Oh, I ask for no more than two shoes on the floor next to mine (Love Story Part 3)

Courtship and Engagement

We knew very quickly we wanted to see where this was going. Within the next week, we were calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend and soon we were seeing each other everyday. We’ve actually lost track of when the last day we haven’t seen each other was.

That’s a benefit of both people being 28 and doing their own thing already.  We knew what we wanted, what we were looking for, and we enjoyed each other’s company. So we didn’t see a reason not to keep doing things that we liked with the person we suddenly found ourselves liking to be around.

And those things have been great fun! Mini-road trips! Pirate festivals! Civil War reenactments! Game nights! Indoor camping! (I still have the stars hanging from my ceiling.)

Note: The camping was not overnight!  (Mom, I know you’re reading this.)

Soon, we were doing all our normal errands and things together too. We work out together. Grocery shop (I cook, he cleans). Watching Jeopardy. Maybe that makes us sound old, but we enjoy it. And I usually win.

 

In July, Blake’s sister, Holly came to visit and stayed with me. Later that month, we headed home to Utah and Arizona together to get to know each other’s families and it was really just the perfect trip.

The 4th of July was a really good holiday, and Amanda was great about letting Holly stay with her.  On the 3rd the three of us hung out together until Amanda had to leave for class.  Holly and I were staying in DC, so we walked her to the metro.  Once Amanda was out of earshot, the first thing Holly said to me was, “that girl is so in love with you.”  I knew that if I had Holly on my side then the rest of the family was a lock, and with Holly enthusiastically saying how much she liked her, I was feeling good about things.  The trip home confirmed it.  Amanda’s pretty awesome, and the family loved her.

Once we knew our families approved, since my family loved Blake as much as I did and because he asked Dad and Dad said yes, we had a decision to make.

On September 5th, a Wednesday, Blake asked me to come with him to school so I could I help him get a reader card for the Library of Congress in the afternoon. My suspicions were raised, as Blake is quite a capable young man, but I’ll never turn down a trip to the LOC, my favorite building in the DC metro area.

Of course I could have gotten the card myself.  But I figured she wouldn’t say no and that at this point any unexpected trip to cool places would be seen with suspicion, so I came up with the excuse that I would want to study there some night when she was in class for the sheer novelty of saying that I studied there during law school.  By the way, I’m TOTALLY doing that anyway, because seriously...duh.

After class (I studied in the law library) and lunch, we got the reader card in the Madison building and headed over to the Jefferson building, the gorgeous, touristy one.. After looking around for a few minutes, we looked over the main reading room and then came out onto a landing over the a balcony overlooking the Great Hall. He hugged me, told me how much I meant to him, then pulled out the panda shaped ring box I'd authorized my sister to give him and asked "Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes I will!"

Then there was more hugging and kissing before he put the ring he'd picked out on my finger. 

It's perfect. He's perfect. And we're so excited!

My second choice was going to be either down by the Potomac or on Signer’s Island.  But, the LoC seemed like the obvious choice, with the added benefit of there being a much reduced chance of accidently kneeling in duck poop, so I went with it.  I didn’t think about it at the time, but in hindsight, I’m glad I picked a place with good air  conditioning.  I was a bit nervous. . .

The big day is December 18th! We can’t wait!

Here’s how you can tell I like her: I’m happy to go to Utah in winter.  That’s love.

Yes it is. I love you, Blake.

:D  I love you too!

Part 1 Part 2

Do You Love Me? (Do Ya Love Me?) (Love Story Part 2)

Our First Date

That Friday, after important discussions like licorice preference and dream travel destinations, Blake asked if I would like to see The Hunger Games the next day...

I was quite bold about this.  I believe I said “I’m going to go to see Hunger Games tomorrow, want to come along?”  I then left to get food from McDonalds.

Knowing I liked this guy and having been on several outings with other young men that were planned, paired off, and paid off but still somehow not clearly a date, I asked. “I would love to, but out of curiosity. Is this a date?”

Waiting between the drive-thru order box and the pick-up window is not the time or place that one would expect to make life altering decisions.  Yet, moments before I was to pick up my McDoubles, here comes the Facebook notification with that message.  The pressure was on: if I say yes, would that be too sudden?  If I said no, would she think I wasn’t interested?  Where is my food?  It was a moment of decision making, and when that moment arrives, you’ve got to do what you gotta do.

