UT - to - TX (via CO)

After our honeymoon, we returned to Utah and stayed with Nick's sister Mikelle for a couple of days while we packed up Nick's stuff into John (John Elway- his car). His little Corolla was packed- the driver had to sit on a pillow and the passenger on a sleeping bag- but we managed to make it to Denver. We spent a few hours in Loveland pass where I braved a snow/ice storm...I just stuck behind the sand truck!

When we arrived in Denver at his parents home there was a Penske truck with a towing trailer waiting for us in the drive way. We had planned to pick up the truck ourselves, however the stop in the mountains kept us a few extra hours and thus Nick's dad was kind enough to get it for us so we could pack up first thing in the morning and head out. And that we did. We had a nice night complete with a homemade dinner, a few hours of sleep in a warm bed, and a hot shower. We took off late that morning with nothing more than a road map and an end destination.

We took turns driving the beast- not going more than 60 mph or stopping anywhere that we had to reverse the trailer! We made it to Abileen, TX before we needed to stop for the night. We discussed the possibility of getting a room for the night there in Abileen, however we didn't want to spend much and we had a bunch of extra space in the back of the truck. So...you guessed it! We found a welcome center just on the edge of town and we stopped there and parked. There was a security guard that came over and introduced herself- there were a few other cars and trucks parked there and we weren't really that creeped out. There were nice restrooms which we used to brush our teeth, etc. Then we hopped in the back of the truck and made a bed, piling every blanket we owned to soften the hard wood floor. We both climbed into Nick's sleeping bag and we watched an episode of Animaniacs on my laptop and then called it a night. It got pretty chilly during the night- good thing we slept with socks and sweatshirts and my pashmina and everything all in one sleeping bag. Unfortunately I slept on the side of the sleeping bag by the zipper which meant that every time Nick rolled over, the sleeping bag would unzip and I would freeze until my shivering made him roll over again! There was frost on the windows when we woke up- it said it was about freezing- and so we quickly headed out to find a gas station with hot chocolate! We drove all through Texas that day and pulled in to San Antonio around dinner time. Amy was actually at Young Women's but Ben and Isabelle helped us load their old couches into our truck and then we headed out for the last stretch. We finally arrived at my parents at bedtime and we were exhausted. It was nice to sleep in a bed that night!

We unloaded the truck the next day and stacked all the stuff in the garage. Then Nick and I filled the beast up with gas for one last time and returned him- whew! The trip was fun together and we ate tootsie rolls most of the way as Nick's mom had given us a huge bag. It wasn't that bad, but I am glad we are here for now!

I took a picture each day of Nick sleeping- please note that number one, Nick is sleeping with puppy (my baby blanket) and number two, I took them while I was driving...quite a feat! We also took a picture of me in Vernon, TX- woohoo! And of course one with John so packed on the way to Denver and another of the Penske truck with John being towed behind!

Moving on up!

Our front door #369; Our bathroom counter; Our view from the front door; Our kitchen!

TWO MONTHS!

Two months ago, Nicholas and I were in Tahoe for our honeymoon!  I can't believe that it has been that long- and then on the other hand it seems like it was forever ago!  I realized that I never really blogged or posted pictures from our honeymoon...so here it goes.

We flew to Reno on Friday morning and then rented a car (a bright blue PT Cruiser) and drove down to Tahoe.  It was very beautiful when we got to Tahoe...until then, not so much.  We arrived with about an hour left before we could check in to our hotel room and so we went to find lunch.

In case any of you are not familiar with South Tahoe, most everything is along this one road that goes right though town...little ski cabins are back on little roads, but all of the hotels, shops, and restaurants are along one road.  Our hotel was just barely over the state line.  About 100 feet away was there were a few big casinos!  Our hotel was gorgeous- a Marriott Timber Lodge that had a ski lift right next to it.  Nick was a little sad that there wasn't snow and thus we couldn't use the ski lift and go skiing- it definitely would be a great spot to stay when we go skiing there!  There were little shops and such all around and you could just walk down this main street- it was so cute!

