Tom and Me (Ryan Blog Excerpt)

(Posted by Ryan on Myspace)

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I remember this one time when Tom and me were in college, we were taking a Shakespeare class together. I don't remember much of the class, but I do remember the day Tom tried too hard.

On the first day of class Ms. Fisher put us into groups. My group consisted of Tom, Ashley, Shane, and myself. Poor Ashley, all alone in a group of nerds. Ms. Fisher might as well have thrown her to the wolves. Shane started giggling to himself while a little dribble of drool slid out of his mouth. Tom just stared but you could see the wheels turning in his head. And me? Well, I am always too nervous to do anything smooth. I just stared at her cool knee-high boots and asked her what her favorite toothpaste was. It was Crest.

We all took an instant liking to Ashley, especially Tom. Everyday, he would talk about how smart she was, Ashley this, Ashley that. You couldn't shut him up! As the semester went on and we worked together on projects in our little group, we all got to know each other pretty well. Tom was constantly making mental notes of all of Ashley's likes and dislikes. She was quite the character, Tom's dream girl. Vampires, Linkin Park, poetry, and plays were among Ashley's most favoritest things.

That Christmas, Ashley was in a production of "A Christmas Carol". Tom saw his chance to impress this gothic angel. On opening night, Tom stood second in line. He colored his hair red (to match Chester Bennington) and wore a shirt that said, "Vampires Suck" which was 3 sizes too small. I was first in line! I had gone out and bought a pink sweater for the occasion. And seeing as how pink sweaters are hard to come by, I had to buy a women's sweater. It even had a zipper down the back. I thought it was quite lovely.

I didn't know what Tom was up to that night. If I had, I never would have gone. After the play, Tom jumped onto the stage (you can do that sort of thing in Prescott) and asked for everyone's attention. He proceeded to scream out a vampiric rendition of "I got you babe" by Sonny and Cher. I recall that he changed the chorus line to, "I'll bite you babe" to really impress her with his creative use of vampires. He thought it was romantic. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

I don't think that Tom has ever tried so hard to impress a girl since.

Adventures in Physical Therapy (Ryan Blog Excerpt)

**NOTE--Ryan had to come home from his mission a month early due to an injury he aggravated in his back playing basketball on his P-Day. It was pretty severe, and he had to be flown home immediately to have emergency back surgery. We met a month after his surgery...bowling, as noted in the previous blog...he had to go to physical therapy after the surgery, so he was outlining his day at PT in this blog. At this time he was still living in California with his mom...he would come down on the weekends to take me on dates.** PAM

June 19th, 2007

Today was exciting! I headed out to Loma Linda for my physical therapy, just like any other Tuesday, but this would be no ordinary visit. I knew this would be the case when I had pulled into the parking and was greeted by an illegal immigrant trying to sell me a balloon for my girlfriend. I politely explained to him that no woman in her right mind would even consider being my girlfriend and that he would have better luck selling balloons over at McDonalds. Honestly, do I look like someone that would buy a balloon in a hospital parking lot? Come on!

Today they had me in the pool. Which meant I had to go to a different building. This is never good. I wandered up down different hallways for what seemed like years. By the time someone notcied me, my clothes were all raggedy, my beard reached to my waist, and I put Tom Hanks from Cast Away to shame becasue I was talking to my swimsuit.

So I finally found the pool, and it was time to change. Now, I am no Matthew Mcoughnehey, but when I stepped out onto the pool deck in my swimsuit, a couple 60 year ladies whistled at me. Yeah, watch out ladies, grrrrrr. After striking a few poses for my fans, it was into the pool for the hard stuff.

The hard stuff kicked off with walking from one end of the pool to the other. Step, step, step...whew, it's rough. After 10 minutes of that, it got worse! Sidestepping *cue scary music*. Step, step, step...You know, sometimes life is difficult, but hey, what can you do?

After warming up and doing some stretches it was time to pump some iron...err...foam. Pool weights are made of foam. I am no stranger to lifting wieghts, so I thought it would be easy. I was dead wrong. I not only had to lift weights and focus on my own excersises, but I had to keep an eye out and dodge an old curmudgeony man that looked just like Pintel from Pirates of the Carribean! He was like a misguided pervert whose soul purpose was to bump into people. That made weight lifting quite a harrowing ordeal. Fortunately, he never touched me :D

Then that was about it, after using the "weights" ... I think they are more like floats, it was time for me to do a few more excersises, then shower, change, and go home. I barely made it out alive. I get to do it again in a couple days!

