The first weekend of every month, a group of us would go bowling so I invited Clayton to come to our outing in October. He agreed. Usually a couple of us would go over early to get our names on the list for open bowling as soon as we could. Since I had offered Clayton a ride and it was my and Bridgette's turn to reserve the lanes, we were going to head out a little early. The Thursday night before bowling, he asked if Bridgette and I were going to get something to eat. Nope. Did I want to grab something before going. Sure. (WOOHOO) Did I want to invite Bridgette. NO! Bridgette is my bestest friend, but I wanted some alone time with Clayton. And she was not offended when I told her the plan.
The night of bowling came and Clayton took me to dinner at Charleston's. I was so stinking nervous. Clayton was super cute and really nice. It didn't help that his plate came with half the food mine did. Talk about making me look like a..well...You know. We laughed about it and still do sometimes. We picked up Bridgette and went to the bowling alley. After everyone got there and we started bowling, I made the mother of all foot-in-mouth statements. Clayton was wearing a pair of cargo shorts. The pockets had zippers and velcro. I went to flip the velcro open, but it was stuck and wouldn't pull easily. I innocently said, "I guess I should have gone for your zipper." I immediately realize what I'd said and turned purple with embarassment and started laughing. Clayton didn't get what was so funny...until later. As he was preparing to bowl a frame, it occurred to him what I had said. I just knew after that incident, I'd scared him off for good.
But to my delight, I was wrong. He asked me out to dinner the next Wednesday, three days before I was leaving for Idaho for a week. We went to Carrabba's and had a nice dinner. Then we got back to my house and sat in the car talking. He got brave and reached for my hand. We decided to go inside and chat and after a while... our first kiss.
It was hard for me to leave for Idaho. I wanted to do something nice for Clayton since I was leaving over midterms. I made him up a little goodie bag and left it on his door. We talked over the week and were so glad to see each other. Things quickly got serious between us. I think we both somewhere deep down realize that what we had wasn't run of the mill romance. It was hard for me because he was finishing his last semester at ASU so was often busy with school projects and studying. I took whatever time he could make for me. Meeting his family was a little intimidating, but they were all nice and seemed to accept me right away. I knew by the beginning of November that Clayton was the man I wanted to marry. It took him a little longer to decide. He told his mom right around graduation from ASU in December that I was the one. Now came the longest wait of my life....
18 August 2009
13 August 2009
Shopping Trip
So I promise to get back to Clayton's and my story soon. I just had to share my latest shopping trip to Fry's. This was 5 separate transactions with coupons from the 8/2 Kellogg's insert and 8/2 RP inserts.
16 boxes of Cereal
10 boxes of Snack Packs
10 boxes of Eggos
15 packages of Knorr Sides
10 packages of Keebler Cookies
8 jars of Ragu
Spent $61.77 after coupons, sales and MIR
Saved $195.77 = 76% savings
I'll be going back for more cereal, Nutrigrain bars and Rice Krispie Treats (they were out of the last two). Woo Hoo!!! I LOVE SAVING MONEY!
I'll post a pic of the whole mess tomorrow. I need to clean off my camera first.
16 boxes of Cereal
10 boxes of Snack Packs
10 boxes of Eggos
15 packages of Knorr Sides
10 packages of Keebler Cookies
8 jars of Ragu
Spent $61.77 after coupons, sales and MIR
Saved $195.77 = 76% savings
I'll be going back for more cereal, Nutrigrain bars and Rice Krispie Treats (they were out of the last two). Woo Hoo!!! I LOVE SAVING MONEY!
I'll post a pic of the whole mess tomorrow. I need to clean off my camera first.
06 August 2009
Looking and Dancing - The Myers' Story, Part 3
So after the retreat, I didn't really see Clayton until Institute started a couple of weeks later. The Friday of that week there was a HUGE opening social for all the YSAs in the valley at Castles 'n' Coasters. I asked Clayton if he wanted to come with me and my friends, but he told me he was going to go with some of his friends and he'd see me there. I was a little disappointed, but figured I'd run into him there.
I spent a lot of the night keeping an eye out for Clayton, but never saw him. It probably turned out to be a good thing. The first ride we went on was a water ride. I sat in the front and got SOAKED! I could barely walk with my G's and jeans sticking to my legs to badly. I had fun with my friends, but was a little sad I hadn't seen Clayton. He told me later that his friends bailed out on him so he went alone, spending the whole night looking for me and never finding me. And he hadn't taken my cell number with him so he couldn't call.
