update.

WORK UPDATE


desk job is still fun, but it's had some rough days lately. you see, i schedule people for conferences all day long, and today, one of our conferences was being held in Vegas. It was originally supposed to be at the Eastside Cannery and Casino, but we had to change venues, last minute... unbeknownst to me... since I am just a small part in this whole thing... so what happened? calls upon calls of very angy people, not afraid to swear at me, demanding I give them an explanation! All of this happened while Liz, Brandon and Paul were out of the office (the 3 go-to supervisors) so I had to go to Mitch, the outbound supervisor, while I had customers on hold... and work this out. Never had so many people hang up on my in my life!!!


the good part, though, is that we've kind of started a clique... but not the exclusive kind. more just like my friends and i all sit in cubicles together and share our funny customer stories, which made the whole Eastside Cannery catastrophe a little funny. emily, kimberly, kaitlyn, caitlyn, mike, garek and I all sit in the same row, and it makes work so much more tolerable!


the other good thing-- is that lately, i've been back in that stressful slump again. feeling super overwhelmed with wedding plans, and now that i'm working 2 jobs, things are getting more difficult! i don't think i've ever been this busy in my life!!! it's been good though, and like my dad said, i'm gonna be rich! which is a total lie, because there are bills and payments and lives to sustain. but it makes it so worth it! i feel like devin and i have been very privileged. or maybe we are just spoiling ourselves. we have bought all new furniture... all of it. brand new. no hand-me-downs for this couple! it has been so nice, because we both like nice, quality things. and we've worked hard to be in a place where this has been an option for us. which i also love. and this hard work will not be stopping by any means!


i also love that even though i'm working hard, even on the days when i work both jobs, i have my afternoons free. this isn't very useful now, but once dev and i are married, this time will be sooo valuable! i work at the desk job from 8-1:30 every single day Monday - Friday. and I usually only have BBW shifts at night, for closing, usually around 4 or 5 to 9 or 10... so I will have that afternoon time to go home and clean and do laundry and plan dinner, and start things for dinner, and give my husband something wonderful to come home to! That's huge to me. Especially knowing how hard Devin works. He doesn't have an easy job, and he has so much going on on top of that! It is so important to me that he comes home to a clean house, and a delicious dinner every night. I feel like in some way, that will help him relax. It gives him one less thing to worry about!


BBW is also still fun. i've been closing with Ashley the last couple of nights, and I absolutely love her. She has become such a great friend. Our store is sorta crazy right now, being that we only have 3 managers, but we've been handling it so well, and we've had some help from Provo Towne's awesome Co, Aubrey, who I also love! I feel like since I've worked at BBW, our products have enhanced. they are more appealing, they are reformulated, we have more, tasteful variety... and I'm so glad! It's really become something great. I'm also excited that since we won a huge, huge overall competition over holiday, Ken Montera, VP of something or other... is coming to our store! Apparently, it's a big deal. The best part is that he's taking our team out to dinner, and the other day, or District Manager, Mel asked what the most expensive restaurant in the valley is... pretty sure the closest thing is Chef's Table... but that's so cool! We are the smallest store, I think, with one of the lowest volumes, so I am impressed that we've been so successful.


ANYWAY


WEDDING UPDATE


dress bought.
picking it up next week.
getting alterations next week.
engagements taken.
getting those next week hopefully. we've seen 2 pictures so far and i LOVE THEM
also, we got an offer from Jared, who we originally wanted as our photographer, and he said he would do our wedding day for EVEN CHEAPER, so we booked with him immediately. that's SO awesome.
ALSO... dev's taking my bridals soon-ish. probably a couple weeks after i get the dress.
TOMORROW I meet with the florist to go over some ideas, and to get a quote.
also calling another florist (we've got connections with wedding stuff up the wazoo!) for another quote next week.


i think that's it. wow. it's been such a productive week for the wedding. i'm so excited. i can't wait for this to all come together! the image i have in my head is so attainable, and I know that I can have my dream wedding! i'm definitely making it happen. can't wait.


HUMBLE ABODE UPDATE


carpet and new carpet padding going back in the master bedroom this week.
bedroom set getting delivered on the 9th -- SO excited.
1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets (yes. you heard me right. 1000 thread count. Egyptian cotton.) being shipped next week.
bought the bedding tonight (we I couldn't resist!)

we plan on using navy blue and gray in the room as well, which i'm SO excited about.

lamps picked out. (target)
awesome chair for the living room picked out. (ikea)


still in search for a good rug for the living room... also still trying to decide how necessary a rug is
still in search for a good clock
still in search for good storage ideas
still in search for possible shelving options


HAPPY COUPLE UPDATE


tonight, Devin and I went to Kyle's baseball game! which we lost, but oh well! I'm excited for baseball season to start -- it's always been fun for my family to support kyle. He's such a good player, and he's playing on first base this year with the sophomore team. i guess the high school did away with JV... or something like that. it's all becoming too political. i personally like it better when kyle plays on club teams. much more exciting! but oh well.


