Awesome Writing Opportunity!

One of my co-workers at the Church magazines sent out a call for stories from young adults that I thought I'd share, in case any young adults reading this blog are interested in BECOMING SUPER FAMOUS :)

Here's her letter:

"I am looking for stories from young adults who would be willing to talk about determination and faith as they make life decisions, particularly when their first plan didn’t work out.

"For instance, I would like to talk to young adults who weren’t accepted to the university they had always dreamed of attending. Or a young adult who had a dating relationship end when they thought that they’d marry the person they were with. Or they weren’t able to serve in the military in the position they wanted because they didn’t meet the stringent qualifications. Or they didn’t get the job they were certain they qualified for.

* What was your situation? What did you hope would happen, and what actually happened?
* How did this make you feel?
* How did you determine not to give up? What did you do to try again? Was trying again difficult or discouraging?
* There are many examples in the scriptures of people whose lives or tasks didn’t work out the first time. For instance, Nephi and his brothers made several attempts to obtain the brass plates before they were finally able to do so. What scriptural examples have strengthened you and helped you try again?
* In some cases, we discover that our second try—our “Plan B”—opened doors and opportunities that we never dreamed would be possible for us. Perhaps we find that “Plan B” was really “Plan A” all along, and that Heavenly Father was guiding us to something different, something better. Has this been the case for you? If so, in what ways?
* Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

As always, we’re happy to receive these responses in any language, and they can be from young adults who are married or single. I’m hoping to receive responses by the end of April. E-mail responses to melissa@ldschurch.org.

February 2011 Media Inventory

Remember February? I thought not. Yeah, hardly anything *WINK WINK* happened in February. Ten movies and one book. Compare that to thirty movies and three books last February - yowza! Things are a-changin! And we all thought I'd have MORE time to watch and read stuff after graduating. Ha ha ha.

Movies:

Bridget Jones' Diary: Quite the nerve this movie has, advertising itself as so akin to "Pride and Prejudice" that those who like one will like the other. Though I winced throughout a lot of it, the fight scene between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth (or, for Austen movie fans, Edward Ferrars and Mr. Darcy) was awfully entertaining.

He's Just Not That Into You: Scandalous and scandalous-er! I can still remember my roommates all going out to see this when it came out while I was in D.C. Though to a certain extent I can admit with them that it's "so true," I'm glad I at least didn't spend any money on it.

Juno: For some reason I was in the mood. It was actually more somber than I remembered.

In the Arms of Angels: A darling little LDS film based on a true story. We watched it in family home evening.

Yes Man: Matt is a rather fervent fan of Jim Carrey, and we both love comedies and movies in general, but for some reason we couldn't get through this film. The humor was strangely off-putting (yes! I have always wanted to use that!).

Casablanca: My very first memory of this movie is trying to sneak downstairs to watch glimpses of it while Dad and Mom were watching it on their anniversary. They had sent us upstairs on the cooked-up claim that it was "too adult" for us. Lured by thoughts of violent, passionate scenes and dialogue, I was disappointed to discover that "adult" meant "black and white, plus lots of boring, serious talk." Fortunately, I have become more appreciative of it over the years, and I forced Matt to watch it with me this year after he confessed to never having seen it before.

Lars and the Real Girl: A sweet, strange little film. It's not what it seems (Ha! Swan Princess, anyone?), and it's likely to disappoint people (oddly, two sorts of people - both from opposite ends of the spectrum expecting different things), but it's got a decent, worthwhile message to convey. I really liked seeing the mother from "Dear Frankie" (cutest little film ever) as well!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: I didn't think I would like Lupin, but I did. And then I wanted to like Sirius so badly, but I didn't. At least Voldemort was awesome. Oh wait. Shoot . . . he wasn't . . . there.

Monsters, Inc: I can't believe it's taken me this long to see this adorable Pixar film! It's all classic, touching, humorous Pixar stuff. Especially loved the cute opening/closing sequence.

Books:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: I don't remember much about it. It was good. I like the word "Azkaban." It makes me think of "Tashbaan."

Changing Wards...

So, our singles ward is about to change (for any non-LDS folk, a ward is like your church community/neighborhood/people you see and interact with on Sundays and in church-related assignments). We don't know very many details yet, but one thing is for sure - the Lakeridge 11th singles ward as I now know it will soon be gone. After a very touching, reminiscence-and-testimony packed Sunday yesterday, I've been feeling nostalgic. I haven't been a member of very many wards in my life, which I consider a good thing since I hate change.

