Well, this is it folks! I will pretty much be out of commission for two and a half weeks. I'm doing this cool thing called "getting married". I'm pretty stoked about it! Anyways, since I am going to be *super* busy next week and out of town the week after that, I know I won't be able to keep up with my daily posts. Sad, I know. I don't even know when I'll be able to post next. (This is the point where you realize that I'm addicted to blogging...)

We will be MARRIED in SIX DAYS!!! WOO!! :D

Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked and Walked and Walked and Walked

Yesterday was Pioneer Day here in Utah. I guess I can't make too much fun of it because it gives us an extra holiday. Well, most people get an extra holiday - I had to work, but that's ok because then I get the Friday after Thanksgiving off and I'd rather take that day off anyway.

My coworkers threw me a combined Bridal Shower/Pioneer Day BBQ. We have a grill and a basketball court in the back of our building, so we just grilled and had a potluck lunch. Jed didn't have to go to work yesterday, so he got to come to the BBQ and meet everybody which was nice. We got some good advice and some good presents (the theme was centered around food, so everyone brought a recipe and then ingredients to make it with). It really was a lot of fun!

On a sad note, our dear friend Krabby died yesterday. He was our favorite guy in the tank. :(

We will have to get another fiddler crab because they are SO interesting and entertaining to watch.

After work, I was able to go home and take a short nap (it was an hour and I still woke up tired!) before Jed and I headed out to Salt Lake to meet up with my family to celebrate Pioneer Day. It's been so fun to have my mom, my sisters, and my nephews here this week, and be able to spend time with them! We all went out to Nancy's house and had dinner and played games until the fireworks started. Nate is so big! He's still my special little buddy though. Emily told me that they had a talk and Nate said that he didn't want me to get married because then I would go away and he would never see me again. It was so tender. He's still a little weary of Jed (last night he made Jed the "bad guy" who we had to "beat up"), but I think he'll warm up to him. ;) Aidan is huge too! Last time I saw him, at Christmas, he was only a few months old and still 'newborn'. Now he's crawling and drinking out of bottles and making faces. It's crazy how fast children change and grow up!

The fireworks show was pretty neat and the younger kids really like doing their own fireworks in front of Nancy's house (once we got a lighter that worked...). I wish I could say that there weren't any injuries, but I (yes, me. it was partly my fault) was helping Eli with a sparkler and as soon as it went out (while it was still hot), he put his hand on it and burned himself. I felt really bad for him. Poor guy. :( But we got ice and a bandaid on it, so I think we will be all better soon.

Always A Day Late & A Few Dollars Short...

I realize my posts are always a day late - sorry. You take what you can get...

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!! This is my last week single, my last Thursday single. That's so weird to think about, but it feels right. :) I love Jed so much and I can't wait to start a new chapter of my life with him!

Emily, Nate, and Aidan got in yesterday, but have I seen them yet? No. I have to work this week, so I missed the girls day trip to the outlet mall in Park City. Yeah, talk about lame. I could do what I do anywhere (except for the greeting people part...).

Last night Jed and I got to hang out with Laurel and Eli. Eli is a firecracker! He has so much energy, even when he hasn't had a nap. I was amazed. He can say the same phrase or chant over and over and not get tired of it. Aw I miss being around kids. I actually didn't mean for that to be sarcastic...

I've been needing an apron really bad since I don't have one and I cook fairly often. A few weeks ago I was on the Wal Mart website and I found out that you can make an apron with your own picture on it. So I asked Jed to submit a picture and order an apron for me so I wouldn't know what the picture is and it would be a surprise. We went to pick up the apron last night and boy was I surprised! I unfold it, and there is a picture of THIS. I just about killed him! Good thing I have a sense of humor, right? :/

New Phones

Hey Guys, this is Jed. I finally decided to make a post on the blog. Yesterday we went shopping around for mattresses with Ali's mom and I think we found one we like. We found it at a small shop called Hagaar's on state street. Its a small, podunk shop that has about 5 or 6 different types of matteresses.