Fortunately, he said that he normally doesn’t ask girls out for the first time via Facebook, but that yes, as he had asked me and was planning to pay, it was a date, if I wouldn’t mind. I most certainly did not. We finally exchanged numbers and made our plans.

The afternoon of Saturday, May 5th, I arrived at his house (I was coming from a bridal shower and he lived closer to the theater anyway) and we were on our way! Turns out The Hunger Games is better when you don’t have a raging headache like I had the first time and a cute boy is holding your hand.

Speaking of licorice, our first and primary disagreement remains that I like black licorice and she does not.  On that first date she brought a tub of Trader Joe’s black licorice, the first time I’d had a girl bring a gift on the first date.  I was quite amused.  As for the handholding, that’s another thing I never do on first dates.  But it seemed like a good idea at the time, so with all the smoothness of a 9th grader I coyly examined her ring mid movie, then just didn’t let go afterward.

It was definitely a good idea. We were peckish after the film, so he took me to the restaurant of my choice - Bilbo Baggins in Old Town Alexandria - and I got to witness his first ever parallel parking in a personal vehicle. He did great, and I was even able to crawl over to his side to get out because he parked right next to a tree.

As silly as this might sound, parallel parking a school bus isn’t as hard as you might think, and I found myself wishing I had my bus mirrors during that whole uncomfortable ordeal.  I’m not sure if a girl has ever dumped a date because of their inability to parallel park, but I wasn’t keen on being the first.

Dinner was delicious, the company delightful, and conversation easy. It was definitely the beginning of a wonderful thing!

Not our first date, but not too long after

Part 1 Part 3

At Last, My Love Has Arrived (Love Story Part 1)

I’M GETTING MARRIED!!

Let me introduce a new main character around these parts. This is Blake.

Hi everybody!

Handsome, no?

We met like every good Mormon couple, in our single’s ward. Actually, we met twice. On the same day. April 29th, to be exact.

We first met before church. Unfortunately, I was highly distracted since I’d found out earlier that week about being laid off and I was supposed to direct the music in our Sacrament meeting. So, when a friend introduced me to a young man who had just been accepted to American University for a JD/MPP program, I pretty much just said hi and hurried off.

I was also on my way to take care of other things. So I made a mental note about the girl with purple hair and a checkered dress (it was plaid - Amanda), which like most introductions, was promptly poorly sorted.

The second time we met was during the third hour, which was a joint Priesthood/Relief Society meeting. I saw only one open seat, so I asked the young man next to it if I could sit with him, complimented him on his tie, clueless that I’d already seen it just a couple hours before, and then tuned into the meeting. We made the occasional snarky comment and exchanged names before I hurried home to do a school project due that week.

It should be noted that there were only two seats making up the row, with me sitting in one of them.  When I saw her headed over I remembered meeting her but couldn’t remember her name, and so I started making conversation since I figured she remembered meeting me and I didn’t want to look silly having already forgotten. I had no idea she didn’t have a clue who I was, otherwise I would probably have just sat there.

Later that day, I was looking up this young man on Facebook and suddenly realized he was the same one I met at the beginning of the day. And while I was still on his page, the friend request he sent popped up in my feed. I accepted, apologized for my spaciness, and we began an almost nonstop week long Facebook message marathon as we started to get to know each other.

While trolling her facebook page I realized that she liked Firefly, a tv show I also liked.  I thought it might be awkward to friend her and then never talk to her again, only to have the friendship quietly dissolved months later when one of us was cleaning out their friends list and couldn’t recall having met the other.  So, I sent a simple message along the lines of “Nice to meet a fellow Browncoat”, not realizing that I had inadvertently sung the love song of nerd-dom.

It worked. This was someone I definitely wanted to have around.

Part 2 Part 3

And I will try to fix you

My house (I live in the basement apartment, my landlady lives in the main house above me) got a new AC unit today. As I'm, ahem, working from home for the next hopefully not for very long, I got to observe the maintenance men in their unnatural habitat - someone else's apartment.

