correction & the holiday

so nate - the linguist - has informed me that the title of my last post should more correctly read:

replace "i" with "we" & "me" with "us"

Anyway ... we went hiking up at Spencer's Butte yesterday with the ward for Family Home Evening. Neither of us had ever hiked the butte, despite our almost 2 years living in Eugene. It was a beautiful evening and while not a difficult hike ... we did break a sweat! It felt good since I have taken a time out on the gym due to the thesis taking over my life.

Here are some photos of us on Spencer's Butte:

Nate is doing the Oregon "O" around Autzen Football Stadium ...
he's a super fan of the Ducks.

replace "i" with "us" & "we"

so i promised some pictures and i am now delivering! we took a few photos yesterday before going to the Portland Temple. we clean up pretty good, if i don't say so myself.




How did we meet you may be wondering ... well its pretty typical ... in our singles ward here in Eugene. The funniest part (okay one of the many funny parts) is that i pretty much was like ... yup my love life is taking a hiatus while i go to Eugene, Oregon ... because really? What are the odds?

We both moved into the ward in Fall 2007 to start graduate school and we became friends - pretty casually at first - and this Fall I would say we became even closer. Lots more long talks about life and the both of us trying to figure out how to be better at it. Of course looking back, this whole time we have been trying to catching each other's eye but not with any real intent. Really I think its all about timing and quite frankly, neither of us was in a place to be starting this "we" business. For the past year and a half we both have been focused on school and making ourselves into the people we want to be - the people who can be better halves to a pretty amazing whole.

Something started to get going in the more than friends department about six months ago - but I know I was denying questions about us dating and thinking ... "that's funny they think we are dating ... hehehhe ... hmmm I wonder? ... well anyway ... Nate isn't into me, he likes Asian girls" (hahaha - babe ... just teasing, but i did tell myself that at times.)

But something just happened in April and we were both just there. Maybe it was the fact that graduation is coming up in June and then that was it ... heading separate ways ... maybe it was just that neither one of us could finish school with the other as a distraction (although we are still struggling through this one finishing a thesis and a final project) ... maybe it was just suppose to be like this. I don't know ... but we are both crazy about each other and laughing about how we missed it for sooo long. People at church were like - well yeah ... that makes sense.

And most of all it feels right ... which is the greatest feeling in the world.


Nate is an amazing man and i am super lucky that he likes to be with me!

Some facts about Nate:

- age: 27 (his 28th birthday is in July)
- hometown: seattle, washington
- mission: Korea (00-02)
- school: graduated from BYU in 2005 (same time as me!) with a BA in Korean Studies and a minor in Asian Studies ... now he is a graduate student getting a MA in Linguistics with an emphasis in Language Teaching.

This is him trying to be all intellectual and interesting ... hahahaha

Isn't he cute?! He keeps his hair short - which I really like on him ... and he has a nice soft beard that I love because its very rugged (and it makes him look older :) which I also like!)

My turn! I don't post (or take for that matter) many pictures these days with school and all ... so per many people's requests ... here I am!

Nate posed me for this one ... i am suppose to be looking all mysterious i guess :) - hahaha

say hello to the boy ...

This is Nate ... we are in his study room at the Library on campus, hence all the books in the background ... not the best picture ... we are working on it - i promise.

Feeling Joyful

My horoscope ... yet again is pretty right on.

Self-discipline may come naturally to you, but not today as pleasurable Venus tugs on your key planet Saturn. You can attempt to be the serious one, yet you're having too much fun now. Additionally, you cannot see any harm in feeling joyful, even if this has nothing to do with your job. Still, if you feel revitalized by doing something outside your normal comfort zone, you'll return to work even more ready to make a positive impact.


Still trying to figure things out with the boy :) Thanks for the excitement ladies! And excitement is appropriate ... more details on him (and the excitement) to come ... I PROMISE!

status update

just a quick post because i am suppose to be wrapping up my thesis right now ... draft to be turned in tomorrow ... eekkk!

this is what i got going on:

- thesis completion deadline = June 2
- sometime before June 2 i need to do a thesis presentation
- final class presentation for my 2 Portland classes = June 9/10 (TBD)
- GRADUATION = June 13
- three weddings to attend in the month of June
- planning a trip to Hawaii to see Lindsay, Jordan, and Adilay (yeah!) = sometime after June 13th

what else?

- still don't have a job (eeekkk!)
- owe more money in student loans than I would like to admit (double eeekkk!)
- don't know what i am doing with my life ... do i move ... where to?

a bright spot:

- although its sort of difficult timing (we won't say bad ... because when is it a good time??) there is a little bit of romance brewing in my life ... and he is AMAZING. I feel super lucky no matter what happens ... ( i am definitely blushing at this point !!!)

More details to come :) ... probably after the thesis is turned in :(

goal achieved ... alright maintenance bring it on!

my w squared goal was achieved on tuesday (its been a crazy thesis writing week ... ugghh) and now i have six weeks to maintain my weight ... which crazy enough sounds hard. i have been losing on a fairly consistent basis for 8 months now (43.4 pounds in case you were wondering) and i am not really sure what it means to maintain.

apparently i have to eat a little bit more ... yum ... but eek! in all honestly, i don't feel that deprived anyway. yes i watched what i eat but i still have a cookie when i want. basically i am a lot more discriminating with my food choices. i try to make them really count.

anyway ... wish me luck!

Whoa

i love how igoogle allows me to read my horoscope everyday ... its always such a highlight for me. this is todays "reading" ... apparently love is looking to get me! Sigh. If only it were true.

"Pluto's long-term visit to your sign is heated up today by Venus, the planet of love. It's not an easy matter to explore your desires because they currently take you further than you want to go. Unfortunately, the regular rules cannot make you feel safe now, for they are merely guidelines and no longer absolute limits. Fortunately, your uncharacteristic willingness to explore the uncertainties of your emotions can ultimately bring you closer to happiness."