First there was the Gainesville Georgia ward where I grew up, went to nursery, was baptized, and became a young woman (that means "turned 12."). I considered this ward "home" for a very long time. At this ward, I learned all the Primary songs, went to General Conference at church, saw President Hinckley become the prophet, met my first best friend, Emily, experienced the awesomeness of Achievement Day activities (I still remember the very first one - a pool party), and got my Beehive necklace (the only one I got before the Young Women's program reorganized). I was heartbroken when we moved away from the ward when I was 13.

My next ward was the Sunset Heights 11th Ward in Orem, Utah. We stayed here only a year, but I still have a ton of memories and friendships from that one year. Here I went to Shalom Camp for the very first time (I had never canoed before, and I thought the obstacle course was just the most awesome thing ever), I learned to LOVE volleyball while playing Young Women sports, I started ballet, I got my first crush (Nope, won't tell who...), and I started seminary. The Young Women program changed and I got my Young Women medallion (silver rather than gold, for the very simple reason that my favorite Young Women advisor, Molli, had also just gotten hers in silver). I still keep in touch with my best friend Lisa and Molli, and enjoy seeing what everyone is up to on Facebook as well. I've driven through the neighborhood once or twice even - the land has been developed and there's even a new church. I enjoy stalking my past :)

We moved in 2003 to our current home in Orem, Utah (the OTHER side of the Interstate...whoooo), and I attended my family ward, the Lakeridge 8th ward, for four years. The bulk of my Young Women experience took place in this ward. I went to camp (Shalom. Every. Year. Sooooo. Sick. Of. It.), I participated in all the weekly activities, I babysat kids, I flirted with boys (but only the smart, gentlemanly, witty ones), and I watched the older girls grow up and leave to get married, serve missions, and go to college. And then, suddenly, I was one of them. While I had my back turned, my Young Women group had been invaded by a million tiny little girls who seemed barely be old enough to be out of Primary. Older women were suddenly asking me if I would be showing up at Relief Society or accepting a calling to serve in the nursery soon. Aaaaaaah! Surely this couldn't be happening to me already!!?!?!?? I was just a kid!!!!! I don't wanna go to Enrichment meetings to learn about canning and sewing and house decorating!!!!

I had taken one year of college at this point, and was very slowly and cautiously advancing into the phase of life known as young single adulthood. I remember feeling very alone. One of my brothers had just left on a mission. My other brother and sister were about to graduate from college. I didn't have very many close friends of my own age in the Lakeridge 8th ward, and the people I did know all seemed to be leaving on missions or moving away to go to college. I didn't want to move away to go to school (I was still very much attached to my home and my parents at this point), but I didn't want to stay in the 8th ward by myself. So I joined the singles ward.

Duh-duh-duh.....

For the past five/six-ish years (one four-month break when I did an internship in Washington D.C. and went to the Chevy Chase ward - yup, it's really called that), I've been in that same singles ward, good ol' Lakeridge 11th. And for the most part, I've LOVED it. The years I've spent in this ward have been, without question, the most definitive and influential years of my (albeit short) life. I went on to complete four more years of college and get a degree, learn how to communicate with people and be more outgoing, find a career path, make new friends, go on (a scanty few, measly) dates, and figure out just what it was I believed and why about this life. I've been the Relief Society pianist, the ward choir accompanist, the ward organist (without a question, my longest-standing calling EVER; there have only been three ward organists in our ward in the past six years, and I've been it for a good four of them), Relief Society secretary, and a Relief Society teacher.

I remember each Relief Society president vividly: Rachel Skousen, who impressed me with her quiet, firm testimony and musical abilities; Emily Templeman, who had more positive energy and enthusiasm in her little finger than most people have in their entire bodies; Nikki Shields, who wowed me with her action-packed social life and uncompromising zeal for the gospel; Tammy Billings, who managed to turn anything into something positive and reached out to absolutely everyone; and finally, Bree Toone, one of the smartest, most mature, witty, fun-loving girls I know. I admire and look up to each of these women - they are absolutely incredible daughters of God and deserve the happiest of lives. Each of them has moved on with her life in a way that takes her further from me: Rachel, Emily, and Tammy all left via marriage; Nikki went on to serve a mission in Iowa and then get married; and Bree is leaving the singles wards to make her own way in the world of family wards. Now it's almost my turn to follow in their footsteps and leave the singles ward.

