It lights the whole sky.

Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, "you owe me."
Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.

-Hafiz

I feel as if today should be extremely important, but I can't seem to figure out why. It is only the eleventh of April. It's not a friend's birthday, or holiday or deadline day. Today is a simple Sunday. Filled with friends and church and relaxation (which actually shouldn't be happening for another week and a half, if then...). But I can't help trying to think if there is some significance I am missing today. I loved the beauty of the day. The warmth, the wind and the happy sunshine. This is the kind of weather I wish I could have year round. Days like today would be perfect too.

I found this quote today and it made me think.

Thinking was good to do today too. Tomorrow will start off one of the last weeks of chaos/craziness. I'm getting more excited for THE day. Excited that I won't have to say goodnight and get in a car and go to my own house. No more curfew, no more missing him for the few hours we spend apart, no more roommates that are essentially strangers to me. I have been so blessed. And I realize that more and more. Blessed with my family, blessed with my friends, blessed with him, blessed because of everything I have. I really don't deserve it at all.

..."a love like that"..... I wish I could always have a love like that.

Weekend plans!!

1) work this afternoon even though I have too many hours.
2) chanon! The best Thai food in salt lake city.
3) movie tonight? This one is still up in the air. Ooh or stargazing if it doesn't rain.
4) stats review tomorrow bright and early. Still not a for sure thing but I hope so. I need all the stats help I can get.
5) bridal shower!! I'm excited! :D
6) I'm going to try and make a birdcage veil. I haven't decided if I'm going to use it but it seems super easy to make.
7) REAL Salt Lake game!!! Home opener. We were the champions last year, so I'm excited to see us play this year.
8) midnight movie tradition if possible and depending on what's there. I'm really going to miss the dollar theater when we ever move away from here.
9) study study study study study. Sound fun? That's because it is going to be a blast.
10) go buy this one dress I've been eyeing for awhile. I'm thinking it can double as my graduation and wedding luncheon dress. I will post you the link here when I get back to a real computer.
11) mail out our invitations!! I have them all labeled but I don't have stamps yet. Oh and we get our inserts on Saturday.

Wow. I love how busy life gets!!
Only 29 days!

- Posted from my iPhone

Feelings of nervousness

So I am getting my hair redone. For some reason, it is making me nervous. Maybe because this is the hair I will have for bridals.
I'm sitting here at the salon watching all the ladies put their makeup on for the day and I am now shockingly aware of the fact that the only makeup on my face is the tiny amount of mascara I put on to help me look at least a little bit awake. There's no place like a salon (which is supposed to make you feel beautiful) to make you feel inferior and out of place. This one girl in the booth next to me seriously has been doing her makeup for the past hour. I guess she doesn't really have anything else to do. If it was me, I think I would probably bring a book. But I am a nerd like that.

So I'm doing this dark color with a hint of warmth on my hair. I decided against the auburn. Good thing since I just found out a certain someone doesn't like it. I'm still nervous about it. The paste she is putting on my hair is this orange color.

Guess we will see what it looks like in an hour.

- Posted from my iPhone

I did it!

I survived an overload of wedding plans this weekend!

Friday night came the trip to Ken and Sam's for dinner, the game and the PLANNING SESH.

Instead of being able to watch the game, I got to sit at a table and talk about what foods I want displayed, in what way, with what drinks, what I wanted on the tables, etc etc. Not so fun. (The best part about this part is that I got to taste some of them!) So now we have our 'menu' (including over 700 pieces of candy!!) that will be on a table artistically displayed, thanks to Sam. And I'm tempted to list them here so you can gush over them, but I kinda want to wait so I can put up pictures of them too!

Saturday morning came with General Conference. In the break between sessions, I went to meet the nicest flower lady and her daughter. SO SO sweet. And so helpful. They had loads of ideas which is amazing because I just went in there with a couple of pictures from a magazine with no idea of what flowers were actually in it. And they came up with a ideas for boutonnières and bouquets and table toppers and the whole shebang! So I'm having a bouquet with lilies and then with a bunch of other things I can't remember the names of because they are unusual. Privet berries were one of them I think. And grass? And some willow? I don't know. But I'm excited. :)

There is some of this in there:

Then after we got back from Marci's, we went to Men's Wearhouse. Who knew that trying to pick out 3 vests and 11 ties could take more than 15 minutes?! Not me. But we were successful eventually. And I'm really pleased with what we got. Especially one purple,silver, and black paisley tie. LOVE it.

After that I was pretty much wedding-ed out. Is that a word? It is now.

So many plans. So little time. A little more than 5 weeks? How did time go by so fast?

P.S. my car has a brand spanking new windshield that looks simply fabulous. PLUS a new rearview mirror that doesn't come off every time you try to adjust it! hallelujah. And all for the great low price of $174. Oh and it passed inspection. We owe so much to David's dad. He saved us soooooooo much money.

And now. 7 school days left.

Back to finishing the reading.

But summer is coming!!!!

weekend listing.

