Just Kidding!

ok kids, this was a joke. just thought i should let you know in case some of you were getting worried. :) megan and i thought this was probably the most hideous dress known to man, so i thought it would be fun to pretend i'm getting it.

Random Musing

I wonder how long it's going to be before I have a blog post about something that's not wedding-related. Bets, anyone? :)

The Hardest Part So Far: The Dress

Was this the hardest part for anyone else? I'm not very far into planning other stuff but I can already tell most of it isn't going to be as hard as finding a dress that I can wear with garments and isn't ugly or $932483.

There are dilemmas with all the options: Either they're gorgeous but need lots of alterations to make them work with garments; they're modest but not I'm not super in love with them; they're modest but expensive; they're gorgeous but need lots of alterations and are kind of expensive.

Ok so here are my thoughts on each of the dresses.

I'm cutting these two out from the rest of them because while I liked them a lot, I've decided against them--the second one because it was really hard to walk in (all that bunchiness at the bottom is actually very tight and also heavy), and the first one because it would have been very difficult to alter. Even though it made my waist look incredible, holy crap. Corset lacing in the back = my friend.



Okay so here are the others I'm considering for right now, and here's why.
I just like the shape of this dress, and it already has sleeves--it wouldn't be that hard to line them so that they'd be temple appropriate.

I LOVE the skirt on this dress. I'm not in love with the top half of it, although I do think the buckle's cute; I'm also not in love with the little silver thingies all over the skirt, but somehow I still love the ballerina-ness of the skirt enough that I haven't ruled it out. I can't wait to find this one and try it on (it's from Allyse's).

I think this dress is gorgeous, and it has all the things I like--poofy skirt, decent sized train, that side wrappy thing that makes my waist look really good, and the corset lacing up the back. I also think the sleeves are very pretty. However, it's probably not an option because it'd be very difficult to modestize because of how low it is in both the front and the back. Sad day.


I ADORE this dress. I love the simplicity of the top so, so much. I love that there's no beading and no lace, but there's still a design! I even like the buttons down the back, although that's a feature I usually don't like. It's too bad that this one, too, would probably be ruined by alterations.
I'm not gonna lie, I don't like this dress at all on this model. But if you ignore the model and try to picture it on me, that's where it has potential. I've always thought I'd like 3/4 length sleeves on my wedding dress, and I do like the skirt. I don't think this one is Allyse's but I think it's another one that I might be able to find in Provo and try on. So we'll see.


What I like about this one is that it has the wrappy side waist thing and the corset lacing in the back, just like I liked on the others, but it actually already has sleeves. I'm not a huge fan of the beading--there's a little too much for my taste--but I still think it's a good possibility.


I love the embroidery on the top of this dress. It's gorgeous and also I actually really like the sleeves.
I can't decide if I think this one is weird or beautiful. Until I try it on I think it can go either way.

I liked this one a lot when I was looking at it online, but I think I like it less the more I look at it. (This version is ivory and mocha, but don't worry, there's an all white version too.)

And, just for kicks, here are a couple more that I didn't post because they're not really options (because of price, if I remember correctly), but I super like the dresses anyway.



So anyway. We didn't go shopping today because we discovered that the store we were going to visit doesn't actually have any of the dresses we saw online IN the store. Completely useless. Also it was like an hour and a half away, so definitely not worth the trip.

Basically I think what's going to happen is I'm going to wait until I get back to Provo and then hit up Allyse's and a couple other places and try finding all these dresses I saw online.

Mike = New Blog

In other news, Mike got a blog! There's a link in my link list but just for kicks, the URL is http://mikeshorten1.blogspot.com. When he posts it says that he's me, because he's using my email address, so don't get confused. That's all.

Help!

Ok, kids. I'm planning a wedding. I need help.

I realize some of you aren't married, but I think that almost everyone who reads my blog recently got married or has been involved in siblings' weddings, so I seriously need input.

Where are good/bad places to register? (I've heard Target's got a nightmare return policy--details?)

Reception sites that aren't church gyms or a million dollars?

Good places to buy dresses? (I'm very picky here, which is a problem, because I need a modest dress but I dislike nearly all of the Mormon wedding dress styles.)

We're not having a line at the reception, which is great but unfortunately it's kind of the event around which many receptions are planned--any fantastic ideas for other ways to organize it?

How did you all do your invitations?

Where did you buy the rings?

Tuxes? Bridesmaids dresses? Dresses or skirt/top ensembles? How have those worked? Where are tux rentals good?

