The little things

24, April 2007

It really is not one or two big things that make living here in England difficult for me. It is the hundred little things that when you add them all up, are just driving me crazy. They are so tedious that I just get so exhausted. Things like the fact that I can’t plug in my electric toothbrush in the bathroom because they do not have electrical outlets in the bathrooms here. I already have to dry my hair in my bedroom. So that means we have to keep the toothbrush plugged in somewhere else or not keep it charged and then suddenly it doesn’t work. The result has been not using the darn thing for the last month. Today I found the charger and decided I was going to recharge it so I can once again use it. The regular toothbrush I have been using is looking kinda icky. First I tried plugging it in in our bedroom, but because the plug adapters do not stay attached very well, it would not stay plugged in. So in the end I had to bring it to the kitchen and lean the electric teapot against the plug so that it would stay in and the toothbrush would charge. The high lime deposit in the water is something else. Already all our pots and pans look all chalky. So, all the water needs to be filtered. It taste gross, and I can hardly stomach using it to brush my teeth. I really try not to think about it. Anyway, so all the water the girls drink, all 5 gallons a day, needs to be put through this jug with a filter in it. Without good planning and refilling, most of the time the water is not very cold. To cook, the water all has to be filtered. So on those nights that I need to heat up water for pasta AND steam some veggies, it takes like 5 minutes to get the water. The jug thing is not that big ( NOTHING here is very big). I don’t like cooking in the first place, and this is not doing anything to increase my desire to do more. But we can’t even eat out very much because it is very expensive and there are not that many places to take kids. Many of the pubs do not serve children at all, only during certain times and depending on how busy they are, or just not conducive to children. The one time Alex and I really went out” when we came in January, dinner took like 3 hours. And it wasn’t like hanging out during a MOMS Club board meeting. Meals are just really drawn out and if you don’t ask for the bill, you could be there forever. The only going “out” to eat we have done has been Pizza Hut at a little mall. We have ordered pizza from a couple places, but it is just not the same thing. They do have a couple “American” restaurants here, including the only Macaroni Grill in England. But I am afraid it will just kill my enjoyment of the food and then when we go back to Michigan I wont be able to eat it anymore, though I guess it might just taste that much better. But I just could not have steak at Outback here considering the way they over cook the beef, and then they cook it some more. We are talking bone dry. I think you have to go to like Central London to one of the really fancy places. I take back what I said before, we did go out a second time in January. It was in London at a place called the Goucho Grill. Along the line of Shula’s ( Don the Miami Dolphin guy). I did have a nice filet. For us and a couple we were with, the bill was 200+ pounds, which equals close to $400. And this was NO place to take a child. I do not have sophisticated taste. I just want a good cheese burger. I swear, when I get off the plane I am heading to Red Robin or even better, Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Gotta go. The little one needs me. Til later