End of the year update

Well I have not updated the blog in quite sometime so what better time than at the end of the year. We can not believe that it is already January and a new year in just a week. We also can't believe that we have already been married coming up on 10 months!!!!! It goes by so fast. Being married isn't good enough for everyone as usual so the baby pressure is mounting! I will enjoy having kids one day but to tell the truth I haven't had quite enough time alone with my husband! We are having so much fun together. I am not one to brag about anything I have on the contrary I normally like to down play it so I don't seem arrogant. But I am really blessed to be married to Kari. I had a rocky start at first I have to admit. I never thought I would be one to ever get married or settle down in one place. I am such a free spirit, I love being on the go and traveling all the time. So all of this was definitely a life changing event for me. But I have found that marriage is a million times better than I thought it would be. Maybe I am just lucky with who I married. I hear things change the more time you are together but so far things are only changing for the better. There is never a time that I don't look in Kari's eyes and see how much he loves me right back from them. I know that sounds cheesy but its really true. Plus we just have so much fun together in everything we do. I have found that sitting around on the couch is almost more fun than any exciting traveling I would of done on my own! So with all that said this has been a good year.

Still trying to get my health issues under control. Word to the wise don't ever take the antibiotic Bactrim. That is what kick started all my health problems(i think) I had hopefully my final procedure a couple weeks ago where they put a camera in my stomach. She found it was a mess just like every other part of me right now. So she has put me on a medication for three months. It seems to be helping, plus I have changed to a yeast free diet (that is helping a ton, thanks Courtney) The only bad part is the medication has some bad side effects. But I am back at work. Starting off the new year with 140 trips! woo hoo. gotta pay those medical bills that have been piling up. Kari is in good health as usual thank God!!!!!

So happy new years to everyone! Hope you guys are all in good health and happy. Love you all

Christmas at the Puranen's

USC / FL GAME

Kari and I drove to Columbia, SC where I went to college to watch the USC/FL game. We stayed with my best friend Liz and had so much fun. Unfortunately South Carolina did not win but it was a close enough game to make it interesting. Great weekend!!!!

HI from the hospital

I am going on day three at the hospital here in Melbourne. I was submitted Monday and hope I get to get this stinkin IV out of my arm and get to go home today. Still not any better and can't tell you how frustrating this is. Looks like I will have to go in and have one more procedure done. still hoping everyday for someone to give me some medication to make this go away. If this procedure doesn't fix it I am off to the mayo clinic. I am ready to go back to work and start living my life again. So that is the update for now

Going to feel better today

Going under anesthesia to have a few procedures done so we will find out what exactly is wrong and get me some medication to fix it. I leave in an hour and I am actually looking forward to it because I know I will start feeling better soon and finally have some answers. My mom and Kari are here to drive me to and from the procedure. So wish me luck....

A break in a very bad month

This month has been very trying for Kari and I. I have been sick for a long time and feel horrible. I haven't worked in a long time and have to take it easy every day. I am still going through tests and am having to find a lot of patience to get through this. The fatigue and pain make it hard to do too much. I was relieved to know they finally found something in my kidney now I have to wait another week to find out what it is! Hopefully whatever this is can be fixed and we can have our life back. Kari and I decided to get out of the house and have a day out! We went to seaworld for the day and got to see my favorite the Shamu show!!! I also took a picture of my poor poor husband all alone on the roller coaster. Can u pick him out haha. He is all alone since I won't ride roller coasters and apparently no one wants to even share a row with him. Poor baby. But it cracked me up. I got to sit by the roller coasters and watch him fly over my head. It was totally dead there. Just us and the whole country of England.

addition to the curtains

We made a slight addition to our curtains we put an under laying sheer curtain with the design on it. I love it. Now we just need to talk my mom into hemming the long curtains and our living room will be all set!!!!

Back Bedroom Progress

We are almost finished with our final guest bedroom. We got it all put together but i had to decorate with stuff I already had so its not stunning but it looks better than it did before. My white bedding is at the cleaners so with that on there It will be done. Now Kari is starting to tackle our bathroom yickes!

