Bridals!

I got my bridals back from my wonderful photographer, Cassandra Harwell, and thought I'd share them with all of you! A special thanks to my sister Sarah for doing my hair and make up.

He liked it, so he put a ring on it!

Parker and I have been engaged for three months with one month (tomorrow will be to the day) to go. But we just got the ring last week and I wanted to show it off. My camera was dying, but you only need one picture to see it anyway, right? :)

Things No One Tells You

I actually meant to say all this on my last post, but forgot.

When getting engaged and being prepared to be married, there's a lot no one mentions to you. I don't know if it's because they don't think of it or they don't think it's important, but there were noticeable things I noticed once I became engaged and, from talking to others, everyone has also had these.

#1: The night you get engaged, you can't sleep. I'd moved that day. I was tired and worn out, yet I kept lying in bed thinking, "I'm so tired. Go to sleep." This continued until 3 in the morning, then started again at 4. Apparently this is opposite for the men though. Parker said he had a hard time sleeping in anxiety for that moment and then, when it was over, slept like a rock. Him proposing was also a complete surprise for me, so maybe that affected it.

#2: Planning a wedding is stressful. As much as you hope it won't be and as much as you think you have planned, it's stressful. Partly because of number three.

#3: EVERYONE has an opinion. Even those who tell you to make your own decisions and not listen to other people, will tell you what they think. Sometimes it's a good thing because they're right, and sometimes they're not so you run the risk of offending them because you don't take their advice.

#4: Brides get nervous once the realization of an impending marriage sets in. For me, I've prayed about Parker for a long time and knew I'd be happy with him. But it's a big, scary step, full of unexpected stresses and costs and responsibilities. Luckily, a couple days after you start feeling nervous, you realize that you can do it. You can do it together! You do what you have to do to be successful with your family. So then you feel happy and excited all over again.

#5: Last one: People will treat you differently. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad. Single people will kind of treat you like you're not one of them anymore, and married people will begin treating you as an equal. It's kinda cool because you feel like you're leveling up in life, but it's sad to, in a way, lose many of the single friends you've had along the way. Maybe they feel weird because you'll be getting married soon, or maybe they're jealous. No one will tell me what it is, but it's definitely there in 80% of people.

Anxiously Engaged!

I have a lot to tell everyone so I'll start from the beginning.

In April of 2007 I started dating a guy named Parker. He was awesome. We graduated, I went to college, and he prepared for a mission.

Fast forward to December of 2010.

I was preparing to go teach English in St. Petersburg (that's in Russia) for spring semester. I was scheduled to leave January 25th so I decided to spend my last month at home with family, friends, and (of course) Parker. I moved home December 16th and he said he wanted to take me on a date.

We were planning to get engaged when I got home from Russia, get married in the summer (yes, it would have been a quick engagement) and both go to Utah State in the fall.

Back to the date. We were going to go to Temple Square, get something to eat, and go our separate ways; but, things never turn out as you might think.

He was late picking me up because his uncle's car had broken down and he also needed to go to Salt Lake so Parker came to get me in his dad's nice car (that's important to the story later) with his uncle in the backseat. We had a great time just chatting until we got to Parker's aunts house to drop off his uncle. Liz is awesome, so we went in to say hi. Upon leaving, Liz told us that Temple Square was probably closed at this time of night (it was around ten). She was right.

So, we picked up a hot and ready pizza at Little Caesar's and ate while we drove home. He asked if I wanted to watch a movie at his house, I said yes. When we got to his house he got out and he stood in front of his garage. I got out and threw the box away.
He said, "Come here, I want to hug you."
I said okay and hugged him, kissed him, and started walking away to go inside.
"Come back! I wasn't done hugging you yet!"
"Okay," I said as I turned around and went back to him.
"You make me so happy."
I smiled at him. "Good. That's all I want is to make you happy."
He smiled as he released me and said, "I know this isn't how you expected it, but I don't want to wait anymore."
He got on one knee and opened a Kay Jewelers box with a simple, white gold, band inside.
I stood there shocked for probably two full minutes. This was the last thing I expected. I thought I had at least seven more months!

