Really?

So... Am I really writing this post? Or am I in some amazing dream that I never want to wake up from? I often times look down at my newly dressed up ring finger and ask- really?! Is this really happening ? Does someone actually love me as much as I love them and want to be with me for the rest of eternity as much I want to be with them?

It's surreal really. But it is oh so amazing- and I can NOT seem to get this smile off of my face!

So here is the story. For all of those who want to know about it, put your feet up, pop some popcorn and enjoy the best story ever!

For those of you who already have heard it, or really don't care about the words-you can just enjoy the pictures Ü

So it all started with this boy named Jimmie-

Who came into my life and turned my GREAT life into the most WONDERFUL one I could have ever known.

We had decided about a month ago that our feelings for each other were getting stronger and stronger everyday. Because of past relationships on both of our parts, we knew a good thing when we saw it and felt it. It was love. A deep love. One that I never wanted to go away and he felt the same way (CRAZY! That never happens!) It was something that I had never felt before. It was JUST. SO. GOOD.

Things were easy. I knew this was a love that was going to last forever.

So we decided secretly to go look for rings. We went to ONE place and low and behold found the ring that I had been dreaming of. It was perfect! I was SO excited!!! I told Jimmie that he now had the challenge of surprising me because I would be expecting it at any moment!

We had been out a few times since and each time I thought "THIS IS IT!" and then it wasn't. So I decided that the route of getting all excited was a bad idea and put it out of my mind (as best I could mind you!)

So on Tuesday when he said that we should go get pizza from Spinatos for dinner before he went to work on Friday, I thought nothing of it. It is common for us to have dinner together before he heads to work at 8:30.(By the way Spinatos is the BEST pizza place in probably all of the world- shameful plug I realize, but I'm hoping to get a check in the mail because of it!)

I was going to see my man and eat my pizza. Friday was going to be awesome!

Basically I was excited. So I was a little bummed when I texted him at 5:30 to make sure he was still coming at 6 and his response was "I just woke up! I'll be there by 6:30". I was

sad that we would have less time, but tried to just go with it. And I was even more bummed when he showed up and said that he didnt feel well. He said that he just needed to lay down and he would be fine.

Time was ticking. I knew that it was going to take about 45 min for our pizza to cook and since he forgot his uniform he would have to leave my house by 8 to get home and change for work. Also, since it was already 7, the nice, peaceful,take our time eating the yummy pizza with my man, was not turning out quite as I expected.

When we went to pick up the pizza it wasnt ready and by the time we left the pizza place, it was 8:10! I told him to just drop me off really fast and I'll grab a few pieces to eat later. He agreed that was probably the best idea. He apologized that the night didnt go as we had planned as he hurriedly drove to my condo.

Then weird things happened...When it was time to pull into my complex, he didnt. He just kept going. I was shocked. I just looked at him and he said with a smile on his face- "oops..I missed your turn!" To which I responded with a blank stare. I was so confused! Then he said "OH! Did I forget to tell you that I got tonight off?!" I was so excited! It was going to be

the best Spinatos night ever!

He told me that he had to take a night off and chose that one because he just wanted to have a fun night to start our weekend. I think that I briefly thought that he would end up asking, but quickly pushed that thought out because I didnt want to be disappointed again.

So we just drove and enjoyed each others company as the sun went down. We pulled up to the lake in Fountain Hills that has this amazing fountain that goes off every hour.

In the day it looks like this... It has a really pretty park around it...

At night when we were there, it looks more like this.

(I didnt get any pictures because I didnt take my camera with me. If you remember- we were just running to pick up the pizza and come back to my place. I had no need of my purse! So thanks to google you can see just how awesome this place is!)

As we walked to find a good place to sit, we could see across the lake that there was a graduation going on. People clapping, lots of flashes from cameras. It was far enough away to not disturb us, but it was still fun. Then on the other side of the lake there were live bands playing romantic music etc. It was great!

