Uncategorized

Take me home I-5.

I wasn’t back in the states more than 20 minutes before I was asking myself why I left in the first place. Oh yeah, fell in love with a boy. Man, I sure do love it here. I haven’t even travelled across the bridge to Seattle proper yet. Been spending most of my time in the Woodinville – Bothell – Kirkland area. So gorgeous. All the evergreens mixed with fall foliage.

The one thing that would make it perfect is for a certain boy to be down here with me. And the kittens.

Going here helped.

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I decided that the best way I could help my cousin Kirsten through this horrible time was to ease her spirit a bit. And make sure she has baby soft skin. So I am taking her to the naked lady spa on Tuesday. Where she has permission to cry all she wants to while she soaks in a hot pool for 45 minutes before someone spends another 45 minutes scrubbing the sadness and death off her. Even the sadness hiding in her butt crack. I don’t know, maybe that’s not what most people would do for a grieving widow. But it sounded appropriate to me.

Ok, yes, I get to go as well. But I might have some sadness hiding in my butt crack too.

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Canada, Immigration

We are quicksilver, a fleeting shadow, a distant sound… our home has no boundaries beyond which we cannot pass. We live in music, in a flash of color… we live on the wind and in the sparkle of a star!

Wow. The blog has been silent awhile, hasn’t it.

I’m leaving for Wa tomorrow. Not as expected. I’m going to be traveling down without Wil. There has been a death in my family, and it’s important that I go and be with the people who need me right now. Death in the family is one of the emergencies that should allow me to travel alone, and still get back into Canada. Hopefully.

Wil does not have his passport yet, it should be arriving by registered mail on Friday the 6th. So he will be coming down on the 7th and we’ll drive home together on the 8th. So I will be with my husband when I get back to Canada, however, not the entire time I travelled. Nonetheless, my lawyer said I have a good reason. Worst case scenario, I will not be let back in. At this point, I am very close to getting my VISA. It would suck, but not as much as if it were six months ago or last year.

I did receive my work permit. On my work permit it states “Application for PR status has received initial approval.” PR = Permanent Residence. That works in my favor as well.

I don’t feel quite as excited as you’d think I would feel. Well, one – it’s a death in the family. And I am quite shocked and saddened right now. Two – I am paranoid. I think I will always be paranoid until I have my visa. I’m quite sure that Wil will get tired of all the strategizing I will do next week, via email, on his entrance into the states. “If they say this, answer that. Don’t say this unless they ask. Carry X,Y and Z with you. Make a copy of that thing.” And so on. Why I should worry about his entrance into the states is beyond me. Canadians come down to the states ALL THE FREAKIN’ TIME. Plus, he’s a grown up. Maybe because things went all wonky for me coming into Canada two and a half years ago, I’m always going to be a freak about it. I hope not, because I have hopes for us going back and forth as we like many times. God forbid I turn into some kind of anal retentive freak about it.

Three, I will miss him. I always thought when I got married I would have to marry someone who is SUPER understanding because I would be FIERCELY independent. None of that mooshy stuff when one of us had to travel with the other. But it’s been two and a half years of pretty much constant companionship. One time, Wil went to Victoria for a couple of nights without me. But other than that, not a day has gone by, you know? So, I’m really going to miss him. I’m already missing him and I haven’t left yet. Turns out, I’m mooshy.

He, however, will probably beer drinking no pants boy parties with video games and cigarettes and no girls allowed.

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Cooking and food, depression, Weight Watchers, Wellness Wheel, Wellness Wheel: Physical

Ok, let’s just get this over with and then move on.

Wellness-Wheel-Physical.png I have a confession to make. I’ve avoided talking about it because, oh I don’t know, SHAME. And the hope that it would all just magically go away. I’ve gained a lot of weight in the past year. Summer of 2008 I was the skinniest I had been since Jr. High. But by summer of 2009 I had gained a great deal of the weight I had lost on the diet I started 3.5 years ago.

