Kill Your Babies.

When you're in a long distance relationship you get good at things that some couples struggle to figure out. Like how to argue. 
Of course, everybody wants a perfect relationship where you never fight or fall out but that isn't reality. Adam and I did go a pretty long time without fighting but eventually the time comes when you disagree or you're just feeling crabby or you actively look for a fight. 

Yes, there have been days when I've just been looking for a fight. What can I say, hormones?

But we always get to realising that there is no way on earth that we can say goodnight mad at each other. Sure we've hung up the phone in annoyance but someone always calls right back. And we're actually pretty polite about it, letting each other have their turn. I sometimes keep notes so I can remember what he said and tell him just how ridiculously wrong he is when its my turn to talk.

But the best thing about being in a long distance relationship is that you get to talk. I love to talk, I'm a Gemini and we're all about communication. The husbandly one is more the dark, broody, strong and silent type. In fact, sometimes I feel closer to him, emotionally, when we're apart than when we're together. On the phone he's more inclined to sit and reminisce with me over fun times we've had together. And one of my favourite things to do is talk about when we met, how we felt about each other. So whenever he tells me again about those first flitters of love that we shared, I melt...and then of course, I wish I could have a hug but that's one of the downsides to being in a long distance relationship. There are many downsides.

We first met online when we were both a few months away from turning nineteen. At the time, I wasn't looking for a relationship and I certainly didn't think that I would have one with someone on the other side of the planet. Around that time I had, had about three unsuccessful dating experiences and I just figured that when the right person came along I would know. I would want to open my heart to them and make myself vulnerable. Well, I found that pretty quickly with Adam.

Even though we're still stuck doing the long distance thing (for the meantime anyway), I am so proud of us that we've managed to stay together as a young couple who didn't know how or when or if we would be together again. Most people change a lot between the ages of 18 and 25 and I think that despite the distance we've been able to change together. Or to at least learn to accept the changes that the other has made...that said, Adam is still secretly hoping that I'll come out of the closet as a Tea Party Member and leave behind my Liberal ideals. If it hasn't happened yet, I don't see it happening.

Perhaps this is the liberal inside of me or the young feminist I put away years ago but I was shocked to learn that the US government doesn't provide contraception for free. Obviously, they do in England. I pay for my other prescriptions but I don't pay for my contraceptive. As an adult, its not that I can't. I can. I have a job and I think at this age, its my responsibility to ensure that I don't have an unwanted pregnancy. If they wanted to charge me, I wouldn't complain.

I don't however, think that a girl of sixteen, eighteen, even twenty-one is necessarily in a position where they can provide their own contraceptive. Or even be aware of the variety of products and the different ways they need to be protected.

There are people who are opposed to free contraception for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the cost would be too great in a struggling economy. Please bare in mind the costs of treating someone who contracts HIV because they didn't know to or have a condom to use. Please bare in mind the cost of the state having to raise a child that was unwanted. Yes there is such a thing as adoption, yet there are still thousands of children across the country waiting to be adopted.

Other people are opposed to free contraception on religious grounds. These people also tend to be those who don't believe in abortion. For them it is simple. Sex should only occur in marriage. And why would you want to use contraception when you're married? And why wouldn't you want to keep your baby when you're married? 


Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. People do not confine sex to marriage...who says they should? Young girls aren't correctly educated on how sexual infections are spread and how easily pregnancy can occur. One of my favourite reality shows Teen Mom is clear evidence of that. I think growing up, I was pretty lucky, in that my mother explained all about the birds and the bees to me. Which was a good thing because in Catholic school, they only teach abstinence. By the time I finished high school I knew of two girls who had abortions. 

My opinion is simple. Contraception should be provided for free, for all girls aged sixteen to twenty-five. And this information should be confidential. Perhaps parents of young girls will disagree with me and dislike the fact that their daughter can get condoms or the pill without them knowing. I say, better that than a baby. I would however like to know the opinions of those of you who made it all the way to the bottom of this long entry! lol!


