The BEST Year in Review

Wow!!! It is already time for a full year review and I am actually happy to be putting this busy year to an end. So many big events in 2012 have been very exciting, but had quite a bit of stress. Not to say 2013 will be stress free, we can just hope with the wedding and house buying out of the way that we can just enjoy a simple life now! Now to a quick recap of the year....

January- We returned to CA from our Christmas break and MDK hit the road with some work travel to the east coast. He returned and we hosted his dad and stepmom. We ventured into San Fran and enjoyed seeing the sights together!

Febuaury- A very busy month of soaking in the last weeks of California sun. We traveled south to visit family that flew in to Huntington Beach. We loved getting to explore that end of the state. My mom and older sister visited us next. We drove them out to the Sierra foothills and enjoyed wine tasting and shopping. Our final visitor was EEH who was on his way back to MN from a trip to Asia. We enjoyed San Fran then headed to Napa. It was the only way to end our CA adventure. So many great memories from February!

March- We're back in WI! It happened so fast...for me that is. MDK and his dad made the drive which is quite a bit slower than my flight. We reunited and took residence in my sister's basement. We were glad they took us in as we sorted out our next move. Little did we know it wouldn't take long for us to feel the moving bug again.

April- We found it!! It was Easter Sunday and we were writing an offer on a house. The house hunting process is nothing like the reality shows on HGTV make it out to be. But, we had learned a lot in a short time and we found the one we wanted. Look at that SOLD sign!

May- April showers bring May flowers...but for me it was wedding showers! I celebrated my upcoming nuptials almost every weekend in May. It was awesome and I am so thankful for the family and friends that helped make my bridal experience complete.

June- BLISS!!!!! I don't think I can use enough exclamation points :) June was our month and probably, definitely my favorite month of the year. Not only the mushy wedding stuff, but the honeymoon to Aruba was so relaxing. Then the house which felt so grown up and scary! Yes, their was stress and tears all for good reason. I love reflecting on our busy June and the great start of our married lives.

July- We spent much of July settling into life back in Minneapolis. We took on a few house projects that involved painting and changing out every light fixture. Thank goodness we have helpful family that take payment in the form of food and beer!

August- The official house warming party was mid-August. We can thank our awesome realtor and friend ACS for helping make the party a success (she sponsored the drinks!). I also started traveling for work this time out to Towson, MD.

September- My other favorite month was full of events! We flew south to visit DJC and KMC for Labor Day weekend. Holy cow was it hot in the GA/AL area that weekend. We celebrated a wedding, then my 26th birthday, and ventured to a Gopher game.

October- Mr. EAT turned 1...already! It was fun to celebrate with him and then enjoyed a night out for my old sister's birthday. MDK turned the big 26 on the 20th and we celebrated with a little tour of some local taprooms. We celebrated Halloween with friends and I spent a week working from home due to cancelled flight thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

November- We supported some more Gopher athletics heading to another football game and a hockey game too. We enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and had fun weekends out with friends.

December- We celebrated with friends for our first holiday party in the new house. Shortly after we hit the road for our 2012 Christmas tour! We flew out to PA for my company Christmas party and a long weekend. We spent 3 days in MN/WI for Christmas and then flew south again! The pic below is from Panama City Beach. We plan to celebrate the New Year with great friends and cheers to one hell of a year!

Things to look forward to in 2013!

- A new job! I put my suitcase away and I am starting a new position back in Mpls. I am going to bus to work instead of fly!
- Hopefully adding another cat to our family!
- Celebrating our 1st anniversary!!
- House projects and exploring our neighborhood more
- Welcoming DJC and KMC (bentley & gus) back to Mpls in the fall
- And enjoying upcoming weddings and multiple baby arrivals!

Have a Nice Day!
LMK

A Year Ago Today!

 

 

On 11/1/11 MDK asked me to be his bride and lucky Valentina got the ring! We celebrated at our apartment that night and spread the exciting news the next day. I love to remember that night and how excited we both were. It is hard to imagine that was a year ago and how far we have come since that fun night. I couldn't have survied our busy and stressful year without MDK by my side. I loved getting to be the bride, but now I get to be the wife for life!



“Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”- R. Browning

 

Have a Nice Day!

LMK

 

 

Liebster Award

Vanessa at Here Comes the Human nominated the blog for the Liebster Award, so I am sort of particpating! I wanted to list the 11 things and answer the questions, so you will find the fun below.

