Goals

Last night we talked about goals. Our personal goals and family goals. I think we came up with a couple of good ones to start working on. For example I want to finish a 10K by this time next year. Corey would like to be done with school within his 5 year goal. As a family we would like to have a decent savings account within 10 years.

I also want to make a 23 things to do when I am 23 list by my birthday and start knocking them off. Any ideas?

Am I Type A?

I decided to take a test. I was a little worried that I may possibly be that type of person people are a little afraid of. (The fact that I worry about that had me worried too)

I found out I'm in the middle but more on the A type side. Here's what the test said about me:

You seem to be in the middle between the Type A and Type B personality. In this case, the middle ground is good. Your attitude to life is more of the "smell the roses" kind and you know how and when to relax. Nonetheless, you realize that picking up a challenge and competing a little bit for your place in the sun can add some spice to your life. The equilibrium is important, so don't let your hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego take over too often. Generally, you are easy to be around, and people tend to feel relaxed and comfortable in your presence. Yours is a very healthy attitude towards life.

The equilibrium is important, so don't let your hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego take over too often.

That's why people should be afraid of me. I make people feel relaxed and comfortable in my presence and then I attack them with my hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego.

Be aware that my Type A side has problems with time, money, and dirt.

You've been warned.

Date Night

My goal is to have a date night every Friday. If not Friday then once a week. I'm not picky about these dates either. Spending little to no money and having dinner as a picnic in the living room while watching a movie is perfectly fine with me. (This is my plan for tonight's date.)

Lately we haven't been great at planning a date or even planning an evening together. Yes, we are together every night but life sometimes gets in the way. Soon we are too behind in homework, work, and chores to slow down for an activity together.

Tonight is girls' night and I was starting to get a little bummed about it since tonight is the one good night this week to have a date. No worries since Super Hubby Mr. H is to the rescue. I will get home from work and we'll go to the gym together, followed by girls' night, and back for dinner and a movie with the hubby. Love it!

Remember to slow down every once in a while. Have any good date night ideas for you and the hubby?

Bathroom Story: Feeling Faint

Hello.

A couple of days ago I almost passed out in the shower. It got to hot so I opened the window and shut off the water. Immediately things began to swim, I felt my legs get weak and knew I needed to get out of the tub before I fell. Mr. H handed over my towel and I stumbled to our bedroom, hitting every door frame before I fell onto the bed.

I was scared and didn't know what was going on, I panicked and couldn't breathe.

Fun little experience that was. I stayed on the couch for the most part of the night.

Hello Winter.

See?? It doesn't roll off the tongue like hello spring or even hello summer. I woke up with this outside my window this morning.

Bathroom Story: Ed

Remember Ed from the Lion King? His only job was to laugh.

Alright. So I am super busy at work. Super busy. So busy in fact I don't realize how badly I have to use the restroom. I quickly run down stairs (because the restrooms on our floor are taken over by an autism school and we cannot use them). So I am downstairs in the nicer restroom. What makes it a nicer restroom? One person restroom not a group of stalls.

Almost as soon as I get in I am bombarded by some sort of banging on the door. Not a knocking but more of a hitting. Followed by Virgil (a resident -not the doctor type- who is very popular amongst my coworkers). I'm not sure what Virgil said but what ever it was it was funny because he was followed by Ed the laughing hyena.

I exited the restroom and had to maneuver my way around a mop bucket (the source of the first noise), Then around Virgil and his friend Ed.

I'm so confused right now. I don't know if I will be able to get back on task here in the office.

Go ahead and laugh. I would if I wasn't so confused.

I hit my head.

Not just once. I hit my head at least once a day. No joke. Last week most of them were in restrooms. Ready for a good story?

The first one I hit the back of my head while my head was upside down. Let me explain. I have a short attention span sometimes. Just sometimes. I was in a work restroom and notice a picture on my pants button. I was trying to figure out what it was and lost my balance! Since I was

hunched over looking at my button I fell forward into the wall.

Yes. That really happened.

