Stop blinding me with your BLING BLING

Saturday, February 21st , 2009 will be a day I will always remember, it was a life changing experience, it is the day me and Jessica went to see the Dialog in the Dark exhibit at Union Station……Oh yea I also PROPOSED.

I have tried to think of ways to surprise Jessica doing it. It has been very hard, because we are basically doing our relationship backwards. I did not want to take her out to dinner, I didn’t want candle light, I didn’t want live music, all too predictable. Her family is coming into town this coming weekend, and if you talk to Jess, she even thought I was going to do it then. So the only way to completely surprise her was to be CHEEESY.

So I had a plan. Since we were having date day on Saturday, I would do it then. So I used the help of my BEST FRIEND Kayrin. I had Kayrin and my mother come our new house and set things up while we were on our date. I told Jessica on Friday that we needed to met the builder on Sat. around 3pm to discuss some work he was doing. So that was my way to get to the house. Friday night Jessica had girl’s night, she was real tired but I made her go, really I just needed the time to get things together. I bought 3 dozen roses and a bouquet of flows. So when me and Jess arrived at the house, I told her I thought I saw a light on the outside of the house, I asked her to go inside and call me and we will find out which switch turns it off. That was my first brilliant idea, reason being it got me away from her and second I made sure she had her phone, which will be used later. So I ran around the house where Kay let me in the back door. Jess went to the door to find a note that said, “Follow the Roses” “just play the games Jess, don’t ruin it.” Jess has a tendency to not follow my games. As she walked in, there were roses that led to the kitchen. There she found a sign and pictures that said “remember when we met”, following more roses, she found three more sign “remember our first kiss”, “remember our first fight”, ”remember the first time I said I love you”, the she came to the last sign, “remember the first time I wrote on our blog”. Jess for the last month has tried to get me to write on this blog. I have procrastinated on doing so, until then. This is where her phone was needed. On the sign it said for her to look at the blog.

****READ MY PREVIOUS BLOG TO UNDERSTAND NEXT PART****

She then came down the stairs to me on one knee (OLD FASHION AND CHEESY). Kayrin was there to get the pictures, which are completely my fault; I forgot to turn the flash on (a little nervous), so a little dark. I was not even able to get the word out of my mouth to say anything before she grabs me and hugs me to the point where I can’t breathe. Note, she is balling at this point. Jessica was completely caught off guard, which I was hoping for. I really didn’t get to spend much time with her right after because she was on the phone. So, like I said before Dialog in the Dark is an awesome experience, but there is nothing better than putting a big rock on the woman you love.

And it goes like this... (My version of the engagement)

So, about two weeks ago I asked Jerod if we could have a date day because we haven’t had one in a while. Jerod and I had been constantly saying we wanted to experience “Dialogue in the Dark.” Where you experience being blind for an hour in a safe space. However, they take you through daily experiences that the blind go through, such as walking through a park, crossing a busy street, going to a restaurant, and a farmers market. If you are ever in Kansas City, you should definitely experience it!

Any who, we made plans to go to Dialogue in the Dark, and then Jerod said we had a meeting with the builder at 3 pm about some issues with the house and then we were going to home depot. That was the plan and me having Type A personality I stick with the plan! We get out of Dialogue in the Dark at I am thinking we are late! We rush down to the house and Jerod says something like, I think there is a light on in the back, call me from inside when you find the switch that turns it off and now that I think about it, what he told me did not make sense to me at the time but I just went with it.

When I got to the door there was a sign that said, “Follow the roses” and “Just play the game Jess, don’t ruin it! Because I ruin everything, but I honestly figured that Jerod was trying to make date day special, I had no clue this was a proposal. Jerod is a hopeless romantic so this is not unusual for him to do something sweet at the end of a date. At this point I was still thinking, “Where the heck is the builder.” So I go through the house following the signs until I get to the closet where it said “remember the first blog I wrote” I was like you haven’t written one yet, so I get on my Iphone and I read the blog below this one and at that point I began to BALL!! His brother Cory had uploaded it while we were on our date day! So, I walked down stairs and my sweet boyfriend was on one knee. I do not remember anything he said beyond this point, I just kept hugging him and it took me a while to say yes because I was crying so hard.

