Once upon a time...

This post might be a bit cheesy and very gushy, so if you can't handle it you should still read on anyway.
Also, Adam knows that I'm writing this and has given me permission to share the embarrassing stories.
On December 7th, 2013 I was set up on a blind date by my cousin Libby. I know what you're thinking, this is going to be another post about one of Jessie's awkward blind dates. No, not this time. This is the tale of a blind date that actually turned out to be amazing! I know what you're thinking "An amazing blind date, that's impossible!" Well I will admit that it was a little bit awkward, because let's face it, blind dates are almost always awkward, but it turned out for the best!
It was a snowy day and I headed down to my cousins' house because we were doing a double date. I got there a couple of hours early so I could hang out with my cousins for a bit before. Eventually my date showed up and Libby introduced us. She told me how she had first met Adam. I won't be able to do justice to Libby's retelling but this is the less dramatic version:
One day when Libby and Ethan lived in Indiana, Ethan was deathly ill with the flu. Libby had been calling around to different members of their ward to find anyone who could give Ethan a Priesthood Blessing, but no one was available, so she prayed and when she opened her eyes she noticed a couple of elders walking past her house. She went to them crying out "Elders, elders I need your help!" So she brought them in and had the greenie who had just arrived into the mission field the day before give Ethan a blessing, and within a few days Ethan was healed. Adam was the greenie who gave Ethan that blessing.
After I was told this story, Libby went on to tell Adam how patient and caring I was when I had to help take care of my grandma. Her story was of course very dramatic but it seemed to work on Adam.
For our first date we went and saw Thor: Dark World then went back to Ethan and Libby's and had dinner and played games. It was a fun date, but a bit awkward because we were both nervous and as much as I love Ethan and Libby they only helped make it more awkward, especially at the end of the date. We said goodnight and that was that.
The next day I text Adam and told him that I had a good time and would like to get to know him better. After a few texts back and forth he called me and asked me out on a second date.
Our second date was the following Wednesday. He came and picked me up and we went to City Creek Center and ate dinner at Kneaders. Then we walked around the mall and Temple Square for a couple of hours. It was a bit chilly outside but I honestly didn't really notice because Adam and I had a lot in common. We probably spent a good hour talking about Doctor Who alone. Now a few days earlier I had won a couple of tickets to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on opening night. I was originally going to take Ethan with me but since Adam and I had such a good time on our second date I thought I would invite him to come with me. So on the drive home I asked him if he'd like to go with me.
So that Friday we went to see The Hobbit together. Now during the movie I was hoping that he might try and hold my hand so I had it resting nonchalantly on my leg so that it would be easy to grab. Throughout the first half of the movie I could see him trying to build up the courage to grab my hand but then he would chicken out. About half way through the movie he finally just went for it and grabbed my hand. Then we held hands for the rest of the movie. After the movie he took me back to my house and we sat and talked for an hour.
Sunday we were invited to my friends Kymn and Russ's for dinner. Then on Tuesday Adam brought me a rose to work. The receptionist at work brought it out to me. It was so funny because she came out and told me to close my eyes, so I did. Then when she told me to open them she had placed a rose in front of me and said that a very cute young man brought this for me. I got teased by everyone at work, but I didn't care because I was enjoying every second of it. As soon as I was off I called Adam and thanked him for it. That Friday he came over to my house and I made him dinner and we ended up watching White Christmas together. The next day he took me out to dinner then we went to The Piano Guys concert at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Sunday December 21st Adam took me to meet his family, and I don't just mean a couple of people in his family, his whole family! Two weeks after our first date he took me to meet five of his siblings and their families as well as skyping with his brother's family in Maine and his parents who are on a mission in Germany. Needless to say I was very stressed and nervous about this. Luckily his family was very sweet and very welcoming. Adam's sister-in-law came up to me at one point during the night and told me that I was beautiful. It was a very interesting night but it wasn't bad at all, and luckily I love his family.
The next week I went home for Christmas I was distracted because Adam and I were continually texting. When I headed home the day after Christmas, Adam came over and I made him dinner and we did a puzzle while watching a movie. As we were working on the puzzle I spontaneously asked him if I was his girlfriend. He looked at me and said "Yeah, I think you are." We had decided that we were officially dating.
The next day we went to Ethan and Libby's place to spend some time with several of my cousins for the holidays. It was a fun weekend with family and our first overnight together! Don't worry nothing happened, except me falling asleep on the couch while we watched TV.
For New Years Eve we were invited to Kymn and Russ' for a party. There were a few of us there and we had lots of delicious food and played lots of fun games. Midnight came around and we were distracted playing a game that we didn't realize that the new year had already begun. Around 2am Adam and I left. I was dropping him off at his house when he decided it was time we finally kissed!
Now to start off, this was the first kiss for both of us. Yes I mean that neither of us had ever been kissed before. So we got out of the car and he had a plate of leftovers in his hand. We hugged and he decided to go in for the kiss...it was so awkward!!! He leaned in and his lips met mine, but nothing really happened. We pulled apart and hugged, and then his glasses got stuck in my hair! I was not satisfied with how this turned out so I told him we needed to try again, so we did. It was still weird. After that I left. The next day we were texting and I told him that he should come over so we could get some practice. ;) He did and we did, but it still wasn't that great. Don't worry, the kissing is much better now :D
January 7th was our one month anniversary together. So we decided to do something special, so we went up to temple square and watched the Joseph Smith movie. After the movie we went back to my place and just hung out for a little while. I was tired and we were cuddling on the couch when all of a sudden he told me he loved me. Yes! I wasn't sure if I had heard right, and so it took me a second, but finally I sat up and told him that I wasn't ready to say it just yet. He was very understanding and told me he would wait until I was ready to say it to him. I'll admit it freaked me out at first, and probably led up to my freakout.

