We've Moved!

If you are reading this, than you must love me. And if you love me, you must care what goes on in my life. And if you care what goes on in my life, then you'd want to know that my blog moved!

It got re-hosted, re-vamped, and I got renewed motivation to write! Check it out...

adventuresofamie.wordpress.com

Thanks :)
**Love to read my old blog posts? Don't worry, they all moved with me!

That Awkward Moment...

... when you realize that you have been so consumed with working 90-hour weeks and getting married that you haven't written a blog in two months.

You may be surprised to hear this, but I just had one of those moments. And by "you" I mean hi Dad, because you are probably the only one who still even remembers this blog, let alone still checks it for updates.

Considering it's been 2 months to the day since my last post, here's what you missed...
-I worked a lot. Like really. The worst was 92 hours in 7 days. Legit.
-I quit my job. Yeah, I was burned out, but mainly because I knew we would be moving.
-Josh got his orders. For San Diego.
-Then Josh got told he got his pilot spot back, randomly. That he "lost" over 3 months ago.
-I planned a wedding.
-Josh and I got married! :)
-I got the flu the day after the wedding and moved into Josh's apartment (well, I'm still in the process)

So, now, I am a married woman, with no job, setting up house, but not too much, because I know we're moving to Pensacola, FL sometime in the next three weeks to six months so Josh can go to flight school to be a pilot in the Navy.

But, considering that my father is the only one reading this, you already knew all of that. So, I will end this "awkward moment" update by saying I love you Dad. And if you who are reading this are not my father, I love you too. Because you still remember my blog and think to check it. So, thanks.

And seeing that no job means so much more time, check back soon. More posts to follow :)

A Moment to Ponder Life

I am at work (what's new) and taking a moment to ponder the state of my life. I work, all the time, and I am really quickly getting into the nitty gritty details of planning a wedding and don't know what to do. There have been so many ideas for so many things, which has been great. But now it's decision time. Not like that's a bad thing; in 10 years who will really care if my centerpieces were on a mirror or the plain tablecloth? But there are so many decisions and it feels like not much time is left to make them all and put it all into motion in time. And anyone who knows me can attest that I suck at making decisions, especially when I am stressed and a lot is riding on those decisions. So, I find myself asking: what's it all for? 

Marriage. Sure the wedding is a fun party, but what really matters is the marriage it celebrates. 

So looking forward, after these details are behind me, what's next? Moving to an unknown place at an unknown time, where my husband will be almost immediately deployed and will continue to be for the majority of our first year of marriage. I will be left not only to unpack our recently merged life by myself, but I will also have to figure out a new place, a new life, and a totally new culture called the Navy. And most all of it I will have to figure out on my own. Whoopie. Needless to say, this part I am not excited about.

No matter how many times I get asked this question, it always shocks me why someone would think to ask it. "Wow. You're about to become a Navy Wife. How can you be so okay with that? Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" Of course I have no idea what I'm getting myself into!! All I know about military life  I have learned from watching Army Wives and from what Josh (and his mom) have told me. And all I've really learned is that you dive in head-first and hope to learn as you go. Let's just say I've always learned best by knowing first, diving second. 

But regardless of how uncertain I am of how I will emotionally survive, I have always been certain of one thing: no matter what I may face in this life or in our marriage, I know that Josh is worth it. Josh is worth the uncertainty. Josh is worth the heartache. Josh is worth the lonliness. I know for a fact that I would rather live with him for a few short months out of a year than live my life without him completely. I've tried to live without him, and clearly, that didn't go so well. Otherwise we wouldn't be getting married in 50 days. 

I will never forget a conversation Josh and I had shortly after we met. He was trying to get to the bottom of why I wouldn't date him. All of his confidence suddenly deflated from within him as he asked, "It's because I am in the military, isn't it..." 

Shocked, my face became squinched as I exclaimed, "What?!? NO! That thought never even crossed my mind!" His ego quickly filled again. "It has nothing to do with your career choice! You're three years younger than me!!!" He didn't seem to find much of anything wrong with this reason, because he hasn't stopped pursuing me since. :)

There are 50 days, countless details, (what seems like) endless planning, and vast uncertainties between me and Mrs. Amie Lou, but I know that none of that matters. I am not choosing the life ahead of me; I am choosing Josh. And that's all I need to know...

Happy Birthday to Me!

I have been so touched today. I have been so overwhelmed and honored at the outpouring of calls, cards, and birthday wishes. I feel so loved! And I had such a great day (despite having to work)! Instead of telling you about my day, I'll show you...

