Illinois Friends Visit!

I am still catching up on sleep from my weekend of adventures! I had two very special guest in town for a visit, Page Turner and Old Lady and boy did we sure have some fun! 

Our adventure began Thursday night when I picked them up from the airport. I got to sit in the nifty little cell phone lot which had a giant screen with all the flights and which gate they were at... very handy! I took PT to her home away from home at Arizona's house, and OL stayed with me. Those two crazy cats had an interesting flight adventure but they were starving, so we stopped at In-n-out for a quick bite.

We let the visitor's sleep in a bit before we started our day on Friday. OL, PT and I had lunch at Lucille's Smokehouse for some yummy BBQ lunch. PT was feeling under the weather so we dropped her back off so she could get some rest and OL and I headed to Old Town Scottsdale for a stroll around the shops.

OL and I took a break from the heat and stopped into the Sugar Bowl for some ice cream! I have never been to a place where you sit down and get a menu full of ICE CREAM! What a dream come true! 

I had the Buster Brownie Super Fancy Sundae and it was WORTH IT! 

Friday evening we found ourselves at a two story Barnes and Noble to discuss a book we had picked for our inaugural Arizona Page Turner meeting, we read The Shack. Did we really read it? Well I didn't and if the others did we sure didn't talk about it, we did talk a bit about books, but mostly it was just enjoying each other's company in the comfy chairs at Barnes.

Saturday morning we headed north, driving through Sedona on our way to Jerome. (Thanks Arizona for driving!) Along the way we started talking about the Saguaro cactus. Did you know that a 10 year old saguaro cactus may only stand 1.5" tall?! Or that a cactus with 5 arms would be about 200 years old?! Neither did we... thanks google! So many fascinating facts about the saguaro, check it out if you have time! 

It's easy to tell why Sedona is called Red Rock Country, just look at the beautiful red mountains! 

We thought this wispy cloud looked like a feather! 

As we continued our road trip adventure, we arrived in the old copper mining mountain town of Jerome, did I mention it's haunted too? 

Sunday was our last full day and I wanted to make sure OL got some good ol' fashioned sight seeing in so I took her to the desert... the place she said she would never go and we also drove up past the Superstition Mountains to Tortilla Flat! 

The Superstition Mountains are my favorite! They just look different than all the mountains around here... just look kind of ominous! 

up close and personal with a very pretty cacti

Did I mention we were standing literally in the desert and it was like 112°

Canyon Lake

We ate a light lunch at the Saloon in Tortilla Flat (the last stage coach stop on the Apache Trail) If you remember from when I rode my motorcycle up the rumble strip road to Tortilla Flat, I mentioned that the walls are covered with bills from all over the world. OL and I had to leave one of our own to commemorate our trip! So keep an eye out if you ever find yourself in the saloon at Tortilla Flat!

Sunday just happened to be PT's birthday as well. We got the whole IL work gang back together for dinner at the San Tan steakhouse. This place was not only very yummy but a really neat place as well. There was in the inside restaurant part but then when you went on through to the outside there was a whole outdoor area with live music, your own personal bon fire for making s'mores and an outdoor bar area. Awesome! It was weird that it was still about 95° but compared to the 112° it had been it actually felt really nice. OL even commented that it really is a different kind of heat our here! 

The whole gang back together again! 

I'm so glad I got to see my friends OL & PT again, I have missed you guys! I love that we still talk to each other on a regular basis and the four-way emails leading up to your trip out were the best! I hope you both enjoyed your time out here and really did get to relax a bit. I can't wait to see you guys again real soon! 

Now the countdown is on for the siblings to visit!! Only 16 more days!! 

Weekend Rewind: Recalls, Warranties, Greeks and Dad

This has been a long week on so many levels. 

First off, Edgar (the Escape) has a recall that needed to be taken care of. Tuesday after work I went to drop off my car for the needed repairs of the recall, which would take two days. Thankfully I was given a rental until the repairs were complete. I've also been having some issues with the suspension, and had a strut replaced when mom and dad were out. There was till a noise in the front so I told them to take a look at that as well. My rental was a 2013 Ford Focus, pretty sharp little car so I didn't mind driving it around. Repairs took a day longer than they thought so I didn't get my car back until Friday. There is still a knocking noise but I wasn't going to pay for the rental while they kept it. I'll take it back again. But they did fix one part which was covered by the warranty. I'm getting spoiled with this warranty (not that I should have to get things fixed) but I'm liking walking to the cashier just to pick up my keys and not have to fork over any cash.

