Things WERE horrible....

After graduation, with the declining economy, finding a job seemed nearly impossible. I knew I wanted to be with J-Dawg, but just couldn't figure out how to. There was no way I could ask him to leave the dairy, nor did I want him to. It was such a part of him. So we discussed me moving to Clovis, and finding a job there. I began looking at apartments and sending in applications everywhere imaginable in the High Plains. 

Jeroen took me to look at some small houses and apartments in the Clovis area, something within my budget. I had a couple of leads, but nothing was really fitting. He had mentioned us moving in together a couple of times, but at the time, was living with his sister and had a very comfortable and nice setup that he couldn't afford to leave.  

Things were just looking so gloomy, and I felt like Eeyore. I was attending interviews after interviews, with no call-backs. But I wasn't about to give up, I loved this man more than anything and there was something so special about what we had. 

We knew how in love we were, and when we were apart the pain was nearly unbearable. We just belonged together, there were no ands, ifs, or buts about it. I was miserable being in Las Cruces. I had graduated and no longer wanted to be working for the car dealership, or dealing with the college drama. I spent nights journaling and on Job Search websites, trying to get through it.

Then some shocking news came... his parents were looking for a small house they could buy, fix up, and end up having later for when their yoghurt line kicked up (in case the future manager needed housing). On Aug 2nd, I was given word that his folks were actually physically viewing houses. If they were to find one, they were hoping Jeroen would move into it and fix it up. 

On Aug 19th, they placed a bid on a beautiful 1,700 sq. ft house they found in Farwell, TX outside Clovis.  After discussing payment details with his parents, the bid was accepted on Aug 27th and a down payment was made. Jeroen then invited me to move in with him. I could not have been more happy!

I turned in my two-weeks to the car dealership, and my mom came down to Cruces to help me pack and hold a yard sale. All the money made was set aside to help pay for things the house needed. In a last desperate attempt to find a job, I picked up the Clovis phone book and began calling all the businesses that I might enjoy working for. 

I wasn't optimistic about the responses, and I began to worry more. Only two of the thirty-some-odd companies I called actually took messages. One of which was Danforth and Sons Service Co., a dairy service company. I asked if they were hiring and she said not really but they would take down my information and get back to me. 

Much later, after they reviewed my resume, I received a call-back that her husband would like to meet with me. Ecstatic, I put on some nice clothes and met my soon-to-be boss for breakfast. We chatted for hours, and really got to know one another. They weren't necessarily looking to hire, and were unsure about my marketing/ advertising degree. They said they'd be in touch with me. Although I thought it went well, I felt disappointed about the fear of being denied another job.

But later I received call saying they "saw something" in me and loved my "passion for dairies". They had wanted to begin route sales for dairy supplies and I was their gal. They had understood the whole situation I was going through with the move, and trying to clear out of the old house. They offered me a position- to start in Oct, giving me enough time to get my stuff situated. 


Although the month of Aug and Sept seemed to drag on and on, looking back I can say it all went pretty smooth and quick. Things really began to fall into place, and God truly did have a plan for Jeroen and I. Although I never doubted God, I was making a lot of plans that He was laughing at. He knew exactly what he was doing for us. 


By the middle of Sept, we had moved into the house and began working on it... It was our first home, and during the renovation process we learned so much about one another.

In the next blog: "Before and After: A home's renovation from elderly adornment to a modern twist with Dutch/Country/ Zebra flare!"

Weddings and Baby Showers, Oh My!

J-Dawg and I had two events in the same month that we were invited to. We were looking forward to both of them, and unfortunately didn't look at the calendar soon enough. We later realized they were on the same day...

My brothers had a very close friend, T-Boyle, that they had been friends with for as long as I can remember. Now T-Boyle was a very good-looking individual, and had a personality that made girls melt. If you haven't figured it out by now, I was that annoying little sister that was crushin' on my brothers' buddy, six years my elder. It didn't matter to me though; in middle school, I decided he was perfect. He set the bar--- I would compare every guy to him.