Are weddings during the week (aka Thursday) too inconvenient? The basic outline of the day so far is temple in the morning, just our families and the "wedding party" there, brunch thingie with people who were at the temple, then reception in the evening.

Where are good places to take engagement pictures?

To buy flowers?

And what are all the things I'm going to need to think about eventually but haven't occurred to me yet??

The Story!

I guess it's about time I told the story then, yeah? I've had a few requests, so it's probably time. And most of you have already heard the short version, so I might as well give you the full version.

So on Friday we were texting, and I asked if he wanted to come pick me up when he got off work and we'd go hang out. He told me he had some things to do after work but he'd come pick me up as soon as he finished, which he thought would take less than an hour. He got off work at 6:30, so I was expecting sometime around 7:30, and there was a ward party at 7 so I thought I'd go with my roommates for the first little bit of it.

So at around 6 Megan, Jennie and I went up to campus so Megan could drop off a paper, and then we went to Joann to buy a present for Sam's birthday. When we got home I was texting Mike, and suddenly he said something that made me think, essentially--holy crap, he's proposing tonight. Of course I wasn't sure, but now I was suspicious enough to start freaking out because I did NOT look cute that day. I showed Megan and Jennie what he'd said (which I think was just something like "make sure you dress very, very warm", which he normally wouldn't do because he knows I don't like being in the cold just for kicks) and naturally they jumped to offer me their wardrobes since I hated how I looked that day. I ended up wearing Megan's shirt, Jennie's shoes, Jennie's earrings (even though Sam hadn't had sex in them), Megan's gloves, Jennie's sweater (which she told me I had to keep if I did end up getting engaged in it), and Marci's scarf--because I was taking a piece of all my roommates with me, and of course we wanted her to be involved.

So I got dressed, Jennie and Megan and Marci got dressed, and then we took some pictures because of how cute we'd all ended up looking. (And for the record, this is the last picture of me as a single girl!)

Long story short, what happened for the next two hours was that I went to the ward activity and ended up being there for like an hour and a half because I kept getting texts from him saying he'd be a few minutes later, half an hour later, fifteen minutes later, etc. Normally I would've been getting upset, but I was pretty sure he was going to be proposing, so I figured I could cut him some slack. But I WAS dying to know what was taking him so long.

Also, while I was at the ward activity Dafni called me and told me that she'd just gotten engaged! And I told her that I really really hoped Mike was going to propose because it'd be so cool if we got engaged on the same day. I found out later that Mike had been texting her all this time, and after I talked to her she told him what I said about us getting engaged on the same day.

So finally, at about 9:30, he came--two hours later than planned. I got in the car and we started driving toward the canyon, where all he was telling me was that we were going to go on a walk up there because it's really pretty in the snow. So we went to Vivian Park, which is our favorite one, and parked by a trail head. He told me to wait there while he came around and opened my door for me. He took kind of a while getting around, but it was very snowy so I figured he was just watching for ice. So he opened the door and I was about to get out, but then he dropped his keys, so I waited while he knelt and looked for them. He found them, and then when he came back up he was on one knee and had the ring in his hand. (Cute, isn't it?)

He said "will you marry me?" and I kinda did a little squealing--in fact, I was so excited that I actually forgot to answer. So he asked, "is that a yes?" And of course then I said yes.

So that was how we got engaged! Then we got back in the car because we decided it was too cold for a walk, and I made him tell me what had been taking so long. He'd been trying to talk to my dad. Apparently my parents had been on the way home from a movie, so my dad couldn't really talk, and that's why he kept telling me it'd be longer than he thought before he could come pick me up. So I asked him about what he and my dad had said, and it was very cute and we both actually teared up a few times--I cried, of course.

We were both hungry then, so we decided to go eat, and as we were leaving the canyon I wrote a mass text and sent it out to a bunch of people. He waited until we got to Brick Oven then did the same thing, and then we sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes, both of us responding to the eight million texts that we were getting. Then I called my mom while he went inside, got a table, and ordered. We decided that after we ate we'd just go home, because he had to work at 4:30 in the morning and it was already 11:30, and besides I knew I'd have plenty to occupy me once I got home to tell my roommates the details. :)

So that's the story! I generally tell it with less detail when people ask me, but I guess there might as well be ONE fully-detailed story out there somewhere, right? It can't hurt. Sorry if it was TOO long though. Also, the next day we drove up to Salt Lake to have lunch with Dafni and Brandon, and that's where the second picture came from. Side note--we both thought it'd feel pretty much the same after we were engaged, since we've been dating for over a year now, but no. It SO doesn't.

