It's Time

This is it.

Hopping on a plane today to go to Michigan with C.

I’m so excited….and so nervous.

Time to meet his son K…..and baby momma.

Eeek!

Wish me luck!

Home Again, Home Again

So I’m back.  New Orleans was awesome and Ohio was, well, less so.

(Also, this is a LONG post…sorry)

Over the course of my trip I got to spend some quality time with my momma and her family and even got to see C several times. 

But best of all…..I got to see C win an Arena Bow Championship!!!  He got his ring!  I am so incredibly proud of him and also so happy to see him realize his dream.

My mom and I got in around 10pm and rushed to get our bags and into the cab to the hotel.  C had a strict deadline to be in his room (which coincidently was right under mine) by 11pm and I wanted a goodnight kiss before we had to go.  We made it with about ten minutes to spare.

After we said goodnight and I freshened up, momma and I headed to Bourbon Street with one of C’s teammates girlfriends and his mom.  Honestly, Bourbon Street is just not my cup of tea.  Or really the whole atmosphere of New Orleans.  I am just not a partier.  We grabbed an adult beverage and walked up and down the street for a few hours.   It was so funny to see my mom out there.  She is even more innocent than me!

Bourbon Street with momma

8 am came pretty quickly, but I didn’t care because I was excited to get to spend a little bit of time with C.  The three of us went to the Ruby Slipper for some breakfast and then it was time to say goodbye to C again.  

But not before he took a picture with a rare sighting of a payphone....

After breakfast my mom and roamed around the city for a little while. We walked down to the waterfront and through the French Quarters.  We were on a hunt for beignets and found the ever famous Café Du Monde, but I wasn’t about to wait in that line!  We finally found another place called Café Beignet and I experienced my first real New Orleans beignets (basically little puff pastry donut type things covered in powdered sugar).  I have to say, the ones at Grand Luxe Café here in AZ are sooooo much better.  I was really disappointed.

New Orlean's beignet's

After beignets and some shopping (I found some awesome “red solo cup wine glasses” for my brother and C) we were headed back to the hotel and bumped into C. He was looking for us to see if we wanted to join him for an unexpected lunch, which was awesome.  Any little bit of time I got with him I would take!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to rest our feet.  After laying down, we decided to go for some massages.  Can I just say how much I love traveling with my momma?!? I did some research and found a place within walking distance that had some open slots.  It looked a little sketch going in, but I have to say it was a pretty darn good massage and I really learned a lot from the masseuse!  Thank goodness we choose the place we did too…..I guess the other two massage places on the street were of the “happy ending” variety.  Ew.

After the massage, we took naps and then got ready.  I got to get one more quick kiss from C before he left for the arena and then my mom and I headed to dinner.  We wandered next door and found Shula’s steakhouse, which I thought was fitting for our evening plans. 

Shula's menu

After dinner we headed to the arena.  I was so incredibly nervous! I knew this moment was such a big deal for C and I felt so blessed to be able to be there to witness it. 

The game was awesome.  I think the team was ahead by at least two scores the entire time!  It was almost comical.  After the half, it was almost old news when they got a touchdown.  So completely different than the stressful playoff games they played to get to this game.

I really love the intimacy of arena football. It was so great to be able to walk down near the teams bench and get a kiss from C during the half.  That’s definitely not possible in the NFL!

With tears in my eyes I watched C and his team count down the final seconds of the game.  As soon as it was over, C marched right on over to me for a kiss, then took off to celebrate with his teammates.  It was great to be a part of everything!  As they were setting up the trophy ceremony, the guys families and well, girlfriends (and their mothers) all got to hop the railings and go onto the field. It was surreal to experience it all!

Aftermath of the game

After the game we met up on Bourbon Street at an Arena Bowl after party spot to celebrate some more.  C told me he was so happy after the game that he almost proposed….but he didn’t have a ring.  Oh my goodness that would have been cute, but I’m honestly glad he didn’t do that in that city.

After a bit of partying mom and I were off to Ohio.  Our flight left at 5:20am, which means we had to leave for the airport around 3:30am.  That was terrible!  I was miserable on our flights. I was so exhausted!  Once we got there we took an hour nap and had to get up and go again.  Next up was my cousins wedding!

The wedding was small, but fun.  It was nice to see family that I don’t see very often.  The best part though (which I feel bad about) was getting to leave and get the 14 hours of sleep that I got!

The next day we headed out to my Aunts farm in Lancaster, Ohio.  Pretty much the middle of nowhere.  I wish I could say the next three days were awesome….but I can’t.  That’s because I ended up getting strep throat!  Let me just say, traveling with strep throat is horrible.

