Memorial day weekend is for lovers

40 years ago this weekend, my parents met at a kegger of all things. Mom was 16, Dad older by 5 years at 21, but he didn't know that, she was a cute red-head to him. He decided to write to her, she wrote back, and love between a sailor and an Iowa red-head ensued. They were married October 25th 1968, and are still happily married. They are cute together, but as customs dictate, i make a great "eww, parents don't kiss in front of their kids" show and pretend to be throughly discusted. (Shhh, don't tell them that, they like to "discust" me) Although there are times that they through me for a loop. Dad does that especially, like whoo hoo-ing the idea of toys, he and mom, and the backseat of their Volvo. Umm...yeah...Mom and Dad are uber-straightlaced Christian folk that live it as well as preach it. Dad once in a while "lets his hair down" but i digress.

I read over at one of my favorite blogs about Estelle's good friends' commitment ceremony. At the end of her post "so, they did it" she writes this and holy Niagra Falls Batman, this had me bawling---sheesh! STILL does!
"To Mrs(s) Amy and Kendra Kellogg, may your relationship be filled with as many blessings as you bestow upon others. I wish you nothing but happiness, health, great sex, cute kids, and a long life together."
Heck, I don't know them, but I wish them that too! *sighs and wipes tears away*

And then one of my good friends calls me today and she has this to say....Last week she caught her boyfriend setting a fire in their backyard grass. He had poured a circle of gasoline on the ground and lit it. He is one of those people that constantly are playing with camp fires and the burn pit in their back yard. She got after him and told him that was why they had the burn pit and that he could have just as well started a fire in that, rather than ruining the grass and almost starting himself on fire. Last night he pulled her in the back yard, and she smelled gas, but she knew that he was going to start a fire in the burnpit so they could sit by the fire. He lights the grass on fire with both of then in the circle of flames, gets down on his knee and asks "Will you be mine forever; will you be my wife?" He had planning it for this weekend as her eldest two and their shared one were all at the grandfolks' place for the weekend. What she say?..................

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After about 5 minutes standing there saying nothing, mouth agape, in total shock and awe, because he isn't the "marry-ing sort", and he almost in tears because he thought that she was trying to find a nice way to say no............................

.....SHE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



.....now what would top this off weekend is if M and I get an email from our lawyers saying that we are approved by the USCIS and that my trip to see him in late July/early August will be to help him move rather than to visit............

Happy Memorial Day to all 2 of my blog readers :)

Childhood Memories

You know those little snippets of our childhood that we tuck away safely into our memory, the idyllic days where all thet you worried about was how late you could play outside, or how far down the sidewalk you could ride your bike before a parent came out to tell you that you went to far. I got to travel back in time last evening and relive one of those idyllic memories, with the help of my 5 year old daughter. The backyard isn't the same as in my youth, but the smells sounds and feel was about what it was like about 21-24 years ago.

The day had been hot, and we played at the city park until sunset, when the air starts to cool. We took off our sandals and walked barefooted in the thick cool freshly mown grass. she played on some equiptment that was much like what I played on as a child. I dug my toes in the hot dry sand, and as i dug deeper, it cooled and became damp. There was a little legue baseball game going on at the other side of the park, and the sound of the *THWAK* of a bat meeting the ball and the cheers from the parents in the stand sounded the same as from my youth.

It was getting dark and time to go home, and so we climbed into the van. When I was a kid, my dad would let me "drive" while sitting on his lap. this was of course before seatbelt laws. but since we were less than a block away from home, I let her "drive" we went no faster than 3 miles an hour and even got passed by some bikeriders.

Small town midwest life, where we give directions to get somewhere in town by relation to where it is from THEE only set of traffic lights. Where we don't lock our doors-ever because we know that the neighbors will watch over the house while we are gone. The gas stations are the place to hear the latest gossip as well as the best place to sell your old car/dishwasher/camper/sofa or give away puppies or kittens.

After my daughter had taken a bath and had supper, we went out into the backyard and chased fireflies. My daughter's giggles, bringing giggles of my own bubbling up, as we ran breathlessly around catching and releasing these bioluminescent creatures. it was a beautiful snippet of life that I know that I have filed away, and i hope that my daughter does too.

