USCIS Appointment

    Hello dear readers!

   It seems that now that the stress of my USCIS appointment is finally gone, I am back in the mood of writing. 

   So, first off, the appointment. After having to put together I'd say about 100 emails and letters (in chronological order too!) and also about 60 pictures, many copies of all the paperwork we ever submitted, and also copies of our original documents( birth, marriage certificates, passports, and others) the big day of the appointment finally came. 

   So we packed the car with lots of CDs (because I never really got put ALL the music we have on our computer and than iPod), a book each, and of course my knitting project, we hugged  our pets goodbye hoping they won't completely ruin the place while we're gone, and off we were.

     The strong winds and on/off rain added to the darkness, but we didn't get lost, in spite of bad mapquest directions. (After it said we should just stick to NC-24 and our next road would be our own, we had to take about 3 more turns that were not included). 

     We got to the hotel, checked it, and crashed after watching a little NCIS, a family favorite. We set the alarms, Seth's phone, my phone (even though I was having some battery issues), and also the hotel alarm clock, none of which went off in the morning. So I wake up at 7, after dreaming of being late, and realize we slept in for an extra half an hour. We still had plenty of time to get ready, because the USCIS place was just a few minutes away, and we already knew how to get to it from previous visits, but it was still scary to wake up later than planned.

     We got there at eight and we waited. And waited. No cell phones allowed, and no clocks on the walls. When we were called in, we found out it was 9:45. We were out by 9:55. It went fast and easy, and with no troubleshooting. I did have all the paperwork i needed, and the man only asked for a sample of our emails and letters, even though all the ones that we had WERE a sample. He took a look at our pictures, asked some questions and before we knew it we were told I should get my Green Card in two to four weeks. AWESOME! Oh, and I got my name changed too. Good thing I asked, the man just put a line over my Constantin name and wrote HEINLE in big red letters. So now my paperwork will be for Mrs Adina Daniela Heinle. 

     After we left we went to Subway to grab some brunch, since we didn't have time for any breakfast and we wouldn't be home at lunchtime. We got home, almost got lost because of incomplete Mapquest directions, and crashed again. After just 4-5 hours of sleep the previous night (im too used to my amazing pillow--Thanks Matt and Rushi!), all I wanted was to get home to my puppy.

    I was surprised to see that no damage was done to our home, and that the pets behaved very well. Nothing was torn apart, chewed on, or broken. Maybe they just slept the whole time we were gone, as they usually do. It took Suki about an hour before her excitement that Mami and Daddy are home went off. After many hugs and belly scratching, she finally settled down between Seth and I in our bed, and I could just hear her sigh with happiness. We didn't forget about her, and we did come back! Johnny Cash had a very "I just woke up and didn't even realize you were gone all night" attitude. We love you too, Johnny!

     Now I have to wait for my Green Card to come, and I have to start studying so I can get my drivers license! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Hopefully I won't go completely insane before than!. 

    I'm off to my chores now. 

   

Halloween is coming...

Today my beloved hubby came home close to midnight because he had to fly. Nothing unusual in that. As always Suki and I went outside to greet him. After running around for a little bit we noticed Suki was scared and trying to sniff something that was moving. 

    Than we saw it. The big, ugly spider that our dear dog was trying to eat, or play with. Seth killed it, of course. Maybe I should get it stuffed, mounted and hang it over the door , for the other spiders to know they are NOT welcome

. That's a regular size house key, and that's how big the monster is! The World is a better place now, one less ugly, yucky spider in it. 

Mm Good!

   This is what I've been up to lately... Seth's very long scarf, and baking bread. Its the first time I made bread, even though I;ve had the bread machine since the wedding (it was a wedding present from my sistah Anda). 

    Seth's scarf is actually pretty wide too, but it curls up ( by demand). Seth wore it all weekend long, even though it wasn't that cold! I'm just happy he likes it!!  :) 

     I've also started printing out all the emails Seth and I ever wrote to each other, for the interview we have with USCIS soon. I also have to print out pictures, and a lot of them too! Apparently, the more you bring, the better...  Its fun going down memory lane to read some of our old emails... They still put a big big smile on my face... And I haven't even gotten past the "We're just friends" emails. 

     I've started a new scarf now, for my mother. I need to put a Christmas package together for her, and if I want it to get there on time, I have to move fast, especially with the scarf. 

     Now I have to go make some food to go with that yummy bread I've made :) 

I love my MacBook!

   I really do. In fact, I only got this blog so I would have yet another excuse to type on my lovely laptop. I really like it. I hope we will never have to go back to a PC. We've had it for 10 months, and no viruses, trojans, or troubleshooting. Its so beautiful! Not having to worry about any of that ugly stuff, after years and years of begging my friends to come fix my PC, to reinstall Windows, and to clean it from all the evil viruses out there. 10 months and not a thing. Just a software update every now and than, but that's nothing to complain about.

      It took a little getting used to, and I still need to learn how to work some of the programs on it, but we LOVE Garage Band and iPhoto. Its so much fun!

