a dream

do you ever have one of those moments where you feel like you are in a dream?...floating on a cloud...in between the feeling of fantasy and pure reality...wondering if you need to pinch yourself...
i had one of those moments last night.

i like to consider myself a pretty observant person. specifically in regards to accessories, jewelry. ya know...the bling. i often will notice a beautiful diamond ring on a woman's left hand ring finger, and think "wow someone really loves her. like really really loves her." i mean with a ring like that...that's love. not the shiny reflection, but the meaning behind the pureness, the round sphere that takes shape. the promise that that ring represents. the sign of forever. no beginning and no end. the happiness behind the moment that ring was put on her finger. the love and secrets between those two people. that only those two people will ever know. those two people will only ever know there love, and the feelings involved. like a fingerprint. except dual...for two people. one very special type of love for two people. a love that is going to never take shape again, because there will never be two people exactly the same. so unique and never to repeated, a love meant to be experienced by these two people in this time, in the life.
these are just some of the thoughts when i see a woman with a diamond on her finger.
i would often wonder if i would ever feel such love, feel such feeling. feel the feeling of a ring on my finger.
last night the answer was given to me.
last night i became engaged! Chris proposed, and i said yes.
and i have a symbol on my finger that shows his love for me.

andiamsofreakin'excited!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm just about crying all over again, that this is me. this is my life. that this is the love in my life.

it was perfect, and intimate, and private. a moment in life shared between just the two of us. just how our love is just meant for the two of us.

last night was a moment in my life that i'll never forget. not only was it something that only happens once, but it was also a moment i doubted would ever happen.
last night was also the end of a crazy week. the full details will come out later, but part of the beginning of last week i was part of a SarahLove photo shoot with Chris. it was pure bliss, and quick. oh so quick! Sarah surprised me with the above picture...as a "sneak peak...ish"(her words). i would definitely call it a sneak peak, as it is a blurred picture...but i'm pretty sure that if you look close enough you can see some sparks and some true love glimmer through.

treadmill 30min
elliptical 30min

pieces falling

date night: going to see The Lion King

the week has been a long one! one big factor about this time of year is all of the time off. i get two days off for thanksgiving, two days off for christmas, and one day off for new year's. three big holidays super close together. and well you get spoiled, because on top of the holidays you have your vacation time to use, because if i don't use my time by 12/31 i lose it. so i have scattered days off between now and the end of the year and one of the pleasures in this is not working a full five day work week. last week i had to work a full five day work week, and it was just long.
with working the "long" week, visiting one of Chris' friends in the hospital, finding out that we're staying in denver (for now), having a midweek date night to the Lion King, planning next week with back to back visitors, and now ending the week (or starting the week, depending on how you want to look at it) with a back injury...it's just been sorta crazy.
the big piece that feel into place this week was finding out that we are staying in denver (for now). it's a lot to get into for the unknown, so i don't really see a reason to get into it. so i'll just say there was a possibility that we were gonna move to CA. but as of right now no big move is happening. it was exciting, nerve-racking, and stressful all at the same time. but now we know it isn't going to happen. so holiday plans can be made, and we can just stay calm and carry on!
it's hard trying to decide what to put out there in the blog world. more and more i'm struggling with this. i don't take what i write lightly and now majority of what i do write has to do with another person. so that makes is hard, because this isn't his blog, it's my blog, but he is in my life, and my blog is about my life. i digress.
moving on. this morning in strike! we were doing an interval. and i hurt my back. i'm thinking i pulled a muscle, and chris says i do have a rather large knot in my lower back. it sucks. right after it happened i paced back and forth a little bit, then realized i just needed to leave, but i wasn't even about to bend down to get my water bottle, and was thankful for denise who got it for me. hopefully i'll heal quickly because being in pain like this sucks because i feel like i just can't get comfortable. so i really only got a half a workout in because the happened about half way through strike, but i'm still going to count it.
and now i just feel like a bum, which isn't good especially since i have a house guest coming tomorrow, then another set of guests coming on wednesday. and i really need to clean, de-clutter, do laundry, make beds etc... i guess i'm thankful that the guests that are coming don't really care how clean (or dirty) my place is, but still i want it to be clean.
and since this post is a little random, and because the bronco game just ended: Go BRONCOS!!!

strike!30min

Puzzle Pieces

I’ve known all day that I was going to work-out tonight. I’ve spent all day thinking about what to write about. But I honestly I feel like I really don’t have anything to say. On Facebook and in the blogging world I see a lot of people giving thanks and stating the things they are appreciative of with the month of thanksgiving here. But right now I feel thankful for so many things, I just don’t know what to even begin.

