DaveAndAnastasia

Dunno, but I thought most of the typical cheap takeout Chinese food menu items were actually invented in the US ....

That was literally the only store I missed when I moved to San Diego from Rochester, NY (where they started). They have a few stores in the mid-Atlantic and southeast, including one northwest of Raleigh (where I am now) but it's too far away to shop at. They're supposed to be adding a store in my suburb in 2026 (near the Wal-Mart), and as someone who spent his formative years in upstate NY (and so very much in Wegmans territory), if that actually happens, I think I'll be kind of mandated to shop there as long as Anastasia and I are employed. Right now I usually do my regular shopping at Food Lion because it's cheaper than the grocery stores that are closer and for some reason the others don't seem to have regular green leaf lettuce. I'd think it some weird southern thing, except that the cheapest grocery store has it, not the expensive one. But there's a Harris Teeter (Kroger affiliate) on the corner that's the go to for picking up stuff on the way home from picking up mini-Dave from preschool.

Well, next month, if he manages to make it. 🤣 Our sixth anniversary today; picked up my parents at the airport two days after PRG got here, spent a few minutes at my place, then drove like a madman to get to county clerk's office on time due to crazy traffic. Can he keep doing cute little kid stuff and still brush his own teeth? Keep hoping, and basically the next time were both employed and can reasonably schedule something, at the very worst PRG and mini-Dave will go visit PRG's family. But so far we've had plans derailed by 1) covid and new baby 2) Putin invaded Ukraine 3) me out of work 4) PRG out of work and misc stuff in Russia 5) me out of work again ... of which only the new baby was intended (and really didn't expect to get him that quickly). And she'd need to go to DC and do some paperwork at the embassy to go to Russia again (never registered our marriage and name change in Russia). PRG wants to see what she thinks of being an assistant before committing to studying to be a hygienist, but yeah.

Have been to or invited to many fifth birthday parties of his preschool classmates, his is next month, where has the time gone, man? Got into year-round-school (which was what we wanted), so starts kindergarten in July (don't know which track so not sure if start or end of July). Lost my job last month, sigh, man. Nothing new yet. PRG lost hers again (had let her go and brought her back) at end of December. Gave up on IT, she's studying to be a dental assistant now. Which means yet again attempts to meet with mama-PRG and sister-PRG not happening this year.

Had Christmas home alone after parents-Dave were around for Thanksgiving. PRG doesn't like going to Florida over Christmas (not a lot to do with mini-Dave near my parents' place, and holidays mean theme parks and such are busy and more expensive), and not venturing to extended family in Ohio without some immediate family also going along. Mini-Dave had the most presents by far, of course. Pretty much decided that if PRG & I are in good situations with work and we're not visiting anyone or having guests next year, we'll take some kind of vacation before or after Christmas. Toured mini-Dave's prospective elementary school yesterday (not sure why first open house at year-round school was only a bit over two weeks from deadline to apply, when applications were open back in October). PRG and I liked the place (as much as you can tell from stats and a one-hour presentation and tour), so made some minor changes and submitted the mostly-done application that had been sitting in their system for months. If he gets in, will start kindergarten in July. Looking at the regular-calendar school (where he should end up at if we don't get in the year-round school) next Thursday, though (expecting it to be pretty similar as it's the same school district and they're less than half a mile apart on the same street).

Diagnosed at first doctors appt post-Covid (between new wife, new baby, and new home had just been busy) a couple years ago. Prior labs were prediabetic but not all the way there, but had been years earlier and mostly staying at home wasn't great for me except for shortly after mini-Dave was born when I was walking him a lot. Lost about 40 lbs since then (now usually under 195 except after weekly night out, which usually involves non-low-carb desert and a drink), numbers much more reasonable as of last test.

Diabetic, so basically avoid candy now. Only for the wee man (well, PRG snags a piece or two). Yeah. If everything goes according to plan, probably not doing anything more than a long weekend in driving or short flight range until May mega-trip which definitely includes one week with PRG's mom and sister in Turkey, and current plan is a few days in Paris before and London after. But probably will do a few overnight trips on a similar scale between now and then. Plus mama-Dave and papa-Dave visiting for Thanksgiving.

