Whew!

Okay, so I know there has been some time since our last blog but things have been pretty busy for us. I was away for a few days in LA at the end of January for work, we then headed off to Vegas for a few days in February for the NASCAR race and well, March...March was crazy!

We had my mom in for a visit the first weekend of March so that I could try on wedding dresses. The weekend turned out to be a success because I selected a dress and it is ordered! Me and my mom had the opportunity to go to the Rodeo and see Trace Atkins. Mike and I also went later that week to see Reba and Brad Paisley. The Rodeo thing was actually pretty cool. I am looking forward to it coming back again next year. We then headed up to Dallas on the 20th because Mike's mom and dad were in town. It was great to spend some time with his family. Shortly after that, we moved! We decided to move to a different apartment for a change of pace so we were involved with that for a couple of weeks. And now, it brings us to where we are now.

Things have slowed down a bit but I realized this last weekend that we less than six months away from the wedding! I can't believe the time has flown by so fast. I all of the sudden feel like I have to get a bunch of stuff done. It has renewed my excitement for planning the wedding and I have spent a lot of time of wedding blogs and websites trying to find inspiration for the day. Now I am starting to just get excited and can't wait to be married! I will try to post on all of the wedding day details as we make more decisions. You can check out our website at the below website. I don't have a lot on here yet but will work on keeping it updated.

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/LisaLund&MikeRank

How Sweet It Is!

As mentioned in our earlier blog, Mike and I spent this last weekend in New Orleans. Our main reason for going was to see the University of Utah Utes play in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. Mike and I had decided since we lived so close to the Big Easy that we had to go and see the Utes play. I had mentioned to my dad what we were planning and he said he had the same plan. Debbie was able to get her hands on some great seats and they decided to make the trip to New Orleans.

Mike and I made the drive to New Orleans for what proved to be one of the best games in Utah history. The entire weekend we came up against many Alabama fans yelling out Roll Tide throughout the streets of New Orleans. It seemed like for every three Alabama fans there was only one Utah fan. The hype of Alabama was enough to make me nervous but the fact that we were so out numbered by their fans was even more intimidating.

Once the game started and Utah came out the gate full force ahead, some of that intimidation went away. It was great sitting up in the corner of the Superdome with all of the other Utes fans screaming as loud as I could. Throughout the game I kept biting my nails watching the seconds slowly click down on the clock. The first time I started to calm down was at the end of the third quarter when a lot of the Bama fans started to leave the Dome. The greatest moment was when those final seconds ticked down and it was official, the University of Utah Utes are the 2009 Sugar Bowl champions. The team that so many experts said could not beat the powerhouse of Alabama, did just that.

That Friday night the streets of New Orleans were so much more different. We no longer heard the cheers of Roll Tide throughout the streets. The Alamaba fans would pass by us with low heads and sad faces. There were some very courteous Bama fans who stopped to offer their congratulations. It was an awesome night for all of us Utah fans who walked the streets yelling Go Utes!

Mike and I woke up with morning still stunned but so excited that we were able to be there for the game. It was a great weekend and one of the best vacations we have ever had.

New Year's In New Orleans

Mike and I are relaxing in our room in New Orleans this New Years morning. We spent the night walking the streets of the French Quarter. We did experience the famous Bourbon Street. It is kind of like taking the Las Vegas Strip and scrunching it down into one small historic street minus all of the slot machines. It is quite the experience. This city has a great old feel to it. It is amazing to think about all of the history here.

It is great to se lots of Utes fans walking the streets. In the French Quarter it feels like we have strong showing but I don't think it will feel that way once we are in the Superdome. We were able to see a great fireworks show over the Missisippis River with the Utah Man playing in the background. That was a great experience especially because there were tons and tons of people there. I can't believe how many people are here. It is an experience. Below are a couple of pics from the night.

