MY FIRST ETSY SALE!

Yeeeyah!  I sold my first item in Etsy!  Of course it had to happen while I'm across the pond where my materials are not in tact.  But hey, life tends to happen that way for me.  But anyways....here's the product that I sold.  I'm sooooo flippen ecstatic!! < (Said in an English accent.)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43876566

For a moment there I was getting a bit discouraged...but patience is key....and I'm happy!!!!

Star and Stripes Shoe

Check out my newest item in my Zazzle.com store.  One of my creations I posted online to help with the income.  Hope you like it.

Here's my store on Zazzle.com   

http://www.zazzle.com/aimes88

Military wives

Before I mouthed the words, "I Do," which made this bond between the hubby and I permanent, I categorized military wives as young gals from the south marrying their high school sweetheart fresh out of high school.  Then in their 20's they would gather with fellow military wives around the local playground and gossip about other military wives, while their young toddlers dangled from monkey bars or  decorated sandboxes with makeshift sand castles.

I must admit, before getting married I totally stereo-typed the them in a negative way.  When my hubby would take me on-base in Travis, before we got married, what I encountered pretty much established my views on the wives.  When we would visit the commissary or BX, I would see young wives with no fashion sense whatsoever, pushing a shopping cart whilst dragging one child by their small little arm and yelling at another for walking too far from them.  Also, these ladies would add an evil glare and a head to toe scan at me while performing this multi-tasking job with their kids.  From this, I vowed to never become like this, or even associate myself with them.  Well...I would have to say this stereo-type pertains to about 60% of these women.  The remainder 40% consist of 10% - wives with bastard husbands who cheat constantly leaving their wives crying their eyes out or getting back at their cheating husbands by playing the same game, which is just sad.  20% - wives picked up from foreign countries who are trying to learn the American ways.  And 10% who are like me.  The civilians - who pretty much are not really into the whole wifey organizations and activities.....they just want to live life with their hubby and family learn new things and have fun.

I'm not trying to knock down the military wife circle.  Yes, I'm proud that my hubby works and fights for this country.  I love the whole military lifestyle, I just choose not to partake in the typical military wife status.  Also, it seems like I'm describing  this lifestyle as a negative thing....but I can simply say it's just not me.  But who knows.....You might see me hanging out at the local sandbox, or dragging their child through the commissary aisles.  I just hope that I do it all in style......

Esslack

I. WANT. THIS.

This looks absolutely fabulous!  For someone who's not the best at presenting food in a pretty way....this will sure cover up all the flaws! I LOVE the Germans for this!

http://www.thecoolist.com/esslack-food-spray-golden-culinary-goodness/

I heart them

Sigh. Sunday morning.  With a smile on my face.  Usually, my Sunday mornings consist of a throbbing head, and my right side glued to my bed. This one, however, is lovely.  Just bloody lovely.  This week has been just absolutely fantastical.  From re-connecting with old friends, googling and baby talking with nieces and nephews, to chatting with the parentals, and singing with my old choir.  I truly feel like I'm on cloud 9.  Yes, of course, I wish I had my homie with me, but that will happen within the next few days. Excitement!  More to come.  Till then.....

I

Reflecting with Chaat

One of the many perks of being a housewife, is not having a job to hold me down.  I must admit, I'm pretty blessed to be able to do things freely without the thought of a job infesting my schedule, or occupying my mind.  Not working has made me become a happier person, made me appreciate what I have, who I know, and not take it for granted.  I believe one of the many joys in life is passing time with friends, old and new.  This past weekend I was able to catch up with my gal pals and cause havoc around town.  Something we tend to do quite well.  During the rest of the week, I reconnected with a couple of old friends from the past, which made me realize that it was these people who made me who I am today.

Today I had lunch with an old time friend slash neighbor, slash schoolmate at Vic's Chaat in Berkeley.  What's cool about him is that he's originally from England.  So you can already assume what 90 percent of our lunch conversation was about.  We talked about things like British TV shows, stores, fashion, the geology of England, music, and most importantly, Spice Girls!