And this is where the difference kicks in. I hated leaving Georgia. In Utah, I feared growing up and leaving Young Women's. I missed my old friends, my old wards, my old leaders, my old life.

But I am not at all sad about leaving my single status behind.

That's right.

I CAN'T WAIT to marry my true love and follow him to whatever ward we live in, whether it be in Orem, Provo, or Timbuktu. Our singles ward is going to change before we get married, but it seems almost irrelevant when I know that he and I are going to stay together forever. I think I've finally learned that being happy is all about the people you're with, and so long as I have my Matthew, it doesn't matter where I am - I'm home.

AT LAST!

Our story begins on February 16, though it goes without saying that the story of our engagement goes much further back than this. Faithful readers of this blog may recall that Matthew asked me to marry him as early as November (supposedly in jest, but YEAH RIGHT), and we both confessed to each other later that it really took approximately only three weeks from our first date in September for him to decide he loved me, and maybe another week and a half for me to come to the same conclusion. So there were many, many times in between then and February 16 when we had discussed the possibility (and later on, the inevitability) of our becoming a couple and raising a family and changing my last name to "Covington" (Squeeeal!) and so on and so forth (this was way back when we were thinking of getting married in August, or even December - the idea of getting married in May was too ludicrous to have even occurred to us). We had found our ring sizes at the mall one Saturday in January, and I had helped him pick out rings for both of us and made sure my dad was available for a chat sometime in early February, so I knew it was coming and soon. What I didn't know is what this post is going to be about.

So back to February 16. Matthew came to Sandy early and was waiting for me when I got home from work. He was excited about taking me out to eat in a real restaurant (we've only ever gone to Wendy's, Village Inn with his folks, and Chuck-a-Rama with mine), just the two of us, and had picked an Outback Steakhouse just a few blocks away since I told him I had never had steak (I'm gonna miss not being able to use that one in the "Never" game. Sadly, I can no longer win by saying "I've never read Harry Potter" either. At least I've still got "I never went to public school" to shock the crowd!).

I was worried about eating out and thought it would be crowded because surely most people would have wanted to avoid eating out on Valentine's Day and would have planned their schedules like us in order to eat out on a Wednesday night instead, right? Because that's when you'd THINK that it wouldn't be crowded, so you'd show up, all unsuspecting, and then BOOM! In the end, I decided that it couldn't hurt. At the best we'd get a good dinner, and at the worst I had the Sunday School example all worked out already and we could just save money by going to Wendy's (to be honest, the first thing that came to mind when Matt mentioned eating out actually WAS Wendy's... proof that I have no idea of what "eating out" refers to).

Buuuuuuuuut annnnywaaaaay.....

We got to the Outback Steakhouse, and it was most certainly not crowded. We got seated at a lovely corner table (the waitress almost led us into the middle arena where the BYU basketball game was playing, but somehow sensed that this wasn't the most ideal situation, and so endured some awkwardness by changing her mind and walking us out again) and got to munch on some delicious brown bread while waiting for our meals.

I don't remember talking all that much during the meal. We were both starving, and it was easy to focus on the delicious dinners in front of us (though we had to cover up the prices for fear of changing our minds and rushing out at once before taking a single bite) rather than on carrying on a conversation. I do remember wanting to document our first official "eating out" with pictures, thus embarrassing Matthew profusely and causing other people around us to hunch down in their booths to avoid being seen on camera. But it was worth it!

Behold! A meal fit for a king! Or at least, for a Covington!


Despite claiming to be satisfied by our complimentary two loaves of brown bread, we devoured our joint helpings of ribs, steak, a baked potato, vegetables, and fries, leaving a scant six bites or so of meat to take home. Not to mention the three free lemonades I got (he had to pay for his measly one glass of pineapple juice - ha!).


I kid you not - this plate was the size and shape of a UFO. Whaddya need tablecloths for?


The only picture of the two of us where I could get Matt to stop talking about how I needed to stop taking pictures and just SMILE, dangit!


When we got outside, the weather had taken a romantic turn. Throughout the day it had been windy, but not cold, and then it had turned slightly wet - sprinkling rain on me on my way home from work, and now snow. It was really beautiful - soft, white, quiet, picturesque, the perfect ending to a special day. I felt content and happy just standing outside and absorbing all the peace around me.

Of course, the cutie cleaning our car was a major distraction.

I love him.