Anywho, we drove past our hotel a bit and parked aways down the street.  Then we got out and strolled along trying to find somewhere to eat.  On our journey we did find a grocery store not far from our hotel which proved to be wonderful!  We finally checked into our hotel after lunch- our room was bigger than our new apartment will be!  It had a full kitchen, large bathroom, king bed, living room with fireplace, kitchen table and bar, washer & dryer, and two huge plasma tvs!  It was fun for sure!  We walked down to the grocery store and got a few groceries so we could make breakfast and such.  It was so nice to have a full kitchen complete with pans and plates and everything!

Throughout the weekend we went on a boat cruise around the lake.  It was a bit chilly and windy, but so fun to learn so much about the lake!  We sat outside on the top deck the whole time.  We also took a drive around part of the lake and got out and played on the beach...it was fun but beware- the water is COLD!  We also rented Ironman to fully enjoy the large tvs in our hotel room.  And we ate at the really great Mongolian barbeque place where you could go to a buffet of "raw" foods and many sauces and then take your dish to the big circle grill and the chefs cooked it while throwing plates and such around.  It was good food and really fun to watch!  We also ate at a Hard Rock Cafe in one of the casinos.

We were sad to leave, but at least we stopped at In-and-Out in Carson City before hitting the airport!  It was such a fun time- the first real vacation (not going to visit someone, etc) that I can remember!  At one point during the weekend Nick said that he was going to recommend honeymoons...I guess he had a good time too!

Our next journey was moving all of our wedding presents and Nick's stuff to Houston...so stay tuned for that post!

(pictures are as follows:  on the way out of town we stopped to get at least one picture of me at Lake Tahoe!; the water is so pure and clear that you could see a white dinner plate if it was 75 feet below the surface (just one bit of trivia we learned on the boat tour!); leaving the hotel (I just like to point out that my suitcase was the smaller of the two!); our hotel (the building with the clock Nick is standing right in front of is the ski lift!); the only picture we have together from our honeymoon (we had to ask someone to take it and it turned out they were Russian and Nick got to chat with them for a bit!); Nick in the yellow coat is on our boat tour looking at the coastline; Nick in COLD water!; Nick at the Hard Rock Cafe!

I'm dreaming of a white...

I'm not sure how much luckier I could be these days, so for my first blog posting, I'll share the joy! (And Alee can update with more detail or info as she deems necessary :)

First, Alee and I signed a lease yesterday morning for an apartment! It's a brand new one-bedroom apartment and will be (hopefully!) finished for us to move in on the 19th. It's great in that we are only a few minutes from her parents' home and Alee's work, plus we get to stay in the same ward here, too. It's also right next to a park-and-ride which should make commuting to work for me convenient. We're very excited to finally be moving into our own place.

Next, speaking of commuting to work, I received and accepted a job offer this last week! It is a project accountant position in the property management side of Transwestern, a nationwide commercial real-estate and property management company. I will be working in the Galleria in Houston and am looking at a start date of the 17th! We are very grateful that I've been blessed with this offer, especially given the increasingly rough economy.

And lastly, (and secretly perhaps my favorite of all ;) while I have been writing this post snowflakes are falling outside! Yes, it is in the 30's and snowing here in Houston, TX, and I love it. No, it's not sticking and, no, I can't ski in it, but it's a good flurry here and I love that I am lucky enough to get snow in Texas :)

Thus, "the moral of today's story is:" we're counting our blessings!

-Nick

Super easy brownie truffles...

These had such rave reviews and everyone keeps asking for the recipe and thus I have decided to post it here instead of email it out to everyone.

You will need:

One box of brownie mix- the kind with the extra fudge/syrup packet
2 Tbsp of light corn syrup
1/4 c of water

Mix brownie mix, fudge/syrup packet, corn syrup, and water together to form a dough. Roll in to bite size balls and then in to any coating that you please such as nuts, sprinkles, sugar, etc. Store in the refrigerator (or in the freezer if it is longer than a week).

That is it! That is all that is to it and everyone thinks they are so gourmet and fancy...the best part is that they are so yummy!

Finally...wedding photos!

All the nieces and the one nephew...

Making Grandma Merle proud in the Bee's mink coat...

One of my favorite "artistic" shots...

At the reception...

The Christensen girls...

Nick rescuing me from falling

 into the fountain...

My favorite candid...

Catch up!

