Hair Donation #3

If you've known me for very long, you know that I have twice before chopped my hair to donate - once to Locks of Love and once to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  The first time was in 2005 and was super successful in that it helped me snag my husband.  I did it again in 2009 and again today.  I've been letting it grow for 3 years, with a few cuts here and there, but it is definitely the longest it has ever been.  I'll be donating my hair to the Little Princess Trust who will use it to make wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.  Here are a few before and after pictures from today.  

Little Princess Trust requires 7 inches of hair.  My ponytail is on a sheet of A4 paper that is just under 12 inches long.  I cut off a foot of hair!

Hopefully I'll be able to replicate Jose's finished product when I have to do this on my own tomorrow.

And as of today, I'll start growing it out again to donate a few years from now.  If you have long hair you should definitely jump on this bandwagon.  It's easy, doesn't cost anything (other than postage) and it grows back.

And I'd love to hear what you think.

Love you & miss you,
Aubs

P.S.  Sorry for the poor quality pics.  Self photos in the mirror are not my forte.

P.P.S.  Is it weird that I prefer pictures of myself when taken in a mirror?  Other pictures always look backwards to me, but this is how I see myself everyday!

Fall in Scotland

One of the perks of not yet having a job is that Luther and I get to spend lots of time together.  And every morning we get to walk to the top of Calton Hill to take care of puppy business.  It's a great spot because it is about a 10 minute walk to the top of the hill from our flat and there is lots of space for Luther to run and explore.

Calton Hill is circled in red if you hadn't figured that out.

This morning I took my camera with me (Nikon CoolPix) so you could see a wee bit of what fall looks like in Edinburgh.  Unfortunately my camera didn't perform as well as I would have liked but I did get a few pretty good shots.  There is actually more fall color here than I expected and it was quite a nice surprise.

We're also beginning to experience more of the gray and dreary days.  Both this morning and yesterday morning were really foggy.  Fortunately I haven't had anywhere that I have needed to go so Luther and I are just relaxing today.  But it's really not too bad to go out in.  And the cloud cover seems to keep it a bit warmer which is a silver lining.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Luke and I are going to the highlands this weekend so I'll have lots add next week.

Love you & miss you,
Aubs, Luke and Luther

The Other Half of Life Across the Pond.....Mundane Daily Tasks.....Laundry

Unfortunately, while it does still feel like I'm on holiday because I have not yet started working, we are still forced to attend to the everyday, mundane tasks of daily living while we're living here.  That did not change.  So when we're not off visiting castles, I "get" to keep up with laundry and other household chores.

Doing laundry here is a bit different than doing laundry at home.  In Raleigh, I could pretty much get all of our laundry done in a day, maybe two, except for letting a few of our shirts and pants air dry.  If I was efficient and actually folded clothes as they came out of the dryer, everything would be put away and I'd have empty laundry hampers at the end of the day.

Here we have a washing machine but no dryer.  Everything has to air dry.  And depending on your flat and the weather, it could take a few days for it all to dry.  It was a rude awakening when I did my first load of laundry and found that out.  Fortunately, and due to some dampness in our flat, we elected to buy a dehumidifier that helps clothes dry much more quickly.  Although I've made the executive decision to allow the clothes to dry for a day or so on their own and then turn on the dehumidifier to finish the process.  (Energy costs are very high in the UK so I'm trying to conserve when I can.)

The short one came with the flat - I bought a second so that I could do two loads in a day instead of just one.

Our new best friend - the dehumidifier.

And, not only is the washing machine quite a bit smaller than mine at home, but it takes about a hour and a half to go through one cycle verses the 30 minutes it took at home.  What is that thing doing to my clothes?  Or what is my washing machine in Raleigh NOT doing to my clothes?  Not sure which is the better question.

Our washing machine is in the kitchen - cleverly camouflaged to look like a cabinet.

So needless to say - there will NEVER be a time when our laundry baskets are empty here.  Instead I do a load or two every few days in an attempt to keep up with it.  And a lot of strategic planning has to be done to make sure that if there is something specific I need (e.g. pants [aka - underwear]) that I do laundry before the last pair is in use.  Fortunately we haven't had this dilemma yet.

It also helps that because of my slight OCD tendencies, I like to separate clothes as they go so I can easily tell what loads need to be done.  It's okay to make fun of my 4 laundry hampers.  But I know you're secretly jealous of my genius.  Now if only I could get Brandie to construct my flipping hamper (patent not pending but don't steal my idea!)

What do I miss the most though?  Soft clothes.  Towels especially.  Because everything air dries, it's also a bit crunchy when you put it on/use it.  Obviously you could iron everything to loosen it up before wearing, but who likes to iron that much (other than Aunt Benja)?  I do know people who iron their pants (see reference above) but I have not yet become one of those people.

I sometimes ask myself if I'll take any of these cultural differences home with me to the US when the time comes and I go back and forth with this one.  But in the end I'm sure the dryer will make a smooth transition back into my life.  Because - really - who doesn't love a clean, fluffy, soft, warm towel to wrap up in?

