Carla + Life = ...

Just to make sure...

2010-11-16T22:49:00.001+11:00

...that you all know that my blog has moved:

http://carlaandalastairwilson.blogspot.com/

Please come and visit me there!

My blog is moving!

2010-07-20T20:35:00.002+10:00

This is what I should have done a few weeks ago... instead of people not being able to find my blog!

You can now find me at:

http://carlaandalastairwilson.blogspot.com/

Sleepover Party

2010-07-10T08:58:00.002+10:00

Mairead and Hamish came for a sleepover last night. Donna brought dinner, which was lovely, then I gave the kids a shower (Hamish couldn't believe that we don't have a bath!) - and they even cleaned the shower for me! :P It took them ages to go to sleep - we sat down here and listened to lots of giggling, thumping, etc, and got up several times to settle them down. I ended up having to sit in there with them (and nearly went to sleep myself!). So we woke up at 6am this morning (since they were sleeping in our room), and I brought them down to watch ABC Kids. Alastair isn't feeling great, so I'm being lovely and letting him sleep. :) It's 9am though... perhaps the kids want to jump on him... :)

No Sugar??

2010-07-06T13:09:00.002+10:00

Alastair and I are about to give up sugar.

And do more exercise.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

But I am good at procrastinating, and that can be tomorrow. For now, I shall settle down with a quilt, a movie, and a packet of mint slice biscuits. :P

Photos of our little house!

2010-07-03T09:26:00.010+10:00

I finally managed to get my act together and take some pictures!

So when you come to visit, you walk up these stairs...

... down the side of the house...
(although our house is actually on your right - this is looking back towards the road!)

...until you come to our back door.
(Please excuse the bag of rubbish at the door, it isn't usually there!)

* * *

From just inside the door, it looks like this:
(The bookshelf with the curtains is our pantry, since there isn't a real pantry).

Various angles of what we call "downstairs":

Through the doorway... to the left is the toilet, straight ahead is to Jim's house, and to the right are the stairs leading upstairs...

... up the stairs we go...

Looking back down the stairs:

At the top of the stairs, this greets you:

Looking into "upstairs". Alastair's computer and my sewing machine are side by side. :)

The bedroom end of "upstairs"

Through the lefthand doorway is our shower and basin. Oh, and we don't have a wardrobe - hence the rack for our clothes. :P

The view from one of the windows.

And another window. To the left of the telegraph pole you can see the lighthouse down at Wollongong. :)

And these are the kind of cupcakes we make at our house!

May 8 to June 8

2010-06-08T20:16:00.002+10:00

Where does time go?

We've been married for ten-and-a-half weeks now. In some ways it doesn't feel that long, and in some ways it feels much longer. Like, we're still in the same school term - and it's feeling like a long term. But then... I feel like we haven't had time to just go for drives on the weekend and enjoy each other's company properly. I don't know. It's just funny.

So, since I last posted, I've started working in a pharmacy (3 days a week), we've been to Canberra for the footy, we've paid an enormous amount of money (just like everyone else does, I spose!) to register the car, I've made a couple of skirts for my mum, we've got our professional wedding photos back, and I've had croup (I was SO sick!). There you go, a brief summary there.

Alastair and I seem to have had an over-abundance of challenges... questions... ideas... moral dilemmas... and that kind of thing, which have surfaced recently. It's really quite exhausting, but has caused us to do a lot of praying, reading, thinking and researching. It's good for us to face these things together and decide what we as a couple really believe.

Also, my friend Laura and her family (father and three brothers) need prayer - their mum passed away on Saturday night. Mrs. Edwards had had cancer for quite a number of years, and so they've had a while to get used to the idea... indeed, they've thought it was the end plenty of times. But I'm sure that doesn't make the finality of death any easier. She's gone home to be with Jesus, and she was looking forward to having no more pain.

On a happier note: Lauren is getting married THIS Saturday! We're flying to Brisbane on Friday night and it will be such an exciting time. I bought a new dress last Thursday night. Yay! :)

I really want to post some photos of our little house soon, too. But now I must wash up. :P

Out of the mouths of babes

2010-05-08T23:35:00.002+10:00

A conversation between Hamish and Alastair yesterday, prompted by Hamish cuddling the wooden toy lizard we gave him for Christmas... which has lost all its legs...

H: Look at my lizard!
A: He's got no legs! He's a snake now!
H: No, he's still a lizard.
A: Yes, he'll always be a lizard in his heart.
H: (all forlorn) But his heart is broken...
A: (laughing) What happened to his legs?
H: (looking around for inspiration) Um... he grew out of them.

:)

On being a mummy...

2010-05-07T13:42:00.002+10:00

Donna has gone away for a week, so Alastair and I are part of the team taking shifts to look after Mairead and Hamish. We've taken the first (and longest) shift - 5:30AM Wednesday to 5:30PM Friday. It is currently 1:45pm Friday. Just under 4 hours to go. :) They are going to their grandparents' house tonight and tomorrow night, then we're doing Sunday afternoon to Monday morning. Then the other grandparents are doing Monday night to Tuesday night (when Donna gets home). My goodness it's full on being a stand-in parent! I wouldn't say it's hard, but it is full on and very constant. Mairead is a fiesty almost-7-year-old, and Hamish is an adorable almost-3, (we're talking in the next couple of weeks for both of them), and they play well together... most of the time. Hamish is also toilet training - part time. Which means he's toilet training when he feels like it. :P Ohmygoodness - I am fully in awe of people who have toilet trained children now! It's such hard work! Yesterday afternoon he went through FOUR sets of undies in an hour... and STILL no wee in the potty!!! Grrr!!! And Mairead crawled into bed with us at 2:30 this morning - what is WITH that?!?!?! She wriggled, and hogged my pillow until I decided she was going back to her bed... carried her in and lay with her until she stopped crying and fell back asleep.... then stumbled back to my bed.

And now I'm sick with a bad cold. My nose is blocked but won't stop running, and I have a headache. But life goes on. :( Meaghan came down and helped me with stuff this morning which was lovely. Anyhow, the fourth load of washing has just finished... I'd better go and hang it out so the kids have something to wear over the weekend... especially Hamish, seeing as he wee'd in practically every pair of trousers he owns yesterday...

(Have I remembered everything, Alastair? Please comment if I haven't... xoxo)

Stuff...

2010-05-01T09:16:00.002+10:00

Whoever knew that becoming a couple in a legal capacity was such a long, time consuming, drawn out process! You can change your name at the ATO with just a phonecall, (no marriage certificate or anything), but to put your wife on your NRMA policies/greenslip/whatever, it takes about a dozen phonecalls and hours on hold waiting for "the next available operator". I've got my new driver's license... yesterday we went to Medicare to change my name and get new cards which have each other on them... and we opened a joint bank account. Man, it's all so complicated!

I started back teaching two weeks ago. Always after some time off, I think that teaching is too hard and that I can't do it anymore... but then I get there on the first day and remember that it's okay. :) It's good to be earning money again too.

Speaking of money - I've been working on our budget, and last payday we put it into practice. Yay... sort of. :P We're needing to be quite careful with our spending. I'm getting used to having to shop fortnightly (my mum shopped weekly), but also, I have to remember that I'm not doing the shopping for mum for a family of 5 anymore - I'm shopping for Alastair and I, and we don't need as much food as a family does. Nor do we have space for it. :P Buying two packets of frozen vegies for $6 just because they're on special may not be the greatest idea... because we can't get through them, and only have a little freezer! Yesterday I just went shopping, but when I got home and unpacked it, I couldn't shut the freezer door. I forgot that mum and dad have a chest freezer that the overflow goes into... :P

So lots of learning going on here.

Last weekend we went up to Gilgandra to visit Joel and Katherine for the long weekend. It was really nice (except for the bed!) and we had a great time. :)

Now Alastair is awake and he's made me a cup of tea. :) We're going to snuggle up and watch a movie. Later on, we're going to the footy - go Swans! What a way to spend a Saturday. :)

Oh my goodness

2010-04-15T12:13:00.003+10:00

We've had a lot of visitors, but today I have none. I'm sitting around in my pj's... organising my students for this next term... working on our budget... calling NRMA about contents insurance (wha da??)... sipping tea... and watching TV. It's kinda cool. :)

Okay. So I'm married now. My name is Carla Wilson.

2010-04-09T09:29:00.003+10:00

It's been a long time since I posted, and obviously a lot has happened! To see some photos of the wedding, (taken by our photographer), go here. Our wedding day was an amazingly beautiful day, and the best fun ever! More photos to come. :)

We went away on our honeymoon for 11 nights - 5 in Tasmania, and 6 in Melbourne. It was a nice time away. The first few days I had a horrendous headache, and slept quite a lot, but by the time we got to Melbourne I was feeling better and enjoyed everything more. :) We got back a week ago (the day before Good Friday), and spent the Easter weekend moving into our adorable little house. Which wasn't so adorable at first, but is really starting to feel like home now. :) Photos of that to come too.

Meaghan came down and stayed for the first three nights we were here too, which was just fantastic. She was such an enormous help, and I loved having her around. Joel and Katherine have been down, (since it's school holidays), and it's been lovely to catch up with them. I can't wait to have more visitors soon. :)

We have a few weekend trips coming up - out to Gilgandra at the end of April (to see Joel and Katherine), Canberra in May (to go to the footy), and Brisbane in June (for a dear friend's wedding)... busy busy busy, fun fun fun!

I've been chatting online with Megs while writing this post, and now she and Mum are on their way down to visit me! So I'd better get some stuff in order!

Nameless post...

2010-03-11T18:56:00.003+11:00

Another busy couple of weeks: house-hunting... two new students... a mattress delivery... gift-buying... final payments to photographer and florist... frantic copying out of several family favourite recipes... phoning a thousand shops to try and order more ribbon in the same colour as we've used before... tying bows for the church pews... thousands of other little emails and details... and a few days sick in bed thrown in too (still not feeling 100%). Almost everything is organised now - just the last little things that can't be done more than a week before.

Today I was reminded of how sinful our natures really are. Two couples that I know have been hit hard with the reality of this fact, when an affair took place between the husband of one and the wife of the other. I guess it's when the people we look up to fall into sin, that it hits us the hardest and shakes our very beings. They are the people we really expect more from - but why? Do we think that just because they are Christians, that they are somehow immune to the temptations of this world? And how am I any less immune to them? I'm not! And neither is Alastair. We trust that by the grace of God we will persevere in our marriage... but there are some definite boundaries that can be put into place... more thought required. :)

A photo you might like to see...

2010-02-22T11:36:00.002+11:00

My sunflower and me!

Wedding-ish things!

2010-02-22T11:11:00.007+11:00

I've been busy with lots of things lately... shhhh..... don't tell anyone... but aren't the place-cards lovely! :)

We had a lovely day for the kitchen tea on Saturday - it was a very pleasant afternoon with all the ladies! Mum and Meaghan did an excellent job planning it, and we had lots of help from one of my bridesmaids, Bek. Here are a few of the photos...

The Food

The Games

(See how many pegs you can fit in one hand)

(Wedding dresses out of toilet paper)

And yesterday we had the bridesmaids' dress fittings, which Donna is doing for me - and she has done SUCH a good job! The girls all look just gorgeous in them! :)

Everything seems to be falling into place quite nicely... :)

They say time flies when you're having fun

2010-02-17T20:03:00.002+11:00

Wow, we're more than halfway through February already!

Since I last posted, school has resumed - and so has my teaching. I have 21 students each week at this stage, and I'm quite enjoying teaching after the holidays. My bank account is enjoying it too. :) It's tough going for 7 weeks with no pay. :P

So lessons have been filling up my Mondays and Tuesdays, then work for Dad on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This Friday (in 2 days), will be my last time at FGYO... sad times. Though I'm looking forward to this new phase of my life, I'll miss orchestra and all those kids (and the few adults!) that I've worked with for so long. I'm starting to feel the ache of missing it already. :(

I've been getting bits and pieces of wedding stuff done during the week, and on weekends, too. The weeks are really going quickly though - only 4.5 weeks to go! We've made the placecards, and today Megs and I finished the Order of Service booklets - they are SO lovely! The colour of the bridesmaids dresses is woven into every part of the day, and I'm thrilled with how everything has turned out. :)

It's so lovely... a whole lot of people whom we couldn't manage to invite to the reception, are coming to the ceremony just to watch - because they love us! And some of them are travelling so far... I feel very blessed.

Another blessing, is that a friend of Alastair's (who is also a friend of mine, now) :) bought us an iron on the weekend... and it's PINK!!! :) I can't wait to use it!