Four Eyes

A little while ago I experienced my first eye exam. I decided to have my eyes checked when Mike was getting his checked. I had never had an eye exam before and my computer screen had started to get a little blurry. Well, the results came back that yes I do need glasses. I only have to use them when I am working on the computer, reading, or driving at night. It was fun to pick out glasses. Mike also decided to upgrade his look and get new glasses. Below is a pic of us sporting our specs.

Nitro

A couple of weeks ago, I left Mike at home alone again and went off to the NHRA drag races in Las Vegas. It was a quick trip but I was excited to see some of my family. It turned out to be a total surprise for everyone except my mom that I was there. My mom had decided to not tell my brother or step-dad that I was going to be there. I showed up at the track on Friday and totally surprised them. My brother was totally surprised. I also had the chance to surprise my dad too. He was also at the races and didn't know that I was coming. It was great to see everyone and the races were great. My trip back home was a little rough because my flight was delayed four hours in Vegas and I didn't get back to Houston until 3:45 in the morning. It was a good thing that I had taken Monday off from work so I could get some sleep. Below are a couple pics from the race and a short video. It was lots of fun as usual!

I know, I know...it has been a while.

So, these things have been busy over the last month and a half or so. I will try to catch up as much as possible and when I get a chance to pull some of the pictures on to the computer I will post them.

As the last post showed, we survived the hurricane without any problems. Coming home from Salt Lake to a city that had been hit by such a large storm was something new. Mike worked very hard during the storm and I had a little extra time off because my work location was closed until Thursday of that week. We were one of the lucky areas that got power back pretty quick but we did lose all of the perishable food in our fridge. I was thankful that we only had that to deal with. There were a lot of people without power for a couple of weeks. I don't think I could have dealt with that.

Some really good news is that Mike has officially been given a photographer position at KPRC. He will be back to doing what he loves the most. He hasn't started shooting yet because he has to wait until his replacement is hired. He is happy to know that he will not longer be stuck at the desk.

We did a little bit of exploring about a month ago and headed over to the east side of the city to Baytown. There was a free sprintcar race at the dragstrip and dirt track there. It was a lot of fun. That town got hit pretty hard by the storm and you could tell even two weeks later that people were still trying to get things taken care of.

Mike headed to Minneapolis earlier this month for his friend Bez's wedding. I was kind of bummed that I couldn't go with him but he had a lot of fun. He had a chance to hang with old friends. I missed him while he was gone. It was strange to be home without him for so long.

We have done a few other fun things in the city including going to the New Kids on the Block concert, which rocked! I had only been waiting about 18 years to see them live. It was a bunch of women my age screaming for these guys. It was actually a pretty entertaining show. They still have it.

We also hit another football game yesterday. The roof was open and the weather was awesome. We had a chance to do a little tailgating before hand. Our seats were only two rows underneath the owner's box and Mr. George Bush Sr. and his lovely wife Barbara were in the owner's box behind us. We were so close to him! It was really cool to be so close to a former president. Below is a picture taken from our seats. The Texans kicked the Bengals butts so it was a fun game.

Here are a couple of other picutures from the game. Our seats were pretty good right in the middle of the endzone.

Hurricane Ike

Mike and I have received a few distressed calls from friends and family asking how we faired with Hurricane Ike. I just thought I would make a quick post and let everyone know that we are okay. I can't give an accurate account of what the city looks like because I am stuck in Salt Lake City. I had come into town on business and was supposed to leave on Sunday. Thanks to Ike my trip is extended until Tuesday morning.
From what Mike has told me, it is pretty crazy in the city. He has worked all weekend and has worked long shifts. He is very tired and can't wait for the madness to stop. He says everything at our apartment is good except we haven't had power for three days now.
My work has been closed since Thursday afternoon so I am not missing too much back home. I have enjoyed my visit here but I have now been here for 10 days and I am ready to go back home and be with Mike.
I will keep everyone updated on how things are once I get home. I guess this is one of the exciting things about living in a new place.