Just another Birthday

So in the run up to the big two-seven I have been in pre crisis mode – you know – knowing that on the day that you wake up and you are no longer 26, you are going to feel like death is breathing his bad morning breath down your neck and when you get up and dare look into the mirror you are going to see even more crows feet and deep etched wrinkles. You make a mental note that you will have to book a botox appointment, a boob lift and some lipo and start going to the gym more. But then you think that this is just way too much effort and the easier thing is just to crawl back into bed and hope it is all just a bad dream.

I have been dreading this birthday like I dread going to the dentist. It’s not so much about getting older but more about the fact that I went from having a great job and a destination to turning one year older and having no job and no idea where I am going.

But then I woke up on that fateful day and was pleased to notice that I still looked the same, my boobs were still in the same place and … ok I’m still pretty keen on the lipo but that’s besides the point.

The good thing I guess is that I came to think that maybe life is not all about the destination and more about the adventure and I have my whole life to work and make a name for myself so maybe I should just enjoy the time off.

I also came to think that in the past year I have lived in three different countries and that has been pretty cool too.

So I have been able to put the mid life crisis on hold for another year, it was a little easier to delay than I thought – one reason could be that due to the fact that I have no job I have no money to go blow on clothes, shoes and plastic surgery. (My other half helped to ease the pain a little with 3 pairs of boots as a birthday present!)

Maybe when the clock ticks this time next year I will have more accomplishments to hold onto to make me feel a little better. I think I am already kicking into pre crisis mode though in terms of finding a good surgeon (Thunder you can not talk me out of this one!)

All in all I had a great birthday, with family, food and cake. And you are never too old to blush during Happy Birthday.

My First Thanksgiving

So I can successfully say that I have experienced Thanksgiving and thoroughly enjoyed it. I mean who wouldn’t – food, family and Shopping!

So the day started bright and early making sure that all the food was cooked and the tables were set. Family started arriving and we sat down to eat lunch which was a feast fit for a king! With the traditional turkey and stuffing and so much more I was impressed with my will-power to only have one helping (OK there really was only room for one helping and I had to make sure there was room for pudding!)

During lunch we went around the table and shared what we are thankful for. It really is good to thin about it and reflect on the people and things in life that mean so much to us and the opportunities we have been given. I am so thankful for the opportunity to come to a new country to live and experience all the cultures and traditions. I am so thankful for my family back home and everything they have done for me during my life. I am also thankful for my new family here in America, for taking care of me and making me feel so welcome and loved.

After playing some board games with the family we went to bed as full as ticks, ready for another full day tomorrow.

So apparently another thanksgiving tradition is shopping – I’m not sure of the history or reason behind it but I’m not complaining or gonna ask questions. Black Friday is the day after thanksgiving and consists of shopping, shopping and more shopping. We were up at 4 am to head to the stores where absolutely everything was on sale! I was in heaven!!! We shopped for a magnificent couple of hours then went off for lunch to stuff ourselves further.

Headed home unable to move and we watched the traditional iron bowl football (of course there had to be some football and yes Alabama won) and crashed into bed shortly after.

All in all I had a great thanksgiving and can’t wait until next year!

Thanksgiving - The Story

So for my friends and followers not entitled to a couple of days off work for this holiday, let me being by shedding some light on this day of giving thanks.
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November with large Thanksgiving dinners being held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

In the United States, certain Thanksgiving meals normally feature turkey (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as "Turkey Day"). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. As an alternative to turkey, many vegetarians or vegans eat tofurky, it’s unlikely that I will get to try this as me being a veggie is has caused many raised eyebrows and the mention of tofu generally arouses the gag reflex of those Americans in my presence.

So to break it down Barney style; The tradition of Thanksgiving started some four hundred years ago when some of the people in England, for various religious reasons, fled their homes, and went far off to a country called Holland and began to call themselves "Pilgrims."

In Holland, the Pilgrims were happy for a while, but then for further reasons, they made up their minds to move to America. The Mayflower was the vessel which would take them across the sea.

After sailing two months the Mayflower came in sight of land; but instead of finding grass and flowers and birds, there was nothing to be seen but rocks, sand and hard bare ground because it winter.

Some of the Pilgrims went on shore to see if they could find any houses or people, but they only saw some wild Indians, who ran away from them. They searched and searched until they found somewhere to live. Then at last, on Christmas Day, all the tired Pilgrims could leave the ship settled on a spot now called Plymouth Rock. But the weather was cold, the snow fell fast and thick, the wind was icy and they got very sick that first winter. But over time the sun shone more brightly, the snow melted, the leaves began to grow, and spring had come again.

Some friendly Indians had visited the Pilgrims during the winter and one of the kind Indians was called Squanto came to stay with the Pilgrims, and showed them how to plant corn, peas, wheat and barley.

