Silent Sunday

How I accidentally (on purpose) was an extra in World War Z and was *this* close to Brad Pitt

If you knew me before I moved to Glasgow this story will come as no surprise to you. If you don't know me I'm not quite sure how to explain it but sometimes things just happen.  I don't set out to do something but find myself in a situation and just go for it if that makes sense. That's what happened to me today on George Square.

George Square is smack dab in the centre of Glasgow and has been taken over and turned into Philadelphia for filming of Brad Pitt's new zombie flick "World War Z." It's all any and everyone in Glasgow can talk about and I decided to take a look after I had a meeting in town today. Street lights were replaced with American traffic lights, familiar green interstate signs were put up and there were even American buses, taxes and hot dog carts. It was cool seeing a little bit of home in my new home and listening to little old ladies chat about what was going on as they took photos on their old school film cameras.

I heard lots of load bangs and saw extras running and well if I'm honest that was all you could see. I'd had my fill and since filming was diverting the buses around the Square I decided to try and get a train home. I walked down along one side and was told I had to wait to cross the street. Now I could have walked back and down another street, but I waited a few minutes and this is how I accidentally (on purpose) snuck onto the World War Z set.

I say accidentally because I honestly was just walking where security told me to go to get to my destination. I say on purpose because once I realized I'd made it behind the barriers I didn't turn around and walk away. I ended up in a crowd of extras and told the two guys next to me I wasn't an extra but maybe I'd stick around. They gave me a once over for any "labels" and then pushed me ahead of them to get in the shot. 

I ran down George Street with maybe another fifty extras several times. We'd run and go back, run and go back. These extras were REALLY taking it seriously; I got pushed and shoved and fake American cops guided us away from what I can only guess were zombies that will be added in later. IT WAS AWESOME.

I'm not going to lie here; I submitted an application to the casting company to be an extra. I even got an email back asking me to come down for the casting, but we were in France. I was gutted. I'd only had the opportunity to audition to be an extra once before for Milk Money when I was 13; I also was out of town for those auditions. So that I randomly found myself as an extra for thirty minutes was pretty freaking cool.

When we were running I noticed there was a car off to the side with what I thought was Brad Pitt's stunt double in it. As the wranglers yelled for everyone to move onto George Square I hung back to try and make my escape and then it happened. The car door opened and real life, honest to goodness, sexiest man alive himself BRAD PITT stepped out of the car. He looked smaller than I imagined and his nose looked really delicate. Don't ask me why I noticed his nose but it was definitely more refined than rugged. He looked hot, but also a bit old. I hate saying that but he definitely had crinkled eyes. Brad Pitt was close enough for me to lunge over and hug him before being dragged off to jail. I knew what I had to do.

I needed to head home anyway so I had nothing to lose and I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture. Quicker than you can say "3G iPhone cameras suck" a producer-type said to me "When you're an extra you're not supposed to do that."  I mumbled back "well it's good I'm not an extra then" and wandered away up the street where I asked if they'd let me walk up to get my bus.  My thirty minutes of fame were over.

So you see I didn't try to crash a movie set but I did. There is every chance you might see a blonde girl with a grey sweater dress, black leggings, black boots and a purple bag running to escape zombies as Brad Pitt does who knows what in a car. You could scoff at me and say I messed up shooting, but really all I did was have a fucking awesome thirty minutes where I wasn't a Mom. I got to be the risk-taking, fun loving girl I was back in the day and it was AWESOME. I doubt I messed up their shots and there will be at least one more person going to see the film now that wasn't before to try and see if I spy my fat ass running away from invisible zombies.

Is your refrigerator running? You better go catch it!

The lovely Pippa tagged me in the Fridge of Bad Parent Meme that Sally created and while I'd like to think neither of us are a bad parent, I'm actually going to follow through! I'm rubbish at responding to tags, but I'm going to make more effort from here on out. I've actually shown y'all my fridge before back when we still lived in our flat believe it or not. At that time I was totally in love with it.

Now, I actually hate my fridge because it has no freezer.  It's large and in charge, which I love, but I have to schelp my lazy ass out to the garage if I want any tasty frozen delights from the freezer. It also means I can't have ice in my drinks and y'all know how us Americans LOVE ice in our drinks! Regardless here in all it's full sized "American" glory is my fridge.

