'Diamonds are a girls best friend'

Erica & Aaliah dropped by today, with LARGE takeaway cups of Mochachino. We had a big catch up, as it has been ages, since we have been able to sit down and talk properly.Well, okay it's only been a week, but a lot has been going on - and it felt like forever.



During her visit, my Mum and Step dad also dropped in for a quick catch up. Suddenly my little lounge was full of people, and it was lovely. It was also lovely to see my Mum gush over little Aaliah, I could tell she was reminiscing, just by watching her.



After our general catch up, mini-photo shoot, and photo swapping session, Erica decided she would go up to the mall and get them printed off, and buy a photo album, to avoid falling into only having a computer based photo collection. I asked to come along. So she changed, fed & burped the wee one and off we set.



While the photos were being printed, we found a closer park, and headed in to the main mall, to paper plus, in search of a photo album. As we walked past the shops, I felt so tempted by the shoe shops, fashion outlets and book sale. I could tell Erica was tempted too, we bravely kept on walking.



"What is going on at Michael Hill's?" Erica asked.

"Ohh! It's there once a year massive sale!" I replied, so excited I was almost shouting.



Erica looked at me, and I could tell by the look in her eye that we would be going in and we would probably buying.



We rushed over to the store, which was mysteriously shrouded in black fabric, to further entice you inside to see such wondrous discounts.



In we went. All i remember from that point on was a flurry of "ooooh look at that!", "oooh I want this", "that is soooo you" and "half price? I'd be stupid NOT to get it".



What can I say? We are pathetic consumers. We are the epitome of the perfect customer. We are drawn to sparkly, shiny objects (just like like magpies), easily talked in to it and not afraid to use lay-buy or hire purchase. *Sigh.



Anyway neither of us are made of money at the moment, so we assured each other that if we were to get anything, it would have to be an extremely good deal, and very very cheap.



Erica spotted some gold earrings for $49. I spotted some white gold and diamond studs for $99. The shop assistant removed them from the case for closer inspection. Erica was sure she would buy hers, and i would have to lay-buy mine. We figured we deserved it, and i knew over time, through lay buy I could afford them (courtesy of time-and-a-half for working labour day).



Then Erica and I decided we would try on some rings - just for fun. And this is where we made a big mistake..we got separated in the store. Next thing you know, I'm over at the expensive display of earrings, and Erica is at the cash register.



I quickly snapped myself out of the shopping hypnosis and told the assistant I would only be lay-buying the cheap pair. Case closed.

Unfortunately, my revelation had come to late for Erica. I glanced over at her and she caught my eye. She was holding a BIG Michael Hill shopping bag.



"What did you do Erica?" I asked across the store.



"I got the ring" she replied, with a massive smile spreading across her face.



Erica, quickly retorted with a "Don't you judge me girlfriend, I can see you over there at the expensive case" look.



We left the store satisfied, and feeling slightly guilty. This did not last long. As we drove home we realised that we had not considered the most difficult component of all. How would we explain this to our men? We quickly calculated in our head, the amount of beer, that each of our men drink. With Erica being pregnant, and myself unable to drink much due to my health/personal choice, over the past nine months we figured we are all about even.

'High school never ends'

One Sunday, Brad & I went to visit his Grandma and his Nana.



Nana, being the social butterfly that she is, was out and about. We would have to schedule a tiem to see her the next weekend.



Grandma is now living in a retirment village, she was home and we took her out for lunch. On returning from lunch, to drop Grandma off, I giggled to myself, to think about my awesome-foursome of ladies all residing at the same retirment village one day in the distant future.



I thought about how neat that would be.



 I thought about how nice it must be to be an elderly person in a retirement village, to have alot of company around.



Grandma and I discussed this, and though she mostly agreed, she pointed out that she wishes that the group of people who played cards in the sun room would let her join in.



I said "surely if you ask to play they'd love to have you?"



"I don't think so" she told me, before announcing, "once people get old, they become clique-ier than ever!"



