Do you think you'll still like me by then...?

2 years ago, on Jan 18th, I met Matthew.

Looking back I'm amazed to be sitting where I am right now. On my nice hand-me-down couch next to this man that I couldn't imagine my life without.

It was an interesting journey considering I was waiting for a missionary at the time...and the fact he had 1 month left before he came home and we planned to be married 3 months after that. Yup. I was that girl.

For 23 months I had tried to get out there and feel normal again. Be myself...but for 23 months it felt like part of me was missing. I remember writing in my journal, every day it felt like I was searching for that part of me that was missing, that part of me that at-the-time I thought was my missionary...but then something happened...

My friend Jessica convinced me to go out with her and have some girl time. So we drove around, in the freezing cold January weather, with the windows down blasting music and singing our lungs out. It wasn't long before she got a text from her friend who invited us over to his apartment. I was hesitant only because it was an apartment of guys and I had been use to shunning all men. But it sounded out of the ordinary and exciting so we headed over.

Once we got there I was shocked at how much fun I was having! We all sat around the table looking over pirate tattoos when all the sudden in walked the most sexy man I'd ever seen...returning from a date. But of course I pushed it from my mind and ignored this new cute boy named Matthew, reminding myself, "I have a missionary." I am, after all, a very stubborn girl (...or so Matt reminds me) and when I have my mind set on something...I WAS going to wait and marry my missionary. So I hadn't noticed right away when he came and sat down right next to me but then, we hit it off! It felt like we'd known each other forever and were long lost friends. We laughed. We talked. All inhibitions were gone.

For the first time in 23 months...I got the butterflies, goosebumps, chills...I was twitterpated.

But the end of the night came and he didn't ask for my phone number! And for the first time...I was disappointed.

But don't worry! It ends happy.

The next day I got a text from my "newest stalker." Haha. Apparently he went through a whole lot of of work to get my number and I was thrilled and flattered.

As Valentines Day got closer he started hinting, saying things like, "I've never had a Valentine before..." I played dumb and only responded with, "Oh...hey, we should go get sodas!" Eventually he asked if I would be his Valentine, and even though it made my insides flutter with excitement, all I said was, "I dunno. Do you think you'll still like me by then...?" To which he smiled from ear to ear and replied, "I know I will." Which then sent the fluttering stomach into my heart.

At this point things started getting complicated. And even though I told Matt I had a missionary and didn't want anything serious, and even though he completely agreed saying he wasn't ready for anything serious either, I was smitten.

I'd lay in bed at night replaying that days adventures. Reading over our text conversations and stalking his facebook pictures...to which my eyes would pop and my mouth would drool. For some reason, this random boy from Belmont Apt 343 had me feeling myself, alive and happy again...the very thing I'd been searching for over the last 23 months.

Then it came. The day before my missionary came home. Because of what I assume was stress/excitement/anxiety, I got sick. And as I lay on my Moms massage table at her office Matt sat in the chair next to me holding my hand telling me, for the first time, "I love you. I lied...I want you. I want you all to myself...I want to be yours and only yours."

Well the rest is history.

It wasn't easy...and it does make me sad knowing I made a lot of mistakes and could have done things a whole lot easier and less painful for everyone involved but...let's be honest. Would I be me without all of that? So, Matt and I got married. And we had our dream wedding. And every day I get to think back and remember the boy that brought me back. The boy that saved me from what would have been my biggest mistake. The boy who looked at me the other day, on our 2 year since-I-met-you anniversary and asked if I'd spend eternity with him and all I could say with a giant grin was,

"...do you think you'll still like me by then?"

And to which he replied, with a smile from ear to ear, "I know I will."

Pictures from the night I met my Matthew, by Matthew:

Me and Jessica right after jumping on his bed.

Don't really remember what we were laughing at =)

Wearing Matt's hats.

He snuck this one.

Pooh. Lots and lots of pooh.

This morning as I was getting ready for school I heard the following as Matt went to give Sawyer his breakfast.

