Life Is Random, Enjoy It! » Colorado

The Proposal

tra — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:38:09 +0000

So as most people who might possibly be reading this, I got engaged a couple weeks ago! Hooray!!! Now I know, people want to know the story, so here goes:

Let me first say, I HAD NO IDEA this was gonna happen. I already knew that this was the guy I wanted to marry, but I figured it was gonna be at some point in the future. I knew it was a big decision and a big commitment to move across the country with him, but I knew it was something I was ready to do. So we began our journey out of the state of California on April 1st, and ended our roadtrip here in Colorado on the 10th. It was on the 9th of April, 2010, that my dear took the giant leap and proposed.

On this particular day, we were going to pass through Arches National Park and I know I was very excited to see this National Park. As it turns out, although we got to see quite a few really cool arches, we couldn’t take a hike through the one area of the park that contained most of the more spectacular arches because dogs weren’t allowed on the trails. So, instead we decided to do a little off-roading down a gravel road within the park to, what we thought, might be a less visited arch, where we could “break the rules” and take the kids with us on a hike. Unfortunately, when we got there, there were quite a few other people there as well, so we didn’t get our hike.

As we left the park, the mister seemed a little dejected, and I thought it was because we couldn’t take the kids with us on a hike and they had been hanging out in the car for most of the day so far. Since our route was taking us alongside the Colorado River towards the border of Colorado and Utah, we figured we’d try to find ourselves a spot along the river to let the kids out of the car and run around some. Little did I know that he had other plans in mind! So we finally found ourselves a spot alongside the river (we had to climb through some bushes to get there, but at least we could see our car parked on the side of the road), and we let the kids loose. They started running up and down the riverbank, chasing sticks and just having a grand old time.

At this point, the mister turned to me and started to get all serious, so I thought something was wrong. He was like “so I figured, you know, that this a huge step that the four of us are making, and I wanted to make sure you know how much it means to me and how much you mean to me…”. I was slightly distracted at this point (and yes, I feel HORRIBLE about it), because I was trying to pay attention to what the brat was doing in the water. He then was like, “so I have a question for you…” at which point he reached into his pocket and started to drop to the ground. I immediately started paying attention and said something along the lines of “uh…what the hell are you doing?!” as I started to back away. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked if I would marry him. I think it took me a few to comprehend what was going on, but I eventually said absolutely positively YES! I eventually learned that he had wanted to propose to me at Arches, but since we couldn’t go on a hike, and it was pretty crowded, he was starting to sweat it (which was why I thought he was a lil dejected). He really started to panic when we couldn’t find a good, secluded spot along the river, but luckily it worked out for us.

As it turned out, he knew my aversion to jewelry, especially anything fancy, etc, and because he couldn’t find something he liked and thought I’d like from the traditional jewelry store, he decided that he’d only propose if he could find a ring he liked while we were on our roadtrip. And he thought that’d be pretty cool too since it would symbolize the journey we were taking. So he found himself a ring made by an Indian woman in Arizona. It contains turquoise, and onyx, along with some other stones that I don’t know what they are, as well as has three bears which symbolize strength and endurance. I LOVE IT! We might eventually opt for something more traditional when it comes to actually getting married, but in the meantime, this will do just fine for me.

So that was our story! Neither of us are in any rush to actually get married and/or plan the wedding, so it’ll probably be a minute before it actually happens (not till next year at the earliest I think), but at the same time, it’s kinda fun to say I’m engaged!!! Now if I can just get used to wearing a ring all the time…

We made it!

tra — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:36:56 +0000

That was, by far, the most awesome roadtrip of my life. Granted, I haven’t been on very many roadtrips, but still. We more or less dubbed this the “national parks roadtrip” since we went to five (was it five?) national parks, and a few other national monuments. We got ourselves an annual pass to the national parks, and we’ve made it worth our while for sure! It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and one I’ll never forget (for a few reasons, but I’ll expound on that later…). I’ll have to share some pictures once we actually sort through them all (we took about 1000 pictures over the course of 10 days?!), but suffice it to say, we had a blast. In the meantime, we’ve made it to our destination of Colorado, and are settling into our temporary home. We’re still waiting for our belongings to show up, but that’s okay! At least I’ve got my computer so I can get back to work, and the kids are out of the car and enjoying life with a backyard…more to come later!

Roadtrip Anyone?

tra — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:39:51 +0000

It’s hard to believe that the day of our moving is actually almost here. In fact, one week from today we will be hitting the road in what will be my longest and most eventful roadrip ever! And boy oh boy am I looking forward to it. Some days I think I’m a planner, and some days I don’t, but in this instance, I’ve definitely planned out exactly where we’re going to go and what we’re going to see. The only other, what I call a roadtrip, is when I moved from Seattle and drove down to California. It took us three days to do the drive, without very many sightseeing stops along the way. This time, however, we’re going to take our time, see whatever we can along the way, and even venture beyond the straight route to get there.

