We are engaged!

YAY!

Jon and I got engaged on Friday after the opera. He said some very nice things and then got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage.

I said, "Of course!"

We were both sort of in shock and could not say much other than "I love you".

Afterwards, we went back to the car and sat there for maybe a half hour. He told me all of the trouble he had gone to to make this happen, and I was surprised even more at that point. We smiled so much and so hard that our cheeks hurt. Our eyes were red from tears, and we were (and are) just really happy. We both feel so incredibly blessed that God has brought us to this point... through everything that has happened, and through all the terrible stuff we had to go through, and the times when we hurt each other...

It has worked out for the best.

Without all that pain, we never would have grown up. We never would have learned out lessons, and we never would have found our way back to each other.

God works in mysterious ways, and we are so thankful for that!



Anyway, we really look forward to planning... we have a LOT going on this year... between 12 other weddings, and now our own... we will be rather busy. But hey, I love being busy and multitasking. :)

We will keep you updated on the details!


YAY!



(oh, and by the way, his hard work on the ring hunt paid off - it is stunning! The nightmares I had about ugly rings were totally unfounded!)

valentine's day

YAY!

Usually I am pretty whatever about Valentine's day.... this year was pretty great though.

On Thursday Jon and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at Lehigh University. IT WAS AWESOME. I have always wanted to see them, and we had a really good time. Naturally the whole thing is very rigged, but they still have mad crazy skillz and were pretty hilarious. I suggest you go see them... they are coming to Philly in the beginning of March, and it is totally worth it. And bring your kids... they will love it, it is a very family-friendly affair.

On Friday, Jon surprised me by taking me into Philly. We went out to eat at a place I really like (The Italian Bistro on Broad St.) and then to see Cyrano at the Academy of Music. We got into the city a bit late, so our dinner was kinda rushed. It was still yummy though... Jon and I both got saccheti in a vodka tomato cream sauce. DELICIOUS. We also did not see any mice this time around. :)

Off we went to the Academy of Music. Jon got us pretty decent seats, made even better by the fact that we moved up once the opera started. It was sung in French and subtitled in English. The sets were incredibly beautiful, and we certainly were not the only ones exclaiming praise. The two men behind us, as soon as the curtain was raised, gasped and said "Oh no... they did not... (gasp) oh that is fabulous! How gorgous!" Which, of course, made us both laugh. They were right though, they were amazing. The cast did a great job too though I was left a bit lukewarm about the ending.

Most of you have probably heard about Cyrano... dude with the hideously large nose who falls in love with his cousin Roxane, who is beautiful and intelligent, having a love for poetry and exposition. She falls in love with Christian, who loves her back, but is dumb as a brick. Cyrano uses Christian as the portal through which to express his feelings to Roxane. Roxane falls madly in love with Christian's soul... which happens to be Cyrano. I won't tell you the ending, except that it is sad... But after about 3.5 hours of sitting there, both Jon and I were ready to pass out.

We left the theater... but this is where I must stop my description of the evening. :) Trust me though, there is more to tell..... ;)


I will update later this weekend. :)

hair

Okay, here we have it folks...

The snip by snip process of my hair donation.

I would like to say though that my hair does not actually look like the final pictures... I mean, the hairdresser blow dried it with a round brush and put gloss on it and crud like that. My daily routine consists of: wash, rinse, towel dry, run out of the house with my hair still dripping.


However, the whole cutting thing was slightly traumatic, as you can well see by the pictures. :)

Whenever I get a real picture of how my hair actually looks, I will show you. I actually do not even particularly like the last picture. My hair is cuter when its not all fixed up like that, trust me. :)

The before shots...

Holy guacamole... my hair is seriously long here... I had no idea it was actually that long.

The first snip. She had no mercy, really. Before she could finish the sentence "Are you ready?" she had already cut off that first little pony tail. Eek!

Here I am thinking, "Did I really want to do this?"

"Dear Lord, what have I done?!"

"Uh, heh heh... it's... ah... not going to look like this when it is done, right?"

I think I was channeling Edward Scissorhands.

Okay, its actually moderately cute.

Ta-da!

Yeah, it really does NOT look like this... it actually flips out on the ends, which is not so terrible. You will just have to see for yourself some time. In the end, I donated 10 inches and she chopped off another 2 or so. Oh, and I lost 1.5 lbs. I kid you not!

What do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Ha

Announcer, "Tonight, on HBO Family... 8 p.m., Gremlins!"




Ha!

Groundhog Day

If you had to relive one day over and over again, where no one else seemed to realize that it was the exact same day but you, which day would you choose?

What would happen during that day? What would you do every day to make it different?

What age would you be?

Where on Earth would you be?

Most importantly, who would you want to spend it with?




No doubt a curious thing to ponder. Groundhog Day, the movie, is actually really awesome... not only is Bill Murray hilarious, but the concept is really intriguing...

If you got stuck in some sort of bizarre time loop, what would you want to do? Do you think you would pick a day from your past, or would you just want it to be completely random?



As far as my own answer goes, I am really unsure. I do not think I would pick a day from my past... mostly because I cannot think of any singular day which was absolutely perfect. So maybe I would just want it to be a totally random and seemingly innocuous day....

Who would I spend it with? Well, obviously the first instinct is Jon (aw). But I think as time went on, I would probably try to visit lots of people... I mean, think of all the people you know, and every single one of them is doing something totally different right now. Their perception of reality is completely different from yours. So I think that, after awhile, I would want to see what happened to everyone on that day, just to know. Still, I am sure I would spend most of my time with him.

