Long time since last post= Novel

Surprise! It's a new post! :)

I'm writing in part to humor the people who harass me for not posting often enough, and in part to procrastinate on the 1,934,083,008,093 things I have to do in the next 2 weeks...

Things are movin' and shakin' around the Guice household. We're both moving in a million directions a minute, but still seem to find time to relax and cuddle on the couch with a good movie at least once a week, so things are good. :) We took the girls on a hike on Pinnacle Mt. last weekend, which was so great... except for the whole "Speckles-is-a-scaredy-cat-and-got-too-scared-to-go-up-the-steep-rocks-and-laid-down-and-WOULD-NOT-MOVE-so-I-told-Brian-to-go-ahead-with-Emma-but-ended-up-having-to-CARRY-the-35lb.-dog-up-half-the-mountain-and-down-the-other-half" part of the trip. :) I got quite a good workout that left me sore for about 3 days. :) Ha!


We're still in the torturous and educational process of trying to get Brian's practice up and going. Right now we're working with the landlord of the space we've found (and LOVE) to get approved for the floorplan changes we've made. I think it's such a great location- we've wanted to go with the whole "industrial modern" theme and this has it! Brick walls, black ceiling tiles with track lighting everywhere... it's just about perfect. Right now it's a boutique jewelry/handbag store, so we have to build walls to create the exam room, office, etc. The other HUGE thing has been that the bathroom they have is not ADA compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act), which means it's super small and won't fit a wheelchair. We assumed that the building owner would be responsible for the construction to get it compliant (duh), but we've had to fight more than we thought for that. It's also been a hairy lease compromise, but we're at a good place... and then the economy was flushed down the drain and we're worried about getting the money he needs to start it up. :( I'm still hopeful, and we've decided to go ahead and do what we can to get the money, and if he doesn't get it, we'll take a year, he'll find something in the meantime, and we'll revisit it next year. I really like the location, so I'm hoping things work out- cross your fingers for us that Bank of America wants to give us a bunch of money! :)

As if that's not keeping my mind occupied enough, I've been tied up with photography, having a photo shoot at least every other weekend (which equals about 10-20 hours of editing the following week). It's been great, and I'm still in love with photographing and learning something new everytime. Meeting all kinds of cool, interesting people is a plus too!

I've fallen absolutely, madly in love with my job at Trio's. The people, the food, the atmosphere, the hours, the creative freedom... oh, i'm in love. I feel more invested in this job than at ANY other job I've ever had (except my own photography business, of course). It's just so weird that I seriously feel like I was BORN to have this job. We're opening a new restaurant called "Capi's," scheduled to open by the end of this month, and I've been very involved in the creation of this place. It's always been a fantasy of mine to open my own restaurant, and through this process I've realized 2 important things- 1. I'm having SO much fun being so involved and having the creative freedom to really be a part of this restaurant and 2. I realize that I NEVER, EVER want to open a restaurant on my own... Capi has been a walking panic attack (understandably!) and I know I wouldn't be able to stomach that. I'm pretty close to tearing my hair out, and all I'm responsible for is the entire beverage program (choosing, ordering, pricing, menu-creation of wine, liquor, cocktail recipes, infused and hot teas, etc.). I'm engulfed in that, as well as the new wine list I've created at Trio's. The "creative freedom" I talked about also spills out to using my photography at this job: Capi "comissioned" me to take the photos for the covers of the wine lists at Trio's and Capis, and I've created a little "art project" by strategically splattering wine on parchment paper that I'll scan onto parchment paper, lighten, and print as the pages for the lists. I think it's going to look awesome! It's just such a rewarding job, and I'm so thankful that I went in at such a perfect time to be hired. I've also bonded eerily well with all the staff, and it's just amazing.... it takes up most of my time, but I LOVE it!

Emma and Speckles are outside dogs now. The wood floors and the girls just didn't get along very well. They never played because they just slid and scratched all over the place, and we have such a great backyard with no places for them to be able to dig out, so it just made sense. It was selfish of me to think that it was horrible for them to go outside, because they've been SO happy out there! They play more, they aren't freakishly hyper when we go outside to say hi (which we've made a point to do at least 3 times a day), and it's been such good weather lately! It's been a good transition, but I still miss their cold noses on my leg while working on the computer. :) They're still our sweet little furry daughters, and are so funny. I can't believe Emma will be 7 YEARS OLD in 3 months! Weird! I got Emma for Brian for his birthday around our 1-year anniversary. She still acts like a bouncy little puppy. :) Sweet girls...

I cut my hair off last week! It was longer than it's been since I was little, and I cut about a FOOT off!! I found myself putting it in a ponytail within 20 minutes of walking out the door, so I figured it was time for a change. I like it! I found a good salon and the girl did a great job. It's a good change for me. I wish I would've taken a "before and after" photo, because it really was a lot of hair!! I'll post a recent long-hair picture with a new short-hair picture when I take some. I'm thinking of offering a "trade" with another photographer I know to have some professional pictures of Brian, me and the girls for some pictures of her and her dog for some Christmas card pictures. Even though I'm a pro, we haven't had photos taken since our wedding! We need some good ones... I may try to do the timer-thing, but hopefully you all will get a good photo of us for Christmas. :)

Well, my goodness, I realize why I can't post often- I write novels when I get going!! :)

Here are my photos that will be used for the wine lists- I think they turned out awesome! It's also cool to be able to add to my resume that I've done "commissioned product photography." :)

Okay, Okay, I know I'm the worst Blogger ever. It's easier said than done!

