The Long Farewell

Hello? Are you still there?

(Crickets chipping)

No, I didn't DIE from our Thanksgiving turkey, although there ought to be a similar punishment doled out to bloggers who abandon their blogs (and their loyal readers) for two very long and cold months...

Here's the story...

I've decided to close down both "So, What Do You Do All Day?" and "American Mom in London" and make the leap to my own URL (and a whole new blog), Formerly Gracie.

Closing down "American Mom in London" was an easy decision. First of all, I don't live in London any more...

(As much as I enjoyed writing from my zany expat point of view, I really can't claim to be the "American Mom in London" when I'm no longer in London, now can I?)

Closing down this blog was a more complicated one...

When I started blogging, it was purely self indulgent. I never fancied myself to be much of a writer and my blog was merely way to vent... privately, but yet to the whole entire world.

I wrote "anonymously", which is to say only a few of my "real life" friends knew about it and even fewer actually read it. This suited me just fine as it gave me the freedom to write whatever I wanted (and about whomever I wanted)...

Over time, blogging has become a bigger part of my life than I ever could have imagined.

Not only was it better than therapy, it eased the transition from working girl to motherhood through wonderful friendships (online and in real life) and a supportive community that has made me laugh, cry, and nod in agreement/empathy/recognition every single day.

I also learned that I actually enjoy writing... A LOT. So much so that I'm willing to self-censor and clean up my act in order to be able to share it with the people in my life.

Between motherhood, tying up loose ends in London, and moving overseas (again), I've been developing the content and design of this new site. There's still plenty to tweak. I’m still working on the “Blogroll”, and the “About Me” page needs CPR. However, there are a few posts up and more to come.

In a few weeks, there will be a re-direct on this site and you won’t be able to read this at all.

To all of my readers, the tens of you, thank you so much for your love and support. I truly appreciate your loyalty and I hope to see you at Formerly Gracie.

Thanksgiving Countdown: 1 More Days to Go

My turkey is defrosted (on the counter thankyouverymuch). It's below freezing in London and radiator "heating" is a joke, so my kitchen is as good as the fridge, right?

I'll let you know if the three of us end up in the A&E (ER) over the weekend...

Last night, I made a honey-citrus cranberry sauce from a recipe I made up. (i.e. I had a bunch of oranges that were a day away from going bad)

I have the makings for an awesome sweet potato casserole and made-from-scratch mac n' cheese, which is the best when it's THIS cold.

I ordered "Spanish Fried Onions" for the green bean casserole. I have no idea if they're anything like the (good) "French's Fried Onions" we love from home or if I've made a terrible mistake. I decided to just take my chances.

I also ordered some pies. Good moms bake. Smart moms outsource! It's my personal motto, but feel free to use it for yourself. No really. Consider it my gift to you.

I hope all of your holiday prep is going swimmingly as well.

Happy Thanksgiving from the land of the pilgrim oppressors!

Thanksgiving Countdown: 5 More Days to Go

I have a confession to make. I have never cooked Thanksgiving dinner... ever. I've never had to, especially with two families clamoring for our time.

How funny is it that I had to move the England (which is hello, the country the pilgrims were escaping from in first place) in order to prepare my very first Thanksgiving?

As with most ridiculously complicated endeavors, I've been looking forward to the challenge, but putting off the planning.

Honestly, I have an excuse. It's not like I don't have things like deportation and unemployment on the brain. With less than a week to go to "T Day", I finally had to say, "Uncertainty be damned, I'm going to learn how to cook a turkey".

Step one: Find one.

I went to my local grocery store and was told they were out of fresh turkeys. In fact, all delivery of fresh turkeys has been SUSPENDED at our local grocery store until after December 1.

I have a feeling I know who's hoarding the world's turkey supply... UH-MER-ICA.

Undaunted I eventually tracked down a frozen turkey and had the store hold it for me, as I have no where to store it in the meantime.

My British fridge fits about four apples and a quart of milk (skimmed), and my freezer is the size of a crisper... drawer. Just one.

I thought I'd just come by for the turkey sometime next week and defrost it on the counter, except... wait! today I learned that that's WRONG!

Seriously?

Where am I supposed to thaw this thing? (See above reference to British fridge... not hyperbole)

What do you think? If if were to...say defrost my bird on the counter top anyway for lack of options, am I going to kill my family like the Internet says I will?

The Toddler Years Are Rough

According to our son, Daddy may not have a nose, but is very patriotic. Mommy, on the other hand, is looking a bit like a stoner transvestite these days...

Otherwise, parenthood hasn't changed us one bit.

What If and Other Late Night Terrors

I guess the stink of Hubby's job(less) situation finally reached my bitchy SIL, the one with all of the money and none of the class, because she just emailed me... completely out of the blue...

It had the same tenor as most of our past dealings... "Hi-Hi. We're doing FABULOUS. Our life. PERFECT! So what's up with YOU?"

They seem to have escaped the economic crapfest. Prosperity certainly agrees with them and I can't blame her for rubbing it in being so happy.

