Engagement News!

As Amy reminded me, this sort of thing is what our tripod blog is for, right? :-) So with that in mind, let me get all girly and share the details from when Sebastian proposed!

We were supposed to go out and do grocery shopping together as we always do. So we headed out of the house (I'd stayed over the night before to see his mom since she was visiting with a family friend), but when we got to the Tube station, Sebastian decided we should shop somewhere else since it was a gorgeous morning out and if we went to Kensington, not Wimbledon, we could walk through Holland Park beforehand.

I was absolutely unsuspecting and went along with it. We got into the park and into this adorable little Japanese garden with a pool and a waterfall and peacocks and everything and sat on a bench. I thought for 2 seconds that it would be a good place to get engaged, but then I thought, "nah, I'll just be patient: he'll ask when he's ready." Not 30 seconds later, he turns to me and says, "so I know this was a long time in coming..." (my eyes got huge and my hands flew up to my face!), "and I'm sure you saw it from a mile off..." By that point, my brain was functioning enough to realise that he was proposing, and I yanked my gloves off *so* quickly! At that point, he was getting off the bench and onto one knee! So he pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it up and asked, "Will you marry me?" I think I said "yes!" about five times in a row. Needless to say, I cried (luckily, the light is so bad in all the pictures that you can't tell!) and we had to sit there for another 20 minutes just giggling and taking pictures.

We're hoping, tentatively, to get married in June. I know: prime wedding season. But that seems easiest with my Master's programme because my classes end the first week of June, and then it's nothing but dissertation writing until the end of September.

All the pictures we have so far are up on facebook in that latest album I made. We'll be going out with his parents this Saturday, actually, to have lunch for an anniversary/engagement celebration and talk wedding details. Maybe, if Sebastian and I aren't too indecisive (let's all hope!) we might have a date by the time the day with the in-laws is done.

I wish I had more details than that, but as much as we've known we wanted to get married for a while, we haven't done any serious planning. That said, I definitely have a five-page list of things we have to think about in order to plan everything the right way. :-) I already have a dress in mind - I can't find a picture of it online, so when it comes in January, I may have to discretely send a few snapshots along to get everyone's opinion. I'm trying to decide between a veil and a coloured sash. The sash is the Oasis one from David's Bridal: that much I do know. I picked out colours: black, white, and teal. Think the colour of my purse.

I love you ladies! I want to hear about how everyone's doing!

Just a few more weeks...

Hey ladies! It sounds like everyone's doing pretty well, if a little crazy at the moment. Amy, I hope the job thing works out the way you want it to, and Boo, I hope getting settled in Charleston isn't too hectic.

Well, since I owe updates beyond just my facebook pictures, earlier this week, Sebastian left for Washington to go visit his roommate. The past few weeks were great! We watched movies, and hung out at the pool, and went hiking a few times; went to Salt Lake City (on the only afternoon that it decided to have a severe thunderstorm! What the heck, we live in the desert!), and took a weekend trip to visit my mom's family in WV for the 4th. The whole family loved him, which I was really happy about, and he had a great time getting to meet my family. He's really excited now to have me meet his family at the end of August when I come over to go to France with them. It'll be for a week at the end of the month and we'll be in Normandy with another family that they know.

Oh, another random thing we did was to go out one night to see Public Enemies - that new Johnny Depp and Christian Bale movie about John Dillinger. I highly recommend that to anyone who wants a good movie to go out and see that isn't quite so commercially Hollywood. It has a rougher style of cinematography that I think really helps tell the story, rather than getting distracting (like Star Trek did at times). Anyway, go see it.

Really, I haven't been up to much besides the visit. We had a great time one night doing a double date with my brother Scott and his girlfriend Candace: went out for Indian food and then got another couple to join us for 3-way couples' laser tag. I was a bit sceptical about laser tag at first, but it was a lot of fun! Not to mention that it had been prefaced by some really good food. That's one thing I have to say for Provo: the Chinese food places are all crap, but there's fantastic Indian food.

