Heidi is getting hitched!

My good friend Heidi is getting married on Saturday, and last weekend we threw her a bachelorette party. All the girls dressed in turqoise (because it's Heidi's favorite color!) and surprised her with games, a photo shoot and a try-out as a barista at a local coffee shop. Heidi is a coffee slave, after all. :) The theme was 80s Madonna and I got do to her hair and make-up. She is going to be the most gorgeous bride ever, and I am so excited for her and Andreas.

The latest news

As you can see, I haven't been posting much lately. It has been a stressful couple of weeks with moving, working and being without internet. I don't know how I managed to live without the net before.... I feel so cut off from the rest of the world! Not to mention that I can't even watch my favorite shows.. gasp.

But now to the serious side. Jamie and I got the worst news last week. UDI rejected our appliaction for family immigration. Actually, they rejected our appeal (because they previously denied it in February) AND our wish to have Jamie stay in the country while UNE reviews our case for one last chance. I can't count how many people have asked me, "you guys are married, can't Jamie be a citizen?" No. It doesn't matter what country you are from or want to live in, marriage is NOT the magic key. Marriage doesn't grant you any international rights, save for the right to APPLY for a residence permit. Citizenship is never the first step, it's always residency. Citizenship is not necessary to have to live in a foreign country. It's something that comes down the line many years from now if the person feels like it. Residency, on the other hand, is not too hard to obtain, IF you are in the right categories. Yes, you need to have a clean record, a birth certificate, a passport, and a valid marriage license. But there are so, so, so many other requirements that most people don't know about.

What has gotten in our way, is the requirement, "that the person living in Norway had a registered income corresponding to salary grade eight in the pay scale for Norwegian state employees the previous year, and that he/she still receives this income. This must be documented by enclosing your latest tax certificate." Since I was working in Oregon that time, I was making much less that what I would in Norway. To put it bluntly... my wage is almost considered to be that of poverty. It doesn't matter how much I make now, or that I have been able to provide for Jamie from the moment we sat foot in Norway. It doesn't matter that I got a job within the three first weeks of moving back. None of this matters to the immigration bureaucrats. And you know what's the worst part? If we had applied only ONE year earlier, we'd be exempt from this requirement. This is a new law that was put forth in 2010. Argh! If you want to read up on the entire process of family immigration to Norway, click here.

In the meantime, Jamie has to leave Norway, as he was not granted permission to stay for the final appeal. In my opinion, that is just cruel. There is no reason why they shouldn't let him stay here. They are causing financial hardship on both of us by enforcing this. I have to pay for the ticket, and he has to find a place to stay, a job and a car within just a couple of weeks from now. Yes, the system is strict. And it seems like it doesn't bend for a hardworking, honest married couple. We haven't done anything wrong. Neither of us have criminal records. We have never hurt anyone. We haven't robbed anyone or committed fraud. We are a family, and they are separating us.

Sea Of Freedom

A perfect night

Nothing is perfect, right?

But my Valentine's Day was! I think sometimes the most spontaneous acts turn out better than perfectly planned ones.

Jamie and I had dinner reservations at 9:30 at an Italian restaurant downtown called Ambrosia. Parking was tough, so once we found a spot we kept it. But we were a little early, and there were no seats at the bar, so to kill time, we headed across the street to the Downtown Lounge.

What a pleasant surprise!! It's not my fave spot, but this evening I was delighted to enter an ambient atmosphere, complete with red blinking hearts, soft lights and live music. The musician, Jesse Meade, sang romantic folk/blues songs - his raspy, yet velvety voice whispering sweet little nothings in our ears. As we sat at the bar, sipping our drinks, I couldn't help but compare the scene to that of a quirky, Zooey Deschanel-starring indie flick. Gazing characters, buzzed narratives, blurry focus. Little did I know, though, that the movie script had something else on the next page.
Soon, our mellow evening turned into one of those insanely bizarre David Lynch sequences when brain-thirsty zombies entered the bar. This is Eugene, after all.

Two drinks, half a brain, and 18 dollars later we trotted over to the restaurant. I had a glass of crisp Pinot Grigio, and Jamie, being the beer-lover he is, ordered the local favorite - a Ninkasi IPA. For starters, we shared a big plate of calamari. We forgot about being civil for a while, and just dug in, tentacles, lemon juice and aioli all over the place. Funny how a few drinks can make you believe you are starving.

At one point I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Imagine that we're still in a movie. The female character, all made up for the evening - a new dress, high heels and that extra coat of lipstick, daintily puts her napkin on the table and walks slowly across the floor. Did I say slowly? She gazed about her, a little blurry-eyed from the wine...and a little clumsy, because, that's just her nature. All of a sudden.. boom. She falls, and the music stops. CUT!
She gets up, and tries to hide, but to no avail. A dining female at the table nearby asks her, "Oh my God, are you OK?" Yes she's fine, she just wants to disappear.

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. I broke my vegetarian rut, and had (gasp) New Zealand Lamb with rosemary bread and creamy mashed potatoes. It was heavenly.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Three years ago, my hubby and I said our "I Do's" at the Lane County Courthouse. A short and pretty informal, but nonetheless romantic, ceremony. I even bought a wedding dress for the occasion. I've never been the kind of girl to dream about weddings, marriage or that perfect day. But with the perfect guy, it's romantic no matter what you do or where you do it.

After we were officially pronounced husband and wife, we went to a cafe and had breakfast with two friends. Yes, in my dress!

We had a blast.

I love you, hon.

My heart has a hole

Listen to this song.... it's awesome. And it describes how I feel about the loss of my dear Sasha.

Doggie Galore! (cuz there ain't nothin' cuter!)