I have really been marveling at the fact that I was (for the first time ever) able to successfully commit to losing weight. I would say I don't want to toot my own horn, but (toot toot) I think it's something I should celebrate, considering it's been a work in progress for the last 4 months. To date, I have lost just over 25 pounds and maybe still counting. I made it to my goal weight, and I've been vacillating on whether I should go for 5 more or not. I've been grateful to have steadily decreased my weight over time with no setbacks, but I can attribute that to taking this seriously and also weighing myself once a week instead of obsessing about tiny fluctuations from weighing myself every day. I feel like I've learned a lot, so I figured maybe I would be able to share what has worked for me here (this also is great because I never know how much of my advice is solicited).
My first tip is move to England. I'm half joking, but I can't deny that limiting my access to my trigger foods and fast food has helped immensely. There is only a McDonald's and a KFC (becearf) in a 15 mile radius from where I live, so I set out to find decent things at McDonald's. From previous (failed due to laziness) dieting experience, I knew that I should aspire to have meals that hover somewhere around the 400 calorie range. I was able to find a spicy chili (as in the pepper) chicken wrap which alone is 460 calories. It was enough to fill me up, so I did not miss having fries, and not too much of a splurge outside of my 400 calorie goal. 6 Chicken nuggets and a side salad only set me back about 300 calories, so I had 2 perfectly reasonable "splurges" if I ever required them. These accompanied diet soda which I have learned to nearly enjoy as I can't be consuming 150-250 liquid calories along with every meal.
I was lucky to start my attempt at losing weight right after moving to England because I used the opportunity as a fresh start. It was reasonably easy to do because I had never tried any English food, so I never got the chance to fall in love with certain things and resent not eating them. I always tried to stick to things with small portions (even considering the overall smaller portions served here) like soup and bread or something light like that. For those of you who can’t pack up your lives and move to a brand new country with markedly healthier habits, I recommend avoiding fast food as a go-to option and instead using it as a few times a month splurge (and even then, keeping the calorie count reasonable). I’ve thought a lot about what I’m going to have to do to maintain my weight once I get back to the states, and I realized that all I have to do is to eat in moderation. One of the things I realized I did was reward myself with food. Any time I was tired, I’d get a blended coffee. Any time I had lady times, I got chocolate. Whenever I had a bad day, I’d grab fast food, and I used working out as an excuse to have whatever I wanted when I ate out at restaurants. When I started out trying to lose weight, I was fairly strict about my calorie intake, so there was no opportunity to reward myself with extra things. I found sugar free 20 calorie popsicles and those were dessert.
I read in a Time Magazine or something similar that diet is more important than exercise when it comes to losing weight. Vigorous exercise will burn off a few hundred calories, but if you take in several hundred extra, there’s no way you could burn it all off with exercising. I've also read that people significantly underestimate calories consumed and overestimate calories burned. This means that I did not use exercise as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted anymore, but instead, looked at it as a way to supercharge my weight loss. When I got here, I discovered there is a gorgeous wooded trail behind our house and I took to running it about 3 times a week. I tried to stick with the same route because then I could mark my progress more easily. I’m extremely fortunate to have an entire gym and fitness classes at my disposal. Cameron goes to PT 3 times a week (at 6am!) and I’ve made a commitment to go with him. Also: I would have a cup of chocolate milk after cardio, as it’s supposed to be a fantastic recovery drink.
Besides not rewarding myself with food, I also tried to consider what kind of calories I was putting into my body. This especially came into play with snacks and desserts. With the meals, it would kind of lend itself to healthier eating, because otherwise you would blow through your calories and still be hungry. But I tried to change what I thought of as a snack. Instead of having Cheetos or cookies, I bought tons of different kinds of trail mix and nuts. I had honey roasted peanuts, spicy cajun trail mix, butter toffee (powder, not glaze) almonds, jalapeno smokehouse almonds, walnuts that went into oatmeal or yogurt, etc. I tried to eat something that didn’t taste like a punishment, but would actually give me nutritional benefit and be filling at the same time. String cheese and hummus + carrots were other staple snacks. With desserts, I like to think I came up with an innovative way to reward myself. What I tried to do was avoid all store-bought sweets. I would eat home-made things only which meant that they were made with love, and my opportunity for having them was significantly restricted. Instead of the processed garbage you can get in the store which is full of preservatives, fillers and additives, I chose to eat homemade things which have a lot more integrity than Ho-ho’s or crappy Chips Ahoy. When I bake goodies myself, I pawn almost all of it off on others (and I don’t think they mind) so I am left with a serving or two. I basically looked at my calorie intake as a budget and wouldn't eat anything that wasn't worth its 'cost' in calories.
