Our First Married Christmas

Travis and I had a wonderful Christmas weekend! We spent the 23rd together after a brief work day and exchanged gifts and went to dinner.... My darling husband is the best gift giver - guess what I got! Yup - a beautiful purse! Isn't she lovely?!

He also gave me this amazing customized necklace that I LOVE - This little gem here!
I tried to put the picture on it but it was ginormous... so you get a link instead!

Our dogs are thoughtful as well and gave us this handy little machine...

Which was awesome because we ended up using it last night when Lucy barfed on the carpet.... ugh! Luckily Travis is a good husband and takes care of the barf when he is home - because I'm like Vince Vaughn in Four Christmases - get it away or I'm gonna do it too.... Ugh... I don't do dog barf very well! Yes, I gave Travis a great Christmas as well - He got a Play Station 3 and some controllers and the game Little Big Planet, as well as a pretty sweet money clip. Nothing too exciting to me but he was happy. After we opened our presents we went to Tepanyaki for dinner - yum! There is always tooo much food at Tepanyaki and I always want to eat it all but never can - and I always forget it's not good leftover... but it's fun anyway! Travis is an excellent shrimp catcher!

On the 24th we went down to my family's house to have Christmas Eve and to participate in the celebrations there! We opened a family present (Guesstures) and Austin opened some bath toys. He is such a cute little guy. Of course I held baby Conner for part of the night and just snuggled him... he's so sweet! In the morning of course we had our Christmas breakfast as usual, and then opened more presents - and then had lunch before heading off to the Cornett's for Christmas evening. While there we opened more presents, and had dinner. I seriously ate too much food this weekend - and we got spoiled at our home, my parents and his parents home as well. Overall, it was a very pleasant Christmas for us! We spent time together and with our families. It was a nice Christmas holiday. Now if only we didn't have to work this week - it would make life so much better!

one year later...

One year ago - today - Travis asked me to marry him. Oh how I love him - he's such a wonderful guy! I was so surprised and so happy - and I haven't stopped smiling since! It's hard to believe it has been one year since he proposed.... Time sure flies when you're having fun - or is it when you're busy?! Either way - time has flown and I am happier than ever!

Today we decided to do things about the same as we did last year. We are both working a little bit (not by choice mind you - we both had meetings get scheduled that we can't miss) and then will meet at home to exchange Christmas gifts and then go out to dinner since we didn't get to last year! I'm excited to give Travis his Christmas gifts even though he has technically already gotten them. I'm not very good at keeping presents a secret! In fact, I'm horrible! Travis' Christmas list hadn't been up for even a week when I went out and bought his gift, and within days had already given it to him! It's a good thing he knows me so well - someone else could get frustrated by my inability to keep such important secrets :) I'm excited for our own gift exchange today - I got him a small gift to unwrap since he has already unwrapped and used his PS3! Is it bad that I'm excited for my gift too? Travis is really thoughtful and I am almost positive I saw a package come from Coach a couple of weeks ago - I guess we will see!

I love you Travis - I'm so happy that you asked me to marry you! You're amazing and I love being able to spend the rest of my life with you!

An Update...

Well, we went to Travis' parents house on Sunday for his nephews birthday - and it was surprisingly calm and normal. His parents were actually kind of nice and I enjoyed myself. I really like our nephew and wanted to celebrate with him I just wasn't sure I could keep my mouth shut if his parents were rude again... luckily nothing happened. I think they are trying to reach out to Travis in their own way although he is somewhat resistant - I don't blame him - I'm SUPER resistant. Part of me wants to forgive and forget and part of me wants to scream at them. Travis is seeming a little happier but I think it's fake - he knows I'm worried about him and is trying to be all brave for me. He's such a great guy - he deserves a wonderful Christmas... too bad he opened his presents by the end of September... I know, I can't keep a secret!!! Oh well, he at least gets a little present to open even though it's nothing spectacular! :) Love that boy!

HELP?!

I am having a huge problem and typically I wouldn't turn to my blog for advice - especially since maybe two people read it! (Thanks Vicki and Sarah... it makes me feel special!) But I just don't know what to do - and I figure it's easier to vent it here than to anyone else really....

My husband is the most caring, thoughtful, considerate, non-confrontational man in the world. I, on the other hand am caring, occasionally thoughtful, considerate when I feel like it, and VERY confrontational. We are having problems with his parents! He called them the Saturday before Thanksgiving and asked them about a business proposition - and they wouldn't listen to him. See, Travis and his business partners applied for a small business loan so they can move to the "private" franchise sector of financial advise/planning. This will cost us about $200,000.00 to do and quite frankly we don't have the cash for that. The bank said that our credit was good enough, but that between the 3 business partners we don't have enough collaterol to use to back a $250k business loan. We have only owned our home since June, one of his business partners is a renter, and the other just bought his home in October. So - we were stuck. I told Travis that maybe we should talk to his parents. He said he would talk to his business partners about it. Travis' parents own a home up here in West Valley free and clear - they also own a home in St. George that they are paying a mortgage on. Their plan is to sell the home in the spring when they don't have to realize capital gains on it (which they are being entirely dishonest about and that's a whole other story that makes me angry) - so, Travis and his business partners talked, ran some numbers, and decided to ask Travis's parents to co-sign on the loan and use their West Valley home as collaterol in order to be able to finance the loan. In return, because they would be unable to sell the home during this time, Travis and his business partners would pay his parents $1,000.00 each month while they pay off the loan. That way his parents have some sort of payment for their help and Travis and his partners are able to go "private". It sounds like a win-win for everyone involved right?! Well, Travis talked to his parents about it and his dad wouldn't listen and said No. He said he knew we would come to him and ask for money, yada yada yada. Travis told him he wasn't listening and that he wasn't asking for money but his dad refused to listen. Travis was so heartbroken - if his parents didn't want to co-sign he didn't really care about that but he cared that they wouldn't even listen to him. Travis was so depressed about it and I told him to call his dad and tell him how he felt about it. On Monday evening Travis called his parents and told them how he felt about them not listening to him and not being very supportive of him and his career. Travis' parents retaliated with the fact that we had already ruined their "retirement security" by not purchasing their house anyway. Travis told his father that he thought it would be best for us not to go down to visit over Thanksgiving because it may be awkward. Travis's father responded very maturely and told him that if we didn't come down we would hurt his mother's feelings and would not be welcome to come down ever. SOO NICE right?! So, while trying to be "adult" about it, we went down and had a horrible time.

