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A Perfect Day

On 玩花蒂跪趴把腿分到最大 29th, I married Ian. It was a long time coming, since the circumstances of our situation required us to work with immigration to obtain permission for us to be married in the United States, and for him to remain with me afterward.

Our wedding ceremony was exactly what we wanted: something meaningful and heartfelt. The judge’s words touched me from the very beginning, causing tears to stream down my face. For that moment, the world melted away and it was just the two of us, standing together, making a committment to love, honour and be faithful for the rest of our lives, no matter what.

I stood there thinking, as well, about all of the time that we endured the immigration trials and tribulations, and this moment, which we really worked for, was finally here and happening, after 7 months of being separated and waiting to be together again. It was our moment and it was right and surreal, in a sense, and perfect.

Afterward, many tears and smiles and laughter everywhere amongst the people who were able to attend. I really missed the people who couldn’t be there.. Ian’s family and friends and my friend Jane. We were thinking of them all, and we hope to celebrate with them next year when we return to England (can’t wait!).

We had photos taken, we went to dinner at the Upstream restaurant in the Old Market, and then spent the night at the Hilton Garden, where there happened to be a jacuzzi in the room.

Of course, we were quick to update Twitter and Facebook. Hey.. we’re techies. What can I say?

Two days later, we made a return trip to the courthouse to pick up the certified copy of our marriage license. Being in that place again made me weepy. We needed the marriage certificate so we could file a new set of paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; our Adjustment of Status paperwork, which will allow Ian to remain for 2 more years. After 2 years, there’s a bit more paperwork for his 10 year green card, but nothing seems so difficult when you’re together to work on it.

Thanksgiving has come and gone

We cooked up a huge feast for Thanksgiving, and it was lovely. Thanksgiving, for those of you unaware, this is a holiday where we celebrate a moment in history where the (British) Pilgrims and the Indians came together and had dinner in celebration of their combined decision to “make peace, not war”.

The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans.

We cooked a mixture of US and UK recipes, including Yorkshire pudding, cornbread stuffing, turkey, roast potatoes and a salad which includes acini di pepe, whipped cream and strawberries. Oh, and apple pie. Good stuff.

Well, off to do wedding stuffs! Getting married tomorrow. The pastry chef wants to know where the cake topper is. 🙂

Busy Weekends

I think we spent most of Saturday out of the house. It was “engagement photo day!” (check the sidebar gallery) where we had some nice photos taken and also got to learn about photo upselling at JcPenney. We wondered why the photographer had us pose in “Twister”-like formation. Turned out it was to get a fancy Christmas snowglobe shot, which we weren’t even there for.

Tip for photography: Only do the poses you want to do

We spent hours walking the mall, talking and planning for the upcoming weekend (wedding!). We picked up bits and bobs on our “oh crap, we need to remember not to forget this” list. We had lovely food (I have a new-found love for mushroom risotto.. and finding the risotto in the market) and watched odd tv shows. It was fun and relaxing. 🙂

TLK was back on Sunday in time for pork stew, which was very nice. We kept telling her those orange things were sweet potatoes, but she didn’t believe us. “They’re carrots!” LOL

Tonight, it’s off for the hopeful H1N1 vaccine for TLK. We’ll wait in line for ages, but at least we can say we’re trying, even if we don’t get in. Ergh.

Monday is my last workday for 8 days. Yay! Getting married Sunday (YAY!) My parents show up tomorrow morning (Yay!)

Saturday Wanderings in Art-Like Formation

Ian and I had a lovely day yesterday. He decided to do some driving and even got on the motorway. At the end, he always says, “No crashes! Another good day of driving!” 🙂 Yesss…. hehe

We were off to meet the lady I’ve hired to do my hair for the wedding. She was really encouraging, which I’m thankful for, because my hair is just difficult.

More shopping (at the mall, for wedding things) and then lunch at M’s Pub, where we indulged in wheat beer, lamb salad and maybe some escargot. 😀

We took a tour of some Old Market art galleries, including this one, which kept us busy looking for awhile. There was a lot to like there, including ceramics, glass panels, masks and paintings. I think my favorite artist was the one who did wood sculptures out of walnut.

It was a good day. I think we may be planning to run off to Joslyn today, after doing a few things around the house.

There IS no laundry fairy.

People can be arses

I had quite a rough day yesterday (nothing Ian-related, btw). I don’t handle conflict well. My normal method involves quite a bit of being upset, being angry, being hurt, arguing my point, people ignoring my point and going on with their own and then my not being able to let go of it for a bit.

It takes me awhile to get over being angry or hurt. Does it you?

I was lying in bed this morning with a flurry of thoughts going through my head. I don’t feel like I am a strong person, but I want to be. Yesterday, I laid out a compromise plan and intend to stick by it. In this case, no one can make me (or us) do what we don’t want to do. I hate feeling weak and feeling like I can be pushed around, because, even though I try to be nice and give people what they want, I’m important to, and frankly, I’m not going to be pushed around.

I was lying in bed trying to stop thinking about annoying things. I’ve found a few happy places to go to, like Ian’s old flat in Milton Keynes on the first day I arrived in 书房吸乳抑制低吟1v1 of last year. I was napping, thinking about how wonderful it was to finally be with Ian, and listening to the sound of the construction in the building next door. You might think this wouldn’t be too relaxing, with the construction and all, but the rythmic boom of what they were doing lulled me to sleep.

