Stoke-on-Trent Weekend

There are a million tiny villages all over England that are just waiting to be explored. My friend Wendy & I were feeling a little restless, so we decided to take her girls (Cara & Sydney) to one of those villages...Stoke-on-Trent. I have been once before with some other girlfriends, and was amazed by the wonderful deals on pottery & china. There were outlet & factory centers galore and we were in the mood to find some great pieces! We went to the Spode, Wedgewood, Royal Daulton, Emma Bridgewater, & the Portmerion factories. Wendy bought some beautiful Christmas dishes for her family, and found some unique gifts as well. I wasn't really looking for anything specific, but found a rediculously good deal on china that I just couldn't pass up. I got 12 regular plates, 12 appetizer plates, and 2 serving dishes in the Old Britain Castles pattern for about $60. Yes, I said $60!! Now this might be an okay deal in the States, but here in England...I was blown away! I'm super excited b/c Chris and I didn't register for china when we got married b/c we couldn't find a pattern that we just loved. This particular pattern is red (my favorite!!) and actually matches my nice dishes that we did register for! They will also always serve as a reminder of our time here in England...I love them!

The girls did such a good job on the trip that we also decided to visit the Monkey Forest in Trentham on our way home. This place was so cool! The monkeys just wandered around on their own and got within a foot of us on certain trails. We watched them getting fed by one of the workers in the forest, grooming each other, and carrying their babies on their bellies. The girls loved it, and so did Wendy & I!! Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

The Lion King

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted!  Hmmm, what have I been up to?  Not  a whole lot to tell you the truth.  I've been spending some great "girl-time" with my fabulous friends, I've had a few movie/game nights at my house, I've done lots of fun shopping, and today I did something that I've been wanting to do since we arrived here over a year ago...I went to see The Lion King in London!  Oh my gosh, it was absolutely brilliant!  The costumes, oh I don't even have words.  I seriously got tears in my eyes when the music started and all the "animals" walked down the aisles.  It was insane.  

Two of my friends, Ashlee & Wendy, went with me.  We rode down on a bus (not the most fantastic way to travel, especially in the London traffic!) which dropped us off in Covent Garden, where all the theaters are located.  We walked around the corner to a fabulous eatery before heading to the show.  I cannot even tell you how amazing it was...very different than anything I have seen before.  I would highly recommend going if you haven't seen it already! 

Rain, Rain, Go Away

You know, there's only so much you can do on rainy days. Snuggling up on the couch in my pj's, watching old movies, and drinking hot cocoa can start to get old after a few days. Yes, I did say hot cocoa! It's freezing here...well, not literally, but my heater IS on. I know, it's crazy! My feet are warm and toasty in their socks, when they should be nice and tan from all the sun they are getting in their flip-flops! I'm counting the days until I return back to Texas and feel the sunshine on my face at last...this British tan is a wee bit too pasty for my taste :)

I hope you all are having very sunny days wherever you are! Send some of it my way, would ya?!

Cheers,
Amy

High Hopes

I listen to Radio 2 in the mornings on my way to work every day.  I know that it's not the "coolest" station, but I just can't help myself when they start playing show-tunes!  Oh gosh, did I just give away what a big dork I am??  Oh well, what can I say?  They're so catchy!  Okay, anyway, I was listening this morning and I heard Frank Sinatra singing "High Hopes".  It's a so-so song in my opinion, but that's really not the point...the point is that it got me thinking.  What are my high hopes for this deployment?  What do I aspire to do with all this time I have on my hands?  What are some ways that I can make this time "fly by" like everyone keeps saying it will?  That's where my list comes in.  Now, if you know me at all, you know that I'm a planner.  Notice that I said "planner" not "doer" because somewhere in between the "planning" and the "doing" I tend to get a little sidetracked!  So, here are some of my plans (in no particular order)...

1.  Stop drinking carbonated drinks ~ I started with this one b/c I've already done it, and I thought that it was important to start off on the right foot :)

2.  Read "Pillars of ther Earth" ~ I've heard it's fabulous, so I bought it about 2 months ago.  So far, it's just been taunting me from the side of my bed!

3.  Take at least 2 trips ~ So...I have Spain covered.  Any takers on another one???  Who wants to travel??

4.  Lose some "poundage" ~ Hmmm, this could be tough considering my love affair with chocolate!

5.  Treat myself to a Hot Stone Message ~ I think 2 years without one is entirely too long!

6.  Be a better friend ~ I'm horrible, I mean HORRIBLE at phone calls.  I have some of the most wonderfully supportive & amazing girlfriends who hear from me, ohhh, maybe once a month.  I really want to commit to being better about that.

