Home Sweet Home

Waiting... Waiting... and more waiting...

2011-08-19T22:24:00.000+01:00

Just wanted to check in to let you all know that Andy and I are still alive. Unfortunately we are still 'in the process' of buying our house. It has officially been two months since our offer was accepted. I can see the finish line ahead but unfortunately the people who own the house have some 'cowboy' solicitors who are not in a hurry at all. We can not move any quicker on our purchase until they start to move a bit faster on the purchase of the house they are buying and moving into.

Now I know why the sentence 'No Upward Chain' was used on other properties as a marketing tool!

ugh.

Tiles.. Tiles... and more Tiles...

2011-07-07T20:08:00.006+01:00

So, as I mentioned before I am busy trying to find ways to keep myself occupied during this whole long drawn out buying process.

For now this task appears to be kitchen tiles. There is not a whole lot of tiled space in the current layout of the kitchen but the tiles that are there do not make me happy at all. They are very white, very boring and not my style at all. So I've been looking around for just the perfect tiles to redo the job and I think I finally found them!

The name of these tiles are 'Zanzibar' and in total there are seven different colors. Here are some photos from a tile website of each color on their own.

Now usually I am a very matchy matchy kinda gal and if I were to do something it would need to be in a specific pattern. But I want to put these up in a very random manor such as the example below, I made this by just copying and pasting some individual tiles from the above photos to make my own layout.

As you can see... no rhyme or rhythm which is what I want. I can not even describe how much I am in love with these! They are so worn and weathered looking... and very Tuscan which is exactly what I am looking for. I plan on using a sandstone or beige grout, I just don't think white would be the best choice.

As of right now the kitchen has a black with grey specks counter top, black/dark grey tile floor and light wooden cabinets. The plan is to eventually replace the counter top with a nice butcher block type style and the floors a nice Tuscan color tile. But until I have the money for all of that the black will not look horrible and the tiles will really liven the place up and make it look a bit more 'me'.

... And I'm back! (Again)

2011-07-03T16:56:00.000+01:00

I've just completed a major revamp of my blog... and as you can tell from the new layout we are about to start a new chapter in the McGrae family saga.

We are in the process of buying our first house! Yay!!!

Now anybody that knows me will know that I am not patient at all. In fact all of my patience would probably fit in the tip of my little finger. And buying a house apparently requires much patience as it a very long and drawn out process.

*ugh*

I have been trying to keep myself busy making plans and lists. The house is very much in walk in and live condition but we are keen to make some changes right off the bat to make it well and truly ours. We are tied into our current rental lease until November so once we have completed and been given the keys this will give us some time to paint and do some work before having to be out of our current place. The plan is to go after work and on the weekends to get it completed. It has been a long time since I've had to do some DIY... this will be fun!

And of course you all know how much I love taking photos so I will be posting the entire process on here to share with everybody.

For now though... I guess it is waiting, waiting and more waiting.

Anniversary In Rome

2010-08-29T13:47:00.000+01:00

Well it's been an amazing month. Our diets (lifestyle changes) are going great and we were in Italy for a week over our 10 year wedding anniversary!

We had an amazing holiday and even lived through the 93+ degree heat everyday!! I took many many photos and I have put links to them all below. You do not have to have a Facebook account to look through them... Enjoy!

Rome ~ August 6th, 2010

Rome ~ August 7th, 2010

Rome ~ August 8th, 2010

Rome ~ August 9th, 2010

Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii ~ August 10th, 2010

Rome ~ August 11th, 2010

Checking In...

2010-07-02T20:59:00.000+01:00

Just thought I would do a quick check in... Nothing much going on to be honest. It was rough going back to work on Monday after having two relaxing weeks off. Andy and I didn't have anything planned but to just workout, relax and watch football. Which is exactly what we did for two whole weeks... it was bliss.

Then Monday hit and it was back to work. Oh well... it was great while it lasted!

Our next time off is scheduled in August. We will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary on August 11th and we will be celebrating it in.... (drum roll please).... Rome! Can not wait for this trip, it is going to be a blast! We were in Paris in May and that was a great 4 days but we have a whole week in Rome and it is going to be awesome! I think we may take the train for a day trip to Florence and Pisa also.

Since I was MIA from my blog in May when we went to Paris I'll post a link to the photos from our trip.

Paris ~ Album 1

Paris ~ Album 2

Paris ~ Album 3

My New Heart Rate Monitor

2010-06-22T22:12:00.000+01:00

I would first like to apologize to you that find my new obsession with exercise and calorie counting boring but it's hard to find other things to write about right now for the simple fact that it is a 24/7 lifestyle change and so much of my time is centered around this right now. I hope you don't find it too boring!

Anyway... Look what I got today.

This is my new heart rate monitor! I have used it four times already and I can not say enough about how much I love it! The chest strap is just worn during any kind of exercise and it transmits your heart rate to the watch. You are able to keep track of calories burned, heart rate, laps and much, much more.

After you are done you can go to the Polar website and by putting the watch next to the microphone on the laptop it will transmit all of the details it recorded directly to your profile where you can monitor your progress.

This is my main diary page. It loads the data into the time in which it was recorded and then you can click on it for more detail.

These are the overall details from the exercise. This was recorded during a 30 minute exercise video 'Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred'. As you can see it shows my average heart rate and my maximum heart rate.

When you click on Training Zones...

It then breaks down the data into even more detail. It will show you what percentage of time was spent in each Training Zone. I had no idea before starting all of this that there are better zones in which to keep your heart rate in as it will burn more fat in those zones. For me the best zones to be in for this are Zone 3 & 4 (Green & Orange).

I would also like to say that of course when you do things such as exercise videos you have no idea how many calories you are burning as everybody is different. But on some machines, such as my treadmill, it has a calorie counter. It had always told me that 3 miles = 424 calories. However now with my Heart Rate Monitor I know exactly how many I am burning which turns out to be more around 280! That is a big difference!

Okay enough about this... I think you guys get the idea of how much I love it!

Nappie/Diaper Cake!

2010-06-20T23:50:00.000+01:00

At work we had a collection for Laura C. She is leaving us to go on maternity leave and won't be back for nine whole months!

She is a very creative crafty person so I knew she would appreciate something with a little thought and effort put into it. So I discussed my idea with my co-workers and they all agreed she would love this gift.

Here is the before shot [after a long day of shopping in the 68° heat]...

After I found the colorful polka dot tea towels I knew that they had to be used and that it would be bright and beautiful.

Here is the after shot...

I couldn't really figure out a way to get the digital thermometer in the cake without taking up much needed diaper space so I decided to wrap it on the side.

So each level is made from folding and pinning the tea towels together and then rolling up diapers inside. It officially held around 85 or so. Then all around the tiers, as you can see, I added little goodies for the baby.

My favorite part of the whole cake was the cute little caterpillar... how adorable?

I was off work on Friday but I took it in for Laura's last day and she LOVED it! As we all knew she would. I'm so glad it turned out so nice cause she deserves the very best! I'm going to miss her loads over the next nine months. But I've already told her that there will be lots of visits.

Lots And Lots of Football!

2010-06-13T16:01:00.000+01:00

This past Friday was our last day at work for two weeks! That's right... 16 whole days off with nothing planned but lots and lots of relaxing and football watching. *bliss*

As I am sure most of you know (even if you don't follow football/soccer) the World Cup has started. Last night was the England vs USA match. As I am sure you all know I live in England but I still support USA and there has been quite a bit of banter at work regarding this match. I would have loved to have had a win but having a draw at 1-1 was about the most politically correct score there could have been. We kept up with England even though they planned on blowing past us and now nobody has bragging rights. Good stuff!

As you can see in my previous posts I had started Couch 2 5K but I have decided to put a hold on it. I made it through Week 1 Day 3 but noticed that my right knee was not liking it at all. I had to take three days off from walking because of it and that is not want I'm wanting to do. Right now I'm trying to lose at least 2lbs a week and yes working myself up to Running 3 Miles straight would help with the exercise but if it stops me from even being able to walk then I'm not going to get any exercise done. So for now I am going to hold off on running and just keep walking as much as I can. My knee still hurts a little a day after a long walk (did 5 miles yesterday) but I'm allowing myself one day on and one day off to rest and it seems to be better then. After I have gotten myself to a comfortable weight then I will look to start the program again.

When Andy and I started tracking all of our calories I thought it was going to be a pain in the butt to track every little thing but honestly we find it so easy now. We are both tracking them at My Fitness Pal and it has to be the easiest thing to use ever! Almost all of the food we have come across is already listed and only a few things have had to be corrected.

I have also found my measuring to be much easier than I first thought because of me purchasing the below cutting board.

When I first moved to England I found it so hard to cook here. I am used to using tablespoons, ounces, cups and Fahrenheit. Now everything is in milliliters, grams, liters and Celsius. It has been a learning curve to say the least. Well know with this handy cutting board I just have to look down and compare.

I love it!

It's Been A Hot One!

2010-06-05T22:41:00.004+01:00

Well today (for England standards) was a scorcher! The highest was 75° with the sun shining bright... thankfully the weather says it is going to start cooling down tomorrow and there might even be some rain. Yay!

So I figured I would give everybody a glimpse into where I have been spending a lot of time lately...