I could probably ramble on forever, but these are the main things that helped me get through my 4 month (and maybe counting?) marathon through weight loss. Keep thinking about the bigger picture…the fact that nothing you eat can taste as good as success: being healthier and feeling accomplished and proud of your achievements.
Monday, 31 October 2011
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Jumble
#1. I think I've finally (finally) chosen my outfit for the Rotaract Ball. It's 50s themed, so I needed something requiring a petticoat, naturally. What do you think?
#2. I most definitely did NOT choose the right Avon Lady. I STILL don't have my stuff yet! She was supposed to deliver it on Saturday, but I called her and asked if she could come Sunday and she said that would be fine. We set up a time and the time came and went on Sunday with no call and no appearance. I called on Monday after the time she said she'd be there just in case I got confused and she still hasn't called me back. I'll try her one more time, but it's ridiculous that I should have to work so hard to earn her commission for her.
#3. Alice and I went on this amazing stroll from St. Ives to Houghton today. It was so incredibly beautiful, I can't even put it into words. I stupidly left my phone so I couldn't take pictures, but I hope to go back while it's still lovely and warm and capture it. There was ivy everywhere. Everyone was out. Moms with babies in strollers, dads with dogs on leashes, runners, cyclists, teenagers all hanging out next to a tree in the meadow. We saw swans, ducks, horses, cows, sheep, squirrels, bunnies, (heard) crickets, and even saw a toad which slimed all over Alice's foot! There were chestnut trees, acorns, blackberries, crabapples, elderflowers, and someone was even selling cherries from their trees. The path we walked was wooded but it overlooked a lovely stream and then huge meadows beyond that. We walked into Houghton and had ice creams at a local pub (I got pistachio, Alice got caramel and chocolate) and browsed the area around the mill and some of the most adorable, quaint cottages I've ever seen. I can't even handle the cuteness that permeates everything: doorframes you'd bonk your head on if you were 5'10", thatched roofs, tiny little flower gardens, mossy rocks, shutters with hearts carved out, tiny markets actually titled "Ye Olde Village Shoppe," et cetera, et cetera.
This place is even better than I could have imagined. <3
#2. I most definitely did NOT choose the right Avon Lady. I STILL don't have my stuff yet! She was supposed to deliver it on Saturday, but I called her and asked if she could come Sunday and she said that would be fine. We set up a time and the time came and went on Sunday with no call and no appearance. I called on Monday after the time she said she'd be there just in case I got confused and she still hasn't called me back. I'll try her one more time, but it's ridiculous that I should have to work so hard to earn her commission for her.
#3. Alice and I went on this amazing stroll from St. Ives to Houghton today. It was so incredibly beautiful, I can't even put it into words. I stupidly left my phone so I couldn't take pictures, but I hope to go back while it's still lovely and warm and capture it. There was ivy everywhere. Everyone was out. Moms with babies in strollers, dads with dogs on leashes, runners, cyclists, teenagers all hanging out next to a tree in the meadow. We saw swans, ducks, horses, cows, sheep, squirrels, bunnies, (heard) crickets, and even saw a toad which slimed all over Alice's foot! There were chestnut trees, acorns, blackberries, crabapples, elderflowers, and someone was even selling cherries from their trees. The path we walked was wooded but it overlooked a lovely stream and then huge meadows beyond that. We walked into Houghton and had ice creams at a local pub (I got pistachio, Alice got caramel and chocolate) and browsed the area around the mill and some of the most adorable, quaint cottages I've ever seen. I can't even handle the cuteness that permeates everything: doorframes you'd bonk your head on if you were 5'10", thatched roofs, tiny little flower gardens, mossy rocks, shutters with hearts carved out, tiny markets actually titled "Ye Olde Village Shoppe," et cetera, et cetera.
This place is even better than I could have imagined. <3
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
The Doors
I have no idea why, but I love a good entrance. England is lousy with fantastic and unique doors, so I thought I'd share my collection thus far. [Please forgive the weird centering and distance from some, many of these are right on the sidewalk,and I'd have to go into traffic to get a better shot. Also, most of these I encountered in passing, so we didn't have time to set up quality shots]
More to come!
More to come!
