Leaving Party

Last Saturday was our leaving party - which we had in true Miller Style, at home. It was supposed to be only a couple of weeks til we left, but unfortunately we are still waiting for our interview date from the US Embassy in London, so we are at a bit of a standstill! However, we kept the original party date as lots of people had arranged to come and Sarah and Andy were travelling from Norfolk for it, too!

It was really nice to see lots of our friends and family turn up. Unfortunately there were a few ill people who couldnt make it - but I'm hoping that they will make it to my leaving do out in Leicester (which will ALSO be early!!)!! This will be less civillised than the party - I'm sure!! - but I DID spend most of Sunday feeling very ill trying to recover from the Long Island Ice Teas which I have become infamous for making!! They had to come out that one last time ....... ! We eventualy got to bed about 3:30am and I was up at about 7:30am with the twins so lack of sleep probably helped to account for how I felt the next day.

Of course, much drinking and eating was followed by Buzz! (in which I came a pitiful 8th out of 8!!), and then Singstar. Singstar ended up being me, Sarah and Sarah, vs Geoff, Pete and Michael. Girls vs Boys. People seemed to scarper a bit when the mics came out. Hmmmm ..... I wonder why????? I was particularly dissapointed when Paul went home as I was hoping to get him singing!! Pete and Michaels duet of The B52's 'Love Shack' was particulary entertaining, especially as Petes voice seemed to go about ten octaves higher during his girlie bits!!!! Unfortunately I didn't have enough forsight to video it but it IS saved on my PS2 memory card! The pictures aren't great but a few were taken so I've put some on!

Earlier on:

How civilised does everyone look??

Paul's Ventriloquist act??!!

And then the trumpet played - it was like this...........


Tut-tut, Naughty!!!!

Mmmmmmmm Pizza...............................

I guess we ran out of food before Becca got hungry.......

...but Tico escapes - just to confronted with a hungry Sarah!!!

Singstar time:

Pete fancies himself as a bit of a rockstar!

While a sleepy geoff tries to sing, a distraught Kel tries to revive the Hippo!!!

Howdy Y'all!

Geoff lived in Austin from the mid 1990's til flying back home to be with his family (he was lonely!) in 2001. Naturally, while he was out there he made some friends, some of whom I have met, and I will be relying on these people, especially the Brits, to be helping me get to grips with my new life.

Tim, Goreti and Agnes. Geoff and Tim met when Tim was a contractor, rather than an employee of Emerson - Geoff's Company - and before he went and worked in Brazil for a bit where he met his wife, Goreti. Its not long since we saw these three as they recently came and spent a year in England (great for Tim as he is originally from Birmingham!); they flew back to Austin in July. Really cannot wait to see them again!!

Stuart and Anne Marie. Although Geoff knew of Stuart (again, as an English Emerson employee) he only really got to know him through Tim. The three became firm friends, and Geoff and Tim were ushers at Stuarts wedding to Anne Marie - a true Texan girl! They now have 3 kids, Zoe and Daniel are great. And now there's baby Matthew who we are really looking forward to meeting.

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Ian and Shazia. Geoff and Ian were friends before Austin as they worked together at the Leicester office and moved to the States at around the same time. Ian and Shazia also met at Emerson - the Austin office this time - but Shazia went back to being a student in the late nineties and has about a zillion phd's or something, now! Since we last saw them they got married so I'm really looking forward to seeing some piccies.

Amir and Sarah. Both originally from England, and again Amir and Geoff met through work. Sarah is lovely and has already been helping me to find my feet by keeping in contact with me and answering any questions. We won't see as much of these 2 as they live in Houston, which is about a 4 hr drive from Austin, but we are hoping to have a few long weekends with them. They have 2 children, Kameron and Amber, who are great fun and totally chalk and cheese!

Will be thinking of you all ....

There are lots of people that we will be leaving behind and will miss very much - I'm very lucky to have some great family and lots of wonderful friends! There are too many in fact so here are just a few of the people we will miss the most (I apologise in advance for the quality of some of the pictures - they will be updated!)

My Family:

My brother Pete. We are about as close as a brother and sister can get and he is taking the move pretty hard. Pete is also a brilliant, and doting, Uncle to Thomas and Charlotte. I will be expecting lots of visits from him and his girlfriend Kelly - in fact they have both already booked time off at work to come and visit us in August 2008!

My cousin Michael and his new wife Leanne. Michael is pretty much like another brother to me. Leanne and Michael got married this summer and have been together for over 5 yrs now. I warmed to Leanne instantly - she is really really lovely, great company and good fun. We have become very good friends as well as family.