The 4th of July over in West Virginia was great too. My mom's big crazy family was mostly there and they were well excited to see Gunnar (my step-dad) and Sebastian for the first time. My cousins - my mom's aunt had 5 boys who are all grown-up juvenile delinquents :-) - were responsible for the fireworks, which had an added element of surprise. Every now and then, one of the huge fireworks wouldn't make it all the way up into the air before exploding. So it'd get about 13 feet, then start coming back down and explode maybe 6 to 4 feet off the ground. Of course, when it lit up, it would illuminate all of my cousins ducking and running for cover behind their cars! Reunions with my family are quite an experience. But I'm glad that through both weekend trips (that and then one to St. George in southern Utah for some intense hiking) and all the rest of the sightseeing and vegging out that we did that Sebastian loved his trip over here. It's crazy to think that we hadn't been able to do any of that stuff for over a year until he got here.

Now, though, it's just a bunch of student loan and visa paperwork for when I go back over. I don't have a place to live yet, but the two of us still know a bunch of people back in London, and since I'll be over a month before everyone's classes at uni start, it'll be pretty easy to just get a place once I'm over there. Not to mention that Sebastian's offered to let me stay at his place indefinitely until I get some flatmates of my own. :-) So right now, our fingers are just crossed that the placement he gets with this engineering and defense company he applied with, is one that lets him stay in the city. Otherwise, my first order of business once I'm in the UK again is to look for an internship that could turn into a job once I've finished my dissertation this time next year.

I miss you girls! I hope that you all have a spectacular time getting together in less than a month now. Pictures, please, since I can't be there. Love y'all!

4th of July Means Less Than a Month!

Hello loves!

Less than a month til we all see each other! And I'm getting really excited. Amy I can't wait to hear about Kenya, Lindsey I can't wait to hear about Europe, and everyone else I can't wait to hear about all that's been going on with yall! Arienne, I haven't heard from you in awhile especially... how are you doing, Boo? And roommate Boo, how is Sebastian's visit going? I'm sure it's stellar and wonderful and amazing and I kind of wish I'd gone to Vegas so I could have met him.
Vegas? Why would I go to Vegas? And why in hell am I not there right now? Well, Andrew Davis is there watching Tuttle play in a high-stakes World Series of Poker tournament, and he asked me to go with him. I was this close to going (really really close) because I've never been to Vegas and Bryony lives close enough to drive down with Sebastian for the day so we would have been able to meet, but I decided about 3 weeks ago that I didn't have the funds (plane tickets alone were $350!) so I did not go. Instead... I went to see Mike. And I'm not sure why, because we haven't really been on great terms lately; we were okay for a little while and then he went back to angry for a little while. This weekend was interesting, though. It went well and we had fun, but it was hard for both of us. Things are complicated there, and I can't really explain it via internet. I was there from Friday through Sunday, and while it was strange I'm really glad I went. He said he was glad I was there too, and I think maybe we'll be able to be friends with time.
In other news, I have a place to live and a roommate and an internship in Charleston! Went with Andrew Davis two weeks ago to look at housing, and I almost signed the lease on a great duplex but the owner called me an hour after I left from looking at it and said that she had given the place to another girl who came to look earlier. That was frustrating, but I ended up dragging Andrew around Charleston the next day to 3 other places and found a good one in the same neighborhood as the first one, so luckily I officially have a place to live in a nice, safe neighborhood about 10 minutes from the beach and 20 minutes from downtown/CofC. I also had applied to an internship doing research for a historical group looking at old documents about Civil War soldiers, basically what I think I want to do forever, and I met with the guy I'll be working with at a rooftop bar. We talked for about an hour, and got along really well! I'm super excited to start working with them, and all I need is to find a part-time paying job and I'll be set. It's going to be a busy fall semester with 3 classes, an internship, a job, and Domino, but staying busy is the best way to meet people!
Also I miss you all, and I really cannot wait to see you. Jess, I know you'll be moving in that weekend but I think I'm going to be staying with high school friends for a little while after everyone else leaves and I'd really like to at least eat a meal with you if possible. And to all of yall who know my former roomie Allison, she says hello! I've been talking to her a lot this summer because she is kind of my support system, and she wanted me to say hey hey hey to everyone.
Miss you all! Less thana month!
Love,
K

