turkey day, turkey day, turkey day!

i must say, thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! it's a close second after christmas, but that's only because the christmas vacation is longer! this thanksgiving will require something new of me. although turkey dinner will be at mom'n'dad's, as usual, this year i'm SOLELY responsible for the appetizer goodies that our family and friends will feast on before endulging in the wonderful linner (we eat early...2pm. dinner? lunch? linner...? dunch...???). me. by myself. gigi. YIKES. i considered cooking a variety of amazing appetizers, but then realized i don't cook, and this would be the first time i'd be trying ANY of these new recipes. after slight consideration, i thought it cruel to use my family as guinea pigs for my appetizer-test-run...on thanksgiving! SO, i resort to tortilla chips and guacamole, an assorted variety of pre-cut cheese and tasty crackers, and pita chips with hummus. to my family - i'm sorry this will be such a boring menu of hors d'oeurves. maybe i'll work up some guts in the next 24 hours and decide to try something new, but i really can't make any guarantees. me? i'm an easy turkey day-er... i like turkey, gravy, and heaps and heaps and heaps and heaps of that classic green bean casserole dish. oh yeah, i almost forgot, i'm also obsessed with stuffing. my mom makes AMAZING stuffing. i can sense the inevitable coming, though...one year my mom is going to make me responsible for the whole dinner. i may freak. i know someone out there makes thanksgiving-TV-dinners... they have to! who knows, perhaps cooking will become a new passion of mine. eh, probably not..................
happy turkey day!

meet THE BRIDESMAIDS!!

i have yet to introduce my wedding party! meet the great girls that will be standing next to me, supporting me on one of the biggest days of my life!

meet kat.
my big sister and the matron of honor ...

in case you didn't know this, kat taught me to dance. she wins the award for coolest big sister, and she's kicking butt and taking names when it comes to wedding planning with me! one day we may go to her-ami together :-)

meet danielle.

my pea in the pod and my maid of honor...

dani and i have been step-in-step with each other for the last half of our lives (12 years!). dani has organized my whole bachelorette party, too. with oh-so-much class! very impressive...

meet alyssa.

or should i say "banks"? yes, i should say "banks". we should ALL say "banks". banks and i met in jr. high and have been best buds for at least 10 years! we played water polo together and i love this girl to death!

meet kristy.

her real name is "the nakid". that's a story all on it's own. she and i have been best buds since high school. ohhhh the days! now kristy's married to her love, jj, and has two BEAUTIFUL boys, braylon and jaxten. she's an amazing mommy!

meet jessica.

jessica is josh's sister, the older of the two. she is one of the sweetest people you will EVER meet! the more time i spend with jess, the funnier she gets... especially when i least expect it!

meet jacquelyn.

jacqui is josh's sister, too... the younger one. see the resemblance?! she's extremely creative and so fun to hang with. i'm so excited to have the future sisters in law in the wedding, and so happy that i soon get to be a part of the johnson family!

thanks, girls. i'm looking forward to the rest of the wedding planning together, but most of all, i'm so happy to have each of you in my life!

96 days!

that's right. we are less than 100 days away from THE BIG DAY! double digits! some days i think it's going by too fast (and by "some" i mean...a couple here and there... okay, i don't really recall WHICH days... i'm sure there's been at least one or two...i think....hmm) but most days it's a slow countdown that i wish would speed up! don't get me wrong, planning has been fun, but i try to be careful with how much energy i put into wedding planning, because i know that in the end, the "wedding day" is just one DAY. one afternoon, really. so, as exciting and as fun as all this planning is, what i'm really excited about is being married to joshua. i cannot wait to be a family...josh, gigi, and june :-). juggle that!
however, i DID promise this blog would serve as a "wedding planning update site" thingamajig, so i'll stick to my word. here's the latest and the greatest...
**we just took our engagement photos on saturday. OH MY GOSH i am SO excited to see them! the best photographer in the WORLD, ryel, took them. girl, you rock! (www.ryeljphotography.com) we had so much fun snapping away... josh and i basically played around the whole time and ryel just click-click-clicked, non-stop. i hope we don't look like too big of dorks in them, but we might :-) a picture's worth a thousand words, right? we finished the night up with dinner with ryel and her hubby, dayle. wow, guys, we finally got to hang out!! yay, good job, us!
**all the dresses are in, and it's getting close to time for the boys to start thinking about their get-up :-) they have it so easy it's almost rediculous. you'll find no hints on the wardrobe, here. you'll just have to wait for the big day.
**we picked our DJ and now get to start flipping through tunes to find the right ones for each part of the wedding. we're thinking some sort of 80's rock theme for the whole wedding. (no, we're not...) so far we have some GREAT picks that we are so exited about! the first dance song has been chosen for some time now, thanks to my incredibly musically inclined fiance, and we just decided on our "exit song" a couple days ago. josh and i love music, so this part is proving to be a lot more fun than i had expected. i didn't realize we get so much say in our music. (duh, i know...but still, i've never done this before.)
**the invitations are almost done and are going out in the next few weeks! those have been fun to make, but quite a bit of work! i can't wait to send them out!
**honeymoon plans are being finalized between now and the end of the year. we know we are heading down to cancun for a week, we just have to work on the flight, cars, hotel details...and the logistics of it all.

