We've decided to move to Australia!!! 1st Blog!

Well hello, i suppose i am writing this blog as some kind of document of the great adventure i hope we will soon begin! Either that, or its like a written contract to myslef which says - now you have committed your plans to cyberspace you must follow through!

So exactly 5 days ago my husband and I decided to leave this stinking, rotten..... - she looks out the window for inspiration and sees the dappled afternoon sunlight on the pleasant leafy suburban view from her front room, well that really doesn't help! It should be raining and grey with groups of chavs and teenage mothers outside drinking white lightning and throwing petrol bombs through her letter box whilst mugging poor old Gwin next door as she hobbles to the shop for her fags. But no, right now its quiet and peaceful out there, the skies are clear and the sun is slowly going down behind the victorian townhouses over the road... with only the sound of the occasional group of seagulls squabbling over the contents of next doors wheelie bin.

BUT! It won't be long until everyone comes home from work and there is no longer a parking space within two miles of our house... and i'll leave my lovely high ceiling edwardian front room, in my lovely edwardian townhouse, only to discover that its not a house at all and that some clever sod thought he'd make a few bob by cutting it in half and confining a family to what is essentially one room and charging them a barely affordable price for it. And i'm one of the lucky ones - i tell myself!

So as i was saying, we're leaving! We've had enough!

But unfortunately its not as simple as that, it never is... because with us we not only have to take our dog and 2 cats, we also have to take my three step children, their half sister, my husbands ex wife and her new husband! Complicated you say? You don't know the half of it!

My husbands ex wife is Australian, and so therefore the 3 children, who live with their mother, have dual nationality. When they were together they decided to move to Oz, my husband went through the whole visa process and sold thier house... only to realise at the last minute that no matter where they lived, they still couldn't stand each other! As a result of this he has, in his passport a flippin visa.... that hasn't been stamped!

About a year or two ago when the children were with us they announced to us that they will probably be moving to Australia in 4years time, to which myself and husband flipped out and promptly told the ex that there was NO WAY she would be taking his children away from him. We felt horribly guilty because we knew they could have a better life out there - but for some reason, it never occurred to me at the time that we could go also?! I think maybe i was just too angry that they thought they could just take them without even consulting us! And Australia was 'her' country, and i'm ME, not HER!

But a few years later, we're married and i've grown up a little! A business opportunity in australia is on the cards, which got us thinking... and thinking... and thinking... until last night i said "ring your ex, i want to go!". Of course the moment i heard her excitment on the other end of the phone and them talking about visas it all suddenly became real and my palms started to sweat! What had i done???!!! Suddenly i had committed myself to moving to the otherside of the world... with the future of 7 peoples lives in my hands! If i change my mind, none of them can go!!! We can't go without them, and they can't go without us! So even though they are the last people i'd want to be at the same party as, it seems we're all emmigrating to Oz together! Probably to the same town!

Now before you all start saying (i say *all* as if i'm bestselling columnist)- "its your life, don't be pressured into anything" - i made the decision, if for any reason i really don't want to go, i won't! But the thruth is when the thumping heart and sweaty palms subside for a few minutes, i'm filled with excited butterflies at the thought that *I* am going to do something with my life!! *i'm* going to be one of those people i admire, who gets off thier winging arse and actually takes a risk for the chance of finding something better! If i don't, well it can't be worse than here....... can it???

So right now i am chasing up the transcript to go with my degree certificate, whilst hubby applies to become a member of the Australian Computer Society, which will qualify him for for the 120 points.

Sorry for the long rambling blog - but you didn't have to read it did you?! (you probably didn't.)