2009-- The Highlights

I tried to come up with one highlight per month, or one highlight per season, but although it was a great year, I can't come up with very many specifics.

Mostly what was great about this year was marrying Dave, and then being with him all year. We moved a lot, and when through a lot together, but it was the being together part that was a highlight for me. I love going to sleep next to Dave (okay, that rarely happens because I go to bed early) and waking up next to him (and then quietly creeping out of the room to get ready for work).

I love our happy little family: Dave, me, Boozer, and Maeby. Our mini schnauzers are our children.

So being married to Dave is my number one highlight. Other random highlights:

• Getting laid off from LANDesk (yeah, it turned out to be a good thing)
• Our Honeymoon to Hawaii (my first time there. Hopefully not my last!)
  
• My little brother Mike's mission farewell (Oh wait, we missed that! We'd flown home from Hawaii all night long, and slept in. Mike might never forgive me...)
• Having our car broken into as we drove across the country, and having almost $7,000 dollars worth of stuff stolen (Oh wait, that sucked.
• Having everything replaced by renter's insurance which we'd paid a total of $13 so far!
  
• Moving to Baltimore and visiting D.C.
• A trip home for my 90 yr old grandma's wedding
• A girl's weekend in Park City. Shopping, sushi, and pedi's. HEAVEN!
  
• My parents visiting (my dad had business in D.C.), and then staying with them in D.C. for a few days (went nuts in the art galleries with my mom. One of my fave trips of all time)
  
• Dave's family visiting for the 4th of July
• Orioles games
• Moving to Atlanta
• Braves games
• My dad visiting (he had business in the area) and going to Six Flags with him
• Moving back to Utah!!
• Finding a great apartment for a really great price
• Finding a wonderful job at BidSync in American Fork

Overall, it has been a wonderful year. Thanks for your contributions which helped make 2009 a great year. And 2010 is looking good from here...

Things I Won't Buy Generic

1. Tide laundry detergent
2. Windex
3. Q-Tips
4. Chanel Foundation
5. Zip-lock freezer bags (I'll buy cheap sandwich bags)
6. Toothpaste/toothbrush
7. Garbanzo beans (The Walmart brand ones are especially dry and gross)

I'll probably think of more and add to this list...

What things do you insist on buying only the name brand?

Merry Christmas?

Worst rendition of O Holy Night known to man. Hysterical!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4woNRD7NQ

My Bro Mike

Some things I posted about Mike when he got his mission call. Been missing him a lot lately, so I thought it was time to post about him again.

Mike and I share some special little loves:

1. We loved to watch the new 90210 together. Yep, it's true.
2. He pretended to hate when I watch Law & Order but I know his heart skips a beat just like mine when we hear the "ching-ching!"
3. Andy Samburg and the SNL digital shorts ("Mmm, whatcha say....")
4. Harry-freaking-Potter!!!
5. Midnight trips to Beto's (this deserves a shout-out to Nick. He started the tradition)
6. Rad concerts: Def Leppard, Journey, Styx...just to name a few!
7. Relationship chats, often via text message (sometimes 7 incoming texts at a time!!)
   
8. Making up Facebook groups: Hillary Has Cankles, LaVell Edwards Fan Club, Austin Collie for Heisman.

The list goes on and on.

More awesome things about Mike:

1. Once I was having a hard time with my primary class. they were out of control. Mike was walking past the classroom so I had him come in for a minute and asked him to help me calm them down. He proceeded to tell my class he was in the Army and if they misbehaved they'd have to go into the army too. They quieted right up. haha.
2. He learned Greensleeves on the Viola because it's my favorite song
3. Lacrosse State champs '07-'08
4. When he gets excited he rubs his hands together really fast and shudders a little bit. it's adorable!
5. When I came home from my mission he had a MULLET!! Just to freak me out!
6. Mike was SO patient teaching me how to snowboard. I'm so athletically retarded! I was sure he'd get frustrated and ditch me, but he never left my side.
7. He used to call me his "Sugar Mama" for taking him out for sushi and getting him decked out in new school clothes.

The Best Men at Nick's wedding. What a babe!

Havasupai-- Dare Devil!


Hubba hubba! So ripped!


Super Mikey!!


Laundry and scriptures on Heritage Tours (He read the ENTIRE Book of Mormon in 3 weeks!!)

