Damp, damp, damp!

A very wet and slippery trail near the house.

Whew! It feels like ages since I've actually sat down and written a real post in here. Life has been in that state of not really busy, but of time flying and you can't really remember what you've been doing. We're still working on getting the house unpacked and sorted. Slowly but surely, it's happening.

I'm a bit baffled by the weather around here lately. The sky is perpetually grey. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw the sun. Perhaps sometime last week? And even then it was a brief glimpse. I'm not bothered by this, though. I had 14 years of constant sun in Arizona. I like the change. But what really confuses me is the damp. It hasn't really been raining exactly, but it looks like it has. The ground is wet, the grass is covered in little beads of moisture, as are the trees, leaves, berries and twigs. The cars are wet. I don't understand! It's just so damp. You can almost see the moisture in the air, coming down, but not as rain. I'm sure this all seems really normal and unextraordinary to you, but I'm completely nonplussed!

And now it's time for a confession. Sigh.
Last night Mick and I were watching a movie and a guy picked up a girl and spun her around. My heart sank. I've always struggled with my weight, but especially since I was about 18. I'm not one of those people you see walking down the street and go "whoooa!" (no offense to anybody who is, I don't mean to sound rude there). Not by any means, but I am definitely obese, clinically speaking. Anyway, last year I lost loads of weight, mostly due to depression, but once I got happy again, boom! It all came back. I've been talking about working out and eating right again for ages, making promises to myself and to Mick. He doesn't mind that I'm this size, but he supports that I want to be slimmer and healthier. So, when I saw this guy spinning this girl in circles, I made last night the last time I would ever consume an entire pack of anything that was more than a serving (Fig Newtons, in this case). It's not even that I eat horribly, or obscene amounts. I just have this ridiculous metabolism that makes it impossible for me to not gain weight unless I work out. So, it's time I start listening to my body instead of my lazy brain and do what it takes. So today, I woke up and MEASURED MY OATMEAL. Then I went for a jog/walk.
And I have to say... I feel better today than I have for a long time. I feel good about myself because running has always been something that I wanted to do. I envy people who can just throw on a pair of sneakers and get their workout without paying a gym membership or listening to Billy Blanks shout at me on his Tae Bo DVDs to do some ridiculous mixture of steps ONE MORE TIME. Yet he tells me to do it just ONE MORE TIME like FIFTY TIMES. Even though I walked more than I ran, I plan to shift that ratio. It'll just take some practice. So, yeah, my legs felt like wobbly jelly and it felt like I had a chunk of ice in my chest (it was cold out) when I was done, but I felt good about me. I guess I just have to remind myself of that feeling every time I tell myself that I don't feel like working out. And remember to stretch! So that by this time next year, Mick can easily pick me up and spin me around.

How do you motivate yourself to be active? How do you find ways to enjoy it?

And I'm going to leave you with this quote because I've found a few grey hairs in the past year or so (I blame middle school students!). And this sort of puts it in perspective...

"Worrying about gray hair when your weight's soaring out of control is like mowing your lawn when you house is on fire."
-Edward Ugel

This weekend should be good- Mick and I are going to dinner at a friends house. And then house-sitting for his dad again. 
Hope you're all well :)

News!

Good news! My visa arrived this morning, so now I can go job hunting! Not sure what I'll find but hopefully something good will come along in this yucky economy! Cross your fingers and say some prayers that I find something quickly!
I promise to write a good lengthy post soon!
Here are a few photos from the weekend :) happy Monday!
-----
Okay, been a few hours and I've found more info out. In looking at job applications today I realised that I need a national insurance number. I think this is like a social security number? Just because I've been granted a visa doesn't mean I'm automatically given a national insurance number. Sooo I called the border agency and they told me who to get in contact with. Apparently I have to go to an interview to get this number? So I have an appointment next week to go do this. I'm hoping it's just a formality to show them my papers and Residency Permit to prove that I moved here legally. I'm not too worried, it's just another of the many steps I've had to take to live here. I just wish I had known about it earlier I guess??? Oh well, we shall see!

