Rollin' with the punches of life... but damn they hurt! I'm tough I know, and I can be a lot tougher still... but I'll admit, I'm tired, I'm burned, I'm worn.... but I'm too bullheaded to quit anytime soon! Which is a good thing. Helps me roll with the punches life has been hitting me with nonstop for the past 3-7 years or more of my life.... eh, might as well say my entire life - but especially the past 3-5 years have been the most challenging and tough. And it's not going to end till I die. Literally.
Remember the Life Exhaust list I gave you all back in February this year? If not take a moment and read it... go on I'll wait.
***
Okay, whew! Take a breath... and let me bring you up to speed... again for the upmteenth time.
So let's see, right....
**March was my ring finger bone graft from the hip surgery (yes, my hip tends toward the tenderness side of things still, but it is healing and regrowing bone).
**I spent the next 3-5 months in hand therapy, water therapy, and physical therapy. (The water therapy works wonders!)
**I got dumped from my temp job... in April... I am still looking.
**My hand healed in time for me to fully use it again for my summer class which I absolutely loved! My professors (those two ladies own their business, they do what they preach!) are my mentors for my thesis project - an active training portfolio.
**I did fabulous in that class.
**Had some car issues with both cars, but we did fine.
**I had my 5th miscarriage June 23, 2009.
**I made a memorial for my 5 babies.
**More imaging was done, and I do have a "slight" abnormality... but pffft it's not much of one.
**I have two more blood tests I need to do this week to see why my red blood cells are monstrously huge.... hmmm, think it has to do with STRESS?
**Did a ton of job hunting..... still doing job hunting.....
**Went to Goblin Valley July 3, 2009 - yes it was HOT, cause we don't have AC.... but it was fun going across the desert with my family and wow the desert was actually green! Weird!
**That was fun ; )
**August we celebrated our 5th anniversary by climbing the 1100 feet elevation gain straight up to Timpanogos Cave in Utah County (think Provo, Utah) and of course going through the refrigerator on steroids... it was fantastic! Yes, we're still married and happily too ; )
**I started my final semester the beginning of September/ending of August.
**I also paid down $700 on my student loans - that was a nice feeling. Paying over $2000 for tuition not so nice - but this is the last time, that is nice.
**I've unpacked our kitchen - finally!
**We have a friend living with us - which is a nice change from the mundane, she makes me laugh!
**Out of the dark... er, "blue," out of nowhere... my husband got laid off..... YIKES!
**Now we're all three jobless.... with bills.... what are we to do? I have unemployment for another 3-4 weeks and then it's gone.... friend will apply for unemployment and help by paying a little rent.... and husband does get some severance and unemployment.
**We turned in our Packet B, next step the homestudy and we will be licensed to be Foster Parents... but that will wait till next year - which was our plan anyway.
**I thank God for the Bishop's Storehouse... now I just have to figure out what it is they have that I can eat... you know I have major food allergies.
Okay - from the top of my head, you all should be absolutely up to date, to the date, really.
We have made headway on our yard thanks to our girlfriend/housemate. We'll be participating in the Food Allergy Awareness Walk at Wheeler Farm in Murray (think Salt Lake City) Utah on Oct. 3rd. October 2nd I'll be volunteering at the Utah Foster Care Foundation Pumpkin Festival, as well as turning in my Lit Review.... I hope, I better be, I will....... ahem. October 10th we'll be cutting down a big, weedy, dangerous tree! Yay!
Oh, and if you want to read my husband's reaction to being let off, you can read it here.
My view of events:
Monday night I crawl into bed, (earlier that day he told me he had a meeting Tuesday) I turn my bedside lamp off... and all of a sudden he says, "Why's it so dark?" I ask, "You want me to turn the light back on?" He said, "NO." Then asks again why it's so dark, all the time? Perpelexed, I said, "I don't know, it's night right now.... what do you mean?" Silence. Snoring. He's out. Next morning... I'm waiting for my double-timing tingling leg to wake up so I can get dressed and get stuff done... next moment when my feet land on the cold floor I'm startled by our bedroom door suddenly opening and there he is.... it's only what, 10 AM or something. He pulls me to his warm body with a smile on his face to hold me and kiss me.
