You guys have the cutest kids

Well, my photographers LOVED Caroline and Mabel. Here are more cute pictures of them:

My car

I am posting this in hopes that my brother and sisters' teasings will get my parents to expedite the process of fixing my car situation. As everyone knows, I have a little red Corolla. In January of this year, the registration expired. Since it's registered in Texas, I can't renew the registration, and since the title isn't in my name, I can't get it registered in Idaho. It doesn't really matter that the title isn't in my name, though, because we apparently don't have a title for it. Mom and Dad realized that it was lost when they went to transfer it to Brandon and me. They said that they'll fill out some paperwork on the lost title and get a new one under my name. But I'm thinking that this will only happen when they come to the US to bail me out of prison when my car gets impounded. Luckily, the car is insured. Too bad that doesn't matter either, since I have never been sent proof of insurance. So, when a cop pulls me over for having expired registration and asks me for my proof of insurance, I will have to give him one that expired in October.

Here's something that will get them motivated. When Brandon and I go back to Provo and find a new place to live, it's likely that the place won't have much off-street parking. In that case, it will cost them $30 per day to have an unregistered car, because believe me, the police come every day, and they will give me a ticket every day until I get it fixed.

Or we could take back Brandon's Buick and leave my car with his family to sit and get snowed on all winter long. The Buick's shocks are so bad that it's like riding a roller coaster. Really fun, but according to Brandon's uncle, that car is a death trap.

Seriously. Please fix it.

Idaho (for Jennifer)

Jennifer,
Sorry about not posting lately. I have been living in an 88-year-old woman's basement and she doesn't have internet. But today I am babysitting Brandon's siblings and I therefore get free use of their computer.

It would be difficult to give an unbiased report on Idaho, since I'm living here in the summer, and it's much nicer than the freezing winter months. But surprisingly, I really like Idaho. Living in a small town doesn't bother me-- Blackfoot can provide most daily needs and if I need something else, Pocatello is only 20 minutes away. If Napoleon Dynamite gave you the impression that everyone in Idaho is a hick and owns a llama, then you actually have the right idea about life in Idaho. There are llamas. Lots of llamas. And cows and horses and goats and sheep. I live across the street from a dairy farm. It provides a nice view but when the wind kicks up, it smells like cow poop. The kids go to their neighbor's house every day to feed their chickens, dog, and calf. It's a really cute calf. I fed it once. But since I like animals and wide open spaces, it's fun for me.

Despite what I had thought, there are plenty of things to do in Idaho. Last week we went to a pool in Lava Hot Springs and I jumped off a 30-foot high dive. That wasn't as painful as bellyflopping off the 10-foot springboard, though. It knocked the wind out of me and the next morning I woke up with mysterious bruises all over my body. I also helped Brandon's little brother buy $90 of fireworks and set them off. I thought that just Brandon was a pyro, but apparently it runs in the family. Besides that, Brandon and I are planning more trips. We are going to the boobs this weekend (that's what Ryan calls the Tetons now). If I had my kayak with me, I would go to the Salmon river. It apparently has some good kayaking.

Living so close to Brandon's family has been quite a different experience. His brothers and sisters are too young to really understand marriage, so instead of thinking I'm his wife, they think I'm his sister. Last week we were at his family's house for almost three days straight. When we showed up at 11:00 AM instead of 9:00 AM, his brother got mad at us, because we should have been there earlier to do things with them. That was the morning after we got home at 11:30 the previous night. Trying to explain to him that we needed time together was useless, because to him, "time together" includes time with the entire family. On one busy day I had a bit of a meltdown. I went home and refused to do anything else that day and told Brandon that we might as well live with his family considering how much we're over there. I got over it soon enough to go golfing with his family. But we did go home early that night.

Being here has made me do some unexpected things. Suddenly I am the person telling the little kids to get the kittens off the kitchen counter and put them back in the garage. Of course, I mainly do this because Mia carries the kittens around all day and they so obviously hate it, and I am against cruelty to animals. And having them on the counter really is gross. I also get up at 7:30 to go to work with Brandon. Anyone that knows me knows that that I would never get up that early to work. But I do work. I paint handrails and help Brandon do things at the construction site. I have safety goggles and work boots and everything. Nothing but braces has ever made me feel so unattractive.

Anyways, Idaho has been a learning experience. I keep learning more about Idaho, kids, Brandon, and even myself. But the biggest thing I've learned is that you should never, ever live with your in-laws.

Addendum

These were just a few of the wedding pictures I got today. There are seriously more than 700 of them, and they all turned out really well. The photographers gave me (and anyone else) permission to print out any of the pictures, so I will put them on Snapfish. Bexar and Bethany, there are more cute pictures of your kids. There are cute pictures of everyone. I'll be putting the rest up soon!

still more...

more...

Wedding pictures-- finally!

A commanding presence

Something tells me Brandon isn't the bossiest construction supervisor out there. Yesterday, Brandon's mom and I went to the construction site to bring him lunch. We asked some of the workers if Brandon was there. They looked back at us, rather confused.

