I had an awesome day, today.

Today was the hair and make up trial, and Kurt's mother drove me up the coast to it as my neck was sore yesterday.  The two women doing the trial were great, and listened to all of my requests and did the hair and make up just how I wanted it, and I am so excited to wear it again on the 22nd !

Then we went to Caloundra and visited the beach where we are having the ceremony, and to the resort as well, stopping in between for a well earned lunch of fish and chips.

It was so much fun getting the hair and make up done, especially when it came out so well, and it was actually a very enjoyable day out with my future mother-in-law as well !

Being up the coast by the beach made me feel like I need another beach day, so I'm hoping for a good few of those before the wedding!  It was nice just standing by the beach and soaking in the sun, and watching the waves crash against the rocks.

I love you

I almost said it first, and we weren't even dating.  Or at least, I had convinced myself that we were just friends to the extent that I really didn't know that I felt any different.  And then my friend dropped me off at the airport to catch a flight to Singapore, and I almost said it, tripping over my words and changing what was almost "I love you" into "I'll see you when I get back".

Finally, he lost patience with the charade, and demanded that we either start dating, or he couldn't continue to hang out with me all of the time, and desperate not to lose him, I agreed.  That was 3 August 2013, which I know, because it was the last time we went to play squash.  And the day we met, 13 February 2013, is replaced by 3 August 2013, which is replaced by 18 March 2014 when we got engaged.  Which in turn will fade into the distance when we get married on 22 August 2014.

But I can't forget a single one.

I can't forget the day I met him, when I was house-hunting.  He was at the bottom of the stairs, outside the block, hands full of grey plastic grocery bags.  And as we were introduced, we argued about rival airlines, I, how mine was better, and he, how another was faster, and so on, and so forth.  And I thought he was cool and that I would like to meet him again.

I can't forget the day I started to mouth the words "I love you" but was too confused to let it out.

I can't forget the last time we went to play squash.  How we sat outside the squash court after the game and argued about our future.  What if I had turned him down?  Would I ever have seen him again?

And I especially can't forget the day that he held me in his arms in the dusk, with the Wicklow mountains silhouetted in the background.  The moment that he asked me to marry him.

And soon, in 4 short weeks, I will walk down the aisle and look into his eyes and say "I do" and from the bottom of my heart say "I love you".

Which of course brings me to the poem that has been in my head for weeks now:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

We're a month out, today.  And I am in Rocky looking at the view out of the window - not too bad for Rocky, despite the ugly roofs - but it is only 11 degrees.

Did I mention we're a month out?

This time next month I'll be getting ready.  Painting my face and struggling with my dress and maybe freaking out just a teency weency bit.  But I think I'm excited.  I think in between the there'ssomuchtodoaaaahhhh moments and the whycantitallbeoversothatwecanrelax and I'msodonetalkingaboutweddings there is an element of excitement.  I mean I'm marrying my best friend, and I can't imagine life without him.

One month today, I'll be preparing to declare my love for the rest of my life and... I'm excited.  

It's almost August.  It's almost happening, I'm almost not a B... any more and that is scary because the idea of not being who I was (in name, anyway) is so foreign.  Kate C... Weird!!!  Of course I am honoured to take Kurt's name but... what about being a B... I think I always will be in my heart ! 

The final countdown has begun, although I have tried so hard not to (despite Kurt's aunt prodding me every week on Facebook!) but ... 1 month... oh and 3 weeks until my parents arrive, I am so excited to show them everything, to share Australia with them, maybe they'll like it more than Ireland?

I used to look forward to blog, all the time.  I used to actively look for things to blog about - look at things and think "ooh, I'll take a photo of that, because I could use it on my blog."  Those times are over, folks.  I don't know if they're over forever, but right now I look around me blearily and think "blog? what blog?"  I am reminded that I am a slack blogger, and that I haven't blogged for "ages", and, well, I think "maybe I should", and then I don't... and the muse is nowhere to be found.

I have started one or two blog posts, a little along the lines of "so today I have nothing to report" and "the countdown is at six weeks to the big day" and "I made pizza again" all of which you are probably not very interested in. 

This blog is obviously along the lines of "I haven't blogged in forever, bear with me, people!" and "I still have nothing to report."

Oh yeah, I've decided to cook today, just in case you're interested, having grabbed a copy of "Women's Day" off the aircraft and got some (misplaced?) enthusiasm for one of the recipes within.  I've also decided I need to:

a) go into the city to pick up my wedding ring
b) find a bridal store to buy some shoes to wear at the wedding
c) go shopping in general
d) clean the house
e) book accommodation for the wedding, except I didn't wake up early enough to talk to Mum
f)  make a list of the things I need to do because I've forgotten half of them already
g) have breakfast
h) remember the other things I have forgotten

So I'm blogging.

I did remember to put brandy on the fruitcake again.  The fruitcake is now about six weeks old.  I don't know what it's supposed to look like.  It looks like a fruitcake wrapped in baking paper wrapped in tin foil.  I put brandy on the outside every 3 weeks and I wonder whether it soaks in far enough so that when the cake is cut down to size (6" from 8") will it have any brandy on it at all?  And then I wonder whether I made it right and whether it's just going to be awful and should I Give Up Already?

I want to go cycling, and it's so stupidly cold.  (for want of a "polite" adjective).  Apparently it's the coldest winter since cold winters began, at least in the last 20 years or so, although some sites say "it's the coldest in 103 years!" and others say "it's the coldest morning since last winter!" which doesn't sound quite so impressive.  And I can't cycle when it's this stupidly cold, and then I get to midday when it's not quite so stupidly cold, and then I don't feel like cycling any more.  Just saying.

