Weekend Update...

Well... this weekend consisted of building, building, and some more building.  Literally I think I might die if I see another unbuilt Ikea item. lol.  At present we have build 4 bookcases, 1 dining room hutch, a tv stand, 2 end tables, a coffee table, 3 dressers, 1 bathroom shelving thingy, a bed, 2 nightstands, and 6 chairs.  The only think left to build is our dining room table.  I have realized just how small a real closet is...and am struggling to get all of my clothes in.  While I appreciate always having a walk in closet, to go from that to a mini closet is not exactly fun.  Although I am thankful to have a closet.  I would post pictures but there is so much "stuff" in the way that I can't really get a good shot of any of them.  We are slowly emptying boxes...but man...did I tell you...I have a LOT of stuff!.

Some highlights of the weekend were Sat. night I got to go to Hull (a city about and hour N of here) and see Jessi Craig.  She is a friend and former co-worker from District 227.  It was really great to see her and hear a normal accent.  Lol.  She is also dating a Brit...we had a really good night.  Sun. we went over to the Fazal's for Sunday dinner...and yum yum yum.  Don't know if I even need to eat today. lol  Speaking of the Fazal's...Penny, the girls, and I are all going to see the Lion King 3D today!  For those of you who know me well you know I am a Disney freak and this is about as exciting for me as going on my honeymoon.  Ok maybe not that exciting but up there for sure.

I prob. won't have a chance to update before we leave for Barbados...and I for sure am not taking my computer there...no room for it out on my pool chair...tehe...so I will say adios for now...be back in a week and a half.

 Our bedroom...wohoo for not sleeping on the floor anymore!

Jessi and I out at a pub in Hull, England!

My stuff is HERE!!!

So...my stuff was suppose to arrive on Thursday but we got a call late in the afternoon on Wed. that they could drop off my stuff in the evening if we wanted it.  HELLO...of course.  So at about 4:15 the truck came...they unloaded all my stuff in 45 mins. (which is amazing) and so began the craziness.  We undid a lot of the wrapping on Wed. evening.  It seriously was like kids at Christmas...I mean open one...look inside...move to the next one.  We were trying to just take the wrapping off, get it to the right room of the house, and clear a pathway.  Well...I have a lot of "stuff"...we didn't quite finish...so from 8am till 11pm on Thursday I worked.  Got most of the kitchen stuff set up...and built the dining room hutch thingy.  So far nothing is broken which is a miracle if you ask me...and well I am off to work at it again today.  The goal is to have most of the house set up before we leave for our honeymoon on Wed.  We shall see...
Lets just say it is not easy fitting an American girl in an English house lol.  One funny story...so like 5 of the baking sheets I have...yeah... won't fit in the oven...nor a cabinet...we shall see what happens to those...Here are some pics of the delivery and after math...more to come.  Have a great weekend! 

 On the truck...

 Took up the whole dining room part of the kitchen and part of the living room lol

 Mark putting together the t.v. stand while I undo stuff for the kitchen.  First drink of pop in a real glass...ahhhhh.

 My new dining room hutch...not too shabby...took long enough to build but I likey!

 Still working on the kitchen lol...

Christmas Eve...

Well not really but just as exciting for me!  All of my stuff comes tomorrow...which means no living out of a suitcase...or eating off plastic plates!  EEEEEE!!!!  I realized I haven't seen some of that stuff in like 4 months or more cause I started packing long before the wedding...and that was almost 3 months ago...craziness!  So I am just a tid bit excited!

Yesterday was a super duper day!  I got my first care package from my parents.  It was AWESOME!  It had Kraft mac and cheese in it...(how do these people live without it?!?) and cookies and candy!  A girls dream come true in a box lol.  Mark had his first Reese's peanut butter cup?!?  Right...again how do they live!?!  He wasn't sure at first but realized how wonderful it was after bite two.  We made dinner again last night and it was successful...tasted ok too.

Had a really awesome day for a fat kid at the gym.  I ran/walked for half an hour and then ran a full out mile in 12:30.  Now I know that doesn't seem like much to my fit friends but I was stinking proud of myself for running the whole dang mile and doing it without killing myself lol.  We shall see if I can walk tomorrow but ya know...one day at a time.

 Care Packages!!! Yahoo!!!

