please, oh please!

day 27: a picture of something you're afraid of.


i'm afraid of spiders first and foremost, but i refuse to post a picture. mostly because it will require doing a good image search for "spider"... and i'm just not willing to risk that! so here's another one.


drowning. i'm not quite as scared of it, mostly because i know how to swim... it would take a lot of effort, or some kind of freak-accident for me to actually drown.. plus i don't normally find myself in situations where this is even an option anyway... but still. i guess i'm also scared of sharks. but fascinated by them at the same time. i love me some shark week! on the bachelor last week, on the finale, brad's final date with chantel was swimming with sharks. i was super jealous! it would be another one of those situations where i would refuse and freak out, but when it was over, i would want to do it again, and think it was amazing!

so today at work, i learned how to search for seminars that are not listed on guests' preview pages, which is complicated to explain, but a big deal.


i also have started to get a taste for the kind of people i will run into. 3 in particular today, that really stood out:


1. a man with a very, very deep voice, name Michelle...  here's some pieces of our conversation:


me: and would you like to bring a guest with you?
michelle: yes i would darling
me: may i have their name please?
michelle: well, i only know his cross-dresser name


and


me: we look forward to seeing you there. have a great day
michelle: alright, thank you doll, and you don't even worry about being good! be bad! be so bad!
(i muted the phone so i could laugh while i waited for her... him... to hang up)


2. an old man, who was no doubt a veteran.


me: thank you for calling conference registration. my name is katie. may i please have your reservation ID located on the ticket next to the barcode?
man: (he proceeded to give me the ID using all the army alphabet phonetics thing.... alpha, juliet, foxtrop, mike... you know what i'm talking about? maybe?)
it was nice, because i usually have to ask people to use words anyway, because it's hard to tell the difference between v p c d g t b e v and z on the phone, but he did it the first time, without being asked.


every other time i asked him something, like when he gave me 2 different phone numbers and his email address, and i repeated it back to confirm, he would say "affirmative ma'm" and i would mute to laugh.


and
3. when i told a man "alright thanks for calling, we look forward to seeing you there. have a nice day!" he said "will you be there katie?!" with a hopeful tone (he knew my name cause i always introduce myself at the beginning of the call) and i said "no, i will not" and he said "well, where do you live" and i said, trying not to laugh "sir, i can't answer personal questions." and he said "dang it! well, i guess i understand. oh well... see ya" and hung up.... uh... creeper!


quote of the day:


devin walks into the kitchen, where his niece kayla was (she comes to grandma's in the morning before school. also note, brandon had stayed the night) and she says "devin's here? and brandon? well that's creepy..." she's almost 9. and HILARIOUS. that personality of that little girl is twice her size. which isn't hard because she's so tiny, but it's just comical that she describes everything as creepy. it's because she would sneakily watch ghost adventures in her room. she would freak us all out saying she would always be hearing noises and seeing things.. yeah she doesn't watched that channel anymore! but still so funny. poor dev. what a creep, apparently haha


speaking of... tonight was a march madness night. watched the BYU's win, which was partial luck, and partial jimmer. and then watched some of the Utah State game before we got too tired and said goodnight. my guess is they didn't win. they were struggling to keep up the whole game anyway. oh well!


mom is off to st george, and before she left i told her we needed groceries. she said "i'm outta here! get the debit card from dad! you're in charge!" can you tell she was excited to leave? haha


so tonight, i ask my dad if i can go grocery shopping, and he goes "what are you talking about? we have plenty of food..."


there are some leftovers in the fridge from WAY too long ago for anyone but him to eat.
a gallon of milk.
a loaf of white bread.
and 2 boxes of cereal.


i told him i wanted wheat bread, fruit and vegetables.


he said we'd talk in the morning.


why are my parents not encouraging my healthy eating habits?!?! so for the next couple days.... feed me! i may not have any other choices then the cereal bars i bought for my work snack! here we go!


usually it's the opposite. when mom would go out of town when i was little, or any time at all, really, that dad was sent for groceries, he came back with the best stuff. the best kind of candy, and he always got the really thick cut, smoked, expensive bacon, hahaha


not saying that's what i want -- but give me some leash here! i'm trying to be healthy! hmph. it's mostly just funny, really.


