We arrived at the Hotel at 1pm today and to be honest as soon as I saw the 'apartments' my heart flamin sank! It mentioned on the website that there was building work going on but Jesus Christ this was something else! We couldnt even work out where to park or where the entrance was. It was a pleasant surprise though when we got to the room and found that it was actually a full blown apartment - brilliant! Washing machine, dryer, fridge freezer, tv, dvd player - the whole works!! We've also got free wireless connection which for me is a bloody dream! ha ha. The apartment is really modern and so comfortable - a really nice way to spend our last night in the UK. We drop the car off at 9am tomorrow morning (just across the road!) and then get a shuttle bus (we think!) to terminal 4 - planning to check in at 10am ready for the 12 o'clock flight. Not sure when I'll next get chance to update this but I would imagine it wont be long after arriving - internet will be top on my list obviously (sad I know but what can I say!! ha ha).
Wish us luck - we're finally on our way!
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
We've moved onto the final furlong!
We arrived in Monmouth yesterday and are at last on our final furlong of goodbyes! Me, Gray & Steph went out for a few beers in town last night - we did invite Dad but as it was raining he didnt fancy it (charming or what?!!). Gran came down for tea at mums too which was nice.
Today we've got quite a bit to get through - the main thing being I've got to treat myself to a new outfit for the plane!!
I'll catch up tomorrow when all the goodbyes are over and done with - can't wait!
Today we've got quite a bit to get through - the main thing being I've got to treat myself to a new outfit for the plane!!
I'll catch up tomorrow when all the goodbyes are over and done with - can't wait!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
We're homeless!
The last week has absolutely flown by! The shippers arrived on Wednesday and started packing the house at a ridiculously fast rate. We were rushing around like blue arse flies trying to sort out the kitchen ready for them to pack up too because they were well ahead of us!
Thursday the packers were back and pretty much finished up - they left us with the settee, tv and mattresses though so we weren't completely at a loss. That evening we went around to our friends Deb & Jays for a meal and a few glasses of wine which was just what the doctor ordered - lovely food, nice and relaxing and a good laugh. The kids had a wale of a time too.
Friday was time for me to say some goodbyes and I've gotta admit I didnt enjoy it. Thankfully most of them were done via text (sign of the times eh!) but they still reduced me to tears. When I saw Deb it really choked me up and I decided I couldnt do any more goodbyes. I went to my friend Sues grave to say my farewells too and god that was hard.
The house was finally empty and spotless by 8pm on the Friday evening so we got ourselves a take away and headed for the hotel. We were all absolutely shattered and were zonked out by 10.30pm!
Saturday morning then it was time to give the house one last check over, wave goodbye to a few places (school, takeaway & off licence!! ha ha) and then make our way to Monmouth to drop our luggage off. We only stayed at Monmouth for about half hour and then carried on the mammouth journey to Holyhead. On our way we stopped off at Llangollen for a bite to eat and then finally arrived in Holyhead at 6pm. Within an hour a big farewell party had kicked off at Jay & Sharons and the booze began to flow!
Its now Sunday and we're off to the in-laws to say hi and then for a nice walk before going for a farewell meal this evening! God its been non flippin stop - nice though!
We're then heading back to Monmouth tomorrow for two days so I'll update there!
Thursday the packers were back and pretty much finished up - they left us with the settee, tv and mattresses though so we weren't completely at a loss. That evening we went around to our friends Deb & Jays for a meal and a few glasses of wine which was just what the doctor ordered - lovely food, nice and relaxing and a good laugh. The kids had a wale of a time too.
Friday was time for me to say some goodbyes and I've gotta admit I didnt enjoy it. Thankfully most of them were done via text (sign of the times eh!) but they still reduced me to tears. When I saw Deb it really choked me up and I decided I couldnt do any more goodbyes. I went to my friend Sues grave to say my farewells too and god that was hard.
The house was finally empty and spotless by 8pm on the Friday evening so we got ourselves a take away and headed for the hotel. We were all absolutely shattered and were zonked out by 10.30pm!
