Not a happy camper...

UPDATE: Received the medium tee in the mail for the second time! The shirt is indeed not only too big, but stretched even bigger after just 2 wears.... Mental note to self do not buy Peter Alexander tees ever again...
________________________________

I can't believe it... So unhappy... I bought a tee online. It was sent to me as the incorrect size. I sent it back for an exchange to get the correct size I ordered. It has been 10 days and I hadn't heard anything from them so I rang their call centre.

So sorry, but we have sold out of the size you originally ordered. We can only send back the incorrect size we originally sent you or give you your money back.

I purchased this tee - knowing full well it would sell out within a week - the first day they went on sale! I had been diligent. I had been organised. It was your mistake!

Grrrr....

Expanded post.

Pre-marriage counselling for cohabiting couples.

So... we started "pre-marriage preparation for cohabiting couples" last night by answering a 160 odd question quiz that is supposed to give insight into the potential problems we will be likely to encounter as a married couple. Now I'm not 100% certain what I actually expected but let's just say I wasn't expecting questions like "I am happy with the level of sexual experimentation in my relationship" from a Uniting church questionairre! There were some real doozies!

The question that made both of us laugh out loud when we got to it was - and those who know Mark and I well will understand why - "I believe my partner is too stubborn". I think I know both of our responses on that question! Hmmmm... if there are two more stubborn people on the planet I would like to meet them.

Another question that made me giggle - "In an argument I am the first person to back down" or "I tend to agree for the sake of ending an argument". Not in our house baby - no argument is settled until one of us gets onto google or wikkipedia to find an impartial answer. How did couples settle arguments in the past without google? Important arguments like "who did the voice for XYZ character in Simpsons?". Then the winner is entitled to do the "I told you so" dance around the house. I didn't see any questions in the Uniting Church quiz about "I told you so" dances.

We now wait for 2 weeks before we get to sit down with Heather, the minister who is going to marry us, and work through the results of the quiz. Should be interesting...

Dress update: Final design is settled - it is "same same but different" to the post the other day. A sort of combination of about 3 or 4 dresses I tried on last weekend. Appointment with the dress maker on 21 Jan. Yay! The dressmaker did a few of the dresses for the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Expanded post.

Citizenship test.

So the Australian government introduced a citizenship test late last year for new immigrants.

Can you pass this version of the test? Citizenship Test - Australian Test Practice Questions

I hope this is not the proper test as I scored dismally! How would anyone coming to Australia know or remember from studying who landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula, the northern tip of Australia, in 1606 ?

Or my personal favourites from this test:

• When did Caroline chisholm land in Australia?
• When did a popular new literature emerge in Australia?
• Which is the birth place of Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet?

I don't even know who Frank is! I consider myself educated and intelligent and have no drama answering the questions on the Practice Questions for the Australian Citizenship Test page. Fingers crossed this is closer to the type of test people are likely to have to answer as opposed to the first one.

Expanded post.

Wedding dresses...

Mark do not look at the links in this entry!

Psssst... This is the dress I really want for my wedding... I really, really love this dress...

Lea-Ann Belter 2007 Collection - find the design "Kaitlyn" (No. 4)

However, in the interests of budget and financial contraints tomorrow I am off for a day shopping to see if can find a cheaper dress that is on sale. Apparently all the bridal shops around town are having massive sales and the chances of getting a dress for under $500 are quite good.

So tomorrow morning I am trudging off through a few of the shops with my bridal party in tow - Josie, Donna, Col and Casey Jayne. Maybe we'll find something I am willing to settle on if the price is good enough.

I know deep down though that I really want the Lea-Ann Belter dress... But how can I justify spending $1500 on a dress know I'll only ever wear once.

I am not a big fan of shopping so this is going to be an interesting day. Wish me luck!

Expanded post.

Depression and cookies.

I recently read this amazing feature story by Megan Seling from The Stranger. Thanks for the link Michelle!

It touched me quite deeply. Ever since reading it I have had it in the back of my mind.

Depression is something that most of us deal with to varying levels. Turning to baking and cooking is a release for some of us. To give someone a gift of cookies, to see their faces light up at mini tartlets, to receive comments like "wow this is amazing how do you make this" or "can I have your recipe" is sometimes all that is needed to keep on trucking through your day. Sometimes it is simply easier to bake someone something than to tell them you love them - it requires less "giving of yourself".

Read this article - it is amazing: The Long Winter by Megan Seling.

"All about the time I attempted to bake 106 different kinds of Martha Stewart holiday cookies in two months. People laughed and said I was crazy. Well, I was crazy."

Expanded post.