canadalaura

CONGRATULATIONS

Oh, that reminds me I hate hate hate the smell of microwave popcorn and someone is always making that stuff. ick.

I can never get enough of seafood...I mean, real and FRESH seafood, like lobsters, crabs, shrimps, mussels, fishes, etc....

My home country also has a large variety of weird snack and junk food...and I miss them a lot......

mmmm... I forgot about all the yummy crab and shrimp we get her in coastal SC I'm not sure where you live, but even Savannah has an asian food market with a fair amount of Korean/Japanese snack-food... surely a larger city would have some stuff from Hong Kong!

I like her meatloaf but as far as regional food, I love sweetened cornbread!

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww... I hate cornbread. It feels just plain wrong to be eating CAKE with your dinner...

mmmm.... cornbread. drool. cake for dinner! it's paradise!

Wow, that's fast I should move to Buffalo!

CONGRATULATIONS!

mmmm..... cornbread. and sweet potato pie. yum!!!

Does he own anything in Boston?

My cubicle neighbour provides me with a running commentary of her day. And the whole office, actually. It's like "are you talking to me?"

I want us to be settled in a house we own (well, pay a mortgage on)

Yeah, paying off debt for 30 years.. the Amurican dream!

Can't wait! And hey, it beats rent

Does it? After owning a home for 2+ years, I am beginning to question that. In my particular case, the home has appreciated but what happens to my next home purchase? Times may be different and prices may stay flat or they may go down. As for the tax deductions, that's really just a discount on your mortgage and prop tax payments, courtesy of the IRS. So if I were to move to a cheaper area (say, the Carolinas) where rent is less than the mortgage+prop tax payments minus the deduction.... then is buying still better than renting?

These are some of the thoughts that have been swirling around in my mind lately.

Sorry, that was off-topic

Hmmm.... food for thought. I just can't see the benefit of paying $1500-$1800/month for a two bedroom apartment so that some landlord can pay HIS mortgage... overly simplistic, perhaps...

there are basic rights that are guaranteed to humans... but, one of them is NOT that they can choose to live wherever they want, whenever they want... we can ask to change where we live... there are channels that someone can go through to get where they want... we may or may not believe that they are right, but it is up to each of those countries to be able to set their laws to be what they feel is right for them, as a nation...

What then do you consider the basic rights guaranteed to all humans? And who chose these rights?

If you wish to immigrate to the US, you have a basic right to appeal to your friendly consular office, who is appointed by God.

ha I nominate this for the best post of the day.

I want us to be settled in a house we own (well, pay a mortgage on)

Yeah, paying off debt for 30 years.. the Amurican dream!

Can't wait! And hey, it beats rent

I can't wait to have kids - we had a scare a few months ago and when it tunred out I wasn't, we were actually dissapointed! But really, for the best - I want us to be settled in a house we own (well, pay a mortgage on) first

Who cares - it's not her choice it's yours (and your husband's of course). I'm sure she would come around... who wouldn't love a cuti-pie grandchild!

A lot of it comes down to homogamy; we tend to prefer things that we have been surrounded with our entire lives and are similar to us. This is changing though and certainly doesn't apply to everyone! I've always thought I would like to adopt a chinese girl if I couldn't have children of my own or maybe even if I can have children of my own. It's so sad how they often get thrown away and I think they are so beautiful!

Not trying to be mean, but this kind of attitude is fueling a virtual "market" for baby girls in China. The reality is that in modern times we tend to overstate the amount of modern Chinese that don't want their baby girls. I do think that there certainly are lots of children in many many countries that need loving homes, but when it starts to be like many adoptions from China where they know that Americans will pay "top dollar" because they are desperate for a child I take issue with that.

To the OP, as an adult adoptee myself, I am not trying to lessen the amazing job that my adoptive parents did for me, but there are many times when I have felt like I "stuck out" in my family as not being the "real" child... but at least to outsiders I look like I "belong" to my family. To some extent I think that multi-racial adoptions might make the child feel even more disjointed and out of place than if he/she were placed with a family whom she "looks" like. On the other hand, I do not doubt that adoptive parents can fully love any child no matter what race like a child of their own.

i definately would adopt a child from a race different than mine (or nizzar's). we've even talked about if we can't have our own kids to adopt a japanese girl.

Good luck with that - the Japanese are LOATHE to adopt or put children up for adoption - it just doesn't happen in that society. Much less adopt to a foreigner - gasp! The horror.

Dh thinks we'd have to face too much prejudice if we adopted a non-white baby

I would find this the least of my worries in a multi-racial adoption.

Wait till you file for your greencard - a lot of centers are still processing from 2004! hahahaha

Is this like the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" where the lawyer has to prove the existence of Santa Claus...and is successful?

HAHA!!! Best thing I've read all day. Thanks!

Yup, the wait is that long. Get your AP.

DOn't check Chicago unless you live there though - check your district office.

We have a joint checking account where the majority of our $$$ goes for all our monthly expenses. Then we each have seperate savings accounts. Mostly just fun money in those accounts. But we are VERY firm believers of all of our money is "ours", not seperate.

ah... it's ok, Shon just can't read.

Ahhh... Georgia. Home sweet home. sorta - I work here. Doesn't suprise me in the least.

I crossed the border with a uhaul too. Just had a general list of the things I was bringing - and what box it was in. ie. Box#2 - books and cds Box#3 - collectibles, etc. They never even looked at it! My husband is in the military and couldn't get leave to help me with the move - so I drove it myself... no hassles at all at the border, they were wonderful!

Have you thought about taking this to the media? Maybe a little bad press would light a fire under the proverbial USCIS @ss. Would be a nice story to show just how broken the system is for those trying to immigrate legally.

What a bunch of #######, I'm really sorry you are going through all this.

Have you considered taking your story to the media (news stations or newspapers)? I would think right now with the immigration bills, this kind of nightmare case showing what some people have to go through to do things legally would be of great interest to lots of media. Good human interest story too. I'm very sorry for everything you're going through. My husband and I went through some tough times in our long road to be together, and my heart goes out to you and your husband and here's a prayer that this nightmare will soon end and you'll finally be able to be together.

duh... didn't read this before I posted. Great minds think alike I guess!!

eewwww... i think they're yucky. There is like a million calories per though. I have heard rumors that the gum is a laxative... you can make them explode, too

I'm in the same boat as you.... it sucks

Hilarious :D