Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Getting over the jet lag

Hello folks! We are really here! It was a good and safe journey via plane and now Bryant and I are living out of suitcases in a British hotel. The accents here are going to take a LOT of getting used to. Sometimes Bryant and I have no clue they're speaking English sometimes. For instance, we are staying at a "Premier Inn Hotel" and the hotel clerk calls it the "PREM-yoo-EN." If we didn't know the name of the hotel and were talking to the lady on the phone I am 100% positive I would have no idea what she was talking about. We've already had our share of "I beg your pardon?" "What was that?" "Could you repeat?"

It is going to take a good level of patience for the next three years. :)

I was supposed to start working today but I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night for a few hours and when I woke up this morning at 0710 I was ill. I didn't go to work because of it, so slept some more and Bryant and I are trying so hard to get into the swing of things on England time. I never thought that working to get on a 6-hour time difference would be so painful!

Right now we found a good spot in the local pub where we can plug in our computer and lasso some free WiFi. We sit directly under the big screen TV and we have a sizable crowd watching the "football" game over our head. 

I keep hearing something about Valencia. Apparently it's not Danny Valencia.

I am sure soccer is a very captivating sport, but I cannot get out of my head the fact that the Milwaukee Brewers are the National League Central Division Champions! It is unfortunate that we moved to England right when they are at the top of their game. I love baseball!

Go Brewers!

Monday, September 26, 2011

On Our Way!

The day has arrived! Our bags our packed, our stuff is en route on either a plane or a cargo ship, we've checked out of our hotel, and checked into our flights. We are actually moving to England today.

Bags.

Boarding pass.

Passports.

Ok, so the photos were taken yesterday because we have no phones to connect so instantly to our blog! We sold my iPhone to my dad and sold Bryant's on eBay for a nice chunk of change. We are so glad to have made enough money on them to cover our contract cancellation fee. AT&T really gets ya on that contract!

This is seriously unreal that we are flying to England today... it has not sunk in at all. Even all the emotional good-byes haven't allowed the concept to get its grip into my brain. Maybe once we are there, bleary-eyed and greeted by a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road, we will feel it. It has to happen sooner or later!

Cheerio and Farewell, America!

Hannah and Bryant

Katherine Joy & Eleanor Jane Walker

They are here! My little nieces have arrived. My sister was induced on Friday evening and at 8:43 & 8:45 PM (CDT) on 24 September 2011 babies Katherine and Eleanor were welcomed into the world. Aren't they just adorable?



I am so glad they were born before we leave! I got to Skype with the whole gang and even my mother who was fortunate to be there during the delivery. I love those little ones so much and I haven't even met them in person. We love you and are so proud of you, Rachel!

Today I had to buy a watch because I canceled my cell phone plan. Why are those two things related? Well, when you're constantly using a phone that tells you what time it is, what's the use in owning a wrist watch? I don't have a phone anymore and to make sure we don't miss our flight I thought maybe I should experience a blast from the past and buy a clunky bracelet that tells time.  :)

It's not even digital.


In other news.... We fly to England tomorrow! AH!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

move week.

Wow! I am not sure if it's because we are married now and have a house worth of stuff for two instead of one, but I am not sure I expected this whole operation.

SUNDAY
We have moved into a hotel! We actually packed up our suitcases and left the apartment (we had to wash the sheets before packing them!). For some reason I was expecting the hotel clerk to ask my why I was checking into a hotel when I had a perfectly good apartment in Saint Paul and then proceed to refuse us a room. Fortunately that didn't happen.

