Tuesday 28 October 2014

Happy Anniversary!

One year of marriage complete, and what a year it's been!

New country, new jobs, new cat, new home, new bed (that can take some getting used to, especially when there's another body in it and you can't sleep like a star fish anymore), new family, new friends, new church, new culture, new car, new me, new him, new us. But the same big God, thank goodness for that! 

Last night, as we were eating our anniversary dinner of fish, roast potatoes (can you believe that in a whole year of marriage I have not yet cooked us a Sunday roast dinner?! And I call myself a Brit! Oh, the shame) and peas, and sipping sparkling wine, we had a little flick through the past year and decided that we had come a long way since those first days of marriage. And we still have a very long way to go!

It's a huge thing to go from living a single life to a married one. You have to completely alter your way of thinking. Every decision you make is now an 'us' decision, down to the tiniest one of 'which candle scent shall we buy this week?' It makes you realise how selfish you are - 'I am entitled to buy the lavender scent even though it makes you gag! Lavender is my signature smell - deal with it!' This was, and often still is, my way of thinking. But I want to do and be better, and that's a very exciting prospect! My growth in our short marriage so far, although painful at times, has been both humbling and fortifying. 

One thing that has changed greatly since those first days of marriage has been the way we argue. We are both fiery people with strong opinions. Our arguments used to be a battle of wills smothered in steely silences and tight lipped exchanges, and often they were over the silliest things, like cupboard doors being left open. Now we try to pick our battles and think eternally. In the grand scheme of things, does it matter that there is a dirty sock on the floor three feet from the laundry basket? Will I care about this in Heaven? No. No I won't. 

If something is really bothering me, instead of going on the attack like a feisty, yappy Chiwahwah, I'm trying to approach the situation calmly and lovingly. I fail in this frequently, but again, I'm determined to keep at it (rather like that feisty, yappy Chiwahwah). 

We've had to rely on God for everything. For the first few fun immigration months, we lived on one wage. We often got to the end of the month with pennies left. But God provided every time, through generous friends and family, or even just the gentle reminder that we weren't going to die if we had to eat Ramen noodles for three days until pay day. 

He has also reminded us to go to Him with our problems, rather than dumping them all on each other. As much as I love Austin, he is not perfect, just as I am not. But God is, and there is nothing that He can't handle. Learning to give our problems to Him first in prayer has made my relationship with Austin sweeter, and stops me trying to mould him into who I selfishly want him to be. It doesn't mean that we stop trying to be better for each other, but it means that the unattainable pressure to be perfect is off.   

I love the fact that even in one short year, our love and respect for God and one another has deepened, and it makes me extremely excited for the next ten, twenty, fifty years together. 


FYI: A good marriage counselling activity, although it was never intended to be, is to carve a pumpkin with your spouse. Austin and I did this last Friday night at a carving party, and it became an interesting team building exercise. We debated, we bickered and we laughed. The result - a pumpkin with a botoxed top lip that was meant to be a mustache:




Tuesday 21 October 2014

Pffft

So, the first time I saw a skunk, I ran after it with my camera phone while my husband dropped and rolled in the opposite direction.

The second time I saw a skunk, I attempted to leave my car three times before plucking up the courage to dash past it and into the safety of the apartment. It seems that skunk fear has seized me.

It was dusk, and I was just returning from a bible study. I pulled into my parking space, turned off the engine and reached for my hand bag. Then I saw it. Cute, black, white and deadly - a skunk was trotting backwards and forwards in front of my apartment like a sentry. 

I took a deep breath (to calm my nerves and in preparation for 'the big stink' that might ensue) and stepped out of the car. I thought if I slammed the door, it might scare the skunk away. Then again, the sudden noise might cause it to toot. I decided to close it gently. 

My main aim was to pose no threat to the skunk. I started to walk carefully towards it, hoping to slip by undetected, when it looked at me. I flew back to the car.

The skunk continued to trot backwards and forwards. They really are cute animals. This one was particularly dainty. 

I got out of the car again and started tiptoeing towards it.

Then a stray dog appeared. 

Oh heck!

Dog saw skunk. Skunk saw dog. Dog went rigid. Skunk went rigid. Dog's tail started to wag. Skunk's tail went vertical. Dog licked its lips (do dogs have lips?!). Skunk's bum went 'pffft'.

