Samantha

Samantha is arriving for a two week visit on Friday! We have so much planned and it is going to be a blast. I guess it is save to say she is my first visitor. This weekend we are going to take a couple day trips. First on the list is Leamington Spa for lunch than Stratford Upon-Avon for dinner. Sunday will be filled with adventures around London and then back to Coventry. That following weekend we have tickets to Dublin. I just hope the rest of this week goes by pretty quickly because I am really excited for her to be here. I am sure there will be plenty of pictures on here and facebook of our trips! Keep checking back for updates!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week
xx

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy American Mother's day to my wonderful mother! I wish I was there with her to celebrate another year of her being the best mother anyone could ever ask for. I am really sad I can't be with my family today because not only is it mother's day but my brother is graduating tomorrow! I have such an amazing family and I am so thankful every day for them. My brother is graduating from Auburn University tomorrow and I can't wait to see pictures of him in his cap and gown. I am sure it will bring tears to my eyes seeing him. I am so proud to call him my brother and proud to call my mom my mother. Happy Mother's Day and Graduation Day!




As you all my know-- there was a ROYAL wedding last weekend! I figured since I am living in England I must go and see what all the fuss was about! My friend Emily and I headed to London Thursday after work. We got on the faster train so we were there in an hour. Friday was a bank holiday so we had a long weekend to devote to seeing the wedding! After we checked in the hotel we walked to Buckingham Palace to scope things out. There were already a lot of people there camping out and waiting on the 'big day'. The Royal wedding seemed to be an event that really brought out a lot of happiness in everyone. Everyone was so nice and cheerful. I am sure everyone also liked the extra day off work too.

Anyway, we decided to get to Buckingham Palace at 4:00am Friday morning. We were prepared for cold weather and rain but neither happened. It ended up being a wonderful day and we got an amazing view. We figured there might not be another time that we are living in England during a royal wedding so we didn't mind getting up early. All in all we had a great day and we were really glad we went. We saw the Queen and the entire wedding party come back from the church. We also say the "KISS" on the balcony. Going into the weekend I was just a spectator but after it was all said and done I have been semi converted to a 'royalist'. I quite like William and Kate.

Happy Bank Holiday!

{an old post I forgot to put up}
This week and last week are full of bank holidays! I am absolutely loving the days off. This past Friday I went to the Lake District which I would say is more for tourists (I guess I am just that). It was really nice to see the rolling hills of the British country side. Along the way I found an unexpected treasure-- I found Hutton England! For those that don't know, Hutton is my mothers maiden name! Next we went to the town were Peter Rabbit was created. It was especially fun to do that this weekend since it was EASTER!

Other than our 28 hour adventure to the Lake District I have been resting. I have really enjoyed being able to settle in my new home!

Settling In

Next Wednesday will mark one month that I have been living in the UK. Time sure has flown by and I have accomplished so much. I have been learning a lot at work and finally feel like I am getting the hang of it. I have also moved into my flat and started decorating. It feels like everything has been extremely challenging but also very rewarding.

I was without internet for three weeks and I am still without a TV. It has actually been very nice having this time to focus on getting my flat in order instead of being consumed with watching TV. Here in the UK you have to get a TV license and pay TV tax if you want to watch TV in your home. Since payday is only once a month (last day of the month) it hasn’t been a priority. I am sure that my May visitor, Samantha will want me to make it more of a concern so I will work on it.

In terms of decorating- I have been doing everything on a budget. Most of the things I have as decoration are things I have made. I got wood out of the skip (dumpster) and used spray paint to make “art”. I also used bits of the phone book to make a picture frame. I am trying not to spend a lot of money on things I will want to bring back to the United State when I return in a couple of years. I feel like if I buy a lot of nice things I will want to ship them back-- I just can't handle that!! I already dealt with shipping things to England and it took too long and was pricey. I didn't realize I would have to pay tax for it when I picked it up at the post office here. I had to pay almost what it cost to ship it. There are so many taxes!!

