In Nebraska, when we go to the grocer, we have a selection of fish. Catfish. Swai. Some sort of icky whitefish. Nothing worth eating. The salmon is likely good, but if you really want good, good fish, you have to make a special trip to the fish monger.

We watched a movie on Amazon (can’t remember what) and then we watched part of the festivities in New York City. I began wondering… why is the calendar changing to the New Year party-worthy? I don’t mean to be depressing at all. It’s just that every new year is full of its own challenges. I’ve had some pretty major challenges in the last year; some of them pretty amazing, some of them incomprehensible.

So if every year continues to have its own challenges, I suppose that it’s realizing that you’ve made it through the old year’s challenges or enjoyed the gifts of the previous year, and you’re moving into the unknown, where it can be good or bad; happy or heartbreaking, but hopefully mostly joyful.

Maybe it’s the feeling of comfort of the moment; being in a happy place, with a roof over our heads, access to all of the requirements to live on… plus something more.  And if we’ve started the New Year off in a horrid place, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.

Maybe that is the point.

And getting to see LMFAO performing in Times Square.

I am waving “so-long” to the challenges of 2011 and saying, “Bring on more great things” to 2012.

Happy New Year!

.. present opening..

.. a few international phonecalls to our dads living overseas..

.. a trip to Lauritzen Gardens, where we viewed lots of interesting gardens and rode the tram (it was a hot day!)

2011-06-19

Then we dined on amazingly grilled amazing steak and corn-on-the-cob.

It was a good day.

So, this week, I’m off Monday – Thursday, and next week, I’m off Wednesday – Friday.    My parents are coming from Italy to the US for a week (whirlwind tour starting in Dallas), so that will be next week’s fun.

This coming week is Brit’s final day and 1/2 at elementary school.  They have 1/2 day Wednesday, then that’s it.   It will be sad to not be around all of the people who I’ve gotten to know and who’ve supported her over the last 6 years.   The secretary is always so cheerful.   The teachers are awesome and the afterschool program is just as great.   The afterschool program director and his assistants have been there since Brit was 4 and starting kindergarten, and have really been exceptional at what they do.     Sometimes, I would walk in to pick Brit up and there was happy shouting coming from 100 kids simultaneously as they did their activities.   I would look at the directors like, “Oh my gosh.. how do you do this?”   But they did it well, and I’m grateful.

Even though we’ve been through a lot of changes over the last several years, I’m happy that we’ve been able to keep Brit in the same school.   The continuity has been good for her.    Next year, she’ll be going to a school further away, just to be with her same friends.   In junior high, they blend 5 elementary schools together, so she’ll have lots of new people to meet, too.

And then Brit’s whirlwind summer schedule starts.   We have her going to summer school, band camp and some 3 week activity at the theater to do with puppetry.

Tomorrow..  Adventureland!    I hope it’s warm and sunny.   A few weeks ago when the girl scouts went, it was raining most of the time, until they shut the park, and then the sun came out.  :)  (sod’s law)

It’s been nice having 2 short weeks in a row. This is normally when it becomes blatantly obvious that work is going to consist of 5 long workdays for quite a long time.

On the immigration front, we received a couple of communications from USCIS. One was a biometrics appointment, set for January 13. The other was an RFE (Request for further evidence). We’re waiting for the letter that identifies what else is needed, we’ll send it in super-speedy, and it will all be fine.

It’s the extra incidence of special mailing that’s annoying, but it’ll be fine.

Other than that, we’ve been buried in snow. Some of the heaps of snow have been stacked up to 8 feet. When they plow the snow, they have to stack it somewhere. The only problem is that it’s difficult to see around an 8 foot pile of snow when you’re trying to see oncoming traffic, so the driving is a bit hazardous, but so far, so good.

Tomorrow is my dad’s birthday. You should stop by and say hello.

UPS continues to taunt me, though.   Throughout the Christmas season, they’ve promised to deliver by a certain date, then doing crazy things, like saying “The package was left in a UPS facility. Transferring to the city of destination.”    Whatever that means.

Then there is the “2-day air” shipping that delayed for arrival.   The last bit should arrive by tomorrow, but since half of the shipment is in Lenexa, KS (may arrive) and half is in Pennsylvania (could possibly arrive), it doesn’t seem promising, does it?

I had shipments that sat in the local UPS office for several days, and then they were put on a truck for delivery, normally one package on one day and the next package on another.

Still, it would be interesting to see how many packages transited via UPS over the holiday season.  To their credit, everything’s arrived on time so far, and in perfect condition.

Anyway, complaining aside… it’s going to be a nice Christmas.   It’s our second Christmas together, but our first as a married couple.   It still seems odd (in a good sort of way), this whole “married” thing.  I feel like I’ve been married to Ian for ages, and it just became official 20-some-odd days ago.

I guess that’s how things feel when you’re married to your soulmate.

Happy Holidays!

Big hugs and loads of good wishes!

“The Lake House”, only distance and not time.