New Curtains in the living Room

Also while Kari was off at work I hit up IKEA. What? What? I got new curtains for the living room and these are partially done. Kari hung the curtain rods and we put up the outer layer curtains. I am also putting sheer panels under neath these on a back rod to filter out the sun. Speaking of why is it still 90 degrees in FL in October. I usually don't complain but really it has not cooled off at all this year and no rain! Yickes. Anyways here are the new curtains we are loving them!

Finally working on Back guest room

While Kari was off at work this week. I painted our back guest room that needed it very badly. I let Kari pick out the paint color before he left for work. We decided on a blue and are now currently working on the floor and ceiling trim in white. I am also putting in a white roman shade and a shell light that hangs from the ceiling. I will put the final pictures on here when we are all finished.

Fall at our house

So it seems like fall is officially here. Kari is back to watching football games literally all day long and I am at home on the couch with the flu. Sounds about right. In all my travels I have noticed that it has started to cool off everywhere except Florida. Which is not so much fun when you have a 101 degree fever. all I have wanted to do is dunk my head in ice water. In all fairness I have my good moments like right now where I can actually sit up and get on the computer but soon I will be back in the throws of Death. I am so lucky to have my super husband to take care of me and get me Gatorade and babysit me. I haven't been hungry and have only been craving two things cold apple slices and Paula Deans chicken soup. I have successfully been getting my fill of apple slices and after the Florida game Kari is going to the grocery store and then attempting to make me famous Paula Deans chicken soup. Keep your fingers crossed for me! That is all that is new in our house, thank god for TAMIFLU! Maybe I will live through this=)

Some yummy recipes!

My friend Mark turned me on to this fantastic book called The new Rules of Lifting for women by Lou Schuler. Since I love to work out this book is right up my allie, It is helping me get the most out of my trips to the gym instead of wasting my time pointlessly bouncing around from machine to machine, thinking I am really doing something! This book also teaches you all about eating the right foods so you have energy all day. It taught me about Omega 3 fatty acids that are actually supposed to reduce your cancer causing cells. Well they are in all my favorite foods so it is easy for me to incorporate the recipes into my eating patterns, here are a few yummy recipes I thought I would share with you guys! Hope you enjoy!

It gave alot of recipes for breakfast but my favorite is just egg white omelet: made with chopped tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, parsley and cheddar cheese. Cook it in a nonstick pan with Olive oil then top with some salsa and eat some canned pineapple on the side. see how yummy and easy!

For snacks it says to chop up a red pepper and dip it in hummus or chop up an apple and dip it in pnut butter

For lunch I had this it was so good! mix together
1/2 avocado peeled and cubed
1/2 small cucumber peeled and diced
1/2 diced red tomato
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
6oz can of tuna
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp dried basil

You can eat it by itself, over lettuce or like me on saltine crackers

For dinner:
Ground turkey chili:
2 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 TBSP chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 15.5 oz can dark kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup water
In a medium saucepan heat oil on med/high add onion and garlic and sauté until golden. add ground turkey and cook crumbling till no longer pink.
add tomato paste, chili powder, and cumin. saute 1 min. add beans, tomato, mushroom and water. simmer 10 to 15 min until liquid is reduced

Chili scallops with black bean salsa and brown rice:
2/3 cup instant brown rice (cooked) per serving
1 15-oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1 and 1/3 cup frozen corn, steamed and cooled
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 small tomato, chopped
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves chopped
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Pound sea scallops
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP canola oil
cilantro leaves and lime wedges to taste
cook brown rice according to directions. In a large bowl make salsa by combining black beans, corn, red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp of salt set aside
Rinse scallops under cold running water, then pat dry with paper towels, in a med bowl mix chili powder, sugar, and remaining 1/4 tsp of salt. add scallops tossing to coat
in non stick skillet heat canola oil over med/high heat until very hot. add scallops and cook 3 to 6 min until they turn lightly brown on the outside and turn opaque throughout, turning once
put a bed of brown rice on each plate, followed by scallops, then salsa. Garnish with cilantro and squeeze fresh lime.

