Well, we were actually going to travel...

Well, my faithful readers, I'm sad to say that we were actually going to get out and make some use of England and all it has to offer today. We were headed off to Windsor, for a great castle, some great shopping, and just a quick couple of days away. And then there was a knock on our door and a beat cop from St Ives was standing there. Our car got broken into this morning... in BROAD daylight. They completely shattered my passenger side window and stole the GPS system. Which, was not the best GPS system in the world, so no harm there, but still. The lowlifes did leave my iPod (thank God, it's completely full and hasn't been backed up...yet) and the thing that plugs into the cigarette lighter and plays the iPod through the radio and they left my good coat that was in the car...thank goodness.

So, now since we have an American Car in England, we have to wait for them to get the right window in....which will be 10 days. So, that means, I get to drive around all classy like with a tarp in my window. Did I mention its gotten cold here?

So, since we're not going anywhere, here's some pictures we've taken recently out and about St Ives.

Angus' Favorite thing ever is to ride on Christopher's lap with his head sticking out the window (dont worry Mom, we dont do this often and I know bad things can happen, like bugs up his nose and in his eyes...but he's an uncontrollable force).

Wellington Street

The River and all the swans, geese, and ducks

St Ives...I think everyone has seen a variant of this picture at least 1000 times, but we keep taking them since the town is just so darn cute.

Travel Slackers.

Well, we've been major travel slackers lately. But, in our defense, we've got a lot going on.... we put in our 2 month notice on our house and we've decided to move. I know, I know, we have a fabulous house in a wonderful town, but its far away from Christopher's work, we're tired of not having a parking space/driveway, and our letting agency is slacking off on taking care of things they should. So, we're moving. We're still on the great hunt for a house, but we're hoping to find one soon.

I'm settling into my new job and loving it! I'm making friends, which is fantastic! Its been so hard to make friends out here and since I'm finally out and about I'm meeting people!

So, I promise, within the next couple of months we'll have something more interesting to post about than ordinary life...that's not what ya'll are signing in for, I'm sure....lol

Working woman...

Well, not much is going on the travel front over here in England. But, I got a job!

About 6 weeks ago or so, I started working at the CDC (Child Development Center) on base working with kids. I thought I'd love it, having been a nanny before, but it was AWFUL. The people weren't nice, there were looong days, and let me tell you right now, when its the snot/spit up/drool/whatever of a kid you love, its fine, but when you go home at the end of the night covered in stranger's kid's nastyness, its pretty disgusting. So, I put in for a transfer and started this week at the Britannia Inn, the hotel on base. I'm a guest service representative and so far, I really like it. I think its definitely going to be a great fit!

Angus is doing well...he's huge and still crazy, but we love him! Here's a picture of him the other day on his walk (which he is OBSESSED with)...

In other news, I started a new blog. Most of you know, we've been trying to get pregnant for over 3 years now, and we got some great news on starting our journey with IVF, so instead of clogging up our travel blog with infertility stuff, I started this:

http://knockjessicaup.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone is doing well!

Wicked...

As many of you know, and for those who dont, I LOVE the musical Wicked! It is my favorite ever...I've seen it in New York, LA, and Charlotte and will soon see it in London.

Well... a couple of weeks ago I get a phone call from one of my friends in NC telling me that some guy that has something to do with Wicked is at Barnes and Noble in Hickory. Guess who it is... Stephen Schwartz!!!! He is the man who wrote the music to Wicked and he is a genius (he also wrote Godspell, Pippin, and a lot more)... now let me remind everyone that I was JUST in NC! I barely missed him! So, I was pretty upset that I missed out on meeting him.

So, I'm sitting on the sofa, griping about how nothing good happens in NC til I leave, when I get a phone call from my friend Amanda. She tells me to hang on a second as soon as I answer and then this guy says, " Hello Jessica"....ITS STEPHEN SCHWARTZ!!!!!!!!!! He was soooo nice and talked to me for a couple of minutes! And Amanda got a CD cover signed for me and mailed it to me and it got here this week...so, major shout out to my amazing friend Amanda...many many many thanks for such an awesome surprise!

Without further ado....

4 years!

On Thursday, August 27th, Christopher and I celebrated 4 years of wedded bliss!!! It is so hard to believe that 4 years ago we got married...its also so hard to believe how much has happened in the last 4 years...

We've loved, laughed, cried, been through our fair share of heartache, traveled the world, said goodbye for 2 deployments, met some AMAZING friends who have become family, and so much more and I can safely say that with all that's happened in our first 4 years of marriage, I cant wait to see what life has in store for us for the next 100 years...lol!

Then...

And now....

Me with our seafood platter for 2 at Loch Fynn in Cambridge!!!

After!

yum!

And again, for the 3rd time, we got each other the same card!

And here's to many more!

Dad's trip!

Since its been a while since I've made a proper blog, this one is going to cover a lot of ground in one post... Dad got to come back to England with me from NC and stay for like 10 days. While he was here we did TONS of stuff! We were all over England!

The first day we went to Duxford to the Imperial War Museum. It was pretty interesting

At the Imperial War Museum

Me and Dad!

Dad and Christopher

Nose art

Greenwich

inside one of the Naval museums in Greenwich... GORGEOUS stained glass

Dad standing on the Prime Meridian line

Christopher's turn

Where time and measurements started and are all taken from in Greenwich

Portsmouth

Anchors

HMS Victory!

The spot on the Victory where Lord Nelson was killed.

Dad and Me

South Sea

London

The British Museum (AWESOME)

The Sutton Hoo Helmet

China Town!

Dad checking off one of his bucket list items... standing in Trafalgar's Square

Dad and I in Trafalgar's Square

Dad, Parliament, and Big Ben

Dover & Canterbury

ME at the white cliffs!

Dad making faces at France

Me with my feet in the English Channel!

Dad and Christopher at the White Cliffs of Dover

The coast

The White Cliffs

Dover Castle up close

Dad and his Churchill face

The inside of the Canterbury Cathedral

The Canterbury Cathedral...this is where people make pilgrimages...and Geoffery Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales was written about it!

I havent forgotten...

I haven't forgotten the blog...lol. Dad's in visiting and we've been running all around like crazy! We've been all over England! Dad leaves on Thursday (which is the day I have my intro to my new, wait for it...JOB). Yep thats right, I'll no longer be a lady of leisure...I got a job working with the Child Development Center on base. So, as soon as Dad leaves and I get settled into the working world, I'll make a huge update with tons of pictures from Dad's visit!