No-Picture Update ... better than nothing

This is a long-overdue update on our lives, but an update nonetheless. Our cat's name is Bandit, and yes, he is officially OUR cat in our minds. We also have welcomed Smokey back into our arms as we have enough room to keep him comfortable. We know it's been a difficult transition for the Millers to be without Smokey recently, but he's definitely having a great time being a country dog. Smokey couldn't have a better grandmother, grandfather and uncle than Mr. and Mrs. Miller and Josh! So, some of you might have already made the connection, but I'll spell it out anyway. We now have our Smokey and the Bandit! Although for some reason we keep calling our cat Bandito.

Our master bedroom is mostly finished. We had a painter come out and help us remove the underlayer of wallpaper border, retexture that part of the wall and prime. We did the rest. He also helped us out with a portion of the dining area and our kitchen. We have yet to tackle our master bathroom or upstairs. But just those changes make a huge difference. I also realized how bland our color tastes our. Listen to these color names: Mother of Pearl (trim), Almond Paste (master bedroom), and Chalkware (living area/kitchen).

Ben is still hard at work on the land. The Millers and Dan offered a huge help during Fourth of July weekend when we had a dumptruck at the property! Ben was super excited about that - except he accidentally burned his hand on the exhaust.

All in all, it's still a work in progress, but it's coming along nicely. I'll try to post photos soon.

Homeowners ... in 30 years!

Ben and I closed on our first home on May 19, which was also my 27th birthday. Ben likes to joke that my 57th birthday present will be a paid-for home. The closing went smoothly, and we got right to work on the house. The previous owner did not make the job of moving very easy on us. It seems like we're finding new things everywhere that make us dislike her more. For instance, she apparently loves tacky wallpaper, ugly paint colors, and not finishing a task! Not to mention she seemed to have no desire to keep a clean and landscaped lawn. So we have our work cut out for us.

Here are some pictures of us and the house. It seems like an outdoor cat came along with the house. He sticks to us like glue when we're working around outside. No name yet, though.

Our tired eyes and feet

We don't have any recent photos of Ben with his PHI helicopter, so here is the most recent one of him flying a much smaller helicopter with our friend Brent. His wife, Logan, and I are in the back of the helicopter. Anyway, this week has been a week of beginnings for Ben and I. Ben started flying on his own for his new EMS job on Wednesday and will continue until next Wednesday. Some days they don't get to fly at all but other days can be busier. It's been really foggy the past few mornings here in Houston, so that's been a hindrance for flying as well. I started my new afternoon job at Triumph Rehab Hospital on Monday, and my feet haven't been this tired since grad school. I wear scrubs and tennis shoes more often now just for the comfort factor. Poor Ben has to wake up at 4 a.m. in order to get to work in time each morning, so I'm sure his eyes are starting to get sleepy by the time he gets there. Plus, our eyes have seen their fair share of amazing things the past few days. I won't go into details, but at least we can now share healthcare stories, which are always graphic!

Lots of catching up ...

I'll be honest. I forgot we had a blog! And that's why I hadn't written in so long. :) Just to catch everyone up, Ben and I got married in August as planned, and everything went very well. We still live in Spring, but we have started some new career paths recently.
Ben just began working as an EMS pilot out of the Houston area. As a result, he'll be able to be home every day, which is a very welcome change. I am about to start a new afternoon job at an acute rehabilitation hospital on March 16. We're both very excited to see what these jobs hold for us.

Peeved and Perry's

Adriana - I went to pick up my dress yesterday, but it wasn't ready. That explains the "peeved" part. Now I have to make another trip this weekend down to Westheimer to pick it up. This better be the last trip! Three sweet friends of mine from work treated me to Perry's Steakhouse for brunch today, and it was delicious! But I learned that three and a half mimosas and working out 90 minutes later don't quite mix. Left me with an icky feeling.
Ben has started walking at night after getting done with work. I'm so proud of him! He's taken the initiative to become more active, which is difficult for someone who is only home half of the year. Everyone wish him luck!

The first - 8/8/08

We're about 20-ish days away from being married. It feels like just a few weeks ago when I could say that we weren't getting married "for a long time." But we're doing well - all of the freak-out moments have been Adriana's. But there haven't been many - maybe two or three. And only one of them resulted in tears. But oh well, Adriana would have been completely abnormal if there wasn't at least one "ahhh!" moment.