My sister was married in Vegas in 2007, and with all the wedding hype (and some alcohol) I thought it would be a great idea to contact T-Boyle and propose. He giggled warmly, and said "For you..... sure!" I knew he was just being kind to me, but he always knew how to boost my confidence.  It was at that point that I decided I would only marry someone who was comparative to T-Boyle (I thought it would be impossible). 

Well, I got an invite to attend T-Boyle's wedding, and knew I wanted to be there and wish him the best. Only problem is, the wedding was the same day as J-Dawg's cousin's, (Katrina) coed baby shower. Katrina and her dad Titus are J-Dawg's only family in the States. Because of this, they are all very close and J-Dawg and his family like to spend time with them whenever they can. 

Luckily for us, the wedding was in Los Lunas and the baby shower was in Bosque Farms, only minutes from each other. We decided to try and attend both... 

"McHotts" Ready for the Wedding

First, we went to the wedding. Being in the church and seeing friends and family was comforting. The bride walked down the aisle, looking gorgeous. I thought I'd be hurting over watching the man I had admired for the past ten + years, tying the knot. Then I looked to my right just as J-Dawg squeezed my hand and smiled warmly at me. At that point I realized, he was the only man I wanted at my side for the rest of my life. I wish a happy and healthy life for T-Boyle and his bride and know that everything happens for a reason. 


We then decided to head to the coed baby shower, and then figured we would head to the wedding reception after. J-Dawg gave me a tour around Titus' house where the shower was being held. I was overwhelmed with its beauty. There was a nearly life-size original Dutch windmill in his front yard.

The baby shower began and we were introduced to all the guests. There was a load of games to play, and the neat thing was everyone (guys and girls) were included. This was unlike any baby shower I had been to, and it was a blast. For the first game, everyone gathered in a circle and a baby doll was passed back and forth. When the doll was thrown to someone, they had to catch it and name something related to babies. The shocking part was there were three people left: a man, a woman and J-Dawg! With no children himself, he had this game mastered! (With answers such as breast pump, and diaper "butt rub"). 


Then it was the guys turn to compete in a game. Sippy cups were filled with beer and it became a race to see who could down the beer first. Little did I know, this is a very difficult feat. J-Dawg was not content with the limited amount of liquid coming out of the small holes.


We were trying to get a hold of my siblings to find out more information about the wedding reception, since we had arranged to meet back up. Unfortunately, there was a disconnect in the communication, and weren't able to make plans with them.

It was then time for the girls to have their competition: make the largest baby bump as possible using balloons. J-Dawg's sis was wearing a super cute flowy dress, and I just knew she'd win. But I was wearing what looked like a maternity shirt (I loved how comfy it was) and decided I could compete also. Little did I know there was a grandmother there who was goin to have us both beaten with her awesomeness. 

We were really having a blast at the baby shower and I decided we should enjoy the rest of the night there. The plan was to have some adult beverages and crash at Titus', not having to worry about driving back and forth. If alcohol is involved, Jeroen and I refuse to drive anywhere. Safety is first, fun is second. 

After most of the guests had left, a select few of us hung out and shot the bull. The boys were fishing in Titus' beautiful pond in the back, while us girls got some time to chit-chat. It was so neat getting to talk to Katrina, the mom-to-be, and see how beautiful she was with her pregnant glow. I smiled and thought, "I can't wait to have that one day."

There's more to Texas than the Panhandle

After my worst fear of my house falling apart became a reality, I had to call in pros to fix my roof that had completely collapsed from the AC leak. Unfortunately, the repairs took over three weeks. When it was completed, I was ecstatic. It looked amazing with new paint, carpet and vinyl tile. At this time, my work was putting tons of hours on me and requiring me to work weekends. 

I was missing J-Dawg something fierce, and luckily, I got a couple of days off so I could go with him to San Angelo to a friend's lake house. J-Dawg surprised me and came one day early, since I was so miserable with my job and being without him. He hung out at my house while I worked some hours on Friday so I could leave on Saturday. When I returned home from work, I found my house decorated and situated how it was prior to the repairs. Being so busy, I hadn't had time to put everything back. But J-Dawg remembered where it all went and made it look beautiful and homey again. 

