Caught Up

Happy Wednesday to all my readers!

I was excited to see that yesterday my blog had 19 pageviews, the highest day yet! Should I blog more about wedding stuff or what? ;)

Andrew and I went to the mall last night to get him a new cell phone because his died. How convenient. So he ended up getting a sweet Windows Phone and it really has the latest technology. And then we had some time to kill so I tried on some shoes (I am looking for some sweet heels to wear with my wedding dress. No luck, but it was still fun to look!) and we started looking at wedding bands for him (this is practical because you can't have a wedding without rings, right?) and of course the men's bands are by all the other shiny diamonds that only women would like. After looking in a few shops we had to head out and I just mentioned to Andrew about how nice it would be to have money set aside with no purpose but to just spend it frivolously on what we want. I think going to the mall reminded me of how I sometimes I struggle with not having everything I want or that I see others have. It would almost be easy to get depressed about it.

But as we talked, I realized that I was getting caught up in things that really do not matter. I was almost caught up in the lie that my life wasn't as great as everyone elses because I didn't have all of the cool gadgets or clothes or plans to go to neat places. It would be so easy to allow my self-worth to get wrapped up in how much money I have, what car I drive, how good I look etc.

But there's nothing like a little perspective to kick you in the butt and remind you how ridiculous you are being.

I was driving to work today and a song came on the radio that left me a little teary eyed. (This has happened a lot lately... I wonder if I am just more emotional in the morning or if it's because I listen to sappy country music in the mornings?). The song 'The Breath you Take' by George Strait (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHodOymqfss) really hit me between the eyes. The song talks about how life isn't about trying to win the rat race of life but about those special moments in life that really matter, like spending time with the ones you love or being there when your grandson is born.

It was from listening to this song that I realized how incredibly rich I truly am in this life. I have a great job to go to everyday with amazing coworkers, I live in a country where freedom is the norm, I have food in the cupboard, I have an amazingly supportive family who I know I can call on at anytime, I have a fiance who loves me and dotes on me all the time, I have a bright future ahead of me and I have a God who loves me and has my best interests at heart. This list makes me feel ashamed for ever feeling sorry for myself because I don't have the newest or latest gadget or amazing plans for this coming weekend.

I was having a bad day a few weeks back and so in an effort to bring myself back to reality I made a list of everything I am thankful for on my whiteboard here in the office. I have left this list up to constantly remind me for those moments when I get caught up in unimportant things again.

Am I the only one who feels like this from time to time? How do you deal with this feeling? What are you all thankful for? I would love to hear your feedback! Comment below!

Just some food for thought on a snowy day!

- C

Living in the Land of Weddings!

Andrew and I are getting married this summer. We are both very excited for our big day and to begin married life together. We have spent so many hours dreaming of our future together and what we might do or where we might live and such. Dreaming is the fun part, but sometimes it's easy to forget that you have to put a lot of work into one day (your wedding) before you get a chance to reach for those dreams!

One of the main things that surprises me about the reality of planning a wedding is that what I have decided on is really A LOT different than what I have been dreaming about for my wedding since I was a little girl. I think it's because every little girls idealizes their wedding day in their mind and then one day, when those 4 magic words come out of your man's mouth ('Will you marry me?' in case you couldn't figure out what I am talking about) reality sets in. And reality has a way of reminding you that the dress that you imagined yourself walking down the aisle costs way more than you thought or that dress does not look as good on you as you thought it would. Not that I am saying that the bride or groom needs to settle for less than what they want for their wedding, but just that reality sometimes has a way of changing your thinking. Rather than having flowers EVERYWHERE at your wedding, sometimes the idea of simple decor really begins to sound better and better when you realize what you dreamed sometimes isn't practical.

Besides the reality check, wedding planning has been mostly fun to this point and I look forward to things coming together more and more. I have to admit that not having my friends and family close by makes things difficult. I have found that I am doing a lot of planning on my own or with just Andrew and I. Despite that disappointment, being involved in the planning of our wedding is really exciting for me.