I love you so much Mike. I'm so grateful that we were able to become so close over these last few years! I will think of you and miss you everyday. A mission's not easy but that's what makes it so awesome! What I wouldn't give to have one more day as a missionary! For a long time you'll feel like your mission will never end, but CHERISH that!!! Because it does inevitably end. Your life will be forever changed and blessed for serving the Lord. When times are hard don't turn inward, turn to UPWARD! the Lord will carry you through the hard times more literally than I can tell you. I am thrilled for the experiences you will have and the friends you will make.

THE GERMAN/AUSTRIAN PEOPLE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU!!!!!
I love you Mikey.

My Favorite Chrsitmas Song

This is one my mom taught me:

"I'm dreaming of a green Christmas,
Just like the one's I used to know.
With the palm trees swaying,
And children playing,
Without hats or coats or gloves!

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write:
May your days be merry not mean,
And may all your Christmases be green"

"Workin 9 to 5..." ~Dolly

Yep, I'm finally employed. I work (8 to 5 actually) at a software company in American Fork called BidSync. Great company, great people. It's a lot the same as my job at Landesk, except the company is roughly 50 employees (as opposed to the 400 at Landesk-- not to mention remote employees!). To be honest, I preferred the large company, but who doesn't?! More money, more supplies, more perks... But the small feel here is also nice.

We had our company Christmas party last weekend, which was nice (Landesk doesn't do parties any more. Budgeting.). We got all dressed up and ate yummy food.

After taking 11 months off from work, it's hard to put in a 40 hour work week! I got soft ;)

We're going to Cali for Christmas again. Yay! I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas! With sun and sand! We love being with Dave's family for Christmas because he hardly ever get to see them. One of these years we're going to have to buckle down fro a winter Christmas before my family disowns me.

Then from Jan 3-10 we'll me on a CRUISE IN MEXICO!! Can't wait!

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Sammy turns ONE! And A Blast From the Past

My sweet nephew Samuel turns 1 tomorrow, so I was looking at my posts from when he was born. In the process, I also came across one of my favorite posts of all time. My Portuguese professor at UVU showed me a list of actual names of people in Utah. This is the link to it. UNREAL!!

http://wesclark.com/ubn/faves.html

My faves:
~Jennyfivetina
~Chinchilla Zest
~Zestpoole
~Thankful Flood
~Christmas Cantata
~Vinyl
~Treasure Cocain

Long Overdue Update

It has been so long since I've posted, that I'm sure no one even checks this anymore! Sorry. No excuses. Just haven't done it.

We came back from Atlanta at the end of September, and lived with Dave's dad until last week. We now have an apt in Holladay/Murray. It's beautiful, and since the housing/renting market is so bad, we're getting it for $250 per month LESS than they usually charge.

I'm looking for a job, and almost had 2. Weird experiences, but I 'm glad to know that everything happens for a reason. I'll get a job when it's the right one...right?

Dave's still working for Pinnacle Security, and doing very well with them. He'll be co-managing an office this summer with his good friend Luke Toone. am I looking forward to moving again? in 5 months? NO. But it'll be worth it...right?

So many un-surities at this time in life, but we're happy and doing well.

I HATE YOU BEVERLY

First of all, sorry it's been so long (I say that like people are eager to read my worthless babblings...haha). I don't have a good excuse.

Life is good in Atlanta. We're really liking it. Work is going well for Dave, and I've been going out with him, so it's been fun to feel a little bit more useful and supportive. Also, my dad stopped in on his way to Huntsville Alabama, where he had business. He and I spent the day at Six Flags Over Georgia. It was HOT and crowded, but AWESOME!

There's a lot of fun stuff to do here. We LOVE going to Braves games. Dave wasn't really excited to go the first time. I practically dragged him there. But he ended up having a blast.

And a couple of weeks ago we went to the Coca Cola factory. That was so much fun!
The best part is the tasting room. They have like 60 different types of Coke products from all over the world. Some of them were good, and some were NOT. The very worst one is from Italy. Called Beverly.


If you google "Beverly Soda" there are some awesome youtube videos of people tasting it.