For the past three weeks I have been airing out my living room. It smelled like cigarette smoke and I couldn't handle it! I am glad we have had good weather here so I was able to keep the windows open. It is finally livable!! YAY!

I bought a sofa from out office ebay. We have a place online that only people who work for the council can buy things off of. It is really nice because I got a really good deal on it. I have also discovered this website called freegle. It is where people give things away for FREE- yep, FREE! It is really neat!! I have used it twice and gotten some really cool stuff. You just look at the posts and email the person telling them you want it. Once they say that you can have it (it usually goes to the first person to email them) you go to their house and pick it up. Pretty cool, huh?

I will try to posted pictures of everything on here soon. Most of the pictures are on facebook so try to check them out there! Now that I have internet I will try to post more frequently.

Until next time
XOXOX

Internet down

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have not had access to the Internet for the past couple of days. I will try to post about moving in and this past weekend later this week. I started work on Monday and it has Bren great so far. I just love everyone I work with and I am excited to see everyone. I think I mentioned this in one of my other posts but I will mention it again.. My team puts in money every month to buy biscuits and tea every month. Biscuits are equilivant to our cookies. Needless to say we drink a lot of tea in our office! I am really enjoying it however, I am limiting myself to one english tea a day to try to not have very much sugar. The rest if the day I drink green tea! I think I average about 8 cups a day!!!

Anyway, I am sorry this is such a short post but I hope to have my Internet up soon!

Day 5

I went and visited a Children’s Centre today with one of the girls I work with. It was exciting to see some of the resources that are in the community. I am not sure if Jackson, Mississippi has anything like this place. It was truly amazing and Coventry is very fortunate to have a place like this for families. There a section of the centre where parents could rent toys for their children free of cost and a garden in the back that the daycare children helped plant. I hope this centre will be able to make it through the budget cuts.

After that I met up with mom and we went shopping around the Coventry city centre. We also went to the Coventry’s market. I am glad she found it the day before because I will be sure to go back there. The market isn’t very big but they sell pretty much everything. The even have a food section with several meat and vegetable stands. There were also a couple Asian stands that will be perfect when Alvin comes to visit!!

Day 5 was the first day we got to have some down time. Mom was able to take a nap before we met up with another American Social Worker. Emily walked with us around to some of her favorite shops. I know mom was glad she was able to meet up with us because she showed us this really cheap clothing shop. After scoping out some great places to get bargains we went back to our hotel to get ready to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Melissa was very kind to offer to take us there for dinner.
The sun was going down when we got there but in my opinion it was the perfect time because the sky was so beautiful.

We ate a lovely meal which actually took a while for them to bring out. After we ate we went back to the hotel to get some rest. Before bed we watched our nightly TV show.. British Antique Roadshow (Mom's favorite)

Above and below are pictures from our day. Enjoy!

Day 4

The one with the blue front door! Yep, I found it!! I found my new place. I truly had a feeling about this one. Ever since mom and I walked past it the day before I just knew it was going to be my new home.

After going into work for a couple of hours we met the housing agent to see two properties. We liked the first one so much that we didn't even bother looking at the second one. This flat is the biggest flat we have seen so far and it is in the lower end of my price range. It has the cutest little kitchen, dining area, living room and two bedrooms. The master bedroom has this wonderful bay window overlooking the street. My flat is on the second floor so my window should be very safe. It is also great because it lets in a lot of natural light.

The second bedroom is a bit small but it will be perfect for visitors. The flat is partly furnished so I will have to by a couch and a wardrobe for my bedroom. Most of the British flats I have been looking at don't have closets so a wardrobe is a must.

After we decided that this was 'the one' we went straight to the letting agents office and signed the paperwork. It is pretty pricey to rent here. The deposit it a lot higher here than in Mississippi! I guess that is to be expected. The letting agent was very surprised that I wanted to move in so quickly but he is working to get me in by Friday. I was so happy that he was able to pull some strings and get the paperwork done.