If we took the straight-shot, quickest way to get to our final destination of Denver, it would take us 21 hours to get there. We’ve decided, however, on the slightly roundabout way. We will be moving to Denver via the Yosemite National Park, Disneyland, Joshua Tree, the Mojave Desert, Route 66, the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, and the ever exciting Rocky Mountains! We’re turning a 21 hour drive into at least a 33 hour drive (not including random stops along the way of course!). This adventure of ours should make for some amazing pictures and crazy stories, and I can’t wait to share them!

In the meantime, let’s all hope the car makes it…

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

tra — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:42:10 +0000

Ah, the beginning of a new year…for me, I always feel like the new year brings about new beginnings. I generally take the time to reflect back on the previous year, see if I learned any important life lessons, and then usually throw it all out the window and get excited for things to come in the new year. So, as is my usual routine, here’s a recap of the year 2009!

January:
Don’t think a whole lot happened this month. I started dating the greatest guy on earth (at least in my opinion) at the end of December, so I guess that doesn’t technically count within the month of January, but seeing as how our first date was like a week before I went on vacation for like two weeks, January was when I really got to hang out and get to know him.

February:
Hrmmmmmm…went to the Russian River for the first time since living in the bay area? Had a couple friends visit from Hawaii, so we got to hang out, go wine tasting, and see the sights of the city (i.e. play tourist).

March:
Ah yes, the month of March…this would be the month where 2/3rds of engineering got laid off…I still think it was a stupid move on their part, but oh well…I figured that just meant bigger and better things were out there for me. Too bad it wasn’t one week earlier, because that was when my friends were in town!

April:
I think this was the first time, in the history I call my life, that I’ve ever gone to a show two nights in a row. Now, if you know me, you know I know nothing about music WHATSOEVER, so it must’ve been a pretty compelling reason for me to go not only see a band once, but twice in two days. And it was…

May:
May was a pretty busy month! We went a few trips, took the boy to LA with me for my friend’s daughter’s first birthday, and we also went to Big Sur to camp. That was my first trip to Big Sur since living in the bay area and it was beautiful! Mom also came up to visit for mother’s day, and she, my aunty, and uncle got to meet the boy. I also went white-water rafting for the first time ever! I didn’t paddle but definitely had lots of fun regardless of my fever (yah, I was sick for my first white-water trip).

June:
I went to the Midwest! Took a trip to Iowa to meet the boy’s family. It was somewhat spur of the moment, but it was a lot of fun (despite the crazy mosquitoes that devoured me)! Prolly went camping at some point this month too (we did a lot of outdoorsy things over the summer)

July:
Went tubing down the river…it was the second time we’d done it over the summer, but this time, most of the tubes did not survive! Although, granted, half the people didn’t have actual tubes, but instead children’s inflatables like airplanes and dolphins…but it sure made for a good story!

August:
I’m not sure what happened in August…oh! I did FINALLY, manage to get a job! It only took 6 months…but I got a job, that’s all that matters, AND I’m still there so we’re doing okay so far…

September:
The dreaded “3-0″. I turned 30 this month. We planned a day at the park for a free concert and then we went bowling with a group of my good friends. It was a blast, and despite no longer being in my 20’s, I’m still having the time of my life.

October:
Halloween! We started cooking at home a lot more around this time, and I’d like to think that my cooking skills have improved some. We also dressed the boy up as man-bear-pig for halloween, and if I do say so myself, it was a great costume! This was the first time he’s dressed up in a costume in years, and we even made it ourselves! We also made a decision that’s gonna affect us this year, but more on this later…

November:
Went to Vegas again for Thanksgiving. Dad got to meet the boy for the first time, and it was actually his first time to Vegas! Our other friend came along as well, and in the spirit of what is Las Vegas, they both got tattooed on the strip. I opted against getting one, although I do have a good idea of what I’d want next…

December:
December brought quite a few travels with it! We went on a very unexpected trip back to Iowa right before Christmas. This trip involved flying into Denver and driving across the state of Nebraska! Despite the length and flatness of the drive, I enjoyed myself and the company I was with. I then flew back from Iowa and turned right back around the next day to go home for the first time in a year! So not only did I get a white Christmas (close enough to Christmas), but also a warm one as well!

Closing Thoughts…
The year of 2009, at least to me, seemed to fly right on by. Despite some bumps and bruises along the way, I consider it a good year. I didn’t lose my house when I could have easily done so, I found another job that I’m enjoying, and I got to spend it all with great people. Who could ask for anything more? As I look forward to what 2010 is going to have in store for me, I am already getting excited for its prospects. Take, for example, the decision we made in October. As most people who know us know, we’ve made a decision to leave the bay area, which has been our home for quite some time. It was by no means a rash decision, even though I know people think we haven’t completely thought it through. I know that I need a change, and the boy is in the same boat. We’re sad to be leaving all our friends here, but are looking forward to the future we have ahead of us. Soooo, come the end of March/beginning of April, we’ll be packing up, and shipping out to the wonderful state of Colorado! Yippee! Next year’s summary will I’m sure have this move highlighted within it, so if for some reason you only stop by once a year, be prepared for that one!