Shopping Success - almost!

We had a great day of shopping and my mum got everything on her list and then some. Her favourite store now is definitely Dillards, where she always seems to have great success with clothes shopping.

I persuaded her into a much more up to date pair of jeans, slightly bootcut, rather than her preferred straight-leg style. I told her they slimmed her legs, hips and butt and she did buy them, but I don't think she was 100% convinced until she put them on again back home.

I bought two reduced t-shirt dresses in the nightwear department that had 'patio' on them, but I thought nightwear seeing as that's what the sign said. Well when I got home and put them on I thought 'wow they are really very nice for nightwear'!? When I came into the lounge wearing them both the Hubster and mum thought they were dresses and lovely. So I guess I unexpectedly actually bought two dresses I will wear for work and out!

My mum bought me my Christmas present, a lovely Dooney & Burke handbag, like I need another! But it's being wrapped up until Christmas, so you'll have to be patient to see it ;-)

Then we went to Old Navy and I got clothes for my god-daughters as birthday gifts, as my mum can deliver them for me. However I had what can only be described as a 'brain fart' on sizing! After calling my bestfriend back in the UK for the eldest's size, I changed everything from S to XS and off we happily went on our way. We stopped and ate a delicious meal at Applebee's and then headed home.

Ten minutes down the road I suddenly realised I had converted wrong and so we turned around and drove back. I got into Old Navy changed everything back to a size S again, got to the checkout and thought, hang on that's wrong still. So I went back to the US size chart and my very weary brain somehow decided I actually needed size M. So I changed them yet again and off we went home.

60 miles down the road I suddenly started laughing slightly hysterically and said to my mum "They're still the wrong size, I converted up instead of down!" We then discussed it for 5 minutes before we both realised I had converted the wrong way, they were all too big and the correct size was indeed S all the time!!!!!! So we will be making a trip into Old Navy in OKC before she flies next Saturday to change them for the correct size :-) Mum was extremely delighted that she wasn't the one who made the mistake that required us to turn around!

Apart from this though, which I can only put down to tiredness, we had a great day and found some real bargains.

We're off to shop!

Well today we are off to the nearest shopping metropolis of any note, 100 miles away! Yep I'm really that far away from 'mall civilisation'.

My mum wants to get a few things here that she finds better quality and value than at home, like jeans and bedding. So we will hit a few of the big department stores and then Wal-Mart, Lowes and save Hobby Lobby for last.

It's going to be a hot day here, so we will get an early start and hope the 'good shopping fairy' is along for the ride ;-)

Brit' Word of the Day....

Today's BWOTD is one that drives the average Brit' nuts in the summer!

"Oh wonderful (dripping sarcasm), another bloody caravan ahead!"

'Caravan' = trailer home/5th wheel kind of thing!

The main difference being it is smaller and light enough to be pulled behind the average family car. But in no way is it even slightly comparible to your versions and it is most definitely NOT an RV! Due to it's lightness of weight, they also have a much slower speed limit imposed upon them, as they are positively dangerous on windy days.

If you don't own one, then it's highly likely you dislike or despise them. Because on our winding, narrow Brit' roads, they can and do cause long delays behind them and are nigh on impossible to pass.

Whilst we're on this subject, we saw a new huge RV, towing an equally huge Hummer on Saturday. There we were craning our necks to see what kind of super human could afford that kind of gas/petrol bill combo'!?

Mum got here safely

Excuse the quick post but it's 12:30am here and I am knackered as we Brit's like to say! All of mum's (Diana) flights were early and she got into OKC at 8:00pm safely and initially wide awake.

That didn't last long though; after a restorative hot chocolate and McDonalds fries, she slept most of the almost 3 hour drive home. She is now tucked up safely in bed and I'm certain will sleep soundly, it's great to have here here :-)

We also had a long day as we were up by 7am and got back just before midnight. Never made it to the museum, as we ended up just getting all the shopping done that we needed. I will give a more full report tomorrow and thanks for all your messages today.

Oh and thank you Daryl for another blog award that was entirely unexpected, but a lovely surprise when I made it home! I will give it some thought and pass it on next week sometime when things have settled down a little here.

Night all, I am having a lie-in tomorrow, so will post later on :-)

It's off to the city we go...