"I got laid off."
I looked at him absolutely stunned and startled... "What!? You're kidding!"
He continues to hold me against him... "No, I'm serious. That's what the meeting was about, at least the one I went to."
I could do nothing else except to cry as fear slapped me hard in the face and all over..... what's going to happen now? What about our home.... what am I going to do? What are we going to do? My mind was racing and yet, not sure if it wanted to keep what it heard.
We went to the couch as I sobbed. Our housemate came out of her bedroom - "What's wrong? What happened?"
"I got laid off." I didn't see her reaction, my face was shutoff in the dark shadow of my eyelids pressed hard against his lap... I didn't want her to see me cry... but cry and sob I did.
"It's going to be okay... we'll be okay." : ) "I get to look for a new job!"
It has been a roller coaster ride for a long time for me.... emotionally, physically, mentally.
We three went to our married friend's house down the street to raid their garden as they instructed us to. I made excellent pasta sauce and pasta that night from their tomatoes and onions. My girlfriend told me, she was amazed that I didn't cry for long... she would still be crying if she were me. My mind is stable, I have an herbal remedy to keep the mind strong. I am calm. I am afraid. I am calm. I am stressed... I am determined.
I embrace hardship. It is my life. I praise God and His son Jesus Christ.
What have we to learn? I know not yet, but someday I will. Trust is tough love... and I have to trust in God like never before. Oh, Father hear our prayers.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Published, Memories, Poem
Hello All,
As it turns out I'm now related to an up-and-coming famous person. My sister-in-law, an artist, did the artwork for her husband's book! I love books and good stories... and believe me he is a great writer. I get to read his soliloquies at least once a year when he writes the family's yearly Christmas letter. I think he did a fantastic job of writting his version of the tale of Little Fish their second son's birth story - you can read it here. If you enjoy that check out his newly published book Catamount Cody. I'm sure it is a fabulous read! But you don't have to take my word for it; a lady by the name of Andrea Frazer at Life Happins wrote a review. And of course my nephew (of the acclaimed famous) obsiouly loves it good stories too!
They are giving copies away - signed by both I hope... did I mention I love good books of all kinds and varieties? I hope to someday get a signed copy. That would be fun and a great break from the mundane and interestingness of graduate student life. As I am currently working on my final semester and thus my thesis project - yes thesis project. I am making it an active training portfolio. I hope to bring out the creativity I know I posess.
I vaguely remember as a five+ year old in school loving to write... especially writing stories and whatever my creativity feed me. I can remember finding pieces of parchment and writing a story of a dog and cat that were best friends and the adventures they were going to have.... but alas in my efforts to keep my story safe and hidden.... it grew legs and ran away to Neverland where stories never fade... and children never grow up. Later on as a tween I remember a history assignment - that I ended up turning into a very long story about the trek of Father Escalante and his trail... I turned it in something like a month or two... late but received 110+ percent for such a good story and being able to put you in their shoes....... of course I also grew up in the rough terrain of Southern Utah where Father Escalante had to cross so I was itimately familiar with the land.... aw sweet memories. Someday too, I will find that old story and hope to fully transfer it onto the computer and into type.... I love good books, stories, writing and art!
As it turns out I'm now related to an up-and-coming famous person. My sister-in-law, an artist, did the artwork for her husband's book! I love books and good stories... and believe me he is a great writer. I get to read his soliloquies at least once a year when he writes the family's yearly Christmas letter. I think he did a fantastic job of writting his version of the tale of Little Fish their second son's birth story - you can read it here. If you enjoy that check out his newly published book Catamount Cody. I'm sure it is a fabulous read! But you don't have to take my word for it; a lady by the name of Andrea Frazer at Life Happins wrote a review. And of course my nephew (of the acclaimed famous) obsiouly loves it good stories too!
They are giving copies away - signed by both I hope... did I mention I love good books of all kinds and varieties? I hope to someday get a signed copy. That would be fun and a great break from the mundane and interestingness of graduate student life. As I am currently working on my final semester and thus my thesis project - yes thesis project. I am making it an active training portfolio. I hope to bring out the creativity I know I posess.