Ever since then Travis has been different. His hopes and dreams have been deflated by the fact that he can't go "private" and have a "way out" of his office job. He loves being a financial planner/advisor and is SO good at his job - he just needs this private thing to work out because he will have so much more freedom in the way he works with his clients! Now, he hates going to work. He dreads going to the office at 8:00 am and not getting home until 9:00 pm. He complains about how he doesn't get paid enough to be away from me for so many hours in the day (which is very true! Another benefit to being private is the company doesn't take their 70% off the top of whatever he makes - there isn't as much overhead which means, he gets paid better - but he is also able to be flexible about the payment that people make - he can extend payments, he can lower payments where he can't do that right now). He says that this may not be the career he wants to pursue anymore. He stressess about making his "quota" because if he doesn't do a certain amount of business he can be fired. He is such an honest man that he doesn't try and sell people things they don't want or need... Travis is not the same man I married - he's not the same man he was just a month ago either and I don't know what to do about it! He's depressed, deflated, he feels defeated and I just don't know how to help him.

As Christmas gets closer I have more anxiety about visiting with his family over the Holiday. I don't want to see them. I am refusing to take white trash family photos with them this weekend. I don't want to see them for our nephews birthday. I don't want to spend time with them at all - HECK, I don't want to give them the awesome Christmas gift we already bought them. I was a quiet wife who let her husband be treated like crap by his parents because I didn't want to interfere (and I didn't want them to hate me more than they already do) - but I don't think I can take it anymore! I love my husband and it kills me to see him so unhappy. I know he doesn't like fighting with them and he is trying to be the bigger person - he really is. But quite frankly, I am SICK of being the bigger person. Screw his parents - how dare they be so inconsiderate and not even LISTEN to their son. If they had really listened to his proposition and decided they didn't want to do that anymore - that would be one thing - but for them to not listen at all and make assumptions and then guilt us into spending time with them over Thanksgiving makes me furious! It takes every ounce of self control I have not to go over to their home and yell at them, and tell them how horrible I think they are! I haven't really gotten along with them anyway so it wouldn't kill me - but I know it would kill Travis.

I guess I just don't know what to do! I don't think we should have to spend time with them just because it's Christmas. We are our own family and should be able to spend the Holiday together without them. That being said, I want to spend time with my family over Christmas (I can't get enough snuggling from baby Conner) - but if it meant that we ditch out on Christmas day with my family too so as not to be unfair, then I would be okay with that too. Is it completely immature to NOT go to their house on Christmas? We are adults, and adults don't HAVE to go to anyones house right?! We don't have to do anything we don't want to.... but how do I tell his parents that?! And how do I convince him that we don't have to go - and shouldn't go? And, how do I get my husband to feel better about himself and his job? It is so discouraging to see him like this - it tears me up! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

25 years...

Who knew getting a Masters Degree would be so expensive! I have just made my first student loan payment... my first of many! It's unfortunate that I had to take out loans to pay for an education - and even more unfortunate that I have to start paying them now, even though I just graduated about 4 months ago - and MOST unfortunate - that I will be paying on them every month for the next 25 years! But, I guess it's not a big deal! I mean, I learned a lot - because of my degree I am teaching at UVU so that's a good thing too! I had to extend the amount of time I pay on my student loans from 10 years to 25 years because I wasn't comfortable with the payment schedule that UHEAA and the FedLoan companies were giving me... I mean, I don't mind being poor - but dang! :) In any case, I'll pay without complaint because I have something to show for it! I guess that means I should take my licensing exam huh?! :) That's next on my to do list - after grading the finals from my first stint as a college professor! Wahoo!

Happy Holidays... Happy Holidays...

I love the holidays! I love the music, the smells... I love how happy everyone is at this time of year, I love buying and giving gifts, I love so many things about the holidays! One thing I do not love? SNOW! I hate snow! I know, why do I live in Utah if I hate snow so much?! I dunno, my parents moved here and I decided never to leave! I don't like shoveling - I don't like scraping ice and snow off my car - I don't like being cold - and I don't like the fact that lots of people don't know how to drive in snow (as evidenced by the 2 1/2 hour long trip it would take me to get to work just trying to avoid such idiots!) ... eew I just hate snow! Otherwise I love this time of year!

I love Christmas Parties! We have been to two already and still have another 3 ish to go to. We went to a party at our friends, the Newbolds - complete with an ugly sweater contest and a white elephant gift - that was pretty fun! Last night we went to my work Christmas Party! We had a nice dinner and chatted with each other and then were given gifts from our bosses... They gave everyone a new laptop and some giftcards! Crazy right?! They're the cute little Samsung tiny laptops that fit right in my purse! And the giftcards? Holy Cow! I was speechless! Seriously - I wasn't expecting anything at all! I thought maybe a nice card - maybe a small giftcard to Olive Garden or something - but I was completely shocked and surprised! It was crazy!

Things in my life as well as Travis' have been going pretty well - and when I start to question what I'm doing something like this happens and makes me feel like I really am doing what I should be. I'm doing the things I need to do and it's nice to have that kind of validation! There are things in our lives that aren't going as well as we had hoped - but you know, I guess that's life. So many things have gone well for us that it only makes sense that some things not go our way - as much as I hate it! I guess that's just something I have to learn to get used to right?!

Our Thanksgiving Reality...

Well, things went mostly according to plan for Thanksgiving and overall we had a fairly decent time. Here is what happened...

Thursday: My mom was called out on a Red Cross Mental Health something or other for the guy that got stuck in the Nutty Putty Caves - she had to do some bereavement counseling with workers and family members so she was gone from 4:00 a.m. until almost 12:30 p.m. It didn't put a damper on our Thanksgiving at all because my dad is a trooper and a great cook and he took over the extra parts of Thanksgiving that my mom would usually do. I think Melissa helped as well. Travis made the green bean casserole and boy was he proud of himself - We made it in the crockpot and it was much better than I remember it being last year. Probably because we had it at his family's house last year and it was pretty runny. ANYWAY - We had one of my mom's colleagues over for Thanksgiving dinner as well - Hagen (I probably spelled his name wrong) and he told us all about his anthropological dig in South America this summer and I will admit I was fascinated! Who knew you could tell so much about people and their political schema by their teeth! Crazy! After dinner we played a friendly round of Boxers or Briefs (this game is not sold in stores anymore but if you can get a copy of one I highly recommend it - it keeps us laughing for hours!). If you get a chance, ask Travis about my bootylicious mother! Good times! After the game we prepared our game plan for Black Friday and then Travis and I went home to relax for the rest of the day.