Bowling (Ryan Blog Excerpt from when we met)

**NOTE** I'm going to be posting some of the blogs that Ryan did on his Myspace page after we met for the first time, and the ones he posted after we started dating. He loved to go on Myspace and post blogs for me to read, and sometimes, posted them to see where we stood...like whether or not he should tell me he loved me! :) In an effort to keep these postings for our future posterity (meaning our chitlins someday) I'm posting them on our family blog so I can print them out and save them in our family journal. And I'm sure his mom hasn't read any of these either, yet...I thought she might get a kick out of them. I loved reading Ryan's blogs...I hope you do too :)** PAM

This first blog was written by Ryan 3 days after we first met at a bowling alley with some friends...

Monday, June 18, 2007

Bowling is perhaps one of the most misunderstood sports of all time. The game involves a ball the size of your head, ten pins that vaguely resemble punching bags (Could this be the result of latent stress on behalf of the inventors?) and a lane. Legend has it that the orignal game of bowling did not involve a lane. Instead of rolling the ball toward the pins, prehistoric bowlers launched the bowling ball toward the pins shot put style. The lane was added by a scrawny Irish man who wasn't able to lift the ball over his head.

A common misconception about bowling is how the game is played. Most individuals (I was one before I saw the light) believe that the object of the game is to use the ball to knock down all the pins. This is not the case. Along with the ten pins there are two gutters that run along the sides of the lane. The odds that you will hit a pin vs. a gutter make it quite clear that the goal of the bowler should be to hit the gutter. 10 vs. 2...Hello, do the math!

Since the goal of a good bowler is not to knock down all the pins, one must ask, what is the purpose of bowling? The legendary Fred "Twinkle Toes" Flintstone asnwers that question. His unique style shows us that in order to bowl well, one must bowl with style. Yes, style is the key to being a good bowler.

Now we all know that I bowl with style. The last time I went bowling, I managed to achieve a style score of 12,567,924.23 points while only scoring a 58. That takes skill! Skill that I have spent almost none of my life perfecting. Inspite of that impressive show of athleticism, I got showed up! Pam dominated the bowling scene with unsurpassed ability to hit gutter after gutter with smoothness and precision. It was incredible! By the end of the night I was begging Pam to let me at least use her ball so that I might salvage some of my reputation. She was nice enough to let me borrow it for a few frames :)

All in all, Bowling is awesome, as long as you bowl with style. The pins are just a gag meant to distract you from what is really important.

It's always sunny in Arizona...

So, tonight, I'm on my own. A lot has happened since our last posts in February...to which I will outline below, eventually...but right this very moment, I'm lonely. So I thought a great way to temper that loneliness would be to update our blog :) After all, there's a lot to talk about...it's just finding the time to write it all down! So now is the time...

The reason I'm so lonely tonight is that Ryan has taken on a new job. Well, an old job for him, really. He's working back at Best Buy. A place he once knew so well before his mission...and has returned to what he loves. You might be wondering why he's working at Best Buy...well...quite honestly, University of Phoenix isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to a young 23 year-old guy, who has the opportunity to go to a ground campus. Online learning just wasn't for him...he didn't quite feel like he was getting the education or knowledge from his online classes as he would be able to get going back to a campus (Ryan excels at learning, and the kind of teaching/learning they do at UoP isn't the kind of intellectually stimulating courses he is used to in a classroom). And his job wasn't much better (as many people who have worked at University of Phoenix can probably attest to). After talking and thinking it over, we decided to send Ryan back to MCC for his Associates, and on to ASU after that. We figured he could get a part-time job, while going to school full-time. We felt good about this decision for him to quit University of Phoenix, as I would continue to work full-time until he got out of school in a few years.