after that, we went to IKEA and roamed around for at least an hour. found the chair we wanted. looked at lighting and pillows and blankets and rugs and art and all kinds of stuff and ended up not getting anything. leaving without getting the side table we were going to get. oh well. they are always there, haha.


went to ashley furniture to find a lamp. failed.


went to paradise cafe for dinner -- LOVE. it was sooooo delicious. a close second to kneaders for me, and devin's favorite bakery/cafe. definitely going there more often!


went to target to look for the same kind of stuff. found the perfect lamps. bought our bedding. and then i pulled devin around while he hung on the cart, for at least half an hour, and I feel like I talked non-stop the entire time. i just had so much to say! haha we looked at microwaves. which we need. and toaster ovens. which devin needs. and dishes. which we definitely DO NOT need.


i don't think i've laughed that hard in a long time. Devin is very much so my best friend. we have the most unique relationship -- it's a connection unlike anything else! i love it. he is so amazing, and even with all the stress of wedding and apartment and finances and work... he's got me laughing so hard i can't breathe! he is so amazing. i couldn't ask for a better man.


ME UPDATE


in light of all that's been happening, i decided to go tanning today. it's always helped me relax, to just lay in that giant warm bed for awhile. i love how tanning salons smell, too. so it definitely relaxed me.


until i got home.


and realized i had burned!!!


it hurt so bad, but then i put some after-sun lotion on, and the burn is gone! i'm not even red! so that was a relief. i think i'll start tanning a little more often, because it's so relaxing, plus it would be nice to not be so pasty on my wedding day!


also... i'm going to get eyelash extensions. i've officially decided. not crazy huge ones. just fuller, slightly longer, more natural looking ones. i've just heard so many benefits about having them. they are low-maintenance. you don't have to put mascara on, which cuts make-up application time in half! and they are perfect for summer because you can go to the gym and go swimming and not wear makeup, but still feel and look good. which is a bonus. plus it'll be nice to have perfect eyelashes on my wedding day! haha i think i'll just keep them for the summer though. no need to pay every month for refills in the winter.


ALSO


getting a gym membership. probably in the next couple weeks. my desk job offers a SUPER AWESOME no-contract pass through gold's gym that's SO cheap. it's 20$ a month, but every time you go to the gym in that month, it takes a dollar off your monthly bill. so if i go 20 times a month, my pass is free! gold's gym has always kind of had this snotty-nose reputation to me, but i'm willing to let it change my mind. plus, i'm pretty sure they offer a yoga class, and i would LOVE to get back into a yoga class. yoga worked WONDERS on me while i lived in St. George. it was SUCH a nice thing to have. so it's happening.


WEEKEND UPDATE
(warning: will not be nearly as exciting as seth meyers' weekend update on SNL)


TOMORROW, dev and I are going to SLC for the NHMM reunion! that's the New Hampshire Manchester Mission. the reunion. and i'm so excited. i've never been to a mission reunion before, but i feel like i already know these guys, because dev has talked about them so much! he had the coolest mission. i love hearing about it, and i can't wait to meet everyone.


SATURDAY i am most likely going to the antique mall with Amanda (EEEEE!!!! can't contain my excitement to get back in there!) and I am determined to find my oval mirror!!! i will search!!! after that, we're meeting up with Chloe and going to lunch at the cracker barrell... which i feel is becoming a tradition... Ashby Sister Night Out at Cracker Barrel. so awesome! i love my ashby sisters. they are the best!


after that, Dev and I are heading up to SLC again to take grad pictures for his friend, Brittney, who I think is awesome. and then Devin will most likely go to preisthood with TJ, and i'll veg/movie night with TJ's amazing wife, Liz, or we'll head back to Orem and he'll go with his brothers. Either way...


I'm so excited for this weekend. Even more excited that it's finally here!


as challenging as these times have been, i feel like i've only been getting positive consequences and feedback from them. growing, learning, adapting, benefiting, progressing, successing... it's been good. i complain about it way more than i should. Devin has been so patient with me lately, as he always is, and has been the one that reminds me what the big picture is. He has also been so good in reminding me that I should rely more on my Heavenly Father, which I have been doing, and I've been so blessed in doing that!


i love you so much, Devin. you're the best fiance ever.


BUT.... i'm really tired of calling you my fiance. i just want to call you my husband already!!!

lesson learned

do not apply mascara when you have the hiccups.


it doesn't work.


i tried.

absofruitly

so i got my friend Emily (co-worker at the desk job) to read the hunger games series. she loves it.


she let me in on the call center secret -- this website that everyone is secretly obsessed with, but none of the supervisors approve, haha.


today was our boss, Colton's birthday, so Kaitlyn made BTS cake... it was sooo good. Even at 9:00a.m.


we made bets on when Stephanie and Chase would get engaged.


Brandon (my supervisor) and I made bets on who would win the NCAA Championship.


Skip croaked in my ear.


Devin and I made one last visit to his old apartment to do some cleaning and pick up the rest of his things.


