I Bought a BIKE! (and other shopping in England)

On Thursday afternoon, my first day here, Fruit Loop and I went shopping! Yes, crazy in a way because I was so jet lagged, but we wanted to keep me awake so my body would start to adjust to the six hour time difference. Off we went to Ikea, home of all of our furniture and FOOD. I was still hungry so we stopped in the cafe where I had a spot of fish and chips! Oh and a lite soda with NO ice. In fact I didn't even see ice ANYWHERE! grrrrrr YUCK, it was disgusting. Best not let Fruit Loop know, hehehehe. Well we zoomed around and picked up bits and pieces for our wardrobe (That is a fake closet in case you didn't know. They don't have closets! strange?!) Then we went to a store like Walgreens called BOOTS. It was very nice, but NO crest toothpaste, hmmm. Honestly, I can't remember if we did anything else because I was about dead!

Then on Friday we did more shopping at.....WALMART!! They call it ASDA here, but it also has Walmart on the sign. We ate a yummy brunch there and then looked around and bought a few things for me to cook for dinner. (Ok, don't faint, yes I cooked dinner for them! I also wash dishes, do laundry... but that is for another blog entry!) NOPE, Walmart in England is not the same. They have just a tiny selection of stuff, but it was nice to be in a familiar place. The grocery department was wonderful with plenty of choices. AND I avoided the clothes section so I wouldn't be tempted!

After Walmart we went to a place called Argos. EVERYONE in England has an Argos catalog, it is real thick and FULL of great stuff at awesome prices. I was all excited and I had picked out something to buy. We walk in and BAM there are NO shelves, just little stands with catalogs and computers! You can only order from the catalog and they will get it from the warehouse in the back or off site! I was SHOCKED. Guess I was expecting how Sears used to be when I was a kid, you could shop AND order from the catalog. :-) I think we went to a few more stores, but my brain was so tired by then I had no idea what was up or down.

Saturday we went shopping again! (But first we cleared out tons of junk from the backyard and took it to the tip, that's the dump. I think we made about 5 trips!!!) This time we went to the giant B & Q which is just like Home Depot, orange too! We went straight to the bathroom section and I got my medicine cabinet I wanted. (The purchase at Argos was for the bathroom as well. Living with two boys, you have to find space for all your girly stuff!) After we strolled around a bit we left for the next shop....the BIKE store!!!! WAIT!!! I am wearing a skirt and flip flops, cute flip flops too!!!! Maybe we should go another day? He looked disappointed so I decided to give it a go.

It was LOVE at first site.... and no I don't mean Bluefish. A classic red bike, three speeds, leather seat/hand grips, ding-ding bell, skinny tires with a white wash, a back rack to carry items, and the cherry-on-top... a wicker basket!!!!! Just what I had been looking for. I was so excited I bought it right away, forgetting that pounds and dollars don't match! YIKES, went a bit over my budget, but when I got on it Monday... It was worth every penny!!!!! Now all I need is a dog to ride in the basket. Bluefish tells me he is going to get me a stuffed one, darn...

Almost forgot, we went to the mall on Saturday too and guess what? It is just like ours! Big, bright, posh, full of stores like GAP, Starbucks, Disney... oh and even McDonald's - where I finally got a diet coke with ICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sunday we went on an adventure (I will write about that next!)

Welcome Home!

In my daze of despair, sure that the "Bobbie" (British Police) were following us as we left the airport, Bluefish drove me for a scenic route around Bristol before we headed for his house. Having been unable to give him a proper enthusiastic greeting at the airport, all I wanted to do was get to the house, get a drink, and sit on the sofa and say hello. Instead we went from one beautiful vantage point to another and I grew thirstier and thirstier! Remember that nice kiss I was going to give him? Well now my lips were so dry I didn't think it would even be possible EVER AGAIN! hehehehe FINALLY, I begged to go to his house and he realized I really WAS in need of a drink and a place to sit down and BREATH in safety for a moment. After checking the rear view mirror a few more times, we pulled into the street positive that the blimey immigration police had not followed us. Phew!