Quite a huge bit has changed since my last post. Brian is a sexy doctor and we live in Little Rock now, where he has a job doing testing, pre- and post-op care at a lasik eye surgery center. We're so glad to be Arkansans again!! It's been so great to see our friends more often. We've really enjoyed it. We have an adorable house, and the dogs have adjusted quite well to the move. We got here officially 4th of July weekend. I've been doing my photography full-force these days; Brian and I have designed a website for me: www.KerryGuicePhotography.com, and I've kept fairly busy with weddings, portrait sessions, and all the editing that goes into doing what I do. I've thoroughly fallen in love with it!

I also just started a job as a manager at a local restaurant here called Trio's. It's an awesome restaurant that uses local and organic ingredients and has a great chef that visits the local farmer's market and changes the menu according to what's in season. It's such great food, and the people there have been there for a LONG time, so that says a lot about the place and the way it's run. I'll eventually be taking over the catering and beverage department- choosing their wine list, controlling liquor inventory, booking banquets and off-site catering, etc. I'm really looking forward to it.

Brian and I have also been scouting out places for him to open his own practice! It's a whirlwind of excitement, stress, anxiety, exhilaration, and optimism for both of us, but more so for him. He's been studying business collateral and has been on the phone with real estate companies and doctors asking questions and getting advice. I know without a doubt that he'll do amazing when we open, but I know it's going to take a lot of guts to start it! It's a BIG loan and a risk to open a business- no matter what the business is, so we're sure to know what we're doing before we jump in it, but we're ready to take it on! I'll be working the front for him and selling the retail side of the practice. Eclectic, exclusive, boutique retail eyewear is what we'll focus on. I think Little Rock will accept it with open arms... we'll see! We've got our eye on a place right now, so I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Our summer has been eventful and fun so far. The weather has let up just a bit this week, it's not too dreadfully hot outside! We've been going on more bikerides now that we're in the Hillcrest area- much more freedom to ride around town than in Memphis! It's been nice to be able to ride my bike to Kroger for some groceries- it's only 4 or 5 blocks away, and in the middle of the neigborhood. I love it!

I miss my friends in Memphis, but it's been such a wonderful change to be able to cook dinner every night at a decent hour, and be able to spend the evening with Brian, walking the dogs or taking a nice bikeride. We've felt spoiled! We've been together for 7 1/2 years now, and this is the FIRST time we've had almost every evening with each other, due to my restaurant night-jobs. It's been pure heaven! :)

Here is a photo of the house, and just a few weddings I've shot recently:

Catching Up

Well, Brian is almost a month into his externship in Batesville, AR. It was pretty tough at first, and although it's still PAINFULLY lonely at home and I have trouble sleeping, it's getting a bit easier for both of us. :) We'll be ready for December, that's all I can say. I went to visit him a few weekends back, and we had a great time. He comes home on weekends, but this weekend we decided to go camping close to where he lives. It didn't work out though, because young kids kept driving around the campsite and we were worried about the dogs, and it's not the most relaxing feeling to keep seeing people driving- some of them speeding- throughout a campsite! We packed up our things and decided we should just climb in bed at his apartment and watch the Arkansas football game and drink beer instead. :) It was a good decision (although the Razorbacks didn't make for a great game that night against Alabama...). He lives in a cute apartment that looks like a cabin! It's wooden on the outside and is one long story of 6 or 7 apartments. It's got new carpets and a dishwasher and is clean, so we're grateful we found it at the price we got!
Work is going well for Brian. The doctor he's working with has told him he's doing a fantastic job and even called a doctor in Little Rock for us to see if he needed anyone (it's a 65 year old guy in his own clinic downtown close to the Clinton Library- we were fantasizing about him retiring soon and selling his practice to Brian after having him under his wing for a year or two...). It may pan out, but we'll see...
Work is busy for me. The restaurant is going well, and I'm currently 4th in a National Sales Manager contest for banquet sales. It goes through the end of December, and if I win I get a trip for 2 to Napa Valley, CA for 3 days!! That would be VERY appreciated after Brian gets home from Batesville!!! I don't know how much of a chance I have, but I'm doing fairly well so far, so we'll see... I know it would be a GREEEEAAAATTTTT trip if we were to go- Ruth's Chris doesn't skimp when it comes to these things. They'd pay for everything and we'd get into exclusive wineries and meet really cool people- it would be SOOO fun!!
My photography business is also doing pretty well! I took some bridal pictures this past Sunday, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I'm taking a friend's wedding pictures on the 20th of this month, too. I've been staying as busy as I want to be with my other job into consideration, and I haven't advertised at all, so I'm very proud of the work I've been doing!
The "girls" are doing well. They miss their daddy (especially Emma). She gets so anxious after he leaves on Sundays. :( I also feel terrible that they have to stay cooped up at home while I'm at work and Brian's not here to entertain them! It was good for them to go "semi-camping" with us. We did go on a great hike, and Brian almost stepped on 2 snakes!!! The second time his foot was en route to the snakes head, about 6 inches away! It was a pretty big snake, too!
This separation has made my heart grow fonder, without a doubt. I realize everyday the things we take for granted in seeing each other everyday, and it makes for great weekends together with no bickering or whining. We just enjoy each other's company and get to re-live why we decided to spend our lives together. :) I get confirmation all the time that I made the right choice in snagging this guy up! :)