Normally I would never make something like this for something so personal, especially at this time of year and with the current state of the world. However, my 33rd birthday is around the corner (Sunday), and I'm about to get extremely real and personal with you all.

 

Please read, because we really need some help.

 

To start, I'm an immigrant in Canada. What some of you may not know is that I've kind of been in immigration hell for some time. My husband Kevin and I hired a lawyer to help us out so we can finally move forward with our lives -- unfortunately, the lawyer doesn't work pro bono, which means that legal fees ate up all of our savings to lock the lawyer in for our case. We're still working with them and gathering what we can to make the strongest case for my immigrant status to be secure so I finally can start working in Canada and Kevin isn't the sole bread winner anymore.

 

As much as I hate to admit it, this means we've fallen behind on our bills something fierce, and we need some help digging ourselves out of this hole.

 

So for my birthday, I have a wholly selfish and pride-destroying wish (because I hate asking for help, and I especially hate asking for money, it kills me to do this): if you are willing and able, it would mean the world to me if you could send anything our way.  All donations will be going towards essential household bills aside from rent, as that's the one thing we've been able to keep up on over the last few months.

 

If you made it this far, whether you can help or not, please know that I am incredibly grateful and I hope that you and yours have an easier year this year. These last two years have been hard on everyone, so my less selfish birthday wish is that life turns around for us all and we find our way out of this nightmare.