In response to my last blog post: I'm going to be moving to Knoxville, TN. Adam parents moved up there a couple years back so I've never been. I'm a little bit anxious about being in a new place, I'm not at all an outdoor girl (though the clothes look fun) having lived in a city my whole life. But I am trying to look at it as an adventure and I'm going out there with an open mind. If I can't stand the mountains...and Adam clearly can't stand the city...we'll have to search for somewhere in between.
Also, I am just realising that I have NO idea how I'm gonna get my contraceptive pill when I move. Can I just buy it at the pharmacy or do I need a doctor to write a script? Can it be any old doctor or a gyno?

Immigration Update

It has been a couple of weeks since I've posted about our immigration journey. We were approved for the first stage back in June and I received my case number last week, that officially means that we're on to the second stage of the process. I've already gone ahead and booked my medical for next week and after that all that is left is for me to send in the application forms for the green card and wait for an interview.

It has been a long road or at least longer than we expected. And certainly longer than Adams immigration journey to the UK. At the moment I don't have too many emotions roaming around. I'm not yet nervous because I have nothing to be nervous about. I expect the medical to go fine, no commutable diseases and my vaccinations are all up to date. In fact, I'm not too worried about the interview (at the moment) simply because Adam and I have been together for seven years and we have nothing to hide. My blog is basically the open book of our relationship. I'm sure as I get closer to the deadline of moving, the nerves will start to kick in. I've never lived anywhere else so moving country will be a big step. But I prefer to look at it as just joining Adam. And I'm so ready to be with my husband again. I'm also lucky that I have such wonderful in laws who I like and are assisting in my application process. My MIL sent me just the sweetest email the other day which cheered me right up when I was feeling somewhat blue.

Adam is totally selling TN to me. He is under the impression that I will love it, even though I'm a city girlie. I will keep and open mind and try my hand at fishing and hiking and shooting and whatever else. I suppose I can't really say I don't like something if I've never tried it. I only live once!

Sherms Sunday Scribbles

Today I felt like writing and not about my life and thoughts like usually, today I felt like writing creatively. And I thought who better to read my scribbles than the strangers who I have come to know and love. So please read and comment nicely/harshly, whatever! xx

 

The liveliness of the banquet hall faded as she followed him to the exit. The alcohol made her head swim a little but numbed her to the chill of the night air as they left the hotel. They wandered arm in arm to the parking lot, the gravel crunching beneath their feet. He stopped on the corner and reached inside his jacket for his cigarettes. He removed two and handed one to her, staring curiously as she placed it between her lips. Her hair was dishevelled and there was a run in her tights that ended somewhere he could not see.

He struck a match and lit her cigarette before doing the same with his own. She tipped her head back and inhaled deeply.

“You know, I’m not supposed to smoke. You’re a bad influence on me” the mischievous look on her face reminded him of how they used to be.

“Why not?”

“Don’t you know, cancer kills!”

He laughed “we’re all going to die sometime. It’s what you do with the time you have that matters. You only have one life to live, might as well get all the pleasure we can”

“See now that is where you and I differ. I know that there’s an afterlife.” She watched the slow smile spread across his face and his eyes light up at the challenge of theology.

“You should have told me, I would have gone”

Her eyebrows furrowed; “Gone where?”

“To your funeral of course, I mean the only way to know if there is an afterlife is to experience death. I would have gone, might even have shed a tear”

“As if, you’re always mean to me”

“What are you talking about? I just gave you a cigarette”

“You mean a cancer stick. See, you dislike me so much you’re trying to kill me”

“I would never hurt you, you know I love you” Her eyes met his for the briefest moment and she was confused by what she saw. He turned away “how’s your husband?” His tone was casual but his body rigid. Had she imagine something she wanted to see? She needed to see his face to be sure, his eyes. Then she would know for certain, but what difference would it make.