Fantastic. That's something to look foward to then. And I thought high school was bad enough?



Fingers crossed I do have my awesome-foursome together, as I can't bear the thought of going through all of that again!

Erica, Myslef, Tessa & Mikayla. Coastal Villa's Movie Night, Year 2059

'In hiding'

Following the temporary meltdown that blogger had on Firday night, I jumped straight on the the computer, went through all my past blogs, saved them, printed them & filed them. I know, I havn't been blogging long, but the past few months have marked some important moments in my life, so i'd like to keep a copy of my blogs as a record of this.

As I was saving one of my very first blogs a saw something I had not seen before...

That's right people, a comment. Not from my Mum and not from Mariah (my number one, and some times only reader).

No, this comment was from Angela. This made me so happy, that I squealed with glee (oooh mabe that's what it is?)



Why did it make me so happy?



Well I have been following Angela's blog for many months now, and I have also read alot of her blogs from her 'back-catalogue'.



As I do not know her directly, I feel as if I am semi-stalking her. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but invading her privacy at the very least? She is almost, like a celebrity on Twitter (I know you're not fond of Twitter Angela, but no other analogy comes to mind as I type - sorry). I am following the 'celebrity', there is a good chance the 'celebrity' knows that I am following them, yet the two parties very rarely communicate directly.



Looking  back on that, I felt so rude. 'Angela-the-celebrity-blogger'  had already commented on one of my posts, without my acknowledgment. How could I?



Then I remembered, a few weeks ago, I had built up the courage to comment on one of Angela's post's , aptly titled 'Followers versus Subscribers'. I started with my comment with "Hi...I'm a stranger..."



"Oh no, you idiot!" I scolded myslef. 'Angela-the-celebrity-blogger' had already "introduced" herself by posting a comment on my post, and I called myself, and therefore her, a stranger!



Then just as I thought over the ending to this post in my head, I had a thought. Knowing my luck, and the dedication that 'Angela-the-celebrity-blogger' has, she has most probably replied to my comment on her post, yet again un-acknowledged by me.



I checked. She did. Epic fail on my part.



So, Anglea, If by some miracle, you have decided that i'm not too rude, or too much of a freak, and are reading this....



Hi! I'm Nicole! Nice to 'meet' you! I thoroughly enjoy your blog, and thankyou very much for the very sweet comment on my post, and for replying to my query on yours. I shall try and do alot better, at this whole comment thing, as time progresses (unless you block me?)



I am officially out of hiding.

'Thnks fr th mmrs'

...Ahh for those of you who don't speak Pete Wentz, or are unfamilair with this particular dialect of Emo this post is titled 'Thanks for the memories'.







Dedicated to all of my true friends.





On more than two occassions this week alone, I have been reminded, that the definiton of a true friend, is not all about fluffy bunnies, warm fuzzies and rainbow drops.





Don't get me wrong, I love how friendships naturally are pre-destined to come with a free serving of fluffy bunnies, warm fuzzies and rainbow drops.





However, I am a firm believer that a true friend, can cut through all of those things, right to the root of what is really going on, and be brutally honest with you. Even if they know it will break your heart, or if it is not what you want to hear, a true friend will be the man in the mirror that you have been avoiding eye contact with.



I am lucky enough to have a few of these friends. Friends who aren't afraid to hurt my feelings & break down boundaries, but are able to do so without being nasty.







A brief run-down of evidence of true friendship over the past week:





Occasion One,

Friend A, visits bathroom to deposit number ones, whilst on the telephone to me.





Occassion Two,

Friend B laughs uncontrollably at me, as I attempt to change her baby's weird, new 'disposable-but-at-the-same-time-reusable' number two's nappy, on a slippery changing mat, on an un-level couch cushion, as the darling babe evil-eye's* me to hurry up, whilst on the brink of tears.



(*We know one thing that she got from her Mama. Yeah that's right, I went there. )





Occasion Three,

During a telephone conversation with Friend C, I mentioned that I had updated the blog. The response I got? "Ugggggghhhh Fiiinally! I've been waiting for aaaaaages you know?!"





