Back to the World of the Living

Yes folks, I'm alive and well. I'm all married and stuff- and now the waiting game for our house begins. OK, so it began like a month ago- but hopefully we will be closing here in a few weeks and we'll no longer be homeless! Yippee!

Mini report on my wedding: Thanks to Brittany and the other Brittany, Travis and Nate (Check out his site to see some of our video!!!), Dawna and Hollee, and to all of my best girlfriends in the world. I could not have asked for better people to work with and to help keep me sane during the day!!! I'll write a longer report later- but just know that I was THRILLED to see so many of you who I haven't seen in years. Old friends, new friends, family- I love you all and felt so thoroughly blessed that day.

Honeymooning...

We stayed two nights at The Johnson Mill in Midway. I was bummed because when I took the above picture, they'd removed our names from the plaque. But when we got there the night before "Chuck and Amy" was written on the sign. So cute. AMAZING room, AMAZING breakfast, and great fun. GO THERE.

Then we headed to Estes Park, Colorado...

In case you need to pee while you're in the car, use this handy dandy

PORTABLE URINAL!

We stopped for dinner in Fort Collins, CO. What a charming downtown they had! LOVED IT!

(Chuck was also nice enough to not be embarrassed by his makeup-less wife that night)

The cute husband make me breakfast the next morning...

Road tripping to Steamboat Springs, Colorado! Cereal pit stop...

I haven't lived with a guy since my dad- ten years ago. So this was fun... he taught me how he shaves. Ha ha.

Yummy yummy dinner!

... and dessert...

Happy happy. Good times.

Playing Bride

The husband (I have a husband now...) is making brunch (Danish Aebleskiver) , I have no stress, and I'm blogging on my honeymoon (Cuz we have no agenda). It's a goooooood life. :-)

Thank you again to Brittany. She is truly talented and great to work with. Get your pictures taken by her!!!

Happy.

Three Days. I'm ready. Minor things to finish, but it could all happen tomorrow and I'd feel good. I do still want some cute boots for my honeymoon...

For those of you whose phone calls and emails I haven't returned, I apologize. I love you all. I'm just flaky right now.

Wendy- I'm still trying to figure out where my hamster came from. Would you believe that I have NO idea? Oh brother...

House: Still working on details and praying it's all going to happen as planned. Thankful that Huntsman signed a bill for 1600 grants for people buying new constructions.

I want to see Australia. The movie. Guess I'll have to wait for a few weeks... my mom's Netflix copy is coming Monday.

I can't wait to see my family and friends on Wednesday. People make me happy. Reunions make me the happiest. That's what I am most excited about (besides the getting married part-duh) - seeing people I haven't seen in a long time. It's good stuff. :-)

Yep. Wedding. Fun.

Sunday Sunshine... On Friday

It's been more than a month since I was able to do a little SUNDAY SUNSHINE post. Lame. So here's one... one a Friday.

1. My wedding is in 12 days!!! WOW! That's crazy. And for those of you who doubted my ability to have everything done two weeks in advance- I laugh. It's done. OK- fine, little things aren't done- BUT I feel good and I'm ready to go! Everything is paid for- I have great friends helping me with everything... I am just gonna dress up pretty and be there for it all. Yay wedding! And the Boy I'm marrying is pretty darn ready too.

2. Fun news: We're working on buying a house. Things are going well. We might be able to close on April 1. YIPPEE!!! It makes me feel grown up... that's weird.

3. I've been able to spend LOTS of time with my little niece. She is hilarious and I am so happy that she knows me now and really has fun being with me. Thanks, Kensie, for being so entertaining!

4. Bridal showers are amazing! I have LOVED seeing so many old friends and getting to know Chuck's family better. I have two more this weekend and I really can't wait!!! Yay for fun, happy memory making days!

5. There's this sweet girl named Megan Heaps who is helping me out SO much with the "me" part of my wedding. I am SO grateful for her generousity and kindess in helping me look pretty!!!

6. My mom is in a new apartment, and although I am SO tired of moving her from place to place, she's in a lovely place in Draper now. My brother in law, sister, and Chuck were a great help. THANK YOU. I cannot do these things without all of you!