Work had been a long week too, more training for training. We are still learning the things we will be covering to the new peeps. This week we each presented a piece of the material back to our team so we can become familiar with the material as well as start getting used to being in front of a class in the classroom. Leaning for seven hours and forty-five minutes for five days gets tiring, but it's important stuff that we need to know.

Yesterday (Saturday) I spent most of the day at a Greek festival with a couple new friends from work. I wish I had three stomachs so I could have ate more, but holy cow the food was amAZing! I had just a good ol' fashioned Gyro but it was super fresh right off the grill and super super delicious! We took a tour of the Greek Orthodox Church which was putting on the festival. Very ornate paintings and tons of gold leaf. They said one painting cost $8,000 to complete when they had it done before the gold prices went up. The guide also gave a bit of the history and traditions of the church, which I found fascinating. It actually made me miss Germany and all the churches we got to see over there. While we waited they announced that the official temperature at the airport was 100° which means I spent the first triple digit day in the out of doors! Thankfully there were many tents for us to hide from the sun under, but I came prepared with my SPF 50 just in case! Did I mention the food was amazing because it was. While I didn't partake there was a lamb roasting over the fire, flaming cheese and lots of baked goods. I ended the day with a baklava sundae, Yummo! There was also much Greek dancing and lots of people hollering Opa! 

Yesterday also just happened to be Dad's birthday! So happy Birthday dad! 

Today was another hot day with the high reaching 102°! I managed to get myself to the grocery store but I don't know if I actually bought anything that will make a complete meal or not. I'm actually considering just ordering pizza, because it's easier. Hopefully I'll talk myself out of that here in a bit because, well, I really need to eat better. I did pick up some veggies and fruit at the store when I went, I was bummed they were out of strawberries but I got some watermelon instead. I think I have everything to make a nice chicken caesar salad but I'm lazy today and don't want to grill the chicken. I'm tellin ya, pizza is sounding better and better! 

I hope everyone had a productive weekend and you were able to keep cool! 

Dust Storm Warning

Today while sitting at work I received my first dust storm warning alert, I'm happy to report that I survived my first dust storm.

It actually was very uneventful. I had just got out of the car at home when a gust of wind came about. There was just the faintest hint of brown to the sky. So technically I didn't really experience it or get caught driving in it (thankfully). But none the less a dust storm. They showed it on the news from the helicopter view which is much cooler looking than the footage they showed from the ground.

The Unpacking

The movers were scheduled to be there for delivery of all my stuff between 8 9. So as we are getting up and ready at the hotel (which was right next door remember) I get a call at 7:45 "Hi Heather, this is so and so from the moving company we are here to unload your stuff, are you here?" Um no I'm not it's not even 8am yet, you guys are early, "I'll be there in a minute." I wasn't even supposed to pick up the keys until 8am from my landlord. So we headed right over and met the guys and the landlady to get this fun started!

Boxes, Boxes EVERWHERE! It's amazing how much space not a whole lot of stuff takes up. Everyone was so helpful! Mom, dad and NiBo are the best! 

The boxes have started to arrive! 

Look at all those great helpers! 

The most important (and expensive) cargo arrived safely! And now has a sheltered home in the garage, safe from all those thieves! 

Oliver is adjusting well to his new home, though he is a bit skittish still

Oliver even has his very own cat door out to the garage where his liter box is. He thinks it's his own special secret playground room

The fireplace mantle is lined with pictures from friends. Thanks for the presents! I have put them to good use.

My IKEA couch

Since we checked out of the hotel on Tuesday morning, we had to find a couch pretty quick or someone was sleeping on the floor. We had been using my bag chairs in the morning but you couldn't really sleep on them comfortably. I obviously didn't want to spend a million dollars on a new couch so where else to go but IKEA! 

We started our IKEA adventure off with a little breakfast. Let me tell you, for $2.99 it was delish! This trip was just kind of a look around trip since there wouldn't be room in the car with the four of us. So we looked and looked and decided on this brown couch, plenty big enough to lay down on and stretch out (a must!) As we meander through the store we picked up a few little things. Then when we get to the area where all the items are we located our aisle and bin number and looked up. No way that is going to fit in the car. We went to go check out a few others places to see if they deliver and had anything better priced.. no go.

So mom called IKEA and they said if you purchase before 4pm they can deliver the same day for $60. Not ideal but ok. So we get to IKEA and turns out we were looking at the wrong box which will totally fit in the car. So we pile this rather large box on the flat cart and make our way to the check out. As we are checking out the nice lady was like oh this is a very nice couch I have the same one, just one small problem, there are 2 boxes. (Crap) But she assured us the 2nd box was not as big, oh ok, I'm thinking a smaller box. I've never IKEA'd before so I'm not familiar with these whole pick your own box and put your own crap together situation. So she lets us check out and rings us up and just tells me to come back through her lane when I'm done. So mom is watching our box 1 of 2 while I go back for the other. When I locate the 2nd box it is the exact same size as the first box. Well Crap! 

