What A Weekend!

Well our Engagement Party was a success!!  We had so much fun!  Spent the entire day setting up the house/yard, partied the night away and spent the entire next day cleaning up.  Had some wonderful food made by Belinda, she's a friend from work and convenient enough she has her own catering business.  Had so many compliments on it, it was great!  Lots of alcohol, a yummy home made chocolate cheesecake made by Narelle (my made of honor:) and some great company!  Sounds like everyone had good fun!  And a BIG THANK YOU for all of our gifts.  They will all be well used :)  We had a wonderful time!

Junior helping clean up the following day.

Let the party begin!  I think we have enough left over to last until Christmas :P 

Before the party

Yum!  Candy table! :D

Our bride & groom bottle holders.  Love them!

Dan's other love, M&M's

I think the house/yard looked great!  It was nice to host a party (our fist one) and be able to crash into bed right afterwards.

Our alcohol guard dog! :P  haha, I don't think it's a very flattering picture of him, but still adorable!

Lighting the candles as it gets darker.

Some of Dan's workmates.

Brian, one of my workmates and his partner.

Belinda, our beautiful caterer.

Tahnee and her friend Trent.  Dan and I met Tahnee when we worked up Mount Washington in Canada, she's Australian and she lives 20min from us now.  What a small world!

Ashleigh, a workmate :)

Left to Right; Clarissa (Paul & Rel's daughter, Dan's niece), Paul (Dan's eldest brother and his best man), Sussie (Dan's mum) & Narelle (Pauls wife, my maid of honor:)

The morning after....

Just a little bit to clean up ;) (I think Junior's in the middle of a yawn in this shot, looks funny)

Thank you for all of the cards! :)

Found this little guy in one of Junior's water bowls the other week.  We have a great little eco system in our backyard when it's raining, lots of frogs.  So cool!  He was just swimming round in there while Junior took a drink, too funny!

My cowboy :)

Did you see Wonder Woman??!  She came and left so quick!

Cutting the cake.

Yum!!  Thank you Rel!  It was delicious! xx

I saw my first cremation the other day too.  We had to stop by Dan's work to return a few things we borrowed for the party and it just so happens that we had to go to the crematorium.  It was weird, kind of cool, sad of course if you know the person.  I know the last time Dan took me there (5 years ago) I cried, I had never been around, talked about or aware of death, it was a little rattling at the time.  Of course a little different this time around.  Saw a big bin full of all the metal screws, plates, hip joints etc, again...weird.  But kind of interesting.

On a happier note...6 weeks! :)  Until I fly to Canada.  Yippee!!

And of course, what you've all been waiting for :)  Our wedding;

September 9th, 2013 in Koh Samui, Thailand!!

We've booked the venue, a lovely beach wedding, it's going to be absolutely amazing.  Now we get to put some personal touches on the ceremony/reception, book our flights, accommodation and some fun things to do and then we'll be set.  We're both SO excited!  Lots to plan, lots to look forward to! :)

Anyway, I think this is long enough, hope you enjoyed all the photos :)  Until next time :) xxx

photo time :)

So our Wedding date/venue's booked! :)  But I can't post the details until after the 31st (our Engagement Party) as we will announce it then.  SUPER excited for it though!  (just to tease you all :)

Dan got his promotion!!  Good job babe! :)  He is now a Team Leader of memorials/cremations at Bunerong Cemetery (a brother cemetery to the one he's at now).  He makes the new transfer this coming Monday, looking forward to the new challenges.  So we're a house full of Team Leaders now :P  My job's going well still!  Same old really, new challenges everyday (some more challenging than others if you know what I mean), today I had 4 people call in sick, on a Saturday, for those of you that don't know how busy it is, we get around 3,000-4,000 customers on Sat/Sun, so you could say just a bit busy.  Luckily everyone was being flexible and I managed to get it all covered, but just an example of some of those 'wonderful' challenges.  They're not all like that, so don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the job.  Just venting this morning's frustration I suppose :P

Dan and I went to 50th 'fancy dress' party last weekend.  I was Wonder Woman and Dan was a cowboy.  Was so funny seeing all the outfits and was good fun, nice to blow off a bit of steam.  I think I was a pretty good looken' Wonder Woman too! :P

