Monday, April 26, 2010

LOVE STORY

I am engaged! My LOVE STORY really started back in October when I was least expecting it. I haven't mentioned Seth in my blog before because I didn't want to jinx it. Now I will let you in on some of my favorite memories with Seth. I can't wait to make many more in the years to come. I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I am happier than I have ever been and I know that life is just going to get better.

October 30, 2009
Lunch with the Ladies
Once a month I get together for lunch with a few other Speech Therapists. We share therapy ideas, life stories, and good food. On this particular Friday, Verna, Suzanne P, Bonnie and I met at Firehouse Pizzeria. Bonnie is a resource teacher at Suzanne's schools, and was in my student ward several years ago. Somehow we got on the topic of dating (or lack of dating). About a week later, Bonnie emailed me and said she had someone she wanted to set me up with. Seth called a few days later and we set up a date for November 7th.

November 7, 2009
Rain Check
We were going to play croquet in a park. I was really excited for the date, but woke up the morning of November 7th really sick. I called Seth and said I had to cancel. I thought for sure that he would say something like "Yeah we will have to try another time, I'll give you a call" and then never call me back. But he lined up the rain check date right then.

November 13, 2009

Boy Meets Girl

I remember opening the door to my apartment to find a tall, dark, and handsome man. We went back to his place for chocolate fondue. Then we played the board game "Lost Cities." I'm not much of a game player but I recommend this one. Most embarrassing moment from this date. We were talking about all of the places I have traveled too. He didn't know what Petra was so I was trying to describe it to him. I wasn't very successful, then he looked down at the game board and pointed and sure enough Petra was one of the sites.

November 18, 2009
Boy Builds A House for Girl

On our second date we built this gingerbread house. I told Seth that since he had his bachelor's degree in architecture, he could build me a house. He even helped me decorate it. Then we hiked Ensign Peak.



November 22, 2009
A Sunday Walk

Seth came over and we walked downtown to look at architecture. As a side note I looked really cute this day :) I was wearing skinny jeans with black boots and my cute green jacket. I actually remember what he was wearing too.

December 4, 2009
While Parents are Away
Seth lived blocks away from Bart and Collette. I volunteered to babysit the girls while Bart and Collette went to a play. Seth came over after the girls were asleep and we watched a movie.

December 5, 2009
A Saturday of Errands

Seth took me to Rio Grande Cafe for lunch. Then he asked if I could run errands with him. It was one of my favorite days. You get to know so much about a person running errands with them.

December 9, 2009
Temple Square Lights

We walked around Temple Square and saw the lights. It was really cold. We tried to warm up in-between by listening to music inside the buildings.

December 12, 2009
A Christmas Story

I cooked fajitas and then we went to A Christmas Story at Pioneer Memorial Theater. We lucked out and got some seats that actually had leg room. I was a little worried about how 6'4 Seth would fit in the sits when I barely do.

December 13, 2009
Babysitting Max and Ben
Seth met me at JB and Mary's and we babysat Max and Ben. Seth was incredibly cute with the boys. He had them laughing hysterically and even got down on the floor to play games with them. Mary and JB liked Seth too.

December 16, 2009
Christmas Cookies
I had to get a few co-worker gifts made. Amy was dying to meet Seth so we headed up to Amy and Dallin's to dip Oreos in mint chocolate. I am 99% sure that this is the first picture of us together and I love it.



December 19, 2009
Christmas Party
Seth asked me to go to his work part at the Alta Club downtown. I was excited to be in the building I have gone by my entire life. He showed up with flowers and we walked down. The building was beautiful. I loved how all of the furniture fit in perfectly with the architectural style.

December 22, 2009
Window shopping

I met Seth downtown at the trax station. We rode trax out to his car and then went to the Sugarhouse shopping center to do some Christmas shopping. We wandered around Shopko for sometime choosing presents for his niece and nephew. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and he asked me to choose a present. We searched for Sherlock Holmes but were unsuccessful. Then I came across the Pioneer Woman Cookbook. We decided that we would start cooking together. It is one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.

