A Midwestern girl living in London

Going Green Ewa Kwolek's Brazilian Adventure

2012-01-21T18:51:00.002Z

I started a new job in December. I am now working at Proximity London on the Kraft Foods team and I am loving it. It's a great agency, I've got great clients and projects and my new colleagues are wonderful.

I wanted to share this post from Ewa Kwolek's (a new colleague on the Kraft team) blog. Ewa is going to Brazil for the month of March and doing charity work through the TIE organisation for the Edificio Ecologico.

Ewa has been working incredibly hard to raise money and has been coming up some very creative fundraising ideas. Please visit her blog to follow her story and make sure to donate!

Who am I and what is this all about?

Jan11 by ewakwolek

Who am I?

My name is Ewa and I am an Account Director at a marketing agency in London – Proximity London. My agency working with TIE (The International Exchange) chose me to help developing world by using my communications skills.

What does it mean?

From 5^th of March 2012 for 30 days I will be working for a sustainable organisation Edificio Ecologico based in Brazil creating a communications campaign for them.

Who are Edificio Ecologico?

Edificio Ecologico could be translated as ‘Ecological Buildings’ simply explaining their main goal of implementation of recycling systems (separation) in high-rise residential and business buildings in Recife (north of Brazil) to help improve environment and lives of garbage pickers.

This project started 8 years ago and thanks to efforts of its coordinators, 200 residential buildings are now registered to the scheme.

How will I be able to help?

In order to support these guys, I am not only offering them my communications skills. I am also raising money here in the UK that will form my marketing budget in Brazil.

How do I raise the money?

My main idea is around saving money at my work place by simple ‘green steps’. I am encouraging my colleagues to print double sided, switch off PCs and lights, walk up the stairs as opposed to talking lifts and also stop using plastic bags. And all of this to create savings for my charity work. It is simple:

My colleagues do something simple
Proximity passes on the savings
I help a charity in Brazil

My re-usable bags

I produced 250 cotton bags and I am selling them to raise the funds. They were designed by two students who offered their time for free. The idea is simple: stop using plastic – buy one of my re-usable bags helping not only the environment here in the UK but also supporting my fundraising as 100% of takings will be passed to my charity.

What next?

I have 7 weeks left and still plenty to do. I need to raise minimum £1000 and I have a few more fundraising activities to organise and I need to sell all my bags. I also need to get ready and learn as much about Brazil as I can. On top of this I am learning Portuguese to help me communicate with the Brazilian family I will be staying with.

How can you help?

You can simply donate using the donate button on the top right hand side of my blog. Don’t worry, you don’t need a PayPal account and you can simply use your card. Read more here: http://ewakwolek.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/the-importance-of-a-strong-cta/ You can also buy a bag from me (£4 only). Or simply read my blog and pass the message! Thanks in advance for all your support!

Land of 10,000 Stories

2011-12-10T09:51:00.004Z

I've been getting into the routine of waking up on Saturday morning and watching the latest episode of Land of 10,000 Stories.

Land of 10,000 Stories are news segments on Kare 11 in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota. They are presented by Byod Hupert and they are sooo Minnesotan. They are local human interest stories and I usually can't help but tear up during them. The stories are usually about remarkable people in the community. They are great and I love watching them. Matthew is now a stories fan and has gotten used to me crying and despite his stiff up lip I've seen him well up a bit too.

Land of 10,000 Stories: 'High-five Tuesday' pumps up the office

Form AN has been submitted

2011-11-06T19:58:00.002Z

I am happy to say that my application for citizenship got sent off on Friday and it's on the way to the Home Office.

The application itself was pretty straightforward. The only part that was a bit of a pain was having to account for all my time spent outside the UK. That's my fault because I should have been keeping track of that in a spreadsheet as I went. Instead I ended up having to go through my passports and track it that way, which was very time consuming, but I got there in the end.

I decided to use the National Checking Service so that I wouldn't have to send off my passport and they also go through the application to make sure its filled out properly.

I had my appointment last Tuesday (it took about 3 weeks to get it and it costs £45) and it didn't last long because they wouldn't accept one of my referees. For the application you need to have two have people to say that they have known you for the past 3 years and they have to fit this criteria.

5.1 One referee should be a person of any nationality who has professional standing, eg

minister of religion, civil servant, or a member of a professional body e.g. accountant or

solicitor (who is not representing you with this application). The other referee must normally be the holder of a British citizen passport and either a professional person or over the age of 25.

Both should declare that:-

• they are not a relative, solicitor or agent of the applicant, or related to the other referee;

• they are not employed by the Home Office;

• they have not been convicted of an imprisonable offence during the last 10 years (unless the conviction has become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974);

• they have known the applicant personally for more than 3 years;

• they are willing to give full details of their knowledge of the applicant;

• they will advise the Home Office of any reason why the applicant should not be naturalised.

I decided to have my wonderful friend Mary Ivers, who has known me since I first arrived here in London, as one of my referee and then I needed someone else who was a "professional". Matthew's uncle is a police offer so we thought to use him. I was a bit unsure that he would be suitable because I know him through marriage. Matthew's uncle thought that since it was through marriage that it would be ok. However it wasn't and they wouldn't accept him.

Of course I was gutted when they told me at the appointment. Too gutted to feel smug that I was right and that he was going to be considered a relative.

The woman processing my application was really nice about it and said that if I could find someone else to sign the form by Friday they wouldn't charge me again. Which was great, because if I wasn't able to find someone else by Friday I would have to wait another month for the next appointment.

Luckily enough I did have another person to sign the form and I was able to return on Friday to submit it.

I returned on Friday and the woman who was helping me again was very nice. The only thing that went wrong was that I forgot one page of the application! Thankfully I live just two minutes away from the office and she let me run home and get it! I guess they won't print anything off for you.

So, the application was checked and sent off and now the waiting game begins. It could take 2 months it could take 6 months. The next steps after the application is processed and approved is having a citizenship ceremony. There's the possibility that the application isn't accepted, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't be.

Fingers crossed that I won't be waiting too long.

I love this vintage Etsy shop

2011-10-31T20:09:00.001Z

I love this cute cute Etsy shop, Vintage Jane.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T19:53:00.001Z

Belle and Boo

I've seen so many super cute photos of my friend's kids all dressed for Halloween today.

I miss an American Halloween. There are definitely not any trick or treaters on my street in Brixton. I miss seeing all the kids dressed up, all the jack o'lanterns and the candy.

I've made a little jack o'lantern for our flat, so hopefully it will be a little cheerful surprise to people passing by.

Halloween is catching on over here in Britain, but it's just not the same. I also love how American's will dress up at work! I've seen some pretty funny costumes popping on Facebook today.

To everyone across the pond, hope you're having a very spooky Halloween :)

LBi Social Media Team

2011-10-24T13:33:00.000+01:00

Doing Bex faces!

On Friday it was Bex's last day on the LBi social media team. We're all going to miss her, but she'll definitely not be forgotten. Bex pulled some pretty amazing faces during her time on the team and here we all are pulling them with her! Sending her off in style.

Life in the UK: could you pass the citizenship test?

2011-10-23T14:06:00.000+01:00

I saw this on the American Expat in London blog today. I took my Life in UK test last year and I remember lots of people wanted to look at the book. People would debate about how many actual British citizens would pass it.

The Guardian posted an online quiz so you can have a go and see how well you'd score!

My so called British cooking

2011-10-16T17:13:00.001+01:00

Cafe Latte original cheesecake and chicken salsa chili. From my trip home 2009.

A few weeks ago I made a pledge to learn how to make some authentic British cuisine. I was going to be making a dish every Sunday and blogging about it. At least that was the plan. I started off strong and made Shepherds Pie, which turned out really good, and after that....well...I just got busy.

I find that I enjoy cooking on a Sunday, especially when it's a bit chilly outside. I was in the mood for a good chili today and decided to make Cafe Latte's Chicken Salsa Chili. It is so good and one of my favourite things to eat when I go there. My very good friend Cory turned me on to it years ago. It's one of those dishes that's very straightforward to make and you can find all the ingredients here in London.

I remember the first time I made for Matthew and he couldn't believe that I was adding tortilla chips to it. He thought that was crazy, but of course he loves it :) I miss Cafe Latte, especially the cheesecake.

If you like a spicy chili you will like this recipe. A nice touch of home here in London. If you're ever in Minnesota, please go to Cafe Latte. You will love it!

Café Latte’s Chicken Salsa Chili

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

• 2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeno chili peppers

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

• 3 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, undrained and broken up

• 1 can (29 ounces) tomato puree

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) dark red kidney beans drained

• 1 can (15 ounces) hominy

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

To make chili: Warm olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Sauté chicken

until cooked. Add onions and reduce heat. Cook for 3 minutes or until onions are tender.

Add pepper flakes, garlic, jalapenos, chicken stock, chili powder, tomatoes and tomato

puree, kidney beans and hominy. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

To serve: Add chopped cilantro and limejuice just prior to serving. Adjust seasoning to

taste. Top with sour cream, chopped red onions, grated cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

Craft Fields

2011-10-05T21:36:00.003+01:00

My friend Monika has been working super hard to launch a website called Craft Fields and it has just gone live this month.

Monika is passionate about helping Lithuanian designers/crafters promote themselves and sell their creations so she and team of three other people set up the website/social hub to do just that.

The site also has a blog which you should definitely have a look at. There will be more and more designers/crafters who will be selling on the site, so you should check back often.

It's a really exciting project and I think it's really amazing that Monika and her team want to share what's unique about her country with the world.

I had the chance to go with her to Lithuania, where's she from, at the end of August and I loved it. It was a beautiful country and had a really cool vibe. The countryside reminded me a lot of Minnesota and we managed to visit several places over the long weekend.

This is how she explains what Craft Fields on the site:

We're a social hub and marketplace for Lithuanian craft makers – artists, designers, carpenters, painters, writers, musicians. We started as a startup and are a joint team of passionate social entrepreneurs spread across Europe.

We believe in the ability of communities to nurture creativity and originality.

We'll tell stories about our crafters working hard to create different and unique experiences through their products. You'll have the opportunity to embrace craft work in various ways: sharing, buying, giving opinions, telling your stories.

Here is a sample of what's currently for sale on the website.

Be sure to Like Craft Fields on Facebook and to Tweet with them on Twitter!

Time to apply for naturalisation for British citizenship

2011-09-17T10:58:00.000+01:00

So funny that as I typed in that title for the post my spell check wanted to change the s to a z. I really like using the z instead of the s, but I've lived in London long enough now to have to sucumb to the fact that I use the letter s and u where I wouldn't normally before. I think that fact alone should qualify me for citizenship :)

I am coming up on three years here in London on my ILR visa, which means I've lived here long enough to now apply for naturalisation and get a lovely passport with a unicorn and lion on it.

In preparation I've already printed out the AN form and guide book and it seems pretty straightforward. You need to have two references (people of a certain professional standing who have known you for 3 years), a record of every trip you've made out of the country, your proof of passing the Life in the UK test and a fee of £836. At least that's what I can remember off the top of my head.

You have to prove that you've been with your partner and that you've spent a specified amount of days here in the UK. I am not worried about filling out the actual form, although I don't feel 100% about where I've put my Life in the UK certificate, I am sure it's somewhere.

I am going to have the application reviewed by the nationality checking service. A friend of mine had her application checked and she said it was definitely worth it.

Needless to say that I am pretty excited and it feels like a long time coming. It will be interesting to see how long the actual process will take from me sending it off to receiving the passport. I am expecting it to take at least three months. We shall see.

If anyone knows of any good blog posts of other people's experiences or your own, please post them in the comments and I'll add them into a new post.

Birra Moretti

2011-08-20T20:38:00.001+01:00

Crafty on a wet London afternoon

2011-08-20T18:23:00.000+01:00

I bought this Alice Melvin Cut out and Make Bird Mobile kit last month at the Tate Modern. Today it decided to rain for a bit after lunch so I thought it would be a good time to sit down at the kitchen table with a nice cuppa and make this cute little mobile.