 

 

For bloggers who have less than 200 followers

 

The Rules:
Each person must post 11 things about themselves
Answer the questions that the nominator set for you
Create 11 questions for the people you nominate (skip)
Chose 11 people and link them to your post (skip)
Go to their page and tell them (skip)
No tag backs! :)


My 11 Facts
1) I travel for work and it becomes so routine that I recognize the TSA people at both airports.
2) I have been on a reading kick lately- 4 books in 2 months...that never happens.
3) I absolutely hate being cold.
4) Popcorn (specifically Pop Secret- Homestyle) is one of my favorite snacks.
5) I was told about 2 years ago that I danced like a mom...this was after taking a hip-hop dance class. All I can say is I tried to get help!
6) I am not a good commuter and try to avoid driving/road trips whenever possible.
7) I was convinced I could never use a phone without a keyboard...sorry BlackBerry.
8) Because of my job I will have to file income taxes in 5 states this year...gross.
9) I love mail! Receiving it (minus the junk) and sending it.
10) 3 years ago, I nervously let my sister set me up with her coworker's son and now we are married. CRAZY!
11) I love having parties and entertaining all of our friends and family even though I go into a little panic right before everyone arrives.

Vanessa's Questions:
1.  Where is your happy place?
Warm and snuggled up in my bed at home- can't beat it!
2.  You have the change to meet one celebrity...who would it be?
Beyonce...I think she is awesome and keeps out of the gossip pages.
3.  What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name?
In 2nd grade during Name Change day...I changed my name to Mary. I have since realized that I   like my name so I would keep it!
4.  If you could be given any gift, what would it be?
I would like some money as a gift and spend it wisely of course.
5.  What is the most embarrassing CD/Album you have ever owned and do you still have it?
I am pretty sure I had an Aaron Carter CD as it was the first concert I went to and I do not still have it...thank goodness.
6.  What's your favorite band of all time?
I am musically challenged, but I currently like Train the most.
7.  You're in the car....what's your jam? 
I am a radio listener, so whatever is on I will sing along.
8.  If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
I think so :)
9.  What was your favorite game to play as a child?
I liked to play Clue or Pay Day when we would pretend camp in our backyard.
10.  Do you have any toys or games from your childhood that you are passing to your own children?  If you don't have kids, do you have anything saved for when you do?
My parents recently returned all of my  childhood stuff that was stored at their house. I haven't looked through it yet, but I would guess that if I found anything really awesome I might keep it.
11.  Would you rather have the power to be invisible or to read minds?
This is a very hard question....but, I am going with read minds. I think it would be more interesting.

Have a Nice Day!
LMK

PS- Happy Halloween :)

Update!!

My last post was at that end of August and I can't believe it is nearly the end of October! I am not impressed with my blogging, but at least I am still trying. I will start with a little highlight of activities since the last post.

• July was HOT in MN and we had a lot of house projects that we worked on. We ended up replacing every light fixture and painting almost the entire main level. I guess "move-in ready" was never a reality in my head (poor MDK). At the end of July, I had a little accident with a knife, avacado, and my finger...oops! I worked from home for most of July which helped us to settle into the neighorbood and almost into newylwed life.

Last month wedding/honeymoon...this month home projects!

5 Stitches

• In August we had many adventures as we traveled east, west, north east and south! We ventured out towards the lakes area to Pelican Rapids, MN for a weekend with old friends. EEH received his PhD which kick started the fun and the next night we threw our first ever house warming party! My little sister and dad both had birthdays so we enjoyed lots of BBQ and DQ cake. We celebrated a wedding in Wausau, WI with EAR and enjoyed being guests again! Then my work travel started again taking me to a town outside Baltimore, MD. To celebrate a very memorable summer we joined the Cocch's to make some southern memories over Labor Day. King Bentley was a great host...thanks!

Smiles!

 "I am not going to look at you!"

• September started off busy with a lot of flying and airport time for me during the first week. We celebrated sweet love with a wedding for friends on the 8th and capped that weekend off with another DQ cake for me! I officially hit the mid-twenties and still just love the 9th :) The next weekend we hit TCF Bank Stadium with my parents to cheer on the Gophers (they were actually winning). We also visited the Renaissance Festival and showed out of towners around MPLS for one weekend. And I promise you...we did relax at home for the last weekend of September...at least we must have because I can't remember any big plans.

