Dan's Wedding Dress

So, yesterday was my turn to shop for wedding dress. Yes, not A wedding dress, rather, my dress (i.e. attire) for the wedding. Ha ha.... yes, it's hilarious, I know. Anyway, we headed down to the mall to see if we could find me a suit for the wedding. Seeing how I enjoy going clothes shopping about as much as I do eating broccoli (which if you don't know, I find utterly repulsive to eat), I wasn't really looking forward to it. On the way down there, Lisa asked me which store I wanted to go to first, to which I just shrugged my shoulders muttering, "I dunno..... someplace I can just get it off the rack. I don't want to go someplace where they're going to have to measure me and all that..." I just wanted to get this thing over with as quickly as possible.

So, we end up in Macy's first and start looking at some suits. It was fun joking around about some suits on the clearance rack at first, but I had to start actually looking at some real potential suits. Not surprisingly, a sales clerk soon came over to help us. I'm always a little wary of that, because most the time, I have no idea what they're talking about or what I want. Usually I like to buy stuff on my own without being bothered at all. But he was nice, and actually helped us figure out what size I was and pointed us in the right direction of what to look at. I spotted a nice black suit, and went to go try it on. I put on the pants, and they fit pretty good around the waste, but I looked at my feet and thought, "Man, these are WAY too long." I was a little disappointed, because everything else fit pretty well, and I didn't want to have to try to find another suit and then try that on and all that. I just wanted to be done as soon as possible. Then I suddenly realized: "Oh! They're not even hemmed yet!" Seeing how everything else seemed good with the suit, I decided I would go ahead and buy it.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it yet. I then had to stand in front of the mirror and have the guy measure for alterations and all that. Apparently Lisa enjoyed watching me in the mirror. I think she was having more fun than me, which was to be expected considering my previously stated aversion to clothes shopping. Well, the guy is trying to make conversation while he's doing it all, and ends up talking a whole bunch. It was pretty funny. We were standing there talking with him (well, mainly he was talking) for a while after he was done measuring, and I had to find a good point in his talking to sneak back into the changing room. Lisa had fun (sarcasm) continuing the conversation while I changed. He was a real nice guy and everything, but it was funny having him talking and talking while both Lisa and I were ready to move on with our lives. So, he chatted some more while he rang up the suit, and we eventually made our way onto our next destination. So, it feels good to have my wedding dress taken care of now. I guess this is one of those sacrifices they talk about when you get married. :)

Registering - Potential Snag Averted

Now, I don't think many of you have actually started looking for Lisa's and my registry in Target or online, but one avid fan of this very blog (ok, so yeah, I'm embellishing there) brought to our attention that she could not find our registry on the Target website. I was a little frustrated considering our previous snags with the registry. Last night I decided to look at it, and see if I could figure out the problem. I was looking at the settings for it, and that's when I saw the problem. We had made it private, so the only way to find it was with the registry ID. Seeing how difficult that would make it for people to find our registry (meaning less Reese's Shell for Lisa and I :) ), I changed it to be public. Now there should be no problems at all finding it. ......Not that any of you were actually wanting to look at it yet. But still, just remember that we made it easy for you to find it. Feel free to thank us with many wonderful gifts (obviously including Reese's Shell). Thanks in advance!

Another silly moment in the life of a silly girl, brought to you by silly-life.com...

I had to run some errands at lunch, so I got in my car and started driving. The sun was out and it was making it hard to see so I used my windshield visor thing. I had it stretched out across the window on my door. It was very effective in shading my eyes from the sun, so effective that I forgot about it. So...when I went to get out of my car, I didn't remember to move it out for the way, so I hit my head on the visor thing. I reached up to move it over so that I could get out of the car. Only I forgot to push the little extended thing back in so I hit my head again. Thus ends this silly short story in the life of this silly girl.

Registering

So, last Saturday, Lisa and I registered for our wedding at Target. It was nice to get done, and it was fun walking around with the scanning gun and all that. It all worked out pretty well, and there isn't really much to write about except for two things.

1. Later that night, I checked the registry online just to make sure it worked and everything looked good. So, I'm looking through it, and there's three or four things that just say "This item is no longer available." That's all it says. Nothing there about what is no longer available. That irks me a little, because I would like to know what is no longer available so that we can register for a similar item. There's no way we can remember everything we scanned, and then now somehow know these few items that aren't available anymore. I really don't know what to do about it. Hopefully they weren't anything we really wanted.