It made me realize there are a lot of funny or awkward bathroom stories. Not the gross ones we don't want to hear about!

Because of this epiphany I've decided to start a new series on our blog. Not sure about what direction it will take but it will be all about awesome bathroom stories. They will be funny and they will be awkward. Love it!

Blogging from bed.

Can it get any better than that? It's a stiff morning for me, meaning my back doesn't want me to stand up straight. I did try and get up this morning as Mr. H was leaving for work but ended up back in bed for a bit.

Instead of sleeping the day away I decided to get some blogging in. And maybe write that talk I am giving tomorrow in Church.

It's been a long week but the hubby and I survived. Last night we decided to watch a movie while eating a Chili's dinner to go to relax a bit before diving into studying for his mythology test. Mr. H was hit hard this week by midterms. I think he had three but it might have been four.

Our Mornings of Late

Lately we've been getting up late. And by we I mean me. My typical morning this week has been hit snooze at 5:30, again at 5:40 except this time hitting dismiss and resetting my alarm for 6:30. Alarm at 6:30, snooze, snooze, snooze. All while Mr. H sleeps through it. Lucky.

So now I sit at work tired and no longer a morning person. This is what the cold weather does to me.

Crickets

I went to a four hour accounting review with Mr. H. Yep 4 hours. You might know that Stephanie Nielson from nieniedialogues.blogspot.com is speaking at BYU on Sept. 30th. Last night, for some reason, was Sept. 30th in my mind. I went to the first little but of the review and then went to the ballroom to listen to her speak only to find she wasn't there. Instead it was still set up for the job fair.

I went back to accounting, played on my laptop, made some poor guy very uncomfortable and managed to learn nothing from the review. I came into work today and told my story and our accountant asked what the review covered. ... ... nope I've got nothing. The only thing I could think of was ma

rginal cost and benefit which is what Mr. H's econ lesson was on last week.

I must have really liked marginal costs and benefits.

Post Cards

Dear Reader,

I have to label over 4,000 post cards for work. Last night a got about half done in 3 hours. It's nice because I will get the extra hours and be able to take time off on Friday when the in-laws come into town for mission reunions and General Conference.

I'm really excited for Conference this year. Not that I haven't been in the past but this year a lot has changed. I graduated, got married, and got a full time job all in a couple of months time. Those are some BIG changes and now I get the chance to get a little (ok I need a lot) guidance and direction. I feel like a kid at Christmas waiting to find out what's under the tree. I've never had that feeling about Conference before.

Mr. H and I woke up this morning very tired. Mr. H has had a lot of homework to catch up on and I've been dealing with a health issue that makes me tired and sadly a bit grouchy. Joy. I feel behind. I'm not behind in blogging though. I've kept up pretty well with this blog and just started another. {From the Wanna Bee} The new blog has helped me keep up with writing and all of my many goals.

Love,

Brad Paisley!!

Mr. H and I had an amazing weekend. It started with a Brad Paisley concert Friday night. We went with the B Family (Mr. H's boy friend). We had some amazing padded seats right in front of the lawn. We had a perfect spot for both the concert and the great display of public drunkenness.

Brad Paisley was pretty much awesome. Darius Rucker opened for him (Hootie and the Blow Fish). I'm now a new fan of his.

Saturday Mr. H and I slept in. Lovely! We then washed cars and went to the football game. We waited out the traffic at the B family's home (we really like the B family).

Sunday we again got to sleep in. We went to church then I came home to cook dinner and clean up while Mr. H went and visited some church people. We had what family we do have in the area over for dinner. There was PS3, haircuts and lots of laughs going on at our house (and dinner of course).

Mr. H finished up the weekend doing a little homework while I snoozed on the couch. I couldn't help it, my eyes would not stay open. I woke up and thought about the hair from the haircut on the kitchen floor (then fell back asleep), I woke up and thought about going to bed (and went back to sleep). Mr. H took care of the hair for me (how sweet he is) and I finally got myself to bed.