I had been to Hagaars before with my friend Mike and he got a pretty good deal there. So the kind we are probably going to get is 399 with a box spring. It is a Euro Pillowtop if any of you know what that means. Pretty good deal I think.


We finally got our sweet new phones yesterday. Ali got the best phone I've ever seen called an AT&T Tilt. Its a touch screen smart phone that has windows mobile and all kinds of sweet stuff going on. Its kinda bulky but She likes the slide feature and also that you can tilt the screen. Really good for texting as it has the QWERTY keyboard.


My phone is ok, its a Sony Ericsson Walkman 580i. Its cool cause it plays music and has cool lights but my smart phone I had before (the BlackJack) was alot better. It just feels like with this Sony, its just a regular phone with not that many perks. I was thinking about selling it on ebay (They go for about 200) but I figured I would need a phone when my BJ dies out.

Anyways thats all I can think of. Oh wait 8 more days.

Tuesday - Training Table Tanning

My sister Laurel and her son Eli drove in yesterday and we got to see them last night. Eli is SO big! He's 2 1/2, but he looks like he could pass for a 4 year-old. Laurel is editting all of my bridals, so I got to see some of them for the first time last night. Look out world - I'm hott! ;)

My mom was down here with us last night, too. She came with us to look at mattresses and we found one really like. I'm glad we didn't buy the first one we were about to because we're going to get a better deal from this place called Haagar's. They don't have a website, but they are at abou 1000 S State Street in Orem. Mike & Kim told us about it and they have *great* deals! Woo!

Jed was introduced to Training Table last night. I can't believe he had never been there before! It was fun - just the 5 of us. Eli kept picking up all the phones and trying to call people, which made the servers mad. Oh well. Suckers. ;)

We went tanning again last night. I am going to be darker for my wedding, dangit! But I really am getting a lot darker, thank goodness. Jed doesn't go for nearly as long as I do, but I have a feeling he'll be a little darker too. Yay for tanness!!

Single Digits. And New Digits.

WE ARE IN SINGLE DIGITS!! 9 days until "The Big Day"!! :D

Last night we went to the Days of 47 Rodeo in Salt Lake with my mom and brother. We rode the TRAX down from the University, which is always an interesting experience (Mom ended up talking to two drunk guys and giving them directions...). The rodeo itself was really cool. They had some great entertainment and the events were fun to watch. I don't think I've seen so many serious bull-riding injuries in one sitting though. It seemed like every guy got thrown off, and most of those got hurt pretty badly. It was kind of hard to watch at some points.

The weirdest part of the night was when we came out of the building and there were trays and trays full of loafs of bread for free. How bizarre is that? Of course we took some, but there were some people who took like 4 loaves each! It was SO random!

I wish my charger for my new phone was here already (we lost the one that came with the camera like a week after we got it, so we had to order a new one). This is why I never have any pictures, and why our engagement isn't even really documented. :(

Our new phones are coming today!! My phone's screen went pitch black about two or three weeks ago and it is pretty much impossible to use that phone (so I'm using Jed's in the meantime and he has the broken one). I thought that if Jed had that crappy phone, it would intice him to get a new plan and/or add me to it so that I could get a new phone. Nope, didn't happen. I ended up calling last week and setting up our new plan because I felt sorry for him having to use that one. But it's all good because now we both get new phones!! YAY!! The only downside is that we had to get new numbers. I hate that.

Busy Weekend

This weekend went by too fast because we were doing so many fun things!

*Friday night, we went over to Seth & Megan Burke's place and had a Rock Band party (it's kind of a tradition over there). It was really fun and I had a great time talking to Megan. We met through our husbands and have come to realize that we have a lot in common. I really like Megan a lot and I want to become better friends with her.

