Marriage Tip

These last couple weeks have been interesting, to say the least. With the addition of the wedding plans and grad school apps to our already busy life, it's been harder than usual to stay focused on our relationship and what really matters. We went to visit my grandparents last week to make dinner; she's trying desperately to teach me to cook. After dinner and cleaning the dishes, we started playing cards. My grandma said something very interesting that I never thought of. She gave us this advice: no matter what happens throughout the day, make sure you play a game at the end of every day. 

We've been given a lot of advice from several different people but this has been my favorite so far. Blake and I have since then, made an effort to play a game with each other every night. Family Feud on the iPad is currently our favorite game. It's perfect for us because we are both competitive (understatement) and this way we are playing together against other people. 

This game playing habit has helped us in more ways than one. No matter what kind of issues we are having, whenever we play, we forget about it. Not only has this lessened any tension we have in our relationship, but it's caused us to have more fun with each other. It also helps us wind down at the end of the day because we get to snuggle up on the couch with no distractions. I love tips like that. Real, doable, simple suggestions. Thanks, grandma and grandpa! I'm excited to keep the tradition going!

Engagement Pictures

We got our pictures back! 

I think the most important parts of the wedding planning are finding a stunning dress and a killer photographer. These were the only two areas where I wouldn't compromise. While both took a while to pin down, the photography was WELL worth it. The dress...that has yet to be seen at this time. These were a few of our favorite shots from the session:

- Megan

Grad School Responses

As Blake and I researched the very slim list of graduate programs that offer a Master's in Athletic Training, we narrowed it down to our top ten schools. After days and days of meticulously filling out applications, paying hundreds of dollars in fees and dealing with all kinds of weird accents and incompetent people, I finally finished and submitted all of them. Now that application deadlines are coming, I am anticipating acceptance / rejection letters any day now. 

I got a call from U of Ark this morning. It was the director of the program and he sounded exceptionally cheerful. He informed me that I was one of the top candidates for the program. Of course this was great news and I figured he just wanted to do an over the phone interview to complete my file. He then proceeded to tell me that I was missing a very basic wound care course. I told him they don't offer that at ASU and I've already graduated. He laughed. Literally laughed at what I said, told me there was nothing they could do, informed me that I could not take the course simultaneously with the athletic training courses and said I would have to apply next year. 

This is the kind of crap I get to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. I guess I just wasn't expecting those type of responses. 

Here is the list of applications I've submitted...

1) University of Hawaii, Manoa

2) Texas Tech University

3) University of Arkansas

4) Florida International University

5) Weber State University

6) University of Nebraska, Omaha

7) University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

8) Montana State University, Billings

9) Long Island University, Brooklyn

10) Oklahoma State University

I'm kind of writing this to vent my frustration with the whole process. I guess I can only go to one school anyway, so that helps me make my decision, but it still hurts to be rejected. I feel like I just got dumped! 

Blake has been nothing but supportive throughout this whole process and it's his future, too. I'm not sure what's more stressful though, filling out applications and waiting for graduate school responses or planning a wedding. It's a toss up. 

Two down, 8 to go. Pray for us.

- Megan

The Proposal

Blake and I had talked about getting married for quite some time but I had absolutely no idea when he would propose.

The Christmas season was rapidly approaching and we had several parties and events we were to attend. We made sure to plan out our month very maticulously so that we wouldn't overplan or miss anything. Blake told me early in December that his older sister hosts a party every year for one of her friends. I quickly put it on the calendar so I wouldn't plan anything else that night.

As the date for the party came, he would give me more details like the formality of the party and what we would be doing there. I was very excited because his sister is a wiz when it comes to event planning, so I knew it would be a blast.

The night of the party came and I was on my way over there. I called Blake to see if I needed to bring anything. He assured me Morgan had taken care of everything. I was all dressed up and ready for our first formal Christmas party together. I pulled up to the house and there was only one other vehicle there. I figured I was a bit early and thought nothing else of it. There was a pathway lined with gorgeous luminerias that led to the backyard. I followed it to find that Blake and I were the only ones in the backyard. You would think I would have known at that point what was about to happen.