Still here!

It's been a very busy week! Mick and I were gone most of yesterday. We had to take the train to a little town called Romsey all the way in Hampshire so that I could get my biometrics done. Biometrics are digital photos and fingerprints for the UK Border Agency. Now my application is complete and all there is to do is wait to hear back from UKBA!
In other news, we are moving this weekend. We will still be living with my in-laws but we will be moving to another larger family house in Kent.

That's about all for now! I'll just leave you with a photo of mick in front of a tiny door of a tiny house in Romsey yesterday. It was a very cute little town and everything seemed so tiny!

Lunch

Well, now all we can do is cross our fingers and hold our breath. Today, Mick and I went into Chichester to have passport photos taken and to send off my application for the marriage visa. I'm so tired of visa stuff already. I hope they approve it without any further inquiries. It's nerve wracking to go through this stuff- though the first visa was the one I had a really hard time with. I didn't even know if I'd be getting married until they approved it. But, like I said, held breath, crossed fingers and maybe some lit candles from you guys. And now we wait.

We spent the majority of the day wandering around Chichester, just the hubbind and myself. After we left the post office we stopped and got sandwiches and drinks from a drug store and sat down on a bench to people and architecture watch. This was the view we had while eating our simple sammiches:

That's one of the things I love so much about being in England. I get sit on a bench and eat a tuna and cucumber sandwich and take in the beauty of a 900 year old cathedral*. I looked at the thousands and thousands of bricks and thought about the people who laid them, what they must have been like and what techniques they used back in the 1100s. I thought about all the weddings and funerals and prayers that must have been said in this beautiful place. After we finished up our lunch, Mick and I wandered through the cloisters and past the St. Voldemort Statue (okay, it's really a statue of St. Richard, but it totally looks like Voldemort. With a nose). We lit a candle and I said a little prayer for a happy and healthy marriage.

And then we went on our way, and as we continued through Chichester, I swear I could hear the clippity-clop of ancient horses winding their way through the cobbled city.


Where did you eat your lunch today?




*To learn more about Chichester Cathedral, visit their website.

Up, up and away!

I've been "blogging" since before "blogging" was "blogging," but at a personal location over at opendiary.com. Now, however, since my life has begun to take some form of interesting, I decided to take it public. And global, seeing as how my life is now being extended into the global scene.
Numbers and days- this is what my life is driven by. Let's look at some of these numbers and days in the past few years and how they've brought me to today. Just the highlights mind you.
Spring 2004- Mick and I began speaking in a web forum.
Summer 2006- I bought a ticket to go see him in England.
November 2006- That all fell through.
October 29, 2010- Mick sent me a letter basically bringing everything back.
June 24, 2010- I flew to England and met Mick for the first time. What was meant to be a two week trip became a one month dream.
July 25- December 19, 2010- We spent a very difficult 5 months apart.
January 5, 2011- Mick came back with me to spend 6 months in America.
April 27, 2011- Mick asked me to marry him. I said yes.
May 17, 2011- My marriage visa was issued.

And that pretty much brings you up to speed. You'll learn more about Mick in the entries to come, and how we came to be. So here we are, engaged, in love, and 28 days from moving to England to start our lives. Twenty eight days. In twenty eight days I am moving to another country across the ocean, completely removed from everything I know and the people I hold most dear. I'm elated. I'm excited. I'm terrified and I'm sad. But mostly, I'm enthralled.

So this will by my place to come and deal with anything and everything. The trials and tribulations of fitting nearly 25 years into 3 suitcases, saying goodbye to my family, my spiritual spine. It will be where I come to vent my frustrations about being a newcomer in a country and learning the ins and outs. It will be where I tell you all about the life my other half and I will build.

I hope you're ready for an adventure, because I sure am.