Psy-CHO (Meagan, Amanda, Dari, are you there? Did you do the hand sign to go with that??) I <3 you!

SO maybe, just MAYBE, I went a little crazy.

But let me just build my defense a little.

I was caught completely off guard! I thought for SURE (since they told me so) that we would have some time to get Sidnei the proper documentation, get him some money, and provide him a way to Ipatinga.

So here I am, minding my own business, and WAM! He tells me he is leaving tomorrow at 7 AM, he has $31 to his name, and that is all! They will provide him some clothes to wear home (and not even his own at that! EW.) and after that, he's on his own. So not only am I wallowing in the fact that my husband is leaving (YES, I know he is going to be with his family, YES, I know he is going to be out of that place-- it's just difficult still, there is way too much emotion going on!), but I am now worried he is going to spend the night in the airport (that is if they'd even let him)or the street. Overactive imagination much?

And my toe was REALLY hurting.

And I wrote that post directly after I found out.

Never a good idea, but I had nowhere else to go!

So I say to you all, forgive the psycho in me. She is back in her proper resting place now.

Since I raised such a big stink with all those Puerto Ricans down there, Sidnei was able to call me again at 2 PM. They told him if I could bring cash down to the jail, he would be allowed to have it for the way home! Now if ONLY Puerto Rico and South Carolina were closer together, this would be SO much easier!

Thankfully we work with a great guy named David, who used to live in Puerto Rico! He was able to call a friend, transfer the money (without having to use Western Union and their ridiculous fees!!), and drive it to Sidnei! The guy got to sit and talk with Sidnei for a little while! Seriously, I have the best support. I can not ask for someone better than David to help! God definitely looks out for us by the people he puts into our lives!!!

Also, I got Sidnei a calling card and I was able to give him the numbers so he can call as soon as he gets to Brazil!

And just do you know, I am SO excited that he gets to see his family again!!! I know he is going to be so happy to see them and I know his Mom can not WAIT!

So things are in place. I am feeling much better. Thank you for all your kind words!

The countdown is ON! 56 DAYS!

Going Home

Sidnei just called to tell me they are deporting him tomorrow.

He will fly from Puerto Rico to Panama to Sao Paulo.

I knew this was going to happen.

So why am I bawling?

I'm worried about him. Which I shouldn't be, I know he is going home and that is a great thing! But I'm worried. He doesn't have any money, no real way to get in touch with me. He won't get in until almost 9 PM. Will he need to stay over night in a hotel somewhere? Do I need to buy him a plane ticket? He said he would take the bus, but when does the bus leave? Not only that but I won't be able to talk to him until he is in Brazil. I am going crazy.

24 Hours

In 24 hours a lot can change.

Do you sense the complaints coming?

24 hours ago I was eating a GREAT Sunday dinner with my family.

24 hours ago we took a GREAT walk in GORGEOUS weather.

24 hours I didn't have a care in the world!

Ok so obviously that is NOT true. But nonetheless,

24 hours ago my big toe was still in tact.

24 hours later, it is not.

So here is the story, it's a good one.

Last night about 9 PM I noticed a little swelling and redness around the nail bed. It was quite painful, but it was not like a normal ingrown toe nail. Usually it hurts near the top. So I consulted my family and no one could figure it out. It was decided I would soak it with epsom salt. So I did and then I went to bed.

Fast forward to 2 AM. I wake up in SEARING pain. It was throbbing!!!!! So I again soaked it in epsom salt, took some tylonel, and continued to be in pain until 5 AM when I fell back into a pain induced slumber.

So this morning I made an appointment with the podiatrist.

I went in and he took off part of the nail bed.

And it HURTS! I am in PAIN! The actual procedure didn't hurt, but the after recovery?

HOLY COW.

Okay so the story wasn't that interesting.

But I am in PAIN.

It HURTS! IT HURTS!

And I'm sorry to complain so much, but...

IT HURTS!

Feel sorry for me...

**Edited to add**

I am sorry I am such a big baby. The doctor lied. He said it "wouldn't hurt much. You'll just need a tylenol or two." This thing throbs like a mofo! That's right, I said MOFO.

On another note the problem was:

On my big toe on my left foot along the bottom right hand corner of the nail bed, it was swollen and inflamed because of a nasty ingrown toenail. It is pretty uncommon for them to be so low in the toe, but it happens from time to time. The podiatrist took the toenail out (on one side) and killed it so it would not grow back!! Poor Toe!

Are you tired of me talking about packing?

No??

Good.

Because packing and preparations are all I think about! ALL. DAY. LONG.

The lists are ridiculous. In fact I need to go through my lists and make a different list. They are organized all wrong and it's driving me batty.

This weekend I went to storage and went through everything! I got SO much done! Thanks to help from a good friend!! We organized things into piles of packing, selling, things to go through. I was surprised because there is actually not that much to pack. I mean there is a lot, but not quite as much as I thought.

