lazy sunday

today was the first time in few weeks that we have slept in past 8am. we have been quite the early birds lately. usually i am, but mike likes to sleep in when he can. but with all this exercise and stuff, we have been getting to bed earlier and waking up to a fuller day. today, i got up at 9, and mike is still in bed.

it is quiet, except for the birds singing on the other side of the house, and the fan whirring next to me. it is nice to have some quiet time.

yesterday we had a pretty low key day. i went for a run in the morning, mike went for a bike ride since his knee has been acting up and he is unable to run for extended amounts of time. i started my run around 9am, thinking that i would be able to beat some heat. no way! it was already too hot for me, and after about 20 minutes of running, i had to stop and walk for a bit. i was seriously hot, feeling like i wanted to puke. and, as usual, whenever i feel like i haven't run my best, lance armstrong comes on my ipod to congratulate me for running my personal best mile. i shaved 3 seconds off my time, giving me an 8'04" mile. yay!

mike said that his ride was great. he took the trail all the way to the water. i wanted to do that ride this morning, but i think getting some extra rest this morning is a better decision. especially, since this week will be a rough week for me b/c i am pulling all early shifts, the worst being tuesday morning. i am the 6am chemo/iv pharmacist. yuck. not my favorite, even though i want to learn more about that stuff. it is just so strange that the difference between the 6 and 7am start times for me is huge. that extra hour of sleep makes such a huge difference.

today, my sister and i are going for our facials, and mike is having a pedicure. this was his christmas present from my sister that he is finally putting to good use. i am excited for the spa day. i feel like my face and my stress level really need it!

speaking of stress level, mine has been riding high lately. yes, it is b/c of new zealand. more specifically, the fact that we haven't heard anything yet. i know, it really isn't time to worry yet, but if you know me at all, you know that is kinda impossible. last thursday marked 3 weeks. i think it is my fault for thinking that we would hear sooner than the case officer said we would. things just started moving so fast in terms of being assigned a case officer, and then having our interview, that i just assumed that we would hear back quickly, even though he said that it would take him 2-3 weeks to make a decision. so, technically, we should still be waiting. have i mentioned that i hate waiting? uh...yeah. so, this god awful unknown has brought me to tears more than once now.

what's worse? i have been lurking on those web forums, and it is terrible to see that people are already getting their visas...and we haven't heard anything yet. some people got their passports back with their stickers in a week. i know, i know, it isn't the best thing to compare yourself to others, but it is hard not to. granted a lot of people live in the uk, so maybe their mail gets to them faster....but still. i find it hard to be overjoyed for them when i am still waiting to get all my stuff back. and sorry to be so snitty, but i think we are better candidates that some dirty hippies who's aspirations are to move to new zealand and hopefully join an artists' colony. i mean, how can they have gotten their visas, and we have received nothing??? so, the wait continues.

however, mike promised to call our case officer tomorrow, just to check in with him. in our minds, we are hoping that he has been on holiday b/c we sent him a follow up email last week, and we have not received an answer. and before he was quick to respond to our other inquiries. so, mike, my knight in shining armor, my always faithful calmer of my fears, is going to sacrifice his sleep tomorrow morning to call london and get us an update, whatever that might be. i guess i want to know if they received our extra paperwork, which we sent 3 weeks ago, and the post should have only taken about 5-7 days to get there. i want to know if they need more information. i want to know if there is some hold up, or if we have been placed at the bottom of the pile. is it coming soon? will he send us a letter by snail mail, or can he carbon copy us on an email as well? some people have received their final decision in this format. i would be happy with that too. i want any type of confirmation or positive progression on our paperwork. also, i really would like all my documents back soon. i still feel squishy about my identity floating around an immigration office in europe.

time for packing boxes to bring to my aunt's house. gotta push through and try to remain optimistic. so, when i ask mike over and over, are you sure we are moving? he always says, without any hesitation, yes definitely, we are moving.