The End,

Mrs. H and her to do lists

I'm a little OCD about lists. Just a little. Ok no lie, I love lists. I have them all over my desk at work, I have them for cleaning the house, for things I want to get done everyday, for things coming up that need to get done, for everything.

Lately I've been working on a household binder. I know it's just Mr. H and I but I'm hoping to have it perfected by the time our family grows. Also, I am hoping to get some help on some of the household chores from Mr. H. I'm so sneaky!

Do you have lists or household binders? Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

Here is my daily to

do list (it's pretty basic):

My Daily Task List

£ Wake Up

£ Prayer and Scripture Study

£ Make Lunches

£ 5 Minute Maintenance

£ Make Breakfast

£ Get Dressed

£ Gather work items + lunch + snacks

£ Go home and get gym things ready

£ Go to gym

£ 5 Minute Maintenance

£ Cook Dinner

£ Shower

£ Time w/ Corey + Rest

£ Prayer and Bed

Can I have a friend over?

A question you may hear from your son or daughter but I hear it from Mr. H. Ok so he didn't exactly ask that question.

The story:

We normally have people over every Sunday for dinner or movies or games. I really wanted a break and therefore took it. I didn't clean house on Saturday knowing I wouldn't need it clean for guests the next day, I only got enough food for two and I had big plans for a nap. BIG plans.

I did get my nap (a 2 hour nap)...I love naps! When Mr. H and I woke up I asked him how he felt if I made peach cobbler and we invited the B family over. Mr. H got very excited and said he would get all of his homework done. A look of question came over my face and he said, "Because I get to have a friend over!"

Mr. H then explained that I am his best friend but Mr. B is his boy---friend. Poor Mr. B.

Needless to say the house is now clean and we are waiting for the arrival of the B family with the smell of sugary peach cobblerness.

* Peaches provided by the L family. Lots and lots and lots of peaches.

Funny Friday

Our week has been killer. We've been up early for work and school and then up late for the same reason. I've been too tired to do dishes everyday resulting in 2 or 3 sink loads of dishes to do on the days I feel a little more put together. Sometimes you just have those weeks.

That's why I wish I had a dog like Harvey...

School

I am glad I don't have to go to class but I do feel a tad bit for Corey who is taking Econ and Acc in the same semester. Probably not the best of ideas but I think he is up for the challenge. He's two weeks in now and I can tell it's starting to get to him. He wants to hang out with the guys and go to all of the games but he's going to have to pick his battles.

He's also taking Greek and Roman lit and currently reading the Iliad. I get to read it with him and even go to his class on Fridays. Love that! His teacher is a nut but I kinda understand that...because I am probably just as much of a nut for mythology. But anyway,

My current projects are refinishing a dresser and mirror acquired for free, finishing a couple of photo shoot edits, and keeping the apartment clean. The last one seems to be never ending so therefore the first two have been put on the back burner but hopefully I will be able to get on those soon. Very excited to post the latest engagement shoot (jeslynphotography.blogspot.com). Tanna and Joe were just absolutely gorgeous!

Well that's our life in a nutshell. More soon.

Lake Powell

Corey's been waiting for the Lake Powell trip since last year's Lake Powell trip. This would be his first year bringing a girl (as far as I know), first year being married, first year back since Dustin went on his mission...lot's of firsts.

Now Powell has come and gone and I can report we had a blast. Corey had a few hard hits on the water but still had fun.

The trip kicked off with an awesome surprise. We met up with the CO troop in Green River where Matt and Kyle hid in the boat to scare Corey.

A week of mysterious rain storms, all day boating, cards and food is awesome but we were happy to finally sleep in a real bed...that didn't rock back and forth.

Jammin'

I made strawberry jam on Saturday!

I thought it was going to be really hard but after some research I decided it was within my skill level. I was pleased to find that it is actually a LOT easier than I had expected. I'm hoping to mix and match different flavors.

Let me know if you have any ideas or have seen any interesting jams.

New Goal

I tried losing weight for the wedding.

Didn't work.

