You had Craig call your dentist? FROM ENGLAND?

This is the response I get when I tell this story, and it always makes me giggle. The day it happened, it was not funny at all! 3 weeks ago Friday I had a tissue graft done. My gums that cover my bottom front teeth was receded badly, so it was an unfortunate necessity. Normally you have to go to a specialist, but my dentist does these on a regular basis so it was no big deal. I know it's gross, but basically they "harvest" tissue from the roof of your mouth, and attach it to your gums where it's needed. I'll be honest here, I'm not the best of patients. I do feel I have a high pain tolerance and I wasn't freaked out by this procedure at all, I guess If I had of been, I wouldn't have been able to have it done. That being said, I was in great denial about the recovery process. I believe I chose to ignore it completely until the time came. The procedure was fine, I even planned to go back to work the same day! That is until the numbness started to wear off and the real pain began. I went home and and after drinking a milkshake (eating was impossible the first 2 days) my mouth filled with blood. Doctors instructions - DO NOT spit. DO NOT pull your lip down and look at it. You can imagine my horror! Yes, I had to swallow it. It promptly filled again. And again. This time I could feel a big...something that felt like tissue. It was big enough that I was convinced the tissue he attached had come undone. Somehow I had caused it to come off and I had no idea what to do! Talking was difficult anyway, because of where the graft was placed, my lip rubbed against it making it painful to talk. I sent Craig a txt and told him what happened. I asked him to call my dentist. Now this was about 5:30pm my time, so 11:30pm for Craig hehe (it's ok, he was at work). He called and my dentist, who said "she thinks it's come out? well that'll be the first one in 32yrs!" (lol!) then told him he would call him back. When Craig told me this I said baby...did you mention to him that you are in England? He wont be able to just redial your number. He hadn't, so we waited 30min and he was going to call again, but my doctor called me and asked what was going on. He believed it was a blood clot. A BLOOD CLOT? WTH? (I'm thinking) and I tried telling him how big it was and he said now, I don't want you going and spitting, just let it come out naturally. I will call you tomorrow and check on you and if need be, I'll meet you in my office. Well, that was a horrible night. Knowing this thing was in my mouth (and I was still convinced its the tissue itself) and I'm not allowed to try to spit it out. The next morning I WAS allowed to spit, gently lol and I can't say I was excited to do this, I was terrified of what I would see, but this thing needed to come out, no matter what it was. It was a blood clot LOL! It was fine. Craig rolled his eyes and laughed, as did my dentist when I went in for my scheduled check up a week later. So I'm happy to report I'm much improved and I'm even able to go without the mouth guard now. Yay!

