Update, Finally!

Alright well Kelli has chastized me for not updating and so here is the update. Everything is going super great! Nate and I have been super busy getting his photography business up and running. We have his blog up and a few sample pictures on his website. The addresses are www.nathantgross.com and www.nathantgross.blogspot.com He is having so much fun and is a fantastic photographer. We are buying new lenses and finding lots of job opportunities. As for me I am still at Alexander's and enjoy it.

We had the best Thanksgiving, the food was wonderful and so was the company. Though the best part was the night before...I have been needing new clothes and Kohl's was having a huge sale the day after on their clothes. But I didn't want to try on clothes with all the crazy ladies running around so we went Wednesday night to try them on so I would know what I wanted to buy. Well no one was in the store so they started switching the prices early and since they were posted they had to give us the sale prices! I bought $400 worth of clothes for $150 and no crowds, it was awesome! then the day after we braved Wal-Mart, just a friendly tip, carts truly hinder you because there are so many people. But we got our first Christmas tree for $25 and it is so cute, we just finished decorating it last night.

As for Christmas all of our shopping is pretty much done. Just some odds and ends that will be easy in the next few weeks. I had a fabulous birthday and can't wait to spend Christmas Eve at home with my hubby. We decorated a gingerbread house and it is so cute. we also rearranged our furniture and I am trying new recipes all the time. I have even started couponing I found some wonderful websites and I have put together binders to help me stay organized. It's pretty fun. I'm very excited to try some of the recipes that are from my favorite restaurants...panda express orange chicken, Macaroni Grill Bread, Mimi's Corn Chowder. So we're busy shopping, doing photography, and just enjoying each others company. There's my update and I hope you all enjoy your Christmas.

Husband Tag

Suzy said whoever wanted to play...So I'm going to play.

1.What's his name? Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel
2.How long have you been married? Just shy of 5 months
3.How long did you date? 2 months, engaged for an additional 5 months
4.How old is he? 25
5.Who eats more? Depends on what we're eating
6.Who said "I love you" first? He totally did!
7.Who is taller? He is
8.Who sings better? I'm going to go with me here. But when we do karaoke and he gets in 'the zone' He's pretty good.
9.Who is smarter? Depends on the subject
10.Whose temper is worse? Mine
11.Who does the laundry? Well that's supposed to be me but lately I haven't been able to lift the baskets let alone bring them up and down stairs so he's been helping out a lot.
12.Who does the dishes? He does, but I help if they're really bad.
13.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right now he does but it switches.
14.Who pays the bills? We pay from both our paychecks, but I've taken over the task of actually logging in and clicking the buttons for auto pay. ;)
15. Who mows the lawn? A service, That's one of the best parts of living in an apartment.
16.Who cooks dinner? We switch off.
17.Who drives when you are together? He does
18.Who is more stubborn? That could be a toss up it depends on the subject.
19.Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably Nate, see question 18 and add the fact that he has a huge soft spot for me. I try to never take advantage of that.
20. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine but that's usually because Nate goes to his parents before I get off work. I've told him not to because I like going over there. I'll get him to remember soon enough. ;)
21.Who proposed? He did and it was perfect and everything I asked for.
22.Who has more friends? It depends on if you are talking about close friends or just friends in general.
23.Who has more siblings? Equal. We both have 6 siblings.
24.Who wears the pants in the family? We're pretty equal right now. It's great fun being married.

I tag... anyone who wants to play and Amanda, and Mom (Kitty)

New Job = Old Job

Well I got four days away from leaving Alexander's and they decided to counter the offer I was given by Blue Host. So I am officially staying with Alexander's. I must say this gave quite a bit of relief to my boss Joy, (let's just say the prospects were looking VERY bleak) I'm very excited about this because I do love working here and now I don't have to clean out my desk. Oh and as a side note I've started doing water aerobics/ hydro therapy and it is really helping my hips out. I can go up and down stairs like a big kid. For awhile there I was just like a two year old, putting both feet on each step before continuing up. :)

