can't sleep at 2:05 a.m.

For obvious reasons. 

WEDDING DAY!

Not nervous, not having cold feet, not scared, not regretting a thing... just not sleepy. I've been looking forward to this wonderful day for the past year and a half.

Oh, and Elder Johnson received special permission to call me tonight. It broke my heart. I cried and cried and cried and cried some more. He's doing great. Can't wait to see him in September.

See you tonight at the party. I'll be the one in white.

eight

Brad and I are getting sealed here in eight days.

Eternal.

largest man-made excavation in the world, i tell you

Okay so I realized that the bridal shower was actually two weekends ago. Last weekend (as in, four days ago), Brad and I went up to the Kennecott Copper Mine in Bingham Canyon. The mine was really interesting to see and learn about, even though you couldn't actually tour it or anything. Did you know that this thing can be seen by astronauts from outer space? Another local Utah gem.

bridal shower

Last weekend my mom flew in from O-hi-o! for my bridal shower that my sister threw me. It was a nice friends and family one that involved some fun slash kind of naughty games, great food, and wonderful people. Sadly, I didn't take any other pictures that weekend of my mom and sister. I always forget.

Thanks, everyone, who was able to come!

inspiring others

I loved this blog post from my company's blog yesterday. It talks about inspiring others, particularly children, and cites the example of Gregg Breinberg's PS22 Choir. I remember sitting at a Cleveland Orchestra Christmas concert in 2008, listening to a piece by Beethoven. As the beautiful music touched and inspired me, I thought of how one person can make a difference in the lives of countless others, even without fully realizing it. Enjoy the post.

this is probably TMI and WARNING! there is a photo attached that may make some queasy

Minus the chronic headaches I've had since the beginning of time, and minus my one incident with scarlet fever, I have never had any sort of health problems. Occasional cold? Sure. Last time I was nauseous enough to throw up? Four years ago due to a shot that made me sick. Broken bones? Radius and ulna in fifth grade and ankle two years ago (which I am proud to say I didn't realize I had broken until months after the fact, so, last time I wore a cast? Fifth grade.). But lately? Lately my body is freaking.out.


*Allergies that have swollen the folds inside my nostrils to gargantuan proportions, so much that it's difficult to breathe. Oh, I've been prescribed four different medications to get those things to de-swell and they haven't deflated at all? Oh, cool. Good thing I have a mouth.


*Three planters warts on one of my heels. Noticed them after my vacation to Chile last September. Note to everyone, no amount of love you have for a country will magically erase the viruses it houses: wear shoes at all times when in South America.


*Tiredness. I would say four out of the seven days of the week, I'm ready to fall asleep by 9:00 p.m. If Brad and I are watching TV together once it's dark outside, it is guaranteed that I will fall asleep. He's starting to get annoyed. (Sometimes the tiredness is exchanged with insomnia. Sometimes I sleep for 11 hours in one night. It always equates to not being able to wake up early in the morning.)


*Sore throat. Oh hey, Mr. Sore Throat, time to go away. Remember how much I have to use my mouth to breathe? I can't shut you off too and not swallow.


*TMJ. Ibuprofen is my new best friend. I love when a doctor tells me to take 800 mg three times a day. I'm sure a stomach ulcer is bound to come up next.


*Rash or eczema or hives? For some reason, this is the one that disturbs me the most. I first noticed a dry spot on my chest a few weeks ago. Then it started to grow. Then I got a few other spots on my neck. Then they started to grow. Then to top it off, this morning I noticed small red dry spots all over my torso. Can't wait for them to grow.


All of that being said, I also want to say that I really am grateful for my body.  I'm grateful for the knowledge I have that everyone was created in the image of God and that our bodies are temples. I'm especially grateful that I don't have large health concerns (nor have I ever for that matter). I'm grateful that I can walk, smell, touch, feel, see, hear, run, listen, laugh, and enjoy life. I'm grateful for modern medicine and for doctors who can help me. And I'm grateful for health insurance.