A few weeks into January I had a little bit of a mental break down, but first let me explain something. This was my first relationship ever. I'd spent 25 years alone, I'd never had anyone be affectionate with me, and I'd never spent so much time with a person so it was a bit overwhelming for me. So Adam and I had a pretty rough week. I was acting insane, and he had no idea why! So after advice from a few different sources I asked Adam to come over after work and we talked. Apparently that was all I needed. I was afraid of talking to him about stuff that was bothering, but that's all it took. Once I was able to get stuff off my chest and just talk to him things changed for the better. Apparently communication is very important in a relationship! Who knew?
The next big thing in our relationship was Valentine's Day. That morning I got up early and heart attacked Adam's door. Adam was working at Dominos at the time and had to work Valentine's Day. He was supposed to get off by seven but didn't get to my house until 10:30! It wasn't the best Valentine's Day, but it was definitely nice to finally have someone to spend the day with.
At the end of March I went through the temple and recieved my endowments. I went through the St. George temple, and I decided that this big weekend for me would be a good time for Adam to finally meet my family. Because it was a big event in my life there was a lot of people there to support me, so Adam got to meet everyone all at once. Sounds familiar, but at least he got three months to work up to it ;) It was a big step for me and after seeing how the weekend went there was something I knew for sure...

A few days after I went through the temple. Adam and I were playing a game with his brother. Adam basically stole the game from his brother, and the two of us were left alone to finish the board game. As Adam was stealing the game from me, I leaned over and said: "You're lucky I love you." Adam stopped and looked at me for a few seconds before saying "I love you, too." I knew before we had gone to St. George that I loved him, but I wanted to see how things went with my family before I took that step.
For my birthday I flew to South Carolina to have a short vacation with my sister and her friend, so Adam and I celebrated my birthday the day before. We went to the temple, ate pizza at the Pi, and got Red Velvet Cakebites from The Sweet Tooth Fairy.
On Memorial Day weekend Adam and I were headed down to Southern Utah to spend the weekend with my family. At the point Adam and I had been talking about marriage quite a bit. As we were driving down Adam basically asked me if we were getting married. I was taken aback but I told him that I thought we were. So we had decided at that point we were getting married. Many of you may find this backward, but I had already told him yes before he even proposed. That weekend we told my parents, who decided to tell the whole world. So by the time we got home on Monday, we had our date set, colors picked, and wedding plans in motion.
Two weeks later Adam took me to Dayne's Music to "look" at pianos, and play on their nice grand piano that they use for recitals. We went into the recital room and he played a song called Valentine for me. After he'd finished he told me to come tinkle with the piano, before I had sat down on the piano bench Adam was on one knee asking me to marry him! I was so excited that I barely let him finish before I was yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes! Put it on! Put it on!" June 7, 2014 we were officially engaged!

