and the beat goes on....

...so, we are both on our notices at work and have both paid for our visas... this is suddenly very real... and pretty ace!
I (matt) gave my notice in last Thurs and it works out that my last day will be June 30th. Pretty cool as the next day we can celebrate (or die) on our hot air balloon trip over Cheshire.
Trace has got her visa pretty quick, but cos i'm such an audi I have to go through the whole Bunac hassle of form filling and more expense. That'll teach me for being born too soon.
Had a cool weekend of relaxing and watching Scrubs. Also, managed to fit in a trip to the beach to see the sea. It was freezing!
We sold the last dregs of our bits at the car-boot on Sunday. Once we move out of the house we will own the clothes in our bags and that will be it!

keeping on top of the little things...

... i like this blog stuff, its a handy thing to keep all your important bits of info together. For example, the links at the side are great cos we can just put anything up there and get to it quickly instead of surfing.

The BBH one is a great site and I think we'll be using their accommodation quite a bit. Especially, when some of the hostels are like this...

We've also got our travel email address sorted now, which is traceandmatt@hotmail.co.uk

Incidentally, to stop you losing this site (Alan and Tony!!), when you first load it up by typing in the address we gave you... hold down the 'Ctrl' key and 'D' together and it will be saved to your favorites, or bookmarks. Then you won't need to type it again.

But apart from messing with this and trying to get bits in order, everything is *touch wood* going well. We had the work done on the house that was needed so hopefully next week we will have a date to move out...

Whilst this is brilliant for us and what we have been working and waiting for for the last 18 months, there is one downside. When we go we have to give up our little Jet...

We know she is going to a good home and will be looked after by her Auntie Saggy and Cousin Beth, but it still won't be easy. I know from the first moment we brought her home and she shit (diarrhea too, not just normal cat crap!) on the bed a bond was forged that would be difficult to break.

However, knowing that she is going to be raised at the finishing school of Saggy and Beth, does somewhat make things easier.

welcome to the start...

... well, today things have really started to happen. Trace has given her notice in so there's no going back now. We are off to New Zealand at the end of July for sure!

... anyway, the beginning. I'm Matt, 33, and from Nantwich, Cheshire. Trace is 24 and from Crewe, Cheshire. We met over 6 years ago whilst working together at the cinema in Crewe (the Apollo Cinema.... blurgh!).

Since we got together we have always talked about going away and doing some traveling, but due to degree commitments and work stuff we just never got around to it. But now, after loads of hard work, we're nearly debt free and the time has come that our plans reach fruition.

The plans so far are starting to look like a year in New Zealand on a working visa, followed by a year in Canada on a similar scheme. We are then hoping for 10 months in the USA, which, if everything goes my way (m@), will be followed by 12 months in China working as teaching assistants on a little island apparently very similar to Hawaii. Which, would then leave us Europe, South America and of course Oz.

However, these plans are likely to change as we are forever finding new things to distract us! All we know for sure is that 1 year in New Zealand will be happening... hopefully, from the end of July.