It's Christmas Eve and I'm...not feeling sorry for myself

Today was supposed to be party time with older daughter but she is sick. First she texted me that she had a cold, so if I still wanted to come we would keep our distance. Then an hour or so later she texted me that she felt terrible and was running a fever, so the party was off. I hope she feels better for Christmas. It will be a digital day for me. Younger daughter & hubby is in California, my hubby is 5,000 miles away, all my friends are online, and my two neighbors are busy.

So I should be boo-hooing...right? No, I did that last year, and a few days ago. Right now I'm just smiling, thinking about my new life when hubby finally gets through immigration. A few days ago hubby asked how the painting went in the bathroom. He knew daughter here was helping me. Well, she had finished painting, but the color on the walls looked nothing like it did in the store. No, it wasn't a mistake, it matched the color chip. Let me put it this way, the color chip looked completely different in the store. So what I have up there looks like milk mixed with pepto-bismol.

So, you ask....why didn't I bring color chips home? Answer: I did. I have been trying to pick a color for months. WHY SO HARD???? Because the plastic tub surround has YELLOWED. My sink is white, my toilet and tub are white, and the tub surround is as shiny as the day it was installed, but it yellowed from age or sun or both. So what goes with yellow? More yellow? Green? Blue? But I don't want green or blue. I probably could have gotten away with peach, but no, I went for this pale funky color that looked interesting in the store and turned into a monster on the walls. It screams "Yellow Tub Surround" at me every day.

The sick combo of yellow tub surround and bluish-pink walls.

So back to hubby. Oh no he's asking for pictures. I'm embarrassed, but I tell him the story and send pictures. She here we have Mrs. Embarrassed I want to hide (me) and Mr. Fit It (hubby) who tells me it's ok and then comes up with a dozen solutions. My hubby the ceramic tile man fix it man can do guy non-judgmental lifter-upper of my spirits man of my dreams. 

Right away he had solutions for the yellow tub surround. Paint it with special paint or replace it. His first suggestion was to cut out the tub and build a European shower. Well, he said "shower" but I knew what he meant. It would be awesome. I would love it. But we are fixing this house up for sale. It's not likely anyone with European taste is going to buy a house in my neighborhood. 

If you are wondering, here is a European shower (NOT my picture). 

My hubby builds them with different, larger tile, but the concept is the same. After discussing the tub surround we moved on to the wall behind the sink. It's bad, very bad. So daughter and I were planning to put up some bead board. But that's a lot of work for two girls. So after I showed hubby what bead board is, he said leave it for him to do. I smile when he tells me he will measure how many cfadrature I need and Google Translate can't even tell me what that is. He measures in metric and thinks in Albanian. He's already "window" shopping for tools of his trade on line at Menard's and Home Depot. And he told me he can paint flowers on the walls around the bedroom windows. I can't wait to see his work. So now you know why I'm smiling.

FedEx LIES About Delivery Attempts

I HATE FedEX. They LIED to me.

I hope our immigration journey will soon be over

I know the National Visa Center is working on my hubby's case, because they emailed me and the lawyer requesting passport-style photos. Apparently they were lost. I suppose it's possible, considering the case file was so thick it cost $18 to FedEx it to New Hampshire. If anyone is wondering about the immigration process, the best place to turn is www.visajourney.com. Unlike most forums where questions sit unanswered or the info is incomplete, this forum will guide you through the entire process in complete accordance to the law, and it can be done without a lawyer. Members cheer each other's progress and support each other's disappointments. Had I known about the forum before I filed, I would not have needed the lawyer, and frankly, the time-frames she told me were not at all realistic, which I would have known, if I had known about the forum.

Petitioning for someone is a daunting process, with more papers to sign than when buying a house. The Affidavit of Support is a binding contract with the government that states the Petitioner (me) is financially responsible for the Beneficiary (hubby) until he becomes a US citizen, or works 10 years, or goes back to Kosovo forever. There are many types of visas, including non-immigrant and immigrant visas. We are married, so I filed an I-130 for a CR-1 visa. So in a nutshell, here are the steps to bring a spouse of a US citizen here to the USA.

The I-130 form is filled out and filed along with the fee and all supporting documents. That is sent to the USCIS, where Homeland Security does background checks, first electronically, and then by mail. The estimated time was 5 months, end of April. It took until the end of August. The result was Approved!