7.  Finish the rough draft of my children's book ~ Even if I never send it off, I think that just finishing it will be sweet enough.

8.  Actually take Kelly up on some of her offers to go to some aerobics classes ~ Ok, so maybe just one :)

9.  Learn how to use my camera ~ Chris got me an awesome camera about a year ago, and I have yet to figure out how to use all it's fun gadgets!

Hopefully I'll get to all of these things...but even if I don't, at least I had a plan :)

Cheers, 

Amy   

Just a few things...

I'm rounding out the second week with Chris being gone, and life in this tiny little village is finally starting to settle down.  When I arrived home from saying good-bye to him (very sad day indeed!), I found some beautiful yellow and red flowers sitting on my front door step from my friends in my bible study group.  I am proud to say that those little guys are still kickin', and they put a smile on my face every time I get out of my car.  Those flowers are a constant reminder of the support system that I have here.  One of the things I love the most about being a military wife is the sense of community and togetherness that I feel each day.  We're all in the same boat.  We all miss our loved ones & worry about them while they're away.  We all get lonely sometimes, and have moments where just about everything seems to be going wrong.  But in return we all have each other to lean on, and talk to, and celebrate with when those wrong things suddenly turn out okay.  It's like a family, and I am thankful to be a part of it. 

These past two weeks have been spent making a new routine for myself.  I must say that cooking for one has been the hardest thing to get used to...good thing I have all those sweet friends to come over and help me eat the left-overs!!  I'm hoping to start traveling a lot more during the summer, I've had a nice long lull in my travel plans and I'm starting to get antsy!!  It will be hard to travel to new places without Chris, I so love experiencing new things with him, but I'm excited to spend some time with the girls and just do "girly" things.  I can't really see Chris lounging around all day in Spain trying to catch up on his tan!   So I'll let y'all know how it goes, and I'll be sure to post some pictures of my adventures :)

Cheers, 

Amy

A Prayer...

Fear not; for I am with you.  Be not dismayed; for I am your God.  I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.

Isaiah 41:10

God touched my heart with this verse recently, and I wanted to share it with everyone.  During this difficult time, I pray that both Chris and I remember these powerful words when we are fearful, dismayed, and weak.  It is His righteousness that will deliver us from those feelings, and we will be comforted with His grace.   

Much love to you all!!

Amy

The Cotswolds and a Snowy Easter!!

It's hard to believe, but we woke up Easter morning to a beautiful blanket of pure white snow covering our neighborhood!  We decided to take the Defender to church...we weren't sure that the Sunfire would make it!  After a few close calls (navigating the English roads in the snow can be pretty tricky) we finally made it in time for fantastic Easter service.  That evening, we went to the Hilburns for a potluck dinner.  Since Chris and I decided to have an untraditional Christmas feast by cooking all of our favorite mexican foods, it was awesome to get to have ham, yeast rolls, green bean casserole, potatoes and all the other traditional stuff on Easter.  The Birds, and our friend Cody also came over, which made it even cozier.  There is nothing I like more on holidays than spending time with the ones I love.  I'm so glad that the Hilburns invited all of us into their home, it was a great night!

The weekend before Easter, Chris and I decided to venture out to the Cotswolds.  We found a cute little B&B in Chipping Campden and planned on spending the entire weekend hiking around the many trails in the area.  Sadly, the weather didn't really cooperate with us, but we did get to make the 1.5 mile trek up to Broadway Tower before the clouds unloaded on us.  We also forgot our hiking boots, so we had to make do by rolling up our jeans and jumping over puddles!  It was a great hike, and we got to see some beautiful countryside on the way up.  Herds of sheep surrounded us, and I even saw some deer when we finally got to the top!  Chris climbed to the top of the Tower while I stayed securely on the ground and took in the scenery :)  It was much quicker going down, and it's a good thing because as soon as we reached our car, it started raining like crazy!  We lounged around the rest of the day visiting the quaint villages of Stow on the Wold & Bourton on the Water.  We ate at two great restaurants over the weekend, and visited Shakespeare's birthplace on  Sunday.  It was a nice, relaxing trip and exactly what we needed!