A little bit more about Brandon...

So this is my pity party post. I got turned down for the promotion that I had been expressing interest in for about 8 months today via letter. So I'm in a self-pitying mood.
I can't get a hold of Brandon for most of the day on weekends now, because he took up a job of which I am so proud. He is working from 7 PM to 7 AM in a nursing home/ assisted living home, making the resident's lives easier. It's not a pretty job, as he helps them bathe and get ready and go to the bathroom, if needed. It's something that I would have a hard time doing, but he loves it. He just told me stories when we were on the phone about how nice the residents were, and how much fun he had doing it. I'm not a person who stays up all hours of the night (anymore), so the fact that he could be so cheerful while doing something that unpleasant is amazing to me. He was actually excited to go to work tonight, because there are 3 residents who go to bed at about 11 PM, and so for the first 4 hours of his shift (after he gets the other residents to bed) he will just make them snacks and cook for the next day while chatting with them. That takes a very special person, and I'm glad that I get to marry someone who is that genuinely nice. He enjoyed talking with an old man who has autism, and an old woman who suffers from Alzheimer's and dementia was sad that she was "too old for him". He genuinely enjoys these people, and has already had one pass away since he started on Wednesday. It just amazes me how kind he is to everyone, and not just to me.
So yes, I know I've blogged a lot about Brandon lately. It's pretty hard to be away from him, especially as it is likely that I won't see him until the wedding. It was rough to go from spending many hours every day with him, to only being able to talk to him via phone and texting. (and skype but we haven't done that yet.)  I can't even talk about it too much, because then I tear up and get a lump in my throat. I know I'm somewhat emotionally open, but I've never been this attached to someone. Which is probably a good thing.
However, I've decided to pick up hobbies that I hadn't done before. My new one? Crocheting. Which is amusing, but I'm hooked now. My goal is to be able to make an afghan, but I've only learned one stitch so we'll see how that goes.

23

There are some things you should know about the number 23.
- the Human biorhythm is 23 days
- William Wallace was executed on August 23
- December 23, 2012 was the day the Mayans said the world would end
- John Forbes Nash, the subject of "A Beautiful Mind", became obsessed with the number 23 after seeing a picture of Pop John XXIII and believing it to be himself
- Michael Jordan. David Beckham and LeBron James all have worn the number 23
- Most quoted psalm? 23
- Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes to their child
-  It takes 23 seconds to blood to circulate through the human body.
 - Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times
- The first Morse Code transmission was "What hath God wrought?"-- Numbers 23:23
- There are two movies based on the number 23, and both main characters were obsessed with the number
- There are exactly 23 characters, numbers and letters on the faces of all U.S. Currency
- The axis of the Earth is tilted 23 degrees








Why does this matter?
Because Brandon Giullian, my BFF, fiance, and soon to be husband is turning 23 tomorrow. I sent him some lists like this about the number 23 in a lame attempt to give him a good birthday present, because he's 1,000 miles away and I wish I was there. I'll save that for another time that I'm feeling like a pity party. But for now, I hope he has a good birthday (he never reads my blog anyways haha), and I'll get to see him soon.

He would not be too happy if he saw that picture up... good thing he doesn't check my blog eh?

Happy Anniversary!

 but HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD! Just think, in 24 years you've had 6 kids (in the first 14 years), you're about to have a third child graduate from high school and a second wedding. Lots more to come in the next few years... I think you guys have done just fine with raising us.

Yes I know I've been blogging a lot. I'll explain soon.

The theme for the reception...

So I'm not going to give away all the details for the wedding, because I want people to still be excited for it. but the theme of the reception is going to be based off of:

And for the colors it will be navy blue and yellow... with a silver accent. Thus, my shoes couldn't be anything other than this:

I'm so excited.

Singles' housing = Over.

So I moved out of my apartment on Friday, and I have mixed feelings about not going back to live in BYU-Idaho Approved Singles Housing. The things I will miss...
- Erin walking around at all hours of the night in her towel.
- Watching stupid white trash TV shows and wondering who would ever like those shows... then realizing that was us.
- Having long talks late at night when we should have been asleep.
- The random and slightly inappropriate things that would always happen


Some things I won't miss?
- The delegation of the jobs. (I was assigned to clean the kitchen for two white gloves in a row because I wasn't there when the packet got there.
- The sharing of fridges.
- The drama drama drama of living with 5 girls (because I did that 2 years in a row.)
- Not being able to say anything when they do something that drives you nuts




Well, now that Brandon and I are going to be living with each other in the fall, we know we can avoid this stuff. Except sharing fridges, but that's ok because we'll share bank accounts too. And when we do something that bothers the other person, we can tell each other. It will be a lot less dramatic... but I will miss the good times I had in Barnes Hall 265, Tuscany 424, and Legacy Ridge 312. For the most part, the times were good. And that's how I'll look at it in the future!

Am I Stressed?

Nah, I have all of 4 days to:
Take 3 tests (two of them are 2 parts)
Finish 1 10-page paper
Write a proficient fact sheet on a child development issue
Clean the kitchen
Clean the bathroom
Pack up
Find a place to put the storage that I can't fit in my car
Say goodbye to everyone
Pointedly ignore those who I will not miss
Make up assignments
Get the heck out of Rexburg



Nah... let the madness begin.

OK they're here!

So I thought I'd put up some highlights of our photoshoot last Saturday.. not counting the highlights that are being considered for our announcement of course.

More coming later... I'm tired. I also deleted like 3 of the pictures because I realized they were perfect for announcement pictures. But it is a decision that Brandon and I will make TOGETHER... otherwise I would have already picked mine haha.

I saw my Engagement Pictures today...

... and I'm pretty stoked about it. I will put up some teasers (aka some pictures that won't be sent out on announcements) when I get the CD. They're pretty freaking cute. Is that bad to say about a picture of myself? Because obviously Brandon's the cute part. And Angel's got a nice camera. She has a fan page on Facebook, it's Angel Photography. I'm going to recommend her to anyone who needs a photographer, because she was pretty awesome.


So get pumped. Teasers will be up this week.

Basketball

I never really get into sports. But when I do, I get WAY into sports. Such was the case with the NCAA tournament. I filled out a bracket this year again, and it was pretty fun to watch. Except my favorite team and the team I picked to win it all (BYU and Duke). Watching that last game was sick though, Jimmer made some pretty epic shots from all the way near the half court line.

This Cougar reminds me of another Wildcat I've grown to know and follow.... Brandon loves it haha.

Yes I want to watch HSM3 as soon as I get home Bethany.
As long as my bracket's now trash, I'm rooting for Butler. Or Arizona.

We've set a date!

On Friday, I made probably one of the most important phone calls ever. I sat down in my break between classes and called the Newport Beach temple.
Do I feel weird that I called the temple for my own sealing? Ummm, yes. But that's not the point. I did it, and now the most important thing I can do is get a temple recommend. I'm just trying to remind myself that other things are not quite as important... like the wedding colors (which was another ordeal that took a while for me to decide).
So the date is August 20, in the Newport Beach temple! The wedding itself is at noon, which gives us time to sleep in a little bit before I have to go get my hair and makeup done for all the pictures. There will be a dinner the night before for people who have come from out of town, but the time of the reception is still undecided. This is CRAZY! I love that I have a date to look forward to now though. We've made silly references like what our first dog's name is going to be (Bandit, Wallace, or Gus, depending on the breed) and where we want to live, but it's all just been silly talk. Now we can talk about real things!

In case anyone wanted to know how we looked when we're truly happy... this was taken about an hour after he proposed. We have no idea what we're getting into haha.