I watch too many romantic movies!

Sorry to hear about your stepdad Elisabeth, I'm sending good vibes to you and your family right now But, I am glad to hear that you're settling in pretty well--I hope I can say the same in a few weeks

Right now I'm dealing with a real whammy on my body--an off sleep schedule, PMS, and allergies, so it's making me feel a little under the weather at times. It's making it a little bit harder to adjust to things, but I'm doing alright, just feeling my way around, and feeling incredibly new to just about everything I think I'm being a little hard on myself, but all the small things that I would do in the States just make me want to curl up and not do anything--I need to go to Boots to buy some supplies, and it's just in town here but I have no drive to do it. It seems a million times harder than it would be for me in the US, but it sounds like if I give myself a bit more time it'll get better.

And, I think I know why I got a little bit of hassle at immigration when I came into town--I think if I had been traveling with my husband, they would of been a bit easier on me. The one question they asked me which has stuck with me is 'Why didn't you change your name in your passport?' and I just told them I didn't have the money to get the passport changed over before getting my visa--which I really didn't, when I factored in visa fees, expediter fees, UPS, etc. I'm hoping next time I won't get asked so many questions since my husband will be with me, and he can vouch for me and he'll have his passport and everything, but it left me a little off this last time around 

I'm on my way back to the US for a week to see my mom. My stepdad is in his last hours, and I'm glad I can be there for the tough part.

*hugs* for you and your mom.

And, I think I know why I got a little bit of hassle at immigration when I came into town--I think if I had been traveling with my husband, they would of been a bit easier on me. The one question they asked me which has stuck with me is 'Why didn't you change your name in your passport?' and I just told them I didn't have the money to get the passport changed over before getting my visa--which I really didn't, when I factored in visa fees, expediter fees, UPS, etc. I'm hoping next time I won't get asked so many questions since my husband will be with me, and he can vouch for me and he'll have his passport and everything, but it left me a little off this last time around 

Ugh, what a pain!  I never would have even thought that'd be an issue since there are plenty of women who don't take their husband's name and many reasons. I know you can't be rude, but that's one of those situations where you wish you could tell them it's none of their business!

Tammy, I probably won't have time to do it on this upcoming short visit, but Tim looked up for me how to get from Dunholme to Daventry on Train/Bus, so when I'm back in the Spring I can come down and see you!  (It's like a 5 hour trip, but I'd do it for you!)

Sheeta: really sorry to hear that. Wishing your family the best.

KF: glad you made it over and good luck with the jetlag! You'll have to meet up with Carey and I sometime soon (we're meeting tomorrow in London but my guess is you may need some more time to settle in!)

not much to report on my end, except I have an exciting new countdown now! We finally picked a date and started finalizing wedding plans. We're getting married on the same island where my family is from!

Sheate - I hope your visit to TX goes as well as can be expected. You and your family will be in my thoughts.

Lilly - Yay, a countdown! Are you guys still doing the courthouse wedding in the meantime to get started on the visa process?

Things are pretty quiet on my end. I'm hesitant to start job hunting since my horse hasn't sold, and while I could possibly convince my parents to petsit my animals for a couple of weeks if I somehow found an awesome job to move for pre-January, my horse would be a bigger issue. (Plus, selling him and his associated stuff is going to fund my emergency savings account so that I'm not dead broke when I move.)

So, I'm focusing on that, and it's highly frustrating. People keep coming to see him, saying he's awesome, and then not doing anything else. If he's that awesome, how about buying him?!? (And giving him a great home, of course, I'm going to keep him myself until I can be sure that he will get a similar quality home as a replacement.)

Rebecca--you're welcome in Daventry anytime you like, even if there isn't jack to do down here I really should of told the woman that I didn't believe keeping my maiden name in my passport, and therefore on my visa was a breach of immigration law as long as I had my marriage certificate with me (which was in my carry on at the time) but I was too knackered/scared to say much beyond what I did

Lily--I totally wish I could meet up with you guys, that'd be awesome. Unfortunately I'm a little bit away from London and a bit stuck since I can't drive, but who knows, one of these days I might be able to get down there, with the hubby in tow (definitely by train, since he refuses to drive in or near London except for work ). Congrats about the upcoming wedding btw

Equestrianerd--it's a shame you haven't been able to sort out your horse yet But, it's a weird situation I imagine since I'm sure you don't want to sell him, so on one hand you want to keep him but you need to sell him to move. He's very lucky to have someone like you who makes sure he goes to a good home instead of just to some bloke on a corner.

