My Arizona Adventure

11 days and counting

2010-12-03T08:02:00.002-07:00

We are counting the days 'till we get home, 11 days left. We are trying to sell the travel trailer, but not having much luck, stupid economy. We are getting a lot of offers for $4000-$4900, but we paid $8000 and put a lot of money into it, but what is there to do but take the best offer? Oh well, it served its purpose for the last 16 months.

Scott's parents will be here next week for graduation, and my last day at work will be Monday, December 13th. We will be leaving on the morning of the 14th, and we will be home just in time for Matt and Diana's wedding!!

...been a while

2010-11-14T13:32:00.003-07:00

I know it has been quite a while since I posted...what can I say???

There really is not a lot to talk about, things are pretty much the same. Scooter is still doing very well in school, he is now Harley certified and has a 3.9 GPA. I am very proud of him.

Tobey is doing pretty good, we now give him benadryl for his allergies instead of that expensive vet stuff. I called my vet back in MN and he told me it is fine, pretty much the same thing. Seems to work well for him, and saves me tons of money!!

I am doing alright also, still working and my health is getting better. We have not gone anywhere interesting lately, although we did go to the state fair here. It was very disappointing. I took the camera with because it is advertised so much here and they talk for months about how big and great it is. Well, it is not even as big as the Steele county fair. It took 1 1/2 hours to walk the whole fair, I mean in and out of all of the buildings, all the way around the whole thing, up and down all the aisles. We went on the day they were having a "bike show". Some show, there were about 10 bikes there, and nothing too special. I did not take a single picture. :( They did have a wiener dog race there and we watched it. It was about 40 seconds. They put hot dog bun costumes on 5 dogs and they ran around a track just 1 time, and that was it.
Anyway, I looked at it as a day out of the house...

That's about it, nothing much else to report. I can't wait to see everyone again!

2010-08-02T19:49:00.002-07:00

Well let's see if I can blog today. I have been having a lot of computer problems lately. Anyway, When I was back in Mn I wanted to see rain, and I got to see it. It seems I brought the rain back to AZ with me, because it has rained almost every day since I have been back. We had a Monsoon last Thursday. We got 1.52 inches of rain, and everything was so flooded that it took me an hour and a half to drive the 9 miles home from work. Yep, everything was so flooded that streets were closed. It is amazing how a little rain here floods everything. Luckily we managed to survive with no damage.

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate my parents bringing me home for the wedding. It meant so much to me to see everyone, even if it was only for a short time. I can't wait to see everyone again.

2010-06-20T11:24:00.002-07:00

Well it is another day of hot, sunny and dry here in AZ, but back in MN things have not been so calm. Last Thursday night there were a few storms that hit the area I am from. There is a lot of damage, 3 lives and a lot of homes were taken by the tornadoes that came with the storms. The house I own there had basement flooding, but minor thankfully. Others were not so lucky. These storms produced 36 tornadoes, flooding and very strong winds, up to 125 mph. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families that were affected. Normally I would have relished the opportunity to be out "chasing" the storms, but I think even I would have been hesitant to be out in that kind of storm. Although they are very interesting to watch, I do not think I would have been out with that many tornadoes, and they were not just the run-of-the-mill twisters, they were colliding and splitting, making these storms even more dangerous. I think I would have been exited and devastated all at once.

Poor, poor weiner

2010-06-16T09:03:00.003-07:00

My poor little weiner has been sick. He has allergies, and that caused an ear infection. He has lots of medication now, and he seems to be feeling a little better. (He has decided lately that he needs a pillow like people do!)

Just look at that little face!!!

It seems that the Arizona climate is not good for either of us. We have 6 months left, then Scooter will be done with school. I can't wait to see how Tobey reacts to the winter in Minnesota again.
Everything else is the same, still working, Scooter is still doing really well in school. It is getting hot again, in the 100's. I am not looking forward to the next couple of months. I guess we will just keep plugging away!!!

CSI

2010-06-08T08:57:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday we had quite the scene around here. There were a lot of police, and a while later the coroner and the crime scene investigators. Yep, the show CSI was right in the back yard. We still do not know for sure what happened, but our 53 year old neighbor was found in his trailer, and they think he was in there for a few days. The investigators and police were over there from about 4 in the afternoon until about 2 in the morning.

Other than that it is pretty much the same old same old here. It is getting hot here again, it was 112 yesterday. Not fun!!