This one's my fave

We went with another couple, Brent and Noelle Hollingsworth. Noelle said "It tastes like poison!" I made a horrible face and started scraping my tongue with my fingernails to try to get rid of the taste. Dave said he imagines that's what Prostate Cancer tastes like (HAHAHAHA!!). In conclusion, it was BAD. It was bbitter and acidic and attacked your tongue ("like the scrubbing bubbles on the cleanser commercials" was how Dave explained it). Noelle took a picture of my reaction, so I'll post the oh so unflattering pic as soon as I get it :)

Vacations and Relocations (The Short Version)

This is just a quick post to explain my lack of blogging lately!

1. My parents visited at the end of June
2. I spent 3 days with them in DC
3. The day after I got back, Dave's mom came to visit
4. The next day Dave's brothers, sister in law, and 2 nieces brought the total to 8 people staying in our 1 bedroom apt. We had a blast in DC and checking out downtown Baltimore on the 4th of July
5. The day they left, Dallas's female friend came to visit
6. The 4 of us went to Palmyra NY for The Hill Cumorah Pageant!
7. The day we came back from NY, we went to PA to work for Dave to work for a few days
8. The morning after we got to PA, we found out he wouldn't be working there (the 3 hour drive and a night's stay in a hotel were a waste), we'd be moving. To Tennessee. The NEXT DAY. We had from 8 pm on Thursday to noon on Friday to pack.
9. Upon arrival in TN, we were told we would be in hotels for a week until our apts were ready.
10. The next day we found out we were moving to GA instead.

It has been CRAZY!!!!! We're in a hotel until who-knows-when.

So, I want to blog lots more about the fun vaca's we had, but I'll wait until we unpack so I can post pics.

Blog Slacker

Not much to report from Baltimore, but no news is good news. Work is going well for Dave. He started off strong, got into a bit of a slump, and has now picked up the pace again.

This morning we had a bit of a shock when Dave checked his bank account and saw that Pinnacle had deposited THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! It's obviously a mistake, but it was nice to look at for a minute. There's another Dave Jones that works for Pinnacle. We're wondering what that Dave did to get $13,000! We're doing fine, but not THAT fine! haha

My parents are flying in on Saturday-- my dad has business in DC (about 45 min from here). So we'll go to an Orioles game on Saturday and get some fresh crab at the harbor, and Sunday we thought we'd drive out to Gettysburg (about an hour away). Then on Sunday night I'll head to DC with my parents for a few days of culture at the Smithsonian with my mom. While the men-folk are working. Sorry Dave and Dad, but thanks for what you do to make it possible for me and mom to play!!

I don't know how much national coverage it got, but a couple of weeks ago a man shot up the Holocaust Museum. I was in DC headed to the temple when I heard the news. Such a scary thing, and I was only a couple of miles away. If any of you have been to the Holocaust Museum, you know it's enough to make anyone crazy. I left the museum after about 10 minutes. It was too painful. This man was an older gentleman filled with hate and anger. He killed a security guard and injured others. My mom and I will definitely avoid the Holocaust Museum, and hopefully we don't run into any other crazies!

I'm sure I'll have something to post about when I'm back from DC.

Vovo's 90th Birthday and Wedding!

Kind of a long post, but lots of fun...

Many of you know I was in Utah a couple of weeks ago for my Vovo's 90th birthday celebration/family reunion/wedding. It was an eventful week!

The trip started out with a trip to see Justin, my favorite nail guy!! I've been going to him for almost 10 years (even when I lived in Rexburg! I went home every-other-weekend to get my nails done). I hate going to anyone else. I literally planned my trip around my nail appointment. I know, I'm ridiculous. But he really is that good!!

Next on the agenda was a "Girl's Trip" to Park City with my mom and sisters. We did LOT of shopping and had fun at the outlets, but I think the most fun shopping was on Main Street. There were lots of fun shops and some awesome deals! I got a beautiful black dress coat from a little boutique that was having a big sale. It was normally almost $300, I got it for $70!! Even though it was 80 degrees outside, I couldn't pass up the deal. Winter always comes back! Emily got a beautiful little dress there that was originally $100 for $25! And a hand made copper necklace to match that was originally $70 for $12!! She has great taste. I wonder where she got it!! We left happy :)

Then Gina, my sister-in-law, came up for an evening of sushi and pedicures- two of my very favorite things! It was a marvelous trip!!

