Mrs. Knight

Well folks, I’m officially Mrs. Jesse Knight, and have been for over a week.

Even though the wedding was about 10 days ago, I thought I’d recap it a bit. Amazingly enough, everything went perfectly. It was a warm, upper-70’s, early fall day. It was sunny. We had a lot of loved ones around. The temple ceremony was right on time, pictures were easy, the luncheon was good, and the reception that evening was absolutely gorgeous. The girls were beautiful, the guys were sharp, and my dad only complained a little about the tux. Even the photographer commented, “this is supposed to be harder, you know.” The flowers were amazing, the Alpine Art Center was the perfect setting, and it was more fun that I had imagined to see and talk to so many people that I love — all at once! And the evening was wrapped up with Jesse surprising me with a limo ride to the Anniversary Inn downtown, which is where we spent that night. Then we were off to San Francisco the next day for a beautiful honeymoon!

Well, I could probably gush forever. But, in essence, my wedding day was the most beautiful day of my life. (If you ignore the fact that Jesse’s 1-year-old nephew fell, hit his forehead, and needed stitches, and my brother hit a deer on his way home from the reception. Oh, well…nothing can be ABSOLUTELY perfect, right?)

Anyhow, here are a few photos of the event. I feel like I should feel like a different person now, but I don’t really.

Freak...if I think about the person I was a year or two ago, then I guess I am different! But, I’m happy. It's kind of fun to start putting our home together too. Good grief...when did I become so domesticated? Now if someone could just tell me how many frustrating hoops I have to jump through to get my name changed, I would appreciate it.

Wow

So this is what this feels like. Well, I'm getting married Friday. Biggest, most life-altering thing I've done. I'm excited, happy, nervous, and all-around lost. I can't really describe anymore than that. I can't be witty or write something clever. I can't even match up my shoes right now. But if I have any crazy stories to report later, I sure will.

Signing off as Marianne "Deputy" Sloan. I'll sign back on in a week or so as Marianne "Deputy" Knight. Wow.

They Have to Have Doctors For This Sort of Thing

So, I’m a bit of a space-case lately. My life is changing drastically this week. Give me a break.

But here’s a little bit of a meeting I went to today, concerning our company Web site (for which I manage and edit a lot of the content).

“I have an issue,” says the new Marketing girl.
“Yes?” says the IT guy.
“We need to nail down who is responsible for what on the Web site,” she says.
“Yes, we’ve had a few issues lately where things haven’t been updated on time, and we don’t know about it until people call in to tell us,” says the company trainer.
“And I don’t know if I’ve dropped the ball, or where we’re having a problem,” continues the Marketing girl. (Did I mention she was new?)

Quite embarrassed, I hid my face and exclaimed, “I’m sorry! I’m in La-La Land!”

Yes, everything they were talking about was stuff that I was responsible for. And everyone had a good laugh at my expense. It’s okay, I’m used to that. In the meantime, if something hasn’t been done around here, rest-assured that I will take full responsibility. As soon as my head comes down to earth.

Nephi Does Pilates

You think I'm kidding.

So, I’m a bit of gym junkie. I’m the kind of person that always has a bag with gym clothes in my car, and goes directly to the gym after work. Some days I really like the gym, and some days I just go out of habit – or sheer self-discipline.

Before I promote myself as superwoman, let me just say that if I could only get over my addiction to sugar, I might actually look like a gym junkie. I’m not the one in the tight little gym outfits. It’s baggy shirts and gym pants for me!

Anyhow, there’s a point to this. I started kickboxing awhile back. At first it made me feel pretty tough, especially in the classes where the teacher really tried to teach you fighting technique. Now I think we look pretty silly sometimes, but I still go regularly because it’s an awesome workout. I’ve become pretty picky about instructors, though. And there is one I just do not like. But she’s great as a Pilates instructor, so I started trying out her class. I’m not a dancer, nor am I that flexible, so I think I look even sillier doing Pilates than kickboxing. But hey…you get to do the whole thing lying on a mat with your shoes off.

Last night I went to the Pilates class, and the instructor said that we had a special guest. She introduced one of the only two men in the class (who happened to be on the mat just to my left) as an actor from Toronto, who plays Nephi in the new Book of Mormon movie. We all looked at him curiously. He sorta looked like a Nephi-type. Very buff. I thought he looked like a nice guy, despite my issues with the whole “Book of Mormon movie” concept. Sure wished I had a camera phone at that moment!

So you think a buff guy like that could do anything, right? Well, I guess I didn’t realize how tough Pilates could be. See, when I start to hurt, I just stop. I’m a wuss that way. But Nephi over there, he had some integrity and kept going. But mind you, the man was literally crying out in pain (out loud – the rest of us usually suffer quietly). He would yell out his pain during the exercise, and when a particular move was over, he would whimper.