Just over a month left and then I'll be on a flight back home!  SO excited!!  It's getting closer and quickly too! :)  Will travel around to the Valley, Victoria California and Bowen Island to see all of my family, friends and of course find a wedding dress with my Mum, Nana and Grandma!! :)  All the dates are set, so I'm excited now to know that I'll get to see everyone! :)

Easter long weekend is coming up, yay :)  Doing the Bell tradition, family camping trip.  Sounds like we'll be going to the same area we went to last Easter which will be nice.  Dan and I have managed to pick up some more camping gear, a nice comfy lounge chair for me :), a portable bbq, a canopy, moving up in the world of camping gear :)  Year by year we will start to get some 'comfier/nicer' things for camping, either way though, it's nice to get away from the hussle and bussle and live simply for a few days.  It will be Junior's first camping trip too, how exciting! :P

Here's a few photos for you, been awhile since I've put some up.

Our little boy isn't so little anymore 

Love this shot!  He just woke up and he always sleeps with his tongue sticking out, too funny/cute! 

Sleeping, this is normal for him, yup, he's a cutie 

And a destroyer!  This was from his little adventure a few weeks back. 

 Destroyed the pot plant (it's starting to grow back now though:)

Dug several holes like this one

Chewed some of the furniture and climbed all over the table 

What's left of Dan's bonsai.  Luckily he was able to mend it and now looks healthy and growing.  The rest of the garden's been fixed now, and no more fence for Junior, he gets tethered. 

Our new dining area/dining table. 

His bed is meant to be in the crate, he decided it was comfier on top of the crate.  Interesting. 

'Fancy Dress' party, Don't I look different with long black hair?!  Fake, was super itchy.  But good fun all in all.

And of course, the ring :)  Love it!

just a little one...

So Dan and I had a lovely long weekend together last month. First one in what felt like forever! We decided to head to Hayfield, which is about 3.5 hour drive from ours to the middle of no-where. One of Dan's mates from work owns an on-sight caravan at a caravan park there. So we decided to escape from it all for a few days. We literally did nothing. Went down to the lake a couple of times with Junior, let him swim. Wasn't much of swimming water, very clay bottom. In fact, walking along the lake, Dan had a good laugh at me as I sunk into the clay. It was like quick sand!! He had to drag me out and then I had clay feet. haha. Was good fun though, sat around, played some games, watched some movies, sat and stared off into nothing. Let the mind go dead..ahhh :D Was just nice to get away from the hustle and bustle.

We have another long weekend coming up in a few, Dan's birthday (on the 20th for those of you who might have forgotten ;). We also have an engagement photo shoot booked that weekend. Should be interesting, good ol' fashioned family photo shot. haha. I won it when I went to a bridal expo in January. Why not, it's free. I'm sure you'll all see the outcome of that day.

We FINALLY got our dining table!! Bought it back in December, taken 3.5 months to get it! And since I was so annoyed with their service, they gave me 50% off :D Gotta like it!! It looks great! Was worth the wait I think.

Junior got into the garden the other day. Little mongrel! Chewed through the bamboo fence around his pen and decided to have a field day in the back yard while we were out. It was poring rain too! Dug a few nice big holes, destroyed Dan's bonsai, had a chomp on some of the outdoor furniture, chewed some of the bamboo plant, dug up a pot plant....yup, had the time of his life. I was in shock when I got home and he couldn't of looked happier than a happy little kid with what he'd done. Covered head to toe in mud! He was very pleased with himself, let's just say I wasn't as pleased with him. So we spent most of the week cleaning bits and pieces up, just got some new mulch put on top of it today and it finally looks back to normal. He's now tethered to his kennel, he ain't going no where now!

Been busy busy planning our wedding...that will be announced after our Engagement Party on the 31st, so you'll all just have to keep an eye on my blog for the big announcement :D Exciting!!!! I know we're SUPER excited! A few more things to pick up for the Engagement Party and then we should be all set. Just the set up on the day of, looking forward to having people over at ours, it will be pretty chill, some food, some drinks and socializing, should be good fun. Wish all of my family could come as I've said before, but we'll celebrate while I'm in Canada and at our Wedding! :D

Works been busy as usual, 2 months until my holiday! :D Can't wait!!! Dan's been offered another job at their brother cemetery, a Team Leader position. And when the boss is gone he would step into his shoes to cover. It's the same area, memorials and crematorium, so he's still tossing around whether to take it or not. He's comfortable where he is, likes the job, likes the people but the new job offer would be a step up, a challenge, something different. He'll have to decide before tomorrow, of course I support either way, whichever will make him happy. Keep you posted on what the big decision is.