We then headed up to my uncle's cabin (up past Daniel's Summit. I really have no idea where that is...). My mom has one brother (Dan) and one sister (Marlyn). Two of Dan's kids came and all of Marlyn's six kids came. There were about a million little kids running around, but it was a blast. My Vovo and her fiance Lorne were adorable.

When it came time for the wedding, she wanted everything to be just right. Because I used to do weddings at Thanksgiving Point, she wanted my opinion on everything. It was just funny because the wedding was held in a crowded family room with a bunch of little barefoot kids and people overflowing into the kitchen. A stuffed mountain lion, a moose head, and some stuffed geese looked down on the ceremony. Lol. Then she wanted me to show her the right way to cut the cake. there really is a technique to cutting an actual, tiered wedding cake, but her's was a sheet cake. Not much to it. I showed them how to hold the knife for pictures, but my Vovo didn't have the strength in her tiny arm to but through the cake. Lorne had to push down on her hand to get through it.

All in all it was a good trip. They were adorable. And although my dad tripped up his words during the marriage ceremony and said they were "illegally and lawfully wed," we think it
counted.

Vovo and Lorne. The night before the wedding we celebrated her 90th birthday

Her birthday gift. A quilt with one square for each family

Cute Gabe and Carter


I can't get enough of this kid!

Madelyn and Sammy. He's such a smiley baby! And at 5 months old, he says "Hi!"

I love my niece and nephews! Spending time with them was my favorite part of the trip!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's day Mom! You're the best.

BYU Football Game. Go Cougs!

FHE Hike (with Dad and Gabe)

THE face. 90% of the pictures I take of my mom look like this

So cute!

Happy Mom's Day! Sorry I can't be there! Love you!

The Lighthouse's Tale

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put your iTunes, iPod, MP3 Player, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Celebrate the Day-- Relient K

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Take Me Away-- Plain White T's

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
The Way You Look-- Michael Buble

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Who's Your Daddy-- Toby Keith

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
I Melt With You-- Bowling for Soup

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
We Are-- Vertical Horizon

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Heaven-- Angels and Airwaves

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Your Arms Feel Like Home-- 3 Doors Down

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Collide-- Howie Day

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Without You-- Blake Lewis

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Hey-- Red Hot Chili Peppers

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Mixed tape-- Jack's Mannequin

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Foolish Pride-- Travis Tritt

WHAT WILL/DID YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Bold as Love-- John Mayer

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Venice Queen-- Red Hot Chili Peppers

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
No Rain-- Blind Melon

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Spoonman-- Soundgarden

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Angels-- Norah Jones

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Uptown Girl-- Billy Joel

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Rise-- Flobots

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Cinnamon-- The Long Winter

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Halloween Time-- Nate Jones

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Another Kind of Green-- John Mayer Trio

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Stop Children What's That Sound-- Forest Gump Soundtrack

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
In Repair-- John Mayer

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Oh Dear-- Matt Costa

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Battle Hymn of the Republic-- Kalai

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
There's Always Someone Cooler than You-- Ben Folds

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Lighthouse's Tale-- Nickle Creek

THIS WAS TOTALLY FUN. HOW HILARIOUS! TRY IT!

"Going Green" Gone TOO Far!

I try not to rant on my blog, but here it goes. Buckle up!

Like I mentioned, Dave and I are living in Baltimore for the next few months. One of the things I've had to do in this new town is find the best grocery store around. You know, price comparison and whatnot. Well, one thing that all of the stores have in common is the desire to Go Green. Everyone wants to do their part. That's all good and fine; I like the earth just as much as the next person, but out here they've gone too far: They have cut back on the quality of their plastic!!!! In all forms!

Every time I bring in the groceries, the handles break on at least one bag. And it's usually while I have the dogs on their leashes in one hand. So I leave a busted bag of flour in a heap of broken plastic bag while I take the dogs back to the apt. Then I scoop up my wasted flour, throw it away, get a couple more bags from the car, and another bag breaks on my way back in. Unreal.

Then a week later, Dave was helping me bring in groceries. He picked up a case of water and the plastic on that broke too! Water bottles everywhere.

So yes, I want to save the world , but give me back my slightly more reliable and much more reusable grocery bags. That's how I recycle! JEEZ!

