Technical Issues...Grrrrr!!!

Ah technology, it's a wonder isn't it?! Well, when it's easily accessible or doesn't let you down. We moved house in December (as you may already know) but Eliot and I are still living with my parents due to the house STILL not being ready to move in to :(
My parents don't have the internet so I can't use my laptop here, we do have internet at the new house but when I am there I am painting/DIY'ing and then I need to get back to my parents for Eliot, so I just don't get the chance to blog!
I have been relying on good old 3G on my iPhone but this is where technology has failed me. All of a sudden it decided it wouldn't open Youtube videos, connection slowed down majorly and some of my apps have been 'waiting' for the past week or longer, meaning I can't access them. Google+ is one of them. Sometimes I use G+ to add photos to blogposts from my phone which I obviously can't do at moment. So this is partly why my blog posts are somewhat lacking but I'm also not a fan of using my iPhone for blogging as the screen is small and sometimes it's a pain to do tags amongst other things as the screen jumps back and forth. I have an appointment with a 'genius' at Apple on Monday so I hope they can rectify the problem!
Anyhoo, as well as explaining my technology dilemma, this is a post to say I'm still here and hopefully at some point in February I will be able to blog properly on my laptop! Fingers crossed!!!

The Move=Stress & Dirt!

We moved on the 19th December, the run up had been stressful as I'd expected when moving. De-cluttering, sorting, packing seemed to be endless but I was looking forward to getting into our new home.
When we arrived we were focused on getting all the furniture and boxes in. However the state of the carpets jumped out immediately and the removal team kindly agreeed to help us remove them there and then. Once we'd waved the removal team off we could really see the state the property was left in. It was filthy, weeks upon months upon years of dirt. I honestly don't know if the previous owners cleaned in the whole six years they were there. You might be thinking didn't we notice when we viewed the house? In all honesty, no! I do remember thinking I would've hoovered before showing people around and that was it.
 The sad thing about it is that the house was brand new when the previous owners moved in and they didn't look after it.
I began to clean the kitchen that night, it was grim to say the least. Dried on food on the worktops, in the cupboards. Hair, salt, glitter and god knows what else in the drawers! I gave up when I'd done one half of the kitchen after spending ages scrubbing the tiles which had some caked on grime that didn't want to come off. And why should I clean someone's else's muck?!
I knew the previous owners had signed something to say the house would be left in a clean and tidy condition. Thank goodness that the solicitors had included this in the documents! If you are buying a property I strongly advise requesting this is put in the contract if there isn't something in there already. Make sure you are covered!
The following day was a Saturday so I couldn't speak with our solicitor. We were meant to be picking Eliot up from my parents and bringing him back but there's no way we would be able to. As well as being dirty, the sharp grippers were exposed after pulling the carpets up and everything was still packed.
I cleaned Eliot's room and one of the bathrooms but it was just unsuitable to bring a toddler there.
So we made the decision that Eliot and I would stay at my parents until the house was sorted. The OH would be between the two.
When Monday came we spoke with our solicitor and sent photos through, she contacted the sellers solicitor to inform them they were in breach of contract. They responded saying they were willing to pay for the property to be cleaned but the cleaning company they'd spoken with would be closed until the 5th January.
The next day I had a hospital appointment which had been preoccupying my thoughts. It was also the day our solicitors would be closing for Christmas.
The last contact we had via our solicitor was asking for proof of the cleaning quote so we knew it wasn't being plucked out of thin air. We also wanted to compare with any other cleaning companies we spoke to.
Being the festive season obviously meant that lots of businesses were closed for a set amount of time. This meant the house was left dirty over Christmas and New Year. Which in turn meant the majority of our belongings were left unpacked.
We were both racking up travel costs   doing the 100 mile trip between there and my parents.
To cut a long story down, the situation was on its way to being concluded last Friday. After lots of back and forth between the solicitors   the previous owner also agreed to pay compensation for travel costs, stress and inconvenience, as well as covering the cleaning costs. We spoke with a litigation solicitor and citizens advice who both said we had a strong case if we were to take it to the small claims and we were totally prepared to do this.
The property was cleaned on Saturday which meant we could start decorating, carpets have been ordered and we had already bought a new kitchen which is being installed at the end of the month. Slowly but surely we seem to be getting there, I just want to move in properly, just as we should have done on the 19th December.
I came to the conclusion that the previous owners must not know what clean really is. After all I would be utterly ashamed leaving my home in that state for someone else to move into. I honestly don't know how you could live like that especially with children. Family and friends were also shocked after showing them photos.
Moving is stressful enough, I certainly wouldn't want to experience a dirty house on arrival again

Did you experience any issues when moving?