2010-05-21T09:13:00.002-07:00

You know when you use a card to pay at the gas station? Well, I will be making the cashier take the card and swipe it on the register from now on. Yes, someone got my card umber and tried to rack up $3000. I am very glad that my bank is watchful, as they declined most of the charges and called me. The card has been deactivated and I am disputing all charges on the card. I had to call my credit card companies and put them all on hold. It really makes it hard to do anything with my own bank accounts. The state of Minnesota is also working on how someone could apply for unemployment in my name. Whoever these people are that steal people's identity and bank accounts should be prosecuted and punished enough that they do not do it again. To hell with "rights" for these people. What about the rights of the people that they stole from??? I am outraged and disgusted that the law does more to protect these thieves than the victims.

Ok, I will stop ranting and raving now.

Monster (AKA Crelo)

2010-04-27T20:57:00.005-07:00

Monster. That is his nickname. He is our kitty, or cat, or more truly our Monster. I miss Monster. He is a crazy little dude, but I miss him none the less. Just look at how cute and innocent he looks (key word looks):

This is more like it:

Glowing crazy looking eyes, looking ready for action, that is him!!! He likes to chase and bite. I know you all think I'm nuts for missing that, but there was never a dull moment with both him and Tobey around!! I wonder what it will be like when they see each other again. I bet they miss sitting in the window together, just look at the view:

And what a view it is!!! Silly animals!!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh my!!!!

2010-04-24T20:02:00.013-07:00

First I have to let you all know that today is Tobey's 7th birthday, so happy birthday doggie!!! This is pretty much how he spent his birthday:
Sleepy dog!!!
He spent the day with our friend Dre, who was nice enough to come and doggie-sit so we could go to the Out of Africa park today. Talk about up close and personal. You get to ride in "bush buses" through the park with some of the animals in free range. We fed a giraffe from the bus, and here he is licking Scooter's hand:

Then we have zebras:

and bears:

And a tiger:

This is the "tiger splash" show that we watched. This white tiger's name is Chalet. The lions and tigers are not trained. There were a few moments when the other handlers had to come running to help.

And this lioness is Kumba. Both Kumba and Chalet are 22 months old. They are young enough to play, but also know how to hunt, so the handlers have to be careful. The male lions are all at least 5 years old, so they do not get human interaction anymore because they are too territorial and predatory.

The toys are to play with the animals ans also to distract them in case they forget that the people in there are "friends", not meals.

Then there is Boom Boom, the 38 year old Rhino. He did not move all day, he just slept, and he snores rather loudly.

Then it was off to the birds. One of them talked a little, but they mostly made a lot of noise.

I have never seen animals so close. There were other animals and more lions and tigers, but I can not put them all on here. It was a very good day. This park is amazing and I would highly recommend going there if you ever find yourself in AZ. It was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees. I brought a sunburn home with me today, of course! But otherwise it was wonderful.

Road trip

2010-04-18T17:19:00.007-07:00

So, yesterday we went on a road trip. We went to the Hoover Dam. It is huge and an awesome sight to see.

This is the Arizona side. About half way over it you enter Nevada, so then we decided to go to Las Vegas. Yep, we went to Vegas. It was really kind of disappointing, but we did see some pretty neat stuff. This was the highlight of it for Scooter:

Otherwise we did not get to see a lot because we had Tobey with and you can not carry a dog in Vegas at all, so we just drove through. That was fine though because it wasn't all that we had hoped for. Then we decided what the heck and we went to Laughlin.

This is the Tropicana. We tried to stay at a hotel in Laughlin, and we did get a room, but it was not at all clean and smelled like pee, so we got our money back and left. We got home at about 3:30 this morning. It was a lot of fun and now we can say that we have been to Vegas and Laughlin. We even left with $10 more than we went with. Hopefully we can go back before we come home!!

We also went through a Joshua tree forest. Yep, that's right little brother, there are Joshua trees and boy are they weird.

I am definitely going back to this forest to get more pictures before we come home.

I'm back....

2010-04-07T09:04:00.006-07:00

Sorry it has been so long, but someone thought it was fun to hack my blog. I'm back now, so we shall see how it goes now. Things have not changed much since last I blogged, Tobey is doing much better, and we have moved to our new location.

As you can see we have a fenced in yard, and we bought an enclosed trailer. Our new yard is much bigger, and we do not have to pay extra to have the trailer and it fits inside the fence. Tobey enjoys the fenced in yard too, because during the day he can be outside without a chain. Here he is sunbathing:

It's a dog's life!!!

