Hello Peeps We are back from our trip So we got back last week but was pretty busy. Now I´ll have to catch up on your posts but I hope everyone is doing well

Ovaltine Jenkins?!?!? Did I miss something?

Oh I see STP went crazy and sent the package by normal mail Are you back to your usual self now? So did the package reach them or not? I think you need to update your timeline cuz it says nothing and I am not done with catching up yet

Riley is a cute name

Sara you can travel with that AP too, don´t have to wait for the GC I did that now and it was painless. Actually much easier than travelling with a visa. And I asked and it´s for multiple use which we were discussing with Rachel before and I wasn´t sure. They kept one paper and left the other one with me and I can use it as many times as I want until the expiration date which is a year from the date of issue.

It was funny to fly back with Scott cuz we had a reservation for the same planes but the airlines screwed his one up and so he had to get different flights. So we basically flew together most of the time at similar times but 2 out of 3 segments on a different plane So we had dates at the different airports


I dunno Did I miss something?

Julez I don´t think your avatar can be pimped!

Gillian how are you doing in your new place?

I'm doing very well thanks. I love the apartment complex and the people are soooooo friendly.

I'm glad you had a good trip and it's very nice to have you back.

Haha Congratulations to Scott´s GC I think you have a lot of fun with him

Sorry to hear about Adriano´s troubles Susie It must be pretty hard for you but I am glad you are so positive about it

Coolio Do you have a job there now or still looking?

Well she can never see another wedding coming and so if she doesn´t know about it she can´t get offended

Just started 'seriously' looking.

Ah! Happy belated Birthday Gillian

Excuse me! But Thanksgiving should be about giving thanks cuz that´s what what the name says What sort of a tradition is that for men to sit and watch a game of handball (cuz let´s face it...american football has really little to do with football cuz they really play with a crooked ball and hands )

In CZ the main Xmas day is actually the 24th. We do our traditions, feed animals in the forest, festive dinner, carol singing, let the Xmas tree sparkle, open pressies in the evening, cut the apple to see if we are going to stay healthy, put candles in halves of empty nutshells and it swims on water, etc. It´s such a magical evening.
And we celebrate Baby Jesus not Santa Claus cuz Santa Claus is actually Saint Nicholas (coming from Italy - he used to secretly give gifts to people who needed it). St Nicholas´s name is actually written in the CZ calendar on 5th December and he goes into the streets on 6th December with Angel and Devil and visits children and checks if they were good all year and they usually sing him something or tell a poem and if they were good they get some candies or little thingies like that and sometimes the devil gives them a bag of coals if they weren´t behaving nicely I guess that idea in American culture is represented by the Xmas stocking...but I don´t know why in USA they combine Santa Claus (St Nicholas) and Baby Jesus in one holiday cuz it´s not.
It´s kinda sad that Santa Claus is a made up caricature (the way it looks) maybe about a hundred years old and it´s invading the Czech "Xmas market" and media are trying to put this image into children´s heads and some of them already think that that´s what the Baby Jesus looks like ...a fat old man in a red coat
After all Xmas is supposed to be Christian holiday to celebrate Baby Jesus´s birth and if there should be any gift giving then it should be done (like it is in Italy) at the beginning of January (I think it´s the 6th) which is when the Three Kings came to visit Baby Jesus and brought him gifts.
So Xmas should really just be about spending time with your loved ones and I guess it´s up to everyone how much they let the commercialism into their lives. It would be nice for Scott to spend the time with you Rachel but he is stubborn so he probly won´t but I am sure you will have fun anyways

welcome back, OJ

*hug*

I am with you one thousand percent on the proper celebration of Christmas... NO ONE does it like the Europeans
I've never been so fortunate to spend a Christmas in CZ but I have spent two in Germany... they have lovely traditions too

and, believe it or not, our package got there *gasp* and we received NOA1s (three, in separate envelopes your $1010 at work ) in less time than seems to be the average... I keep TRYING to mess with my life but it doesn't work

biometrics on Saturday

MARTA!! Glad to see you!! Thanks for your nice comment, and yes I'm trying to stay positive =] Going to NY on Sunday for a week, cannot wait!

