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.

Location, Location, Location

So often I hear that the location of your wedding will help determine some of the major details. With this is mind I was stressing about where to have mine and Mike's celebration. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I had the chance to check out a few reception sites while I was in Utah. I picked three places that I felt each had their own unique options to bring to our special day. Below is a quick summary of each place.

Heritage Gardens

This was a place I hadn't originally felt very strongly about. It was my mom that convinced me more and more to give it a chance. I wasn't feeling it at first because it is very much a reception center. This was a niche I wanted to try and avoid. Once I took a closer look I found that it had some nice details that could really bring some special moments to our day. One of the biggest selling points for me was the price. It is a beautiful place in a great part of town and the price is awesome. The food options are great at a great price and there isn't much decor needed. There are great spaces offered to both the groom and his party and the bride and her party to get ready in. I walked away from here with lots of ideas and felt it could be the place.

Millcreek Inn

I had been "courting" the Millcreek Inn for months online. I had been constantly out looking at the photos and the pricing menu up until our tour. I loved what I saw online. It was definitely unique. It was an old inn/restaurant just three miles up Millcreek Inn. It seemed to have this special charm that I didn't feel from any of the other places. The only hang up I had after my initial look was the price. This is a place that has the fancy food and the fancy options. Plus the biggest selling point for me was that it was in the mountains. Both Mike and I wanted to have an event with an outside mountain feel. Plus the time of year we are looking at should be the right timing to catch the fall leaf colors. This was a place that difinitely didn't live up to the hype that I had in my mind. It was much smaller than I had pictured and I didn't get the warm feeling that I was looking for. I was pretty sad because I had thought of this as the place for so long.

Pierpont Place

I wanted to check out Pierpont Place because this was a great venue that had the modern look and feel that I am all about. It truly is a blank canvas that I could essentially do whatever I wanted with. We had a chance to tour the venue prior to set up of an event. I loved that the coordinator there would be more of an event planner than a reception hostess. She would have taken my vision and my budget and worked with many different vendors to make my dream come true. The Pierpont Place is also downtown which is totally my style. I loved it but I knew that it wasn't Mike style.

So I took all of the details of these places home with me and pitched them to Mike. We decided to go with Heritage Gardens. We both feel that it is a place that we will be able to get the most bang for our buck. Also we have the option of an outside ceremony if we like. There are so many options to choose from that I think it will be hard to choose. I am excited because this will help me to start to making more decisions and bring togehter a wedding.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

This weekend was another hot one in Texas. We were in the high 90's but because of the humidity it felt like 105 degrees.

Mike was really excited this weekend because he scored us tickets to the Texans opener game. Not only was it an opportunity to see the NFL in person but the Texans happened to be playing his beloved Broncos. We decided to save money and park in the museum district and take the METRO train to Reliant Stadium. It was a good idea because it gave us the chance to see another new part of town.

The stadium in right next to what Mike likes to call "the 8th Wonder of the World," the Astrodome. Mike was excited to walk past the dome. It is the little kid in him.

It was kind of cool to be up close to a piece of sports history. It looks a little run down and old though. The city is trying to figure out what to do with the building. It is kind of hard because the building is really big!

Outside of Reliant Stadium Mike found a new girlfriend...

Okay, so it really isn't his new girlfriend. Her name is Cathy and she was one of the interns that Mike worked with at the station. She was really nice.

The stadium itself was really nice. The game was a little boring because it was a pre-season game. We only got to see the good guys for the first couple of plays. I think I have decided that I will be a Texans fan. I have tried being a Broncos fan for Mike, but I'm just not feeling it. It is killing Mike, but I figure it makes sense since I live here. I think Mike will just have to deal.

The Texans ended up winning 19 - 16. We didn't stick around for the whole game because the players weren't that good. It was still really cool to go. Below is the view from our seats and a picture of the outside of the stadium.

The rest of the weekend was really laid back. It was fun to get out and explore more of this huge city.

