The rest of Flagstaff

Well we never got a chance to recap the end of our Flagstaff excursion.

NAU has grown up, and fast too I might add! Flagstaff didn't seem to change much, just a few things here and there, but NAU has changed dramatically. They even moved the bronze Louie that used to be in front of the bookstore. They added on to our central student union, by adding actual fast food places. They got Einstein's, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, just to name a few. They now have a new Sophomore residence hall where our crappy quad used to be, and now they have nice turf fields that are on the south side of campus. It's exciting to think that Mark Thompson, Colleen's cousin will carry on the great NAU tradition and attend next year!

It was good also catching up with an old friend. Colleen and I got to see one of my best friends and former room-mates, which is a special bond you don't share with many. We met up with Nate at the Wine Loft to play games, drink wine and catch up. It is good to hear that Nate's doing well...and reading the blog, living in Flag, going back for his Engineering Degree to do something he actually wants and likes to do. I said it with him and I'll say it here, I think it is awesome to go after your passions no matter how long it takes you in life to find it because even though the course may change sometimes the rivers always reach the sea. I'm very happy for Nate to discover his passion and to go for it. I think there is far too much comparison drawn upon one another in the Echo Generation. We were the first generation told we could do anything and that we were special. And although I agree with those statements, I feel we were almost led to believe that it would all just come to us so quickly or perhaps our parents just spared us the gorey details of how difficult it is after college. We all wander aimlessly right after school because although we picked something out of thin air, I think it takes something picking us before we settle down with whatever it is that our passion is. I for a year dealt with my own uncertainties surrounding my career path and my job goals and my life identity because so much of it was portrayed to us in school that all you needed was a major and after that it was cake.

What a great education system we have, they churn out products destined for the industrial machine, but ill-equip us with the tools of trade in which to make those choices. I know the 1800's are a little out-dated when I speak of this, but apprenticeships are so seldom heard of these days. I know there are trade-schools which do offer hands on in your field (which is great), but I think colleges and universities need to partner more with there local industries and companies to help students realize before they take that final plunge at the end of year four or five into the pool we call the real world, to really come to grips with what major it is that they've chosen. I think we're owed maybe a little bit more of a nudge towards that so we can discover if education, or business, or political science isn't what we thought it would be. I guess the only advice I can offer is to work in school, network (x3), and try new things so at least you can single out a few things before the call to action comes.

In retrospect, we all would say I might not have chosen this path. There will always be a difference though between knowing the path and walking the path.

Anyways on a lighter note below are the lyrics to The Battle of Evermore by Led Zeppelin; just because I think it is wonderful poetry to one of my favorite set of books and movies (LOTR).

Battle of Evermore

Queen of Light took her bow
And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom
And walked the night alone.


Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morn-ing light.
The dark Lord rides in force tonight
And time will tell us all.


Oh, throw down your plow and hoe,
Rest not to lock your homes.
Side by side we wait the might
Of the darkest of them all.


I hear the horses' thunder
Down in the valley below,
I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon,
Waiting for the eastern glow.


The apples of the valley hold
The seeds of happiness,
The ground is rich from tender care,
Repay, do not forget, no, no.
Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light.


The apples turn to brown and black,
The tyrant's face is red.


Oh the war is common cry,
Pick up you swords and fly.
The sky is filled with good and bad
That mortals never know.


Oh, well, the night is long
The beads of time pass slow,
Tired eyes on the sunrise,
Waiting for the eastern glow.


The pain of war cannot exceed
The woe of aftermath,
The drums will shake the castle wall,
The ringwraiths ride in black,
Ride on.


Sing as you raise your bow,
Shoot straighter than before.
No comfort has the fire at night
That lights the face so cold.


Oh dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the mornin' light.
The magic runes are writ in gold
To bring the balance back.
Bring it back.


At last the sun is shining,
The clouds of blue roll by,
With flames from the dragon of darkness
The sunlight blinds his eyes.

Reception Photos

Hi All,

Here again to let you know that the link to see photos of the reception is below on our Picasa Web Album. Hope you enjoy!

Ian

Photos from the Wedding

Hi All,

The photos from the wedding can be purchased off of the below link. Hope you enjoy them all!

Shannonallen.printroom.com/immendavis

Flagstaff!!!