Oh yes

i) weed the garden
j) go grocery shopping

I told you there were more things that I had forgotten.

I'm on reserve today, and they didn't call me yet.  Another triumph for mankind. 

Okay, I think I'm done now, You're Welcome.

TTFN!!!

The two months remaining mark has officially come and gone, leaving us with just weeks which are barely remnants of time.  Apparently the average cost of a wedding in Australia is between $36,700 (source: IBISWorld) and $48,296 (source: Bride To Be magazine).  I count myself (and Kurt) fortunate that we are not remotely average.  Having never thought of myself as an average human bean, I'm not surprised.  I am surprised, however, that people spend so much money on one day.  And I thought we were bad!

On Saturday we are meeting up with our celebrant to discuss what we want in our ceremony.  Having spent the last couple of months getting everything organised, I guess it did skip our minds to actually consider how we want the day to go!  (wing it??) 

Next week, I am off to Auckland for yet another sim check, and am trying to motivate myself to study.  I also would like to head up the coast next week for a hair trial and to look at decorations for the reception... but this all depends on motivating myself to study around this, and not getting called off reserve.

I go to Auckland next Friday, tomorrow I have one flight home to Brisbane (currently overnighting in Rockhampton) - and all the days between then and Auckland are reserve and days off!  I won't be practising any approaches then!

Oh yes and if someone looks the best on their wedding day that they will look for their whole life ever, I have few hopes for myself.  Pass the chocolate, please.

Did I mention that I am writing this post because I really don't want to study?

And why does Australian Aviation have so many rules?

And this is just a cool picture of some clouds hanging around in front of the sunrise this morning.

...52 minutes before we go for dinner... I should study... 

Father's Day

Sunday 15 June, 2014 is Father's Day, in Ireland, and that's confusing because in Australia it is sometime in September.  Why all these countries cannot coordinate, I do not no.  Suffice it to say that I am 100% sure that I have the most amazing father in the world, and this is my opportunity to say so.

My father's name is Michael, he is intelligent, kind, gentle and the best father I could ever have.  He has always been there for me, always making time in his incredibly busy schedule to fit me in.  I can remember as a small child sitting by him in his office as he worked, simply enjoying being with him.  (and being pretty irritating too, I am sure, although I don't remember him losing his patience)

My father is always ready and willing to help people out, being an excellent 'fixer', he always says yes even when he has much to do himself.  People at home talk of 'needing a Michael' around the house which is proof of this!

I love to talk to my father, he is a great listener.  I would never swap him for anything, he is definitely the number 1 father in the world, and I love him.

And finally, lots of OXOs for my dad.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Wish I were there to give you a real hug.

A couple of weeks ago, Kurt managed to nag me into a state of okay, fine, we'll get you a bow, as long as it's a cheap one, which was a bit of a compromise for both of us.  So having endured about 13092790109388888 years of bow hunting research, we traipsed off to our 192837049867th archery shop, where we found the cheapest recurve bow we could find and snapped it up greedily.

From originally wanting a high poundage bow, Kurt settled for a 24lb bow that I would also be able to shoot - as he sensibly recognised that anything above about 30lb would be impossible for me to draw back.  We also managed to pick up 8 of the cheapest possible arrows - 4 long enough for me to shoot, and 4 a bit longer for Kurt's amazing long stretchy arms.

And then we contentedly went home.  Or so I thought.  Until Kurt started complaining that we went to buy him a bow and ended up buying me one... and that now he would have to wait until after the wedding to get a bow that he liked... and oh, the drama.

So now I have a bow.  And Kurt went off shooting it a few times, while I went to work (it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it happens when we have something else planned), and so I didn't actually get to use my bow but at least I had the knowledge that it was mine.  And the bow hunting research continued...

Finally we went to the club together, and on the very first target I managed to hit a very small piece of metal which colourfully exploded the arrow in a shower of sparks, and managed to blow the entire tip off it, so now I only had three.  I also discovered that the $2 finger tabs that we had purchased off ebay (the bow string rips into your fingers if you don't use some sort of protection) just didn't work for me, they kept slipping and the arrows kept hitting everything but the targets, and it was altogether very frustrating.  The arrow explosion was cool though.

So, we went to another archery shop - not the one where we bought the bow and arrows, having decided that it was cheap and nasty and really, we probably shouldn't have bought the bow there, except that we are cheapskates and didn't want to (insert:  I didn't want to) spend any money on archery...  Anyway... we went to this other archery shop and the lady looked at our bow and said it was a much nicer bow than she thought it would be when we had described what we bought it for - and then they measured us up for arrows and found out, as we had thought, that the arrows we had bought were completely useless... and I ended up buying a deerskin leather glove to protect my hand and six custom made arrows that were just for me... and poor Kurt once again ended up with nothing.

After which point we went to do archery again and I shot amazingly with my amazing new arrows and they flew beautifully sharply through the air and I skillfully managed to scare all the targets almost to death.  Except of course they didn't die because, it's rare to kill something just by scaring it.  And poor Kurt used the old arrows until one fractured on hitting the target and a second one snapped dramatically as he shot it which was a little scary.  So, now he has only two... two cheap and nasty heavy arrows, and a little tab that slips off his fingers, and I am preening myself with my pretty bow, custom made pink & yellow arrows, and deerskin leather glove... 

...and now we're back to the bow hunting research.  Kurt has officially renamed his ipad as "the bow hunting device".

Poor Kurt...

Kurt sulking about archery