Well, time to chill out and put the feet up. Back to work tomorrow. Miss you all, 2 months until we get to catch up!! Oh and we finally have a home phone and voicemail that works! Yippee! So feel free to call anytime! :) And if you need the number, just let me know. xxx Chow for now.

hanging for my holiday!

Well it's been a bit of a whirlwind lately! Between work, wedding planning and family dramas life has been a bit nuts.

I'll start with work, it's still going really well. I'm enjoying the fact that everyday brings a new event/challenge for me which is really nice because I find I get a little bored with the same tedious jobs everyday. So it's nice to have those challenges everyday and I am forever learning new things which is great. I feel like a sponge :P. Of course some days can be a bit overwhelming when everyone's coming at you from all angles and you have a big list of things to get done, but nothing I can't handle ;) Dan's job is going really well too. Little rumors going around that someone might be leaving and he might have the chance to move back into his old position (the one he was in before he left for Canada). Sounds like he'd take it if it does come up. Now this is just a rumor, so not too sure yet. But he's still enjoying what he's doing now and every week he heads over to one of the brother cemetery's and helps train/do some work there for them. So a bit of change of scenery every once in awhile is nice for him.

Wedding planning is coming along slowly. We have looked at several venues now and are close to our decision. Now we just need to decide whether we look at a few more or make the final decision and book it/make our date. Have been enjoying driving around and seeing different parts of Melbourne while looking at venues, been fun. Our Engagement Party plans are well underway. We have handed out 98% of our invites, set the menu with the caterer, now just to get some decorations, booze and we're set! :) Really wish all of my family and friends could come from across the globe but that means we'll just have to celebrate that much more when I'm visiting in May and of course at our Wedding!!! :) xxx Engagement Party date is March 31st :)

I'm chomping at the bit to get home to Canada and have a visit!!!!! Especially now the the tickets are booked! I can't WAIT to see all of my family, see the beautiful views, catch up with friends, it's going to be wonderful! And well overdue. And icing on the cake is I get a holiday on top of my holiday. Looks like I'll be heading to sunny California for a 1-2 weeks to visit Dad! YIPPEE!! :) Gotta like it! :) Mum's booking dress shops too! So it will be my Mum, Nana & Grandma (three generations) helping me find my beautiful wedding dress! SUPER excited about that! And then of course one of my bridesmaids and good friends Kim is going to arrange a Bridal Shower while I'm there too. So it's going to be a FANTASTIC trip! SO looking forward to it! And will be a really nice break from work too!

Junior's the same, except bigger and a little more obedient. Only the other week Dan informs me that the bulldog bread are known to be stubborn....slow learners. SO! That explains why he hasn't picked up his training as quick as other dogs, doesn't mean to say he's a little horror, but he's really started to pick it up now :) Yay! And of course he's still as adorable as ever! A bit of a barrel and doesn't now is own weight/strength yet, so he tends to bulldoze into people and pin dogs down when play fighting, pretty funny. Hopefully one day he'll learn that maybe he shouldn't knock into everyone and be such a dead weight on top of other dogs. haha!

Nothing out of the ordinary really other then wedding planning. The usual socializing and every day life stuff as we all now. FINALLY get our dining table next weekend!!! Yipee!! It's only been 2 months! Got told the wrong date so had to wait another month, so I better not get another phone call saying it's going to be later otherwise I'll ask to have it for free!! haha. Our house is officially our home :) I suppose it has been for a long time now but it's actually starting to look like our home now. Come March it will be one year living in our unit, can't believe it already!!! Dan asked if I wanted to move as the contract ends in March, I think I'm pretty content here at the moment and there is no reason we need to move. So, looks like we'll be sticking around for a little while longer. There's been words on buying our own place, but give the timing (planning a wedding) and the market at the moment, it's just not gonna work out yet. Hopefully in a couple/few more years we'll be ready and hopefully the market too! It's sooo bloody expensive!! For the amount of money you spend on your mortgage you could be using at least half of that towards more meaningful things ie; traveling, social activities, saving etc etc. But I suppose there is the side of having the security especially as we get older and eventually for retirement....renting for now it is though.

