Yes, it's been a month. And, it is still a month. Two ways to take that title, I guess.
This past month has been total chaos. We've been trying to get things organized in the house while trying to keep up with two children and their schooling, and a pregnancy.
So, with all we've been doing we have actually managed to do a few things. We've finally got (somewhat) a living room. At least, there's a couch, a chair, an ottoman, and a rocking chair. Oh yes, and let's not forget that we also have the piano in there! I think that may just be a highlight!! We've got the rats in there by the fire place, and Justin made the addition of a couple of finches to our collection of pets. No, I didn't ask for them! Regardless, they are very cute, and quite entertaining to watch. We're not sure if they'll hatch their eggs or not, considering how much we stressed them out in their little move. If they don't hatch them, then we'll just empty the nest and let them start again, I guess. We weren't going to get the particular female that we did, as she was the one with all the eggs, but when we discovered that the male we (I) wanted was mated with that female, and that the females mate for life, we thought we ought to get her instead of the other one we were going to get so she would at least be happy and not die mourning because her mate was taken away!
The dining room is basically our room of disaster at the moment. Our bedroom and the baby's room are starting to look half way to "normal" or whatever you want to call it. Organized? Hah. I don't know if that will ever happen! The kitchen is starting to get there though. Justin hung a bunch of hooks for my pots today, so that gets a large majority of things out of my way. Now I just have to figure out how to hang all my utensils! Then the kitchen will have a floor to walk on!
Oh, and while we were digging things out of the living room and dining room we finally found my school books! Now I can finish my course! Yay!! With the tidying and organizing and various other things that have been going on, I've been quite tired, however, so hopefully I will actually get it done. Most days I'm ready to crash around 7:00pm. That doesn't make it particularly helpful for Justin when he's coming home between 8:30 and 9:00, and I'm so tired that supper just isn't on my list of priorities (I'm normally so tired that I'm not hungry!). So, anyway... I need to really start planning out our menues, so that at least I will know what I'm supposed to be making, and maybe if it's all completely figured out I will actually make it! Most times we have a general "we'll have these seven meals this week" plan, but not a specific day and time or anything like that, which makes it so I don't actually necessarily make all the meals, because I'm tired and don't feel like picking one to make... I'm bad, I know...
I mixed up the dates of when some church stuff was happening, so while I thought we had a games night this past Saturday evening, I discovered it is actually this coming Saturday. That should be fun... it's supposed to be for the 18-40's crowd. I'm not sure just how many actually fit that age range. I know there are at least 10, but who knows how many will actually show up as well! Hopefully there will be at least a decent turn out. Oh, and the minister at the church was just an interim minister, and apparently his interim term was one year, and therefore he is leaving... as of this week. But, it really doesn't make sense to me-- they won't let the people of the church even keep in touch with interim pastors, because it "hinders the next minister's ability to establish himself in the church" or something like that. While I can understand that they don't want people putting things like "Well, so-and-so did it this way instead of that way" or whatever up in the new person's face, I don't think it is reasonable to say you can't contact/keep in touch with the pastor. I can't even think of any biblical basis for it. I mean, seriously, Paul wrote letters to all the churches he had VISITED, let alone ones he had stayed with for a year or more!
Anyway... yes, it is still one month to go until we are officially due with this little one. My prenatal went well on Tuesday, and they say the baby is probably of average size despite my small size. Apparently the baby is sitting very deeply, and so I may not show at all for the whole time. Considering we're only 3-4 weeks away from delivery (most likely... though I guess the baby could be late!), I guess there's a fairly good chance that that baby isn't going be doing much showing at all. All the stuff they measure is perfect, though my blood pressure keeps going down. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I'm going to have low blood pressure by the end of this! Oh, and I haven't gained anything between the last appointment and this appointment. No panic there though, lol. I guess it doesn't matter to them if I gain or not! So... currently we have a whole 8 lb gain, because I actually lost 2 lbs between the two appointments. By the time this little one gets out, I guess I'll be literally right back to my "prepregancy weight", possibly less, and probably still lose. Hmm... this could be interesting. I guess all my regular clothing isn't going to fit?? I'm still wearing it right now with what little baby belly I currently DO have! Sure hope it isn't going to all fall off... I'll have to take things in and buy new clothing... Anyway, all that I have left to do, is to purchase covers for our diapers. I should do that sometime soon, seeing as the baby is due in four weeks, lol!