In my defense, I have tried to blog in the last few weeks.  However, every time I do and I try to upload pictures it shuts off on me.  So hopefully someday I will be able to upload more of the wedding pictures! (right now I am doing them one at a time...pain!)

I have been busy- I work/train at the studio from 1-5 Monday through Thursday and stay 1-10 on Wednesdays because it is party night and I work as the receptionist...it is fun work, but my body is feeling it!  I am really learning a whole bunch about dance, which is great!

Nick and I were disappointed to learn that we can't move in to our apartment yet...we are waiting until we can make way more than our rent- thanks a lot bad economy!  I have just about gone crazy not being able to get out and use all of our wedding presents, but thankfully we have had a nice home to 

stay at with my parents.

Nick is still looking for a good job and he has had a bunch of interviews and some great leads.  Hopefully something great will come of those.  

I have started the process of changing my name- I have a new Social Security card and it took me two days to get through the lines at the DMV to get a new license.  We have set up a joint bank acc

ount in my new name and I have begun the process of changing my email address.  

I really do need to get ready so I can go to work today- every Monday the first item of business is to redecorate a

ccording to the theme of the week and I quite enjoy it.  (This isn't normal...we are in the middle of a six week "Tournament of Champions" where every week is a different theme.  Arthur Murray has a lot of things specific to them- more to learn!)

where did october go?

i posted on the first day of october and now it is next to the last day of the month! it must have been a busy month or something :) well, it did not help moving around so much with so little surety of internet connections!
i have been wanting to blog about the wedding and put up a few pictures, but the paper is a huge one this month which i am doing mostly by myself with a little scatterbrained help from didio and it is going to print way earlier than normal...so to say the least, i am a bit busy. we are staying at my parents while nick is interviewing for jobs so we can make sure the apartment we had our eye on is indeed a good choice...it is a bit annoying to still somewhat be living out of a suitcase and not getting to really open or use any of our new stuff, but i know it is even more frustrating for nick as he has been doing it for months and we are both just really grateful that we have somewhere to stay at the moment!
well, my download of the next bunch of pictures and files is done and now it is back to work!

Something is wrong with my right side!

I don't mean to be a complainer, but something is definitely wrong with me.  Now, no smart comments- I am serious!  I have just been really off and not great for the last week or two...fine, but not good.  

I will work from the top down.

My head has been pounding for weeks.  Now up until this point, a headache was a rare event in my life and would only last a few minutes at most.  For the last week, it is rare if I don't have a pounding headache.

My nose is still bleeding- kind of.  It bleeds when I blow and itches and is plugged when I don't.  It is really sore and raw on the right side.

Since last night I have had a pill stuck in my throat.  This was completely my fault...I didn't want to get out of bed to take the pill and so I took it with just a tiny swallow of water and I was laying down.  It kept me tossing all night as I can't really breathe if I am laying on my side.  I tried flushing it down with tons of fluids today, but mostly all it did was made me go to the bathroom every few minutes.  I even tried to melt it away by having a few cups of hot cocoa today...which isn't really ideal in 80 degree weather.  It has moved, but it is still stuck.

I have a toothache as well.  It comes and goes, but it is definitely there.  After all of last summer's dental work, I didn't even know it was possible to get any more cavities!

My arms and sore from today's workout- which is technically a "good" type of pain.  But still, it kind of adds to not feeling well when I can barely lift my arms.  

I have been nauseated most of today too.

My right knee hurts from running I guess- I usually wear my band on my left knee because my left one is the one that hurts more.  However the last few times I have been been wearing it on my right knee as it is starting to hurt more...today it did not seem to help.

My right foot is also a pain...now this is a weird one.  I started dancing in my latin heels and running 5 miles each day at the same time and I think I may have caused a stress fracture on the outside edge of my right foot.  Amy and my mom are my witnesses that I really could not even walk last week...I limped behind them on our shopping trip to find wedding attire.  The saddest part is that I wore by ugly running shoes shopping because my only other option were flip flops and the shoe salesman at the mall wouldn't let me leave the store without seeing some shoes...I must have looked hideous!  I have started running on it again because I don't want to loose my endurance I just built up- plus has anyone forgot that I am going to have to fit in a wedding dress soon?  Most of the sharp pains in my foot are gone though.