I have not decided how I am shipping things yet. I tried one place, Confianca, who will let me buy part of a container, but I would have to drive everything to Miami and it's a little expensive. I told you all this, right? So I am going to check at a couple more places for some prices. Any suggestions? I was told there was a Brazilian store here that would sell me boxes and ship them for me...however when I went in...I just did NOT have a good feeling. They took me back into this little room, the guy was kinda creepy, and he kept pulling on his pants in the crotch area...which quite frankly never makes me feel comfortable. So I decided to scratch that idea. I will have to find a different way.

The really GREAT thing about going through everything was that they were all my wedding presents! I forgot how much stuff we had received! The even better thing? We registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Let me tell you why that place is great. I got married on March 8, 2008. On March 28, 2009 they let me return $250 worth of presents that had been unopened for the price they were LAST YEAR and they gave me CASH!!!!! I was really sad to have to return my things, but let me just say this again, NOT store credit people...CASH. And they were so good about having to print out the registry, go through it, and it was quite a few things! That was definitely a HAPPY moment!

So to close: Bed, Bath, and Beyond: Friend.

My room: DISASTER AREA.

Gracie and Flying: She can be carried on with me for my domestic flights, but when we travel from Miami to BH, she has to be in the cabin. YAY! Now, new dilemma, I need to figure out what type of kennel can be used above and below. This will be very difficult. I think I will have to use a soft bag for domestic and see if they will let me gate check her hard (plastic) kennel (like you would a stroller). That is the only way I think it will work. Can I just tell you how complicated this has gotten? And that I will have to pay a $100 fee for her to ride domestically with me and then another $150 to check her? *sigh* But at least I have found some sort of solution. Maybe.

And just so you all know, I feel more alive than I have in a YEAR. I FINALLY know what I am doing, where I am going, and I am forming a PLAN. I am making LISTS! And I can carry those lists out!! I LOVE IT! Don't get me wrong, I have tearful moments still. The ones where I get sad because I don't want to leave...but I really am just so happy to be moving forward!

Don't worry! I really am this odd...

So how's the packing come along?

Well to be honest...I haven't done that much.

But I did schedule appointments for Gracie to get her International Health Certificate at 7 Am so I can drive 2 1/2 hours to Columbia to get it endorsed by the USDA the same day, so that it can get to the Brazilian Consulate since it has to be there before 10 days from the date of the vet issue. So that they can issue me a permit for Gracie which she has to enter Brazil before 30 days or the permit expires. Talk about deadlines.

Now I just need to call the airline because I am flying on May 26th. If the temperature is above 85 degrees she can not fly with me. She can not be carried on with me because it is an international flight. So she has to be checked. On May 26th I will be flying to the Dallas Fort Worth Airport, then to the Miami Airport, then on to Belo Horizonte. Make sense to you? Me either. But I know that both of those places are relatively warm (note use of sarcasm there)...and I am pretty sure I have a good chance of it being over 85 degrees. So I am worried. Very worried. So I am going to call the airlines to see if they have any suggestions.

This is just ONE of the many complex issues to try and solve. It is SO fun.

The next one of shipping. Ugh. But it's getting there. I may need to drive down to Miami...anyone game?? Pleeeeeaseeeeeeeeeeeeee. *sigh* This is why a girl needs friends.

Anyway I wanted to humor you tonight and thought I could mainly because I know how weird I am.

DVD's.

I love my DVD's. I don't know why. In fact I am protective over them. Again, I don't know why. I don't like people to borrow them. (Like today, opened up an Enchanted DVD case, it has How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD in it...WTH) I don't like anyone to take the shrink wrap or sticky security tape off except myself. No one knows how.

So here is my plan to ship them. Since I am worried someone is going to open the box and steal them!! (No one has given me the impression that this would happen...this is a product of my overactive imagination!)

1. Put all DVD's into a CD/DVD holder.
2. Make Inventory list and leave in computer. Number DVD pages. (Did I mention there are over 300?)
3. Put all DVD boxes into a box to be shipped.
4. Put DVD's in suitcase to come with me aboard the plane.

That's right. I am shipping empty boxes. Assuming I have the room. Though the DVD cases may even trump the mattress.


Just Kidding! (But I really do have a sinful love of DVD's)

Questions Answered

I know it has been a while since I have posted and that you all have a lot of unanswered questions! Sorry for the delay... BG was right in saying I am experiencing a lot of emotions! The first thing when I got the news I was really, really disappointed. Though I had told you all that I would not get my hopes up...well a girl can't help but dream...

Anyway after the disappointment, came the okay, what do I do now? Despite all the lists and preparations I felt completely lost. So I cleaned out purses and make up because I have an ungodly amount (the same Wednesday night)and brought them down for my family to go through. I'm sure they thought I was crazy...I call it coping.

