10 months ago

10 months ago i answered one very, simple question with the word "yes".

"Meghan Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

Such a simple question with such an amazing and life changing answer. There are moments that i feel like we just got engaged, and then there are moments when i feel like we have been engaged forever and can we just get married already. On our wedding day, we will have had an engagement that has lasted for almost 13 months. Some would say we have had a very long engagement, I would say it has benefited us and made us a stronger couple.

For those who are not aware, Charles and I met online. We had our first date on April 28, 2011. We got engaged just a short 6 1/2 months later. He says he knew early on in our relationship that he wanted to marry me. My moment was last August when some awful hair dresser cut my hair way too short and colored it a horrifying shade of highlighter-orange. To "fix" this, i then had to become a brunette. I am not a brunette. I have never been a brunette.  I cried, and cried, and cried. I was so devastated that i went to his condo, sat on his bedroom floor, cried hysterically, and drank a bottle of wine. I did not know how else to react. What made that moment better, you ask? Charles didn't run away, he did everything he could to try to make me feel okay with what had just happened. He even went so far as to call his mom for advice on how to handle this. All he wanted was for me to quite crying. And i did...eventually...knowing that this man really loved me, and wasn't going anywhere. At that moment, i knew that i could and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. For your enjoyment, here are some pictures of "The Incident"

In the last 10 months, since we got engaged, this wonderful man has watched me feel uncomfortable in my own skin, and he has told me how beautiful he thinks i am, every day. He has watched me put on a ridiculous amount of weight and has cheered me on through my weight loss process. We have laughed, and cried, and screamed, and smiled, and felt just about every emotion possible and i know this is just the beginning. As we near the end of our engagement and move into the beginning of our marriage, I have a hard time expressing how excited I feel. I feel so incredibly blessed to be loved by this man. And as my dad said to me 2 weeks ago: to find a man who could love me the way Charles does, that's rare, and I need to appreciate it. And trust me when i say, I DO!! I'm not always easy to love or easy to like even, but this man, MY MAN, does. He loves me (and likes me) every day. I hope that I show him the same love back. I love Charles William Fox, Jr. with everything I have and we seem to just get better and better. In short, he rocks and because he rocks, WE ROCK! And now for some fun photos:

Til next time :)

~M. Johnson :) :)

3 more months...

Happy Monday ... ha, yeah right. Does anyone actually mean that when they say it? Happy Monday...it's another start to another work week with another long list of "to-dos." I know that after my last post i was going to be followed up with more of my thoughts regarding my views of the state of the world and such but I decided to keep it to myself. I did share some of my thoughts in that short blog, but other than that I spent a lot of time talking to Charles, my parents, and God about the way i felt and how sad i was about certain current events. I just don't see a place for hate in my life, and i try to avoid it, but when it is thrown in my face from every imaginable corner I will react. I strive every day to love and be loved and share God's love. I fail, i know this, but i am never hateful and i respect everyone's opinions. I did not say i agree, but i do respect their right to their opinion and that is all i can do. I know that this short statement does not tell you what opinion I have about events...i don't know if this is the platform...plus i don't know if it matters, especially since it is my opinion and has no bearing on how i feel about those in my life. I have friends of all faiths, orientations, and races. We don't always agree with each other, it happens, that is life, but i love them regardless.

Anywho...moving on. Mucho excitement with the Johnsons and Foxes. Friday, August 10th was the official 3 month mark til the wedding!! Woo hoo! I am so excited :) I say it almost every day, i would marry the man (Charles) tomorrow in a court house, but i am so looking forward to the celebration with family and friends! We had our first shower 2 weeks ago in Boone, NC. The congregation at First Baptist is easily the most generous group of people i have ever met. They truly love Charles and his family and reinforced my knowledge of how lucky I am to becoming a member of their family. Charles and I are incredibly blessed!

This weekend, I went home to Atlanta to address envelopes, glue ribbon, and put together the invitations with my mom. I made the trip alone (which was fine because Charles would have been bored out of his mind). It was a non-stop event. Today I am sore, like really sore, in my lower back and hips, but i feel like a champion that my mom and I were able to get it all done! They are all (all 142 of them) put together, sealed and stamped. What an accomplishment!! It helps that my mom and i are are pretty much control freaks, so we have the ability to just lay out a plan, sit, and get it done. Here is a sneak peak!

Also, while i was home I got to see my best friend's new baby. His name is Roman, he is just over a month old, and he is perfect! I joke with his mom (Josie) that she has been replaced and that he is my new best friend. I could just love on him and shower him with kisses all the time. That moment when i have to give him that last little kiss and put him in his little romper roo thing breaks my heart. These are the moments i miss since we live far away. He is just the most perfect tiny thing ever and what a stud! Check out his hair...seriously, a lady killer!

Now, to a personal "YAY" moment. While i am not quite ready to share my weight with you...oh well who cares...here we go. When i started my weight-loss/running journey it was January, the holidays had just ended, and i was fat. I easily weighed around 205 and that is the largest i have ever been. I do not have a large frame, so extra weight is easy to see and more than that, easy to feel. It effected everything. Well i have been working hard: running (i did a 5K in less than 45 minutes last week...woohoo) and eating correctly. 75% of my diet is easily veggies (with a little fruit), with the rest being lean meats, LOTS of seafood, and healthy carbs (on occasion). My weight is down around 40 pounds and it keeps dropping.

At my desk, i have the below piece of paper taped to the wall. I read it every day and it honestly, really helps keep me focused on the things i do from a day to day basis and the things that i choose to put in my mouth. I encourage anyone who might be trying to create a new life plan, to keep your "strategies" taped where you can see them every single day! It makes a world of difference!!

For you enjoyment, below is a pick of my sweet babies during a storm...what chickens! But aren't they just adorable??

Well that is all for now folks. I am glad i have been able to catch you up a little on what has been going on. My goal really is to make this blog a priority...i need to. It is good for my soul and my mind! As we really begin to gear up for the wedding, i know time will be tight, but i look forward to sharing as much of the excitement as possible!

Always

~M. Johnson :) :)

Think...

I'm currently working out my next blog post in my head....I originally wanted to write about my and Charles' first wedding shower and how wonderful it was and I may still do that. I also thought about writing a post regarding the Restoring Love event in Dallas that my sister was a part of. And then i thought, well maybe I will write about my feelings on the state of this country...it's not a political but i just feel so sad about where our country is and what it's people have become. Trust me when I say, I am not perfect and i make plenty of judgments on my own, but i have never felt the hate that is currently resonating throughout different races, genders, and sexual orientations. It makes me sad and disappointed. Maybe i'll figure out a way to write a post that incorporates the showers, Restoring Love, and my sadness. I don't know...i'm going to work on it and I'll get something finished before the week is over.