We hit the road on Saturday morning and headed west to San Angelo. Some words of advice: look at a map before a road trip; and Texas is a big state. Thinking we were near El Paso, we didn't think it'd be too long of a drive. Little did we know, San Angelo was not close at all. Luckily the speed limit was 80, and we found things to keep us entertained (discussing TX water rights, eating Payday candy bars, and playing I Spy). 

When we arrived to the beautiful lake house, I immediately heard Texas country blaring. Very curious, I followed the sound to find there was a huge concert on one of the docks a couple lake houses down. This was gonna be amazing, I could feel it. We hung out with J-Dawg's siblings and a couple of friends at the house and then took the boat out. The lake was small but still very cool!

I watched as J-Dawg's brother water skied, and sat jealous of his physical abilities. (Last time I tried water skiing, I wasn't able to get up even once as the skis kept coming off my feet). I was invited to try, and said I'd rather watch the others. But just being on the boat, feeling the warm water splash my face, and seeing J-Dawg smile was just so amazing. 

We headed back to the house and cleaned up to head out for dinner with the whole gang. We ate at this awesome sushi bar and shared all the different rolls (thank goodness I was introduced to it earlier). J-Dawg's sister suggested we then head to a bar. Never would I have been able to dream up the creativity that the owner of this bar did. It was a bar at night, and an antique store during the day. But at night, while drinking, all items are for sale. For some reason, intoxication makes less attractive items seem like a great buy. Although... J-Dawg's sis actually bought some  really cool chairs and some other neat items. 


The next day we spent the day out and about on the lake and enjoyed the warm air and cool water. Because I had to go back to work the next day, we didn't get to spend much time in San Angelo. But I'm so glad we were able to go for even a short period of time, and spend some more time getting to know J-Dawg's friends and family. 

Its Been Sooooo Long...

I'm sorry its been so long since I've updated my blog. So many things have changed since July, and the best part of all they're GREAT changes! Before I fill you in on my new wonderful life, I'll recap the past five months.


With a long weekend ahead of us, J-Dawg and I were at a loss of what to do. We had been back and forth between our houses and to my folks in between for the past three months. Longing for something more exciting and out of the ordinary, I suggested we head north to Colorado. We calculated the route and things to do while there, and decided it was a go. He met me at my folks, and from there hit the road.

This was during the time of the horrible wild fires throughout New Mexico. As far as we knew, most of them were out so we figured our travel wouldn't be affected. Little did we know, all the hotels up north were sold out because it was full of firefighters. They were tending to a northern New Mexico town whose fire was still burning. Panicked, we took the last room available-- smoking. It smelled horrible, but knowing we had no other choice, we were grateful to not have to sleep in the car. The gentleman at the front desk was kind and gave us room deodorizer. Not even thinking, I sprayed the entire room, only to realize the smoke smelled better than this product. J-Dawg pulled his shirt over his nose and said, "This is bad." And he was right.

We woke up early the next morning (mostly because we wanted out of the room that smelled of burned and moldy strawberries- a scent created by cigar smoke and strawberry room deodorizer). We hopped back onto I-25 and headed north. We opted to stay in Colorado Springs, since we'd be going to Golden, Colorado to visit the Coors Brewery. Because of our prior dilemma with getting a hotel, we decided to book one right when we got into town. Once again, there were no rooms available anywhere in the area due to the fact that Colorado Springs was hosting the Women's PGA tour. 'You're kidding!' we thought, but not because the hotels were filled, but because people fled from all over the States to watch women play golf.

We called all around town, until we finally found one that was pretty expensive but would do. Our GPS took us to the location, where we quickly realized was the ghetto. "It's ok," I thought. "J-Dawg's with me. He'll protect us." The room we received stunk worse than the room from the previous night, so we asked for any other options. The man at the desk was hesitant to let us check the other room (they only had two left). We walked into it and it was very clean with no odor. Whoop whoop! I looked out the back window and realized we were overlooking a trailer park. "Let's just keep those closed," I heard J-Dawg mutter as he closed the curtains. We went to the front desk and swapped out the keys.

