Ghost Stories

Over the weekend, Nathaniel and I went camping in a Tepee. A TEPEE!! Well, kind of. We drove up to Bannack, Montana and camped at the edge of a ghost town in a tepee. It was freezing. And we weren't as prepared as we thought we were (thought we brought a down comforter- didn't, thought we brought a workable air mattress- didn't) so half way through the night, after we were freezing to the bone and a bug dropped on Nathaniel's face and a monster was rubbing against the tepee, we ended up in the car. BUT the time we spent making fires and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows NEXT to the tepee was awesome. As was the ghost town. FYI- Nathaniel is excellent at making fires. I was very impressed by my wilderness man.

Let me talk about the ghost town. Bannack is only 5 short hours away from SLC and it is located in what is now a state park, so it's pretty well preserved and only 5 bucks to see. We went fairly early in the morning and stayed until the afternoon, just walking around (hence my ridiculous sunburn).




We also had a ghost experience!There was a bridge over the creek and I wanted to take Nathaniel's picture on the bridge. We were both on it and as I was about to take the picture I could feel footsteps on the bridge so I thought that someone was coming onto the bridge behind me so I took the picture fast. At the same time Nathaniel thought someone was coming onto the bridge behind him so he stepped out of the way. We both felt the footsteps, but when we looked, no one was there. Later we asked the park ranger if there were any ghost encounters. He said that the main ghost that has been seen is a girl named Dorthy who drowned it the creek when she was 14! I totally think we felt her presence on the bridge! Here is the photo and the bridge.

Check out the Orbs in this one. Maybe they're ghosts! (Or dust) Or dusty ghosts!

Alphabet soup

So I have joined a new club. A CD mix club. I am not sure what to call it. Playlist club? Music Share club? Well anyway, some girls and I are making mixes for each other each month based on a theme. I really like the idea, because then I can get introduced to new music AND make mixes from music I love and share it with other people. The first mix is called the A-Z mix. You have to pick song titles that consist of one word- A-Z. This was a little more difficult than I thought. I had multiple of some letters and none of others. I never found a Z! So my mix is actually A-Y.

Here is my Mix:

Aime- Damien Rice

Birds- Kate Nash

Calgary- Bon Iver

Dilate- Ani Difranco

Edit- Regina Spektor

Free- The Colorful Quiet

Gatekeeper- Fiest

Headlock- Imogen Heap

Intervention- Arcade Fire

Jacksonville- Sufjan Stevens

Kiss- Prince

Lions- Headlights

Miserole- Emily Hope Price

Names- Cat Power

Older- Band of Horses

Politik- Coldplay

Quiet- Rachel Yamagata

Regret- Wye Oak

Stars- The Weepies

Transcendentalism- Death Cab for Cutie

Undertow- Stars

Videotape- Radiohead

Window- Album Leaf

Xanax- Maria Taylor

Yesterday- Pulp

Z ???????

What would your list be? What would your letter Z be??? I am sure I could come up with something, but my ipod did not help. It will be interesting to see what new music I will get.

96 days

I had a dream the other night that it was a week before the wedding and I hadn't planned anything. It was terrible. I was in panic mode and threw a bunch of things together and it was awful. I know that won't happen, I have too many capable and talented friends for that to EVER happen, but I do fear running out of time.

I have so many ideas, but have not tried to execute a lot of them- SO I better start!

This memorial day weekend was filled with house stuff. My future in laws are in town and we accomplished a lot. Valerie gave me a much needed tutorial on gardening. The front and sides of the house look 150% better. It's starting to really look nice . . . on the outside. The inside looks like a construction zone. As it should. Exposing brick walls, fixing the torn out kitchen, adding doors, removing plaster, emptying out the swimming pool in the basement (this is the wettest May in recorded history and our basement can attest to that). Who knew a house that is over one hundred years old could need so much TLC? (just kidding, we knew . . . kinda)

It's so exciting, but so stressful as well. So much to do, it's kind of overwhelming. I am so lucky to have such a great family and to be marrying in to such a great family, but I will be relieved when I am sitting on a beach in Costa Rica on my honeymoon and some of the stress is behind me.

Oh, and did I mention Nathaniel bought us tickets to Costa Rica for my birthday!?!!!????!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Things could be much worse.

Moments . . .

I took today off to celebrate my birthday. This has become a little tradition of mine, to hang out with myself and celebrate my birthday. I slept in, took myself to the movies (Bridesmaids, seemed appropriate) and went shopping. I bought myself a little somethin' somethin' NOT on sale at anthropologie and when I got home, opened a lovely birthday package from my future mother-in-law. SUCH A GOOD DAY. And to top it all off- Nathaniel and I picked up the keys to OUR house (well, technically HIS house until September). It was so exciting!!! I am getting an amazing husband and we are moving in to our first home together soon and I am so excited!!!!!!!!


It should say SOLD, since it is totally SOLD- to us!!!!!!!!!

This is on the wall in the master bedroom and is SO true. But is also SO getting painted over as soon as possible.

Home sweet home!!!!


P.S. The wedding is in 108 days. UGH!! I need to start figuring stuff out.

He liked it so he put a ring on it ("it" being me)

I'm engaged! Still so weird to say.

