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Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Proposal

I think by now everyone knows Jared and I are ENGAGED!!! It is still a little surreal saying that.

Amongst the myriad of questions I have already fielded, a common one is " how did he ask you?" So, here it goes...

Let me back up to Thursday September 25th. It is Restaurant Week in San Diego so we made reservations at The Melting Pot. That place is so yummy but ridiculously expensive. We go during the discounted week. We are frugal like that ; ). We went to the one in La Jolla and got all fancied up for it. I was really trying not to think "this would be a good place to propose". Me being female, it was a bit of a challenge. Dinner was great and I only had the briefest moment of "dang. it didn't happen" on my way home.

Friday Sept 26 Jared cam over for dinner as usual. He had a long week at work so I thought it would be nice to make him a special dinner. In recent weeks he mentioned how much he likes Chicken and Dumplings (really, who wouldn't ?!), It was the perfect opportunity to make one of his favorite dishes. Everything was set up and ready to cook when he got here. The cooking time was only about 15 minutes so I didn't want to start cooking too soon. When he got here I asked him if he was hungry. He said "eh. a little".

One thing you have to know about Jared is that, when it comes to eating, he different levels of hunger. When he says something like "eh, a little" or " I could eat" , we have about 10 minutes before he is starving and needs to eat right.this.minute.

I took that as my cue to finish dinner. I got the dumplings in the broth and set them to cook and came back into the living room. I think we started watching The Big Bang Theory on TV. I checked the dumplings and they were done so I offered to dish some up for him. He declined. I thought it was really strange. It had been probably 15 minutes since I asked if he was hungry so I was sure he'd be starving. I thought it was odd but decided to wait to get my own food until he was hungry. The show ended and I again asked if he wanted dinner, He declined.

By now I was thinking "what is wrong with him? How can he not be hungry when it smells so good in here?". I asked if he had eaten anything after work and he said only half a sandwich. That was at probably 330pm. It was now around 7 or so? Maybe a little later. I decided to get my food because I was super hungry.

When I came back into the living room, the ring box was sitting on the coffee table. I actually didn't even notice it until I sat down no the couch. I think I froze. At some point I put my bowl on the table but I don't know when. I know my hands were shaking when I opened the box. I was going to be really angry if it were a pair of earrings.

I'm not really sure what was said. It is all kind of a fog. I know I said "It's really pretty" and cried. He didn't get down on one knee, which is totally fine. There's only about 18 inches between my coffee table and the couch. He wouldn't have fit without getting stuck. Now that I think about it, I wish he would've tried. It would've been so dang funny!

Jared is a very simple man. He's a man of few words. He's kind. he doesn't like a lot of attention. This proposal reflects all of those things and I love it. We once had a conversation where he told me not to expect some giant fairytale proposal. That might sound very unromantic (is that a word?) to some. There is a lot of pressure on guys to do these big, over the top proposals. Flash mobs, youtube videos, jumbo-trons at sporting events. The expectation is high. Oddly enough, that is something I have ever wanted. All I really cared about was the question and the chance to marry the man I love.

So there you have it. I am sure some people are thinking that it wasn't a very exciting proposal. That's cool. I don't need exciting, I need reality and truth.

I am surprised we didn't get any "it's about time" comments. Not a single one. THANK YOU for that. Thank you for the excitement and the well wishes. Thank you for not removing the joy of this by saying it was about time. I was actually dreading that. I had prepared to hear that from the majority of those that found out.

It has never been about the timing of others or when everyone else thinks we should get engaged, married, have kids. It has always been about Jared and I. When we feel ready, when God opens the door for it to happen.

I've already had more questions that I can list but here are some answers to some:
Have you picked a date: yes, Nov 7 2015
Are you going to start making babies: not until after we are married
Are you going to have kids right away: we haven't decided. We are focusing on this season of life for now and plan on enjoying it.
Where are you going to have it: I don't know yet
What are your colors: I haven't decided

I am sure people think I have had this wedding planned out since the beginning of time. I really haven't. Sure I had some ideas but tastes and ideas change over time. I am starting from scratch, really. I plan on enjoying the process as much as possible. I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

Some days are good running days while others are not good running days. It is the nature of the beast. This is why a runner trains. You hope to get out those bad runs during training and be at peak performance during your race.

I started training for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon sometime in October. I was excited. BUT, the deeper we got into the holiday season, the harder it became to train. In the month of December I had a whole 7 days off. I was able to get a run in here and there but that was about it. I was able to get up to 7 miles. That was a painful 7 miles. Inconsistency in training aided in that pain. Add a cold on top of that and we've got an interesting road ahead. My cough kept hanging on and I was starting to worry I would have coughing fits during the race.

Mentally and physically I didn't feel prepared for this race. I was nervous. Really nervous.
My friend, Jamie, and I walked to and from the expo to pick up our race packets. When we got there I could feel a blister forming on the bottom of my foot. I was surprised. I was wearing shoes I've worn plenty of times. I didn't walk all that far. By that evening, there were blisters on each foot.

The race started and I stayed with Jamie for the first 2 miles or so. We got separated around the first water station so I was on my own after that. With each step I could feel the blisters getting worse. It is the most uncomfortable feeling!

I was actually on pace for the first 6 or so miles. At mile 7 the large blister on my right foot popped. First of all, that's a really gross feeling. Secondly, it stings! I knew it was only a matter of time before the ones on my left foot popped.

I was really starting to feel the fatigue and muscle pain. I tried doing a walk/run combo. 5 min run, 2 min walk. I really started struggling to finish those 5 minute segments. I walked most of miles 9-13. I didn't care how long it took me to finish. I just wasn't going to give up. During those last 4 miles I was really wishing Jamie was still with me. I needed the encouragement to keep going. There were moments when I started getting frustrated and disappointed with myself. I started to cry but quickly stopped myself. I was going to finish, no matter what.

I ran the last 1/4 mile into the finish line. I wasn't going to walk past the hundreds of people lined up. I was going to run. I was going to dig deep and have a strong finish.

This was , by far, the most difficult race I have ever done. My body was rebelling against me and reminding me that training is a necessary part of a long distance race. I learned that no matter what my body is going through, my mind will not give up. I learned that I can push myself to my very max, mentally and physically, and still reach my goal.