"Brandon? I don't know any Brandon. Who is he with?"
(I look behind me and see the car that he took to work this morning, so he's obviously here)
Brandon's mom: "He's out here with construction."
worker: "Construction? There's no one from construction here. Oh wait, Bryce dropped off some boy earlier today. Maybe that's who you're talking about. He's inside."

So we walk inside and find Brandon, scraping some cement, hardly being noticed. And I think, "Construction supervisor? Are you serious?"

One more great story

Okay, so Brandon and I have another pretty good story that happened a long time ago. About a year ago, Brandon and I tried going on a road trip with two of our friends. One of them bailed out at the last minute and the other one wanted to go home when we were still in Idaho. So, we had to turn back and abandon our plans of going to Washington. On the way home, Brandon and I had a conversation that went like this:

Brandon: So what do we do now? I still have the week off for work, and I'm definitely not going back to work when I told them I wouldn't be there.

Me: I'm thinking a tour of southern Utah. I've never been to Arches.

Brandon: Okay, let's leave right when we get back.

So we dropped our friend off in Provo, ate dinner, and headed out an hour later for Moab. But we didn't know where we were staying, since we hadn't bothered to look up any campgrounds before we left. (We're smart.) We got to Moab at around 10:30 PM, so it was completely dark. We finally found a little campground and drove in. Then we saw a sign with an arrow which we thought said "Camping, " So we followed the arrow. This took us into a pile of loose sand. We decided to turn around, but the car was stuck. We had to push it out of the sand for about 20 minutes (which wasn't easy, the sand was really deep) and then push it up a very steep hill to get it back out. Brandon had to tell me to take a walk because I was about to cry. I thought we would have to get it towed. Miraculously, we got it out. So we camped out right where we had come in.

In the morning, we decided to take a look at what we had gotten ourselves into the previous night. Daytime revealed that the pile of sand was surrounded by huge rocks. The sign that we thought said "Camping" actually said "Canyon." And worst of all, we missed the sign that said that it was a level-5 offroading trail.

We're special.

But it was one of the best adventures I've ever been on. Brandon is the only person I've met that has my same love for road trips. He told me all about the geology in Arches and what kinds of rocks were there and why. If you ever go to Arches, or any other place with rocks, bring Brandon. It will make it much more interesting.

Spineless

It's time to face it. My entire life I've been told that I have no backbone. I guess the combination of being the bossed-around-youngest-child and a white personality didn't leave me with any chance for being demanding. But everyone talks about it like it's a bad thing. Being in Idaho, I've learned that being completely spineless gives you an amazing flexibility that most people don't have. It's a gift without which I would never make it through this whole experience, so thank you, bossy sisters. I wouldn't be where I am today without you. Literally.

Because would any newlywed with half a spine agree to move to Idaho for a month? No. It would be out of the question. But I did, and I'm glad I did, because I just want to be with little Brandon.

And who else would be okay with living out of a suitcase in a relative's house for two weeks? I'm not sure many other people could handle it, especially when you find out that the house that is supposed to be empty apparently isn't. Right now we are living in Brandon's uncle's house, who is out of town. But yesterday we came home to find the milk gone and a big toy car in the living room. So either one of his cousins moved home for a day, or a baby stormed the house demanding milk and leaving his toys everywhere. I am leaning towards the latter explanation.

And finally, you pretty much can't have any backbone at all when you have to apply for jobs at places like Arctic Circle and Bingham County Store. If I knew how to stand up for myself, I would hold out for a job that actually requires some skills. And I would be very unemployed.

It's not easy being spineless, but it would be much harder for me if I were strong and unyielding.

an update

So it appears that I will be moving to Idaho this weekend.

Go ahead and laugh. I found out last night. Brandon's dad needed him to supervise a construction project in Blackfoot, so that's where we'll be for the next month and a half. We will live in his parent's house for the first couple of weeks (hooray) and after that, the house that his uncle is building should be ready, so we'll live in that (by ourselves).

Hey, it beats living in Vernal in a camper (our other option).

Misadventures of the newlyweds

The honeymoon's over. But after driving 12 hours yesterday, I'm pretty glad to be back. Here are some highlights from our trip:
We accidentally hiked to the top of this dome. If you're wondering how someone could ACCIDENTALLY hike to the top of that, well, it just takes very special people. The best part is that it's really steep and we lost the trail on the way down, and I'm scared of heights.

I was pretty mad here because we also got lost while trying to find this tree. We hiked for three hours before we got to it, and it turned out to be pretty lame. The other giant sequoias were really pretty, though.

Here I'm holding up what I thought was the cone of a giant sequoia. It turns out that sequoia cones are actually much smaller.

This picture is cool:

And Brandon couldn't help but stop and admire the geology.

So far, so good

The weather forecast for next Saturday is:

High: 82
Mostly sunny

Not impressed

When I first booked my reception place, I thought it was great that they referred me to a florist and baker so that I wouldn't have to find my own. I could just tell them what flowers and cake I wanted, and they would do it for me. Sounds convenient. However, I wasn't so impressed with either of them. I like to do my homework before I order something so that I know what I'm asking for. I apparently ended up knowing more than the people I worked with.