My "sick" nightstand

Getting sick was worth it though. I got to witness C realize his dream. I got to be with him every step of the way J

At home with the trophy

Bowl Bound

Ahhhhhh!!!!!  C’s team made it to the Arena Bowl in New Orleans!

I am so incredibly happy for him. All he wants right now is to win that ring.  It’s been his goal for the past 4 years, since he's been in the league.

The last two weeks have been so stressful.  Everything has been hinged on these playoff games and they both came down to the final seconds.  This week they were down by 9 points with a minute left and I really didn’t think they would win.  I was sitting in the stands trying to figure out what I would say to him after such a tough loss.

His team pulled it off though. Instead of thinking of how to console him, I got to sit in the stands and watch him march across the entire field the instant the game was over, climb the rails to where I was sitting and give me a kiss to celebrate.  The whole time being followed by a news camera.  Uh yeah, I’m pretty sure that moment was recorded!

Now the week of preparation begins.  He and the team left for New Orleans today.  I will miss him these next few days, but it is totally worth it.  My mom and I will fly out there Thursday evening and the game is Friday night.  I’m pretty sure it is the closest I will ever come to a Superbowl!

This weekend is going to be pretty wild regardless.  Attending a stressful football game and then the next day will be even worse.  My mom and I are on a flight that leaves at 5:20am to Columbus, OH for my cousins wedding.  So yes, a game that will end at 12:30am at the earliest, followed by hopefully a long night of celebrating.  I don’t think I will be getting any sleep!

I’m praying for a ring for him…..hopefully the next ring will be FROM him!

Lean on Me

The other night I broke down and cried in front of C because I was so stressed out because of money.

As embarrassing as that was, it was also a huge relief too.

Let me back up….

When I first met C I was determined to not even slightly look like the kind of girl that was dating an athlete for their money. I wanted to be independent.  I insisted on paying for myself for some things or even sometimes paying for our dates.  I think that is fair anyways in a relationship.  Why should a man have to pay for everything?  The problem is, I can’t keep up.  He wants to go out to movies and dinners all the time. When he wants to order pizza, its the $28 fancy pizza, not the $7.99 deal from Domino’s.  When he goes out to dinner he sometimes orders two entrees!  I just can’t afford that.

Especially now, since after my “roommate” woes I am actually down money. Meaning for the period she lived with me (yes, she’s since left) my bills got A LOT higher and she never paid me.  She still owes me almost $700. I will probably never see that money.  She also cleaned out pretty much all of my food (stuff she knew full well was purchase before she even got there and wasn’t hers to take). So right now I am struggling with just pennies to my name. 

So last Friday I crumbled.  I went over to his house and I just let it all out.  I cried. I told him I was stressed out and that I didn’t have money to keep up with him.  I worried that maybe he was viewing me as I was viewing my roommate, someone who just came to his house and ate all his food.  That maybe it was bothering him that I didn’t ever help out on the grocery bill.

You know what?  He reassured me and told me none of my fears were true.  He told me he loves me and that it makes him happy to support me. And then he said: “We are running this race together.  Sometimes I’m going to need to hop on your back and sometimes you are going to need to hop on mine.”

Isn’t that the truth?  In a relationship, sometimes we are just going to need to lean on the other person.  The fact that he said that meant so much to me. I felt so safe in his arms at that moment.

I love him with all of my heart….and he deserves it.

Pressure

C has been telling people that he will propose once I meet his son. 

We just booked our trip to Michigan in August to see him for his birthday.

Eeek. No pressure there.

I am a little scared.  I mean, I love children and I know we will get along, but just knowing that the rest of my life hinges on that moment is enough to stress me out.

What do I say?

What do I do?

Should I get him a birthday gift?

What do 8 year olds like?

What about his mother?  (As in C’s ex)

Thankfully she is happily married with other children, so I am not threatened by her in any way.  No matter what, it is still really intimidating to me. 

What will she be like?

Will she like me?

What if she doesn’t?

I am trying to focus on the good things about my trip.  This will be the first time I’ve ever flown on a vacation with a significant other.  I am excited to get on a plane and travel with him because I know that we will be doing a lot of that in our future. I am excited to see the town he went to college in and meet some of his friends. I’ve heard so many stories.  I am definitely excited to go to my first Michigan State game! C has been grooming me….Go State!

I just have to keep praying for peace and wisdom about the situation.  Oh and maybe find some anxiety pills to bring along!