Well, that's it for now. No pictures this time around, sorry. Off to dinner with the family....HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!!! :)

Until next time xx

FInally!

Finally some time to sit down and update my blog!! What a crazy month and a half it's been!

Christmas was absolutely wonderful! Of course, a fresh engagement always makes the celebrations that much more exciting! Dan worked Christmas eve, so I had the day to myself. Didn't do too much other then prepare for Christmas day and of course talk to all of my wonderful family!! We spent Christmas Day at Dan's brother Paul's place with the rest of the family. Had Christmas lunch there, opened gifts, went for a walk around the little lake (more like a protected swamp), Junior took a lovely head first accidental dive into the water too. hehe. Poor thing, he sure like's to surprise himself around the water. He was leaning over the side to get a drink and slipped right in. Of course Dan and I had a minor heart attach because he didn't surface too quickly and we know he's still very new to swimming without us there with him. But he managed to splash up and Dan yanked him out. Funny thing is, most dogs would be scared after that?! But oh no, not our Junior, he loves the water, splashing around the shore in it. Too cute! After the walk he was in need of a shower, a bit muddy, didn't look too happy to be having one, but didn't smell after so that was good. He also got to open his own Christmas present, very funny, he loves paper so it was easy once we got him started. The kids had a soak in the spa, a bit of a water fight and lots of chill time and catch up for us all. All in all was a nice day together! :) And love watching the faces on the kids when they open their gifts! :)

New Years was spent in Inverloch on the beach and what beautiful weather we had for it!! High 30's the entire time, 40 on the day I had off. New Years eve we all go dressed up in ridiculous outfits, had a bbq, a few drinks, walked into town and watched the fire works and saw the new year in. Was good fun. I had to work the next day, so it wasn't a late one for me. A bit of a commute to work and back but I had the following day off and man was I glad I got to spend it on the beach! Nice to spend more time with Dan's family too! Get to know them a bit more :) Starting to feel like a part of the family now :)

Work in between as been absolutely crazy busy!! It's school holiday's over here, plus all of the boxing day/end of year sales has the entire city going crazy. I don't understand it, but oh well, if it makes us money I suppose. So it's been a wee bit stressful for me being so fresh in my new role and dealing with all of the chaos of these busy periods. But I'm getting there slowly, step by step. I was finding myself a bit over stressed around holiday time because of Christmas, New Years, new role, busy and of course now a wedding to plan. But now that the holiday period is starting to die down, we can dive right into wedding planning which I'm super excited for!!

It's a bit stressful, but it's a good stress and I'm trying not to stress over it if you know what I mean. We've ordered our engagement invites and set the menu for the party. Now just to send the invites and confirm the menu the rest should fall right into place. March 31st at ours will be the party, wish I could have one with all of my family too! We'll just have to celebrate that much more when we have the wedding!! :) Still planning the wedding for 2013, just not sure on a date yet and the plan is to have it here in Australia. That way Dan and I get the pleasure of taking full control of all of the fine planning details and enjoy it together. Would have loved to have it in Canada, but it just wouldn't work out unfortunately :( But that gives all of my friends and family around the globe an official excuse to come to Australia, visit, travel, relax, holiday and see where I/we live! :D

Dan's off to Adelaide this coming Sunday to go see the Tour Down Under with some mates. Will be good fun for him and a nice bit of time off, he's been working just as hard if not harder then me. So well deserved. I'm going to be a bit lonely without him around for just over a week, but at the same time I think it will be nice for the both of us to have a bit of time to ourselves, especially with such a crazy year it's been!! A bit of a breather and blow of some steam for Dan. He's still doing the usual and enjoying it :)

Our home is still being added too (I'm sure it always will be:), still waiting for that dining table! Should be here mid-end Feb. Got the chairs though :) We're hoping to get one last piece before we host our engagement party, but it's really feeling like our home now! :) Junior's managed to destroy a few things. I think he's starting to get bored and/or lonely now. I/we really have to curve our training with him and his exercise I think since my schedule has drastically changed and now holiday craziness is over. He's still a good boy, when he's been for a walk or hasn't been home by himself all day. But he is still only a puppy, he's 8,5 months old now. So he's still got a lot of learning to do. Love him to bits and would be lost without him, but also driving me a bit mad at the moment. I suppose it's like having a child?!

