Hello everyone,
Maybe you're here because you just received our thank you for your present, and presence, from our big day in June. You could be stalking one or both of us. Or you might just
be a nosy relative or friend trying to see if we posted anything scandalous. Whatever the reason: Welcome!
I (Lucas) along with my lovely assistant wanted to do this because I had a good experience with blogging during an internship far far away at the time in Washington, D.C. My goal is to get something new on here at least monthly, so that if and when I do not call, email, write, or visit you often enough, you can wander over and learn about what is going on in our life. As you can imagine, Alise and I have experienced a lot of changes in the past 90 days so hopefully this post will bring you up to speed:
May 10 - Lucas graduates from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Animal Science.
May 29 - Alise leaves a job she enjoyed so Lucas can drag her to New England with no concrete job opportunities yet (even though we had been searching for 6 months).
June 6 - Alise becomes a Sjostrom, and Lucas becomes a slave (just kidding, but we really did get married).
June 8 - Moving truck (pictured above) removes our belongings from Alise's sister's garage (thanks Em & Jason!). Lucas & Alise begin Honeymoon:
June 10: Traveled to Toronto to see a Dave Matthews Band concert in beautiful Molson Amphitheatre (pictured below).
June 11: Saw Niagra Falls from the Canadian side before we trekked half way through New York to Syracuse
June 12: Made it to Boston (first time Lucas had ever been there) in time for a few hours of sleep before our 5 AM flight.
June 13: We departed for Ocho Rios, Jamaica for 5 days of sun and sand, with a 2:15 p.m. rain shower every day. It was a great honeymoon for us and actual time off without cell phones and computers. Side note: If anyone is looking into honeymoon or spring break type vacations, beachdestinations.com was a wonderful site to work with. The trip costs hundreds less than other travel agents priced it at, and the value was unbelievable.
June 18: At 12:15 a.m. we arrived in Brattleboro after having just enough cash to get out of Boston's crazy tollway tunnel system.
At 8:00 a.m. Lucas reported for his first day of work.
At 10:00 a.m. Alise reported for her first day of work at a cheese company (her life long dream job).
July 2: We moved into our condominum/townhouse apartment a day late because we had no way to get electricty, or gas (hot water) until the 2nd and the 6th, respectively.
Since then, everything has worked out very well. Brattleboro is a nice little town that fits into the river valleys of Southeastern Vermont. Literally 100 yards from our rented condo is the Connecticut river, which is entirely in the state of New Hampshire. 15 miles south of us is the border with Massachusetts.
Originally Alise did not have any weekend days off, but recently she was awarded Saturday and we have been able to make trips to Bennington, VT, & Boston, with many more New England adventures coming in the near future.
I have been traveling very frequently for work, but the trips are generally short enough that Alise sometimes doesn't even know that I'm gone (or just happy she doesn't have to compete against me while watching Cash Cab after work -- Cash Cab is a TV Show on the Discovery Channel, like who wants to be a millionaire, but based in a real cab in New York city).
One day I was 10 miles from the Canadian border at 3:00 pm, and in Orlando by 7:30 pm the same day.
Alise works for the Grafton Village Cheese Company, and is transitioning from her time selling on the retail floor (they have hundreds of different cheeses, wines, gifts, and breads) to more of a marketing position. She really likes it, but working on Sundays is still a drag (for both of us). In the near future though we'll be able to take a trip to Burlington to help promote their products.
Other than that quick work update, we're putting the finishing touches on our condominium (hanging pictures & trying to afford bedroom furniture) and really looking forward to exploring the area.
That's all for this one, so check in another time. Best wishes to all!
Lucas & Alise