Next came the sadness...I started thinking about how I would not be part of my family's daily life anymore. How much I would miss all of my friends, etc etc. But after talking to Sidnei, I got over that pretty quickly..

Now I'm just EXCITED/nervous/scared!!!

Also, another option we had, was the Motion to Reconsider. We have gone back and forth with whether or not we would ask the Judge to reconsider giving Sidnei bond. Sidnei said he would wait if the lawyer thought we had chance. Luckily I just checked my email and she said she is pushing to expedite his deportation and that we would not enter in the motion.

Good thing I bought my ticket tonight!

May 26th, I will be leaving to fly to Belo Horizonte!! (Of course I won't be there until May 27th) I bought my ticket for a little later in May in case we waited out the thirty days and even though we aren't, I'm still a little glad. There is SOOOOOO much to do!!

We will live in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais. With his parents. Which I am hoping won't be for too terribly long. I am hoping he will have some time to get things straight, find a job, and we can start the apartment search....because I am sure I will LOVE my in-laws....but I think you all see where I am going with this...

As far as Sidnei goes: right now he is still in jail. They are working on expediting his deportation process. So I am hoping in the next week or so he gets to fly home. We should know more details this week.

Sidnei's visa application is still in. He still has a chance to come back to this country. His application has been approved (by USCIS) which is a very good sign and now it goes to the National Visa Center. Not that I have any idea what this means, but when I have a chance I will be sure to ask the lawyer. But we won't know any definite answers for another year and a half.

Any other questions?

Again I am SO SO excited for our new adventure! I am SO SO SO excited that I will see my husband again on May 27th!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

Thank you all for you support, kind and encouraging words! It has been so nice to share this journey with others and have someone rooting for us! Much love to the blog world!!

Decision

Here we come!

What Would YOU do for $20?

This morning I woke up to the solution of ALL my financial problems!!!


Good Day,

It may surprise you receiving this letter from me, since there was no previous correspondence between us. My name is Jeremiah Zuber, a Malaysian national and personal Attorney to Late Mr. George, who was here in after called my client.
My purpose of contacting you is for you to help secure the funds left behind by my late client, to avoid it being confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Bank. Where this fund valued ($US 5,900,000.00) five Million Nine Hundred Thousand United States Dollars deposited by my client before his death.

This Bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin or the account will be declared unserviceable and the fuand diverted to the Bank treasury, So far all my efforts to get a hold of someone related to this man has proved futile. Hence, I have contacted you.
I am actually asking for your consent to present you to the Bank as the Next of Kin/beneficiary of my late client's fund, since you have the same last name, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to your account, then we can share the fund on a mutually agreed, based on percentage.

All the legal documentations to back up your claim as my client's Next of Kin I shall provided them. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us achieve this transaction.
The intended transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any infraction of the law. However, if this business proposition offends your moral ethics, do accept my sincere apology. If on the contrary you wish to achieve this goal with me, kindly get back to me.

Kindest Regards,
Barrister Jeremiah Zuber
(LLB Hons.)

Isn't that SO kind of Mr. Zuber?? If only more people were willing to embezzle the $20.00 that is in my bank account....haha!

Still waiting...I'm trying to pass the time and keep from going crazy!!!

Restlessness

Happy St Patrick's Day!

It is in the wee hours of the morning... (imagine that being said with an Irish accent please)

And I have yet to be able to sleep! All I can think of is all the different possibilities!!! All I can think is that Sidnei could be home this weekend!!

Which I KNOW I said I wasn't going to do. But it is all Sidnei talks about and I just can't help but think about it. The truth be known is I let myself think about it a little...and let me tell you. You give the brain an inch and it just runs off and takes a hundred miles!!

The good news is the lawyer is very optimistic! She SAID very optimistic in an email to me...which is HUGE! Well at least I think it is...especially because she is VERY careful not to give me false hopes...

So let me just say this...

SIDNEI COULD BE HOME THIS WEEKEND!!!!!

Let me also say this...

I am very comfortable with my decision in moving to Brazil with him if that is where he ends up! I am excited for our adventure wherever it may be. Either way, the list of things to do is LONG! But I'm excited!

Also I went to the mall today. I had a really good time with my bonus mom and my sister. And I really needed it. I needed to take a step back from the constant, incessant thinking that is continually going on up there! I bought a little bit of make up:
Boi-ing by Benefit (concealer for my out of control, adolescent like bout of acne)

Get Even by Benefit (A shine control and something to even out my skin!)

And of course my true love, Clinique


And it was bonus time, so double score!



But even better still..I had one of these for dinner:


It is a pretzel dog from Auntie Anne's. Healthy? NO! Delicious? YES!


So for a Monday...well the night was good.

Now I am going to try to sleep....

BUT I'M SO EXCITED!