As you can see... This is my treadmill. Of course I have a much needed fan pointing right on me. I have my iPhone plugged into speakers next to me. I don't listen to music though, this is used for my Couch to 5K application, it tells me when to switch from walking to running. Instead of listening to music I choose to watch TV which honestly seems to make the time go by really fast. I use the time to catch up on all of my shows, right now I am catching up with Brothers and Sisters.

Today I also bought some cool new wrist weights.

They have nifty little thumb holes that make it so that they don't slide up and down, which can really hurt. They had two sizes so I went with the smaller ones for now, they are just over 1 pound each. I was surprised at how much I actually felt it when I was walking. I didn't use them while doing the C25K (Couch to 5K) Week 1 Day 2 as I don't need any extra weight during the running portions right now! But after that 30 minutes was over I continued on walking for another 47 minutes so that I could make it to 4 miles so I used them then. Yes.. Me.. 4 miles.. It's crazy! I hate walking, but again I come back to the TV, it makes it so much easier to just focus and watch it.

Here is how it ended up...

The distance is in Kilometers and not Miles so I always have to convert it but I have already remembered what 2, 3 and 4 miles are so that is all I really need to know.

Tomorrow will be a rest day so that on Monday I can attempt C25K Week 1 Day 3. But even more exciting than that... Andy and I only have 5 days of work left until we are off for 2 whole weeks! I am so excited to have 16 days off in a row... And that will be filled with tons of football watching, I am SO excited for the World Cup!!!

Off To A Good Start...

2010-06-01T22:09:00.001+01:00

Not sure if you have noticed the little weight tracker off to the right side of the page? ------------->

Well Andy and I have both started a lifestyle change... I like the sound of 'lifestyle change' rather than diet. We are weighing all of our food, counting our calories and exercising. We started on May 20th and have picked Sundays to weigh in. This past Sunday we both did and the results were good! After a week and a half I had lost 5 lbs and Andy had lost 6 lbs. Of course with any change such as this the first couple of weeks are easy to lose as they say it is mostly water weight. But that had to be on me somewhere and I'm just glad it is now off and never to return!

Andy joined a gym not too far a drive from where we live but I have decided to focus mainly on using our treadmill. I like using our treadmill and for now it is perfect for me. I have it in our dining room/kitchen area and there is even a TV set up just in front of it so I just catch up on shows I have missed.

Over the weekend Meg had mentioned that she was going to restart the Couch to 5k (C25K) program and asked if there were any others that wanted to be her fitness buddies. So I jumped on the bandwagon and decided to give it a go.

Over the past two weeks I have been making sure that I walk 3 times a week, 3 miles each time. Not bad as everybody who knows me, knows how much I hate walking! Well the C25K program is designed to gradually get you from walking to running for 5K (3 miles). You can read all about it HERE.

Well today was Week 1 - Day 1. You start with a 5 minute warm up then you alternate 60 seconds running then 90 seconds brisk walking. You do this for 20 minutes and then end with a 5 minute warm down.

I honestly think I may have blacked out in the middle of it but it seems I have made it through alive! I will not lie it was tough. After I was done I had gone 2.68km/1.66mi. Since I had been normally going 3 miles I decided to stay on and walk at 2.5mph until I hit 4.83km/3mi... and I did it!

I was knackered like I haven't been in ages but am so proud of myself! I know it can only get easier from here so bring on Week 1 - Day 2! Well after my day off in between of course.

I have an overall goal set in terms of weight loss but have also set my first 'mini' goal. It is to lose 22 lbs before August 11th. Why August 11th? That is Andy and my 10 Year wedding anniversary and we will be in Rome so it would be nice to be a bit lighter for all the walking we will have to do in the hot Italian Summer sun!

I'm Back... But Not In The Same Way

2010-05-31T23:00:00.000+01:00

I will be the first one to admit that I have failed and keeping my 365 Blog up and going for two years straight! Did very well until March and then something just happened... I realized that there isn't that much variety in my days and I was struggling to get pictures taken.

So... I took a much needed break away from posting and now I am back. There is a new look on the place and I have decided that my blog will simply be updated when I have something to share. Could be something interesting or it could just be something stupid. But either way it will be on my terms and not required on a daily basis. There are just not enough hours in the day to keep that up for more than a year.

So there it is. Glad to be back... hope you don't hate that there won't be a photo a day.

Year Two 159/365 : Customer Service? Pah-lease

2010-03-08T20:46:00.005Z

After work Andy wanted to run to Game to pick up a new Playstation 3 game so I decided to go next door to Sport Direct. The last time I was in there they had these really great knee high socks. I bought a couple pair then but wanted to see if they had any more.

Finally after walking around searching for about 10 minutes I found this display and at the very tip top... there they were.

I didn't know how I was expected to get them down so I went over to the counter and asked, here is how that conversation went:

Me: Hi! I would like some of those socks at the top of that display, how would I get those down?

Worker: Which ones?

Me: Those at the very top, the knee length ones.

Worker: I'm sorry, what was that?

Me: (inside my head I was thinking 'let me repeat in slower English, yes that is right I ALSO SPEAK ENGLISH it just doesn't sound like your English) Those at the very top,the ones with the bright stripes.

Worker: Oh, have you looked around the store to see if there are any you can reach?

Me: Yeah I have and those are the only ones.

Worker: Are you sure? Have you looked over in the bargain area?

Me: Yep I have been looking for about 10 minutes but those are the only I could find.

Worker: Right well let me see if I can get you somebody to help.

Me: (inside my head I was thinking 'sorry I thought you were the one that could help') Right okay I'll just wait over by the display.

-----waiting-----

-----waiting-----

Finally went back over to the counter and asked again for help... she said somebody would be over right away. (This was after I had to pull her away from her private conversation with another co-worker)

-----waiting-----

-----waiting-----

Finally after waiting for about 10 minutes a kid comes over.

Kid Worker: Are you the one wanting the socks at the top?

Me: (inside my head I was thinking 'yeah sorry for actually wanting to buy some of your merchandise and sorry that you put it so high I couldn't get it myself) Yep that's me!

He got me a few pairs and brought them down. They were 50% off so at £1.29 a piece I wasn't walking out without a few of them.

I guess this whole exchange could have been worse though... At least I had two conversations and neither one of them asked me if I was American or why I would choose to live in England over America.

So yeah, it could have been worse.

Year Two 158/365 : Now All I Need...

2010-03-07T20:38:00.000Z

... is to learn how to quill!

I finally got all of my quilling supplies organized and in order but I haven't been able to actually start practicing yet.

Oh how I wish there were more hours in a day!

Year Two 157/365 : That Time Of Year Again

2010-03-06T20:31:00.001Z

Everton season tickets go on sale Monday and we got our renewal packet in the post today. We have until April 17th to renew with an early bird discount.

We will be keeping our same seats because we love them and I feel moving anywhere else would put some kind of jinx on the team! haha

Year Two 156/365 : Still Sunny...

2010-03-05T20:21:00.001Z

We were driving home at around 5:45pm and realized the sun was still out. Another sure sign that Spring is on the way.

I would be depressed because it also means warmer weather is on the way but here it doesn't really ever get that hot so it's all good!

Year Two 155/365 : Moving Billboard...

2010-03-04T19:59:00.000Z

This truck was just driving around with a billboard on the back. Strange.

Year Two 154/365 : Post Boxes

2010-03-03T19:24:00.000Z

I love English post boxes! There is so much history behind them and I love finding new ones that I have never seen before.

I know... this is odd but I do love them.

Year Two 153/365 : Foooooooooooooog

2010-03-02T19:05:00.003Z

Terrible fog on the way into work this morning. It didn't last log though.. was sunny by around 11am.

Spring is coming!

Year Two 152/365 : Strange Weather

2010-03-01T20:00:00.003Z

It started out really sunny this morning. Then it turned really dark and hailed for a little while and then sunny again. Then when we were out in our car at lunch it started hailing again. Ended sunny but still very cold.

Was very strange weather all day!

Year Two 151/365 : Quilling Board

2010-02-28T18:57:00.003Z

As you could tell with my previous posts I am slowly but surely getting all of the supplies needed for Quilling together so that I can work on a few new projects.

Well this is my new fancy Quilling board. My Mom had said it was required to get a cork board to work on as it is needed to hold your quills in place as the glue dries. When I found this one online I knew I had to get it. I thought the pre-shaped cut outs would help with forming pieces.

I can't wait to get everything together and start playing around with my new craft!

Year Two 150/365 : Thank Goodness...

2010-02-27T18:21:00.001Z

... For Ikea!

Today was my Saturday to work so when I got out at 1:00pm I went and picked Laura C up and we headed off to Ikea and Hobbycraft.

I was in search of Shadow Box Frames. Yes I know they shouldn't be that difficult to find but over here it was! Thankfully Ikea had them and not at a too bad of a price either. I picked up a couple white ones and a black one.

Even though it is against my very nature to buy anything from Hobby 'Rip You Off' Craft (because of how much they jack up their prices) there are some things that you just can't find anywhere else so we also stopped by there. I ended up finding the cutest flower paper punches so I picked those up. They were not even that expensive either which was a shock!

Year Two 149/365 : Up, Up And Away

2010-02-26T18:06:00.003Z

Spotted these balloons on our way into work today but couldn't get my camera out in time. Was pretty happy to see they were still there on our way back home.

The sun came out to play today... too bad I was stuck at work for most of the day.

