Back in the UK

We arrived back in the UK early this afternoon. Long-haul flights are really boring, although the entertainment options have gotten better. There are now about 10 movies and 15 tv shows to watch, which you can start anytime and also pause, rewind, fast-forward but it's still a long time to be on a plane. I'm not sure that I'll ever get to go somewhere like Australia which requires almost 24 hours on a plane. 10 plus hours today was enough for me.

My last day in Madison was incredibly enjoyable! The weather was perfect, a virtually cloudless, low eighties day. My Mom and I spent the early afternoon reading magazines on a pier in Lake Mendota watching my step-dad fish (that's my Mom in the red hat below).


Later that day, Chris arrived back from South Dakota and my brother Branden came out for a grill-out. We ended the day by making s'mores in a firepit that my brother made in my parents' backyard.


Here's a photo of the boys (Branden and Chris) enjoying a beer together on the deck of my Mom and step-dad's house.

The ultimate reward for spending so much time flying was being able to see Sex and the City the movie just four hours after landing. My friend Claire and I bought tickets before I left knowing it was being released in the UK on May 28. Since it's not released in the U.S. until Friday, I will only say that it's a fabulous movie. It was so fun seeing it with a sold-out crowd of almost all females. People started clapping when just the first few notes of the theme music started.

Now it's time to adjust to UK time and head back to work...I told my boss I'd be in around noon on Thursday. I heard they posted my position while I was gone which makes it just that much more real that it's almost time to leave England. Our remaining few weeks here will probably go by very quickly, especially considering that we're visiting Athens, Berlin and Paris before we leave on July 30.

kk

Tomorrow is Chris' birthday. The old man is going to be 34 years old :) He has requested a low-key birthday considering that we just returned "home".

Time to Return to England

I cannot believe how quickly my time has gone. I've seen almost every relative and friend, signed an apartment lease, signed up for gym memberships and did some shopping :) We did end up choosing an apartment in New Berlin and joining the Princeton Club.

Tomorrow Chris will return from South Dakota, we'll pack our stuff up and fly back to the UK on Tuesday. This visit has really confirmed how ready I am to return home. I'm very much looking forward to being able to see my family and friends on a more regular basis. I was very lucky to get the opportunity to see many relatives during my visit. Below is a photo of my sister and I at Vitense mini-golf.


My Dad's family drove from Ohio despite his recent brain surgery (he's slowly recovering and gaining his hearing back). Below are my two brothers on the left and my sister on the right, with Dad in the middle.

This morning we had breakfast with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Pictured below are my cousins Will (11 years old) and Leah (6 years old).

We also visited my Grandma in Monroe today.

Apartment Hunting

My brother Branden and I spent the day apartment hunting in Milwaukee. I'm really glad that he volunteered to come along with me because it was helpful having him navigate and give his opinion on the apartments and neighborhoods we were looking at.

My first choice apartment at this time is in New Berlin and only a 12 minute drive from where Chris will be working. In fact, Chris hasn't even seen where he'll be working yet, so we took this picture just for him :)


Of course one of the main factors in selecting an apartment location is having a gym nearby, so I also checked out gyms today. We were both excited to find out that there is a Princeton Club location in New Berlin (there are only 3 total, with the other two being in Madison). I was even more excited today to discover that the gym in New Berlin is nicer than the Madison West location we used to workout at. So at this point it looks like New Berlin might be our new home.

We Leave Tomorrow!!

We leave tomorrow with four suitcases all weighing exactly 50 pounds. We're both so excited for this trip. It'll be wonderful to see friends and family that we've missed over the past two years.

On my schedule so far is...
- Dinner at the Great Dane and a night out with our wine buddies Josh & Tracy.
- Apartment showings and gym tours in Milwaukee.
- Dinner at Pedro's with my Famous Footwear co-workers.
- Clinique makeovers and hot stone massages with my Mom (girl time, I love it!).
- A bridesmaid dress fitting for my friend's wedding in October.
- A whole day of shopping at Johnson Creek outlet mall with my friend Tracy.
- Celebrating my friend Torie's 29th birthday!
- Raiding my Mom's closet and shoe collection :)

My Dad's Surgery

An update for those of you who have been asking about my Dad's surgery. It went well, with just some minor complications which will hopefully be sorted out soon. Unfortunately, he's not recovered enough yet to the point where he can travel to Wisconsin. So I won't get to see him this weekend for my brother's graduation as planned. I'm happy to know that I can see him as soon as August though.

Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscense Syndrome
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/inside/sum06/pg2.asp

The day of the surgery (May 8)


5 days post-op

Loving the Weather!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. It's freaky to think that I might have a child by next Mother's Day if we're able to conceive right away. It was a beautiful weekend here in England. High 70s and sunny, which is 20 degrees above the average high for May. We didn't really do anything outside, apart from walk to the gym and grocery store, but I always like having the option of outdoor activities :)

We do have every window in the flat open though and the fresh air is wonderful. Of course, we have bugs flying around now because the English are opposed to the idea of window screens. However to be fair, there are very few bugs here. It's quite strange actually, we were shocked that we didn't need bug spray once during our 10 day camping trip in France and Italy. Mosquitos are one of my least favorite things about Wisconsin.

Speaking of Wisconsin, I came across an interesting editorial while reading my future home's online paper. It calls for tougher drunk driving penalties in Wisconsin. It made me immediately think about how different it is here. I was surprised to find that it's rare to drink and drive. Designated drivers don't just drink less, as they would in Wisconsin, they don't drink at all!

I would imagine there are two significant factors, many more public transportation options and also much tougher drunk driving penalties. For a first offence here your license is revoked for one year. I had a high school classmate who was caught drunk driving three times before her license was revoked, and keep in mind that she was under the legal drinking age as well!

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=749061

It definitely makes me think about the times Chris and I have driven after drinking, and how I want to avoid that when we return home. One particular instance that comes to mind is an evening at the Essen Haus when we both walked to the passenger side of the car, assuming the other was able to drive. We already have a plan for this upcoming Saturday evening which we'll be spending with our wine drinking buddies Josh & Tracy. They live within walking distance of my brother's apartment, so we'll be crashing their that night.

I can't believe we leave for the U.S. in just 4 days! We're both really excited. This morning Chris was talking about the "Mega Buddy" Diet Coke's he plans to get at Kwik Trip during his 8 hour drive to South Dakota. He loves everything about road trips, especially the junk food aspect! :) I have a long list of apartments and gyms to visit in the Milwaukee area during my time in Madison. I'm thankful for the oppotunity to visit before we move in July.

Nights Out

After spending the past two nights out, I'm really happy the weekend is here and we have no plans. Thursday night we went to The Glee Club (a comedy club) for Chris' labmate's birthday, which was really fun.

Last night we went to the Botanical Gardens for my college's party. The party was in honor of the college's 40th anniversary and therefore was 60s themed. Fancy dress (which in American English means wearing a costume) was optional and it was quite fun to see the outfits people came up with.


Below is a picture of my co-workers Michelle and Emma who dressed up as go-go girls.

Chris and I were boring and decided not to spend money on costumes (about half the people there were in 60s attire).

It was a very enjoyable party with great food and music. Chris even got me out on the dance floor, which is hard to do.

3-Day Weekend

I'm happy that we have a 3-day weekend (public holiday on Monday), but frustrated that our home internet access is still not working because it's going to make it a less productive weekend. It's become an endless cycle of us calling AOL, being assured it will be fixed, finding out it's not and calling again. To make matters worse, Chris and I are currently sharing a computer because his work laptop is being held hostage by IT guys who seem incapable of fixing it.

It'll still be a good weekend though. We're going to a BBQ at our friend Dario's flat. He has a cool roof terrace that he can grill out on, so that should be fun. Also, I'm seeing the movie Made of Honor with my friend Claire. Any movie with McDreamy has to be good :)

Brothers & Sisters

My latest addiction is the TV show Brothers & Sisters. Season 1 recently came out on DVD here and I've watched the first 14 episodes over the past couple weeks. My favorite character is the Senator played by Rob Lowe, this may or may not be related to the fact that he's gorgeous.

It has worked out quite well not owning a TV considering the number of shows we can watch online or on DVD using our laptop. However, I am looking forward to having a TV once again when we move home this summer. We probably won't get cable however, as Chris has a serious addiction to The History Channel.