Craigslist Seats!

We are completely BACK!

 

So yes, we have stayed busy and my work travel makes it difficult to make it to all the things we want. I have been reading a lot on the road now, so I hope to write a few reveiws on here. I finally loaded some wedding pictures to Facebook, but have not done much else with them. The Shutterfly coupons for 50% off are tempting...someday.

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a nice day!

 

LMK

What a Year

We are approaching a very memorable anniversary in the next few weeks and it has reminded me about a what a year MDK and I had. In the last 12 months we moved to CA, got engaged, moved to Wisco, beat unemployment, celebrated our wedding, and moved back to MPLS into our new house! It kind of makes me want to throw up recounting it all in one sentence and I sometimes wonder how we did it. But, just doing it is what has prepared us to make the commitments we have this year.

We had to learn quickly how to support each other when all we had was one another. The amount we grew together definitely solidified that we had found our best partners in each other. We have great memories that we will always cherish and it helped us to decide where we truly wanted to be...back in MPLS.

I thank MDK for sticking by side with the crazy idea to move and letting us both learn together. We had our heartaches and growing pains, but in the end we did it together. Luckily, we see light at the end of our crazy year and enjoy the calm of a great house and each other. (Yes, I miss CA wineries...but, I know I can always visit).

I also wanted to go back to my 2011 in Review post where I mention by 2012 things to look forward to:

• Moving back to MPLS-- being closer to the friends/fam and for me- closer to the airport is a win!
• Becoming LMK-- oh boy was it all fun now that it is done! The name change part is annoying...but I like the change!
• Maybe buying our first place!-- tears and learned lots, but it is awesome when you find the "one"!
• And of course, random travel and tons of memories with friends and family... -- We honeymooned in Aruba, but plan to hit the road for travel again to visit the C's down south!

So with all of that...bring it on 26th year :)

Have a Nice Day!

LMK

PS- Wedding photo thanks to Chelsey Marie Photography

Yes...still here!!!

I am disappointed that I neglect you...poor blog! While away I have been enjoying the summer and attempting to make our new house our home.

The other day I was looking back on Twitter and realized I have been tweeting for well over 3 years. I have tweeted 1,731 times, so that is approximately more than one tweet per day (ok...one day I did tweet 26 times for EEH's birthday- so outliers occur). I realized it has become my silly and random journal to help me remember my life. I want this blog to compliment that account. The days, weeks, and years are going by so much faster the older I get!!

That said I am going to try writing more and maybe use the automatically publishing when I get enough in the bucket! I take inspiration from reading the blogs I follow and know that I can be better.

Have a Nice Day!
LMK

Bliss in NE!

It has been 7 days since the closing on our first house and we love being back in the MPLS! It had been 3 months since we had opened up most of our boxes from CA, so it was fun to see our stuff again. We made sure to get out in the neighborhood our first week in the house and really take advantage of walking to restaurants and stores.

We did start a little furniture shopping as it turns out we need some more storage in the kitchen. We have plans to change up the paint colors and some light fixtures. But, all in all we felt it was pretty move-in ready, so that was fantastic!!

Empty!!

Valentina enjoying the back porch

June has proved to be a very exciting month for us. We look forward to a relaxing July and settling into our married life!!

Have a Nice Day!

LMK

Married!!

June 9th, 2012 flew by and we are already at the airport on our way to the beach. We are thrilled about how awesome our day turned out. Hope to get back to some real blogging and recaps next week!

Have a Nice Day!
lmK... :)

Focus on the Positive!

In the midst of sending MDK 65 different text messages about 30 different wedding topics (maybe a slight exaggeration...), he got a little overwhelmed and gave me a call. Being angry that I felt consumed by to-do's lists and that my groom was/is getting the easy road, I requested he be more aware of the to-do's. He then stated I was forgetting what this was about and was focusing only on the negative.

So with that I would like to point out the---POSITIVE...

• Supportive families...(I am getting help with painting and planting projects, ribbon projects, and the 200+ place cards..thanks :))
  
• Great friends! We will each have 6 supportive peeps by our side on the 9th and many more their in attendance to help us celebrate.
  
• We get one day to be glamorous mini-celebrities!!I have my practice hair and make-up last Saturday and I was feeling pretty fantastic when it was all done!
  
• I get super excited thinking about the feelings I will have as I walk down the aisle! We have decided to not see each other before the wedding.
  