And now I'm going to sleep. Just wanted to get that out there. And thanks for all the congratulations, everyone. I'm pretty excited. :) :) :)

I'm Engaged!

I got engaged last night!

I'll post a picture of the ring as soon as I can get the pictures from the camera to the computer (I'm borrowing Mike's computer cause mine's broken and apparently his doesn't have the nifty little card reader thing). It's a fake ring for now, cause I told him I don't care about the ring enough to keep putting off getting engaged until he can afford a good one. But this ring looks like what I want anyway so you'll get a good idea once I get the picture up. :)

That's all for now.

Getting Out

The excitement of being in college is so over for me.

I'm just done with this stage in my life. I'm tired of almost everything about it. I'm tired of my life centering around homework and going to classes and being graded. As much as I love my roommates and will miss them and their closets, I'm tired of living with five other girls. I'm tired of coming home really late because I wanted to spend more time with Mike that night. I'm really tired of living in BYU approved housing with no room to do anything and crap parking and being fined if you forget to update your address when you move because it makes it harder for them to keep tabs on you. I'm tired of all the dynamics of a student ward, with everyone trying to impress everyone else and trying to look like they're not trying to impress anyone.

This post was inspired by Lili's mom's blog, which I just looked at. I actually almost wrote a post like this a while ago in a similar situation--it was just after I'd read Lili's sister Cami's blog. I read about their lives and it makes me think how ready I am to move on to that stage.

I'm not ready for kids yet, that's for sure. But I am ready to be married and be able to go home with Mike to the same place, instead of... well, what we do now. Which sucks. Also I'm ready to not be in Provo/Orem anymore. Ugh.

On that note, Mike is thinking about going to the Art Institute of Salt Lake City. It was actually my idea--I saw a commercial for it on tv and suggested it to him--and I'm feeling like this is a fantastic idea. Mostly because it's something he would enjoy (he's thinking about graphic design) and because we'd get to move to Salt Lake. I LOVE the idea of moving to Salt Lake while he's in school. It's not too far to be able to visit his family and my friends, but it's far enough away from freaking Provo that I think I could feel good about it. Plus I think this is about the only time in my life that I'd want to live IN a city and not just close to one.

And speaking of all that, you all might as well know that we're going to be getting engaged this month (and very likely before I go home for Christmas, although I don't know for sure because of course Mike won't tell me that much detail) and we're back to our plan for having the wedding the first weekend in May. Here goes planning the wedding. I'm terrified.

But anyway. I'm so glad I have that to look forward to on the foreseeable horizon, because otherwise I think I might go crazy staying in Provo any longer. College is just done for me.


OH. And one more thing.

I just read back over what I wrote and had a thought about it.

If I even hear one person suggesting that maybe I want to get married just to get out of this place in my life, I might kill them. I am so, so beyond sick of people questioning Mike's and my decisions about when to get married and everything. I realize that I am still young and don't know everything, but that doesn't mean I don't know anything, and it definitely doesn't mean it's any of other people's business. Believe me--I have been thinking about this for about nine months now. I've got it under control. Thanks.

Huzzah and Huzzah

Here is something exciting: For the first time in the last three or four semesters, I have books that I can sell back! It sounds silly, but I am pretty happy about it.

And they're not just the ones that I'll get $5 back for, either. I have four Hebrew books plus a set of Hebrew CDs that were all pretty pricey in the first place (well upwards of $50 each), as well as a crappy book called American English that isn't an editing book--and which I would have been selling back even if it was because it was so useless--and a book called The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, which is exactly as boring as it sounds and cost far more than it was worth. Also there's math in it (shudder).

Something funny about this: You'll notice that I'm selling 7 things back. I'm also keeping 7. Is having to buy 14 textbooks for five classes ridiculous? The answer is yes.

More Things I Want

aka... Christmas ideas for anyone who cares. :)

you may have noticed that a couple things disappeared from the list... this is because i got impatient and bought them for myself. that is all. :)

yeah i know this is cheesy, but i looove this story and especially the music that goes with it on the dvd with the motab performance. love love love.