*Saturday was go-go-go the whole day! Jed and I moved some stuff over to the new apartment in the morning, then we dropped by a family reunion on my dad's side, we were going to go see Dark Knight but we just couldn't fit it in. Jed's been *dying* to see it because all of his friends have seen it and they keep telling him how good it is. We'll probably go see it this week. So after the reunion, we went back to the new house, put together some furniture, put stuff away and organized, and did laundry. We picked up my mom and my brother, Jeff, from the airport that evening and ate at The Pie! It was delicious, as usual. We made sure we brought our Sharpie so we could write our names on the wall. Jeff got yelled at for writing on the door, FYI. :)

*Sunday, after church, Jed & I met with Jed's Stake President and he gave us some wonderful advice, exactly what we needed to hear. It was really neat and I'm so glad I got to go with Jed to that meeting. Afterwards, Jed and I headed up to SLC; stopped at his aunt's house to drop something off on the way to Grams' for dinner. We all went out to my cousin Molly's 3rd birthday party at Steve & Mary's farm. We got to see my aunts and uncles, Steve, Mike, Mary, & Tracie, and their kids. And Jed got to tour the farm for the first time. It really is a super neat old-school place.

Bridal Shower #1 - Friends

Last night was a great night! I was given a bridal shower at my friend Kim's house. My friends Amelia Savage, Kim Keay, Amanda Nielsen, and Amanda McDaniel all co-hosted this shindig and they did an awesome job!

Amelia did this creative idea where she asked Jed a bunch of questions ahead of time and recorded his answers, and then at the shower, she asked me the questions and I was supposed to say what I thought his answer would be. If I got it wrong, I had to put a piece of sugary Hubba Bubba in my mouth. My little stink of a fiance answered some of the questions so that I wouldn't get the right answer (and some I just didn't know the answer to), so I ended up with a whole pack (minus two pieces) of this gag-rific gum in my mouth. It was gross, but the game was super fun!

Kim offered up her house, which actually benefitted her because she got her husband to paint and get some "upgrades" for the house in order to prepare for the shower. Amanda McDaniel made an amazing cake! I'll post a picture once I get one. It was beautiful, and tasted just as good as it looked!

Amanda Nielsen came up with some games, one of which I was blindfolded for. I had to open a suitcase full of clothes and get ready in under a minute. I made it in 1:40, but I did not look good at all... We also played "What if", which is always a fun time. Especially when it's about my wedding/marriage/honeymoon. It was a riot!

I would devulge the presents I got, but... ;)

Thank you to all the girls who were there! And a special thank you to my hostesses for making the night!! It was a blast and I loved every minute of it!

Thankful Thursday - Thursday Edition ;)

Countdown to wedding: Two weeks.

This week I am thankful for my job. Seriously, that sounds weird, but I am. Not only does it pay great for Utah County, but I don't really have to do anything. All I do is answer phones and handle incoming/outgoing mail. Sometimes there are other projects along the way, but for the most part, I get paid to sit at my desk and do whatever I want. Mostly I email Jed back and forth and listen to music, I can also read or write or play Sudoku or whatever. This is going to be so helpful when I start school again in the fall. I can do all of my homework and studying at work. My job also gives me good benefits, and they are very flexible with my schedule. I can leave early, come in late, take a long lunch if I need to (this has been SO helpful during the engagement while I've been trying to get to places while they're open). Also, I can take as many days off as I need to - I'm taking 2 1/2 weeks off for my wedding! :D

The only downfalls are: it's a little far (I have to fill up my tank once a week), I have to wear nice clothes everyday (even Friday!), and they took away my facebook/myspace access that I used to have. Other than that, I have a GREAT job!

Broke Bed

Well I almost didn't post anything today (banish the thought!) because I've been so busy today, working on a budget for our little family. Money can't buy happiness, I know this. But it couldn't hurt to have some more. I think they should send out economic stimulus checks once a month. Maybe not $600 or anything, but, you know, even an extra $100 would help stimulate my economy... ;) On a lighter note, Jed and I were shopping at Sam's Club the other day and it occured to me that we should check out their mattress selection. Good thing we did! We found a Serta mattress/boxspring set for $400!! Yeah. Dude. Crazy. We're not going to buy it until next week, but I'm so glad we found it! Now we just have to look for a bed frame that'll be somewhat high, so we can store things underneath it. (Did I mention we have zero storage at our new house-not even a coat closet. Yeah...) Something like this would be cool...

