~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[Jeraly 4]

i thought about this for a while now (after my interview being nothing but a joke):

the US embassy grants the K1 visa for basically everybody as long as they have a sponsor, because they know that K1-people still have to file for AOS and get denied then.

(saying this, i am just about to fill out the last form and to make the last copies to send the AOS-package in the mail tomorrow. and: I AM FREAKING OUT.

Hahaha - yeah I figured that would happen to most if not all of us - we get so bogged down with K-1 that AOS doesn't even come into the picture!!! I am hoping to figure it all out before we have our legal thing in August so I am not too worried about it yet but I am sure that will change once I move!!

Congratulations ALY - welcome back and also a great big CONGRATULATIONS to julezebelle on the nuptuals. Awesome!

Glad to hear that things are moving a little bit....

Come on CBR! - we're waiting for you! I'll bet she's buried under the 90 + iches of snow that we've received here in southern Wisconsin this winter.

If I never see snow again.....

Thanks for remembering me. I do feel buried in snow and ice here! I'm so sick of snow it's not even funny. There was an article in our paper today about a 76 year old man chasing after a snowplow with a shotgun because his mailbox had been knocked over 4 times! I guess we're all sick of snow lol.

I've been avoiding these threads lately bc to be honest I can't bear to read about wedding plans right now when I have no idea when we're ever going to get approved. This is sucking the life out of me.

The unfairness of being left in the dust eats at me daily. I try to stay positive and just get through each day and at times I do feel numb which helps ease the pain of the separation but it's no way to live.

I don't want to be a downer so I don't really say much. I do still read a bit trying to keep up to date but it's getting harder and harder to do these days. sorry

CBR I can't believe you still haven't heard anything *hugs* I feel so far out of the system myself right now that it isn't even funny - having this time away has been great but part of me actually misses the process... or maybe it's just you guys I feel once again like things are moving around me and I don't even know about it because I am not on here and it is very frustrating!!!

Am leaving Hawaii on Monday (Tuesday in the UK ) and am in Cali for a few days before leaving there on Thursday and getting back to the UK on Friday. Am hoping to have a big thread catch-up on VJ when we are back on the mainland then that might be it until I am home. It's going to be sad to leave but it has been an amazing experience and I know that I only have four months or so before we are together again and don't have to be apart

Anyway - am off to check e-mails quickly while the wireless connection isn't being too temperamental!!! Massive hugs to everyone and I will try and catch up more in a few days

[mox 298]

Welcome back Aly, it's nice to see your lovely...er...beanbag around here again!

And congrats LoveMyAussie, great news!!

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

So hello again everybody I had some troubles with the laptop so couldn´t post for a while again. I noticed Weedebz got her visa in the meantime, so congratulations So I finally managed to put some wedding pics up on the web so there you go you can take a look http://profile.imageshack.us/user/Starbuck17/ Hope you like it

Btw it´s been a month. We are very happy. I settled and am busy all the time doing lotsa different stuff - not working for money yet ofcourse though I hope and believe everyone who is having some troubles right now will be fine it just takes some time.

Hugz everyone

And also I am now officially a July filer too since Aly got me this special certificate, so there I can hang out here without being shout at

[weedebz 0]

the photos are gorgeous. That dress is stunning.

I'm still getting driven mad with all the sorting, packing and getting dragged all over the place by people who want to take me here, take me there, do this and do that "just one last time". I'm not going that far away and I will be coming back occasionally! Just being kept really busy. 2 weeks tomorrow I'll be on my way to Nick. I can't wait!!

[*julez* 124]

So hello again everybody I had some troubles with the laptop so couldn´t post for a while again. I noticed Weedebz got her visa in the meantime, so congratulations So I finally managed to put some wedding pics up on the web so there you go you can take a look http://profile.imageshack.us/user/Starbuck17/ Hope you like it

Btw it´s been a month. We are very happy. I settled and am busy all the time doing lotsa different stuff - not working for money yet ofcourse though I hope and believe everyone who is having some troubles right now will be fine it just takes some time.

Hugz everyone

And also I am now officially a July filer too since Aly got me this special certificate, so there I can hang out here without being shout at

Congratualtions Marta!!! You look lovely! Thanks for sharing your pics!

[mox 298]

Dangit, I can't see the pics. Might be a "work" thing, I'll try when I get home. But congrats all the same!!