Let's see we've got my gym's class schedule, a not from Blondie Boy's leprechaun, autographed Henry Rollins ticket, US-UK conversion chart, recycling schedule, my sister's Save-the-Date, photos of my Grandparents and lots of fun magnets and other random crap stuck up there for who knows what reason.

(Clockwise from top) Authentic Thai Green Curry, Yeo Valley Organic Yoghurt, Hummus, Dog Food, Sparkling Water, White Whine, Grapes/Melons, Lurpak Light, Plum tomatoes, Reduced-Sugar Ham, half a lemon, Maraschino cherries, Feta cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Chicken breasts, Laughing Cow Cheese, Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, Pineapple, Coleslaw, Organic Whole Milk, Skimmed Milk, more Yeo Valley Yoghurt, Reduced Fat Whipped Cream, Ketchup.

Leftover Chinese, Leftover Sloppy Joes, Purple Drank, Coke Zero, Mayonnaise, Corona, Mahoosive thing of Soy Sauce, More Whipped Cream (?), Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, Rocket, Izzy's Kosher Pickles

So judging from my fridge alone am I a bad parent? Do y'all have any of the same stuff in your fridge? I'm going to take this meme international and I tag::

Scottish Mummy

Lil Misa

Sunday Baker

JJV

IamWitWoo

Do you think I'm MAD? Then say so!

The MAD Blog Awards celebrate brilliance in Mummy and Daddy (MAD) blogging (you can see highlights of the 2010 Awards Ceremony, and details of last year’s winners, on the 2010 Highlights page).

While I don't think I'm the best and have no delusions of winning, I got two lovely messages over Twitter today saying people had voted for me. So I figured maybe if those lovely twitter friends voted for me, maybe some of you would want to as well? I mean y'all follow me so you must sort of like me, right? 

Nominations are now open and will stay open until the 22nd at which point finalists will be chosen.

Will y'all consider voting for me please? Or you can vote for any eligible UK parenting blog of your choice!

You have to vote for blog of the year and then there are 14 further categories. If you fancy voting for my lil old blog, fill in your name and email and enter:

http://transatlanticblonde.blogspot.com


You can vote in in whatever category you feel fit, but for example:

Best Pre-School Fun Blog

I'm still not sure why so many of you read my blog, but you do so you must like it, right?  I certainly like all of y'all for listening to me babble on all these years!


Thanks and be sure to read the MAD Awards Blog and check out the Tots 100 (where I'm currently ranked 5th, WTF?!?) to find other great UK Parenting Blogs!  Cupcakes for everyone who votes :)

3x9

I was tagged by the lovely Mummytips in Claire's new Three by Nine Meme. All you have to do is answer the nine questions below and then tag three of your blogging buddies so that you can learn a little something new about each other, so here you go:

Three names I go by: Blondie, Melaina, Mommy (all my other nicknames are related to my name!)
Three places I’ve lived: Cincinnati, OH; Washington, DC; Glasgow, Scotland



Three places I’ve worked: British Red Cross, Choice USA, Capital Hill/Congress
Three things I love to watch: American tv, Blondie Boy learning, Cincinnati sports
Three places I have been and love: Köln, Germany; Koh Samui, Thailand; Los Angeles, California


Three people that email me regularly: My Mom, ED Team & Sabrina
Three things I love to eat: Sushi, Skyline Chili, Jack Daniel's Chicken Strips



Three people I think will respond: JennyMae, MrsBro, Kaymee
Three things I am looking forward to: My Mo Mo coming to visit Monday, French beach holiday in July, Blondie Boy talking

Our Day in Photos

Culture Shock

I got an email from a friend last night saying she might be moving and how did I deal with the culture shock when I moved to Scotland. Obviously the UK isn't that different from the US. We speak the same language (supposedly), have a lot of the same foods and same TV shows. Here are some of the things that I still don't get as an American abroad.