THANKS to everyone who's keeping up with us during this crazy-fun time!

WP - in full swing.

it's official. it's time to get our butts back into wedding planning. with only a 7 month engagement, you'd think wedding planning would be a constant, but i can honestly say that josh and i took a 2 month break from the planning chaos and just enjoyed "being engaged". the wedding is now only 4 months away, so we've got some serious stuff to think about! not to mention, between now and the wedding, we'll be sidetracked with a few things that will ALSO require our full attention... thanksgiving, christmas, new years, josh's birthday, wedding showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, super bowl sunday, and valentine's day... phew. it's a good thing we don't have anything else to do.................... rightttttt......

oh yeah, i almost forgot--i kicked my baby's butt in mini golf this weekend! :-)

He's not the only one studying...

On December 13th of this year, I will have known Josh for two years. I can still remember the moment I met him. We shook each other’s hands and shot a professionally confident glance in each other’s direction, saying simultaneously, “It’s nice to meet you”. The rest is history, just history (although I LOVE telling the story, so ask me about it one day, if you’ve never gotten the inside scoop). Josh and I have gone through waves of spending TONS of time together, then straight to weeks of spending just a few moments here and there together. But let me tell you, I KNOW him. I know he loves pizza and basketball (together is just pure bliss to him). I know he loves his dog, his friends, his family, his coworkers. I know he loves to climb and hike and camp. I know he can appreciate just about any music (unless it’s utter crap), and I know he likes those really smart TV shoes like House, Heroes, Lost, even TopGear. I got it down. It’s simple. I’ve figured him out.

AND THEN—BAM! No I haven’t! Not even close! He’s even more complex and interesting than I could’ve ever imagined. And it’s AWESOME, because I know I won’t stop learning about him when we get married. Josh is an artist. He is extremely (almost ridiculously) intelligent. He’s good at ANY sport he plays, or even tries. He can beat any video game you hand him, typically within the week. He never puts less than 100% effort into whatever he does (he refuses…and I’ve even been a bad influence and asked him to try to half-ass something…nope, he won’t do it!!). You know what else? He gets sweeter every day. He never stops thinking about me. And he’ll never let a day go by without reminding me that he loves me and that he’s stoked to spend the rest of his life with me (which is just such a relief because we keep working on these wedding plans…and it’s so nice to know he’s still got it on his calendar….haha).

So let me tell you, the journey’s been fun, so far. But for the next four months, and into our lifetime together, I have a LOT of studying to do on this amazing catch-o-mine, Josh! And I won’t stop. :-)

Organized Chaos

It's been a while since I have posted.  Sorry to those of you waiting on baited breath for what I might say next. ;)   

I was reading a friends blog post today (Killing Churchianity) and, for a second, thought I wrote it.  He was writing about how organized chaos has entered his life.  I can say that I feel the same way.  

I finished the first school session a few weeks ago with straight A's, marking the first time I have EVER had straight A's in my life. Unless you count that "How to be ridiculously good looking" class I took.  Aced that one!  

With the second session of school starting the very next day,  and requiring a little more effort than the first session, I am finding it difficult to fit everything I want to do and everything I need to do in.  The hardest part is that if I don't get to do the things I want to do, the things I need to do aren't nearly as much fun.  

I have to hand it to Gigi.  With the amount of time I have to devote to work and school, she tends to get the short end of the stick.  She has been a real trooper and supporter of it all.  There are times when it wears on her, but I know she understands.  

We have hardly seen each other in the last few weeks. :( When we have seen each other, it's been in a group setting.  Thankfully we have a date planned for Saturday night!  I am really looking forward to it.  What we do is still up in the air, but I like to be pretty creative (and secretive) when I plan our dates.  It's fun for me to see the anticipation on her face!  

Anyway, as chaotic as life is, it is comforting to know that I have someone standing by my side.  Even though she may be frustrated from time to time, I know that she loves, encourages, and supports me.  The next four months will be tough, but I will trade four months of frustrating time for a lifetime of Gigi any day. :) 

I love you, Honey!!!

that's a wrap!

