Drumroll please....

Hey! So…it’s been awhile huh?! For good reason, finally. I’ve been too busy, what with buying a house and all :) Yes, we finally got a house. We closed on August 17th, cleaned on the 18th, moved all of our stuff in on the 19th, unpacked a little on the 20th, cleaned out the apartment on the 21st, and handed back the keys on the 22nd because our lease was up! We had a lot to do in a very short time, plus in between all of this school started again so everything was being done in the evenings mostly. So far, we love it :) I can only seeing it getting better! For those who don’t know (which are very few) we bought a 2-story house, with 3 bedrooms, plus a loft; when you first walk in there is a room which is probably meant to be a dining & formal living room but will be “Ivan’s room/game room” in our house, then there is a living room off the kitchen too; we have a nice size yard and…..a pool! And not a play pool which is what many people have out here, but a pool with a deep end! It goes to about 6 feet deep, and the deep end there is a ledge to sit on right in front of our rocks/waterfall! So far we’ve had a couple people over to hang out and it’s been so much fun, and so nice to have. The rocks are awesome to jump off of and it’s just a great place to hang out. So our time has been spent calling various people to spray for bugs, trim the tree, get the pool sparkling, and unpacking. Oh, we also had new bedroom furniture delivered since our previous furniture was rented by my company. We’re totally in love with the stuff. And my friend Gretchen gave us a couch they didn’t want anymore to put in the front room. My parents are coming out next weekend for 10 days to help out with some cleaning, painting, changing lights, etc. I’m very happy to have their help! It will be nice to get all of this done with people who have done it a time or two before. So for now pretty much everything is unpacked. The front room is housing all the things we’ll be hanging after we paint, and some other things that don’t quite have a home yet—since we are able to spread things out now rather than just stack them all in a spare room we need to get more furniture, and then those things will have a home. Which leads me to my new love, Craigslist. I’ve never bought from craigslist before but I majorly hit the jackpot this week. I saw a washer & dryer about an hour after it was posted, so lucky me, we were the first to respond so we pick it up tonight :) And, I just happened upon a table (the old table was rented too). And not just any table, it seats 8 people, can extend to seat 12! Ivan is picking up everything tonight so I’m super pumped to see it in the house. I’ll post a link to pictures soon :)

Other than that it’s just been back to work, which has actually been really nice. I am a creature of habit so as much as I enjoy sleeping in and doing whatever I want, I’ve also truly enjoyed being back to work. Plus I’m back at one my schools I was at last year, which I’ve never been at the same school twice because usually we were moving, or I got moved within the district. But it’s really nice to be back. I already know the people, I already know most of the kids so you don’t waste as much time getting to know their skills, you can just jump right in and go even farther I think. And my other school is a school I had the year before last and I have a lot of friends who work there, so it’s really fun too. I definitely feel like this year is going to be a great year for work, and everything in general I think.

Talk soon!

Best Friends!

Hey! Alrighty, so Erin flew into town on Wednesday and we went out for some dinner and drinks that night at Macayo's (a popular Mexican place here), with some friends. On Thursday Erin & I worked on our tans (which didn't take much time!) and we went out to eat at Yard House (my favorite place!) Friday morning Erin & I started our trip north.

So we rented a car because my car is 13 years old and I wasn't sure how the combination of mileage, uphill/downhill, and heat would affect it. This of course makes me want a new car again because it was just so smooth! Anyway, we headed to the Grand Canyon which is always beautiful. I wish I could see it for the first time again ya know? But it's still fun to see, and fun to see people's reactions when they catch a glimpse for the first time. I think maybe sometime I wanna head over to the North Rim and walk on the skywalk. I pretty much always go to the same place every time I've been, Mather Point. And one time my friend Cathy & I went to Desert View-- which was neat.

