Guess who FINALLY landed a job?

Yes, that's right. I will be working!!! It's only temporary from next week until the end of October. But if I like the job and want to work full time, I may apply for a permanent post in November. At any rate, this gets me back into the game and making a little pocket cash. Actually I'll be making about the same as Simon, just at a pro rated amount - three days a week. So, I may just get used to the pay check and go back full time... Well, first things first, I need to start right?
My first day is August 11th, and I'll be a research coordinator. Basically, the Scottish and Northern Irish governments need someone to put together white papers or research work on their environmental regulations, and my company manages the projects. So, we hire contractors to actually do the writing, and we hold meetings/steering groups to make sure that the contractors know the direction they should be going in, stakeholders are satisfied, and the client (government for the most part) is happy with the finished product. It's sort of like what I was doing at TDEC, but much more structured, better funded, and I don't have to do the research/writing myself. My job will be mostly project management, which for some crazy reason, I really enjoy! I hope it all works out.
I take Marius to his first day of day care on Monday. We're just popping in in the morning for an hour to get him used to it. The daughter of the couple downstairs works at this day care and will be there on Monday, so that makes me happy. I've never met her before, but her parents are super sweet, and her brother is really nice, so I'm glad to have someone there who may take an extra interest in him. Marius will probably love day care. Last time we were there touring, he started crying when we left. But that was before I took him there and left him... I hope he's OK with it.

The kilted bandit

Marius is the proud owner of a kilt! Sonali gifted Marius before she headed off to London this weekend, so we promptly put it on and toured the town a bit yesterday. The weather was GREAT! It was around 80 degrees yesterday, and I was absolutely shocked. It was the hottest I've been since moving to Edinburgh (with the small exception of our trip to Spain last summer). Of course the weather didn't last and the fog rolled in last night. I was wearing a jacket today while on my way to the drivers training theory test. I passed, so now all I need to do is buy a car, take a few lessons, and schedule the driving test. Then we'll be back on the roads!
Here is a video of our wee lad in his wee kilt!

Weekend outing

We took a small hike up to Corstorphine Hill this morning. The raspberry bushes along the trails are starting to put out fruit, so we can't wait to come back in 2 weeks time and have a proper meal along the way! Marius absolutely loves his backpack, and we've had to put it away in the closet when he's not looking, otherwise he gets really upset. And when we open the closet, he starts crying if he sees the backpack and we don't take it out.

Our friend from Nashville, Sonali, has been here the past two weekends, so we've had a nice time reminiscing about Tennessee. She's off to London tomorrow, and then Paula and the family come August 4th. I'm so excited about the Nettleships, I can't stand it! I just wish our bathroom could have been done. Oh well, it's good to have people see the before and after I suppose. I just hope our decrepit toilet hold up for another month!
We have been totally lazy about the house stiff lately. Other than getting a plumber to bypass our cold water supply so it doesn't come from the lead cistern in the loft/rafters and the subsequent call back due to a small leak (that stained our dining room ceiling! Urgh!) in said pipe, we've been pretty much just enjoying the fruits of our past month's labor. But I have been thinking a lot about how I'm going to put in the molding around the Edinburgh Press and then installing the floor skirting. I have backed away from buying a circular saw, and instead think I may just opt for a miter box so I can cut 45 degree angles for the molding corners, although a saw would be SO much faster. We need paint too, as all of our skirting boards are super banged up from the guys who sanded the floors. And the carpet in the kitchen (yes, the lady here put carpet in the kitchen and the newspaper underneath it is from 1996!) needs to go, but I first have to sand the floors a bit and the paint them... But I keep telling myself I'll do that eventually. I'm not sure what day of the year eventually is... but if you know, would you let me know so I can start planning that job? Thanks!

Legos!

Yeah, enough said. Actually they're duplos but we call them all legos, and he can sort of say lego so we haven't changed. We just got this huge box of them from a colleague of Simon's and Marius is absolutely loving them. He's been going to sleep while holding them in his hand. Too cute!

more painting results

Here are some pics of the painting in the front room. We've finished with the ivory paint and after painting the feature wall, we've decided we don't like it! So, I need to go to Home Base today and buy some new paint. I tried a few test pots of paint yesterday and we've decided on a color called Cookie Dough. It's a browny tan and I think it will go nicely with the ivory and white already in the room. Then we can move furniture in here this weekend and finally be settled. Well, that is settled until we have our onslaught of house guests and then start to plan the new bathroom. Then it'll be Christmas before we know it! Amazing how time flies when you're busy isn't it?

DIY and driving updates...

We've put on the first coat of ivory paint for three of our lounge walls. Next we'll get the second coat up (totally needed) and then paint our "feature wall" a lovely shade of olive! So exciting!!!! This has been a long time coming, I can tell you that. Next I need to call in a joiner (that's British for a carpenter) to put in the skirting and molding around the Edinburgh press that Simon so wonderfully opened up the other day. The next round of video should be really nice.
Oh, and we're now officially not supposed to drive in the UK... Our foreign licences were only good for one year, and I arrived here on July 5th. Simon got his provisional licence already and will have to take a written and driving test before he's legal again. I'm still waiting for my provisional licence (and passport that they made me give them!) to get mailed to me. Then I'll have to take the tests too. But in the mean time, provisional licence holders can't drive on the motorway (British for freeway) ever, and we can't drive period without someone who has had their UK licence for at least 3 years! So, I've been studying up on UK driving regulations, and man this test is so much more comprehensive than the ones in the US. Plus there's all of this crazy stuff in there like knowing the difference between various types of cross walks (called Zebra, Puffin, Pelican, Toucan, and Pegasus crossings - no joke!) and how to use roundabouts.