possibly epic lj post ahead
Hello friends! Almost typed fiends there, but I guess that works, too. :p
So, the rest of my trip, I guess we should start there, huh? Thursday was a fantastically lazy day. I slept in till 10 or so, lounged around on the computer for several hours, took a shower around 2 pm, had a salad for lunch using random ingredients I found in Kristian's kitchen (hard boiled eggs, craisins, pecorino romano cheese, and tangerine balsamic vinegar and oil), and then spent about two hours filling out my immigration paperwork. Ugh. My hand was totally cramping by the time I got done all of it. I had to list every activity I've done (job, unemployed, studying, etc.) and every address I've lived at since I was 18. Seriously. And then the most detailed questions about almost every aspect of our relationship. At least it's done, and now I just have to gather the documentation to support my answers to all the questions. And Brad has to fill out his own pile of paperwork, too. You see what I mean when I say this is a process?
Anyway, after the paperwork ordeal was over, I drove down to Marlton to stop by and say hi to an old babysitting family. Spent a couple hours there before picking Alison up from the airport and crashing at her place for the night. We just shared her bed that night so we wouldn't have to make up the futon at 1:30 in the morning. Favorite moment, shortly after we'd gone to bed:
Alison (to her cat): Stop licking me!
Me: Oh, sorry.
Lol. It amused us both. After we got up on Friday, Alison dropped me off at the Patco station so I could go into Philly and hang out with Sarah for a bit, while she went up to a meeting with her thesis adviser. It was SUCH a beautiful, perfect day. Sarah and I went to the Italian market to get some good pizza, and mmm, it was delicious. We went to the laundromat and wandered around Target, where I was actually really good and only bought one thing for myself, despite wanting almost everything I saw. Then after dropping her laundry back at her apartment, we walked to two nearby cupcake bakeries to try one from each, and brought them to Rittenhouse Square to eat them while enjoying the gorgeous weather. Both cupcakes were delicious, and I was so content to sit there in the park and bask in the warmth. There were a million people outside as well, so we had some fun people watching and playing Mom or Nanny and guessing people's life stories. It was pretty much a perfect afternoon.
After a while, I went back to South Jersey, and went to the Pop Shop for dinner with Jenn, Amy, Alison, and her fiance Ken. It was a hilarious evening, highlighted by the discovery of a dessert consisting of fried balls of cookie dough, which basically led to nonstop ball jokes. When our waitress, who we all agreed looked kind of like Lea Michele, came to take our dessert order, Amy replied, totally straight-faced, "Alia wants some balls." :p Lol. Jenn had to leave after dinner, but Amy came back to Alison's house with us, and we sat around chatting till midnight. All in all, Friday was probably one of my favorite days of the vacation. Then Saturday morning I got on the bus again, and made it home safely and without incident. I had a great time in the States, but it's always good to be home again.
Hmm, how epic can I make this entry? I will spare you the - no lie - 120 pictures I took at Longwood Gardens, and instead just give you the link so you can look at lots of pics of pretty flowers and awesome trees on your own. I won't post all of my other pics either, but here are just a few teasers. I'll post the rest on facebook if you are interested.
Okay, let's start with one of the most disturbing books I found in the children's section of Barnes & Noble when Lauren and I were wandering around before dinner on Wednesday. Please note that the underwear on the bear is fabric, encouraging children to touch it. Um, so we want to teach children to feel up other people's underwear? Also, inside the book, the bear's parents apparently left him naked and hungry, so he had to find proper fitting underwear in order to go get food. So it showed him trying on all these different underwear that weren't quite right, ending with "The tighty whities were a perfect fit!" Uhhhhh yeeeeeeaaaahhh. :-/ And then!
This one was right below it on the rack. Yes, let's have the bear saying "Whatever you do, DON'T pull my shorts down!" with a pull tab that does exactly that. What message are we trying to send here, exactly? I was kind of disturbed by these books.
Here, something happier. A picture of our delicious cupcakes, for utopiandream! I'll post more on facebook for you. :)
Me and my best friend on a beautiful day. :) ♥
And the description of the ridiculous cookie dough ball dessert. Soooo yummy.
And the rest of the pics will be up on facebook!
That brings us up to today, I think. (Omg, I know, I'm not done yet? If you're still reading, you're awesome, and I heart you.) I had a killer headache pretty much all day, but couldn't do anything about it because I had an appointment to give blood after work and you're not supposed to take any aspirin or similar drugs for 48 hours prior, I think. So I get to my appointment, only to find out that my iron is too low and I can't donate now anyway! :p Probably for the best, as I imagine it would only have made my headache worse. I did promptly take some Advil after I left, though, so now I'm feeling much better.
Also! When I got home, there were two exciting pieces of mail waiting for me - one was a job offer from the summer camp I applied to! I still have to work out all the same details I mentioned previously before I can accept the offer, but it's pretty awesome to know they want me. I'll keep you posted on what happens with that. But the other piece of mail was my FBI clearance!! Already! I was totally shocked to see that so soon, given how long it took them the first time. Brad said it might be because I was already in their system, but whatever the reason, I'll certainly take it! Makes me even more glad I got my paperwork done over the break. What's left is my medical exam, Brad's paperwork, and all the documentation, and then I think we'll be ready to mail it off to the CIC! Trust me, I will certainly be making a post when that happens!
Okay, I'm sure you're all tired of reading this epic lj entry, so I'll wrap things up now. Anyone who made it this far deserves a cookie. Lots of love!
