How we met...the first time...



May Hall, Fall 2000

I met Nick on my very first day of class at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. We had "pep band" together and we both played the trumpet. I saw him again later that week at my first-ever hall council meeting in May Hall and found out he lived one floor below me. My roommate Kelsey (still a very good friend) and I started hanging out in "Tito's" room after he got a Nintendo 64 (HA!).

side-note: Tito is Nick's nick-name that started in high school. Someone called his older brother Justin Michael Jackson once which made Nick "Tito" by default. Tito stuck, and friends from college still call him that.

Theta Chi Semi-formal, Winter 2003

Anyway, to make a long story short, I eventually figured out Nick was interested in dating me, but I wasn't so sure. It wasn't until he sang "It's gonna be me" by N'Sync to me at Club Chaos (classy--we know!) that I decided to give him a chance. His sense of humor and willingness to be a complete dork to win me over was appealing. Unfortunately, for reasons we cannot quite agree upon, we broke up just before I graduated in 2003 (I broke up with him actually). I still remember my mom telling me "Call him back and get back together!" It wasn't a very fun time for either of us but we were in different places and not really heading in the same direction. I lost my best friend, but I thought it would be better in the long run.

side-note: I was wrong! Nick claims this is a common occurrence.



Love my Michigan Friends :)



I moved to Mount Pleasant, Michigan a year later (2004), and I made amazing friends, established my "Michigan Family" and loved working at Central Michigan University! FIRE UP CHIPPEWAS! Nick moved home in 2004 after he graduated and worked as a bartender in Mankato during his post-college job search. He was hired at Capstone Publishing in 2005. He was promoted after a few months and started working in the Bloomington office. It was then that he bought his house and moved to Mayer, MN (30 miles SW of Minneapolis).

Even though we both had good jobs, we didn't do so well in our love lives. Nick dated a few girls, and I experienced major heart break. (skipping all details on all accounts!)

I loved my MI friends, but I missed my family terribly, and started looking for jobs in Minnesota. It was hard because as much as I wanted to be in MN, I didn't want to leave my friends and job at CMU. I even turned down a job in May 2009! I felt like I was making a difference at CMU in career services and the first-year experience program; I just wasn't ready to leave (yet).

Buske Wedding, May 2009

In May 2009, Sheila and Mike Buske had one of the best weddings I've ever been to. I got to stand up in their wedding as a bridesmaid and wear a gorgeous pink dress. I was nervous that Nick might be there (yes--I'm getting back to the point of this blog). I hadn't seen him since a River Falls' Days run-in in 2004 or 2005...not sure. Fortunately, he wasn't going to be at the wedding, but it was still this wedding that eventually brought us together again...thanks Sheila and Mike! :)