Week 2 in Austin

On Monday this week we got together with Anne Marie again. It had been spring break last week (similar to half term) which is why Zoe had been around, but on Monday it was just Daniel and Matthew. She took us to a little Italian restaurant called Fazilios and then across the road to Chick-Fil-A, so the Kids could play in a playscape, and then we got Ice Cream. It was a lot of fun, especially for the kids.

We also put our application forward for the house we love. I had to write a very ‘gushy’ letter about how much we loved the house, how perfect it was for us etc. Well it worked anyway as later that afternoon I had a phonecall to say we had been approved (Yayyy!) and we could start the lease as early as Wednesday if we liked! We declined that offer and decided to go for the following Friday (28th). We didn’t even have any furniture yet. But I cannot wait to get into the house….

By Wednesday I had been here for well over a week and was desperate to get out so the Twins and I went for a walk down the road to an outlet area. We went to a big shop called ‘Ross’ – v cheap! I bought the kids a couple of outfits each for only a couple of quid, and some bits for me. It’s a bit of a potluck place – u can find some real bargains if you sort through it all. In the eveing we went out to a place called Fresh Choice, which is a buffet place. It starts off with all the salads and you kid yourself you are being really good and healthy. Then you come to the pasta … and the pizza … and the cakes … and the ice cream – the battle is lost!

The macaroni and cheese was soon forgotten about when the ice cream and chocolate brownie appeared!

Friday I got a nice surprise, when Geoff turned up at lunchtime and said he wasn’t going back to work that afternoon. (We live so close to Emerson that Geoff often comes home for lunch. Sometimes he brings me a Subway, or a bagel from Einstein Brothers, or something just as delicious – if I’ve been a good girl! ;-)). His boss had told them all the go home; I guess the staff had all worked so hard the previous weekend that he took pity on them. Over here Good Friday and Easter Monday are not counted as bank holidays, so I wasn't expecting to see much of Geoff over Easter. We decided to go for a drive to find a nice park, as the weather was really nice but not too hot. We got a bit lost but came across a really nice man made lake by a school. It had a big green to run around on, and some tables, so it would be lovely to take a picnic there. There were lots of geese and ducks, and even a bloke randomly fishing – he stayed for about 10 minutes before driving off… After there we decided to do a bit of furniture window shopping to get some ideas of prices. Exciting, eh?

Random fisherman!

That evening we went over to another friend’s house for pizza, wine and nibbles. It was really nice to catch up with Goreti, Tim and Agnes. Agnes had fun playing with Tom and Charlotte, she was being ‘Big Sister’, which gave the adults a bit of a break! We were all up very late – we didn’t get the kids to bed ‘til about 10pm.





So another week has nearly gone - and we havent even got to Easter weekend yet!

Our First Week In Austin

Monday
Well we have arrived here in Texas! Our journey started at 5.30 on Monday morning when the taxi picked us up to took us to Gatwick. My Mum came with us as not only did we have 4 cases to check as luggage, 4 bags as hand luggage and Thomas and Charlotte (who were pretty disgruntled to be woken up at such an hour ;-)), we had the cats in huge kennels. We figured we would need some help at the airport. But from the moment we hit the motorway there was a problem. We were not going to make our flight at 10.15am, let alone check in! When we told the driver what time our flight was he told us that it was not enough time to get there! It turns out that both Emerson and the Taxi company messed up, as they should have booked the taxi for 4.30am - cue panic! We rang American Airlines, en route, to see if there were any other flights going to Austin that day, and luckily there was one a couple of hours later with loads of space. So the minute we got to the airport we had to go and get our tickets changed over. The lady behind the desk was really nice and she didn’t charge us, we should have had to pay $100 a piece. Panic over. We checked our luggage, got the kids changed, said good bye to the (very distressed!) cats, and got some lunch. By the time we had finished it was time to board the flight.

Normally I love flying, but I had never flown with a pair of toddlers before! They refused to sit still which was a real pain when the seatbelt signs were on, and they just wailed to be set free. They also refused to try and get some sleep. Luckily the flight attendants were very helpful and understanding – I guess they have dealt with plenty of unhappy, tired toddlers in the past. We flew to Raleigh in Durham on the East Coast of the States, instead of to Dallas as we would have on the original flight, and had about an hour to get through customs and on to our flight to Austin. That was a bit of a rush! Thankfully the kids did get about an hour’s sleep on the second flight – they were so tired and I felt so bad for them.

