[kiwidebs]

......but not for much longer. We exchanged this morning!!! After a record breaking six months of trying to get to this stage (we 'sold' it within 3 weeks of putting it on the market - got to the stage where that 'sold' sign with tiny little 'subject to contract' was really mocking me everytime I looked out our living room window!!!!). It's been stressful, that being in limbo feeling, not being able to make plans because we didn't know if we'd be here or there or somewhere in between! Earlier we threatened to put the house back on the market if we hadn't exchanged by Friday the 13th - well, it took a little longer than that but we finally got here.
Now, this is where the madness begins. She has to complete by Friday 3rd of Feb cos that's when her mortgage offer runs out - that's NEXT FRIDAY. That means the shippers (PSS have been fabulous so far - we haven't even confirmed in writing but have been pencilled in and they've been bending over backwards to help) will be in next Weds/Thurs. Do some of you remember me telling you about our trip to Rome at the end of the month for Mark's birthday and to banish the January blues??? Well, we go on Friday morning and get back next Tues (late afternoon). Hmmmm, thank goodness we've been packing and cleaning this last weekend. I suspect the next four days are going to fly by as we frantically try to get everything organised. OMG!!
We definately wouldn't have booked the trip if we'd had any idea she was on a deadline for Feb 3 and that it was actually going to happen. Just one more example of the lack of communication during this stupid house sale.
I feel really sorry for Mark and the kids having to live with me in manic panic mode over the next few days. It's highly possible I will divorced by the end of it!! So much to do, so little time. Arghhh.

Debs

[Nienke]

Wow! Congratulations on the definite sale of your house (I still don't get the English system of selling houses). Lots of good luck for the coming week, try to enjoy..... :raebanana

[zardell]

:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

Oh well done you !!

Heres hoping everything goes through on the house front without a hitch.

Go off and enjoy your Italian break...you all deserve it after everything thats happened to you.

You'll come back rejuvenated and ready to face the next hurdle.

Good luck to you on your journey to your new life.

Julie

x

[Debbie]

Congratulations
So sorry that we won't get to meet up with you after all at SE meet but wishing you all the best for the move and hope to meet up on the bright side of the planet soon.
Debbie
PS I forgot to ask, i know it will be in the forum somewhere but if you get a chance to catch your breath can you post some details of who you are flying out with and where you will end up. Im interested esp in the flights as your two kids are the same age as mine and mine have never been on a plane before.
All the best.

[gil]

Oh Debs, I am SOOOOOO pleased for you! :raebanana:clap:raebanana Well done on selling!
Can't wait to be in the same boat :roll
Enjoy Roma!

Lots and lots of love,
Gil
xx

[katandbob]

well done and have a good holiday! :raebanana :raebanana

[kiwidollie]

Excellent!!! Very very pleased for you - it has been a long time coming.

Hope you have a fab trip Italiano!!!

All the best with the move.

Alison

[jubjub]

Woohoo! good luck getting everything done!

See you when you get here!

[Marie P]

Hurray Debs ...............Let me know .................I'll get that kettle on .......... :cheers

Enjoy your Weekend break .... :raebanana

Marie x

[sizzlingbadger]

Congratulations :raebanana What a relief

Enjoy your holidy in Rome, at least you can all take a breather there and realise that soon you'll be on this side of the world :cheers

[Diny]

Brilliant news Debs - and how I remember the situation you're in. Hanging around for months in limbo land and then suddenly all hell lets loose.

Have a wonderful time in Rome, and don't worry about a thing, just go with the flow and somehow all will fall into place in the end (I speak from experience on that one).

See you over here soon then.

Diny

[Hannah]

That's great news Deb. All the best with the next few days! Short deadline to complete on a house sale is what most house sellers dream of - it means you can get on with the rest of your life so much quicker!!!

[clarkydicko]

lots of dancing bananas for this one!

:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

Congratulations on the house sale & all our best wishes for your future plans. can't wait to hear all the updates!

hope you have a fab time in Rome!?