I think right now I am enjoying the fun things, pick our dresses, taste testing food, finding invitations, thinking about flowers and centrepieces, looking at wedding bands and the list goes on and on. I find myself scouring the internet for wedding blogs, advice and ideas. I find that I think about my wedding when I go to sleep at night and when I am in the shower. I find myself zoning out in the middle of conversations or in the middle of the work day to go and visit the Land of Weddings in my head!

Sometimes I have a hard time making decisions because I spend so much time in the Land of Weddings. For example, Andrew and I looked at over a hundred invitation samples together (not to mention the thousands that I looked at online in the last few months that he doesn't know about) and every time we would settle on an invitation I would change my mind and look for something else. I think it was after the 3rd time that I changed my mind that Andrew finally gave up and told me just to pick something.

I always told myself I would be a sensible bride and that I wouldn't let planning my wedding take over my life, which thankfully I have been able to keep at bay until this point, but no one warned me that along with a ring on my finger, engagement would mean that Bride Brain would set in. I find myself forgetting things more than usual, I find I lose my train of thought often, I get really opinionated about things that I never thought I would be opinionated about and that my excitement for our wedding would so overwhelm me. Some days I feel like our engagement is like being pregnant and just like a mother who is full term, I want to have the wedding here already!

Can you tell I am excited?

Another thing about planning weddings about which I WAS warned was everyone having an opinion on what you should or shouldn't do for your wedding. I swear I have never had so many people give me advice on anything in my life. Everyone has great ideas and tries to be so helpful. I never thought I would be concerned about making other people happy, but I find that I really do want to keep family and friends (whom I love very much and are very important to me)involved and happy. I have also discovered that this desire has a down fall because as with all areas of life, I cannot keep everyone happy all the time. So I am living in this constant flux of trying to plan a great wedding day that reflects both what Andrew and I want our day to be, but also to keep friends and family in the loop, involved and help them to know that I do value their opinions even if we don't decide to do what they suggest.

All in all, I have to admit that planning our wedding has been full of surprises. Some good, some not so good, but at the end of the day, I find joy in looking forward to the future and knowing that no matter what happens on the day that Andrew and I are married, that I am the luckiest girl in the world to be marrying Andrew and that I look forward to many, many years and adventures together as a couple.

Now THAT is something to be excited about!

- C

My Story

So,

As an introduction to my blog, I figure it might be a good idea to share a little about me and who I am and what makes me tick.

I grew up in a small farming town of about 3500 in Southwestern Ontario. I am the youngest of 5 children, I have 3 older brothers and 1 older sister, and am an Aunt 7 time over. I had a pretty normal childhood and teen years. I loved to hang out with friends, go to youth group and sing.

I attended College for Office Administration and then obtained my Ministerial Diploma from Bible College. During and after school I worked at my home church for 5 years starting out as a Summer Student and then doing book keeping and then moving to more administrative work and then working as the Administrative Pastor. I loved my church family and my co-workers and my job there was a very fulfilling experience for me.

Andrew and I met online through eHarmony while I was living at home and working at the church. Living three hours away from each other was difficult but we made it work by one of us traveling almost every weekend to visit the other. We both put a ton of kilometres on our cars during that time.

In the spring of last year I had the opportunity to apply and interview for a job at Compassion Canada and was lucky enough to be chosen to work for such an amazing organization. Taking this job required me to move 2 hours away from home, which also brought me 2 hours closer to Andrew. After much prayer and thinking I took the job and in May of 2010, I embarked on my very own grown up adventure in life. I got my first apartment, started my new job and found a new home church.

Thanksgiving of 2010 Andrew and I got engaged (our love story with be in a future post... stay tuned) and Andrew moved into his own apartment here in London in November.

I am loving having my fiance in the same city as me, I am loving working for an organization that changes so many lives (more about Compassion in another future post) and I am loving planning our wedding set for this coming summer.

Life is great and I am taking life as it comes. I always tease Andrew that unexpected surprises are just another adventure, and he always rolls his eyes at me. But I know that life is all about what you make it to be and I am determined to enjoy every stage of it!

That's me!

- C

P.S. Did you all have a good weekend? What is your way of handling unexpected surprises in your own life?