Let's Start At The Beginning...

This is an actual picture of our second date...it's like we knew :)

So...I got married. WHAT?? It's true. Little old me. Crissy Olpin got hitched! It is the most amazing thing. I found the one. He is my total opposite in just about every way. He is a southern redneck, NASCAR fan, Dallas Cowboy fan, divorced father, truck driver, outdoor lover, Walmart shopper, no nonsense kinda guy from Kansas. I am a suburban city dweller, movie lover, shopper, hairstylist, quilt maker, Target diva, travelling maniac from Utah. Truly, on paper we should have never met, let alone fall in love and get married and yet, our differences seem to compliment each other in the best way. Now, I'm not saying it is all smiles and roses...We are both passionate individuals and our relationship has been put through the ringer, almost from the day we met, but there is a love and a commitment that I never dreamed I would find in this life that is stronger than either one of us thought was possible. Just this morning, we were sitting on our couch snuggling for the 2 minutes we were ahead of schedule and Brad turned to me and said..."Can we put a little more of this into our busy schedule?"

These are the moments I treasure in the midst of our hectic life. We truly get each other and it is what I've always wanted. I've married my best friend and I feel truly blessed. I just wanted to give a little back story so someday we can look back on this and remember the good times we shared the first year we had together and share a few fun stories with my pals that if I had been a good blogger, you would have heard along the way.....like our first date.

I had been on more than a few first dates as you know, because I had been complaining about it quite frequently on my blog. So, that very week I had announced to anyone who would believe me that I was retiring from dating and was content to be single. Frankly...I was now really clear on why men my age were single, if they were. They had VALID reasons! So, when my friend from Romania Alex invited me to join a website he was on, so I could be his "friend", I was a little annoyed to say the least, because I quickly found out it was a type of "hook up" sight for people from all over the world. TAGGED is a mix between Facebook, MySpace, and Match.com and none of the good ways. But, I figured I'd add my profile to his list of friends and be done with it. The next day, I received a bunch of emails from Tagged, telling me I needed to find my Meet Me Matches...whatev. I ignored the first 3 and then decided to see what the hell they were bugging me about. So, I went on the website, and saw what they were describing. Basically it was a picture, a name, where they were from and an age. And was I interested? Seriously, nothing could be further from my mind. But, so they would stop harassing me...I looked. Well, among my "interests" from all over the world, there was Brad from Bottle Hollow Utah. Where in the crap was Bottle Hollow Utah? So, I decided to find out. I thought at least I would discover some geography...I clicked "YES" on Brad.

The next day, I received several emails from Tagged. I had a meet me match, a new email, a tag, a comment and someone had signed my guestbook. Great...there were stalkers from Bottle Hollow, Utah. I was going to kill my friend Alex. So, I went home at lunch and was going to say thank you to Brad and then delete my profile, when an instant chat popped up and Brad was home and wanted to visit. Oh GEEZ! I said hello and told him I had 2 minutes, because I was just home to let my dogs out, and agreed, begrudgingly as a newly retired dater, to chat later. Then, I ran back to work to escape!

I got home later that night and I was so tired, because I had gotten up at 5am to go running, because I was training for a 5K and had worked all day and I had stupidly agreed to run the next morning at 5am again. But, I thought I would be nice and chat for 2 minutes with Brad, and then go to bed. So, I logged on and Brad was waiting. Crap. We chatted for a bit, and he turned out to be really funny and direct, but I wasn't interested in anything other than friendship, because I had retired...remember. So at 930, I got off the computer and went to bed. He probably thought I was a senior citizen in real life because I was going to bed so early, but he gave me his number and told me to call if I couldn't sleep. Yeah right. But, I went to bed and promptly got my second wind and couldn't sleep. UGHHHHH. At 11, I decided to test the theory. I called Brad. "I KNEW YOU WOULD CALL ME!!" he laughed. Crap. So, I started talking to Brad. First of all, he has this amazing deep voice and is a no nonsense guy. He tells it how he sees it. We talked for a long time. We found out all we could about each other and he really wanted to get to know me. He kept trying to get me to meet him the next night in Heber. I still wasn't sure where Bottle Hollow was and I told him I would meet him in 2 weeks when we got to know each other. We could be friends. He was so offended when I told him that was how all the 48hrs specials started...she met him in Heber. Did I think he was a serial killer? I didn't know, and I wasn't willing to find out. I said Ted Bundy was very charming. He told me Ted Bundy was dead and I announced he could be his cousin...

