Lists...

Things that make me happy right now...

1. Painted finger and toenails

2. This sweet blog

3. That I get to go home and to Atlanta in the next week

4. Sunflowers

5. Thinking about getting married

Things I need to do...

1. Study for finals

2. Get together stuff for bridal shower invitations

3. Pack my stuff up to move

4. Get boxes from Matthew and Lisa

5. Find a new job

Things I'm looking forward to...

1. Bridal showers

2. Marrying my best friend

3. Painting and decorating our house

4. Going to the beach

5. Planning our wedding

Things I want to do this summer...

1. Go to Utah and see Laura and Steve and Melanie and their family

2. Read at least 10 books

3. Go to the beach

4. Go to Carowinds

5. Spend more time at home

Reasons I love Jake...

1. He make really corny jokes that we both think are really funny

2. He brings me flowers every month on our anniversary

3. He winks at me

4. He tells me he loves me at least 25 times a day

5. He didn't get mad at me when I was a creeper and read his e-mails

6. He's willing to watch whatever movie I want

7. He keeps his hair the length I like it

8. He lets me be in control of the radio in the car

9. He randomly sends me really sweet text messages

10. He does little odd jobs around the house, he's very handy

11. He's a good listener

12. I trust him

13. He holds me when I cry

14. He's very computer savvy

15. Every thing reminds me of him

16. He carries me like a princess when the grass is cold and wet and I'm wearing flip flops

17. He puts his arm around me when I'm cold

18. He loves his family

19. He gets really excited cute when we talk about getting married

20. He sings in the car

Today I want to visit New York City...

It's Over...The semester is over!!

Today is the last day of classes!!!

Back to the Future...

I have been such a slacker! This is what happened to my last blog, I just trailed off, but I'm determined not to let that happen to this one, so here is my continuing effort to keep this blog alive.

Well, first I'll take you back to the last month of my life that I've let get away from me...

Event #1: I got a speeding ticket for 51 mph in a 35 mph zone...NOT GOOD! I don't even recognize a cop when they're on a motorcycle, it's not like it's written in big letters on the side like it is when they are in cars...c'mon, it's not even fair! Second, I wasn't going that far over the speed limit, I think he made that up...My speedometer said that I was going 45...still speeding, but not as much. When he pulled me over he said that I slowed down when I saw him, also untrue! I didn't even know he was cop, why would I slow down? Whatever dumb cop on a motorcycle, I know people...and I'm getting my ticket reduced to five over the speed limit so I just have pay court costs and my insurance will not go up, thank goodness!

Event #2: I found my wedding dress!!! It's so pretty! I would post pictures, but Jake reads this and I don't want him to see it! Anyway, it's different. I feel like every wedding I go to every bride is wearing the same dress...There is never anything that stands out to me about them, and this dress does that, I wanted it to be something different that no one will have seen before, and I accomplished that and I love it!

Event #3: MY BIRTHDAY WEEK! That's right, I celebrate my birthday for a whole week, and Jake is so sweet that he goes along with this idea. Tuesday we got Bojangles for dinner...yes, Bojangles was part of the celebration because we weren't supposed to by going out for dinner that night, but as luck would have it Jake stumbled across a twenty dollar bill, and that day numero uno.

On Wednesday we went out to my parent's house to celebrate with them. Before we left Jordan and Jake both gave me presents! I love presents and surprises! Jordan got me season 3 of Grey's Anatomy, which is the only one that I didn't have. This was an even bigger present then it sounds like because Jordan s kind of a cheapskate. I went to Target with her because she wanted me to point out things that I might want. We came across a movie that she said she heard was good but that since it was $20 dollars she really hoped that I didn't want that. I then went to go and see if Grey's was in stock because I've wanted it for a while and I told Jordan that is was but that it was over twice her limit. I left because I had to go somewhere and surprise, she bought me the season...she described it as "the hardest thing she's ever done." Jake got me Alvin and the Chipmunks the squeakuel :-) I've wanted this movie but I've been trying to do better about not spending as much money and so I haven't bought it, but I love it and can't wait to watch it with him again once our finals are over!

