We're Married!

Huge Update

This is me on the light to light hiking trip we did on the south coast of nsw.
Well, what haven't we been up to! Too busy obviously to update the blog.
I finished my certificate 4 in Vet Nursing and am now seriously considering completing the diploma in Vet nursing in the year or so, if I qualify for admittance.
We have been busy with wedding plans and now its only 2 months away...although it feels a lot closer. We have most things organized, except for the little things. It has been such a busy year, I am in desperate need of a good holiday! I am really looking forward to hanging out with all the family and friends who are coming and still am a bit overwhelmed that they are all going to be there for us! Not at all nervous about actually getting married....just the whole show of the wedding really. We have also booked a most fabulous honeymoon to Samoa! So excited!
Our summer has been full of work and a few fun activities. Canoeing, swimming, hiking trips and camping trips! I have completed nearly two 6week boocamps and feel really fit!

camping on the south coast

camping the night before the big hike.

awesome swimming hole we found

Finally Finished

As I guess you can tell I have been really slacking on the blog front. Its not that we haven't been busy doing things but I have been putting on my spare time into completing my Certificate 4 in Vet Nursing. And, as of last Wed I had my last exam. Everything else has been handed in so other than waiting to hear this last exams results I am finished!
Thats around 25,772kms driving, 2 years, $3400 spent on fuel. Will not miss the driving one bit. I am however, really happy that I chose to go down this path. I now have an interesting and rewarding career a head of me in Vet Nursing.
I am now working full-time at the Vets as well as two weekends a month a Alpine Gables Hotel. Until my wage goes up, Vet Nursing doesn't pay that well, so for the mean time I will keep working the two jobs.
On Ben's job front, he hasn't had much work since the winter ski season finished. Which has been hard but really is the reality of living in Jindabyne in summer and another reason why I wanted to find some other career that wasn't tourist related.
Ben had been going really well in the CFA recruitment process but unfortunately didn't get a final interview. The goods news is that if he wants t reapply next year he doesn't have to do most of the hard parts of the process again and will hopefully get some more interview experience before than.
He also has quite a few other job applications out there for some other interesting positions. I'll keep you updated.
The last two weekends he has been out being the campsite manager for the Kosciuszko Guided Walks tours that he did some work for a few summers ago. Glad he has that but unfortunately the work isn't at all full time.
All of this isn't good news for a couple trying to plan and pay for a wedding but I am sure things will turn around soon.
In other wedding news...I now have my wedding dress at home! I will go in the new year and have the alterations done, but waiting for a bit closer to the wedding date.
I am into my Fourth week of boot camp. These classes are put on by the gym that I am a member of and go 3x a week from 6:30am rain or shine. It has been excellent! I am feeling fitter and healthier and we will see at the end of the 7 weeks if I have lost any fat or kg. It has been so great I am definitely going to sign up for the next one in February.
A few weekends ago we escaped up around Port Macquarie for the annual Anderson Camping Trip.

Congratulations Dan & Karina

We recently went up to Port Macquarie for the night (aren't we just the jet setters!!) To celebrate with Ben's brother Dan and his new wife Karina. The went off to the Cook Islands to get married in June and had an after wedding party in Port Macquarie.
Originally, the party we going to be held on an island just outside of Port Macquarie but due to the wet winter they changed the venue to an inside location. It was really fun and great to catch up with everyone....as always not long enough.

The wedding cake photo

Things around here have been busy. I have been back at CIT for a few weeks now and still enjoying it but looking forward to finishing my studies around December. More importantly, finishing my bi-weekly 5hr car trips to Canberra!
I am now working 2-3 days at the Snowy Mountains Veterinary Hospital and every week I am learning more and improving my Vet Nursing Skills. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't think of doing this Career earlier, as I am really enjoying it.

Wedding plans are still coming around we are now around the 9 months mark till the big day. EEK! I am still unsure how I am going to get everything organized, especially with only 1 maybe 2 trips up to Port Macquarie before the big day.
Alot of things still hang up in the air but I am sure they will fall in place in due time. At least I have my dress, flower ideas, reception and ceremony venues.....we still in the process of securing the celebrant and may have found a photographer(depending on his cost.)

Also, we are going to look at a house for rent next week! Still not sure how I feel about moving for a number of reasons. 1) we actually own no furniture and 2) Ben hasn't decided what he is doing for work this summer. This house looks great, isn't too expensive and it takes pets! Which means we could FINALLY get a dog! We have been waiting years for a dog.

In one more week, Ben goes to Melbourne to complete stage 1 of the recruitment process for the Rural Fire Service. He is doing his fitness test. He has been practising and looks is able to pass what the they require...I am sure he will do just fine on the day as long as he stays focussed.

Oh well, all for now and keep you updated on any new developments.

Winter Has Arrived

Yes, winter on Kirwan Close has arrived! Along with the hooligans! This happened a few days before the "official start" to winter. Hope its not a sign of things to come.