My mind ran a mile a minute, though not really getting anywhere. I knew I was supposed to say something but I couldn't think of any words! Finally I said, "Of course!" and threw myself into his arms again as he stood up, smiling.

We hugged for a minute, I got a little choked up, and then he said, "Let's go tell people!"

Turns out that a few weeks before this, Parker's dad had told him, "When you propose, you can use my car". So when Parker asked for the keys his dad said, "So it's tonight, huh?" :)

We planned to get married July 30th and even had the temple scheduled. Then we crunched some numbers and realized that we could not afford for me to go to Russia. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made because I'd been looking forward to it for so long. However, I realized that my family (Parker and I) was more important to me then Russia, so if what I needed to do was not go, I would do what I had to. I haven't looked back. I have no regrets on not going.

We're now getting married April 16th in the Draper temple and I've never been so happy, excited, or felt more safe and loved than I have for the past two months.

I have been truly blessed with an amazing fiancee, a good family, and a fantastic future family of in-laws.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us!

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it.- Julia Child

Twas the night before this one, and in Arnell three

Not a creature was stirring, except me

The rosemary in water and sugar did heat
So a lovely sorbet we all could eat

The nuts on the stove did toast
So of good food I soon could boast

A mix of cream and blue cheese
To go on grapes for my adorees

My cheesecake may have been like silk
If I'd used condensed instead of evaporated milk

The nuts were toasted all brown and warm
A wondrous meal was beginning to take form

The table was set with excitement galore
Before my good friends came through the door

I listened to holiday music with glee
As I made melon and cucumber chutney

The table finally topped with the appetizer and drinks
We all got ready to share some winks

Grapes rolled in nuts and cheese so blue
Unfortunately didn't impress the crew

Next up was a salad Caprese
A salad with Pesto, we think it's from Greece

The dinner my friends did seem to enjoy
While I did my best not to annoy (forced rhyme,sorry)

Heidi and April smiled at the dish
Another course was their only wish

On to our lemon rosemary sorbet
That cleansed our palate, chasing other tastes away

Then came the chutney with lime-curry steak
That took only half an hour to make

The brownie was made as the back up dessert
And a little chocolate garnish didn't hurt

After the big dinner was complete
Heidi and Ashley did dishes cuz they're so sweet!

I went to my room, and laid on my floor
While my eyes drooped and my feet grew sore

But as a deep sleep I did fight
I managed to say "Have a good night!"

Halloween Special #2- Movie Villains

What movie would be complete without some sort of villain? However, in some movies they outdo themselves. Here I have picked the Top 20 Movie Villains that scare me the most. Because Disney is, to me, it's own category, none of their characters we'll be included in this list. We'll start will Number 20.

20: Rothbart. I said I wasn't including Disney characters, but he's a NEST one so it's okay. Not only does this man use the black arts but he also has some of the most awesome facial expressions ever drawn on a cartoon character.

19: Fernand Mondego from Count of Monte Cristo. He's not particularly scary looking, but he does hold his best friend's life and future in his hands and uses it to get gain and destroy the best friend. We've all dealt with out own variation of Fernand and can therefore see first-hand how scary these types of villains really are.


18: The Duke. From Moulin Rouge, this man pulls "creepy" off to a T. He sees women (especially Satine) as property and almost rapes her in one scene. Very creepy. Very evil. I'm scared of him.


17: Rasputin. This is also not a Disney character. Just so you know. However, he scares me so much that even if he had been I still might have put him on. Fox did such a good job of making him look like the real Rasputin that the more I find out about the real one the more this one freaks me out. Not to mention he has the best villain song ever written.


16: Sheriff of Nottingham. This is one of my most hated villains and one of the only reasons why is that I love Robin Hood so much that, in my mind, anyone who hurts him deserves to be beaten. He's also creepy looking.


15: Jabba the Hutt. He's big, slimy, has abnormally short arms, and makes Leia wear practically nothing. Gross times 10. He makes me tingle from disgust. Also his tongue is nasty.



14: Norman Bates from Psycho. He is so attractive at the beginning of the movie, but as it goes on you realize he's... well... psycho. One of Alfred Hitchock's most famous and one of my personal favorites. It will turn you off to showers for a little while though.

