Craptastic Craptasticness

So get this crap, when we were on the way to sign the lease for the house at the estate agents office, we got a call from the estate agent calling to schedule us to come sign the lease at 3 pm the next day. So basically, we got NOTHING accomplished off of our list of crap to do yesterday except getting the check cut for the kennels so that we don't have to pay the VAT. The measurements that we need to take for the appliances, still not done. The lease, not done. No keys. No closer to a house. Oh and this little one day delay, yeah it means we will probably be paying out of pocket for this hotel for about a week. See the furniture office, they need the measurements for the appliances and the numbers of the amount of furniture we need by 4pm. If they don't get it by 4, we don't get our furniture til Monday. Assuming we sign the lease at 2 pm, that leaves me an hour to go to a base that is 25 min away and get back to leave with D to go get my cat from quarantine. I don't see that happening. D has said that we can move in with her, but I hate having to impose on people. Plus I always swore I would never live with any friend, because it puts a strain on the relationship.

I was so angry when we got back to the hotel from our drive to the estate agents office that wasn't, that I called a friend of mine who lives in Sheffield (which is about 3 hours drive from here) and proceeded to bitch about the lack of concern about a schedule that these agents had. Thankfully, I have known this girl for about 4 years and she is well informed about my tendency to overreact. She did have be laughing my ass off telling me about her pitfalls in buying a house. Apparently, my problems with estate agents are not unique. We both had a good laugh about the "it'll do attitude" that I have noticed in England. Oh and the fact that most (older) public toilets have two spouts of water in the sinks, one for hot the other for cold, so you can't get warm water. You burn then freeze you hands while you wash them. My four year old, she isn't liking that approach for washing her hands. Go figure. More adjustments to be made to suit myself for English life. Don't worry guys, I'll get the hang of it.

Oh Tismee, I drew a diagram of what I think you were talking about in your American driving situation. In this case, car A (the blue one), would have the right of way should they meet at the intersection at the same time. This is because the road car A is on is considered the "main road" in the car park (parking lot).

A note to my Brit readers, I was in no way complaining about England, but we sincerely had a really terrible day today. When you think you are finally going to get the keys to the house and find out on the way to the to the appointment that you are not, it is extremely frustrating. I just want to be in my own house, in my own (borrowed) bed, and not having to deal with the maids every day and their lack of leaving toilet paper (for which I have had to hunt them down in the middle of the day for).

Ummmm...

Have you ever had one of those days where you sit in front of the computer and nothing will appear onto the screen no matter how much you have to say. I am having one of those days. I have a lot of things on my mind but none of them are forming coherent paragraphs. For one, I am signing the lease on the house today and getting the keys. We can't exactly move in today because we have no furniture however. Tomorrow, Sam, my cat gets released from kitty prison quarantine. I am trying to decide if I should take him to D's house, where there are two other cats who would freak him out but he wouldn't be alone, or put him in the new house with a litter box and food, where at least he wouldn't have to deal with other cats but would be alone for a couple days until we can get some furniture over there. I can't bring him to the hotel because of the rules. Decisions, decisions. I also have to go to the VAT office here on base in order to avoid the 17% VAT tax that would be charged on the quarantine bill for him and Elizabeth.

Oh on Wed. I have my "driving class" which is a 3 hour class that explains British road rules. Then I get an endorsement on my license that allows me to drive in England legally. I have been driving here on my regular license because we are allowed to do so for 30 days until we can get into the class. Oh and roundabouts don't scare me much anymore. Once you do them a few times, they are less confusing. The Man's driving however, still scares the crap out of me. I don't know how many times I have said "curb curb curb" to him while we are headed down the road. Of course he says my driving scares the crap out of him too. Maybe it is just something about being a passenger in an English car, cause the cabbies driving on Thanksgiving scared me too and he was a native.

Soggy Sunday Morning

Warning the post contains random things that are floating around in this mixed up mind of mine. There is no rhyme or reason to this post. So please excuse the discombobulation.

It is a nice chilly and quite soggy sunday morning here in England. I think it is somewhere near 40 degrees outside and very cloudy. I think it must have rained earlier, but I wasn't awake to see that event. In any case I think most of my day is going to be spent indoors, not at the hotel hopefully, but indoors in any case. Yesterday we spent all day inside the hotel, well when we weren't hunting for the blue folder that has been lost in the mix of shuffling between here and D's house. There was nothing EXTREMELY important in the folder, it is just annoying to lose something and my husband got his OCD on and was hunting for it all day long.