Now I am once again trying to lose weight. What will be different this time you ask...

I have a cash incentive from work.
I have help from my fellow coworkers with motivation and tips.

I have a husband who is helping me too.

I have a gym at work I can use for free.

I am eating healthy.

And lastly:

I have now posted it here so I have more drive to shed those unwanted pounds.

I now weigh (according to Dean's scale) 153. Yep I know...ouch.

To get the cash prize at work I need to lose 10% (15 pounds).

That puts me at a goal weight of:

135

This is Jes by the way...

Homemaking ...

I have my kitchen nicely decorated in red and black. The bathroom is yellow and green and both turned out nicely. I also have assigned color schemes to the other rooms in the apartment but both the living room and bedroom are not looking like they have any color coordination at all. This makes me sad.

So I decided I wanted a coffee table that gave the living room more color. I also need to just concentrate on one room at a time or I will become a crazy decorating whirl wind (no comment to those who think I already am.)

Yesterday I got Corey to take me to IKEA to get said coffee table but me being the tightwad that I am I did not want to make the purchase.

Corey talked me back into it and poof...we have color!

(light blue and dark brownish black)

It's kinda big, I know, it is also 4 different tables so we can make it smaller if we want.

Our First Holiday!

Fourth of July was our first holiday as a married couple and we had Corey's family with us. I love being a little hostess and make people sleep in my bed. (Since the Humrich's made Corey sleep on the couch when I would visit CO) 

We had a blast with them in town!

We checked out the Freedom Festival for the first time since I've lived in Provo.

We had yummy food.

We hiked the Y.

And we were pooped by the end of the weekend. 

Blessings

I am now an event coordinator/territory manager for WhyTry.  They are an organization that runs training on their dropout prevention program. There are so many blessings that come with this job, I am so thrilled. I love the people, I love the program and I love going to work everyday. I'm writing this blog post from my MacBook provided by the company. I get free lunches too. Corey and I will have health benefits soon (huge blessing). It's a normal pay plus a little commission. 

We've been praying for this job since we heard about it and last week I had almost given up. I did start looking for other jobs but gave them one last phone call just to make sure. I called on Monday and started on Wednesday. They had already emailed me an offer but I didn't get the email.

Life is good. And I can start working on not being so stressed!

And they're back!

Corey now lives at our apartment and does not have to leave at the end of the night. We're starting our second week of being back in Provo and at work. As much as we love vacation we were anxious to get back to reality and start being a real married couple. 

It took a little while to get the apartment back to normal after unloading all of our things...but Corey did a great job while I napped on the couch. After the CO reception we went to Vail and enjoyed a hike in the rain as well as some awesome food. 

Then it was off to Texas for some kayaking, shooting and boating.

We went to our first married ward on Sunday and then had some awesome pork nachos. Don't be jealous. Ok you can be a little jealous.

Well that is all folks. My blogging skills have weakened, I'll get better at that.

Corey-less

Today is the day to get tons done right? ha! I slept in until 8! yep that's sleeping in for me! I hope to fix up the apartment just a tad. Yes, I am an organizing freak and the tubs of stuff we have everywhere is starting to get to me. 

Corey is out of town until tomorrow night so last night I really didn't know what to do with myself. I visited with Whitney and Chris, watched a little tv and called it a night. But he comes home tomorrow and I am super excited! I'm sure he hates to leave CO, who wouldn't?

Our countdown is now at 9...aaaaaaaahhhhh! I am sure there are things I need to be doing for the wedding too but I really have no idea. I don't pick up my dress until the day before I fly out, crazy!

under constructon

I hate how the same highways are always under construction. Yes, you can plan around it and expect delays and all of that jazz but really? Did they run out of money and stop working and neglect to take those stupid huge orange barrel things off of the road?

The point of this post? Maybe a little motivation to get the apartment in order. It's a wreck for now but I'm slowly attacking the piles I have previously organized. Cor was probably frustrated with me when we moved in because I wanted to organize right away which left him hauling most things but he will appreciate it later. hehe. For now most things are hidden in the bedroom since no one really lives there but Cor's family is coming next weekend to bring us some furniture so I must get things put together. Any organization tips for an apartment with NO storage space would be greatly appreciated!

