As usual, time has flown by and I realize that I haven't posted anything since our wedding in September. Where has time gone?
After our wedding, we continued to adjust to life back in the US, not traveling on our every whim and settling down a bit. I must say that if it weren't for Simon, I'd probably have lost my mind by now, or moved to another country again. There is something very appealing about living in a foreign country, learning the language, figuring out little things like figuring out how to order a certain kind of food and feeling a sense of accomplishment when you make a connection with a local. However, coming back to Seattle has been comforting in a lot of ways. For me reconnecting with friends and family has truly warmed my heart and of course, everyone adores Simon.
Currently, I am ending my work as a nanny for a few different families. Recently, I've worked with children ages 10 months up to 3 years. My days are full of smiles, giggles, runny noses, careful attention, social outings (I love community centers!) and constantly explaining to people in public "No, this isn't my child. I'm a nanny" and getting a solid dose of birth control on a daily basis. I'm just not ready to be a mother yet! Simon is busying his time doing paint jobs and other tricks of the trade. He's a fast learner and a perfectionist so is up for the challenge when laying dry wall, trimming molds or other tasks come up. He's enjoying this kind of work and would like to learn more about construction, as he's taking a class on wood work at Seattle Central Community College.
I also have returned to school in the evenings as I am pursuing my career to be a Child Life Specialist. At a local community college, I am taking a few classes and one of them should be a super interesting class. The focus is on cultural relevance and anti-bias work. The class is taught by two very knowledgeable women who have long careers working with children and promoting cultural diversity. They explained to us that we come to class as experts in our experiences and everyone has the right to speak and share air time in class when discussing different topics.
The first night, one student, who is from Louisiana and perhaps has some different views about race and homosexuality, but is very well-traveled and confidently speaks out when she disagrees with a comment or issue, dominated a discussion about race issues, particularly related to the events related to Hurricane Katrina. In just a few minutes, this woman managed to anger quite a few students in the class and for a few minutes I thought the class was going to get all Jerry Springer. Out of excitement, I almost stood up and started chanting "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!", but I refrained. This class is going to keep all of us on our toes this quarter.
In December, one of the families I work for, vacationed in Oahu, Hawaii and I went with them. We enjoyed 4 days in a beautiful rental home in the Kahala neighborhood, but unfortunately, the children were sick, so we were limited in our activities. However, the experience was fun and at the end of the trip, Simon came out to meet me for a belated honeymoon.
We stayed near Waikiki beach in an apartment that my father and step-mother own. They visit Hawaii often each year. Our days were filled with trips to the beach, relaxing, reading, taking naps, deciding what to eat next and more relaxing. It was a wonderful trip! We also met 2 girls from Cali (one was a kiwi) and their local Hawaiian boyfriends. The girls were visiting for a month and really having fun getting to know the locals, etc. We played with them for most of the week and enjoyed going to a local party, where we met lots of cool people with interesting stories.
We also rented a car and drove around the island one day. The Pipeline surfing competition was in full swing on the north shore, which is apparently the largest competition in the world. The surf is amazing and so strong! We hung out on the beach, enjoying the surfer's, then rambled home, stopping along the way for the freshest shrimp I've ever eaten. Also, lots of great fruit stands along the way back, too. Yum!
Right after Christmas, we were blessed with a visit from Andre and Maren. I met Maren years ago when working as a member of the finance team for Gencon shows. Maren and Andre currently live in New Jersey and were visiting Andre's family who just moved to Seattle. We had such a great time with them! One weekend, we all journeyed to Vancouver for a little trip. That city is excellent! In addition to the yummy dim sum lunch we enjoyed in Chinatown, we also ventured around experiencing as much of the local culture as we could.
In January, we took another weekend trip down to LA to meet Shelley and her new hubby, Darcy. Shelley is a good friend and ex-girlfriend of Simon's. I also got to know her when I lived in Taiwan, as she was living and working there at the same time. She's oodles of fun and we enjoyed meeting her new hubby. They are both kiwis and flew to LA, rented a car, then drove to Vegas to get married. We spent a weekend with them in LA after the wedding and had fun going out in West Hollywood, then acted like big kids at Universal Studios. I hadn't been there since I was little and the rides were amazing! What fun! Simon's cousin Trudi, who attended our wedding, also lives in LA. It was great to see her. She's such a special member of the family!
In January, we also were visited by our friend, Kara who we met in Taiwan. Kara's from the US, but was visiting family in the northwest. She is such a gem and it was GREAT catching up with her. Also, our friend Wez, a kiwi and old friend of Simon's visited, too. Wez lives in Sacramento, but was in town for some work. He's always full of crazy stories and good times. It's been raining friends! Hallelujah!
Since December, we have either been traveling or house-sitting for friends and family. Simon and I decided we are gypsies, constantly living out of a backpack or suitcase. Now, we are minimizing our moving and are moving in with our friend, Laurel. She has a great home in Tukwila, which is just outside of Seattle and we are so excited about the opportunity.
On Valentine's Day, we had our interview with Homeland Security and it went great! Simon should have his green card in just a few weeks! We had prepared all sorts of "evidence" of our relationship-pictures, all of our wedding cards, invitations, printed out e-mails, pictures on our laptop, etc. In the end, our interviewer didn't really want to see any of it, just our wedding invitation, one picture and one bank statement. We thought the entire process was going to be much more rigorous, but it went so well. We can breathe easier knowing that we don't have to worry about any immigration issues for at least a few years, anyway. Phew!
We are wishing everyone much love and happiness in the new year! Cheers!
