Author: Jen Kopanic
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When things don’t go as planned
Oliver turned 5 months old two weeks ago. Between the move overseas and the sleep deprivation (hello sleeping 10-12 hours through the night since the end of June!), the past few months have been a blur. And slowly I’m forgetting all of the nitty-gritty details of what happened during his birth into this big, beautiful…
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Lessons learned, then relearned
Reflection is the name of the game for me in January. I can’t help but do it daily. Now having some time, I’ve begun the process of going through pictures from the last two and half years of living abroad; all the trips, moments captured, and memories. However, there is one picture that I absolutely…
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Welcome 2017 with a single word
There is a trend going on in the social media communities. By no means is it a new trend. It is an old trend with a new revival, which happens about this time every year. I like to make resolutions and SMART goals for the year – I actually achieved my 2016 goal of losing…
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USAF 69th Birthday Ball!
Joining many others from around the local area, we celebrated the 69th birthday of the United States Air Force last night. It was a great reason to put on fancy clothes, eat, drink (soda water and lime or a cranberry and orange juice cocktail for me), dance, and celebrate. We also celebrated that our baby boy…
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A new year, a new post
Hello! Long time, no updates. I know you want to know more of our adventures. Wondering what we have been doing, where the wind has blown us, and the adventures we have experienced. I promise to provide you updates on the following things in the next few weeks: My adventures in Australia (I did spend nearly a…
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Salsa – the 2011 garden variety
We lived in the ‘burbs, just outside of Omaha, Nebraska for a few years. Our agreement was that I’d make peace with suburb-life-in-general, the long commute to work, the cornfield literally across the street, and the mice that always appeared in our garage at harvest time, as long as I could have a giant garden and…
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First Expat Christmas
Let’s first start with a new-to-me word: Expatriate: (noun) often shortened to expat; A person who lives outside their native country. I had never heard this word before moving to England. And based on our patriotic-ness, I definitely thought it referred only to Americans. Yes, I know that I am typical American, where everything literally revolves…
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Funny phrases
Living and working in the UK has led me to laugh a lot. My British co-workers have come to learn that while conversing with me, my laughter indicates that either I didn’t understand anything they came out of their mouth or that the words they said were pronounced in a very British way. Most of my…
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London: the one day tour guide
This is my “tour guide” of how to see the best touristy things in London in only one busy day. As this is my opinion, the list is not all-inclusive but represents what I think are the most fantastic tourist things to do and see in London. I would recommend this for those who do not…
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Learning English
The more time I spend at work, the more [British] words and phrases I learn. Here is a collection (part 1 of many, I hope) of new-to-me words and phrases I have learned while living in England. I have provided the American word(s) that are the equivalent. AA: the Automobile Association (equivalent to the US…