Officially Arizonians!

We interrupt this program to bring you a (bit lengthy) update on our crazy lives!

(First let me apologize for being so delayed in my blog postings. I haven’t had internet in 3 weeks, even now I am writing you this from a Dunkin Donuts’s with free wifi!)

Well, we made it! I am officially a fine citizen of Phoenix, Arizona. The movers came and packed up all our stuff early last week. Then Hubby and I did a four day, 1,900+ mile trek across the United States to the sunny state of Arizona.

Our stuff hasn’t made it to our Phoenix house yet and won’t be here until later today. So, Hubby and I have been “urban camping” with our air mattress in an empty house! I managed to convince Hubby to pack a few camping essentials such as a beach lounger and beach towel (for our pool!), a fold up camping chair, bath towels, frying pan, spatula, paper plates, and plasticware. The back of the car was PACKED- barely enough room for the dog!

The drive wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. We passed the time with a couple books on tape and while the scenery had some boring places, there was still quite a bit to see. The first day was pretty typical- a lot of green trees, which I told Hubby to make sure he engrained in his memory because it wasn’t going to be like this in the desert! We crossed over the Mississippi River and through many corn fields until we stopped in Shreveport, Louisiana for the night. One of the biggest challenges was trying to find a hotel that would allow dogs. Luckily, I found a website called www.dogfriendly.com that listed all the dog friendly hotels by state and then by city. Watching Kane in a hotel room was hilarious. He made sure he checked every inch of the room, including the bathtub.

The next day we drove to Dallas to see my older sister and my niece and nephew. We had a blast! She has a really nice house in the burbs with a super cute puppy. I loved catching up and finally seeing the house! The last time I saw them was at our wedding a year ago.

After Dallas, we headed towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is where the scenery starts to get different as we trek it through the Midwest!

Keep in mind most of these were taken through the window of a speeding car. There was a lot to see that I didn’t take pictures of too. The world’s largest map of Route 44… The world’s largest petrified tree… Indian casinos abound… the list goes on and on!

 

Our last stop was Gallup, New Mexico right in the heart of Navajo country. We stayed at this terrible little dog friendly hotel. I don’t recommend it to anyone. Let’s just leave it at that.

The next day we FINALLY we made it to Phoenix! Its amazing how exhausted a car ride can make you! We made it to Target to get some essentials and then crashed and burned on the air mattress!

Since then I’ve been hangin in the empty house with no car, waiting patiently for my husband to come home with dinner. Sounds like the 50s doesn’t it? All should change today though when our stuff is delivered this evening! They decided to come in the evening thinking it would be cooler then. Little do they know- it is usually 100 degrees at 5 pm Arizona time. Well, regardless I’m pumped to have furniture soon! Stay tuned!

Birthday Extravaganza!

This year, my birthday fell on Easter Sunday. So, Hubby and I decided to celebrate it the Saturday before! We jam packed the day with fun things to do...
First, we started the day with brunch at one of my favorite Atlanta restaurants: The Flying Biscuit.

I had an out of this world egg white omelet with all my favorites in it and a to die for fluffy biscuit. The biscuits are simply amazing. If you haven't had one, stop what you're doing and go there right now.

You can get a 1/2 dozen to go.
You won't be sorry.
seriously.

After that, I had to get my car's emissions checked. Stupid Dekalb county requires it. That's the only depressing thing about your birthday- your car taxes are due!

Hey! Happy Birthday! Pay $200 in car taxes! Baloney.

Next Hubby and I signed up for a Wine Class as part of a groupon I bought a few months back.  It was meant to be April's date in Hubby's monthly date present.

The wine class was at a little wine boutique in Midtown. The lady teaching the class was very knowledgeable but she was also a little intense. Still, we learned a lot! For instance, did you know you are supposed to store all left over wine in the fridge? Even red wine!

Once the wine class ended, we headed over to Buckhead Church for a Saturday night Easter service with some of our friends from small group. It was a good message, you should check it out!

After church, we all drove over to The Sound Table for a birthday dinner! It was delicious. It was one of those eclectic places in the middle of Old Forth Ward which should tell you something right there. There were some interesting painting on the wall outside the restaurant...

 

Right across the street from the Sound Table is this funky little bar called Sister Louisa's Church. I've heard that it's definitely a place you need to go to at least once, just to say you've been. So, after dinner everyone decided to see what it was all about.

Let me tell you, this place is CRAZY. Once you get inside, there are pictures of Jesus and Jesus memorabilia EVERYWHERE. Some of the things were funny and others pretty offensive. They had pews to sit in and choir robes to wear around. They have pipe organ karaoke once a week. It was overwhelming! Hubby and I decided to try out the choir robes...

We had a pretty fun time! We love our small group! I'm really going to miss all of them =( Hopefully we'll make some good friends like them in Phoenix too. Chances are slim any Phoenix friends will be as cool as our Atlanta friends though...