There, Friend C! Are you happy now?

'Take a picture'

I have been absent from the bloggersphere, for a few weeks now, because of 'ess'.



Sickness, busyness, laziness, inspirationless.





This has not only affected my blogging ability, but also my ability to function as a normal human being. I have been grumpy, tired, and just straight up not in the mood.





Whilst wallowing in my own self pity, I missed a very special day. Hannie's birthday. Here is Hannie, marvel at her gorgeousness!!

I stole this from her facebook. (Even though I technically stole this, all photo rights belong to the lady herself. Right-click and prepare to die!)

Not only was I sick from Uni, on the day of her Birthday, I returned the day after, grumpy and bogged down with an essay. Therefore, I did not acknowledge her birthday in the way that I should have, and from the bottom of my heart I am sorry Hannie. It is in no way any reflection of what you deserve.



Let me tell you a bit about Hannie...





Hannie and I met two years ago, when I was first institutionalized. You see, Hannie is the fabulous administrator for the Classics department at Victoria University. She is the sunshine of my day, and by far the most friendly, welcoming, supportive person I have come across at Vic.





She has a degree in Art History. She is a foxy mama. She loves sunflowers.



She is a pro at water polo, for which she was awarded a scholarship to attend unversity in the USA (how cool is that?). And...Hannie is a fantastic photographer.

Look at her awesome website! http://www.hanniesunshinephotography.com/

In the market for a photographer? Check out her site! DO it now!





Not in the market for a photographer? Tell your friends. Check out her site! Do it anyway!





If you don't, you'll be missing out. I would love for all of you, to see the world through Hannie's eyes (or lens?), and by doing so bring a little sunshine to your day.





Happy [belated] Birthday Hannie! I will see you soon, for a showering of cuddles and gifts





XXX

'Lost Without You'

Last week, I was at work, feeling awfully sore and tired. I was slowly (but surely) re-stocking the shelves of the exercise book aisle.

I felt as if nothing short of copius amounts of chocolate, codine and cuddles with cute puppies could make me feel better. Just as I slumped down to pick up another slab of 1B5's, I heard a cry from the next aisle.



A child's voice hollered, "Gwaaaandaaaaaaad!"



Taking a breif moment, to mentally re-live my own horror of being "lost" in a shop once, I realised the urgency of this S.O.S, and "rushed" round the corner, literally, as quick as I could.



I was met by a wide-eyed cutie, with pigtails, wearing a school uniform, roughly 5 or 6 years old.



I lent down and asked, "Are you lost sweetheart?"



"Yesssss, I can't find my Gwandad!"



We exchanged names, and decided we'd go and look for her Grandad together.



I slooooowly stood up straight, trying not to inflict more pain on to myself via my weak, weak back.



As we started to walk, I felt a warm, little, hand grab nervously on to mine. And suddenly, I didn't feel so awful. I felt happy.It feels so nice to be wanted, depended on and trusted. I smiled to myslef. And spotted and older gentleman in the corner.

"Is that your Grandad over there?" I asked.



Suddenly, this angelic little blossom holding my hand, did not feel so vunerable. I think what she was feeling could be accuratley described as....pretty ticked off.



"Yessss! That's him" she screeched accusingly.



Suddenly I was being dragged over to the far corner of the shop by this little girl.

As we reached Grandad, I was just about to open my mouth to let him know I had "found" his grandaughter, but the little one spoke up for herself.



She gave him a right telling off



"Gwandad! I was lost! And I was calling you but you didn't come back, and I was all alone, and, and the lady found me."



A bit embarassed, poor Grandad just looked at the ground.



"I was scared Gwandad! Aaaaand now, i'm allowed to get the colouring book aaaaand the lollies", the little lady demanded.



Grandad surrended, "Ok, then love."



I wondered, where did this little lady learn to negotiate? Well, one thing's for sure, it certainly wasn't from Grandad.

