Yay! I'm getting so excited!

BIG NEWS FIRST- our spousal visa petition was FINALLY approved! Just under 11 months waiting for that bitch. Now the petition gets shipped to the NVC (national visa center) and we have to wait to get assigned a number, which usually takes about a month. Then I have to pay a lot more money and send in a bunch of very revealing financial information (taxes for the past 3 years, bank account statements, etc). Once that gets in we wait about another month for approval and then my SO has to do a medical exam (to make sure he doesn't have the Plague or whatever) and then we get assigned an interview at the US embassy! So if all goes according to that time frame (which, honestly after that USCIS disaster, I'm not counting on) my SO should have his visa in his passport and his passport in his hand by MAY. wooooooooooooooooooo

You guys have no idea. I opened that email and read "approved" and I just burst into tears of relief. I didn't even believe it was true, I went and checked the online status and it said "approved" as well. I still didn't believe it and read both the email and online status like 10 times before I felt confident enough in what I read to feel happy. I know it's still just the first step and we still have a long (and surely frustrating) way to go, but good fucking god am I glad this part is over. What a goddam nightmare. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (sorry for the cliche, but shit it's true) and it's making me realize that one day all of this will just be a bad memory.

So.. HUZZAH!

Party stuff is all coming together. On Monday my SO and I went to reserve a cake at the only store in Costa Rica that makes decent desserts. We got chocolate/strawberry. Yum! I've had that one before and what I liked about it is it has powdered milk in it, which is very "Costa Rican". Ticos love their powered milk and condensed milk in desserts! (or just on a spoon!) I also went to reserve a bouquet and they were like "reserve? what?" Basically I just show up the day of and they make it for me. Perfect.

We still have 3 spaces we need to fill due to people canceling last minute. Ugh. I could probably fill the spaces with a few people I know, but since this party is more for my SO's family and friends I want him to invite people. Plus, the people I know aren't partiers, and I want people who are going to be fun!

I've been running every day so I'm feeling nice and tan and fit. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my nails. I hate when people do them for me, but my SO's friend does some pretty sweet designs. I mean these are over the top and all, but it shows she's got skillz!

We also need to buy a bunch of sparklers. SPARKLER PICTURES!

I'm really excited for my mom and stepdad to come down! (That reminds me- we need to stock up on beer!)

Well I suppose that's it! Have a great day