All of the things.

Pretty exciting last couple of months! After a rollercoaster of a closing process, we actually did buy the house I posted about before. Its everything I thought it would be. We have so much more room, an amazing yard and we live in the most beautiful community. I couldn't be happier. I love taking this next step on our lives together. This weekend we spent time working on the yard and doing odd things around the house like putting together dressers and hanging up the TV.
Its an awesome feeling, but the thing that makes it best is doing it with Nick. Never in my life have I felt so right-in-step with another person. It was always me following them or them following me all while struggling to find a happy medium. With him, there isn't a question, we are simply on the same page or we work together to make things happen.

Another super exciting development is that I got a new job. I hadn't been happy at my previous job for some time. Not so much the job but that the job wasn't going anywhere, I felt like I had no room to grow and nobody supporting me if I did want to move up. Its a bad feeling and it was making things really hard for me. So I started applying to a few banks that I thought would be a good fit for me. I loved banking but I never thought I'd find a company I believed in and actually liked working for as I did with BB&T. Well, I found a couple of credit unions and one bank and just kept applying at them and a few other various places to see what was out there. I got a call from my new employer telling me that the job I applied for was really meant to be filled internally as it was an operations role and they wanted someone who knew their bank policies first hand. However, they liked my resume and asked if I'd be interested in working in a branch again. Of course I would! My interview was for an assistant position but when I got there they said they had a manager spot open and I interviewed for that. I start October 15th.

As you might imagine the last couple months have been pretty crazy. Hopefully, once I fall back into some semblance of a routine I'll be able to blog a little more! But today I am going to spend outside. Its finally down to the 80s here in sunny Arizona and my beautiful backyard has gotten overgrown so I'll be pruning and trimming to my hearts content all afternoon.

A House!

This last week or two has been crazy! Tuesday the 31st we decided to meet a Realtor and look at houses. Literally the first house we saw was THE one. We're in the house looking around and an AZ monsoon hits!  So we got trapped in the house for an extra 30 mins or so, then the roads were so flooded we couldn't leave Anthem or go look at any other houses. We decided to have some dinner and see if it let up, it finally did and we were able to see 2 more homes but they just didn't even compare. 

So we slept on it and discussed the options and finally decided to put in an offer. At first the sellers said flat out no. We were asking for nearly 10k under the asking price and the current price had already been marked down about 30k. Its a great home. We have a great lender/Realtor team and together they worked out a deal for us. 

At this point, we've had our home inspection and the inspector said "this is the nicest home I've done in three weeks". He said it was a great first home and we will have very little to fix before we move in. There's 4 tiles loose on the roof and the outlets in the kitchen are GFS protected in places they shouldn't be. Everything else is cosmetic like chips on the patio and scratches in the tile. 

We are very excited. The only things we absolutely have to purchase are a washer/dryer and a fridge. There's a fridge in the garage but its small and doesn't match the kitchen. We got a great deal from a local appliance store since we'll be buying everything from there. 

The last hurdle is the appraisal. What we need is an appraisal to come back saying the house is worth what we're paying for it and we're done. The house is ours. FINGERS CROSSED. If that goes through we could move in as early as the 20th. In literally 20 days we decided to buy a house, found one and bought it. Like I said, its been a crazy couple of weeks. 

If this house doesn't work out, its not a big deal. There's a lot of homes out there and since we're already through the loan underwriting and stuff, if we have to put in another offer it'll go even faster. Truth be told, I secretly hope this is the one. I can see us living there. 

One step closer to the amazing future of Nick and Stephanie. 

First Vacation of the Year!

We decided to pack up the pups and take advantage of having a three day weekend! After over a year of living in Arizona I finally made it up to the Grand Canyon. It was awesome!
We left early Saturday morning and headed up to our hotel just outside the South Rim. The more north we got, the colder it was! Then we started seeing SNOW! I never in a million years thought I'd be excited to see snow. It was probably because it still wasn't all that cold outside and so you could actually go out and enjoy it.
We arrived at the hotel and got the dogs all comfy and headed out to Flagstaff.