I had a nice diet coke, Fruit Loop had bought me a whole 12 pack, and finally calmed down from the interrogation at the airport. Oh yes and a bit of kissing went on too! lol Eager to show me the bedroom he had worked so hard on, Bluefish took my hand and lead me up the stairs. When we opened the door to the room, I started to cry. He had decorated it with all assorted colored Welcome Home balloons, Welcome Home signs, fresh flowers, a cheerful duvet cover (bedspreadish thing) and the furniture as stunning! But most important was the message...WELCOME HOME. On the headboard was also a cute card that offered me HIS HOME, HIS FAMILY, and HIMSELF as mine for always. Plus a set of house keys. SIGH, SIGH, SIGH.... so romantic. He even had a box of tissues ready for me to use because he said he knew I would cry!


PS. The dinning room and living room also had fresh flowers too! No ladies, you can't steal my man. BUT he does have a single brother....

So, how was the trip? YIKES!!!

First I just want to say.... I looked CUTE! Who could resist a Texas Gal dressed in cowgirl boots, long denim skirt, lacy tank-top, pink/brown western shirt all topped with a straw hat???? Oh and don't forget the piggies with pink ribbons! Guess I should have thought twice, three times, or maybe four times about this being my arrive in Bristol outfit. Why? PASSPORT IMMIGRATION OFFICERS! DING DING DING!!! American flying to meet her one true love and sneak her way into the UK! DANGER! We are being invaded by American girls trying to steal our men! DON'T let her in!!! If that doesn't work...SCARE her to death! Ask her lots of questions when she is at her weakest (remember she is on USA time it is 3am over there!), look to see if she has any money, and whatever you do don't forget to tell her she will be BLACKLISTED from ever returning to England if she stays EVEN ONE DAY past her six months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all started so innocent. I got to the airport, just one bag heavy (only a $150 fine, grrrrr but a girl needs her clothes!) and only needed to rearrange a few things to meet the 50 pound weight limit. Shot through security and then typed the distance entry on my blog. Up in the air to Newark and then writing cards, eating lunch, and mailing bills at the Newark Airport. Hmmm... plenty of time left lets get online and chat with a friend. "Last call for boarding to Bristol at gate 75!" HOLLY BATMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's my flight! I am at gate 71 and still on Texas time one hour behind. Three other people also scramble and we make a mad dash to the terminal, jump on the plane, and slam into our seats. WHEW!!! Safe of board I get all excited again and settle in for the zillion hour flight. ARGH!!!!!! If that baby screams one more time.... geez this is so uncomfortable, when I am rich I am flying First Class! hehehehe Wait, what is that..... I can see ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!! As we flew over the countryside ready for our decent I was so happy. Finally the journey was over. All I had to do was clear customs with my forty bottles of hair products and I was in Fruit Loops arms.....NOPE!

As you read earlier I was held hostage at the passport area and grilled to a crisp by a very professional Customs Agent. I have been duly noted and warned that I am only welcome in the UK for 6 months and not a MINUTE longer. Guess Fruit Loop best take care of that situation pretty darn quick then!

(For those of you who are on top of things, sorry this took so long to post. Been so busy and trying to get over jet lag. Geez it is not easy to loose 6 hours. Will write more soon!)

How FAR away is that???

Have you ever looked at a map of England? No I don't mean Britain - just England itself. Ok, get that atlas out...WHAT you don't have one???? Alright, here is the link to the information on the worlds only source of completely inaccurate information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England hehehehehe For those lazy ones of you (yes that is almost ALL of you) I will give you some of the basic need to knows for understanding distance in England;
1. 130,395 km2 or 50,346 sq mi England and Texas 268,820[2] sq mi or 696,241 km2

so.............basically Texas is 4 times larger than England. Now don't forget that England is just one of the countries on the isle of Great Britain. Wales and Scotland are present too. Together they are 209,331 km² or 80,823 square miles. STILL tiny compared to Texas! hehehehe

Now for the distance from Texas to Bristol....let me consult my friend google maps, what will he tell me? I hope he doesn't recommend driving directions!!!! LOL :-) Hey it is smarter than I thought, it didn't work! Ok, now I am going to try... hmm I don't know... time for Ask Jeeves! Forty years later I will give you a rough estimate. The distance is approx. 4.000 miles give or take a bunch of miles. hehehe.

