A Sweet Picture

Last night was totally laid back but so nice. Shortly after my last post, the Husband came home from work. The roommate was on his way out of town for work for the night so it was just the two of us. I quickly whipped up some Indian food complete with butternut squash basmati rice and na'an of course! No recipe this time, since it's just chicken and veggies in a simmer sauce.

Since the sun doesn't set until 10pm or later, we have decided to take a walk after dinner. There was a park I had seen a few times by the train station so we took a stroll and walked around the Queen Elizabeth Park.

The park was not exactly as I had imagined but we went exploring anyways. It wasn't very populated but so natural.

We found a bench to sit down on and enjoy the dessert we picked up on our way to the park.

Now THAT's a sweet picture.

Nothing comes between the Husband and chocolate, not even me holding the spoon ransom.

It was a little pathetic so I gave in.

We also met some friends. The lab just ran up and gave me his stick to throw. I humored him just as much as he humored me. His friend didn't know what was going...he was just chasing the lab.

Then we came across a play ground. Check out the awesome swing!

They even had rock walls. Sadly, we couldn't even go in. Remember the signs that say "children under XX not allowed unless with adult"? This is the opposite , apparently. Check out the last line before the "DO NOT" signs: "No adults unless with children."

It started to look like it was going to rain so after almost 2 hours, we headed home. We took a detour into a residential area and met some more friends.

This maine coon reminded me of Franklin (Falafel's best friend and former roommate). The owner of the house where we met this guy also has another maine coon.

We made it home dry and called it a night. 

Breakfast


This morning, I woke up and made breakfast. On the menu was coffee, plum, and an English muffin with laughing cow cheese, Quorn back (vegetarian) and tomatoes. YUM!

I have learned that England is extremely vegetarian friendly. There's a much wider selection of faux meat products than what I'm used to and all restaurants offer a variety of vegetarian options. I am not a vegetarian but I do love veggies.

Lunch

Around 11:30 I started lunch. I got my inspiration for ratatouille over at Gina's Skinny Recipes. How good do these colors look?

Here's what I used:

1 tsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1 large leek, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 bell pepper (any color, I used orange), chopped

1 large eggplant, chopped

6 small tomatoes

1 zucchini, sliced

Fresh basil

Fresh parsley

salt and pepper

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

The recipe called for two onions. I the onions that I had were small and I had a leek that was on it's last day. Good thing you just peel back the layers to the good part!

In a bit of olive oil, I cooked the onion, leek, 4 cloves of garlic and just one bell pepper (I decided to leave the red one out because they were both good size peppers and the one looked like enough).

After about 5 minutes, I added the tomatoes and eggplant. I forgot to salt the eggplant before I added it but it came out great anyways. I also didn't peel the eggplant. I like to leave the skin on everything I can even down to kiwis. A little extra fiber never hurt anyone.

Cover it and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the zucchini and cover to simmer for another 10.

I added salt, pepper, basil and parsley and a blend of dried herbs we had on hand. The last step of the recipe calls to add breadcrumbs. The bread crumbs absorb most of the remaining liquid. I did this step but will leave it out in the future as I made some couscous to accompany the ratatouille. 

All-in-all, it was very good. It was so nice to have a fresh light meal here since everything is very heavy. If I were at home, I would have added a few more herbs like thyme and rosemary (which are called for in the original), but I'm the only one in the house that would use such ingredients and I'm only here for seven more weeks.

I had the ingredients for a summer salad which looks delish but I was quite satisfied with what I had.

I also got to Skype with my mother today (Hi, Mom). I've been in contact with her but it has been almost a week since I've heard her voice.

I suppose you've had enough of this post by now, so until next time, cheers!

Disappointed but not Discouraged

What a day so far! I've been let down about three times today but I'm not giving up. I've been here for almost three weeks (and here in Farnborough for almost two of them). So now that I've settled in, I thought I'd go out and find something to do with my days.

My search actually started last week when the Husband and I journeyed up to North Camp, a shopping area almost a mile away. We came across a shop called Fabulicious Cakes. Of course, they were closed so I went back on Thursday. The owner Helen, was thrilled I walked in because she has been looking for someone to help out on the administration front as well as assembling some cakes during the crazy days. She thought there was some legal way around me not having a work visa but sadly, it didn't work out. I will be in touch with her on Friday morning to see if I can come in several times a week and just volunteer. I never expected to work here but she was insistent on hiring me. I can tell she'd really appreciate the extra help but I don't know if she would consider me a liability just volunteering.