So basically, that is my whining.  I know I have much good going on and that I should just suck it up, but I really just don't feel well and no amount of medication, rest, or fluids is helping!  

So on to the good things- I did have a fun time tonight at my last Arthur Murray party for awhile- it was Hector's birthday and we had a cake and learned to cha cha.  It is fun getting to know the staff and regulars...I am starting to feel like I fit!  I am getting married in two weeks and have a very sparkly ring.  Also, I am absolutely completely done with anything and everything dealing with wedding invitations...woohoo!  And I bought a new black purse...

thursday bloody thursday

I actually quite dislike U2, however their song title- or a variation of it- seemed to fit.  Yesterday, and continuing this morning, I have had a bloody nose!  I think I can count all of the times I have ever had a bloody nose on one hand, and now it has gone two days!  It doesn't really bleed out...it has just been itchy and I have had to blow it a lot and that is where I have found blood.  Weird, huh?

On another note, as if I needed any more reasons this week as to why I am an idiot, I locked my keys in my car last night...when I was parked in the garage!  Out of habit from parking at home I left my keys in the cupholder and out of habit from parking anywhere else I pushed the lock button when I was getting out.  I was so exhausted and I really just wasn't paying attention.  But this morning as I was in the bath- to try and relieve the stress and exhaustion- my mom had to come get me because she needed to take my car and couldn't find my keys.  I got out to help her look and found them right in their spot in the cupholder.  We searched for a backup, even though I know that I haven't had that extra key in quite some time.  Eventually I had to call a locksmith...being dumb is so annoying (and costly) sometimes! 

We finally saw The Women tonight and it was a little different than I was thinking, but a good story about relationships and such.  Interestingly enough, my mom pointed out after that there was not even one man in any of the background shots!  It was a movie of completely women! 

tuckered out!

i am not trying to toot my own horn (because i have done plenty of really stupid things the last few days) but i have run five miles each morning for the last four days in a row!!!  the weather has been so pleasant and cool here that we can sleep in and still run...that part is great.  today we even got talking about modernity- my specialty- and thus i rarely thought about my running.  

i also went in to the studio today to do a staff workout- i was "prepared to sweat" as i had been instructed and arrived in my workout gear and athletic shoes.  the rest of the staff was in their dance shoes and slacks...i felt a bit sheepish, but i could grapevine faster than them anyway!  when i go in tomorrow i will for sure be appropriately dressed.  i came home and changed into a skirt for the party tonight and am starting to make some friends there at the studio...Paul- a forty something jolly obese man with a beard- is kind of my buddy.  he calls me "professor".  there were a few younger guys there too tonight and unfortunately they still had to learn that i was "taken".  woohoo!  less a month now!

so between my knee aching from running, my mind crazy with wedding details, and my feet sore from dancing in heels, i am ready to turn in tonight!

a storm is brewing...

well, gustav did not hit houston and thus ike is trying to make up for it. it sounds like ike is heading straight for us, well a little bit south, but the storm will give us plenty of rain and wind! eveyone down here is going nuts trying to prepare- grocery stores and gas staions have lines as far as you can see and so my mom and i hit the mall, which was like a ghost town! we did wait in a line for awhile at the gas station to top off our tank on the way home and also rented a couple of movies from redbox in preparation of the satillite going out. i took some pictures while we were out running errands- the one is of no bread on the shelves at kroger and the other is of the crazy check out lines that went all the way through the isles to the back of the store at heb.

other than that, i am posting some long over-due pictures...nicholas and isabelle playing chase at my cousin casey's wedding, isabelle taking a bath in my bathtub, one from my bridal shower last week given by my mom's friend tammy, isabelle's cart she filled at the disney store, and nick and isabelle holding hands. isabelle was quite smitten with "neek-oh-lus" :)

my bridal shower was very nice- tammy did a lot of work including hand-sewing little dresses out of satin to put some treats in and give as favors. i got many very nice presents and the food was great...including some amazing little jalapeno and bacon stuffed croissant things.

