HUZZAH!

Friends! If anyone even cares, on July 19 in the Year of Our Lord 2008, I got engaged to one Jesse Van Warr. (cheers, applause, gasps, and gafaw)



Yes, the time has come. The days of the President Rosses, Eclipse acapella group members, snooty English men, Powerpoint Lightning men and even dark Tunisian strangers is over and gone forever. My heart is 100% smitten with the sweetest and most wonderful man on the planet, and now you can just consider me "Jesse's Girl."

I suppose y'all want to know how it went down. Well, I'll tell you. But first, you need to know that Jesse and I were set up on a blind date, and I was only going to "hang out with him until something else comes along." Isn't that terrible? I never had plans of playing him, but I figured we were just SOOOOO not M.F.E.O. (made for each other) that I literally almost dismissed him as the dashing white knight of my heart. But I guess it was actually my "meh" attitude that made me comfortable enough from the get-go to really allow Jesse to get to know me and I him!

We'd planned on attending the Shakespeare festival for months, but ever since about the end of June, I knew that I wanted to marry this boy. So although time and place were a surprise, I knew it was inevitable. Just like that Shakira song, but not really because that song is a sad one.

But on with the story. After watching a very well-rendered display of Cyrino de Bergerac, we tearfully left the theatre built in the likeness of the Bard's old Globe Theatre, and I noticed a fancy gift bag. Jesse says "let's take a walk." ha ha!

In the bag was a complete pirate getup, the patch, the bandana, even a knife and compass. Oh, and I had a scope in case I spotted land. I took off one heel so as to appear to have a peg-leg and I was informed by the Captain that we were to take a Pirate Treasure Hunt! It was so darling. So I had clues that took me all over SUU campus, each clue decorated with such detail and fun! Jesse admitted that his mom had helped him. Really, you have to see these clues, they were so ornate with stickers and cutouts and the like....

The best part was, of course, getting to the final destination, which was a small cooler and a blanket. I laughed the whole way through our treasure hunt, but when I got to the blanket and went to sit down, Jesse stopped me. He said, "stand right there...right there." Then he got down on one knee and.....well it's cheesy and sweet and wonderful. I cried. I cried a lot. It was like so many feelings of happiness and joy were busting out of me while a lot of fear was being dissolved in a bittersweet release. It was so apparent to me that this is the man I want to have with me through the fun and boring days, through times that are super wonderful, but almost especially the times that are hard and stressful. He is a calming, patient influence in my life, but he still "gets" me. He "gets" that I need ice cream every 4 hours so that's what he brought in the cooler. There was a pint of ice cream with two spoons for sharing. PERFECTION!

The good times keep on coming!

Here is a pic of me and the man in Florida. That was after we'd been dating for only a few weeks, but he'd already gone sledding with me on Valentines day AND bought me a cowboy bear from Build-a-Bear. I think I was pretty whooped even then! Oh, and if you're wondering, it WOULD kill him to crack a smile. ;)

Now, this one is a treasure because he IS smiling. This is on Joe's birthday and his dream is to be surrounded by playboy bunnies, but somehow it became Jesse who was the center of the picture. I told you it was good times!

Another Friday

Well, kids, I'm still here. Jesse was cool enough to get a pedicure with me last night, and the more I'm around him the more crazy I get about him! Hee-hee! Good times. But my twitterpated self is not the reason I'm blogging today.

No, I have another pontification to blog about today. I started doing Bikram yoga on Tuesday and I've done it three times so far. For anyone who cares to know, Bikram is a type of yoga in which the instructor turns the heat in the room up WAYYYY high and you sweat your guts out for 90 minutes doing various poses. This has a number of health benefits, which I won't get into right now. Staying in a heat-and-humidity-filled room for an hour and a half whilst contorting the body might sound to some like hell. I have to admit, there are several times during any class where I feel like I'm going to die and my face and everything screams "I'm going to die right here in this sweaty, stinky room!!!!!"

However, the beauty of yoga, one of the reasons I'm still doing it, is that this in and of itself is part of the exercise. How many chances do we give ourselves to calm ourself down? How many times do you have the chance to be objective enough to actually take what is happening, process it and accept it without reacting to it? I'm amazed how in these classes I realize that practicing patience and tenacity when I am hot, uncomfortable, irritated, in pain, etc. gives me a whole new perspective on life.

The reason it hit me most today is that at the end of class, our Yogi said something to the effect of "hard situations give us the chance to grow and change and be better. If there was no pain, no opposition, then there would be no chance for growth and enlightenment, and thus we would all be in hell." It wasn't that exactly, but I thought it interesting that the point was, WITHOUT stress and pain and discomfort, this life would be hell. It's all the stuff we consider "bad" that actually makes heaven and heavenly pursuits possible.

Have a good Memorial Day.

Life on the farm and Carpe Diem

I once read that growing up was like getting kicked in the teeth. Just kidding, I never read that, but it would be cool if I did. So here I am blogging. I just wanted you all to know that I will be attending law school in the fall. That's right, I said law school. Many who know me will say it's about damn time and to them I would say, Touche. (I never know how to get the dash over the e there). I am not exactly sure what's taken me so long, but here I go again on my own, going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone....

But I digress. I'll be a Ute, and I feel no need to apologize to my sweet Alma Mater, USU. I feel as though becoming a Ute at this point will enhance rather than diminish my Aggie-hood. My TRUE Aggie-hood. *wink*wink*

So if you care to find me, look to the western sky, as far as Salt Lake City, anyway. It's here, within the shadows of the everlasting hills, that I will be brainwashed in the liberal ways of higher education (Cathi's words, not mine) and hopefully in three years come out looking like a million bucks and making that in no time. Actually, if I can just pay off my debt (student loans, not my debt to society) before I die, I'll be a happy camper.

Speaking of dying, many people refer to it as "buying the farm." I really do feel as though a part of me will die come orientation on August 18, thus the title of my post "life on the farm." I'll probably rename my blog lifeonthefarm or something close to it simply because I truly feel that part of me will die when I go to school. No more fun times with this girl, you can find me in the library, with greasy hair, wearing my ever-popular tortise-shell coke bottle glasses and a Ute sweatshirt living on green tea with soy milk and honey.

HOWEVER....as the day has not yet come, let us relish in the present. Something that I've always struggled with. Nevertheless, I shall with vigor pursue not the "eat, drink, and be merry" paradigm, but the paradigm of seizing the day and happily receiving the gift that is the present!

And so, my good friends, I leave you today a little tired and worn from working my ass off for the man, yet happy in my newfound determination to enjoy it to the last. Until next time.

A new day!

Never have I been ready to blog. I hate writing in a journal, I hate taking pictures while I'm trying to make a memory, and frankly, I'm lazy. All that aside, I'm delving into the part of me that, like Corky St. Clair, has a vision. And I do...have a vision.



You see, there are so many people I love who I never talk to and so I'm hoping that this serves as a way to stay in touch. I love looking at all of your blogs! Your families are so dang cute, and although we all know Beth is losing the race of life, I still have some pretty killer adventures. Imagine Sex in the City with no sex....I know you can't wait for more posts!!!