Coloring Fun

I did a little drawing with Caitlin tonight. This is my version of Snow White. Not my favourite Princess, but she called dibs on Ariel.

Virginia Sunset

Sunset from my driveway tonight.

High In Staunton

I found a geocache in a mountain park hidden in the woods in Staunton. From the overlook, you can see Walmart. This is where the soda and shake I'd had on the drive hit me. So, for the first time in probably over 25 years (maybe 30...) I peed in the woods. Above Walmart. It was a memorable day!

Sal's Specials

Heather and I went to Sal's for dinner tonight. I got the new Beer Bean & Bacon Chicken Noodle Soup and Fresh Catfish Sandwich. I never get anything different, but I'm glad that I did tonight!

Ornamental Geocache

I Geocached on the way to work this morning, and got this cool ornament. I chose the Navy ornament because of my love of NCIS.

Geocaching Ouchie

Geocaching after work tonight, not the right shoes for it.

Geocaching Record Set

Geocaching with Heather. We got 30 caches today! We walked in the woods for 6 1/2 hours. We must have gone six miles. We got 21 in the park, and wanted to make it a record day, so we cached all the way home. Then Heather cheated and found another one after I went home, making her total 31. If I hadn't hurt so bad and been so tired at the point, I might just have gone out at 10pm to find another one myself.

A Blog Re-Started

I moved from Virginia to England in March 2009 to be with my husband and two step-children. I documented my time in England at Jenny's Adventures In England. I did this both to have something to look back on when I'm older, as well as to keep in touch with friends and family in the US and let them know what we were up to here.

We moved to back to my native Virginia in June 2010, and this blog was to focus on the experiences of my British husband and children acclimating to the US. Circumstances did not allow me to blog easily when we moved (lack of internet was a big issue).

In March 2011, my husband and I separated, and he moved across the country to be the best woman from our wedding, who is soon to be his wife. I was broken in so many ways for a long time after that. I am re-building my life now, and have made a choice to move closer to the children. I am going to make this blog be about my new adventure, as it unfolds.

Also contained within this blog with be a 2013 Picture A Day. I did this in 2012 on Facebook, but I want it off of  Facebook so non-FB friends and family can see it, and so that it will stand the test of time, which FB will not.

 Hopefully getting back into blogging will help me sort out some things that I intend to put in a book that I have started writing with my dearest friend of 25 years.

Week One.

It has been a busy week for us. We left Leicester, England at 2am on Monday, June 7th, 2010. After a two and a half hour taxi ride we arrived at London Heathrow, where we waited a half hour in line for the check in desk to open. By 5am we were checked in and headed through security. It went smoother than I thought it would, considering the children had never experienced this before. Three belts, two laptops, and 8 bags later we were through and waiting again. We had a little bit of English money on us, so we took turns going to the shop and everybody got a new book and snacks. I bought overpriced water with the left over and then it was time to board. I don’t know what was different about this flight, maybe it was the early morning hour (7:55am), but boarding was a quiet, non-rushed affair. We went straight back to our seats and stowed our bags, and there was no bustling, pushing, frustrations that I have experienced in other flights that I have taken. It was a blessing.

Our flight was uneventful (thank goodness!). The children sat together in front of us, Cale by the window for the first four hours, Briony by the window for the second half. We arrived a little early, and because we were the last off the plane, we were the last on the shuttle/people carrier thing – and the first off and into the baggage claim. Our bags were already off the conveyor belt, so we loaded them up on carts and went to

There was a really nice guy at immigration, and we got through quickly. Our flight had been due to land at 11:09am, and because of customs and immigration, I had advised my dad and sister to not get there before 11:30. Because we had landed early and everything went so smoothly, we were coming through the gate just as they got there. Heather and dad introduced themselves and we went to the cars. Dad drove Nid back and Heather drove the children and I back. It was weird, sitting in my car, talking about normal stuff with my sister. It was as if I had never left.

