A rose by any other name...

is just as sweet as long as they're sent to me by my husband! Here's a photo of the roses that Eric sent on our one month anniversary!

What a week! and it's only Wednesday!

Well, today is June 27th which means that yesterday Eric and I were married for one month. But who remembered? Eric did - thats who! While meeting with Accounting trying to set up a Master Account for a great reception I'm planning ( :) yes that's the sound of me tooting my own horn) - Amber, who was filling in for our receptionist, walks by and says "there's a surprise on the desk" I thought she said "your desk" and so I was disappointed to not find a pen (or a donut) on my desk as these were the 'presents' I was expecting.
So I walk out to reception to admonish her for her mean cruel (and donut-less) joke and lo and behold I see a vase filled with roses....the only roses my honey gets me - a great mix of Vendela, Princess, Diva, and Classic Reds and instantly I knew. The card read "Happy One Month Anniversary. I love You"

Now - do I have the best husband or what?!

To top it all off - today - Wednesday - was a great day as well. Many of you already know the news and it's exciting. No, its not a baby or a puppy. But call us if you dont know (or email) we'd love to share with you!

WOOHOOOO!!!!

Run, Fetch, Pant, Rinse....Repeat

Many have said that if they were to be reincarnated they would want to return to the Earth as Ginger or Morgen....mostly Ginger :)

Our two pups definately live the life with lots of love and kisses, playing, running, and a biscuit from their Daddy each morning. Oh how they hate to see him leave the house (Morgen even ran after him one day!)

But while Morgen is our 'inside' dog - she lays with us in the air conditioning and wants to play fetch INSIDE; Ginger is our 'outside' dog - she begs to go outside and then spends the lazy days of summer stalking squirrels/hedgehogs and any other animals in our yard, she suns herself like a lioness in the plains of Africa, she strategically lays under the sprinkler when Daddy turns it on and if one of us goes outside to bbq she's right there with a tennis ball and a great catch on the bounce. :) SHe'd stay outside all summer if we would let her, but we like having her around so, alas, she must come inside at some point (thank goodness for dog food and treats).

We were surprised the other day when Ginger convinced Morgen to stay outside with her....here's a shot of the two sisters enjoying some summer sun together. Get it while you can ladies ... Monday's almost here.... oh that's right - neither of you have JOBS! Just kidding...we love them.

If you can make it there you'll make it anywhere!

That's right folks, it's 'ol New York. Eric and I had a wonderful dinner cruise to attend as part of my company's "thank you" to its staff for having a wonderful and productive year! Isn't it nice to be appreciated?

It was a nice excuse for us to get dressed up and walk around Chelsea Piers before the cruise left and once on board we spent some time with friends/co-workers and truly enjoyed our evening.

The previous day I was lamenting to a co-worker that I had such a busy Saturday planned...a meeting in the morning and then we had planned on attending Spencer's graduation party prior to heading into the city but another situation got a hold of us!


In any event, we chatted about laundry and cleaning and bills - and on Saturday morning as I had a melt down over not being able to organize the bills right then and there - my husband (oh my lovely husband) said "Just stop" :) and he smiled and held me tight. And what I had preached the day before to my co-worker was finally holding true. The days that Eric and I will look back upon in our life together will be the days of a somewhat messy house and bills but a lot of love and a LOT of laughter...and just being together. It reminds me of Erma Bombeck's short writing about using the good china on ordinary days because each day is a special occassion....and she is right.


So we left the bills and laundry aside, and tended to our souls and fed them - with love, laughs, good friends and a little wine.

****

They're in! ok well some of them are...

Our photos from John and Lovina! I wish we could say we had them all but it takes a little while for the proofs to come in. But they've put us on they're blog (we're famous! ok well almost famous - just to the people we tell to visit the blog)

But from what is on their blog - we're impressed! we've always known that they are amazing photographers - that is why when I first met John in 2001, I referred him to every bride I knew! He and Lovina have been an integral part of so many of our friends weddings - namely my sister's wedding, Steph and Mike's, Courtney and Dom's and thats just the short list!

