Another Year
Happy 2013, everyone! I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday (I know, it's been a few weeks).
I should really keep better track of my going-ons! I guess I'll go back a month and recap!
My Christmas was very enjoyable. I had the week between Christmas and New Year's off, and just relaxed. My shopping was done early, and Ben and I watched several Christmas movies for the couple weeks leading up to Christmas. My family all came to visit us in Edmonton. They came over to my place on Christmas Eve, and we went to Dylan and Tasha's Christmas morning. Ben and I spent the rest of the day at his mom's, then to his aunt's for dinner. Both of our families were so kind to include us with gifts and stockings. It was really nice. :)
Three days before Christmas, Dylan told me he was planning on proposing to Tasha (finally!), and wanted my help with picking out a ring. Cue major big sister gushing! Awwwww! He had already been looking online and in a few stores previously, and had his mind set on one. We went to Costco with Mom, and the three of us instantly fell in love with the one he had in mind. But, Dylan is very meticulous when it comes to ensuring things like this are perfect, so he just wanted to check out a few more stores first, to make sure there wasn't a ring that stood out to him even more.
Dylan and Mom spent the 23rd looking around, and after a few hours, he finally decided that the first ring was, in fact, the one he wanted. So they headed back to Costco, and... it was gone. They sold it ten minutes before Dylan and Mom arrived. It was now 4:30p, and Dylan was frantically phoning all the other stores, to see if anyone had the same ring. No one in Alberta had it, but there was one ring left in Vancouver. Dylan arranged with my cousin Sara to have her pick it up, then he paid to fly her here on Christmas Day (as she was planning on visiting her family here a couple days later, anyway), to ensure the ring was here on time!
Sara wasn't arriving until the evening of the 25th, so Dad and Ling drove out to the airport to pick up the ring, then brought it back to Dylan's. He finally proposed at 10p, just before the day was over. Tasha loves Christmas so much, and her parents were engaged on Christmas Day as well, so Dylan knew how special it would be to make sure it was on Christmas Day as well. *gush* My brother can be a real sweetheart sometimes! He wanted to do it Christmas morning, but all things considered, I think things worked out perfectly!
They're planning on getting married in Disneyland in March 2015. Lots of time to prepare and save up. Tasha already have tonnes of ideas, and I love them all. ^____^ She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and wants me to help with designing the invitations as well.
After Christmas, Justen came up for a few days! It was nice to have a few of the old gang back together again. We had our annual gift exchange at Amanda Mullins' place, which was fun. Ben hadn't signed up for the exhange, but Lia and Mike brought him a little gift. How thoughtful. :) During Justen's visit, we also saw Les Mis and played board games for New Year's at the Ouellet's!
Ben and I both had a rather subpar 2012, so I'm happy we were able to ring in the new year together. I still find myself reflective over the events of the past year. It was one of the most negative years for me in a long time, despite a few very positive moments. I'm not yearning for what was lost, but more just regretful that the events unfolded the way they did. Once the new year hit, I felt a lot more hopeful of what's to come, and more at ease with letting go of the past. I'm going to make a few goals for myself, and just focus on being happier this year. :)
It was my birthday on Saturday, and I had an amazing day. My friends met me at Cora's for breakfast, then Ben and I went to the Farmer's Market. I then had a hair appointment, as I was overdue and wanted to look nice for the dinner Ben was preparing. It was my first time with a new stylist in 8 years (wow). I was quite pleased with the cut, I must say! The person I went to, Elizabeth, was super personable, artsy, and fun, and seemed very intuitive with what I wanted.
After my haircut, I went back to Ben's, where he was planning a six-course meal. I arrived to a table nicely set with candles, Paul McCartney playing in the background, and my birthday presents waiting for me on the counter: two new tea pots! He ordered one from Japan and one from China, and they're both amazing. He's so good at gifts! Shortly after I arrived, we started eating (and took breaks after every couple courses, because ahh, so much food!). Even dinner was so perfect. Ben's very observant of people, and remembered all of my favourite dishes, from a handful of passing conversations. The courses were:
-fresh bread and cheeses from the Farmer's Market;
-grilled caesar salad;
-French Onion soup;
-vegan mac n' cheese;
-carrot cake (with 29 candles!);
-fruit and cheese.
Everything was made from scratch, save for the bread, cheese, and pasta, which were all fresh. We had my new favourite wine (Apothic Red) throughout dinner, and tea for the last two courses. We were supposed to go out with Dylan and Tasha afterwards, but I was stuffed (and still suffering from a lingering cold), so they came over to Ben's for cake and wine instead. It was lovely. :)
While we were relaxing between courses, Ben and I were talking about going to Japan, which we have been talking about for a little while now. Ben is a great motivator, and believes in just doing things if you want to do them. I've always talked about wanting to go to Japan*, so he convinced me to just start planning for it. I said, "okay, in the next 1-2 years," and he said, "no, how about April?" So, after a few discussions to see if it was plausible, we now have our tickets booked!! I can't believe it! It hasn't really registered yet. We'll be gone April 4-22, hopefully just in time for the cherry blossom season! I'm so excited!
*The first time I met Ben was in 2006 at Japanese Village, and we were talking about all things Japanese the whole evening. After a bit too much sake, he kept giving me "Japanese points" for anything I did that showed my knowledge of Japanese culture, hehe.
