Today, a friend came up and asked

“Hey, did you know someone’s written on your car?”

Ummm, I’d kinda forgotten that Dan had woven his magic on the weekend (click the pic for bigger):

I didn’t realise how visible it was.

And it was visible.

I drove to work in that.

Before I knew it, someone else came up to me and commented on it and I bolted out into the company carpark – bottle of water and box of tissues in hand – and I “resolved the issue”.

Cause there were big wigs visiting today, and they probably saw it before I washed it off.

(I’m telling myself they didn’t see it, though)

At least it meant I was able to drive home again tonight with at least some of my dignity.

Dan and I are still laughing about it, though.

We’re officially going on our first ever cruise. Squee!!

It’ll be our first overseas trip together (recent health risks = no flights), and I’m just so excited to be getting away from it all (quite literally, there’s hardly any interwebs in the middle of the ocean!).

We originally snubbed cruising as a holiday option because of the cost, but we’ve discovered that leaving from a port that isn’t Sydney is MUCH cheaper. Also, given the crap we’ve been through in recent months (read: we had to cancel our “proper” wedding, #stillprettycrankyabouthatthankyouverymuch and I had my mother moved into a nursing home). So, South Pacific honeymoon, here we come!

I can’t stop looking at photos of our destinations, which includes the Isle of Pines:

Can’t wait to get the sand between my toes and sniff some New Caledonian fresh air!

This post has been several days, drafts and revisions in the making. Let’s see how I go this time ’round…

(takes deep breath)

We’ve cancelled the wedding.

And we’re going to elope.

(exhales. slowly)

There are a multitude of reasons for our decision, some of which I’ve eluded to in my previous posts. The minor details are far too personal, and to be honest, it hurts my head to explain it. But those of you who have (tried to) arrange a wedding will have been there and understand all the complexities; we’ve just decided that we need to strip it back.

For our sakes.

It’s not been an easy decision. Last week we were in a daze, weighing up all the options, possibilities and potential fallout. I cried. Hard. But we ultimately know that our perfect day would just be a simple one that allows us to focus on each other, so we know we’ve made the right decision.

While elopment hasn’t happened much in my family, my in-laws prefer it and heaps of friends have eloped or had a small ceremony. And if I’m completely honest, I’ve had a massive crush on the idea of eloping after Jon and Heather eloped back in 2002. Yes, if the circumstances were different, I would have happily continued to organise our pizza-and-cupcakes wedding. But it’s just not meant to be.

I’ve unsubscribed from all the wedding blogs and site alerts. I’m packing away my wedding books and hoping to find them a new home. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t still feel pangs of hurt when I remember what we’ve surrendered. But as the days pass, the happier I am that we’ve made this decision.

A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And I’ve always been lazy, right? ;)

Best of all? Dan and I are even stronger and closer than we were this time last week.