It was like old times.  Karaminder "Kim" and I chatted about our love for the UK as if we were back in College.  Complete with a quick update on the world of technology.  I swear without him, I would still be chiseling letters to people and mailing them out via post.

But anywho, we both met up at Vic's Chaat (please correct me if I'm saying the name of the restaurant wrong) in Berkeley.

  I have heard so much about this place, but never took the time to pay it a visit.  I am repeatedly hitting myself in the head as we speak for my lack if visitation.  This place was WONDERFUL!  Soooooo yummy.  The dish that I had was....ummmm something something cholle ( I think).  I dunno, I just said, "can I please have #9.  I also had a Mango Lassi, which I might add was heaven sent.

Then for dessert we had a cool convo about what happened these past few years we lost touch and topped it off with a cup of Chai....which we probably could have done without.

Catch up time with Kim, made me realize truly that I am exactly where I want to be in life.  God took me by the hand and guided me through the labyrinth of experiences and led me to where I need to be right now.  All those obstacles, great memories, people I encountered, love and hatred that I endured made me this kooky person that smiles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I know I may be sounding like an elderly Veteran posting his memoirs, but I believe that a lot of people don't get to really reflect on things like this.  If you are reading this, and feel that you have never felt this way, please stop, breathe, reflect, and just take in everything smile.

There's no place like England

I'm truly happy to be home....but for some odd reason, I'm wishing I was still back in England.  Maybe I'm still adjusting cultures....but I can't help but yearn to watch some Jeremy Kyle, or eat some sausage.  It's so weird, because before I left to go to England, I refused to watch talk shows, and I absolutely HATED sausages.  I also miss the sound of English accents.  Just the other day, I found myself totally engulfed in a show about cars just because it took place in the UK.  I even miss having Cheryl Cole's face being broadcasted on pretty much every channel.
 She's sooooo pretty.

I also find myself missing  the British fashion.  I have never said this in my life, but I refuse to shop here.  It's pretty gosh darn expensive.  I miss Primark

                                                                         New Look

                                                                             Matalan

                                              even Tesco (which is kinda like our Lucky)

 I miss seeing the fashion forward girls walking around town with the handbags hanging off their  forearms.  Their funky cool outfits draped with pearls.   Sequins and 80's style floral prints with combat boots, and hairstyles that replicate a comb over.  I miss having those type of styles invade my everyday views.

I'm also finding myself looking out my car window and looking for roadkill.  As morbid as it sounds, I get sad when I only see 2 or 3 a day.  Also, seeing al these big cars zoom past me on the freeways freak me out.  I'm not used to it.  And the car lanes are like me adjusting to a king size bed after sleeping in a twin all my life.  I just don't know what to do with all that space.

Oh, the UK....you have done something to me....

GNO

 Although, I love the hubby with all my heart, it's nice to get away from the testosterone and release with some good ol' estrogen fun.  One thing that I missed about the states were my gal pals.  Yeah I have a few chica friends across the pond, but the ones that I have over here in the states are people that I adore and love and just get me for me.

This past weekend, was a GNO (Girl's Night Out) reunion.  Me and my 4 other girlys spent the night in beautiful SFO.  That meant getting all dolled  and liquered up.  I look forward to nights like these.  What's more fun that acting like a fool in heels and a dress?  Also, partying in the states is just so much more fun than partying overseas.  I don't know what it is.  I guess people here are crazier, and the demographics is more colorful.  So many different types of people to observe and drunk talk with.  It's just awesome.

So anyway, let me share my night with pictures.....don't have much time to describe in words....need to get ready for GNO.

Secret Diary of a Jet-lagged Girl"

3 in the morning.  One of the things that I hate bringing back from England is the jet-lag.  Trying to think of ways to go to sleep only keep me up even more.  Finding that calling the hubby doesn't work, and catching up on facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=540608152 and Twitter http://twitter.com/Aimes88, only keeps these eyes stubbornly open.

So, I surf the channels on the TV waves and opted for my favorite British TV show.  SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, starring Billy Piper.  I'm desperately hoping that my mind will think that it's 10 at night in England, and after this show, it's bed time.