Year Two 148/365 : Got Quilling... Can Travel

2010-02-25T21:53:00.000Z

I picked this up at Homebase after work tonight. It is going to be perfect to keep all of my Quilling stuff together. The plastic containers have dividers inside that run long ways. It will be perfect for my papers and a way to keep them from getting smashed and tore up.

There are also little grooves and square pieces of plastic that you can use to make smaller storage areas and this will be nice for my tools, pins, etc...

I love being organized!

Year Two 147/365 : Love Ya Mom!

2010-02-24T21:45:00.000Z

These are just some of the goodies that I got in the post today from my Mom!

I have been wanting to get into Quilling so Mom was nice enough to pick some supplies up for me to send with a little care package. I was almost out of dry Ranch dressing and we know I can't live without that! She had bought the pumpkin carving kits just after Halloween. They do not have these over here and since carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do how could I be without these?

Thanks mom!! Love ya! xx

Year Two 146/365 : Yet Again... Snow!

2010-02-23T21:34:00.001Z

Was snowing really badly again on our way home tonight. I love the snow however most of the others at work hate it.

This didn't stay around very long though... by around 9pm it had turned to rain and everything was gone.

Shame.

Year Two 145/365 : Wow

2010-02-22T21:18:00.001Z

The one on the right is a normal sized green pepper.

The one on the left is simply a freak of nature. Tasted really good on our fajitas though!

Year Two 144/365 : New Keychain

2010-02-21T21:13:00.002Z

I got a new keychain when I was at the match yesterday... I love it! My favorite part is that the keyring itself is stamped with 'Everton'. So cool.

Year Two 143/365 : Rooney Rooney What's The Score?

2010-02-20T19:43:00.006Z

Rooney Rooney what's the score?
Rooney what's the score?

Wow.

Today was another great day out at Goodison Park. I will be completely honest I was so nervous about today's against Manchester United.

There is the whole Wayne Rooney aspect to playing them as he grew up supporting Everton, was in their youth team and played in their first team. Made comments such as 'Once a Blue always a Blue' only to move to Manchester United with a lot of cash in his pocket. Then he kissed the Man United badge at a match against Everton some years later... Let's just say he is not cheered when we play him. But today he was kept well and truly quiet.

Manchester United are one of the clubs which are considered 'The Big 4' and I think the last time Everton beat them in a regular season match was something like 2004 or 2005.

Well... until today!

United went up 0-1 after 15 minutes. I have to admit at that point I was terrified. I did not want us to lose this match and am made up that Diniyar Bilyaletdinov scored a screamer only a few minutes later. We were back in it!

We went into half time 1-1 and it wasn't until minute 79 when Dan Gosling who had just come on as a substitute scored and then at minute 90 Jack Rodwell scored the third.

Goodison Park was going crazy!

I am sure you all realize how happy we were. You don't have to be into football to get at least an idea of how exciting a match like this can be.

I have no idea how I lived without Football in my life for so long...

Year Two 142/365 : I Have Been Called Worse!

2010-02-19T10:21:00.001Z

All of us at work had a big laugh about this fax that came for me from a client today. Of course due to data protection I had to block a lot of words out but I kept the funny bit...

What gets me is that the person that sent it never once mentioned my accent for me being from America. So it was very funny that they added this to the fax. Was very funny!

I am still surprised that not more people ask me about where I am from. Seeing how I speak to people on the phone all day you would think it would come up more. Especially since I can't get on a bus or speak to somebody in a store without getting the dreaded "You are not from around here are you?" or the "Are you American?" questions.

Don't get me wrong I get asked at least once or twice a week on the phones at work but seeing how I speak to around 40 people a day it is not so bad.

Once I was asked if I was from Scotland though! That was a shocker. Then when I said no I was from the US she asked which state. I told her I was from Illinois but lived in Texas for the last three years and she said "Oh yeah, Texas that is the one by New York right?" I just said yes.

The funniest ones are when I get asked "Where are you from?" and I say "America" and then they try to be all rude about it and say "Well I know that I mean from which state".

The people at work think that when asked I should just start saying "I was born and grew up right here in Chorley". That would be pretty funny as most people at work are from Chorley and they do have a pretty thick accent. I wonder if the people asking would question it or just go with it.

Year Two 141/365 : Be Mine

2010-02-18T10:13:00.000Z

Winnie-the-Pooh is all decked out for his Valentine and I almost forgot to take a picture of him this month! With that hat it makes me think of him as a little chef.

Wish he would have helped me with my Valentine cake the other day!

Year Two 140/365 : Rhodes

2010-02-17T19:50:00.000Z

In 2007 Andy's sister, Tracey, got married to James in Rhodes, Greece. We were lucky enough to get to go over from the US to be with them. I was also a bridesmaid in the wedding.

These are some photo frames that I bought while we were there.

I love them! The frame is wrapped in leaves and it looks so nice. That was a great trip!

Year Two 139/365 : Best Non-Holiday Ever!

2010-02-16T19:25:00.002Z

We had an early Everton match at 5:45pm today. It was a Europa League match against Sporting Lisbon. We won the match 2-1 but that goal we conceded in the last 5 minutes made the match feel like a loss to be honest. This game is over two matches and the Away Goal Rule comes into place. It is too hard to explain so if you would like to learn more about it you can read about it here.

It is also Pancake Day today. This is the best non-holiday ever! I of course opt for American style Pancakes rather than the UK Crepe style Pancakes.

They are so yummy! Andy hates any kind of Pancakes so he decided to have a Pot Noodle, so nutritious.

Year Two 138/365 : Odd

2010-02-15T19:20:00.002Z

Weather can be so odd.

The bottom clouds were the whitest puffiest clouds I have seen yet this year and they didn't seem to be moving very fast at all.

But then you can see the dark almost rain like clouds that were above me and they were moving super fast across the sky.

Very odd.

Year Two 137/365 : Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T18:58:00.005Z

I made a Strawberry and Cream cake to take to work tomorrow! I thought it to be very fitting for right after Valentine's Day.

On close up you can see the little edible red hearts. Soooooo cute!

Year Two 136/365 : Forgot The Sugar

2010-02-13T09:56:00.001Z

Had to run back to Sainbury's this morning because I forgot to pick up sugar last night. My only complaint about the new store is that the shopping cart (aka trolley) requires you to pay for the use. Yes you get your £1.00 back when you return the cart but still... It does make it a pain in the butt.

I carry this little token around with me on my keys so that I don't have to dig out my wallet to get a pound but it is still annoying. Do people really steal carts? Or is this so that carts are not left all over the place? When you have these devices on them you have to walk them back to where they are kept so that you can get your money/token back. Maybe that is why they use them.

Year Two 135/365 : It Is No Wonder...

2010-02-12T09:16:00.001Z

...that I am becoming a kitchen goddess.

We went to the new Sainsbury's that was opened in Westhoughton this week. This is the amount of pre-packaged bakery goods that they have. It is good that it is a Betty Crocker so maybe she is starting to make a move into the UK market but really? One brownie, one cookie, one muffin and two cakes. Oh and in case you didn't see ONE type of frosting.

This is why I have been learning how to make everything from scratch. There just isn't a good variety to pick from.

I am very excited that the Olympics start tonight but because of the time difference I won't be able to watch the opening ceremony until tomorrow. I was very saddened to hear of the death of the luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia, what a sad start of events.

Year Two 134/365 : My New Cake Box

2010-02-11T18:39:00.003Z

Look what was delivered today while I was at work. I had bought a cheap cake box from Asda a while ago but it didn't lock and had no handle.

The other day while online I stumbled across my new favorite store in England, Lakeland. It has the cutest kitchen gadgets ever!

So far for work I have made a Carrot Cake, an Italian Cream Cake and a batch of Puppy Chow. Next week I hope to make a Strawberry cake for just after Valentine's Day. Now I'll have a nice carrier to take it in with.

Year Two 133/365 : Kevin Is...

2010-02-10T18:20:00.002Z

a butt munch!

During the day there are letters that I have to write to clients and various other people but before they can be posted off they all have to be approved and signed.

Well Christian who normally does all of the signing is away for a couple of days so Kevin does it while he is away. Hannah was taking her signing down so she asked if anybody had any that needed to go also. I gave her mine... it was a bad mistake!

This is how it was brought back to me. As you can guess Kevin supports Liverpool FC (ugh I even hate writing it...) and he decided to deface my beautifully decorated signings folder.

This is why Kevin is a butt munch!

Now I will need to decorate a new folder. Maybe I'll make a blue Everton one!

Speaking of Everton... there was a night match tonight against Chelsea and we won 2-1. The atmosphere at Goodison was electric! I love night matches. And since our last one was against Manchester City and we won that 2-0 I am thinking the boys like playing under the lights also.

Oh and on a side note Liverpool got beat by Arsenal tonight 1-0. Double yay!

Year Two 132/365 : So Disappointed

2010-02-09T17:47:00.001Z

I love love love the Olympics! I am so looking forward to them starting on Friday (even though I wont be able to watch the opening ceremony until Saturday because of the time difference).

However... It got me thinking this morning about how much I am going to miss watching it on NBC. I will miss the Olympic song that they always play, I will miss the 'puff pieces' that they do on the athletes and I will very much miss Bob Costas!