Busy, Busy, and Eduardo

Okay, I know it has been a couple of weeks but I have a really good reason. I was in Salt Lake this past weekend and therefore, did not have time to post. The trip was great. I had a chance to hang with the fam and get a kick start on the wedding planning.
I went to a couple of bridal shops and looked at some dresses in person. I think it will be hard to settle on the perfect dress and the bridemaid dresses. It seems like there are too many decisions. I also checked out three reception places. I think I have settled on the place and that will be Heritage Gardens. I love how pretty it is and you really get a lot of great things at an awesome price. I think I will be able to get close the wedding that I have always dreamed of.
I had a chance to hang with Cass and Brad at the Metal Gods. It was awesome as usual. My aunt Keely joined and I think she loved it!
I had a chance to see all of the nieces and nephew and just hang out and relax. It was truly a great weekend. The hardest part was saying goodbye. I am hoping that over time it will be easier to leave each time. I feel like such a crybaby sometimes. I am sure it will get easier. The nice thing is that I will be back in Salt Lake in just a few weeks in September!
The craziest part of the trip was the idea of coming back to Houston and a hurricane watch! There was the tropical storm Eduardo building in the Gulf and it was projected to head right through town. I was able to land without problems other than Mike couldn't pick me up because of work. It was all hands on deck for the storm watch. One of the reporters was nice enough to pick me up but I had to hang out at the station until midnight.
Tuesday morning came and the storm hit. It ended up a little further east than expected. The office wasn't open until 10:00 because they didn't want anyone driving during the big part of the storm. The big part of the storm never came. It did rain a lot and for quite a while. It was crazy how the entire city was a ghost town though. During the commute the roads were empty. It was very strange. I was kind of looking forward to seeing a real storm. I guess I will have to wait for that.

Hello Dolly!

I think one of my favorite things about Houston so far is the rain! The rain that we get here comes down in sheets. Sometimes it is short and sweet other times it hangs out for a while. Usually what we get is an afternoon storm that will roll in, rain really hard for about a half hour and roll out. Usually within a few minutes you will have sunny skies. The humidity that tends to travel with the storm is not that great. Right now we are experiencing something much different than that. We have a lot rain as part of Hurricane Dolly. It has been raining off and on for a couple of days now. We have some storm clouds that have been hanging out for a while. Today I don't think it has really stopped raining. I love it! Hopefully the drive home won't be too bad!

Brides, Horses, and Blake

Wow, what a weekend we experienced. I am afraid we took on quite a bit on Saturday and ended up quite exhausted after it all. The day began with the Bridal Extravaganza! This was a huge show! There were tons of vendors and tons of women. It was great to be exposed to so much information. It has got my mind working in many different ways. I was able to see some dresses up close and see some decorations and other pieces in person. Below are just a couple of pictures of things I liked.

After the show we headed out to the Sam Houston Race Park to enjoy some horse racing and see Blake Shelton in concert. One of the nice perks of Mike's job is that he gets offers for free passes to events every now and again. He was offered tickets to the show which came with free entry to the horse race. Mike and I have gone a couple of times before and we are starting to get the whole betting thing down. I look at information from a couple of different areas to decide on our bets. This weekend proved to be one of my best bets yet. We won $150 on just a one dollar bet! It was really awesome, especially because we just spent that much to get my car fixed! Overall it ended up being a huge winning weekend. I won a free caserole dish at the bridal show, the $150 mentioned above, also I won $25 for a promotion contest they did at the track and we won other smaller bets here and there. It felt good to win!

After the races we headed out to the track infield for the Blake Shelton concert. We were planning on receiving general admission lawn tickets from the girl at the track. No, she gave us seats in row 2! He was close! It was really awesome. He did a great show with many of his old favorites and a few of his new. It was a really great day overall. Below is a picture to show you how close we were.

There is no zoom on this picture at all. It was really great. We took it very easy on Sunday and stuck around the house other than one quick errand out to Target. I think we are starting to get the hang of things here in Houston. I will leave this blog with a great picture that Mike shot as we were driving into downtown this weekend. This puts SLC's downtown to shame. Later!

Let the Planning Begin

So, I have a trip planned back to Salt Lake in just two weeks! I can't wait. You never realize how much you miss everything until it isn't there. I have lots of plans to see friends and family while home. The timing is perfect because my best gal pal Cassandra will be home too! We can get in some trouble together.