tomorrow i work both jobs, which will be interesting. and i'm getting so excited for saturday, when dev and i will paint! i'm so excited about the color, and more excited to start fixing up our apartment together! it's getting more and more real every day! i love him so much.


we went to dinner yesterday with megan and timmy who are having a baby boy about 2 weeks before the wedding (hopefully!) and it was so weird to think that in a couple years (definitely at least a couple!), that could be us! neither of us are ready for that... haha


but tonight, we did look up local dog breeders for the kind we want SO BAD and we fell in love a million times with all the cute mini aussies!!! it will be hard to hold back from getting one until we have a place that allows pets, but we don't have a choice! they are ADORABLE.

i'll never get over how cute these guys are!!! please oh please oh please!!!!


one day... [soon! fingers crossed!] haha

all smiles

day 26: a picture of something that means a lot to you

this man. but more specifically:
his passion for everything that he loves.
his love for the gospel.
his desire to be his very best.
his smile. it lets me know that everything is good. everything is going to work out, if it hasn't already.
it lets me know he loves me, and that will never change. and he's happy. that is what is important to me. that he is happy. i looooove this man so much. i live to see that smile each day!


day 27: a picture of you and a family member


how about a picture of me with each family member? i don't know if i can find them all, but we'll try.

 my favorite picture ever of kelli and i. we're so hilarious. this picture is ironic, because we never got along when we were younger. this was probably a very rare moment, but i love her. and she's one of my best friends now!

 took this summer 2010 when we went on a family bike ride by the lake one day for fun -- we look alike in this picture, which is weird because we definitely do NOT look alike. she's hilarious though.

this is from a couple years ago, you can tell because kyle is at least a foot taller now. much bigger, and looks a lot older too. we beat the rest of the family out to the car after church and found dad's camera in the truck console and took about 20 pictures like this, haha we're hilarious. he's the best little brother ever. squishes all the spiders for his sisters, just like he's told, haha :)

 we have "campfire tunes" whenever we go camping -- all of dad's classics. usually trisha yearwood, steve perry, dire straits, sade... you name it. and when i was little, i would dance with daddy around the campsite. he taught me how to 2-step! love this picture so much.

obviously, i don't remember this -- i'm probably right around 1 year old... but my mother is beautiful and amazing. i hope i'm just like her one day. she's the best mom i could ever ask for!

# # # # # # # # # #

new job is going great.

i really do love it. i sit in a cubicle with a headset on and make reservations for people to come to seminars about internet marketing all day. something most people would hate. but it's just what i needed! it's the total opposite from BBW, and it's a good balance that i have between the two. i love talking to all these different people on the phone -- it's funny to hear them describe things and ask questions -- most of them are nice in the funniest way, and the rude people are just as entertaining! i've accidentally hung up on a couple people... but i'm still learning. never been on this whole double-lined thing before. it's definitely something i'll need to get used to. i think the mistakes i make are funny, like forgetting to flip my mic back down when i answer the phone, or thinking they said something totally different -- it's hard to understand people through the phone!

a lot of times i have to say things like "will you repeat that back to me one more time using words with the letters like "umbrella" for "u"?" and they come up with THE FUNNIEST words. such as "p as in polygamy, u as in unicorn, x as in excommunicated, m as in mandolin"... i get it all. i've actually had to mute my mic to laugh out loud once or twice!

i only know one other person that works my same shift, her name is emily, and on my first day, i y-jacked with her, which just means i listened in on her calls so i could learn. she's probably one of the nicest people in the world. i haven't really had time to make friends yet -- i'm always on the phone! it'll take some getting used to, but i do love it.

also... there are a lot of times when it's really slow. we are free to browse the internet and text and whatnot.. but you know what i've found myself so caught up in?! reading the sports articles on msn and ksl! i've read jimmer's brother's blog -- so entertaining. and i've read all about the jazz and how president obama thinks jimmer's the best player in the nation -- because he absolutely is...

i texted devin and told him that, and said "what have you done to me?!?!" his response? "he he he" that sly dog... haha it's okay i got him back...

we spent the night at bed bath and beyond, lowe's, target and kohl's.

at bed bath and beyond, we looked at bedding and shower curtains -- didn't really like their selection.

