Love is Wonderful!

I am so in love with Nate. I can't even really describe how I feel. I am so excited to marry him!!!!! We are going to have so much fun together!! He is so wonderful. I LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM!!! We've been so busy with stuff. I've been trying to do everything to prepare. On top of wedding stuff, I also have to do graduation stuff and have a problem with my tailbone I'm trying to figure out with the doctor. I have to go to physical therapy every week now for a few weeks to see if it helps. So far it works for a little bit, but then it begins to hurt again. The doctor says I have two problems, one with my tailbone and one with SI joints at the back of my hip that are not related (supposedly). He gave me inserts for my shoes and I'm trying not to wear high heels or flats as often but that's all I have. My tailbone kills me somedays and I didn't even do anything that I can remember to hurt it. I don't really understand why. There are days when it just throbs and nothing helps. It's the worst when I'm standing a lot or when I'm walking around a lot, like shopping or something. The day after something like that it has really bad repercussions. At church I almost started crying because it hurt so bad. It didn't matter how I sat, even if I took pressure off of it. I hope the doctors can figure this out. So I've been having to schedule doctor's appointments, microderm appointments for my face (doing it to look good for the wedding, wedding appointments, beauty appointments, church stuff, work stuff, etc. The list goes on. I know life is like that for everyone so I'm trying not to complain (too much...lol). But it's also a lot of fun. Yesterday we went and finished registering at Target and then we started at Bed Bath and Beyond. We also got swimsuits for the honeymoon, shopped at Costco, and scanned a BUNCH of pictures for our wedding slideshow at home. We almost finished putting it together today. Luckily Nate has a program on his computer that puts it together for us. We just put the pictures in the order we want them and slip in the music where it want and it does the rest for us. It is so good! I'm so excited about it!!! Nate has been so good about this whole thing. I really wish I could do something for him for being such a good sport. In fact we went to the Paul Mitchell School to get his haircut and told them to do what I wanted. So I had them cut it, texture it, and style it up with styling wax and he looked amazing! He's already so handsome and the haircut totally accentuated it!! I got really excited. It was also a blessing that we went because the girl who cut his hair was asking if we had been looking for a place to live. We have been and still hadn't found anything. She told us that her and her husband were renting out their place in Springville (perfect location), fully furnished (perfect!), for the summer while they're out doing this sales job they do out East (perfect!). They had some friends who were going to rent it but they had just barely bailed out that day and were going to advertize it on craiglist.com. It was perfect timing! So the next day we went and looked at it and it is SOOOO nice! It's a main level condo in a really nice complex. It was built in 2001 and the couple painted it and put in cute carpet and everything. It has a clean air filter, central vac, one car garage, one bedroom, one bath, a patio, washer and dryer, cable, internet, a nice large kitchen, and a great view of the mountains! The complex has a clubhouse with a pool and it's a neighborhood of young couples. It's right by the freeway, close to Wal-mart, a lot closer to where we both work, AND comes fully furnished and SOOO cute!! They're even going to leave their TV, love-sac, etc. Rent will cost $700 and utilities are a little less than $100 depending. It's exactly what we've been looking for and we are syked about it!! It was such a blessing. After we saw it, Nate and I prayed about it. I felt completely good and Nate said a voice came into his head saying that these people were put in our path for a reason. So that's the news so far. Hope everyone is doing great! I love you all!!

My How Time Flies!

