new blog

so i guess i totally forgot that i made a new blog when brad and i got married. you should check it out (if you havent already):

http://bradandmalloryivey.blogspot.com/

the one you've all been waiting for...

okay okay! i know ive been super slack, but just know that it isnt because im being lazy. updating the blog has been on my to do list since, well, october 11, but ive been ridiculously busy. ive had the end of term grading, parent teacher conferences, and lots and lots of wedding stuff all thrown on me at once. now dont get me wrong....i love the wedding planning and pampering and such, but i would NOT recommend it to teachers! anyway, without further ado, here is the long awaited story of the best engagement EVER (although, im not biased at all):

it all started over conference weekend (the first wknd in october). brad and i had our 2 year anniversary, and it was kind of a tough one (not like we've had many year anniversaries! but i digress). brad and i had been talking for a while about getting married, but still, nothing in particular. for our anniversary, i was hoping, but i felt like brad wouldn't be quite so cliche (love you, honey! :)). so 2 days before our actual anniversary brad asked if we could celebrate the week after, since brad's brother, michael, was going to be in town, and it was going to be a crazy day with conference and everything. even though i didnt want to, i consented, and moved on. i had an inkling of hope that he would still surprise me and was just trying to throw me off, but not so much. he did show up early and brought me 2 dozen beautiful roses, which i loved, and i thought that it might happen, but then nothing else was even mentioned throughout the day. i was, to say the least, a little upset. i said nothing, and brad acted like nothing was wrong, so i tried to make it through the day. finally after he left that evening, i lost it. i was really upset, and i let him have it via texting. we ended up having this whole conversation where i let him know how i was feeling, and he just kept apologizing and telling me that it would happen, but he wasn't ready yet (did i mention how much i hate that statement?). i ended up staying up most the night, pretty distraught. i was intent on not seeing him the next day, but of course, the only person i wanted to see was brad. he made me feel better and we talked for a while, but no ring was presented. blah.

i went on, still quite bitter that i was still waiting, and i let him know it. the next thursday, brad asked if i had any plans for that saturday (the 10th, when we would be actually celebrating our anniversary). i was still SO MAD. how could he do this?! all the while, i was trying to catch him being sneaky, but nothing was out of the ordinary. i was beginning to lose hope.

on friday the 9th, brad asked if he could come over a little early to make breakfast to celebrate the day. i said okay...after all, who would turn down a free homecooked meal from the one you love?! he left at about 1:30 on friday night, just like normal, and i was feeling pretty good, and also excited about breakfast (brad makes the best omelets known to man!).

i woke up to a soft knock on my bedroom door (yes, brad has a key to my apt just in case i lock myself out, which happens often) at 6:45 in the morning. brad called out that i needed to dress in warm PJs and my warmest jacket. i usually hate waking up that early, but who can resist some yummy breakfast in the morning? so i put on my fleece and suited up to go. i came out and brad was also in his PJs. we went to the car, and started driving. we ended up at squaw peak (which is a really nice overlook for you out-of-towners), just as the sun was starting to come up. brad brought blankets too, so we cuddled on the ledge and looked out at everything. as we sat and talked, he suddenly said he remembered there was another blanket in his car, and went back to grab it. when he came back, i took it from him and realized this was planned. inside was a really cute stuffed dog that we have since named sam. we have this running joke that brad refuses to get me a stuffed animal, so he finally did :). it was very cute and cheesy, and i loved it.

due to our level of exhaustion, we headed back to my apartment and i immediately passed out on the lovesac while brad fell asleep on the couch. before i knew what was happening, i woke up and saw that it was 11:30. we had both slept for over 3 hours! i woke up brad and sent him home, since he told me to get ready for the day. by this time i was suspecting, but i was trying not to. brad came back over and told me that he had some special things he wanted to do that day, but i had to choose the order (there were 3 more things to choose from). i chose 2, 1, then 3.

so first he took me to nunn's park, where we had a really fun picnic. it was a little chilly, but it was beautiful and sunny out. after eating, he wanted to go walking, so he ran to put everything away. when he came back, he hugged me and then pulled out a little jewelry box. i said, 'really? seriously?' and i started freaking out on the inside. will he get on his knee? do i give him back the box? how should i react? and i pulled out the white jared's box (where i picked out my ring), and fumbled to open the box, and it was a beautiful....pair of earrings. i was disappointed for this () long, and then i got excited. they are so pretty! they are dark blue sapphires, and brad said he picked them out because he said he loves the color blue on me. i was very excited and flattered. we walked over to bridal veil falls and took pictures, and then brad said we needed to head to the next activity.