Two months later on Saturday August 9th, 2014 Adam and I were married in the St. George Temple. The happiest day of my life, and I got to marry my best friend.

Now we're beginning our new life together, and so far it has been awesome, with a few bumps along the way, but it's an adventure, and not all adventures are smooth sailing, but this is one adventure that I am very excited for this one! I'm ready to start our happily ever after!

What Have I Been Up To?

So the last few months have been busy. As many of you know my Honda Civic was stolen a second time, but you can read about that and my new car Elanor in a previous post.
So in August after my previous trip to Chicago my roommate Allison and I went to the Church History museum for the Boy Scout of America exhibit. They had several Norman Rockwell paintings, and that was what we really went for. After exploring the Church History Museum we decided to wander around Temple Square. It was a lot of fun, and the last big thing me and Allison got to do before she left on her mission in September. She is now in the Rancho Cucamonga, California mission, and is a great missionary.

After Allison left, I had to find a new roommate. Allison actually owns the condo that I live in, so she asked me to stay here and look after the place while she is on her mission. After two weeks of living alone I finally got a new roommate. I will say that living alone was fun but I don't know if I could handle it for longer than a few weeks. I got really depressed and mostly stayed inside, but now I have a roommate who barely talks and is more introverted than me.
In October I went to Chicago for a second time. This time I went with my cousins Anisa and Summer. I arrived Wednesday around noon and rode the train all by myself to my sister's apartment. My parents were very worried about me, but I enjoyed the independence. Later that day Summer arrived and Libby and I went and picked her up at the airport. After we picked her up we went and met with some of Libby's friends at a bar for dinner. We got some burgers and I got the best damn Sweet Potato Fries that I have ever tasted. I don't know if I was starving or if they were just that good, but damn they were yummy! The next morning Anisa arrived and we started our adventures. First we went for Pizza at Giordano's then we went up to the top of the Sears (Willis) tower. Last time I went up to the top of the Sears tower I cried because my cousin Ethan was trying to force me onto the glass box, luckily this time my cousins were nicer about it. They tried to convince me to go out on those boxes but they didn't try to force me on. Libby, Summer, and Anisa had fun on the box while I stood next to one of the windows freaking myself out. Then we went to Millennium park and saw the bean and then we walked to the Buckingham fountain. The next day we went to Navy Pier and rode the Ferris wheel and wandered around Downtown and did the Magnificent Mile. We also went to Wrigley Field and Goose Island bar and got some delicious Ginger Soda. We ate at several different restaurants and had a lot of fun together. On Saturday, Libby got called to work so Anisa, Summer, and I went to a place called Mindy's Hot Chocolate for breakfast on our way to the airport. I got this rich, thick dark hot chocolate that coated my esophagus and was too much for me to even finish. Then we headed to the airport and headed home.

As many of you know Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays. The weekend before Halloween my friends Kymn and Russ had a Psych themed Halloween party so I went as Detective Juliet O'Hara. This year my friend Shelby got married on Halloween so I got dressed up for her wedding. During work I didn't want to get my dress dirty so I gave myself a broken nose and a gash on the side of my face. For her wedding I went dressed as Merida from Brave. There were several people from work so I had to get pictures with them.