I have only had about 6 or less hours of sleep each night for the past week (c'mon, people I need at least 6 and a half to function), so random is exactly what I feel, and what might translate into this post.

1- First things first, guess what we just did.

Played HANGMAN over gchat.

A few things about this:

- who even plays hangman any more?

- I made an awesome man out of computer symbols. And I tried to put it on here but google chrome doesn't like it. Maybe some other time.

2. I was reading MLIA today. The more I read, the harder I laugh.

One of my favorites?

Today, my alarm didn't go off, causing me to be 40 minutes late for school. On my tardy slip, I wrote "attacked by dinosaurs on the way to the bus stop" as my excuse. Not only was it accepted, the teacher removed the tardy completely and gave me a sticker

Needless to say, I have been very entertained.

3. We are going up to Kaysville in approximately 1 hour! Oh I am so excited for this weekend. I still need to pack, and maybe I'll even be able to throw a shower into that mix, but hey, it is okay!

4. I only have to turn in 2 more assignments before this semester is over! It's easy peasy stuff too!

5. I read this quote today, and it made me happy. "Bruce R. McConkie [said]: 'Faith in its full and pure form requires an unshakable assurance and … absolute confidence that [God] will hear our pleas and grant our petitions' in His own due time. Believing that, we too can “stand fast in the faith” today and tomorrow." Taken from this talk.

It's good stuff.

And that's all! I am leaving to go pack now! Yay for it being springtime, April, General Conference, the weekend, the end of school and almost summer!

I guess the biggest thing I learned from today is that
any day can be a good day if you look at it the right way.

Help me pick?

So I have to finish a homework assignment.
But my mind is not on it.

Rather, it is on the gorgeous sunshine from yesterday that I wish would stay forever.

It's not hard homework. Just long and boring.
So I'm procrastinating. But not for very much longer, I promise.

I was just looking at gorgeous bouquets for an idea of what I want mine to be like.

So what do you think? Which is your favorite? Because heaven knows I can't pick.......

number 1

number 2

number 3

number 4

number 5

in case you can't guess, I'm trying to go with a dark purple bouquet. (None of the lavender colored stuff, please.) But I'm thinking the last one is my favorite.....

happy st. patrick's day.

I'm not a fan of St. Patrick's Day. I am only wearing green because I think I get a treat in chemistry if I do. (haha - oh what I will do for candy. I'm like a little child.) But I couldn't think of a better title.
Anyways, we got to see some of our engagment pics yesterday! And I'm kind of in love with them so I'm putting some here.(I'm sorry about the kissing photo. I just think it's a cool shot.)

Anyways. They just make me happy. :) :)


OH.
p.s. I applied for graduation today!
Hallelujah.

Dress me: part 3.

The package looked like a throw pillow - Pleasantly big, squishy and a little heavier than I expected.

And he wouldn't let me carry it home. I got to hold it for approximately 3.6 seconds before I gave it back.

I tried it on as soon as I walked in the door.

So so nervous as I opened it.

And it didn't help that I looked at the information paper tucked behind the label on the walk home. And it read "Satin".

Wait.

What?

Satin?

I didn't ask for satin.

Satin?!

Oh man that made me nervous.

And then a certain someone asked me "what if it was really pink instead of white? what would you do?" Oh yeah. That's not gonna make me any more nervous.

OH WAIT. yes it did.

So, I made him rip a corner open so I could make sure then and there that it most definitely was NOT pink.

It wasn't. Hallelujah.

But I still couldn't tell if it was taffeta (what I ordered) or satin(?!). The inside plastic was too hard to see through to tell.

Good thing I opened it as soon as I walked in the door and threw my backpack down. They put it in the package inside out. As soon as I realized that, I was smothered in ruffles trying to turn it the right way. But once I saw it, I knew.

I LOVE IT.

Holy smokes.

It isn't exactly like the website one. But when I say "not exactly like", I mean there are only slight slight slight (get the idea?) slight slight differences. And if you hadn't even seen the "original" before, you would never have known.

Seriously. Best decision ever.

I cut the price down by........ guess how much!

95% (after purchasing extra fabric which added to the total price.)

1/20th of the in-store designer price. ONE-TWENTIETH!

Oh man. I love it.

Dress me. Part 2

It's here!!!

I got this awesome text while sitting in class:

"The eagle has landed! I repeat, the eagle has landed!"

Oh glorious words. No longer could I pay any attention to childhood obesity and what we, as friends, parents and concerned citizens can do to help this "CRISIS".

It's here. My dress. At my front door!!

But I can't go home until after work.

But it's at my FRONT DOOR!!!!
- Posted from iPhone

*** note: now it is walking around campus. Oh man, I wish I could leave work right now.

Dress me. Part 1

Look everyone!
It's on it's way to SALT LAKE!!!!


It is on a marvelous journey from china. From SHANGHAI, to ANCHORAGE!, then to LOUISVILLE (really? Kentucky? I don't really get this stop. But it's okay. It's on it's way!) it's now on a plane to SALT LAKE CITY!
- Posted from iPhone

Lessons learned.