Made another quick trip to our new house (okay. so it's a basement apartment. but i will always refer to it as our house. because it is our own humble abode.) to drop off most of those things we had picked up.


Wing Nutz for dinner. I try something new almost every time we go -- like today, for example. I had a wrap, and it's definitely my new favorite. Who would have thought that a wing place would make such good pico de gallo?! The funny part is that it's very unlike me to order something different every time. I usually stick with what I like. The thing is that I'm just not in the mood for wings as often as Devin is. So maybe it's my way of adjusting. He orders the exact same thing every time. 15 wings. Half Southern Honey BBQ, Half Parmesan Curry. It's his favorite.


Then D called me Negative Nancy while I made fun of "All Together Now - A Celebration of Service".


He did homework.


I slept.


He woke me up so we could argue about a mail slot, haha. :)


Sean came over. Referred to us as "dudes" more than once.


We watched 2 episodes of the Office. The Lover. The Deposition. both good. The Lover probably more-so. But the ping-pong smack talk is pretty entertaining. I just can't get over the wooden mallard!


I tried to muffle my screaming/laughing while Devin tickled me. I don't remember what I did to encourage that --


we forgot to eat the last 2 pieces of cheesecake! And i am very unfortunately realizing this only just now :( good thing i'm making some next week.


cue bedtime.

pro.

today was such a productive day! this morning, I gathered Valeri, Mom, Kayla and Devin at the bridal store to take our final vote for my dress.


Again, I loved them both. Almost equally -- equally enough that I needed everyone else's opinion, but to distinguish between the two dresses, we'll go with Kylee's favorite, and My favorite.


after our first attempt at going to the store (we went at 10:30... they didn't open until 12), we finally made it down there, along with about 6 other brides, and it's a small store! so it was pretty crowded...


I tried on Kylee's favorite first, and everyone loved it. When I tried on my favorite, everyone loved it again. So after going back and forth for awhile, and trying on each dress, over and over again... everyone had voted for My favorite. Everyone but DEVIN! haha Val and I were both so curious to find out why he liked the other one better... he said he didn't know how to explain it, but to put the other one on one more time, and changed his mind.


It was unanimous. My favorite won. We bought it then! We're having it cleaned and steamed, and I can pick it up next week, so I can take it to the seamstress for alterations! I am so excited. That dress should be ALL MINE in about 3 weeks -- and custom fitted. I can't wait!


MOSTLY because D and I decided on bridals. We're going to do them at the Salt Flats! I am soooo excited. I know that a lot of people go there for pictures, it's sort of cliche, and a "been there, done that" type of thing here in the Valley, but I am completely confident that Devin will do something new and different. He's not like other photographers.


I am also not-so-secretly hoping that Devin will be so kind as to do a small shoot in an orchard, aside from the 2 1/2 hour drive up to the flats!


But anyway... after we picked the dress, we all went our separate ways, and Devin and I met up with Chris and Katie, our good friends! Chris is a close friend of Dev's from his mission, and Chris' cute wife, Katie was actually one of their converts! It's the coolest story. They are even expecting! Their baby is due a few weeks before our wedding and I'm so excited for them! We ate outside at Kneader's, braving the weather that wasn't too cold, but it wasn't warm either.


After that, Dev and I went to the middle of nowhere field in Provo that was absolutely amazing, and met up with CHELSY to take our ENGAGEMENTS!


She was so much fun to work with -- it was a blast! I loved it so much. It was weird for Devin to be on the other side of the camera, but I told him to suck it up, because we're only doing this once! Chelsy planned for us to take pictures in 2 locations, and our second one was in Jamestown Square -- never would have thought! It was awesome. We even got her to take some pictures with Devin's old school polaroid he bought a few weeks ago on ebay, and they turned out pretty awesome!


I am SO anxious to see how our pictures turned out. the only thing i'm worried about is us looking cold! I was pretty much freezing all day -- not as cold during our engagements as I was during the rest of our afternoon though... when we


TEST DROVE CARS!!!


Devin and I have had a master plan for awhile now. As soon as we have his Mazda paid off, we will sell my car and use that as a down payment on a new car for him, and I will drive the Mazda. SO the past couple days, D has spent hours online looking at cars, and building his own on websites and things...


yesterday while I was at work, he test drove an xterra and loved it. TODAY... we were looking at cars for me -- because if Devin was getting a new car, so was I. Plus, when I become a mom, that Mazda just isn't gonna cut it. I need a mom car. (notice: i refuse to ever be the owner of a mini van. ever). A small SUV, preferably.


so we'd been searching for that, too. I've been loving the new Liberty's from Jeep. Dodge Nitro. Range Rover (I know, it's a long shot). There are so many cute ones that I would love to have! Then, Devin turned me on to the PATRIOT.

how awesome is this car?!

we went to the dealership right away, to look at them, and I ended up getting to drive it around Provo! I've never test-driven a car before... and let me tell you... that Patriot... IS AMAZING. Just like Devin predicted, I will be obsessing over it until he lets me get one!!! Let's not forget that I almost took out a mitsubishi in a round-a-bout while driving the Patriot... classic Katie. I know. Leave it to me to total the brand new black Jeep Patriot with only 37 miles on it...


