The Start of Something New

Well, if you haven't already heard,

I'M ENGAGED!!!!

Another day I'll share the whole story of Derek and I dating for those of you who haven't been around for all of it, but here's the proposal that everyone is dying to hear. :)

First a little background.

Derek and I have been "officially dating" for 5 months, although our first date was 8 months ago, back in October 2010.

Yes, we have been talking about getting engaged.

Yes I knew it was getting somewhat close, (like within a month close)

No, I did not have any idea he was going to propose today.

He had been telling me contradicting stories for weeks so I was pretty confused as to how close we might actually be.

A week ago I didn't even know he had a ring.

At one point he told me he would propose in less than 5 days, then 10 minutes later said within 3 weeks.

As of last night I thought it was going to be next weekend at the VERY soonest, there was no way it could happen before then.

Nope, it was today. :)

We had been planning on going fishing this morning all week, nothing too extraordinary, we had been fishing plenty of times before.

So I got up early and got ready to go.

(You shoud know that I am not a huge morning person and ALMOST just slept in and went with my hair in a ponytail and no makeup on)

But there was construction going on outside so I couldn't really sleep any longer any ways.

THANK GOODNESS :)

We took off to Newcastle Reservoir, the first place we ever went fishing together and set off in his little boat.

It was a beautiful morning, perfect weather, the lake was fairly calm and he had our favorite country playlist playing in the boat on his iPod.

My first heads up should have been when we had only been out a little while, I asked to look through his tacklebox and he said no and snpped the clips shut.

No biggie though, as everyone knows, I am in competition for the worlds biggest klutz, and figured he just didn't want me dumping it on accident.

The second clue should have been when he kept asking the time every 5 minutes and when he told me that we probably would have much luck after 11:00 but we were still on the lake at 11:25. :)

The one that I keep smacking myself about is when he told me he was going to put a special bait on my hook and that it was a family secret and I couldn't look. So I turned around and totally spaced out.

Everyone knows I am easily distracted, and the way the wind was blowing, when I turned around it looked like we were moving even though we were securely anchored.

I was thrilled.

It looked so cool.

By the time I remembered Derek had my fishing pole it was already cast out and he was setting the line.

He played with it for a second then stuck it in my pole holder on the side of the boat.

Now here you have to understand that Derek is a patient fisheman. He will cast a line and wait for quite a while before reeling it in and trying again. Well within 2 minutes of casting my line he told me "Well it should have caught something by now, go ahead and reel it in."

That should have been the kicker, but oh no, I was still oblivious, thinking about how my favorite song (unofficially "our song") "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?" by Thompson Square had just come on on his iPod.

I was just singing along in my head,

I reeled in my line, and tied to the end was...... a ring!

My first thought was somthing like "huh?oh.oh.oh.wait.he,oh,and,OHMYGOSH!!!!"

Second was "OH MY GOSH!!!! HE TIED THE RING TO THE LINE!!! WHAT IF IT HAD COME UNTIED!?!?!?!"

I finally turned around to look at him, he was as close to being on his knee as he could in the boat, and his first words:

"Its not the real one, this is."

He's smart and tied a fake ring to the line. Thank goodness.

After that it happened really fast.

He just said "Megan, will you marry me?"

(I found out later there was some other really cute things he wanted to say, that probably would have made me cry, but he was too excited and nervous to do anything but pop the question. :) FYI I think its way cute he couldn't get out his little speech.)

I said, (more whispered really) "Yes, of course"

and we kissed VERY carefully to avoid tipping over the boat. ;)

(We had a real hug later, on solid ground. ) :)

The funny part?

I didn't get to wear my ring in the boat. He took it back because I really am a klutz, as was implied earlier with the tackle box, and the ring really was better off with him.

Don't worry, he gave it back as soon as we were back on shore.

He just loves me enough to be honest that he didn't trust it on my finger, on the lake.

We spent the rest of the day with his family and playing paintball,

(again with my beautiful ring safely in its box, put away in the truck where I couldn't hurt it.)