How is your tummy doing? =]

That was a beautiful description of Christmas, and sadly my oh-so-American family does the typical million gift giving extravaganza. It was refreshing when I met Adriano and he told me that they don't even really give gifts. Sometimes they get like a fruit basket from a friend or boss, but even that isn't so common. The down side is that I will probably never get a Christmas gift from him, but I am okay with that. Oh yea, he still doesn't believe that we celebrate Christmas on the 25th and not the 24th, he just doesn't get it. I guess we will have to make him a believer this year!

I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas, because it is really all about family, giving thanks and of course, eating. I am really excited to spend Adriano's first Thanksgiving with him and my entire family. We go out to eat (a cardinal sin, I know) for Thanksgiving, so there is fortunately no football watching. My grandpa was a career Army/Navy/National Guard man, so we all go out to a nice catered restaurant at the army base in Brooklyn (if you're reading, Rae, it's Fort Hamilton). Afterwards we go to my aunt's house for our second serving of dessert ('cake and coffee').

I agree with you on the football thing!!! Oh! And for those interested (and tbh I can't imagine anyone who would be interested not making it themselves) but they have marzipan and cranberry Stollen in World Market

I think Christmas has become amazingly commercial. I am not a religious person but that is why to me it is about spending time with family - sometimes it is the only time of year that I see some of them. I think as an adult it is important to remember how Christmas originated and when we have kids we will try to teach them about different religions and celebrations so they can learn to be open-minded and decide for themselves what they want to believe.

Saying that, one of the best Christmases I remember was when we went to midnight mass (when we were younger - it was so exciting staying up so late!) and we all had candles and sang carols. I love Christmas carols and have done since I was in school (CofE so had lots of hymns and carols!). I was Christened as a kid but really just like to be open-minded about all religions. I don't think it is that I don't believe, just that I don't want to pigeon-hole myself

Now I am going to have to see where they do midnight mass - we have a church at the end of our road so it would be a really nice thing to do

*dances off to look up mass and Christmas pudding recipes...*

I think this year I shouldn´t really be making many plans for Xmas I will pack my hospital bag and wait But I know myself so I know I won´t just sit around and wait So we will see

Oh btw...there´s no sign of Xmas in Europe yet. I was surprised that I got back here and they are already selling Xmas cards, decorations, cookies and stuff. I was all in that autumn leaves turning colours, leaves falling setting and was ready for the pumpkins and scaries and go into the store and it´s jingle bells, jingle bells Funny Now let´s start shopping for Valentine´s Day

You forgot that you're have the baby on my birthday Jan. 4th, so you'll be able to enjoy the holidays! I don't mind if you name him Julian in my honor!

Hehehe - I haven't found a whole lot of Christmas stuff here yet - it is still mainly hallowe'en and Thanksgiving but then in the UK I started buying presents really early on to make sure I had enough money to buy everyone something. Of course, here there is always something major going on so it is a little more difficult to get wrapped up in early Christmas shopping - especially as Jeremy doesn't worry about it until after Thanksgiving I think I am going to have to start something soon...

I have a kitten that keeps trying to attack my butt while I am sat on the chair - it is really painful!

Yay! I just got a parcel from my mum with Worcestershire Sauce, gravy granules, tuc biscuits, lots of oxo cubes, garlic puree etc. I am soooo excited!! Yippee!!!

Wahoo! Case transferred to CSC yesterday!!

That is some good news Susie! Congrats!!

Great news Susie!!! I still can't even see anything online - boo!!!!

Also must be a weight off your mind - if you don't have an interview then it makes things with Adriano moving a little easier

Aly, I've found Heinz Worcestershire at the 99c Only Store... I'm sure it's available here if you have a look

Nope - all I can find is the American Lea & Perrins with the HFCS in I think I even found some of that in the 99c store But no heinz... But now I have a big bottle of the good stuff and a backup bottle of the HFCS American stuff I don't think we'll be running out for a while

thanks everyone, and yes it is a weight off of our shoulders =]

*runs screaming from the thought of The Evil in Worcestershire Sauce*


in other news, we got an RFE today
but not for the medical stuff, as I thought we might; they asked for Dave's tax returns and pay slips to prove income... they weren't mentioned in the checklist here on VJ, but I guess we should have thought to include them...

