Over-due Update

So, I was good at this posting thing for a while and then I got lazy. So it's been forever! And so much has happened! (Sorry, this is going to be kinda long)  A few little updates... 

I AM ENGAGED!!!!!

Yes, Al proposed to me on December 10th 2010. A day that I had been longing for! It was so romantic! He picked me up from my apartment with the idea of going to dinner and then to see the lights at Temple Square.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory in Salt Lake and, funny enough, we saw my aunt, uncle, cousin Reed and his wife all eating there, and we got to sit next to them! What a treat! THEN... it came time to pay and our waiter told us that my aunt and uncle picked up our check. How unexpectedly sweet!! So we left for Temple Square in an even better mood! We walked around for a while, and then ended up right where everyone was in line for the Horse-drawn carriage rides...
he told me we were going on them!!

 It was so romantic!!! Our horse's name was Smith and it was about a half hour ride all around the square. The lights and temple were BEAUTIFUL!!

But I think he was a little nervous or something... :)

But we still had fun...

After the ride, we walked around for a little longer, but it was so crowded with people, it was hard to get anywhere... so we walked a little ways away from people and sat down on a little cement bench.  We had a gorgeous view of the temple...

... and we just sat and talked for a little.  Throughout the night I had little thoughts in my head like... "is this the night? is he going to propose?" and I sware I was hallucinating seeing a ring box and everything. I even pat down his pants pockets at the beginning of the night, making sure he didn't have anything. So then I convinced myself that he wasn't going to propose. He then proceeded to pull this fake proposal thing that he's been saying for a few months now.  He always says "Amanda, will you just marry me already?" and I always say yes. He then proceeds with "Dang, I wish I had a ring right now!" and we both giggle.  He pulled that earlier that night and I said yes as usual.  A few minutes later he stood up while I was distracted looking at some lights.  He got down on one knee and said

"Amanda James, will you marry me??" and pulled out the RING this time!!!! I was so surprised, I could only nod yes with wide eyes and we both giggled.  He put it on my finger and then I finally said "yes!!"

On the ride home we called his mom (who was already in on it) and he was texting all his friends who already knew what was going down too!  We got to his house and I finally got a chance to call my mom and tell her the good news! But that wasn't even the end of the surprises!  Since I was going back to Texas for Christmas, we decided to do Christmas early at his house.  I opened a few FANTASTIC presents from his parents, but could hardly focus on them because I was so distracted by what I had just been through.  All in all, I had a fantastic night and definitely will never forget it.  I love him so much!!!! and can't wait to marry him on

June 8, ...2013!!!

Pics are up!!

So I've posted many posts with the promise of pics to come... I've finally uploaded them all from my camera, so this will be one long post due to lots of pictures to catch up on:

Our trip to Oregon:

My absolute favorite restaurant (House of Good Fortune)

The Oregon Coast (Newport Bay):

Newport Aquarium:

My new friend... Arghh!

Al's going scooba diving



...and the sharks. Swam right above us!




Sting Rays 




Blank Stare...?



duhhh..... huh?!

Touched awesomely colorful starfish

Touched an anemone!

Sea Horses - So cool!

Sea Quills (I think?)

Found a pearl in the oyster!

 My old house:

still all the same landscape

Cannon Beach (one of my absolute favorite places with one of my absolute favorite people):

so glad i got to share this experience with him

held so many tiny hermit crabs

it was dead... :(

real natural anemones... we touched these too!

two years without my rock are going to be the hardest ever...

oregon sunset

love sunsets on the beach

Oregon State Fair:

so cute!!

stayin warm...fashionably...

secret combinations

haha i didn't hit it very hard...

my stud won this ...squirrel... for me

i want these pajamas!

MORE CANNON BEACH:

haystack rock

love him so much!!

we told them to hug each other and this is what we got...

finally captured the hug :)

sand chairs... actually pretty comfortable

he's my best friend...

...what more can i say?!

