Day 25! A place to live!

     We put down a deposit on an apartment! WOOT! It's across from Main Street in Logan, in a four-plex apartment house! Awesome right? It has a pretty nice sized bedroom, with a family room and a box kitchen! Perfect for newlyweds I think! I'm really excited!
     Everytime I think of having my own place with Brian I just get all... jittery. It'll be in this cute little place where most of our firsts together will happen as a married couple. In less than a month we'll have our first meal, movie, game, laundry, cleaning, etc as a married couple! I know it's a cheesy thought, but I am super excited!
     Our wedding plans are just smoothly coming together and I love it! The only downer to the day was that my mom got a call from my Credit Union saying that some weird transactions occured to my account. I had a bunch of random little charges from sites online that I had never seen before! Turns out that I had my identity stolen from some website online through Amazon that I had bought some ties for the wedding from! Blasted! It was not fun to figure it all out, especially when it means that I had to get rid of my card and all my checks. I don't mind not having a card, except that there are little things I need it for, for the wedding. I can't get a new one until I change my name either. Oh well.. It was just a small bump in the road, but nother too big to worry about. At least it is fine now! Thank goodness for my Credit Union to notice, because I probably wouldn't have until I had lost a lot of money.
     Life is good and I am still just dreaming about my new apartment I get to share with Brian!

Day 26! My Three White Dresses

My mom bought me a white dress,
Not red or pink or blue.
She said it was a special dress
Like very other few,
There has been just one before,
A dress now put away,
That I wore some time ago
Upon my blessing day.
As a little baby clothed in my first white dress,
My dad held me in his arms,
There to name and bless.
So pure and clean was I just then,
With time to grow and learn
About the Father's plan for me.
My glory I must earn.
Now I've reached the age to judge
The wrong road from the right,
And I am here to be baptized
In this dress of white.
So once again I'm free from sin.
The path is clear to me.
I'll grasp the rod and hold on tight, I vow with certainty.
Just as mud would stain my dress,
Sin would stain my soul.
The key is to repent or bleach,
For whiteness is my goal.
And if I try my very best,
Then richly blessed I'll be,
Wearing inside God's holy house
White dress number three,
So today I make this pledge:
I'll strive to choose the right,
Through this sacred baptism ordinance
In my second dress of white. (Linda Gay Perry Nelson, 1993)

     This is a poem I remember from my baptism, and it's amazing to me that I have made it. I've made it to dress number three. I wear that dress in 26 days!

Day 27! A Sunday Well-Spent, Brings a Weekend of Content

    

     Today was such a fabulous day! Not only was it beautiful, but I can just see the Lord's hand in my life. Brian and I seem to be falling more in love everyday. Our bishop told us some wise counsel that I have come to firmly believe:

Love isn't something you fall into, it's something that grows.

     We watched the movie Charly with my roommates tonight because Brian and a few others had never seen it. And as those of you who have seen it know, the first half of the movie tells a wonderful story of a fun relationship between a young couple and their journey of their love growing. The second half of the movie is what really gets everyone, as the wife finds out she has cancer. The story goes on of their struggle with the knowledge that she is dying and then the ending result of her passing on. Her husband finds comfort through the gospel and an understanding of her death.

     I have watched Charly many times in my life. In fact, I remember watching it at my 5th grade birthday party. (Ya, I still wonder why we did too!) I have been touched by the story and cried before, but tonight was the hardest I've ever cried and the most touched I have ever been. The reason was because I could actually relate this time. What if it was me and Brian in that situation? How would we react? How would it be to lose him or to be the one leaving him behind? It was so hard to think about and something I probably wouldn't have normally but was triggered by the movie.

     The next thing that hit me and caused a wave of tears was that I wasn't the only one crying. Brian was holding me tighter and tighter as he cried through the movie too. I don't say this to embarrass him, I simply say it because it touched me. I knew he was feeling the same way I was--That our love was so strong that we honestly can't live without the other. This love is SO strong and it can't be broken, even by death!

     What a wonderful realization and feelings of love that engulfed us. It caused me to have that fabulous realization of great truth which is that I do love him more than I've ever loved before. I'm ready to begin our life together!

Day 28! Day out!

     Wow! What a day! I got up this morning and made the girls Eggs Benedict, and then we were off! We went to a Mary Kay party in Roy. What was suppose to be an hour and a half turned into almost three hours. The lady was pushing us to buy stuff so much it pushed all of our buttons so that we just wanted to leave. When we finally left, the whole experience turned into a laughter and we went on to have a fabulous day.
     I can't wait to spend my life with Brian, but leaving these girls will be hard for me to do. We've all grown to be so close and pretty much best friends. But I realize that it's time to leave that behind and embrace my future with Brian. He is so wonderful to me, I honestly can't wait much longer to be his wife... Good thing I only have to wait four more weeks... FROM TODAY! Yep! It's coming faster than it seems... One month from today we'll be married and starting our life out together! :)

Day 29! Favorite Meals

     Today I got the opportunity to go home to Huntsville and bring my roommates back with me. What a treat it was to have our last "big" hang out before I leave them and have my permanent roommate, the wonderful Brian Larson. Brian stayed back in Logan and hung out with his boys by going to the temple and playing racquetball. The girls and I took a walk on the frozen lake and came home to eat my favorite meal Cheese Fondue, and then it was off to watch a movie and sleep!

     As I was eating the Fondue, I couldn't help but think about how Brian never has really told me what his favorite meal is. When I've asked him his favorite food he always says everything, but I've never asked him about the meal. So... naturally.. I asked him! His response was that he loved barbecued steak-home style.

Swiss Cheese Fondue
Heat on med/low 2/3 c. non-alcoholic sparkling white grape juice in med. sauce pan.
Add 1-2 gloves minced garlic
Add approx. 6 oz grated Swiss cheese and begin to melt on low heat.
Add 2 Tbls corn starch
Add approx. 6 oz. grated Swiss Gruyere cheese and stir until melted.
Opt.  2 Tbls lemon juice
 Serve with cubed sour dough bread & cubed cooked potatoes yield 4-6 servings

     I wanted some sort of recipe to put down for Brian's steak.. but it's home style, which means whatever spices the family loves and feels like putting on and grilling it in a certain way that makes it juicy and delicious. Whenever we go out to eat, he won't let me order steak until I try the way he makes his steak because he says I'll never waste my money on restaurant steak again!



Day 30! Bouquets

     Tonight for Brian's and my's date night, we did the completely traditional... STUDY night for tests the next day! How much fun right?! In between studying, I looked up bouquets. I really think that I want feathers of some sort in my arrangement. It can't be a lot, just a few to see sticking out. Here are a few pictures of what I'm kind of looking at, thought it'll probably change once I pick flowers next week!

Day 31! As Long as You Can See the Temple You are NEVER Lost!

 

     Brian took me to the temple today. We walked down to his apartment to get the car only to find it with a completely flat tire. We spent the next 45 minutes changing the tire. Once we finally got it on, we had to rush to get ready and hurry to the temple.

     What I love about the temple is that once you walk inside, the world outside is just forgotten, the school, homework, wedding, and the rush. It's all left behind and we are able to feel the spirit. In the temple we are allowed to do something for someone else that they can't do for themselves, just like what Christ did for everyone of us with the atonement!

The Temple is the Lord's university,

Where we receive our PhD

P=eace

H=ope

D=irection

Brian changing the tire!