Well, the solstice is a few days before Christmas so that, erm, wouldn't make much sense ... Anyway, the point was that no DST or year-round DST might be fine in Texas or Florida or Southern California where day length is less variable, but farther north, not so much. Trick-or-treating in a subdivision full of houses with kids instead of around multi-family housing where there were only a handful is very different. Way more kids out. Though our bowl of candy (from two large bags, because we didn't know what to expect) didn't get hit too much; we're in a cul-de-sac at the back end of the development, and our street is mostly people who moved in ten years ago when the houses were new, so their kids are older. Not sure if just being older or strong desire for more candy kept mini-Dave out longer this year. But he was out from basically as soon as we were ready to go (a bit after nominal start time because PRG works Pacific time hours, though she did get off early) until pretty nearly the nominal end time, and a few houses were out of candy by the time we got there. Took a mini-trip most of the way to Charlotte last weekend. PRG needed some rest, si, ma'am. Went to aquarium, then spent night at a Great Wolf Lodge (stayed there for $many, but cheaper than 3 non-local day passes and a cheap hotel, and I think over two hours away is too far for a day trip) so mini-Dave got to play in the water for a bit. Only got him on big family-sized tube ride once (hey, he beat the minimum height by half an inch), said it was too scary and never wanted to do that again. But he still had a lot of fun.

Having moved north some and to someplace that is not roughly the eastern edge of its time zone if they drew straight lines, have you considered that perhaps sunrise well after 7 am that would get to after 8 in year-round DST would in fact be kind of bad? /though the switch about 15 years ago to make the time changes in November and March instead of October and April in fact makes this worse as it doesn't happen soon enough and then happens too soon.

If we get mini-Dave into year-round school (and the schedule doesn't change), he'd start at 9:20, which is probably a bit late if PRG insists that's too young to take the bus, but workable as long as she's still working Pacific time hours. Or they've got before-school programs too, I guess. Only a few more weeks until local school district starts taking enrollment forms for next year, and I want to do that ASAP because I need to do that to apply for year-round school (it's literally a couple of blocks down the street from the elementary school he'd go to otherwise). How is he less than a year from starting kindergarten already?

Seems weird that I'm more of a Yankee in the suburbs of Raleigh than I was in San Diego ...

Mini-Dave got his first haircut, years ago, after PRG got one too many comments about our cute little girl. And pretty much makes sure he gets his hair cut every month (since Covid, she has done mine too). Nephew-Dave (who's in his last year of middle school, IIRC) has very long hair; PRG always tells me whenever we see him (though back in our hotel or whatever and far from sister-Dave) that she'd never let her son keep his hair that long ...

PRG's grandfather passed a couple years ago without ever seeing mini-Dave in person. She still has one grandmother alive (if grandma-PRG were ten years younger, she'd be far more likely to visit us on this side of the Atlantic than mama-PRG, but not really up for a long trek to Moscow and another long flight for a third-country meetup at her age). And apparently Russia changed the law, so now in order to go back to Russia PRG needs to get her name changed on her Russian passport (still has PRG's maiden name, not my last name, because changing it would have been a pain) which requires doing some stuff in-person at the Russian embassy. At least from here getting to DC is a half-day drive or very short flight instead of an adventure, but probably won't do it without definite plans to go (which until the war ends and you can at least fly to major European hubs nonstop from Moscow again, if not to the US, is a nope).

Dunno; PRG cuts the grass here (acquired new electric mow-lawner a few months ago now that we have an actual house). I'm the one with the allergies, but it's really that PRG has more free time in the morning on weekdays. Mini-Dave will get stuck with the job eventually, but he's still got another year until kindergarten (one day too old to apply to get in early; sure he'd be academically up to it, socially, probably not) so it'll be a while. Checking county school district web site every week or so to see when we should start filing paperwork. Want to get him in year-round school (a 3-week-ish break in late spring or early fall should in theory be more convenient for visiting PRG's family than a long summer break in peak tourist season and also when it's very hot nearly everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere), but supposedly year-round and magnet applications here have only about a 50% success rate, though with better odds for first year at the school (so K is the best time). Have pretty much decided to do everything in our power to make a meetup with PRG's mom and sister happen next year, as that will be six years without seeing her family in person. Idea is to go from Raleigh to London*, spend a night or two, spend a week in Turkey, spend a night in London again on the way back, and then come home (hopefully at a time that I can avoid returning to work for a few days). * also nonstops from RDU to Paris and Frankfurt, but London is cheaper and British isn't too different of a language from American

If you're doing a spousal visa so they have a green card right away, no there aren't any travel restrictions other than ensuring you spend enough time in the US to maintain residency between entering the US and applying to remove conditions, renew a green card, and/or US citizenship. If you're doing a K-1, you need advance parole or a green card before leaving the US if you want to return without starting all over with a new visa.