2. A former friend that badly hurt you in past, now calls you up and asks for your help with a serious matter, one of life or death. Do you help them?

Of course. I don’t hold a grudge.

3. Vacation – Paris or New York City?

Paris, then New York City. I want to see the world. What can I say?

4. What is your favorite curse word?

If I use one, it’s usually “fu*k”, but I use it sparingly, and usually when my computer is being annoying. I don’t have anything at all against cursing. I just don’t do it often myself.. unless I’m really ticked off.

5. If there is one moment in your life that changed your outlook on the world forever, what would it be?

I would say “meeting Ian”, because I can see the world through more positive eyes and understand both sides of just about any issue. Also, the artistic side of me reappeared, and suddenly, I can draw walnuts and hang out in the art museum for 3 hours at a time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0hvOdYVTG0

It was an AMAZING holiday.     Ian arrived in Omaha on Christmas Eve (this was the short trip for him, in the end!).    The arrivals board said the plane was on time, yet no plane.   After 1/2 hour, I was getting a little worried curious about where the plane was.   I was less concerned when I googled the flight from my phone and saw the flight was running a little late. 

The flight arrived.   People from it started trickling into the terminal.   I watched as some greeters ran hysterically up to the people they were meeting, and thought about what Ian said before:   “The arrivals lounge is the happiest place in the world.”

I spotted Ian approaching the exit from the terminal into the arrivals lounge.    I’m not sure what happened after that… one minute he was not here and the next, we were hugging each other.  

After finding his luggage and the car, we headed off to… Taco Bell (one of the few restaurants open on Christmas Eve).   He has decided he likes chalupas.

Other things:

• We opened loads of presents.   I got a lot of art supplies (pencils, paint, pads, etc), a curry book, a CD, a couple of drawing books and loads of other things. Spoiled?  Yes!
• Harassed FedEx for a special food packet from my brother. 
• We went to Kansas City to visit my brother, SIL, niece and nephew.    We went through downtown Kansas City, ate barbeque (required in Kansas City) and had a big dog wash.   Also, my nephew decided the contour of Ian’s head was just perfect for driving his truck over, especially his eye.        Too cute!
• I made pancakes.   We ate a bunch of them.
• Ian drove on the Interstate.  We’d warned everyone else to stay off the Interstate, but it was really not necessary.  He’s mastered US highways, and even a few exit/entry ramps.   It was nice to have someone else drive, and he seemed to really enjoy it.
• We spent 5 HOURS at the zoo.   Ian speaks to animals.  They talk back to him.   It was fun to watch his reaction to the zoo.     It was so much fun, and we were terribly exhausted by the end of the day.
• We watched the Queen’s Christmas Message with great interest.
• We went to the Joslyn Art museum, where we spotted plenty of American Indian statues and paintings.    At the end were a few famous works, like Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (Petite Danseuse de quatorze ans) (Degas), Small Country Farm at Bordighera (Un coin de ferme à Bordighera) (Monet), and even a Renoir.
• Visited the Whole Foods Market, where I became a little worried that Ian was seriously contemplating taking up permanent residence within the store.   I love this place, too.      We ate a panini stuffed with roast beef and gorgonzola and drank coffee and looked around at various grocery items.  It was lovely.
• We toured the Old Market, ate lunch here (thai salad, nom), and went to the mall, which was not so different from the mall in Milton Keynes.
• We cooked lots of wonderful food:  Christmas dinner, English breakfasts, chicken enchiladas, curry… all sorts.   It was all good.    I was mostly the prep cook, but hey, I did a meal or two here and there.
• We played with dogs (who really enjoy Ian’s dog-friendliness) and snuggled up on the sofa.
• We went ice skating!
• We visited my work, where he received the seal of approval from my friends/coworkers
• Ian and TLK got along famously.
• We taste-tested several types of beer.    I even got to have a Leffe.
• One very jet-lagged Ian returned to the UK, after what seemed like 2 days of travel (thanks to the 5 hour layover in Cincinnati)

I wouldn’t have traded this week for anything in the world.  It was perfect.   It went entirely too quickly.  

I watched him walk away, as he turned a few times to wave.  I watched him take off his shoes and go through the scanner a few times, and then disappear into the terminal.      Wiping my tears away, I was about to leave, when the guard at the desk said, “You can get a ticket to go with him if you want.”

“What?”, I said

Guard:   “You can go to the airline counter and get a security ticket so you can wait with him.”

Me:   “I can?    Thank you!”

And off we ran down to the counter, waited patiently for the people in front of us to check their luggage, and then got our security ticket.    Then we ran back upstairs, went through security, didn’t bother to put our shoes on, and walked up behind Ian, who was pacing through the terminal.  

We were all so excited to have the extra 45 minutes or so together.   It definitely made our day.

Walking away is definitely the hardest thing we have to do at the airport.     But the time we have together beforehand, and after we’re able to arrange another flight, is definitely worth it.

Happy New Year!