Here it comes...the engagement story :)

Since EVERYONE wants to hear the story of how I got engaged, here it is. ;) The first paragraph is thoughts on Morgan and the second one is the actual story (just in case you want to skip down).

I really, really enjoy spending time with Morgan (shocking I know). He is sweet, good, and helps me to just be myself. From the beginning, I could tell that he did things in accordance with the gospel, which was a great comfort to me. He is the whole package. He plays sports, he is spiritual (and you can tell!), he is kind and good to those around him, he is smart, he has goals, he is optimistic, he has self-confidence and he is super cute! Ah! SO many great things! We had real conversations right from the get-go, about politics, religion, life principles, dreams/aspirations, traditions, etc. We talked about everything and nothing was a no-mans land. You know how it is with some people, there are just some topics that you never bring up around them, either because it will make them angry, or they just won't understand. Morgan and I have never found an issue that was like that. Everything was fair game and because of that, i didn't feel limited. In the past I have dated guys who I felt like I had to dumb down conversations for or where I didn't feel comfortable talking about religion (not a good sign, girls, just so you know). I love that with Morgan this is not the case. When we started getting to know each other, I basically started to realized that I had never met a man like Morgan. I really didn't think it was possible for someone to have ALL the things I want/need in a man. I actually was quite discouraged before we started dating that I would have to settle. Well, I am grateful that the Lord showed me that I didn't have to. Thus, this led me to the point where I was laying in my bed one night looking at the ceiling. It was dark and my sister was still awake. I needed to sleep, but I was SO excited! I wanted to marry Morgan Lyons. MARRY HIM!!! AH!!! And, I couldn't wait to tell him either. The next day the news came out. It was a very funny experience looking back, because of course we wanted to talk, but we had no idea what to talk about. I remember turning to Morgan that night and saying, "I don't know where to start. I've never done this before!"

Now for the engagement story:

We got engaged two weeks later. Here is the story. I knew Morgan had the ring because in a moment of complete freak-out (on my part) he had to confess his secret proposal plan (sad I know). So, I had been teasing him over the weekend and all week that we couldn't talk about wedding plans because there was no proof of engagement (I know I'm a stinker). On Tuesday, he sheepishly turned to me and said, "So, do you want to go to dinner sometime this week, maybe Thursday?" Of course we all know what that meant, so I said Thursday would be fine. All day I could barely hold still I was SO excited and the worst part was I couldn't tell a single soul!!! So, that night he came to pick me up and we started heading toward the freeway, "I hope you're not hungry." He said, "Because we have a little bit of drive." Honestly, I was STARVING, but of course I wasn't going to say anything. Now because my darling, is not so good at directions, I eventually found out we were headed to SLC because I had to navigate. That was alright though, because Morgan still managed to stump me by finding a cute little restaurant called Caffe Molise about two blocks south of Temple Square. For all y'all who have never eaten there, you should. It is DELICIOUS!!!

<Skipping back a bit> I should probably mention that when i got in the car and glanced in the back seat I noticed a jean blanket and a coat. So, I suspected that we would be doing something outside, which didn't bode well for me because I was in a skirt and I have tendency to get cold really fast. So, after dinner Morgan started driving north. This was the wrong direction for heading back home, so I kindly asked if he needed my help to get back to the freeway. He said no and just kept driving. We drove to the conference center and then parked. We got out of the car and Morgan grabbed the coat in the back for me and then gingerly picked up his jean quilt.

Now let me explain how significant the jean quilt in the back seat of the car was to Morgan and I so that the rest of this will make sense. Morgan has a jean quilt (in case you didn't already gather that detail) that he got from his Aunt Jeanette. It is AWESOME and I fell in love with it at first sight the day I left for Christmas vacation. Consequently, I stole the awesome blanket and took it to Idaho for Christmas where I cuddled in it every night. This blanket has a multi-colored gingham back and the front is jean squares, some of them still with pockets.