Today, I trekked over to the library and ran into a similar problem. She told me that they do background checks on their volunteers and as I'm not a resident, they can't do a check. Likewise, she is going to see if there is something place that she can put me.  They are running a variety of different programs during the summer and I hope something works out. She also suggested that I talk to the community center to look at more volunteer opportunities. It's the same story: no visa, no volunteering. This woman suggested I call immigration and as for approval to volunteer. Even with approval, I would not be able to work with children, adults or those who are sick/vulnerable.

At this point, I'll take anything. I just want a regular schedule where I can interact with other individuals. I considered getting a visa before I left but couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollar to volunteer. I thought SOMEONE would be willing to take advantage of free labor.

In other news, I went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner for this week. I have to go to the grocery store much more often here because I just can't carry too much back. So rather than shopping for a week, I shop for just a day or two at a time. I love spending time at the grocery store. This holds true in the States as well. I could spend hours there walking up and down the aisles looking for new products to try. But here it's different. I make a shopping list and then have trouble finding certain items, whether they are in an unfamiliar place, go by a different name or they are just no available here. I usually do a good job at improvising and looking at British recipes to begin with but it's clear that we are living in a foreign country.

I also get nervous about payment. Here, their main form of credit a chip and pin card. Looks like a credit card but instead of having a magnetic stripe that gets swiped and then signing a receipt, the machines reads a chip in the card and you confirm the transaction by entering a pin number. I have since learned that this will probably never make it to the States because it switches liability from the credit card company to the customer, as it's easier to prove fraud if there is a forged signature. The chip and pins must have been around for a while since while most machines will still have both technologies, it's a hit or miss as to whether the operator knows how to swipe the card so I have to make sure I always have extra cash.

I have two options to grocery shop. I can either go to Sainsbury or Asda. European Walmart. I have to ask before I start unloading my cart whether they can swipe the card. Usually I target the older cashiers since they generally know how to swipe. Today, I went to Sainsbury. I have been several times before and the sizes are comparable between the two. Prices aren't dramatically different (even though Asda advertises they beat prices by 10%...but not everything is cheaper). I have always been able to swipe my card Sainsbury and since I don't like to shop at Walmart at home, I will not be going back to Asda.

I usually do the self check out but ran into another issue today. I couldn't remember what a zucchini was called here! I felt a little silly asking but the guy was very helpful and when I asked what it was called, his response was "you call it a zucchini but we call it a courgette." I wonder if he thought I didn't know what it was or if I just didn't know what it was called. It's a good thing the eggplant had a label on it. Here it's called aubergine. I guess the difference in names is due to Britain's close proximity to France.

Once I (finally) got home, I wasn't hungry enough to make the ratatouille I had planned so I had a can of carrot and lentil soup and cucumber slices with houmous (yes, that's how it's spelled here). I do love the cucumbers here, although they look different, they don't really taste different but just fresher.Nothing was worth taking a picture of. If you can imagine what carrot and lentil soup might look like, you'd be right.

I'll blog about tonight's dinner and evening walk later. Until then, don't forget to vote on the Husband's new name!

Who Needs Buckingham Palace?

This evening has been rather chill. The Husband and roomie came home and I made dinner. Let me rephrase: I chopped the potatoes, seasoned them and popped them in the oven, steamed the veggies and started cooking the beef. The Husband wants his credit as he offered his help and he supervised the rest of the way:

We finished off the last of the Tawny Port we recently bought.

Now we are just hanging out, watching America's Got Talent. We are a few weeks behind since thing this just the Vegas week.

In the mean time, here's a tour of our flat:

We are still having difficulties with the orientation of the pictures. It appears to be an issue with other bloggers. I will try to be more aware of this issue and take and post only landscape pictures. In the mean time, tilt your head to the right and imagine you are coming in! This is our entrance hall with the roomie's room at the end. 

 Before you walk down the hall, if you take a left, you'll enter our room.

 This is our kitchen area. It's nice to the eye but not very user friendly. You can see my basil plant on the window sill. You can expect to see more herbs there as time goes on.

 This is the frontal view of the kitchen.

 And the living room. I think I was watching DC Cupcakes when I took the picture.

 We had the same picture of New York in the last flat. We also had a picture of Paris too but now we just have the one.