Thursday was my actual birthday and I had to go to class and work that day...LAME! I hate my job but Jake was a sweetheart again and brought our puppy Doc to visit me at work along with flowers that he had picked up! I love when he brings me flowers! The Vaughn's also came to my work with a cute present of Resee cups and a balloon which was really nice of them.

On Friday we went to the temple with our ward and Jake gave me my biggest birthday present! He bought me brand new scripture that I LOVE! In October we are going to take them back and have my married name inscribed on them :-)

Saturday was a fun day too! We had a Day of Service and I pretty much spent all day at this alternative school cleaning of the grounds with Jake and his family and some other people from church. Later we went for my birthday day dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, yum! Jake had never been there before and he really liked it! Jordan got into a car accident that night which was a little scary but everyone is ok. The car is not ok, but everything important was.

That was pretty much the end of my birthday week, I know it wasn't really an entire week, but the older you get the more your birthday feels like every regular day, so I'm thankful that Jake makes it feel special along four other days so that it is still fun!

Now Back to the Future:

Today in one of my classes we had guest speakers from our colleges graduate program, and the things they said made me want to go to grad school! That's crazy, because I hate school, and I'm definitely not planning to do it right away, we have four years before Jake finishes his undergrad and I would at least wait for him to do that. I don't even think that I want a masters degree in the same thing that I'm getting my undergrad in. I'm not sure what degree I want, but it's something to think about.

The wedding is coming up...I know it's still five months away, but as Jake pointed out about 30 minutes ago, it's really not that far. There is so much to do! I'm glad I have all summer of not taking classes to plan. I've picked out bridesmaids dresses, they are so cute and yellow. I've bought the bridesmaids bracelets that are also so sweet. I've picked out my dress and I have a tentative location for this event. I have a bridal shower coming up at the end of June which I'm super stoked about and lots to look forward to. I have cruise that leaves two days after I get married that is going to be so fun I can hardly wait! Jakes brother Justin and his soon to be cute wife Ashley are going with us which will make it even more fun to have other people to hang out with!

I heard the other day about someone whose job requires them to travel a lot, like a different city, state, or country every weekend! I would love to travel and see all the places that this person gets to see! Today, I think that I would like to see Italy...

Hello Prince Charming, My Name is Carly...

How we Met...

About a year and half ago I was working every Tuesday and Thursday night during the week. For some reason I happened to have Tuesday night off one week and went to Institute that night. Jake and his brother Justin also happened to be there that night. After classes are over everyone usually congregates in the gym because there is food and volleyball and basketball. Jordan and I have played basketball for years and really like to play and so when they started playing knock out we both jumped up. I only played like two games though, I don't remember why, but Jordan kept playing and kept playing and so did Jake.

I sat on the stage and talked to Jake's brother, Justin, until Jordan was ready to leave. The only thing I really remember from this first time that we saw each other, was that Jake kept coming up to us when someone knocked him out of the game and talking about how good Jordan was. Well, apparently Jake thought I was cute and so when he and his brother were leaving the church he asked him what my name was and when he got home he friended both me and Jordan on facebook.

He never said anything to me on facebook or wrote on my wall or anything, we were just silent friends. He claims that he was going to talk to me in person because he didn't want to be weird on facebook, but he never saw me at institute again...because I was working.

I'm one of those people that unfriends people on facebook if I don't really know you or haven't talked to you in a long time, and so after about a year of never talking to or seeing Jake again I unfriended him. Well, of course, after doing this we run into each other again. He came to Family Home Evening, which is on Monday nights, and I usually did go to that. I was helping clean up with one of Jake's good friends and we were talking about getting some people together to hang out at my house and he said that he would bring his friends Jake and David with him. I was fine with this but didn't know who Jake and David were.