   LOVE that they show this over here.  I also love that they show the current season as well.  Good job America and Showtime!  Although, back in England, the season ended a couple weeks ago, they are only showing the finale here.  Kinda saddens me because that means I can't live out my Secret call Girl fantasies through this show weekly.  But thanks to DVR....I can relive it over and over for 2 months until I am able to re-enact the entire episode when someone yells "action: or "how much?"

So what is so bloody good about this show?  OMG!  Imagine Carrie Bradshaw in London as a high paid escort....AND with a British accent, who's name is Hannah, escort name - Belle.  Now, replace her friends with a male straight bartender who secretly loves her, another fellow escort named Bambi, and her madame.  Ok after that, imagine her outfits being EVEN more trendier than Carrie's, yes it is possible, it's called London.  Alright, so after you've imagined all that, imagine the sex scenes being super sexy, super raunchy, yet super classy.  I tell you these Brits, they just know how to showcase things better.  

If you re interested more about this show check this out.  http://www.sho.com/site/secretdiary/home.do .  I think my mind got manipulated.....NIGHT!

Holiday to the Bayyerea!

It's 9:24PM on Thursday night.  Right now, I wish it were 24 hours later already.  Cause you why ladies and gentlemen?  I'm going hooooome!!!!  Yes!  I finally get to be reunited with mi familia, mi ami"gos" and "gas" and a home where food suddenly appears as soon as I get to the table (courtesy of the parentals.)!  What is the mission of returning to the homested?  2 things....watch my older sibling get hitched, and become a legal English citizen.  Well....let me add one more thing, re-connect with people who are close and dear to my heart.  EXCITEMENT!!!!!

Only one downslope to this peak, I'm going to be away from my main squeeze and my doggie, both whom I've learned to love more than chocolate!  That's a lot of love.  Well....the lover comes home a week in a half later, but being with him practically everyday and being the only familiar face that I see from California, it's pretty hard to stop it full-stop for those few days....but I'll live.... Yeah, LIVE IT LARGE partying it up with my gal! haha kidding....he will be missed.

Going to miss my little Bitch, Katie

(I am not trying to sound degrading....people really do call female dogs "Bitches" over here....I mean, then even have "Bitch spray."  Which I had to take a picture of and post it on Twitter.).  Sometimes, I  wish Katie was able to talk so that I can call her and see if she's OK.  But I guess that only happens when dogs are animated.

Alright my fellow readers.  I need some shut-eye.  Gotta long ride to Heathrow, with a longer flight to SFO tomorrow.  When I blog next, I will be in Sunny Cali!  Bye Bye pastey legs, darker skin is moving in!

They wanted more!!!!!

Yay!  I finally cooked something that's super good! I mean, I actually made people want seconds of my dish!    That's such a huge accomplishment for me, you just don't understand.  I mean, before I got married, I was never ever able to boil an egg perfectly, and my cookies always turned out to taste like cake with no sugar. I think I have finally met my inner Martha Stewart.  Ok grant that the dish was only pulled pork sandwiches, and I got it off the box, but hey, it's such a HUGE improvement.  I think I finally convinced my husband that he made the right choice.

So I cooked for three hungry firemen.  Usually my dishes get out shown by my hubby's mouth watering dishes.  PUNK!  But this time, they wanted more of what I MADE!  God!  I feel like I just pulled in a multi-millionaire client to invest in my company.  I feel awesome!

http://www.recipesecrets.com/recipeDisplayMRS.aspx?RecipeID=8570&Version=1

I feel like cooking for the whole military base a cake......hmmmm.....

What's in a day?

OK, the name of this blog is, "My life as a Wifey," right?  Pretty much a tell-all blog explaining what an overseas military wife encounters.  Well, let me briefly describe what my everyday schedule usually entails.  Not exactly the most exciting thing to explain, but it's pretty darn cool.

Because my other half is a firefighter, his schedule is not the average 9-5, Monday thru friday.  Unfortunately (and depending on my mood)  fortunately, he works every other day, 24 hour days.  So that means, every other night I get the bed,   TV, and house all to myself.  But also, I mope for at least 5 minutes those days because I miss him.  I'm such a goober at times.