Today I had another dress fitting - ohmygoodness!!!! It's just unbelievably lovely, and I can't WAIT to wear it!!! The ladies in the shop are so sweet, and have put sleeve things on it which look just beautiful and match perfectly. :)

On Saturday, my kitchen tea is happening! In order to keep it small enough to fit in our house, I had to only invite local friends - so if anyone from any distance is reading this, that's why you weren't invited! :( I would have loved to invite everyone, but alas! It was not to be. So anyhow, that should be a fun, girly afternoon, and I'm really looking forward to it. Alastair has his bucks afternoon (of cricket at the park, a BBQ dinner, and watching The Blues Brothers at his house) on the same day.

Then the next morning, Donna is going to do all the fittings for the girls' bridesmaids dresses - more excitement! And hopefully Alastair will get to talk to Joel and work out some MC stuff for the wedding too.

It's all happening! 31 sleeps left!

A bunch of stuff...

2010-01-28T22:07:00.003+11:00

I have been hugely busy lately, though to actually write about what I've been doing is proving difficult.

There have been lots of little fiddly things... like finding ribbon for the cars for the wedding... finding little cake bags for guests to take a piece of cake home in... the headache-producing job of rearranging my teaching timetable (par for the course at this time of year)... buying gifts for people helping at the wedding... sorting out more of the FGYO music library (it's about 98% done!)... cutting up the card and the paper and the ribbon and the whatever for the placecards... etc. It's all taken a lot of time and energy, but it really doesn't sound all that much OR all that interesting!

Meaghan arrived back from overseas on Saturday morning, and it was lovely to see her again. She's a little different to how I remembered her - now with dyed brown hair and a more confident air (ooh! that rhymes!), but it's good to be back together again. :) She brought me some cool presents from overseas, a lovely scarf and a pair of little slippers, amongst other little things. She brought Alastair a hideously grotesque-looking carved wooden man from Egypt - which they are both delighted with, especially considering that I will have to have it in MY house. :P

Oh, I had my first wedding dress fitting yesterday. It was great (and fits almost perfectly as it is!), although inside that dress it is dreadfully hot, so I'm hoping that God is kind and gives us a cool day for our wedding. :) My shoes are the part of my attire that I'm most excited about, I think - they look like shoes for a princess!

7 weeks on Saturday...

Random goings on...

2010-01-19T13:29:00.003+11:00

This morning I babysat my little friend Hamish, at Alastair's house (while he was at work). Hamish was so disappointed that Alastair wasn't here. He kept asking "where's Al?"... and when I told him that he was at work, he said hopefully "but Al will be home soon?" He's so cute. :) He talks to the dog, Matty, too... "watch me, Matty, I can climb up here all by myself!" as he climbed all over the brick barbecue in the back yard. A real little climber, this little guy is - always has been, apparently. The poor thing took a tumble and fell off though, scraping skin of his nose - I felt like SUCH a bad babysitter!!! He was very good and didn't cry much... we washed all the dirt off and joked about how he looked like Rudolph. :)

Yesterday, I started setting up a database for my students. Well, Alastair set it up, I'm really just doing data entry. :P Anyhow, I'm going to use the laptop at lessons and not have to carry folders around. Yay! :)

I have had two enormous quilts sitting around for a million years... which have only needed the binding sewn on. I'd done about half of one. Last night, while Alastair and I watched Episode 6 of Star Wars (aren't I good?) :P I got quite a bit done on it, so I'm hoping to finish that this afternoon, then I'll only have one to go. It's good to get some big jobs out of the way.

Jobs, yes, but not really wedding-related ones, unfortunately. I re-wrote my list of things to do for the wedding last week, and there were only 41 things on it. I thought that was okay... but I only got one thing crossed off! I'll have to put some concentrated effort in this week and next, given that I'll be back to teaching and everything after that.

Only 8.5 weeks/60 days to go! :)

Gradually getting there...

2010-01-13T21:17:00.002+11:00

It's been good during the last few weeks to get a few things crossed off the "Wedding To-Do List"... today I got a couple more done, getting our rings engraved and buying ribbon for the cars, (so that Dad can experiment and work out what the best way is before the big day).

I've also been frantically tidying up all the loose ends and helping FGYO to get up and running for the new year, so that I can leave with a clear conscience. :) This week has seen the last of filing of music for me, which is a relief. Today I helped two other members of the committee to organise everything to do with sending out 'start of year' letters (which tell members when their auditions are, when we start back, the overview of the year, etc), so I'm sure they'll be right with that next time. Now I just have to fix up the 'Information for Members' booklet (for the last time!), co-ordinate Audition Day, and help them for the first couple of rehearsals, and I'm done. I'll really miss FGYO... it's been such a big part of my life for so long, and I've really enjoyed it. I need to let go of it, as it's impractical to stay, but it will leave a bit of a hole. I'm just not good at change. Never have been. That said, I suppose that it will be nice to be free on Friday afternoons for once, and I'm sure God has other plans for me... :)

Last night, we met with our minister (Richard) again, and we talked more particulars about the wording for the ceremony. I've started to make the Order of Service - and I'd love it if it was all finalised soon so that I can get them folded and everything before school goes back. It would just be one big job that would be completely sorted and out of the way. Mum and Dad came to meet Richard too, and they like him, so that's all good. :)

Today is Mum and Dad's 31st wedding anniversary, and tomorrow is Mum's birthday - so I'm off to cook a birthday cake! :)

Busy, busy busy!

2010-01-07T12:57:00.003+11:00

On Saturday 2nd January, I witnessed my friend Liana have a baby! It was a wonderful experience... and I'm so thankful that she and her husband allowed me the privilege of being with them during the birth. I got to hold Maeve Esther only a few minutes after she was born, and then we went to visit the next afternoon too. She's beautiful, with lots and lots of black hair. :)

Christmas was lovely, but very busy, so we were glad to have a few days off after that. We didn't rest much though, having lots of wedding stuff to get done. Amongst lots of other things, we got the suits fitted for Alastair and the three groomsmen, we sorted out all the details of the Order of Service for the ceremony (now I just have to make the booklets), one of my bridesmaids, Bek, bought us a fridge and so we took delivery of that (she's so generous!), and we had a big Glen family get together on New Year's Day which was really lovely. Now we're watching what we eat so that we can fit into our wedding clothes! :P

On a side note, wedding ettiquette is so annoying! The thing that's bothering me the most now, is that one is not supposed to invite people to the kitchen tea that aren't invited to the wedding, because it's bad manners. :(

Tired out...

2009-12-22T14:56:00.002+11:00

So just a quick update: All my students passed their exams on Saturday, so that was a relief. Sunday was spent doing a whole lot of little things that needed to be done as well as church, and yesterday I got to be a mummy for a day, babysitting Mairead and Hamish from 8:30am til 5:30pm. Wow... it was full-on. Two more days of work til it's Christmas Eve (which will be a big day) followed by Christmas Day (which will be even bigger). I'm looking forward to a rest on Boxing Day.

An apology

2009-12-16T23:52:00.002+11:00

I wish to apologise for my post "Feeling down" on Monday. I shouldn't have posted that. :(

Sometimes life seems to get so complicated. It's good to know that God is in control of all the mess.

A bit of happy!

2009-12-16T17:15:00.009+11:00

Okay, I am happy again now, and thoroughly looking forward to Christmas!

Here's a little of what our last few weeks have held:

~ The beautiful wedding of some dear friends, Garth and Rebecca ~

...where these delightful little people were:

(I love the loving head-lock embrace)

* * * * *

~ A fun weekend of Christmas cooking at Donna's house ~

(Donna and I stayed up til midnight mixing, rolling and baking)

The next day we assembled...

and decorated ...

Until we ended up with this:

and a few mini gingerbread houses...

and indeed a whole town of gingerbread houses, trees, and reindeer!

Little cupcakes I made:

This is adorable Hamish trying to eat a candy cane bigger than his head...

And here he is again, dressed up as Snow White. These poor little guys with big sisters - Lachlan was the same...

* * * * *

Then we farewelled Meaghan, Michael and Jono at the airport as they left to go and spend Christmas in New York with Lachlan! I miss Meaghan...

So that's a bit of what we've been up to in photo form... beside that there's been the usual busy-ness, all the work (since Meaghan is away), my teaching (which has just finished for the year - yay!), I have my students' exams coming up on Saturday (and I'll be so glad when they're over!), we have a fundraiser trivia night at Alastair's church on Saturday night, and then it's the week before Christmas - I'm shamelessly excited! On Monday I'm looking after Mairead and Hamish so Donna can have a day on her own, and we're going to have lots of fun! I am so blessed. :)

Woohoo!

2009-12-10T23:14:00.000+11:00

Today, it's 100 days til our wedding! Yay!

Eeeeee!!!

2009-12-01T23:39:00.003+11:00

A friend of mine has said I can witness the birth of her baby sometime around the end of December/early January! I'm so excited! I've wanted to be present at a birth for years and years and years, and I will ever be grateful to this dear couple for allowing me to do so! (At least, that's what I'm saying now... ask me afterwards...) :)

On a wedding-y note... I'm putting our beautiful invitations in envelopes right now, and they'll be posted this week! Yay!

A question or two:

2009-11-20T09:30:00.003+11:00

As a married couple, will it always be that there are lots and lots of things that we agree on and a few things that we don't see eye to eye on yet, but will come to agree on in time? Is that the way marriage works?

Post 101

2009-11-14T15:01:00.002+11:00

God is good. Over the last three days, He has worked in and changed hearts and lives in an amazing way - it's nothing short of a miracle. Praise the Lord!

Alastair has gone to a LAN for a bucks' afternoon/evening for his best friend Garth, and I am at home doing things, slowly. Mum and I are going to start doing wedding invitations this afternoon too!

I had resolved to post at least once a week. Ha. :P

2009-11-02T09:50:00.002+11:00

It's been a different week this week... happily busy, and in hindsight, it seems to have gone fast. But while it was happening, it was slow and tedious. And it had a few low points too.

Amongst the good things were: finding rolls of cellophane for only $2 each for our bonboniere (or however you want to write/say that frustrating word), finding narrow ribbon (also for the b-things, and invitations) which exactly matches the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses, actually picking up said bridesmaids' dresses because they arrived at the shop this week (and they are at our house and they are absolutely beautiful and the girls will look stunning!), buying the invitation supplies and getting that sorted, going to the doctor and having her very pleased with my progress and weight gain (7kg since I met Alastair!), having my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever, picking up my wedding band (all re-sized and paid for!), making our Christmas card list and going to Koorong together to buy our cards, and having a very social day on Saturday and quiet-ish Sunday (well, part of Sunday).

The biggest not-so-great things were: having a big misunderstanding with Alastair on Wednesday night over the phone (which is all fixed up now), and a lot of friction between Mum and I over the "secret" parts of the wedding preparations (which is not all fixed up). Sure, I won't be letting Alastair see me in my dress before the wedding - and he doesn't want to either, but I have no worries about people knowing the colour scheme or anything like that. So the disagreements we have are not much fun.

Anyhow, that's about it for now...

6 weeks flies by!

2009-10-23T22:18:00.005+11:00

Wow, I knew it had been a while - but 6 weeks!?!? A little while ago I realised that I needed to get a lot of wedding stuff thought about during the school holidays, because Term 4 is always enormous with students' exams, Christmas/end-of year stuff, etc, then Christmas comes, and since some places shut from Christmas til halfway through January (and then it will be 8 weeks til the wedding) I really needed to get a few things definitely booked. :) So I spent a lot of time doing that sort of stuff. Actually, since so much has been going on, I think I'll update in point-form:

I helped at Alastair's church fete and made a billion sausage sandwiches.
I performed as part of the Fisher's Ghost Youth Orchestra at our Bowral concert.
Alastair, Donna and I went to a Sons of Korah concert - they are AWESOME!
Mum had an operation on one of her parathyroid glands. And she broke her hearing aid. :P
We got my engagement ring repaired - a corner chipped off one of the clasps.
Alastair and I did the Spring Cycle in Sydney with his Uncle Jonathan. 40km - North Sydney to Olympic Park. Woo - go me! (I was sore afterwards!)
Lachlan came back from the US for two weeks and competed in the Southern Highlands International Piano Competition - he came 6th out of 18 or so people. :)
I made a billion phone calls to bridal hair and make-up people, had trials, and booked two ladies in!
I ordered my wedding shoes online - it took two goes, but I have them now, and they're sooo pretty!
We attended my friend Ann's wedding. She married Mark, my friend Bek's brother. :)
I helped out at a school holiday fun day run by Alastair's church - I got the pre-schoolers. Wow, I was tired after that. :)
I met with a florist, booked her in, and paid a deposit. :)
Alastair and I spent an afternoon making a list of all the stuff in my glory boxes, so we know what we have and what we don't have.
I bought all the vases and candle holders for the table decorations for the wedding. And spent hours picking/soaking/scraping off all the price stickers. :P
I made an album with the pictures from our engagment photo shoot by Bethany (she's an amazing photographer).