we got back to the car and drove, and drove, and drove. we ended up at temple square in slc. we parked and walked around for a while, taking pictures, and talking. it really was a beautiful day, even if it was a bit chilly. when we got to the reflection pool, he came up from behind me and put his arms around me, and he was holding another little jewelry box. by this time, i was expecting him to be on his knee when it was official, so i was expecting more jewelry, and it was, in fact, a beautiful necklace. it had a gorgeous stone in it, which i found out was called alexandrite, a second june birthstone. it reacts to the light, so depending on what light it is under, it can be blue, green, purple, or even a deep maroon. i was so excited! we walked around for a little while longer, and then headed back to the car. when we got back to provo, we ran a few errands and then headed out for the last activity. we ended up at red lobster (one of my favorite restaurants ever) and had an AMAZING dinner. we were served quickly and the food was exceptional good, even for red lobster's normally fantastic cuisine. i kept waiting for another jewelry box, but to no avail. i kept telling myself, 'dont get mad...you got some beautiful jewelry and you had a great day!' but i hoped he wouldnt be so sneaky to give me earrings and a necklace from the same place where i picke dout my ring, without giving me the ring as well. brad asked me, 'well, how did you like your last surprise? did you want anything more?' of course i said no, that i loved it all. so he told me that we should go back to my house.

when we got back to my place, we were walking down the stairs when brad announced that he had forgotten his phone in the car and needed to go get it. i thought that was really odd, since his beloved phone is attached to his hip at all times. still, i was tired and full, and i was ready to relax. i unlocked my door, and when i opened it, i saw that the apartment was covered in roses and candles, and i started to freak out. i looked around and found a note that explained that brad wanted to tell me some of the reasons why he loved me, so i needed to follow the clues to read all about it. i stood there, freaking out inside, but trying to remain calm, and i literally couldnt think. there was a card tied to each of 2 roses next to the note, and i didnt know what to do. finally, brad walked up and i asked him what to do. he gave me the one i needed to start with, and each card gave me another reason why he loves me. there were also letters on the back of each note, and i didnt know if i should take the note, take the rose, or if they were supposed to go in order, but i was seriously freaking out. after getting brad to help me a few more times (i got out of order and was freaking out that i messed up my own proposal...), the last clue led me back to brad, who was standing in the doorway, where he got down on one knee and proposed. i said yes (which was when someone ran in, snapped a picture, and ran out), laughed and then cried some as we hugged and kissed. and so....we were officially engaged! yay!

so after that entire ordeal, we were engaged by about 10:30pm. we immediately started calling people and letting family know, and my parents actually knew (which amazed me, since my mom cant keep secrets from me, and she had complained about him procrastinating that same day!! sneaky sneaky, mom! she set me up!). we officially had 73 days from december 23, our chosen wedding date. and so....it is happening so fast! we passed the halfway mark this week, and we're down to 34 days until the wedding. whew! luckily, most of the big things are paid for/planned/in the works, so now it's just a matter of time. here are a few of our favorite engagement photos:

so...yeah. that's the story! only 34 days until it's official!

i qualify to be the worst aunt/sister/friend. EVER.

i have been ridiculously swamped lately. i have my book of things to do, things to remember, and things to procrastinate until a less busy time, and i blew it. again. these past few weeks have been out of control. with planning a wedding (and yes, i promise that blog entry is in the works!), finishing up the first term at school, and becoming a money super-saver, i have forgotten some of the most important things in the world, and it makes me very sad. throughout the course of the year, i have managed to forget not one, but SIX family birthdays, and i feel HORRIBLE about it. my sweet nieces and nephews, whom i love so much, were forgotten on their special day, and i really feel like a jerk about it. as i just prepared to go to bed, i suddenly remembered that i missed my fifth yesterday, miss Leah. dang it. and dont you worry...i forgot at least 1 person from each family, so no one was left out. i just feel really bad. so here is a (very belated in some cases) happy birthday shout out to the wonderful kids that you are...i love you and i am so sorry! i promise to make it up to you when i have the money to do so!!

Happy belated birthday to Zach!

Happy belated birthday to Rylie!

Happy belated birthday to Finley!

Happy belated birthday to Noah!

Happy belated birthday to Kennedy!

Happy belated birthday to Leah!

I love you all and i wish i could have been there to celebrate with you. you guys are fantastic! remember that im still the cool aunt!

sheesh...i need to go put myself in the corner. i really feel terrible about this.

i heart peter gabriel

no, no, im not cheating on brad. of course, i mean the music extraordinaire, peter gabriel (you know, the guy who sang 'in your eyes'). and yes, he is pretty old school, but i have a newfound appreciation for one of his songs.

as you may know, brad and i have been dating for a whopping two years (as of last saturday). i know....that's like a billion years in provo time, but we're still chugging along, happy as can be. anyway, when we had only been dating a couple months, i surprised him with a cheesy love song mix to have to 'think about me while we were apart during christmas break'. so cheesy, hence the cheesy love mix. it was actually 2 cds, and it was a collection of my favorite love songs i knew. one of the many reasons why we began dating was because of our love for similar music, so some of the songs had little inside meanings.

