hello!!!

it's been a month & a half since last i wrote! now that's a record!
pretty much my life has been permanently altered in that aforementioned amount of time.
mainly by leaving behind my old name and taking on a new one! i am happy to report that i am now and forevermore kate fried. and no, it's not fried, like fried green tomatos, but fried like freed from singlehood!!
i'm officially an old married lady.
the old part will be affirmed on 08/08/08 when i turn the big 3-0!! auspicious numbers, eh?
i think so.

i'm sorry to tell you that there's absolutely no way i could ever catch up in the photographic department on this blog! in the last while, i've taken a road trip with 3 girls, had a delightful wedding shower hosted by loving friends, had engagement pictures taken by the talented alec vanderboom, had friends and family in town for the wedding, had a WEDDING!!, had a honeymoon...
there's just no catching up. it's much easier to download pictures on facebook, so if you're interested in all 800 pictures from the last 45 days, go check them out there!
here's my favorite highlights anyhow:

engagement pictures with alec...








chicago with the girls...







the honeymoon!!










and to properly seal the deal, this last friday we went on our first married date! nick was the camera guy for the evening and he took this winner. i love it.


wedding pictures will be forthcoming in the next week or so... i'll get back to you on that and talk a little more about the whole wedding shindig.

big items in the fried family news lately:
*we're applying for a home equity loan to pay off wedding bills & do some work to the house -- we find out in a week if it's all good. keep your fingers crossed!
*we've started a morning cleaning gig -- 5:30 a.m. comes awfully early 7 days a week! it's going to be good though. we can get our day jumpstarted instead of lazing the summer days away. not only are we cleaning, but we also decided to squeeze in a little jog every morning before nick has to head off to work. so not only are we going to have a structured schedule, we're going to get in shape in the process! i'm excited. we've only done it two days though, so check back in a week. the job is just through the beginning of september. we can do anything for a couple months, eh?
both nick and i have already said that we like getting up together and working as a team. it's a good marriage builder, i think.
*we may be trading in the trusty highlander for a more gas-economic car. possibly scooters.
just kidding.
i sold my little car not too long ago to consolidate vehicles - share one with nick and all, but now we're thinking consolidation + downsizing is an even better option. i'm sure other people are thinking the same thing as gas prices keep climbing.
*contrary to popular expectation, we're not pregnant.
many people assume we'll just start popping out babies as soon as possible (they're thinking of my age, i'm sure), but we're waiting a year or two, lord willing.
*i'm teaching at branson high school this next school year!!! i'm moving on from blue eye. it was good to me for those first 4 years, but now it's time to branch out. there are 2 other art teachers at branson, so i'm really looking forward to collaborating with them! it'll be a transition, i'm sure, but a very positive one. plus it pays better and it's 20 minutes closer to home than blue eye.

sadly, the updating must draw to a close. i'm off to pick up nick from work. now that i've broken the long silence maybe it'll be easier to keep up here.