I Can't Sleep.

Well, here I am at four thirty in the morning, wide awake.  I think I've just got too much on my mind.  I was up pretty late last night packing my room up.  And finally, it's pretty much done.  Everything is in boxes, except for the essential stuff I'll need in the next few days. I threw away 3 huge bags of garbage... decluttering my room (aka my life) felt great.  I also got two giant bags to donate to D.I.  The rest is coming with me. 
Christmas is... almost done.  I've got pretty much everyone taken care of, except for the people who get Disney World gifts... ha ha. 
It was a busy week for me.  My friends threw me a lingerie bridal shower on Wednesday, and let's just say I've got plenty to get me by.  Thanks friends!  Lindsay, Emily, and Jamie were kind enough to throw it for me!  It was super cute!  I love those girls :)

The next night, the ladies I work with threw me a surprise shower at the bank!  How sweet of them!  I got a lot of great kitchen stuff :)
And then Friday night, it was my bachelorette party!  My friends and I went to the Melting Pot for dessert!  It was so much fun to get all dressed up, and the chocolate was delicious.  Thanks girls!
Can I just say, I can't believe I'm getting married on Friday!  I'm so excited! 

A Week of Craziness.

Holy moly this last week has been insane.  Mostly bad insane, I think.

I've been sick with a cold, literally all week.  Esta es no bueno.  I still feel like crap today.  Ugh.  Go away cold!

The wedding is NEXT WEEK!  How insane!  It feels like we've been engaged forever, but now time is going by so fast!
Cord's mom threw me a bridal shower for their side of the family... it was so fun!  They cut Cord and I a Christmas tree down in Manti, and had everyone bring an ornament to put on it.  What a cute idea!  Cord and I will go pick it up sometime this week.  It's so fun decorating our little place for Christmas!  We also got a lot of great gifts that will be so helpful!  It's actually starting to look and feel like a home!
I've got another bridal shower to look forward to this week, thrown by my girlies.  I can't wait!!

And now for the survival story.

It was super late Wednesday night when the winds started.  Lucky for me, my bedroom is upstairs facing the east, so I had a great opportunity to be kept awake by high winds all night long.  Needless to say, it's not a good thing when you're sick with a cold.  I got maybe 3 hours of sleep that night.  When I got up at 9-ish, the winds were still blowing.  Hard.  It looked kind of like we were in a hurricane.  I was supposed to work at 11, but our power was out, and I was assuming Centerville's power was too.  So I called my manager's cell phone... and let's just say it took everyone a long time to figure out what to do.  The next thing I know, I'm being sent to work at the North Salt Lake branch, because it's the only one that has power in our community.  Don't worry, it only took me 30 minutes to get there, thanks to trees in roads and no working traffic lights.  Truly, it looked like a war-zone.  And of course, when I got to the branch they were way over-staffed.  So then I spent another 30 minutes driving home.  By the time I got home, the house had seriously gotten it's cold on.  Yep, 60 degrees.  Awesome.  Mom and I drove clear to Layton for lunch, and got a whole lot of sweet pictures.

This is my personal fave.  Can you believe the wind can do something like this?  I guess this is what 100+ mph gusts can do.  Scary. 
Lucky us, our power was out til 8 that night.  But seriously, lucky us.  Some people in Kaysville STILL don't have it.

I hope the crazies of life slow down now.  I have a wedding to worry about people!  :)

Thanksgiving and the End.

Once upon a time called yesterday, I realized that I have two more weekends until I AM MARRIED.  Oh my goodness.  Insane.  I can't believe how fast it's coming up! 

Okay, now that that's out of the way, on to Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is in my top five favorite holidays probably.  Love eating food, what can I say?  Oh, and I'm also thankful for lots of stuff.  Life is good.  It was nice to be able to spend the day with both my families :)

Goodbye November?

Oh my.  Life has been so crazy lately.  I got my bridals back!  Here's a sneak peek...

I would put more up, but I don't want to risk Cord seeing my dress...

I went and saw Breaking Dawn: Part 1 with Zach and Jamie.  Oh my.  So much fun.  Probably couldn't stop laughing the entire time.

I had a bridal shower yesterday, thrown by a great neighbor :)  Neighbors and my family came, and it was awesome.  Thanks everyone!

Truly, I can't believe how fast time is passing.  It'll be December before I know it!

Exhaustion

I'm so tired.  It's like I have mono or something.  Which I most likely don't.  I truly could sleep for a straight 24 hours if someone would let me.  Too bad I've got a few million things to do between now and the end of the year.  I feel like right now getting out of bed and showering is a big accomplishment for me.... ha ha.  I swear life should be about more than just the bare minimum though. 