My other cousin Kenny. Great guy, his mother would be very, very proud of him and the way he has handled the last year. Works far too hard and has lots of early morning starts tho so its not always easy to catch up with him!! ;-)

Gaynor, her partner John and my nephew and niece, Harry and Lucy. Okay, well where would I have been over the past few years without Gaynor?! Probably locked in a padded room! This is one of the few people who seems to understand me and she has been there for me on more occasions than I can remember. Gaynor is without a doubt the first person I turn to and one of my very best friends. H and Lu are great kids and a credit to her.


My Friends:

Sarah and Andy. At the moment they live in Norfolk. Nights with this pair often feature watching a really bad horror movie and getting stupidly drunk!! Sarah is my oldest friend and virtually the sister I never had, we met at school and have been friends now for 17 years (since we were 11!). As a foursome we are so close that Geoff and I consider Sarah and Andy practically family - they are even Godparents to Thomas and Charlotte and they have already started saving up so they can come visit us.

Sarah (another one - Sarah F). My clubbing pal! My drinking buddy! Again, I have known Sarah since school days, we also went to college together and I often skived double biology on a Wednesday afternoon leaving her to fend for herself - a fact she has never let me forget! A night out with her these days often ends in a cheesy club, dancing, getting very drunk and getting home at a ridiculous hour the next morning - great fun!!!! A night in is usually spent drinking (drinking again!!!), eating and acting foolish - in some form or another (singstar usually comes out!!).

Selina and I met over 8 years ago at University, where we regularly used to skive off (particularly English lectures!)to go drinking - usually at Selinas house if I remember rightly! We became great friends and I even got Selina into a dress when she was my Chief Bridesmaid - Selina doesn't DO dresses!! I'm missing her and her daughter Aleigha already, as they moved to Thailand in the summer and Selina is now teaching at a school there having a fabulous time. Hoping to go and visit her next spring - missing them both tons so can't wait!!



I first met Paul when he and Sarah shared a house at Uni(about 8 yrs ago), and by the end of the night we were having a huge drunken argument about Buffy (yes Buffy, I know - sad!!). Since i have gotten to know him though, Paul has been one of my main confidantes. He is a fantastic guy, a total nerd (sorry Paul!), someone who I trust completely, very short, and I take partial credit for his taste in music!

Radha I got to know a few years back through a mutual friend. She is my Thunder Pal and great fun on a night out - although she tends to stay far too sober! Sarah F, Radha and I used to frequent Fan Club on a Friday night (80's night!), back before I was married, and Radha spent her time pulling 18 yr olds that looked like they belonged in Boy Bands!




My Twin Mummy Mate Catherine. This woman has been a total rock to me, and her twin girls, Grace and Katie, are gorgeous and great friends with Thomas and Charlotte. I met Catherine through Sarah F as they both work together teaching at the same school. We will really miss them and our trips out and about, and I expect to recieve regular pictures of the girls as they grow up.



Sarah F introduced Laura to me a few years ago after they met at Lincoln Uni and the three of us (with Radha) used to regularly go out on the town. We still get together for a meal out at night whenever we can, but its a much more sensible and sober affair than it used to be!! Laura is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I know, a great friend.



I went to the same school and college as Stella and Linz but didnt really know them as they were a year above me. I actually met them through Radha. They are both a great laugh; its hard to catch up with Stella as she is always working or booked up well in advance - a popular girl! But I still see lots of Linz and her son Tyler, who is only a month younger than my two.



Sharon I met when we worked at Express Dairies. I often used to skive from my desk, (as she worked reception and then in IT and I was upstairs in Accounts) to go and have a chat and a cuppa with her. She is very bubbly and lots of fun - I love her to bits. We dont see each other as often as we would like to these days, down to one thing and another, but when we do its like we just saw each other the other day.



Zena is another person I met through work; when we were both working as lowly Clerical Assistants at Express Dairies. We hit it off instantly and, although Zena was only temping for a short while - before moving on to bigger and better things! - we have stayed friends ever since.

We are emigrating!

Well, as you all know by now Geoff, Thomas, Charlotte and I are moving to Austin, Texas in January 2008. Its not really sunk in yet and I keep having up days (excited about the future!), and down days (scared about the whole huge prospect of emigrating!). We have talked about whether we will come back to England, and have come to the conclusion that we will see how we feel in a couple of years. It will be best to make the big decision when the kids are 4 - which is the summer just before they start school - and it gives us a good long chance to really see what life is like out there (although Geoff lived there for five years before he met me so he already has a good idea and is very excited!)

At the moment I'm just trying to get my head around leaving. I was terrified of telling my family and luckily my Mum and Dad have both been fine about it. My brother Pete is taking it quite hard tho, but at least he says he will come and visit us.

This Blog will be a good way to keep in touch with the many people that I love and will miss (admittedly I DID steal the idea from Selina, who has recently moved to Thailand!) and I will be expecting everyone here to also keep in touch with regular emails and posts from 'sunny' England. In saying that I'm sure I will miss the weather here when its constantly baking in the middle of July and everyone in Austin is hibernating indoors with their air conditioning!