the moment you've all be waiting for...

Please don't forget about me just because I got married and changed my name. Instead, travel with me to my new blog address! You know you want to!!

Brettandkirsten.blogspot.com

See ya there!

me crafty? not quite but i'll try!

I wanted something crafty from a fellow blogger friend so I decided to participate. You should all be jealous because what I get will probably be better than what you get from me. haha. But I promise i'll try!! After all I need to start practicing my "wife skills" sometime. Here are the directions.

How it works: The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise--to both of us. The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO! Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions). Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. It's THAT easy! Remember, only the FIRST THREE comments will qualify. Good luck!

The end of an era

I feel the need to update my blog. Why? Possibly because I haven't blogged in literally forever (yes, literally). Or because my life has been amazingly beautiful lately and it should be documented. Or because i've gone through a few life changing events lately that the world should know about. Or because it may be one of the last blog posts on this blog. Yes. Its true. This blog will shortly come to an end. After all, I'm getting married next week and with marriage comes the need to start a "couple's blog". Its inevitable. Its like changing your name on your debit card, and getting a new driver's license.

I'll keep you posted on the change. But until then I shall update via pictures. Enjoy :)

Brett and I took more engagement pictures. I will save you from having to look through them alll (check facebook if you're interested). But ya can't deny the fact that we are one good looking couple!

I officially graduated from college. 4 years, countless papers and numerous tests later I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work. Now, all that's left to do is take my licensure exam and I can be a legit social worker! I feel so blessed that I had so many people to come and celebrate with me. (My Dad and Mom, Me, Brett, My Brother Tyler, Grandpa Johnson and not pictured...My aunt and uncle)

































After graduating, Brett and I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon bonding through heavy lifting. We got the keys to our apartment after church on Sunday and moved in all our stuff.

Before

After

Okay, so maybe that's not the final look, but its what our place looked like at the end of Sunday. Luckily we were able to get the bed set-up and made. A big shout out thank-you to Brett's mom who bought the bedding for my graduation present! (For concerned readers, I slept in the house while Brett spent the week at my brother's house.)



























Now we've made it back to the present. Brett and I are apart for a week and a half. Luckily absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? It sure makes my heart grow sad and lonely. Anyway, I'm in Portland finalizing wedding plans while Brett is in Provo making the big bucks. He'll get here next Wednesday just in time for me to go through the temple (!!!) and then we wed ourselves on Friday. After a long day Friday, we will wake up early Saturday morning, drive the 5 hours to Baker City, have an open house, open presents, drive the 2 hours to Boise, crash, wake up, fly to San Diego debark on a cruise to Mexico and finally get a chance to relax. It will be so worth it! I can't wait to be married to the love of my life, my best friend.

any more updates and it would have to be the weekend. a blog written by Chaela McDonald on Kirsten Clark's behalf (she's not dead)(yet)

Oh hey, so I haven't written for a while.
Updates:

I'm still cool
I'm still pretty
I'm still smart
My name is still Kirsten
...but not for long!!!!!!!

Just kidding, my name will still be Kirsten once Brett and I get married. But my last name will go from sophisticated to common in 2 seconds flat. The things we do for love.

Another Update:

I'm graduating! From college! I know, right? cool. Yes, tomorrow I will graduate with a bachelor's degree in social work. and then I will literally be an adult. Besides the occasional zit and giggly outburst when I see Zach Efron (who doesn't).

This is a big month. College graduation, marriage for time and all eternity to Brett Michael Smith (my roommates keep reminding me it's not too late to back out...what is that about?), and updating my blog. No wonder I'm so tired.

Goodnight!

PS my graduation outfit is hotter than Arizona on fire right underneath the hole in the ozone layer.

is senioritis a real diagnosis?

For the first time in a long time I received feedback on a presentation that said "you could do much better than this!" yes, with the exclamation point. I know its a little thing, but I was heartbroken. My partner and I put solid effort into the presentation, and the teacher even admitted that our presentation was "excellent." All the students were very complementary and, not to sound prideful but honestly, our presentation was significantly better than the other two. His concern? We didn't follow the directions for the handout/paper. Our concern? He didn't give us directions for the handout/paper. How were we supposed to know what to do? We broke away from the standard "regurgitate your presentation into a brochure/handout" and attempted to involve the students in the learning process by having them fill out a worksheet. Unfortunately, our creativity was not welcomed. Not to mention that the syllabus ONLY mentioned a presenation, which we did, and did succesfully. The paper/handout were briefly mentioned in class. Can we really be held responsible for something he never gave us criteria about? Anyway, i could vent about this for a whole blog, but that would be boring for you, so i won't. I'll move on.

Our attempt of creativity in this project was a minor attempt to cure my already overwhelming senioritis. I graduate in April and i'm losing motivation fast in all my classes/job/internship. It doesn't help that i'm getting married and planning a wedding at the same time. I'm sure you can guess which is more fun to do. Its too bad that the burnout i'm feeling (otherwise diagnosed as senoritis) can't be cured by changing things up a little (a typically effective way to deal with burnout) because the education system is all about doing what the teacher expects you to do. It's just too bad.

