How do you choose the one you want to marry?

This week the thought of “saying yes” appeared in another way – saying “I do.”

I had the privilege of being in attendance and celebrating the wedding of two long-time friends. All of the couple’s wedding guests took the time to be in their presence and to support them on their special day. I wish them a lifetime of happiness and love!

When you travel, the focus is on the destination. Travel guides draw you in with the sites you will see and what you will experience when you are visiting the new places. But for me, the highlights of any adventure I have ever been on, are the beautiful heart-felt connections you will develop with the people on your journey.  

The people you meet along the way make the experience. I thought I needed to go to all these amazing places throughout the world to see the sites. What my soul craves, though, is to go meet new people and to build connections with them. Those are my most precious moments and souvenirs from travelling. The memories/lessons learned from these connections are what I cherish most.

My birthday is coming up this week.  In the past couple of years, I felt like a failure around this time of year because I was reminded of milestones of adulthood that I hadn’t yet achieved. However, this year my outlook has changed and I am embracing the day!

Larissa and Ian Murphy represent to me a true tale of love and perseverance. I watched the following video yesterday, and their story was truly beautiful. The couple had been dating ten months and planned on getting married, when Ian got into a car crash.  He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury.  Instead of giving up on the relationship, the couple got married and are going strong! The video literally made me cry.  Watch it for yourself!

I have heard about extreme dieting in the past, but the new diet, called the "K-E Diet" or " The Feeding Tube Diet,"  lives up to the name "EXTREME". The article I read this morning in the Globe and Mail discussed this trend.

Brides are paying $1,500 to have a feeding tube administered into their bodies which provides them with an 800-calories-a-day diet (i.e., very minimal food intake).  These women are using this method to lose the last few pounds so they don't "Look Fat" on their wedding day.  According to the diet, you lose twenty pounds in ten days.

This picture was taken in Maui at sunset. The quote is from The Band Perry's song "All Your Life."  It is such a romantic quote, and I thought it was fitting to the topic of relationships.  It makes me smile, so I'm sharing it with you.

I was talking about this song with a friend, and they were like," I want to fall in love with my best friend and grow old with him."  My sentiments exactly.  We were also talking about how every relationship always has a beginning (i.e., a story of how the couple met).  The stories can range from simple to quite elaborate.  Regardless of the complexity of the story, I always enjoy hearing how couples met and fell in love.  Each story is unique and special.

I find it funny because the video brings up questions that I have had in conversations with many people this year.  From experience, when you enter your mid-twenties, finding someone to spend your life with increases in importance.   It also makes you think about settling for someone as opposed to finding your soulmate.

I have been to two weddings in the past couple weeks; one as a bridesmaid and one as a guest.  The main question that was on many peoples minds when they saw a mid-to-late twenty something woman was: WHY AREN'T YOU MARRIED YET?

For example, here is the conversation that I had with my cab driver leaving the city a couple days later.

"So what brought you to town? Were you on business?"

"No, I was in a friends wedding."

"Oh ok. So... when's your wedding?"

"Not for a while. I haven't found the right guy yet"