13: Camerlengo Patrick McKenna from Angels & Demons. He looks like a good guy, he acts like a good guy, but he is a very bad guy. That's one of the reasons he creeps me out the most is because you want him so badly to be good. He murders innocent priests in torturous ways and shows no regret, except regret for being caught. I also hate this character because Ewan McGregor is one of my favorite actors so I was very mad when I realized he wasn't the one I was rooting for.

12: Saruman the White. This is one bad old dude. Not only that-- he beats up on other old dudes! Even now I sometimes have to close my eyes when he's throwing Gandalf around the room. He's another one of those "you think he's good but he's really bad" guys. And they usually turn out to be the worst kinds of evil.


11: Queen Bavmorda from Willow. Her entire life is set around finding and killing an innocent baby. That gives you villain points right there. But she adds to it by turning an entire army into pigs, using witchcraft in sacrifice, cutting herself (for part of the sacrifice), slapping people (including her own daughter), and imprisoning every pregnant woman in the kingdom before Elora is born. And they're not kept in very nice conditions either.


10: Annie Wilkes from Misery. I have never personally seen this movie, but what I read about it makes it sound pretty crazy. I have her so high because she doesn't kill. She tortures. Out of love.



9: Lex Luthor. This selection is like my sheriff of Nottingham choice. I chose him because he's so cruel to my favorite superhero Superman. That's not okay. He's highly intelligent and wealthy yet just uses it all to get more. He's ungrateful and evil.


8: Commodus from Gladiator. He makes free men slaves, has them fight to the death, and kills Maximus' family in cold-blood. To make matters worse, he deceives Maximus and tries to make is own sister sleep with him. Just talking about it is making me upset.

7: Jame Gumb from Silence of the Lambs. Again, I've never seen it; but in researching this blog I felt I should include him. He captures and kills women to use their skins to build a "woman suit" for himself because he wants to be a woman but doesn't qualify for the surgery. The thought of wearing someone else's skin is enough to make me want to vomit. But not quite as much as the next one....

6: Hannibal Lecter, also from Silence of the Lambs. He eats his victims. The end.

5: Freddy Krueger from Nighmare on Elm Street. I have seen this one. Couldn't sleep for two days. He kills you in your sleep through your dreams in vicious ways. He's also one of the scariest looking movie characters I've ever seen.

4: Lord Voldemort. Not only does he divide his soul but he obsesses over one person for an entire lifetime and won't leave him alone. Not to mention all the evil things he did while he was still a normal human. He kills and tortures innocents.

3: The Joker from Dark Knight. Besides constantly lying about how he got his scars, he kills and tortures with no remorse. He knows the follies of man and extorts them to his advantage. He doesn't care about money or fame or power. He just wants to kill because he enjoys it. He laughs at it.
2: Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. He's another Joker character who kills for enjoyment. He moves in a creepier manner than the Joker and doesn't make jokes so there's no light to his character. He's pure evil.


And for number 1 we have a tie!! The first we'll discuss is Darth Vader.
First 1: Darth Vader. He can choke you from across the room for any reason and has no regret in doing that or even destroying a whole planet. He's also extremely intelligent and vile. The newer movies give his character more depth which makes it even more heartbreaking when he turns to the dark side. He hurts his wife, betrays his master, and kills younglings. He's also the more famous of the villains in the Star Wars saga. My roommates think he should be my number one. I disagree. I tied him only because we couldn't come to a consensus. He redeems himself in the end, so I think my next choice is the more appropriate for the number one spot.

Second 1: Darth Sidious. Darth Vader may have done a lot of evil things, but only because this man made him. He turned him to the dark side, used him as a weapon of evil, and destroyed his soul. To me, this makes his much worse. Not only that but he turns a republic into a dictatorship, deceives even the best of men (jedis) and kills Mace Windu in one of the most painful and dishonorable ways I can think of for a jedi. He's vicious and altogether pure evil with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. To me, he is the worst of the worst.

If you disagree with any of my choices of have more to add, feel free to comment! I'd love to know what you think.