Sunday, December 29, 2013

I'm married!

Once again, it's been forever since I have written.  The past several weeks have been quite busy because . . . I got married!  We didn't know if it would happen when we planned for it, but because of the Lord answering lots of prayers and fasts, Jake and I were married on Saturday, December 7th. We didn't know until the Monday prior. Once we found out, it was try to get ready the rest of the week, go to St. George, get married, go on an awesome honeymoon and relax for a week, and then get right back into the thick of things. More details to come, but I wanted to update that and also let you know that I really might change the name of my blog. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas. The Savior is the reason for us to have hope and happiness.  I'm so grateful for Him.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Long Time No Write

I'm sorry it's been so long.  I don't really have a good excuse; I told Jake recently that I feel like we're letting our lives run us instead of having the control over them that we should have.  Hopefully we can get a better handle on our responsibilities and schedules and find some balance.  One of my friends said something about being glad that I'm engaged so I can not have my moniker anymore; should I change the name of my blog?  I've had it for so long; can one just go and change that?

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Introverted Boredom

Jake went on a business trip this weekend, so I have had a lot of alone time.  In my older age I have discovered that I enjoy it when I have some alone time.  And since moving up here, I have had quite a bit of it.  I have enjoyed the privacy that my brother and sister-in-law have afforded me, and I have liked just resting or doing things quietly in my room.  However, without an evening of Jake stuff, there's been too much of alone this weekend.  It was just me hanging out at home for several hours yesterday, and I couldn't figure out what to do, especially because THERE WAS NO INTERNET!!  It got all stormy for awhile, and I think it took out the internet for awhile.  Okay, fine.  So I went upstairs and decided to play the Wii for a little bit.  I started out with Lego Star Wars, but that only lasted for a couple of minutes because I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do.  I swung my light-saber around and killed lots of storm troopers, aliens, etc., but I didn't know where I was supposed to go, and I wasn't interested enough to try to figure it out.  So then I tried Raving Rabbids, but that didn't really do anything for me, either.  I decided that I would take advantage of access to Netflix . . . but no internet = no Netflix.  Oh - right.  Ugh!  I went through the movies.  I didn't feel like a chick flick, which is weird for me, but I'm feeling a little annoyed about the false portrayal of what love is that those movies perpetuate, and I don't need that being more ingrained in me right now, so when I saw The Fugitive, which I've never seen but have wanted to, I decided that last night might as well be the night to get acquainted with it.  I liked it alright - except not so much the swearing.  Harrison Ford was pretty buff, which makes sense, but that's not what I think of in association with his name.  I could have spent part of the evening at a neighborhood bbq, but I didn't feel comfortable going by myself.

Then there was today.  It was good to go to church and to spend the day with my brother and his family, and I got to talk to my former roommate, which was really nice (We lived together for so long that I still feel like she's part of me.), but I'm definitely looking forward to having daily plans with Jake again.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Three Boys in the Back of a Car

This means that my car has been christened.  Our first roadtrip was alright, but after this one there were pretzel crumbs and bits across the backseat.  *sigh.  I know it's to be expected, and it is something to rejoice over - because it means there are children - but I wonder how fast it will age my car.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Surprise Date

Awhile back, my sister suggested a dating website - as in, a website that has a ton of ideas for fun dates.  It looks like it has a lot of cool suggestions, and I think I want to try them.  Tonight I tried one, which involved kidnapping your date.  One of Jake's buddies works with him, so I originally tried to set things up with him so that I could easily kidnap Jake from work.  That wasn't going to work out, but I still thought I'd go get him after he got off.  Yesterday I made a cute note for him, modeled off of the one on the website.  Anyway, things ended up not working out as nicely as I had hoped - his job requires him to be out and about a lot, so he doesn't always leave from the office at the end of the day.  Today was one of those days.  I found out the general area where he would be when he got off, but I didn't know the exact location.  Fortunately, I ended up being very close to where he was, and he called me before he drove to my place (which is really good because I live in a different town), so I was able to talk to him for a couple of minutes while I drove to him.  I ended up telling him that I wanted him to stay put because I was coming, and I just had to hand him the kidnapping note when I got there.  Lame, but I think he still liked it okay.