Oh my god, I have more to write, but I've already written so much and it's late! I'll update again soon!
I should really keep better track of my going-ons! I guess I'll go back a month and recap!
My Christmas was very enjoyable. I had the week between Christmas and New Year's off, and just relaxed. My shopping was done early, and Ben and I watched several Christmas movies for the couple weeks leading up to Christmas. My family all came to visit us in Edmonton. They came over to my place on Christmas Eve, and we went to Dylan and Tasha's Christmas morning. Ben and I spent the rest of the day at his mom's, then to his aunt's for dinner. Both of our families were so kind to include us with gifts and stockings. It was really nice. :)
Three days before Christmas, Dylan told me he was planning on proposing to Tasha (finally!), and wanted my help with picking out a ring. Cue major big sister gushing! Awwwww! He had already been looking online and in a few stores previously, and had his mind set on one. We went to Costco with Mom, and the three of us instantly fell in love with the one he had in mind. But, Dylan is very meticulous when it comes to ensuring things like this are perfect, so he just wanted to check out a few more stores first, to make sure there wasn't a ring that stood out to him even more.
Dylan and Mom spent the 23rd looking around, and after a few hours, he finally decided that the first ring was, in fact, the one he wanted. So they headed back to Costco, and... it was gone. They sold it ten minutes before Dylan and Mom arrived. It was now 4:30p, and Dylan was frantically phoning all the other stores, to see if anyone had the same ring. No one in Alberta had it, but there was one ring left in Vancouver. Dylan arranged with my cousin Sara to have her pick it up, then he paid to fly her here on Christmas Day (as she was planning on visiting her family here a couple days later, anyway), to ensure the ring was here on time!
Sara wasn't arriving until the evening of the 25th, so Dad and Ling drove out to the airport to pick up the ring, then brought it back to Dylan's. He finally proposed at 10p, just before the day was over. Tasha loves Christmas so much, and her parents were engaged on Christmas Day as well, so Dylan knew how special it would be to make sure it was on Christmas Day as well. *gush* My brother can be a real sweetheart sometimes! He wanted to do it Christmas morning, but all things considered, I think things worked out perfectly!
They're planning on getting married in Disneyland in March 2015. Lots of time to prepare and save up. Tasha already have tonnes of ideas, and I love them all. ^____^ She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and wants me to help with designing the invitations as well.
After Christmas, Justen came up for a few days! It was nice to have a few of the old gang back together again. We had our annual gift exchange at Amanda Mullins' place, which was fun. Ben hadn't signed up for the exhange, but Lia and Mike brought him a little gift. How thoughtful. :) During Justen's visit, we also saw Les Mis and played board games for New Year's at the Ouellet's!
Ben and I both had a rather subpar 2012, so I'm happy we were able to ring in the new year together. I still find myself reflective over the events of the past year. It was one of the most negative years for me in a long time, despite a few very positive moments. I'm not yearning for what was lost, but more just regretful that the events unfolded the way they did. Once the new year hit, I felt a lot more hopeful of what's to come, and more at ease with letting go of the past. I'm going to make a few goals for myself, and just focus on being happier this year. :)
It was my birthday on Saturday, and I had an amazing day. My friends met me at Cora's for breakfast, then Ben and I went to the Farmer's Market. I then had a hair appointment, as I was overdue and wanted to look nice for the dinner Ben was preparing. It was my first time with a new stylist in 8 years (wow). I was quite pleased with the cut, I must say! The person I went to, Elizabeth, was super personable, artsy, and fun, and seemed very intuitive with what I wanted.
After my haircut, I went back to Ben's, where he was planning a six-course meal. I arrived to a table nicely set with candles, Paul McCartney playing in the background, and my birthday presents waiting for me on the counter: two new tea pots! He ordered one from Japan and one from China, and they're both amazing. He's so good at gifts! Shortly after I arrived, we started eating (and took breaks after every couple courses, because ahh, so much food!). Even dinner was so perfect. Ben's very observant of people, and remembered all of my favourite dishes, from a handful of passing conversations. The courses were:
-fresh bread and cheeses from the Farmer's Market;
-grilled caesar salad;
-French Onion soup;
-vegan mac n' cheese;
-carrot cake (with 29 candles!);
-fruit and cheese.
Everything was made from scratch, save for the bread, cheese, and pasta, which were all fresh. We had my new favourite wine (Apothic Red) throughout dinner, and tea for the last two courses. We were supposed to go out with Dylan and Tasha afterwards, but I was stuffed (and still suffering from a lingering cold), so they came over to Ben's for cake and wine instead. It was lovely. :)
While we were relaxing between courses, Ben and I were talking about going to Japan, which we have been talking about for a little while now. Ben is a great motivator, and believes in just doing things if you want to do them. I've always talked about wanting to go to Japan*, so he convinced me to just start planning for it. I said, "okay, in the next 1-2 years," and he said, "no, how about April?" So, after a few discussions to see if it was plausible, we now have our tickets booked!! I can't believe it! It hasn't really registered yet. We'll be gone April 4-22, hopefully just in time for the cherry blossom season! I'm so excited!
*The first time I met Ben was in 2006 at Japanese Village, and we were talking about all things Japanese the whole evening. After a bit too much sake, he kept giving me "Japanese points" for anything I did that showed my knowledge of Japanese culture, hehe.
Oh my god, I have more to write, but I've already written so much and it's late! I'll update again soon!