yesterday i went to the arthur murray studio here in cypress to see where i will be working...i stayed for the group hustle lesson and the party where i danced with all sorts of weird men! it was fun to be dancing again and my feet are getting used to spinning in those heels again :)

home sweet home

I am home...it was hard to get to and a really long story, but basically after a speeding ticket (not mine), no room in the inn, and car trouble (not mine) we made it home last week and have been running ever since trying to get things done.
One interesting note is that I went with my parents to the medical center downtown to meet with the liver specialist for a follow up and they seemed to think that my dad was doing really well. The no-salt thing is hard, but he looks better than a few months ago I think and he seems to have a bit more energy.
I am currently trying to find an apartment for Nicholas and I to move in to and also to make and get some wedding invitations ready soon. Aye- it isn't fun to think you have something done and then have it come back! But I like this idea I am working with now...

stuff

why on earth do i need so much stuff?  

i go through this thought process regularly as i have been moving every four to eight months for the last four years- but there was always stuff stored at a relative's house or staying with a roommate until i returned.  this is not the case this time.  i have so much stuff everywhere!  new stuff, old stuff, and pants in 6 sizes that i am too afraid to throw away since i have fit in every single pair in the last year!  the problem is that i have even tried to simplify and pare down- but all this junk i really do need...i use it regularly!  aye aye aye- lets hope that poor radlee (my car) is going to have a heart attack trying to get this down to houston!

busy busy busy

I have been very busy lately!  I try to get as much done in a day so I can watch prime time Olympics!  They have been great and I am very proud of my classmate Jonathan Horton, who has done extremely well thus far in the men's gymnastics.

I submitted my first Dancebeat yesterday- there was a lot of learning that took place on this first one, but I am rather pleased with it and I think I did an okay job for just beginning!  The best part is that it is done and now I can completely focus on packing up and moving out.  I am going through a major purge of stuff, which is really hard for me.  I am not a super-pack rat, however I do like to keep things...especially if there isn't really anything wrong with them!  I know that I have had the same plastic cups for the last four years of college and it may just be better to spend two dollars and buy some on the other end rather than pack them, but I like those cups!  

I have also been exploring some new possibilities for wedding invitations.  It was so nice to think that they were all done and taken care of, but I am finding that I may be able to find something I like more than the original.  (For those of you who didn't hear- the invitations came to me completely printed wrong and so I had to send them back.  They said that if I wanted to fix them that I would just have to start a completely new order, so I decided to see what else I could find.)  I have actually been playing quite a bit myself in Photoshop and Nick and I think that that may be the best way to go.  I originally did not care for the idea of photos on the invitation itself- it just looked too casual for what I wanted.  However now I have played with it a bit I am realizing that there is a way for them to look both classy and clean as well as having the photo directly on the invite.  We will see....

bridal shower- take one!

i had a GREAT bridal shower last night!  it was the first in a series of three- one from nick's side, one from my side, and one from my ward/friends back home.  last night was the one from nick's side and it was just fabulous!  first off, i didn't do any prep work which was weird but kind of fun to just show up at a party!  it was at his aunt nina's home in salt lake- she is getting a new daughter-in-law (amanda) as well and so we had a combined shower.  it was so fun!  there was so much family around...to be honest it just felt like home!

the food was amazing- as i would expect from nick's family!  fruit and veggies and chocolate fondue for the cream puffs and brownies, chicken and salad and meatballs, lemonade and rolls and couscous- and the cutest and yummiest little tarts, made of course by nick's mother and sisters.  

we ate and chatted- we had introductions and i think i got most of the ladies straight!  my roommates melissa and kelli came- it was really fun to have some familiar faces there :)  nick and jeff (amanda's fiance) showed up in the middle and they ate and then helped us unwrap gifts...and boy were there a lot of them!  nicholas and i couldn't believe how much we got...and that it is OUR stuff- weird!  we got a tent and lots of towels, a pyrex set (with lids!), a gift card for a microwave (which will be so nice not to have to try and move it!), and much more.  his sisters gave us some things to help us carry on/get involved in the family traditions- one thing being a danish pancake ball type maker...i can't remember how to pronounce or spell it and our list is still in the car from last night as we did not unload when we got home!  perhaps one of my favorite gifts was from his mom- a red kitchenaid!  that is something i have wanted my whole life but never really expected to have!  no wonder you get fatter when you get married- you have lots of fun stuff to cook with!  nick and i are really excited to be able to cook and try different recipes now that we won't have to battle for the kitchen space with roommates and we will have all the right equipment :)