Well...at 3am, I caved. He told me Bottle Hollow wasn't that far and he would drive to SLC to meet me. I didn't realize he lived 2.5 hrs. away. At 5am, I told him I had to go so I could go running. I was delirious at this point anyway, so what difference did a run do to my exhaustion? I got up, fixed my hair and put on my shoes and went running. I thought I was going to die. He was going to meet me at 6pm at my house. I had to work all day, so my only chance to get ready was in the morning. This should go well. Another horrible 1st date to complain about for my blog. SUPER. I went to work and at 1030am the texts started coming. We text all day. I had to work until 530, but at 2 I get a text..."I couldn't wait to come. I'm on my way!!" What? He wanted to come hang out and watch me work and then we would go out. I think not. I was already tired and didn't want an audience at work. So, I called him and said...OK this isn't cute anymore. TELL ME how far away you are and how long I have until you get here. Or, turn around and go home. He begrudgingly told me he lived 2.5 hours away and he was 20 mins. into his drive. I had until a little before 5. Ok. I cancelled the rest of my day after 3 and gave myself a little primping time before he arrived.

I left my salon at 4pm so I could run an errand and get home in time, when it started raining. Great. I no sooner got in my car, when he called..."I'M HERE...SURPRISE!!" I wanted to kill myself. I was tired and irritated and now soaking wet. This should be my best date ever. I told him I would be 20 minutes and to just hang out. I drove home and saw his car in front of my house. Ok...here we go. I parked and got out my umbrella, which at this point was useless. I walked over to his car and he got out. He was gorgeous! He was all cleaned up and looked amazing and even smalled amazing. Please kill me ran through my mind. I looked up at him and said...."This is unfortunate." He looked at me puzzled and said, "That wasn't the reaction I was looking for." I just motioned him to come inside, I had to salvage what I looked like. He chuckled all the way inside. I took him downstairs to the family room and sat him on the couch and said..."Just stay there. Don't do anything until I get back!" He laughed again and I left him to see if there was any hope to salvage what was left of my appearance. I reapplied my makeup, fixed my hair and changed my shirt and headed out to get Brad.

I had forgotten that my family's picture from 1991 was up on the wall. Big hair...floral mumu and me looking lovely at 270 lbs. He of course was looking at it when I got back. He turned around with this stunned face and said "Which one are you?" Knowing full well which one I was. I said "Guess" feeling humiliated. He just smiled and walked over and said "Why don't you ta about what you've done? I don't even know you very well and I am proud of you. This is a miracle." I totally lost it. I was so tired and touched by what he said and I just crumbled. He hugged me and and told me he didn't mean to make me cry. I just looked up and smiled and said these were good tears. Then I had to go fix my face again! Damnit! But, I decided to give him a more accurate picture of who I used to be. I went and brought out my before pictures at my largest size and handed them to him. Leaving him with..."You should know I was only 19 in that picture. I was 35 when I started to lose weight. Many more years of eating in between." And walked away. As I was in the bathroom I heard..."Holy *@#*!" I giggled a little.

I came out and told him I wasfinally ready and he walked up to me and just stared. Then he grabbed me and gave me a kiss that literally knocked me off my feet and I buckled. He just whispered in my ear..."You are amazing." I held back the tears and smiled and we were off on our date....

To be continued...

What I've Learned...

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted to my blog. My life has definitely taken a few turns, to say the least and I've definitely learned a lot this year and many of those lessons I've learned the hard way. No big surprise there. But, as I recover from the latest in a series of surgeries to fix a lifetime of eating mistakes, I have recently been reminded that this life is short and if you feel you have something to share, do it today, because you never know what tomorrow will bring or even if you will have a tomorrow in which to learn from it. My neighbor Shari, who I've literally know my entire life which is one of those people Heavenly Father blessed with a sweet spirit, a kind disposition, wonderful mothering and wife skills and just an all around good person, passed away from a melanoma yesterday, 4 months after going to the doctor for a routine physical exam. Most of the time I hear when someone like this dies is why does God take the good ones so young? or it isn't fair, or why her?? I tend to take from this kind of lesson, is life isn't infinite and we should act today on things we've been putting on the back burner, because it could happen to any one of us at anytime.

