caviar22

Day 6 no sugar... and I am still alive! I weigh in tomorrow and will see if it made any difference. Next week I have my 15 yr old niece with me -- hmm, will be eating out and having fun -- without sugar, but... who knows if other areas will be as good.

I want to try SB (Atkins was too hard on my system) but having trouble limiting the carbs....

SB is not really about limiting carbs (like Atkins). You don't have to count carbs at all. You can eat carbs that have a low glycemic index (GI).

In the book he says if you have a choice between white bread and ice cream. Have the ice cream! It's not as fattening.

Ice cream, less fattening than white bread? O.k. I make my own bread and it is whole wheat... but still!!! So far so good. I resisted the urge last night and am so proud of myself... this is day 7 and at the end of today I will have gone a full week without sugar!!!

I accept that I am generalizing and that I have unresolved issues with my family... but at the same time those generalizations are based on the societal norms that exist here... and my issues with my family are due to those same societal norms.

In my mum's family they literally go into mourning when a daughter is born and rejoice when a son is born... I have little or no respect for them and their ilk...

Melo, there are many here, including me, sending you lots of luv and hugs.

You go ahead and rant... you are safe here and it will make you feel better. Know that it will soon be over and you will be happy with or without your mother -- you can cut her out of your life, especially if it is for your own sanity!

We are here for you!

Day 6 no sugar... and I am still alive! I weigh in tomorrow and will see if it made any difference. Next week I have my 15 yr old niece with me -- hmm, will be eating out and having fun -- without sugar, but... who knows if other areas will be as good.

I want to try SB (Atkins was too hard on my system) but having trouble limiting the carbs....

Bus is o.k. too but the other passengers will be ticked at you for holding up the bus while you are being "processed" through... anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes.

customs guys are complete Morons!

I take offense to that... last time I checked I am not a complete moron and at one time it may have been me inspecting you...

I know what happened to you Lily and believe me I regret what happened... but to paint all hard working, underpaid and overworked CBP officers in the same light is plain not fair... Walk a mile in their shoes and see if you will feel the same way..

I agree,... the guys that processed me at POE were sweet and we laughed alot... mostly them at me because I was feeling nauseous and my hands were all sweaty!!! There are jerks and perverts everywhere but I believe most people are inherently good. ( o.k., so I'm Canadian and believe the best in people )

I have run 5 half marathons and ran the 2001 Marine Corps Marathon (yep, right after 9/11). Sheesh,... I don't know what happened but I want to get back to that kick-### body!

Step 1: I joined the gym yesterday.

Now I just have to go.....

Baby steps!

Congratulations on joining the gym! I am on day 3 of no sugar, no fast food and no fried foods... Thank God for Lent or I would have never started!

I like the idea of a SB support group. I'm going to look for the book this weekend and use it. I have gained 35lbs and now need to lose 75!!!

Go gym go!!! I promise to go for long walks 4x a week... yikes, did I say that?

I stayed at the Hotel La Tour Centre Ville, super close and got the best rate phoning them, even better than expedia.ca or travelocity. I arrived very early on check in, so they stored my luggage for me as I went out and filled up on poutine. I do belive they have parking. Not sure on the $$

http://www.hotelcentreville.com/eng/index.htm

I do recall their being a pop machine near the bathrooms at the embassy

Ditto here... We also stayed at the La Tour Centre Ville but was cheaper with Expedia.ca at the time. They do have parking but you have to park on the street first to get an access card at the front desk.

As for the Consulate... yep, we had to dump 2 XL Tim Horton's coffee that we had not even had a sip out of yet!!! Not a good thing first thing in the morning (especially for my husband who is a 12-cup a day man!!!)

Enjoy Montreal! It truly is a great city!!!

I got my welcome letter yesterday. Is it just me or does it seem anti-climactic? I would have preferred to receive my SSN ... but I will be patient for another week or so.

There are a couple jobs that I wanted to apply for and when I contacted them they told me they would disregard my application because I have not yet received my SSN. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's kind of depressing.

On the UPside, my 15 yr old niece from Toronto asked if she can come spend her spring break with me because she misses me and doesn't see us enough! At least I will have the whole week to spend with her!!!