NEXT, Devin tried to decide if he wanted to deal with the pushy saleman at Brent Brown, and we went anyway "just to look"... peeking into the windows wasn't enough, so Devin flagged down a saleman and said, "is there any way for me to test drive a car without getting your sales pitch?" the guy was awesome. He ran inside to grab us the keys to a new black toyota TACOMA off-road edition, and let us drive it.

It. Was. Amazing. We both fell in love immediately, and he liked it WAY better than the xterra.


I am a HUGE fan of that Tacoma and can't wait for it to be our next car! We agreed that the SECOND it's realistic for us to start making payments on one...we're buying it. No competition. I cant wait -- it's amazing!


After that, we went to get some dinner from Hibachi-San, but got very annoyed VERY fast with all the people coming to the MALL covered in CHALK from the stupid festival of colors. I don't think anybody even understands the festival of colors, and I think it's very disrespectful for us (byu students) to turn it into a fad, while it's something very sacred to that religion. It's become this big BYU thing... and it's a facebook epidemic. So dont be alarmed if I avoid facebook for the next few days -- it's only because I can't stand all the stupid albums!!!


okay, i'm done. sorry.


anyway... Devin wasn't feeling good, so he went home to sleep and relax, and I think he deserved some Devin time anyway, and I came home to do laundry, but ended up curling up in my bed watching a movie. Just what I needed :)


after this post, I plan on getting BACK into bed, this time with a hot pad and a book, and going to sleep as early as I can!


today was such a fun day. I got my wedding dress. We took our engagement pictures. We got to spend all day kissing and holding hands... (haha i say that like that's different from any other day...)


we also talked to Chelsy about doing our wedding -- and she's all for it! I am so excited. She is UNBELIEVABLY affordable, and does great work. I've said before that Devin and I like her style because she's so close to his -- but I can see some differences. We both agree that she has so much potential! Love her.


today was a champion of days. a pro. it was so much fun. and i'm exhausted! that's gotta mean something good!


SOOOO... i'm gonna go grab that book now :)

magic

a lot of times i think, "how did he do that"
and a lot of times i don't only think it, but i say, "Devin. how did you do that?"
and then i realize how often I say, or think that
and I know exactly what his answer will be if I ask...


"magic"


He does things that prompt that question a lot.


He knew exactly what I was thinking.
Exactly what to say.
Exactly how to dish back the teasing
Exactly what I wanted for dinner
He came up with an awesome solution to hang up the banner at the bridal fair.
He picked out the perfect ring for me -- did a better job than I probably could have.
He gives me the chills! In a good way.
He makes me laugh when I'm on the verge of tears.
He surprises me at work.
He is such a great listener, and gives me advice.
He notices things I never would have.
He helps me to see things from a whole new perspective.
His optimism turns any situation into something positive.
He knows what i'm capable of, better than I do.


...how did he do that?


At this point... I believe in magic :)




only 61 more lonely nights.


tomorrow we're taking our engagement pictures -- rain or shine. and you know what?


i'm okay with that.


yesterday, I asked Devin if he would take my bridals. I am so excited. I think it will be a lot of fun, and good for both of us. Not a lot of couples get that kind of experience. It's something we'll always remember, and I like that. It will mean so much more to me this way.

turns out, I was the crazy one. and I love Michael Scott.

so yesterday... everything changed


i thought i'd found the winner, and my mother was crazy, right?


wrong.


the winner was not found. and III was the crazy one.


TURNS OUT. there is a bridal shop in Provo that is my new best kept secret. it's like a hole in the wall kind of place, and I went there as a last resort. right when i walked in the door... I found about 8 dresses right away that I loved and tried them all on, but Kylee and I quickly narrowed it down to 2.


but now I have a new problem.


I am absolutely completely totally set on BOTH dresses. i love them both. they are so different, but both so me. i've been sort of leaning more toward one, but I really do love both. OH it's the hardest thing!


i am SO relieved we found this place. and tomorrow, we're going back to try them both on with a bunch more family and friends to take a vote, haha yes. i've resorted to voting. that's how torn i am!


so that's that.


wanna know what else kylee and i did yesterday?


we went to every craft store in the valley basically, only to find that none of them carry card holders that i needed. i came up with a cuter DIY idea instead though, so it's okay.


wanna know what we came home with after 7 hours of shopping?


votive candles. clothespins. command hooks. and a torn katie over 2 dresses.


but it was successful. all of those are necessary for the decorations anyway.


but i didn't even put a dent in the wedding shopping. oh well.


ALSO... we went to lunch because we were starved. kylee wanted wendy's. i want mcdonald's. so we decided to go to both drive thru's and compare them.