Matt: Sawyer! Hey buddy!.....Sawyer, Nooo!!

*paws pattering around, metal clanking*

Matt: There's pooh everywhere!! Sawyer, no...why'd you eat it?!?

*the sound of pattering paws quickens and I can tell he's running around now*

Matt: How'd you get it over there??? Sawyer! Ewww. I'm going to throw up...Sawyer! Why'd you do that??

He then begins to explain to me from the living room what appears to be, only what I can imagine, a disgusting pooh war zone.

See, lately our little soy bean has been showing a special hankering for his pooh. We have tried the Nasty Habit pills from PetSmart, and now a prescription strength powder from the vet...we'll see how that goes.

Yes, our perfect little puppy is getting older and more mischievous already. Which worries me because they say it's not until 8 months that a dog reaches it's adolescent age and really starts to rebel. Good thing we start puppy training classes on Thursday!

Look how different he looks from when we first got him already!!

Awe, precious moments...even if he is a big pooh mess.

Motivation Inspiration

It's Monday morning and I have so many things I SHOULD be doing and here I sit...reading blogs!! I say this like it's a bad thing because for some reason I feel like the only reading I should be doing, is out of my text books. Gah! However, I've decided something.

Blogging has a bad rep because it's so wonderfully distracting. It's simply too fun to read the adventures of your peers and others around you...and it very well could turn into a big monster waste of a time. But! What if spending hours reading others blogs is perfectly fine considering...

1. It motivates you to get off your fat butt and do something.

2. It inspires you to be a better person. The best person you can be. This can be through school, work, your relationship with your husband.

What if it helped you want to improve! And not just want but actually gave you the motivation you lacked before to DO it?? Yes.

So I'm embarking on an adventure. My inspiration-motivation journey. And this is my first tiger to tackle.

I can't cook. It's not that I just DON'T cook...I really CAN'T cook. It's quite pathetic and I'm very ashamed seeing as I came from not only a mother that is the most amazing cook in the world, but my entire heritage is about cooking! I'm part Armenian. That's what we do. Cook and Eat. And then cook more because it wasn't enough and eat more...and then after that we eat while we laugh and play. So you can see my dilemma here...

But now I've been inspired!

After reading the most darling and fun blog, EVER! Maybe you've heard of Lauren? I heart her blog. And this is just one of her many posts that get me stoked to conquer the kitchen and show it who's boss. Wouldn't it be wonderful to surprise Matt sometime with this not only glamorous but DELICIOUS meal?? I can pretty much see the look on his face now. Besides. What says, "I love you" more than a wife that cooks her husband food?

p.s.

I just did my first link. I think I deserve a pat on the back =)

Pro Crastinator.

Officially slacking.

I've been telling myself to do my homework for the last 5 hours and now here it is 2:15PM and the progress I've made?...opening my history book. YES! Haha.

I better get this out of my system now...It's always so much harder to focus come spring semester. It takes some talent to commit to this level of procrastination.

2010 In Review

~HAPPY LATE NEW YEAR!!~

It's a little late but I loved the idea of looking back over the year. It helps me know what I need to do THIS year to have an awesome incredible fun and growth filled year in 2011 =)

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

GOT MARRIED!! Went through the temple, went to Hawaii...lost a member of my family.

And a lot of other things.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolution?

I don't think I made one. Yeah, I'm real cool like that.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I know I had 1 aunt close by that had a baby, and my sister in law had a little girl. There are probably others but mostly, everyone I know is just pregnant right now. Haha.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My little brother...it's something that's changed me forever.

5. What countries did you visit?

Well let's see...India, Australia, Ireland, Italy a few times, Fiji...wait. You mean in real life.

Oh. That'd be none.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

A summer of pure laughter and bliss!

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

Feb 10 because Matt proposed to me. May 26 because I was endowed and went through the temple for the first time. June 19th because Matt and I were sealed and married for time and all eternity and July 7th because that's when Jesse died.

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?

