A little more on the new CASA

So I got some better pictures of the Cutlers future casa. Here are a few for you to feast your eyes on. Once all the remodeling is done, we will add more before and afters. So, let's get on with the show...

Pretty much the living space. Pretty good size. About 17' x 17'

A little more of the living room.

The HORRENDOUS oven that WILL be gone.

And here's the front yard!!

Hellooooooo terrible popcorn ceiling. Don't worry, that's the first order of business...

This is where the LINENS will go.

Our BEDROOM!!

Yeah, the MINT GREEN is soooooo gone.

I fell in love with this stairway.

The Results are IN! And the winner is.....

MATT CUTLER!!! A few weeks ago, my man was elected Senate President of UNLV. Pretty dang exciting. I'm still not really sure what his job description is, but what I do know is, I get a mortgage payment out of it every month, sometimes we get to go to AWESOME shows like BLUE MAN GROUP, for free, might I add, he has to go to a meeting every week, and that' really all I know. So, from what I can tell, I am benefiting from this little endeavor of his. It might get a little more hairy as the weeks pass, but for now, it's a pretty good deal.

So the night that we found out, we went to Raising Cane's for dinner with Ronnie and Shannon. That place is the BOMB, and you should go there if you even have the chance. So that was also the night that we found out that our friend Ronnie, really was going to pop the question to his girlfriend, Shannon, and that it was going to happen soon. So that's pretty exciting. Since I am the first one out of my friends to get married and Matt is pretty much best friends with UNLV and his BOOKS, it's pretty relieving that we will have another married couple to hang out with. They should be getting married at the end of June.

So now, Matt is not only studying his BRAINS out, he's going to meetings with the new executive board of UNLV, and interviewing people to be representatives, and yadda yadda yadda... So I get Matt about 13 minutes out of the week. But the semester is almost over and then I'll have him a little more... THANK GOODNESS!!!

So that's the scoop on Matt's election thus far. We've got his inauguration and dinner to go to in a few nights, so he gets to get all 007'd out. I'm stoked. He's a STUD in a suit. Also, since you have read this far about his election, you might ust be interested in reading the article that the REBEL YELL wrote about this Stud Muffin:

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=11869

Enjoy!

Almost there...

We are now 40 days away from the BIG DAY!!! We've come a long way in wedding preparations. We FINALLY found a place to live!! It's near UNLV, but is in a cute little neighborhood. It's 2 bedroom, 2 bath and a little over 1,200 square feet, and there really isn't much we need to do to it. Just get a new oven, get new countertops, new vanities in the bathrooms, paint a little, and scrape the POPCORN off the ceiling. Matt, the strapping young man he is, used to build houses in Idaho when he was younger, so he'll be able to do most of the work, thank goodness. Save a few dollars that we don't have. ;) The previous owners are also leaving their furniture for us!! There is an AWESOME oak table, an armioure, desk, dingle-berry lamp, king sized bed, and other odds and ends. I guess we won't be at D.I. as long as we thought...

Our announcements came in and we have almost finished addressing them. We are waiting on a few more addresses, but they should be in the mail by next week! That's been the big project lately, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!! My dress, and the bride's maids dresses have come in, and the altering is miminal, thank HEAVEN!

All we are really waiting on is the approval from our lendor, telling us that they are going to give us $ging-wah$ to buy this house!!!

We had our Bishop's interview last weekend. He started the interview with, "So, you guys finally decided that you couldn't stand to be without each other, eh?" Our bishop is one of the funniest guys we know. If you have seen Office Space (I wouldn't recommend it unless it's edited on TBS), the boss is just like our Bishop. He talks kinda slow, but boy, he's got a GREAT sense of humor.

As for the HONEYMOON, that's still a huge mystery. Matt wanted to do it all himself, so he's got it booked and all, but the only thing is, I don't know where we are going. And I won't know until we are at the airport, ready to get on the plane... All I know is that I had to get a passport (which came in in two weeks!!), I have to pack a swim suit, and it's in South America. That's fine with me. He's soooo good at surprising me. I can't wait!

Everything else is pretty much donzo. I'm meeting with the flower lady later to finalize that stuff. Matt is going to buy a new suit soon so we can go the the bridal portraits done. I've never seen anyone make a bigger fuss about talking some FREAKING pictures. He's all, "I don't want to see you in your dress before June 7th." Well too bad, kiddo. I don't want to stand outside the Temple in June in the HOT sun taking pictures. I'd rather get it done before then.