We drove straight to our house, and that was a really weird feeling. Dad and Heather had been working really hard to get it into shape, and we had seen photos of the in progress work, but never having seen the place we were going to be living was strange. I asked the children if it would be okay for Nid and I to go in first, and they said it was. We left them outside with dad and Heather and had a look around. It is a small house, but it is all that we need. It gets us in the best school area around, and three miles from my parent’s house (one mile of which is our driveway). I had left quite a bit of furniture with mom and dad when I moved, and dad had worked with me about what we needed to start, and had moved things in for us. 

The children took showers and we went to my parents house for dinner. Mom had gotten the kids their all-American LLBean backpacks for school, and packed them with clothes, pens, paper, stationary, etc for them to use until our belongings arrive. I went upstairs and saw my cat, Smudge. She seemed hesitant at first, but quickly warmed up to me. The children and Nid came up later and she warmed up to them as well. We had decided that she would come to live with us after we had settled in a bit and weren’t running in and out all the time. I helped dad feed the dogs, and Bearette didn’t bark at me like she does to strangers, but she didn’t care much about me, either. I need to go up at a non-feeding time and see how she does. While were visiting mom and dad, my friend Penny called their house to see if we were there and we talked for a few minutes. We’d chatted via IM and email while I was away, but talking in person was great.

We came back to the house and got ready for bed. By 9pm, we were all in bed, as our bodies were still on UK time, which was 2am. In order to combat jet lag, I wanted to make sure we got on a regular EST schedule as soon as possible. 

I woke up at 4:30am and could not fall back asleep. I showered and got dressed and sat out on our deck . It starts getting light just after 5am, and I got a pad of paper and pen and started writing out lists of things to do, things to get, things to move from my parent’s house to our house. It was quite cool out and I could hear the bull frogs at the pond and the birds in the trees. There was a little female Cardinal that kept landing on the deck near me, and I can’t help but think she must have a nest nearby, as there was definite purpose to her actions. The family started stirring around 9am, and our day began.

The rest of the week was filled with errands – bank paperwork, obtaining library cards, shopping trips to Wal-Mart (three of them), cleaning, hauling furniture, washing dishes that had been in storage for the last 15 months. We kept busy, and were in bed by 9pm most nights. 

Saturday mom and dad hosted a picnic/party for us. A lot of the people from the wedding were there, family and friends from the area. My friends Tammy and Michael came from Richmond, and Catherine and David (with sons Joshua, Matthew & Philip) came from Amelia. It was so great seeing them again, as I hadn’t seen them since the wedding. My friend Penny came with her son JT, who is 12, and soon they were playing soccer together. The children got to meet all of the local extended family. They also got to enjoy a thunderstorm and Virginia cookout food. We also had a surprise visitor at the party. Nid’s friend David from Kentucky drove all the way up to welcome us home. David and Nid first met in person when David came up for our wedding. It was completely unexpected, but a wonderful surprise! 

Sunday the heat (100+ degrees F) was finally getting to us, so we broke down and bought an air conditioner that doesn’t quite cool the whole house, but it knocks out some of the humidity.

We Have A Date!

We've done it. We picked a moving day and bought the tickets today. We will be flying out of London Heathrow early in the morning on June 7th.

It is only 40 days away, and there is still a lot to do. Tomorrow I have a shipping company coming to look at our belongings and give us a quote. I have already spoken to several other companies, and after tomorrow will book with one of them. Most likely we will be taking a taxi to the airport, and we have already gotten quotes for the trip. It is not as expensive as I would have thought. And much easier than taking our bags on the train and then having to take a taxi to the airport, as Heathrow is a bit of a hike from where the train comes into London. Tomorrow I start calling the utility companies.

I am going "back home" in 40 days. It's a weird feeling. I miss my family and friends. I miss the comfort of knowing what things are called, I miss the comfort that familiar food brings. I miss driving and the ability to go to Walmart at midnight. Though now that I have a family I don't imagine I'll be doing that so much anymore. But I could if I wanted to!

My home is where my family is. And right now, my home is Leicester. It is where Nid, Briony, Cale and I became a family. It is where all of our memories are. It is the last time that I will ever see this house, Leicester, England. I knew when I left Virginia that I would see it again. I know that when I leave England I will never see it again. It makes me sad in a way, while at the same time I am so happy to be going "back home."