-Tea. To me tea is something you drink with honey and lemon when you are sick. When I worked in bars employees were allowed as much free tea as they wanted, but not pop. When I got my first office job in the UK I probably got asked 6 times a day if I wanted a cup of tea. After two weeks they finally realized to stop asking me. I was also shocked at the number of people who took tea breaks. Really? A break? You can drink tea at your desk and work at the same time. It reminded me of how much I hated smokers who's tables I had to cover while they got a smoke break; I never got a fresh air break.

-Butter on sandwiches. To me mustard and mayonnaise are the appropriate condiments for a sandwich. I hate that butter is on everything; sure sometimes it's nice but when you can leave teeth marks in the butter it's too much.

-Road signs or lack there of. I really feel that American road signs are far more helpful. There's a Taco Bell, BP, Dunkin Donuts and a Holiday Inn at the next exit? Thanks Mr Sign that is really helpful! I hate that you don't have signs like that here. I seriously had to map out various McDonald's throughout Scotland before I put on forums for work. If I'm up early I like a McDonald's breakfast and I like it even better if a sign on the side of the road will tell me how to get it.

-Night time soaps: Coronation Street, Emmerdale, East Enders, Hollyoaks. I don't get them. I've never watched them but almost everyone else seems to do so. Sure I watched Days of Our Lives religiously back in the day, but it was in the afternoon. Don't ask me why a daytime soap is better than a nighttime soap, I don't know. I do know that a storyline involving identical triplets (one of whom is a nun) and a baby swap involving a baby named Elvis is FAR superior to the baby swap story line that caused drama over here.

-Variety of products. When you go to the American grocery store you have loads of brands and varieties to choose from; in the UK not so much. If I want to buy cake mix there are maybe three flavours. Variety is the spice of life! If I can get all sorts of random Polish foods in my store, why can't I get lovely, delicious American products?

Those are some of my WTF UK rants. There are plenty more but I think I've gone on long enough.

Who needs Sleep?

So I'm going to let y'all in on a not so big secret, I can't sleep. If you follow me on Twitter, instant message me from the USA or just know me this should come as no surprise. It's like I'm stuck in some time zone in the middle of the Atlantic ocean half way between the US and Scotland.

To be totally honest it's no that I can't sleep, but more specifically that I can not fall asleep. Once I am actually asleep I am fairly good at staying asleep. I've tried many things in the past from listening to specifically designed sleep playlists through a pillow speaker to prescription medicines.

For the past few years I have been watching DVDs to fall asleep. We have our DVD player set up so I can set a sleep timer and after a certain amount of time the TV turns off, but I can still hear the sound of the movie which will shut off thanks to a second sleep timer. This has been my go to sleep setup for years, but it's just not cutting it anymore.

I often am still asleep when the DVD turns off which then leads me to panic, turn back on the DVD and start all over again. Right now I'm downstairs while Blondie Boy and NotBlondeHusband are asleep and trying to get sufficiently sleepy before slipping into bed.

Does anyone else have this problem? I should add it doesn't matter what time I go to bed or what time I wake up (so don't tell me to get up early Mom) falling asleep is always difficult.

For getting through an entire post with no pictures I leave you with the Barenaked Ladies; I always think of this song when talking about not sleeping....

Blondie Boy's Tree

Today we planted a Scots Pine as part of the Velvet Tissue Tree Campaign and hopefully if we don't kill it, we can track it's growth alongside Blondie Boy's growth!

Retail me this...

Update: I received the sweetest note and a new fleece in the correct size from Lands End yesterday. I really appreciate that they took the time to make it right. It just goes to show that if you aren't happy with your retail experience say something about it!

So I purchased a fleece and a jacket from Land's End who are renowned for their customer service and durability guarantee. When the items arrived they were WAY too big, like NotBlondeHusband could wear them, too big. It was advised in the item notes to "size-up" which I did and ended up with the wrong size.




I phoned up today as I wanted to exchange them for the correct sizes, however I was told that because the items were a sale price and are now a higher price I could not. They'd be happy to issue a refund, but no exchange. Ummm, what?


The exact same items, exact same colours are available in the correct sizes, but because they are now listed at a higher price than what I paid (even though they are the same item number) and therefore I can not exchange them.