Love you & miss you,
Aubs, Luke and Luther

Craigmillar Castle

Yesterday Luke and I ventured out to visit our first Scottish castle.  This one, Craigmillar Castle, is only a league (the distance you can walk in under an hour - or about 3 miles) southeast of city centre and is very easy to get to by bus.

City centre is outlined in red.  The castle is indicated by the Google "A" pin.

The castle is a ruin, meaning that the property was abandoned and left to crumble, but it is one of the best preserved castles in Scotland.  Essentially the structure is just walls, there are no remnants of furniture or anything like that.  The historical society has added some lights to the darkest rooms and there are plaques telling you what each of the rooms are but other than that it is mostly untouched.

Over the years the castle had numerous owners who all built additions to the original structure.  Because of this, the architecture isn't always cohesive and there are lots of passageways and nooks and crannies.  The night before some friends told us that there wouldn't be a lot to necessarily look at but that it was a great place to play hide and seek.  They were right.  And there was a group of about 25 adults playing hide and seek while we were there.  It was quite amusing.

It look us about 2 hours to explore the whole of the castle going through all the little passageways and up and down all of the spiral staircases.  We had a lot of fun and are excited to visit some of the others that are close to Edinburgh.  We're waiting for a really rainy day to go explore the Edinburgh Castle but hopefully we'll be able to do that one soon - since it's right around the corner from the university.

Enjoy the pictures.  I hope they make you want to come visit us.

Stairway to the wine cellar

Great room fireplace

Chapel

Love you and miss you,
Aubs, Luke and Luther

Job Hunting.....Fun Times

Fortunately for me, the UK allows US students' spouses to work while living in the country.  It's nice because it gives me the opportunity to make some money so that we can withdrawal less from our student loans and start paying them off earlier.  So given all of that, I started applying for jobs a couple of weeks ago.  From everything that I've heard, the lucky ones will have a job by the end of October but some of the unlucky ones wait 6 months or more.

Confession.....Job hunting is probably my least favorite activity in the world.  I told Luke the other day that if we had stayed in Raleigh I probably would have stayed with Principal forever just so that I never had to make a resume, write a cover letter or go to another interview again.  Fortunately I've met some other wives here who were able to give me names of people who were able to help them get jobs so I've had a good starting point.

Last week I met with two different staffing agencies to talk about my CV (curriculum vitae - or resume) and what types of jobs I might be eligible for.  The first company was called Office Angels and works mostly with office admin, personal assistant and data entry roles.  From that meeting I actually got an interview with a copy and was offered a job.  Unfortunately the company was about a 45 minute bus ride from our flat and the position was not something that I would be very happy doing.  After discussing with Luke, we decided to turn it down in hopes that something better would come along soon.

Then on Friday I met with another agency called Change Recruitment.  I have much higher hopes for this contact and really hope that she will be able to place me in one of their available roles.  I spent the weekend putting together a cover letter trying to show how my PFG skills can translate into the project management roles she fills.  Hopefully I did a good job.  I guess we'll find out soon.

Until then Luther and I will continue to explore the beautiful city of Edinburgh.

Miss you & love you,
Aubs, Luke & Luther

Guest Blog - Pentland Hills

Today mum and dad took me on bus to a place called Pentland Hills.  I think mum was a little worried about the me and bus but I was totally fine with it.  I just jumped right on and took a seat next to her. 

From the bus stop we had to walk a little ways to get to the trailhead but we walked past a really pretty golf course.  I was a good pup and left the golfers alone.  Mum said that even though the ones at home didn't get mad at me for stealing golf balls that the ones in Scotland might.  

Not far up the trail the university has some ponies.  Mum walked up to the fence and one just trotted right on over.  I was pretty curious about him but he seemed to want to play.  Only there was this dang fence in between us so we couldn't.  

Then we continued up the mountain and across.  It's not much like hiking in North Carolina.  The trails were more like animal trails up the hill so they weren't very groomed.  I didn't have any troubles but dad got his shoes all muddy.  The trails were really steep too.  Luckily I have 4 feet so I'm made for this kind of trip.  We did have to stop a few times because mum and dad only have 2 feet and are therefore slow and get tired.  Luckily we had amazing views to take in on the breaks.

Arthurs Seat

Edinburgh

Overall it was a great trip and I had a lot of fun.  It's pretty easy to get a bus there so hopefully we'll go back soon and explore so more of the park.  From what I can tell there is a lot more to see.  And Grammy told me to find some highland cattle.  I'm not sure why but I trust Grammy.  She's pretty cool.

On the way home mum decided she wanted to sit upstairs on the bus.  It was pretty cool because I could see where we were going.  I think I'll pick to sit up there next time too.

But now I'm tired so I think I need rest.  Stay tuned for my next adventure.

Cheers!
Luther

Vonage....you're (eventually) amazing!

Before we left the states we did our research and multiple people had written posts about using Vonage or MagicJack.  So (the day) before I left Kansas City, mom and I headed to Best Buy to pick up a Vonage box.  Just to make sure that it was going to work like I wanted it to work, I called Vonage while I had the box in hand to confirm that if I bought the box in the US and took it with me to the UK that I would still have a US phone number and the US plan.  Pleasantly, the Vonage rep confirmed my suspicions.  He also wanted to set up everything for me right then and there but because I was in the middle of Best Buy, I asked him to call me back later.  And he did - about a million times.

