Picture Overload

I tired to post recent pictures from over the break and apparently my blog has too many photos...? Anyone know how to fix that?

New blog of Mr. and Mrs. Bracero coming soon! 15 days :)

Ready For A Break

I'm going home tomorrow!! I never thought Thanksgiving Break would actually get here but it has! This was the big marker to make it to, and then the wedding is just a home stretch away (unfortunately this home stretch includes finals). My Thanksgiving Break consists of a hair appointment, temple distribution center w/ my mama, thanksgiving dinner @ Toots and Pops, Christmas decorating, going through the temple to take out my endowments, dinner w/ BOTH the Huguely/Ingersoll's and the Bracero's, flower shop w/ the best floral designer in the world!, my final shower, and then I'm back on Sunday!

Sounds like a really relaxing break doesn't it! It's relaxing to me in the sense that I don't have to go to class. haha Plus, I'll be with my family and friends who I haven't seen in a while.

Other exciting news...my wedding dress is done!! Want to see a picture?? Yeah, I'm sure you do. haha I'm so mean! Only 27 days and I'll have all the pictures in world.

Have you ever asked yourself on a random day what you were doing a year ago. Well, because I keep a calendar with almost everything I do...last year today I was taking my anatomy lab final! Kind of crazy to think about considering I wouldn't have thought I'd be getting married in 392 days from then. But I AM! And now I'm ranting.

It's THANKSgiving which means we are reminded to be grateful for all that we have. Every year I'm grateful for my family, my education, the roof over my head, my friends, etc. However, this thanksgiving I'm grateful for my extending family. Dave. He is beyond my perfect match. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love him. I'm grateful to have him join my family and I'm grateful to be joining such a welcoming family like the Bracero's. I'm even more grateful that he was willing to take a chance on me and now we are about to start our own family. I seriously could go on and on about the extremely handsome guy I get to call my fiance (soon to be husband!), but I won't for your alls sake.

Other things I'm grateful right now:
My mother--who has planned my wedding and put up with my bridezilla self that comes out every now and then. Who also will be with me as I go through the temple. She doesn't know it, but this has really meant the world to me that she'll be there.
My bed--I didn't get out of bed today until 11:30pm and I'm not ashamed of it!
My scriptures--that provided me with a sense of reality when I'm stressed about school.
My legs--my roommate is in a boot and crutches after surgery and I'm just so grateful I can walk!
My freedom--I truly believe this country is on a downfall, and I'm grateful that I still have my freedom today.

What are you thankful for? Happy Thanksgiving!!

Stand Tall

Sometimes Heavenly Father puts experiences in our path to make us think. At first that experience could cause some anger and confusing; however, I believe that's not what he wants us to feel. Maybe at first, but maybe he's trying to get you to focus...to stop rationalizing your thoughts and actions.

A recent experience I had filled me with anger, frustration, hurt, and bitterness. I was extremely confused about why my loving Heavenly Father would put me in that situation. What had I done to deserve that? Then I realized it's not him that's putting me there. Satan wants me to fall as far away from the gospel as I possibly could. He lies in the most deceiving places. He catches you when you least expect it. This experience filled me with the previously stated emotions, but I switched gears into thinking "What can I do better to strengthen my relationship with the Savior and my Heavenly Father to overcome the powers of evil??"

1 Nephi 22: 25-26, 31
And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.
...Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.

If we are righteous, faithful, and keep the commandments we are promised protection. Genesis 15:1 "After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield."

Let us all find a way to draw closer to God and our Savior. That's where our foundation should be and without a strong foundation we can not stand tall.

Thanksgiving is the around the corner and I couldn't be more grateful for the gospel and my family. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!!

Our First Home: The Hungtington

The Huntington is an apartment complex in south Provo that is very nice for very cheap! It's government subsidized which is why it's the price that it is. As long as you qualify income wise you can get in. However, it's not as simple as it sounds. There's nearly a year long waiting list, but the landlord will send out emails if there are every any mid-semester openings, but those apartments will usually have a weird move in date that not everyone can accommodate too. SO you start on a big list...she sends out an email...you respond if you can move in and pay rent on top of your other rent...and then whoever is on top of THAT list gets the apartment!