You'd think a company known for it's customer service wouldn't have such cracked out policies. Any store I've ever been to has also been happy to exchange like for like regardless of past/present price. In fact anywhere I've worked has always encouraged exchanges over refunds. Is it just me or does this make no sense what so ever?

My chicken's pretty funky

I've started a bunch a post this week but not finished any of them. I could have written about CyberMummy, a belated post on the birth of my faux-nephew, dieting, Blondie Boy turning 6 months or even an easy one a survey post.

Red over at Resourceful Redhead awarded me with the sunshine award, but honestly lately I've been feeling anything but sunny. It's certainly not a lack of ideas that's fueling my writer's block, but I'm pretty sure I know what it is.


I'm homesick. It normally happens at some point after we get back from the States, but this time since we were home so long it has hit me really hard. I can't get back on the same timezone and I'm just sorta in a blah mood in general and it is affecting just about everything I do.

CyberMummy: I totally appreciate the fabulous people at Emma's Diary sponsoring me to attend and I had a great day listening and learning from speakers, liaising with PR folk and meeting other bloggers. However, I didn't come away with that warm fuzzy feeling of sisterhood everyone else has been blogging about. I felt like an outsider looking in; everyone seemed to know everyone else or had just made a new best friend. Between all the back and forth on twitter and blogs popping up on lists just makes me feel like I've failed at Blogger Popularity 101.

Faux-Nephew: My best friend had her baby boy 3 weeks early and I was in the same country as her, but couldn't go and see her. Logistically there was no way I could get to DC from Cincinnati and back with a 5 1/2 month old with all the stuff we had scheduled while I was home, but I still felt ridiculously guilty that my best friend in the entire world was so close, but so far away. Even just writing this right now I feel guilty and teary that I didn't find a way to make that 10 hour drive and meet her new son. I hate that I don't know when our boys will get to meet and I know that's because I live abroad.

6 months: Blondie Boy is half a year old, W-T-F. He's following the same growth curve and now weighs 16lbs, 8oz. We had his customary photo shoot, but I just can't be bothered photoshopping in the number 6 and pulling it all together. Otherwise I love the boy to bits and he constantly makes me smile and there absolutely nothing blah about him. Trust me even his poos are blah, they are more blech to be precise.

Dieting: Ugh. We all know I've done South Beach before and it really works, but I also know that South Beach and fresh food in general is really expensive. Being on extended maternity leave means being on a budget, so South Beach isn't going to be an option. I'm going to try the Special K Diet (2 bowls a day + one healthy meal), so if anyone knows anyone at Kellogg's please hook a girl up. In general I'm not happy with my post-pregnancy body, but let's not go there.

Sunshine Award: I'm supposed to tell you ten things about me and let you know ten other bloggers I like. Honestly I think I've been honest enough in this post and I'd suggest you try any of the people in my blog roll to the right.

This isn't my typical post and I know that; hell there's only one picture and it's not even of Blondie Boy. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I am trying to keep it real. Wasn't blogging about stuff whether people like it or not one of the things CyberMummy taught us? So for those of you who hate this post, I'm sorry. I promise to post some fabulous pictures of Blondie Boy, taken by the AMAZING Kortnee Kate, tomorrow for you. See yet another easy thing I could have blogged about, but haven't.

Thank you for bearing with me and if you've ever been in a funk, especially a homesick funk, what do you do to shake it?

Gorgeous Blogger Award

The lovely Lexi has bestowed another award on me! I might just have to thank her in person when we are visiting LA if she's not too busy being 35 weeks pregnant and all ;)

The rules for this award go as followed:

* Accept & thank the fellow bloggie who gave this to you

* List 10 things about yourself

* List 5 additional things that you don't like

* Award this to 10 other fellow bloggies

1) I've been keeping a secret. I've had a bit of a hair disaster. 3 box colors, a trip to the salon and silver shampoo later and I'm still not happy. Repeat after me: Blondes can't do boxes.

2) I'm somewhat superstitious in that I believe I can "jinx" myself out of things.

3) I don't currently own a bra that fits. I went to try and buy a cheapish one, but it had 4 hooks and I couldn't get them hooked and figured if it was that much hassle to try it on, it wasn't worth it and I'd rather put up with boob spillage.

4) I have delicious hands....seriously, ask Blondie Boy he loves them.

