"Baby, Please Don't Go...."

My best friend asked me this evening if it's getting any easier dropping Aron off at the airport when he has to leave for Reno.  The answer is..."no".  Oh, HELLLL TO THE NO.  I lol'd when she asked this because I remember the first time I took him to the airport...

Me: Welp, this sucks...
Ar: Yeah, but I'll see you SO SOON and we'll Skype and we'll live in the same state in just a couple of months
Me: *one lone tear* Yeah...I love you. 
Ar:  I love you like whoa.  I miss  you already
Me: *tear leaves face* Love you more

2nd time
Me: *tears began rolling in car*  I MISS YOU ALREADY!  CAN'T YOU JUST STAY??
Ar:  Aw, babe...I wish I could, but I will be back for Thanksgiving in 10 days.  That's it! 
Me:  Yeah, okay *hugging Aron, won't let go of his neck*
Ar:  I love you, babe.  I can't wait to live in the same state.  We won't have to do this for very long.

Yesterday
Me: *pulling up to terminal...tears streaming down my face*  BABY, PLEASE DON'T GOOOO!!!!
Ar:  Babe, I will be home in FIVE days.  We'll both be so busy this week and won't even realize that it's Friday! 
Me: *serious death grip around his chest...hyperventilating*  I know, but we've had so much fun and this sucks and I really want you to stay here until the wedding. 

It may not get easier, but it's going to be so worth it.  I have never been more confident in the man that I'm marrying and I am so proud of Aron.  He's the most dedicated, hard-working, intuitive, go-getter I know.  I become more and more affirmed in my decision to marry him each time we go to the airport. 

Throwback Alert:  This is our very first photo together when we started dating in 2007! 

Holiday Traditions and Happenings

Ahhh... the weekend is coming to a close and that makes me OH SO SAD!  We had such an amazing Thanksgiving holiday here in Salt Lake City.

Stop #1- We began our Thanksgiving by packing meals for people in the Phillipines at K2 (our home church: http://www.k2thechurch.com/).  It was so awesome to serve with so many people.  I loved watching some of my sunday school students not wanting to leave in order to keep up with their roles on the assembly line and meet our ultimate goal of 70,000.  I pray daily that we can find a church as refreshing, community-driven and life-giving in Reno.   

Stop #2- From K2, we headed to mom's to eat with her and Nani.  We had a small and traditional meal; it was perfect.  I made individual pumpkin pies for the first time and I think they turned out pretty well.  We then took silly photos and a nap in order to rest up for the rest of our day!

Stop # 3- From mom's, we went over to the Super Casa (aka: Dave and Britt's) for some Hot Buttered Rum and dessert.  Aron made this delicious cold-weather treat for the first time and it was an instant hit.  Dave's family was in from WI and it was so fun to sit down and chat with them for a while...such great people. 

Stop #4- After some quality time at The Rogers' home it was off to "Morning Glory" with the McHappy's (other may know them as The McHenry's).  This was my second time seeing this flick and it was JUST as fun.  I give it 2 thumbs up and plan to purchase the dvd once it's out.  There is a 5 minute portion of the movie that literally makes me laugh until I cry.  Bottom line:  go see it.  We decided that our time in the movie wasn't enough and headed to Denny's (where else at midnight??) for some random food selections.  It's times like those where I'm thankful to be an extrovert who loves to be impulsive.  Some of our best times with friends come in the wee hours of the morning when you don't initially feel like staying up late. 

Friday:  Day of traditions.  This is the first year I didn't do any "Black Friday" shopping in quite some time.  I literally only purchased gasoline...and it was great.  I don't know that I will ever be a crazy-wait-in-line-at-four-in-the-morning-shoppers, ever again.  We began the day by purchasing our Christmas Tree with mom!  She's a beaut.

Aron then took me for a surprise at Foothill Village!  We went and got a couples massage the The Spa Club!  It was so amazing to take a breather in the middle of a busy and get some time... just the two of us.  He's amazing and so much more thoughtful than I give him credit for.  After our amazing rub downs, we met up with mom and her friend for leftovers (HUGE tradition- not the day after Thanksgiving without repeating your meal) and went to see THE ROCKETTES perform!

While the show was a bit more kid-friendly than I thought, it was great to see such amazing, legendary, talented people perform. 
Once home, it was time for Christmas music, spiced rum and tree decorating! 

Not knowing what the future holds for holidays as a married couple, it was wonderful to have one more traditional Thanksgiving with my family. 

We went on to do even more fabulously fun things this weekend, but I'll save that for another post.  This one is already quite lengthy.  I'm so glad that I started to blog.  I don't journal so this will be a wonderful way to look back on the things I've been blessed enough to see, do, experience, taste, touch, and hear.

