A Delayed NEW YEAR, Mike's Travels & Housekeeping

I was late getting out a Christmas card last year, and sent out a Happy New Year card instead. Kind of lame! I was sure that would never happen again, but then we had this crazy last minute move out of the country in November. I was ready to just forget the Christmas card. I'm excused, right? But then I just couldn't do it. So, I put together a card the week before Collin went back home and had him mail the cards from the States.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The picture on the right is Mike's first selfie. He did a good job!

We took that on the Tube riding back home after a night out for dinner.

The reason why we came to London is because Mike was promoted to an additional role in the bank over cost and compensation. His boss and part of the team are here in London; but he also has huge teams in Zurich, Poland and different parts of India. He has travelled to all of these places at least once so far, and will continue to visit his people as he tries to clean up the group. It's a mess! But the fun part is what he brings home. :)

These pretties are from the latest trip to India.

The guys on Mike's team gave us this frame.
We need a nice picture to go in it!

Mike bought these beautiful bowls for me. So pretty!
I need to get some kind of stand for them. I LOVE these bowls.

Mike went to Krakow, Poland for the first time last week. The best part for us is how easy it is for him to get there. He flew to Zurich first Monday morning to work there for a couple of days. A trip to Zurich started in Connecticut on Sunday in the afternoon, but now he can leave on Monday morning. Nice! So the build up to this trip to Krakow was funny. The boys aren't familiar with Krakow and couldn't remember the name, so at first it was Kung-Pao, Poland. And then it was Krak-Pow, Poland. I can't remember all of the variations!

Mike really loved it there and wants to bring us in the spring. Fun!

He brought back these funny nesting dolls for me. They crack me up.

The funniest part is their faces.

These two are actually kind of cute.

But what's up with the other three? ANGRY nesting dolls!

The boys got these fun guys. They're awesome!

And my favorite are these magnets Mike got

because he thought they were happy and cute.

He knows me so well!!!

So, you know, the daily grind here really involves school, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. But we try to mix in a tv show while we eat lunch, and a little wii u here and there. I took the opportunity to lounge on the couch in the middle of the day to read a book, which I never do, and loved it! I'll have to try to fit that in more often! It's all about the little things, people.

Grocery shopping is a funny thing with no car. You can only buy what you can carry! I start out with a few things in my basket like the picture on the left, and think I'm doing fine. But then it gets fuller with juice and meat and everything like the picture on the right; and that's when I start questioning, "How heavy are those bananas? Will the boys really eat them? Will it be worth the weight?" LOL.

(Oh my gosh, those olives were the best. I want some right now.)

But then I split everything between my two Whole Foods

bags, and I'm good to carry it all home. Across the street. Hahaha.

I have been doing an online order once a week which is just awesome.

I try to buy the heavier stuff with that order. But they also have some

items that I can't find in stores. The Mexican food selection isn't bad!

And the boys were thrilled that they finally

had Mac & Cheese in stock this week. 

Talking about food... I am really struggling to get back into the groove of my diet plan! I sorted out all of my meal replacements the other day (maybe a little OCD), but I need to do more than just sort it. I have GOT to stop cheating! Ugh. It's frustrating. Losing a pound or less each week just isn't enough. And it's totally possible to lose more if I would just stick to the plan. I know I can do it because I did it before. I just need to get my act together.

I have had a couple of changes this last week that are good motivations for me. First off at church I wore my black pencil skirt that has been getting looser and looser on me. I already went down one size before we moved. When I bought that new size, I also bought the next size down for the future when I would lose even more weight. I tried it on when we first got here, but it was too tight. Well, that skirt I wore on Sunday was swimming all over the place! I tried on the smaller one when we got home, and it totally fit. Boo-yah!

I took the picture at church because I noticed once

we got there that my top was blue instead of black. Oops!

And, just as a side note, the other picture is from one of our primary lessons. Mike and I have been teaching the 6 & 7 yr old kids. It isn't an official calling, but next week will be our fourth week. Haha. We are happy to do it! The people in primary are SO nice. It's my favorite place. And the kids are cute! Mike tells the stories, and I do the activities. He was telling them this one about a little boy who got a soccer ball. When I showed them the picture, one of the boys asked in awe, "Is that him?" It was so cute. We just met one of the little girls who has been on vacation, and she talks like crazy! So funny. We were talking about Joseph Smith, and she kept asking questions and offering anecdotes. At one point while she was talking, I said to Mike under my breath, "This one's a talker!" She quickly interrupted herself to say, "I heard that." We were all laughing! And then she asked, "Did Joseph Smith talk a lot?" Hahaha.