at lowe's, we picked a color for our bedroom walls -- 3 walls white, 1 wall a muted, light yellow that's absolutely perfect.

at target, we found the bedding we want. it's PERFECT. and i can't wait to get it -- i hope it's still there when we're ready to buy it! it's yellow, and just... exactly what we wanted.

i have been raving about target bath towels to devin for months and months, so i finally showed him and he was totally not impressed! i was shocked! they are AMAZING and only $5! and huge! i love them. so we went to kohl's to compare them to Apt. 9 towels, which are equally soft i think, but cost more. so i think i win.

also... i have this obsession lately. with throw pillows. i want them all. i'm seeing a ton i love for our bed, and more for the couch -- even though the couch comes with a TON of pillows, i want more! it doesn't have back cushions, so the pillows are pretty crucial. my self-designated mission is to find bigger, cuter pillows that will act more as a cushion, then these little throw pillows. we'll probably end up with like 50. i don't know what's come over me.

the last couple days -- since sunday, really. i have been so... relaxed! even with starting the new job, and continuing all the wedding plans -- i've just felt good. i've slowed down on the planning, because i definitely have time --  and i've been more logical about things. also, i've been way more focused on the spiritual side of marriage lately, ever since we started our temple prep class on sunday. i think that's what made the difference. thinking about going to the temple with devin, and getting sealed for time and all eternity just makes me happy. nothing about the temple aspect of our wedding day stresses me out -- so it's good that i've chosen to focus on this lately! devin has been a huge, huge help the past couple days too. i don't know if he's doing it on purpose or not, but when he initiates a conversation, it's either about what's going on right now, or about the aftermath: the apartment, or other future kind of stuff. it's never about the wedding plans. also, he's been such a spiritual rock for me lately.

i will admit that i do not know the doctrine as well as i would like, and not only does he not hold that against me, but he seems excited to teach me and challenge me and help me learn more. he is so knowledgeable about it, and is so enthusiastic about the gospel. i love it! it excites me and makes me anxious to study and learn more. we haven't studied together yet this week -- but hopefully before sunday! i hope that we can at least make it a goal to study together once a week. i think that will make a huge difference.

mmm... i love him. he makes everything so much more fun (yeah, you're welcome dev. i said more fun instead of funner. you. are. welcome. just for you... :)...) and relaxed. he knows just how to slow down the million mile-per-hour train of thoughts in my head, and just helps me to better live. rather than plan. it's such a blessing to have him! when i'm with him, i'm all smiles.

tomorrow is work, of course. and then when i get off, i have plans to do laundry and work on my guest book! making it myself... well, the pages for it. we bought a really cool book, so i will be scrapbooking for awhile, which only makes me excited.

gangster

day 25: a picture of your day.


i spent the day with the little girls, like i've been saying i would. from 8:30 until about 6:00, i was chasing them around and playing with them. when i dressed them for the day, claire was upset that sophie wore a dress and she couldn't (it was too cold -- couldn't find her tights or leggings) so instead i told her that she could be a gangster. and she loved it. she walked around all day with her peace signs, and her hood up, and doing this:

she's sooo hilarious. unfortunately, this is the only picture i have for the day. we ended up taking lots of videos. and i'm not video-savvy enough to know how to post them, so you'll have to deal. most of them involved the girls either singing justin bieber, dancing, or giving devin and i marriage advice. it was adorable.


claire was singing "black and yellow" all day long, which was also hilarious. and saying "i'm so gangster!" hahaha she's the cutest thing. sophie went all day referring to herself as sophia ruth bieber, which was equally hilarious.


once Rich came to pick them up, Devin and I headed to Mountain View for kyle, my little brother's baseball dinner fundraiser. 5 Star BBQ catered, and it was actually delicious! I was pretty satisfied. I got an awesome MV baseball shirt, and i'm excited for the season to start so I can show Dev what baseball is really all about. Forget that MLB stuff.


after the fundraiser, Devin and I wanted to walk around stores -- which is a pretty common occurrence. we went to Sears, which isn't that great, then to Target. Ended up buying our favorite game to play with the Hancocks, bananagrams, and played a couple rounds with my siblings. It was so much fun! I told Devin we were going to be the couple with all the games, and game nights. And he said that was just fine. We've also been window-shopping for bedding, and I think we have decided on something we both really like. not going to buy it until after the wedding though -- no point to!