When he got in my car, I blindfolded him and took him to a restaurant that is really close to his office (which fit better into my original plan of picking him up at work) that he pointed out recently.  We ate Brazilian cuisine - which included grilled pineapple *yes!  Then we had meetings to attend, but after that, we went to his place, and I had him try to hit a tiny target with little nerf things from a toy gun that I borrowed from my nephew.  The prize was those pink and white covered animal cookies - I recently found out that he LOVES those.  I had a big target for myself, which I couldn't hit.  He didn't hit his little target, but he was able to hit mine.  This last part was silly, but it was part of the suggested date, and it was kind of fun.

Anyway, I think Jake liked the date, and I had fun trying to plan it and then watching him be happy with my efforts.  :)

Monday, July 1, 2013

Happy 6 Monthary

Today makes six months that Jake and I have been dating.  That might not sound like a big deal, but for me it is.  If you're not Mormon, you may be thinking, You're just getting started - good job.  Let's check back in another six months.  If you are Mormon, you may be thinking, Why aren't you married or at least engaged? And I have to answer that I'm Jamie, and that should explain it.


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Perfect Saturday

Since I've moved up close to the boy I haven't felt like I've had much real time with him.  I mean, we're around each other a lot, but other people are often there, too, and I'm really a one-on-one kind of person.  Saturday, however, we got to spend most of the day with just each other, and that was so nice.  We (or, more accurately I) had had a rough evening the night before.  Saturday, though, we ran several errands together and then drove to Manti to watch the Mormon Miracle Pageant.  It's on the Manti temple grounds.  I think I've only been once before - I was really impressed with the temple.  The design is beautiful.  We got there several hours before it started and followed some signs to a church where one could buy an $8 turkey dinner.  It was so good.  The turkey was barbecued or something and it was wonderful.  I felt really close to my boy as we sat there eating in this place where we only knew each other.  After dinner, we went to the temple grounds and waited for the gates to open so we could find a place to sit and save seats for some of our family that was coming to watch the pageant, as well.  The show was nice, and it was alright to be with other family - so I guess as long as I get enough one-on-one time with Jake I'm alright with other folks, too.  By the time we got back to town that night I was so exhausted - the show doesn't start until the sun goes down, around 9:30, and it lasts an hour and a half, and then there's the drive back.  It was worth it, though, because it was such a great day.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day

Today was an interesting Father's Day for me because my boyfriend is a father of three boys.  I don't think I made my boy feel like I should have today, and that's not good.  I think this is really a transition period for me right now.  Also, I haven't had much alone time with the boy.  He doesn't even have his children a majority of the time, but it feels like they've been with us a lot so far, and it's a little challenging.  I'm hardly used to being in a relationship, period; add kids to that, and it's not the easiest thing for me.  I mean, I like his kids, and he still does an amazing job of paying attention to me; I think it's just a little hard to come into a culture that's already been there for the four of them.  Ugh - I don't know if that's really what I mean, but I guess that's what I've written tonight.  Happy Father's Day to my boy and to my dad and to lots of great dads out there.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Sorry for the Absence

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I have written.  I will try to change that and get back into a regular posting groove.  Maybe I'll revamp this place a little - I just moved, so why not make this a new place, too?  Last Monday, Jake, some of my family, and my roommate helped to finish packing me up. They loaded my trailer and a couple of vehicles, and Jake and I began our trek.  We spent the night at Lu's - I'm so glad we could because it had been awhile since I had last seen her, and I don't know when I will get to see her again.  It was fun chatting with her, as always.  The next morning we yakked a little more and then spent ALL DAY on the road; we finally made it that night, and I have been busy not-unpacking-much-at-a-time, applying for jobs, and spending time with Jake.  What a life, huh? My brother and sister-in-law are letting me live with them for a little while, and one of my favorite things about the situation so far is that they have really given me privacy - I sure appreciate that.  Anyway, so here begins a new adventure.  Wish me luck.  Or pray for me - that would be way better.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Miracles are Real

I've seen more of them this weekend than I can probably count.  It's interesting to see very great miracles coming through very difficult circumstances.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Simplicity

Yesterday I asked my niece who I should marry.

"Jake."

"Why?"

"Because you love him."

"Who should Jake marry?"

"Jamie."

"Why?"

"Because he loves you."

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Jake

Wow - it's been over a month since I posted.  Not like me.  That probably has a lot to do with dating Jake.  I started writing awhile back, but then I think he called, and I never finished that one.  Oh well.

