10.11.12

It's all over! The big day has come and gone, but it was everything I had dreamed of and more.
As happy as I am with all of the materialistic glits and glam part of it all, my favourite thing was just the feeling I had the whole day and even now.
I am so overwhelmed and touched by all the support and love that we have from our family and friends. Words really can't describe just how amazing it feels to have experienced such a beautiful day. Yes, I am so incredible happy to be in love and have married the man I will spend the rest of my life with.. but I feel like a wedding is also a celebration of family and friends. I have been so blessed to have friendships with the greatest people and the fact that they were all there to help me celebrate this milestone was just amazing. I am so grateful for everyone that made my day special and I have the most cherished memories that I can carry with me for the rest of my life.

I am now on holiday which means I have time to reminisce and create a wedding book which I can't wait to start. I can spend some much needed time with Aiva and do fun things with her leading up to Christmas and I also have a goal to learn to play the ukulele which was a wedding gift!

Everyone asks what is it like to be married now and although it is very similar to life before, everything just seems... better. Whatever we do now, we're doing it as husband and wife. So the hugs, kisses and chilling on the couch just seems that little bit more special since we're married. I love having this new role and I want to continue growing and working at becoming the best mother and wife I can be. This is all just another chapter in my long story, and although it will be challenging I know it's going to be the best yet. x

in the arms of an angel

it's times like these when your faith is truly tested. one of my best friends younger brother passed away yesterday morning and it's still hard to think about. i have never experienced losing a loved one before so it is a new and strange feeling. it breaks my heart thinking about what my friend and her parents are going through. my immediate reaction was to break down and let it out, but after having some time to grieve i have learned to accept it.
i believe that he is in a much better place and smiling down on all of us. i believe that this happened for a reason, although it is so hard to understand why. i hope people realise how precious life is and how important it is to love as much as you can and stop wasting time hating and being angry at the world. Life is such an amazing gift and we need to make the most of it. Yes we only live once, but instead of living it up and drinking it down we need to make our time here worthwhile and make every second count for the better.

i continue praying for the family to get through this hard time and i know that i will see his smiling face one sweet day. xx

Final Countdown

Real men take sticker photos! At the end of June it was Fahim's 21st birthday, he celebrated with a small dinner with close family and friends at nandos!! yum yum. Afterwards 6 of us went to Timezone, winning 200+ tickets and buying candy ha, then to end the night we went to play bowling. Goood times!

Another birthday celebrated was my bff Grace, who turned the big TWO THREE lol not even big. We had a lovely dinner at Thai Village, absolute delish and then a night out in town. Ventures include, stripclub, karaoke club and a long cold walk to Bakehouse and back to town. More good times. The following Sunday Timmo took us and his best friends family out for a ride on his Dad's boat, it was the most gorgeous perfect day to go, although Aiva got a bit anxious on the boat she LOVED the playground afterwards.

My last week of holiday was actually really great. I worked two days at holiday programme which included a trip to the movies to watch Ice Age 4 (see my loose change McD's lunch.) A dinner date with two of my best uni friends, $2 tacos and $6 desserts via Amigos & Iguana, the perfect day out with my baby girl and then topping it all off with a very unplanned but still just as fun night out with my girlfriends.

Just what I needed to end this great holiday break, but now back to Uni and time to get into student-mode! xx

Me time

As much as I love my gorgeous baby girl, I had a really good day today having some me time. I started off with lunch at The Bank with one of my dearest high school friends Marija, we hadn't seen each other in over a year, which is quite ridiculous since we live 5 minutes away from each other but it was really really great to catch up with her and we plan to make our catch ups much more regular this time! We went to Robert Harris after our delicious lunch for a cuppa, which was perfect for the cold day that it was, and then we parted ways just in time for her work and for me to go to my florist appointment!


My appointment went very well! Andrea the owner of 'Twigs' was so lovely and helpful and I don't think I have ever been so excited about flowers before!
I went to see Briar at work and we were able to catch up since the store (Wildpair) wasn't too busy and I found some pretty amazing shoes that could possibly be the ones for the wedding!! Eee, exciting! I love shoes in general and these were just *sigh* so good, they were so freaken comfortable that I just didn't want to take them off! 


