Next time you move, try doing it after a blizzard

This post is for my one follower. Thanks for being a fan! LOL.

The news I was alluding to in my last post was that we bought a house! We had a signed contract back in early December, but our sellers wanted a 60-day close, so we decided on a random Thursday in February, thinking, at least it won't be really hot when we have to move! Hahaha, what jokers we were. We also scheduled our move for that Saturday, thinking--the house is move-in ready, so why wait?

To our horror, just days before our scheduled close & move, the DC area endured one of the worst blizzards in its history, evident by the multiple creative hashtags. Snowmageddon. Snowpocalypse. SnOMG. Snoverdose. Snoverkill. Snowtorious B.I.G. Three feet of snow dumped on an area that normally freaks out over 3 inches. Both of our employers closed their offices for four straight days: Monday through Thursday. At least we had plenty of time to pack!

When Thursday came, we were able to get to the house for the walk-through, and we stuck to main roads driving out to the attorney's office to sign all the paperwork. I used my 4WD in the barely-plowed parking lots & side streets. I've never had to use it before.

After a successful close, we were homeowners! But the move was two days away, and the streets were still a mess. Would our moving truck be able to get through? On Friday, I marched into the county offices to make sure our moving permit was still valid and ask whether signs would be posted on the street, reserving a place for our truck. A very nice employee said he would go straight there and post the signs right away. By noon, the signs were up! Full marks to the county for coming through for us, even after they had been closed several days that week.

Next, I borrowed a snow shovel from a friend, went to our street, and shoveled for 2 1/2 hours. The street had been plowed, but not very well. I tried to shovel as much as I could in between our no parking signs so that the truck could get as close to the curb as possible. Then I shoveled the stairs & walkway back to our small yard, just in case the movers wanted to come through the back. And of course I had to shovel a path through our yard to the door, which was no small feat, considering our tiny yard looked like an above ground pool filled with snow. Some of the drifts were as tall as me.

Saturday arrived, our movers showed up to our apartment building on time, loaded up the truck, and we made the drive to our new place. Miracle of miracles, they were able to park on the street, and there was just enough room for one lane of traffic to get by around them. That didn't stop a crazy neighbor from calling the cops on us, though. Even though traffic could get by, the cops made our movers move the truck over another couple inches. Inches, people! Stupid crazy neighbor!

When it was all said and done, the move only took 4 and 1/2 hours total, which we thought was really good considering the conditions.

We've been homeowners almost a month now, and we LOVE it! It is so nice to actually have some extra space (we went from 950 sq ft to 1700 sq ft) and not have all your possessions sitting on the floor. Plus, we finally have a guest room, so visitors no longer have to sleep on our couch!

A year ago today . . .

we had landed in London for the start of our three month adventure. I admit I woke up feeling kind of blue this morning. How could it possibly have been an entire year ago? It makes me feel old and homesick, except I'm sick for a place that isn't home. I've slacked off on this blog because, well, it has made me sad to look at all the entries about our adventure and know that it is over (and I've also slacked off because I'm a horrible procrastinator, but that's another blog entry).

A year ago today I remember riding in the van from Heathrow into the city, feeling very relieved that we had actually made it with all of our luggage (three suitcases, two carry-ons, and three laptops) and relieved that our flight, the most turbulent flight I have ever been on, was over. (Thank goodness the over two-hour, nonstop turbulence started around 1 a.m. so that I was too exhausted to be frightened).

I remember looking out the windows of the van and seeing London for the first time--patches of snow that our driver pointed out as unusual (which was comical, considering we'd experience the biggest snowstorm in London in 18 years a few weeks later), funny looking road signs (not to mention the whole driving-on-the-left phenomenon), and how different the buildings looked. Street after street of rowhouses and old apartment blocks--nothing like what we have in the States.

I've shifted so far back to life here, that I have to forcibly correct my memories of this first day: the driver was sitting on the right side of the van, not the left. And it is difficult to not romanticize the entire trip. I had plenty of blue days in London. Even though I was so grateful that my employer allowed me to work at home from our flat, I did get lonely sometimes with no one to interact with during the day. I also hated working a shifted schedule, from 11-7, because it meant having to work for 2 hours after M got home. Finally, we didn't have any friends in London, so it could be isolating at times.

All those caveats aside, the trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am so thankful that I was able to go. I was able to visit so many places and create so many memories, not only with M, but also with the numerous friends and family members that visited during those brief three months. I need to stop feeling sad when I look back at the pictures because I miss it, and start feeling happy that I had the experience at all. :-)

Now, if only M could work on getting that attaché position in Frankfurt . . . (just kidding, M!)

There will be more trips and more adventures for 2010, and a big one coming up next month. Stay tuned!