Xmas 2008!!!

Well we have now celebrated what will hopefully be our second from last xmas in old blighty! It's been one hell of a memorable one though. This was the first xmas we have ever spent on our own in our own home so I had planned to create a few traditions of our own to take with us to Canada. The plan was for the girls to make mince pies, spiced apple pies and pecan pie on xmas eve; xmas day would see sweet potato and marshmallows, as well as apricot stuffing to go alongside the turkey; breakfast on xmas morning would be french toast....homemade of course...and bacon. Now in order to achieve all this it's imperative that there is a fully functioning fridge or in my case American fridge freezer which has resided in my kitchen these past 7 years. Well on Xmas Eve it only bloody well DIED!!!!!!! The day was spent in panic fleeing to Argos to purchase a very expensive mini fridge and pulling out all the cool bags I possess......and bizarrely I possess 4!!! Said fridge's contents were emptied into all of the aforementioned....thank gawd the freezer part still worked!!!
After ridiculously high stress levels the pies etc were made and tasted fab. The day was spent eating popcorn and choccies whilst watching Mama Mia (twice!!!!) and reading Julie Walters biography (I swear she's writing about my childhood......minus the bed-wetting and wanting to be an actress!).......so I'm now sat amongst the Boxing Day fallout of dead crackers, warm cheesecake and cool bags whilst hubby puts the turkey/ham back in the garage where its way colder!!

On the immigration front there is fantastic news for those who applied post Feb 2008 and are now beginning to receive 90 day letters. However as someone who has sat in a queue for a year and a half and still has another 6-8 month wait for said letter it does rankle a tad.......it has smatterings of queue jumping which is unfair to say the least......not the applicants fault but the Canadian government obviously didn't think this one through very well!!!!! Too late for us to apply using this route even though we are on the list as it will be no quicker....luckily we can't land till 2010 but not so lucky for others who would give anything to but must just wait and watch others jump in front!!

On the Masters front I have now passed yet another course....yeah!!!!! I was convinced I'd fail the research paper but I didn't. I'm now half way through the disability course....got a 6000 word research paper due in at the end of January and then I start the final course in February. I won't complete the Masters till October and the results won't be through till December so I probably won't be able to count it in on my 90 day letter. However after this present course I can claim a post grad certificate or diploma which might be accepted by CHC.

The List!!!

Well the 'list' is finally out! Although our application isn't directly affected by it I was desperate to know if my job was on it as this would mean a better chance of finding work once landed! Well it's on...hurray!!!! In fact I fall into two job categories....College and Vocational Instructor and University Professor......so that's even better. Obviously hubbies job (GP) is on too though that was never even in question!! So I'm a bit more relaxed but of course they could regularly update the list and the jobs may disappear!

Now throwing myself into work in order to have some time off over xmas! The shopping is done, online shop for groceries is booked and the decorations are up!!

Can't believe that once we enter 2009 we'll be telling people that 'we're actually emigrating next year'!!!! Friends are already planning a welcome party for when we land lol!! Once the documents are asked for we'll need to contact a realtor and start checking out Barrie, the housing there and the schools...also need to sort out Toronto University for the eldest daughter to start 2010!

Wow it's all go!!

Collecting the documents!

Well I've now started collecting the documentation even hough we don't expect to hear from CHC until May 2009 at the earliest!
I've downloaded the appropriate forms from the cic website just so I can look through them as they can be filled out online nearer the time.
Someone on the British Expats website every kindly posted the following info:

• Certified copies of birth certificates and marriage certificate.
• Employment references from previous employers that included start and finish dates, job title,duties and responsibilities
• If possible copies of job descriptions, person specifications and contacts of employment.
• P60s and P45s
• Certified copies of qualifications
• Certified copy of the front page of passports

It all seems fairly straight forward. Also need to list everything I've done since 18 years which will include 6 months travelling in 1977 and 5 months travelling in California in 1987. Luckily everything is on my CV so I don't have to try and remember all the dates. Pretty sure I have all the P60's and P45's so can tick them off. Have job descriptions and copies of contrcts fro the past 10 years. Also have copies of all qualifications since age 10 years (speech exam result in year 5!!)....sad I know!!

Hubby's will take a bit longer to track down all his qualifications and jobs but not impossible!

Then just got to get items certified!

Another decision made....well sort of!

Well its all change in the Northernlass1 household. Our eldest is 18 and is doing an Art diploma in UK at the moment......he finishes summer 2009. He had planned to take a gap year before starting OCAD in Toronto in 2010. Well it turns out he has now changed his mind. He's now considering starting Uni in the UK in 2009. He'll either complete the degree there or may transfer to OCAD later. He'll still land with us in 2010 to activate his PR and then he just needs to be in the country for 2/3 years.......that's if he wants to make Canada his home! I think that flying in and out for hols over the next few years will let him see if Canada is actually for him that way he's not being pushed into going just because the rest of us are. Hubby remaining in UK will help too. So as of now it may just be me and the girls moving permanently with the boys flying in and out for a while. It's not ideal but its a compromise that enables us to move and stay financially stable as well as meeting everyone's needs. Thanks to my pal Amanda, as well as hubby having worked in China in the past, I know long distance is feasible!! Mind you as he's 18 he could still change his mind lol!!!

Ticking off the boxes!

Well I've found that the most important part of this damn process is to have plenty of goals so you can tick them off as you go... rather like a countdown! So just ticked off Halloween...it poured with rain but 4 little peeps in fancy dress came knocking and were richly rewarded though we still have enough sweets left to see us through till spring!

Next goal is Guy Fawkes....this actually isn't as fab as it sounds as I'm working till about 8pm doing tutorials in Newcastle.

After that its the run up to Christmas. There is soooo much to do and sooooo little time. I've about 40+ assignments to mark as well as write a 3000 word one for my own degree. Then there's the xmas shopping to be done...thank god for the internet! The kids are doing a million things all at the same time and guess who's chief taxi driver?!! This year we are spending xmas just the 5 of us at our home....we've never done this before but are looking forward to it. In the past we've either been with family (usually about 12 of us in total) or the 5 of us have flown to Florida and spent xmas with Mickey Mouse!! I guess we need to get used to xmas being just the 5 of us as this is how it will be in Canada. I'm going to use this xmas to start some traditions of our own that we can continue once we've landed....just not too sure what they'll actually be!!!

Also now beginning to pull our documents together for the CHC should they ask for them next year (yeah!!).... need all my cerificates of education, payslips for the last 10 years, birth and marriage certificates....sad though it may sound I have actually kept them all!!!!!!!

Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have found out for definite today that the first Simplified Skilled Worker application is being processed!!!! They were also sent a 90 day letter rather than the 3-6 month letters that were expected. If nothing slows these applications down we may well be contacted by CHC next summer (2009)....OMG!! That's a huge reduction on the 42-48 month wait we were originally given.

Canada 2010 here we come!!!!!!!

2 years!!

It's hard to believe that its been 2 years since I took the girls and visited Collingwood for the first time! That was the first time I met my fab pal Sophie (Hi if you're reading this!!). Who'd have thought that one little week's visit could have had such an impact on our lives.

So another Thanksgiving has passed and another Halloween is fast approaching. Before we know it it'll be Xmas! Then hopefully we'll have one more Xmas in the UK more before moving to Ontario! We've decided to try a Xmas Day on our own this year....not something we've done before in the UK but we have to get used to it as we'll be on our own once we've moved. As next year (2009) is our last Xmas here we're having a big family get together at a restaurant......yeah no cooking!

So for now its back to getting sorted for the half term holiday and Halloween!!