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September 29, 2017

The Last Seven Months

The last few months have been a wild ride, such that... I haven't even blogged since February. 😅😬 I suppose the quickest way to give an update is via bullet points. In no particular order, here's a recap of my last seven months:
  • In February, I got laid off. :( Naturally, we were super bummed about this. Applying and interviewing for jobs is THE WORST!
  • A few weeks later, we got engaged! I knew Stephen had bought my ring at the end of January, and he didn't propose until MARCH 3rd. 😵😱 It was the longest six weeks of my life!
engaged! engaged!
  • My Tío Jose passed away at the end of February. :( He had been sick for a few months, and I know he had been in pain, but it was still really sad. I'm glad I was able to use sky miles to travel to his funeral in California. And actually, Stephen proposed just a few hours before I flew out. It was really lovely and comforting to be gathered with family to celebrate my uncle's life that weekend. And it was nice to have some happy news to (tactfully) share amid our sorrow.
  • We celebrated our one-year dating anniversary!
symphony date one-year anniversary date
  • I learned how to ski! Two winters ago, I had purchased a lessons + season pass package to Snowbasin. The silver lining to getting laid off is that I had more time to actually use my pass. I updated briefly on this two posts ago, and I'm happy to say things improved after that post. I'm definitely still a beginner, but I felt a lot more confident towards the end of the season and even managed to make it down a blue run (albeit very, VERY slowly)! AND I didn't run over any more children.
  • I moved out of my little apartment! This was harder than I imagined it would be. I was so excited to be marrying Stephen. My lease ended at the end of April, and we decided it made sense both logistically and financially for me to move into our duplex first (Stephen bought a duplex last fall, and we'd spent the previous few months fixing it up, so he hadn't moved in yet). It was hard for a few reasons. 1- I loved my little apartment. I'd put so much care and effort into fixing it up and decorating it just so. It was hard to let that go. 2- While I was beyond excited to marry my bestie, I was concerned that I would have a hard time adjusting to living with someone else again. Living alone had been such a treat! (I'm happy to report that living with Stephen is an even more delightful treat!) 3- Stephen is amazing and always kept a "we" mindset about things, but part of me still felt a little bit like a mooch living in "his" house by myself? I've definitely gotten over that, but it was an adjustment. I've had an entire life before this chapter. I'm used to being on my own, taking care of myself, etc, and while I know I wasn't giving that up, part of me felt like I was. (I wasn't. I just had to get over myself a little bit.)
sad face: moving out
  • We spent months and months and months working on our house. We're still not quite done, but we're hosting family for a birthday brunch for Stephen this weekend, and we're at least to a place where we can mostly do that. Ha. :) If all else fails, we'll just shove everything into the second bedroom and shut the door. ;)
Home Sweet Duplex
  • We planted a little garden, and it's still alive! I've never successfully kept plants alive for longer than a few weeks, but so far, we've eaten cucumber and zucchini, and we hope to have some tomatoes soon! We have a watermelon plant that might not have anything for us, and we planted a baby nectarine tree that will hopefully bear fruit in future years. Our lime tree got moved to my office yesterday, where it will live out the winter next to my big windows.
  • I started a new job in July! I was grateful to a good friend who passed along the job link to me shortly after I lost my job in February. It's a great opportunity for me, and even though the learning curve has been steep, I'm really enjoying it so far.
  • I free-lanced this spring/summer, and I learned I am not cut out for being an entrepreneur. (I think?) I also worked as a Matchmaker for a hot second, mostly because it sounded like fun. What I learned is that being a paid matchmaker is the WORST. Matchmaking for fun is, well, fun! 
  • Two weeks after I started my new job.... WE GOT MARRIED!! :) Wedding planning is one of the worst and most unenjoyable things I've ever done, but our wedding was SO much fun! We were actually a little sad to leave at the end of the night, because we were having such a great time. It was so wonderful to have the people we love most gathered in one place to celebrate with us. I loved meeting people who love my Stephen and have played an important part in his life, and I loved getting to introduce him to my people. It meant so much to have so many of our loved ones travel from so far to celebrate with us. We were married on July 21, 2017 in the Ogden, Utah LDS Temple. I'd love to write more about our wedding day in a separate blog post, but it is the most wonderful thing in the world to be married to my best friend. I count my lucky stars every day to have found him and to be his wife forever. The actual wedding day felt like a blur (I can barely even remember our sealing), but these last few months have been the greatest adventure.
first dance IMG_1127 Ogden Temple wedding day
  • We just got back from our honeymoon! This deserves its own post also, but we went to London and Paris and just had the best time. :) 
Honeymoon recap

February 16, 2017

True Love and Valentine's Day

 

I learned a very important lesson this week. I've dated and Dated all sorts of guys in my life. Heck, I even dated one guy on and off for two years in college. Yet, I somehow managed to have never had a date for Valentine's Day -- until this year, that is. And I was super excited!

