Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
United Kingdom	Heinz Baked Beans	QUOTE (Toshtishtash @ Apr 24 2008, 11:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Scott and Marta @ Apr 22 2008, 05:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sorry guys This title reminded me of this. I found it in the store here. Is anyone familiar with that? Yep, spotted ####### is goooood It's best served with hot custard It's made from suet... Does anyone know if I can buy suet in America??? Hopefully not, then I'll be spared from having to eat all of those deliciously fattening dense sponge puddings.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-04-24 05:39:00
United Kingdom	Heinz Baked Beans	Ew! I've not actually seen a Walmart - but I've been to Target several times and have liked it. Alex used to work in one!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-04-23 08:57:00
United Kingdom	Heinz Baked Beans	QUOTE (bluegreen @ Apr 22 2008, 06:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alex & Rachel @ Apr 22 2008, 12:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (toshtishtash @ Apr 22 2008, 09:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I love heinz beans and I didn't think I would find any that tasted the same.... BUT I bought some Bush beans... They were a certain flavour.. I can't think what now! But they really didn't taste all that different! They could have been the original ones... And yes... We do like talking about food Not as much as duvets though So true - and I love it! This is the oddest forum, but I like to think it reflects what is truly important in the average Briton's life. Well, I am glad I could bring about this discussion on such a relevant and important topic....thank you all so much for your insightful, timely commentary on this hot-button issue....I clearly came to the right place! If any of you are ever interested in lively debate over Tim Horton's coffee and the lack of US equivilant, the wonder of never-ending soda refills, the weather, or the correct way to spell things or use your knife and fork, please feel free to venture over to the Canadian forum. How did I not realise that the Canadians are so similar to us?	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-04-23 08:12:00
United Kingdom	Heinz Baked Beans	QUOTE (toshtishtash @ Apr 22 2008, 09:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I love heinz beans and I didn't think I would find any that tasted the same.... BUT I bought some Bush beans... They were a certain flavour.. I can't think what now! But they really didn't taste all that different! They could have been the original ones... And yes... We do like talking about food Not as much as duvets though So true - and I love it! This is the oddest forum, but I like to think it reflects what is truly important in the average Briton's life.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-04-22 11:34:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	QUOTE (Jeraly @ Jan 16 2008, 09:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ooooh - you make chocolate caramel squares?!?!?1 Ok - you're invited round to tea when we both end up over there!! What part of Cali will you be in again?!?!? Haha! You'd be welcome to visit. Alex and I aren't any strangers to internet meet-ups - I've met over 30 people that way, and they've all been lovely! My mother has a good recipe. My brother also makes them - his usually turn out a little better than mine. My caramel's a little too soft. I think I may need more practise! To be honest I don't drink tea much, either. I won't refuse a cup if a friend is making one, but if I'm making a hot drink for myself, it'll be a herbal. I used to drink tea in my early teens, though. My parents drink whole vats of the stuff.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-17 09:04:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	I took a packet of Yorkshire Gold tea along with the Jaffa Cakes to California last Christmas. Alex's family drink tea, just not the British breakfast kind. Anyway, I noticed that although the his parents opened the pack, no one was really drinking it. Then a day or so after I'd left, Alex announced that he'd tried a cup. He said he didn't like it and that it was way too bitter. It then occurred to me that I hadn't told his family that it needed to have milk added - they'd all had it black and decided it was too strong! That list looks good - mm, especially the biscuits, we definitely have the world's best biscuits. I sometimes bring minstrels as well as maltesers. Treacle's a good one - I probably wouldn't bring it myself, but I would take Golden Syrup as I use that in baking - hard to make decent chocolate caramel squares without it!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-16 15:49:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	Like Krikit, no one at work knows I am engaged yet either. I'm wearing an engagement ring but no one's noticed - I think it's probably because they're all men. Although the office is small and friendly, I've never found a good time to say that I have a fiancé. The trouble is that I started dating Alex really soon after breaking up with my ex - and since they knew all about my ex I was too embarrassed to say anything in case they thought it was strange or made incorrect assumptions! Every time I've been to California (all of two times, so not often) it's been to visit 'friends'. So I guess that I'm afraid it will come as a huge surprise, and I'll be bombarded with questions I won't know how to answer! I'm probably worrying about nothing, though.