Let's see... what did I do this week... I was sick a whole lot of it.  Stomach sickness is the worst.  I got my bridals taken at La Caille, that was fun.  Except modeling is not my thing.  Smiling for a straight hour on my command is pretty much impossible.  I get to see how they turned out this week... That should be fun.  Then there was the usual work work work... nothing new there.  I finally got us all registered for my upcoming bridal showers and wedding!  It was fun... and long.  As in, two and a half hours straight walking around Target.  I also registered at Kohl's and Crate and Barrel.  I am also hoping that Disney gets their honeymoon registry up and running, cuz that would be fun... but we'll see.  I had work off on Friday for Veteran's Day, and did pretty much nothing.  Saturday I got tuxedos picked out and reserved.  Busy busy!

Bleh Sick.

Here I sit with some form of the stomach flu.  I'm just glad I haven't thrown up yet.  Throwing up is the worst.  I have a lot to do this week so I probably need to be better by tomorrow.
Wedding.  Holy moly the wedding is coming up soon.  Less than six weeks now!  It still feels like I have so much to do.... Secretly I'll be glad when it's all over. 
This last week was Halloween and we all dressed up at work... I dressed up as Alice in Wonderland.  Check it out.

I also got my trial run done for hair and makeup for my wedding...  Love it!

Halloween and Other Things

I'm freezing right now because Cord insists on keeping the apartment at a good healthy -2 degrees.  Bleh.  Time to invest in some more blankets.

Tomorrow is Halloween!  I love Halloween.  I have to work (boo), but we are dressing up.  Which makes it okay.  I am being Alice in Wonderland.  Can't wait!
Cord and I carved a pumpkin and made Halloween treats.  Here are some pictures...

Yummy treats!  Apples dipped in caramel, cinnamon streussel muffins, and hot chocolate :)

 Phineus from Phineus and Ferb!

In other news, Cord started his store this last week... so now we are both keeping pretty busy! 

I've Slightly Begun to Freak Out.

I'm getting married in less than two months.  Yikes.  Time is going by WAY too fast.  Don't get me wrong; I'm way excited to get married, but I can't believe my single life of 22 years is about to end.  Crazy! 

I'm ordering invitations this next week, and that makes it seem all the more real.  I'm getting pretty darn excited for our Disney World trip!!!  It's going to be so much fun!

Work is the same as always for me.  Bleh.

Cord is starting work at his store this next week... the paychecks will be very much welcome.  Too bad he'll be super busy with school and work now. 

2 More Months...

In exactly two months, I am getting married!  It's crazy how fast time has gone by, and how much there still is to do.  I can't wait!  I bought my temple dress this week (actually my mom did) and I love it!  It is beautiful!  My mind has been focused a lot on the temple the last couple weeks.  I've done a weekly temple prep class, read the "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple" book, and spent a couple hours walking around the Bountiful Temple grounds.  The next few months will be the most important of my life.  By the end of this year, I will have received all the saving ordinances necessary in this life. That's crazy awesome!  I can't wait.  Really.
I am so glad I am living my life the way I am now.  I've tried it both ways (with and without the gospel) and I know without a doubt that this is the only way to live with peace and true happiness.  It feels so good to have a greater purpose in life than the here and now. 

The apartment is coming along.  Cord's parents bought us a bed (did I already mention that?)  And we found a cheap corner desk on ksl yesterday to put in our living room.  Yay for bookshelf space. 

Bottom line:  Life is hard, but it is good.

Engagements!

We got them back!!  I was so excited, and I'm pretty darn happy with them!  Here are a couple of my favorites...

So fun!  And I'm getting my bridals taken on 11.8.11... I can't wait!!  I am getting them done at La Caille.

I got the wedding cake ordered!  It will be super cute.  And yummy.

We are in the process of choosing invitations...

Other than that, I am super excited for Halloween.  Best holiday of the year.

I Still Have a Sister... Who Knew?

Sloan Millward is home for the weekend.  Weird.  And great.  Hey Sloan.

Here I sit, watching conference and blogging simultaneously.  Good thing I am so talented at multi-tasking.
Pretty much here is my life right now:

• WORK

Yes. Actually it feels like this is all I do.  In reality, I only work between 30 to 35 hours a week, but it feels like I live there....  A vacation would be real nice right about now.  I guess I have to wait til December for my wedding/honeymoon to Disney World...  Fine.