It has really been a big help the I am working for the Council. Once everyone sees my letter of employment they move pretty quickly. I can't imagine what it must be like to move to another country without a job. It must be really hard because I have had to have my proof of employment for everything!! There is no way I would have been able to get a bank account, phone or place to live. Anyway, I am blessed to have such wonderful people helping me.

Once we signed the housing application we went over to IKEA! This time mom and I had a plan! We went through the whole store writing down things I need. We noted the price and color we thought we wanted. We only bought three things so I am sure we will go back on Friday to get more. The night ended with pasta and some down time...

Until another busy day,
xoxox

Day 3

Mom and I have had a hard time with jet lag. It is really hard to get up in the morning after having such a hard time sleeping at night. On day 3 I my mom and I went by the office again. We met more people and went to the Council building in the city centre to get my ID badge.


The Council building is very historical and has a wonderful history. We got the grand tour where Queen Mary of Scots was held during her conflict with her sister (Queen Elizabeth I). All of the little rooms are so pretty and have so much detail in the woodwork. There is also a very pretty banquet hall where people get married. It has a wall size rug hanging that is about 700 years old. It is amazing the artifacts that still remains in Coventry.

Here is a picture of Mom and me in the ruins of the Cathedral that was bombed by the Germans.




Coventry is also where Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets to protest the taxes in the town. Every hour on the hour "Lady Godiva" comes out on her horse. Here is a picture of her on the clock tower.



During the course of the day Mom and I went and looked at two other flats. Both of the flats were again, too small. The second flat mom and I actually walked to. I was very proud of us for finding it. We just had an address and a general direction. I think we walked the long way but along the walk we saw several other flats for let. The long walk helped us figure out where everything was and gather more information about other flats. I am so glad we decided to make that walk although, it was tiring. I am just glad the weather has been nice!

We ended the night with dinner at a local pub which was really good. I got the Tuesday special which was Salmon, baked potato, salad and a drink for 5.99 pounds! Not bad for dinner... I'll be going back.

Good night!
XOXOX

Day 2

What a busy day! Day 2 was full of meeting new people and figuring things out. Melissa (my co-worker) picked us up and took us to my new office! It was so nice to meet everyone and see where I would be working. It is a nice place and I think I am really going to like it. Everyone on my team (blue team) puts in money each month for tea! I already paid for next month and I see a lot of tea in my future!

After we took a tour of the office I met up with the man who recruited me and we went to the bank! It took me about 45 minutes to set up my bank account. I was really lucky that it didn't take longer. I was also lucky that I got a bank account with no fees!!! Most of the other Americans had to get the account with several fees each month. It is really hard to get a bank account in another country.. actually it is hard to do almost everything since we don't have credit over here!


Other things I did on day 2 included getting a phone plan and looking at a place to live. Getting a phone set up took a lot longer than getting a bank account set up. I still don't have my phone up and working. The flat I went to view was way too small. It was not what I was looking for and it was at the higher end of my budget. I would not have been able to have guests if I would have rented that place.

The night ended after a lovely dinner and viewing my first property in the UK. I have to thank Melissa for setting up my first flat viewing! I could not have done it without her.

This is a picture of my lunch. It is a jacket potato with tuna.

Until next time,
XOXOX

Leaving Chattanooga

The week of March 14th-19th was nothing but packing and organizing my room at my parents house. Believe it or not is actually took the whole week. During that same week it was nice to catch up with my friends from Chattanooga. I met up with my friend Lynde and Ashlee for some drinks at a local Chattanooga bar.

That weekend my mom hosted another going away party for me which family and friends gathered for a cookout. It was nice to see everyone and hard to say goodbye. Pictures will be posted later.

Mom and I had a hard time packing for my move. It is really hard moving somewhere you have never been before. I mean, I have been to England but not Coventry. There is only so much the internet can help with. I have two friends in London and they told me everything is really expensive so I tried to pack as much as I could.


