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...