CONGRATULATIONS SUSI!!!! the greencard will arrive sooner than you think!

@stp: I just checked the coverletter that we sent with our AOS crap, and we included them. It won't be a biggo though, just put them in an envelope and you should be fine!

I just cooked dinner and we'll sit down now, eat and watch the debate.

oh, did I mention that I went to the dentist and that I need 2 crowns??????? HELP
my insurance would cover for half, but it would still be 1000!!!!!!!


I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY SOCIALIST HOMECOUNTRY!!!!!!!!

thanks! i hope it comes quickly!

tell the republicans about your gripe with the insurance, because most of them believe that we are saving money by having a private system ....no wait, actually most of them simply argue that getting rid of the private system would make us a socialist country *GASP* i sometimes wonder if they know what the definition of propoganda is?

Well at least it is something easy to sort out I must say I was expecting a medical RFE by now but it has been a month since I had biometrics and I still can't even see my cases online Who knows what is going on with mine?!


Ouch - that's steep I'm dreading getting into a routine of dentists and opticians and things here... I don't think it is even going to be feasible until I have a job at the very least...

In other news - my things from the UK should be arriving in port tomorrow! We have nowhere to put it all and goodness knows where I will stick it in time for the hallowe'en party!! The boxes might have to make extra table space! Ohhh I really hope some people make it!!

Total bummer on the RFE. At least its an easy thing to gather and send in, so hopefully it won't hold you up too much.

Just popping in to let you all know I got the EAD card production email today. Notice dated yesterday. Can finally look for work.

currently enjoying time with my parents.

YIPPEE!!!! Now you can get a job or start up your business again or do whatever you want!! That is such good news Let me know when you get a job so we can plan a trip up in between your days off

Congrats Debz!!! Happy job hunting!!!!

congratz debz!

everybody is having a great weekend, nobody is online

I'm here

but still having a good weekend

made pancakes this morning, for Dave and his step-son, who came over for breakfast... nice

oh, and I had biometrics yesterday; reasonably quick and painless

so of course, it was the ONLY step in the sorry process where I was offered a comment card

Well I have a moody husband who won't speak to me, won't tell me what is wrong and jumps down my throat whenever I try to say anything and I don't know what is wrong

sounds like he needs a kick in the pants

or maybe a kick somewhere else!

Congratulations Susie

Hopefully the moody husband is in better mood today or he is gonna be in trouble!

I went to DMV to show them my new stamp that I have now, which shows I can legally be here for longer than 60 days or whatever and so it looks like they will finally print out my driver´s license They said they weren´t able to give me the DL when I passed the test cuz my K1 stamp was about to expire soon. But now they say I should receive the DL soon so I will finally be able to walk around without carrying the passport all the time

Was considering applying for AP and EAD maybe around December again since my current ones expire in summer next year and if it takes them as long as before to get me another one again... Because I am thinking my AOS file is sitting under the thickest pile of dust somewhere so noone wants to even touch it and I am not sure there is anything I can do about it

Hey Gretchen´s belly is pretty small. They tell me my belly is small which I think it´s not cuz to me it looks huge but Gretchen´s belly is like half size my size We went to do the hospital tour and it was really nice.

It's ok - we got to the bottom of it - after me saying he had been snippy for three days and that he wouldn't talk to me blah blah blah he finally realised that maybe it is because of his impending inspection at work... which is due to happen sometime before the end of next month. It's a real big deal to him and I think it got on top of him more than he realised. We had some tears and then we spent the night on the sofa watching Lost and drinking red wine - it was rather nice as I am feeling yucky at the moment (thank goodness for the sticky heat patches mum sent me!).

Now we have to go spend a small fortune getting Daisy her booster injection for Feline Leukemia...

What are sticky heat patches for?