WENDYS
first of all -- is it just us, or do the people at wendy's make you feel like you have some contagious plague? they make you feel SO rushed. you hand them your card, and they hand you your drink, and by the time you've turned back to the window, just from putting the drink in the cupholder, they are shaking the bag of food in your face, yelling at you to have a nice day with a look on their face like their being held at gunpoint!


i find it hilarious, and i try to take my sweet time, just to bother them. it's ridiculous, and very rude.


MCDONALDS
was fine. most of their drive-thru talker people are hispanic, and very hard to understand, but they always get the order right. EXCEPT they never give you enough sauce.


we also concurred that mcdonald's def. has better fries.


the end.


today i worked. and ran erronds. and now i'm going to go work again at BBW. it's been such a busy day.


wanna know what's worse?


ITS SNOWING.


we're supposed to take our engagements tomorrow!


remember how i made that cute skirt for my engagement pictures? yeah not happening anymore. so sad :( i'm sure we'll find a great solution, but i'm still totally bummed! stupid weather. i hate march.


also -- BYU is out of the tourney... but they put up a fight. i didn't expect them to win. i actually expected them to lose way worse than they did, so props to the cougs for their great run. i'm excited to see who gets in the final four.


ALSO


last night's episode of the office? SO great. i love Jim. and Michael was normal and sweet for once. it was adorable. i love Holly too. that was the best episode! false, but it's up there.

almost winner

so.


today i made (what i thought was) an executive decision and picked a dress. the winner.


and it is. it is totally the winner.


well, that's a lie, it's the winner in my price range. the REAL winner is about $500 too much to be worn once and hung in my closet for decades -- noooot worth it to me. but i'm over it.


so this winner dress kind of snuck up. it wasn't love at first sight. i fell in love the SECOND time i tried it on.


and i've been really excited about it.


it would be so easy for me to post the pictures i took today of my trying it on -- but i would so much rather keep it a secret from you all! the people that matter most have already seen it :) haha and yes, that includes my fiance. the whole "don't see the bride in the gown before the wedding" thing is so superstitious. myth. i want devin to see it and have an opinion. of course, he loves the winner, and says it's perfect.


but someone else did not.


when i told my parents about the winner, they were excited, but they are also being very reluctant. i have only been to 2 stores. granted, i've tried on my share of wedding gowns, but my mom still isn't understanding the importance of an expensive dress. which it is not.


i have budgeted for a $700 dress.
i have been shooting for a $500 dress.
the winner is $629.
and i am willing to pay for alterations out of my own pocket (because there will be next to none -- fits me like a glove, practically)


but she insists i keep looking. she loves the dress, don't get me wrong, but she is so frugal, and i don't blame her.


SO the new solution is: i have a winner. but the competition is not over.


tomorrow, the hunt continues, and i will see if there's anything out there that can beat my winner.


bridal center, here i come!


ALSO... Dev had a late night craving for coldstone, so we went around 9:30 when i got off work. I got OREO CREAM FILLING ICE CREAM. it was divine. great way to end the night!


also -- I went with my wonderful mother-in-law-to-be to Kohl's and saw the dress she found for our wedding -- that is exactly our colors! it's perfect. it looked great on her and i'm so excited about it. what a find!


tomorrow will be a wedding day.
searching for my dress more.
and buying some decoration stuff -- it's about time, right?


that's the other thing. time.
i think i keep kidding myself that i have time to do all of this, that whatever it is can wait until the wedding day gets closer -- but that's false. that's my word of advice to future brides. just get it all done in advance so you can have the time leading up to the wedding to relax and focus on what matters, instead of doing it the other way around.


also... time. i'm running out of it. i need to find a dress within the next 2 weeks and make a final decision so it has time to be altered. if i decide to do bridals, i might be out of luck. hopefully not. we'll see.


i just want to find the right dress! hmph :(


but to keep you satisfied... here is the ACTUAL WINNER. the one that is totally out of range, but everything i've ever wanted in a wedding dress ever. dropped waist. V neck in the front and back. COMPLETE LACE. it's perfect. but it's not mine. and never will be. i will just continue to envy it from here.


this is the one i tried on that i had been stalking online for... all my life, and i wasn't expecting to like it on, because that never happens -- but then it totally did and it's the most perfect dress in the world. oh well. i'm over it, really... (sigh) haha

bad day

...but my night made up for it :)


i love my fiance.


and i especially love that i only have to call him that for 2 more months!

texas hold 'em

after work, I decided I wanted to take all my kitchen stuff (because i have a lot of dishes and things from college and such) over to the apartment, because I can... and I brought Kylee with me, because she hadn't seen it yet.


We unpacked all the dishes, and it was harder than I thought to try and decide where everything should go! I gave Dev full permission to rearrange the kitchen if he wanted, because he can probably do it more logically than me anyway. And he'll probably care more.


also...


D and I had planned to go see TREVOR HALL perform tonight at the Velour, but it ended up being sold out.