The coverage over here is not going to be the same and I do have to admit it makes me a little sad.

Today at lunch I was looking on my iPhone for an Olympic App and found this one from NBC.! I was so excited. Until it finished downloading and I opened it up to find that it will not allow me to watch videos because I am not in the United States.

What the #$%&!?

Do they not know that there are Americans living outside the United States? NBC is a free TV station. Why would they block it?

I am sad again.

Year Two 131/365 : Coming Along...

2010-02-08T18:21:00.003Z

Sorry... The picture is a little wonky and crooked but you get the idea.

I was able to finish the inside of the restaurant and I am so glad that part is done! Still only about half way done but I am finally seeing progress. I started this on December 26th so not too shabby.

Yay!

Year Two 130/365 : They Are Gone!

2010-02-07T18:10:00.001Z

I think this is the first time in 15 months that the neighbor hasn't had clothing hanging out.

However I am sure the next time it rains or snows they will have the clothes out in it.

Year Two 129/365 : Not Optional

2010-02-06T17:36:00.001Z

Was making some pasta as a side dish tonight and noticed the ingredients.

In my World butter is never optional... it is a must and yes it is very tasty!

Year Two 128/365 : I Am Over 25.. Thanks For Asking

2010-02-05T17:19:00.000Z

This is a new palette knife that I bought to use when icing cakes.

When I went through the self check out line in Tesco to buy it I had to wait for the worker to come over to verify that I was in fact over 25 years of age before I was allowed to continue.

Think of all the damage a person could do with a non sharp.. wobbly.. piece of metal. *shudder*

Year Two 127/365 : Boys And Their Games

2010-02-04T18:24:00.004Z

This was given to Andy by a friend of his at work. Let me explain.

His friend from work is the one in tank (DUSARA666). Another one of his friends he grew up with is the one in the plane (TLPN99) and another guy they play online with is the one in the helicopter (REBEL).

This of course leaves Andy (StJimmy)... He is the one they are all shooting.

Today the demo for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 comes out. Andy has been talking about this for weeks and everybody he plays Call of Duty with is planning on playing it tonight also.

I guess this picture was giving Andy a taste of what he has to look forward to tonight.

Boys.

Year Two 126/365 : They Were Right

2010-02-03T18:02:00.002Z

So... they got the weather right for once. It did started snowing at around noon today. It got very heavy and there was about an inch or so at 5:00pm. However it then turned warm and it started raining... Everything melted. Shame.

These pictures were taken when Andy and I drove to the Co-Op at lunch. I felt like crap all day and had a horrible sinus headache. I had to get medicine.

I am happy to say though that the medicine worked and by the time I got off work at 8:00pm I was feeling much better.

Year Two 125/365 : Happy Groundhog's Day

2010-02-02T17:49:00.004Z

So 17 Days later the snow pile is still around but it is getting much smaller!

The forecast is calling for a little bit more snow tomorrow but I'll believe it when I see it.

By the way... Happy Groundhog's Day!! I used to love Groundhog's Day when I was in the US so I did not let it sway my fun today. I quoted the movie all day and announced that Phil saw his shadow as soon I found out. Yay! Six more weeks of winter. That makes me happy.

I then went home after work and watched Groundhog's Day... just as I have on every February 2nd for the last 15 or so years.

Year Two 124/365 : Tangtasty!

2010-02-01T21:21:00.004Z

Tangy Haribo... how I love you!

Something tells me I will be very popular at work tomorrow...

Year Two 123/365 : Stash... Stash... More Stash!

2010-01-31T20:23:00.000Z

Today my Mother-in-Law Hazel, Laura C, Laura M and Helen (girls from work) all made our way over to Manchester for the Stitch and Creative Crafts show. I was able to find some great cross stitch kits and some other little goodies...

Above is gorgeous Christmas kit! I fell in love with the little dog and cat sitting on the steps watching the goings on in town.

The below kit is called Paris Market. I thought it would look beautiful in our kitchen next to the European Bistro one I am working on now.

I got some new 16 count aida. The one on the left is a beautiful dyed fabric that I am going to use for Murky Manor! I was so excited to find it as it will go perfectly with it. The one on the right is white with glitter pieces that is beautiful!

I also bought six white and six royal blue skeins of yarn for me to make an Everton color scarf for the matches next season. I love my scarves really long and the ones you can buy at the Everton shop are all really short and you can't even wrap them around your neck. I have been looking at some royal blue yarn online but was afraid to get it because I was afraid it wouldn't be the right color when I got it. This will work perfectly!

This is a cute little needle/scissor case that I picked up.

There are felt pages in it where you can keep safety pins and needles.

Then a place in the back to hold your scissors.

All in all it was a great day out with some great people and we had a lot of fun! I honestly didn't find the prices that much cheaper then what I could get online but you can't beat the company of some good people and a nice day out. It was well worth it! There were SO many things I wanted to buy so I was good to get out when I did.

Year Two 122/365 : Still Unopened

2010-01-30T20:49:00.002Z

When we all went out to The Rocky Horror Show I tried a Gaymers Pear Cider and loved it! I don't usually drink and I have never been drunk (yeah I know.. how is that possible when I have lived in England for 15 months...) but I did find the taste of this really nice.

Well before Christmas I bought three bottles with the thought that I could drink them at Christmas.

Well Christmas came and went... they were still unopened.

I then thought that New Years was right around the corner so I could just drink them then... that never happened.

Then at work Laura C and Laura M made a bet with me that if Everton beat Man City back on January 16th that I would go home after the match and drink one of them... well we won and as you can see they are still unopened.

I do like the taste but I just forget about them or figure it's not worth feeling a bit tipsy to have one. Cause yes because I don't drink even after the one bottle at Rocky I could really feel it! One day I will get around to drinking them though.

Year Two 121/365 : Tiny Bit Of Snow

2010-01-29T19:37:00.001Z

Took this on my drive into work today (I was stopped at some lights). If you look at the very tip top of Winter Hill you will see that there is a tiny bit of snow lingering around.

Hang on for dear life my friend... I am not ready to say goodbye.

Year Two 120/365 : Lucky Me!

2010-01-28T19:03:00.004Z

Looky at what I found in our front garden today!

It was dark and rainy when Andy and I came home from work but while he was opening the door I saw something on the ground a few feet away. I went to take a look and realized it was a five pound note! Woo Hoo!

I had to put it on the radiator because it was sopping wet but how fun is it to find free money?

Year Two 119/365 : Carrot Cake.. From Scratch!

2010-01-27T12:18:00.006Z

I bought some carrots the other day because I have been craving carrot cake and decided I would buckle down and make one from scratch. I made one once before when Andy and I were living with my Mom just before we moved to England and it turned out really well.

When I opened the package of carrots I was shocked to see the different sizes of carrots that were in there. I mean usually most carrots are near enough the same size but look at the differences in these! I have put a normal sized pen in the picture for comparison.

I shall start by saying that this it he largest carrot I have ever seen in my life! I have also never seen a 'double' carrot before.

I am happy to say that the carrot cake and the home made cream cheese icing turned out beautifully! Yummy!!

Year Two 118/365 : Darn Football!

2010-01-26T11:52:00.003Z

Andy and I were out of work at 5:00pm today. I have tomorrow off since I have to be in on Saturday so I wanted to run into Middlebrook 'very quickly' to pick up some things from Homebase for the bathroom so that I could work on it tomorrow.

I really need to remember to check the Football schedule before I go into Middlebrook. The Reebok stadium is right there and unfortunatly Bolton were playing at home against Burnley at 8:00pm so a trip that should have taken 10 minutes took f-o-r-e-v-e-r! We did not get home until 6:45pm!

Not happy.

Year Two 117/365 : Piece of Crap

2010-01-25T11:39:00.003Z

Andy's Xbox stopped reading discs several months ago. He was tired of how he was always having to send it in for repairs so he moved on to a Playstation 3.

Since it was still under warranty he posted it off (for free) to Microsoft about a week ago to be repaired and here it is all fixed.

Now he can take it to Game and trade it in for store credit so that he can buy some new Playstation 3 games.

I love working the system.

Year Two 116/365 : Costco Love

2010-01-24T10:31:00.004Z

Andy and I went to Costco so that I could try a new cat litter. I have to say that the clumping cat litter they have over here is terrible! The only excuse I can think of is that most cats here are indoor/outdoor cats and maybe there are not a lot of indoor litter boxes?

I don't know the reason but it sucks. I was doing some research online and found that Costco had Litter Purrfect. I never used it in the States but my theory is that if it comes from the US where they have a lot of good clumping litters it may be better than what I can find over here. Oh and also the litter at stores like Pets At Home, Asda and Tesco is VERY expensive. I was able to get Litter Purrfect at Costco and have just changed out the entire litter box so I will let you know how it holds up. It was also way cheaper than anything at those other stores.

As you can see while I was there I also found Ziploc bags! I was soooo excited! How silly is it of me to be excited by Ziploc bags? Yes you can get a 'cheap' version of them here but to be they are just not as good in my opinion.

I also wonder about the lack of 'name brands' here in the UK. I mean if you think of storage bags what name comes to mind? Ziploc. If you think tissues what name comes to mind? Kleenex. It is not like that here. The bags you can buy are simply made by the store you buy them in. For example 'Tesco Freezer Bags' and 'Asda Freezer Bags'.

