Month: August 2012

Welcome home!

Welcome home!

Nothings says “I’m happy your home” more than a Shi-Tzu with a face full of mud. Dashy got a wee bit carried away with his treat this afternoon and decided to bury it.  With his face.  What concerns me is that he has been showered 

One more night

One more night

One more night of sharing a room with Ethan; my little sighing, kicking, singing sleeps-like-a-log little rhino. One more day of living out of a suitcase. One more day of no routine. This felt lovely. One more day of no chores, cleaning, cooking, bill paying 

Oh Orlando

Oh Orlando

You are so hideously ugly but so beautiful in a strange un-organic way. You make my hair bigger than any other city I know, your hotels are scummy, your Chilis is amazing, you make my kid anxious and nervous with your bustle and population of tourists. You are sticky and I am so glad to see you!

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Winging it

Winging it

After the week from hell I took a chance on Thursday and drove into the city to wait for my visa on the off-chance it would be ready for pickup before I actually received the notification email. My mates at the US embassy’s call centre 

Eat Cook | Calzone Recipe

Eat Cook | Calzone Recipe

Oh yes.  You will love this one.  I guarantee it.  It has been tried and tested on Very Important Friends and they concur; calzones are go! Calzones are pretty common in SoCal, every pizza restaurant has them on the menu.  I haven’t struck them at 

Holiday | Update

Holiday | Update

Another 5am start to get ready and get to the Consulate by 7.45am.  Seems a bit silly to leave that early, however, as soon as I got on the Nor-Western it was gridlocked.  Stressy and stabbier than ever, I almost turned around right then.  It is unbelievable how hard this has been.  I did get some answers today though, it turns out that I was deported in 2008 and THAT is why my visa waiver was denied.  How could something like that have slipped my mind, more importantly, how was I deported when I lived in NZ?  So visa approved though not in hand.  There are two more obstacles in my way.  One is actually getting my passport + visa back before my scheduled flight on Friday.  Too make the wedding on Sat in Chicago, the latest I can leave is Friday night {which will mean buying a whole new plane ticket if I miss the morning flight}.  Then, I have to negotiate Customs in the US, who could lock me up and deny me entry – because I’ve been deported remember?

The upside is I have lost 1.5 kgs in 48hrs.  Yay a stress diet!  It’s lonely here by myself, god knows what state I’d be in if I didn’t have four dogs to watch the Olympics and cry with.

I found these little notes in my truck from Ethan;

Post it Notes from Ethan

Tears.

I also got to FaceTime with the guys when they arrived in Chicago this afternoon.

More tears.  A good sleep tonight and a non 5am start will hopefully see better luck tomorrow.