But that was just the first step. After that the USCIS sent the papers to the National Visa Center (NVC). When they received them they assigned a new case number and generated a bill for the Visa and for the Affidavit of Support. Those need to be paid first. Then the the case can proceed, more paperwork is submitted, more forms, more proof of continuing relationship. When they are satisfied that everything is in order they will issue a "case complete" and forward everything to the proper embassy.

At some point after the embassy receives all the papers the NVC will make an appointment for the visa interview. One month before the interview date hubby will receive his appointment letter. He can then get his medical exam. Everyone is pretty much pass-out nervous at their interview.

Most people need to wait about 3 days for their visa, but sometimes it takes longer. They say never buy your ticket until you have your visa in hand. When hubby gets his visa (I'm not even going to think "if") they will give him a brown envelope that contains his visa info and medical exam. It cannot be opened until he lands at O'Hare and it is opened by a Customs agent. I am thinking he might have his interview in February and be here for spring. The lawyer told me it would take 6 months. It's already been just over a year since I filed.

I'm sleepy now....heading to bed. Nite all

ASEA ... ewwwwww not for me

One of my friends has been drinking that special water that costs a lot. It's made in Salt Lake City and is basically...what else but salty water. But no, that's not all. They do something to it. So it is special, and has health benefits, thus the $40 price tag on a bottle that is 32 ounces in size. It's supposed to signal cells to renew themselves, thus turning back the hands of time. She said she is in less pain now, and her husband is even regrowing hair in his bald spots. I though YES! This is something I wanted to try.

Yesterday I had the chance to stop by. My friend was walking better. Great! She took out a shot glass and poured me some. I told her just a little. So she handed me half a shot glass. One sip and OMG THIS STUFF TASTES LIKE FINGER NAIL POLISH REMOVER. Not that I've ever tasted it...but...ewww!! Some people say it tastes like chlorine. But to me it had a strong, weird plastic type chemical type taste. I held my nose and belted down the remainder, then chased it with a glass of tap water. So now I don't want to try it, which is unfortunate, because I would have liked to test it out. I would have liked to know if this stuff is a real benefit or if it's just snake oil. I mean, Salt Lake City has a LOT of salt. In fact I think they have enough salt to turn all the sinners on earth into pillars of salt.

The Great Salt Lake

Salt mines

Salt flats....for miles and miles and miles...

Kosovo visit # 2

I had a great time visiting my dear sweet hubby and his family. The trip was less strenuous, only one plane change, in Zurich. I only stayed 10 days this time, but we got better pictures. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

 Embroidered Turkish towels

 Prizren, the oldest city in Kosovo, if you can find it behind the umbrellas

 Prizren. It was crowded, and hot that day

 The city center, Prizren

View from the 3rd floor, Prishtina

AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My daughter got married in California and while I was out there for the wedding I got a text message from the USCIS that hubby is APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all the paperwork goes to the National Visa Center. Hopefully that part will be shorter. It was a short visit in California due to flight delays and general rudeness of the San Francisco airport people. But the wedding was beautiful. I heard a song on the flight home and remembered that I first heard it at the naturalization ceremony on the 4th of July on "A Capital 4th" in Washington D.C. I'm dedicating it to my hubby. It's called Home by Phillip Phillips. Hubby listened to it and said it's appropriate, he loves it too.

The words below speak of our immigration journey and are so true for anyone going through immigration.

Home lyrics:

Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Settle down it'll be all clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons 
They will fill you with fear
The trouble, it might drag you down
If you get lost,you can always be found
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Just another day, but it's not

We went from a dry hot summer to a cooler wetter one almost as soon as we turned into August. Other parts of the US are still popcorn-dry, but here we are fast recovering from the drought. I have been trying to stay busy but I've fallen into phases of doing a lot and then doing almost nothing. Oh well, things are getting done, right? ....um

In other news, today is me and new hubby's first wedding anniversary. Yay! But we are still apart. Immigration is stalled. But I'm not crying like I did last Christmas and New Years and Valentines Day and Easter and the 4th of July, because I'm flying back to see him this fall. We are so happy about that. I wish I could have gone sooner but too many things are going on here this month. In light of that, then I guess I'd better get busy.

