7.27.2012

My better half ...



Chad
  1. Secretly an Iron Chef
  2. Likes working with his hands
  3. Prefers to listen to classical music
Hailey
  1. Embraces her Native American heritage through turquoise jewelry
  2. Vividly remembers her dreams every night ....
  3. Spends her free time baking
(Hailey) I picked him out on my mom's class roll because he was smoldering.
(Chad) She thought my EMS radio was hot.
(Hailey) I interviewed him for a class.
(Chad) She wondered why I didn't eat my bagel.
(Hailey) He texted me for a few months before he asked me out.
(Chad) I was using the "Rock Star" effect on her.
We drove the Alpine Loop.
(Hailey) He told me he was a trouble maker!
(Chad) She didn't believe me.
We had a first kiss that you only see in movies.
And we've been happily together since.

He decided to give me his last name.
And now we're going to be married.
9.20.12




7.20.2012

Oh wait, MED SCHOOL?!

One of the things that initially attracted me to Chad was his devotion, ambition and dedication.
I knew he was handsome before I ever met him.
I knew I wanted a date with him before I ever talked to him.
I say that for those of you who have "Gold Digger" in your mind.

False.

If I were a gold digger I would marry someone going into business or programming.
NOT someone who is about to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in which we might be paying off until we're 60.
But I digress ...



I've been extremely caught up into a wedding planning craze.
Flowers.

Cake.
Curly or straight hair?
House.
Honeymoon.
Catering.

Invites.

It doesn't end.
But I'm not complaining, I love it. I love planning it.


In the midst of my wedding planning haze suddenly a thought occurred to me.
Med school.

Chad's been filling out his secondary apps for the schools he applied for.
26 schools total? (I'm a horrible fiance I should know for sure)
Each school has anywhere from 3-6 essays that need to be filled out for the secondaries.

That's about 130 essays total.
Chad's been great and really working hard to stay on top of the countless essays.



This was just a blip in my radar when I realized.
Oh wait, MED SCHOOL!!!
We'll be going to MED SCHOOL.

Anyone ever seen Grey's Anatomy or Scrubs?
Yeah, I guess it's kind of like that.

I realized that I'll be Mrs. MD and I'll have to live and love that even with all the implications that come from it.

Chad will spend 12 hours a day studying, every.single.day.
Sleep? Yeah try 5-6 hours TOPS.
Money? We'll be romantically impoverished.
Quality time together? Sure, if you count seeing him for one hour a day as he's studying and eating dinner as he rushes out the door.

Med School huh?

OK, OK. I don't know if it will be exactly like that. But I do have friends who are there and I've heard their stories.
It's OK though.
I'm a strong, independent woman who will find things to occupy my time while the future Mr. becomes an MD.
Yes, I will try to secure a high-paying marketing or PR job where I can pay for our bills & living expenses while he's at school.
No, we won't be getting pregnant anytime soon to "give me something to do."
And yes, even amongst the craziness of what is sure to come, I will love it.
And him.
And live happily ever after ...


7.11.2012

Marriage worth it?

Dear Readers,


Please do not be alarmed by this post. Sometimes I like to play devil's advocate. My most recent pondering and research have led me to think about, "is marriage worth it?"


Worth what?!
In recently read articles, forums and talking to other married or divorced people it is many things.
It = stress, hurt, tears, anxiety, distrust, regret, possible divorce.
So to restate my previous question, "is marriage worth the stress, hurt, tears, anxiety, distrust, regret and possible divorce?"

In recent conversations about 98% (the 2% is my mom who thinks being married to my dad is the easiest, which I'm sure it is) of the people have told me that marriage is:
  • hard
  • frustrating
  • stressful
  • disappointing
  • not all it's cracked up to be
  • heartache
Whhhhhhhhhhhy then would anyone settle into an eternal covenant of marriage knowing that it will be all those things?!

50% of all marriages end up divorce these days. Compared to 13% of LDS people who get married in the temple and stay active.
 Still 13 percent ....
In some states now they have "divorce kiosks" where you can get a divorce without ever having to see a judge.

So why why why whhhhhhy would anyone ever want to get married?

Some things to consider:
You need to pick the right person. If you find the right person and fall in love with them then you will be willing to do whatever is needed to get through all the frustration, the hard times, the stress and the let downs to keep your marriage together.

Marriage is not easy (for everyone). Yes I do know people who say marriage is easy because they picked someone who makes it that way. But for the majority of those who are married, it is not easy. You have to live with someone who thinks, acts and has different habits than you. You're suddenly spending a loooooot of time with that person. You're going to get on each others nerves and probably snap. But apparently if you love them and remember that, you'll be fine.

If you want it to work, it will. It's like anything else that's hard. If you put in 100% of your effort and want it to work out, more than likely it will.

It's forever. In the LDS culture we believe that marriage is eternal. For those of us who choose to get married in the temple that is not just a commitment, it's a covenant. Knowing that wouldn't you want to treat your spouse who will be with you forever with all the respect in the world? Also, we honor and keep our covenants to a T, so the marriage covenant shouldn't be any different.

I've come to the conclusion that maybe marriage isn't for everyone.
Maybe some people are better off without it.
But if and when you do get married there are some things you cannot compromise:
  • Marry someone you trust 100%
  • Choose daily to love your spouse. Yeah you can wake up with negative feelings about them, or you can choose to love them every single day.
  • When you're mad at them, pray with or for them
  • Have faith that your marriage will last
So what do you think? Is marriage worth it?



External articles I found interesting:


7.04.2012

Time Moves Slow

Happy 4th of July everyone!
Thank you to all those who are fighting for our safety & freedom.

Today marks:
1 month of being engaged to Chad
11 weeks until we get married
or
2 and a half months 
or 
78 days
8 months of dating 
11 months of knowing of the other's existence 


September can't come sooner ...

7.01.2012

EXCITED

Ladies and Gents.
It's JULY 1st!!! 
Where is this summer going?
It's sad that I'm spending most of it working & in class, because I'd rather be swimming, hiking, rafting, biking, climbing, running and living.

In T-Minus 11 weeks I get to call this handsome man:

My hubby.
Eeeeeeeee!

We will go here:

And Chad will be so excited he does this:


And I'm sure I'll shed of few of these (out of happiness):



We'll live in a quaint little home where I can do this:


This:


This:


And this:


Someday have a couple of these:




After a highly successful career of this for Chad:


We'll grow old together but still do this:


And this:


And especially this:


Can you see why I'm so excited?
Soon-to-be-Mrs. Spencer