If My Life Flashed Before My Eyes...

The other day, my sister blogged about what she hoped/thought she would see if her life flashed before her eyes, then instructed me to do the same after I commented on it. I'm going to try to do the same now. And, to read her awesome blog post, go to www.longdistancelobsters.com.

- Waiting all day at the hospital for Eiley to be born and then finally getting to hold her.

- My wedding day. I just started to list way too many things from it, so I think I'll put those in another blog.
- That perfect summer day when we went to the beach, rode bikes, got frozen yogurt, and barbecued.
- That random summer night when we tried to pass out sandwiches to homeless people in the Back Bay and got pulled over briefly by a cop because he thought the sandwiches were drug paraphernalia.
- That perfect winter day in Kentucky where we had a snowball fight, drank hot chocolate, watched Faerie Tale theater, and played Scrabble.
- That perfect winter day in Virginia when school was canceled, so Andrew came over for watching HIMYM, kissing, going to the mall, and dinner at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
- Andrew and I sitting on the couch at my old apartment and him telling me that he'd had dreams where we were getting married and I was holding our daughter.
- Late night talks with Robyn Boyd (not any specific ones, but there have been so many that I'm sure I'd have a picture of it in my mind).
- Emmy punching me in the stomach when she was 5 and I was 8 because she was mad at Tiffany (this isn't a happy memory, but it's always been so vivid that I'm sure it would come up at the end of my life).
- Experiencing a huge summer storm while camping in Lake Havasu and watching people try to take pictures of the lightning... then watching them realize how it's next to impossible to take pictures of lightning (this was before digital cameras existed).
- Watching one of the counselors and 2 of the little girl campers at Royal Family Kids' Camp dance to "In Your Presence" by Charity Von.
- I'm sure that I would picture at least one of my fancy birthday dinners with my dad. I think this year will be our 21st year of doing that, so there would be tons of memories to choose from.
- Watching the sunset in Mexico while doing devotions with Andrew.
- Going with Eiley and Emmy to take pictures during Eiley's mini-monthly photo shoots.
- One of those days when Andrew and I go to Busch Gardens and Zaxby's. Those are always wonderful!
- Seeing my dad walk my sister up the aisle and watching Jeff openly weep upon her entrance.
- Vahdan giving me a toast and singing to me on my 28th birthday.
- Going to Haiti with my mom and getting to hold babies at an orphanage there.
- Watching Disneyland fireworks.
- Taking long walks in Newport Beach with various friends.
- Having a HIMYM party on Monday nights at the Canal House and crowding my green couch with a bunch of my favorite people.
- Having a Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad party every Monday with Andrew.
- I'm certain that I would see something random that Emmy had instigated (Scrabble at Downtown Disney, Tabitha's birthday scavenger hunt, various theme parties, etc.).
- The April Fool's Day when my mom almost convinced me that there was an ejector seat in the car or the one where our parents surprised us with a night at the Disneyland Hotel.

That seems to be a lot and I'm sure I wouldn't see all of those things, but it would be great if I did.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Andrew Garrett!

It's our 1st anniversary today and I can't believe how quickly it's all gone by so far! I'm happy to be your wife and am so thankful that I ended up with you as a husband. You were totally worth the wait! As you know, I've made a few top 10 lists about my loved ones, so consider yourself fortunate to get one today. In no particular order, here are the things that I love about you:

1) You love Jesus more than anything.
2) You love me at a close second and have done an excellent job of loving me in the same way that Christ loved the church.
3) You are an amazing cook! Jess told me when I saw her this past week that she would know we had a good marriage if I was eating vegetables now. She was right and you doctor them up better than anyone I know, which makes me love eating them.
4) You are great at pulling information out of me, even though I bottle it up too much. I love that you're patient and willing to get to the bottom of things when we're having a conflict.
5) You're fun to hang out with. Whether it's going to Busch Gardens and Zaxby's, going out for a nice dinner, or spending time at home, I just love spending time with you.
6) Sometimes, when we get to the end of the week and relax, I think that it's like we're having a slumber party. Then I realize that it's kind of like I'll be having one for the rest of my life with my best friend. It's the best feeling.
7) You've been working hard at staying in shape and have been consistent with going to the gym. I appreciate that a lot of it is because you want to be healthy for me.
8) You're a wonderful teacher and have taught many of your students to love history. Plus, 10 out of 16 with a 3, 4, or 5 in AP is a huge deal! I know those kids look up to you and that you're a great role model for them.
9) You love your family and mine. This was always something that was important to me when I was looking for a husband and you exceeded my expectations. I also know that when the time comes, you'll be an amazing dad.
10) You're gifted musically. You sing, play the guitar, and write songs so well! I'm still hoping you or someone else will record "Thanks for the Memories" in order to make us a ton of extra money at graduation time each year.

I love you so much and love being married to you!

Book Recommendation- "The Reading Promise," by Alice Ozma

Last year, I was listening to the radio and heard the sweetest father/daughter story of my life. The man who wrote in said that he wanted something to connect him to his daughter as she got older. She was about 9 years old at the time and he decided they would see how many days in a row they could read with each other. The only rules were that it had to be for at least 10 minutes each night and the reading had to occur before midnight. It ended up that they were able to keep this reading streak going until Alice's first day of college. I thought it was so amazing that they were able to do this together and was very excited last week to find out that Alice had written a book about their experience.

I ended up reading it on my way to and from Colorado and was completely fascinated by it. When I first heard their story, one thought that ruined the sweetness of it was that I couldn't believe she hadn't spent any nights away from home. It turns out that she was a very well-adjusted girl, a good student who was also involved in theater. She had solid friendships and even a boyfriend or two. She talked about how they would read earlier in the day if one of them was going to be out late. There was one night when she had a very late play rehearsal and her dad ended up coming to it before midnight in order to read to her in the parking lot.

I loved reading about their father/daughter relationship and it seemed that she gave an honest portrayal of her life with her dad. She talked about how he would edit out certain parts of stories in order to keep her innocent and that his idea of physical affection was scratching his finger on top of her head. She could also tell him anything and respected him so much for the quality time that he invested with her. She ended up going on to Rutgers and getting her degree in English Literature, so it's obvious that all of the time her dad spent reading to her paid off.

Here's a link to their story on CBS News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkqItDSfHTM&feature=related

Happy Birthday, Emmy Fazakerley!

My sister, Emily, turned 29 today (no, really... she's 29 today. And next year she'll be 30.) I wanted to write a top 10 list of the things I love about her, but she hates even numbers. Therefore, she gets a top 11 list.

In no particular order...
1) Creative- The most recent endeavor was when she asked me to paint onesies for the baby shower of one of our friends, so we painted 4 of them. Other activities include robot drawings, making up songs to play on the ukulele, keeping a daily blog with one of her best friends from college (Hi Zoe!), decoupaging, and creating theme parties.
2) Hilarious- One of my personal favorites from childhood was when she wrote a ransom note to the "Tooth Fairy" because her tooth had been under her pillow for a year or something. She said they wouldn't get it back if they didn't pay her within the week. She also used to write me random notes that she'd slide under my bedroom door, usually about boys. I think she wrote one to me entirely in Spanish because of the crush I had on a guy in my Spanish class.
3) Loves Jesus- She listens closely to what the Holy Spirit is telling her and has made a lot of very wise decisions because of her relationship with Jesus.
4) Excellent wife- This is evident by how much she respects Jeff and how he's so very smitten with her. They're both so proud of each other, they work hard to be giving with the other one, and they treat each other exceptionally well.
5) Wonderful mother- You can tell how much she adores Eiley and it's very obvious how much Eiley adores her, too, because she'll take her momma over anyone else in the room. It's been so fun to watch her with Eiley and to hear about what they're doing together (walking at the Botanical Gardens, going on the swings, reading new books, basketball games, etc.). Eiley's a very well-behaved and portable baby because her parents aren't afraid to take her to new places.
6) Champion lefse-maker- Even though I practically shared a birthday with my great-grandma, Mudder, Emmy became the golden child when it came to lefse-making because of her mad rolling pin skillz.
7) Hospitable- She loves having people over to their apartment for dinner and games or bad movies. She also puts on some great theme parties (for example, her birthday party last night was, "Choose Your Own Theme.").
8) Fantastic writer- All you have to do is go to www.longdistancelobsters.com and find that one out (although, I'm pretty sure that everyone who reads this is already reading that one.)
9) Great friend- This is obvious from the long-lasting friendships that she has. When she considers someone to be a close friend, then she will probably keep in touch with them for the rest of her life.
10) Smart cookie- She was reading at the 5th grade level when she entered Kindergarten. She went to Westmont, which is like the Harvard or Yale of Christian colleges. She has also excelled at all of the jobs that she's had.
11) Loves her family- I'm talking about the people she grew up with... Tim, Robyn, and Jenna Boyd. Plus, the Boyd and Bradshaw families. She loves spending time with us and does a great job of making that time count. Whether it's dinner and movie mocking with me; dinner, laundry, and "24" with the Boyd side; or getting a sub for my dad at school in order to go to Disneyland for the day- it's all because she loves us.