Getting out
So. I'm not sure why I ended up deciding not to blog about anything that's happened to me in the last couple of months, because there have been plenty of noteworthy events. My favorite one has to be getting involved with a group called Rotaract. I found an article about them in the paper and they looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to look up their Facebook page. After I was added, Hazel, one of the group's movers and shakers invited me to go on a boat trip on the river the next night. I decided I needed to go. See, I'm not averse to social engagements, but I am averse to feeling awkward. ;) It's not like people are going to be beating down my door to meet me, so I have to put myself out there.
So I went and it was a great time. Everyone was so friendly and funny and I was surprised that even though the group's age parameters are from 18 to 31, almost everyone was about my age or older. [A very welcome change from being at HPU where I was always older than everyone.] So the next time, I brought Cameron along and he loved everyone too. We decided we would start going every time. Basically the group is designed to be a social slash service/fundraising group. I can't think of a more perfect combination: Spending time with fantastic people and helping others while I'm at it.
Some of the fun things we've done:
Sadly, there were no pictures taken at Jive class, but that will change next week. :)
Tons of exciting things are on the way. October 22 is the Rotaract Ball and it's 50s Rock n Roll theme, so I'm having a blast trying to find a cute swing dress (this is also where the jive class comes in).
The weather has been unseasonably warm (read: 77 degrees) and I'm trying to take advantage of it while it's here. Alice and I are going on a bike ride tomorrow if our bikes cooperate, and a nice long walk if they don't! Friday, Alice is having a barbeque at her house, so this has been an especially eventful week considering Cameron isn't here. I miss him like crazy, but he'll be back soon. :D
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| Every night at my house |
So I went and it was a great time. Everyone was so friendly and funny and I was surprised that even though the group's age parameters are from 18 to 31, almost everyone was about my age or older. [A very welcome change from being at HPU where I was always older than everyone.] So the next time, I brought Cameron along and he loved everyone too. We decided we would start going every time. Basically the group is designed to be a social slash service/fundraising group. I can't think of a more perfect combination: Spending time with fantastic people and helping others while I'm at it.
Some of the fun things we've done:
Boat ride on the river
Group cricket team
Dragon boat racing
Curry night at Spiceland
Pub quiz
Tons of exciting things are on the way. October 22 is the Rotaract Ball and it's 50s Rock n Roll theme, so I'm having a blast trying to find a cute swing dress (this is also where the jive class comes in).
The weather has been unseasonably warm (read: 77 degrees) and I'm trying to take advantage of it while it's here. Alice and I are going on a bike ride tomorrow if our bikes cooperate, and a nice long walk if they don't! Friday, Alice is having a barbeque at her house, so this has been an especially eventful week considering Cameron isn't here. I miss him like crazy, but he'll be back soon. :D
Friday, 8 July 2011
Home
Here are some pictures of our house so far. We are living out of suitcases, so it will look nothing like this when we get our stuff.
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| Kitchen all together |
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| From the living room to the dining room |
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| Patio + daisies |
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| Kitchen |
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| Some bedrooms |
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| Living room with our loaner furniture |
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| Kitchen annex |
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| Diningish room, probably where we will put our table |
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| Where important meetings take place (dining room) |
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| Winda! |
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| Our yard from upstairs |
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| Stairs! |
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| View of our neighborhood out our upstairs window |
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| Pretty flalr bushes/trees |
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| Our electric fireplace! It's a cute heater with flame pictures. :) |
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| Our back yard |
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Upstairs bathroom           |
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Rinse Aid 2011
Now that I have internet again for our laptop, I can regale you with the goings on of our life! When we contacted the internet company to get set up for our new house, they said the first day they could set it up would be the 5th of July: a good 3 weeks from when we called. I have definitely learned not to expect things to happen on an American time frame. Another interesting thing to note: we have to have a landline hooked up in order to use the wireless, and yet it's not dial up. I have no idea how that works, but I'm just glad the internet is leaps and bounds faster than my phone and even faster than I expected home internet to be here.
The house. We have been in England for a month now and are finally getting settled into our house. Getting used to British appliances is a task in itself. In the kitchen, there is a space for a dishwasher, but there was never a hole cut in the cabinet next to it to hook it up to the water. The handyman who was here before we moved in tried to drill a hole where he thought made sense, but he drilled it too far forward and our dishwasher stuck out from the counter about 7 inches. He came back and drilled a hole all the way back so it would actually be flush with the rest of the cabinets. We have yet to use the dishwasher because we own 2 bowls, 2 cups, paper plates and some silverware, so I just wash everything by hand. In order to use the dishwasher, you have to have the dishwasher soap, something called a rinse aid (which keeps the glasses from getting smeary) and you have to pour salt crystals into this other area. I was told that it's because they have super hard water here.
