Home Sweet Home

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

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.

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

I had to order some Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling online so I decided to pick up a few other goodies. The Butterfinger is for Debbie at work who had told me before how much she loved them when she visited America. I took the PayDay and soda into work with me and shared them with everybody.

The Grape soda was a hit but everybody was undecided about the Root Beer. The PayDay was also a hit but how could it not be? All that sweet and salty goodness!

The Corn Bread mix is for New Years when I make a big crock pot of Ham and Beans and of course I will be making a Pumpkin Pie on Thursday!

High: 46°
Low: 43°
Forecast: A Couple of Showers
Sunrise: 7:52 AM
Sunset: 4:01 PM

All I can say is... YUMMY!

Last night Jamie (a fellow expat) and I got onto the subject of funnel cakes. I had found a recipe ages ago so I went out in search for it again. I found the recipe and passed it on... she and her husband made some right then and there and loved them!

I decided to make mine for breakfast and again all I can say is.. YUMMY! I even made one for Andy and he liked it also.

Of course they do not have funnel cakes at carnivals and fairs here but what is it that they always say? If you can't beat them join them? Well that is not my style... I say if you can't beat them... just go and make it yourself!

High: 44°
Low: 36°
Forecast: A Couple of Showers
Sunrise: 7:23 AM
Sunset: 4:24 PM

When we got home today there was a missed package slip so Andy went down to the Post Office to find a box for me. My friend Sulema from the US sent me all of this wonderful stuff for my Birthday! Andy and I had stopped by Tesco to buy stuff to make chilli and I was so excited to get more Fritos to go with it!

Thanks Sulema!!

High: 53°
Low: 52°
Forecast: Low Clouds
Sunrise: 6:59 AM
Sunset: 7:04 PM

Tracey (Andy's Sister), James (her husband), Andy and I went into Manchester tonight. We started out at Costco. In the US if you want a Costco card you go into your local store, pay something like $50 and get your membership card. Here in the UK you have to be in certain professions before you can get a membership. *Boo* Well I had remembered that Tracey was a member so I asked her about it and she was able to add me on to her membership for only £13.50 and I get my own card to come and go as I please. Woo Hoo! I have heard rumors of some of the American food you can get at Costco so I was well excited to check it out.

We made our way in, got my card and started our walk around. Here is what I picked up from Costco: Hershey's Syrup, Beef Jerky, Pace Salsa and Wishbone Italian Dressing! There was much more I could have got but passed this time, there was even Skippy Peanut Butter! Here is the inside of the store.. Andy laughed and said it is a little slice of America right here in the UK.


After we were done at Costco we ran across the road to the Trafford Centre and went into Selfridges. As most of you may remember back on Day 129 I got some A1 Sauce and Grape Jelly but this time I got: A1 (couldn't resist it), Pez, Hershey's Miniatures and (yes you are seeing it correctly) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese! I never knew I could be so excited to see this little blue box. I can't wait to make it for dinner tomorrow night!

Oh... and as you can see there is a Krispy Kreme in Selfridges so we also got a couple doughnuts. Now I am off to have some Hershey's Chocolate milk and to eat my two yummy doughnuts.

What a great night!!

High: 61°
Low: 47°
Forecast: Occasional Rain
Sunrise: 6:00 AM
Sunset: 8:25 PM

Yes I am talking about the good old fashioned French Dressing you find in the States... not the white with odd bits floating around in it French Dressing that you find here in England.

I so very much miss my yummy salad dressings and French has always been one of my favorites. I finally decided to do something about it and found a wonderful recipe on the Internet.

It is so YUMMY! Even Andy likes it and he was not a great lover of it in the States. To me it tastes exactly the same and I am in salad heaven.

Today is the day that I no longer think 'I wish I could get 'this' or 'that' over here. Today is the day that I start thinking 'I am just going to make 'this' or 'that' over here myself!'.

In case of you guys are wondering what recipe I used here it is:

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon onion granules
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix well and store in the refrigerator.

It could not be easier!