I can't believe it's almost March! This year is going by so fast and yet
so slow at the same time. It's Nate's fault though because he's the one
that always reminds me of the countdown to our wedding day :). I only
like counting down when it's closer to the day, otherwise it makes it
seem like it's taking forever. As of today there are 72 days left. I'm
really excited and really nervous at the same time. I'm seriously going
through these weird back and forth feelings. I have no question or doubt
in my mind that this is right, but I have days where I get a little
scared and then I'll have days when I wish the day was today! My whole
life I have been waiting for this day and now that it's here it's really
hard to believe. I'm actually going to be married and I will actually be
having children. This isn't a dream anymore. It's real. I think today is
a scared day so this blog may sound sort of depressing. I don't want to
give anybody the wrong idea though. I love Nate so much! He is an
amazing person! He really loves me and I can see it now in everything he
says and does. We have so much fun together. Oh my gosh I laugh just
thinking about all of our silly moments. I think when I start getting
scared like this I need to just stop, take a deep breath, and realize
how lucky I am and all the great things that are now in store for me.
I'm going to have my own family! I'm going to have sons or daughters or
both! I get to play with them, teach them, help them, comfort them, hold
them, love them and have so much fun with them. It will be my family. My
Jackson family. Yay!!!!! Okay enough of all the highs and lows of my
emotions...lol. The wedding planning is going great! I have been so
lucky in all of this planning. Everything has gone so smoothly and on
schedule. I got the photographer, the church, the decorator, and my
dress all planned and bought within the first couple of weeks of the
engagement. It has been a blast! I've also been so lucky to have my mom,
Jayla, Cathi, Lindsay, Alissa, Leora, Valerie, and Christy helping me
out so much with everything. Mom has hooked us up with a caterer in
their ward that is going to give us a great deal. The food is so good
too! I'm so excited! She's also been out cake shopping for me as well.
Haven't found a cake person yet so if anyone knows of a good cake
decorator let me know! Mom has been so great and willing to do whatever
I have asked to do! Jayla has been really supportive in giving opinions
and helping Cathi plan the bridal shower with the family on May 2. She's
also doing my invitations and favors and things. So exciting! Cathi's
helped me with several different things including opinions and the
bridal shower. Lindsay is planning the bridal shower in Provo with my
friends on April 5. Alissa has helped with bridesmaid stuff and
bachelorette party planning. Leora has been so great to be willing to
take our engagement pictures in March. Valerie, Nate's Mom, has been so
great! She's been planning the whole open house in Seattle and has been
willing to do whatever I have needed her to do for the wedding and
reception here. The reception is going to be so wonderful and beautiful!
Our decorator is amazing and will make the church look great. There's
also going to be great food and desserts (we're having an amazing
dinner, cake and a chocolate fountain!!). Nate has also been a big help.
He's already planned and paid for the honeymoon, which is going to be so
amazing!! I don't even know where it is yet because Nate is keeping it a
secret, but I know that he spent A LOT of money and that it's somewhere
beautiful. I'm so excited!! My last vacation was to California for the
Hoggan reunion and I was in a hotel with Mom and Dad...lol. I have a
feeling the honeymoon will be a million times better!! :D I'm starting
my birth control on March 1. It's going to be so weird taking birth
control...lol. Anyways, Nate has also been really faithful about looking
for apartments/housing for us to live in. Haven't really found anything
yet, but I think there will be more when it gets closer to May. We're
wanting to move out of Provo. We've been here for too long. If anyone
knows of any place that's up for rent south of Provo let me know! I work
south of Provo in Payson, that's why we want to live down that way for
now. So basically everything is going great. I love being engaged and I
think being married is going to be even better! I'm so excited!! Yay!!!

I'm Engaged!!

This is it! It really happened! Nate and I are getting married on May 3, 2008 in the Salt Lake Temple and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I've already told you all but I thought it would be good to get some pictures of us and the ring on here. The ones of us aren't great but they work for the time being. Mom took pictures of us the night it happened but I haven't put those on my computer yet. They are cute, but not the greatest either. My makeup was all running because I was crying and our faces were all red from the snow. I didn't even get a chance to really do my hair that day either...lol...figures. I'll put those up later. These ones are just some fun ones we took at Nate's apartment and they give you a really good idea of what the ring looks like. We took it with the wedding band on as well so that's what I'll be wearing once we're married. Right now I'm just wearing the engagement ring. It is SO beautiful and I LOVE it!! Hope you all enjoy the pictures! If you have any suggestions or advice please let me know! Thanks!

It's Over!

Well, that's it folks. It's officially over. I am now a college graduate! :) It's funny because I don't really feel any different and I don't feel like I know anything more than I knew before. In some ways I feel even less knowledgable than I did before. I definitely learned a lot but I just don't remember any of it...lol. There's just so much to know and so much to learn that a college degree really doesn't mean a whole lot. Great, I have a piece of paper now that says I know all of these things about the humanities and about music. But really I only know a fraction of all there is know about those things. Don't get me wrong. I am so grateful for all of the things have learned and that I will be able to take with me throughout my life. I truly have been enlightened and maybe not so much in facts and theories. Rather, I have been enlightened in how to become a better human being. I have learned to be more patient, tolerant, humble, involved, giving, and understanding. Even though I've been at BYU, which has the reputation of being a "bubble," I really have learned a lot about other peoples' views and about the world (yes there are people with varying views and beliefs at BYU). My testimony has been tried and strengthened and I've learned that I need to not be so gullible and that professors are not all-knowing. I can't always take what they say as the gospel truth. I've learned that I can only know truth through the confirmation of the Spirit. That is the only way to truly discern truth from lies. I've learned to be open to what others have to say and at the same time still hold fast to what I believe. I've learned that sometimes we have to do things we hate in order to progress and become better. I've also learned that I have a LONG way to go to become the person I really want to be. So I've decided that a college education is completely about knowing the material on the tests. It is also about finding out who you are and how you are going to go about living in this world, deciding what part you will play. I have decided that I am going to play my part as best as I can. I want to be part of making the world a better place!

As a sidenote, I just wanted to say that Christmas was wonderful! It was so nice to be home and have Nate there with me. We had fun relaxing and playing. He was really excited about the GPS system he got for Christmas from his secret lover ;)....lol. I got earrings, a scrapbooking kit to scrap my graduation, gloves, a 1 GB SD card for my camera, a battery charger, the 5th Harry Potter movie, chocolate, and a couple of gift certificates to go shopping from my parents and Nate. I'm really excited about shopping! Nate and I also got the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Treasure Hunt game from Mom and Dad. All in all it was great! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Thanksgiving Break

I don't know about the rest of you, but my Thanksgiving was great! I love that holiday. It's always such a fun time, especially because you get to be with family and people you love. For the first couple days of break I got to be at Mom and Dad's house. On Tuesday Mom, VJ, and I went shopping at the mall. We had a lot of fun. It was so great to have VJ here since it's been a year or so since I've seen him. Just being around him made it feel more like home because it brought back memories of when we were growing up. That night we went to Gandolfo's for dinner and then watched Bridge to Teribithia.

The next day we did more shopping and then Cody and Jayla came over. Jayla and I went to Target for a while (gotta love shopping!) and then came back in time for dinner. Cody and Dad were out helping a lady in the ward with some electric things so they weren't there with us for dinner :(. But Maurvene was able to come over and we had an enjoyable time together. It was almost like Thanksgiving before Thanksgiving. Later, after Cody and Dad came back, we played video games and then played Skipbo, a family tradition (well at least just playing games). We also all participated in recording music for Cody and Jayla's website www.ohsnapbands.com. That was pretty fun.

Then on Thanksgiving I left really early in the morning to catch my flight to Seattle to spend a few days with Nate and his family. I had SO much fun up there! We had dinner at the church by his grandma's house because his aunts, uncles, cousins, and even his aunt's family came (who Nate didn't know). There was about 50 people there, but the food was amazing and the company was great! One of his uncles even made ribs and they were to die for! After dinner, Nate and I went in the chapel and sang and played because his grandma really wanted us to. A bunch people came in and listened for a while. I even got to sing a duet with one of his aunts who is a wonderful singer. It was awesome!

The day after Thanksgiving Nate was really anxious to get the Christmas tree up so he and his dad started the project. I helped some too. The whole tree didn't get decorated before I left, but it was still fun to see a lit Christmas tree. We also went to see Enchanted with his parents, his sister Stacey, and her boyfriend. It was a really cute movie and has some catchy tunes too. We decided not to shop on Black Friday, mostly because we wanted to sleep in and also because we didn't want to deal with the crowds.

