Well we're in the new house now. We've made the major purchases and everything we ordered has been delivered. Yesterday we bought a nice new telly and a few other things like a hoover, ironing board, kitchen stuff, etc. Our fridge, freezer and washing machine came today. We've also been given a form … read more

I haven't posted for a few days as it's been a bit hectic emigrating and all that. I'll try and catch up now starting with our stopover in LA. Also, I haven't had chance to upload the photo's yet so I'll update this post with our photo's in a few days... We started our first day in LA with an … read more

I wish we had chosen a relaxing beach stopover in Hawaii! We're all absolutely exhausted after a long weekend in LA, much of which wasn't that great if I was honest.

Disneyland was pretty good yesterday, although we nearly never made it (more about this later), and we enjoyed Santa Monica pier, but the rest of the experience was generally overrated and disappointing. I haven't got time to go into now as the battery on my laptop is about to run out and Rach has packed away the travel adaptor in one of the cases, which are in storage until we head off to the airport later today, and I can't be bothered to go searching for it.

Next stop Brisbane!

I'm pleased to say we've safely made it to L.A. with all 7 cases. I admit it was a bit of a nightmare yesterday. Why oh why did we take the train and not get a hire care or taxi (my fault)? I'm just glad we made the decision to get the earlier train. We left Retford at 9:30. The train arrived into … read more

We've said the final goodbyes today and now we're all packed and ready to go. The taxi is booked for 9am tomorrow to take us to the station - us and our 7 cases. That's going to be fun and games tomorrow getting to Heathrow. I thought it would be fun (for Lauren) to get the train instead of getting … read more

I've said goodbye to my family and friends, with much heartache, and now it's time for the worst goodbye of all - I have to say goodbye to my Lexus! It's the first really nice car I've owned, albeit only on a 12 month lease. It's the new Lexus IS 220d - it has a Start button and everything! Given … read more

We've just said goodbye to my Mum and Dad as they set off on their hols to the Dominican Republic. It's bad timing on all of our parts but I guess we had to say goodbye sometime, it wouldn't have made any difference whether it was today or Thursday. I've been feeling sick all morning knowing what … read more

I'm suffering now after 2 nights of excess, particularly last night. I took close family and friends out for a lovely meal at Emilio's, an Italian restaurant in 'posh' Bawtry. There were 17 of us in all. It always amazes me how Bawtry has managed to turn into such an upmarket village given it's … read more

I went out for a few beers with a couple of mates last night in Doncaster. It was pretty quiet for a Friday night - the torrential rain might have had something to do with it although that doesn't usually put off the Donny folk. I can't say I'm going to miss Doncaster, or Worksop for that matter … read more

Everything went to plan yesterday and we handed over the keys to our house. We spent 6 years in that house and we have a lot of very good memories, not least the fact that it was the home we brought Lauren back to after she was born. The neighbours were great and we've swapped e-mail addresses so we … read more

I've just finished my last day of work in the UK. I can't express how good it feels. It was such a relief to unburden the workload - passing it on to some other unlucky contractor. We had a 2-day handover period and by the end of it the new contractor looked like he was ready to do a runner. I don't … read more

After a very busy weekend we have finally fully packed up and moved out. The shippers came today and carefully packed and boxed the items we're shipping, taking them away to await the next shared container bound for Brisbane. We officially hand over the keys to our house on Thursday. We're staying … read more

We've booked our Hotel for L.A. We're going to be staying in the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel which is right in the heart of Hollywood - with the Walk of Fame, Mann's Chinese Theatre, and other attractions literally on our doorstep. Our itinerary isn't fully decided yet but at the moment we're … read more

Happy birthday to my Mum who is 50 today! We're all off out for a Chinese tonight to celebrate (or commiserate?). She doesn't know yet but I've bought her a Virgin Balloon Flight with my Dad which I hope she'll love. read more

We've had confirmation today that we will exchange contracts on the 3rd May with a completion date of the 10th May. And I'll be finishing work on the 11th May. So much to do, so much to do! Don't panic, don't panic! read more

Originally uploaded by darylhai. I took this picture on the way to my hotel after work today. It was pissing it down while I was dragging my case behind me through puddles after a very long hard day at the office. It was good to see nonetheless. Just as I was thinking how good it was to see that … read more

It's starting to hit home that we're leaving now after a busy weekend inventorying, packing, and selling. We're not actually shipping that much to Oz in terms of furniture, but our personal items alone equate to half a shipment crate (roughly £1500). For a while now, I've been using www.listal.com … read more

We've just started to put a number of items up for sale on ebay - items which we either don't want to ship to Oz or which it wouldn't be economically viable to ship to Oz, like our dining room table. It breaks my heart to let the dining room table and matching lamp table go for such a low starting … read more

We went over to a friend's house in sunny Barnsley yesterday for a BBQ. It was a glorious afternoon sitting out in their ridiculously large garden drinking wine until the sun went down. It's amazing to think that this time last year there was frost on the ground! What a happier place this country is … read more

And another thing.. Is there any need for Manchester Cathedral to have a full hour of bell ringing practice every Wednesday night - it's so bloody loud. It's not as if they play a tune, it's the same constant repeat of what seems like random monotones. It's enough to drive a man crazy. God damn … read more