In case you were wondering where our washer/dryer was, here it is: in the kitchen. I thought this was a little bizarre but it seems to be the place to put it. I see washer/dryers in kitchens all the time here. And yes, it is both a washer AND a dryer in one machine. Sounds great right? WRONG! It takes 3 - 4.5 hours to do one tiny load, and you can't even start a wash while one is drying. 

While I'm no designer, I don't care for having everything come from one place, having it look like my room came straight out of a catalogue. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is from Ikea, even down to the glasses and silverware. Oh well, it is a nice place to stay and is is economical for the company. 

Now that you've seen the place, I'm going to kick you out. While you are just getting off work now, it's almost 11 and therefore my bed time. Good night world!

Cheers.

I survived my first heatwave

That's what they are calling it. It got all the way up to a whopping 81 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. I walked around in shorts for the first time here. It was a little uncomfortable in the flat because of course there's no A/C but the day was quite pleasant. Today however, it's back to cool and rainy.

After my shopping adventure yesterday, I came home and crashed for a bit. When the husband came home, we ate left over enchiladas and headed to the skate park just to watch people. He asked if I spend much of high school years at a skate park, but I hadn't. I've been a few times but never knew how to skateboard.

I've been having a rough time sleeping in. Not only does the sun rise sooooo early, but during the week, I wake up to lots of construction going on.

It is exacerbated by the fact that the windows are usually open to allow for ventilation and circulation (the second set of open windows is my bedroom.

I had the same Special K, Activia pouring yogurt, melon and coffee for breakfast so I'll spare the repetative picture. I met the Husband at lunch time and went to Thomson, a travel company. In just over a month, we'll be celebrating out 1st anniversary. We have always done some sort of get away since we've been dating and started thinking about what to do this year. We were hoping to do one of the following: go on a cruise or take a multiday tour of Ireland or some other planned weekend getaway package. Unfortunately, that doesn't exist here. The school holidays are different here than in the states and the beginning of August is peak season for travel which means all of the cruises are 7-18 days (time which we just don't have) and "prepackaged" holidays (that's what they call vacations here) have been booked for months.

It's easy to get to Paris from here by train but it's not high on the Husband's list and I've been there twice. In fact, it, along with Ireland, are the only places in Europe I've been and we really want to experience somewhere new. We also want to keep it on budget so we can have other getaways here in the UK so Venice and most of the rest of Italy are out. Amsterdam wasn't too appealing and while it's cheap to stay in Prague, it's expensive to get there. We decided on somewhere that we can take the Euro Star to and that was well under budget (by like half of what we wanted to spend): Brussels! And do you know what Belgium is famous for? WAFFLES AND CHOCOLATE! We are hopefully going to head over there on the 5th of August and will report back after.

Speaking of bad food, that's what I've been eating since I've arrived. Remember when I said this blog was going to be about food and exercise? Well there's been plenty of food but the exercise has been lacking. I do love working out but have just not had much motivation in months. I looked into joining the gym here but it's a little unreasonable given the duration of my stay. I am staying a little active by walking, as we don't have a car. I probably walk between a mile or two a day, carry groceries home and take the 3 flights of stairs up to our flat, but that's it as far as activity goes. The truth is, I just need to throw on the tennis shoes and go for short 30-45 minute jog each day. It shouldn't be hard since there are such nice places to explore and plenty of parks around; I just need to do it.

I try not to dwell on past bad decisions but bad food choices to lead to inactivity. So, to be proactive for the week, I was craving some major vegetables (something I have been deficient in eating for the last several weeks). I went shopping for food for dinner (either tonight or tomorrow) so I wouldn't be tempted to eat out AGAIN. I had hoped to get to the market but it was raining so I'll head back to the grocery store tomorrow. In the mean time, I had some quick, easy veggie stir fry with rice noodles.

I have found that it is very easy to find good, healthy quick options in the grocery store. You can find more prepackaged or ready to cook food but you can tell, everything is much fresher than what you usually find in Texas.

On the menu for tonight is more stir fry but with meat, veggies the boys like and egg noodles. The same, but different!

The cleaning people just left so I'll snap some pictures of our flat for another post later tonight (hopefully)!

Cheers!

Fascinators are Fascinating

I was surprised at how much talk my post on fascinators in the post Where in the World generated. So much so, that when I went back to Jill's stand, instead of buying just one more for me, I picked up three extras. I can't believe I've spent over $150 on HATS.

