Did I mention I got my wedding band finally?

At last, on our 8-month anniversary, my wedding band arrived. You may know that Nate designed my ring, and it took a little while to get everything perfect. For my bridals, the jeweler let me borrow a ring since mine was still being made. Yep, he opened up all if his cabinets, and said, "choose". It was crazy. He'd only talked to Nate a few times on the phone, and that was the first time we met. He had such a good feeling about Nate and completely trusted him. It was an amazing experience. Only in Utah, huh. So, they were able to finally get my real engagement ring ready in time, but I guess they were still in discussions about the band? I don't know. What I do know is that I borrowed a wedding band for the day of, and wore it just that one day. They attempted customizing one that they sent to us in November, but it wasn't quite right (hard to make sure without the actual one to double check), so we finally took them my ring so they could be sure to get it right. Nate gave me my real engagement ring two months to the day before our wedding, and the band arrived 8 months to the day after. Interestingly, by that point, I've gone without a ring (except for the wooden one we picked up in Peru) for 2 months now, and it feels a little strange to be wearing one again. I feel like we're newly married. I really can't believe it's been 8 months already! The good news is, I still love the ring. Good job Nate - you amaze me.

Setting the mood

Sometimes it seems like we're in a movie. We decided to try being romantic. Ironically, instead we somehow immediately became clumsy. Joking around, while cleaning up a few things, Nate threw his hat my way and tried to land it on my head. Instead the brim got my nose - ow. Shortly after, I was trying to find something good on his IPOD, and I turned to ask for help, and bam - there he was, and I got his nose. Another ow. If we didn't know better, it would have seemed like I did it intentionally to get him back! Well, so much for the romance. But at least we got some good laughs together. I guess for us romance wouldn't be romance without some laughter.

Sewing patches - Is this what I signed up for?

We recently received new callings in our new ward, and Nate is now the scout leader for the Webelos, the 11 year olds. Basically that means he gets to be a kid again and play every week. For their first activity, they went to a Denver Nuggets game. No I’m not bitter. I just never liked scouts (okay, maybe it is because they get to do fun things and I was never invited). So…Nate has to get a new scout uniform (he tried his old one, but it turns out he has grown since he was 12, a little bit), which entails a very expensive, very ugly tan shirt; and several patches which must be applied to the shirt. He asks if I would sew the patches for him and I willingly agree. Now, I am 100% certain he could have done at least as good of a job, or possibly even better; sewing is not one of my strengths. The night before his first “official” meeting, he pins all of the badges for me. A couple of hours before his meeting I begin to sew. And then I start thinking about it more, and I imagine him returning home, seeing my work and saying that it must be re-done. Oh well. I’ll try anyway. Well, sure enough, upon his return, he laughs and declares that it isn’t right. Why? Because he didn’t pin them in the right place!!!! I sewed them exactly where he pinned them. So, for his first week, Nate got to go to scouts with a ton of straight pins in his sleeve holding the patches in place, and some thread hanging down. Luckily, nobody noticed. And then I got to sew them all over again... Nate could do it, but this IS what I signed up for - not sewing, but serving. He's worth it.

Muse - finally an artist we both love

So, if you know Nate, you know he LOVES Depeche Mode. More than any other artist. And tragically, for him, I don't care for them, at least I really don't like the lead singer. Due to this fact, Nate seriously thought twice about marrying me. Actually though, I like about the rest of his music collection. I also even went to a Depeche Mode concert with him this past summer and we had a fun time, and I do like the backup singer.

Well, a few months back, I was visiting Nate's sister in Washington, and her son (Nate's nephew) introduced me to his favorite artist, Muse. I loved it! The other night, while Nate and I were driving, he was flipping through stations, and passed the intro to "Uprising", but I recognized it, and insisted he go back. And then we both started jamming and realized how much we both love this group. Nate swears he already introduced me to them, but I am certain it was his 12-year old nephew. Either way, we're excited we found a group we are both so excited about, and decided we would have to save up for a concert (only to find out they are coming to Denver in April, but they're already sold out! Next time...probably after graduation anyway). I pulled in a couple of their songs for your pleasure.

