What a Wicked Week

It has certainly been a crazy week.  I haven't even been here for 7 days and I've already been to a Spouses' Coffee, a promotion ceremony, and a military ball. Not to mention I've managed to snag a UK cell phone and as of today a UK bank account.  I think I'm doing pretty well for only being here for 6 days!!

I don't really have much to SAY, but I've included pictures again.  Here we go:

30 November 2012: 

"The Secretary of the Army has reposed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and professional excellence of Robert N. Weaver.  In view of these qualities, his demonstrated leadership potential, and his dedicated service to the U.S. Army, he is, therefore promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant...effective 1 December 2012."

I am a PROUD wife, you have no idea.

ARRC Christmas Ball - 1 December 2012.

I'll tell you what...these Brits can party!!!  I doubt the website can handle it, but I will try to post the video we took of one of the British soldiers dancing....HILARIOUS.  But the file might be too big, so we'll see.  Either way, we ate ham and turkey, mash and carrots, bacon wrapped sausage, stuffing balls, onions, gravy, yorkshire pudding, and chocolate cake.  And we drank....a lot.  And we danced...a lot!  It was a WONDERFUL night!!

So I'm on my own this week as Rob is out of the country. I decided to light a fire.  Absolutely beautiful and TOASTY warm :-)

OKAY!!!  Food update!!  

So I haven't had anything I didn't like just yet. Try everything once I say.  I've chosen to pass by a few things, for example, their kalamata olives are in a brine that has sugar in it so they're really sweet...not a fan.  Also...for those of you who know my obsession with sour cream...I will have you know I have officially switched to plain greek yogurt while I'm here.  The reason?  Over here, not only is sour cream difficult to find, but it's called "Soured Cream".  Okay...I love me a dollop of Daisy...but when you call it "soured cream" all I want to do is puke.  That said, they have Oikos greek yogurt and it worked just fine on my taco the other night!

Things we do have: RealLemon Lemon Juice (another obsession of mine), and Heinz EVERYTHING.  Apparently there's a baked bean thing here?  Baked beans for breakfast?  Either way, they're Heinz baked beans.  There's an entire freaking AISLE for Heinz products at the store (Tesco).  I found these already in our refrigerator when I arrived.  Have no fear, I have replenished the Ketchup for the condiment king (Rob).

So...another thing about food is that they don't put preservatives in ANYTHING, and their kitchens are really small.  So you end up being able to buy everything in super tiny packages so that you have room for it and/or so that you use it before it goes bad.   That white sugar pack is only slightly taller than my cell phone.  As you can see below, the next recipe on the list is Banana Bread, compliments of Ashley Menge's recipe!!  I'm planning to make this before Rob gets home on Friday.

Anyways, we're still working on getting internet in our house, and still figuring out just the right settings for the boiler to keep us warm.  It's a work in progress, but like I said...pretty good for just 6 days, right??

On About Town

OKAY!! Time for an update on life in England!

So I arrived Tuesday morning before 7am England time.  We stopped at a couple of the U.S. Air Force bases on our way back from the airport. The drive was absolutely beautiful.  Of course, I couldn't use my phone at that point so I didn't take any pictures.  I'll even admit it, I definitely slept a bit in the car on the way.  I needed that 45 minutes of sleep, because I was awake the rest of the day!  We did a bit of "American Food Shopping" at the AF base, then headed for home.

I can't even put into words how wonderful it was to be back with my amazing husband.  So I won't even try.  All I'll say is I'm SO happy and SO blessed.

Wednesday I was able to go to a spouses' coffee at the Warrant Officers/Sergeants' Mess on base.  There were over a dozen wives there and it was good to meet everyone! I made some great connections already.  They are more than willing to help me out until we get a car because they understand what it's like!  In the afternoon, Rob and I were finally able to get a cell phone plan set up so I'm finally back on the grid!!  It definitely took FIVE trips to the phone store before we finally figured it out.  It was seriously complicated.  Really now...how are we supposed to have built up a UK credit history when we only just got here!? :-) Oh well, taken care of!!