In other news, Scooter has passed with a 99%!! He has now started the Harley only part of class. This means that we are down to 8 months left!

Poor Doggie

2010-03-17T09:15:00.002-07:00

We took Tobey to the Vet yesterday because his back feet have been swollen and he has a hard time walking and he can't jump. I have to say that the Vet here was nothing at all like my Vet at home. The Vet at home is caring and gentle and explains what is going on and how to treat the problem. The Vet here is supposedly a world renowned Vet and is supposed to be so good, but I was not impressed. He did not give any explanation as to what is going on, and prescribed a bunch of medication without any real instructions. I called my Vet at home today, adn he had some explanations and gave me instructions as to how to administer treatment. He believes, as do I, that Tobey has an allergy, but the medication that this Vet gave me is not for allergies. I guess I will be getting my money back and finding a new Vet here. My poor little doggie, he is just not himself.

I have an aunt and uncle here in AZ, so we are making plans to get together on Sunday. I am excited. We moved last Saturday, so there are a lot of things going on here. I will get some pictures of the new place as soon as I can.

no title

2010-02-26T21:48:00.004-07:00

We witnessed the worst thing we have ever seen today. Scooter picked me up from work tonight and on the way home we saw an explosion right in front of us on the other side of the road. There was a van stopped engulfed in flames and a jeep careening out of control, also on fire. We could not see if there were more vehicles involved, but the thought kept going through my mind that if I had chosen to work late when asked today that could have been Scooter. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen. The explosion was huge. I called 911 and just as I hit send there was an officer coming up to the scene. Amazing timing for the officer to be driving up at that time. I told the dispatcher that there was an officer on scene. I just can not get that image out of my head. Scooter is shaken up too, I think it take a while to get over. It just keeps playing over and over in my mind. My heart goes out to the families of those people.

Anyway, we still do not have water. We thought it was fixed, but when Scooter got home from school yesterday he came home to another flood. Luckily someone came by and shut the water off while we were gone. The lights in here seem to be going out systematically, so we do not have much light right now. We are going to do as much home "fixing" as possible this weekend after I get off work. Then my glasses broke, and, well, you know, it's me, so......it never ends. Oh well, it could be a lot worse! I am just thankful for the good things in life. I can't tell you how much I miss being home.

Enough

2010-02-17T21:06:00.002-07:00

Ok, enough is enough. Last night we were awakened by Tobey barking hysterically. At first I was annoyed, but then he had that tone-the one that says "somebody is here." He was right. It was 12:42 am, and someone was knocking. I jumped up to see what was going on, and I no more than reached the bathroom floor when i was rudely greeted by cold water on the floor. Yes, our water pipes burst once again. Someone was walking by when they heard the water rushing out of our camper. I am so grateful that they decided to stop and knock, or we would have slept until 5:30 without ever knowing. The bathroom, kitchen and living areas were completely soaked. The carpet may be ruined at this point. We will be spending our weekend working on this once again. Yay.
On a better note, a friend is on her way down here right now, and I can't wait to see her. She will be 3 hours away, but after work Saturday we are going to make the drive to visit. At least I have something to look forward to.

counting blessings

2010-01-29T20:54:00.002-07:00

Yesterday morning I was getting ready for work, and I hard a loud explosion and then the power went out. I thought a transformer blew, and went outside like most of our neighbors. One of the neighbors was out on his morning jog and came running up to me. He was frantic. The sound and power outage was not due to a blown transformer, but a plane crash. A small plane crashed right across the street, luckily is a small section in between two other parks. There were suddenly sirens blaring and rescue personnel all over. They blocked off our street. The pilot was alone in the plane and did not make it. So sad. The story right now is that the engine died and that is what caused the crash. No one heard any engine sounds before the crash. We are all so fortunate that he managed to maneuver the plane to that spot. I like to believe that he did his best to guide the plane to a spot where there were no other people would get hurt.

I am thankful for all of the blessings in my life. I have the best family and a few good friends, and of course, my crazy and lovable animals. I have a home and a vehicle that runs, I have a job. Sometimes you just have to look at what you have an appreciate it.