 Deciding if he likes it or not...and then yummmmmm!!!!

 Our loot!

 Nice healthy dinner after all those treats!  Ok we still have a few in the cabinet but....yummmy!

That is it from here....anxiously awaiting my goods!  One week from today we will be on our honeymoon so good stuff ahead!  eeeeeee stuff!!!!!!!!

Relaxing weekend at the in-laws...

So let me back track first...Thursday night was my first home made meal in England.  I made a "traditional" English dinner...Sausage, mash potatoes, and veggies.  It was an adventure for me since I had very little to do it with (stuff still not here) but it was a HUGE success.  The hubby actually had seconds so you know he wasn't just being nice. lol.  I was quite impressed with myself.  So yeah...forgot to take a picture and when I finally remember Mark was on his last bite but yea...meal 1 done.

We left Friday afternoon for Mark's parents house.  It normally is about a 3 hour drive North from here but Mark learned a new way and so we got there in 2 1/2 hrs which was super nice.  The weekend was really low key.  His dad is an amazing cook and so we ate...ate...and ate some more all weekend long.  It was his dad's birthday as well so we brought presents and stuff...it was a really good time.  Some highlights of the weekend were going for a ride in his parents new sports car...NICE!  It is a Mazda MX5...or at least that is what they call it over here....did I say nice...cause it is really nice! lol  We went shopping as well at the metro centre (the biggest mall in Britain), average American mall lol.  But Mark got a few items for our honeymoon and I got a coat!  I walked by it and well it was love at first sight.  Kind of expensive but Mark was like get it...Shara's head was like no this is too pricey but I didn't ever hang it back on the rack lol.  So when we went to the counter to ring it up it was half price...I just about wet myself with excitement!  Ahhhh me and my love for coats...it is so cute.  Don't have a pic of it just yet but I'll put it up as soon as I get one.

Other than that the weekend was chill.  Mark and I went for a walk along my fav. beach (Seaham) and took some pics.  It is the same beach we got engaged on and have had numerous big chats on.  It was just really nice.  So that is that.  I get to babysit small child one and small child two this evening.  The Fazal's have parent/teacher conferences and the girls chose me to watch them...tehe.  They are fun!  So hopefully all will go well.  My stuff is set to come for this week Thursday!  I am like a kid waiting for Christmas...Thursday can't get here soon enough!  But that is about all from the mother land.  Hope all is well back in the states.  Did I mention I miss my Starbucks ice tea....oh yeah cause I do...who knew I was that addicted to it.  Okay maybe I had a bit of a clue but...mmmm ok adios for now.

 Mark's parents new little sports car!  Did I mention how nice it is?!?

 Us on our fav. beach

 Mark and I trying to be artsy lol

 Back a few months ago only I had a ring...now we both do!  tehe...

 Looking out over the North Sea from the parking lot

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Working for the weekend...

HAHAHA...working...its not something I do right now and I LOVE IT!  Ok maybe I miss the kids and the entertaining stories that only my Rich 227 friends can relate to but seriously this do what you please kind of day is something I could really get use to and fast.  (yea we don't tell Mark that so shhhhh...) But seriously it has really been great to do things I really never have had the time to do.  For instance I have gone to the gym 3 days in a row (near miracle status!) and really have been pushing myself there.  If feels great and I am not watching the clock every 5 secs to see how much I can cram in before I run off to the next thing.  I am not stressed out beyond comprehension and well this is a much needed break from the "Shara Griffin" way of life.  I likey! lol

Really can't say all that much is new...just felt like I needed to update.  I raked the backyard (or back garden as they say here tehe) this afternoon and found that I really enjoy yard work...yes the apples are sick and gross still but there is something to be said for having your own yard that you get to do what you want with.  I can't wait till spring so I can plant some flowers and make this bad boy look amazing!  Am attempting my first home made meal as well.  Penny (my new found friend here) helped me and so dinner is in the crock pot (slower cooker if you live in England).  So yeah I'll post a pic later on when it is done and if it tastes ok.

Looking forward to the weekend.  We are going up to Mark's parents house so that means yummy real food and sleeping in a real bed (not a mattress on the floor) and ya know just hanging out with the in-laws. Get to show them wedding pics as well and see if they like the new brown haired daughter-in-law.  So that should be fun.  That is really it from here.  Hope you all are doing well.  I can't tell you what I would do for a Starbucks venti black iced tea, unsweetened, no water right now...no idea...but other than that I am doing well.  Lol

Apples, weird light bulbs, and more...