We're in Flagstaff this weekend, and it is absolutely gorgeous! Colleen and I left on Thursday right after work, got everything packed in the Jeep and we were on the road by 7:20 pm headed for our old college stomping grounds. It was kind of funny though because Wyndham told us their office closes at 9 pm so we were speeding trying to get up there by 9 pm. We were both questioning it a little since these are "time-share" units. So we called them back and they told us if you show up after 9 pm...which we did 9:10 pm...that they have a key drop box and to just pick it up there and to call a number from a phone booth right next to the key box. It was kind of crazy, but cool. We didn't have to go through all of that mumbo jumbo that comes with checking in at 9 o'clock at night.

After we dropped everything off in our very awesome unit, we headed off to go roam around Flagstaff, just to see what has changed. Flagstaff haaaas changed, but also hasn't if you understand what I mean. It has in the sense that this business has gone under, or that one is new, or that one moved from the west side of town to the east side of town. But aside from that, it's pretty much the same. The people look the same, the traffic is the same, the trees, the layout everything, but it certainly is a sight for sore eyes. It is very nostalgic coming back to your Alma Mater after a couple of years. Colleen and I have both said how much we feel at home here, there's just something special about this place.

So when we came back after driving around Flagstaff, we came back on Country Club Drive and I turned to Colleen and told her I think Adam's old condo is very close to the unit we're staying at. Well it took last night (Friday) when we went on a walk to realize that we were about 5 doors down (I know if it had only been 3 lol) from Adam's place here in Flagstaff...small world!

Yesterday (Friday) was a lot of fun. We slept in, then we drove around Flagstaff. We got Pita Pit, of course right?! And then we went to go see a movie...not New Moon...yeesh do you think we're crazy standing in a line that wraps around the entire Harkins building!!! Oh yeah Flagstaff only has one Movie Theater in town now! Anyways, we went to go see Blind Side. GO SEE IT! Amazing movie, and very emotional. I really think it's Sandra Bullock's best movie and at the end when they show the photos of the real people, they actually did a great job matching everyone and made them look like their real life counter part, except SJ. Oh well it was a great movie and you should go see it, forget New Moon.

One other trip down memory lane Colleen and I did was do a Starbucks run, get some warm drinks and head up to Snow Bowl. We would do this so much in college, it was our romantic thing we would do. So we headed up there and just chatted and walked around and looked at the west valley from Snow Bowl and soaked it all in. It's so quiet up there and so serene. It makes you appreciate all that God has given us. Well we're off for more so we'll bring you back up to speed at the end of the vacation.

2 Months

2 months have come and gone! It seems crazy how much can happen in just a matter of only 2 months. Colleen got out of training at USAA and is now fully certified as an insurance agent and is loving every minute of it. Colleen is our home financial analyst, I know not me with the Finance degree :), and is doing a killer job at figuring out ways to keep us lean and mean as a family in 2009 and setting us up for a great 2010.

As many of you are aware, the economy has been tough on all of us this year. It's seeing us pinch pennies and cut corners in ways we hadn't in awhile or had never done before ever. Our weekly ritual, thank you Oprah ;), is to clip coupons and use them when we go grocery shop. It was inspired by a woman that was on Oprah, that could literally fill an entire grocery cart full of stuff and end up walking out paying maybe $15-20.00!!! So we gave it a go and bought over $350.00 worth of food at Wally World (Wal-Mart) for only $189.00. It's crazy they price match and take every one's coupons. Only thing is it took 30 minutes to check out when it was all said and done.

Colleen and I have also gotten into the Biggest Loser and so we finally went out and bought Colleen a bicycle. We got it from Dick's Sporting Goods and made sure we got a basket too! So now Colleen is biking 12 miles a day and is keeping in shape and saving us gas money. So all these little things really add up. Sad though is we finally had to put my bike down after 10 long years of service and a few on/off road crashes and the inevitable test of time finally caught up with the old bike. Rust really took it's toll! But on the flip side, I got a weight-changeable dumbbell and also a triceps bar...so I'm very happy!

Another new and exciting development has been the addition of a new toy for Colleen. We got Colleen a Kitchen aid Mixer and it has been non-stop baking ever since she has gotten it. 3 pies in 2 weeks, I'm living like a king. So to quote a good friend of mine, Felix Takach, he said that his first year of marriage he easily put on the Marriage 15 (like the Freshmen 15 you hear about) and I'm starting to set pace with that if Colleen keeps baking pies at the rate she is going at.

A few days ago, I wrote a Facebook status update that said, and I quote: "Two words, Pumpkin Pie, nuff said." Many of you made quick whit of the simple statement that it's actually 4 to 6 words depending on if you're an optimist or a pessimist, but that was in direct reference to Colleen's Pumpkin Pies...yes plural!!!! It is simply to die for. All made from scratch...ok minus growing the pumpkin and gutting it...it's 90% from scratch! So this started her thinking.