Alastair and I took Donna to see U2 3D at the IMAX in Darling Harbour - they are both obsessed with U2. :) I fell asleep in it. :P
Alastair and I went to Melbourne with a family from Alastair's church (Scott, Kerryn and their gorgeous kids Ben and Emily), so that Scott and Alastair could do the Around the Bay in a Day ride - 210km! It was a fun weekend... I love the Queen Victoria Markets! My dear fiance has spent the rest of the week there, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow!
Meaghan did her A.Mus exam - and passed! We are so proud of her!

This week, Term 4 started with a vengeance - it's Friday night, and I've only got half the things crossed off my to-do list this week! Before I finish though, just a quick note to my almost-sister-in-law Carly: of course I don't mind if you comment on my blog! :) (But that game in Canberra was miserable. :P )

Btw, this is my 99th post. I think that's cool. :)

Oh, and we're under five months til the wedding now. That is also cool. :)

More time being sick...

2009-09-10T00:35:00.003+10:00

I have spent the last 10 days feeling very sick, sore and sorry for myself, and even landed myself in hospital for a night with an acute case of tonsilitis during that time. Not fun.

And it means that I have lost more time being sick, and I have a stack of stuff to catch up on.

Before I got sick last Monday 31st August, I was feeling fine. My student recital the day before went off without a hitch, and I really got great pleasure seeing a lot of my kids perform... many of the little ones for the first time ever.

Last Sunday was Father's Day, and my 25th birthday. I still wasn't feeling 100%, so we just had a fairly quiet day. I felt very loved though, and will hopefully upload a photo or two soon.

Dragging myself through these low times is hard work. Today I felt like a human being again, which was great, so I started working out all this budgeting stuff for our wedding... but of course budgeting often brings with it a sober realisation and a dull thud in the tummy as the reality of saving every penny really sinks in. Weddings really are very expensive things, and so now I'm looking at ways of cutting costs.

And I'm very tired, so I'm heading to bed.

Ho hum...

2009-08-27T17:47:00.002+10:00

I am uninspired to write a decent blog post.

This week has been a bit long and a bit weird and I miss Alastair a lot... and I'm all indecisive about bridesmaids' dress colours/style, flowers, and cake ideas.....

In which Carla updates her blog only 3 days after her last post!

2009-08-22T15:41:00.000+10:00

I'm back into the world of blogging - look at me: less than a week since I last posted! :)

This weekend has been pleasant. Since Alastair and I got engaged, I think we've only had one relatively quiet weekend, so we decided that this weekend, we were going to say 'no' to everyone and everything... and it's been hard! The only thing we really couldn't say no to, was seeing Lachlan off at the airport - at 6:30am yesterday. :P

From there though, we came straight down to Wollongong, and had a quiet morning at Alastair's place... just resting. Then we decided to go and look at beds (since we'll eventually need to buy one :P) ... so we drove to Warrawong where all the big shops are that sell beds. Our shopping expedition lasted about... um... maybe half an hour or so, because we were both too tired to be bothered. So we came home.

Alastair had a ride booked with Smoz for 3:30pm, so I was pleased that (with some gentle encouragement) he decided to keep that appointment. :) I spent an hour with Kerryn chatting over cups of tea, and that was really good. After the ride though, Alastair was even more exhausted, so he rested while I made dinner, and then after we washed up he went to bed. It was about 8:30pm and I was a little surprised... I made a cup of tea and we talked for a little while, but then he went to sleep. Poor boy.

I got my stuff together and went back around to Smorrie and Kerryn's to stay the night (Donna had family staying), and went straight to bed too (they're not night-owls), which was great, as I actually got a decent sleep. :) I woke at 6:15am and soon after that, Ben (5) and Emily (2) came and jumped on the bed... Emmie snuggled down with me for a while though, and that made my morning. :) Chatted for a little while with Smoz and Kerryn, then came back to Alastair's place, let myself in, and woke him up - he'd had a good long sleep, hey! :)

Over breakfast, we had a good chat about finances, diet, exercise and other things - all things that we've been wanting to talk about but haven't had a decent amount of time to tackle... so that was reassuring for both of us, and we ARE on the same wave-length afterall. :)

Two loads of washing later, we put the bikes in the car, drove down to Fairy Meadow, and rode from there up to Bulli and back, along the bike-path. It is SUCH a glorious day - practically Spring weather - and it was lovely to have the time to do that. At the cafe at Bulli, we got chocolate paddle-pops, then rode back, jumped in the car, and raced home to watch the Swans (most likely) get thrashed (A-man will kill me for saying that!) by the Magpies. So I thought I would update my blog, have a shower, get the washing in, and stuff like that.

This weekend has been a blessing; a good recharge of the batteries I think - last week, things were beginning to look a bit tough, but it's okay now. :)

Right now, I am very happy. I feel like I could burst with all the love I have inside me - that I've received, and to give. God is good. :)

For goodness sake: it's 3:30am?!?!?!

2009-08-20T03:45:00.003+10:00

I'm awake and I shouldn't be. But I've been coming down with a cold for the last couple of days, so I went to bed at 5:30pm last night, and now that I've woken up, I can't sleep any more. I lay there trying for an hour, but alas, my nose is completely blocked and sleep just won't come. It's very sad, actually, because I'm quite tired....

However, I'm going to be time-efficient, and update my blog. :P

Our enormous weekend (as mentioned in my last post) was just that: enormous. Which is probably why Alastair and I are both sick. :(

Alastair came up on Friday night, and we went to visit some of my friends for dessert, as they haven't had much chance to spend time with and get to know Alastair. It was lovely to see them and catch up - and they cooked really yummy individual sticky date puddings for everyone! When we got back, we watched a funny movie with Mum and Dad, and went to bed late. :P

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and down at the bike track early to meet my friend Bethany, so that she could do some engagement photos for us! It was lots of fun, and B got creative, enjoying the fact that neither of us mind being in front of the lens. :P Here's a sneak peek at a few of them: Engagement Photos!

From there, we rushed over to Woodbine McDonalds where we met up with Katherine and Joel, Mum, Megs, and Bek. We girls and mum (those three are my bridesmaids) went over to the bridal shop nearby, and I showed them the wedding dress I like. Or rather, the wedding dress I love. :) And I think we've pretty much decided that it's the one. Yay! :) Then we all went out to Gledswood Homestead, where we met Alastair and Joel, Dad, and Marelle (A and J's mum), as they were all set up and decorated for a wedding, and they said we could have a look to see what ours could look like. It was absolutely b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l, and everyone liked it very much. :)

And then we parted company. Sad times. :( hehehe :) Dad went home to mow the lawns, Alastair and Joel took their mum out for lunch, and the rest of us went bridesmaid dress shopping. I had mixed feelings about it, knowing that I'd seen a dress that Megs and I liked, but also realising that the three girls are all different shapes. We went to the shop, put the dresses on, and voila! They looked good on all three, and they all liked them! We even all agreed on the colour! Hooray! :) We went and found some lunch and talked about it, then went quickly to three other bridal shops nearby to check that they didn't have anything better, and then made our decision. It felt soooo good, and I was very pleased with our productive day! :)

Mum and Megs went home from there, as they had Lachlan's birthday get together to prepare for, and Bek dropped Katherine and I at Olympic Stadium where we met Alastair and Joel, and together we watched the Swans lose by only 5 points to... I forget which team. Oops. I'm such a bad footy fanatic. :P It was late by the time we got home, and we were very tired... which meant that we weren't disturbed by Lachlan and his friends watching movies until 4am like Megs was...

Sunday morning we went to my church, and I got to play with Lachlan for the first time in over a year. It was lovely... except his 11 weeks here have flown by, and it was his last service before going back to the States. :(

After church, Alastair and I caught up with my friend Ann and her fiance Mark for coffee, which was lovely, and we swapped wedding planning drama stories. :P Alastair hadn't met them before, but he and Mark got on really well, so I was pleased. :)

We went back to my house and sorted out some wedding dramas for half the afternoon, then went down to Wollongong for evening church down there, which was good. Kerryn and Smorrie's 2-year-old Emily knows who I am and apparently when they say they're going to church now, she says "Carla?" :) How cute! They were sitting in front of us during the service, and Emmie called out "Car-laa", and Smorrie handed her over for a cuddle... she's adorable. :) After church we went out for dinner with Meg, Tim, and Mini-Meegs, and it was good to catch up with them.

After all that, it was no wonder that Alastair woke up sick on Monday morning, and couldn't go to work. I was glad I didn't have to teach until the afternoon, so I got to spend the morning looking after him. :)

Since then, I think I've caught what he had though. I guess that's what happens when you share the love. :P Yesterday I got all overwhelmed about a lot of things and cried myself silly, which I think didn't help my general state of well-being, as I was so tired out I just went to bed. And now here I am with this silly dilemma on my hands of not being able to sleep, but my eyes are so tired and sore and my nose is all blocked. :(

Later on today, we have a funeral to go to down in Shellharbour - dear Mrs. Powell unexpectedly went to heaven last Friday. Sad for all of us, but no doubt a relief for her, as she had struggled in the past with cancer and ill health.

There you have it... my week. There's always something major going on at the moment... like Lachy leaves on Saturday morning....... :(

Wow, it's been nearly a month...

2009-08-13T08:58:00.005+10:00

My goodness... I knew it had been a long time, but I didn't realise just how long! Our weekends have been enormous, and our weekdays filled with trying to stay afloat with all the usual things... So in an effort to catch up on a billion and one things that has happened, this is going to be a rambly, newsy post without much direction - cos that's the way I think and it makes it easier. :P

The weekend after I last wrote, Alastair and I went up to Coffs Harbour, so stay with some of his closest friends... Richard and Suzanne are lovely lovely people and their children are gorgeous. :) I feel blessed to count them among my friends now - and add to that: Richard is going to marry us. :) I think that's really special. So anyway, we went up there so that I could meet these people that Alastair kept telling me about - and I certainly wasn't disappointed. They made me feel so welcome, and we spent the weekend sharing over cups of tea, doing a jigsaw (750 piece, with 5 extra pieces and no edges at all!), resting, fishing (ew!), cuddles with the little ones, a movie at the quaint Sawtell cinema, lunch by the beach, and other fun things. It was truly a blessing to get away for a bit of a break.

During that next week, I tried on wedding dresses for the first time! Oh. My. Goodness. How awesome is it, to put a dress on, look in the mirror, and go "Wow. I look like a real bride." It was amazing, and I really like the ladies in a shop only 15mins away. We did look further away, but I have a really good feeling about this place in Leumeah. :) Mum and Megs came with me the first time, and I took Dad and Lachlan back another time to see if they liked the two dresses that I liked... and this weekend, it's worked out that I can get the opinions of my other two bridesmaids - yay! It's an amazing feeling to be in a wedding dress... kind of makes it all real.

The next Saturday was Dad's birthday, and we had a family picnic out at Warragamba. It was just lovely... the six of us having a barbecue and just hanging out together, in a way we haven't been able to very much. So we had marshmallow throwing competitions, kicked the footy (and Alastair split his pants! hehehe...), ate birthday cake, and just generally enjoyed our time together. It was nice and relaxed, and a very special time. I love my family. :) The next day we got up early and drove to Canberra with Ashley and Carly, because the Swans were playing Melbourne (Carly's team)... it got to a maximum of about 6 degrees and it was miserable and rainy and yucky. But at least I was with my wonderful fiance - that makes anything worthwhile. :)

The last week in July for me was full of trying to get 14 students enrolled for AMEB flute exams... filling out all the forms, getting fees from parents (which is still happening... grrr), organising a student recital as performance opportunity for them, as well as all the normal teaching and stuff that fills my life. Like being the best fiancee I can possibly be. :)

So then we hit August running... it started with me driving down to Donna's after orchestra on the Friday, and we had a 5th and 2nd birthday party (brother and sister) to go to the next day. It was fun... and even had a jumping castle! Do you know how long it has been since I got to be a kid on a jumping castle?? Too long. Liana handed me her 18month old son, and said "There you go Carla, an excuse to get on!" hehehehehe - yay! So I got on... and when all the kids got off to play Pass the Parcel, I stayed on... and did some flips and just generally got rid of some energy. :P That afternoon we drove up to my home. Alastair took my Dad to the footy (which he REALLY enjoyed, of course!) and Megs, Lachy and I went to an ABO concert (Alastair's mum is the receptionist, and had given us three free tickets in the dress circle!). It was a good night... except that when we got home late, Alastair and I had to spend time sorting out a little problem we had with each other on the way in........ such is life. :) My church the next morning, Alastair's in the evening... this is why we are so tired - trying to live two lives!