The washer and dryer are interesting because they hold less than half the size of a normal load, yet the machines themselves are the same size as US specs. I was really shocked when I did my first load (the washer dial doesn't have a timer, only temperatures) that a normal load takes about an hour and a half to complete. I finally discovered that there is a quick wash cycle which only takes probably 45 minutes. I was also expressly instructed never to put American detergent in the washer because it will overflow with suds. I had to put the clothes in the dryer for another hour and a half to get them dry. Since what we have is a condenser dryer, instead of the kind with the tube vents, we have this little drawer of water and filters we have to check on every so often to make sure it doesn't overfill.
We have a gas stove which we thought had a broken igniter until we realized that the switch to it (located away from the rest of the other cooking related on-switches) was off. See, everything in the house has its own on-switch. Electrical outlets, the stove, the igniter switch, the oven. I can see why this helps keep electricity drain down, but it's also a pain to have to remember to plug something in and then turn it on. The good news is no little kid could turn the stove on accidentally if the adult remembers to turn the switches off every time. The gas stove freaks me out because I had never used one before I came here and the open flame intimidates me, but I'm finally getting used to it. I realized that it cooks things way faster (even on low) than flat top or coil burner stoves. I can boil water faster on the stove than I could in the microwave! The oven seems simple enough, but so far we only fully understand what one of the knobs do (the timer). The other looks to us like temperatures in Celsius, but the handbook calls it a selector mode knob. And the other it calls a grill knob, and says to select the temperature with that...but the only thing on the knob is 1/1----1/2----OFF.
I have to wonder if we're so dumbfounded by all this because we're American and haven't ever seen this stuff before, or if British versions really *aren't* intuitive and people just learn it as they grow up. So far, every appliance we have has more hoops to jump through than its American counterpart. I want to bring the magic of large loads of laundry to Britain! "There is an easier way, my friend, it takes half the time, and you can do twice as much!"
Oh well, it's fun and interesting learning some new things and by the time I get back to the states, I will not take fast laundry, easy ovens or spacious fridges for granted again.
The house. We have been in England for a month now and are finally getting settled into our house. Getting used to British appliances is a task in itself. In the kitchen, there is a space for a dishwasher, but there was never a hole cut in the cabinet next to it to hook it up to the water. The handyman who was here before we moved in tried to drill a hole where he thought made sense, but he drilled it too far forward and our dishwasher stuck out from the counter about 7 inches. He came back and drilled a hole all the way back so it would actually be flush with the rest of the cabinets. We have yet to use the dishwasher because we own 2 bowls, 2 cups, paper plates and some silverware, so I just wash everything by hand. In order to use the dishwasher, you have to have the dishwasher soap, something called a rinse aid (which keeps the glasses from getting smeary) and you have to pour salt crystals into this other area. I was told that it's because they have super hard water here.
The washer and dryer are interesting because they hold less than half the size of a normal load, yet the machines themselves are the same size as US specs. I was really shocked when I did my first load (the washer dial doesn't have a timer, only temperatures) that a normal load takes about an hour and a half to complete. I finally discovered that there is a quick wash cycle which only takes probably 45 minutes. I was also expressly instructed never to put American detergent in the washer because it will overflow with suds. I had to put the clothes in the dryer for another hour and a half to get them dry. Since what we have is a condenser dryer, instead of the kind with the tube vents, we have this little drawer of water and filters we have to check on every so often to make sure it doesn't overfill.
We have a gas stove which we thought had a broken igniter until we realized that the switch to it (located away from the rest of the other cooking related on-switches) was off. See, everything in the house has its own on-switch. Electrical outlets, the stove, the igniter switch, the oven. I can see why this helps keep electricity drain down, but it's also a pain to have to remember to plug something in and then turn it on. The good news is no little kid could turn the stove on accidentally if the adult remembers to turn the switches off every time. The gas stove freaks me out because I had never used one before I came here and the open flame intimidates me, but I'm finally getting used to it. I realized that it cooks things way faster (even on low) than flat top or coil burner stoves. I can boil water faster on the stove than I could in the microwave! The oven seems simple enough, but so far we only fully understand what one of the knobs do (the timer). The other looks to us like temperatures in Celsius, but the handbook calls it a selector mode knob. And the other it calls a grill knob, and says to select the temperature with that...but the only thing on the knob is 1/1----1/2----OFF.
I have to wonder if we're so dumbfounded by all this because we're American and haven't ever seen this stuff before, or if British versions really *aren't* intuitive and people just learn it as they grow up. So far, every appliance we have has more hoops to jump through than its American counterpart. I want to bring the magic of large loads of laundry to Britain! "There is an easier way, my friend, it takes half the time, and you can do twice as much!"
