Queen Speech Bingo 2013

Download and Print your Bingo Cards here!

Hey guys!

I know it's been a very long time since I made an appearance in the blogging world. The last few months have been busy (in a good way) and I have a lot of wonderful posts and photos to share with you. I just need to make time to do it. I'm currently in the UK having a very British Christmas (yay!) and it's a bit of a whirlwind tour visiting loved ones.

Anyway - this was one of my most popular blog posts of the past year so of course I had to do it again for 2013. I'm sneaking it in late this year, but here goes: Queen Speech Bingo 2013!

How to Play Queen Speech Bingo

The full rules are available here but really it's very simple:

• Print off a few bingo cards
• Watch the Queen's Christmas message
• Argue with your family
• Have fun!

How it Works

I use a list of the most common words from previous Queen Christmas speeches, and throw in a few extras (wildcards) to reflect recent events. Extra words for 2013 include George, information, internet, and independence.

Let me know if you decide to play, and of course, who wins!

Expat Q & A - Perceptions of Expat Life in the USA

The great thing about the expat Q & A hosted by the lovely Belinda and Bailie is that it makes me realize that my expat life is, well, normal.

This month's expat Q & A is about how others perceive expat life. It's been fascinating to read the other responses because there seems to be some universally shared experiences. No matter where a blogger moved from or to it appears that their friends and family think they're living a fairytale life abroad, a constant vacation.

But really, it's just life.

Everyday, boring, normal, quotidian, mundane life. And sometimes (most of the time) that life is pretty good. So here are my answers to this month's questions, but don't forget to check out the rest too!

Question #1: How does your family and friends back home perceive your new life, and is it accurate?

Actually, I think most of my friends and family have a realistic impression of how life in the USA works now. I talk about ordinary things like my commute to work, buying a car, nights in with my husband, networking, etc.

But when I still lived in Britain and first discussed moving to America, I usually got one of two responses:

1. Wow! That's so glamorous! America, that's cool!
2. So, how do you really feel about moving to a country without public healthcare?

I won't go into the second response here (yet) but the first one is interesting, because it's kind of related to what I said in my guest post on A Compass Rose about the UK impression of the US. It's often one-sided, but America has so many sides.

Two very different sides of America

There is a side of America that's fast-moving, cosmopolitan, urban, and exciting. And then there is the side of America that is vast, open, rustic, and fascinating.

And I live slap bang in the middle of both. Yes, I live very close to two of the biggest cities in the country (Philadelphia and New York). But my daily commute involves all aspects of US living: driving past corn fields and cows, along multi-lane suburban pikes past shopping malls, through little towns, and even a stint on a highway for good measure.

So while my friends know that I'm not on a constant vacation, and I don't live on fast food, I'm not sure they get a whole picture of the contrasts of American living.

Murals in Philly

Hot Dogs in New York

Cabela's - the outdoor outfitters

Question #1: Do you find the need to edit your life from friends and family? 

At the beginning, I definitely did, for fear of disappointing them!

I know that's silly, but after my friends and family had been so supportive in the lead-up to my emigrating from the UK to the USA, I didn't want them to think that I wasn't living the American Dream.

The truth is, those first few months of immigration and expattery can be really hard, and after all the hype and expectation, I didn't want people to worry, or to think I'd made a mistake.

But now, now I'm settled and life is normal, and wonderfully so, I'll confide and talk about my daily frustrations. Recently I had an hour long Skype chat with a friend in Scotland because we're both looking at buying used cars, and that's a universal pain!

Sunday Supplements (and Sunday Puppy too)

It's been a while since I did a Rustic Weekend feature. Yesterday I had a guest post over on Bonnie's A Compass Rose, titled "Why being a Brit in suburban USA isn't so bad", and writing it reminded me of some of my favorite things about living here in Nowheresville, PA.

Originally, Rustic Weekend was a quiet celebration of being able to enjoy doing nothing with my husband, something I hadn't been able to do at all for our first year of marriage. Then both our schedules filled up, even at weekends, so the feature became Sunday Supplements, a quick round-up of my favorite finds.

We didn't go anywhere or do anything particularly exciting this summer. And that was kind of wonderful. We did however, do plenty of other lovely things… (sorry vegans/vegetarians, close-ups of meat are imminent!)

So roll on Fall and all its tasty rustic bounties! And yes, that's a pumpkin beer right there. If you hold on, I'll be happy to share our recipes for honey glazed BBQ chicken and basil pasta salad later this week!

I don't think I'll manage a whole month of posts just on pumpkins this October. What would you like instead?

Ad Space Giveaway with A Compass Rose

Hey look at this, I'm part of an ad space giveaway for bloggers! This is being hosted by the wonderful Bonnie from A Compass Rose . She will treat you very well as a blog sponsor, so it's worth it just for that. You'll also get a spot on my blog here, and alongside all these other lovely faces. 

Enter below, or directly on Bonnie's site (if you comment on her post you get an extra entry, and you get to see what landmark I want to visit next). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A few months back I myself won some ad space on a variety of different blogs. It has been great fun, and I got to connect with some excellent bloggers. But it also made me realize how amazing and hardworking these bloggers are. 

Over the past few months I've been adjusting to a whole new career and work schedule. It's been fantastic so far - I've got some great paying clients and I'm learning a whole array of new skills. But it has meant that I had to step back from personal blogging for a bit. I struggled to keep up with some of the great opportunities that come from blogging - I've ignored PR requests that I'll get back to at some point, I haven't kept up with comment replies and reading other blogs. And I'm just a teeny tiny blog!

So hats off to all my favorite super bloggers. You are truly excellent. And if people have tips and hints for multitasking and project management in this web 2.0 freelance world of ours, you know where to leave the comments!