Flagstaff was fun, lots of little shops and places to see. We had dinner at the Weatherford Hotel. This place was cool, it was a hotel that has been around since Flagstaff was founded, they have 11 rooms, 3 bars and a restaurant. We decided to stay there next time we go to town, the waiter recommended room 42. I think that was a sign this place is going to totally rock.
We stopped at a couple of neat little shops, my favorite was a bath store called Fizz. I got some of those stones you heat up and massage with and some shower steamers. Then we found an awesome candle store, you could actually dip your own candles. Very cool, I got some floating rose candles to float around in my bath.
Before we left we stopped at a coffee house/bar where the waiter was either a total asshole or we were stupid. He asked what we wanted and Nick asked what kind of coffee they had, all he said was "double espresso" so I said ok I would like one with cream, he says "ok double espresso" I'm like, "yes, with cream" then Nick says "I'll have a coffee" and the waiter goes "ok two double espresso". According to the menu they had much more than double espresso so I am not exactly sure what happened there but we had our espresso and went on our way. Totally reminded me of the Coffee Snobs

Sunday morning we woke up extra early and headed to the canyon to see the sunrise. Unfortunately they were having a snowstorm and it was too cold/snowy/cloudy to see anything. So we drove around to the watch points seeing what we could see and learning how to properly layer in freezing temps. We went back to the hotel for awhile and went back to the canyon later after it cleared up.

Lucky for us, Monday was clear and sunny! We got to spend all day on the rim, letting the dogs play in the snow and taking in the sights. All in all it was a great vacation. Here's the album of photos:

Grand Canyon 2012

Christmas/Birthday time of year

If you know me you know I love unwrapping gifts almost more than actually getting a gift! I knew Nick would use that for my Christmas gift, but I had no idea just how far he'd take it. I thought I'd get something that needed batteries and get individually wrapped batteries or something like that. I never expected to wake up and get to unwrap my apartment!!



Aside from that I got an upgrade to my graphics card, some Aperture Science glasses, caffeinated root beer and the best possible thing to drink said root beer from...A replica of the Top Gun Stein from Battlestar Galactica!!! OH and I think he got sick of me taking all his dollars to try and win a DOMO from the crane game at the grocery store, because he got me a lil Domo too :)

I got him the outfit Dexter wears to kill people (he looks incredibly hot in it), a book of photos of us from 2011, a gift card to buy some climbing gear at REI and some tools for his cool new toolbox so he can be manly and fix things.

My birthday is Sunday and in the spirit of never being a real grown up this year my birthday party is going to be at a place called Xtreme Air jump park! My family went in together and bought me a Kindle for my birthday. I opened it by accident the other day thinking it was the Furminator I bought for Ginger and Enzo. Needless to say I was STOKED to find it.

We've been getting a lot of packages lately! Christmas gifts for each other, for others, from others and things we just order for everyday life. If you know me, you know how much I LOVE boxes. So Nick gets a box from his Reddit Secret Santa. he has me come sit down next to him and see what it is! Oh the excitement!! He opens up Portal Kombat for the game Munchkin Quest.

At first I was like omg what a cool gift I LOVE Munchkin Quest!! But then I realized...wait...I love Munchkin Quest.

The look on Nick's face was priceless. He just opened one of my Christmas gifts right in front of me!!

Needless to say we pulled out the game and he thought he was going to beat me in it so I had to wipe the floor with him. I was an Elf Theif with 4 arms (one coming off my head) wielding (among others) the Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid! Have I mentioned how much fun that game is?

Going to bed has become an adventure.

Nick and I moved in together October 1. So far so good except one thing. One of us has to be an adult when it comes to going to bed and neither of us are willing to do it. Here's a typical night:
-We spend about 15-30 minutes talking ourselves out of whatever we're currently doing (playing a game, watching a show, browsing the internet)
-play with the puppies and put them to bed
-get in bed
-talk about what we're going to do when we wake up again
-talk about whatever stems from that
-talk some more
-feet fight, covers war or some other form of silliness
-add 10 more minutes to this if someone farts so we can endlessly giggle about it

seriously. the. worst. :P

Actually things have been going great. We are working hard at making our lil place a home, especially for the holidays. My sister Cyndi came over from Cali to do Thanksgiving with us. Cyndi and I did the sides and Nick cooked his first turkey. It turned out really well. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping, drinking and playing Rock Band.
The Christmas tree is up and we're working on setting up some traditions we can do every year. Its really nice to be able to not only enjoy our current time together but set ourselves up for a great future too.

