My best friend Kim bestowed an entire box of kitty food upon me.  Here’s Sadie’s reaction:

That is why I love my kitty so much, even if she tries to sleep on my face at night!

While I was uploading Bryan’s styrofoam airplane photos, I found these photos from an open house out at Vintage Villas, where we’ll be getting married!  The other cute guy in the photos is my best friend and ‘mister of honor’ Leo Rivera.  Enjoy these photos from January – I know we’re really excited about this place!

Our outdoor ceremony option, if the weather is permitting in December.

The patio overlooking Lake Travis

This isn't the best photo, but the lake will be the backdrop for our outdoor wedding!

The entrance to the ballrooms. Quaint but pretty in person.

An example of the spread we'll be having!

There are two large rooms in this facility, which we'll be using. This is where we'll hold our dinner reception.

The two guys that will stand beside me (and probably keep me from getting away... Just kidding.) I love these boys.

Now I know that some people find it odd or non-traditional to have a guy as my maid of honor.  Leo has been my best friend and closest confidant since middle school – this is the guy that had his ear chopped in half by one of my goats, been beaten up by my ex, and has helped me move from here to there and back again, and has held no remorse.  To be clear, I have never had many girlfriends, and have always been one of the guys, so it makes perfect sense that Leo stands up with me at my wedding.  And did I mention that my other best friend Sam is taking all our photos for this shindig?

Yep, Bryan’s marrying a tomboy. I know its because I can change the oil in a car, drive a truck and can hammer a nail straight. 

Bryan just had his maiden voyage!  Take a look!  (and sorry for the poor photo quality, but all I had was my Iphone.) 

Da plane! Da plane!!

Its in the air!

Hot Damn, still going up!

Flying upside-down. He's a regular aviator! And you can almost make out the blue flames I drew on the wings.

The examination committee, watching intently.

And the most amazing part?  He didn’t break it when he crash landed! 

This past weekend Bryan and I flew to Tampa, FL to enjoy an extended weekend on the beach.  The following photos are just a few from our adventures on Treasure Island (no kidding!) which included parasailing, jet skiing, and dolphin sightings. Enjoy! 

My view from our cabana on the beach

Bryan found a trick kite to entertain him when he wasn't swimming in the gulf

Parasailing was impressively peaceful - no scary 'I'm gonna die!' feeling involved.

We took one afternoon to enjoy the historic downtown area and The Pier - very nice!

I enjoyed the draw bridges between the barrier islands waaaay too much. Couldn't get over the giant pieces of concrete going vertical!There seemed to be alligators everywhere we'd go...

And I do mean everywhere!

Hey Everyone!  I don’t know about you, but Bryan and I both had a rough week – he was was the ‘on call’ man at work, getting the 3am phone calls that this or that was broken and needed to be fixed. I, on the other hand, had a committee meeting with my professors this week to go over the progress of my project. We both survived without too many scratches, and have not been so glad for a weekend off in a long time! Between all that was going on with the two of us, Rylee and Luckster didn’t get much love – I think that they deserve a car ride for putting up with Bryan and I!

A side note:  the save the date magnets are on their way out the door to those we love!  Hope to see you guys surfing the blog and wedding websites soon!

My best friend, and photographer for my wedding, Sam Gonzalez, drove all the way across Texas a few weeks ago to shoot engagement photos for Bryan and I – here are the ones he featured on his website! Enjoy!

– Chelle 

http://www.photoshelter.com/c/samuel_gonzalez/gallery/Engagements/G0000HHSihj5154g/

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Meet Our newest addition to the menagerie:  Rylee “Danger” Frederick:

She’s really quite small:

Here’s her beautiful ridge!

And this is her normal demeanor:

She’s quite the cutie pie! Since she’s arrived she’s killed one computer power adapter, a bag of rice, and has made Sadie sightings scarce!  But we adore her, and enjoy every second of her mischief!

We have a full and exciting weekend coming up! Stay tuned for photos of Rylee, whom we pick up Sunday, and Engagement photos, which my best friend Sam will be taking today in downtown Dallas! It should be overcast with a 30% chance of thunder storms, so we’ll try to stay dry and get some awesome shots! I have faith in my best buddy – check out his website!

Bryan and I are proud to announce that there’s a little one on the way!….

A PUPPY, that is! Yes! We’re getting a pedigree Rhodesian Ridgeback, and we have not a clue what to name her. We pick her up on Sunday, and we’re both very excited about our new addition to the Freddie Family! When she’s grown up, she’ll look something like this:

She’s got blue green eyes, which the breeder told us would turn to a light gold; she has a tan muzzle and ears, which is the recessive phenotype of the breed, and she has a little bit of white on her toes and neck. She’s Adorable! We’ll post pics as soon as we get her this weekend!

Since the last time I updated about the wedding progress, I have done, well, little, if anything. TheKnot.com loves to remind me that the days are slipping away, whether by email or by the countdown clock predominantly displayed on the welcome page when I log in (FYI, today is t minus 253 days).