New Job

Alright well for anyone who doesn't know, which is probably a lot of people, I got a new job. I have mixed feelings on this but I'm sure it will be wonderful. I'm excited for a change of pace and for a new environment. Though I am going to miss the people I work with at Alexander's and let's be honest it just kind of has a part of me. I'm very excited and very nervous but feel so good about this change. I wasn't looking for a new job but was blessed with a great opportunity to work at Blue Host. They are a web hosting company and I will work in their billing department with Nate!!! I'm so excited to work with my husband. We'll get to carpool which will save us money and we'll get to be together. This really is an exciting moment for me so pray for me that everything goes well! Love to all of you!

Hips, Hips, Hips

Well for those of you who don't know I have been having very big problems with my hips. It started with muscular problems in my back, then pulled my hip joint out of place and pinched my sciatic nerve in both hips. Basically what that means is everytime I took a step it felt like my leg was falling out of socket. It has been very painful and very hard for us. Our apartment is a split entry apartment and most nights I would have to sleep on the couch because I couldn't get up the stairs. Nate has been so supportive and thoughtful. He has helped me do everything and thinks ahead so I won't have to bend down or walk too far at any one time. One night I couldn't move at all so we went back into the doctor and he gave me a nice shot in the butt and it's been helping a lot. I can almost walk at a normal speed now. We're getting a year pass to the Orem Rec Center and I'm going to be doing water aerobics to help the joint mobility and hopefully it will all get better. Anyway I think the sweetest think about this whole thing has been Nate, he even shaved my legs for me when I couldn't shave them myself. If that's not committment I don't know what is. ;)

California

Well we're back and I figured I should get this thing updated. California leaves me with mixed emotions. So I will explain. First of all the cheap flight we got was an indirect flight, just for the flight to California. Our plane was delayed at SLC for an hour and a half. They tried moving everyone around because some people would only have 7 minute layovers. When we finally got on the plane we were right by the engine and US Airways charges $2 for a can of soda! That's a little over kill if you ask me. So our two hour layover was now twenty minutes. We ran to the nearest food we could find and ended up buying some Burger King that reminded me why I NEVER eat there. Then we hoped on the plane and took off again. I have never experience as much turbulance as we did on this trip. It was unreal...and I would venture to guess that the pilot was not trying to be gentle. We turned so quickly I would get nervous we were crashing.
Then we landed and California felt wonderful and aside from the terrifying driving we endured while we were there (not from others)...I have decided that all of the crazy drivers in California must be just like the Nate's grandma. ;) We got to the house and had a nice relaxing time. WICKED was fantastic! Best part of the whole trip! I officially tried In n out Burger for the first time...(not that great). And spent some time with Rae (Nate's sister) It was a lot of fun and it was nice to actually get to know her a little better.
The best story I can offer up from this trip is this one:
We had just finished grocery shopping and Nate's Grandma was driving we were leaving the parking lot and a car was pulling out of a stall. They stopped as well as Grandma stopped. She waited just long enough they figured she was letting them out. So they pulled out and as they did Grandma started honking. When they were all of the way out and we started to pass them Grandma flipped them off! Not kidding! She then leaned over to Nate and patted him on the knee and said, 'I just flipped him off.' She was kind of excited. then she said, 'I don't like to do that, but sometimes...' It was pretty hilarious. Well there's California in a nutshell.

Catching Up

Alright so I've been a very bad blogger but in my defense I have more consecutive posts on this blog than consecutive entries in any journal I've ever owned. We haven't been up to much lately just enjoying summer. But we are going to California in a month and we're going to see Wicked! That's right be very very jealous! We're going to visit Nate's grandma for five days and we're very excited. The best part is this, we were looking for plane tickets and we found a rockin' awesome deal that saved us $80 a ticket. Okay so it wasn't really a deal so for those of you wondering when the cheapest time to fly is I believe I have found it. (meaning no disrespect of course) If you don't mind hopping on a plane on September 11th then you can save a bunch of money on your tickets. And because we booked our flight for the 11th they gave us a discount on our return flight. I didn't realize for awhile and I wondered why a random Thursday was so much cheaper. Then I realized it was the month of September. I'll take it $160 is a lot of money to save.