So after the Grand Canyon we got back on the road to head to Kanab, Utah. This is like 3.5 hours or so further north and a little west. A beautiful route with the red rocks, through Page, and Lake Powell/Glen Canyon Dam. We got to our cabin on the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary grounds about 10 or so Friday night... we were greeted by the biggest bug I've ever seen hanging out on the door frame entering the cabin...I made Erin go in first. Thank God she's not afraid of bugs or we wouldn't have survived. I dunno what this bug was, but I swear it had horns and everything. It kinda looked like a bug that Pumbaa was following on the Lion King. Anyway from that point on I was on high alert. We walked in and I saw some other big bug on the floor, which Erin promptly smashed for me (THANK YOU ERIN!) And a few little ones here & there. So I made Erin check the bed, etc before getting in. We're laying there and I see a spider on the ceiling...Erin's asleep so all I can do is keep an eye on it. I swear I watched it for like an hour. It finally started moving across the ceiling, further from us until I couldn't see it anymore so I fell asleep-- although I was pretty tense as I slept! I woke up a bit later to the spider exactly where it had been earlier on the ceiling and started watching it all over again. It started moving towards the wall which I was thankful for so it would come down a little ways, I'd kill it, I'd sleep. This was the plan anyway...I watched it come further & further down the wall while gaining speed, I looked away for like a millisecond to pick up my shoe and he was gone! At this point I realize he must be in the bed but I can't see him, and I sure as heck can't just stand up the entire night so I get back in bed, tense as hell. I set my phone down and turn back just in time to see him scurrying down my arm!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that?! I jump out of bed, Erin wakes up convinced I'm delusional. I turn the light on in time to see him all willy nilly crawling across the top cover, I swat, and miss him.... yuck. I finally get back in the bed, kick all the covers off and lay there pretty much in the fetal position, finally sleeping but swatting all night at phantom bugs! I wake up in the morning to the same (or so I thought!) spider up on the ceiling and Erin offs him for me :) Then we make the bed...where my friend from the night before comes crawling out of the covers. And Erin gets 'em. YUCK! The good news at this point is that every living bug I'd seen (aside from the giant Pumbaa bug) has been killed so I can relax. Although I spent the rest of the time there looking very carefully everywhere I sat or stepped, and shaking everything out before using it!!

Whew, so that morning we headed to the welcome center to check in and watch a welcome movie that tells all about the society and the sanctuary. Which I of course spent the whole time trying not to cry. After that we took a tour which drove us all over the place-- Horse Haven, Piggy Paradise, Dogtown, Cat World, etc. The sanctuary is set on 3800 acres of land and has more than 1800 animals at any given time. It's the largest no-kill shelter in the country, if not the world... (it may be, I'm not sure). The scenery is beautiful--rocks, cliffs, trees. Best Friends took in 22 of the Michael Vick dogs, which they call the "Vicktory Dogs." If I remember right, at this point the first 1 has been adopted out, and all but 7 are being fostered right now!! So, clearly the dogs can and are making progress. Dogtown is where all the dogs are kept and there's a few different locations. The buildings are set up as octagons where 1-3 dogs are kept in each space; which consists of an indoor space and an outdoor run. They all have little swimming pools for keeping cool, toys, and beds galore. It's obvious they are all very well cared for and HAPPY! Cat World has a bunch of buildings that also have indoor and outdoor spaces. They have a lot of rafters for the kitties to climb around in and tons of beds to lounge in too. They also have a couple special houses-- the "Incontinental House" where the incontinent kitties stay, and a house for cats with skin cancer that has shade over the screened in outdoor space. They also have places for bunnies & birds, and I'm sure something I'm forgetting.

After the tour we grabbed some lunch before heading to volunteer in Dogtown. Basically you can help out with whatever needs to be done. Each set of octagons has a caregiver that oversees everything going on with the dogs in those areas. The work consists of feeding, grooming, cleaning spaces, walking them, socializing, or taking them on outings. So, we took a dog, Miranda, on an outing. She loved riding in the car and we took her to the natural amphitheater that they have there to roam around. She was a pretty independent dog, not caring much for a lot of affection but still very sweet. When we took her back we helped clean out some swimming pools and fill them with water, which they loved! One dog in particular, Popi, LOVED it! He kept trying to steal the hose from Erin. After that we socialized a bit and picked out a pup for an overnight guest. Yes, you can take a dog to sleepover! A lot of the hotels in town allow dogs (as do the restaurants) and since we were staying on the grounds it was even better. The flooring is easy-clean stuff, and they have dog doors & little runs there to let the dogs out. Since we were in an easy-clean place they suggested we take a dog named Katie Mo. She's fairly new to the place and hasn't been house-trained yet so she hasn't got to do very many outings. She was a doll! A sweet girl, and she never had any accidents either! We just made sure she had a chance every couple hours and she woke me up in the morning to take her out. We got to take her into dinner with us too and she behaved really well.

Sunday morning we took Katie Mo back and headed over to Piggy Paradise to work with the 19 potbellied pigs they had there. So we made all the breakfasts. Each pig had a little menu all its' own. Some needed their lettuce finely chopped, others you just cut a head into fourths. They all got pellets and other vegetables too, and supplements as well. So then we went out and gave them each their food. Some of them knew how to sit so you had to ask them to sit before giving them the food! And they all would walk exactly to where you needed to set the bowl when you walked into the pen. It was funny :) They were super cute.