Well, we're still dating.  He's awesome, and  I'm schizo about my feelings.  Does this happen to anyone else?  I'm really looking forward to moving closer to him and being able to spend normal life with him. It's hard to feel like I'm in two places.  It's a little vacation every time we get to see each other, which is cool, but I think it will be nice to know what it's like to see each other on a normal schedule.  Hopefully that will help me to be able to not be so schizo.  He's definitely an awesome guy, and I'm blessed to have him in my life.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Insights

It's been awhile since I last posted - what is happening to me?  In my church, the women are assigned other women to visit.  It helps us take care of each other.  Today I went with my visiting teacher companion to visit the women we have been assigned.  One of the women we visited asked me how things are going with the boy.  Then she and my companion both shared some of their experiences in choosing who they're married to and what it has been like since then.  I really appreciated the things they shared; they weren't the "in love," romantic side of things.  They shared feelings that I think many people probably have but don't share because they're not what the Disney side of us wants life and its experiences to be.  It was helpful, I think, to hear that other side, which has still resulted in good things.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day can produce very different feelings in people, can't it?  I'm guessing I've had my Valentine's Days where I felt depressed/jealous/irritated/etc.  Then there are a few nice ones that I've had.  This year's holiday was a good one, although it would have been better had I actually been able to spend it with my boy.  He was awesome, though, and sent me two days of gifts - a dozen roses the day before, chocolate covered strawberries the day of.  So nice.

It was kind of cute that some of my students were interested in my Valentine's Day.  "Any special plans today, Jamie?"

"No."

"Aren't you going to visit your boyfriend?"

"No.  He's around twelve hours away."

"Well, you don't have to drive.  You could fly."

"Flying is expensive."

"Aren't you going to at least have a skype date?"

"I don't think my laptop can handle that; it's duct-taped together."

It was kind of nice that they wanted me to be with my valentine.  It was also humorous because one of my students also asked me if I . . . text my boy.  I think he was trying to get to - are we twitterpated like younger people, so we text all fast?  So funny.  You know you were like that, too - you probably didn't realize your teachers were actually people.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

A Favorite Part of My Weekend

Niece leaning on me while starting to watch a video at the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center and whispering, "Jamie, I love you."

Also, getting kisses from  three of her teddy bears and her before I left her house.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

I will try to do better at this soon

I didn't post last week, and I want to go to bed instead of post tonight.  I feel like none of you would want to read what I would want to write, either, because it would probably be a bunch of mushy stuff about my boy.  I kind of like him.  So instead of writing at length about him, I'll wish you all a good night and a great week ahead.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Awesome Weekend

The Boy came down to visit for the weekend - so nice.  It was kind of a packed weekend and included:

Family
The Hobbit
Sonoran Hot Dogs & Horchata
Botanical Gardens
Ethiopian Cuisine
Old Spanish Mission & gorgeous dusk
Hootenanny with a Washboard Tie
Church
Brazilian Cuisine (with my former roommate who is Brazilian - she's amazing)
Bigger-than-a-plate Pancake (with potatoes in the batter)

So packed that I'm still exhausted (which I think you can tell from the pic that was taken before he went back home).  :)


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Strawberries and Birthdays

Well, I've made it longer in this relationship than one of the predictions - hopefully I'll make it way longer - like, forever.  Wouldn't that be nice?  He's sure a sweetheart.  I got chocolate covered strawberries in the mail this week.  One of my roommates suggested that everyone in our house get long-distance boyfriends so that we can have chocolate covered strawberries every night.  :)  When things seem too good to be true, it's my experience that they are, so I'm kind of nervous, but it will sure be nice if there's an exception to that rule.

In other news, when I arrived at my sister's last weekend (on my way back home from visiting the boy), the first thing my niece said when I went inside was, "Jamie, I just love you so much!"  Something like that, and she repeated it a couple of times.  Later, when I snuck to her room to try to read the scriptures, she and her brother found me and climbed up beside me on the bed.  Their mom found them and asked if they were letting me do what I was trying to do.  "Mom, we just like Jamie!" my niece replied.  It's her birthday tomorrow, and I want her to know

I just love you, Em!!  Happy Birthday!

The last four years she has been such a source of joy - my little sunshine.



Sunday, January 6, 2013

My Boy


So, this is my boy.  He thinks he likes me, isn't that nice?  I'm scared and unsure of myself, as usual, but so far he's patient.  We don't live near each other, which STINKS, but he's coming to visit in a couple of weeks.  :)