Wedding Drama

I know everyone always says planning a wedding is stressful and I agree now. I am lucky to have a mother and mother-in-law who are working really hard to give me my dream wedding. The first thing that stressed me out was finding fabric for my dress and bridesmaid dresses. Everywhere I looked here in Vegas didn't have the right color for bridesmaid dresses or price for my dress fabric. Finally at 8 weeks before the wedding I asked Pop if he would drive me to the fashion district in LA to see if they had the fabric I needed. He said yes of course and I felt so spoiled that he rented a car just so we could go down for the day. At the last minute mom decided to go down with us and I am glad she did! If she wouldn't have been there to help me I would have been so lost because there are so many fabric stores down there! We went to a bunch of shops to price fabric for my dress and finally decided on one that would give us a deal on all the lining fabric as well. I looked all day for charcoal gray fabric for my bridesmaid dresses and only found one I kind of liked. So, I asked Pop if we could drive 20 minutes away to Mood Fabrics to see if they had anything. The only fabric I liked in there colorwise would not have been good on anyone's body type so we went back to the fashion district. There was a hole in the wall shop that we had seen some fabric at earlier in the day that we went back to. I was looking around the satins and found a charcoal gray! I was so excited because it was the perfect color. They sold it to us for $1.75 a yard too! I was so grateful we spent the day down there and found everything I needed. The second stressful thing was figuring out how to do a drop ceiling for the reception. I wanted it a certain way and, the other day, finally decided doing it an easier way would be better. We have people that are willing to help us and now I am just not thinking about it. The third stressful thing was finding a soft serve ice cream company. At first I thought we might be able to use Golden Spoon since Weston's parents know someone that owns a store. It was really expensive to have them come for two hours and I didn't want to use their cups and spoons. I just felt it was tacky to advertise that type of thing at a reception. I spent all day at work one day looking up and calling companies that might rent out machines. I couldn't find anything! Finally, the next day I found a company that does the maintenance on soft serve machines at the hotel buffets. They rent out machines from their warehouse as well. Pop and Mom have been trying to get in touch with the guy who is supposed to bring the machine that night. It hasn't been easy confirming anything with him so I am hoping I walk into my reception and have a soft serve machine. The biggest drama thus far has been finding someone to do my hair and makeup in San Diego. I started talking to a girl that one of my sisters recommended before I was even engaged to make sure I had that covered. We confirmed about a month and a half ago for her to do my hair and makeup the Friday before my wedding for my bridals. I was just going to have Kylie and Emily do my hair makeup Saturday morning. Kylie was afraid I would be upset if I hated my hair so I asked this lady if she could do just my hair the day of the wedding. She already had an appointment that day so we would do it early in the morning. A few days after we confirmed, she emailed me and said she booked someone else's party of 6 when I was supposed to get my hair and makeup done on Friday. She "forgot" I was scheduled that day and asked if I could do mine ealier. Weston and I are driving down to San Diego that morning to get our license so I couldn't do any earlier. I was really upset to say the least. She then emailed me again and basically said it is better business for her to do six girls versus one. I cried the whole way home from work that day. I couldn't believe anyone could be so rude. I understand someone wanting more money, but I had this confirmed more than a month ago and I thought it was bad business practice and unprofessional! Needless to say I started asking everyone I knew if they knew anyone in San Diego that did hair and makeup. Everywhere I would call was really expensive. It is like because you are getting married people take advantage of you and make you pay more than you would on any other day. Mom reminded me that my cousin Sabrina does hair and makeup in Southern Californina. I decided to email her and see if she was available those two days. She emailed me back about a week later and said she would love to be there, but had to discuss it with her family. This morning she text me and said she will be there! I am so grateful for her and her family for being willing to come up to San Diego to do my hair and makeup. That is one thing I no longer have to stress over and I will never be able to thank Sabrina enough! I know this is a long post, but lastly I just want to say how thankful I am for Weston. He is the kindest, calmest, most loving person I could have ever asked for. He tells me the truth when I am overreacting, which I appreciate. He calms me down when I am upset and always knows how to make me feel better. I know neither of us will be perfect in this marriage, but I know I will always have someone who mellows me out and makes sure I am happy.

I'M ENGAGED!!!

I am officially engaged! Weston and I have been talking about getting married since December (crazy since we started dating in December). I always said I wouldn't be one of those girls that got engaged in a month or two and that you need to date for at least six months before you talk about marriage. Well, I am definitely one of those girls now. Everyone says when you know, you know and I completely agree now. When the topic first came up, Weston and I agreed we needed to date for 6 months before we got married. Then we fell in love and realized we would only be dating that long because in the world's eyes we needed to.

