Good morning blog world. Sorry for the silence. I've honestly not had much to say. A short recap of what's been going on since September 16th and then a special announcement.

The boy and I made it safely to the US on September 18th. I was extremely excited to get to see my mom at the airport with my dad this time. We made our way on the long drive back to the house where I was greeted by 2 very excited dogs. Nothing says welcome home like a dog who is running in circles, wagging his tail so hard his whole body moves, and doggie kisses. I spent the week showing him around my home town and around the area where I was hoping I'd get a job. Luckily he fell in love with the area. The week was WAY too short though and I had to see him off at the airport for what is the longest 3 months ever.

The week after he left, I had my job interview. A very stressful 3 weeks later I received an offer and accepted. I've just started my second week there and so far it's going well. I've got a bit of catching up to do, but I'm up for the challenge.

In the meantime, the wedding is pretty much planned. It took a whole 2 hours and 3 dresses to find my wedding dress. I'm so excited about it!!! But shhhh...it's a secret. Venue - check, Food - check, bridesmaid dresses - check, flowers - check, cake - check, invitations - check, hotel for guests - check. Just a few more things to figure out and we're good to go.

Now that I'm home, it seems that "Postcards from Britain" should end. I'm not even sure how much I'll use my other blog because I'm finding not blogging a bit nice. Almost liberating. In a way, blogging began to be a chore and I stopped being original. Instead it just felt like a real quick recap (like this one) and I'm not enjoying it anymore.

Thanks for following me on the journey that literally changed my life. It's been a wonderful experience and I've enjoyed sharing it with you all.

As of Friday it will be 365 days, a full year, since I hugged my parents at the airport with 3 suitcases and a bookbag in tow and flew across the ocean for what would be a life changing year. Friday I leave England with those same suitcases and the bookbag, but I am bringing home so much more than I ever could have imagined.

My year over here has been amazing! You always wonder when you make a fresh start. You wonder what sort of people you'll meet. For me, I was surprised that the first people I met, ended up being the people that I spent most of my year with. I met a girl in my course when checking in for orientation. I was put in a group with one of the twins on the first day of class. I walked to town the first time with my American friends. It's been amazing to make such wonderful friends.

I don't think there are words that are adequate to explain what this year has meant to me. To everyone that has supported me this year, thank you so much. I could never thank you enough. To my parents especially, THANK YOU for everything...the gifts, comfort foods from home, phone calls, letters, cards, hugs, and encouragement.

363 days ago I began this journey. In 2 days a new journey begins. And the best part of all is that it begins with hugs from my parents at the airport. I can't wait!

Just because I can't express myself correctly...here are my favorite pictures from this past year. Enjoy!

Preparing to move home is no easy task. Besides packing and repacking (and repacking) to make sure everything is in the bags and under the weight limit, there's saying goodbye to the people that have made this year amazing. A couple weeks ago our professors decided to conduct a "going home" seminar. For a lot of people (including me), this experience was their first away from their home country. Naturally, we've lived life a bit differently and going home can end up being harder to adjust to. For instance, one of my classmates is from Pakistan. She's enjoyed quite a bit of freedom this year, but goes home to a province in war with the Taliban and to a home where she must have permission and an escort to leave the house. Big changes for her!

One of the tasks we did in this seminar was to list things we are looking forward to and things we will miss. I didn't take things too seriously at the time, but I know there will be some adjustment for me. So, here's a more serious list.

What I'm looking forward to about going home:
Seeing my family
Hugs from my mom and dad
Phantom
Playing with the kids
Finding a job
Getting my stuff out of storage
My bed (the mattress at my apartment was less than comfortable)
Phantom
Ranch dressing
Mexican food
Seeing my friends
Planning my wedding

Things I will miss about being in England
Sleeping in
Traveling to new places
The architecture
Seeing the boy (he doesn't move right away)
The friends I've made here
Having everything in walking distance
Trains

So, while I'll miss some things, there is much more that I'm looking forward to. And now that I don't live there anymore, here are some pictures from Loughborough University, my home away from home for the past year.

It's my final 3 days in this university town. It's all a bit bittersweet. I've loved being here and will really miss the friends I've made, but I'm excited about where life is going to take me next.