Flying My Fur Baby

I think one of the most stressful parts of planning this move, is Koda. Well, not only has it postponed the move due to having issues finding a rental that will allow him, but I was not quite prepared for the cost of flying him. Pets flying internationally HAVE to go cargo. Even if he was a 3lb terrier who could fit under the seat, he still must fly in cargo. I expected to pay alot, I was estimating the cost to be around the same as my ticket or less. Definitely not more. I've done loads of research to make sure I have all my ducks in a row, and to make sure he get the best of care, because let's face it, he IS my baby, and this isn't his choice, it's mine, so I want to make it as smooth and comfortable for him as possible. After loads of reading i've decided to fly him on British Airways, they have a good reputation in the pet transportation dept and they are so helpful when I call with my endless questions. His ticket for flying in May is $2064. Yes. I know. I nearly fell outta my chair too. Its had some time to sink in, that was weeks ago, so it doesn't sting quite as much as it did at first, it's just something I have to budget for. If he has the best experience he can during this, and they take good care of him, then i'm happy to pay it. He will not have to be quarantined, he will travel under the pets scheme with a pets passport. Cute huh?! He will need a new 15 digit ISO microchip (the one he has now is only a 10 digit and not internationally recognized), and his vet paperwork in order with a certificate of health. That will be the easy part. The hardest part (besides cost) is his kennel! Dakota is an escape artist! He IS crate trained, but his crate is a HUGE wire one so its pretty open, and he's not in it alot. The kennels approved for flying are the plastic kind that he absolutely hates. He can push the gate open, bending the wires, and let himself out (he's done it). But after more research I found we can get zip ties to help secure the door and that made me feel much better. I ordered him a Sky Kennel Ultra with 4 point locking door (I figure he needs all the security he can get since he'll have alot of time to figure out how to escape lol). This one has good reviews and i'm hopeful it will be fairly escape proof. They are pricey, for his size (XL) it was $149 with free shipping. The first kennel they sent I had to return, it looked used (?) and did not come with the live animal stickers it was supposed to have. It also had a part where the door slides into that was coming loose. The company was so nice, they sent me a new one the next day and I returned the old one with no problems. I was worried the new one might have problems like the previous, but it didn't, it was brand new, came with everything it was supposed to, and had no weak spots. I really think the other one they sent me was very old or something, it didnt really look much like this one. So I put it together and left the door off the first few days to let Koda get used to it being around without fear of being shut in. Even with the door off he would watch me to make sure I was far away from it before he would go in and inspect. I am trying to make him LOVE this kennel. He doesn't mind his other one, but he doesn't love it either. I want him to feel happy and relaxed in this one so his trip will be more comfortable for him so i've been tossing lots of treats inside and feeding him in it sometimes, and then I did put the door back on and he actually took a nap in it on sunday YAY! I'm so relieved and I feel so much better about it now. I will continue to research ways to make him more relaxed for his trip, he's a rescue dog so he gets really upset and nervous in strange situations. Maybe a thunder shirt, it's an anti-anxiety vest that has mixed reviews but mostly good. I will ask his vet what she thinks about it. When I was googling ways to make your pet's flight more comfortable it brings up the good, the bad, and the ugly. I know it doesn't always go smoothly and I know, tragically, death happens, but I did not want to read about it just from searching, but of course I did and then I was crying so hard. In my heart I feel like Koda will be fine, I wouldn't risk taking him if I thought otherwise, but reading some of those things upset me to the point where I had to pray really hard and think deep about what was best for him. When I left work that day I had to go to walmart and I was walking around the store and still crying my eyes out lol! oh well, its walmart, who cares! After I had a good cry I came home and did more research. I felt much better, there are many more rules and regulations now than in past years and pet deaths during flight are actually pretty rare. The kennels were a big part of why there were accidents and escapes and I think the new regulations have really helped that. I dont want to dwell on this too much because I have to stay positive and know that he will be fine. I just wanted to update everyone :)

and because he's so cute.......

Final Answer (really!)

Don't roll your eyes at me lol, but yes, we have changed our minds again. We are applying for me to go to the UK and i'm beyond happy! When Craig and I talked about it, it just seemed silly to wait 1yr to be together, for him to only be coming for 2 yrs and then us go back to England. We've been apart so long already, and if we want to settle in England anyway, it's silly to keep waiting if we don't have to. It had its advantages, saving money before we move to England being one (with the goal of buying a house), but at the end of the day we really just want to be together. We still have the same obsticle of finding a property that will rent to us with Dakota, but i'm praying and hopeful we will find something. So i'm getting my paperwork together to apply for the visa in the next few weeks, praying it will get approved (of course), and figuring out what all I need to do to get ready for the move. I'm going to post seperately about the challenges in moving a pet internationally!

My Next Career - Immigration Specialist!

Ok that's a joke. But seriously, I think after all the research i've done, i'm now a psudo-expert on the topic. We are filing the petition for Craig to come to the US. You have to file a petition first, wait for that to be approved, then they contact you with his number in line basically, for the visa process and you fill out yet more paperwork, send more money, and wait. For a long time. The best estimate seems to be 6-12months but for some it takes years. I'm praying that wont happen with us, especially since our plan is for him to come here for 2 years and then we will move back to England. The plan is in place, I just hope we will be approved while i'm still young enough to have children :)

When we researched the UK visa process, it seemed fairly straight forward. It's one form for our situation not several "if this, then you fill out that, and if that you fill out this" confusing!! At least now I feel fairly confident in what is involved in both processes. I just wish the US process was a little more streamlined. I supposed it's because of the sheer amount of applications maybe?