High: 65°
Low: 58°
Forecast: A Couple of Showers
Sunrise: 5:43 AM
Sunset: 8:47 PM

Look at what I found at Asda! Andy has been telling me he saw these somewhere however Tesco (where we normally do our shopping) does not stock them. I have not yet tried one but I am sure it will taste just as yummy as I remember.

Andy just laughed at how excited I was to find them... It is truly the little things in life which bring us so much joy.

To be honest in the States I hardly ever ate Pop-Tarts, but what is that they say? Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

High: 66°
Low: 54°
Forecast: Partly Sunny
Sunrise: 5:39 AM
Sunset: 8:51 PM

That my Spousal Visa paperwork was couriered into the British Consulate General in Los Angeles in the early morning hours of Friday, July 25th 2008. Then seven long hours later I was told that it had been approved and that this thing of beauty had been printed and put into my Passport.

I can not believe it has been a year since that day. For those of you reading that have gone thru any type of Immigration process you will know the stress that I was feeling a year ago today. Not to mention all the stress up to that day! But to know that they had the paperwork and that a decision would be made shortly. I was a nervous wreck!

But as you can see it all worked out in the end... and now a year later I am happily living in England. Thank goodness I will not have to go thru that stress again!

High: 63°
Low: 51°
Forecast: Partly Sunny
Sunrise: 5:14 AM
Sunset: 9:18 PM

So this is all it takes to get some gossip on some US actors... they just need to date someone from Scotland!

I used to love getting my US Weekly and In Touch magazines every week. Yes there are plenty of gossip rags over here in England but I haven't gotten used to it being all about UK celebrities yet. I am thinking about looking into a US Weekly subscription, I am sure it will be pretty expensive to have it mailed over here but it might be worth it.

It can be my lifeline into the lives of those US Celebrities that I miss reading about. I mean I have no idea what is up with Brad and Angelina these days... they could have 20 kids by now!

High: 62°
Low: 51°
Forecast: A couple of Showers
Sunrise: 5:11 AM
Sunset: 9:21 PM

Let me just start off by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the British news. But to me finding a live feed of MSNBC Online made my day this morning! I watched it on and off all day and now I have been watching it non-stop since around 11:00pm GMT / 5:00pm CST. I don't even have to watch commercials when it breaks it just goes to a hold screen and then comes back.

Andy says it's silly that I would rather sit in front of my laptop to watch MSNBC rather then just watch the coverage on our TV. I did try to watch the British coverage earlier today when Obama was casting his vote with his family in Chicago. In fact at that time they had the exact same coverage feed as what was being shown on MSNBC but still... to me at least... it is just not the same. I found that they were spending quite a bit of time explaining the overall process of how the voting works, etc... Yes I know the coverage is meant for people that do not know which is part of the reason why I did not enjoy what I was watching.

I have always watched MSNBC, what would I do without Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann or Joe Scarborough? How would I live without Chuck Todd breaking down the numbers for me?

No.

England I love you and I love living here... but when it comes to watching something as important to me as this and in fact history in the making... it has to be MSNBC all the way! : )

While we were in Bolton today I ran into the bookies and placed a £1 bet on Obama to be the next US President! Seeing as how the odds are 1/12 I think they are pretty much predicting him as the winner just as everybody else is. Yay!

Andy says I should have put a £1 on McCain just in case and I told him it was not worth the money I could possibly win back as I would NEVER write McCain's name down for anything wishing for him to win.... No way.

To be honest my internal clock has just gotten used to the time here and now I have no idea how I'm going to handle tomorrow night. I'm thinking that if I were in the US I would start watching the election coverage at around 7:00pm EST and that will be midnight here. So I can either stay up all night to watch... and then just get some sleep in the morning or I can try to go to sleep early in the day and get a few hours and then wake up at midnight.. To be honest I'll probably just start watching at around 10:00pm and stay awake until it's official then go to sleep. We have a show to go to on Wednesday night but that's okay.. I don't want to miss a minute of this historic moment! : )