At this point, I am still crying and my type A personality kicks back in and I ask him if we can still go to Home Depot because it was on our list of things to do. At Home Depot the lady helping us asked how long we had been married and Jerod replies by saying we just got engaged about an hour ago! The last looks at me and says, “AND YOU’RE AT HOME DEPOT!” I said, “We really needed shower rods.” And Jerod called me his fiancé for the first time there too! Then we went home and had a big dinner with the fam! It was a perfect day! :)

We're Engaged!

Follow the Roses!!

Jerods' set up down stairs on the Bar

Kayrin Jerods and my BF who helped with the whole thing.

Me and my new bling!

I was crying so hard!

It Is About Time !!!!!!

Well, this is my first blog and it is sure going to be a Doozy. For many of you may know, Jessica has always talked about getting married and her wedding and if you didn’t know well SHE DOES!!! She has also talked about it so much it has made it hard to surprise her with anything. Right now Jessica is standing in the closet of our new house reading this blog, hopefully getting the surprise of her life.

Jessica, as you read this for the first time, along with everyone else, I want to tell you I LOVE YOU and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Take a minute to reflect on the times we have had, when you are done COME DOWNSTAIRS.

More Home Pics...

Big Tub!!!

More of the Nook Area

Looking into the living room and kitchen

Part of the Master Bedroom, it has recessed lighting..Ooohh!

Call Me Betty Crocker!

We have appliances! So, this is really geeky, but it’s kind of a big deal, it’s our second largest purchase together! Also, Jerod is getting the kitchen he has always dreamed of, because God knows the year he is gone it won’t be used! But These are some pictures at Home Depot when we were picking out the appliances. The house is still moving…slowly…they are repairing and replacing everything we wanted done, which is great. We are just waiting for our closing date and then we begin to move in! We are holding out on new furniture until Jerod gets back from Iraq because we have a ton of stuff now and we want to get stuff together, and that means we are not spending the big bucks now and we can actually save! I threw some more pics of the house for your viewing pleasure!

I am not sure how much I will use this...

Oooh! Aww!

I Just Wanted my Teeth Cleaned...

I officially HATE going to the dentist. I went in to get my teeth cleaned on Friday. I had a jam-packed schedule that day and my teeth cleaning was the second item on my list. After I was done with the teeth cleaning, I told the hygienist that I had a loose crown and that should be the next thing we fix. LITTLE did I know I had just opened a can of worms. They start to take x-rays and the dentist comes in and says you know we are going to have to take that tooth out. I thought she was saying, “Let’s make an appointment so we can get that tooth out later.” Next thing I know they are having me sign a consent form to take the tooth out RIGHT THEN! I was caught off guard, and instead of saying can we do this next week, I go, “oh, really, like right now?” like a pathetic puppy.

They first drill a hole in the middle of my crown to take the rod out. Then they take pliers and twist the crown off. Well when they do that, my original tooth SHATTERS! So now, the two roots are stuck in my gums. Needless to say after two hours of drilling and pulling, drilling and pulling, the roots are completely out. I thought okay well the worst is over, but NO she starts to put stitches in and says, “Oops, I did it backwards and now the tissue is tearing.” She then takes them out and starts all over again. So, 2 ½ hours, one less tooth, and five stitches later I walk out of there were a prescription for Vicodin and Clindamycin. I had to cancel girls night, cancel my appointment with my advisor who is EXETREMEMLY different to get a hold of, I forgot about my chiropractor appointment, and cancelled getting my tires put on my car, so I could drive to Kansas city, take my Vicodin and go to sleep.

The dentist is always a traumatic experience.