We survived

2010-01-24T19:15:00.004-07:00

We survived the storms all wee without too much damage. If you saw the weather down here then you know that we had 2 tornadoes - yes, TORNADOES -here in AZ. We had high winds and a lot of flooding this week. We were lucky enough to not live in the flood zones. Our street was blocked off Thursday night just beyond our driveway. The only damage we really sustained was that our camper leaks. We had to bring in the slide-out. One more thing that was supposed to be new on this camper that isn't. We were really lied to when we bought this camper. Life, right? We are still counting our blessings, though.
How about them Vikings? We should have had that game. I guess now we have a whole post season to discuss if Favre is going to come back. There is some serious depression in this house right now. Well, lets go Colts.

Missing Home

2010-01-09T19:29:00.002-07:00

So today was our annual family "winter get together". I missed it this year. I called and talked to several people, but it just isn't the same as being there. While I have decided to make the best of being this far from home it is hard to not be able to be there to see everyone. I do not miss the harsh Minnesota cold, but the holidays just aren't the same without snow and being surrounded by loved ones. At least I have Scott and Tobey to keep me entertained. If only you could see them fight over the couch. It's a game that Tobey plays (he's doing it right now). How many people have seen a 12 pound dog push a person off the couch?! Ahhh, they keep life interesting. Anyway, I miss you all and I can't wait to see everyone again.

The Grand Canyon

2010-01-01T19:08:00.008-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

First of all, I have to say how much I loved having the moms here for a week. We did as much sight seeing as we could, there is never enough time. First, we stopped in Sedona, which is beautiful, and then we took that mountain pass up through Flagstaff. It wasn't snowing this time and there were some neat little Native American stands at the top of the mountains.

Next our journey took us to the Grand Canyon. We did manage to get some pictures, take a look:

I never knew that it gets that cold there. I snows, obviously, and it was only about 6 degrees when we were there. It was a gorgeous view none the less. That night we stayed in a hotel in Flagstaff, then we came home for the rest of the week.

The time went so fast, I wish we had more time to just be together. I have a new job that didn't provide us with much time for the rest of the week, but I am grateful for the time we had.

So, my New Years message to everyone is to cherish the time we have, I know it sounds cliche, but when you don't get to spend time with the ones you love every moment means so much. I miss you all. Love and Peace in the new year.

Remodeling

2009-12-20T11:19:00.004-07:00

Remodeling. I just can't seem to get away from it. I thought camper living would help, but has it's perks and it's downfalls. One of those downfalls is that when an appliance, such as oh, say the refrigerator, dies, it costs an arm and a leg to replace. Now, I happen to know this because we had just such a problem this week. Yep, came home from work and everything had defrosted and it was a mess. We had to throw away a lot of food, not something I am very happy about, but it was bad. Have you ever opened a yogurt container when it has been warm? Not a pleasant experience. Milk, meat, chicken, fruit, veggies - the whole shebang was bad. So we began our search for a new fridge. We called several places and they all said you cannot get a fridge for a camper for under a thousand dollars because they are "duals" - meaning they run on both gas and electric. Therefore, we decided to go the "cheaper" route and get a home fridge and do some remodeling. Thank goodness for Lowe's and their card! No interest for a year! I called my cousin back home who has done this before and got some great advice. We now have a much bigger fridge that actually works. And you can put a gallon of water and a gallon of milk in there and still have room for other things!! It really is the little things, people. I was so excited about that! Anyway, for less than half the price of a smaller camper fridge we got a bigger home one and it is great. Slowly but surely we are going to have everything in this camper all new. We have yet to replace the stove and oven (I am afraid to find out how much that will cost), but I bought a counter top oven and we use that instead. It works great, and I can even make a turkey in it. Well, that's all for today, so have a great day!

Sedona

2009-12-12T19:53:00.009-07:00

So, today we decided to take a drive up to Sedona to celebrate Scooter getting student of the class. He was top dog for the electrical portion of class. It was a beautiful drive full of redrock. Pictures cannot do it justice, but I will show you a few anyway.

This is one of the first formations along the way.

Another beautiful formation. I really wish you could see just how red the rocks are.

After we drove around Sedona we decided to keep going north to Flagstaff. We took the scenic route through the mountains and had to drive through a snow storm. Just a few days ago when those of you back home got your blizzard they had their own and they got 30 inches of snow.

This is on top of a mountain between Sedona and Flagstaff. We stopped here to check out the view, and it seems Tobey forgot how to walk in snow because this happened just as Scooter tried to snap the photo:

Yep. He thought he was king of the mountain until the mountain collapsed on him! The big chunk of soft, fluffy snow beside him landed on him when he went down. It was hilarious! He wasn't quite sure what to think, we went from 60 degrees to 32 degrees and snow. It's a good thing the heat works in the truck! He was shivering like he does at home when it's 20 below!