I've spent this past week catching up on much needed sleep, spending time with the twins, and will even get a 'hen' party tomorrow night. It's nice being able to spend time with my friends now that the pressure is off.

I had my final test this week, the oral defense of my thesis. It went really well. I will definitely graduate and have a masters, which is awesome. But even more awesome is that my professors want to publish my work in a journal. Publish! I never thought I'd ever have anything worth saying that others would want to read. I guess being an engineer that's also good at writing is a really good thing.

It will still be a few weeks before I return home. I'm hoping to actually post a bit more about my final weeks here. But for now, I've got to get back to the packing and the cleaning. Till next time!

Nights like last night remind me why change is not a bad thing in life. Moving to England a year ago was a huge step outside my little comfort zone. HUGE!!!!! But I did it, knowing I needed to change, needed to figure out some things, and needed to just learn how to step outside my comfort zone and know I could make it.

Leaving last year meant I said goodbye to a few really special people in my life (outside my family of course). I've kept in touch with those people, lost touch with others, and in general realized that it's not the end of the world to start over with friends. You really learn a lot when you step away from the situation.

The thing about it all is that I've made some amazing friends here. Last night reminded me of that. It was the first time since getting engaged that I saw my friends. And it was great to just have planned a girls pizza and movie night, but end up having friends decide the whole evening should be about celebrating my engagement. It makes me so happy to see how friendships can be really amazing and can change the outlook on a day so quickly. And it makes me sad to know that in a little over a month, I have to say goodbye to those people I've met here. But in the meantime, it's great to know we have more time to spend together now that we turn in our reports in 2 weeks. Time to cherish those moments.

~Robert Frost

This past weekend is definitely one I won't forget. But that's how it's supposed to be right? After spending so much time working on the thesis, traveling to Spain, and just generally wondering what the future holds, I was very much looking forward to spending the weekend with the boy and celebrating his birthday. Little did I know what was in store.

Friday my journey began with about 2 hours worth of trains to get from point A (where I live) to point B (where he works). The first train was late by 8 minutes, then got stopped along the way because of signal malfunctions. When I arrived in Derby I had to run up a set of stairs, across a bridge connecting 4 platforms, and down a set of steps to barely catch my connecting train. Luckily I made it, or I'd have been waiting there for an hour. Made it down to the next stop only to miss the connection and have to stand on the platform breathing in lots of diesel exhaust. Not much fun. Caught the next train about 10 minutes later, made it to his stop, and the doors would not open. Talk about frustrating. So, I took the train to the next stop, ran up the ramp, across the tracks, down the ramp, and onto the train to go back one stop. Finally, I made it there! Trains are sometimes just not that much fun.

Saturday morning he took me out to the countryside. It was so beautiful. While we were walking, I told him how this park reminded me of the one where I had run my half marathon. We talked about trail running and the reasons why I loved that more than running on roads. He joked about getting lost in the woods. It was about that point that he decided to veer off the trail we were on and go up a different trail. After a few minutes he stopped, dropped his bag to the ground, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him. I haven't stopped smiling since.

The rest of the weekend was just icing on the cake at that point. He loved his birthday present, but said that my saying yes was the best present anyone could ever give him.

So, there you go...'Two roads converged in the wood.' This year just keeps getting better and better.

Yes, I'm still way behind on keeping this thing up to date. I have 3 weeks from today until my thesis is due. 3! So, it's high gear from here on out. Luckily I am already over halfway through, but there's still a lot of important things to do...like another case study and write my conclusions. But I have a few things I felt should be shared on here...in the series of a couple posts.

First...Spain was awesome! I went a couple weeks ago to Nerja, Spain. I highly recommend it if you like crystal clear waters, warm sunny days (with no clouds in the sky), and a laid back lifestyle where it's perfectly acceptable to take a nap from 2-4 PM everyday.

Despite all the wonderful things about being over in Spain (like meeting the boy's mom and stepdad)...I got real life experience about what I have been studying all year. You see, they have running water in all the houses there. But the first thing I was told was to not drink the water. Apparently there are way too many minerals in the water so you end up getting sick. Makes you wonder what people did prior to having bottled water so available. They also don't have constant water supplies. Monday morning we had to wait to take showers because the water was not working. Great fun!

And now, some pictures!