So I was wondering how Aly´s mom has adjusted to living alone. Is she feeling better about it now?

hi there!

how is everybody?
don't worry about the AOS sitting underneath the biggest pile! ours was one of the very last february-filer-packages to be processed. everybody already had their greencards since months, and we still didn't even have our interview notice.
but then, at once, the letter is there, and everything seems to be so stress-free and small.



ah, aly, I'm sorry that Jeremy is having a rough time!

I really want to win the lottery. things got so expensive, we somehow manage to barely live on our both incomes, the plan of having kids next year got postponed, we just can't afford it. breaks my heart.

Sticky heat patches are great for tummy cramps - kinda like a hot water bottle that lasts for hours I think mum is doing ok as well now - she's got more used to it, and like any adjustment, while things seem empty for a while, you soon find things to fill your time - she has been keeping really busy and I think she needs a break tbh!!!


Agnes - I totally understand where you are coming from... everything seems to cost so much at the moment and with me not working it is even harder. If you move back East like you planned though to a different State, mightn't things be a bit cheaper? I know that some States further east are a lot cheaper in terms of cost of living so maybe there is still hope I think it is always difficult to plan children as well - I don't think we will ever be able to afford them but we'll have them anyway because we'll find ways to work around it Not for a little while though yet

How have you been anyway? I take it you won't be able to make it to our Hallowe'en party? Maven is coming which is cool but we'll miss you and Eric!!! Maybe New Year's Eve you'll be able to make it

Yeah lotsa things are expensive but at the same time lotsa things are much cheaper than in Europe. And I think UK is a very expensive country. One of the biggest advantages in Europe is the health care though cuz in USA it is such a crappy expensive system. What do u guys seem to spend too much money on these days? For us it´s definately the health care right now

Hello everyone. Gosh, I don't even remember when I posted last, I've been *so* busy.

Aly, I was thinking maybe Jeremy was pregnant, but I'm glad to hear it's just work-related.

Marta, I agree, health care is a huge, huge cost here. Or it can be, depending on if you can get benefits through work and even then you never know what will come out of your pocket. Prior to Scott getting hired a month ago, I was paying over $600 a month for benefits (that sucked, because the copays were so high I didn't ever want to go to the doctor). Now we have better coverage for half the cost. But we decided not to do dental, as we both just went to the dentist on my old plan, and figured we could wait till we're back in Canada next year to go again... Now I've got this pain and weird little spot on my gum above a tooth and am worried... Dangit. But I find our biggest cost, living here in NYC, is rent. Which reminds me... Susie, is this the week you're here? If so, I hope you are having a fabulous time.

Last weekend Scott and I went to Montreal to scope out wedding venues. It was, unfortunately, an extremely stressful trip, as his parents have an opinion on every little thing that they want us to do for our wedding. I firmly believe it is MY DAY (okay, our day), but I still have to deal with his mom, and it's just not easy.

But, on the up side, we found the place we want to book and I'm just waiting on getting a contract & signing it. Looks like we're going to get fake-hitched on February 21, 2009. Once that's written in stone, I can start focusing on lots of other details, and I like planning things, so I'm having fun.

Our expense is food - Jeremy could happily live on ramen but I like fresh fruit and veg - we're still getting used to how much to buy as well so we probably spend too much on that. Bills are pricey too - our electricity is $100 a month as is our cable/internet bill... I swear we could get cheaper but Jeremy organised it before I got here so...

wow, $100 for electric! that's a lot...we pay $50. and yea, the cable/internet thing could be cheaper, but you have to search out or wait for the deals. we got ours for 33 a piece, so thats 66 a month...not bad in my opinion...and yes, we spend A LOT on food too, way too much.

YES I AM HERE!! So great to be back. I arrived home to a wide assortment of delicious cold cuts from the italian deli near my mom's house. Mmm Delish. =] There's no way I could find these things in Indiana.

Oh and yes, I can definitely relate to your gripe with the rent here. I am so glad I am not paying that anymore...but I miss it SO much! I am staying at my mom's house in Bensonhurst, but I plan on going back to the neighborhood (boerum hill/park slope/carroll gardens) VERY SOON. =]