Oh well, it's fun and interesting learning some new things and by the time I get back to the states, I will not take fast laundry, easy ovens or spacious fridges for granted again.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Stinky cheese
Colston Bassett Stilton - Keens Cheddar – Milleens Dote. I think the Leicester was my favorite, and one of them was really stinky (and tasted just as stinky), but I'm not sure which that was. They came with very earthy crackers and some sort of chutney which was delicious. I ordered the broccoli and stilton soup with bread and it was fantastic. So far, every soup I've ordered in this country has been green. The soup was fantastic, just like everything else I've eaten in this country (Well, maybe not lamb pizza, but that was my own fault). London might be different, but everything I've had has plenty of flavor and tastes great. Cameron got a stilton and tomato chutney sandwich, and it was super good, almost like a cold grilled cheese with tomato soup. I kept looking around and marveling that the building I was sitting in was built in the 1640s! Once we went up to pay, I was panicked slightly because I still don't know the tipping etiquette. I asked a guy who was standing at the counter doing a crossword what was customary, and he said to tip a 'bit'. I remember that 15% is definitely not the standard here. I tipped 10% and hoped that was satisfactory. So far, I've been told that tipping is based on discretion, and to not tip is not considered an insult. We wandered around Stilton for a while and then headed back. Above are a few pictures I took of the building!
Here is the menu: http://www.thebellstilton.co.uk/TheBellStilton_BarBistroMenu_Summer2011.pdf
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Shopping mall artifacts
Things are finally starting to come together a little faster now that we've been here for 5 days (It seems WAY longer). We are on the list for base housing even though we might get housing off base (because there is a waiting list and we'd never even have the option if we didn't go on the list). Yesterday, we wanted to stop in to the housing office and check if there was any way we could take a look at what on base housing looks like, but they told us we were only allowed to look once we were offered a place. My only hypothesis for this is if you looked at a nice place and were offered something of a lower caliber when your time came.
Last night, we decided to do some bowling and rent a movie from the "video store" (read: one wall of the shoppette here on base). The library also loans videos so we went there first, but they were closed. On Friday. The bowling alley seems to be the major source of entertainment here on base, and it was actually pretty nice. There were these bedpan shaped couches to sit on and they had the most comfortable bowling shoes ever! The "Pinspotter Cafe" is the little eatery that provides food like at any bowling alley, but here, they tout it as a place to eat even when you don't bowl. The options are that limited. There is a Subway, Anthony's Pizza (World's Grossest!™), the Daily Grind (a coffee shop), The Stukeley Inn (an upper scale place to eat), a pub on base and the bowling alley's cafe.
Anyway. I have a feeling bowling will become a major pastime. $10 on Friday nights gets us 4 games including shoe rental. [for the record, I won 3 of the 4 games] =)
Today we had the lofty goal to check out some more houses (we are required to check out at least 2 listings the first week, 5 the second week and 5 the third week). We have already looked at 4, but they are all owned by the same landlord and three of them essentially had the same floorplan and weren't special in any way. Everything about them was decent or tolerable or mediocre. Based on the several hundred house listings I've looked at while I was in Hawaii and Idaho, I know I can get something a lot better for our allowance, even in the area we want. The only thing holding us up is the fact that agents not going through the housing office require up to two months rent for a deposit plus the first month's rent! However, we found out we could get a loan for the deposit and not have to pay it until we left, but it sure would be nice to save that money if we could.
We went to the BX to buy a navigation system today so we could find our way to different houses (the roads and signs are not intuitive at all, you would never know where to go if you didn't already, just like Hawaii!). After that, we called some of the numbers and found out that out of our 6 listings left, 2 had bad phone numbers, 2 didn't answer, one scheduled a walk through for Sunday (tomorrow) and the other we left a message for called us back and scheduled a visit for Monday. So much for our productive day! So: we decided to check out cars with our rental car and brave the roads without help from anyone but the GPS. We got to the car sales place fine enough, and they had 4 cars we were interested in. The lot was completely different from the US in that the car guys don't come out to greet you when you get there, there is no pressure whatsoever (they actually seem to care less whether you buy a car or not). The guy we got I think was an anomaly beyond that, though. I think he wasn't British, but he barely spoke to us. We went inside and asked to test drive a car and he agreed and once we got in, he didn't say A WORD besides telling us the directions to turn on the test drive route. He didn't make a single bit of small talk, even about the car. It was so damn awkward. After the test drive, he just walks away without saying anything! No, "I'll let you look around or discuss more" or showing us what cars they had, he just walked off! Talk about low pressure buying! The weird thing is he didn't seem mean or anything and after we test drove a couple of cars and were sitting in the lobby talking, he offered us coffee. I have a feeling they don't get commission. ;)
One car we test drove was ok, the other was awesome EXCEPT for the violent shaking the steering column seemed to do once we hit 70. Needless to say, no suitors yet.