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-16 15:12:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	I know exactly what you mean about letting them down - I don't have an ex-husband but it was hard abandoning work for three weeks over Christmas. It's sweet that they still both e-mail you! It's a real compliment. Thank you for sharing. Five months' informal notice sounds about right; plenty of warning, but not so far off that they'll forget about it!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-16 12:32:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	QUOTE (mustang-sally @ Jan 16 2008, 04:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Jaffa cakes however will be a problem, when Randy came here in September he got hooked on Jaffa cakes. He took some back with him and I sent some over at Christmas. I can see me moving there with one suitcase full of clothes and the other full of Jaffa cakes I did almost exactly that over Christmas - I only had one suitcase, but half of the space was occupied by 8 packets of Jaffa Cakes!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-16 11:33:00
United Kingdom	Holy Cow -- a year!	Speaking of work, how did everyone break the news to their employers that they were emigrating? I work for a very small (7 employees) company and we're all pretty friendly with one another, but I've been hesitant in bringing up the prospect of moving abroad. I'm sure my boss won't mind (his daughter is in California and he teases me about visiting the US a lot) but I was going to wait until I had a firmer idea of when I shall be moving. Also: The only food requests I get from Alex's family are Jaffa Cakes - and lots of 'em! I have, in fact, sent out over 15 Jaffa Cake parcels to various people in the US. Everything else I may miss I've either managed to find in a store/British food store or have found a good equivalent for, but there's nothing to match Jaffa Cakes.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-01-16 11:24:00
United Kingdom	Medical Today!!	Thank you for the write up - both informative and funny! Yup, sounds like a five year old boy, alright!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-08 05:28:00
United Kingdom	We got our Notice of approval..... Suddenly seems more real	Congratulations! I know that even if you're not planning to actually move for a while it's still a relief to have the approval.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-14 07:19:00
United Kingdom	Flight booked!	Woohoo! Hope you have a safe flight.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-24 19:20:00
United Kingdom	US Immigration at Heathrow	Employment Authorisation Document; it's what allows you to work in the US.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-04 08:21:00
United Kingdom	Interview Over!!	Congratulations! Have a safe flight into the US!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-06 07:29:00
United Kingdom	Packet 3 Item List	Thank you!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-08 14:06:00
United Kingdom	Packet 3 Item List	This is one of those simple questions that I've been thinking about far too hard and as a result have totally confused myself over. Step Two of Packet 3 requires that you place a check-mark against each item listed and then return the checked list to the embassy. Do you have to place a check-mark against every single item, even if they do not apply to you? Obviously half of the items I do not require (divorce certificate, court record, etc.) but I don't want the lack of a check-mark to suggest an incomplete list.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-08 13:46:00
United Kingdom	Hi everyone...	Hello sunny!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-04 07:07:00
United Kingdom	Wedding Song	Music is probably the only area in which mine and Alex's tastes differ wildly. So I'm choosing the safe option and not having any music! We won't have dancing so I've asked Alex to pick some inoffensive background music for after the ceremony.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-30 13:13:00
United Kingdom	Wedding Cakes	QUOTE (kisschick1976 @ Jun 6 2008, 09:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This was our cake! I designed the graphic myself and used it for both the cake and the invitations. Just for fun... us cutting the cake dressed as pirates! I LOVE the little pirate duckies! And the cake looks tasty. QUOTE (SMB x2 @ Jun 6 2008, 11:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> LOL! Stu and I were just talking about our wedding cake the other day and looking around for some ideas. The ones in this thread so far are really awesome (I love the Discworld one!)! These are some of the ones we found: Corpse Bride Cake Anime cake We haven't decided on anything officially yet, but we're both totally anime/gaming nerds, so the idea of a really nice cake with our favorite anime couple on top like the Bleach one in the second link appeals to us. It'd be so easy to acquire anime figurines to put on top of any cake you wanted, too.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-25 04:47:00
United Kingdom	Wedding Cakes	I love the tartan cake, too! Now here's a cool cake: Discworld Cake!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-04-03 05:53:00
