I watch too many romantic movies!

Volcano Nachos are delicious! Spicy yumminess.  But, I will say Taco Bell tastes a bit too salty after not having it for a while- so I may try to stay away from it.

I still miss my bf, but today has been a bit better.  Thanks for the support.  Glad to hear y'all are doing well.  And good luck on your paper Beth!

Patty don't work too hard...and I am not stressing out too much just enjoying this last week..and it is amazing to think we never have to be separated again...and it was such a long time coming with a lot of ups and downs...so I am excited...
Don't work too hard lady and tell Ian I said "hey"

Sarah I am glad that you are feeling a bit better today...It is really hard being in a long distance relationship but I think the distance makes us a little stronger in our relationships then other people with regular relationships...it will all be worth it in the end...in the interim it just sucks sometimes...but you are a strong woman and will get thru this...you have us to vent to and your volcano nachos 

I hope all is well with the rest of you ladies...anything new and exciting to report?

Hello ladies! Just a quick note to let you know I arrived safely and all is well. VERY well actually! 

We're headed up to Bamburgh for vacation for a week, so I won't have internets, but I'll be sure to get online when I get back to started the process of catching up on everything!

Hope everyone's well!

xoxoxoxoox

hi everyone. it has been a long while since i have posted. i just got back to the us after spending the summer with my boyfriend in the uk. we had an amazing summer together. it is crazy how fast the time goes by because i felt like i was just getting ready to go over there, and now i'm back again. we came away from this trip knowing that all we want is each other and are going to take the steps to make that happen permanently. yay for love!

Glad you had a good time this summer, digitalsea! I agree- it felt like I was just packing and then I was already home after 2 months. It's now been an entire month since I left. Feels like another world now.... But, YAY for love! Good luck getting there for good very soon.

Oh, and WOOOOT to Josy! Tomorrow's her wedding day!!!

So I'm officially British!   Not only that, but my mom and I both managed to turn in our passport applications and should get them next week (!) sometime.  So much for that 6-8 week thing.

I was a bit concerned because we were running horribly late, but we got there early, and everyone was very nice and quite laid-back.  I managed to totally confuse the vice consul because the letter I got said I had to do an oath and a pledge of allegiance.  I ended up only doing the pledge of allegiance, but I have my certificate in hand anyway, so I guess it works.    He really didn't seem bothered by the bureaucracy stuff, so that was nice.

Next up - job hunting!

Nice to see you back, DS.  And yay, I hope Josy and Jason are having lots of fun prepping for the big day tomorrow!

So I'm officially British!  

CONGRATS!!! Woohooo - Party time! Job hunting ohhh good next step! Where in the UK do you want to go? I don't think I ever saw where you want to land ;-)

Josy is probable crazy busy but loving every minute of it! woohoo

CONGRATS!!! Woohooo - Party time! Job hunting ohhh good next step! Where in the UK do you want to go? I don't think I ever saw where you want to land ;-)

I'm not sure.  Job-wise I think my best chances are in/around London, so that's probably where I'll end up.  I'm not picky, though.    I need a job, and someplace cool/fun to live, and ideally some horses/countryside nearby...that's about it.   I'm not a huge city person, so London may be a bit more adventure than I want, but if that's where I end up for work I'll probably start there and figure out someplace a bit quieter to live later.  (It's a tough line between quiet and "no one around so therefore no social life".)

Zoya - 2 weeks until you visit, you must be excited!

I can hardly contain myself but then again either can he...He is on the rig right now and he gets off Sept 8th so this is the haul before I get there....There is a light at the end of the tunnel!  Just get thru this weekend and next and waaaaaaaa laaaaaaa I will be on a jet plane!

Hi ladies...checking in!

Congrats EQ...that's fantastic!   

Zoya, the time will fly by!

Josy, I wish you all the best for your wedding day tomorrow! 

Hi GGTL!

So much going on with the wedding planning...hard to believe it's only 85 dayas away.  I had my final fitting for my dress last night and it looks absolutely beautiful!  I am so happy...I tried it on for my dad and he said it was stunning...and then jumped up and down like a 5 year old on Christmas morning!   I'm spending this weekend with a bottle of wine, while I put invites together! 