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Quite a bit happening!
Well, the biggest news is... I am allowed to remain in the USA!
We met with the immigration lawyer on Friday, and he gave us a whole pile of information, and basically said "don't you dare leave the country, because it will be harder to get you back in once you're out of the country." So... basically, I'm now trapped in the USA instead of Canada, lol. We haven't submitted all the paperwork yet, because we need statements of accounts for a number of different things (internet, electrical, medical insurance, lease...), and we need the medical to be completed. They are being a little sticky with the lease though, so please pray they will get things figured out. We even told them a letter stating that they have known I was here since December would be fine (which they did know, because we registered my plate with them in December), but they aren't even necessarily willing to give us THAT! ARGH!!
When we submit the papers, we'll be submitting an application for travel papers, and for work papers, both of which will last until I have my official green card. I should be able to have those by mid-May (we hope!) at which point I need to head up to Nova Scotia to renew a few things to do with my car, lol. Maybe we'll be able to do a trip over the Memorial Day weekend, seeing as Justin gets that day off so it would be one less day he used up of his vacation time.
The medical has gone perfectly so far, as there were no problems with the physical (as by law the doctor is required to counsel for any problems he finds), and the TB test is clean (we're past 48 hours, before 72 hours, and there's no reaction at all... you can hardly even tell where it was to start with). I need blood work, and probably a tetanus shot, and that should be it... and then I have my "perfect" medical. I have to go back to the doctor on Wednesday for the completion of the medical.
On Friday, after we'd been to see the doctor, we stopped off to see a bit of Yorktown (I think that's how you spell it). We took a few pictures outdoors, though it was getting dark by the time we were getting there (it was about 5:30, so close to sunset).
A part of the old fashioned herb garden in Yorktown
The Episcopal church in Yorktown
Gazebo on the waterfront at Yorktown
We found a little restaurant that smelled sooooooo good we just had to stop. Considering it was supper time, it wasn't exactly unreasonable to be stopping anyway. So, we notified of allergies, and ordered our food. The food tasted GREAT! The only thing is, within fifteen minutes of finishing, I was having an allergic reaction to something. So, notifying of the allergy, and even the waitress guaranteeing that there wasn't any of the allergen in the food, did not prevent the allergen from being in the food. How ANNOYING! I don't think we'll be going back there, as they apparently don't know how to deal with allergies.
Justin pouring over the menu at the restaurant
The array of salt, pepper, sweeteners, and sauces at the restaurant
We are still enjoying the church we found, though I don't know about the Sunday school class. I think we might try out the "old people's" class, because the "young adults" class isn't really something we find particularly great. If we don't like that one either, we'll just go with attending church. Too bad the church doesn't have evening services as well... it would be nice to have a Sunday evening service to attend... We have been impressed by the number of children and youth this little church has (well, the building is large-- the congregation is rather average in size though). I think this past Sunday there were about twenty children, and another twelve or so youth (18 and under) in attendance, and they all love to be there! It's so nice to see people enjoying the fact they are in church, especially the young people.
We made a trip up to the beach yesterday after church, but it was so windy that I didn't want to get sand in my camera by taking pictures! It's supposed to be rainy and cool for the next few days, so I suppose I'll be staying away from the beach for a little while. Maybe I can make another trip up there next week. I'm so glad there's a nice beach only ten minutes or so away from us!
And... other than all that... I've got courses finishing at the beginning of next week, so I suppose I'll be working like crazy trying to get this course work all done! I'm almost done everything, but it is always stressful not being completely finished this close to the deadline.
