I know it's been a while since the last time I blogged, but I actually have a very good reason why I've been MIA lately. On Wednesday January 11, my life changed ... I lost my job.

Ever since that day, I've been kind of in and out of a "mini depression". I was laid off from my full time job because they didn't need my position anymore. I knew this was a possibility for some time, but I didn't think it was going to happen now! Especially not in the middle of our wedding preparation.

The last week or so has been kind of rough - emotionally and mentally. Initially, I found it hard to see the positive side of this recent turn of events. I was petrified, shocked and just overall lost. As much as I wanted to believe that things were going to be alright, I didn't. The first day it happened, all I wanted to do was sleep and pretend that this was all a dream. That when I wake up, everything will go back to normal.

The following day after the lay off, I attended a morning mass. Because of my hectic schedule (two jobs, family, friends and Mark), I had been missing church. At first I felt guilty for not going, but then after a few weeks, I didn't think too much about it. I think this lay off was God's wake up call to me!

The priest's homily that morning was very simple. His message was about how we shouldn't use God as a good luck charm. We shouldn't only "take Him out" when when we need Him, then put Him away when we don't need him anymore. This message hit home for me. That one hour felt so good in more ways that one. After I left the church, I felt comforted and at peace. I knew that He's got me and that I have nothing to worry about.

At the moment, I have applied to a few jobs and trying my best to not dwell too much on the situation. Because of what happened, I am now able to spend more time with my family, myself and of course, Him. So I can't really say that it's been a negative experience overall. Also, I am very lucky to have the best family, friends and fiancé. They have all been very supportive and continue to cheer me on. I can't thank them enough for all their love.

I am trying my very best to see this event more as an opportunity instead of a problem. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I'm still a little worried sometimes, but I also know that God has great plans for me. He has never failed us, and I know that somehow, someway, He will make things work out. I just have to keep on trusting Him.


-Lene

I am happy to say that I have officially started one of my New Year's resolution - learn to swim! =)

My swimming lessons officially started last night. To be honest, I was really nervous all day. I was also scared that the water was going to be cold! LOL!

I was actually early for class. When I got there, I changed and was ready to go. I stepped out to the pool deck and to my dismay, saw kids! Obviously I felt really embarrassed! So I went back to the change room. I figured that the kid's class wasn't finished yet. Then I saw another lady in the change room and asked her if she was taking the class too. To my delight, she was! LOL! So we waited together.

It was a very small class. In fact, there were only 4 of us! Ha ha ha! Three ladies including myself and one guy. The other two ladies were moms who were wanting to learn so that they can swim with their kids. The guy already knows how to swim, but wants to get rid of bad swimming habits. So I don't know if he'll be staying in that class at all.

We were told to set a goal for ourselves so that we can work towards something. My goal is mainly to learn to float (in the deep end) and be able to swim across the pool (about 50 metres).

At our first class last night, the girl went over everything that we will be learning the next 8 weeks. So far we practiced breathing, learning the best leg strokes for swimming, floating on our front and back and treading water. Overall, the class seems like it's going to be a lot of fun!

Looking forward to being able to swim!! Eeeeee!!! Maybe I'll go swimming more often. He he ...

-Lene

Mark and I have so many things to be thankful for. One of the things that we have been so blessed with is having a lot of Engagement picture opportunities. In fact we were fortunate enough to win an engagement session from Sarah Goetz Photography! Sarah and I have been friends since I was in grade 4! We also used to live at the same apartment building and were obsessed with Backstreet Boys! Ha ha!! So I knew that this shoot was going to be a lot of fun! =)

sarahgoetzphotography.com

We wanted pictures with a lot of snow, but Mother Nature didn't seem to want to cooperate with us. Either way, we still had a lot of fun taking pictures around downtown Guelph! It's funny how you can live at a place for such a long time and never really know what's around you.

Just wanted to give Sarah a BIG THANK YOU for doing this for us and making it a lot of fun! Thanks for being so flexible with all the different locations we wanted pictures with. Thanks for not being afraid to "get down and dirty" to get that perfect shot! He he ... you're awesome! =)

I also wanted to say thanks to my loving fiancé for being such a trooper! Thanks for continuing to smile even though your face was numb! LOL!! I love you!! Just one more ... our wedding day! LOL!

Can't wait to see the pics!!! Eeeeee!!

-Lene

I can't believe how much time has passed. 280 days left!!! Ahhh!!! Ha! Ha!

After 1 year, 1 month and 10 days of being engaged, here is what I have learned:

1. Relationship trials and struggles are happening more and more often these days it seems, but at the same time, I feel even more closer to Mark. Maybe it's because of the fact that trials gives us a chance to grow in knowing each other, and learning to love each other more despite the difficulties.
2. Do-It-Yourself projects are A LOT of work! I am now really thinking twice before I start another one. (Those Save the Dates were a lot more time consuming than I thought. LOL!)
3. Wedding Forums are a lot of fun! Ha! Ha! Gives brides a place to talk about wedding stuff 24/7 without boring everyone else.
4. Long Engagements: Seeing the cons of it sometimes. Having a long time to prepare also means a lot of options. It gives you a chance to sometimes second guess your decisions! >_< Arrgghh!! Not good.
5. When you ask people for opinions, you will get them! Whether you like what you hear or not, you have to accept it. Makes you think twice if you should ask in the first place. LOL!
6. It's really easy to get side-tracked. When you're planning something that includes a lot little details, it is so easy to get caught up and try doing everything at once. Then you stress yourself out because you have so much to do!
7. It's SO hard to stay within your budget! There's always something that comes up and you think that you HAVE to have it, then you pause and really think about it and realize you don't. It's easy to get caught up with things.
8. It's nice when your fiancé is pretty involved with the planning. I'm really blessed in this way. I probably would have gone mental by now if he wasn't there for me.
9. It's nice to have at least 1 day a week as "No Wedding Planning Day". It's nice to take a break sometimes too. =)
10. Sometimes I wake up and think to myself: "Is this real? Am I really getting married?". At times I feel like I'm planning this for someone else. When I stop to remember that this is for me, It's exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time! >_<

It's here! It's finally here!! Now I don't have to keep saying, "Oh, our wedding is next year." Ahhh!!

I can't believe how quickly a year and two months have gone by. This just proves that the next 10 months will be going by in a blur!

Thoughts on that? I'm excited and petrified at the same time! LOL! Excited because the day we have waited for for so long is finally here, but petrified because of all the changes that's to come. Does that makes sense?

I don't work very well with change. I like familiarity, I like knowing what to expect. I guess you can say that I'm not much of risk taker. I guess this is why I plan everything. LOL! Yes, I know you're thinking it, I'm a little bit of a control freak. Ha! Ha!

As for the planning, we are currently trying to finalize our linens and hall decorations. Again, prices never ceases to amaze me. How could something so simple cost so much! Grrrr!!!

New year, new goals, new me! What are some of the things that I want to accomplish this year?

2012 New Year's Goals

1. Loose weight (I have 6 months to accomplish this! =S) 
2. Learn to cook
3. Learn to swim (swimming classes starts this coming Monday! >_<)
4. Save, Save, Save!

I know it's not much, but they're all a lot of work! Hopefully I can stay disciplined to ensure I make all of this happen. *fingers crossed*

What about you? What are you trying to accomplish this year?

-Lene