It started last night when my co-workers and girls in the house threw me a birthday party, made me a cake, and  got me the new Birthday Oreos (which literally taste like cake batter with sprinkles in an Oreo). Who needs candles when you can top your cake with an Oreo?

Then I got a super-sweet card from one of the girls in the house that validated why I do what I do. In the card she wrote, "You are such an amazing God fearing woman and I admire that greatly." I must be doing something right!!

Then this morning Josh took me out for breakfast before he had to go fly. If I had been wearing make-up at 8am, I probably would have photo-documented this wonderful celebration with my almost-husband. However, because of my last few adventures in Einstein's Bagels without makeup, I hide my naked face there now. The first time, I got teased by an elderly woman. I was wearing sweats, no make-up, it was 8:30am, and a rickety white-haired lady teetered past me on the sidewalk, took one look at my face, proclaimed I must have had a late night last night, and laughed. The second time, the cashier asked if I was feeling ok. I was. I just wasn't wearing make-up. You would think I would have learned my lesson, but I love Einstein's, and there was no time to put make-up on before meeting Josh. Thus, no photo-documentation. Anyway...

Then I went with the beautiful Jackie to PICK UP MY WEDDING DRESS!!!! I couldn't stop crying when I was trying it on. It was, it is perfect! All the alterations they made are flawless! I was really nervous at my first fitting when they estimated how much to take in on each side, but I am so impressed. It fits me like a glove. I can't wait to wear it for more than five minutes! When I brought it home, I had to laugh, because my closet is so short, that my dress won't fit! Thus, it has to hang on the back of my door. It was kind of funny though, because I sat on my bed, looking at the dress bag, and couldn't sit still. I kept walking up to it and un-zipping it and fawning over it as if it were a new baby! I love my dress!!! What a great birthday present!

Then I got to have lunch with my dearest friend, maid-of-honor, and roommate Jackie. I hadn't seen her for nearly three weeks because I was working, and then she was in Swaziland on a mission trip and then in Illinois visiting a friend. It was such a sweet time catching up, hearing about trips, and sharing life. And then I cried (again) thinking of how grateful I am for Jackie, her love, her heart, and her friendship. I guess I'm just a big softie today...

When I was driving back to work for the evening shift, the sun was sparkling so vibrantly on the Great Salt Lake. It was such a beautiful, warm, and sunny day, that if I didn't know it was March 5th, I would have thought it was spring!

And even though I worked all night, I taught a girl how to make quiche, played soccer, and braided hair, it was still a great day. Not ideal, but what really is?? I had a great birthday!! Thank you to all of you who have called, texted, and wished me well today! I could have had a quarter-life crisis today, but couldn't find anything to complain about!

So, 25 down, and many more wonderful years to go! :)


*Feel free to join me in my annual celebration of my namesake... It's better than the Happy birthday Song. It's Pure Prairie League!

What If We All Chose To Love?

There are some really stinking creative people at Google. I love the Google homepage on holidays and during fun seasons. My all-time favorite was yesterday. In case you missed it, it was the most adorable video of a boy trying to impress and show love to a girl (you can watch the video below, courtesy of YouTube).

Showing love is a tricky thing. It all depends on who you are and who is around you. Everyone shows and receives love in different ways. Sometimes roses and chocolates work. Other times stuffed animals, dinosaur sweaters, diving helmets, and balloons work well. But sometimes, what someone really needs is to have another person come alongside them in what they are doing or going through. To me, that shows the most love.

I was criticized by my father and all the girls at work about being "cynical" about Valentine's Day. If you know me, I am anything but cynical. However, I don't think Valentine's Day is a big deal. One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten as I have been preparing to get married is that "Love is not a feeling, it's a choice." And I choose to show love every single day, so why should Valentine's Day be any different or any more special? I chose to make yesterday more special, because I knew that's what others around me needed, but I don't need it to be. Everyday I choose to love Josh, regardless of what he's going through, his mood, or how much he shows me love. Everyday I choose to love the troubled teenage girls I work with no matter of what attitude or piece of furniture they may throw my way. Everyday I choose to love the random people I encounter because you never know what they're facing and how much a smile may help. Everyday I choose to love, so therefore, to me, everyday is Valentine's Day. And therefore, February 14th isn't a big deal.

