The last couple of weeks... ok, months.

Hi guys,
Sorry I have not posted in so long. I promised myself I would not post to my blog while I was at work... It turns out that I spend more time at work than I realized!
While we are on the subject of work, I should comment about it. Since the last time I posted, I have submitted a report to my supervisor, which marks the half-way point for my placement. Everything seems to be going really well, and I am enjoying most of the work. Some days are really tiring though. I didn't realize how much energy it takes to keep organized and on-top of all your projects! It makes Uni feel like a walk in the park.

I have managed to post some photos since I posted last (so at least everyone knows I'm still alive) The photos show the last couple of months of my life (well, just the highlights).

Chris and I bought a new bed. It's a king size monster, and I can't believe it even fits into our bedroom! The bed head we chose in the end is the one we saw in Harvey Norman. It's got black leather on the bed head, and all the side beams and the foot of the bed are all leather. It's quite nice. The salesman we spoke with took 15% off the price for us, which I thought was pretty good of him.
When the bed got delivered, it came in a million pieces.... Chris and I spend a good two hours assembling it. The good thing was that it was not difficult to assemble once you got the hang of it. The hardest part was inserting the slats into the plastic brackets they provided. The plastic brackets were a blow moulded component, which surprised me.... but I guess I should have expected it, because it was a cheap-ish bed.
We bought the mattress direct from the factory in Thomastown. We decided to get a individually wrapped pocket-spring mattress with a latex and wool pillow-top. It's so soft!! And, when Chris crawls out of bed early in the morning, I don't get disturbed at all, because most of the motion is absorbed by the springs. It's fabulous. Anyways, we got a bit of a deal on that mattress too, it was half price, because the fabric they used on it is a discontinued line.... :) I was pleased.
By the time we bought all the other bits-and-pieces to make the bed complete, the bed was no-longer just a cheap bed. But I am pleased to report that my new latex pillow is REALLY comfortable. I have never slept better.

Tim and Marion have gotten married! Chris was the best man, and I was in the wedding party. It was loads of fun being part of the wedding entourage.
The morning of the wedding, Chris, Tim, Dan and I all went out to get our hair done. After getting our hair done, we went to mailing road, in Canterbury, for brunch. It was a really good way to start the day for all of us. I think it eased the nerves. Upon our return to Tim's place, we started writing speeches. (I love the way that we all tend to plan ahead no more than 12 hours in advance!) By the time the speeches were written, shoes were shined, and shirts were pressed, it was time to leave for the church.
Once we arrived at the church, we commenced our duties of meeting and greeting people. Then stood at the front of the church until the bride arrived. When Marion arrived, she looked stunning. (Just look at the photos!) Her bridesmaids proceeded down the isle and took positions at the front of the church, then Marion walked down the isle with her Dad. He looked so proud. :)
The service was fairly short, but was very touching. Tim and Marion shared their first kiss as husband and wife, and they also shared communion together for the first time as a married couple.
Following the wedding service, there was an afternoon tea for the guests, and there were loads of photos taken. So many family combinations and all the rest. Once the photos had been taken at the church, the whole bridal party piled into the limo and headed off to a beautiful property Marion had found in the hills for some more photos.
The weather was looking a little iffy, but managed to hold out long enough for Emma (the photographer) to get some amazing photos. She even managed to work the rain into some of the photos, with the sun shining through the clouds. It was so beautiful!
After an hour or so of photo taking, we all piled back into the limo and headed off to the reception. By the time we arrived at the reception, everyone else from the wedding had managed to find their seats in the reception center. The wedding party entered in a procession, taking seats at the front of the room. Our table was higher than the others, so everyone could look on as we ate. It was a little disconcerting eating on a stage, but it's something you don't get to do very often, so it was special.
During the reception, there was singing and dancing, and lots of good food and wine. It was really great, and I don't think Tim and Marion could have asked for a more perfect ending to their wedding ceremony. :)

Chris and I went to Canberra to visit Cheyne, Scott and Anthony over Queens Birthday weekend. I took a couple days off, so we took our time getting up there and back.
While we were in Canberra, Chris and I went car shopping. (I know we can't afford a new car, but sometimes it's fun to look). All the dealerships were lined up in a row, so we went through and looked at all the cars. I fell in love with the new Volkswagen EOS. It even beats the mini... that's saying a lot. The problem is that by the time I put on all the extra features I want, it would be about $56,000... :( Maybe out of my price range just at the moment.
Cheyne bought some fireworks for us, and Chris, Cheyne and I set them off on our last night in Canberra. They were not as big as the fireworks that you see on NYE or anything, but they were still a fairly good size. I uploaded some videos of the fireworks last month.
Cheyne seemed to be enjoying his job at supabarn (it's like IGA for us Victorians). Since our visit, he's since started working at Myer and has quit supabarn. I think he's also doing some work with St John, similar to what he used to do here in Melbourne. I'm glad that he seems to be settling in without too many issues.

Linda organized a karaoke night for all the PDE clan not long ago. Chris, Ryan, Fraser and I went along (after we had watched a game of football, which the Doggies won!). The idea behind karaoke is that you hire a small room and fill it with drunken friends then sing really badly (behind closed doors). I think maybe I went a bit too far with the drunken friends bit, and maybe with the singing bit...
I did such a great impression of Britney Spears as I was singing Toxic. Unfortunately, a video of this surfaced, and I discovered that after my champaign had worn off, that I didn't sound anything like Britney! (Why does she have to have such a high voice?) Even with bad videos of me floating around YouTube, I still think it was the best night out I have had in a long time. I really enjoyed just doing something stupid with all my friends.

Speaking of hanging out with the Uni gang, we went to Sophias in Camberwell for dinner one evening. it was quite a fun night. I remember Diana ordering the fish, thinking it would be a part of a fish, not an entire fish... head and all! Following dinner, everyone came back to our place for hot chocolates and coffee and other edibles. it was a fun night.

I had a bit of a fright one night when I arrived home from work around the usual time, only to discover a 42 inch HD plasma TV in our bedroom! I was worried about how much Chris had spent on it. (Chris always teased me about worrying about money.) Apparently, my worries were not required, because Chris had won the TV through work! After a week or so of having the TV in our bedroom, I decided it was probably best to move it into the lounge room. I bought a new TV stand for it, and we set it up in the lounge room. We also got rid of some of the couches that were cluttering the lounge, so the whole room looks bigger now. (check out the photos!)

Aunt Cindy, Uncles Steve and Selia from the USA came to visit for the school holidays. I went to go and pick them up from the airport, because it was close to my work. Their plane was 5 hours late!! So by the time they arrived home, they wanted to go straight to bed.
It worked out that the next day was the 4th of July, so we celebrated by playing with sparklers in the park opposite Mum and Dad's house. (There are some photos of us playing with the sparklers)
Mum, Dad, Peter, Phil, Cindy, Steve and Selia set off on a trip around regional Victoria to see some of the "outback". When they arrived back from their little trip, we took a day to go and see the city. We saw some street performers on Southbank, which was kinda cool. We also went to Docklands, Federation square, Melbourne Central, before winding up back on Southbank.
One of the highlights of the day was seeing the new Pixar exhibit at ACMI. It was really cool, and opened my eyes to how difficult it is to create such lovable animated characters.

Last night, I went to Nicole's 21st birthday. It was so much fun, although I should comment that the Wheatland clan was under-represented on the dancefloor. There will be some photos to come :)

If you have read this far, you are clearly a patient person. Congratulations on making it!