Day 2 - Nine Things I Can’t Live Without

First, I feel I must state that I am procrastinating horribly. Right now I should be doing job applications if I have any hope of paying for our dream wedding and having our own space.

However procrastinating from that means that I fed and cleaned up after the pets, done two loads of laundry, done the dishes and cleaned the living room in the space of less than 2 hours. Proof that procrastinating is ACTUALLY productive....just not for the task your procrastinating from! :D

Anyways, onto todays subject. I'll start with the more material things and move onto the actually important things.

1) iPhone
I was so against the iPhone when they first came out. "Why would I want my music and phone in the same place?" Answer: Because it makes life so much easier! Plus being able to read my "time wasting" pages when I actually have time to waste (ie: Waiting for the bus), reply to emails asap if they're important and find out what that song playing is instantly is all awesome. I get really confused when I'm in America and only have my web access when I'm near a free wi-fi spot. Make me sad...

2) My laptop
As much as I love  the iPhone there are some things you just need a proper screen and keyboard for. And I adore that my laptop is so tiny and cute so that I can carry it with me on my travels! When I had the massive 15lb thing it gave me serious back ache.

3) My photos
I definitely get this from my mum. She's always been big on photos, especially since I was born. There are SO many photo albums of just me and my sister, at last count I think it was about 80-something!

Most of my photos are on my harddrive.. So I suppose this is also an item I couldnt live without. Seriously if anything ever happened to it and the photos on it I would be devastated.

4) My Aunt
Me and my Aunt are VERY similar. And as anyone who knows me, when I'm very similar to someone it can lead to fireworks. But dispite ups and downs over the years, I'd like to think I'm very close to my Aunt. She got me into reading and introduced me to lots of amazing books.

There's a brilliant photo of her holding me when I was only a few months old. Someone said something "amusing" about me and the look of anger on her face! I've never seen anything like it - I think I definitly get my defensivness from her

5) My Nan
I've never had a big family and now my family is literally the 5 of us, and my Nan definitely likes to see herself as the Matriarch. Whatever else is going on, she'll always make sure no-one has to go without and overall will do anything she can for her family.

I actually think she secretly runs the East End Mafia, She knows a lot of people, never short of a quid or two and is always disappearing out of the country....hmmm



6) My mum
I love my mum. Although I'm fiercely independent, need my own space and very rarely ask for help..every girl needs their mum. Needs to know she's there when she needs her. :)

7) My sister
My baby sister. Not really a baby anymore, equally as independent as me so would also rarely admit she needs me. It'd be nice to be needed more by her but she knows I'm here when she does. And likewise - shes there for me. 5.5 years younger or not - shes one of the smartest people I know! (When shes not having a blonde moment that is...)

8) My friends
There are far too many to count to list individually. Which is definitely a good thing. As previously mentioned I dont really subscribe to the "best friend - one person you go to for everything" thing anymore. In any given situation, theres often one person that you think of you want to talk about it with. Its not always the same person. Perhaps its someone that knows the back story intimately so you dont need to start from scratch, someone thats been through the same thing and can empathize. Perhaps you want to just not think about it and need someone that'll make crude jokes and drink too much wine (Jess I'm talking about you here!) Perhaps you just need the biggest part animals you know to celebrate amazingness! Whatever it is, I count my blessings to have so many good friends that I can go to for anything.

9) Codaniel
This man has shown me so much. Helped me realise so much about life, people and myself. He is a shining example of humanity and the goodness in people. Proof that no matter how bad things can get you can ALWAYS make a choice to change your situation, yourself and make a better life for yourself and those around you. He has an unwavering faith in people, and most of all in the people he loves and cares about. He can always see the best in people, even if they cant see it in themselves.

When we're apart its one of the hardest things I ever have to deal with, but at the same time it shows me how strong we both are that as much as we need and love each other, we still retain our independence and ability to look after ourselves. Although we're both counting down to the day when we dont have to be seperated by 1/2 a continent and an ocean!

Day 1 - 10 things I wanted to be when I grew up

So I'm already failing...didnt blog yesterday because I was running errands and then me and Codaniel went to the cinema in the evening.

Btw - the $2 theatre is my new favourite place IN THE UNIVERSE!!!

So we already knew there is going to be a Rocky Horror Picture Show, Audience Participation this Friday and Saturday. And yes that means Codaniel and I will be donning corsets and heels and throwing condom wrapped hotdogs at the screen!

But on top of that, every weekend they are showing a cult classic. The following weekends until I leave are the following:

Hook

Lost Boys

Neverending Story and....

THE LABYRINTH!!! And Labyrinth is on my Birthday weekend! Can we say excited? Hell yeah we can!

I also forgot to mention that I 'borrowed' my 10 day challenge from a fellow "Loving-from-a-distance'-er Krista. You can follow her blog ...here

Ok, on to todays (well yesterdays...but I already said this wouldnt be 100%up to date!) topic.

10 things I wanted to be when I grew up

1) A teacher.
Me and my friend Kayleigh had big plans about moving to America to become an actress and a hairstylist to the stars. But to fund our big trip we would be teachers in the UK first. Ahh the well thought out plans of 7 years olds!

2) An Actress
This was my biggest one. As previously mentioned in blog posts this was what I wanted to do from the time I could walk. Probably even before that. I worked hard for it. Went to summer drama classes, BTECH in Performing Arts at college and numerous Drama School auditions. Then whilst performing in several shows when I was about 18 I kind of wondered if it really was something I wanted to continue doing. Who knows....maybe one day I'll return to it, but for now it was my childhood dream.