    So, people, start saving, and get yourselves a Mac! Why settle for anything else? 

  

3 Months

     We have three months until my husband will get deployed. This will be our first deployment. He will be gone from January until the end of July. 

      I am trying to be brave, and not think about it until we actually have to deal with it. But we already started talking about the arrangements we need to make before he leaves. I will go stay with his family, and when he gets back he will hopefully be able to take a few weeks off so we can move everything back and so we can spend some time together, and also with his family. 

      All this talk makes me sad. I am excited for him, he gets to go to Africa, see new things and experience new cultures.  Plus, Africa is supposed to be a little safer than Iraq or Afghanistan. Hopefully we will be able to communicate often. And we're used to being away from each other... I mean, for the past two years we only saw each other every six months or so, and just for two or three weeks at a time. This time its different. It will be harder, because we are now used to seeing each other day after day after day, and spending time together, but it will hopefully be a little easier because now we are married, and when he comes back, it will be another year or two until he has to go again. 

       We have been married for 9 months now, and I got to see him every single day! The happiest 9 months of my life! 

         I will stay positive about this deployment. I hope I will have my drivers license by the time he leaves. 

    I have to go work on his scarf, still. I have been busy doing things around the house so I didn't have too much time to knit. I am also praying that my birth certificate won't get lost in the mail, since i need it for my USCIS interview at the end of October. 

      I will come back with pictures of Seth wearing the scarf, hopefully soon.  

This week...

    Here's the things I learned/experienced this week:

• My hubby loves veeeeerry long scarfs.
• my cat attacks my dog when i put her in the kennel
• it feels good to sit down and make a plan
• i love knitting
• i love Transformers, and can't wait for when they come out with the next one!
• I enjoy watching guy movies with my hubby as long as i can knit/crochet
• my next project will be learning how to make a hat for Seth to pair with the scarf.
• its great to have goals in life!
• sometimes it can be life-saving to watch the weather
• I will never get used to tornado warnings
• a storm did more damage here than hurricane Hanna.
• I don't want to die. Not because Im scared, but because I know how hard it is to lose someone and I don't want my loved ones to go through this
• its good to save receipts, for returning things.
• my recent passion for knitting has affected my reading.
• This game made me realize that im not good at building things, but im good at making them work.
• headaches haunted me almost every day this week. no fun!
• my cat loves to play with my knitting needles.

                 We were up late last night keeping an eye on the weather, after having a tornado warning. Up until last night I wasn't sure why I am so scared of dying, when I know I am going to heaven. And while talking to Seth last night I realized that I am not scared of dying, I am scared of the things that come before death so many times....the pain, the illness, the suffering. I am a little scared of that, maybe because I've seen so much of it so early in life. I am not scared of dying, I am scared of how it will affect those that love me. My husband, my mom, my sister and everyone else that loves me... It took me four years to recover from my daddy's death, and I still have my bad moments...

           On a happier note, my hubby and I will soon celebrate 9 months since our wedding day. Wow, 9 months! If we would've had a honeymoon baby, I would get ready to go in labor soon! Luckily there is no need to worry about that, since Im not pregnant. These have been the best days of my life.  I don't know why people say the first year is the hardest one. It was very happy and sweet for us, probably because we knew each other so well before we got married, and because we both feel that there is nothing worth fighting over. I try to make my hubby as happy as I can, and I do my best for him to be eager to come home to me every day, and to miss me while he is at work, as I miss him. 

            I hope the weather will clear soon.... I can't wait for snow to come, and no more tornadoes and hurricanes!

Latest news..

   

     I don't really have many news since my last entry. I started knitting a scarf for Seth, and he loves it! I chose a soft yarn, and he wants it extra long, so I still have some work to do on it. I'm not sure what my next project will be. I will either start knitting a scarf for me, since I already have some pretty pink yarn, or I will get started on a red-and-green afghan. My knitting and crocheting knowledge is very limited, so if there is anyone out there that is willing to teach me a few more things, like how to change colors in the right way, or how to increase and decrease and make flowers and things like that, I will take all the help I can get. 

      We are thinking about moving... Even though I LOVE the idea of living in more than one room, and having a washer, dryer and dishwasher, I am a little concerned about the finances. I mean, we are already on the list for base housing, and here we pay very small rent with all utilities included, and we are on a monthly rental contract. So these are the main things that make me want to stay here. Oh, and the fact that with some money invested in more shelves and maybe another dresser we would have enough space for all our things.

      If we move, we would have to add an extra $500 to the housing expenses, at least, because rent would be more expensive, and the chances of having another house with the utilities included in the rent are minimal.  So, we will see.

       My mother and our friends are not coming anymore. I was very sad to hear that... I haven't seen my mom in 9 months, and I don't know when I will see her again. We were both very disappointed.  I wish she was here to teach me how to crochet and knit more interestingly. 

       I will let you know what my next project will be once I make up my mind.