Weekend Guest

Well we had our first official weekend guest. (Our first overnight was Joseph) It was a lot of fun though I must admit; since it was one of Nate's guy friends I felt like I had a 23 year old son. I made a cute map to keep track of our scripture reading and Rylan was very excited to put the sticker on when we read. Nate even let him pick any color of sticker he wanted. Rylan was very excited and picked a green smiley face. I cooked for them and played games took them to a movie and even cleaned up after them. It was fun. Though I'm excited to have a kid that isn't 23. It will be awhile before that happens. Just in case any of you thought this was my way of telling you I'm pregnant. Apparantly everyone thought we would have a honeymoon baby just like we feared. ;)

Dinner

Well last night I was very adventurous. I made a three course meal. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes. Not bad huh. Everything was ready and the dessert cooked while we ate. Though we both ended up being tired and not very hungry so we only ate one of the three courses. I made a Corn Chowder, Taco Salad, and Peach Cobbler. It was a lot of fun and I think I'm a pretty awesome cook. :D

Great Find

Last night we took a trip to Ikea. We needed some specific things and knew it would be a better deal there. So we went up ate at the yummy restaurant and started shopping. We found some great deals but we couldn't find anything to organize my crafts, finally we decided on those hanging closet organizers that have drawers and everything. As we left we checked the as is for a cheap bookcase and happened to find the cutest craft box ever. It is three levels with double doors on each level and just plain cute. So we bought it and I'm so excited to organize everything and put it away. I might actually spend time doing crafts once it's all put away and I know what I'm doing... Our next big purchase a sewing machine.

House

Alright well last night we decided to clean our house. Mind you it wasn't that bad but our house only has one AC unit, in our bedroom so it is so hot when you get home all you want to do is sit there so you don't start sweating. But clean we did and our basement looks great I finished our laundry and only have the last load to fold. I'm very excited about this now if we could just organize our office our little house would be complete. not bad for one month of marriage. We're moved in and organized and it's pretty much clean...now to fill our fridge and cupboards with something other than Condiments and Mac & Cheese. :D

Name Change

Okay so I went to officially change my name at the social security office and I was a little sad. Not that I don't want to be known by the same name as my husband but I have been Caroline Mortimer my whole life. To make the matter more difficult the guy at the social security desk wasn't to 'helpful', our conversation is as follows:
Me: I would like to change my name because I just got married.
SSG (Social Security Guy): It's only been a few weeks are you sure. :)
Me: I'm sure
SSG: (Looks at names) Mortimer that's a cool name, you should have your husband change his name to Mortimer because it's way cooler.
Me: I know I do like Mortimer, I even tried to convince him to change it back to Grodinski since it's only been Gross for a few generations.
SSG: Yeah...but Mortimer is still cooler. You should name one of your kids Mortimer, seriously it's such a cool name.
Me: Not a bad idea.
*Then he handed me the receipt and told me it was changed and I'd get the new card in a few weeks. *

I looked at my new name and I thought I am officially no longer Caroline Mortimer, I am Caroline Mortimer Gross. At that exact moment in time I believe I had the same experience my Mom had when my Dad's clothes touched hers for the first time. ;) No worries though; I'm excited to be a Gross it just took me a few seconds to realize I'd never be a Mortimer again (only in name).

Something Cute

Well lately I've been having some back pain and haven't liked bending over too much. But the other day Nate did the cutest thing. My back was hurting especially bad one night and the next morning when I got up to leave I walked down our stairs and my purse was hanging on the railing and my flip flops were on the railing as well. Nate didn't want me to have to bend over. I just thought that was the cutest most thoughtful thing ever and I'm so glad I married a man that will take care of me like that.

Wolverine meets Rainbow Brite

Well everyone blogs right? I don't know about the whole blogging thing, I have never truly enjoyed reading, let alone having anyone read my writings. Well I decided I'll try it out if I hate it I can always stop and it won't have mattered much.

