Are you Okay?!

So E and I were sent by his company to find a house to live in for the next 2 years. Sounded like fun! All of our family and friends were telling me how they love watching house hunters on TV and finding a home over seas sounded like such a great adventure to everyone so it couldn't be bad right?! Lets just say its not as wonderful as one might think, but we will get back to home hunting in a bit. 

One of the first things I noticed when we arrived in Manchester Wednesday morning is that, well, its cold! Not just cold, cold and rainy two things that we were not prepared for. The second thing I noticed is that instead of asking, "How are you?" the locals ask, "Are you okay?" or "Are you alright?" and then stare at you as if your arm is falling off! How do you respond to this?! At first I just would nod to them or say "Hi" but it was such an awkward greeting I felt rude with anything that I replied with. (eventually I started eavesdropping on others conversations and found that you reply with, "Yeah, you?" Simple but just one of the many things we are not used to. Another thing that we are not used to is the currency, pounds, pence, quid (not sure I spelled that correctly) and most of its in coins...now one would think that the large coins would be worth the most but that's not the case so getting used to this whole money thing is going to take some getting used to!!

And now back to the home hunting...So when watching people search for housing on television is fun because they have money to spend! Have you ever noticed how their budgets are half a million dollars?! Well lets just say our budget is smaller than that, okay lets be honest, its A LOT smaller that that!!! Oh and did you know that in England they apparently have FANTASTIC trick photography? LOL! I am sure most of it was not intentional and if you are from the UK you would probably already know the size of a normal bedroom but when you are from another country, or the US like we are and the only resource you have for looking up homes for rent (or To Let as they say in England) is the Internet you are shown only things that make the home look lovely. We did end up finding a BEAUTIFUL 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home to spend the next 2 years in but getting there was quite interesting! From homes with bedrooms smaller than my closet, to homes without a dryer, refrigerator or even a dishwasher this experience was quite, well, interesting to say the least. Then we have the decor...Oh I LOVE history, always have and always will...but that doesn't mean I want to live in a home that was built by the Romans and still occupied by a few Roman Soldiers Ghosts! We came across many, many interesting and "scruffy" housing situations but we have settled on one and are just waiting to hear back from the realtor tomorrow to ensure that we do get to call this lovely home in Davenham our home for the next 2 years.

We did do some exploring while we were staying in Chester and if you are ever in England I would highly suggest shopping in Chester City Center, it is a very lovely little town with lots of history and lots to do! But now, I have TONS of laundry I need to get done and a 3 year old who wants ice cream and Brave put in! In the mean time, here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

(tiniest room ever!)

(Fingers crossed this will be our home!)

(Chester Town Center)

Talk to you all soon!
Abbey.

Let the Adventure Begin!

Well it's official, the sign is in the yard and our home is on the market. This makes our move to England MUCH more real! Yep, I said it, We are moving to ENGLAND!!!! It has been just about a month since we have made the decision to move with E's company to a small town called Runcorn, England for a 24 month engagement and life has become very, very hectic since. How does one pack up their entire life and move it 1/2 way across the world for 2 years?! I mean not only do we have 2 kids but we have 2 doggies as well! Although A.J. has no idea what is going on (she is only 11 months old) A.L. (the 3 year old) is making up for both of them! Temper tantrums, not sleeping, not listening and the occasional peeing in the pants are all ways she has started to rebel so to speak. We started liquidating all of the items in our home that we are not planning on taking to the UK with us or keeping in storage for 2 years and each time something sells or gets taken out of the house it seems as if we have to start the whole process of assuring A.L. that this is OK and we have made this decision to better our family. Yet explaining this to a 3 year old is a little challenging, even when she is extremely intelligent! She doesn't understand why we cannot move her entire house to England so that she can keep her green room and at times we are second guessing our decision but in the end this is the choice we have made. So in 2 weeks we head to England to find a home to house our little family for this next chapter in our lives and we start this new adventure at the end of June. Until then I am sure I will be coloring my hair many, many times as the grey hairs are coming and I don't see the stress ending anytime soon. But, like Grandpa C always used to say, "Were not lost, were on an adventure!" and even though I am really feeling lost these days...Let the AdVeNtUrE begin!!!!!