For dessert:
Lemony fruit, yogurt, and granola parfait:
1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 TBSP splenda
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup low sugar granola
1/4 cup blueberries
In med bowl mix together yogurt, sweetener, lemon juice and vanilla. spoon half granola on the bottom of the glass, then add half the berries, the yogurt mixture on top of that, then the rest of the granola then the rest of the berries.

Seriously I am a Pro

Ok so now I have learned how to take tid bits of the whole concert and put them all on one video, Seriously I think I am hollywood bound, I haven't had so much fun doing something since I don't know when! Watch out world here comes Jenny and her home movies!

Nice to Know you

Ok so apparently I am having way too much fun with my new video editing skills, or I may have had one too many glasses of wine tonight but here Is yet another video, This is nothing exciting just a clip we took at the concert. Makes you really feel like you are there right? haha

me dancing at the Incubus concert

Kari used his fabulous video skills to capture me dancing at the Incubus concert combined with my amazing editing skills I have created a video of that lucky you, check it out!

First Movie

Hey I got a new computer and am slowly learning the ropes! I made my first home movie with it hope you like it. haha It is me at work oh so exciting!

Incubus Concert

Kari and I went over to Tampa to an amphitheatre last Saturday to watch my favorite band Incubus play. We actually got amazing seats 4 rows back from the front. That was the best seats either of has ever had at a concert. For those of you that don't know Kari and I love music and we love going to concerts together. so we were both pretty blown away by these seats here are a few pics and videos. We snuck the camera in and got some great shots!

Happy 40th Kari

happy belated birthday baby, sorry i am late posting this. Probably since we have been flying all over the place lately. we had a great party for Kari's big 40! it was a lot of fun big turn out, i think all the kids had a great time playing with the Wii and swimming in the pool. Thanks everyone for coming. That should be it for the huge life changing events of the year. I think getting married, me turning 30 and Kari turning 40 has been enough! You have been a great husband so far and I am looking forward to the next 40 years, love you

Here we are on our trip to Seattle riding an amtrac train from Olympia. Washington into Seattle! We are having a blast on our trip to Washington. We have been staying at my Aunt and Uncles house in Olympia, Washington for the last few days. We have been eating tons of fresh fruit and going out on their boat. Their house overlooks the Puget Sound and has wonderful views. We have had so much fun enjoying the cool weather. A nice break from the heat and humidity in Florida. Now we are about to go into downtown Seattle to our hotel which is just a couple blocks from the fish market. We are having lunch there then going to Pioneer square and the top of the Columbia Building to check out the views. We are meeting up with my friend Lyle and her husband Sam tonight for dinner. Great trip!!

Puerto Rico

July has been a travel crazy month! I have hardley had any time to update any pictures or the blog. Kari and I joined Mark and a couple of his friends, Evan and Mark down in Puerto Rico for his big 30! We had so much fun, found some cool beaches and great restaurants. My favorite part of the trip was when we took a light airplane from the southern coast of Puerto Rico out to a little Island called Culebra Island. It is pretty much a deserted Island with a few homes but mainly just gorgeous beaches and light blue water. I even got to ride up front with the pilot and talk to him on the headset. Landing on the Island was interesting. You were just cruising along then you go over these big hills and turn and drop at the same time to land on this tiny Little landing strip. Talk about a roller coaster ride! What a great trip! Now we are back to reality. We both got home and had to go straight to work then up to Virginia for my niece's 1 year birthday party. I will add some pictures of that soon. It has been great seeing friends and family this month but definitely ready for a day on the couch!

ahhh its a ard life

so today Kari and I reaped the benefits of our new pool set up. We spent part of the day lounging as you can see me on my new raft watching our outside TV with the remote in hand. Kari checked out the cushions on the new furniture. Tonight we are planning on grilling out and hanging on the furniture some more. If you need me I will be on the patio. haha

Our new Patio

So as the home repairs continue... we have decided to add new Patio furniture to our house. we love it. Kari put it all together last night, then I sat out there while it rained and even fell asleep. So here are some pictures of our new furniture. We are getting ready for Kari's birthday party at the end of the month. He is putting in some new fans and light fixtures today and I am going to be laying on a raft in the pool all day and enjoying the new furniture!

Congrats Ladies!!!!