After the pigs we had to get back on the road to head back to Phoenix. It was a really fun experience and an awesome place to see & learn about. The website is www.bestfriends.org if you want anymore info. You can join, sponsor animals, etc and all the money helps keep the place running. It is a nonprofit with 400 employees that runs on donations! In addition to all the care the animals get they also do a lot of outreach work and activism. Pretty cool place.

So Erin headed back to Illinois this morning and it's getting closer & closer to reality for me...a.k.a back to work. I had to go get a TB test this morning and still need to get a physical and drug screen for work this week. But good news, my friend Heather (met in Africa, from Scotland, met up with in NYC this summer) is flying in on Thursday!! I'm pretty excited about that cuz it's always great to see people and who knows when I'll see her again. So we'll be heading up to the Grand Canyon (what can I say, if you're out here you should see it!) And probably Sedona. She's not sure how long she'll be here but anyway, it'll be fun.

Oh, and here's a link to the pics from Erin's visit if you wanna see:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044981&id=197103045&l=942c823c0e

Summer is ending :(

Grrr...summer is coming to an end here pretty soon. As summers always do it seems like it went way too fast, and yet at the same time things that happened already feel like forever ago. There hasn't been much to say as I've just been taking it easy. I have been very productive on the wedding front. I'm finally getting into it, which I think is because I know I have my contract back for this year so I could finally relax in knowing my job is back, and my income will be back! Having basic needs met sure does make a difference in your outlook! I totally get Maslow's Hierarchy... :) haha So we've got the caterer chosen and booked, we're having a tasting next week to pick out the entrees (I'm hungry just thinking about it), I've got my dress picked but I'm waiting a bit to buy it, bridesmaids dresses are picked (although those have been for awhile), shoes are narrowed down to a couple different pairs (and the color scheme for that), flowers/florist are chosen along with the centerpieces, favors have been picked out, Ivan's got a good idea what he wants for his ring, bartender's chosen, we had 1 cake tasting that went well so we have flavors and a look down, but are gonna check around a bit, invitations are picked I think. The big things we have left is the DJ, which I'm dreading choosing actually because the DJ can make or break things you know? And what the guys are gonna wear. We've been looking at a lot of different looks so we'll see...! Oh, and rounding up addresses for save-the-dates. But otherwise everything has been really easy & fun now that the wheels are finally turning. Looking at song choices, etc. I'm still not excited about standing up in front of a ton of people because I don't really like serious/emotional/touchy-feelie stuff, let alone with an audience...so I'm just gonna have to mentally prepare on that for the next 10 months. We're debating on who to have officiate. Ivan's going to talk to the Chaplin from IC as of course that would be meaningful since we met at IC and he had a good relationship with the Chaplin, but my old Pastor from my church back home happens to live out here now so we're also thinking about that too. So anyway, that's the wedding stuff.

I go back to work on August 10th. I'm pretty excited for a paycheck again!!! But as always, after having time off work I nearly totally forget what it is I do for a living, therapy what?! But I also like routine. I'm anxious to see what schools I have this year because although I'm heading back to the same district who knows what schools I'll have. And I always have mixed feelings about if I want the same ones or not. Of course the familiarity would be nice and I like the people I work with, but I always worry I'll get bored with the same school/kids/coworkers. I've never been at the same school before so I have no idea! Which is why it's good I don't get the choice, I'd rather just deal with whatever I get than make a decision for myself that I end up regretting!

You're probably wondering why you haven't heard anything about the house hunt in awhile, but I'm tired of all the false alarms. Quick recap: The very first one that went back & forth on forever is out of the picture, it was a short sale which are an animal of their own, 'nuff said. There was a second close call but we found out after the fact (our offer was accepted and we had inspections, even had someone design a pool for it) that the house didn't qualify for the FHA loan we'll be getting. Very upsetting. So the looking has continued, we've bid on more, and things are looking up but I'll let you know when I really know for sure! No matter what happens I am feeling more positive about it all. Each house has been more and more perfect for us I think, although all the close-calls have been great.

