Merry 'Smith'mas

This holiday was definitely a crash course into the "Life of a Law Enforcement Wife".

Not only did Shaun work Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, but he worked Christmas Day AND will be working New Years Eve and most likely Valentine's Day. Yay for us :/

Despite him working every major holiday since we've been together, this has been an amazing year and a fantastic Christmas :) It's crazy to think how much has changed in the past year, but that will be another post.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a great New Years :)

...and Toby makes 4!

So this may be the most difficult blog to write. Like physically difficult. It's not easy to type when a pomeranian is laying on your lap, trying to paw your computer, and lick your arm all at the same time.

Yep. We got another dog!!

Well, according to Shaun's boss, it's not "manly" to have a pom when you're a cop, so I got another dog.

Anyways, we had been talking about getting another dog as a friend for Murphy and my friend was giving one of her dogs away and we got him! His name is Toby. He's about a year and a half and he is such a sweet dog! I'm used to Murphy, who loves to lay down and cuddle with me, and Toby is sooo not like that! He was a ton of energy, and he'll cuddle, just not for very long.

SanDiego2o11

We started planning a trip for my birthday back in May, but then in turned into a birthday slash wedding planning trip. Either way, it was a much needed vacation and we cannot wait to go back!

Shaun, Lisa and I stayed in Vegas on the way down there, and then we met up with Tyson at the hotel the next day. The resort was amazing! We used my mom's timeshare and I loved it.

Anyone who goes to San Diego should purchase a Go-Card. We went to the Safari Park, Legoland, and when kayaking for like $100 a person, which seems like a lot but when you break it down it's a great deal!

We got a few wedding details worked out (like where the reception will be and what cupcakes we are ordering), but other than that we didn't get as much done as I was hoping. I guess that means we will have to make another trip in March or April ;)

On a side note, can I just tell you that watching all these wedding shows on TV is so much more fun when you're actually getting married?! My new favorite is "Four Weddings" on TLC. The whole time we've been planning our wedding I keep thinking what the other 'guest brides' would say, and then try to fix the issues. Weird, I know. But that's a good thing about waiting a year...you get to make all the changes you want :)

Time for an update!

Yes, I've been a major slacker on this blog...Sorry 'bout that ;) Okay, time for the updating to begin!

I'M ENGAGED :) :) :)

Yes, Miss-I'm never getting married, is getting married. I honestly never thought I would meet the man of my dreams in Vernal. I had pretty much given up on dating after my last 2 dating disasters in the Basin, but apparently when you give up is when you find what you're looking for.

Let's back up and explain for a second...


I had been dating a guy for a few months, but things didn't work out and we both realized we weren't the best for each other. A mutual friend said we were good together, but not great, and that's the truth. I'll never have anything bad to say about him and I'm grateful for the time we spent together...


So a week (yes, a week) after we broke up, X94 held our fights (we usually have about 3 or 4 a year). I was finally starting to feel better about life, but still didn't want a relationship. We usually have Vernal City Police patrol the grandstands just to keep everyone in check.
That's when I met Shaun :)

We probably only talked about 5 or 10 minutes that whole night, but I was pretty smitten. A couple days later he found me on Facebook, because no modern day love story would be complete without a Facebook factor. I was heartbroken to see he had a girlfriend because that was just my luck. Well, I'll admit I was that girl that started talking to a guy with a girlfriend and that was probably the best choice I ever made! He broke up with her a few days later.

We texted everyday for like a week, and then when I came back from a visit to see my brother in San Francisco, we went on our first date. And the rest is history :) He will never let me live down when he tried to kiss me the first time-I turned my head haha In my defense I wanted "romance" and the Subway parking lot did not seem romantic enough. So he waited for another week and then we kissed when we were walking around the lake :) See, much better story.

Now, onto the 'engagement story'...