YAY! It took a while for it to really sink in, It didn't really hit me til hours and hours later that I AM ENGAGED. I AM GETTING MARRIED!!!! :)

But now that its sinking in, oh boy am I excited. :)

FRIDAY!!!

It's been a CRAZY week.

I spent some much needed quality time at the temple in St. George, and got some answers to some questions that had been pressing on my mind.

I my paycheck this period is going to have over 50 hours on it, and usually it only has about 32-36.

I took a big test in Natural Resources and think I did pretty well.

I got sunburnt this weekend in 70 degree weather. :)

THEN had to scrape ice off my car on Wednesday and Thursday. :(

I opened over 300 letters this week, and NONE of them were addressed to me.

I learned that I can go to sleep on wet hair, wake up, spray some spray gel in it and actually look acceptable for the day. (I didn't know my hair was capable of that.)

I helped my friend Andie with her photo project.

(Lets be honest... I just like having people dress me up and take pictures.)

I dealt with some super grouchy people at work and lived to tell the tale.

I got a foot rub from the sweetest boyfriend ever.

I finished the last Friday of classes of my first year of college. :D

I still haven't finished my taxes, thanks to my super wonderful scholarship that actually isn't just magical free money like I wish it was.

I love talking to my mom.

It always helps.

Even if nothing is wrong.

It just makes things better.

So, it was crazy. Yes, but it was good, and now I'm looking forward to a wonderful weekend, and i'll try to take some better pictures so you can stop being bored by my boring blog posts.

Ramblings of the Day

I am so lucky to have a good job. Sometimes it totally stresses me out, like today, but, its way nice to not have to worry about student loans or anything like that yet.

My heart is about to rip right out of my chest. For a lot of reasons.

(No worries, its more good than bad.)

I HATE NOT HAVING A PLAN FOR MY LIFE.

It seriously stresses me out.

A LOT.

a lot a lot a lot.

Got it?

Its my fatal flaw.

I have to have a plan for everything.

And for a lot of things I get by with just the basics.

Like when I go to the grocery store I know I'm gonna start with non- food and end very last with Milk.

Not a super thought out obsessive plan, but something to go by.

When I was younger the plan was:

Grow Up

Graduate High School

Go To College

Hopefully Get Married

Have a Family

See? Not that hard right?

and when I was in High School everything was pretty much the same for 4 years.

Now Everything is weird.

I have a job, but I need another one.

I need to find somewhere to live this summer that won't break my bank account.

I don't know what I'm minoring in.

I don't know what classes I'm going to take in the fall.

I can't predict what the next 6 months are going to look like and it scares me to death!!!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I've always been a fairly spontaneous person. But thats just cause I don't mind changing plans when something cooler comes along.

But if I don't have a plan, how can I change the plan???

UGH.

Basically, I'm stressed.

I want to go home,

but there are too many things, too many important people in Cedar.

I want to have someone to take care of me when I'm stressed like this,

but I don't want to be babied.

I want to have time to think,

but I like being busy so that I don't have to.

My life is a walking contradiction.

I'm not sure I'm ok with that.

Lets be honest...

Here it is, short and sweet, my thoughts for the day.

Its kinda self justifying so if you're not in the mood to hear me talk about myself, stop reading. Now.

So, I was reading my sister's blog, and that led me to another blog, and both of them were talking about how they were constantly comparing themselves to everyone around them.

I can totally relate, no shocker there. I think everyone probably can.

So then I started thinking about how much I really do compare myself to other people, and, yup, you guessed it, it happens WAY TOO MUCH.

If someone asked me if I was confident in my self image I would say yes without skipping a beat.

But, when I think about it, I'm really not quite as sure as I sound.

I spend a lot of time comparing myself to the people around me.

Problem number one: I'm not them.

Problem number two: No one expects me to be someone else.

Problem number three: I judge myself for things I would never judge other people for.

Problem number four: I WAY stress over things like this and NEVER let them out cause I'm scared of what other people will think and am not very comfortable letting people know that I'm not as confidant as I try to seem.

Basically, I recognize the fact that I am not perfect, and I think that recognizing that and being conscious of it will help me to not judge myself too hard.