Such is life - We're broke as a joke, but yet we're buying a new bed. It's the only thing not furnished in the apartment, but it's a good thing, because I can sleep in my 'married bed' knowing that I'm the first one to do so. Yeah, that's peace right there.

It's Official

There are some things that I just realized, some things that I have officially become. One is a homemaker. Yesterday, I sat at work and looked through grocery store ads to find deals on things we need for the house. I've never done that before. Then, last night, Jed and I went to the store and bought all the stuff we needed, *on sale*. It was great! I feel smart and savvy. ;)

Now, because I had to blog about that and tell the world, I realized the other thing that has become official. I am officially addicted to blogging. If you'll notice, I've blogged almost every day for the last week (except weekends when I don't spend all day sitting in front of a computer). The Catch-22 is that I don't have very much access to pictures when I'm on my work computer because I can't get on to Facebook or Myspace to copy pictures, so my blogs have been pretty bland. Sorry. :( In an effort to help that, here are some random pictures from my snapfish account:

This is my friend from Whitney, from Ohio.

This is when I went out to visit my sister Laurel in California and we went on The Price is Right. You can see us on TV!

This is when I met up with my best friend, Katy Hoke Hartung, in Salt Lake over Christmas, and I met her husband.

This is me with my sister Emily and her husband Adam on the Fourth of July in Kansas.

This is my nephew Nate (Emily's oldest of two boys) "going to the beach".

This was Halloween in Ohio; Dad, Mom, me, and Jeff.
I had to add a picture of my really good friend, Amelia Lunt Savage. Sorry Meals, this one's from freshman year because I don't have any recent ones on my snapfish account... I'll work on that.
This is my sister Laurel and her little boy Eli at the beach in California.

This is my sister Angela and her boyfriend in California.

Tom "The Bomb" Busath

As some of you may know, I have a younger brother named Tom. He turned 19 in June and put in his mission papers a few weeks ago. His mission call came last week, but he was out of town on a business trip, and he wanted to be the one to open it rather than have somebody read it to him over the phone. So it sat, unopened, in my parents' house for almost a week! He got home Saturday, and we got a call that night. Jed and I were out at dinner with Mike & Kim Keay, Justin & Amanda McDaniel, and Amanda's brother when we got the call. Kim knows Tom, so it was fun that she was there when he called.

Jed and I stepped out of the restaurant to hear, but it was still hard because there were about 5 people on the line we were on (Tom conference-called Grams and me, and I conference-called Laurel & Nathan). Sitting on the phone, listening to everyone else on the line talking at once was pandemoneum! Laurel and I were having a side conversation together, which was kind of funny.

To get to the good stuff...

Tom will be serving the Lord for two years, starting in the middle of September.

He has been called to serve in the Boise Idaho mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Have You Ever?

200 Have and Have Nots
(Haves in Blue, Have Nots in Red)
Sorry the blue and green are kind of hard to read, but it took forever for me to change the colors and I'm not changing them again....


1. Touched an iceberg


2. Slept under the stars


3. Been a part of a hockey fight (but I've seen plenty)


4. Changed a baby's diaper


5. Watched a meteor shower


6. Given more than you can afford to charity


7. Swam with wild dolphins I wish!


8. Climbed a mountain I do live in Utah...


9. Held a tarantula


10. Said "I love you" and meant it EVERY day of my life!


11. Bungee jumped I used to want to...not so much anymore. I like my neck the way it is. :/


12. Visited Paris


13. Watched a lightning storm at sea I used to watch them out of my huge window in Texas


14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise


15. Seen the Northern Lights


16. Gone to a huge sports game Spurs, Indians, Jazz, BYU, Missions, Bees :)


17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty But I have been there


18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables Jed and I tried... :(


19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope Where did that sweet one go, Dad?


20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment Like any normal girl...


