14 posts tagged “moving”

Sorry if my last entry ended rather abruptly but we are visiting the Hub's folks and we were quickly leaving to go somewhere.

But anyways...

I have to admit that I've been really blessed over this pregnancy. I've have virtually no bad symptoms throughout, I've thrown upa totalof 2 times when others are so sick they;re losing weight rather than gaining it, people complain of severe heartburn every night when IF I get it, it's minimal and I don't have to pee in the middle ofthe night nearly as much as I thought I would. Of course, this leads me to think that my next pregnancy (...) will be an absolute nightmare AND I'll be watching our son who could be a hyperactive little crazy man if the activity in my womb is any indication. I'm not yet at the point where I am tired of being pregnant and I must confess that I'm almost sad to see that I really only have roughly 4 weeks left. I am eager to have and hold our son but I'm also apprehensive about having another life completely and wholy dependent on me, which is completely normal. Plus the Hubs and I chose each other when we got married, knowing who each other was and this is bringing into that marriage a third person who we have no idea what he'll be like. He's a complete unknown right now.
I also wonder about post partum depression, I think it could be quite likely for me just bcz of other factors such as having just moved away from friends and into a completely new area, finding it more difficult to get around on top of a baby causing sleep deprivation. I am going to have to really work hard at not letting myself get isolated in my own little home.
We are living closer to Julie and the cousins now and she said to give her a call whenever I even just need a break but I know myself too well in that I would view calling her as admitting defeat somehow. I don't like admitting to others that I am incapable of handling something, I loathe it in fact. I enjoy and take pride in people finding me able and unflappable in situations that I don't want to shine a light on the fact that "hey, I'm only human too!"
Pride will be my downfall.

As I was saying before, there are still things we need to get for home and baby. We desperately need a chest of drawers for our bedroom bcz right now all that is in there is a bed and then luggage bags filled with clothes (we are such clothes horses!!!) We also need to get a cot/crib for the baby but that's not as desperate bcz for the first 1-3 months the baby will be sleeping in a moses basket/basinette. One thing I am worried about is that our home can get quite cold at night and I don't know how to warm it up without constantly keeping the heating on and running up the bill.
We need to get a sofa and a bookshelf (my God, we have SO many books!!! and that's after gutting the shelves before moving!) and all our floors are wood so a rug for the lounge and the hall would be great too but again, not as much a priority as other things. I think my nesting phase is kicking in lol. My parents will be coming at the beginning of April (baby's due the 8th so hopefully they'll be here a week before and then a week after the big day) and they'll be helping me get everything organized and situated which is good. I so want to be organized but I really lack the knack for it. I have such lovely ideas of how things should be but they never turn out right. Ah well...

So those are the major points for the next few weeks. I don't know when next I'll be online since we no longer have it at the house, I'm going to check on some deals to see if we can afford hooking it up but if not, I'll try the library's PC connections... Until then!

 

 

 

 

View of the back garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our very spacious (as you can see) kitchen including full size fridge! You have no idea how happy this makes me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome living room!!! We're planning on dying the couch and chairs a mocha color (not feeling the coral)

FINALLY I CAN POST!!! I don't know why but lately when I go to post, the page doesn't load properly so I can't input any text in the text box :0(

But apparently I can now!

So the last week has been crazy getting everything situated in the house. Man, it's awesome being in this house! We've really made it our own place. Julie came by the other day and she was saying it's so neat how it just doesn't look like her house anymore, it doesn't even smell like her house anymore.... not that our house smells.... really.

I had to build 2 wardrobes, a railing bed, and a chest of drawers for us. Man, that was a bit hectic.

And I'm starting full-time work at Waterstone's on Tuesday!!! YEAH!! Kick ass me! But today was Nicola's last day so that was a downer on things. I find it amazing how we have just really hit it off together and how we are so comfortable around each other so quickly bcz that's totally not my style. I take a long time to get comfortable around people. But something in her personality just meshes with me. Scary, eh?

On other news, my grandpa went into the hospital the other day with some sort of a blockage in his arteries. I guess technically it was a heart attack. But he's home now and feeling much better and is all in the clear. But I was seriously scared for a bit thinking I'd be getting a middle-of-the-night phone call from my parents saying I need to hop a plane to California bcz he's either dead or dying. Shudder.

 

So I think I'll pack up and clean the bathroom today, then the kitchen tomorrow and that leaves wednesday, thursday and friday to figure out what to do with the rest of our crap. Sigh. Also I think I'll pick out our clothes for the rest of the week and then pack up all the rest into black garbage bags. Who knew moving involved such strategizing?!