Our flight left Atlanta at 11:50 pm and knowing our bags were a bit over weight we got there with enough time to spare. The man at the counter did not help us at all with the weight limit. He made us take out every extra pound out of every bag and put it in our carry on. Which I never understood that.. the plane will still weigh the same. Putting more in your carry on just makes the people traveling more uncomfortable!! Anyway, we finally headed through security.. you are probably thinking "I know the drill.. airport security not a big deal". Well this is where you are wrong. There was a man who was in front of me that refused to take his shoes off!! Yeah, now I got your ATTENTION! He caused a pretty big scene (as it would). I have never seen someone refuse to take their shoes off before and frankly I didn't know you had an option! Of course, the security guys took him off to the side to use the wand on him and of course, his shoes beeped!! Being the curious person I am I moved closer so I could hear their conversation. (I was also waiting on my mom) The mans reason for not taking his shoes off was... wait for it... because he had had them on since that morning. After hearing this I went into social work mode and wanted to help. One of the things that crossed my mind at the moment was that he had a mental illness where it bothered him not to follow a routine. I quickly realized I had a plane to catch and more importantly there was no messing with airport security.

The flight itself was just a normal long flight to England. I was not very impressed with Delta planes. I have flown with them before but this plane was old and very cramped.

Once we landed in London (Heathrow) we met our cab driver. He was really nice and very informative about everything in Coventry. The drive was really nice too. Since England has had so much rain the fields are really green. I tried to stay awake most of the drive so I could "take in the view" but I was too tired and fell asleep for about an hour. That extra hour of sleep turned out to be a good thing since I had so much to do once we got to the hotel.

Coventry City Council is paying for me to stay two weeks in a hotel which should be enough time to find a place to live. Once we got to the hotel my boss met me to touch base. He is extremely nice and it was good to see him. After he left two girls who are also from America and work with me met us for dinner. We walked a couple blocks into the city centre (yes that is how they spell center) for dinner. We ate at this really cute place called Playwrights. I had fish n' chips! I will defiantly go back there! Yummy!!!

That pretty much concluded our first day in Coventry however, we were awake more of the night due to jet lag.

Until next time,
XOXO

Taking a look back

Time sure does fly. I feel like it was just yesterday I was in college having a carefree life and hanging out with all my friends. This year has been full of changes both personally and in general. I guess one of the reasons I have decided to review this past year now instead of when the year actually started in January is because I still think of years in terms of school years. If I were still in school the year would be coming to an end, and I would be preparing for an exciting Spring Break. I would not be preparing for a move across the world. However, being an adult does have its perks.
This past year has been especially unique for me. After graduating from grad school in May I deemed myself a “professional dabbler”. Even though I have a master’s degree in Social Work, I have been tackling several other professional projects. My friend Samantha and I started our own business. We spend most of our summer weekends traveling around the SEC taking pictures of schools and selling them as prints. This past summer was the summer I took up photography. I have always enjoyed taking pictures and documenting every event in my life; however, I got the opportunity to take my love for pictures to the next level. While using my boyfriends professional camera I started looking at pictures a bit differently. I became intrigued with buildings and landscapes especially college campuses around the south. Samantha used her mad editing and graphic designing skills to make the pictures come to life. Then she turned the photos into prints that can be framed. We have been building this business all year and hope to continue to build it even though I will be moving. We are very proud of our website www.sec-prints.com and being named Top Entrepreneurs Under 25 on www.sawyerspeaks.com
Photography was not the only hobby I turned into a small business. I have been making and selling feather/flower headband in a store in Jackson, Mississippi for about a year now. The store I have been selling Green Tree Accessories in is called Samoa which is inside Swell-o Phonic. I am truly going to miss making accessories and selling them. It has become very therapeutic, and I hope to continue selling them in England or on Etsy.
In my personal life I have also experienced a new side of myself. I have learned to enjoy reading and running. These are both things I have really hated in the past. I started to enjoy reading because I can now read whatever I want, and it is not an assignment for class. I began to love to run after challenging myself to run a 10k for a research project I had to complete in graduate school. It is not only a great way to exercise, but it can be very relaxing. This year I have also given up eating meat. I know this is a lot of change in one year, and although I don’t know how long it will last, I have really enjoyed it so far. I feel like I have more control over what I eat, and I am trying not to eat as many fatty foods.
While visiting my friend in the Peace Corp, I grew my nails out. I know this may sound stupid, but it has always been something I struggled with. I have never had long nails, and this is the first time in my life that I have been letting them grow. I did not realize I was letting them grow while I was in Guatemala. I was honestly just too scared to touch them because the water was so unclean.
This has been the change for the past year however, the change to come will be much greater and much more exciting. I will keep y’all posted on all of my new and exciting adventures! My next post will be coming from England..
Bye for now,
XOXO

