Woking Superstar

Look who made it into the Woking Newspaper:

Fun in Bath

Victor and I visited Bath, England last weekend. We went to the Roman Bath Museum, which was interesting. Bath is a nice little town with lots of shopping and entertainment located only 90 minutes from Woking, so it made for a nice day trip.

I Did It!!!

I finally did it!! I conquered the Paris Marathon on April 5, 2009! I am so proud of myself and even though the marathon was a week ago, I still cannot believe that I actually ran 26.2 miles. All those days of getting up at 5:30 AM and running in the dark and freezing cold and spending half of my Saturday mornings on long runs really paid off!

Although there were many ups and downs throughout the day, the Paris Marathon was a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I did it. Here is a list of the Ups and Downs of the race:

Ups:

• The race was in Paris--enough said!
• The race started in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees, which is the richest street in the world.
• We ran past the Eiffel Tower, Lourve, and lots of other famous Paris attractions. Running around Paris was such a unique way of seeing the city.
• 37,000 runners participated in the race, so the atmosphere was electric!
• Lots of spectators and supporters cheering us on.
• Our names were printed on our race bibs, so spectators would yell out your name as you were running, which was really nice.
• There were 70 bands sprinkled along the route, so the music helped to distract from the pain of running.
• Seeing Victor, Victor's friend Guillaume, and Helen's boyfriend Ben at the halfway mark was a nice energy boost.
• Perfect weather--68 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze
• Nice marathon expo the day before and free stuff!

Downs

• Although the weather was really nice, Helen (my running buddy) and I were used to running in the cold UK weather, so 68 degrees and sunny was sort of a shock to our bodies and it slowed us down a little bit.
• Runners are the most disgusting people in the world! All of the porta potties along the route were revolting. Every porta potty had feces splattered all over the seat and on the floor, and the worst part was there was no toilet paper, so people had to have been doing their duty (hee hee) and running off with poopy drawers. It was disgusting. And lots of people--men AND women--were just squatting and going to the bathroom on the side of the road in front of everyone.
• There were refreshments every 5km (3.1 miles) with bananas, oranges, raisins, sugar cubes, and water, so Helen and I would stop each time to refuel. By the end of the race, all of the fruit and raisins and sugar cubes we ate had sunk to the bottom of our stomachs and we were feeling quite nauseaus.
• We were in terrible pain after the race! I am talking extreme fatigue, nausea, throbbing feet, and aching joints. It is almost a week after the race and both of us are still achy and tired!

Although the race was quite a mental and physical challenge, Helen and I finished in 6 hours! We definitely weren't the first runners to finish, but we were far from the last, so we were happy about that.

Here are lots and pictures and videos from the race!

Now that I have completed a marathon, what should I conquer next?

Check out a few videos from the race:

Look at Victor!

Now that Victor has a job that does not require him to work crazy hours, he has time for extracurricular activities, like joining the local Woking Blackhawks basketball team. Here are a few clips of him during his games! The referee in the first video cracks me up because he is so serious about his job, haha! I always imagine him practicing all the hand signals in the mirror before the games, lol!

Good Times at Mercedes World

While Bryson was here, we went to Mercedes World. Mercedes World is like a funhouse for car lovers. It is a museum, car dealership, and test track all in one. You can sign up for driving experiences, where a professional driver will take you out on the course and show you all of the fancy things the Mercedes can do. Victor bought us a driving experience for Christmas, and it turned out to be alot of fun! Going out on the driving course was like riding a rollercoaster and poor Victor almost got sick because of all of the high-speed twisting and turning we were doing. I think at one point he even asked the driver to slow down a little bit, haha! Here are a few pictures from our day:

Fun with Bryson in England

Bryson came to visit us over the holidays and we had a pretty good time! Here are a few pictures from his visit. Enjoy!

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I have neglected my blog in 2009. :( I didn't mean to, but I have been swamped with work and training for my marathon and haven't had the time nor the energy to post anything. I will do better!!

Merry Christmas from the Yarbrough Family!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a wonderful day today. We had a nice time opening presents, eating, watching TV, and relaxing. Victor made a tasty Christmas dinner, so it felt like we were at home. Below are pictures of our day, including pics of our Charlie Brown Christmastree (there is one above--with Bryson asleep in the background), us opening our presents, and our dinner.

I hope everyone had a great day!

Happy Birthday, Victor!