I'm getting better about my sleep cycles, but my allergies kinda keep me up at night since I get stuffy. The hubby just left for work, and he'll be out of town till Friday evening down near London which really sucks It makes me feel like a baby to be so upset about something really as minor as this, but he'll also been gone most of next week in Stanton so I'll be on my own then as well. Hopefully my mom calls me today so we can talk for a bit, I miss her a lot too which doesn't make anything easier--but the hubby told me things will get better soon with work and stuff. I'm just so used to having someone around most of the time, even if it's mainly in the evenings, so to be on my own is a little weird.

It's always so great to hear how everyone is getting on!

Nothing much new here, just counting the days til my 3 week trip to see Rory in the States! We're getting there sllllllooooowwwwlllllyyyy lol. It's been planned for so long, little did we know back then that we'd be spending some of my trip finding a place for the two of us to rent for when we fly back to the States together after his trip here at the end of November! YAY!!!!

I think time will fly once I get back on 2nd Nov, only 3 and a half weeks then until his visit here we're going to do some really special things together and go visit friends to say au revoir until we manage a trip back to the UK, hopefully in early Spring. It will be so weird living in Arkansas for 5 months! Then it's wedding in Hawaii time once Rory graduates college and our big move back to the UK together, lily what date did you pick for yours in the end? I should work it out from your ticker really :p

xxx

Good Morning! I am here - been here for a few days and it is fantastic...The weather has been beautiful and BF is wonderful as expected.
The sites are amazing - yeah we have only done Durham and Bishop last night..Today a BBQ at a friends because I am here and to the lakes we go tomorrow!

Well hope you all have a great week
Jenn

Jenn - yay!  So glad you're having a good time.

Sam - things are moving pretty quickly, then! At least you'll be in AR over the winter months, not the summer (I've heard it's brutal).

Yep after so long apart and thinking we'd have to keep waiting until May next year ...well things have changed big time:) You are absolutely right about the weather in the summer months, like hell on earth. Akin to being permanently in a sauna with the humidity YUK. Glad I'm missing that at least.

Jenn you're not far from me at the moent, hope you are having a great time. And the Lakes area is where Rory and I are moving to next May, so pretty and pleny to keep my action man busy in the great outdoors ha ha 

EN: i *think* we're still doing the civil ceremony here...we're still waiting for the COA (and our passports!) to come back.  i'm anxious to get moving on the spousal visa!! 

sam: hope you enjoy arkansas! we picked may 5 for our date. do you know yours yet?  are you island hopping while you're there or just staying on one?  we still can't decide just how much we want to fit into our trip or whether we want it to be more about relaxing. 

Lily - thanks...not sure I'll love Arkansas hehe (no offence to anyone who's from there!)but I'd move to hell if Rory were there so I will be over the moon just to be with him every day. Where we are going to be living is a "dry" county so I'll have to stock up on the vodka when we're shopping in Little Rock. Surely my wonderful husband-to-be won't arrest his own future wife for stashing prohibited substances in the freezer right???

We have't set a date in May yet, we only know it will be after his graduation (8th) and on a weekend so the certificate gets filed in Honolulu first thing Monday morning by the officiant (oh the romance hehe, we're running the timeline like a military operation!). We're planning on the 16th or 23rd to be confirmed once we've recovered from organising me moving to the States . We're getting married on Oahu and staying there the whole time we're there. That's because a) the resort we're staying at/getting married at is there, b) it's where the main airport is so convenient for our guests who are only staying 5 days for the most part and c) that's where the main office is for registering marriages so it makes things much faster. Also the office for biometrics is there. Bonus.

I honestly think arranging a transatlantic wedding/spouse visa and staying sane should automatically qualify a person to run for president/prime minister. What they have to deal with is nothing in comparison hehe. Though kudos to those doing it the opposite way to Rory and me. The process for immigrating to the US as a fiance/spouse is tedious and ridiculously longwinded compared to bringing your spouse to live in the UK! I seems almost designed to make it as hard and heartwrenching as possible! From what I've seen it looks as though once you decide to do it, it involves severat least 6 months of being separated from your fiance or spouse! Crazy.

Yay I leave tomorrow and see Tim Friday morning

I finally got home from the UK yesterday and this morning my stepfather passed away. We all knew it was coming, and after a strong and courageous fight, we wouldn't have wished him here a moment longer suffering as he was at the end. It's been a whirlwind few weeks, and to be honest, I'm glad the whirlwind bit is ending and I can just tuck into university life and chill out for a while.

Hope everyone is well. I will be, soon. 

Awww (((hugs)))  You haven't had time to catch your breath lately, have you? So sorry for the turn of events. You WILL be alright, just hang in there. 

SAAWP - sorry to hear about your stepfather. Glad to hear his suffering his over, though.