I know random...but that is how yesterday went.  Mark txt me from work to say "hey if your bored why don't you go pick up the apples outside since it is nice out still".  I though ok something to do...lets go.  WRONG!  These apples have to have been down for like a month already...picked up the first one and squealed because it smushed to pieces in my hands with juice everywhere!  I now know why he sent me out there to do this...punk!  So I managed to get most of them up...the really icky ones I used a pen I found in the lawn to "skewer" them and then scrap them into the garbage.  So gross...so gross!

 Not one but TWO apple trees!

 When Mark got home we went on yet another quest to get stuff for the house.  This whole set up your house stuff gets old real fast...well that is until my stuff gets here and then I can organize everything to the hill but let me not get ahead of myself.  The light bulbs here...strange...no standard...odd things.  This is a "normal" one that we bought...for real?!?  Oh England how you daily amuse me.

Also found out that my stuff won't be here for another week and a half!!!!  Are you serious!  It cleared customs and is a okay...but the delivery guy doesn't have a truck available to bring it here until next week Wed. or Th. ?!?  For real...you're a delivery service for crying out load....how the heck do you not have a truck to bring me my STUFF!!!! Ok..better..but yeah...so another week of eating out and doing not much.  (Eating out wouldn't be all that bad if it was American food...but English food...well you all know how I feel about that!)

So last but not least today I went for my gym card.  Penny and I have decided to run the Lincoln 10K in May (far off I know...cause I need that much time to get my fat ass back into shape but anyways) So today was day 1.  We got walked around the gym and then did about an hour or so of cardio.  Tomorrow is weights...we shall see how that goes.  If you don't hear from me in a few days you will know why...I over did it at the gym and don't even have enough energy to type. LOL  Well that's it from here. 

OHHH almost forgot...couch finally came yesterday afternoon so I am typing this from my lovely rent-o-couch...you will feel the sarcasm all the way in the states when you see the pic.  Adios x

This is your weekend update with Seth Meyers...no just kidding its only me

So weekend update:
1.  We went looking for curtains Friday night.  Finally decided on ones we could both agree on and got them home.  Now my idea was to put up the living room ones and see how it went.  Mark obviously had a different idea.  The boy who once told me he isn't that "handy" went to town on these things.  We got the living room ones up and before I could stand and admire our work he was half way done with the dining room ones.  Now this is not to complain but seriously it was a bit like...slow down there killer.  At 10:30 he disappeared for a few minutes.  I thought maybe he had gone to get ready for bed and I just didn't hear him...nope....had started in on the bedroom ones.  I got the giggles...seriously...he was curtain crazy!

2.  Saturday we went into town to run errands.  Now normally I wouldn't mind but it was raining...and you have to walk all over town in the rain.  This def. is not America where you would move your car so you don't get wet.  They all just walk around town as if it is normal to get soaked in the rain!  Crazy Brits!  So we ran our errands...most importantly the one to the travel agency where we booked our honeymoon!  eeeeeeeee We are going to BARBADOS!!!  We leave the 26th of this month!  Hopefully my stuff will get here by then so I have clothes to wear...but yeah!  Honeymoon here we come!  I am so excited to just go somewhere and have something to sit on! LOL

3.  Sunday Mark ran another half marathon in Peterborough.  It was a nice day for him to run...overcast but not raining and a bit on the cool side.  While he would have like to do better, he finished in 2 hrs. and 7 mins. which I think is totally crazy, nuts, and amazing all at the same time.  His friend Faz did it as well so the Fazal family came to cheer him on while I cheered on Mark.  Penny (Faz's wife) and I decided we are gonna do one next year and so the training begins tomorrow.  We have a gym appointment scheduled with the near by camp (that's the gym we get to use for almost free) and we are on it.

4.  Today ...well...today I am waiting again.  Our rent-a-couch never came on Friday so it is "suppose" to come today.  Hopefully it does cause this whole sitting on the floor thing got old about a week ago.  Still no word on my stuff either.  It is in the country going through "checks".  Which better not mean someone going through my stuff and deciding they like it so it is theirs kind of "checks".

