• Got back from our Honeymoon in the Yucatan Peninsula!
• Bryan got a raise! Yipee!
• I started my Candidacy Exam (and passed, yet the fun isn't over yet! Read below!)
• Bryan got a really neat paintball gun
• I turned another year older
• We went to the San Antonio Zoo to celebrate my best friend's birthday
• Bryan bought his brand new IPad 2 (He's in love!)
• We watched the San Antonio Spurs whip up on the Detroit Pistons in San Antonio!
• I trekked to El Paso to visit my family!
• We went camping at Lake Travis!

To say the least, we have been very busy.  I began my candidacy exam for my PhD on January 1st, 2011.  These things are supposed to last 6 weeks, tops. The first time I was supposed to defend, a freak snow storm hit Austin, and school was shut down.  No kidding - it was the first time in the school's history that a candidacy exam was postponed at Science Park.  To make matters worse, one of my exam committee members took the entire month of February to kayak in the Everglades, meaning, of course, that my exam was postponed for that ENTIRE month, which was both good and bad.  It was good because I was allowed to work on it that much longer, but also terrible because the stress of the exam had been getting to both Bryan and I.  March came soon though, and I was passed, with a requirement to write an extra experimental aim, which is now due April 14.  And don't you know I'm going to be ECSTATIC when this whole thing is said and done?!  I'm betting Bryan will be too. 

I'm going to try VERY HARD to post updates on a bi-monthly basis now.  We have lots to talk about - Bryan signed up for kickball this spring, and I've joined yoga and am about to start training to run some races this summer! Though our first few months of being married have been difficult, and much outside our control, we're looking forward to the fun times to come!  This summer seems to be the one for weddings, and we'll be trekking all over to share the special days of our friends and family!  Here's to a happy Spring and Summer of 2011!

WINNING.

He's addicted to 'Prison Break'.

That's right, Bryan has been watching this series for the past two weeks, getting as many episodes as 12 in at a time.  That's an all day marathon.  And to be honest, even Bryan admits that the plot and acting is terrible.

I think Bryan has a man crush on the main character.

OMG.

We have many friends and family to thank for their help and support during the weekend, and we are truly indebted to them.  From the Rafferty's who pulled more than their share decorating, to the girls in my lab for being their every step of the way, the Chicagoans, the Ahrens for coming such a long way, the El Pasoans who didn't forget old friendships, the aunts and uncles who helped in all different capacities, and all of the great people in between, we say THANK YOU.  Really, thank you.  We love you.  You all are the best friends and family a couple of goofs like us could ask for. Bryan and I are very blessed.

On to the good stuff:  I will be posting photos as I wrangle them up, and if you have any, please email them to me, at bolner34@gmail.com.

Happy New Year, and may all your hopes and dreams be fufilled!

Love,

Chelle  &  Bryan 

Scientific Meetings and Classes:

As many people know, this is my last semester of classes, and I am enrolled in the DREADED Metabolic Biochem class.  This course is a Baylor College of Medicine class that's videoconferenced through MD Anderson, and its sole reason for existing is to make students' lives a nightmare.  On the upside, I made it through my first exam rather unscathed, and only have to get a C in the class to satisfy my committee members to move on to my Candidacy Exam.  Oh, and did I mention that the final is a week before the wedding?  Eeek!

Also, our lab collaborates with groups at Stanford, Georgia, and in Edinburgh, Scotland.  This fall was our turn to hold the group's "Lab Summit", so we played host to 30+ scientists from around the world this past weekend.  Fun stuff, except hotel arrangements couldn't be made in Austin due to a film festival taking place the same weekend, so our lab was left playing chauffeur to all the guests to and from their hotel TWENY miles out of town. Aside from not getting any sleep the entire weekend it really was wonderful to sit down with other people who do what I do for a living and swap ideas and techniques!  To see all the innovative work going on in my field makes me humbled about the great opportunities I have been given.

Wedding Planning:

Meanwhile, because Michelle is incapable of doing just one thing at a time, I've also been wedding planning up a STORM! We confirmed decorations, flowers, cakes, DJ, you name it, we have it!  My mom flew in two weeks ago to taste test the menu for the reception - and I think she, Bryan and I all agreed that it was very good!  We're in the midst of sorting out the ceremony, the rehearsal dinner with Bryan's parents, and getting little last minute things done!  And did I mention that we're going to Mexico for the honeymoon?!  All in all, this is shaping up to be an awesome wedding!

I will share one little story about how hectic its been, just because it is funny, and the girls still don't know:  I had told the bridesmaids that they could choose their own dresses with one stipulation - none could be the same.  Since the girls all have very unique personalities, I wanted them to be able to express it.  However, when I called the bridal store last week, I found out (much to my disbelief) that two girls picked the same dress and another two picked a second same dress.  To make matters worse, the two dresses that the four girls in question chose were nearly identical!  So, even though I wanted every bridesmaid to be unique, the must all have very similar taste, since they are all wearing the same style dress!   

My Petition for Candidacy!

I am getting ready for (what I think is) the most daunting exam of my life!  In our PhD program we're supposed to take classes for the first few years and then petition for candidacy, which means I ask for the ability to write a well thought out grant and then present it to a panel of professors, and defend it while they tear it apart.  I watched one of my best friends in the program go through it this past month, and let's just say it frightened me! He looked like the walking dead by the end of the process, and I hold him to be quite an intelligent individual! So please keep your fingers crossed for me - I petition for the exam in November, and will be defending in January - nothing like jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire.   o_O

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!

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!

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!