There's something nice and relaxing about just having to cut along the lines. I've hung the mobile right above my kitchen sink, where it looks nice and cheerful. I'll post a photo of the finished product tomorrow when the light's a better.

Here's a link to my Spotify playlist that I was listening to while making the mobile :) Rainy London Afternoon

Just call me Mrs Beeton

2011-08-20T15:30:00.000+01:00

I've lived in London now for almost 4 years now and it's time that I roll up my sleeves and start learning how to make this country's culinary secrets. I think that the only real British food that I've ever made is the traditional Sunday lunch. The good old roast dinner, although I don't make Yorkshire puddings.

So I am going to be making something British each Sunday and blogging about it.

Sounds easy enough :)

To give you a bit of context I thought I'd outline a few things, complete with bullet points! How official is that?

I am not what you would call a cook. I can make a few things really well and I usually stick to that.

I make a really tasty chicken soup, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and post roast. That's about it.

I am not saying that I don't like to cook, but I rarely have the time or energy after a long day at work to whip an amazing meal. I usually will make a nice piece of fish and some vegetables. I like cooking something like a pot roast or a soup on a Sunday.

I love food and eating out, but I am not an uber at home foodie person.

So, there you have it folks. I've laid down the challenge and it starts tomorrow. Wish me luck and please feel free to give me suggestions as to what I should cook.

Man vs Food

2011-08-20T14:58:00.001+01:00

Guest post by Sweary Shmary

Man vs Food

I've recently been introduced to Man vs Food. The first series was shot in 2008 and I cannot quite believe that it has taken three whole years for it to come to my attention.

It is compelling viewing. It is a journey, no, more of a quest, through the United States in search of big, badass food. Every epsiode ends with a challenge where the host, Adam Richman, eats a dish that is inconceivable in either quantity or hotness.

Adam Richman is hugely likeable. I didn't quite get this on first viewing but when you watch it back-to-back, as is my want, he really does grow on you. You want to be in a diner with him, or maybe a bar but perhaps consuming slightly smaller portions.

Now, America has a reputation for supersized food and this show does nothing to dispute that conception. People associate the USA with obesity, I have heard the term 'fat Americans' on many an occasion. What this show demonstrates however, is that not only can you get massive portions but you can also add all varieties of cheese to your order, before having it deep-fried and dipped in gravy. I exaggerate. A little bit.

The thing is, the food may be very bad for you but it tastes great. Just watching 'Man v. Food' is a mouthwatering experience regardless of how long ago you last ate. There is an art form to how some of these open sandwiches are put together. There is a pride in just how delicious these burgers taste. These diners and restaurants get a reputation. People travel cross-State and they attempt to consume ridiculous amounts to get their fat faces on the wall, declaring themselves as one of life's winners.

My point is, that yes, America has an obesity problem, but they have a fuck-load of fun getting fat. Whereas, in Britain, we also have an obesity problem but we get bootylicious at Greggs.

Our version of the American diner is the greasy spoon. Now, I love a greasy spoon but the quality of the produce is generally shit. The bacon is always undercooked and the sausages taste synthetic, whereas in America (okay, I've only been once but I think I'm right on this) they care a bit more about their meat. To be fair, you will occasionally find a decent greasy spoon but you never go to one with the expectation of good quality food or much choice.

We are a nation getting fat on buy-one-get-one-free deals at Iceland. We don't ask for more and we don't get it. I am not saying great food does not exist here, it does and I've had plenty, but the food that isn't great for you and that gets mass-consumed tends to be the same food we decide is shit half-way through eating.

My weakness? Scotch Eggs from Sainsburys. Not even 'Taste the Difference'. I recently went to a wedding where there was a Scotch Egg tower, consisting of different varieties and all made fresh with locally sourced ingredients. You would have thought that would have put me off the poor relation but it didn't. What can I say? When it comes to food maybe I, and many of my countrymen, have inadequacy issues. We simply don't appreciate that our fat asses are worth so much more.

I have to finish this with a video of Man v. Food. This really is food porn but not in a lick-the-spoon kind of way. This is much filthier than that. If you like this as much as I do, you may be living in the wrong country.

The best of British food!

2011-07-28T12:34:00.001+01:00

What's it like to be American abroad?

2011-07-23T10:56:00.001+01:00

an answer to the question what is it like being an american abroad

This is a great post by expat blogger Nicky Bryce-Sharron. She's from Ohio and now lives in Brighton. Awesomeville is a great blog and if you don't read it already add it to your blog roll! I had to share, because it captures the experience of being an expat so well. I can totally identify with her writing.

Washing up liquid or dish soap?

2011-07-23T09:22:00.002+01:00

If you really miss the nice metal teeth, watch this video and you can see them tearing off a piece of foil! Heaven :) http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/en/product.asp?prod_id=1789

The other day I was on the American Expats in London Facebook page and saw a question asking if it was possible to buy Dawn dish soap (washing up liquid). I thought it was an interesting thing to want to buy over here, because in my opinion the dish soap you can get here is just as good.

Further into the thread someone asked what was up with "What's up with the lousy 'zip' lock bags?" and then this of course led into a bit of back and forth about the superiority of Ziploc baggies and our tin foil (Renyolds Wrap) that comes in a box with nice sharp teeth so you can easily tear it.

I was of coursed lured into the thread because I too stand behind the quality of American Ziploc baggies and whenever I go home I always buy a few boxes to bring back with me.

Naturally the thread turned to helpful people mentioning you can get American things at Costco and then of course someone mentioned that they missed Girl Scout cookies.

I digress......

The point is after adding my comment about the baggies, I took a moment to reflect on the original post about wanting to know where you can buy Dawn dish soap.

I thought to myself that of all the things to miss product wise a person feels that they need to have American dish soap? I also thought that it was pretty ridiculous and that they needed to toughen up and just get on with it. I thought this person isn't going to make it if they can't are so set in their ways about dish soap. I mean if Fairy liquid is good enough for the Queen, surely an expat can use it.

There are of course things that I miss, food and product wise. Food especially. Things like Spaghettio's with meatballs (Hoops just aren't the same), Velveeta mac and cheese, frozen pizza, certain kinds of canned soup. I do agree that the foil here is rubbish. However, I've had to face facts and the make the best of it.

After reading the thread I thought what an absolute waste of time to even be posting that question. Then 30 seconds later I felt that I had been a bit heartless and judgmental. Perhaps that dish soap had a special meaning to that person, or they just love washing dishes. I don't know and it doesn't matter. Although the fact that I felt so heartless and flippant about it signaled to me, that I was becoming more like a local and less like an expat.

The point is this, all us expats go through adjusting to life in our new country in our own ways.

The things I missed during my first two years here seem like a long time ago. You definitely get to the point where things just kind of click. You go to the grocery store and you don't wish you could buy certain America products. You'll find that one day you don't even notice everyone's accent and you find yourself getting the first round in. I'll bet there even comes a day when you don't even care what washing up liquid you use anymore....

Can Brits work in America?

2011-07-19T17:08:00.002+01:00

This is Matthew, he is English!

//My good American friend Taylor Baldry sent my English husband this email. He was giving him some ideas for employment when we move to Minnesota.///

Dear Matthew,

I do miss a karaoke-ing-a-go-go. But it sounds like, from what I hear, that it won't be too long until we once again will be able to share a mic but this time in the Land of the Free.

Speaking of Cash, have you seen this video? It is a crowd-sourced animation where anyone can contribute a frame to the project:

http://www.thejohnnycashproject.com/#/explore/TopRated

Also speaking of cash, here are some ideas for your new job in America:

1. Fake tour guide. This is something that I always wanted to do - give people tours based that are based on make-believe. There actually is a business in Chicago that does this.

2. Hire an Englishmen. In China, a White man can make a fine living being rented out for parties, business openings and such as their presence supposedly adds a sense of sophistication, hipness and diversity. So in Minnesota, offer yourself up so people can hire you for various events to make them seem more witty or perhaps glum.

3. Start wind farms in the middle of one of Minnesota's many lakes. It's windy.

4. Become a street map seller. You know how in LA there are people that sell "Maps of the Stars" to tourists? Sure you do. Well team up with your wife, Rhea, to pinpoint interesting (or perhaps very uninteresting) places in Minneapolis. The maps could also be very personal - for example "this is where I threw-up on myself, this is where I found $5, this is where I was when my doctor called me to let me know that my gonorrhea results came back negative." etc.

5. Train conductor.

6. Become a butler. Check out this site on how to become, as the name suggests, a modern butler. They have some very educational videos on packing a suitcase.

Minnesota summer at the cabin

2011-07-18T22:23:00.001+01:00

We haven't had much of a summer here in London, so I've been looking at lovely photos of other people's summers.There's nothing like going up north to the cabin during the summer in Minnesota. These photos, taken by Allison Vallant, really capture what it's like to go to the cabin. Allison and I went to MCAD together and she's a very talented lady. She majored in photography surprise surprise :) Her blog and Flickr site are gorgeous. Make sure to take a look. You will love it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonthevaliant/5913749430/in/photostream

Add chttp://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonthevaliant/5913742500/in/photostreamaption

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonthevaliant/5913190313/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonthevaliant/5913742500/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonthevaliant/5913191611/in/photostream

Summer in Minneapolis

2011-07-18T17:20:00.003+01:00

I love Sharyn Morrow's photography and I will readily admit to living vicariously through her pictures. I was missing the summer in Minneapolis today, especially as it's cold, gray and rainy here in London. I found these pictures on her Flickr and thought they did a good job of summing up summer in Minnesota. Sharyn's blog Weapons of Massdistraction is one of my favourites, it's a good read!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/5758390437/in/set-72157626803930106/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/5873142505/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/5923593722/in/photostream

Sharyn Marrow Photography

Summer in England

2011-07-18T10:28:00.002+01:00

Expat Taxes

2011-07-17T13:42:00.001+01:00

There are only two certainties in life...death and taxes.

It's that time in my expat journey to write my post about paying taxes. I've put it off for as long as I could, but there's no escaping it. If you ever want to go back to the States you need to be current with your taxes. Despite what I've read about people hoping to forget all about taxes when they come to live in England it's just not true. You will have to file taxes.

In addition to filling back taxes from 2007 I also had a misfiling from 2004 which finally caught up with me and I ended up having to pay a not so small sum of money to the IRS. Turns out that I can refile and get a refund, so that was something that I needed to do as well.

I started thinking about filing my back taxes almost a year ago and started asking around if anyone knew of someone who can handles American taxes. A lovely guy that I know here recommended someone, but I didn't have a very good experience with him. Basically the person who was recommended was just so slow at getting back to me. I just gave up on it, thinking that I could maybe figure it out on my own. Now that was almost a year ago, so you can see how far I got.

Since I am thinking of returning to Minnesota at some point and applying for Matthew's green card, that means I have to get these taxes sorted. I spent a bit of time researching it online and came to the conclusion that I am not be the best person to file my own taxes. I might be good at lots of things, but I came to the realization that I was more than happy to let a professional take care of it.

So that meant finding someone to do it. I went to the UK Yankee website, which is my favourite site for everything expat, and had a look at the Tax thread, Haven't filed Since moving to the UK! Help!

This tread struck a cord with me and I saw that they mentioned Greenback Expat Tax Service. I went to the website, liked the look of it so I sent them an email and they got back to the next day.

Getting my taxes sorted was really easy. I got an email instructing me that I had been given a File Share where I could upload files and that I needed to fill out a tax questionaire. I filled out the form and uploaded all my tax information.

I had the IRS send me everything I needed, which made things easy. I uploaded all my documents on a Sunday and I got an email back on Monday afternoon informing me that my taxes were ready! I couldn't believe it.

I had one issue with my 2010 tax return relating to some investments and David was super helpful. I needed to get some more information from my financial advisor and he was able to amend it the very next day.