Ohhh my, what a weekend! Phew! It was awesome... tiring, but awesome!

Kelsey and Colby's wedding was so awesome--those two are so in love :-) Liz and Matt's wedding was beautiful, and the yacht was just killer! Congratulations to all of you guys, and many blessings in you marraiges!

Our friend Kristy Sola has started doing some photography, so we "modeled" for her to work on some engagement pics. We are a month away from our engagement pics with Ryel J, our good friend and photographer who will be photographing our wedding, so this was a great practice session!

Tonight, Alyssa, Josh and I went and saw the movie "Fireproof". It's a really good movie (okay, the acting was a little cheesy at the beginning, but the storyline really was good). You may have not heard about it before, but I really recommend it. Watch out, it's a tear jerker!

So, I really lucked out yesterday! Josh, being the wonderfully amazing techie-geek that he is, owns tons of great gadgets, including 2 flat screen TVs. Well, he's found that 2 is just too many for a growing boy, so he decided to "share the wealth" and move one of the two TVs into my place! Yayyyy for getting "an early start" on the move in process.... I'm just LOVING it. Such crisp picture...and it S-W-I-V-E-L-S!!! My old TV is now in my room so I can finally watch The Early Show in the morning as I get ready! Life is good.

Here are some pics of Josh and I from the casino night dinner cruise, Kristy Sola, and the two weddings we went to! Enjoy!

the craziness to come...!

in the midst of all our wedding planning, this upcoming weekend brings a cocktail and dinner cruise, a wedding in bakersfield, and a wedding on a newport yacht. i hope i have enough outfits for all the fun occasions!!

kelsey and colby, liz and matt... best wishes on your big days!!

look for pics after the weekend!

the getaway!

for a few weeks, now, josh and i have been trying to set up a camping trip. we usually head straight up to joshua tree for camping and climbing, but we thought hiking sounded a little more mellow, and great for a quick trip. we had it all planned--we'd head up to hurkey creek (where josh grew up camping) and we'd take june with us for a quick 2 day trip. fast forward a few weeks...its almost time to go....until...we checked the weather. "chance of rain"--"watch for rain this weekend"--"cloudy with a 60% chance of rain"--"rain is expected". aw crap. wet tents, wet dog, dirty car, cold nights...not sounding so fun anymore. i was bummed. i was in such bad need of some one-on-one time with my guy and was totally not wanting or willing to pay for a hotel just for a weekend away. well, come friday afternoon, josh told me to pack some clothes, and that we were leaving that night. "where to?" i asked. "you really wanna know?" he says. "hmmm, actually, no, i don't," i said. "alright. good, because i wanted to surprise you anyway." so i packed up my stuff (and lots of it because i didn't know where we were going..) and hours later, we hit the road. june stayed behind with his roomie and sister, and we started our trek...but not without a quick stop and in-n-out to start the vay-cay off right. 2 hours later we found ourselves in a cabin in big bear. it was awesome...just the two of us, a stack of movies, a pile of board games, a chill in the air, and a warm fire. we spent a lot of time indoors (which was exactly what we needed...), but did make our way outside to have lunch, walk around town, catch a glimpse of the stars, and play in the woods. it was a perfect weekend. thanks, baby, you're the best!

the wonderful world of partially prepared meals...

josh and i have a new favorite grocery store. you have to check out fresh & easy if you haven't yet! first off, they give away more coupons than i've ever seen (after bed, bath, and beyond) so there's no excuse to not try it. anyway, (so far) josh and i haven't spent time focusing on "cooking"...we are more the type of people that will take any opportunity to rationalize going to dinner instead of cooking ("since we don't have ALL the ingredients we need for that, we'll have to go to the store first, which takes gas...especially after you turn the car on twice, once to get there and once to get back...then the onion will be so big that no matter which house it stays at, it'll end up being thrown away because it won't get eaten before it goes bad, and since we haven't seen each other in a few days, we really need to catch up over a served-hot appetizer, and we should really do our part in trying to keep the economy strong...") so, in an effort to stay away from going out to eat so much, we'll often drag one another to the grocery store and throw things in each other's carts. but fresh and easy....well, we're having a fun with that one. so much pre-seasoned/flavored fun! i'm especially fond of the seemingly fresh cookie dough that needs to just be "popped in the oven", and josh so far likes the pre-wrapped burritos that only take 3 minutes in the microwave to cook.
doesn't our eating style sound just SOOOOO tasty?! everything from (not)scratch. i'm having a dinner party soon. who's in?

chewed up old, wooden desk and a can of lighter fluid...

