Are you Ever Actually Done Cleaning?

My version of cleaning, I'm pretty sure, varies quite a bit from what a normal person would consider clean. Clean to me also changes on a daily basis. Can't see the stove because it's covered in delivery pizza boxes? Looks clean to me. Then there are other days where the sight of even the slightest bundle of receipts cleaned out from the bottom of my purse will send me into a frenzy. 

I also suffer from, what I have self diagnosed as, Nocturnal Must-Clean-Now-itis. You know those moments on a Sunday evening, when you should be winding down, preparing yourself for the workweek that is coming, but instead you begin with folding the clean laundry that you should have folded from last weekend when you attempted laundry but didn't. Then next thing you know, you have this urge to go through your closet and make an even better mess in an attempt to 'organize'.

I have been on this cleaning roller coaster for about a month. It ultimately ends up in stacks of clothing that get moved from side to side of my bedroom as I continue to live around the ever growing mass of clothes that I don't even know where they came from. 

A.Drama was in town over last weekend (more on that in the coming days) and we attempted to get organized, but instead fun prevailed (totally not complaining).

But here I am again, when I should be gathering myself for the work week ahead, I find myself sorting through stacks of junk mail into throw away and shred piles. I'm gearing up for a vacation too (more on that later as well) and I want to come home to a really really clean house. 

Even with all that work though, are you ever actually done cleaning? 

Two Churches and a Western Fail

A wide gap between adventure exploring in AZ makes for some dull days, so Tulip and I decided to change that! We packed ourselves up and headed to Tucson! Tulip had read about some lovely churches in the area and we decided to check them out.

We had some different scenery as we drove south. We started to see green grass take the place of the desert landscape and some familiar looking trees. Made us think of back home a little bit! 

Picacho Peak State Park was another pretty sight.

Our first stop in Tucson was the Cathedral of Saint Augustine. There was a lot going on in town that day including the big gem show... or so all the signs said, and all the large groups of people were walking that way. 

I didn't think the outside much matched the inside of the church, but it was very big on the inside! 

Our next stop was San Xavier del Bac, a Spanish Catholic Mission church built between 1783-1797. Extensive renovations have restored this beautiful church to much of it's original beauty.

Holy water dispenser

As the clouds rolled in the day was still young, so we decide to make one more stop.... Tombstone! One of my favorite movies and a bucket list item since moving to Arizona. I had set my expectations too high, Tombstone was not what I had imagined.

City Hall

What I found when I arrived was a far departure from the picture I had in my head. I was hoping for a more historical destination, instead I was met with a giant tourist trap. (sad face)

I was at the least expecting the downtown 'historic' area to at least look like something out of a movie set. There were a lot of people walking around in historic attire (you could rent costumes to walk around for the day) and stagecoach wagons for tours of the town.

Sign at the OK Corral

You had to pay to enter any of the historical sites, which I understand to help maintain what exists, but I was a little bummed out that basically every historical place was made up into an amusement like attraction. Pay $10 to see the OK corral and watch a gunfight.. bah humbug! 

View looking down the street of the 'historic' district

The Tombstone courthouse was a nice piece of history to see with several nice displays inside. We went about an hour before closing so some of the upstairs exhibits had closed for the evening.

Our final stop on the way out of town was at the historic Boothill Graveyard, where some of the residents of Tombstone came after they died with their boots on. Residents of the cemetery include those who died in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.

As an Arizona resident I felt I had an obligation to visit Tombstone and I would go back with out of state visitors who wanted to see it for themselves, Tulip and I however recommend having another destination in mind and make it a two-for day. Afterall, I did get this cool Harley shirt at the Harley store in Tombstone.

Mail Time & Bike Week

Have I mentioned that I love getting mail! Especially when I open the mailbox and there is a key!! That means a package has arrived! Thanks USPS for making my mailbox happy! 

TWO packages in the package door! Bonus! 

The most important item from the homeland was this! Monical's dressing! My cheese Jack's pizza tasted amAZing tonight with this added bonus for flavor! For those of you who don't know about this delicacy, Monicals is a pizza place back in the Central Illinois area with a few other locations into Indiana and Wisconsin, but the thing that makes them special besides their delish pizza is the french dressing! It's not just any french dressing but sweet and tart, and it's perfect to dip your pizza in. Yes this sounds weird, but don't knock it til you've tried it! Make it a bucket list item if you are ever around the Illinois area! 