So that is about it.  My rents went to MO on vacation with their friends this week which is way over due for them.  I keep getting emails of what a wonderful time they are having....DUH...isn't that why you go on vacation!?!  They need to do it more so if you see them...tell them to go on vacation again but to England this time.  lol No we need to set up house first cause seeing them sit on the floor to eat might just be way to entertaining.

So yep...here are some pics of the weekend.  Did I tell you I love my iPhone...cause I do!  Totally amazing!  The half marathon and the new curtains... Enjoy!

 Pre race...

 Mark and Faz...waiting for it to begin and then just as they pass through the start line.

 The adorable Fazal girls!

 Lee and then Mark as they are about 100 yards from the finish line!

 New purple curtains in the bedroom...

 My attempt to be artsy fartsy with the curtain in the bathroom...

 Brown curtains in the living room...when we get a sewing machine I am going to try and hem these...try is the key word there...we shall see...

Bob the Builder has got nothing on me!

Not much is new here.  It has been a wonderfully relaxing week.  Wednesday night Mark and I decided to drive to Ikea in Nottingham.  It should have taken us just over an hour to get there but the directions we had were horrible...so we got lost.  About 30mins. into being lost I thought hey...I have an iPhone now...they have maps on there!  So we got that going and yes indeed we were very lost.  Figured out how to get there but we had blown so much time in the process of getting lost we only had about an hour or so in Ikea to get "stuff".  We managed to do some damage and walked out with 6 dining room chairs, a rug, a dresser, a bathroom shelving thingy, and some odds and ends.  Did I mention I LOVE IKEA!!!

So yesterday I literally spent all day putting together our purchases.  I will attach them here in a minute.  Today I am waiting for our rented couch to come.  We haven't had anything comfy to sit on yet so this is like waiting for the ice cream truck to come on a 90 degree day!  Every time I here something drive past I run to the window.  Pretty funny I won't lie.  This couch is on loan to us since the ones we purchased won't be ready for another 5 weeks!  This loaner one is black and has red flowers...will post a pick once it gets here.  Not exactly my taste but it works until we get ours.  So that is about it here.  Going to look for curtains tonight...really exciting Friday night I know! lol  Mark runs another 1/2 marathon on Sunday so I will be out there cheering him on.  Well that's it for now...

 New dinning room chairs 1 of 6

 Bathroom shelving thingy...

New dresser...and the new rug to cover the ugly pink one.

Birthday Parties and Shara Vs. Shower

So really it has been an uneventful beginning to my adventures in England with the exception of the title above.  Lets start with the birthday party.  So Mark works with this guy named Faz.  Faz has a wife, Penny and 2 girls, which he calls small child one and small child two.  I think that is hysterical!  The girls names really are Aimee and Tia.  So Monday I meet the girls for the first time.  We find out it is Aimee's 6th birthday the next day (Oct. 4) and so subsequently get invited to the birthday party.  So we go get a gift and I wait on Tuesday for the big event of my day.  Penny picks me up from the house and we go to get the girls from school.  Now I am trying to keep a low profile cause obviously I talk funny compared to everyone else and I don't like attention being drawn to myself.  (well here in the UK that is) Well that all got blown when the girls came running over to us when school got out.  I was like a celebrity.  Cracked me up!  I guess I do have an accent and all to them but these little girls...well are just the sweetest, cutest, adorable little girls with their British accents.

So we get in the car and they are singing along with all the popular radio songs...Lady Gaga and what not....I get the giggles because they know every word and are singing their hearts out.   They ask a million and one questions in about 2 seconds and they just were so excited that I was there.  So funny to me! The birthday party was fun, probably the most fun I have had since it was my own little kid birthday party.  They were dancing and opening presents and it reminded me of how carefree kids are and how absolutely wonderful their innocence and enthusiasm for life is.  Had a blast!  Thanks girls!

Now to Shara vs. Shower.  So the shower here is "new".  Meaning they didn't have one, yes you read that right, before now or got one pretty recently (last few years).  This shower is crap.  Very little water pressure...it is connected to the taps and has a little hose that runs up which is the "shower".  I am trying to keep an open mind about it but well...I like my serious water pressured showers.

