toronto nonie

It seems there has been a lot of activity over the weekend. i was in the US for the long weekend and did not check VJ and I am so happy to see that the dates for approval are moving up!!! YAY!!

btw...as an FYI...i travelled through Pearson Int'l in Toronto and breezed through customs...he didn't even ask me the usual "where are you going?", "for what purpose" or "when are you coming back??" He just asked if i was visiting and i said yes and i went through...i even had a folder with all my documents!

anyhow...let's keep our fingers crossed that these dates move up even further

i had to apply for a long form BC as well when i was completing the K-1 application in May. it took just 3 days for them to courier it to me and fortunately for me, they were able to send me a copy of the originaly form my dad had filled out 33 years ago!! You can also use a registered nurse or accountant as a guarantor - i used my aunt who is an RN and i had no problems.

good luck!

Hmm, just got another touch..hopefully that means something.

that's great news another nice bit of news is that my NOA2 date is now moving backwards, so it is no longer telling me November as the adjudication date!! that made me so anxious...i guess people who have been approved for March are starting to fill in their timelines! Have a great weekend!!

Hi everyone,

How are you all doing? I was just checking the NOA2 timelines and it seems that our estimated time has been pushed back a month now from September to October. Hope that's not true!

Have a good one!

TiNa

Hey Guys,

I agree with you Tina! I am starting to get desperate and angry at VSC, according to the trend shown here and at USCIS's website less people are applying for any type fo visas due to the recession (and USCIS says that they are processing way more than what they are getting). Now, somehow the people at VSC I guess are now taking more time to do what it should be faster because they have smaller workload coming everyday (since April they are still working in January, and May was just like a dead month)...plus everytime one calls to the customer service center...it's a totally different excuse on why our cases are not online or how long will it take to get approved etc... And then if one reads what is happening to many people who applied in December, January, etc... where either USCIS or their Senators give stupid excuses on why things are not as they should....

Now with all this BS I hope I'll be done before the end of the year....

Actually, we might still be done by December 2009. That's all I'm hoping for right now. *Fingers still crossed on that*.

Have a good one!

TiNa

Tina, i'm with you. I'm trying not to pay too much attn to the fact that the timelines seem to be getting further away and just pray that December will be a great month!! My fiance is in Toronto this week and we are just trying to soak up all the time together before he has to go home Keep the faith everyone!

Has anyone tried to log into the website to check their status?

Mine again today said "Your case can not be found at this time in Case Status Online. Please check your receipt number and try again. If you need further assistance please call the National Customer Service Center at 1.800.375.5283."

hi there...i have never been able to log in to check my case status online. My fiance checked with our laywer because we were concerned that maybe our case was missing or something and our lawyer told us that there was a slight problem a bit ago with cases getting tracked on line. He sent us an article on it; i will try to find it in my email and send it to you. Bottom line, don't worry about and if you are, then just call that number. According to other VJ's once they have called that number they were able to see their case tracked

Hey fellow May filers!

I'm back from my US trip. It was great learning how to windsurf. Scary with the windy gusts but great

Anyway, I guess there's not much movement with our May filers, eh? What's promising, though, is that the Feb filers who have gotten their NOA2's already have received some interview dates. Pretty cool...*crosses fingers*

Oh, and happy belated Canada day for the Canadians here.

TiNa

Welcome back! hope your trip was awesome Thanks again for the update about the border crossing...it really helped to appease my fears when i travel in August. Btw...funny story, my fiance is here for the weekend and he flew in through Porter Airline in Toronto - he got grilled by the customs officer about his visit here! i thought it was funny, because usually i am the one who gets the tough questions and he just sails right through...take care and have a fabulous weekend!

okay.. so woke up 1/2 hr early every day this week and increased cardio.. I'm dying here people..

That's awesome! i know how you feel...i've had to work out in the morning since i changed jobs and am further away from home and the first two weeks killed me! i was in bed every night by 10 (i'm a night owl and am usually up at least until midnight). Keep it up...once you get past the first initial weeks you will be fine

I have used the missed a flight' excuse and flight cancelled at last minute (which is believable when flying out of NYC). I have also called in off stating i had to take my mom to a doctors appt, which was easy for my boss to believe as my mom is chronically sick...i've used it twice and both time felt awful about it and gave my mom extra love when i saw her...

With all due respect if my wife was that close with her ex & took the news badly when her ex married one of us would be on the couch for a very long time. Ex's are ex's for a reason & if you haven't moved on that's an issue.

