Sometimes you just look crazy

Today I reflect back on my life pre-LDR.

I was a man.

Well… that hasn’t changed.

Let me begin again. I was a man with simple goals in life: live for God, find a woman, and work in the entertainment industry.

I’ll tell you now, I had noooo idea the impact each of those things would have in my life. Living for God has required giving up some things in my life, as well as taking on some challenges I felt were impossible. And if I had tried by my strength, they would have been impossible. But hey, God has a way of making the impossible possible.

What happens after you close the distance?

So you’re in a long distance relationship, and the end is in sight. Finally, after years of waiting, tears, heartbreak, and missing each other so much continuing on seems impossible, you have a date for the day the distance will close.

What amazing news this is; you and your SO are beyond excited. The family and friends of the person moving are probably less than excited. But hey, you’ll be with your love!

Amidst all the excitement, though, a new question creeps into your mind. What happens after you close the distance?

Mix it Up Monday: Where are the “ziplocs”….

Hah! This post rings so true for me. It is a big challenge to move to another country because of this. I don’t know if I’ll be able to give up Vegemite though. I will have to keep putting in orders to my family to make sure I remain well stocked.

Foreign at 50

One of the most challenging aspects to moving to a new country is that the products you knew and used before, even on a daily basis, is nowhere to be found in your new country.

I have found Denmark to be so progressive, beyond measure to some things in the US, but in other aspects, they lack the things I took for granted.  The best example of this is ziplocs.  I have for years been bringing ziplocs with me every time I traveled to Denmark.  My husband as well would pack boxes of them to bring back with him.  For years the only bags you could get just had a tie at the top so they would not hold anything that could spill, much less give you the ability to freeze food!  I will admit, in the US I found myself buying in bulk and using ziplocs to freeze food…

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Built in Cleanometer

So the new kitchen has a built in Cleanometer. I must say, it is incredibly effective. The slightest sign of food left out and it goes off. Dishes have to be 100% clean when put away or you’re in trouble.

To be honest? I do love that. It helps my somewhat lazy self remain motivated about a chore I do not enjoy: keeping the kitchen clean. I’m one who can leave dishes sitting for 24 hours and do them once a day. But I don’t have that option here. Gotta clean them straight away and make sure the benches shine.

But there’s something I hate about this Cleanometer.

The new office

Last week my wife and I moved to a new residence on Saipan. And I gotta say, I am loving the change. We went from a small, dark apartment surrounded by concrete to a small, naturally lit apartment up on the hills of Saipan. Now we’re surrounded by nature, and there’s a beautiful breeze most days.

There’s a great little balcony which is shrouded in shade in the afternoons; a perfect place to to sit and write. This is the reason I opted for a laptop over a desktop PC. I wanted the option to sit out in nature and soak in the beauty of God’s creation as I work.

Mix it Up Monday: From LDR to LDE(ngaged!)

It always brightens my day to read stories of other in LDRs finally getting to close the distance. Especially when that includes an engagement and wedding!

Christina Michelle Speaks

It’s official Alex and I are engaged! Even though he popped the big question over three months ago, I still feel like I’m floating on a cloud. In January, I went to go visit him in Chicago towards the end of my winter vacation. In many ways it was just like any other trip. We were eagerly awaiting my visit, after a couple months of not seeing each other. Like always, I over-packed, making sure I had twice as many warm, yet cute clothes to change into. Little did I know, this visit would change the rest of our lives!

It was Friday, January 8^th, and I had already been in Chicago for four days. That night Alex asked me to wear a dress. Although most locals found the 40 degree weather comforting, I’m an LA girl at heart and was absolutely freezing! But I put on my big…

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Behind the eight ball

Well, this week has been interesting. Internet has been sketchy at best, so I’ve barely had chance to do anything online. I’m currently hot spotting my phone, which I hit my 1GB data limit on, so is running on slow speeds; only 1/8 of the websites I visit will actually load.

It’s made it all but impossible to do blog posts, or any book research. Which is also frustrating, because I have a fantasy series I’ve been working on. Now that characters are established, it needs some hefty world building. Which means a lot of research.

I apologise to those that follow this blog; I imagine some of you have all but forgotten who I am by this point – or you’re really enjoying the lack of emails saying there’s a new post out, haha.

My wife and I are moving to a new house over the weekend, and with that comes new internet. I just hope and pray it’s more stable than the internet here. There are a ton of extremely exciting things I want to tell you guys about, and I hope they’re not just exciting to me.

Have a Happy Easter everyone!

 

Pretty Smiles and Crash Tackles

Eighteen hours. Eighteen hours to travel 3000 miles. But, finally, I was here. Slinging my camera bag and backpack over my shoulders, I climbed out of the small 30 passenger plane, and was warmly welcomed by Saipan’s legendary humidity. I’d been told many times about this, and it was true, I really would have to swim to the concourse. 

The Epic Visa Journey (pt 2)

Printers, I love them almost as much as I hate them.

As I stared down at the necessary evil, I felt nothing but anger and hatred for the frustrating piece of crap. I urgently needed to print one B&W document, but it was low on coloured ink, so what did it do? Printed dirty, streaky, discoloured documents.

I was in the throes of applying for a visa to migrate to the US, a K1 Fiancé Visa to be precise. In order to have the best chance of receiving said visa, Brittany and I needed to prove our relationship was real; that our families and friends approved of us.

I looked at the time; if I hurried I’d be able to get down to the shops and buy some more ink before I was due at the Notary Public’s place with my affidavit. I grabbed my keys and wallet and stormed out the door.

Is this love that I’m feeling? 15 things I discovered about love

Like Whitesnake, I’ve asked that question. The warm fuzzy feeling, the racing heart, the excitement, was that love? Was that what I was feeling?

Another question also plagued me: was that all there was to love? The thought terrified me. If those feelings were the only way I knew I was in love, what about the times when I didn’t feel that way? Did that mean I didn’t love Brittany?

So I searched for the answer…

And found it.