I've been very impressed with how quickly they came back to me. I would recommend Greenback Expat Tax Service. It was just so easy to upload the information they needed and get the returns done. I just felt that I didn't want to mess around with my taxes and risk not filing them correctly.

Their pricing is pretty straightforward you pay $329 for the first return and each additional year is $279. You can pay the bill online, either by credit card or PayPal.

All I can say is don't be afraid of filing your taxes, just do it. Working with David was so easy and he's a lovely guy and I am very happy with the service I received from Greenback.

I got this email from David about the process works:

We get a lot of questions from new customers about 'how the process works' so below is a brief outline of what you can expect. If you have any questions, please drop me an email anytime and I will do my best to answer them. I understand that you have multiple years of returns to file. If you just fill in one questionnaire and then copy it for each year, you will only need to change any information that changes from one year to the next. If you have any correspondence from the IRS regarding your 2004 return, please upload that as well.

How the process works:

1- You will receive shortly (or have just received) a user name and password to access our sharefile system. This system will allow us to securely share your tax documents as well as your draft and final tax returns. This system utilizes the same 128bit encryption that banks use, so it is very secure.

2- When you log in, you will notice that I have uploaded a questionnaire which you can use to share your tax details, as well as a checklist which itemizes which documents you will need to upload to your secure folder.

3- Once you have uploaded these documents, I will start reviewing them, and will likely come back to you with some questions and clarifications to make sure that I fully understand your specific situation and can help you take advantage of as many deductions as possible.

4- Once I have all the info I need from you, I will prepare your draft return and upload it to your secure folder. At that point, you will also receive an invoice from us. Payment is not due until you are happy with your draft return.

5- Once you have reviewed your tax return and paid the invoice, we will then upload the final return to you, with directions for mailing it in or in many cases we can efile it for you.

I hope that is clear, however if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I look forward to working with you. My goal is to make this US tax year your most hassle-free one yet!

Sincerely,

David L. Hillary, Jr., CPA, CITP, MBA

I didn't see it coming

2011-07-14T18:22:00.002+01:00

Lazy girl blog.love this video. makes me happy.

Thinking about time

2011-07-03T22:35:00.000+01:00

I think a lot about time these days.

I think about.....

How much longer will I be living in London?

How long will we live in the States?

How long will it take to get my UK passport once I've applied?

I think about not having enough hours in the day. About how long my journey to work takes. How fast the weeks seems to go by and how the weekends go by even faster.

I think about if I have time to really meet that friend for a coffee on a Saturday afternoon, or if I should be spending my time doing other things.

I think about how long it would take to do a masters degree. I think about how long it will take for me to advance my career.

I spend time thinking about writing posts on this blog and then feeling bad that I can't find the time.

I think about how I now need to plan what I need to do. If I need to go shopping and it's all the way across town do I really want to make the journey to get there, is it worth the time?

I feel like time is moving at a speed that I've never experienced before. It seems to slip away before I've done so many of things I want to. All of sudden it's 10 p.m. and I still have a full to do list.

I don't know if it's because I am getting older. All I know is that I am more aware of time than ever before and that I feel the need to plan and make sure that I do everything that I want to do in this life.

My friend Becky and I have had talks about this recently. She reckons it's something that starts to happen to you when you turn 30. That you realise that life isn't forever in a way that seems much different from when you're in your 20's.

I think that it's partly because of living here in London that I've had the chance to reflect on my life in way that I wasn't able to back in Minneapolis. I sometimes feel like I've been plucked out of one life and dropped into another. I feel more or less the same, yet things feel that tiny bit different.

The main reason that I've been thinking so much about time is that I am coming up to 3 years here in the UK and after October 11th I can apply for my UK passport.

Which means that we've thinking about when we'll go and live in Minnesota. When I married Matthew we made a deal that at some point (after I got my UK passport) that we'd live for at least a year in Minneapolis. Just so Matthew could see what life is like where I grew up and for us to spend some time with my friends and family.

I'd really like Matthew to experience what it's like to be Minnesota, because being Minnesotan is pretty brilliant and I'd like him to have the chance to live in another country. I want to show him everything about a place that I love. I think Matthew would make a great Minnesotan.

At the moment nothing is set in stone when anything is going to happen. The only thing weighing on my shoulders is if we're going to start a family at some point where is that going to be? Do I want to raise a family in London? Would we live in MN or somewhere else in England? So many things to think about and consider. So many things to think about.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"

New York Subway or London Underground?

2011-05-28T16:03:00.003+01:00

NYC Subway 7 Day unlimited travel $29.00 USD

London Underground 7 Day unlimited travel (zones 1&2) £27.30 GBP

I was away in New York last week for a graduation with the family and while I was there I spent some time riding around on the subway.

I love cities with public transport. In some ways it seems like a novelty to me coming from Minneapolis. Minneapolis does have a decent bus and more recent light rail system, but no one really aspires to public transport there. You ride the bus if you don't have a car, you work in downtown or you're a tree hugger. If you're really a tree hugger then you'll usually be riding a bike....

I used to ride the bus before I had a car and can clearly remember my first rides. The first bus trip going out to Southdale mall and of course getting on going the wrong way, riding it out to the middle of nowhere and having to turn around and ride it all the way back in the opposite direction, those were the days.

I ride the tube everyday here and for the most part it's good. I used to have a pretty easy straightforward journey to my previous job at WAX. Now working at LBi I am going over to East London. It takes me about 45 mins door to door. I've got two ways I can get there.

I can take the Victoria line from Brixton up to Oxford Circus, change there and then take the Central line to Liverpool Street. The benefit of this journey is that since Brixton is the first stop on I always get a seat. Sitting down first thing in the morning is pretty nice. It's usually crowded on the Central Line, meaning I have to stand, but it's not too super crowded. This route is a longer and it can sometimes be crowded in Liverpool Street station. Meaning lots of people trying to get out at the same time, while wandering round getting in my way.

Or, I can get on at Brixton take the Victoria line up one stop and change for the Northern line at Stockwell. I then take the Northern line all the way up to Moorgate, get out there and then walk about 5 extra minutes. Moorgate is just behind Liverpool Street station.

The journey is quicker by far, but the Northern line is sooooo crowded. I mean like you fight your way onto the train and spend the journey with your face in someone's armpit. I think I've only got a seat once in the past 2 months and that was when there was only one stop left before I got out.

It's not pleasant. Being that crowded means being stuffed in with a lot of other people who also aren't very happy about having their bodies pressed up against strangers. Most people look miserable and it's usually pretty hot.

So, when I was in New York I rode the subway around and let me tell you...the subway has nothing on the London Underground. I was thinking about this as I was coming home on the extremely HOT Victoria line last night.

The subway in New York is nasty. It's dirty and grim and it's just like a hole in the ground with trains. At night it feels a bit rough and ready. I also found it not as straightforward to use as the Underground. I can look at the Underground map and know exactly which direction the train is going to be heading. I am sure if I lived in New York I'd get the hang of it, but I missed the tube big time.

I missed the classical music playing at the stations, the escalators, the adverts, the little shops, the Metro, Stylist and Evening Standard and how clean the underground is.

I do have to say in the subway's favour that I do like the fact that it runs all night, the trains are bigger and AIR CONDITIONED! You might swelter for a bit on the platform, but the minute you step on the train you're hit with that sweet cooled air. I also get a kick out of seeing pay phones on the platform.

I wouldn't be a Londoner if I didn't moan about the Underground, but secretly I love it. Sorry New York subway London wins this one!

Where I've lived

2011-04-17T20:15:00.004+01:00

My friend and fellow blogger Mary mentioned that she's lived a lot of places since university. It got me thinking about all the places that I've lived in my life. I've been thinking a lot recently about the concept of home and what home means.

Here's a list of all the places that I've lived.

Birth - 18 years old

House of St Paul Avenue ( Highland Park, St Paul) - house I came home to after I was born.
House near Cretin ( Highland Park, St Paul) - house we lived in when I was a toddler.
House on Norfolk Ave ( Highland Park, St Paul) - house we lived in until I was in 2nd grade.
House on Ottawa Ave (West St. Paul) - house we lived in until I was in 4th grade.
Linda Trap's House (West St. Paul) - where I lived for two weeks when my mom got sick.
Dennis and Peggy's House (West St. Paul) - I stayed there at night when I lived on Ottawa after my mom got sick and went into the hospital.
Gorman Ave (West St. Paul) - where I lived from 4th grade to 7th grade
43rd and Upton (Minneapolis) - apartment I lived in with my mom and her friend Carol for a few months.
Selby Ave (Cathedral Hill, St. Paul) apartment where I lived with my mom from 7th grade until 8th grade.
Scheffer Ave (Highland Park, St. Paul) Grandma's house where my dad lived after my parents separated. I lived there from 8th grade until the middle of 9th grade.
Angie Roder's family (Minneapolis) I lived with Angie's family in two different houses during 9th and 10th grade.
Arts High School (Golden Valley) I lived in the dorms during 11th grade.
Scheffer Ave (Highland Park, St Paul) I lived there for part of the summer after 11th grade.
Molly Roark's family (Blaine) I lived there during 12th grade.
Dennis and Peggy's House ( West St. Paul) I lived there for the summer after 12th grade.

After the age of 18

Randolph Ave (Highland Park, St Paul) - My first apartment when I was 18 years old. I lived alone for awhile and then Angie moved in with me.
Cleveland Ave (Highland Park, St Paul) I lived there with a roommate when I was 19.
Norfolk, VA - Apartment withTroy.
Suffolk, VA. - Apartment with Amy.
Suffolk, VA. - Moved in with Chris and his family
Suffolk, VA - Apt with Chris.
Randolf Ave (Highland Park, St Paul) - Moved there with Chris.
Stevens Ave (Minneapolis) - Apartment with Paul.
Purity Bakery Building (Minneapolis) - Apartment with Karey Degnan.
Aldrich Ave (Minneapolis) - Apartment with Raya.
Aldrich Ave (Minneapolis) - Apartment with Gina.
2nd Ave (Minneapolis) - My own apartment.
Pleasant Ave (Minneapolis) - Apartment with Dave.

London 2007

Bethnal Green (Student accommodation London) shared.
(Chiswick, London) Matthew and Wayland.
(Shepherds Bush, London) Matthew and Wayland, Ian and Alice.
(Brixton, London) - Just Matthew

Vintage haircut

2011-04-16T22:30:00.000+01:00

think it might be time for another retro vintage haircut.....

London Bloggers Meetup

2011-04-16T21:52:00.002+01:00

I went to my fist London Bloggers Meetup event last Thursday. I had heard about these meet ups, so I was happy to finally attend one. I couldn't believe my luck when I read that the key speaker for the event was none other than Leo Babauta.

I just couldn't believe it, I love this guy's book!

I keep a copy of Leo's book The Power of Less in my bathroom! I first came into contact with Leo's book when I joined the Personal MBA community two years ago. I've been making my way through the 99 best business books list and Leo's book is in the productivity and effectiveness section.

In a nutshell it's about "simplicity as the art of focusing only on what’s essential to your goals and your personal satisfaction, and ignoring the rest." Have a look at this summary of the Power of Less from the personal MBA website.

It's one on those books that just makes sense and isn't too self helpy. I usually flip through it once a week, when I am having a soak :)

So to find out that Leo was going to be there was really cool. I brought my book along for him to sign, I know I am a bit of a nerd.

Leo's talk was about how he started his blog and insights that he felt were worth sharing. To be honest I hadn't read Leo's Zen Habits blog, just his book. So it was interesting to hear his story and to know follow his blog.

What I took away from it was:

Write from your life and write with passion.
Think about how you can help solve people's problems.
How can your experience help others.
What stories do you have that people can relate to.
If Leo could do it in Guam with six kids...so can you.

The second speaker was Arvind Devalia and he was billed as someone who is living by Leo's teaching. He was very kind and gave me an autographed copy of his book Get the Life you Love and Live it. I am going to be taking a look at it this weekend.