Nathaniel and I have been dating almost ten months. And I'll be honest, I've known for a while that I wanted to marry him. He is probably the kindest man I have ever known and thoughtful and quiet and not to mention handsome (those blue eyes of his KILL me). I can guarantee he already hates this post (sorry Nathaniel), but I am pretty sure he knows what he is getting into by marrying me. He makes me laugh until I cry. He knows how to kiss me just the way I like. He loves my crazy family. He loves his crazy family (significantly less crazy than mine btw). He is such a loyal friend. He is such a hard worker. He listens to me and tries to make me happy. He is so talented and smart and capable. He's my best friend, like the kind that you make up songs with or goofy dances or tickles you until you almost pee or the kind that cries with you when you are sad and gets mad at things you're mad at or the kind that knows you love non fat iced chai and brings it to you just because. And I love him.

A couple months ago we went looking for rings, very casually. We weren't engaged, we were just talking about it. I found this amazing antique ring that I loved. And I made it very clear that I loved it. I would check the website everyday and just look at it. One day it was gone, I secretly hoped he had bought it, but couldn't be sure. He kept saying that we should look at rings and asking me to email pictures of rings that I liked, so I had my doubts.

On Friday we were in Provo for his family reunion. I met his sweet grandmother and got to see other family members that I had met before. I was totally exhausted, it had been a very rough work week. He started talking about BYU chocolate milk and how he really wanted some. So we went to the cougareat to get some. It was 9pm and just closing up. There were only a few people there. But we purchased our chocolate milk and sat down to enjoy. He was telling me about how he had worked there as a janitor many years ago. I was joking with him about people getting engaged at the cougareat and what that might look like when he pulled out a ring and set it on the table, got down on one knee and proposed! Just prior to asking me, he said something about it being really funny if two grown people who weren't BYU students anymore got engaged in the cougareat and I agreed. I was SO surprised. I cried like a baby. And to make it even more exciting, it was the antique ring I was in love with. He bought it a week after we saw it (of course he did).

Here is our first picture as an engaged couple (chocolate milk and all).



The ring is circa 1930 and I love love love it.



September 3rd can't come soon enough!

Sometimes I really miss Thailand

Sick Day

Stayed home from work due to a sickness. I pretty much looked at blogs all day. Why am I not more creative? Why can't I sew clothes, make bunting flags or pompon wreaths? Why do I not have fancy pictures to post or clever things to say? I spent a long day of comparing myself to others, which never makes you feel better. Especially when you weren't feeling well to begin with.

Besides, I think the internet LIES.

Not Getting Any Younger

So I am in my 30's. Like ACTUALLY in my 30's. I am going to be 33 this year, that seems so crazy. My friends and I were talking about our age and our skin and how we just don't look/feel as young as we used to. Then someone brought up skin care. I have to admit, I am not the best at taking care of my skin. I wash it with Dove soap most nights and that is about it. So I decided to make a change, to actually put forth an effort, which cost me a little more than my normal skin care regimen (when I say a little I mean A LOT). I bought a Mia. I had never heard of one, nor seen one, but apparently people swear by it. Tonight was the first time I used it and can I already say that I think I love it? My skin has never felt so clean.
I guess it better, since I could have bought 140 bars of Dove soap for the price of the Mia. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sharing the Light

I have a new camera and new pictures, but when I tried to put the memory card in the side compartment of my computer it was too small and became lost and I had to dig it out with some tweezers. SO I will have to wait to upload those pictures. They are of my sweet friend Alyssa and her family at her sons baptism and some of me and Nathaniel in Boise, except I forgot to really take pictures of anything Boise like so it's really just me and Nathaniel in coffee shops and restaurants, but IN Boise. Ok, so maybe I won't upload them until I have something exciting.

Tonight Nathaniel and I went to target to buy Settlers of Catan. I have never played, so we thought it would be fun to buy and play. As we were at the check out, the nerdy high school checker said "Oh no, you can't be serious, this looks just like Settlers of Zarahemla," Nathaniel quickly assured him it definitely was not and that surely the Settlers of Catan was made first. I don't think the boy believed him, he was sure we were purchasing a knock off of his favorite Book of Mormon based board game. Adorable kid, I humored him and then he told me all about taking the ACTs the night before. Nathaniel asked me what I might diagnose him as and I said "nerdy Mormon kid." I feel I can use that diagnosis since I too was a nerdy Mormon kid in high school. Takes one to know one I guess (my vice was nerdy Mormon teenage novels and EFY soundtracks, not boardgames, but definitely the same affliction) and I turned out alright.

I still haven't played the Settlers of Catan and now I kinda wish it was the Zarahemla version. Or maybe something more racy like Setters of Babylon.

Layed Up

Here I am, on my couch, with a heating pad on my back, on a Friday night. Maybe I'm old, but my back has given up this week. It is done and I have no choice but to give in to it's incessant whining in the form of intense pain when I make any sort of movement. I have been "hobbling" around all day (as my friend Nicki said), more like waddling and I was caught more then once doing stretches and yoga poses in my office today.

But now I'm just here, lying prostrate, at first watching 30 Rock and now listening to the new Radiohead album, (it's good, REAL good). Give up the Ghost may be my new favorite song.

All in all, not a super terrible Friday night . . . as long as I don't move anything. Dancing is NOT an option, although I really want to follow Thom's example.