(And one more!) Introducing Camille

Surprise! I’m still on holiday and we have one more surprise special, late entry guest post for today. I am honoured to welcome Camille from Archives of our Lives. I have been following Camille’s blog for a while and am totally hooked. You should definitely go over and check it out. Anyway, here’s Camille (normal blogging will resume when I decide to come back to reality)

When My Parents Told Me I Could be Anything, I Decided I’d Like to be British..

Hi!  My name is Camille.  I write regularly over at Archives of Our Lives, and I’ll be running amok {though some would call it “guest posting”} here at Dreaming of the Country today.  I am both flattered and terrified to write on this blog—flattered, because I have a deep respect for Rachel and most everything British; terrified, because I worry that I’ll come off as just another bumbling American idiot who eats too many hamburgers and has no respect for cross-cultural boundaries.  {In my defense, while I am a bumbling idiot, I nevertheless do try to respect my boundaries.  God save the queen!  [Wait---was that disrespectful?  See what I mean?  I never know...]}

It’s true, though: I am fascinated with England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.  I’ve been to England twice, Scotland once, and dream of the day I can see Ireland and Wales.  When I was a little girl {or should I say, “wee lass”}, my favourite movies were “Secret Garden” and “A Little Princess.”  Later, I became obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, and everything else Jane Austen wrote.  My fondest desire in life was to be sent away to England for boarding school.  [This was very disappointing to my parents, who tried to make me feel guilty about my dream: "Don't you want to live at home with your family?  Wouldn't you miss us?  What about Christmas---wouldn't you be sad to live in England over Christmas?  You wouldn't get your presents!" I was not to be deterred, though---I knew my calling in life was to be British.  It was all I really wanted.  {I suppose I've never been very sentimental.}]

The summer after I graduated from high school, I was at last able to take a trip to the Motherland.

I was in heaven.

(Here’s a snapshot of my scrapbook, which I completed fervently upon returning home from my holiday.  I’m nothing if not passionate about my travels.)

I spent three solid weeks there, trekking o’er hill and dale to see every sight I could.  I tried to see it all—London, Bath, the Lake District; Stonehenge, Pemberly, and castles galore.  I made notes of quirky British phrases, like “wheelie bins” {garbage cans}, “wee tinkle” {quick phone call}, and “I take exception to that” {that offends me}.  I packed way too much, of course—but it was my first international trip, and I had no idea what to expect.  I prepared for everything…

 

…everything except a broken camera.  I spent three weeks taking hundreds of photographs that never saw the light of day.  (This was before digital cameras were as popular, mind you; I wasted at least ten rolls of film, with very little to show for it.)  When I got home and developed the film, I was crushed.  Each and every photo had a giant black blob right in the middle of it. Can you imagine?  It was a trip of a lifetime, and I had only ten or so salvageable pictures to remember it?  Pathetic.

Luckily for me, I have been a writing aficionado from a very young age.  At the end of each day of my trip, I spent hours documenting the day’s events in my journal.  I jotted down every pound and pence I spent and what I spent it on; I wrote down names of cities, towns, and villages to remember; and by the time I got to London (the last leg of my trip), I started writing down things I’d learned while “living” in England.

My faithful journal keeping was the only thing that saved the memories of my first trip across the Atlantic; I’ll be forever grateful for paying myself such an enormous favour.

Here are a few of my life lessons, from the eyes of a 17 year-old girl:

Day 1: The farther you get from London, the nicer the locals are.

Day 2: Don’t spend too much money in one place—it’s depressing later.

Day 5: BLACK PUDDING IS MADE OF DRIED PIGS’ BLOOD!!!  But it actually tastes pretty good.

Day 7: When travelling, one should always pack as lightly as one can.  Seriously.

Day 9: I can make friends with people if I really have to.

Day 12: Buying food at international grocery stores is addictive.  [Marks and Spencers, anyone?]

Day 15: The British Lord Nelson defeated the French once and for all in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar [why I cared to remember this, I'll never know...].

Day 16: I can miss my family and still be independent.

