I've got a job!!!

After many months (roughly about 6) of long/stressful days of searching, and heartbreak of not getting a job after multiple interviews, I have finally landed a job. No, not a job but a great full-time job!


I went for an interview on Friday with Specsavers and yesterday they called me and hired me!


It's perfect. They offer full training, it's great pay, awesome hours (same as my hubby), right in the centre of town (a quick walk), great perks, the manager seems so sweet and kind. I haven't met the staff yet but they seemed helpful and nice. I am so excited!! I start Monday morning and then my training is in 2 weeks. 
Good things come to those who wait, and work hard!! I am so pleased with myself. Everything seems to be looking up and turning around, finally! I deserve to be happy (well everyone does of course). This feels like a Spring Awakening to me :-D 


In just a few months Sam and I can afford to move out on our own! Hopefully at the end of Summer, or Autumn I can go back home for a visit! Also, since we'll be moving out hopefully my parents can come visit for Christmas and stay with us. I am really looking forward to the future!

"May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks. May your heart be as light as a song. May each day bring you bright, happy hours. That stay with you all the year long."

This will probably be a short post. Which, is kind of lame on my part but there's just not much going on at the moment. Besides the fact that I am addicted/ obsessed with Pinterest. I love it and I can't get enough of it. So that is what I have been doing besides job hunting. 

Other things I have done besides wasting hours on Pinterest:
1-Gone to the cinema. Me and my hubby seen The Vow. Oh boy what a sad movie but pretty good! It is actually really based on a true story so it makes you think! 
2-My Auntie sent me tons of books last October and I never got around to reading them, until the beginning of last week or so..Some of the books include: 13 Reasons Why, The Beach House, The Letters, The Love Season, The Wildwater Walking Club, Sullivan's Island and Unravelled. 
My favorites so far are 13 Reasons Why, Unravelled, The Beach House, and The Love Season but I have one more to go. They have been good reads and great ways to pass the time. I also own a Kindle and I am thinking of buying the books that started the show Pretty Little Liars (my fave. show), once I finish these paperback novels.
3-Last Saturday night we went up town to have a few drinks with Sam's 3 friends, his sister, our other sis in law, and his Aunt and her friend. It was a great night especially since I've been sick on and off the past few months and never get out as much as I'd like to. 
4-Yesterday marked my 1 year anniversary of moving here to England!!! I can't believe it has been a year. I know people do say this all the time about everything. Yes, time does pass and it's hard to believe it does. But it has and I've been here a year wahoo! It's been a crazy year, that is for sure, but also a learning experience! I am content with my choice but I still miss my family and friends back home loads. However, (hopefully soon) we're going to book our tickets back to NJ for hopefully up to 2 weeks. It is going to be amazing and we are going to have a blast. I can't wait to see everyone. Maybe a year is a short time to some, and in a way it is, but I miss everything about NJ..''You don't know what you have until it's gone."


Have a lovely weekend and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to anyone celebrating tomorrow. The title of this post is a beautiful Irish saying/blessing whichever you'd like to call it which I found on Google. I have a bit of Irish in me due to my Grandparents on my mom's side. So hopefully tomorrow will be filled with celebration for me but I have no idea what our weekend plans are yet because Formula 1 is starting back up again for the new year and Sam is going to be glued to the TV all weekend..Meh..Oh well..And to all the Mothers in the UK for Sunday, have a nice Mother's Day! 

January & Suck-uary 2012.. Thank god that's done with!

I'm pleased with myself that I pretty much listed what's happened since I moved here, nearly a year ago. A lot has happened that sometimes I can't get my brain around it. I can't believe come the 15th of March it'll be a year. Wow!

Anyways I guess really quick I'll update what the past 2 months have been like for me...Not that many people care but my friends and family might.

January started off great and it was great. I thought, ''Wow things are looking up." Again, no job, but I started taking driving lessons so that I can take my practical road test soon. That pretty much took up my life in January and February, and now still. We're getting there. Driving around here isn't much difference from driving in America. So I am on the other side of the car, it still doesn't feel that different. So I am on the other side of the road..scary at first but I quickly got used to it and now a days I don't even have to tell remind myself to stay to the left it just comes naturally, so go me :) I hope to pass my test soon or else I will go insane. I need my driving privileges back again..I never really drove loads in America but I had my own car and I drove myself to work, to school, to places. I just had a car that I could use and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, if I pleased. Since moving here I've had to rely on Sam mainly, and sometimes other friends to take me places. And if it's one thing I hate it's relying on other people! I appreciate it, don't get me wrong but it sucks when I can drive myself but just can't at the moment. It's brought me down many days but I'm dealing with it. I'm sure I'll be out on the road in no time. I just hope things will get better because Suckuary sucked!!