Wedding preparations

So now that I'm engaged and the initial shock has subsided, it's time to PLAN A WEDDING!!! I have had so much fun so far! I have been engaged only for about 3 weeks, but have almost everything done! Here's the list of stuff checked off: Date (06/07/08), Place for wedding (Las Vegas LDS Temple), Place for reception (Tropicana LDS Chapel), Wedding Dress, Temple Dress, Bride's Maids Dresses, his ring, people to do cake, flowers (Gerber Daisies), food, decorating. I've made lots of appointments, and have searched through millions of magazines! I do love it though.
I am, however, still searching for a photographer that knows all about Mormon weddings.

The aftermath.

So he finally asked me. We talked for a little bit, kissed, hugged, and then finally made our way out to my car. As we were leaving, he said, "There is just one thing." I asked what he was talking about, and he said, "You can't tell your dad, because I didn't have time to ask him." Regardless of how intimidating fathers are (my dad happens to be the most intimidating of them all), it is a huge NO NO to not ask the father's permission. I started to freak out, and told him that either he has to go to my house now and ask my dad, or I have to give him the ring back. He went on with his story for another minute or two, and then finally told me that he had asked my father the day before. I about lost my mind on him. I am NOT gullible, except for when it comes to him!!! I was ticked, but not because I knew now that I was definitely going to marry the man of my dreams!!! We went back to my house at about 10:30, to anxious and very excited parents. We talked with them for a while, and them I reluctantly took him home and kissed him goodnight. I had work the next day, but didn't know how I would sleep!!

Getting pretty anxious... And then BAM!!!

Well, I knew that Matt and I were meant for each other, but since I'm the girl, I couldn't do anything about it... He would drop little hints that he was going to finally pop the question, but never did. My co-workers had me convinced that he was going to ask me to marry him! We even went to a ring store in the mall so he could get my exact ring size!! So I was convinced it would happen soon. Well, the weeks went by, and I thought everyday, This could be the day! And, it wasn't. Matt has always been about being random, and full of surprises, and so when Valentine's Day rolled around, I knew he wouldn't do it then. I worked all day on the 14th, so he said that he wanted to get together the night before, and give me my gift then, so that I could "enjoy it on Valentine's Day" I agreed, and didn't think another thing of it. So the night of the 13th came around, and I picked him up, and was so anxious to give him his gift that I pretty much threw it in his face when he got in my truck. I got him the top of the line basketball shoes that were all fancy with straps and pumps and what not. The last pair of new basketball shoes he got were when he was in high school... (He is now 25, so do the math...) Yeah, he desperately needed them. I thought I was the best girlfriend at the time, and that I would be scoring some major brownie points for this one... Well, we went to dinner with our friend, Brittany Warnock, and then went to the LDS Institute to play games. It was getting pretty late, and everyone was starting to leave the institute. He pulled me into the Relief Society room (where we first talked, and he asked me to hang out for the first time) and he sat down at the piano. He started to play one of my favorite songs that he wrote, but this time, there were words! He sang about the relationship that we have had so far, and how he wanted to continue it! I started to cry as the song was very personal and beautiful. When the song was over, he sat me down at a chair and told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands (which is common with him). As I was sitting, wondering what he possibly could do for me that Valentine's Day, he was rooting around in this backpack. He finally zipped it up, and I heard him shuffle around. I finally felt his cold, shaking hand touch and turn over my left hand, and my mind went NUTS! I thought, OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS IT!!! I felt a ring on my finger, and as he slipped it on, He said, "You can open your eyes now!" I forgot that I was squeezing my eyes shut, and I opened them to hear, "Laura Lee, will you marry me?"

Our life as a couple...

So we started dating, and we were having so much fun! We were going on dates and getting to know each other a lot better! His family came down from Idaho to participate in UNLV's Family Weekend. We all went to dinner, a football game and then had dinner at my house that Sunday. I met his dad, sister, Ashley and her fiance, Nate. We all got along great and were having a lot of fun. Because Matt is the genius that he is, he was spending a lot of time at UNLV, studying and since he is a Senator there, was putting together events and what-not. But we spent as much time as we could together. I went up to Idaho to visit with him and his family over Christmas and New Years. I met some of his childhood friends and watched some of the home movies that all teenage boys make. I saw another side of the man of my dreams, but it was hilarious! We took longs drives (my favorite), went snowboarding, met his grandparents and had a blast. We were in love, and at the peak of our relationship... Or so we thought...