I find it very odd.. this lack of branding.

Year Two 115/365 : Best Little Spaniard

2010-01-24T10:21:00.004Z

Follow Follow Follow
Everton Are The Team To Follow
And Theres Nobody Better Than Mikel Arteta
He's The Best Ever Spaniard We Know

Best part of the day... Mikel Arteta (in the center of the photo running toward us) being named on the bench, watching him warm-up and getting 10 or so minutes in the game. He has been out injured since February 2009 (yes almost a year) and I am so glad he is okay to put in a few minutes here and there.

Worst part of the day... losing 1-2 and being knocked out of the FA Cup. Last year we made it all the way to the final. Boo.

Oh and in case you are wondering why there are so many empty seats... that top and bottom section is where the away fans sit. They just didn't bring enough people to fill the entire sections.

Year Two 114/365 : Britain's Got Talent

2010-01-22T11:25:00.001Z

Back in April '09 Andy applied online at Applausestore.com for free tickets to Britain's Got Talent auditions in Manchester.

We found out about a month ago that he was successful... and today was the day! The doors were set to open at 1:15 but we decided to go plenty early. We got to the Manchester Opera House at 10:30am. We were not too far back in line which meant we knew were were guaranteed to get in. What they do in these cases is give away more seats than they have so you are not sure you will get in but we were in a good spot.

However they were not very smart in deciding to give everybody in line a stamp on the hand when taking their tickets. It was raining and the stamp was not waterproof. The above picture is Andy's after the first one was smeared off when he tried to put his gloves back on. They gave him another stamp but it meant he had to hold his hand under my umbrella for a good hour while it got dry enough to put his gloves back on. Not a smart idea by the crew.

The long wait seemed even longer in the rain but we knew it was going to be worth the trouble.

We had really good seats! We were even able to see the judges table. It was also good to be on this side because the hosts Ant & Dec stand right behind that first curtain so we were able to see them dancing to the acts, etc.. during the auditions.

Speaking of Ant & Dec they were the first to come onto the stage. They are very funny!

Then the judges made there way from the back of the auditorium. Piers came out first and then Amanda. Then Simon strolled in. Piers and Amanda had to wait a long time up on the stage by themselves... We all know Simon loves to make a big entrance.

They made us turn off all of the cameras and phones as soon as the judges took their places at the table so I was unable to take any photos of the acts. But I can say I was surprised at how many of them were so good! There were of course some crazy ones and there was a bit of 'off, off, off' yelled but honestly there was more good than bad. And I would have to say at least two very potential winners.

There was a young girl from Wales that blew my socks off when she started to sing! The most shocking part though was that Simon voted no... I did not understand that.

There was also a father and son that sang together and they got a standing ovation at about the same moment they started to sing. Yes they had a sad story to tell before they sang but liking them had nothing to do with that story, they were just good together.

I was shocked at one point when the crew brought on a stripper pole for the next audition. But was even more shocked when she introduced herself as Jess from Westhoughton! We noticed about a month ago that there was a new place opened up and that it taught pole dancing. Well she is only 16 and is the owner of JLN Pole Fitness Studio. Her act was very tasteful and quite beautiful. She easily made it through to the next round so hopefully she makes it past the next stages so that we have some local talent to cheer for!

All in all it was a great day out and I am happy Andy took it upon himself to sort these tickets out. Now lets just keep our fingers crossed that we also get tickets for X Factor auditions later this year.

More Photos From The Day

Year Two 113/365 : No More Snow

2010-01-21T10:49:00.000Z

I know this is a blurry photo but you get the idea... I wish it would snow again but I have a feeling we are done for this winter.

It does make me sad though because I love snow!

Year Two 112/365 : Dear Everton FC

2010-01-20T17:31:00.000Z

Dear Everton FC,

We are not the richest club around as I am sure you would agree. Why may I ask have you wasted money on the postage to send us this?

I am sure with a little research it would have been easily verified that myself and my husband Andy have season tickets. There is no need to advertise the upcoming match against Chelsea as we will already be there and I would hope that our seats are already secured.

Just think.. this is 36 pence that could have gone toward the purchase of a new player.

Shame on you and your wasteful ways.

Still *LOVE* you though,
Christine xx

Year Two 111/365 : Afternoon Daylight...

2010-01-19T17:17:00.003Z

This was the scene when we got home from work at 4:30pm today. Look how light it still is outside... that means spring is on the way.

Today is also my Sister's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANDRA!!! Love and miss you lots!

Year Two 110/365 : Snow Piles

2010-01-18T20:52:00.004Z

There has been some pretty heavy rain over the last few days. All of the snow is melted except for the large piles where parking lots were cleared off.

Snow is so beautiful but how ugly is this?

I wish it would snow again.

Year Two 109/365 : Military Time

2010-01-17T20:14:00.003Z

Most people in America call the 24 Hour Clock... Military Time. When I say this Andy always always laughs and says 'Christine it's just time there is no Military about it.'

When we moved over I knew the digital clocks would be in this format and it did take me a long time to get used to it. I used to have to always do math in order to tell the time.

But I can happily say now that when I look at a clock I know right then and there what time it is. When I look at this clock I see 6:13pm.

Hooray for knowing what time it is.

Year Two 108/365 : Fantastic Game!!

2010-01-16T19:49:00.004Z

First let me start off by saying that tonight's match against Manchester City is the best I have seen Everton play all season. It was an amazing match and we ended up winning 2-0. Goodison Park was jumping and the singing never stopped. What a great night!

Oh... and Marouane Fellaini was a rockstar!!!

Now to comment about these photos. This girl was a few rows in front of us and she is not normally sat there so I think one of the others around her must have brought her. The photos I have posted do not really show the full craziness of her hair but you kinda get the idea. It was a mess!

I just don't know why these young girls think it is okay tease the heck out of their hair and then comb the top layer to give them volume. It is truly a rats nest.

It does not look good at all.

The sad thing is that she was really dressed up so she had to have been making an effort. Maybe she doesn't believe in mirrors?

Year Two 107/365 : Beatrix Potter

2010-01-15T19:41:00.000Z

Laura C brought me her Beatrix Potter books that she has had since she was little. I have been wanting to read the stories and since I don't own them it was very nice of her to loan me hers.

Now I just have to pull myself away from cross stitching long enough to read them.

Year Two 106/365 : Must See TV

2010-01-14T19:33:00.003Z

Found this list on the table today. With the TV coming back after the holidays Andy has been on all of the American channel websites to make a list of all of the shows that we download to watch over here. He also checks out any new shows that he thinks we may like.

Some are for him, some for me but most for the both of us. Can't believe Survivor is back on already in February!

Year Two 105/365 : Work In Progress

2010-01-13T18:42:00.001Z

European Bistro is coming right along. Wish I had more time to work on it but it's nice to try to make an hour or so a night to pick it up.

Thought I would add a photo of the backside of it also. My Mom always teases me about now neat the backside of my projects are. I think it is the perfectionist in me... I just can't have long threads hanging off the back. If I need to move over say 10 lines I always run it under other stitches rather than just letting it be loose like she does. My Mom may have taught me how to cross stitch but this is one habit I picked up on my own.

Year Two 104/365 : Hhhhmmmmmm...

2010-01-12T17:54:00.001Z

Christine: I wonder how this happened?

Andy: I don't know, was going to ask you the same thing.

Christine: Well I didn't do it.

Andy: Neither did I... I don't put anything on the table.

Christine: Nothing? You never put one thing on the table?

Andy: Well yeah I do but nothing that would make those scratches.

Christine: Hhhhmmmmmm...

Year Two 103/365 : R I P

2010-01-11T18:39:00.002Z

Poor little guy. He was about 1/2 way to the ground over the weekend but when I came home from work tonight he was on the ground. You can see he is still trying to float but just can not do it.

Seeing as how I was given this balloon back on September 10th, 2009 we can all agree he has had a really good run! I have never had a balloon last 4 months before.

(Oh and just to note I have decided to stop with the weather updates. I keep forgetting to check and end up having to try to remember what the weather was like since I usually post a day late. It if fairly safe to say that you can pick Cloudy, Rainy or Snow and be right.)

Year Two 102/365 : USA.. USA.. USA

2010-01-10T17:57:00.001Z

This is a calendar that Andy got for Christmas from his Secret Santa at work. I love gifts that I can enjoy also!

This is Tim Howard and he is the keeper for Everton. He is a fellow American and when he makes a great save everybody starts to chant USA.. USA.. USA.

Love him!

High: 31°
Low: 23°
Forecast: Periods of Snow
Sunrise: 8:23 AM
Sunset: 4:13 PM

Year Two 101/365 : Poor Dog

2010-01-09T20:55:00.000Z

This is the free Bolton Journal that is delivered through our mail slot every week (even though we would rather not waste the time throwing it away). Even though it says the 7th on it we just got it today, the snow must have slowed them down.

This was the front of it this week.

Is it just me or does this seem a little wrong? I would hope that this outfit has been put on this poor dog via Photoshop but something tells me that the good people at Renault Retail probably don't have the resources or manpower to fake photos.

I do not agree with cruelty to animals in the form of dressing them up in human clothes and this poor dog doesn't look too impressed either.