27 days

Now on our lawyer's site, there are new cases after M and my case. It feels rather comforting not to be the newbies anymore. Strange yeah, but oh well.

M and I have decided that I will be going over to the UK this August for about a 3 week visit. We haven't hugged or kissed each other in 6 1/2 months. Personally, I'd prefer it to be sooner, but he has 2 weeks off in Aug. So I search for cheap plane tix. Any one out there lurking have some good deals from Chicago to London about late July, early August to late August?

Future Mother-in-Law

I just got done chatting with my FMIL, and I have to say that I do have another mother! She mother-hen clucks over me like my own mother. That is fantastic, and I love her :)

*sigh* 20 and 24 *sigh*

Today, Saturday May 20th 2006, was the first date that M and I picked to be our wedding day...Oh well, there are plenty of other days to pick from.

Today is the 24th day that the USCIS has had our application papers........

Name Game

On to "wordy part deux"....

I like names. Not calling people names, although i was a rotten little kid and would call kids names to tease them. Particularly derrogatory rhyming names such as cryin' Brian (eh, i was a kid when Garbage Pail kids were cool and fun to trade)
My parents gave me a mundane name with a twist. In most part of the US, it is pronounced very much like it's sister spelling, but in Scandinavia, it is pronounced differently. The "air" becomes "are" for those of you who know my real name. My middle name--I guess my parents were bored, because they made one up. And in turn, I blessed my daughter with a made up middle name too. Perhaps she'll carry on the tradition. So, perhaps, since I was given these names, inspired my love for names.
*****Disclaimer*****these are my interpretations and are NOT ment to hurt anyone's feelings******

Here goes with the beautiful, mundane and the bad:

Beautiful
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Twyla--twilight, beautiful pastels and clear almost cloudless sky
Celeste--celestal bodies, and the beauty of a starry night sky
Tatiana--A beautiful Russian lady in white faux furcoat
Isabella--A beautiful Italian lady
Victoria--a furtive lady that likes lace, satin, and silk
Alexander--a regal man, with Superman good looks
Crystal--rainbows being cast on a warm plush carpet as a prism of beautifully cut glass is gently swung infront of a brightly sunlit window
William--Shakespeare, and the lovely English town of Stratford-upon-Avon Yes, I HAVE been there :)





















Mundane
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Michael--it is the most common name in the English speaking countries, everyone knows and likes or dislikes at least one Mike.
Megan--reminds me of the spice nutmeg
Dennis--Tennis
Mabel--Maple syrup
Jane--poor plain mundane Jane

Bad
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Ashley--Ashes from the fireplace, or burning cigarette
Christopher--Chris's gopher?!?
John--the men's loo
Dick--uummmm, yeah, I think you know what i am thinking with this one
Cassie-- sea bass-y


Basically, Any name I can come up with a rhyme, phrase or decription of the name. Some are good, some are bad, and some, I am sorry, i come up with are ugly....

until next time folks, Adieu!

WORDY!!!!!

Chicory is an excellent wordsmith, and I love reading her entries. Her "what were we thinking" series is fun to see the progress of her and her wife's remodling of their house and kitchen. I mostly lurk and occationally post.

Today as I was lurking along, she had a post called "Spreading more smooshy blog love". The entire entry is great. What got me thinking today is actually not the giving props part, but actually her train of thought with the word blog and how it reminds her of the word bog and bog reminds her of Florida.

I am the same way, that there are words or even names that sound like something else, and plants a picture in my mind. Also there are words that I like saying and tasting their vowels and consonants, digraphs and diphthongs (did you know that a diphthong is a digraph, but not necessarily is a digraph always a diphthong. The word "diphthong" contains 3 digraphs, but no diphthongs, but i digress!)

See, there I go on word tangents.... The objective of this post was to tell all 2 of my readers my twisted take on the wordy English language.