I'm also grateful that one of my favorite people in the world didn't die from a staph infection in his knee two and a half years ago. I am eternally grateful for family members and friends all around the world (literally) who fasted and prayed for the sweetest boy in the entire world to get better. It still makes me emotional when I think about it. Read my uncle Winslow's email below to learn more about what my brother Aaron went through in October 2008. He's perfect now :)

Just bein' a little trooper in the hospital, takin' it easy, sippin' some juice, missin' something like 8 weeks of school that year. (Most of those weeks were spent at home, thankfully, and not at Akron Children's Hospital.)

Just giving Share his three-times-a-day meds thru his PICC line the day I got home from my mission.

Yep. That's a hole in his leg. Aaron had a vacuum pump in there and the nurse had to come over to our house every other day to clean it out.

Aaron Johnson, Keith and Carlie's son who is a Junior in High School, had ACL knee surgery last week.  When the Doctor opened the knee, the joint presented more problems than expected.  The surgery seemed to go well, however, Aaron developed an infection in the joint itself that required 2 additional surgery's last weekend to clean the joint and infected tissue.  The goal was for Aaron to be released from the hospital last Sunday, but I found out tonight that he is still in the hospital where he has remained the last 8 days.  He has missed 3 weeks of school so far and is scheduled for another surgery tomorrow morning at 7am.

According to the infectious disease specialist, the infection score needs to be around a 3 for Aaron to be released.  The last 2 days, he has scored a 10.5 and that is while on one of the strongest anti-infection medications Aaron can use.  The doctor's are hopeful this additional surgery will work, however, if this doesn't work the ACL graft will be removed on Monday with a 5th surgery in a week and a half.

Dealing with infections is no fun matter and they can be very unpredictable.  Knee infections are very rare and this is why I am writing to each of you tonight.  I asked Keith if I could send this note and he told me the more who can help the better.  When I asked Keith what we could do to help, he stated he needed a miracle.

Keith's, Stuart's and my family are starting a special fast tonight for Aaron and I am asking on behalf of Keith, Carlie and Aaron that you join us in this effort.  We are fasting for his speedy recovery; that the doctor's will be guided by the Spirit; that Aaron will have the gift to be healed and that this surgery will remove the disease and for Aaron to return to school, healthy.

I hope we all have had an experience where fasting provides miracles.  If you haven't had this experience yet, what an opportunity to see the miracle of God's power. I know from personal experience that this gift we have on this earth works and with the proper amount of faith, anything is possible with God.

Thank you everyone and God bless.

my favorite candids

Get to know us better through some phtos, all of which were taken by my extremely talented uncle, Stuart Johnson.

Does he make me laugh? Every day. Actually, when Brad asked my dad if he could marry me, my dad said to him, "Make Amanda laugh. She needs that."

And he thinks he's pretty funny himself. No doubt laughing at his own joke, not mine.

BYU's Maesar Building seemed a fitting venue for our engagement photos. I have already graduated from BYU, and Brad will be graduating this June, struttin' his stuff in a cap and gown at the Marriott Center this week! Also note that Brad's eyes are closed in two-thirds of these pics.

We like to kiss. Wait for it.

There it is. Can't wait to wake up to one of those every morning.

I can't get enough of this boy :) For those of you who haven't met him yet, I promise you will LOVE him. (My friends like him more than they like me.)

DREAMboat.

oh, you've never made a german chocolate cake before?

Last Sunday was Brad's birthday. When he told me what type of cake he wanted me to make, I was a little nervous. German Chocolate. Has anyone ever made that from scratch? I didn't even know what it was. But thanks to some recipe help from Brad's mom and sister, we had a cake. Happy birthday, sweetie.

 [Yes, the frosting somewhat resembles boogers in appearance. I promise it was delicious.]

d.c.