We met with the immigration lawyer on Friday, and he gave us a whole pile of information, and basically said "don't you dare leave the country, because it will be harder to get you back in once you're out of the country." So... basically, I'm now trapped in the USA instead of Canada, lol. We haven't submitted all the paperwork yet, because we need statements of accounts for a number of different things (internet, electrical, medical insurance, lease...), and we need the medical to be completed. They are being a little sticky with the lease though, so please pray they will get things figured out. We even told them a letter stating that they have known I was here since December would be fine (which they did know, because we registered my plate with them in December), but they aren't even necessarily willing to give us THAT! ARGH!!
When we submit the papers, we'll be submitting an application for travel papers, and for work papers, both of which will last until I have my official green card. I should be able to have those by mid-May (we hope!) at which point I need to head up to Nova Scotia to renew a few things to do with my car, lol. Maybe we'll be able to do a trip over the Memorial Day weekend, seeing as Justin gets that day off so it would be one less day he used up of his vacation time.
The medical has gone perfectly so far, as there were no problems with the physical (as by law the doctor is required to counsel for any problems he finds), and the TB test is clean (we're past 48 hours, before 72 hours, and there's no reaction at all... you can hardly even tell where it was to start with). I need blood work, and probably a tetanus shot, and that should be it... and then I have my "perfect" medical. I have to go back to the doctor on Wednesday for the completion of the medical.
On Friday, after we'd been to see the doctor, we stopped off to see a bit of Yorktown (I think that's how you spell it). We took a few pictures outdoors, though it was getting dark by the time we were getting there (it was about 5:30, so close to sunset).
A part of the old fashioned herb garden in Yorktown
The Episcopal church in Yorktown
Gazebo on the waterfront at YorktownWe found a little restaurant that smelled sooooooo good we just had to stop. Considering it was supper time, it wasn't exactly unreasonable to be stopping anyway. So, we notified of allergies, and ordered our food. The food tasted GREAT! The only thing is, within fifteen minutes of finishing, I was having an allergic reaction to something. So, notifying of the allergy, and even the waitress guaranteeing that there wasn't any of the allergen in the food, did not prevent the allergen from being in the food. How ANNOYING! I don't think we'll be going back there, as they apparently don't know how to deal with allergies.
Justin pouring over the menu at the restaurant
The array of salt, pepper, sweeteners, and sauces at the restaurantWe are still enjoying the church we found, though I don't know about the Sunday school class. I think we might try out the "old people's" class, because the "young adults" class isn't really something we find particularly great. If we don't like that one either, we'll just go with attending church. Too bad the church doesn't have evening services as well... it would be nice to have a Sunday evening service to attend... We have been impressed by the number of children and youth this little church has (well, the building is large-- the congregation is rather average in size though). I think this past Sunday there were about twenty children, and another twelve or so youth (18 and under) in attendance, and they all love to be there! It's so nice to see people enjoying the fact they are in church, especially the young people.
We made a trip up to the beach yesterday after church, but it was so windy that I didn't want to get sand in my camera by taking pictures! It's supposed to be rainy and cool for the next few days, so I suppose I'll be staying away from the beach for a little while. Maybe I can make another trip up there next week. I'm so glad there's a nice beach only ten minutes or so away from us!
And... other than all that... I've got courses finishing at the beginning of next week, so I suppose I'll be working like crazy trying to get this course work all done! I'm almost done everything, but it is always stressful not being completely finished this close to the deadline.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Not a whole lot going on
Okay, well... I suppose there are a few things happening.
I'm working on Christmas gifts for my niece and nephew. They'll be getting matching (in different colours) sweaters and hats... and possibly mittens. We figured that would be appropriate for the time of year! Anyway, the yarn was super cheap-- like $1 a ball, so we thought it would be a very easy way to get a gift for less than $10 each. I've also made our birthday gift for our niece, which is a pink hat with a big pink and yellow flower on it.