Well we are off to OKC today, planning on getting there around noon as we have a few places we need to go. Lowes for a few light fittings, the Health Food Centre to stock up, Canterbury's a British food store for my PG Tips tea, Garden Ridge for a picture for the bathroom and fun, Cracker Barrel to eat and they usually have adorable t-shirts and anywhere else that takes our fancy.

We are also going to head downtown to the OKC Art Museum to see the exhibition 'Roman Art from the Louvre', which is on it's third and final stop in the USA. As you know I love all things Italian and I love art, so I am really looking forward to this.

My mum's plane doesn't land until just after 8:05pm and that assumes no delay which is a rare thing these days. So we won't get home probably until close to midnight, it's always a long day.

I will have my laptop with me though and will try to blog later on how the day is going, if nothing else there is wireless at the airport if she is delayed! Later :-)

This may be it for today folks!

I had a busy day ahead anyway and it started early with some things to be done in the next town. Then I had my hair appointment at 10:30am to get my colour touched up and a cut.

But the hair gods were not smiling on me or my poor hairdresser today! We decided to add a slightly darker colour to break up the blonde a bit. Well to cut a long story short (as I don't have time now) the red in it grabbed and I ended up with blonde and a very subtle but noticeable red/PINK tinge - not so bad if you're 22 and not 42! So she started again combing bleach onto the pink bits to get it out, well I ended up bright solid coppery blonde with no roots at all showing, ten times worse!

By this time my poor longterm hairdresser & I are both getting a little concerned. So she tests another colour with no visible red that's darker and then pulls it through the cap to fix the problem. Well it worked 90%, except I am now darker than I wanted to be and it's blonder in area's but it's at least ok to be seen out in public. We made another appointment Thursday to get it properly sorted out....but oh boy did I ever not need this today of all days - I was in there 5 hours!

Just spoke to my mum who is now packing at 10:45pm the night before her flight at noon tomorrow, because she decided to garden earlier, oh and watch the tennis!! Don't even get me started on that one and why she is therefore always so wiped out when she arrives, but still blames the journey?!?! [takes deep breath!]

So excuse me folks if I don't get the video or any other piccies up today, I will after she's here.

IN THE MEANTIME....I made myself look like a right 'numpty' today out of sheer determination to track down this gorgeous little shrub. You see it's planted right along the McDonalds drive-through line and so I had to walk past all the cars to take this picture! No doubt I got some very odd looks - so please somebody identify this shrub??


OK - off to finish tidying the house up as we leave early tomorrow!

Today's the day....

We're off to Dodge City today to pick up a spare key for the new car and it just so happens that there is a matinee of Sex and the City at 1pm :-)

It's not on around here yet so lucky for the Hubster we were going there anyway today! After the movie we'll also have a little tour around the infamous Dodge City, although we have Brit's visiting later who want to the tourist stuff.

Have a good Saturday y'all ;-)

My Mum is coming to stay....

I got a call yesterday from my mum in England to say she had decided to come for a visit in July :-)

The last time we saw each other was April '07 when she was visiting, but it was just after I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and so she spent most of her visit looking after me as I was pretty sick. She is flying in for just over 3 weeks from July 1st-26th and will experience her first Independence Day in the USA, amongst other things.

I am very excited, lots of things have changed around here since her last visit - the yard, my car and the size of my butt! Now I need to start thinking about what I need her to bring for me that's not illegal - like British Sausages! ;-)

Above is a piccie of us taken about 2 years ago at Will Rogers Airport in OKC, as she was heading home. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Back to subbing

Well I am home and now back at school subbing 4th grade for the next 2 days.

We had alot of fun in the city and got just about everything we needed whilst we were there. I doubt we could have brought home anymore anyway, not only was the bed of the Pickup full with a new fountain and a safe, but the backseat was full to the roof too!

So I am all shopped out for awhile, back to blog more later :-)

Brit' Gal in OKC

Well we have had an excellent day in OKC, we got plenty of retail therapy in and also had a great time meeting some of my blogging buddies. And so far we are on schedule with the shopping and the diet hasn't been blown out of the water. I was especially happy to get to a British store to stock up and get hold of a tag plate with the British flag on it, now the locals will see me coming!