At the end of the day it's not rocket science. You also have to feel passion for what you're writing about. Don't blog about something because you feel you have to. No one wants to read about something that's hollow or forced, or just published for the sake of making someone a social media star.

I found the meet up to be inspiring. All I was expecting was a networking event, but I came away with ideas for my own blog. I am looking forward to putting what I learned into practice. I also met some great new people, while seeing some lovely familiar faces. Thanks to the organiser and the sponsors. I am enjoying my Total Greek yoghurt!

Post on the London Bloggers site from the Leo Babauta event, there are some great videos there.

London Blogger Meet Up
London Bloggers
Zen Habits
#LBM

The Crafty Fox Pop Up Market

2011-04-16T15:51:00.007+01:00

Crafty Fox Market

I love this super cute, super fun pop up craft market. I stopped by today to check it out and wished I wasn't feeling so rubbish (bad cold) otherwise I would have spent the entire afternoon there. Not only are there loads of amazing things to buy, but they have a really nice set up where you can sip tea or cocktails and have cupcakes!

I bought a present for my friend Mary from Charlie & the Fox ( great blog) some little badges and prints. The badges and prints are from Seventy Tree and I love her design and illustrations.


Charlie & the Fox

Seventy Tree

I am in love with Instagram and London

2011-03-28T20:11:00.004+01:00

So I've got a new website that is all about photos. It's how I see London. Nothing to read, just lovely pictures.

www.rheainlondon.com

Living in London blogs

2011-03-27T21:25:00.002+01:00

photo by birdAve

Being an expat is not always easy.

I think I must be going through some new phase of expat adjustment which has been set off by the fact that this October I will eligible to apply for a UK passport. It seems like a long way off, but times flies and it will be here before I know it. I was looking at the calendar the other and it just hit me that in October I will have lived here in the UK for four years.

That's a long time.

It feels like a long time and yet at the same time feels like nothing. When I think about what I've done and experienced in that time I just can't believe how much I've been through. Time is another thing that has been playing on my mind, but I'll leave that for another blog post.

When Matthew and I got together we agreed that we didn't know where we wanted to end up. We're both easy going and have a flair for adventure. We've talked about working and living somewhere other than the UK or America. We are both open to seeing where things will take us.

However, I did tell Matthew that I wanted him to live in Minneapolis with me for a least a year. I wanted him to experience life in the States and I wanted to be able to share my family, friends and special places with him. Matthew has of course agreed. He's been to Minneapolis with me three times and has always enjoyed it and my family and friends really like him. I've never taken him during the winter......but I think he'll learn to love it.

The thing is.......well.....I've been more aware of time lately. Life is short and you've got to experience as much as you can. I've been beginning to think a lot about our future and what we're going to be doing where. I've been thinking about when we might head to America.

Of course, this opens a whole can of worms. Sure I am homesick, not as much as I was when I first started living here, but I've definitely adjusted to life here.

I've also been worried about how I am going to feel when I move back to the States. I've read on other blogs and have heard from other expats that it can be a very emotional experience. I am not so worried about Matthew adjusting, but how I'll adjust. Which sounds a bit selfish :)

I worry that it won't feel like home anymore, that it will just feel different. What if it's not as wonderful as I remembered? What if people have changed? Places have changed? What if I've changed so much that I feel like I don't fit in? Will it be weird? Will I be able to find a job? Will Matthew be able to find a job? Can I get used to driving on the left side of the road? Will American people seem strange? What will it be like not having 25 days paid vacation? Will I miss the NHS? Will I be able to pick up where I left off with my friends or will we have grown apart?

We'll have to get Matthew a green card in order to work and every time I go the U.S. citizenship and immigrations services website I get a headache. Getting Matthew a green card is going to involve forms, paperwork, time and money.

Lots of questions on my mind.

I think the biggest fear is that it won't feel the same or be as good as I remember.

Of course it won't feel the same, it has been four years and I've changed.

It's just one of those things. When you marry someone from another country, where you live is an issue that you get to deal with. It's exciting too, don't get me wrong.

Living abroad changes you, there's just no two ways about. I feel like I am so different to the person I was before I moved here. I feel like the way I see the world and life has changed and of course it's a good think, but it feels strange. A good strange.

I thought I'd link to this article, which explains about repatriation. The UK-Yankee website also have a great forum about it as well. We will see how it goes. Lots to think about.

Many expatriates, living in far-flung corners of the globe, long for home. Paralyzed by culture shock and reeling from homesickness, they imagine how wonderful it would be to return to the familiar comforts of the life they once had. Even those who have adjusted well to the host culture and are happy with expatriate life assume that repatriation will be a breeze.

Street preachers in Brixton

2011-03-24T20:03:00.001Z

photo from Urban 75's blog.
I usually see this guy every morning outside of Brixton tube.

I was walking to Boots this evening to pick up some cold medicine and Kleenex and right outside the shop was a street preacher or god bother. He had a megaphone in addition to a boom box playing some kind of religious music.

Now what I want to know is what do people who are Christian and love Jesus think of these "street peachers"?

Do they think, "Wow, this is brilliant! I feel so happy they are spreading the word of the Lord and Amen to everyone" or do they find it annoying and strange.

I am not a religious person, so I find these people to be a bit weird. Mainly because they are so loud. Either with the megaphone or just basically shouting at people. It's the last thing that I want to hear when I am walking to the tube to get to work or heading home after work to be shouted at about how wicked people are and eternal damnation.

Check out Urban 75's Brixton Blog and you'll find some great photos of our street evangelists. It's also a great blog about Brixton.

Water for Elephants

2011-03-22T22:47:00.003Z

Today I saw a person reading a John Grisham on the tube. I didn't happen to catch the title, but I did see the his name large and impressively positioned on the cover.

It was really a blast from the past. I vividly remember when John Grisham's were all the rage. It seems like such a long time ago and very American. There the kind of books that you find when you rent a cabin up North in the book case next to all the boardgames. I have nothing against John Grisham as an author, mainly because I've never read any of his books. I think I saw one of his movies....the one with Matt Damon portraying a Southern lawyer, but the memory is hazy. Those books were definitely a trend and I felt a tad bit nostalgic seeing it.

I like watching the book reading trends on public transport. I have the habit of reading the same three books over and over again, so it's good to keep tabs on what's current.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series was very popular over the past year. I have to admit that at first I thought they were American and were about some kind of sci-fi cyber punk girl who liked to play dungeons and dragons. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they are Swedish and actually good books/movies. Consequently my sister in law is a big fan, but also likes sci-fi cyber punk girl books so maybe that's were I made the connection.

Reading on the Underground

I am a pretty nosy person by nature, or I guess curious is a better word for it. Especially if someone sitting next to me is reading what looks like to be an interesting book. On the way home today a woman was reading Water for Elephants. I was drawn in by the lovely cover and managed to read a tiny bit by proxy.

Sneaking a read whilst sitting next to someone on the tube is an art. I have found that some people don't mind if you read along with them. I once had one person tune into the fact that I was doing this and waited to turn the page until they sensed I was ready.

Other times you can tell that the person doesn't appreciate it. That's fine by me. I just reach into my bag and pull out one of my old standbys.

Sometimes I enjoy when a person wants to share my reading material, but like I said there's an art to it. I can't stand it when someone starts leaning in too close or moves their lips when they read, but all in all I happy to share my reading materials with the fellow people of London.

Thinking about writing and writing aren't actually the same thing

2011-03-20T21:12:00.004Z

I know it's a cardinal sin of blogging to write about a post apologizing for not blogging, but that's not what this post is going to be about.

Although I only wrote one post during the month of February, but it's such a short month. That and the fact that I was looking for a new job because my company just decided that it wasn't going to exist any more meant that I was both stressed and busy.

I spend a far amount of time thinking about writing. Ideas for blog posts, ideas for short stories, ideas for books. The problem isn't coming up with topics to write about, it's just finding the time to write. I like how I phrased that just then. Makes it seem like I am just a super busy person who doesn't have the time to write, instead of making it seem like I am person who isn't as disciplined about her writing as she would like to be.

I should give myself more credit than that. I do manage to keep this blog updated. It's just that my nature to write has more to do with being in the mood to write. That's not a good habit to get into. If we did things only when we felt in the mood to do things we'd really be in trouble.

One thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is what direction this blog is going to take or does it need a new direction? What do I want to write about? Should I be more focused on writing what it's like living here in London?

The problem with shoulds

Should I write more about the culture, the differences between here and home, things I love about the UK, things I hate, should I be more positive sounding, should I try to communicate a more intimate side, what should my tone be? Should I move from Blogger to Wordpress? Should I care more about SEO and who reads my blog?

Should I try to get brands to notice me? Should I have ads on my blogs? Should I go to more expat blogger MeetUps? Should I spend more time proofreading my posts? I am building enough links? Should I be scheduling my posts?

Am I fool for posting four posts in one day? Should I be saving them up and spreading them out over the month to make up for the times I don't feel like writing? Have I lost my unique point of view because now I work in social media and someone from work could be reading my blog and judging me? Am I turning into an ego maniac because I am worried that people from work are reading my blog and judging me? Are my posts boring?

You get the picture. Too many shoulds and not enough time.

The kind of blogs I like

I like to read blogs about people's lives and the more personal the better. That's what I like. I follow up on tech/social media/creative blogs because that's what I am into for work, but the blogs I love most are about people's lives.

I don't follow a million blogs, but a few lovingly chosen few. I read blogs written by women who are American and live in the UK. I also read a few blogs by British women who live in America.

One of my favourite personal blogs is No Sleep till Brixton, by Mary Ivers. Mary is a very talented and witty writer and I am very lucky to be able to call her my friend. Her observations on life are so brilliant that I wish she would quit her day job and become a full time writer. You would definitely want to read her books.

I also love the blog Weapons of Mass Distraction written by Sharyn Morrow. I first met Sharyn back in 2000 on the way to Iceland. She was a friend of my boyfriend at the time and we were on the same flight over. Sharyn is a fantastic writer and photographer. I like the way she blogs about the good times and the bad times in a way that is authentic and relate able. She lives in Minneapolis and I love living vicariously through her photos on Flickr.

My blog roll of favourites wouldn't be complete without mentioning Taylor Baldry's blog Gerpan. Taylor and I went to MCAD together and have been fast friends ever since. He's one of my favourite people in the entire world. He decided to take a hiatus from working in the world of marketing to teach English in Japan and has been there almost two years now. He's there now and writing about what it's like living through the tsunami, earthquake and radiation scare. What I love about Taylor is that he never looses his sense of humor. Please read his blog about his current situation in Japan.

Another favourite blog that I've been reading for years is the Candy Blog. A blog all about candy, what's not to love. I love the format, the way the author Cybele reviews the candy and her photos. It's wonderful and I highly recommend it.

Anyway......I digress....

The main thing is that I've been struggling with how and what I want to write about mainly because I am worried about how I will be perceived. Which isn't the kind of blog writer I want to be. I am going to try to follow in the footsteps of Mary, Sharyn and Taylor and write from the heart. Here's to a new month full of exciting and real blog posts.....

Thanks for reading and for all your comments :)

I've got a new job!

2011-03-20T17:51:00.004Z

My dream job at LBi

Yes that's right. A beautiful, bright shiny new job!

I started working at LBi as a Social Media Account Manager just four weeks ago! This is very good news.

The last company that I worked for was WAXAgency went out of business and it's a long story. It's a long story with a fantastic ending, me ending up on the social media team at the best digital agency in London.

I can't believe that I've been there for four weeks already! It's flown by. I've got a few projects to get me going and there's lots happening. The team at the London office has been around for 6 months and is rapidly growing. Tomorrow my boss, the Head of Social Media, is going to present the new team structure. The other perk is that I am working with great people, people who I really like!

This job is more than just a job to me. It represents me reaching a significant milestone in my career journey here in London. I started writing this blog to document my experiences of working and living in London. It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but it's been well worth it.