Geoffs friend Stuart met us at Austin airport to help with everything, which we were very grateful for. We picked up our hire car and travelled to our apartment, which is very nice and pretty big by US standards. It’s pretty open plan with a living, dining, kitchen combo. It has a big sofa and chair, with a TV, DVD player, a desk and a table with 4 chairs. The kitchen is fully equipped with on oven, built in microwave, sink with food disposal, fridge, a washer and a dryer. Our bedroom has a double bed, bedside tables, dressing table, an en suite bathroom with double sinks, bath and shower, and walk in closets. Thomas and Charlotte are sharing a bedroom at the moment and have got a single bed each, a chest of drawers and a walk in closet. The main bathroom is the same as our en suite but with just the one sink. The apartment is also hooked up with phones and broadband.

By the time we got back to the apartment we had been up for around about 26 hours and we crashed out. We were very tired but that’s okay – we always expected it to be a long tiring journey. And at least we had arrived safely and soundly.

The Main Complex Building

Entrance to our apartment

Bit pants but just a shot of our apartment to give you a bit of an idea
The views of the quarry lake from our patio

A couple of shot of the grounds

The friendly squirrel that we keep seeing around.

Tuesday
On Tuesday I woke up at around 5am thinking it was much later. We are 5 hours behind the UK here, but I wasn’t expecting jetlag as I have been to the states a few times before and have never suffered from it. I guess I must be getting old! Geoff had the day off so we did all the basics. We went to the bank to get me added to the account Geoff had set up 2 weeks previously. We went to toys’r’us to buy the kids a few toys and basics like booster seats, kiddie plates etc. We went and picked up some groceries from a local H.E.B., which is similar to a co-op with a deli counter for all those from the UK. And, most importantly of all, we had lunch at IHOP (International House Of Pancakes), which is one of my very favourite eateries in America. They do the most amazing breakfasts there, (I love the omelettes) and with everything you order you also get pancakes. We went for a walk around the complex our apartment is in, but we were too shattered to do much more than that so in the evening we just slobbed in front of the TV and tried to concentrate on American Idol!

Wednesday
Geoff went into work on Wednesday and the kids and I hung around the apartment ‘til lunch, when Geoff came home and I went to look at a couple of houses (neither were quite right). When Geoff got in from work we went out for dinner at Luby's, which is a buffet kind of place. Geoff describes it as ‘cafeteria food’ and it was a lot like being at school with a plastic tray and pointing out food that you wanted behind the counter. The Spanish accents were so think that I could not understand some of the servers and ended up pointing! Then we went to check out a new shopping area called Arbor Walk. It’s a bit like Fosse Park, if Fosse Park was in one long strip, and is huge. It has restaurants, shops, coffee shops, a play scape, everything you could want! One thing that hasn’t ceased to amaze me yet is how cheap everything is. The mark up here looks exactly the same, so for instance a pair or trainers in England might cost £45. Th exact same trainers here would be priced up at $45. But when you take the exchange rate into account it comes to £23ish, and I can’t help but walk around doing calculations in my head!
Thursday was pretty uneventful again – we stayed in but went for a walk around the Quarry Lake which our patio has a view of. Its really pretty and lots of people (not me!) go running round it – even in temperatures of nearly 100 degrees!

Friday
On Friday I went to view a few more houses at lunchtime. Its generally sunny here and a nice temperature, but on Friday the temperature sky rocketed to temperatures in the late 90’s. Anne Marie, Stuarts wife, They have a girl called Zoe who’s in school (2nd Grade I think) and also a 3 year old (Daniel) and a 1 year old (Matthew). It was really scorching, so the kids had great fun playing in their paddling pool, while we sat and watched from the back porch, and chatted. Another friend came over to play with Zoo and her Mum stayed too. It was really nice to talk to people from Austin, they gave me loads of tips on where to shop and take the kids, where to eat. They also recommended a paediatrician and a paediatric dentist. We stayed for pizza when Geoff and Stuart got back from work, and didn’t get home ‘til gone 9pm. The kids were wiped out and it was a great day all round!

The weekend
On Saturday we went to look at a house together, one of the ones I viewed on Friday. I loved it but wanted Geoff to see it and see if the kids liked it too! They did which is not surprising as its pretty impressive. It is 3,488sqft with vaulted ceilings, 4 bedrooms (it also has another huge room, which could be a game room, but we will probably have it as a play room) 3 and 1/2 bathrooms, garden, breakfast kitchen, 3 car garage. The master bedroom is so big that I actually don't know how we would fill it. And it has its own little indoor balcony on to the rest of the house - how cute???! We don’t need a wardrobe as it has amazing huge walk in closets;, as do all the rooms. Its in a nice neighbourhood, close to work for Geoff and close to a school, a park/playground and pool, so its perfect. I can’t believe its still on the market. I think it must be to do with the pictures on the net, as I almost didn’t even view it based on those. Bad for the owners – good for us!

