Its been a crazy two months....

But we are still loving life in Oklahoma. Thing are slowly coming together and we are starting to settle into everyday life, I have found and quit one job at a daycare in Midwest City and been offered a new job at a daycare in Shawnee. That means less travel time and less money being wasted on gas, things were not what I was lead to expect at the Midwest daycare so when the one in Shawnee came along I jumped at the chance. I have also been accepted into OSU-OKC where i plan to do my RN part-time over the next few years and will be starting fall 2012.

Alex is starting to get a bit fed up with doing contract work and is still looking for that perm position so keep praying for him, that he may find one soon. Church is going great, we have been welcomed into Shawnee ward and have both received callings. While Alex was being set apart I had a bit of an emotional moment and it was made clear to me that this was the reason we were lead to Oklahoma.

Our cute little house :)

We love our little box, which we are renting from good friends. I have added a few little touches to it such as putting up a few photos and moving some stuff around, but i have also been adding more and more boxes to the kitchen as we are buying bits we know we will need when we are finally able to buy are own place.

So what else has been going on.......

In October Me and Alex celebrated a year of marriage with a trip to Dallas and medieval times. (I wanted to steal the bed from the hotel)

Spent time with great friends and got to see two great people get married

We have decided to go down to Florida for Thanksgiving

I only have 15lbs left to lose :)

We finally got family health care (yay for the complications of this)

Have been talking about buying land and building...(any thoughts from anyone?)

Halloween = pumpkin carving

Our Pacman pumpkin

 Well that's it from me, i promise that when we get proper internet then i will update this a lot more.

Fresh peaches and a missed birthday = peach upside down cake :)

In July I missed Alex's Birthday so to make up for it I decided to put together a little birthday treat, which was timed with a delivery of fresh peaches from TN so I made a peach cake and we boy did we enjoy it :) but i have to be careful so I only get a slice if I have enough points left after dinner.

A few people have asked for a recipe to make this so here is the one I normally use, (I have to be honest and say the one pictured is actually just a yellow cake mix).

To make you will need:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup egg substitute (if your not watching your weight then real eggs work better)
• 1 1/2 cup peeled fresh peaches, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.

line 9 inch cake pan with wax paper and place peach slices on the bottom ready to have the cake mix poured over them.

In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing well.

In another bowl, combine oil, milk, vanilla and egg substitute, blending well.

Add to the flour and sugar mixture; stir just until moistened.

Fold in chopped fresh peaches.

Spoon batter into prepared cake pan.

Bake at 350°F for around 30 minutes until top is lightly browned.

A slice is 6 WW points.

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did...Let me know if you make hit and how it turns out.

Our new life in Oklahoma

So he is finally here and we can start our new life here in Shawnee, OK. Since making the choice to move out of Florida we have received so many blessings all of which we are truly thankful for. We have settled into our cosy little house, which we have been allowed to use while get ourselves ourselves established and find our own place...Which in my opinion can not come any sooner as I am so ready to start our family, but Alex being the smart one wants us to wait until we buy our own house.

In the past month I have been looking high and low for a job and finally got an interview and job offer yesterday from a nationwide chain, this has come at the right time as I am ready to get back to do something and this is perfect for the time being, while I try and find a job working with children or at the Y. I will just keep applying at the Y and I am sure they will eventually hire me just to get rid of my application :)

Today was a busy day today, we had to get Alex an OK drivers license and get his car registered here, which worked out great as our insurance went down by about $50 and that was after adding me with my permit onto the policy.

It's legal again :)

On another note we are going to England in Feb for 3 weeks and I am so excited that I will get to see my family and friends again after over a year of not seeing them. Also I have 24lbs to go on my weight watchers program.

The last 2 months

So the last two months I have been hiding at one of the best spots in the world (well to me anyways) I have been working at Girl Scout camp in Oklahoma. Camp was eventful at always and some great memories have been made. I am so lucky to have this opportunity to work with some awesome people and watch the campers grow each year as this summer season was actually season number 6 for me.

This summer I had a major goal and that was to redecorate the arts building know otherwise at the long house and I'm happy to say that with the help of a lot of people we made it happen.

finger Painting

staff hands from summer 2011

the finished product

The updated Rainbow of Children

I love how everything has turned out esp the new rainbow and may even use that in the nursery when the time comes.

