6 days

I am taking out my endowments in six days! I am so so excited! I feel like this is Part 1 of getting married, and I could not be more thrilled. I am excited to wear garments and I am excited to hang out with Brad in the celestial room. :) I can tell this is going to be awesome.

Cheeky

I want to document the fact that a couple nights ago, I made Brad laugh so much that he kept telling me to stop because his cheeks were getting sore. He was trying to hold his cheeks in and massage them as well it was apparently so painful :) Making him laugh is one of my top three favorite activities. And I love it so much when I am successful! Thank you Brad for making me feel like I am hilarious!

(And speaking of cheeky, I would like to give a shout out to his super cute little cheek dimple. Love it!)

New blog!

I got booted out of my gmail account for several weeks due to a series of unfortunate events that involve a hacker and failing to write down the new password I chose late at night after trying to get google to accept 50 other passwords. That is why I have not posted in so long.

In the meantime, I survived by creating a new email address involving my future new name of Tilley, as well as a new blog. Eventually I will start writing more on the new blog and leave this one behind. Check out bradandrachelletilley.blogspot.com sometime in the next while and add it to your Reader before you forget!

Funnest Ward Activity Ever

Brad's ward had a Halloween dance tonight in the apartment parking garage. It wasn't even my ward activity, but it was the best party ever! Brad is on the activities committee, and so we got the donuts to go with the hot chocolate and cleaned up a little bit afterwards. But we had so much fun.

We dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in the suits they wear during their big shoot out at the end. We bought these big, fake, black "automatic" guns from the dollar store that make noise and light up and we wore sunglasses. I thought we looked pretty good! The pictures are on his camera... If you are lucky I will post them later.

We danced for a long time! I was a little surprised because the first interaction I really had with Brad was Dani's black-light dance party birthday party, and I tried to get Brad and his friend Andrew to dance with me, and they made pretty small efforts to dance. So I was surprised tonight when Brad kept pulling me back on the dance floor, but it made me so happy! We can dance our cares away together!

It was so fun dancing together and kind of ignoring everyone else... Who knew that it would be so much fun to go with your pretend and almost spouse? But dance parties are now on the top of our list for activities!

This is an example of one of the many silly moments that make me so happy I am marrying Brad. Another is how much he enjoys watching "She's the Man" with me. He thinks it is hilarious! Yay for marrying someone with the exact same sense of humor as me :)

I'm Getting Married!

(Disclaimer: This post might be the cheesiest thing you have ever read. But I don't care.)
I am engaged! I am so excited! Twelve o'clock on December 18 cannot come soon enough! Oh my. This is the best thing that is ever happened to me in my entire life. Brad is a blessing straight from heaven made just for me. He is the sweetest man I know and my best friend. He is also ridiculously attractive :) I am so so so blessed. I have no idea how I got him, but he actually does know everything about me and loves me a ton anyway. I am totally marrying up.

Brad proposed yesterday by taking me on a picnic. As some of you who know him may be surprised to hear, he sang me a song that we both love about getting married, and that is when I knew he was proposing. I of course started crying. He made me cry harder while he talked about how he decided to marry me because it was so sweet, and then he got down on his knee and I laughed a little because we both knew what I was going to say. If I hadn't been crying I think I would have shouted the word yes instead of just saying it :)

The next surprise was that both of our families were waiting at his house to celebrate and have lunch together. It was so much fun having them all (well not really all, but some) in the same happy room! I love Brad's family and I love my family and the combination was great! I am glad that they got to meet.

Best day of my life thus far. And my favorite part is that the best is yet to come :)

I love Brad so much and am so excited to be with him all the time! I hope that everyone can come to the reception so that you all can meet him!

Assistant Product Manager

The title of this post is my title at my new job that I can't believe I haven't posted about! I have been working at Wencor in Springville, Utah for just over a week now, and so far it has gone well! I am managing their standard and commercial hardware parts. I mainly price the products all day which involves updating the database of new prices (which I choose at my own discretion) bidding on contracts for the hardware pieces, and finding ways to grow the hardware part of Wencor (which means I help find the sales people opportunities and ways to get customers to purchase with us).

I have learned a lot so far. I am improving, even though it is frustrating not being fully up to speed. It is overwhelming to start from scratch again in learning a business (like I had to do with my internship).