Shaun and I were spending the weekend in Salt Lake to meet his mom and step dad, and on the way we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. I love love love waterfalls and have always wanted to hike up to the base. I looked online and it said the trail was steep and rocky, but it was only 15 minutes so it was manageable. So we start climbing up this steep, rocky part and, oh my hell, it was torture! We had Murphy with us and he kept sliding down, rocks were falling, we were gross and sweaty, and it was hot! Well, about 15 minutes into the hike we can see the water....and then we cross the actual trail. The 'rocky' part was gravel and it was so steep my 92 year old Grandma would maybe be winded going up it. Yeah, we took the wrong way.

Anyways, we get to the base and are just standing under the water trying to cool off. Shaun tries to hug me and, again, I shut him down because I'm so hot and gross I don't want anything touching me. So he goes in the hug again and says...

"The water is really cold, and there are people around, so I don't want to get down on my knee, but WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

:) I just laughed and said of course :)


And I will give him points that when we got out of the cold, rocky water he did get down on one knee and asked again :) :) :)


So there is our meeting and engagement story :)

We set the wedding for September 6, 2012 in San Diego. So now the next year will consist of blogging about wedding colors, dresses, favors, and all the fun stuff that comes with weddings!

Stationery card

Beach Bliss Save The Date

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"In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back"
- Charlie Brown

It's amazing how many things can change in one, short month.

I'm no longer unemployed (yipee!)

For the first time I can remember, I'm in a normal and healthy relationship with a great guy.
Despite the fact I'm living in Vernal, I'm actually happy.

Let's start with the job...
I ABSOLUTELY love it!! For anyone not in the Vernal area, I'm the News Director for Channel X94. It is such a blast! I'm actually using my degree and gaining so much more experience than at the "other" station. The morning show is amazing :) My co-workers are amazing :) The only downside is getting up at 4:00 am every weekday, but that is why God invented coffee, right?

Now onto the guy...
Since I started dating, I have picked the absolute worst people for me. I've called myself the Queen of Bad Relationships for such a long time I didn't think I would ever know what a good relationship looked life if it slapped me in the face! It took a couple of months before I stopped thinking he would turn out like the rest of them and actually begin to calm down and trust him. I'm not making any predictions about what could happen. Right now I'm just enjoying the relationship :)

And finally, life in Vernal...
The last month my life has been very boring, very simple, but it's exactly what I need right now. I go to work, come home, see the boyfriend if he's not at work, then go to bed. There's no real drama. No fighting. No bs. It's great! I know it won't last forever so, again, I'm just enjoying what I have going on right now.


6 years ago when I was getting ready to graduate high school, or even 2 years ago when I was living in San Diego, if someone had told me I would be back in Vernal, working in radio, I would have told them they were insane. I've never really had my life plan mapped out, but I was always positive it would never take me back to Vernal. Vernal is the one place I never wanted to be, but it's turning out to be one of the best decisions I've made. This is definitely not the path I ever planned on taking, but I'm hoping that it will lead me somewhere amazing.

New Year...New Beginnings

I'm sure most people have heard the quote, "When one chapter ends, another begins."
That's how 2011 feels for me.

I've spent a lot of time the last few weeks reading my old blogs and digging up my old journals. It's amazing to go back just a few years and see how much things have changed, but then to also see that some things haven't changed all that much.

But it's a new year, a new chapter, so no more looking back for me. I've spent too many years thinking about all the "what ifs" in life and how my life "could have" turned out. Well I'm done. Certain situations and certain relationships didn't work out for a reason (some I've figured out while others I'm sure I will never know the answer) but they all served a purpose.

It's been almost a month since I was laid off and I haven't really panicked or freaked out as much as I thought I would. Until last week that is. That's when all the tears and the "what the hell am I doing with my life" started to pour out. It sucked, but I figured it would happen eventually so it wasn't a big shocker. For once I was thankful that I lived at home with my mother, because if I had actual bills to pay I'm sure the freak out would have been much worse.

I have a sort of interview tomorrow with another company and I'm really hoping for some good news from them.

I'm not really sure how to end this, but another quote comes to mind;

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -Lao Tzu

Here's to the start of a new journey...