Yesterday was Victor's 29th birthday. In the UK, you are supposed to bring treats for your co-workers on your birthday (instead of the other way around--they are backwards here!), so I surprised him and made cupcakes for him to bring to work. I was nervous because I haven't baked cakes or cupcakes in a long time, and everyone knows how temperamental baked goods can be, but they turned out really well! They were a hit and Victor said his co-workers gobbled them up! That made me happy. I also bought him the Hellboy Blu-ray and Matrix Trilogy Blu-ray DVDs and a PS3 PlayStation game, so I think he had a pretty good birthday. :)

What's Been Going On?

I haven't written in a while since I have been so busy with work. So what's been going on with Victor and me in England?

• Victor found a new job and he started this past Tuesday. He likes it so far since it is a much more relaxed atmosphere than his last job, plus he gets off around 5 everyday instead of at 7 or 8 like he used to. The nice thing about this job is that they have offices in Cincinnati, one of which is right up the road from our house, so he should be able to transfer to that office when we are ready to come home!
• I'm still working away, as usual! Also, my running buddy and I are currently training for the Paris Marathon, so that is going well. Hopefully I won't hurt my ankle like last year! I am determined to do this marathon for once and for all so that I can mark it off of my To Do List!
• We won't be able to come home for Christmas this year since Victor just started his job, but we will be home in May for Jenny's wedding! I am sad not to be able to come home, but Victor's brother Bryson is coming to visit on the 19th and is staying through the 29th, so that will be nice.

That about sums it up!

Prague, Czech Republic

I went to Prague last month for work and it was really nice! It is such a beautiful city, especially at night when all of the buildings are lit up. We stayed in the downtown area, so I got a chance to walk around and do a little bit of exploring. Very nice! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so some of my co-workers are supposed to be sending me their pictures. I will post the pictures once I get them.

My Favourite (yes, "favorite" with a "u"!) Commercials at the Moment...

I just love these Natural Confectionery commercials! They make me laugh everytime they come on! The last one is my favourite.

I love the way the bear laughs at the end of this one. And how did he get on top of those books? LOL!

Fun with Abby in England and Rome

Abigail came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we had such a nice time! We spent a couple of days showing her around Woking and London and then we headed to Rome for a few days. Rome was so nice and the weather was perfect for site-seeing! I love Italy and I want to go back! Of course while we were there we had all of our Italian favorites: pizza, pasta, gelato, Italian soda, and paninis. Abigail also wanted to get an Italian ice, but we couldn't find them anywhere! We also took a bus tour and saw all of the main Rome attractions including the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, and Vatican City. It was a great trip and I'm so glad Abigail came to visit! We had such a good time cackling and laughing and discussing our hair, and I was sad to see her go.

Next week, I'm headed to Prague, Czech Republic for work!

Did You Guys Vote Today?

Did everyone vote today? I hope so! We sent in our absentee ballots in a couple of weeks ago, so we've done our part! This is a picture of Victor filling out his ballot.

A Year in Review: Best and Worst Moments

Today marks the one year anniversary of when I moved to the UK. So much has happened within the past year! There have been lots of good times and bad times, with no shortage of adventures mixed in! Listed below are my best and worst moments of living in the UK:

Best Moments:

• Arriving to the UK and realizing that I wasn't just here for vacation
• Touring the city with Victor
• Hosting visitors and showing them around the city
• Travelling all around the UK for work (Wales, Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Derby, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, London)
• Travelling all around Europe for fun (Turkey, Greece, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France, and soon Italy with Abby and Czech Republic for work!)
• Victor surprising me with a trip to Barelona for my birthday
• Gathering the courage to cut all my hair off and go natural
• Taking the risk of putting up an ad for friends on the internet and making several good friends in the process (who knew there were so many 20-something ladies in Woking looking for friends?)
• Figuring out on my own how to drive on the left-hand side of the road and not getting killed in the process
• Passing my driving test!

Worst Moments:

• Waiting for my work permit to be approved. Seems like it took forever!
• Saying good-bye to my family at the airport
• Dealing with BT (British Telecom) customer service when we first moved here. It took 5 weeks to get the phone and internet hooked up!
• Initially having to go to the library everday to check my work emails since BT was taking so long with the internet
• Coping with feelings of lonliness, depression, and homesickness since I work from home and don't have regular interaction with people during the day, also since I was new to the country and had no friends to hang out with and Victor was at work all the time.
• Hurting my ankle and having to stop training for the Paris Marathon
• Trying to find something good to watch on UK television
• Missing my family and friends and the comforts of excessive American life

Overall, this has been a great year for both Victor and me! There have been some rough times, but we have gotten to know ourselves and each other better in the process and we do not regret moving here at all. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

I Passed!!