At noon we met BRAD and KARLA with their lovely girls Sarah and Ashley for lunch at a Mexican Restaurant in Penn Square Mall. It was great to actually sit down and visit with some of my favourite blog writers and chat instead. We covered topics ranging from driving in the USA and the UK, road-rage, bugs, snakes, photography and finally much discussion of the weather. It turns out I share my jumpiness over tornado's with Ashley and it was also interesting hearing about their experience during the May 3rd 1999 OKC day of tornadoes. Ashley advised me I will only know I am truly an Okie when I start saying "Y'all". Us girls then dragged the men along to Sephora and they stoically waited whilst we all tried, tested or shopped in the ultimate girls store :-)

Brad and Karla are planning on bringing the girls to see the sights out our way later in the year and we hope to get together again with them then and have them visit with us.


This evening we met up with PAM and her British husband John, who grew up and lived in the very same area I did in the UK. As they say, sometimes it is a very small world indeed and certainly this turned out to be the case with us. We know many of the same local haunts and even though our families have moved over the years, they are still in similar area's!

We met at Charlestons for a delicious dinner and then pretty much talked non-stop for over 3 hours. We share alot of common interests and experiences, the most obvious one being our international marriages, but also a love of many things including Formula One. It turned out Pam and I also have Hubsters with pretty much the same sense of humour and an immense gratitude for how lucky they are having us as their better halves (tongue firmly in cheek here)!

We hope Pam & John will also make it out to visit us at some point and maybe we can all watch a Formula One race together, that is if we can hear it at all above all out constant talking and comparing notes....LOL!

So we had a great day and meeting these new friends was definitely the highlight for us. We have some more retail therapy to finish off tomorrow and then head back home later.

Countdown over...

We are off to OKC in the morning, we have a 2-page hit list of stores and shopping, so we don't forget anything and some kind of a plan! As long as the Hubster can keep me moving along in Garden Ridge, Victoria's Secret, Macy's and Sephora, we should make it all :-)

The highlight of the weekend though is getting to meet 3 of the friends I have made through this blog. We are meeting up with BRAD and KARLA (married to each other) and their girls for lunch tomorrow, and then PAM and her British husband John in the evening for dinner. I am very excited to meet them all and will take some pictures of our 'cultural exchanges' as Brad calls them!

I was really worried about sticking to my diet, but have just researched the healthiest options for the restaurants and am now relaxed about it. Plus Cracker Barrel (breakfast on Sunday) has a whole healthy menu I wasn't even aware you could get, because usually I would have been too busy shoveling down pancakes and syrup! Not this time :-)

So my next post late tomorrow afternoon will be from OKC and will probably include piccies from the 'Okie bloggers' lunch meetup.

Ok....off to iron, tidy around and pack a few things :-)

Good to know....

A research paper published in England today, has put the county of Buckinghamshire at the top of a list of the best places to live!

The 500,000 residents of Bucks have the highest quality of life, a longer than average life expectancy, bigger homes, higher wages, great education, better health and even get more sunshine.

I found this news especially pleasing seeing as most of my immediate family and many of my friends live in this beautiful county. In fact the towns my Aunt, Mum and Grandmother live in, all got a particular mention. My brother is also doing well as he lives most of the time in Bucks and has his business in the 2nd top county of Surrey, he may now want to reconsider relocating to Somerset this year...LOL

I lived in the fifth top county of Hertfordshire pretty much all my life, but spent my last 6 weeks in the UK at my Mum's in Bucks. I always knew I had good taste ;-)

So for those of you over here who have now developed great friendships with my Mum on her visits here, if I was you I'd be taking her up on that offer to visit soon!

Whoops a daisy - I am in the wrong place!

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

"Not with their loo's I don't!"

Thanks to http://almostamerican.blogspot.com for this fun link

To Pee or not to Pee!!

Public Toilets (aka - loo/restrooms), now here’s an issue that deserves a UK vs US comparison!

First let me say upfront that my whole life I have always drunk way more water in the day than your average person. The result of this being ‘I need’ to know where the next clean public convenience is going to be or I am going to fret!