You can fly from Ottawa and have your POE there. One note though, as you are CR-1 you do NOT fill out an I-94 you just hand in your packet and they will activate your visa in your passport. They will fill out a form that will eventually generate your "green card".

It is a breeze! No worries!

Best wishes on your new adventure!

At least you didn't get to meet with my creepy guy

creepy poe experience

Eeeewe!!!! I'm soooo glad for my little hiccup now -- much better than your pervert!!!! I am going back on Friday and have not decided if I will use my visa or not.

I have had an American Express card in Canada since 1993. I called the US one and asked if I can have my credit transferred and get a card in the states... They said yes!!! I will be applying next week to see if they actually told me the truth!!!

How very true... there is no employer/employee loyalty anymore and I have been cut twice now from my high-paying jobs: once because of reorganization and the new Executive Director felt threatened by my position as Program Director (which was 75% of the organization) and the second time was due to lack of budget and my position was cut.

I must say that usually I go on to bigger and better things... only this time I am trying to make a new start in a different country and that is difficult because my experience is so tied to Canadian policies that are very different in the US. But, for now, I will do what I can. At least my husband is extremely supportive and I know I will receive employment insurance for up to 6 months or until I find a job. After that... Hmmm, Lowes?... I do need to finish my basement and make more shelves...

I always go through Cornwall. Sure hope I get an officer that knows his stuff when I go across with my K-1 Visa.

You should have no problems. They seem to know the K-1 and K-3 visas but not the CR-1 and the IR-1. They tried to tell me I could only cross on a K-type visa.

Best of luck!

You Rock! I hope you had an awesome first day!!!

make it a romantic getaway!

would it be closer to go to Calgary? You don't use your provincial medical card so going to another province is o.k.

were you crossing at Lewiston or Fort Erie

Actually I went through Cornwall.

This my my rant for the day...

I couldn't believe it! 3.5 years and I have never had trouble entering the U.S... pretty much every week too! This past week I drove back in and showed my passport with my CR1 visa stamped showing that I was a legal resident of the United States. The two officers at the gate said it was not valid because there was no I-94 attached. I politely told them I do not need an I -94 and that the CR1 visa is an I-551 and it says that "upon endorsement serves at temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 yeaer" It was endorsed on Feb. 10... They STILL did not believe me!!!

I went inside and the officer there was trying to explain that 2 departments are amalgamating and they are still learning, blah blah blah... o.k... it wasn't a HUGE deal but it was still almost half an hour waiting for absolutely nothing!!!

O.k... rant done... I feel better now!!! Thanks for reading!!

I would rent a nice fur cape for the weekend!!! You'll look fabulous and feel like a princess!!!

Oh My God, I am having cold feet just as it was when I was getting married. I have never lived with myhusband for more than 3 weeks and here i am going to spend an entire lifetime with him. so many things are racing though my brain I just don't know what to think.

We leave tommorrow at noon, but we will spend the night on the way since we have a child.

What about you Canuker 18 and Dusy when are you taking off?

Take care

That is so funny... in a weird way.... because when I got to the border to have my visa activated I felt nauseous, my hands were sweaty, and all I could think of was to panic!!! I also had never lived with my husband for more than 3 weeks.... It was scary! Now he goes around saying "You're one of US now baby!!!" and then gives his little evil laugh.

Good luck and everything will work out. We really work hard to get to this point and it is worth everything to be with our loves!

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much ceriserose... I must have gotten someone who was still asleep! That changes things ALOT for me. I borrowed $20,000 from my RRSP and have just started paying it back last year so I still owe $18,000... and I KNOW my place did not appreciate that much... it is still up for sale and hoping with spring around the corner I can sell it quickly! Any takers?

I got a different answer in regards to paying back my RRSP homebuyers loan when selling my home. I was told I did NOT have to pay it all back right away and can you the 15 years or so allotted... provided I make my minimum payment every year. ... hmmm, me thinks I should check again!

Congratulations! That is wonderful news!

I think I got that same grumpy lady ... I think it is her normal temperment! I had changed my job and told her I am a policy manager for the federal government. She wrote I was admin including clerical that is now on my forms!!! Man, was I ticked off! I know it makes no difference in the big scheme of things but I think she is very unhappy in HER clerical/admin type job so put me there too!!!

Oh well... moving on...