I passed my UK driver's test yesterday!! Whoo-hoo! I am so relieved because I really did not want to have to take it twice. The UK is notorious for having really difficult driving tests, and there is only a 43% pass rate. It is so hard that they even sell greeting cards congratulating you on passing. The test lasts about 50 minutes. First, you have a simple eye test, then they ask you two Show me/Tell me questions which pertain to vehicle safety and maintenance, then it is off to drive for 40 minutes! During the test, you are asked to perform two of these four maneuvers: parallel park, reverse into a side road, turn around in the road, or reverse into a parking space. I was praying that I would be asked to turn around in the road because that is the easiest maneuver for me, and thankfully that was one of the ones I had to do! I also had to reverse into a side road, which is the one that I am the worst at, and I got a point taken off for it because I was too far away from the curb.

I'm glad I passed because my US license is good here for 12 months and after that I have to get a full UK license, otherwise I would be considered a provisional driver and I would have to drive around with L (learner) plates on my car and I would always have to be accompanied by a driver over 21 who has had their UK license for at least 3 years. My 12 months is up October 6, so if I had not passed yesterday I don't know what I would have done!

This is a huge weight off my shoulders. I have been so nervous for the past month or so thinking about this dang test!! I hired a driving instructor for a few refresher lessons and he became a major motivation for me to pass because he really got on my nerves to the point that we had to have it out with each other a few times. I'm so glad I never have to see him again!! I was so nervous at the beginning of the test, but the examiner was really nice and I was able to relax some. I started to worry about 15 minutes into the test though because I kept seeing him mark things on my test sheet and I just knew that I had messed up somewhere! Turns out I did quite well--I only had 4 minor errors and 0 serious errors and you can get up to 15 minors or just 1 serious before you fail. Above is a picture of my grading sheet and my pass certificate (you can click on them if you want to see a larger picture)! I get my license in the mail in 3 weeks.

I had been working on getting my license since June. First, I had to take the written test which I studied for for a month and I passed that back in July. As soon as I passed I booked my practical test, and I had wanted to take it earlier but the slots book up really quickly, so September 30th was the earliest date I could get. So this dang test has been consuming my thoughts all summer long and now it's over!! Time to move on to the next adventure.

Study Guides for Theory Test: £20.00
Theory Test Fee: £30.00

Driving Lessons: £175.00

Practical Test Fee: £56.50

Passing the practical test on the first try and never having to see my instructor again and not having to stress about this test anymore: PRICELESS!!!!

My Laptop Tried to Kill Me!

Look at this terrible bruise on my foot. I had my laptop on the coffee table and when I got up to do something I tripped on the cord and the laptop came crashing to the floor and onto my foot. Thank God I didn’t die!

Fun with Camille and Mark in England

Camille and Mark came to visit last week and we had a fabulous time! They were such nice guests, always cleaning up after themselves and offering to pay for things. Victor and I gave them the grand tour of London and they were able to see all of the major sites of the city. We also took a ride in the London Eye, which is something that Victor and I had not done yet, so that was a treat.

Camille also gave me my first real natural hairstyle: a twistout! She has the patience of Job because it took about 2.5 hours to do those twists and she seemed perfectly content and happy. If it was me, I probably would have done about 5 twists and then called it a night! The hairstyle turned out well and I liked it alot!

Camille and Mark also went to Paris for a few days, and they had a great time there as well. They got all of their French favourites: Creme brulee, French fries, croissants, crepes, and baguettes. They also took a bus tour and saw all of the famous Paris sites.

I had a great time while they were here and I’m sure they had a good time too. They are a hilarious couple and they had me cracking up the whole time. Camille and Mark were truly meant for each other. I hope they come and visit again!

I'm Still Here!!!

I'm still alive! I have not abandoned the blog! I have been extremely busy with work for the past couple of weeks and have not had time to think about much of anything else. Things are easing up some for me now, so I will have time to post more.


This week I plan to write about Camille and Mark's trip to visit us and also post some of their pictures, and I will also write about how my laptop fell on my foot (picture included).


Stay tuned!

Leeds, UK

I have just been all over the UK lately! On Tuesday I went to Leeds for work. As usual, I didn't see much of the city, but from what I saw it seemed okay. The hospital I went to was really nice and new, so that was good. I also stayed in my favourite hotel, Malmaison, which is always a treat.

As with the other sites I have been to, starting in January I will be going to Leeds every 6 weeks or so, so I will have more of a chance to do some exploring.

Happy Travels!