Last weekend brought with it our two year Expat-iversary here in Houston.

Two years, can you believe it?  Where is the time going?

This time last year, my blog was in its infancy, we’d been here a year and I was only starting to find my feet.  I still felt the Expat spouse guilt of not working, of being judged by those people who have never lived a life like this and I was very unsure of myself and my role here in Houston.

In many regards, things haven’t changed, I still suffer from guilt, I’m still being judged, but one thing I’ve grown very sure of, is my place here in Houston.  In the expat community.  Right here, at my husband’s side.

My husband, is still the greatest man I’ve ever met (and now substantially less hairy than he was a week ago, thank God!) and I love him more than ever – our relationship has never been stronger.  Something I’m grateful for every day I wake up.  Living out here has taught me many’s a thing, mostly about myself, but also, a lot about other people too.

The year has been a busy one, July 2010, we bought a car (I bumped the car – in to our other car – I had written crashed, but Col told me that word was way too strong!), my brother visited for the first time (he’d never left the UK before).

September, we met Magz and Sam – two people who quickly become close friends (and who, in the last year, got pregnant and are now expecting their first baby!) and drove a 23 hour epic drive to Iowa (for wine!).

October I got my driving license in country number 2 and we got married (for a second time) – we also had a huge group of our friends and family fly out here to celebrate with us, we had our second Expat Thanksgiving in November

and in December, I had my first trip to an American E.R (Emergency Room), followed closely by my first trip to an American O.R (Operating Room) – or, well, any kind of O.R really, as I’d never been under the knife before.

Following my first (and hopefully, only, for a VERY long time) visit to a surgeons table, Col and I spend our first Christmas together.  Alright, we’ve been together on Christmas day, but this was different.

We enjoyed a ‘just the two of us’ Christmas – hunkering down in our house, with our decorated Christmas tree, our little stack of presents, our turkey – no running around the town and country to see people in horrible weather.  Just us.  And it was awesome – something I doubt either of us are keen to change any time soon!

January brought with it Col’s birthday trip to Seattle where I met 3 of my penpals ‘in the flesh’ for the first time.

February, Miss Magz ROCKED my birthday plans with a weekend of back-to-back celebrations.

March we booked our trip to Malaysia, April we went to Malaysia! LOL!

May I trashed my dress and that brings us back to June – our two year anniversary here in Houston and the month that my Houston Aeros got knocked out of the finals of the Calder Cup – breaking my heart…

Wow.  What a rollercoaster it’s been.

This time last year, I’d never even consider a transfer from Houston.  But, as I said to Col the other day, I’m definitely more open to the suggestion of a transfer, within reason.  That’s not to say that we’re moving anywhere, any time soon – in fact, I still hope we aren’t.  I just meant, that if his company need/want/ask us to move, that I won’t be so, ‘no, nay, never’ about it and would even consider a transfer to a selection of places.

Oh, how things change!

As it stands there are 5 couples we know who are transferring out, a couple of whom, moved here the same time as we did…The Stevensons to Singapore, The Cunninghams to Azerbaijan, The Taors to Norway and two couples that I can’t blog about leaving just yet cause it’s not ‘public’ knowledge.

I’m sad, I feel like in a lot of ways, my foundation, the people I first met and got friendly with when we first move here, is shifting and moving – kind of like tectonic plates.

It’s sad to see people leave, it’s harder than you’d think to be ‘left behind’, I don’t think we’ll have to say face to face goodbyes to any of them, and my friend Julie says that’s a good thing – the goodbye’s are hard and awkward.  But I’ve loved each of them and they’ve all contributed to our transfer in their own special ways, they’ll be missed!

In the last year, I’ve lost weight and gained weight – since my operation, I’ve done bugger all exercise, and the weight I worked hard to lose, has started to trickle back on – making me feel really awful about myself.  That said, Col is going to re-start our membership to the YMCA today (or over the weekend) and, next week, we’re considering starting on the journey from Couch to 5K…I’m convinced this is a fleeting notion for me, but, I’m hoping it sticks around!

Beyond my grand ideas of C25K, I’m going to get back in the pool and perhaps even try out my friend Sally’s body attack! *runs and hides*