December 26, 2009
Meet the Parents

Seth invited me up to Cache Valley to meet his family. He hadn't told any of them that he was even dating someone. He just asked if he could have a friend come up the day after Christmas. If you know Seth you know that this is totally his style. We went snowshoeing and shotgun shooting. Here he and Audrey are working out a little sibling rivalry on skis.

December 29, 2009
First Cooking

We tested out our first recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook. We made pizza. I highly recommend the crust recipe...it is AMAZING. We have made pizza since then and even calzones.

December 31, 2009
New Years' Eve

We played games at Justin and April's. It was my first time playing Ticket to Ride. I highly recommend it, I think we have played 3 versions since then. Then we headed up to Amy and Dallin's to ring in the new year. I usually hate New Years' Eve but not this year.
January 2, 2010
Snowshoeing to Dog Lake

We went snowshoeing with friends up to Dog Lake. It was a pretty steep hike. My favorite part was watching Seth and Anne roll down a steep hill at then end.

January 7, 2010
First Basketball Game

Seth was the Stake Athletic Director. I watched him play for the first time. I also learned how to keep score and run the scoreboard. Over the next couple of months we spent 1-2 nights a week up there helping with Basketball.

January 18, 2010
Auto Show
I had been down in Arizona running a Half Marathon. Seth was sweet enough to pick me up from the airport. Then he took me down to the Auto Show. We had a blast jumping in and out of cars.

January 29-30th, 2010
Let it snow...

I wrote all about this weekend here. I was with Seth and some other friends. My favorite part was getting up on Saturday morning and snowshoeing with Seth. He pulled out these snowshoes and told me that he had just "borrowed" them from a friend. Once we had gotten to the top of the hill he asked me if I wanted my birthday present early. I asked if I was wearing it and he said yes. He even convinced me to go sledding, something I thought I would never do again. If you look closely at the picture of the snowmobile you will see his silhouette.


February 5-6, 2010
Hyde Park
We went up to Cache Valley again to visit Seth's family. We got to walk down to an ice covered lake to see people ice fishing. Then we went snowshoeing with his Dad, Jill, Peter, and Jamie.

February 9, 2010
Best Birthday Ever
Seth got his first taste of Marzipan and I had the best birthday ever.

February 12, 2010
Hello Neighbor
Seth had to move out of his place and the basement apartment in the triplex I live in was available. He and Matt moved in on Friday, February 12th. It was nice having him 15 minutes away, it was even better having him less than a minute away.

February 28, 2010
Happy Birthday
Seth's Birthday is in February also. He loves Spiderman, so I made this cake for him. We invited his siblings over for dinner and his nieces and nephews loved the cake.

March ?, 2010
Spring
Seth surprised me with flowers one day. I love sunflowers but I love Spring even more.


March 20 , 2010
Spanish Fork Hot Springs
We went down to the Spanish Fork Hot Springs with some friends. I thought about posting a picture but one thing Seth and I have in common is our pasty whiteness, so I will spare you. I had never been to the Hot Springs but I will definitely return.

March 27, 2010
Scooter Ride

I wrote about this day in this post. One of my favorite things is going on scooter rides. I seriously giggle almost the entire time. I have wanted a scooter for years and now I have Seth and a scooter.

April 17, 2010
Salt Lake Half Marathon

Seth wasn't just at the finish line for the Salt Lake Half Marathon he got up ridiculously early to drop me off at the start line. He is not a morning person in the least bit, so getting up early on a Saturday meant a lot to me. I loved seeing him along the route cheering me on.

After the race we went to a family BBQ and then took Seth's niece and nephew (Isabelle and Ben) and my nephews (Ben and Max) to How to Train Your Dragon in 3D.