So, back to the weight loss motivation... I had to buy a new belt!

My old one was splitting in two from going down so many notches!

And do you see what I see? I went from a LARGE to a SMALL.

More housekeeping... I finally went through all of the linens this last week. EVERYTHING is white. Boring! Everything was white in the hotels and temporary apartments too. Huh. So there are tons of sheets and duvet covers for our bed. I really don't get it. And all flat sheets. WHY??? Yeah, so I went through all of it and found a set I actually kind of liked. It has this little detail on it that is cute. So that's what we're using for now. Like you care! Am I rambling? I don't know. Maybe this post is getting to be too long... Just a few more things...

I've been putting the last bits away, and trying to find a place for everything. We like this hidden spot for Michael's school books. And there is an awesome cupboard in his room.

I am feeling more moved in and settled now. Yay!

And maybe the boys will be happier since we had a little improvement with our wifi today. I spoke with a customer service lady who talked me through switching channels so there would be less traffic. I hope that helps. The lady I spoke with was Scottish, and I totally loved her. Her accent was the best, and I loved the way she said things. I just kept asking more and more questions to keep her talking. LOL. It's amazing how many accents we hear. It seems like nobody sounds the same!

In the words of Al Roker: And that's what's happening in our neck of the woods!

Back to Life, Back to Reality!

The time has come to set aside the tourist lifestyle and get back to a regular routine. Collin flew home last week, and Lauren flew home at the beginning of this week. Poor Lauren spent the whole day at the airport! Her flight was scheduled to leave at 11:20am, so we got her a taxi just outside our door at 9am to take her over to Paddington Station where she would catch the Heathrow Express. Everything went so smoothly! She checked in and boarded the plane... and sat on the plane for two hours. Something was wrong, so they took everyone off and stuck them in buses back to the airport. Such a bummer! She didn't end up leaving until 4:45pm. The nice thing though is she got back to Boston at 7pm with the time difference. And school started the next morning! I don't think we'll cut it so close next time just to be safe.

So, with Collin and Lauren gone we could finally set up our flat just for the four of us. Lauren was in Michael's room, so he was very anxious to get in there and make it his own. He isn't totally in love with his room, but it is nice to have his own space finally.

The first thing not to love is this beautiful wardrobe. This room was empty when we first saw it, so we had no idea what the furniture would be like. The surprise of this thing didn't go over so well. We like to refer to it as "The Wardrobe" and say that if we can't find Michael, he must be in Narnia. Poor guy.

The second thing not to love is this cute little desk and mirror. This room really was set up for a girl! He hates the mirror. And the desk is not functional at all. SO, we bought a cheap desk at IKEA. And that's what I spent Monday afternoon doing - building the dang desk.

I honestly feel like the story of my life could be told

along the timeline of all of the IKEA furniture I have built.

Mike has been talking all along about the possibility of extending our stay another six months. As I was building this thing, I was thinking that we only have 4 1/2 months left here. Why am I building a desk for 4 1/2 months? Maybe staying an extra six months would make it worth it. 

But a stupid desk is not the best reason to stay another six months! And the boys just told me yesterday that if we have to stay longer, they will go home to live with Collin. Could that work? Haha. We will cross that bridge if we get to it.

What a dilemma. People think, "How cool! You get to live in London!" It is cool. But when it comes down to day-to-day living, it's not the same as being a tourist. I know this from our time in Madrid. It's more about living in your apartment, on your street, going to church, and going to school. I loved Madrid because I finally got to speak Spanish and the city was neat, but it was really all about serving in the church there. That's why we would have stayed. Our kids were super little, so they were just happy to play and be wherever we were. Now we have a 13 & 16 yr old. It is SO different. They have lived in the same place for 13 years, all of Michael's life. They didn't want to leave their friends! Sure, it's fun to be in Europe and have the opportunity to see and do so many cool things, but for them it is not so cool on a day-to-day basis. Especially since they aren't going to school. It's tough leaving everyone and everything you know. There are lots of little inconveniences, so many things that are different. If we were here longer, I would definitely put Michael in school. But for now he has church activities and Kendo. It's not really enough, but it's good. Matthew has a really awesome group of friends he would talk to and play games with every day, and he would go to their houses on the weekend. And we made him leave that. Anyway, there is more that I could say but I won't. I don't know if people really get it. That's ok with me. I could live abroad practically anywhere and be happy, but we have these two people to consider. They are ready to go home now. I don't know if that will change in the next few months. Probably not. Of course we will still do little field trips here and there, but I think they will be counting down the days until we move back home.

