Beautiful scenery and Mongolian yurts- yes please!

Wow- okay (will Rich live to regret granting me blogging privileges!?) Here I am!

Earlier this year I nervously tiptoed into my Head's office and found myself effectively leaving my job this Summer. Bit scary, there were a few sleepless nights beforehand and even now the odd occasion when I ask myself- was that really a good idea!? However, after 'doing lunch' and having an impromptu planning session yesterday with Mr Colley and the delightful Ms Redmond, I am well and truly excited again! In particular, photos of the scenery and food that we'll encounter on our travels are getting me motivated. I have wanted to do this for a number of years now but unfortunately either not had the money, the travel companions or the time. As I am only on a maternity cover at the moment- that solved the time issue, my job was ending in June. The money situation was never going to be perfect but I figure I'm generally poor all the time anyway ;) and here I am- blessed with two wonderful travel pals- who seem to think they can put up with me for three months and I'm not going to argue- Russia, Mongolia, China and Nepal- Here I come!

As a result of my renewed enthusiasm my jabs have been booked, or a least a 'consultation' -I may not need any/many as I had the full set before going to Thailand only a few years ago. I have also been making (duh duh duhhh) financial plans and grumbling at my bank accounts, wondering why my money doesn't spontaneously duplicate itself!? The only solution is to tighten my belt, stop buying beautiful things and possibly try to sell some of my cra- less used possessions! Whatever I do, it's worth it and the more we plan the more I can't wait! Roll on July!

Vaccinations, Valuations & Vacancies.

Things are starting to get very real!

Last week i had my first appointment at the doctors to work out my vaccination schedule. I've got 9 injections coming my way over the next few months. Going for Hepatitis A / Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Rabies, and Tetanus / Dipheria / Polio. They are all covered by the NHS apart from rabies. As the UK is a no-risk area it is not covered so i have to pay £130 for the pleasure. A couple of people have said that as long as you take precautions to avoid animals, even if you do get bite, then the post-exposure vaccine is mostly successful. However, after seeing some video's of rabies victims with Hydrophobia i have decided to have the pre-exposure jabs for peace of mind. Apparently, hydrophobia isn't just limited to water, but includes wine and beer...

On the hosue front, i have booked 3 valuation appointments for next week to see how much my house is worth and find a suitable estate agent. It was quite amusing as each of the agents asked who else i had been talking to and then proceeded to slag them off. I just nodded and smiled politely. Better get cracking and have a bit of a tidy up.

Finally, my job has gone onto the internal vacany board at work! Since being posted, all the people that didn't realise i was leaving have been coming to congratulate me and saying how jealous they are :) I know of 2 people that have applied, as i spent some time talking them through what is involved. I guess interviews will be scheduled soon and hopefully i will have someone to shadow me in the next couple of months.

Its going to be a busy month.

Rich x

P.S. I did try and get a picture for this post of the nurse giving me my first Hep B jab, but she just gave me a strange look and carried on. I'll try next time.