What I learned on March 12:
1- The citric acid cycle in all it's detailed glory. Holy smokes it makes your brain hurt. .
2- My hair is unpredictable and unruly. Normally I like it. Not
today. Today was a day when I wishes I had straight hair.
3- I desperately need new contacts. Too bad my prescription ran out and I don't really have the time/money for an appointment right now.
4- Springtime is sometimes a facade that winter wears so it can trap you in your shorts, sandals an skirts unawares. Then will remind you that a winter in UT extends to
May sometimes.
5- I could never be a model: a) I don't like cameras and b) I don't like audiences, catcalls, or whistles


- Posted from iPhone

blonde brownies?

So, I have a bunch of bridal magazines. And guess what.

Almost every model in them is blonde. I would say a good 99.9 % are blonde. And the brunettes in them just don't have good hairstyles.

I guess that means I can't really get married unless I dye my hair. Which sounds like a good idea in my head. But not on paper or in reality.

Want to see what I mean?? Here are the hair styles I like:

(as you will be able to tell, I am 75% leaning towards my hair up and 25% leaning towards it half up. I think the third one is my favorite.)

I am also stuck on whether or not to buy a "fashionable" headpiece or short veil (Kins- could I maybe borrow yours? If you don't want me to, that's totally fine. I completely understand. ) or use the semi-long veil I currently have. Any suggestions? My dress is already busy enough, so I'm just trying to find what I can that would complement it.

Any suggestions?

Or maybe I should just go blonde.

Pictures!!!!!

I hope you all enjoy these pictures because they took forever to put up. But it was ALL worth it! The wedding was so fun. And so so exhausting. So many fun things! And the BEST part of all this is that it gets to happen again in 2 months for ours!!!!

The gorgeous couple and their son. Fixing Drex's shirt.

So stinkin' cute!! They make a beautiful family. :D
This is their "You just kissed a boy - how do you feel?" face. haha
This is Jack. Jack is adorable and I CANNOT get enough of him. You will see more of him. :)
Jack and his daddy, Robbie, like to squish their faces together. SOOOOO cute.


Thomas was begging me for money.
Carol looked so cute. We tried to set her up with David's brother but they kind of just avoided each other today.
Love this pic.
Phillip claimed my sweater was shedding on him. And maybe it was.
Love this one too.
All the siblings. We just naturally segregate into boys and girls.
Goofy picture.
this one was a lot harder to do than it looked. we were all off balance.
The boys (minus Will).

Their GQ picture. And somehow Robbie ended up looking straight at me. haha
Christian and his new son! Drex is adorable.
And Drex adores Christian.

The girls.
Probably one of my most favorite pictures of the day!!!!
So so so happy for them!!

how can you not love this child?!

The reception was sooo long. It's a lot easier when you are not family. Because then you can leave when you want. Family has to stay to the end. So we took pictures, snuck cake, played some farkle and waited.
Oh, and Emma caught the bouquet. Go figure. I have never seen an eight-year-old DIVE for a bouquet before. But Emma always did like to pretend she was a big girl. She likes wearing my ring too.
And that's all because I got bored with taking pictures.
Such a fun day though. I am going to miss my family being here.
But they are coming back soon!!!

Please pardon my absence for the next few days. I will be away celebrating pure happiness. Wedding, birthdays, families - 3 of my favorite things.

I love you all.
I will take as many pictures a I can.
And then I will share them with you! :) :)
- Posted from iPhone

Dear Wedding Dress,

Please hurry up and get in my mailbox. I already have butterflies in my stomach - ever since the moment I knew that you, specifically, were a real possibility and not just a figment of my personal fairy tale. I found you and felt the excitement rush over my body. Then the butterflies came. They remind me they are still in my stomach whenever I think about you and the process of getting you worked out to the point where I can actually wear you in 9+ weeks. I have wanted you for so long, and to have you be snatched from my ever-so-close grasp is a painful, heart-breaking thought. Yeah, you are a little nerve-wracking. Time is slipping away. So can you please slip into my mailbox?

nervously,

Natalie

Today is a good day.

I am the LUCKIEST girl in the world. At least, I feel like it today.

For these reasons:

A) my family is coming out here in 2 days!!!

Sometimes it feels like I never get enough time with them.

(plus more people than can fit in that chair. Minus one, plus a couple new additions. :D )

B) I LOVE weddings!!! And Christian and Jamie are PERFECT for each other. Photo evidence, anyone? (sorry, I can't seem to make them bigger without making them really fuzzy)

Of course, 2 of the most good-looking people in the world HAVE to end up together. And Drex is ADORABLE. They look so happy together. I love it.

C) It is sunny today! Oh please oh please let spring hurry up. At least it is MARCH today!!

D) Lastly, but definitely not least, I get to spend all (as in 99.9%) of my time with him. Makes me so so so so so so happy!!!! (I don't know what happened to my eye in this picture. haha oh well.)

Oh, today is a happy day.