MONDAY
The household goods move. We expected the movers to arrive between 8-9AM and in our anxiousness we called inquiring about their ETA at 9:15 (er, 0915 for you Europeans). Did they not realize that we were a couple of excited kids trying to prepare themselves to have ev.er.y.thing they own packed up and shipped over the ocean?! Apparently not. Well, timeliness would have been appreciated. Besides, Bryant got coffee for them and it was getting cold (he didn't want it to go to waste!) :)

0925: Joe and Dana arrive. Two 20-somethings who are here to touch all our stuff and box it all up while they're at it.
"Hi, I'm Hannah, this is Bryant."
"Hi. Joe, Dana. What do you not want packed?"
"Uh, just this here."
"Ok, thanks. We'll pack everything but that."
"Uh, ok. We'll just... I guess... stay out of the way as best as we can. Here is some coffee. And doughnuts."
"Sweet! Thanks!"

0927: It begins.

More than anything, it was harder to sit there and watch them do all of the work while we just stayed out of their way.


Two guys worked 2-3 rooms each and they packed and listened to their iPod or, like Joe here, talked to us about his European travels and how he was supposed to be in England right now playing Rugby. Lots of cardboard made its way into every open space and nine hours later everything that wasn't furniture was boxed up.

1200: Papa John's Pizza for everyone: brought to you by the ones who want to make sure their stuff is being treated well.

1600: A realization pops into Bryant's head.
"Oh, did you know we have a storage unit downstairs, too?"
"No. No, we didn't."
"Oh, yeah, that's down there."
"Oh, I guess we'll have to do that tomorrow."

1645: Dana and Joe leave.

TUESDAY


0830: Dana, Joe and Kevin arrive in a big truck.

0831: Kevin and Joe pack up the storage unit downstairs and Dana begins wrapping up all the furniture.

Storage Room Stuff

1000: The truck starts getting loaded. We are thanking God that it isn't raining!



1230: Lunch again, this time Jimmy John's. Seems to hit the spot for everyone. (success!)

1330: It's beginning to feel like we're watching a human-sized Tetris game without Korobeiniki playing in the background. 


1630: All done! The truck drives away... I had to get a video.



1845: Twins Game! Our final one for a while. It's depressing, but we prepared for cold weather and for a Twin's loss... which happened. It's ok, though, because we had fun and great seats! Bryant won these tickets, too. :)
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I got my hair cut! Maybe I'll post about that later...


WEDNESDAY

I went to work in the morning and the ladies from work took us out to a farewell lunch. After saying some sad goodbyes :( we had to go back to the apartment and wait for a new set of guys to come and pack up our second shipment (yes, there were two of them). This one is called "unaccompanied baggage" because it will go on a plane to England instead of a ship. We sent our clothes, bicycles and computer because it should get there next month.

1400: They're here!


1500: They're done!
That was easy.
THURSDAY
Bryant cleaned the apartment and checked out of the apartment while I was at work... and we sold our car.

So Empty.
Bye, car! 


FRIDAY (today)
I went to work and we realize that we are homeless, car-less, and stuff-less. Strange...

We said a lot of goodbyes at my office today and this weekend it's the family's turn for farewells.

My sister is giving birth to her twins as I type (she is in Washington) and my mom is flying out to see her tomorrow morning. I am SO jealous!!

Three more days before liftoff!

Sincerely,
the nomads

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Wait, what?

The movers come in three days and Bryant and I have been keeping busy with various crafts and hobbies to prepare for this occasion. We went shopping to buy supplies for the crafts, sat down and created them, started a new project last night and we are almost done with it! We made coasters and are creating a ma---- wait, did you just say the movers come in three (3) days???

WHAT?!

Yeah, welcome to Hannah's brain. I am sure you might be thinking that we have the good life where the movers come pack everything up and whisk it away all in two days leaving time to make crafty things (which we actually do live the good life)... but what we actually do NOT have is time to be making crafts. I am so out of touch with the reality that we are going to be living in a hotel for the next 2+ months starting SUNDAY that I actually convinced Bryant we could make a cork board map of England in our spare time instead of packing. If you're wondering, that is the project we are almost done with and yes, it's really cute and yes, I sponged the design idea from Design*Sponge even though it has deviated significantly from the initial idea. :)

Photos to come...

