Only it's April. and I'm so effin' sick of it being SO COLD still, and me being so cold all the time, I don't know what to do.

It snowed last night.  Early morning, actually, but who's counting at 2:47am?!  Certainly not I.  I woke up, decided I'd visit the facilities, and get back in bed since it was MUCH EARLIER than I had expected.  So I walk into the hall, and notice that the light coming in the upstairs window right above the stairs is looking rather funky.  So I walk over and look out, and everything was WHITE.  My first thought was smoke, but I didn't have a sense that anything was on fire, really, I guess it's just my Georgia brain wasn't comprehending snow during April.  We've already had the Master's for goodness sake, and really there are only ever about two days of REAL SNOW POSSIBILITIES in Georgia during the whole year, so yeah, snow was the furthest thing from my mind.

But it was plastered all over EVERYTHING outside, and still coming down!

So when I got back into the bedroom, I decided to peek out of the curtains, and see what it looked like from the front of the house.

WHOA!  It was amazing.  SO amazing, that I gasped, THREW OPEN THE CURTAINS AND SHOUTED, "OH MY GOD, E.M., LOOK AT THIS!"  He probably thought something was wrong, and he kind of half asleep threw himself upright so he could see.

Then immediately collapsed back to sleep.  Men.

So I marveled at it a little bit more, forgetting for one moment how cold it is, and has been, but instead looking at the smoothness of it all, the unfortunate yellow light being shone on it from the ugly yellow street lights outside, the fact that NO ONE had been down the street for hours, obviously, because the roads were just as thick, soft, and fully covered as the roofs and the yards.  And as I laid back down to go back to sleep, I wished I'd had my camera right there, to try and take a picture of what I'd seen.  It wouldn't have been a good shot, I'm sure, and it certainly wouldn't have conveyed what I saw when I opened the curtains, but if I COULD have had one of that very moment, looking the exact way it did, that would have been nice.

I got up around 8am, made my breakfast, and found my camera.  I took some pictures, but by then the snow had completely stopped, and had to have been over for hours at that point, because everything was already starting to melt and look tired.  Numerous cars had already been up and down the roads, and that snow was basically gone.

But I remembered what it looked like when it was still pristine and new, and I can still feel what it felt like to see it, when I look at the pictures I did take.  So as I settled back down, and had already started to majorily konk back out, I didn't really mind the cold outside.

How could you NOT start a blog post with THAT?!

So I felt this strong urge a few minutes ago to jump back in, and be the blogger I know I can be!  To take care of this rapidly delapidating space that at one time, saw 11,000 visitors in one month.  I honestly don't care HOW MANY people come by, or when, but the fact of the matter is, I've slacked off.

And I don't want to, anymore.

Maybe it's my new found excitement from getting a car that's rubbing off on me to not be a comatose SCHMUCK anymore, and to actually DO something.  I've had an aversion to my blog when all of the school stuff happened, and I had to put some writing out of my ass to complete my degree, but damnit, I'm working on that, and it'll be finished soon.  In the meantime, I'm NOT going to stop doing things I enjoy!  Or rather, I'm going to get BACK to doing things I enjoy, because otherwise I honestly fear I'll just slow down so much, I won't be able to get going again.  With ANYTHING.

And I'm not about to do that, it's just that sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what direction things are going in, and sometimes, well sometimes, I just need a big, pointy kick in the ass.

I'm vowing now to start DOING stuff, no matter whatever it might be, in order to have something to talk about.  I never talk about much now, because I'm home all the time, and I honestly haven't done much of anything that'd be held as interesting by 99.999% of the population, so I keep my yap shut, which isn't natural for me.

So this past weekend we found me a car.  It's not anything fancy, or crazy expensive, or anything like that, but it makes me supremely happy at this point in time as my relationship to the automotive world.  We found a 2005 Ford Focus hatchback, with VERY FEW miles on it, green, with all the usual things people want: airbags, power steering, radio/cd player (my only real MUST HAVE besides four doors), air conditioning, power windows and locks, etc..  It picks up and goes, too, it's NOT sluggish at all, which I find really pleasing.  I've never had a four cylinder ANYTHING before, so I'm pretty excited to have something I've not experienced owning previously.  Four cylinder cars just don't seem to be done as much where I'm from; hell, come to think of it, I don't even think the father's ride on lawnmower's engine is that small.  But I digress. ;)

So my little car --she hasn't told me her name yet, and to be entirely honest, I'm not completely sure she's a "she", but time will ultimately provide the answers-- is just perfection to me, and I can't wait until I can pick it up on Friday.  At which point there will be much rejoicing, and I'll be grinning from ear to ear as I try to decide what sort of road trip will happen the following morning.