United Kingdom	Had my medical in london on Monday	Hope to hear good news soon, Sal! I'm sure you're right and that if it was anything serious you'd have felt it by now. They're just taking precaution.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-14 03:56:00
United Kingdom	Had my medical in london on Monday	*hugs* Hopefully they're just being overly cautious and it'll turn out to be nothing serious. I hope they are able to give you an appointment soon.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-23 11:42:00
United Kingdom	Had my medical in london on Monday	I hope the antibiotics continue to work and that your lungs are clear soon! Good luck with the interview tomorrow, too.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-22 08:12:00
United Kingdom	Had my medical in london on Monday	Ack, sorry to hear that, Sally. I really hope it is nothing serious!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-20 06:39:00
United Kingdom	Had my medical in london on Monday	Oh, so glad to hear that! And it's good of them to be so accommodating.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-01 04:54:00
United Kingdom	It's finally here....	Congratulations! I hope you and your daughter have a safe flight!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-23 05:48:00
United Kingdom	Why USA and not UK?	QUOTE (BexandAlan @ May 19 2008, 01:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm training to be a Chartered Surveyor which is great! Except the whole of my degree has been how to be a surveyor in Europe! The majority of my modules have been on UK/EU law and valuation/management is done totally different in the US. In fact they don't even have many surveyors, they have lots of different people who do the jobs that I would cover here in the UK. Here in the UK if you aren't Chartered you aren't in the race. In the whole of GA I have found 3 Chartered Surveyors lol! There are several international companies in Atlanta that might respect my qualifications a bit more. Am biding my time writing to them though as the whole ... I don't have a degree, I don't have a visa or work permit conversation probably wont go down to well. They will recognize my degree though and hopefully that will put me in a better position to compete for jobs in other areas maybe. A bit of a bummer to spend 4 years training in something that you wont be able to make full use of but life changes and you gotta change with it. Ooh, I understand. If I'd still been working towards becoming a chartered architect I'd be in the same position; as it is I just have my BA in Architecture which is a little more general. I do hope you manage to find work with a company who will recognise your qualifications!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-19 07:59:00
United Kingdom	Why USA and not UK?	Why is your degree worthless? Is it just not recognised as a qualification? I must admit I'm rather relying on my BA to have some worth in the US...	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-19 07:41:00
United Kingdom	Why USA and not UK?	Alex hasn't finished his further education yet; I have, and I also stand a better chance of finding a reasonably-well paying job in the US than I do where I currently live. I'm also really looking forward to the sunny climes of California. We are both probably equally close to our families in terms of relationships but I live several hours' journey from my parents anyway whereas Alex's family is largely concentrated in the same area. While I do love the UK and would consider moving back here I do find the high taxes quite tough (although I realise that costs balance out in other areas; for example I'm not having to pay for medical insurance here!).	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-19 05:42:00
United Kingdom	Where in the UK are you?? (or you other half)	Sheffield, at least for the past seven years. It's a lovely city. More than half the people who graduate from university here remain in the city because they like it so much, so there's quite a young demographic. I knew nothing about the city before moving here - my knowledge of English geography used to be shameful! I've since made more of an effort to become generally acquainted with places and names. Edited by Alex & Rachel, 30 May 2008 - 01:17 PM.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-05-30 13:17:00
United Kingdom	How did everyone meet?	QUOTE (Krikit @ Feb 6 2008, 03:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ginger1981 @ Feb 5 2008, 11:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm not kidding you, poor Nicky had a flaming face. That's the best story EVER! OMG!! That totally reminded me of my Cousin-in-law Jay's stag night!!!! Somebody ordered a round of flaming sambucas, and my uncle had never had one before. He didn't know what to do about the flame so he blew on it then drank. All of a sudden his moustache burst into flames and he spit the drink across the bar and then the bar burst into flames! Jay was yelling "Drop and roll, Jim! Drop and roll!" OMG, we HOWLED. Still do, really. In fact, I just did. Oh man!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-02-06 12:18:00
United Kingdom	How did everyone meet?	Alex and I met online on some forums - also terribly boring! (A more lengthy answer is in my profile). I love the story, ginger! Now that's something interesting you definitely don't mind telling family and friends!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-02-06 08:39:00
