Saturday 11 December 2010

***GIVEAWAY, GIVEAWAY, GIVEAWAY***

From where there was once just a dusty patch of browning grass in a small corner of Upstate South Carolina...




...there now emerges a house, our future home. A wooden box which will hold our dreams, our memories, our family and friends.



***EXCITING NEWS***

Here is my first 'American Adventure' giveaway for all my loyal followers! The prize is a money can't buy, all expenses paid trip** to visit us here in our new home some time next year ( can you believe it! What a prize!) All you have to do is come up with a winning name for the new house, and if you are the lucky winner, we will see you in South Carolina next year for the house-naming ceremony.



**Disclaimer: 'All expenses paid' does not include travel costs from UK to South Carolina. The Priests will provide transfers to & from Greenville airport, all lodging, food, drink & entertainment.


Can't wait to read your suggestions. Good luck!

Tuesday 7 December 2010

J to the P




Everytime I write a post on here, my husband, James, has a small whinge that I don't mention him, or if I do, it's only as a bit part. So, to shut him up once & for all, I am dedicating a WHOLE post to HIM & HIM alone. Ironically, he will hate it being all about him, but it's tough shizzle (as he would say).

For those of you not blessed to have met my wondrous husband, here is a mini-biog about him and how we became man & wife:

James Ian Priest born 14th April 1977 (making him 33, gasp!) in Bath, southwest England, is 6' 2" with black hair & brown eyes. He moved oop North aged 20 to complete a HND in Business at Staffordshire University and stayed there for the next 11 years living & working until he upped sticks to live in America, which is where we are now.


We met nearly 6 years ago through mutual friends in a bar in my hometown. He uttered the now classic line 'you have a face like a smacked arse'...it was HATE at first sight (for me, anyway). In fact, hate probably doesn't cover it, I LOATHED him, detested his arrogance and wouldn't hear his name mentioned in my vicinity. How we overcame this initial bump in the road has been lost in the mists of time, but somehow I came to see his true personality and we started going out. A year or so later he proposed (in typically unromantic style, he proposed in the local pub), but despite the setting, I accepted the beautiful ring and we were betrothed.

In a move that shocks James, I started planning a wedding (I know! What a strange thing for an engaged woman to do!) and we married just over a year later in August 2007. He hasn't let me forget that I 'whisked' him down the aisle rather quickly (??) and says he didn't expect to actually get married after he'd proposed. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

I think he doth protest too much; I know he's happy really.

From the outside looking in, we are polar opposites.

James is a social animal and will happily stay out all night until the small hours with his friends; his binges must be stuff of legend. He oozes self-confidence; when he sets his mind on something, he will work hard to get it and normally succeeds. He has unending ambition and drive, a trait which has seen him put his dreams into practice and move around the world to build a new life here in South Carolina.


Achieving his American Dream was no mean feat, but his incredible self-belief, incessant hard work (inherited from his wonderful parents), research and emailing got him here, and I believe, it is all he dreamed it would be and he deserves it.

He has an obsession with trainers, his favourite being classic early 90s Nikes. He truly believes he is the white-born son of Dr Dre, his love for hip-hop (Jungle pop) knows no bounds. He is a true child of the 80s and loves nothing more than spending the afternoon watching a coming-of-age movie like Breakfast Club, Weird Science or Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

He has an incredible family and I am blessed to be a small part of it.

At the moment, we are living fairly traditional roles with James being the breadwinner and me being the homemaker. Due to the fact we are 4000 miles from all our family & old friends, we are spending an inordinate amount of time together. It is just the 2 of us (or four, if you count our new additions), sailing this small boat of life through the choppy seas we face. I think we both knew the move overseas could make or break us, but I had faith in his decision and trusted him when he repeatedly told me we were doing the right thing. As is often the case, he was right and we are very happy.

Of course, nobody is perfect. Because James is such an alpha male, he is opinionated and, like a proper Aries, can be stubborn; life is either black or white, with nothing in between. To balance his negatives, James is gentle and kind, generous to those he likes and could make a friend in an empty room.

Most importantly though, he is a true husband and father. He supports his family without question and will spend his life reaching and stretching for more. This may mean numerous moves around the world, but I know he does this so our little family will have the best quality of life.

He loves his dog, who has taught him so much about responsibility and sacrifice but above all, he loves his daughter; more than I think he ever expected. She lights up his life.

There isn't really a point to this post other than to tell him how much I love & appreciate him. With such busy lives, sometimes these sentiments can be overlooked or forgotten.

We are a unit, Team Priest, for eternity.