For example, my florist told me that it would be impossible to get peonies in June, because they would be "out of season." Any website on the internet will tell you that they peak in early June. Hmmm.

She also didn't know what a nerine was when I requested them for my bouquet. According to Brides magazine, they are a bouquet staple.

Then she told me that stock only came in pink and white. Even the BYU Floral Center sells it in purple, yellow, red, white, and pink. And those are natural colors, not dyed.

My cake was supposed to be included in the cost of my reception. First, the cake maker threw a fit about how hard the cake was going to be. (Cheesecake with a topping and a fondant around it doesn't sound that hard.)

Then she decided to charge a $100 fee for having fondant. Brandon and I made fondant last night; it's not that hard.

Then the cost added up to $500 ABOVE what the reception place covered. For three cheesecakes. So, what did I do? I fired her. And I am now making my own wedding cake, with the help of Brandon's sister (a cheesecake pro-- she makes some of the best cheesecakes I've ever had) and little Brandon himself. And I guarantee I will do it for less than $500.

A rude awakening

I used to be the queen of Chinese Checkers. That was until I met Brandon. I played him once and he said, "You'll probably beat me, because I haven't played in years." Well, I lost. And I have lost all of the times except for once since we started playing together. The score now is something like Brandon:11 Lindsey:1. I dethrone myself.

My fabulous birthday

My birthday was great. In the morning Brandon took me to the Provo Bakery and let me get anything I wanted for breakfast. Then he took me shopping at the mall and bought me some very cute shoes. After that, we went and got a marriage license (mom was happy that I did it on my birthday so that it wouldn't say I was 19). For dinner, we had Greek food and then angel food cake for dessert. I even got him to dance with me afterwards, which is a pretty difficult task.

One of my best birthday presents was finding out that my best friend Jennifer could come to my wedding! I will have a maid of honor after all.

One additional announcement:
Sorry mom, but we decided on el Pastorero for our after-temple lunch. We heard that the Trolley recently raised their prices a lot, and it's pretty far out of the way. But fear not; el Pastorero is very good. It's not overwhelmingly Mexican and doesn't make you feel like you just ate a pound of grease.

Attention family

After the temple on Friday the 6th, we are all going out to lunch with Brandon's parents. Here are a few ideas for places to go for lunch:

Mimi's
P.F. Chang's
Pastorero (has real tacos al pastor and good Mexican food, but Mom might be sick of Mexican food)
the Trolley

You can vote on one of these or suggest another place.

Why?

This is the time of year in Utah when babies start making their first appearances. Since I work at an ice cream/doughnut store (food of choice for new moms), I have seen lots of babies lately. They are adorable. Only one thing confuses me: why do babies have to wear such cheesy clothes? I saw one today that was wearing a shirt that said "Property of mom." Honestly, if I were a baby, I would refuse to wear that. I'd poop on it or do anything to prevent my mom from putting that on me. Let's face it, babies are just miniature adults. Why can't they wear miniature versions of what we wear? True, they can get away with wearing ridiculous amounts of pink, blue, and yellow. No other age group can pull off pastels so well. That's perfectly fine with me. But when I have babies, I am boycotting cheesy clothes. I will also get at least one black outfit for it, just to really throw people off.

Things I learned in Idaho

1. How to pick asparagus. Brandon's little brother showed me. Apparently they have wild asparagus growing by their house, so we had some for dinner.
2. Brandon was a very cute baby. So cute that I won't even be sad if all our kids look like him.
3. Little kids are ball hogs and cheaters. Playing a ball game with Brandon's little sister is kind of like watching her hit a ball to herself.
4. Brandon was a pretty talented little boy. He even said so himself in an essay he wrote when he was 8. "My name is Brandon. My hobbies are arts and crafts. I won third place in an art contest against the United States."
5. Size doesn't always matter in a fight. Brandon kicked his little brother's butt in a wrestling match. He is 5'10", his little brother is 6'2".

Thanks, Annie

I would like to formally thank my new neice Annie for postponing my wedding. I had planned on a May wedding, but when I found out she was coming, I pushed it back to June. That was the best thing I could have done. May 3 (the day originally planned) was cold and windy. Today it was in the 40s and it snowed in the mountains. Apparently we need another month before the weather gets nice. Let's hope June is warm!

cake update

I decided on a three-tiered cheesecake version of this cake. Of course, the design will be blue instead of green, but whatever. What do you think? We are also looking for requests for songs to play at our wedding, because we are almost out of ideas.

Fess up

I don't know how I do it. I lose things all the time. Brandon and I bought a shirt for his sister for the wedding, then we bought another one for her because Brandon wanted her to be in a different color than his other sister. We were going to take back the previous shirt, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Then we realized that the other shirt was missing, too. The interesting thing is that these purchases were made on different days at different stores. The other things we bought with the shirts are still in their bags, only the 2 shirts are missing. I find it really weird that we would lose those shirts but not the other shirts that we bought at the same time. The only thing they had in common was that they were size small. My theory is that there is some size small girl walking around Provo with two brand-new shirts. In that case, she owes me lots of money. Luckily, we found a third shirt for Brandon's sister.