Then the graduation got over and out of the blue FIREWORKS start shooting up and covering the sky at the exact same moment that the fountain came on! It was AMAZING. We were surrounded by so many incredible things! So I said" Jimmie! This is so romantic! We've got Fireworks, the Fountain..." and he cut in and as he handed me an envelope as he said "and a letter". I looked at him with a curious look and he said "Read it out loud."

As I opened it, I saw that he had written me a poem. He handed me a flashlight since it was so dark (expect for the magnificent fireworks above! :) ) I love his poetry and he had written me one that was very special about how much he loved me and what our path together had meant to him etc... it was so sweet. I was SO surprised that I didnt cry. I ALWAYS cry. But I was so excited and I couldn't stop smiling as I read it.

At the bottom after telling me again how much he loved me, it read

"So?"

I looked up at him and said " So?!"

Then he switched out flashlights and gave me another one. I turned it on and noticed that it was a black light. When I pointed it toward the paper there was more writing that I hadn't seen before. The black like made it show up and it read

"Jill, Will You Marry Me?"

My smile somehow got even bigger as I looked up at him and he pulled the ring out. And then as he opened it, he asked me again and of course I said YES!

So the reason he kept stalling when he came to my house earlier and said he was "sick" was because it had to be dark when we got to the fountain- so the flashlight thing would work. Also, he wanted to do it right when the fountain went off at 9. So we couldn't get there too early.

Quickly after I asked him "Are you even sick?!" and his response with a boyish grin was

"nope!"

Basically- it was amazing. It was everything I had ever hoped for. It was so thoughtful and planned out and so sweet.And the bonus firework show was incredible too!

We went back to his house and took some pictures...(Do you like the kitkat in one of them. Yep- it's an English one. We were celebrating just like the royals! :))

I love this boy so much. I still can not believe that it is real. I have never felt so happy in my life. It is just so exciting to find someone with whom it is so easy. We just match in every single way. And I am so excited for FOREVER!

Our life together is going to be AWESOME!

I love you Jimmie Ü

Holy Moly

Has it really been since the beginning of October since I posted?! No wonder I got ridiculed and received a stern talking to when I was home for Christmas! Ü

But it is a new year and I have a bit of time this evening- heres to a better blogging year!

So did you know that it snowed here in AZ? Unfortunately, I was at work and missed it, but according to my neighbors it was coming down! (Arizona style). Even though I missed the snow I sure didn't miss the freeze! It was cold. Now I bet you are thinking that I'm an Arizona wimp and it got down to maybe 69. And even though I would agree that I have become a little bit on the wimpy side, however I think you all would have been shaking in your boots because one night it got to 20 degrees! IN ARIZONA!!!

Cold.

Whats a better way to beat the cold then to go on a hike right?! So we set off to Peralta and it was gorgeous.

The rock formations were breathtaking,

And after about 2 miles we finally made it to the top -- we were so proud!

I kept telling them that it would be warmer once we got to the top because we were closer to the sun (Im a genius huh! )

but it was freezing!

I mean- there was ICE!

So I decided to do some rock lifting to help warm up my blood!

Thats one finger doing all the lifting! :)

The best part of the day was driving around in my friend's rental car-

Red Mustang Convertible

with the top down

I mean what makes you more awesome than driving on the freeway with the top down when it was only 51 degrees?!

Im sure all the other drivers were jealous as they passed us in their warm and cozy cars.

It was cold

And windy

(This was my wind blown Justin Bieber look! I might keep the comb over look! :) )

But it was a GREAT way to begin the new year!

And then it happened...

Now, if you all remember back to this post, there were many perks to owning a new car. And one of the greatest ones that has brought much peace to my mind has been this little ditty here

You see- ever since my little flat tire incident back in the day, every time the road gets a little bumpy, I immediately think - "My tire is exploding!" Even though ,logically- I can see the bumps on the road and know that they are probably the cause of the unevenness (yes, thats a word. I looked it up.) of my path, my blood pressure always starts to rise and I look for where I would pull over- should my tire blow up.

But now that I had my trusty exclamation point light, I was told that unless that light comes on, my tires are fine.

Therefore when the bumpy road comes, my eyes glance down to the dash and back to the road will full confidence that a blow out is no where in the near future. I have felt calm, cool and collected as I speed right over those bumps.