Last week was full with a whole bunch of general stuff, sorting out a heap of music for orchestra, getting up to date with all the filing here for Dad, contacting students' parents over and over... and stuff. On the weekend, we went down to Minnamurra for our "Growing Together In Christian Marriage" course, which ran from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. There were six young engaged couples, and the older couple who were running it, and we were staying in a retreat house... it was just the right number of people to be cosy, and we all got on well. Alastair and I got on particularly well with Stephen and Rochelle... and we've purposed to keep in contact and become better friends. :) What was really cool, was that it's the first time we've met new people as a couple. Up until now, all the "meeting" has been us meeting each other's friends... which has to happen, but the lopsidedness can be tiring. But we were both starting from scratch, and that was a pleasant experience. We learned a LOT... I came away feeling rather overwhelmed, but as we've "unpacked" bits and pieces and talked more about it, I'm feeling better. :) It was excellent (run by Anglicare), and I would highly recommend it. It's given us lots of food for thought, and skills to help our marriage run smoothly - at least, that's the idea. :)

This week has been the usual... which I won't go over again :P and we're gearing up for another enormous weekend. Today is Lachlan's 20th birthday, so that's exciting! Alastair and Michael are coming for our family dinner, cos they're part of the family. :) Yesterday I took Lachy out for coffee, and it was great to spend time with him... I've been busy, and he's been quite sick a lot of the time, so it was nice to chat about all sorts of things, do some shopping, and then I gave him a driving lesson in the manual... which he found rather exhausting... hehe. :) I do love my brother very much, and will miss him again when he flies back to the States on Saturday week......

So... that about brings you up to date. I will endeavour to not leave it as long between posts from now on! I'll have a heap to write about after this weekend anyway, I'm sure.....

I love you all very much! (But especially my gorgeous fiance! xo)

A few days break...

2009-07-15T11:19:00.003+10:00

I am finally feeling better! Not 100%, but much better than I have in 5 weeks, so that is great.

I have been in Wollongong since Saturday night, and it's been just lovely. So it started with me ending up being allowed to go out to dinner with Alastair's family, and I ate an enormous, delicious burrito. :) That was the start of a nice break. We went to Alastair's place first, and then I drove down to Donna's (and she's had me four nights in a row!). When I came back here the next morning, we just had a gorgeously lazy Sunday morning - our first, I think, since we've known each other! In the afternoon, Alastair went for a ride with Smorrie, and I spent a couple of hours with Kerryn (Smorrie's wife) and getting to know her - she's lovely. :) Alastair preached at the evening church service, and we came home and watched a movie... I think. I can't really remember... I was so tired I just kept falling asleep!

The next day when I came back from Donna's, I made my fiance's lunch and took him to work. :) When I came back to the house, I went to bed, and slept until lunchtime! Then I went down to open a joint account with Alastair during his lunchbreak, and got some things for dinner on the way home. I cooked a chocolate cake, and picked Alastair up from work, and together we made chicken schnitzel with vegies for dinner with Peter. It was actually pretty good. :)

Tuesday... pretty much the same thing - slept here til lunchtime, then got up and did stuff... tidying up, washing, and cooked an apple pie. :) Late in the afternoon, Joel and Katherine arrived to stay for a few days... it was pretty weird letting them in for the first time! I picked Alastair up from work and we had dinner here all together (spaghetti bolognaise which Peter cooked), and then we went down to Donna's for a game and dessert. I was so tired...

This morning Donna dropped me back here, and I walked in to a cozy lounge room with pyjama-clad people lounging around and the heater on... it was nice. :) Dropped Alastair to work, and then Joel and Kat went off to get Kat's tooth fixed, which has been giving her grief. They just got back, so now I'm going to be sociable!

I've had a lovely, restful few days... going home tonight after Alastair finishes work...

So guess what...

2009-07-10T16:03:00.002+10:00

Yeah... that's right... I'm still sick. :(

And I'm not allowed to go to the footy tomorrow. :(

And I'm not allowed to go out for dinner with all Alastair's family tomorrow night. :( And they're going to the best mexican restaurant ever, too. :( :( :(

What an exciting weekend!

2009-07-06T16:40:00.002+10:00

I'm still sick and trying to take it easy, but I had a WONDERFUL weekend! So until I can actually get my thoughts sorted out and in order enough to blog (because I really, REALLY want to!), this can tide you over:

Carla and Alastair's Engagement Party!

My friend Bethany is an amazing photographer, and I'm so thankful to her for all the gorgeous pictures she's taken!

So guess what...

2009-07-01T13:31:00.003+10:00

I'm still sick. :(

And now Lachlan has glandular fever. :(

Our family is battling four major, life-changing events all at once. The last few weeks have been hard.

The FGYO concert on Saturday went well, and Lachlan played well... he had to push himself through it though, as he was already going downhill quickly. I had pushed too hard... at the end I knocked a pot of flowers off the stage, and just cried and cried and cried. Our weekends have been so full and busy, I can't wait for life to settle down.

Yesterday marked my last day of teaching for Term 2. Public schools have another week, but the two private schools I teach at break a week early, so I gave the others an early mark too. That means I'll have 3 weeks off, which will be such a blessing. Last night after teaching, I went down to Wollongong, because it was my last opportunity before our engagement party. I got progressively sicker throughout the evening, and by about 10pm, Alastair suggested he take me up to the hospital. I couldn't breathe properly, couldn't stop coughing and crying and stuff...... but eventually settled down, and he took me down to Donna's for the night.

I was all worried about taking sickness into her house, but she was still up when we arrived, and was her usual sweet self welcoming me in. I got ready for bed, and Alastair tucked me in, made sure I had tissues and a drink and medicine and everything - he took such good care of me. I am so blessed. This morning I was feeling much better after a good sleep, and Donna took me back to Alastair's place. He went to work, and I pottered around doing some ironing and straightening up the place for him and his dad. I even picked some flowers and put them on the table. :)

Coming back home was weird. Mum has to be beside Lachlan most of the time to make sure that he keeps his fluids up, so that he doesn't have to be admitted to hospital to have them intraveneously (sp??) :P and Dad has an ear-ache. Megs is really holding the place together as Mum calls off all Lachlan's planned concerts, as well as looking after him, as well as planning the party on Saturday. It's a subdued kind of crazy here at the moment... weird.

So many people just have such BIG things going on in their lives... I'm praying for Donna, and for Danielle and Lauren... as well as us. There must be more stuff going on in other friends' lives too... but keeping up with everyone has become a physical imposibility lately.... ahh dear...

Urgh...

2009-06-26T23:45:00.002+10:00

I am STILL sick. :( I just can't shake the last of this cold... it's *very* frustrating.

Perhaps if I actually stopped for a minute and let my body rest, it might get over it more quickly... but there's too much to do.......

Awe and wonder...

2009-06-22T11:38:00.007+10:00

The last time I was at the Kiama blowhole, was on Saturday 24th January... one of my stand-in brothers and I went for a drive and ended up down there. We stood at opposite sides of the lookout, watching the powerful waves crash against the rocks, each absorbed in our own thoughts... him pondering forbidden romance, and me the lack of romance in my life. I stood there, and basically felt as lonely as I've ever felt.... and I wished that I was there with someone who loved me - Michael does, but only in a fraternal sense, thankfully. :) As I stood there, tears came to my eyes... and I said a quiet prayer.

Yesterday I was there again... but this time with my fiance standing close behind me, as we gazed from the lookout and marvelled at God's creation. The wonder of God's love is amazing and so undeserved... He has planned out the intricate design of our relationship, in ways that we can never understand.

Our weekend was big and busy... minding the boys on Saturday was oodles of fun! In the middle of the morning, we took them out to the shopping centre for donuts, battling car seats, prams, trollies and rain, which I found enormously amusing. Then when we were eating lunch, Keegan (3) sneezed three times into his hand then said "yucky" as he wiped it all over the table. That was gross, but Alastair's reaction of shock had me laughing uncontrollably for several minutes. Both boys were up from their sleeps when their Dad arrived home, and I think we did pretty well for ourselves. :) In the evening we went up to Sydney for the footy - the Swans played the Magpies, and Katherine and Joel came down from Gil for it. We picked them up from Kat's parents' place in Campbelltown, and had a hilarious trip in... Joel played his ukelele in the front seat with Alastair on kazoo and U2 on the iPod. :) Ashley and Carly met us in there, so the three Wilson boys were there with girlfriend, fiancee and wife, on a triple date! Hehe :) The game ended up disappointing, but we're good sports. It was a late night, then we got up and went in to Sydney again to meet Alastair's mum and Michael, Uncle Jonathan and Esme, and Nan for brunch. Nan was up from Benalla and I hadn't met her, and Jonathan and Esme were off to Italy/France for 6 weeks, so we caught up with them all and it was pleasant. Once back home, my family wanted to go down to Kiama, so off we all went and had a lovely afternoon (even though I was feeling *sick* :P), then we came home and watched movies. I'm tired, but happy. :)

A couple of pictures from yesterday......

I am still sick...

2009-06-16T22:40:00.003+10:00

I took my first "sick day" for the year today... I cancelled 17 students. I hate having to do that sort of thing and muck so many people around, but it just had to be that way today - this morning when I woke up I felt disgusting. I ended up sleeping until lunchtime, and feel a bit better now... I will be glad when I'm better!

Megs is sick too... we don't even have half a voice between us. Mum found it most amusing when she overheard a coversation between the two of us... I couldn't see the funny side, myself. It's actually highly annoying. :P

The only other thing of interest is that Mum and I did a lot of planning for our engagement party today, so it's good that that's underway. I need to sort out two things asap: colour scheme, and cake.

Oh, there's one other thing. On Sunday after church, Alastair was talking to Gav and Liana, and ended up offering for us to mind their little boys all day on Saturday..... hehe! What fun! Keegan (3) and Ronan (1) are gorgeous kids and lots of fun... I'm sure we'll be kept on our toes!

I am sick...

2009-06-14T14:19:00.002+10:00

Well, I've been sick. I spent all of Thursday and most of Friday in bed with a fever and terribly sore throat... now though, I feel fine - but my voice has gone! I sound like a boy. :(

In other news, Alastair and I are thoroughly enjoying our first weekend where we haven't been rushing from one place to the next the whole time. Yesterday all my family were out, so we leisurely made our way around a few reception venues, and found the loooooooovliest one! It's even available on the 20th March... so then we took Mum and Dad out there for a look later in the day. I hope they decide to book it!

Last night Donna, Alastair and I had a really good chat. Some of the things were topics I'd not thought much about before, others I'd put a lot of thought into over the years, but they were new concepts for Donna. Overall, it was very thought-provoking, and we are truly "iron sharpening iron".

This morning I went to Alastair's church, and afterwards there was a Church Council meeting, so I came back to his house to have a cup of tea with Peter. We had a good time - he'd brought in an old organ, and as soon as I finished playing Amazing Grace, it started smoking. (hehe) :) But it settled down, and he got out a big pile of old music books with popular old songs in them and I played through them... I think he enjoyed a bit of music in the house. Then Alastair and Tim wanted to watch some silly TV show, so I watched Peter make truffles, then we rolled them into balls together. It was good, we got to have a nice chat.

It's FREEZING cold!!! I have a scarf AND a jacket on. INSIDE! :P

Anyhow, I might go and see what all the boys are up to now... ciao! xo

Wedding plans...

2009-06-10T00:22:00.004+10:00

Wedding plans seem to be coming along, which is exciting! We have a date, we have a church, we have a minister, we have a bridal party, we have a reception venue (which may or may not be definite)... one thing I would love to have sorted out is the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses - I feel that when that's organised, and we have a theme/colour to go with, that other things will be able to be planned more simply...