I love Mormon Messages. These people make me want to be a better person by being more like them. They seem so cool. My friend Jenny introduced me to Sheryl. You will love her video. I plan to be friends with her when we move to D.C.





Yes. We are moving. In August. [Me, that is. Brad moves first in July.] I'm so proud of Brad. He'll be graduating from BYU with not only an outstanding GPA but a fantastic job. In August he starts working as a naval reactors engineer at the Navy Yard in D.C. I'm really excited for the move. I've always loved and wanted to live on the east coast. Lots to do, though, before then.

yesterday i turned 25 AND some other stuff happened

Yesterday was the first day of spring and my birthday. I had a few birthday surprises this year. My coworkers were wonderful, surprising me with a lot of great things. My mom always does birthdays well in our family and it was fun to see her card and packages and to talk to my parents and siblings on the phone. I received a million nice facebook messages, texts, calls and voicemails from so many wonderful family members and friends.

And then there was Brad.


He took me to dinner at Carrabbas. Both our hostess and waitress asked if we were celebrating anything special. He told them it was my birthday. We enjoyed a very nice dinner together. Once our plates were cleared, the entire wait staff brought over a bowl of ice cream with birthday candles in it. They sang happy birthday to me. Then our waitress really surprised me by saying, "Amanda, Brad has a special question for you."


Didn't see it coming one bit.


You can, though. Enjoy watching Brad's proposal. I love that boy.

Untitled from Amanda Johnson on Vimeo.

st. patrick's day limerick contest

Imagine Learning is having another great contest! In honor of St. Patrick's Day today, create your own limerick and add it as a comment to our blog post. The winner will get a $20 gift card to Target. Can't quite remember what a limerick is (I couldn't either)? Fret no more...

i also love a good book [and wreath]

[I love this wreath. My friend Lacey made it for me for Christmas this past year. It's made out of pages from an old novel. It adorns my bedroom wall.]

For some reason I have really been struggling to keep up on reading books lately. I've decided I need to set a goal of how many books I want to read each month, because it alarms me at how slowly it's taking me to finish the book I'm on right now. I also have an entire shelf of my nightstand dedicated to books that I have been meaning to read for, oh, the past two years or so. Every time I look at it I think, "What would Miss Door think of me now?" [Miss Door was my kindergarten teacher. I was the first student in our class back at Dunbar Elementary to read a book all by myself. All I know is that it was about trains and after I read it to the principal they gave me a pin to wear all day because I had arrived.] I'm a pretty fast reader, so the only excuse I have for not having read much over the past few months is that I haven't consistently opened a book. But that's all changing. The goal is to read two to three books per month.


Any favorite books of yours that I have to read? I would LOVE to hear about them. I always love recommendations.

i love a good week

I thought the only time I had something scheduled for every night of the week was during December. Apparently saying goodbye to February and hello to March is reason to celebrate as well. This past week's notables include:

• M: Utah Chamber Artists' concert, Bernstein & Mozart: The Long and the Short of It. (Great job again, Carter, you know how much I love Rex Tremendae.) 
• T: Quiddler and frozen yogurt with Brad and the Dulgarians.
• W: A Tale of Two Cities at the Hale Centre Theatre to watch one of my dear friends star as Lucie Manette.
• T: Dinner and catching up at Paradise Bakery with my bestie Karin.
• F: Dinner with L and Steve in Layton before we drove up to stay the night at their place in Logan.
• S: Snowmobiling up Logan Canyon with L, Steve, and Brad. First time I've ever been when no one's gotten stuck.

It was a fantastic week.

 [The play, the Jensens, the boyf and I, the canyon]

this is for L

When did cupcakes become the new creme brulee?