21. Had a pillow fight Once again, like any normal girl...


22. Bet on a winning horse


23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill I was a teenager once. Sometimes you need a break from retail...


24. Built a snow fort


25. Held a lamb Thanks Terrys!


26. Gone skinny dipping Heehee ;)


27. Taken an ice cold bath Who does that?


28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar Interesting, yes. Meaningful, no.


29. Seen a total eclipse


30. Ridden a roller coaster Hello! Fiesta Texas! My summer home away from home.


31. Hit a home run


32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking Crazy Dancing, Karl!!


33. Adopted an accent for fun Haha Jed...Zack! Blah.


34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors Not out of the country


35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment All the time. How sad if not.


36. Loved your job 90% of the time


37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied When I was single... :(


38. Watched wild whales


39. Gone rock climbing I LOVE rock climbing!!! OMG SO FUN!! :D


40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach Not on a beach


41. Gone sky diving I really want to


42. Visited Ireland


43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant Girls don't do that


44. Visited India


45. Bench-pressed your own weight


46. Milked a cow


47. Alphabetized your personal files Of course!


48. Ever worn a superhero costume


49. Sung karaoke


50. Lounged around in bed all day Oh, it's been done!


51. Gone scuba diving


52. Kissed in the rain


53. Played in the mud


54. Gone to a drive-in theater


55. Done something you should regret, but don't ;D


56. Visited the Great Wall of China


57. Started a business Best dang lemonade stand on the golf course!


58. Taken a martial arts class


59. Been in a movie It was called "Drill Team Divas" ;)


60. Gone without food for 3 days


61. Made cookies from scratch At least once every two weeks-scratch is the only way to go!


62. Won first prize in a costume contest Thanks for reminding me Meals!


63. Got flowers for no reason Jed is a very thoughtful man


64. Been in a combat zone


65. Spoken more than one language fluently


66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone Attempting to defend myself...


67. Bounced a check No, I have overdraft protection :)


68. Read - and understood - your credit report Is that hard?


69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy


70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did


71. Called or written your Congress person Yeah, I had to for a YW project. Lame.


72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over Say hello to Ohio.


73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge Driven it lots before


74. Helped an animal give birth


75. Been fired or laid off from a job


76. Won money


77. Broken a bone


78. Ridden a motorcycle I've ridden on a scoot scoot. The driver has to have a motorcycle license


79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph :D


80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon But I've been there


81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing


82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days


83. Eaten sushi I did. It's yucky.


84. Had your picture in the newspaper


85. Read The Bible cover to cover


86. Changed some one's mind about something you care deeply about


87. Gotten someone fired for their actions


88. Gone back to school Going back in the fall!


89. Changed your name I wrote "Ali Anne" on all of my school papers in early elementary school, even though I don't have a middle name


90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands


91. Eaten fried green tomatoes


92. Read The Iliad


93. Taught yourself an art from scratch I taught myself how to read before I went to Kindergarten


94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating


95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt More like started talking to them after years of being astranged (Love you Kim!)


96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language


97. Been elected to public office I was elected Secretary of the FCCLA in high school


98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream


99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care Not me personally, but my Nana was in a home


100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you


101. Had a booth at a street fair


102. Dyed your hair


103. Been a DJ In the car... :)


104. Rocked a baby to sleep


105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four I'd rather just run it over-no guessing if it will "land on its feet"


106. Raked your carpet


107. Brought out the best in people


108. Brought out the worst in people


109. Worn a mood ring


110. Ridden a horse


111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap


112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe


113. Buried a child


114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play Try three - Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Les Mis