it was such a nice event- his sisters really did a fabulous job!  there were a bunch of roses for me to take home and swedish fish and chocolate almonds (amanda's favorite) in little bags as favors.  i think i ate three little bags of swedish fish before we even left!  the shower was nice so i could get to know the family a little bit and it was a huge self-esteem boost!  if you ever want a boost in confidence, be the bride at a bridal shower!  everyone was so nice and sweet telling me how fun and cute i seemed and welcoming me in to the family- i completely forgot all about my headache and the ugly lump under it!

Beauty is now the beast!

okay, so it isn't that bad...but what a headache!  last night while trying to unload the dishwasher i hit my head on the cabinet- of course it was left open and i hit the right side of my forehead on the corner.  it bled for a good ten minutes while i let the tears flow- something about getting hit in the head just produces tears whether i want them or not.  anywho, i have had quite a headache since then and woke up with my head throbbing this morning.  ice, medicine, and rest has not help thus far and so this morning i took a bath and another motrin, but it still hurts and there is a very ugly bump- complete with a big gash- right on my forehead.  great! 

 

as my mom pointed out, lack of cleanliness is not only annoying but dangerous!  

Blogging Break

I am taking a break to blog...I have been hard at work all day- sort of.  I have been doing work, but not specifically my "work".  See there are many great things about working from home- ability to take breaks, go to the pool, or run errands whenever I please; ability to work in my pajamas, bathing suit, or bathrobe; ability to sleep in, do how much and what I feel like, and listen to music and sing aloud.  There are many more benefits, however there are also some drawbacks- I get lonely and sometimes stir-crazy all day alone in my apartment, I am in a sedentary position staring at a computer, and the worst one of all...I am at home!  This means I am more tempted to take a Home Improvement break, eat more snacks, and talk on the phone while I should be working.  My biggest frustration and temptation while working at home though is cleanliness.  

I pride myself on the fact that most people that come to our apartment comment on how clean it is and how nice it smells.  I try to have live plants, tablecloths/runners, decorations, air fresheners, ambient lighting- anything to make it feel more like a home than a college apartment.  However sometimes I feel defeated because I can not keep up with the messes that always seem to appear.  

Now first I need to note that I recognize that I am imperfect- I can sleep with my shirt on the back of my chair, I get spots on the mirror, and I am fine to let a crumb drop here or there.  Just to make it clear again, I am not exempting myself from this problem...sometimes I just feel as though I am the only one looking for a solution to this problem.  

Anywho, I know that this is a quirk (but there are worse ones out there I know for sure) but I just function best in a clean and orderly environment.  This makes working from home so difficult because I have a hard time focusing on work sometimes...like this morning.  I could not do anything until I swept and mopped the floor in bathroom.  Of course I couldn't stop there.  Since the mop was out I had to do the kitchen as well.  And everyone knows that mopping the kitchen floor is the last thing you do, so I had to clean off the counters and then all the appliances and scrub out the sink.  This also required that I load and start the dishwasher so I had a sink to use for such cleaning.  It is my dream to not run a full load in the dishwasher every single day- but that isn't happening any time soon so back to the real story.  The kitchen started to look nice so I felt satisfied and was walking back to my room to work...this requires me to walk past the bathroom, which while it had a clean floor, was a still a mess.  So then I started in on the bathroom.  I cleaned the toilet and shower a few days ago in one of these fits, so I really just had to clean the mirrors and counter and sinks.  And now I have made it back to my room...ready to work again but in need of a break and thus the blogging.  

I make this sound like it was an event when in actuality this happens multiple times a week...I really do not know how it gets so dirty so fast in my apartment.  It makes me so ecstatic and terrified to leave in a few weeks- what will become of this place?  But it will no longer be my problem...but the apartment just got remodeled and I feel bad when it gets so disgusting.  

I am forcing myself to do work for another hour or two and then I will take a break to clean out the utility closet that won't even really shut because so much crap is shoved in there- the thing is that it all fits if it would just be put away nicely.