However, my manager and team are great, and everyone is really nice. I think they forget that a lot of what they are saying sounds like a foriegn language to me though because of all the acronyms and specific jargon they use like its no tomorrow. I swear my mind is constantly going a mile a minute to try to decipher and then come up with an adequate response.

They bought me a new way nice Thinkpad laptop which is cool and I am going to get a new chair. I also have a cubicle. I don't like having cubicles. It separates everyone way too much. And gives me too much privacy - it is so much more tempting to text. I have started to decorate my cubicle though, so maybe that will improve it. I brought Viola, my plant, when I realized that she would be fine with such little sunlight (the windows in the building are tiny) and I have a classy board that I am going to put pictures on. My manager told me to decorate because it was making him nervous that I wasn't "moving in". He told me he was afraid I wasn't going to stay! How funny. He is a very nice man.

Today the team went to Tuscanos for lunch. I hear they usually only do that type of thing at Christmas. But we went today and Christmas is coming up! Sweet.

August 29, 2010

I just felt like documenting my day because it was really great and because I need it to be on the record. Today was a wonderful day because:

• I woke up and read my scriptures
  
• Went to iHop with my fabulous ex-roommates
  
• Brad and I washed my car
  
• We went to Jamba Juice for half off (he is such the best at getting us free food), and
  
• We picked up a dress that I've been wanting and they happened to still have in my size
• We sneaked into the Riviera for swimming
• Brownies and mint ice cream
• Independence Day (I laughed, and Brad loved it)
  

6 Months

My first reaction to this milestone is, "Have we seriously been dating that long?" My second reaction is, "Haven't we always been dating?" I don't really remember life without him :) It has been an extremely fast and fun 6 months and I've loved it!

I got a job!

Since my internship is ending, I needed a new job. And magically, I have one!

I will be working at a company in Springville that manufactures spare aircraft parts as an Assistant Product Manager.

This blessing seriously just fell from the sky directly into my lap. It couldn't have worked out more easily and perfectly. Short commute, pay increase from Goldman, fewer hours required of me, more responsibility, and a laid-back culture. And I only had to have two interviews.

I am so excited!

I am also moving again. Tonight. I will be back in my old apartment in Provo across the hall from my favorite girls ever. Yay! And Brad and I will soon be finished with this commuting to see each other garbage. I couldn't be happier about that. Life is better when I see him a lot and lately, I have definitely not been seeing him a lot.

Gotta run - I promised myself that I would get a lot of sleep tonight, so I must go - I have a lot of work to do! :)

Dad dad dad dad

My parents are the best. And my dad mentioned to me in a comment on my last post that while I sarcastically said that I didn't mention Brad's name enough in the post, my dad thought that I did not mention his name enough in there either :)

So I thought I would just post a little something about my parents, and specifically my dad and say his name a bunch of times as well. Not really because he requested me to do so, but because I want to.

I think my dad is the greatest guy around. It is so fun being his daughter. My dad has done such an amazing job of making my mom and my sisters' lives great. My dad has developed so much patience over the years. He is also the hardest worker I have ever met, which I respect a lot. Its funny because while he has been watching me grow up, I have been watching him as well, as he has navigated life and improved himself. He has been such a good example to me. I think that his opinion matters to me more than he knows and more than even I realize. That is how much I look up to him. He is also lots of fun, and likes to have fun (see pictures below).



Don't these two look like the coolest parents ever? I bet you wish they were yours! :) Also, sometimes I wish I still lived at home. I miss my dad.

P.s. don't worry mom, I will write a post about how much I love and miss you as well sometime soon :) You are equally as awesome!

7 Peaks

I feel like my blog is becoming an advertisement for fun date ideas for LDS Young Single Adult people living in Salt Lake/Provo. Ugh.But I have a new camera and what else would I take pictures of but the things that Brad and I do together?
Also, if it seems like I only hang out with Brad that is probably because I only hang out with Brad. How many times can I say Brad in one post I wonder? Brad, brad, brad. Oh my.

The weekend started out with tennis. While Brad still kicked my trash it was much closer this time. I just get all hyped up because the score is so close, and then I choke. It is a mental thing and not a skill thing I swear! Btw, I have been informed that I am terrible at trash-talking. Apparently you are not supposed to laugh while trying to intimidate someone.