because I hope that 2 blogs in 2 days will inspire others to write

So, as you all know, I am back safe and sound from Kenya. It was absolutely amazing! There is way to much to tell you than I can possibly write in this blog, so I'll just wait till I see you later this month (I LOVE being able to say that!)
Instead, I'll update you with the drama of my life. Basically, on paper, it seems like it's all coming together, but I feel like it's falling apart. This growing up thing is happening WAY too fast for me
Example: I was planning on moving out in January, but will now be moving out July 15th! When Sarah's friend decided she wanted to live with us, we had to find a house immediately because she is not from the area and so didn't have the option of living at home for a while. The house is great, it's got 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom (which should be interesting with 3 girls) and a nice living, kitchen, dinning, and sunroom. It's right next to a church which ownes it, so they'll take care of the grass, which is nice. And they are putting a fresh coat of paint on. It's in a little neighborhood but like a 2 minute walk from all these popular bars/restaurants and only about 5 minutes away from the metro station. Really, it is perfect. But just the thought of moving out FOREVER really scares me.
Example 2: I started my job at the CW yesterday (Tuesday). But on Monday, I went to see someone my internship supervisor knows at ABC. She knew I was starting here the next day, so i figured it was just going to be a meet and greet. BUT, she ended up having me meet with the new business manager and they told me that they are 99.9% sure that a job will open up in the next few weeks and then proceeded to ask me how I would feel about leaving CW "very quickly". AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! Once again, sounds great, but it puts me in a really tough position. ABC is the #1 or #2 station in the market, while CW is the #5 in a 6 station market. And their are a lot more resources at ABC plus I'm already familiar with their programming from last summer. AND at ABC I get a salary plus 17% commission, while at CW, I only get a salary for the first 9 months and then I will be solely on commission, which is only slightly better at 17%. But, obviously, I've already started here and thus far it's going pretty well. I would just feel horrible if I quit after a few weeks, after they put so much energy into getting me settled. Once again: AWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!
Now that i've vented, i'll close on a sappy note:
While I was getting ready for my first day of work, the Kenny Chesney song (yes, no surprise there, I was listening to country music) "Beer in the Closest" came on and one of the lyrics goes something like we thought our college glory days would never end. I literally started to tear. THEN when I got home, my mom had developed my graduation pictures, which AGAIN made me sad. I told her that graduation was the worst day of my life.
Ok, I'll stop now. But, any input on my situation would be greatly appreciated.
I can't wait to see you all at the end of the month, that's literally the only thing that's keeping me going.
I LOVE YOU ALL TO THE MOON AND BACK!
Your grown-up friend:(

Because I've been so neglectful...

...and I don't want Krystle to harass me about not writing anything.

So...I guess so far this summer a lot has happened, just kinda a little bit of a lot. As most of you know I spend a week in Memphis, TN over my birthday for a horse show. It was fun. It was the first time I kinda got to act like my college self in my home environment. Very strange but it was alright. There was a boy. Nothing came of it (as some of you may know from my moping; BUT apparently May is trying to play fairy-godmother so we'll see...). The week was pretty relaxed just spent a lot of time by the pool and hanging out with my little Mason man (which if you haven't heard FINALLY said my name and now uses it on a regular basis :) ).

The only other thing I've done was last week when Nadine and I went to Myrtle with my family. Hopefully then didn't scare her too bad; I'm sure our friendship will hold strong! No, seriously it was a lot of fun. It was funny though because when my stepmom was having some wine Nadine and I asked for a glass as well and my Dad poured us just a little bit less than what he had poured her. We laughed at him. He claims he did it because he didn't know if we would like it, but I think he just still thinks I'm 5 years old. It's gonna take him a little while. Nadine and I went to Broadway on the Beach one night (which was actually a little weird without the rest of y'all there) and we went out to a couple of the clubs there. Nothing too crazy, though Nadine was in a happy place. I guess the best story of the night was while we were dancing these 3 boys came up and two of them were dancing around her acting like little gangsta white boys (they thought they were the shit) and Nadine just looks at them and then flicks the guy's hat across the dance floor. It was hilarious! By far my favorite memory of that night. But yes, I believe Nadine had a very good time...as many of you probably could tell from the lovely little drunk texts she sent on the car drive back :) (love you boo!).