7. I'm grateful for down time. I've been busy busy getting all the wedding things solidified, but gosh, I have to admit that besides not having a paycheck, being unemployed is NOT a terrible thing. My poor fiance is working like crazy and I... well, don't right now. I'll have my fair share of it soon enough, but I am so happy that I was able to finanacially plan, in advance, for this month and a half of not working. It's been a great blessing in my life!

8. I LOVE that we've gotten such a great response to our wedding invites. For those of you who don't know, Chuck designed them. He did a great job and I love seeing how happy he is with the feedback.

9. I'm thankful that I have 24 Hour Fitness to go to again. Last night I went at midnight. It's good for me and clears my mind.

10. Adam Lambert: Love his singing. Thank you, American Idol, for making my Tuesdays and Wednesdays happy.

11. Kallie Ann: My cute cousin Kallie has been my shopping sidekick the past few weeks. Love her.

12. Orlando Roomies: I miss them. I miss seeing each of you every day and watching trash TV on Monday nights. I miss the quirks and the songs and the pool. Thanks for being a part of my REALLY happy Orlando memories.

13. I still have this insane drive to audition for some big shows. I'm grateful for a soon-to-be hubby who supports my ambitions and dreams. I'm thankful to know that he wants me to do big things and he loves that I have big dreams like him. But honestly, right now I am pretty content setting up house and playing married. Yup.

14. My brother-in-law Brett has been a HUGE help to me and to Chuck in the last few weeks. Yay Brett.

15. I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning. A banana and oatmeal. I love it. It brings serious joy into my life.

16. The sun makes me happy. I have chosen a great time to come back to Utah. It's FREEZING here, but I'm grateful that it's only snowed a couple times since I've been back. AND the snow gos away within a couple days. That's MY kind of winter!

17. I am thankful for people who pray for the good weather that'll be happening on March 25. :-) :-)

18. I love the temple and I'm excited to get there a couple times in the next week and a half. I haven't taken the chance to go since I was in Orlando. It's time.

19. Peanut butter tastes good. Biff's birthday was last night and we had some yummy yummy cake and ice cream. I LOVE SUGAR!!!!

20. I also love pizza. It's divine. YUMMY.

And now I'll get on with my day... :-)

So Much Catching Up...

My computer is still dead. I moved my mom into a new apartment and we didn't have internet for a week. But I am pleased to announce that I at least have access to THE BLOG once again. There's lots of catching up to do. And I have to admit that I've been avoiding some of these posts for a long time. I still get a bit too wrapped up in the emotion of it all when I look through these pictures.

I left the B and B stage a month ago today. That was a horrendously tough week. The sobbing began exactly one week before my final show...

Getting ready on the last day

Memories

With Lindsey after the final show

Tradition

Tim

Techs

There are so many amazing pictures that I really wish I could post here, but my friend Belle could get in some serious trouble for doing so. So there it is. Everything is still very fresh, and while I was excited and ready to move on, leaving the B and B stage and Orlando itself was terribly painful. BUT, I leave with wonderful memories and friends I'll have forever. Life is good.

Why?

Why, oh why, do I find the shoes I CAN NOT have? Urgh. UK shoes from a year ago. Bah.

One Month... And Why I Hardly Exist.

#1: My wedding is ONE MONTH from today. Crazy! Cool!

#2: My computer is dead. My REAL reason for hiatus is that my computer picked up several viruses, my cousin tried to fix it several times, and we've now determined that everything has to be removed and Windows must be reloaded. Sigh. It's frustrating. REALLY frustrating.

#3: Adam Lambert. American Idol. Love him.

#4: Invitations are going out at the end of this week! YAY! YAY! YAY!

#5: Yup. Talk to y'all soon.

Hiatus...

First of all, has anyone see my wedding countdown clock? 1 MONTH AND 6 DAYS. That's soon people. Cool.

It's been a long two weeks. I've been an emotional basket case through it all, but tonight, as I blog here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I am quite satisfied by the fact that tomorrow I will be back in my home state of Utah. Yippee!!!