I've also booked my tickets to Canada!!! :D :D YAY! May 13-June 8. So LOTS planned! Keep your schedule's open if you're over there at the same time as I want to catch up!! Can't wait to see the gorgeous views again too! Planning for a dress shop with my mum, Nana and Grandma. A trip to see my Dad. A Bridal Shower. And who knows what else?! I have 3.5 weeks to fit it all in and not a hole lot of money. But we'll/I'll make it work! :) Just SO excited to see all of my family and friends!! I can't believe it will be a year and half by then since I've seen you all!! Crazy.

Well, I should upload some piccies for you and then start getting dinner underway. Having a three day weekend is lovely, but it's still not enough time to get everything done that you want to, especially the extras ie wedding planning. But we'll figure it out! :) Have to!!! Such a big day to plan!! SO exciting! I can't believe it still. Enjoy the photos :) xxx

Stunning!

Oh my don't we look silly. Got quite a few honks and whistles when we walked to the fire works! :P

even Junior got dressed up :P

Bundaberg Bear! :)

someone was enjoying the beach ;)

still feels weird being in my swimsuit in Dec/Jan!

Playing Swedish game called coupe. Good fun! :)

Nice and windy there so Dan got to fly his stunt kite.

My two favorite boys exhausted after Christmas day :P

I think the face says it all.

Yummm!!

Jayden, Olvia & Jackson

Loved his gift! Could smell the treats! :P

Wouldn't let you near him, haha, he was so excited :)

And of course cutie Clarissa. Love this picture!

Our Story...

La Di Da, totally oblivious to 'the big plan'

OMG!!

The big question, I cried, he teared up, I said YES! :D

Dan's facial expression 'Thank god she said yes, HUGE sigh of relief'

I love you I love you I love you I love you!!! :D

We just got engaged!! :D

Keep reading bellow for the juicy details :D xxx

WE'RE ENGAGED!! :D

WE'RE ENGAGED!! Dan popped the question to me Saturday night!! OMG!!!!!!! :D :D :D

So it was the end of a very long week at work for me and I was super tired, but we had the evening to ourselves so we decided to take the motor bike into St. Kilda (where we lived last time I was in Australia) and have some dinner. We had Mexican, our favorite :D We've had Mexican on previous anniversaries and we went to Mexico on a holiday a couple years back for our anniversary (not that it was our anniversary, we just decided to go out). The food was delicious, we were chilled, enjoying each other's company. Then off to the city we drove (Dan got lost on purpose so it didn't look like he had planned it all out), we drove to the Eureka Tower and took this crazy fast elevator up 88 floors so we could get a beautiful view of Melbourne. Walking around, la di da, totally oblivious to what Dan was planning. We went out on what's called The Edge which is something we've been wanting to do since they built it last time I was in in Australia. It's a room about the size of a normal bedroom that's all glass, it slides out the side of the tower, glass frosted and then once you're out the frost disappears and you can see everything, it was soooo cool! Looking down was a little scary but really cool. I couldn't let go of the railing :P So as part as the touristy thing that touristy places do, they take photos of each group that's on The Edge, there was probably about 10 or so of us in total and about 4 different groups. Dan and I were up first for photos, the camera guy took the first one, test one, then when he said, 'alright get ready for the your second photo' Dan swings around gets down on one knee with a gorgeous ring in is hand and say's 'Will you marry me??' Well of course by this point, shock, surprise, then the tears started to come and as Dan asks me he starts welling up and I start crying more. It was beautiful! And such a surprise. Of course I said YES! :D hehe. We got claps and hoorra's from the rest of the people on The Edge with us and lots of photos from the camera guy that caught on to what was going on. I can't say I expected it, I knew we had been talking about it and looking at rings, but I didn't think it was gonna come until sometime in the new year. So he's very very sneaky. I still can't stop grinning ear to ear! Such a wonderful moment and so many more wonderful things to come!!