I will however share photos of the first said project: coasters! I had fun with this one, although completing it outdoors would have probably better, considering the spray glue and spray paint. Bryant joined in on the fun about halfway through and I was reminded of how much more fun I have when I have some help and a pal to watch progress in the making.

First we started with tiles. $.54 each from Dick Blick art store.
We used lace purchased at JoAnn Fabric for $3.69/yd and a can of spray glue also from Blick for about $4.
Next I sprayed the lace with glue, let it air dry for about 30 seconds to make it tacky and I placed it on the tile, or in this case, 2 pieces. I made sure there weren't any wrinkles in the lace and it helped to not tuck the excess under the tile for its removal afterwards.
I sprayed the tile with gold spray paint, totally unevenly, mind you, and it still turned out really well. You  can reuse the same piece of lace for another tile because the paint dries quickly on the lace. Lifting it off the tile after painting was a breeze and it should be done about a minute after painting.
The next day, we cut out squares of cork (you can get a small roll of cork for about $4), spray glued them to the back and set a heavy object on top to let the glue set strongly.
Thanks for the inspiration, Martha!
You can find Martha's full instructions here. The fact that she made it look so easy was why I felt like I could do it. Not that I am complaining, but this sort of thing is harder than it looks. Sure it was "easy," but you have to collect the supplies, get the knack for spray painting evenly, and prevent gluing your fingers together & putting a thin layer of gold on your table. Actually, I probably shouldn't be admitting to this because the more I think about the trouble I had, the more like a 10-year-old I feel. :) I don't mind, though because it was fun and I love my coasters!

Doesn't it kind of remind you of photogram art? I love the classy/romantic lace with the modern and practical style of presenting it! 



Next time on "Words with a Couple of Ditties" we'll be even closer to our move and journey to ENGLAND! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Minnesota State Fair 2011

We love the Minnesota State Fair! I think it's a safe bet that we were really excited to go this year more than any other because we knew we wouldn't be able to go again for another three years. We pulled out all the stops in our excitement: chose two days we were going to go, downloaded the iPhone app, scoped out the new foods, and bought our admission tickets in advance.

That iPhone app helped make this the best State Fair yet. it gave us our GPS location and told us what foods were nearby and we could even filter foods from the bargain book and the new 2011 food options. We didn't even have to plot out a course for activities or their timing throughout the day because a handy schedule of all of the events were conveniently organized at our fingertips.

The first day we met up with my parents, my aunt, my sister Sarah, and my brother Caleb. It was on Saturday, August 27 and Bryant, Sarah and I got there at 7:30am and B and I ended up being there for 14 hours. We were a little of tired at the end of that day. :)

We took several snapshots of the food and fun things we saw so I'll show you some here!


DAY ONE
Bryant and I took the city bus and met Sarah there at 7:30 for breakfast because the SF bus routes begin at 8am. We had always wanted to have breakfast at the fair! Here is Sarah with the blue ribbon bargain book that gave us some good deals. We had pancakes and coffee at the Lunch Box.

Before we went to the Lunch Box Sarah and I were pumped to try the new Breakfast Lollipop at Axel's. It was a sausage patty dipped in corn meal, fried and finished off with syrup. It was yummy.

The 27th was 4H day! We got to see kids show their animals and the most adorable prize went to all the kids showing their rabbits! It was so cute!

OK, the lambs look funny when they're in their "pajamas" for the evening so I had to get a picture of this one. He sure took a liking to Bryant. :)

This was lunch time. I had a new food-- a Pretzel-wrapped hot dog. It was pretty good! A bit salty for my taste, but that is the best part of going to the fair with a fun group--you all get to taste the stuff and share! Sarah was eating cheese curds here (classic!) 

Deep-fried candy bars are not new to us, but we still revel in their amazingness. These workers in the booth were from Iowa and were fun to talk to. The fried oreos are my fave.

