today has had some ups... if I do say so myself.

I'll start with the worst part about today. didn't go to bed til 4:30 last night due to studying, so I was extremely tired today. had a hard time waking up, so I was running late on top of being beyond exhausted.

now this is where it starts getting good.

got to work to find a purple monster on my desk, courtesy of mat. I promptly sent him a little thank you message, and to which he responded, "I figured you would need one, so I left early to grab you one." ohh, I love him :)

when I'm at work, I often browse the internet while waiting for a patient to answer the phone, or while I'm on hold with an insurance company or doctor's office, etc. so today I was browsing anthropologie and found a cuuuute "chemise" that could totally pass for a cute dress. even better yet, a bridesmaid dress! I was thinking grey for my bridesmaids... inspiration from this.

I think this would totally make a cute bridesmaid dress! with the groomsmen in tan slacks and suspenders... or something. I just can't wait until everything starts coming together. next saturday me, mom, kate, kandyce, natalie, and possibly jess are going to look at dresses at david's bridal.

so back on the subject of a good day. later in the day I get a text from my ho mama nat. she's been thinking about doing some modeling on the side while she's in school and needs shots to build her portfolio, and she asked me to take them for her. not only am I COMPLETELY flattered, but am so excited! I've never done a legitimate photoshoot, and who better to do it than with one of my best friends. also, I've been wanting to stretch my photog skills for awhile but have been so busy. so this sunday we leaving early morning to see what snap shots we can get.

my day ended with taking an anatomy test. my final test in that class. the good news? I only needed a 55% to keep my A. the bad news? I did not study well for it, and  I'm not so confident in the abilities I brought to the table. pathetic, I know. I guess we'll see!

blueprint for the weekend:
1. parents' annual christmas party. what does this mean? filipino food, and lots of it!
2. 8 hour home buying class with maticus.
3. loren and lex's wedding reception
4. photoshoooooot
5. church
6. hit the books! one more test and I am free

so... I've got two more tests left in the semester.

Test Numero Uno: BIO 202. my last unit test in this class is this thursday on Acid/Base Balance, Digestion, Reproduction, and Development. the good news is I could get a D on this test and still have an A in the class. the next good news is that my teacher is dropping the lowest exam grade when she calculates our final grade, which means that even if I get a D on this test, I still can get a 0% on the final (as in not take the final) and still have an A in the class. so, I'm studying for this test and then I'll be officially done with Anatomy and Physiology. woohoo!

Test Numero Dos: CHM 138. I have my final exam in chemistery next thursday. this test I'm a little more nervous for. I currently have an 84% in the class, and I need to finish with a B or else I will have to retake it AGAIN in order to qualify to apply for the dental hygiene program. as soon as my anatomy test is done, I will be studying like craaaazy for this one! half the test will be on the new material we've been learning, and half will be cumulative of the previous chapters. the bad news is that my teacher sucks, and she's not clear at all on what we need to know. the good news is that she's taught this last unit fairly fast, so we have an entire class for reviewing for the final. I'm crossing my fingers on this one.

after school is done, the planning will commence! ahhhh so excited! this is my checklist so far, in no particular order.

• Venue/Caterer
• Dress
• Bridesmaid Dresses/Groomsmen Attire
• Save the Dates for Ring Ceremony/Dinner Attendees
• Invitations
• Cake
• Flowers
• DJ
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Register
• Book Honeymoon
• Find Wedding Bands
• Schedule Researhal Dinner
• Make and/or Order Favors
• Marriage License
• Place Cards for Dinner? (not sure if we'll need this)
• DIY Decorations

I've already messaged a complete stranger girl who's wedding I saw on Ben Christensen's blog about one of the decorations at her wedding. I've talked to Lauren about doing our cake. I will talk to Ryan's mom about helping with flowers. Kacey and Karl have already agreed to help with invites. And I'll be setting up an appointment at David's Bridal to look at dresses and bridesmaid dresses for the weekend after school gets out.

I have a busy few months ahead of me, but ohhh I don't know how I possibly could be any happier :)

today... I took a trip to Narnia.



just kidding. today, mat came over and helped my padre and me put up christmas lights. then we went to lunch at benihana. then we drove down to downtown mesa and he said we were going to go thrift store hopping. we parked behind milano's and right in front of this little art gallery, which I immediately thought, "ohh, I want to go there! but I doubt mat will want to." we walk through milano's, mat stops to play a little diddy on a ukelele, then we continue out the front and to the right. as we're passing the art gallery, mat says, "hey, there's an art shop. wanna go check it out?" so we go in and make our rounds, and just when I think there's nothing else to look at, I notice a basement, and immediately think, "ohhh... I want to see what there is down there, but mat is probably bored and won't want to." shortly after that, mat goes, "hey, wanna go down here?" so we walk down the stairs and proceed to look at all the random art pieces on the back wall. as we make our way to the end, mat puts his arm around me and goes, "lets walk sideways," to which I don't respond and just ignore him, thinking he's just trying to entertain himself. we get to the end of the wall, I flip around to start going back facing the other wall, and mat points out this huge 20 x 30 picture of a forest with a unicorn. I say "what the... ?"... then notice mat's face in the picture... then notice the ring in mat's hand in the picture... then gasp... then turn to look at mat, who is now on one knee.







yep, that's right. I'M ENGAGED! :)

didn't start exactly how I expected... but ended perfectly :)

so I'll start with how I thought it'd start. Mat told me awhile ago that his family usually does things around 2 pm. so this morning I slept in til about 11:30 and called mat while I was still laying in bed. "did you just wake up?" he asked me. "yep..." "alright you comin over?" "well I'm going to shower and get ready, then come over." "okay, you know it starts at 12 right?" I immediately thought he was joking, and kept telling him to stop trying to trick me. welp, turns out he was being serious. so I started running around, jumped in the shower and got ready by about 12:30, and was angrily texting him the whole time. when I was finally with mat and he got to his great grandma's, everything calmed down. we had our thanksgiving lunch, and then played kickball for 3 hours with all the cousins. his family is kinda how I imagine my utah family to be like: tons of kids and super close. it made me miss going up there for reunions every year for grandma's birthday... but anyways. left at about 3:30 and went to mat's for a quick nap.

then it came time for my family's thanksgiving dinner. mat and I decided to bring our newly purchased wii over for entertainment... that was maybe our best idea yet! after dinner, we hooked it up and started playing wii tennis. it was great to have everyone involved in the same thing, and it was fun watching mom and dad play. randy said his christmas list has been altered and now he wants one! I'm crossing my fingers that mom and dad get one too so that mat and I don't have to haul ours back and forth when we come over.

after dinner, about 50 rounds of different wii sports, and a couple rounds of mario, mat and I packed up the wii and went to his house, finished the last episode of lost, and went our separate ways.

all-in-all, a fabulous thanksgiving. the next thing I have to look forward to? classes to finish!

I cannot wait until THIS CLASS is over...





3 more weeks!