I vaguely remember as a five+ year old in school loving to write... especially writing stories and whatever my creativity feed me. I can remember finding pieces of parchment and writing a story of a dog and cat that were best friends and the adventures they were going to have.... but alas in my efforts to keep my story safe and hidden.... it grew legs and ran away to Neverland where stories never fade... and children never grow up. Later on as a tween I remember a history assignment - that I ended up turning into a very long story about the trek of Father Escalante and his trail... I turned it in something like a month or two... late but received 110+ percent for such a good story and being able to put you in their shoes....... of course I also grew up in the rough terrain of Southern Utah where Father Escalante had to cross so I was itimately familiar with the land.... aw sweet memories. Someday too, I will find that old story and hope to fully transfer it onto the computer and into type.... I love good books, stories, writing and art!
I can't wait for the cold winter days of December to come, with it's jewels of white.
I can't wait for my skin to turn ice in the cold December wind.
I can't wait for the crunch of soft snow jewels that sparkle and dazzle all.
I can't wait for another year to be added to my life,
As I journey forward and close another chapter of my life book.
I can't wait to finish my collegiate schooling,
To walk in pomp and circumstance in the bright May Sun over 1,000 miles yonder.
I can't wait to see my creativity continue to bloom as my sister-and brother-in-law encourage me with their own.
I can't wait to really see what life can bring beyond the night's heavy study of studentry.
I can't wait.
And yet I will.
I must.
Persist.
Finish a Goal, a dream.
Continue to create my life.
My story.
My own.
I am excited for life to continue.
For further challenges, new and different.
Fostering will come,
of creativity,
of children,
of hope,
of life beyond what I have always known and what I do not yet know.
I can't wait.
Yet I will.
Wait for life,
To see where this journey will continue to go.
To see what God has in store for me.
I can't wait.
Yet I will.
I can't wait for my skin to turn ice in the cold December wind.
I can't wait for the crunch of soft snow jewels that sparkle and dazzle all.
I can't wait for another year to be added to my life,
As I journey forward and close another chapter of my life book.
I can't wait to finish my collegiate schooling,
To walk in pomp and circumstance in the bright May Sun over 1,000 miles yonder.
I can't wait to see my creativity continue to bloom as my sister-and brother-in-law encourage me with their own.
I can't wait to really see what life can bring beyond the night's heavy study of studentry.
I can't wait.
And yet I will.
I must.
Persist.
Finish a Goal, a dream.
Continue to create my life.
My story.
My own.
I am excited for life to continue.
For further challenges, new and different.
Fostering will come,
of creativity,
of children,
of hope,
of life beyond what I have always known and what I do not yet know.
I can't wait.
Yet I will.
Wait for life,
To see where this journey will continue to go.
To see what God has in store for me.
I can't wait.
Yet I will.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fundraiser
Hello all to those who read my blog. I have updated my personal page for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network's (FAAN's) walk for food allergy awareness. You can read my story here:
http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2009Walk/2009Design?px=1444081&pg=personal&fr_id=1380
Please help me get the word out about food allergies and to let others like myself know that they are not alone. Even if you can only donate $5, that will help with education and research. Every dollar counts!
Did you know that the majority of people that end up in the ER for administration of Epinephrine for control of an allergic reaction is due to a food allergy? The majority of those that end up in the ER due to an allergic reaction didn't know they had a food allergy.... people have died simply because they ate something they are allergic to!
Here's a great post to help you understand Food Allergies.
The walk for Utah will be October 3, 2009.
http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2009Walk/2009Design?px=1444081&pg=personal&fr_id=1380
Please help me get the word out about food allergies and to let others like myself know that they are not alone. Even if you can only donate $5, that will help with education and research. Every dollar counts!
Did you know that the majority of people that end up in the ER for administration of Epinephrine for control of an allergic reaction is due to a food allergy? The majority of those that end up in the ER due to an allergic reaction didn't know they had a food allergy.... people have died simply because they ate something they are allergic to!
Here's a great post to help you understand Food Allergies.