We went to Illinois for a baby shower in September, that was a lot of fun. My sister Lindsy is having a baby in a couple more months and my other sister Michelle is expecting twins shortly after. I'm going to have 2 nephews and a niece soon!



Aside from visiting family I would say the highlight of the trip was going to Chicago. We spent the entire day exploring the Museum of Science and Industry, walking through Navy Pier and riding the Gondola and getting some delicious food. I miss the food back home.

Cute idea that turned into a priceless memory

A few months ago Nick took a vacation to Japan to climb Mt. Fuji. We had just begun dating but things were going really well, so I wanted to do something special for him. I decided to get a box of cards and write to him.



I made one card for various points on his trip. They were things like "Open before you leave", "Open before you go to sleep", "Open when you miss me the most", "Open when you get to the top of Fuji" ect..



He loved it!

Just after he returned from his trip I came home from work to a candlelit dinner. On the table was the box of cards I had given him. He had me open each one and inside he had written back to me...



Now we have this adorable box of love letters to each other, one of my most cherished items.

I love this guy.

I remember when I met him. I was at a Nerds meetup and he walked in with his friend. I thought "he doesn't belong here" and assumed his friend made him come to the group. I was kinda bummed too because I thought he was super cute. Finally he sat down next to me and we struck up what ended up being a 3 hour conversation where we tuned out the entire rest of the room. He will never let me live down the fact that (because I thought for sure he was just some random guy there with a friend) I asked him "do you use the internet?".

As it turns out, he does use the internet. He also loves the outdoors, gaming, pets, travel and most of all he loves me.

Life is good.

Introducing Enzo!

Meet Enzo!

I've been wanting a dog as a companion for Ginger for awhile now. I only work 4 days a week but when I'm there I'm gone for 10 hours or more so I thought having someone to play with would be good for her. Boy was I right! Enzo has been a great addition. They are quickly learning to play together, respecting each others boundaries and learning from each other. Ginger is still a little jealous of her new little brother but we play close attention to give them equal lovins.

The day we got Enzo we were just going to check him out. I found him on Craigslist and Nick made an appointment to go visit him out at VJ Ranch. We met him and he was so friendly, not too hyper and so cuddly. Ginger and him didn't play right away so I was a little iffy about getting him. Usually she's scared of other dogs and occasionally we meet one she clicks with right off the bat. We decided to sleep on it and we left. Got about a mile down the road and Nick and I looked at each other and said, we just can't leave him, he's perfect. As you can see in the photo, Ginger was very curious about this new little guy!




First thing we did was give his stinky butt a bath. He's not the biggest fan of the bath but he was easier to clean than Ginger is (she HATES water!). First test of leaving him alone in the house he tore everything he could reach down! I guess this part of having him is good and bad. I can't leave anything out but it keeps my place super clean! Hopefully he gets better, I really don't' want to crate him while I'm gone.
The first couple days he ate all Gingers food on top of his own but this morning he finally let her eat and only ate what was in his bowl.
Nick is doing some leash training with him and has him almost sitting on command after only 2 days! Enzo is super smart, he really picks up on stuff fast.

All in all I am really happy with this choice. He was an anniversary gift. Its good that we celebrate each month together, even weeks in advance, right? :D

This weekend we're planning a mini vacation to Joshua Tree National Park in California. I am extra excited to check out Keys View you're supposed to have a great view of the valley and the San Andreas fault. I just like the idea of us hiking all day with the dogs, camping at night and hiking back in the morning. Hopefully there will be some great photos to follow!

I nearly had a heart attack today. Then I acted like an adult.