We got our first email at the end of September, but we were second on the "second list"! We got the next email middle of October about a place available November 8th. We started out second on the "second list" again, but something fell through with the first people so we got it!! We signed the lease on the 8th and we've been moving a few odds and ends in already so it's not all at once at the end. And by a few odds and ends I mean we went to Ikea yesterday and bought basically all of our living room furniture besides the couch we are inheriting from Dave's parents. :) The apartment is darling and I love it!

One of my favorite parts. Vaulted ceilings upstairs!

We are extremely grateful to have found this apartment! One more thing to check off our list, but Dave's apartment still continues to be on the market right now. Cross your fingers! This week was a big one to get through. I had two test and lots of little assignments. I feel a major weight of my shoulders with all that has been accomplished this week. THEN after next week it's Thanksgiving!! Time is really flying people. Happy Saturday!!

13 days until I go through the temple.

32 days until finals are over.

35 days until our wedding day!

November First

Want to know what I'm doing on this lovely first day of November? Well, I went to my internship, got my eyelashes did, worked out, folded my laundry, went to class, grabbed some dinner with Dave, and now I'm in the library "studying" while he's at work downstairs...

I love studying...can't you tell?!

But then I realized it's NOVEMBER!! NOVEMBER!! And you know what that means...I'm getting MARRIED NEXT MONTH!! DECEMBER!! THAT'S NEXT MONTH!!

Just a little excited haha

I found the greatest guy in the world which makes me the luckiest girl in the world. Now I know everyone says that, but he truly is the greatest guy for me. He's calming when I'm angry. He's patient when I'm annoyed. He's loving when I...should be. He's understanding even when I don't make sense. He's smart in ways that I'm not. He's funny when I need a laugh. He really is my opposite which makes "us" work. As we approach our 10 month anniversary and our 1 month until our wedding I just wanted to share my excitement! (sorry if you get annoyed by all my countdowns and such!) Happy Thursday and Happy November!! Enjoy the final days of fall Provo-ers it doesn't last much longer.

22 days until I go through the temple

44 days until the BIG DAY :)

Plains Of Oklahoma

OOOOOOOOOKLAHOMA!!!

It's official! Dave branched Field Artillery this week which means our first official move out of Provo is....FORT SILL OKLAHOMA! We will most likely be moving there next summer and let me tell you I'm kind of excited believe it or not! There's a song by Jason Aldean that I have always loved and now it applies to me!!

The base is basically in the city Lawton, OK which actually has more people than the city of Gaithersburg! So no, Mom, there's civilization closer than an hour away...However, the google maps do make it look like it's out in the middle of nowhere. 

In comparison to OK City...I didn't even know where that was haha.

Just a closer up view. Notice all the green and brown! :)

If you were to tell me that I was going to be living in Oklahoma at some point in my life I would have chuckled. This is definitely going to be one of many adventures that Dave and I will have! :) Also, because this is just Basic Officer Leaders Course (in English...Branch Training) we actually won't be here much longer than 4 months. After he is done with BOLC (training) then we will be assigned to our first duty station which is then the typical 2-3 years. (From what I understand...my army knowledge is not great but I'm working on it!)

Pretty exciting stuff I must say!! We will know our move date around February. Until then, I'm going through the temple, finishing out the semester, getting married, and doing our first mini move together in Provo. Lots of changes and I can't wait! Happy Saturday!! 

General Conference

Since I was traveling over the weekend I had little time to watch General Conference. For anyone reading this who is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I encourage you to go to THIS site and learn about it and to learn about General Conference where we get to hear from the leaders of our church.

For those who are members... Am I wrong or is Conference one of the best weekends of the year. Am I wrong or does good old Dieter always has the answers!! I have been catching up on Conference today and I wanted to talk about President Uchtdorf's talk.

I'm in a time in my life when I'm counting down days. I am always looking forward to the next day because it means I'm one day closer to getting married. I'm not stopping and smelling the roses.

President Uchtdorf talked about how we need to enjoy each day. We can't start each day waiting for it to end. "There is something in each day to embrace and cherish." I need to remember this because there will come a time when I want time to slow down. There will come a time when I want moments to last forever.

One of his most powerful statements....

"We cannot take for granted one single day. I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live."