Like the movie, I think I would definitely amuse myself with attempted suicide. It sounds awful, I know, but I think there would be a time of despair where I just wanted to get out of it... and also the idea that hey, if I cannot die normally, then I definitely want to know what its like to leap off of a tall building. :) I promise I am not really that sadistic.

The director of Groundhog Day said he always imagined Bill Murray's character as spending 3 or 4 years in this loop... so he has a lot of time to do whatever he wants. He learns how to play the piano... I think he picks up a language or something...

I think I would probably use a lot of the time to travel. I mean, no one wants to be stuck in a plane the whole day, but lots of very cool places are within 5 or 6 hours.

I would also learn how to drum, and to use my Heelies. Did you know that they are SO HARD?

I'd like to think that I would spend time reading the Bible. I would probably be praying a lot like, God, what sort of cruel joke is this? But hopefully I could mature a lot in that time.



I think the scariest part is the prospect that time will eventually return to normal. So let's say you go on a rant and quit your job and tell someone off... and then tomorrow life continues... then you have to deal with the consequences of whatever you decided to do that day. Yikessss. I suppose though, if it were to happen like the movie, whatever happened the day before time returned is what is SUPPOSED to happen... so it will be the *right thing*.



I dunno, alternate realities are fun to think about. What if...?

I also wonder what bad things would come out of me during the loop... if there were really no consequences for my actions past midnight, what sorts of terrible things would I do? Human nature is not pleasant all the time, especially mine. I would hope that the prospect of tomorrow being tomorrow would keep me in check... but its a scary thought. I am confident that I would not kill anyone (uh, other than myself) but who knows. Eek. Maybe I should just focus on the, um, positive things that I would do with the day?

What would you do?

sushi pack

Oh my goodness!

I love sushi, I really do...

And who knew, sushi had gone this mainstream!


Sushi Pack is an absolutely adorable cartoon show that I am now tivo-ing for all the Sat mornings I am NOT up at 9 am.

Basically the main characters are all crime fighting pieces of sushi! The sushi pack gang consist of tuna, crab, octopus, salmon, and wasabi! Sound gross? It isn't. They are so cute.... and when they lift their feet, they look like perfect little sushi rolls!

Anyway, if you go to the website, you can see old cartoons. They are each 11 minutes long, so I am sure you can spare them a gander.

And if anyone has even more time on their hands, look around for a t shirt or something. I totally love the crab sushi. She has crab pig tails. ADORABLE! :)

kinoki

Ever see the commercials for Kinoki foot pads?

I desperately want them, and I am not sure why. I can only attribute it to a perverse obsession with all things gross.

For example, I love washing my hands when they are really dirty. Not because of the cleanliness, or the great smelling soap, but I love seeing greyish brown soapy water coming off of my hands. It is just so gratifying!

I also love Biore strips. There is nothing like pulling a forest off of your nose. I love looking at all the little tiny hairs that get yanked out, not to mention the other stuff.

Peel of face masks combine two loves: getting out gross stuff, and peeling off skin. Its fantastic! I mean, sun burns suck, but I get so exciting for the pending peel! And to be able to do that, en mass, without the uh, painfulness or skin damage... it just awesome!

So I think the reason I am so drawn to those kinoki pads is that they claim to pull out stuff that looks like dirt. It is most likely a crock... but I still totally want to try them.





In other news, I recently inherited a bunch of my grandparent's old pictures. I now happen to have several albums of their world travels. They have been to hawaii, bermuda, germany, france, and a bunch of other places. They went to these places because they used to square dance.

My grandparents belonged to a square dancing group called the "Y Nots". They were a part of the group for many many many years. It was sort of their thing.

Looking through the pictures, I really got the sense that times really used to be more simplistic. Most of the trips were in the 70's, when my grandparents were in their 50's. And it is neat to see them and their friends, traveling the world, just having fun. The ladies are always wearing skirts and blouses, or tailored pantsuits. The men wear light keds with dark socks and button down shirts. When they are dressed up in their square dancing gear, the men and women match... usually because the women made the clothing so that they would.

In one picture, the women have made a picnic of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They are piled high on a plate, with other picnic items. The women sit gracefully, legs to the side, smiling, while the guys are squatting, and one is leaning on an old car.

It just looks nice.

The pictures themselves all in yellow and brown hues, and it is difficult to think that life was as vivid as it is now. I just imagine everything to be tinted like autumn.


I really like how my grandparents and their friends traveled together, and it was obvious that they enjoyed each other's company. They had a community.

In one picture, at the beach, my grandfather and his friend and coming out of the ocean. They are clasping hands, helping each other against the tide. It is just a really nice mental image of how friends should be... and I wonder if guys are that comfortable with one another today.



If I get the time, I will have to scan some pictures and post them. It just seems a more beautiful and simple time, and I have to admit that it fills me with a sort of longing. I want to travel. I want to dance. I want to have a close circle of friends that lasts through many generations. Maybe I am starting that reality now... time will tell.

Meanwhile, it is Friday night, I am feeling reflective, and I am also enjoying (I think?) a completely empty house. My mom is in Florida, my dad in Utah, and my brother just out. And so here I sit. :) And lucky you, you get to hear what I am thinking. :P