So, here is my "acting upon" for the day. I used to be a regular blogger and I loved my blog. I loved sharing my experiences about weight loss dating, family fun or drama. I loved it. I loved being part of a community that allowed me to rant or share without judgment and it was a wonderful outlet to show my progress on this crazy journey I was traveling on. I don't honestly know what made me stop except other outlets were opened up to me and this simply became just another "thing I had to do". That I didn't do... But, every once in awhile I would think, I should blog about this, it is a big deal. And then I wouldn't do it for on reason or another. So, here I am today. 180 lbs lighter, I have found love in my life, 2 major surgeries completed of the 3 I need to say goodbye to the old me (LITERALLY), I've moved out of my Mom's house and twice since then to find my "nest" and I haven't shared any of it, because I was too busy or just didn't feel like it. But, instead of feeling bad about it, i have decided to use this as a scrapbook, of sorts and spend the next 3 weeks catching up, so if I ever have happen to me what happened to my dear friend and neighbor Shari, I will be able to leave a small chronicle of Crissy behind to show that I loved what has become of my life and maybe someday if I have kids, they will look at this a remember their Mom was a little adventurous, not the the worry wart that they remember I was once a single...overweight...insecure...lady that finally pulled her head out and started to live....stay tuned....

Well....Just When You Think You've Got Stuff Figured Out....You Were Wrong!

Me & Todd. I Love My Friend!!

So....the whole dating thing. I know you are all pretty sick of this topic, but it is my "thing" unfortunately right now, so please bear with me. I'm sorry, but men...how do I say it?? Men that are in my age range....if they are single and almost 40, there is a reason. Several probably. UGH. I truly am at a loss as to why these individuals are even attempting to date. First of all, the whole....just stop calling you for no reason thing. What the? It is so RUDE!! I would so appreciate even a little text of "I'm just not feeling it" or "I don't think this is working", etc. way more than the whole...you think it is going great and then.....(you begin to hear crickets chirping because of the silence) And, not understanding right away this has occurred, I continue to assume we are dating and call and/or text to see how they are doing, all the while, waiting the mandatory every other day, so you don't seem like a stalker, rest period. This whole dating rule thing is sooooo lame!! Again I say...UGH.

THEN...if it isn't bad enough, trying to not seem like a stalker, you don't quite understand when they don't call and/or text back right away, because you aren't aware of the whole "moved on" routine has occurred, so you become paranoid and don't call and/or text for another 2 days so you don't seem needy, and then when you do and they don't respond, AT ALL (so rude) and you feel like a total idiot because you didn't know they had moved on while you were still trying to play the game....apparently by yourself. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! So frustrating!!

So, when this occurred, yet again with a guy I actually liked, I was feeling pretty darn unlovable. Man, why did I ever start this nightmare to begin with?? So, my pal Todd dragged me out Saturday night to his karaoke bar so I wouldn't crawl into the unlovable pit of despair, again. It was pretty quiet and I was feeling pretty miserable, when I decided, what have I got to lose?? I decided to sing. It was nerve wracking to say the least, but I have always wanted to sing karaoke and it was a small crowd, so I decided to give it a shot. Well, Todd was excited and told me he would make me sound good, which he did btw, and I sang Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up" which is one of my fav's of hers. I did alright, but it was fun and I was feeling a little better. Then, I went to sat down, just in time to see a total cutie walk in....uh oh. This was unfortunate because I had just sworn off dating, so what was a girl to do?? I totally flirted with him anyway, because he seemed totally out of my league. Apparently, he wasn't. YAY for me :) He was darling and we totally hit it off. Well, we'll see. I've felt this before, and you know the rest. But, I learned a valuable lesson that day.....I am not the girl in my head of yesterday, that isn't date able and has to settle because there aren't any other options. I really needed to know that. I am definitely going to be a LONG work in progress.....I tread on.....

So...I had 2 good dates in a row! Whoot Woo!!

