Every week is starting to seem the same to me. Its hard to keep one week's details from another. The only shake-up that we really had was on Friday when I went to immigration. Otherwise, the week has been pretty normal for us. Gordon is back to working days for now. I'm waiting for the week that he is put onto night shift again. He can go a month without being put on it then, bam, there are two weeks out of the next month that he is on night shift. Oh, that silly Air Force.
I've gotten more rejections from the fine companies of New Zealand. As Gordon says, its their loss not yours. I've done a new batch of cards to sell at The Clock Peddler. I'm also working on selling them online as well at a website called Etsy.com, my shop is Scrappy Apple. There's nothing up and running yet because I want to create a stock at first to see how successful the designs are. My Aunt Sydne gave me the idea. I still have to figure out shipping costs to the US and other places and convert it to US dollars. They operate via paypal so my currency gets converted at least to NZ dollars. It can be a bit confusing at times to price my things but as long as I know the currency rate I'll be okay. I came up with a great paisley design that makes it look like a flower and I also have some little chicken cards that I think will be very popular. I would have to say that my favorite design is the present cards. I'm going to resupply my paper soon though.
I'm also signing up for a night class on sewing. I have a pattern for sewn alphabet pillows that I'm going to try and also some little kid dresses to try and make. If I'm able to sell a couple of those then I'll be doing okay. I'll have to enlist my sister's help with models, aka the girls. I still want to try and make my "lil sprout" design with the screen print kit my sister gave me for Christmas and birthday. I was also thinking of giving her some of my designs to see if they would sell successfully or not. I always thought that I had a good eye for cute fabrics for kids so we'll see. The sewing machine that I have is a hand-me-down from Christine. I think its from the 60's, I'm not sure but I'll work with what I have. It kinda makes me wish that I should have packed-up my sewing machine but it probably would have arrived damaged or something.
Everything with the name change seems to be going smoothly. I got my passport back and SS is working on my new card. I had to transfer my visas and permit to my new passport and had to pay $80 for it. When I went to pick it up, it still wasn't ready so I had it delivered to me, courtesy of immigration. The new passport is nice though. Its sturdier than my previous one. They don't have state seals on the pages anymore though and I think there are fewer pages now. My visa and permit take up two pages and the two other ones that I'm going to get will take up more pages. I don't think that I'll run out of space though anytime soon though.
I did get some upsetting information from immigration. Turns out that they backlog on residence permits has grown. Now, I'm lookin' at a year to two years for my residency to be granted. The case worker said that I also have to apply for a work permit in order for me to stay in the country. I would have to apply under the partner work permit category. So the grand total of my applications will be 980 dollars, that doesn't include the $160 and $80 that I already had to pay for previous permits. It just got me so frustrated! I keep getting different stories whenever I step foot into immigration. It constantly changes and irritates me to no end. I do believe that I will get to travel out of the country with this new work permit though and I definitely will when I get my residency. I won't have to buy an extra ticket back to the states which is nice and saves us money. Bad news, it will take me longer to get back to the States than I anticipated. Which is what really upset me when I got out of that office on Friday.
Mojo seems to be settling in okay. There are days when he gets on my nerves but he's a good kitty. He's able to get in and out by the cat door now. He definitely is growing. The other day he thought it would be neat play with his food and water bowl and empty it on the laundry floor. He also knows how to stink the laundry room too. I can't wait for the day when we get back and move his kitty litter outside. I'll have my laundry room back! He's realized that we aren't going to open the door for him at night so he's stopped crying so much. He is good company for me during the day and usually winds down in the afternoon.
Easter is coming up, another holiday with the Schofields. There will be a party for Gordon's grandpa on Friday since his birthday is Easter. I'm bringing the green bean casserole along with dessert. I'm going to attempt to make a chocolate cake from scratch with a nice glaze. I'm using my bug bundt pan to make individual cakes for everyone. Easter doesn't feel the same out here as it did home. Everything is a little too laid back for me, maybe Gordon and I just need some kids. I think it would liven the holidays up and make it feel more like it did back in New Mexico. Don't worry, we're not going to have kids just to liven the place up. I wish that we could have deviled eggs and celery sticks with cream cheese with sweet little pickles. Then the honey-glazed ham and multitude of desserts.
Sometimes, I feel like the traditions that I have had growing up have just been set aside in New Zealand. Don't get me wrong, I have no trouble adapting to holidays with a new family but I would like a little piece of me and my family in it too. Marriage is about compromise right so shouldn't I have a bit of the holiday that I'm used to? I guess that's what the green bean casserole is for, that's something they never had. I think one of the things that I really missed during Christmas was being able to open one present the night before Christmas. It usually was pajamas courtesy of my mother but it was nice to do. Its something that I can do with our kids when we have some. Adjustment takes time though and the one hard thing I have a hard time adjusting to is the way holidays are out here. That and family connections but that's something totally different.
Anyways, I hope that everyone has a good Easter or Passover or weekend. Enjoy the holidays!
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