Start at the very begining...
I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Wedding plans are set and fine but moving seems like such a huge task that I haven't even begun to do anything yet. Ya know how it is when you have a big job to do and you just don't know where to start? That's how moving is feeling. I have
sooooo much stuff to get rid of and no real idea of how to do so. Mark and Mitch will take their personal stuff to their Dad's house but save that I have an apartment to get rid of. Beds and dressers, a couch, microwave....even my spices that I cook with. I am not shipping anything over, just taking batches of stuff on each trip so all in all I am taking very little. Shipping was far to expensive...$1000.00 for just 50 cubic feet! Books, games, just too much stuff. I even have a storage unit I have to go through. *sigh* I have to dive in and get started very soon as I have already booked our one way tickets for April 12
th.
46 days to do it all. Well, actually 36 as we have our cruise next week...oh and less the five days that everyone will be here for the wedding. 31 days to get rid of everything as well as pulling together the visa application. Yeah, a little overwhelmed.
Labels: moving
All I want for Easter is my two front teeth
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love is...
They sat there while I made dinner one evening. First they drew a sea scape, fish, divers, shells, etc. Then they started designing a mall. I heard mention of a toy store, a pet store, and then a food court. They named their restaurant cherry pie, or apple pie....I can't remember which but J showed me the pictograph they made for the sign on the restaurant...a little apple and then the symbol for pi. Man o man does the geek in me love that man.
Labels: moving
the details
So, as promised, here are some more details :) The court hearing went beautifully, from our point of view of course, although it was really terribly painful to watch my ex. He really didn't have a clue what he was up against. I had suspected this all along but didn't realize the extent until the hearing. He didn't understand the type of hearing it was, he didn't understand the sort of evidence he should have been presenting...nothing. It was truely painful to watch someone fail so miserably. I won the right to get J his passport and the right to move him to England. It was the last piece of the puzzle we needed to make firm plans.
Oh and plans we have made! We have set a wedding date for March 22nd :) We will be getting married here in Michigan, up North in Gaylord where my mom lives. It's to difficult for her to travel so we are taking it to her. We've booked the airline tickets for Mark and his best man to fly over, booked hotel rooms, found a church and booked it too. The only thing left to book is a meal at a nice resturant, limited as they are in Gaylord. That will wait on setting the time for the wedding which should be done this weekend after a conference call with the minister. My little sister might even come up from Florida for it. yea! I am sooooooo excited.
36 days!
Labels: moving, wedding
I AM MOVING TO ENGLAND!!!!!
We won! I am so beyond excited I can hardly think straight!!!! Now the paperwork and planning begins and my list of things to do is HUGE! Will get into some details in a bit. ohhhhh goodie goodie!!!!!!!
Labels: moving
Cocoa Swap Presents!!!
I was soooooo excited today when I got an email from my cocoa swap buddy telling me that my package would be arriving within 24 hours and then I got home and saw it on the porch! I may have even let a small squeal of delight slip. Wowza did Mary send me some wonderful things! She made me a stuffed owl which is so adorable! I can't let my mom see it or she will certainly attempt to steal it from me. A whole bag of mini reeses cups too....mmm yummy, my favorite. The chocolate to peanut butter ratio is so much better than in the big ones. I also got hot cocoa of course but I got Aztec spicy hot cocoa and I can't wait to try it. I have always wanted to try the spicy Mexican version of cocoa. Naturally, I got yarn too (four skeins!!) and it's gorgeous bamboo yarn. I haven't yet knitted with bamboo but it feel very soft and silky so I am very excited about it. I think I might make a tank top of some sort for summer. It feels like a lighter breezier kind of yarn. Mary also sent me a neat little air freshener for my car...ocean water scented...to remind me that summer days aren't to far off...and she tucked in a row counter (thank you so much...I am embarking on my first lace project and will need it!) and some needle holders too.