I'm not even going to get into too much details of February but believe me it wasn't pleasant. I couldn't even enjoy Valentine's day because somewhere at the end of January, beginning of February I got an ear infection (which has only gone away last week or so). Valentine's day was nice to be with Sam (he didn't work), but horrible because I woke up with a stiff neck due to the infection. My neck wasn't better until days later. I felt so ill. Since I've moved here I have had so many weird illnesses..Mainly allergies playing up, and the common cold (the common cold that stays for months though mainly a horrible chesty cough). Then back in September my eye was swollen for a few days..I just feel like this rain cloud of doom has been following me since September, I really do. What person applies for up to 20 jobs and doesn't get 1? I don't know, yeah the economy sucks around here, everywhere, but I am a good worker, I just suck at interviews perhaps (but that never bothered me back home). I just miss my old job a lot sometimes but I know in my heart I wasn't going to stay there forever. Living here I want to be a teacher's assistant like I was a few years ago but over here I'm going to need to get some qualifications for it and I would start it right now but I can't even afford to until I have a job. So to anyone who is reading just have your fingers crossed for me please. I know I don't have it bad, there are millions of people out there who have it worse than me and I am so thankful for everything & everyone in my life but being unemployed sucks so much. I think the only good that's come out of it is I get to spend a lot of time with my nephews and niece, read on my Kindle, enjoy the weekend when Sam is off (which if I had a job that entitled me to work weekends I wouldn't be able to). So yeah, I guess not working has some perks but like I said, I would LOVE to work right now. I know I used to complain sometimes at my old jobs but I do like to work it's a nice accomplishment to do something and get paid for doing it. 

Lol gotta laugh at something right?

 Enjoy your weekend :-D

October-December 2011: End of 2011 Recap

Not much happened in October. Again, no luck on the job front. So I started to study for my driving theory test. I had a few cd-roms from my mother in law, and lots of practice online especially with the hazard perception test.
In October, our nephew Charlie was christened and Sam and I were asked to be Godparents! Of course we accepted, we love our little nephew and it's a great honor to have! It was just really nice of his sister to ask us.
Then weeks later it was my birthday. And must I note, that this was the first birthday I have ever spent with Sam, and my first bday as a married woman! I had a great day because Sam took off and took me shopping! He normally doesn't even like shopping but he made my birthday a special day! Then a following weekend later my friends and I went clubbing and we had a blast.

Next up it was Halloween! It was my first Halloween abroad and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I was mad because we don't have our own place so I wasn't able to decorate. And I was mad because there were only a few trick-or-treaters. Yeah, they don't really celebrate it here it's more of an American tradition, but it makes me sad to think when I have kids they'll miss out on one of my favorite holidays ever. BOO!

In November, I finally got to spend Sam's birthday with him! I made sure he had an excellent day because he made my birthday wonderful. After that it was Thanksgiving and also on that day was our niece's 1st birthday! We went around to celebrate her birthday, and I was so happy to be there because I wasn't here last year when she was born and now that I'm here it's great to watch her grow. She is my only niece so far and I love her to bits! When we got home Sam made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for the family and it was my first Thanksgiving abroad and a spectacular one indeed. I watched the parade on live streaming in the morning and best of all I got to skype with my family that night so that made my day as well!

December rolled around and it was a good month to say the least. I still was a bit upset after applying for nearly 15 jobs it seems and no luck. But how can one be upset, tis the season to be jolly after all right? Right! I took my theory test a week before Christmas and I passed! I did extremely well actually pretty much a perfect score!
My 1st Xmas in the UK was lovely. I think I was spoiled a bit too much, especially from my family back home, I greatly appreciated it all.
Christmas Eve, Sam and I made a yummy gingerbread house which was a hit, and on Christmas morning Sam made the dinner and it was a 10 out of 10!
Christmas night was just spent laughing, drinking, and enjoying everyone's company.
New Year's Eve was spent around town drinking with good friends.
New Year's Day was filled with hope that the New Year would be a good one, if not better!

Day we became Godparents!

Cat, Me, and Tasha on the night we went clubbing!

Our gingerbread house! Made by Sam, decorated by me!

Xmas Tree

New Year's Eve

Forgot to add this before, this is the Thanksgiving meal made by Sam courtesy of Gordon Ramsay.

July-September 2011: Recap of my Life!