“You know his name, you’ve met him before. Why do you always call him ‘my husband’?”

“Because he is, isn’t he?” He took a sip of his whiskey and enjoyed the warmth of the liquid as it trickled down his throat. He swirled the ice in his class, watching as she went to sit on a bench by the hotel entrance. He followed and sat beside her.

“This bench is for Sylvia” she traced her fingers over the brass plate as she read, “For Sylvia, who was by my side at the beginning. Not even death can put an end to our love. John.” A knowing smile spread across her face, he turned away and stared down at the ring on her finger. The reminder of why he would always be burdened with the question of What If?

“That’s pretty romantic don’t you think? The fact that two people can love each other forever, through the highs and lows, not even death can separate them. I hope it’s like that for me and Jeremy.”

“You don’t think it will be?”

She hesitated and though she attempted for her laugh to be carefree he knew her too well not to recognise her nerves. “I don’t know. I hope. We’ve already been through so much and we’re still standing. I have faith. But I don’t expect you to understand. I know you don’t believe in marriage and happily ever after”

“What makes you think that? Of course, I believe that marriage exits, it’s just that I’m not yet convinced it’s for me”.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood!

***post started xyz days ago***
Oh my, for some reason I decided that I would make a button for my blog today. I've seen them on other pages and I really like the look of them. Boy oh boy is it not as easy at meets the eye. Or at least, not for someone as technologically inept as I am. After much googling and lots of photoshop (I'm just understanding how it works) I came up with a design that I liked. I am still struggling with how to get the actual link to post below the picture...as well as how to make the image itself smaller. 
For tonight, I have given up. I am a quitter. Perhaps I'll look into it again on Tuesday.
I spent the whole of today doing pretty much nothing, I guess that's the luxury of having the day off. I am back to work tomorrow afternoon so at some point during the day I have to try and squeeze in doing some laundry, which I hate.

***ta da! Magically, it's Tuesday and I've made my buttons and with a little help from Free Bird Train I managed to get it all figured out. So please, if you're into displaying buttons, snag one of mine. After all the stress it took me to figure it out, it would make my day to see one displayed on a blog I read.


Today I had the most stressful conversation with my phone service provider. Obviously, with the husband being overseas I need an international call plan, which I signed up for three months go. We talk every day, sometimes multiple times a day and I need a plan that won't charge us a fortune for this. Well, from April to June this plan suited me just fine. We spoke all the time and I didn't face huge charges. Then all of a sudden, when I checked my account online, I could see charges for the calls I was making. It wasn't that much but it wasn't free either. 

When I called them, they said that I only get 600 minutes to use each month and after that I would be charged. 600 minutes equates to 10 hours per month. Which is ridiculous. Adam and I will talk for anywhere between 1 and 5 hours a day. And I know for a fact that in the previous months, I used way more than 600 minutes so how come I wasn't charged then and I'm being charged now?

Well, they were useless. I talked to four different people and they all had something different to say. I attempted to be patient and try to explain myself clearly but with English not being their first language (I hate outsourcing) they didn't seem to understand me. I had the first guy put me through to his supervisor who then tried to inform me that June 21st to June 28th is one calendar month! Seriously? For real? I then wanted to talk to his supervisor and he said he'd put me through but instead he sent me back to the main automated message. So I had to start again. The third person I spoke to put me on hold and after 15mintues I realised he wasn't coming back and hung up to start all over again.

Fourth time lucky I actually managed to speak to someone from England, hurrah! Of course, she couldn't explain it either but recommended I don't take the risk and use a phone card until the bill could be generated and we could look through it properly. 

I refuse to pay £5 per month for 600 minutes because I could get a better deal with a phone card. I know companies like to outsource their call centres but seriously, sometimes you just want to talk to someone in the same country as you who understands English when it's spoken to them. So glad to get that off my chest.