Well...the very week we decided to send Ryan back to school (which was such a completely random idea for us), his mom was offered a position teaching at BYU-Idaho (we had called to tell her of our decision, and found out about her job offer). She hadn't decided on taking the position yet, and had done some of her own soul-searching/praying over the matter. While she was mulling this decision over, it seemed almost like divine inspiration as we called her and told her of all our happenings and decisions that week. She mentioned to us that Ryan would be granted free tuition as her son, if she took the job. All three of us had a lot of thinking/praying to do over the situation. This would require ALL THREE of us to move from our respective homes and jobs (she from California, we from Arizona) to the small town of Rexburg, Idaho...home to cold weather, snow, and a very small community! But as soon as we got off the phone with his mom, it made great sense to me and Ryan that this would be a great opportunity for him, and for our future. It's not like the old Ricks 2-year College it once was...this is now a bonafide 4-year college, really making a name for itself, due to it's current President...a man who was the Dean of Harvard Business School. He has brought a lot of great opportunities and internships to the college, due to his notoriety in the business community. This is such a great opportunity for Ryan to really find something he enjoys, and get a good jump start on a career. While neither Ryan or I ever expected to go to one of our religious schools (yes, we gawked at the idea of ever going to BYU-Utah just a few months before), for some reason, this opportunity feels SO right. It's amazing how Heavenly Father seems to always find a way to get us back on the path that is right for us, and how aware he is of what we are experiencing and what we desire in life. Even though things might be scary (I won't say I didn't have any hesitation about leaving my beloved Arizona, and my job I have made for myself, which keeps us taken care of) he has a way of letting you know everything will be ok, if we just take that step of faith into the darkness...the light will soon follow, and we will eventually see why we have taken the paths we did in life. I truly believe this will be the case with Ryan and me. Some day, years down the road, we will see how the paths were prepared for us, to reach our ultimate destinations. It's exciting to think that our lives are really just starting as a married couple, and this is the first big journey for us. Who knows...while I always said I could never live in the snow, I just might come to love it...and small towns :) And maybe, just maybe, Idaho could become our permanent home. But there is always the possibility that Idaho is just the beginning of our life-long journey. That's the exciting part.

So, December 2008 is when we are planning on packing all our stuff here in Arizona, and heading to the deep cold of Idaho. Ryan's working nights at Best Buy, and attending both summer sessions at MCC, as well as the Fall session, to get really close to finishing his Associates degree. I'm proud of him. And of his desire to gain a great education, and ultimately take care of our little family :) He is ambitious, and I love that about him. He's just getting started...I can't wait to see what he becomes when he really gets to where he wants to be. He'll be amazing at whatever he chooses to do.

As for me, I can't wait for December to come soon enough, so we can get out to Idaho, get me set up on insurance out there (I'm going to try to transfer to another Wells Fargo, if they have any openings when I move out there...) and start trying for babies :) I think Ryan is more excited about the babies than anyone :) He's cute. He'd have one now if we could. And quite honestly...so would I.

It's so weird how fast life can change...especially after life staying completely stagnant for 9 years! It's hard to wrap my mind around it sometimes. But it's exciting for change, too. I always said I could never be one of those girls that just picks up and moves to a different state out of the blue...with no job or anything...but here I am, doing just that! It's kind of empowering :) I like seeing that I have more courage than I give myself credit for sometimes...

It's getting late...Ryan should be home in about 30 minutes (he gets off at 10 p.m.). I need to go find my way into the kitchen and make him something for dinner...he never takes a break at work, so he's usually exhausted and HUNGRY when he comes home :)

I'll leave this for now, and tell you all how much I love and miss you...all my girlfriends are moving on right with me! Which it's good for all of us to be preoccupied now with our new lives, but sad that we lose touch. We've made some good memories together as single women, and have so many more to make with our new loved ones/friends/family members. So tonight, this blog is for you, girlfriends :) I miss and love you.

Pammy

A Quick Getaway From Homework

Hey all,

I thought that I would post a few words to let the world know that I am not a cute card-board cut out.

I am currently very busy with working full time and going to school full time. Any time that is left over is spent with my Pam. I am getting acclimated to this kind of killer schedule, and I look forward to graduating with my bachelors degree in a little over two years!

I am working and going to school at the University of Phoenix. Because I work in admissions, I recieve a 100% tuition waiver, and I only have to pay $40 per class for books... Not too shabby! I have chosen to persue a dregree in marketing and I have the long term goal of becoming an economist... which means I'm going to be in school for a long time.

Other than that, there isn't a whole of excitement in my neck of the woods. Pam and I are getting along famously, and I enjoy her company every hour of the day. She has been tremendously supportive of me while I have been in school. I also appreciate all the encouragement she gives me... It's nice having my own personal cheer leader :)

Well, I have some homework that I am avoiding, and I better snap to it!

Thanks for checking in,

Ryan the Great

To work, or not to work...that is the question.