Blake beckoned me to come over to a bench where he was sitting in front of the fire pit. Then I looked around and saw several lit candles surrounding the area as well as a gorgeous vase full of at least two dozen long stem red roses. At this time, I thought it was just a romantic Christmas dinner just for the two of us. I thought it was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. I was so proud of Blake for thinking of something like that. But that wasn't it.

Blake took me over to the table where the roses and several other gorgeous trinkets lay. There were silver heart shaped dishes, two long stem glasses for the sparkling cider we were about to share and 3 beautiful small dishes full of graham crackers, marshmellows and chocolate bars. It was a s'mores night.

He then handed me an envelope and asked me to read its contents out loud. It read:

"Can you believe it has already been a year?

That's 12 months since that terrible, but perfect, New Years Eve,

365 days since YOU and I became a "WE",

8,760 hours of becoming my best friend and being there for me,

525,600 minutes imagining what we can be,

I love you more than anything,

And after 31,536,000 seconds of thinking of eternity,

There's only one thing left to do..."

I tried to fight back tears as I read the last line because I knew what was about to come. I turn around and there he was, my handsome prince, down on one knee. He said he loved me and he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with me. Then he extended a small box with a sparkling diamond inside. I couldn't hardly see anything through my blurry, tear-filled eyes, but I didn't need to. He asked me if I would marry him and I said "Of course I will". We were both tearing up, me moreso than him, and embraced for what seemed like an hour.

Morgan, of course captured the whole thing on camera, the sneaky girl.

The funny part is, that he had a whole romantic night planned out for us. Those plans were quickly shot down as I wanted to rush to tell my family. We drove all over town from Mesa, to Gilbert, to Tempe, announcing our engagement to everyone.

Poor Blake didn't get dinner that night. I'm sure he forgives me though.

- Megan

The Merge

I got engaged to my best friend and soul mate on December 23rd, 2011. We are getting married in May. As these next couple months approach, we are trying to merge our lives together. Combining finances, sorting through furniture and trying to plan a future in school is not my idea of "fun" but they are all necessary things for us to be able to unite our lives as one. Combining our lives on a blog, now that's my idea of a good time!

We are going out of state to who knows where for my graduate program. We want to keep in touch with everyone as we travel the country. Check back periodically for updates on wedding plans, school arrangements and other events that take place in our lives together.

Peace be the journey.

- Megan

Light Rail Adventures

I've ridden the light rail metro from Mesa to downtown Phoenix for about two and a half months now and if there is anything worth writing about, it's the experiences and people I meet on the way.

One time a middle-aged, oversized Mexican man spilled a mysterious liquid from what looked like a secure container. Apparently it was not. As it rolled down the isles of the train a repulsive smell started to fill the air. It was beer. Did I mention it was one o'clock in the afternoon? Just a little too early to be getting tipsy, no?

Another time an elderly woman sat next to me and started to ask all these really intense questions like "where do you think all of these students will be in the next 20 years?" or "do you think we're looking at one of our future presidents on this train?" Trying to fight back laughter, I considered the fact and decided that Obama isn't that bad anymore if this is what we have to look forward to.

One afternoon I sat next to an elderly, unfortunate looking and smelling man. He had holes in his shoes, hair that looked as though it had never seen a brush OR shampoo, tattered shorts and t-shirt and the smell of going without a shower for at least a week. Let me clarify that I am not judging anyone and I respect other's less fortunate circumstances. The funny part was that he was wearing a well-kept Burberry sport coat. I could have spotted that coat from a mile away. Not only do I wonder where one in his situation might come across a jacket of that expense, but I almost called Stacey and Clinton for fashion patrol!

Some of the funniest experiences I have involve people sleeping and missing their stops or waking up next to someone who wasn't there when they first dozed off. Those are always laugh-worthy reactions.

Other funny situations come from people thinking they are strong or agile enough to stand without holding a bar for support. I've witnessed innumeral children, bikes and just plain unexpectant passengers take a tumble.

