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.