• WEDDING PLANNING

I need to be doing more of this.  I have a full-page list of things that need to be done.  I don't think I got one thing done this last week.  Go me.

• A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING

Me and Cord hang out at the apartment every night and watch TV or Netflix.  Love it.  I also get Chik-Fil-A almost every night.  YUM.  No, I haven't been to the gym in about 2 weeks.  Oops.


We went to dinner for my grandma's 87th birthday.  Happy Birthday Grandma!

Park City and Other Things

Dear Sloan,
Why do you never throw me "Surprise! You're our friend!" parties?
Really rude.

In other news, Cord and I have been official apartment leasers for over a week now.  Congratulations to us.  I love it, but I'm sure I'll love it even more once I get to move in.  Here are some pictures...

Our adorable kitchen table 

Decorated for fall!

Living room!

Here is Cord, putting together our new 42" TV!

Wedding planning is coming right along... Let's see, what's new?

• We got our engagement pictures taken last night in Park City!  It was more fun and less awkward than I thought it would be.  Our photographer was very easy to work with, and she had all sorts of ideas of where to take good shots. Now we just have to wait to get the pictures back... I don't want to wait!
• I have started registering... I still don't have much done yet though!  I need to get on that.
• I got my WEDDING DRESS!  A month early. I love it so so so so much.  Can't wait to wear it!

Other than wedding stuff, I am mainly busy with work, and Cord is mainly busy with school.  I can't believe we are getting married in a couple months!



growing up and other stuff

Once upon a time, Cord and I decided it was time to get serious about finding a place to live.  So on Wednesday, we started looking at places.  First, we accidently went to a senior community and had to run away before anybody saw us.  Next, we went to a ghetto place in Kaysville that I didn't like one bit.  Last, we went to a place in Layton called Quail Cove.  We loved it.  We wanted to get it by the end of the week.
On Friday we decided to go look at one last place, just to make sure we were sure.  Ha.  The last place we went to was right down the street from Quail Cove, smaller, and more expensive.  No.
We went back to Quail Cove, applied, and as of Friday, we are official apartment leasers!!
The plan is to slowly move in.  Cord will be living there until we get married, but it's nice to have time!
What we have so far: 

• Couches
• A new tv :)
• tv stand (thanks to d.i.)
• 2 lamps (also d.i.)
• Coffee table
• Brand new kitchen table and chairs! (Thanks Mom and Dad for the wedding present!)

So basically our living room is entirely furnished!
Here are some pictures...

More to come!

In wedding news, I have found a florist I think will be GREAT, and also a wedding cake bakery!
Everything is finally coming together!

Fall Fall Fall!

So close.  Now the leaves just need to change.

I wish I had cool and interesting things to say.  I have the feeling this will be a short post. 

Wedding.  I bought wedding shoes.  They are red and kind of beautiful and I love them.  I wish finding a florist and cake-maker was easier. 
I am starting to get to the point where I can't wait anymore.  I just want to get married already.  Only 3 more months...

Work clients are killing me.  Stop telling me how to do my job, stop telling me what you can and can't do, stop telling me you do it all the time, stop informing me how long you've been banking here, and for heaven sakes, stop threatening to close your account if you don't get what you want, because I DON'T CARE.

Things I'm looking forward to in the next month:

• Engagement pictures!  I get my hair and make up professionally done, and I get to wear my cute new outfits.  So exciting.
• Halloween treat baking.  I love making Halloween treats.
• Vampire Diaries, Vampire Diaires, Vampire Diaries.  I so cannot wait.
• Nightmare on 13th.  Always have to go there.
• Haunted Village!  One of my favorite Halloween activities.
• Carving pumpkins! 

Life Lately.

1.  I have no self-discipline when it comes to eating.  I'm sick of watching what I eat all day every day and if this is how life is going to be for the rest of my life, I don't want to play.
2.  My patience with the general public is about to run out.  And when it does... it's gonna be ugly.
3.  I am a thousand billion zillion times more terrified of getting a spider bite, now that I've seen the operation that has to be performed when you get a bite from a brown recluse.
4.  I'm getting bored with the gym.  500 pounds, here I come.
5.  I love church again.  So much.  I feel like I'm finallly getting where I need to be to enter the temple, and I am AT PEACE.  I guess this is what you get when you live right?  Who knew?
6.  I am getting so excited to get married!  Weird.  I am excited for my wedding day and to see everything come together.  I am excited for my awesome honeymoon to DisneyWorld with the one person I don't get sick of, no matter how long we spend together.  And mostly I am excited to be married to him for forever!
Wow that was the mushiest crap I've ever said.
7.  I can't wait for fall.  Seriously.  It is my favorite season. 
8.  Vampire Diaries in a week and a half.  Damon, I've been missing you.
9.  I bought two way cute new outfits to wear for Cord and my engagement pictures in a couple weeks, and it's taking every bit of self control I have to not wear them until then.
10.  Not going to school is bitter-sweet.  Nice to have no stress, but I miss learning... ha.