My driving life- It's been good.

Then fast forward to a few days ago. Picture this- I'm driving home from work, loving the rain, enjoying a lovely conversation with my sister and mom on the phone, when all of a sudden I hear this really loud "BEEP BEEP BEEP". My eyes go to the dash and to my horror I see it. The yellow exclamation point is there warning me that not all is well in the world of tires.

I immediately turned into a parking lot and jumped out of the car to examine the damage. (all the while remaining calm on the phone. No need to worry 2 people in state away that cant help me right?! Plus, I knew it would make a good blog entry and they are 2 out of like 5 people that read this -if I told them, half my readers would be gone!)

However, as I walked around the car- each and every tire looked fine. I even kicked them to see... well, I didn't know what it was to see, but I've seen it on the movies and kicking tires is what you do. So after kicking them, and not knowing why, I got back in to see if maybe it was just a joke. I started the car up and the light was still on.

I said my goodbyes to my mom and sister and started looking in the owners manual and found out that it doesn't ONLY mean flat tire, it means low pressure as well. After reading that I felt extreme relief until I realized that I didnt really know what that meant either.

My mind filled with a lot of questions. Can I drive on them? Do I need to fix this now? If I do drive on them, will they explode? etc...

So thats when I called up my brother who lives in this state. I could worry him, because he could come save me if need be !

After explaining that that happens with a sudden drop in temperature (golf ball size hail? Road into rivers? I think that we had more than a sudden drop- it was catastrophic! Wish you could have seen it!) I felt my blood pressure lower as I realized it was all normal. He informed me that I could still indeed drive and that I just needed to put air in them.

With a prayer in my heart- I started driving to find a gas station. And I knew the perfect one. It was just down the freeway about 2 exits. Surly that would be fine.

He did ask me if any of the tires looked flat. I walked around again and found myself very unsure. They all looked fine, until hmm.. maybe that one is a little low. Does that mean it's flat? Why is no one else around that I can get their opinion? After all the worry, I took a picture of the potential flat tire and sent it to Jeff.

Turns out it was hard to see. But doesn't that look a little flat?! Maybe? A little?! Do you see my difficulty and unsureness?

I just had to go with my gut. And this gut said- it wasn't flat. (But I second guessed it, the entire way!)

As I got close to the exit, I saw a lot of police lights. and when I say a lot I am not exaggerating. The entire intersection- the exact intersection where my gas station was located- was full emergency vehicles- and no cars were getting through. (I thought about stopping and asking them if they thought my tires looked flat. But then figured that would be frowned upon, so I decided to search out another.)

I knew of one more that was right off the freeway as well. So I went on my merry way, trying to sing and pretend all was well. When I got off and turned right- would you believe it! In front of that gas station there were tons of emergency vehicles again! All blocking the road and turning people around.

So this huge storm that had caused the air pressure to leave my tires had apparently affected all the roads that surrounded gas stations as well. I really wanted to roll my window down and say, "excuse me sir, I also have an emergency and if it isnt taken care of, I may be the one you're helping in about 10 minutes, as my car flips over when my tire blows on that freeway right there!" But I didnt and just followed the rest of the cars.

After going to 3 more gas stations, I FINALLY found one with Air (who knew it would be so tricky). Now folks, I need to remind you that this is my very first time at putting air in my tires. (How is that possible? I dont know- luck maybe?!)

Its rainy, windy, and dark. But I figured- really how hard is this? I got out my quarters and figured that the 3 minute allotted time would be plenty of time to top off 4 tires right? I at least checked all the tires first before putting the quarters in and found out they were actually quite low!

So I got all ready, put the quarters in and started pulling that little hose toward my tire.

It was then that I realized I really didnt know what I as doing! I somehow managed to blow the air straight in my face- that was fun. Then once I figured out the right direction of that little bugger, I forgot to push the little lever as I stuck it on the tire, so it was letting air out vs putting air in. The hose was flying around, I was stepping on it and therefore inhibiting the length that I could get, and then finally FINALLY figured it out. So I moved to the next tire... and it stopped.