I've already decided that my first solo flight will either be to Hardwick Hall, Chatsworth, or Roche Abbey.  So many choices, now!  I'm a little leery of getting out there on my own for such a relatively long drive, though, so I'll just toodle around here and other places I know (places my driving instructor took me) until I feel like I can dump the training wheels once and for all.  I was trying to remember earlier what it was like when I went out in a car for the first time, when I got my driver's license in 1988, but for the life of me, I can't remember back that far!  All I know is, since then I've done LOTS of driving:  numerous drives up and around the northern half and central parts of Georgia, ALL OVER the entire state of South Carolina, both states in one day, SEVERAL TIMES, and for far longer than just "crossing the bridge".  I've driven in all sorts of weather, with and without heat and air conditioning, and in all sorts of personal states, like sleepy, angry, happy, depressed, etc., so if I've done all of that in the past, if I just take my time and keep a level head, I'll be more than fine on the road now.

Except I'll be on the wrong side, and often on narrow little roads. ;)

But it's not going to be bad. :)  I'm looking forward to it.

In other news, Alanis Morissette is going to be in Birmingham in June.  YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW VERY MUCH I'D LIKE TO GO SEE HER!  But she's not the E.M.'s cup of tea.  He told me one day a couple of months ago now, "I only listen to music that's at LEAST 100 years old!"  My elitist classical music fetishist, there.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE classical music as well, and sometimes there's nothing really hits the spot for me personally as much as Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, or, oooh, oooh, or his ENTIRE Great Mass in C minor, which I can sing along with --POORLY-- from start to finish, but I can also start singing something FROM THIS YEAR in my very next breath.  But it's stuff like that that make us all the interesting souls we are, so as "funny" as it sounds, I quite enjoy his conviction in saying it.  ALL THAT SAID, I'll return to my point, which is, I realized I have no one here to go see Alanis with.  I had thought of importing a couple of friends, actually, Mari and Dorothy coming to mind, but they BOTH have such busy schedules, that I'm sure it's nothing more than a sweet little fantasy on my part.  Now, I must also include, the E.M. said that he'd gladly go with me (I think bribes of Krispy Kremes would probably be necessary) but that "I'm not going to enjoy it nearly as much as you will, I don't have ovaries."  DARGH!!  So I guess I'm not going, seeing as I'd want to sit there and get all angst-ish and teary with someone else who could relate, and seeing that Alanis isn't at least 100 years old, I'm in a bit of a pickle with taking the E.M.

But that's alright, I told him that I MIGHT not be so upset about it if my parents were here for my birthday, so hopefully we can start looking at flights, and make THAT happen, instead.  Alanis, you're cool and all, and I love you, and your music has helped me through many a SHITTY relationship, and I can SO relate, Girl, to the things you sing about, but hey, they's mah peeps.  I'm sure you understand, A.M..

So in light of this solitary existance of mine --when it comes to shows, anyway-- the E.M. today linked me to some expat groups in our local area; there's even an "American Women's Club" or something like that, so I'm going to find out more about these.  By reading the links and stuff he sent me earlier, it seems that there are FAR MORE of us around here than I realized.  There's power in numbers, maybe we could overthrow the NHS, or something?!  Of COURSE I'm not serious about that (Why oh WHY didn't I listen to my mother when I was younger, and go for a law or doctor's degree?!) but it'd be nice to find someone else that might fully relate to how I feel when I listen to Alanis, or is possibly just as confounded as I am when it comes to radiator heat, and screenless windows.

I STILL want to be a member of the W.I., though.  Who WOULDN'T want to be, after seeing Calendar Girls?!?!!!?!

So that's my life at the moment.  I feel like I'm on the OTHER side of getting used to here now, that's not really an issue anymore, at least not as much, and I've now moved on to the "regroup" stage, so I can start to establish some sort of a routine for myself which I find stimulating, and satisfying.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it all falls into place.

Say goodnight, Mozart.

SO let me think, what's happened since I was here last?  That's a LOT of stuff, when you consider the last time I posted anything was February 9th.

There HAS been a lot of stuff, really, and I'm sure I'll forget some of it, but let me quickly jot down what I can remember off the top of my head:

Went home to visit for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of February; it was GLORIOUS, getting to see my family, and the shopping was spectacular!  I just laughed every time I swiped my credit card.

I knocked out one of the papers for my Exit Portfolio, and have just two left; one, actually, if you consider all the notes I have for the second one just need to be organized and brushed up a bit.

I got my UK driver's license, AND I passed the Pass Plus program.  Basically, Pass Plus is geared for younger drivers, because statistically they're the highest demographic involved in car accidents in the UK; if gives the young, new drivers a bit more training, and some hints and tips on safer driving.  The perk for the driver is getting a lower price for their car insurance, this is really similar to how driving lessons gave me a big discount on my car insurance when I first started driving about 20 years ago.  Damn, I'm feeling SO INCREDIBLY OLD at the moment, having realized it's been THAT LONG .  Now while I'm FAR BEYOND being 17 years old (the earliest legal age limit for obtaining your UK driver's license) and my insurance is going to be at the lowest rate I can get --at least it was in the US-- I took the Pass Plus lessons for more road experience.