Hooray For No School!

That's right ladies and gentlemen.  I will not be attending school this semester.  Best decision I ever made.

Wedding plans are coming right along.  I think it's slightly ridiculous that you spend so many hours and so much money planning one single day of your life, but hey, why not jump on the bandwagon?

To see latest wedding plans, visit www.mywedding.com/cordandjade

In other exciting news, we've booked our honeymoon!
Disney World, here we come.  Thanks to a 40% off military discount, we are staying in a nicer hotel for less money than if we stayed in a crappy hotel.  It's a big relief to have more and more stuff out of the way as far as planning goes.

I feel like I'm so busy with wedding planning and work that I haven't had much of a summer.  And now it's pretty much over!

Oh well.  Good thing I love fall.

I Have a Wedding Website!

And here it is.

www.mywedding.com/cordandjade

I'm pretty darn proud of it.
Most likely cuz I suck at computer lingo so it's quite the achievement for me.
Hm... let's see what else do I have done?  I've booked the photographer.  I am going through Swenson Photography. They are great!  I'm really excited about it.
Also, I'm 95% sure that I will be using Belgian Chocolate Fountains for my catering.  If you know me AT ALL, you know how much I'm in love with chocolate fountains!!!

I'm starting school tomorrow.
Here's the plan; I'm registered for three classes; I'll go for a week and see which one I like most, and then I'll only keep one.  It's all I can afford right now.

And that's life right now.

Dear Wedding, I Am Kicking Your Butt Now. Finally. Sort Of.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I've finally booked the reception center, and did I mention we got bridemaids' dresses?  Yeah I think I did.  So things are moving along just swell.  The place we're having the reception is the Carmelle Reception Center.  Never heard of it?  Well neither had I til I found it on the internet, but it is going to be beautiful!  The inside is going to be gorgeous, I think it is going to be just what I want.  Here are some pictures!

I brought Cord, Sloan, and my mom with me.  Here Cord and Sloan are analyzing the place.

I love how open it is!

I am considering making a grand entrance.  Seriously.

This is where the magic will happen.  Aka the amazing food.  Can't wait!

I called both the catering company, and the photographer I'd like to use.  Hopefully I will be able to get something set up with both of them this next week.  After that I feel like all the big huge stuff will be taken care of!

Me and Cord really need to get serious about house-hunting or apartment-hunting.  I think we just keep letting other things get in the way.  But we're getting married in four months!  Crazy.  We also need to get the honeymoon booked!

Hmmm... what else?  I feel like the last two weeks have been all about playing summer-catch up.  I finally got to take a vacation.  My whole family went to the Oregon coast.  It was so beautiful.  Oregon and Washington are the prettiest states ever.  Hands down.

Clearly, we visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I probably got in the sample line 5 times.

It'd be really cool if I could remember the name of this place.  Pretty lighthouse though!

We ate yummy food.  This is like a giant s'more pan.  SO SO SO SO GOOD.

Needless to say, I gained about five pounds on that trip.

It's About Time For A Vacation, I'd Say.

Oregon here I come!  It will be pretty darn magical to only work two days this week. 
Just sayin.

A Fire and a Funeral

I feel like this week has been pretty uneventful.  Work work work.  That's all I do.

I finally booked our temple date.  December 16 at 10:20.  Now I need to figure out the reception...

Sloan and I saw something super cool.  And scary.  A car on fire!  Like totally in flames.  Good thing we got a front row seat.

In other news, Sloan's frog Prince Navine died.  He lived for about two weeks.  She says he committed suicide.  Anyways, we gave him a funeral.  Celtic music, candles, and flowers were involved.  RIP Prince Navine.

I Try So Hard....

-To not be angry at God.
-To not judge others.
-To be nice to clients.
-To stay positive.
-To keep trying.

