Days go by...

Okay. You know I'm a fan of the list-posts. So here goes.

• I started working at the Jr. High library again, this time for PAY. I'm the Substitute Librarian while Linda is in Ethiopia for the next two months. Her daughter and son-in-law are living there, helping to start ranches, etc. They recently decided to adopt 5 of the Ethiopian kids from an orphanage. Linda is going to help her daughter and her husband is going to help with the agriculture stuff. This is her daughter Alyssa with the Ethiopian people.

• When she left she gave me the keys and said, "This is your baby. Have fun with it!" I work from 10-2. I've been having fun with the kids. One kid, and eighth grader has told on several different occasions that he's going to be a ghost hunter (we found him several 'nonfiction' books on ghosts), criminal investigator (he has his own website already), and creator of an "extreme reality video game" (the only problem there is he has to figure our how to simulate the feeling of death). Needless to say, it's a blast.
  
• I've also been working part-time at Melaleuca. I enjoy it, even though I go home exhausted. I work from 4-9. I just got my 2nd pay check this weekend, and BOY was that nice.


• I ordered my wedding dress, and it's all finished! They should be shipping it to me sometime this week. Here's a sneak peek:

• Zach and I got our engagement pictures back, and we were very happy with them! Here are two of the better ones:

I designed our announcements and we ordered them last night. Hopefully they're coming soon!

• I've been acting like this guy:

• Only not so creepy. Lol. I've been reading up a storm during slow hours at Melaleuca. I can highly recommend The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Roar by Emma Clayton, and The Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. To name a few.

• It's finally Friday!! Tomorrow is the 6 month mark for Zachary and me. We're going to have a special date night. But shhhhhh! That's a surprise.

In a whirl

Hey everyone!

It's been an embarassingly long time since I've updated. My head is still spinning from this past school semester, which I barely survived (academically speaking).

Here's a list of big highlights you may have missed:

1. I never mentioned it here (shame on me) but on November 7th I got engaged! If you're curious, here's a link to our wedding website. It has the story of how we met and how he proposed, etc.

2. Zach and his parents came down to Arizona for Thanksgiving, because he has grandparents just a few hours north of Mesa. It was a crazy and hectic week, but we really enjoyed it.

3. Zach was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder called Graves Disease. We're still sorting out all his symptoms and new prescriptions, but are relieved to finally have some answers. He hasn't been quite himself the past few weeks, but things have taken a turn for the better.

4. Zach's best friend started asking my roommate/second cousin out on a few dates. They are now talking non-stop, and we all hope it goes somewhere! Zach and I feel like two little matchmakers.

5. I spent the few days before Christmas with Zach's family in California! The weather felt like a miracle after Rexburg's ice and snow. We had fun at the beach with a few of our friends, and I got to help decorate the Emmons family tree. It was his mom's birthday on the 22nd, so I helped celebrate there too.

6. Also on the 22nd, I got a new niece! Chloe Lynne Olave was born and gave us all quite a scare. She was in the NICU for about three days with liquid in her lungs. Happily, she made a good recovery and came home on Christmas Day. My parents and younger sisters are here in town with us, and it's been lots of fun.

7. I finished my internship well, and was promised a job as the substitute librarian when Linda goes to Ethiopia (probably end of February). Exciting? Absolutely!

So now I'm just chilling in my apartment, which would be empty except that my younger sisters are staying with me. Hallelujah for that! I really need a job, so I'm applying online for a job at Pizza Hut.

I'm also compiling a large list of books I want to read now that school is over. I plan on reading most of the "hot item" books from the junior high. =]