On Saturday Nate and I took a walk along this trail by his house. It was beautiful, but very chilly. We went because I had to do a nature experience for my class. Then we went to the bishop's house to watch the BYU vs. UofU football game. It was great! The best part was that the bishop and his family were Ute fans so they had everything all decked out in red. They even had cookies that said "Go Utes!" and red and white M&Ms saying "Go Utes!" and "Beat BYU!" Well all their decorating was futile, because, of course, BYU won!! It was a lot of fun.

The front yard was even decorated. Someone in the ward had put BYU stuff all over the yard. It was great! They even wrote "Converted Cougars!" on the sidewalk with chalk.

That night we made gingerbread houses because I guess it is a tradition with his mom's family. I actually saw some pics of them doing it as little kids. So us and all of his sisters made houses. I'd never made them with real gingerbread, but his mom is an amazing baker so she made some and that's what we used. Ours is so cute, right? ;)

On Sunday I had the most embarrassing experience of my life. Nate's mom asked us to perform in church so I sang and Nate accompanied me. Well the singing and stuff went well (Nate did an amazing piano solo in the middle that he arranged), but then as I was walking back down to my seat, I totally biffed it down the stairs!! It was HILARIOUS! I mean, it wasn't just a trip, it was a full-blown fall and I landed on my hands and knees at the bottom of the stairs. I thought I was going to die! Thankfully we were sitting in the front row so I didn't have far to go to my seat. Nate didn't quite get there in time because he was just coming around the piano. The funniest part was that before we went up there Nate whispered in my ear "Don't trip on the stairs." Oh man I wanted to just burst out laughing so bad, but I couldn't because it was sacrament meeting...lol. Nate just came down and put his arm around me just to make me feel better. It was so funny. People even came up to me afterwards and asked if I was okay. So embarrassing! Well I guess it'll be a moment to remember! On Monday we went into Seattle for a bit and walked by the ferry port and the piers. We also had some fish and chips. Then we went to the airport and flew back to Utah. Overall it was a great trip!!

Halloween and More!

In the last entry I talked about the trip I would be taking to California with Mom and Dad. Well the trip was amazing! We had so much fun! The hotel we stayed at and the surrounding area was so incredibly beautiful. It was such a difference coming from cold and dry Provo to sunny and humid San Diego. I honestly just wanted to stay, but I guess it was good we didn't because if we had stayed one day longer we would have been right in the middle of the fires. Dad was fighting the horrendous wind that caused all of the havoc on our way back. We even saw a Wal-Mart truck that was all tipped over because of it. We were pretty blessed to get out of that when we did. The city our hotel was in was Rancho Bernardo, one of the places that got hit the hardest with the fire. The first day we were there I went out with Phil and Lisa on a Geocache hunt. If you don't know what that is it's a hobby some people have where they hide little caches in various places around the world. Then they record the GPS coordinates and put them up online so people can look it up and try and find them. So that's what we did. We went walking all around the neighborhoods and found three caches. It was pretty fun and kind of addicting I have to say. Maybe when I finally have money I'll get a GPS system and do it myself! Anyways I took this picture of one of the neighborhoods (they were really expensive nice ones too) and it was literally picture perfect, like it came right out of a movie, as you can see. It probably doesn't look like this now after the fire. Scary and sad to think about!

That night we went to Grandma's community club house where we met up with a bunch of the Hoggan clan and celebrated her 90th birthday with some of her friends from the area as well. She loved it! It was great to see all of the family again. I was able to play the piano and sing for Grandma and that felt really good. She was really grateful and I was glad I could do that for her, sort of my personal gift to her.


Then the next day Mom and I went to the beach in Oceanside and took some pictures, looked at the hot surfers, and enjoyed the salty sea air. We ate lunch at this little oceanside diner which was amazing and looked at the beautiful parrot perched on the fence. It was so much fun. Then I took Jaron to the mall and we hung out for a while.



After that, we all went to Olive Garden for dinner. I got to sit next to Grandma there so I took this picture. I can't believe she's 90! What an amazing woman! So the trip was great and it's great to see family!