Chantell

[Smiler]

Yeehayy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At last!:raebanana:raebanana:raebanana

Do you think all these house buyers from hell are related? Well done Debs and Mark.

Enjoy the weekend, don't worry about the packing/moving. Like Diny says it will all fall into place. Just enjoy your break and Mark's birthday.

Have pm'd you.

Big hugs

D&G xx

[K&CS]

That's fantastic news, Debs. Are you flying out as soon as the house completes, then? You are going to be a busy girl!! Enjoy Rome - make the most of having Europe on your doorstep. That's one thing I regret that we haven't had the time or money to do! It's a fantastic city. Look forward to hearing all your news.

Kate

[Wiggles]

Hi KiwiDebs

I am so pleased for you!!! Well done. We went through hell too & you supported us way back then! It's almost a year since we left & we are absolutely loving NZ (every now and again we think fondly of Chislehurst, but don't wish to go back at all!!). I don't seem to have much time to come onto the forums anymore, but do check-in every now and again. This is wonderful news for you though!!!

Wow, you will be on your way soon enough hey!! Good luck with everything and please keep us posted.

Take care
Wiggles

[curtis]

Hi Debs

Fantastic news....congrats :raebanana

Don't worry everything will get done on time & i'm sure you will have some 1pm bedtimes this week (as I did)! Then have a fantastic time in Rome :nice1

When will you be in NZ? Don't forget your babysitters (Natalie & Aaron) when you visit CHC!

Take Care
Karen x

[Bubbles]

Brilliant news Debs.
Chuffed as punch for you :clap :clap

I have to say though, it saddens me to see that you won't be attending the Southeast meet just because of something so trivial as moving house. :laugh :laugh

Good on ya Debs.

John

[kiwidebs]

Thanks for the support everyone. I probably won't be around much over the next few weeks. Will try and log on as often as possible and catch up on the goss. Looks like we'll be flying out to NZ via a week in Singapore sometime in March.

Oh well, back to the cleaning and packing *sigh* - at least it is a mission with a purpose now!!

Debs

PS We're going to NZ - did I tell you that already?

[K&CS]

Debs

You make me feel guilty when you say you won't be on here much because you've got so much to do. That's what I should be doing. I've just realised that the packers arrive 3 weeks tomorrow, but I haven't even thought about doing anything yet. Can't even manage to feed the baby at the right time, let alone anything else... Still, there's always tomorrow.

If I don't catch up with you before, have a great trip over and look forward to hearing your updates.

Kate

[Cardy]

Well done i,m glad somebody has got a sale hopefully we wont be far behind. Where are you heading for ? Paul Bev And Kids :nice1

[Bailers]

Kiwidebs is offline at the moment 'cos all our stuff's been packed up. Container arrives this morning - that's it, a lifetime of clutter boxed and ready to go - unfortunately they've packed Gemma's blanky.

Rome was excellent but when we got back we worked until 3 in the morning trying to finish the sorting and awake again at 6:30.

House sale completes tomorrow, handed in my notice yesterday (whooopeee!) but now we're homeless for the next 4 weeks. Staying with friends, Travelodge (£26 per night), and then taking Debs and the kids down to Plymouth for 3 weeks while I work out my notice.

Flights are booked for March 7th via Singapore, staying with friends for 5 nights over there.

Then Auckland finally on the 13th March. Best get my CV sorted, Debs already has a job.

Debs will no doubt keep you updated when she gets back online.

Cheers

Mark

[dawn]

How did I miss this thread!

Congratulations!! That is awesome news (I'm in Kiwi training!), glad you had a great holiday and I can only imagine the craziness that is your life at the moment!

Good luck with getting a job, we'll catch you up in July :D

[Marie P]

Wow ....great post .... :clap

Good luck with everything and best wishes to you all .

See you in march sometime .

Marie x

[Smiler]

Brilliant news (well not about the 3 am bit) glad you had a nice break and also that you have given in your notice. :clap:clap (You have the patience of a saint).