My husband makes me laugh sometimes. He says the funniest things and thinks about things that are just so odd. BTW, he informed me that "Asia is going to take over the Internet and I won't be able to blog anymore" I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

Tonight we were talking about this new "superbug" strain of gonorrhea because Adam gets all freaked out whenever a virus or bacteria becomes resistant to Western medicine. The whole idea of MRSA has him so freaked out he won't go to the gym until the cut on his hand is properly healed...because MRSA can kill.


Now, I don't know if it is because I'm uninformed or because I've never needed such information but I don't actually know much or anything about gonorrhea. Other than the obvious that its a sexually transmitted infection. So I Wikipedia it, I Wikipedia everything. Just love it. I also read the USA Today article to him and went through the info on Wikipedia. I actually ended up learning a lot, like a woman can pass it onto her newborn during childbirth. And learning a lot of things I didn't want to know about...penile discharge...I really won't say more. And whilst Adam and I won't need this information, he reminded me that one day we could have sexually active teenagers who would need to know the facts. Anyway, my point to discussing gonorrhea? Check out this little pic they had posted on the Wiki page:

I actually love it! Just because it is such a bloody cheek! Could you imagine if they had adverts like this today! AND I just love the Axis of Evil reference, never gets old it seems.


Another reason the husband made me laugh my hiney off tonight, his hatred for Paula Deen. Now he really doesn't like her and I wouldn't even dream of repeating some of the things he said about her. Despite her being a Southern Bell he just hates the way she says y'all all the time. In his own words: "It's like she doesn't know any other pronouns" and the fact that she adds half a dozen sticks of butter to everything.

And as he went on...and on...it got me thinking that he really doesn't like any of the female TV chefs that I like. I'm a huge fan of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa and he can't stand her either. Calls her creepy like Mr Rogers (yeah, I didn't know who he was so I googled him) and ended up with this video which did actual creep me out within the first 30 seconds. 

I guess maybe its an American thing but I couldn't imagine watching this show as a child...but I sure am glad to know its a beautiful day in the neighbourhood!

Guys don't make passes at Girls who wear glasses...unless they happen to like girls who wear glasses!

Whilst I haven't been avoiding sitting down and writing a new post, finding a decent topic in which to write about has been a chore. Which blogging should not be. I came up with a few ideas;

1, My Weak Bladder: as the subtitle might suggest, I have a weak bladder. I have one gnarly scar on my back and one on my inner thigh that I gave myself in desperate attempts to pull my tights down before the flood starts. Adam enjoys ribbing me about one particular occasion when I didn't make it to the bathroom. We'd been out with friends drinking and by the time we got home I was bursting. I did tell him that I needed the loo but he took his own sweet (drunken) time opening the door...well, like I said, I didn't make it all over the front steps. I will need to invest in Tena Lady when I'm old.

2, An English Muffin is NOT like a Crumpet: If you're my Facebook friend you probably didn't miss my post about my mockument (mock argument) with the husband about what an English Muffin is and what a Crumpet is. I went round in circles trying to explain it to him but in his Yanky eyes, since you put the same things on them and they look similar, they must be the same. Which sidelines me into;

3, Adams desire to ALWAYS be Right: Even once I'd proved to him that they are different, he couldn't (wouldn't) back down and admit that he's wrong. Which really, I'm the same. We're terrible for turning around and saying "actually, I was wrong". We'll both keep going knowing that we sound like an absolutely Donkey. But luckily we know each other well enough to just laugh it off. Of course, that doesn't stop us bringing it up later to laugh at. Adam enjoys humiliating me by saying "Isn't Veal a baby Seal?"...Yes, at one point in time I was silly enough to think that Veal was a baby Seal and though at the time, in my head, it seemed like a perfectly logical question. I now realise it was foolish. Especially considering the fact that I'd eaten Veal before. Just once, it was delish but never again.