Sure, it's OK to be excited and anxious for your wedding day to arrive, but it doesn't mean that good things aren't happening around me right now! My new goal is to have something different to be grateful for each day. Something that might not have happened the day before, or something that may never happen again! Be excited for special events in your future, but don't forget to enjoy the journey along the way :) Happy Monday!

Aunt Carolyn's Shower

This weekend, I have been home because my Aunt Carolyn threw me my first bridal shower today! It was a very nice brunch with some close friends that have seen me grow up over the years. We had some yummy egg casserole and fruit for breakfast, and while everyone was eating they had little cards to fill out about what their first or favorite memory of me is and any advice they had for me going into my marriage. Then as I opened up their gifts they would read what they wrote. I heard some pretty funny stories and also go some great advice. Always remember to laugh and always communicate were the big ones that a lot of people mentioned.

Today really made this whole wedding sink in. I got lots of things that will decorate my future home and lots of kitchen accessories that I will be using to cook my hubby dinner! Yup, I'm going to have a husband! It really is right around the corner and I didn't think I could get more excited, but today added a little more. :D

The shower was kind of hat themed...just explaining why everyone was in hats. My grandmother Loraine (where I get my middle name from) had a TON of hats. So that's what made the center pieces for the dining tables and everyone had quite the laugh trying some of them on!

close ups always look better in b&w to me.

THANK YOU AUNT CAROLYN

I made this gardening hat for tootsie when I was maybe 5-6

My grandmother, Loraine's wedding hat.

Dave's griddle. The one thing he made sure to register for!

Go Army!

ribbon bouquet!

And I had no idea that if you cut the ribbon off the gifts it counts as a future child...looks like we're having at least 6 kids! (I lost count..uh oh)

70 days! Happy Saturday! Also, Happy Conference! I'm so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

WARNING!

WARNING!! DO NOT LOOK AT THIS POST IF YOU DON'T LIKE GROSS/REALLY RED EYEBALLS!

So I decided to get eyelash extensions on Tuesday for my engagement photos next week. Let's just say it's a good thing I got them the week before and not two days before! Sadly, I love my eyelashes...but there's a good chance the process of getting them gave me a chemical burn on my eye. Ouch. Here's a NICE picture of my eyeball:

Don't they look pretty and long and curly! I know don't get me started... So I left the salon with pretty red eyes and my eyes were really tender. I figured it was normal cause she did say the glue burns a little and it causes some redness. However, later that night my eyes were still extremely bloodshot and it was pretty painful to blink or move my eyes in dramatic movements. By the end of day two this is what they looked like.

 

To be honest, I'm not freaking out at all. It's more of my mother that's freaking out. I know it's slowly getting better, but it sure is taking it's sweet time. I sleep fine, I can wash my face now and hopefully get whatever residue was left off, I can see perfectly fine. It's just really red and really tender.

Dave and I went to Walgreens to get some eye-drops. Thought it would give me that soothing feeling...complete opposite. Every time I put the drops in it burns even more. Hence my next adventure (also to make my mother feel better) I'm heading up to student health in about an hour to have them check out my beautiful browns. Hopefully they will give me a steroid or something that will make it go away by this weekend and at the latest next week!

Now for the gross up close picture from today. Please note, I just woke up and had just splashed my face and eyes with water and yeah...it's not that bad right? haha :) I'm all smiles I promise. Happy Thursday! I'm going home tomorrow!!!! Ok...picture time I guess...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!?!?!

It does scare Dave haha.

Pumpkin Time

Happy October!!

I really love fall. I'm 99% positive that it's my favorite season, but that 1% thinks it's suppose to be my birthday season. I do love the month of February and I do love winter clothing over summer, but fall just has the all around package.

To welcome in the glorious fall season and to celebrate October 1st I made this bad boy...

That is pumpkin cheesecake from the cheesecake factory. I found the recipe on pinterest and totally made it from scratch! Sadly, I haven't tried it yet, but Dave says that's what we are having for dinner tonight. Life of poor college students. 

Want to know another awesome thing about the start of fall? I took my first test of the semester yesterday and I got a "Fantastic!" next to my student id number. Now for those of you non-BYUers when you get a 90% or higher you get some type of comment next to your name. Starting off the semester strong!!