In conclusion- you're an awesome sister, Emmy! I'm thankful for you, proud of you, and I love you!

2011

Here are some of the things that happened during each month of 2011 since I attempt to do this at the beginning of each year...

January: I got a phone call to come in for a 2nd interview for a teaching position with SECEP. This was really weird because my first interview had been in April 2010 and I had gotten a rejection letter about 4 months after the first one. I ended up getting the job and being in someone else's classroom for the rest of the school year, which was great!
February: Started working for SECEP and got to know the kids and teachers in our classroom. I also got engaged to Andrew Garrett! He did a very romantic proposal that included a puzzle where he wrote the things he loved about me, a scavenger hunt, a spa day, and filet mignon with bacon-wrapped asparagus.
March: I remember getting gussied up for 5 Guys and a movie in honor of Emmy's birthday. Sorry, March- You seem to have been a boring month.
April: Spring Break came around and I didn't do much of anything.
May: I was Andrew's date to Chrysalis (that's basically Christian prom) and it was fun to get dressed up for it. We got passes to Busch Gardens and Water Country, so we started using those.
June: School got out for the summer and I got to spend a lot of time with my fiance.
July: Drove to Alabama for Philip and Cara's wedding. My parents moved into my apartment for the month. My awesome/adorable/advanced niece, Eiley Grace Fazakerley, was born on July 12th. I got married to the love of my life on July 30th and got to spend lots of time with many of the people I love the most in the world.
August: Went on our honeymoon... to Williamsburg, VA. We were supposed to leave for Cancun 2 days after we got married, but we found out that Andrew had lost his passport about 2 hours before we were supposed to leave. Thankfully, he has a wonderful dad who did some quick research when he found out what had happened. He was able to book a lovely condo for us at a resort place in Williamsburg. I'm pretty sure I loved it more than I would have loved Cancun, so it worked out for the best. I spent the last half of August getting prepared for the school year at Little Creek Elementary.
September: Realized that my job was in working with kids who have emotional/behavioral disturbance and not autism. Cried a lot about my job because I was getting beaten up by small children every day.
October: Continued to be miserable in my job because I was getting beaten up every day.
November: Turned 32 and my amazing husband did a great job of spoiling me with breakfast in bed, my first pair of Toms, and 2 beautifully framed pictures from our wedding.
December: Went to CA to visit my wonderful parents and the rest of my family for Christmas. Went to my first Future of Forestry concert. Ate a lot of In-N-Out and a couple of fancy meals. Went to the beach and the mountains (I got to visit Allen and Jess up there!)

The Proposal!