But then, just a couple minutes ago, I got on facebook. My friend Ryan wrote on my wall saying Velour had posted that they would be selling more tickets at the door.


bummer dude.


except not really. trevor hall will come again. but tonight was PRICELESS.


we decided that instead we'd spend some quality time with Sean and Chloe, D's brother and sister-in-law.


we wanted to show them bananagrams, and Chloe offered to make some dinner!


while we waited for Sean to get home from school, we talked, I showed Chloe some of the dresses that i've tried on... which are ALL perfect. Which I think is harder than not finding anything, in a way!


Devin worked on homework, and of course Mosey was there to entertain us.


we had some delicious enchiladas and rice -- it was SO good. i don't care what Sean says about your rice, Chloe, it was great!


we played bananagrams, the first couple rounds individually, and came up with some awesome words, like guarantees and volcano. then once we started playing as teams (couple vs. couple), things got interesting. Sean and Chloe started making up words once they saw that D and I had started with "koolaid" and "kewl" and all the rules went out the window! there were some funny, funny words. We made Sean explain all of his words to us. Most of them were acronyms like VOD, AI, ET... it was hilarious!


after that, we played POKER.

Devin and I have never learned, but Sean and Chloe were great teachers. We just played with chips, and I got the hang of it really fast! D had some awesome comebacks, but Chloe ended up winning it all!


I am a horrible, horrible bluffer, so I just end up smiling and laughing the whole time, but apparently that threw them on occasion, so it worked out well for me! Sean and Chloe said I was brave -- but I guess I just don't see the point in being afraid to lose fake money. It was fun to learn and play, and I feel like I really understood!


I am actually a huge fan of the game now, and it will definitely become a tradition! I like that it's risky, but you also have to be smart. You have to really know the cards and your chances, and you have to be able to read people, bluff well, and hide your emotions -- all things I need to work on -- but SO much fun.


when we were done, we had some dessert Chloe had made, that was mostly just glorified raspberry yogurt -- but better. It was really good! I love spending time with them, and hopefully we can get jason, amanda and brandon to all join in next time! I love my Ashby family!


also...


today at work was pretty slow, so I did a lot of reading and i'm almost done with my book! (the second book in the hunger games series). Chloe and I talked about it, and apparently they've begun casting for the movie! This series has the potential to be a really, really great film-- I just hope they do it well! looking forward to it.


one last plug-in... TOMORROW, Devin will announce the winner of the FREE MINI SESSION. So if you haven't already entered, do it. Right now. You won't regret it!


here's the link to the post/directions of how to enter!


it's been a great couple of days! i'm looking forward to Saturday when Devin and I take our engagements -- then all the real fun begins! We will start addressing our announcements and get them sent out toward the end of April -- I'm just hoping we have some decent weather! But then again, the grey skies would actually work great, too :) I'm sure that our photographer, who I'm really impressed with, will get some great pictures for us! It will be hard not to, I think, because both Devin and I have positive attitudes, and we'll be able to make it happen!

on the hunt

now that we have a space of our own to decorate


i've got a few things on my mind that are necessary
and about 1/2 gallon of cowslip 2 yellow paint to use up


so i'm on the hunt for:


*a vintage mirror (larger, maybe an oval one. or rectangle. with an awesome frame)


*lamps


*throw pillows. to accent neutral furniture.


*key/mail rack


*something cute to store blankets/etc in the living room. like a tub or bin or large container


*tablecloths. cool ones.


*curtains. at least for the bedroom.


*possibly some shelving options. for our bedroom and the living room maybe.


i'm sure this list will grow as soon as i realize what else i will need. but for now, i'm keeping my eyes peeled for these pretties.


soooo.... AMANDA AND CHLOE: a trip to the antique mall is mandatory. in the very near future. this needs to become a monthly tradition or something. including Lee. and Cracker Barrel.


if you guys have any ideas of where i can find cute things, cheap things, or anything... let me know. it would be appreciated! i'm getting a little too excited, i think...

((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))

devin and i spent the afternoon napping/watching cops.
i couldn't go to church today because i had work, which went well, but i'm getting awfully tired of rearranging our store every 2 weeks just because we get ONE new thing... oh well.


then we went to grandma and grandpa's (our landlord's) for a family party. potluck. stayed late and played some card games with my aunt and cousin and grandma and grandpa -- that's always exciting!


then we talked with them about cable and bills and utilities... turns out we are getting an even bigger steal than we thought! we have a flat monthly rate now, which i love. and we will be getting HD DVR with comcast -- which is a dream! that on top of our extensive movie collections and dev's netflix account -- i don't think we'll ever get bored!


if i have any free time this week, i think i'll start moving my kitchen things over. dishes and stuff. that way i will have those boxes emptied to move the other stuff in my room! i love moving. not for the sake of changing/leaving... but because i like packing and unpacking and redecorating and cleaning.. it will be fun.


life's been good to me :)

GIVEAWAY

yes. you heard me right.


my amazing photographer fiance is doing a giveaway.


www.capturedbydash.com
(blog side, not website)

a FREE mini session!