Hope the rest of the time passes quickly and smoothly. Before you know it you'll be here and I'm looking forward to hearing that bit. :nice1


Deborah x

[curtis]

Glad you had a great time in Rome. Four weeks will fly by.

See you sometime in CHC.

Karen (Martyn, Natalie, Aaron & Shiro the dog)

[kiwidebs]

Hi Everyone

Just a quick note to say hi. The kids and I are now based in Plymouth for the next three weeks while Mark spends his weeks in London and weekends down here with us. It's nice to have a bit of stability after the past two weeks of staying here, there and everywhere. The kids are coping remarkably well with all the upheaval but I'm hating living out of a suitcase (or out of four suitcases really!!).
We had a fab time in Rome. Gemma loved it all (surprised me with her positive reactions to the art work and statuary!), Cameron was bored by it all and Mark and I loved it. I would've loved to have slept a bit more but the fact that we were coming back to packing up our lives kept me awake for hours (lists of things to do kept passing thru my brain.....over and over and over.....).
The packers were amazing and definately earned whatever they get paid. They work really hard, but the proof will be when it gets to NZ in one piece (fingers crossed!!).
Have said my goodbyes to all in London, quite a few tears later and it's all still quite raw. Who knew I'd feel like this even though I'm going 'home'. Amazing the friends I've made over the last 9 years. Those that matter will still be there for me I know, but goodbyes are still tough.
We fly on the 7th March and stop in Singapore for a few days with friends. Am looking forward to the warmth, and to taking the kids to the zoo and the bird park. And to catching up with friends we haven't seen for a few years.
Then on to Auckland and the work really starts. Our stuff actually arrives three days before us so we'll need to find a rental property, cars and jobs pretty quick. Don't want to pay too much in storage.
Well, gotta go. Will try and catch up sometime soon. Thanks for all the messages of support, can't wait to see some of you in NZ in the near future (OMG we're really going!!!).

Debs

[Cardy]

hello were flying via singapore on 7th march from heathrow ,which airport are you going from. We fly at 22.15pm . It would be funny if were on the same flight. Paul Bev and Kids :cheers

[kiwidebs]

Funnily enough - we're on the same flight!!! We decided on the night flight in the hope that the kids would sleep. How old are your kids. Ours are 2 and 4. You'll notice me, I'll be the tired stressed out brunette, walking (running?) up and down the aisles after the cheeky, chunky two and a half year old boy who'll talk to anyone and everyone (and probably followed by the skinny curly haired four year old girl who wouldn't say boo to a goose.Anyone else on this flight (or are you all rapidly changing flights after reading this??)

Debs

[Cardy]

hello theres a turn up for the books youll recognise us. Me and bev will look really stressed and we have 3 gingernut kids Ben 14 and twin girls emma and laura aged 11. there all nearly as big as me they dont look 11 and 14. We thought the night flight would be best to try and keep them as near to there normal sleep times as possible ,probably wont work when they get on the games consoles on the plane but worth a try.Maybe we will get to have a chat. Weve got gb liners in 2nd and 3rd march so we are probably staying at relatives after that until we fly.Where are you heading for in NZ. we are going to Orewa first but depending how job selection goes may end up in Nelson ,not much difference eh only an island. :cheers Paul And Bev

[K&CS]

Good luck Debs! We're not on your flight - we fly on Feb 27th, but we've just missed Wendy and Dazza by one day!! Glad you enjoyed Rome. Life's a bit mad at the moment, isn't it?

Kate

[Timbo]

Onya Debs, great news. Sorry I missed this thread till now, and I sincerely hope that you have a better experience with PSS than we had. I posted some details on the recent shipping thread. All I will add here is that, if the surveyor that called on you was named Ron, and Australian, it may be worth getting a second opinion.

[kiwidebs]

Hiya Timbo. Nope, never came across Aussie Ron - we had one of the managers come out to us for our original quote. And everything fitted in the crate with room to spare. The packers seemed pretty good - but the proof will be at the other end when all our wedding crystal is still in one piece I guess.

Debs