That afternoon Geoff had to go into work so we went and got a burger at Wendy’s (like McDonalds but nicer) chilled out in the apartment, and went for a walk around the Quarry again in the hope of feeding some ducks. But there were none around and it was 84 degrees out so we came back after about half an hour. That night we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. The food was delicious and I will definitely be going back!

Sunday Geoff was in work AGAIN from 8am ‘til 4pm. I am assured this is highly unusual. Emerson has had a really bad time with one of their customers so it’s all going wrong at the moment. Unfortunately it meant that our first weekend in Austin was a bit pants. When Geoff did get home though we went out to the Arboretum where we fed the ducks (including some strange bird that looked like a cross between a duck and a turkey!). The Arboretum is a place that people always talk about in Austin. Its like a big area full of coffee shops, little boutiques and shops, restaurants etc. It has an outdoor eating area with a big green and some nice stone cows (!!). It’s THE place to be - especially when you have children!

The Turkey-Duck bird at the Arboretum pond

The weird stone cows that al the kids love to play on!

I don’t have a car yet or even anywhere to drive! Plus the roads terrify me! They are nothing like in the UK so I don’t understand all their rules... I think I’m gonna have to have a few driving lessons just to get a handle on it.

I think that Thomas and Charlotte think they are on holiday as they are running around wearing summery clothes in a new place, but I have had a lot of tears so they are a bit unsettled. The cats are ok - they just seem fed up with being indoors. They took a couple of days of cowering under beds to get used to it but seem more normal now. Myself, well I’m not sure if I feel like I’m on holiday or whether this feels like its becoming home. It took me about 5 days to get used to the time difference, which is to be expected. It still feels a bit weird but everyday I’m here I do feel a bit more settled and am getting used to life here. Not a very exciting start to my life in Texas I’m afraid folks, but I’m looking forward to having some adventures when things at Emerson die down a bit!

Is this really happening?

I havent updated for a while now, but it all went bit quiet on the move side. I can’t believe how delayed everything has been. We were supposed to be out in Austin for the middle of January, but as it is Geoff has only just gone out for his initial trip today.

We had our official ‘interview’ (as they call it) at the American Embassy on Tuesday 12th February. Geoff and I travelled to London where we spent ages in various queues, had to sign various official documents and forms and were finger printed. There was no interviewing at all, and at the last window the man behind the glass just said he had approved us, and we would receive our passports with our visa’s within a few days – they turned up on the Friday.

When you change jobs or campanies in America its standard practice to have a drugs test before you can start employment – which is the main reason Geoff will be spending this week in Austin. Whilst he is out there he will also set up bank accounts, get used to his new desk and meet some of his colleagues, as well as checking out some houses we have been looking at on the internet. Geoff will also get the keys to, and check himself into, our new apartment. Emerson are putting us up in a rented apartment for up to 2 months, while we look for place to live, so it’s a good idea to get a head start. The apartment complex we will be staying in is called The Estate on Quarry Lake and looks very swish. I’ll add some pictures once we are there, as I’m having trouble downloading them from the website. But to give you a (very brief) idea the community amenities include a ‘high tech fitness centre’ (gym to me and you!), a spa area with jacuzzi/hot tub, 2 pools, landscaped gardens, sand volleyball court not forgetting the 16 acre natural spring lake which is the central feature of the complex and looks absolutely gorgeous.

The only problem with this particular complex is that it only has 1 & 2 bedroomed apartments and we really need 3 bedrooms because of The Twins. They are used to having their own rooms at the moment, and I’m fairly sure if we put them in the same room they would get hardly any sleep at all. I'm also sure that this is what it will be like while we are living in the complex - Thomas and Charlotte running around their room playing all night long!! So we really want to get into our own place as soon as possible in order to get settled and into a routine.

The worst thing we have had to deal with so far has been trying to sort out which airlines and airports will transport the cats with us. The airline we wanted to travel with, which flew from Birmingham and was therefore only a short drive from here, said that they would not let the cats travel with us, we had to pay from an International Pet Cargo Company (or whatever-they-are-called, it was a bit confusing) to take them. As well as buying the cargo carriers this would have cost us well over £1,000 (nearly $2,000)! After calling some other airlines we found that there were plenty that would let the cats travel with us for $110 each - much cheaper! - but they are only airlines that travel from the airports in London! So we are now travelling from Gatwick, on a Monday morning! Hell!!!