In the UK this is more of a problem than you may imagine. You see business owners back home are not as obliging with lending out their ‘facilities’ as they are here. Smaller garages (Quick Stops to you) often do not have a public toilet, the bigger ones do and but only the really big stores tend to have them. So if you are shopping in a Mall or Strip Mall you’re likely to find one, but if you are just out on a Main St, the shops won’t usually allow you to use their toilet. You can bet on a fast food shop like KFC, McDonalds etc….but a small café or restaurant won’t let you use it unless you are a customer!

We do have either old style city council toilets, which trust me are not the most inviting or clean places! Or even worse we have highly visible individual modern toilets, that automatically clean themselves after each customer. But they’re so darned conspicuous most people are wary of entering one, because everyone nearby knows what you’re up to…LOL! One of their most disconcerting features is an automatic door system, I have always been a too nervous to use one, as it might open early and expose me to the world!!

But more than anything I am ashamed to say that by comparison to the USA, our toilets are dirty, there’s just no denying it! One of my most embarrassing moments was getting off a flight from Chicago at London Heathrow and rushing with many American ladies to the nearest off plane toilet. It was filthy, one toilet was flooding and there was no toilet paper, I just stayed quiet so nobody knew I was British! The Hubster has asked me to report that the men’s restroom at Heathrow Airport hardly has room for a real man to get his tally whacker out it’s so cramped!!

Now compare this to what meets Brit’s at US airports on arrival. After using the ones at O’Hare I had to call my Mum just to tell her about the toilets! First of all I couldn’t even put my contact lenses back in (sitting on the loo is a great place to do this), without it flushing every few seconds…LOL. But even more amazing when I first went in, there was a paper cover on the seat that did a complete revolution when it sensed my movement, so I had clean paper to sit on – WOW! Then the water at the sink came on automatically, the soap dispensed automatically and the paper towels did too when I waved my hand around!!

‘USA = LOO HEAVEN’

Your toilets are nearly always clean! I mean there’s always the odd occasion when they are not, but trust me you are light years ahead of the UK on cleanliness in restrooms. I have also learned to relax about where the next one is going to be.

Just about every store, café, business or garage you go in, no matter their size, has a public restroom you can use and it’s usually stocked and clean. Only once since I arrived here have I been caught short and had to use a dirt road behind the Pickup (I was too nervous of snakes to venture across the bar ditch) out in the canyons.

So I can say hand on heart I would choose the US highly commendable restroom situation over the UK anytime. Having said that we are light years ahead of the French who have the filthiest public toilets and they always smell!

Then we have the Turkish public toilets that are often a hole in the ground, not literally, they are tiled and porcelain and the Turks value cleanliness highly. But when you're not used to it, trust me, having to squat will often cause instant constipation - been there done that!

So if you ever venture to the UK you have been warned, always carry tissues and do not get caught short. If you are a Brit’ heading over here, enjoy and be prepared for some eye opening restrooms!

Belated Honeymoon to Colorado Springs!

We have booked a belated 'honeymoon' vacation to Colorado Springs in June!

We may have got married in Dec' 05, but at the time we had family here and had just bought and moved into our new home. Since then what with renovations, UK guests, both being self-employed, my health being dodgy for the past year etc......well we never got around to a honeymoon - until now :-)


We will head to Colorado the day before my birthday and spend a week there; it will be about a 7 hour drive out through the OK Panhandle, New Mexico and into Colorado. We are staying just outside the city in a modern hotel with an outdoor pool,a view of Pikes Peak and a Sushi bar nearby!



For the Brit's that don't know the area, it's a very popular vacation spot here and has some wonderful places to visit including Pikes Peak (the edge of the Rockies), The Garden of the Gods, The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, Seven Falls, Boulder closeby and Colorado Springs itself for 'SHOPPING', eating and entertainment.

This is the kind of vacation spot that we both love. Lots of amazingly stunning natural scenery and outdoors things to do, combined with a big city for entertainment and retail therapy! We are both really looking forward to it and the Hubster has gone to bed with the parting shot of "I'll leave you to drool over it all" !

So if you have been there, have tips on where to eat, essential things to do/see, or you just want to tell me how wonderful it is there - then please comment for me.

Where would YOU send me in the USA?

I am going to turn the tables for a change and ask my American readers for the #1 place they would send me to visit in the States.....and why?