Want to know ANOTHER reason why I love fall? It's the most decorated season. Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas! Sadly, I might actually be moving into our married housing apartment in November so we will have to see how much decorating actually happens this year. Lots going on!!

Well, that's all for now. Happy pumpkin eating! Happy decorating! and Happy Fall!!

3 days until I go home!

50 days until I go through the temple!

74 days until I get muuurrieeed!

Meet The Fam

Toots came into town on Tuesday with Mary Lou! Dave and I had a yummy lunch with them and then I met my great-great aunt (Tootsie's paternal aunt) who lives 5 minutes from me! You'd think I would have met her sooner. She is the last of her generation that is still alive and it was fun to be with her and some of Toots' cousins. And if I look as good as Nettie Marie does at 94 I would be a very happy person. Her comment about being in assisted living, "I don't like living with all of these old people!" haha.

Let me introduce you to my heritage...

My great-grandpa Otis (Tootsie's dad)

My great-great grandmother hazel (Otis' mother)

Samuel Rose Parkinson and Charlotte Smart Parkinson
My great-great-great-great? grandparents 

Nettie Marie's generation and her mother
Kirma, Claire, Nettie Marie
Otis and Hazel

And then I think you all might know these people...(sorry for the blurry picture)

Yes... that is my lovely grandmother in the nice checkered pants, my grandfather with hair, my mother with hair, my aunt Debbie...luckily her style senses kicked in later in life, my uncle Geoff setting a pick, and my uncle Scott looking like young Michael even in a blurry picture.

Hooray for family! I'm so glad I was able to meet Nettie this week and see Toots and Mary Lou. Even though I'm going to be home one week from today. Bridal showers are perfect excuses to come home, right? :)

Also, bought "evening" wedding shoes today and bridesmaids tops this week! The guys suits came in too - it sure is all coming together. 78 days!! Happy Friday :)

Find A Man, Learn To Cook

I've always liked cooking dinners, but it's not always easy or fun to cook nice dinners for yourself. So, when Dave and I started dating I finally got my chance and now I cook almost every night...and yes left overs still count just as long as you eat at the table. I probably cook 3-4 meals a week and then we eat leftovers the other nights. This past week I made Taco Soup and Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup. Here are some pictures:

In the past I've also made pesto stuffed shells and chicken and avocado quesadillas. 

The soup looks really bland, I know, but it tasted pretty darn good. I'm trying to use recipes that hide vegetables or something healthy! The stuffed shells have spinach. The quesadillas have avocado (not really hidden). Taco soup has lots of beans, and cauliflower soup...that one's a little obvious.

I'm so excited to be able to cook in our own little kitchen and have dinners at our own little apartment. Most of the recipes I find are from pinterest, so go follow my "Yum" board and they should all be on there. Happy Cooking!

Time flies...

12 days until my first shower.

59 days until I go through the temple.

83 days until I get married!

Just Call Me Jillian

Oh wait, my personal training client already did that today!

Yup, my dreams have finally come true! I was compared to Jillian Michaels today at my internship. Although, I am for sure not as intense as she is - I obviously pushed my client enough that she felt extremely challenged.  (plus, I finally got my name tag today and I feel really official!)

Maggie Ingersoll

Personal Trainer & PT Assistant

Speaking of Jillian...did you know she is coming back to Biggest Loser?! Yup, that's true too! In January I will be able to start watching TBL without feeling like my girl crush is missing. 

Also talking about training, I've decided by the end of the semester, aka by my wedding day, I want to be able to 2 pull-ups. Just 2! I've been working on the assisted pull-up machine almost ever other day and I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling stronger! I feel like my muscles are taking over. I'm running faster and longer. Yeah...the scale isn't saying much, but I think having this "feeling" is better than what the scale says. As long as you feel good that's all that matters! That seems like enough motivation to me. 

Anywho, I'll stop my workout rant. Classes are still rolling! My internship is kicking my butt time wise, but I LOVE it and I'm learning a ton. Things couldn't be better! (OK, maybe seeing Dave more) PS. He had to get pepper sprayed last night as a part of "training" for his new security job. Poor guy was one of the first to get sprayed and the very last to leave. He's "the one that doesn't react well" according to the police officer. He's fully functioning today though! Happy Thursday!