Since Rob had to work all day today, I had decided to spend the day shopping...errr...I mean...walking around and exploring the town! :-)
I was SERIOUSLY blessed and lucky to have met Katrina yesterday at the spouses' coffee because she was in town today to shop, as well.  She called me when she got in town and we met up and spent over 4 hours walking around town and shopping for the both of us.  Won't lie, we definitely got each other lost!!  I kept saying "get me back to the main road and I can get home!"  I finally got a good pair of boots so my socks will no longer be molested by what we like to call "invisible puddles".  I still need a good pair of rain boots (Wellies) and a rain jacket (Parka), but today's weather was beautiful compared to yesterday, so I had very little urgency. I'm sure I'll be sorry for it tomorrow!!

I took a few pictures along our walk.  I told Katrina I was going to be a "tourist" for the day, so of course, she made me take this one:  

This is the view right out my front door! Beautiful, huh?

This is called "The Queen's Hotel" and it's right next to a beautiful park.  Katrina and I passed this on our walk today when we went WAY out of the way from where we were headed!

I love the architecture here so much!  These churches are beautiful.  Some old churches and schools have even been converted into shops (shoppes) or community centers. We actually LIVE next to an old school that is no longer a school!  ....I'm actually not sure what it is...Hmmm...I'll find out later!

This is a German market that's on the promenade! Lots of bratwurst and beer :-).  It's all lit up and really pretty at night!

This store is around the corner from our house. It's "Kebabs-Burgers-Pizzas".  Rob and I both had a Lamb Kebab the other night and it was amazing!  The owner is Lebanese, too, which is fun.

Poundland = Dollarstore.  Or....$1.60 store. :-).  I haven't been in yet, but I was intrigued.

So far my favorite spot.  Free Wifi and amazing hot chocolate.  I'm SURE the barista's looked at me like I was a crazy foreigner because of the way I said "hot chocolate", but oh well.  These people will have to get used to the Texan in me at some point!!

SOOOOO.....What's different?

Some people have asked me what's different.  I think the main question I hear is "do the toilets spin the other way!?"  So I'm going to reveal some things.....

For one...no, the toilets do NOT spin the other direction.  In fact, they don't really spin at all.  It's more like dumping a bucket of water in to flush the toilet like you would if the power or water is out.  It has a spicket kind of thing in the front and just POURS water into the bowl.  It's interesting, but I'm getting used to it.  However, the sink seems to drain clockwise, so I think the "opposite gravity" theory is debunked.

As far as things that ARE backwards....

1) Driving on the other side of the road...creepy.  Driving on the other side of the car...creepy.  Driving down a highway (motorway) and pulling up on a car on your right that has NO ONE in the "driver seat"...creepy.

2) Lightswitches - on = down, off = up.  That's right...you turn the switch DOWN to turn the light ON.  That one took me a bit to get used to, but I think I've got the hang of it now.

3) There are no electrical outlets in the bathroom.  I'll say it again...there are NO electrical outlets in the bathroom. There is, however, one right outside the bathroom door. I sat in the 2nd bedroom to do my hair yesterday...bought a British extension cord today :-).

Anyways, I just received a text that my husband is on his way home, so it's time to go make dinner.  Lots of fun things happening in the next few days, so expect another post soon.

Cheers, mates!

Transatlantic Travels

Well, it took forever, but my passport and visa have finally finished processing!!  It's amazing how everything has worked out so perfectly considering how stressful this process got at times.

For those of you who don't know and those of you who are wondering. I am leaving out of Houston the Monday after Thanksgiving (11/26) to head to the United Kingdom!!

My husband Robert is in the Army and this is just the beginning of our adventures together!! We will be in the UK for at least 3 years as far as we know. After that, who knows!?

This will be where I chronicle our adventures as they unfold!!  Check back periodically for updates and pictures!  Within a week after I arrive, you can expect a new post!!

If you know us and want our contact information in the UK, send me an email.
njzahand@gmail.com 

Here goes nothing!

"England and America are two countries separated by the same language" - George Bernard Shaw