Insert some passive-aggressive BS about "not spending the holidays together" (as if we ever did), and you can see why we don't talk much...

She isn't the only one asking us, "Do you know... Do'ya? Do'ya? Huh? Huh?".

Everyone wants to know what's going to happen, but no more so than ME. It's quickly become the "...but, how are you feeee-ling?" of my pregnancy days and it's twice as annoying since I have no news to share.

Nothing.

While my dear, sweet husband is still hoping for a new contract and refusing to put our house back on the lettings market, I've simply resigned myself to the fact that I have a ton of (re)packing to do...

I've been a jumble of emotions that I can't even begin to sort right now. There's a lot of disappointment and anxiety, but GUILT tops the list.

Months ago, when the stress of moving to London finally got to me, I made the calamitous error of letting my guard down while talking to my mother-in-law.

Her response?

In a nutshell, a long lecture on how I should get over myself and be a stronger person, because what choice do I have... and I quote, "It's not like YOU would get a job and support your family".

Yeeeeah. Ouch!

At the time, I just filed that comment away in"crazy, hypocritical things my mother-in-law has no right to say to me" and moved on with my life. (It's a really big file.)

Although lately, her words have come back to haunt me.

I'm smart. I'm marketable. I love, love, LOVE being home with our son, but hate that the responsibility and pressure of keeping us solvent is all on my husband.

This will be the third time he's lost his job in two and a half years and each "transition" has nipped away at our savings more and more. Savings in which I have not contributed in a long time...

I stay up every night and I wonder how we're going to afford to send our son to college.

I wonder, if we do move back, how we're going replace the things we sold for this "grand adventure"- the second car, the washer/dryer, our mattress.

I wonder if I should be supporting my family.

My husband insists that I AM making a contribution. Of course, this was upon coming home to a happy boy and night two of my "holiday trial runs".

(If you care to know, tonight it was roasted lamb with ciabatta stuffing, delicious Jerusalem artichokes, and cranberry jelly. A bit posh for po' folk, but I'll give up Christmas before I'll give up cooking.)

I know we're not the only ones faced with financial woes. Nearly everyday, I hear or read about someone else in more dire situations than us.

When I do, I feel selfish for complaining about my life losing a bit of its glamour and complacency, but I can't help wondering where we would be if I had made different choices.

Just What You Needed. Career Advice From a SAHM Complete With Off-Season Baseball References

Last week, when I (heavy sigh, dramatic pause) told my expat friends that I may be leaving London sooner than we had hoped, all of them marveled at how I could just stand there and calmly explain everything to them.

To tell you the truth, I marveled too.

It's one thing to live in uncertainty. It's quite another to tell people about it-- hearing my voice form each word and having the same questions that keep me up at night echoed back...

It simply makes it all too real.

I even hesitated to post about it, but your hugs and well wishes, much like theirs, have been a tremendous source of support the last few days. Thank you! Thank you!

My husband, just as resourceful as ever, has been tapping into his contacts, which isn't that hard since he just did it... oh, six...seven months ago, so we ARE hoping for the best... even if it means moving... UH-gain. Bah!

There's one "big name" studio that's been very interested, or so we thought until he interviewed...

Without giving anything too much away, it turned out to be a total joke. While I didn't get that far in my career, there's a certain point when your resume speaks for itself and BS questions like...

"If you lived on an island inhabited by dinosaurs that ate sheep, what's your favorite color and why?"

...are a total waste of your time and theirs.

(Okay, so that wasn't the exact question, but it's very similar and just as pertinent to his field, which is computer graphics, not zoo keeper at Jurassic Park.)

STRIKE ONE.

To prove my point, a few nights later, a follow-up call came from them APOLOGIZING for the last interview being so insipid.

Whichever color my husband chose, it was the right one, because they were also calling to ask if he would consider talking to them again--a "real" interview this time...with knowledgeable members of the team offering serious questions and meaningful dialogue.

Imagine that?!

They went on to implore that Hubby really, really consider them because...

"It's a really great company to work for..."

(Yeah, they really seem to have their act together...)

"We offer breakfast and lunch to our employees..."

(I may not have worked for very long, but I did work long enough to know that this is code for "you will live at the office")

"We really promote work-life balance, very family-friendly. We offer "movie nights" once a week and lots of family events throughout the year..."

(Great, but will that be the ONLY time he will see his family?)

(Furthermore, if you have to use mythical words like "work-life balance", you probably aren't...)

The hilarity is there hasn't been any talk of salary or benefits at this point...

No discussion of the team he'll be working with, or the projects...

Definitely no relocation package to consider...

As far as everyone's concerned, there hasn't even been an interview yet and they are already peeing all over themselves trying to convince my husband (and me) that it's even worth talking to them...

Yeah. Steeee- rike TWO!

Plus the studio is located in our least favorite place to live, but it's not entirely out of the question. Nothing is, at the moment.

Eagerly waiting for the next pitch...