valentine's day and a byu-i bridal shower.

This past week has been a week! Austin has been working crazy, long hours. It sucks, at least for me. I miss being able to talk to my best friend. But with him working all day, he's ready to go to bed the moment he gets home (ok, probably even before he gets home, he literally works almost all day!) and we get to talk twenty minutes if I'm lucky. I'm working on trying to be okay with it, but really, it just sucks. I'm not being pessimistic. I'm just being realistic. Those are different things, right? ;) I KID. I'm just grateful I get to talk to him at all. He's the highlight of my day everyday.
Like I've said, long distance is hard and really does deserve its own post.
With school and other things happening, life has been hard for me. The only thing that was getting me through the week was knowing at the end of that hard week was knowing at the end of it was an all night Skype date with Austin on Valentine's Day and a Bridal Shower one of my very close friends and old roommate, Shellie, was throwing for me. I was so hecka excited! I haven't had a party for me in so long! Then I found out that one of my best friends, Krisi, was even going to come up from Provo to come to my shower. And on top of that, no school on Monday! Best. Weekend. Ever.
The day before Valentine's Day when I came home from classes I came home to a tall box on my bed. I was so excited! The box told me to open at once and that there were perishable plants inside, and I can't not listen to the box! It didn't matter that is wasn't Valentine's Day! The original plan was to open our presents together over Skype, but like I said, how can I not do what the box tells me!? But I, being a guilt-prone fiancé, knew I'd better call him first before I did what the box told me to. He said I could open it though! Which was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. With the help of Anessa, we were able to outsmart the box. And this is what I got :)

He said he didn't want to get me something that would die right away. Maybe if I manage to be a good enough bamboo owner, it can can go in our future home someday! Challenge accepted! I loved the gift and the thoughtfulness of it. The best part of the gift though was the card. I don't think he fully understands just how much some sentimental words can mean to me :)
After a long day of work on Valentine's Day, I finally got to Skype with Austin! He was really tired though because he'd only gotten to have a couple hours of sleep within a few days, so we didn't get to do the long Skype date I was hoping for. But it was good to see him again. And it was nice to see his reaction to the gift. I hope he liked it :)

(I made little "Open When" letters for him. This was so fun for me. I got to write him little letters of things I wish I could say to him in person if I were there when he was experiencing different things. Some of the letters were for when he was having a bad day, bored, missed me, needed a pick up, the day he goes through the temple, the morning of our wedding, etc. Moral of the gift, I love him.)
Saturday Bridal Shower Day!!!!!!!! Just what I needed :)
I have amazing friends. It was so fun just spending time with them, reminiscing, and eating, of course. We went around the room talking, and I got dressed in a toilet paper wedding dress. Classy! I got some amazing gifts, too! Seriously, it was just such a good day for me. I felt so loved to know that these girls would take time out of their busy day just to celebrate that I'll be getting married in a few months (3 months from tomorrow, actually, to be exact). It was so good spending time with the girls I get to see on a regular basis, seeing old friends I hadn't seen in a while, and others who I've been friends with since my first semester here at BYU-Idaho when I was 18!

On another note, I'm going to be pretty mushy right now. Like I said, in just a few months I'll be getting to marry Austin. I can't begin to express how much I love this man. He has become my best friend, and my soulmate. I used to not believe in those, not until I made Austin mine. He has become a part of me, a part that is hard to remember how I was without. He is funny, he is kind, he is protective, he keeps me level headed, he helps me when I'm sad, he makes me happier when I'm happy, he is honest, he respects me, he is honorably, he is a hard worker, he is dedicated, he loves his family, he is... amazing. There isn't a day that I don't realize the blessing he has been in my life since I've met him half a year ago. The day I met him changed my life. If I had to choose again, I'd choose him right away all over again.
In just three months, I'll get to be sealed to my Austin. I've been thinking about this day since I was a young girl, and even more excited to know it's going to be with him. I'm looking forward to my eternity--Austin is my eternity. As hard as it is to be away from him, it's worth it. Because it's with him.