The wedding was perfect. Just perfect!
The honeymoon was not perfect. We both got sick. He from malaria meds he insisted on taking, then both us from a cold that was going around before we left. We visited Costa Rica and, on the good days, made it to a spice farm and an organic coffee plantation.
Did you know that vanilla is so expensive because there's a window of about 5 hours where the flower must be hand pollinated for the bean to grow? If they miss it, no vanilla bean!

We've moved into our new home and I've taken up vegetable gardening. I've grown 9 varieties of heirloom tomatoes from seed. It's amazing that they were about 4inches when I put them in the ground and now some are 4 feet tall!

I just thought I should pop in for short visit, post a picture or two. I don't know how often I will post again but I wanted to give a short update for those who took an interest in my life.  There are a couple of you on here who I think about from time to time and I hope you are well!

(Some may want to know: my dress was custom made in raw silk by a young local designer. She used to work in theatre doing costumes and now does only a few projects a year. It's made with a classic corset inside. Under the bust is a fabric rose applique ribbon that I beaded while catching up on LOST. Lace shoulder bits were hand made (tatted) by an old dutch lady in my town. All in all, I loved it and it was much less than buying the same thing at a boutique, I'm sure. My maid of honour designed the bouquets and they were made by the local grocery store!)

Well, it seems I'm back to good health. After a bout of bronchitis (possibly with H1N1) and then pneumonia less than a month later, I was beat. Then Christmas came etc etc.
Here's something I started over a month ago. I finished it quickly.
I hope to post more soon.
Oh, and Happy 2010!

**
When thinking about getting into a relationship with someone one must consider debt.

The unfortunate fact is that most people our age tend to have debt. Often it's school debt. On top of that, it may be credit card debt.

For me, it was mostly school debt and a bit of credit card debt stemming from bad money practices when on a low income. I was being paid very little to do the longest show, overnight, no sick days, no vacation days and I decided to rent an apartment on my own. But it was bad money practices that got me into that debt, not my circumstances.

Looking at my debt, I would get sad. The debt would mean never being able to move out of my parents because I'd never afford rent and paying off my debt. It meant not being able to buy a house for over 10 years.. or never if I moved out. I assumed I'd be alone (ie never have a the 'dual income') and I'd be subject to this life of ... well... never really having my own living space.


I thought I had it bad, but my best friend is a banker and she would tell me she sees people with $70 thousand plus on ... get this... credit cards!!

In light of these cases and the people  who come out of school with $30+ thousand on line of credits, my debt was very small- $15 000 in total.

And yet, I still couldn't seem to pay it off.  And even the prospect of paying it off wasn't that exciting. It'll take forever anyway, I thought, so why put too much effort towards it?

Then I was inspired.

I met someone who had no debt. Not only that, he had more money saved up than anyone our age I had ever met.
And then I realised how much of a burden this debt was, not only on me, but my future. Maybe I wasn't going to be alone after all so maybe I should deal with debt. I didn't want to enter a marriage with debt. I didn't want him to pay off my debt with half the money he'd diligently saved for a house. 

Early on in the relationship, I found out that he'd had no debt and I had to tell him that I had debt; school debt, I told him. Then I realised, I'd have to tell him about my credit card debt, which only sort of stemmed from my school days.

When I told him of the $2000 on the card, the expression on his face made me want to cry. I just knew he was disappointed. Quickly, I had to tell him that I had put a plan in place and was paying it off; that I'd be free of that debt in a couple months.

And he held me to it.

And I decided to do a proper budget. I decided when I wanted my whole debt to be payed off and then figure out how much I would have to put towards it each month. Then I made sure I put money in savings and still had enough for fixed bills and a bit of spending.

When paying off debt, you need to also save or else you'll end up back in debt when something comes up... like when you need a $350 brake job or the alternator dies on your car.

I'm pleased to say I will be debt free by July. Boy does it feel good.

I think it's important to be out of debt or on your way out of debt when you're on your way into a relationship. It'll take stress off you when you start imagining a future together.

It'll take the stress of you whether you're with someone or not, really. But especially if you're with someone and going to a build a life together.

I made pizza tonight.
The key to good pizza dough is letting it rise. It must rise or it will be tough and unpleasant.
There was a time that I didn't know that.
Then when I did find this out, I didn't have the patience to wait. I was sure it didn't make a difference.
But, indeed, it makes all the difference.

As I was kneading the dough this evening and thinking about this, I thought "maybe patience is the key to everything."

It's about letting happen what needs to happen for things to become as they need to be. Being impatient and rushing ahead won't make the bread rise faster. And sure, you'll have pizza but it won't be the kind of pizza you wanted.