The first week in January we decided to start looking for rings. We went to probably 6 different places and I was really frustrated. All the mall stores had nothing I even liked and they just seemed dirty. I found a ring at M.J. Christensen, but it was way more expensive than I would let Weston spend. When we got home his mom told us that her uncle might be able to make my ring since her also did Weston's sister's ring. We looked up the ring online and he emailed his uncle all the details of what I wanted, which of course was a lot of details.

We went up to Provo this past weekend for the UNLV vs. BYU basketball game and were supposed to pick up the ring. Weston told me while we were up there that his uncle had to go to a jewelry convention in Arizona so the ring wouldn't be ready. I was a little bummed because it was just more waiting I would have to do. I asked if he was lying to me so I wouldn't know when i was getting the ring and he told me he wasn't. He said his uncle would mail him the ring when it was ready.

This Tuesday, February 8, was our 2 month anniversary. Weston told me when we first started dating that he is a romantic. Well, last week I told him that even though he says he is, he hasn't really shown me a lot of romance. He told me not to make plans on our anniversay because he was going to prove he can be romantic. After work I met him at his house and we went to P.F. Changs for dinner since we both have been wanting to go there. He wanted the second part of the date to be a surprise, but needed a little help figuring out how to get to the Flamingo Hotel. I realized when he asked me that, that we were probably going to the Donny and Marie show :) I asked him if his dad helped him get those tickets, since Marie is in his ward and he said yes. I was actually really excited to see the show even though I haven't acted like that in past. We sat in a V.I.P. booth with a few other people. It was a funny show and Marie Osmond's voice is so beautiful! During the show I started to wonder if Weston was going to propose and that I hoped he wouldn't do it on stage. I tried feeling his pockets without him noticing to see if I felt a jewelry box, which I didn't. We went to a meet and greet after the show and got to take pictures with Donny and Marie. Their manager told us that our pictures would be Comped, but we would have to wait about 30 min for them to be ready. I told Weston I wanted an ice cream cone so we went out onto the strip to see if there was a McDonald's nearby. There wasn't, but Weston loves frozen hot chocolate and Serendipity's was across the street. We walked over there and they were closed so we walked back across to the Flamingo. We both have bad sweet tooths for ice cream so we decided to share a milkshake from Johnny Rocket's. By the time we got our shake it was time to pick up our photos. Ew one of them I look like I have a double chin! It was really nice of them to give the pictures to us for free though. We got back to the car around 10:30 and I told Weston I was sad because by the time we got back to his house we would only have half an hour to hang out before I needed to get to bed. He just brushed it off and said we could still hang out. On the car ride home my legs were itching really bad because I was wearing skinny jeans and I asked Weston if I could change into some of his PJs when we got back to his house. I was on the phone with Mom when we walked inside the house, but apparently his mom asked what he was doing because he was supposed to take me through the backyard. I changed into his Santa Claus golfing pajamas and when I came out I heard his mom tell him there were blankets outside. I glanced outside and saw some lights near the spa. Right then I thought either he was really trying to be romantic or I might be getting proposed to. He walked down the stairs and told me to put his slippers on. When we went into the backyard there were candles all around the spa and the firepit was lit. I told him he was so romantic and he handed me two dozen hot pink roses when I sat down. He asked if I wanted to make s'mores and I said sure even though I was still really full from the milkshake. He started eating his really fast and after he put eveything back int he bag I noticed his hand by his side. I glanced up at the house and saw someone watching us from upstairs, so I thought maybe it really was going to be the proposal. He said, "Chelsea I love you." So, I said, "I love you too." Then he said, "I will always love you." He stood up next to me then got on one knee and asked if I would marry him! I told him of course I would! It was so exciting and the ring was more than I could have imagined. I know that Weston is the man I am supposed to marry and I am so grateful I found him! The wedding will be May 7 in San Diego and our reception will be May 21 in Las Vegas.

Surprise!

I got to spend the last week with these beautiful kids. I went to help Christen with the new babe after mom left. It was fun playing with the girls and getting my chunk Blake (a.k.a. Jimmer) to sleep :). Can't wait to visit next month and see how much he has grown!