When I was first looking for a job in London back in October 2008 I met a woman through the She Says network who worked at LBi. After meeting her I went and had a look at the agency's website and thought that it looked amazing. I had in the back of mind that I wanted to one day work at LBi, so I am pretty excited that dream has come true.

After getting my first job in London I found it a bit challenging to write about it. I didn't feel it was right to expect my unsuspecting colleagues to play leading characters in my blog drama. I feel like people have the right to privacy. At that point I felt like I wanted to write about what was happening on a day to day basis at work, but I didn't.

Writing about working in London

However, what I want to write about now is the entire experience of starting out to finally landing what I like to refer to as my dream job. A journey that started back in 2008.

What I am not sure about is the format in which I go about writing about it. Do I do it here on this blog? Do I start another blog? Should I just write it as a book?

I am leaning towards just writing it as a book, a sort of inspiration how to guide. The purpose of the writing is to share my story of coming to London as an American and finding a job (during the height of the recession) in a very tough and competitive field (digital Advertising).

My audience is going to be expats who have recently arrived in London, who are looking for jobs and the message that I want to put across is one of hope. When I was first looking for my first job I would go onto the UKYankee forums and read hundreds of posts about Americans who were having really hard times breaking into the UK job market.

I wished I had found a few good stories in those posts, so now I am going to add my own!

You keep on knocking, but you can't come in

2011-03-20T16:03:00.001Z

I wrote about my next door neighbor awhile ago. You might remember me mentioning her?She's the one who first introduced herself wearing nothing but a dressing gown and nothing underneath? Sound familiar? If not you can read all about here.

Well, since our fist encounter she's been taking to knocking on our door every so often. Once she came over to see if we could give her 3 quid, which Matthew did. Since then she's been asking for chocolates and peanuts.

Now, I don't usually keep peanuts in the house. I do however keep chocolate. I decided to spoil Matthew by buying him 15 bars of Milka for Valentines Day, so we've got a few bars about. When she comes asking for chocolate she'll get a bar and I am happy to give it to her.

Because I am such a thoughtful neighbor I even picked up some packets of peanuts and went over and gave them to her last weekend. She suffers from some kind of vicious pain in her knee....she told me how it happened, but I had a hard time understanding her on account that she has no upper teeth and speaks with a heavy Jamaican accent. The language barrier hasn't been much of an issue,her pronunciation of chocolate and peanuts is perfect.

Since last weekend, when I brought over the peanuts she's been taking to knocking on the door immediately when I get home from work around 7 p.m. and again at 10:30 and 11 p.m. Everyday!

Which is excessive. At first I was worried that she might need help, but the knock isn't really a I need help knock. It's quieter and less urgent and more annoying.

When I've told people about the fact that I am happy to be neighborly to an elderly woman who isn't very mobile, most people think I am nuts. They warn me that no good will come of it, they tell me stories about so called friendly neighbors who ended up robbing them blind when they were away on holiday, they tell me that I'll go broke if I keep suppling her with fine chocolate and nuts...you get the picture.

While all this might be true, it doesn't really bother me. What does bother me is this late night knocking. I only answer the door if I feel like it, I don't feel like I have to open it every time she comes round. There's got to be some kind of boundary.

We'll see how things go this week with the knocking and hopefully she will have taken the hint that I won't answer the door everyday and we can go back to the bi-weekly chocolate and peanut exchange.

Puke in London

2011-03-20T13:20:00.001Z

Puke isn't really a word that people use here in Britian. If someone is throwing up they are being sick. Sick is what you call vomit.

People don't say they are sick, they say they are ill. You wouldn't say that I am going to puke, you'd say that you're going to be sick which means you're puking.

Anyway. The point is that you see a lot of puke around London. I'd like to think that there would be areas distinctively lacking in it, like Chelsea or Kensington, but I am sure that a few cookies get tossed there too.

To be honest with you I am not used to seeing piles of vomit on the sidewalk, usually along side of a building. It's really nasty. It's usually the evidence of a really heavy Friday or Saturday night out, but you also get it during the week.

Last weekend Matthew and I went out to our favourite cafe in Brixton for breakfast. The Duck Egg Cafe in Brixton does a mean eggs bennny and is a lovely little place to go. It's small and usually is full so you have to time it just right. Matthew and I arrived to find the cosy little cafe full up and there was a queue outside.

We decided to run a few errands and then come back. At this point we were both pretty hungry and it had started to rain. As I walked past one of the shops there was a very nasty pile of puke that I nearly stepped in. This did not improve my mood at all. We hustled from shop to shop before heading back, getting drenched. As a side note, I can't stand getting wet in the rain or stepping in puke.

So we get back to the Duck Egg only to find that it's still full. This put me in an even worse mood, plus Matthew was really hungry and he needed to get home and do some work.With blood sugar dropping we had to decide what we were going to do. The options at that point were to to go the Ritzy or to the store and buy stuff to make breakfast.

I wasn't in the mood for walking back to the shop in the rain to buy things to make breakfast. I had wanted my beautiful eggs benny! Not scrambled eggs and beans that I'd have to cook myself and then do the washing up.

We went to Ritzy and that was full as well. Matthew and I had nice argument there over what to do that ended with him saying he was going to walk home and I could do whatever I like. Only he didn't have the keys to the flat and it was still raining.

I walked out of the Ritzy to see him standing under the awning obviously realising that his dramatic exit wasn't going to work out since he'd have to stand out in the rain waiting for me to get back home. I wish I could say that we ended up getting a table at the Ritzy or even calling a truce and walking back to the Duck Egg for a third time.....but we ended up going across the street to McDonalds. Not what I had in mind for my charming Sunday morning breakfast, but desperate situations call for desperate measures.

I went home after finishing my Big Mac brunch thinking about puke in London and how much I dislike seeing it. I was out for dinner with my friend Becky, who's from Birmingham, and this subject came up. Becky has lived in London for about a year now and is all too familiar with piles of puke. She lives in East London, just off of Shoreditch High Street. She reckons she has seen more of this in London than in Birmingham and even as a true Brit she finds it deplorable. Which in a way makes me feel better.

Now I am not going to get into a big discussion about the British drinking culture and all that jazz, because that could be a really long post :) I just want to say that it's not very nice to see it on the street and I don't recall encountering it in Minneapolis.

If anyone has any comments or insights they'd like to share about people ralphing in big cities please post them!

Also I thought the following article from BrandRepublic, although a bit old, gave a bit more depth to this colourful issue :)

CAMPAIGNS: Westminster gets tough on West End filth - Public Sector

Every night at the weekend in London's West End, Westminster City Council has to clear its streets of six instances of human excreta, 600 pools of vomit and more than a gallon of urine.

After the council signed a £124m contract with Onyx, a private cleaning company, to cleanse the streets it decided West End users should also do their bit to keep the streets clean.

Objectives

To raise awareness about the filthy state of the streets among those who use the West End for entertainment. To change the behaviour of those who create the filth by warning them that it is a criminal offence, and informing them about the location of public conveniences. To build up support from local bars and pubs.

Strategy and Plan

In order to reach the perpetrators of the filth, which the council identified as mainly binge-drinking men aged 18 to 30, the council targeted bars and pubs in the West End that cater for this clientele.

To convince them that this was not just another authoritarian message from a council that's against people having a good time, the PR team approached the drinks industry's self-regulatory body, the Portman Group, and Environmental Campaigns, the charity behind the 'Keep Britain Tidy' initiative, to endorse the campaign.

Results from a focus group had convinced the PR team that a cynical, humorous approach would work best, so they sent posters to 35 pubs, as well as beer mats, postcards and T-shirts emblazoned with the campaign's icons and logos. These had straplines such as 'If you can't keep it down, don't down it'.

Since the West End is used by people from across greater London, the PR team approached regional TV, radio and press about the campaign.

The media was supplied with gruesome statistics about the filthy streets, campaign postcards were sent to environmental correspondents, and the PR team went out on the street in campaign T-shirts and cleared up mock vomit in front of the press.

The council cordoned off a section of Villiers Street with a pop-up toilet and held a party for the press to launch the campaign.

Measurement and Evaluation

The campaign generated national coverage in The Sunday Times and was broadcast on Sky Breakfast News. Five London radio stations - LBC, BBC London, Heart FM, Capital FM and Sky Radio, plus all four of Westminster's local newspapers, covered the campaign.

Results

While only 15 pubs signed up to take part in the campaign before the press coverage, a further 20 joined up afterwards. The council claims West End streets are now becoming cleaner. 'I thought the vomit cleanup was a good stunt,' said West End Extra reporter Amanda McGregor.

Stop worrying about perfection and just get on with it......

2011-02-19T22:55:00.000Z

I went to a talk on Friday at the School of Life about being creative in the digital age. The talk was given by a guy called David Shields, an American author, who was discussing his most recent book Reality Hunger.

It was my first time to the School of Life and I enjoyed the evening. There was a small group of people, maybe 15 and there was a good discussion with David after his talk.

There was a woman was sitting next to me who had mentioned that she had a blog where she was experimenting with different styles of writing. I can't remember the exact name she gave to it, but it sounded interesting.

The event ended and I went up to her to ask her for the name of the blog. I wanted to read it and have a look at it. She became deeply embarrassed and at first told me that she had a hard time remembering the exact name of the blog or the URL.

I thought this was really strange, of course she knows what the name of her blog is and she just doesn't want to tell me. Did she really expect me to believe that didn't know the name of the blog she's been writing for the past two years? Fair enough if it wasn't a public blog, it was just an outlet for her creative writing, but why didn't she say that?

She finally told me a name, although she wasn't completely sure and then apologized for the name not being very good. I thanked her and headed home.

It just really struck me as weird and sad that this person who in front of a group of 15 people tells everyone that she's been writing a blog and then doesn't want anyone to read it or isn't willing to tell people that it's not a public thing.

All it made me think was that she was embarrassed and not very confident. Which made me feel bad for her.

I walked to the tube thinking was she worried about what I would think of her writing? I mean, who cares what I think of her writing?

Which leads me to think about why people let perfection or worrying about what other people will think stand in the way of actually doing or sharing what they do with the world.

The worst that could have happened is that I went home looked up the blog, read a few posts and thought to myself this really stinks. It's not like I would go out of my way to contact her to tell her that.

But, what would have happened if I read it, thought it was amazing and I was a literary agent or something like that? It could have been her big break.

I think we need to quit worrying about what other people will think of us or our work. You can't let that fear or embarrassment stop you from creating whatever it is that you're meant to create. My philosophy is to make something and put it out there.

I just wish that she would have been proud of what she was writing.....and if she didn't want to share it with me than to tell me that.

Anyway....I am a big fan of the quote perfection is the enemy of good. Don't avoid doing things, creating things, trying things because you think they have to be perfect.

That's my two cents for now, this topic is something that I've been thinking about for a while and I think there's a few more posts coming :)

Part of the original Walker Teen Arts Council

2011-01-23T20:45:00.000Z

post coming photo for now :)

That's me with the short hair behind the girl in sun glasses

City of Lakes

2011-01-22T09:18:00.000Z

Today I find myself really missing the lakes in Minneapolis. Having beautiful lakes right in the middle of the city is something that I find myself missing often. This morning I was having a look at videos of the lakes, as you do. Just thought I'd share it. I love walking and biking around the lakes, my favourite being Lake of Isles.

If you're interested in seeing photos of lakes or Minneapolis, this link will take you to my Minneapolis Flickr set.

Skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria

2011-01-21T13:10:00.001Z

Skiing in Bulgaria

2011-01-16T19:52:00.004Z

I returned home on Saturday from a week's long skiing holiday in Bansko, Bulgaria. Going skiing is turning into a yearly tradition. Matthew and I went last year with Thomas (Matthew's brother) and our two good friends Becky and Ali. We had such a good time that we decided to do it again.

None of us are very experienced skiers so we usually pick a place where we can a great deal and lots of blue runs. Last year it was Austria and this year our bargain hunting brought us to Bulgaria.