What I am trying to say is I have a lot of sitting to do on the airplane and I hope I don't go stir crazy!!!!! I have only flown as far as Puerto Rico before and that was bad enough. This time I will arrive at DFW Airport at about 10am Wednesday, June 10th and arrive in Bristol Airport 9am THURSDAY, June 11th. Do you feel sorry for me yet? NOT! I am sure you don't because I think it will be all worth it to see my Fruit Loop again. PLUS I will get to EXPLORE ENGLAND with him by my side. Oh and there is a six hour time difference so I will only be an airport/airplane captive for about 17 hours!

Yikes it is time to get on the plane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Write more when I land and get over my jet lag. Adios for now!

So this is what kissing is like?!

Many of you know that what I write here on my blog is read not only by adults, but by my students and there friends also. I have tried to make this story PG so that all of my followers can enjoy the journey with me. HOWEVER, there IS more to the story so stay tuned all of you "fans" for my future book. It is a "coming of age" type of novel that is sure to give you the details you have been wondering about! hehehehehehe

In my past I have had some experiences with men that have caused me to shy away from potential relationships. Every time a boy started to become "interested" in me I would back off quickly, even if I really liked him. By the time I was thirty-seven and three-quarters I had still "never been kissed". Ok, yes I had been kissed, but not like a REAL boyfriend/Girlfriend kiss that I wanted and let continue! (hehehehehe This is starting to sound like a Drew Barrymore film!!!) To be honest I was EXTREMELY worried about this fact and knew that I would just embarrass myself to death if Bluefish and I were to ever meet in person and he expected me to KISS him. GROSS!!!!!!!! KISSING!!!!!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is what my students said when I would talk about Mr. Crates! BUT the day that Mr. Crates photo fell onto the floor they INSISTED that I KISS HIM to make it better!!! Now here I am 37 and never really kissed a man and 4TH graders are telling me to kiss his PHOTO! lol Heck, I was even embarrassed to do that! THEN the day finally arrived... Fruit Loop was on his way to see Sweet Pea and she was going to have to KISS him!!!! grrrrrrrr What was she going to do??? Let's face it, I am a terrible kisser! I don't even know what kissing is supposed to be!!!! The only advice I have is from one of my students on how I should kiss the computer monitor to tell Mr. Crates I love him!!!!!!!!! Hey, I have an idea! Do they sell books on how to kiss? Maybe I can read a book about good kissing....hmmm.....that idea has potential....

DARN! I never read the book and now he is going to come out of the airport terminal and..... Oh, we will be surrounded by all kinds of people so he will just kiss me on the check or peck me on the lips. Right? RIGHT? Oh no people are coming through the doors... I think I am going to be sick... Is it too late to run??? Will he see me or can I just hide? What if we just stick to being friends... friends only kiss on the check right? I see him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooo scared!!!!!!!!!!! NERVOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! Holly Batman he is hugging me and KISSING ME IN FRONT OF EVERYONE and I don't know how to kiss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People are watching my humiliating moment in time, they can all tell. They are saying..."Look at that poor guy, his girlfriend doesn't know how to kiss. How sad." Yes, I am lying. They are not saying that. They don't even know that I can't kiss, but I bet Bluefish can tell! Yikes, he is kissing me again. Who in the world is this guy anyway???? I have only talked to him on the internet for a few months. Why is he touching me and kissing me?

Have I given you guys an understanding of what was going on in my head the very first time I meet Bluefish? I am sure you never dreamed that the only thing I would be worried about was the kissing. Again, I want to remind you that certain men had not been nice to me in my past, so I was very scared to let a boy that close to me. On a serious note, I urge you to talk to a trusted friend if someone has hurt you in the past so he/she can be stopped. It is NEVER ok to just let the situation go. In my case I did not take that advice and other girls have paid for my fear.