Now let's move on to the story at hand... While getting out of the car into the frigid air, I stood some what impatiently, while Morgan gingerly picked up the blanket from the back seat. We then started walking. Naturally, I thought we would go to temple square, but Morgan turned and started walking toward the west side of the conference center.

We walked around to the Southwest side and then Morgan sat down on a fountain, motioning me to sit next to him. He took the infamous jean blanket and gingerly laid it on the ground. He then told me that there was an object in each pocket that represented some of his favorite dates/moments that we have had together. He pulled out each object and had me guess what they represented. The first one was a racquetball, representing our first date when he didn't expect me to show up to take him to ice cream and so he was still in his sweaty racquetball attire and in the middle of doing laundry. There were various others, my favorite one (besides the ring of course) was a concert program that he had saved from the night he decided to marry me. This particular concert was actually in the little theatre in the conference center (which was next to where we were sitting, on purpose of course. Morgan thinks of everything). It was during this concert that Morgan decided he wanted to marry me. He made friends with a sweet old lady that night who asked who he was there to watch. He pointed to me with pride and the older lady, after taking a look at me shared this story. "My husband was in the Tabernacle choir and has been performing for most of our married lives. What you need to decide, is are you ready for a life in the audience?" Morgan thought about it and realized that he was and would feel pleased to do so! Such a cute story. 

In the last pocket that we looked in, Morgan pulled out a ring box. I was SO excited to see what he picked out for me, that I started getting really fidgety. Around this time, while it was still freezing, it started raining as well. Fortunately, I was so excited about the ring that I forgot all about being frozen. Well, he asked and I consented. The ring was put on my finger, hugs and kisses were exchanged, and then I decided I was cold again. So, we walked back to the car and drove home. We are planning on getting married on May 12th! Only two more months (almost)! Here's looking forward to the next adventure!

"I should have been a great many things...

...Mr. Mayer." -Jo March

I have been thinking about this quote from Little Women. I have always been a big dreamer. One prone to thinking up a million different plans and then having at least 3 different back up plans to those plans. It is just what I do. I think it is...fun. :) So, this morning I was thinking about my future educational plans, and realizing that I want to do so many things. I am studying vocal performance, which I love, but what about all those other pursuits that fell to the wayside. I have thought about being a nurse. What a demanding yet great line of work to be involved in. I think I have what it takes to be a nurse. What about a seminary teacher. I think I might be able to do that one as well. What about an architect, an interior designer, a news reporter, and many more. There is just SO much that I want to do and learn.

My dad has often expressed the same dilemma, if you can call it that, in his own life. Consequently, he is a jack of all trades. I feel the same way. I dabble in many things and don't become extremely proficient in any of them. So, is this a problem? Not really. Where the issue lies is that I feel like I can take on too many things bogging myself down. Especially in college where my area of study is so narrow, I just do not have the time to pursue all the things that I would like to. Maybe someday I will get to explore everything that I desire, but until then I'll just claim that "I should have been a great many things."

2011 {in review}

Here is a little taste of what I have done in 2011. Enjoy!

{January}

Turned 21 and got a ukulele for my birthdaySigned-up for a triathlon and started training for a marathon.

{February}

Had one of the best Valentine's Days with my three other single roommates!

And...more fun with my dear roommates!

{March}

Did the Rex Lee Run.

Went skiing with the family. I also learned to snowboard. I don't have any pictures of that though.

Signed-up for the Utah Valley Marathon.

{April}

Went to conference with my sisters.

Decided to live with Abi next year. (Best. Decision. Ever!!)

{May}

Had a great weekend home with my family and partied with my mother on Mother's day.

{June}

Decided to give a recital.

Changed my major because of said recital. (Read this post for details)

Went to dear Colorado Springs to visit one of my favorite people J-Hart!!!!!!!

{July}

I did the Spudman Triathlon in Burley, Idaho with my sister Rebekah. I'll admit I was extremely afraid of drowning, and crashing my bike. When I finally got to the run, I was SO happy.

{August}

My roommate Lindsey got married. Her reception was beautiful. I was glad that she included me in all the festivities! Her and her new hubby are probably one of the cutest couples ever.