In other news I started my scrapbook! I got a new one for the wedding photos for Christmas and for some reason this one didn't seem near as intimidating to me as my other one. I need to get some more paper and sleeves but this one will be done soon, i'll post pics once i'm finished. Then I will do the other one. I think the other is harder because it will tell our love story and It has to be perfect! The wedding one is pretty easy as it's mainly our wedding invite, save the date card, wedding pics etc. Not alot of planning involved. The other one will include emails and cards and souveniers from our various trips and explorations.

Speaking of trips, since our visa process might take a while, I was hoping to go visit Craig this spring. I looked up airfare and o m goodness! there is a fairly small window, with the olympics coming up (I had forgotten!) the airfare has nearly doubled the closer to summer you get. I knew it would be higher but my eyeballs nearly fell out of my head!

Happy New Year!

Craig's visit came and went. It was bliss and I must say i'm getting better at the 'after a visit blues'. I cried buckets, but I feel ok. The next time we see each other will be when one of us moves. We have a few more weeks to look for a place in Stroud that will allow us to have a dog, and if we don't find anything then Craig will be applying for his visa to come to the US. We cant keep waiting on it. So that's the plan. I want to go there but it might have to wait a bit, at least this way we'll be together and he will be here to help with the move. And if we get a place then..well..i'll manage on my own lol I have to say the big move scares me! Not the new country part, but the packing and paperwork etc. but it will all be worth it!

I cannot tell you how happy Dakota was to see Craig! for the first several days he was here Koda and I were vying for position to sit by him LOL it was really funny. I told Craig he's going to be worn out by the end of his visit, having to cater to both me and Koda! I'm serious when I say Dakota did not leave that man's side the entire visit! Well..when we were home at least!  Here is a picture of Koda the day Craig got here:

So he came in on the 22nd, a Thursday. I had to work on Friday but only till 3pm so I went home at lunch and got Craig and brought him up to work with me to meet everyone. Saturday we had to do some last minute shopping and then Sunday was Christmas at my brother's house which included my mom, sister Rene, her 3 kids, my brother Robert (of course), his 2 kids, and his ex wife Tammy. The following week I worked Tues-Friday but I was off the second week of Craig's visit. For NYE we put Koda in the doggie hotel at petsmart and went to my other parent's house. My dad is gone, most of you know, but my step mom Charlotte is married to Don so they are my other parents. It was a great visit, we stayed the night and played games and had Charlotte's yummy cooking! Then on Sunday my sister Cathy came over with her husband and we visited with them for a while before having to head back to Dallas. It was a great visit, I dont see them often enough. Craig really enjoyed meeting everyone he's heard so much about.

So more about Christmas...Craig and I were trying to figure out what kind of tradition we wanted to set for Christmas, since this was our first one being together physically. We opted for 'if it's midnight, it's technically Christmas' LOL so we did!! We opened our presents to each other and the ones from Craig's family around Midnight Christmas morning. Poor Koda had to wait until a few hours later (we are such mean parents) but he had a present to open from his Auntie Clair and his stocking I bought him that had I think 5 toys in it. Craig bought him lots of treats and presents too but we didn't wrap those, we just gave them to him. He was soooo cute, he was so excited and he opened them all by himself! Here is a pic of him chewing on his favorite present, the bone from Aunt Clair!

 So Monday we rested lol we were tired from the travel and getting home late. Tuesday we went to see Sherlock Holmes part 2, it was GREAT! and we saw it at the movie grill which I love! and they don't have those where Craig lives so it was a treat for us both! Wednesday I took him to the Fort Worth Zoo. I went on and on about how great this zoo was, and only half the animals were even out! it was still a fun day but I was a bit disappointed. Then, in spite of my staying awake as long as possible-so Thursday wouldn't come, it came and it was time for Craig to pack and us say goodbye. boo!