The countdown is now at 21, yep we're almost in the teens! How weird!

OMG

Today's post is brought to you by the letters O-M and G. Why? Because Cor and I have 24 days until we're hitched. I realized this weekend that there are really only 3 more weeks until we get married. What? Yeah that's what I said. I honestly believed we were still at 5 or 6 weeks. But no, two more weeks until Dustin, Cor's brother, gets home from his mission and then the next week is the big day. It's all coming together, flights to Denver, dress being altered, and moms calling me about those little details. 

the apt

We've had our apartment for a couple of weeks now and I still haven't found how to hide all of our stuff. (We have a lot of it) I am even using our storage tubs as a coffee table (or hot chocolate table if you prefer).  It will get there eventually. We've snagged a way cool entertainment desk for our TV (for FREE! thanks Jared!).  Here are some pictures of our living room and kitchen. It's been great!

countdown

My graduation countdown is at zero now. I'm not exactly sure what to do with that. I don't have orientation with my new job until 12 and I am completely moved out of my room. I could read or I could sleep some more. So many possibilities.

Wedding countdown is now at 47 days. That's 6 more weeks. Ok, closer to 7 but I like the sound of 6 better. We're going to be moving most of our stuff in our new place on Wednesday and I am excited to organize and decorate it. 

Until next time...

big weekend

Both sets of parents came into town this weekend. They met for the first time and seemed to get along just fine. The moms got along a little too well and much shopping was involved. 

I also graduated this weekend!

Yeah I am so sophisticated now. 

We had a lot of fun this weekend but we are definitely using today to relax before jumping back into work on Monday. I start a new job at MR. Networking tomorrow. Not exactly sure what I'll be doing or if I'll be any good at it but it's a job. 

Here are some more pictures from the weekend. Enjoy.

6 days and counting

Corey is now done with school at LDS BC. He has some post assessments to get done but we're way excited to be getting closer to spring and summer and all the fun stuff that comes with it. 

I graduate in 6 more days, and we get married in 57. I'm sorry, that's crazy!

We are trying to balance wedding plans, (my) finals, work all while maintaining a sense of sanity. My apologies for not even coming close but it will all be over soon. 

Corey and I now have tons of pictures. I have been keeping myself from looking for frames and other things to decorate with.  I will probably finish registering today, or at least get closer.

Tonight is movie night. Yippee! We're going to watch a personal favorite of mine. Star Trek! Yes I am a trekkie.

I want to go outside and enjoy the sun but I know as soon as I do it will be lights out for me. I love naps in the sun! It has been so beautiful. I love it!

title unknown

I titled this unknown because I've seen it on other blogs lately and thought how weird. So of course I try.

Just in case you're wondering the countdown is at 11 for graduation and 62 for the wedding. What?! I've got 2 more papers and 2 group projects and I'm outta here. 

Corey and I lost a game of cowboy golf which has only made me want to practice and try again. This is a game like horseshoes but instead you throw golf balls on string over to a contraption with three level bars. Top level 3 points, middle 2, bottom 1. 

I'm ready for summer. I want to make cutesy things. And lay out in the sun. What sun? It forgot to stop by here in Provo. I'm going to make a fun summer salad this week to encourage the process. 

...and turkey wraps.

mmmmmmm....

~jes

Just One More Week!

I have 13 days until graduation and it's going to kill me. Ok so that's an exaggeration but if I keep trying to drive into oncoming traffic I just might! Cor and I have had busy weeks trying to get everything turned in to finish up the semester.  I turned in two papers on Tuesday and if you can believe I still have two more to turn in on top of two group presentations. What are professors thinking? Group presentations, final papers, AND finals that are all essays. I don't get it, do they really get a kick out of reading all of our garbage? Probably.