We decided to drive to Milton Keynes to the mall where Vic said they have awesome food and great stores. The GPS worked fine until we got into an area where a new freeway was put in less than a month ago, so it took us all willy nilly all over the place. Cameron was getting frustrated and I was scrambling to use the map navigation on my phone to help us figure out where the heck we were. We finally (probably accidentally) headed the right way and made it, but we were both beyond frustrated and aggravated (especially being our first time driving in EUROPE, not knowing anything about the system besides what we've observed as passengers for oh, 4 days. The roundabouts are both awesome and freaky because they keep the flow of traffic going (there are almost no stop signs or stoplights in England whatsoever). They are also awesome because if you miss your turn you can just go around again until you come back to the correct one. It's strange though, because the GPS phrases it as "second exit" in the roundabout which is the 12 o'clock position, so you're basically exiting the roundabout to go straight. There are also multiple lanes within the roundabout and the lines aren't terribly clear, so you just kind of weave in and out until you sort out where you need to be (this could not be done in a bigger city with heavier traffic in the circles). I'm sure we befuddled a lot of other drivers, but I'm sure they understood as there is a huge "CARL'S AUTOMATIC RENTALS" decal on the front and back window, hahaha. I also admire Cameron for braving the roads so readily, by the time we got home, he seemed to have it down.
In the mall, we ate at place called Giraffe which was a sort of natural foods restaurant, but carried all kinds of things like southwest dishes and burgers and salads and sandwiches. At the end of my meal, I ordered a single scoop of golf ball-sized ice cream for £1.75 [$2.84]. It was just chocolate, but it was the best damn chocolate ice cream I've ever had. It had tiny, tiny flecks of chocolate shavings in it and was probably about halfway in sweetness between a milk and a dark chocolate ice cream. My new favorite.
On the way out of the mall, we saw this chipped mosaic and looked closer, and the description said it was a 4th century Roman mosaic! Pretty fantastic for a shopping mall! I guess they're up to their ears in ancient artifacts, so they need somewhere to put them. =)
Tomorrow we are looking at a house that has a CONSERVATORY, so wish us luck!
Last night, we decided to do some bowling and rent a movie from the "video store" (read: one wall of the shoppette here on base). The library also loans videos so we went there first, but they were closed. On Friday. The bowling alley seems to be the major source of entertainment here on base, and it was actually pretty nice. There were these bedpan shaped couches to sit on and they had the most comfortable bowling shoes ever! The "Pinspotter Cafe" is the little eatery that provides food like at any bowling alley, but here, they tout it as a place to eat even when you don't bowl. The options are that limited. There is a Subway, Anthony's Pizza (World's Grossest!™), the Daily Grind (a coffee shop), The Stukeley Inn (an upper scale place to eat), a pub on base and the bowling alley's cafe.
Anyway. I have a feeling bowling will become a major pastime. $10 on Friday nights gets us 4 games including shoe rental. [for the record, I won 3 of the 4 games] =)
Today we had the lofty goal to check out some more houses (we are required to check out at least 2 listings the first week, 5 the second week and 5 the third week). We have already looked at 4, but they are all owned by the same landlord and three of them essentially had the same floorplan and weren't special in any way. Everything about them was decent or tolerable or mediocre. Based on the several hundred house listings I've looked at while I was in Hawaii and Idaho, I know I can get something a lot better for our allowance, even in the area we want. The only thing holding us up is the fact that agents not going through the housing office require up to two months rent for a deposit plus the first month's rent! However, we found out we could get a loan for the deposit and not have to pay it until we left, but it sure would be nice to save that money if we could.