Congrats to my two friends Courtney Haney and Tara Compton and their new Fiances!!!! I am so excited about your upcoming weddings!!!I am sad I don't have a good picture of the ladies with their men but Courtney is #4 and Tara is #6 from the left to the right. I do get to say they are both marrying some handsome guys. Courtney's wedding looks like it will be on Tybee Island next May and Tara's is looking like Vegas in June. I am so excited!

Happy 30th!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Mark. This is the yesr of the 30's. We are all in on this together. Hope your 30's are even more fun than your 20's. Looking forward to our trip to Puerto Rico to celebrate your bday

YAY!!CONGRATS!!!!

Congratulations to Liz and Jerry!!! I have been waiting for this day for so long and the proposal was definitely worth the wait! He asked her at their favorite restaurant in the Bahamas. After she said yes champagne was brought out and even a photographer! I am so happy for them and can't wait to see Liz on her wedding day! She will be a beautiful bride. I am so excited!!!!!

New Kayaks

So we took the plunge and bought two Kayaks yesterday. We have been wanting them so badly and there was a huge sale and my new fascination about clipping coupons paid off. we got to use those as well towards the Kayaks. We took them out to the river today and got to Kayak around the Manatees and dolphins. They swim right up to you and want to play. Next time I am taking shredded cabbage out with me because that is what Manatees like to eat! They let you pet them. It is so much fun. Gotta love sea cows. So here are a few pictures. This is probably where we will be on any of our days off for the next few years!

and life begins

so i had to change the name of our blog. since the wedding is long behind us and life as a married couple has begun. There have been a few kinks to work out but overall i would say married life is growing on me. I think this week I have started to get the hang of it. First lesson learned is that once you are married you have to look at life through two sets of eyes. It is not about your point of view anymore. I am sure I have alot more to learn along the way. We did get a clip of the wedding video this week. I posted the link to the upper right hand side of the blog. Also here it is again http://www.firstsightpictures.com/new/trailers/htrailer/htrailer.html

Go check it out, i just love it! Well off to work. Pretty much where I will be the next 12 months. Love you all

We Did it!

Well we finally made it. After a year of nonstop planning the wedding has come and gone in a flash! It was even more beautiful and fun than I had expected. The flowers blew me away. It was so good to see so many of our friends and family coming from all over the world. We had such a good time and were sad to see everyone leave. So now we are in our first week of married life. well it has been interesting to say the least. We were supposed to leave last Monday to go to Costa Rica on our honeymoon. I woke up a few hours before our flights departure and knew I was too sick to go. We had to postpone our honeymoon. Thank goodness Delta and the hotels worked with us to just push it back a couple weeks. So for our first 9 days of marriage I have been on the couch, sicker than I have been in a long time. Finally I got the right antibiotic and am doing a million times better. We have to go back to work for a three day trip then we are off to Costa Rica. We even added some new stops along our way down the coast. I can't wait to go. Will blog more about it when I get home! We did have a highlight of the week. We took some of our wedding money and bought a Wii and Wii fit. I am addicted! Kari and I have been playing Tennis nonstop. So much fun!

UPDATE

SO OUR WEDDING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER A WEEK AND A HALF AWAY. A little update into what has been going on in our world. We have been going non stop this week so far and will stay that way till we leave for Saint Augustine Tuesday. I have had a million appointments and Kari is doing very well with my bossiness. I told him there are probably two weeks of his life he would be wise to do everything I say that would be the week before our wedding and the week before our first child is due. I get on edge for a minuet then it passes when I remember what is really important. We are so excited to be getting married and can't believe it is finally here. We couldn't be more in love than we are this very minuet and are having a blast having some time off of work to be around each other. We are even trying to perfect some dancing steps so we don't look too ridiculous doing our first dance. Other than that we are just enjoying a moment in our life 0f pure bliss because we know we will have some challenges in the future so we have to stop and enjoy the moment whenever everything seems perfect. That is our update!!!!! See you soon

oooops

so if you did decide to listen to the song set list i accidentally downloaded some funky versions of songs. So if you here some Heavy metal and what not that isn't going to be the version, just ignore it. Thanks

For all you Dancers out there!

