New Haircut!

I gave my first haircut tonight. :) I was terrified to use an electric shaver. lol Chris did what he could himself, and I did the rest. I think I did alright. What do you think? :) He looks devastatingly handsome, huh? <3

Just a quick update

So nothing really exciting has happened worth noting, but our blog isn't getting much attention, so I figured I needed to add something. So. School gets out on May 21st. I (Miriam) work at an elementary school, so that's my last day of work. I couldn't find any summer work at the schools or camps, but luckily (or not so luckily, depending on your point of view), I got a job at Maids on the Spot starting the 25th. I'm really not looking forward to it (imagine cleaning 2-4 houses a day that are so big they have their own airplane hanger in the garage!!), but it's honest work, right? And with the economy, I'm lucky to find any job. Plus, this one does pay fairly well. So I'm glad.

Chris and I both applied for grants and are just waiting to see if we got them. *crosses fingers* I've already signed up for classes full-time, and I'm getting a few scholarships ready to turn in also. As of right now, I'm going for an Associate in Arts, Elementary Education so I can transfer to ASU to do a special ed program. I'm still not sure I want to be a teacher, but I really really love working with children (especially special ed ones! :) and I admit, I've dreamt of what my own classroom would look like. ^_^ So we'll see. I'm excited to start school again. I want to learn!! Chris is going for a degree in Computer Science, and is very excited, too. And I'll let you in a little secret... After we have our degrees, we wanna move out of Arizona! :) Both of us despise the desert, and we're ready for some rain, some coolness, and some GREEN! So that's our dream.

That's basically it. We're just working and getting ready to go to school. And we're hermits. :)

The Newlyweds!

We're finally married!!!!!!! :D I know we've been married almost 2 months now, but we've been sooo busy (*wink wink*) that I haven't had a chance to post anything new. Sorry!

Anyways, the wedding was absolutely wonderful. Of course, I was running late getting ready (lol), but we got to the temple in time to get a bunch of good pictures before the ceremony (our photographer and friend, Brian Slade, is incredible - I'll let his work speak for itself: sladephotography.blogspot.com). The ceremony was absolutely beautiful -all our family and close friends were there to share in the moment I was sealed to my best friend for time and all eternity. When we got out of the temple, we took sooooooo many more pictures! My cheeks were killing me! You can only smile for so long. lol We had the reception at my stake center, and at first had a few minutes to mingle and take more pictures. Then we had to get in line so people could start formally congratulating us. It was actually pretty fast and relatively painless. :) Then we did our first dance (people weren't even watching, which was fine by us), and the daddy-daughter dance, which was a little bit awkward, but I'm so glad for. I love my daddy! Then we danced a little more, me dancing slow dances with my love and also the little boys from my class at Field Elementary, and some fun fast dances with my bridesmaids. They're party animals!! :) Then I threw the bouquet, which I guess was the wrong one to throw. No one ever told me I had a different bouquet for tossing! lol We then cut the cake, and fed it delicately and politely to each other amongst boos and protests. I told Chris that if he shoved it in my face, he would most definitely pay. :) We barely had a chance to sneak in some of the delicious food between pictures and dancing and talking, and then we left to go to our apartment. Chris' brothers filled our car with about a bazillion purple balloons and condoms. hahaha Then we drove off to live happily ever after. All in all, it was a perfect day. It was definitely a whirlwind, and I think I was in shock, but it was fun.

Now we're living very very happily in our little one-bedroom apartment with our two kitties. Things are barely starting to wind down (there is soooo much post-wedding stuff to do!!), although I still need to write thank you notes. *embarrassed smile* Chris and I are still working, and are going to try and apply for grants - we figure we're poor enough now to qualify for some. Chris wants to go back to school for computer science, and I still don't know what I want to do. But we do want to go back, contrary to what some people think. :) We apologize to everyone we've shut out - we're a little starry-eyed still. ^_^

So anyways, we're leading a blissfully poor, simple life right now, and we're loving it. Marriage is the most wonderful thing. <3

October 24th!!

We finally sent out our wedding invitations, and now there's only 25 days left until we're man and wife! :D It's going sooooo slow, but it'll be here before we know it. We can't wait!