I went to the famed Cassia County Fair & Rodeo. It was a party! I also bought a pair of cowboy boots (necessary attire for watching the rodeo o' course).

School started! New major, new apartment (with my sister, YAY!), new ward and a completely different ball game.

{September}

I RAN A MARATHON!!!! Probably the biggest thing of the year. It was quite the experience. You can read a little about it here. I liked it so much, I'm signed up to do another one next June. (I think I may be crazy!)

I am BYU Concert Choir's president for 2011-2012.

{October}

BYU homecoming fun!

Went to my first opera at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. It was fantastic!

{November}

Had Thanksgiving with the family in Idaho. We all ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning,

shot shotguns

and ate SOOO much pie!

{December}

Barley lived through the end of finals week. It was a pretty challenging semester.
I had Christmas up in Idaho!
While home, Abi and I held our annual Christensen Christmas Ball.

Overall it has been a pretty productive year, and this next one is gearing up to be even better!! :D

Expect the Unexpected

<— So, you know how I have that motto under my picture. That's right the one right over there <—

Well, today is a perfect example of how life happens when you are planning for something else. Let's start at the beginning.

It was a rainy day in early October. Chilly, wet and cold, but all together lovely. My sister, Abi, and I had just finished our last class and were headed home. We were excited to change into our p.j.s and make the drive, over the river and through the woods of course, to my grandma's house in Woods Cross. The purpose for this excursion was to get a much needed hair cut from my Aunt. Well, it didn't happen and here is why...

Abi and I arrived to our cute little apartment, changed and then loaded up our stuff. Only problem, was that I realized that the really annoying beeping sound, that always goes off in our car (when the door is open, whether the key is in the ignition or not) wasn't happening. I then realized that the automatic unlock for our car wasn't working either...very odd. We both eventually got in the car, I put the key in the ignition and....nothing. It was dead! Abi killed it. It was all her fault. ;) She left the lights on and consequently drained the life from Roger's poor little battery.

We called for backup, which consisted of a list of about everyone I know. Thank you Bryan Tagge, for saving the day. He came to our rescue, with his brand new car and a jumper cable. We were saved, or so we thought. Well, Bryan and I are both intelligent people, and we both have jumped cars before...but this unfortunately doesn't make us fool proof. Bryan looked at me and told me which side he was hooking to the positive and which one he was hooking to the negative, only I wasn't paying as close of attention as I should have been because I had the colors swapped in my mind. Consequently, we got our positives and negatives mixed up, my fault entirely. I hopped in our car and Abi told me to wait a bit before starting up the ignition. I did, and then...our car started smoking. Not a good sign. Quickly, I jumped out and waved at Bryan to have him turn off his car. We got the engine stopped, unhooked the cables, and then realized our mistake. How silly am I? It was one of those, "Oh no! I can't believe I am so stupid." moments. You know, when you wish you could turn back time and just keep praying that you didn't destroy anything.

Bryan got back in his car and started his engine, only it wouldn't start. At this point, I was thinking, "Great, not only is our car smoking, but now I have ruined Bryan's car as well." Needless to say, I got a little distressed. Thankfully Bryan kept his composure and just kept reassuring me that it was a learning experience. We checked spark plugs, called parents and friends, and read the owner's manual, but nothing was working. (Note: all of this was done in the rain that was mentioned in the first sentence of this story.) Eventually, we decided that a tow would be the best option. While Bryan was on the phone with the tow people, this really nice guy, all dressed up for a church meeting, came over to the car and asked if we needed help. I told him we sure did and he kindly replied by saying that he was a car guy, whatever that means. He looked under the hood of Bryan's car and then had me try to start it again. He told us that all that was wrong was that the battery was dead and that he would be willing to give us a jump. So, we hooked the two together, correctly this time. Much to my relief, the car roared to life. The kind man explained to us what happened, and then told us to drive the car around for about 20 minutes before parking it for the night.