2. I know one item we scanned that is no longer on the list - the wonder that is Reese's Shell. Lisa happened to spot it, and wanted me to scan it. I had no objection. That has to be the most awesome thing that could ever be put on ice cream (except for maybe millions of dollars that would be used to buy more Reese's Shell. But I digress). We both wanted to see that on the registry, but to our dismay, it is most likely "no longer available." So, if you're wanting to get us something for the wedding, but just can't decide what to get. Remember this one simple fact: You can never go wrong with Reese's Shell. So, now when we get 200 things of that pure deliciousness, we will feast upon it's unending goodness for months to come!

So, anyway, that has been our registering experience thus far. Hopefully there will be less snags in the future. The End.

Alterations

Alterations are not fun. Today I had to go in for an alterations appointment. It was a lot like going to the dentist or a doctors appointment. . . wait for an hour and then spend about 10 minutes talking to the seamstress. I learned something today too, never go to an alterations appointment alone. Not only is it very boring, but it is awfully hard to put a wedding dress on by yourself. I sat in the dressing room for about 5 minutes trying to zip it up. Finally I was able to flag someone down to help me. Also, it gets very boring waiting for the seamstress, having someone there to talk to would have helped immensely. Last of all, it is nice to have someone who actually cares about you to give you advice as to all the in's and out's about the different things that can be done to a dress. I now know that getting a wedding dress is far more complicated than simply picking a dress to wear...jeans and a tshirt look better every day.

Turns out I'm a demanding and over-bearing fiance

Story time! So, once month Lisa likes to take ME on a date (She's a real sweetheart isn't she?). This month it was scheduled for this last Saturday, the 23rd. Well, the thing she planned on got postponed, so it ended up she just took me to dinner. She took me to Red Lobster which was very good. However, I'm pretty sure the lady that waited our table thinks I'm very demanding, over-bearing, and inconsiderate of my significant other. This is why.

We got there a little late in the night, and so we were both starving. We both figured out pretty quickly what we wanted to order. However, it took a while for our waitress to even come over for the first time. I commented to Lisa how we could probably just order when she got there. So, she finally came over, and asked us if she could get us started with some drinks. Seeing how both Lisa and I were wanting to eat as quickly as possible, I wanted to make sure we didn't miss our opportunity to order our meals. So, I quickly responded with, "Well, I think we're actually ready to order." Quickly after that, my brain told me that she had just asked for drinks, so right after that comment I immediately said, "I'll have water-" and then as I'm about to continue with my meal, she cuts me off, turns to Lisa and says, "What would you like?" So inconsiderate of me to not even let the lady order first. So, she gets Lisa's order, and then I'm able to finish my order.

Shortly thereafter, we're chatting and stuff, and we're thinking the big BYU-SDSU basketball game has started the 2nd half. We decide to have Lisa's brother send us text updates on my phone (Lisa forgot hers in the car). So, my phone was buzzing from time to time and I would pull it out and read it to Lisa. Well, it seemed like every time our waitress came over, I was pulling out my phone and checking the text. So, not only am I selfish by ordering first, I'm also very inconsiderate by texting while we're eating dinner together.

Then, when it comes time for her to bring the check, I tell Lisa jokingly, "Make sure you leave a big tip so she doesn't think I'm a complete jerk." Then I suddenly realize that the card has Lisa's name on it. So, now I'm not only rude throughout the whole meal, but I also make her pay for it! So, yes, I am a big demanding inconsiderate jerk. At Red Lobster anyway.

No more wedding dress shopping!!!

Shopping for a wedding dress was a bit more fun than I had anticipated, mainly because of the family that I had there with me. I had no idea what I wanted or what types of dresses were out there, but we found one that I like. It is not what I had ever anticipated wearing....it's ivory for one thing, but I like it. Melissa, my little sister, was very proud of the fact that she suggested that dress, and I give her full credit. I would not have tried it on if she had not suggested it. After we had decided to get that dress and while I was still standing up on that stage place with the mirrors, I got a text from Dan. I went back and changed out of the dress then checked the message. It was a short and sweet little text and it made me smile. Dan told me that I would look beautiful in any dress. My mom saw the text and exclaimed, "You didn't send him a picture of the dress did you?!?" That was followed by a chorus of exclamations from my sisters and sister in laws all expressing the same horror and letting me know that I could not show Dan the dress. :) That amused me greatly. I guess that means I shouldn't post a picture of the dress on this blog...though it probably wouldn't be THAT big of a deal. ;)

Asking a Girl to Marry You

While Lisa is out having the time of her life shopping for a wedding dress right now I have time to post a thing or two on here. I was just about to write a long (and probably boring) rant about how my Christmas video for Lisa was pulled off of the blog. She tried putting it on facebook back around Christmas time, when it was pulled off of there a day or two afterward. I was afraid the same thing had happened here. So, I was going to write a long rant about how stupid that is, when lo and behold, it is available again today. So, if you haven't seen it yet, you should probably go check it out. :) So, fortunately, there is no need to rant this morning. Just a really long introduction into how I eventually came to ask Lisa to marry me.