We saw each other and Intstitute and at our council meetings and had fun chatting. A few friends had decided to go dancing at a place that held lessons and then open dance. I offered to pick up Clayton and was already giving Bridgette a ride, which made me a little less nervous. Clayton was quite a sport. We were learning salsa dancing which he'd never done before. He did pretty well though, I have to admit. And he can shake his groove thing nicely. When the free dancing started, I was the only one Clayton would dance with. He told me later that he wasn't interested in my other friends so why would he dance with them... Good point.
That night on the way home, I was really tired. And when I get tired I get really goofy. We were driving in the rain and passed a puddle. I said a simple, "Hi, water." Due to my being tired, I started laughing hysterically. I mean can't stop, can't breath, tears rolling down my face laughing. Clayton was looking at me like I was a psychopath. I just knew I'd scared him off. He probably thought I was some crazy girl that he wanted nothing to do with... We dropped him off, far too soon for my taste, and I finally admitted to Bridgette that I liked Clayton, I mean REALLY liked him. It was the first time I had admitted it to myself or anyone. I had been telling everyone, including me, that he was just really cool and fun to hang out with.
(...to be continued...)
I spent a lot of the night keeping an eye out for Clayton, but never saw him. It probably turned out to be a good thing. The first ride we went on was a water ride. I sat in the front and got SOAKED! I could barely walk with my G's and jeans sticking to my legs to badly. I had fun with my friends, but was a little sad I hadn't seen Clayton. He told me later that his friends bailed out on him so he went alone, spending the whole night looking for me and never finding me. And he hadn't taken my cell number with him so he couldn't call.
We saw each other and Intstitute and at our council meetings and had fun chatting. A few friends had decided to go dancing at a place that held lessons and then open dance. I offered to pick up Clayton and was already giving Bridgette a ride, which made me a little less nervous. Clayton was quite a sport. We were learning salsa dancing which he'd never done before. He did pretty well though, I have to admit. And he can shake his groove thing nicely. When the free dancing started, I was the only one Clayton would dance with. He told me later that he wasn't interested in my other friends so why would he dance with them... Good point.
That night on the way home, I was really tired. And when I get tired I get really goofy. We were driving in the rain and passed a puddle. I said a simple, "Hi, water." Due to my being tired, I started laughing hysterically. I mean can't stop, can't breath, tears rolling down my face laughing. Clayton was looking at me like I was a psychopath. I just knew I'd scared him off. He probably thought I was some crazy girl that he wanted nothing to do with... We dropped him off, far too soon for my taste, and I finally admitted to Bridgette that I liked Clayton, I mean REALLY liked him. It was the first time I had admitted it to myself or anyone. I had been telling everyone, including me, that he was just really cool and fun to hang out with.
(...to be continued...)
04 August 2009
The Institute Retreat - The Myers' Story: Part 2
So Friday rolled around, the day we were heading to Lakeside for our Institute Council retreat. I was frantic. I had worked all day and was running around crazy after work to make sure I had everything ready to go. I even showed up in my work clothes to meet everyone else.
Clayton had asked if it was okay for him to drive himself since he wanted to go spend the rest of the weekend at his grandparents' cabin. No problem. Bro. Carroll, our High Council rep, also had his Suburban. So we got everything loaded up, had an opening prayer and started to pile into cars... well, car. I realized as I was the only one standing in the parking lot that everyone, but Clayton and me had climbed into the suburban. I didn't want Clayton to have to drive the three hours or so by himself so I said I guessed I was riding with him. Hmmm... This sounds familiar. Little did I know at the time that I had completely messed up his plans. He had wanted to drive all by himself so he could listen to whatever he wanted and not have to worry about talking to someone he didn't know for three hours. Guess I kinda messed that one up. :o)
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a nervous talker. I'll talk non-stop about anything and everything I can think of if I am nervous. Let's see. Cute boy, alone in car, three hour drive. I was like a broken record. I did finally settle down a little and we slipped into easy conversation. I came to learn that he had served his mission in Canada, Alberta. And that he had known someone I had dated. In fact, we found out that he had eaten at the same dinner table and that the guy's little sister had written to Clayton while he was on his mission and after. Had quite the little crush on one Elder Myers. What a crazy small world.