then, i watched a greatly anticipated season finale of the bachelor, and i was very pleased with the result! and mostly glad it's over. i hate that i watch that show.


tomorrow, i start my training at my new job, StoresOnline, and i'm really excited to get into this new schedule. i think it will help me to not only be more productive, but more proactive. and it will help relieve some of the stress, i think. because i won't have all these empty hours in the day that end up getting filled with worry of details about a wedding! it will be a nice change. i think this new job is easing some of devin's concerns too. bbw just wasn't cutting it for newlyweds! glad that i was blessed to get this new job, and excited to stay! i'm also excited that i am able to have both jobs at the same time -- best of both worlds!


been loving the weather here. it's been sooo warm, in the high 50's and 60's. yesterday after church, i went inside to change while devin waited in the car and when i came back out, he insisted i went back in and got my chacos instead of the sandals i was wearing. i confessed that i didn't know how to wear chacos and make them look cute, but he told me that i did a good job :) you'll be seeing more of them, devin, i promise!


i'm so excited that next week on the 26th, exactly two months from our wedding day, D and I will be taking our engagements! it's going to really start things, i think. also excited for that weekend, because our dear friends, Alyse and Brandon, just got engaged last week, and Devin is taking their pictures right after we get ours done! I told him I was inviting myself to the shoot, whether he has me help our or not! If you remember correctly, Alyse is one of D's converts from NH, and we ran into her and Brandon on temple square totally out of the blue! It was an awesome night.


speaking of photography and such... Devin is doing a giveaway!!! PLEASE see www.capturedbydash.com for details -- enter the blog, and it will be the first post, most likely! He has so much talent, and unlike the majority of photographers in the valley, he is natural and real. his style isn't the modern stylized shoots that are popular in today's market, but in my opinion, it makes his work not only more personal, but also timeless. his photography is no fad. it is classic. i absolutely love it. i am so lucky to be engaged to such a talented man! but anyway. GIVEAWAY for a free mini session (one hour, your choice what kind of pictures you do, whether it be engagements, family, etc...) and a disc with 20 edited photos, i believe. this is a huge opportunity! it's worth it to at least "like" his facebook page, and comment on the blog post.


today was such a fun day. this week is definitely looking up! can't wait to see what happens next, as always.


loving Dev more and more each day, and we are growing closer and stronger each day too. i am so excited for the day i can finally call him my husband!


p.s. in case you were wondering... claire calls devin "cool dude", and doesn't say bieber... it's justin beaver. just like on the office. "who's justice beaver?" ... "a crime-fighting beaver," hahaha love it.

always on time

day 24: a picture of something you wish you could change

the earthquakes in Japan are absolutely devastating. It breaks my heart to see the world suffer like this. Especially when there's nothing we can do to prevent natural disasters.


But also... on a not-as-nice note... I wish the U.S. would STOP STICKING OUR NOSES into everyone else's business. Why are we messing with Egypt? Why did we even bother with Iraq? Am I crazy? I don't think so. Why does the U.S. feel it is so necessary to get involved in every other country's affairs. It's getting OLD, Obama. REALLLLL old.


TODAY, Devin and I went to his ward. It was Fast and Testimony meeting for them, since last week was Stake Conference. A couple of things were nice about that ward today:


1. Everyone asked about who we were, and said hi and was friendly, and random people would just congratulate us throughout the day... it was awesome.
2. The majority of the testimonies were basic, primary testimonies today. It was such a nice day, I don't think anyone's testimony involved their "horrible week" or their "awesome vacation" -- it was back to the basics, and it was a nice change! Everyone testifying of their faith in the gospel, in the Lord, in the prophets... the knowledge of God's love that they are grateful to have. It was different in such a good way.


