Sick Day

Wow, it's been a while! Crazy busy with finals, Christmas stuff and wedding planning. But, finals are over and the Christmas services have begun and we're so on top of the wedding planning. Time for a blog post!

I'm so happy…things are great. It's been a while since I've felt that things are great, but it's a nice change. And yes, being on cloud nine from getting engaged is pretty amazing, too :) 

I'll be writing a post about the ring and how unbelievably wonderful Brilliant Earth has been.  But not today.

So, we've set a date, picked a location, menu, setting, etc. And I will not be stressing over wedding planning. I can't allow myself to do that- this is supposed to be fun! No stressing.

I'm currently sick and hanging out on the couch. This is the first Christmas service I've missed, so it's a little strange to be at home while my fiance and most of my friends from work are at the church. But, it means I get to write this! So if I'm all over the place and random, please understand that my brain is not really functioning at the moment.

Apple juice or orange juice?

I like orange juice more, I think.

Are you a morning or night person?

Night! 

Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods?

Both. Like chocolate covered pretzels. Sweet and salty go together so well.

What was your favorite childhood television program?

Scooby Doo. Even though it often gave me nightmares!

Are you a collector of anything?

Nope.

What is usually your first thought when you wake up?

"What time is it?"

What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?

What I need to do the next day

What's your favorite color?

Grey or purple or blue…it depends on the day.

What's your favorite animal?

Cats :)

Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets?

Um. I don't…I'd never actually thought about it until now.

Do you believe in ghosts?

No

You're given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on?

I hope I would spend it wisely and give generously. I have no idea.

Have any bad habits?

Worrying. About everything.

Which bad habits, if any, drive you crazy?

When guys hock loogies or whatever it's called. Gross.

Leaving messes out.

List 3 of your best personality traits:

Honest

Hardworking

Caring

Awwww…

List 3 of your worst personality traits:

Hi, my name is Jacque and I worry a lot.

I sometimes second guess myself

Oversensitive

All my answers to the previous questions were one word…and these are all phrases. Neat.

Have any celebrity crushes?

Nope.

List 1 thing you wish you could change about yourself:

I'm not sure

Any tattoos or piercings?

Three piercings, no tattoos.

What's the first thing you notice in the opposite sex?

Hairstyle

What personality traits do you look for in a partner?

Sensitivity

What personality traits do you dislike in other people?

Boundary issues

Are you mostly a clean or messy person?

Clean. Except for my bedroom at home. That's my messy space :)

Do you see yourself getting married in the next 5 years?

Haha. I definitely don't see myself engaged for the next five years, so...

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

San Francisco

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

South America. I can't narrow it down any further!

List 5 goals on your life's to-do list:

Get married

Graduate from college

Travel

Have kids

Live the life God has for me

Name 1 regret you have:

No regrets

Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid:

Having someone grocery shop and cook for you!

Can you tell I'm hungry?

Name 1 thing you love about being an adult:

A greater sense of freedom and responsibility

What's your favorite song of the moment?

Details by Frou Frou is currently playing…I'm not sure what my favorite song is, though.

What's your favorite song of all time?

Halo :)

What's your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?

Go out and do something!

What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon?

Take a nap or go for a walk

Have any hidden talents?

I can wiggle my ears...

You're about to walk the green mile, what do you have as your last meal?

Drunken Thai noodles with chicken

Which would you rather have, 100 million dollars or true love?

True love

If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?

I have no idea! How about a trip around the world for all three? I'm getting the urge to get out of town.

Ever wish you were born the opposite sex? If so, why?

No

Name 1 thing not many people know about you:

I like to wear really thick socks.

If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?

Jacque

That was easy

Do you believe in the afterlife?

Yes

I feel like I already did this survey thingy…Huh.

Alright, getting sleepy. Hope you're almost ready for Christmas! I'm hopefully starting my shopping tomorrow…wish me luck!

Perfect

I'm getting married!

Woohoo!