3) A Homeowner

I was saving for my own home, building my credit rating and looking into mortgages and interest rates since I was 18. It was always really funny watching my older colleagues or friends stare at me in amazement when they heard my life plan and in the same breath the fact that I was only 18.

Then I decided to go to America and became very emotionally involved in the best relationship of my life. o now us being together, and our wedding plans are much more important than owning my own home. As long as we have our own space together; rented or owned it wont matter.



4) A Mother
I've always wanted to be a mum. Although the very idea of childbirth absolutely terrifies me, I know that it will be completely worth it.

What is the appeal of children? Its such a deep rooted, inherently biological urge to ensure the continuation of the species. But there's such an emotional, loving urge to have them, care for them and look after them. And I guess I subscribe to that! :D I can't wait to have kids and a family of my own.

5) Happy

Above all else all I ever wanted was to be happy.

So thats pretty much it. I was always very focussed on my dreams, what I wanted and where I was going. Maybe I was an unimaginative child? Maybe I was just stubborn? Who knows? Whatever the case maybe right now I stick very stubbornly with number 5. When I grow up, I want to be happy.

So on that note, seeing as its now stuck in my head, I end on one of Codaniel's favorite songs. Dumb by Nirvana.

10 day challenge

So sometimes I have so many blog ideas, I don't have time to blog them all (and often dont!) Right now theres some random thoughts flittering around my mind, but nothing of substance to write about really. 


So for the next 10days (ish...you saw how the 30 day challenge panned out!) I will be blogging about the following.  


Day 1: Ten Things You Wanted/Want To Be When You’re Older
Day 2: Nine Things You Can’t Live Without
Day 3: Eight Places You Want To Visit
Day 4: Seven People Who Inspire You, and Why?
Day 5: Six of Your Favorite Books
Day 6: Five Things You Can Eat Everyday
Day 7: Four Songs That Describe Your Life Right Now
Day 8: Three favorite Cartoon Characters
Day 9: Two Movies You Absolutely Love
Day 10: One Quote That Describes Your Life Right Now

Wedding Plans thus far

Ok, so I talk a lot - especially when I'm exited about things! And because of this I've TOTALLY lost track of who I've told what to about our Wedding ideas so far.

So to stop me going crazy, repeating myself etc here are the "plans" as of today. Btw though - nothings booked yet. We're seeing venues and things next week so these are just "in an ideal world - this is what we're aiming for" plans!

Date
March 26th 2012 
Reasons:
!) Exactly two years after the first day we officially "met" (as in, 'in person')

2) Will *hopefully* be nice weather, yet not quite the peak Wedding season meaning we pay 3 times over the odds for everything!

Location
America, ideally in Estes Park 
A beautiful town/National Park in the heart of the mountains, about 90mins from Fort Collins
Reasons:
1) Codaniel's family is much bigger than mine. Either way people will be paying to fly and if its only 4 people vs about 40 we may be able to help with their flight costs by block booking seats or something

2) London is crowded and polluted and sometimes downright dingy! My first thought to describe anywhere in the city for a Wedding venue is not beautiful! The Rocky Mountains still dont fail to take my breath away every morning when I see them and they look different. I've always loved the idea of an out door wedding, and with the mountains as the backdrop - I cant think of anything more beautiful!

And thats as far as we've got with the "important" stuff. I'm trying to do as much of the planning, in terms of meeting suppliers, whilst I'm here. Good job my background is in Events isnt it otherwise I'd look a bit like this right now!

I suppose the only real downside to the Wedding being in America is that a lot of my friends who I would love to be there, sadly wont.

Its a lot to ask and many people just wont be able to afford the flights, hotel etc or take the time off work. I understand that, and dont expect anyone to "have" to come. I just hope my side wont be completely empty!

Engagement Photos Competetion

So as any of you who have, or who are planning a wedding - those things cost a pretty penny! Being an Event Organiser, knowing lots of people who are planning weddings, and being able to save in £'s and pay in $'s are all helpful additions but regardless - we need to save money where we can!

So imagine me and Codaniel's delight when this competition, run by Eric and Moriah Photography popped up in a Facebook sidebar advert. (Yes! They are occasionally VERY helpful!)

Win $750 worth of photos, including them on a CD AND a guestbook! Perfect!

We really want to get engagement photos done, but really don't have the money to do so. The comepetion requires us to enter our 'Valentine'  which will be judged on the "Most creative and overall 'sweetest' couple"

We worked really hard on our entry, both playing to our strengths and helping each other out, tweaking here and there and THIS is our finished result.

Click to enlarge

We're really proud of it, and really think its a strong candidate to win.

However...


Eric and Moriah encourage people to comment on the entries. We're not certain if these comments will heavily influence the judging or not, but other entries seem to have a lot of friends and family commenting on them. "Clear winners" "Amazing entry" "Adorable couple" etc etc

So we would REALLY appreciate any comments, "likes" etc to on our entry on Eric and Moriah's Facebook page 

Now its a bit of a faff. You have to log into Facebook and "like" Eric and Moriah photography" before you can comment. But be assured, we will really REALLY appreciate it. And if we win you will be rewarded with....well...seeing our engagement photos! :D

Which granted isnt the most amazing thing, so perhaps instead you will comment out of the goodness of your heart? An act of kindness, paying it forward and who knows - maybe the Universe will return the favor?

And before I disappear I just want to say a HUGE thank you to our lovely friends who have already commented and "liked" You guys definitely have the more original comments over the other entries! You are awesome and we love you!

So if you have 2 minutes to spare...please please please help our entry, allow us to win, and mean we have an extra $750 towards our Wedding fund!

Click right here :D

(And if nothing else...do it for the cute cat pictures! I even included one of Jasper :D)