Then we went to temple prep. I was especially excited, because, obviously, I don't know what i'm getting into -- those ordinances are sacred, and not meant to be shared or discussed in casual conversation. I was excited to begin learning how I can better prepare myself to enter the temple with Devin and take out my endowment... but the teacher stalled for most of the time, was very unprepared, and taught some doctrine wrong. That's very discouraging to me. We got a student handbook deal, and I plan on studying out of it myself. Any questions I have, I am sure can be easily answered by Devin, my parents, his parents, or my Bishop. I can't wait to start this process. Devin caught me off guard and bore his testimony is sacrament meeting today, and it was exactly what I needed. He speaks to eloquently, and so much with the spirit. The way Devin has talked about situations like that made me very surprised that he was willing to speak, but later he told me that he was prompted by the spirit, and just went with it. It's amazing to me that kind of blessing the Lord has been pouring out when I have been obedient and faithful. They never come in the means that I expect, but they always come. Which reminds me, one girl said this quote (or something similar), which I loved:

We made it over to my ward in time for Sacrament Meeting, and there were some great talks. We didn't make it through sunday school because we were both totally exhausted. it was good though.


then devin went to work on homework, and i ate. and watched Lifetime's "Coming Home" -- big mistake. The most tear-jerking show I've ever watched. Way worse than Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. WAY worse. It is adorable though. It's this show that reunite soldiers with their families in surprise-ways. It's sooo good, but makes me cry. And i don't cry! Gah! I bet you're starting to not believe me... haha


THEN we went back to his house (which remember, his temporarily his parents), and we got a cell phone (my dad's old blackberry) to work for me -- i hate it, but hey. it's a phone. all my contacts are gone, which is a pain, but i'm really passed caring with everything else going on! it's not a big deal anyway. i have the numbers of the people i talk to very most, which is fine. i will slowly gather the rest back eventually.


we had some yummy dinner, and then I listened to Imagine Dragon's new EP while looking up different ideas for painting our bedroom while devin cleaned, as usual.


then we played at amanda and jason's a couple hours, and it was hilarious. we always have the most random and hilarious conversations with them, and their kids never cease to be the most adorable things on the planet.


Tomorrow will be fun. I'm with sophie and claire from 8:30 to 5:00ish, and then around 6:00 devin and I are going with my family to the MVHS fundraiser dinner for Kyle's baseball team. Devin says he's not much of a baseball fan, but I hope he understands that all of us expect that to change, and WILL make it change in the very near future. MLB is getting too political, but I could watch Kyle's team any day! Those bruins!

lessons learned from college basketball

lesson number one: i officially declare it safe to assume that all questions asked by Devin during a basketball game are rhetorical. he doesn't actually want me to answer them. at least i hope he's not expecting me to know why they keep letting that one guy take shots, and why that foul didn't get called...


lesson number two: it is perfectly satisfying to do something as mindless as watch a college MWC tournament championship game. it is also slightly more entertaining than i expected. and i'm not just saying that because it's funny to watch devin yell at the TV and sit up really fast and intently when it gets intense. i'm saying it because i may be starting to legitimately enjoy watching basketball. too bad the season is basically over, right?


these are valuable lessons, but i must say, i really did enjoy watching that game. SDSU deserved the win. they definitely played like champions. BYU was tired and sloppy, but i don't blame them. Freddette looked a horrible combination of ticked and exhausted, and i don't think he sat down once the whole game. I don't think I could go an entire championship game after a 52-point record game the night before either, so I think the cougs had a respectable loss, and they'll do better Thursday in the NCAA tournament. right? right. positive affirmations.


speaking of positive affirmations, here's a funny video that's been floating around lately. this little girl may be my hero. i should start my day like this every morning:

you'll never be the same. but in a good way, right? isn't she the cutest thing? i love it. with mornings like these, you're bound to have a good day.

speaking of good days... mine wasn't. well. that's a lie. it started out fun.

went wedding dress shopping, take 2 this morning. alli and kayla didn't end up coming, so it was the 4 of us again. we went to Allyse's, where my friend Kelsey was our consultant, and she was amazing! I wasn't expecting much from there, just because it's, well, Allyse's, but I was surprised to find that I legitimately liked every dress I tried on. It was really hard to pick favorites! I narrowed it down to 3 or 4 that were definitely promising, but only 2 are reasonably priced, especially when you start adding on brooches and alterations... so that's a bummer dude, but oh well. I'm wearing it ONCE. It doesn't need to cost 1000 dollars to look pretty for 6 hours. I just can't justify that. Half that cost is still questionable to me. Oh well.

After that, i had to go straight to work.

