February 18

After almost a year of doing the temp thing, I will start my new, permanent job on February 18. Thanks to Andrea for passing along my CV and a successful interview one day after work last week, I will be working for a MP in Westminster! I am still trying to comprehend that I will be working in Parliament - what an amazing experience this is going to be! How neat that a little over a year ago this month, I went with Andrea to her office to job search. Little did I know that I would be working in that same office the following year. I am just in awe and so grateful for God's provision!

 

A Wonderful Weekend

A lot of England has been snowed on quite a bit this weekend, and as happy as I am to see all of the pretty snow outside, it almost prevented Jeff from coming home on Friday. Almost. His original flight was cancelled, but amazingly, he was bumped to an earlier flight, which then became delayed close to the time of his original flight. In spite of all of the snow and flight changes, Jeff made it back home in the early evening on Friday. It was and is so, so good to have him home. 

I was such a happy lady to see my man home!

This weekend has been a wonderful time of us just spending it together. Even though Jeff was only in Spain for 2 weeks, when we were back in Texas, he stayed with his family while I stayed with mine. Very ideal for our families; it worked out best that way. I still got to see Jeff, but it just wasn't the same. There were times it felt like we were dating again. "Hey Mom, Jeff's going to come over for dinner" or "I'm going to go hang out with Jeff and his parents." That sort of thing. Haha! It is just nice to get back into our rhythm here in London.

Jeff has been bringing me back little odds and ends from each trip he goes on. In addition to traveling, we've always wanted to start a collection of quirky things from different countries. He nails it each time, so I wasn't worried about what he'd bring back from Spain.

Thrift store find and it still works!

So awesome.

Cute trinket box from a thrift store in Bilbao, Spain.

 On Saturday, I made breakfast and we caught up on some piddly stuff around the flat. Later, we watched Les Misérables at our neighborhood cinema (cinemar as the British pronounce it). It was a great movie, and I'm glad I saw it. To be honest though, I'm not sure I will see it again. Too much singing for me. Randomly, Jeff had a migraine start towards the end of the movie. Thankfully, I had some Advil to somewhat set off the pain that inevitably follows. The rest of our weekend since then has consisted of rest and staying warm. I hope all of you have had a great weekend!

Thanks again Nat for my Anthro S mug! It's my go-to tea cup!

Morning cuddles with Monk.

Part of our garden and the neighborhood fox next door.

Close up of the furry friend.

Loving this snow!

My view indoors. One of my favorites.

Christmas 2012 & a New Year Ahead

Time has come and gone since my last post in November, and many great things have happened since then. After hardly seeing our families for most of 2012, Jeff and I were able to spend 3 wonderful weeks back in Frost, TX, where we celebrated birthdays, Bec's graduation from UNT and Christmas. It really was a blessed time of fellowship. I am so grateful for those 3 weeks. 

Our flight from Heathrow to DFW was one of the most challenging I've ever experienced. My patience was really tested, and there were times I thought I would lose my cool, but even with a few bumps along the way, we made it home safe and sound. Our little headache started first at the security check, where my carry on bag was flagged to be searched in addition to already being scanned. Every single gift item that we managed to fit into that bag was taken out one at a time and given a thorough once over. To our surprise, the two boxes of English Christmas Crackers, we purchased for our families, were only allowed in checked baggage because they contain a small amount of explosives. They ended up being confiscated, and even though we could have kept them, by paying more ££ to check that bag, we decided to cut our losses, which was only £8 ($12). Jeff and I were a bit annoyed, but what can you do? Our flight was then delayed almost two hours. There was a part of the plane that needed to be fixed, so in spite of the delay, I'm glad this was caught before we were in the air. Always a good thing to catch! Right as we were boarding though, I was asked to step aside for a random search. I received a full body pat-down and my purse searched through. The lady was very nice, which always makes those situations better. It's never fun when someone irritable is performing those searches. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah - after some more waiting on the plane, little sleep while flying in the always uncomfortable seats in coach, Jeff and I finally landed at DFW! I had never been so excited to get off a plane, until we got to Customs. There were limited stalls open, and we managed to get behind a mother who had just adopted a son born outside the US (how awesome - really!) and an elderly couple coming in from Mexico. I also was yelled at by an agent for stepping too far to the right... it was so random and unexpected, but I managed to smile at him as our passports were being checked. No tears were shed during this journey, but man oh man, how we were happy this experience didn't happen on our way back to London! 

Walking out of arrivals, my heart almost burst seeing this.

I brought this back with me and will be hanging it on my wall soon.

Dad, Mom and Philip whisked Jeff and me away from the airport for some much needed Tex-Mex. Before we hit up Pappasitos, we drove to Grapevine to see Bec just for a bit at her work. It was a quick visit but I'm glad we stopped by.

We all enjoyed chips and salsa while we waited for a table. Thanks Jeff!

My beloved, American Dr Pepper. Corn syrup, you rock!

The next few weeks, Jeff and I spent time doing many great things with family and friends. Bec, Mom and me celebrated our December birthdays. I turned 25 - wow! 18 seems like it was yesterday. I remember when I was really young, it seemed like it'd be an eternity until I would be "older," and now time is just flying by. Bec also graduated from UNT (woohoo, go little Sis!). I also got to do my annual trip to Louisiana to see my Mom's side. It was amazing that Bec could accompany me this year. She took 3 weeks off from work while I was back in Texas. So sweet! :)

Bec - UNT English Graduate - 2012

Bec and Aunt Leska - pit stop at Mercados in Tyler.

Duck Commander visit in West Monroe, LA.

Most if not all of you know of my strong affinity for Taco Shop, which I am convinced wouldn't be so strong if I had not grown up in Corsicana. Still, I had more than my fair share while we were back. After breaking down what $$ was spent where, Jeff informed me that we spent I spent almost $100 at Taco Shop. I tried to justify that as their prices had gone up, so I actually didn't visit that often... yeah, we just laughed at that!

It's hard to say no to this. Either it's just that good or it's the memories that make it good.

While we were away from Monk for 3 weeks, I still had Mom's second brood to eye and cuddle with.

   

Bottom to top - Nacho, Harris, Timer and Olive.

For those who didn't get to see, here was our 2012 Christmas card. I hope you all had a joyous time of celebrating Jesus' birth and spending time with loved ones! 

So many more good things happened during our visit, but I'd be blogging for days to share the rest! Ultimately, the trip back was amazing, but it is good to be back home. Jeff and I are now back to our routines and back at work. It was hard to fly in on a Tuesday and go back to work on Wednesday. We did experience some jet lag for a few days - glad that is over! We aren't sure where all we will venture to this year, but we do plan on traveling as much as we can. It is exciting to think about! Jeff has actually spent the last two weeks in Spain traveling to Valencia, Barcelona and Bilbao. He was supposed to be flying in today, but with all the snow expected, his flight has been cancelled. Hopefully, Jeff will make it in tomorrow. Until then, it looks like it's still me and the Monk-man.

I'm sure happy he's in the mood to cuddle.