Posted Friday, June 27, 2008 9:24 AM
i am alive. i am just so busy. just wanted to give you the 411 on all the big, exciting things going on in my world:
1. our new niece, cara jessica, was born on friday, june 20, 2008. she was 7 lbs, 7 oz, and was 20 inches long. she had tons of dark hair, and looks a lot more like mom. i won the baby pool...everyone, including cara's parents, thought she was going to be a boy!
2. we finally received our passports back from the new zealand immigration office. i was getting really stressed out b/c it has been a month from our approval. apparently, someone forgot to put our state and zip code on the package, so our identities were floating around somewhere out there for weeks. so scary!
3. our lease is up on our cute little apartment, so we need to be out by monday, june 30th. we have been packing for months, it seems. and we are in the final push to get out in time. it is just so hard to pack for our move across the world.
4. DH and i decided to go to fiji and australia, before arriving in our new home in new zealand. i can't wait to go now! it is all becoming very real. we are really this close from living our dream. it is all finally happening.
5. i may have a job in wellington sooner than i could've imagined! i have been emailing the lead clinical coordinator back and forth. we both have a lot of questions for each other b/c we are both dealing with new people from different countries and experiences in our profession. weird, but cool all in the same package!
6. i will officially tell my bosses next week that i am leaving the country. i never expected to be sad about leaving, but i am a little, even the place i just started working at for a year. fyi, i have 3 jobs, so it will be hard to do the whole thing three times!
7. we are going to germany in a couple weeks. i am excited. one of my friends over there asked me to pack her some special treats: JIF extra crunchy peanut butter, and tony roma's carolina honey bbq sauce! she is too funny, and it made me realize what we take for granted here in the states!
okay, so much for the quick update. hope all is well in nestie land!
Posted Friday, May 23, 2008 9:35 AM
an excerpt from my other blog:
today at work, i had my usual thursday adult palliative care meeting.
we always open our meeting with a thought, quote, blurb by emmah, our
spiritual care counselor on the team. today, emmah started the meeting by
saying that spring always brings new things, and asked us to share what
was new in our lives. we went around the room, saying something new.
most people said that they are cleaning out closets or working on home
projects. pat said that she is doing a volunteer coordinator project
with her church in june. i was next to last to speak, and i said, "it's
funny that you ask about something "new" b/c we are starting a new life
in the fall. we are moving to new zealand." everyone was floored, and
the questions came. but there was genuine excitement from the team,
which made me happy. i am probably the youngest member of the team, so
rhonda commented, oh how nice it is to be young and carefree. and
others chimed in with "i wish i could do that!"
so, the cat is kinda, sorta out of the bag. we haven't told many of our close family and friends that our residence in nz was granted. we are keeping it for us for a little while longer. but, it is hard to not tell anybody! good thing for my nestie outlet!
i am overwhelmed and excited and can't wait to start our new life in a new place!
Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:00 PM
life is hectic as usual. here are a few little announcements i thought i would share:
-my new "niece" (my best friend's sister's baby) arrived a month early on may 13th at 3:45am. baby gwenyth ella weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz and was 18.5 inches long on her birthday. she was nameless for a couple days, but mom and dad finally agreed on baby gwen. she joins big sister, lauren isabella. i love it. their family is now complete. i can't wait to see them all.
-i have been running for a month now. and i am excited to report, that i have hit a major milestone. i have ran 50.99 miles as of today. i am proud of myself for sticking with it! and i still don't love it, but i am liking it more and more each time i finish a workout.
-no word on new zealand yet. i am anxious and nervous and tired of waiting. i have been glued to the mailbox everyday after work. i think i may need a little vacation to keep me from being disappointed after checking the mailbox and finding it empty. deep down, i know we are going to be accepted, but i don't want to jinx it...and i will feel better when i have official confirmation.
-we are having a heat wave here in the bay area. it is 99 degrees today. i am melting!
Posted Friday, May 09, 2008 8:48 PM
life has been busy for me lately. here are a few things i have been up to...