At the bottom of my blog I have listed a small selection of Songs the band will be playing on the night of the wedding. They are some of our Favorites... and there are alot more. So bring your dancing shoes ya'll! See you in two weeks!

It's April Finally

Today is April 1st. Finally Kari and I are in the home stretch just a couple more weeks to go. We are both getting very excited now and can't wait to see everyone in a couple weeks. The hotel blocks have all been released so if you haven't made reservations you won't be able to be part of the block rate. I still think there are some good deals though. This whole process has run surprisingly smooth so I hope that continues till after the wedding. See you soon!

29 Days and counting!!

Kari and I went and picked up our marriage license today. He said my face was all red and I looked scared to death. Then I noticed my hands were all clammy. haha guess I am getting the jitters a little bit but we successfully got our marriage license and are officially set to go. Just 29 days and counting to the big day. We are finally getting excited. This engagement has been way too long. Just around the corner now

Jenny's Bridal Shower

Thanks so much for the beautiful bridal shower. It was so fun to see everyone again after so long! Here are a few pictures....

Melbourne 10K

I ran a 10K  with my friend Yuko here in Melbourne, FL today. It was really fun but the hardest race I have run yet. My whole body aches and I just want to lie on the couch all day. That took the life out of me. Yuko and I had to run the first 3 miles and then the last 3.2  miles was over a giant bridge headed out to the beach. As you can see from my bright red face it was really hard. Yuko said she thought of jumping off the bridge into the water she was so over it. Plus it was very hot! So we are proud of ourselves and can't wait to do the next one!

Congrats Holly, Alex and Charlotte Gamez

Congrats to Holly and Alex Gamez for welcoming into the world their beautiful little girl today, Charlotte Gamez. I don't have any pictures yet. Kodack gallery wouldn't let me steal one and believe you me I tried! She could not be any more perfect or any more beautiful. I am so happy she is finally here and can't wait to meet her! Too bad she is all the way over in Switzerland but I will still find away to meet you soon Charlotte! I will post some photos as soon as I can get my hands on some!

Send your RSVP'S

9 days till the RSVP cards are due back. Don't forget to drop them in the mail folks! 

Edisto Birthday weekend

What a fun weekend on Edisto Island in South Carolina. Kari and I piled up in the car with Mark, Carrie and Heather for the 7 hour drive up to Edisto Island, SC. We had a blast. We got to stay in a gorgeous gigantic house overlooking the marsh and down the street from the beach. We also got to meet a ton of new people and I got to reunite with some old blasts from the past. Non stop eating was def. involved in the weekend. I am completely exhausted but it was so worth it. Liz and I know how to bring in our birthdays that is for sure.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH. Sorry I am a week past your birthday getting this on here. I have been slacking with the blog. but happy belated birthday Liz Gunn. Love ya and had so much fun sharing our bdays in Edisto this weekend. What a great group of people. So much fun!!! Can't wait to do it all over on our 40th ughhh can't even start thinking about that one

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to everybody. So this year had to be probably the best valentines day I ever had and probably the last alone with my new husband. We pretend we are already married! We started out the day at the spa where we had exfoliating treatments and mud baths. Kari would probably kill me for writing that he was exfoliated so everyone can read it. haha. Then we had hour long couples massages which were beyond words. outstanding! All the while we were given a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. so fun. Then we headed up to titusville to the wildlife refuge beach to hang out with some friends on the beach. Where I got my ab workout for the week from laughing so hard. Finally we headed back home for dinner. Our dinner experience was less than desirable. That restaurant was so not prepared for that many people at once even though they lat us all make reservations. Kari was so cute though. I saw the prices of the "special holiday menu" which was 4 things and wanted to get up and run. Kari said no way it is Valentines Day and we stayed and ate. so sweet. Oh and he gave me a rose before dinner, very cute! So probably one of the top days of my life that I won't forget. I never knew one man could be so loving and perfect. I love you Kari!!!!!

Cogratulations Soderberg's

Last night we went to Laurie and Dean Soderbergs fabulous wedding! It was so beautiful and they both looked amazing. The wedding was so much fun and couldn't of gone better. The food was to die for. Congratulations to this new amazing couple and we hope our wedding is half as great as ya'lls was!