Jill, the owner, and I had a chat about fascinators in general. Now that I am learned in the area, I thought I would share a thing or two. According to Jill, it is customary to wear a hat to weddings, churches and royal events. In fact, it is considered rude to not have one in the presence of the Queen. The Prime Minister's wife did not wear one to Wills and Kate's wedding and has caused quite the stir in the area. Wedding used to be held in a churches with a light reception to follow. Now, weddings are often held in hotels followed by a sit down dinner. During a formal dinner, it is considered rude to wear a hat. As the times changed, it became an issue of when to wear a hat. Do you wear it to the wedding and take it off for the reception where you may risk misplacing or just pass on one all together..and thus the fascinator came about. It's not a hat and is very versatile for the different events and doesn't have to be removed during a meal. TADA!

Last week, we went to Reading to check out the closest synagogue to us (still a 30-45 minute train ride). We had to switch trains in Ascot which was quite a treat. You see, every year, the Royal Ascot Races take place there. As the name indicates, it is in fact a royal event and depending on the type of tickets you purchase, a top hat and tails may be required. The races had just finished and the train station was packed. Despite the rainy weather, there they were, tuxes, vests, formal gowns and an array of fascinators. These were taken with a phone so I apologize for the quality.

I love discovering new things here and I am learning so much just by taking to people. I have never lived in a foreign country (no, Mississippi doesn't count) and am having a blast!

Cheers!

Lazy Sunday

Today was great. I got to sleep in until WAY after the sun came up, which isn't saying much as the sun rises before 5am. I made some breakfast and coffee. First of all, I have ordered coffee at two coffee shops since I've been here and hated it. I am a coffee wuss. I like cream and sugar. The less it tastes like coffee the better. But even the "Americano" coffee here is super strong that even cream and sugar won't help me. The lattes here taste more like regular coffee than lattes anyways. Our apartment comes with instant coffee which surprisingly isn't bad at all. Plus, I bought some Splenda and we have milk in the house so I'm good to go in the morning. 

While it's hard to find some things I'm used to, I love getting to try new things (those that are more familiar as well as those that aren't). One thing that is new is Activia Pouring Yogurt. I need to sign a petition to get this to the States. It is so good. The consistency is thicker than milk but thinner than regular yogurt and is designed to coat cereal, which is does very well. I also has a quarter of a honeydew, which is called something different here (but of course I can't remember and have thrown away the sticker on it).

After breakfast, I was on my way to the weekly Car Boot Sale. It was 30 pence to get it and well worth it. It is essentially a community garage sale. I did end up spending another 50 pence for a shower caddy, which was needed. It was a steal to spend 80 pence total for it when I was originally looking at one for about 12 pounds.

People were selling all sorts of things. The items that dominated were clothes and baby items but I saw some others. Someone was selling a Gameboy. I almost wanted to buy it, just for the fun of it. I actually wanted to buy several items but I have problems thinking about how to get certain things back due to packing constraints (ie Delta is not getting another $75 for me to check another bag).

In case you were wondering, a Pound is roughly $1.60 and a pence is 1/100th of that. If you're still confused, it's the equivalent of a dollar and a penny. The British rely on coins a lot more though as they have 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence coins as well as 1 and 2 pound coins. The paper bills start at 5 pounds and go upward from there. You can tell I'm living in a monarchy since the Queen's face is on all coins and paper money.

When I got home, I had some lunch. I had some left over bean and cheese burrito that I made the other day. and some Weight Watchers biscuits (crackers). I actually got the biscuits at Pound Land which is funny because who gets Weight Watchers food at POUND Land? It's also funny because the Weight Watchers food in the States is $5 and up. See, things aren't always more expensive here!

Another example of what you can't get back in the US. Dark Chocolate Kit Kats. Think that sounds good? They also have Mint Kit Kats. They come in orange also but we haven't tried them. We are currently well stocked with both the mint and dark flavors and you can bet the Husband will probably try to fill a whole suitcase to bring back home.

Tomorrow brings another day. The sun is setting and I'm going to get ready for the Husband to come from a long dayoff shore.

Cheerio!

What the Queen Says, Goes

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because by the time I got home I was POOPED! But, it will be worth the wait for you as we took a lot of pictures.

Our day started bright and early. The husband and I and our roommate (a coworker of the husband's from Houston) went to the train station and were on the 9am train to London.