4, Country Music: A couple entries back I'd mentioned my singing debut at a local hangout on Karaoke night, singing Garth Brooks. Now, I'm not a huge country music girl (yes, I do plan to move to TN. Home of country music and Jack Daniels) but I do like some songs. Obviously Garth Brooks. I like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood though I'm not sure they count. There is another song that Adam introduced me to (played over and over and over) that I like by David Allen Coe. Check it out:

I should mention that the last verse is my favourite!

5, Fornication Friday: This is a little something that Adam and I used to have back when we first started our relationship. It would basically revolve around me getting sloppy drunk with my friends after class on a Friday and writing him suggestive postcards and letters. We hadn't remembered it in a long time, there seems to be things that fizzle out over time in a relationship. Like the silly little nicknames we had for each other; SugarBear and SugarButt.


Well, after looking at the things I came up with the blog about, it didn't seem nearly enough to entertain the mysterious internet people out there. I mean, if you're gonna take 7 minutes out of your day to sit and read my blog...perhaps over coffee and a donut like me...then I at least need to make it entertaining. And then I realised where I've gone wrong. Someone wise once said ( I have no idea who, do you?)

Write What You Know

Well, the only thing I can really know about is my own life but the trouble is...I don't really got one right now. Thus, when I was on my way to work on Saturday and I received a text from a friend inviting me to her house party that night, I said yes rather than my usually sorry I can't make it. Whenever we get together we always have fun, the laughs flow as the wine flows and we have a good night. I FBed (Face Booked) Adam and told him I'd call him later as I was going over to Lady Js for a house party. There were quite a few people there, a lot of people that she worked with that I didn't know but once I got nicely sloshed, it really didn't matter. Of course, they were all teachers or teaching assistants and I have come to discover two things. 1, I know too many teachers and 2, they are the biggest lushes I know. But perhaps the kids drive them to drink.
We listened to music and played swing ball, as it turns out I am way more competitive when I'm drunk than sober. And I didn't end up getting home until 4am which didn't turn out well considering I was working the next day. Yes, I went to work with a hangover. Not my best decision. And what is it about a hangover that makes you want to eat nonstop? I do believe that McDonalds is the champion of hangover foods. I also believe that I am too old to be getting drunk like that anymore, my body takes a full 24 hours to recovery and I just don't have that kind of time! Enjoy some pics from the night out:

Emma & Monique

Emma, Monique & I. And the wine!

Emma, Monique, Jade and I

Monique playing Swing Ball.

The Swing Ball Champion...not really, I cheated.

Me, Jade and Monique...nicely sloshed!

Nicely sloshed and posing silly!

Me and Jade's overweight pup!

And also some pics of my new glasses!

I posted on FaceBook that "Guys' don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" and my friend commented to say "unless they like girls who wear glasses" so that gave me my title for this post. 

Still Standing

 

 

Today marked the anniversary of the July 7 bombings. A day that will not be forgotten. In the world today there is always the possibility of something tragic happening. But it doesn't stop most people from getting on a train or on a plane. These people filled with hate will not stop me from living my life. 

 

I am officially exhausted tonight. Throughout the day I've had lots of grand ideas on what I could blog about. Little things that have happened that I wanted to share but now that I sit here after my second glass of wine, I honestly find that I'm ready to crawl into bed, read a couple more pages of my book and then go to sleep!

 

I actually spent a great deal of the day finding new blogs to read. I'm always on the lookout for someone who writes in ways that is amusing or about things I'm also interested in. If I find a great blog I'll usually follow right away but sometimes I'll leave a few comments with a link back to my page to see if they're also interested in my life...which is kinda unfair cause I'm barely interested in my life. It seems like I'm constantly whining. Which perhaps I am. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to pick up my new glasses. I went for an eye test last week and not to my surprise I need a stronger prescription. She actually told me that my left eye is weaker than my right...I guess my droopy eye totally makes sense now. I picked out a couple frames which is no easy feat because I can't stand in the mirror and decide whether something suits me or not. Last time I just had my little brother choose because I couldn't. This time I was on my own and I unknowingly ended up choosing the same frames as what my mother has now! Oh dear, no offense to my mother but I hope I'm not turning into her already! 