Details to come. I am alive. I finished B & B, I saw New Orleans and the JFK assassination site... AND the greatest part of all is that I got to stay in Dallas with Devin and Andrea for two nights!!! YAY! And my dear friend Forrest was in town too. Ah- it was lovely to rejuvenate!

Thanks Andrea...

I have a new voice to obsess over. Adam Lambert. So what if he wears too much makeup on AI. Sing to me, dude.

Urgh...

Sometimes your computer gets a virus. And spyware. And other things. It is dumb.

And sometimes you have a roomie who lets you use her computer to keep in contact with the world. Thanks, Hannah.

So- if you don't hear from this soon-to-be bride (Six weeks and five days!) in the near future, you know why. LAME.

On a sidenote: The emotions came out today. It was my last "five show day" at the stage and at the end of the last show I lost it. Oh my... we're in for a long week, friends.

... Oh, and please feed Fred II.

Sunday Sunshine... Ponderings of My Little Heart

Perhaps it's the sentimentality brought forward by watching Little Women with my roomies on Friday night, or the fact that I am leaving Orlando in two weeks, but I have been hopelessly reminiscent the last few days. Time and time again tears have filled my eyes with the gratitude I feel for my life- and most importantly, the PEOPLE in my life. I'm a lucky girl. I've had years in Layton, Rexburg, West Yellowstone, Provo, Hong Kong, and Orlando to create wonderful memories with these people that I can not forget.

For some reason, Friday night, I felt absolutely shaken by the beautiful memories of my life with the girls in Colonial House #304- going on TEN years ago. I'm almost certain that none of them feel as strongly about our time together as I do, but gosh- what amazing women I was able to live with for those several months- when I was learning about life on my own and trying to find where I belonged in this big world. It makes me laugh, now, that Rexburg, Idaho, of all places, could have such a profound effect on who I became. But the simple fact that my dad insisted that I go away to college (like I wanted to) changed my life forever.

So here we are ten years later... I haven't seen a few of these girls in five or more years, but they still impact me. I think of them and pray for them often. I love them, and love that when I DO see them it's just like the old times- when we were 18-20 and doing the weird things that girls of that age do together. (For some reason stealing remotes from The Chalet was REALLY cool...)

So, to Alicia, Stacia, Hillary, Joella, Audrey, Cecilia, and Lisa, who joined #304 a year later, I send my love, and thanks for being the women that you are. For some reason you've just all been on my mind a lot this week. I love you all!


OK- so- here're the other HAPPIES in my life right now:

#1: I get married NEXT month. Today begins February. I'm getting married NEXT MONTH. Crazy!

#2: Little Blessings Mean a LOT: Tuesday night I went out with my visiting teaching girls for dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. DIVINE- by the way. I'd never been there. ANYWAY- so the five of us sat around chatting, and when I ordered, I decided the SPLURGE. I've been incredibly frugal lately because every single spare penny goes towards that event that's happening NEXT MONTH. Yeah- so I ordered myself an oreo shake, onion "strings," and a personal pizza loaded with every topping I could ever desire. Sure, the check would come and I'd cringe a bit- but DANGIT, I needed comfort foods.

So time passes- we all sit around the table- chatting and giggling yada yada- when we realize it's been a LONG time since we ordered our food. We're talking an HOUR here, folks. Just about the time we realize we're STARVING the manager comes to our table (looking terrified by the way... little did she realize we're all just nice little Mormon girls...) and tells us that our order hadn't been put in. Our food was going to be another twenty minutes, and because of that, dinner was on them. WE GOT FREE DINNER.

I know it's small and insignificant to the rest of the world, but geez, could I ask for a better blessing? Heavenly Father knows how important my money is right now. I pay my tithing every week, and cool things like this happen. LIFE IS REALLY GOOD.

#3: Chuck was a sweet boy and went to my cousin Melissa's baby's blessing today. My family is awesome for welcoming him around... even when I'm not there. And the best news is: He survived.