New apartment

Today Brandon and I got the keys to our first apartment. It is HUGE! It's bigger than the entire apartment I share with 4 other girls right now. It has a great big living room, kitchen, and breakfast area, 2 big bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. And it's cheaper than a 1-bedroom apartment at Wymount. It will be hard to move out in the fall. Too bad it's only a spring and summer contract.

For now, Brandon gets to live there all by himself while I am still stuck in this dump. I can't wait to leave.

Rings

Little Brandon and I went ring shopping today. Not for me, but for him. I think there are few concrete objects in the world that shows our personalities more than our rings do. Brandon picked out a black one. It's very him.

Then I was talking to him, and I asked him if he knows about the pictures people take of their rings together. Then I said, "We're not going to do one of those."

Our rings won't match at all. That's okay. I can't wait to show everyone what Brandon chose for himself.

$4.00

This summer I am working 8-hour shifts at Sugar 'n' Spice. It's not as bad as it seems, and here's why. For every 8-hour shift I work, I get a $4.00 meal coupon. Combined with my employee discount ($3 value), I can get anything up to $7.00 for free. This might not sound impressive, but at a store where the majority of the items are under $1, it's great. Today it got me:
2 Minute maid juices
1 mini-loaf of wheat bread
1 honey butter
1 bismarck, although I was stupid and pointed to the lemon one and not the raspberry one
1 strawberry cream cheese croissant
and my favorite, one cup of Graham Canyon ice cream. Yes, it's back, and I'm excited.

Little Brandon and I shared this and we couldn't even finish it together. It was beautiful.

Thanks, Bexar

I would like to thank my wonderful sister Bexar for being the only sibling of mine to RSVP to my wedding. To the rest of you who think you can bypass the system just because you're family, shame on you.

May help reduce the risk

I hate this phrase. It is a rhetorical nightmare. It appears on cereal boxes, advertisements, and many other places. The reason I hate it is that every word in the phrase "may help reduce the risk" diminishes the impact of the argument. If you analyze it word by word, it essentially means nothing:

May: or may not. I'm assuming the word "may" means that you have about a 50% chance that something will happen.
Help: well, this one means that it's not the only contributing factor. If there are just three other factors of equal importance, this one only carries 25% of the weight.
Reduce: this just says that it won't totally eliminate what you don't want, it will just "reduce" it. I'm guessing a good reduction would be something like 30%? Sure.
the risk: Take the risk of heart disease, for example. Various sources on the internet say it affects one in three people, so you already have a 66% chance that nothing will happen to you anyways.

Okay, I'm pretty bad at math, but if you multiply these percentage guestimations, it gives you a 1.24% chance that eating cherrios or wheat thins or what have you will directly affect your heart disease. But of course, the box says to combine it with a healthy diet and excersise anyways. Like I said, this phrase means nothing. It's simply the new catch phrase of the food industry designed to make dumb consumers think their mediocre product is actually healthy. That's why I hate it.

something that made my day

Today little Brandon came up to me and said, "Can we call our first child Baby of the Shady? Because that would be funny."

be prepared to hate me

Two things happened recently:
1. The weather got warmer and I realized how hot it will be in June and
2. I realized that I really don't like my wedding colors.

So, I decided to change them and used the excuse that everyone will be more comfortable in short-sleeved shirts. Don't worry; I was able to return everything I bought before.

And here they are:

Bethany, Bexar, and Fernash get the top; Poodle and Brianna get the bottom. People in the same size can trade. Mom will be in the same dress I already got for her, just a different color.

I know it's a change but these shirts are much cuter. And less hot.

I was seriously considering not telling anyone about the change until they got here. That would have been tons of fun.

a dilemma

There is one decision that I can't seem to make about my wedding. That is my hair color. Two years ago, my hair was this pretty blonde color: Now it's a nondescript light brown (see picture of Brandon and me kissing on the car). I like the blonde more. But, I figure that if I highlight my hair, I will pretty much doom myself to a lifetime of fake hair color. The highlights will grow out and leave roots that I will be tempted to cover up with yet another fake color. What do I do? Do I embrace my dull natural color or commit to being a faker? I need serious advice on this.

Although, if I got any of Dad's genes at all, I will have to start coloring in a few years anyways.

Since you asked so nicely

Brandon, by Lindsey
Lindsey, by Brandon

I thought we should put them out to welcome our guests at our wedding. Then we wouldn't have to stand in a stupid line.

cookbooks

Let me start off by saying that Brandon is a wonderful person for marrying me. Why? I can't cook, and he knows it.

That's not to say that I don't try. I have had a few successes, but it seems that most of my efforts in making a good meal for him fail. I never know what to cook. I get frustrated with the lack of food and the lack of ideas, and he usually ends up making pizza for me.