I went to Kmart afterwards just to look around and I ended up buying some undies heh, cute boyleg ones. By this time it was nearly 4 so I decided to catch the bus home which I haven't done in a really long time, but I used to ALL the time when I was studying hospitality back in 2008. I quite like bus rides, it's so relaxing and you can kind of zone out and go into your own lala land, mine being Keanu Reeves :)


Got off the bus and nearly got attacked by a dog, so scary omg I actually thought it was going to bite my leg. Eek! Freaked me out yo. It came out of nowhere too. Couldn't let that ruin my day though, I had a really really great day. I think alone time is something I needed and just a break from Mommyhood for a couple of hours. BUT there's nothing better than coming home back to it & a gorgeous little girl saying, "Muuuuuummmm!" when you walk in the door :)

my Little Red Hen from The Bank and some eggless chocolate cupcakes I baked the other day... they're all gone now.. :p xx

mid-semester break

Break = More Aiva time, more family time, catching up with girlfriends and more wedding planning time! I decided to create a whole new blog just for the wedding, but I think I'll keep it on the D.L for now and share it to more people later on... eee so exciting, not too long now!

Having all this time not stressing about assignments is the most wonderful feeling! It's so nice being able to sleep in that little more and relax, have time for myself and just hangout. Although I am trying keep my days more on the productive side since I completely failed last week to accomplish things.
However, Mum and me are now doing Zumba! Trying to get into shape before the big day which is fun. I have also been able to see a lot of friends that I don't get to see much while I'm at Uni which is REALLY great, girlfriends are the best friends. There's nothing like letting loose and being yourself around the people that you love. I had dinner with my closest friends last night and it's so good to be able to catch up with everyone, we're all at different stages in our lives and we're all into different things but we still come together and are really supportive and there for each other which I really love.

Tonight I'm going to see Brave with my 3 girlies from Uni which should be fun. Timmo's going to look at suits with 2 out of his 3 groomsmen and possibly our little ring bearer Chance, cuute!

Anyway I'll end with some pxts of Aiva that are from the last couple of weeks. She makes me giggle x

Slack.

I knew this would happen! I always end up forgetting about my blogs, but I'm back now and hopefully more frequently.

A lot has happened in the last 3 months, I've started Uni and already nearing the end of my first semester. I remember being so nervous on the first day but I'm so used to it now and feel like I live there. I love my T-group (kind of like a form class) They are all so lovely and we're all getting closer as the year goes on, I've made some great friends already, which definitely makes uni much easier. The workload can be a bit much, these upcoming weeks are going to be Crazy busy! But thats okay cause I'll have 5 weeks off afterwards, I am soo excited about that.

There has also been a lot of progress with the wedding! But we'll save that for another entry :)

xx

P.S - Happy one year anniversary to my sister and her hubby!!

3 year Valentine

On Saturday night Timmo and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary and Valentines day. We went to Cock & Bull for dinner, was a gorgeous night and there was an awesome live performance by Jeremy Pickford. He was a great singer, singing some amazing classics all through the night, he was great entertainment! Food was delish too.
After dinner we decided to go to Skycity and drop by the casino. We usually just play pokies but this time we decided to have a try at Blackjack. We weren't too bad! Timmo got $50 in chips and for ages we would win some, lose some, win some, lose some.. It was so much fun and we giggled like idiots whenever we would lose lol. I told him I didn't want to leave unless it was with our $50 or more, so with only $20 left we bet the whole thing and got a straight 21! So we ended up leaving with a profit of $5 haha... which was enough to pay for parking lol. Which is fine, it was good fun and we didn't lose any money.
After the casino we drove around and decided to get an ice cream from Mcdonalds for dessert, how romantic haha... and of course nothing better than coming home to our beautiful girl. Who of course, was still up :)

Yesterday for the real Valentines day/Anniversary Timmo had a job interview at Solid Energy in Huntly, so he was there all day. He thinks it went well, so fingers crossed he gets it!
We had KFC for dinner like a true couple in love lol, Aiva loved it and munched down a bunch of popcorn chicken.
Came home watched some Kourtney and Kim take New York, and we borrowed the Adjustment Bureau from the video store. Was a very nice relaxing night with my loves :)

Do ya thang

Yesterday me and one of my best friends Dan got a tattoo! It was Dan's second and my 5th and 6th. Sounds like a lot, but it's not really.