My Sunday Photo 11/1/15

We moved house on December 19th but we're still not all in there yet due to the way it was left and making the decision to decorate before moving in. Eliot and I are staying at my parents, the OH is back and forth between the two. 

Here's a photo of my boys chilling out and watching Peppa Pig on the iPhone!

                                                         

My Sunday Photo 4/1/15

Monday sees the return of Broadchurch, series two has been eagerly awaited by fans of the first series including myself. I was totally gripped from the first episode. It is also a bit sentimental as I was pregnant with Eliot when it arrived on our screens before. Every Monday at 9pm myself and the OH would be glued to the screen, me with my growing bump. I'm hoping this series is as good as the first!

What I Was Most Thankful For At Christmas & Happy New Year!

Christmas is a time of year I love, the build up especially. But this year my excitement was clouded by a worry. We were moving on the 19th which I of course expected to be stressful. However it wasn't just the move that was on my mind. For a while, I'm not even sure of an exact time scale, I had what I can only describe as a full feeling in my left armpit. At first I put it down to the underwire of one of my bras digging in.

 Time went on and I began to feel concerned about this 'full feeling' I was experiencing.
I don't check my boobs properly, I never have. I know most will be screaming 'why?!'
 I'm aware of how incredibly important it is to know your boobs, check them regularly and look out for any changes. But I physically can't do it, yes it's stupid, it's ridiculous that I can't perform a potentially life saving act that takes a few minutes. I have tried, prodded around but it freaks me out, it's a bit of a phobia for me.
So needless to say even though I had this strange full feeling I couldn't examine myself properly. I asked my OH to have a prod, he couldn't feel any lumps.
Eventually, a couple of weeks ago I booked an appointment at the GP's. I began to feel very nervous as it approached, knowing I would have to be examined, terrified incase something of concern was discovered.
I'd specifically made the appointment with a female doctor as I felt more comfortable with a woman. She asked me about my symptoms and then examined me. My right side first, all good. Then my left side, the 'full feeling' side. She found a lump.
I could have burst into floods of tears, I'd already convinced myself it was something sinister. Even though the doctor told me she wasn't 'particularly worried' she was referring me to the breast clinic at Guys hospital. She said I would receive an appointment within two weeks.
The next day I received a phone call from the clinic and an appointment was made for 23rd December.
In the days running up to the appointment I was feeling very anxious indeed. I had all sorts of scenarios running through my mind. Searching symptoms only fuelled my concerns and I convinced myself the clinic suspected something was up after booking my appointment so quickly.
The 23rd arrived and I had that sickly  feeling of worry in the pit of my stomach. When the OH and I arrived at Guys we made our way up to the breast clinic, as we approached a woman walked out visibly upset accompanied by (I assumed) her daughter. This added to my nerves as did entering the clinic where leaflets and signs with information about breast cancer awareness were everywhere.
The first question the doctor asked when I was called in  was 'how are you feeling?' I told him I was nervous and he was quick to reassure me that at this stage he wasn't concerned. After explaining my symptoms he examined me and agreed that there was a difference in my two boobs but he didn't mention 'lump'. He said he still wasn't worried, there was no family history of breast cancer, at my age it is rare but he was routinely sending me for an ultrasound to check that everything looked normal. He was very confident that nothing of concern would be found, I began to feel more at ease.
We walked down the corridor to the scan clinic and I was seen fairly quickly. First my armpit was checked and I was told it was fine, it was normal. Then my boob. When I heard  there were lumps of fatty tissue which were completely normal, the relief washed over me. I was/am so thankful, grateful it was nothing serious. I am thankful I celebrated Christmas with my family without anymore worrying and thankful I am entering 2015 with good health.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a very happy and healthy 2015!!!