Friday: Travis and I woke up at 3:15 to leave the house by 3:30 to go to Kohls to buy 3 things. The doors opened at 4:00 a.m. and it was a madhouse by the time we go there. If you know the Jordan Landing area at all, you will know what I'm talking about. The line started at the doors on the west side, wrapped around to the north and all the way around the east side of the store... it was a LONG line! Travis and I were in line right in front of the Northern doors. Luckily, Travis and I went in and knew where we were going and got all 3 things that we wanted and got in line right away. We were out of Kohls by 4:30. We thought everywhere opened at 4 so we went to Target and Best Buy but they weren't open and instead of waiting for them to open we decided to go home and back to bed. We woke up again around 8:30 in the morning and got ready and packed up to head out to St. George. With our trunk full of dog stuff, our one duffel bag for people stuff and a tummy full of churros - we loaded ourselves and carmel corn from the popcorn cottage into my car and were on our way to St. George by 10:45 a.m. We got there at about 3 o'clock - I think we made rather good time! When we were walking out to the casita to unload our stuff Lucy (having never been at the in-laws before and having never seen a pool before) tried to take a short cut across the lawn and jumped unknowingly right into the deep end of the pool. Within seconds she was doggy paddling across the pool to the other side where Travis pulled her out! It's a good thing she can swim because I didn't want to jump in fully clothed! After that excitement we unpacked our stuff and hung out until the other family got there. That evening we had dinner and watched G.I. Joe before going to bed pretty early! I did get a phone call from my brother around 9:10 p.m. saying that little Conner Jason had been born just then, I even heard him cry! He's a hefty baby of 9 lbs and 20 1/2 in. Brian said he would send me a picture! Yay for being an Aunt again!

Saturday: When we woke up this morning we were going to take it easy since it was Thanksgiving again. However, everyone else had other plans. Annette, Sara, and myself went to a craft fair (I only spent $12.00!!!) and then to Kohls to do some shopping while the kids swam. By the time we got home I was ready to swim as well and hopped in with everyone else. Travis spent about 5 hours in the pool and I was in there for probably 2 1/2. It was nice and relaxing. We tried to get the dogs in the pool, but they were NOT getting close to the water. I guess they knew! :) After we swam we got all ready again for Thanksgiving dinner followed by Four Christmases. Again, Travis and I had a pretty early night.

Sunday: Travis and I woke up, got ready, packed up, had breakfast, rolled up the pool cover and drove home! We were out of there by 10:45 ish again and drove the LONG drive home. Of course, we took a short cut and stopped in Springville to see baby Conner. What a darling little boy! He has such chubby cheeks and knees... such a cutie pie! The poor little guy is all bruised from the forceps and such, but I guess that's just how it goes right?! Austin didn't seem to care about the baby while we were there even though he had only met him just before we got there! After holding my precious nephew we went back home the rest of the way, unpacked, and just lazed around until bedtime.

Sadly, we had a really uneventful Thanksgiving - although there was some unspoken drama and anger at Thanksgiving on Saturday - it was quite a long weekend. Travis and I didn't have time to just hang out, clean the house, and do our regular weekend routine things... So, when we had to wake up for work yesterday - it was really difficult to get out of bed!!! I'm hoping that soon enough we will have our own family and can create our own traditions for holidays rather than have to fit everyone elses plans.... We will see won't we!!!

Thanksgiving Happenings

Well, our plans are ever changing for Thanksgiving - but so far this is what we are planning...

Thursday: Thanksgiving with the Doty Family
Friday: Shopping - I love me some Black Friday Deals!!!! Then driving to St. George
Saturday: Thanksgiving with the Cornett's and Johnson's
Sunday: Drive back home

AND - somewhere in there... meet our new nephew! Yay! Baby Conner will come sometime then! Sarah is being induced on Friday so we are hoping to see the little guy before we leave - otherwise, we will see him on Sunday! Yay! I'm so excited! I'll let you know how it all goes!

Basic Info...

Nothing much has changed in our lives, except the fact that Travis is getting ready to become a business owner. He and his two business partners are starting their own franchise of Ameriprise - in essence they will be Privatizing their work. They will be able to work with their clients in ways that are better for the clients and won't have to worry about the red tape of being an employee and satisfying the boss. It's funny because this situation is very deja-vu for us. I mean, after we got married I was toying wtih the idea of becoming a private support coordinator and had so many questions and sleepless nights wondering if it would be good for us and if we would be able to make it. There are so many unknowns in changing jobs and going "private". I feel bad for Travis because I know he is feeling what I felt just 5 months ago. I am completely confident in his capabilities - and I know we will be just fine! It is a little stressful thinking that we will likely have to put our home up for collateral in order to get the business loan they need to "buy their books" - but I know that Travis will be so great at this! He is so smart, he is genuinely caring, he respects people, and he truly wants what is best for his clients! He is an amazing financial planner/advisor and has helped so many people - I know he will continue to do well! The unknown is just a little scary! So, if anyone needs a financial advisor - I happen to know a guy! :)

I am still working as a private support coordinator and I love it - I wish I had done it sooner! It is really a great job! I am also still teaching at UVU - this semester I'm teaching the Case Management class, but next semester I'm teaching two sections of Intro. to Social Work. That should be fun. It will cut down my commute time by once per week - so that's kind of nice. Isn't it funny that I lived down in Orem and commuted to Salt Lake for work - and now I live in Salt Lake and commute to Orem for some work... Funny how that happens. It is such a great opportunity for me and is really helping me decide if I want to get a PhD or not (as of now I'm thinking NOT)! My jobs are going well and I'm pretty happy. I still haven't taken my licensing exam yet - it's been a while - I haven't studied and I'm freaked out! I just need to buckle down and do it! Oye!

Otherwise, nothing much is going on. Still doing WW with a friend - I've lost 7 lbs. If she wasn't doing it with me I don't think I would be doing it. It's hard to be motivated on your own - especially this time of the year! I love candy and pumpkin everything so Halloween was hard. I love turkey and stuffing and gravy and every other food typically eaten at Thanksgiving - so that's going to be hard. I love peppermint and goodies so Christmas will be hard. Plus, I'm really enjoying cooking - so that's making it hard too! I just need more self control!!!! Ugh - it's a constant battle!

Oh, on the sibling front - Spencer is doing well and he is still in the Provo MTC until further notice! Melissa came home yesterday - she's still the same Melissa. Brian, Sarah, Austin and Baby Connor are doing well. Sarah is due soon, poor thing looks so tired and just ready to have the baby already! I can't wait to have another nephew - especially since Austin is so stinking cute - I'm sure Connor will be just as cute! Shayla - I love my little Shayla! She is such a good girl - I get to see her three times a week when I'm teaching at UVU so that's nice. I wish I could spend more time with her though - Sometimes I just need a little Shayla time! Maybe this weekend we will do something fun! Our dogs... they're just dogs! Lucy is as crazy as ever, and Baxter just hangs out, although lately he has been laying on the floor directly below me demanding to be under the blanket I use... it's kind of cute!

