Summary of Tonski Time...

Well. I am back.

I returned home from Washington state's McChord AFB on Sunday morning. My 8 days with my Airman were...fantastic. I could probably write about 40 posts with all the experiences put into words and then coupled with photos (of which I took 479).

It was so lovely to be able to go to where JoJo was. I got to see the base and where he works. I got to meet people who I had previously only known as names and not faces. I got to see the gorgeous state of Washington and explore new places. And I got to do it all with JoJo and his family. It was really a great trip.

There are so many things I could write about, but for now I want to give a new definition to the phrase "Tonski Time." Previously "Tonski Time" was any amount of time I spent with my JoJo. Everyone loves their Tonski time and I love mine the most. But now we have a new meaning to those two words and a new countdown to go with them. But now it isn't just about counting down to SEEING him.

Now Tonski Time can be applied in countdown fashion to...
....how long before *I* am a Tonski. Or, if you'd like to stick with the seeing theme, seeing him at the end of an aisle.









Because we are engaged. 
 *commence with shrieking and cheering*

Yes. JoJo proposed.

February 20th, 2011, my best friend became my boyfriend. One year later, on the anniversary of that day, (February 20th, 2012) my boyfriend became my fiance.

I need to figure out how to type up a summarized version of how all that happened, and I am still sorting through the pictures of the whole thing, but for now I will leave you with two things.

First, a picture:

JoJo, stubborn traditionalist that he is (we both are), picked this ring out all by himself, without any input from me or suggestions from any other person who knows me. He spent months visiting jewelry stores and searching online because he wanted it to be perfect. He searched and searched to find the design that I would like using a "princess cut" diamond because he refers to me as his gypsy princess. And he specifically chose a ring with three diamonds to match the trinity ring that my dad gave me a promise ring on my 16th birthday, as well as the ring with 3 hearts that JoJo gave me as a promise from him at the beginning of our relationship.

He's good, I tell you.

I don't think I could have explained to him or anyone else what a "perfect" ring for me would be. JoJo just knows me well enough that he picked it. It is SO me. I love the design. I love the white gold  I love how tiny and dainty it is (a perfect fit for my little hands). I love that its not big and flashy. And I love knowing that HE chose it and put a ton of effort into doing so. The man loves me. He hates shopping and had no prior interest in jewelry (in fact, he still doesn't). But now he knows more about diamonds and rings than I do. I am so impressed with him. God has blessed me with an amazing man who truly cares about me and who is really great at showing it.

Although I will post pictures and a more full explanation of the proposal (which by the way was also very perfect) soon, I will leave you with this second thing.

#2- Yes. I cried.

If you know me at all, that pretty much summarizes just how wonderful it was.
I, Isabella, rarely cry. And never have I ever cried out of happiness. Up until the 20th of February 2012, that is.

 When JoJo proposed, I cried. And it was perfect.

More pictures and stories to come!

"Hello Tonski Time" and "Hello Seattle."

*Hello Blog, as well.

Number 1: As you read this, I am on a plan headed westward. Scheduled posting is magical, eh?

Why am I headed westward? Because, after 4 months of 3,000 miles between us, it is *TONSKI TIME* again. Meaning I am flying to see JoJo in Washington state. And staying for 8 predictably glorious days.

Fear not, there will be pictures and posts galore upon my returning, but until then your lives will be devoid of Isabella Kiss. See me later.

Lastly, why am I posting an Owl City song when I am actually annoyed by it? Because. It is just all to applicable. And I cannot lie to you and say I haven't been jumping around my house for the past week with the words of this song (or even worse, the more synth-y remix) on my lips.

Yes, I still do hate Valentine's day, thanks for asking...

*VDAY LOVERS BEWARE. STOP READING NOW.*

Remember this post? About my holiday killjoy-ish and anti-valentine's-dayness? Last year? At a time that was prior (but only by a few days) to JoJo and I?

In case you were wondering, yes, I still do feel that way.

I had several interesting conversations over the last couple days involving my stance on Vday. APPARENTLY people seemed to think I never liked it because "I never had someone."

Let me just clarify that right now: *NO* Wrong. Inaccurate. Not correct. Uh-Uh.