Here are the rules of their job that I was previously unaware of:

1. Start work before the tenant (that's me) is even up for the day. 
2. Don't open her bedroom door, so she sleeps peacefully as you work.
3. Creep her out by making her keenly aware that there were people in her apartment while she was sleeping and she had no idea.
4. Prevent her from showering all day. Or even using the facilities in peace, even if she locks the bathroom door.
5. Make very little noise, so she only perceives your presence in the apartment, but doesn't actually sense it.
6. Make her very aware of her single person habits, like eating chips and reading a book while laying on the couch, not because you're going to come into that room, but because you might and if you do, you will judge her.
7. Don't wear deodorant. Eau de Maintenance Man is the best scent ever.
8. When you leave, don't tell her. She'll feel unnerved long after you're gone.
9. Leave a bigger mess than you found, including soaked towels of unknown origins.



This was actually left on my bucket of laundry detergent, but I moved it for my landlady to deal with. I'm nice like that.



Really? You couldn't just flip this back over and move it 12 inches?

10. Fix the AC.
11. Only ask to use her bathroom the first time, but leave the toilet seat up every time.

Clearly, I didn't get a chance to vote on these rules.

Groove is in the Heart

I lost my mojo. My creativity, my drive, my groove, my stride, my joie de vivre.

When this semester started, I knew that I was going to have more free time than I did last semester. Instead of 9 HARD credits (3 classes), I was taking three easy credits and three hard credits (2 classes). So instead of ALL HOMEWORK ALL THE TIME outside of church/work/gym/classtime, I had some homework and a lot of flexibility for when I did it, which required even more discipline in my free time - something I will always struggle with.

And just as I thought I was hitting my new semester stride, I left for a conference in Dallas (which I still haven't posted about, whoops) which completely derailed my schedule.

Left my own mark at a graffiti covered dive bar in Dallas

Then just as I was getting over that, Daylight Savings Time hit and I was one of many suffering the effects of feeling a little off in my circadian rhythm.

Then my personal life went through a bit of a rollercoaster.

Tree art seen on a run in my neighborhood

Then I had a seasonal allergy attack that gave me a couple of days of wanting to claw my itchy face off and now makes me sound like a cholera patient. At least I'm not itchy anymore.

Despite all of that, I've managed to accomplish everything on my Must Do List. Homework has been completed. I go to work everyday. I'm eating mostly well. Still haven't missed a workout. Even ran a 5K last weekend and set a new PR! I've still been able to do some very enjoyable things, like spend 5 hours replacing the battery in my car or walking out of a Hungarian play that gave all of us some massive ennui.

5K Bib!

Okay, so maybe not enjoyable, but they certainly make for some good stories!

I did get to play Cooties with my 4 year old "nephew" - That was a good night.

But I still haven't really felt any drive. My apartment consistently looks like a tornado hit. I could still clean up my nutritional habits. I could definitely stand to work harder at my job, school, the gym, and in my religious studies, not to mention the zillion other things on the to-do (must and want) of a busy, driven (usually) adult. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't entirely know what or how to fix it or even want to. It was especially driving me crazy because they weather is so nice most of the time! Why the blahs if there is so much warn sunshine and I'm wearing a lovely new dress? In short, I've felt a lot like Buffy.

Surprisingly, as soon as I realized this morning what the problem was, that I was suffering from a severe lack of mojo, I felt it creeping back. Maybe it's just that I can breathe through my nose for the first time in four days, but I think there's more to it. I have a little more energy today, and I'm actually looking forward to getting my dishes done tonight. And working on my research project. And wearing my new sun hat at the lake (I've lived less than .5 miles from a lake for almost three years and can still count on two hands the times I've been down there - I'm fixing that this year). And my jeans that I split this morning? I may never fix because I have some lovely new warm weather dresses and lots of other clothes that fit really well now, and I look better in them than in jeans and a t-shirt any day.

The lake near my apartment at sunset - taken before doing some lakeside yoga

 It's going to be okay. And even if it's not, thanks to @valforrestal, I'll be wearing a tiara whilst doing my chores, and that makes everything better.

You should wear a tiara too! It's fun!

We shared the same last name and the same color eyes, but we fought like tigers over that old red bike

Nancy shared this morning that her daughters like to fight over a princess plate. She ribs them, good naturedly, that such fights are silly, but I'm sure she had her fair share of such disputes with her five siblings. I know I did!

For some reason, the pink cup and bowl in our stash of neon colored dishes were the BEST. The yellow, green, and orange ones were all inferior in some way. I'm sure we tried to take turns, but there were still fights about it all the time. The tan colored Tupperware bowl was also a source of mealtime contention, because it was shaped differently than the others.