Then my phone BUSTED. i didn't to ANYTHING. the touch screen just fully gave out. and now, all that happens is the keys light up, and it vibrates when i get messages. but i can't see the screen. i can't touch any buttons... it's ridiculous. i can send in a refurbished phone, but it will take at least a week. AWESOME.

also... it is THE WORST POSSIBlE TIME TO BE PHONE-LESS. I just got a new job, with that cell number being my primary contact number. ALSO, i'm getting married. do you know what kind of cell phone use that requires? a lot. constant phone calls. to everyone. family, friends, shops, everyone. it's pretty hectic.

ANYWAY... here's my virtual soap box for the day:

it's been rough lately. i had a long talk with devin last night about how hard everything is and how overwhelmed i feel, and he did (as he always does) an amazing job of reminding me why we're doing it, and helping me to relax and take things one step at a time. he talks me back down so quickly and effortlessly, i'm beginning to wonder what kind of research he has done on me -- it's like he knows exactly what i'm thinking. i don't even have to say it. he's amazing. there is truly no other words to describe it. i'm sooo lucky to have him. he saves me every day!

so i'm stressed.

my phone breaks.

i have a new job.

i have an existing job.

i'm trying to pay for ALL SORTS of things (rent, furniture, wedding, new phone...)

that is a LOT to take in.

so here i am, driving to Devin's (he moved to his parents today, and will be there until a couple weeks before the wedding, when he'll move into our apartment.) from the mall, where i had just been at the very unhelpful AT&T store.

i'm at the light, and there is a man standing on the corner holding a cardboard sign. all i can make out is something about 6 kids at home and something about an ex-wife...?

i'll be honest. normally, i ignore that kind of stuff. homeless people are kind of shady, and anyone can fake homelessness to get extra money. it's just always been an iffy situation that i prefer not to get involved with. at least not on this end, the whole... people on the side of the road, or by the wal-mart exits looking dirty and sad...

but this man looked humiliated. he looked so embarrassed and helpless and devastated. like he couldn't believe his life had lead him to that point. he had THE MOST ADORABLE yellow lab with him. the dog had a tennis ball and was SO happy.  the man was playing fetch with the dog, and the dog was LOVING it. i have literally never seen such a happy dog in my life, and i am the owner of the two most buzzed animals on the planet. it was adorable.

two thoughts came to my mind:

1. the dog was clueless. i got kind of jealous at first. that dog was so sincerely happy, and had no cares. no idea what was going on. just playing fetch, having a good time. why can't we be like that? even a dog can be happy in the worst of times.

2. i was immediately humbled. here i am, all ticked off about my cell phone not working, and the stress of planning my dream wedding to the love of my life, and the 2 amazing jobs i have... and here is a man. an adult. resorting to this? standing on the side of the road asking for some extra cash? who am i to complain about my circumstances? who am i to say i don't have enough, or i'm not happy with what i have? who am i to be so selfish? i was 2 or 3 lanes over from him, or else i would have given him my whole wallet (it would have been a first) but i was so so glad to see a car quickly roll by, and shortly after watch him shove a wad of bills into his jacket pocket. i broke down and cried right there. feeling like an idiot. i'm not a cry-er. i hardly EVER cry. seriously. but i think it was just maybe everything that has been stressing me out for so long, and worrying me and keeping me up at night... it was all gone. and i felt sooo humbled. i spent the rest of the drive containing myself, and said a quick prayer in dev's driveway before going inside.

The Lord knew I needed that. I could be more grateful. It's the little things, you know? What a huge help. I never would have expected that the Lord would help me relieve my stress in such a way, but he did. It worked wonders. I love tender mercies like that throughout my days. There are a million scriptures that come to my mind when i think of this scenario, but first and foremost, is when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only the service of your God.

After watching the game, Vicki made some great french toast, and then Devin and I watched a couple episodes of the office before I had to go back to work for a meeting. Meeting went well. Excited to practice the new things we've learned. Loving my job, as always.

Today was good, then hard, then good again. So, I'd say we're progressing.


day 23: a picture of my favorite book:

but we already knew that. (want this cover sooo bad)
always has been, always will be.
if you haven't read to kill a mockingbird, borrow a copy from me. i have 6 (so far). it will change your life.