Until next time....

The Best Two Years

Well, today we sent my littlest sibling - Spencer - to the MTC. Yup, He is off to serve a mission in Belo Horizante Brazil. It was a different experience sending him out than it was anyone else for several reasons!

1. Spencer is the first to go out of the country! Brian went to Nashville - I went to Tucson - Melissa is in Washington State - and Spencie is off to South America - CRAZY!

2. We found out last week that he would not be flying directly to the Brazil MTC because they were having visa problems... so instead of taking him to the airport - we send him to the Provo MTC until his visa comes through and then he will be shipped out to Brazil.

3. He is the youngest in the family! Yes, that means we're all old! Even Shayla who is only 40 minutes older than Spencer!

4. They don't do the feel good Called to Serve movie and inspiration thought by the MTC president and his wife. Now, you pull up to the curb, help your missionary get his luggage out of the car, give him a hug and off you go! It didn't feel like a natural departure to me! There was no lingering, there were no kleenex, there was no trying to see him walk down the sidewalk as you exit to your car... It was so weird!

and finally... I feel sort of parental feelings for Spencer. I was almost 9 when the twins were born and I spent a lot of time with them while they were growing up - and I remember it all like it happened yesterday! I remember Spencer being afraid of the Thunder and crawling into my bed with me late at night so he wouldn't be alone. I remember so many things about his life - and spent a lot of time babysitting him - that it makes me really sad!

I didn't cry at the MTC - I didn't cry until I had dropped off Chase at the house and I left to drive back to Salt Lake. He had better write me!

It was time for a change...

For some reason I feel like I'm changing. My goals, my wants, my needs, my everything is changing. I won't give too much detail - but I feel like I'm turning into a grown up maybe! Is that weird? I am afterall 28 years old now, I should be an adult! Anyway, I figured because I FEEL like i'm changing, it might be a good idea to actually make some changes... Here are a few of them...

1. Off the soda - I did this for almost two years and then decided to take it up again. No lies - I love Mt. Dew - so this is hard for me! There will be days when I need one and when those days come I will have to decide if it's worth the 3 points to me....

2. Yes I said points - I went back to WW last night. A good friend went with me and we will be going together - it's nice to have someone to help support me in this terrifying endeavor of weekly weigh-ins and meetings. I was successful last year - I will be even more successful and will stick with it this year!

3. Walking the Dogs - except in snow! Does that count? Travis and I want to walk the dogs every day. It will give us some much needed exercise and it will give the dogs some time to get rid of their pent up energy (staying inside with me while I do paperwork has got to be boring!). Plus, maybe we will meet some more of our neighbors this way! They will actually know that people live in our house!

4. BUDGET! yes, I spend too much money and I know it. We are working on a budget that doesn't sacrifice our lifestyle for our goals and visa versa. Since Travis is a financial planner it works out well for us! He is so smart when it comes to money and has seriously saved my financial life! So, we are going to be smarter with our money! We've gotta save more so we can do the things we want - Travel, Finish the bathroom in the basement, travel some more... you know, the important things in life.

5. No Texting while I drive! And this one is a huge/hard one for me! I drive a lot! Less than when I commuted daily - but since I teach at UVU 3 times each week, I'm in the car my fair share! BUT - I'm trying to stop texting while I drive. I know it's illegal - so is speeding and we all do that too! Anyway - I'm working on it and I'm getting better at it!

So... these may be small in the grand scheme of things - but I have to start somewhere right!?

All the Single Ladies....

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE Glee?! Oh man... I look forward to Wednesday nights so I can get my Glee fix! Travis is DVR-ing all of them for me! I'm so excited for Melissa to come home and have a Glee marathon with me! Oh man I love it! This is a clip from last night's episode - which is my favorite episode so far! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2FMdOLyRcA

Update...

I won't even pretend to be sorry about not blogging. Many times I have started and then deleted because it was mean, or crabby, or sounded weird, or whatever. I figure now I should update the maybe one person that reads this blog - as to what we are up to.

Things haven't changed much - I still love being a Support Coordinator and working for a private company rather than the State is SO much better than I thought it would be. I wish I would have done it months ago! I would ideally like 5 or 6 more cases - but I am overall very happy with my job. I'm loving it big time!

I'm enjoying teaching a case management class at UVU this fall. I am having a hard time because I don't want the class to be boring but I feel like some of the basic information is pretty boring. I'm trying to make it fun and practical, but I don't feel like I'm doing as good of a job as I would have hoped. It will get better with time - I hope!

I LOVE the fall! Travis and I are hoping to head up the canyon soon with the top off his car so we can enjoy the crisp air and the fall colors! The fall makes me so happy! I have already changed some of the soap in our house to fall smells! LOVE IT!

Travis's job is going well, although he is probably going to go into the franchise sector of his company with his 2 business partners. They are looking at joining someone - there are so many things that I know he is thinking but isn't telling me because he doesn't want me to stress out. I stress out more than my fair share. He is completely honest with me - he just doesn't want his being stressed to make me even more stressed. He's so thoughtful that way! :)

Lucy got fixed a few weeks ago and she has healed nicely. Baxter has a date with his girlfriend Patsy and then he will be fixed as well. Other than that, we are all healthy and happy and doing very well!

6 months

Travis and I have been married for 6 months... I can't believe it! The time has gone by so fast! We are so happy and still so much in love! He is such a wonderful man and an amazing husband! I love you so much Travis!

A Whole Lot of Change

Well... It's official, I am 28 years old. Nothing too exciting although I'll miss 27. So many things changed for me while I was 27. I thought it would be nice to just make a list to see what changed for me...

* Started dating Travis - the love of my life
* Started a new practicum - Home Health and Hospice @ CNS
* Started my last year of Graduate School
* Received the Belle Spafford award
* Got engaged to Travis
* Got a new puppy - Lucy
* Married Travis
* Moved to West Valley to rent Travis' parents home
* Decided to buy a house
* Graduated from Grad School
* Bought a wonderful house in Taylorsville
* Moved into our home
* Bought our first lawn mower, kitchen table, etc. (let's just say it's been expensive)
* Put together my first Conference
* Finished my practicum at CNS
* Quit my job with the State
* Started a job with Support Coordination Services of Utah
* Was offered a job at Utah Valley University as an adjunct professor - I accepted of course!
* Paid my first mortgage payment
* Watched my little brother open his mission call to Bello Horizante Brazil
* Found out I'll be an Aunt... again
* Had our first major repair on our home - darn plumbing
* Started cooking with Travis - and found out that we are pretty good at it, and we like it!