Sarah needed to try a new kind so she got the fried snickers bar.

I love how we were on the hunt for dessert right after our lunch. A big part of the fair for us really is experiencing food so we were all pumped that Caleb wanted to get deep-fried cheese cake. Caleb was so excited he took a bite before I had time to snap a photo.

Up on Machinery Hill was the GIANT SING ALONG! This was a super fun idea! We loved getting up there and singing songs we really didn't know (I'd like to Teach the World to Sing).
Dinner time! This is my Aunt Ellen who joined us that afternoon. We all went to the Texas Steak House on Machinery Hill and Ellen had the potato-curl-wrapped foot-long hot-dog (or something like that) while wearing a really clever hat from Gander Mountain. I had a phenomenal bargain-book meal: Texas Dinner on a Stick! (I thought this was original until I realized it was just a kebab...see the below story about a deep fried pie) but hey, it's the state fair! So it's BETTER! Seriously, though... the dry rub on the steak... and the tender potatoes... and the sweet bell peppers... oh my gosh my mouth is watering...



DAY TWO
Just Bryant and me. This was our day to get everything we missed the first day. Beginning with: deep fried apple pie. Also thought to be a deliciously original idea... until you get it and realize it isn't original idea at all and McDonald's has been serving these 2/$.99 for years. BUT NOT AT THE STATE FAIR with CINNAMON ICE CREAM! It really was a treat, despite that realization......... okwhatsnext????

I'll tell you what's next! My mom bought two tickets for roasted corn on Saturday but only used one, so we got a free ear of the sweetest corn I've ever tasted. Bryant was pretty excited too. :)

A lot went on between the last photo and this one, but I don't have photos of all of it. However, this was certainly delicious documentation of a new food ala stick MNSF 2011: deep fried cookie dough! It was ooey gooey amazeballs of cookie dough.

In honor of George Michal Bluth and Arrested Development we bought a chocolate-covered banana (with a coupon from the bargain book). There's always money in the banana stand.

Finally, I got a fun t-shirt to remember the best state fair yet, also purchased with a coupon. "I Like You" was the best vendor at the fair, in my opinion. Fun, unique, and local! I wore this shirt yesterday. :)


Other favorites, not caught on camera:
- People Watching (entertainment in itself!)
- Learning about farms, animals, and agriculture. The milking demonstration was so fascinating! 
- Participating in all the traditions. Sweet Martha's Cookies, the 2:00 parade & Miracle of Birth Center
- The old fashioned photo booth
- Ye Old Mill (first time!)

Monday, September 12, 2011

9/11 ... 10 years later

I know there are thousands out there blogging about 9/11 today as it's the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. I am not sure why but I woke up this morning compelled to watch the coverage of the new memorial and to remember that day. It was moving to see and hear all of the names of those who died and to see the people affected by it all. I went through the rest of the day not thinking much about it until I got home from meeting with a friend.

I randomly turned on the TV to see if it had a setting in the menu to change over to PAL signal from NTSC and for some reason kept it on while I worked on the computer. I happened to notice not long after it began that CBS was playing a really amazing documentary on 9/11/01. I am almost positive I am the only one in the United States who has never seen it, too, because I guess it's pretty famous. I had never seen any of the footage that Jules and Gedeon Naudet accidentally caught that day. I may have seen video of the planes fly into the buildings before but actually seeing the few seconds of life of the firemen of Ladder 1 before the first airplane hit the WTC towers. It was a very powerful video.

If you have never seen it before, do yourself a favor and buy the video from iTunes here or watch clips at CBS' website here. It'll help you "Never Forget" and appreciate the heros of the United States. I am reminded that even though we are moving to England, I will always love my country and be proud to be an American.


PS - I promise to share our fun times at the MN State Fair and our trip to Washington over Labor Day Weekend soon! Only 2 more weeks before we move! (Also, if you are wondering, our TV doesn't do PAL. Boo.)