The walk for Utah will be October 3, 2009.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Don't Forget About Thursday.... Speeding to Friday
Hi all,
So we had a fabulous fourth of July weekend down in S town. Small towns know how to part-tay! Of course we were lazy, but more on that later.... or you can get a sneak peek here: http://www.kabaju.net/2009/07/goblin-valley.html
Well, in-between my last post and now - I was in a group for two weeks to do a group project, then we jumped into the final two weeks of class - right now the final week of class is 3/4 done - it's Wednesday afterall! Which brings me to this weeks spin cycle: speeding onward to Friday.
The final project is to create a short 5-7 page portfolio that would help give me an edge as a consultant/trainer - of course creativity in presenting it counts.... hmmm. I just thought of a great idea too! I'll utilize my outdated website - I will update it - and present that to them! Of course I'll print out a hard copy of the portfolio pieces and put them in a booklet of sorts to present at future job interviews - that should come in handy!
So, the portfolio will consist of the following - and I quote:
So I've definitely got the resume done, and I also have a copy of unofficial transcripts too. Now to do a cover letter, the "Me in 30 Seconds" or "Elevator Pitch", an example of my training/service/skills I could offer, and my definintion of success.
In regards to this week's spin cycle of speeding onward to Friday - Don't Forget About Thursday! It's tomorrow, and as you can see I have plenty to due. I'm very grateful to my hubby for working on the dishes... I sure haven't had a lot of energy - and in order to make it to Friday I need to reserve my energy. So why am I writing a post then? It helps get the juices flowing.... eh, and I just noticed how late it is.... mmmmm.... anyways so ya. Friday will come in the next 50 hours (MST). I have exactly... ok... approximately 10-20 hours to complete everything and get it uploaded to my website and submitted to my instructors and discussion board.
I can understand the wanting to rush to Friday, but really why miss a day? Enjoy it while you can... you only get one mortal life. Once Friday comes and goes I'll be done with my final project, my final elective class. I will have a short break, pay a boatload on tuition and my fee - then it will be on to figuring out what I'm going to do for my final semester - thesis or project? Or will they let me do a hybrid?
Will my final semester end on a Friday in December?
It will be nice to have that Friday come quickly, but at the same time I have 6 months' worth of Thursdays in between now and then....
Don't forget about Thursday.... speeding onward to Friday.
So we had a fabulous fourth of July weekend down in S town. Small towns know how to part-tay! Of course we were lazy, but more on that later.... or you can get a sneak peek here: http://www.kabaju.net/2009/07/goblin-valley.html
Well, in-between my last post and now - I was in a group for two weeks to do a group project, then we jumped into the final two weeks of class - right now the final week of class is 3/4 done - it's Wednesday afterall! Which brings me to this weeks spin cycle: speeding onward to Friday.
The final project is to create a short 5-7 page portfolio that would help give me an edge as a consultant/trainer - of course creativity in presenting it counts.... hmmm. I just thought of a great idea too! I'll utilize my outdated website - I will update it - and present that to them! Of course I'll print out a hard copy of the portfolio pieces and put them in a booklet of sorts to present at future job interviews - that should come in handy!
So, the portfolio will consist of the following - and I quote:
Communication Consulting/Training Portfolio - - Design and develop your own personal portfolio to position yourself competitively as a consultant or trainer (for now or your future career plans) – externally or internally. Elements of this 5-7 page portfolio would include:
- Resume or curriculum vitae highlighting your training expertise
- “Elevator pitch” for you
- Example training or service you would offer
- How you would define success in your business or job
So I've definitely got the resume done, and I also have a copy of unofficial transcripts too. Now to do a cover letter, the "Me in 30 Seconds" or "Elevator Pitch", an example of my training/service/skills I could offer, and my definintion of success.
In regards to this week's spin cycle of speeding onward to Friday - Don't Forget About Thursday! It's tomorrow, and as you can see I have plenty to due. I'm very grateful to my hubby for working on the dishes... I sure haven't had a lot of energy - and in order to make it to Friday I need to reserve my energy. So why am I writing a post then? It helps get the juices flowing.... eh, and I just noticed how late it is.... mmmmm.... anyways so ya. Friday will come in the next 50 hours (MST). I have exactly... ok... approximately 10-20 hours to complete everything and get it uploaded to my website and submitted to my instructors and discussion board.
