Adjusting

After many fitful nights of nightmaring about forms and policies and the American Immigration system, Chris and I officially mailed off his Green Card application. Let me just say that I can not take credit for much of this amazing feat. Chris toiled away for days and days over this application, and even walked about 7 miles in temperatures that hovered near 0 degrees in order to attend various medical appointments, all for the chance of being granted the privilege of staying here, with me, in America. I say to you all: THAT is love. Any guy can buy a dozen roses. It takes real love to fill out the I-485.

Want to know something interesting? I had to sign a form that says I promise to support Chris at a rate of 125% of the poverty level. If I fail to do this at any time, Chris can sue me! I told him, "Sure, you can sue me...if you can pay for the lawyer!" and then we had a chuckle about that. Then, he looked up the definition of the 'poverty level' and discovered that, with my current income, I could actually be supporting 5 immigrants. So...if you know anyone who wants to cram into this tiny apartment with us, I'm putting my support up for grab.

In all seriousness, as sort of long and laborious as this process may have felt for the past 3 or 4 weeks, I have really thanked my lucky stars that Chris and I are native English speakers, and that we have enough money to do this and still afford to eat and pay rent. We have also had the good fortune of having a very patient, nice couple who have gone through this exact process to give us advice. We are very lucky to have had the chance to do this. Now, the wait begins!

Hope you're all doing well and staying warm!
xo

A Whole Mess of Change

Hi, everyone.
Since the last time I wrote, quite a bit has changed. I'll run down the list.

1.) Chris and I got married! We were married by the ever-honorable Judge Lloyd Zimmerman on January 7th and have been living in marital happiness ever since.

2.) My grandpa passed away a little over a week ago after a long battle with cancer. I know my family won't be the same without him. He was a very special person. In my almost 27 years of knowing him, I never saw him lose his temper and was certain that he loved and accepted me just as I am. I believe his ability to offer this to everyone was just part of why he will be missed.

3.) I began a new job at Behavioral Healthcare Providers. I am tucked away in an office auditing records and insurance information, and setting up follow-up care for people who visited the ER during a mental health crisis. I really like the people I work with and am enjoying the perks of having a regular schedule, health insurance, and my weekends off.

4.) I entered my late 20s. Today, I am 27. I'm ready for the year. Ever since I was about 24, I've predicted that 27 will be a special year for me, so I'm just waiting for it all to start. It's Day One.

I hope you're all staying warm in this drizzly weather!
xo

Frozen Hills and Wedding Bells

Well, it's that time of year again. You know, the time of year where you say, "Gosh, it's cold. I'm stuck inside. What should I do?" What I've decided to do is to get a 9-5 job and get married...in the same week. That's right, folks. It's happening, and it's happening now. I am becoming a Real Adult.

Chris and I are getting married on Thursday! Can you believe it? I can! This way, we can apply for what we now know is called an 'Adjustment of Status'. We're hoping to adjust the heck out of his status. Yup, we're just going to adjust that status riiiight up. Plus, getting married is one way to ensure that we get to spend the rest of our lives together, and I, for one, really like that idea.

So, right, wedding on Thursday, and then I start my new job at Behavioral Health Care Providers on Monday.

Other than that, I've just been hanging out with various people, working and not working, and using the crock pot my parents gave us for Christmas. Tonight, I came home to find that Chris had used one of the recipes in our new crock pot cookbook to make dinner. It was called 'Easy Chicken and Biscuits'. Chris announced it looked like 'a big bowl of snot'. After that, we couldn't eat any more. Tonight's plans may or may not involve a second round of dinner.

Hope you all are having a happy new year!
xo