Our happily ever after...

I am now part of the club~ I am a happily married woman!

The wedding day was perfect and I was lucky to share it with family and friends.  The day couldnt have been better.  I was running on pure adrenaline for the fact I didn't sleep the night before. My mom, best friend Beth and sister stayed up all night doing flowers for the wedding with me.  I  wasn't tired until after the wedding, so it was good we only did an afternoon reception.

Our first date as a married couple, Jamba Juice.  One of our favorites!

Since we were planning to go to Europe later in the year we decided to go on a mini-honeymoon.  We went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We had been together our first year of dating on a cruise and wanted to go back again.  We stayed at 5 star, diamond resort called The Royal.  It was very pretty!  We went snorkeling and to the Talum.  The rest of the time just relaxed, caught up on some much needed sleep and sat by the pool & beach.  We are looking forward to Europe, our next adventure!  Some people save money fore toys, we save  for traveling.

As much fun as it was, I am happy to have it all done and over with so we can start to have a normal life and do the things we enjoy.  Its been a long few months with of a lot of changes!  I enjoy my new job, living with Brandon, working on my business and playing with our puppies. Life is great!

Wedding Planning... What I thought and what I got

As most of you know I have been a florist and owned my own company, E-Flowers, for many years now. I have dealt with the bridezillas, demanding, high strung, sweet as can be and everything in between clients. In doing my own wedding planning I have found there are some people in this business that should just not be in business or don't have your best interest at heart. In the short 4 months I have been engaged I have come across some weird agreements, payment arrangements, scammers and poor customer service.

The wedding industry in Utah is a highly needed, due to the high number of weddings held each year in our state. This is also an industry that is abused and misleading by some companies. There have been a few I have come across in my day that don't live up to the fair standard.

The reason for me writting this is to make you aware and warn you to do your due diligence before hiring your vendors. I fear for those brides whom sign agreements and do business with some businesses/people I have come in contact with. My advice is to trust your gut, ask for references and please... do your due diligence when hiring your wedding vendor for your perfect day!

Thank you for reading!

Elisha
E-Flowers, LLC
O: 801.980.1356
www.eflowersutah.com

March 2012

Wow... How things have changed in my life since my last few posts! It's crazy to see how things have changed and how much I have learned about life and myself. I thought about deleting everything and starting over, BUT my past has made me who I am today.

Here are a few highlights of where I am today:

-I am engaged! YAY... Brandon Cook is the "lucky" guy. He makes me super happy! We are very much alike- both enjoy sports, traveling, career oriented, core values, enjoy spending time with family and friends, attitude and outlook on life. We are planning to get married July 14th!

-I purchased a house in Eagle Mountain 2 years ago. Since Brandon and I are getting married I am selling my home. I am currently under contract and are scheduled to close March 28th, if not sooner.

- Traveling: This blog was created to share my experiences traveling and life experiences. I have been to quite a few places in the last couple of years. I would just highlight that I have been to Montego Bay, Jamaica in 2011 (that's my big trip) and a few other domestic places (Colorado, Arizona, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas...). In 2010, right before I meet Brandon I took my Mom to Hawaii. We went to the big island and stayed a week or so... We stayed in Hilo the first night and Kona the rest of the time. I remember feeling so depressed when I came back home to reality. Loved the whole trip! It was great to spend time with my Mom and taking her somewhere she thought she never would be able to go. I hope I can do that again soon! Also in 2010, I went to Cozumel & Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. It was a blast! Went four wheeling and cave diving. Very cool experience :)

- Upcoming trips: For fun and the honeymoon, we are planning to go to Europe. I have always wanted to go to Italy and Brandon has always wanted to see Germany. SO, we are planning to go to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. I am VERY excited and can't wait!

Things are busier more than ever right now! Work, planning a wedding, selling a home, moving and traveling just don' t all mix in one sentence... Life is moving fast and we are just trying to enjoy every moment instead of fretting about the small stuff. I have really enjoyed the last year and a half with Brandon. We have done more stuff together than most married couples! We are very excited for our future and all that comes!

:) Elisha

Bahamas, the Keyes and more...

Wow... how time flies! I had a great time on my trip this past week and will soon have photos to post. :)
Life is going well lately, I can't complain. I know I could pitty myself and look at some things negatively, but I have realized I am very blessed.
I went a few days before I left to go get my hair done by a mutual friend of my ex's. She is a cool girl and hopefully we can stay friends due to how we know eachother. She asked me how I was with everything and if I was dating anyone yet. At this point, there is no way that I can nor do I have the desire. They really have to be a great guy to catch my attention at this point. I don't want to date just to date. I don't want a relationship either, so there really is no reason that I see myself dating at this point. I have a few friends or family try setting me up, but nothing has happened yet. I know about 6 people who are pregnant at this time, 2 of which are my best friends. Its weird to think that I am no where close to that... It will be fun to be an Aunt again:) I just worry that some of my friends and I will grow apart due to not being able to relate to being a mom. Hopefully they can see I have more depth and can relate to them.
It's funny... one my really good friends who I thought would be one of my best friends till death just fell off the face of the earth after moving out of state. It's sad and I miss her & her husband, but at the same time I want friends that are mutually there for me as much as I have and will always be for them. I think that life is to short to worry why someone isn't your friend and only a friend on their terms. It's great to have the friends I have had since junior high and high school. Not many people can say that...