We went to Eclipse after that because Brad's mom wanted to go... Brad actually was getting quite upset because he thinks Bella is completely stupid for picking Edward over Jacob. I quite agree. I won't share my other multitude of opinions on the series - it is not worth my time typing.

7 Peaks was our Saturday activity, and I went down the second biggest slide (see orange slide in the photo below. I did the blue one on the other side that is almost identical). I didn't open my eyes once during the entire thing, I was so scared! But despite my protests, I am glad that I was pretty much forced into it :)




As Brad was so sweet to model for me as seen below, we used some gross but effective spray sunscreen so none of us got burned... I am pretty sure that I could use this picture for blackmail if I wanted to someday...


We ate an entire $5 pizza on the way home, and then got these amazing fresh strawberry shakes. Brad got the shake all over his face.


Another good weekend almost over. I am beginning to live for them even though I like my job... I love my summer days in the sun!

Opinions/Favorite Things: Billy Joel

I have been inspired by Audrey's blog to write more often about my opinions on life or things I am ridiculously passionate about. I never think that anyone else will think these things are interesting and I also never really think of any thing that I want to talk about.

But, again following Audrey, I will post about a famous and incredibly talented man.

Billy Joel.

Oh my gosh, I love his music. And his lyrics. If any man wants to learn a ton about women and relationships, all he would have to do is make himself a student under Billy Joel's tutelage. The man understands things that most other people never think to put into words. Its like Billy Joel wrote an entire class beginning with an introduction entitled, "She's Always a Woman to Me", continuing on to "Tell Her About It" and then getting meatier through "Honesty" and "And So It Goes". I believe the conclusion of the class would be "Its All About Soul" and "Just the Way You Are".

Billy Joel was born in the Bronx, got teased for taking piano lessons growing up, so he took up boxing. He was on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for awhile even. He never graduated from high school because he slept through an English exam. When he got famous he married Christie Brinkley, a model (who is gorgeous btw), whom he wrote "Uptown Girl" about. "Uptown Girl" is vividly part of one of my earliest childhood memories. I love that song!

So I clearly understand that sometimes Billy has that cheesy eighties thing going on, but seriously the man is a genius, which is proven by the fact that he is the third best selling solo artist in the United States having sold 100 million records worldwide. He also has six Grammys and has had top 10 hits in the 70's, 80's, and 90's all of which he wrote by himself. Most people that are famous for music collaborate. He is the star and he is good at it. And his songs are so musically different from each other! You could never get bored.

Lagoon

This is the funniest video ever; I had no idea that Brad was filming! We are on the ride the Rocket, and it is a free-fall. It might not be super clear on the video, it slowly drags us to the top, and the free-fall only lasts a second and then it bounces us up and down for a bit. Its a way fun ride.

Also, notice in the second picture above that the weird sign we are standing next to says both RAD and BRAD on it. Therefore it was a perfect photo op for us :)

One of my new favorite activities is sitting next to Brad on roller coasters so that I can laugh hysterically at his yelling. But I guess the video proves that he is not the only one who screams a lot on rides... All in all, it was a super good date.

Something Amazing

For the past many months while my sister has been pregnant, I have felt like this little dude:




This little guy did not disappoint! He is totally amazing!



Congrats Adam and Andrea!

Flu Bug

It started yesterday while I was at Brad's house with his whole family. My stomach started hurting and the next thing I know is that I am walking bags of trash with my vomit in it outside to the trash can in front of everyone. Use your imagination to figure out why I couldn't use the toilet to throw up in... TMI? Yes. But when you think about it, I am the one who had to endure this horrible experience, and you are only hearing about it (insert sweet angelic smile). Anyway, I continued to be sick over and over for the next several hours, and by that time I couldn't drive home I was so shaky and weak so I stayed the night.

Now I am home and I have kept some food down. I am very lightheaded however. And my whole body aches. And I am complaining to the void of the internet because there is nothing good on T.V. I want to do nothing else except lay here though. Laying down is such a wonderful thing. As an interesting side note, since yesterday I have lost six pounds.

Also, I am very excited for my nephew to come! I have been watching Supernanny in preparation so I can give annoying unsolicited and inexperienced advice :) Yay!

