August is here

Now that I am caught up, well at least given a quick run down of the past few months...let me just say this.  I have been in the UK for eight months now.  WHAT???? I have been married for eight months now! Where does the time go?? While the last eight months have been mostly wonderful, there has been some downs.  But, thanks to my lovely, adoring husband I have made it through.  I even have exciting news to share.  Starting Monday I am starting a new position with the local water company.  While I am glad to have gained the experience and friendships I did at my past job, there is many reasons I needed to move on.  I am excited and nervous to start this new adventure in life.  However,
I must say I am pretty proud of myself.  I am on this forum called UK Yankee, which is full of advise and just conversation for life in the UK for Americans.  Everybody on there said it was so hard to get their first job.  I got my first job within a month of looking, and have found a second job.  I think God was watching over me on that one.  I have had the last few days off (ending of my notice-start of new job gap) which is how I am able to catch up here! I promise I will at least do monthly updates from now on.

So far, August has started off OK.  While, I still have days of missing my Grandma.. Anthony takes care of me.  We are so blessed in life that we are actually coming back to Missouri in November, tickets booked this week.  I cannot wait to be home for a holiday and happier times. 

Last weekend we had Lilly and went to the park because it was absolutely amazing outside.  It is funny when in America I think 100 degrees is hot, but now that I am here and were outside and the air is still and 75 I am dying.  It is just a different type of weather that I think my body is adjusting to.  It still seems strange that I can wear jeans and a cardigan, and not be hot here.  The hot days are like warm spring/fall days and the rest of the time it feels like spring/fall weather.  It is nice most of the time.  Sometimes it gets a little warm in the house because there is no AC and we rely on a good breeze to come through the windows.  That being said, there is also no screens on the windows.  So, I have had to get used to the idea of bugs coming and going.  Mostly, it is flies or little spiders it actually has not been as bad as I thought.

Since I have had a few days off, I went on my first ever solo shopping trip.  I thought I would enjoy this, as Anthony drives me everywhere so he is usually with me when I shop.  I caught the bus into town, and walked around for a few hours.  I thought I would treat myself to a new work outfit or handbag...and I walked away with house hold cleaning products. *sigh* However, it was nice to just sit by myself and have a coffee outside in town.  In case you have missed it, our town center is absolute stunning! It is filled with old buildings and a cathedral.  So, just siting on a coffee shop patio and taking in the surroundings is peaceful.

I don't really have much more to say, this has been a kind of random blog post.

The garden at Central Park is just beautiful.  We love this park; mainly because it is huge.  They have a splash pool in the summer, sand pits to play in, a big jungle gym area, grassy areas to play ball, etc.  a beautiful garden, bird cages, tennis courts, and a little cafe.  It is really a nice park..if it were not so expensive to live by it, we would love to.

Lilly with her spotty ball

Thanks for stopping by,
Erica xx

July

Where did the time go? We're already in July??

July we had some fun!  We took Lilly up to a neighboring town called March to a fossil museum.  We weren't sure what to expect and overall the experience was just OK.  Lilly got to dig in a sandpit to find real fossils, she got to keep a handful as well.  She found things like shark teeth, plants, and vertebrae of sea animals.  She also got to mine for gold.

March

 River Bank in March

 Panning for Gold

 Digging for fossils

I also found it funny that our local Aldi was selling 'American' food around the fourth of July.  They had things like hot dogs, grape soda and rootbeer, giant marshmallows, cinnamon toast crunch (like) cereal, maple syrup and some other things.  We tried a few of the items, and the only thing that tasted remotely like the stuff back home is the marshmallows.  British take on American food is never quite right.  Like tacos, the flavoring for seasoning for the taco kits is BBQ or paprika.  No thanks!

We also had a really hot day, where we just went and sat on the riverbank to soak up some sun.  We brought books, a blanket and our sunglasses! Poor Anthony got burnt.. I got a mild (I mean minor,teen tiny) tan.  I don't think the sun is as strong here, so even when I do get sun, my skin just doesn't absorb it like it did in the states.  I also tried my first 99 flake.  This incredible whipped ice cream with a flaky chocolate stick in it.  So delicious!

On the weekend of July 1st, Anthony and I took a long weekend.  We went up to a neighboring town called Leicester.  Fun fact; Leicester's football (soccer) team won the premier league this year.  This is a pretty amazing thing for a small town team.  It was shown throughout the town how proud they were as they had banners all over local businesses showing support for the team.  Here's a quick article highlighting the win  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35988673
During our time in Leicester, we went the the National Space Musuem.  It was a pretty neat place, and we were granted a promotional season ticket pass.. which is great, we can now take Lilly up there.  This weekend, we also had our friends Ryan and Alex come visit us in Peterborough.  We went to our favorite pub Charters again, and soaked up some sunshine and cider as it was cider fest.  Afterwards, we came back for pizza and games.

 At Charters

On a much sadder note, July is also the month where we lost my beloved Grandma Grace.  This was extremely hard for me, as I was far away when it happened. A huge thanks is owed to my parents for helping us get home for the funeral.  But, it is still something I feel sad about.  That I only got to say good bye to her over Facetime. My grandma was a great one, who loved us all without question.  She never told me I was crazy for loving an English man and for moving, but embraced it.  She loved the fact that I was moving over here, and embraced Jason (Anthony) and Lilly from day one.  It was beyond sweet when she sent Lilly a birthday card with five pounds in it, and Anthony a card addressed to 'Jason'.  Her funny wit makes us smile now.  Needless to say, there were plenty of tears between the two of us, and also the sharing of memories.  It was beyond a blessing for us to be back in America for this, and I am beyond grateful we were.  I would have felt so much guilt if we were not there.  And despite the circumstances, it was nice for Anthony to meet some of the family he never had.  I know I appreciated all the love and support he gave me and my family during this time.  I truly and a lucky one, and I think my grandma knew that about him.

When we came back from Missouri, we both went to work.  That weekend Anthony took me to the beach.  I think he knew I just needed a little peace of mind.  It was beautiful, and just what I needed.