Count It

I feel like I owe an apology. I'm not sure who to... to our readers, to our mothers, but mostly to my own personal guilt for not writing when I said I would write at least twice a month. So I apologize for leaving the past 3 months blank. To make up for lost time, I am going to recount the past 3 months in less than 300 words, starting now:

On New Year's Eve 2010, The Princess and Pugs rolled into Burlington just as the fireworks were reaching their finale over Lake Champlain. Exhausted and dirty we could do little more than stumble from our cars to the comfort of mother's guest bed. And so it was, me with a broken arm (sore from 4 days of driving), a couple of Vicodin and a bottle of wine, that Jeremy and I kicked off the New Year.

Life began immediately:

We moved into our new apartment. Jeremy started coaching for Mad River Glen and cooking at the Village Cup. I resumed my position at Seventh Generation and enrolled in a night class at CCV. Maiden got a little fatter. Jeremy got a little skinnier. And I think we all got a little happier.

The wedding plans have been coming along with a little more ease. Monday night is our dedicated 'Wedding Planning Night' and I've started recruiting girls on Fridays for 'Wine & Wedding Crafts.' My bi-weekly wedding freak-outs have started to wane. Especially after spending an amazing 24-hours of dress shopping & bachelorette banching in NYC with my girls.

Some of you may have caught word of The Refuge. This is our new baby (now that our plants have all died and Maiden is almost 1 year old) and, as babies do, it has changed our lives. And you know what that means.... We're moving! Again! Although this time it's just across town and to somewhere with a nursery - oops, I mean office.

So there you have it: 3 months in 300 words. Today, I am in love with Vermont, and even more in love with Jeremy for being here with me.

New Moves

It's nearly Christmas now and almost two months since our last post. I hope our avid readers will forgive the temporary absence. In defense, I must admit that Jeremy and I have finally encountered some "speed bumps" along our "highway to heaven." Consequently, we've made the decision to move back to Vermont before the New Year. Of course this was not an easy decision -- one we are still trying to digest -- but considering the alternatives, it was the best we could do.

...IN OTHER HAPPIER NEWS...

...MAIDEN IS AWESOME!!!

... AND Cristin & Andy are here!! They drove across the country last month for a 6-week ski vacation and have been living in our little home in between runs. It's been so nice having them here. Andy taught Maiden how to play "Fetch." Cristin and I discovered Hot Yoga and have been reluctantly trying to avoid adopting more baby animals from the shelter. Jeremy and Andy have been skiing almost every day. Apparently some of the best conditions in years. There have been nights of good food and cheap drinks, and days of hot springs and Christmas tree decorating. Be sure to ask Cristin about the time the Moose ran over her ski tips.



Unfortunately Cristin & Andy leave in a few days to have Christmas in Boston, but lucky for us they're being replaced by Mel & Mike! We'll keep you posted on our 1st Christmas without family and the Great Migration Home!

Vegas Baby

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. We are not going to live by this motto, but instead we're going to share the details of our two days and nights in the ultimate Sin City.

I arrived in Vegas a few hours before Julie, and immediately checked into our hotel room at The Hard Rock Hotel. Well, immediately may be a small lie... first I had a delicious beer at Hofbräuhaus. The Hard Rock Hotel is huge... It's basically a hotel, casino, mall, tattoo studio, concert arena, vacation club, athletic club, bar, and restaurants all in one. Every hotel/casino in Vegas takes up an entire block, each of which is larger than the entire town of Jackson (no joke). I wasted time waiting for My Love to arrive by of course spending time in the Tattoo Studio at the hotel. Don't worry I did not get "new ink" but instead looked at the portfolios of the resident artists. My favorite tattoo was by far an enormous piece encompassing a guy's entire chest with the word "VEGAS BABY." I knew we were in for a good time.

When Julie finally arrived at the hotel we met up with Julie's friend Mick in the lobby. Mick was visiting from Australia. Julie had told me many stories about Mick. I was excited to meet him. The three of us went up to Mick's room where we had some drinks and met up with another Aussie, Luke. I have to admit one thing... i really really love Australians. They are so carefree, fun and happy. It was great to be around them as we don't get many interactions with Aussies here in Jackson.

That night we went to a night club in The Mirage Hotel with a bunch of other ladies visiting Mick. Julie had told me Mick was a ladies man and all the American girls studying abroad fall in love with him. I could tell every word was true. The only question I had was: "how many of these American ladies had Mick wooed in Australia, and were they going to get in fights over him here in the states?" I was hoping to experience some serious cat-fights.

I was, and still am, completely blown away by the size of Vegas. The hotel/casinos are enormous. I had no idea they were so expansive, and so over-the-top. I kept thinking what humans would think of our civilization 1000 years from now once our "Vegas-style Empire" has collapsed. I think they will be amazed at our engineering, be disgusted by our lack of foresight, and have completely wrong theories about what all the slot-machines were used for.