Well... I am happy with where I am right now. I feel needed by job (thats an understatement), I have a great apartment, my dog is the cutest thing ever and I get to travel! Life is good...

Present

I just got to San Diego, CA. The last time I was here I was on vacation with my ex-boyfriend. It brings back a lot of memories. It's hard not to think about when I was last here, who I was with and what I did while I was here. Those are good memories, but at this point they still hurt. So now, I am just thinking about making new memories :)
3 weeks ago I went to West Virginia. It was so pretty! I ended up taking a train to Philadelphia from Union Square in Washington DC. I want to go back to West Virginia and Maryland area again. It was so pretty! I didn't see much of Philadelphia other than my hotel room and the airport.
Now I am in San Diego this week, have a week off, then I am headed to Miami and the Bahamas for our annual conference. I am taking my mom with me and we are going to stay a few extra days in Miami for vacationing. After that I am home a few days and then I am in Pheonix/Mesa. Then the next week is Thanksgiving and the week after that I will be in Orlando. I am tired... I need a break from work. It's stressful and I wonder sometimes if it's going to get better.
Well, other than working a lot and traveling I haven't been up to much. I was playing volleyball every Thursday, but that ended this week. :( I love volleyball! I need to find somewhere else to play now or a different hobby.

How things change...

Where to start??? When I was in New York I realized a lot. I wish I could take back some things that were done or said in the prior months before that. New York was a really good, but honestly I was missing something. I was missing my best friend and the guy I needed to work things out with instead of running from everything. After returning from New York and a few days after my birthday, we broke up. I have learned that sometimes we put walls up not necessarily to keep people out, but to see who cares to break them down. I wish I could of not had a wall up and that we were still dating. Maybe things are the way they are suppose to be... I know they are not the way I WANT them to be. After breaking up, things were really tough. I couldn't stop thinking about him and what could have been. With the help of a friend, I was able to get through to him.
Around that same time I was in a really bad car accident. I was fortunate to only come out with scraps and bruises. After he learned I was in an accident and my previous pleads for us to talk things out he finally came over. I don't believe at that point he was truly ready to talk and wanted the same things I wanted. It was proven after dating him for only a few weeks. He was scared and didn't want to let me in. He pushed me away. I don't know that he truly got to see the real me. I tried to be happy and work things out between us, but when you don't feel needed or wanted that is a really hard thing to do.
So it goes back to the wall theory- sometimes you build walls up around you and they are not intended to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down. After a few weeks of being together we were both not happy. I was trying to make him happy and fix things between us so we could get over that hump in our relationship. But, after being told it had nothing to do with me (and it did), being lied too and treated like I wasn't important it was over. I tried showing him that I was there to help him through whatever he needed, but it was apparent I wasn't good enough to break down his wall.
I question myself all the time. I am back to finding some insight into myself and who I am. I have learned a lot along the way. I learned that I am not happy with who I am, I want to change for me, I know what I did really wrong in all of my past relationships... One major thing is I should have been more positive and I should not have relied on others to make me happy. While worrying about making him happy I lost my own happiness in the end which in turn made him think that HE didn't make me happy. For all those that do choose to read this, whether you are married or dating or single learn from me. You control your own happiness. It's not your partners, friends or families job to make you happy it is your own! The other thing that really makes me mad at myself is that I lost what I loved to do for fun. Because I loved him and wanted to spend time with him I did whatever he was doing instead of having my own hobbies. Learn from me, in return you loose yourself and its the wrong thing to do for BOTH of your happiness. I am now struggling with figuring out what I actually like to do with my free time.
Writing this out helps me make changes. If you know me you know that I have taken the last few months really hard. I am sure I will struggle some more, but eventually I will find myself. The hardest thing to get over is that vision of what I thought my future was going to look like and loosing my best friend that I loved.
Looking back on the last month of hurt, regret and lots, lots and lots of thinking I look at what do I truly want? What changes do I need to make? I know that I will get through this and that I will find happiness like I had at one time.
I also faith that this is just another bump in the road and that I have lots of more miles ahead of me.

Vacationing in New York City 4/28/09-5/13/09

I am back!

I don't know what it is about New York City, but it keeps me coming back for more and more. I love this city!

I will be here for 15 days, I am staying at my friend Seth's place and I have 90% of the time to myself. OH and I forgot, I brought my dog Jadge with me! She is keeping me company :)

Getting here was a trip! But, we are not going to dwell on the not so fun stuff! I am here and doing well. The first day out I went to Central Park and the Museum of Modern Art.

This museum is HUGE! I walked every inch of it and wanted to fall over by the end of the day! They had some great exhibits- Italian Renaissance, Greek, Egyptian, American, European...

Here are some of my favorite's:

I have posted more photos at http://www.myspace.com/eflowersllc

ENJOY...