5) If I'm at home, 99.9% of the time I don't have pants on. I don't like them.

6) I have two tattoos and have had a total of 7 piercings.

7) I have a minor obsession with mascara.

8) I've seen Ben Folds in concert more than any other artist.

9) I love Louie Spence.

10) The only soap opera I watch is a bad Aussie one called "Neighbours."

Five things I don't like (I going to choose foods):

1) Oranges or anything orange flavoured

2) Black Currant flavoured anything (why can't the UK have grape stuff?)

3) Parsley

4) Coriander/Cilantro (I'm allergic and it's gross)

5) Jalapeños

I've had this post sitting for almost a week already and I'm too lazy to link to pass it on, so if you want it, leave a comment and I'll link to you here!

Chickens don't lay Potatoes

I don't know about you, but I freaking *love* potatoes. In our house potatoes are eaten a lot and I love finding new potato recipes. Scalloped, fried, diced, pancaked, chipped, baked-- I love them all! Apparently though kids in the UK don't know jack about potatoes! How is that possible?


1 in 10 children aged 7 – 11 think chickens lay potatoes!*
1 in 5 have no idea that potatoes are grown in the ground*
1 in 5 didn’t realise that chips are made from the humble spud*




Having discovered the shocking truth about how little the nation’s children know when it comes to food provenance, McCain has decided to extend its educational, unbranded national roadshow – ‘The Potato Story’.


Armed with their purpose built, unbranded double-decker bus, ‘The Potato Story’ aims to plug kids’ food knowledge gap as a survey shows that one in 10 children aged 7 – 11 year old think that chickens lay potatoes.



Children who visit the bus can see how potatoes are grown, harvested and cooked.




Kids who know where their food is coming from are healthier eaters and anything that encourages healthy eating is a good thing in my book!

Yum, I think I might have to go have a baked potato for lunch now!


Want to know more? Visit: http://www.thepotatostory.co.uk/

Random Blondie Ramblings

So I was driving to Troon from Dumfries and listening to Radio 1 when I heard a song come on the radio and it automatically made me smile. I'd never heard it before, but it samples the Imogen Heap song "Hide and Seek" which was used in the SNL Digital Short 'Dear Sister.'


I freaking loved that digital short. We kept it on our DVR forever and I'd just watch it randomly. What I heard in the car was Jason Derulo's song "Mmm Whatchu Say" it samples the same bit of "Hide and Seek" and I just find it hilarious that it's sampled on an R&B song to begin with, but then it reminds me of the about sketch so it's even funnier.



*Sigh* I really, really wish we got SNL over here. It used to be on randomly between 1-3am on ITV4, but not for a few years. I miss it!

Buy our Flat!

Traditional sandstone, ground floor tenement flat with private front garden and further communal gardens to rear of property

Stylish bathroom with original bath and mains shower

Spacious King-sized bedroom, with alcove, overhead storage and scullery room

Dine-in Kitchen with built in dishwasher, ceramic hob/fan-assisted oven and hood extractor fan

Wood floored family room with large bay window, built in bookshelves and further alcove which can be used as computer nook or dining area

20 foot ceilings and double glazing throughout.

So do you want to buy it pretty please?

Pretzels & Puppies

For some odd reason, in the sonogram waiting area they always have American cooking magazines. I can't for the life of me figure out where they come from, but I enjoy them none the less.

During our last wait we saw a recipe for homemade Auntie Anne's pretzels. Since I haven't been feeling well NBH googled the recipe and from scratch made me Auntie Anne's style soft pretzels and sweet mustard sauce.

They were really yummy and I'm super impressed he made something with live yeast, something I've never attempted. I might ask him to try Cinnamon rolls next!

In other random news apparently Emma wanted to play Scrabble last night, too. She walked in front of me and sat down square in front of my spot.

Yes we play board games before we go to bed sometimes, so what? And for those with eagle eyes and a dirty mind, it's a male chicken, ok?

Really?

Anyone who knows me will know that I *totally* favor my father's side of the family in the looks department. I've seen this widget on some friends blogs and thought I'd test it out.

