Dreams Really Do Come True.

Well things continue to hustle and bustle as Steve and I make our way to October 22nd. After the sudden passing of the Speedy Burrito, (Rest in peace) we were able to stretch our pennies and make our first big purchase together. A 2002 Honda Accord that will hopefully drive us through the rest of med school and then some. Having both spent the last decade behind the wheels of... how do I put this nicely... not... new cars, you would have thought that we bought a Ferrari.... OOoooooh leather seats. OOoooooh a sunroof. Ooooooh a cassette player that works! We are stoked.

It may not be your dream car, it may not turn heads, but for two practical kids trying to get through the rest of school this is as close to a dream come true as we need.

.... we may or may not have pulled around the corner from the guy we bought it from to celebrate and to get some random guy passing to take our picture.

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Save the Date!

October 22, 2011... yup. It's happening. I'm getting married.

To: Steve Christiansen

Sealing: Salt Lake Temple 

Reception: 

Salt Lake Hardware Building

Colors: 

Purple, Green, Grey and Cream 

Mood:

Tuscany, Italian Street, bistro lights

Music: 

Live Jazz band. 

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How We Met?

Would you believe we met while I was crashing his party?

So it was the 4th of July 2010. I was gathered with a bunch of friends at Sugarhouse Park, watching the fireworks. As they came to an end around 10:30, we realized that we hadn't planned any festivities beyond that. We weren't in any rush to leave and battle the traffic of everyone else and their dog trying to get out of there too, so we were sprawled out on the grass trying to think of something to fill the rest of the evening. That is until my friend Andrew got a text from a girl he barely knew to come to a party around the corner from the park. Feeling up to meeting new people my car load agreed to go.

On the ride over Andrew, now in a car full of girls, was talking "game plan" to us. Ya know, how we were going to give the vibe out, and how to be approachable and all that. Mostly comical stuff, with a degree of honest advice. He challenged us all to give our number out to one boy, to which we all accepted.

Now I am not one to back out on a challenge, so I took it to heart and entered the party with high hopes for success. Unbeknownst to me, the man that would one day be my husbando was actually hosting the party that I was then crashing.

I got introduced to Steve as the home owner/host, and we bantered back and forth throughout the night. He was in charge and had to run off to check this or do that, but he would always meander back by me and I would check in on how he was doing with it all. Initially impressed by the fun conversation and his kind eyes, I was feeling pretty great about him asking for my number before I left... success!... In fact I was twice successful and actually gave my number out twice that night. But the other one doesn't really matter at this point. :)

We texted and bantered for a few days.
Went on our first date July 15th
Dated for a few months.
Took a little break.
Started dating again October 22nd, 2010. - Which you might recognize as our wedding date one year later.
Engaged July 1st
To be married October 22nd 2011.

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July 1st, 2011

Steve's family is really big on the 4th of July... every year they have festivities spanning most of the weekend and full of fun traditions, one of them being a BBQ at Rob (Steve's brother) and Hilary's house followed by the Centerville City fireworks, as was the plan for the evening.

Steve came and got me at around 6, and after a long day of studying, we turned on the music laughed and made our way towards Davis county.  As we drove, Steve gave me a heads up that we may need to leave before the fireworks and go home and be lame for a couple of hours (aka - study)... this is common place for us so I thought nothing of it and just said "Sure". When we got there everyone was scattered, Hill was in the kitchen preparing the last of dinner, there were some out in the back playing catch with Jack, and just enjoying the perfect summer evening. Luckily we had our mitts in the car, so we joined in the festivities and started playing baseball... the perfect 4th of july past time, right?

The whole night was ideal, great hamburgers, baseball, basketball, dessert, laughing, chatting, teasing, it was fabulous! After the food was eaten and the calories burnt off in playing, and after Dr. Steve had given us all a lesson on the female reproduction process, everyone gathered their things and got all ready to go to the fireworks. We on the other hand gathered our things and as previously decided we said our goodbyes and headed back to Salt Lake.

Now Steve wass about to start his rotations come July 18th, and his first rotation is actually in Bountiful just a few blocks from Rob and Hilary's... so we swung by to see if we could figure out where he would be working. It is a super nice hospital 2 minutes for his brother's house. It'll be perfect! Once we saw that we started back towards home... we got about a few blocks south when Steve glanced down at the clock and said

Steve: "Ya know what... It's 9:30... what's another half hour. We should just go watch the fireworks!"

Not knowing quite how to respond, I answered with a question. "I don' really know what kind of supportive you need me to be right now? Do you need me to tell you that we should go study and that we have already said our goodbyes and that we are on our way and should continue? Or do you need me to throw caution to the wind and recognize that you have been studying all week and that a break will do you well?"

Steve thought about it for a minute and then decided for us that we would go back and watch the fireworks. I didn't mind at all, in all honesty I am always pro being-together, so that was music to my ears. We swivel swooped and headed back in the direction of Centerville.

Steve: "There are probably going to be too many people and it's probably too late for us to track down my family in time, so how about we watch them from Ryan and Emily's grandparents house, which is just a couple blocks away from where they are shooting the fireworks off from.. That way we wont have to worry about parking and can just park in the garage."