Today was a big day - I left to teach early this morning and only just got home. It was worth it though. One of my precious bridesmaids is moving house, so I went to help her clean and tidy after I finished teaching at 6.30pm. We got a lot done but ended up pretty tired. Tomorrow morning Megs and I have to be on an early train in order to meet Nanna in the city - she wants to buy us each an outfit for the engagement party! How lovely is that??? :)

In related news, I am just overwhelmed at how very generous everyone is being towards Alastair and I - it's such a blessing, and has completely blown me away.

Another post? So soon?

2009-06-06T17:31:00.003+10:00

Hello everybody! And yes, I'm back in the land of living - two blog posts in three days! :)

It's the long weekend - yay! Yesterday after orchestra, I drove down to Wollongong. Spent the evening with Alastair at his place, then stayed the night at Donna's.

I love staying there... this morning I was up doing play-dough with Hamish at around 7am - don't get that at home. :) Donna is so welcoming, and she's such a blessing in my life. I wish I could do something for her to show how much I love and appreciate her and everything she's done/is doing for Alastair and I...

I got back up to the Wilsons' at 8am, and Alastair, Tim and I got ready for a bike-ride. (Tim is the boarder that Alastair and his Dad have living with them). There was a youth-leaders brunch (or some such) happening at a cafe in North Wollongong, and since Alastair really enjoys cycling and is doing a 210km ride in October, I've been asking if we can go for a ride. Well... this wasn't exactly what I had in mind... I thought nice and flat, like Camden.... no way. :P It was up and down and all over the place. PLUS, I was using Meags' bike which Alastair is minding while she's in India, and you have to ride it with the special shoes that click onto the pedals. Scary stuff. I fell off the bike three times in the street last night when I was practicing, and another three times this morning! How embarrassment. It's not that I can't RIDE a bike, cos I CAN!!! But these stupid shoes! Man!!! I fell off while I was stopped, cos I had my feet locked in to the pedals... and usually to the amusement of those around us. :P Alastair and Tim were really good with me - they went slowly and didn't laugh at my disembarking habits. We got to the cafe, and had brunch with Meg and Jess... they were the only ones who turned up. Mini-Meegs was supposed to come, but of course she came up with some lame excuse for not getting there - like the alarm didn't go off. :P (MM, if you're reading this, I do love you.) :) I had awesome banana bread. On the ride home, I didn't fall off - not once! When we got home, I was SOOOO stiff and sore. My bum just kills - those bike seats aren't made for boney bums. Once home, we headed straight off to a church working-bee, where we cleaned, sneezed, threw out, sneezed, painted, sneezed, tidied, sneezed, hung curtains, sneezed, etc, all afternoon. And so I am now even more sore. :P But it was a good day, and we got a lot done. We're going to eat dinner now, and then hopefully watch a movie... we'll see. I'm bound to fall asleep in it, and I have to drive home tonight as I'm on music at church tomorrow! Fun times!

Oh, and you know what? I love Alastair more with each passing day!

A week to a view...

2009-06-05T01:09:00.011+10:00

Oh my goodness, it's been a week since I posted and so much has happened! I'm on the go all the time these days, and when I do have a spare minute, I have to prioritise and use it for more important things... not that keeping up with you isn't important...... I hope you know what I mean.

I've loved being busy, but I'm really looking forward to next weekend (13th/14th) when we don't have ANYthing on... yet. :P This weekend is shaping up to be as busy as ever - I'm sure it'll be lots of fun though. :)

Since I blogged... on Friday night Alastair picked me up from orchestra and we chilled here... then on Saturday we left early and went down to Canberra for a Swans game. Joel and Katherine came down from Gilgandra for it too - it was SO good to see Katherine again! I'd post a link to Alastair's blog here because it has a photo of him and I with Joel and Kat, but there's a really hideous photo on there of me which is ewwy, so I'm not linking it. :P We came back via the Axelbys', and it was just lovely to spend time with them - and be able to introduce Alastair to them! Their home is always open to us, and I love visiting them... was so pleased when my fiance came away feeling like he'd just made 12 new friends. :) He even managed to cuddle Michael...

Photo courtesy of Rachael

On Sunday morning, Alastair got up early and went for a ride with Jonathan. We all got up early too, and went in with stand-in brothers Michael and Jono to meet Lachlan who was arriving home from the US! It was a loooooong wait, but so good to see him again. (Of course, I cried). We went in to Circular Quay and had brunch there all together... it had been too long. Alastair dropped in on his way back down to Wollongong in the afternoon, so my brother was finally able to meet my fiance in person. :) Lachlan brought us a beautiful hand-blown, hand-painted vase as an engagement present... he carried it all the way from PA in his hand-luggage. :)

At Circular Quay...

It's so hard to get a picture with everyone being normal with these guys!

A random pose Michael had the brainwave of and I made everyone do. :)

Btw, Alastair gets on so well with all my family. I really love that. :)

So this week we've been working hard of course with all the usual things... work and teaching and organising and all the rest. I've got an hard-back A4 book with lined pages and on the front I've written "Engagement/Wedding Stuff"... it's a place where Alastair and I can write anything we like... from guest lists to gift lists... and other things... like random stuff we're thinking about that we don't want to forget, just so we don't have to have a whole bunch of random papers lying around that will get lost. All our engagement invitations are out, and I've had 29 'yes' RSVP's already, so that's exciting! Nanna is taking me shopping in the city next week for a dress to wear to the 'party', which is really lovely of her.

Besides all that, I've been down to Wollongong and stayed the night at Donna's twice already this week - and tomorrow will make thrice! On Monday I went down to watch the church netball game, and afterwards Alastair and I had a bit of 'us' time... we don't often get it! So that was lovely - we went to a little Italian place in Figtree before I drove to Donna's and slept like a log. Tuesday I taught all day and Bek came for dinner afterwards, which was great - life has changed for both of us in the last little while, and we don't get a lot of time for that sort of thing. She's also one of my bridesmaids, so she, Megs and I discussed colours for a little while. Still undecided. :P

I was in Wollongong last night too, as Dale and Cass (there's a gorgeous photo of her baby on there!) invited us for dinner. Alastair went to school with Dale - so they go back a loooooong way, as they're both old. :) I felt amazingly comfortable with them, and their kids, Callum and Annabelle are just gorgeous! Call me clucky, but man! I'm in my element down there with all the babies and toddlers that Alastair's friends have! :) I got to give Annie her bottle after tea and she went to sleep and snored in my lap. :) Back to Donna's for the night, and I came home this morning to have a day of doing normal stuff, sorting through boxes of wool/spinning supplies, making FGYO flyers/programmes/etc for our next concert, and working for Dad. Tonight two of my youngest students made their debut at their school solo night, so I went an accompanied them on piano. They did so well and I was so proud of them. :) When I got back, there was still a heap of work to do with Dad, and being tired, I didn't handle it brilliantly. The highlight of tonight was, of course, talking to Alastair before he went to bed ages ago.... and since then I've been finishing work off, replying to emails, and stuff like that.

Tomorrow I'm off down to Donna's for the night again, as I'm helping out at a working bee on Saturday morning at Alastair's church..... and there are lots of other things planned for the rest of the weekend too.... but for now, BED! I need to get there ASAP! I hope I haven't forgotten anything I should've written! Anyhow... right now I am feeling very blessed. God is good to me.

Love you all! xo

A couple more photos, just cos they're there... :)

Lachlan and I outside the Opera House looking over the harbour...

Daddy and his girls...

A photo...

2009-05-27T11:03:00.004+10:00

Wow... life is hurtling along at a crazily wonderful break-neck pace! I love love love it, but I'm so tired! And it means that I don't have a huge amount of time to blog about everything... maybe soon... Here's a photo of us at my very first football game on Sunday - I had a spectacular time!!!

Guess what!!!

2009-05-24T09:16:00.002+10:00

Today I'm going to the footy for the first time ever! :)

Yesterday, it was Alastair's mum's birthday, and we went with her and her husband to see the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra at Angel Place. It was so good! Then we went and found Haigh's Chocolate Shop... and well... yeah. :) I am totally in love with their Peppermint Truffle Bars! It was also lovely to catch up with Bek afterwards in the QVB... and she agreed to be one of my bridesmaids!

Alright... I'm off. I'll post properly again soon. xo

Last Sunday we went on a picnic...

2009-05-20T15:42:00.006+10:00

On Sunday we went for a picnic with some of the people from Alastair's church... in honour of Mick and Clare's youngest daughter Ingrid's first birthday. I love Alastair's church family, and there are lots of babies and toddlers to cuddle! It was a lovely day, and here are a few pictures...

* * * * *

Kerryn with her daughter Emily, and me with Donna and Dave's son Hamish. He's absolutely adorable, and I love him to bits. :)

Me with Hamish... he usually smiles....

Alastair and I with Hamish and his sister Mairead. Gorgeous kids. I stay with them if I need to stay in Wollongong overnight, and they've become like extra family. :)

Across the duckpond...

Just thought you might like to know...

2009-05-20T14:29:00.003+10:00

...that getting nothing done drives me CRAZY!

Today, I have done a lot of trying to keep people happy, and it's been really hard work. Everything is a bit overwhelming today...

That's all.

Oh, one more thing actually - and on a happier note: I have an appetite and I've gained weight! It's so awesome to feel hungry... I today realised that I haven't felt like this for years! Last year when going through some stress and health difficulties, I went down to 59kg, and have been hovering around the 61kg til now... but this morning I weighed myself, and was 63kg - even before breakfast! I am just loving being hungry.... am so thankful to God.

The latest...

2009-05-19T21:00:00.002+10:00

I'm so tired... I promise I will post an update soon.

But for now, this will have to do: Alastair's blog

xoxo

A picture says a thousand words...

2009-05-17T00:37:00.000+10:00

smiles

2009-05-16T12:55:00.001+10:00

It's a lovely windy day, and I am enormously blessed.

Oopsy!

2009-05-14T23:54:00.002+10:00

Oh dear... I just got home from Alastair's place, and tucked into three-quarters of a block of Cadbury Peppermint Chocolate......

...my mouth stings. :(

On another note, we had a lovely lovely evening with a "more experienced" couple from Alastair's church - they're coming up for 50 years of marriage! Fae and Kevin are like grandparents to Alastair... just gorgeous... so sweet and encouraging. I was blessed by spending time with them tonight. :)

A week to catch up on...

2009-05-14T08:28:00.003+10:00

Sorry it's been a while since I updated... there's been so much going on, and I haven't had time before now to actually sit down and post. As it is, I don't have very long, but I will do my best! :) Cos I really do love blogging... sometimes words just don't come though. We'll see.

Last week (the week before Mother's Day) Alastair and I didn't see each other much. I drove down on Monday morning (since I had a free morning) because he was sick, and consequently home from work. Awww. :) I could only stay for an hour or so, because I had students after lunch, but it was good - I was able to look after him and get him some breakfast. And his headache went away too. :)

We didn't visit during the week, because Alastair's church had a nightly one hour silent prayer thing going on, which was from 8-9pm. I wasn't allowed to go, because apparently I'd have been a distraction. :P Which is cool, I can handle that. :) But since Friday was the last night of it, I went down and met Alastair at the church when it finished, to surprise him. :) Then we went back to his house with a couple of his friends and talked for a while.

On Saturday, our Big Weekend started. Alastair did a 30km bike ride, then came up at about 10.30am... then we went for a picnic to the beautiful Macarthur Park, so that Alastair could meet Mrs. Bieman (my adopted grandmother) and Kate, another dear friend. It was just a glorious day, and we had a great time. Late in the afternoon, Alastair took me down to Wollongong, and we had dinner at Kerryn and Smorrie's place... it was so lovely. Their kids, Ben and Emily, are adorable, and we had a ball hanging out with all of them. Then Alastair drove me down to Donna's house... she's now my adopted big sister - I stay with her if I need to when I go down to Wollongong. :) It's so lovely and comfortable at Donna's... I feel so welcome, and she just makes me feel at home... her kids, Mairead and Hamish are also adorable, and they wake me up early in the morning to play with soft toys in Mairead's bed. :) I am soooo blessed by Alastair's friends - they've really welcomed me and made me feel so loved. Hamish is just starting to talk, and he calls me Darla. :P

Anyhow, back on track! Alastair picked me up just after 7am on Mother's Day (I was ready!), and we drove up here for breakfast with my family... then on to Manly for lunch with my grandparents on my mum's side, and her brother and his family. It was really nice watching Alastair get on so well with them all. We had Yum Cha for lunch (which isn't my favourite!), and afterwards, Megs, Alastair and I took my little cousins, Grace and Luci, to the new Cold Rock ice creamery... oh! It was so much fun doing that with the little girls... :) I have loved seeing Alastair relating to all these little people too.... he's so good at it. :)

Anyhow, side-tracked with gorgeously cute kids again! :P Um... during the afternoon we went to Warringah Mall and wandered around there.... looking in jewellery shops.... :) and then we drove to Crows Nest to have dinner with Alastair's mum and her husband, Ashley and Carly (one of his brothers and his girlfriend). They're all lovely people, and I got on well with them - I think. :P I did with his mum, anyway. :) We had Mexican for dinner... and it was very very yummy. We got home quite late... and were very tired.