The trip taught me a lot about life, people, and—most unexpectedly—myself.  I firmly believe that traveling is the best education a girl can give herself—far better than any college degree.  There are just some things that can only be learned from life experiences…

…college never taught me to double-check my camera before a three-week vacation.  May you never have to learn that lesson the way I did.

Introducing Thomas

My last guest blogger of this week is Thomas from The Week that Was. I met Thomas at University. Unfourtunatley he has left Aberystwyth now, so blogging has made it easier for us to keep up with each others goings-on. Thomas is lovely and his blog is great, especially as he keeps me on my toes challenging me with his campaigning efforts for various charities. Go and check it out!

If you’re anything like me, you would have checked your blog feeds/roll/subscriptions (however you actually check your blogs) and became excited when you saw that Rachel has updated her blog. Sorry to disappoint, but she hasn’t. Instead, Thomas of The Week that Was has, so you’ll have to make do with him I’m afraid.

When I was asked to be the guest blogger I instantly said yes, and then the realisation dawned. I’d have to write something. And it’d have to be good. Suddenly the art of blogging, because let’s face it, it is an art, was suddenly foreign. I’m quite happy drawing my childlike pictures (to run with the art metaphor) and admiring the Vincent Van Goghs of the blogging world, but then to be commissioned to actually create something good is a tad bit scary.

But what to write about? Lasagne recipes? No, I cheat with sauces in a jar. Churches? No, stuffchristianslike.blogspot.com does it too well already. Blogs? A bit too meta, and Rachel’s done it before. Jobs? Ah, I have a few funny anecdotes about them.

Recently I’ve been job hunting. I already have a job, as a youth worker, but that’s only for 12 hours a week. So I need to something else with my time, and I don’t fancy taking up knitting. One place was the Daily Echo jobsite. The Daily Echo, for international readers (i.e. Northerners/ Welsh and Americans), is a Pulitzer Prize winning local newspaper. I entered my details. Part-time, please. Within 10 miles of Southampton, please. And the first five were full time posts in Canada. Now, there is a small village in the New Forest called Canada, but I don’t think they have much need for a refrigeration/air-conditioning mechanic. The requirement that the applicants must be passport holders makes me dubious as well. Another job listed was a receptionist, and it quite clearly stated that the salary was £7.50. Okay pay? Not really. £7.50 per annum. Refreshments are provided though, the advert cheerfully insisted.

I’ve found some possible jobs to apply for but the all leave me with multiple dilemmas. You’ll have to read my blog for that though…

Introducing Keith

I am pleased to welcome a very special guest to Dreaming of the Country today.

Meet Keith

Keith is my big brother and that’s why I can get away with posting pictures like this of him. It’s a little sister’s prerogative to be annoying after all.

Keith is a great brother, and he’s also a great pastor of a church in North London. Josh and I were so pleased that Keith agreed to conduct our wedding for us, and he delivered one of the best wedding sermons I have ever heard. I’m not just saying that because I’m biased (or because it included eating KFC in the middle of a wedding service), but because I can still remember every point clearly, and all the advice was great.

Anyway…over to Keith…

I guess we all judge success differently: some of us are much harder on ourselves than others, some have greater aims than others. But in the blogging world how do you know ‘you’ve arrived’? I reckon it’s when you’re invited to write a guest entry on your little sisters blog. If you follow Rachel’s blog closely you will no doubt be aware that there is quite a long list of things that she has promised to blog on at some point – but never seems to get round to it. So when a recent entry had a reference to the sermon I gave at their wedding, with the promise of a future blog on the topic – I thought I’d get in there first. This fast food guide to marriage can be read alongside Mrs. M’s Marriage Tips.

 

1) Fish and Chips – Feelings and Choices: Love is a choice and not just a feeling. Love means that I will choose to act a certain way even if I don’t feel like it.

2) Burger King – Bedtime Kiss: There is a verse in the Bible that says we should not let the sun go down while we’re still angry. In a marriage it is important to say sorry, and to put things right quickly – certainly by bedtime at the latest. Going to bed with your relationship right is more important than winning the argument.

3) Pizza Hut – Practical Help: Marriage is a partnership in which both partners must play their part – and this doesn’t involve watching TV while your partner does all the cooking, cleaning and ironing!