[tucson_chick 0]

congrats marta! BEAUTIFUL pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bakofoil 27]

What a beautiful bride! You look wonderful, thanks for sharing

[StillThePrettiest 3]

hello all

I've been missing for a while, but not for any big reasons... just been ill, and busy, and away, and feeling a bit stalled in this whole process since we're back to 'nothing's happening' once again *heavy sigh*

anyway, just thought I'd put this slightly random thought out there -

I was talking to a friend the other day about a book we'd both read - she recommended it to me - called The Five Love Languages... I was VERY sceptical of it when she first gave it to me; I don't tend to read self-help books or similar, and this sounded impossibly twee... but she said I should persist, and I'm glad I did

now, to save you having to read it yourself, I'm just going to summarise the main points, on the off-chance that it might be of some use to people here; we're all going into a different phase of our relationships right now, so maybe some reflection might be helpful

the basic premise is that everyone understands love, and displays love, in different ways, and that if you generally show your love one way, when your partner's (or someone else; it's not just about romantic love) 'love language' is something different, then you're likely to run into trouble

the author splits the love languages into the following five:

1. Acts of Service (doing little jobs around the house, etc)

2. Quality Time (stopping everything else to spend time listening, or going somewhere, etc)

3. Words of Affirmation (verbalising the things you like; about their appearance, the way they do something etc)

4. Gifts (obvious! but not restricted to the expensive stuff )

4. Physical Touch (also obvious, but NOT always sexual! sometimes just a hand on the arm etc can be enough )

the idea is to think about how you best understand love, and how you demonstrate love to other people (often the same, but not always), and then to think about your partner, and what his/her main love language is

it's been so interesting talking to people about this; it seems so simple - simplistic, even - and yet sometimes it's so easy to miss... someone might go out of their way to always do the dishes and take out the garbage and vacuum once a week, but if their partner's love language is Quality Time, there might still be issues

anyway, that's a VERY brief summary, but I hope it's of use to some people... just thought it was worth sharing

[mox 298]

hello all

You have been greatly missed StP. Glad to see you again.

It's interesting to see "love" (or to be more exact, displaying love) broken down like that. Seems to me like everyone would have their own sleep number type score in each of the categories. Figuring out our own and our partner's might help to setup and maintain a healthy relationship.

[a-jeanne 2]

Congratulations Marta - awesome wedding pictures. You're beautiful!

Weedebz - CONGRATULATIONS on your approval in case I didn't say it earlier.

I have been away for a while from VJ - so much to do. Phil already received packet 3 and we have sent that off to the embassy - in fact he dropped it off when he arrived back home last week. We are just waiting now for the interview date. He already had the physical and is glad to have that over with.

How long between sending packet 3 in and getting an interview scheduled? Do they let you know by letter or can you go on line and check? Stupid questions again I know...

Phil's trip last week was uneventful through immigration. The only question they asked - "what do you do for a living?" That was it. He is planning a trip on March 15th if we don't have the interview by then. He has also extended his work and will retire on March 31st instead of February 29th. The plan was changed because he is going to Bangkok for his school reunion in April and will go back to England afterwards to get his belongings and head home on the K-1. So, he is trying to get one more trip to see me before the Bangkok trip. I have decided not to go as 40 hours on a plane in a weekend will be a bit much for me. It took me almost a month to get over Figi - can't imagine Bangkok!

Hope everyone is doing well - I have to check on CBR to see where she is...

[a-jeanne 2]

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Thanks everyone I got the dress in Czech

Concerning the book of Five love languages...it´s interesting. Though you can view love from many other angles like that. Like when somebody is just the giver or just the taker (of whatever...feelings, thoughts, gifts, fun, etc). I think people should try to find the balance in things. There are so many different people out there and each of them looks for or appreciates different qualities. Therefore it´s not that easy to find your match. The Five love languages is something that could be applied on friendships too I think. Same with the giver/taker...sometimes some people just seem to suck out of you all the time which can make you upset or something, but then if you look at the person from a different point of view then you can find a giver in him/her too...so it´s kinda complicated ;-)

[StillThePrettiest 3]

you're exactly right, Marta

of course, there are many, many angles and ways to view relationships... I would never suggest this is the be-all and end-all, but I found it worthwhile enough to want to share it

and you're right, too, that this can be useful in friendships, and family relationships, and so on... when I fist started to discuss it with my friend we found it so illuminating to talk about our families, and mutual friends, and try to work out their LL

I guessed you got the dress in Czech... it reminded me of some of the exquisite work I've seen there

you truly do look SO beautiful in those photos, and Scott looks so happy!

[*julez* 124]

Audrey - you can call the US DOS to see if Phil's interview has bee scheduled. US State Department: (202) 663-1225 - press 1, then 0. You should hear something in a few weeks, and maybe even sooner! I'm glad things are finally moving along for you guys!!!

And you can count me amongst those who are tired of the snow! As is Griff! He keeps asking when to expect spring weather and I keep telling him May. I think the weather is the thing he has the most difficulty coping with. Although, he's already adopting the true Buffalo attitude toward weather, so if its 30 degrees and sunny, he's like, "Its a gorgeous day! Not too cold today!", or "Well, at least we didn't get more snow last night" So, I think he'll survive.