So to top it off, we had a family picnic yesterday (Sunday) and got to announce it to Dan's brother's and cousins and their families. Then last night was my big staff party at the Crown Casino in the city. Which is a massive, gorgeous Casino in the middle of Melbourne, it was a masquerade party, dress to impress kind of thing and it was also with not only the store I work at but another one closer to the city, so there was a bout 500 or so staff there. I got to share it with all of my friends which was wonderful although Dan couldn't be there to share it with me as no spouses are invited :( But everyone was so ecstatic for us and my boss Con (instigated by my friend Clare) decided to get up on stage and announce it to everyone and to wish us the best of luck. I cried again.

As you can guess, we're both on Cloud 9. So many wonderful things have happened to both of us this year and especially myself moving forward in my own life, this just put's the icing on the cake. We'll the icing, all the toppings and then some!!! :D

Here's a little picy of the bling bling ;) We will get more professional photos done in the New Year I think. It's an absolutely gorgeous ring, diamonds down the front and back of it as well as on top. So you can see shimmering from top and both sides. Details of engagement parties, wedding dates/whereabouts still to be decided, but you will all be kept in the loop ;)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! :D I know I will :D :D xxx

Our new BMW

Older model, '95, but new to us! :) And in awesome condition! We're super happy with it :)

I understand why Christmas can get stressful...

Well what a busy couple of weeks it's been!! My new job role is going well, they say 'I've hit the ground running'. Which I suppose is why I'm so tired?! Lots to learn, a bit of an adjustment learning my new position in the food chain, but it's really good. So far I've really enjoyed it! I'm managing to get those things fixed/done that never seemed to be getting fixed/done when I was a co-worker and the rest of the co-workers seem to appreciate it. Lots of checklists to get sorted, routines to get organized and in place. Since it is still a brand new store (only been open two months) there is still lots of things that need doing and routines to get used to etc etc. So you can guess that I never have nothing to do now which I'm enjoying. It's also more challenging and mentally stimulating which is good too. So all in all, so far so good :)

Junior's turned into a little monster at the moment. Mind you today he's been great, but I think that's because I've been home all day. We think he's going through the stage of 'let's destroy anything I can get in my mouth', including the Christmas gifts under the tree :( I suppose half of it is my fault for putting them there...but that's where there supposed to go!! He got into both gifts from my Nana and the gift from my Aunty Elaine and Julian. Luckily the gifts were unharmed but completely unwrapped. I was NOT happy! Totally destroyed my Christmas surprise from half of my family. Made it hard because my family is thousands of miles away and that's the one connection I get on Christmas holiday from them, so I was quite upset. I'm ok now, still not happy about it, but moved on. I think we're going to look into doggy daycare for those days that he spends long hours by himself. Perhaps he's just getting bored and seems my hours are longer and more of at work he spends more time by himself :( So we'll see, still getting used the new schedule.

Today's the first day I've had to catch up on all my domestic duties because of my new schedule. It's totally thrown me through a loop when it comes to getting stuff done at home, but I will get used to it in time as I always do :) Doesn't help that it's Christmas time too, trying to get everything sorted for Christmas day plus all those extra parties that I have to go to ;) So busy! I am very much looking forward to around February time when the dust settles and I have a bit more time to just chill out!

Mind you we did head out to Dan's parents place yesterday which was lovely! Just what the doctor ordered I think. We went for a nice walk up to La La Falls, Junior had the time of his life and was in and out of the water when we got to the top. Was nice to do a bit of hiking and get away from suburbia/the hustle and bustle for a day. Other then the walk, we just chilled out, had lunch and dinner there, was really nice.

Dan also bought a new toy last week. Our poor old Gemini was getting old and tired, she said it was time for a retirement, so Dan bought a BMW. It's older but new to us and is in excellent condition. 1995 model, navy blue, when I get some pictures of it I'll put it up, but it looks pretty sweet. Big alloys, sunroof, manual, small engine which is great for fuel price :) He seems really happy with it and it is heaps more reliable and enjoyable to drive. So I think we did the right thing, next will be giving my car some TLC. It's a great car, but needs some new wheels and the bumper needs a good touch up, plus I can't remember the last time I cleaned it :S So that's on the to do list over the next month or two.

Well, that's it for now. Time to put my feet up and enjoy a clean house and some yummy dinner. Love to you all and hope you're enjoying your Christmas month. xxx