Back in CO

So I'm back in Colorado to take care of the last step of being married to an Englishman, my visa. It's really nice to be back with my friends that I made here in the last couple of years. Went out the other night and had a great time with some of the girls I used to work with. Went to our favorite bar and saw our favorite bartender! Yay!! A great night was had by all when Sarah managed to make a drunk guy do the Oompa Loompa song and dance and made him buy us drinks when he spilled beer on Ellie! I think we may have even gotten Leah a potential date...we shall see...

I also managed to procure a job while I'm here. I'll be working at Macy's again. At least I'll be able to save some money while I'm here so that I'm not flat broke when I finally do get to go home to my husband.

My being away is really hard on him. Not to say that it's not hard on me but I think for him it's worse because he has no control over the situation. It's almost like it was when we first started talking. Only now, we're married. :-)

I am however looking forward to the time I'm getting to spend with my BFFF and our other friends while I'm here. I think I will have a chance to do some things I never had a chance to do when I lived here. That's the beauty of being a visitor! :-)It's fall here now and the trees are turning colors. I have my camera loaded with film and the next chance we get, we're going out to take some shots of trees and such. Fall in CO can be very pretty, you just have to know where to look. Once I get pictures, I will post them.

The road to our wedding, part deux

July 10th, 2009 was the best day of my life. It is the day that I made a promise to my husband that we would always love each other no matter what.

Getting married in Cyprus was a dream come true. The meditarranean ocean as the backdrop and gorgeous blue skies...you couldn't have asked or anything more perfect. Except for slightly cooler temperatures...it was 40 C and I was a very hot bride. The ceremony itself was short and sweet. Getting there was a bit of a tussle though. There was some confusion about where Jason was and making sure that I was well out of the way so he wouldn't see me. But in the end, Gaz made sure that all went smoothly and managed to hand me over to soon-to-be husband so that wedding could commence.

Once the ceremony was over, we were finally able to relax and so we sat on the veranda and had a few pints of Efes before heading over to the Watermill Hotel for the reception.

The reception was so much fun. We walked in and they had set up tables for us by the pool. Jenna made sure that the tables were decorated and when I walked out to see, I teared up because it was so beautiful. I felt honored that these people whom I had just met the week before had gone out of their way to make our wedding day special. I can't thank them enough for all they did. It truly was the most incredible day of my life. Y

Phone calls were made, drinks were had, food was eaten and spouses were thrown in the pool as well as a sister-in-law and "Father of the Bride". All in all, we had a fantastic day and night. Jason and I didn't leave until 5 AM! At the end of the night all that mattered is that Jason and I are finally husband and wife.

The road to our wedding, part one

The process to plan our wedding may not have been as complicated or lengthy as for other couples but it was still riddled with difficulties and set backs. After getting engaged, it was time to set the date for our special day. Easier said than done.

Initially the date was to be in October but due to visa constraints we've had to move the date up a bit. We also had initially planned to get married in Portsmouth but again, the fact that I am an American put a kabosh on this plan as well. So in the end, we chose Cyprus. Kyrenia to be exact. I have never been there but Jason has on several occassions and loves it there.

Meanwhile, I've come back to Germany to visit my Mom and have had to plan the wedding details from here. After several emails to the travel agency to book the trip and the agency that would arrange the ceremony, we finally have a date and a place. Yay!

Our engagement

2009 has proven to be one of the best years so far.

I moved back to Germany and my boyfriend Jason came to meet me here once again for Valentine's Day and my birthday. The weekend became one of the most memorable for me.

It's hard to believe that a few short months ago, Jason and I met on facebook. He in England and me in the US. All it took was one click on my picture and it was the start of what some may call a fairytale. We started to chat online (I believe our first chat on facebook was 4 hours) and then it escalated to phone calls once a week. Between that and the emails and text messages, we got to know each other quite well. But we still hadn't met. Jason wanted to come to Colorado but I had told him that it would be the middle of winter and really cold. So instead we planned on meeting this summer around June or July. Then as luck would have it, I was able to go to Germany for Christmas to see my mother. I would be there for three weeks. Once I told Jason, the first thing he said was "I'll meet you in Paris!".

Instead of Paris we agreed that we would meet in Germany. And yes, it was cold then too! He booked a flight for a couple of days after Christmas and the plan was to spend New Years together. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the day to arrive that we would finally meet face to face.

December 28th, 2008 was probably the most nerve wracking day of my life. I was pretty much useless for the better part of the day until it was time for me to leave to go to the airport. Upon arrival at the Zürich Airport, I found out that Jason's plane was delayed. First it was 20 minutes and then it turned into 1 1/2 hours!! Torture! Finally the moment came. The plane had landed and the luggage was being sent out to baggage claim. I stood in front of the window waiting for him. It seemed like it took forever for him to come to the baggage claim area but when he finally did and I set eyes on him, I knew. I knew from that very moment that he was the one for me.

When we finally got to see each other face to face it was like a scene out of a movie. We hugged and kissed and kissed and hugged as if we hadn't seen each other in a long time rather than meeting for the very first time. It was amazing!

From that moment on, Jason and I knew that we would be together. New Years Eve was amazing. Sadly, his time in Germany was limited and he had to leave 4 days later.

At this point a plan had hatched. I was going to move back to Germany and reclaim my citizenship. And then I would be closer to Jason. We had talked about getting married already and that was hopefully on the horizon.

February 8th 2009, I moved back to Germany and 3 days later Jason was here too. We spent Valentine's Day together which was a first for both of us (amazingly I have never had a date on Valentine's Day until this year) and really enjoyed the meal. My birthday was two days later so I was looking forward to that as well. The day in between was supposed to be a nice simple day with my mom so we went downtown to walk around and look at some of the sights. Jason looked up at the skyline and saw the Cathedral tower and asked "Is that a church?" Of course it was! upon which he then asked if we thought it would be open? My mom said she was sure it would be and why don't we go to check it out? The Münster Cathedral is actually quite beautiful and old. We then marched off to the church to take a look at its splendor...or so I thought.

Inside the cathedral, my mother immediately runs off to show us something in the crypt. There are these gold disks that were used hundreds of years ago to signal ships and advise them of where the harbor was. As Jason works on the docks in Portsmouth, my mom thought this would be of interest to him. She then wandered off under the pretense of looking at something in the other room and was gone. Suddenly Jason turns to me and says "I have a question to ask you." At this point I am completely clueless about what is going on and very confused. It wasn't until I saw a tiny box in his hand and he got down on one knee that I realized what was happening. He was proposing!!! On one knee!!!

Needless to say, I was the happiest girl in the world and still am.

And now my boyfriend has become my fiance. What could be better than that?

True Colors

It's funny really...you have friends that tell you they love you no matter what. They give you advice and help you through the hard times. They spend time with you and become your confidantes. Then one day you decide to make a change in your life for the better and suddenly those people disappear. Why?

See ya later Colorado...

I've lived in Colorado for 4 years now and will admit that my time here was not ill spent. I enjoyed making the friends that I have and some of the adventures that I have experienced. Now it is time to say goodbye to all of that. More like "See ya!". It's not like I won't return to this beautiful and cold state. Of course I will. After all, I have friends here.

However it is time for me to begin a new chapter in life and that means moving out of this country that I have called home for the last 25 years. Time will tell where my journey will lead me but one thing is for certain. It will be an adventure. My time here in the States has been filled with many ups and downs and many wonderful people to help me through it all. For that I will be eternally grateful. I hope that distance will not deter those people from continuing to be a part of my life as they are partly responsible for helping me be who I am today.