Now I need to explain this following picture. The only reason that I am posting this is because I'm so entertained by it. So several weeks ago I finally went to an Allergist because I have some pretty bad hay fever, especially this time of year and I wanted to go see what I was allergic to, and if there was anything that might help. So as you can see by the picture there are several things that I am allergic to. So what they do is take several different samples and scratch them into my skin and let them sit for about ten minutes then see what I have a reaction to. So I am allergic to several weeds, several of which are native to Utah, dust mites, Cottonwood trees, and Timothy Grass. I don't have any allergies to animals or food that we know of, so it's just lovely hay fever. My doctor said that I could get allergy shots which I would have to get twice a week but I don't have the money or time for that. He told me to just keep taking whatever allergy medicine best works for me.

This month I was able to go home twice for Thanksgiving. Because Libby had to work Thanksgiving weekend we decided to do an early Thanksgiving two weeks early since Libby had that weekend off. So I drove down with my cousins Ethan and Libby and had an intimate dinner with my family. It was the six of us plus both of my brother's girlfriends and Ethan and Libby. It was very nice and fun. We had lots of fun and laughs playing Balderdash.
This weekend I flew home Thursday, which flying on Thanksgiving is great, I walked right through security and the flight was about half full. We had a small Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle and cousins in Kanarraville. Soon after we finished eating we went black friday shopping at Walmart and I got a few movies. Friday we had lunch together and just sat around talking and I flew home Friday night. There were only five people on my flight home. I think I know how I'm going to get home on Thanksgiving from now on!!!
Last but not least I must tell you about an awkward date I went on last week. I went on a date with a guy I work with. Apparently he has liked me for a while and was shy, so I needed to help him out a bit. So after I encouraged him a bit he finally asked me out. I made him be the man and decide what to do, which took a while, but finally we decided on a day and time and made plans. So the night came and first of all he was a half hour late and waited for me in the parking lot. Then we went bowling and he was so boring! While bowling he showed no emotion, I thought maybe he's just being shy or having a hard time easing up. After two rounds of bowling, some minature golf, and a little time in the arcade he took me home. He did talk a little more, but for the most part I was the one doing most of the talking. Anyway when he dropped me off he just dropped me off. He pulled up and said goodbye, but I wasn't content with that, so I asked him for a hug which was an awkward side hug INSIDE the car. Then I walked to my door alone! Seriously it was so awkward and too much work, and boring! I tried to have fun and I did have fun bowling and what not but I would like someone who would actually try and talk to me. He apparently had a great time, and of course he did because I'm a fun person, but I would like the other person to be as fun as me.
I was happy to go on a date since the last date I went on was quite a while ago, but seriously will I ever be able to go on a fun date with someone who actually interests me and will actually converse with me! So if anyone knows of any single guys please set me up. I'm not getting any younger and apparently the only way I can actually get a date is to get set up.
It's been a busy and interesting couple of months and now it's time to get ready for Christmas!!!!

A Bumpy, Exciting Rollercoast of a Ride

So it has been several months since I last wrote. For the most part it was just work, work, and more work, but lately some interesting things have happened.
I had a male texting buddy for a while, and about two months after we had started texting we finally met in person. The fact that we even met was my idea, and I set up the whole "date." Let's just say that it didn't work out, but I'm over it now.
Allison and I went to the Leonardo Museum and played around a bit. They have this awesome technology exhibit where we made this awesome marble track. It took us about a half hour but it was fun and we got it to work.

A few weeks ago my friend Kelli asked me to go to Prom with her. I know what you're thinking, why is Jessie going to a prom when she's been out of High School for seven years now. Well it wasn't a real prom, it was a birthday party for one of Kelli's friends.

A few weeks ago I got to be there to see Libby get her wings at her SkyWest Graduation. I also got to see Libby graduate from SUU a week and a half later.
Last Friday, May 3rd, was my 25th Birthday. I spent most of the day at Libby's SUU graduation but when I came home my awesome roommate, Allison, had made a TARDIS out of crape paper on the wall, and when I walked into my bedroom it was covered in pink and ballons that my friends Kymn and Russ had done while I was down south for the weekend. There were so many balloons, it took me a good ten minutes to pop them all.