After my wedding things got a bit boring around here. Sam went back to working all week which left me stuck in the house jobless. I didn't mind at times because I got out of the house to hangout with my sister in law and her kids which is always fun! But around June sometime I started gathering documents up for my Spousal Visa which I took in person to the public enquiry office and it got approved on July 18,2011 which just so happened to be the day my sister-in-law gave birth to a healthy gorgeous boy Charlie :) With this new visa which is good until 2013 I can work legally, then before it expires I will have to renew it and get my last visa here which is Indefinite Leave to Remain, and I can't wait to finally have that and not worry about my stay here! Once I was told I could work legally I quickly started looking for jobs after I applied for my National Insurance Number. However, to this very day I am still jobless! There is just nothing in this little old market town, NADA! I go insane some days because I have always had a job since I was in high school and to be out of work for this past year, has been really rough and tough, especially on my poor American bank account.

Speaking of bank accounts, I opened a joint account here right after I got that 2nd visa. However, that account has a balance of 0 since I have no job! And they won't let me open my own bank account until I have a job, fair enough. 

I also registered with a GP and a dentist after that visa. It's cool to compare doctors from here and America (I swear though, I've been sick here more times in the matter of a few months than I have ever been in my whole life). Things I have noticed:

• In America, I always liked my doctors. However, before I moved over my last American doctor lost my freaking blood sample and that meant no blood test results for me. That pissed me off. I thought to myself how can someone just lose my blood?
• In the UK here, I do think my doctor's office is a bit loopy here. They messed up my birth date on the system, so I brought in my birth certificate when they asked to see it again. This week when I went there to pick up a prescription they still had my birthday wrong !""$"£%$^$^^  ..Hopefully they fix it soon it's really annoying..
• I felt the wait in the waiting room here in the UK is very quick. Every time I've been to a doctor in America I've waited for up to 30 minutes or more.
• I love the NHS. I can't really say I've had any special treatments or surgery anywhere in my life .:KNOCKS ON WOOD:. so I can not compare treatments or anything but I like how cheap prescriptions are and some were free for me. Which in the US would have cost me a lot of money. 
• My dentist in America was nice and good..My dentist here is nice and good and was really pleased with how good my teeth are! Yay :D And there's an option to go to a private dentist here but you have to pay for that. I'm not sure what the difference is besides better service/treatment but my check-up went fine the other week so I'll still with my NHS dentist.. 

That's about all I have noticed so far really so quite impressed I guess and I hope my impressions stay that way forever.

I can't remember anything else I applied for and did after my visa was issued. But yeah just the basics! In September I applied for my provisional license.

Then in mid September my hubby took part along with his friend Craig, in the Great North Run up at Newcastle. I went with them, and it was my first time up North in Newcastle and I had a brilliant time! I love the city, and the people were very lively and nice. I was really glad also because one of Sam's other friend took part in the race and his sister who is a few years older than me was with him which meant I had a buddy to tag along with during the race. It was a lot of fun and it was so hot that day! I also made a cameo on the TV when we watched it back the next day it wasn't too clear but it was clear enough. Also, Sam was seen on camera towards the end of the race just after he crossed the finish line, woo hoo! Lol I can't remember what he came in but it was extremely good for his first big race.

In August we attended his mother's friend's wedding.

At the end of August at the beach with Cat and Stu, Cat and I bought kites to fly. Lol I look like a little kiddy there!

Really nice scenery in Wales on the way home from the beach.

Up in Newcastle for the Great North Run!

The hotel that we stayed at, it was on a golf course. Real pretty!

Morning of the race!

Runners getting set!

Red Arrows

There they go!

Down at the finish line. A very proud wife I was!

Tynemouth Priory and Castle which is right on a cliff on the sea. Really pretty!

A honeymoon...or something like it!

The day after our wedding was quite fun! My parents and the rest of the American bunch all stayed until Sunday. So on Saturday evening my in-laws threw a bbq here at the house. It was quite a turn out and everyone had a great time! The next day it was sad to see everyone go back home to America, but it is what it is. Time has already flown by and fingers crossed I'll have a job soon enough that way I can afford to go back home this upcoming Summer.

After the wedding due to visa restrictions and an upcoming visa renewal we opted not to have a honeymoon. We plan to go away abroad somewhere nice in the future to make up for it. However, on the Sunday after the wedding we searched for places to go for a romantic getaway for 2 days (better than nothing). We weren't looking for anything spectacular so we randomly found this B&B in Melksham, England (Whaddon Grove House) which was nice since we've never been in that area of the country before. We thought it looked great, sounded secluded (which is what we wanted), so we went ahead and booked it. We set out on Monday morning and it took a few hours to get there. When we arrived it was raining and the B&B wasn't packed with guests maybe two other couples and that was all.


