Best Reaction to My Engagement

So, when I officially became engaged I was somewhat apprehensive about what my client's responses to my engagement may be. I mostly just try to avoid any kind of talk about my personal life with my clients and a recent engagement opens the door for lots of questions.

Today I remembered why I had some of those apprehensive feelings. At the beginning of my group this morning one of my clients noticed the ring and pointed it out. She asked if it was new and I said yes. Another client said "You're engaged?" To which I responded in the affirmative. She then asked to see the ring and I showed her. And then came this little gem of a response from one of my favorite clients in the group. He said "Are you pregnant?" To which I responded "That's really inappropriate."

I am sure in his world that is a pretty logical question and reason for someone to become engaged. Sad, but true.

So then I shut down further questions and began the group as normal. The client apologized after group was done.

And it is a pretty funny story.

Oregon- The Completion of the Trilogy

Here is the final installment...hope it was well worth the wait.

Sunday morning I awoke very early to attend church with Jacob and his family. Their Sacrament meeting started at 8:30. Who does that?!? I was really tempted to wear pigtails to church just to have a few more minutes of sleep. But no...I didn't do that.

It was kind of fun being in a family ward. I enjoyed watching all the families with their kids. Good times. But even better were the games of connect four I played with Jacob's mom during relief society. Jacob allowed me to use his IPod touch and I enjoyed it. His mom was less than quiet when she would lose the game. It was pretty amusing. Perhaps a little on the inappropriate for church side of things but I can still tell you what the lesson was on...I was paying attention. I am a skilled multi-tasker.

Then, Jake took me on a little tour of his neighborhood as we drove home from church. That was a pretty fun time. Their neighborhood is pretty unique in that it has an elementary, middle and high school all basically in walking distance from their home. (Maybe not walking but certainly a 5 minute drive or less).

Perhaps the highlight of Sunday was beating Jacob and his mother at Pente. I was pleased about that. But Jake and I bought stuff to make a Pente game last night and he beat me twice in a row so I guess my domination was short lived.

I also very much enjoyed going to see the Portland temple. Sadly, the grounds were all closed off because they are in the middle of remodel/cleaning. Still...it was worth seeing. I also really loved taking the long scenic way back to his parent's home. It is a beautiful area for sure!

Jacob and I also got into a pretty intense debate about the difference between fir and pine trees. It was pretty amusing. This debate involved a white board diagram, several books, and finally input from tree expert friend of Jacob's. Good times.

We spent the rest of Sunday evening enjoying a nice dinner with the family and playing games. I love Sundays. We also discussed options for the final day in Oregon. There was discussion of waking early to watch the sunrise but I think I vetoed that. I was tired. So we decided to go into Portland instead.

When I woke up Jacob informed me we were going to head to the rose gardens as it provided an excellent view of downtown Portland. He mentioned that the roses were obviously not in bloom but it would still be worth it to go. I thought it as a little strange but consented just the same. As we were driving there I saw signs for a Japanese Garden. I told Jacob we should go there instead. He readily agreed. So we walked the rose garden for a little bit and then made our way to the Japanese garden. The sign said it didn't open until noon and we were there at 9:30. I was a little disappointed but we walked up the path to see it from outside the fence. As we were walking up a woman and child were walking down and let us know the gardens would open at 10! We also discovered it was free admission day. Such good news! So we strolled around a little longer and then made our way into the garden. It was beautiful! And there really were excellent views of the city.

So...in this garden there is a most excellent little bridge. However, it is was also very popular with all the many garden guests taking advantage of free admission. We crossed the bridge and noticed a little path that veered off into some trees and was very secluded. We walked along that path and stopped at the most secluded part. Jacob produced a letter from his pocket. I opened the letter and read it. As I finished reading I turned to see he was on one knee with a ring and was asking me to marry him. I quickly (very quickly) said yes. And then, I am embarrassed to admit, was very greedy and started putting the ring on immediately. It turns out Jacob had really planned to take me to the Japanese garden and had planned to propose on the bridge. What he had failed to plan for was free admission day. But, it was pretty great nonetheless. He is wonderful and I am so lucky to be marrying him!

And for all that have been waiting...here are some pictures. Enjoy!

From the lovely bridge looking to the spot back in the trees where Jacob proposed.

A view from the bridge.

Jacob and I on the bridge right after proposing.

Also...here are some of the things I failed to mention about the proposal story...

1. I knew it was happening. Jacob had told me Sunday he needed my father's phone number to make "the call." He also shared the story of his father pulling him aside after church and saying "I'm giving you 24 hours to propose or I will do it for you."