Yes, I am insecure.

Yes, I get a little jealous sometimes.

Yes, I judge myself harder than others judge me.

Yes, I have things I could be better at,

BUT I'm ok with not being perfect.

I'll settle for just being good at being me.

Need a little self confidence boost?

My new favorite quotes:

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." --Albert Einstein

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." --Mother Teresa

"If you're not part of the freaks,

you're part of the boredom." --Perry Farrell

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."

--Coco Chanel

"A dead thing can go with the stream but only a living thing can go against it." --G.K. Chesterton

So your challenge for the day from me is to:

"Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.

Do a loony-goony dance'
Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world,
That ain't been there before."

--Shel Silverstein

Oh How Time Flies....

Well....

I kinda always knew that this would happen....

I've never been good at keeping a journal for more than a coupe months at a time, so why would blogging be any different?

I thought it would be easier because it was on my computer, and I'm on my computer ALL the time.

I thought it would be more fun cause I didn't have to hand write everything, and I could add pictures showing everything I've been doing.

I thought it would be cool because I could share it with my friends and family so they could keep up on all the fun stuff happening in my life.

Well I thought right, it is easier, it is more fun, and it is cool.

But it still is hard to keep up all the time.

The good news is, I'm back!!!!

The bad news is, I'm not going to go back and try to catch up on everything I missed so here are some quick highlights.

I entered my last year of being a teenager!!! Yay for being 19!! Although, there isn't anything really special about nineteen. Its not like 16, 18, 20, or 21, its just 19.

I stayed up until two or later every night for two weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Just cause I was having fun. ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed my Outdoor Rec class, and made so many awesome friends I can't count them all.

I got asked to increase the hours I work each week because my supervisor was happy with the work I was doing and wanted me to be around more.

I went to Zion National Park 4 times in 4 weeks. 3 times for field trips and once just for fun.

I have the best friends down here at school and back at home.

I love my major. (Outdoor Recreation in Parks and Tourism)

I LOVE GEOLOGY. :D Seriously. If i wasn't majoring in Outdoor Rec I would be majoring in Geology.

I love my computer because it takes cute pictures of me when I should be doing homework.

I joined a bell choir. (Where you each have 2-4 bells and ring them in turn to create music)

I was called as my ward choir director and our first performance went really well. I was so proud. :D

I made a friend in every single class, and have already done the same this semester.

I enjoyed 60 degree weather in the middle of the winter and thoroughly took advantage of it. (Went hiking in Zion and found frozen waterfalls.)

I practically lived in my friends' apartment cause I love hanging out with them so much! (This is Laura. Do you understand why I love being around her?)

I went cosmic bowling with some awesome friends.

I went on a bunch of dates. :) With the same guy. :) Who is SUPER cute. :) Who is now my boyfriend. :) Wanna see? Yeah you do. :)

I signed up for yet another geology class because I love it so much.

I successfully scheduled an appointment at work for a patient who spoke no English. Cracking out my High School Spanish haha.

I babysat some cute kids and we had lightsaber fights and took pictures with their toys. :)

I went to Zumba for the first time ever and enjoyed it, although I think I got more of a workout from laughing at myself than from dancing. :)I....... am getting sick of saying "I" so I'm going to quit talking haha.

Yup thats the end.

Now you know vaguely what I've been up to for the last couple months. :)

I not only BELIEVE, I KNOW.

I love General Conference.

Just gonna throw that out there to start.

I love hearing the voices of prophets speak words that I know are undeniably true.

I love when, although many are meant to hear the messages in each talk, I feel the Spirit testifying to me of the truths of the things the Lord would have me hear and know.

I love President Monson and how, even when he makes a joke,

you can feel the Spirit in what he says.

I love my faith, and the joy and purpose it brings my life.

I not only believe, but I KNOW that every word spoken at general conference is true and approved by the Lord before it is spoken.

This General Conference weekend was even better than most.

I went, on Friday night, down to St. George, to Tuacahn, an outdoor ampitheatre to watch their presentation of Disney's Tarzan, the Broadway show.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

I loved every second of it.