Time out for antibiotics

Well about a month ago I got nailed by mosquitoes and the bites itched like crazy. I tried really really hard NOT to scratch them. I tried everything I had to make the itching stop. But I scratched them. And then two wouldn't heal. No matter what I did....so I finally went to my doc.

Doc: "You can take penicillin, right?"
Me: "No! I'm allergic!" (I know my chart says that)
Doc: "Then I will write (I heard the word sulfa-something)"
Me: "No, please, sulfa drugs make me sick!"
Doc: "I can write cyprofloxacin."
Me: "No, please, no, that's like getting kicked in the stomach for two weeks!!!"
Doc: "Z-pack?"
Me: "Yes! I can take Z-pack!"

Thankfully Z-pack is short, because it makes me tired and dopey. Last pill, Monday night, so I will start feeling normal about noon Tuesday.

Yeah, the bites are better.

I've been moving slowly on the house cleaning. I am frustrated. I have been piling stuff in the living room and kitchen that I no longer need. Now I am faced with getting rid of them. Most of them need to be sold, but to do eBay I need to find boxes for everything. And I have no way to hold a yard sale, nothing to put things on, and no helper to carry them out. And I really don't want people coming inside the house....still thinking this over.

Coming up...daughter's wedding in California and a trip to see my mmmmmmmmmm honey in Kosovo. I love the jet-set life! But I wish immigration would hurry up and send my hubby to me. We are looking at next year now. I think they do that on purpose, just to see if you will give up and withdraw the petition. Someone on an immigration forum mentioned that the Statue of Liberty should say, "Show us your money." No, that's not in the context of a bribe, it refers to people from wealthy nations getting approved faster.

I guess I don't spend much time here anymore

I was looking back at some of my posts in 2008. I used to write a lot more, before I got on facebook, which   is where I spend all my time now. Heck, most people spend all their time there. I know a couple people who don't ever check email anymore. It'a all chats and facebook. The land of lost digital content. I say lost because after a few days you can't even find your post anymore, so it's gone, fleeting. I've taken to saving things I really want to remember to my own computer.

The other day we had a fast and furious storm come through. I always shut down my computer, modem and router and disconnect the cable from the wall. After the storm passed I hooked up again, but couldn't get on the internet. I checked the cables, still had problems. So I called India. I mean I called ATT tech support. What a freakin joke.

"Thank you for calling ATT. My name is (whatever). How can I misunderstand you and piss you off today?"

Someone actually posted that on facebook, so obviously someone else needed to call them.

I suppose I could write pages about my sexy husband but no, only to my best friend or two. Although I have been wondering if even I should keep a blog, since just about everyone I know is already on facebook.

Otherwise I'm doing fine other than being annoyed by a mosquito that I never see that keeps biting me. Ok, falling asleep now, nite everyone!

Spread the Love

I'm a Type 1. Learning that was my ah-ha moment. I am so happy I am free to be myself now instead of trying to fit in a box that I thought I was supposed to be in.

And I will say it again...

...I will probably fly back to Europe sometime soon.

Some nice weather

It's still too dry, but at least it's not hot, until next week. I try to catch up outside in this nice weather. Hubby and I are really missing each other. If this immigration red tape keeps dragging I will probably fly back to Europe sometime soon.

Its hot and the air stinks

I hope this heat isn't going to be a regular thing but we did have these triple digit temps 3 day in a row twice before, long ago. I don't remember the exact dates but I think it was something like 1911 and 1947. If I didn't have air conditioning I would be melting in a chair in front of a fan and taking 10 showers a day. Just like my hubby in Kosovo, because they don't have A/C there.

Would you believe dad and I didn't have A/C when we were first married? If any of you are confused by that statement, I'm referring to my first hubby. My first couple summers here were amazingly cool. In fact, I think most of the 1970's were fairly cool. I wrote to my parents (still out in California at the time) that summers here were in the 70's with a few 80's and a 90 was rare, and it rained every 3 days. I was more bothered by the HUMIDITY. Geez, we did NOT have humidity in southern California. We did have smog. And even though a northeast wind brought the toxic mill smoke, I still thought the air here was fresher that L.A. Except at night, when it seems like they were always burning a dump somewhere, and all the industries decided to vent whatever because it was night and nobody could see. So I would tumble out of bed choking and wheezing and close all the windows...and swelter....because dad didn't want to buy an air conditioner. Why? I asked. His answer...he didn't want to get used to the air conditioning because he had to work outside. I always figured that was flawed reasoning because he worked outside in -5 temperatures in winter and we still had heat. 