That European Feeling

This past Tuesday I wore a skirt and flats to work so that I could walk to the temple to do baptisms when I got off. I thought it would be perfect to stretch my legs after sitting all day and to accomplish my goal of doing baptisms every week.

Setting out I knew the general direction I needed to go and had a guess as to how many blocks I needed to go, but I couldn't see the temple from the City Center building where I work. But I was happy to be walking around downtown anyway. It reminded me of my Art History study abroad in Europe. We often would just start walking in a general direction and not worry about how long it took us to get somewhere.

So anyway, lo and behold, on the way there my dream came true, and I ran into the jewelry store O.C. Tanner. I had been planning on looking their location up soon, but fate brought us together before I could even do that. For those of you who might not know, for years now, I have had a hobby of studying jewelry. It started in high school, and was only enforced by my art history classes. I study jewelry, and more particularly, jewelry designers, the way that I study artists because I have a firm belief that jewelry should be designed and purchased as an art form. Anything less is just a waste of precious stones and metal. Anyway, even though they were closed, they let me in, and I have never been more excited about any jewelry store in my life. They carry all my favorite designers, and some great ones I had never heard of and I was in heaven! Oh my, it was wonderful. I am going back to visit again soon.

I continued on to the temple, and had a wonderful time there as well, in a more calming but more satisfying way. I loved it. Then I stopped at the Lion House Pantry for a roll and honey butter, and I ate that while I walked back to my car. All in all, it was a wonderful evening. And I am so glad I get to spend time in downtown Salt Lake!

Working Woman

I feel like I don't even live at my apartment. Which is kind of sad because its nice and I really like my roommates! But it is also good because I am learning so much at my new job/internship, and I am having fun spending a lot of my free time with Brad.

Work is a little crazy I must admit. Its a lot of hours (last week 50.5) and at the end of the day my brain feels like absolute mush because of the information overload. There is so much to learn its crazy. After work my brain feels the way that it feels after 10 hours of cramming for finals. Its kind of awesome though. I am on the International Asset Servicing team with five other full-time employees. I am the only intern on that specific team, and I have been assigned five projects that they need help with. Its great having responsibility for real work that will have an impact on the company beyond my 10 week internship.

I was lucky enough to be assigned to a team that moved to the temporary downtown location for the firm before they move into their new building. This means that I get to spend my lunch breaks wandering the streets of a city center trying new delis and bakeries (I recommend the Boston Deli, Gourmandise the Bakery and Toasters) and visiting the huge SLC Library which is kitty-corner from my workplace. I love living/working in a big-ish city!

Maiden Voyage

We took the boat out for the first time a couple of weekends ago and it was amazing! It did take us a lot of work to get the boat and tubes, etc. ready, but "That Dam Boat" worked like a beauty! The weather could have been a bit warmer, a fact we knew before we went, but I was determined to get in the water anyway. And I am glad that I jumped out of the boat without allowing myself to think about it beforehand however, because man, it was chilly! Can't breathe I am immediately shaking kind of chilly. But Brad and I did a whole lot more than just jump in though! We tubed, he tubed, and I face-planted wakeboarding, we jumped off the rocks, and it was so much fun! I love vacationing in St. G, and am so happy that it is so easy to get Brad to come with me! Oh and also, I should mention that those matching sweatshirts are not ours, but my parents. We put them on to be funny :)

Graduation

If you can spot me, I'm by the flag.