-working: a little less than before, but still a lot. keeping me busy. i am bummed all weekend. all late shifts. sucks. next weekend i have a 3 day weekend. that's awesome.
-running: today i ran my first 5k. i didn't do my best, but i did okay. although i did not do what i expected myself to do, i did end up running my fastest mile to date. so, i was happy with that accomplishment. and i am happy that i finished the race!
-moving: still no word from nz. and i am waiting and waiting and waiting. it is silly, but i totally get disappointed when i check the mail and nothing has arrived from immigration. it has been 2 weeks already, and they said the decision would be made in 2-3 weeks. and i have to keep reminding myself that mail from london can take a while to get here to california!
-health: oh my goodness! my allergies are out of control. i am drugged up on benadryl as a blog, but at least my nose isn't running and my eyes aren't leaking. the pollen is driving me crazy!
-excitement: last night sil called us at about 10:30pm, and said that she was heading to the hospital b/c she thought she was in labor. we were a little worried b/c she isn't due for about 6 more weeks. but, they ran some tests and she was fine, not in labor, and they sent her home. dh and i realized that we aren't ready for our new niece or nephew yet.
hope all is well with you!
Posted Monday, April 28, 2008 11:39 AM
sorry. i actually started up another blog, which is more geared toward our new zealand immigration process and to update friends and family about our move. it is turning into my blog, with updates on my running and everything. we are planning to link this blog to our wedding website in a bit, so people can catch up with us.
here are the highlights of life in general:
-we had our phone interview with our new zealand case officer. it went well. he said that it would be "highly unlikely" that we would be declined our visas. we should have an answer in the next couple of weeks. we are so excited and anxious to hear back. keep your fingers crossed and send us any nestie dust you can spare!
-my running is going well. i ran my personal best mile yesterday on the trail near our house. lance armstrong came in my nike+ipod thing and congratulated me. that was pretty funny! my time was 8'26"! even though i had to walk the first half of my workout due to a horrible side stitch, i ended up doing a better mile pace! when i started running, i was thinking that a mile was going to be a challenge and my big goal was to run a 5k at the end of the summer. to my big surprise, i can already run over 3.1 miles, so i think i may have to set my goals a little higher.
-yesterday mike and i were married 6 months. time has really flown by. i guess preoccupation with your future in another country supercedes the married days ticker! we had a nice sunday...it was my only day off, so we made the most of it. we ran, went to lunch, went to 2 movies, and had a double dinner date with our friends. sunday seemed all too short...and now it is monday again!
that's all the big news....oh, wait...we are going to whidbey island this weekend. should be fun!
Posted Thursday, April 17, 2008 3:27 PM
yesterday, i went to the mall since i had the day off and had time to waste. i didn't find anything i really liked. i did, however, spend the remaining cash on my victoria's secret gift card from my bridal shower on some new undies. nothing fancy, but i needed them. my only other purchase was two mrs. field's cookies. one for me, and one for dh. i thought i was being sweet to think of him and give him a little treat when he got home from work.
so, he comes home, sits on the couch, and i bring him his cookie. then, he pulls out the nike+ipod thingy from his jacket pocket. he thought it would be a cool gift for me to help me stay motivated with this new running thing. i think he trumped my cookie offering. anyway, i was pretty surprised, and i am excited to start using it. i had to order a little pouch for the sensor since i don't have the special nike+ shoes, and also a better armband. the one i have doesn't have an opening for the receiver. so, i ordered that from amazon a couple minutes ago.
so, the point of this blog: shout out for my sweet sweet hubby! 
