One year older and wiser too :)

Happy Birthday to me! This is to thank all of those who made this day special, namely:

Skyping with my friend Camille whom I miss terribly

Decorating this lovely tea pot at Color-me-mine, I love that place!

Eating at my favorite restaurant the Old Spaghetti Factory

Eating a wonderful birthday cake that my mom made

And getting a piano! (Okay it's just a miniature music box)

But I love it all the same and even more because it's from my sister.

What totally made my day was the poem Jess and her husband Jordan gave me:

Natalie you are now 22 years old,

But now you can snuggle Jason when you are cold.

You are really smart and pretty,

you have a lot of patience and not greedy.

Your testimony is strong with a lot of might,

When you walk the streets of Germany you shine like a bright light.

Our family is sealed like concrete pavement,

remember this rhyme came from Jordan and Jess Wayment.

We love you with all we got,

but always remember that you are super hot.

It's truly the simple things that counts. A big thanks goes to my family for making this day so wonderful. And to all of my friends who left facebook messages on my wall. It truly means the world to me, I'm so grateful to be surrounded by so many good people.

Exhausted...

12 hours of wedding planning is enough to kill anyone. So what do I do to unwind? I try to go running and then get pulled into more wedding plan. Thank heavens it's my birthday tomorrow and my goal is to do nothing related to the wedding....ha. At least it's a nice thought. So what do I really do to unwind? Talk to Jason, listen to Rachmoninoff, blog, and sleep. But the most exciting thing I did today was I got my temple dress and it's beautiful. I'm so excited. It truly doesn't matter what happens with all of the wedding plans next to the temple. It will be wonderful.

Fairytale meet reality

I'm back from Europe! And ENGAGED!!!! I know I haven't updated this blog in quite sometime so let me do a recap of the trip....

first....Jason proposed and we got engaged! The first day I arrived. Right on top of this tower in the background that I almost pushed him off of because he psyched me out with a gold bookmark first. But it all ended well :)

Then we traveled Paris in the rain

Saw the top of the alps

went to Rome and saw the colosseum and got a wicked tour of the vatican

and saw the Nuenshwanstein castle while camping in Bavaria

And of course I could post a million more pics but that's the highlight. I came home last Thursday night and for a minute the whole trip felt like it was just a dream. UNTIL I got swept away by wedding planning. I now have a dress, a photographer, the reception center, and engagement pics. And that's only the beginning. Tomorrow is meeting with the luncheon people, picking out my cake, looking at rings for him, paying deposit on our new apt, meeting with the invitations people and there was one more thing but I can't remember anymore. Despite what people may think, this is the fun stuff. (I actually am truly enjoying myself, I've been waiting my whole life to plan this!) The not fun stuff is what I have to do in between- look for jobs, figure out how to not be destitute in the fall, move all my junk and his back and forth between my apt and house, organize all of my junk, doctors appts, look at insurance, figure out cell phones, and all while make sure everyone party involved is happy. Needless to say, I'm stressed. Mostly about money. These pictures are going to have to go on my wall so I can remind myself about how much fun we had when we're sleeping on a air mattress, eating on a card table, watching a tiny t.v. on the floor, and eating mac and cheese because we can't afford anything. Probably the hardest part about all of this is Jason is still in Germany until the end of August which brings it's own set of challenges. I'm crossing uncharted territory and amongst the stress I'm very excited. Until this recent wave of stress, life has been very much like a dream and I'm still loving most of every minute or at least trying to. You only get to do this once.

Tangled

The day has finally arrived! I'm flying to Europe today! I can't believe it's here. Some of you might wonder how I'm feeling about everything and I can't think of a better explanation than a dialogue from Cambridge. Right before Rapunzel is about to see the lights Flynn leans over to her and asks:

Flynn: "You okay?"

Rapunzel: "I'm terrified"

F: "why"

R: "I've been looking out a window for 18 years dreaming about it might feel like when those lights shine in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?"

F: "It will be"

R: "And what if it is, what do I do then?"

This is EXACTLY how I feel. Terrified but very excited. Let's see where the next month takes me :)

If I could only remember this...

(I stole this picture from my friend's blog so I really can't take credit but I loved it)

Who would want to know what's in their future anyway?

So in case you haven't heard...

I get to go back here this summer!!!!!

Oh and Paris, Rome, Germany, and London. not to mention that I will be seeing all of this with a certain boy :) Yes, I might be more excited about this than I have anything else my entire life (I may have jumped up and down and screamed when I found out I was going). Am I crazy? Yes. This is perhaps the most impulsive, random and risky thing I've ever done but what fun is life without a little spontaneity and chasing after dreams right? Bah! I'm so excited, June please go by fast

Motivational talke