And that is certainly plenty to keep us busy! It has been a very eventful year 27 has... Obviously 27 will be missed... but I'm sure 28 will be great! Some of the things to look forward to.....

* Teaching my first college class
* Sending Spencer on a mission
* 3 weeks later, welcoming Melissa home from her mission
* Getting a new nephew
* Decorating my house for the first Christmas

... I'm sure there will be others! But I'm not in a hurry to grow up - I've done plenty of that in the past year!

2 weeks notice

Yes, in a matter of minutes I will be giving two weeks notice at my job. I am leaving my job with DSPD to do the same job for a private company. I have loved working as a support coordinator for hte past 5 years and am not ready to leave my clients. However, the State has determined that they will no longer be employing support coordinators and that if we want to continue working with our clients - we have to go private.

After several months of research and interviews and stress and crying (sorry Travis) - I made my decision to go with a company that I think will suit me and my clients well. I will be an employee of Support Coordination Services of Utah beginning August 1st. (www.serveutah.com) I am hoping my clients will all want to come with me - we will just see!

This has been a huge decision for me to make and I have not made it lightly! I am excited to continue the work that I love in a new enviornment! I'll let you know how it goes!

All Moved In!

Yay! It's about time right?! Travis and I made the big move on Saturday with the help of my entire family (even baby A carried a pillow or two) and Travis's Sister and nephew. It was a long grueling process - who knew we had so much stuff?! (And by stuff I mean, DVD's, Video Games, and Scrapbooking Paper!) In any case we are all moved in I think. We have some things here and there - we're waiting on a kitchen table - but otherwise we are moved in to our very OWN house! We love it! It is so wonderful to have our own space! I'll post pics of the house soon! :)

So thank you to everyone who helped us move - we appreciate it so much! And soon I'll be able to blog about things other than the new house! There are new and exciting changes coming our way (No - we are not pregnant) so we will keep you all posted!

It's Official!

Well, Travis and I are officially home owners! Yesterday morning we went to Surety Title and sat across the table from Michelle who told us what all the pages were and made sure we signed in blue ink and used our middle initials. It was such a great experience! Signing my life away (as well as all of the money I hope to make in the next 30 years) to have a house - Yay! I'm so excited!

I spent the rest of the day working like a maniac while Travis called and set up all of our utilities at the new house and cancelled the internet at the current house - the Direct TV will be cancelled just before we move! I have to be able to watch my shows ya know!?

Travis and I went to dinner last night to celebrate. We met at Teppanyaki down in Jordan Landing - YUM! Can I just say that I love the Geisha meal! I could eat there every day - but now that I have a house payment I won't be eating there as often I guess! After dinner we went home and watched So You Think You Can Dance and Deadliest Catch (Travis is such a good sport) before we finally went to bed. It was a nice relaxing night - and very exciting to know that we are no longer renters!

So this weekend we will get the keys!!! Over the next few days we will clean the house, get the carpets cleaned, locks rekeyed, and then start moving things in because the big move is on the 20th! I'm so excited for the big move! I can hardly stand it! We will finally have a place that is all our own!!! My family will come up and help and we have some friends that will help as well - we are lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives!

I'm sure we will spend that entire weekend trying to unpack and get things set up just the way we want them... I can't wait! I'm so excited!

Approved!

Travis called me about half an hour ago and told me he had some good and bad news... Of course I wanted the bad news first - he told me the bad news was He was still at work (and boy is that bad news - I like spending as much time with him as possible so long work days aren't very fun). The good news? We were approved - our financing that is! Which means, we are officially buying a house! We close on June 10th! We are so excited! Nervous, Anxious, a little Scared maybe, but very Excited! So I guess we will be moving on the 20th.... anyone have a truck we can borrow? :)

Turn to your partner....

So, this weekend Travis and I went to a financial seminar - Millionaire Mind Intensive to be exact. Let me just say that I was not very excited to go. Finances are a little overwhelming and boring to me and I wasn't looking forward to 3 long days of money talk! But, I loved the seminar. Yes, there was money talk - obviously - but not in the way I had thought. I had kind of imagined the seminar to be more like my insanely boring Personal Finance 1100 at UVSC... but it was definitely NOT that!

Without giving away too much - let me say that it forever changed my life! Travis and I learned so much about ourselves, each other, our relationship, etc. I did so much personal work it was amazing! I now have a new outlook on life not just regarding finances but regarding other things as well. It was seriously amazing! I would highly recommend it to anyone! In fact, Travis and I are going to attend the fall seminar again.... if anyone is interested in attending with us - let me know! It is a little hokey, and a little salesy (is that even a word?) - but I promise you will learn some valuable things!

Turn to your partner, give them a high five and tell them "You, have a millionaire mind!"

So You Think You Can Dance

dance, dance, dance.... Oh man, I love this show - and the season premier is TONIGHT! Yes! I have waited for so long for this show to come back on TV.... LOVE IT! I Secretly wish I could dance like they do... so beautiful, so emotional... yes, I'm a cry baby when I watch it... The Walz that Twitch and Kherington did last season - cried like a baby! I'm excited for this season! Yay!

Also, Darn that FOX television station.... On Tuesday night I got home earlier than Travis (what's new) and decided to watch a little television until he got home and I found a new television show that I LOVED watching.... Glee. Yes, as cheesey as it seems - I loved Glee. It was hilarious! (Plus, I'm a sucker for singing and dancing - of course it's right up my alley) The clincher - it doesn't start until the fall! Darn you Fox - How dare you get me hooked to a television show I cannot even start watching for several months! I guess I'll enjoy SYTYCD until I can start to enjoy Glee! :) I am so excited about it!

On a not as happy note - I just need to vent for two seconds... I understand that some people want to see the best in everyone - but when a person has been downright rude, offensive, immature, and outright horrible - you don't have to like them or work with them or be around them... and if you choose to - I don't want to hear about it!!!

Announcing....

Travis and I are going to be.... Homeowners! No, it's not what you thought it would be - it's even better! Travis and I have been looking for the past couple of weeks and last week found a home that we love! It's the perfect size, with a perfect yard, in the perfect location... have I mentioned it's perfect?! We are so excited! We made the offer on Saturday afternoon and after a little negotiating settled on a price and signed the contract last night! (Our Realtor is amazing) Yes, we are in a contract to purchase a home! Of course this means we will be house poor for a while - but that's alright. It'll be nice to have a place of our own! We will be able to move in on our 3 month anniversary! Yay! Of course we will invite our friends and family over throughout the summer to celebrate and have lunch and of course, play a little rock band - so be excited! Yay! We are buying a house!