Saturday morning then it was time to give the house one last check over, wave goodbye to a few places (school, takeaway & off licence!! ha ha) and then make our way to Monmouth to drop our luggage off. We only stayed at Monmouth for about half hour and then carried on the mammouth journey to Holyhead. On our way we stopped off at Llangollen for a bite to eat and then finally arrived in Holyhead at 6pm. Within an hour a big farewell party had kicked off at Jay & Sharons and the booze began to flow!
Its now Sunday and we're off to the in-laws to say hi and then for a nice walk before going for a farewell meal this evening! God its been non flippin stop - nice though!
We're then heading back to Monmouth tomorrow for two days so I'll update there!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Another emotional Day!
Danielle and I went up to Swansea yesterday to say goodbye to our friends Lisa and her little girl Bethan. It was a lovely day although I was feeling quite emotional most of the time - dont know why but my bottom lip has been quivvering quite a lot lately!! We had lunch and the girls played nicely but when it came time for us to leave Bethan got really upset bless her. Hopefully Lisa will get her webcam set up soon so the girls will be able to see each other. Lisa gave us lots of pressies bless her - all Welsh memorabilia which was lovely (no wonder I'm emotional!!).
When we got back it was time for me to get ready to go out for a meal with the girls I used to work with at LTSB. Yet more presents and yet more emotions! Good god what is wrong with me?!! We had a good laugh and it was nice to get together again - I hadnt seen Jackie for a few months so that was good.
This morning Sharon came around with her little girl Rebecca to say good bye to Danielle. They got her a lovely Bear Factory teddy which says 'I love you' when you hug it and also two necklaces 'best' on one and 'friends' on the other. Rebecca's wearing one and Dan is wearing the other. So sweet!
Danielle has still been taking it all in her stride which is great! I'm sure there will be a few ups and downs as we go along but thankfully things are ok at the moment. When she has to say goodbye to her cousin Sam next week though I think things might change somewhat! Hope not though!
When we got back it was time for me to get ready to go out for a meal with the girls I used to work with at LTSB. Yet more presents and yet more emotions! Good god what is wrong with me?!! We had a good laugh and it was nice to get together again - I hadnt seen Jackie for a few months so that was good.
This morning Sharon came around with her little girl Rebecca to say good bye to Danielle. They got her a lovely Bear Factory teddy which says 'I love you' when you hug it and also two necklaces 'best' on one and 'friends' on the other. Rebecca's wearing one and Dan is wearing the other. So sweet!
Danielle has still been taking it all in her stride which is great! I'm sure there will be a few ups and downs as we go along but thankfully things are ok at the moment. When she has to say goodbye to her cousin Sam next week though I think things might change somewhat! Hope not though!
Friday, March 17, 2006
What a day today!
The last 24 hours have been hectic to say the least! A friend of ours in Oz has been viewing loads of properties for us (bless her - shes been great) and just as I was about to go to bed last night she told me the house she had just viewed was perfect for us and if we wanted to put in an application it needed to be done straight away! Sounded quite simple I thought but I was wrong - 3 1/2 hours later I finally finished completing forms and scanning them back and forth each other. Michelle then got the application straight down to the Estate Agents and it was a case of waiting. We didnt expect to hear anything until next week but when I got up this morning (after 4 hours sleep) there was an email stating that our application had been successful - we're really pleased because the house has got everything that we're looking for.
Today was also Grays last day in work and Danielles last day in school. I wasnt sure how Dan would take it but she was absolutely fine. I was pretty emotional because she had some lovely presents and cards from her friends and teachers. They also made a big fuss of her and the theme for the day was 'Australia' - how nice of them?! She took my digital camera into school with her and took lots of pics and the entire class put painted hand prints on a T Shirt for her to keep. One of the little girls was sobbing her heart out when we picked her up which started me off. I told everyone not to make a big fuss because I would have been a jibbering wreck! It was very emotional but also nice to know that Danielle was so highly thought of.
We also got the Gas Certificate done today ready for renting the house out - the Electrician was supposed to come around too but that was obviously too much trouble for him! I'll get the Estate Agents to sort that out after we've gone because I really cant be bothered with it anymore!