After we had finished cleaning up, I walked into the gym for....surprise...a game of knock out. I got in line and happened to step in behind Jake. I knocked him out that first game, and then he knocked me out the second game. I challenged him to a game of PIG which we played until it was time to go. As I was leaving Jake's friend that I had been cleaning up with came up and told Jake they were coming to my house a couple of days later and that's how I learned who Jake was. Jordan was rushing me to leave and so I told Jake to friend me on facebook. I got home first though and I looked him up on facebook and was surprised to see that he was the same person I had unfriend a week earlier! I hoped that he wouldn't notice and might have forgotten that we had been friends. So he we became friends again and then he talked to me a lot the next day on facebook chat and then came over the next night to hang out with a bunch of people and every night after that...

The end.

Introducing the Bridal Party!!!

JORDAN

HALEY

ALEX

LEAH

KENDAL

LAURA

Neurotic...

Neurotic:

This is what the dictionary listing for neurotic should look like. Instead, however, it wastes valuable space that could be better used by defining other words to say things like:

an emotionally unstable individual

A person prone to excessive anxiety and emotional upset

In the Thesaurus synonyms for the word neurotic include words such as:

distraught, disturbed, anxious, basket case, erratic, nervous, nervous wreck, obsessive, unhealthy, upset, uptight, agitated, edgy, touchy, uneasy...etc...

You get the idea.

I feel like, especially lately, that my mind is moving at a thousand miles and hour and I can't make it stop. I don't ever get a break from worrying about ten things at a time, and while people keep saying that I can choose or make myself not think about these things or worry, I don't think they realize how hard what they're saying is to try and do.

I have never dealt well with change. I hate when friends move, or unexpected events happen, I hate making big decisions because I doubt and questions myself every step of the way. I know that there is really nothing I can do to stop things from happening but that only makes it harder because I hate not having control. I hate not having control, and I hate having control all at the same time. I don't like the helpless feeling that comes along with not having control over a situation, but at least when I don't have control I can't be blamed for anything that goes wrong.

Big decisions are hard because I just think about everything that could go wrong with whatever I choose. I constantly am talking myself into and out of things with no regard for what I really want. I am not a naturally happy person, I'm actually very pessimistic and regulate how I feel without even thinking about it.

Anyway, that's enough psychoanalysis for the day...I have to get ready for work.

The *Engagement* Story

So here is what you have all been waiting for...

So there I was...

It was a Friday and Jordan and I went to the mall because I needed to buy a new pair of jeans. Well for those of you that know Jordan, you know that she likes to do random things, this particular time she wanted to go into all of the jewelry stores in the mall and see how long it took the people working there to come up and help us. So anyway, we went into all of the stores and I didn't really see anything that I liked and then we FINALLY made it to the last one...Zales. There it was, a ring that I loved...it was the only one that I had seen in the entire mall that looked like a ring that I would want.

Jordan called Jake and told him about...and this is where the story really begins. I called Jake after Jordan and told him that Jordan's call wasn't any pressure and to not worry about it, we were just excited because it was the only one that we had seen that I liked and was similar to rings that I had seen in the past and wanted.

Jake has a big night planned that night with his brothers playing video games and had to get off the phone with me to lock Doc up and get ready to go, so he promised to call me in a little while and we said goodbye.

About and hour after that I tried to call Jake again because I hadn't heard from him and I thought he said he was going to call me sooner that and he didn't answer, but called me about 10 minutes later and apologized. He said he had to stop by one of his brothers houses to get a video game controller that he had left on accident. (This was not so true) Jake had really gotten off the phone with me and tried to drive to the mall before it closed, but when he realized he wouldn't make it he called Zales and asked them about the ring, and they said they would try to run his card over the phone. Well, Jake has some sort of protection on his card that won't let him spend over a certain amount without authorization and so his card got declined.

The Zales lady said she would hold it for him until the morning since he obviously had every intention of buying it. There was just one problem...Jake and I were going to be out of town the next morning so how was he going to get it?