• I get to be a wife and be loved forever by MDK...I suppose that is the big one!!
• And a new last name...LMK-- here I come!

Cheers to the memories to come over the next 10 days!

Have a Nice Day!

LML

The 1 Month Mark

It has arrived...I am feeling overwhelmed.

Speedy Recovery Wishes

Hi Followers!

My post today is for my fantastic "almost" MIL (KAJ) as she just had open heart surgery yesterday. She was recently diagnosed with atrial myxoma after having a small stroke so they waited a few weeks before completing surgery. I have been receiving updates about her already awesome progress and she was moved out of ICU today. She has a great family and crazy supportive friends, so she has a lot of people pulling for her. Nonetheless, keep her in your thoughts as she is really hoping to make it out on the dance floor for a very special mother/son dance.

KAJ and I last summer

It is amazing how life can change ever so quickly, but we are thankful that things are moving in the right direction. I can't wait to be a new member of KAJ's family and look forward to helping her make a full recovery!

And always remember...
Have a Nice day!

LML

2 Months Post CA

Yesterday was the 2 month mark since the move back from CA and I can't believe how fast time goes. Seems like that is just how things work as one ages, but I remember back in high school and dating someone for a month seemed like eternity. We are trying to find our place back in MN/WI, but in no particular order here are the things I miss-

1) Pilates! My classmates rocked and it was a great workout
2) Having a place of our own and the fire place :)
3) Having evenings with MDK
4) Working with people for a long enough time that I cared about them and they cared about me
5) Being close to Napa aka the Promised Land! Seriously, for those of you who haven't been...wine tastes better in California. It's weird, but it does!!
6) That CA sunshine
And to end on a positive...here are the things I am looking forward to---ya MAY! First up, is my very first bridal shower this Saturday with MDK's family. This one is a Pampered Chef shower and I am in love with all their great stuff. I will be sure to snap some pics and share. More showers follow with my family the 12th and then one with friends on the 19th! I want to be sure and enjoy these events and the company. I did decide as I was recapping what I missed in CA, that wedding planning has been easier and more manageable by living back home!!

Have a Nice Day!
LML

For Real!

This sums up a lot of things right now and I wanted to share! Good news, the invites are out and we even have some responses already. Count down is at 45 days!

Have a Nice Day? or try at least-
Lisa

2 Months!

Good Morning! I just boarded my flight as I have started to travel to the Chicagoland area for work. It's a quick flight, but I forgot about all the travel ish...lines, airports, rental cars, etc. So the transitions continue to weigh heavy.

Some highlights none the less- wedding is in 2 months, invites are proofed, and will be printed this week! I am loving how they turned out and thanks to my MOH- KMC, she helped address the envelopes. With my travel now I won't get to see a lot of the wedding stuff until the weekends so starts the anticipation! My helpful parents are getting ready for a mini-construction project...think waist tall candle stands- so I will get to see those one of these weekends too.

We have continued to see lots of friends and spend time back in the MPLS. We have started the "house hunt"...boy- all of that will come in another post on a day when I wasn't up at 4:30 AM. Yes, me before 8:00 AM...just glad MDK drove me to the airport as it is fun to get that time together before being apart for the 4 days.

Thanks for reading! Have a Nice Day!

LML

An Update from the almost....K's!

Hello Followers!

Sorry for the delayed update on the recent move...but as you can imagine I think I could sum up the last few weeks in one word- TRANSITIONS! MDK, his dad, and Valentina arrived back to MN at the end of February. They experienced all good travel, but a bit of a snow storm on the last leg. I was back on March 1st and we tried to get settled in. Here is a pic of me and my new roomie little EAT (he grew a lot since I saw him in December!!)--

We are trying to get back in the swing of things and thank goodness the weather has actually been pretty nice around here for March. I am currently awaiting my next project and that has provided me the opportunity to use evenings to get ahead on wedding goodies. I have supplemented my pilates at studio near my new digs and also, dropped in for a few Barre Burn classes! We are loving being back with our friends and I am going to make a point of taking more pictures when we go out to keep a record of our fun :)

GREAT NEWS on one thing we had on the to do list from the last post...honeymoon! ARUBA is our destination and we are planning to leave the Monday after the wedding until Sunday. Sun and relaxation here we come!