Long Time, No...Post!

Wow! It's been WAY too long. But I have a good reason. It's a long story. I'll try to keep it short:

Dave and I moved to Baltimore for the summer for work for both of us. We drove from Utah and spent the night in hotels. While spending the night in Indianapolis, our car was broken into. That's now the 4th time Dave and I have had our cars broken into (2 for me and 2 for him). Awesome, right? Well most of our belongings were in a friend's U-Haul, but we did have LOTS of valuable stuff in my car as well. Like Dave's laptop. And his camera with our Honeymoon pics. Boo. And $5,000 dollars worth of other stuff including electronic (the ipods that were stolen had both been purchased to replace ipods that had been stolen out of our cars previously. So ridiculous). So we filed a claim with our renter's insurance and everyting has now been replaced.

It was such a pain getting the proof of ownership tat the insurance company needed. they said, "Do you have any pics of the items? like maybe, a picture with the laptop in the back groud?" I said, "Yes, probably, but our camera was stolen." The insurance lady had the audacity to say, "Didn't you back them up somewhere?" I totally yelled at her, "YES! ON THE COMPUTER! WHICH WAS STOLEN!" They ended up being really good to deal with, which was nice.

So we made it to Baltimore and I started work in the office while Dave was selling. The office job wasn't hard, but CONSUMING. I was working 12 hours a day, so my pay was something like 3 bucks an hour. After about a week, I quit. Yep. Quit. I help out in the office when needed, but I was so unhappy that it was starting to make Dave unhappy too. So we decided all things would be best if I quit. Yay!

Last weekend, for easter, we went to NYC to visit Dave's brother and sister-in-law (Dustin and Lyna) and their adorable little girls. It's only 3 hours from here so we left Saturday night and came back Sunday night. It was a blast, but too short. Dave had never been to the city so it was so fun to go with him to Time Square and everything. We're planning more trips in the future. When it's not Sunday so e can SHOP SHOP SHOP!! Both Dustin and Lyna are fabulously fashionable and so fun to shop with. Can't wait!

So that's the short version of the last 2 or 3 weeks. I'll try to do better now that I have some time on my hands. xoxo

Time Square
(It was cold and I only had a hoodie so
I was wrapped in the emergency blanket from my trunk.
It was an emergecy!)

Manhattan LDS Temple
So cool to see in the midst of the city

Wedding Pics!

I posted them on my Facebook page, so check them out!

Hawaii Pics

Some fun pics from our Honeymoon in Oahu

The Chinaman's Hat

Honolulu

Waikiki

Para-sailing!

700 feet in the air

Honolulu

Haleiwa, our first day

LDS Temple in Leia

I'll post wedding pics tomorrow!!

Wedding Teasers

There are a few wedding pics posted on our photographer's site:

AMB Photography

We should have all of our wedding photos by the end of the week. And I'll post LOTS!

Loving Married Life

Dave and I are back from Hawaii. As much as we LOVED being there, it's been good to be back too. We've been getting our apt all set up. It's starting to look good! And I'm starting to look for a job. Yuck. It's truly been a blessing that I lost my job when I did. We don't know how we'd get everything taken care of that we needed to if I wasn't able to take care of things during the day. But my sabbatical from working life must come to a close. Sad.

I'll post some Hawaii pics soon. The pic of Oahu in my last post is a pic of Waimea Bay. We played there one day and jumped off the big rock that all the people are standing on. It was a blast. I'll take some pics of our cute little place too.

5 Days!!!

Ahh! Excited, anxious, and so many other things. The one thing I'm NOT is nervous. Life with Dave will be wonderful. Hard and complicated, but fabulous!

We finally have the keys to our apt in Taylorsville and we'll be moving Dave in tomorrow. Besides that (which makes me sick to think about--I hate moving!), we just have to pack for Hawaii. Could be worse, right? I've never been to Hawaii and Dave hasn't been since he was little so we're both really excited.

A picture of Oahu-- the North Shore

I had my bridals on Saturday. I haven't seen them yet but Isabel, Dave's cousin's wife (she did my hair and came with me to the pics), said they were awesome. I hope so! I get them back on Wednesday. We'll have some up for the reception. We took them at Sundance, but it was snowy so most of them were inside. We did a few outside so I'm hoping they turn out.