The above said, though, I've not driven here since I got back from the US.  Where I drove.  A lot.  Like a crazy lady who hadn't been in a (left drive) car for a year.  Which leads to yet another thing in the works at the E.G./E.M. household:

We're about to get me a car.  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!  YES YES YES!! 

Anyway, I'm sure there's more stuff that's happened since the beginning-ish of February, but whatever it was, I'm sure it all involved cold, wet days, and since the weather here is trying it's HARDEST to bring Spring on, I vote we leave the past in the past, and continue on with the sunny days to come, the days when I finally have a car, I've finally finished all my papers, and I'm looking for a job.  The days when I can go outside and walk around the neighborhood, or to the next village over, without feeling like my nose is going to fall off, because I've not wrapped my entire head in my scarf.  I'm from the South, y'all, we don't even HAVE scarves down there.  Well, I take it back, I have some COOL ones at my parent's house, because I bought them all from the GAP for TEN CENTS EACH --along with the matching hats for a cool quarter apiece-- because that stuff's not necessary down there!  All this REALLY means is, I'm a complete sissy when it comes to being outside here on really cold, damp days, because I've never had to do it before, at least, not to this degree.  I freeze easily.

We've been doing general housekeeping things, like trying to come up with a tentative budget and time line to make some minor repairs and things around the place, like removing some of the @#(&%)!@!!! leylandii trees/shrubs/bushes/monsters that edge our back yard.  Thankfully, our neighbor said he's going to pay for the fencing to be put up, but we'd have to take the trees down, since they're on our side.  HALLELUIAH!  I'm SO COOL with that, because those blasted things suck the BIG ONE.  So definitely gardening is high on the list of what needs to be done this year.  As is replacing the pipes to the radiators.  We only have ONE radiator downstairs that's working now, and the upstairs ones **KNOCK ON WOOD** are still working, but there are THREE downstairs that aren't working at ALL.  So that's going to cost a pretty penny to have done, not to mention take some time, and totally disrupt the WHOLE HOUSE, as the floors will need to be ripped up in order to get to the pipes.  Lovely.

That's all that's rocking on at the moment that's worth telling, but before I end this, I'm going to mention two things, first, the progressing one:

The E.M. and I had our first wedding anniversary on February 10th.  We've made it a year (and a little over, now) so far, and I think since we're both still alive to tell the tale, we're gonna be alright, and things will just keep getting even better.  We went to Wagamama for our anniversary, and pigged out on noodles and curry, how can that be bad?!

And now for the thing that's stayed the same:

First, a little background.  On February 1st, I posted a rather strong rant about the NHS.  Several people left comments, ranging from sympathy towards my problems having my prescriptions refilled, to suggestions that I needed my mouth washed out with soap (that was The Mother, if anyone DIDN'T already know that) and suggestions on what to do in order to try and alleviate the problem of having to go without my asthma meds sometimes when it was taking a while to get my prescriptions filled.  Just the other day, a very nice person left a comment explaining the separation of the actual NHS from the parties who were actually responsible for the problems I was having.  The E.M. had explained this to me, but the man who left the comment just a couple of days ago was patient, and had valid point.  I've done a lot of thinking on this subject, before and since this person's comment, and I answered accordingly --and very VERY politely. ;)  However, some of the things I pointed out still remain, and that is that there are so very many problems with the NHS as a whole.  To highlight this, as I called it the other day in my reply, availability heuristic, there is yet ANOTHER article on the bbc site today about problems within the NHS, this time, a doctor who had repeatedly misdiagnosed mammograms and other scans of breast cancer patients, resulting in the review of nearly 2,500 mammograms where the doctor had worked.  You can read that article here.  One woman has already died needlessly because of this, and who knows how many others have passed the point where any sort of treatment will actually be beneficial?  I continue to stress that there's a flaw in this system, however, I don't know what needs to be done in order to fix it, either.  Believe me, I wish I did.

Well, there you have it, the hodge-podge mishmash of what's been going on in my life for the close to two months I've been MIA.

I should be around much more often, so keep your eyes peeled, who knows what's going to come out of my mouth next?! ;)

Check it:

And it just happens to be one of my FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME! 

You're The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!
by C.S. Lewis
You were just looking for some decent clothes when everything changed quite dramatically. For the better or for the worse, it is still hard to tell. Now it seems like winter will never end and you feel cursed. Soon there will be an epic struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal that could turn the balance. If this makes it sound like you're re-enacting Christian theological events, that may or may not be coincidence. When in doubt, put your trust in zoo animals.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

...let me shows u it.

Yes folks, that's right, I PASSED MY UK DRIVING TEST TODAY!!! :D

Whew, what a load off.  AND I passed it in a MANUAL, I must say.

Not bad for a girl from GA who's been driving automatics her whole life, until these past few months, and not to mention, learned on the "wrong side" of the road. ;)

That's ONE on my list of THREE MAJOR THINGS knocked off, now. 

1.  Driver's License.
2.  Finish my papers (they're all three well under way, thankfully).
3.  Get a job.