Look at these great needles!They are hand painted and the stitch markers are hand made too. Very, very nice, thank you so very much
Mary....I feel so incredibly spoiled!
Labels: cocoa swap
Yes. I remember Adlestrop—
I am so tense about Monday. My life is hanging on this decision and I don't want to even think about the decisions I will face if the judge doesn't find in favor of the move. In general I feel fairly positive about it all. We have satisfied every inch of the law but that just doesn't take into account feelings. If the judge feels it will do too much damage to the father/son relationship then he could still very well rule against us. Aside from having all the requirements met fully we do have one other thing on our side....the ex did nothing but throw slurs out in the last hearing. All accusations that he can't back up. He will show how bitter he is and how very money focused he is and it will all show how he's fighting this just for sake of fighting it. He doesn't even ever attend any school functions, rarely appeared at a soccer game...he takes him for his every other weekend because that's expected of him but he does absolutely nothing beyond that for his son. He's a playmate and that's all. Don't misunderstand, I have no intention of keeping J from his Dad. I want them to continue to have a relationship and I will do everything I can to make that relationship as close as possible over the distance. I just won't let him hold us back. We have the opportunity to have a wonderful life in England. Please, oh please, let the judge see that.
The pic is Adlestrop by the way and the title is the first line of Edward Thomas's poem. It's such a lovely spot....oh, how I want to come home.
Topic of the Week #3: Project Process - UK SWAP
Q: What is your process when planning a project? Do you shop for yarn and then find a suitable pattern? Do you find your pattern and then go out to buy the yarn? Or are you stash-busting? If your stash is out of control, how did it get that way?I tend to shop for a pattern first. Browse the internet, ravelry and find the project I want to work on...then comes the yarn. My stash is very small still as it's just the begining of this hobby for me. I can see how it could grow quickly though as I have been tempted, many times, to buy some yarn just because it is so delicious. Got to be careful :)Labels: UK Swap
missing England
I am missing it so much more than I thought I would be. I think perhaps it's the feelings there that I miss the most. I just simply felt like I belong there. Please, oh please, let the court date go our way I want so badly to begin to make real plans for moving.
As promised here are a few pics :)
Almost a smile! He never smiles for pics but there is almost a little smirk there. I took this one at
Kenilworth Castle. Wow, was it impressive. I am such a sucker for the Elizabeth/Robert Dudley story and there I was walking the same grounds as they had so long ago. I was breathless. This is one of the things I most love about England. It is so seeped in history. American history, while interesting in it's self, just doesn't fascinate me like English history does. It doesn't have the same depth.
Just me peeking through a little doorway at Kenilworth.
Warwick Castle. Pronounced Warick.....like soooo many places I said it wrong many times. I mean really, have the English just randomly added letter just to make foriegners sound like morons?! I can't wait to wander around this castle. We were told it takes a good solid day so we left it for another time and went to St Mary's church instead. What a gorgesous church that was. Robert Dudley is buried there so I was very interested in seeing it and I wasn't disppointed at all. Mark's Aunt and Uncle and cousin gave us a grand tour as his Uncle works as a guide there and they are all very into old churches. It was fantastic to see such a wonderful place with knowledgeable guides. I hope I have the chance to visit other places with them.
A walk in the countryside. I adore the fact that the public footpaths are protected such as they are in England. To have the right to roam this beautiful countryside is an absolute pleasure. The little white flowers are snowdrops and in a few weeks the same area will be covered in bluebells. I will likely miss the bluebells again this year though but I am so looking forward to this very walk next year.
The
"crack" at the Tate Modern in London. Wow. I was duly impressed. The crack spans the turbine hall and is 548 feet long. It truly looks like someone pulled the building apart and it has split down the middle. It's meant to represent the division, borders, racism. The most interesting was to watch the people viewing it. Some stayed to one side or the other, some steped back and forth, while yet others walked along it straddling the divide. The people became part of the exhibit for me. You can imagine how unjustly people are separated without knowing who the truly are. Go see it if you can.