We went to the BX to buy a navigation system today so we could find our way to different houses (the roads and signs are not intuitive at all, you would never know where to go if you didn't already, just like Hawaii!). After that, we called some of the numbers and found out that out of our 6 listings left, 2 had bad phone numbers, 2 didn't answer, one scheduled a walk through for Sunday (tomorrow) and the other we left a message for called us back and scheduled a visit for Monday. So much for our productive day! So: we decided to check out cars with our rental car and brave the roads without help from anyone but the GPS. We got to the car sales place fine enough, and they had 4 cars we were interested in. The lot was completely different from the US in that the car guys don't come out to greet you when you get there, there is no pressure whatsoever (they actually seem to care less whether you buy a car or not). The guy we got I think was an anomaly beyond that, though. I think he wasn't British, but he barely spoke to us. We went inside and asked to test drive a car and he agreed and once we got in, he didn't say A WORD besides telling us the directions to turn on the test drive route. He didn't make a single bit of small talk, even about the car. It was so damn awkward. After the test drive, he just walks away without saying anything! No, "I'll let you look around or discuss more" or showing us what cars they had, he just walked off! Talk about low pressure buying! The weird thing is he didn't seem mean or anything and after we test drove a couple of cars and were sitting in the lobby talking, he offered us coffee. I have a feeling they don't get commission. ;)
One car we test drove was ok, the other was awesome EXCEPT for the violent shaking the steering column seemed to do once we hit 70. Needless to say, no suitors yet.
We decided to drive to Milton Keynes to the mall where Vic said they have awesome food and great stores. The GPS worked fine until we got into an area where a new freeway was put in less than a month ago, so it took us all willy nilly all over the place. Cameron was getting frustrated and I was scrambling to use the map navigation on my phone to help us figure out where the heck we were. We finally (probably accidentally) headed the right way and made it, but we were both beyond frustrated and aggravated (especially being our first time driving in EUROPE, not knowing anything about the system besides what we've observed as passengers for oh, 4 days. The roundabouts are both awesome and freaky because they keep the flow of traffic going (there are almost no stop signs or stoplights in England whatsoever). They are also awesome because if you miss your turn you can just go around again until you come back to the correct one. It's strange though, because the GPS phrases it as "second exit" in the roundabout which is the 12 o'clock position, so you're basically exiting the roundabout to go straight. There are also multiple lanes within the roundabout and the lines aren't terribly clear, so you just kind of weave in and out until you sort out where you need to be (this could not be done in a bigger city with heavier traffic in the circles). I'm sure we befuddled a lot of other drivers, but I'm sure they understood as there is a huge "CARL'S AUTOMATIC RENTALS" decal on the front and back window, hahaha. I also admire Cameron for braving the roads so readily, by the time we got home, he seemed to have it down.
In the mall, we ate at place called Giraffe which was a sort of natural foods restaurant, but carried all kinds of things like southwest dishes and burgers and salads and sandwiches. At the end of my meal, I ordered a single scoop of golf ball-sized ice cream for £1.75 [$2.84]. It was just chocolate, but it was the best damn chocolate ice cream I've ever had. It had tiny, tiny flecks of chocolate shavings in it and was probably about halfway in sweetness between a milk and a dark chocolate ice cream. My new favorite.
On the way out of the mall, we saw this chipped mosaic and looked closer, and the description said it was a 4th century Roman mosaic! Pretty fantastic for a shopping mall! I guess they're up to their ears in ancient artifacts, so they need somewhere to put them. =)
Tomorrow we are looking at a house that has a CONSERVATORY, so wish us luck!
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Prawn Crisps
Boy. We've been in England for four days and I still can't seem to get over my jetlag. I went to bed around midnight, woke up at 6, went back to bed at 9 and slept til 2! Even my phone ringing and our sponsor knocking at my door didn't wake me up! But enough about that, let's start from the beginning:
Leaving Idaho was hard, because it was one of our shortest trips home ever. Even so, at least the time seemed to pass by slowly. I got to see Andrea and Ashley almost every day which was amazing! This time around, we also seemed to have a better handle on scheduling and didn't overbook ourselves, even though we had less time to spend. Food highlights: Hudson's Hamburgers, Wingstop bliss, Java mexican mocha, Moontime southwest salad, spray butter on broccoli, baked potatoes, killing Sam's diet with tiramisu and Rustler's Roost, sitting outside in freezing weather at Sonic and making my cranberry slush last 3 hours, our first time at 5 Guys, Sahale snacks on the airplane, having the Silk Road tapas (tapas from all around the world), Cameron's obsession with Hoagieville cheese fries, frozen yogurt with Amber and Katie, bison chili, Jenna's spaghetti WITHOUT mushrooms, and a barbeque at the Williams'.
The flight was amazingly long, but I was delighted that each seat back had its own screen which played movies, TV, games and showed a map of the course of the flight. I LOVE following along with the flight progress. It's great looking down and knowing what you're seeing. And since I don't have a watch (I'm holding out for the perfect one), I never know what time it is or how long we've been flying.
