...and I am now officially a US permanent resident. =)

And we're going home to Manila in November. Woohoo!!!

Thank you Lord for you daily blessings. I feel so spoiled.

Labels: married-life

My husband has to be at work before 6am the next day. It was just around 10pm when this conversation happened.

Hubs: I'm going to bed soon
Me: Ok
Hubs: I'm already sleepy
Me: Ok *without any intention of moving from my seat in front of my laptop*
Hubs: I'm sleepy na, let's go to bed.
Me: *puzzled* You're the one sleepy but I have to go to bed too? LOL.

For him to stop bugging me, I decided to go to bed. After 10mins of lying in bed...

Me: I really can't sleep. It's still too early.
Hubs: Then can you just stay in bed and wait for me to start snoring then you can do whatever afterwards.

Sometimes I am not sure if I should get mad or just laugh at my husband's weird habits. LOL.

Labels: married-life

Being married has helped me realize and relearn a lot of things in my life. Going through the several wedding preparation classes that the Diocese of Phoenix required us to undergo has really helped me and my husband get to know each other.

1. Patience is a virtue
I used to get ticked off by a messy home, and I still do! Now that my husband knows about this, he tries his best to keep our home neat and clean *he even helps me clean the house at times!* or just take his mess out of my sight until he finds time to clean them. I try my best not to nag when I see mess at home.

2. Communicate
Me and my husband sometimes work odd hours. There were days when we don't eat dinner together or he has to leave for work during the wee hours while I am still sleeping. Although this is the case for us, we still manage to talk about our life together and spend time with each other. We still go out on dates even we're already married. We still embarassingly kiss, hold hands and hug each other in public. Remember that communication is not only verbal.

3. Trust and Respect
I am a self-confessed control freak. I liked doing things my way... the way I clean my home, the way i wash the dishes, the way I cook, the way I would handle my work. When my husband moved in with me, I had a hard time teaching him how I want things to be done. I remember when we would fight about how he should put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and how many times he can do laundry in a week. Yes, seriously! Those petty fights are all behind us now. I know that my husband has his own way of doing things and I have my own way of doing things. We may not like the process on how we get things done but we know that we have the same intention... to get things done and help each other.

I have only been married for a short period of time so I am no expert in marriage. I know my marriage is still a work in progress and for as long as we choose to stay together, there will be bigger bumps ahead. But as what my husband always tells me, these challenges will make us stronger.

Labels: married-life

Home is where my family is. Four months ago, Manila is home to me. It is where my parents and sisters live. Now that I am happily married, home is where my husband is which is here in the U.S. =)

Change of Status filing update:

04/20/2010 1:43pm Mailed petition at Peoria, AZ Post office
04/22/2010 2:16pm Petition mail delivered at Chicago Lockbox 60680
04/28/2010 10:59am Received 6 USCIS receipt noticeS via SMS and emails

Labels: US living

I have been doing my paperwork for my change of status here in the US for the past 2 weeks. After months of delaying, we have finally decided we'll just file my change of status on our own instead of hiring a lawyer. For one we have consulted the hubby's cousin who is a lawyer and he told us that since I legally entered the US and my current working visa is still valid, then there should not be any reason for us to have difficulties filing my change of status. All we have to do is to read and follow instructions properly. Here are some tips...

L-1B to Permanent Resident:
1. Fill-out the following forms:
- I-130: Petition for Alien Relative
- I-485: Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
- I-765: Application for Employment Authorization

2. Make copies of supporting documents required by each forms above. You can find all required supporting documents in the instructions document for each form. You can download them on the same link as above.

3. Medical exam is REQUIRED for this kind of change of status. Find the nearest civil surgeon in your area here: USCIS Civil Surgeon Search

I did my medical exam last tuesday 4/13/2010. I got the results yesterday 4/16/2010 because they had to check the result of the TB test after 3 days. And I passed! Yehey!!! Now, on to completing the other supporting docs for the forms... I'll keep a log here in my blog on the progress of this. =)

Labels: US living

Hubs: We don't have any wine in the fridge. We only have smirnoff.
Me: Oh ok.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I did not marry a Pinoy. If it were our fridge in Manila, I know my mom will start to remind me to do grocery when we run out of Pinoy breakfast food such as egg, longganisa, tocino or tapa. But wine??? Oh boy... I hope I did not marry an alcoholic.

Labels: married-life

We are moving! In eleven days to be exact. My back still hurts from folding clothes yesterday. It just reminded me again why I hate *I mean HATE!* packing. After 2 years of calling this 1 bedroom condo my home, we are moving to a bigger 3 bedroom townhome. I guess the real estate downturn here in the US did a favor to us because we'll be paying the same rent as this 1 bedroom condo. Awesome deal isn't it?!? Our realtor/soon to be former landlord got us this great deal and she was even telling us that we could be getting a way better deal if we decide to actually buy a house. Hmmm... I guess that's too much for now. We don't know yet where we really want to live in and I am in the process of changing visa status which is very, very costly! I think it's for the best to rent for now.

This will be a very busy week. Packing! Packing! And more packing!

Labels: married-life