One of my favorite memories involved a young man sitting next to me on the way home. He was very outgoing as I could see from the way he carried on conversations with several of the other passengers. He asked me how my day was and we carried on some meaningless conversation. Then he revealed toe that he was homeless, carless, jobless and still in high school. I started to feel bad for him until he told me his parents would let him stay if he didn't smoke or use drugs. He then proceeded to ask If I would like to "hang out" with him sometime. So many comebacks came to mind including laughing out loud, but luckily I took a deep breath and said "I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend." Now THAT'S why you have boyfriends! Haha just kidding Blake.

Another story that stood out was a "tough guy" security guard came in to do a routine check for valid tickets/passes. A blind young man was sitting quietly on the bus waiting for him to come by. Apparently the boy pulled out the wrong card as the guard exclaimed to everyone "this isn't your transit pass, it's your I.D.!" He was then escorted off the train to the ticket booth just outside. I wish I could be as cool as that fake cop and pick on people with handicaps! Not!

After seeing the drunks, the druggees, the homeless and the handicapped, I pray each day and thank my Father in Heaven for everything that I have. And in conclusion, if I ever end up like one of these people on the light rail, I'd appreciate it if you would not post stories about me haha :) happy commuting!

Sun Devil Senior: Day 1 of 28

I am FINALLY graduating from my much-loved Kinesiology program at Arizona State. I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts, feelings and the events that take place as I live out my last semester of my senior year. I'm only going to include the days I'm actually in school and there are only 28 of those, so here goes...

DAY 1:

My major unfortunately was transferred from the Tempe main campus at ASU to the downtown Phoenix campus. So I had a decision to make, either drive and spend a fortune on gas or purchase a light rail pass. I was born and raised in Mesa so the closest thing we had to a transit was the school bus. I was a little nervous but super excited to spend my senior year riding the light rail back and forth from Phoenix. Not only would it be a relaxing trip and save me gas money, but from I heard, it was never short of interesting riders, so I decided to give it a shot. It did not disappoint. I've fallen asleep twice on the ride home, I met an old crippled lady who has an incredible outlook on life and brought up an interesting idea, "it'd be a cool experiment to find out where everyone was 20 years from now. Like who became president, who ended up on the streets, and who became a professional athlete." Her comments were actually what prompted me to start writing down my senior year experiences. Not only have I had the most amazing years at ASU, but I've met the most amazing people and I never want to forget what I've been through and what I've learned while here.

I started off the day as usual driving to the light rail station. I met a homeless guy who has a cart full of trinkets. It's all he has. I wanted so bad to ask him if he needed anything but he seemed extremely happy with his life. I guess some people prefer that lifestyle.

I always jam out for a few minutes before class on Pandora. My boy has gotten me really into old school rock so I have it on AC/DC's station. Its fun to not care what anyone thinks of you because I've been head bangin' for quite some time and no one cares.

We had a guest speaker today who completely contradicted everything I had learned thus far in my program. It was a little frustrating but a huge eye opener to remember to challenge everything you hear. I've become a very big skeptic now because of it. I was late to my next class because I was disputing some things with him. I love picking people's brains. The next class moves extremely fast and my professor talks a million miles an hour. There is a lot information to cover so this is the first class I have ever had to record on my phone. I actually love listening to the lecture again when I have a minute to take in everything. I also love being able to share it with Blake; we learn well together.

On the way home there were a couple interesting people on the light rail. But before I got on, a bird almost got hit by the train. Is it sad that I kind of wanted that to happen? It would have been hilarious! Anyway, a large man spilled a coffee thermos all over the floor, so naturally when the transit moves, the liquid rolls towards the back of the bus. That liquid happened to be beer. Gross! The whole car smelt like a strip joint. The guy didn't even bother to try and clean it up, he just say there. It was disgusting and very offensive. Then this very interesting looking couple who had just gotten high came on. I swear if I wasn't breathing through my hand, I would have gotten high off their smell. It wreaked! Then this young boy, he had to have been about 17, started hitting on me. He thought he was super cool when he used curse words. I could tell by the way he used them and his tone of voice. I stopped listening to him and asked him if he could please keep the swear words to a minimum. The broken high school drop-out got off at the next stop, which I don't think was his. I feel bad for embarrassing him, but I don't have to be that uncomfortable for his sake. I wish him well on his job search. Like I said, the light rail never disappoints.

Now on to studying. Which is sadly, my favorite part of school. I'm such a nerd!