Karen's aunt is moving around the same time and is giving us A LOT of free furniture. We're getting a dining room table and chairs, 4 6-foot shelves, a lounge suite encompassing a sofa and two lovely squishy chairs, curtains, and a smallish table. Awesome, hey?

 

Nicola gave her 2 weeks notice at work and it looks like I'll be taking over her shift. It's awesome because I've been wanting to get full-time hours and quit working Sundays but man, she's like my favorite person there!!! I'll probably be taking over her sections to which is cool bcz her sections are Sci-Fi/Crime/Horror and I am totally into that! Although I will miss my Art section I think. Not A-Zing it though, them art books are HEAVY!
Since I've been working on the first floor, I've been missing out on all the cool fiction coming out. But I've also seen some biographies I'd like to read, and I'm not usually into them so YAY for me broadening my horizons! LOL.

I'm currently reading The DaVinci Code. I avoided it while it was popular bcz stupid people couldn't quite grasp the concept that it was a NOVEL and therefore NOT real. I'm enjoying it so far but Dan Brown's love interests seem forced. I also read his Deception Point and while the general plot was good, the romance seemed too unnatural and quick.

Bye bye Summer, thanks for stopping by... whenever that was.

Grrr, i was supposed to paid last Thursday but something happened where Payroll says I've been paid but my bank account says otherwise. Pieter just got paid so it's not like we're hurting for cash but I still want my money... BIOTCHES!

I'm buying boxes today to start packing up stuff. WHOO! This is really FINALLY happening. I still have no idea how we're gonna move everything but Julie and Gav have an even bigger problem so I'm not whining around them LOL. It's going to be so awesome living with Karen,  and I think it'll help us be more tidy with someone else in the house, but it'll be weird being far from Julie and Gav and the kidlets. I'll definitely miss being just a bus ride away.

Man, I LOVE working at Watersone's, especially during the week! I think I like the week people a little bit more than the weekenders. But the sad thing is I'll only be able to get a week position if Nicola leaves and she's like MY FAVORITE! She's the chick that I met way long ago and we both wanted me working at Waterstone's and we built up a nice little raport going. She's awesome and it'll make me sad when she leaves.... Not to be saying I'm not encouraging her to go at the same time LOL. Hey man, mama needs new shoes!

 

So I haven't been around bcz... I've been working! Yeah, I worked Monday and Tuesday on top of the weekend and I'll be working tomorrow as well (three days of overtime, yeah!). Theyhad a problem processing my bank details so there's a chance I won't get paid this month, gotta check that (they pay monthly on the 20th so I might not get my money until the 20th of OCTOBER). Dude 0.o

And we've got a 93% official moving date now! It won't be 100% until the 24th but it is looking good. So October 13th is going to be a hella busy day. I'm going to see if I can take it off work so I can spend the whole day moving stuff. EXCITED!!!

Robyn's teething and she has the GOOFIEST grin now bcz her two top teeth have a little gap between them (probably she'll need braces when she's older). And she's practically on the brink of walking. She's got the crawling thing down pat and she can climb up onto the sofa and you've got to keep your eye on her bcz she's FAST! She loves to hold onto your hands and walk around with you holding her. Too cute!

I think Michael's getting better, although he tends to have good days and bad days. He's warming up to me though. At least, I hope it sticks, he was okay yesterday while I was watching him. I find it so hard to interact with him though just bcz he has a dislike of me (NOT BCZ ANYTHING I DID BONNIE AND AUDREY!!!!) Anyway, I'm just hoping it's a phase.

 

*Triumphant laughter* I sometimes overestimate how easy going my husband is. I expect that certain particularities that other guys (or even I) have, he will have as well. Ou contraire. Last night, he let me paint his toenails a very funky metallic pink and it just gave me such inordinate joy. I don't know why.

Sunday night, we went over to Karen's and had dinner with her and her housemate Dean. Nery nice guy, very cool evening. We played 30 Seconds which is a board game big in South Africa. They've got the house to themselves until Wednesday when they're getting 4 new people (they have no idea nationality, gender, or employment, nothing). We're going over again tonight and bringing the dessert. I'm making this. YUM!

I've been writing some but it's not easy going.

My parents have decided that they're going to move in with my grandparents to take care of them and I find my mom surprisingly excited about this. She's already put in her notice of retirement at work and they've already started packing up some stuff to store on our property in Calaveras Co. I think it's pretty cool. They're going to pay off their house and then rent it out for some income and my mom will just spend her days cleaning my grandma's house and cooking meals. Since she went back to work after being a SAHM, she hasn't had the energy to cook so she's excited about that too. I don't think it's really hit until I go back home and it won't be the same house. Weird.

What decision changed the course of your life? 
Submitted by Ally.