#1- lets not pretend I was a hopeless single moping around, dreaming and hoping cupid would come along and shoot a prince charming in the backside with a love arrow so I would be lonely no more. No way, no how. I was single for 20 years and liked it that way, thankyouverymuch. No regrets whatsoever.
#2- no. I was not covering up some deep emotional longing by acting like I hated Valentine's day. I actually did.

I still do. A lot. Not just because I am a scrooge and a killjoy against holiday commercialization, but because I am very against the notion of having a designated holiday to celebrate being in love. I am against having a holiday that pretty much requires people to do loving things for each other. I am of the mind set that if I love someone (*and we all know who that is*) that I would tell that person daily. That I would act like I loved that person daily. That I would do things that expressed my love for that person daily. That there would be random "just because" type gifts and cute cards and whatnot not because the calendar told me to, but because those things were all GENUINE expressions of my love. I want to live love. Not pencil it in on my calendar when I can manage to find the time.

Basically, I am against the whole "acting upon being loving" thing on Valentines day in the same way that I am against "lets all suddenly be thankful on Thanksgiving day." I don't like a calendar telling me when I should express which emotions (and I don't like being told what to do, period. Have you notice?). Especially if those emotions tend to get seemingly neglected the rest of the time.

Yes. I am odd. Noted.

If you like chocolates and roses on Valentine's Day, then I hope your dearly beloved gets you some. Seriously. If that is how ya'll choose to celebrate the love that you have and you are happy with it that way, then by all means, have at those chocolates!

*side note: I am utterly baffled by all the "my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with chocolates and flowers! he is just the best!" statuses today. Uhm...did you not look at your calendar this morning? It's Valentines day. Not much of a surprise, if you ask me. Surprise means you *don't* know it's coming. Now my boyfriend, he knows a a thing or two about surprises, but that is another story...

But...I don't want that. (I think I am missing some sort of female gene? This is clearly not normal.) Roses, chocolates, and red and pink cards shaped like un-anatomically correct vital organs just on February 14th just aren't for me. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about, but I don't really see this opinion of mine ever changing. Not now, not ever. However, I am very much in love and I definitely don't see that changing. Ever.

I have always felt like this about Vday, but I think my relationship with JoJo has only made me dislike it more (ironic...?). If anything (out of the many things I have learned after *almost* a year of long-distancing it), this relationship has taught me never to take JoJo, or the time I do get to spend with him, for granted. I don't get to really pick when I see him. I don't see him on birthdays. Or holidays. Whether Hallmark says I have to or not. So I have come to a point of celebrating just *being* with him whenever I can. We make our own holidays.We specialize in "just because." And that is a concept I want to hold onto, beyond the point of there being distance between us.

But, even if we were together, we would not be celebrating Valentine's Day in any normal manner.

Oh, and by the way, guess what? No surprise, but my dearly beloved, who has thought processes as twisted as mine, feels the exact same way about commercialized holidays such as Valentine's day (and about being told what to do...). Perrrrfect.

Passionately Curious 4- Einstein on how to make a change, to solve problems and eliminate insanity.

...no subtitle...sorry...just not witty enough to produce something for this one. I try people, I really do...

 source 1, source 2.

"No problem can be solved 

from the same level of consciousness that created it."

-Albert Einstein 

Intellectuals solve problems, 

geniuses prevent them. 

"It is not that I am so smart, 
but that I stay with problems longer"

source 1, source2.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Skype: the best of times, the worst of times.

#1- I hate Skype. (I just hate computers and everything to do with them most of the time)

#2- I rarely use it, and when I do, it is only with one person. I only have a Skype account so I can see this guys face before I have even more extreme withdrawals. (And because he made it mandatory that I get an account before he left for BMT back in August of 2010)

#3- But Skype means I get to "see" JoJo. Therefore, I sort of love Skype.

#4- But I also hate Skype. For many much reasons, but the greatest of which is the fact that I can *SEE* him, but he is still 3,000 bloody miles away. Blarg. 5 more days!


* in JoJo's defense, he had no idea I took this shot. I am known to take screenshots without warning. He wasn't smiling for it, and he is also in his pajamas. But oh well, I am posting it anyway, buddy.