anyway, fast forward almost 2 years, and we are at present time, where many more songs have been released, many of which could be cheesy-love-mix-worthy. a few weeks ago, i was reading another friend's blog and he made mention to the series finale of scrubs. scrubs is probably one of my all time favorite shows, except for the 4-5 episodes you should skip cause they occasionally get raunchy. anyway, when the series ended in may, i cried my little eyes out because the ending was perfect--everything i hoped it would be. anyway, we ended up looking up the end scene of the show, and the song in the background was amazing. several months after watching it, just the song brought me to tears. and that doesnt happen very often.

yadda yadda yadda, we ended up looking up the song, and found it is 'book of love' by peter gabriel: (in all it's scrubs season finale glory)

we ended up making a new playlist for a potential cheesy love mix volume 3, and brad surprised me with it in completion the next morning (left on my doorstep--so romantic!) I love all of the songs on it, but i just keep stopping at the book of love.

which brings me to the reason for my post. i am quite the music critic, since i have been surrounded by it my entire life. i love the fact that i can sing, and it is pretty seldom that i can find a song that haunts me by its lyrics -- in a good way. anyway, my favorite (and i believe the most pivotal) line of this song says, "the book of love has music in it, in fact--that's where music comes from." i just cant get over how profound that statement is! it awes me that someone has the ability to describe things in such a fantastic way, whether or not it was peter gabriel or his lyricist. i wish i could write like that. and i believe that line whole heartedly--true, good, memorable music is born from deep, emotional feelings. they are the kind of songs that you just want to close your eyes and let it envelope you in its meaning. wow...im starting to sound really cheesy. but i mean it! is anybody out there the same way with music? i just LOVE when i find a song that really makes me think, and i can feel the meaning of the words. i just really love good music.

i hope my children appreciate music as much as i do.

oh, also....things are going well. it's cold in utah. that's about all that's happened in the past few weeks.

finally presenting....

my apartment! no, no….i know some of you were wanting an announcement for something a little more life changing and, well, sparkly, but im pretty excited about my new apartment too. i apologize for the lack of blogging lately, but i blame it 100% on my lame-o computer. it took 30-45+ minutes just to turn the computer on and have the internet running, and then even longer to upload pictures, so i’ve procrastinated putting more pictures on my already sloth of a computer.

so….another exciting announcement….i bought a computer today! yes, that’s right, i’m updating my blog on my brand spanking new dell inspiron 1545. for you techie geeks, it’s got 4gb of ram and 320gb hard drive, with a 15.6” screen and it’s shiny jet black on the inside and it’s a matte black on the cover. i got a discount because it was the very last one and the display model from staples, and i also had a $75 gift certificate from my birthday present rebate that i had to use there, so i ended up getting about $100 off the asked price. i paid $477 total, and it is an ENORMOUS improvement! my other computer still works, but brad is going to help me clean it all off and see if it’s able to be salvaged and sold. in the meantime, i’m happy as pie using my new, shiny computer :).

so, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, pictures of the place i’ve called my own (no, no roommate. yet.) since the beginning of august. enjoy!

so there it is! i tried to put it in order like you were walking through the house but silly blogger uploads them backwards and im too tired to fix it, so look backwards if you want to know the specific rooms :)...first youre walking through the door to the living room, turning left to the kitchen, walking through the living room into the office, turning down the hallway into my bedroom and bathroom, backtracking to the (now almost completely empty) storage/eventual laundry room, and then back into the living room. yay! some things are still a work in progress, like the black frames above the tv that i will be upholstering with some bright fabric from ikea (which i have yet to decide upon), and the boxes in the corner near the lovesac (which are actually DI boxes waiting to be carted upstairs).

anyway….im sure you were all losing sleep to read my updated blog (bethanne), so here it is. (just kidding bethanne! thanks for being one of 4 loyal readers! :) ) im still alive. busy, and currently apartment poor, but i am SO much happier now that i dont have a stinky roommate who always rearranges my kitchen! occasionally i get paranoid about being alone, but i feel very safe compared to some other dumps around provo.

and a quick update on the job front….i just passed the month mark of going to back to school! this class is much more rowdy and much less sensitive that last year, so i’m learning that i have to change my approach to most things, but im learning (and so are they). i had to make my first parent call last week for bad behavior, and i have 4 students who can barely read 3-4 letter words, so it’s definitely been a challenge, but im over the get-home-and-cry-my-eyes-out phase of 3 weeks ago. i think it will be a good year; i just have to accept the fact that they arent the same kids that i had last year, so it wont be the same. i’ll survive.

and that’s all. more updates will come as more….important and shiny….things come into my life, but nothing is nailed down. i can just smile and take it one day at a time. so….yeah. this is me not complaining :).