I loved the room, and the owners were very friendly. After we settled in and relaxed we decided to go out for some dinner. The B&B recommended a couple of places but we had a wander around in the nearby village and ate at this pub which was really delicious. Afterwards we got some goodies, went back to our room, and pigged out for the night. We only stayed 1 night, which was fine because in the morning when we checked out we left early to do some sight-seeing before heading home. We found ourselves in Lacock, Wiltshire. Pretty much a small village but so picturesque and we went to see Lacock Abbey. I'll provide a link if anyone would like to know more about it (I did learn loads but I suck at explaining it): History of Lacock Abbey
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves that day! The Abbey was absolutely beautiful and the weather was warm. Also, for you Harry Potter fans, they filmed a couple of scenes here which I thought was interesting.

Here are some of the photos we took from our unofficial honeymoon getaway! 

The Whaddon Grove House. It has a pool at the back but we never went in because it rained.

The really nice room.

The luxury bathroom!

They also own a donkey who we got to see out of the bedroom window lol

^^Very happy newlywed!

Happily Married <3

Lacock village :)

Walking down the path to the Abbey.

Taking pictures of statues and monuments along the way.

The south side of Lacock Abbey

Famous scene from Harry Potter...

Hubby on top of a tree trunk woo Lol don't know why I took this pic..

''All My Life I Prayed For Someone Like You And I Thank God That I..That I Finally Found You!"

It's only fitting that the title of this post is lyrics to the song that was our wedding song. KC and Jojo's All My Life :-D
While Sam and I have many ''songs" we both like and think bests fits/ relates to our relationship, choosing our wedding song was quite difficult but this was always at the top because every line speaks to us and the chorus is so beautiful..


Our wedding took place in Shropshire, England on the 20th of May, 2011. It was an enchanting fairytale type of day! 

I woke up nice and early, showered, and then waited for Kim to come to do my hair, my bridesmaids, and my mom's. After she did my hair, my photographer Claire arrived and snapped some pics of us all getting ready..I then did my makeup and my bridesmaid's and then it was time to slip into my dress. 

Me getting ready for the biggest day of my life.

My gorgeous friends in their bridesmaid's dresses.

The bridesmaids helping the bride

After I was dressed I put on my jewellery and then Emma dropped off all the flowers. At this point my hungover brother was running about trying to get ready quickly which made the nerves kick in! 

The lovely flowers pictured next to my wedding shoes.

After everything was set and ready to go I took one last glimpse in the mirror before leaving to tie the knot!

I think I'm ready!!

Little did I know, over at the ceremony room our guests were all arriving and our photographer left before I did to snap some shots of the Groom waiting for me!

Sorry Sam, no turning back!!

Sam holding our wedding bands in his hand <3

The ceremony was lovely, our officiant was so funny and nice. I'll never forget when he first asked Sam to take me as his wife, Sam IMMEDIATELY said I DO! But the officiant wasn't even finished saying all that he had to say before Sam is allowed to say I DO..It made Sam blush, and our friends and family burst into laughs! (Ladies, if your man is so eager to say I DO at the altar , he's a keeper!!) Luckily for me he made that goof first because I knew to wait until he was done speaking to say my part.

I have arrived!

Dad walking me in!

 

Sam putting my ring on.

Putting Sam's ring on.

End of the vows.

You may now kiss the Bride :-*

Signing the certificate.

JUST MARRIED!

All the guys in the wedding party looking at me!

The wedding party :)

Us with our parents and siblings!

Sibling love <3

The guys carrying me but it was really awkward, I almost fell lol.

Me and my hubby

xoxo

<33333

Outside of the hotel where our reception took place.

MR & MRS.

Head table-decorated all by me!

I was pleased with how it all came out!

All the candles lit up, looked nice!

Our gift favour boxes.

Us with his nan.

Mother of the bride and meee!

Pam, Me, Steph, Mom

Bry wearing my Mother in law's hat, and carrying the bridesmaid bouquet.

Speeches; Thanking our parents and guests.

Cutting our wedding cake :)

Dancing with my dad to ''My Girl"  <3

First dance..''All My Life"  <3

The girls and I

The guys, me, and Kelly

Me and my dancing partner for the night!

My brother and our crazy friends :-P

The coolest shower with a disco, time machine! lol

The hot tub on the balcony

The newly-wed suite!!

Bride and Groom chillen in the bath/hot tub!

                           And this was our wonderful day, which we will cherish forever and forever.




Next post I will write about our romantic honeymoon getaway. We actually don't really consider it a honeymoon, but it was our first trip away together after our wedding. We can't afford a honeymoon so it was the next best thing, we do plan to go away abroad in the future and celebrate it as our honeymoon.


Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the photos I have shared!