When we got to the cabin, we unloaded and settled in for an evening of get to know you games. After learning a little about each other, I talked to them about what I envisioned for the Institute Program. I looked up from reading a scripture and saw Clayton looking at me and smiling. Talk about making me nervous. I was already emotional and that just added to the chaos going through my head. We wrapped up and people started to filter off to bed. I was too wound up to sleep. I had been going non-stop all day and needed a chance to just relax. I headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later, Clayton came over and started to chat with me. Around 2am, we both decided we should get some sleep. As I crawled into bed, the light bulb popped on. Wait...did what I think just happened actually happen? It was exactly as my little girly brain had fantasized a couple of night before. We rode up alone together and stayed up half the night talking. Okay...this is a little creepy. That stuff never happens. I don't know when I finally fell asleep, but I was up by 6am. I found a great little gazebo area with a swing to get in some peaceful scripture study in the fresh mountain air. I have to admit, I spent most of the time secretly hoping Clayton would come out and join me. But to my dismay, it was one of the leaders who found me first. Clayton walked out to his car and saw me, and he says he was looking for me, but when he saw Pres. Rogers, he just kept on walking. We had our morning meetings and started loading up. I really didn't want to see Clayton go, but I decided to push it out of my mind. I didn't want to get involved with that kind of thing right now.
Clayton admitted to me later that he actually played around with the idea of inviting me with him to his grandparents', but decided I'd probably think he was a freak. So as we drove home, I got the third degree from Mandy about what she thought she saw happening between me and Clayton and got all excited about how cute we would be together... It was a long, slightly embarassing ride home.
(to be continued...)
Clayton had asked if it was okay for him to drive himself since he wanted to go spend the rest of the weekend at his grandparents' cabin. No problem. Bro. Carroll, our High Council rep, also had his Suburban. So we got everything loaded up, had an opening prayer and started to pile into cars... well, car. I realized as I was the only one standing in the parking lot that everyone, but Clayton and me had climbed into the suburban. I didn't want Clayton to have to drive the three hours or so by himself so I said I guessed I was riding with him. Hmmm... This sounds familiar. Little did I know at the time that I had completely messed up his plans. He had wanted to drive all by himself so he could listen to whatever he wanted and not have to worry about talking to someone he didn't know for three hours. Guess I kinda messed that one up. :o)
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a nervous talker. I'll talk non-stop about anything and everything I can think of if I am nervous. Let's see. Cute boy, alone in car, three hour drive. I was like a broken record. I did finally settle down a little and we slipped into easy conversation. I came to learn that he had served his mission in Canada, Alberta. And that he had known someone I had dated. In fact, we found out that he had eaten at the same dinner table and that the guy's little sister had written to Clayton while he was on his mission and after. Had quite the little crush on one Elder Myers. What a crazy small world.
When we got to the cabin, we unloaded and settled in for an evening of get to know you games. After learning a little about each other, I talked to them about what I envisioned for the Institute Program. I looked up from reading a scripture and saw Clayton looking at me and smiling. Talk about making me nervous. I was already emotional and that just added to the chaos going through my head. We wrapped up and people started to filter off to bed. I was too wound up to sleep. I had been going non-stop all day and needed a chance to just relax. I headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later, Clayton came over and started to chat with me. Around 2am, we both decided we should get some sleep. As I crawled into bed, the light bulb popped on. Wait...did what I think just happened actually happen? It was exactly as my little girly brain had fantasized a couple of night before. We rode up alone together and stayed up half the night talking. Okay...this is a little creepy. That stuff never happens. I don't know when I finally fell asleep, but I was up by 6am. I found a great little gazebo area with a swing to get in some peaceful scripture study in the fresh mountain air. I have to admit, I spent most of the time secretly hoping Clayton would come out and join me. But to my dismay, it was one of the leaders who found me first. Clayton walked out to his car and saw me, and he says he was looking for me, but when he saw Pres. Rogers, he just kept on walking. We had our morning meetings and started loading up. I really didn't want to see Clayton go, but I decided to push it out of my mind. I didn't want to get involved with that kind of thing right now.
Clayton admitted to me later that he actually played around with the idea of inviting me with him to his grandparents', but decided I'd probably think he was a freak. So as we drove home, I got the third degree from Mandy about what she thought she saw happening between me and Clayton and got all excited about how cute we would be together... It was a long, slightly embarassing ride home.
(to be continued...)
01 August 2009
The Myers' Story
My friend, Heidi, has been telling the story of how she and her husband met and their courtship. I thought it would be fun to do the same with Clayton's and my story.
Before I met Clayton, I had a few not so great experiences with men. I dated two of them for long periods of time, only for them to decide they weren't ready for a committment. Now, if they were 21, I'd understand. One was 30 and the other was 36. And as far as I know, neither one is married yet.
Anyway, I was 26 years old, a great-grandma in the LDS singles' world. I'd been in 5 singles' wards over the 8 previous 8 years. I'd earned a Bachelor's and a Master's degree and was working for a recruiting agency. I had also been serving as the president of one of the LDS Institutes of religion for singles 24-30 for a year. It is normally a one year calling, but they asked me to stay on for another year because there were going to be a lot of changes and they needed someone who knew what was going on. I agreed. I then had a change of heart and asked to be released. It had been a stressful year of no support from our sponsoring Stake, minimal council members and a lot of work. I just couldn't do it again. I called the CES advisor and he pleaded with me to at least stay on for a couple of months. I agreed, but told him I HAD to have support from the stake and they had to help me call council members. He agreed and thanked me for staying on.
As promised, I received the support I had been missing for the previous year. The Stake Presidency rep and the CES advisor both promised to talk to bishops of the University (singles) Stake to have names submitted. I received a list of three names from the University 5th ward...One of them was Clayton Myers. Bro. Dunham told me they hadn't been officially called yet, so to refrain from talking to them until I heard from him. Three weeks later and two days before our scheduled Council Retreat, I called to find out what was going on. Given the go ahead to talk to them, I started making calls. Now, during this three week period, I kept getting the impression I needed to call Clayton as one of my counselors. I didn't know him. I'd never met him. But the impression remained. I submitted his name to the CES Advisor.
So back to the retreat. I made calls and invited everyone. It would be Friday night at the Lakeside cabin of the Stake Pres. rep. It would be one night and one morning of getting to know each other, going over responsibilities and planning out the semester. When I called Clayton, he sounded really nice and was really friendly and fortunately didn't have anything going on that weekend and was going to be able to make the retreat. In that goofy girly way, I thought to myself I could plan it so we rode up to Lakeside to the retreat together and wouldn't it be funny if we stayed up half the night talking... Okay, mind you. I had just broken up with the 36 y/o after over a year of on and off dating. I had decided I didn't want to date for a while and wasn't interested in starting anything else. It was just goofy girl fantasy. (To be continued...)
Before I met Clayton, I had a few not so great experiences with men. I dated two of them for long periods of time, only for them to decide they weren't ready for a committment. Now, if they were 21, I'd understand. One was 30 and the other was 36. And as far as I know, neither one is married yet.
Anyway, I was 26 years old, a great-grandma in the LDS singles' world. I'd been in 5 singles' wards over the 8 previous 8 years. I'd earned a Bachelor's and a Master's degree and was working for a recruiting agency. I had also been serving as the president of one of the LDS Institutes of religion for singles 24-30 for a year. It is normally a one year calling, but they asked me to stay on for another year because there were going to be a lot of changes and they needed someone who knew what was going on. I agreed. I then had a change of heart and asked to be released. It had been a stressful year of no support from our sponsoring Stake, minimal council members and a lot of work. I just couldn't do it again. I called the CES advisor and he pleaded with me to at least stay on for a couple of months. I agreed, but told him I HAD to have support from the stake and they had to help me call council members. He agreed and thanked me for staying on.
As promised, I received the support I had been missing for the previous year. The Stake Presidency rep and the CES advisor both promised to talk to bishops of the University (singles) Stake to have names submitted. I received a list of three names from the University 5th ward...One of them was Clayton Myers. Bro. Dunham told me they hadn't been officially called yet, so to refrain from talking to them until I heard from him. Three weeks later and two days before our scheduled Council Retreat, I called to find out what was going on. Given the go ahead to talk to them, I started making calls. Now, during this three week period, I kept getting the impression I needed to call Clayton as one of my counselors. I didn't know him. I'd never met him. But the impression remained. I submitted his name to the CES Advisor.
So back to the retreat. I made calls and invited everyone. It would be Friday night at the Lakeside cabin of the Stake Pres. rep. It would be one night and one morning of getting to know each other, going over responsibilities and planning out the semester. When I called Clayton, he sounded really nice and was really friendly and fortunately didn't have anything going on that weekend and was going to be able to make the retreat. In that goofy girly way, I thought to myself I could plan it so we rode up to Lakeside to the retreat together and wouldn't it be funny if we stayed up half the night talking... Okay, mind you. I had just broken up with the 36 y/o after over a year of on and off dating. I had decided I didn't want to date for a while and wasn't interested in starting anything else. It was just goofy girl fantasy. (To be continued...)
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