We took engagement pictures with Angela Marie Photography on Wednesday. She was running circles around us. We had our session paid for anonymously so a huge thank you goes out to our secret admirer.  Cor and I have been trying to smoke people out. I guess we're not very convincing since no one has confessed. They even paid for a rush edit so we will be seeing them really soon!

Well, as much as I would love to keep writing, or better yet, go back to bed...I must get ready for work. OH yeah! I applied to Victoria Secret a couple of weeks ago and interviewed on Wednesday. They said we would know soon so cross your fingers!

Busy Bees

Cor and I are both working on finishing up our last semesters (me for good).  But Cor will have some more school after his associates at....guess where...BYU! Yep he got in and we are way excited for him.  No more traveling to SLC, no more calc, no more gas guzzling. So we will be here in Provo for a little while longer. There is talk of CO after he graduates, which I am totally fine with!

I've also jumped into a photography business. I made it official with the government and everything. That was super annoying! I kept getting the run around and what should have taken a day, maybe two, took about a week! Part of that was my fault but still...bah. But now it's done and I am having way too much fun with it!

Jes Lyn Photography

My next shoot will be of Elizabeth, a cello player!  We're going to have so much fun with that!

I know you are dying to know where we are in the countdown. Well graduation is 22 days away and the wedding is 73. Wow, to me it seems like a lot, but Cor keeps reminding me that it's only a little over two months. TWO MONTHS!!! I better get on the ball! 

I love contests!

I love contests. I hardly ever win them but they are still fun. The free engagement session for example, didn’t win, but we had fun getting as many votes as we could.

So what’s my next contest? Weight loss! And it involves money too! It will be based on percentage lost so no worries on where you are starting from. Just get started on being a healthier you!

Here’s how it works:

Sign up by emailing me at roudyj1@gmail.com before April 1.

I will then send you my address so you can send me your $5 entry fee. If you are signing up because you heard about this from Tina or Darla they would probably be willing to collect for me. That way you do not have to worry about it getting lost in the mail. 

On April 1 you will weigh yourself. Preferably at the same time you will weigh yourself at the end of the contest. Email me your weight and be reassured I will not share this information with anyone.

You will work hard and lose lots of weight because there is motivation. (If we can get 20 people that’s $100!!)

On May 31 email me your end weight and wait for the results!

I will have Cor double check the calculations so you can be reassured I do not cheat …when I win!!! I’m not competitive at all.

Also, follow The Biggest Loser it really is an awesome show! Cor and I watch it every week. We also ordered two of the book books and love them!

Check back here for cool tips (if I learn any) and feel free to comment on how you are doing and any tips you would like to share.

The Polls are Open!

Please vote for Corey and I to win a free engagement session with Angela Marie Photography. We're behind!!!

http://angelaliddle.blogspot.com/

Bad Morning

I woke up Wednesday morning around 6:00 for my usual run with Diana but something very unusual happened. I was leaving my house...on my way to the door...I glanced over to the living room and stopped dead in my tracks. 

There was someone in our living room! I didn't recognize the person (could still be one of my roommates since I don't ever see them).  She was just standing there facing the window (back toward me). Of course seeing someone in my living room scared me but that doesn't change the fact that there was a girl in my living room so I said, "Hello?"..."Are you ok?"..."Hello!" and I didn't get a response out of her. By this time I realize it's a mannequin but I am still freaking scared! I ran out the door, jumped in my car and headed to Diana's. 

By the time I picked up Diana my body was finally kicking into scared mode, yeah a little late I know, and I was shaking. Great! I wasn't able to finish our mile and a half today because after a mile I developed a stitch in my side that was making it really hard to breath. 

I looked up causes and remedies for side stitches up later and most mentioned stress as a factor. 

I wasn't stressed at all! Psh!

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Keep in mind it was dark when I saw the girl...much more creepy! And I didn't dare get that close until it was fully light outside and my roommate was up and in the kitchen. 

think pink

A coworker of mine is organizing a breast cancer run here in Provo!