My Life Lately

I know I haven't posted in forever, but life can be busy sometimes. The past few months have been better than I could have hoped for. Work is going well and I am still enjoying squirting jelly on people :) I met a guy at the end of November and we have been dating ever since. I am in love and don't care who knows it! His name is Weston and our family has known his family since he was in 2nd grade. I also got another calling in the singles ward. I am not only the housing coordinator, but the date box coordinator as well. Basically people sign up to go on dates and I set them up. It's a little more complex than what I am writing though. I am really trying to embrace and love this calling, but I can't wait to get married and be done with it already. I will hopefully be posting next month about a big event :)

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

On Thursday, my actual birthday, I had to work. Mom made me the traditional pancakes with a candle on top for breakfast. The ladies at work bought lunch for me and the secretary make me muffin size cupcakes. I got a lot of presents from people at work too. It was a really good day to be working so I wasn't upset about it. For dinner I wanted it just to be Mom, Pop, Emily and myself. I had looked up restaurants that give free meals for your birthday the day before at work and chose Red Robin! I know I am a nerd, but I think I deserve a free meal on my birthday :) I got the banzai burger, which is my favorite. We had everyone over for ice cream cake after dinner. It was a really fun birthday and I got everything I wanted.

I convinced Kylie to come down to Vegas for the weekend so she could go with all of us to Phoenix. I found her a ride down and she got here late Thursday. I was so excited to have her back in town. As I get older, I don't really feel social anymore and I just want to hang out with the few people I know and can trust. I was sad, even though she probably doesn't believe it, that Emily couldn't come with us to Phoenix. She had band stuff she had to do over the weekend.


Friday I took the day off work and ran some errands. Kara drove down with Hallie to go with us to Phoenix as well. I was so excited for a fun weekend. We left around 4:30 after everyone had packed. Christen convinced Pop to sleep at her house over the weekend. We hung out most of the day on Saturday and just bummed it around Christen's house. Ben also came down to Phoenix with his kids! Pop took the girls, Hallie Bear, Skye Marie, and Larkie Loo to Walmart to pick out some toys. When we got home Mike started up the BBQ and we all ate way too much. Pop and I took a nap before the game since he was tired and I was in a pissy mood. The game started around 5pm. The disappointing thing about going to Chase ballpark is that they don't have Dodger Dogs! I still ate a chocolate malt and the field was beautiful. Even though the Dodgers lost, I had a great time wearing my blinged out Dodger hat. After the game, Ben's family and Christen came to Chili's to eat dinner with us.


Sunday morning we left Phoenix at 6 am so we could get home for sacrament meeting. It was an important meeting for Pop because he became the bishop of the Quail Ridge Ward. It was a great weekend despite some hiccups here and there, but when isn't there with a family full of girls! I missed having Katie and her family there this weekend, but we get to see them this weekend and I am so excited!

I GOT A JOB...ACTUALLY 2!

I finally got an ultrasound job! A couple of weeks ago I interviewed at Southern Hills Hospital for a per diem position. I got a call from the recruiter a couple days later telling me they wanted to offer me the position. I decided to turn down the Kingman position because if I at least had this per diem I could wait it out until I got a full time position somewhere. I will be on call a couple weekends a month and cover some vacation time. Yesterday, I got a call from the recruiter at Southwest Medical telling me they FINALLY posted the job online. I rushed home from the gym and filled out the application. A couple hours later the recruiter called me back and told me they wanted to offer me a full time position! I wanted to scream I was so excited. So, now I have both a per diem and full time position. The training may conflict a little so I am hoping Southern Hills will be willing to work with me so I can keep both jobs. YAY!!!

What to do?!

As you all know I have desperately been trying to find an ultrasound job now that I passed my national board exams. I have applied everywhere, but I would love to move to Phoenix I decided. Well, I got a call before I went to Virginia to interview in Kingman Arizona. It is about an hour and half outside of vegas on the way to Phoenix. When I got home from Virginia I set up to have my interview yesterday. I drove out and started the interview at ten in the morning at Kingman Regional Medical Center. I had to sit with three of the imaging managers while they asked me questions, then I went on a tour of the facility and had to scan for the ultrasound manager. I wasn't too nervous, but I did feel a bit intimidated when they started talking about benefits and me moving out there. I would have to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 7am to 7pm and I would take the On Call shifts for Friday and Saturday nights. That would leave my weekdays open to go home if I wanted. At the end of the interview, almost three hours later, they offered me the position. They offered me full benefits and more than I could have hoped for starting out pay. WHAT DO I DO!? The cons are the that I would have to move to Kingman, have no life and work on Sundays. The pros are the pay and the experience I will gain being in a hospital. Then, as I was driving home I received a call from the outpatient center I want to work for in Vegas. The manager said the position was approved, but has to wait for them to post it online in order to interview me. He said when the recruiter calls he is going to tell him he already has someone in mind and not to call anyone else who applies. But, it could take up to two weeks for them to post this position I want. I feel bad making Kingman wait two weeks for my answer without knowing for sure if I will even get the job in Vegas. My mind is going crazy right now. It is all coming in at once and I hope I make the right decision. Keep me in your prayers that I will know what to do!