Friday Five - My favorite "English" foods

I have taken a few trips to England to visit my charming English man and I have come to find some foods over there that I can't do without during my visits. They may not necessarily be "English" but I found them in England so to me, they are.

1. Curly Wurlys

I bring home several 5 packs every time I go. I found a bar hidden in my sock drawer today which prompted this theme and I can't wait to enjoy it this weekend!

2. Galaxy Ripple

OMG! I mean OMG! I wanted to try Flake Chocolate and Vernon said that I needed to try a Galaxy Ripple to get the "full experience" of having flake chocolate for the first time. OMG! I brought a bunch of these home too.

3. Black Pepper and Sea Salt Chips-Crisps 

I have to say that the chip selection is not what I'm used to. One year I picked up what I thought was a family size bag and when I got back to the apartment and opened it up IT WAS FULL OF A BUNCH OF LITTLE BAGS! HUH?!?! No wonder we're the fattest country in the world. Anyway... the selection has improved over the years, I can now find American pretzels! Woo Hoo! Anyway, while I was there one year I thought the black pepper and sea salt chips sounded good. I don't know if they were available here in the US, my city in Upper Michigan or simply in my store. Maybe they always have been and I never noticed. Well, I noticed them in England so they are "English" to me. When I am there, those are my snack of choice.

4. Jacobs Jam and Cream Biscuits (Cookies) 

I normally don't buy cookies at home, but these are amazing and I also bring several packages home with me. I've looked for something like this here at home and I have had no luck. I'm sure we have something like them but maybe it's best I don't find anything. That's all I need is cookies in my kitchen.

5. Potatoes

OK, I know what you are thinking... "Potatoes? Um don't you live in the United States? Home of the Idaho Potato?" Yes, and they are yummy! But, what is missing from this picture? Think. Look at it closely... DIRT! Yes! The potatoes in the grocery store where Vernon shops sells potatoes in these plastic bags and they are clean. I love this!! I really dislike scrubbing vegetables, especially potatoes. I buy a bag of potatoes and there is dirt everywhere because there are holes in the bag. If my grocery store sold clean potatoes I would buy them.

OK, so 4 out of 5 is junk food, but believe it or not I always lose weight when I go to England and I think I eat more. I don't get it but it happens. I have my theories but that is for another day and another post.

21 DAYS!

This photo was taken during my last trip to England, December 2009. It seems like several years ago. Well, in 21 days Vernon will have his arms around me in Bristol airport and I can't wait. I'm sad that I have to leave the kid behind but she'll be studying for finals. Tonight I got a new camera, nothing fancy, and it was on sale. I have my flip camera for taking videos which I really love, and I've been picking up things like chocolate and Lucky Charms for the kids per their request. I plan on stocking up on Curly Wurlys as  they are mine and Heidi's favorite candy bar! But... I've been eating healthier for the past 2 months, down 25 pounds and I don't know if I'm smaller than I was when this photo was taken. I have all the same clothes but they are so worn and old it's hard to tell. I have a goal to lose 10 more before the trip but we'll see how that goes. I'm not worried about sticking to my new eating habits while I'm there. Europeans eat differently than Americans. We Americans are pigs and eat way too much. I love the smaller portions in the restaurants and even at the grocery store, the family sizes aren't really that big. I'll have to remind Vernon to fill the ice cube trays as I will be drinking lots of water and I like it COLD! COLD! COLD! Lukewarm water makes me gag. Yuk. Two weeks with Vernon isn't enough. It's overwhelming when I get there, then we get into a mode where it just feels so right when we are together. We can sit quietly in the car, in the living room, at the table, I fall asleep on him when we are watching movies, we are each other's missing half. I'll be turning 40 while I'm there. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday, especially such a special one. I'm going shopping for clothes with a very good friend so that will be exciting. We've gone shopping together before, and we had a blast. Leaving is horrible. Just thinking about it makes me cry. We feel it creeping up on us when there are 3 days left, then 2, then 1, then we're saying goodbye at security and I have to sit all by myself waiting to board the plane. I cry a lot on that day. It doesn't get easier. I've done this several times and it just doesn't get easier. It's almost easier not going at all, but that's just flipping crazy. I want us to do lots of relaxing, lots of talking, cooking, and I want to watch movies. I did recently whine to him about wanting to visit a castle so he sent me several choices and I'll be picking out where I want to go. I still have to pick up some dramamine so I don't have a repeat performance of the time Heidi and I had our faces in the barf bags as we were roughly coming in for a landing in North Carolina. That was terrible! It's going to be a long 21 days.