BINGO!

"When the day of commencement commences..."

I finally did it - I graduated! It really seemed like this day would never come and really it didn't seem real until I was walking up the stairs to the stage in Kingsbury Hall where I would have my name read and would walk across the stage and pick up a diploma (or whatever the paper was inside the red diploma holder they gave me). It was crazy! Travis and I went to dinner with his parents, his sister and bro-in-law, and my mom and sister (my dad was sick), to Tsunami - the place we met :) *sigh* and then off to graduation!

Once I got to Kingsbury Hall, the graduates had to get pictures and junk and then wait around for 45 minutes to get lined up and walk into the building. So, to kill some time, a class mate and I had our own little graduation bingo... There were only 5 things to look for

1. Lei's (super ugly - but whatever)
2. A girl wearing her cap on the back of her head instead of the top (we found several)
3. Someone Tripping (sadly, we never saw this one!)
4. Hooker Shoes (saw plenty of those - hookers!)
5. Finding out someones sexuality is NOT what you thought it was (TOTALLY happened!)

It was pretty fun! We went into Kingsbury, listened to some wonderful and some not so wonderful speeches, and then graduated. It was about 2 hours but it was nice. Afterward we hurried home for some fruit pizza and to sleep.... boy was I tired! :)

In any case, I'm officially graduated... and done for school for a while! Whew! Yay for graduation - and yay for BINGO!

What To Do...

I have a bit of a dilemma.... My 10 year high school reunion is coming up rather quickly - like in June or something and I don't know if I want to go or not.

Granted there are people that I would like to catch up with - but really I blog stalk them or just check out their facebook pages - don't judge me - I know you do it too! But really, there are maybe a dozen or so people that I do that with. Everyone else??? I don't really care.

The thing is - I moved into that area the day before 7th grade started and didn't expect to be there for too long - we moved a lot and I figured it would be the same. Well, it was, except that we stayed in the same school district and I stayed at the same High School. I changed groups of friends several times and to be quite honest, haven't really kept in touch with anyone from High School.

Not only that - but I am an entirely different person now, as compared to High School. I just wasn't an extremely "good" person. I am not proud of some of the things I said or did in High School - and I don't want to be remembered by people for those things... I don't think I really found myself until I got to College and then I rediscovered myself when I served a mission, and even then have changed into a different person again after being home and in graduate school and married now... But people don't care - I've already had plenty of opportunities to recognize that - They don't care who I am now - they just care that I hurt their feelings or whatever in high school....

I don't think I want to go - is that so bad?

Nearing the end...

Like many college students - I have been completely unable to focus since.... February 25th. That's a guess, but it's pretty accurate. Obviously part of the reason was because I was getting married mid-semester - but a good chunk was also because I am graduating! I can't wait!

I was surprisingly given an award this year! Who Knew?! I received a letter in the mail about a week after Travis and I got back from our Honeymoon and it said that I would be receiving the Belle S. Spafford Award for my dedication to improving the lives of women. Random right?! But I was so excited! It meant that Travis and I were able to attend a an awards banquet on Tuesday night. It was really nice! It was held in the new Goodwill building. Travis and I sat at a table with two of my teachers from last year, one of whom chose me to receive the award. We also sat with the woman who paid for my award - I got a wonderful plaque and a cash award - yay! :)

The evening was really nice. Travis and I chatted with everyone at our table, enjoyed the dinner, sat through the awards ceremony (short, sweet, and to the point - that's how I like it!) and after some pictures we went home. He kept telling me how proud of me he was... he's such a wonderful guy! My plaque sits in our bedroom until I have an office or somewhere else to put it. The most exciting part about this award is that I will now be on the Spafford Advisory Council which is made up of women in leadership roles from around the state. I am excited to make my debut at the Roundtable next week! Yay for awards!

And.... 2 weeks from today I graduate! I am so excited to finally get a Masters Degree.... Maybe I'll work towards a PhD - but we will see :)

For the first time I feel.... WICKED!

Travis and I decided to take a trip downtown to enter the lottery for Wicked tickets for the matinee today. Travis likes to be early, and boy were we. We put our names on the notecards and waited for them to draw names. There were probably about 150 ish people there and our chances weren't very good. At exactly 11 o'clock they told us the rules, they'll draw 10 cards and each person is allowed to buy up to 2 tickets at $25 a piece, and you had to pay cash and prove your identity! We waited anxiouslyas the first persons name was drawn and then the second, third, fourth and fifth. I didn't really think we would get any tickets so I kind of tuned out for a minute and then they called the sixth.... "Jennifer Dottie...Er... D-O-L-Y" I went to the front, "It's a T". I won!!! Woot woot! So I went in and got two tickets and came back outside and met up with Travis. Yay! I was super excited! We wandered around town for a while until it was time! :)

We got to Capitol Theatre early which was good because I needed to use the potty and it gave Travis time to look at the souvineers - thanks sweetie! :) We went down to our seats on Orcnestra Right Row C seats 115 and 117 and waited. I won't give away too much for those who have never experienced the awesome-ness that is WICKED! :) But we were both extremely impressed - we loved it and are excited to go back this Saturday evening! Yay! Oh how I love Wicked! I've listened to the music since it came out and have finally seen it!! I have some great images to put to the music now! I LOVED IT! I highly recommend seeing it if you can! :) I'm singing along in my mind as we speak....

Since the Big Day...

It has been a while since i've blogged.... I was a little busy getting married!

Yup, I LOVE being married. The wedding was perfect, the reception was perfect.... everything about the entire day was perfect! My family was there, including a cousin and my grandma - my friends were there - his family and friends were there.... It was beautiful! If I had taken a year to plan it, it couldn't have been more beautiful or perfect! It was seriously amazing!

The honeymoon was great too! Obviously! We spent our wedding night at the Somewhere Inn Time. It was a cute place and the room was nice. The next day we went to St. George. We stayed at T's parents home, while they stayed at our house in SL to watch the dogs. They have a pool and hot tub in the backyard so we were set. We had a great time relaxing, swimming, relaxing, and swimming soem more :) On Monday we went to Vegas for the night. T got us tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian on Monday night... Second Row... It was AMAZING! We had such a wonderful time! Our Hotel was pretty sweet too. We stayed at Trump Towers on the 42nd floor and had to ride the JET Powered elevator - we got to the 42nd floor in less than 30 seconds and my ears popped twice! It was a beautiful room! :) We enjoyed the show and the fun sights in Vegas - Bellagio Fountains were definitely my fave!