Look at this fancy smanshy packaging and production from the La Jolla Groves (delish restaurant at Riverwoods, by the way) bakery, all for a cupcake.

journaling

One of my best friends Amanda gave me a charming little journal from martadesigns a few years ago for my birthday. I flipped through some of my old entries. I love how simple it is:

dear diary

today

sunday, 19 april 2009

i love the smell of

fresh laundry

i love the sound of

my dad's voice

i love the taste of

lemon cookies

i love the sight of

open fields

i love the feel of

chapstick on my lips

I'm not that great at writing in my real journal. Sometimes when my mind is thinking about many different things, I like to write down in my journal all my thoughts. Usually when I go back and read these entries, I'm embarrassed for myself and feel like I sound crazy and want to rip out those pages. If I were writing in my journal now, this is some of what I would write:

• I need to read books more often. I actually think I read more for fun while in school.
• It really wasn't a lucky break to not have to take any math in college. Wish I knew some statistics.
• Modern Family is surprisingly hilarious. Phil's my favorite.
• Brad has a great family. It's no wonder he's so great.
• My prayers are always heard. I can think of multiple things that have happened in the past few weeks that prove it. I am loved.
• Grapefruit do funny things when dropped out the car window while going 80. Try it.
• I really admire my sister and brothers.
• I would visit Chile every year if I could. Better, I'd own a house there.
• Parts of Arizona snow. A lot. And it's pretty.

[Prescott, Arizona]

valentines

When was the last time I made a valentine- third grade, perhaps? Well, this Valentine's Day was special:

 And then I got some of these, amongst other things:

the family: a proclamation to the world

This is Wordle. I copy and pasted the text from the family proclamation in both english...

 and español.

happy sunday

All good things require effort. 

That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power, and your soul power. Let us ever keep in mind that life is largely what we make of it.

President David O. McKay

my deepest fear

Sometimes it's not good for me to look at blogs. I was sickies today and took off early from work, so I spent a lot of time blog stalking in bed. I love looking at blogs. I look at yours and I look at blogs of people I've never met but wish I could be friends with. I also look at blogs of people I used to be friends with and am afraid to speak to anymore. But sometimes it's just not good for me to look at them. Do you ever feel like you're the most un-talented, most un-interesting, most un-fascinating person you've ever met? That's how I feel when I look at your blogs and the blogs of people I wish were my friends and the blogs of people I've let slide away as friends. Today I was looking at some profiles of people on mormon.org. I love that people create profiles on that site. I love looking at them and watching their videos and then searching for their blogs to learn more about their incredible stories. And then that idea slips into my head again that I'll never be that caliber of a person and that I would have nothing to write my own profile about.


I'm trying not to do that.


And then I read this:


"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Williamson

[Want something else lovely to read? Read this.]

oh, the places you'll go (in utah)

Please dine at a delightful little restaurant in downtown Provo called Communal. Thank you, Jenny, for turning 25 on Saturday and for wanting to eat brunch.  The french toast was a treat.

You can tell that the Cocoa Bean Cafe in Provo knows their audience when their best-selling item is named the “better than whatever cupcake.”  Thanks for not letting that get too graphic, marketing.

No matter what the month, Sonic drinks equates to wanting to be at the pool. (Ahh, the good days.) If it’s freezing outside, though, the next best option is to sip ‘em while playing Phase 10 and watching Hitch with friends.

 

The Aveda Institute is the best-kept secret in Provo. Where else can you spend $16 and receive a head, neck, and shoulder massage, another head massage/shampoo-conditioning while reclining in a massage chair, a style, a hand massage, a full-sized bottle of Aveda volumizing tonic, and a $16 gift certificate to come back? (Be willing to invest two hours of your time.)

I have yet to see anyone famous at Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. Maybe next year. No matter how many times I go to Park City and even though it’s in my current state of residence, I always feel like a tourist there. I love it. And I love fine dining.

Who knew these things existed in Utah? We took a detour on our way home from PC last night and stumbled upon the Midway Ice Castles. Kind of impressive.

 [PS, Please note that all of the pictures in this post were taken using Hipstamatic. Thank you, cool friends, for telling me about this app.]