Am I glowing??

As I mentioned in my previous blog my single streak finished when I met a wonderful man called Philip. I also promised in my previous blog that I would share a bit of our story, so here it is.....

March 2008 - As was usually my tradition I went to visit our sister church after my usual night church service finished as this is there church where all of my friends from uni go. On this particular night I noticed straight away that there was a new person at the church that I had never seen before but was not able to see him clearly. After a few minutes I noticed that this 'stranger' seemed to know a lot of people in the church and was slowly making his way in the same direction as me. As i stood chatting and giggling with one of my best friends I also noticed that he was getting along really well with her husband. It was also at this time that I got a good enough look at him, and needless to say, liked what I saw. We eventually ended up having a conversation that lasted from about 8pm through till 1am, we couldn't shut up and no one else seemed to exist for the rest of the night. I was away on prac at this time but managed to see him at church and around the place when I came back on weekend visits.

July 2008 - Seeing each other on weekends became a regular thing when my prac finished and for almost 2 months we managed to hang out almost every weekend, spending a lot of time drinking coffee after church, going for walks, hanging out in groups etc.

August 27th 2008 - A message from me asking "what is going on" finally spurred us on to make our relationship official, much to the relief of those around us who were left wondering and hoping that we would get our act together.

January 2009 - Today we are still very happy together and find great joy in sickening everyone around us by pretending to whisper sweet nothings to each other and giving each other long meaningful looks and giggles. Its all very fun.

We both enjoy coffee and cooking and music so a lot of the time that we spend together involves one or more of them. Ours is a very normal relationship in that we don't rely on romantic gestures or constant action or excitement to keep us going. In fact, for us, the best times together have just been cooking dinner together, cleaning his room together or having a simple conversation over a cup of coffee. OK over my cup of coffee cos his is always finished within the first 2 minutes!

On top of all this he keeps finding new ways to make me smile or laugh, its like he made it his mission to brighten every day. Sometimes this is through simple things like putting a pretty pattern in the crema of my coffee, giving me a shoulder rub or turning off the computer game as soon as I get there. However, every now and then, when I least expect it he will do something big and imaginative and so romantic that I can't help but grin for days afterward. For example....

A horse-drawn carriage ride through the streets of Melbourne after a trip where he met my whole family

A surprise picnic with all my favourite foods to celebrate my last day of university

Breakfast, a road trip and a picnic lunch to celebrate my birthday

Despite coming from families that speak different languages and have fairly different dynamics our core values and principles are the same. It is hard to explain but it still gets me how two different people can just work together the way that we do. I have used the term "we just clicked" before but in this case I swear the "click" was hear by everyone around us, we just fit so well together. He makes me very happy and I would like to think, I hope with a sincere heart, that I make him feel the same and that I am able to do as much for him as he has done for me.

A friend once commented that since our relationship started I have had a distinct glow, I wonder... do I still glow that way??

The wanderer returns...

Well I finally decided to check my blog again and realised that I haven't posted anything since September!! No wonder my family has given up on reading this! I have been SERIOUSLY lacking in inspiration but seeing as how it has been so long I may as well just give an update on my life.

Something that I didn't mention in my previous post was that I am now no longer single. In August Phil and I finally put everyone (and ourselves) out of their misery and dating officially. It has been a wonderful 4 months and a whirlwind of romantic gestures (more details to come) and happy evenings of blissful "domesticity" with most events centred around food, cooking and coffee!

I headed down to Kerang in lecture recess to catch up with my parents and assist my sisters in their devious plan to throw a surprise 50th birthday party for my mother. Phil was in on the plan arranging to also come down for the party claiming that it was the only time that he got off work. This way he also got to meet the entire family in one hit (and didn't run away screaming!!!). The whole (week and weekend) was a hit and I was able to my mother's eyes light up like a 5yr-old who just got a puppy!

The following weeks were a crazy rush of lectures, workshops, assignments, studying and spending far too much time with Phil! However, finally, on October 31st, at 4pm I walked out of my last ever university class having handed in my last ever university assignment! I was a wonderful feeling but exhaustion sunk in before 6pm hit and I celebrated by watching a movie! I also spent the following couple of days watching every Disney Princess movie ever made.

I worked my way to Christmas which I spent with the family in Kerang. 4 days of constant eating and quality family time. My nephew Rudi now finally knows who I am and for at least a couple of days Tiaan would give me at least one hug a day without being coerced! I spent the week following New Year in Kerang doing nothing but reading and drinking far too much plunger coffee!

That brings me to today. I have just finished 2 weeks of working almost everyday and most of them being early morning shifts, with 2 days being 8 hours (I nearly died!) which my bank account is loving me for and which is also going to help pay for a trip to Brisbane happening in 2 weeks, when and where I will finally meet Phil's family and get to spend some time seeing what his life was like before he moved to Townsville. Who knows, we might even get to hit a theme park or two and do a bit of bushwalking. Either way it should be a great couple of weeks!

That brings everyone, including myself, up to date. I have also left sufficient gaps to (hopefully) inspre a few more blogs in the foreseeable future!