I watch too many romantic movies!

well the most interesting news I found out today is that a girl in Paignton has Swine Flu...the school she attended is across the street from Morrisons I go to and now Jason says we can't go there anymore lol...(he was just kidding) I am just waiting to see everyone down here start to panic...

Rich and Christy I am glad you found us )

Ladies how are the rest of you?

Patty how are you settling?

Jamie how was the laundry?

Carey what is new and exciting?

Becca how is life in PA?

Beth you will be here soon won't you?

How are the rest of the ladies doing?

I know I ask a lot of questions lol

well on Sunday I am going to be a Marshall for Pirate day in town here they are going for the Guiness Book of World Records having the most people dressed as Pirates should be interesting...a bunch of people standing around in eye patches saying arggghhhh

Hello Josy!  New and exciting for me = I may be getting laid off at work, decision yet to be made.  Ugh.   But because of this, we have moved my moving date up a few months and I will officially be moving on October 1st!   We are going to apply for the visa while I am there next month (just to have it out of the way and in case anything goes wrong) and send in the docs when I get home, and ask them to date the visa for August (since I guess they will only date it 3 months ahead).  Then I will still be ok since the visas are good for 27 months.   Exciting times, and I could definetely do without the added lay off stress, but fingers crossed that will all turn out ok. 

How are you doing? Feeling at home now? 

And stay away from that swine flu!! ack!

I hope you don't get laid off, Carey, that sounds really unfun.  But that's a nice bonus if it means you can head over to England sooner!  (It's all about the silver lining, right?)

Will Mirra be ready to move in October?

Hi Carey,
I am sorry to hear about your job but happy to hear you might be over here sooner...Yay you will be here in the fall...things here are good...we finally picked a photographer for the wedding so some of the stress is gone...I feel like I am home being here and know it is where I am supposed to be...Jamie keeps me sane we have weekly phone calls about life in the UK...

I know only I would be somewhere in the country where swine flu breaks out lol.. but I am not worried...

Yes, Mirra will be ready on September 28th, so thats why the move is on October 1st. 

I'm starting to really freak out about losing my independence... I am TERRIFIED of driving and David made a big deal out of it last night like I have to drive or else, and I'm really really uncomfortable with the idea of it!  But how can I be independant without driving!?   Josy, have you tried it yet?? 

Is it possible to do this move thing without being a burden on him!?  I'm kinda thinking its not.. 

Yes, Mirra will be ready on September 28th, so thats why the move is on October 1st. 

I'm starting to really freak out about losing my independence... I am TERRIFIED of driving and David made a big deal out of it last night like I have to drive or else, and I'm really really uncomfortable with the idea of it!  But how can I be independant without driving!?   Josy, have you tried it yet?? 

Is it possible to do this move thing without being a burden on him!?  I'm kinda thinking its not.. 

I refused to drive, but there was a bus into town and a small co-op about a mile down the road, so the only places Tim had to take me was Tesco or Asda.  I told him I might someday drive, but I wanted to do it with lessons...I wasn't going to just get into the driver's side and drive, even with his instruction.

Cool! The time is sort of flexible. I will be in UK all of June and July. Likely I will just choose a day where the ticket's not too expensive and head on out. We'll keep in touch.  When are you there?

awesome! i'm there the morning of june 3rd and staying until the 9th.  short trip this time, but i believe my boyfriend will be working during the day rather than taking vacation, so i should have plenty of time to spare! 

I refused to drive, but there was a bus into town and a small co-op about a mile down the road, so the only places Tim had to take me was Tesco or Asda.  I told him I might someday drive, but I wanted to do it with lessons...I wasn't going to just get into the driver's side and drive, even with his instruction.

i'm nervous about driving, as well.  there is no real need for me to do it right away since we can walk just about anywhere in town in 15-30 minutes time, plus we'll be right next to the train station for when we're heading out of town.  we actually don't even plan to own a car for another year or two since we have no need for it until we figure out where we're living long-term, but my boyfriend has suggested i might want to go for lessons and go ahead and take the test and get it out of the way when i first get there and have more time to spare while i'm job-searching.  not sure i even want to begin thinking about lessons at this point though!!

i LOVE driving, but nothing about driving over there seems at all relaxing to me. 