This year I decided to go to ski school and actually learn how to ski. I had been skiing in the past, although it was only a once a year affair at Afton Alps. Last year I didn't take any lessons and although I managed to get down the slopes it wasn't pretty. After taking the lessons this year I honestly don't know how I did it last year. I learned proper techniques and how to parallel ski and I can proudly say that I got the hang of it and didn't have any major spills.

I've discovered that I really like skiing. I like how you need to be fully present in what you're doing and how you can use your body to control what you're doing on the skis. I like how some runs are just nice and easy and you can just ski down them in a zen like state and how others are more of a challenge.

One day on the trip while I was sitting at the bottom of one of the red slopes that I had been struggling to get down. It was a steep one, but one that was at the right challenge level for me.

We first went down it with our instructor and once we got the hang of it we were skiing down it no problem. As I sat enjoying a lovely glass of hot wine with apples it occurred to me that skiing was a great metaphor for life. Which I thought I'd share.

I had thought about going down the slope the day before, because while it looked steep and scary it didn't look too steep and scary. As a group we talked about trying it, but decided that we would wait until the next day when we weren't so tired and our instructor could lead us down.

The next day we went to the top and went down chunk by chunk. Our instructor was confident that we would make it, that it wouldn't be too hard if we just took it slow at first. Even as we went down the steep parts he encouraged us to continue the stand up, open, close and squat sequences and insisted on short turns instead of traversing. We all made it down and with the feeling of accomplishment we all went right back up to the top to practice.

With skiing there's a beginning and an end. You start at the top and you finish at the bottom and depending on a number of different factors how you get down that mountain will be different. You can start off a bit unsteady and unsure until you find your balance and rhythm, you can go down in a snowplow, you can zip right down, you can even slide down on your bum. The fact is that you will have to get to the bottom.

The first time I went down alone I pushed off the top and went into my first turn. I was a bit unsteady so the turn was a bit fast and uncontrolled, but I was on my way. I skied to the point that the instructor had shown us and took a moment to plot out my course.

I pushed off and stood up into the turn and I was going down. There were parts of the mountain where I was zipping along. Turning and making it down in a very beautiful way. I could feel the rhythm. I would look to where I wanted to go next instead of where I was immediately going and I was in the total state of flow.

There were times on the mountain where I felt nervous and unsteady, because of a steep part. I would then have to slow down and consider each movement to stay in control. There were also times where I could gain speed and delight in the feeling of the wind whipping past me.

There were times when skiers would zip by me at top speed and I would feel envious of their skill and experience. There were also times when it got busy on the mountain and I had to be mindful of other people around me.

And I will admit that there were times that I fell down. Sometimes I had no choice but to get up by myself, but other times someone would come and help me. I just got back up, refocused and continued on. There were times when I was able to help someone else get up from a fall.

So to me making it down the mountain is a lot like life.

There are going to be times when you don't know what you're doing, so you find a teacher.

Like in life there will be times where you are in the grove and things are going your way and there will be times where things are unsteady and you need to slow down, consider things and make a plan.

There are times when there will be people there to help you through and times when you need to help yourself.

Always help others when you can.

There are times when you feel like you're behind and other people are doing better than you.

In life you also need to be mindful and respectful of other people. Those other people who share the mountain are all at different points in their journey.

Like life you're continually getting better, gaining skills, and having fun. If you practice you will get better.

As for the part about the beginning and an end, I tend not to look at it as life and death, but more like different stages or experiences.

Sometimes you just have to go for it. Believe in yourself and just start going!

Back to work

2011-01-05T23:14:00.001Z

I was excited to go back to work in the new year and so far it's been great to be back. My office closed on the 23rd of December and we returned back on Tuesday. I had a great holiday break and got lots of stuff done that I wanted to. I made a dress, finally went through my gigantic bag of unpaired socks and paired them, puttered around the house, spent time with my family, read some good books and spent a lot of time thinking about how to make 2011 one of the best years yet.

There are some changes happening at work, all good and exciting. Part of that excitement might include moving to another part of town. At the moment we have a very nice office in North London, near Caledonian Road. I love the office and the building, but I am not crazy about the area. Mainly because there's not much around there in the way of shops or places to grab a bite to eat. There's a few good places, but I like a bit of variety. I usually like taking a walk at lunch time and grabbing a good cup of coffee and maybe a pair of shoes :)

I used to work up in a part of London called Harrow and Wealdstone, the very last stop on the Bakerloo line. I have to say that I probably wouldn't ever work in that part of town again. The office was fantastic, really nice, but the surrounding area was less than inspiring. Your choices for lunch were either McDonalds or Tesco Express and the Tesco Express didn't arrive until I was three months in. There wasn't a good pub to go for drinks or much of anything. Although to be fair there was a library that I used to go to once a week.

So it will be pretty exciting to work in the heart of London. The commute will be nice as well. Just one tube and a 15 minute ride, can't beat that.

There's a great energy at work at the moment and it's inspiring and there are good projects on and interesting things on the horizon.

When it comes to work I've always lived by the mentality of I do what I love and I love what I do and when you follow your bliss work doesn't seem like work at all. I hope everyone has a great 2011!

She Says Portfolio Surgery, 13/01/11

2011-01-04T14:22:00.005Z

I wanted to let you all know about the January She Says Event, one that is very popular, Portfolio Surgery. If you'd like your portfolio reviewed you need to book a place and you can do that here. Also a big thanks to the lovely people at Iris who are hosting this year!

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Portfolio Surgery January 13th, 2011

Does your portfolio need a brush down? Got a tad cobwebby during the bleak winter months or not sure if you’re heading the in right direction?

Then fear not, the SheSays UK portfolio night is back by popular demand! Come and get your work in front of some of the UK's leading Creative Directors, Art Directors and Strategists.

These are the fabulous creatives who will giving their advice and thoughts.

And a few more we will be announcing of the next couple of weeks - stay tuned.

Places are limited, so let us know in advance if you’d like your portfolio reviewed. We’ll be sending out an invite shortly.

The night is an open, informal and social affair – so bring your best networking skills along too.

Either way, we look forward to seeing you there!

Iris Worldwide
185 Park Street
London
SE1 9DY

Oh Sew Brixton dress making workshop

2011-01-03T17:11:00.011Z

Here's the dress that I made in three days at the Oh Sew Brixton dress making workshop. I am really happy with it. It's the first dress that I've ever made and it has got a lining, a zipper and darts! It was a great experience to be learn how to actually read a pattern and make something from start to finish. I used See & Sew pattern B4977 and it was very easy to follow.

If I made this dress again, which I definitely will, I am going to tweak the sizing of the bodice. It could have been a bit more fitted, but at the point that I discovered that it would have meant that I would need to undo the entire bodice and cut it down. I decided to just continue on and Fiona helped me alter the pattern for my next project.

I had a great three days and I am looking forward to signing up for the skirt making workshop in Feb.

Walking around London

2011-01-03T00:00:00.000Z

My UX roots

2011-01-02T23:36:00.007Z

Just a quick post for now :) I've started a mentorship with Ian Fenn, the award-winning veteran UX specialist and Director of the The Information Architecture Institute and very kind person who has taken me on as part of the IA mentorship scheme.

Here's Ian's bio:

I'm not sure I could have been anything other than an information architect. Even the first two letters of my given name correspond with the initials of the role. My first career was in computer support at the sharp end of HCI. A second career in radio journalism taught me how to organise and prioritise information. Work as a comedy producer gave me an insight into everything else.

I've worked in the field for thirteen years now, and have been a freelance consultant for six. Past employers and clients include the BBC, BT plc, LexisNexis, Virgin Media, Sapient, M&C Saatchi, and others. I am co-founder of AXLIB, an open source library of design components for the prototyping tool Axure RP.

A regular contributor to local events in London and former UK Country Ambassador for EuroIA, I've also travelled long distances to conferences elsewhere, particularly in the USA, where I'm a regular attendee of the IA Summit. This year I attended the inaugural UX LX in Lisbon, and will shortly be at IDEA in Philadelphia. Next year I'm down for the first UX Hong Kong and hope to finally participate in UX Australia.

For more on my career and UX community involvement to date, please visit http://chopstixmedia.com/http://twitter.com/ifenn.

We met just before the Christmas break and amongst other things Ian recommended that we kick things off by me reading the book Undercover User Experience Design. I've just had a look at my email and it looks like the book will be arriving on Tuesday. I am very excited and happy that Ian has agreed to mentor me. I'll share more details about it soon, but for now I'll leave you with the manifesto from the book :) I mean who doesn't love a good manifesto?

The undercover manifesto

Excerpt from Chapter 1: Going undercover.

“We believe in going undercover. We don’t mean you should skulk around in the dark. As an undercover user experience designer, your mission is to get people excited about UX without them realizing what you’ve done. Unless you’re an expensive consultant or a senior manager, you won’t do this by knocking on the CEO’s door and demanding change. User experience design is disruptive. It asks difficult questions. Good-enough managers in good-enough companies don’t want you to rock the boat; they’re busy worrying about meeting next month’s targets.

We believe in introducing UX from the ground up. Sneak UX into your daily work, prove its value, and spread the message. Results are more persuasive than plans.

We believe change comes through small victories. Putting users at the heart of a business is a huge cultural change. It takes years. But you’ll be surprised what you can achieve with focus, patience, and persistence.

We believe in delivery, not deliverables. Some people practice user-scented design, not user-centered design. They churn out documents—sitemaps, wireframes, specifications—but they’re not interested in what happens next. UX is a mindset, not a process—it lasts all the way until the site is live, and after.
We believe good design today is better than great design next year. There’s no such thing as perfection in design, particularly on a medium as fluid as the web. You’re not here to impress other designers; your job is to make your users’ lives better.

We believe in working with people, not against them. Just as we empathize with users, we must respect and understand our colleagues. We reject elitism and accept that compromise is healthy. Passion is fine; zealotry is not.

We believe in action, not words. Introducing UX into your company is a lot of work. No one will do it for you, so you’d better get cracking. Remember, it’s often easier to get forgiveness than permission.”

A very British Christmas indeed

2010-12-29T18:59:00.001Z

I can't believe that Christmas is over! As I write this I've still got my Christmas table cloth on and the tree up with the lights still twinkling. Christmas was very nice this year. It's the 3rd one I've spent in the UK, last year we went to visit my friend Taylor in Japan. Christmas Eve was a weird day. Matthew had to work part of the day and I still had shopping to do. We were going to be driving down to Bognor that night, but we weren't going to celebrate until Christmas Day.

I am used to do the bulk of the celebrating on Christmas Eve and having kind of a chilled Christmas Day. This year I had a nasty cold that decided to get really bad on Christmas Eve so I spent the car ride asleep :) We got down to Bognor and stopped by Matthew's Nanny's house for a quick hello before I had to go to bed.

I felt better on Christmas day and we spent a nice day with the family at Nanny's. Christmas Day was spent with Matthew, Thomas (brother in law), Charlotte (sister in law), William (brother in law), Nanny (Matthew's Grandmother), Mum (Matthew's Mum) and Rosemary and Tony (Matthew's Mum's sister and husband). It was a good sized group and everyone was in good spirits. Charlotte and my Mum in law, both had a touch of a cold as well.

What I like about get togethers in England is the nibbles that are served. We always have M&S duck rolls, salmon bellinis and cranberry and brie parcels washed down with several glasses of prosecco. You will never see a veggie platter with raw broccoli and cauliflower! My English family shudders at the thought :)

We sat down for an amazing meal at around 3 p.m. and this year's dinner was beautiful. I also like how English people like to describe food as being beautiful or gorgeous. As an American I like these two adjectives for food :)

I am telling you that it was fantastic, beautiful and gorgeous! Nanny is one heck of a cook and her roast beef was to die for. After dinner we all just hung out, opened presents,played a bit of brandy fueled monopoly and then watched East Enders as we enjoyed our trifle.

We then spent Boxing Day with Matthew's dad side of the family and that was very nice as well. There was a tiny bit of mother in law drama, which I won't get into. Families at Christmas can always be interesting :) All in all it was a very nice Christmas indeed.

