May contain religious content: Be warned.

I'm not the kind of girl to go all gushy and start talking about soul mates. I find that idea rather limiting. I also don't really believe in fate. I've worked as a professional psychic. I have decent "gifts". I know stuff - and part of that is the acceptance that the future isn't set in stone. I also think that eveything happens for a reason. I believe in a Goddess and a God and I feel blessed almost every day. I never ask "why me?" because my mum taught me better than that - I'm no greater than anyone else nor am I worth less than everyone else, so why not me? Bad shit happens to everyone and I'm not exempt.

But, sometimes things pan out in such a way it's hard to say "oh it was a coincidence" and that's when I start giving thanks.

We're getting married. Sometimes I feel like the Gods and ancestors are happy with that. Very happy. The first bridal show I went to I won a door prize. The show was free entry, so that was pretty sweet. But a few days ago I got another phone call. I'd won something else. I didn't even know I'd been in the draw. But they were offering me his and her cooking aprons and a choice of either a holiday or wedding bands - if we both come and watch this 90 minute cooking show. As sad as it is, we don't have anything better to do with our friday nights.

Now, things were looking bad financially for us. The visa process is costing a lot more than we'd anticipated. Everytime we get someone to sign something we hand over more money. The back grund check, the medical check, the notice of intention to wed, the replacement passport, the time off work to get it all done. It adds up and quickly. And that's without the visa cost itself. It's $1700. Then we need to pay for an international move and a wedding. How? Where was this money going to come from? Even with all the corners we were cutting.

So, back to the cooking show. They were legit. I was surprised. They were trying to sell very expensive pots. Not surprised on that one. Look up table charm if you get bored. We were there from 8:30 til midnight. It was long, but we weren't bored. And the pots were awesome, and the speil was educational. I was surprised to see Obi considering buying this cookware. About half way though Obi lent over and whispered to me "I think we're buying pots". Now, only two days earlier Obi had finally recieved his settlement (He got run over by a car three years ago). It's no where near as much as excited family and friends are guessing at (We're not disclosing figures) but it's enough that if we're smart the wedding, moving, a set of very expensive pots, a small honeymoon and a modest house deposit are all doable, without a heck of a lot of expense on my end. What a relief. So we bought these amazing pots (and other bits and pieces).

I can't wait til they get here and we can use them. They will likely help this diet I'm on immensly. And it's weird. We've gone through a nearly seemless shift from "mine and his money" to "our money". It's rather comforting. It's also nice not having to worry so much anymore. And I still feel financially equal, because assuming I dont lose my house (still slow going there) I'm bringing enough wealth to our relationship that I'm holding my own. I like equality - even if I'm the smaller half lol.

Now because we bought these pots, we also won a 4night/5day cruse to the Bahamas - which is better than the 2night/3day package we could have chosen to take as our prize for winning the draw. Yay! As you know LDRs kind of eat all your travel money and that doesnt really change after you close the distance - at least if you care about seeing your family. So it would be lovely for us to have this holiday. And in additon to the cruse we also picked the wedding bands, which saves us hundreds of dollars.

So, I feel like the Goddess is giving us the big thumbs up because everything there (and other little things I didn't mention) just lined up so easily. We'll need to take the cruse before we leave for Australia though, otherwise paying the flight back to America will be worth more than the damn boat But that's cool. And then we still get our nice gold coast honeymoon that we've been tentitvily dancing around.

In other news, I'm sick with the flu (called in sick to work yesterday which I hate doing) and feel like arse. My house is a bomb, and I'm torn between resting because I have to be able to function at work tomorrow and cleaning it up. Cleaning is winning.

I'm excited about this diet. We did our monthly shop last night even though I was half dead and Obi is backing me up just as he said he would, even though he's effectivly on the diet too, because if it's in the house I'll eat it. He's a good bloke. Now, most of the food we do eat is healthy. We cook proper meals, no batchelor cooking for us, but I love things with thick cream bases, lots of pasta, creamy indian dishes, and dishes with a base of mince/ground beef because heck they are cheap, so ... high fat content foods. It wont hurt us to take a break until I get my rapidly widening arse back under control. There's also a suspcious absence of soft drink - or more correctly, soft drink I like. So he still get his treats ^^ I'm not completely a monster.

So I told you my life story, now you should tell me yours!