So I have about a week and a half left off work but it will be a good time. My friend Erin is flying in tomorrow for a visit. We're going up to the Grand Canyon and to Utah to volunteer at this place called Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I guess it is on this show called Dogtown on National Geographic. I've seen it here & there but Erin is a big fan and set everything up. So that should be fun and as always it's nice to have visitors! After Erin leaves my friend Heather (from Scotland, who I met in Africa, and then spent a week in NYC with) is coming for a quick visit before she heads out of the U.S. I'm excited to have her come visit and we'll probably end up at the Grand Canyon as well. I'm sad that she's leaving the States though. It's been nice knowing she's in my country and I can text her and stuff.

So, then it'll be back to work for a couple weeks, and then we have a reunion camping trip up north with the River Rampage program, which will be so fun; to get the group of kids, sidekicks, and guides together again. A nice way to end the summer :)

Ta ta for now! I'm sure I'll have pics from Erin's visit to come soon.

Wedding Stuff

I haven't update in a long while but I haven't had a computer or much to say-- hopefully I will soon!

In the meantime, check out our wedding website for some info regarding the wedding. It will be small so don't take it personally if the save-the-date never comes :) But you can always check out the site:

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/ChelseySpaulding&IvanNicholson

Pics from River Rampage

So, a lot of them didn't turn out but this is what I have so far. More to come in a couple months!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31320855&l=b6ec1e4218&id=197103045

And if that one doesn't work try this one, there's no captions though:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9IZMWbVw5ZVs

River Rampage

I'm not sure where to start. I have a lot to say about many different things...It was an AWESOME week for a million different reasons. I might have to break this up into categories...

Details:
Ok, so quick recap. River Rampage is a program put on through the city of Phoenix which takes teenagers on a week long camping & river rafting trip. The kids earn this trip by doing volunteer work. Ideally about half of the teens would have a disability of some sort, and the other half would be at risk (low income, challenged in life in other ways). This doesn't always happen, sometimes it's typical teens who just happen to apply and are most definitely well deserving. Although if there's one thing I learned this week it's that even those people who appear to have few challenges have more going on than any one of us will ever know without getting to really know them. But that's for another category.

So, we left Monday morning on a big bus and headed north for a couple hours before stopping in Flagstaff for lunch and picking up a couple of guides. Then we loaded back on the bus and kept on going for a few more hours to Utah where we would hop on the San Juan River. We would camp out at this site where we met our other guides for the week. From this point, the trip consisted of hiking, rafting, and camping--among many other things. But you get the gist of it. On Saturday morning we rafted to our take out point, unloaded all the boats, got on a bus and headed to Flagstaff for a hotel stay. We came back to Phoenix this morning and here I sit...

So, onto my impressions of the trip I suppose!

I was excited for this trip, I knew it would be fun and interesting but I didn't fully appreciate all it would be when heading out. I think I was a little jaded actually. All the past participants I'd spoken with of course had many things to say about how life changing it is and all these things. I was thinking--yeah it probably was for you but I've had some pretty awesome experiences in my life so I think this'll be fun but I don't expect some big dramatic ah-ha moment ya know? Insert foot in mouth!

But let me back up. When we pulled up to the campsite I was a little like...uhh this is it? I haven't ever camped in a desert atmosphere. And in fact I haven't camped since I was like 8 or something. It just wasn't like any campsites I've known before. And the others started walking around staking claim of where they would be sleeping...meanwhile I'm thinking to myself--this is a campsite?? This just looks like a little space between some bushes. So anyway, then the adults talk about how they're not sleeping in tents...and I'm thinking what??! I'm supposed to just sleep outside? Isn't this place crawling with snakes, tarantulas, and scorpions?? A lot of the kids decided they'd just sleep out too so I sucked it up. Plus, they had cots for the adults so I was ok then because I would be raised off the ground. So that first night the guides made dinner and we just kinda hung out. By the way, this site was swarming with mosquitoes! I haven't really dealt with those since moving west so that was a rude awakening. Covered in bug spray, swatting & slapping all night. So when it was time for bed I put on long pants and a long shirt so no bugs could be in direct contact with my skin and basically crawled into my sleeping bag, tucked it over my head (I couldn't leave my head all vulnerable!) and sweat my ass off...which is not comfortable. Although before I tucked in I did check out the stars, which were amazing of course. I'm not gonna lie, in the morning I woke up thinking to myself...what the hell did I sign up for, this is going to be a long week. And I also realized I am way less of a morning person than I ever thought I was! haha

So anyway, after breakfast we went for a short hike to look at some petroglyphs which I think will never get old no matter how many times I see them. In case you're wondering-- these are the etchings that natives put on the rocks years & years ago. Pretty interesting to see. From here it was time to head to the boats for the first time.