Well, eventually, in the 1980's summers got warmer, so we finally got window A/Cs. There were also other changes. In the 1970's the snow always turned black from soot within 3 days and the Little Calumet river never froze from all the pollutants in the water. These days I do have to say the snow stays white longer and the river freezes. Also, no more dumps on fire, or tire burning, and mostly no more toxic releases at night. I do keep my house closed more than in the past. And if it's hot, I turn on the  A/C. In the past dad always wanted to sleep with a fan in the window blowing right on him (us). I was always sick. The night air around here is just not healthy. It's HUMID and full of MOLD and MILDEW. Geez I hate humidity. It makes me sick. I can't breath. I get congested, and my asthma worsens. Finally I convinced him it was making me sick and he went along with having the fan to the side of the window, not right in it, and eventually the A/C won, and he was ok, because he saw I was healthier. 


Now I sleep just fine with the A/C. I only have two window units, but they do a good job, and I can run one or the other or both. My electric bill is low. Now if it would just cool off....and rain!

Cooler and Rain Yay!

Today was much cooler and we got some much-needed rain. It's very hot in Kosovo, my hubby said 40 C (that's 104 F). They are going to pave our street tomorrow. At last! I am so tired of parking in back under the tree full birds eating and pooping mulberries. Ugh! I need to wash it every time I go somewhere. I love this video hubby sent me

Too Hot!

The weather is too hot. I think it will cool off soon. We got rain, but already it is too dry. I finally picked a color to paint my bathroom. I miss my husband like crazy!!!! I don't think anyone reads my blog LOL!! Everyone went to facebook.

A Little Bit of Progress

I removed the duct work in the hallway. It is now lying on the ground outside like some giant slain silver snake. The hall is now ready for the drop ceiling and new heat runs, when my daughter can get to it. Yeah, us girls gotta do it all. My husband is still stuck in Europe, but he has promised to fix everything. At least whatever is left after I fix what I am too embarrassed for him to see. Like the snake in the hallway.

I finally picked a paint color, and a new shower curtain. And louvered bi-fold doors for the storage space. To make a long story short, there are some shelves in there already, but they don't go to the floor, and they should, because they will only claim a small portion of the hall closet. It's late. More tomorrow...

House Work

Things are moving along with the house, not as fast as I would like, but I will be painting the bathroom soon, very soon. Then I need a new medicine cabinet. There is no saving the one I have. It is rusty, the hinge is rusty, and the mirror has spots on the backing that cause the mirror to just be missing in areas, meaning instead of reflecting, it looks black in spots. I looked at replacements. The dimensions of the hole in the wall won't match up. So my daughter and I will need to make adjustments. A tall narrow one would be better, if I can find one on sale. They are expensive and work has been agonizingly slow. We are talking ity bity budget here. And I need a wall cabinet. And a towel rack. And other miscellaneous things. Then it will be on to the hallway. I need a drop ceiling and a new light, paint and trim. Oh, yeah, trim in the bathroom, too. Then I need to paint the bedroom. I am thankful it only needs paint. Then the living room...well....I can't even begin. I'm going to try my best to make it look decent. I have two recliner chairs. One stinks. I have tried cleaning it. I can't get the smell out. If I get rid of it then the living room will have one chair, nothing else to sit on.

Dear Lord.....I need a couch. I don't know how it will happen, but I need something, even if it's just a love seat or futon or something, but enough for two people to sit on. Amen.

That was a prayer.

Ok, feet back on the ground now

Floating around in a state of husband-lust doesn't pay the bills, so I'm back to having my feet on the ground. I was able to accomplish a few things yesterday and I intend to finish today. I am happy to report that the pets have adjusted well to their new home with their original owner in her new home, namely my daughter, now living in northern California. And last night I got a phone call from my hubby, whose delicious accent sends me into fits of happiness and giggles. It amazes me that he delights in hearing my American accent as much as I love his Albanian accent. To each other we are exotic creatures from a far-away land, yet we are amazingly alike in many ways. 