This week, Alastair has been sick - I think he's run down from all the late nights and busy-ness... poor boy. But he's getting better now. Yesterday after I taught in the morning, I went into the city to be moral support for a friend at a doctor's appointment. Then we went shopping and it was nice. :) I went down to Wollongong after that, and Alastair cooked dinner for us and his Dad and Tim. (Tim boards with Alastair and his dad). Then we watched a movie together, and I drove home.......

Tonight, I'm going down again, but I won't stay late cos I'm really tired. Fae and Keven - an older couple from Alastair's church - have asked us over for dinner, which is really sweet. They're lovely people, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better.

Today, I have so many things I have to do - my list is a mile long! But that's okay... it'll happen.

I love falling in love. It makes me happy. :)

Flowers... and other thoughts...

2009-05-06T15:26:00.005+10:00

It's a week today since Alastair brought me flowers for the first time ever, and they're still going strong. When I sit quietly at the computer on my own late at night, their scent drifts over to me and I start to smile as I think about the wonderful man God has brought into my life.

The last few days have held a lot for us... love, pain, joy, stress, tears... but through it all, we are getting to know each other's hearts... and I just love what I see of his.

We're becoming one in heart.

Love is in the air...

2009-05-03T00:38:00.005+10:00

Just a few pictures you might like a squiz at... apparently a picture paints a thousand words. Which is good, because at the moment, I don't have enough words to express how I feel. These four will have to do: I am in love.

These are selfies we took up at the Mount Keira lookout today... a bit gross and wind-blown, but they give you a bit of an idea... :)

I feel sick.

2009-04-30T19:21:00.002+10:00

This is not fun. I'm all sniffly and achey...

...maybe I have that mexican pig flu.

Aren't they beautiful?

2009-04-30T08:18:00.002+10:00

Alastair came for dinner at our house last night. I went out to greet him, and he came up the driveway with something behind his back... a big bouquet of beautiful flowers!

In my whole life, I have been given flowers maybe two or three times.... once by my Dad, and a couple of times by a dear friend. Never by a young man though!

I think I'm pretty much in love. And it's NOT just the flowers that made me come to that conclusion! In fact, if Alastair gave me a handful of weeds I'd love him just as much.

We prayed together again last night. When he was going, we stood out in the freezing cold 6 degree weather, and prayed... for lots of things - for our relationship, for our families, for our friends, for our witness to those around us. I quietly broke down while praying for my brother, and Alastair took over the rest of my prayer and finished it off for me.

I don't know what I've done to deserve such a wonderful man. Well, I know that I've done absolutely nothing! But still.... Alastair's love blows me away..... and God's love does even more.

A what?

2009-04-30T01:03:00.002+10:00

What on earth is a PUK code? It sounds like something to do with vomiting.

A photo...

2009-04-29T09:54:00.002+10:00

Here's a picture Mum took this morning... it's me, talking on the phone to dear Mr. Guess Who. :) I just happened to be still in my pyjamas, pulling the sheets off my bed, and putting away clothes too.

Oopsy!

2009-04-28T07:04:00.001+10:00

I have been told that my last post sounds like an engagement announcement... it's not. :P

I don't know what to say!

2009-04-27T21:14:00.003+10:00

God has blessed me so much.

I had a bunch of chores to do in the holidays... and I didn't get one of them done! But God gave me a gift that is much more precious than any jobs I had to do...

Imagine: a man wants to spend to the rest of his life.... with me. I still can't really believe it.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him - a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I love and appreciate so so so many things about Alastair... but the one that comes to mind as I write tonight is his leading in the area of praying together. When he suggests it (as he did three times on Saturday) it just blesses me so much...

I will be eternally grateful to the Lord... this could NOT have happened by chance.

I love you all! xo

Me???

2009-04-26T01:52:00.005+10:00

Well... guess what! I am officially "in a relationship" with Alastair Wilson... we are getting to know each other in order to decide whether it's God's will for us to marry. We both really hope it is! :)

Since you can't all have the pleasure of meeting him in person just yet, I'm even going to be really brave and post a photo. :) I was going to write our story for you to read, but it's way too long, and it doesn't even make complete sense any more. :P So... next time I see you, I'll tell you in person. Promise. :)

Lost for words...

2009-04-23T01:40:00.004+10:00

I am learning so many things... I guess the most important thing, is that I'm learning more about how to trust God... completely.

How is it, that one can fall in love, so completely and utterly, in just a week? It don't know how... but I have discovered that it is possible. It is this situation in which I happen to find myself.

I am so totally undeserving... why would this amazing guy pick ME to like - when there are so many other girls all over the place? I can't believe we are so comfortable together, after only a week, and that my parents are so happy with how things are progressing. Right now I want nothing more than to talk to him on the phone... to hear his deep, quiet voice which is so soothing and makes time stand still. To hear him say that he loves the sound of my laugh, when so many others find it annoying. To sit together listening to the rain on the roof..... basking in the knowledge of God's goodness and His gift of love. And so many other things... words don't do it justice.

Some doctrinal differences have come up in the last 24 hours. I found that really hard to deal with, and ended up in tears on the phone last night. As far as I can tell though, they're not what I would term 'salvation' issues. I'm trying to keep a level head and not worry too much... at this point though, I'm a weeny bit terrified that the heaven I've lived in this last week will be taken from me. I have never been loved by a man like this, and it's the most beautiful feeling. I feel like... dare I say... a princess. We have prayed together about these issues, and want to work through them.... it's just such an annoying little thorn in the flesh, when everything is so gorgeous.

I would truly covet your prayers. It's wonderfully exciting to watch all this unfold, and it's very clear to both of us that God has His hands on our lives and our story. This week has been amazing, and I've been up until 2am or 3am most nights... but I'm getting tired now.

God... are you testing me?

2009-04-22T01:49:00.003+10:00

Tonight I was going to start my story... but it's long, and I was tired.

Maybe it's just as well.... something has happened... and we really need to work through it before going any further.

Right this minute, it sucks to be me, and I would certainly covet your prayers.

I'm so happy!

2009-04-20T12:53:00.005+10:00

Ask me how to describe this whole beautiful thing
Well, if I were a bell I'd go ding dong, ding dong ding!

They are the last two lines of a song from the musical Guys and Dolls...

I think I have officially gone crazy.

I promise I'll tell you the whole story soon....... :)

But the greatest of these is... love.

2009-04-20T03:08:00.001+10:00

I cannot believe that I am me, Carla, same as I always have been... and that this is really happening to me.....

Wow...

2009-04-17T11:44:00.002+10:00

Wow.

That's all I needed to say.

Actually. I'd also like to say that God is so amazing*... He truly does have all the details planned out just right*... and He has a sense of humour* too.

*full story at a later date :)

xoxoxox to all my beautiful friends...

Okay, okay, okay!

2009-04-16T00:39:00.005+10:00

... I will share what has made today particularly weird....

I got a message from a guy that I randomly met at the wedding I attended on the weekend... asking me out for dinner... lovely Christian guy... but... wow???

This wouldn't have been the way I'd have planned it.....

God...???

Hmm...

2009-04-14T23:24:00.003+10:00

Something a little weird... strange... exciting... - and all those sorts of words - happened today. Which I can't really talk about at the moment. But if you think of it, please keep me in your prayers. I would certainly covet them.

Just thought you might like to know...

2009-04-14T13:10:00.003+10:00

It is a rather unfortunate situation when one knows too much.

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T20:39:00.024+10:00

Easter was a little different for me this year... I think I'll tell the story in pictures this time.

On Good Friday, I played for our church service, before taking off with Alicea and Louise for our trip out to Dubbo/Gilgandra for Katherine's wedding. Here we are in the car:

The normally 4.5 - 5 hour trip took us 7 hours... this is why:

The cabin in which we stayed for two nights looked like this inside:

I was blessed to be able to catch up with Jemima and Bede for a few hours! They've just moved to Dubbo, and don't have long until their 2nd baby is born... and they live in a beautiful old house:

Katherine and Joel's wedding was on Saturday. I did Alicea's hair:

Dear old Mr. M. was there too:

It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful church, and during the signing of the register a quartet sang The Lord Bless You and Keep You from the balcony:

And it rained:

Here's a funny sign we saw in a Gilgandra service station window:

Alicea, Louise and I just before the reception:

The cake... they're both musicians - how awesome is it?!?!

Joel played his ukulele and sang a song he wrote for Katherine as part of his speech - it was so sweet:

FGYO girls:

Me, riding the hippo sculpture outside the venue:

What some girls get up to when they go away... having my hair coloured at midnight:

On our way home, we stopped at a reserve for lunch. My tomboyishness (which I hadn't seen for a while) came out in full force... up a tree:

... and swinging from the rafters of the picnic shelter:

Alicea and I... just so you can see my new brown hair:

And that's it! Today I've had a nice relaxing day... :)

Off I go...

2009-04-09T23:34:00.007+10:00

Just to let you know that I'll be away for the weekend... I'm travelling up to Dubbo with two friends for another friend's wedding - the four of us were pretty close in our bygone orchestra days... all had our 21sts within a few weeks of each other and stuff. So I guess it'll be special to see Katherine and Joel get married, and great to spend time with Alicea and Louise too - we rarely get to now, as our lives have taken different courses...

Today was a weird day... I flapped around and shopped for winter pyjamas and an outfit to wear to the wedding this morning - and I only had the hour Meaghan was having her lesson to do so. Oh, and I had to find underwear too... joy of joys - I do not love underwear shopping. :P Why does it all seem to wear out at once... does anybody else's do that?? Anyhow, for the wedding, I found a skirt - the only one in the shop - reduced from $69.95 to $19.95... and it fit me perfectly! PTL! Then I bought a black top, which unbeknownst to me was 30% off - so I got the whole outfit for just over $30. I was very pleased, as I love a good bargain... and it turned out to be the high point of my day. :)

Then I rushed to get all sorts of things done, (mostly orchestra-related)... and drove to Burwood for my lesson. While in the area, I had to pick up some music for camp next week from our conductor, and drop some off so that he could have it couriered back to the place we hired it from. But I forgot my half of the deal. I was SO cross and annoyed with myself. :( Then I had my lesson (which was good), and rushed home to rush through a whole lot of work before Mum and Dad left for bible study... man, I just feel like this term has been a permanent rush. :P After doing the dishes and folding the washing, I practised the piano for tomorrow's service and Sunday night's service, since I'm rostered on to play then... then I rushed to get all my stuff packed to go away for two nights.

Something else weird happened today too, but I still haven't worked out what I think about it, so I can't talk about it here... it was weird enough to make me cry. :(

So many feelings, thoughts and emotions... I don't want to go away... I don't want to watch yet another friend enter the state of marital bliss while I am left alone... I don't want to watch three particular friends go through the heartache they're going through.... I want it to be Monday already. I just need a big hug.

I'm freeeeeeeeee!

2009-04-08T18:20:00.002+10:00

Today, I taught my last lesson for Term 1, 2009 - the 227th one! Wow.

I'm so excited to have two and a half weeks without teaching!

Friday Fun. Saturday Stress... and Smiles!

2009-04-04T23:54:00.005+11:00

The last two days have held lots of mixed emotions. I totally thought I was getting better at handling said emotions, but alas! I am not. :P

Yesterday was a little bit stressful in general, but after orchestra three friends came over and we had an absolute ball! We ate beef stroganoff, watched Bend It Like Beckam, and played on (used? I don't know what the proper lingo is!) one of our stand-in brother's Nintendo Wii - it was hilarious! Until Meaghan smashed a glass water bottle off the table and onto the slate. Actually, that was just as hilarious, but then maturity reigned and we cleaned it all up beautifully. Two of our friends went home just after midnight (in the middle of a huge storm!), and the other stayed over... and we stayed up talking til after 2am.....

...which was great, but not such a good idea...