First of all super excited I don't have to drive to SLC to run. Also, excited for the shirt. Oh! And excited to run. I ran a 5k this morning and loved it. My ipod gives me half way notices. I also get  notices at 400m, 300m, 200m and 100m left to go. It was so great getting the 100m left to go notice. I was even smiling as I sprinted out the last little bit. 

Date Night

Finally! A date night that works out. We haven't had much luck in that department. I've been hesitant to plan anything because I hate getting my hopes up and then have plans fall through.

Plans did kind of fall through. The original plan was to go to Macaroni Grill and get a free dessert. I realized on the way there that my coupon had expired but that my gift card was also good at Chili's. We decided on Chili's and indulged in a chocolate molten cake. Yum!

The plan was to go home and watch The Importance of Being Earnest but the TV was occupied so we cuddled instead. I guess my plans fell through again but I didn't really mind since I got to cuddle.

It's my favorite!

Budgeting

I decided to start calculating how much I spend on groceries for Corey and I so we can have an idea what to budget for when we're married. I decided that $200 for the month would be a good number. So I decided to start at the beginning of March and be super savvy with my shopping. The first trip went so well that I am really excited about meal planning and grocery shopping for us. 

I've been following a new BYUtv show, The Food Nanny. And although I don't fully watch the show I love the ideas Liz gives. A couple of us listen to the show while at work. Her plan is to do grocery shopping every two weeks and have everything planned out and written down before going to the store. She came to the office the other day and signed some of her recipe books for our Business Leadership Counsel. I'm going to see if I can get a copy because I LOVE recipe books. Not that I follow recipes but I like to get ideas.

My first trip to the store this month, for two weeks of groceries, cost around $40. Yep! Now I took into consideration I had just bought some stuff over the weekend that we didn't use until the month of March so I added that into the budget. But I'm so excited to see just how much I can save. Maybe we can go out on a date one night this month! I think if I can go under $200 each month I can save it up for winter when Corey's landscaping work isn't in much demand. 

Seriously so much fun!

*thoughts*

I'm a writer. I put thoughts into words so much better in the written/typed form. There are times when it's nice to know my thoughts are safely tucked away only for me but then there are moments when it really is better to share. I need to work on this. 

But for now, here are some of my thoughts in written form:

*Funny Faces* They are the best, intentional or not. I am extremely excited to have found someone to share funny faces with. 

*Friends* Old ones. New ones. Ones who may not know how much better they make your day. I have two Stephanie friends, yeah I'm that cool. One makes my work day better and one makes my school day better. I just wanted to make sure they knew that. 

*Chocolate Milk* I've never really been a big fan of milk but I've slowly discovered my inner child and now enjoy Ovaltine with my dinner.

*Love* It holds me together. Don't let my tough persona fool you, I'm a softy. I get all warm and fuzzy when I hear older people talk about how they fell in love and stayed in love. I ♥ love.

*Corey* I have saved the best for last. I am so excited about everything concerning my life with him. He makes me happy and I am very appreciative of everything he does for me.  I love being with him and learning from him. And soon we'll actually be official (102 days left). 

Classic Skate

So Corey got me out of the house last night. We dressed up and went to Classic Skate. I lasted about 45 min with out falling. Corey rocked it and had a blast. I'm not saying I didn't have fun, I did, I just didn't last as long. 

I've gone a couple of times and each time I've landed some pretty nasty blisters. I've gotten really good at bandaging out of control blisters. Good mom skills so to speak. Just ask Whitney about the worst Classic Skate blister. Oh fun times!

This was my first experience with Classic Skate that wasn't a blind date and it was definitely worth the $4. 

Spring

So I'm reading my friend's blog (click here) about the great things of spring last night. I'm way excited for Spring too! Running in the sun instead of the indoor track, being married, no more school, maybe a little garden on our balcony and the hope of more time for leisurely reading/writing (yeah right!) are all things I'm looking forward to this spring. And then I stepped outside this morning and scrapped the ice off my windows. Joy. I'm getting tired of winter; it just needs to go away.

Two more months until graduation and 109 days until the wedding!

