da-Al is a writer and award winning journalist who has won many awards including an Emmy for the documentary Dark Waters + Imposter Syndrome .

This encouraging woman supports fellow bloggers with guest posts on her site, and I am forever grateful she asked me to submit a blog.

Below is the reblog link of my guest blog on Happiness Between Tails by da-Al

S, 🌻

Reblog Link To My Guest Post

Video: A Family of Friends + Joyful Stephanie Risked All

---

Below Is The Original Blog I Submitted With Photos In Joyful Stephanie Risked All

---

 Why I Started Blogging

I created a blog as a memoir of the biggest risk I’ve ever taken.

I married a man I hardly knew and moved to the Middle East with him.

Our story goes like this:

October, 2014 – I received a message from a man sent via an online dating site.

---

Michael’s first contact with me was via an online dating site message that, was, in jest, asking me to marry him.

Why?

My online dating profile included a condition I made very clear: I am not a booty call. I was looking for marriage.

His message caught my eye.

After an important initial online discussion of clarifying these realities:

• Michael was looking to meet a woman living in Nova Scotia as that is where his daughter and grandchildren live and where he eventually wants to settle down
• He was currently working overseas in the Middle East, in the State of Qatar
• He asked if I would ever want to live in a dome home
• I was looking to take things slow – I was tired of making impulsive relationship decisions
• I was very serious about marriage, I had had it with common-law relationships

We seemed okay with each other’s terms.

We decided to start a long-distance romance.

December, 2014 – He flew from Qatar to Nova Scotia for Christmas Break to spend time with his family and meet me in person for the first time.

---

---

March, 2015 – Michael flew me to Qatar for a week.

---

---

April 25th, 2015 (my birthday) – Michael sent me flowers with a letter asking to marry him. I accepted his proposal. So much for my “taking things slow.”

---

---

August 18th, 2015 (his birthday) – We married on a dock in Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia. A few days later my new husband returned to his job in Qatar.

---

---

August 31st, 2015 – I said goodbye to my mom, family and friends and all that was my life in Nova Scotia to start a new life in a Muslim country with a man I barely knew, and married on impulse.

---

---

September 1st, 2015 – I landed in Qatar.

---

I will never forget our first night together as man and wife in the Middle East.

We sat in his cramped, made for a bachelor sized apartment, looking at each other.

Since October, 2014, Michael and I had spent maybe a total of 42 days together in person.

Therefore, I looked at him and said, “I’m scared, are you.”

His reply, “Yes.”

It’s been noted that perhaps most couples would not have survived our situation, as Michael and I had many struggles along the way.

One fundamental reason we made it, was we recognized the potential in each another and valued this connection.

---

---

A Photo Album Of Adventures

---

During our 4 years together in the Middle East, we traveled to 26 countries.

Blogging became a way to preserve our travel stories, our memories with pictures; lending us a nice way to reflect back on our adventures when we’re older and starting to forget things.

---

A Journey

What has blogging been like for me?

• A journey of love
• A memoir of risk & romance
• A photo album of adventures
• A deep dive into my mental health with Living Successfully With Borderline Personality Disorder & Histrionic Personality Disorder
• A spiritual journey,  Usui Shiki Ryoho – A Wild Woman Walking the Spiritual Path
• A showcase for Michael’s Geodesic Dome Home project

And perhaps, an inspiration for you…

S, 🌻

---