It's time to leap!

As many of you already know, I started applying for a job in England December 2009. I interviewed in Chicago Feb 2010, got the job March 2010 and here it is March 2011 and I am finally about to depart for this big adventure.

You may be wondering what took so long.. Well here it is.. This past summer my fingerprints were not able to be read by the FBI becasue the police department didn't do my fingerprints correctly. I ended up waiting over three months for the FBI to tell me this bit of important information. After getting my fingerprints sent off for a second time and waiting another three months I was cleared. This is where it gets interesting.. I sent off my paperwork only to be told the England halted all immigration. This was due to a recent election they had which put strict guidelines in place to "keep people out". Since social worker were on the list of jobs in high demand in the UK I appealed my immigration status. I went through two different appeals until I was accepted. Being excited I wasted no time getting my paperwork in the mail. Since the recruiter I was working with was going to be in Atalanta for interviews I decided to mail all my documentation to Atlanta instead of London. The week before Halloween 2010 I sent my paperwork off to Atlanta. Needless to say it never made it. Ugh.. I know. This happened to be my first experience with the US postal service losing a package. It also happened to be one of the most important packages I have ever mailed. I sent the package from Brandon, Mississippi and instead of it being scanned in Jackson, Mississippi (only 10 miles away) to continue to Atalanta it was scanned received!!!! What!?!?! I know that was my reaction too. I can not believe such a simple yet detrimental mistake was made. My package ended up being lost in the mail from October 2010 to February 2011!

Being very irritated and frustrated with the whole situation and thinking I would never actually be moving I am proud to say this day has finally come! I am moving!! I have booked my flight and received my work visa in the mail!! My flight is scheduled for March 19th 2011! For the past two weekends I have been moving all my belongings from Jackson Mississippi to Chattanooga TN (where I grew up). I am keeping a small storage unit in Jackson but the majority of my stuff is going to Chattanooga.

I am in the process of figuring out what all I want to take to England. Delta only allows one bag free however, that is not going to cut it. I am going to have to take two or more. I figure paying a $55.00 extra bag fee is a lot cheaper than paying for my stuff to be shipped over there. I am very blessed to have my mom help me move. That means a lot less stress on me! That also means more bags for my stuff!! She is a school teacher and will be on Spring Break the week I am moving. I guess it does all work out.

I will keep everyone posted on my adventure from here on out!
Until next time,
XOXO

Shutterfly Chirstmas Cards

It is that time of year again! It is about to be the end of November which means it's time to send out your Christmas cards! Alvin and I sent out our first Christmas card last year. We were extremely excited about the response we got from our friends and family we are ready for another fun card this year!

Even though I have always used shutterfly.com for all of our photo books and pictures I made the mistake of not using them last year. As I said everyone loved the picture on our cards but it was such a hassle when the cards were not finished on time. We will never make that mistake again. We are loyal shutterfly.comers and will continue to be. I guess you can say it is our new Christmas tradition!!

Great prices, good deals and a great product here we come!!

Officially or NOT?

