He has Arrived!

So Shawn finally made it to Edinburgh! I am so happy he is here. I luckily had only one lecture today so I was able to meet him at the airport, and again the airline has misplaced one of his bags. It seems like whenever one of us flies through Manchester we always have something go wrong. So we both hate that airport and hope that we never have to go there again. At least there was no snow this time. Anyways since he didn't sleep on his flight over he is passed out which gives me time to finish my work. Only 2 days left of classes before winter break YAY! We are staying in Edinburgh during the break so it will be very different not being with my family this year. I am planning on cooking Christmas dinner so hopefully I don't burn the food. It will be my first time cooking a turkey so I will have to have a backup meal planned just in case lol. Anyways time to get back to work.

Becoming the Crazy Cat Lady

Over the last year my friends and Shawn especially have been calling me the crazy cat lady and I admit to being a little bit crazy lol. As a child I had one cat who is currently 13 years old. His name is Mitshu and we got him as a stray kitten on Thanksgiving of 1998 at my cousins house in Miami. He's still a my parents house and is an awesome cat!

Mitshu and I this summer...as you can tell he really missed me

Here's a pic from four years ago he's just a big white fur ball of love

I didn't become the crazy cat lady though until I moved to a small town south of Edinburgh this past spring. One of my neighbors has four cats and I became kind of obsessed with the two friendly ones, but especially crazy about the one I named Big Head. He's not neutered so he has the characteristic large head of a tomcat which is where I got his name from. He's probably one of the most friendly cats I have ever met and just has the best personality. So I became obsessed with taking pictures of my new furry friends and this is when I went from a person who likes cats to slowly becoming the crazy cat lady.

If you couldn't tell from some of my older post, I really love photography so it's something I am trying to learn more about and when I get my digital SLR for Christmas you will see a lot more post about photography. So Here's a few of my favorite shots from my iphone of my neighbor's cat otherwise known as Big Head to me:

Close up color adjusted w/an iphone app

As you can see he is a great model

So silly and playful

Eye closeup and color slightly adjusted by an iphone app

Then about 2 months ago Shawn suggested I adopt a cat so I can have some company. I wasn't sure about it especially since Shawn's slightly allergic to cats, but after thinking about it I decided it would be a good idea. My friends and I went to three different cat shelters and out of the three I have to say the Lothian Cat Rescue was the best shelter and where I found my new cat. The rescue is located just outside of the city surrounded by farmland and is just such a beautiful and nice place for the cats. Some cats are even allowed outside and roam free around the rescue. I was first planning on getting a short haired male cat but when I met this semi-long haired little girl cat I fell in love. Shawn and I decided to name her Philly (Shawn's a big Phillies fan). Since bringing her home she has been nothing but a blessing. She's so sweet and loves to cuddle and sleeps in my bed every night. I am not sure what's going to happen next week when Shawn comes since he may kick her out of the bed lol. She's also has her quirks and will get the crazies and go running out of the room and sliding down the hallway. She's also very playful and just loves attention in general. Let's just say i'm in love with this cat, and I treat her like my child so maybe I am a crazy cat lady. At least I am crazy and happy and she seems to be happy as well. Here are some pictures of Philly:

She has the cutest upside down heart around her nose

Enjoying the view

One of her favorite hiding places

Close up of her little heart nose

Such a gorgeous fluffy cat

As you can see she is very comfortable in her new home

Exciting News...well for me

Over the last four months that I've been here, my husband and I have been trying to get his dependent visa so he could move here. The process was so slow and horrible. Firstly, the visa laws changed this summer so basically bachelor students (Level 6) and under could not bring their spouses over. I think this new rule is very unfair for students who are doing a full degree in the UK. I understand if you are studying for a year or less, but if you are doing a four year degree I think you should be able to bring you spouse over. So this new rule caused many issues since unlike American vet schools a veterinary degree here is considered a bachelors and not a doctorate degree.

Since I knew about this new rule, I spoke with the University's International Office to see if Shawn would still be able to come live here. They were very helpful and said that the degree is considered higher than a level 6 so getting the visa shouldn't be a problem. A week later the International office sent Shawn a letter just stating that the vet degree was of a higher level so that he could send it in with his visa application as evidence. Shawn sent his visa out then about a week later he got an email saying his visa was denied because the vet degree was a level 6! Let's just say I was very angry and upset since he was suppose to leave a week after he got that email. So I contacted the International office again and told them the situation which lead to about 3 weeks of me bugging the office trying to get any information about whats going on with the New York Consulate. Once Shawn's visa was denied he only had 28 days to appeal the decision so you can see why I had to keep calling to get information especially since he had changed his flight once before and then had to cancel his flight all together. Then we finally got information from the office saying that the consulate now recognized that the vet degree is an exception to the rule so they said to direct the appeal to one of the managers and then the waiting began. We weren't sure how long the appeal process would be since online it said it could take 2-4 months which would mean I would have to spend Christmas alone in Edinburgh. But luckily after about 2 weeks Shawn got the email saying he won his appeal and would be getting a visa! YAY!!! So now he will be arriving in Edinburgh on the 14th!

I am such a happy girl right now. The last 4 months were pretty rough for me so this news definitely turned that around real quick. Especially after he got denied. I just was not able to focus on school and just did not really care about doing work and studying. At least now when he comes over he will make me do work lol. He's really good at keeping me focused and on task. It also helps that he's a good cook so I don't have to worry about cooking for the most part. I am a very lucky girl to have such a good husband who cooks, cleans, and is just always there for me. I am just very excited for his arrival and to spend our first Christmas together! I am hoping for a white Christmas as well since I have never had one before since I always spend Christmas in Miami with my family. Yay excited!!!!!!