6/30/2012

peach plumb pear


Sometimes it's the simple gestures that bring a lot of happiness.
My visiting teaching companion, Andrea, and I brought this cute fruit basket over to Sherry's house tonight. I contributed the peach and Andrea had the ribbons. We tied them on and then traipsed across the quad to Sherry's apartment. She invited us in and we talked for a good while. Guys, I love socializing in small groups. Wonderful things happen. Sherry was baptized last December and she gave her first talk in church last Sunday. Her testimony is SO touching and heartfelt. As we talked, Sherry asked us if we could go with her tomorrow morning to pick up a friend of hers who's interested in the church.
And we agreed.
(By the way, her friend's name is Liao Yi Ni--and you say it like Ee Lee, which means something like "the color of the surface of the water." a;ljfddlkjafdas Gorgeous, right? My first name means "limestone." Ugh.)

I don't know what'll happen tomorrow, but I'm quite excited to find out!
I have butterflies in my stomach but tomorrow couldn't come faster.
:]

So here's a music video.
Emily showed me this when we were freshmen.
And we burst into giggles every time we listened to it.
*Shudder*

6/28/2012

link list

What I've been up to lately...

Perfect summer song.
Kind of too excited for this.
Read read read.
Just realized how amazing clothes can be.
Another amazing song by the lumineers.

6/27/2012

homemade ice cream bowls :D






Remove balloons from bowls.
Dip the rims in water.
Roll in sprinkles.
haha
Ours came out a little funky.
:]

Found recipe here.

6/25/2012

one year anniversary...pt 2









When you have your sweetheart...
You can be yourself.
You can laugh.
You can cry.
You can hug.
You can eat good food.
You can frolic.
You can watch Brave.
You can hold.
You can comfort.
You can be there for him//her.

I love my sweetheart.
He did all of this with me today.
Today we celebrated our first year of marriage.
We also had a huge emotional surprise--one I'll never forget.
You're in my prayers, Daddy.

6/24/2012

one year anniversary...pt. 1

WE'VE BEEN HITCHED FOR ONE YEAR! Ah! So stoked. And you wanna know something awesome? I got Zac to write a guest post in honor of today! We both made a list of 5 things we learned about each other since getting married last June. :) Here you go!


When asked to guest write for this post, Chelsea asked me to write 5 things I've learned about her since we've been married (since it's, like, our anniversary or something). I found it to be a lot harder than I thought. You see, unlike almost any other couple, I had the the opportunity to actively and passive-aggressively dislike Chelsea before I even considered being her friend. During this period, I was able to very successfully see the things in her I didn't like. Soon, I was forcing myself to see things in her I liked, and that list became so long and amazing that it made the things I thought I didn't like about her either turn into things I now adore or they were just trivialized in the grand scheme of things.

And then we dated for a year.
Despite our pre-marriage history, I keep discovering new things about her. In this list, I won't include sappy, cop-out things like "She has such a kind spirit!" or "I found out she was super funny," because I already knew those things. Hence, the marriage. So here are Five things I've learned about Chelsea:
1. She is a writer through and through - There are plenty of people who blog and write, but Chelsea is one of those that lives writing. At least twice a day she says "Ooh! That would be a good scene for a play!" Or "That would make really good dialogue in a book." The other day, she woke up at 8:30 and bolted out the bedroom, just saying "I need to write!" When inspiration hits, she doesn't ignore it. I love that about her.
2. She loves kids - She loves to hold and hug and cuddle with little kids. Nursery is a good fit for her. She's always nervous around kids, but once she gets over her "They might not like me" fear, she's great. She'll be a good mom someday. =]
3. She hates the phone - She will refuse to call anyone on the phone unless it's family. We'll be trying to organize something with some friends and she would rather text and be confused for 20 minutes than call and have everything sorted out in 5. She is absolutely terrified. And knocking on someone's door? NO FREAKING WAY.
4. She has very high expectations for herself - This is both good and bad. This makes her excel at pretty much anything she really tries, but when she falls short of anything, she gets very upset with herself. 
5. We are meant to be together - Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't be sappy, but I couldn't help it here. This I found out pretty soon after we got married (or it was solidified, anyway). I guess I knew it when I proposed, but I think it finally became official for me when I stopped regretting returning home from my mission. I didn't exactly have much of a choice, medical things brought me home, but I always wanted to go back. When I found out that wasn't in the cards, I would get mad at myself for being weak and coming home and getting married instead of sticking it out and getting married after my full two years were served. When I finally realized that I was supposed to come home so we could be together and be married and that feeling was repeatedly confirmed, I knew that everything worked out like it was supposed to. In short, we were meant to be together. I love her.



1) I didn’t realize how much Zac was into stand up comedy and comedy sketches until I married him. He introduced me to Louis C.K., his all time favorite comedian. He is also a huge fan of Jake and Amir…which he looks forward to watching every Tuesday and Thursday on College Humor. He loves anything with a vibrant, clever, wordy, and smart sense of humor—and spends a lot of time on Reddit. Ah, my nerd.

2) He is an oddball. Now, this one kind of made itself manifest while we were friends and dating, but marriage has really brought out his quirkiness. He can be so strange sometimes—and I find it incredibly hilarious and attractive. It’s like he’s so confident, he just lets his bizarre adorableness shine. His clever mannerisms and my outbursts of joy usually remain between the two of us—at home where we can’t be embarrassed. When other people are around, I’d like to think we seem normal enough. Sometimes though…we have moments at work when he throws a cheese stick at my head and I try unsuccessfully to stifle my giggles while on the phone. ><

3) He thinks of his future as our future—and is quite frugal. He wants to get into med school and become a doctor to take care of me and our future family, as well as both of our parents and families. Just as a side note, he’s INCREDIBLE with kids. I never knew that before I dated him and met his family. He loves to play with them, talk with them, and rough house with them. Sigh. Boys.