Grays beloved TV is now on Ebay! He ain't happy with that as you can imagine. He only bought it in December but it would be pointless taking it with us as we wouldnt be able to use it to its full potential. He can treat himself to a shiney new one though when we get there.
Grays car is also on Ebay - thats due to end next Monday and then we'll be getting a hire car until we fly to Heathrow - I think Grays more excited about the hire car than he is about Oz!
I think thats about it for now!
Today was also Grays last day in work and Danielles last day in school. I wasnt sure how Dan would take it but she was absolutely fine. I was pretty emotional because she had some lovely presents and cards from her friends and teachers. They also made a big fuss of her and the theme for the day was 'Australia' - how nice of them?! She took my digital camera into school with her and took lots of pics and the entire class put painted hand prints on a T Shirt for her to keep. One of the little girls was sobbing her heart out when we picked her up which started me off. I told everyone not to make a big fuss because I would have been a jibbering wreck! It was very emotional but also nice to know that Danielle was so highly thought of.
We also got the Gas Certificate done today ready for renting the house out - the Electrician was supposed to come around too but that was obviously too much trouble for him! I'll get the Estate Agents to sort that out after we've gone because I really cant be bothered with it anymore!
Grays beloved TV is now on Ebay! He ain't happy with that as you can imagine. He only bought it in December but it would be pointless taking it with us as we wouldnt be able to use it to its full potential. He can treat himself to a shiney new one though when we get there.
Grays car is also on Ebay - thats due to end next Monday and then we'll be getting a hire car until we fly to Heathrow - I think Grays more excited about the hire car than he is about Oz!
I think thats about it for now!
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Its getting close now!
I had another 'leaving do' last night! Well I say leaving do - a friend of mine who I dont get to see very often (Jules) came around the house for wine and a meal (take away obviously!!) with her daughter Emma. It was a really nice night and it was great to catch up. Hopefully she'll be coming out to visit us in Oz sometime.
Its only 10 days now until Pickfords are here and then we leave 8 days after that. All of a sudden it seems to have come around really quickly. The house is like a tip constantly as we have very little furniture to store clothing etc and so it is stacked up in the bedrooms! We've now made the spare room our 'items to go on the ship' room and so everything else is banned. Although this means the spare room is fairly organised it also means the other two bedrooms are even more disorganised! I'm planning on tackling that this week though so all should be in hand by the end of the week.
Danielle finishes school Friday along with Gray finishing work. Shes coping really well with everything at the moment bless her - I'm really proud of her.
The packers will be here 22nd 23rd & 24th March. We're staying in a hotel on the 24th and then driving up to Holyhead on the 25th - back to Monmouth on 27th and then onto a hotel at Heathrow on 29th ready to fly on 30th!!
I'll try and keep this up to date as much as I can but obviously we're going to be pretty busy the next two weeks. Not sure what sort of internet connection I'll have when we arrive either. We're sending the desk top by ship but I'll have the laptop with me.
Its only 10 days now until Pickfords are here and then we leave 8 days after that. All of a sudden it seems to have come around really quickly. The house is like a tip constantly as we have very little furniture to store clothing etc and so it is stacked up in the bedrooms! We've now made the spare room our 'items to go on the ship' room and so everything else is banned. Although this means the spare room is fairly organised it also means the other two bedrooms are even more disorganised! I'm planning on tackling that this week though so all should be in hand by the end of the week.
Danielle finishes school Friday along with Gray finishing work. Shes coping really well with everything at the moment bless her - I'm really proud of her.
The packers will be here 22nd 23rd & 24th March. We're staying in a hotel on the 24th and then driving up to Holyhead on the 25th - back to Monmouth on 27th and then onto a hotel at Heathrow on 29th ready to fly on 30th!!
I'll try and keep this up to date as much as I can but obviously we're going to be pretty busy the next two weeks. Not sure what sort of internet connection I'll have when we arrive either. We're sending the desk top by ship but I'll have the laptop with me.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The car has been sold!
Well my car has been on Ebay and the auction ended today - final price of £1260 which we're pleased with. Its being collected on the weekend as long as the weather holds out - we had snow today!
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