So this year Colleen and I are going to sell her pies to our friends and co-workers. Our company is going to be called Sweet Treats by Colleen. So if you're interested call or email Colleen about getting an order form. We'd be delivering the pies the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We're selling an Amazing Apple Pie for $12.00 and a Perfect Pumpkin Pie for $10.00. So ask around and see if anyone is interested in having fresh home-made pies, with no preservatives this Thanksgiving at a very reasonable price!

Anyways, thanks to any and all of you that read this when they get a chance...we love you guys and gals!

Week 6

I'm sure you've all experienced this...you're digging through your things and you come upon something you haven't used in a long time and rediscover something about it. Perhaps it's last winter's jacket which you miraculously find $20.00 or you find a letter someone sent you a few years ago in a desk drawer...well this is something I found tonight. I was looking for my camera to start putting things up on Craigslist and found Colleen's camcorder. I found our ski trip toDurango last New Year's and it also had some camping trip video's from that summer (2008).

I know you're all probably looking for the photos that are from the wedding, but we are keeping those all locked up until we get both the reception and ceremony photos. So this is week 6 of our marriage and maybe you all have questions about what to expect for a month and a half. I can't really say to expect much because we all experience different things at different times.

On that note I want to let you all in on something Colleen and I have experienced in our first month and half together. Just love each other up and cherish all the time you can together! I miss the honeymoon! You get to spend every hour and minute together and then you go back to everyday life and it splits you apart. Colleen and I had experienced a weird twist of fate or perhaps you could say an odd example of switching shoes. Back in May and the months leading up to May; Colleen was in a job that just killed her. She was always stressed, they put too much on her plate, didn't pay her enough, and they belittled her and made her feel less than the exemplary employee she is. So she had started looking for a company that would "take care of her". Luckily she found that in USAA. It was a wonderful turn of events that she finally found a company that respected her as an employee. All the while I kept saying how awful her old company was and how good mine was.

Amazing how only a few short months can change all of that!! Now Colleen is in a great job, where they do respect and take care of her and pay her accordingly. Now I'm in her shoes. I'm in a dead end job, with no respect, too much work, too much stress, and it's physically exhausting. It totally changes you as a person...and not in any good ways. You become easily irritable, and are cranky, tired, and generally not even fun to be around. Of course Colleen was always a joy to be around even during all of her stress. She's astounding as to how much she can take on and still be an amazing person through it all. I; however, am not so amazing. I probably haven't been at all fun to be around through all of this. This whole economic down turn has been a massive pain for those of us who are "lucky" to still have jobs. I think that has got to be the worst expression I've heard through this whole thing. I don't feel lucky in the sense that it doesn't give company's the right to treat their employees like cattle! It should not give them the excuse to trample all over us and to flex their muscle of, "Hey at least you're lucky to still have your job."

I think we all deserve better. Although it may be a tough job market, for those of us who are working and are working our asses off because company's have trimmed the fat and are running lean, make sure you are putting yourselves out there on the job market. You deserve the best for you, and your family, and especially your spouse! Those of us that are still working, have been able to weather the economic storm and are the "fittest surivors." Use that to your advantage! Go out there and get something better. Don't settle for less than you are worth.

Lastly I'll leave one bit of lesson I've taken from the past two weeks. Your family ALWAYS comes first. No job is worth your health. No job is worth your marriage. And NO job is worth your life. We all work to live; not live to work.

5 weeks

Another week has come and gone and we're getting into the comfortable part of living in Phoenix. October has been a very busy month. We've been trying to unload as much of the wedding supplies we had to buy for the ceremony and reception so that has been a big chore. We've also been trying to get a start on our thank you notes...so there in the works, no need to check the mail box just yet. We figure 10 a day should help us knock them out pretty quickly, without killing our hands of arthritis doing it all in one day.

Ian just went through his Vendor Expo this weekend and that made for a long weekend. Luckily they give you plenty of free stuff to almost make it worth your while. Rory had ruined the wii remotes and we were going to be forced to buy new ones from Ian's work, but Ian got brand new ones at the expo because he knew the vendor and told them our story...so voila problem solved thank goodness. A wii with no wiimotes isn't much fun at all, it's just a white piece of plastic that can work as a bookend at that point.

As for Colleen she has been busy taking care of business at home and making it pristine, clean, and organized. She's also been busy applying for classes for the mid-fall session since USAA pays for tuition reimbursement. Colleen has also been helping Ian immensely with his work, and helping him get through an extremely stressful time at work. Seems like the ones of us that are "lucky" enough to have jobs are getting worked to the point of exhaustion. We just saw a stat on the news the other night that pink-slips for tardiness at work are down 3% from last year. But people having to take time off because of burn-out are up 28%. So how lucky do you feel to be working right now? Exactly...

