My Life for the Past 10 Months

I haven't written a lot about the Green Card process here on the blog for one main reason: I wasn't sure if the government was spying on me or not. I didn't want to jinx anything, or give myself away. Yes, I suppose I am a paranoid person. But now that things are moving along, I feel like I can share the whole ordeal {at least, the parts of it I've dealt with up to this point}. 

Let's start at the very beginning, the whole reason I'm in this mess in the first place. I got married in August last year. I still had my student visa, so I was able to finish up school without worry. Once January came around, I was done with school, and thus the visa. I couldn't work on campus anymore. So I sat at home and waited and tried to help save as much money as I could so that we could eventually start the paperwork to get me a GC. They're pretty pricey. 

I sat at home, filling out paperwork and trying to not spend so much money. Luke worked hard, and eventually we had enough to continue with the process. 

We filled out more paperwork. Pages and pages of addresses, marriage dates, how much money we made, and so on.  We took passport photos. And then more passport photos, because they can't get enough of my beautiful face.  I had a physical exam. The exam consisted mostly of whether I was a risk for communicable diseases {HIV, STDs, tuberculosis, drug addictions, etc}. I'm clean, by the way. I also have a healthy set of tonsils. 

Once we had the results from some blood work back from the doctor's office, we sent off our LARGE packet of paperwork. 

Then we waited. 

And waited. 

A letter showed up, wanting even more paperwork. We sent that off, and waited. 

I had a biometrics appointment last week, where I got both my fingerprints and my face put in the system.

Finally, yesterday afternoon I got my "Employment Authorization Card" in the mail. The card itself looks more like a driver's licence than anything; it's pretty legit.  Now, I can work{yay!!!!} and travel out of the country without abandoning the rest of my application {yay!!!!}. I don't have any immediate plans to go home, but I'm working that out. 

I still have to wait for the rest of my application to be approved, before I will receive the actual Green Card. I also still have to have an appointment with an immigration agent to determine the legitimacy of my marriage {that sounds so technical, doesn't it? Basically, they just want to make sure I married Luke because I love him, and not so that he would get me a GC}. So I'm not quite out of the woods yet. But the end is approaching, and I no longer have to sit at home, doing nothing all day. I get to look for jobs!

That was a long post, so as a reward for reading through all this, here's some Dwight and Jim. 











In The System

I went and got my fingerprints taken on Monday. As part of the Green Card application, they need to put me in the system {yes, I'm applying for a GC. That's why I haven't had a job in 10 months}. 

I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say, but I will say this: it was like going through airport security. That is one tight government building. There wasn't much of a wait, although I did feel a bit out of place, as I don't look particularly "foreign". 

Getting scanned was quick and easy, although they did do each finger several times. And they took a picture of my upper half. Good thing I wore my furry vest. 

Now, it's just a matter of time until I'm either approved or denied {although I am expecting to get approved. They probably don't take fingerprints for people who get denied. Right?}



Which To Choose

Well, I worked out today. That's all I had planned. Now I could go scrub down my bathroom {because parts of still need to be deep cleaned, despite all my hard work when we first moved in}, or I could sit and watch TV and work on my embroidery project. 

That's a tough one. 



Obvious Changes...

I switched up the blog again. I like this look. It's rather classy, don't you think? 





Other Fall Things I Love

Like I said, here's a post about other autumn things I love. 


1. Cozy blankets...




2.  Cozy fall clothes 




3. More fall clothes 



4. Pumpkin Steamer 























Top 5: Autumn

So, since it's October, I thought I'd share my favourite pictures from my Pinterest board, Autumn.  Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, I'll share the fall recipes I want to try, and/or the fall fashions I wish I had. 


1. Fall Leaves 


2. Autumn Brights 


3. Cozy Autumn Decor 



4. Fall flowers 



5.  A scene in Idaho



Forget, Forgot

Last night I fell asleep thinking about the many different things I would like to write about. I wrote out letters, essays, blog posts, all in my head. I told myself I would remember them. That I would write about them today. 

But that is not the case. 

I forgot most of it while I was sleeping. 

Now I have a post about how I can't remember things. That's not quite what I was going for. 

Oh well. Maybe as I spend the day cleaning my house, things will come back to me. 



Fall, Autumn, and so on...

It was cold today. Tonight, at least, when I went on a walk. I needed a sweater, and at some points I'd wished I'd worn shoes rather than sandals. 

I think it's time to accept that our indian summer is coming to a close, and that fall is descending on us. 

Of course, it doesn't seem like fall, really. That might be due in part to our bomb-shelter basement. No really, it is. With some very small windows and the low ceilings. 

I finished three books in the last week or so. They were all very sad. So then I started reading another book, but it's an autobiography, so I'm hoping it's not as sad. It's not as funny as Bossypants, though. 

This week seems to be dragging on. Monday was a good day. I got out and got some things done. Yesterday was rough. I didn't get anything done. 

Today I got things done. I faxed some things and deposited a cheque. Then {and this is the most important part} I bought a cupcake and an italian soda. I love italian sodas. Nothing bad can happen when you're drinking one.  And the best part is, I just found a place downtown that sells them. Now I have sodas within walking distance. 

I started embroidering things lately. For a while I wanted to make friendship bracelets, which I did for a while, but then I turned to stitching. I used to do it when I was younger, and I really liked it. It feels good to be doing something with my hands again. 

Now if only I was writing as much as I was stitching. But my life is so boring now, it's hard to come up with new inspiration or really be motivated to do things.