I feel like this could be remedied with a few good cookbooks. Then I would just have to open a book and find something that looked good. I could get food in advance so that we would actually have things to eat. However, it's been hard to find cookbooks that fit my following stipulations:

1. Lots of pictures. It may be unadventurous, but if I can't see something, it usually doesn't appeal to me.

2. Ingredients that I actually buy. Do you ever find a recipe that looks perfect only to find that it calls for cornish game hen or veal or fennel or brie? I don't even know what half of those things are! Let's stick to chicken and beef, please.

3. Recipes that don't use every dish in my kitchen. I love making pasteis, but they require a pot to boil the milk, a bowl to mix the dough, flour all over my table, a rolling pin, a pot to fry them, a plate to cool them, and a billion paper towels to soak up all the grease. It takes longer to clean up than it does to make them.

If you know of any cookbooks like this, please let me know. I'm really looking for a good main dish book and a breakfast book. Others would be appreciated, too. Bexar, you know you want to help!

like mother, unlike daughter

Mom and I have had this "discussion" lately. Apparently, mom doesn't like my young-and-hip style of taking pictures. I took some engagement pictures and they turned out like this: Plus the one on the header of my blog. You may or may not like them, but I have gotten more compliments on these pictures than ANY picture I've ever had. And I happen to love them.

Mom wanted "face pictures" so I came up with this cheesy thing: And a compromise. I sent the face pictures to all of my relatives, and the cute picture (the one on the blog header) to all of my friends. The rest I just placed randomly in envelopes.

And by the way, doesn't Brandon look handsome all dressed up?

busts

If anyone ever thought that making a bust was easy, they can think again. Brandon and I have started sculpting each other in our ceramics class. They are turning out pretty well, but there are just a few things that have been quite dificult:
1. Getting used to the shape of Brandon's head. My entire life I have lived with a roundish face with no defined cheekbones or jawline. So I originally made Brandon's head that way, only to have to spend another hour on it, sculpting it up into a very thin, defined face.
2. Wet clay collapses. I built Brandon up too fast and his neck started sinking in to his shoulders. I stood there for some time with a blow dryer trying to straighten him up again and harden the clay. He's still a little sunken, but I can fix it.
3. Sculpting someone is more difficult when they are sculpting you at the same time. Once in awhile, Brandon will grab my face so that he can see my profile, eyes, etc. And when I try to look at him, he is constantly looking down at my bust. Not a very good angle.
4. I am bad with proportions. Even when I draw things, I can never get them right unless I trace a light outline. Impossible with busts.
5. Eyes and lips are frustrating. I finished Brandon's mouth, and he looks really angry. It won't help the fact that he naturally has slightly sad-looking eyes.

Even with all this, I've had a ton of fun with this project. I'm excited to post our renditions of each other, hopefully on Thursday.

Proud of my little Brandon

Tonight, little Brandon and I went to his ASCE awards dinner. It's for all the civil engineers that are graduating this year. He got a plaque with his name on it that looks so cute. It has "Civil Engineer" written below his name, too.

By the way, did you know that engineers have the highest percentage of married students at BYU? It seemed like 75% of the people at that dinner were married or engaged. We contribute that to the fact that guys with a high likelihood of good employement right out of college are probably the first pick for girls. Way to go, Brandon. You're a hot commodity.

He also got the award for "Most likely to lose their diploma." This was wrong for a number of reasons. First of all, Brandon doesn't lose things. Brandon leaves things, but he always knows where they are. I think what they meant was "Most likely to have their spouse lose their diploma." That would work.

I also have a very alarming situation. BYU is running out of ice cream. Their ice cream supplier has moved locations and won't have their machines up and running for possibly another YEAR. Obviously, this is not acceptable. We are out of all the good kinds already... cookie dough, graham canyon, marionberry, cherry limeade sherbet. I protested to our managers today and told them to get a new supplier.

It's a conspiracy.

I say this because there is no other reason I can think of for which I would have to write SIX essays this week. I only have FIVE classes, so that's more than one per class. I'm pretty sure my teachers have all gotten together and planned this out so that I will quite literally be dead by the end of this week.

swoon

Even if I had an ugly dress, and an ugly bouquet, and my cake tasted like crap, I would still be happy just because I found this necklace and earring set. It was HALF OFF too!

So I added the bottom lace layer to my dress, and I think I like it just like this.

But it is supposed to look like this when it's done. I don't know whether to leave it or add the extra stuff. What do you think? Disclaimer: pictures don't do this dress justice. It looks really pretty in person.

