One Year

June 1st marked our one-year anniversary in the UK and June 6th my one year at work. We didn’t really do anything big to celebrate, you know, unless you count the entire country throwing a party from June 2 – 5, but they might think that was for the Jubilee & not us. I guess 60 years as sovereign of a nation is slightly more important.

All the same, we thought we’d throw out some randomness from our first year that we may or may not have shared before.

-- Cheese and chocolate are way better in the UK than in the US
--  We’ve put 9,370 miles on our car since living here which includes a 900 mile road trip to the Netherlands
--  I’m on my third blow-dryer; but giving Boots credit, they keep replacing them for free
--  The girls love the colder weather – to the point that Ginger sometimes runs in the park
--  We’ve seen 3 University of Kansas basketball games and 1 Texas Rangers baseball game since we’ve lived here – but Adam does tell me the score of each game first thing every morning so we are still up to date on the standings
--  We put milk in our hot tea now
--  I didn’t realize how much I would miss family events, but I’m so thankful for digital cameras & Skype that make me feel closer
--  We had three sets of visitors now & I can almost recited the Bath city walking tour
--  Clotted cream makes the world a better place
--  Men with thinning hair are said to have a sunroof on top (guess which one of us this was told to!)
--  Our next door neighbors have never traveled further than 4 hours from Bristol; something not all that uncommon for people here
--  British television is hilarious – they have a sense of self-deprivation that leaves us in stitches most nights
--  Driving on the left isn’t as difficult as remembering to drive on the right when you go home
--  Castles are cool, we should build some in Texas
--  I miss having a cleaning service; scrubbing the shower is no fun
--  When people call you ‘love’ in a professional setting, they’re not hitting on you, they’re just being nice
--  Wales is to England as Oklahoma is to Texas, it’s there & it’s close, but we don’t have to like it
--  The letter ‘u’ is way over used, while ‘z’ gets no love, ie honour & realise
--  5 o’clock Friday’s don’t happen, but working until 6 any day of the week is considered staying late
--  Charity is a big deal; and they have large, national campaigns to raise money for causes
--  Doughnuts are for desert, not breakfast
--  I might be obsessed with teapots
--  Don’t joke about health & safety unless you want to sit through a 3 hour lecture on how important it is
--  We no longer hear a British accent, but when meeting new people they still comment that we’re not from here, so ours must still be American
--  We couldn’t have done this without amazing friends & family supporting us on both sides of the ocean. We love you all!