Once upon a time, I met and fell in love with a wonderful man named Andrew Garrett. He proposed to me today and now I get to marry him on July 30, 2011. Two of the many things that I love about him are that he's romantic and creative. This included how he proposed to me and now I get to write about it.

About 1 month ago, he brought me a jar with hand-written puzzle pieces in it. He said he wasn't proposing in the puzzle, but that it had to do with us getting engaged. He did say that it included the reasons why he loves me and said that I was only allowed to put a few pieces of it together at a time. This was all very cryptic, but I followed his directions.

Cut to yesterday when he handed me a gift and a letter. He told me to open the letter this morning and said that I would need to wait until I saw him today to open any gifts that I had received. The first note included a clue to go to L'Etoile Day Spa. I got to have a manicure, pedicure, and facial while I was there and it was glorious! While I was at the spa, one of the employees handed me another gift and clue. This one told me to call Emmy, which I did, and she told me to come over to their apartment. Once I was there, I received a gift and another clue that told me to go to Andrew's for lunch.

He had cooked bacon-wrapped filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, and bacon-wrapped asparagus, which were amazingly delicious (I'm also a very lucky girl because he's an excellent cook)! Once we had finished eating lunch, he told me that I could finish the puzzle and open the gifts that I had received today. I put the puzzle together and there were a few pieces missing. We were able to find a couple of them, but there were three missing in the middle. He had me open up the gifts that I had acquired throughout the day and in each box was a missing puzzle piece. I put them all together and it said, "I love you! Will you marry me?" Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, which I said yes to!

I'm so thankful for this amazing man! He loves Jesus, he has strength of character, people respect him, and he treats me like a queen. I'm blessed beyond words and am so excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

Miniature Rant

I've been going to the Virginia Beach Recreation Center for about 4 months now and it's been a unique gym-going experience. I originally joined because I needed to for Bollywood classes. I was okay with that, though, because I only had to pay $44 for 6 months and they have pretty nice equipment there. The only downfall of the Rec Center is that you have to sign up for the machines you want to use in advance and there's a 30 minute time limit for each one that you use. This caused a bit of embarrassment the first time I went in September because I didn't know about this rule and got on a treadmill that someone else had signed up for... that lady was fine with telling me (in the tone one would use while talking to a 4 year old) about signing up at the front desk.

Cut to this Monday when I signed up to get a treadmill at 2pm. I got into the gym around 1:45pm and decided to use the StairMaster while I waited for the guy on Treadmill #6 to finish his workout. He finished around 2:04pm and I went over as soon as he was off of it. I got on there and was feeling really good after my StairMaster warm-up, so I decided to go at a pace of 8.5 minutes per mile. After I was almost to mile 2, I was feeling REALLY good, so I decided to up my pace and try for 3 miles in 25 minutes. I was very proud of myself when I really did meet my goal!

About 1 minute after I had stopped running, the lady who was signed up for the next time slot came over to ask how much longer I would be. I told her it would probably be another minute. Then the lady on the treadmill next to mine told me to make sure that I get on to the machines when my time slot starts because people get upset when they have to wait.

Here are some of the things that irritated me about all of this:

1) The guy before me was running late, so I started as soon as I could after he was finished.

2) I was sweating A LOT and breathing heavily when the other lady came to ask whether I was done. Couldn't she have waited a little bit longer until I had actually cooled down?

3) The lady who was going on after me had a book in her hand. I'm assuming she was going to read it on the treadmill because she put it on the little shelf thing when she took her turn. I'm pretty sure she wasn't going to do any heavy exercise and could have just walked around the gym a couple of times while waiting for the person who was actually working out.

4) I'm pretty sure the book she was going to read was the Bible (it was small, thick, and leather-bound). Maybe she could have read about the fruits of the spirit while waiting... I think there's something about patience in there.
5) I was wearing my awesome-orange-tie-dyed-Scott-Appalachian-Ministries t-shirt and decided to keep all of these thoughts in my head because I didn't want to be a bad witness for Christ. Instead, I wrote them all on here, which is probably not what Jesus would do.