By about mid-October of last year, I knew that I wanted Lisa to marry me. It was exciting to be dating a girl that I was confident I could marry. But then the question came to me, "How in the world to I go about making it happen?" I probably spent 2 or 3 weeks just trying to figure out how I would ask her. Do I go and do everything behind her back and make it a complete surprise? Or do I try to somehow get us talking about it, and have her help in doing the necessary steps? I had gotten pretty good at the whole go on a few dates with a girl, one of the two of us lose interest, and then begin looking for new prospect cycle. I had never been down the Ask a Girl to Marry You trail before. I consulted with some friends, but really, I think everyone's journey on that trail is unique, so one way or the other, I was going to have to blaze my own. Finally, it was November 5th, 2009 and we were returning home from a big multi-stake activity at the Spring Haven Lodge in Hobble Creek Canyon. It was a fairly long drive home, and early on in our conversation we started talking about how people had been placing bets on us as to when we would be getting married. Well, I started seeing opportunities for us to talk specifically about us getting married. Little by little that is what our conversation developed into. I'm not really sure how it happened, but by the time we got home, we had pretty much decided we were going to marry each other. Lisa has since told me that I was fidgeting a bunch with her a hand while we were talking, showing my obvious nerves, but I was so glad we had that conversation.

After that, everything was pretty easy. 6 days later her sister got married, and after we got home from the reception, we decided to peruse online for a ring. We found one she liked, so I decided to go ahead and order it. Not long after, I talked to her dad, and he graciously accepted my request to marry his daughter. Then I just had to figure out how to do the proposal. I had already known for a long time I wanted to do it in her meadow in Provo Canyon. The trick was how to get up there without her knowing what I was doing. So, as she mentioned, I blindfolded her, and drove her around some to gt her lost. It was a lot of fun. I may need to do it again sometime. So, anyway, I'm driving through the canyon, and I'm sure she's going to figure out where we're going. Sure enough, she did before we got to our final destination. I did my best to make her doubt where we were walking to, but she knew. A few times I thought maybe I had gone too far, and I was afraid I was going to get us completely lost, but finally the meadow appeared. I had her uncover her eyes, and as she did so, I went to my knees. When she saw me on my knees, I simply said, "Lisa, will you marry me?" She was a dear and said "yes" right away, and we hugged.

So, I successfully (with a lot of help) navigated my way through the Ask a Girl to Marry You path. Now, I'm making may way through the new Get Everything Planned for the Wedding trail, which will be followed by many more crazy and exciting ones. The best part though, is I get to go with Lisa on all of these journeys. And that makes me so happy. :)

Wedding Dress Shopping

Tomorrow I am going to go wedding dress shopping with my Mom and my sisters. I've been told that wedding dress shopping is such a fun experience. A co-worker told me that the wedding dress is the most important thing and that I need to find a dress that just makes me shine. So many people seem to be so excited about the wedding dress. But truthfully, I can't say that I am all together too excited about getting the wedding dress. I kind of just want to get this done and out of the way. I do think that I will enjoy it more than I am anticipating, but right now I am dreading the experience. I was talking to Dan about all of this and he suggested just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He was joking but I think it might be a good idea. ;)

Wish me luck...please.....

A Special Christmas Video

So, back in December, I was trying to think what I could get Lisa for Christmas. After thinking about for sometime, I decided to get a little creative and make her a video. It was a lot of fun to make and I think the gift was a smashing success. :) Enjoy!



P.S. I apologize if the quality isn't that good. I've had trouble finding good compressions of it.

The Proposal

For those of you who are interested, this is the proposal story. Dan doesn't want to post his version of the story, so you get the whole thing from my perspective. :)

Dan and I picked out the ring together, the night my little sister Jenny got married. We actually picked the ring out online. Dan had it shipped to the store so that he could pick it up there. I wasn't allowed to know when the ring was coming because Dan wanted to try and surprise me. For those of you who don't know me very well, let me just tell you that it is not very easy to surprise me. In an attempt to give him as much as an advantage as possible, I promised not to look at the website to see how long it would take the ring to arrive. I like to try and find ways to surprise Dan and to take him on Mystery Dates. I'll blindfold him and drive him around to get him lost. Dan told me that he wanted a turn to blindfold me. So, on Tuesday, November 24th, Dan took his chance to take me on a mystery date. I wondered if he was going to propose on this mystery date, but I wasn't sure so I played along. That day, his car started to have battery problems so he asked if he could drive my car on our date that night. He had me cover and close my eyes and he started driving around to try and get me lost. He succeeded for the most part. I was completely lost until he turned into Vivian Park. The Vivian Park turn off is the way to get to the road that leads up to the Meadow where we had our first date. I love that meadow and I have been on that road many times so I knew where we were headed and I was pretty sure I knew why. We got to the parking lot and then we walked up to the meadow. There was snow the entire way up the trail. I was blindfolded the whole time, but we made it up safely. It's about a 20 minute hike up to the meadow. After we had been hiking for a little bit, Dan said that he needed to take his coat off so he had me let go of his arm for a minute. He pulled out the ring and got down on one knee. Then he told me I could take my blindfold off. He asked, I said yes, and then I hugged him. :) Dan could not have picked a more perfect spot to propose. I love that meadow and I've often called it 'my meadow.' After Dan proposed, I told him that it could be his meadow now too. :)

