Our engagement announcement was finally in the Coloradoan (a newspaper)! :)
The paper ended up printing more blurry copies than clear ones, so it was difficult to
find a legible copy.


The weekend went by so fast! I was trying to finish my save the date cards for the wedding, but I got sidetracked from that because the place we bought our rings from went out of business. I had to go in and pay for the rings in order to get them out of layaway. Codys ring was sized, but mine is way too small so I have to go get it sized soon. On Saturday, my mom and I went to pick out flowers for the wedding. We ended up with mini calla lilies, white roses, blue hydrangea, blue echinops, blue tweedia, and royal blue delphinium. Our flowers will be different shades of blue mixed with white. It will be so gorgeous! Well.... back to making save the date cards and packing for the move!

White roses

Calla Lily

Tweedia

Blue Hydrangea

Blue Echinops

This weekend, Cody and I began the move to Lakewood. I am staying in Lakewood during the week and coming home to see Cody on the weekends. We are getting used to it, but it is strange being apart.

At work, they now have me doing my own drawings from different completed survey drawings. What I have been creating are drawings of roads in the plan view and the profile view. I am getting used to the programs we use, and my drawings aren't coming out half bad (but they do need some work). Hopefully soon they will actually teach me how to design a section of road.

I have also been doing a lot of training. For instance, last Friday I had training on how to properly mitigate erosion on construction sites. It was really interesting and I will actually be able to apply what I learned on the construction site.

Work

Now that I am starting to get used to the FHWA, I can finally tell you all what I am working on. I am currently correcting red lines on MicroStation (similar to AutoCAD) drawings for the Mesa Verde project. My design team has been working on redesigning the Main Entrance road and adding new roads and lookout points and different turn around areas to a Cultural Center that is being built. It is a very interesting project, and I am learning a ton about standards and how to design using GEOPack. All of the projects that CFL (Central Federal Lands) has are interesting and in scenic places (a lot are in the middle of nowhere). It is completely different than I thought it would be, as most of the roads we design have an ADT of less than 200. All of the projects we have are on the CFLHD website. The next project I could possibly be working on is Guenella Pass (in the Rockies).

This week, I have been meeting with some Project Engineers, and we are deciding on where my first construction assignment will be located. They are thinking they will send me to Lake Mead North Shore (NOT Hoover Dam) where they are reconstructing roads and small bridges. I would probably be leaving in July and not getting back until December.

That's all for now!

Yeah! It's the weekend!

The weekend went by so fast! Cody and I have been relaxing at home, getting over a nasty head cold we both caught from my office. Today, I will be seeing some good friends, Lauren and Alicia. We will probably go watch a movie or go shopping or something of the sort. Cody and I are also going over to my parents house today for lunch to eat some excellent home cooking: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and bratwurst (my dad is not a fan of fried chicken). What a great way to end a weekend!

Wedding update: I still haven't decided on a bridesmaid dress or a wedding gown yet, but I have a few more to try on. This weekend I will be ordering a wedding cake from Schmidts bakery (delicious)!

Work update: I finally started my job at the Federal Highway Administration as a highway engineer. For now, I am in design working on CADD drawings. All of my coworkers are nice and helpful. The only bad part is the commute which is terrible in rush hour. I-25 gets packed! The commute will be done shortly though, so I can tough it out!

Today, I booked our caterer for the wedding. My mom, my sister, and I also went shopping for wedding dresses and bridesmaid gowns. That was really exciting! If you would like to see the dresses I am choosing from, email me and I will send you the pictures.

I hope everyone had a happy new year! I can't believe it is 2008. On New Year's Eve, Cody and I went apartment shopping and we found a great place to live in the Belmar district of Lakewood. Here is the living room of the new place.

We found a two bedroom two bathroom apartment (each with a bathtub and shower) with walk-in closets and a huge balcony that can be accessed from the guest room or the living room. It has a kitchen with brand new appliances, and an attached garage with extra storage space. This place is next to a new shopping center, and very close to Colorado Mills mall. We are moving there on February 1st, and are excited!

http://www.onebelmarplace.com/flats.htm

There is the website, we got the Capra if you would like to see the layout.

As far as New year's resolutions: I am just hoping I will be able to handle moving to Denver, starting a new job, and getting married without collapsing!