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

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.

The mini choppers

I can't seem to hold onto a mini chopper to save my life. Its a small kitchen gadget that chops up nuts, veggies or whatever. So when I first moved into my own house my mom got me one as a housewarming gift. For one reason or another at the following Christmas she bought me another one. I laughed and told this story for years because I thought it was silly.

I moved out of that house when I moved to South Carolina and I didn't take much with me, including my two mini choppers. So when my mom came to visit for Thanksgiving she had to buy me another one. Mom mini chopper tally is now 3.

So I moved out of that house and again didn't take everything, including my poor mini chopper. So Mom came back down to SC to help me get situated and was astounded to find that I again lacked a mini chopper. She bought me my 4th mini chopper.

Mom, ended up staying with me for several months before moving back to Illinois and when she left she TOOK my mini chopper :(

So 4 mini choppers later, I still don't own one and I decided to give up on the idea that I could have one of my own.

Today I'm moving out of my apartment and into another one and I just emptied a cabinet and lo and behold THERE IS A MINI CHOPPER IN THERE. I swear to all things I have never seen this thing in my life. After what I've been through with the other mini choppers, I would know if I actually had one. A mini chopper materialized out of nowhere or someone is playing a joke on me!

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.

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!

Who said turning 30 meant growing up?!

I had a fantastic 30th birthday. My mom showed up (it was her birthday too) in Arizona and surprised me. Shannon picked me up and we went to dinner with Cyndi and Danielle and afterwards we went to Dave and Busters. We're walking in and I catch a glimpse of our friend Dave and think, whats he doing here? Then I notice Dave has a girl with him but I can't tell who she is. Upon closer inspection it was my mom!! I screamed so loud the people around us all jumped HA!
We had a great time, I played tons of games and got lots of tickets. Grand prize was 2600 tickets and a new cozy hoodie.

The whole week after my birthday my mom was here and we did all kinds of fun stuff. Probably the most fun was the trip to Jerome, AZ where Maynard from Tool has a winery called Caduceus.

Yum!
There were actually several winerys in Jerome that we stopped at. I can't wait for a trip back, if not for the scenery alone! Here's a photo of Jerome as we approached it, the whole town is on the side of a mountain!

28.6

Final stretch in the run your ass off competition and I have gone 28.6 miles total. Friday is the last day and I have to say 30 days of routine and I'm really enjoying myself, I almost feel bad if I don't go at this point because I enjoy it so much. Spending time with my dog, I love how it makes my body feel and I love being outside. I've found some pretty places to run, too.

Last week I got back from my 2 weeks in Alabama. I had a fun trip, the people at the bank I worked with were super nice and I did lots of fun things while I was out there. I attended Bamajam, a country music festival. I didn't know much of the music but I did walk around drunk and barefoot so I fit right in! I drove down to Panama City Florida for a day and oh my oh my was it pretty!! I would love to go back there someday. I heard just after I left the oil was nearing the beaches there, its a shame :(
I took a Zumba class while I was there too, that was fun. I have zero rhythm but just trying to keep up I worked really hard!

July 1st I am driving up to Illinois to visit my family. I didn't go back last year so I'm pretty excited to see everyone. My dad is going to be out of town but he's going to have the house all ready for me to stay in, that was sweet.

Anyway, another wonderful summer. Exciting things to come in the next couple months, big changes!!!

You get to karate kick a helicopter!

Hell Yes.

Just got back from VA Beach with the fam. Had a nice time. Got to eat at my favorite Puerto Rican place, Mojito. Played in the ocean, got a tattoo and shopped for puppies with Lindsy and Jake. All in all, it was a nice mini break away from home, I haven't left town in awhile.

Today was 9-9-09 and it was Brandon and Jake's birthdays. I find it kind of funny that those 2 have the same birthday, they are SO much alike too. I looked up their sign just to see if it was right and it really is true: modest, shy, intelligent, analytical, live in their minds, calm and collected...yea that's definitely those two! I hope they both had a great birthday, I'm pretty sure Jakes girlfriend did something silly like draw LOL Cats on his car or try to Rickroll him and last time I heard from Brandon he was hyped about getting a Choco Taco, haha.

I saw District 9 tonight. It was pretty cool. I'm not a blood and guts girl but the way they blew the bodies up in that movie with the alien guns was pretty spectacular! It was nice to get out of the house, get my mind off things for a little while.

I wrote my cousin Mike a letter yesterday. I've decided to only write Mike when I am in a positive frame of mind because I realized I wrote him 5 pages about being a good person. He's in jail and its probably not my place to lecture him, I'm sure he gets that enough and he's been in there long enough to know what constitutes good and bad. I am debating whether or not to send the letter.