4) He is pretty accident prone—and VERY ridiculous when it comes to navigation. He got lost at church today when he went to find the bathroom. Not four days into our marriage, he hit his head on the edge of the pool while doing a back flip—we had to get him to the ER. Oh gosh. Scariest day of my life. The next day, he stepped on a sea urchin. Go figure. :)

5) He’s still my best friend—and a complete sweetheart. He doesn’t show that very often when we’re out and about, but he’s excellent at being a gentleman. It doesn’t feel like we’re people with “MR.” and “MRS.” signs hanging over our heads—we’re just best friends, hanging out, watching movies, and punching each other…while being in love. :)

6/18/2012

my dream home

19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

More than likely, Zac and I'll end up in Southern California somewhere down the road--and I have absolutely no qualms with that. Simi Valley, where Zac's from, has really grown on me. The weather, the people, the atmosphere. Good golly I love California. Wherever Zac and I decide to settle down is fine by me as long as I have him with me.
*gag me, right?* 
Zac and I played this game on a date one time where we thought of the perfect combination of our future place to live.
He said, "Southern California but with warmer waters."
I thought long hard and then twisted my dream world into whirlwind of green Irish mountains, London cobblestone streets, South Carolina waters, Lawrence night life, and Bostonian/NYC hussle and bussle. haha I have no idea if there's any place on earth like that, but if I could live there, I'd never leave. :]

That dream world is a fun and healthy exercise for my creativity. I know I'm being silly and girlie. And hooray for that!

And without further adieu...here's my dream home (or the best I can do with random pictures from the interwebz)!
Thank goodness for Pinterest.
haha









I also want a wall covered in paper for our future tots to color on whenever they please! I just can't find an adequate picture online. ><

haha And there you have it! The pretty and colorful dream home that's been inside me since I was a little girl. Obviously, these are just representations of what I have envisioned...and I highly doubt any of this will come to pass. But I had a lot of FUN putting this post together. My heart is full and I have a ton of butterflies in my stomach. 
Goodness gracious. 
Poor Zac.

6/14/2012

the most difficult thing i've had to forgive

18. What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive? 

Pondering the answer to this question is hard...especially when I don't want to name names. My heart is racing and my stomach feels empty even though I just ate a whole plate of french fries with Zac.

When I got engaged in February 2011, I was wary calling Dad to tell him the news. He didn't want me getting married before graduating college. He wanted me to serve a mission for our church. But in preparation for Zac's visit to Utah during Valentine's weekend, I prayed a lot and with so much intensity, that I knew deep down that I could get married sooner rather than later and that I was "ready"...whatever that meant haha. I also knew there wasn't anyone else for me besides Zac. We easily could have kept dating for another couple of years and then gotten married--but when you know, you know. And when Zac knelt down on one knee to ask me to marry him, I said, "Yes."

I called Dad and told him about our engagement. He was, of course, excited...but there was something in his voice that made me wonder if I let him down. As our engagement continued, I got a call from Mom. Jim told her Dad was smoking and drinking again. She told me Dad wouldn't be able to come to my temple wedding.

My roommates had no idea how to handle my reaction. I was angry. I was bitter. I was hurt. I felt betrayed. The next day at church, I sobbed out loud while the Sacrament was passed. I'd had the feeling my father left the church a while before, but sitting in the pew with Emily and Amber on either side of me, holding my hands while I shook with tears was...painful, to say the least. As I took the Sacrament, I wanted to take whatever pain my Dad had on my own shoulders. I bore my testimony that day--and meant every single word that came out of my mouth. Later on that afternoon, I wrote in my journal: "I miss my daddy. I want him there for me...I just want my daddy back."

Time went on. Dad and I made plans for him to attend the ring ceremony. I was quite excited. And then, about a month before getting sealed to Zac, I got a call from Dad. He told me he wouldn't be able to make it out to California for the ring ceremony because of his blood clots in his leg. But underneath those words, I heard him say, "I don't have a testimony." 

I let it all out. When I get angry, like seriously pissed off, I cry. It's ugly and loud, but that's what happens. When he said that to me, I yelled. I screamed. I cried. He cried, too, which only made it worse. He kept saying "I'm sorry--I'm sorry." And in those two words, there was so much more to it than being sorry about his blood clots. It was sorrow for not being able to be there for me on my wedding day. It was sorrow for letting go of the church. Then he said, "I'll be with you when you dance with your brother for the daddy-daughter dance." He choked back a sob as he said it. We hung up.

I stormed up to the living room and cussed and yelled and felt everything inside me rip apart. Mom wanted to hold me, but I yanked myself out of her arms. And poor Julie--she had shock written all over her face. She'd never heard me cuss like that (><). Then I went downstairs and tried calling Zac. He was working. So I called Emily and she talked with me for a long time.

At the wedding, I desperately wanted Dad there the whole day. Especially when it came time for me and Jim's "Daddy-Daughter dance." We danced to Little Miss Magic. Whenever I listen to that song, I cry. I'm crying right now. 


As you can see, I was a mess--but I felt happy and loved. It wasn't so much anger as it was acceptance for whatever was to come next for me and my dad. Forgiving him has been so hard because of how much I love him. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's been a huge part of my life in the past year.

Zac just held me while we listened to Little Miss Magic. I cried on his chest and he reassured me Dad loves me. I love my dad so much. It hurts sometimes when I think about his decision to not be a member of the church anymore--but I just want him to be happy, whatever that means for him.

I love you, Dad.