Dear 5 DAYS!

5 days until J and I get married!  

Can you even believe it?

It has come SO fast...at least the engagement part of it all.  

Those two years apart seemed a little long ;) 

I don't really talk about it much because I'm just not really that kind of person, but I feel SO lucky to be able to marry someone as great as JD.  People ask all the time if I'm nervous... and I can honestly, and easily answer 'no' to that question.  I have no doubt that JD is my best friend in the entire world and no matter what comes throughout the rest of our journey, we'll be together and that'll make it just fine with me.  

My friends and I like to play this little game (yeah, we're kind of mean... I know) called "who got the better deal?"  Unfortunately for me, I know EXACTLY who got the better deal this time.  

 Just don't fill him in on this ;)  

So, I know where I'll be on Saturday... 

Newport Beach Temple with my best friend in the world.  

Dear Weather Man,

You better not screw up your predictions this time.

That's all.

With love,

The bride-to-be

Mon
Dec 14

Partly Cloudy

64°
44°

20%

64°F

Tue
Dec 15

Mostly Cloudy

67°
44°

10%

67°F

Wed
Dec 16

Partly Cloudy

68°
44°

10%

68°F

Thu
Dec 17

Mostly Sunny

68°
45°

10%

68°F

Fri
Dec 18

Sunny

68°
44°

0%

68°F

Dear Buns,

No...not those kinds of buns.

These ones:

Yesterday at the grocery store, Dani was trying to teach me how to spice up my diet (10 more days people, 10 more days...) because I am absolutely losing my mind!  My food consists of the following:

-Spinach

-Cucumbers

-Celery

-Pomegranate 

-Clementines

-Whole wheat bread

-Apples

-Hearts of Romaine 

-Kiwi

-Hummus

-Turkey

At first it was really fun and I was loving my selection.  Then, 5 lbs. and 7 days later I realized there was almost no way I could do this for 10 more days.  

So this is where the buns come into the picture.  Dani and I were grocery shopping and we found this gem... delicious Oroweat Sandwich Thins.  They are SO good!  

Each bun (top and bottom) is:

 -only 100 calories

-100 % Whole wheat 

-5 grams of fiber

-19 grams whole grain

-NO Fructose Corn Syrup

-1 gram of fat & only 2 grams sugar

YUMMMMMM

Dear Lovely Thought,

The Blind Side = Incredible

I am definitely not a movie girl...

but even I adored this movie.

Casting was fantastic.

The message was fantastic.

Must-see this holiday season.

Dear Grammar,

No one knows jack about you anymore.

If there's one thing that bugs me when it comes to grammar,

it's this...

to

too

your

you're

their

there

they're

Mostly you see incorrect usage in papers,

rarely in newspapers,

and never on TV.

EXCEPT FOR TODAY.

Call me anal. I don't care.

I could not believe my eyes today while I was watching TLC.

On the right hand corner of the screen it said,

"Your watching 'Say Yes to the Dress'"

UM GROSS.

TLC... really?!

Dear 25,

25 Days of Christmas... best ABC Family countdown EVER.

25th of December... best holiday EVER (right next to the 4th of July).

Top 25 BCS Standings 

25 is a great number for many reasons... 

HOWEVER, today it's a great number because it's the amount of 

day left until JD and I are married!  

 

Love this boy:

So in honor of this great day, I thought it would be appropriate to introduce the fabulous bridesmaids.  I love each one of these people so much and I have been so blessed to have them all throughout my life.  Not many people are as lucky as I am :) 

First: My beautiful sister Lex

She is hilarious!  ...and did I mention smart?!  Yes... Lexi is the genius in the family and also probably one of the kindest people you'll ever meet.  She can be a little uptight sometimes, but it's only because she cares so much about the details.  She is definitely a perfectionist and it works to her advantage FOR SURE.  I love her more than anything and love her even more for how supportive she has always been of JD.  She loves him and he loves her.  It's great :) 

Second: Amelia & Jenni

These two have kind of been there the whole way.  We've been best friends since we were 13 and I could have never imagined to have been blessed with two better friends to share those crazy years with.  They not only made my junior high/high school experience HILARIOUS but they also helped me to understand what it means to be a true friend.  I love these two so much and I feel so lucky that I've been able to have them in my life for so long.

And last, but definitely not least: Rach, Sara Rae, Al Pal, and Dani Deej

How can I even start?   I might get teared up thinking about how much they have put up with my crazy antics and have loved me the whole way through.  They are such incredible examples and friends to me.  I love each and every one of them for a million reasons each... it might be creepy if I kept going.  But let it suffice to say that I have NO idea what it would've been like these last couple years without them there to share the memories with.  

They're all pretty great... 

I'm kind of a REALLY lucky person,

and I will definitely be having the most beautiful bridesmaids EVER.

Dear Al Pal,

Happy Birthday to YOU!!

Even though I miss this cheetah being in the mansion with me every day,

I know Sammy will take good care of her for her bday!

Love love love you Al!  

Looking forward to even more memories with this beautiful lady!

Dear Tyra,

Tell your "top models" to watch out.