Ah woe is me...the lessons we have to learn in order to grow up a proper adult.  At least my home will be evidence that I care for the things I have...I am thankful that Nicholas and I are largely on the same page as far as cleanliness goes.  He values a clean environment just like me...one more way we fit :)

fat-free wednesday

well, maybe.  i had my first velashape treatment today...it was kind of weird.  they put lots of cool gel on and then use what kind of looks like a vacuum hose on your fat...it sends radio frequencies and infared lightwaves in to your lower layer of fat and shrinks the cells so they can melt away.  it did heat up my legs, but mostly just felt like a pretty intensive massage.  we'll see how it works!

i obviously messed with my blog a bit today...i needed a change and a break from working.  do you like it?  

i ate entirely too much popcorn tonight while i was watching nick's ultimate frisbee game, but i did walk with the group this morning and then went and ran also on my own afterwards.  i really just want swedish fish though! 

What an eventful Tuesday!

I slept in just a tiny bit this morning...little did I know that I would desperately need that time! I have been very busy today...very busy. I worked a lot on DanceBeat- working a lot on photos and trying to place articles and such. I also baked homemade bread...it was pretty good but nothing ever turns out as great when I decide to be creative and not follow recipes exactly. I also had a few errands to run today which I did while I was out going to my health-spa consultation. Apparently it isn't that hard to win things at a bridal fair! I won a strand a pearls from a jeweler that I picked up yesterday and won a treatment at this center. I met with them and talked about all my options...and after carefully considering each one, I decided against the laser hair removal and microdermabrasion and went with the body contouring...a process called Velashape or something like that. I decided to get it on my thighs- even though I could really use it on my tummy and that area would probably actually make a difference in my wedding dress, my thighs are always the hardest part for me to work off and even when I was at my smallest my thighs were the largest part of me. Anywho, in case any of you see me in a bathing suit in the next little while (which is doubtful) notice my legs :)

me and my mac mini :)

I have officially set up my new Mac!  I am still very much getting used to it and all, but it is going to be very nice and I am excited to work on it!  It wasn't too hard to set up either, which was really nice...it makes me not dread packing it up and setting it up again in about a month when I go home to Houston...and then again when I move out of my parent's home and into an apartment in Houston in a few more months, after the wedding.  I am not extremely excited that I had to set it up in my room though- I used to always have my laptop in my room but at the beginning of this year I started leaving it in the living room and it has been so nice to not always feel like I am so accessible- I mean I would check email before I even got up in the morning when it was right there on my desk!  As I am sharing with roommates I did not think it fair to set up a desktop in the living room- not to mention that there isn't really a desk or anywhere to put it out there.  Oh well, I kind of like having my new "toy" close for a little while at least!

Yesterday for the 24th we went to the parade in Spanish Fork and then went to Uncle Charlie's for the family barbeque...it was nice.  Then we came home and went swimming and then headed out to the new Batman movie.  It was quite dark and kind of creepy, but I enjoyed it.  Nick boiled me some frozen veggies for dinner and we watched the results show for So You Think You Can Dance...I can not believe that Will got kicked off!  I mean Comfort was fun enough, but every week they would say the same thing- "that wasn't good enough but your hiphop is great."  But Will- man he was the best dancer on the show for sure...or should I say IV Real!  I don't know what that "for real" thing is about on the show, but I do know that Nick and I were very upset about the results.  It is rediculous to think Mark is going to be on but not Will!  

Tomorrow afternoon Nicholas and I are taking our engagement photos...so think good thoughts in our direction and pray I don't look chubby or greasy! :)

the 24th is coming! the 24th is coming!

Me and Nick on the 4th of July in Breckenridge and me in snow on the 4th at Loveland Pass.

Me at the Lehi rodeo and Me and Nick a mile high at the Denver capital building.

Me at Coco Walk in Miami and me and Betsy with Ingrid Michaelson after one of her concerts.

Me on South Beach in Florida.

Nick's first day at Woodbury Corp. and Nick's backpacking trip with Spencer last weekend. This of course means nothing...unless you are a resident in Utah! I am rarely here for the big 24th of July celebration and am looking forward to the parade in Spanish Fork tomorrow!

Here are a few catch up pictures...I haven't been posting pictures lately simply because I am too impatient to wait for blogger to load!