4) KFC – Kindness, Forgiveness, Compassion: Be Kind – may seem an obvious piece of advice but how often when we open our mouths do we forget? When Jesus had compassion it led to action, and when we see each other in need it should spur us to action. A marriage (or any other relationship) without forgiveness is never going to work, because we all make mistakes and we need to be ready to forgive and to be forgiven.

Well – Rach and Josh – congratulations on 2 years. Good to know that after more than 17544 hours you remember something I said. Thanks for inviting me to write, and if anyone is interested, drop in and feed the fish at www.milkandnosugar.blogspot.com

Introducing Chloe

A big welcome to my second guest blogger this week – Chloe from My Happy Ending. I’ll let her introduce herself properly, but just to say that Chole and I have been ‘blogging buddies’ for a while now, and she’s great! You should go and check out her blog NOW! (Well after reading this post of course).

Hello! This is not Rachel… My name (or at least my blog pseudonym) is Chloe. Rachel asked me to write a guest post for Dreaming of the Country, so here I am. When she e-mailed me and asked to write for her blog, at first I was excited and answered YES. Of course! I love her blog and love writing… so why not?

But then I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought… At least not for me. Questions started to come up. Questions like: What’s the topic? What do I write about? What if I write about this? No, too boring. And about this? No, this is lethal… Hum. What if I made mistakes? What if people don’t like my guest post? What would she like I write about? No idea.

Ooh, stress, stress, stress. Questions, questions, questions.

Anyway. The day has come and I don’t have any good post. Sorry!

But I’ll try to write one. I promise.

So, first I think I should introduce myself properly, don’t you think?

*Cough, cough* Hi everyone!! I’m Chloe, from… (Surprise!!!) SPAIN. Everyone thinks Spain is a beautiful country: sun, beach, holidays… But the truth is: IT IS!! Except for holidays… I’ve not been on holidays for two years! This is my first summer holiday in two years… (sob, sniff, hiccup, sob, sniff, hiccup…) Too sad.

Okay, I said I’m from Spain. Why am I writing in English? My mother tongue is Spanish, but I love English, so I try to write in English whenever possible. So you may find some mistakes… Sorry!! I do my best!

I found Rachel’s blog some months ago, and I’ve been reading it ever since. Humm… I don’t remember how I found it… (maybe I’m a terrible gossip and enjoy running from one blog to another in order to know a little bit about other people’s lives… or maybe I was bored and started to look for something good to read on the internet and wanted to know A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES…) In conclusion: Maybe (but just MAYBE) I’m a terrible gossip.

Want to know more about me? Okay…I write for my own blog, My Happy Ending. I write about Jimmy (my boyfriend), our relationship, my ups and downs, life in general, and my cute pet, Stitch… Oh Stitch. He is a super pet! Do you want to know what kind of animal he is? Well… he is… (Surprise!!!) a FERRET! Yep, a ferret. Not a dog, nor a cat, nor a hamster. A ferret. Why? Don’t know. I like ferrets. As simple as that (No, he doesn’t stink!! He’s not a skunk!)

As I said before, I don’t remember how I found Rachel’s blog, but it was probably while I was reading Confessions of a Young Married Couple (I say “probably” because I was reading that blog all the time, and thanks to all the comments I found there, I could meet great blogs like this and great people like Rachel). And once I found it, I was hooked! I loved her honesty and sincerity. AND HER PICTURES! I think Rachel is a great photographer. Love Love LOVE them!

I mean, look at them!

 

I love how natural she is about anything.

And really LOVE her (*cough*love*cough*) story. Yes I confess: I’m an incurable romantic!!! She’s living my dream!!

(My dream is to get a job, buy a house and marry the love of my life, Jimmy.Right now, I’m unemployed, don’t own a house, and am not married to Jimmy… Unfortunately. Not yet. Great!! I’m a disaster. The only goal I’ve reached is a college degree in Translation and Interpreting. That’s all. Meanwhile, I’m earning some money working as a private English, French or Spanish teacher at home.)

