August 2025
Tying-The-Knot!
Most of you already know that after 9+ years, Sheldon and I finally tied the knot this month! The ceremony went exactly as I wanted it to, which is perfect! We decided to perform a brief elemental Celtic tradition ceremony, using representations of air, earth, water, and fire. I'm really excited that I got to share a little bit of my beliefs with my friends and family because most of them are Mormon (Basic Bitch Utah Life).
Juno was the cutest little ring bearer! My cousin was my matron of honor and ecstatically helped walk him down the aisle, even though he wanted to go in every direction. We also had six little flower fairies! We allowed any of the nieces on both our sides to have a chance at being one because it's something fun and memorable.
I'm mostly Pagan, but many of my studies and belief systems stem from traditional Celtic Wicca. I'll go ahead and tell you a little bit about each symbol and its meaning:
~ Air - Bubbles: Air represents the power of thought, communication, and imagination. We wanted to send our hopes and laughter into the world, light as air, free as spirit.
~ Earth - Planting a Money Tree: The earth is sacred and alive, rich with wisdom and memory in Celtic culture. Planting a tree symbolizes our commitment to nurturing our love just like the plant. Our bond will grow with care, patience, and a shared purpose. The money tree, in particular, also represents abundance, prosperity, good fortune, and positive energy.
~ Water - Watering the Tree: Water is the essence of emotion and connection. In Celtic myth, sacred wells and rivers held healing power. We watered the tree to offer compassion, tenderness, and the promise to flow through life's changes hand in hand.
~ Fire - Unity Candle Ceremony: Flame was kindled to mark life's greatest moments, warming the heart and illuminating the soul for passion, transformation, and sacred light.
Both of our fathers lit the small candles and handed them to us.
We then lit the big candle with the statement:
“Ye are blood of my blood.
And Bone of my bone.
I give ye my body and we two might be one.
I give ye my spirit and our life shall be done.”
-Outlander We then each handed a candle to the other's mother with some sentimental statements thanking them for raising the person we love. The ceremony ended with our Celtic knot tie. The colors we chose and their meanings were: ~ Red: Represents the flame that called us to one another. The fire of passion, desire, and deep-rooted vitality that speaks of the courage of choosing love again and again. ~ Orange: The glow of the hearth, warmth, kindness, and attraction. It invites us to welcome each other's light and bless the abundance we create side by side. ~ Yellow: The light of dawn and mirror of clarity. It carries confidence, balance, and the strength of knowledge itself. Calling us to grow together without losing who we are, and to trust in each other's brilliance. ~ Black: The void and star-streaked sky. The wisdom earned and vision unseen. Let it remind us that love is not only in light but also the strength to walk through the unknown together. A lot of people left after the ceremony, so there was PLENTY of food left over to give away. I would much rather have had too much than too little! (It was Olive Garden!). I'm truly grateful to a coworker and my cousin for showing up early and helping set everything up. As well as my mother-in-law's neighbors, who helped serve the food and take everything down in the chaotic wind! One of my co-workers did my nails as cute little butterflies, and another co-worker did my hair and makeup, as well as my flower girl's makeup! I'm really blessed that so many people came to support us on our special day. We were also surprised by Sheldon's friend, who flew out from Texas to attend our wedding. He's been online gaming with him since before we started dating! He bought EVERYTHING that was left on our wedding registry, and we couldn't get out the door! It was super kind of him! We also had enough donations from everyone that we have half of our Italy trip funding down! I hardly had a chance to sit and eat because I wanted to make sure everything was going accordingly. The cake turned out really well; however, it was rushed. We booked it back in the spring, and they told us it would be delivered at noon from their store nearby. It turns out that the store is closed in the summer, and they had to deliver it from their downtown location, which was much farther away. Not only that, but the owner called in the baker on his day off, and he had to make the cake from scratch that morning! She is on vacation right now, but we are going to have a talk about a refund as soon as she is back. We are grateful that the baker was able to put something together that looked and tasted nice. It was a Japanese crepe cake, and it was DELICIOUS! The bottom layer was strawberry cheesecake, the middle layer was cookies and cream, and the top layer was tiramisu. We even cut the cake with a small, sharpened Legend of Zelda Master Sword dagger!
I also had to find my wedding dress the week of. Thankfully, I found a really cheap one on Amazon that was almost exactly what I asked for! Without going into too detail, I coordinated with a friend at the start of the year to make my dress. Unfortunately, things took a turn, and procrastination happened as well as some miscommunication, and it did not turn out as I had asked for. On the positive side, I was able to wear something that I wanted and don't regret at all!
I don't have all of the photos back yet. When I do, I'll make a separate post and update everyone who has asked me to give these monthly post reminders to 😊. Our wedding video is still up on my Twitch channel in case anyone who missed it still wants to watch it.
Also, the co-worker who did my nails took me out to Dave & Busters the night before to have a little bridal shower/bachelorette celebration since I didn't end up having one. It was super sweet of her, and meant a lot to me that it was considered. The staff even gave me a free shot as a congratulations!