I'll apologize for the long delay in posting but I have actually been super busy. I am now two tests away from finishing semester 1 of my Cert 4 in Vet Nursing and am about to start my first actual regular paid shifts at the Vets. I will be working thurs and Fri at the Cooma Animal Hospital. Jindabyne and Cooma Vets are run by the same people and Cooma is busier and there will also be an extra nurse there for me to ask questions and then eventually I will most likely work at the Jindabyne Vets in the long term. I don't mind but I guess the only draw back in the commute because Cooma is 45mins away from Jindabyne and that combined with a low wage I am no better off financially but I am closer to my official change of careers!
It has been a long time coming and I am excited about it.

Ben started work back at Thredbo this week (ski-patrolling if you didn't know) and he is loving it! The snow is terrible but it doesn't matter and he is pretty happy because he beat some of the other more long term ski patrollers in their start dates. Just shows how much he is valued.

My other exciting news is that I have ordered my wedding dress! You know how you always hear you "will know when its the one" well the first time I tried it on I was about 85% sure but when I went back to try it on again I was %100 sure. I am sooo excited to wear it!! It is simple but elegant. The wedding plans are coming along well. I think after winter I will start getting down to the little things but as of now we have the major things sorted: dress, reception venue, ceremony venue, guest list.

Speaking of weddings.....Ben's brother Dan and his fiance, Karina have just arrived in the Cook Islands for their small, intimate wedding next weekend. It is very exciting because not only have they been together for I think 10 years longer than Ben and I (yes,...there was another Anderson who take the leap!) but they also got engaged the same days as us last year.
They are having an after wedding party next month in Port Macquarie, which we are all so excited for!

All in all it looks like we are in for a very exciting year! Can't wait.....

Can I have a break yet?

So, this time in two weeks I hope to be walking along the beach in Port Macquarie with Ben by my side. Its been too long....I am getting sick of my own company and Charlie's...no offfense charlie.

Ben has also just had his hopefully sucessfull bone shaving surgery in Banff and is on the road to recovery. I talked to him briefly today and it was really like stepping it a time warp in Oct when he first broke his colar bone. He is on pain killers, that don't do much for his mood or personality again....It won't be long and the end result we hopefully be better for him.

I have been super busy as well. School, work you name it. I am one class and two tests away from passing term 1 subjects! We have one other class that continues on for a few weeks until the end of the semester and then two other classes that are short subjects before the end of semester 1. I also am planning my animal education project which is happening on Sun May 15. I am having an information table at the RSPCA annual fundraiser The Million Paws Walk. I plan on handing out brochures I made and giving advice on the importance of annual health checks and dental health in our pets. As it gets closer I am getting more nervous and thinking about the stuff I have to do yet. On tues I have to finish baking my homemade dog biscuits which I am handing out.
I was hoping to have a few days while we are in Port Macquarie to not think about school stuff but now I have a test to do when we get back and most likely some final prepartions for my project. My mind and body need a break.
The other very exciting news is that I had my first paid shift as a"real vet" nurse. I got to do a shift the other day at the Cooma Animal Hospital and have another one this wed. At the momment there still isn't any permanent shifts available but I have put my hand up for casual ones as my confidence improves.
The also fantastic news is that I am going to get full-time work or at least a contract to fill while another co-worker goes on materinity leave sometime around Oct I think. Its been a long time coming and it feels to good to know that my hours of volunteering have paid off.
So far I am really loving the Vet Nursing industry, it is just the feeling I was looking for in a new career. I have also been really fortunate to be able to learn in a clinic that provides such a great learning experience.
Wedding plans are also coming along. While we are up in Port Macquarie we are going to check out the venue for our reception and confirm. As well, I am having a dress trying on session with pretty much all the woman in Ben's family which should be fun.
As for Ben, he is anxious to get home and we can't wait for him to be home too.

48 days!

Yes, there is officially something like 48 days till my future husband comes back home!( can you tell we've been apart too long- well you know what they say absence makes the heart grow fonder...and when you are planning a wedding thats got to be good thing!)
A good friend of mine told me today she was not looking forward to her partner going away for four days- I said I will have been alone for six months! I do recall a time when Ben would go away overnight and I would think to myself, ah, how am I going to sleep tonight. Crazy thought now.
I have adjusted to my solitude well. I get home at night and watch the cheesy lifestyle shows, like "a home in the country" that Ben would never let me watch in his company. I go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week and don't feel guilty that I am not spending time with Ben. I buy all the food that I love and get to enjoy it all, not wondering where that last bit of yogurt went?
I guess my latest downfall is my entire lack of cooking. I really like cooking but I must admit, I like cooking for someone. My dinner's now revolve around what is in the freezer that I can put in the microwave. I am trying to buy the healthy one's though.
On another note, I now have two favourite websites:
www.madeit.com.au
www.etsy.com
Both are sort of online markets, where artists sell everything from pet id tag's see below- my purchase from madeit.com. Or wedding dresses, yes, I think I am getting a designer on www.etsy.com to make my wedding dress. Well, I am hoping they will. I have found a photo of a dress in a magazine and I want them to make something similar, excluding the bits I don't like anyway.
I'll let you know when I know more.
Here's a photo of Charlie with her new pet id tag from Steks Pets on madeit.com