Disclaimer: I know I am like a month or more behind on posting this stuff but I WILL catch up! I promise. Its been pretty hectic around here with our impending move and vacation (woohoo!) So keep checking back as I will update the blog as I can! Stay tuned for pictures of the derby and Hubby's big 3-0 birthday par-tay coming soon!!

Operation Atlanta Bucket List part 2

Another thing on my personal Atlanta bucket list was to go to Stone Mountain. Everyone has been telling me I need to go- that its a great place to get exercise by walking around the mountain and you can even hike up the mountain! For those of you who don't know, Stone Mountain is literally a huge mountain made entirely of smooth granite and quartz stone that pops out of nowhere right outside of Atlanta. On one side of the mountain the confederate soldiers: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis are carved into it like Mount Rushmore!  Hubby had been there as a kid but it has been years since he'd been so we decided to go one day after work.

So, we packed some sandwiches and water, grabbed Kane and hopped into the car for the 45 minute ride to the mountain.

http://www.bryanf.com/smp/Views.htm

It really is a strange sight to see as you're driving up to it. A giant smooth all rock mountain in the middle of nowhere. Once we got into the park, we headed for the trail to go up the mountain. Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed on that trail so Kane had to wait in the car =( probably a good thing that dogs aren't allowed though... the rock trail was so smooth in areas, I think Kane would have a pretty hard time climbing and would probably slide all the way back down!

see? completely smooth rock trail all the way up the mountain!

Once we got all the way to the top, the view was spectacular! On clear days I am sure you can see for miles! The weather was a little cloudy that day, but we could still get a good view of Atlanta and Buckhead.

view of Atlanta and Buckhead from the top of the mountain. As you can see, there's some pretty mean looking rain clouds threatening Buckhead on the right side of the picture...

After the hike down the mountain, we gathered Kane and headed over to the carved side of the mountain to see a laser show and give the dog some exercise! But, after we got there, the rain that was threatening Buckhead in the above picture decided to come and hang out in the park next. So, the night ended with us racing back to the car trying to beat the rain! Hahah all in all, great time! Now, I can officially cross Stone Mountain off my bucket list!

There's still more to come so keep checking back!
xoxo,

Operation Atlanta Bucket List part 1

This past Christmas, I got Hubby a set of 12 pre-planned, pre-paid dates for us to do- one for each month. It was a fantastic gift that I put a ton of thought into. Most of them were things we had never done before or fun things to do in Atlanta. Well, that all has back fired on me; we now have to cram as many dates as we can in the remaining time we have in Atlanta.  (Fortunately a few of the dates we can also do in Phoenix: I will fill you all in on those as they happen!)

So, I went through the dates and picked out the ones that we had to do in Atlanta or that we really wanted to do in Atlanta. The first one was meant to be November's date: A visit to Fernbank Natural History Museum and then coffee in the museum's cafe afterward! Since I didn't know when exactly in November we would be going, I had to include cash for the tickets and coffee in the envelope:

contents of the November date envelope

We had an amazing time! There was SO much to see there!

 But the best part was by far the dinosaurs.

 The woman at the front desk said it would take us about an hour or so to go through the museum. Boy was she wrong! We stayed until it closed and missed the museum cafe part of our date. =( So, we decided to go and get frozen yogurt instead!

What an awesome date! If you decide to go to Fernbank or any natural history museum for that matter, plan to take a couple hours to go through, not the 1-1 1/2 hours the museum tells you it will take! So much fun and soooo much to see!

More adventures to come!
xoxo,

update on our crazy lives

Sorry I've been MIA the past few weeks. Hubby and I were crazy busy with moving plans, house hunting trips and trying to cram everything we still wanted to do in Atlanta in the remaining weeks we have.
Hubby is officially in Phoenix now, his first day was this past Monday. He says it's a lot like his last job in Lake Park, GA, only this time he's the AGM!  It's a big adjustment for me, first off- he's 3 hours behind me! So, when I'm getting ready for bed, he's getting off work! Secondly, with his desk job, I was used to him being available on his cell any time of day. Now that he's back in the field, he very rarely has time for texting =(. But, he's going to be a great AGM- developing people and such. He's good at that! Here's a picture of where he works. isn't it BIG?

The Home Depot distribution center in Tolleson, AZ

I'm getting more OK with moving to Phoenix. I think having Hubby already there is helping A LOT. And the fact that we found a place to live! If I could only find a job out there too... Everyone keeps telling me how fabulous the weather is going to be...

No humidity! Dry heat! No more frizzy hair!

That would all be fabulous if I suffered from frizzy hair.

But I don't.

I have poker straight, super fine, limp, doesn't-do-anything-ever hair. And when you have that type of hair, you suffer from static electricity. And you know what encourages static?

DRY HEAT.

check out the temperature in Phoenix the other day:

Yeah, its says it was 73 degrees at 10:26 am MY TIME. Let's not forget that means it was 7:26 AM Arizona time. yikes. And let's not forget the mild winter we've had is probably only going to make the summer that much hotter! I'll have to keep you posted when my skin singes off.