I never believed I would gain it back. I thought, not me, if I start to gain even a little weight, I will nip that right in the bud. Well, I not only nipped it, but I ate the entire bud. So to speak. I can break my weight gain down into three phases.

Phase One: Wil’s schedule changed in summer of ’08, to a 2pm to 10 pm schedule. On the one hand, I was THRILLED I did not have to figure out what to make for dinner each night. Sometimes I would make something that would leave us with leftovers that Wil could take to work the next day. However, this meant we were both eating a lot more crap. A lot of snacky and fast food. His schedule went back normal in the fall, but the damage had already begun. I had lost interest in preparing healthy dinners.

Phase Two: I discovered French Toast flavored bagels at the Safeway. I ate them ALL THE TIME. They smelled just like french toast or pancakes. But the taste was much more subtle cinnamon/ maple. They are delicious. Before Wil’s schedule changed back, I would sometimes eat nothing else but these bagels all day. During phase two, I attempted to go on Weight Watchers. That was in November. But I decided I would like to start making Christmas cookies instead. Of course, then I would eat them and have to make more.

Phase Three: In reality, all phases are affected by the return of my depression. I do believe that was the biggest culprit into my weight gain. Some need to fill the emptiness I felt with bagels, cookies and tiny cherry pies. It never works. So I started a new antidepressant and INSTANTLY gained 20 lbs. I kid you not. BAMF! Weight gain. I went on Weight Watchers again and lost 1.4 over five weeks. I gave up. I went off the pills to try without their side effects, but the physical symptoms were too bothersome. I could psych myself out of the mental, but the physical ones were taking their toll. Additionally, Wil and I were eating these delicious Angus Beef Hot Dogs all summer. We ate them regularly for lunch, sometimes for dinner when it was hot. We’d stick them in the toaster over and cook them until they were crispy. Man, they are so good. And big, you had to use a hoagie roll because they were too big for hot dog buns. It wasn’t until recently I looked at the fat content. TWENTY FREAKIN’ GRAMS OF FAT! And we ate them like candy. 

And there you have it. I put off saying anything about it. I am back on Weight Watchers. I wanted to have a bit of success before I blogged about it. The first week I lost 1.2lbs, which was disappointing as the first week is usually your biggest weight loss. The 2nd week I lost another 1.2lbs. But this last weigh-in was a loss of 2.4lbs. Weight Watchers yelled at me for losing more than 2 lbs a week. That felt nice since I know I ate over my points that week. (early birthday dinner.)

I had to bring it up because it is part of addressing that physical spoke on the Wellness Wheel. And because being overweight has a ripple effect across your entire life. So it’s bound to show up again, in future blog posts.

Meh.

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Canada

Happy Thanksgiving

To my Canadian friends and family. 

Thanksgiving feels different here. I mean, yes, it’s earlier, which feels off. It seems that most of the people I know have their Thanksgiving dinner at any point this weekend. Now, this is just my observation, and may not be correct, but I feel like it may not be quite as big a deal here as it is in the US. Thanksgiving in the States is pretty much the biggest holiday of the year. Plus, it kicks of the Holiday Season in general. So on Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, you go directly into Christmas Spirit. 
Ok, it sounds like I am challenging Canadian Thanksgiving to a Holiday Fight. Correct me if I am wrong about Canadian Thanksgiving. It’s just my observation.
Nonetheless it still seems to be a time when families gather and give thanks, and that’s what is important. My family came up to celebrate and early birthday dinner with me, Wil and the Stepdot. And I’m so grateful for that. 
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Uncategorized

Random Stuff

I’m just all about joining the blogging games now.

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I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but several months ago, Pru quit using the litter box. She will pee on a puppy pee pad. And, when we are lucky, she poops there as well. My cat is toothless and voids her bowels wherever she wants. It’s like having an infant.