If ever you find yourselves in AZ make sure to visit Sedona. It is by far the most beautiful place we have seen here so far.

I'm an addict

2009-12-10T13:08:00.002-07:00

Yes, that's right, I am an addict. I am addicted to Starbucks. It started so innocently. A little here, a little there, but when it's all around you and you can't have it, you almost need it. I can go without, and I don't even think about it most of the time, but when Starbucks are everywhere it gets harder and harder to control the cravings. They have Starbucks in all of the grocery stores here, and around every corner. It is impossible to shop for anything without that wonderful, delicious aroma. We went to the grocery store to get something for dinner, and suddenly I am no longer hungry, just craving that hot, smooth, sweet beverage. I had to get what I came for and run for the door. There are times when I want to run out and get a part time job just to pay for the habit. I know, it's borderline insane, but once you find that certain flavor, that little cup of bliss, it's hard to "just say no." Days like this I come home and make myself a little coffee, and pretend it's an espresso. Sad, I know, but I do what I have to to get through the day. Now, it really isn't quite that bad, but I do enjoy a good cup of Starbucks.

BRRRR!

2009-12-08T00:55:00.002-07:00

Ok, I don't know who started the vicious rumor that it is always warm in AZ, but they are a big LIAR! It has been cold here since Friday with lows in the 30's - yes, 30's ! Today it has been raining since 8 am, and we are in a flood watch. It was like a hurricane out there for a while! Everything was shaking and the wind was blowing the rain so hard it felt like, well, home during a thunder storm...with no thunder or lighting. It was really strange. We got over 2 inches of rain, which prompts flood warnings and washouts on the roads here. On my way home from work tonight there was a lot of debris in the road and a lot of the construction cones and sand bags were in the road. The weather here is very different, and when it only gets up to the 50's here it really feels like the upper 30's and low 40's at home. I really never thought I would be cold in the 40-50 degree range, but I am. They tell me my blood has thinned already. Scooter is even cold here and Tobey, well he's always been a blanket hogger!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T13:22:00.002-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a great day. It has been really strange to be here where the temperature was 75 and it was sunny all day on Thanksgiving. I have really missed being with my family and friends. Last year we were in Kentucky visiting friends there on Thanksgiving, and this year we are even further from home. We have met some new friends here and spent the day with them. I also had a new experience working retail on "black Friday." That is not the most fun I have ever had, I have to admit. The store opened at 4am, and by 4:30 the paramedics were called because a person fainted and had to have staples in their head. I really don't understand all the hype on that day because if you really watch the sales the prices are not the great deals they are made out to be, and after that day they actually go down. Oh well, people are going to do what they want, right?

In other news, Scooter has made the deans list in school, so I am really proud of him. I also got a new job that starts in a couple of weeks, so I am getting excited for that. We are also getting excited for our moms to get here in 27 days! Yes, we have started the countdown! Otherwise, there is not a whole lot of other news.

windows 7

2009-11-06T01:05:00.002-07:00

Well, I was going to write about how I have been making my own pillows and curtains, but instead I am going to rant about windows 7. Yep, I got the free upgrade because my computer is pretty new, and I was having some trouble with it, and the upgrade was supposed to help. Yeah right. It's about a thousand times worse. I do not recommend the upgrade until they have the problems worked out. The reason I am not telling you about the crafts I have been up to is because I can't put pictures on here anymore, along with looking at my wage statements, play games, get on the internet, basically anything that a person wants to do on a computer I might be able to do if I can get it going long enough to do anything.

OK, I'm done. Just thought you all should be warned. Hopefully I can get it taken care of soon so I can show you some new pics.

scorpion

2009-10-27T13:50:00.005-07:00

Ok, this is GROSS!!!! I decided to make french toast, as it is one of Scooters favorite foods. Anyway, I took out the griddle that I cook it on. I washed it, as I always do before using it and found this little gem in the grease trap.

This is the first scorpion we have encountered since we have been here. It is very small, and very dead. Don't think for 2 seconds I would have stuck around to take a picture if it was alive. This is Tobey's version of the face I made when I saw it:

Yep, he didn't like it either!! Here's hoping we don't encounter any more scorpions while we're here.

am I done?