High: 30°
Low: 21°
Forecast: Times of Clouds and Sun
Sunrise: 8:23 AM
Sunset: 4:12 PM

Year Two 100/365 : Keep Me Warm

2010-01-08T20:30:00.005Z

Bought some supplies after work to keep me nice and warm over the cold weekend.

Yummy!

High: 29°
Low: 22°
Forecast: Partly Sunny
Sunrise: 8:24 AM
Sunset: 4:10 PM

Year Two 99/365 : Look What I Got Today!

2010-01-07T22:53:00.003Z

I love getting fun things in the post! I am in the middle of my current cross stitch project 'European Bistro' so I won't be able to start this right away but I am so excited for this to be my next project. Andy says I won't have it done before Halloween but I know I will. You can click on the picture to see the pattern better.

The Orange and Yellow filament thread is glow in the dark. I already have white glow in the dark thread to use for the ghosts.

I bought a nice blue aida to stitch it on but I think I am going to play around with a swatch of it to see what it would look like if I dyed it with tea to look really spooky!

SO excited!!

High: 28°
Low: 23°
Forecast: Clouds and Sun
Sunrise: 8:25 AM
Sunset: 4:09 PM

Year Two 98/365 : Icicles

2010-01-06T22:31:00.001Z

Even though it is bitterly cold out it must be warm enough for some of this snow to be melting as there is proof just outside our door.

High: 28°
Low: 21°
Forecast: Sunny
Sunrise: 8:25 AM
Sunset: 4:07 PM

Year Two 97/365 : Winter Wonderland

2010-01-05T20:06:00.009Z

Well you guys may be tired of all of the snow pictures that I post but I'm not! Today was the best snow we have had so far.

Went to bed last night with a tiny bit on the ground... would call it a dusting. And woke up at 6:45am to this! Our 10 minute drive to work took an hour and somehow I was there on time.

Now... other than the beautiful snow that was still falling (hard) the above photo was the highlight of my day. This semi-truck decided to stop by our office to ask for directions, bad mistake! As you can tell in the photo there is a bit of a hill and... he got stuck. A bunch of co-workers had to go out in their work clothes with shovels and cardboard to try to help the truck driver back out. It was so funny. It would look like he was going to get out and then he would stop spinning his tires and he would go back down. Ha!

Seriously not sure what these cars were doing except causing a pain for other people to get in and out. But seriously look at the size of the flakes in this photo... they were huge!

Andy and I left at 11:30am and you can tell here how much more it had snowed from 8:00am to 11:30am. The area around the antenna had not been cleared all the way off earlier but everything else was cleared. That is another few inches at least!

Now last but not least my crazy neighbors again. First they leave their clothes out in the pouring rain (to see proof click here) and now they are out in the snow. But really this photo is to show you how wet this snow is. Look how it is wrapped around the clothes line. That is amazing!

However we all know what is going to happen to this wet snow tonight when the temperature is below freezing... And it is calling for a little more snow overnight. Can only imagine how we are going to get into work tomorrow.

I took a lot more photos throughout the day so please feel free to take a look at them by clicking on the link below.

The "Big" Snow ~ January 5th, 2010

High: 31°
Low: 25°
Forecast: Snow
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 4:06 PM

Year Two 96/365 : Favorite Spot

2010-01-04T19:32:00.003Z

Ever since I bought this radiator cat bed back on November 21st it has been a favorite by all of the cats! As you can see Pazzesca has the pleasure of sleeping in it right now. To be honest they wait for the one in it to jump down and then another one takes their place.

Something tells me I may have to invest in another one at this rate. Although who wouldn't like it? The radiator is all nice and warm and the bed does look rather cozy.

High: 32°
Low: 26°
Forecast: Late Snow
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 4:04 PM

Year Two 95/365 : Grow Ivy Grow

2010-01-03T18:57:00.001Z

I was watering my Devil's Ivy this morning and I thought about how I didn't think it had grown very much since getting it. So I decided to look at by my blog post for when I bought it and I was very wrong!

Look back on May 31st, 2009 and you will be able to see how much it has actually grown. Yay! I am not very good with plants but I have always found these types of Ivy plants easy. I miss the one I left with my Mom in the US, it was very long and very beautiful. A couple of that Ivy's arms had to be around 20+ feet each.

Happy to see this little guy seems to like me also!

Also wanted to say to those of you who are interested I have updated a lot of my completed and ongoing projects on my Crafty Christine blog so you can check it out also if you want.

High: 33°
Low: 29°
Forecast: Clouds and Sun
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 4:03 PM

Year Two 94/365 : Wave Ruler

2010-01-02T17:34:00.000Z

Andy's Dad's ship is docked in Liverpool this month so he was able to be with us on Christmas and it means he gets to go to a few Everton Matches with us.

Today was the 3rd round FA Cup match against Carlisle United. Before the match he needed to do some things on the ship so we got to go have a look around.

The above picture is of the Captain's Bridge. We were on the ship for about an hour and had a good look around. The scariest moment however was going up and down the stairs on the side of the ship. They were skinny and high! You can see them in the below photo just off to the right. Click on the picture and you will get a larger version. They were scary!

After the tour we were on our way to Goodison. It seemed liked a very long match and for most of it we were tied 1-1 but with 10 minutes left in the match (my man) Tim Cahill scored his 50th goal for Everton and then we were awarded a penalty and it ended 3-1. On to the 4th round!

More Photos From The Day

High: 31°
Low: 28°
Forecast: Cloudy
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 4:02 PM

Year Two 93/365 : Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T10:10:00.000Z

My Mom always makes Ham and Beans on New Years Day and it is a tradition I have always continued. I looked it up tonight online and and found that it is meant to bring you good luck in the New Year.

I also made some cornbread muffins with the package of Jiffy Mix I bought online just before Thanksgiving. I used half the package and I'll make the rest tomorrow night. Andy doesn't like them but oh well... more for me!

High: 32°
Low: 25°
Forecast: Some Snow Showers
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 4:01 PM

Year Two 92/365 : New Year's Eve

2009-12-31T14:33:00.002Z

I hate buying light bulbs in England. There are just too many different kinds!

The other day when I was in Asda I picked up the one on the right not realizing that it was the kind that you push in and twist.

Then today when we were at Asda again I made sure to get the kind on the left that screws into place only to find out the base is too large and it still doesn't fit my light fixture. I never had this trouble in America.

Today Andy and I were scheduled to work 8-4 but the company closed at 1pm so that was a nice surprise. Almost all of the supermarkets were closing at 6pm so we ran and did some shopping for tomorrow. My family has always made Ham and Beans on New Years Day and this is something I have always continued so I needed to get everything for it. After we bought some groceries we went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes. It was very good! I will have to admit it was a little slow at the start but we were both very tired so that might not have helped the situation... It also had an ending that suggested there will be another one which who could say no to another two hours of Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr? Not me that's for sure.

Nothing else really planned for tonight. I talked to my Mom on the phone for a little over an hour to catch up with her over the last week, cross stitched a little, kissed Andy and midnight, watched Eastenders and then went to bed. Boring but very nice.

High: 37°
Low: 30°
Forecast: Times of Clouds and Sun
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 4:00 PM

Year Two 91/365 : So Very Yummy!

2009-12-30T14:07:00.000Z

I love Baileys!

I am not a drinker but I do love a little bit of Baileys in my coffee from time to time so when I got this little thing of Baileys in a commemorative tin and these delicious Baileys chocolates for Christmas I was a very happy camper!

Andy's dad got everybody a little something like this that he wrapped and had waiting for us on the table at Christmas dinner. I just got around to eating some of the chocolate and it is so very yummy.

High: 38°
Low: 36°
Forecast: Periods of Snow and Rain
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 3:59 PM

Year Two 90/365 : What A Mess

2009-12-29T23:05:00.004Z

Unfortunately I had to go back to work today and Andy had the day off.

I came home to find this. I can see that making the bed when he woke up was not on his list of priorities.

I did mention this to him and he said "Nobody comes over, it is not like anybody is going to see it not made." What a male response. He also has tomorrow off so I can't wait to see if he makes it seeing as how I pointed out to him that I would like to have a nice straightened up bed to come home to.

We shall see.

High: 39°
Low: 33°
Forecast: Periods of Snow and Rain
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 3:58 PM

Year Two 89/365 : Lower Gwladys

2009-12-28T22:52:00.003Z

This is the area just under the Gwladys Street Stand at Goodison Park. Our season ticket seats are located in Lower Gwladys and it is known to be the best area when it comes to atmosphere at Goodison.

Today we were playing against Burnley and to honest it was a must win match for us. We are not at the bottom of the table but we have been hovering on the 2nd page of the table since the start of the season.

Thankfully we won 2-0 and it was great! The place went crazy and the players got a great sending off when the match ended. Unfortunately we have some tough matches coming up but hopefully we can build a bit of a winning streak.

High: 36°
Low: 32°
Forecast: Fog
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 3:58 PM

Year Two 88/365 : European Bistro

2009-12-27T19:35:00.002Z

This a new cross stitch kit that I got for Christmas. I started it yesterday and have pretty much worked on it all day today. It is a Dimensions Gold kit called European Bistro. Once completed it will be framed and hung in my kitchen.

However as you can see it is very detailed so it may take me a while to get it completed. While I was working on Meg's baby quilt I had started watching Brothers & Sisters as I had never watched it before. I am now addicted to it and am finding my stitching time a good time to catch up and I am up to the start of season 3. They are currently in the middle of season 4 so I still have a few to watch. I will be gutted when I do catch up though as I will have to wait a whole week in between episodes.