+ + + + + + + + + +

D&C 4:2 "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

i'm that girl

day 22: a picture of something you wish you were better at:

cooking. i love cooking... well, I love the idea of cooking. i'm not very good at it. it's just that i'm not creative with food. i know how to cook the things i've been taught, but i'm too scared to start trying new things. ESPECIALLY scared to make up my own recipes.

and since I'm getting MARRIED and all... this is a skill i need to MASTER immediately. it's pretty mandatory. devin's always hungry. i better be able to feed my husband, right? Amanda and Brandon are both AMAZING cooks, so maybe I just need to start hanging out with them more. I'm sure that I will be calling Amanda at least 3 times a week asking her what I should make for dinner, haha. That's your warning, Amanda! haha It would be AWESOME if you guys sent me some of your favorite recipes :) i would love to try them out.

- - - - - - - - - -

today, i did some wedding/necessity shopping, then i went to my new job and filled out a TON of new hire paperwork, and brought twice as much home to fill out, plus tons of reading to do for it... spent a good 30 minutes at work care... came home and showed my sister all of the wedding plans, and then we went WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING. we had one appointment tonight, at Abella Bridal, and I tried on this dress that i've been OGGLING for WEEKS and WEEKS now.

i didn't set very high expectations for it, because i'm the girl who always loves something until i try it on, then i hate it. so i was assuming the same type of thing would happen.

it didn't. it was PERFECT. it fit just right, it looked SOOOO great. but it was about $500 more than i was willing to spend.... i'm still a little sad about it, just because EVERYTHING about that dress was ideal. It was a v-neck in the front and back, and was dropped waist. my favorite part: COMPLETE LACE. it was soooo gorgeous.

i tried on a very similar sheath/a-line looking dress, with lots of lace but not as much... and it's TOTALLY within my budget, and i LOOOOOOVE it. just as much. couldn't ask for more! I wanna say IT'S THE ONE... but it was our first store! so i think i will do some more looking around before i make my decision. all the other dresses will have a hard time competing with that dress though. it has a name and everything... but i DEFINITELY want to keep the dress a surprise.

wedding plan just got slightly more fun again... :)

tomorrow we have a consultations at Allyse's with my friend KELSEY, and my friend ALLI will be there. So will Kylee. My mom. Kayla, and Kelli, of course. I am soooo excited.

After that, I have to go straight to work until 5, and then I have 9 hours of free time (I told Devin that was his window of opportunity) until I have to go to a work meeting at 9:15. Hopefully the meeting will only be an hour though!

I can't WAIT for next week. I get to train on tuesday for my new job, and then I officially start on Wednesday! It will be soooo awesome. I can't wait to finally have a steady schedule that I can rely on, and I'm also really happy that I can keep basically the exact same kind of schedule at BBW. It couldn't have worked out any better.

also... spending Monday with the little girls. you can definitely count on a bunch of entertaining pictures from that! they are soooo hilarious. they refer to Devin as "Cool Dude" it's adorable. love them. love him.

FREAK zip-lining accident

day 21: a picture of something you wish you could forget

no, that is not my foot. i actually don't have the x-ray... i only saw it that once. same concept though. and same place on the foot. my break had way more cracks though.

so.. october 2009. i'm living in St. George. i had just been out play sand volleyball with my roommates and some of our friends. we were laughing and joking and carrying on, walking back to our apartment from the parking lot...

i pull a typical katie

and TRIP. over NOTHING.

like always, everyone starts laughing hysterically. which probably muffled the sound of the CRACK for them... but i heard it.

and i immediately went limp on my right leg, and sat down on the table near by... they were still laughing, but I kept trying to convince them that I was really hurt! They finally caught on, and helped me upstairs.

