True Friends

Disclaimer: I am rather wordy, if you don't want to read my ramblings, just skip to the bottom for the gist of this post.


This summer has been a very different than other summers I have had.  Not even close to the worst summer I have had, that's for sure....  But this summer, all of my best friends are gone.  I do still have other friends that are here still, just none of my really close friends.  Aubrey graduated and moved back home. Nancyann was going to come back with me after the family reunion, but after being home she realized how much she missed it and decided to stay home all summer.  And Julie is gone for the summer as well.  Those three girls have been my best friends for a while now.  Marshall had been out here, but he went back home at Christmas and is now in basic training. Phill and Crystal Littlewood left at the beginning of last school year for Massachusetts and Chris Hills transferred up to BYU-I last semester. Until just this week, Josh Foster and his wife Christie had been out here as well, but they just left to go back to Missouri for a pit stop before heading to Georgia for grad school.  With my work schedule, I don't usually get to do much socializing outside of Sunday's, which is ok I guess.  At least I have some time that I get to interact with people not on the computer or the phone.  But my birthday was this past week.  The past two birthdays have been lots of fun.  When I turned 24, I finally had a group of close friends out here at school for the first time (aside from when I was in China) and so we had lots of fun.  Last year we did a fun camping trip with everyone that was here, and since it was just after Marshall and Nancyann got out here, it was a blast!  Like I said, I do have some friends out here still.  So I figured I would invite a bunch of people to go to the tumble gym with me and have a party there.  I sent out like 30-40 invites in facebook (which I know isn't exactly a sure bet to getting people to show up)  I texted a few friends as well.  The only solid 'yes' I got was from Josh.  There were a few of my better friends who had valid reasons for not showing up, being out of town, work, etc.  But it end up just being Josh, Christie, their little girl and Josh's little brother who's been out here all summer and I there at the tumble gym.  At first I was kind of disappointed that no one else showed up, but then I started thinking about how much fun I was having with Josh and his crew.  I have long known that I would rather hang out in boring ole' Provo with a group of people I love than travel the world alone.  But I also realized that I would much rather spend the day with one really close friend than with a large group of friendly people who I'm not very close with.  Later that night there was a group of people in my ward playing signs who invited me to come play with them, which ended up being a lot of fun.  But like I said I have come to really appreciate the value of even just one close friend.

So, basically what I'm saying is I am so grateful for the awesome friends that I have, especially those that are closest to me.  When I went to Massachusetts over Christmas break, I got to see Phill and Crystal and we had almost our whole tight group of friends back together from the previous year.  Even though it had been a few months since we had seen each other, it was as if no time had passed.  Those are the types of friends that you can't replace.  I have been so blessed to make some really close friends and even though I don't see them very often (especially this summer) I'm still so glad that I have them as friends.

Announcements!

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to let you all know that Julie and I are getting our announcements printed right now.  We should have them by Wednesday of next week or so.  I know that some of you have already given us your information, but if you would like to make sure you get an announcement, please fill this form out!  We will put an announcement up on here, but if you would like one emailed to you or a printed copy of it, just make sure you fill out that form.  We have it set up so when you fill it out, it will populate a spreadsheet for us, thus making it TONS easier to organize all of the names and address of people who want an announcement.

Also, I apologize for being such a horrible blogger...  I have been having a pretty good summer so far, in case you were wondering.  It would, obviously, be better if Julie were here, but there are only 43 days left till we're married!  I'll try to post some overdue updates soon...  But I have found that instead of being overly productive, I've just come to wish that the summer would end and Julie and I could just get married already.  I have been reading a lot of books lately.  Lots of good books too.  I'm not sure if I'm enjoying the books themselves or the escape from being alone out here more.  Whichever one it is, it has been nice to read so many good books.  And I still have some I need to read.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the book!  Oh, and thanks Riss for the cook book!  I'm sure I'll be using it lots...  Mmmmm....

Anyway, I think I'll wrap this up before I start rambling on about nothing and taking up pages and pages with nothing interesting to report.  :-D  Hopefully I'll update you soon!

Curse those Irish and their awesome dancing

I think some of you have heard some rumors, and I'm here to put those rumors to rest.