The Infamous GOLD Bowl

So… some of my friends have been giving me crap about my Gold Bowl. For those who do not know about it here is the story, I went to this store named JM Porters with Cherry (Jerods Mom) and Melissa (Jerods Sister). This is Melissa’s favorite furniture and décor store. Well the store was having a one-day only 50% off sale as long as you donate $50 to the homeless. So, when I saw this GOLD bowl I HAD TO HAVE IT! It was beautiful, it has the serenity prayer craved on the inside. Of course, since this store was “fancy,” I called Jerod to make sure that he was okay with the purchase. The first thing he said was, “No, you’re crazy.” But, when he realized how bad I really wanted to the bowl he caved in and said I could get it as long as I use my credit card and I pay for it. Well I only have one and it turns out they did not except American Express, so I had to call Jerod back. Somehow, I convinced Jerod not only to let me get this GOLD bowl, but to put it on his credit card. This just shows how much I love Jerod and he loves me for allowing me to have something I really wanted : ) Well… I guess the picture that I sent Jerod over the internet was a little deceiving. Because when I got back to the house Jerod was SHOCKED, because the bowl is about a foot and a half wide and 70 pounds! So right now, we are trying to find a place in the new house for this giant bowl! Anyway, I love that bowl! No matter what my friends say!!! I am going to put it on a pedestal and put it right in the entryway of the house! Hahaha! Jerod says he is going to make it a birdbath and put it in the front yard.

Part of the serenity prayer View from the side
Okay, so Kay we were a little off on the size of the bowl...Jerod wants me to say he was RIGHT!

Om--ickelson Casa Update

We are still under contract and we are hoping to close by the end of the month. We have SLOWLY been buying/ searching for items for the house. We are trying not to buy very much because Jerod will be gone for a year and we want to wait until he gets back to fully furnish the house and buy “new” stuff. As of now, we are getting the basics, like appliances, TVs and our bedroom set. Once we close on the house, we will probably landscape the front and keep it at that. We have many plans for the house but we will wait until Jerod gets back from Iraq.

Any who, Kayrin, Jerod and I went at stuck about 60 post its on minor repairs that we want the builder to make to the house before we move in. It was funny but I am sure the workers hate us now. It is a new house and so we want everything to be as close to perfect as we can get it. We have an unfinished room down stairs that is going to be the office and then it has an area designated for a wine cellar (Jerod and his dad will be heading that project.) Jerod and I are having a big debate on what type of flooring to put in the office. In the section of the wine cellar, it will be hardwood floors for sure. We have found waterproof hardwood floors. However, I wanted hardwood floors in the whole area! Below is a picture of the office furniture I am going to get, and doesn’t it look great with hardwood floors! The compromise so far is to have a pretty carpet pattern in the office area and wood only in the wine cellar. Nevertheless, if you see Jerod go ahead and tell him that you think the wood floors like great!!! Haha!

Goals and Money!

I am a HUGE goal setting person. I live my life by setting goals and milestones that I want to achieve. It keeps me going forward and I rarely ever spend time looking in the past or participating in self pity. Anyway, I have redesigned my infamous goal sheet. It is new, improved, and better than ever! It also went from 18 pages to 14. :) Jerod and I are doing it this weekend to try it out and I have already sent it to some of my friends. It works whether you are in a relationship or not. I love it. Also, I discovered Mint.com, which is an EASY way to keep track of your finances. It can also be an application on your Iphone. This is great because it shows you what you spend your money on, how much you save and gives you updates if accounts are low. Check it out and if you want a goal sheet let me know!

Home on the Range

So here is most of the house, its 3 beds, 3 baths, but I did not post those, because you know what a room looks like. We are making some changes to the house. We are buying stainless appliances and still have to get a washer and dryer. Then we are finishing some of the storage space to make an office! It is a lot of work though! We will keep you posted! We are hoping to close by the end of the month! Enjoy the pictures!

This is the backyard

Bar in the basement
Rest of the Basement

Kitchen with the daylight windows Laundry Room

Nook Area

The Kitchen The living room media center