I think that's all I have to tell for now. Happy New Year everyone!!! I'll keep you posted on our plans!

It's been a while!

I'm so sorry my blog friends, it's been a while since I last posted. I could give you any number of excuses but I wont bore you : )

I can hardly believe it's nearly Christmas, and that Craig and I will have been married 3 months come January 1st! How time flies! I'm very happy to report that he's coming for Christmas, he'll be here Thursday and I get to keep him for a whole 2 weeks!!! My heart is over the moon happy! So just a few short days to go!!

I've got the money to apply for my UK visa now, but we are STILL looking for a place to rent that will allow us to have our dog. Its gotten to be a bit ridiculous to be honest. We even told the many estate agents we've talked to that we are willing to pay an extra deposit if need be (that's how it's done in America anyway) but so far nothing. I just don't understand it. I could understand maybe if Koda was a puppy, still in a destructive-chewing everything-stage, but he'll be 5yrs old in January and while he's got a wild streak, he's not destructive and is completely house trained. I know what you are probably thinking...why don't I just find another home for him and not bring him. That's really not an option for me. I adopted him from the animal shelter and when I did, it was for life. I'm not giving up on my puppy just because i'm having trouble finding a place to live in England. I just wont. So in the mean time, i'm praying hard that something will come up in these next few months so that Craig and I will finally be able to be together.

Good news on the work front....when I told my boss I would likely be moving to England, he jokingly said 'well then you'll just have to do your job from there'. He really was joking, but it got my wheels spinning! We have two ladies that work at my company that have gone on to become 'contract' employees, doing their same positions but from home, one being because she moved out of state. Now I know England is a bit further from Texas than Indiana, BUT the more I thought about it, the more I could not find a reason why it wouldn't work. So I put together a formal proposal, stating all the reasons why it would work and why it would be a good idea for the company to keep me on in this manner. My boss LOVED my proposal and he backs me 100% (yay) of course it's not only up to him, so he took it to his boss, who also is a fan. From there he took it to HR to make sure it is doable and that's where it's been the past few weeks since I turned it in. Sigh. What's taking so long? I will have to know one way or the other when I go to fill out my visa paperwork so hopefully I will hear back soon. The only real question they had for me, understandably, was the time difference. I told them I would work on Texas time, it's really not a big deal. I would work 3-11pm. Craig works overnights 7pm-7am so it would work out just fine since we wouldn't be on a normal schedule anyway. So keep your fingers crossed for me guys!! and prayers are even more appreciated!

So what else is new? Craig's visits are always very busy, and this one will be no exception. Christmas we will be spent at my brother's house with my mom, sis, bro and their children then the next weekend for New Years Eve we are going to my step parents house in East Texas. That should be fun. I've made Koda a reservation at the Petsmart doggie hotel so he'll have doggie daycare and will stay overnight. He loves it there so he'll be very happy and we will all get a good nights sleep so we will be happy as well! When I took Koda with me to their house for Thanksgiving, he howled the entire time we were there. My poor baby, he just gets all out of sorts if he's in an unfamiliar place.

Speaking of Thanksgiving...I think my step mom is going to make a traditional dinner when we are there so Craig can taste a little bit of thanksgiving food! YUMMY! and he's never had catfish so on sunday we are going to have yummy southern fried catfish!! I never make it so it's a treat for us both (hopefully he'll love it!!). So before my trip down there for Thanksgiving I was gassing up the car and had a bit of a clumsy accident (anyone that knows me well is not surprised by this news lol) but I was stepping over the gas hose and thought I had cleared but the next thing I knew I was on the ground and everything hurt. It took me a minute to be able to get up. I fell on both knee caps and my left arm and right hand. I was black and blue for a few days and walking was really painful, but here we are a month later and my right knee is still hurting and I can feel a little crack across the knee cap that I dont feel in the much more healed knee. So I think I might need to go in and get an x-ray. I hate going to the doctor, though, so let's not hold our breaths lol!

Well i'm going to close for now and If I dont blog again before Christmas, I hope you all have a great holiday!!

