Where to start....

Well, while moving home is fun and exciting (and also a little scary too)... I must also say that packing is just so mind numbingly boring...

I started the moving process by trying to find a removal company that didn't cost the earth... This was harder than it might seem. Before I decided I was moving back to Ireland, I had planned to move within the UK, and removal companies were relatively cheap, but I also planned that I would probably rent a van and do the move myself after bribing some friends and siblings in to help....

With the destination now considered International it became a little more hassle, so I searched around and eventually, after contacting 47 companies found one who would do it for a reasonable rate, would offer insurance for the goods in transit, and would be able to do the move when I needed it.... GREAT!

Once I'd got the removal company booked up, I started the packing with all the non-essential items... then I had to stop as I was using everything else all the time....

So, with packing on pause I started sorting everything out for the move and doing the paperwork for the flat sale....

But now as time ticks on the moving date has changed from 'soon' to NEXT WEEK and as panic begins to set in there still seems to be quite a bit to do.

So, I spent all last week sorting through stuff... I really don't want to pay to ship stuff that I will only throw away when I unpack, and I also kinda figure it's a good excuse to have a good clear out... after all, I'm starting a new life, so why bring all the old baggage with me.... ;)

I didn't count on it taking twice as long doing this, because you stumble upon that photo album you haven't seen in forever and spend an hour flicking through the pages.... and you have to try on all the items in your closet, just to make sure you want to throw them away....

hmmm, but I might wear it sometime...... (I don't think so)....

I've made a little rule for myself, that if it doesn't fit me (I've gone down 3 dress sizes in the past 18 mts) or if I haven't worn it in the past 12 months, then it's going in the charity shop.... being a hoarder it's painful to do, but it works...

Mr Tom (my cat) has been pretty unsettled since I started this whole thing... At first he thought it was fun, he could snuggle up and sleep most of the time.... but now he hates all the disruption, and all the boxes around the place... and when he does bring in a mouse and let it loose, the little thing has a million more places to hide and takes forever to catch....

It's funny how my tolerance levels for mice have changed since getting Tom... the first time he brought in a mouse I almost had heart failure... He brought it in and let it go in my bedroom while I was fast asleep, and then chased it round the room for an hour before I finally got out of bed to see what the noise was about.... I freaked out when I realised it was a mouse and it had hidden from him behind the radiator. Tom was sat there trying to get it out...

Well, I couldn't think of any other way to get it out, and I know it sounds mean, but it was 4am, I was tired and I had to be up for work at 6am!!! So, I turned the heating on..... yep, the little mouse was desperate to get out once it got a little hot in there!!!

Now a few months on, I've realised that Mr Tom doesn't kill the mice he catches... he brings them home and lets them go.... they play games, and it's weird... but I couldn't really expect anything less in the Friel house....

I've even gotten up in the morning to find Tom and a 'friend' snuggled up in the hallway..... I've become a pro at catching them without hurting or touching them, and I've learned to keep Tom's claws clipped, otherwise they get hurt and it's a mess to clean up in the morning...

I still don't like it when he brings mice in, but it doesn't freak me out anymore, and some of them are so tiny, and really, really cute.... ;)