So, the now fiance (I can't remember how to get that handy little accent over the e) proposed on Saturday after we flew down to San Diego. I knew it was going to be a big day, but I had NO idea that he had the most amazing day ever in store for us! I'm being all scatter-brained. Focus!

Ok. So, Friday he was gone all day "planning" stuff and getting some guy time in. But, the whole truth is that he was in San Diego arranging a car, making reservations at restaurants, scouting out proposal locations, etc. I had no idea. I thought maybe he was in San Francisco doing these things. It blows my mind that he would fly to and fro and spend months planning and brain-storming…

He told me on the phone Friday that he had taken work off for me on Saturday and to be ready by 6:45am. Like, the most ungodly time ever. But I really have no room to complain at all, haha. I was definitely running a little late and didn't have my hair done or anything, but I finished it in the car. All this prep in the car kept me preoccupied as we drove to the airport, but once I noticed we were there, I called it. "Are we going to San Diego?". Yep!

Segue. San Diego is a very special place to his family. His parents met there and his father proposed to his mother there, so it's pretty sentimental. And it has the best combination of my favorite two things: the city and the beach. The beach stretches for miles there and the weather is typically perfect, so it's a safer bet than my usual stomping grounds in Northern California.

Once we got there, we drove to Saffron Thai for lunch. I wish I could tell you where it was and everything, but I know almost nothing about San Diego. Before this weekend, I'd only ever gone to visit the zoo, haha. But I highly recommend this place. It was so good! And really adorable. The staff was so accommodating and helpful. My favorite part was the food, second favorite was that they sell picnic baskets full of food to those looking to head to the beach or a park. Such a great idea! I really recommend the Drunken Noodles, which is what I always get. Aside from the occasional green curry.

Anyway.

After lunch, we headed over to Torrey Pines State Park. It was so beautiful and right on the water. They charge a $10 fee for entering the park (ugh), but it's so worth it. We drove up to a short trail leading to a lookout and just enjoyed the view. Or so I was thinking. Suddenly, the fiance is asking the by-standers if they can give us a minute and we were all by ourselves. Haha, I wonder what was about to happen…

So we prayed and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Guess what I said?

The people standing behind us clapped and snapped pictures, offering their congratulations and asking for our email address. I can't wait to see those pictures!

We took a while afterward to laugh and act like little kids, jumping around and being really excited. Then we just stared at the ring for a while. It's so beautiful! I'm really glad we went with Brilliant Earth. I'll write another post about it.

The fiance took video of the lookout and I waited for things to settle in. It's so surreal sometimes and it's been a long time coming. The mother-in-law to be says I have the patience of a saint :) just kidding, but she really did say that.

The timing was perfect, the place was perfect, the ring was perfect….

This, I'm certain, is what happens when you honor God with your relationship.

We eventually collected ourselves and headed all the way down to the beach. What is it with guys and proposals and hikes? ;) Just kidding, J. And that was perfect, too. We called our families and looked at hermit crabs and shells and some other visitors took more pictures. The people of San Diego are so ridiculously nice.

I was so happy to be there in my element. It was so great to get away and spend some time by the water.

With my future husband :)

We spent the rest of the day doing crazy fairytale stuff, like a gondola ride with singing and chocolate covered strawberries…slightly out of my comfort zone, but hey. It's the kind of thing you only do once. I turned down a carriage ride and we then headed to Coronado. It was so beautiful. We were there just in time for sunset and walked around the beach and admired the Del before leaving for dinner at Candelas. Of course, the whole waitstaff knew we had just gotten engaged because the fiance had told them the day before about his plan. There were roses on the table and the restaurant bought us a celebratory dessert. The view from the restaurant was amazing- it was facing downtown across the bay. We took our time and stared at the ring some more before we had to leave to drop off the car and wait for our driver to pick us up and take us back to the airport. We landed in Sacramento around 10:00pm and had a little celebration with our families. It was a wonderful day. I'm so impressed that he had all of this planned out. It feels so right to take this step in our relationship now, like it's just the natural progression of things.

