home sweet home

I am home...it was hard to get to and a really long story, but basically after a speeding ticket (not mine), no room in the inn, and car trouble (not mine) we made it home last week and have been running ever since trying to get things done.
One interesting note is that I went with my parents to the medical center downtown to meet with the liver specialist for a follow up and they seemed to think that my dad was doing really well. The no-salt thing is hard, but he looks better than a few months ago I think and he seems to have a bit more energy.
I am currently trying to find an apartment for Nicholas and I to move in to and also to make and get some wedding invitations ready soon. Aye- it isn't fun to think you have something done and then have it come back! But I like this idea I am working with now...

stuff

why on earth do i need so much stuff?  

i go through this thought process regularly as i have been moving every four to eight months for the last four years- but there was always stuff stored at a relative's house or staying with a roommate until i returned.  this is not the case this time.  i have so much stuff everywhere!  new stuff, old stuff, and pants in 6 sizes that i am too afraid to throw away since i have fit in every single pair in the last year!  the problem is that i have even tried to simplify and pare down- but all this junk i really do need...i use it regularly!  aye aye aye- lets hope that poor radlee (my car) is going to have a heart attack trying to get this down to houston!

busy busy busy

I have been very busy lately!  I try to get as much done in a day so I can watch prime time Olympics!  They have been great and I am very proud of my classmate Jonathan Horton, who has done extremely well thus far in the men's gymnastics.

I submitted my first Dancebeat yesterday- there was a lot of learning that took place on this first one, but I am rather pleased with it and I think I did an okay job for just beginning!  The best part is that it is done and now I can completely focus on packing up and moving out.  I am going through a major purge of stuff, which is really hard for me.  I am not a super-pack rat, however I do like to keep things...especially if there isn't really anything wrong with them!  I know that I have had the same plastic cups for the last four years of college and it may just be better to spend two dollars and buy some on the other end rather than pack them, but I like those cups!  

I have also been exploring some new possibilities for wedding invitations.  It was so nice to think that they were all done and taken care of, but I am finding that I may be able to find something I like more than the original.  (For those of you who didn't hear- the invitations came to me completely printed wrong and so I had to send them back.  They said that if I wanted to fix them that I would just have to start a completely new order, so I decided to see what else I could find.)  I have actually been playing quite a bit myself in Photoshop and Nick and I think that that may be the best way to go.  I originally did not care for the idea of photos on the invitation itself- it just looked too casual for what I wanted.  However now I have played with it a bit I am realizing that there is a way for them to look both classy and clean as well as having the photo directly on the invite.  We will see....

bridal shower- take one!

i had a GREAT bridal shower last night!  it was the first in a series of three- one from nick's side, one from my side, and one from my ward/friends back home.  last night was the one from nick's side and it was just fabulous!  first off, i didn't do any prep work which was weird but kind of fun to just show up at a party!  it was at his aunt nina's home in salt lake- she is getting a new daughter-in-law (amanda) as well and so we had a combined shower.  it was so fun!  there was so much family around...to be honest it just felt like home!

the food was amazing- as i would expect from nick's family!  fruit and veggies and chocolate fondue for the cream puffs and brownies, chicken and salad and meatballs, lemonade and rolls and couscous- and the cutest and yummiest little tarts, made of course by nick's mother and sisters.  

we ate and chatted- we had introductions and i think i got most of the ladies straight!  my roommates melissa and kelli came- it was really fun to have some familiar faces there :)  nick and jeff (amanda's fiance) showed up in the middle and they ate and then helped us unwrap gifts...and boy were there a lot of them!  nicholas and i couldn't believe how much we got...and that it is OUR stuff- weird!  we got a tent and lots of towels, a pyrex set (with lids!), a gift card for a microwave (which will be so nice not to have to try and move it!), and much more.  his sisters gave us some things to help us carry on/get involved in the family traditions- one thing being a danish pancake ball type maker...i can't remember how to pronounce or spell it and our list is still in the car from last night as we did not unload when we got home!  perhaps one of my favorite gifts was from his mom- a red kitchenaid!  that is something i have wanted my whole life but never really expected to have!  no wonder you get fatter when you get married- you have lots of fun stuff to cook with!  nick and i are really excited to be able to cook and try different recipes now that we won't have to battle for the kitchen space with roommates and we will have all the right equipment :)

it was such a nice event- his sisters really did a fabulous job!  there were a bunch of roses for me to take home and swedish fish and chocolate almonds (amanda's favorite) in little bags as favors.  i think i ate three little bags of swedish fish before we even left!  the shower was nice so i could get to know the family a little bit and it was a huge self-esteem boost!  if you ever want a boost in confidence, be the bride at a bridal shower!  everyone was so nice and sweet telling me how fun and cute i seemed and welcoming me in to the family- i completely forgot all about my headache and the ugly lump under it!

Beauty is now the beast!

okay, so it isn't that bad...but what a headache!  last night while trying to unload the dishwasher i hit my head on the cabinet- of course it was left open and i hit the right side of my forehead on the corner.  it bled for a good ten minutes while i let the tears flow- something about getting hit in the head just produces tears whether i want them or not.  anywho, i have had quite a headache since then and woke up with my head throbbing this morning.  ice, medicine, and rest has not help thus far and so this morning i took a bath and another motrin, but it still hurts and there is a very ugly bump- complete with a big gash- right on my forehead.  great! 

 

as my mom pointed out, lack of cleanliness is not only annoying but dangerous!