To be honest at times I have wondered what would be fairer for the cats - re homing them or taking them with us - as this journey will be horrendous for them. But Tico & Checkers are part of our family and the thought of leaving them behind just isn't an option - I'm sure that over all they would rather be with us in the end, and I'm sure they will really love lying about in the sunshine a day long!!

It has all felt a lot more real since the trip to the American Embassy, things seem to have snowballed from then. Initially very scared I went and bought a couple of books to try and get me into the whole idea of Texas, and Austin, and I’m pleased to say they seem to be working. I’m still terrified and apprehensive, but also pretty excited by what the future holds in store for my family and I. Texas sounds pretty wierd but anyone who knows me well will know that would appeal! ;-). Our house is up for rent now and our flights are booked for 10th March – that’s two weeks today! There’s no going back now, and all that’s left to do is pack!!

OMG, I’m moving to Texas!!!!!!

Texan Night

Last night was Texan Night - my last big night out on the town with my friends. And in honour of me moving to Texas - Cowboy land! - we dressed up as Cowboys and Cowgirls!! Well, most of us did, but some people said they were skint and couldn't afford the outfit, hadn't had time etc etc. Really, it was just an excuse to not do dress up!

A few of us went and did the whole outfit, though. I borrowed some extra hats from my niece (Thanks Lucy!), and so we made a few people wear them, and I had bought some holster and gun sets so i gave them to some of the guys - they had great fun with those - and some American flags to wave around! I was wearing a big pink hat myself, and a pink bandana!! Jacqui and Radha took their cameras, and I had a disposable one (too scared to take the digital in case it got broke or lost!!) and there were lots of pics taken. I couldn't decide on which to put on so you will find a lot on here.


The night started at Ask - one of my favourite restaurants in Leicester, and lots of wine got drunk before we had even ordered food. I had already pre-warned the staff that there were a bubch of Texans coming, but I think they are used to Hen Parties and such so they didnt even bat an eye! From there we moved to O'Neills where we had arranged to meet up with Michael, Leanne, Paul and Bex. Thats where the night started to get silly, with poses with the guns and flags. And I was asking everyone if they would miss us or would they forget about us! There were lots of shots of 'yee-haw' and 'nice hat!' from random people.

ASK:

Left hand side working up the table, then down on the right (tho u can't see everyone on these pics) - Kelly, Pete, Catherine, Jacqui, Sarah, Radha, Sharon, Dave, Jenny, Me, Gaynor, Becky, Kenny, Amanda, Gareth.

O'Neills:
Some random guys who took a shine to Cath. Or maybe it was just her Hat!

Charlies Angels!
Michael thinks hes back in the Army ... I just hope the guns were a BIT bigger there, Cous...???


Looking very sober

We lost Leanne so we went on to Lloyds next to find her (!!), she was partying with her mates! And from there Sarah, Radha, Jacqui, Paul, Bex, Amanda, Gareth and I went on to my favourite Leicester club - Envy - leaving the rest drinking their way through the bar in Lloyds. I was a bit behind the others and I actually got ID'd on the door (its over 23's but I'm 28!) - luckily I had rememered my Driving Licence.

Once in I set about trying to get us a bottle of bubbly to celebrate and they kindly gave me one at the reception in Liquid (the other part of Envy). I'm not sure what it was, it must have been very cheap, but it had bubbles in it so that was fine by me - I'm such a Lady! And a bit later on, as I hadn't bought a drink all night, I treated my mates to a bottle of Champagne - the expensive stuff. I think that was the point that my Cowboy Boots were hurting me so much that I took them off and danced barefoot - the Champagne bubbles must have gone to my head!

Envy:

Who???

The free whatever-it-was!

And now for the Real Champers!

The Texan tradition of sticking the Stars & Stripes up your mates nose!
I felt so ill the next day that I was convinced it must have been a nasty bug I picked up - but it turned out to just be the hangover!! I remember Radha bundling me into a taxi at about 3am, while I was complaining that I wanted food (I was HUNGRY after all that dancing!) - I guess I had embarassed her too much by that point and she just wanted to get rid of me LOL - and I think she was definitely the soberest one there!!

All in all it was an ace night and I even got a dedication from the DJ himself - he aptly played '5,6,7,8' and 'Cotton Eye Joe' in honor of the move to Texas, I found that hilarious! A little emotional at times but I managed to keep myself in check. I had such a great time, and I think so did everyone else!

And this picture HAD to go on here, as it sums the night up perfectly!!