~C

Vegas Wedding!

Oh my goodness, where to start!!! Well my trip there was uneventful, I LOVE to fly so I was most happy! I was so shocked (though I dont know why) that there were slot machines IN the airport! I walked off the plane and it's like being in a casino lol crazy...so I get my luggage and now to find a taxi or some sort of transport to the hotel. I opted for the shuttle bus. Sigh, I think I chose wrong. Our bus driver was in a very foul mood, he nearly kicked 2 girls off the bus, he tried to give me someone elses luggage and argued when I said it wasn't mine, and he nearly forgot to drop me off and I was too scared to tell him, but luckily he remembered and went back without me having to say anything *whew* but who cares, I was about to see Craig!!! it was late so I grabbed a snack and it was an early night for us, we had to be up early to go get our marriage license. We took a taxi to the place, but it didn't occur to us to ask him to stay and wait (afterall, we were in and out in just a few minutes), but it's Vegas, there will be taxis coming through all the time right? wrong! we stood on that corner for ev er and finally decided walking to another, busier street. FINALLY we saw a taxi parked by the McDonalds (hehe) so we grabbed her as she was finishing her breakfast and hopped in. She said 'this is a cash cab, is that ok?' and we said yeah. Then I thought, isn't that a TV show? and I looked up and saw a camera on the dash! OHHH WE ARE BEING RECORDED FOR TV!!! how's my hair? does Craig know? am I answering her questions ok? (yes, i'm sooo dumb and I realize that now, afterall, she wasn't asking game show questions and this cab was not anything nice) alas, this really was a cash cab, as in you have to pay in cash. double sigh. lol Here is a pic of us the morning before we went to get our license:

So this is Friday and the rest of the day we spent exploring and wandering around our hotel (excalibur) and the ones around us. MGM Grand has lions! in the middle of the hotel! ohhh I could have stood there and watched them all day! New York was amazing, and HUGE! There is a 4 story M&M store that was really cute. Ummm what else? It's hard now for me to remember everything! My mom got into town this day as well but I only saw her for a few minutes, I had a HORRIBLE headache that evening and she brought me medicine and I ended up resting the rest of the night. I felt bad that Craig chose to stay with me, I did tell him to go see the sights with his family and not be cooped up in the room with me but he wanted to stay. Sweet man! It was really bad ya'll, If it hadn't of went away after a few hours I would have sworn it was a migraine. The next day (Saturday) was our wedding!!! I was so excited! Everything went great! I'm a little mad at myself for chosing to wear the black flower in my hair instead of the white one at the last minute, because as you will see, you can't even see it in the pictures bc my hair is dark, but it looked nice in person I promise! All day that day I was relaxed and happy and Craig was quiet and nervous, then about an hour before the ceremony it flipped and he was the chatty happy relaxed one and I was a nervous wreck! but it was all perfect! and I didn't cry! I did tear up some when I first saw him but I made myself stop (I am NOT a pretty crier!) I was still so nervous I'm not even sure what the officiant said, I'll have to watch the DVD. After the ceremony the photographer took LOADS of pictures and you can tell Craig was getting tired of it lol but they came out really nice. We had the very expensive-they wouldn't let me cancel-reception right after and I have to admit, I dont regret a dime of it! It was AMAZING! The room was beautifully decorated, the food was delicious, the cake was yummy and beautiful and they had given us little extras that we didn't even pay for, I could not have asked for a better place to have a reception even for the handful of people we had there with us. It was perfect!! (pics to follow)
The rest of our week we just saw the sights. We didn't go to any shows but we did a few exhibits - Bodies (yes, that one with real bodies eek!),Titanic (amazing....it was worth every dime! it wasn't just looking at things, it was an entire experience. The music, the rooms that made it look like you were really on the ship..all of it) and Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay bay was really fun.
Coming home was really hard this time but I didn't cry, I was just in a really bad mood all day because I knew what was coming and I didn't want to have to say goodbye to my new husband :(  

and the last picture we took together before we left for the airport to leave :(