My fiance is about to steal the show.

J and I had engagements a few weeks ago.

The proofs are back...

 and I really think I MIGHT be engaged to

a model.

Don't you wish I were nice enough to give you the password to the site ;)

For a preview go here

Dear Wedding,

9 o'clock tonight JD and I will be on a plane to California to plan the wedding.

See ya Sunday.

Dear cold,

Please go away.

It's too early for you to be here.

I can barely get out of bed in the morning

 because I know the second I take my covers off

I'm going to be shivering for the next 20 minutes.  

It's only October.  

It's cold.

& I'm almost late to all my morning classes.

Wishing you would leave,

Ashley 

Dear Old News,

I am terrible at blogging.  

It's official.

Point in case:

Last week in class I was looking at Dani and started cracking up because she had a little chip of nail polish stuck in between her teeth.  You may remember my post about her obsession with painting her nails.  If so, you understand why I was laughing. 

Upon me telling her this, I also said, "Yes!  I now have something to blog about.  This is great!"

She stared at me and said, "You just got engaged... and you're going to blog about ME with nail polish in between my teeth?!"

Good point.  

So folks... the cats out of the bag.

I've been engaged for a little over 2 weeks.

We're getting married December 19th 2009 in the Newport Beach Temple.  

More updates coming soon :) 

Being engaged to your best friend is pretty great.  

Dear little people,

So today I made myself some lunch and then decided to turn on the TV for a few minutes.

Little People/Big World show came on so I decided to watch it.

Back in high school one of my friends Jenny was OBSESSED with midgets.

(maybe that's not a politically correct term...but I'm not exactly a politically correct person).

Anyhow, as I'm watching they start talking about how a

 good family friend of theirs is visiting for a few days.  

This "good family friend" just happens to be my pal I met on my plane on my way home for thanksgiving my sophomore year of college.  

He was the guy on Pirates of the Caribbean so OF COURSE we had to take a picture.   

I'm not going to lie... I felt very awkward about this picture.

I didn't know if I should stand normal, bend over, or kneel down.

Okay... obviously I knew I shouldn't kneel down (that was simply for a dramatic effect).

He's a short little guy,

but boy was he nice.

And famous.

Hahaha... I burst out laughing when I saw him on TV today 

and immediately dug up this picture purely for blogging purposes. 

Enjoy: 

Dear Food,

Yep.  That's right.

I talk about food.

I think about food.

I eat food (sometimes inhale).

Occasionally I will even admit, I dream about food.

Why not blog about food?

Am I sounding chubby yet?  

Maybe.

I am just dying to get to Provo for many reasons.

One of them being that no longer will I be eating mass produced food.

No longer will I be picking at chicken soaked in grease 

OR lettuce with shriveled edges that appears to be turning brown.  

EFY supplied me with a lot of great things this summer.

 Food was not one of them.

Food, comida, nourriture, nahrung, cibo, 食べ物...

(however you want to say it)

I am officially in complete control of you & what enters my body.

Sayonara campus cafeteria food.

It's been real.

Dear Provo,

I'm ready to be reunited.

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm missing my Provolone:

My friends are kind of AMAZING.

I wouldn't mind having them back after an entire summer of not seeing them.

Love, love, love you guys.

Dear JD,

Pretty sure that's one of the last "Dear JD's" I'll be writing. 

JDizzle returns from 2 years in Japan on Friday at 11:30am!

Welcome home, best friend!

Dear MIA,

I'm alive.  I promise.

This is an apology to all friends and family members 

who may rightfully feel I've fallen off the face of the Earth.  

I've been in Minnesota:

Loving counselors,

Loving kids,

and Loving the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life is wonderful and I hope yours is too.  

Call you this weekend :)  

Sincerely yours,

Your STILL friend/sister/daughter/cousin who loves you

Dear EFY,

So lots of people ask me why I love EFY SO, SO much.

In honor of the fact that I am flying out to Minnesota tomorrow for some training before the kids come on Monday, I decided I would share the top 14 reasons why EFY makes me happy.

1. Where else do teenage boys get girls their food?

2. Ha! Taking trays up to the conveyer belt is a coveted responsibility.

3. I've never seen so many teenagers go out of their ways to have missionary experiences.

(My kids ALWAYS rock).

4. I get to go to LOTS of wonderful places.

Case in point:

5. Service activities WEEKLY.

6. Eating pizza is a required activity.

7. Hilarious things happen... like the whole entire floor floods from an overflowing toilet.

8. I get to hang out with the GREATEST youth in the church.

Just take a look:

(p.s. Kelsey was one of my girls TWO years in a row...

this was us feeling ugly before the banquet)

9. I have the coolest coworkers you could ever ask for.

11. Being above the age of 20 and still immature is completely acceptable.

13. Wristbands. Who doesn't want neon colored wristbands?

14. No sleep = Very tired counselors.

And nothing could be better than getting an invitation in the mail for TWO of your girls weddings. YES, two of my girls have been married in the TEMPLE.

My job is so rewarding.

EFY 2009... bring on the memories.