This summer has taught me my resident camp years are coming to a close and that it has been really hard to be away from Alex, who is currently still in Florida closing things down. The move to Oklahoma has been great so far, I love the house we have been lent to use until we can get our own place. I love the people and I love the fact that I will get to have seasons again :). The move feels so right and has been timed perfectly as Alex's company back in Florida have decided to let all the IT department go and there would have been no way we could have afforded to stay in Florida now.

Last note on the eating better issue I am happy to report that yes its still hard work but so far I am doing well, I have lost nearly 20lbs over the summer and now face my biggest challenge being back out of a job and still managing to keep the weight off.

The new me!!

Is all about eating better, and working out more!!! Since moving to America I have put on over 40pounds and I feel every single one of them :(. 7 months of living in Florida, being stuck at home a) waiting for my green card so I could start working and b) then landing a job as a nanny meant I wasn't as active as I once was and that I had a lot of time to cook and eat. This all lead to me just getting bigger and bigger.

Well on Saturday I decided enough was enough and finally signed up to weight watchers in the hopes it will get me eating right again and I am also walking 1.5miles a day.So far everything is going great, I am already starting to feel better and have a lot more energy so keep checking in with me and I'll keep you updated with my progress...my aim is to lose 50+pounds.

After a 5k walk on May 21st 2011 - 2 chins on me - not happy.

Wish me luck.

good friends and good times

Firstly i would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to those affected by May 24th tornadoes that devastated large areas of Oklahoma, many places where i know people through camp. It was my first severe weather warning and I didn't hesitate to take cover at OU geo lab, during the storm I kept Alex updated and asked him if he was still sure about the move to Oklahoma and he said yes.

Wednesday we packed the cars and headed to Mt Scott for a two night camping trip and the weather could not have been any more different from the day before, it was crisp with a clear blue sky.

One of the many Dams, one of my favorite spots was here

We drove down to the site, set up the tents, had a bit of a catch up, before heading to one of my favorite restaurant - Meers, which is in a ghost town that used to be big during the gold rush, now all that is left is the restaurant.

Thursday after breakfast we got to go hiking and came face to face with longhorns and other wildlife.

Me, Jazz, Camo, Giggles and ET

Indian Paintbrush

The trail was covered in Indian Paintbrushes, a flower I had never seen before. Later on in the day Three more people joined the trip, we met them at the Holy City (this is the one place i have found that makes even religion tacky but its always a fun trip).

In my eyes there is nothing that beats outside cooking expect a camp fire, and lucky for us the burn ban had been lifted so we were able to hang out round the fire, talking, listening to the wildlife around us and seeing the stars.

The final crew in the yacht

This tent is meant for 6 people but we managed to fit 8 of us in there so we could hang out without being eaten by everything.

The trip was good fun, and a chance for us to all catch up as we don't get to see each other much. I remembered just how much these girls mean to me and how much I love being outside :) It has gotten me in the mood for Resident camp which starts this week.

On Friday we broke down camp and took some more time to explore before heading our separate ways, I think we should do this again soon :)

Driving home brought back the realtity of the torrandoes on Tuesday.

Graduation Photos

As promised I have finally gotten round to putting the graduation photos onto my computer. These girls have taught me so much and I am so privileged to know them, In 2009 I had the most amazing CIT group of 5 girls: Leggs, Tink, JayJay, Spock-aid and Smitzy and was lucky enough to be able to see 4 of the five graduate. They have all taught me so much and I wish them the best in all the do after High school.

Tink's Graduation with some of her Girl Scout Family

Smitzy and Maddie

Spock-aid

I also attended a college graduation where I was able to watch one of my best friends and her husband walk together, she was doing sign language and he an EMT AS degree.

Making the move.

These past few weeks have been a huge mix of emotions, as last Saturday saw me pack up my things and leave "home" aka Florida. After months of struggling to adapt to being in Fl me and Alex decided to move to Oklahoma. This was a hard choice to make as Alex has never been here, but we have spoken about it and prayed about it constantly. In the end we began to have many doors open up to us that have allowed this move to become reality.