Short note before heading to bed

I am in a mood to write. A mood to write about my mood. I am obsessed. My thoughts have been going in circles all day. I am bathed in my mood, cradled, caressed. I close my eyes and I am there, surrounded, bathed in warmth. But I am not. My hands reach but touch not.

SS 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
SS 3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

Whenever I think if Solomon's Song of Songs I am reminded of a sermon in which it was mentioned that it is good for a wife lust over her husband, and a husband over his wife. It is God-designed. Hurry up, immigration.

Flyin' with the Fly Lady

For years my house has suffered from CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). But I have been organizing and de-cluttering for some time now with the intent to have the home I always wanted. Neat and Clean. I amassed several piles marked "garage sale", but a sale never happened for various reasons. I decided the stress of babysitting all those items until they found a new home was too stressful. Into my trunk and off to the Salvation Army bins they went. Three or 4 trunk-loads later I was feeling much better.

But now I wanted to really get serious. I asked my daughter if she knew of any websites to help. She sent me to http://www.flylady.net/ and wow, what a great website. That's where the term CHAOS is used like I wrote it above. I also learned you can't organize clutter. But the best part is, she makes it all fun and her methods work. 

He would be here sooner if he had sailed around the horn

I swear immigration is as slow as molasses in January and I don't know what the hold up is. I asked our lawyer and she said they are behind. So I asked, "What is the new time-frame?" She said between 9 and 12 months from filing to interview. Freakinhell it's already been 6 months since I filed and 8 months since I left him standing there at the airport looking like a lost puppy wrenched from the arms of the only love it had known. Life goes on. We deal with it, longing for the day when we are again together. We send romantic emails. It's one helluva long honeymoon. In a way, it's nice, but there is a lot of longing. Pictures on my computer just don't compete with actually looking into his Illyrian eyes and all the other wonderful things and his sexy accent that I hope he never looses.

In the meantime, I have been off on adventures that he longs to join me in. My daughter and I drove across America, well from Indiana to California, to visit my other daughter. We brought belongings and the pets in a rented minivan and flew home. I wanted to give my hubby an example of the distance. The best I could come up with was Prishtina to Istanbul Turkey. Everywhere in Europe was too close.

So I am now pet-free. I cried all day the first day home alone, mostly because I felt like I abandoned them, which was ridiculous because they are now living with their original kitty mommy. They have all settled in and are all happy and well cared for and I'm fine knowing they are.

So why did I give up the pets? There were a whole slew of reasons that just came together and concreted the decision. The first was living with my hubby for 6 weeks in a pet-free environment and appreciating the difference. The second was realizing how much he loves to wear black and knowing I can't walk through my house in black. And the third was realizing that Europeans in general are not used to having pets inside. I know in my heart that my hubby will have adjustments to make here, and I didn't want pet hair and pet odor to be part of it.

Off in a different direction now, my friend A :-)  posted an interesting story about a man drowning at sea who kept refusing help because he was waiting for God to save him. This is so like my neighbor. She is quite a bit older than me, twice divorced, and she has been praying for a husband for years. I feel sorry for her. She met someone a few years ago. She told me he was a real hunk. But she turned him away because he wasn't baptized into her church. The first thought that came to my mind was that he could have eventually joined her church. But she is still waiting for God to provide her with a husband. She dresses like a bag lady.  That is the honest truth. Three layers of baggy clothing even in summer, dumpy skirt, hose AND socks and tennis shoes. I went to church with her once. No one else dresses frumpy. All the women were wearing modern dresses just like anyone going to church. I gave her my mom's church clothes. She won't wear them. I don't care how straight-laced a person is, you should at least try to turn a head.

Coping With Separation

Some days I pause to bless the military wives, even though my separation is not the same, my hubby is not in a danger zone. But not a day goes by, not even an hour, that I don't think of him, dream of him, long for him. I am obsessed. I create pictures for him, search for cute love icons to include in emails. He does the same. We met online 15 months ago, got married 9 months ago, and 8 months ago I broke his heart when I flew home. I suppose it was a whirlwind courtship, but we knew. When I flew to Kosovo to meet him I was sure we would fall off the pedestals we had put each other upon, at least before the 6 weeks had passed. But no, we fell into forever and always, and this was the right choice, and the whole magic of new love. And now for months we are in limbo, the immigration waiting game. Status > Initial Review. The 5 month mark of them receiving the application came and went in April. So they are behind. Our lawyer was guessing he will have his interview in June, but many things need to happen first, and they haven't even started.

