Settling in to Shreveport

I have been trying to sit down and post for over a week now and I've just been so busy and had so much going on with trying to settle in, I just haven't had the time. I've also had my list of things to do to get a new layout and change the "look" of the blog since we are no longer in Scotland. I will hopefully get that done later this week.

So the first week in Shreveport hasn't been that bad. I've been busy, house hunting and just trying to get settled in a little and getting over jet lag! But it's been a productive first week. I found a house. Jeff is working in West Virginia so he looked at houses with me online. We are just waiting on final financing stuff and hopefully get a closing day for mid August. Underwriting is taking a little bit right now, so we are just hopeful it will be sooner rather than later. The house is great and I think it'll be a great home for Jeff and I for some time to come, or as long as we are in Shreveport/Bossier City.

Adjusting to the weather hasn't been that bad. It's hot here, please don't get me wrong and humid but I really thought I would have a lot harder time acclimating back than I have had. I'm not ready to go run a marathon in the weather but I can get out and about, do things and not mind it so much. It does rain here often right now, but the kind of Southern rainy days where it down pours for 15 to 30 minutes and then it's just hot and more humid than it was before it started raining. I guess some rain is better than no rain though. I will admit when we get that afternoon shower I am less tolerate of the heat and humidity.

Our sea shipment is well on its way and our air shipment arrived last week. I can't wait to get the car back and be a bit more free to go as I please. Of course last week I had a rental car and I hit some of my favorite missed spots like Super Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and I even got to the nail place for a pedicure and manicure. And my most favorite thing was getting to my old hair stylist in Tyler and getting my hair cut and colored. I know this must all sounds superficial but it's the things like this that I don't need but it's sure nice to have when you've not had it in a long time. I also got to see some of my Tyler peeps! And the food.........oh man......I had Mexican food last week and I it was fab! And I got my Chic-fila fix too! I'm looking forward to Jeff being home soon and getting a chance to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast one morning for some real hash browns and then to get some yummy cajun food! Yes, I'm probably going to gain weight before I lose weight. lol

So we are settling in and the fur kids are doing great. House hunting has been a success and I am thankful for that. I can't wait to get completely settled in and I am hoping to find a job soon too.

I promise to post pictures soon, I just want to get a chance to get settled in and then I'll hopefully get some pictures of the house posted as well as some pictures of various Shreveport/Bossier City things.

Moving Day

Well moving day is upon us and as I sit here typing this out the movers are here packing things up. Seems I'm not doing my part if I am on the computer and they are working, huh? Well.........truth is, this is the part where I get to sit back and relax a bit. Jeff and I have spent weeks preparing for this move. You pack what you don't want packed, you sell off the things you don't want to take, you make an inventory list and you make more list of things that you need to do like turning off utilities and calling the many people to let them know of your new address, etc. Then you separate all the things you want to go by air and you pack your bags for your trip so those things don't get packed in the sea shipment. Your life belongings get all wrapped up and packed away and they load them up to ship and it takes about 6 weeks for you to get your stuff. For Jeff and I this also means the car........it goes by sea too and arrives in 6 weeks with all our household belongs. And the thing is, to most this probably seems like not such a big deal, any of it, because after all someone else is doing the actual packing and loading and unpacking. But it's all the prep and the various things that you have to do special for an international move that make it a bit more stressful.

But the good news is that short of cleaning this place up tomorrow when they are done.........this part of the move will be behind us and my part is done for now. Of course once my feet hit the ground in the U.S. the search will be on for a home. Hopefully we find something quick and something that we like and can be ready to move into in 6 weeks.......when our stuff arrives.

This will be my last blog from Bonnie Scotland. I've enjoyed my time here, but that's not to say it hasn't had its trial and tribulations. The winter here was not that great but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The summers here are fabulous and I dread the hot Louisiana summer. But I am looking forward to getting back to the states and settling there. I will miss the friends I have made here but I hope to stay in close contact. And the one thing I can tell you that I will not miss about Scotland..................those dang spiders all in my house! lol

See you all on the flip side!

Summer days

I've been trying to spend my last days in Scotland enjoying the mild summer weather and soaking up as much time with my friends here as I can. I think back to a year ago this time and I couldn't wait for the moment to get to go home. But over this past year I've developed some great friendships and learned to appreciate my surroundings. The friends I have made I hope to keep for a lifetime and the appreciation I have developed for Scotland I hope to take with me on to any place I ever live and give each place the same sort of appreciation.

The weather here has been pretty great lately. We've had mostly sunny days, though a bit windy at times and temperatures around the upper 60's. We did have some rain on Sunday and it actually came with thunder, which is some thing I have only heard one other time since I've been here.

So I hope to get some more pictures up this week. I am hoping to get out to hike tomorrow and hopefully snap a few great pictures along the way. It will probably be my last hike here, so hopefully the weather will hold up!