The next morning we headed to Golden for the Coors Brewery Tour. Just some advice: do not attend this tour on a weekend! The line was incredibly long and the sun was incredibly hot. Luckily, we had each other to help pass the time. We finally got on the tour bus, cruised around Golden, and then headed to the factory. We strolled through all the different levels and smelled the barley and hops. J-Dawg and I are very similar in that we don't care for crowds, and unfortunately, the entire place was packed.

We visited areas with the least amount of people and children, enjoying the 
elbow space.  I watched as J-Dawg's eyes continued to grow with astonishment as 
he watched as thousands of beer cans were boxed and moved through the all the 
processes on the conveyor belt.   

Next stop was the tasting area where each individual received three glasses of 
their choice of beer. After about 20 minutes of waiting in line for a beer, we 
received our samples and sipped on the delicious, fresh-brewed Blue Moon and 
Coors original. Unfortunately, with the stress of the amount of people, the 
waiting and the heat, we didn't enjoy this portion to the fullest. Neither of us 
finished our glasses and decided it'd be best to head to the gift shop. In there 
was all the Coors paraphernalia you could imagine. We opted for purchasing some 
pilsner glasses and a 6 pack collection of Coors specialty beers.  

After some difficulties of trying to check out, we grabbed our bags of souvenirs 
and headed back to the car. Ready for a night out on the town, we went into downtown Colorado Springs and 
checked out what it all had to offer. It began raining and we walked the 
streets, soaking up every drop. To the left was a sushi restaurant, and J-Dawg 
had asked if I was game. Just so you know, I don't believe I ever would have 
tried sushi if it weren't for him. 1) It looks funny 2) The name even sounds 
disgusting. But when I'm with him, I'm not afraid to do anything.

We walked in and even the atmosphere was cool. He suggested a couple to try, and 
being the sweetheart he is, ordered them without avocado, knowing I'm allergic 
(they still put avocado on them). I also ordered a smoked salmon and cream 
cheese one. We had wine to accompany our meal, and it was all delicious. I now 
love sushi. 

Although the sushi was delicious, we were still kinda hungry. While walking 
downtown, I spotted Melting Pot restaurant. Brother constantly raved about how 
delicious it is, so I asked J-Dawg how he felt about having some desert. Another 
thing to fill you in about J-dawg --- He LOVES chocolate! Like as much as a 
female! But if you've ever eaten Dutch or Belgian chocolate, this is 
understandable. Its absolutely delicious and like Pringles, you can't have just 
one. 

For our desert, we chose the ultimate option--- chocolate fondue with Bailey's. 
And to dip in it were marshmallows, rice crispy treats, brownies, strawberries, 
pound cake and some coconut deals. It was absolutely delicious and we enjoyed 
(ate) every single bite! Feeling fat, dumb and happy, we paid our check and 
headed back to the ghetto. 

The weather in Colorado was chilly and cloudy with drizzling rain. We grabbed a 
couple of beers, sat out on the balcony outside our room, and enjoyed the 
weather and one another's company. This was such a nice break from 110 degree 
weather. Not to mention, any time spent with J-Dawg is time well spent. 

The next morning we packed up and stopped for some complimentary breakfast at 
the hotel. There were some others there eating also. But this wasn't a quiet 
morning whispering over breakfast. This was a room full of women chirping 
enthusiastically about the Women's PGA tour and who was four under, and who had 
missed the easiest putt possible. J-Dawg and I had a hard time keeping a 
straight face, so we just kept eating. 

With only one day left for travel, we opted to head back to New Mexico and stop 
at the Rio Grande Gorge on the way home. This site truly proves God does exist, 
it is so beautiful. Although I'm not afraid of heights, being atop this bridge 
scared me. J-Dawg put his arms around me and squeezed tightly, warming me up and 
calming my nerves. Then and there, I looked up into New Mexico's bright blue sky 
and stared into the Heavens, thanking God for bringing us together. 

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