Relieved, we headed out for a '20 minute' excursion. Abi had the brilliant idea to go get Cheerwine from a store in the Riverwoods. Can I just say, it was the best decision ever! The store was a toy store/candy store called Blickenstaff's. We played with toys, road the mechanical horse, and drank our Cheerwine to our heart's content.

Then we went to a giant surf/beach store—thing...aka. Provo Beach Resort. We explored, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. In this particular Provo Beach Resort, since there is obviously more than one, there is an ice cream shop called "I Like Ike's". It was in the Daily Universe last week. I read the article. It talked about how it just barely opened, it is currently the only ice cream shop in Provo that sells Bluebell ice cream, and the honorary 'opening' scooping was done by Lavel Edwards and Jimmer. In my excitement at recognizing the shop, I turned to Abi and Bryan and explained what I had read. Bryan looked at me and said timidly, while pointing over my shoulder, "That is Jimmer." I looked over my shoulder and lo and behold there was Jimmer, staring at me like I was crazy...haha...ya it was a little embarrassing. Abi, Bryan and I looked awkwardly at each other, laughed nervously, and then shuffled out of the door quickly only to burst into laughter once we were out of Jimmer and his fiance's earshot. We headed home in high spirits, visited and ate apple pie.

Now for the moral(s) of the story. Number one: life never ends up how you expect, number two: negatives can be positives—it all depends on your attitude (thank you Bryan) and number three: be spontaneous, it's fun sometimes.

The End! :D

26.2

I am pleased to announce that I, Eliza Christensen, completed my goal of running a marathon without stopping and I survived to tell the tale! YAY! I did the Top of Utah Marathon this year up in Logan Utah. What an adventure it was. The night before the race, I met up with my parents in Logan. It rained all night and didn't stop at all the next day. A little hail even visited around mile 13. No biggie though... :D Here are the pictures. Enjoy!

The Bend in the Road

I'm reminded of a quote that I read in Anne of Green Gables a few years ago. Anne is talking to Marilla about how her plans are changing. In this part of the book, she has reached a point where it has become important for her to stay and take care of her caregiver and give up her education for a while.

"When I left Queen's my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes--what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows--what new landscapes--what new beauties--what curves and hills and valleys further on."

I'm reminded of this quote because I have reached a bend in my own road. I'm not sure what exactly lies beyond, but like Anne, I prefer to think of it as a path with checkered light and shadows, new landscapes, beauties and curves, hills valleys and much more. Though change isn't always as splendid as one would like to think, it still has a "fascination of its own."

The Journey

When I was a freshman at BYU, I came to school with rose colored glasses. I was going to conquer the world, choose the perfect major and everything would fall right at my feet. Well, I decided on the perfect major, I wanted to do music, specifically vocal performance. So, I auditioned in December and lo and behold I did not make it. That was a bump in the road for sure, but I was determined to continue. I did a little research and heard that Music Education did an audition for the School of Music during Summer term. I didn't really have any passion for music education at this point and thought that I would be sneaky and try to make it in under music education and then eventually switch to performance, because once you were in, you were in.

Then another bump hit, I took the introductory course and fell in love with music education. Just the whole concept of helping to mold the next generation of musicians was magical to me. At the end of this course, I auditioned again. I made it into the School of Music this time, but with a new objective. I was going to become the best music teacher out there and change the world (since that is the goal of every person, right?).

I continued on this path for two years, things were going great. Occasionally I would hear of a friend, or peer in the music education program switching to performance. I would entertain the idea for a moment and then quickly decide I liked where I was, plus music education was more stable and I would have a career once I graduated. It just made sense.

The Bend

This current spring semester was my last semester of voice lessons (as a music education major you take only two years of voice lessons vs. the four performance majors take). So, I decided to do a recital. Why not finish with a bang? Well, I had my recital (read previous post), it went as well as I could have hoped for and graduation was just around the corner (3 semesters away).