Anyhoo, last night we were completely bored and not at all tired after the girls went to sleep. I suggested watching a movie, he wasn't feeling it. Next thing I know this game was on the computer screen. Flight of the Hamsters? Yes. I was in stitches laughing at this game. Concept of the game is to get the cute little goggle wearing hamster to fly as far as possible, using the rockets, hamster balls, and springs to your favor. I am serious folks.

Speaking of hamsters. I am not really a fan. I used to work in a pet store when I was in college and those little bastards are mean. When I used to place the food dish in the cage of the little Siberian Dwarf Hamsters, those little wolves would cirlcle my hand like it was a Christmas ham. I took to wearing a gardening glove when I would feed the hamsters in order to prevent their little rat razor teeth from biting me. I used to try to get people to buy gerbils instead of hamsters because I thought that the hamsters were so vile.

Couple of Things About England that I am Befuddled by:
-OK, I understand that their is a law that you can not have any type of drink while you are driving in England, but seriously, no cup holders? Last night I went to get dinner for my husband and I (the kids had had chicken nuggets) and I had 2 drinks to get home. I ended up carrying one drink between my legs and holding the other one on top of the emergency break while driving and hoping that I didn't A) spill either drink in my lap and in the rental car and B) wreck the rental car on the way back to the hotel. I made it back to the hotel with both car and cups intact but I couldn't help to think that this would have been a whole lot easier if there had been at least one cup holder.

-The toilets here have a button on the back of them to flush not a little handle on the side. I keep reaching for the side of the toilet to flush. Oh and some of the buttons are split in half. Push one half to do a little flush, push both to do a big flush. I guess 1 for #1 and 2 for #2.

I got an award from Mama Dawg over at Two Dogs Running. Thanks MD! This award apparently comes with rules. You know how I feel about rules, but since Mama asked nicely I will comply.



The qualifications to receive the award are:

A. Display a cheerful attitude. (Umm if you say so..)

B. Love one another. (I guess I can try..)

C. Make mistakes. (All the damn time)

D. Learn from others. (Why do you think I read so many blogs?)

E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world. (I am a contributor, not all of it is positive, but I contribute none the less)

F. Love life. (yes please!)

G. Love kids. (Mine yes, but sometimes only because the law says I have to)

The Rules:

1. Must link it back to the creator.
2. Post the rules.
3. Choose 5 people to give it to.
4. Recipients must fill the characteristics above.
5. Create a post to share this.
6. You must thank the winner.

The five people I give this to are, Tismee2 from Squared Off, Jenni from Oscarelli, Miss Grace from Miss Grace's Disgrace, Cameron over at Get The Stink Off and Cape Cod Gal from Diamond in the Rough.

Is this enough Sunday morning radomness for you guys. Good, I'm exhausted. Time for a nap.

Thanksgiving in England

I had a fabulous time celebrating Thanksgiving. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if I was back home in Charleston, SC with the rest of my family or in Chattanooga with my Dad's side of the family. My friend D, prepared a feast. She had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, mashed potatoes, 2 types of stuffing (one English version with sausage and the other with oysters for her husband), candied yams, and of course I brought the pies (which nobody ate cause we were all too full of food).

There were 15 people in attendance. D and her husband M, their 2 kids, Alistair and his wife Melanie*, their 2 kids, N and L who work with D at the barbershop, The Man and I, KiKi and LaLa, and T (who's husband is in Texas right now for some Air Force school). Alistair, Melanie, N, and L are all English and this was their first Thanksgiving celebration.

Dinner started around 6pm in order for our English friends to get off of work in order to come over for dinner. Since this is an American holiday, of course they don't have the day off from work like all the Americans around here. There was a lot of good conversation, a few pints had by all (or wine), and of course the oohing and ahhing over the shere amount of food that was available. The kids had a great time playing together and when D broke out the ginormous bag of leftover Halloween sweets I thought all hell was going to break loose. Alistairs youngest girl is almost as hyperactive as LaLa and doesn't have an off switch. We added candy into this mix. Then we warned Alistair. His response was classic "Thanks for that" as he lifted his pint.

The celebration broke up around 9:30 and we caught a cab back to the hotel around 10:00pm. Thankfully the cabbie seemed very knowledgable of the base and took us directly to the hotel. We lugged all of our car seats, bags and children back to the room and then watched some American football on the Armed Forces Network. My husband and I caught most of the Dallas game and then a little bit of the Phillidelphia game. We ended up finally passing out around 2am.