TRIP TO UTAH SAND DUNES:

dinner... brought and cooked steak on a portable stove. it was good!

skewered with the marshmallow skewer

enjoying his s'mores

WHAT AN AWESOME SUMMER.... CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE OF THESE WITH THE LOVE OF MY LIFE WHEN HE GETS BACK FROM HIS MISSION!

At it again... Venting time...

So... this happens again and again without fail. Ever since my freshman year when I was sick and out of school for a month, and my immune system got very weak...

I'm a procrastinator. Well aware of it. But after a while of staying up late nights to finish assignments that could have been done weeks ago, I wear myself down and get sick... So I have to miss some school. Then I go back to school, am overwhelmed by everything that I missed, and shut down. Then I get further behind, and it takes me about a month to get over whatever sickness I have because I seem to catch one thing after another for a while.

I'm in the "about-to-show-up-to-classes-after-missing-a-week-straight" phase, and am well aware of how far I'm going to be behind in everything.

I'm sure I'm failing all my classes right now, and am going to get in trouble with my parents, if not kicked out of school. I no longer have a car because the dealership that sold it to us, brilliant people that they are, were not allowed to sell us the car because a lady gave it to them on trade in but then could not get approved for a loan on the new car she wanted, so she demanded her car back, and the dealership threatened to call the cops on us and everything if we didn't return the car. Legally, Al and I did not have to give it back since we had the contract that clearly stated it was ours, but it was a gas guzzler and no longer made sense to keep it with Al going on his mission for two years and all.  The dealership just had no right in harassing us the way they did and just made for an all around horrific situation.

I still have no clue what I'm doing for next semester: Al's leaving for his mission on May 4th, and I'd love to spend every minute I can with him until then, but my parents do not have the funds to put me through another semester of college, especially when I'm not going to be graduating from that school, but they said they don't want me to just sit around Utah and work for a semester because they don't want to pay for my rent if I'm not going to school... though I'm trying to convince them that it's the cheapest option that will still keep me happy. Once again, things are up in the air, and I have to wait again for other people to decide my fate...

Just gotta keep plugging along...

Awesome Quotes from the Day

So I used to be obsessed with quotes, but have left them in the dust lately.  Today, I've been reintroduced to the magical world of words. Here's some of my favorites:

LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS...

IT'S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN !

 

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you  never did.'

 

When God takes something from your grasp,

He's not  punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

 

 

'The will of God will never take  you where the Grace of God will not protect you.' 

 

 

 

There comes a point in your life when you realize:

Who matters,

Who never did,

Who won't anymore...

And who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past,

there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.

 

 

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

 

And one funny story to go along with this...

 

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools' Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!



The speed of light

That's how I feel like life is going right now... I haven't even had time to update in so long! Chris, my brother got married to Tiffany Petersen almost two weeks ago  (October 9th)!!! and then my cousin Reed finally got married last week to Kamie Jo!  Super excited for both of them, and also super jealous. I just wanna be married already!!  But now that's not going to happen for over 2 years!

Al and I have been talking a lot lately and we both decided together that he needs to serve a mission.  So some time in March or early April (at the latest) he'll be heading to the MTC for three months and then it's off to Oslo, Norway!!!! I'm so excited for him and proud that he made this decision.  It will be a long hard two years while he's gone but we've promised to write every week to each other and I've promised to wait for him.  He'll already have bought my engagement ring before he leaves, but we're waiting until after he gets back to be engaged... It will be so much more rewarding and it will give us such a stronger relationship together as we get to bond spiritually through letters while he's serving. I just really love him and can't wait to get married to him as soon as possible when he gets back.

Before all this talk of a mission came up, Al and I just bought a yellow Nissan Xterra together.  It's such a sweet car! we took it mudding (or digging as the people of Utah call it) up in the mountains with it and got it all muddy. It was awesome!! But my mom just found out that we actually put the car in both of our names, and I think she's stressing out about it for some reason? I don't know.

While Al's on his mission, though, I'm going to move back to Texas and get my two year nursing degree.  That way I will be done with that part of schooling and will be able to already have a job by the time Al gets home and gets in school.  I really am convinced that this is the boy for me and can't wait to start our lives together!!! I love him...