My Valentine!

After our delicious meal!

Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue! It was best with the granny smith apples!

Turtle Dream Chocolate Fondue! We got extra strawberries, it was sooo good!

Last weekend, we went on a big date! We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and then the Megaplex at the Gateway Mall for a movie! It was to celebrate the fact that we are getting married in LESS THAN A MONTH and Valentine's Day early because Jeff left for St. George for a camping/climbing trip.  We had such a great time! We laughed all night long!

For actual Valentine's Day on the 14th, we agreed on not doing any gifts.  I snuck out and shopped for a cookie cake and something from VS for him and put them in his truck while he was working for a surprise! Much to my surprise, he'd had his own plan in mind! He got me an icecream cake from Baskin Robbins with my favorite flavors! Later that night he also surprised me with Ghiradelli chocolates and a couple cutesy little Valentine balloons.  He is the sweetest.  How did I get so lucky?? Good thing I snagged a winner!

What I've learned from planning a wedding:

1. It's not NEARLY as stressful as other people have portrayed. Perhaps that's because we had a 10 month engagement and Jeff is very laid-back and accommodating.
2. Whoever said keep your hopes high and your expectations low is wrong.  Both should be low, because then if it happens it is a nice surprise.  If it doesn't... well then you were right.
3. Having a plan for a plan to plan the wedding is nice. Lists are nice too!
4. Our families are awesome.  Oh wait... I already knew that!!
5. Making your own invitations is about 1000x times cheaper.  Literally.
6. So far, draining your savings account to pay for a wedding is worth it.  We'll see what we think when we are ready to buy a house.
7. Eloping sounds reeeallly nice.  You don't have to worry about anyone but yourselves (hypothetically speaking).  No let-downs, no hurt feelings, no drama and at the end of the day you're still MARRIED. (I truly am excited for our wedding, just FYI :D)
8. The closer the wedding gets, the faster time flies.
9. I'm not in control of how someone else feels.  And, trying to fix it and make them happy often proves to be defeating, disappointing, and only makes me frustrated.  No matter what you try, they feel the way they want and that's what you get to deal with.  How you deal with it is what can change the situation.
10. Knowing Jeff as well as I do has been so helpful with decision making.  Throughout the process I was thinking of the couples who got married quickly, and I would not have been able to do as much as quickly as I do if we'd done that.  Like, I knew what he would want for pretty much every aspect of the wedding and so I could just research and make up my mind and tell him and every time he was happy with it.
11. Jeff is the best friend I have ever had. He will drop everything for me and knows me better than I know myself.  He's the best support system, rock climbing partner, dog-daddy, mechanic, plumber, engineer, metal sculptor, roommate, comedian, and fiance... Oh wait... I knew that too! :)
12. We are going to have a really fun wedding.  I mean REALLY fun.

The Busy Life

"Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do." 
--Kathleen Winsor

We are seeing less and less of each other lately.  So busy with school and work and feeling like there is little to no time for leisure together.  If I were to die tomorrow, would I be okay with that?  Sometimes we get so busy, it clouds our motivation to keep going.  There is an end in sight and, of course, we will keep reaching for it.  But for now, we just miss each other and admire the lives of those who are graduated and just working.  Now, I know that doesn't always make you less busy, but I feel like it would be nice to run on our own agenda - together. (That would be a bonus!)

I cannot wait for December to arrive.  I will have a degree, and if I don't want to I don't HAVE to continue in education.  I can start my career and ideally spend my days/nights with Jeff.  Buuuut, I have another plan.  1 more year after December for my BSN.  And then I will assess where life is at that point, and perhaps get a doctorate to become a Nurse Practitioner.  FIVE more years. . . 

"No thoroughly occupied person was ever found really miserable."
--Walter Savage Landor