I can understand the wanting to rush to Friday, but really why miss a day? Enjoy it while you can... you only get one mortal life. Once Friday comes and goes I'll be done with my final project, my final elective class. I will have a short break, pay a boatload on tuition and my fee - then it will be on to figuring out what I'm going to do for my final semester - thesis or project? Or will they let me do a hybrid?
Will my final semester end on a Friday in December?
It will be nice to have that Friday come quickly, but at the same time I have 6 months' worth of Thursdays in between now and then....
Don't forget about Thursday.... speeding onward to Friday.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Summer Fever, Senior Fever
Aah. Chamomile tea - very relaxing. Just what I needed following a crazy week of downpouring rain, late to all-nighters, and utmost exhaustion to complete my second assignment of my Communication Consulting and Training course. So now, as my brain unwinds and... ick, headache... I can actually write for fun : ). This past week's spin cycle is summer plans or something to with summer.... ya really tired - which is good. I have to present in the morning.
Anyways... my summer, well as you can see is school, school, and did I say school? Since I had surgery back in March (which it has been 3 months and I'm officially healed! yay!) the timing was perfect so that I finished one class, went into "spring break", and moved my 2nd class of the semester to right now.
For the past two summers I have physcially gone to Gonzaga University campus in Spokane, Washington and loved it! I missed going this summer and staying at the B&B five blocks away.... I have found doing a class during summer is difficult when it's a full 8 weeks, and I don't go to Spokane. But as of today I am half-done! Two assignments down, two to go! And it's only getting more intense! You parents, I don't know how you do it, but you're amazing!
The other thing that's making it hard... this is my second to last class.... that's right 1 more and I'M DONE. D-O-N-E, DONE! No more acadamia as a student for me.... I don't want to hit the bottom of the scale shown here. It's scary how close to the "socks with sandals" area I've been... (if you didn't look at that scale, do so now....)
So I have summer fever and senior fever combined... plus I'm currently without employment, so ya. Great times.
Altough here's what Merlyn and I just designed for my assignement I just finished (yes it will take years to do):
This one is a sketch done to scale by Merlyn of the current layout of
our yard.
This one is our xeriscape design for entire yard.
Whew! What a pain to get pics on here.... grrr... anyways it's exciting. But we're hoping to at least begin with:
Painting the house, rebuiding the porch covering, new gutters, redo the grade around the house so water flows away from instead of towards, new side door complete with storm door, new bathroom window, take down those blasted weedy trees, and celebrate our 5th anniversary in August... while living life in between.... whew!
Night ya'll that's all folks.... need sleeeeeeeeeeeeep - and hopefully can get up early enough to shower and prepare for my presenation.
--Ecologista
Anyways... my summer, well as you can see is school, school, and did I say school? Since I had surgery back in March (which it has been 3 months and I'm officially healed! yay!) the timing was perfect so that I finished one class, went into "spring break", and moved my 2nd class of the semester to right now.
For the past two summers I have physcially gone to Gonzaga University campus in Spokane, Washington and loved it! I missed going this summer and staying at the B&B five blocks away.... I have found doing a class during summer is difficult when it's a full 8 weeks, and I don't go to Spokane. But as of today I am half-done! Two assignments down, two to go! And it's only getting more intense! You parents, I don't know how you do it, but you're amazing!
The other thing that's making it hard... this is my second to last class.... that's right 1 more and I'M DONE. D-O-N-E, DONE! No more acadamia as a student for me.... I don't want to hit the bottom of the scale shown here. It's scary how close to the "socks with sandals" area I've been... (if you didn't look at that scale, do so now....)
So I have summer fever and senior fever combined... plus I'm currently without employment, so ya. Great times.
Altough here's what Merlyn and I just designed for my assignement I just finished (yes it will take years to do):
This one is a sketch done to scale by Merlyn of the current layout of
our yard.This one is our xeriscape design for entire yard.
Whew! What a pain to get pics on here.... grrr... anyways it's exciting. But we're hoping to at least begin with:
Painting the house, rebuiding the porch covering, new gutters, redo the grade around the house so water flows away from instead of towards, new side door complete with storm door, new bathroom window, take down those blasted weedy trees, and celebrate our 5th anniversary in August... while living life in between.... whew!
