I'm going to try and be as mercenary as I can but I am going to ship what I can't bear to part with I won't be able to afford to go home for a while


Hey I wouldn't sweat the small stuff I'm quite prepared for everything to take ages - the EAD would be kinda handy but I want to do voluntary work anyway and the AP - well I can't afford to go anywhere so it's not that big of a deal right away Besides - more time to spend on here with everyone



OMG OMG OMG OMGOMG!!!!! GRATZIES!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooo excited for you!!! I can now officially add you to the July Baby Progress spreadsheet!!!

Oh I am sooooo made up for you guys!!!!

Gratz on the SSN as well

Am I really sad for wanting to know the conceived date... Why did I ever put that on the spreadsheet... anyone have any better ideas!??!?!

We dont know the conceived date yet. we are guessing in the last 3 weeks. Where is the July baby spreadsheet?

and we are beyond happy and excited.

Chris

If you follow the spreadsheet link in my siggie it is one of the tabs at the bottom - there is AOS and K1 progress as well

WOW, CONGRATULATIONS!!

Wow Congratulations Chris and Gretchen That´s awesome

Wow Congratulations Chris and Gretchen That´s awesome

Sorry I didn´t do that....the site did it

Haha and funny you are already planning for a second child as well I don´t think it´s really sad

Well I´m not sweating anything It´s just the date has been stable ever since and now it started moving so I just don´t like it. But it might as well mean no delay at all We will see I might need AP cuz GC might as well take ages so it would be nice to have it

OMG Jeraly I think you are even funnier You even put * to our names in the AOS spreadsheet to indicate something

I know what you mean It prolly just means someone updated their timeline though


I think I was bored at work one day Old work that is not new work

CONGRATUALTIONS CHRIS AND GRETCHEN!!!!!!
i have big time baby fever, but i really need to work for at least one year before we start a family. plus, moneywise it would really be impossible. other than that, my temporary health insurance doesn't cover pregnancy. plus, things are still settling down and i didn't quite adjust to living here yet. there are still so many things that we need to figure out. nope, not just baby time yet.

oh, but big news here, too! i just got my first paycheck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it feels so good to make some money again!

i survived the first 2 weeks at my job and hope that they won't fire me in the third

i did ship quite a bunch of stuff, but it was ridiculously expensive to ship, so all of my furniture and my winter clothes are still back home.... we plan on flying to germany for christmas (we'll skip the honeymoon and go home for christmas) and i hope to be able to take some more stuff with me.

we hope to be able to move to the eastcoast next summer, until then we're renting. it doesn't make financial sense to buy a house we won't be living in for more than a year.

oh, and about EAD and AOS dates - it frustrates the hell out of me. i will go NUTS if I don't get my EAD within the 90 days. i need the work, i need the money. sitting at home IS NOT GOOD FOR ME.

great news, Chris and Gretchen

I missed this before - hehehehehe



AGNES!!!! I know what you mean about babies - I want to enjoy some time just being selfish and having Jeremy all to myself for a little while - plus we want to settle down a bit more and things first - we aren't going to have a lot of money at first and we want the best for our kids when we have them! As yet we don't even have a house so a baby is not on the horizon in the forseeable future!!!

You are soooo lucky to be going home for Christmas - we would love to but it just isn't going to happen - we won't be able to afford it so looks like we are going to have to find something to take the sting out of it Christmas here is always a big family affair with about 20 of us - as it stands we will be lucky to have three of us Who knows - if we keep our eyes on the flights we might be able to pick something up cheap but I don't want to get my hopes up

We're talking about moving east sometime too - houses sooo much cheaper there We want to travel around the States a little first though to see where we like That is going to be soo fun And you're not allowed to move before we come visit!!

Move to Buffalo, aly! The houses here are super cheap! But then you have to be prepared to deal with lots of snow, so you may want to do some more research.

Move to Houston, Aly! The houses here are super cheap! But then you have to be prepared to deal with lots of heat, so you may want to do some more research.

houston is too close to erics family. i would like to be able to keep a 5-h by car distance to them. sorry.

Move to New York City, aly! The houses here are super cheap! Er, wait, no they're not... they're insanely expensive and tiny as a closet, so you may want to do some more research.



But in Michigan they're cheap (that's where I grew up). In fact, I think they're cheap right now just about everywhere except NYC and prolly San Francisco. Damn cities.

Am I sensing something here?

Move to SLO, Aly! Some of the houses aren´t too cheap and some of the houses aren´t too expensive And it´s beautiful here

Great for you, Agnes Hopefully your EAD will get approved really soon It´s about time now

its just ridiculous how long it takes for the AOS and EAD crap to be approved.
but apparently they are trying to get lots of naturalizations done before the elections, and the rest of us has to wait.
i didn't even look at my estimated date yet. it would only make me yell and do other things.

saturday night and i miss my friends back home, so i will bake another cake. eric finally understood the correlations between the amount of cake that is being baked and the homesickness.

hope everybody has a great weeekend!