Bioluminescence--this one is tied for my favorite word. This one doesn't remind me of other words, but rather it conjures a beautiful image in my mind. Fireflies flickering their green glow over a flower garden on a warm late spring/early summer's eve, just in that calm moment right after it turns dark. Green glittering stars brought from the heavens to sparkle on the fresh green grass, and the air is fresh and sweet.
Plethora--this is the other that is tied for first, and nicely enough, and be used very well in conjunction with bioluminescence. The plethora of bioluminescence found on my lawn reminded me of starry skies." Plethora os fun to say, but just as long as one does not have any fluid in one's mouth at that time, otherwise, one may spray a plethora of droplets on their listener!
Moist--This one is actually my bestfriend's favorite, because saying it is funny and conjures thoughts of what great foreplay should do to adults neither regions. So now saying that a cake is moist doesn't necessarily bring forth images of a chocolate baked confection that it's empty calories will go straight to my adipose tissue, rather taking chocolate syrup and pouring it on my lover's body and creating a yummy 'other' moist confection ;)
"Z"Zee-- (not Zed) my favorite letter, as I love the way my teeth and tongue buzz when I say it. My son's name starts with Z, and for a while I contemplated having my daughter's name to start with Z. It is fun to say, but it is underused in the proper English language, in my opinion, but is tacky when used in place of an "s" i.e. hugz. "S" is overused, and makes us sound like we are hissing all the time.
Quirky--because I am. Then it reminds me of quarks, those quirky quarks! But I am NO particle physicist; it boggles the mind!
Torsion--This is in regards to snails, and how torsion is part of their developmental stage going from larva to adult. Basically it is showing that Mother Nature has a sense of humor. The snails adult body is situated so that it poops on it's head!
"L"--My other favorite letter, and my daughter's first and middle name contains a total of 5 L's. My nickname happily contains my L and my Z. "Zee Elle makes me say Oo la la!" ok that was cheesy! LOL!
Giggle --makes me want to, and I giggle and laugh quite a bit. Giggle reminds me of jiggle, and when I giggle too much, i truely jiggle!
Alright--lovingly overly accented when talking to my English fiance'. He never accents it as thickly as I do, unless he is copying me :) I say it like this, "ohh-roy-t"...he graciously lets me murder the British accent. I just love the way old words taste brand new with a different accent.
Garage-- Old word made new to me through my Love's accent. My american midwest accent has me pronouncing it "Guh-rahhj" His is more like "Gair-haj" almost like it rhymes with 'carriage'
Bloke--Means a guy, a man, a dude. Bloke rhymes with poke. Poke a bloke? like sticking your finger in the Pilsbury Doughboy's navel?!? Then if you say poke a bloke fast enough it turns into "polka bloke" And my imagination goes to the tuba player, wearing traditional Germanic garb, at an Oktoberfest, then pans out to show heavily ladened tables, surrounded by rosy cheeked people, clinking their beer steins and singing "Roll out the Barrel" Since I was a tuba player, the melody, and the bass part that i used to play is now stuck in my head, and just because of some bloke!

Names also have the same effect--but that is for another wordy post!

Have I Ever Mentioned that my Favorite Color is GREEN

You Are Emerald Green

Deep and mysterious, it often seems like no one truly gets you. Inside, you are very emotional and moody - though you don't let it show. People usually have a strong reaction to you... profound love or deep hate. But you can even get those who hate you to come around. There's something naturally harmonious about you.

What Color Green Are You?

Happy Mother's Day!

These answers were given by second graders to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1.She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2.Mostly to clean the house.
3.To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1.He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2.Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3.God made my Mom just the same like He made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1.God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2.They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your Mom and not some other mom?
1.Because we're related.
2.God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1.My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2.I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3.They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1.His last name.
2.She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3.Does he make as least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your Dad?
1.My Dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2.She got too old to do anything else with him.
3.My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1.Mom dosen't want to be boss, but she has to because Dad's such a goof ball.
2.Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3.I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1.Moms work at work and work at home and Dads just go to work at work.
2.Mom knows how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3.Dads are taller and stronger, but Moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1.Mothers don't do spare time.
2.To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1.On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2.Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1.She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2.I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

And that is Why God made Moms! Happy Mother's Day!

2 weeks

We are now at 2 weeks that the USCIS has had our paperwork. The following is great and taken verbatim from our lawyer's site.

