S is for Stressed...

... I'm stressed. I'm getting married in 9 days, I'm going through the temple this weekend, I have finals and final papers due, and I have to get the end-of-year budget finalized at work. I'm not sure how I'm going to get it all done. I'm totally stressed. Work, school and wedding is too much to handle.

R is for Reunion...

... I just got a facebook invite to my 5 year high school reunion. All I can say is, I will not be going. Please refer to the last 30 Rock episode to understand my reasoning. And I have no Jack Donaghy to bribe me with the company jet. Thank you Tina.

F is for Frisco...

... I know, I know, the natives hate it when you refer to their city as Frisco. I'm in San Fran right now on a business trip. I used to think that going on a business trip seemed so grown-up and exciting, but really they're not that great. I'd much rather be at home, cuddled up with Alma watching a movie than sitting in my hotel room working on a research paper and watching reruns of House. But San Francisco is a great city, so I guess I shouldn't complain. I just wish I were married and Alma were here with me.

T is for Thanksgiving

... Who knows if I'll have access to the internet in that nether land we call Malad, so an early Happy Thanksgiving to all!

May your holiday be extra special, extra fun, and extra delicious!

I is for Impatient...

... I can't wait until I have my own husband.
... I can't wait until I have my own apartment
... I can't wait until I have my own kitchen.
... I can't wait until I have my own bathroom.

Three and a half more weeks!

M is for Malad...

... It's Thanksgiving holiday this week, which means Alma and I will be spending almost 5 days in good ol' Malad, Idaho. Malad's my hometown, and, oh boy, do we ever love spending time there. Alma likes it because he makes up the town's Asian population of 1, and I love it because it brings back all my fond memories of high school. I especially love it when I run into old classmates. What fun!

Don't worry family, we love seeing you. For real. That's why we come.

B is for Bond...

... or maybe for Bourne. We went to see the new 007 Bond movie on Friday, and to be quite honest, it seemed more like a Bourne movie than a Bond movie. Don't get me wrong, it was a great action flick, and the cinematography and fight sequences were incredible, but it was lacking on plot and character development.

So I was a little disappointed, especially since I loved the last Bond film with Daniel Criag and was hoping for the same in this one. I miss the witty repartee that is usually part of a Bond movie. I kept waiting for the "Bond, James Bond."

My only consolation on this one is that I think it's setting the scene for the next Bond film, so hopefully that one will be more in keeping with the "shaken, not stirred" Bond I love.

I wouldn't recommend skipping the movie, I would maybe just wait until it's in the dollars or out on video. Besides, who doesn't love watching Daniel Craig?

B is for Bridal Shower...

... I had a bridal shower this weekend in Utah, and last weekend I had one in Malad. Thanks so much to Whitney and Mom for planning them, and for everyone else who helped out. It was great to see everyone who stopped by. I didn't realize how fun getting married was until I started getting gifts. I think Alma and I should get married at least once every five years. Think how many gifts we'd get! Anyway, thanks to everyone who came. And thanks for the gifts. Let me know when you get married so I can return the favor!

1 is for ONE MONTH!!!

... Exactly one month from today Alma and I get married! Wahoo! Also, it's our 8-monthiversary.

Y is for Generation Y...

... also known as the Millennial Generation. In my meeting on new media today, there was a lot of discussion about how to effectively engage the new, tech-happy generation with their uber-short attention span. All this talk essentially about how to grab my attention got me thinking ... how do the older generations perceive us?

For those of you who don't know, Generation Y is anyone who was born between 1980 and 2000. You can learn more about us millennials here.

The more I experience life in the real business world, the more convinced I am that our generation could run the world much more efficiently and effectively than any of the older generations before us - they just won't let us. The learning curve might be a bit steep, but we learn a heck of a lot faster than anyone who's gone before.

But perhaps my feelings are just a reflection of my generation. Let me know what you think.

G is for Groomals...

... So we did our groomal photo shoot on Tuesday in Salt Lake. For those of you who don't know, groomals are like bridals, but with the groom in the pictures as well. It doesn't really make sense because if bridals are just the bride, then shouldn't groomals be just the groom? Maybe we should call them broomals?

Anyway, our photographer, Brody Dezember, is awesome, and he did a lot more locations than usual for us. We did three and a half hours of photos, and I think we got some good ones. To top it all of, my car battery died during the shoot and so Brody magnanimously jumped our car for ours. Thanks Mom, for giving me that emergency car kit last year.