Nephew is back in the hospital and undergoing a plasma exchange...the hope is this will cure all the side effects he's had since the bone marrow transplant...I pray that this will do the trick and finally bring some peace to my brother and his family!

DF is visiting at the end of Sept for a couple days and then again at the end of Oct for the marriage license...then he comes in Nov for the wedding!  I talked him into taking dance lesson in Sept and Oct...we have never slow dances together and I don't want to do it for the 1st time in front of 110+ people at our wedding!    

So I'm officially British!   Not only that, but my mom and I both managed to turn in our passport applications and should get them next week (!) sometime.  So much for that 6-8 week thing.

I was a bit concerned because we were running horribly late, but we got there early, and everyone was very nice and quite laid-back.  I managed to totally confuse the vice consul because the letter I got said I had to do an oath and a pledge of allegiance.  I ended up only doing the pledge of allegiance, but I have my certificate in hand anyway, so I guess it works.    He really didn't seem bothered by the bureaucracy stuff, so that was nice.

Just curious.. there's a pledge of allegiance? What is it? (Sorry if that sounds really ignorant!)

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS of course!! Seems like you were just gathering stuff to send off your application!

Zoya- 2 weeks will be here in a jiffy!! Enjoy the anticipation!

Cell- wow! 3 visits before the marriage?? Exciting! And smart move on the slow dancing.. I had never thought of that before! Wouldn't like your memorable wedding moments to include stepping on toes and falling down while dancing or something!

And our UK based chicas? How's it going? Carey- any job news? I saw on fb you're taking driving lessons. How'd that go?? Scary?

OK, just counting down the minutes till school's out. I've definitely earned the weekend! I'm so ready!! Laterz!

This morning the local florist came a-knockin'...


...but the flowers weren't from Tim!  My best friend couldn't make it up tonight for my birthday dinner, so she sent flowers instead.  So pretty!  (and I really hope Tim doesn't feel bad he didn't send any)

Just curious.. there's a pledge of allegiance? What is it? (Sorry if that sounds really ignorant!)

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS of course!! Seems like you were just gathering stuff to send off your application!

Thanks! Just for you, Beth, I dug out the letter to transcribe...

I [name] swear by Almighty God that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to the law.

(Version B has "do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare" instead of swearing)

I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms.  I will uphold its democratic values.  I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

I don't get the impression that it's the sort of thing kids recite in school or anything, but who knows.

(My smart-ass question was: what happens if Britain becomes a fascist state?  Do I obey the laws or do I uphold the democratic values?)

And yeah, it doesn't seem that long ago that I was googling and finding the forum!  (Of course, it's just about 3 years ago that I first found the form and bugged my mom for her documents, but whatever.  All's well that ends well.)

EN: Congratulations!!  That's so exciting!

I'm still trying to get into the swing of daily life...my first few weeks have been so beyond busy and work has left me exhausted.  I'm loving finally being with my fiance again though--it's been amazing!  I think I'm settled now, for the most part.  I have a gym membership, a GP, a dentist, a mobile phone, an ID card at work, a few bills in my name, and I opened a savings account.  I just need to tackle getting a UK license at some point down the line (eek) and I'll be set. 

Oh, and we also sent our passports off to apply for COA, so that we can get married in the UK at some point in the near future.  I think we're pretty much decided on a registry office ceremony as soon as possible so that we can get moving on the spousal visa sooner rather than later.  It looks like the new rules won't count my time on Tier 1 towards citizenship once I switch over, so it makes sense to go ahead and get it out of the way now.  I think we also settled on May 2010 for a US 'wedding'/celebration!  Very excited for Hawaii! 

Hope all is well!

Tim's birthday is today (the 31st).  A few weeks ago I uncovered my old webcam...it's got to be at least 8 years old.  Anyway, I experimented with it and got it to work with Skype, so at the stroke of midnight while we were in the middle of our Skype call, I activated the webcam so he could see me sing to him.  The quality was horrible and the image kept tinging green, but he loved that he was able to see me and watch my reactions to things. 

I have a feeling he'll be picking up a webcam in the near future and we'll be replacing mine with a better one.