Flee!

I found myself in the car again.

Was that just a warning toot?

I sniffed a few times but couldn't smell anything. Having smelt skunk pong many times before, and knowing that it can have a radius of up to a mile, there would definitely have been a smell if the skunk had tooted. I was safe.

But the skunk was still there, and its tail was still rigid. I had no idea where the dog had gone.  
I tried to ring my husband. I tried to ring my husband three times. 

My hope was that he'd open the front door for me, thus scaring the skunk away and giving me a clear getaway without having to stop and fumble around for my key. He later told me that he would no way have done this for me. Apparently rescuing your wife from a skunk is not part of the marriage deal. 

The skunk was now in the bushes, camouflaged. I had visions of him leaping out at me, bum first as I attempted my third trek to safety. But, I made it to the door and fell through it in triumph.

So, there you have it - my second skunk encounter. 



*


Next week, Austin and I will have reached our one year anniversary. 

We celebrated a week early this past weekend with a day and night in downtown Dallas. We stayed at the Adolphus, a beautiful baroque hotel built in 1912. It had that 'Downton Abbey' feel, which I loved. They even hold Downton Abbey evenings, where a five star French chef serves meals inspired by the fictional Mrs. Patmore and the British foods served in big houses at that time. One can only dream!

We had lunch at Klyde Warren (the park over the highway, which is a genius use of space), went to the Perot Museum of Science and Nature, and ate our evening meal on the rooftop at Iron Cactus. Our celebration was completed the next morning with a room service breakfast of bacon, pancakes, tea and coffee. Thank you Groupon!      



(A trip to the Perot wouldn't be complete without a 3D film experience. We chose 'The Galapogus Islands'. Little did I know that there would be 3D flying spiders)




 

(Margaritas at Iron Cactus!)



(Oh, what's this? Chandeliers and Jazz bands at the Adolphus? Just call me Mary Crawley, darling)


After our anniversary, I will also be nearing the end of my first year in Texas - goodness! Get ready for some reminiscing in next week's post!


Tuesday 14 October 2014

Probably the most random post I've written...

As I'm typing this post, I have the heater on underneath my desk. Yep, it's cold in Texas! A chilly 12 degrees centigrade (54 Fahrenheit) according to my phone. 

The leaves are starting to look sorry for themselves, and the leaf blower men are looking hopeful. It's their time to shine! There's only one leaf on the ground, but by gum, will they blow it into oblivion! (I can't believe I just wrote 'by gum'. I apologise, but I couldn't think of another expression. My head's all fuzzy from cold, a side-effect from the sudden drop in temperature)

This weather is bliss over here. When you're used to suffocating heat, sticky car seats and steering wheels that will give you third degree burns, a cold front is a welcome change. 

I'm quite excited about the cold. I love snuggling into my jumpers, and I've been staring at my assortment of scarves rather longingly for a while now. Maybe it's time to break them out.

I need to buy some actual shoes. I've been wearing flip flops for I don't know how long. I can't remember the last time I wore socks. For those of you who know me personally, you are well aware of my foot problem, in that they are HUGE. I mean, man-size. As much as I try to deny it, my husbands feet are definitely a fraction smaller than mine. Oh, the shame! 

I'm a size 9 in England, an 8 on a good day. The conversion to US sizes, to my horror, goes up by two. So I'm an 11 here. 11! Buying flip flops is fine, because my feet can spread out. I can even get away with a 10. But proper, covered shoes?! I'm not looking forward to that shopping trip.  

My feet are pretty wide, too. My sister and I call them 'meat slabs'. She has a similar problem, although hers are slightly smaller. 

I used to have nightmares about my feet as a child. As you can imagine, they grew at an alarming rate when I was at school. I couldn't wear the pretty, dainty shoes that other girls wore. I used to dream about them becoming elongated, bulbous clown feet. This nightmare becomes reality whenever I go bowling. 

I need my big feet, though, because of my height. Size 9 feet (I'm sticking with the British sizing because it keeps me out of double figures) match a 5'10" body. With the strong winds we've been having recently, I need them to keep me upright! 

Anyway, enough of feet. 