So for Halloween Nate and I decided to make and a decorate a cake. Nate has a cake decorating kit so we used that to do the lines and detail of the frosting. We pretty much made up the shape and had to get creative. We used a heart-shaped pan for the head (we cut off the round part) and then a square one for the body and just cut parts out. We also used crushed up oreos to make the chocolate look black. It was pretty fun and everyone had fun eating at FHE.

We also went to a murder mystery party the night before Halloween. It was a pirate theme and Nate was the first mate and I was the governor's daughter. I was having a rebellious love affair with the first mate to spite my father who hated pirates. Well Nate ended up getting murdered and we had to try and solve the mystery. It was so much fun! We had fun shopping for the costumes too :).


Then yesterday we went to the BYU football game against CSU, which we, of course, WON! It was a great game and we even saw Mom, Dad, Cody and Jayla there. The day was perfect too. Not too cold or too hot. All in all we've had a lot of fun!


Now I just get to look forward to doing my research papers and other projects for the next few weeks. Let's hope I can get through it and graduate!! I guess the next big break is Thanksgiving and I'll be in Seattle with Nate and his family for that. I'm excited! I hope I won't get too confused with names and people though because it'll be all of his extended family too. But I guess it can't be as bad as it was for him meeting just my immediate family...lol. He saw all of the little kids and just got overwhelmed. I think he even said that he'd never seen so many little kids running around all at once and that it was chaos. I guess I'm so used to it that it doesn't even phase me...lol. Oh yeah! Yesterday we went to my cousin Dia's house and hung out with her and her husband Andy. We had a blast talking and playing Gamecube. They have a really nice place and they want to have us back again to watch movies or a football game in the community theater that's in the clubhouse or something. They are such nice and cute people! So much fun!! Well I guess I should get back to doing other things I need to do.

School, School, School

That is what the past few weeks have been: school. I think that is the reason I am so excited to graduate. Then I won't have to do anymore homework or papers! Don't get me wrong, I love school and I love to learn, but this whole stress of having a million assignments to do gets old after a while. I guess that's what life is all about though. There is no "done" in this life. There are always things that need doing, fixing, cleaning, etc. Okay, Amy, time to learn that fact and move on! I must say, though, that I have thoroughly enjoyed the many things I have done and learned this semester. I've been reviewing the works of great philosophers (Descartes, Kant, Aristotle, Plato, etc.); listening to and studying the musical theory behind the works of Romantic composers (Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Berlioz, etc.); understanding the representation of nature in various art forms and the connection this has with today's environmental problems; learning about World War I, especially in Great Britain, through the poetry and art of that time and how that produced the modernist movement; exploring America's history, art, and literature from the late 19th century into the 20th century; and discovering the history of the LDS Church beginning with the westward moving pioneers. I have written papers on the dehumanizing effects of Anglo-Saxonism in America, the American fetishism of the dynamo as addressed in Henry Adams' essay, and the futility of war seen through the eyes of the poet Wilfred Owen and his poem "The Parable of the Old Men and the Youth." Right now I am supposed to be writing a paper on the musical contributions and innovations of Charles Ives and how they are the embodiment of the American spirit, encompassing our European roots with the independent nature of personal taste. I also just took my music history test yesterday, at least the written part. I had my listening exam on Monday. I did really well on the listening exam, but not as well as I'd hoped on the multiple choice part. I think the essay went well though. Guess we'll see! I have all the rest of my midterms next week and I'm leaving with my Mom and Dad for California tomorrow for a family reunion. All I know is that I will be doing a whole heck of a lot of studying while we're driving. I also have 2 big research projects to be working on, as well as a document transcription project for my LDS History class. Oh and I also have a nature journal project to do. Fun stuff! Well, enough jabbering about school things. This past weekend Nate and I went to an organ recital at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, which was really great. Then Saturday I spent half the day doing a service project for my class and the other half researching at the library. I also watched the BYU game that night of course. So nothing too exciting. I was really excited for my niece that got baptized this weekend! I wish I could have been there. I will post more pictures when I get back from California. Yay for good weather!