Brandon and I also found a place to live for the summer. It's a 2-bedroom condo, and the rent is even cheaper than a 1-bedroom at Wymount. We are going to sign a contract in 20 minutes. Hooray!

stupid provo weather

Last year was perfect. I remember the trees and flowers being in full bloom by the end of the semester. I started wearing shorts in February, and the warm weather stayed on till summer. This year is quite the opposite. The winter wasn't too bad, but it lingered. The trees and grass have stayed brown and ugly. Quite unfortunate when you have to take engagement pictures by the end of this week. (It's a bit early, but Brandon is sending invitations to Australia, so we have to get them done fast.) We walked up and down the Provo river today and there were no pretty picturesque spots; only a dreary landscape that could have been in a Tim Burton movie. So on our way home I decided to drive down Center Street and Brandon pointed out some historic buildings. Soon we got lost in the architecture and back alleys of Provo, and decided to take our engagement pictures there. It could work, right? Slightly edgier than the normal trees-and-mountain scene, but it could work. Take that, nature. We are officially fighting. I was going to include you in my wedding invitation, but you had to be selfish and ugly. You have lost that privilege.

busts

For my next ceramics project, I have to do a bust. It also has to be of someone I know and it must include an object or symbol that represents the person. So, I thought of some ideas that I could do that would be fun.

Dad, wearing a huge sombrero, possibly with a mexistache.
Mom, with a stethoscope. And a box of chocolates.
Bethany holding a uterus in one hand. It was the most appropriate thing I could come up with, considering her profession.
Brother, holding a Texas flag.
Poodle, with a poodle.
I couldn't think of anything good for Fernash since a mouth is already included.
Bexar, with a rolling pin, and a baby, and she would probably be laughing.

Brandon wants us to do each other so that we can put the busts on our fireplace when we're old.

Invitation

I am also including a card with directions to the reception place.
Please critique.

one more reason she is cool

My roommate was talking about pi day last week, and I told her that I had no idea what that was. So, astonished, she looks at me and says:
Don't you ever go into the math building?!?!?!

dad appreciation day

It was my dad's birthday last week. I remembered. I even remembered out loud to all of my friends. What I did NOT remember to do was to be a good daughter and call him on his birthday. So to make up for it, I compiled a list of 10 reasons my dad is... the bad.

1. He thinks he's mexican. Seriously.
2. He requested to play "Free Bird" at my wedding.
3. He refers to himself as "graytop."
4. He once painted our entire deck red, thinking he was staining it.
5. He snagged my mom, and she is the bomb.
6. He makes the best fajitas I've ever had.
7. He was Coop Dog's favorite person in the world. If Cooper liked him, he HAS to be cool.
8. He once got in trouble for playing bouncy-ball with me at Target.
9. He will stay awake all night just to smoke a good brisket. He can't, however, say the same about church.
10. He has 6 kids that all turned out relatively normal, and 3 grandkids that are awesome.

Happy late birthday, graytop.

Some pluses to living in Provo

1. The new mexican restaurant that has REAL tacos al pastor. It should be the new Cafe Rio.
2. BYU Rugby. So much more brutal than football, and the games don't take 3 hours like football games do. One of the players always orders a double scoop of rocky road ice cream from me, too.
3. A new appreciation for Cosmo. Mascots might be annoying in general, but I'm pretty sure ours is the only one who can break dance.
4. Geology. For a project our class is ordering pizza and watching Jurassic Park and doing presentations on what is or isn't true about various aspects of the movie. One group was even assigned the topic of "the scoop on poop: what we can learn about dinosaur poop." When he gave the assignment, my teacher told the group, "don't just give me a bunch of crap on this one!" He's pretty cool.

More roommate troubles

I have another roommate who isn't so fun to live with. The problem with her is that she is a gas. By this I mean that she expands to fill ALL available space. She is the only person in our apartment with a private bedroom. However, about a month ago she stopped sleeping in her room and started sleeping on the beanbag chair in our living room. She also has a hobby of watching TV REALLY loudly. This is annoying at many times, such as when at 7:45 AM my last minutes of sleep are ruined by the sound of the TV, or when at 11:00 PM I have to do my homework in the living room (because my roommate is alseep in my room) and I can't concentrate for the same reason. The worst, though, happened last night. Brandon and I were in the living room when she came home and put in a movie. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie we found out that it was about a sick old man who tries to make a porn film. Brandon and I got up and went into the kitchen, but that still wasn't far enough away. And the whole time I was thinking, "Why should I have to leave my own apartment? Doesn't she know that I don't have my own room, and even if I did, I couldn't go in there with Brandon? How can she feel justified in taking the only place that we can be and filling it with trash, especially if she has her own room?" Still, we left. One good thing about it was that it gave us something to unite against and talk about for an hour. If anyone expected me to get cold feet before my wedding, my roommates are sure making that impossible.

How I almost had a meltdown today

Who am I kidding, I DID have a meltdown today. I know I promised everyone pictures of my dress, but I can't find the file transfer cord to my camera.