#4: The world is full of possibilities right now. And with those possibilities, also comes stress. I'm thankful for a boy who's worked hard so that he can pay the bills. I'm feeling very inadequate right now in the area of helping provide for our little family. I am SO excited to be coming home to Utah, but I'm at a bit of a loss what to do with myself. If I had a stable job with a stable income, we could buy a house with no stress at all. But unfortunately, my line of business isn't quite so predictable. Anyway, buying is on the table. If my savings were able to go towards a down payment instead of a wedding, we'd be set. Sigh. But anyway, the point of all this is that I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that we can go to and expect to help us out. We're definitely in need of his counsel and blessings right now. I love Fast Sundays. I can breathe a little easier now. :-)

#5: Heather, Trever, and Ava come to Florida on Wednesday night! Wahoo! That should be fun. Other fun stuff: The Wilhelms will be in town this week too. Ah, how I love them!!!

#6: 10 days left at work. This is both a really happy thing, and a sad thing too. I'll miss my friends, and my paycheck. (I'm feeling the stress coming back...)

#7: We had a great lesson in Relief Society. Hannah read us the story "You Are Special," which I'm sure all you ladies have heard a few times. But it's full of good stuff for us. Love it.

#8: I REALLY love my engagement pics. And I've LOVED hearing all of your feedback. Like most of you, the close up one is my favorite. I ADORE that picture. BUT I think we're using one of the others for the announcement because of the format of it all. You'll just have to see when it comes to your house! Chuck is cool. :-)

#9: We can mail out our announcements in less than three weeks!!! This whole wedding thing IS getting close! (Did I mention that it's NEXT MONTH??!?!)

#10: Edy's Slow Churned Praline Caramel Crunch has made my life thoroughly delightful this weekend. Best part: It's not half bad for you! ;-)

#11: My first bridal shower is here on Wednesday! Fun! Andrea Daveline is a sweetheart and organized a little shower/open house so I can see all my friends here in Orlando before I leave. It should be happy.

#12: Valentines Day is coming. :-) So what if I'm 2,000 miles away from mine. (Stress... bubbling up again...)

#13: I'm almost finished with "New Moon." I REALLY liked this book. Only know what? And some of you may thing I'm NUTS for thinking this way, but I like it better with Edward OUT of the picture. He's creepy and weird. I like Jacob. So what if he's a werewolf. On to Eclipse...

#14: Like I mentioned earlier, I watched Little Women on Friday night. I ADORE that movie (1994 version). It reminded me how much I want to play Jo in the musical.

#15: There's a new episode of The Office tonight! Yippee!

#16: I still love oatmeal. I love waking up in the morning, eating a banana, and then cooking oatmeal. Yummy.

#17: I was at the Distribution Center on Tuesday and hit the jackpot!!! They had just got a shipment in and had TONS of sturdy, good sized, boxes. PERFECT FOR MOVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY!

#18: I have become the Omelet Queen. For some reason I have become obsessed with making them. I'm getting pretty good at it, too!!! Wahoo! And it all started with an experiment when all I had were Egg Beaters and some veggies. Awesome.

#19: I cleaned my room yesterday. I also vegged the entire day. OK- so I made a trip to Wal-Mart. But I didn't even shower. Sometimes you need days like that. Am I right?

#20: This week is my last full work week. The following week there are three girls sharing my role- which means fewer shows for me. Exciting!

So there's the update. All is well and happy amid all the crazy and fun decision making. Is it March 25 yet? (No, Amy, but it IS NEXT MONTH!)

Happy Dance!

Vendors. All picked. Life is good.


Gugelman Photography
Brittany Andersen Photography
Nate Pickett Films
Emberlily Design
Wedding Cakes by Dawna
Bridal Expressions
Black Tie Tuxedos

Not gonna disclose the reception site here on the blog... gotta wait for the announcements for that one!! :-)

Keep voting on the photos! Chuck is designing our invites- fun huh?- And we love the feedback!

Favorite...

#1


#2


Or #3


Now vote.


And just because I think he's so terribly cute...


VISIT BRITTANY'S WEBSITE! I'm so into promoting her right now!

http://www.brittanyandersenphotography.com/

Fun Stuff...