I sole this from Delmer. The Telegraph ran a poll, rating men of different nationalities on their skills as lovers. 

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All the immigration hassle makes sense now, eh? Git it, I said “eh” because I live in Canada now. (Don’t worry, American men, it’s just a stupid poll. From Europe! It’s not your skills as a lover, but rather our foreign policies that are to blame.)

The author of the book I reviewed on Satan’s Bookclub, Frank Portman, linked to me, well, SBC, from his blog. I feel all warm and fuzzy.

I am thoroughly enjoying this season of House, as naturally I would. Has anyone checked out Modern Family? It’s hilarious.

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books, Satan's Bookclub, Wellness Wheel: Intellectual

First review for Satan’s Bookclub is up!

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My first book review is up at Satan’s Bookclub. I’ve reviewed Frank Portman’s YA novel Andromeda Klein, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. But that’s not what Satan’s Bookclub is about, is it? It’s more important to recognize how potentially evil a book is, rather than the quality of story and writing. You becha!

Bit rusty at the reviews. I only published two the first time SBC was up. But I attempted a few more. I’m looking forward to honing my skills.

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Dear So and So

Dear So and So…

Dear So and So... Dear Canada,

Thank you so much for finally expressing an interest in me. I guarantee you will not regret. I can be very very polite. You’ll see. Ok, so I don’t care that much for hockey, neither does my Canadian husband. You should not hold that against me.

I look forward to working with you,
Jodi


Dear Tiny Cherry Pies,


Yes, I can hear you. Even two blocks away I can hear you calling my name. I’m sorry. I want to date other snacks for a while. Less fattening ones.

You aren’t helping,
Jodi


Dear October
,
I am so happy to see you! You are my favorite month. You have started out with a bang of good news, I hope we can continue on with that trend. Maybe end 2009 on a happy note. It’s been a tough year for some.

Anyhoo, looking forward to my birthday and Halloween,
Jodi


Dear NaNoWriMo
,
Last year, I told you we were through. I have not “won” since 2004. I really don’t need any more reasons to be disappointed in myself. But you are so seductive! You know me too well. You know my not so secret dream of a being a writer, yet my crippling confusion at how to begin a new book. My love of buying a new NaNoWriMo shirt and donating money so my user name has a halo over it.

I’m giving you, and me, one more chance,
Jodi
Join the So and So fun at Kat’s.
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Canada, Immigration, William

A truly thankful Thanksgiving

I just got a call from a nice lady in the immigration offices in Alberta. We’ll call her Jane. Because for some reason, I don’t want to use her real name. She had some questions that Wil and I need to clear up for her, by writing a short paragraph of explaination and faxing it to her. Easy peasy.

Jane is a very nice lady, I think she liked me. She spent several minutes talking to me about my application and what the next steps will be. She told me to go ahead and fax her an application for a work permit! I was thrilled to hear that because months of unemployment for Wil, and years for me, have taken a toll. Of course, I don’t know how helpful it will be in today’s economy. I suppose it depends on what I am willing to do. What I am NOT willing to do is phone support. Neither is Wil, for that matter.

To make matters better, I talked to her about traveling across the border and she told me that I could travel across the border as long as Wil was with me. My application came from within Canada because it is a hardship to be away from my husband. He supports me. This fact makes it risky to cross into the states without him. How much of a hardship could it be if I left the country without him. But if I am with him…

This means as soon as we get Wil’s passport, we will be able to go to the States. And, as long as any working schedules allow, we can go home for American Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t think this would make me cry, but all of the sudden I found myself crying. Wil is not home right now, which is probably for the best, because I am sure he wouldn’t know quite what to do with me in this state.

Someone is processing my application! Soon, I may be able to work! I will, most likely be home for Christmas! ( to quote a famous song)

I do not know how long it will take to get my approval letter. (at that point I take it to the local immigration office and apply for my card.) I am just so thrilled to have this news. These steps to take.

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