Hubby and I have been contemplating getting a dog. We visited friends this weekend who have just purchased a Golden Retriever puppy. She's lovely and very snuggly. But, we've decided that it's not the right time for us. For one, we live in a one bedroom apartment with a cat - it would be pandemonium! And two, we both work full time. Maybe next year, when we are able to spread out a little more. 

I'd want to rescue a Greyhound. Probably an ex-racer. They are the sweetest dogs. They're calm, gentle giants, and they rarely bark. My family used to have a Lurcher (Greyhound cross) and since then I've been a convert. 

Many people think they need a lot of exercise, but actually they're quite lazy. They have a blast of energy, then they're quite content to chill out for the rest of the day. Another great thing about Greyhounds is that they don't shed a lot of hair, and don't really smell. They're also used to other dogs, because of the racing environment. Plus, when you're out walking one, a child will come up to you and say, "Can I pat your horse?" That never stops being funny. 

So go out and adopt a Greyhound! There are so many that need homes. 

Wow, this has been a random blog post. To sum up, it's chilly in Texas, there's one leaf on the ground, the leaf blower men are fighting over it, I have meat-slab feet, and Greyhounds are awesome. 

See you next Tuesday! 




Friday 10 October 2014

Breaking the rules!

Whaaat?! Blogging on a Friday???? 

Yes. This is happening.

I'm actually here to shamelessly promote my first self-publishing endeavor, The Patchwork Lady, which is officially being published on Kindle tomorrow. Hooray! 

It's a short collection of poetry that I have written over the past two years and collated into this lovely book. And there's a very pretty butterfly on the front cover, so if you hate poetry but love butterflies, it's still worth the $0.99 or 77p. Who doesn't love butterflies?! 

The links are on this blog if you're interested in the kindle edition (alternatively, just go to Amazon and search for The Patchwork Lady by Rosemary High). If you'd prefer a paper copy, they will be available soon (for slightly more money - I'm sorry, I tried to keep it as cheap as possible, but paper is expensive!). 

Thank you for your support! I really appreciate the time you take to read my work, blog and otherwise.

(Reviews on Amazon would be greatly appreciated too)

Cheerio until Tuesday! 



Tuesday 7 October 2014

The Great State Fair of Texas!

After a year of waiting and hype, the fair finally came to town!

When I was a teen, I loved watching American chick flicks where a cute boy would take his girl to the fair and win her a huge teddy, snuggle next to her on the Ferris Wheel and buy her candy floss (or 'cotton candy'). Well, that was the snapshot of my life on Sunday, except that the Ferris Wheel cost 16 coupons each (!!!) and I don't like candy floss. But my husband did win me a cuddly blue pig. His name is Mr. Reginald Oinkle. 

One of the main attractions of the State Fair is the food.In particular, the deep fried food. The deep fried menu this year included deep fried snickers, deep fried sweet tea, deep fried milk and cookies on a stick, Texas fried chicken in a waffle cone (a 'chicken ice cream', if you will), deep fried biscuits (the southern kind) with chocolate gravy, and deep fried breakfast. 

I decided to try the deep fried oreos. They were actually quite nice! I was expecting fish and chip crunchy beer batter, but it was more like a soft dough batter with melted oreo cookies inside:





(I know I look like I'm in pain, but they really weren't that bad. And if you're wondering, yes, that is Mr. Reginald Oinkle.)


My other eating experiences included a cowboy burrito (the BEST burrito I have ever tasted - brisket, potatoes, cheese, onion - almost like a burrito version of a Cornish pasty) and some Tornado chips (long, curly crisps, freshly made):




(Yes, that is indeed a cowboy head cup in my hands. His name is Big Tex, and he is the State Fair mascot.)

Another food tradition at the fair is to gnaw on a giant turkey leg (honestly, autumn is not a good time to be a turkey in Texas - if you're not consumed at the State Fair, Thanksgiving is just around the corner). They are huge and rustic and manly looking. My brother-in-law accepted the challenge this year:




(Nothing but respect for this man.)




While you're at the State Fair, there are a few things you have to see -


1) This year's butter sculpture: 




2) Some giant cowboy boots:




3) The pumpkin carver:



4) Some country dancing:





You also have to take advantage of some $5,500 massage chairs: 



(Don't worry, that's not a creepy stranger watching us . That's my father-in-law.)


And finally, no trip to the Texas State Fair would be complete without a photo in front of Big Tex: