Living in America 2015

[rootypig]

New thread. In honour of:

1. allegedly Irish bangers discovered I saw in Trader Joe's today, which made me think of you lot and especially you Want2b, you pork fanatic - I will report back; and

2. taxes bloody argh! do I have to do this? NOW??? My green card was granted in August last year and I didn't earn a bloody penny. What am I supposed to put on a tax return

How else is everyone's American odyssey going?

yours chaotically, as ever,

rooty

I only had two 'congratulations! when Princess Charlotte was born, as opposed to six when George arrived! I did take great care to make it clear I had nothing to do with either baby, but still, nice to be acknowledged as partially responsible for the birth of royal babies.

We're in N Texas and have been under, over, and betwixt tornado watches and warnings for about a week. It's quite exhausting wondering what the heck is about to happen! The kids are shattered with the nighttime storms keeping them awake. Hoping for a quieter week, just some large hail and flash floods today...

I got taken out for brunch and the waiter at the breakfast place gave all the women and even the teenage girls a carnation each. DD2 took umbrage as she always does at the idea that anyone would assume motherhood was what she aspired to, and pointed out that they probably don't give carnations to teenage boys on Father's Day (and tbh she has a point) but it was a nice day all the same. Then the DDs took me out to the Home Depot and bought me some succulents, and we made a terrarium in an old goldfish bowl.

The most exercise I have done since university is a gentle game of tennis here and there, skating, and a brisk walk regularly. I tried Pilates once. Am never making that mistake again.

itsveryyou it's grim, isn't it? We were spoiled last year with a very settled May, and I'd forgotton the terror of our first spring in tornado alley (2013).

They didn't even sound the test sirens on Saturday at noon like they usually do, lest they confuse everyone who has spent the last week listening out that nerve-shredding wail. Bring on June (even though by then I'll be complaining about the crazy heat).

We do nothing at all for mothers day (or fathers day). Mainly because it's my birthday this week, and it gets ridiculous with meals out/flowers/cake etc if we did both. Then it's our wedding anniversary right by father's day.

Your DD sounds excellent math!

I was wished a happy mother's day at various places, but I didn't have DD with me. Perhaps my arse screams post natal? It's part of the American Disney mother complex, which I loathe. I also thought, how difficult it must be for women who are struggling with motherhood in any way, for it to be such hoopla. I prefer the British relatively private celebration.

Kind regards, Scrooge

mrsfrumble Yes it is! I've been here three years and only heard our weekly test siren recently...not even noticed it before now! On SAturday it was all getting a bit close, so I stashed some Goldfish crackers and water in the shelter under the stairs, just in case (high level of prep, clearly!) ...we're heading back home in the summer and I for one won't miss the threat of tornadoes every year!

Usually it's in the high 80s by now and pretty reliably warm, but we've had a really unsettled Spring so far. However, today was glorious, a lovely 75 Spring day, with light winds and a lovely freshness about it. I know soon enough we will be sweating from every pore when the temps begin to climb.

Today was gorgeous in Oklahoma too; bright sun and deep blue skies with a lovely fresh breeze. OKC looks almost pretty with all the lush greenery from such a wet spring.

Just been on a school trip to the Motown Museum. It's only small - the original house, but at the end of tour we all stood in Studio A and sang "my girl" so I can now say that I sang at Motown.

kickass that's...well...kickass!! Very cool indeed.

Itsveryyou are you okay after yesterday?

Hello all -

I haven't made an appearance on these threads for a long time. But, here i am now with a specific question:

We are traveling to England and France this summer. Have any of you found a good method for using our American mobile phones when traveling internationally?

Last time we visited, I used my old English Nokia and simply bought a payg local sim card. But that phone is now ancient (also not a smart phone). Verizon (my mobile company here in America) has sent through a quite complex flyer on their plan for calling/texting/etc. but I haven't been able to decipher if it is a good plan or not.

I keep thinking there has to be a better/smarter way. I'm not looking to make/receive lots of calls back to America - just want to collect my emails, have my English friends be able to contact me on the phone, and have the ability to send/receive a few texts. Also don't think I'll need (or will use) much data.

Have you got it sussed, and if so, can you please share? In simple terminology for this technically challenged Mum?

TIA

Earlybird - for emails , can't you just set your cell so that you only use wifi (ie free) rather than using expensive roaming data access?

Closertofifty -

Hello! Yes, I can do that. I think I should keep the phone on 'airplane mode' all the time, and then sign in with a password whenever there is wifi available. (have I got that right?)

In the UK you can buy a cheap mobile on a PAYG (even cheap smart ones), and there is a deal so EU phones are much much cheaper than they used to be. You can get one from Sainsburys or Tescos - no security checks needed.

Earlybird do wifi as people suggest, and switch to whatsapp for messaging. The interface is just like texts (but far easier to send pics and vid, and you can set up groups, so ideal for hols) but it operates through internet / data. Ie when you're in the US it will use your cellular data or wifi when you're connected, so you get messages all the time. If you turn off cellular data, it will just use wifi. Hey presto, free texts, photo and video sharing. And it uses your phone number as ID so no need to set up anything new. Once you download the app (costs about a buck) you can go into whatsapp contacts and see who of the contacts you already have in your phone are using it.

Hope that makes sense

No need to be in airplane mode if your cellular data is turned off. I would contact your provider before you leave to get them to turn off roaming too, to be sure.

Thanks for the Whatsapp explanation. I'll look into it.

Do I need the cell service provider (in my case, Verizon) to turn off data roaming? I can't do it myself? Bearing in mind that I'm not tech-savvy....

Hi mrsfrumble yes we're fine thanks! How about you guys? We had some choice weather overnight, thunder and lightning but nothing more than that. Supposed to be under flashflood/tornado watches today but it all seems pretty benign out there. We did back out of a weekend camping trip though, just to be on the safe side!

Early there are two settings in your phone you can turn off - cellular data and data roaming. (Roaming is where your phone accesses networks other than your primary one, when it's not available, and then you pay through the nose for the privilege.) So when you're on the plane, find both and disable them.

The problem with having your phone in airplane mode is it then cannot access wifi. So don't rely on that alone - because if you do, when you turn airplane mode off to use wifi, if data is still on, you'll be charged.

To be triply sure that you won't get hit by mad charges if somehow these settings get changed, you can usually let your network provider know you don't want the service. Ring em up and ask them to disable data roaming on your account. (But note, that means you can't use it in an emergency if you want to.)

Have a look at your phone and make sure you can turn data off, roaming off and wifi on - if you're confident with these settings, then it's fine to rely on those.

I love whatsapp - it's how I message all my irish and UK friends and family.

Wanted to share that I got cheap flights from JFK to Birmingham for $800. Leaving tomorrow and returning Tuesday. Considering its Memorial Day weekend and the late booking I'm shocked that it's so much cheaper. Just a shame the train ticket is £31 to Crewe.

Wow! quick trip. Are you going? with DC?

I'm taking DD and DH is staying back with DS and the dog. The trip is to help my dad pack up the house as the buyer wants to move in for June 1st. My parents are divorced and my dad is on his own now. This move is so stressful for him and it's great that I can be there for him.

In other news I got offered a great role but in a bad location so turned it down. I applied for a role late last year and they went with someone else but came back yesterday with something similar. It's a French company with proper benefits like 6 months maternity, work from home once a week and office hours of 9-5:30. It's a heck of a commute but the thought of working a regular work week is super appealing!