Me: "Perfect, sounds great to me"

We tracked down the house, which was vacant and had a for rent sign out front, and pulled all of our stuff from the car. When I had gotten into the car after the BBQ there had been some sparklers on my seat, and Steve had explained that he had taken them for us so that we could have our own fireworks, but now that we were going to watch the big ones, it was decided that they would entertain us until the big ones started. So we spread out the blanket and poured out the sparklers and started lighting.

I got a couple lit and handed them to Steve and I was working on lighting a couple for me as Steve went skipping and frolicking off around the back of the house. I didn't think anything of it, but come to find out, as soon as he got out of sight, he was running around frantically trying to find the things that his siblings had hidden for him in the bushes... I didn't see any of that though, from my perspective, he ran around with the sparklers, and came back only a few short minutes later as I was still trying to work on keep a couple of sparklers lit at the same time. When I finally got it down, I, unbeknownst to me, played right in to the plan and started to write things with my sparklers in the air. I love you. You make me so happy. Erika. Steve. Annemarie. Merrill. Christiansen. John... Steve was in the middle of spelling out my last name when the big fireworks started going on behind his head. I was instructed that he wanted to finish spelling out my last name, but that I should sit down and start enjoying the big fireworks behind us. He got the last couple sparklers lit and finshed out the last of my last name. s...e....n.

 Pause.

Steve: "ok, one more"

w....i...l...l...y....o...u...m...a...r...r...y...m... ... ... e.

There I was sitting there on the grass, fireworks over head, and the man of my dreams in front of my pausing and staring at me from across the distance between us before he finished with the last e. My whole heart smiled as I watched him with loving eyes, finish spelling the words I have often wondered how I would ever get to. From there he ran over to his shoe, where he had stashed the ring box so I wouldn't notice it bulging out of his pants pocket, and he came over to kneel down by me, and told me that he wanted to spend his forever with me. I was sitting but came up to kneel with him, hugging him as I said yes.

At that, Steve got up, explaining that there were more surprises. He ran around the back of the house again and came back with 2 dozen white and red roses, and a cooler of sparkling cider and glasses. He gave me the flowers, which were so beautiful, and he broke out the bubbly. And by "broke out" I mean he had lost the bottle opener before we left Rob and Hills, so he had borrowed Rob's Swiss army pliers with an opener on it that didn't work and ended up just puncturing a hole right in the top of the lid. He fiddled with it for a few more seconds before he decided that it would have to do, and he poured us both a glass. We raised them both in a toast, and began to toast to us.

Mid toast, Steve's family, now back from watching the fireworks, strolled up to find us there on the blanket amidst the burnt out sparklers and cider. They were all so excited for us and took turns hugging us and congratulating us. They took pictures for us. Ooooed and Awwwwed over the ring, though they had all seen in and then left us to clean up and catch up with them later at the house.

There is part of me that always imagined my heart racing and tears flowing freely in a moment like this... but there was no racing to it, there was only peace.. A deep inner peace that I haven't found in very many places. The peace that comes when I know that I am loved and that everything will be ok, whatever comes our way. I loved that peace.

I love Steve Christiansen.

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Ta-dah!

Months after the due date, it's finally finished!! I'd like to give a shout out to my dad for letting me take over his garage for WAY too long and for his help. Mr. Head for not telling me that it was impossible for a girl of my woodworking experience (none) to make a bed. And for all those who encouraged and supported me through the whole process! :) 

I have been encouraged by Steve to revel in this project's completion for at least a few minutes... So at this time I will make no mention of the next project coming down the pipe. 

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Project Update

So the project is coming.. I realize the due date was yesterday, and I still need to paint, and attach all the pieces together... but it is coming. My last woodworking class was last night and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bummed. It was fun! But it is probably for the best since a kind of creepy janitor, who is I would guess about 50, wanted to ask me out and I don't really care to see him again.

More updates to come... not with the janitor, with the bed.

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"What we ponder and what we think about sets the course of our life. Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

"We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, 'The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.' We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today."

"You must keep both eyes on your target and not the ever moving mark. Remember that success is never about the chosen few, but always about the few who choose, you get to choose and your life builds from there".

-Warren Buffet

photo curtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/26473957@N03/5221149000/

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New Years Resolution #2

Little known fact... February is for finances... yup, I chose the shortest month to do the least-exciting resolution, figure out my monies. I can save but I am horrible at knowing how I saved. So that's the goal... nay, the resolution!  26 days and counting until I can focus on something a little more exciting. 

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Production Continues

It's been just under a month and the bed is coming along nicely... I've definitely jumped in and learned a lot when it comes to working with wood. Like any project where you decide to learn as you go, I would like to start over and do it again with the knowledge I have now, but that aside I'm excited with how it is coming together. 

 This is the Speedy Burrito trying to be a truck. 

 This is me, SOOO dusty. 

And this is where I left the bed drying. More progress to come. 

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Production Begins

After 2 hours of safety videos from the 1960's, an hour of being shown around the shop, a date with my dad to Home Depot to get wood and cramming all of that wood into my 96 Chevy...  production has begun on my bed. :) Look Dad! Aren't you so proud! Thanks for teaching me that "I don't know how" doesn't have to be a part of my vernacular. 

More pictures to come! Unless I totally bomb it, in which case I'll post pictures of my next bon fire. ;) Wish me luck! 

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