And the best part is, I got to watch the whole thing with my Grandpaand two of my favorite cousins.

The show was great, I got to spend the night in Snow Canyon Campground with my Grandpa and then the next day with my cousins watching general conference, playing around, trying to find a corn maze that ended up being closed :( etc. Then the next day we watched morning conference, drove back to Cedar, watched afternoon conference, then they went all the way home.

It was so nice to be with family and to hear from the prophets and apostles of the church.

All in all, a WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

My New Man

So today was the Relief Society Broadcast, which I absolutely loved. Then afterwards we were served dinner and while we were eating delicious food Kendra texted Sara and told her there was Bingo on campus so we all went (me, Sara, and Kendra.) When we walked in, there, on the prize table, was a SPIDERMAN LUNCHBOX. Right then, I knew, it was love. (Due to the lack of boys in Cedar City I had to find other options, obviously, and I am quite quite happy with what I found.)

I WANTED THAT LUNCHBOX. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD.

You have no idea.

I wanted it so so so bad.

I WANTED IT!!!!

So we played.

I have never been more competitive in my life, and about BINGO no less.

We played and we played and we played.

AND I DIDN'T GET A BINGO!!!! :(

Now you're saying, so did she steal the lunchbox to get a picture of it???

NO.

My most amazing, lovely, wonderful, beautiful, smart, happy, did I say amazing? roommate Kendra, got a bingo, and guess what she asked for for her prize?

The SPIDERMAN LUNCHBOX.

and guess who she gave it to????

ME!!!!!!!!

I was the happiest, happiest, happiest girl in the world. I still can't stop smiling. Yup. That happy. :D

Mammoth Cave

So, down here in Cedar City we are less than 2 hours away from, I think, 12 National and State parks. Also, we have access to hundreds of thousands of public recreation areas. One of those is Mammoth Cave in the Dixie National Forest. So, on Thursday for my Outdoor Recreation class we went up to Mammoth Cave for an intro to the National Forest Service. It was seriously the coolest thing I have ever done, and that is thanks majorly in part to to of my new friends Nia and Cody.

Left to right, me, Nia, Ericka (the other girl who came with us in the small cave) and Cody.
Nia and I started talking our 2nd Outdoor Rec class and we're good friends already. Cody, on the other hand I wouldn't have called a friend before we went through the cave and now, he's friend status for sure. Thats how epic our cave experience was. So first we all went through as a class, (about 40 people) and it was super fun. It was dark, and the ground was rocky and slippery and I almost fell like 500 times but it was great.

(This is Nia in the first cave.)

One of the most amazing things about caves is that they are one of the two places where you can experience complete darkness. (The other is the bottom of the ocean.) When we got far enough into the cave we stopped turned off all our lights and just sat there, no talking allowed, for like five minutes. It was one of the most eye opening five minutes of my life. I was able to just let go everything that had been happening and relax and enjoy the pressing darkness. Because there was nothing to see and nothing to hear I was able to just stop thinking. It was beautiful.

At the end of the big cave we had to crawl over and under and through rocks for like 3-5 minutes to get to the exit. That was the best part.

After we got out of the main cave that we went through as a class we had some time to explore by ourselves. Cody jumped right down into a hole and took off. Turns out he lives in this area and has been up to the caves before. He showed us a smaller tunnel that went all the way along the top of the tunnel we had just gone through and exited just like 20 feet farther away. We crawled about 70% on our hands and knees, 25% on our stomachs and 5% we could crouch and walk bent over.

At a couple points we had to crawl through tiny holes (see above) and i honestly was almost afraid of getting stuck at one point but it was awesome. We were all joking and talking and supporting each other, seriously, it was amazing

The exit of the small cave.

All in all, BEST CLASS EVER.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshakes

Note. Do NOT ever eat half of a large chocolate peanut butter milkshake when you already feel sick. it will make you even more sick. Then you will just want to die.

I learned from experience.

BUT

If you by chance do find yourself in that situation, make sure you have great roommates that bring you salt water to wash out your mouth after you get sick.

It makes you feel so much better.