Krista is from the small town of Gallup, New Mexico, which many of you may actually be familiar with. Growing up in a small town forced her to create a vivid imagination and also helped her cultivate and maintain strong, meaningful friendships. She graduated in 2004 and moved to the "big city" of Albuquerque, where she attended college and has remained.

After floating around a bit and taking as many courses as her course load and brain would allow for, she was forced to declare a major which ended up being a joint degree in History and Women's Studies with a certificate in Peace Studies (this is what happens when you spend five years in school, you end up with a bunch of extra credits). Not yet willing to actually grow up and get a real job, she moved on to graduate school in 2009 (where she is still currently hiding out from the real world and recession). Krista is pursing a dual-degree in Latin American Studies and Business, with concentrations in History, Southwest Studies and Nonprofit Management.

Krista's even had a few jobs in her life (surprise!). After working for a full summer as the star reporter for the Gallup Independent (no, not really, we all know Bill Donovan has that title!) she decided it was time to get a legit job here in Albuquerque. Through her volunteering, she was able to get a job at the Business School at UNM where she stayed for three years, found her love and left before it imploded. Now she works as a Graduate Assistant in the Spanish Department helping a professor with background research for a forthcoming book. Supposedly after gradation, jobs are easy to come by. We'll see.

As a proud Nueva Mexicana, Krista still remains enamored with everything New Mexico including (but not limited to): our gorgeous sunsets, problematic history, social potential, delicious/fatty cuisine and of course, the state bird, the wonderfully resilient roadrunner. Much of her days are spent tracking down the pair in her neighborhood.

Having spent six years in Albuquerque, Ben has been told he should now say he "used to be" from Cleveland. He grew up in Richfield, OH, a small community halfway between Cleveland and Akron. Summers up on the frigid "North Coast" of the country last about three weeks, and Ben generally spent them wandering through cornfields, building forts out in the woods, or hiding from imaginary killer bees in the safety of air conditioning. When autumn set in, it was time for marching band. Ben donned the tri-cornered hat and knickerbockers of the Revere High School Marching Minutemen, and thus began a lifelong habit of dressing up in costume.

He spent his undergraduate career at the University of Cincinnati, insistent that building models into the wee hours of the night and sleeping on sheets of cardboard would teach him the essence of architecture. By his senior year, though, he realized his passions lay on the fringe of the industry. At the suggestion of a professor, he took a job with Architectural Research Consultants and moved to Albuquerque in July of 2005.

It was his first summer in El Burque that he discovered what would become an all-consuming passion: bicycling. Ben became active in BikeABQ, a local bicycle advocacy group, and remains a stalwart defender of the rights of bicyclists to occupy the road, ride safely, and wear garish spandex superhero outfits.

In 2007, Ben enrolled in UNM's "Executive MBA Program," where he was soon enamored with a certain employee there. Shortly before graduating the program, he and Krista became an item.

When he's not working, bicycling, or being completely entranced by the beauty of his partner, Ben likes to think of himself as an amateur photographer. He's got a lot to learn, but you can see some of his work on his website.

Accounts vary about how Ben and Krista met. Some swear it occurred on the high seas in the middle of a great storm. Others contend it was in a grove of soft grasses with sweet harp music wafting through the meadow. But anyone aware of the couple's legendary gluttony knows it all started with a Snickers Bar.

After discussing the benefits of peanut nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel, the two decided to head up to Santa Fe for a Jenny Lewis concert. As the melodies of the Rilo Kiley frontwoman drifted over the monsoon-rain-soaked air, Ben and Krista swayed in the music, and the first chapter of their life together began to unfold.

The honeymoon will be postponed a bit until we can scrounge up some cash and get time off of work/school. Probably in the Summer of 2012 after Krista (hopefully) graduates. Location will not matter much to us, so long as we are together. (awww... so sappy!) If we score the lottery, it will involve hopping around the Mediterranean. If not, we might keep things domestic. Or most likely, something in between, though floating around in the middle of the Atlantic sounds more fitting for a great survivalist novel than a romantic honeymoon.