Look at me being crafty!

Remember when I said I wanted to make one of those name plaques?  Well, I actually did it a few weeks ago!  And guess what?!  It worked!!

I know the contrast of the two colors is a little hard to see.  I had to use light blue for the "established 2012" because they didn't have green like I wanted.  But overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Hurts so good

I have never been one of those people who loves to exercise.  A lot of the time, I have to really force myself.  Yes, I did a 5K last fall, but it was Halloween themed.  And I couldn't pass up an opportunity to dress up like a zombie with lots of other people.  Training for the 5K wasn't my favorite thing in the world, so I wasn't very consistent with it.  Ever since junior high gym class running a timed mile, running hasn't been my best friend.
But, this January I started exercising with a friend.  We do DVDs rather than go running since neither of us like running, and I don't have a gym membership.  She has some Biggest Loser workouts and some Jillian Michaels.  Most people know Jillian as TV's toughest trainer.  Yes, that is absolutely true.  She kicks our butts.  Every.  Stinking.  Time.  However, I have to say, I've grown to really love one particular workout DVD of hers that we do.  It's this one:

We fondly refer to it as "the purple one".  It is 40 minutes of hardcore Jillian style cardio complete with burpees, mountain climbers, jump squats, kickboxing, floor ab work, and lots more devilish moves.  I hate her during the workout, but afterwards, I always feel SO GOOD!!  So I love her.  It really is one of those things where you're proud of yourself for finishing.  Well, I am, anyway.  And it works!  I bet it would be doing more for me if I hadn't been eating cake this past week.  :-P  So, if you're like me and don't like running or going to the gym, get your hands on this DVD.  It's awesome.          

DIY delusions

I know I've said it before, but I am craft challenged.  But that never stops me from having crazy ideas of stuff I can make myself.  (for proof of this, check my Pinterest craft board)  It also doesn't help that I've been watching The Nate Berkus Show and he's all about DIY home decor and improvements.
Anyway, I've always liked those signs some people that have that have the family name and then established whatever year the couple got married.

These:

And I've wanted one for when I get married.  So, I've been scouring the internets to find a style I like with no success.  That leaves me with only three choices...  First; buy one I don't love, second; not have one, or third; make one myself.  Of course, I chose option number three.  My friend Stephanie has a Cricut so we're getting together next week to try our hands at vinyl lettering.  It seems fairly idiot proof, but who knows.  I've never worked with this stuff.  I've painted wood before, I can handle that part.  So, let's hope it turns out!  I'll post pictures, unless it turns out to be an epic EPIC failure.

Kiss me, I'm Irish...I mean ENGAGED!!!!

Alrighty folks, here's the St. Patrick's Day proposal/engagement story:

Ryan and I had been talking about marriage for a little while, and I figured it would happen, but Ryan would take his time proposing. I guessed it would happen sometime this summer. Anywho, Ryan works from about 10-7 on Saturdays, and he said that morning that he wanted to plan what we did that night. So around 4 or 5, I texted him to see if he had a plan for the evening. He said he did, and just that he wanted to go for a drive for a bit after he got off work. I was a tiny bit suspicious, but didn't think he would be proposing this early. So, he picked me up after work, and off we went. We were driving along Bountiful Blvd by the temple and he said there was something he wanted to talk about, but wanted to park. He parked the car and said we needed some lights and turned on the dome light. I was extremely curious at this point in time. Ryan said he wasn't sure how to go about doing this, pulled out a box from his pocket and opened it and just said "Will you marry me?" I was shocked. My mind went blank. I just sat there with my hands up by my face saying "Oh my gosh." Then I realized I needed to answer him, so I said "Yes!!!" Saturday night was windy and rainy, and Ryan said that kind of ruined his plan to go walking around the temple grounds to do it. I said I like rain, we still could.

So, we went walking around the Bountiful temple grounds in the rain and VERY cold wind. Ryan told me how much I mean to him and how he would do anything to make me happy. We stopped by the door on the side of the temple facing Bountiful Blvd (sorry, not sure which direction that is) and he got down on one knee and said "Lindsay, will you marry me?" I said yes and he put the ring on my finger.

The ring was his great-grandmother's ring. His stepmom said she would get me the story behind it. It's beautiful. So needless to say, things are a little crazy now!! But I couldn't be happier. We don't have a date yet, probably fall. And that's the story. :D

Fail...

Back when I was trying to figure out what to get Ryan for Valentine's Day, I thought it might be cute to frame a good picture of us. Problem--I didn't have any. Well, that's not entirely true. I have a few pictures from our gingerbread house date back in December, but there isn't really one where both of us look good. Either he looks good, or I do.