that says it all, don't ya think!?
josh, jacqui (josh's sister), steve (jacqui's bf) and i cruised down to capo beach on sunday night with a trunkful of wood (josh's old desk and filing cabinet in 30 pieces), a few hot dogs, some wire hangers, and a lighter. we found a pit, set up shop, and hung out by the warmth of the fire for 3 hours. we topped the night off with some golden spoon, because what's a weekend without frozen yogurt?????? not a weekend...obviously....

jet-tivities

i like to combine words. josh thinks i'm a dork, but what else is new, really? last week i traveled to saugatuck, michigan. what? where? yeah, that's what i said... saugatuck, michigan borders douglas, michigan. what? where? yeah, that's what i said. i was invited by a haworth furniture dealer (office furniture) to visit haworth's headquarters and manufacturing plant in michigan. it was a last minute trip, but i was stoked to find out the deal came with a private jet for the 14 guests, a trip out on the lake in a yacht, and 2 nights in the locals bed and breakfasts. not to mention, tons of food, wine, and a few really informative sessions about office furniture (which, call me a dork, but i love office furniture) and cool lectures about the leed certification process the new building went through (leed...sustainability, green, etc. i just became a leed accredited professional in the last few months, so this too, was intriguing. josh is an eco-friendly green-buff, so he's always pushing me to learn more about energy conservation, recycling, reusing, and going greeeeen!) saugatuck was so funny. it was basically "balboa island meets cape cod"...plop in the middle of the midwest. the town had a smaller population than ucsb. in any case, the trip was quick, easy, and fun. it was really nice to get back in time to enjoy the weekend and spend time with the j-man though, that's for sure!

When I was a senior in high school...

The last thing I wanted to do on a Saturday morning was ride my bike around and check out garage sales with my best friend.  In fact,  it never even made the list of things I might possibly want to do with my Saturday morning.  

Now that I am 32, things havent changed much, but I found myself up at 4:45 a.m. this last Saturday driving with my fiance to my parents house to work a community garage sale.  By community I mean my parents and three other houses within 4 square blocks.  Yeah, it was awesome.  You only wish you could have been there too.  

The best part though was the two high school seniors who showed up on their bikes.  It had to be the highlight of the day.  We were just imagining the phone call that sparked it all....

Kid 1 - "Dude.... do you still have that backpack?"

Kid 2 - "Yeah, I wear it to school every day..."

Kid 1 - "No, no, no... that wont do.  I mean the BIG one.  The one you can almost fit yourself in"

Kid 2 - "Yeah.....why?"

Kid 1 - "Just get on your bike, make sure you have your riding gloves on, and come over... I have something planned that you're gonna LOVE."

If I was Kid 2 and I showed up to have my buddy tell me we were going garage saling, I would have punched him in the face, shoved him in the backpack, and thrown him in the lake.  But being on the flip side of things and watching it all happen was a heck of a lot of fun!!  Those two kids bought 2 entire backbacks full of junk.  It was really quite awesome. 

The best parts of the day was hanging with the family, super mario bros and a nap on the couch.  I would do another garage sale in 6 months just for that part! 

"BREAKING NEWS--New Chef Cooks Without Flavor!!!"

Josh and I hit up The Beach House in Laguna for dinner on Saturday night. What did we talk about all night, you ask??? How AWFUL the food was. What a bust... :-( LUCKILY, Josh and I have a strange way of making just about ANYTHING so much stinkin fun, that 3 nasty bites and 4 grossed out faces later, we were having a blast with each other. I'm sure splitting a bottle of some random Cabernet-Shiraz blend didn't hurt our cause... :-)

Josh 'n' Gigi's day off...

For some reason Labor day means a day off of work. I don't know who came up with that idea but I am not going to argue with it. For me it means I get to forget about schoolwork for a day and spend some time with my fiance!

After a busy Saturday and Sunday, a relaxing Monday was what I needed. Thank goodness we had the day off and lunch at Islands with Gigi was the perfect way to start. Caffeine and food to take my headache away then it was off to REI for some shopping for whatever will get rid of the gift cards that melted in my car....oops! After finding some new clothes we were off to IKEA to look for some temporary furniture until we are married. We didnt find anything except wedding decorations, but did you know you can get frozen yogurt in a cone for $1.00 at IKEA? That was awesome!

We left IKEA and went grocery shopping (where we got some kick-ass patio chairs), picked up June from my house and went to Gigi's house for dinner. We had frozen pizza on the patio and watched the neighbors get all jealous of our food. Then we poured some wine, opened up the new patio chairs and watched an episode of Heroes on the laptop. Technology is awesome! (and so are those chairs!)

What a great day!