I used to hate tattoos, when my first boyfriend said he was going to get one I was so disgusted (I think I was 16 at the time) and now, i LOVE them.
Whenever I see someone with a tattoo I'm automatically drawn to see what it is, the design and where it's done.
I know not everyone likes tattoos, some people over think it and worry what it will look like when you're older, some don't like the idea of putting yourself in pain and some are just totally against it.. which is fine - but if it's not your body, quit judging.

i think tattoos are a great way to express you who are, they're fun, beautiful, addictive and I love them. I wouldn't let anyone else's views stop me from getting a tattoo.
I'm not careless with my tattoos, they all have meaning which I'll get to now :)

In 2008 I got my first tattoo (as you can see it has faded) but I still love it all the same and already thinking of adding a small image with it. 

I love my last name, I love my family, I'm proud of being a Valencia. It's pretty much how all the gangsta people put their last names HUGE on the side of their arm, except a more subtle version :) -FAMOUS DAVE's, done by Dave

In 2009 I got my star sign on the inside of my right ankle. This kind of represents the years of my single, free spirit, party days. When I was young and still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I don't really follow star signs that much, But i do think personality traits are pretty bang on, Well mine are anyway, Leo! -FAMOUS DAVE'S, done by Ziggy

In 2010 I got my 3rd tattoo, just before my 21st birthday. It was kind of my present to myself. "La Vita e Bella" translates to Life is Beautiful. Not only is it a great saying, but It's an italian movie that I watched with my dad when I was little, maybe 8? (everyone should see it by the way) It's an AMAZING story and it stays with you forever. In the movie the main actor calls his future wife "Princepessa" and Dad started calling me that after we watched it, he still does today. :) So this one was for my daddy. -SKINKS, done by Slim

My 4th and 5th was done separately. I got the flower done first in 2011, which represents my family. 5 petals for us 5 kids and then the 2 side bits coming out representing mum and dad who keep us all together. I'm really close with my family, and in 2011 I had some hard times but whenever something would come up, one of my siblings would manage to make me feel better. I got the 'strength' added to fill in the space at the top of my foot, and well because they're my strength. -INK'D UP, Ziggy

I got this one done yesterday, along with 'strength'. I never PROPERLY understood what Faith meant until I joined bible study. Now it has so much meaning to me and what keeps me going and motivated. i really love this tattoo and where I got it. It's perfect for when I put my hands together to pray, It's somewhere that I can see all the time so I never forget to have faith. and especially now whenever I'm tempted to go back into my old ways, I just look down and know to have faith in God and that i can get through anything with him. -INK'D UP, Zig

As you can see I've gotten one every year since I was 18, and I don't think these are my last for the year. I'm not gutsy enough to get something like a sleeve, but as long as they're small, subtle and good for me, I'm going to keep getting them. xx

We need a Resolution

That time of year again, where we set goals for ourselves to achieve during the year, I don't think I've properly done this in a long time, probably cause I never end up doing any. But this year I am determined to keep this list in mind and follow through! Soo.. to start off with:

Pretty self explanatory. This for me means continuing going to bible study and learning more about his word. Making God a priority and not an option, keeping a good relationship with him and not forgetting about him.

 2. Study super hard and pass my first year of Uni. Keep it a top priority to always be on track and on top of workloads, no procrastinating!

3. Be healthy - a very popular resolution. But it's time to put down the chocolate and constant takeaways and pick up the fruits and vegetables. Also drinking lots of water, no more fizzy's. And possibly picking up the Lift+ and putting down the booze when going out. This will probably be really good for my skin too.

4.  Get my Restricted. I'm actually a rebel and not driving with my L plates atm, lol with a little practice with parking and reversing I'm sure I can go get it soon. Also it's time to not rely on Timmo and Mum so much.

5. And lastly, SAVE SAVE SAVE for my dream wedding to happen at the end of the year. :)

Hello 2012!

2011 was definitely a roller coaster ride! It was a great year where I learned a lot about myself as a mum and who I am. I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful family and friends that I have in my life that was there to support and love my family and I.

This year I will be a student again! After 3 long years of being out of the game, I pray that I still have it in me to achieve all the things I want to and am able to stay focused throughout the year.
I also get to watch my beautiful daughter live her 3rd year of life, there is nothing more amazing than watching her learn and grow into the crazy but cute little thing she is..

And lastly i will officially become a wife! Still a while a way, but it's definitely an exciting time and I can't wait for the special moment to come.

I pray that all of you have an amazing year ahead, remember to surround yourself with positive people that only lift you higher and not bring you down.

Catch you soon,
Ange xx