Will be sure to post some pics of my new specs tomorrow. Any excuse to get my camera out and get snapping again.

Well, this is me for tonight. I'll be back tomorrow!

 

 

Burden of Proof

At present I'm reading One Day by David Nicholls. I guess its been one of those books on my Amazon reading list that I'd been ignoring. I didn't know too much about it but when I saw the trailer for the movie their making, I figured I should get around to reading it. 

I hate watching the movie if I haven't read the book yet. Of course, the books are usually 10 times better. Every once in awhile you'll find a movie that is just as awesome as the book...Twlight, when I first saw it I watched it three times in a row...Or you'll find a movie that sucks just as hard as the book...Eat, Pray, Love was the biggest waste of my time and Julia Roberts in no way salvigaed an overindulgent, priviliged diary. Don't we all wish we could run off to Italy when we got bored and gorge on pasta!

I have high hopes for One Day and so far it has not disappointed! Check out the trailer:

I didn't mention (because I've been lazy and haven't blogged) that Adam cut his hand open the other week. A very nasty accident with one of his many knives, that resulted in a cut tendon. Of course, being the wife of a man who enjoys making up elaborate tales, I didn't believe him at first. Or for the first couple hours until he got really mad and his mum confirmed that he did indeed do himself a nasty injury. I swear that husband of mine likes the emergency room way too much. I had the wifely desire to be with him and make sure that he was okay and I also had the girlie desire to be as far away from that amount of blood as possible. I don't do well with open wounds and just hearing about it make my stomach churn a little. I never thought of myself as a squimish girl but I guess I just might be. Oh and due to the fact that he doesn't yet have medical insurance (at the time he hadn't been made permanent at work) he has chosen to fucntion with just one tendon operating his left hand index finger. I do enjoy teasing him about having a gimpy finger but doubt there will be any real damage.


I am so looking forward to this immigration journey being over. I miss my husband and the emotional support I get from him. Of course, he still supports me now and listens when I whine about how horrid it is here without him. But you can't get long distance hugs and sometimes a hug is all you need. I'm also looking forward to having some alone time with him...heck, having some alone time with just me too. It seems that it is virtually impossible for me to get some time alone. At least, not in my house. There always seems to be someone around to bug the crapolla outta me. Who wants to talk when I clearly don't. Thankfully, my husband is able to recognise that sometimes I just don't wanna be bothered. Sometimes, I just want to sit in silence and read or blog or just relax in general. 

I feel like I'm too old to still be living at home. I want to be in a position where I rely on Adam and he relies on me. End of the story. Here I feel like there are so many other people to take into consideration and there comes a point when you can't continue to put other people ahead of yourself. 


Of course, I can't end this blog post without mentioning the surprising verdict yesterday. I think I posted some time back that I thought that she should/would be found not guilty.

Not guilty in the eyes of the law but hung, drawn and quartered by the media and consequently the public, long before the trial began.

I think every one of my facebook friends expressed how disgusted they were with the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial. And to be perfectly honest, I felt relieved that she had been found not guilty, for so many reasons. Primarily because I do not believe that she is the only person to blame for the death of Caylee. I truly believe that her parents played a role. But also because the prosecution did not present conclusive evidence to show that Caylee was murdered, let alone murdered by Casey.

Their main goal seemed to be showing that Casey was a bad mother, yet there is no evidence to suggest that Caylee was abused. Partyings and getting tattoos does not a bad mother make. Yes, it looks odd for someone to be doing those things when their child is missing but not if you already know that your child is dead and you're attempting to keep up "normal" appearances.