The GOOD NEWS is that we finally got our wifi! YAY!!!! We were so sure that we would be moved into an apartment within a week or two, and we would be all set up. That week or two turned into six weeks! We had the free "web" wifi coming from who-knows-where, and the overly expensive dongle thing, but none of that was enough for video or games or chatting. So the boys have had to wait to contact their friends. Unfortunately, the connection isn't as fast as we're used to, so it's been a little frustrating. So it's not perfect. Ugh!

But I was just invited on Monday to go to book club tonight. They have book club! It will be nice to visit! Especially since I'm not really getting to know anyone at church. It's pathetic how much I've been looking forward to this.

Mike has been away this week, so it has been very quiet with just me and the two boys. But I think this is how it's going to be most of the time. I really need to start forming a plan for field trips. Maybe we'll go do something different once a week. Does anyone want to visit? haha. Come on over!

Anyway, the frequency of my posts will diminish now that we're kind of boring. Gotta get back into school work! Michael has done some here and there, but he is happy to get back to school full time. What a funny kid. Matthew is not quite the same though. Still trying to light a fire under that boy. Wish me luck. :)

Michael's 13th Birthday - in the UK!!!

It was a little sad to move right before Michael's birthday. At first he wanted to do an early party before we left, but then he decided against it. So, we went all out to have a most special day. All of us left at 8am Monday morning for our 9am appointment at Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium. This is the coolest thing - it's a cat cafe! Collin found out about this place, and I think it is the only cat cafe in London. You have to reserve a time online, and you get 90 minutes to eat and/or drink and chill with the cats.

This little kitty was the friendliest of them all. So cute! She loved my jacket.

Most of the cats were ok with petting, but they weren't

the type to hop up and curl in your lap. Not like Cody!

But Michael still LOVED going there.

We ordered some breakfast which was lovely. :)

My chamomile tea came in the loveliest cup,

and Lauren's bagel and salad came on the prettiest plate.

The kids probably could have stayed there all day!

But we had places to go and things to do...

Next stop - Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station.

These pictures are so cool. Have fun at Hogwarts!!!

They said that people waited 2 hours in line last week to take

this picture! We just walked right up. Yay for living in London!

(and, yes, we know about the warner bros thing here. it was all booked for 

winter break by the time we knew we were moving here, and we didn't want

to go without mike. we will wait until may when collin and lauren come back.)

Michael didn't ask for much for his birthday, so we went

around the corner to the shop so he could pick something out.

They had wands for all of the characters, and that was what Michael

wanted. When he picked up Severus Snape's wand, he knew it was the one!

I'd watch out for Lauren!

Next up was sushi for lunch at Wasabi which

was conveniently located there at the station!

Fun spot for lunch! I love this station.

We also bought some chocolate frogs and 

Bertie Botts Flavour Beans which were GROSS!

Vomit, rotten eggs, dirt ... YUCK.

Mike had a work dinner and wouldn't be home

until late, so we opened presents without him.

We are continuing the tradition of Kinder eggs from our days

in Madrid when we used to get them for Collin & Lauren. :)

Michael was so happy to get Brandon Sanderson's new book that

came out last week. And he got the special UK/Australia edition

that has a way better cover than the USA edition. He took this picture

to enter Brandon's twitter contest just for UK and Australia readers.

In the afternoon I took Michael to see The Theory of Everything

(good movie!). And then we came back for presents, dinner and dessert.

Lauren slaved away in the kitchen to make this lovely lemon cake

for Michael's birthday. Doesn't it look like pure perfection?

Happy Birthday, Michael!!!

Mike got out of his work dinner at the last minute and was able

to join us for birthday cake. Yay! And Michael said he loved

everything about his special day. It was so much fun!