and counting...

In 5 days, this boy is going to be here. In 12 days I'm going to be this boys' wife. 

I'm pretty much really excited : )  

Bridal Shower

Yesterday I had a bridal shower thrown for me by a few of the women in my home ward. It was so much fun to be surrounded by women who have known me since I was little and long time friends! 

Now, lots and lots of pictures...

Kimmie and I had "Grigs" as our Spanish teacher in high school. I became very close with her after taking her class and being a TA for 3 years. I hadn't seen her since the year after high school and it was so nice of her to come and support me. I heart Grigs!

The momma

Everyone getting ready to eat

Watching me open presents... it was a little scary at first, I haven't opened that many presents in front of that many people watching only me in a loooong time. So it was a little weird, but fun of course : ) 

Marcie and Grandad got me a super cool "Bridal Edition" cookbook

The Maddie and Dan shrine

Super cute centerpieces!

Friends and family

Mama Everett is a big helper

Holly made my "bouquet" out of all the ribbons

It was major good times. And now Dan and I are a little more set in our apartment : ) woot woot!

Wanna see me in a wedding dress?

Two posts in one day! Whew! That's what happens when you get up at 5am to go to the gym! So last week some time, Mom and I were packing up my room and we found her wedding dress. So of course I tried it on. Let me just say that 1. my mom was a bit smaller than me when she got married at age 18 and 2. We have rather different tastes in wedding dresses (hers drips with pearls and sparkly things. I'd like to think mine is a bit more subtle, though it does have lace and sparkles...and it will definitely not have the 80's sleeves...)

Am I totally ready to pose for wedding pictures?! I'm sure you've never seen a better model : ) 

To Do...

the city where my lover is and i am not... thus I must keep myself busy or risk falling into despair : )

Here is my to do list today...

1. wake up at 5am (I know, ridiculous) and go to crazy class at the gym from 5:30-6:30 which has left me in such a state of soreness I am presently unsure as to whether or not I will be able to open presents at my bridal shower tomorrow night!

2. 9:30 meet Poppa (my grandma, strange name I know) to go suit shopping (graduation present) so I can be a big girl now.

3. Pick up pictures from Costco, put said pictures in frames, drop those frames off at the house of the wonderful hostess of my bridal shower tomorrow.

4. return electronic equipment used to create interview extravaganza for bridal shower.

5. Paint my nails (gotta look good for that shower!)

6. Email pictures of trial run centerpieces to friend who is making our centerpieces

7. Close out my Wells Fargo account (it's the bank of the west you know? and I am presently living in the East... these do not go well together). 

8. Pick up dry cleaning (I got toothpaste on the dress I'm wearing for the shower, silly me!) 

9. Go to Color Me Mine with the Mom and her gals for some no studio fee crafting!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I THINK that's it... no big deal really : ) 

Happy Daddio's Day!

I know, I know. Cheese McGee over here blogging about how she loves her daddy man. But it's true! I do love my daddy man! He's super awesome! So let me tell you a few things about him.

1. He has bush-man hair which I am extremely grateful for because that means that even though I have very soft, baby fine hair, I got a LOT of it thanks to this Gent. Which means I have a respectable sized ponytail despite being blonde.

2. He's a closet laugher. Now you may be wondering, "Maddie, what in the world is a "closet laugher?" Not to fret my darlings, I will explain! My dad presents as fairly conservative. He is not loud, he is quiet and sensitive and ridiculously patient (please see: opposite of my mom--however, she is sensitive too!). But, when it's just family and especially when discussing something crazy my mom has done he will laugh hysterically. Like holding his tummy, wiping tears from his eyes laughing. He does not do this frequently in public and never with strangers, but with the fam bam, it is a common and entertaining occurrence. And things just get even more funny watching this quiet man laugh that hard. 

3. He has so much faith. Never once, when I have declared that I want to do something has he said, "you can't do that" or "please don't leave!" (I love you mom!). He has always made me feel as if he has complete and utter confidence that whatever I decide to do, I will accomplish and I will do it well. That has been the backbone in my confidence in myself.  He has always made me feel as if he thinks "well of course, you want to do it, so you'll do it." I am incredibly grateful for that confidence. 

So there are a few factoids about my daddy man. He's pretty much awesome and I'm really glad he's mine! 

wedding oh wedding

I was trying to waste the battery on my camera because it was almost dead, and I came up with a pretty shot of my ring : ) I like it a lot. 
The Wedding.

The dinning room/table has become the wedding war zone. Where battle plans are laid and hopes are raised. This was taken a few days ago and I must say that it's even more full now. 

The Tasks:

1. The cake--almost finalized, I just need to decide how I want the dang flowers to go on it.

2. The flowers--my bouquet is decided...and that's about it. I am now attempting to turn my interest into making sure my man looks dapper that day with a sweet boutonniere. A friend is arranging all of the centerpieces for us, but we still have to figure out the flowers from Costco (did you know you could order ahead! That makes saving money with Costco flowers even more groovy)

3. Decorations--I'm leaving that all to the decorations lady, she knows what I want, right?

4. Food--we're going to sample some at the caterer's tomorrow, yum yum!

5. Drinks--ummmmm????? no idea...

6. The Dress--going in for a fitting next week : ) yay!!!

8. Dapper Dan's Suit--waiting for him to come and try it on

7. Luncheon--just need to type up the menu

8. I'm sure there are many more things...

Anyways. This is what my life consists of. Figuring out wedding stuff all day long. It's all rather fun unless one is overly tired or stressed and then one may become a bit whiny and a bit full of worries which can really grate on people... but I'm never like that of course. I can't believe its only 23 days away! Sooooo close, and yet so far... hopefully the battle plans will all be in place soon! 

good ole fres-yes

Practicing my make up for the big day! Please excuse my not so cute looking hair... I had a hair trial later that day : ) 

So I've now been home for a week... it's been nice and the time has flown by! which is awesome because that means I get to see my boo that much sooner. I have also accomplished many things:

1. worked out every weekday

2. practiced my make up for the wedding

3. had a hair trial for the wedding

4. went to Costco and decided on flowers for the wedding (they even have peonies!!!! yay!!)

5. Attended Spencer's graduation from Bullard (attending a high school graduation is rather entertaining now as I have now completed my Masters and am thus completely done with my formal education) 

6. Spent time with old friends 

...... and much more that I just can't think of without looking at my calendar. So far it's been fantabulous : ) Let's hope I can keep this busy the next three weeks so time flies by until I see Dan the man!