the price is right...

don't be confused with the game show...

since i've been ENGAGED for five and a half months already i guess i could explain the story of how j proposed for those that care (which may not be anybody.. but i'm okay with talking to myself)!



this is what i wrote in my little lisa frank journal when i was 12 which coincidentally happens to be my age when i met j and his family (by the way... he was 18 then... gross huh?!) anyways... when i was going through old papers i came across this awesome journal. i got to this page, took a picture, and sent it to j. at the time (around june-ish) it was a hint that it was time for me to get a little extra lovin' (which was asking a lot because he was in the middle of the academy).
SO... october rolled around (about two weeks after the academy ended)and still no "dream date". i really hadn't thought much about my cliche desires and was just enjoying my extra sleep in the mornings!

on sunday october 3rd j said he had something planned to thank me for my support through the academy. he was all uptight about timing which for me is a struggle... but luckily i was ready when he came to pick me up! we headed towards the beach and once i realized where we were going he apologized for it not being a "summer evening" (as stated in my cliche dream date). we got to the beach and he was rushed to get to the sand(for the sunset). he made one of my favorite meals...(chicken alfredo, green beans, and rolls with a diet coke to drink) and packaged it all up in a cardboard box (a personal touch of his that made me laugh but i truly LOVED)! we began eating... my hair was blowing everywhere... i was crying windy tears... but was having so much fun. after i devoured the entire bowl of alfredo... he was trying to keep me warm but was being really awkward about it (because the ring was in his pocket..duh). as the sunset reached my favorite part where the colors across the sky are always amazing he pulled out a folded lined piece of paper. this wasn't unusual because j uses lined paper... for every occassion... so i just thought it was a "thank you"! i opened it up and started to read it while he sat there. i would post the letter but if he ever found out he'd kill me for embarrassing him. it was of course the sweetest letter i've ever read and it obviously made me cry... real tears...not just windy ones! the last sentence was "so..." and as i got to that part...yes... he got "up" on one knee and asked the question. i don't really remember what came after that... i think i said "it's about time" but then asked if he was for real and then said yes...of course!! then... i thanked him... i'm not gonna lie... immediately following the big moment i really didn't know what to say... so i thought thank you was appropriate... for the ring of course!




both his and my family were in on the whole thing so we left the beach to go celebrate with them.

so...my cheesy dream date desires turned into my engagement story and i love it! i love him! and i love that i'm marrying him in less than three months!!!

moral of the story: write everything down in a lisa frank journal... you never know when it will come in handy!! :)

love.hate

i must admit... blogger and i have a love/hate relationship. there are times that i really wish i made more time to blog and get all cute and there are other times when i think of all the other things i could be doing instead of blogging and i make myself feel guilty for doing it. as you can probably tell those times seem to prevail seeing how my posts are very minimal. for a while i wanted to just wait til i was the newly mrs. p to start fresh but today i decided that i wanted to document the next couple months and catch up on that past couple months. this may take a few posts but i'll bet caught up in no time! wish me luck!

fyi... i'm being productive in and out of writing this to put my mind at ease! :)

strike up the band and let the fireflies dance.

i'm back for my big post #2! i know i'm pathetic but i have a goal to be a better blogger [among other things]. well summer has come and gone... that is for sure! a part of me feels like it has been a really long summer and another part of me feels like it has flown by!!!

now let's take a picture walk to review what i have done with my summer...

1.dad took his girls shooting.

it was a beautiful summer day [not too hot... not too cold]. we did a little hiking, had a little picnic and then did a little shooting and then got stuck in a mess of traffic and dad and i were late to our church softball games... oops! life goes on.


on our way there we were driving with the windows down and this little fellow decided he wanted to join us! he hit the side mirror and then landed in MY lap!! my apologies for the blurry picture... it was a HUGE and i mean HUUUUGE dragon fly. i had a blanket over my legs that it fell onto. as soon as i noticed it, i flung the blanket off my lap and that's how it landed in the pocket of dad's shorts!! he was a nasty looking little fellow!

2.i think this one was just right.

we finally went on a MUCH needed double with our great friends stephen and alise. we started at the batting cages and then we [by we, i mean jared] crashed the newly engaged couple's romantic plans to go to IKEA. i'm glad we went along for the ride because we had some good laughs together! and might i suggest to try their ice cream sometime... it was so delicious and cheap! a word to the wise though... stay AWAY from the hot dogs! i sure miss the days where we spent nearly every weekend with the lovely future warnock's. :(

**it's almost time for our 3rd annual deep creek trip... jared better hurry up and get out of the academy or else i'm going without him!!


3.CSET.

well i borrowed this fun-filled book from a good friend. i was really good at watching it sit on my kitchen table. as history repeats itself... the night before the big test i was trying to cram and nothing was sticking. i was starting to panic and was really mad at myself for not putting forth a little more effort. poor jared... [like every other time] was there to reassure me that i would do fine. i, on the other hand, thought for sure i would have to fork out another $210 to take it again!!! a couple of weeks ago i found out that i passed all 3 subtests!! hallelujiah! [i hate when jared's right] whenever this happens, i thank my lucky stars and of course heavenly father and try to tell myself that i've learned my lesson and am never going to do it again. we'll see if that actually happens this time...

4. 2 years with my wonderful jared.

it's unbelievable how fast time goes! i NEVER thought i would date someone for this long... a lot has happened in the past 2 years and i'm so grateful i've had him by my side for everything. i'm a lucky girl.

our two years was on a sunday and we were both busy all day on saturday so i told him i wanted to go on a picnic before church! [i LOVE picnics and i love them even more on sunday afternoons!]

5. family of four?

yes... we were a family of four going to the angels' game! so much fun!

6. wedding bells???


don't get excited. while alise actually is engaged... neither of us were dress shopping! these were just some of the great finds of the day while thrifting. she'll probably kill me if she ever sees this but i think it's comical!!

7. REAL wedding bells!!
my bestest friend/sister, t.hig is now a married woman and now i have to call her t.rich! she made a beautiful bride and i loved being her maid of honor! she has been a wonderful friend over the past few years and we've had some irreplaceable times together! yay for her and her mister!

time for her last night on the town... madonna "like a virgin" style!




yes... she's crawling down hollywood blvd. "like a virgin" for the club's photographer! amazing and hilarious to watch! sorry tess...!



hard at work getting some quick photographs for the reception. [the real photographer had already left]




this lady is wonderful! we have had the bestest of times together! congrats to the Ulrich newlyweds!!


some fun...




8. sista sista time...

love these little ladies and always have a blast spending time with them!!







9. DAY CAMP!!!!

okay so really... 90% of my summer was spent working!! like every other year, it was loads of fun... and the kids are still crazy as ever!













wellllll... another one bites the dust! i started this post when it was truly the end of my summer but now school has been in session for a couple weeks. blah. blah. blah.

that's a wrap for post #2. have a wonderful day!

Here I go...

Well...I started creating a blog a few months back but then life with full time school, two jobs, brother's wedding, jared's police academy, moving, etc. got in the way and I haven't had a chance to get back to it. Besides that I was second guessing my qualifications for having a blog... I feel a little out of place with 99.9% of bloggers being adorable young families but what the heck... maybe if I start blogging now I'll be as professional as all of you by the time I have my own little family to show off on here! ***Needless to say, I have a feeling it's going to take a looooong time to get the hang of this!

That's it for now, let the fun begin!!