Utah SnowPocolypse 2010 (aka: Blizzard, Death Storm, or Mild Snow Fall w/Poor Visibility For One Hour?)

We started hearing rumors of a "blizzard" heading our way earlier this week.  Upon receiving this news, I began to get very worried. 

#1:  Aron was catching a flight from Reno to SLC during the very hours that the storm was to be dumping between 6 and 24 inches (depending on the station or co-worker you were listening to).  I was quite worried that his flight would be cancelled, forcing him to travel on Thanksgiving Day, assuming that there were enough flights to provide him options. 


#2:  The last time I heard the word "blizzard" was in 1996 when I lived in York, PA. 

Please see actual pictures from York during this blizzard, above.  People cross-country skiied or literally had to walk everywhere for days because the snow didn't melt and the whole city was shut down.  Very fun for school-aged children, but not so much as an adult who has to drive 30 minutes to work each day!

Fast forward to Wednesday morning.  I'm sitting at work and EVERYONE is talking about the blizzard that's to roll in around 3:00 PM.  I call Aron and encourage him to try and catch an earlier flight in order to miss the storm completely.  The best Delta can do is a 4:00 PM flight vs. 6:30.  We'll take it.  While at work, I begin to hear that city buildings and all universities around the state are closing at 2:00 to miss this storm.  My co-worker then gets a call stating that the building where her daughter goes to pre-school is closing at 3:00, per the recommendation of our weathermen who say that we should all be in our final destination for the evening by 3:00 or 4:00.  Wow, this thing sounds SERIOUS!  Therefore, I immediately head to Blockbuster and the grocery store on my way home to be sure that I had everything we needed to be completely snowed in.  5:00 comes around (4:00 in Reno) and Aron calls to tell me that the plane is taking off- still no snow for us, but the clouds get darker.  I am a bit worried since the storm is about to hit, but trust that the airport crew know whats up...ya know, since they do this everyday.  Well, at about 5:30, the snowstorm starts.  There was quick accumulation and visibility seemed pretty poor, from what we heard on the news.  Thank God, Aron lands safely, but has to take a cab because I was pretty scared of getting stuck on the freeway and freezing to death in the Volvo. 

At about 7:30, this is the sight I beheld:

*Be still my beating heart*  It had been 10 days since he was in SLC and it only gets harder when he leaves.  I was SOOO happy to have him here...and safely!

Shortly thereafter, the snow stopped.  You're reading correctly...stopped.  Altogether.  Downtown Salt Lake got about 3 inches and there were parts of the valley that didn't even see a flake.

I know, I know, "Better safe than sorry", but c'mon Utah: grow a pair and buy an ice scraper. 

"With a Little Help From My Friends"

I've been keeping myself quite busy while Aron is in NV.  Wedding planning is really hard work.  Especially when you're using a venue that doesn't include anything.  We're basically filling a box; which is REALLY fun, but REALLY time-consuming. I've made more lists in the last two months than I have in my entire 23 years on Earth combined. 

This post is just a big shout out to the friends who have voluntarily helped me with DIY wedding projects, meltdowns and freak-outs over the last month.  You know who you are and I would be lost without you.  Friends like you make thinking about moving, even worse. 

Here are some examples of some fun wedding projects we've worked on lately:

                             I can't tell you who the cards are for, but I am loving me some Cricut action!!

                    Centerpiece flowes.  Picture them in mason jars with blue LED lights and rocks.

My favorite project so far!!  The witty wording for certain stations at the reception. 

Alls I'm screamin'- I can't wait to marry Mr. Aron Riddle in a mere 54 days!!

Living the Dream!

I can't believe that I'm posting on a blog.  Not just any blog.  MY BLOG!?  I have so many friends who do this and I read theirs so often.  All of them are so witty, honest and fun to read so I feel like I have a lot to live up to.  Here goes nothin'. 

The purpose of this first post is to show you how skeptical I am about finding a job once I get to Reno.  I've been blessed to have an INCREDIBLE job with a property management company since moving to Salt Lake in '07 and try not to become overwhelmed with sadness when I think about leaving them (again... ouy... long story). 

Please see an email that I sent to some friends a couple of weeks ago after perusing Craigslist in order to become inspired about the endless possibilities I may have while studying to finish my degree:

Penthouse Key Girl Entertainer

weeds cut (someone was smoking when they wrote this title)

woodstove installer

EXPERIENCED End Dump Driver

**** HOT JOBS GALORE ****

Packer Position -??

Salvation Army Kettle Worker

Hod Carrier

MACHINIST A  (like a barista, but for machines)

Sanitation  (I like to think I'm clean?)

Clerk - 7-Eleven (I do love a good SLURPEE!)

Smog Inspector

Need a Ghost Writer to write a ghost story

Super Yacht Sail Finisher

Stay tuned to find out if I decide to take up installation, writing, or.. packing?