I think this Thanksgiving proves one thing. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, as long as you have good food, good friends, and good conversation you can have a fabulous time. Also if you add a pint or two into the mix, it is always a good idea to catch a cab, no matter what country you are in. Happy Post Thanksgiving to Everyone! I hope you are all as blessed this holiday season as I have been. Cheers.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent, or not so innocent depending on who you speak to.

101 Things about Me for my 101st post...

yeah I know I was "supposed" to do this yesterday for my 100th post, but I was a little busy. Cut me a break. Hey plus I am gonna give you an extra random fact.
1. Birthdate Feb 24
2. That makes me 27 years old.
3. My natural hair color is brown.
4. My hair color now is red. (sorry mom)
5. I have 2 kids. LaLa is 4. KiKi is 2.
6. I have a cat, Sam, he is orange and white.
7. I have a dog, Elizabeth, she is a blond cocker spaniel.
8. My favorite color is pink.
9. I am not one of those people who will only wear their favorite color, or decorates their house in their favorite color.
10. I think those people are kinds weird and may need help. Sorry if you are one of those people.
11. My husband is in the Air Force. I don't let my husbands job define me like some Air Force Wives though.
12. I just finished my degree in Technical Management with an emphasis in Human Resources.
13. I left traditional college when I was 21 years old and only had about 36 hours of courses left.
14. My original degree was going to be International Business with a minor in Russian Studies.
15. I thought my mom was going to kill me when I left school.
16. I moved to Texas to be with my husband..that is why I left school.
17. I had every intention to go back to school when we moved to Missouri, but then I found out I was pregnant.
18. 2 kids later and I finally went back to school.
19. Now that we are in England I am going to have to get a "real" job and not be a stay at home mom anymore.
20. I feel guilty that I am going to have to put KiKi in daycare.
21. But I am excited that I am going to be able to have conversations with adults during the day.
22. I love my children, but I have little patience with other people kids...well except for my friends kids, usually.
23. I think this is because I used to work in a daycare.
24. I also have worked at an accounting office for a senile old man.
25. He fired me on my birthday because he needed someone full time in the office and I could only work part time because of school.
26. My best friend is, D.
27. She is the yin to my yang. When I freak out, she talks me back off the ledge.
28. My husband is also my best friend. He is a little OCD and apparently moving brings out the OCD in him. He lost 62 cents the other day, and he is still looking for it. "What if I lost it on the flight line and it got sucked up into the engine of a plane" This is what I am dealing with folks! LOL!
29. My favorite soda in the entire world is Cherry Coke Zero. They don't have that here in England.
30. I am totally bummed out that they don't have Cherry Coke Zero here...not even at the commissary.
31. I have switched to Diet Dr. Pepper, but it just isn't the same.
32. Man, I sound like a drug addict.
33. I get weirded out by people who start crying in front of me.
34. I am really not good with emotions.
35. I also am not a hugger.
36. I only hug my family and really good friends unless there is a circumstance where I am forced to hug someone or look like a complete jerk.
37. I talk to my mom and my granny almost every single day. They get worried if I don't call at least every other day.
38. If I don't call them, I get worried messages left on my voicemail saying things like "Kat, it's your granny, I haven't heard from you in a couple of days, call me back." or "Kat, it's your mom. Where are you?" Or I check my cell phone and I have 9 missed calls from my mom in the span of 4 hours.
39. My mom and granny both read this blog. They will probably deny #38. It is true though.
40. My favorite moment of the day is catching one of my kids in bed and getting to wake them up gently and cuddle with them. LaLa is especially good at this. Of course then she will whisper "Tickle Me" when we are cuddling and it makes me laugh every time.
41. I miss my friends back in Missouri and my friends back in Charleston.
42. I am grateful for the friends who stay in touch.
43. I believe that a new hair cut, a new pair of shoes or a new purse can fix almost any problem.
44. I am really glad I got a hair cut yesterday. It came at the perfect time.
45. I am not good at worrying about money BTW.
46. I don't think my daughter should get gypped out of a really special birthday just because her birthday is 3 days before Christmas.
47. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
48. I think gifts are secondary to being with family or friends that you love.
49. This is only going to be the 2nd Christmas that I will not be in Charleston for. It sucks big time.
50. I am also praying that I have my own furniture before Christmas. Actually that in itself just might be a Christmas miracle.
