Hey everyone! I thought it would be a great time for a blog post to share the whirlwind of the last few months. To begin, December was filled with friend and family gatherings, dog sitting, and a heartwarming trip to Buffalo for my cousin's wedding. No, there was no snow on this visit to New York, and the weather was quite tame. Kyle and I also hosted a potluck-style Christmas party at home which involved a friendly game of Dirty Santa. I picked the perfect gift; an assortment of all different hot sauce flavors! The following weekend was spent at my parents' new riverside home for Christmas. It was a perfect blend of quality time and relaxation, even though we were collectively watching four dogs in a small space!
Moving into 2024, I pictured the month of January being one of renewal, organizing, planning, and unwinding from December festivities. Although I kicked off the year with a few new habits, goals, and loads of motivation, I was met with some surprises as life often delivers. One that really threw me for a loop is that I wound up in bed for a week with covid. If I recall correctly, I have not been sick as often over the last few years, but when I am sick it typically is a form of covid now! The first couple of days are awful as it takes much effort to move and simply opening my eyes results in an instant migraine. The worst part, being sick ruined our fourth-anniversary plans to go to the zoo and dine at Burger Up as we do every year! As strange as it is to say, being sick actually led to a series of events that turned into the perfect proposal by my now fiancé. Yes, Kyle proposed right at four years of us being together! Don’t worry, I am going to share all the details.
We planned to visit the zoo and continue our anniversary tradition, going to Burger Up and sitting in the exact same spot as we do every single year. With me being sick still, this was unfortunately not an option. So, I called Kyle and asked him to get takeout from Burger Up when he finished work. I tidied up the kitchen, lit 100 tea light candles, put a crackling fire on the television, and turned on some classic music. We had already planned on doing an Adventure Challenge the next day, which involved the candle set up and a steak dinner, so it was all ready to go. As a side note, if you have never heard of the Adventure Challenge then go check it out! The following day, Kyle brought home roses and insisted on making the whole dinner while I lit the candles. The challenge involved answering 5 questions during dinner, with the last question being, "What do you know you were always meant to do in life?" When we finished eating, I said "I think that was the last question" to which Kyle got up and said “Actually, I think there is one more. The thing I know I was meant to do in my life is marry you. Will you marry me?” We had no idea what the questions were going to be which ended up flowing perfectly. I also had no idea he was going to propose that night, thinking it would have been on our anniversary the day before or on our San Antonio trip that week! Yes, I was shocked and I did cry. It really was a magical moment.
The first week of February, Kyle and I traveled to San Antonio as a newly engaged couple. We wanted to experience as much as possible on our trip and we lucked out with the weather. Our first stop was the aquarium, which was unique for several reasons. Most of the animals are not fish but rather, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The aquarium focuses heavily on interaction with the animals versus observation. We chose to enter into one of the several lemur exhibits and we were able to pet them on their backs while the keepers educated us. You can imagine the look on my face when we were told, if threatened, a lemur can scalp a human in under seven seconds! Kyle and I went to the zoo, too, as we always do when we explore a new city. If you are a bird lover, San Antonio Zoo is the place to go as I have never seen so many different birds in my life. Overall, San Antonio has a great zoo all around and I would visit again next time we are in the city.
If you know me, you know that if I am anywhere near an amusement park then I have to go, no exceptions. Kyle on the other hand, let us just say, has definitely gotten over his fear of heights after I have dragged him to ride rollercoasters with me over the years. San Antonio Six Flags did not disappoint! There were several rides that were unique compared to other theme parks which surprised me with a new thrill level. I have been to many Six Flags and San Antonio Texas is now top three in my book. We also pulled out our travel Adventure Challenges for something more spontaneous to do on the trip and the task involved visiting a speakeasy. It ended up being a fun little adventure with a door hidden in the back alley behind an unassuming restaurant. The only light on this side of the building was a small green lantern above the door with a mouth slit to say a password after knocking three times. There were only a few other couples in the speakeasy and we were able to relax and enjoy our date night. One other adventure we had that week involved almost getting sucked into a timeshare after what ended up being a four-hour presentation. Yes, it sounds just as bad as it was. However, we did enjoy a complimentary dinner at The Tower of The Americas for attending the presentation. The food was absolutely delicious and the sunset views were pretty fantastic. It was definitely a romantic dinner to celebrate our engagement.
I learned that you cannot visit San Antonio without learning historical facts everywhere you go. We took a brief visit to the Alamo and we also did some exploring through the infamous river walk. Next time we travel here we will likely be spending most of our time seeing all that the river has to offer in terms of sights and cuisine, as there is simply so much to do there. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was a riverboat tour late at night. Our tour guide was exceptional, the weather was perfect, and the history told along the river was so intriguing. The excursion was truly one of a kind. We stopped into a restaurant called The Esquire Tavern after our tour that was disguised as a barber shop during the prohibition era, yet was kept under wraps as the alcohol never stopped flowing. We sat at the bar the tour guide informed us about which is the longest wooden bar top in Texas. If you are familiar with San Antonio, you may be wondering at this point why I have not mentioned anything regarding the fact that it is one of the most haunted cities in America. I will just say that I am not into anything haunted and I made sure to avoid all ghost tours!
Even while exploring a new city and feeling on top of the world spending uninterrupted time with my fiancé, I could not stop myself from getting some wedding planning done. I love planning parties along with all the details, so planning my wedding has been a very exciting task that I could not wait to dive into. With that being said, I immediately had a venue and date set for September of this year! My mom visited me on and off over the month of February while we immersed ourselves in researching, emailing, calling, and visiting countless vendors. We now have everything booked and I also found and said “Yes” to my dress! All that is left to do is figure out the many details such as hairstyles and accessories while also planning our parties leading up to the wedding.
With all these exciting events happening, I have also been collaborating on a new and challenging project, as I have the pleasure of capturing the pictures for a friend’s devotional book. An image for each devotional is renewing my creativity as it is a task that I have never done before. We are working hard to get all the pictures done and it should be finished in the next couple of months. I cannot wait to see the final results when it gets published in the fall! New challenges bring new joys, and this has been no exception. I am honored to have the opportunity to take on this project and grow along the way.
Life's moments, both sweet, and at times difficult, deserve to be captured and remembered. I am savoring every moment on the path to new beginnings, taking my time and trying to avoid overwhelm through it all. I hope you stay tuned in for more glimpses into my life and the adventures that lie ahead. As I navigate through this season, both personally and professionally, I am grateful to you for being a part of this incredible journey!
