Thursday, April 30

smitten for...love 3

The boy apparently had a wonderful time on our date. While it wasn't horrible, I wasn't having any feelings for the boy and didn't feel like I needed to talk to him all the time. But, I continued chatting with him when he would call and we continued to see each other every once and awhile when we ended up at the same places. 

That summer, it was a big deal for us to go to this comedy club by my house. The boy called one day and wanted to know if I would go to the comedy show with him. I don't really know why, but I gladly accepted. Honestly, I don't really remember anything special about this night. {The boy had to remind me years later about the events that took place...oops!} 

After the show, we went back to my parents house and hung out. I remember watching t.v. with him while laying on the couch. He was sitting up and I was laying my head on his lap. The one thing that I remember vividly is the fact that his stomach was growling ALL night and he kept having to get up and go to the bathroom. :) {I was reminded} that at the end of the evening, the boy leaned his head down towards mine for our first, very innocent kiss. 

I still wasn't totally into this boy. Why? I don't know. It was fun to hang out with him, but he really wasn't my "type." I didn't really want a boyfriend during my Senior year, especially one who was going away to college soon. 

Towards the end of the summer, a ton of people from my high school decided to go to the John Mayer concert. It was a hot, muggy night filled with dancing and gossiping. The boy called me to let me know that he was at the concert, too. We decided on a meeting place so we could chat for a minute. Our chat turned into a small make-out session. It quickly ended and we decided it was time to go back to our respective friends for the remainder of the evening. 

The summer was coming to an abrupt end and it was time for the boy to leave for IU. We had had a few discussions about our status, and both agreed it was in our best interest to remain friends. I knew that being a freshman at IU would bring many new and fun experiences, not to mention the plethora of beautiful girls whom the boy would surely become interested in.  

The night before the left for IU, I hung out at his parent's house while he packed things up. We had a fun time just hanging out together. Late into the evening, I decided it was time for me to leave. As he walked me out to my Jeep, I felt these crazy feelings that I hadn't felt for him before. We hugged and kissed for a minute, he opened my door and asked for me to put my window down. We said our one last "see you later" and kissed one more time. I drove away, wind blowing and music blasting {just like the night we met}, but this time I began to cry harder than I have ever done so in my life. Now I knew I liked this boy and he was being taken away from me. 

Wednesday, April 29

smitten for...love 2

Days went by and it was time for me to leave for Hawaii. I did not bring my cell phone with me on my trip. I called home a few times during those 3 weeks to check in with my parents. Friends and family sent me notes, but we got our mail one time at the end of the trip. Other than our mail, I had no contact with anyone other than my parents for those 3 weeks. 

It took me forever to get home from Hawaii. I had three different layovers. During my last layover in Detroit, I decided that I would sit at a pay phone and check my voicemail. Surprisingly I had 2 messages on my cell phone from the {very drunk} boy I had met at the "open house." And not so surprisingly, he left both of those messages after he had been drinking... But, drinking or not, he still called and left me 2 messages. 

It was great to be home and see my friends and family. Three days passed quickly and I was out of the States, again. I decided I should call the boy back to let him know I received his messages. I told him I was leaving again for a week, but he could call once I was back. 

And call he did! Almost too much! He would call for no reason or just to say hi, which would turn into 45 minute phone conversations about NOTHING. We began having conversations, but I  didn't really think anything about them. In fact, I was starting to become more and more annoyed. He told me that he knew many things about me. He said he had almost asked me to prom his Senior/my Junior year. {we went to the same high school} I didn't think this friendship was going anywhere. So, I continued on with my exciting summer plans. Our paths crossed a few times when we ended up hanging out at the same place. But, I was more focused on having fun and didn't have any interest in spending my time with one person. 

During one of our random phone conversations, it was somehow decided that we go to dinner together. Sounds great, huh? Well, not so much! Me, Miss Hopeless Romantic, and boy, Mr. Not Romantic, going on a "date." His idea of a "date" consisted of us meeting at an Italian restaurant 5 minutes from his house and 20 minutes from mine. I don't really remember anything special about dinner or me having any feelings for this somewhat awkward boy. But what I do remember is what happened at the end of dinner. Me {being a nice girl} offered to pay for my part of the dinner expecting for the boy to say, "Of course not. I've got it." But instead I heard, "Ok. I'll put the dessert {that we split} on my bill." I still remember being so shocked. I can't imagine what the look on my face was! 

I know you are thinking that I am a cheap girl and I should have been fine paying for myself. But let's get real! We were on a first "date," he didn't offer to pick me up and now I was paying for my own dinner?!? In the eyes of a hopeless romantic, that's an awful "date!" He invited me to his house to hang out for a little while because some of his friends were coming over. The boy, his friends and I sat in his basement feeling awkward until it was time for me to call it a night and go home.  

smitten for...love

I am a hopeless romantic. But, there is a slight problem...I am utterly in love with a boy who is not the most romantic person in the world!

It all began in June of 2003. I had planned on that summer becoming one of the best in my life. Those plans did not include meeting a boy or having a boyfriend, period. This was the summer after my Junior year in high school. I have to admit, to this day, Junior year was the most fun year I've ever had. {It was C.R.A.Z.Y.} I had spent the majority of my middle school days and high school career moving from boyfriend to boyfriend. After a bad break-up early in Junior year, I decided to enjoy the "single" life. It sure proved to be fun! (I will admit, the one thing I miss about being single is being able to *flirt*!) That summer, I had planned on enjoying time with friends by basking in the summer sun during the day and doing God knows what at night. 

The summer of 2003 also brought along a three week backpacking trip {"summer camp"} to Hawaii. This was the most amazing trip I've EVER been on! Think hiking to existing lava flows, learning to surf, living on a catamaran for 3 days, sleeping under the stars on the beach {while ants crawled all over you in the morning!}, hiking {with a 100 lb. pack} for 8 hours straight, and much more! After spending {a short} three days at home relishing in the memories of my trip, I boarded another plane destined for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my parents and a good friend for a weeklong vacation. This vacation couldn't top that of Hawaii, but we sure had a ton of fun! We met boys from Canada, London and Arizona and had fun hanging out with them all week. Because I was gone for such a large part of the summer, I didn't have a summer job that year. That meant the remainder of the summer was spent relaxing and enjoying be a "kid." 

My amazing summer plans ended up becoming a reality, with the exception of one. One late evening early in June, I ended up stopping by a friend's graduation Open House. The Open House had turned into a party hours before I arrived, so I was greeted by many drunken high schoolers. I decided to make my rounds and ended up meeting a few new people along the way. Shortly after I had arrived, the party came to an abrupt end. The boy's mom had not planned on this many teenagers partying at her house and wanted all the drunken strangers to go home. My friend and I began making our way down the front walk towards my Jeep, when we were stopped by a group of boys. I'm not sure what the conversation was about, but I do remember being introduced to a few new {very drunk} boys. 

We drove away in my Jeep with the windows down and music blasting. The evening ended when I dropped my friend off and then went to spend the night with one of my best friends from 2nd grade. As we were falling asleep, I told my friend, "I met this boy tonight..."   


Tuesday, April 28

and so it begins...

I am new to this, so please forgive me. (I'm quite nervous!)

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time. I thought I'd wait until I got engaged to begin blogging {about weddings}, but plans have changed. (More on that later...) So, I decided I'd write about all the things I am *smitten* about until I {hopefully} have a wedding blog. :) 

I hope you will enjoy reading about my utterly smitten life filled with love, family, friends, dogs, J.Crew and much, much more.