Going through the temple for the first time. I knew I was doing exactly what I needed to when I needed to be doing it. I've waited and prepared to enter the temple my entire life and with the right person =) The temple is such a huge part of our lives.

9. What was your biggest failure?

My biggest failure? Uuuh, that's a stupid question. If I didn't accomplish something it's probably because I really didn't care that much about it in the first place, haha. So none failures.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

It was almost a completely healthy year for me!! Which I was way proud of, until that is, December came. In December I both got super sick and ended up in the ER and then one Sunday going to church, slipped and fell and (I'm convinced) fractured a bone in my knee because a month later and it still KILLS.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Matt's wedding band. I think it's totally awesome and love the fact he wears it and is proud of it =)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

MATT!! He's been so supportive and strong and just amazing during this year and all the trials it's brought. Nobody wants to start their marriage the way we did, losing a loved one =( but it's brought us so much closer than before...which is saying something.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Jose, Corrin, Jen.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Wedding and honeymoon. Matt and I did everything on our own - plus and minus.

15. What did you get really, really, really, excited about?

Feeling at peace with deciding to marry the most wonderful and perfect man for me that could ever have existed =)

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Shoot. There's a few of them.

By The Boab Tree, Ophelia of the Spirits

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Like a G6, Far East Movement. Haha!

17. Compared to this time of year, are you:

A.) Happier or sadder? Happier most days...some days, much sadder.

B.) Thinner or fatter? About the same.

C.) Richer or poorer? A little richer. YAY!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Ride bikes and travel.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Let other people get to me.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

We spent Christmas day at my parents. We slept there Christmas Eve and enjoyed Christmas day with family and very much loved ones.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?

...I finally admitted to myself I was head over heels in love. So yes and no.

22. How many one-night stands?

Ew.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

In 2010 I think we had a few...

Grey's Anatomy!

CSI - Special Victims Unit

Dexter

Seinfeld

Bones

...we loved all of these

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I don't know if I'd say hate...but would I rather have a million paper cuts all soaked in lemon juice than be around them? Yeah, sure. Haha.

25. What was the best book you read?

I read this really good one about a woman who had a near-death experience. I can't remember the name of it but it was really interesting.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

The Messiah. After watching a play of Handle and how he came to write it...I love it so much more.

27. What did you want and get?

I wanted to get a 4.0 and I got a 4.0!

28. What did you want and not get?

This might not make sense but...I wanted a Christmas that felt like Christmas more than anything this year. But instead it felt like a very weird Christmas.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Probably Inception or Knight and Day. Both amazing!!

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Matt pretty much celebrated my birthday all week! On my actual birthday I turned 23 and we went Christmas tree shopping and started decorating the house for Christmas. Which, DUH!! my idea of a perfect birthday.

31. What was one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I think it would have been the most amazing year if Jesse hadn't died...

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

I have no idea! Haha. Comfortable but cute...? Nothing special or fancy. Now I'd have to say my fashion style is a little more sophisticated, also just more adult.

33. What kept you sane?

Matthew!! I would be in a loony bin right now if it weren't for him.

34. What celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Probably Leonardo DiCaprio. I use to LOVE him when I was younger (Titanic...*sighs*) But then he got gross. Now he seems to have gone back to amazing actor!!

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

I don't really know. I don't really follow any of that. I'm much happier being oblivious. This world is going to crap.

36. Who did you miss?

I missed Jesse a ton.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

She probably doesn't know it but Whitney, this girl I met in my health class was such a blessing this last semester! She lost her sister unexpectedly as well and just suffered some really hard trials in her life but she was still the sweetest and most fun girl. She really taught me a lot.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

That no matter how much you plan, no matter how much you want something...sometimes the Lord still knows best. So the best plan you can have is to live your life in accordance with his will. Give up your pride, and put it all in his hands.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"Now I'm flyin so high like a G6..."

Hahaha! Actually I don't know if this sums up my YEAR. But it sure sums up the ending. It's been an interesting one 2010 but so far 2011 has been grand.

Adios!