I said a little prayer and asked God for some help coping with things. I think what I need to ask for is more strength and determination.

In other, more happy news, having Ian here is wonderful, even though sometimes I feel sorry for the earfuls he’s had to have lately (at least they’re not about him). lol It’s good to have our little family together. Yesterday, I found Ian on the couch singing to himself. He was singing the “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m going to go eat worms” song. I was mad at my day at the time and opened up a book I checked out from the library so I could focus on.. anything.

A few minutes later, he was still singing this song, but I had no idea why. I looked up at the tv, and there was the “Hello Kitty” DVD playing. LOL. Poor man. I stopped the DVD, and then we both realized we’d missed Flash Forward, but there was still time to see Grey’s Anatomy (part of it) and The Practice. I found a beer in the fridge. We split the beer, watched TV and went to bed.

We went shopping last night. We bought a new DVD player and some presents for Ian’s birthday, which is next week. Exciting! 🙂

Have a good day, people. Tell all the bad people to take a flying leap. You’ll thank me later.

Our First Weekend

We had a lovely weekend, in part thanks to the warm weather. Yesterday, we packed TLK’s bicycle into the trunk/boot of the car and went up to the lake. She peddled around the walking trail while we walked. Walking is so much more relaxing and fun to do when you do it as a couple, or as a family.

At one point, TLK was cycling carefully down a steep path and Ian walked beside her, holding onto the middle of the handlebars to prevent her going too fast. It was at that point when I thought, “We are doing little family things together and this is what it’s all about.” You have to love it when plans come together and life morphs into a wonderful thing.

When we got home, we (and I mean “Ian”, mostly) cooked a roast dinner that was… to die for. Honestly. Roast pork, potatoes, honeyed parsnips, orange (flavoured) carrots and Yorkshire pudding. Not only was it cooked, but it was also cleaned up after, which was loads of work! I offered to help and I was shewed out of the kitchen.

I plan to do my equal share, honest. I AM cooking this week. I may have to hide the utensils to do it, though. 😀

All I have to say is: Life is fab. We’re getting married in just a few short weeks (yay!), then we’ll be working on Ian’s temporary green card. I started working on the paperwork ages ago for a sort of “There is something I can do while we’re waiting for these other bits of the fiance visa process to finish” therapy, and it’s nearly ready to be looked over by other eyes than mine.

I just thought I’d let you know I’m still alive. 😀

So, one tip

for Americans who choose to shop with English citizens: Prepare an autobiographical summary of the UK citizen before going to shop.

This will significantly narrow down questions from sales staff, such as:

Where are you from, if you don’t mind my asking?
How did you meet your fiancee, seeing that you lived 4,000 miles away?
What about that political incident in 1953 when there was that thing that England did?
Let’s talk about the upside and downside of the NHS, ok? Because we might be headed in that direction.

Where exactly IS Milton Keynes?
Any other question involving something only a UK Citizen would know… petrol prices? Riding the tube? Gordon Brown?

After jewelry store #4, we hit the Verizon kiosk to talk about cell phone coverage. The sales girl was mid “I don’t know anything about Verizon. I’m a former Alltel employee” when she also had loads of questions about everything English.

I guess after 4 hours of searching for wedding rings, I may have lost a bit of my sense of humour. 😀

All fixed with roast chicken, wine and several “I love you’s” from Ian. 😀

So, here was my morning

I woke up at 5:30 and went directly to my computer because I knew Ian’s visa should be in his hands by now. And, I have 3 emails. One says, “Yay! I have my visa!” One says: “I booked my flight!” The other says, “Here’s my itinerary!”

LOL.

It was the best morning ever. 🙂

He’s arriving Sunday. THIS Sunday! Like… 5 days from now. So excited!

I have purchased enough things to make cottage pie and part of a full English breakfast. I know a shop that has the rest of what I need. Sorry, though, honey. I think you will have to eat American baked beans. 🙂

I have 3 days off next week. We are going out to drive on the wrong side of the street (his, not mine).

BTW, Visa process from start to finish? 7 months. Whew! Glad it’s over!

Approved, At Last!

What an amazing day! Ian and I have been working since April 1 just to get a fiance visa to the US. Approval came today after an interview at the US Embassy in London (thank God!). We are currently waiting for the visa and Ian’s passport to show up via courier. It’s anticipated this will be a 5 – 10 day wait. Then, he’ll fly over soon after.

We are finally able to be married in the US!

I cannot wait to see Ian again. It feels so very good to be at the end of this part of the process. I’m thankful for all of our friends and family who supported us along the way, and for those people who have become our family at VisaJourney.

Now, hurry up and get us our visa and our plane so we can make some solid wedding plans! 🙂

Odd Little Day

Monday mornings are not built for keys being lost and being 1/2 hour late for work. Things seemed pretty calm after that. I got to cover help desk, which kept me busy. I learned a bit about visual basic programming. I asked some people for a favor and they happily obliged. I laughed with Ian. I tried to set a record straight. I was surprised by an act or 3 of human kindness.

It was a day.

There are only 8 more days till Ian’s visa interview. 8 days!