In May I got a letter on my door saying I owed $298.xx and it needed to be paid with my next months rent or I'd be evicted. I panicked thinking maybe I forgot to pay rent or I paid the wrong amount one month. I had no idea. After researching my checks I found that I'd never missed a payment so I called and left a few messages for my apartments management office. Nobody returned my call and the one time I did talk to a person she told me that nobody was available but assured me someone would call me back. Since nobody did, I assumed that a mistake had been made when the new management company took over. They accepted my next two rent check and no more notices or calls.

Imagine my surprise when I get a notice today for nearly double the amount of the last notice and it stated I had 5 days to respond or vacate. Words can't express the feeling I got when I read that letter. My chest hurt, I wanted to vomit, I even cried. I was about to run out my front door to that front office and make a SCENE.

But I thought of Nick. My boyfriend is seriously the calmest person I've ever met in my life. I don't know how he does it really. Thats a blog post for another time.

So I took a shower and cleared my head. I got ready slowly so I was nice and calm going down there, I even brought a pen and paper with me. When I got there the lady started going through all of my rents and the dates I paid them seemingly sure she was going to find a missing check but she did not. She was truly baffled. I sat there and didn't say a word though I wanted to scream. She even printed out my ledger with a copy for me so she could prove to me line by line that I made a mistake. Still, didn't find anything.

As it turns out, I am billed $45 each month for my water. However, the bill is much higher and the apartment complex eats the rest for me (thanks I guess) but for some reason her accounting system was adding my portion onto my account.

TL;DR instead of questioning why a person that pays her rent every month on time has a huge past due balance my apartment complex issued me an eviction notice. When I called to question it they didn't return my calls and 2 months later gave me another notice to move out in 5 days. Glad you found the mistake guys, but I'm moving out when my lease is up.

come get your man

My step dad called me last night to have a "heart to heart" with me. He is determined to get me back together with Adam. He says we are meant to be together and doesn't matter what I do with my life I will end up with Adam so I might as well just come get him now. I talk to Adam every week and I would say 3/5 times we talk, we end up fighting. Sad part is that its the same old stuff we found about when we were together. Some things never change. We make wonderful friends, horrible spouses. Not to mention, even my lobster wouldn't get me to move back to Illinois.

Tonight i'm going to see Twilight. Can't wait, I read the book and I'm hoping the movie can live up to my imagination. Never really does but we'll see!

My foot is huge. When I get home at night you can see the imprint of my shoe. It is so annoying!

Today is the first day of our 4th quarter campaign at work. I have a whole new set of goals to meet in sales and I truly would like to make them all. Especially credit cards which seems to be the bane of my existence. My trainee starts back next Monday after being in class for a week and I really want to be a good inspiration to her!

At home things seem quiet. After our talk a couple of weeks ago, Timothy is either still thinking or has decided. I think I won't push him for a few more weeks for a straight answer. My sister is moving out on Monday of next week and I'll give him a couple of weeks after that and then I'll press him. Either way I am prepared for whatever his answer may be. I can move forward if necessary, I have chosen an apartment and if shannon moves out this way I will have a roomate. If he decides we should stay together I have some ground rules that need to be followed so as to never end up in this situation again. We'll see, we'll see.

I started a new workout at the gym this morning. Its called reverse something, basically you do all your normal exercises except you focus on the return position instead of pushing outward...if that makes sense. you lift the weight quickly then slowly return back. Its much more difficult that it sounded when he told me about it! I'm a little sore and I usually am not.
I also want to start a food journal, I haven't decided how exactly to go about it, I've tried the online ones in the past but I never keep them up, I think maybe i'll just get a written journal to keep in my purse and write it as it happens.

I'm slowly losing my mind. Do I beat myself up about things, or am I being beaten up? I can't tell anymore. Every little comment, lack of a comment seems to mean more than what it probably does, or does it? I can't tell anymore.

Lately I've just been bummed out. I take no joy in other people. Maybe its my job, I love what I do when its for the better. Helping people out of a jam, giving advice where needed or providing a service my client truly needed. Its the ones that take advantage that disappoint. Day in and day out listening to people talk about how hard it is to manage finances is taking a toll on me. They come for advice but what they really want is a free ticket out, and IF you give that to them, they aren't grateful, they come back again and again with a new story and new reason.