As the seasons passed the Pilgrims learned the land when autumn came, the fathers gathered the barley and wheat and corn that they had planted, and found that it had grown so well that they would have enough for the long winter that was coming.
"Let us thank God for it all," they said. "It is He who has made the sun shine and the rain fall and the corns grow." "Then," said the Pilgrim mothers, "let us have a great Thanksgiving party, and invite the friendly Indians."

So they had the first Thanksgiving party. The men went out hunting, and brought back so many wild ducks and geese and great wild turkeys that there was enough to eat for almost a week. Then the Pilgrim mothers made the corn and wheat into bread and cakes.

The friendly Indians all came with their chief Massasoit and each meal, before they ate anything, the Pilgrims and the Indians gave thanks for everything good that has happened for them. The Indians sang and danced in the evenings, and every day they ran races and played all kinds of games with the children.
And that my friends, is thanksgiving. So now I am off to celebrate and give thanks and eat lots.

The Immigration Saga – Finally something good!

Well today has been a great day, and not only cause I was treated to a much overdue mani and pedi.

But today I finally received what I have been waiting for from the dear immigration people. OK I now, I got my work permit yesterday which is pretty important too, but today I was granted Advanced Parole.

The mail man (who was getting scared I would start stalking him) brought me a letter today that in big bold letters at the top states. “Authorization for Parole of and Alien into the United States”. Now seriously, can they not think of any better way to put it?

Anyway, call me what you will, this alien will be coming home for Christmas and nothing is stopping me!

All in all I cannot complain as this whole process took a lot quicker than the suggested time and it has actually been pretty simple. I would like to apologize to the poor call center people who had to endure my daily calls and subsequent huffing and puffing. I’m sure you’re not really as stupid as you sound.

So now, all that if left to complete is my permanent residency, but I have my parole and my work permit so take your time!

The Immigration Sage – 1 out of three completed

So after getting very excited that there may be hope and a light at the end of the immigration tunnel – I was once again let down by the stupidity of the call centre agents at the immigration saga headquarters. After telling me they were going to expedite my request for advanced parole they cannot tell me why I have not received the letter with further instructions. And no they can resend it – I just have to wait.

But I guess all hope is not lost and progress can be seen in the fact that I can now legally earn a living in the USA. Today the one thing that did reach me in the mail is a nice little card with my photo on it that is apparently and Employment Authorization Permit.

So – I guess I am actively looking for work then… Maybe I’ll start in January.

So that is one application checked off – two more to go. I’ll keep you posted.

The True Spirit of Christmas

My day today had a very early start at 6am when I arrived at Wal-Mart – yes I was at Wal-Mart at 6am.

But you know me – if given the opportunity to shop, with someone else’s money, I am all in – no matter what the time!

This morning however was not about me and that made it all the more enjoyable. Today was about giving to those who have very little and it proved to be so much fun.

Through the church we had raised enough money to buy gifts for 109 children this Christmas so groups of us flocked to the store to shop for them. We were given the children’s age and gender and of course their wish list to Santa and we did our best to fit all there desires into our budget – which actually proved pretty easy because of the great prices!

It was so much fun to go around and pick out clothes, toys and even bicycles for little boys and girls knowing that this Christmas there will be something great for them under the tree.

I would like to thank all the amazing people who donated money and also the staff at Wal-Mart for opening up early and helping us find exactly what the kids wanted.

I would also like to urge everyone to give a little this Christmas. I know that times are tough but times are even tougher for other people out there and it really does feel good to know that you have made a difference to one little child.

Even if you don’t have the extra cash, offer your time like I did and hey – you could end up having so much fun!

Footballers Wives – Very proud!

So as an update to the previous Footballers Wives segment a couple of weeks ago I am proud to announce that my other half was on the winning team of the league championships.

This came at no small price! Game one began promptly at 3pm, with a very mouthy team as competition the pressure was on to put these guys in their place. And they did. A magnificent win moved them onto the next round of the playoffs.

After a very long wait, during which the girls went shopping, the boys had to warm up again and get their game faces back on for the next round which started at a delayed 6pm! Again they won, although this time very close.

Into the finals! The championship match had even the footballers club on the edge of their seats. They played a team who beat them royaly last time (all the the teams they played in the playoff were teams that they had previously lost to). Up until the very last moment we were holding our breath and oh the joy to see the looks on our mens’ faces when they scored that last point, putting them in the lead by 1 – 10 seconds before the end of the match.

Now if I knew a little more about the sport I could give you a full break down and play by play – but for no this will have to do.

All in all a good day was had and we are all extremely proud of our champions. We have a welcome break of a few weeks before basketball season starts and the footballer’s wives club gets back into gear – at least this time it will be inside!