A deep love and respect for someone even if you can't live with them....or ever be romantically involved.......is actually very healthy IMO.

very well said Jomo's girl I have never experienced any of my close male friends having to tell me they are getting married because they are all still single; however i can tell you how my best male friend took it when i told him that not only was i getting married, but moving to the US; the two of us would do everything together - we worked together in the same office, would go over to each other's houses all the time, go out together whether it be a bar, or rollerblading or even a club. We are strictly platonic - i've known him for 13 years and never once have we even kissed - just never like that between us. But when i told him i was getting married, he was really sad (although really happy as he really likes my fiance) because he felt that maybe things might change between us...it's like you said...it feel like you are losing something and i totally understand what he was telling me...i would probably feel the same way if it was the other way around.

did anyone catch last nights episode?? it was great and just made me all the more excited for next week! What was that thing that scratched Sookie???

I don't know, but it looked pretty cool.

it did...i was actually a bit freaked out when she turned around and it was just standing there at the end of the road! and then the new waitress girl had the same scratch marks on her back too...very interesting

did anyone catch last nights episode?? it was great and just made me all the more excited for next week! What was that thing that scratched Sookie???

even though i haven't moved yet, i have already started figuring out where i will be getting all my 'girlie' things taken care of. Fortunately, we live just up the street from a great esthetics place. I've been there three times for mani/pedis and i was so happy with results...almost as good as my girl in Toronto. I am lucky that my fiance loves to get pedicures as well, so it gives us something to do together. I was also able to get all my waxing done there and i have to say they were better than the girl i go to here in Toronto. Finding a hairdresser is always a headache, especially since i've only had two hairdressers. Since we are getting married in Connecticut, i've already started to look for a hairdresser and i have found 2 that are really good. A little more expensive, but still good (i've had trials with each of them). there is a great mall about 20 minuts from our house and it has everything...incl Victoria Secret and i cannot lie...i love VS! there is a gym up the street that my fiance goes to and it's fully loaded (pool, squash courts).

Friends are a little harder for me, especially since my fiance has a lot of single male friends...so none of them have any g/f that i can connect with. i just hope that once i get a job (if i get a job) i will be able to meet some people.

Is cardio 20-30 min 3x's a week and strength training 40 min 2x's a week not enough to really change your body?

Yes, but you are not going to get into great shape on that training, it is more maintenance; you have seen moderate results in 16 weeks. I suggest bumping your cardio to 45mins 4X a week and stick with the weight training at least 2-3X week. 3X a week would of course be a better split if you can do that. And diet i a HUGE part of it all of course............

A true person with good knowledge! This post caught my eye immediately...you seem to have a good comprehension of wellness....

I agree...my fiance and I train professionally...he is also the author of two health and wellness books he has written and published. It all depends on your goals... but the order of relevance and impact are as follows....

1-weight loss starts in the kitchen

2-it is further reinforced on the treadmill

3-weights is a buffer and the finishing touches...

30-40 mins of cardio session is just maintnce or for people with underlying health reasons....

True results are based on 45min to an hour of cardio 4-7 times a week. Depending on what your lifestyle and goals are... on off season...I train at 1 hour cardio sessions 6 days a week....getting into shape for an event I train 1-2 hours a day 6-7X a week....

Don't fool yourselves...a cardio session could be walking on the tread at a moderate speed for 1 hour....anything counts and is better than nothing...

Several small meals a day....5-7 times a day...

You can truly reform yourself in 6 weeks if you apply yourself.... don't always base it on the scale...muscle weighs more than fat.... you may not lose much weight, but your clothes can be falling off of you!

I commend anyone who makes the decision to get fit and sticks with it!!!! It's easy to do nothing about it...twice as hard to get moving!!!!

Good luck and congrats to everyone who is working hard towards their goals....feel free to PM me for any advice

ps. don't forget, once you start to see results....the motivation kicks into high gear and it becomes addictive!!!

Hi poprocks...thanks so much for the advice...i just got back on my routine and i forgot how much i love it! You helped provide me with that extra bit of motivation i was needing

Hey everyone,

So I'm safely in Portland, Oregon. Actually, I'm in a hotel in Portland waiting for Roland. His flight is coming in late, so I checked in first.

Anyway, on with the issue at hand. Customs went well. I had everything all prepared, but all the guy asked was what I was doing in the US and for how long and when was the last time I was in the US. And he let me through. Not that I'm saying not to be prepared. It's just good if everything works out.

Have a great weekend everyone!