Because this morning at 10am, (or yesterday morning rather, by the time this gets posted), we (Megs, biggest-stand-in-bro, and myself) were playing at a friend's wedding. I won't go into ALL the details... suffice to say, the disorganisation and miscommunication made it a less-than-pleasant experience, and we finished up at 4:30pm, after being there since 9am, feeling cranky, used, and quite sad.

However, after that was all over, things picked up. :) Megs and I went into the city with three friends (a married couple and a girl the same age as me - LOVELY people), to watch our biggest-stand-in-brother do a gig with one of the bands he plays with. It was great! Well... you know. I loved seeing all the boys get into it and look like they were enjoying it, and we met other friends in there and showed our support together and that was really nice. But it was VERY loud. :P That's cool though, I can get over that. :) Afterwards, 15 of us went and had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Leichhardt - they put us out the back at a big long table because there were so many of us! And it was SO nice! It was so relaxed, and we all just chilled out, and got to know new friends and old friends even better... I really enjoyed it - and it was just such a great way to end the day. Then we walked up the street and got gelatos.... I had two flavours: choc-mint and boysenberry....ooooooh! It was so good! And another lovely thing was that I didn't have to drive home. I am feeling blessed tonight - I know so many wonderful people, and I just keep meeting more! One girl I met, Michelle - she is so so SO lovely... I liked her immediately. I've met her briefly a couple of times, but getting to spend quality time with her was great... I think she's a kindred spirit. (She even has blonde moments like me!) :)

And now, I'm SOOO tired! I'm going to duck off to bed - and turn my clock BACK an hour because daylight saving finishes, yay! :) Another big day tomorrow, with church in the morning, and an Easter hymn service all afternoon... but I'm sure it'll be nice. I love being involved with nice people, and that's what tomorrow will be. :)

A wedding rehearsal...

2009-04-03T11:04:00.003+11:00

My sister, one of my stand-in brothers and I are playing for a friend's wedding on Saturday morning, and last night, we had the wedding rehearsal. It was long. It was boring. It was extremely disorganised. And I ended up wanting to deck the minister. Thankfully I had two people there who know me very well, who at regular intervals kept telling me not to say anything, and not to do anything. :P It was SO annoying though... we'd been there since just after 6.30pm, and we had our little run-through just us musos, then the girls arrived at 7.30pm and did their walking up the aisle thing a few times (amidst much skipping, dancing and laughing), and THEN, the guys and the minister arrived at 8pm, and they sat around and talked for AGES, so we were just hanging around waiting and waiting (and we were tired and hadn't had any dinner) and then the minister got stroppy with us for fiddling around practising our parts when he was talking. I was really cross. Anyhow, we made it through and got to leave at 9pm... and we made our way down to Subway. It was nice to hang out for a little while and de-stress.

It's been a while!

2009-04-01T22:31:00.004+11:00

I just wrote an introduction to this long-overdue post... and then deleted it.

It really was quite pathetic.

So in an effort to get back on track... in the last nearly-two-weeks since I last updated, some of the things I have done are:

taught 42 flute lessons to gorgeous girlie individuals... and it wasn't as hard as it used to be! I think I can actually do this... :)
had an awesome evening with friends I don't know all that well, but with whom I can completely be myself - and they offered me honorary membership in their family! I particularly love the dad in that family - he is such good value. :)
attended a friend's engagement party - and felt again the feeling of still being alone when all my friends are getting married.
paid a phonebill (oh the joys of being a grown-up)
had too many late nights (more joys of being a grown-up)
booked overseas flights for myself, my sister, and my two stand-in brothers to go and visit my REAL brother at the end of the year! Countries we plan to visit are: USA, England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Egypt. (Am mildly scared about the Egypt bit, but I'm sure it will be okay...) :)
played in a great concert with the Fisher's Ghost Youth Orchestra... and even managed to play a piccolo solo [mostly] in tune!
watched the Training Orchestra - at the same concert - play their little hearts out so brilliantly, that my teacher's heart swelled with pride as I clapped and screamed and whooped after every piece they played :)
ached over a few friends who are going through really rough times... and felt torn as I struggled with wanting to be there for them with a listening ear and an everlasting hug, and needing to let them learn to trust the Lord for themselves.
played the piano at two church services... and even improvised around a few chords as background music before the service. Huge step for me to actually do that in public...
ate a whole block of Club Peppermint Chocolate.... and a whole block of Milky Bar... Mmmm.... I will get fat.
done two weeks worth of filing in two days... and a huge amount of ironing.

Of course, there were lots of other things that have happened and that I've done, but those are the things that come to mind as I glance through my diary. I hope to be more posty from now on! Tonight I am tired, and I'm missing my real brother. I want to talk to him. :( But on Sunday, it will be 8 weeks til he comes home! Yay! :)

Love you all!

Headspace... or lack thereof.

2009-03-20T22:09:00.002+11:00

I'm sorry about the depressive style of my recent posts... I'll do my best to change that! The rollercoaster of life is a bit up and down at the moment... and I just need some headspace to think and get my mind around things.

Hurting...

2009-03-19T23:15:00.001+11:00

I have hurting friends... and it hurts me that they're going through such turmoil and pain.

Tired...

2009-03-17T23:41:00.003+11:00

I'm physically and emotionally very tired. The physical tiredness is pleasant... I've worked hard with my students the last couple of days, and last night helped friends to clean the house they're moving out of. The emotional tiredness is different... I have a couple of needy friends, going through absolute turmoil, and I ache for them. So my heart is a little heavy tonight.

The weekend in review...

2009-03-15T17:26:00.004+11:00

So... nothing earth-shatteringly amazing has happened this weekend, but still, it has been pleasant. Well, mostly.

Friday was normal... shopping in the morning and orchestra in the afternoon. We split Training Orchestra up into sections to help them work on their own tricky bits. I took the woodwind section, and those girls were lots of fun. I enjoy that sort of thing.

Saturday... I slept in a bit and did a few things in the morning - not as much as I'd planned, but not to worry, I'll get over that. In the afternoon I went to a wedding! They invited some people along for the ceremony and afternoon tea - and I was one of those. It was really lovely to be able to be part of their special day, and to catch up with others I knew there. It was held in a vineyard at a horse stud, with the birds flying around and horses gallopping around the paddocks in the background! The rain held off (mostly!) and it was just really lovely. Except I felt again, as I always do, just how lonely it is to go to these celebrations on one's own. Starting yesterday, and over the next five weeks, I have three weddings and an engagment party to attend. I guess I'll get used to the feeling. In the evening, I talked on the phone to a friend for two hours. It was hard work.

And today... I played the piano at church for both services. Beforehand, I wasn't too worried about it, but during the FIRST song, a whole bunch of loose pages of music fell off the top and INTO the piano. Which caused significant drama and made me cross and nervous about the rest of the music. :( But in the afternoon, we had family over - Aunty Kriss, Uncle Matt and our gorgeous little cousins, Grace and Luci. :) We had a lovely time with them... took them for a walk down to the park and stuff... it was just really nice. Here's a picture of us...

I was going to put up a really cute photo of Luci too, but I can't make it work, and I'm too tired to fiddle with it for any longer...

After church tonight, I washed the car. And one of our stand-in brothers came over for a few hours... because, as he said, he hadn't been around in ages... hehe... like a whole week! :) So that was nice.

And now...... we're back into a week of work!

Hmm...

2009-03-12T19:42:00.002+11:00

The last two days have been largely unproductive for me. I wonder if that's okay sometimes...

Today I went to Koorong and the DFO at Homebush. As always, I could've spent much longer in both places, but I was operating with time-constraints (as always, too). I knew I didn't have a heap of time, so I decided to only go to my two favourite shops (Jacqui E and Portmans) in DFO, instead of meandering my way through them all. It's such a potluck there - sometimes I don't see one thing I like there! But today, to my delight, I found three lovely blouses - and much cheaper than they'd have been in the stores. :) At Koorong, I had a list, so it was easy. Actually, I had three lists - my own, my mum's, and Bek's. :) I'll have to go back sometime though... I love just browsing through there.

So that's all good. Work has been a bit of a pain in the backside the last two days... but we'll get there.

And that brings you up-to-date with me! xo

Happiness is...

2009-03-12T00:56:00.004+11:00

...discovering that two parts of our overseas trip are not going to be quite as expensive as we imagined! :)

(Btw, this WAS going to be Wednesday's post, but... well.... time got away from me tonight!)

I'm on my way to bed...

2009-03-10T22:44:00.003+11:00

But I just wanted to say: Today was Tuesday. Actually, today is still Tuesday. But for the first time this term on a Tuesday, I can actually say, "Today was a good day!" and it was! I'm tired, that's for sure... and I even had to teach double lessons and everything... but I still came out smiling! God is good to me.

A couple of things struck me as hilarious today:

My youngest student is Tiffany, aged 7. She has her lesson straight after school on Tuesdays, and she's a complete beginner. And she comes out with the most outrageous things I've ever heard. As far as I know, she leads a fairly dismal existance, living at two homes and never knowing whether her mum or her dad or her grandma is picking her up, and her big brothers pick on her (or so she tells me, anyhow...). But today, she told me that her mum makes her practice on the carpet, in case she drops her flute. I thought that was a good idea... but then she told me (in a very serious tone of voice) that she hates standing on the carpet because "my alley cat throws up all over it... you know... and that's because of my mum's bras". What the?!?!?! How weird is that?!?!?!
The other funny thing was teaching at the same school as a friend (actually, he's one of my stand-in brothers) was casual teaching at today. We had to greet each other as Mr. Dench and Miss Glen (except he got mixed up and called me Mrs. Glen!) :P so... it was a weirdly professional environment, but I thought it was a novelty and kinda fun all the same. He got to go ten-pin bowling while he was at work because he was supervising sport today! :)

Okay, so perhaps they're not as hilarious as I made out, and maybe you really had to be there. Sorry. :P And then I found $50...

An update on the last few days...

2009-03-09T23:25:00.005+11:00

Wow, life is continually full of ups and downs. I've written that before, I know. But... for some reason it never ceases to amaze me.

Another update in point form - I wish I would remember to update more regularly!

Friday: Shopping in the morning, and orchestra in the afternoon. I really, really enjoyed orchestra, for the first time in months. I wasn't worrying about minute details, and I had a ball helping out with training orchestra too. I was helping the three little boys in the percussion section... and by the time their rehearsal was finished, they were really getting it! :) A friend commented on my ease, and the beaming smile I had on. That was especially nice... for so long I haven't been the sort of person that people want to run into on a Friday afternoon, because I was always stressed about everything. One of my stand-in brothers came over in the evening. It was good fun.
Saturday: I slept in. I had a chat with my real brother on skype. I went shopping with a friend. A few things bothered/annoyed me during the afternoon. I spent the evening with some friends... I was one of three girls who went around to be with these newly-married friends for the evening, to show our love and support as they go through the miscarriage of their first baby. Even though there was an element of what had happened and stuff, it was a really special time together.
Sunday: Was a busy day... after one of the worst nights of sleep in history! Between church services I caught up on stuff and Meaghan and I visited some friends to find out where in Europe they would recommend visiting. That's right... we ar probably going to stop in Europe after seeing Lachlan at the end of the year! How cool is that?!?! We're also looking at a three-day stop in Egypt (of all places!)... which scares me slightly, but the others promise they'll protect me. :)
And now it's Monday - the teaching week has begun. It's so nice to not feel completely overwhelmed at the thought of the week... how my thinking has changed. :) It's Week 7 of an 11-week term... we're over halfway! A friend prayed tonight over dinner that we'd look at the work of the week ahead as a blessing, and as an opportunity from the Lord. That was an awesome thing for me to think about. In our particular line of work, we are in contact with SO many different people each day.... what an opportunity that is!

And so begins my Very Busy Tuesday.... I'm tired! I must get to bed before it actually BECOMES Tuesday!

Love you all!

Just thought you might like to know...

2009-03-05T23:31:00.002+11:00

I am feeling really sick tonight. :(

I can hear the wind...

2009-03-04T22:43:00.002+11:00

I love it when it's windy... it makes me want to run around and play like a child.

Well, usually... not when I'm feeling tired and sick and ready for bed. I do enjoy listening to the wind howl around the corners of the house while I'm snugly tucked up in bed though. :)

I got everything crossed off my To Do list today. It rarely happens, so that was a blessing.

Tuesday always ends up such a BIG day!!!

2009-03-03T23:12:00.006+11:00

Do I ever get on here and say anything without putting an "I'm tired" in there somewhere?

Well... that's a challenge for another day... cos tonight, I'm TIRED!!!