'Shop around'

My Mama told me, "you better shop around".



And that is exactly what we did, a few weekends ago.

The Marja bought a few things, I just looked. But here are a few things I would have bought if I had the money.



Oh I forgot to tell you...I have a cupcake fascination. I saw this t-shirt in the Warehouse and I love it.

I saw these two gems in Farmers...

I love this bright red! It is called 'Thrill of Brazil'. Too expensive though, at $23.99 each.

I love polka dots. Love, love, love these PJ's. They are just so cute. Again too expensive at $38.99

Oh to be able to afford to shop for such frivilous items :)

'Sorry seems to be the hardest word'

This morning, whilst waiting in the freezing cold to jump on a bus to Uni, I overheard an argument between a student and the bus driver. The bus driver would not accept a $20 note, due to a change shortage - fair enough. The angry guy, yelling profanity got off the bus. His outburst annoyed me - it was uncalled for and it delayed my quest for warmth.



As we waited for more people to get on the bus, I saw the 'Angry guy' approaching the bus.

He got on. He handed over a $2 coin and said to the bus driver

"I'm so sorry for my attitude before, I was out of line" and the bus driver gracefully accepted his apology and gave him his ticket.



I love it. I love that he apologised, and i love how the driver just accepted, no grudge, no angry attitude. In my experience, sometimes we take our frustrations out on the wrong people. To acknowledge his fault, and apologise in front of a bus full of people took gutts.



The next time somone apologises to you, consider that fact that sometime's it takes alot to admit to and take ownership of your bad behaviour.

'Going to the chapel'

I love Weddings. No matter who is getting married, or how, I love it.

It is no suprise to many who know me well, that I have held this fascination since I was a little girl . When i was 12, a friend and I started scrapbooking items of desire. My 1B5 exercise book soon became a Wedding scrapbook. A few years ago, my 1B5 got upgraded to the largest scrapbook I could find.

Much to my friends'  disgust, I later added tabs, for quick referencing (it's so large and full of information it needed tabs!).



As trashy as it seems, I am also an avid fan of celebrity "news". A few weeks ago, following the announcment that Khloe Kardashian was planning to get married, I checked out her website for more goss.

She had posted her top ten wedding movies.



This of course got me thinking. What are my favourite wedding movies?



Too many movies have weddings, all of them great for different reasons. It's too hard to pick only ten.



But I have chosen a few movie moments, which are wedding related, that I love.



Stepmom

I love this scene from Stepmom. It's not what you would call typically romantic. Some of my friends think that it is terribly un-romantic to talk of your past marriage when proposing to your new wife-to-be, when she has just woken up. I think the reason that I love it is because it is wonderfully raw & honest. The part about being in love, is a choice, and an act of will, no matter how hard things get, couldn't be more true - of any commited relationship. Also the thread/ring flying fox is pretty neat too.

Sweet Home Alabama













These first of these two clips is beautiful and charming. I love the dialogue. "I'm ten years old, i've too much to live for" - cracks me up. The line "So I can kiss you anytime I want" melts my heart. The look on her face says it all.



The second clip, (until 1.50) the mirror image makes me cry, and cry. I love in movie's when things come full circle. The line about Jake being the first boy she kissed, and hopefully the last, is so sweet, and of course the repeated line from clip one seals the deal for my top wedding clips.





Sex & the City: The Movie







I love how well this was done. I hate what happened - just to be clear. I loved the dresses and the venue. I love how well the shock, disbelief, and pain were portrayed. Most of all I love how protective the girls are of Carrie, when she scream get me out of here, and how Samantha has the forsight to stay and explain things at the wedding. It's almost as if she is trying to protect Carrie's pride and dignity. What i love the most is how Charlotte, who is usually tame, screams in Big's face "No!". Go Charlotte.





Forrest Gump







This is so sad. Honest, to the point & from the heart. My heart breaks for poor Forrest.







Well there you have it, my fave wedding clips. Hope you enjoyed them. What are some of your fave wedding related clips?