51. My favorite Christmas song is "Sweet Little Jesus Boy"
52. My favorite Christmas song used to be "Oh Holy Night" until this girl at church kept butchering it every year for like 5 years. My mom and I would sit in the pew and try not to laugh every year. My granny would shoot us evil eye. Hey, you guys have your Christmas/Holiday traditions, I have mine.
53. I kinda like being 5 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone now, because it lets me write my blog posts in more time. I can post by 3 pm GMT and still have by post up by 7am eastern time. Booyah!
54. I am really needing that time today because this 101 facts is really time consuming.
55. The last book I read was "The Christmas Sweater" by Glenn Beck. I think everyone should read it. It had me crying on the plane on the way over here. It isn't just a tired old story about Christmas.
56. It is really hard to cry quietly on a plane and not be noticed. I really didn't want to look like a nut job. I apologize to any fellow passengers on the plane who I may have offended or scared.
57. I love riding on planes. I hate the safety briefing though. I mean really, do they think that I am actually going to use that seat cushion as a floatation device.
58. When I see someone pass me on the highway at double the speed limit I feel angry at them and bad for them. I have actually said "When they wreck they better hope they die, because they won't want to live after wrecking at that speed."
59. I try not to go more than 5 mph over the speed limit.
60. I think that is because I have kids now and I am more careful with everything I do now.
61. Before I had kids, I was a speed demon.
62. I no longer feel the need for an adrenaline rush. I value my life a lot more now.
63. I do get angry at people who don't at least DO the speed limit though.
64. I always seem to get stuck behind this person, when I am running late no less.
65. Sometimes my husband is THAT person. He blames it on having to drive 15 MPH on the flight line.
66. My favorite material possession is my engagement ring.
67. I use my parents and my grandparents as my moral compasses. I often think about what they would think before I do things. I still dyed my hair red. Sorry Mom.
68. My eyes are green.
69. I feel compelled to write something naughty right here, but I won't. That would be so cliche'.
70. My dream vacation destinations are Greece and Russia.
71. I think I will get to Greece one day. I am no so sure about Russia.
72. My favorite saying I heard on Oprah. It is "Trying is failing with honor. Never try, just do it."
73. I hate watching Oprah.
74. Have I ever mentioned that I am a conservative?
75. I didn't vote this year.
76. I feel guilty about not voting. I don't think my vote would have made a difference. I feel guilty about the apathy I had towards voting this year. I really didn't like either candidate very much.
77. Have I ever mentioned that I am glad that I will be living in England for the next 4 years.
78. I am not pissed off that Barak Obama won. I just hope he does the best job he can. I think partisanship has torn the US apart.
79. I am not a fan of Housing Offices on Air Force Bases. They always prove to be a pain in the ass. It doesn't matter what base you are on.
80. Arbitrary rules piss me off.
81. Sometimes I need a time out.
82. I think I am a better driver than my husband. He begs to differ.
83. I can drive stick shift. Sorta. If I have to.
84. I think it is a good skill to have, just in case.
85. I know how to do a lot of things in theory, but have never actually done them.
86. For example. I know how to mow grass. I just have never done it. That is what dads, little brothers and husbands, and good friends are for.
87. I know how to change a tire, in theory. See #86 for the reason I have never done it and add friendly bystanders as another reason.
89. My dad is hillarious and befuddles me with his logic sometimes. Hi Dad.
90. I like to visit my parents at their offices. It is fun to meet their co-workers or talk to the ones I already know. Hi Sandy.
91. My favorite movies are Labrynth, the Princess Bride, Shawn of the Dead, Grandma's Boy, and Army of Darkness.
92. I hate the movie Baseketball with a passion.
93. I will walk out of the room if my husband is watching it.
94. I will also remind him that he will never get that 2 hours of his life back.
95. I do not think pajama pants are acceptable attire for grocery shopping. Ever.
96. I prefer to wear my hair down and straight, but sometimes my hair has other ideas and that is when I throw it up into a ponytail.
97. My hair is naturally curly.
98. My eating habits are questionable. Sometimes I skip meals and then other times I eat everything in sight that isn't nailed down all day.
99. I love my kids more than myself. You guys probably already knew that.
100. I can usually write a blog post in 20 min, though they usually aren't very good when I write that fast.
101. I hate when I try to be witty or funny and end up just looking stupid. It happens. A lot.

Ok I feel I have satisfied my obligation as a blogger to spill my 100 facts about me now. Feel free to comment or discuss amongst yourselves.