Harry Potter 5!

whenever it FINALLY COMES OUT IN PAPERBACK! who knows when that will be.

it's definitely time for me to get a new scent and i discovered i really like this one (victoria's secret pink). i keep meaning to get it and not having the money. :/

I discovered this at FYE tonight! It attracted me first because I'm really into Asian literature (like Amy Tan) right now, so I started reading it while I was waiting for Mike to finish looking at CDs and I decided I really want it.

this journal is at borders and i think it has the side stitching that i really like because it allows the book to lie flat when it's open. also it's gorgeous and for some reason i'm in love with journals.


i really need a new jewelry box, i've recently decided, since my earrings end up spread all over my desk more often than not because the box i have is too small. and these are gorgeous, and they're from the Rainforest site, which i love supporting... so yeah. (the dark one's prettier)


i didn't think this needed an explanation but then it turned out it looked funny being the only one without text under it. one of my top 5 favorite movies, so why don't i own it yet? also this is a really cool edition.


there were SO MANY journals that i wanted SO BAD at barnes & noble the last time mike and i went, and i found a few of them on the website. (these pictures are in order of how much i like them.) i love the leather ones, they're gorgeous, and i remember there was a plain bright blue one that had a short quote on it that was cheesy but i actually really liked. i'll have to go back and see if i can find them. i am so in love with journals.

ignore this one because for some reason it doesn't come out until after Christmas and even then it won't be in paperback, but I still want it so it's going on the list. :)

With Blogging and Hilarity for All

Things that were hilarious tonight:

• Megan walking around the living room saying "snow, snow" to herself.
• Leaving the living room while Marci was looking on the shelves for a movie, then coming out from the hallway to find her flat on the floor with her head under the couch--still looking.
• This lovely tidbit from SQUARE magazine:

I'm pretty sure that my roommate killed my pet fish Miguel. However, when I confronted him on it, he claimed he was gone the night of the death. But my next door neighbor is pretty sure he saw him there that night. What should I do?
-Mike (not mine)

Dear Mike,
What's more important? Having a good roommate relationship, or getting justice for your dead pet? Well, if this were a dog, or a horse I would be more upset, but it's a fish. I think there is the deeper issue of mistrust with your roommate. What makes you think he killed it? Was it cold-blooded murder? If it was, what kind of issues does he have with you? This is a crime that goes deeper than the pet's death. It goes to the core of your personalities, and how they work with each other.

• "You've just come in from the freezing Utah wilderness. It's critical to keep moving and get something warm into your hands in order to save you and your frozen date. For this exact purpose, and to keep children's minds off of boredom and severe hunger in the mid 19th century, the taffy pull was invented." -SQUARE
  
• "Too often, all we think about at this time of year is presents -- shopping for them, giving them, getting them, opening them, trying to find eight double-A batteries for them, etc. But the lesson of A Christmas Carol is clear: We must not think only about presents. We must also think about securing our house from intruders, so they can't come in and steal our presents." -Dave Barry
• Not long ago, people with tattoos were considered to be low-class sleazeballs. But today, millions of Americans have tattoos. What does this tell us? It tells us that millions of Americans are low-class sleazeballs.
• Without question one of the biggest problems facing humanity today is how to carry spare brassieres. ... People notice a woman who takes brassiere transport seriously.
• How often have you said to yourself: ''I need to shoot an intruder, but where the heck did I put my handgun?!''
• Some things that Megan and I said to each other. I don't remember them anymore, but I do remember that we are hilarious.
  

Parking 101: The Yellow Lines Are Your Friends

I did something a little bit mean tonight.

So I pulled into the parking lot and there was a car on the right side, in one of those three vertical parking spaces (directly behind Megan's car, as it happens), parked diagonally in the space so that half the car was sticking out of the space. There was no reason for this--there was plenty of room in the space for the whole car to fit, and the car's sticking-outness made the actual driving space next to it much smaller--it was just a lazy, lazy person who couldn't be bothered with the old "parking your car in a space" ploy.

Figure 1: Map of the scene of the incident, the Belmont parking lot.

I was annoyed already because there was nowhere to park, so, before I left the parking lot looking for a space, I wrote this person a note.

This is not how you park a car. Seriously.

That is what I wrote, and then I left it on the windshield. Mean, some might say. Indeed, I would agree. But you know what? Some things just need to be said.

Reasons Winter Needs to Die.

1. My pants were wet on the bottoms all day because of the snow.
2. When I left Mike's house, my door was frozen shut. I messed with it for a while and eventually had to have Mike come back out and open it for me.
3. After it opened, I couldn't get it to shut. So Mike had to come BACK out and figure out that my antenna had been frozen to the car in a way that it was obstructing the door.
4. The street leaving Mike's house was solid ice. So was our parking lot. Luckily I only slipped once on my way up to the apartment, and now I am safe.
5. But I still want winter to die.