First of all, yes. I did in fact break my toe. It happened a week ago now. I called on Friday to schedule an appointment with a doctor because this was no ordinary stubbed toe. There was something seriously wrong with it, and it sported shades of black and blue I didn't know existed. The earliest they could get me in was Monday, so I took it. Now this is something I've always struggled with when it comes to doctors. I like to think there's a reason behind their asking where it hurts, but every time I tell them, they feel the need to poke it, pull it, squeeze it, anything they can do to make the hurt area feel worse. Why can't they just believe me when I tell them what's wrong without having to see for themselves?! I think they just enjoy seeing others' pain. I mean, they are doctors after all. Anywho, I had some x-rays done, and then it was time to leave. However, as we were leaving, my mom wanted to schedule an appointment with the actual family physician to solve another problem that has been going on for a while now. We somehow managed to snag a slot for the next day! That never happens!

So I went back in today. And somehow, my x-rays hadn't been checked yet. When I had them done yesterday, the nurse said that someone would read them and let me know the results within the hour. I, however, heard no results. So today we made them read them while we were there, and the doctor said that he might have seen a fracture but that it was a bit unclear, so he wanted one more x-ray. After my scheduled appointment, I went and had another x-ray done. The nurse then said someone would read them right away and we could just sit in the waiting room until they told us what was up. After 45 minutes, we concluded that they must have forgotten about us again. But me being me, and my mom being my mom, we couldn't just leave with no results after waiting for that long. So we walked up to the desk and demanded our results. Neither of us appreciated being told to wait for a "few minutes" and then wasting an hour of our day. We got the guy on the phone and talked about my x-ray results.

It turns out I have a non-displaced fracture. In other words, I broke my toe. However, it hasn't moved out of place or become crooked. It's still aligned properly, so healing shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's a good thing too! The other night I had a nightmare that I wouldn't be able to wear heels at my wedding! LAME! So yeah, hopefully this thing fixes itself in the next two months. Otherwise, I'll be very upset, but the only thing I can do for it is tape it to its neighboring toe. That provides a support or splint. Then we keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Either way, I can't walk, which is super annoying, or get my toe into shoes. So now that my toes are taped, I look especially ridiculous limping around in my flip flops.

The next rumor I would like to explain is HOW exactly I managed to break my big toe. Well, I had a lot of energy last Wednesday night, so I decided to let some of it out by doing one of the Irish dance routines I learned in my Irish dance class last year. Irish dance really works you, so I thought that would solve my problems in a jiffy. My favorite routine was a hard shoe dance like the clogging done in Riverdance. However, I was so excited to dance that I forgot to go put hard shoes on. I tried doing the routine bear foot. Let me just say, NOT a good idea. I didn't even make it five seconds before I kicked the floor and heard a LOUD crack. So yes, I broke my toe while dancing in my living room. Everyone agrees though. If I were going to break a toe, that's how I would do it. Something completely idiotic and avoidable. Typical...

I have another appointment in 3 weeks to get the results from today's procedure and then see how the toe is healing. Wish me luck!

Every teardrop is a waterfall

Just for kicks and giggles, I've decided to update you all on the love of my life.

Coldplay.

I am SO happy right now. They released a new single yesterday!!! I think I've listened to it close to 50 times already. Yeah, I have no life. I know. Actually, not true. I do have a life. Obviously, hence the whole living thing. I just enjoy having music in it. :)

Anyway, so this song is awesome. It's called 'Every teardrop is a waterfall.' It has a bit of a techno feel to it. Definitely different from the slow, acoustic stuff they started their careers with and then the most recent viva la vida style, but I still really enjoy it.

The point is, you should all listen. now. here. Thanks :)

Announcement!

Hey everyone! So we just made a spreadsheet in order to efficiently get everyone's mailing information for our announcements (which honestly won't be made for a while still, but hey! why wait when we can actually get something done now?). But yeah, just click on this link and fill out the needed information if you want one. Thanks!