The 3 minutes were up.

Yep. 3 minutes- 1 tire.

But don't you worry, by that time I was an old pro at it and finished the other 3 tires in no time flat!

All I have to say is that it was hysterical and y'all missed it. Yes, I did laugh- really hard as I was doing it. And yes, you are all invited for the next time.

You're welcome!

You're perfectly healthy but...

So for the past 10 years or so I have had random health issues. I have gone to multiple doctors and always seem to get the same answer. Unfortunately it's not "I'm sorry that you're not feeling well Jill, but we found an amazing discovery. You dont ever need to eat right or exercise! Your body is fine without it! " Nope. None of that. It is always, "Well after all the tests, You're perfectly healthy except___. (Fill in the blank with whatever reason I have gone to the doctor for.)

To help explain my point a little further, lets get some real life examples here:

At Ricks I started getting headaches. Randomly one day I realized that my headache that I had had for a few weeks wasn't going away. So we started the tests- MRI, blood tests, medication, lots of specialists, even a sleep study (which is a funny post for another day!)

I think that my favorite part of it all was after visiting with a Neurologist he told me that he didn't think that I was getting enough sleep. He then proceeded to tell me that I should go home every weekend in order to catch up on my sleep! I think that I laughed out loud as he said it- thinking that he was joking. But his straight and serious face quickly told me that my assumption was incorrect.

Really?! As a Junior in college, you want me to go home every weekend so that I can sleep... oh yes please sign me up! That sounds like it will do wonders for my social life.

I opted to not follow his advice.

Basically when all was said and done, they came back with "Well, you're perfectly healthy except that you have headaches." hmm... I feel like there is a little bit of a contradiction in that, because it seems to me that if you're healthy you should not have headaches! But what do I know!

Next example-

About 4 yrs ago, when my stomach started acting up- I started trying the investigative work again. Doctors, more blood tests, CT scans, ultra sounds, naturalpathic doctors, etc... all came back the same. "you're perfectly healthy...except that you have stomach problems".

Thanks.

At least I know it's not terminal! right?!

Well, a few months ago, I realized that this "disease" of mine was spreading to other things. Watch out folks because apparently inanimate objects can get it too. Thats right- Charlie my beloved car has been affected as well.

He started making this noise. Not all the time and not ever consistent. It didnt matter if I was backing up, going forward, turning, etc...the only thing that was consistent was that if it was going to make the noise, it was when I was going from stop to start.

My friends were no help because when I asked them to listen for it and it actually happened, they would each point to a different place of where they heard it coming from!

I thought about taking it in to the mechanic. But what happens when my car runs perfectly fine and we can't make it do the noise?! What then? Well what happens is that I look like a fool. A fool that will be stuck paying 100 bucks just to say I promise it sounds like this "TOOOT" (Being forced to make the noise myself since the car isn't cooperating.) See- I put a lot of thought into it. So I decided to wait.

I personally diagnosed the problem as something to do with the clutch...and if I'm right I should win something. I don't know what and I dont know who would give it to me, but the fact that I guessed right about anything to do with a car- no contest- I deserve something!

Therefore, I decided that I would just ask the mechanic when I got my oil changed. That way I could just throw it in there as a "Hey by the way- when your under there..." However about a week before I took it in, the noise stopped. Really?! Nothing. Weird. I decided that I would still at least mention it to him just to see.

When he came back in to give me my keys he said "Well, I dont know what to tell you. Your car runs great. I didn't hear anything. I guess as far as I can tell, everything is working perfectly except that you say it makes that noise."

Thanks.

For nothing.

Really.

So Basically, the point of this blog is to tell you that I somehow always end up back at square one. At least I know that neither me nor my car has cancer. And that right there helps me sleep at night.

Fun?!

(Yes, you can all call me a liar face for saying I was going to be better at blogging. I shant make any more such promises! You'll just have to take what i can get! :))

So we just finished another FANTASITC Young family trip. Did we have fun?! Lets just take a look at these faces and decide shall we?

I'm ready to do it again?! How about you?!