As you can probably guess, I'm ready for a change of pace. Ready to do something new with my life. Ready to start a job and find the passion that my education has been fostering for the last few years. I think one of the reasons i'm most excited to get a job is the amazing amount of down time i will get to experience. Brigham Young may or may not have said (i heard it in a class, but can't find the reference) "Eight hours of work, Eight hours of play, and eight hours of rest make for the perfect day." I concur! Unfortunatley unless work = class, homework= play and rest= time with friends, i don't see how it is possible to meet this ideal formula. Hopefully it will be easier when i have an 8 hour a day job that doesn't require homework. One can only hope! Unfortunatley, Brett will still be in school. This means he'll be busy with the homework aspect and I'll be left to entertain myself. We'll see how that goes.

Time to wrap up. Although I took an hour nap from 8-9 to rid myself of the headache that the presentation feedback/grade produced, i'm tired again. I may be sick with more than senioritis. I'm always tired these days. But I will write more later. Valentines. Trip to portland. Wedding plans. etc. Be excited!

Good morning, Beautiful day

I woke up this morning in a good mood. I woke up at a good hour. I wasn't tired. And I have a feeling today is going to be a good day. Now let me explain something, "waking-up" is a very subjective term. I did lay in bed for about half an hour talking with syd. But eventually i got out of bed excited to eat breakfast. I currently have waffle crisp cereal. YUM! (Waffle crisp is up there in the top cereal category with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Oh's) I pour myself a big bowl of cereal, walk towards the fridge and realize i don' have any milk left. Now what am i supposed to do?? So i look in the fridge and see another gallon of milk. My roommates. I look at it trying to decide if its still good or not. Take of the lid. And smell it. GAG its definitely not good. I literally gaged. 3 times. I guess thats what i get for trying to steal milk. haha. So rejected and still without milk i am left to eat my waffle crisp dry. Still good, yes, but quite the dissapointment.

BUT... even that dissapointment can't stop me today. I'm in a good mood. (how can i not be, i'm in love!) Brett and I have an appointmnet to look at a house for rent today. I hope we like it! We're also planning on registering. Its fun to plan for our life together! In other news, i think i've found a photographer that I like! And a florist that is gonna do my flowers. And slowly but surely all the wedding plans are falling into place. :)

Life is good my friends. Sure it may be hard, but i hope you are enjoying it as much as i am. Look for the little good things, not the little bad things.

Cardigans

So the other day I was walking on campus when I saw a girl wearing a green cardigan that would be PERFECT for my wedding.  You see, I want to get matching cardigans for all my friends to wear.  Uniformity, a token of appreciation, and instant cuteness.  Simple, right?  Wrong.  A basic cardigan in green, pink, or cream is hard to find.  Trust me, i've tried.  I considered stopping the girl to ask her where she was able to find such a gem.  But alas, I did not.  So now i turn to you.  My faithful blog readers.  Where do you suggest i look for cardigans?  They don't have to be anything special.  Just the right colors.  Which, i admit, can be tricky.  Any ideas???  Also, i'll be getting a significant number of said cardigans, so it would be nice if I found them at a place that carried them all year round.  That way I could get more last minute if needs be.

In other news.  I think i'm getting sick.  Well, scratch that, i know i'm getting sick.  (sick pouty face) The benefits of getting sick?  Brett both made dinner, and did the dishes tonight.   He takes good care of me.

Love is a beautiful dream

Wow. I almost don't know where to start.  I feel the need to apologize for not writing in my blog in the last 4 months, but i also don't want to apologize.  To apologize would be to admit that my time hasn't been spent doing better things.  And i can NOT say that.  The last 4 months have been better than I ever imagined possible. Here is a quick update on the last four months.  A few quick highlights....

My parents came into town and we took my younger brother, david, into the MTC.  This was the first time Brett met my family.  This pic was taken while driving back from the airport.  

Although i was proud of Brett for successfully meeting my parents, i was also proud of myself for successfully surviving a trip to Baker City, Oregon. Alright, all kidding aside, i really enjoyed our two trips up to baker last semester.  It was fun to see where brett was from and what life in a small town is like.  I even got the chance to drive the four wheeler and only got partially covered in mud during the process.

As any normal couple should do, Brett and I spent every weekend together and went on some fun dates.  This picture was of the night we went to see Forgotten Carols.  I love getting all dressed up to go out.  Definitely a good night :)

One cold sunday night we traveled down to salt lake to see the lights at temple square.  It was beautiful!!  

That very same night, I became the luckiest girl in the world when Brett proposed to me and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  

Since being engaged, we celebrated a christmas apart and were both glad to come back to provo where we are anxiously planning our wedding.  Brett is taking a full load of classes and working at the MTC.  I'm finishing up my last few classes, continuing my internship at the hospital, and working part-time at the hospital.  This semester has proved to be less demanding and we are both appreciating the extra time we have to spend together.  This last weekend my amazing roommate Chaela offered to take some pictures of us.  So, in case you didn't get enough pictures of Brett and I in this post, here are a few more.  What can i say, we are a dang cute couple!

Its only fitting that some of the pictures included a chalk board. After all, we did meet in class :)

my internet isn't allow me to upload any more pictures... annoying, i know.  so you'll just have to deal with these pics for now.  I'll post more later.

<3