I've never, ever had anyone tell me I look like my Mom or my Mom's side of the family, until now. I might have to try this again later with different photos.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Genealogy software - Ancestors

Dizzy

My sister Alie and I used to listen to my Mom's 45 of this in our basement playroom and spin and circles until we fell over.



I have no idea what the sketch at the front is about, but this could be the soundtrack to my day today. Maybe it's showing my age that I had a record player in my playroom, but I don't care. I'm proud to be a 1980's baby.

Even though there's no Tsao's...

I can't remember the last time I got Chinese food. Before we got pregnant I had Chinese at least once if not more a week. What if they forget who I am and I stop getting my special "free item" for being a good customer?

The odd thing is I haven't missed it. I've had a long love affair with Chinese food to the point where the place I got food from in high school still says to my Dad "Oh you Ryan's Daddy." I loved my take-out from my favorite DC joint SuperPanda (formerly known as Bruce Lee) and even had Chinese for dinner before I graduated from college.

It's not that Chinese food sounds gross to me, it just doesn't scream out to me like it once did. What's wrong with me?

You dirty freaks

Since Caitlin and Jessica both posted about what google searches landed people on their websites I though I'd do the same. I was just going to list the top 6, but there are some freaky searches further down. Y'all are a dirty bunch of pervs and must have been highly disappointed when you wound up here, lol.

1 transatlantic blonde 14
2 citrus grilled chicken 9
3 breast cancer petition 6
4 tuscan grilled chicken 5

5 nasty nati 3
6 nasty nati movie 3
7 breast cancer 2
8 grilled chicken citrus 2
9 marat safin 2

10 marat safin girls 2
11 marat safin house 2
12 transatlantic blond 2
13 tuscan grilled citrus chicken 2
14 "the boat that rocked" "leather pants" 1
15 ass brackets 1
16 ass movie blonde 1
17 bgt 1
18 bgt kids 1
19 bhoys 1
20 biggest movie badasses of all time 1
21 bite marat safin 1
22 blogspot ass girls 1

23 blonde ass fuck movies 1
24 blonde asses 1
25 blonde breast 1
26 blonde glasgow 1
27 blonde hairy blog 1
28 blonde in zack and miri 1
29 blonde irn bru 1
30 blonde streaming 1
31 blonde sweet treat 1
32 blonde tarts 1
33 blonde with tats 1
34 blondes taking it in ass 1
35 boobs blonde paw tattoo 1
36 brackets blondes 1
37 breast cancer lifetime petition 2009 1
38 cancer petition 1
39 cat tats 1
40 citrus grilled 1
41 citrus tuscan chicken 1
42 citurs grilled chicken 1
43 copy cat tattoos 1
44 copycat rant 1
45 copycat tattoos 1
46 eve rapper 1
47 flaxen blondes girls 1
48 girl punk blogspot zip rar 1
49 girls with braces movies 1
50 give me leonard cohen afterworld 1
51 glasgow blog girl 1
52 hairy blonde emma 1
53 hairy true blonde 1
54 hydraulic blondie 1
55 iron lotus figure skating 1
56 marat safin and wife 1
57 marat safin tales 1
58 marat safin the slacker 1
59 mary landrieu blond 1
60 mcsteamy and marat safin 1
61 mcsteamy look a like safin 1
62 melaina twitter ryan wenstrup 1
63 mildred glasgow skate 1
64 movie bad girl ass 1

65 nasty nati girls 2 1
66 nastynati 1
67 platinum blonde hairy 1
68 pop tart burn 1
69 pretty blonde hairy 1
70 rant of a copy girl 1
71 ryan's dusk till dawn tattoo design 1
72 safin 1
73 safin blonde 1
74 safin marat 1
75 safin tats 1
76 the boat that rocked in münchen 1
77 the soup arr rar rar mar rar 1
78 the yardbirds - for your love the boat that rocked 1
79 tony alamo glasgow 1 80 transatlantic blogspot 1
81 transatlantic blon 1
82 transatlantic+blogspot.com 1
83 transatlanticblonde 1
84 treat a poptart burn finger 1
85 tuscan citras 1
86 who is the blond in zack and miri 1
87 who is the blonde girl from zach and miri 1
88 you say im crazy i got you crazy 1