it's on its way!!!

(so i'm cheating; i'm posting an email that anyone who reads this will already have. meh, get over it.)

guess what?

within 30 days, we will have the permanent residence visa for gerry! we just have to send his passport with some pictures and they put the visa in there, and send it back! whoot! they've even threatened us that we have to enter the country by march 13th, or we'll have to start all over.

what does all this exciting news mean?

on monday, i will tell my work that i will be leaving in january. it seems like far away, but this way gerry gets to spend christmas with his family, and i get to make enough money to pay for the traveling back to canada. so the plan is that i'll work a few days in january and then we'll take a few days to finish stuff up here, and pack and all that jazz. after that, it's off to carrickmacross and some time with gerry's family. we'll then head to thailand for a week, australia for 3 weeks (1 week at gerry's sister's place, and 2 weeks roadtrippin' up the coast to do some diving at the great barrier reef) and then we'll head to vancouver. after things are sorted there and we do stuff like do the interview, get a car, and get gerry a bank account, we're hoping to go to california for a quick trip, stock up on some wine and do some visiting.

any ideas on what to tell my work? :o) i'll be giving plenty of notice, at least.

so, for the next 4 months in cork, i am going to do the absolute most to enjoy the wicked friends that i've made here, (excited though i am to go back, i have met some super cool people i'm going to miss like crazy) really focus on the new yoga class i've signed up for, read lots, work hard, and try to make lots of money, all the while seeing the bits of ireland that i've marked in the lonely planet guide but not seen yet. oh and the packing up and sorting and selling and the rest of the fun stuff that comes with a move this big (mostly for gerry).

the time will fly, guaranteed. in a week it will be 2 years since i left - so much has changed, and i'm sure i'm included in that. i know our relationship has changed gerry... he doesn't pick his nose nearly as much now. well, he's cut down on the public picking.

that's us sorted, i guess.

YAY! i'm already teaching gerry canadian. he says: yay! maple syrup, pancakes, hockey, wayne gretzky, trevor linden, please and thank you. i'm working on the national anthem, as well as trying to get him to stop saying a-boot.

i can't believe this moment has come. ohmygosh. if anyone wants to visit ireland while i'm here, you'd better book your tickets!