So when I found her blog, I had to write a comment and introduce myself! And then she found my blog, and that’s how we met! (not in person… obviously!! She lives in UK and I live in Spain… And fortunately, we haven’t met in person… because then she would realize how uncool I am…)

So if you see some comments written by someone called Chloe, you already know who Chloe is. That strange Spanish girl who writes in English, has a ferret and is waiting to share her life with her boyfriend. And with her readers!!

Introducing Jerry

Welcome to my first guest bloggers of the week! I would like to introduce my good friend Jerry (from jerryhcooke fame), and his girlfriend Fawn.

Jerry is one of the reasons that all of you have to put up with me happy snapping almost everything. We went through school together and I spent many happy hours stealing his camera equipment and going and taking photos of nature, before actually deciding to buy my own. Pretty much all the equipment I have bought has been vetted by Jerry first!

Anyway, Jerry is a vlogger rather than a blogger and has a great youtube channel here. He also took some AMAZING pictures of our wedding which you can view on his flickr page here.

He lives in St Ives, which is probably in one of the most beautiful places on earth (although don’t let Josh hear me say Cornwall is beautiful!).

Enough of my waffling…enjoy!

Updated

I’ve been a bit remiss about updating my blogroll lately, but why not check out some of the new links that I have added today…

Domestic Goddess in Training
A Chronicle of my world travels
My random little thoughts
A Mid-Westerner in Mid Wales

The one in which I finally show you pictures of our lounge

A while ago, before we moved, I read an entry over at Down to Earth about simplifying your bedroom and how important it is to have clear and relaxing place to sleep.
It makes sense doesn’t it? If you want to simplify your life, clearing up the clutter from your house makes a good place to start.

But at the time, reading that entry just made me sad. My bedroom wasn’t clear. My bedroom wasn’t a haven of relaxation. My bedroom wasn’t light and airy. In fact I felt like my whole house was in a constant state of disarray.

It might sound weird to people who don’t give two hoots about living in mess, but it simply isn’t me. I am an ordered person. I tidy up as I go along. It makes me stressed when things are strewn around, and it makes me doubly stressed when I am too embarrassed to invite people round on the spur of the moment because my house is a mess.

The problem I had was storage. I thought it was because our flat was small, but actually having moved into an even smaller flat I now realise it wasn’t that at all. No storage meant that even when things were tidily piled away they were still in sight, and let face it, piles are rarely tidy things. Things were cluttered, got dusty easily, and it was tiresome having to move everything and re-pile it when cleaning.

Add laminate floors into the mix and you have my downfall. I know, I know…laminate floors are meant to be great. Easy to clean and all that. But actually they just show up the dust two seconds after you have swept it and for me that’s just depressing and makes me not want to bother cleaning in the first place. I prefer not to be able to see the squalor I’m living in to be honest.

And that brings me to our current state of affairs post move and the joy that is our new flat.

Our new flat that has carpeting in the hall, living room and kitchen.

Our flat that doesn’t have a dining table in the sitting room so we have space to relax and entertain.

Our flat that has enough space to dry our laundry, so the basket isn’t always overflowing.

Our flat which has enough storage in the bedroom so our clothes are always packed away rather than strewn everywhere.

Our flat that has a sensible hot water system so we can have hot water for washing up whenever we want.

I think you get the picture. I love the new flat!

So, why don’t you see what you can de-clutter and tidy away today? I bet there are a few tops taking up space in your wardrobe that you hardly ever wear. What about all those toiletries that are stuck at the back of the bathroom cabinet? Why not have a swap party with your friends to get rid of some of your unwanted clutter?

What difference could it make to you? It might just mean you’ve got less housework to do, or it could totally improve your mood, your relationships, your motivation…your life!

New Links

Check out some of the new links on my blogroll. They all have lots of entertaining, informing and downright amusing things to say.

 

At the moment I’m especially loving Town Mouse, Confessions of a Young Married Couple and Life at the end of the Road

 

Also, my other half has finally taken the plunge (after lots of prodding from me) and set up his own blog. Check it out here. I can tell there are going to lots of arguments about who gets to use what photos in their blog entries!