Posted Wednesday, April 16, 2008 11:25 AM
well, we have been playing the waiting game for a couple months now. we hadn't heard a peep from new zealand since they told us they received our application on 2/16/08. the london office that handles the applications from the united states has a website that they try to update every 2 weeks or so. however, it is not an accurate thing...we were stuck at mid december for a while there. but a couple nights ago, we checked the site again, and it had been updated...yay! so, they are now processing applications up through 2/27/08. so, we are anxiously awaiting our phone call from our case officer in the next week or two. once we get a case officer, we still have to wait up to 3 more months to get a decision. but we are optimistic, and keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a successful application. so, this tiny bit of progress has made us pretty excited about the future. it gave me the motivation to pack up some more stuff, and really get a handle on the shipping of our stuff overseas!
one bit of bothersome news is that i am an idiot. i bit my lip last week, and then i stupidly bit it again in the exact same place, so now i have this huge wound on the inside of my lip. good thing it's not on the outside, or people might think i have this gigantic herpe. so gross, and it is so painful. it is hindering my ability to eat and talk. i even have to use topical lidocaine to numb my mouth before i can brush my teeth....it is bad. i hope it heals up by this weekend!
i did my second run today. i wanted to do it yesterday, but i was so sore from sunday's run that i had to rest instead. i am glad i did. i felt so much better today. running is still not my favorite thing to do...and it is super hard for me...but i am trying to stick with it!
my goodness, my desk is a mess. i think i should go do something about it!
have a wonderful day!
Posted Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:38 PM
i am impressed and amazed at how clear the world is. my new peepers are doing great after my LASIK procedure on thursday. i love it. i am so glad that i finally bit the bullet and had it done! i found out that i have very tiny eyes, but very large tear ducts. the surgery was a total trip. i am not sure i can even explain it at all. just so weird. the only side effect i have is a little bit of dry eye, but not as bad as i was warned about. i have no night halos or glare or anything like that.
today was already a banner day for me. i have been thinking about starting to run for a while, probably years, but never had the motivation to actually start. i love to work out, especially cardio, but i will do ANYTHING, except run. dh started running last week on the trail near our house. so i decided after my LASIK that i would give running a try. so, today, i did it. i ran...and it wasn't as bad as i thought. and i ran farther than i thought too. i am sure it helps that i do an average of about 4 miles a day on the elliptical trainer or stair master. so, i think i will try to stick with the plan. it was a nice surprise that runners magazine this month has special beginners guide. i will use that workout plan for now. anyhoo, i am excited for myself. maybe this girl will be a runner someday.
this weekend is full of celebrations. last night, my coworker had a housewarming/welcome new baby party. it was my first persian party. and they LOVE to party. there was great food, live music, and lots of dancing. and their new baby daughter is so adorable. i am sure she will be quite beautiful when she grows up.
today we are also celebrating my sister's birthday. she turned 31 yesterday. my aunt, uncle, dh, and i are taking her to a nice restaurant in los gatos. should be a nice evening. before that i have to get to the mall and find her a present. not an easy task. hmmm....
no word on new zealand yet. but we are still packing up our house and getting ready to go. we can't wait. it is pretty awesome when you can really live one of your dreams.
we are feverishly planning our summer out since our weekends are limited. there are so many people that we want to visit before we go. dh wants us to take a trip with his parents. of course we will be seeing my parents and grandma a couple times before we go. he wants to go to washington to see his grandparents as well. i decided i am not going to germany this summer with dh since it will be expensive, and the plans illogical. i am bummed i won't get to see our friends too. however, i will probably go and spend some qt with my best friend in seattle. i think out of everyone, i will miss her the most. she is the one person i talk with everyday, and we are just so close. it is gonna be hard on us to not be able to to chit chat on a daily basis. i think we will be fine, and we will work something out.
work has slowed down for me a bit. the last couple weekends, i have been off for 3 days. that has been nice. i have just been enjoying the nice weather and slowly doing stuff around the house.
oh, i totally forgot to mention a highlight of this weekend. on friday, dh and some of his coworkers were at a conference up in san francisco. so, i went to the city too. dh and i ended up in hayes valley, and it was such a gorgeous day....we had our mediterranean lunch by the window of this little cute cafe, then sat in the sunshine at the park across the street. when the peeps were done with the conference, we all met up at this little wine/beer cafe with a lovely patio outside. we sat out there for at least 4 hours before meeting up at one of our friend's restaurant for dinner. it was such a nice day. i haven't had such a great day in sf for a while!
anyhoo, enough babble...on to my errands.
p.s. i am credit card debt free now! last payment made in full on monday! hip hip hooray!