1 hour session of your choice

(family, child, engagements, senior photos, etc)

any one location of your choice in Utah or Salt Lake Valley

cd of 20 edited images

one professionally printed 8x10 photo

all you have to do

is become a fan on his facebook page 

and leave a comment on the blog post

the winner will be selected randomly and picked on TUESDAY

so you better hurry up.

why would you want to miss out on a FREE session?

totally worth it.

he's amazing.

yellow.

day 30: a picture of someone you miss.


hmmmm.... i had to think about this for a minute. all of my loved ones are around me all the time! i would say i miss the ones who have passed, but it's not entirely true. i miss them physically being here, of course, but it's hard to be selfish in that way, when i know they are doing something much more worth-while with their time now.


now that i am engaged, it's hard not to miss my dad's mom, Grandma Pertz, who died when i was only 5. i have such vivid memories of her though, because she was my pre-school teacher. she was the most kind-hearted, loving, outgoing woman i've ever known. she would be having a HEYDAY with all this wedding planning. she would absolutely love it. i can't even imagine! she was so full of life and positive energy, and it was so hard to not be happy when she was around. she would be a RIOT to have around during all this planning. and sometimes i wish she was, but again... it's hard to wish for something like that, because i know she's in a much, much better place.


on a much less sentimental note... i have thought of who i do miss:
matt passmore.
who plays detective longworth on "The Glades". i don't miss him specifically (lie) - i miss the show! i have no idea when it comes back, but i should probably find out. it was the best crime show ever.

today, devin and i did some much-needed painting at our apartment. the only room that needed it was the master bedroom, which was an unfortunate shade of brown (my aunt had painted it that color years ago, apparently. and we weren't fans at all). we decided to paint all the walls white, and wanted one wall to be a good complimentary color for the dark wood furniture of our bedroom set.


we finally decided on a pale yellow, and today was the day.


once i got off work, we headed over, and from 4:30-11:00 we were painting fools!


i'm just noticing that the lighting in these pictures makes all the walls yellow-ish. but trust me. 3 of those walls have a beautiful fresh coat of "dove white". only one is yellow. and it's perfect.

 i forgot to get an official "before" picture, so here is devin, starting with the primer.

 just want to point our how awesome our closet is.

 the brown as awful. it made the room so dark and it seemed so small.

 way too depressing-looking for dev and i

 we had to get "high-hide" primer... it worked wonders!

 i was a MESS by the end of the night. i had managed to flick myself in the fact, kneel in paint, and get it on almost every inch of my pants. almost.

 yellow! we're so excited.

we both really love how the color turned out, and are excited to look at it again tomorrow when it's dry, since it will be a little lighter once it's not wet anymore.

 now to clean up -- which was an unexpected adventure involving spilling things and having nothing to clean it up with... oh boy.

 this i think shows the yellow color best. it's not bright yellow, like it looks in the other pictures.
and yes... that is my future husband... haha love him.

all done! i'm glad that we have extra yellow paint. my new goal is to find an awesome old mirror at the antique mall, and paint the frame of the mirror with the yellow and hang it on one of the white walls! i told devin that i would find use for all the left over yellow paint -- and i fully intend to!


we weren't able to watch or listen to the BYU game, so we checked devin's phone every couple minutes for his sportscenter game scores app thing -- which is really awesome, and were so excited to hear that we actually beat the Zags and are in the sweet 16! wasn't expecting that, to be honest... but GO COUGS! not expecting them to make it to the elite though, just sayin.


even though it wasn't super eventful or anything -- devin and i had a blast painting today. it was just the 2 of us -- and that's what i liked most. we didn't need anybody's help. it made all of this become even more of a reality, and when we talked to my grandma, it sounds like we'll be able to start moving in around the beginning of May! i'm so excited to see how it will all turn out!


Vicki stopped by, and told us she loved the place. Then Jason came to bring us some spackle, and we worked out a bunch of different options for our tv stand situation. i don't know if i've blogged about this yet, but basically, there is an entertainment center built into the wall, and our tv is WAY too big for it. grandma said it would be too expensive to fix, but we had Jason come look (dev's brother in law), and he's a contractor, and said he could do almost anything we wanted for free. he's the coolest. so i think we'll end up rearranging the shelving to make it more convenient and better fit the TV. i told devin that was all his job, because i don't especially care. but it was such a relief to know that we could work that out! it was our only quip with the apartment.


well... that and how cold it is! but devin doesn't mind -- of course it's just me. i'm always cold. Vicki offered us use of her space heater though! so i think i'll survive.


room painted.
cougs in sweet 16.
fiance as great as ever.


it's been a good day!


p.s. in case you were wondering... devin knows me so well that when we dropped me off he said "i expect a blog post within the hour about this" hahaha i love him.