2009-10-23T01:10:00.005-07:00

Ok, yesterday I asked if I should be done with my painting project, and it was decided that maybe I should do a little more. I had to agree. So, here it is:

Well, what do you think? Should I do a little more or leave it alone? I can't sleep tonight. I am having a hard tome adjusting to not having a regular schedule, so I find it hard to sleep at night. Right now it is 1:10 a.m. here, so it's after 3 a..m. back in MN. Yep. Just a few months ago I had a hard time staying awake until 11 on the weekend, and now I have a hard time falling asleep before 1 a.m. Hmmm....I guess I should try to go to sleep....Anyway, let me know what you think again.

The comforts of home

2009-10-21T22:07:00.005-07:00

I have been thinking of home a lot lately. I miss everyone, I even miss my job, what does that say?! It's not that things are bad here, just that I have been missing home. Recently someone I cared about passed away and I never realized how much it means to be able to go to a funeral and say goodbye. He will be missed. So, if you know me, I can't just sit around and think about it, I need to do something. Busy hands are happy hands. Well, it's hard here because there is only so much cleaning I can do, and I can't just go and visit with family and friends, sure I am on the phone a lot, but it's not the same. When you can't just jump in the car and go see someone it is a difficult feeling. Well, yesterday I was cleaning and rearranging and found that I remembered to bring some of the things I paint. I have always taken comfort in painting. I am no artist, but I really enjoy painting things like Christmas decorations. Here is the one I have been doing the last 2 days:

I can't decide if I am done or not. Should I paint some of the bricks a different color? Or should I leave it as it is? I don't know. All I know is that I am glad I remembered this comfort off home. Sometimes I wish life was as easy as this:

Now that's the life. All curled up on a blanket. His biggest concern is getting treats. He is a really big comfort to me, too. Yes, he still likes to drive me crazy (he is male!) but he can also make me laugh so hard it brings me to tears.

I have heard a lot about the weather back home, and I wonder what it will be like to have Christmas with no snow. As long as I can remember I have wanted to have a winter with no snow, but now that it is becoming a reality, it seems really weird. I know at home we are so excited when it is in the 60's at night, but here it really is kinda chilly at night. We have had to bring out the blankets a few times. However, 100 is still hot, no matter where I am. We are looking at upper 90's and low 100's until next week. When it is that hot during the day and then goes down to the 60's at night it is actually chilly. This whole experience has been different than I expected, but it's not all bad. After all, we still have little lizards in our tree!

Progress report

2009-10-09T17:32:00.003-07:00

Well, today is Friday the 9th of October, and it was Scooter's final exam day. This means that his time in the classroom is done and he goes into the shop on Monday. He is maintaining a 4.0 GPA and is at 93% in his class. I am so proud of him. I just wanted to send out a progress report, so take care all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

2009-10-05T20:38:00.003-07:00

Today is my moms birthday. This is the first year that I wasn't able to take her out to supper with my brothers. It makes me sad, so I will just have to make it up to her when I get home. It's days like today that make me really miss home, but it also makes me appreciate my family even more. I can't wait to see all of my family again, so, if you all are reading this I miss you all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I LOVE YOU!!! :)

sick of being sick

2009-10-04T01:32:00.002-07:00

Those of you who know me know how I tend to get sick when it is really humid, such as it is in Minnesota. I thought that moving here where it is dry would help, but I was wrong. I guess I need some kind of balance. It appears to be too dry here for my sinuses and chest. I have felt like my nose and chest are on fire for 4 days now. Scooter went and bought me a humidifier, and that seems to really help. Even Tobey is sick. He has been having his episodes today where he loses balance and throws up, then seems to be fine. There must be something in the air. I have been sleeping on the couch, which is not all that comfortable, but I need to stay elevated, and I don't want to get Scooter sick. He can't miss any school, and I am sooooooo proud of him. He has a 4.0 GPA so far, and is in the top of his class. I think he is still in shock. He has never liked school, until now. I am so happy for him. So, moms, if you are reading this, I am trying the pull-out bed tonight. We shall see how comfortable it will be for the 2 of you.

Otherwise there is now much else to report. The weather is finally cooling off, so we have had the air off for 2 days. It's nice to be able to open some windows. It will also help the electric bill immensely.

Well, that's all for now, so take care everyone, and I miss you all!!!

