As Happy as Pigs in Sh*t! :D

Plane ticket has been purchased!! Brian and I will be leaving the United States starting at 2pm tomorrow! We have been frantically cleaning and packing! It may be last minute but it will all get done!

For Housing we will be staying in the University Apartments in a bedroom with two twin beds instead of a full size, but we don't care as long as we are together!

Brian's grandma said she had a dream with Brian and I as farmers and we were Happier than Pigs in Shit and that saying has stuck with me everyday since she said it. That is exactly how Brian and I feel! We still can't believe this really happening for us! Now enjoy some pictures of the chaos! (Beautifully Chaotic as I like to say)

ITS HAPPENING.....

So two days ago I started an unbelievable whirlwind adventure! I was up all night the night before due to nerve pain in my upper thigh, and I continued check my email on the hour, every hour just like I had for every night for the last week just hoping and praying for a Visa decision. By 6:30 in the morning I had given up hope and my pain was subsiding enough for sleep to take over. At 8:00 when Brian left for work I decided to check my email for the last time. There it was.. the answer... finallly after so long: BRIAN AND I WERE BOTH APPROVED UNDER MY STUDENT VISA TO MOVE TO AUSTRALIA FOR FIVE YEARS!!!!!

This all began on a Friday:
8:00am - got approval email and jolted out of bed even though I had previously not slept all night!
By 8:30 - Had called my dad, grandparents, and Brian. Brian had to wait awhile because it was snowing and I didn't want him to crash so I waited until I knew he had arrived safely at the job site.
By 9 - I was dressed, mom was ready to go, and we frantically threw a final shopping list together and set out!
We went to:
DMV - to ask about what to do about license expiring while over-seas
Bank
Walmart
Pet Smart
Bong Recreational Park - to watch my mom's boss fly his beautiful white falcon. She flew up to 1800 to 2000 feet up to catch her quail on a kite! It was an amazing experience!
Woodmans
Olive Garden for lunch!
Went home and napped for an hour because poor Brian has gotten really sick! PERFECT TIMING THERE!!
Later that night Brian and I went to Brian's moms house for Sal's Pizza (BEST HOMEMADE ITALIAN FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD - KENOSHA FOLK PLEASE HIT IT UP!!) and homemade wine from our good friend Troy's Dad.

Now on to Saturday:
Brian and I ran to Racine for another bank day and lunch with Brian's Aunt. Brian's Aunt also got us a bunch of good travel things! :D
Next we went back to my parents to gather supplies for the night and make a list of everything he needed to get for the trip and we were off shopping.
Then at at 530pm we went to the Danish Brotherhood for Bingo where so many family members showed up: Brian's Dad, Aunt, Uncle & Wife, Grandma & Grandpa, Brother's Girlfriend, My dad, and My oldest brother and his wife! It was an AMAZING time even though Brian and I had absolutely NO luck on our side!
Then more celebrating and off to bed!

Today:
Woke up and made chili
Ran to Best Buy where Brian's mom got Brian an Ipad so we can communicate easier since his laptop crashed! sooo excited!!
Ran to JC Penny's where Brian's mom bought him 3 pairs of pants! YAY FOR PANTS WITHOUT HOLES IN THEM!! haha
Then Brian's Mom's House to finish putting up cement backerboard in her shower so she can retile with Brian's brother's Girlfriend.
Next to Brian's Grandparent's house where his whole family was basically there again to have lunch/dinner and take pictures! VERY SAD SAYING GOODBYE!! WE WILL MISS EVERYONE SOOO DEARLY!!
Back to Brian's mom's house to clean and organize everything that was stored in his old bedroom!
And now that it is almost midnight, we are heading to bed for a very very busy Monday and Tuesday and hopefully we fly out on Wednesday!

YES 5 days to organize and plan a move half-way around the world is crazy insane.
What is left to do:
-I have contacted housing but with no answer. I want to make sure Brian and I will have a room to stay in if we still fly out on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 and land on Feb. 1, 2013 in Perth, Western Australia (Otherwise we will leave another day before Feb. 4th)
-Close Brian's Bank
-Inform my bank that my cards may or may not be used over-seas
-PACK AND CLEAN
-PACK AND CLEAN
-PACK
-Buy plane tickets
-MOVE TO PERTH AND START MY PATH TOWARDS BECOMING A VETERINARIAN!!!!