It's Week 6 of an eleven week term... we've hit halfway! :) I'm feeling much better about all my students... compared to what I was at the beginning of term, anyhow. Things are working out, we're working together and it's working well. :) I'm still getting used to "Miss, can I please...?" and stuff, but it's going okay.

Tonight I even stayed awake during bible study - and it wasn't an effort. :)

Hmmm... the last few days, since I blogged.... Sunday was nice. Megs had an SYO concert which Mum attended, so it was just Dad and I at church. Different, but somehow very cool... and I enjoyed being "Daddy's Little Girl" again. One of my stand-in brothers came for lunch, and he and Dad spent the afternoon together... Dad showed him how to sort out his finances and work out a budget. I pottered around doing ironing, cleaning up my messy desk, and all the other stuff I don't get done during the week, but overheard bits and pieces. My Dad is seriously the coolest guy I know, and I have so much respect for him. The three of us then got to have a good discussion about different issues... from moral issues in movies to recent events that have affected us and things (vague, I know, but I can't really say more than that here)... anyway, the afternoon was a blessing for us all, I think. And to make that Sunday even nicer, I was playing piano at church for both services, and the songs were ALL playable (by my standards!), so that was very cool.

Yesterday... Monday... a quiet morning followed by a busy afternoon of teaching, a good chat with a friend, and then a trip over to Burwood for a study on Augustine.... it was a bit over my head, but good nonetheless.

Tomorrow morning, I have my last student for the week. I love the feeling that 9:30 on a Tuesday morning brings... :)

I should go before I waffle on any further.... I just have so much stuff racing through my mind.....

Love you all! xo

Today I...

2009-02-28T23:47:00.003+11:00

... slept in (a bit - not excessively).

... washed the car.

... thought about things and over-analysed them.

... had a lovely shopping trip with a friend.

... had two (fairly major) blonde moments (in public).

... went for a peaceful walk along the bike-track with another friend.

... sent multiple text messages.

... watched a movie with a happy ending.

... made yummy toasted turkish bread sandwiches for a late tea.

... played pool (or snooker - whatever - don't know the difference).

... organised student stuff.

... practiced the songs for church tomorrow.

I think that's about it. It was a pleasant Saturday. But I'm a bit tired now. :)

I have a problem...

2009-02-27T22:45:00.000+11:00

I have a problem... I love too much.

Friday...

2009-02-27T22:27:00.003+11:00

I am seriously thankful to God that it's Friday. :)

I've had a really good week overall... but the last 24 hours have been a bit tough. So I'm looking forward to doing something different tomorrow... not quite sure exactly what yet, but it will be nice. :)

It's been a while...

2009-02-25T20:18:00.004+11:00

Wow... it's been nearly a week!

When I began blogging, I told myself that I wouldn't slacken off like everyone else seemed to. :P But oh well, it looks like it happens to everyone. :)

This last week has been very full, but I've coped much better than in recent times, and I'm really thankful to the Lord for that.

Since I've posted, some of the things that have transpired (nice word, huh? :P ) are:

I slept over at a friend's house on Friday night, and stayed up much too late. But it was all good fun - one long D&M really, so it's okay. :)
On Saturday afternoon I had a lovely long chat to my brother, and that was SO good. It had been too long. :)
And in the evening, Megs and I went to a movie with two dear friends. It was great. Well, actually, the movie wasn't. But the company was.
On Sunday, I didn't have to play at church. Either service. That was nice. :)
In the afternoon I caught up on some things on my never-ending To Do list. My close friends know how much I love crossing things off that list! :)
One of my stand-in brothers visited late on Sunday night... it was lovely and relaxed and we just chatted about lots of random things. As well as talking about serious things - like going to bed at a decent hour. :)
On Monday, I slept for half the day, just because I could. :)
I taught 21 flute lessons this week. Wow, I'm awesome. :P
Also this week, I had two more people (now known as the mothers of students #24 and #25) call wanting lessons for their daughters!
My week of teaching seemed easier - for the first time this year, I've felt 'in control' of the lessons I was teaching and what was going on. It's good to feel like The Teacher. :)
I've managed to get lots of normal, boring things (such as organising, vacuumming, dusting) done this week... which I have not been managing at all this year, so I'm feeling productive. :)

And...

Tomorrow I have a flute lesson with my new teacher. I've been loving my lessons with her so much! Maybe I will even get to catch up with a friend while I'm out... :)

While all this is good progress... I still ache inside for something....... and I'm tired now, so I'm going to bed. Love you all!

Just for fun...

2009-02-19T15:56:00.004+11:00

I should be working... but before I start, here's a laugh.... :)

Find out what you need. Go to Google and type your name in the exact phrase search window followed by the word 'needs'. Copy and paste the first ten search results that come up.

CARLA NEEDS:

1. Carla needs to pee (can you believe that was the first one???)

2. Carla needs bread to feed her animals

3. Carla needs good governance (true)

4. Carla needs to accept responsibility for the results (but I do accept them!)

5. Carla needs to call Dan (cousin Dan? Maybe...)

6. Carla needs cuddles (so true...)

7. Carla needs a home for the holidays (in Vienna, that would be helpful!)

8. Carla needs a new mantra (I see...)

9. Carla needs your support (true again)

10. Carla needs love (sigh... yes.......)

I've had a pretty good day today, so far. :)

Scented candles...

2009-02-18T23:48:00.002+11:00

I have discovered that I love scented candles. Ones that smell nice, that is. :) There's nothing nicer than walking into my room when a scented candle has been burning in there... seeing glow of the flame and watching the shadows dance on the walls... but more than that, the aroma somehow generates pleasant thoughts of the friend who gave me the candle. It's a rose and geranium one in a pretty glass jar, and it rocks my world (when I remember to light it!).

It makes me think of that verse... where John talks about what he's seen in heaven: "And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

I love that scented candle... and I've never really thought about how God loves our prayers in that way. It's a pleasing thought. And I should pray more. :)

Today is Wednesday.

2009-02-18T23:06:00.004+11:00

Tuesdays really take it out of me... today I napped a lot, and got very little done. :(

And I fear I am a boring person. I have nothing interesting to say tonight. :(

(Which begs the question... do I think that what I say other nights IS interesting? Is that the only reason I write?)

Just thought you might like to know...

2009-02-17T23:20:00.003+11:00

...today was the best day of teaching that I've had in a while. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't dreadfully hard either (which is more than I can say for all my other days of teaching this year). Just a nice in-between sort of day. Though I am still very tired now. :)

Oh, btw, the other thing I 'just thought you might like to know', is that I am in love. (Bek, no jokes, please.) :P I'm serious: one of my little 7 year-old students is gorgeous, inside and out. I think she's going to be another little genius. (I already have one.) :)

Just thought you might like to know...

2009-02-16T23:34:00.003+11:00

... I'm REALLY excited about planning our trip to see Lachlan at the end of the year - it's so much fun getting started on it!!!

I'm also really tired... and it's only Monday. The problem is, because Tuesday is such a big day for me (it starts at 5:30am), I spend half of Monday night getting organised and catching up with stuff... I think I need a new plan of attack.

Valentine's Day...

2009-02-14T10:33:00.004+11:00

...has also been called "Single Awareness Day" ~ and it's true! Valentine's Day has never been a big deal in our house... none of us thought about it much at all. But in recent years, it's become completely commercialised, so I think the fact that I don't "have a valentine" is more "in my face". This morning, I'm trying not to think about the lack of a man's love, but rather remember Perfect Love... God's Love. "But God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) And it will never end: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (Jer. 31:3)

My prayer for all of us: "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ." - 2 Thes. 3:5

Now something for a bit of fun...

1. Make a list of 5 things you can see without getting up: 1. Bible 2. UBD 3. pencil case 4. homemade bread 5. lawnmower

2. How do you style your hair? Usually with a heat-brush, or if I'm in a hurry, a messy bun!

3. What are you wearing now? pajamas - yay!

4. Who was the last person you said 'I love you' to? Lachlan

5. Do you nap a lot? If I get a chance, yes! Does that mean I'm getting old?

6. Who was the last person you hugged? MD at orchestra

7. What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction? 2 minute noodles & mint slice biscuits.

8. What was the last thing you ate today? Haven't eaten anything yet!

9. What was the last text message you received? "r u ok?"

10. What websites do you always visit when you go online? In order of importance: gmail, facebook, blogspot, vodafone, nab. (I don't always get to past gmail).

11. What was the last thing you bought? coloured paper for orchestra flyers

12. What are you listening to right now? the sound of rain on the roof.... noice. :)

13. What's the last song that got stuck in your head? "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera

14. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Would it be a superpower to make people be able to understand what I mean when I say stuff??? I cause too many dramas when I open my mouth.

15. What is your favourite weather, and why? COLD weather, because one doesn't sweat like in summer, and because it's usually easier to get warmer than to get cooler.

16. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I play two already, but I'd like to be able to play piano better, so that I didn't stress so much over church playing. :P

17. How are you? I am well. I am feeling slightly chilly. I am happy that tonight some friends are coming over.

18. What's something you'd like to say to someone right now? I love you.

19. If you could spend tomorrow any way? Well, since it'll be all rainy, it would be to have some close friends over, and curl up on the couches and D&M to our hearts' content. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Random thoughts...

2009-02-11T16:15:00.004+11:00

Just a few thoughts for today... my brain just isn't working properly.

Yesterday, I taught 16 students in one day. That's a record for me. And I *love* 7-and-8-year-old beginners.

At the moment, I don't have enough energy to be anyone except who I am. Unfortunately it's a take it or leave it situation. I hope God helps me to get better at "doing life".

I wish I didn't open my mouth sometimes. It would make things easier.

So much of life seems to be such extreme opposites... fire and flood, happy and sad, hot and cold, loved and alone... and so on.

I'm one tired chicken today.

I wonder whether I will last today...

2009-02-10T01:53:00.003+11:00

What on earth?!?! I'm still up, and it's nearly 2am. I have to get up at 5:30am... or just a bit after. Problem was, I had too much fun socializing earlier, so I've been up finishing off my invoices, sorting out photcopying and planning lessons for tomorrow. Arghhhh!!! I'm tired now - I don't know if I'll survive the day... I'm going to be setting another record for myself with the number of students I teach too... and I'll probably end up being a zombie at the end of the day... :(

Tonight...

2009-02-08T23:58:00.005+11:00

...a cool change came through. Thank you Lord! It was so lovely to be able to sit out on the front verandah at 11pm and not be sweating. And catching up with a dear friend at the same time made it all the more enjoyable!

(Yeah, I know... ladies are supposed to 'perspire', not 'sweat'. But I reckon that any lady who has lived through the last few days would have to have sweated - at least a little bit!)

This afternoon between services, I got lots of organising done. It made me feel like I'd been productive, and that was very pleasant.

Carla + Life = ...

Just to make sure...

My blog is moving!

Sleepover Party

No Sugar??

Photos of our little house!

May 8 to June 8

Out of the mouths of babes

On being a mummy...

Stuff...

Oh my goodness

Okay. So I'm married now. My name is Carla Wilson.

Nameless post...

A photo you might like to see...

Wedding-ish things!

They say time flies when you're having fun

A bunch of stuff...

Random goings on...

Gradually getting there...

Busy, busy busy!

Tired out...

An apology

A bit of happy!

Woohoo!

Eeeeee!!!

A question or two:

Post 101

I had resolved to post at least once a week. Ha. :P

6 weeks flies by!

More time being sick...

Ho hum...

In which Carla updates her blog only 3 days after her last post!

For goodness sake: it's 3:30am?!?!?!

Wow, it's been nearly a month...

A few days break...

So guess what...

What an exciting weekend!

So guess what...

Urgh...

Awe and wonder...

I am still sick...

I am sick...

Wedding plans...

Another post? So soon?

A week to a view...

A photo...

Guess what!!!

Last Sunday we went on a picnic...

Just thought you might like to know...

The latest...

A picture says a thousand words...

*smiles*

Oopsy!

A week to catch up on...

Flowers... and other thoughts...

Love is in the air...

I feel sick.

Aren't they beautiful?

A what?

A photo...

Oopsy!

I don't know what to say!

Me???

Lost for words...

God... are you testing me?

I'm so happy!

But the greatest of these is... love.

Wow...

Okay, okay, okay!

Hmm...

Just thought you might like to know...

Easter 2009

Off I go...

I'm freeeeeeeeee!

Friday Fun. Saturday Stress... and Smiles!

A wedding rehearsal...

It's been a while!

Headspace... or lack thereof.

Hurting...

Tired...

smiles