Nothing much

2009-09-28T18:00:00.002-07:00

Well, I haven't written anything lately because I can't really think of anything interesting to say. I couls complain about how people drive here, but that's no fun, or talk about how it is still really hot here, but that's no fun either, so I have opted to just stay quiet. I am finally working, so I guess there is a high point, but there's not much to say there either. I did get a good laugh last night when I brough one of my man's birthday presents home. We have a cat that stayed back home, a cat that I got for him over 7 years ago. He misses his cat and has been talking about it a lot lately. So, I got him a stuffed plush toy cat. Yep, I got him a toy. Now, his expression was funny enough, but when Tobey saw that I brought a toy home that he could not have, well let's just say he was a little more than jealous. It was so funny. He sat by the door and whined for a while, then he put himself to bed. He was so mad that he went to bed. That's the attitude of my little dog. He is such a freak, but I love him.

So, that's what I have to say for now.

Superstition mountains

2009-09-12T19:46:00.011-07:00

Today we decided to go out and do some sight seeing. We went to the Superstition Mountains. It was awesome. The new truck did great all the way through. We took Tobey with, we had no idea how long we would be gone, and he loves to go for rides. We left at 11:00 this morning and got home at 7:00 tonight. Fun little 8 hour tour. It only takes about 45 min. to get there, so the rest of the time was sight seeing. Did you know there are lakes in the mountains? I had no idea. First we saw Canyon Lake. The pics there didn't turn out very good, but then we saw Apache Lake. Talk about gorgeous.

I know the pic isn't that great, but to see it is amazing.

Then we got to Roosevelt dam. Wow. I can't imagine what Hoover dam looks like. Huge is the only word to describe it.

Front and back view, then......

this is what waits behind the dam.....

This is Roosevelt Lake, and this suspended bridge is so big I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot. We had quit the surprise going through the canyon, because after the Canyon Lake the pavement ends, so you have to drive on tiny, sometimes one lane, gravel roads. They have incredibly tight corners and sharp angles both up and down. I have never been so happy to see pavement in my life.

So, that is how we spent our Saturday. It was actually a lot of fun, even though it was kinda freaky on those tiny little roads. Pictures do not do these places any justice at all. If you ever get the chance I highly recommend seeing these places in person.

Weather and my new truck

2009-09-10T17:50:00.002-07:00

So, yesterday we had to buy a "new" truck. Our car had had enough of this place. We ended up at a small dealership where the sales people didn't try to get us to buy something at least 2x what we said we could spend. So, without further ado, here it is:

It is a Chevy Equinox. It's pretty nice, we like it.

I was going to show some pics of what it looks like here almost every night. It's kind of strange, there is lightning here almost every night and it gets windy at night. If you look close at the middle pic. you might be able to see a rainbow in the clouds.(where the streaks of clouds come down, you can also kinda see it above the truck in the top pic.)

So that's what it has looked like almost every night since we have been here. It's a lot cooler looking here than in pics, but what can ya do?

Otherwise we are doing pretty good. I'm working 4 hours a day so far, so that helps pass the time. Scott had his first test today and did really well. He is enjoying school so far. Now he is getting into the hard part, all the mathematics of it (he has to do physics and calculus) so he's starting to get nervous, but he'll do just fine.

Here I am

2009-09-08T20:26:00.004-07:00

OK, OK, so it has been a few days, but here I am again. I started my new job at Kohls today. I will be working in juniors, misses and mens, along with being a cashier. So far it is going petty good. I think I will like it once I get into it.

As for the holiday weekend, we got a new neighbor Friday night. He is from "Jersey" as they call it. Then Sunday we had one of Scott's friends from school ("K") over, and our new neighbor as well. The guy from school reminds me a lot of Chris M. "K" is also a military man, he was a marine. He is young, but already out because of an injury in Iraq. Next time we get together we will get to meet his girlfriend. It's finally starting to feel a little more comfortable here now that we are getting to know some people and I am working.

As for the big storms, they mostly missed us. We got a little rain and wind Sat. morning, but that was it. I guess you can't trust the weather man at all here. So far they have not been accurate at all. Oh well.

The storm is coming

2009-09-03T21:48:00.003-07:00

Well, the big storms are a comin'. We are in for some severe weather for the next 4 days, according to the weather people here. I guess we are getting the remnants of hurricane Jimena. It is really windy here right now, the camper is rocking a bit. Nothing too serious yet, but I guess we could get some flash flooding in the next 4 days. Here is a pic of what it looked like shortly before sundown.