When I do catch up I will have to find a new series to start watching.

High: 44°
Low: 38°
Forecast: A Couple of Showers
Sunrise: 8:27 AM
Sunset: 3:56 PM

Year Two 87/365 : That Smells Good!

2009-12-26T19:05:00.000Z

I have started keeping all of the glass candle holders once the candle has burnt down. It's pretty easy to clean them out. I love burning a nice smelling candle but boy are they expensive. I am going to starting looking into how to make my own candles so as a way to cut down some of the cost.

Plus it is a new craft I can enjoy doing... and we all know how I love my crafts!

High: 43°
Low: 35°
Forecast: A Couple of Showers
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 3:55 PM

Year Two 86/365 : Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T12:20:00.000Z

Merry Christmas everybody! No it didn't snow today but with the thick fog all around I just pretended like it was snow.

We had a lovely dinner over at Andy's parent's house and we finished it all off by playing some Wii with his dad. We then came home and I called my mom to wish her a Merry Christmas.

I hope everybody got exactly what they wanted and a fun time was had by all.

High: 37°
Low: 37°
Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, Late Sleet
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 3:55 PM

Year Two 85/365 : Avatar

2009-12-24T10:47:00.004Z

This is the beautiful Christmas table runner that Laura M gave me as my Secret Santa. How perfect is this for me? It's country and the colors are wonderful. Thanks again Laura... you did very well!

Andy and I were scheduled to work from 9:00am - 5:00pm today but we were told we could leave at 1:00pm and this made everybody very happy. Now I don't have to be back at work until Tuesday the 29th. Yay!

We stopped and did some last minute food shopping and then when Andy and I got home we were talking about what we wanted to do with the rest of the day. We checked the movie listings and decided to try to make it to the 3:20pm showing of Avatar 3D. Thankfully when we got there it had not yet sold out so we settled in our seats for the next 3+ hours.

What can I say about this movie? Honestly the only words that come to mind are beautiful and stunning. I don't care how long the movie is at the end I was wishing for it to continue. The graphics in this movie are like none I have ever seen before. Of course the 3D effects help bring everything to life right before you but it is more than just that. I was glad to see that not only did they focus on the look of the film but I also quite enjoyed the story which was a nice surprise.

I can not recommend this movie enough. I strongly suggest the 3D version as it is not gimmicky as in 'here let me reach for something off camera so that my hand can come out at the audience'. The 3D is there to bring the beautiful things around the characters out to the audience so that they can experience them also. Although if you can not catch it in 3D I am sure the 2D version is just as beautiful.

High: 39°
Low: 38°
Forecast: Increasing Clouds
Sunrise: 8:26 AM
Sunset: 3:55 PM

Year Two 84/365 : Productive Moment At Work

2009-12-23T22:12:00.006Z

Today was fun with glitter pens time!

Honestly it was very hard to concentrate at work today. The ground is covered with snow, it looks beautiful out and there are only two days until Christmas... Work is not where you want to be. But I had to work today and I have to work tomorrow so I will make the most of it.

On a fun note... It also started to snow again tonight. Yay! I was sitting in the living room and I heard something on the front window. I went to check it out and found Pazzesca trying to catch the huge snowflakes as they came down. I managed to catch a bit of it on video... how cute is she?

Rooney however is very uninterested.

High: 35°
Low: 29°
Forecast: Increasing Clouds, Late Snow
Sunrise: 8:25 AM
Sunset: 3:53 PM

Year Two 83/365 : Mr Gay UK 2009

2009-12-22T19:53:00.007Z

Today was our Christmas lunch at work where we get to exchange our Secret Santa gifts. You can rest assured that this was not Christian's only gift but if it was I am sure he would have been just as happy.

I give him a 9 out of 10. I had to mark him off one point because he was picking the thong out of his butt during this photo shoot.

These are all of my Christmas cards from co-workers. As you can see Laura M will do anything she can to get in a photo... But I will forgive her as she was my Secret Santa and she bought me a beautiful Christmas table runner that I had been admiring while we were out at Botany Bay back on November 21st. Apparently she gave Laura C the money for it and she bought it with me there with them on that day! See... anything can get by me as I had no idea something was up. I was going to take a photo of it today but I think it deserves it's own day so I will hold off.

It also snowed off and on all day and because it was showing no signs of stopping they let us go home early today. I was supposed to be there until 5:00pm so I was able to leave an hour early which was nice. The roads were pretty bad so the extra time helped before the major traffic started.

Oh and for those of you that have not noticed but to the right there is a link to my new 'Crafty Christine' blog. I started it as a way to try to keep track of all of my crafty projects that I have going on. It will not be updated every day but I will do my best to update on new projects that I start and complete.

I actually made a Scrapbook Calendar as my Secret Santa gift for my Supervisor. I have posted pictures of it on that blog if you would like to see it.

Crafty Christine ~ 2010 Scrapbook Calendar

High: 36°
Low: 31°
Forecast: Snow
Sunrise: 8:25 AM
Sunset: 3:53 PM

Year Two 82/365 : Give Me A Break

2009-12-21T19:42:00.000Z

I had to take Andy to work this morning as I did not have to be in until Noon.

Now to me this road does not look that bad and other than taking it a little bit slower and a bit more concentration nothing should cause any issues.

To work was not an issue, as you can see the oncoming traffic is moving at a steady pace.

But then why did it take me 52 minutes to make it one way from our place of work back to home which is only a little over six miles away?

UGH!

High: 35°
Low: 30°
Forecast: Light Snow
Sunrise: 8:25 AM
Sunset: 3:53 PM

Year Two 81/365 : Snow, Hail and Rain

2009-12-20T19:28:00.000Z

We hit every kind of weather on our way to Liverpool today for the match. When we left Westhoughton it was snowing. Then we drove through some hail.

At one point it was even pouring down rain... Then it all of a sudden started snowing really heavy again.

However the strangest bit had to be when we got into Liverpool and there was blue sky and sun. It truly was weird as we only live a little over 20 miles away from Liverpool.

However in the top picture you can see that during the match it started raining and then hailing really bad. The poor players had to continue play and I know they had to be freezing... but then I thought about all of the money they get paid to be out there and I stopped feeling sorry for them.

High: 33°
Low: 30°
Forecast: Periods of Snow
Sunrise: 8:24 AM
Sunset: 3:52 PM

Year Two 80/365 : Snow, Snow And More Snow

2009-12-19T18:32:00.007Z

It started snowing this morning and they were the largest flakes I have ever seen! Was happy not to have to go anywhere and to admire the snow from inside our warm and cozy house.

I think the snow is beautiful and it does not bother me in the least. Unfortunately England does appear to come to a halt when it snows. They do not seem to have the infrastructure in place in order to handle poor weather and the traffic does get pretty bad.

But I can live with that... I say let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

And on another note I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Meg and Matt who today December 19th at 3:57am welcomed their little one into the World. Once she is back up and at 'em at home I am sure she will be blogging away about the experience and their new bundle of joy. Love to you guys! xx

High: 33°
Low: 32°
Forecast: Periods of Snow
Sunrise: 8:23 AM
Sunset: 3:51 PM

Year Two 79/365 : What A Nightmare

2009-12-18T10:38:00.007Z

Waking up to find the snow on my car was not the nightmare, in fact that was the easiest part of the day. It was a very dry snow and brushed right off without any kind of problem.

The nightmare is referring to the shopping experience I had today. It was supposed to be easy. I needed to get some ink for my printer and a few other items. It took me 4 stores to find the ink for my new HP printer and have been assured that even though the other 3 stores didn't even have a place for it on the shelf it is not being discontinued...

Also while I was at Asda I could not find the butter. I walked up and down the refrigerated aisles at least 10 time each. It was so crowded, I couldn't find a worker and I had to text Andy asking him where it was and going as far as saying I was nearly in tears which was not a lie. He text me back letting me know it was along the back wall and not with the milk and cheese. Then while I was checking out my debit card wouldn't work! I informed the lady that it just worked when I bought my ink at the previous store and she said she didn't know what to tell me, we tried it three times. She said I was going to have to leave the items and try to get cash out at the ATM machine and come back to her line. For those of you in the States... here in England the debit cards have these chips on them and that is what is used to read the card not the swipe strip on the back. Anyway I rubbed this chip and asked that we try it again... thank goodness this time it worked!

Also I needed some gift boxes. My fellow Americans will know the ones I am talking about. They come in a package of say 3-5 different ones. The ones you can walk into any store such as Wal-Mart or Target and pick up. The ones that if you have something say like a shirt that you are not wanting to put in a bag. You all can see where this is going right? I went to Tesco and Asda and neither had these 'mythical' boxes. I eMailed Andy from my phone and sent a text to a friend who was at work and they both came back saying I needed to go to a card store such as below.

So in I went and yes they did have gift boxes but as you can see below not a very large collection of them. and in case you can not see the price that shirt sized is a whopping £2.75 for one! What the £%£"&*!? So I gave up and the gifts will end up in Christmas bags as those can be found in abundance. I would rather wrap them but oh well.

Now... as bad as my day had been it was about to get a lot better! I am working on a Secret Santa gift for work and I needed to get something bound and I knew in America I could go to Staples. So off I went to the one in Bolton.

