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Thursday, October 9, 2008

England Update

In roughly a month I will be moving to England. The date is quickly approaching and tasks are getting scheduled at an alarming rate. I knew there were going to be a ton of appointments and dates for me to remember, but it is getting a little overwhelming. Thankfully, Then Man is really good about writing them on the calendar for me. He knows if it isn't on the calendar, it doesn't exist in my world.

Next Tuesday I have my pre-inspection for the housing office. This means they are going to come to my house and point out all the things we need to fix or replace so that we don't have to pay for them when we leave. I already know I am going to have to replace most of the mini blinds in my house because of the cat and my kids. Hell, the 3rd day we lived here my cat decided to chew on the largest of the blinds in my house*. Lovely.

The kids Visa's finally arrived from the British Consulate. Mine should be here soon, but it was delayed a few days because of the marriage license incident. I do now have a copy of my marriage license, by I can not find the original anywhere. I am sure we will probably find it while the packers are packing up the house or while we are unpacking in England. That is just how things go when you are moving. I once heard a saying about military life that is so true. You know you are in the military if you have moved so many times that you know where the scotch tape was in your last house, but have no clue where it is in your new house. I really wish this one wasn't so true. I have needed tape in this house so many times and I have only found it once. At my last house, it was on top of the refrigerator.

The movers are coming on Oct 30, while my parents are in town. They are coming to get our advance items. These are items that we are going to need immediately when we get a house such as pots and pans, linens, and clothes. I also plan on sending a bunch of stuff via the mail to my friends APO box. Then on Nov 5th and 6th the movers are coming back to get the rest of our household goods. We are not planning on actually leaving Missouri until Nov. 15 so we will be living in TLF** for at least a week. From what I hear TLF has pretty much all the ammenities that we are going to need for a week. I know they have a full kitchen, decent beds, a living area with cable tv and possibly wi-fi. I am not excited about TLF living, but I know it just means I am one step closer to being in England.

We have also got to look into the cleaning situation for our current house. I have heard rumors to get this house professionally cleaned up to military standards it will cost $600. Let this be clear to everyone, I will never pay anyone $600 to clean my house ever. If it really is that much, I have a friend who has offered to help us. I told her I would pay her $100 to come help me. She used to professionally clean houses when she was stationed in Montana, so she knows the standards that the military uses for cleaning. Yes, they are rediculously rigorous standards, but if you are going to have a new family in a house every couple years and you want it to last, tight standards are a must.

In anycase, we are going to be busy busy people, but don't worry. I will keep posting as much as I can. I also have some guest bloggers lined up to fill in the gap during the time that I will be traveling. When I get to England my friend says that I have free use of her internet and wireless connection. 3 Bedroom Bungalow shall live during my absence!

* The next day he knocked a $30 vase/ candle holder over and shattered it. Yeah he was skating on thin ice that week.
** TLF stands for Temporary Lodging Facilities

11 comments:

Badass Geek said...

Sounds like a busy and stressfull time. I shouldn't complain about having to move across town then, should I?

Kat said...

Badass- You can totally complain about moving across town. Believe me, that is stressful too. I had to do that 3 different times since I have lived here on base in Missouri and not once was it easy.

OhCaptain said...

I hate moving. My parents still live in the same house we moved into when I turned 2.

On the flipside, my wife's mother moved about every 18 months cause that's what she did, so to my wife, moving is just something you do.

I will help out as much as any invisible internet friend can help :-)

Kat said...

OhCaptain- Thank you so much. You might regret the offer though! Muhahhaha ;)

Mama Dawg said...

Oh wow. Blog about the whole thing. I love reading about people moving to different countries. How long will you live there?

Kat said...

Don't worry Mama Dawg, ya'll will be getting the moving play by play, like it or not! Oh and we will be there for 4 years.

Jen said...

what a job that must be. we when moved it was across the city, I can't imagine moving across the world.

Captain Dumbass said...

Lots of blog fodder in a move. I'm still so envious. Except for the moving part. That sucks.

steenky bee said...

Busy busy girl! You're gonna crash! Moving is of the devil. Moving across the pond will be hellish. :)

Lola said...

I can't even imagine packing up all of my stuff and trying to move anywhere.

Four years is not that long when faced with packing up and moving again. I don't know how you do it, girl!

Anonymous said...

Oh man...bad memories...I cleaned like a demon to get our apartment ready to leave and I always kept it nice. I've heard a lot of horror stories about the inspections. Thanks the gods for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers!