Memories... 2.5 years.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. Scott and I are still going strong. We just went to Italy together a few weeks ago. I’m missing him a lot, but we had a great time. I just wanted to post today because I’ve compiled a series of moments or events that remain crystal clear in my memory from our relationship; moments that really define us.

The first time I heard his voice… We finally got the courage to talk on Skype. We both got online and procrastinated actually calling by sending messages back and forth. After several minutes of teasing each other he finally calls. I answered with a breathy “hello” and received back a soft “hi there”. Even though I knew he was going to have an accent, it still threw me off a bit. I could hardly understand him, but it sure sounded good. I don’t remember what we talked about after the initial greeting, but I remember giggling and asking him to repeat a lot. I also remember him commenting on my “cute American accent”.

The first time I saw him… We met for the first time in the Salt Lake Airport. We were going to fly to California together. I was waiting at the gate for him to come over from his flight in from England. I was standing at the bottom of a set of stairs watching for his familiar face. My hands were sweating and my knees were shaking. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. When I saw him walking down the stairs my mind went completely blank. I didn’t know if I should walk to him or stay where I was. Eventually he was standing in front of me and my mind caught up and I threw my arms around him.

The first time we said goodbye… Saying goodbye for the first time was 100 times more painful than I could have anticipated. The emotions were really overwhelming. It took a few days, but eventually I was able to appreciate the fact that we were able to be together for the first time and we would be together again soon.

Going to the drive in movies… Scott came to visit in Utah last summer and we went to see a movie at the drive in theater. We took my dad’s pickup truck and laid a mattress in the back. It is a very simple memory, but it’s special to me.

Watching the sunset at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy... We visited Italy this spring. The entire trip was amazing, but watching the sunset in front of the Trevi Fountain was very romantic. I can remember the evening in extreme detail.

There are hundreds of memories I cherish with Scott, but that’s all I’m going to go into now. I never expected to be in a long distance relationship, but it’s been an amazing 2 and a half years and I expect many more years to come.

Trip Re-cap: Days 7, 8, 9 and 10. November 21-24, 2010

Day 7: We went to Downtown Disney to do some souvenir shopping for our families. We also went to Build-a-Bear and made ourselves little stuff friends. His was an orange T-Rex in a hula skirt and mine was a black teddy bear dressed like Woody. After some shopping, we went to the theater there and saw the first part of the 7th Harry Potter movie. Then we just went back to the hotel and went swimming and relaxed.

Day 8: Another last minute trip to Downtown Disney for a couple mroe souvenirs. We also had to go buy another suitcase to fit all the souvenirs in. Then we went back to the hotel and started packing up to go to Utah. We order chinese food and ate on the floor of our room. It was nice. :)

Day 9: Early this morning we flew back to good old Utah. We started the day by checking into our hotel and then headed up to Roy to meet my grandparents. They loved Scott, of course. Then we came back down to Salt Lake and went ice skating with my siblings. Scott had never been before. It was hilarious! We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. After that we went back to my parents house and had dinner and played cards with my family.

Day 10: This was our last day together. We had been getting more and more sad since about day 8. Even my family had noticed. But it was definitely the worst on this day. First thing we did was go meet Tyler. Scott and Tyler had talked on Skype a few times, so it was fun for them to meet. Then we went back to my parents house and cuddled on the couch watching a movie. My mom made an early dinner/late lunch for Scott and then it was time to take him to the airport. Saying goodbye was difficult. Scott made sure we weren't lingering too much becuase that would make it worse. He told me he loved me and that he would text me when he got checked in and through security. We hugged and kissed and he walked away. I forced myself into the truck with my mom and watched him walk in. I was crying of course. I could barely breathe. But I went home and watched movies and spent time with my family and it eventually past. He texted me throughout his trip home.

So that was our first visit together. It was amazing and fun and sad and difficult, but it's something I'll never forget.

Trip Re-cap: Days 3, 4, 5 and 6. November 17-20, 2010

Day 3:
Today we went to Disneyland! It was a lot of fun. The lines weren't terrible since it was the middle of the week, and the weather was perfect. We went on lots of rides and we were supposed to watch the World of Color, however it got pretty cold that evening and we were really tired. We were down there waiting for the show to start, but there was no where to sit. We had to stand and wait. And there was still a half an hour until the show. So we decided to just go back to the hotle.

Day 4:
Second day at Disneyland. We had reservations this day at the Blue Bayou. It was a lot of fun. After riding a few more rides, we headed home early. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at quicksilver and got swimming suits. There was a pool at the hotel, but neither of us had brought our swimming suit. So we bought some and went back to the hotel and went swimming. After about an hour we went back upstairs to shower and then went down to the restaurant to get dinner. Then we went upstairs and went to bed.

Day 5:
Today was our lazy day. We ordered room service for breakfast and stayed in bed pretty much all day. We watched movies and played cards. We made lots of simple and sweet memories.

Day 6:
Today we went to the beach. It was a cloudy day, but that wasn't going to stop us. We went to Huntington beach. We walked around collecting shells for about a half an hour. Then we spread out a blanket and cuddled up together. There were lots of seagulls and they were kinda closing in on us. So we jumped up and chased them off. We're such dorks. We went up to the street and grabbed some sandwiches from Subway, then headed back to the hotel. We watched movies and played cards again that evening.

Trip Re-cap: Day 2. November 16, 2010

Day 2: It's the 16th, our 11 month anniversary. After we showered and got ready, we went down for breakfast and then headed out. We were going shopping. The stores we were going to were within walking distance and it was beautiful weather. We walked around to a few stores to just browse. He bought me a necklace and ear rings to wear later that night for dinner. After a couple hours of browsing, we walked back to the hotel.

We got back and snuggled up on the bed and watched some tv. It was really nice to just be together doing something boring. As it got closer to time to go, we got up and started getting ready. He looked so handsome in a suit. We got all together and went down to the lobby to wait for our car that was taking us. When we got down there, we realized we were an hour early and that the clock in our room was wrong. So we went back upstairs and I checked my work email and we just talked and killed a little time and then we went downstairs for take two.

A sleek black town car was waiting for us out front. We had called the front desk of the hotel to arrange for a ride and they work with a car service that does limos and town cars rather than the classic yellow cab. Which I was pretty grateful for. Their rates were fair cab rates and so we used them again throughout our stay. Our driver took us to the resturant and it was beautiful. http://www.anaheimwhitehouse.com/
We walked inside and the waiter seated us in the Ronald Reagan room. It was just as beautiful inside and we were excited to order.

The waitor came and asked what we'd like to drink. Being under 21, I obviously couldn't order wine or anything and Scott didn't want to drink alone so we ordered cokes and water. A different server, a waitress, came out a few minutes later with two small kettles of hot water and no coke... She walked away and we looked at each other a little puzzled. I guess I've never been to this fancy of a resturant, but I was pretty sure this wasn't some strange ritual part of dinner to wash our hands or something. I joked with Scott that maybe they knew he was English and assumed we'd want tea. When the first waitor came back we told him we hadn't been brought our cokes, that she had brought us this instead. He looked a little confused before chuckling, saying he'd take care of it and taking the hot water. The waitress came back out with cokes and waters and apologized, saying that the other waitor she was helping tonight is a sarcastic joker and said two hot waters and she took it seriously...

So we decided what we want and order. We both got appetizers, entrees and then a dessert to share. I got a ceasar salad and a white sauce chicken pasta and he got these delicious lobster ravioli and a filet minon. The salad wasn't the best, the raviolis were great. My pasta was alright, but I've had better at Olive Garden, and his filet minon was terribly tough. Needless to say, at the end of the meal we were both still hungry. We prayed that the dessert wouldn't let us down. Chocolate Soufflé. They brought it out and it was amazing! The best part of the meal by far. Our total bill was just over $100! For TWO! And the souffle, which was our favorite part, was less than $15. Ah well. You live and learn. The place was beautiful and it was nice to see him in a suit.

Trip Re-cap: Day 1. November 15, 2010

Day 1: I had to work early in the morning until 1:30 pm. I rushed home, touched up my make-up and was off to the airport to meet him. I checked in, got through security and found a bathroom to make sure I look okay. At this point I can't even believe this is really happening. I keep looking around thinking I must be dreaming. I get to our gate and look around at all the people sitting there. I don't see him. I dig out my phone and send him a text "Are you here?"... ... ... "Yes, I am indeed" I look up again, somehow expecting him to materialize out of one of the seats. I realize I was genuinely concerned that he had missed his flight in France. My phone buzzes again and he says "I'm going through security" so I'll tell him "I'm at the bottom of the stairs that lead to our gate" and find a good spot to stand out of the way but in sight of the stairs. Finally (after several long minutes of sweating palms and a racing heart) I see a face I recognize on a tall man walking down the stairs. He smiles at me. It's definitely him. Unsure if I should walk to him or let him walk to me, I sway out of balance before deciding to meet him halfway. I step in front of him and don't know what to say. He says he smells "like a buffalo" from all the travelling. I ask if he really thinks I care before throwing my arms around him.

There were still nerves to overcome that day, but it didn't take long for us to feel comfortable around each other. Overall I think our first meeting was pretty perfect. :)

Still alive :)

I haven't posted anything for quite a while. After our trip, I was in a lot of pain. I was sad and lonely and when I started to finally feel better, I didn't want to re-visit the pain by posting things here. Hopefully now that the first visit is done and over, I'll get a little better at the goodbye part, but I doubt it. I'll copy a few stories that I shared at lovingfromadistance.com about the trip and then leave it at that.

Onto the now, he'll be here again in 8 days! I'm super excited! It's definitely a different excitement now that we've been together before, but it's still amazing. Less stressful. He'll be here for 3 whole weeks. That goodbye is going to be terrible, but I got through it last time, I'll get through it this time. :)

One year

I need need NEED to update about our trip, but I just wanted to say; We've been together for a year! Holy smokes! I love him so much and I'm so excited for our life together.

He's gone.

We said goodbye today. I feel like I've been ripped apart. Being with him was amazing. More amazing than I could have imagined. I won't see him again until next summer. Right now I'm struggling a lot. I feel lost and so lonely. Once I start feeling a little better I'll do a re-cap of the trip.

Here's a picture.

He's on his way...

YEAH!!! He waiting to board his plane from England! And it's about damn time. We've been waiting for this for so long. My emotions are in over drive. I don't know if I should laugh or cry or throw up. I'm all packed and ready to go. I'll be waking up at about 3:45 AM *gag* for work. And then straight after work I'll go to the airport, where he'll be waiting. :) I should describe more about how I'm feeling and such, but I'm so overwhelmed. I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'll be sure to report how the trip went though.

Wish me luck!

Less than a week... 6 days!

We're in the final countdown. We'll be together in 6 days. I have a "calm before the storm" thing going on right now. It all feels really surreal. I'll be packing in a few days. And then it'll be time to go. We met a year ago as of yesterday, the 7th. I can't believe how much time has passed. I can't believe how far we've come. I just want to hold him. I hope this week goes quickly.

Feeling a little sad...

Things are still amazing and I'm still extraordinarily excited for out trip (which is 11 days away :D ) but I had a little break down today. Skype had been giving us a lot of troubles the past few days and communication has been tough. This morning it wasn't working again and I broke down. I hate the distance. I hate that there is seemingly no end in sight. I hate that we have to rely on something so thoroughly unreliable for communication. I know that I'll be seeing him very soon, but then we have to say goodbye. And then we'll be back to this, and it will be worse because now we'll know what we're missing. I just want to be with him.

Sorry for the sad/hateful post. I really am happy and I am really really excited for our trip. It's just been one of those mornings and I needed to rant about it for a moment.

Two weeks!!

Only two more weeks until we meet for the first time!! Everything is ready to go. He's getting money changed over into dollars this week. I can't believe it's only two weeks away. Two weekends. I can't wait to lay on his chest and hear his voice resonating inside, his arms wrapped around me, his lips pressed against my forehead. Only two more weeks. :)

25 days.

25 days. I can't believe I'm meeting him in 25 days. I don't think I'll believe this is real until I get to the airport. I'm so excited and so nervous.

I just can't wait to finally know what it feels like to be wrapped in his arms, to feel his breath on my neck, to feel him between the palms of my hands. Real, tangible, alive. I can't wait to be able to say good morning without touching my computer. I can't wait to share our first hug, first kiss, the first time we look into each others eyes with nothing to say, the first "I love you" whispered into an ear, the first night next to each other, the first picture together, and, yes, even the first goodbye.

We'll part from each other with memories and an idea of what life will be like when we're finally together. We'll part knowing every contour and expressioin of the others face, we'll know the texture of the others hand and how it fits with our own, we'll know the heat of the others lips and the feel of our bodies next to each other. We'll part knowing what life with the other is like, instead of just the view from the other end of a webcam.

The last stretch

In one month it will be the 14th of November. The day before I meet him. Everything is booked. All that's left to do is countdown. I'm getting really excited and really nervous. The anticipation is exciting... but it's been so prolonged... I just want to meet him. We've been planning this since 5 months ago. We started the countdown at 160 days. And now we're at 32. The days are moving quickly now. I'm excited! I can't wait to finally be in his arms!

Time is winding down!

Time is winding down quickly now. Only 46 days! We're both so excited to meet each other and spend time together. I need to figure out what I'm going to do for luggage and get a few last minute things. And I need to book the hotel >.< I wish this could have been done earlier, but it will be done by the end of next week.

Life is still awesome in general. I love my job and Scott and I have found ways to still be we each other every day even with the time difference and both of us working full time, so that's good.

We're getting close to the one month to go mark and I have a feeling that counting down the last month is going to fly by. I'm nervous but so excited! I can't wait to be able to say good morning without turning on my computer. :)

2 months!!

2 months from today I will be meeting Scott for the first time!! I'm so excited! He also got his passport in the mail today!

:)

We booked our flights!!!!

He is leaving England early in the morning (6:30 am) on the 15th of November. He'll fly to Paris and be there for a few hours *jealous*. Then he will make the very long flight to Salt Lake City, Utah. He will arrive in the early afternoon.

I will be getting off work at about 1:30 pm. I'm going to go straight to the airport to meet him. Our flight doesn't leave for a few hours after that, but it will give us a chance to meet for the first time and get all the mushy emotional stuff done without rushing to our plane.

We will then fly to California, arriving in the early evening.

On the 23rd of November, we will fly back to Utah really early in the morning (yuck). Then we will drive to see my grandparents so they can meet him. Then come to my house so that he can meet my family. We'll hang out for the evening and play games or something probably. Then we'll go to a hotel for the night.

The next day, we're going to drive around the city so I can show him around a little. His flight home leaves around 5:00 pm. So I'll drive him to the airport, with enough time to check in, and watch half of my heart walk away to be 5000 miles apart again.

Red Roses

Today I received a surprise delivery. My step mom answered the door and brought it up to me. She knocked on my door and said I think you have an admirer. She knew who it was from, but still. Scott had called a flower company here and had 3 beautiful red roses sent to me in a vase along with a teddy bear and a balloon that says "I love you". He just did this "Just because" I've never even received such a gift from a boy in the United States! He is so amazing! Here's pictures.

Plane tickets

So as I stated in my last post, we can now afford our vacation in November. However, there was one last thing that could potentially stop us; my work telling me I couldn't go on Vacation. I spoke to my manager though, and he said we could figure something out and it wouldn't be a problem. Woohoo! So Scott has sent his passport papers and as soon as we find out he's approved, we're going to book our flights. We've found flights that will bring him through Salt Lake, so we're going to be flying to California together. I'm so excited! I just want to get the flights booked so that it will feel like it's really about to happen. After we do that, we'll book the hotel and start looking into what we'll be doing in California. It's less than three months now until we leave. :D

Busy

Life has gotten busy. I got promoted to supervisor at work, which is good, but definitely takes away from my time with Scott. We're adjusting the best that we can. We've found ways around international texting/calling rates, so at least we have that now for when we can't be at the computers. Along with my promotion is a pay increase, and that means great things for me and Scott. That means that we'll be able to afford our planned trip in November to California! I'm excited! He's getting his passport in the next couple weeks, and then we'll both book our flights! We both desperately need to meet. Our relationship is wonderful and thriving, but I think that in order for us to progress any further, we need to meet. We've been together for 8 months now without meeting, and it's been tough business.

So yeah. Life is busy, but it will pay off. :) Only 89 days until November 13th.

P.S. I'm not sure if I ever posted this, but Scott found a new job before the old garage went under. So he's working at a new garage. Yay for not being unemployed!