I am very sorry if this bored some of you! BUT I just want everyone to know that a move of this magnitude is achievable with little sleep, a lot of planning, and unwavering faith that everything is going to work out!! :D

HAVE SWEET DREAMS EVERYONE!!! I am off to snuggle my kitties for every second I have left with them! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR BEING WONDERFUL GRANDPARENTS AND ADOPTING MY FUR-BABIES!! <3 It means the world to Brian and I. Also thank you for all the support with a car, financially, and emotionally! You have been amazing parents and I am who I am today because of you!

Mark & Patty - Thank you for taking the frogs that have been apart of my life for the last 4 years! :D

Aunt B - Thank you for the support you have given us! We appreciate it beyond words

Barb - Thanks for letting us store stuff in your attic and for all the laughs to keep us distracted from the stress! ALSO thank you a billion for the best buy gift cards and IPAD!! its AMAZING!

Grandma and Grandpa Winfield - Thank you for always believing in me and without you this trip wouldn't even be possible!!

Grandma and Grandpa Algiers - Thank you for never questioning our decisions and telling us we can achieve anything! You have been amazing support! Every turtle I see, I will be thinking of you!


THANK YOU TO A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL!! <3

Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and Still Awaiting A Decision

So the last few Holiday weeks have been amazing. First we had Christmas with the immediate families, and next we had a bunch of friends and family come visit and pretty much had a party with relatives every night for a week! It was AMAZING to see so many people. New Years was pretty low key, but I made it to midnight! Brian and I are still awaiting a decision on my student visa and his defacto partner status. We still need to get plane tickets ($1207 each), Housing and I just received an email from Murdoch informing me that the dorms are currently full and I have to be put on a waitlist. Apparently B and I might be staying in a hostel for a little bit :/ Time to research that life experience! I have been looking on a share accommodation website to maybe find an apartment, but I was hoping to use the dorms. I was planning on staying in the university village because I could use my financial aid to pay it at the end of the first semester, I am not sure how I can afford rent right away, plus learning a new city and transportation system in just like 7 days before orientation starts.

My To-Do List keeps getting more daunting the more days that tick away. Only 20 days until the day we plan to fly out! The hardest part about not having a visa decision is that I do not know if both of us are going, both of us are not going, or I am going and Brian is staying. Any of the decisions means a lot of work:
-I am getting my mom's iphone and I need to unlock it so I can get an australian SIM card
-Order cell phone (for brian) and two SIM cards from company the school is partnered with
--> Tell people our new Australian Cell phone numbers. (If you have an ipad, or ipod/iphone with a front facing camera - you can message me and FaceTime (like skype) with me or Brian for free over wi-fi, so no one gets charged international rates on calls or texts) For Anyone else who is interested, I will be downloading skype as well.
-Set up an Australian Bank Account over internet with Bank that is partnered with school and transfer money into it so I have some Australian dollars when I get there
-A whole list of things to buy to pack along: Voltage Transformer, Anti-histamine, my shampoo and other bathroom essentials, and stuff like that.
-Get on University Waitlist (but can't do that until I know if i need a single bedroom or a couples room)
-Research other housing options
-Taxes
-Go to DMV to check on how to renew license if it expires during the five years we are gone.
-go to my credit union and get US dollars converted to Australian dollars
-Show my parents what food to feed my kitties! My wonderful babies! :D


Completed:
-Visa application and extra documentation that had to be sent it
-Financial Aid paperwork: I signed my award letter and completed my Master Promissory Notes. Since the Vet program is considered a graduate program to the US, I only get unsubsidized loans and Grad Plus, no subsidized loans
-started packing and made a To-Do list! :D


My brian is going to explode if I do not know what is going to happen soon! If all does NOT work out, then I have a backup plan! I won't bore you with the details unless it becomes reality. I've been slowly looking over muscles of the forelimb of the canine in my Saunders Veterinary Anatomy coloring book and I just need to be in school and soon! I miss studying!! :D NERD ALART!!

Cheers to an interesting start to a new year! :D Next time I post I should have some details to share hopefully!!!