Hope to see you at the reception! If you don't have an invite yet, post your address. I'll send one out tomorrow.

The Home Stretch!

11 days! Almost down to 10! I haven't posted in awhile because it seems like there's always one more thing that needs to be done! I still haven't done my bridal pics, which is insane! We had to reschedule because of the weather, and then my photographer got sick so we had to reschedule again. Now I'm finally getting them done the Saturday before my wedding. Wow. Talk about cutting it close! But I'm not too worried about it. I've come to terms with the fact that things WILL inevitably go wrong. But as long as when Feb 14th ends I'm married, nothing else matters.

Dave and I have had some incredible experiences this past week to remind us of the importance of the temple. What an amazing blessing it is! We are so excited for the opportunity to be sealed for time and all eternity, and to invite God to be a vital part of our marriage. We've been reading lots of scriptures and conference talks about it. We've also been praying for a more complete understanding of the temple. We know our understanding will never be complete in this life, but our knowledge and faith have increased SO MUCH these past few days.

A special thanks to our Stake President, President Bangerter, for his sweet council and loving words. We love you Daddy!

Jobless. Good Timing.

NOT! I was just laid off. Due to "budget cut..." blah, blah, blah. Here's what's really sucky about it: I was working at the front desk at LANDesk. They hired a new Exec. and he moved me up to be his admin. Then got rid of me! After 3 months. Awesome. And I never got the raise promised me by LANDesk when I moved to be his admin! So I could STILL HAVE A JOB working at the front desk at least! For the same measley pay! I'm so bitter. Can you tell? No one will hire me and then give me a week and a half off for a honeymoon, so I'm just trying to get everything ready for the wedding. And constantly stressing about money. There's always something! I wend to pick up a prescription for Dave today and it cost $130!!! There's some stupid $100 deductable that has to be paid at the beginning of the year. I'm a mess. All I can do is pray. Cute dave keeps reminding me of that. "Where's your faith babe?" he keeps asking me. I left it in my desk at LANDesk.

Shoes and Cake!

I found the most incredible shoes! they are Christian Louboutin and were designed in 2007. At that time, they cost almost $2000!! Unreal. Well, I did some digging and found them online for $150!! So these are my wedding shoes. They should arrive today. So anxious!!! They have black bows on the back and the bows have white on the inside. And all of Christian Louboutin's shoes have a red sole. Perfect!!


I'm having my cake done by a woman named Dawna Erickson. She's amazing! Her website is

utahcakes.com

After much deliberation, I chose this cake. it'll be White with black and there will be spaces between the layers for flowers-- mostly red flowers. It's going to be beautiful. I won't want to cut it!

The Drama of The Ring

Okay, so yesterday was a roller coaster in regards to my ring. Dave got a call from my cousin Heather, who we bought my ring from, (she and her husband own a jewelery store) saying my ring wouldn't be done until Feb 17th (We'd be in Hawaii by then) and it would cost $600 more than she told us it would. He called me not knowing what to do. We'd either have to get smaller bands than the ones I'd chosen to go with my wide band or pay the $600. Well money's tight (to say the least!) so I told her I'd take the smaller bands. Sad.

Later in the afternoon, Heather called me back to tell me she'd worked something out so that I could get the bigger bands for the smaller price! Just because she was sorry for the mix up! YAY!!! So I'm still sad that I might not have my ring for the wedding/ring ceremony, but she said she'd do everything she can to get it done before the 14th. Thanks Heather!!

New Blog!

I moved my blog here so that it's a Dave and Amy blog, not just an Amy blog (although my posts were all about Dave anyway!). I plan on posting all the fun info about our wedding, but it'll be little bits at a time. For starters, our reception will be at the ALPINE ART CENTER and we're getting married in the SALT LAKE TEMPLE. Our wedding date is Feb 14 (yes, Valentine's day). We didn't necessarily want to get married on Valentine's Day, we just wanted to get married the weekend before my brother Mike goes into the MTC. So our options were Friday the 13th (YUCK!) and Saturday the 14th-- Valentine's Day. We went with that for obvious reasons.

I posted about Dave's proposal on my other blog (amesflames.blogspot.com). I'll post about my dress, flowers, and cake this weekend. I put up the pic of our announcement again. Just because I love them. :)