We got in to Heathrow and had to go through customs which was one of the longest lines I've ever been in. There must have been a few hundred people in line, but luckily it went quickly (for a line that size). Everything had gone smoothly up until that point, so I was worried we wouldn't find our sponsor or our luggage, but the luggage was there (except for the skateboard which was off on another conveyor belt) and our sponsor was right there! We drove home and I tried to keep my eyes peeled and watch around me, but I could barely stay awake...I guess that's understandable after traveling for 20 hours. I was pretty amazed that along the 'freeway' it was almost entirely trees and flowers along the road. :) As soon as we got home, we crashed and woke up at 9:30, thinking the shoppette would be open, but it closed at 9, so we ended up calling Vic, one of Cameron's longtime colleagues from Hawaii (who is stationed here now) to help us out. He took us to Tesco (a British chain grocery store) and we picked up a few things to sustain us. I don't know why I wasn't expecting it, but nearly EVERYTHING there was completely foreign to me. It's exciting to try all kinds of new stuff like Prawn crisps (chips) and toffee pudding.
We've been running around like crazy trying to get everything set up, and so far we have some ideas for cars to buy (nice and cheap so we can put at least half down) and we got new phones which were both rated better than the iPhone 4. Booyah! We are still working on getting a telephone number that works for US calling.
Housing is still in the works! We went to the housing office which has a lot of listings and we don't have to pay a deposit, which would be amazing, but if those don't pan out, we have a lot of listings set aside to check out through other agents. The housing is the one thing I don't want to compromise on. I need it to be as close to Huntingdon as possible, and I would love a nice yard.
We are working on taking pictures of all the pretty things we see, so keep your eyes peeled!
Leaving Idaho was hard, because it was one of our shortest trips home ever. Even so, at least the time seemed to pass by slowly. I got to see Andrea and Ashley almost every day which was amazing! This time around, we also seemed to have a better handle on scheduling and didn't overbook ourselves, even though we had less time to spend. Food highlights: Hudson's Hamburgers, Wingstop bliss, Java mexican mocha, Moontime southwest salad, spray butter on broccoli, baked potatoes, killing Sam's diet with tiramisu and Rustler's Roost, sitting outside in freezing weather at Sonic and making my cranberry slush last 3 hours, our first time at 5 Guys, Sahale snacks on the airplane, having the Silk Road tapas (tapas from all around the world), Cameron's obsession with Hoagieville cheese fries, frozen yogurt with Amber and Katie, bison chili, Jenna's spaghetti WITHOUT mushrooms, and a barbeque at the Williams'.
The flight was amazingly long, but I was delighted that each seat back had its own screen which played movies, TV, games and showed a map of the course of the flight. I LOVE following along with the flight progress. It's great looking down and knowing what you're seeing. And since I don't have a watch (I'm holding out for the perfect one), I never know what time it is or how long we've been flying.
We got in to Heathrow and had to go through customs which was one of the longest lines I've ever been in. There must have been a few hundred people in line, but luckily it went quickly (for a line that size). Everything had gone smoothly up until that point, so I was worried we wouldn't find our sponsor or our luggage, but the luggage was there (except for the skateboard which was off on another conveyor belt) and our sponsor was right there! We drove home and I tried to keep my eyes peeled and watch around me, but I could barely stay awake...I guess that's understandable after traveling for 20 hours. I was pretty amazed that along the 'freeway' it was almost entirely trees and flowers along the road. :) As soon as we got home, we crashed and woke up at 9:30, thinking the shoppette would be open, but it closed at 9, so we ended up calling Vic, one of Cameron's longtime colleagues from Hawaii (who is stationed here now) to help us out. He took us to Tesco (a British chain grocery store) and we picked up a few things to sustain us. I don't know why I wasn't expecting it, but nearly EVERYTHING there was completely foreign to me. It's exciting to try all kinds of new stuff like Prawn crisps (chips) and toffee pudding.
We've been running around like crazy trying to get everything set up, and so far we have some ideas for cars to buy (nice and cheap so we can put at least half down) and we got new phones which were both rated better than the iPhone 4. Booyah! We are still working on getting a telephone number that works for US calling.
Housing is still in the works! We went to the housing office which has a lot of listings and we don't have to pay a deposit, which would be amazing, but if those don't pan out, we have a lot of listings set aside to check out through other agents. The housing is the one thing I don't want to compromise on. I need it to be as close to Huntingdon as possible, and I would love a nice yard.
We are working on taking pictures of all the pretty things we see, so keep your eyes peeled!
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