Well anyway, there will be more posts following soon documenting our escapades during "Operation Atlanta Bucket List"

Stay tuned!!

xoxo

THIRTY.

Its official, I'm THIRTY. That's going to take a lot of getting used to. It doesn't sound old when I'm referring to someone else's age, but when it's in regards to me: Its OLD. Well, in honor of my birthday, I thought it might be appropriate for you to get to know me a little better!

30 things you may not know about me:
1. my favorite food is artichokes
2. As a kid, I wanted to be a geologist when I grew up.
3. One of my favorite shows on TV right now is "Suits" on USA. Hubby and I LOVE it! I think it comes back on this summer.
4. I can fall asleep just about anywhere
5. I celebrate Christmas in July every year on July 25th.
6. I forgive and forget at the drop of a hat. Drives Hubby nuts sometimes.
7. I can't stand it when someone is a loud chewer. or worse, talks with their mouth full. ugh.
8.  I used to wait tables at Rafferty's. I was a terrible server. But now i have a TON of respect for those folks.
9. I'm a good tipper, at least 20% unless you did a crappy job. then you get 15%.
10. I refuse to be my husband's dietitian. It might ruin our marriage.
11. I used to live in Koln, Germany for 1 year when I was 7.
12. I've been camping in the Amazon jungle.
13. I love sushi. Especially the spicy tuna roll. yum.
14. I love to read blogs. I follow waaaaaay too many. I can spend hours on my google reader!
15. one of my favorite candies are Jelly Bellies. I like to eat them one at a time. They say you can make "recipes" by combining a few flavors to make new ones but I think that's a waste. They last longer if you eat them one at a time.
16. My hair is poker straight. It will not do anything for me. If i curl it, 15 minutes later, its straight again.
17. I love Mediterranean food
18. I love Thai food.
19. I like to eat. eating is my favorite.
20. My favorite girl scout cookie flavor is Tag-a-longs
21. I get super stressed out in traffic, especially Atlanta traffic...
22. I've ran (and finished) a 1/2 marathon
23. I fractured my right wrist twice when I was a kid
24. I used to run hurdles on my high school track team.
25. I got detention twice in high school, once for talking during our morning prayer and once for skipping school on senior skip day.
26. My favorite color is kelly green.
27. I have quite a bit of Kentucky pride. One might go as far as saying I bleed BLUE.
28. I had a bunionectomy done on both of my feet- but not at the same time!!
30. I feel deeply guilty if I haven't posted on the blog in a while ...even though my sister is the only person who read it!!


There ya have it! Hopefully you feel a little more acquainted with me. Looks like this celebration of me is just about over... Hope every one had a beautiful Easter!


xoxo,

Valley of the Sun bound

So you may have noticed that my crafting has come to a screeching halt. Or you may have noticed my blog posts have become few and far between... Well, we have some news. Hubby has been offered a job in Phoenix, AZ (aka Valley of the Sun) and we have decided to take it. His start date is April 23rd.

I know. my jaw dropped when I heard that too.

It's so soon!!! I'm not ready to leave Atlanta yet! I was just starting to really like it here!! All these things and more have swam in my head since he was offered the position. Its a great position- a really good career move and we would be fools not to take it. Plus, we're young, no kids (except a furry one) adventurous. And the west coast has been on my to do list for a while. I was just thinking it would be more Oregon than Arizona.

So, as you can imagine, there have been a LOT of other things going on. Not much time for crafting and blogging unfortunately. Isn't it weird how your plans can change at the drop of a hat!? Hubby and I flew out to Phoenix at the end of March to get a feel for the area and to make sure we truly did want to live there. It wasn't so bad! Its actually beautiful in it's own way. Mountains surround the city on all sides and the rest of it is flat and brown.

the mountains are so close! Its a very outdoor-sy city. there is a ton of fun stuff to do.

They have palm trees!! That makes it worthwhile to me. I looove palm trees

I took most of those pictures while we were driving around the city looking for potential areas to live in. Its a very well planned out city. Nothing like Atlanta where everything is piled on top of everything else. The only thing that bothered me was their obsession with the southwestern theme. I want a place to live like our current house! In fact, I want to pick up our entire house and move it there. We are scheduled to go back before Hubby starts work for a house-hunting trip. Fingers crossed we find something awesome!

So, with only 3ish weeks before Hubby starts I have initiated Operation Cram-It-All-In. I took my bucket list, all our groupons and prepaid dates and scheduled them for sometime in the next 2 1/2 weeks. You should see our calendar. Its pretty comical. There is something planned for almost every day. There are a few holes though, so if you're interested in being a part of the operation, just let us know!! We will definitely fit you in =)

Its a bittersweet situation. I don't want to leave everything I've grown to love about Atlanta but I am excited embark on this whirlwind journey to the Valley of the Suns! Wish us luck!!
xoxo,