Other wedding stuff is falling into place- we are about 75 days out, the shower dates are set, the invites are close, the decorations are pretty much all purchased, and I am brainstorming ideas for place cards and programs. I am really looking forward to the excitement of June!! MDK and I are very happy with our decision to have a short engagement and we can't wait to be "settled" back in the MPLS!

Have a Nice Day!
LML

Let's Leap and Get Real!

In celebration of 2/29- LEAP YEAR- which is just a few hours away I wanted to write a post. Times are a changing here at Have a Nice Day and it is time for some real talk...

Things that are real-
1) MDK and I are technically in transit back to the Midwest and hope to be back together Thursday-ish pending the weather challenges. I am back as a resident of the hotel to finish up my project and he is driving our moving truck. Don't worry he has good company his dad and little Valentina are joining him in the 30 hour adventure.
Pros: Friends/Family and close for wedding planning. Best of all....MDK is starting a job! We were looking forward to this working out so congrats to my soon-to-be-Mr.!
Cons: Um...snow...and the "adjustment" phase. Two thumbs down to moving.

2) My project is ending and that puts me in a weird "I feel a little lost" mode. With other project transitions it is best to just let go and move on. But, this project has been longer and brought more personal changes, like the move to CA. I like the idea of something new just need to get past the fact that a year of something routine work/pilates/activities with new peeps is done. #sad

3) The wedding is coming faster than I thought...oops. Within this bullet we need to get on the honeymoon planning train. I am determined to completely relax following all this fun!!

4) Having some unsure feelings about getting back to the busy life. When we were in CA it was just us and that at times was bliss. We return to lots of great people and lots of things we love to do. I am hoping we can get a nice mix of our CA slow down back with us. Even if it isn't right away, maybe after the wedding we can just be "us" more than we are just EVERYWHERE. Let's recall Streamlining Life from last June.


Yikes- the last pic of our little love nest in CA...empty. That is plenty of real for now.

Have a Nice Day!
LML

The Countdown Continues

Though I should be talking about how I only have 4 months left before the wedding...I wanted to share this picture of the top of a take-out box! It reminded of me of my little space here in the blog world.

So for the real talk...wedding is 4 months away and I booked my flight home to MN on 3/1 just today. I am not feeling too much pressure with the move since the way out here went pretty well, except the bed issue (see previous post). And because we will be shacking up with my big sis we won't need to immediately unpack our entire lives. That sounds like a win to me!

I have sent our invite wording to our printer and I am very excited to see the proof. I found Pistachio Press on Etsy if I remember correctly! I contacted them first with the idea of taking one of their invites and making a Save the Date to accompany the existing design. They did a great job and we received lots of positive feedback from our guests. Post wedding I will share some pictures as the stationary has been one of my favorite parts.

Other highlights...well...we have a lot of things "sorta" planned and I am not sure how I feel about that. So I will dedicate March to getting my to-do/DIY list under control as I have found some neat ideas that I want to replicate. Because I feel a little disconnected from the wedding right now I hope it will feel more real after a few craft sessions.

Well, that is all for now! Have a nice day!

LML

Where did January go?

Well, here we are at the end of the month that came fast! I am certainly excited for some upcoming events and enjoying our final month in California.

We had started this little adventure with hopes of learning and growing together. We have definitely done that and more including getting ENGAGED!!! The economy was the downfall and was not favorable for MDK's job prospects. But, with my position it means we can live wherever it works. And of course we know MN works for us and our fam/friends!!

Before we return we were sure to pack our schedule- trip to Huntington Beach this weekend, my mom and big sis visit next week, and a capstone visit from EEH upon his return from studying in Asia.

My next work adventure will take me to Ohio and I am looking forward to a change. I am hoping to do a wedding update soon since that is coming quick and I want to talk about it!!!

Until then goodbye January and have a nice day!

LML

Oh no....5 to GO!

I started my day like any other Monday...crabby. Then the emails started flowing in about my 5 months to go check list....ouch! Once in a while the wedding seems very far away and then those lists just make me realize all the elements that still need to happen for it to all fall into place.

One night last week when I couldn't sleep, I was obsessing in a dreamy state about how it will look and feel that day. I am going to try to avoid letting my mind go there again...because it means no sleep!! Oh and tomorrow I have to drop off my engagement ring so the jeweler can construct the wedding band to fit. The kicker is they might have to keep it for up to 6 weeks....total sadness for sure.

I will miss my favorite new accessory!

Have a nice day!

LML