So far Married Life is Wonderful! T is so good to me! He has been super supportive and encouraging. Last night, I needed to finish a homework assignment so when I got home from a Prep Course, he went and got dinner for us while I did homework. He sat at the kitchen table, ate dinner and let me work on my homework. When I wanted to take a break and watch a movie - he encouraged me to finish my homework and then we could watch a movie. I finished my homework at 9 p.m., emailed it to my teacher - and we watched a movie. :) He even takes the dogs out first thing in the morning so I can hurry and shower - I usually stay in bed until the last possible moment. Poor boy has to deal with me! He has made me dinner every night this week - Okay, he reheated the leftovers that his mom left for us :) Same difference! :) He is wonderful and I am SOOOO happy!

I love T so much....

Slow Mo...

For the past two years, there has never been a week that I have thought, this week has gone by so slowly.... Until this week! I have spent so much time doing homework that I have neglected other things - like T. Luckily, we're getting hitched on Saturday! I'm so excited! If this week had moved by at even a normal pace, rather than moving at a snails pace - it would have been better. Of course I don't get to choose but really - can the week move any slower?! It will now be the longest 50 1/2 hours of my life.... but that will be alright I guess. After all, I am marrying the love of my life!

Lucy

T and I adopted a little puppy on Saturday. Yup, her name is Lucy. She is a Lhasa Apso/Chihuahua mix and she is adorable! She weighs just less than one pound and loves to snuggle. T thinks she looks like Wicket the Ewok on Star Wars... and she kind of does - but we are NOT calling her that! Baxter is T's dog and he is about 5 years old and weighs like 45 pounds and he puts up with Lucy so well. It's cute to watch them play - she is the pesky younger sister and he is the patient older brother. Yes, we have a dog family now! :) It's pretty fun! We are teaching Lucy her name, how to use the bathroom outside, and to stay in her kennel... Okay, T is working on all of that because she lives with him until I move in after we get hitched!!! Exciting!

9 days left (in case any of you were wondering)

9 weeks? What?

I was just sitting in my Advanced Leadership and Management class when at the end of class a girl said "only 9 weeks left in the semester". Is it really possible that my education will end in a mere 9 weeks? I guess so! It's that time, time to order a cap and gown, time to order graduation announcements... I can't believe it! Two years has gone by so fast!

If only the next 16 days would go by as fast...

18 days and counting...

I can't believe it has gone by so fast! We are a mere 18 days away from being married and I'm so excited. I'm feeling a little stressed because I have so much work and homework to do before the wedding. Luckily T is a great guy and is completely supportive of me and encouraging of me! Love that boy!

Everything for the wedding is done! We met with the Reception Center on Friday night, the Caterer on Saturday morning and the Florist on Saturday afternoon. It's a good thing T is so organized or I may have put everything off until I absolutely HAD to address it.

I'm so excited to get married and to be able to spend the rest of my life with T. He is so amazing and I love him so much! I can't wait to share that day with my friends and family! Yay for March 14th!

Heart Day

I love Valentines Day. Well, I love it now that I have someone to spend that day with. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful fiance who is thoughtful and amazingly sweet. He sent me flowers, candy, and a cute little bear and I loved them, I love him!

We had a fabulous Heart Day. We went to lunch and then settled in the love sac for hours of wedding movies, with the intent not to talk about our wedding. (I ruined it by the middle of the first move "Im so glad we won't have that many people at our wedding")

It was so much fun to just cuddle and watch movies and it wasn't fun when midnight came and I had to leave... Oh well, only 25 more days!

Love Sac...

Ever since I sat on a love sac, I have wanted one. I guess that makes it sound like it has been years, and it has, maybe 3 years - but years none the less. They are so soft and fluffy and I figured it would be a great piece of furniture to plop in front of one of the tv's at T's house. We talked about them and how much fun it would be to cuddle on one while watching his never ending supply of DVD's. With that conversation I was sold and decided to buy one for T for Valentines Day - I'm such a selfless fiance ;)

So last Monday I did my research and on Tuesday I went into the Love Sac store at Fashion Place and had to be the easiest sell of the day! I told the guy behind the counter exactly what I wanted and bought a love sac. He asked me if I had ever put one together and I said no but it couldn't be that difficult. He gave me directions and put the sac in my car so I could take it home. Now, if you know me at all, or have read my blogs, you know how much I love giving gifts and I knew this one wouldn't wait until Valentines Day.... so that evening I told T that I had a surprise for him and that I would give it to him the following day - yes it was early I know.

The next day I got to T's house and had him help me get it out of the car because it was heavy as sin! We took it to the basement and began the process of turning a small shriveled square of foam into a large puffy love sac. By Saturday it was ready to be tested out - and we loved it! It's perfect for cuddling in and it's even nice for a nap :)

I don't know how we ever watched DVD's before the love sac... It is so much better than the couch! Plus with the blanket and new little pillows we got for it - it's an amazingly comfortable piece of furniture! Love the Love Sac!

My Dough Girl

I have just experienced bliss - in the form of Vivanna.

What/Who is Vivianna you ask? Only the most delicious cookie I have ever tasted! She is an orange dough with mangos and dark chocolate... Yum!!!

I found Vivianna through some friends at school who introduced me to My Dough Girl Cookie Shop downtown. Her cookies are totally unique! The names, the flavors, everything about them! They are heavenly! Normally I wouldn't post someones website on here - but she has some great specialty cookies coming out! Her website is www.doughgirl.com

I'm sure you will enjoy these cookies - I know I will!

It's Pink.... and it's Scented

Name that movie...

As most of you know, I'm graduating in August-ish. I'll have a Masters Degree and will be expected to do something amazing that will change the world and peoples lives. I can live with that pressure because it's still 6 months away. HOWEVER, today in one of my classes we had a lecture on writing a resume - what looks professional, what to say, what not to say, what color the paper should be, etc. Then, our teacher proceeded to discuss the fact that we should begin looking for jobs immediately because for every $10,000.00 you want to make per year, it will take a month to find one (if I want to make 40k a year, it'll take me 4 months to find a job). I started freaking out! My heart started to race, I started to sweat a little, the all-too familiar anxiety started to press against my chest and I got a headache and felt nauseated.... I realized I'm not ready for this! I'm not ready to make such a big decision about a career yet.

School has seemed never-ending to me. I always knew I would go back to school to further my education and that always how it would be. Right now I'm not so sure. Do I want to go back? Who knows! It will depend on what happens in my "family" life. There are so many things up in the air right now! Will we have kids right away - or will we be able to have them at all? What about a job? What if I can't find one? What if nobody wants to hire me? What if due to budget cuts there are no jobs? What if I'm stuck at my job forever? I love my job but I don't know if I want to do it forever - in a few months I'll be over qualified.... ugh.