We received the last form we need to be able to submit our reapplication for immigration, so we'll be meeting with the lawyer on Friday morning at 11:00. Hopefully we don't need anything more, and things can be submitted right now! Then we should receive an answer on the I-94 extension within five weeks, we hope, so a week before I have to be back in Canada. We're really hoping things are going to go through fast enough! We've discovered that though they have a "paper work reduction act" in effect, they have increased the amount of paperwork you have to do quite significantly! We have at least four extra pages to fill in and submit, not counting the new forms we have to submit (because we are doing something different than we did last time). YIKES!
I haven't really had much time to be out taking pictures, as I have courses trying to wrap up before I'm ready for that to happen! I'm struggling to get through the books I'm supposed to be done reading. I did choose to do my history paper on the Revolutionary war though (as that is the only part of my history course that I could find enough books on to do anything with...). Hopefully I'll have that done by Saturday. My mother hasn't sent my last paper back to me yet though, so I am kind of wondering when I'll see that one back!
Justin and I have found a church we think we'll be attending for the foreseeable future. It is a Presbyterian church, and seems to be the most solid, least liberal church we can find without going with something entirely unreasonable. They are also the friendliest and most helpful church we have found to date! We've attended two Sundays now, and the minister recalled things about us (such as the fact we are waiting on immigration papers) on the following Sunday. The people all seem genuinely interested in getting to know us (though maybe it is because we are the only young couple that isn't teenaged, and isn't over thirty??), and we've even got a few more suggestions to go on in relation to working on the immigration stuff. Apparently there are even lawyers and a judge that attend this church, so someone was saying they might talk to the judge to see if he knows of anything that can be done! Anyway, we do feel this is a good church, and have checked out almost all the churches that would be an option at this point in our area, so until we move to "South Side" we'll probably stay there. We're just not so thrilled with the adult Sunday school... but we don't HAVE to go to that!
Other than that stuff... I can't think of a whole lot that is happening.
I'm working on Christmas gifts for my niece and nephew. They'll be getting matching (in different colours) sweaters and hats... and possibly mittens. We figured that would be appropriate for the time of year! Anyway, the yarn was super cheap-- like $1 a ball, so we thought it would be a very easy way to get a gift for less than $10 each. I've also made our birthday gift for our niece, which is a pink hat with a big pink and yellow flower on it.
We received the last form we need to be able to submit our reapplication for immigration, so we'll be meeting with the lawyer on Friday morning at 11:00. Hopefully we don't need anything more, and things can be submitted right now! Then we should receive an answer on the I-94 extension within five weeks, we hope, so a week before I have to be back in Canada. We're really hoping things are going to go through fast enough! We've discovered that though they have a "paper work reduction act" in effect, they have increased the amount of paperwork you have to do quite significantly! We have at least four extra pages to fill in and submit, not counting the new forms we have to submit (because we are doing something different than we did last time). YIKES!
I haven't really had much time to be out taking pictures, as I have courses trying to wrap up before I'm ready for that to happen! I'm struggling to get through the books I'm supposed to be done reading. I did choose to do my history paper on the Revolutionary war though (as that is the only part of my history course that I could find enough books on to do anything with...). Hopefully I'll have that done by Saturday. My mother hasn't sent my last paper back to me yet though, so I am kind of wondering when I'll see that one back!
Justin and I have found a church we think we'll be attending for the foreseeable future. It is a Presbyterian church, and seems to be the most solid, least liberal church we can find without going with something entirely unreasonable. They are also the friendliest and most helpful church we have found to date! We've attended two Sundays now, and the minister recalled things about us (such as the fact we are waiting on immigration papers) on the following Sunday. The people all seem genuinely interested in getting to know us (though maybe it is because we are the only young couple that isn't teenaged, and isn't over thirty??), and we've even got a few more suggestions to go on in relation to working on the immigration stuff. Apparently there are even lawyers and a judge that attend this church, so someone was saying they might talk to the judge to see if he knows of anything that can be done! Anyway, we do feel this is a good church, and have checked out almost all the churches that would be an option at this point in our area, so until we move to "South Side" we'll probably stay there. We're just not so thrilled with the adult Sunday school... but we don't HAVE to go to that!
Other than that stuff... I can't think of a whole lot that is happening.
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