HUGS FOR EVERYBODY!

may i get a hug, too????

*Huuuuggggssss*

Hopefully he won´t put on weight too much from all the yummy cakes you make But seriously, I hope your homesickness goes away soon. Do you keep in touch with your family and friends? Online or something? And how about work, are you making some new friends there so you can hang out with them?

*hugging everyone madly*

*somewhat frenetic*

I leave TOMORROW!!!



we had my godson's third birthday party in Hyde Park yesterday... GREAT weather, spring green and flowers everywhere, the Albert Memorial to the left and the London Eye to the right, and dear friends in every direction... I felt like my heart was breaking; I have never loved a city as much as this one

Oh hun *massivest hugs ever*

There is nothing stopping you coming back - you only need to stay as long as it takes for Dave's son to finish school then you can move back - but this time you can be in your favourite place in the whole world with the person you love most in the whole world

thank you

*hugs back*

*a little less frenetic*


I'm just scared they'll change the rules on me... I'm not guaranteed entry; I have no rights here beyond what the visa gives me, and if the visa rules change...

But you're Australian - we let you guys in - it's the Yanks we have the problems with I am sure you will be ok to do it And where there's a will, there's a way, right? You're not the sort of person to just give up on something you want dearly just cause it's a bit tricky

VERY good point

two international moves, two house changes, one small business, and five jobs in four years say you're right

See? I do have my moments

you do indeed

*grateful hug*

*moment's pause*

*goes back to messing with your LIFE*

Oh I have the same feeling in my tummy that I got when Debz left as well!!! God only knows what I am going to feel like when it's my turn

Good luck StP.

I hope your journey to Australia goes smoothly and you enjoy the next few weeks before you jet off to your new life in the US.

Gillian

Oh wow STP I bet you had both great and sad time yesterday It´s perfectly fine to feel both ways that´s what makes you human Imagine what an empty person you would be if you never felt those things! I hope you have a pleasant flight tomorrow Are you getting up early? Let us know that you get to Australia safely and that you are having a great time
*Huuuuggggssss*

OMG I was in Hyde park yesterday too!!!
on a sunny day in London, what were the odds

wishing you all the best tomorrow, and know that you'll always have those friends here for you. You've done a big move before, it can't be as hard the second time right?


Poiteen

ALL THE BEST, STP!

Just offering my love and hugs StP Can't wait to see you on the other side

Best of luck StP. And have a fabulous time in Australia before you get here!

thanks all... checking in for the last time til I leave the UK... will be in touch

*hugs all round*

wow, hope your flights comfortable and uneventful.

*hug hug hug*

*waves*

sniff

wow, hope your flights comfortable and uneventful.

*hug hug hug*

*waves*

sniff

safe travels, my friend and of course, *big hugs*

*BIG STP HUGGLES!!!!*

Jeraly I read in some other post that you realize it´s gonna be different and new in USA and that instead of being too homesick or wanting to have things the old way you will make the best out of the new stuff, make the best out of all the differences and live a new life I think it´s so nice of you to say that I think that´s the way to go

Did you guys have fun weekend?

Only we did I guess

hey guys - - - unfortunately, i have actual work to do today

hopefully i will finish early and be able to chat it up later on!!!

safe travels stp!!!

Yeah - it's what I keep trying to tell myself - I know I would just drive myself insane trying to recreate my life otherwise and I don't even really want to do that - I want new and exciting adventures

New and exciting adventures

I wish for all our homesick friends to try think positive like this and find lotsa new and interesting adventures

wonderful treat of the week: greek yogurt with honey....oh-my-god is all i can say

I just realized that to file for AOS costs $1,010.00!!!!!!! Is this TRUE?!?!? How can they possibly charge that much for an application fee?!?!?! This is absolute ROBBERY

Yeah, that's what it costs. Sucks you didn't already know that, since I'm sure it must be a shocker to find out at this stage, as it's quite a hefty price tag. I'd say the only good thing about it is that they bundled the EAD and AP costs together, but any way you look at it, yeah, it's a grand you've gotta spend.
Sorry Susie!

And not to add to the bad news, but you'll also need Adriano to get more passport pics = more $. Plus there's the whole I-693A form - vaccination record - that needs to be completed by a civil surgeon. We were lucky as it cost "only" $40, but I have heard of others that cost much more. This certainly isn't a cheap process. And in 2 years we get to shell out yet more $. UGH!