On his days off, our days consist of 3 types of days.  A) Lazy days:: where me, him, and the dog have QT time with our wonderful and energy sucking couch, gluing our eyes to the TV, getting up every so often to get food because we are required to eat.  B) Errands galore::  These days, we usually go on base to grocery shop at the commissary for our evening dinner, mail things at the post office, dog appointments, buy things for the house, etc.  You get the picture.  Or C)  Tourist day::  These are my favorite.  We usually go visit different towns in the UK and see the beautiful sights.  So many Castles and Cathedrals decorate this Land.  We are so blessed to be in a place like this.  You truly don't get many chances to see things like this back in the states.  Also, just walking through all the small towns over here can be just as breathtaking.

So anyway, today is a day where the hubby is at work.  So all day I got the TV and house, and tonight, the bed, all to myself.  Today was pretty busy.  I'll be leaving England for a couple months and going to my OG home called Cali,  on Friday.  So this day mainly consisted of preparing for my departure.  Consisting of last minute cleaning, my own grooming, buying things for the dog one last time, and taking care of some last minute bills before I leave.  Not too exciting, but I did have a couple of highlights.

I visited the local store down the street, dangerous location as far as I'm concerned.  I had to do a return and ended up coming out with more money being withdrawed  from my account rather than being credited.  This dangerous/wonderful place is called MATALAN.  matalan.co.uk/  This place is awesome!  You can get current styles for waaaaay cheaper.  Like I said, dangerous.

After running around buying last minute stuff, I sat my tired feet down and watched a few shows.  I have become so involved in the shows here, that I hardly yearn for the shows back home.  I actually prefer the TV shows better here than at home.  One talk show that I tend to watch religiously is Jeremy Kyle,

which is a Jerry Springer/Maury Povich half breed.  I cannot get enough of the Eurotrash.  It kinda helps with my self esteem.  Here's an example of his typical guest.

Yeah....Awesome!
One thing that's flippen awesome out here is that they play Maury EVERY. SINGLE. HOUR. starting at the time 8am.  I can never get enough of those "you are not the father" moments.  I swear, HOW can you not know who your baby daddy is?

So after all the wonderful talk shows are over, I walk the dog in the cold English weather, which I find VERY refreshing.  I've learn to embrace the coldness blowing through my my short wifey haircut.  I've also perfected the technique of controlling my dog from whining like a baby every time she sees another dog no matter how big or small.....weirdo.

After the walk,  and feeling ampt, I then vacuum the living room, and do some dusting.  This I have to do with a surgical mask, because unlike the blessed, I have the worst allergies.  I probably looked like a hypocondriac if you were to look into my living room window.  After the cleaning, on to the driving around and errands.  Let's skip that and get to the TV shows again.  lol.  So entertaining.  The shows here vary from House re-decorating, to true-life documentaries, to shows that they have in the states.  I can literally be attached to the couch all day, but in this case, because I'm leaving, it's not gonna happen.  Too much shizz to do.

Pretty average day for a housewife, until you add "...in England."

My Tummy's Blog

::Food::


English food.  Doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to taste.  My tummy, however, would like to disagree.  I found that since I've been here, the food cannot stay out of my mouth and has bonded quite closely to my buttocks.  Yeah, I do encounter the almighty famous bland English dish, but with a little tweeking, ie., salt, pepper, toasting, or frying a little longer, it's party in my tummy!  Now before you read any further, I suggest that you grab a tissue and cover your keyboard with saran wrap....because if you're like me, you'll be drooling throughout this whole blog.

So yes, Fish N' Chips. My tummy has had a couple of dates with that dish.  The fish tastes similar to the fish at Long John's, but the chips???? Oh my Lordy!  "Can I get some fish with my chips?" is more like it!  I cannot get enough of the chips over here.  I think what makes them so good is the fact that they are made of 100% potatoes.  0 preservatives.  You would probably think, "Oh, they probably taste like the fries over at In n Out."  Ummmm, Negatory.  Although that food chain proves that their fries are made from fresh potatoes, by hiring a potato cutter that you would see working while in the drive thu,  it does not tastes the same at all.  I dunno what it is, the chips over here are so fresh, it's like they grow their own potatoes in their shop.  They're AMAZING!