TiNa

Hey Tina! so glad to hear that everything went well...thanks so much for the update as my fiance just booked my ticket to meet him in Atlanta for the August long weekend Enjoy your weekend and have a safe trip home!

I'm going to go finish out my wait in Florida so that should help ease the pain of waiting

lil mermaid, that would definitely make the wait a little easier...although we have very Florida like weather this week in Toronto and a garbage strike...lol

I know. I live just outside of Toronto. Far enough that they are still getting my garbage thank god! lol

Has anyone had any touches?

Mine doesn't even show in the system.

neither does mine...i was worried that it would mean a delay but i inquired about it and was told it does not affect the process...just a glitch

The favor boxes I ordered came today! Exciting. They're turquoise boxes with our names and date plus a heart emblem, all engraved in silver. They look like this:

The plan is to fill them with M&M's in our colors. I'm not sure if I want to pay and get the personalized ones or not... They're cool but pricey. I was thinking that nobody would really notice our names on the back as they stuffed them into the mouth anyways... Any thoughts? What are you guys doing for favors?

I also got our toasting flutes and cake knife/server! They're a matching set and we had them embroidered. This is the fun part of wedding planning!

those are really beautiful favor boxes! i agree about not getting the M&M's personalized...people just pop them in their mouth so quickly, they probably wouldn't notice. For our favors, we are giving away mini gumball machines in the shape of basketballs. My fiance works in sports entertainment, specifically basketball and we are both HUGE fans; plus we met at a basketball game, so we thought it would be fun!

i was actually given a really cool magazine called Weddingstar (a CDN company) and that is where we found the inspiration. you can also go on their website www.weddingstar.com - they have great ideas

Uggg I read Kate Gosselin does 1 hr 15 mins of cardio per day to burn 850 calories that's why she's so damn skinny (elliptical & treadmill)

How does a woman with 8 kids have the time to spend 1.25 hrs on a machine?

Apparently she gets up at 4:30am before the kiddies.... I personally do not have that type of motivation

didn't she also get some cosmetic surgery done after the show got popular??

resurrecting this thread.. I've been working out since Feb on average 5 times a week.. not seeing results like I thought I would.. not as jiggly as I once was, but not really seeing a massive change in my body..

Is cardio 20-30 min 3x's a week and strength training 40 min 2x's a week not enough to really change your body?

hey em...i actually went to see my doctor for my physical a few months ago and talked to her about this very issue. She says that we should be doing cardio 5 times a week for at 45 minutes...so i've been doing that plus pilates 3 times a week and have been seeing some results. i've also had to drastically change my eating habits.

The LCBO is not going on strike

that is awesome considering it's sort of like a long weekend this week...LCBO article

LCBO on strike? Omg. Life as we know it will never be the same! My hometown is going to crumble.

I never did understand why the LCBO always closes at 9. It was quite inconvienent.

Some of the ones where I lived stayed open till 10:00pm! AND they had free wine and snacks.

The LCBO by my place is amazing...it's the HQ by the Lakeshore. I love to just go and browse the vintage section and they do give out snacks and wine

Ohhh Gok I love him! But also Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) from Twilight... Happy days . When are everyones estimated dates to get NOA2? Our lawyers said October to me earlier...I was freaking out

oh Edward *sigh* if things go as it is estimated, we are looking at mid-September for NOA2

I'm going to go finish out my wait in Florida so that should help ease the pain of waiting

lil mermaid, that would definitely make the wait a little easier...although we have very Florida like weather this week in Toronto and a garbage strike...lol

I am so jelous of that person. LOL! He probally flipped the pile in a manic moment.

Mann I wish my case got expedited, I told my Fiancee to stay in the Navy another year just so we could, but I think he needed his freedom more .

I am so sick of waaaaaaaaaaiting. I just lost my 2 jobs in the UK due to the recession so now I spend more time thinking about this visa. And watching Gok Wan.....Man I need a hobby!

i love Gok! we get his show here in Toronto...lol i totally feel you on the time spent thinking about this visa...it's depressing! hang in there...maybe, just maybe, all of us in May will start to get NOA2 notices (at least that's what i'm hoping!!!)

working...lol

the weather in Toronto is way too nice to be indoors and i have absolutely no attn span today!

As long as you hold your nose when walking outside and don't need to go to the LCBO

not as bad...YET! Fortunately i always like to make sure that i'm stocked with wine at home, just in case of situations like this fortunately, LCBO has not yet decided to strike...we will see.

that's amazing! let's all cross our fingers that ours come just as fast!

congrats!