Its been ridiculously long since I have posted on this thing. I usually don't update when nothing is happening, but this time there have been a lot of changes in my life and for some reason, I have not had the urge to write about any of them. I am thinking that is because I am not sure I want to face the reality of all of this change. But I will at least start by posting about graduation.
I will receive my diploma from BYU in August (though I'm done going to school on campus) with a B.S. in Business Management: Global Supply Chain Management, and a Minor in Art History. As you can see above, the Marriott center was packed! Elder Christoffersen spoke.
The picture above is a view of the beautiful Tanner Building which houses the Marriott School. This has been my domain for the past two years. I will miss it! I really loved my major and all the people I worked with to get it.
My whole family came to be with me during my graduation. Sorry to use all caps, but I LOVED LOVED LOVED having them with me! They are the best, and we had a wonderful time together. The majority of these people had to fly long distances just to see me. Thank you so much for being there everyone! Muah!
Also, this gem was in attendance helping my family by toting around bags and chauffeuring people around. And I think that some of them (cough, Jessica) liked him more than they like me! :)
Also, we went and met Cecil O. Samuelson (the President of BYU) and his wife at an open house they had. It was fun because I have always really like Cecil. Everyone seems to. At football games when they show him on the big screen everyone just screams "Cecil!" I think it is mostly because his name is funny and fun to say.I love Lauren and the many pictures that we have taken just like this one. Minus the ugly cap and gown I'm drowning in. Also, I LOVE this girl! I am more sad about not rooming with her than like anything else right now. On her blog she recently wrote about how neither of us know what to do without our nightly hour long chats, and afterward a question was sarcastically posed, "Well why don't you just marry each other?!" To that I say I would if I could! Ha ha ha. Audrey and I live very independent lives, but somehow manage to still be super close. She is the best!This photo is a sneek peek of Andrea's baby showers that happened that weekend as well! More later.

12:52 p.m.

The title of this post is the time that I woke up today. Am I ashamed you might ask? Maybe a little. But mostly I just enjoyed it!
I stayed up late (not a surprise) and it was the first time I have been able to sleep in as late as I wanted since I don't know when, but definitely well before I graduated. And since I have been going to school for the past year and a half sleeping in like this doesn't happen often. But because I am currently living as a vagabond, I can get away with sleeping into the afternoon. I have very little in my life right now that needs to get done. Its disconcerting, but also super fun!
The reason I was up late was typical: I was talking to Audrey. This is practically the story of my entire college career and the reason that I desperately do NOT want to move to Salt Lake for my new job. I know that people make fun of the fact that girl roommates become obsessed with each other and completely co-dependent, but I just can't help that it is so fun to talk to her! And we really do lead very independent lives, for the most part but we just like to discuss things at the end of the day for at least an hour. And when its already 12:45 a.m. because you have just finished watching Pretty in Pink, that means with the hour plus of talking and giggling, you don't get to bed until 2:10.
I love college life!

FHE Music Video

Our ward had a Grammy's event for an FHE activity. Each group submitted an original music video. And I totally think ours was the best! This is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life! Not that I did all the work or even most of it, but I was so excited to be a part of this. Watch and enjoy! Or, since I can't get the video to be small enough, for my blog, visit the link here.

Family Reunion

Yes these pictures are like nine months old. But I miss my family today and particularly my sisters so I wanted to post them again. But I AM SO EXCITED that my family will all be with me next week!! You have no idea how excited I am. It has been forever! These pictures are from one of the last get-togethers that we had. You can tell that it has been awhile. I wish that we could see each other more often. Those ladies living far away really need to either move closer or get really rich really quick so they can fly out here more often. Seriously. Also, since everyone is coming out for my graduation, I am thinking to myself, "hey, I should graduate more often!" I am still working out the details on how I could make that happen....

Cute

There is a reason I have been so MIA lately on my blog... This is him :)

Hallelujah!

I just got an offer for an internship with Goldman Sachs! I am so excited!!! The position I would be hired for is "Summer Analyst" for their 10-week program in their SLC division. Its pretty much perfect, and it pays really well :)

It came at such an amazing time too! I was seriously so upset about my after-graduation prospects a mere fifteen minutes before they called. I was like discouraged to the point of tears and walking home in the rain/snow without a coat (I felt like Eeyore with this little rain cloud following me), I got home and prayed and read my scriptures just to let it go, and then they called!

Today is a wonderful day!

Yoga

I have been introduced to another wonderful technological marvel: free power yoga podcasts on iTunes! They are these amazing 20 min sessions that come with a slide show so you have a visual of the pose, and plus it's power yoga, so it really works. I feel like it is similar to gymnastics without as much flowing movement, fear, or pounding on my joints, and I really like it! So far it has made my butt sore and my entire legs ache a lot. We'll see if I get any other results that are cooler...