I made too big a deal of it, and I was humbled by the lesson I learned. My boo is the sweetest, and he thoughtfully selected a gift he knew I would love: a bright red KitchenAid! 😍😍😍 (!!! Though I made sure he knew we couldn't have the bar set that high for future Valentine's gifts, or he'll be sorely disappointed! 😜) It's such a thoughtful, wonderful, amazing, and personal gift! But I placed too much emphasis on all the stuff; on all the things that don't matter. 

I was humbled on Tuesday as I reflected on my Stephen and how truly blessed I am to have him in my life. He is so, so wonderful to me! The latest example: I got really sick this weekend. Bed-ridden, sleep all day, and spend-my-nights-congested sick. On Saturday, he could have done anything: worked on his house, run his own errands, enjoyed his free time. 

Instead, he brought me a care package with soup, medicine, cough drops, Cheetos, nasal spray... NASAL SPRAY! And then he bought me Chinese takeout when I said I was hungry for more than soup, and he spent Saturday binge watching Harry Potter movies with me. If love isn't someone who takes care of me (nasal spray, people!), who puts my needs before his own, and who still wants to cuddle with me and spend time with me when I can't breathe and spend most of my time loudly bowing my nose, I don't know what love is. 

I am such a lucky, lucky girl to have a partner who gave me roses, chocolate, a KitchenAid, and a lovely date night on Valentine's Day, but I am ashamed by how much I had built this day up. What matters most isn't the chocolate, the flowers, and the material things society says I need from my man on a particular day of the year. What is most important is that I am blessed to have a man in my life who loves me 365 days a year, who cherishes me at my best and who stays by my side when I am at my worst. Who forgives me for the times I am selfish or unkind and who motivates me every day to be my best self. Who, when I tell him the Obamas are #relationshipgoals, goes and gives me a Valentine's Day tweet even though he NEVER posts to social media, because he cares about making me happy. What matters is that I am blessed and lucky enough to have My Person in my life; the rest is just stuff.

So every time I use my shiny new KitchenAid, I will remember the lesson I learned this Valentine's Day. I am so, so thankful for my boo. He is THE most important person in my life, and I'm so grateful he is My Person. 

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, boo! 😘❤️️

February 12, 2017

Since I last posted...


  • I became an aunt! 😆
Baby nephewBaby blessing   
  • we both turned 32
Stephen's 32 32 32 dinner
  • 9 + months strong with this dreamboat! 😍 
Dreamboat ❤️️ Druid arch
PlanetariumMorning tongues 😜
  • I just finished my time with the Utah Democrats and am looking for my next Comms/Digital opportunity in SLC. (So if you know of anything, let me know? I'm open to FT opportunities as well as contract/consulting work.)
Marty O'Malley Utah Dems
  • We voted! (#WithHer, of course. 2016 was actually my first year voting a straight Democratic ticket.) 
Voted!

Unfortunately, we lost bigly on November 8th, so....
  • I took refuge in Europe (London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Brugges for 10 days) and had the time of my life with Stephie and Nif! #misadventuresineurope
Amsterdam!
Amsterdam ❤️ 
  • Every time I read the news, it feels like the country is up in flames. But also, it's been incredible to see the goodness of the people around me in response.
SLC March 4 Refugees
March 4 Refugees in SLC
SLC Women's March
SLC Women's March
  • I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It explains a lot, and I'm grateful to A- still have health insurance, B- to have found just the right therapist, C- for modern medicine and all the ways in which it improves our lives, D- for an uber-supportive boo. I am so blessed! <3
  • Went to DC for Kathryn's wedding!
Kathryn's wedding!
  • Spent our first holiday season together
Chatwin Thanksgiving Matching onesies!
  • Some shopping. ;)
Jewelry shopping
  • Started ski lessons at Snowbasin. It ain't going so well. 😳  Last time I was there, I ran over a small child, got yelled at and shamed off the mountain, and basically cried all the way home.
Ski lessons

Hope your 2017 has been good so far!