Go here...

http://www.brittanyandersenphotography.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Brittany, for all your amazing work!


Check out her website as well:

http://www.brittanyandersenphotography.com/

Remembering What it's Like...

To do a full length show... I am excited. Even though this was just the first dress rehearsal, it still brings back great memories of just barely being home from Hong Kong and having a new project on my plate. I love that feeling.

A Little Annoyed... OK- ANNOYED

I, like the rest of the country, have been riveted by the history that's been in the making the last few days. It's incredible and exciting and REALLY wonderful, but I am getting annoyed with the fact that celebrities are the people that the general public listens to when it comes to politics. Really? The fact that some stars on "HEROS" DOES NOT make them a political expert or analyst. So WHY are all these people being interviewed as if they ARE? Bugs.

Coming to an End...

And I am getting sentimental. Sigh.

Sunday Sunshine... Two Weeks Worth

#1: "I Love to See the Temple, I'm Going there ... TODAY." That was the song I was singing all day last Saturday knowing that at 5:30. I'd be going to the Bountiful Temple to receive my endowment. What a blessing it was to have my sister, Biff, as my escort, and to have many of my and Chuck's family members, and some friends there as well. It was an amazing night!




#2: MY WEDDING IS PLANNED!!! Ha! All you folks who laughed at me for saying that's how I would do it... so there! OK- fine, so it's not ALL done. I still have to pick a florist (waiting on all my quotes to come in), and a videographer. AND I need to pick music. FINE. I'm NOT done. But close. And gosh, it feels AMAZING! And I need a veil. Hmmmmm. Details details...

#3:I got to spend ten days in Utah. Some of you may think I'm never actually in Florida... ha ha... Yes, I LOVE to go home. This time around I was able to see my favorite boy and play with my mom more often than normal.

#4: I was able to see my dear friend Christian in the national tour of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on January 7. His talent astounds me and I was THRILLED to be able to spend some time with my dear friend after years of being apart.



#5: My flight back here to Orlando only had 31 people on it. I LOVE those flights! I wrote six pages in my journal and read and just pondered life. Sometimes I LOVE flying!

#6: The same flight, from Denver to Orlando, only last three hours and ten minutes! Thank you, wind!

#7: I saw the Twilight movie with my mom last Thursday and I really liked it. In fact, I like the book MORE now because of the movie. Weird?

#8: Early early morning text messages from Kallie make me smile. ;-)

#9: This baby. Love her. Love the big poofy dress and the way she "ooooos" at herself in it. Love the sucker. Love the tears that come when the sucker is taken away. She's great.




#10: There are 19 days of work left! That's about sixty-five shows. But who's counting? (And just FYI- it WILL be sad to leave... but I kind of have things going on AFTER I finish here that I'm excited about. Time to moooooooove on.)

#11: I have all of my tax info ready to go. Hopefully I can get them done this week and HOPEFULLY I'll be getting my MUCH NEEDED refund soon.

#12: I am glad I am sensible. I'm glad I spend the time SHOPPING around for different things to find the best value for the the price. It's time consuming, but it's worth it in the end. Amy's practical side isn't always so bad.

#13: I had my hair re-highlighted on Friday. THANK HEAVEN. I look pretty again. And I got some great root lifter to help my otherwise pathetically flat hair.

#14: I still love my ring. It's perdy.

#15: Costa Vida is super yummy, and it's makes me amazingly happy. I had it twice while I was home. Soon I will live in Utah... happy.

#16: Apartment shopping was fun! Chuck and I actually only looked at one place, but yay! It was a lot of fun to look around for places to make our little home! Someday we'll buy a house. Yippee!

#17: I'm so proud of my baby sister. She was so much help during this trip, but nothing could top off the experience of being in the temple with her. I am amazed at her strength and the way she can balance her crazy little life. She graduates in less than months! YAY BIFFY!

#18: My roommates are great ladies. It was great to come back home to them!

#19: Today I got holiday pay! Thanks, Martin Luther King!