Perfect timing :)

Mushaboom, Mushaboom

I've been listening to Pandora Radio for the past few days and I've gotta say, I really enjoy my Florence+The Machine station. Ingrid Michaelson, Imogen Heap, Muse, Hem, etc join in and the playlist is wonderful! It's getting me through all my final projects. I've got lots of papers to write and one's late, which is something I've never done…but hey, there's a first time for everything.

Not that they're hard. Just a lot of reading, writing and…not arithmetic. No, seriously, my physics professor is assigning papers now instead of homework involving math. Strange, I know. So, no arithmetic, but instead: research. Research, research, research. I've already written papers on much of the material in the past (Aka, in high school. Ya, I know, I pay thousands of dollars for this ;) ), so I feel like I have an advantage.

But, finals are almost here! PTL!

Ya, I'm looking forward to finals. What's wrong with this picture? Haha.

I've been doing a lot of that lately. Laughing, that is. I'm referring to the "haha" above. When I'm unwinding from the day, I laugh with the bf. It's good for you, I promise. I'm enjoying it :)

It reminds me to find joy every day. It's something we should all make a habit of. As a friend of mine has reminded me, happiness is not joy. Joy comes from something other than good circumstances or good times. Joy is deeper and comes from being satisfied. Satisfied by what God has blessed me with, satisfied with what I have, contentment. I think this is why there is such a stress on being truly content with present circumstances. Philippians 4:11-13: "…I have learned to be content  in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Wow! Talk about confidence in God's will and power. Paul had seen it all and still found a way to live with joy, and I really think that joy came from being content and trusting in God's perfect plan.

Joy seems appropriate for December, right?

I've found myself content in the weirdest moments lately. Like the other day, I was content to be sitting in history. I know! It was warm, I had a notepad of paper (not computers allowed) and didn't have to do anything because the notes were online! Haha. It was warm and relaxed and the professor was on a role, so entertaining. And I thought to myself, "I'm fine being right here where I am." It's a wonderful thought to have.

I've got that thought going through my head right now as I'm sitting in the Student Union (not sure why it's called that…) and listening to Feist's Mushaboom and writing to all of you. I know I'm hard on school and pretty sarcastic about it, but I really don't have an issue being here today. And that's really nice.

And yes, I am almost always using these headphones. Thank you, Dave and Nina!

And I'm actually wearing lipstick. A gift from Clinique: Longlast Lipstick in Bamboo Pink. Wears like chapstick!

Enjoy today :)

Surprise!

Alright, has anyone seen I Love You Man? And he thinks he's out to dinner with a guy to befriend him, but said guy is looking for…something more? Ya, I laughed really hard. And I totally relate. And I don't recommend this movie at all to anyone ever. Ever. Don't watch it just because I mentioned it.

I've gone into a couple of situations thinking they were one thing, but in the end, they were definitely not what I was expecting. Kinda like when John Hus went to the Council of Constance and ended up being burned at the stake. Ok, not funny like the example above, but same idea.

Sometimes things don't go the way we expect. And it can be awful and hurtful and just plain inaccurate, but it's ok. Because it's not the end of the world. And all I can control is my response to the situations. Hopefully, I come away from this with my head high and a whole lotta experience.

One surprise situation I'm looking forward to is coming up soon…I'm excited :) I'm not great with surprises, so this is a departure for me. But it's so fun! So fun. Example: Our two year dating anniversary was on the 21st of November and the bf set up an appointment for me to get a Shellac manicure. Shellac is a hybrid nail color that's very similar to gel nails, but it's easier to remove. Supposedly lasts for weeks, but mine's growing out already. Boo :( So if you're nails don't grow as fast as mine, you're in luck. Shellac is beautiful! I'm going to ask the women at the salon how to make it less obvious (the bare nail, that is). I'll let you know how it goes.

Bad unexpected and good unexpected. I'm learning that surprises can be a good thing. I'm looking forward to a big one soon :)