Things I Didn't Expect When I Got Married #2

Case File #2

I didn't expect to become a car snob.

Yes, a car snob. There I said it. I'm a car snob. Don't get me wrong. I don't think I'm too good to drive any car. For goodness' sake I drove a '95 GeoTracker that was held together with rust, duct tape, and hope for many years. But I only find expensive cars classy or worthwhile since I married a 'car guy'. BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Jaguar.. those are the cars of class. Not to say all of the previous companies always make classy cars - I mean look at the 1-series BMW. That hatchback thing is a monstrosity. But, in general, I like nearly every car those 4 companies make. I really want an E-class Merc. It'd be absolutely amazing to drive around.

With all that said.. please don't make fun of me if my first car in the UK is a Fiat, okay? I have ambition. And my ambition is to own a Merc. Even if I have to live in a 1 bedroom studio apartment with neighbours who have yelling matches.

Things I Didn't Expect When I Got Married

Case file #1:

Cheese. I never expected to like cheese. In the US I'd eat cheese if it was melted. Pizza? Okay. Nachos? Okay. But just eating a slice of cheese? Disgusting.

But the husband loves cheese. We often have a couple of types of cheese in the fridge. Whenever I'm shredding or slicing cheese he nabs some. He even shreds it for me if I ask nicely. Over time I've started taking a slice or piece here or there never really thinking about it. When my mother-in-law offers me random cheese she's bought I eat some but again didn't think about it.

Until last Friday.. when I put some cheese in our cart at Morrisons. "You like that?" "Yeah, why not?"

That's when I realized. I like cheese. Of all the things I expected to learn to like when I moved cheese is not one of them.

Becoming a Girly Girl

At some point, since moving to the UK, I have become a girl. And not just any girl, no. A girly girl. I go into shops, I buy clothes, I care about fashion. What happened to me? My whole time through high school I wore jeans, tennis shoes, and oversized tshirts. I had exactly one ring and one watch and that was perfectly okay. I was fine with that.

Now I wear skirts and blouses and cardigans. Even at work, where the uniform is all black, I am still slightly (only slightly) stylish. At home I wear skirts and dresses and leggings and other such things. I haven't worn a tshirt in months and I never wear jeans anymore despite the effort I went to to make sure I had six pairs of jeans I loved before I moved!

I spend hours on etsy trying to find things I love to buy. Currently I really want this necklace, this bag, and one of these watches. The problem, though, is I've become an impulse buyer. I buy things I like that are right infront of me and not things that I have to go through a process and enter my debit card number, etc. This is the exact opposite of how I was a few years ago!

This fashion thing has gotten so bad I have had to limit my purchases of any clothes or accessories to ten items this month. Ten! That's such a huge amount when I used to go months and months without buying a single thing.

I need to get control of this problem. Because it is a problem. I'm just not sure how to start.

How life really is in the UK..

When I moved to the UK last September (nearly 8 months ago!) I expected that the transition would be easy. I'm not easily homesick and I'd finally be rid of the 8 hour flights and 24 hours of travelling that happened each time I visited.

Funny enough I was proved completely wrong. Life in the UK is absolutely nothing like I expected. From the small things (baking soda vs. bicarbonate of soda) to the large things (taking the piss, sarcasm, etc) life has not been what I expected. One would think I'd realize that - despite sharing a language the US and the UK are fundamentally different on so many levels.

Also, since moving, I also have this weird Scottish pride thing going on. When people state things that are true about England and try to pass it off as true about the whole UK I come to Scotland's defense. When there are Scotland vs. England matches I always root for Scotland even though I could care less about sports. Heck, when I went to Stirling this weekend I bought a postcard with part of the Declaration of Arbroath on it (For, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.) I have no idea where this Scottish pride is coming from. The husband isn't very Scottish in the way he acts, speaks, or thinks.

No matter what I think I will always look back on this first year happily. Despite Scotland (and Fife) being completely different than what I expected I do love it here. I love the people, the weather, the North Sea, the food (okay, the Turkish takeaways), and the atmosphere. I never realized you could fall in love with a place but you most certainly can.