And there you have it, friends. If you ever see the Book of Mormon movie (which I’m still not sure I’m going to), when you see the big, buff Nephi of olden-times, just remember that he whimpered like a girl while trying to do Pilates.

Running and Songs about Drugs

Yesterday morning I woke up early and went out running. Now, anyone that knows what happened to me last summer knows that getting out and running on the pavement for me is quite a hurdle – and more of a mental one, rather than a physical one. (I experienced a severe and freak stress fracture in my hip from running last summer. I have never experienced, and never want to again, pain like that!) I started running again as soon as I could last fall, but never outside. Always on a cushioned treadmill – it was safer. So, taking the leap back onto the pavement was an accomplishment. Even if it was over a year later!

Okay, the point of that all was that I went jogging in the neighborhood where I grew up. It’s not far from my parents’ home now, but it still feels like a different world. I jogged by the house where I spent a good 23 years of my life. It’s the house that I spent my childhood, young adulthood, where I came and went during my college years, and where I left from and returned to from my mission. I remember packing up and moving from that house. I went over every room and corner and thought about how many memories I have there. As I ran by that morning, the front door was open so I could peek inside. I felt like I was looking into my past. Sounds a bit cheesy, but that’s the strange feeling that overcame me. I’m grateful for all those memories. Especially as I face the next phase of life in getting married and starting my own family eventually – it’s amazing how it all fits together. Life really is an amazing thing.

And on a different note, I’ve had a song stuck in my head all day. My sister Kate’s favorite-punk-band-of-the-hour is called Yellowcard. What makes them unique is that they have a violinist, so the sound is a little different than most punk bands. I can’t keep up with all the new punk bands much anymore, but this one I kind of like. The song that Kate has stuck in my head is called “Powder,” which – much like the name sounds – is about drug abuse. I can’t decide exactly what the message is, but I can tell it’s about a guy describing his friend’s drug addiction. I don't know that 'catchy' is the right word, but I like the song. Just a random thought.

Oh, and Jesse got his car back on Friday, finally. He’s been borrowing mine for the past couple of weeks, and I’ve been hitching rides with family here and there. But it’s nice to have my car back. So nice that every once in awhile I’ll jingle my keys just to hear them. Know what that sound is? Freedom. :)

Addicted?

So I’ve recently become addicted to Solitaire and Hearts on the computer. I don’t know why, but suddenly I find it very entertaining.

But like all addictions, it’s not good for me. For example, the other night I was itching to play, and my dad’s laptop wasn’t at the kitchen table. Then it turns out that I couldn’t find any card games on the computer in my sister’s room. So then I went in to my brother Shawn’s room, because he had stepped out for a bit, and minimized the game he had paused…and found Solitaire. When Shawn found me in his room, he gave me that perturbed shake of the head that says, “Man, you’re weird.”

So I’ve decided that maybe I shouldn’t play it anymore. At least that would make it a short addiction…maybe a week or two. Uhhh…I just hope my editor doesn’t walk into my cubicle while I’m playing Hearts. Does anyone know how to play cards at work inconspicuously? Maybe I shouldn’t know.

Laborious Labor Day

“I can’t believe we came up this. What kind of insane people do this?”

“Amen!” I thought, as the girl passed me on the way down the mountain. The difference between me and her, however, was that she actually made it to the top. When she passed me, I had sat down, having given all I could give, and was waiting for Jesse to come back down.

While I sat there, on the verge of tears, wondering how on earth I had gotten there, my mind went back to my premonition that morning, and my initial reaction when my husband-to-be suggested we climb Mount Olympus on our day off. When he first suggested it, I pretty much said no. I’d heard about it, and how even really good hikers considered it an accomplishment to have done. It was supposedly not very long, just very, very steep. But then I volunteered to go, knowing that Jesse really wanted to try it. And I thought, “It can’t really be that bad.”

That morning, I had had a feeling of trepidation so strongly that I started thinking of excuses not to go. But I calmed myself down, and thought again, “It can’t really be that bad.”

But sitting there, after 3 ½ hours of arduous climbing and being told – once again – by descending hikers that I was still an hour from the summit, I sat down and thought, “No, it really is that bad.”

Jesse hustled up to the saddle, then came back down to find me. Even he was having a really hard time, which made me feel a little better. After reassuring me that I wasn’t a failure – and that he really did want to marry me – we headed back down. Going back down something that you climbed straight up is almost just as hard. Easier to keep going, but your body absolutely hates you. My legs were jelly, it was really hot, and I was out of water. When we were within ½ mile from the end, I wasn’t sure I could go anymore. It took all my concentration to put one foot in front of the other.

Let’s just say, when we got back to the car and got ourselves to a 7-11, I downed a 32 oz. Gatorade in about 3 minutes. And I don’t even like Gatorade.

I’ll spare you the rest of the murmuring details. I don’t think I would be quite the same person if my life wasn’t filled with crazy, daunting, or draining adventures. But I think I have had my fill – at least for a little while.