friend. Thus the reason I plan on deleting a BUNCH of people as soon as I return.

I'm pretty sure I could come up with more but that's all I have for now.

THINGS FACEBOOK SHOULD BE USED FOR:
1. Posting APPROPRIATE pictures of events, trips, etc.: My definition of appropriate has changed over the years. I noticed this when I went back to some of the pictures I had on here from my early days and was horrified by what I saw. They were deleted or hidden from the world.

2. Keeping in touch with people that have been separated from you due to circumstances beyond your control: i.e. your husband's job forcing you to move to England.

3. Sending your friends something you found on the internet that you felt they needed to see: Because not everyone is on Pinterest yet...

4. Making important announcements to the masses: Because it's easier than sending out 100 text messages. By the way- Congrats to all those who are announcing any pregnancies or pending nuptials that have recently announced via Facebook. It has actually been refreshing getting to be excited for these people face to face so they can see my very excited reaction!

5. Inviting people to events: Because it's easier than sending out 100 text messages and a more organized way of getting RSVPs.

6. Having important groups that give helpful information: Remember the days when groups on Facebook were titled "70s Rock Club Party" and that's really what it was about. A group of people who were attending a fake 70's Rock Club Party. (No... I NEVER added myself to one of those groups...........) Anyway.. those are not the ones I'm talking about. I'm talking about groups for a class reunion for example, or a spouse group for my husbands squadron. They are places where I can get helpful information that has to do with the real world. Although I did enjoy convincing people to make me an admin and give me a cool title. I wish I could remember my title from the Rock Club Party that I was never in...

Now I'm not posting this to tell everyone how to use Facebook (or am I??), I'm just letting you know how I will proceed to use Facebook in the future. And if you don't want to follow by my rules, then I'll have to come up with some other form of communication to get in touch with you if necessary.

By this point I know many of you are thinking, if she has this many issues, why doesn't she just block all those people. Well... the point of Facebook is not to block all of your friends who annoy you. (Which if they annoy you they probably aren't your friend and should be deleted.) So, no.. I will not block them because if they do have something important to say.. some day.. I want to know about it.

After my Facebook fast is over, I can't wait to get back on and delete my non-friends. Just think about how much more exciting my high school reunion will be when I don't know who married whom, or that person is that other person's baby daddy. Or she married HIM? Or wow their kid is ugly/adorable. It will be so much more entertaining than already knowing!





ANY WAY, I made a huge space because I'm segmenting into another topic: My return to blogging. Now it isn't official until I actually start, but my Facebook fast has helped me realize how much I feel I need to tell the world. So maybe venting on an appropriate social media where only the people who are actually interested in what I have to say will read it would be a nice change for me.

With that said, did you hear that Jan is in the hospital? Have a great day, Facebook! Ugh.. I wish Everett would stop leaving is dirty underwear on the floor. I'm off to the gym, after that I'm going to do a Jillian Michaels workout video, eat some dinner, play with my puppies, and eventually go to bed. I'm so depressed that my husband had to work today and has to go to school tonight... I'm so lonely...  (HEY.. it's my blog I can do what I want!!)