Blursday.... 27, 28, 29 & 30 August 2006

The next few days before the wedding were a blur so I won't comment to much on those, however, please feel free to visit our other blogspot by clicking the line "We're Married!".

Colin and I left for our honeymoon to Nice, France the following Wednesday for a week (a new blogspot to be created). The Canucks stayed in our house for the remainder of their trip and returned home on Monday, 4 September, 2006.

Thus concludes our year, or more precisely 15 months and 2 weeks since my arrival in the UK... From now on, I plan on adding bits and pieces to another new blogspot in a diary format and I hope you'll stop by to have a read but I should warn you, right now Colin and I are looking forward to a boring life!!

Thank you for reading and God Bless!

Saturday, 26 August 2006

Today is the day my mom's hair caught fire!

Poor Kristen just about went into cardiac arrest but my mom, the fashion diva she is, needed "just 30 more seconds" to curl her hair. Don't fret, Karen to the rescue...

With all that excitement we had to stay in most of the day.... Busy, busy, busy... Two days before the wedding and there was a ton of things to do but somehow after picking Herman up from the airport at the crack of dawn and mom's hair catching fire, the day was pretty laid back for most....

Herman was the exception but being married to Karen he doesn't get many breaks (Colin take note!)

The Canucks needed to unwind from a hectic day so off they went to The Meeting House Pub in the wee bus for a real Irish experience:

They certainly look relaxed now!

Please read on....

Friday, 25 August 2006

The plan for the first full day was a trip up to the north coast of Northern Ireland.

After a bit of a late start we returned no more than 10 mins. later 'cause my car died!! I hate that car but after a bit of shuffling we made our way out again.

The first port of call was to the Ballygally Castle Hotel where the wedding reception and evening wedding do were going to be held. We had enough time to take a couple of photographs.

Bride&Groom-to-be Kristen and Me

The second port of call was Glenarm, the first of the Nine Glens of Antrim, to view the Glenarm Castle. Here are a few pics to prove we were there:



We made our way down the winding Antrim Coast Road with an odd photo stop here and there, we made our way to the Glenariffe Forest Park for a lovely fish lunch:
As you can see, the rain certainly didn't dampen our appetites....


.... or our happy, smiling faces!


One of the highlights of the day was the sheep! We were on route to Torr Head but we had to pull over to let the farmer and his sheep make their way down the lane. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, snoooozeeeeeeee...



We eventually got back on the road to the Portstewart Strand for a quick beach break... Colin has an interesting story of the Strand... As his new wife, I find it inappropriate to discuss his previous relationships so the next time you see him, ask him!!

The Canucks got cold and Karen and I were forced back in the car 'cause we had to go for ice cream (a good way to warm up) at Morelli's. Although it costs a life savings to pay for it, the ice cream is worth it. Two thumbs up from me!


After ice cream we had to get home for the scheduled wedding rehearsal. Lots of fun and I learned a thing or two about Irish weddings. It's funny, there were things that I didn't know I didn't know and Colin didn't think of telling me so the Canucks and myself had a few surprises but I made sure I had thrown in a few Canadian traditions as well! A lovely evening was had by all.

Please read on....

Thursday, 24 August 2006

After months of preparation and anxiety this is the day my family and friends arrive in Northern Ireland to attend our wedding! It's all becoming much more real with their arrival but both Colin and I are excited to squeeze them into the house. After a lot of shuffling around and re-arranging, we have the house ready and with about 3 hours of sleep, Colin and Stephen (Best Man) make their way to the airport.

Thankfully Kristen got a new camera. Take a look at these:


Gail, Marg, Karen & Mom Kristen Yup, dad was there too!



Everyone, namely: Mom and Dad, Marg, Gail and Kristen Schoon and Karen and Herman Post arrive (or at least Herman did the following Saturday morning), arrived safely (albeit a bit stinky of apple juice, right K!?!) and on the way back to Larne from the airport they got their first taste of Northern Ireland.

At dawn Trecking down the A8

On the first day, there was a bit of sleeping in the morning for the Canucks and Colin went to get his hair done while I set out to attend to a few errands. In the afternoon, the folks and I (Heather) went to "Downtown Larne" for browse and a bit of shopping before coming home to the first of Colin's delicatable dinner delights (now you know why I really married him).

Kristen doing a wee bit of shopping in Larne


Opa and Oma pulling up in the rear!

Please read on....

Moving Day - 19 May 2006

The house we were admiring when we got engaged was the house we bought. This is Site 22 Blackthorn Hollow, Larne:


I moved in the 19th May and Colin's stuff gradually made it's way over and continues to do so to this day. By the looks of his mom's attic space, it will be a long process!

We're waiting for the grass to be seeded and for the driveway and road to get a layer or two of tarmac but we have found out that everything is a slow process when builders are involved. We were just happy to be able to move in - the builder gave us an original date of June 2006!


Please read on......

Skipping along to 8 December 2005

We're engaged!

After a wee bit of coaxing, Colin finally proposed and surprise, surprise, I said YES!

We were looking at the plans of a house we were thinking of putting a deposit on and all of a sudden he said he had to go get something from his bedroom. Well, of course I start thinking, what could he possibly need to get and then figured it out. Even so, I was still surprised and didn't quite believe that he could catch me by surprise the way he did.

As you can see, the ring is beautiful, the most beautiful I have ever seen!

I should've known he was up to something when he said to me earlier that day, "Your hair looks really nice today" AND he bought flowers......

Some of the "official" photographs:

Please read on.....

28 May 2005

Let the fun begin! I (Heather) arrived in Belfast to begin my new life with Colin....

I have moved in with Colin and Ellie for an undetermined amount of time and not quite knowing what to expect in the short-term.

At the time, Colin had just finished his Computer Science degree at the University of Ulster - Jordanstown, and was looking for a job so for the first month of so, we spent alot of time together and travelling the countryside.

The novelty of arriving began to wear off when I realized I didn't have a return ticket to Toronto and I knew I had to get out of holiday mode and get myself a job. I registered with several recruitment agencies and was soon getting calls for interviews.

Please read on...