More traditional English dishes that I still need to encounter are dishes like

 Bangers and Mash

Yorkshire pudding

Shepard's Pie

English Pudding

 And Black pudding...which I'm not sure if I ever will try.  It's pretty much a blood sausage.  *shiver*

Traditional dishes that I have had are as follows

Full English Breakfast, which I would love to have every morning, but can't because I love my life too much...also, I would like to note that I have mine without the black pudding.....

Sausage and Chips

Chicken Tikka Masala, which I might note is sweeter than the ones served in the states

Hot Cross Buns (barf)  Not too fond of the dates and nuts

Minced Meat Pies.....Yuck to the 10th power.  It's pretty much a little crusted pie with meat, and dates, and nuts and some sweet sause...yeah....exactly

Chips, chips, and more chips!

I still need a lot more work on the English food intake.



It's kind of funny, in the states, after a long night of gallavanting, the word "burrito" or "pizza' would possess our mouths and stomachs.  Over here.  The late night snack of choice would be Kababs and chips, and yes, pizza.  Cannot get away from that heaven sent Italian dish.  Also, back at home, we tend to go on scavenger hunts for the best taco trucks.  UK stye, those scavenger hunts consists of the best kabab truck or English friend comfort food.

 must admit, when I first got here, whenever I saw a truck on the side of the road, first thing that popped into my head was "TACO TRUCK!!!!"


 But I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were yummy fried foods that consisted of mainly hamburgers with grilled onions, mushrooms, bacon (aka ham), and....get this.....a fried egg.  Other foods served  on the truck were hot dogs (aka sausages) on a dry bun, and roasted pig (similar to lecheon) with an aplple jam on a round bun.

I could easily write more about the foods over here....but I need to stop before my laptop short circuts from my dripping saliva.   I'll continue when more "research" has been consumed.....

My America overseas

"So Amy, do you miss America?"  Hmmm....yes and no.  Yes, because I miss the people I call my friends and family, and no, because I can go to America all I want.  ???? No I'm not no millionaire that can jet-set to America like some very fortunate people can.  "My America" is actually the military base. If it weren't for the base, I'd probably be rocking myself in a corner crying for Taco Bell or going mad because my mind can't take the money conversion anymore.  

Because of the military government, I am able to indulge in the same luxuries the American's in the states get to.  I can have my Enchirito anytime I want, have "real" American burgers, spend my dollars, have Baskin Robbins, send mail out with the same American rates, and speak to people that get my American lingo.  I must admit, although they do speak English over here, I still don't understand some of the word usage that these Brits speak.

Our lively looking post office::::::::

It's kind of entertaining being on base as well.  You still see those young teen-age couples that walk around with that one friend tagging along. Tons of Dooney and Burke and Coach bags decorate, I would say a bout 90% of the military wives here.  I tend to pass by about 5 cars a day on base with the front and back windows tinted. Yes, people still have scrapers here.  I'm also amongst a plethera of American accents as well.  "Hey ya'lls," "dude," "Sup my nigs," and even the almighty California popular word, "hella," surrounds my every move.  It's a melting pot of all the states of America.  Pretty strange, but cool experience.

Now, let's talk about the food.  Ok, so we don't get some of the good stuff like Jack in the Box, or In n Out, but we are blessed with the  tastes of Taco Bell, Popeye's and Burger King.  We also have a restaurant that sells soul food and yummy steak.  So I'm all set with my tummy.  no complaints here. Also, when I have a sweet tooth, Cinnabon and Baskin Robbins grace me with their presence.  The US government knows how to take care of their peeps.

The Commissary AKA Lucky, Raleys, whole foods.....etc.:::::

So, I must admit, the shopping here isn't as great.  We have this thing called the BX where they sell products from the states, but it's not too fulfilling, in my standards anyway.  They do sell all every fragrance in the states, DVDs and DS games galore, they even sell Victoria's Secret, BUT I still miss my late evening rendezvous at Target, and shopping at the Great mall for 8 hours straight.  But it's ok, I'm currently converting over to the UK stores for peace of mind.