School is officially over...forever?? I am not sure if this summer be a goodbye forever but it is at least for a long time. It sure does feel weird to be done with school. I have worked towards a college degree my whole life and once I accomplished that it was on to the Masters Degree. Now that I am finished with both of those goals on with the REAL WORLD. I guess this means I am an adult.
I often wonder what being an adult really means. Does it mean having responsibility? Well, I have had plenty of responsibilities ever since my parents divorced when I was seven. Does it mean living away from home? Well, once again I have lived away from my parents for five years. What is the next step? When am I officially an adult? I sure don't feel like one but I guess I act like one most of the time. I feel like I am in a weird stage of life where I am merely playing dress up or house. Maybe I will feel like I am an adult when I am older.. like 28. For now, I will continue fooling everyone around me into thinking I am just like them. GROWN.

Racing to the other Finish Line..

After finishing my first 10k I started to realize that I have a lot more finish lines ahead of me. The end of school and a wonderful internship is approaching very quickly. I have 18 days until I officially graduate grad school. I have even less time until I finish 450 hours of my internship. This is bitter-sweet. I have really enjoyed my internship and all the people I work with. I am going to miss it so much. I have really enjoyed every aspect of it however, I am ready to be done with school. I guess it is a package deal. Unlike last graduation, I am not tearful but happy. Even though I am sad about leaving my internship I am jumping for joy that I am done with school. Therefore, I am running faster than ever to get to this "finish line".

And She's Running, Running, Running,..

That's right, tomorrow is race day! I am headed to New Orleans today to run my first 10k race tomorrow. I hope all this training will pay off. I am nervous but also really excited to accomplish one of my "before I am 30" goals. But before I can head down to New Orleans for such a fun weekend I have to get to work!

Does running make you tired?

Yesterday I ran the farthest that I had ever ran. 5 MILES! I was pretty excited to know that I could actually do it. Today was a lighter day of running which was only 3 miles. I also worked an eight hour day and I still can't sleep. I can't seem to clear my head however, I am not worried about anything. I am not sure what is going on with me. I am tired during the day but wide awake at night. Being a night owl wouldn't be so bad if I had someone to stay up late with... but that is not the case. I am actually sitting here alone because my boyfriend has no problem falling asleep. He can literally fall a sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. This is just another example that life is NOT FAIR.

Until next time.. Try to have a good night's sleep.

Waiting Games..

The waiting game has officially started. I am waiting on my new job in Coventry to send me my contract. This contract is very important because it includes their offer and all the benefits.. I was not to worried about it until I received a phone call this morning from another Social Worker who has also been offered a job in Coventry. She seemed worried that they have not gotten back to us yet. I assured her that it will be fine and we will know something soon. As I heard the confident words of encouragement coming out of my mouth I began questioning what I was saying. Who is to know when they will actually get back to us?? I sure don't. I am just crossing my fingers that it will be in the next 45 days... yes, 45 days. That is when I will officially have a Masters Degree and be done with school (forever??). Meanwhile.. I will be waiting or should I say running?? I better get to the track because training for a 10-k has proved to be difficult.

Who is going with me... THE BIG QUESTION

My boyfriend and I currently live together and I have really enjoyed this past year. We have had so much fun doing pretty much everything together. We have also learned so much about each other and it is scary to think he might not be moving with me. We have a lot of decisions to make in the next couple months and neither of us knows what to do. Should he leave his job here and more across the world with me or should we have a super long distance relationship? Both are going to be stressful decisions... YIKES! I wasn't prepared for this..

Good News

On Tuesday, I received an email in response to an interview I had the previous week. In this email I was offered a job! This job could potentially change my life forever since it is a job in England. It is really far away from my hometown or the city I am currently living in now. With this great news came several different emotions. I am shocked, excited, and nervous all at the same time. Even though it is now days later I am still experiencing those same feelings. I am also beginning to be slightly overwhelmed because the search for an apartment/ flat is now on!

Most of my friends and family members are extremely excited for me which makes this process a little less scary...