Attitude of Gratitude V4#20 - A Sense of Humour

I'm having trouble keeping track of all the people I know who are engaged. This isn't a new problem, I generally have tons of weddings to go to but it seems like recently there's been a bunch more. I can't help but wonder though, if all these people are getting married, why am I still single? Well, let's look at WHO is getting married.

Of the seven weddings I know of that are coming up:
Two of the guys are my brothers
Two of the guys are my cousins
Two of the guys are over ten years younger than me
Two of the guys are gay and marrying each other.

Alrighty then. Let's just forget it :P

Anyway, lately I've really been enjoying Terri Clark's newest single called "The One". It really captures where I am right now.

I hear the whispers as I walk by
They always start with bless her heart
She’s still single and that’s such an empty life
She must not be lookin’ all that hard
They’ve all got their stories of why I’m still alone
But the only truth that matters is my own

I want fireworks to paint the sky
A kiss to burn my lips
I wanna feel the touch that pounds my heart down to my fingertips
And twenty years from now it still won’t be as good as it will ge
It might be a lot to ask for but I won’t take any less
 Just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live with I want the one I can’t live without

 Momma’s always getting on me
She says I don’t give anyone a chance
But if I can’t feel the music when somebody holds me
How am I supposed to dance
There might be a few more lonely nights
But I’m not keeping score
It’s worth the wait for what I’m waitin’ for

 Fireworks to paint the sky
A kiss to burn my lips
I wanna feel the touch that pounds my heart down to my fingertips
And twenty years from now it still won’t be as good as it will get
It might be a lot to ask for but I won’t take any less
Just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live with I want the one I can’t live without

 And just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live with I want the one I can’t live without
No I can’t live without

 So, I'll keep singing, and be grateful that I can laugh about it.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#18 - Good Days

Today was just an all around good day. Let's see if I can remember all the wonderful things that happened. I guess the big one is that I finished my last paper of the term. I probably could have still worked on it for awhile but it was due at midnight so around 6pm I just decided it was done and submitted it.

I also talked to my landlord. She has been STRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSING out over renting the other room in my basement suite. I can't remember if I've posted about this but the current tenant had decided that she wanted to move because she thought it was too expensive. Well she looked around and realized that it's actually pretty middle of the road (especially considering everything is included, heat, hot water, laundry, parking, internet, tv, etc) Plus she didn't want to deal with the hassle of moving so she's decided to stay. She managed to talk our landlord down on the rent though and since we both pay the same amount, it means my rent will now be $35 cheaper for the next few months. Not a huge savings but every little bit counts right now so I am thankful. Plus this chick is pretty easy to live with so that is nice. My landlord had been considering renting to some of the guys that have inquired and the last person that looked at the place was a guy with a girlfriend so there would have been three of us here. I'd prefer to not live with a strange guy so this really is an answer to prayer.

Let's see, oh yeah, I also managed to change a tutorial I have next term to a better time slot. It was at 10:30am on Monday mornings when my next class isn't until 2:30pm. Now I have it on Wednesday with a bunch of other classes which is much better for my attendance potential.

I also realized that with my current grade in French, if I don't write the final exam AT ALL, I'll still pass the course (not by much, but I'd pass). Of course I will write so it's almost like bonus marks!

And then to end it all, I found out that my friends Angela and Matthew got engaged last night. It was their three year anniversary and the engagement isn't a surprise to anyone but it's still exciting. That makes five weddings for friends and family so far next year. We'll see how many I'm actually able to attend!

Weddings

This is the journalling for a scrapbook page I am doing. I'm participating in a "circle journal" style challenge where you do pages in everyone else's books and they all do one in yours. It's with the ladies at church and 15 of us are participating. The theme of this book is weddings, either what yours was or what you dream about having.

Here's what you need to know about me and weddings. I love weddings. I love going to weddings, I love being in weddings, I love everything about them. Since 1998 when my cousins and friends started getting married I have been to close to three dozen weddings. I have officially been part of the bridal party in four. I've been a junior bridesmaid, a candle lighter and a bridesmaid twice. Because of that I have lots of ideas of what I want for my wedding, but nothing very concrete. I used to think that I'd be married by 22 or 23 and back then I though that May would be a good month to be married in. May 5th specifically. Well, many May fifth's have come and gone and no wedding.

Back then I probably had a dress all picked out too but that changes over time. I'm not even sure what material I would want now. I know I want my rings to be yellow gold and for my engagement ring to have a round stone. My best friend Meredith will be my maid of honour and I like the idea of purple or yellow dresses for the bridesmaids but I'm not stuck on that. I don't love roses so I'll probably go with other flowers. I like the really bright bouquets that are in style right now. I definitely want to be married in a church, but I don't know which church. I know that I want my dad to walk me down the aisle and do the whole "who giveth this woman to be married to this man" thing, while I cry :P

I don't know what music I want or what style of reception. I like weddings that are a true reflection of the couple and since I don't know who the other half of my couple is...it's really hard to plan. I want the traditional things like candle lighting, registrar signing, speeches, slide shows, cake cutting and bouquet toss...but don't expect anything if you catch the bouquet. I've caught four. It doesn't work.