Here's an Olliebutt picture, he likes to watch TV, he's watching the ACM's here

I'm sure you all stopped by today to hear about my awesome weekend though didn't you!?! Well it just happened to be Arizona Bike week here so I decided to check it out! Check out the pictures from the amAZing stunt bike show. Sure you've seen some of these stunts before, but the big difference is these are Harley's! They are not the lightweight sport bikes that you usually see doing these tricks, it's something to see! These bikes are heavy!

One of the other big draws of the event was Chibs and Tig from Sons of Anarchy were there, I did see them... from a distance. I'm sorry but I wasn't about to wait several hours in the blazing sun for an autograph, just knowing that we walked the same ground was enough for me this day. I might have forgotten where I live now and well... the good news is I'm no longer blinding white shoulders, they are a little red. This was my first adventure out into the sunshine, lesson is learned, don't fret. Next time I will double SPF up. So are you mad that I didn't wait in line, would you have?

Tons of bikes! 

Here's the shirt I picked up to commemorate the event.

As a parting thought, would you take a look at these temps?!?! I haven't even been here quite a month and it's going to be 99° I'm going to melt! I'm not ready for this and neither is my poor electric bill!?! :( Ok haters, before you get to hatin' please remember that I too survived the never ending Illinois winter from h-e-double hockey sticks! I paid my dues as well. You back home will get to have a gradual warm up (albeit a slow one) but you'll have a Spring to enjoy. I came from walk outside and your face will fall off because it's so cold to now, don't go outside because your face will melt off because it's so hot! Feel sorry for me! (I'll post pics poolside) Don't hate haters, life's too short to be jelly! 

Happy Monday! 

The Adventure Begins

The great trek west kicked off Wednesday. Mom and I traveled via plane to the Wild Wild West (Arizona) Our main objective was to find me a place to live! The good news is..... it was a success! I found a very nice two bedroom condo with a garage! So you know what that means... the motorcycle is coming! 

Our trip was not without some drama, of the plan variety. Our flight #1 IL to Dallas was fine, flight #2 was delayed an hour due to something with the front tire, which had to be changed (we literally could feel them jacking up the plane to change the tire) but we finally made it to sunny AZ.

 
My condo was found completely by accident. I was already to sign for another one when a friend of my moms called. She said she had just happened to be talking to some of the ladies at her water aerobics class about the weather and mentioned some of her friends from IL were in town looking for a condo. One of the ladies said, "oh well I have a condo for rent" and the rest was history! Super cute place, new carpet was just put in and it looks great! Very quiet, 2 pools and lots of trees and green! It is perfect! 

We had several dinner outings with friends. One of the places we went to served Watermelon Iced Tea! Um Delish! Another place had a fabulous mountain view from the patio.

While we were there, Phoenix broke several record highs. The temperature was in the high 80's, something we haven't seen for months! While on our adventure we checked out IKEA and the local Harley Shop (obvs) Then it was time to head back home.

Flight #3 from Phoenix was delayed 2 hours due to a left engine noise. We were already pulled away from the gate, and when the pilot turned the engines on there was a very loud, very noticeable banging noise. Luckily the ground and flight crews notified the pilots, who then thought it would be a good idea to return to the gate and have it checked out. Then we actually had to get off the plane again. So 2 hour delay when you are catching your next flight an hour after your plane is supposed to arrive equals missed connection. We were able to get on the last flight for IL but it didn't leave until 8pm. So we got to hang out for about 5 hours at the Dallas airport. Then flight #4 from Dallas to IL was delayed about 20 minutes for some air speed tube that needed to let the glue dry after they fixed it. Actual arrival time back in IL was 10:40 pm (which should have been 4pm) Needless to say it was a less than perfect flying experience. 3/4 plans had maintenance issues, but we made it back in one piece.

Fast forward a bit today and I wake up to a Winter Storm Warning for 5-7" of snow with ice. We ended up getting out of work an hour and a half early due to the weather. Boooo Illinois (the "s" is silent btw)

Well next step in the adventure is the packing/shipping. Movers come Saturday (and I'm kinda freaking out) Shizz is getting realz y'all..