I know I am talking about this whole dating thing a lot, but frankly, it is consuming a lot more of my time than I thought, so bear with me. I really thought I was never going to have a good first date and then BAM!! I had 2 good ones right in a row. Friday night, I went out with a guy I met on eHarmony. I know....online....ugh. However, he was super cool, funny , sweet and a good kisser....OOPS. (So sue me I am 36 and have the experience of a 10 year old and I got a little carried away) I was so pleasantly surprised and I think I am actually going to go out with him again. WHAT?? A second date?? It is truly a miracle. I don't know how I will act if I don't have that 1st date nausea swirling in my stomach all night!! Then, Monday night I went out with another guy that I met on mySpace. Again...I know the whole mySpace thing...ugh. But, again, super cute and nice and funny and....a good kisser. Please don't judge me. Before this year, I had kissed ONE guy in my entire life and it's been 13 years in the making for me to kiss again. Anyhoo, I enjoyed both of them and I hope they both call me again too. So, Crissy is trying to stay positive and keeps treading on.....in the cyberdating world.....Lord help me :)

Dating....Isn't For Wimps!!

Ugh. Dating. Why? I don't know. It sucks!! All of you that are happily married....go home and kiss your spouse or significant other and thank the Lord you aren't dating!! I have gone on 3 dates in the last month and all I can say is.....why am I doing this? Don't I have enough problems? Am I glutton for punishment? Why? There has to be a nice guy out there that will entertain, amuse and enlighten me to the point where I would like a second date. Seriously, I understand why people just get a pet for companionship. It is so much easier!!

1. First date....flew me to California. Then told me I wasn't interesting to him.


2. Second date...took me to Chili's and to a Clint Eastwood movie. Then tried to have sex with me.


3. Third date...had hope for this one, because A. his name wasn't Rich (which the first 2 were) and B. he was younger. Thought this would change up my dating success. All I can say is I felt a little like Mary Kay Leterneau and I came home feeling EXTREMELY OLD!

I think I need to stay single and get a pet. That could work. Yes, this is my new plan. I tread on........ BTW, I am down to within 10 lbs. of my consult with the surgeon weight! I am freaking out on so many levels!! UGH. :)

My Request Was Accepted! I Knew It was Possible!!

So, my request for an old fashioned blind date was accepted! I met a really nice guy. Oddly enough, his name is Rich. I know, ironic. But, he is really nice, although shy so we are gonna have to work on that, but very sweet just the same and his phone was updated with my digits, so stay tuned.....I am very grateful to my friends Kate and AJ, for the intro! YAY for me. I tread on....

I Want To Be 212 Degrees All The Time!!

So, I've been in a funk for a couple of weeks. No surprise there for anyone that has the pleasure of being around me....ugh. I've been trying to find the lesson that I am supposed to learn in this latest life altering experience I've been through......Haven't been able to.......until Wednesday. I was complaining, AGAIN, to my poor trainer Todd (Sorry Todd) and he said something that really clicked in for me. (Really....everyone should have a Todd) Anyway, he said that he thought the lesson I needed to learn was, that I needed to find happiness completely in me. Stop looking for it in others and when life throws you a curve ball, as it seems to do for me lately on a regular basis, to appreciate the feelings, but be content in just being me. LIGHT BULB!! OK. I get it. Whew. Then my pal Jeff, who manages my 24hr. Fitness gym, gave me a book to read that same day. It is called 212 Degrees. It is a small book about 70 pages and it is an inspirational book about kicking up your life just 1 degree and the HUGE impact it can make on your life and those who share your life. The basic principle is, 211 degrees, water is hot....212 degrees water boils, which causes steam, which can run a locomotive engine. In short....this book rocked my world!! The theory is soo simple and yet, so profound. I want to live a 212 degree life!! I am seeing results from this way of living already and it is Friday morning. Todd asked me yesterday, why I was glowing. I laughed a little and told him it was because I was sweating, but he said I just looked different and sounded different. I thought about it and then I remembered I had said to myself that morning, you are going to be happy today and make a difference. I guess I did feel different. I have just tried to be more aware of my behavior and my actions and have tried a little harder, or worked a little longer and I am already feeling my life take on a whole different path. I am so excited to see what happens next!! So, I want everyone to read this book. You can get in online and there is also a movie you can watch that gives you a little in site into what it is all about. I am hopefully going to be able to post the YouTube link so you can watch it, but I am still learning how to do that, so I hope it works. See for yourself what I mean. I tread on.....a little better.....