But that wasn't the problem. I went to try my dress on today. I had asked the lady to take the ugly belt off the hips on my dress because it made the dress a drop-waist dress, and I already have a really long torso. When I saw my dress, the belt was off but there was a BIG UGLY SEAM where the belt once was. Suddenly, the vision of my dream dress was fading away and one of an ugly 80's style dropwaist dress was appearing. So I consulted little Brandon. We grabbed a sash and it lifted the waist a little, but it still looked a bit awkward. We searched with no luck through David's Bridal and Joanns to find sashes or fabric that could help. Finally, I remembered a picture in a magazine and I had an idea:
They use lace as a backdrop for this sash. I'm not going to cover my whole dress with burgundy lace, so don't get scared. But I did find some that matched my dress and can cover the seam and allow me to lift the waist. Problem: solved.

old and new pictures

Fruit monsters: our first ceramics project. Mine is the lemon-mango-pomegranate, Brandon's is the peach-artichoke-coconut. I'm excited to have our next project fired, it will look much nicer.

Brandon and Chris measuring out the walls for our gingerbread house. It got much bigger than that (2- story, accurately pitched roof, etc.)

I made the mistake here of telling Brandon to do his hair. If you don't tell him exactly how you want him to do his hair, you get this.

Another high point of this week was going on a geology field trip. I got to see my teacher accidentally break a rib off of an allosaurus. He also took us into the back where they keep all of the real bones, and Brandon and I got to help chip rock off of one of them. It made me feel pretty cool.

Brandon also taught me how to throw people. He likes to teach me everything he learns in his jujitsu class, but this is by far my favorite. I can't wait to practice on Ashley.

And finally, we had a soccer game on Saturday. Some kid ran into my face and gave me a nosebleed. That made me feel cool too.

Advice for single guys

If a girl is wearing a diamond on her left ring finger, you probably shouldn't offer to buy her breakfast. It will make her really uncomfortable, even if you're just being nice.

Should it bother me...

Should I be scared that for an hour today I was seriously considering hiring a mariachi band to play at my reception?

I think I'm turning into Dad.

One of these...

Except the last one is also in green, not orange. I think Bexar got the top, Bethany, Poodle, and Brianna got the middle, and Fernash got the bottom. But I can't remember who got light or dark green.

But no matter what you got, you only have 2 options for skirt, so I don't know why it's so important anyways.

i have them!

Dearest sisters,
I bought your shirts for my wedding today. All you need to bring is a black or off-white skirt. I will have your shirts here for you when you come in June.

the oddball roommate

I have this roommate. I like her because she is the only one in the apartment who still hangs out with Brandon and me. The only thing is, nobody seems to understand her. She is one of the only people I know that has absolutely no need for attention. And that bothers alot of people. So her lack of a need for attention seems to bring more attention to her, because people are fascinated with her.

Like the boy who burns her CDs that she can dance to and comes over every week to teach her how to dance, even though she so obviously hates it. Tonight she told me, "Maybe I should force him to practice my hobby with me. I could invite him over to do math problems. Or stare at walls." And it's true, because besides eating ice cream, those are her two main hobbies.

Or my other roommate's boyfriend. He's loud, and it bothers him so much that she's content listening to conversations instead of participating in them that he makes it a point to try and get her to talk. Which shouldn't be that hard, because she talks to Brandon and me all the time. She just prefers talking about how synthetic diamonds are made to talking about football.

Or my roommates themselves. I don't know how many times they've dragged her along on their escapades, dressed her up, or educated her on pop culture. They don't seem to get that she doesn't care about 90s grunge music or which boy thinks she's cute. Not all pretty girls want to date every boy they meet.

Sometimes, I think people need to let the smart, quiet people be smart and quiet. They're not that quiet if you don't try to force it out of them.

Valentine's day

When Brandon and I got engaged, I started getting excited for this Valentine's day. I have to admit that even when we first started dating, I would imagine Valentine's day with him because he is amazingly talented at doing nice things. I would be the envy of every girl I know, and I would love it.

Until I realized that this Thursday, I have work/class from 8:45-7:00. And Brandon goes to work at 10:00.

A three-hour Valentine's day? This is so disappointing.

I will be wearing black all day to bitterly mourn my ruined day and to make it clear that Valentine's day is officially postponed.

I am SOOO dumb

On Wednesday, I called Brandon to see where he was. I hung up, and about 5 minutes later I saw him. He was on the phone and when he saw me he said, "It's for you." So I took the phone. My conversation went something like this:
me: hello?
other person: hello?
me: um, what's up?
other person: um, what's up?
me: are you copying me?
other person: are you copying me?
me: okay, this is so not funny.
other person: okay, this is so not funny.
me: maybe a 5-year-old would think it's funny, but I don't. so stop.
other person: maybe a 5-year-old would think it's funny, but I don't. so stop.
me: fine, you can talk to Brandon again.