Pay It Forward

My friend is participating in a Pay It Forward project that sounds like fun. Here are the rules. I hope she doesn't mind that I did a copy and paste. 


1. I will send a surprise gift to the first three commenters on this post. The gift will be handmade by me. It will be sent sometime in the next 365 days. It will be a surprise what you get, when you get it. I will give you no warning whatsoever. 

2. To sign up and receive a gift, you must play along, too. Pay it Forward on your blog, by promising to make a surprise for the first three people who comment on the post.

3. You must have a blog (that is updated regularly, as I will blog stalk you to find the right gift for you  :-)).

4. After commenting here, you must repost this or something similar to your blog in 48 hours. If not, I will chose the next person who comments…

Think of it: a whole year to make something -  anything - to share. Sounds like great fun to me, and completely do-able in the next 365 days. So, my blogging friends - leave a comment and let's go!!

Please send my hubby to me!!!

Here it is near the end of the month and I have not heard a word from the visa processing center. I logged in to check, re-read the details, and as I understand it, they won't update the status until they make a decision. So that means they could be processing the paperwork at this moment, but I have no way of knowing! My hubby has never been in a gang, he has a spotless police record, and he's not a terrorist. So there isn't anything to stop him. I suppose at some point they will request more information, such as proof of a continuing relationship. Yeah, you actually have to bare your soul and flaunt your love life. It's not that they want the details, they just need proof of a continuing relationship. So we continue on, missing each other, waiting for the day when we can be together again.

April.....the month the National Visa Processing Center should start processing my hubby's application. Our lawyer figures his interview will be in June. As mentioned in my last post, I have been incredibly busy, and now I've bumped it up another notch! I need more hours in a day. I am multitasking most of the time. I work from home, so I can't seem to ever get away from work, work I get paid for, work I don't get paid for, unless I go visit a neighbor, which has proven to be oh so relaxing! The pets will be moving to California before my husband arrives. No, he's not evil oh my gosh no!!! But he and his family have never had animals in the house. I lived for 6 weeks in Europe with no pets. In the past I lived with no pets. I love pets but there is a difference. There is so much more to do...painting, carpet cleaning....ok, back to work!

Well, my life in a nutshell.....it has become incredibly busy in a wonderful way. I don't post here much because, well, I'm just not sure if anyone is here reading this. If you know me, I'm sure we are already connected on facebook. That's my daily go-to place.

Belated Happy New Year

Well, here we are, halfway through January and I haven't posted. The holidays were bad. Younger daughter is in California so I am alone in the house, so there was no one to distract me from the "oh, boo hoo my hubby isn't here yet" self pity. So Christmas and New Years were pretty much a cry fest for me. Here in the Midwest our winters can be brutal, but this year is amazingly mild. My hubby says it's cold in Europe. I've pretty much recovered from the self-pity and just gone on to highs and lows of "I'm sooo happy" to "let me go bang my head on the wall because he's not here yet". We knew we were in for a long separation but "knowing" and "doing" are two different things. The Immigration website says 5 months before they get to the next step. I hope he's here before our 1st anniversary. If anything, this process makes the honeymoon last a loooong time (smiles).

Below is a photo of the street in Prishtina, Kosovo where we walked together for 6 weeks (well, minus the week we spend in Albania). My hubby took this on a foggy night on December 15, 2011. See the red cross on top of the building? I am constantly amazed that a Muslim-majority nation displays so many Christian symbols, openly celebrates Christmas, and no one complains!!

This picture was taken Christmas night. This is Mother Teresa Boulevard in downtown Prishtina.

And I wanted to share a blog with you. One Smile Journey. This is a blog by a guy from the Netherlands who has decided to hitchhike around the world. It's amazingly fascinating because he talks and stays with the locals, so he sees people and their countries from a different perspective. There is no glossed -over tourism here, just honest "what I see is what I write" stuff. I love it!!! On the right side-bar are the Categories, or actually, his journey starting from 00. Preparations to present. My favorites are Kosovo of course! I had many "omg I was there!!!" moments looking at his photos.

Well, that was my break. Now back to work!