So today get in...have my drip...drip...drip...shower.  Go to turn it off and it WILL NOT TURN OFF!!!  I think what the heck is going on here!  I try and try and nearly burn/freeze myself to death in the process.  I am at this point saying a few choice words and get out to grab my towel...water still running.  For the next  20 mins...no exaggeration trying to turn off the stupid thing.  Call Mark freaking out...of course doesn't answer.  As I go to put clothes on cause I think I am going to have to call someone to come over and fix this or at least find a neighbor to see if they can help ...when the thing goes off on its own!  Crazy right!

Mark then calls and he is like "hey what's up?"  "You called?"  WHAT'S UP?!?!?! What's up!?!? ....THE SHOWER IS POSSESSED!  He laughs but I seriously thought we were going to have a crisis and or a flash flood our hands.  So as it stands...Shara 0/ Shower 1.  We shall see what tomorrow brings.

 That is it for now.  Lovely curtains too right...that shall soon change!

My 1st Weekend Here

So...the journey began with me having 4 checked bags, a carry on suitcase that weighed just as much as my checked luggage, and a "purse" (more like a huge bag stuffed full with stuff).  Left Chi-town thinking this should feel different cause I don't have a return flight but really, to be honest, it just seemed like I was on another one of my journeys to see Mark.  Plane ride was interesting...had really bad winds and the plane dropped a few times.  When I say drop I mean like on a roller coaster stomach drops...had to grab my pop so that it didn't fall off the little tray, scare the daylights out of me drop.  But obviously it all turned out alright. ;)

Mark was waiting for me at the airport...awe...I looked like your typical "American girl" over packed, wheeling this cart that had so much luggage on it that I couldn't see over it.  Totally ridiculous but hey a girl has GOT to have her "stuff".  We made it back to the house fine.  Got the grand tour...really it is a nice house...not American in anyway shape or form but very nice for here.  In the pics the living room looked lots bigger but the upstairs was actually bigger than I had thought.  Anyways...then began our journey to get more "stuff".

Back home I would go to BBB or Target and be able to find just about everything my little heart could desire...here...not so much.  We seriously went to every store and still couldn't find everything we were looking for.  Unreal!  Bought a very nice couch and love seat, toaster, microwave, vacuum, you know...anything that plugs in.  As if we haven't had enough fun with that we decided to go grocery shopping!  For those of you who know me well...I don't grocery shop. LOL

So that was interesting...didn't recognize anything in the place except my Heinz ketchup.  Never been so excited to see a bottle of ketchup in all my life...and you know I love my ketchup!  Everything is SO small.  I get why people around the world think of us as fat Americans.  I mean seriously everything looked like travel sizes to me.  I couldn't get it over it...so different...so strange...but I guess I will get use to it eventually.  No brands the same...couldn't find even cleaning products that resembled what I am use to.

So that was adventure number one.  The next day, Saturday, we did more shopping, looking around for at least some lawn chairs to buy so that we would have something to sit on in the house.  (OH yea couch will take 6 weeks to get and that is quick...most places were quoting us 12-16 weeks...are you serious?!?) So...couldn't find lawn furniture...bought some more plug in stuff...and decided to go home and cook a pizza.  Simple task one might think.  Well...we have a gas oven.  I don't know how to work it, neither does Mark and the directions book we got with it isn't for our stove.  Go figure.  So we guess on the numbers...it goes from 1-8 so we think ok maybe that stands for hundreds.  So we set it to 2 and think nothing of it.  Well after the pizza had been in for 20 mins. and it was only suppose to be in 7 and it still is like frozen we think something isn't right here.  It suddenly dawns on Mark that those markings are gas marks...we should have had it set to 6.  Ooops.  Who knew...we do now.  Had an entertaining evening sitting on the floor watching Alladin and Wall-E.  Yes you read that correctly...big Sat. night for us! lol (You know I sang along with every song in Alladin...ahhh....Disney freak...yes I am)

And that was about it.  Sun. was uneventful.  Went and cleaned out Mark's old room and stuff.  And here we are at today!  So... that is it so far.  Still kind of strange in my head that I am here with so much stuff.  Feel like I'm just visiting...we will see when reality sets in.  Hopefully my crates full of stuff will come end of this week or early next.  Till then things will be pretty low key.  That's all for now folks...

                                                         Me in front of our front door.

                                                                  20 Lancaster Drive