The Plant that Wouldn't Stop Growing...

Once upon a time Chris and I bought a can with a "magic seed" in it, that when grown would have, imprinted on the shell, "I love you".  We watered it and took really, REALLY good care of it and low and behold this happened....
  It grew, not only grew but flourished, now most people would throw it away seeing that the seed really said I love you, but not me.  I watered it and continued to take really, REALLY good care of it and then this happened....
This is the plant just 6 months later.  It took over our window and had a mind of its own...  and it also grew these...

Yes those are pods and yes that is a regular size pencil. 
Then just the other day I couldn't handle it anymore - I cut it all down and threw it into the garbage bin.

Shall I show you one more thing??
A Long, Long time ago on a Halloween night in the church parking lot, a friend of mine smashed my thumb in the suburban and the thumbnail fell off and grew back.  The nail was a little oddly shaped but that was its only problem, until last December and its gotten worse and worse until now it is this:

Don't worry all the doctors say it is fine and I just have to "deal with it".

Would you like to see some pictures of where I live??
Take a look at the new picture albums to see pictures of my room and some other things.

Forget Paris...

Chris and I have now been home from Paris since LATE Tuesday night.
We left for Paris on Saturday.  We got down to London on the first day by coach (bus) it was a LONG ride.  We sat at the back but didn't realize that by sitting at the back we would be right next to the toilet.  Needless to say with that smell and the 3 hour drive I was not feeling too well when we got to the hotel.  Chris did let me get a taxi from the station so we didn't have to take the tube.  We got to the hotel at 2:30 and they wouldn't let us check in so we had to wait for 3:00 and then got into our room.  It was in the basement.  The only window had bars on it and looked UP to the sidewalk.  It was miserable hot and I went up to get a room upgrade and he wouldn't help so we just got a fan and that helped a little.  I slept a little and then we went to dinner and went to Hyde Park and Chris and I just talked until it got dark. 
It took us about 3 hours to get to Paris via Eurostar. We got there and couldn't check in until 3:00 and so we went to lunch at a corner cafe and then checked in.  I slept some more (don't I sound like fun to go on holiday with?) while Chris went out and explored.  He got back to the hotel and we went on a cruise on the River Seine.  It was really nice and relaxing.  It was the first time I got to see the Eiffel Tower - surreal. 
The next day it RAINED AND RAINED.  I have to say it is probably my fault.  I HATE the heat and the day before it was roasting so I said to myself over and over... I hope it rains just a little to cool things down -- and it did! 
After the rain slowed we took an open bus tour of the city seeing all the major sights (see pictures).  We got about halfway through the tour and I was trying to turn my camera to black and white and by accident I erased all of my pictures so we had to go on the tour again and re-take all the pictures.
We went back to the hotel and later decided to go and see the light show at the Tower.  That was really nice and worth it. 
The next day we took another tour and had plans for the day because the train didn't leave till 6:00 that night.  Well, the weather was HOT again and I got a migraine.  We did one tour and then decided to try to find some pizza - and couldn't - at all... FINALLY we did and by then I was in misery.  We attempted to buy souvenirs, and I attempted not to die, and we decided to make our way to the station (taxi again, THANK GOODNESS!)
While at the station, I needed some pills for my migraine and sweet Chris walked out of the station and down the street and got me some pills.  Upon his return, there in the waiting area I barfed into my souvenir bag.  We went through check in (Got my passport stamped 3 times - the whole reason for the trip so I can drive) and really, after that it is fuzzy.  I was so sick and drugged by that point.
I can start to remember when we were about in England. 
And then the strangest thing happened...
I was so excited to be HOME.  Yes, home in England.  It was the first time I've considered England my home and not Utah.  It was the best feeling ever to know I finally felt that for this country.  I was impatient to get back to my apartment and my town - and it wasn't anywhere in Utah. 
The trip was worth it if only for that feeling.
So let me sum things up:
Things about Paris I learned:
* They like their cigarettes.
* There really are cafe's on every corner.
* Fellow Americans take Note -- they don't like us much ESPECIALLY when you are loud and rude (made me embarrassed several times).
*  It is good to go to Paris ONCE but it isn't like the movies and if you expect that it is - you'll just be let down.
It was a very nice break.  It was good to go.  But I am glad to be home.
** New Pictures Added
**  Check out Chris' blog for another version http://www.theflattleys.co.uk/ and follow the links to Chris' blog.
**  New videos from Paris coming soon ... look for updates on http://www.theflattleys.co.uk/

Oooo La La - a.k.a. The Perks of Living in the Part of the World...

Off to Paris on holiday.  I will be leaving Saturday and coming back Wednesday.  More later!

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/

Just Another Flaw...

Back in America I would get comments on my red hair quite often.  People love it, and I moved to England thinking it would be the same.... boy was I WRONG -- they hate red hair here -- they call us "ginger" and trust me, it isnt anywhere near a compliment!  And now I have family that have red hair and are getting teased about it, so bad they have to come and visit March for a while.  They are even going on Englands answer to Jerry Springer in the next few days....  Its crazy how my best asset has turned into my greatest flaw...  Just another reason to miss America.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6725653.stm

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_method=full%26objectid=19234213%26siteid=89520-name_page.html