So come on give me your best ideas please :-)

Where would I send you to in England...#2

One of the most beautiful areas in England is the farthest south-westerly county of Cornwall. This county forms the toe of the country, is bordered on 3 sides by the sea and is a very popular holiday destination for many Brit’s. Personally I prefer the southern coast of Cornwall to the northern coast, which tends to be more popular with the surfing crowd, but both are equally as beautiful.

My favourite place to stay in Cornwall is a tiny ancient fishing village called Polruan, situated at the mouth of the Fowey River estuary. Polruan is bounded by water on three sides - Penpoll Creek to the north, the Fowey River to the west and the sea to the south. The village can only be reached by one road in about 40 minutes and is far enough off the beaten track that many tourists miss it. This remoteness gives Polruan its untouched charm with its narrow streets and even narrower alleyways. The ferry running every 15 minutes to and from Fowey is still the best way to get to the village.

Historically Polruan was known for its fishing boat building industry and it still goes on to this day, in addition to general boat repairs. During the 1400’s the Blockhouse (above) situated at the opening of the harbour was used as a defense against the French and Pirates. An identical Blockhouse sits on the estuary on the Fowey side and a heavy metal chain ran between the two on the bed of the estuary. When the harbour was under attack they would raise this chain to either keep the enemy marauders in or out!

Visiting Polruan is like stepping back in time. This quaint old village clings to the side of a steep hill with the one road in leading down to the quay. Visitors are not allowed to take cars into the village but use the car park above and walk down via the flights of old slate steps twisting between the houses. They will however allow you to drive your car down to unload your suitcases into your holiday home! Even the locals don’t have much parking available, so the lack of any traffic just adds to it’s appeal. The village centre is at the foot of the hill and faces across the estuary, to the very popular and chic larger town of Fowey.

Polruan has two Pubs, The Lugger Inn on the quay and the Russell Inn a few steps away on Fore Street. Most of the village life centres on these two Pubs, both of which also offer excellent lunch & dinner menus, entertainment and friendly locals. There are two General Stores (one which includes a Post Office) and the Harbour Café.

Fowey offers a much larger range of shops and restaurants, including a shop specialising in Cornish Pasties and is just a 10 minute ferry ride across the estuary. Having to take a ferry to the shops or for an evening out, also adds to an already quaint holiday experience. The ferry brings tourists across to Polruan, but as its final run is around 10pm, their stay is limited and the village streets are deserted and silent by the time you walk home to bed.

The village has a good number of holiday cottages available to hire and nearly all these offer wonderful sea views. They range in size from studio apartments to homes that will sleep up to 10 guests. Many of them are situated just feet above the water and you can pass many hours just gazing out at the relaxing scene of boats criss-crossing the estuary.

Polruan is not in itself a beach resort; the village beach is more for commercial use with boat builders fronting onto it. But there are many lovely coastal paths surrounding the village, offering the walker some spectacular views out to sea and some remote coves, including the stunning Lantic Bay (below), to enjoy. But these are not easily reached by the faint-hearted or unfit, as they usually involve some vertiginous footpaths and steep climbs down to the beaches.

Within driving distance there are many places to visit including St Austell and Land’s End, as well as a good selection of National Trust historic properties. Cornwall tends to attract many artists to live so there are always exhibits to see locally, or beautiful beaches to enjoy for a day. The food offered in Cornwall is also excellent, with not only their local specialities such as Pasties, but many wonderful seafood restaurants and shops.

A holiday in Polruan is all about peace, quiet and living the life of a local for a brief time. It’s a great place to go to re-charge your batteries and just watch life float by as you read a good book and listen to the seagulls, enjoy an energizing cliff top walk or just chat to a local over a drink in the pub.

http://www.polruancottages.co.uk/

Into the Wild West...to meet an Essex girl!

Yesterday we took a trip to Elk City which is on Route 66 and about 2 hours south of us. On the way there really isn't much apart from open country, but much of it is historic to the Wild West.