Adventures!
Mini Honeymoon:
There were no name-brand hotels up there, just schools and houses turned into little hotels. We chose one called Riverside Hot Springs Inn & Spa, and let me tell you, if we ever go back, that is exactly where we will stay again! They even had little physical keys to unlock our doors with! No electronic card options at all.
They put a bottle of champagne in our room with two glasses for us to enjoy our first night since we couldn't make it up in time for dinner!
It is an adult-only hotel that comes with breakfast vouchers, dinner vouchers, and private spring bath times! They had three options of bath sizes to choose from, and we took the one with a nice little window!
Their Cafe A'more for breakfast was a neat little spot in the lobby, they served various kinds of mimosas such as orange, apple, grape, and cranberry! The apple was by far my favorite!
Then their Portneuf Grille & Lounge for dinner was EXCEPTIONAL! It was a very lovely outdoor dining experience!
We even went to bring Juno with us, and whatever was in the air in Idaho made him go crazy! In a good way, he loved it so much! He especially loved the king bed; he slept right in between the two of us without pushing either of us off!
I also took advantage and bought myself a massage, which was very much needed! I choose to try a Himalayan salt stone massage along with bamboo rolling with chia seed oil and lavender essential oils. I've only ever had one other massage in my life, and that was on our cruise to the Bahamas two years ago.
There was the Eruption Brewery & Bistro next door, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch at! They offered wood-fired pizza and sandwiches! I adored getting to try their selection of heffs and sours!
I also did my very first scratch card! I spent $1 and earned it back! The lady at the counter was laughing because I didn't realize that most people buy more than one ticket. I just wanted to do one for my first time and be done with it. I would totally do it again as a travel tradition. In Utah, we can't gamble, so no scratch tickets or casinos, etc. I remember how much fun I had my first time in Wendover at the penny slots, wasting away my bar tender tips on the machine and tipping the waitresses for their free drinks.
Language Learning:
I am on day 332 of Duolingo! After my yearly subscription expires, I won't continue this. I'm looking into Babble to further my language learning, and a co-worker helped me find Mango, which works with my library card on Libby.
Gaming:
Sheldon and I are still grinding FFXIV as well as playing some Deadzone on the side. Nothing really too fancy to check out or update here.
Reading:
I also listened to Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, which was good, just me chugging along with that series in the mix of all the others on my library holds list!
Finally, I also listened to Fifty Shades of Grey for my first time. I've never seen the movie, and as a member of the BDSM community, I already had a warning that the book does not depict the idea of consent very well. I can understand how a lot of it came off as controlling or abusive. A lot of people said the book is a good representation of women's empowerment; however, the only "women's empowerment" I could see coming from the book was how it ended.
Anime/K-Dramas:
I have not had the time or attention to keep up with any television at the moment.
Concerts:
Mental Health Status:
Psychiatry:
Physical Health Status:
Health Wrap Up:
I'm still doing physical therapy once a week as well as seeing my psychologist. You all know I have my acupuncture and chiropractor appointments once a month as well. All of it has been going just fine. I'm making progress, and it's been helping me a lot more than not. I did pull a muscle in my left leg and had to wear my boot again for a little bit, but luckily, it toned within a week. I overstretch too easily and scored high enough to be on the hypermobility scale, despite not being able to have my thumb touch my arm like most people. I guess that part doesn't define hypermobility; there are other parts of the test that I still scored positive on. It's just an easy, obvious sign of it for those who are that flexible.
Final Thoughts:
I'll be honest, it's been a little hard to write this month's blog (hence I'm posting it a day late). I'm still pretty burned out from my overtime in July, as well as all the wedding and family stress hit me at once. Coming back from our little trip in Idaho was nice, but I had to go back to reality with doctor appointments and so on. I'm doing my best to just create a routine with Juno and keep work and life separate to the best of my ability.
I've been writing out my goals for the future, and it's all going to be dependent on whether Sheldon and I find a house next year or if he finds a new job. For now, I have an idea of schooling. I want to get my MLS degree first, if I can, and then focus on finishing my Mass Media Communications degree through ASU online. I want to take a social media certificate course through NYU SPS online as well, but that will depend on whether I am moving near a college for my MLS or if we are staying here.
Getting my MLS first would be ideal because I could make more money in the industry to afford schooling. Then I can focus on the degrees I would like that gear towards my passion and hobbies of content creation.
It's not just jobs that look at your LinkedIn profile; it's also colleges during admission. I have put a lot of thought and work into my new profile. I got rid of it when I got rid of all my social media, but I realized that I just don't have to participate or post on this one. It's just there as a polished portfolio. I'm pretty happy with my progress because it gave me a chance to show off what I've learned with the degrees and certifications that I do have, as well as giving me some confidence going through past jobs and promotions.
That's about it for this month's chapter. Until next time!