GUESS WHAT

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

Yeah, sure most of you knew about that already, but I just wanted to inform those who didn't. I have the most beautiful ring in the world, and my cute boy is just that. He's absolutely adorable. I might as well explain how he did it so that all of you can hear my side of the story, but beware. I practically wrote a book. Maybe I'm spending too much time around Keith. ;)

On Wednesdays, Keith "supposedly" has class until about 7 pm. I, however, am done at noon. We always meet up and chat for a few minutes before I go home. We talked about how he was going to be home late and how we should do something fun for a date to celebrate the last day of class. It sounded good to me, and I started walking home. Now, I knew that I was going to be getting engaged in the VERY recent future. I was about 98% sure it was going to happen on Wednesday. I just didn't know how or when. Anyway, I went home, got my computer, and made myself at home on my couch. I needed to write two more papers, but I just couldn't concentrate. I texted my roommate Sarah and told her to come over after she got out of class because I was so bored. Lucky for me, she wasn't going to be out of class until 4:00. So I managed to waste four hours of my life laying on my couch and watching House. Cool eh?

Eventually, Sarah came over with a sandwich and some chips. We sat in my living room talking, and it was almost 5:00, the time Keith's last class starts. Sarah finished her lunch and told me she was going to go put her stuff away and that she'd be back in about five minutes. Sarah left and I went back to aimlessly wasting time on my computer. A few minutes later, I hear the door open. I figure it was Sarah, so I didn't turn around to check.

Next thing I know, there's a scarf in front of my face, and I'm being blindfolded. Of course, since I knew it was coming, I wasn't that surprised. I felt the scarf and knew I was getting engaged! HOORAY!!! Anyway, someone takes my computer off of my lap, and then someone tries picking me up off the couch. THAT is when I start freaking out. I have this thing about being picked up; I don't like it. So I start yelling for him to put me down, not because I'm terrified of being abducted by a bunch of people I couldn't see, but because I have a fear of being picked up. Anyway, my captors attempt to get me off the couch and take me away, but I was thinking ahead. I didn't have any shoes on. So I plop back down on the couch and call for my shoes which just so happened to be sitting right next to the couch. Suddenly both of my shoes are being put on my feet, and then they take me again. I'm led outside of my apartment, to the parking lot of my complex, and put into a car. One of my captors was even kind enough to buckle me in when I got in the car. The really awkward part about all of this though, is that no one is talking. No one says a single word even when I would ask them questions. I could tell exactly who my captors were though, even without hearing their voices, Sarah, Debbie, and Ben. I know my roommates and their boyfriends well. :)

Anyway, after I get in the car, I ask the driver if we're allowed to talk. He also decides not to say a word. I wanted to see who the driver was, so I decide it would be alright for me to just reach over and practically grope the man. Lucky for me, it was Keith. He starts playing cheesy songs and whatnot, and we start driving. After a few minutes, he stops the car and helps me out. He puts a bunch of flowers in my hand and tells me to take off the blindfold. I open my eyes and I'm standing on the side of a mountain, over looking Utah. My cute boy is down on his knee in front of me holding the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. Then he simply says, "Julie Peiffer, will you marry me?" No nonsense or suspense. Straight to the point. I immediately say yes and make him get up so I can give him a great big hug. After that's all over, he puts the ring on my finger. Then we stood there for a while admiring its sparkle in the sunlight, and man alive, does that thing ever sparkle!!!

So yeah, that's the story of how Keith proposed. We were also lucky enough to have my friend Chris brought in on the action right before I was abducted. Apparently he filmed the entirety of it until I got put in the car, though neither Keith nor I have seen this video footage. Maybe we can put that up here sometime in case any of our faithful followers want to see part of the action. Then we came back home and told a bunch of people. We called our family members and stuff, and then I was absolutely starving. We decided to celebrate by going to Olive Garden, but I kind of wanted it to be a social event, so we invited all of my roommates and their boyfriends to come with us. How sweet is it that we are ALL dating or engaged?! Sarah and Evan couldn't come though because Evan was at work and Sarah had a lot of homework to do. But the rest of us had a complete blast and stuffed ourselves to the rafters! Another side note, the reason this entire engagement was a bit unexpected at the time was because I thought Keith was going to be in class. It turns out the class was just a review for the final, and he had a friend get the notes for him. Apparently he had better things to do.

Anyway, the bottom line is, Keith is adorable. We are finally and officially engaged, I love him to death, and I cannot wait to marry him. :)

Hey!

I've been invited to post on the blog. Pretty cool eh?

FYI, I'm really happy... and am losing a lot of sleep because of how jittery I am, which is pretty annoying. But still, I'd rather be happy and jittery than terrified and jittery! Can't wait to make this engagement official! The end. :)