It all began with the click of a mouse...

The title of my blog is Teller of Tales. This tale will be told from my perspective.

On December 20, 2012 I was chatting with a co-worker about my dating life. I was expressing my frustrations about how there seemed to be no eligible men between the ages of 25-30 crossing my path. I had resigned myself to dating younger guys, which was not exactly something I wanted, but it seemed the only option. He asked me if I'd ever considered online dating. I had thought about it in the past but never pursued it. Something inside me fought against it. I consider myself to be an old fashioned sort of girl. I like the classic romance. Apparently my reasons were weak because my friend did not let the subject go. He shared a story of his brother who had stayed single well past his 20s and had a hard time finding girls to date due to being so busy with school and work. The story rang true with me because I am in similar circumstances. My friend suggested a dating site called ldslinkup. He knew I am a thrifty person, and this particular site is free to use.

I'm not sure what finally made me cave. Perhaps it was this feeling inside of me that I was not doing all in my power to find someone to marry. And so, I went to the website, signed up, posted a picture and a few details about myself, which felt like a self proclaimed marketing campaign, but that's beside the point. The next five days were the most intense days of my life. (dating wise) I had messages coming in constantly. I felt like I was being bombarded. I had no idea what the etiquette was for this new realm. Was I supposed to respond to everyone that messaged me? If they were interested, and I was too, what next? Is it okay to give out phone numbers? Is it okay to let them add me on Facebook? This was a whole new experience for me.

After those first few days I finally whittled down a few options and got some dates set up. The very first date from someone online was slightly disappointing. I quickly learned that getting to know someone through email and text can give you a completely different picture of who they really are.

Quick backtrack: December 21, 2012 I got a message from a guy with the username "Fryman". It was a simple, "Hello, how are you doing?" We messaged each other back and forth for a few days. He was out of town for Christmas but suggested we should get together when he got back to Utah. I liked his profile. He had fun interests including baking, which stood out to me a lot. He was handsome and seemed interesting. His profession is illustration. This was intriguing. I was curious to know how he made a living at it.

We exchanged phone numbers and set up a date for January 12, 2013.

The night before our first date there was a terrible snow storm. I had a date that night in downtown SLC. I took TRAX to avoid having to drive in such impassible conditions. It was pretty slushy and wet outside.

Saturday morning the sun was shining, but snow still threatened. Lance (Fryman) texted me to ask how I felt about driving on slick roads. I told him I didn't think the roads were bad and that I thought we ought to still go ahead with the date. The plan was to meet halfway between us in Lehi. (Lance lives in Orem, and I am in West Jordan). After a little deliberation, we agreed that we'd go ahead and do the date.

I arrived in Lehi at JCW burgers around 12:55PM. I found a spot to sit at a table facing the doorway so I could watch for Lance to arrive. I texted my little brother telling him about how anxiety can increase drastically in such situations. Every time someone walked in the restaurant my stomach leaped wondering if it was him. I hoped I'd be able to recognize him from his picture. Around 1:07 I spotted someone outside and was pretty sure it was him. I took a few deep breaths and waited for him to come in the restaurant. When he came in, we made eye contact and acknowledged that we were who the other was looking for. (foreshadowing haha)

We ordered our food then found a table to sit down. We went through the usual "getting to know you" questions. I found out that we have very similar families. We both come from families of seven children. We are both the sixth child. We are both the only single ones left in our families. He has 21 nieces and nephews, I have 20.

The date went very well. We ended up going to see a movie together right after lunch. We saw Les Miserable. After the movie, we parted ways.

Once I got home we texted some and decided we wanted to see each other again, and soon. Lance asked if I'd come down to Orem in exchange for him cooking me dinner. I took the deal. After a quick jaunt at the temple, I raced down to Orem to see him again.

Since that day, every spare moment has been spent together. We talk every day, FaceTime, text, chat or whatever means we can. We see each other as often as possible.

On February 14, 2013 I was feeling blue because I knew I wouldn't get to see my sweetheart on Valentine's Day. I had school that night which would go late, so it wouldn't be practical for me to see him. At work I felt quite sad, to the point of tears. Around 3:00pm, a special delivery arrived in my office. Lance had sent me flowers. I was so overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness. I called him to thank him for the flowers and tell him how much I loved him. It totally made my day, though I was still distraught by not being able to see him.

I went to school and sat through the longest class of my life. Lance texted me throughout the class to see how I was doing. Finally just before 9pm I left to go home. I called Lance right after I got out of class. He asked if he could call me back in a few minutes. So I started for home and waited for his call. He finally did call back and we talked for a while as I made my way out to West Jordan. Shortly before arriving home he asked me if it would be alright if I called him back once I got home.

When I pulled into my driveway I noticed the light in the spare room turn off. I didn't really think much of it at the time. I went inside, finally home after a very long day. I put together some hot chocolate and a bowl of cereal then told my parents I was going to go talk to my man on the phone.

I went downstairs and called Lance with FaceTime. When he answered he was in the dark. I told him to turn on the lights. Right away I noticed some things that were off. He still had his coat on and he was not in his house. He was in MY house! He came downstairs and greeted me. I was so thrilled to see him! He told me that he had a friend who needed a ride somewhere and asked if I'd like to come with him. (I can be really clueless sometimes) I said that'd be fine, so after taking some time to pack for an upcoming weekend to Oregon, we headed out.

He had parked his car on the next street over. So sneaky. We drove down 4000 West towards South Jordan. I mentioned that the temple was on this road. He acted like he didn't know that, which I thought was weird. He asked if I wanted to stop and walk around a bit. That seemed like a nice idea so he pulled in. There was a couple right at the front of the temple getting engaged. I laughed to myself thinking, well that isn't why WE are here. (really. Clueless)

We got out and walked a bit until we stopped at a spot near the gate. Lance turned to face me and held my hand. It was then that I knew what was going to happen. The other couple came walking past and made things a bit crowded, so we walked down a little ways to another spot. The rest is somewhat of a daze in my mind. Lance knelt down on one knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. And I said YES!

When we went back to the car I asked "So, does your friend still need a ride?". Really people. I can be so out of it sometimes. Lance just laughed and said that it was all just a story. I learned fairly early on that he likes to tease. I should've known. We went home and announced it to my parents who were totally in on it.

This past weekend I went with Lance to Ontario Oregon to meet my future in-laws. I had the warmest welcome in the world. They all treated me so kindly. It was the most enjoyable weekend ever. I couldn't be happier about my future with Lance. I cannot wait to become Mrs. Fry this May.