Carey I haven't conquered driving here yet...I didn't want to rush myself..it took a bit to get used to crossing the road without looking in the wrong direction...I am not going to worry about driving till after I am married...I am lucky I live in a small town and I walk everywhere..down to town and the shops...if we need to go out of town Jason drives a motorcycle...you have too much other stuff to worry about with moving right now to worry about driving...I would leave that till after you are there and settle...they have a great public transport system here and you won't be a burden on anyone...where will you be living? If you are going to live in a city you will be able to get anywhere by walking or public transport...the same with a small village...now if you live in the country a few miles from everything then I don't know what to suggest. I wanted to get used to living here before I drive...I think I may even get a scooter to learn on..I figure that way I don't have to worry about what side the steering wheel is on and I can concentrate on the rode. Then once I get used to the road and everything then I will go for a driving license for a car....

There is a lot to take in when you first come here...don't try to worry about everything right now....you are just going to have to take it one step at a time...have you ever been here living with David for a few months at a time before? or will this be the first time you two are living together? if that is the case then you got to give yourself some time to get used to life over here...to get used to living with him...and then once you are here and settled then you can move onto to other stuff like driving and such...

I love being here and can't wait to get my marriage visa to live here. But it took me a long time to have this feel like my home and get comfortable with things...and I still feel a little out of place...but I am sure that will all change soon...

I hope I helped..if you or anyone has any questions about living here let me know

I love being here and can't wait to get my marriage visa to live here. But it took me a long time to have this feel like my home and get comfortable with things...and I still feel a little out of place...but I am sure that will all change soon...

So funny, I never felt out of place or like it wasn't my home...I actually feel like Dunholme is more my home than Lancaster is! 

well the first time I was here for about 4 months I was just here to see if Jason and I could live together...it was more like a holiday then living here...and then last year when I was here for the 6 months that is when it started to feel like home and I started making my friends and getting used to the way of life. I moved from a suburban area outside of Philadelphia that had every kind of store and movie theatres everywhere and everything to a small fishing village...so I am not going to lie it took a bit of time to get used to...I know my home is wherever Jason is ( I know that sounds corny but it is true)...but at the same time it can be a little daunting trying to figure out the devonshire accent and the way of life and get used to life being a lot more laid back then it is in the states..I know I am where I belong now here with him...

My 6 month visit was a holiday, essentially. We just also learned how to live with each other during it.  Lancaster's not all that different from the Philly suburbs, but I actually enjoyed the differences in the UK and discovered that I really am more of a "country girl" over a "city girl".....although I still can't get used to shops closing at 5! 

Doesn't sound corny at all, since that's how I feel, too.  Home is where the heart is and all, right?

Thanks for the welcome Josy!! Glad to have found such a lovely group of ladies! 

About the driving...well..ok ok...im chicken poo still. I'm usually very adventurous, but this whole driving on the wrong side of the car AND the wrong side of the road thing just...well it terrifies the heck out of me! I ALWAYS look the wrong way when crossing the road. Good thing Rich is always with me and holding my hand lol

Here in the states I drive everywhere,but in England we walk or use public transport...which I don't really mind except for when the bus is full and when the smell of weed just hits me like a ton of bricks!! Seriously! Smoking weed on the bus?? How do they get away with it??

forgot to add that I'd totally be like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday while driving "please don't hit meeeeee!!" lol

I was just looking at the bus and train schedules in our area and it looks like it would take me 1.5 hours to get into London relying only on bus and train. I could cut a good 30 mins off of that by driving to the train station at least (which would make a huge difference if I commuted every day) Ugh.  I guess I wont be freaked out yet since I've never even sat behind the wheel on the "wrong" side... maybe it wont be as scary as I'm imagining.  Maybe...  If Cameron did it, so can we, right??

I also have to mention that I am SO excited to take my dog on the bus and train!  How wonderful that they are allowed!  She is so going into London with me and we're going to stroll around Covent Garden and go to Hyde Park