So, this friday we tried to get a good picture of us. We went over to North Canyon park with my camera and a tripod in hopes of solving this problem. We ran into a different problem this time around--the sun. It was one of the first really nice days we've had, and it was pretty bright outside. But since we're crazy, we tried anyway. That gave us not so flattering shadows.

Ryan looks kind of creepy in the shadows like that. For whatever reason, Ryan has a hard time smiling naturally in pictures. So to try to get himself to look natural, he was making weird noises. And making me laugh. Which is how we ended up with this:

I don't look cute when I laugh, apparently. We tried one last time and got this:

Not bad, but not super adorable either. What the heck. We're so adorable in person, howcome we're not adorable on film?

In like a lion

Well here it is, March, and we're stuck under a big fat snow cloud. Poopy. I am definitely ready for spring. For one, I'm freezing almost constantly!! This summer, I couldn't deal with heat whatsoever, and now I'm always cold. This is ridiculous. Two, coming up with winter dates is a lot harder than spring/summer dates. Don't say sledding--this is only the second big snow storm we've had this winter, (so I guess I can't complain too much). I'm physically incapable of ice skating, due to my stupid feet, so that's out too. Plus all the ideas I find online are umm....steamy, and not in a way that really works for boyfriend/girlfriend. Spring is more than welcome to get here now in my book. And, as I noticed today, winter seems to make girls think it's okay to wear leggings and Ugg boots. I won't even dive into my Ugg boot rant (seriously...they're called UGG for a reason!!!) but I will say this: LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS!!!! Really, ladies. Get some jeans. They're warmer and don't make even the tiniest girl's butt look saggy.

Moving on, I'm still waiting to hear if I've been accepted into any of the nursing programs I applied to. I think I should find out around spring break, which is the week after next. I don't have any exciting plans for spring break, probably just time with Ryan. I'm so mushy. As much as I want to sit here and gush, I'll spare you all from that. :)

Hmm....I could tell you about the guy in my institute class that I can't be sure if he's hitting on me or not! His name is Lane (I know, right?) and I seriously wonder what's in his mind. Brother Barlow calls me Lovely Lindsay, which is fine with me, it makes me smile. Anyway, I came in a week or two ago, and Brother Barlow said "Lovely Lindsay!" and then Lane said "Yeah she is..." Okay, umm....what? How do I respond to that?! He'll always try to strike up conversations with me before class starts, but he doesn't come sit by me or anything like that. Tuesday morning, I was looking at the calendar on my phone and it was just me and another girl in the classroom at the time Lane came in. He said something like "The lovely ladies are here!" and I smiled to myself, but didn't say anything. Brienna (not a typo, it is Brienna, not Brianna) said good morning, and then Lane said something about not getting a response from me. So I said I smiled and he said something like "Yeah, at the floor..." so then I flashed him a big cheesy smile and asked if that was better. He said yes. *forehead smack* Then this morning before class started, Brother Barlow and Lane were complimenting me and I was just sitting there thinking, "Holy crap, what do I have to do to get him to see I'm not interested?!" So I tried saying something about Ryan in my responses, but I'm not sure how well it worked. Ryan thinks the solution is to simply hold up the necklace he gave me for V-day and say "Look what my boyfriend got me for Valentine's day..." I guess I wouldn't be quite so weirded out if Lane didn't seem somewhat girl crazy. His response to when the institute has activities is usually "Will there be girls? If girls are there, I'm there." Oy....I don't think I'm being full of myself here, because he really doesn't talk to any of the other girls in the class. I guess I should be grateful I have a guy who is much more genuine than that. And I am. Could not be happier. He's so cute, and SO good to me!! I'm such a lucky girl. There are days when it really amazes me. Hmm, sorry, I guess you all didn't get to escape me being mushy. But really....in some ways I don't have words for it all. So I'll stop here.

Happy birthday to me

My birthday yesterday was great. I got lots of birthday wishes from friends and family. Ryan took me to lunch at Rumbi Island Grill--after showing up with roses. I can't help smiling as I type this. After lunch, we bummed around The Gateway and then ended up back at his house just catching up and doing nothing really in particular. Unfortunately, he had to work last night so we had to split around 4:30.

I opened the presents from my family before we went to dinner at Robintino's. My big present this year was a Singer sewing machine. It even says on the box it is and selected by Martha Stewart. Haha must be good then, right? I've pinned a few DIY skirts on Pinterest and my friend Heather has said she'll help me and my new sewing machine become friends, so I'm pretty excited.

This morning, the festivities continued when Brother Barlow wanted the class to sing to me in institute. I always feel kind of weird sitting there while people sing "Happy Birthday" to me. But things have definitely been good. I'm having a party on friday, hopefully lots of good pictures will come out of that.