2. Jacob was also really, really nervous and weird all Monday morning prior to popping the question. It was pretty great actually. I was also nervous. But I was pretty glad when he started relaxing and getting back to normal. I'm not sure why he was so nervous...he knew what the answer would be! I think I was more nervous just with anticipation...

So on the way back from the Japanese gardens I was suddenly craving some oriental food. I thought it would round out the whole experience. So Jacob had the idea of stopping at the Costco in Hillsboro and picking out some egg rolls or something like that. And, it really completed the trip because Hillsboro has the largest Costco in the US. Pretty sweet right? It thought so. We enjoyed the egg rolls while letting the family know it was all official.

So there it is...the summation of my trip to Oregon. It really was a fantastic trip!

And as a side note- I love my ring! I love wearing it. I find myself staring at it, especially when it catches the light and sparkles so much. It is perfect. I also echo Diana's sentiments about being so nervous about losing a diamond out of it or losing the ring in general. I am already prone to worry as it is!

Oregon--Take Two

So...after sleeping quite soundly Friday night I woke up ready for a day of exploring the Oregon coast. And let me tell you...it was beautiful. I guess I don't have to tell you since I can show you.

On our way to the coast we stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory (technically I guess it is a coast city but you certainly can't tell). It was fantastic! And they had lots of cheese to sample so I was a pretty happy girl. It was fascinating watching them take big old blocks of cheese to make our more modest size bricks. I also am going to enjoy the cookbook Jacob and I picked up as a Valentine's gift to ourselves. It has a whole chapter dedicated to Mac and Cheese. YUMM-O!
We then headed to a lighthouse on the coast. It was quite lovely and also conveniently located near the "Octopus tree." So naturally we have pictures of that too. After that we hiked a little along a trail right near the coast. It was really so beautiful. After hiking some we walked along the beach at high tide. There was one section of our walk were I convinced Jacob that it would be to walk around a little rocky hilly section that jutted out farther into the tide rather than hike over it. I was determined to beat the tide as it ebbed and flowed because I DID NOT want to get my pants wet. So, I rolled up my jeans as best I could and we started to venture out. About halfway around the obstacle Jacob starts yelling to run as the tide was becoming more threatening. Somehow he managed just fine but I found myself in a puddle of water. So much for the dry jeans. Good news is at least my shoes were waterproof. And it made for a good laugh.

You can't tell but the coast is right behind us. Just through the trees.

Anyway...

On the way back to the parent's house we stopped by the WinCo grocery store for some pizza dough to make our individual pizzas (which were extremely tasty by the way) and I discovered that I may just like the WinCo better than Macey's. Don't hate me. The WinCo had an AMAZING bulk food section. It was ginormous. I could have spent all day there. Instead we just bought some Valentine's candy and stuff to make cupcakes. I joke that bulk section of the WinCo was the highlight of my trip. In actuality it doesn't even make my top 5.

Jacob and I also chose to celebrate Valentine's day by learning a new game. He and I really enjoyed it but I'm not sure his family cared for it much. It's called Metropolys. If you would like more information about it you can check it out on Jacob's blog. Jacob and I were a team and we lost but we still really enjoyed it.

Oregon---Day 1

I've decided to create a post for each day I was in Oregon (well I might combine Sunday with Monday...)

So to begin--

Jacob and I left bright and early (one of us woke up earlier than the other) Friday morning for our 8:45 am flight to Portland. We made it there and onto the plane with no problems despite the snow that was expected to fall while we slept.

His parents and little sister picked us up at the airport and we immediately headed to IKEA. I had never been to an IKEA before so they stopped just for me. We ate lunch there and spent some time looking at all the fun things available at that store. I bought nothing. Jacob got some kitchen items. It was a good time.


We then headed to Multnomah Falls along the Columbia River gorge, but not before a quick crossing of the border into Washington so I could check that state off my list. (I have a goal of seeing all 50 states. After this trip I have seen 27 of them). The falls were amazing! We didn't hike all the way to the top because it was chilly and Jacob and I were a little tired. But we did go up half way to the amazing bridge. For those that may not know...I love bridges. I think they are beautiful and a little bit romantic. I think this obsession with bridges began as a girl watching Anne of Green Gables when she kisses Gilbert on the bridge at the end of the movie. Yep...not a bad scene. But I digress...




After visiting the falls we proceeded up the gorge to the Bonneville Dam. We took a dam tour and I appreciated all the dam jokes that were made. Especially those made by his mother who would giggle a little every time she said "dam" while his father would try not to laugh and look disapproving. It was pretty great. I'm pretty sure by the time we ended the tour I was ready for bed. It was only 4:30 or so but I was beat. So, we headed back down the gorge and the drive was lovely as the sun began setting.