April 22, 2010
Lifehouse Concert

I took Seth to the Lifehouse/Daughtry concert. When I first told him I could follow Lifehouse around the country he didn't believe me. Now I think he does.

April 24, 2010
Engagement Day

Saturdays are my favorite days because I get to spend almost all day with Seth. On Saturday, April 24th we had Stake Conference in the morning. Then I went off to see my friend Roxy go through the temple and Seth headed to his soccer game. We saw each other for a few minutes between the temple/soccer game and open house. He was sweet enough to mow the lawn for me while I attended an open house. Then I mowed my parents lawn and helped him babysit Isabelle and Ben.

He said he was going to take me to dinner. When I opened my door I found him holding these beautiful flowers that Isabelle and Ben had helped him pick out.

We got in the car and headed to Lamb's Grill which has been on Main Street since 1919. On the way there he handed me the first card of many. Each card had a time written on the outside which corresponded to the time that he would give me the card, and consequently to a time that he had thought about me during the past few weeks and written in his notebook. The words of each card were thoughtful and sweet. I will treasure them forever. Here is a picture of the stack of cards I received from 8:30 PM on Saturday to 3:30 PM on Sunday.

Seth is not blushing in the picture below. He got really sunburned playing soccer and mowing the lawn. Dinner was wonderful. Lamb's grill has a really great ambiance.

After dinner we went up to one of our favorite spots overlooking the city. This is where Seth asked to marry me. When he is asked to tell the story of how he proposed he always says "I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me." He did it perfectly, in this perfect spot.


July 20, 2010
Wedding Day

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Ruby Elite

Meet my new bike...

I am registered for a sprint distance triathlon next month and finally got around to buying a road bike. I picked the one above because it is named the "Ruby Elite" who can resist a name like that...brilliant marketing. Seriously I got it because it was the '09 version and consequently on sale. As I flipped through the pages of the Specialized catalog during shopping I could picture myself riding. It was much harder to picture myself once I actually got on the bike. Let's just say that getting back in the saddle hurts.

Which brings me to my second purchase this week... padded shorts. Yes the blue pad is actually sewn into the bottom of the shorts, I hope it makes this hobby a little less painful.

I also picked up a cute gray and pink helmet this week.





Now all I have to do is start riding. Wish me luck...I will definitely need it. My first triathlon was back in 2006. I had not been on a bike for over 10 years. I didn't train on a bike at all and it showed. I forgot how to turn in addition to how to use the breaks...let's just say I ended up crashing in a field right in front of a police officer directing traffic.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Dating Max and Ben

Max and Ben have been asking to go on a date with me for months. We finally got one scheduled. I picked them up and they were both wearing blue button up t-shirts. Benny had his hair gelled into a cute little Mohawk. Our first stop was McDonald's for a gourmet meal. I'm confident that Max and Ben loved the toys from their kids meal and the play land far more than the food. It seriously took the staff at McDonald's over 10 minutes to get our food on the tray. I finally had to go up to the counter and give them some hints on how to complete the order.

We went to the Gateway after and watched How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. Max and Ben both started out in a booster seat, Benny ended up on my lap. It wasn't easy to keep the 3D glasses on his head. There were a few scary parts but these boys were true Vikings and remained courageous. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

Seriously I have no idea how JB and Mary ever get both boys to look in the same direction and smile at the same time. This isn't the most flattering picture of me because I am saying "cheese" in hopes that Max and Ben will catch onto the concept.

After the movie we walked down to the fountain. It was a little to cold to let them play in it but they did have fun pretending like they were going to. I warned the boys that I expected kisses at the end of the date. Max was hesitant but eventually gave in. Benny does not have a hesitant bone in his body. Thanks for the date!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Self Talk

I heard yesterday that 300-1,000 wpm of self talk go through our brains and I believe it. I ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon on Saturday and the hardest race that I have done to date. I was physically the more prepared for this race than I have ever been before. For the last 3-4 weeks I have completed a 2 hour run each week. This race should have been like any other training day but it was much harder. My body was run but I was hearing 300-1,000 wpm of doubt, fear, etc. I was trying to push that doubt and fear out, I was trying to prove to myself that I could keep going. It was much easier to push it out when I saw people I love cheering me on. Thank you for waiting at the finish line for me and believing that I could do it.