Don't worry, this is a fairy tale so it has a happy ending! Well, I finally got Bluefish to the car and we headed home. Away from the onlookers I started to relax and remember that I DID know this strange man in the car...he was My Fruit Loop, my One True Love. WOW! I could actually touch his arm and smell him. He is not on the computer screen, he is REAL!!!!! After a short drive we arrived and as the minutes passed my anxiety decreased and I decided maybe I would try to kiss him myself! hehehehehehe

It wasn't long into our 16 day vacation (holiday if you want to talk Brit!) that I decided kissing the man you love and want to be with for always wasn't so bad after all. Now, over two months later, Fruit Loop had best watch out because it is going to be me that kisses him at the airport so hard that he is going to fall over!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx These are all for you GBRC!

17th Century Love for a 21st Century Gal

I am a VERY liberated and independent woman. During my teenage years my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I had to start helping run the house. MS causes a person to seem "normal" for periods of times and then BAM they become symptomatic. I learned to cook, do the laundry, and even help pay the bills. When I turned 16 I started to work at Target (a retail store close to my house) and often used the money I earned to buy household supplies and clothing for my brother and I. Many times I would work full-time even though I was still in high school so that we would be able to have the extras in life we where used to. Then when college came around I earned some scholarships, worked two to three jobs at a time, continued to help at home when needed, and paid my own way through 6 years of academic disaster. I will never forget a conversation my father and I had in the car one day. Maybe I was complaining about tuition, or who knows, but somehow we got on the topic of me having to pay my own way. Dad told me then that even if he couldn't pay for my education, he was giving me the best lesson of all. Learning to be independent and self sufficient. Now, years later, I remember those words as a embark on a journey most people only dream of. I have sold virtually everything I own, packed up the rest, quit my tenured job, and even given away my beloved dog. ME, the independent woman leaving all the stability in the world behind for the love of a man. Am I independent or CRAZY????

First you have to understand that I have NEVER really been in love before. NO man has swept me off my feet EVER!!! Heck, I was too busy being independent to let them, seriously. If you told me just a year ago today that I would be leaving to "take care of" two grown men, dress in 17th century clothes, and rely on MEN to provide for me... I would tell you that you were NUTS. Only insanely dependent women HAVE to have a man to make them whole, and I am NOT one of them!!!!! So that being my previous attitude, what changed????

Remember how I told you that Bluefish likes to pretend he is in the English Civil War (or did I mention that)? To make a long BORING war story short... (hehehehe sorry Fruit Loop!) The King and the Parliament (like our Senators) got mad at each other and decided to fight it out to see who was "king of the hill". Now, centuries later... grown men like to dress up and pretend to shoot each other like the battle is still going on. AND can you believe it, GIRLS go too!!!! PLUS - they actually enjoy it! hehehehehe OK, I admit it - I am one of those girls who LOVES to participate. :-) These reenactors spend countless hours and lots of cash on bringing the 17th century to life. They literally immerse themselves in the lifestyle and often these tendencies spill over into their "real" life as well. It was these idiosyncrasies that melded Bluefish to my heart.

Personally I wanted to send him a card in the mail so he would know I was thinking of him. I was so excited to drop it in the mail and couldn't wait for him to text me or email me when it arrived. Nope, Bluefish had another idea. He wanted me to know that he received the letter by his replying to the letter in kind. Basically I would have to wait to get one BACK from him to know it was delivered safe and sound. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I wanted to know the SECOND that card arrived! While we waited for the card to cross the Atlantic, Bluefish got all romantic and dreamy about its arrival..... This card will be the first item we have both touched. I will be able to see something you have written by hand just for me. Did you include a lock of your hair? WHAT!!!!!!!!!! STOP THE PRESSES, a lock of my hair! Is he some collector serial murderer who goes around getting locks of hair from women, then when he meets them he kills them??? Does he want my DNA so he can clone me?? You know they cloned Dolly the sheep in England. SICK I tell you, the man is SICK! hehehehehe NOPE he is just MY SOLIDER living in the wrong century and it was sooooo ROMANTIC that he wanted my curl that I immediately got my aunt to help me cut the perfect one and dressed it with ribbons. (Softly sighing and I recall the moment...) I was so pleased to be able to send him a part of me all the way across the pond. I felt like a young girl sending her solider boy a token of her devotion.