Setting up House

Over our short holiday, we made what seemed a never-ending list of "to-do's" on the house. Admittedly, I was anxious to utilize Nate's time while he was out of school. My top priority - blinds. I couldn't stand looking directly into the neighbors windows (and knowing they were watching our dance parties and pretend boxing) - it gave me the creeps. We worked rapidly to get as much done as possible before Nate's parents came to visit for New Year's Eve. Surprisingly though, it was the garbage can that was the best adventure.

We learned when we moved in that garbage pick-up is not included in our HOA fees, which didn't make us happy, but we went ahead and set it up. We then learned that if you want an actual garbage can, that is also for purchase - a mere $80 plus a $30 delivery fee! Unbelievable! So, we decided that simply did not fit into the budget, so we diligently put out our garbage sacks on the curb each Monday morning for several weeks. Upon another phone call, we learned you could get a used garbage can for $40, plus the delivery fee. We considered this, but decided it would have to happen later. And then last Monday, the one just after Christmas when we had bags of boxes and wrapping paper to dispose of, the truck came about 2 hours earlier than usual. Since we don't want critters getting into our trash, we've been putting the trash out in the morning, but this time we didn't get it out early enough (how we were to know they'd come early???). That did it. Now our garage was taken over with garbage. We were finally convinced that a garbage can had to make it's way into our budget. This time on our phone call, we learned that we could avoid the delivery fee if we picked the can up ourselves, and just had to call ahead to make sure they had a used one available.

We made the call, and they had two. But then we couldn't get there until the following day. Lucky for us, Nate didn't shower that day (sort of lucky), and just put some workout pants on and a baseball hat (and a shirt) while he worked on several projects. He went inside, and the lady informed him that she had just sold both garbage cans to another guy. Nate stood quietly, trying to decide his next move. He must of looked like someone in real need, because quickly after, the lady offered to sell him a brand new garbage can at the used price! Wahoo! We were thrilled! We're counting our blessings - $70 saved. That's a lot when you're counting pennies. :)

Of course, then there was the task of getting it home... thank goodness Colorado drivers are SO conservative!

We're back

So, I realize we're grossly behind in providing updates, so I'm going to attempt to now. First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We now officially live in Denver. Nate has successfully finished his first quarter of his IMBA at DU (only 5 more to go!), and I am still working for Booz, only here in Denver/Colorado Springs now, which is quite a different experience than DC. For a little over two months, we lived in a hotel, and we hated it, but didn't want to be too permanent anywhere while we searched for our home. On October 30, we finally closed and celebrated Halloween moving in. Our first purchase for the house was a snow shovel to dig ourselves out of the two feet we received earlier that week. We love our place (and especially that we can walk around barefoot again).

Once moved in, we were on the go again. We visited Nate's parents, and mine, and then spent a couple of weeks in Peru, where Nate served his mission. We loved Machu Picchu (except for the mosquito's, which I'm still recovering from), and I especially loved meeting many of those Nate taught. I became quite attached to his cook in his first area, Petita, who made sure we were well fed and cared for throughout that week. I experienced the motos, dirt roads, cold showers, non-flush-able toilets, and yummy food, including roasted chicken, goat, guinea pig (a delicacy), aji de gallina, anise tea (my stomach thanks you), chocolate milk, and alfajor. I felt like a celebrity as I was probably the only blonde within miles anywhere we went, and I even felt kind of tall. :) Oh yes, and we were in "slug bug" heaven - our favorite game of late. Most of all, I was particularly impressed with how kind, happy, and welcoming the people were. The cold showers were worth it to be among such choice friends.

Nate and I are still absolutely loving being married to each other, and are amazed that we can feel an even deeper love for each other than before. We didn't think it was possible. We love being in this great adventure together!

One month of bliss - so far so good

We have already reached a month - we can hardly believe it has gone so quickly, and we have loved every moment! Here are a few pics from the big day.