Well It's About Freaking Time!

We FINALLY have a court date!

March 18, 2009 at 1 pm. I will quite possibly be holding my breath all day. Did I mention that my stomach hurts really bad when I am anxious? Or that I have a quick temper when anxiety sets in? Or how about the fact that my brain thinks at about a million miles a minute which wears me out.

Did I mention that this has already started?

Nevertheless, I am REALLY glad that we finally have a court date. And just FYI, this particular date, the judge will decide if Sidnei can come home on bond (which doesn't mean he can stay permanently, only that they will have more court to decide further) or if he has to go back to Brazil. I am betting that he will be flying back to Brazil. Sidnei believes with everything that he will get bond and while I desperately want to think he will, I can not. Because if I allow myself the possibility to think that and it doesn't happen, I will be crushed. To smithereens.

But let's be honest. Though I don't want to, I do know that I am secretly in the depths hoping beyond biggest hopes that it will happen. And though I am trying my best to remember the reality of the situation and be pessimistic...I really want him to be able to come home! Even if only for a little while! It will make life SO much easier!

So I wait, on pins and needles, but I wait.

Oh, and just so you know, either way I am SO glad to have Sidnei out of that place. March 14th marks the year date of his being detained...so we are really happy that something is happening soon!! Either way, life will be changing soon and I am EXCITED!

We do not remember days, we remember moments...

That first night you put your arm around me and I laid my head on your shoulder...I knew that was where I wanted to be. In that moment I realized that I wanted to feel that way for the rest of my life. And though it would be a while before I vocally said it out loud, I knew it was where I was supposed to be.

This first year of our lives together has been a difficult one. It has been full of heartache, longing, and tears. But it has also brought happiness, strength, and a greater understanding of each other emotionally and spiritually. This experience has bonded us in a way that has sealed our fate forever.

I love you more than words could ever express. I anxiously await the day that we are united and we are able to live out our lives and begin our family. I want you to know that I will follow you to the ends of the earth, just to be with you.

I know this year is going to bring big adventures our way and I can not wait to face them together!

I am so proud of everything we have accomplished this year. I am SO proud of you for being so strong and for having unwavering faith in our Heavenly Father's plan for us.

I could not ask for a more loving husband and I could never thank you enough for being my best friend and loving me so completely.

Happy Anniversary meu amor!

Eu te amo para sempre,

Stephanie

WOO HOO!

Today I am posting live from my brand new computer!!! The keyboard feels so clickety and fresh. She's all shiny, so clean. I think I'm in love...

Everyone Needs a Trunk Monkey!

Just a Few Notes

1. Sorry my postings have been really sporadic lately...this is because I feel boring. Because I wait....and wait....and...well you get the point.

2. I stopped using Mr. & Mrs. S, it's really a pain to try to remember. I like our names. Sidnei & Stephanie. Just no last names. Is Mr. S happy? Not particularly, but I told him it was all okay. Especially since I googled me, and it's really just not that hard to find me.

3. As you remember, I have started compiling a list of things I need to do in order to move to Brazil (note that this is not an official declaration that I am moving for sure...I am just acting on the premise that is where we are headed because I'm about 95% sure). Well it is growing HUGE. There are a MILLION things I need to take care of.

4. On Wednesday my NEW computer is coming in!! I am VERY excited!

5. I have had SERIOUS stomach issues...ALL weekend. I mean like I lost five pounds in two days issues. I am praying it stops tonight so that I can go to work tomorrow. I am B-U-S-Y (thank goodness) at work (another reason for not posting or commenting much).

6. My Dad and I had an ACTUAL conversation about me moving to Brazil. Which was a step in the fact that he recognizes that I WILL move there, with or without his blessing. Unfortunately, I think the only reason he realized this is because he needs to find someone to run the business.

7. Sidnei and I made the decision that if he is deported, I will make all the arrangements here BEFORE I go to Brazil. So that I only have to travel once. So that we save the money. So that I don't have to leave him again. However, this means that I will be here for a month or so after he goes to Brazil. Which will be very difficult. I want to be with him the MINUTE I can. But I know there are a lot of things to take care of here. And I want to spend some time with my family before I go. I thought about flying out to Utah for a few days as well, but we'll see how all the preparations go.

8. We are DESPERATELY hoping to hear news this week. Sidnei has been sick which equals being miserable. But as always, as soon as I know, so will you, because I will be SO overjoyed!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

SO there has been some discussion...

Around the blogosphere about this little place called EdenFantasys. In fact over at The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom's place she is doing a giveaway! HOORAH! or is it HOOAH? Dang it, I can NEVER seem to get it straight, anywho...

She is giving away a bottle of massage oil and $50 for EdenFantasys!

Now as you all know..I have been away from my husband for a year...with only having been married for ONE week. Let's all think about it shall we...OR NOT! But let's hope I win!