The area we live in was once the stomping ground of Lt. Col. George Custer and the 7th US Cavalry, and evidence of his campaigns can be found widely across the area. Yesterday we went through Cheyenne, a town with a long Indian history and the site of the famous Battle of the Washita. We visited the brand new museum on a ridge above the battlesite and toured the exhibits. It was not hard to visualise one of the darkest days in American history looking out across the Plain. Many women, children and Indian ponies were slaughtered in the battle, after a surprise attack was launched by Custer on Black Kettle's innocent and unsuspecting camp.


This is stuff European's have only seen depicted in the many Western movies and to actually stand where a famous battle happened is strange, as I only have the Hollywood version as reference.

After visiting Elk City, we headed home via the Flying W Ranch for dinner, a favourite stopover and the setting for a recent 'Cowboy U' series. Being a few minutes early, we wandered around this reconstructed old style town and stopped to watch a man trying to ride the mechanical Bull. We had seen the couple returning from a trail ride, something else offered by the Ranch. It was hubby who noticed their accents, I guess it was the last thing I expected to hear out in the middle of the Plains! They were a young couple from Essex...as soon as we got chatting I recognised the strong Essex accents. They had hired an RV, were taking 6 months to drive from Florida to California and had stopped off in the Wild West!

It can be a very small world sometimes....

Where would I send you to in England?

These are the places that for me epitomise the essence of England, they are not all on the tour guide routes, some are off the beaten track whilst others are very much on them. I will introduce them individually and give you an idea of what you can expect.

I will always endeavour to return to these places whenever I go home, because they reconnect me with my British roots and I greatly miss not being able to just drive to them and catch my breath at their beauty, history or vibrance.


My top choice is the Georgian city of Bath, in the picturesque county of Somerset, somewhere I have always taken all foreign visitors.

It's hard to do Bath justice in words, you just have to behold it's great beauty, the warm glow off it's buildings and the extraordinary sense of history it exudes. The centre of Bath is entirely constructed in golden glowing Bath stone, in the Georgian architectural style. The buildings have great symmetry, extraordinary details and are beautifully preserved, to me they represent everything great architecture should be. The city became a World Heritage site in 1987, in order to safeguard it's preservation and recognise it's status.

Walking around Bath it is just a small leap of the imagination to see it 200 years ago, or even as far back as Roman times. But equally the city is a thriving modern centre, with wonderful shops, restaurants and museums to explore and enjoy. It truly blends together the best of the old and the new in a travel destination.


At its centre are the Roman Baths, with the naturally occurring hot springs, which are still under constant excavation revealing new treasures every year and more secrets of the Romans. It's at times hard to comprehend how old some of the pieces on display are, but the excellent audio guide and many reconstructions in the museum, help you to visualise the daily life of a Roman in Bath.

Next door is Bath Abbey, completed in 1611 and has been the site of an abbey or cathedral since 757. The interior contains fine examples of fan vaulting and 52 windows of stained glass, covering 80% of the wall space. The Abbey is visible from any higher vantage point around the city and takes on a whole new beauty when lit at night.

Bath became the leading centre of fashionable life during the Regency period (1800) of English history and this is very evident in the many other museums. You can visit the Assembly Rooms where the Balls made famous in Jane Austen novels were held, go inside a restored wealthy Georgian home at No.1 Royal Crescent and see the fashions throughout British history in the Costume Museum.

You must take one of the open top tour buses and see the historical sites brought to life with a local guide. This way you will learn about why the sidewalks are raised so high, why many buildings have painted on windows, see the home of Jane Austen and hear the history of the city.

The jewel in the crown of Bath is The Royal Cresent, a residential road of houses built in the form of a crescent between 1767-1774. It and the neighbouring Circus, were designed by John Wood and from the air the pair represent the sun and moon. The most famous and exclusive hotel in Bath is housed at No's 15 & 16 Royal Crescent, the centre of the crescent and enjoying splendid views across the city.

Just walking about Bath is a pleasure, with it's many small pedestrian lanes, antique and one-off shops. There's also a vast array of old pubs where you can relax and the Avon River where you can take a boat ride. At night Bath comes to life with vibrant restaurants offering many world cuisines, a wonderful array of theatre choices, live music in bars and many nightclubs.

It is one of the most romantic destinations in England and a UK visitor essential stopover in my personal opinion.

If you have been to Bath and would like to comment or share other Bath destinations, please do so - please also feel free to ask questions if you plan to visit.