We settled ourselves at Jacob's parent's home and then had some dinner and played some games with the family. I can't really remember what we played but I think I lost. Oh...no, I remember. I definitely lost. We played Killer Bunnies. And then we also played a little game of SET and I managed to redeem myself. Phew~! I do not like losing.

It was a long day...but the beginning of a pretty fantastic trip.

OH! I almost forgot the best part of that evening. Jacob's sister pulled out photo albums. I am here to testify that Jacob was an adorable baby and child. I looked through 4 photo albums that proved it!

A Little Preoccupied

I find myself at work today very preoccupied with things completely unrelated to the job at hand.

I have a running list of all the things I need to do to prepare for my trip to Oregon tomorrow that continues to play over in my head. The list is also accompanied by thoughts of meeting Jacob's parents and the extreme amount of pressure I feel to impress...all the while knowing I am far from impressive.

I woke up this morning, long before my alarm, with the pressure and list racing through my thoughts.

But...I am really excited to spend time with Jacob and his family. It will be fun to see him on his home turf. Plus, I'm pretty excited to cross two states off my list as I have never been to Oregon or Washington and hope to step foot in both. I am especially looking forward to hiking to some waterfalls and visiting the coast. The coast trip, I am told, will also include a visit to the Tillamook cheese factory and a light house tour. Both of which I find extremely exciting.

So, despite the neverending list and pressure, it should prove to be a good time.

Not My Brightest Moment

A few days ago the check engine light came on again in my car. I'm not really pleased about it but I don't have time to deal with it this week. But tonight things went from bad to worse.

I went to leave Jacob's house and tried to unlock my car with the keyless entry button. Turns out it is not working. I had a moment of panic. My thought process was this...

"Oh no! I can't unlock my car. What am I going to do? Oh wait, moron, use the key and unlock the door."

Yep...I was almost one of those people who can't remember how to unlock a car without the convenience of the little button. Ridiculous.

Plus...I hope is an easy fix. I am way to spoiled.

We're in the money!

I'm not really in the money...but I did get notice today that I got a pay raise based on my performance evaluation. It's not much but I am certainly pleased with it. As a social worker I am happy with whatever salary and increase I can get because money in this field is hard to come by. I was mostly pleased that my supervisors believe I deserve a raise. That makes me happy. I like people thinking I do a good job.

Reacquainted Part II

And now I have officially rekindled my love of biking. Road biking that is. I'm not sure I "love" mountain biking, or trail riding, but I'm sure I'll try it again this spring and summer. As previously mentioned, I do want to overcome that fear.

But back to the road biking. It was, again, 65 degree weather and my training for work let out at about 3 this afternoon. I debated taking another jog but thought I would hop on my bike and determine the length of the jogging path. Turns out, the odometer on my bike is broken. What a disappointment. Good news is, I still enjoyed the ride

This is also an old photo of Lori and I this past spring/summer.

Reacquainting Myself with Some Past Pleasures

Fort Collins has been experiencing some warmer weather the past few days and I have taken advantage of it! I remember now how much I prefer to jog outside. It has been difficult getting to the gym the past couple of weeks but with the return of the sun I have find myself excited about jogging again. I went jogging yesterday afternoon (I might have left work a little early) and then again tonight with my roommate. I really enjoyed it both days but especially tonight. It just felt good. It's a shame the weather is supposed to get cold again this weekend. Maybe, while the weather holds, I can work up enough momentum that getting to the gym will be a little more easy though.

This is an old photo of the Freedom Run 5K in July.

I have also taken the opportunity to rekindle my love for the television show ED. It only ran four seasons and you can't get them on DVD. I recorded them on VHS when the show aired on TBS but just brought them all home with me over Christmas. It is really, really enjoyable. So incredibly funny. It definitely makes my top ten TV shows of all times.

Cheyenne

So, Jacob and I had an eventful Saturday. We took the afternoon and went exploring (a little bit) in Cheyenne. Our explorations included a tour of the Governor's mansion and a trip to the Sierra West Trading Post Outlet.

The mansion was pretty cool. It has been restored to represent different eras. So there is the original 1905 entry way but also the Cold War era bomb shelter. I think the bomb shelter was my favorite part. I am pleased to see that Clue was an important inclusion in case of a bomb scare. Here are some pictures of Jacob in said bomb shelter.

That's right...the board game Clue. Love it!

Jacob was most pleased with the Oh Henry candy bar stash.

And most alarmed by the "Family Radiation Measurement Kit"

The Sierra West Trading Post Outlet was a little bit disappointing. But the good news is I was a able to find some hiking shoes at a pretty discounted price. And, Jacob got a fantastic green jacket.

It was fun to do something a little different and it got me excited for the warmer weather when we can go to Yellowstone and other such activities.