Mom and I make eye contact and we have a mind conversation that this isn't going to work and we are going to need the delivery anyway. So she is heading over to the deliver counter. As it turns out whoever answered the phone told her wrong about the time to get same day deliver, and we were an hour late. Double crap. So we asked if there is anyway they could hold a box for us to come right back and get, luckily that is an option. So mom and I wrangle this giant box into the back of my car and we head for home with box 1 of 2. Dad and NiBo went back to pick up box 2 of 2. Nothing can be easy for us. We made 3 trips to IKEA that day.

Once we got 2 of 2 boxes back to the condo, it was time for the assembly to begin. Dad and Nibo did the assembling and I read the directions while mom supervised. It went together surprisingly easy. NiBo reports that it sleeps comfortably, but don't worry PT and OL, I have a nice futon for you ;) 

I'm sure you're all dying to see the full pictures of my decorated new home. But you'll have to wait a bit longer. I'm still unpacking a few boxes and getting everything to their place.

Yesterday we went to the zoo and hung out with the animals all day.  It's going to be weird to live in a place that has sunshine most of the time. Everyone I've met so far seems to really love it here, and came from elsewhere. So far we've talked to people from Ohio, Chicago area and the Best Buy man tonight was from North Dakota. The Best Buy man said monsoon season is coming soon, so that should be interesting.

The Empty Rooms

The moving truck arrived on Saturday to scoop up my things and send them on their way to Arizona. This is really happening, for realz, no turning back now. Having someone come and do all the packing and heavy lifting is so the way to go! All I had to do was say this goes, this stays, this goes, this stays.

If you know me, you know I'm a worrier. I can't help it, I like to have everything planned and if it's beyond my control then I worry. I was worried about the packing. If you know me, you also know I procrastinate, which sometimes leads to more worry. Well I didn't really start going through things until the Thursday & Friday before the movers come on Saturday. I tried to get through as much stuff as I could so I don't end up taking things I don't need right away. I mean that's what parent's houses are for right? A holding area for all your things until you have a house of your own? Well it got to be late on Friday night and I just said forget it, pack it up! I'll figure it out later. 

So who knows what I'll end up with. The biggest concern was making sure I have enough clothing and stuff to get by for the next two weeks before we head out. With that being the main objective, I think I did ok.

It's insane how much stuff accumulates in just a few short years. I had 3 things on my missing list and was able to find 2/3, which isn't bad. My poor Germany hat is still MIA. Zero clue where it is. It's also funny how un-sentimental you get about things. Do I need this? Nope, throw it out! 

Motorcycles in snow and ice is sketchy. I ended up having to dig another path through our neighbors snow to his driveway so we could 'safely' push the bike up front to get it on the truck. My shoulder is so sore from shoveling, I'm very much tired of all this snow crap! The snow has also melted and refroze so it's super heavy. I also fell on the ice for the first time this winter, and fell right on my left side, I have a bruised hip and shoulder for a battle scar. The bruise should really be a lot bigger for as bad as it hurts. I hate when the bruises don't show the pain. But anywho, the fall was unrelated to the bike moving. But we did manage to get the bike all loaded on the truck safe and sound. Here's hoping for a gentle road and smooth transitions for all my things.

So there you have it. The empty rooms. I'll miss these rooms, I'll miss those beautiful wood floors. But I'm excited for my adorable new condo as well! 

For the time being I'm taking up residence in the extra downstairs bedroom. I've downsized in a few ways. I did have a queen size bed, but now I have a twin bed, but on the plus side it's adjustable and I can move the head and foot of the bed up and down, it even has a massage feature! The other downsize was the TV. I've gone from my beautiful 47" LED HD TV, to the tiny crappy color resolution 20" tube TV that I won at my senior after prom. It ain't pretty but it gets the job done! 

Poor little Oliver doesn't quite know what to think. He kinda freaked out when the movers were here and then when he ran upstairs to hide he kinda gave me a WTF look when there was nothing to hide under. He's calmed down though and has been chillin. He's been very cuddly lately too, I think he things I'm going to leave him next! 

The good-bye dinners have already started. It's going to get harder and harder to say adios to my friends. So many of them are working towards their own adventure as well. Everyone has been so supportive of each other and offering a helping hand, whether it's spell checking a resume or helping prepare for an interview, it's so great to see friends come together and help. Even though we are moving away, one of the great things of our generation is the ability to be so connected even when we are miles and miles apart.