So, the rest of my trip, I guess we should start there, huh? Thursday was a fantastically lazy day. I slept in till 10 or so, lounged around on the computer for several hours, took a shower around 2 pm, had a salad for lunch using random ingredients I found in Kristian's kitchen (hard boiled eggs, craisins, pecorino romano cheese, and tangerine balsamic vinegar and oil), and then spent about two hours filling out my immigration paperwork. Ugh. My hand was totally cramping by the time I got done all of it. I had to list every activity I've done (job, unemployed, studying, etc.) and every address I've lived at since I was 18. Seriously. And then the most detailed questions about almost every aspect of our relationship. At least it's done, and now I just have to gather the documentation to support my answers to all the questions. And Brad has to fill out his own pile of paperwork, too. You see what I mean when I say this is a process?
Anyway, after the paperwork ordeal was over, I drove down to Marlton to stop by and say hi to an old babysitting family. Spent a couple hours there before picking Alison up from the airport and crashing at her place for the night. We just shared her bed that night so we wouldn't have to make up the futon at 1:30 in the morning. Favorite moment, shortly after we'd gone to bed:
Alison (to her cat): Stop licking me!
Me: Oh, sorry.
Lol. It amused us both. After we got up on Friday, Alison dropped me off at the Patco station so I could go into Philly and hang out with Sarah for a bit, while she went up to a meeting with her thesis adviser. It was SUCH a beautiful, perfect day. Sarah and I went to the Italian market to get some good pizza, and mmm, it was delicious. We went to the laundromat and wandered around Target, where I was actually really good and only bought one thing for myself, despite wanting almost everything I saw. Then after dropping her laundry back at her apartment, we walked to two nearby cupcake bakeries to try one from each, and brought them to Rittenhouse Square to eat them while enjoying the gorgeous weather. Both cupcakes were delicious, and I was so content to sit there in the park and bask in the warmth. There were a million people outside as well, so we had some fun people watching and playing Mom or Nanny and guessing people's life stories. It was pretty much a perfect afternoon.
After a while, I went back to South Jersey, and went to the Pop Shop for dinner with Jenn, Amy, Alison, and her fiance Ken. It was a hilarious evening, highlighted by the discovery of a dessert consisting of fried balls of cookie dough, which basically led to nonstop ball jokes. When our waitress, who we all agreed looked kind of like Lea Michele, came to take our dessert order, Amy replied, totally straight-faced, "Alia wants some balls." :p Lol. Jenn had to leave after dinner, but Amy came back to Alison's house with us, and we sat around chatting till midnight. All in all, Friday was probably one of my favorite days of the vacation. Then Saturday morning I got on the bus again, and made it home safely and without incident. I had a great time in the States, but it's always good to be home again.
Hmm, how epic can I make this entry? I will spare you the - no lie - 120 pictures I took at Longwood Gardens, and instead just give you the link so you can look at lots of pics of pretty flowers and awesome trees on your own. I won't post all of my other pics either, but here are just a few teasers. I'll post the rest on facebook if you are interested.
Okay, let's start with one of the most disturbing books I found in the children's section of Barnes & Noble when Lauren and I were wandering around before dinner on Wednesday. Please note that the underwear on the bear is fabric, encouraging children to touch it. Um, so we want to teach children to feel up other people's underwear? Also, inside the book, the bear's parents apparently left him naked and hungry, so he had to find proper fitting underwear in order to go get food. So it showed him trying on all these different underwear that weren't quite right, ending with "The tighty whities were a perfect fit!" Uhhhhh yeeeeeeaaaahhh. :-/ And then!
This one was right below it on the rack. Yes, let's have the bear saying "Whatever you do, DON'T pull my shorts down!" with a pull tab that does exactly that. What message are we trying to send here, exactly? I was kind of disturbed by these books.
Here, something happier. A picture of our delicious cupcakes, for utopiandream! I'll post more on facebook for you. :)
Me and my best friend on a beautiful day. :) ♥
And the description of the ridiculous cookie dough ball dessert. Soooo yummy.
And the rest of the pics will be up on facebook!
That brings us up to today, I think. (Omg, I know, I'm not done yet? If you're still reading, you're awesome, and I heart you.) I had a killer headache pretty much all day, but couldn't do anything about it because I had an appointment to give blood after work and you're not supposed to take any aspirin or similar drugs for 48 hours prior, I think. So I get to my appointment, only to find out that my iron is too low and I can't donate now anyway! :p Probably for the best, as I imagine it would only have made my headache worse. I did promptly take some Advil after I left, though, so now I'm feeling much better.
Also! When I got home, there were two exciting pieces of mail waiting for me - one was a job offer from the summer camp I applied to! I still have to work out all the same details I mentioned previously before I can accept the offer, but it's pretty awesome to know they want me. I'll keep you posted on what happens with that. But the other piece of mail was my FBI clearance!! Already! I was totally shocked to see that so soon, given how long it took them the first time. Brad said it might be because I was already in their system, but whatever the reason, I'll certainly take it! Makes me even more glad I got my paperwork done over the break. What's left is my medical exam, Brad's paperwork, and all the documentation, and then I think we'll be ready to mail it off to the CIC! Trust me, I will certainly be making a post when that happens!
Okay, I'm sure you're all tired of reading this epic lj entry, so I'll wrap things up now. Anyone who made it this far deserves a cookie. Lots of love!