A friend's blog post about Valentine's Day shared the tragic love story of St. Valentine and the legendary origins of Valentine's Day. She also challenged her readers to share their favorite quotes, stories, or memories about love. I don't have any of those to share at this time, but instead, I want to leave you with a question...
What keeps you from loving those around you as if everyday were Valentine's Day? Because I think that if we all made the choice to really love those we encounter today, the world would get a little bit brighter for tomorrow.

*You can check out Meghan's blog about Valentine's Day by clicking here.
 

Adventures in Mouse-Hunting

Yesterday I asked Josh to take me out on a date that night since I had work off and didn't have to be in to work til later today. However, it didn't turn out quite like I was hoping for. This past week Josh not only had three mice-spottings in his kitchen (including seeing one on the counter), but he also caught four. So, yesterday afternoon I came over with a friend and we planned a few hours pulling out the fridge and oven and catching however many mice were left and cleaning up after their nasty-ness. Seven hours later we finally finished. Cleaning mouse poo and mouse nests out of the bottom of the oven was not quite the romantic night I had envisioned...

The fridge was the first to be pulled out. There was mouse poo and some holes in the wall, but overall, not too bad. Josh patched up the holes and we cleaned that up pretty fast. Once we pulled out the oven though, we quickly realized that this project was not going to be done anytime soon.

Behind the oven was incredibly disgusting amounts of mouse droppings, dead insects, and mold. Gross. That was Josh's project. My job was to pull the drawer out of the bottom of the oven and search inside. I cannot even express how horrified I was to find a few nests in the spaces on either side of the drawer and more mouse poo than I ever thought possible. That was my project to clean. Not even the thickest hazmat suit could have made me feel comfortable enough to clean that up. And all I had were gloves, two plastic forks, a vacuum, and Clorox wipes. I had to shimmy under the oven and reach back with the forks to get the nests and carefully get them to the trash can without dropping mouse poo all over the kitchen floor. I was whining, making disgusted noises, and almost crying, and what was Josh doing? Laughing at me. That was one of the most disgusting things I've done, and he thought it was one of the funniest things he's seen. As you can tell, it was quite the romantic night.

After a trip to Lowe's for mouse traps, caulk, tools, and laminate floor tiles; five hours of patching holes and cleaning under (and inside) appliances; and two hours of cleaning floors, counters, and dishes; we were finally done. I don't think that kitchen has ever been that clean since it was built. But there's still more to do, and Josh will have his landlord do the rest.

But after all was said and done and we were resting on the couch, we heard scratching and scurrying. But no mice were to be found anywhere. My theory? Since all the holes were covered and caulked, there's mice who are now stuck inside the wall. Take that you nasty buggars! At least (hopefully) they can't get back in his kitchen... So here's to hoping!

The gross-ness behind and under the oven

The mouse nests... Ewww!!!

Josh working hard to patch holes and make it so the mice can't climb up the sides of the cabinets. 

The disastrous kitchen

We fortified the kitchen to make sure if mice were running around, they couldn't get out to the rest of the apartment!

Behind the oven and Josh's handiwork. I'd like to see the mice try and climb up to the counters now! Ha! 

Paparazzi

About a month ago, Josh and I had our engagement photos taken. It was so fun getting all dolled up and having a camera in our faces. Awkward at times and cold, but so much fun. We were supposed to have them taken on a Friday afternoon that was sunny and bright and beautiful. But Josh suddenly had to move into his new apartment that day, and our photographer was so gracious to re-schedule for the following day. He made a joke to dress warm and that the weatherman predicted snow, but when has he been right about anything all winter? Well, he was this time! I woke up to a true winter wonderland! It was cold, but oh so pretty. The snow was fresh and lightly sparkling in the clouded sun. Which made our faces sparkle even more.

I got an email from our amazing photographer this week with the link to all our photos. It's so fun to look through them and to start designing our invitations. Even though Josh is nearly a foot taller than me (even with high heels on), I realized that we look really good together. Despite the awkward moments of having a camera in our faces trying to capture romantic moments, it's clear to see that we really love each other. And it's clear that we are quite beautiful and handsome too! ;)

Now I know how the celebrities feel with paparazzi following them around all the time. Okay, not really, but it felt we had our own paparazzi that day! Not to mention his assistant (who also happens to be his beautiful wife) and our entourage (consisting of the Maid of Honor and Best Man).

Instead of using the rest of this blog to explain our pictures to you, I'll let you decide for yourselves...


*Check out our amazing photographer, Sawyer Pangborn, through his website here, or facebook here! 
**Like the photos that you see and want one for yourself? Let me know and I can get you one!