So I hand the phone to Brandon, and he hangs up and says, "do you know who you were talking to?"
And I said no.
"You were talking to yourself."
Apparently, my phone doesn't recognize when I shut it, so my phone never hung up. I was hearing the echo from my phone on Brandon's phone. And getting mad at it.
I'm dumb.

it is declared

After 8 months of knowing I wanted to major in Spanish, I finally declared a Spanish major. I was a little worried because I won't be able to complete the foreign residency requirement. But, after 5 minutes of telling me how important it is to have foreign residency experience in the major, my advisor finally said, "Well, I guess if you're getting married, we can't force you to. It won't stop you from graduating." I thanked him and assured him that I would have done a study abroad if I were not getting married. So now I have 3 more classes to finish before I am DONE with the major. It won't be so fast, because I have to finish a minor and generals as well. But I should be graduating after Spring semester in 2009. After that I have 2 options:
1. Find a post-bachelor's degree teaching program and do student teaching for a 1-2 years in Spanish, or
2. Be a bum. Sounds really fun, but I don't think Brandon would like it.

the skirt

Mom and I have voted to get everyone this skirt, which y'all can wear with the shirt of your choice for the wedding. But no brown. That means you, Ashley.

This is another option, just get something to put over it.

oh Waggie

Today my grandma took me shopping for quilt fabric. I have to say, I was very polite. She started picking up old lady floral fabrics and showing me how pretty they were. Luckily, I managed to escape with a nicer blue and green one. She also couldn't come to terms with the fact that I only wanted a full, not a queen, quilt. She kept asking how much a queen size quilt would take despite the fabric store ladies' advice that a full would be MUCH easier. It was quite a fun experience. And I really am very excited about this quilt, because it will be cute.

all done!

Brandon and I booked the photographers today, which means we are done with wedding planning. All we have to do is order invitations and finish all the little details that are still there. I am VERY happy to have all of it done.

little brandon is the best

I just remembered that I forgot to blog about how great my little Brandon is. This summer, I was in Mexico for 4 weeks. He picked me up from the airport after I got back. When he saw me come down the escalator, he was on the phone with his dad. He hung up on his dad right when he saw me (without saying bye) and jumped on me vicariously for Ashley. He waited with me for more than 1/2 hour for my bags, which we later found out had been off the carousel for some time, and we just didn't notice them because we were too busy looking at each other like dumb little lovers. I got into the car to find homemade pizza on my seat because he knew I would be hungry after flying all day. He also gave me 28 roses (one for every day I was gone) and had our favorite song playing in the car.

And he does things like that all the time, because he's the best.

yummy

I was looking at elegantcheesecakes.com today for wedding cakes and I came upon this. With a few changes, it could work.

a decision... for reals

I'd like to congratulate myself on being on a roll this week. I finally figured out what I want! This is the official color that everyone gets to wear. I even picked out the flowers, but no one can see those yet. If you get a skirt or shirt in this color, you can wear it with black or off-white. (I know brown would look cuter, but we're going with black.) If you can't find a dress in this color and you want a dress, too bad. You'll just have to wear a skirt like everyone else.

PS Ann Taylor has some shirts in this color. If you find any other stores with this color, let me know, please.

And then I bought something wonderful

I think Poodle's magentism towards good deals transferred to me today. I've looked at wedding dresses and been disappointed every time-- mostly because dresses in Happy Valley are really poofy, and they swallow all 62 inches of me. I considered getting a wedding dress custom made and it turns out that it would cost at least $900 for something really simple. In a last-ditch effort to find something affordable, I went dress shopping today. And I got one for $200. How do you get a wedding dress for $200, you might ask? Simple-- it was a prom dress. It was ivory, satin, and when you take off the ugly belt, gorgeous. And yes, you can make fun of me for buying a prom dress for a wedding dress.I also got these shoes to go with it for $30. Not a great deal, but cheaper than the almost identical ones at DSW.

We just discovered something wonderful

Yesterday, I came over as little Brandon was watching Fists of Fury. He had the movie on mute while his music played on his computer. Then we discovered pretty much the greatest thing ever:

Bruce Lee fight scene+ the song "You sexy thing"= REALLY FUNNY.

It's almost perfectly choreographed. The durations of the song and the scene align very precisely. If you time it exactly right, you even get Bruce Lee screaming along to the music. Being the nerds that we are, we watched it at least 3 times. Beautiful.

making rugs

I think that I should learn how to make rugs, because I really want this rug, but it is $600.
Luckily, I'm taking a ceramics class, so I actually can make these vases. Mine will definitely look better.

Recipes

Until I get paid, I have tomato sauce, potatoes, penne, and $3 to live on. Anyone have recipes with these 3 ingredients?

My days, these days

This winter semester is going to be much busier than the fall. Since I'm getting married, and I realized that getting married is really expensive, and I officially have $0 in my bank account, I now have to work every day as opposed to just a TTH shift. There are ups and downs to life right now, though.

Ups:
I only work for 3-4 hours at a time, which is great, considering my attention span.
My classes are fun, and Brandon tutors me on Geology.
Brandon, of course.

Downs:
I figured out today that the only furniture stores of any size in Utah are RC Willey and IKEA. Since Brandon used to work construction, he likes to point out all the reasons why their furniture is crappy.
I can clean the kitchen and it will magically be dirty again in a few hours.
My roommate left her curling iron on for 8 hours and left it by the computer, and I just put my hand on it.
I lost yet another cell phone. Brandon can attest to the fact that I only keep it in one of two places, so I'm not sure how this happened. Hopefully it turns up on Monday.