I think the decision to move to Mexico for a year when I was 16 to live with my aunt really changed the course of my life. By seeing that I was able to do something that people rarely get the chance to do made me more independent and more adventurous and eventually this lead me to be more open minded about marrying a guy off the internet and moving to the UK. In high school I had this dream of moving to Japan and teaching English as a career and I was very much into it, but I think I had in the back of my mind a doubt that it would ever be possible for me to move country, no matter which one. Moving to Mexico made me realize that I can do things that I doubted I could for so long if I only make the decision and then take action. Now, I've never been much of an action taker but I've noticed that I've gotten better over the years (still not great thought!)

I have to wonder sometimes where I would be now if I had never gone to Mexico. It was such a time of growth for me, to be away from my parents (which I realized that I really needed to do) and it taught me to not be so self-conscious (bcz it is SO laid back in Mexico while California is still very superficial). Would I be here in England? Would I have even met Pieter? I honestly don't know if I'd even be mostly as I am now.

I just haven't had access to a PC for a while. Hmmm, what's the latest news?

Pieter did his British Heart Foundation Tower of London Fun Run yesterday. I need to touch up the photos and then I'll post them. He was thinking he'd do 5 laps (5k) and call it quits (you can do up to 10) but after 5, he still felt pretty good so he continued on to do 10. I'm very proud of him! Especially since it started raining around his 6th lap. I know I probably would've pulled out at that point lol. So this was excellent practice for his 5k run in July.

My folks flew in for a visit last Wednesday and we all went to see the In-Laws over the 3 day weekend. My poor folks, they need longer than a week to adjust to the time change and feel normal. But I know they tend to start wearing on my nerves after just a few days. My mother has a way of "managing" things that just rub me raw.

 

But anyways....

I'm looking into getting a sewing machine for my birthday in June. In the meantime, I want to get one of those mini sewing machines I've seen for something like £15. It should be fine for until then. I got a few quilting books from a lady at my church in Cali bcz she had an online quilting business before she sold it. The book I'm really excited about is this one >
It's not actually a quilting book but more like Japanese sewing crafts; many little purses and pin cushions, etc, and instructions on making fabric beads. Very cool!

Still nothing new to report on the house sale. We're still waiting for the court date where the judge is supposed to remove the lady from the sale and then we've heard it would be something like a minimum of 2 months to process but could be more so moving in July is being rather optimistic.

 

 

I bought this CD for 75p at a boot sale over the weekend. I know Punkin will be proud. It's got "Love is a Battlefield", "Jesse's Girl" (its main selling point for me), "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon", "We Built This City" and many other greats lol.

I haven't been knitting much but I'm hoping to start up again now that my mom brought over the 2 looms I had ordered at Xmas. One's a childs hat loom and the other is a 12" small gauge knitting board. Also I haven't been going to knitting group for a while bcz of working but hopefully I'll make the next one next Tuesday. I haven't seen them in ages!

If you haven't noticed, I've been silent for the past week or so. Sorry but I've been working. Nothing permanent, but hey, money is money. I've been walking all around Hackney area (and I mean ALL around Hackney) for this job, to all these different council estates (low-income housing areas) and it's been killer on the feet. The three guys I'm working with are pretty cool. Jishar is from India, Joel is from Camaroon and Paul is from Mexico. How diverse! LOL.

So what we're doing is we are working with a recycling centre to get people in the estates that the centre serves to participate in their new food waste recycling system. Technically they're not recycling the waste, they're composting it but whatever. What I don't like is that my agency called me up and wanted to know if I'd do a job distributing leaflets door to door. Sure, why not? Of course no one told us we'd have to be explaining things to strangers and that we'd be going to 15 different estates (which EACH can have around 80-250 residents) and knocking on doors, etc. And when we first showed up on Monday, Michelle (the girl we're under) had no idea we were coming bcz we were contracted by the council and Michelle works for a private company. DUH PEOPLE, COMMUNICATION!!!!

The house front doesn't look good either. Apparently the women whose house Julie and Gav are buying is an alcoholic and has been recently declared mentally unstable so now there's a legal situation with whether she was mentally competent to sell her house or something. Julie and Gav say the sale will still go through but they have to wait for a court date for some reason. So no more moving around the end of April, it's looking more like July. Sigh.

On better news, our flat got rebanded and now we get to pay drastically less council tax than we were. YAY!!! That is very good news bcz now we can save up some for the deposit on the house. Even if we're family, Julie and Gav are professionals all the way LOL. We're just worried about Karen when she gets back from Aust & SA (33 days!) bcz she's technically moved out of her house share and will need a more permanent place to stay in the meanwhile.