110 days to go!

16 weeks sounds better though! It still seems so far away even though I know it's right around the corner. Right now I'm looking ahead to graduation. It's my half way mark so to speak.

We had our engagement pictures taken this weekend by my old roommate, Joanna. Check out her website (rubysunrise.blogspot.com) We should have them in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited to start playing with announcements!

Cor and I went to a family ward on Sunday with the Liggets (his boss' family). They have 4 little girls and and brand new little boy and they all absolutely love Corey. It was very cute to see Corey playing with them while trying to make sure they keep quite.

Back to the Grind

Colorado was amazing. It always is. Think about it family, cards, movies and good food spells way fun weekend. We got a lot done for the wedding including finding all of the guys' shirts, Cor's ring, table set up, and discussing how all of it "should" go down.

We made it back to Utah on Tuesday morning. We had parked my car at Diamond Parking and my car got a free car wash before we left. Our flight was even 30 minutes early. I went straight to work dreading the test I would have to take after. My plan of course was to go straight to the testing center to get it over with. I had to take Corey his luggage first and to my surprise he had cooked me an amazing dinner. The surprise wasn't that it was amazing, he's a great cook. I had asked him to grill an extra piece of chicken when he made his dinner so I could eat when I was done with the test and I got chicken, season potatoes, green beans and pasta. How spoiled am I?

And then I had to take another test on Wednesday. I went straight to Cor's after (because I practically live there) and he made an amazing salad and king ranch chicken. The salad had everything in it and king ranch has easily become our favorite.

A big thanks goes out to Cor for helping a stressful week fun. I got tests and papers done and tonight I can rest easy. Tomorrow I will go shopping for a new outfit for our engagement pictures that we are taking on Saturday (pray for it not to rain or snow!)

We Made It!

We're in Co safe and sound. I was really worried we wouldn't make our flight. We decided to try out a park and fly and Cor had a test to take after class so it made me really nervous. But Cor was done earlier than expected and the park and fly worked out great!

We made it to the gate with about an hour wait before boarding started which is perfect timing for me. So now I can destress and enjoy our weekend.

Our Story

Let's kick things off the right way and share a little of our story. We met a little over a year ago here in Provo. We hung out a couple of times by chance but didn't really think we had much in common at the time.

Just a couple of months ago we started hanging out a little more. I stocked him for his phone number. I succeeded but he didn't know who was texting him. It took a couple of days to figure out but he caught on and asked me out on a date. We went to DQ for ice cream and I was completely comfortable with him so I decided to go ahead and let him know I was interested... which means planning things to do with him not actually telling him of course. I didn't have to try too hard since oddly enough he was interested in me too!

We spent about a week getting to know each other better while doing homework, watching tennis and cooking, my favorite activity, before we held hands.

Believe it or not we took things slow! I know getting engaged after 4 months is on the fast side but when you know...you know, and I knew after a month. I think Corey did too but we both took some time making sure.

We got engaged on New Year's eve. It was the best possible way, for me at least, to get engaged. I know you're probably thinking, "That's what everyone says." But really it was perfect. First of all, I've always been the romantic type. I will normally deny this but for the story's sake I admit it. Due to my romantic ideals I have always wanted to kiss someone on New Years. And in 22 years it has never happened. Until now!

I flew into Denver and Cor picked me up. We went back to his place where he had the living room set up for a dinner for two. He claimed we were having a Christmas dinner since we weren't together for Christmas. We ate, exchanged gifts, and then he asked if I was ready for dessert. This I was definitely not expecting. Already Cor has surprised me with dinner and now dessert too? Yes, I am spoiled. The heart shaped cake he brought in looked great, but what I didn't see was "Jes will you marry me?" written on top. I also didn't realize he was on one knee until he actually asked the question. So I was surprised and I absolutely loved it!

And the rest as they say is history...I've never really liked that saying but now that I really think about it it makes sense. History is written down, remembered, most of the time even cherished but there is always something moving forward...always a future. Ok, little tangent over.