" This feature of our proprietary program is the least understood by clients before filing their K-1, and the most appreciated after filing. It is completely unique among immigration law firms. To understand the feature, a little background is in order. When the USCIS receives an application, the basic data is entered into a computer, a receipt number and notice to the attorney is sent, and then the case is placed in a waiting room with hundreds or even thousands of other similar petitions waiting to be moved to an examiners desk (the examiner needs only about 10 minutes to review the case). Waiting times change over time because backlogs occur and also because K-1 examiners periodically get pulled off K-1 cases for "special projects". The USCIS does, however, periodically state the date of the most recently reviewed case. It's available on their web site. The problem with this published date arises from the fact that the USCIS pulls cases from the waiting rooms in a more or less random manner, which can make the I-129F "current date" misleading by weeks or worse. Your case may have been submitted on April 1, but the USCIS happened to pull a case that arrived in the room much sooner or later than your case. So, trends must be monitored. We do this by showing our clients all our clients' wait times (anonymously, of course) so that you can watch these very important trends and obtain far better information for predicting when your individual petition should be approved. Our clients love it!"

That really explains how the USCIS works :D

what comes around, goes around

Today, i received, via snail mail, a thank you card and a wonderful hand made little green wooden box with a great vintage-type Spumanti Martini picture on the top. This was from a woman in Illinois to whom I had sent an Avent Isis breastpump. It is an awesome thank you!

My Breastfeeding advocacy pays off in fun and unique ways now!

'Tis pleased pleased pleased that I am!

wedding plans

M and I have decided since this whole immigration thing and all the laws that go with it has sucked the romance out(he has to get married with-in 90 days of landing in the States, or he has to go back to the UK) that we are going to go to the Justice of the Peace as soon as he gets his SSN. We will do this to take the legal pressures off of us so we can plan our Blessing Ceremony. We can put all of the romance into that, and I can have my ivory brocade Tudor-style wedding dress. I still think that it would be awesome if M and his best man wore kilts, but that remains to be seen.

We are going to have the ceremony at my grandparents' little country church that is up in the northwest part of Iowa. My parents were married there, and they are married 37 years later, so it seems like good luck to me. I would like the decorations to basically be live and silk English ivy. Even before I met M, I loved English ivy, but now it means more to me since I am marrying an Englishman.

The reception, i would like people to bring pot-luck food rather than gifts. Most people will have several hours travel just to get there, and with gas prices as they are, it will be a gift to M and I that they could make it. The church has a kitchen, so if anything needs to be prepared there, it can be.

The dance is where we really get a taste of "Red-necks getting down on the farm" Of course this is only available to do in warmer weather. My grandparents offered to let us use the "hogshed" to have the dance. The "hogshed" hasn't had hogs in it in the last 30 years, but the cinderblock building makes an excellent shelter and large enough area to have the kids and adults dance and play. Here is the real red-neck part: we are going to move my 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan from the barn to the hogshed. We'll clean it up and install an inexpensive but loud enough car stereo system and set it up so that M can hook up his laptop and VIOLA! instant DJ!

Another thing that M and I have agreed upon quite early, that this event will be alcohol free. We'll substitute sparkling juice for champagne so that the many children that will be there can have some too. The couple of friends that are recovering alcoholics won't feel any temptation, but most of all, no one will have to deal with drunken idiots. Now, once the dance is over and all of us go to our hotel rooms, then the adults can drink whatever. Mainly I am worried about safety for all, and to make all of it kid friendly as possible, because about half the people there will be children.

Then Sunday, I would like a brunch where all the wedding guests that stayed around can come and we all can just sit, eat, laugh, and be merry. I like to spend time with my friends, and who knows when there will be another opportunity to have them all together at the same time? Then that sunday evening, M and I can go off to our honeymoon, as I am sure that people will want to start travelling back to their homes.

Whew! I got windy, lol!

8 is Great

day 8, 8 days closer to have my great love here. 8, O how I love thee.

7

Seven wonderful glorious days, that the USCIS has had our petition! I just got an email from our lawyers stating that they recieved confirmation notice that the USCIS has our Petition and has had it for 7 days already! 7 days already down in a 90-120 day wait! One week done, yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

I am so fricking pleased beyond words!

7, I love you