The conversation on the train was amusing to say the least. The husband has spent some serious brain power contemplating what his alias will be for this blog. He has decided it must be witty and descriptive. He's a huge James Bond fan so the names started there. Some were silly and some were...well they were all silly. So we decided to take it to the readers to vote on his name. Here are the top choices:

• The Nose (please don't pick this one...no pun intended)
• Dr. Know (from James Bond)
• Dr. Nose (a combination of the two above)
• White and Nerdy (duh)
• The Candy Man (also, duh)

So cast your votes please, I'll tally them up and reveal his new alias.

We arrived safely in London and I thought this stand at the train station was rather amusing, but I still don't know what they sell:

On our way to Trafalgar Square we came across this lovely gourmet market (which we came back for lunch later in the day). I saw these French Macaroons which Janine  forced me to eat a few weeks ago in New Orleans. I nearly died it was so good, and these did not disappoint. They aren't cookies but meringue "cookies" (for lack of a better word) filled with a variety of fillings. I started with the pistachio one filled with chocolate gnache. On the way home, we stopped by again and I picked up the commemorative wedding macaroon which was a green apple meringue filled with a cinnamon butter cream (it's the green one with the British flag). I have since looked up how to make them (Martha Stewart is my hero) as they are more than $2 a piece, but well worth the price. 

We made it to Trafalgar Square, got aboard the Original Tour bus, and took a 2 hour tour of the city. 

It was a bit hard to take good pictures from the moving bus, but take a look at some of the highlights of the trip:

Buckingham Gate, as the sign indicates

The funny thing is, the Queen has decided she doesn't want commercial vehicles  driving in front of her house and whatever the Queen says, goes. So in the distance, you can see the changing of the guards (something I hope to go back to before I leave).

We did not go see Legally Blonde but we could if we wanted!

It's not falling down but is absolutely beautiful! This picture doesn't do London Bridge justice.

This is the shot of us going over London Bridge.

I thought this was rather neat. In front of the National Gallery, is a living recreation of the original Van Gogh painting.

Silly tourists. Oh Wait...

I don't know why the orientation is off  but I can't not post a picture of Big Ben. As you can see, we were there right when it went off at noon. 

On the other side of this fence is Buckingham Palace. The Queen doesn't want anyone coming in and what the Queen says, goes.  

So we got off the bus and went to lunch. The guys each got burgers and brownies and I got some Moroccan falafel (don't tell him). Instead of getting on another tour bus, boat or walk, we decided to just go where our own feet took us. First we hit the Texas Embassy. Yes, that's right, Texas was in fact it's own country once and had an Embassy in London. There is also a restaurant call the Texas Embassy at which we had a 5:30 dinner reservation (more on that to come). Unfortunately, the original Texas Embassy is no longer as it is now a wine store but there was a nice plaque:

We walked around for a few more hours. We hoped to go to the Portobello Market but the Underground was down and then it just got complicated. That's still on my top list for when I go back but until then, please enjoy the rest of our day:

Just in case you were wondering, there are 431 days, 5 hours 34 minuted and 19 seconds until the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.

The husband riding a lion in Trafalgar Square. 

See, the Brits do have a sense of humor.

Ah, the Ford Mustang. Complete with the driver on the left. Somethings never change.

Of course we had to walk into the (expensive) hat store down Oxford Street.

Did you think we would NOT take this picture? Oh silly Americans.

After our great adventure of almost getting lost and watching street performers, we were HUNGRY. Now, before I get into it, there's something you should understand. British food is bland. Everyone says it because it's true. Some say it's gotten better which makes me worried for those who have traveled there in the past. This baffles me. After all, the British have conquered the world and the world has so much good food and flavors to offer so why has nothing picked up? There are COUNTLESS Indian food places everywhere in England (by far more than Starbucks in the States) and often times they are right next to each other. If you make it to a good one, and order it spicy, you might be lucky to be served something as hot as what is considered medium in America. I also made enchiladas the other day with store bought ingredients. All I had to choose from was the Old El Paso. It still tasted "off."

Howdy!

Texas Aggies at the Texas Embassy. Gig Em!

London and Texas converge.

Now THAT'S what I'm taking about!

Looks like fajitas. Smells like fajitas. Was the closest thing to fajitas I've have in a while.

The Husband ordered southern fried chicken before and got chicken strips. This was also a much closer attempt.

Then we played pool, sort of. Notice the size of the table and color of the balls. Not to mention, it was also lopsided.

There was plenty of Aggie paraphernalia, but this is the best. WHOOP!

So the Queen went to Texas once....

...and said "Lesser mortals are pitted for their misfortune in not being born Texans"

And what the Queen says, goes.