We drove back to my house in Sandy, and I began gathering my things together to get out. But then Matthew started driving very slowly and then stopped the car very slowly outside the house.

Aha. I thought.

He asked if we could sit in the car for a while and talk. I agreed, but then we soon decided to switch from his car to mine, as there was a little more space and privacy (the windows hadn't been cleaned...wooooooooooo). He said he wanted to take me for a walk, but since I was cold and it was snowing, decided the car would have to do for an outdoor setting.

He then pulled out his mission journal and showed me that he had cut and pasted pictures of us and written down his version of our favorite dates (At Christmas I had supplied him with note cards describing my version of these favorite dates - these were also included in the journal). I started to cry at the beginning, but went all over the place from laughing to groaning to giving him "the look" (he knows which one I'm talking about) to just squealing with happiness at the cuteness of it all. At the end of the journal was a little segment on how much he was in love with me and how he was ready to end one part of his life's mission and begin another one with me, and then some musing on the idea of proposing, ending with "Maybe I should ask her..."

I was expecting him to whip out the ring that second, but he hesitated, saying something about it not being right that he couldn't kneel at a park bench. I dismissed the notion, but did want him to kneel anyway, so I offered my room as an alternative option. But being Matt, he had to surprise me somehow, and so, as soon as he had gotten out of the car, before I could follow, he turned around, knelt down in the snow, and pulled a black case out of his coat.

"Ruth....." (He took my hand)

"Will you marry me?"

(Brief pause as life flashes before eyes...)

"Yes."

We kissed first, I think, or maybe we put the ring on. Anyway, once the ring was on, my first impression was one of discomfort - it was thicker than I preferred - but I did think it was beautiful when I first saw it in the case. After wearing it for a couple of weeks now, I'm surprised how normal it feels and how little of an inconvenience it is to my everyday life. Having never been one to wear any sort of accessory for more than an hour at a time - I even gave up wearing a watch because I kept taking it off and losing it - I had been warned numerous times how I would never be able to look at anything else or possibly even flex my finger for the first 72 hours or so. Fortunately, I've experienced very little difficulty. It fits snugly but I can get it off my finger anytime (except just after exercising - I swell up) if I wash my hands.

We decided to wait for that weekend to tell our families (though my family was like, "Duh, we knew," when I told them Saturday morning). This proved to be rather difficult, and we did end up telling a few people before our families, but no one was offended (I hope. If you were, don't tell me. I don't wanna know). And then the whole world (i.e. Facebook) found out Saturday midday. So it's official. We're getting married. We've moved our date from two years away (my idea - when we first started dating seriously in October) to the end of next year to August for sure to possibly July to all of a sudden dead-certain absolutely yes-confirmed by temple appointment-May 28th at 9 am.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Covington. It's comin'.

A very special Valentine's Day

I know it's March already, but let's go back to February for a minute. February 14th, to be specific. It was my dad's birthday, a Monday, Valentine's Day, and "the day when I drove back to Orem from Sandy because I had forgotten 30% of all my belongings on Sunday." Though I hate to drive on the freeway at night by myself, it turned out that the trip was well worth it.

I only spent about an hour in Orem. Matthew had been planning to celebrate Valentine's Day with me on Wednesday in Sandy, but as soon as he found out I was coming down, he rushed to get me a present (a dozen red roses! He refused to tell me where he got them or how much they cost, and I in turn agreed not to delete the following pictures which feature me with unwashed, greasy hair) and even made me dinner (well, technically he made dinner for his whole family - but he saved me a plate and warmed it up for me, so that counts, right?).

Probably my favorite Valentine's Day gift I've ever gotten. Even if I did have to throw them away after a few weeks.


Awwww. Look at our matching Christmas colors!


This is my personal favorite of Matt. He thinks he looks like a creepy stalker, but I disagree. An adorable, cute stalker - that I could see.


My real Valentine's Day present.


The flowers' final resting place in their position of honor in my room in Sandy. After they had been appropriately oohed and aahed over by all the roommates, of course.


Look at all the things my Matthew gets me! A couch! A cuddly adorable stuffed animal! Flowers! Now, WHERE'S THE CHOCOLATE!!!!???????


I'm not really blushing here - just trying to hide from the camera. I wouldn't make a very good flower.

I hope everyone else had a happy Valentine's Day as well. Happy and perfect as mine was, it turned out to be only a rehearsal for the excitement/romance to come.