We hope all of you who are dealing with a bad company situation are working through it and keeping your head up high. We wish you guys the best of luck in your search for a better company. The best advice I ever received in business school in my Human Resources 310 class was that no matter how much you love your job or hate your job and have one...alway, always, always be looking for that next opportunity. Because rarely is it that opportunities come knocking on your door. It's up to you to create your own opportunities, you are the one that has to be in charge of your career and it's progression. No one else owns that but you.

So that is my weekly advice or words of wisdom for this week.

1 Month Anniversary

Well it's been one month of married bliss, and I bet all of you thought we had forgotten about our blog. It's funny how life gets away from you. Two weeks has flown by and September has come and gone. Denver experienced freak snow, I turned a quarter century old, the Niners lost a nail biter to the Vikings, which I placed a bet on. So the bet was if the Vikings won I would have to wear a Vikings Jersey sometime that following week. So being a good sport I had to wear a Vikes jersey the entire day on Wednesday. Everyone that came up to me said ah...must've lost a bet. It was at least funny although it stung and I died a little each time. The most important change this week has been the fact that DBL has instituted a new dress code policy. So that meant getting a brand new wardrobe.

Colleen has been an amazing wife. She did an entire day's worth of shopping for me to get my wardrobe back in style. She took my measurements and went to town. And what a deal shopper she is. She got me 8 pairs of jeans and 8 dress shirts and 2 sweaters all for $250.00. She then spent another whole evening getting me 2 suits and 3 pairs of dress pants...all for an astounding $200.00. Her secret, I'll never tell...you'll have to go to her direct. I'll give you a hint...she's got mad hookups when it comes to coupons.

I have to say I have by far the best wife a man could ever ask for. She has been amazing getting me new clothes and making sure I'm ready and on time for work everyday. She has been my biggest supporter and and the crutch I lean on everyday. It really is true that behind every good man is an even better woman!

Week 2

Well, it's official...two weeks that we've been married. The first week back from the honeymoon is by far the hardest. And it's not that the marriage is hard, but the fact that it's so hard to adjust to life after having a week of relaxation and no responsibilities to tasks, work, and running around running errands. Don't get us wrong we missed our dog, friends, family, our comfortable bed, but you absolutely know why they invented honeymoons. It's to totally unwind from all of that. We totally feel like because of all of that you really do earn it!

Our first days back it was just wrapping it all up. We opened gifts and wrote down who sent them. We still have to actually find the time and sit down and write our thank you notes. I'm glad a lot of our friends and family could make it, and that our families seemed to really like each-other and get along.

So far our second week's milestones include unpacking the gifts and finding a "home" for all of this wonderful and cool stuff! We've also realized that cleaning and arranging things how we now want them now isn't an over-night project and it could probably take us another week or two until we have things "back-to-normal" and put away.

Marriage Advice for this week: Go through the things that you previously had but asked for newer or better stuff on your registry and donate your old stuff to the goodwill or Savers near you. Although you may have the best intentions to sell it, which makes sense for popular big ticket items; it's far better to just make room immediately (unless you have a home i guess with lots of storage space since apartments space is always a premium). Then at least someone will be able to use your old stuff and enjoy it. I think we're only holding onto a few items that have some real value that we're planning on selling through craigslist and possibly ebay.

Always use protection!!

Honeymoon tip #5: Always use protection, by that I mean sunscreen. I am still hurting from our hiking experience where I got burned on my shoulders and back pretty badly. I was wearing a t-shirt and didn't have Colleen apply any sunscreen and after being in the sun for most of the day it just kills you and then you don't really want to be in the sun the rest of your trip. 

Also if you're going to go to Kauai, make sure you make a reservation at Gaylord's! The food there is by far the best food Colleen and I have ever had in our whole lives. We branched away from ordering just seafood and got the rack of lamb, and it was the best lamb EVER! I got the seafood rhapsody, and the funny thing is that you usually look forward to the lobster and that wasn't even the best thing on the plate. The scallops and shrimp were cooked and seasoned to perfection and the Ahi was the best with a fruit medley on top. Also we experienced a new type of pasta, called Orzo...try it that's all I have to say about that. 