Did the food taste different when eating out of those bowls? Of course not. I know that's what Mom would always remind us of when we lost the fight.

At some point, we grew out of it. I've looked for the pink bowl the last few times I visited home, and I didn't see it. Maybe it melted in the dishwasher or Dad used it for paint or we never actually grew out of it like I thought - Mom just threw it away when we weren't looking.

What silly fights did you and your siblings get into?

Girl, look at that body - I work out!

Yesterday marked one year since I started working out every single day, except Sundays, and I have yet to miss a work out. I've actually scheduled this to post while I'm out running on a beautiful 60 degree day, because I actually run now, and not just the half jog/half walk nonsense I did a few years ago, but actual running. Very slow running.


Now, I haven't hit the numbers goals I wanted to hit by now as far as weight and body composition goes, but I'm making amazing strides in that direction. People are noticing, I'm noticing, and I look good! 


My endurance, strength, flexibility, weight, diet, size, mood, and energy have all increased (or decreased) dramatically. I feel better. I look better. I am better. And I have no intention of stopping anytime soon!


This year, I plan to continue my routine but have started training for some specific activities. I'm working up to a 5K, again, but this time for real. 10K is next. I have some races I'm eyeing to motivate me even more. Then, this September, I'm registered to run a Tough Mudder - 10-12 miles, 30 obstacles. Marines do this for fun. I honestly cannot wait. Except that I can, because I'm not ready. But I will be!

I won't be sharing my self-portrait-bathroom mirror-workout-clothes before and afters, but I did have some recent photos taken in normal clothes that I'm rather pleased with. They were for my guest post at The Little Big about being a thrifty fashionista, which I highly recommend checking out.

The green dress? Totally a size small. And not even the only one I own. I know I posted about sizes not mattering, and they really don't, but I still get some satisfaction from going down in a dress size or two!

Anyone want to race with me in DC? What are your fitness goals this year?

Just Can't Get Enough

Time for another round up of songs I just can't get enough of!

Andy Grammer - Keep Your Head Up

Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love

Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out

Fun. - We Are Young

Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know

Kate Miller-Heidke - Are You Ready?

Matt Nathanson - Faster

The Weepies - World Spins Madly On - This version of the video was created by an animation and choreography team at BYU!

What are you listening to these days?

Quit playing games with my heart

I love games. Board games. Table games. Card games. The list goes on. I'm not much into RPGs, probably because I enjoy role playing on stage in front of audience more than sitting at a table talking about it. 

When I acquired my coffee table from friends who were getting a new one, I was thrilled that it had a shelf underneath. I immediately began storing my growing game collection there. It never occurred to me that shelf could be for anything other than game storage. 

For a few years, it was perfect. Then one magical day in December at the thrift store, I found 16 new games for just 14 clams and my game collection was definitely too big for the table. 

I was also starting to have another problem. When I was out looking at games, I often second guessed myself - did I already have this one? 

With this surge in game ownership, it was time to solve both problems. 

I bought three 105 quart bins and 2 shoebox bins and, as I put my games in their new homes, created a spreadsheet in Google Docs of everything I have listed by title, type (i.e. Word, strategy, trivia, dice, mystery, card, art, puzzle), age, duration, and number of players. The big boxes went into the large bins, the card games into the plastic shoeboxes. 

Now, the shoeboxes, some craft materials, and fitness equipment reside on the coffee table shelf and the other games went where I could find room. 

With 60 games (including some 11 decks of cards for Nertz/Pounce) and one on the way, I'm really pleased with my nerdy solution. I can pull up the spreadsheet on my phone when I'm out shopping or share it with a friend when planning a game night. 

It makes my little librarian heart glad and I'll avoid problems like this:

Shake it out, shake it out!

Places I've Spent At Least One Night in 2011 (see 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2006-2007)

Where I Live, VA
Philadelphia, PA (My first national MLA Conference)
West Chester, PA
Thurmond, MD
Orem, UT (two different trips)

Clearly, this year was not quite as adventurous travel-wise as years past. Instead, I made great strides in life closer to home. I significantly upped my fitness game and it shows. I soloed with the Mormon Choir of Washington. I went back to school. I gained a sister-in-law. I have purple hair. I even had some brief romantic success and I certainly strengthened my other relationships, new and not so new, which I hope to continue doing.

Life is good! In fact, as I predicted, I'd say this year rocked. 2012? Bring it on!

PS - This is post 500!