Help?! How do I not think about this and reduce the ever-increasing level of anxiety I'm feeling?

All Things Wedding

I know you're going to be sick of all of the wedding planning stuff... and if you are - just wait until maybe... May and then it'll all be over :)

T and I met with the caterer last week and it was wonderful of course! When we talked on the phone I knew I would like her - she seemed so personable and fun, so I was really excited to meet with her. Apparently our wedding date is popular and she has had several calls from other people requesting our date - I asked her if we could meet with her first so we could hire her if we liked her. She was fine with that so off T and I went to Thanksgiving Point to meet with her. We underestimated our driving time and were there about half an hour early so we sat and chatted and watched people until she came. Boy is she a ball of energy! She was so nice and funny and I liked her immediately!

We talked to her about the location, the colors, the feel we were going for and then we talked about food. T and I decided we really like her (plus she offered to give me some cooking tips - and let's be honest I need all the help I can get and T knows it! He was smart to hire her just for that!) so we hired her! Yay! One more thing down! She sent us home with a box of treats to try so we could sample her food.... Oh man! T and I, along with my entire family, loved all of the tasty treats she gave us! If you're coming to the reception - the food will be delish!

We were scheduled for our Engagement pictures on Saturday but the weather was so yucky that we decided to postpone until this coming Saturday. Instead, we met with the girl who is doing our invitations (one of the nicest girls i've ever met! loved her!) and picked out everything the way we want it! Crazy! I'm so excited - T keeps assuring me that we're well ahead of the curve. All we have left is getting our pictures taking and a florist... Whew! Not much and we still have 47 days! Yay for our invites - I think they'll be cute!

I also had my dress fitting on Friday. I just needed two small alterations so it'll be done in two weeks! Yay! I'm so happy about that! I was worried we would be cutting it too close!

T and I have been talking about how lucky we are that things regarding the wedding are just falling into place so easily! Wow! We really are blessed to have things fall into place - with the rest of my life/schedule as crazy as it is, I don't know if I would have been able to survive otherwise! Plus, T is super involved and is so supportive and really helps keep me calm! Yet another reason I love him!

The One!

Well I did it on Saturday.... I bought a Wedding Dress... Ugh! It was probably one of the longest days of my life. I hate shopping for clothes when it means I have to try them on so this was no different. At least I had my mom, my sister, and my sister-in-law with me to help pass the time and help me feel better about myself... Shayla really is a great sister! She is so supportive and knows just what I need to hear! I really value her opinion!

We went to two different stores and really were only dress shopping for 4 hours, which is about 3 1/2 hours too long for my taste. But what can you do right?! We went to the first store and I tried on 4 dresses there and didn't really like any of them (Sarah said one looked like a table cloth), so off we went to the next store. I was able to choose from hundreds of dresses which is a little overwhelming for me. I think the girl helping me could see that so she just started bringing me different types of dresses.

The first one, I didn't like, and neither did anyone in my family. The second one was alright - but it wasn't my favorite. The third one was better - but it was really puffy. The fourth one... Oh the fourth one. As I was putting it on I texted my little sister to get my camera ready because I was really going to like this one. I came out of the dressing room and had to step up onto this platform so everyone in the store could see me, Arrgh. Anyway, there was another family there next to my family that was watching their family member try on dresses as well, and when I stood up there my entire family, as well as theirs Ooh'd and Aah'd about it and about how perfect it looked! I hadn't even seen it yet - it just felt different putting it on. So, I turned around to see it in the mirror and I loved it immediately! It was beautiful and NOTHING that I would have chosen on my own. But I loved it and so did everyone else. Part of me didn't want to try on any more dresses, but I figured I'd try on one more that was pretty. I put it on and liked it just fine - but it wasn't the other dress. I told the girl helping me that I didn't want to try on any more because I loved the other one. She had me put it back on and we looked at veils, and headbands, and shoes, and other junk like that.

In the end I only bought the dress - and I'm so happy with it! The best part?! It was on sale! I got a $950.00 dress for $499.00 I love getting a deal! I have my alterations appointment on Friday evening and then I wait for it to be done! Whew! One more 'big' thing checked off the list! Today we meet with a caterer... It would be nice to check off another!

"Decisions are the Worst"

If you can name the movie this blog title comes from - You win a prize!!!

I always apologize for not having blogged sooner because things have been busy... and really, things are busy - so I probably shouldn't apologize anymore - it is what it is, busy! The sad thing is that for the next 67 days or so (really, who is counting) my thoughts are completely consumed with wedding plans - so... my blog will likely be wedding focused... my apologize in advance!

Anyway, those of you who know me pretty well, know that I am decision making impaired! I have a hard time making decisions if I don't have a strong opinion about them. Where do you want to go for lunch? I dunno, wherever. What do you want to do today? I dunno, whatever. What movie should we go see? I dunno, whichever one you want. It's a curse I guess.... If I really had a strong opinion I would express it! Hence the reason we have a specific person performing our wedding.... ANYWAY! T hates that I can't make a decision, he hates it so much in fact, that he decided we would take turns. On odd days he would decide, and on even days I would decide. So, imagine how awesome it's going to be for me to make a million decisions regarding a wedding! Riight...

T and I went out on Saturday to look at locations for the wedding festivities! We took my mom and M.O.H Shay to look as well. We saw 3 places, and I immediately knew which one I wanted.... luckily T and I were on the same page (until we figured out the cost... most of our budget would be taken up by the location! Luckily T came to the rescue and worked something out) and today we reserved Sun River Gardens for the wedding/reception! Yay! Big decision # 1 down! A million more to go!

What's the one thing we couldn't agree on until this afternoon?! Colors!!! Yes, colors! You'd think it wouldn't be a bigt deal - but both of us have extremely different ideas as to what we want in a wedding/reception especially regarding colors.... My ideas, Pink/Orange, Tiffany Blue/Brown, Dark Purple/Turquoise... His idea, Burgandy/Black/White.... Do you see the difference? He's looking to be a little more traditional and classic, while I on the otherhand am looking to be a little more contemporary and spring-ish (not a word I know). No harm in that - except that we couldn't decide on a color scheme! I realize people don't have problems choosing colors... it's only a color afterall - but we just couldn't agree on it! Well, this afternoon we finally came to an agreement! I won't share the color scheme with you because it might jinx it - but it makes us both happy. It's traditional and classi while on the same hand more contemporary and spring-ish, plus it's very romantic! I'm REALLY excited about it! Yay for big decision # 2!!!

I think 2 major decisions in one day is enough for me!!!! :)