Night ya'll that's all folks.... need sleeeeeeeeeeeeep - and hopefully can get up early enough to shower and prepare for my presenation.
--Ecologista
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Help with Education
Hi all,
We could really use your help in anyway - especially if you could donate even just $10 to help raise awareness that Food Allergies are very real for a lot of people - myself included. I'm still learning a lot too!
As a reminder I created a team - Hall of Allergies - for the Oct 3rd, 2009 Food Allergy Awareness Walk here in Utah. So please visit our team page at:
http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2009Walk/2009Design?pg=team&fr_id=1380&team_id=40370
Thanks and God Bless!
We could really use your help in anyway - especially if you could donate even just $10 to help raise awareness that Food Allergies are very real for a lot of people - myself included. I'm still learning a lot too!
As a reminder I created a team - Hall of Allergies - for the Oct 3rd, 2009 Food Allergy Awareness Walk here in Utah. So please visit our team page at:
http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2009Walk/2009Design?pg=team&fr_id=1380&team_id=40370
Thanks and God Bless!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Our Story
Since I have some time I'm going to do what Evenspor did here. I'm going to do the same, and tell you our story for this past week's Spin Cycle: "I Love You".
It was my second year at Utah State University's College of Natural Resources (CNR). I had moved into the top floor (3rd floor) of the 'natural resource (NR)' floor in the campus housing in between the Engineering and Business buildings, and across from the new library and CNR. It was nice to be right there, pretty much on campus, where you go to class - but what I didn't anticipate was Merlyn.
Not everyone - in fact half of the twenty-four(+/-) women and men that lived on the third floor were not NR majors... It was fall 2003. I was meeting my new neighbors and one in particular was tall, and somewhat handsome (of course at the time I was NOT interested in dating, in the least bit - I wanted to stay as far away from the dating nonsense as I possibly could....)
Sidenote: For those of you unfamiliar with how housing works, there were four apartments per floor that could house up to six people each. Two apartments were for women, two were for men - so it was "co-ed" Utah style. (I say Utah style, because you would rarely find men and women in the same apartment - unlike one of my friends' place in Nevada. I have also lived with men in a house during the summer - at least the few that were single were... uninteresting...)
Right, so we were all friends, yada, yada, college life is great and hard. Round October, the tall man, who told me a nickname then had to prove his real name as Merlyn, started to show interest in me (although I honestly had no idea, except this weird sensation that he liked me - it was like walking into the sunshine after being in the cool of the shade - it really freaked me out!)
Time passed, and when the first Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was out, our student government was able to do a showing at the Kent Concert Hall. Well, Merlyn, being a man interested in the movie, came into the Quinney Library where I worked one day with tickets in hand to ask me to join him. I said sure, why not, I'd like to see the movie - hey it was free (really it was free, even for him)! On my way to chem lab the day of the movie an odd idea hit me - "Does that mean I'm going on a date?" It seemed weird, but I guess it was.... sort of. We went as friends and nieghbors - but he began hanging around me more and more.....
He later amitted that he was thinking about getting back with an old girlfriend, but then became interested in my girlfriend Jeweles next door. He was shy - and everytime he worked up his courage to go ask her out, he happened to notice a lovely short red-head. So weirdly enough my name kept pushing Jeweles out.... I talked to her about it, and she said she wasn't interested in him - she really liked him, but just as a friend. (She married the man that was Merlyn's roomie - it's funny we both met our future spouses' and didn't even know it... none of us did.)
I liked him - er, I wasn't sure of these "feelings" I was having. They really frightened me. My dreams never really involved a man - at least not until after I was graduated from college and had a "real" life, with a career I enjoyed and traveled the world.... So yes, I was afraid of an early ball and chain.... if that's what you want to call it. I did everything I could consciencoulsy or unconsciencously to see if he would stick around or hopefully give up on me...
And yet somehow we became - gasp - boyfriend/girlfriend in mid-to-late November.
One dinner date I had drank an orginial A&W rootbeer, well, he insisted on opening my door, and with him looking down at me from his stance of over 6' and me at my just over 5' I let all out right in his face! *BELCH* *AHH* *BLUSH* *LAUGH* I'm sure those in the long line of the drive thru heard it! It was LOUD. He looked at me, and I believe he said, "Um, smells like rootbeer." (I'm still laughing about it to this day. Hey he bought me dinner and the rootbeer.)