Right now a lot of things are in the works. I feel like my life is a puzzle right now. And all of the pieces are currently separated trying to come together to make a perfect picture. But like puzzles, the pieces can’t be forced together, and you have to try and see what works. You have to be patient and what for that magic “click” to happen, of where two pieces come together. It takes time and strategy to put the whole thing together. In this particular instant it isn’t necessarily up to me, to get the pieces put together. It’s life. It’s exciting, and nerve-racking. I’m trying to have faith that all the pieces will be formed how they are meant to, and working and not questioning the order in which the pieces come together, or worrying about what pieces may fall off all together. Having faith knowing that not all pieces are going to be able to fit, and being content with the ones that do fall off.

That is my current challenge. Being patient and not worrying. Being truly thankful for what I do have. Although easier said than done, when your brain is thinking about all possibilities, all the things that could go good and all of the things that could go bad. It’s hard to just shut down.

I’m definitely living an emotional high right now. And that makes it even harder to not get carried away, and to not want everything right now.

So, right now my focus is to just breath, and to try and take comfort that all the pieces will come together when and how they should.

treadmill 15min/barbell strength 60min

a slow down

flowers from Chris

Right now I feel that things have slowed down a little bit. I'm home alone on a Sunday afternoon enjoying myself while Chris is out at a friend's house watching the Bronco game.
I'm so thankful for so many reasons.
Beware as this post may be a pit random.
Chris was gone all last week. He was back in California. This time in Bakersfield. Something big could be happening with that.
I know I say it (write it) all the time, but life happening is just so crazy. Life. Happening.
Life.Happens.
I heard a beautiful thing from my friend today she said "I have a three month old son at home." It is a beautiful phrase to hear especially since I know that friend had moments where she thought she wouldn't be a mom. Just like that, life happens.
Chris and I saw the movie "The Adjustment Bureau" last night. Good movie, but a little bit weird. Makes you think that everything happen exactly has it should.
For me, I definitely feel that everything is happening exactly has it should.

strike! 60min

The Places I've Been: MO

Sandwiched in between our trip to Arkansas was a visit and stay in Branson, MO. We flew into the tiniest airport I have ever been to, in Branson. The airport has 4 gates total, one security check and one baggage claim, and you get off/get on the plane by walking up a ramp outside. This was the first sign that we were in small country, USA.
Here's my trip to Branson, MO.

When we arrived in Branson we immediately drove south into Arkansas, so not a lot of MO country was seen. Driving back to MO we actually drove a different way by heading north from AR, then West all in MO. We drove through the Mark Twain National Forrest. It was very pretty. The changing colors were so pretty. Unfortunately the few pictures I have don't do them justice. Chris took a bunch of pictures on his Ipad, but I don't have that right now.


Once we arrived in Branson we checked into a bed and breakfast. I had never stayed at a bed and breakfast before and this was was super nice. We stayed near the Branson Landing, which is right on the water. We walked along, did some shopping, and just enjoying each other's company.




the bed and breakfast - the Branson House Inn

Overall the trip was a lot of fun. The wedding was beautiful and we got to spend lots of one on one time together which is always nice.
It's amazing how my travel series has grown. This year alone I've been to 5 new states: WY, NE, KS, AR, and MO. Four of those I hadn't been to had I not met Chris. And definitely wouldn't had sought out going to those location. I'm thankful to Chris for so many things. One of those things is for showing me states I had never been.

strike! 60min

The Places I've Been: AR

A couple of weekend's ago Chris and I traveled to Northern Arkansas to attend his friend Justin's wedding. It was all country and very beautiful. Small towns, winding roads, hills full of leafs changing colors.
Here's my trip to Horseshoe Bend, Batesville, and Mountain Home, AR.

We arrived in Branson, MO and drove immediately south into Arkansas, then about two and half hours to Horseshoe Bend where Justin's parents live. We hung out there for the night, meeting various friends and family of the bride and groom.
Saturday was the big day. We traveled about 45 minutes south to Batesville where the groom's grandmother lives on a beautiful vineyard; Harmony Hills.

the bride and groom
Judy and Justin

the reception area

After the wedding we drove to Mountain Home which is considered the "big" town in the area. the drive in the dark was a little bit scary, as it was dark, and the highways are all two lane, and very winding. Thankfully Chris drove that portion of the trip.
Overall the area was beautiful. I think the largest town we entered had a population of 1200. Talk about small country. This was definitely it.
Although not the most exciting place to be, experiencing new places with Chris is always exciting.

barbell strength 60min