One of the major items on the agenda is to get the wedding planning party started. Mike and I are looking at October 10, 2009 as a possible wedding date. We really like this date so my mom and I have decided to try and lock down a reception place quickly so we can keep the date. While I am in Salt Lake we are going to hit about seven or eight reception places. I am really excited to really start diving into the planning details. I of course have been buying bridal magazines like crazy and regularly check out all of the wedding websites, but I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly what I want for my wedding. I am hoping that once we pick a venue it will help all of the other details fall into place.


I will keep you posted on what we find on the trip. I think so far my dreams are a little bigger than the budget right now. I want to make sure that my wedding is nothing like the typical Utah wedding. Those of you from Utah, know exactly what that is. For those of you who are not, let me explain.


Most Utah couples are LDS and therfore get married in a temple. Well, it isn't like a church where anyone can attend. Also, the reception usually isn't too spectacular. Most of the time it is just a receiving line with punch and cookies. You don't usually find dancing and you usually don't find a meal of any kind. You stop by, congratulate the couple, grab your munchies and go.



Mike and I really want our wedding to be a celebration. We want everyone close to us to be able to be a part of our day and kick up their heals. Also, I don't want to have punch and cookies. I really want to offer a decent meal of some kind. I know that a formal dinner is out of the budget but I want something more.


As the planning unfolds, I will document some of the details here. First little bit I will share are the colors. I am thinking about chocolate brown, bright green and bright pink. I put my meager graphic design skills to the test and created a simple monogram that kind of shows the direction I am heading. The monogram is below. Keep in mind, this could all change in the next year or so. Let me know what you think. If you have any ideas or advice, please feel free to share.

The Next Food Network Star?

So, it was a really great weekend. We didn't do anything really great and exciting but we did relax and have a good time. It seems like I have a lot more of those weekends here. I think it is because I don't have family gatherings to run to. Oh, and the fact that I only work one job! That is the best part.

Since I have more time on my hands on the weekend I have found myself taking on a new hobby. I have started becoming a bit of a chef. I blame it all on the Food Network. Before living with Mike, I didn't have cable or satellite. I knew the Food Network existed I just never had the opportunity to watch it. Well, my new obsession is Guy Fierri on Guy's Big Bite. He is this fun guy from California who comes up with recipes that arent' too fancy but are really good. He throws in his Californian Guido touch to food. He comes up with combinations and ideas I know I would never come up. Plus he always throws in a mixed drink as part of the meal and they always seem to be money. (Money is Guy speak for really good.)

So, this weekend I took on the Greek themed meal that aired a couple of weeks ago. It consisted of rolled grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef and cous cous and feta stuffed chicken breasts. I know it sounds like a tall order. Well, surprise of all surprises, I pulled it off! The food was good. Mike said he loved the chicken. I don't know if I will do the grape leaves again because they are a lot of work. I would probably go for the chicken again though. If you ever get the chance, you should check out his show and try some of his recipes. This is the third recipe of his that I have tried. So far we have not been disappointed. If you ever come for a visit I might break out the mad cooking skills.

Do you have any recipes that you love? I would love to hear about some tried and true recipes that are sure to please.

Start of Something New

So, it seems like everyone these days has a blog. Ya know, everybody's doing it. I thought I would join the ranks. This is mostly a way for me to keep my friends and family informed of what is new with me. I recently moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Houston, Texas.

I started here. This is a picture I took last summer when I was up at Snowbird.

And now I am here. I know it is pretty cool to be only 45 minutes away from the coast but I don't get to see this view everyday. I never thought I would miss the mountains, but I actually do. I don't miss the snow yet. I am slowly started to get used to the much different lifestyle here in H-Town.

Also, I will be planning a wedding soon. Right before leaving for TX my honey, Mike, proposed. We have plans to get married in October of 2009. I hope to include details here for everyone involved in my life. That is us on the happy night. I have some major fears that I could turn into a Bridezilla but I hope that all of my friends and family will keep me in check. I don't want to treat anyone close to me like crap.

There may be some other great new adventures that we will report on. Check by every now and again there may some exciting new news.

Thanks for reading!