Where this life is taking me...

So it's been a while since i have updated this, and so much has happened! Spring has sprung, and the beautiful weather has brought changes with it.

As a result of the recession and the not so awesome economy, (obviously) jobs are kind of hard to find. BYU has even felt the blow of the times we live in, and concerning student employment, they have cut hours and completely stopped hiring new employees altogether. Lance's dad and I were talking about this, and in some departments (including his) isn't hiring. For example, one of the professors is going on maternity leave, and BYU is just leaving a hole in her position... ANYWAY. Lance works for Wyview, which is BYU housing, actually owned by BYU. His boss informed him about a week before finals started, that his hours in the summer were going to be cut down to 20 hours a week.


(this is lance on the job... unclogging a tub is one of the perks. haha.)

Those of you supporting yourself know quite well 20 hours isn't enough to get by.... SO, being the responsible, fabulous man he is, he put in his two weeks notice and set out on a mad job hunt for something that would pay well and give him the adequate amount of hours. After searching, spending time on his knees, and weighing out his options... he decided this was his best route:





I don't know how aware y'all are of summer sales and the hype it creates within fresh-off-the-mish missionaries, but it sucks them in with promises of a ridiculously fat check with a high success rate. I've known guys who go to summer sales meetings, come home and talk for hours about how much money they're going to make, and how it's going to be totally easy to do it. WELLLLLL Lance is kind of the exception to this rule. He had told me about a few job opportunities, selling security systems was one of them... i stayed home while he went to the introduction meeting, and fully expected him to come home excited and motivated. He was gone for about an hour, and then i heard his heavy feet walk up the stairs... he peeked his head around the corner with a look of defeat on his face. "Well" he said, "Looks like i'll be doing this this summer." He went on to explaing that he saw past the dollars signs they were throwing at him, and could see the inevitable hard, long days that he would have to endure to HOPEFULLY make a substantial amount of money. I love this about him. He is SO realistic. It just makes me respect him that much more that he didn't get suckered into anything, and he knows exactly what he will be doing this summer and how much it will (for lack of a better word) suck.

We both took a day to think about his decision to do sales with APX, (there were a few others we were taking into consideration), and the Big Guy gave us both a green light. The next on the list was where he was going to chose to sell.... THAT was a whole new battle... I can't tell you how much research lance did on each place, opinions of people who sold there in previous summers, all the while taking into consideration where I'd fit into the puzzle. It eventually was narrowed down to

Atlanta, GA (haha this one was so random, but it was in the mix...)


San Jose, CA


Mesa, AZ


or Dallas, TX


We weighed our options, and he ALMOST signed to go to Mesa... but at the last minute he felt the best about Texas and signed his summer away to spend it in the Lone Star State (Lucky him!)

He asked me if I'd want to move to Texas and live with my parents so we wouldn't have to spend 4 months apart... I was a little hesitant at first... mostly because it's not my nature to just uproot myself so suddenly, and because I was sure mom and dad weren't going to go for this... But i felt really good about it, so i decided it was worth a shot.

His parents weren't too hard to persuade that this was a good idea... my parents were a different story. Luckily, my mom was up here for a while and she got to know Lance (and Lance and I together)... and she told me she loved him more every day. She was hesitant at first because she wanted to make sure summer sales was the best option, but she eventually warmed up to the idea. I had to call dad and explain to him the situation thoroughly, carefully, and with a plan of action in order to get him on board. He didn't give me the green light right away, but the next day he told me if I thought it was a good idea, they'd support it.

WHEW!!

Can you believe that? I'm moving home, yet again, for a cluster of months. May - August to be exact. I'm so excited. I miss Texas springtime! The smell of the air...the gnarly thunder and lightning storms... my house!...the parentals, my baby sis (who i still can't believe is SIXTEEN!!), the bulls in the front pasture, the OPEN TEXAS SKY, the humidity (yes i miss it!), southern accents, the word Y'ALL, southern PEOPLE, PAIGE, the boat, the lake, my room, the warmth and comfort of just being home... ahhhh i love it. Im excited. It's somewhat bittersweet because i really have become attatched to Utah summers too.... but i think i'll be okay. :) Lance will be living in Grapevine, so it's not like hes literally 1 mile away from me like he is here in Provo, but it's better than being 1500 miles away if i didn't come home with him. I think one of the goals we have this summer is to go back to his home town in Hawaii... i am SO EXCITED for that. so we'll see.