Honestly my bad mood melted away as soon as I walked through the doors... I swear it was as if I was walking into America. The store looked exactly the same as one in America would look (unlike how you walk into Asda and it does not look anything the same). While I was getting the gift bound I had a good walk around. And I came across the best section of any store I have found over here...

Look at all of these Scotch products! Now if you click on the picture to make it larger you will see the prices are outrageous but this did not stop me in purchasing the yellow scotch tape dispenser and a refill pack of three.

Honestly I don't know what I liked so much about this store. It had to be just because of how bad of a day I was having. I absolutely love living in England and I wouldn't change anything about it for a second but I have never been more happy to be able to buy some really expensive scotch tape.

High: 32°
Low: 31°
Forecast: Periods of Snow
Sunrise: 8:23 AM
Sunset: 3:51 PM

Year Two 78/365 : The Stocking Were Hung

2009-12-17T09:45:00.006Z

I found our Christmas stockings in a drawer last night. I still come across things that were brought over in the move. We sold a lot of stuff before we left America and I forget what we have and what we don't have. So I was happy to find these and they are now hung above the fireplace.

We have been in our house a year now so today the landlord came over because he had to test the smoke detectors in the house. He also brought somebody around to build us a new gate for the back garden. The old gate did not close properly and it meant anybody could just come in and out. However I am sure even with the new gate if somebody wanted to get in the back garden they would just climb over the walls. I felt bad because it started to snow a little bit and it was bitter cold and the poor man was outside while building the gate. We got talking a little bit and I did find it funny when he asked me if I was Irish. Not been asked that before! It was also strange the way he took his coffee... black with a little bit of salt added. That is odd.

When Andy got home from work I had dinner ready as we were soon after heading out to Goodison for the Europa League match against FC BATE Borisov. We had already qualified for the knock out stages so we ended up fielding a very young team. It was like watching a reserve match but by us going to this game it gave us 15 Loyalty Points each on our Everton Customer numbers. The more Loyalty Points you have the earlier you are able to buy away match tickets so when it comes to us playing Liverpool FC at Anfield hopefully it is going to matches like this which will give us enough points to get a ticket.

If you look up at the area around the lights you can see that it started to lightly snow while we were there. To be honest the snow was the most exciting part of the match. Oh and we were c - o - l - d . . .

High: 35°
Low: 22°
Forecast: Periods of Snow
Sunrise: 8:22 AM
Sunset: 3:51 PM

Year Two 77/365 : 'Tis The Season

2009-12-16T23:25:00.003Z

I busted out our Christmas mugs today. Andy doesn't like hot drinks but will be using it for his milk to go with his cookies tonight.

I on the other hand have been using mine (on the right) all day for my yummy hot tea. Although I have not been outside of our house since Sunday it looks really cold out there. I do have to say that I was very excited when I saw Carey and Patty's Facebook status that said it was snowing... I know they are down south but I was hoping that it would somehow also happen for us up here in the Northwest. The forecast even called for possible snow (see below) but it was not meant to be and it only lightly rained.

I have faith however... it will snow before spring!

High: 36°
Low: 28°
Forecast: Periods of Snow and Rain
Sunrise: 8:21 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 76/365 : Game Night

2009-12-15T10:06:00.000Z

After we ate dinner I made some delicious chocolate and caramel chip cookies and we played a couple board games.

I won the first game which was Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture however I do have to say it was a tight match. Andy always gets stuck on the same category which is 'Fads'. He blames him not being American since most of the fads that they ask about are from the 80's and 90's before he lived over there. However he did finally get all of the pies but I won before he had a chance to make it into the middle for his final question.

Then we pulled out the above game Scene It? which is one of my favorite games. However in the above picture you will see that there is a clear winner in the left circle... that is not me. Andy somehow pulled out a win and let me tell you he let me know about it. There was dancing around the room for a good few minutes. I tend to kick butt in movie games!

We also have Scene It? Friends Edition so maybe there will be a rematch soon!

High: 38°
Low: 27°
Forecast: Periods of Snow and Rain
Sunrise: 8:20 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 75/365 : Christmas Light Wish

2009-12-14T12:27:00.006Z

I wish it were socially acceptable to keep Christmas (aka Fairy) Lights up all year. I love the glow from them at night and how pretty they make everything look.

Andy and I decided again this year not to put up a tree. Honestly with three cats we find this to be more hassle than it is worth. We can not seem to get them to not climb up it and this normally results in the tree getting mangled and torn up within a few days of putting it up.

However this year I have decided that after Christmas when all of the sales are on I am going to find a nice tree and next year it will be going up. This again will probably result in a headache next year when we come home to find it knocked over or messed up but I missing having one so we will give it a try. Plus if I can pick one up on a good deal it wont seem that bad if it gets a bit messed up.

Of course I will not be following the tradition they seem to have over here that the decorations should only go up 12 days before Christmas and taken down 12 days after Christmas. When I was growing up we always decorated our tree on Thanksgiving. After we ate and relaxed for a little while the tree and decorations went up. Then we took them down sometime after New Years. The longer they can stay up the better.

High: 38°
Low: 37°
Forecast: Periods of Snow and Rain
Sunrise: 8:19 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 74/365 : Just Plain Stupid

2009-12-13T11:50:00.004Z

So I know I have complained about this before and I may have even already taken a photo of it but I have to bring this up again.

'If' a store was open 24 hours why would they need a sign displaying their hours? You're right... they wouldn't. But as you can see above Asda clearly states that they are 'Open 24 Hours' but if you look at the sign they close on Saturdays at 10:00pm and open back up Sunday morning at 11:00am and close again at 6:00pm not to open up again until Monday morning.

This drives me crazy.

I have somewhat got used to the stores closing in England so early... and when I say somewhat it means just that. I still complain about the lack of late night shopping and having to make sure you have everything by a certain time so that you are not caught out with no where to go buy it. But to clearly display a sign saying 'Open 24 Hours' and to clearly not be open 24 hours... this is just stupid.

How do they get away with this? Obviously my American self has a different concept of this term. When I ask others around me they give me some excuse about Sunday trading hours, etc... This means nothing to me. If you are not open 24 Hours then do not put a sign up saying that you are. End of. If there is some law that prevents them from being open for a full 24 hours a day 7 days a week then fair enough but do not post the above sign.

Now of course my friends and family know how much I miss them but even my Mom will understand when I say that other than them the one thing I miss the most about the States is Wal-Mart. One stop shopping at it's finest. I know that Wal-Mart now owns Asda but it is not the same and not even close.

If you need something in regards to your latest craft project, Wal-Mart. Need to buy groceries, Wal-Mart. Have a DIY project around the house, Wal-Mart. Do you need to get your oil changed in your car, new car battery, new tires, Wal-Mart can do that and while you are shopping.

Oh Wal-Mart how I miss you...

Rant over.

High: 37°
Low: 35°
Forecast: Clouds and Sun
Sunrise: 8:19 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 73/365 : More Chilli

2009-12-12T11:40:00.000Z

Andy got a little jealous that I had Chilli last Saturday when I went out with everybody from work so I promised him I would make some this weekend. The bonus is that I make a huge crock pot full and it lasts for a good three nights. Which means no cooking for me during that time... so yay!

High: 45°
Low: 32°
Forecast: Increasing Clouds
Sunrise: 8:18 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 72/365 : I Heart You Rocky!

2009-12-11T10:52:00.007Z

Tonight was the night! After work Andy and I hurried home so that I could eat and get ready for Laura H to arrive so we could take the train into Manchester to see The Rocky Horror Show.

I did not go all out getting dressed up but I borrowed a pink feather boa from Rachel at work, I had on bright red lipstick and even had gold glitter on my eyes. This was going all out for me and I was quite proud that I took public transportation with all of this on.
Of course others did go all out.

Christian, Nicola and Helen

I would say Christian wins the award for dressing up out of our group. I believe his only complaint was that he didn't have any suspenders and his stockings kept falling down.

The show was excellent! I would challenge anybody to go see this and not have a good time, it would have to be impossible. We were in the Circle which was the first balcony and when everybody got up to do The Time Warp the floor was bouncing up and down. I was glad that they made these old buildings to last! Our Narrator was Dave Spikey (from Phoenix Nights) and he was very funny. As you can imagine there is a lot of banter between the cast and the audience at this show and he gave very quick and witty comebacks to the things that were being yelled at him.

I will leave you with one last picture... This is the gentleman that was sitting next Laura H and I. As you can see... his (uhmmmm) crotch area was lit up all night. I doubt it was Laura and I that he was trying to attract with the light however. At one point he sprayed this really horrible smelling perfume and he somehow managed to get it all over Laura's arm so she also got to smell as cheap as him. : )

More Pictures From The Night

High: 46°
Low: 37°
Forecast: Partly Sunny
Sunrise: 8:17 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM

Year Two 71/365 : Oh How I Wish...

2009-12-10T10:27:00.000Z

... that I could stay in bed all day. But of course I can not, it is another day of work for me.

Today is my 12:00 - 8:00 shift but all I am going to be thinking about is 4:00pm tomorrow because that means it will be my last day for nine whole days... YAY!

High: 46°
Low: 42°
Forecast:
Sunrise: 8:17 AM
Sunset: 3:50 PM