I have now been in Oklahoma for a week and have missed Alex greatly, as for reasons beyond our control he has had to stay in Florida for a while. Since getting to Oklahoma I have had the privilege to attend 3 graduation ceremonies (pics to come in the next few days) one college and 2 high schools. I am so proud of the graduates and Thank God that i have amazing people like them in my life. I have been able to finally get a US driving permit and did my first drive tonight :). It amazing how different it is to drive on the right hand side of the road and drive a big car. I got to celebrate a good friends 25th Birthday with them and today I walked my 1st 5k since I was about 13 years old. It was a great sense of accomplishment when I crossed the finish line in under my target time of 1hour. I know to some this may seem slow but you have to realize I am not a runner.

Me and Jazz after our 5K

Since moving to America I have put on so much weight and know that i have to change this and start getting back in shape. So doing this 5K has given me a kick in the right direction, which i plan to build upon. OK its 2:20am and i better head to sleep.

More Pictures will be posted soon.

night all

Back to basics

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to be called to serve on the stake young woman's camp board and spend the week in the middle of nowhere with the girls. As I'm a convert to the church I was never able to experience the Young Woman's program and didn't really know what to expect from this sort of camp, but I was excited to be part of it.

On Monday we only had the YCL's or young camp leaders, which are girls aged 16 and 17. As a treat for their efforts and hard work to come through out the week we went on an air boat ride :) This was an amazing experience as its something I have never done before and to get out in the swamps of Florida to see the beauty that Heavenly Father has created was awesome. 

 

 

One of the babies

My boat

Heading out to the lake/swamp area

The wind in our hair

If you look close enough you can see little black and yellow strips just bellow mummy...this is one of her babies the rest were around the tail end.

This one did not like us, she even went for the boat and guess who was closest to her....yup me!!!                                                      

He was 15ft long. and only 2ft away from the boat :S.

This was an amazing day and the week only got better, I got to meet some amazing leaders and awesome girls. The spirit was always present even if it was hot and sticky, you could still see the glow in the girls faces. It has strengthened me in so many ways and I am looking forward to seeing how I grow from this.

Crystal Stalker you did a fantastic Job :)

6 months

So today is mine and the Husband 6 month wedding anniversary. Wow 6 months I don't know where that time has gone but it has been great, there has been a number of challenges but they have mainly been due to homesickness and being away from my family as we have always been so close. Alex has been great in helping me through it all and has really tried to make the big events special such as my birthday.

Last night he brought me flowers and a box of strawberries for dessert as he knows I love them. Later he will be taking me to Olive Garden for dinner (its were we had our wedding reception so its a big deal to us now).

the flowers he brought me

Breakfast in bed for him

You can call me a dork but he liked it :) The E was the hardest letter to do, but I think it turned out ok.



To everyone back in England happy St Georges day.

Cheesy Potatoes - Random 1st post.

Growing up I remember loving Wotsits (I think the closest thing over here is cheetos cheese puffs) actually I still love them and have been known to still them for little babies :). Well for a time they did a version that you could cook, it was basically cheesy potato covered in bread crumbs and they are like heaven. Well the other day I was craving them as i was cooking dinner so I though what the heck why not add cheese to the mash I was already making. Good idea...Right?

Not so much because for the past 2 days since having them i have still craved the amazing cheesy mash :) and yes that has meant peeling the spuds, boiling, adding milk and butter then finishing with cheese. About 30 mins worth of work for one (actually 2 as I have been babysitting still) servings of fresh cheesy mash. I hate reheated potatoes and not a huge fan of instant mash unless it has huge amounts of gravy on it. Come on my next craving needs to hurry up and get here, this is to much hard work.

On another note I handed in my notice a few weeks ago and today is my last day as a nanny in because we have made the choice to move to Oklahoma and I leave in I think 23 days... Not that I'm counting or anything. Watching the little man has had it challenges, which i hope will set me in good stead for when the time for for me and Alex. But it has also been very rewarding, I got to experience his first stair climb, couch climb and steps. In the three months I have had him I have seen him change and grow so much and I'm so grateful his mum trusted me enough to allow me this opportunity.