Oh Sew Brixton

2010-12-28T22:36:00.000Z

The Christmas break is a wonderful thing! My office closed on the 23rd of December and we're not due back until the 4th of January! During this lovely and generous break I've decided to take a dress making workshop at Oh Sew Brixton. I actually started this course back in October, but wasn't able to finish it. Fiona, the owner and wonderfully kind teacher, let me go on this course instead. She's been very kind and accommodating :)

The workshop started on Monday and since I had been to one session already I didn't need to turn up until 2 p.m. There are six of us in the class and it runs from 10-5 for three days. It's for beginners, the requirements being that you can at least sew a straight seam. I am what you call a beginner sewer. I've made pillows and crafty things, but have not really gotten into sewing clothes from a pattern.

I am making a simple 1950's style dress, which is proving to be easier than I thought it would be. It has been great having Fiona to explain how to read the pattern and how to alter the fitting. The small class size gives you a lot of personal attention. It's a nice way to spend the day. You get to learn how to make a dress with an instructor guiding you the entire way. Perfect!

Some of the women in the class are a bit more experienced than I am, but that's fine. Everyone works at their own pace. It's given me the jump start to get back into sewing. I bought a Janome sewing machine from John Lewis ages ago, back in 2008 and I haven't used it yet! It's definitely coming out and I'll be back sewing.

I would definitely recommend the Beginning Dress Making course at Oh Sew Brixton, it has been great and tomorrow I'll post up a photo of me in my dress!

The Happiness Project

2010-12-01T22:59:00.002Z

I just finished reading this book and I loved it. I had been waiting to read it for about a month. I had ordered it on Amazon and it ended up never coming so I had to cancel and then reorder. Once it arrived I read it in three days.

I've been thinking a lot about happiness these past few months and what I want to do with my life, five year and ten year kind of plan thing. I am not unhappy, but I think it will be good for me to really think about what I am trying to achieve. So I am going to be focusing this week on happiness related to my career.

I started out this blog almost two years ago now. It seems like such a long time ago! The purpose at the time was to write about what it was like starting a career in London. I wanted to capture the experience of what it was like to go from a very familiar and established environment (Minneapolis) to something completely unknown (London) and share what it was like to find a job and then what it was like working in London.

The only issues is now that I am working I can't really write about it. I want to respect the privacy of the people I work with and there's always the issue of not knowing who's going to be reading, which can be a bit of a pain if things aren't going so well. So I am going to write a bit about what it is ideally that I want out of work.

I would describe myself as an ambitious self directed person who has always been able to figure things out and make things hap

My career is important to me, I like work. My guiding philosophy has always been I do what I love and love what I do. When I look back over my CV/resume I am happy with every single job that's listed there. I've looked for challenging opportunities. I believe that when you do something you love it doesn't feel like work at all.

What do I want from work? I want to be part of a thriving dynamic and energetic team. I want to work with people who are excited to get out of bed and get to work. I also at some point want to lead a team. I have always been a natural leader and can see myself working towards that. I thrive on collaboration. I of course am able to work on my own, but I enjoy working with other people.

I want to get better at what I am doing and be constantly learning. I want to be productive and make things happen. I like people and am good at getting people to work together. I also am not precious with my ideas and am open to other people's points of view. Of course I think I have great ideas, but I am not afraid to have them challenged and expanded upon. I want to be busy. I want to make mistakes, to take risks and to really push things. I want to be so excited about an idea that it wakes me up in the middle of the night. I want to solve problems.

I do feel very happy with what I've achieved in London. I remember reading on the UK Yankee forum back in 2008 about people who were never able to work in their chosen fields and worrying that I might end up doing something completely unrelated. Hard work has paid off and I am proud to say that I've been working in my chosen industry.

So I am going to spending some time this week thinking about career goals. I've got an informational interview coming up with a successful lady and a new mentor which I am very excited about.

Lots of exciting things are happening!

London post office woes

2010-11-30T17:12:00.001Z

I used to love going to the post office when I lived in Minneapolis. I even didn't mind waiting in line if you can believe that! I also didn't have to go to the post office all that often because you can buy stamps right from and ATM/Cash point. Talk about convenience! Going to the post office usually meant I was posting a special package to someone and that was a fun thing to do.

I dread going to the post office in London. It's second on my list of things I dislike doing. Number one is hanging socks up to dry, but I am sure I've already done a post about that.

I have such good intentions for sending thoughtful little gifts and cards to my friends and family back home, it's just that 9 times out of 10 they end up sitting in my flat because I don't enjoy going to the post office. I also never seem to have the proper mailing supplies that I need. Back home I could just pop to Target to get any supplies I need or I used to wrap boxes in paper grocery bags, but we don't have them here.

What usually happens then is that I end up buying my packing supplies at the post office and packing them up there. This is also stressful, because there's usually no room to do this.This last time I went there I stocked up on these plastic envelope bags to have around the house. That way I just have to post and not pack at the office. I am slowly learning :)

Going to the post office to me means a long queue and stress. For some reason being at the post office seems to bring out the worst in people. Just today the woman in front of me at the service window was so rude to the person working there. Once at the Shepherds Bush post office two men got into a fight in the queue and had to be taken out!

The atmosphere is pretty morose. You don't see many smiles in the post office that's for sure. I've taken to wearing my ipod and listening to Enya when I go in there. I usually feel like I am fumbling around at the service counter, trying to be speedy when filling out my custom slips. I just feel so disorganized when I am there despite taking extra measure to be prepared. I feel like I am in the way and taking up too much room. The person behind the glass usually has a hard time hearing me and I end up repeating myself several times in my loud American voice.

Just wanted to get this off my chest as I had to go there today and mail a bunch of Christmas cards to the States and I'll most likely have to make a few more trips this month.

Cowshed Massage

2010-11-28T17:47:00.002Z

I had a massage today at Cowshed (Soho location) and it was fantastic. It was a treat to reward myself for dropping a stone and I haven't had a massage in ages. The last one in London was at the training school and that wasn't great. It was certainly cheap, but the table was so uncomfortable and it's not very private.

Cowshed was lovely and the people working there were so nice and friendly. My massage therapist was excellent and it was one of the best massages that I've had in a long time. I had some little knots in my shoulders and they were rubbed out. The treatment room was relaxing and peaceful. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

I had high hopes for Cowshed. I had my first date with my husband at the High Road Brasserie in Chiswick and they had Cowshed soap and lotion in the ladies room. I loved the smell and the package design so I bought the soap and lotion to have in my bathroom to remind me of that special date.

I am going to book a facial at the Shoreditch House spa and give that a go. I would definitely recommend it. I will be back :)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T12:40:00.003Z

Thanksgiving is one my favourite holidays... I love it so much. It's a day of not only for feasting, but spending time with friends and family. I really wished that I had gone home this year for Thanksgiving with Matthew. Thankfully I can live vicariously through my friends status updates and photos.

I don't really do anything for Thanksgiving here in London. The first year I was here I went to a party that was hosted by the American friend of my flatmate. It was a lot of fun, a bunch of Americans studying abroad trying to share our tradition with our new friends.

As much as I miss the holiday I don't really feel the need to recreate it over here. I thought about cooking the Thanksgiving dinner for Matthew, but I am willing to wait for him to experience it in America. This may or may not have to do with the fact that I've never cooked a turkey before, but Matthew doesn't need to know that.

I've also been getting into all the black friday hype online and telling Matthew all about it. He can't imagine why on earth people would get up to be a store for 4 a.m. I've tried to explain the theory behind the door busters, but I think he'll also have to experience that first hand.

In all honesty I've never been the kind of person to engage in the crazy day after Thanksgiving shopping, but for some reason I feel the urge to!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I feel very thankful for all the amazing people I have in my life. I just feel so grateful for everything that I have.

MCAD makes into the list of 13 colleges that leave students in massive debt

2010-11-20T23:20:00.000Z

According to the Huffington Post the average debt is 42,00.00 I wish that was the amount of debt that I was left with! MCAD was massively expensive and I paid for my own education, or am paying for it. Thankfully it was worth it. I just wish that they wouldn't ask for a contribution from me months after graduation....

You can take the girl out of the Midwest, but you can't take the Midwest out of the girl

2010-11-19T16:42:00.004Z

love these ads!

Yes.....it's true. I read the Target ads online and love it!!!! I've been also watching out for all the holiday commercials/adverts to pop up. Target has a few up on YouTube, just waiting to see what Old Navy have up their performance fleeced sleeves :)

Eye candy

2010-11-18T20:52:00.002Z

creature comforts blog

Williams- Sonoma

Cards by RifleMade

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/gifted-magazine

I am definitely in the holiday crafting spirit and have found a new favourite website and digital magazine that is just gorgeous! I can't wait to decorate this year. I am feeling rather festive this year in London, which is a good thing. Since I've been here in London I've had two Christmases here and one in Japan.

The first two were lovely, but I was still pretty homesick. Now that Matthew and I are in our own flat I am feeling a lot more merry :) I can't wait to get our little tree, the trees are so short here. We won't be putting our tree up until after Thanksgiving. I might even put some Christmas lights out in the flower boxes! I will keep you posted.

My lovely work colleague Olly Moss

2010-11-18T17:15:00.000Z

As I type this Olly is rocking out to Lady Gaga right across from me, we're super into the Gaga.

This is Wax's creative director, or creative genius as he likes to call himself. Since he's such a great guy to work with I let him get away it. I am really lucky to have met Olly he's a great chap to work with and a really nice and fun person. I took these photos earlier today for a blog post on our agency website.

Olly demanded that I do an interview with him today to talk about all the amazing work that he's been doing lately and of course he wanted a photo shoot. When I asked him if I could post a photo up on my personal blog he said I could if put both up. What a character! When we're not working on creative goodness for our clients he loves playing poker, getting his look on and chatting noise with me and ladies he's single!

Neighbors

2010-11-17T07:32:00.001Z

I wrote about my new neighbors a while back. We have the lady across the hall who used to like to come over whilst wearing a bathrobe with no sash and nothing underneath. She hasn't been coming over as often as she used to. The new thing is to just knock on the door and ask for a few pounds, which isn't too bad. She's happy with 3 pounds and then goes back to her flat. She's pretty harmless and friendly.

However we've got very loud neighbors downstairs. I wish it was a matter of them just playing their music loud, but it's not. They spend most of the time screaming at their two kids. They've got a boy who might just be in reception and a little girl who is maybe 3. There's also a dog that gets yelled at.

I am not talking about once in a while a little bit of family shouting. These people yell at their kids in a really angry awful way that usually involves a lot of terrible profanities. During the week it's not so bad, but it goes on all weekend. They don't every really leave the flat either.

Last Saturday it got really bad where there was the yelling and fighting between the man and woman, it escalated into them fighting outside in front of the flat and then yelling at a man on the street. I don't know how he fits into it, but it was pretty intense.

It's hard to try to ignore and I feel so bad for the kids who live there and feel helpless as to what to do. I usually don't hear the kids screaming or crying, just the adults. We were close to going down there and knocking on the door and asking them to keep it down, but when we saw how he kicked off with the random guy in the street we decided against it. They don't seem like the most reasonable of people.

I love our flat, but it makes living here unpleasant. I feel bad for the kids and like I should be doing something. At the moment it doesn't sound to be anything more than horrible verbal and emotional abuse and not physical. If I thought it was I would try to do something, call someone...

It's just such a sad thing. I've never experienced this before. In our last flat we got a bit of noise from the lady upstairs. Her bedroom was above my and she liked to watch EastEnders at 10 p.m. and of course I didn't mind that. I enjoyed listening to it as I fell asleep.

Has anyone else had to deal with something like this before? What did you do?

Baseball

2010-11-16T06:23:00.001Z

The photo is from my trip to MN this summer, where we did go to a Twins game at the new outdoor stadium.