United Kingdom	Police Report lost? Was sent for in MARCH!!	Congrats on sending off packet 3! Sorry to hear about your dog. My grandparents have three Lancashire Heelers and they really are delightful little dogs; I like the idea of them becoming more popular in the US!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-06-17 17:57:00
United Kingdom	Passed medical...	Congratulations! What a lovely surprise.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-07-11 09:04:00
United Kingdom	Quick question	As a female under the age of 27 you'll require the TDaP, the MMR and the HPV vaccine. The TDaP and MMR you should be able to have done on the NHS for free - I was - and you'll want to check with your GP to see if they're actually required (if you had a booster recently they may not be necessary). The HPV isn't available on the NHS yet and although your GP should be able to obtain it for you (mine was) you'll have to pay for it - I was charged £179 for two injections out of three (I'll have to have the third done when I'm in the US, as it's a six month course). You'll also want to double-check that the P in the TDaP you receive stands for Pertussis, and not Polio. Mine definitely did; the nurse clarified for me that it also contained polio, but that the pertussis was most definitely present. EDIT: Chart of required vaccinations Edited by Alex & Rachel, 24 July 2008 - 11:03 AM.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-07-24 11:02:00
United Kingdom	Unsure how to proceed Ref Vaccination record	I had no records either so I had mine done again, too. The necessary vaccinations (excepting the HPV which is new anyway) were free on the NHS.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-07-30 04:21:00
United Kingdom	Interview date received!	Congratulations!	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-07-31 10:01:00
United Kingdom	I know most of you met your OH online...	QUOTE (Nicoxcx @ Aug 3 2008, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The USA seems generally to be more tolerable of online relationships. Does anyone remember the first time they met there SO in the USA, how easy was it to get threw customs? It was alot simpler than I thought it would be, infact my third time there I took a grilling from the lady at customs when she asked how we met , and I said online, I wasnt going to lie I just wanted to see my man again. Stevens first trip here he also took a grilling, the customs guy at Glasgow airport called me on my mobile to ask if I knew him, and what we were going to do!. We also looked into ways to be together without marriage at first, right now the time is perfect, I have just graduated college and the only ties I have to my bonnie country is my family and friends, no financial ties etc;. How long has everyone been with there SO? (dating/engaged I mean, not how long have you known each other) It was extremely easy for me. I didn't say I was going to visit Alex because, truthfully, he was only one of a myriad of reasons for me visiting the States. I wasn't even sure if we would be compatible offline so I wasn't putting any stock into having a relationship with him at that point (like someone else here, when I first started talking to him I wasn't planning on ever meeting him and I wasn't interested in a relationship). I had plans to visit many other people I'd met online in California (I eventually met more than a dozen of them - all fantastic people!) So I said I was going to stay with a family I'd met online (well, his parents were there!) and explained how I'd been talking to them for two years and had sent presents and letters and such. I also gave a brief overview of my (rather full) itinerary and then I was allowed through. The second time, I again said I was visiting friends and staying with a family, and this time I could also say I'd met with and stayed with them before. I was asked a few more questions but I was barely kept for more than a couple of minutes. I've been with Alex for over two years now.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-08-04 03:18:00
United Kingdom	I know most of you met your OH online...	Right! I've heard of relationships starting in the least auspicious of circumstances that have turned out to be very successful; I'm not sure they would have worked for me, but they worked for the couples involved and that's what mattered. For example, I couldn't imagine agreeing to marry someone I had only known for two weeks, or marrying someone I had never had any intimacy with, yet the couples I know who did this have now been married for over twenty years. I view the internet as merely another way to meet someone; like speed-dating, or answering an ad in the newspaper, or asking a friend to introduce you to someone. The advantage I had was in getting to know Alex's personality somewhat before we met, but until we did meet face-to-face I wouldn't have called what we had a relationship; there are still many things I feel you can only gauge in person. QUOTE (Jomo @ Aug 1 2008, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I hope you guys didn't get that impression from me. I was saying it was not for me and why. I have received enough criticism and cruel words about my own relationship to last a lifetime. I try to never do that to anyone else for any reason. I am not downing the way you met you SO's. I just wanted to say why I could not and maybe that is why other's see it differently. I wish all of you only the very best. I certainly did not get that impression from you, and I appreciate your good wishes.	Alex & Rachel	Female	England	2008-08-01 12:00:00