115. Been inside the pyramids


116. Shot a basketball into a basket


117. Danced at a disco


118. Played in a band


119. Shot a bird


120. Gone to an arboretum


121. Tutored someone


122. Ridden a train Not a "real" one from city to city or anything...


123. Brought an old fad back into style


124. Eaten caviar It was actually really good


125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn't need


126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant


127. Published a book


128. Pieced a quilt


129. Lived in an historic place


130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage


131. Asked for a raise


132. Made a hole-in-one


133. Gone deep sea fishing


134. Gone roller skating


135. Run a marathon


136. Learned to surf Body surfed. That's fun


137. Invented something


138. Flown first class


139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite


140. Flown in a helicopter Three-man airplane count?


141. Visited Africa


142. Sang a solo


143. Gone spelunking Is this the same as repelling? Repelling is a blast!


144. Learned how to take a compliment Yes, but Jed would tell you no...


145. Written a love-story


146. Seen Michelangelo's David


147. Had your portrait painted Caricatures welcome.


148. Written a fan letter


149. Spent the night in something haunted


150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane


151. Ran away What kid hasn't "run away" down the street?


152. Learned to juggle


153. Been a boss


154. Sat on a jury


155. Lied about your weight


156. Gone on a diet


157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget


158. Written a poem


159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox I *was* a kid once...


160. Gotten food poisoning


161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission


162. Hiked the Grand Canyon


163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks


164. Gone to the opera


165. Gotten a letter from someone famous


166. Worn knickers


167. Ridden in a limousine


168. Attended the Olympics


169. Can hula or waltz


170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books


171. Been stuck in an elevator I would have a panic attack- I'm claustrophobic!


172. Had a revelatory dream


173. Thought you might crash in an airplane


174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert By the artist!


175. Saved someone's life


176. Eaten raw whale


177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint I can knit


178. Laughed till your side hurt


179. Straddled the equator


180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing


181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival


182. Sent a message in a bottle


183. Spent the night in a hostel


184. Been a cashier


185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt


186. Joined a union


187. Donated blood or plasma Every chance I get


188. Built a campfire


189. Kept a blog TADA!


190. Had hives


191. Worn custom made shoes or boots


192. Made a PowerPoint presentation


193. Taken a Hunter's Safety Course


194. Served at a soup kitchen I've served soup in a kitchen...


195. Conquered the Rubik's cube


196. Know CPR


197. Ridden in or owned a convertible


198. Found a long lost friend Yay Facebook!


199. Helped solve a mystery


200. Commented on someone's blog

Thankful Thursday (A Day Late)

I've decided that Thursdays will be "Thankful Thursdays" and I will share things that I am thankful for. It helps me count my many blessings. I'll try to do it on time each week, but my track record is not good so far...

Yesterday was an incredibly bad day. Things were going wrong all over the place. My phone died (yet another wrong thing), so I had to talk to Jed over emails and I told him that I was leaving work early. (Jed's car has been going downhill fast recently *not literally*, so I've taken him to and from work the past couple days) He told me that he would leave work early too so that I didn't have to backtrack to pick him up, and also so that he could be with me and we could talk.

After we talked things over, we went to Mike & Kim's house (where Jed's car is resting in the driveway) and tried to save Jed's car to no avail, then we went to the store and Jed bought ingredients for dinner. We went to our new apartment and Jed made me a super yummy dinner! He said he just wanted me to relax and he took the reins, made this great dinner by himself, and I played Golden Eye. :D That is the one and only video game I get into. I was glad for the down-time.

So we ate this delicious meal Jed whipped up from scratch, without a recipe. I started feeling sick (it was not from the food-I think it was a mixture of me not eating all day and then eating a big meal, combined with these wonderful things I like to call "punches in the stomach from the devil". they come every month...) and fell asleep. In the 30 minutes or so that I was passed out on the couch, Jed put all the food away, did the dishes, and cleaned the entire kitchen. Uh, yeah. He's the best.

This week, I am thankful for my thoughtful "husband", Jed. ;)

This is not a good picture by any means, but at work, my picture resources are limited... :(

Three Weeks and Counting...

Countdown to wedding: 3 weeks.

Three weekends. Less than a month. 21 days. It's crunch time. I should be freaking out, right?
I think I'm just not letting it sink in that my wedding day is so close. I've just kind of let things run their course during the engagement, not getting too hung up on any one thing, and it's worked out well. Everything is running smoothly, almost everything is taken care of, and I'm pretty sure I'm ready. If I think about it too hard, I might let my mind wander and give myself an anxiety attack...

