Lingerie Shopping and a Mattress

Tuesday, December 1- I shopped for lingerie with Meredith so that she could give it to me at my bridal shower on Saturday. The deciding question, "If you saw me in this, would you want to have sex with me?" A definite yes. Done. Andrew and I shopped for a mattress and bought one. It is a Simmons queen sized beautyrest pictured above. I thought I would leave out the picture of the lingerie. Anyway, that was one of those, "oh we're really getting married" moments.

Thanksgiving in Oregon

Sunday, November 29-Last Monday we finished all the invitations and Andrew worte the names in Calligraphy with his pen from the Calligraphy class he took in Middle School. Haha! That night we saw Andrew's cousin in a high school production of Aida. That brought back good memories and it was fun to be with Andrew's family and extended family. We attended Meredith's choir concert. Tuesday we got up and lef at 6 AM to go to Oregon for the Thanksgiving break. We drove 13 hours and hit some icy paths but arrived safely. Joy was impressed by Andrew's height and how handsome he is in person. Wednesday Quin did tons of free dental stuff for us. We got our teeth cleaned and he fixed up a cavity for me. We both got chairside whitening and sat for an hour with a crazy magical crystal glowing on our teeth. After giving us trays for whitening, our teeth are gonna look fabulous on our wedding day. It was so generous of Quin. It was cool to see him in dentist mode and at work. Their home is really cool even though they felt it wasn't presentable. They have fixed it up so much and cleared out so much land. What hard workers. We all shared one bathroom. Yeah! We watched movies every night including Twilight so that Andrew could be prepared for our date to see New Moon. Thanksgiving morning we shot shotguns and handguns on some property of a friend of Quins. Andrew loved it and Meredith connected with her inner FBI agent. It was so fun to shoot and Quin's friend Dave was so generous with his ammo and time showing us how to use the guns. Andrew shot a semi-automatic and it was really sexy. I had to pee in the woods:( Oregon was so pretty with the fog, cold, trees, and mountains. I think you just need a positive attitude in dark places. We ate a wonderful meal consisting of Turkey, stuffing, acorn quash with cinnamon and sausage, and biscuits. We talked about Joy and Quin's courting and early marriage as well as our own (minus the early marriage stage). They enjoyed getting to know Andrew and love him. Friday we took a super cool trip to a state park in California where we saw amazing giant Redwood trees. Meredith was taking tons of pictures with her new camera and the forest was just old and gorgeous. The kids were adorable. Noelle played drawing games with us and Tian is just so sensitive and sweet. Joy and Quin fed us the whole time and took such good care of us. It was a wonderful vacation and totally worth the long drive. I love vacations because I don't worry about any other obligations and I can focus all my attention on Andrew. He is my favorite person and knows me so well. He would do anything to make me feel comfortable and happy. If I every feel unhappy, just being with him makes everything all better.

I Am So Blessed To Have You

Friday, November 20-Last Saturday Andrew and I competed in Dancesport, the triple Swing. We got to quaterfinals but we were too late to compete. We watched the hott professionals. Sunday Andrew read me his journal from last Fall/Winter. I love the way he writes. He is so eloquent, romantic, and creative. We just looked into each other's eyes and told each other how much we love each other. I cried because I love him with all my heart and am so so blessed to have him. Monday we found the tuxedo. Wednesday we went to see Savior of the World with Meredith. Shanti was Mary and she was phenomenal. We signed the contract with Cambridge Court! Last Friday we played volleybal but with walls. We were with Bethany and her boyfriend and afterwards we made yummy smoothies.

We Found Housing!

Friday, November 13- We visited Meredith on Sunday and watched "Marley and Me." Wednesday we fasted for housing. We had looked at a lot of options and decided that we have to spend more to get what we want. We like a place that isn't a basement, dimly lit , grungy, or spider infested. It felt good when I looked into living at Cambridge Court. I turned in an application on Thursday and saw the apartment. It looked so great and Andrew loved it too. We want to have a place to come home to that invites the spirit, that we love coming home to and is enjoyable to live in. It is a priority to us and so we will do what it takes to make it happen. We are not paying an over the top price, just 30$ more than the average around here. We have sent out our invitations.

This a collage of all of it.

I got the wedding dress back today and it is so perfect and gorgeous. Debbie helped me with the veil. I am using part of Joy's veil. Today was just such a positive, excited day for marriage. Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking about hard stuff and the preparation, but then other days I focus on how amazing it will be to be with Andrew and all the bliss after school is done so that we can enjoy vacation and marriage covenants. I presented his ring to him on an accidently dropped tres leches and asked him to marry me. He thought it was cute. We sat down and budgeted and somehow Andrew was surprised at how much money we won't have. He was discouraged about finances, which is our least favorite thing to deal with and our weakest point in marriage prep. We will be fine though because we will try our best to work, always have support in family, and will always pay tithing and live righteously. The Lord will provide a way.

Couldn't We Just Cuddle This Time?!

Saturday, November 7- I like weddings because they bring people together. I talk to my sisters every week, my grandpa calls me and my cousin calls to tell me she is moving to Utah and getting baptized. I guess I am maturing to a new stage in life and people can relate to me more, plus people are so excited for this new life I am creating with Andrew. I bought Andrew's ring and it is so attractive. Monday we went hot tubbing for FHE. Best idea ever. Andrew and I talked about how to deal with any issues of men wanting sex more often than women and it got very emotional. It really worries him and I assured him it will not be a problem. In fact my goal is to want sex so much that he will need to ask me if maybe we could just cuddle this time. I put him at ease. I went to the gynecology nurse and got a papsmear, pelvic exam, and breast exam. It was not horrible and really great to know that I am physically ready for sex. I started birth control on the Nuva Ring which is really easy. I don't expect the hormones to affect me and make me go crazy. I bought hot bridesmaid dresses and Andrew paid for our wedding night and the next night at a local Bed and Breakfast.

Batman Symbol Pumpkin Carving

Tuesday October 27- Last week we bought pizza and watched Grey's Anatomy to wind down after a busy day for Andrew. Tuesday we went to my freshman ward reunion and then took the truck and equipment back to the owners. Tiring. I had a dress fitting where I tried on a mock jacket. I have lost inches in my waist and hips in the past 2 months and she will need to alter that part of the dress. I didn't know I had gotten results from working out. How exciting. The other day I was very successful in my oral exam with a very difficult respectable professor. She told me I will be a good example of speaking french for my students. She doesn't just hand out compliments so i was really excited. She repeatedly told me that Andrew is very handsome. Friday night we carved a batman symbol on a pumpkin with other engaged couples. Just a little Halloween pumpkin carving tradition. The night Andrew talked to me after FHE was the night we carved pumpkins and he really liked that I carved a Batman symbol into mine. Saturday we saw some of our engagement pictures and screamed with extreme joy and outrageous satisfaction. They are incredible and everyone absolutely loves them. So many people have told us that they are the best engagement photos they have every seen. We hung out with Meredith and had a tie-dye party and watched Rat Race to celebrate her birthday. We had dinner with Andrew's co-workers and worked on gathering addresses. Monday we saw Frankenstein at a theater with Debbie. Today I spaced and didn't get a test done on time. Luckily the professor didn't mind since it was e-mailable. I never make mistakes like that and Andrew was glad to see that I am a normal human after all. He is always able to make me feel better. He doesn't try to solve the problem but just tells me how amazing and beautiful and successful, etc that I am, which helps me feel less of a failure.