My foot was starting to swell up... really fast... but it was bearable pain. so i thought it couldn't possibly be broken if i'm not writhing in pain... it was all red, and within about an hour, it LITERALLY looked like the side of my foot had a tennis ball in it. That is honestly no exaggeration. I have pictures, but they are all on my old phone that's totally dead :(

I ignored it, and we went over to our friends' apartment across the lot, on the other side of the complex to watch a movie. all the guys were freaked out, but they gave me ice and said i should get it checked.

this was also in the middle of the semester, while i was an editor for the paper.

remind you... i was walking to campus every day. it's a short walk, but it's slightly uphill... that is NOT a short walk when you are doing it with a foot you don't even know is broken.

i had called into to the editor in chief and told her my situation. she turned me over to the advisor, who basically told me to suck it up, and come get my work done. i think she thought i was fudging. i wasn't.

i went in, and they saw my foot, which only made them SLIGHTLY more concerned. i told them i would work, but had to leave for a doctor's appointment, and would come back after. the let me go... VERY reluctantly. (see! these were just not nice people)

i didn't go to a hospital or anything, i went to Roger (I think that was his name). It was Jessica's dad's friend or something. he let me come to his house, and he gave it a look. he made me feel pretty stupid... he was like "uh... yeah it's pretty bad. you need to go to the hospital..." he wrapped it in an ace bandage and lent me some crutches.

when i showed back up in the newsroom... crutches and all... they finally believed me. the advisor said, AND I QUOTE, "oh, wow. your foot REALLY IS broken? hm." .... uh, yeah. you're a jerk. thanks.

SO... the next day, i think, i had my mom send me all kinds of medical information and i found a clinic that covered our insurance, and went in. the dr was awesome, and he took an x-ray. turned out... it's called an AVULSION FRACTURE. which by the looks of it, and by what i could understand of his foreign medical language... the bone had shattered in a small area, but without coming apart, make sense? it's like when you shoot a window with a BB gun. the glass shatters, but it stays in place. there are just tons of tiny cracks? my point exactly.

he gave me this GIANT BOOT to wear. said it should be on anywhere from 6-12 weeks, and to use the crutches until i felt comfortable.

uuuggghhh. so i wore this huge boot that went up to my knee for 10 weeks. and walked to school on it every day. went to work. drove. even MOVED STORES for my job with the boot... it was horrible.

every day, i watched my toes turn lighter and lighter purple, and the swelling went down slightly each day, too. and eventually, i was okay. but it took a long while. the only high point of that WHOLE experience was when i was walking to my humanities class one day, and i passed a boy on campus (a total nerd, by the way) and he said "i like your bow" -- it made my day. no idea why.

my roommates had tied an orange bow to the boot to make it less ugly -- it didn't really help, but it stayed the whole 10 weeks. and he noticed. and it was nice. and it made the next... well, couple minutes... okay. hahaha what a nice guy.

ANYWAY, this is the moment i choose to forget because A) come on. tripping? over NOTHING? and BREAKING my foot? really? come ON. and B) it has been hurting a LOT lately. i can't sit on my foot like i usually do... i can't walk for too long... it's even hurting right now just sitting here! ticking me off! that's what it's doing! hmph. oh well. it's a good story.

my much cooler made-up version was that i broke my foot in a freak zip-lining accident. and 90% of people actually believed me. it was awesome.

i've never even been zip-lining.

**********

INTERVIEWED this morning with StoresOnline

GOT the job. they called me like 3 hours later.

STARTING next week with awesome hours.

AND STILL have plenty of availability at BBW. perfect.

WORKED at bbw... with lauren, gavin, baylee and sierra. Gavin shrink-wrapped his arm. it was hilarious. He also told me Chloe's mom came in and asked about him being the boy at work I had blogged about (couple posts ago... drew him a picture for his birthday...) -- haha! Love her.

VISITED my best friend Valeri for awhile. she's going to GREECE in 40 DAYS. with her HUSBAND. soooo jealous right now. but will MOST definitely be back in time for my wedding, you can be darn sure.

JOKED with my family. for approximately 15 minutes. it was hilarious. I asked kayla is she would plan my wedding instead and she said "ah! YES! we can have a PINATA!!! and a PETTING ZOO! oh! i know! Dallie has 11 chihuahuas!!!!" oh boy.

FOUND Devin's wedding ring at Wilson Diamonds -- again, HIGHLY recommended. Ask for Matt Wilson. Tell him Devin and Katie sent you.

ATE some delicious wings from Wing Nutz -- because Devin had a serious wing craving that needed to be fixed immediately

WATCHED "My Sassy Girl" -- and even though the title is stupid, yet fitting -- I loved it. 

ASKED Devin if he would just be my husband already.

DROVE home.

BLOGGED about it all.

and here we are.