Solution: Jake told one of his brothers about it and he offered to go get it for Jake the next morning. His brother got there, bought the ring and then told all of the people that worked there the story and that Jake and I would be there later that day and that they should play along.

After we got back in town on Saturday Jake wanted to go to Zales so that he could at least see the ring, so we went (even though Jake knew it would be gone). When we get there I ask the lady about the ring, and she remembered me from the night before and said that she was so sorry, but that they had sold it that morning but that we could keep checking back if we wanted because they might get another shipment of the ring. Jake acted so upset. He was more upset then I was. He stayed this way for the next couple of hours.

So Jake woke up on Monday and decided that he was going to propose on Tuesday and went to work to make that happen. He told me that he was going to go put air in my tires and really went to his brothers house to pick the ring up. Later that day he texted me and told me that he wanted to go back up to Zales on Tuesday after I got out of class to see if they had received another ring yet. Then he told me later that he was going to help a friend move and that he and David would be back for dinner after that.

David really did go help someone move but Jake did not go help him. He really had gone through my phone earlier in the day and gotten my dad's cell phone number and called him and asked if he could come out to my parent's house to talk to them. So instead of helping someone move Jake went to my parent's house and asked them for their blessing.

He arranged with David to show back up at the house at the same time so that I didn't suspect anything and we had dinner and hung out as usual that night. I was in class all day on Tuesday from 9:30 to 5 o clock. I called Jake when I got out of class and he still wanted to go to Zales. I was not very happy about this because I had a lot of homework to do and I had had a rough day. Not only that but Jake wouldn't bring Doc with him which meant we had to drive all the way back to his house before going to my house.

Jake had called Zales earlier that morning to make sure the didn't have the ring, so that he wouldn't have to buy it twice, so I got to the mall first and called Jake to let him know that they still didn't have the ring and he picked me up and drove the longest way ever back to his house. Needless to say I still wasn't in the best mood because I kept thinking of all of the stuff that I could have been doing.

We FINALLY get to Jakes house and Doc runs to greet me at the door and so I pick him up and start playing with him. Jake asks me if I could come into the kitchen for a minute and I see flowers that he had gotten me on the kitchen table and then he gets down on one knee in front of me. I thought he was picking something up and was pretty confused. Then he said "Will you marry me?" and I thought he was kidding and responded by laughing and said "are you kidding?" and he said "No, will you please answer the question." Then I saw the ring and was really confused because it was supposed to have been sold to someone else. I finally realized what was happening and obviously said yes, or I wouldn't be writing this post.

Anyway, now I have a wedding to plan that is coming soon in October :-)

A few of my *NEW* favorite things...

So lately I've found a few new things that I love:

1) The free stuff section of craigslist...I know what you're thinking, that stuff is probably crap, right? Well most of it is, but every now and then you find something really cool...problem is, by the time you e-mail that person someone else has already e-mailed and gotten it. I'm telling you, people must make a living off of watching that page! Mostly i'm looking for furniture like a couch and loveseat, because I HATE the ones that we have at my house. Furniture is furniture though and it works, so I can't complain too much, I'm obviously not willing to pay that much for new stuff so I guess I don't hate it that much.

2) Peanut Butter Milkshakes...I have Jake to thank for this. I swear I could gain like 1,000 pounds off of these things. I'm going to have to stop buying the stuff for them, because when I have it and Jake is here, it has recently always resulted in a milkshake...yumm! I need to be better though. Jordan and I are going to start the p90x videos soon.

3) p90x...while I haven't actually started this yet I can only imagine how much I will love it! I will hate every second of doing it, but I'm hoping for fantastic results. I've only heard good things from everyone that has used it so far.

Ok, back to doing one of my least favorite things...writing a paper....

Rays of Sunshine...

So, I haven't had the best week, not that anything bad is happening at all, I just haven't been in a very good mood. I actually have a lot of good things that are happening, I just haven't been choosing to focus on them. So this is me refocusing...