However, as of 4pm CDT today we do have:

• a venue – Vintage Villas will be the site of both the ceremony and the reception, complete with an indoor rain plan,
• a dress (which I’d LOVE to show you, because its so darned cute and girly, which is so unlike me),
• and a photographer (who just happens to be the most awesome photojournalist I know, and my best friend!).
• I have a color scheme laid out -claret, black and white,
• the makings of a guest list
• *a cake and bakery in mind*,
  
• been narrowing down honeymoon ideas.

But there’s still a lot I haven’t done nor even begun to think about yet.  I haven’t flushed out my wedding party, I have yet to look into florists, DJ’s nor a set of strings for the ceremony.  Not to mention that my uncle has backed out of playing at (or even attending) my wedding for a Christmas cruise through the Panama canal (can we say OUCH?).  I have looked at one cake baker, but really should taste at least one other place.  Thankfully I don’t have to worry about a caterer, just narrowing down what I want served at the venue (its included in the rental), and of course engagement photos need to be taken, save-the-dates sent out, groomsmen and usher attire picked out, etc, etc, etc until I want to shoot myself.

So why didn’t I listen to my Dad and elope? Heavens knows.  I do know one thing though, and that is that I really need to get off my ass and start working on this!

…. SNAP! We’ve got ourselves a wedding!

Its day #3 in Michelle’s Birthday Month here in Austin, and last night I came home to a clean kitchen and THESE on the counter:

I have the best boy ever.

We’ve found a place! Check out our wedding website HERE for more information!

Thank God its a lazy Saturday morning.    Sadie, Luckster and I are enjoying the quiet time and a cup of coffee, and are reflecting on the previous week.  Everyone in the lab has shifted into high gear this spring in order to pump out data for Global meetings, collaborators, and even grant proposals.  My reason for be busy in the lab falls under the last cause – my boss wants to submit a joint PO1 grant in May, in which my work with be one of the four legs of it.  While its flattering, there are a lot of experiments I need redo, and more data to “tighten”.  Needless to say, I will give up some weekends for the cause in the near future.  And while my predicament is in no way shaping up to be the hellstorm of last fall, I am still having a difficult time getting myself in gear for it.  This couch is waaaay to comfy… 

In other news, Bryan and I are one step closer toward deciding on a facility for our wedding next December.  We visited a few places last week, and have another one to look at today.  We’ve knocked out one place due to price, but included another one that proved promising.  We’re aiming to pick a place by the end of the month, so that we can move on to more entertaining aspects of the wedding planning (and to get rid of this stress!) On a side note, the two people I carpool to work with are also recently engaged, and I think I may jump from the moving vehicle if they don’t stop talking about wedding stuff.  Its not topic that drives me batty, but the attitudes that the two have about gift giving – they act greedy and entitled about receiving gifts.  Now while I don’t mind getting wedding gifts at all, I don’t feel that every person I INVITE is required to send a gift.  That’s just silly, and reminiscent of a spoiled brat.  And let me assure you, it takes one to know one.

Anyhoo, Lucky’s excited about going to the dog park today, so I should consider pouring another cup o’ joe and getting my behind in the shower.  Merry Weekend!

It’s a new year! Happy 2010! You know what’s awesome about this year? Bryan and I are getting hitched. Yup, takin’ the plunge! We’ve gotten really revved up to get this thing planned out – between the two of us we have three places lined up for just this week to visit. Wish us luck that we find the perfect place to say I Do!

That’s right! I’ve been in Athens since Tuesday, as part of a collaborative meeting for a PO1 grant that our lab was just awarded. I gave a presentation over my research so far in the lab, and received a lot of good feedback. I met our main collaborator at Stanford, who has Rb-/- mice and see a really large thymus like my mice have! Very cool stuff! All of the presentations have been interesting, but one that stood out was some embryonic work done in Scotland on human fetal thymi – since we’re not allowed to work on human embryos here in the states, it was nice to see that a lot of the work we do in mouse models correspond well to what they are observing in humans.

Though I have had a good time here, I am ready to get back home. Our lab is moving to a new building (yay!) and there is lots of packing and cleaning to do! Woo hoo!

With All Hallow’s Eve making an appearance tomorrow, Bryan and I got in the mood by carving some of our very own Jack o Lanterns.  Here are some pictures, as well as the history behind this tradition.  Enjoy!

Bryan cutting a hole in the top!

He chose a skull cut-out

I opted for a tombstone

Our finished products!

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds!

The History of the Jack o’Lantern:

The story of the Jack o’Lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the Devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk, making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took an ember from the devil, and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as “Jack of the Lantern.”

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o’lanterns. (History.com)

I think its unfortunate that our site has been overrun with spam comments. Perhaps Bryan can make them go away??

And no, we haven’t died. We’re still here, and I promise to get better at updating on a timely basis. I mean, come on! We have soooo much going on right now planning for this wedding! Might as well share it all!

– Chelle

Bryan and I have great news – we’re getting MARRIED!!!  It’s been nearly two weeks since he popped the question, and I figured we might as well share the news!

The date is December 18th, 2010, so mark your calendars! Here’s our wedding website on theknot.com:

Look out for more info to come!!