I guess I'll start with saying, when I first got here in August, Cat helped me join the NHS bank for temporary work and I accepted a position in her building as an HR Assistant at the end of September. Since I haven't really (ever?) had a routine schedule with work, I had to start getting used to having a bed time again (11:30pm) and waking up early again (between 6:30-6:45am). My new routine was to take the 7:40 bus into Canterbury and walk up to work to start at 9:00 and end at 5:00. For a few weeks it was really hard for me to be tucked away in an office without enough work to keep me from checking the clock every five minutes. After a while though, I started looking forward to my walk up the hill each morning and having a laid back day spent mostly researching. The job ended mid-December, as it was temporary, but has just re-opened for me as part time with a slight pay increase, too! After spending a few months in there, I realize now that Human Resources is actually quite an interesting department to be in, and I look forward to heading back!
The next exciting event on our agenda this fall was carving our pumpkins for Halloween! Since Halloween isn't really celebrated much over here, it shouldn't be to much surprise that Peter had never carved a pumpkin before--or, you may actually be just as surprised as I was. He is such a fun and festive boy too, I knew he'd love it! The day we made plans to pick them up, we emailed each other at work discussing the faces we were going to carve, he even had a few ideas printed out! Here are the little beauts:
Next was our trip to London to see JOSHUA RADIN in concert! It's a funny story how this came about, but basically, if you know Peter and I, then you'll know we listened to Joshua Radin's first album non stop when we first met. I think we had him in the car for two weeks straight! He means a lot to us. So obviously I was desperate to see him, but because I hadn't quite gotten a paycheck yet, Peter didn't think it was the best idea. That night, I had a dream that I got a £20 tip at the golf club (tickets were £17 each), but Peter still wouldn't let us go see him! I woke up and told him about my dream, and being the sweet softie he is, finally gave in. We both took the day off and spent the day wandering around London. We stopped in the Science museum, saw the PARENT TRAP House, had a wonderful cup of tea while people watching in a cute cafe, walked through Kensington Gardens until we spotten Pan the Man, had a very below average dinner at KFC (sticking to our tight budget!) and spent our last achy hours worshiping our beloved JR. That was one special day I won't ever forget :-)
Our next days off together were over Thanksgiving. Since it's definitely one holiday I'm a little sad to miss, Peter took that Thursday and Friday off so we could cook and have a few friends over. Last year I was in the UK for Thanksgiving too, but only cooked for two extra boys. It was the first time I'd ever roasted a chicken, and that's what I did instead of attempting a turkey. This year though, I wanted to stick to tradition, so I cooked up 3 big turkey breasts for the 6 of us. I kind of wanted to go all out, since now I had money to contribute to ingredients, and a few days off to perfect my recipes. I spent a few weeks looking at different recipes and videos and narrowing our menu down. Here's what we had; all from scratch :-)
Herb roasted turkey breast, roasted asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes with a kick (cayenne and cinnamon), potato casserole, stuffing, honey lemon carrots, cranberry sauce and bread rolls.
For dessert I made a chocolate pecan pie, along with a traditional pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream. All in all, I think I spent about 8-10 hours preparing, baking and cooking--no exaggeration--the longest I've ever been in the kitchen. But the hard work definitely paid off! By the way, that was the best potato casserole I've ever tried! Click HERE for the recipe!
After Thanksgiving comes...Christmas!! The weather hasn't been anywhere near as cold and snowy as last years, but I think the gloomy weather was the reason for my home sickness starting to creep up. And I think due to the change in...pretty much everything. It's not that I'm unhappy or don't appreciate what I have here, but the end of November and early December made me really start to miss my own family. It's natural isn't it? Especially because I can't just hop on a plane and fly to SD like its no big deal! Peter could see this and decided to make up a plan with Miranda. I knew nothing about this. So mid-December Peter had his work dinner and while we were having drinks his boss leaned over and asked if he was still willing to teach her husband how to golf the next morning? Peter then asked me if I minded, and of course I didn't. So the next morning Peter woke up pretty early to "teach" golf, but I was cozy and warm in bed so I wouldn't have known otherwise. After a few hours and telling me that he was "hitting it so far now!" Peter got back. Only a few minutes after he got home, the door bell rang, but not just once, so I was a little suspicious...He asked me to open the door because he had to go to the bathroom, conveniently, so when I did, no one was there at first, and then a few seconds later, MIRANDA popped out from around the corner! But before Peter got home, I had taken a short nap, so I actually thought I was still dreaming. I could not believe Miranda was here! I freaked out a few more minutes, shed a few happy tears and could hardly contain my excitement. It was exactly what I needed. Luckily I wasn't working, so I had time to show her around Canterbury and we took the train up to London one of the days. My work invited her to our dinner party (which was one of our favorite nights!), and on her last night we all went to dinner and then ice skating after. Best surprise e v e r!
Sadly, we had to say "see ya later" to her on Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas and Boxing day at Peter's parents house with JP, as his parents were in Thailand over Christmas. Christmas morning was the perfect day. After a visit to see the grandparents, we went back to their house, with mimosas in hand and opened our presents. My best gifts were: tickets to see Wicked in London on January 6th, a Snow White Macbook decal from Dad, Mir and R, and an herb garden from Peter's parents!
On December 28th, my friend Kirsten flew in from San Fran! She spent a week in England and I absolutely loved seeing her! We spent a day taking advantage of the after Christmas sales in Canterbury, and then took the train up to London where we were staying for New Years Eve weekend! Our hotel was perfectly placed on the Thames near Shakespeare's globe theater and just a 15 minute walk to Tower Bridge, St. Pauls, and Embankment. I was actually amazed at the view when we walked over the Millennium Bridge--stunning! Peter and JP took the train up after they finished work and met us at the hotel. We spent the weekend exploring the Tower of London (saw the crowned jewels), had a nice lunch, stopped in Whitechapel to see Dan and Vida's flat--FINALLY we saw each other now that we're both living in the same country and only about an hour away! Then around 7pm we started our walk to Embankment to get a spot for the fireworks. Peter and JP quickly found a Tesco's and stocked up on drinks, then we sat down on Westminster Bridge and anxiously waited til midnight! Watch the show HERE!!! I will never forget these fireworks and the immense feeling of appreciation when I watched them. I will admit that I'm moved to tears very easily and quite often, but I'd never experienced anything quite like this. What a beautiful ending to 2011. I feel incredibly loved and blessed!
Cheers to the New Year! I can't wait to see what 2012 holds for us!