PS - the ad space I'm offering is 200px wide, however tall you want (within reason, ok?) and it'll probably end up being up for more than 30 days because I'll forget to take it down. 

Labor Day, Philadelphia, 2013

Last year for Labor Day, we stayed at home, baked cookies and watched Newsies. This year I had the honor of witnessing Philadelphia's Labor Day parade. Just like July 4th, I thought I'd share some of my photos from the beginning of the parade.

Now the tricky part about this was the rain that hit just as the event got going. It was torrential, but it didn't deter those who marched - which was truly awe-inspiring. People grabbed plastic ponchos and kept on walking. I grabbed one myself, although I used it to cover and protect my camera, while I got drenched from head to toe. My shoes took days to dry. I didn't mind though - it was much warmer than the same kind of rain in Glasgow!

So that's why these photos aren't the best, as most were taken through the armhole of a free plastic poncho.

What did you get up to for the holiday weekend? And what are you looking forward to this fall?

Expat Q & A August: The Basics

I've been an expat for over a year now, and when I think back to my arrival I realize how hard on myself I was. I thought a month would be more than enough time to adjust to life in the New World. In reality, it took almost that whole year for me to feel settled, and well, at home.

But now I know my way around (more or less) so here's my rundown of day-to-day life somewhere on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Be sure to check out the other expat Q & A's over at Belinda's blog too, to see how expat life compares across the world.

1. What is your favorite food store in your city and why? 
Okay, first things first - I don't live in the city.
Shock! If you thought I lived in Philly, I'm sorry. I live very close to Philly, but not quite.
So my favorite food store is hard to choose, because there's an excellent variety of family owned markets and supermarkets. One of the most fun to visit is Wegmans, which I talked about before here.

2. For your answer to number 1 is it ok to buy the store brand items or do you pay extra for a name brand?
Wegmans is a high brand store - a bit like Waitrose or M & S in the UK - and there's so much to choose. You can try their food in their restaurants or their take-out counters, get fresh deli counter produce, name brand goods and imported products (including Jaffa Cakes, Irn Bru, and Ribena for likes of me). They also sell beer which, for a supermarket in PA, is a pretty big deal.

3. What do you think is the best way to get about your city? i.e. bus, bike, car, etc
If you live on the train line, then the rail system isn't too bad. Otherwise, out here, you need to drive. No question about it. One funny observation is that the closer to the city people live, even if they have a car, the less far they're willing to drive. My husband and I are very used to driving all over our county and the neighboring counties to get to where we want. What we save by living away from the city we spend right back in gas, but thems the brakes, and we get to see some great scenery to boot.

4. Which store do you turn to for basics like toilet paper or cleaning supplies?
I'm not going to lie, it's Walmart. We prefer to go to other stores for most things, but I'd challenge any American resident to truthfully say they don't make several trips to Walmart a year.

5. Where do you think is the best place in your city to get a cup of coffee (or beverage you prefer) and catch up with friends? 
Like I said, we're happy to travel across the counties to see our friends, and there's no one place that we go to on a regular basis. A lot of the small towns and cities have cute independent coffee shops, and Philly has brilliant bars, but the numbers of times we just end up in chain restaurants out in the suburbs… I still haven't visited this place yet. Can you believe it?!

Six Things about Gladley

Did you catch me on HuffPost Live last week? Here it is if you want to take a peek! It was great fun, and who'd have thunk you could be on a live chat show panel in the comfort of your own home, just hours after breaking down in the middle of an expressway? It was a pleasure also to meet the inspiring Kelli and John from The Sustainable Couple.

On Monday the wonderful Bonnie Rose tagged me in a quick Q & A. This little blog meme is springing up all over the place, but I actually like these sweet things because it shows what blogging is all about. So without too much more of a fanfare, here are six (oops, seven) things about me.

1. Who or what inspires you?

The poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. It's universal, and a wonderful guide to living life.

2. One goal you would like to achieve before 2014.

I would like to buy a car. In cash. Regular readers of this blog already know that new immigrants to the US leave their good credit scores behind in their home country, and I've been considering the pros and cons of using a car to build credit.

Will I get a fancy car if I save and pay in cash? Nuh uh. But it'll be mine. Who knows, I might even get a stick so none of my US family and friends can use it ;)

3. What is something you love about yourself?

It's hard to define, but what I truly love about myself is that I'm dynamic and curious. If I don't know something, or don't know how to do something, I'll learn it. I love to learn as much as I can about something so I know what I'm doing.

It's something I always try to pitch to new employers because it makes me a really useful person to have around, especially in marketing and digital roles. I taught myself CSS last year. I'm currently learning some new tools for work purposes.

And then, when I broke my husband's car last week, I read up as much as I could about car maintenance and the model of the car. I didn't fix it myself, but I felt much more confident about talking with the mechanic. Next time, maybe I'll fix it!

4. Who has been your role model?

Pretty much everyone on my Facebook friend list. That's a strange thing to say, but I really admire so many traits in my friends and family. Sam's tough and wise. Judith's bright and adventurous. Jamie's driven and purposeful. They are all great motivators, even if they don't realize it.

5. Which blog are you in love with that you only found out about recently?

Probably SillyGrrl.com - but I need to have an afternoon to myself to catch up on reading my favorite blogs, I've been on the go so much lately!

6. When you struggle in life, what keeps you going?

Blah blah blah, cliche, my husband. We keep each other driven, which is - to me - a great sign that we work well together.

7. What hobby would you love to pick up?

A couple of years ago I learned a few chords on the ukulele, and I'd love to do that again!

Now, I think everyone under the blogging sun has done this feature now, but if you haven't, and you're reading this - consider yourself tagged! And you should comment below to tell me so I can go read it.