Big thanks to Brody for going above and beyond the norm for us. I'd highly recommend him to anyone who's looking for a photographer. He has been wonderful to work with.

Also, muchos gracias to my dear sister Jeannie and cute nephew Jace for coming to help out with the dress. They ended up sitting in my dead car for two hours! So sorry!

Here's a couple shots, but you can see more at Brody's blog. Hope you like them!

C is for Cold ...

... I've caught a nasty cold this week. So I spend my days hyped up on DayQuil, and my nights zonked out on NyQuil. Thank heavens for the modern miracle of drugs. I'll be glad when I get over it so that my ever-loving fiance will kiss me again.

M is for Meetings ...

... I'm currently sitting in a day long training on "social media." So since we're talking about blogs, I thought I'd update mine. Been busy lately, but stay tuned for groomal pics.

H is for Home ...

* Warning: This post may be a bit too sappy for the average reader *

... I went home to Malad this weekend without Alma. He was taking a practice LSAT Saturday morning, so he stayed in Provo. For some reason, since getting engaged, I have wanted to go home any chance I could get. I have craved being with my family.

Alma has ruined all that. As much as I love being with my family, it's not the same if he's not there with me. So even though I enjoyed the weekend in Malad, it was completely marred by the fact that all I wanted to do was run home to Alma.

Alma is my home, and Malad just isn't home without him.

W is for the Weekend...

... My job isn't terrible; in fact it's a pretty sweet setup. But since I've started working full time, I have learned the true meaning of the saying, "working for the weekend."

The weekend's almost here, folks, and I'm working for it!

F is for Followers...

... Right now I've got three people who follow my (or should I say our?) blog. I know, awesome, right? When I started this, I didn't think I'd care if anyone read it.

News flash. I do care. I've posted my blog address in my gmail status, my facebook status, my facebook info page, and I'm considering sending out an email announcing it to the world. Or at least anyone whose email address I have. I think I'm gonna force Alma to email all his friends. It does say his name in the blog title too.

Come on people, follow my blog!

Who knew blogging could be so gratifying?

I is for Invitations ...

... Alma and I have been knee-deep in wedding invitations this week. We originally ordered 400 thinking that would be plenty, but I guess we underestimated how many people we would want to share in the joy. So I ordered another 100.

People, we have run out again. So if you don't get one, it's not personal. We just had to stop sending them when there were no more to send.

Feel free to stop by the reception even if you don't get an invite. Below is a copy of the proof. Don't judge me on the font for our names, we changed that in the end. And the color is a much darker, prettier burgundy when it's printed. But this will have to do for your viewing needs.

Five and a half weeks to go ...

P is for Pattersons ...

...we had Sunday dinner at the Patterson's last night. I've been going there for almost three years now, at least once a month, for dinner. Kelly was the faculty adviser for my study abroad trip to Paris fall semester '05. Thanks to the efforts of my dear Parisian roommie Denise, the Pattersons became like family to me over the course of the three months we were there. My sister calls them my fake family, and that's what they are, except not fake. They're really family to me. They've been with me through way too many boyfriends, a few heartbreaks, and now an engagement. If that doesn't make you family, I don't know what does.

But here's the rub. Paris is addictive, and after almost three years away, it was just too much to handle. Pattersons leave for Paris for six months in January. I knew they were leaving, but it didn't hit me until last night when we said goodbye. One thing they don't tell you when you get engaged is that you become way more emotional than you ever were before. So when I realized that they were REALLY leaving, the waterworks started. There I was, standing on the doorstep in the rain, crying into Alma's chest because I wasn't going to see them for six months.

So this one's for you, Kelly, Jeanene, Drew, and Kate. We're sure gonna miss you. Eat a lot of pastries for us, make a couple visits to Au Printemps on my behalf, and don't forget to pick up some souvenirs for your favorite Provo couple. We'll be waiting for you with open arms when you get back.

E is for Engaged ...

... which is what we are. Alma and I got engaged Aug. 4, and let me tell you, it has been a LONG 3 1/2 months. Six more weeks to go! After conferring with my closest advisers, apparently when you get engaged, it's time to start a blog. So here it is for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully there will be many more entertaining blog posts to come!