It's 5:53 a.m. I am up. I've started a new early bed early to rise project yesterday. Before I woke up I was dreaming about being with Matthew at a baseball game in Minnesota. We were sitting there watching the game when it stopped and it was announced that we were going to sing the national anthem. I thought this was a little strange since it was in the middle of the game, but stood up to stand and placed my hand over my heart. The song started and it wasn't the Star Spangled Banner but some other song that I had never heard of. Everyone knew the words, but me. I thought how strange! They've got a new song now and I didn't even now about it. I've only been away for 4 years and they go and change the national anthem?

A few minutes later the alarm goes off and here I am writing about it.

Thinking about it now I am not surprised about the dream. I've been thinking a lot about America lately. Since the massive snow storm MN had this past weekend it has been on my mind. Not in a homesick way, but in a different way.

I was coming home from work last night and the tube stopped at a station for a while. I was reading a book so the delay didn't bother me. A woman who was standing spoke up and said "I am sorry to have to say anything, but I am due to have my baby in two weeks. Would someone please give me their seat?"

Of course someone did right away. I was so engrossed in my book that I didn't even notice her. I thought that they way she started out that request was very English with the I am sorry...at the beginning of a perfectly reasonable request.

Anyway, she sat down and then after a few seconds the man next to her asked her if she knew it was a boy or a girl and made a little bit of conversation with her, they were both English. It was a nice little conversation between two strangers. It didn't last very long, but it was still nice to over hear. You usually don't hear anyone speaking to each other on the tube unless they know each other.

I looked up over my book at the woman and she smiled at me, which was really nice. I don't know, it was just a rare and lovely moment between people on the underground. It reminded me a little bit of something that would happen in Minnesota. I sometimes miss those nice friendly interactions with strangers.

I got off the tube and walked home thinking about Minnesota. Thinking about all the people and places that were there still going on without me. Even though I was all the way over here, life was still going on. My friends were in their houses, my favourite coffee shop was still there and I am sure they still would be when I get back.

In some ways that's comforting, but it's still strange. It sometimes feels like I've been plucked out of one reality and dropped into another one.

It's a strange experience in some ways to live in another country and be able to view your own country through the lens of an observer. While the storm was happening I watched the KARE 11 news with Matthew and it was so weird. The people in the newscast and they way they were delivering the news was so weird now after watching the BBC. It just seemed so fake.

That's my post for now. We'll see what other dreams I have about it tonight.

A wet day in London

2010-11-14T22:01:00.003Z

Today to me was a very typical cold wet rainy English day. For Matthew it was the perfect day to go for a walk. Now, I am all for a nice walk around a part of London I've never been before I just usually like to do it in better conditions. We live close to Dulwich village and I had just recently heard that it was a lovely place to visit.

When we left the flat it was just kind of spitting. Spitting rain is a term that I've become familiar with since living here and I like the way it sounds. It's not really raining, it's just spitting. We took off to the bus stop and the rain was spitting and we had hoped that it was just going to clear up. We didn't have umbrella's with us. I've managed to lose every single brolly that I've ever laid my hands on. Matthew was confident that it was going to clear up, so no bother.

West Dulwich is only a short bus ride away from Brixton. We were going on walk that was only about 2 miles, but the rain decided to start coming down properly.

Now I hate being wet. I am not a big fan of voluntarily walking around in the rain at all. Matthew didn't seem to mind it, but my mood was turning rather sour. We walked through a lovely park and into the main village area hoping to find a good pub to duck into.

It would have been a lovely walk had it not been so wet. Luckily we came across a pub, the Crown and Greyhound and decided to take shelter there.

I love love love pubs. This one was buzzing. It was like all of West Dulwich had come to this one pub for their Sunday lunch. It's a big pub, which is good, and it was full of people and dogs enjoying a hot roast dinner.

I went for the roast chicken and it was fantastic, complete with Yorkshire pudding, carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes and cabbage. It was excellent and I highly recommend it. The sticky toffee pudding was ace!

Sitting in that pub you didn't even feel like you were in London. You felt like you were in a country village and that's not a bad feeling on a Sunday.

We decided to just head home after lunch, since it was still raining. That was fine with me, we'll be back to explore another day. I was happy to sit on the couch with a cup of tea...how English of me :)

It's snowing in Minnesota

2010-11-13T21:39:00.001Z

These photos are from the Star Tribune website and were taken today! More snow photos from the Strib

There's nothing like a flood of FB updates from friends in Minneapolis telling you that it's snowing. One person who I went to MCAD with was even kind enough to tag me in a video that he made. Bryan had tagged everyone he knew that wasn't living in Minnesota to show them what they're missing.

Apparently there's a winter storm watch and a snow storm on! I've been showing Matthew all the weather updates and photos and he can't believe how much snow there is on the 13th of November.

I can't wait for Matthew to experience his first snow storm. I have to tell you that it makes me extremely homesick. I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. I went and had a look on the KARE 11 website and there's going to be up to 10 inches of snow today and maybe more tomorrow. I tell you what if I was home I would be getting out my sled!

Ideas from far away lands

2010-11-13T15:56:00.002Z

I had a great Skype call with my very good friend Taylor Baldry this morning. He has been living in Japan now for a year and half teaching English. The time difference thing really works in our favor in terms of catching each other on the old Skype.

Taylor has an idea for a project and I am not sure how top secret it is so I'll mention it in a vague sort of way. For years now Taylor has been carrying around a notebook where he's been keeping a record of his brilliant ideas. Yes, I say brilliant and that's the honest truth! I've known Taylor since our time at MCAD and he's been pretty reliable in the old ideas department and he's one of my favourite people to work with.

Anyways, so Taylor has been filling this notebook of his with lots of ideas. The only problem is that Taylor is just one man. He couldn't possibly actualize all of them in his lifetime, unless someone gave him a lot of money to just create his ideas. Which by the way is one of the ideas in the book.

So Taylor thought what if he made the ideas public and let other people take them and bring them to life. I think it's a cool idea and am interested to see it develop.

While Taylor and I were talking about it he was wondering how it was actually going to work. Would people work in teams globally? Would they upload project plans to the website and people could comment on them? Would they send in their completed projects to him? What would be the benefit for people to take part in this project? Just basically how the thing is going to work.

Now, this is what I love about the digital age we live in. I suggested to Taylor that he could do a couple of test ideas on the site to see how the process worked before he launched it for real.

I guess if you're not sure how something should work the best way forward is to just try something and see how it goes. Through the process of actually doing it he'd be able to see what worked and what didn't and then refine his idea. It would the testing phase.

I think sometimes, myself included in this, that people have ideas and they want to create something, but they think they have to know exactly how it's going to work before doing it. When actually things change all the time.There are of course a million ways to go about things, but the point is that you have to start somewhere.

One of my favourite quotes is from John Cage who tells us to Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

In this digital age we can revise things, adjust things, delete things, improve things, move things around, improve the user journey, make things look better, improve the copy and so on and so on. You get the picture.

I am excited to be involved in Taylor's project and to see what happens. I will keep you posted and share the link once it's gone live.

Berlin Wall

2010-11-03T20:49:00.001Z

When I was in Berlin this past weekend we visited the East Wall Gallery on a bike tour. We stopped in front of this little patch on the West facing side while our tour guide gave us some information.

Right behind where he was standing I discovered a name that had been written on the wall. It is the name of my mother, Luba. My mom passed away 8 years ago and was born in Germany after World War II.

It really struck me to see her name right there in front of me. Luba isn't a very common name after all. I felt like it was a sign from my mom that she was with me and even though I felt very sad I felt comforted at the same time.

I've been thinking about writing a book about being an adult orphan for a long time. My dad passed away from cancer when I was 18 and my mom lost her battle with bipolar disorder when I was 24. I've also lost my half brother, grandmother and three men that I was in relationships with (one of whom I was married to at one time).

I am at the point in my life where I feel ready to share the experiences that I went through in order to help other people. The one thing that made such a huge difference to me while going through grief was to be able to read the stories of others who had been through it. I remember wishing that there were more books out there while at the same time not wishing what I had gone through on anyone.

I feel like seeing my mom's name was definitely a sign to start writing. I've been thinking about writing about it for at least five years now. I think one of the biggest barrier is just starting to write. I mean I don't know how to write a book, but I guess you've got to start somewhere.

I am not going to be writing through this blog, because it's just not the right place to do it. I am going to be sharing my writing and any reference materials that I use on my Scribd profile if you're interested.

Experiencing the world

2010-11-03T20:17:00.002Z

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

Berlin photos

I went to Berlin this last weekend with Matthew and our friend Woody and it was an excellent weekend away.

On Sunday we went out to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp with Mosaic tours. Mosaic Tours is a 100% non-profit registered charity and our tour guide Colin was amazing.

The emotions that I felt while visiting that concentration camp were like none I had ever experienced before in my life. It's hard for me to write about it and the experience has changed me as a person.

On my way back to London I thought about how important it is to travel and see the world and experience places and cultures outside of your own. It's one thing to read about history, it's another to go and experience it.

I sometimes think about what my life would be like if I hadn't come to study in England. Would I be traveling to half of the places that I've been to since I've moved abroad?

I had a passport before I came to study abroad and had been to Europe a few times, but it's a strange feeling to know that I might not have ever been to the places that I have if I was still living back in the States.

I have friends who have never left the state of Minnesota let alone the country. Which just seems really strange to me now. To just spend your entire life in one small geographical location.

While I have friends here in London who think nothing of taking 3 to 4 weeks or even longer to go traveling. I don't know many American people who just decide to go traveling for a while. It usually happens before you go to college for a couple months and then you get to say that you've done Europe.

Every time I visit a new place my understanding of life and how the world works expands. I think there's no better way to learn about the life and I look forward to many trips all over the world.

When you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together

2010-10-25T21:52:00.001+01:00

I was talking to a friend the other day and I mentioned this book to her and she hadn't heard of it. Thought I would share it. Feels like one of those things most American people know about.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup -- they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

~ Robert Fulghum ~

Feeling more at home

2010-10-25T21:14:00.000+01:00

I think one thing that has definitely changed within the last few months is that I am starting to feel at home in London in a way that I haven't before. I no longer feel like the person who is constantly battling against feeling out of place or who wants to focus on how different everything. I find myself going with the flow and feeling more relaxed and adjusted that I have ever felt.

At the same time I still feel conflicted and homesick, but in a much different way than I have before. I think I've also rebelled against writing about it too.

I've grown tired of talking about where I am from. I think this should make sense to other expat bloggers. I am tired of most of the conversation being about being from some place else and then moving onto thoughts and observations about life in London.

Of course I realise that the majority of the population of London if from some place else, but I feel like I end up spewing out the same speech time after time only to end up boring myself not to mention the other people.

Do other expats feel this way? I'd be interested in finding out what you all think.

My social media campaign is in Marketing Week!

2010-10-05T17:17:00.001+01:00

It was pretty excited to see our agency in both the NMA and Marketing Week for the work we're doing on the Mr Kipling account. It's the main account that I work on at Wax Agency and it's been absolutely fantastic. Here's a link to the article :)

Selfridges, Oxford Street

2010-08-24T14:58:00.003+01:00

I love Selfridges.It's one of my favourite stores ever! Department stores are still in full swing over here and they are very impressive. I love wandering through it early on a Saturday before all the shoppers turn up. These are just a few photos from my last trip. The new shoe gallery is amazing and the displays are just lovely. It's just a special place full of amazing treasures.

Denim Casual Uniqlo Video

2010-08-24T14:23:00.000+01:00

The second Uniqlo fashion video went live yesterday! I am really happy with how it turned out. There's one more that will be up next week! I will say that I was inspired by this one and went and bought a pair of jeggings which are leggings that are styled to look like skinny jeans. The pair I bought from Uniqlo look like real jeans, they've got functional pockets on the back so they aren't just stretch pants :) If you like skinny jeans then these are a godsend, because they are so comfortable and easy to get on.

Enough about that! Enjoy the video and thanks for watching what I get to do at work :)