That said, if God brings the right man into my life and we end up eloping in Vegas so we can buy a house, that's good too but I'd prefer to share our special day with as many friends and family as possible. And if he doesn't, well, he knows best, so I'll just keep going to weddings and be happy for others while gathering ideas, just in case.

July Long Weekend Update

There. All it takes is one really busy long weekend to totally derail my new commitment to blogging. In brief (and sans pictures because I’d never get to it that way)

Friday, July 2nd my friends Sharlaine and James were married. James is from Ontario and they will be living there. There were a LOT of out of towners in for the wedding. Many of them attend the church I’ll be attending in Ontario so it was kind of a preview and “hey how are you, I’m moving in two months” kind of weekend for me. That set the mood for the whole weekend.

Wednesday after church a bunch of us went to Sharlaine’s dad’s house to visit. I got home around midnight but it was great to see everyone.

Thursday, July 1st was Canada Day. A group of us had made plans to spend the day at Hicks Lake and, despite the weather (we froze) we had fun. In the evening we split up. Those with kids went home to watch the fireworks and the rest of us stayed out at Harrison to see the display there.

Friday was the wedding. Absolutely beautiful and perfect. The weather was still overcast and a bit cool but at least no one was squinting for pictures :) The reception was full of speeches and slide shows and a few of us had a bit of a cry fest afterwards but it was really special.

Saturday I spent the day at the BerryBeat Festival. This was my eighth or ninth year volunteering and one of the smoothest we’ve had yet. Again it was really overcast which had pros and cons. On one hand we were COLD. On the other, it wasn’t nearly as exhausting as battling heat all weekend. Still, by the time I got home that evening (I left early because it was winding down) I was pretty tired. It was only 7:30 which I thought was too early to go to bed but I laid down anyways and fell right to sleep. I slept through till 7 the next morning. It was wonderful.

Sunday I went to church and then back to BerryBeat for the afternoon. Clean up after the festival went quickly and I was done by 6pm. From there I went out to a friends house where she was hosting a BBQ/bonfire for all the visitors.

So, busy weekend, lots of laughs and fun times. It was nice to be able to say “see you soon” instead of goodbye to everyone. Just think, less than two months and I’ll be living in Ontario full time! But before then, I have the summer in BC to enjoy :)

"Are you excited?"

I've noticed an interesting pattern among people who I am talking to about my impending move. A number of them have been asking "are you excited?", "are you looking forward to moving?". My response is always "Of course!" and yesterday I even pointed out, "If I wasn't excited or looking forward to it for some reason, I WOULDN'T GO!" I suppose they just need reassurance, or maybe they're recognizing how many good-byes I have in front of me that I haven't really acknowledged yet.

The thing is, this move is a CHOICE. I'm not being forced to go by work, or family or other circumstances. I am CHOSING to close up my life in BC (for the most part) and to pick up and move to Ontario. Chosing. I could CHOSE to NOT go at any time. Yes people would look at me funny but they look at me funny as it is :P

Yesterday I was at a wedding for friends who will be living in Ontario. (He's from there, she's from here). I had a mini cry sessions with the bridesmaids, one who lives here and one who lives in Saskatchewan (but is from BC). I was laughing (through my tears) because I'm going WITH the bride and groom (in that I'll be in the same province as them) and I'll be with many of the people who were in that room. But the tears were to acknowledge those who I (and the bridesmaid from SK) are/have left behind.

Truly, it is wonderful to know that I have so many friends here. I also have a lot of "friends" in Ontario that I'm excited to get to know better. So, "am I excited?" YOU BET! Because if I wasn't I wouldn't go.

Love in any Language

I think I need to add "weddings" as a tag on my blog. Saturday, September 13th I attended my fifth wedding ceremony of 2008. This was was for a family friend, Dan. While I was in highschool this family lived across the street. Their daughter Joanna was is year older than me, Dan is one year younger (between Seth and I) and their twin boys are the same age as Aaron. Us older kids used to walk to and from school together and Dan was like a fourth brother to me. He was always either at our place our we were at his.

In July 1998 Joanna got married (the summer after she graduated) and that started the season of weddings for me. Since then I have attended over two dozen weddings!

The unique thing about this wedding (and Joanna's ten years ago) was that the ceremony was entirely in Romanian. Two hours long and I didn't understand a word of it. BUT, it really didn't matter! Weddings are weddings. Sure I didn't follow word for word what was being said and I missed all the jokes but at the same time, I knew when they were reading scripture, when they were giving "life advice" and when the vows were being taken and I teared up. Not to mention that the music was amazing. The church choir sang a few numbers and a couple of other people shared songs. I didn't get the words but I understood the meaning and it was beautiful.

Seth and Robert and Seth's girlfriend Brittany came out for the weekend (Robert's girlfriend didn't want to skip school). It was just my family at the table for the reception and we had a wonderful time. The food at the reception was amazing and plentiful, which is the Romanian way.

It was nice to see this family again and to see Dan so happy. I love weddings. In any language :)