So, I got this cute blog invite from one of my good friends the other day on the latest and greatest news of her fantastic family...and I thought to myself, "WOW...that is such a good idea...". I know we have several family and friends across the states that we don't get to see very often, so this is the perfect way to keep them informed of what we have going on in our newly married lives :) And today seemed like the perfect day for me to start it, since I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on my desk to do. That's right...I'm caught up on ALL of my work, for once in my life. So here I am...blogging...for you...in this 5 foot high cubicle enclosure of mine. And life couldn't be better...writing is my get-away in life...

Ryan and I are going on 2 months now of this thing they call "marriage". 2 MONTHS! Man, how time flies when you are having fun. We're finally getting adjusted to our daily routines, and dealing with the opposite sex :) (Please note, this is the first "real" relationship for BOTH of us, so neither of us have had to know the in's and out's of the opposite sex, and why they do WHAT they do :) Ryan's learning the "emotional" side of women, and why women need their own "girl time" sometimes with other women, and I'm learning about men and their need to want to fix everything! You never realize just HOW MUCH work marriage takes, until you are IN the situation, despite hearing this saying over and over in life! We're learning that communication is absolutely essential, trying not to read into things too much is important to keep from getting hurt feelings (especially during this beginning part where we are both super sensitive :), and learning each others personalities/jokes/sarcasm is something that has to be tread through...some adjustments might have to be made in our own personalities to keep from hurting the other. But I think we're finally coming to the emotional end of the first part of our marriage, and learning to understand each other more and more everyday. Ryan is THE BEST guy to talk things out with, and the MOST WILLING to fix things that need fixing...he really genuinly tries to understand the things I tell him, and tries to understand the things that I tell him I need as a woman, even if he doesn't understand why. I love that the most about him. He helps with everything, 50-50, in the house....cooking, cleaning, food shopping. He STILL opens my car door for me...my favorite guilty pleasure as a woman. I love it when he does that. He even tries to help me find video games for me to play on the XBOX :) That's a good man.

We're trying to get our daily routine figured out now...Ryan just started school on Tuesday. He's going for his Bachelors in Marketing at the University of Phoenix. He eventually hopes to get a Masters/Doctorate in Economics (probably from ASU, but that's not set in stone) and possibly become a Business Economist...he's really found his passion for it with the recent political campaigns going on (the campaigns have been a hot topic in our home for about a month now :) Ryan is definitely a DEVOTED student. That is one thing I know he got from his mother :) He is constantly checking up on the website (he is doing online schooling) to see if there are any new assignments or postings. The class seems to be going TOO SLOW for him. He excels at schooling, so he needs the challenge of a challenging class! He currently also works at the University of Phoenix, and on top of his good pay, he gets free schooling as well. We feel blessed with the opportunity for him to continue his education while making a good living for our family. This seems to be the ideal situation for us right now (as I also get an 80% discount on tuition from his work, so I'm going to start working on a degree in Psychology sometime soon). We all know I LOVE Arizona (born and raised!) and we hope to hang out here for as long as we can until a job or schooling eventually pulls us away. But until then, we are just enjoying ourselves in our apartment in Tempe. I'm lucky enough to work approximately 1.5 miles from my work...it takes me about 5 minutes MAX to get to or from work each day. I'm spoiled...and I love it :) Ryan's drive is A LOT better too...before we got married, it would take him about 1 hour to get to work everyday! Now, it just takes 15 minutes. We are both so close to home, that we have the great luxury of going home and having lunch with each other everyday...something most couples don't get to do! We like to eat and watch "Blind Date" on t.v....another guilty pleasure of ours ;) I'm just working at my current job as a Loan Processor for Wells Fargo (they bought out my previous employer "The CIT Group" last July, so I now work for the bank!). I'll keep this stint up for as long as our family needs the money (we're sitting quite comfortably as of now, and have almost no debt...so it's a good time for us to furnish our home and get everything paid off so we are set up both financially and with material necessities for our home before I ever quit), and until a little one happens to come along...but we aren't planning on starting the process for any additions for about a year :) We're trying to get Ryan a little further in both school and work before then...but we'll both admit that seeing all the babies at our family ward each Sunday, and seeing our friend's twin babies, we get the bug to have a cute kid of our own all the time :) It gets hard, sometimes, to resist the temptation, but we both think, in the end, it would be better for us to wait just a little longer. We'll see what the future holds :) We would make some pretty FINE looking babies...HA!

Until next time...XOXO

Pam