Other than that I've just been working camp at our barn. The children are precious, but the heat this summer has got to be the worst its been in years.

I leave for Europe on Friday!!!!! I can't wait! I get to go to Rome, Florence, Naples, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul and Ephesis. I'm very excited and I'm sure I will come back with TONS of pictures and plenty of good stories to share. I miss you all terribly. I will try to give each of you a call before I leave, but if not know that I love you and I will talk with you as soon as I get back. Keep having fun! Can't wait to see you all at the end of the month!

Lots of love,
Linds

Because updates are necessary...

Well, Krystle - I might just have to be a girl and ask how great Andrew Davis is. I'm glad he makes you happy, though. Amy - Kenya sounds fantastic! I want to see pictures and hear all about it.

There hasn't been much new going on out here in Utah. Still jobless for the summer, but considering that I'm in a town with two colleges that get out ahead of us, that's not much of a surprise at all. For the moment, though, it does leave me with some good time to spend catching up on reading, and getting together student loan forms and visa forms for grad school in the fall. Not to mention planning for Sebastian's visit.

So, Boo, to answer your question, he hasn't come to visit yet, but two weeks from today I will be jumping up and down at the airport like a bad outtake from Love Actually. :-) There will be lovely pictures for you all and (should you ask for them) stories of stomach-turning sweetness. Let's face it - it's been over a year, so we're both a bit impatient for the next two weeks to go by.

You know, I miss you all, but I have no idea what a central location would be considered any more! And I definitely can't fly out anywhere - and I wouldn't ask everyone to hop a plane out here. But if everyone else does get together, I want to see pictures...or get a phone call at the house out here.

Oh, and Arienne, I'm sure we'd find a way to see each other, even once I've moved to England! It's not like I'm never going to come back (Krystle, I'm calling you out on that one!)...I have my family and all you gals to visit. Not to mention, with me over there, you guys have someone to crash with if you ever make the trip! :-)

Love you, ladies! I want to hear how everyone's doing!

I've been texting Nadine today

and realized that a lot of stuff has been going on and I wanted to share with yall. Also Lindsey, Sarah, and Hill, I'm going to start getting on you guys if you don't post anything. RAWR. Expect facebook messages/wallposts, and if that doesn't work I'll send you angry texts. I want to know what is going on in your lives because I'm nosy and I love you.

So basically Mike and I officially split up about three days after graduation, which was what we had planned on doing all along, but it didn't end as well as we'd hoped for several reasons, the main one being that I have been growing kind of distant from him since probably thanksgiving and it was tough but I had mostly gotten used to the idea of being not attached to him and he hadn't started the process of separation yet. That was a super long sentence, but I'll spare you a lot of the drama and fighting and things and just say that Mike and I decided not to talk to each other for about a month and see how we are at that point. I still miss him and am really used to depending on him for basically everything, but I guess it's easier now because he's kind of beign a jerk. Andrew Davis decided to come visit me a few days later and things went well so I actually went to Birmingham to see him this week. Everything went well! I spent almost a week there, met his family and his best friend and his dachshunds and we all got along quite well.

Here's the part where I could be a girl and talk about how great he is and how much I enjoy spending time with him and frankly how much better he treats me than Mike ever did, even in the beginning, but y'all get the idea so I figure I don't need to elaborate unless you REALLY want to know.

Anyway, we need to plan a meeting for the summer at a somewhat central location because I really want to see all of you! Everyone check your calendars; I'm moving to Charleston in August but I have most of July free. When are y'all free?

Also Jess I want an update on Italy pronto! And Lindsey, your birthday in Memphis! And Boo, has Sebastian come yet? We need details! Please! Basically I miss you all and I love you all and I wish you were in my life more.