So since I feel i am boring I will try and tell my favorite story to date which is how Nate and I met:

I was living in a house with two girlfriends, one was Maggie Tsou, she is the cutest Taiwanese girl you will ever meet. So sweet and just a great friend. I was also living with Nancy Cooper who happened to get a job at BlueHost and was working in the same department as Nathan. Nancy thought Nathan was so cute and super nice and wanted to get to know him better to see if she wanted to date him or not so I suggested she should invite him over more often so she could spend more time with him out of work. So she did... Halloween night 2007 we threw a party at our house and he showed up ten minutes early. I opened the door and was surprised to see someone I didn't know, but boy was he cute! He asked for Nancy and I went back to getting the house ready for everyone else.

Guests started arriving and we started playing games. After a long night, the night before (we were trying to finish my costume, Nancy and I were exhausted), Nancy decided to take a short nap. We played games and I watched as Nate was just so helpful, he would answer the door every time the bell rang and he would get food for anyone who even mentioned it. I was so impressed and he was so much fun to play games with. He had an unending store of movie quotes and enjoyed just playing around. I tried not to flirt because I knew Nancy liked him but found it quite difficult because what a cutie!! Apparently I flirted enough though because Nate asked for my number it was very cute and I was excited that a guy was putting forth the effort. So we exchanged numbers. I thought to myself, 'I won't call him unless he calls me first.' I was nervous afterwards because I didn't know how Nancy would react.

So I let it cool for a few days and on Saturday we planned a game night. By this point I wanted Nancy to decide if she wanted to date him so if she decided not to, I could. :) So I told her she should invite him over for the game night. And boy did we flirt. Now it must be said I am a VERY competitive person. anyone who has played games with me knows that, but that night I was so interested in him, I lost Disney Scene it. (Another side note...I have NEVER lost Disney Scene it.) We talked about everything, quoted movies like crazy, and just had so much fun. To my surprise Nancy invited him over to our wards Break the Fast the following night. I thought huh that's weird because in my mind he and I had hit it off quite well and I thought Nancy would have noticed but I was still aware that she had said she liked him first.

This part was my favorite part of the whole night. So the night ended and he gave me a hug I was so excited and then Nancy went to give him a hug and not even thinking about it he just said, 'group hug!' and brought me in again. (I just think it's a little funny). We shut the door and Nancy proclaimed, 'Yeah I really like him.' I was so sad. :( But it was totally fair. I went to bed and the next morning Nancy and I were making food for break the fast. Apparently I couldn't stop talking about him because she finally looked at me and asked, 'Would you date him if I decided not to?' I was torn, so I said, 'I wouldn't if you didn't want me too but that would be pretty hard for me because I am very attracted to him and I think he is amazing.' So she said, 'I'd be okay with that'. So after break the fast I was hoping she would make a decision and she did. She said she wasn't going to date him. I was ecstatic!

I immediately started flirting I wasn't about to play games I told him I was going to be watching a movie that night and even though he totally got that I was trying to have him invite himself over he wouldn't do it. What a sneaky guy. So as I struggled with if it was to soon to invite him over I decided to heck with it I'm 23 I can ask a guy over for a movie. So I did, I texted him right as he got home and he came right back over. We kind of cuddled on the couch and I shamelessly put my hand on my leg closest to him with the palm up and everything, I wasn't leaving room for misinterpretation. Later I found out he was thinking, 'don't hold her hand, don't hold her hand, don't hold her hand.' Nancy walked in and saved him from himself. ;)

The next day Nate was trying to find me on Facebook and couldn't so he texted me. I was so excited and for the rest of the day we texted and then instant messaged. It went rather quickly we told each other a lot about ourselves and then we ended up confessing we liked each other we decided to ditch F.H.E. and go out on our first date. By the end of the night we were boyfriend and girlfriend and the rest is history. Well kind of... The rest is to follow, stay posted.