I could write loads more about our Vegas experience, but for time's sake I will continue with a brief summary of the highlights. We loved being able to walk around the city with open Coronas. Julie treated me to one of the best Italian meals I have ever had. And we rode the roller coaster throughout the Vegas skyline at New York New York. I felt like a kid again (Vegas, the R-rated Disney Land).

One final order of business. We did not come out on top. We did not really loose too much either. Neither of us are big gamblers. I lost about five dollars at the slot-machines despite being on a "hot machine" that decided become cold once I got close to winning a motorcycle. We also lost 20 dollars at roulette. In the end we lost 25 dollars, had a really great time, got to spend time with friends, and committed no sins in the Sin City (which maybe a sin itself).

Oh yeah... one more thing... We resisted the urge to get married in Vegas. It was hard... so the wedding is still on this June 17th and 18th...I can't wait!!!! Also, I love Julie more than love itself.

The Hard Work That Pays

Let me just start out by saying my fiance is perfect. I mean, no one is perfect, but Jeremy is really good at being perfect for me. No one else tries as hard to make me happy, no one else will do whatever it takes to be with me as much as possible, and no ones else works as hard to get me what I want.

On Friday, Jeremy left to go to work at 4:30pm. We were both crying from a previous dispute (started by me, of course) and neither one of us wanted to be apart. By 5:30, I had stopped crying and was starting to think about what I could do to mend things between us, when suddenly, in strolls Jeremy with a bouquet of flowers!! So I started crying again and we just held each other for a very long time. Long enough for all the "whatever" from before to disappear and all the love that we have for each other to come rushing back. Finally, he pried me off of him, told me to pull myself together and put the flowers in water. When I had finished following his instructions, he had me sit down next him on the couch. Then he slid the silver band we wore for each other off my finger and pulled out a little red box.


I found this ring in Vermont the weekend he proposed and fell in love with it. Ever since, Jeremy has been working around the clock to make sure I got it.

Jeremy, I know I'm good at giving you a hard time, but where it counts the most, you are perfect.

Life after Engagement

People have been asking me what "engagement life" is like. Well I'll tell you:

Everyday Jeremy and I wake up in our bed of roses, hop on our magical engagement pony and fly through pink, fluffy clouds to the top of the Tetons where we play in fields of flowers with the fairies. Then we get out of bed, make breakfast, plan our wedding and go to work. Just kidding! Only Jeremy goes to work. I stay home and play with Maiden - who has leukemia. Boo :(

But in all seriousness, the first month we've spent as an engaged couple has probably been the most stressful month of our relationship. Now that I've got my heart set on a ring, Jeremy's been working double to try to pay for it, and I've had a lot more time alone to reflect on my decision to move out here. Jeremy and I agreed that we'd try to keep this post positive, so I'm trying my best not to complain and appreciate this as a learning experience.

Through the stress, tears, screams and silences, I think we've learned a few things about life in love. We have learned that life can't be a compromise it always has to be an agreement; that we have to love ourselves to love each other; that having independence is what brings us closer together; and that if one person isn't happy, it just doesn't work - no matter what.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have moved to Jackson. At the time I was trying to convince myself that I could be different and learn to love a lifestyle I had never lived. Why is this always the hardest lesson to learn? You simply can't change people. Not even yourself. But I'm going to stick it out. I am determined to find a way to be happy here because Jeremy and I deserve to be happy.

I do have many things to look forward to: road-trip to Colorado, a weekend in Vegas, Thanksgiving in Arizona, Christmas with Mel & Mike, and hopefully some other visitors into snowshoeing and skiing the bunny hill.

So there you have it: Life after Engagement. Maybe not Cloud 9, but guess what? I'm still madly in love.

Meet The Maiden

Miss Iron Maiden Walker (the 'Iron' is silent) was adopted into our family on August 28th, 2010 at 12:57pm from the Star Valley Humane Society in Thayne, Wyoming.

Weighing in at a whopping 1.7 lbs, this 10-week-old brown-eyed, gray and white tabby won our hearts by gingerly kissing Jeremy on the chin the first time he held her. She has the perfect balance of spunk and affection, has already pooped on our carpet and is still trying to figure out who that funny looking cat in the mirror is.

For those who don't know, I have been wanting a kitten for quite some time now. To be honest, ever since I moved out to Jackson I've been desperately in need of some company around the house when Jeremy's at work. It's questionable whether or not I'll be able to concentrate on my work now, but I can already tell that I'm going to love having Maiden around.

We're Engaged!!

On August 19th, at the top of Mount Mansfield in our beautiful home state of Vermont, Jeremy Walker told me there was a question he would only be asking once in his life. Sitting on a rock ledge, sweaty and jet-lagged, he asked me to marry him.

It was so surprising, yet expected and so silly, yet serious that I didn't know how to react. He was visibly nervous and I was in shock. I was experiencing my once in a lifetime proposal; the answer was so painfully obvious I was speechless. Finally, I came to and managed to say, "Yes, of course!"

Twenty minutes later, when we had finished crying and laughing and embracing, we got to our feet and had someone take our picture. "Sweet! Let's go down and start planning our wedding!!!"