Thanks, Mr. Man...

Old Man.
Bald Man..
Late 60's...
Big Beer Belly....
Waddling Along the Shop.....
Food crumbs hanging onto his mustache......
Blowing his nose with a dirty handkerchief.......
Short Shorts and Sandals with socks........
Hot pink - tight, shirt that reads:
                                          "Love Machine, Satisfaction Guaranteed!"              

While the Rest of the Country Floods....

While the rest of the country is flooding -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6913752.stm
... we enjoyed an amazingly beautiful day.  The best in months...

Lovely.... Just Lovely....

P.S. Did you want to see where I live?  Here is my apartment (Top Left Window).

Who says time flies?

Hello Internet...
I passed a HUGE anniversary just this weekend.  I didn't get any cards or presents - no one even noticed or said one thing - NOT EVEN MY OWN HUSBAND.   But it was a big deal, to me. 
The reason it was such a big deal was, because at times I thought I'd never make it to this anniversary - month after month I said to myself "It will get better..." and sometimes it did, but sometimes it didn't.  Sometimes I was ready to call it quits and didn't care if I ever reached this anniversary because I liked things the way they were before.  That being said, sometimes I was so in love that the anniversary seemed to sneak up on me without warning or trouble.
I have a pair of shoes that I used to wear that remind me of my anniversary.  When I first started out they were new, blindingly white and not too comfortable... and now???

I wore these shoes on my wedding day, but that isn't the anniversary I am talking about.
I also wore these shoes when I stepped onto a plane that would take me to England, these shoes were on my feet when I took my first steps on English soil - not as a visitor - but as a resident.  I wore these shoes when I took all of my belongings and put them into a caravan to live.  I was wearing them when I walked through London and York and Newcastle.  I wore these shoes when I first drove my own English car, on the wrong side of the road.  I wore this shoes to really great days out and on really hard days in.
They are no longer new, white or uncomfortable... these shoes are me after a year in England.
I am not longer that person who put those shoes on, on my wedding day.  I have lived in England.  I am no longer white with in-experience I am a little worn for the wear but I am also comfortable, more comfortable than I was a year ago.
So Happy Anniversary to Jamie and England... here's to the tears and the laughter the sadness and the joy and here's to many more years together!

How to Kill a Wasp in a Few Easy Steps

You'd think I would be the main character in this story... but its not me, its my husband and after you read this you'll see why we are quite suited for each other.
1.  Identify the problem:

I walked into the bathroom and hanging out by my window were two very angry wasps trying to get out.  Finding a wasp is unsettling enough as it is, but TWO...
Here is the window they were stuck in....
 

2.  Call for help if necessary:

So I RUN out of the bathroom, quick as anything, slamming the door behind me and saying in a panicked, alright slightly loud voice,
"CHRIS!"
He comes running from the sitting room to find me sitting on the bed, he is saying,
"What, What is it?"
"It is, there are, TWO wasps in the bathroom!"
and what do I get back,
"So, GO KILL THEM!"
But I am not going to go near the bathroom so I shoot back,
"YOU'RE THE BOY - ITS YOUR JOB!"

3.  Find the killing equipment:

Chris grabs the nearest thing to kill them with, maybe a rolled up newspaper? A book?
Nope, the air freshener.
He slowly opens the door and starts to spray those wasps, as he is doing so he is shouting back to me,
"They aren't dying!"
So I explain how he needs a more direct approach not some air freshener that he isn't even shooting near the wasps, but from the door.  He shuts the door and we try to figure out what might kill those wasps and then we (I say we, I mean ME) get an idea --

So he tries again, but he is still having the same problems and then I yell (through my laughter),
"Put it on the straight stream and AIM!"
So he does and he starts to give me play-by-play -- It isn't working, oh it is, one just dropped out, ooohhhh I got the second one!

4.  Clean-up:

What Chris didn't want to do is get near enough to the wasps to take down the dry laundry hanging from the window and after all of that spraying they smelled not only like air freshener, but also were soaking wet from the spray bottle.
But the wasps were gone with, probably quite a lot more effort than necessary, but at least they were gone.  Needless to say we keep that window shut most of the time, because as effective as those killing steps are, they really aren't worth it.

2 New Albums

Yeah well, the title pretty much sums it up....  One album of random pictures and another of Ely, England.  Enjoy!

The 4th of July is a Holiday???

It is hard to forget in America that the 4th of July is a day of BBQ's, friends, family, hot weather and fireworks.  It is kind of easy to forget, or try to forget, here in England (especially since the weather was in the 60's and RAINY).
I didn't forget, don't get me wrong, how could I when I miss the country so much and probably start a good percentage of my sentences with, "Well in America..." or "Back home in Utah...."
But then comes the problem, there is no celebration here...  well not close by, there was a big firework display in Kent, England but that is 3 hours away, £25.00 per person, and £40.00 in gas money... so that was a "no go" not to mention I HAD TO WORK - ON THE 4TH of JULY...
So needless to say I was missing home quite a lot and decided not to do anything that has to do with the 4th and just treat it like "another day" that is until I came home from work to, what has to be the most thoughtful thing I've seen in a LONG time...
                    

A View From the Top                                          A Slice...

                 
A Side View... a TALL cake                   In Red Frosting "Happy 4th of July!!!"
Want to be even more impressed?  Made by my ENGLISH husband, from scratch, in 3 hours while I was at work.
That cheered me up quite a bit....
And after a while I finally let myself think about what I miss about America, you see I had to give myself permission because if it just creeps up on me I am overcome by emotion, not just because I miss my family and friends and lets see.... Taco Bell, Low Gas Prices (Low Prices Full Stop), Automatic Cars, Mountains, I-15, Big Meal Portions, 4 Distinct Seasons, etc, etc, etc....  but I miss my country, the pride that comes with the title of being "American", the buzz you get when you put your hand on your heart and sing (or listen) to the Nation Anthem, the flags proudly displayed everywhere, and the feeling of belonging that I have yet to feel here in England.
I love England, but my loyalty and heart belong firmly in America.   
So then I thought what can we do to celebrate the JOYOUS holiday???
And then, we went to KFC!!!
Happy  Birthday America!!!  
P.S. My favorite 4th tribute?  http://mightygirl.com/2007/07/04/god-bless-america-please/