An aunt, five cousins, a mom, and three siblings later...

My Gramma and I have been lucky enough to enjoy a visit from family these past few weeks... regretably I've had to work most of the time they've been here, but my days off have been a (rare) wonderful treat.


I'll admit, I'm not the first to jump at the opportunity to lend my time to 8 children under the age of 13, HOWEVER, I LOVE these kids. My cousins are wonderful, despite the freezing cold showers on Sunday mornings, arguments in pitches only poodles can hear, horrific noise at UGLY hours of the morning, and completely unpredictable throw-up episodes in the van, these past few weeks have been great. It's not very often that we have the opportunity to get together in such big groups (yes, I know, surprising considering the size of my family) - to better illustrate these events, I would ask that one imagines the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' - a mayhem of bodies, laughing, talking, hugging, crying, and CHILDREN. I could never understand why the potential husbands and wives were always so intimidated at family gatherings; having gotten older, and more able to stand back and observe the chaos of my clan, I can more easily understand.

There are some things I won't miss - having my room back to myself, warm showers, everything being left in the spot where it belongs - BUT I will miss 8 little "Good morning Aubie"'s every day, and the priceless comments that only kids can get away with (like Jacob during the prelude music in Sacrament Meeting this morning - he leaned over to me and asked "Aubie, WHAT is this TINY song for?!"), and having someone who wants to play with you all the time, who thinks you're the best even when you're wearing pajamas and have morning breath.

All things considered, I think a visit from the family is worth two weeks of cold showers.

Wedding Things

I love my wedding. True, I have not had my wedding, but I love thinking about it, and imagining what it will be like, and planning how everything will be, and looking at photos of other weddings. I love thinking about what my Dad's speech will be like, and having a dance with my Grampa to the song that inspired my name,(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXek853SDE) and what my Mom will wear, and what the invitations will look like, and most of all... the dress.
I might look forward to this dress more than most... but I think almost every teenage girl has looked for a picture of her PERFECT wedding dress. I understand (and have been warned) that picking out EVERY DETAIL of the dress will only bring disappointment, so I have refrained from setting my heart on anything too specific, but how can you not fall in love with this dress??

http://www.foxglovegowns.com/images/full%20sized/F4A%20custom%20Alencon%20lace%20wedding%20gown%20x600.jpg
(Here's another view)
http://www.foxglovegowns.com/images/full%20sized/D5B%20buttons%20+%20loops%20%20Alencon%20lace%20wedding%20gown%20x450.jpg

Of course, my dress will be more modest, but I just ADORE these lacy gowns!

When we had the privelage of going through the temple open house, I fell in love with the Bridal Room.. it was absolutely beautiful. I can't WAIT to be there with my Mom and get ready to be married for time and all eternity.

The invitations will be beautiful, simple, but beautiful. And WHITE. I love white, especially since it's not a color that I wear very often, so I think it will be even more special on my wedding day.
Keep checking your mailboxes! Invitations to come! (wink)

Aubrey and the NO GOOD, VERY BAD day

Yesterday was a no good, very bad day.
It began to the sound of my alarm clock at 7am (a disgusting hour for me) reminding me that I had a dentist appointment at 8 o'clock that morning. I got ready, and went to get my filling. This may seem strange, but I quite like going to the dentist... .probably a good thing since I plan to spend a lot of time there once I become a hygienist. Then (since my dentist is right next to where I work) I stopped by work to get a few things ordered for patients, and had the unfortunate luck of (after being "on hold" for about ten minutes), having my call answered by the grumpiest woman of all time. After making me feel a complete fool, she reluctantly ordered what I needed, and ended the phone call. I then was told my one of my colleagues,I would have to tell a patient, that their broken glasses would not be covered under warranty, and that they would have to pay for the repairs (being the bearer of bad news is never a pleasant thing for me).

A NO GOOD, VERY BAD start...

When I finally arrived back home, I decided to go back to bed and try to start my day over, but was greeted by my frantic Gramma, tearing apart the house, preparing for the visit of 8 of her grandchildren.
It was shortly after my room was cleaned and laundry done, that an event threatening to turn my day around occurred! My wonderful best friend showed up unexpectedly at my house! - however; we spent little time together before he spared my Gramma another stressful chore, and went outside to mow the lawn.

Two hours later, having previously not been able to eat with my frozen mouth, I was starving! I thought maybe a nice lunch would make me feel better, but no. Richard then informed me that he had to bring his truck home for his Dad to take camping - this made me even more upset as it reminded me that he would be gone for the next four days. So, after acting horribly to everyone around me, Richard had to leave, and I was left feeling angry, and wishing I would have apologized.

After I reluctantly accompanied my Gramma grocery shopping, Richard called to say he was all packed, and on his way over.(Horray!!!) We went to grab a bite to eat, and prepared to make our way over to a YSA activity. I guess he could tell I wasn't in the mood to be cheerful and outgoing, so after a completely illegal u-turn, to my surprise we started heading the opposite direction! We ended up at the pool, and have a TON of fun. (I forgot how much I liked water slides !)It seemed like my no good, very bad day had finally turned around! But in true, NO GOOD, VERY BAD day fashion, I realized I had lost my green scarf. We retraced our steps around town, but with no luck, made our way back to my house, scarfless. Somehow, even after all the horrible events of the day, I went to bed feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a WONDERFUL family, a beautiful home, a great job, and the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
I think from now on, I'll leave the NO GOOD, VERY BAD days to Alexander.

The Ambulance in the Valley

I'd heard this story before, but when it was brought up the other day, I just had to look up the poem.... I love it! I'm the kind of person who thinks that idealy, we should be prepared for the worst, but do our best to AVOID getting into the worst situations.
I just love this poem !!

"‘Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant,
But over its terrible edge there had slipped,
A duke and full many a peasant.

So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally.
Some said, "Put a fence around the edge of the cliff,"
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city,
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became moved with pity,

For those who slipped over that dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers on highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.

Then an old sage remarked, "it’s a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing the results than to stopping the cause,
When they’d much better aim at prevention.

"Let us stop at its source all this hurt," cried he.
"Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley."

Dilemma of a Life Time

I think I've been subconsciously putting of writing this post for a while, mainly becaues (as horrible as this is) I don't even want to give this person the satisfaction of writing about her... but none the less... here it is.
I had a friend a long time ago, a very good friend, who was... to be honest I don't know how to describe it. She was kinda like an older sister, but also just a friend. She was a little older, and SO MUCH FUN. I think it was my friendship with her that made me more okay with acting silly in front of people, and not minding what they thought! It was through her that I got to know others of my closest friends (which in the end would really annoy her!) And then the fighting began.
Let me admit.. I had been warned about what she was "really like" before, but from all our time spent together I would never have guessed this secret mean side of her existed! And then. slowly but surely, I began to see this side that everyone has told me about. I can't say exactly when it started, but she returned home for multiple visits, and it began then.. it was just CONSTANT snide remarks and put downs whenever I would say or do anything. At first I thought I was just being sensitive, I do know after all that I am easily embarrassed and upset. But when even the witnesses began to notice, I knew it wasn't just me. It got so bad that I would leave her company crying every time we were together.
AND THEN, what I never expected even after her poor behavior... when tragedy struck, she turned on me completely. She called me HORRIBLE things, and behind my back insulted my entire personality, and worst, my family. I tried to contact her, and she hid from me, so I left an incredibly hurt message on her phone, and removed her from my internet "friends" list. Since that time she has written multiple blogs and messages about how much she dislikes me, and has even gone as far as to say that she wishes she had never known me. There was a time when I would have expected more of her as a friend, but even my expectations of her as a PERSON were dashed long ago.

She has since apologized, and I really don't feel angry at her for the horrible things she said, but never in my life have I been treated by ANYONE the way I've been treated by her. I can say that I have no hard feelings toward her, but I know that I have not completely, honestly forgiven her. My thoughts are as follows... I KNOW I should whole-heartedly forgive her, but I also know that I do NOT need to put myself in a position to be hurt again. (There was a time when our friendship was seemingly patched up, but after only a few weeks she had again torn it apart!) I can not now, and I don't think ever TRULY trust her again.

I don't know what to do. There will be an opportunity to change things in a few weeks, and I know that those close to her (one of whom is also very close to me) would like things to be fixed, but what do I do? I can't act like nothing ever happened, but I also REALLY don't want a big crying forgiveness speech, we did that in the past and it only made it hurt more when she completely forgot it.

And just to add to the dilemma, I think she is about to make a HUGE mistake. She is rushing into something that I KNOW she should stop, and wait... just for a little while before she does!

What should I do? How should I fix things? Do we have to be friends after we fix things? Can two best friends truly just grow apart to the point where they can't be friends anymore? HELP!

Sweet Dreams

There are days when, although I try not to, I can't help but dwell on thoughts of my life in the future. It makes me completely giddy to think of when I am first married and have not a cent to my name, when we walk everywhere we can because we can hardly afford to run our little car, and we live in a tiny little basement suite or apartment somewhere. I hope that even though our material possessions will be few, that my wonderful Prince Charming and I will be able to make our little house feel like home, and be overjoyed to sit on the floor when friends come over, because our little kitchen table won't be big enough for guests. The idea of coming home after work to spend the evening with my sweet heart fills my heart with joy and excitement ! I can't WAIT for the day when there are no more "Goodnight"s but Eternal "Good Morning"s. I can just picture us sitting on our first furniture, eating dinner at our tiny kitchen table, watching our favourite movies on our tiny little television. I just can't wait for the day !!
And then the time will come when little ones will join us, maybe on a slightly larger couch, or in a slightly newer car, and together we will continue on life's journey no longer as a couple, but our own little family - going to visit Gramma and Grampa, riding the swings at the park, sitting in a high chair in the kitchen, my husband and I being able to sniff that WONDERFUL baby smell anytime we want to !
I know it will be tough, and that scrimping by won't always be cute and wonderful, but I just can't WAIT for the next part of my life to begin !
I just can't WAIT for Good Morning !

Snow, Snow, GO AWAY !

This morning I woke to the MOST unpleasant surprise. It pretended to be timid as I pulled out of the garage, melting when it hit the ground, not doing anyone any harm.

Nice prank Snow.

About 5 minutes from my house it started getting bad, but it was okay, I would get to the highway and everything would be fine. Again, Snow tricked me. It wasn't until I saw a little car similar to mine turning around after having slid across the road, that I decided to turn around. And today of all days, when I have my LAST mid term. Now I'm going to spend all weekend in anticipation of the re-write.

You've won this time Snow, but I'm coming back stronger than ever ! Enjoy your victory while it lasts !