Here are my stats from the day:
1:50:11 Official chip time
8:24 Pace
74 / 621 Division Place
793 /4621 Overall Place
273 /2882 Gender Place

It was my personal best race. I beat my previous best by 2 minutes and 34 seconds. I'm just hoping that on my next race I can push all 300-1,000 wpm of doubt and fear aside and believe in myself.

I zoomed in on this picture so you could see how crazy muscular my calf muscles look.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Spring Break 2010

I celebrated my Second Annual Spring Break in Phoenix. The weather was perfect (70-85 degrees). The tree in front of Jeff's house was in bloom. I apparently missed the best part of the bloom but it was still beautiful. Jeff's house is looking amazing. The roof is on, the stucco is on, and now thanks in part to me most of the insulation is up. I am in constant awe of Jeff. The fact that he has nearly doubled the size of his house doing most of the work on his own dumbfounds me. I honestly think there is nothing in life that Jeff couldn't do.



This is the view from Jeff's new master suite. The mountain in the background is Camelback.


We returned to La Piazza del Forno in Glendale. The pizza was even better than the first time that I visited. I hadn't noticed the sign below before.


The trip to Arizona wouldn't be complete without a hike. We hiked Camelback. I had only been up the West side in the past. This time we hiked from the East to the West side. We even met Camelback Jack on our way up. This guy has to be in his sixties or seventies and he hikes the East side (most difficult) three times each day. I hope that I am that agile when I am sixty.



Diesel joined us for the hike. He slowed Jeff down a little, otherwise I would have totally been left in the dust. Diesel is a total chick magnet for Jeff. Almost every girl that we saw on the trail commented on how cute Diesel was. Diesel has even learned to drink straight from Jeff's backpack.

The wildflowers were breathtaking. I couldn't resist getting lots of pictures. My favorite is of the pink flower in the midst of the spiky cactus thorns.











P.S. My eye twitch disappeared during my trip to Arizona. I think I was in desperate need of some R&R. Hopefully it does not make a reappearance anytime soon.

P.S.S. I continued with my training schedule while I was in Phoenix. I ran along the canal three days and visited a gym for my long 2 hour run one day. I must be crazy.

Michael Buble

I went to the Michael Buble concert at the E-Center on March 31st. I have been to a lot of concerts but this was definitely in my top 5 of all time. The stage was simple. The concert was about the music and Michael singing the music. It wasn't about dancing, a moving stage, or background graphics. There were no extreme costume changes. He came out in a tux and he stayed in it. The big band was at the center of the stage, not hidden to the side or below like you see with other artists. Michael Buble was one of the best entertainers I have ever seen. He was able to make every member of the audience feel like he was serenading them individually. If Michael was to come again I would go in a heart beat.




P.S. I hope that when Michael does come again that he doesn't come to the E-Center. It is possibly the worst venue in Salt Lake. Parking is an absolute joke. I had read online that parking would be $10. All of the signs driving up to the parking lot said $10. We get to the kid taking money and he asks for $15. We corrected him. He said we could pay $10 since we saw the sign. The 40 minutes it took to get out of the parking lot didn't make me feel any better about the situation either.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Coming soon...to City Creek


I was walking downtown the other day and caught a glimpse of sign that made me smile. The Blue Lemon is coming to the City Creek Project. Over the past few months the City Creek Project has really started to take a form. I love the design. I can definitely see myself spending more time downtown once it opens up. I am thrilled that the Blue Lemon is coming and that I won't have to drive all the way to Alpine for the scrumptious tastes the Blue Lemon offers.