So yesterday when I woke up to go to work, I went to get into my car then realized that my car wasn't where I had parked it. Now I don't have a designated parking spot so I thought maybe I didn't park where I had thought. So I spent the next five minutes walking around the parking lot and not finding my car. At this point I called the cops and reported that my car had been stolen. I went to work and a few hours later, at precisely 1:30 I got a phone call saying that my car had been found. I went and picked up my car a few blocks from my house. Luckily the car was left in one piece, other than a few unimportant things missing. God was definitely watching out for me. I must include that I think the real reason my car was found so quickly and with very little missing was thanks to my friend Ben's two youngest kids praying that I would find my car. Ben told me that they prayed as soon as they got home from school which was 1:20, and ten minutes later I got the call that my car had been found! There is something to be said for the faith of children. They need to pray for me to find a husband ;)
The last few months have definitely had ups and downs but one thing I've learned is that even with the trials and hardships there is still a chance to be happy. I thought, and I guess I sometimes still do slip into this way of thinking, that the only way for me to be happy would be to get married and have a family, but since that won't be for a while, I've been trying to find happiness in other ways. Hopefully I will have many more happy adventures to share with you soon.

Why I Couldn't Stop Smiling :-D

I wanted to share a funny story with everyone. Just after New Years I went on a blind date with this guy we're going to call Roberto. For our date we went and played games with the guy who set us up, his name is Ben. We didn't get to talk much throughout our date, but at the end of the night we exchanged numbers. After the date several people were getting after me about calling him and hanging out with him. Well the funny story starts a few weeks after the date.
My friend Kymn and I were doing a game night with a few people, and I decided that I was going to try and be brave. Well me being brave is texting. I text Roberto and said "Hey this is Jessie, I was wondering if you had any plans tonight?" A little while later he text back saying: "Yeah dude, I have a date. Why?" This baffled me. I was confused why a guy I went on a date with would call me dude, then tell me that he was going on a date. I decided then that I was done, if he wanted to see me he would, to quote a movie "A wise person once told me that if a guy wants to be with a girl, he will make it happen, no matter what." (From the movie He's Just not that into you.) So I told Ben what had happened, and he said that Roberto probably thought it was someone else. Well, the next day I was working at the chocolate factory when my phone rang. I looked at my phone and saw it was Roberto, but I couldn't answer because someone had just walked into the store, so I silenced my phone, and when I finally had a minute I listened to the voice mail he left me. First of all Ben had called Roberto and told him what had happened. Turns out that he thought I was a different Jessie, a guy he works with that he doesn't like to hang out with, so he thought I was this guy and just gave the date as an excuse. If he had known it was me he totally would've come to play games. I couldn't call him back because the store was busy so I text him and told him I couldn't answer, but we ended up texting all day. Anyway after lots of laughing on my part and embarrassment on his he eventually asked me on a date.
So last Friday night he came and picked me up at my parents and we went and played miniature golf, got some ice cream, and spent several hours just talking. It's sad to say but this was my first official second date, but it was probably the best date I've been on. I laughed and smiled and I was a bit giddy after the date, but don't go planning the wedding or anything. It was just a date, and I thought I would share this funny story with everyone. And trust me if anything comes of this, ya'll will know.

About my date!!

So last Thursday I went on a date! My friend Kelli had been wanting to set me up for a couple of months with a friend, but she wouldn't tell me anything about who it was. She kept trying to set it up but my schedule and his schedule didn't work. So finally this last week both had thursday open. By this time I had found out who it was she was trying to set me up with. His name is Fernando and he is the son of a lady I work with at Amber Lyn Chocolates, and she has been trying to get him to ask me out, but he is really shy, which is why Kelli was trying to set it up. Anyway he was supposed to come pick me up at six on Thursday and ended up getting lost and not getting to my house until 6:30. While I was waiting for him I kept thinking have I been stood up again? He did arrive then we went and had dinner at Applebee's then we went and played minature golf at Fiesta Fun. I was home around eight, which made this the shortest date I've ever been on. I thought everyone could use a laugh, I think it's funny, thought you might also.