So, once upon a time I started taking a medication.  This medication was not easy to get on, because of all the side effects.  But once I got on, it helped enormously.  Unfortunately, this medication made me start gaining weight, slowly but surely.  Not a good thing when you're having a non-returnable wedding dress made that you will be expected to fit into in a few short months.  I finally decided to get off the medication and try and live my life without it.  The downside; all the withdrawal symptoms.  It'll be a miracle if I get through this.

I still haven't done ANYTHING as far as wedding planning goes... that's my number one priority this week.  I don't remember if I've already said this, but my colors will be red, gold, and black.  Me and Cord are thinking we will get an apartment rather than a house at first, just in case we need to leave it.

We went and saw Harry Potter last night!  It was good, but I still love the books first and foremost.  Season 5 of Psych just came out, and so naturally we bought it and I'm sure that's all we'll be doing together in the next couple weeks is watching it.  We love Psych!

Can I just say I can't believe summer's already more than halfway over?!  That's insane.  I hate how the older you get, the quicker time passes. 

In other news, I have been working A TON lately.  I got 41 hours at work this last week, and I feel kind of like I should take a month vacation now. 

So I'm a Harry Potter Nerd. Shut Up.

SO SO SO SO SO SO SO EXCITED for Saturday, July 16th at 2:00 pm.  Because that's when I'm going.

Other things that I'm slightly obsessed with right now... shopping.  Particularly shoe shopping.  I am LOVING 6pm.com... try it out.



Also, Zumba.  SO addicting and SO much fun. 




Love love love love love.

4th of July = Best Holiday of the Year!

Oh man, this last week has been crazy.  It's been awesome having Cord home.  We've done a lot of motorcycle rides, fourwheel rides, and an awesome campfire. 
Now on to the awesome part; 4th of July.

So in the morning, Cord and I went to his Bailey side's annual breakfast out in West Jordan.  It was in a pavilion at a park.  That side of the family is so big, and I didn't know a single person!  It was fun though.
After that I went to a movie with my family:  Cars 2.  I secretly liked it.  Pretty funny!
That evening Cord and I went to Leatherby's with my family, and then we all set off several hundred dollars' worth of fireworks!  I'm loving that aerial ones are allowed now.

Now.  In case you were wondering.
How to Have the Greatest Fireworks Show of Your Life

Ingredients:
-1 Motorcycle
-Someone to drive the motorcycle, preferably a hot guy
-Enough gas to get you from West Valley to Kaysville

What you do:
Leave West Valley at about 10pm, when all the fireworks shows are just starting.  Take I-215, and then I-15, all the way to Kaysville.  You will see approximately 50 fireworks shows, plus all the aerials everyone else is setting off.

best 4th ever!!!!!!!!

MMMMMMMM... Way Too Many Banquets in One Weekend!

This past week has been crazy busy!  But it has been great.  Thursday was my cousin Erik's wedding.  It was beautifully done.  We went to the ceremony, which was held outdoors at Eldredge Manor.  The gardens there are exquisite.  After that we had a banquet there, and it was so so so good.  I ate a whole lot of food. 

That night was the reception.  More good food!

The next day we had a surprise 50th Wedding Anniversary dinner for my grandpa and grandma Taylor.  It was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and the food was AMAZING.  I ate a whole lot... again.

The best thing by far about this week was that Cord came home last night!  Three weeks was a lot easier than six months... but still.  It's so good to have him home!

No Sugar? No problem.

I know what you're thinking.  Crazy!  But oh-so-awesome.  Taking nutrition and working out everyday have changed my life.  I know what vitamins and minerals my body needs, how much protein I need, and how important water is, as well as how BAD soda pop is for you.  Anyone who knows me knows that instead of having a LARGE Mountain Dew every day, now I'm having a medium.  Yes, I'm working off of it really slowly.  On the plus side, I'm drinking more than 2 liters of water each day, working out for a solid hour each day, and loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and eggs.  I'm also not eating candy anymore.  I've gotten to the point where if I consume very much sugar, I get sick to my stomach.  That's a good thing... I think.
In other news, the wedding planning is coming along.... slowly.  I've picked my colors!  They are maroon, gold, and black.  I've also gotten my dress!!!!!!!!!  I wish I could put a picture on here but apparently it's forbidden.  What I CAN do is give you a general idea...
So it's a mermaid dress (love them). 
Whoever said long engagements are stupid are dumb.  Because you know what?  I'm customizing my dress!  You definately can't do THAT with a two month engagement!  I'm changing the neckline to a Queen Anne neckline (love her, and that)

And then I'm changing my sleeves to petal sleeves (love those).

Anyways I'm super excited.  And I got my veil and headpiece and everything!!!!  Yay.