Then one day, last Thursday, I got this crazy idea. Like most conclusions, or decisions we make in life, there are things that sort of unravel the idea before us. This then leads to the big 'ah-ha' moment where everything changes. These little nudges alter our path ever so slightly, and like a turn in the road, they don't happen all at once. It's a gradual process. These, for me, were the compliments received from family and friends after my performance, the compliments from the head of the vocal department and his encouragement to not give up because my voice was getting 'there', and my overall desire to continue my own vocal development. I could feel that although I had come a long way, I still wasn't as grounded as I wanted to be in my technique and my desire to continue lessons just kept growing. I was afraid though. I really wanted to ask my teacher, Dr. Reich, if I could continue studying with her, but I knew she had a very busy studio and that she was in high demand. I just didn't know if she would consider taking a student on for another year who was done with their vocal requirement and who just wanted to take lessons for their own personal benefit.

The other worry that was weighing on my mind at this point was graduate school. I had been looking into schools and I had started to realize that I didn't feel prepared to apply to graduate school with the training I would get from music education. So, as is characteristic with everything I do, I tried to find a solution. First, I needed to further my vocal skills. The above fear of asking my previous teacher to take me on was the conclusion of that thought. I also needed to have a basic reading comprehension in all of the Romantic languages (French, Italian, and German). I definitely could do this goal, but my graduation plan was set, and I didn't have any room for three more four credit classes before graduation.

Then the crazy idea hit. What if I changed my major to vocal performance? This idea had never seemed like a possibility to me, but for the first time it sounded like it might actually work. So, I figured out a graduation plan. Good news I would only need to extend my graduation by one semester. Then I talked to my academic adviser, who I happen to work for. Everything would work out there as well. Now I just needed approval from the head of the vocal department. I sent him an e-mail. A couple hours later I received this response:
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"I would be glad to speak to you about this topic. You know that I am a fan of your voice. You meet the VPS standards for entry into 360, so the decision rests with you. Dr. Reich has a tight load in the fall, but I am sure she would make room for you. If, for some reason, she cannot, I would be pleased to help, as I know several other teachers would, too."

*VPS standards refers to how your voice is scored at juries on a 5.0 scale. To pass onto the next level of voice lessons, in vocal performance (360), a student has to receive a VPS of 3.0 out of 5.0.

This is the point in our story that I started to get really excited. I just stared at the screen and thought, "You mean it is a possibility for me to switch? I can be the major that I originally wanted to be?" Crazy stuff, that's for sure. Well, I didn't want to be impulsive or anything. After all, this was pretty life changing. However, after much contemplation and advice I decided to switch. Two comments that particularly swayed my vote were:

"You might as well reach farther than you think you can and then even if you fall, you will have grown in the process." Said to me by my friend in the music education program, Sarah Hunsaker Machado.

(Interestingly, this comment reminds me of another quote from the Anne of Green Gables saga.)

"It's a no brainer to me, you can take education classes any time, what you can't get back is the talent development that you will have the opportunity to pursue." Said to me by my dear father.

So, there you have it. I am now a Vocal Performance major at BYU with two more years ahead of me. The turn has been taken. I am now rounding the bend. What lays before me is very hard to see at this point. And sometimes, like Anne, "I wonder how the road beyond it goes--what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows--what new landscapes--what new beauties--what curves and hills and valleys further on."

I guess I'll get to find out.

Amen!

This is incredibly accurate. My sister posted these lyrics from a Josh Turner song and so, being the copy cat I am, I am posting them again.

Well, I grew up wild and free,
Walkin' these fields in my bare feet.
There wasn't no place I couldn't go,
With a .22 rifle and a fishin' pole.

Well, I live in the city, but don't fit in,
You know it's a pity the shape I'm in.
Well, I got no home and I got no choice.
Oh, Lord, have mercy on a country boy.

My sister posted this along with a dead-on description of life as a 'country girl' in Idaho. Since I can't even compete, I thought I would just re-post for all of those folks who are interested in a great read. Country Girl by Abi

(except minus the running part, because that's one thing I do LOVE!!! Love you Abs!)