Birthday

I wish I could say that I have had such a busy and hectic life that I haven't had time to write. It's actually quite the opposite! Our married life has been terrific, but we haven't been up to too much. The main reason for that is because of all the school work I have to do on a daily basis. Yep.. still in school. Getting REALLY tired of it. It is the reminder from my parents and Nick on a weekly basis that I am almost there that keeps me motivated because I simply have lost all my personal motivation. I am so close to the end, yet I dread doing school work every day. It is harder and harder to write my essays because I simply stopped caring about the material I am learning. I don't know how everyone with college degrees completed their schooling! So anyways, I am looking forward to May 16 where I will no longer have to EVER do any school work again.
On a happy note, I just had my birthday on 11/06. I asked for a low key day, so spending time with Nick and my parents was perfect. Nick gave me a super shocking "family" gift: an iPAD! So exciting. I can't wait to download tons of aps on it!

Happily married!!

We did it! We tied the knot! It was an overcast day on 09/17/2010, but it made it a lot better for pictures since we all did not have to squint. It was such a fun day and everything went according to plan. I cried my eyes out during the ceremony, though, so that was a bit embarrassing. I will be posting more pictures when I get them from Nick's uncle (who took all of our pictures and did a fantastic job!!)

Bumps in the road

Not every wedding plan goes as planned. We found out two weeks before the wedding that our florist had to get surgery and would not be able to help us with the flowers. In a panic, I called the venue owner and she provided me with names of local florists. We have an appointment with our new florist (hopefully) on Saturday, only 6 days before the wedding.
Looked at the 10-day weather report and guess what I saw?? RAIN! Wonderful rain! While all say rain is good luck, I am sure that the guests will not enjoy the 30 minute outside ceremony in the rain. I know there are a lot of things that can be done with umbrellas, but I didn't want to have to do that to the guests. ::sigh::
Stepped on the scale and what did I not see?? A drop in weight. I am sure all women can agree with me how frustrating it is to eat ridiculously healthy and exercise constantly and have no weight loss. Grrrr.
Finally, I am done with my school class but I am anxiously awaiting my final grade. I am nervous. It is based on the results from a group final essay.. I don't have much confidence in my group.

Alright, that's the update for now! Until next time

ONE MORE MONTH!

One more month from today! Dum-dum-de-dum! So much planning is involved with a few hiccups, but nothing major. I look at the hiccups as something funny to look back on. Hiccups included:
- Sealing all the envelopes before putting on the stamps on the return envelopes for the RSVP cards. Solution? I bought cute note cards and sent everybody the stamp for the return envelope telling them of my mistake.
-Booking multiple appointments the day before the wedding just to remember that I have to pick up the wedding flowers that morning. I need to reschedule two appointments for another time ASAP!
- I gained 5 pounds. OOPS! I think it's all muscle because I have been eating healthier, running, and have been doing the stair stepper. I sure hope I fit in my wedding dress!

These are just a few things that have occurred but you know what? I'm not perfect! and that is perfectly okay with me.

Stair Stepper

About 3 weeks ago, I had my desk raised for "ergonomic reasons". I quote it because while it is partially true, it was not crucial. It is partially true because I work on two separate computers which don't fit equally into the corner of my cubicle. Thus, I'm always bending forward to reach one of the computers and its keyboard. After awhile, I would start feeling back pain, but not crippling. The main reason I got my desk raised is for health reasons... that's right! I am sick and tired of getting secretary butt by sitting all day! Since I started working at my desk job, I have gained 25 pounds while still eating the same somewhat-healthy diet I've always been on. I decided to take a "stand" against this curse. I had to get a doctor's note to state "Emily needs a standing work station for ergonomic reasons", which was surprising easy to get! No appointment needed. After 3 weeks of having my desk raised and doing standing all day, I recognized I needed to do more than leg lifts periodically throughout the day. Solution? A mini stair stepper with exercise bands! I bought it off of Overstock for $55. I have been doing multiple sessions of 15 minutes daily. Since the stepper makes me stand taller than my cubicle, I have to squat down when stepping, which really makes my thighs burn. Let's see if this stepper actually reduces my thighs rather than make them bulkier (which some exercises seem to do). To be continued..

Celebration

There is always so much to celebrate in life. Whether it be anything from winning a contest to simply finding the shirt you wanted on sale. With our hectic lives, it is good to take the time to celebrate. I have written a blog before of what I am thankful for, but the true definition of celebration is "to observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, and rejoicing". Reasons to celebrate for Nick and I over the past month:
- I completed my last class of Statistics with an A-. That was quite the struggle for me since Statistics is hard for me to understand and I was not able to ask questions and have them quickly answered. Celebration for this: Taking a night off of homework to relax and watch a movie with Nick.
-Nick and I filed for our marriage license. While we still have to go pick it up, this makes it all that much more real that this is happening!! Celebration for this: a wedding in 72 days.
- Our country's independence day. We went up to South Lake Tahoe to our friends' new house that they bought a month ago. We spent the time with 5 other couples and cooked some great bbq and went on long hikes. This was a fun weekend. There was lots of wedding talk because two of the other ladies that were there are also engaged.. with one getting married on 09/04/10 and the other getting married in 08/2011.
- Nick and I have been lacking on the running, but we are starting it back up again. Celebration for this: more running!!
- We have great families and friends, so everytime we see them is a celebration in our hearts.

Heat wave

What a great weekend this has been. The weather has been warmish/hot (75-80) until today, which is 90 degrees! Yikes! On Friday, Nick and I both took the day off and went to Half Moon Bay. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at a popular cafe (yet I've never heard of it) then walked along the pier and looked at all the boats. We then drove to the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. GORGEOUS!! Who would think that off of highway 1 there is a gorgeous hotel that is massively huge but with outstanding staff. Usually when I go to nice hotels, I feel like the staff thinks "she possibly does not have much money to tip us, so we should only give her minimum service with a forced smile"... not here at the Ritz. Every smile was genuine (I think) and they were all asking how they could make our time there the best possible ("would you like a glass of water while you sit here and enjoy the beautiful ocean view?").. and we weren't even guests there! I can't wait to stay there on our wedding night and the night after (courtesy of the woman that we have house sat for many times.. that I wrote about in last year's blogs). Then on Saturday, I went to go get a body wrap with Sarah and then went to the Nordstrom rack. I bought the cutest Maggie London dress for $29! I love great finds. At night, Nick and I decided to stay in and make dinner and watch a movie. Perfect date night in my opinion. Today, we went to see our friend's booth at the La Honda art fair. The fair was small, but cute. The rest of the day has been spent in front of the fan, trying to complete homework. :) I am very much looking forward to the coolness of the night breeze tonight.