One of my best friends Alex sent me a message last week saying that she met with the Elders in our area and that she liked what they had to say and wanted to me to bring her to church with me...exciting news! I love Alex, and it's so much fun to get to spend more time with her again. We lived together two summers ago and since we moved out that summer we have been so busy that its been hard to make time to hang out, so I'm so excited that that is changing.

When Jake and I got back from FHE the other night I had my hands in my jacket pockets and quit paying attention to walking up the stairs (which isn't something you should have to pay attention to anyway) to say something to Jake about the dogs next door and I tripped on my brick stairs and feel and hit my knee which started swelling immediately and now I have a gross bruise and a dull ache when I walk. I'm sure you're wondering how is this me refocusing right? well, It could have been a lot worse...like I said, my hands were in my pockets, and as I was falling I couldn't get them out, but somehow I only hurt my knee, when all I could see the whole time I was falling was concrete coming right at my face. Jake was walking behind me though and caught me before anything other then my knee hit the stairs...so thanks Jake, for saving my face and whatever else could have been hurt :-)

So then the other night, there is this person that I really just don't get a long with, and they were around, and they were doing things to really get on my nerves. I was holding Doc and wouldn't let him get down because I didn't want him to go around this person and Jake told me I was being ridiculous. This really didn't sit well with my mood and I was instantly pretty upset with him. Well...This was me just being more ridiculous...I'm actually glad that Jake and I are comfortable enough that he feels like he can tell me when i'm being ridiculous. I might have scared him out of ever telling me again, but I don't think I would have normally reacted the way I did, I was just already upset and he added fuel to the fire.

The next day though I got this super sweet text message:

I know I upset you last night

and I know you are probably tired

of hearing me say that I'm sorry, but I am.

You are my best friend in the entire world

and you make me feel different

than anyone else has ever made me feel

and I love you with all of my heart.

I hope you are having a good day.

You are my everything. :-)

Which is pretty much all I needed to hear the whole week.

So from now on, when I'm in a bad mood, instead of just letting myself be in that bad mood, I'll try to refocus and see the rays of sunshine that are always shining behind the clouds.

Puppy Love...

Wow...I have been such a slacker! This is why my last blog didn't last very long, I wasn't very good at keeping up with posting...honestly, I have been wanting to write but I've been waiting to get some pictures scanned onto my computer and now, since Jake, is so tech savvy, they are there and I can post again...what a sweetheart :-)

This is the inspiration for the title of this post

This is my Punkin...otherwise known as Doc. Mine and Jake's new and first puppy. I LOVE HIM!!! He is so smart and cute and the we treat him like a little baby. He sleeps in bed and under covers sometimes and I love when he falls asleep on his back and stretches his little legs out. He snores sometimes too...it's the cutest thing! We are trying to train him right now and he's doing pretty good. Sometimes he still pees in the house but for the most part he makes it outside and he knows what it means. He follows us around and when one of us leaves the room he jumps down to follow to make sure that we aren't leaving. He is the cutest thing and my new favorite thing (other then Caiden). We got him about four weeks ago and he instantly took over our lives and we love it! He's part German Shepard and part Boxer so he will be a big dog, which is perfect because I love big dogs.

More Puppy love...here are some more new pictures of Caiden...

This is a picture Haley texted me and told me that Caiden was sending me a kiss...how precious :-)

Since it's Valentines Day and all I should probably have a little section about Jake in this post...

Poor Jake...that's what everyone says when I tell them about us...and they're probably right, Jake does a lot for me and I love him to death! If for no other reason we have to stay together for the baby, haha. It's so easy and comfortable to be around Jake, and the more we are together the more I love him...I guess that's typical. Just a couple of minutes ago he fixed my scanner so that I could write this blog. My back is really hurting right now so he went to get me a grape soda to make me feel better and came back with a card and a box of chocolate, even though we decided not to get each other anything. My card is so cute it reminds us of our favorite commercial right now...again, more puppies

Anyway, that's all for now, but I promise to be writing more soon and more often!