After we left Best Buy, mom and I went to lunch which was equally if not more of an inappropriate place to try to set up our account, so I did the mature thing and ignored his calls.  By the time we got home I'm assuming that his shift ended and I received no more calls.  I probably had just completely screwed up his numbers for the month.  Sorry dude!

Oh well.  So I called Vonage back and spoke to another very nice customer service rep to set up our account.   I set everything up and put the box right back in the box from which it came.  And there it stayed for a month.

In case you haven't heard, in the UK it can take up to 6 weeks to get your internet installed in your flat. Luckily it only took us 3 weeks.  In preparation for this upcoming install date I ordered a phone off of Amazon (more on that later) hoping that it would be delivered on the same day.  Unfortunately I was disappointed.  Although it did come a few days later.

As I was excitedly opening the package and working to set everything up I came to realize that not only are the power cords different here, but the phone jacks are too.  AAARRRGGGG!  The end that goes in the phone is the same but the end that goes in the UK wall outlet is different.

See - UK on the left - normal people on the right

So I sent Luke to RadioShack in hopes that they would have a US phone cord.  No dice.

So I went back on Amazon to order one.

It was finally delivered a few days later.  I was able to set up the Vonage box with the greatest of ease and call my mom.  It's AMAZING!  I can call the states and UK landlines for free (or whatever amount we're paying for the Vonage service) and my friends and family in the US can call me without being charged international fees.  Whomever invented VOIP is my new best friend.

Moral of the story is.....

If you're moving internationally and make the wise decision to bring a Vonage box with you, make sure to pick up a telephone cord as well.

If you're a member of the elite group that we care deeply for, you will probably be hearing from us shortly.  If you haven't made the cut but want to chat even though we may have hurt your feelers (aka feelings), send me a message and I'll give you our digits.  I don't think it's wise to post on the world wide web.  Especially since whoever had the number before us made the (not too) wise choice to not pay their bills.

Love you and miss you!
Aubs, Luke and Luther

Ikea…..Heaven of Hell?

Ikea is one of those places that is amazing, overwhelming and daunting all at the same time.  Fortunately we have one in town that is pretty easy to get to.  And when it comes to outfitting a flat for not a ton of cash, Ikea is the place to go.  

Ikea is about 6 miles south of city centre so it does take a bit to get there.  (Sounds crazy to say that it's an effort to go 6 miles - but it is unfortunately true.)  Luke had done research a couple days prior on the bus number and what stops we would catch the bus and then get off the bus.  The bus stop is about 10-15 minutes from our flat - no biggie.  Fortunately we both walk fast and made it about 3 minutes before the next bus arrived so we didn't  have to wait 20 minutes for the next one.  Once we were on the bus I had pulled up the map on my phone so we could watch out for the stop.  When looking at the tiny 2x3 screen the map actually looked like it had it's own stop for Ikea - so we abandoned Luke's research and forged ahead.  

Ikea looks like a stop to you too, right?

As we were riding, we realised that we had gone right at the fork in the road which was not on the way to Ikea.  So - being the inexperienced bus riders that we are, we thought "It must swing by Ikea on the way back to city centre" so we continued on enjoying the scenery.  Until…..we came to the end of the line and the bus shut down.  We looked at each other and said "uh oh".  Luckily we had a super nice bus driver who explained to Luke our mistake and gave us return tickets for free.  He also told us which stop we needed and how to get to Ikea from there.  Scottish people are AWESOME!  

After our extended trip to the store, we finally made it.  I've been to an Ikea once before but this was Luke's first experience.  In order to give him the full affect, we walked through the showroom floor so that he could take it all in.  Luckily (I think) it was coming up on lunch time, so rather than spend hours looking at all of the displays, we breezed through the maze taking brief notes and headed to the cafe.  After a nice lunch we headed downstairs to go find everything we wanted.  

Again, luckily, we already had a list of the things we needed so we were able to go to each section and just make a decision.  We found everything we needed within about an hour and headed to checkout.  Prior to going, Luke and I had decided that we would call a taxi to take us and our stuff back to our flat.  Probably the smartest move of the day because our biggest purchase was a floor rug for our living room.  Could you imagine up trying to get that on the bus and then carrying it the 15 minutes back to our flat along with everything else?  Yea right!  

Below are some pictures of our purchases.  Luke's favourites - the lanterns and the shower curtain rod.  (P.S. tension rods are hard to come by around here.)  My favourites - our new knife and the clocks.  They look a little bit silly now but as soon as I can get some plain black frames I'm going to put a map of the US next to the one on the top and a map of the UK next to the one on the bottom.  It makes it really easy to figure out what time it is when we want to talk to our families.

I'm actually thinking about another trip out there soon for a few small things.  I'm glad that I know where my stops are now.  Hopefully I won't screw it up.

Love you & miss you,

Aub, Luke & Luther