SOME people.

day 29: a picture that can always make me smile

any picture at all of this beautiful temple. especially now that it's the place Devin and I have chosen to be married. i have always loved the salt lake temple, but now that i know that I'm actually, literally going there some day [soon] it means so much to me. it is a huge motivation to continue doing what is right. what a great goal!

as i've said before, i am fascinated by architecture, though i don't know much about it, and especially the architecture in Europe, particularly Paris, but no building will ever be as beautiful to me as this one. it means a lot to me personally, because of what it stands for, and the covenants i will make when i go will make it a great deal more special to me.

when i said i was going there some day... i meant it! so thank you to devin, for taking me here in 2 months -- nothing could ever mean more to me than this.

+ + + + + + + + + +

today, work was actually uneventful. the only exciting thing that happened was a man who called to cancel his reservation, and he insisted on telling me why (i say insisted, because 1. i really don't care why you aren't coming and 2. it's none of my business). he told me he had to track down the hotel number, and make several other phone calls to find someone who could actually tell him what the conference was serving for dinner. it was sandwiches. he was LIVID. i have never heard anyone so mad! and over sandwiches! he screamed at me for at least 5 minutes, and said it was ludacris, and there would be a lot of angry people showing up, when they realized all they were getting were sandwiches.

please keep in mind that these conferences i'm scheduling people for are:

1. completely free.

2. no obligation to buy anything from us, or continue learning from us

3. providing a FREE MEAL

4. every. single. attendent gets a FREE MP3 PLAYER

5. and we give away netbook computers like samples at costco. literally.

so... why is he mad? because we're not paying for him to have a 5 star meal at his free conference, where we are teaching him what he needs to know about making and maintaining a website for an online business, free of charge? from a ticket he recieved in the mail, because his name happened to be on a mailing list?

oh, i'm sorry sir...

????

SOME PEOPLE.

devin and i swap work stories at the end of the day, and we almost always have funny things to share. he has experiences with customers all day long, and the people he runs into are winners. my favorite quote from one of devin's customers is a guy he was doing a service for in december-ish. the guy was trying to make small talk and said
"So, are you married?"

and devin (we were just dating at the time) said

"no, not yet."

and the guy said

"oh... do you wanna talk about it?"

haha it seems like devin's customers are always extremely interested in his personal life, especially his love life. just like his co-workers. it probably gets annoying to him sometimes, but it's pretty entertaining for me! i'm a big deal! haha correction: WE are a big deal. it's true.

+ + + + + + + + + +

speaking of Dash... today we moved the furniture that's still in the apartment out of the bedroom, so my Uncle Quincey, who is a fantastic carpenter, could rip up the carpet. We're painting tomorrow, but the room is also getting new carpet padding, so we are pulling up the carpet to save it from getting pain on it, plus also, it won't have to be ripped up again later! on Sunday, we're having a family party at my grandma's and hopefully then, we'll be able to talk to them about when we can start moving things in! i'm SO excited to fill that place and make it our own! we'll be there for at least 2 years, so it's gotta be HOME, you know what i mean? what are your tips and ideas for making our apartment our own, instead of just a rental apartment? i need some inspiration!

i'm excited to spend the afternoon painting, and also excited to spend the earlier afternoon at BBW at the FRAGRENCE EVENT. that's right. BBW in the Riverwoods (and all other locations) are having a fragrance event tomorrow from 1-5. come vote for the new summer citrus scent, figure out which scent is best for you, and try the awesome new products in awesome new forms. we just put out a ton of cute new wallflower stuff, and i'm soooo tempted to buy some, even though my BBW drawer here at home is overflowing! i'll end up coming home with a bag anyway, no doubt. because with every purchase of a signature collection item, you get a FREE TOTE with a 10oz bottle of our newest scent, COUNTRY CHIC (which i tried tonight for the first time and LOVE). so it's definitely worth it to come down. exclusive deals only lasting 1-5!

okay, that's my plug-in for my fun job.

and i guess i already did a plug in for my desk-job. which isn't un-fun... it's just... a desk job. it's typical. i LOVE IT, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. BBW though, is always a blast. i love it there!

i'm super tired from all these early morning -- my body is definitely still adjusting to waking up at 6:45 to be at work by 8:00 from sleeping in until whenever i wanted! i think i'll give it a break tonight, and leave my alarm clock OFF so i can get some real sleep.

p.s. in case you were wondering... why yes, i am in the early stages of becoming a college basketball fan. and yes, i am super bummed that i have to work during the byu/gonzaga (is that who we're playing? or denver?) game tomorrow. no worries, it will most definitely be taped on my dvr (thank goodness for that!). this morning at desk-job, i was on the NCAA website looking at the standings, and the bracket, and i could hear my boss, Brandon and some other guys in the back talking about the tournament, and when Brandon walked passed me to go back to his desk he said, "how's it going ka.... you like basketball?" it made me feel really cool.

yeah i like basketball. how cool am I? yeah, i'm spending my free time at work on the NCAA website looking at the game schedule! i don't think the guys quite expected that from the new girl!

that's what i get for spending every day with Dev! haha he's turned me into a rock-climbing, sports-watching, constantly-cleaning, always-hungry katie. 

...and i like it!