How We Met - Miriam's Side of the Story

This is going to be long and possibly boring, so unless you're really interested in all the details of how we met, I'd suggest you just skip this post. Chris and I first met last summer. I had just gotten out of a bad relationship, and needed a friend. Chris was looking up old friends on Myspace, and he came across my profile (http://www.myspace.com/miriamhardy), and, surprisingly, thought I was cute. So he sent me a message. :) (We both agree that he was guided by the spirit that day. That fact that he somehow stumbled across my profile out of so many, and that he actually sent me a message (that soo isn't like him!) and I responded, was just so unlikely.) Now, you have to understand that I had been constantly bombarded by lewd and dirty messages from creeps since the first day I joined Myspace. I was so sick and tired of it, and was expecting just another creepy guy pretending to be nice. But when I read that message from Chris... it felt different. So I replied. I never would have guessed that he was going to be the man I would marry. :) After we exhanged some general info and I decided that he wasn't a crazy psychopath, we really started talking. I mean, 3-4 emails a day, and if those emails were written out on paper, they would probably be 4-5 pages long, front and back! We went back and forth for a few days, and after about a week, I felt like we were fast friends. (I remember feeling so excited to get another email from him so I could learn more about him. I soaked up those emails like a sponge!) So we decided to meet. We had talked about dating versus being friends, and decided we'd try it out and see where it lead. I knew (and I hope he did, too) that even if it didn't work out, we would still be friends. Maybe even best friends. I thought he was so cool. ^_^ I think we had decided on a time to meet, but I wanted to see him beforehand. So I drove to his house with my friend and my niece (backup, you understand), and stood outside for like 20 minutes trying to get up enough courage to knock on his door. I finally convinced myself to go to his door. When he opened it I could tell he was totally surprised to see me. He let us in, though, and we kind of sat there in silence while me and my friend and my niece just tried not to giggle. lol We decided to go to the library after a few minutes, though, so we could hang for a few minutes in a more public place. We met at the library, and I showed him one of my favorite books. We went and checked out, and then he had to go home. It wasn't a very long meeting, but that was ok, because I was super nervous! :) We were both very excited about the possibility of a relationship with each other, and set up some more times when we could meet. The next time we hung out was at the end of June. Chris came over to pick me up, and we just went for a drive. I was a little nervous still, but although there were some periods of silence, they weren't awkward. And while I was listening to him talk, I distinctly remember getting a feeling that I knew him from somewhere. Just this feeling of familiarity, like we knew each other already (like maybe we knew each other in the premortal life?). It felt like I had found a long lost friend.. And things just took off from there. :) Our next date was at the temple. Chris and I and my friend Ashlyn all went to hang out at the Visitor's Center. We watched the movie, "One Fold and One Shepherd," I think. And while we were watching it, oh boy! were we aware of each other! lol I don't mean to sound disrespectful or sound like we didn't care about the movie, but we were sitting in the dark next to each other and it was soooo exciting! I wanted to just touch him so badly, just to see what his hand felt like.. So I put my hand on the arm rest and kind of turned my palm up.. *hint hint* ;) lol And when he grabbed my hand I was so incredibly nervous and happy and excited and tense that I totally almost lost it. If we hadn't of been at the temple, I'm sure I would have squealed or at least started giggling uncontrollably. :) After the movie we walked around the grounds a little bit and just held hands. It was absolutely wonderful. <3> The next day we went to see "Transformers" on it's opening night. We considered that our first "official date." We had to wait in line for hours, so we talked and laughed and got a chance to learn more about each other. A few days later, on the 4th of July, I think, we decided to be officially together. It seemed pretty fast, and our families told us it was, but it just felt right. We went on many more dates, and just about 3 weeks later, I went with Chris to his family reunion in Idaho. That is pretty fast, huh? ^_^ But I'd never been so sure of anything in my entire life. Chris was the one. By the end of August, we knew we wanted to be married. Chris proposed to me in Payson on my birthday (November 20th), and now, almost a year later, we're finally tying the knot. :) It's hard to believe it's actually happening. I am so in love, and have never been happier.