Well, obviously nothing seemed to deter him. In March of 2004, unexpectedly (even by him - as our whole relationship-thing, was unexpected) he proposed to me (no ring, I was very picky about being able to design it - which I did do)... I was going to wait a month and tell him no - I'd rather date longer & maybe serve a church mission - but I only lasted a week and here we are 4 years and 10 months later into our marriage. We were married August 2004.
Merlyn I Love You!
It was my second year at Utah State University's College of Natural Resources (CNR). I had moved into the top floor (3rd floor) of the 'natural resource (NR)' floor in the campus housing in between the Engineering and Business buildings, and across from the new library and CNR. It was nice to be right there, pretty much on campus, where you go to class - but what I didn't anticipate was Merlyn.
Not everyone - in fact half of the twenty-four(+/-) women and men that lived on the third floor were not NR majors... It was fall 2003. I was meeting my new neighbors and one in particular was tall, and somewhat handsome (of course at the time I was NOT interested in dating, in the least bit - I wanted to stay as far away from the dating nonsense as I possibly could....)
Sidenote: For those of you unfamiliar with how housing works, there were four apartments per floor that could house up to six people each. Two apartments were for women, two were for men - so it was "co-ed" Utah style. (I say Utah style, because you would rarely find men and women in the same apartment - unlike one of my friends' place in Nevada. I have also lived with men in a house during the summer - at least the few that were single were... uninteresting...)
Right, so we were all friends, yada, yada, college life is great and hard. Round October, the tall man, who told me a nickname then had to prove his real name as Merlyn, started to show interest in me (although I honestly had no idea, except this weird sensation that he liked me - it was like walking into the sunshine after being in the cool of the shade - it really freaked me out!)
Time passed, and when the first Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was out, our student government was able to do a showing at the Kent Concert Hall. Well, Merlyn, being a man interested in the movie, came into the Quinney Library where I worked one day with tickets in hand to ask me to join him. I said sure, why not, I'd like to see the movie - hey it was free (really it was free, even for him)! On my way to chem lab the day of the movie an odd idea hit me - "Does that mean I'm going on a date?" It seemed weird, but I guess it was.... sort of. We went as friends and nieghbors - but he began hanging around me more and more.....
He later amitted that he was thinking about getting back with an old girlfriend, but then became interested in my girlfriend Jeweles next door. He was shy - and everytime he worked up his courage to go ask her out, he happened to notice a lovely short red-head. So weirdly enough my name kept pushing Jeweles out.... I talked to her about it, and she said she wasn't interested in him - she really liked him, but just as a friend. (She married the man that was Merlyn's roomie - it's funny we both met our future spouses' and didn't even know it... none of us did.)
I liked him - er, I wasn't sure of these "feelings" I was having. They really frightened me. My dreams never really involved a man - at least not until after I was graduated from college and had a "real" life, with a career I enjoyed and traveled the world.... So yes, I was afraid of an early ball and chain.... if that's what you want to call it. I did everything I could consciencoulsy or unconsciencously to see if he would stick around or hopefully give up on me...
And yet somehow we became - gasp - boyfriend/girlfriend in mid-to-late November.
One dinner date I had drank an orginial A&W rootbeer, well, he insisted on opening my door, and with him looking down at me from his stance of over 6' and me at my just over 5' I let all out right in his face! *BELCH* *AHH* *BLUSH* *LAUGH* I'm sure those in the long line of the drive thru heard it! It was LOUD. He looked at me, and I believe he said, "Um, smells like rootbeer." (I'm still laughing about it to this day. Hey he bought me dinner and the rootbeer.)
Well, obviously nothing seemed to deter him. In March of 2004, unexpectedly (even by him - as our whole relationship-thing, was unexpected) he proposed to me (no ring, I was very picky about being able to design it - which I did do)... I was going to wait a month and tell him no - I'd rather date longer & maybe serve a church mission - but I only lasted a week and here we are 4 years and 10 months later into our marriage. We were married August 2004.
Merlyn I Love You!
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