Honeymoon tip #6: Wine and cheese. We've been having wine and cheese for the last 4 nights and it is a cheap way to have a romantic evening and watch the sunset. We've done Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and paired it with either Colby Jack Cheese or Brie on crackers. We've then just had it on our balcony or gone to this wonderful overlook on the edge of a cliff and watched the sunset. Hope you can enjoy this someday soon, and it doesn't even have to be on a honeymoon! 

Kayaking and a day to breathe

Yesterday Colleen and I went Kayaking and enjoyed some more of the local cuisine around the island. So far the important thing we've agreed on is to just "hang loose" and not get tied up with timelines and running around making sure we do this or that. Our last Hawaii trip we went to Waikiki and got so bogged down with trying to do everything we ended up coming back from our vacation worn out tired and a little cranky. So this go round it's all about soaking it in! So in the mornings we wake up when we feel like it, have breakfast, relax on the balcony and enjoy the views and then we get going. We went and got lunch at the Dolphin Restaurant in Hanalei. We've been trying to eat as much of the fresh sea-food as you can, considering Arizona is pretty much land-locked, it's not a bad idea. After our fish and chips, we went kayaking on the local river. It was a lot of fun and we're planning on doing it again today, only this time we're going to go towards the ocean instead of up the river. After kayaking we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day, it was a little rainy the rest of the day so it worked out perfectly. Oh and FYI the north-shore of Kauai is apparently one of the rainiest places on earth (good to know right?). The end of the night was set to playing cards drinking Pinot Noir and having brie on crackers, not a bad way to cap the end to a beautiful day.

Honeymoon tip #3 Just relax and set out to do just one thing per day and don't stress about doing anything other than that one thing...trust us you'll have a way better experience.

Honeymoon tip #4 DO NOT buy into any of the high-pressure sales for timeshares in Hawaii unless it's a trial version.

They really tell you a lot of the benefits and never tell you about the down-sides. Most run about $18K starting and you'll never get out what you put in for. Colleen and I last year went to one of these high-pressure sales presentations for the time-shares for Wyndham so we could get $100 to spend somewhere on Oahu. It was a good idea, since it's free money, but just remember not to purchase the timeshare or only purchase the trial version. We did end up buying the trial version which is around $2.5K and you get roughly 4 vacations (hotel stays) out of the deal. The plus side to it is they have fully furnished rooms with a full kitchen, so in the long run we're able to save money since we can eat in way more then if we were in a regular hotel.  The other positive is that we were able to spread out the cost of our hotel room over a year as opposed to having to pay everything up-front (not easy after paying for a wedding). If you want to check out the place we're staying we're at the Bali Hai Wyndham in Princeville, Kauai.

Challenge Each Other

Honeymoon tip #2 Make sure to challenge your spouse.

Ian and I went hiking today to go see a waterfall. It has always been my dream to see a waterfall. The fact that all the locals looked at us like we would die in the process didn't stop 

E-berg and I. We went on the 8 mile excursion without backpacks (because we forgot to bring them from the main land), without real hiking shoes (" "), with what we thought would be enough water ( I still feel dehydrated and its the next day). Anyway the whole way to and from the waterfall we had to encourage each other that with the two of us we can do anything even when limited on resources. 

Oh.....just so you know.......the waterfall was amazing! I will post some pictures once we get back to the mainland. It was extremely worth the traitorous hike and muscle pain we now experience.

MASSAGES

Colleen & I went to Hanalei for lunch today and ate at Bubba's Burgers. After eating some amazing burgers, fries & shakes we then went to the Princeville Spa Country Club to get massages. It was my first massage and woooooww, let me tell you sooooooooooo relaaaaaaxiinng....zzzz.....oh yeah so definitely going to do that again sometime this trip!!!! We only did 50 minutes and we should've done 80! 

Honeymoon tip#1: GET MASSAGES. 

Take that stress in my upper back from work!

DAY 3 OF MARRIAGE

We now know what it takes to make a marriage work....we have survived 3 days! And not to say it lightly but they have pretty much been the most amazing 3 days of our lives! We got to see where Oprah stays when she comes to AZ, and believe it or not she's actually in our Family; Oprah (Polly) Davis, we rented a convertible and drove along Kauai's coast line (amazing!), we just got the best sleep of our lives (10 hours) and we know what sleep is now, we saw multiple lizards in our kitchen at our hotel and didn't even get scared, we ate the most succulent fish at a local restaurant in Princeville that was literally caught like an hour before we ate it, and we've definitely enjoyed being man and wife ;) a lot! 

So, here is our advice as a married couple: get to know someone famous, do something you've never done, SLEEP, don't get scared by little creatures, eat good food, and have fun being one!