How It All Began

The story of our journey together begins in a time not long ago and in a location not far away. We thought it would be fun to tell how it all came to be from each of our perspectives.

Dan:
I have known Lisa for about 2 and a half years now, and by about April/May of last year we had become pretty good friends. Earlier in the year it seemed like there were several dating prospects, but by that time it seems like they had all just about fizzled out. Just like any other single LDS guy advancing in his 20s, I began thinking about other possible dating opportunities. I remember sitting in sacrament meeting one Sunday in late May I think it was, and my mind began to wander to this topic once again (yes, I should have been paying attention to the speaker, but we all know how hard that can be sometimes :)). While thinking about it all, the distinct thought came to my mind, "What about Lisa?" I let the thought linger there a bit and thought, "Yeah..... what about Lisa?" I always thought she was very nice and fun to be around, and I decided I should try to see if there was anything there. So, over the next several weeks, I began to "test the waters" as I like to put it. You know, make sure you're around her a lot, save your best jokes for her, that kind of thing. Well, the further I went into it, the more it seemed like there could be a mutual interest. So, by about July I decided I wanted to ask her on a date. Now, for those of you who know me, this is no simple task. During the month, we did lots of stuff together, but I could never quite get up the courage. Finally, in August, a perfect opportunity was presented to extend the invite, and I did (for which I will be forever grateful). The date was a lot of fun. Since we already knew each other very well, we could both relax (as much as you can on a first date anyway) and just enjoy one another's company. I even felt comfortable enough to reach out and hold her hand. :D Needless to say, things moved very quickly from that point as we continued to get to know each other and fall madly in love.

Lisa:
So when Dan moved into my ward about two and half years ago, I thought, "He's kind of cute." But there was this rumor going around that he was engaged so I never really thought anything else about that for a while. Dan was the home teacher for my best friend, Fawn. Fawn would invite Dan over to game night and we would play games on Sunday nights. It was a lot of fun and I started to get to know how fun and amazing Dan is. :) We started to become better friends. In May of 2009, last year, I organized this hike to the Subway in Zions Canyon. I knew that Dan liked to hike so I invited him along. On that trip, I started to think, "Hmmm...he's a lot of fun to be around, I wonder if there could ever be anything there." Then in June, a group of our friends went to watch the Summerfest Parade together and Dan came along. After the parade and fireworks and whatnot, I dropped Dan off at his car. My very good friends, Sofi and Skyla were in the car with me. After Dan got out of the car, they both piped up and said, "You should date Dan!" I hadn't really told anyone that I was kind of interested in him yet so the question caught me off guard. I asked them why they thought that and they just said that they thought that we would look cute and be good together. I found some way to try and change the topic and I dropped them off. Our group went to Fountain Green the next week and I got the chance to know more about Dan on that trip. One thing always to remember...NEVER WAKE DAN UP... :) Sofi went to wake him up for breakfast one morning and vowed never to do so again. He actually wasn't that grouchy, he just had a very deep voice that early in the morning. Anyway, the trip was a lot of fun and I started to think more seriously about whether or not I really wanted to get to know him better and I decided that I did. Over the next few months we hung out a lot. I really liked Dan a lot, but I had no clue that he was at all interested in possibly being more than a friend. Then, to my great surprise, Dan asked me out on a date. I was very excited. :) We went up to this meadow that I love to go to. Dan had never been there and I wanted to show it to him. We played around up at the meadow for a while then we started to walk back. As we were walking back, we stopped at this bridge and Dan joked about pushing me off into the small stream below. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but he reached for my hand and I held his so we held hands the rest of the way down the trail. From there things just got better...hence the reason we are where we are today. :)

Welcome!

Lisa and I would like to officially welcome you to our blog, where we will be sharing some of the adventure that is our life together. This blog will include all the "stuff [we're] going to do." We hope you enjoy sharing a little in our adventure.