Well, the days were passing and Christmas was soon approaching. Ta-Da I had a package in the mail from England! DARN! I can't open the wrapped gifts until CHRISTMAS! grrrrrrr hehehehehehehe So I impatiently waited all the while smelling the card, caressing it, and reading it over and over... My solider boy had actually touched this, wrote this for me, and mmmm that was so wonderful to think about..... FINALLY Christmas arrived and I was able to open my gift. AMAZING... this man is truly a 17 century lad in a 21st century world. Wrapped so nicely in maroon/gold foil paper was a white gold heart locket containing his photo AND strands of his hair. I couldn't stop smiling and since only take it off when I bath. Think... I get to wear his photo next to my heart everyday AND a piece of his DNA! While everyone else I know thinks it is GROSS and WEIRD, I think it is the most romantic, thoughtful, and enduring gift I have ever received. Now Fruit Loop and I are truly "with" each other even though we are thousands of miles apart.

Now can you see why this 21st century independent gal is ready to fly the ocean blue to take care of her 17th century solider boy?

My heart was stolen...

On November 28, 2008 I received a "quick mail" on MFO (the website I was using to meet guys from other countries) that read, 'Nice Pic!' from a man called Bluefish. Being the friendly type I had vowed to reply to everyone that contacted me and check out their profile. Hmmmm... Very attractive, friendly message, likes the outdoors - especially camping, and builds stuff. Now what kind of woman is he looking for..... Lively and outgoing- HEY that is me!, likes children - I'm a teacher!, not to serious - Does that mean silly?, and non-smoker - Alright! So without further thought I wrote back a flirty message in the hopes of adding him to my growing row of sticky notes. Little did I know at the time, but I had just made FIRST CONTACT with my One True Love. (sighing with googly eyes)

Can I tell you a secret? It wasn't love at first type. Don't tell Bluefish though because for him all it took was my smile. Well, that is what he tells me! Really - I am not just bragging. hehehehe No, for me it was slow and steady. The kind of love that creeps up on you when you are least expecting it then OUCH it bit me!!! When I dived into Bluefish's (that sounds funny) profile and read his answers to all the questions they ask, I was impressed. He claimed to be caring, compassionate, deep, generous, patient, sincere, supportive, romantic, passionate, jovial.... should I go on? SERIOUSLY girls, is he just full of himself or what? This cannot be real! If all of this is true, why hasn't he been claimed already and locked in a bedroom somewhere?! Should I give him the benefit of the doubt and find out for myself? Heck, I am just doing this for fun right? So I decided to pursue this relationship and see who Bluefish REALLY was.

We started out just swapping chats on MFO, but quickly we also added emails. Bluefish would send numerous photos with every email and started to share his life with me from the very beginning. Pictures of his home, family, hobbies, and work poured in and I began to see that Bluefish WAS a man that I could see myself with and did live up to his profile. One thing that he shared with me was his love for reenactment of the English Civil War (hey, did you know that they had a civil war too? lol). This was not on his MFO information because he had been advised that it might turn women off. NOT! In fact it SOLD me on him. I love history, drama, and camping. Guess what? Reenactment is a hobby that combines all three. Suddenly Bluefish was starting to stand out from the crowd. Innocent flirting became serious flirting and the quest for getting to know him turned into a crusade.

Days passed and we added Skype ( http://www.skype.com/ is a video conferencing site that lets you be there without leaving!) to our form of electronic communication. Now we kept in touch by MFO, email, texts, and live video feed! What in the world? Isn't the 21st century form of dating insane?! Being able to see each other added a new element to our budding romance. Let me tell you - I was SCARED to death the first time I talked to him on the camera! In fact I kept twisting my rolling chair and didn't look at him in the face! ME, the non-shy girl was SHY!!!! Then, to make matters worse, I couldn't understand over HALF of what he was saying. hehehehehe Yes, I only speak American - not English. BUT wow was that accent SEXY and his eyes, that grin, and his calm manner.... I was soon at ease in front of the camera with Bluefish and completely swept off my feet.

Oh....did I tell you all of this happened in about THREE WEEKS?