Lights out

So I was really tired the other day while on campus, so in between classes I went up to the 6th floor of the Tanner where all the faculty offices are, and laid on this little couch, put my coat over my head, and went to sleep. I woke up awhile later and it was dark. I realized that someone had turned the lights out above me. For some reason to me, this little thing seemed like such a nice gesture! Someone had seen me, probably some professor, and instead of thinking "she should go to bed earlier" or "crazy students" or something like that (which are things I sometimes think about myself and others), they wanted to help and so turned out the lights to make my nap more restful. Thank you random stranger, I actually really appreciated that.

Three things I love

Today as I was showering I was listening to a playlist made by iTunes Genius on my Apple computer, and it was so much fun! Seriously, try listening to "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid without having a blast! Other awesome artists/songs that came up included Zac Efron, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Zip-a-dee Doo-dah Day, etc. It was pretty much amazing!

The point of all this is that sometimes I feel like Google, Apple, and Disney are taking over the world, and I am totally okay with that!! Goggle texts me to remind me of things on my calendar, and allows me to collaborate with group members from school in real-time in Word, Excel and Powerpoint for free, and Apple provides me with my computer, my iPod, iTunes and its Genius, and dreams of owning an iPhone someday. Disney provides me good, clean, fun, albeit cheesy, entertainment which is something pretty much no one else does.

All I am saying is that my life is completely permeated, but made better-off, by these three companies and I think its great. Live on guys, live on.

Also, I just made chicken pillows for myself without a recipe and they still turned out pretty well! YUM!

Plan B

We'll start with Plan A: Get married in the temple. Have a brood of children that run around and drive me crazy, but provide endless entertainment. Sounds lovely.

But my roommate Dani and I have separately and together come up with...

PLAN B: if either/both of us get divorced, or our husbands die before us, or we somehow (despite our obvious hotness) never get married, we are prepared. And we both think that Plan B sounds almost as fun as Plan A. I am actually quite excited! Here it is


YEAH BABY! We are going to be biker chicks! Also, I am going to collect cars and work on them. Do I know how to do that? No! I'll worry about that later.

Reasons that this plan is AWESOME:
1. We like leather, and plan on looking hot in it. We promise to keep the embroidered flames to a minimum. Maybe not though, it depends on how old we are when all this happens.
2. There is something about the lingo you suddenly have license to use as a biker chick, such as "hog", and mild profanities that can be screamed into the roaring wind.
3. The ratio of men to women in this lifestyle and subsequent social circles. Its significantly in our favor. And I think it is perfectly ethical to have 20 boyfriends at a time. Especially ones with good retirement plans. (Dani: "Use and abuse baby!")
4. The open road calls to us. See picture above.
5. Bikes inspire imagery of warm weather. We will travel in a pattern that follows the seasons so that we will perpetually be in Spring.
6. Biker chicks are classy and also way more fun than normal people.

I am so excited!

Pictures

Optimus prime anyone?
Best d-day cake ever made! By these super-cool boys no less!




I just got my hands on the little flash drive that allows me to get pictures from my camera to my computer. So here are pictures that I have been meaning to put up for awhile. The pictures are totally out of order, but oh well.

This is from Dani's SUPER AWESOME black-light dance party that we had at our house. It was amazing - we moved all the furniture out of the living room and replaced every single light in our apartment with a black light. Tons of people came, most of whom were men, which was awesome, and we danced the night away, and wrote on each other with highlighters. So much fun!

This is a picture of the copious amounts of shampoo and conditioner that Audrey and I have in our shower. Its just us who use this shower, and somehow we have gotten carried away... I have a theory about girls - if there is an empty space somewhere, we will usually buy something to fill it. That is why I plan on having a small house when I grow up - otherwise I will go broke.

These are the matching lamb slippers that me and Dani and Audrey got around Christmas time. Dani won a pair at Hannah's bridal shower and then got Audrey and I some to match! So cute :) And that is the little chick that we got at the white elephant Christmas party that chirps when you place it on your hand. Surprisingly, that has been a pretty amusing gift.

Audrey and I went to a BYU v. SUU gymnastics meet awhile ago, and BYU totally won. I love gymnastics!! Its the greatest sport ever.


Dani and I made another fire in my metal trash can. We are seriously pyros. We will probably have another. But next time we should probably do it outside and not in the hallway.... I think we might have inhaled a lot of smoke. We certainly smelled very strongly like campfire by the end of it... :) It was so much fun!!