#20: I'm coming up with some good ideas to start out a little voice lessons business. Trying to figure out what I should do to make money when I come home has been a bit of a challenge. It honestly is scary knowing that in less than a month I'll no longer have a weekly paycheck... ah, such is the life of an actress. Anyway, I'm taking suggestions on where I could work or on good tips for teaching voice.

#21: Sleeping pills are something I never use... except tonight when I need to get myself back onto Eastern Time. :-)

So that's the latest on what makes me feel happy and grateful for life. I'm a very blessed girl.

And the Month Long Separation Begins...

Too late for a Sunday Sunshine post... I know, I missed last week too, but I've been busy busy. More soon. In the meantime, enjoy the pic of Chuck and me at the new Draper Temple. We drove up there the other night- so pretty!

Reliving the Memories... Again...

Favorite Moment on the B AND B Stage- EVER.

Let it Snow... Especially When I am 2,000 Miles Away...

I knew it! He really DOES love the snow!!! :-)

.... ... .... ... . .. ...... ..

I'm up at 2:30 AM feeding the hamster on my blog. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with my life. :-)

Note to my mind: SHUT UP!

Note to others: Keep the wedding idea feedback coming. I love it.

Wedding Thoughts of the Day...

First Sunday Sunshine of 2009!

What I'm thankful for this week... Oh, and what makes me happy too...


#1: Chuck (and all of our stuff!!!) made it safely to Utah!!! He left on Tuesday afternoon, and arrived at his mom's house by Friday afternoon. Yippee! He had a great time driving across the country on his own. He SAYS he wishes I'd been there with him, but had he spent THAT many hours in the car with hyper Amy he may be rethinking that statement. ;-)

#2: THANK HEAVEN GAS PRICES ARE SO LOW RIGHT NOW. That is a SERIOUSLY blessing for us right now. Had he been driving across the country at $3.90/gallon, we would have really had to pray hard to find the money for it all.

#3: Christmas cards make me so happy. My friend Jenna posted a pic of her Christmas cards on her blog, and it just got me thinking how much I LOVE getting those cards every year. There's something about opening an "old fashioned snail mailbox" and finding something addressed to you in it.

#4: The Fabulous Andrea Daveline. This cute girl is going so out of her way to plan me a fabulous bridal shower here in Orlando. It really means SO much to me! Love you, lady!

#5: My job. I know, I know- my job and I had some rough times this summer, but now that I am counting down the weeks that I have left there, I am really happy with the people that I have worked with and the things I've been able to do here. Oh how I'll miss all the little quirks of the B and B stage.

#6: On Wednesday I get to see my dear friend Christian in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" that's in Lakeland on tour. Oh, how I love happy reunions!!! :-)

#7: The next two weeks will be busy busy with wedding planning. Utah, here I come... again.

#8: This weekend, as I was barfing everything, I became attached to Fruit Punch Gatorade. Thank you, Hannah, for taking such good care of me as I felt like life itself was being sucked from me.

#9: This weekend I had a love/hate relationship with shoes. I was trying to find my bridesmaids shoes... I finally found some for a great price. Phew. Something crossed off the list.

#10: A New Year! Out with the old, and in with the new! Time for New Years Resolutions again. Hmmmmm. That'll be a project for the week.




#11: My pretty ring. I still love it.

#12: I'm getting a TON of my stuff home via airplane later this week. Hopefully that means that my car can be packed up without cramming my lil granny in the backseat too tightly.

#13: I can file my taxes in a couple weeks! PLEASE BLESS this year brings a refund! :-)

#14: The temple. Love it. Das' all.

#15: The fact that I can eat again thrills me. Last night- when I was still sick- I drove past a million restaurants and wanted to cry because I was so hungry. But I'm better now. :-)

That's all for this week, my friends! Be happy!

What Sucks...

I don't use the word suck. Never have- think it's dumb. HOWEVER- I will use it publicly today.

BARFING SUCKS.
And so does having a fiance in another state.

That's all I'm going to say.

Oh wait- there is one good thing about spending your entire night over the toilet... it's a GREAT ab workout.