As I sit here, Eric is outside doing what he does best - taking care of our home. He's working on his prize winning lawn. Ok there's no prize except for the praise I give him but it still looks awesome! I'll have to post a photo soon. I should be putting our laundry away but this was a doozy of a week for me. With our semi-annual team meetings this week I was up at 6pm and in bed at 1am each day. WHEW!

So today may be a day of rest...who knows. In the meantime, I'm enjoying reliving those magic moments of May 26, 2007....

welcome to the real world

It's funny how a vacation transports you both mentally and physically. While in Mexico, Eric and I lounged in bed sometimes till (gasp) 10am! Ate wonderful gourmet breakfasts, then lounged in the pool or at the beach, all the while being waited on by attentive staff members....we'd take afternoon naps, dress for dinner and then chat with other couples till the wee hours and do it all over again the next day....

Now that we've returned home we realize why we all take vacations in the first place. I look around and see all of the things we were SUPPOSED to do in the few days we had at home before returning to work. I sigh, realizing that I'm still surrounded by rebate forms I havent completed, laundry that needs to be put away, two dogs that probably need a bath, mail that should be sorted and all sorts of other REAL world things. One of those things is a presentation for work that is looming over me and I just cant bring myself to do it.

But these few days at home together also provided another real world rest for us. Newly wedded we took this time to snuggle on the couch, watch our lil sweet Ginger stalk squirrels and all sorts of animals in our yard (right now she's laying under the computer desk - she makes a wonderful foot warmer) while our larger yet more fearful Morgen stayed inside with her daddy and watched Ginger from the screen door. We made plans and lists but most of all we just lived. These past few days with Eric were better than the honeymoon in someways because we returned to our 'real life' and isnt that what we've been waiting for?

We should have brought our ruby slippers...

Because Delta Airlines was certainly no help in getting us home!

Stuck in the Atlanta Airport for HOURS on end...Eric and I realized what a true marriage is made up of:

The ability to share a chicken sandwich in a random restaurant

The ability to laugh and make fun of .... everyone

The ability to look at your spouse after a full day of travel and still feel like you are the luckiest man/woman in the world.

We love you Atlanta...but it's good to be home.

Arriba Arriba!

If Eric got to pick the title of this post it would most likely be "Chupacabra" which I am SURE I'm spelling wrong. For those of you who didnt watch the X-files - A chupacabra is a legendary creature of Spanish/Mexican/Puerto Rican lore that literally translates to "goat sucker" Eric often named his water polo team on our honeymoon after this mythical beast. Nice.

But I digress :)

Our honeymoon in Mexico was amazing - a little rain - a little sun (ok a LOT of sun) and a lot of fun. We relaxed by the pool/beach, played some games, met some nice couples, snorkeled, visited the ruins and swam with dolphins. What more could you ask for?

A circle has no beginning and no end...

But for us, our wedding day was a beginning ... the beginning of our new life together as Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen. As Courtney so eloquently put in her and Dominick's blog (www.thestanziones.blogspot.com) - our finding each other and journey to the altar was not an easy one. But our amazing May day - on my parents 36th wedding anniversary - was all the warmth we needed to step forward as husband and wife.

As many married couples know, the planning of a wedding is stressful and often times we lose sight of what we are planning for....a marriage not a wedding reception. Eric and I tried to stay away from the arguements that come with wedding planning by instituting a "fight jar" where the instigator of an arguement had to put $20 into the jar. And as the wedding day got closer we up'd the anty day by day.

It helped us to remember what our day was all about and that is our love and commitment to each other and our families. We both wrote personalized vows and as I heard Eric's I knew that they truly came from his heart as did mine. We are meant for each other and that was clear from the beginning. We took a long road to the chapel :) but it was always a happy one because wherever we are, as long as we're together, we're having fun - loving and laughing.

We're loving being the Nielsens :)