I've found interviews of Caseys ex-fiance Jesse Grund to be most enlightening. He says that Casey wasn't a bad mother. That her parents facilitated her ability to party every night and not have to work and that her family are "a carnival of dysfunctionality".

Every so often a case comes into the spotlight and everyone has made their mind up before the case is even heard. As in the Amanda Knox case (did you guys over here think her guilty too?). 

Thankfully, the jury went on the evidence they heard and fortunately/unfortunately the evidence just wasn't enough. Perhaps it is because we live in the world of CSI. We expect Horatio Caine or Gil Grissom to take the stand and explain exactly what happened. After all "the evidence doesn't lie". This didn't happen here. When there is the possibility of the death sentence the prosecution really does have the burden of proof because you can't take back an executon.

The Wrong Side of 25

It has been some time since I've posted, let me say this first I had a Birthday! I'm really not sure why I sound excited about that. The lead up to it was depressing to say the least and the actual day was no better. And of course, missing the husband and wishing he were here to help me celebrate did not make the day better. In fact, I think there were secret tears on my birthday so it wasn't the best day ever.
The fact that I am now on the wrong side of twenty-five leaves me constantly pondering on the direction of my life and my inability to learn from past experiences. Obviously, I did not expect to wake up and be wiser but I was expecting the courage to do things differently.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

We used to say this prayer in High School and it suddenly popped into my head. Perhaps I should start saying it again.
I don't know what it is about turning older that leaves you questioning everything you've done and what direction your life is going in. Perhaps for people who are satisfied, even happy with their lives, the idea of dreading a birthday or questioning yourself is completely foreign.
I was discussing with both my best friends, why life seems to be so difficult. It seems that no matter how much we try, life keeps smacking us back down again. On the eve of every new year we start out optimistic and excited and then very quickly a spanner in thrown in our direction and we end up flat on our faces. Earlier today the optimist that is still hiding somewhere inside me, reminded me that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and for now I am happy to carry that with me. It isn't the amount of times that I get smacked down but the amount of times I keep getting back on my feet. And honestly, those people who only ever have things go right for them would be a broken down mess if ever something went wrong. Me, I have experience of things always going wrong. Which is why I'm incredibly appreciative of when they go right.

I have officially been approved for the first part of my immigration journey. Our I-130 was approved June 20th and I received an email letting us know June 27th. I was so worried that we would be "smacked down" (a new phrase I love) and stuck living in two different countries which honestly, would be unimaginable. Not to seem ungrateful but it has been a long time coming and I was getting very anxious, especially when I saw that people who filed after us were overtaking us in the process. It seems that being in the unlucky bunch who were sent to Rome to speed up processing times, ended up slowing us down. But better late than never. I actually feel like the end is in sight and that hopefully in the next three to four months, I will be with my husband again. Living a totally different life style in a totally different country.

Over the weekend I went out with some friends to celebrate my birthday (as if I could do a post after so long without a single picture). Nothing fancy, just dinner at one of my favourite Italian restaurants. Adam and I would go and eat there when we could afford to have "date night" and we both love their Calamari and stuffed mushrooms. Anyway, good food, great company and lots of wine...what more could a girl ask for to celebrate her birthday?

Susana, Me and Charlotte. Two of my best girlies since High School.

Myself and Charlotte, she really does help to keep me sane.

I also want to mention that my brother is officially finished with High School. All his exams are over and he has the summer to enjoy himself and wait anxiously for the results. Of course, to end their time a school a Prom was held. I think prom fashions have changed a lot since I was in high school. I had a long powder blue dress with a wrap and pin corsage (and no date) but these days it seems more of a party atmosphere where any kind of dress goes. My brothers suit was what I personally like to call "ridiculous" in its pricing but what can I say, he is my mothers baby. 

My brother and his date, they've been friends since they were about 7

 I hope to be back later this week with another entry because I have so much more to say but for now, I'm gonna call the husband and relax with a good book and a glass of wine.