Lance left this last Tuesday, and It's been so weird/lonely with out him. When we're not at school or sleeping, we're together... i dont think we've gone longer than a 9 hour period with out seeing each other...so this has been QUITE the adjustment. His job doesnt technically start until this upcoming Monday, but he(actually I) found a $100 flight out for Tuesday so he sniped that. We ( i ) packed up all his belongings, separated them into piles of "back to the parentals" "into storage" "down to texas" and "carry on bag"... needless to say his house was turned upside down (and still kind of is.... but thats not really anything new.) We ( i ) got him ready to go to texas in about a days time, which was a slight miracle, and i have to say im impressed with us ( myself). We got his retainer, bike in the shop, extra stuff lying around up on the internet for sale, washed the truck, cleaned my house, went to the bank and post office, brought my brother lunch at work, a quick trip to costco, gas, and peppered the volleyball all within a few hours the day before he left. I have to say we actually are a really good team.

The morning he before he left to go, we made a quick trip to his grandparent's house. I met his grandpa about 2 1/2 months ago when he was hospitalized, and it was love at first sight! He couldn't be more adorable if he tried... When we dropped in so Lance could say goodbye, he didn't even greet Lance first - he yelled from across the house, "is that my girlfriend I see?" and rushed over to give me a big hug. I got to meet his adorable grandma for the first time. She's blind, but the spunkiest old lady ever. The pair are the funniest two people, and just played off what one another said. It was so adorable. It's definitely something to attempt to attain as an old couple.

Saying our first "goodbyes" was sad. i got out of the truck and he wrapped his arms tight around me, and pressed his face against mine... we talked like that for about a minute... then he kissed me and walked into the terminal. ahh i miss him already and its only been 3 days!



ANYWAY... I head down to Texas this upcoming Thursday right after finals. Virginia and CJ are driving down with me, so it is GUARANTEED to be an adventure. I'm actually looking forward to it.

in other news, I am now driving dad's big diesel truck. it's a long, very boring story i won't get into. but it's quite the interesting experience, and really hard to park.

Also, Lance has completely thrown my life and bad habits upside down. I go to the gym every day. Actually WE go every day... he sees it as "bonding" or whatever. I see it as torture most times, because he pushes me to do more than i normally would. buuut i guess i see where he's coming from. ha.

The other day it was a gorgeous warm day..the first Utah had seen in months, so (stupidly) i suggested we run to the gym. It's about a 2 mile run, and that's pretty standard for me in a work out, so i figured it would just be a pleasant change. HELLO i was so wrong. Apparently i forgot that running on a treadmill and running on pavement is a completely different experience. A treadmill ALSO doesnt have a GIANT hill with my boyfriend behind me not letting me stop. Seriously. when i reached the top of the hill when we got to the destination, i could hardly breathe and my face was red... of course ironman was jolly and happy and ready to go lift 230948 lbs, and was saying things like "i'm so proud of you! good job!" and was trying to hug me.... i just wanted to punch him in the face. hahah. It was definitely "bonding". Of course in retrospect i loved him for pushing me so hard, but seriously.

He also brainwashed me into believing in cooking/eating healthy. It was a battle at first. No more ranch (WHAT?!). Avocado has saturated fat (uhhh what's your point?). Lemonade is no bueno. Too many carbs will hinder you. Carbonation makes your skin separate from your muscle. cheese dusted rice cakes is NOT a healthy OR nutritious snack. You really should eat a big breakfast. Fruits and Veggies are staple foods. Pasta has empty calories.... seriously the list goes on and on. He even made me dislike eating out... mostly because he pointed out the ingredients the restaurants use and how much unnecessary fattening elements are included. All of this was so hard for me to swallow because i LOVE FOOD. however, three months later, eating healthy and balanced makes me feel so much better over all. i feel more awake, rejuvenated, LIGHTER even. It's been freakin hard but i love it.


I really have so much fun in this relationship with this boy. He's been really nothing but good for me. He is such a good example to me.... I've never in my life had someone who humbles me, challenges me, makes me want to be better, do better, grow, learn, and fine tune myself. He holds me to such a high standard, sometimes it feels almost unattainable, but i've really come to believe that's what REAL relationships are about. Growing!! I've adopted the idea that with hard work comes incredible results, and it is NO different in terms of a relationship.... By the way, Lance dropped the big L word too. Life is movin...and i love where it's taking me.