Quick Funny Story

On our arrival to the UK we had to take a bus from Heathrow Airport to the RAF base that we are stationed at. The bus driver who drove us to the base was English and had a fairly heavy accent. Our friends had met us at the airport and they took the bus back with us. When we got on the bus LaLa did not understand what the driver was saying because she was not accustomed to hearing a British accent. She looked at our buddy, M, and asked him in a most serious tone "Is the driver speaking Spanish?"

Driving in England a.k.a. Roundabouts and Give Ways

I should really preface this entire story by saying, my husband does not deal with change well. He is very set in his ways, gets frustrated easily, and has high expectations of himself. In other words, God forbid something not go according to plan. I am very go with the flow, I like a challenge, and I see most everything as a learning experience and it takes a lot for me to lose my temper. I am not saying that my way is better than his way of learning, but at least I don't punch inanimate objects when I get frustrated. Just sayin'.

We had been here about 5 days when we decided that not having a car was just not an option anymore. Sure we could walk around the base, but in order to get to D's house we had to call her or her husband to come pick us up and frankly it was getting exhausting for all parties involved. I hate having to depend on others, she was getting behind in her everyday activities, and we couldn't fit all members of both families into one car.

Finally on Thursday my husband, the kids and I walked our behinds down the the local base car rental office and paid entirely too much money to rent a shoe on wheels, I mean car. We rented a VW Polo, with an automatic transmission and UK specs. In other words it has its steering wheel on the right hand side of the car.

Now at this point I have been riding with D all over the area for days. I am pretty used to what it feels like in a UK spec'd car. The Man, well he had been at work for most of the week and then on Wed. he was struck down by the 24 hour stomach virus from hell. He was still not up to snuff on Thursday when we went to go rent the car, and had not had much time in a UK spec'd car or riding around learning the rules of the road. So what possessed me to let him be the first one to drive the car is still beyond me. I am not saying it was the worst decision ever made in the history of the earth, but it might be right up there on the list.

So there we are sitting in the parking lot of the rental company, armed with a map of the surrounding area outside of base, a map of the base, and a vague idea of where the base hotel is. We just need to get to the base hotel. Not hard, right? Yeah, that is what I thought. So wrong, so so very wrong. The Man inches out onto the road, left hand side. Good. We head down the road at a turtles pace and I am telling him the directions to get back to the hotel. Everything seems to be going fine.
Me- "Now we need to take the 2nd exit on the roundabout to get onto this road to head back to the hotel"
Him- *confused* "What? Do we need to go left, right or straight?"
By this time we are entering the roundabout and he takes the first exit to the left and we are heading off of the base into the English countryside. Wonderful. Just wonderful.
Him- "Damnit Kat, you didn't tell me which way to go!"
Me- "Ummm yeah I did, you just didn't listen buddy."
Him- "Oh great, now what do we do?"
Me- "Dude, just turn around."
Now we are heading down the road towards one of the towns near base, but I couldn't tell you which one, because the map of the local area...yeah it sucks. I get him to pull over onto a little road so that we can turn around. Then I realize that I have left my ID to get back on base in my purse which is in the trunk of the car...ya know, cause going off base wasn't exactly in the plan. He pulls to the side of the road, I hop out like we are doing a chinese fire drill and grab my purse out of the trunk.
Me-"Ok now go. Remember, pull out onto the LEFT hand side of the road."
Him- "I know that much."
Me- "Alright. I was just reminding you. I mean it isn't like you have had so much experience driving or riding around."
Him- "It doesn't help that the roads are only 3 feet wide."
Me-"They aren't 3 feet wide, it just feels like it."
We head back down the road, me clenching the door handle so tight my knuckles are turning white and praying we don't hit the little curbs on the side of the road and flip the car. Lucky to be alive, we make it back to the base.
Me- "Ok now when we get to the roundabout, just take the first exit. That should take us back towards the room."
On the way back we hit a four way stop intersection*. Now that is something my husband can deal with. This whole looking for cars coming at you, paying attention to turn signals and guessing where the car you are merging in front of is going thing. My husband, I don't know if he is gonna catch onto it really quickly. He has already tried to kill me roughly 4 times since he has been driving.
To quote my husband when we got back to the room a couple days later after yet another near miss at a roundabout where he tried to kill us all. "I love the feeling of almost dying everyday. It really makes you feel alive."
For the record the first time I drove here. It was dark, a Friday night, and I made it there without one near death experience and the kids were screaming and talking the whole way. I am not saying I am a better driver than him, but ya know, I didn't almost kill anyone.

*These are the only stop signs on base. Anywhere you would think there would be stop signs are roundabouts or give ways. Also, give way does not mean stop. It is basically a yield sign.