You can kinda see from the willow tree how windy it was. Now it is quite a bit windier. Kinda cool looking though, isn't it. I wish I had gotten some better pics. We have been getting thunderstorms for the last 3 nights in a row, and none of them have been predicted on the news. It's really kind of weird how they don't really see some of these storms coming. I really am curious to see what we get for weather this weekend since they are predicting storms. It could get interesting.

Stormy night

2009-09-01T14:03:00.002-07:00

We had our first "big storm" last night. It was really windy, 39mph at the deer valley airport, about 3 miles from here. Talk about rockin' the house! The thunder and lightning were incredible. Quite a display. We got a whole 1/4 inch of rain. Woohoo! That's a lot here, ya know?! We are also watching a round of storms from the hurricane coming at us for the weekend. 5 days of storms heading at us. It's funny, I never thought I would be in the path of a hurricane in Arizona. If you watch the projected path, it is coming right to us. It should hit us here by Sat. It will just be a thunderstorm by the time it gets here, but still, who would have thought?

It's a dog's life

2009-08-31T19:35:00.004-07:00

Ahhhh.....to be a dog.......

this is what my little Tobey does all day, every day.....

nothin' like getting all cozy on the couch.......

He's not much of a "morning dog", such a face.......

too tired to wake up and pose for the camera....

This last one under the chair is where he lays most of the day so he can be directly in the path of the fan. Such a life. We can only wish we could have the time back when we didn't have to worry about bills, having a job, etc...

He does wake up at night when it's not so hot and play for a while before he goes to bed. He's got it rough, people, really rough. For those of you who know him, you can see that he is getting much healthier. He is eating and drinking better than ever, and he has hair completely covering both ears now. His nose is even healing and turning black again. I don't know why he's doing so well here, but who cares...He's HEALTHY!!!

As soon as I can figure out how to put video on here I will show you how much he likes watermelon. It's hilarious.

That's it for today.

little lizards in my tree

2009-08-28T12:15:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I have little lizards living in my tree. Yep, lizards. They are geckos. They drive Tobey (my wiener dog) absolutely crazy. But they are cute little things. See......

See, how cute are they?! As long as they stay outside and not come into the camper I will get along with them just fine. Unlike us, it seems the hotter it is outside the more we see them. Today it is supposed to get to about 116. We are in excessive heat warnings until Monday. FUN. Ha.
Other than that, the job search is still on, and not going so hot. There are not many factories here, and the response I am getting from everyone is that 5 years is too long to be out of the office and the service industry. So, keep your fingers crossed for us, please.

Job Hunting Sucks

2009-08-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, we spent like 9 hours job hunting today. Do you know what it is like applying for jobs these days? Horrible!!! That's the truth! Most places want you to apply online now, and the applications take about an hour or more each. That's right, an hour or MORE!! They all ask the same questions over and over, and they all want your information like 10 times! What ever happened to filling out an application, taking it in, and getting an interview? Now they want your email to contact you, not so much a phone number, and all of them want criminal background checks. Not that I have anything to hide, but seriously, for anything you apply for you need a background check? Like Petco for instance. It took over an hour to do the app because they require an 89 question quiz, and none of it pertained to animals. Seriously, none of it. Well, I guess it will be worth it if I end up with a job. I am also awaiting the results of an FBI background check, as one of the jobs I applied for requires it. Hmmm..... what next?
Anyway, enough ranting and raving for tonight.

2009-08-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, here are some pics of Salt River Canyon, which we happened to go through on the way here. It was supposed to be a short cut, but little did we know, it was actually longer because it was through the mountains. Talk about hard on vehicles! But how beautiful. Pictures do not do it any justice.

Well, here we are in Arizona. It really is hot here, and it's not the "dry heat" everyone says it is. It is humid here too, because we live in the valley. Here is a pic of what I see when I loook out my door:

This is Adobe Mountain, and some empty lots across the street.

Well, that's it for now.

first post

2009-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

So today em is teaching me to blog at starbucks. This is my first post, so bare with me. This is my first post, and it will be short, so here goes.

Last night my parents had a going away party for my man and I because we are about to leave for arizona in 2 weeks. I took a few pics, so let's see if I can figure out how to get some on here!!

This is my aunt, her son and his new girlfriend! Yeah I did it!

Now here's my uncle, aunt and mom!!

Anyway, I think I'm done for now, so, bye!