I Heart Photojojo

No. Not photos of JoJo (though I do heart those). Photojojo. It is a real, live, camera geekery site with...camera geek things.I don't remember how I orginally found the site, but I got a kick out of the name, and somehow all the cuteness hooked me into receiving weekly emails from them. If I wasn't trying to be a frugal college student and like save for the future and yadahyadah (adulthood is overrated, I tell you whut) I would waste all my money on cameras, lenses, and basically anything camera related. Including geekery. I have posted on here before about their spectacularly awesome camera lens coffee mugs, but here's a couple other cute things off the site.

 Sterling Lens Cuff !

 USB Film Roll

 The Dreamy Diana Lens

Magnetic Polaroid Frames

 Photoshop Fridge Magnets

Although, *THIS* on the other hand baffles me. I found it and emailed my photography professor immediately to share my bewilderment.A mount for attaching D-SLR lenses to an Iphone? Really? Is this what photography is coming to? Oh, I sure hope not.

 The iPhone 4 SLR Mount

Passionately Curious 3- Einstein on IMMAGINATIOOON and Fantasy

...this post doesn't have a subtitle, but it has a hand motion. That spongebob episode where Patrick and Spongebob are playing in a box and everytime Spongebob says "Imagination" he moves his hands in an arch and a rainbow appears over his head? Yup. That is what I am thinking right now.

On another note, I cannot believe I just in cooperated Einstein and Spongebob Squarepants into the same post....

source 1, source 2.

"Imagination is more important

than knowledge" 

source

 

"The gift of fantasy has meant 

more to me than my talent 

for absorbing positive knowledge."

source

On the topic of helping out...Help my friend Saige raise money for kids with cancer?

This is Saige (the other guy would be my youth pastor Eric Peoples).

She is awesome. 

Saige starting coming to my youth group a little over a year ago with a friend of ours. She got saved and God radically has been working in her life since then. I took the picture above when she was baptized this past September. Watching what God has done/is doing in her life has be so wonderful!

Saige has a heart for people. She really has a heart for the down-hearted, the broken, the outcast, the lost, and the hurting, and I so admire her for that. Saige loves people like Jesus loves people. She is truly...incredible.

Saige is also very brave. She is going to do something not a lot of girls would consider doing: she is going to shave her head. To raise money for a foundation (St. Baldricks) for kids with cancer. She has talked about doing this for a long while (she just recently cut off her head of dreadlocks and has told me multiple times when she did it she would shave her head and raise money). And now she is REALLY doing it!

In all honestly, I personally am not brave enough to do this. I am also bound by a certain contract to a certain Airman with certain rules like "don't shave your head." (Yes. Really.) I have, however, donated my hair to Locks of Love , a similar organization!  I cut off about 16 inches of my hair when I was 15, just after a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and it is certainly something I would do again. Possibly soon, with all this hair I am collecting.

Anyway, back to Saige. A message from her:

"I will be shaving my head to raise money for efforts to conquer kids' cancer. Anyone want to join mine team!? All donations will be helpful! My goal is is raise 500 dollars. The shave date is March 7th...."

You heard her! She wants to raise $500 in under about a month. And then she will be saying goodbye to her hair for the cause! 

If anyone is interested in donating to Saige's efforts, just go check out her page *HERE*. Or if you are interested in a similar project, perhaps check out St. Baldrick's, Locks of Love, or organization of similar mission.  Thanks!

i have a thing for lil' fat babies.

I love fat babies. I just love 'em to pieces.

Skinny babies sort of...scare me. (I was one. It is just not good). I just like squishy babies. They are just fantastic.

I think I offend a lot of people when I say things like this about their children ("Why is this young girl acting as though my precious bundle of joy is obese!?"), so I try not to say it to people, unless they are somehow directly related to me. I really don't see what the problem is, though. Fat babies are healthy and happy. And not like they are really worried about their self image...

My little sister (now almost 4) still responds to the name Squish, which is what I called her since she was a yittle baby. She also responds to Baby Giraffe...so maybe she is just odd, like me.

My Mom has always told me to pray for specifics, and that God likes details. So I pray for God to give me fat, squishy babies in the far and distant future, else I will...send them back...is that weird? 

*dear my far and distant future children,

i will love you, no matter what. But...please just be fat and make it easier for all of us.

On the topic of fat babies, check this one out. Guess who! (Not me, obviously!)

Not sure if he would okay the posting of this picture, which is pretty much one of my favorite things of all time, but he mostly likely won't care. It is just way too precious not to. And I tell him he was a cutelilfatbaby all the time and he likes it, so...