My mom will be here in 10 days, which is such a relief! There are so many things I need help with and, more importantly, so many things I need a mom for. My mom gives me a sense of calm in the storm, a rock to cling to. She knows what she's doing, and I find comfort in her presence. I wish she could have been here for the whole process, but you deal with what you're given. I'm just glad she's able to come out early and be here as long as she can. Sometimes a girl just needs her mom. :)

On a side-note, does anyone know where I can get a good bed and/or mattress that's not too crazy expensive?

Bridal Portraits

I took my bridal portraits yesterday! Laurel hooked me up with a friend of hers, Jessica Kettle, who does FABULOUS work!!

My roommate is a licensed beautician and did a great job on my hair. She cut it while it was dry which I thought was cool, and then she styled it. I did my own nails and make-up. Yes, I have to buy eye shadow and colored lipstick. It was all new and crazy, but I loved it and I did a really good job on my make-up, at least in my opinion. :)

I was stressing big because my friend Amanda had forgotten about the shoot and picked up a shift as a lifeguard, getting off at the time we were supposed to be leaving for Salt Lake. My dress takes about 20-30 minutes to get into. Yeah. So I texted my friend Kim to see what she was doing and when she told me she was free and wanted to go with me to the shoot, I ran over to her house. She got me in my dress, made me look gorgeous, helped me get in the car without dirtying the dress on the car or seat (wrap yourself in a sheet before you get in the car-works wonders-the sheet was filthy by the end of the day), and drove me to Salt Lake. We were SO late leaving, but Kim drives like I do and we were there in no time! ;) We did almost get in a wreck on the highway because the lane next to us all of the sudden came to a dead stop and people were *slamming* on their brakes, and some smart guys decided that to avoid hitting the person in front of them they should swerve into our lane and sideswipe us. Yeah, geneouses! ;)

Anyways, so we made it to Gateway (our meeting spot) about 30 minutes late, but it turned out alright because Jessica got to go shopping while she waited. :) Amanda came a little later and saved me by bringing me my earrings! Thanks Meana!! We went to a ton of different locations, and we shot for about three hours! It was AWESOME to be the center of attention for so long, with three girls helping me look as gorgeous as possible. Apparently something was looked over at the alteration appointment because I was falling out of my dress left and right. Kim was, once again, a life-saver and a TROOPER! She bent over backwards (almost literally) for me- helping me keep my dress clean, holding things in place for me, touching up little details that weren't quite right, etc. She even squatted behind me and held my dress back so that it was tighter on the chest and Cleveland was tucked away... Thank you Thank you goes out to Kim!!

I am uber excited to see the final product(s)!! I only got to see one shot the entire time, so I have no idea what they will look like. I'm sure they will be fantastic though. :D

Hello. Mostly Wedding Info.

Countdown to Wedding Day: Four weeks.

So this is our new blog. It will mostly be me, Ali, who posts and manages this portal into our lives. Thanks for being interested in us. :D

This blog is kind of a lie for the next four weeks. I am not a Goodell yet. Oh well. I have eternity to be a Goodell... I will enjoy my funky, hard-to-pronounce last name while I can. :)

WEDDING~WEDDING~WEDDING~WEDDING~WEDDING
Ceremony info:
Date-July 31, 2008
Place-Salt Lake Temple
Time-Late Morning

Reception info:
Date-August 1, 2008
Place-University of Utah Alumni House
Time- 7-9pm

Colors: Light Blue & Dark Brown

Bridesmaids:
Emily Busath Murdock
Laurel Busath Lakey
Angela Busath
Serena Goodell
Katy Hoke Hartung
Kimberly Roberts Keay
Amanda Bratt Nielsen
Amelia Lunt Savage

Groomsmen:
Chris Goodell
Nathan Goodell
Matthew Goodell
Jesse Goodell
Weston Goodell
Thomas Busath
Jeffrey Busath
Nathan Lakey