Let me interject another detail right here--our trip had like 6 oar boats--these boats are like giant rafts which hold a lot of gear, have a guide rowing, and then holds 2 or 3 other people. Then there is a paddle boat--which is a small raft holding no gear, 1 guide, and 6 people. And then there were 3 ducky's--which are basically 2 seater kayaks. Each day we would get assigned to different boats. I never did the ducky though because I was little scared, no secrets here! I would much rather practice at something first and feel confident with it. Although I'm sure it was easy enough and everyone in them had a great time. So anyway my first day I was in an oar boat which is a really relaxing and peaceful time. The guide does all the work and you just get to soak in the sites, and often times have some great conversations with whoever you're on the boat with.

So that day happened to be a 'long' day on the river because every camp site we got to had other people already camping there so we just had to keep on heading down the river. When I say long day-I think we put in on the river at like 10 or 11 maybe, and got off about 4 maybe? We didn't have watches...so I'm just guessing! This day I don't think there were any rapids, just floating. Which was nice. Oooh, and I wanted to add that I've never seen water this color-- you know when you think of rivers you think the dark greenish color right? This river was light brown. So it wasn't scary at all-- I mean I couldn't see to the bottom obviously but it wasn't scary.

So anyway, we finally get to a campsite and make a bag line (like when firefighters pass the buckets of water--this is what we'd do every time we loaded or unloaded the boats, and let me tell you there was TONS of stuff to pack & unpack). This site didn't look like much. Just a slight little beach where all the boats could tie up to, and then you walk up this steep hill to a giant clearing where we set up camp. We saw some wild donkeys--so I guess technically they are called burrows, and others heard some coyotes at night too. It was pretty warm at this site, and the one from the first night, although we did see some lightning. Oh we also did a little bathing that night. When I saw bathing I mean, sit in the river in your swimsuit, life jacket, a bar of soap, and do your best! I didn't wash my hair all week and I was actually diggin' that. My hair was so dried out and it just felt healthy ya know? Weird...but I was a little disappointed when we got to the hotel and I realized I should wash my hair.

Everyone on the trip was divided up into teams of sidekicks & teens and we each had a different responsibility each day--camp, kitchen, loo, and morning talk. So I guess I'll add right here-- yes, we were using buckets with toilet seats on top for all of our toilet needs...and so yes someone had to clean and dispose of the stuff in the buckets each day...ick. For your #2 needs there was a steel can type thing which would get a cover on it each day and it would go with us on the boat to be emptied and cleaned by professionals at the end of the trip. Your #1 needs was just a bucket which we dumped and cleaned in the river. Or you just strapped on your life jacket and sat in the river...we all knew what was going on but you gotta do what you gotta do! I'm sure you wanted to know that right?? :) The camp crew was responsible for really making sure camp was set up & cleaned up. Kitchen crew did just that, helped in the kitchen. The guides made AMAZING food all week, and the kitchen peeps would help wash dishes and get everything put away. Then there's morning talk. This group would lead a small discussion in the morning-- it could be fun, thoughtful, motivational, etc. So the first morning our morning talk was one of our kids leading a song in Spanish that he knew so we could acknowledge all the different cultures there and have some fun.

I'm having a hard time remembering but I think that day I was on the paddle boat. That was fun because you actually get to do stuff and you get wet a lot. All throughout the week though there are water fights at all times! People are armed with water guns, buckets, and paddles to splash with. It's a lot of fun and if you're within splashing or shooting distance, it will happen :) That day we stopped at a pretty awesome site. We had a short day on the river and it was our first day some rapids, which were pretty tame I think but still a ton of fun. So this place was cool, just a big beach and we got to just sit in and swim on the river all day. The guides taught us how to float on the rapids and that's what we did. This was also the day the sidekicks took over. On each trip the sidekicks come up with a theme and an activity that goes along with it. Ours was the 60's. So we each brought a little something to dress up in that was 60's related and our activity was tie-dying t-shirts. This was so much fun and a big hit. We also cooked dinner that night so the guides hung out with all the kids while we did that. We welcomed them to the kitchen that night as the "Peace & Love Cafe." It was a great day, at that point, my favorite day. The only downside was ants! This beach was covered with ants, and so were you if you stayed still about 2 seconds. But I could think of much worse insects than ants, for sure! That night we all slept on the beach which was awesome--since we were right by a rapid we could hear the water rushing all night and of course, it was just so peaceful. And I slept in shorts that night (see how I was getting more comfortable :)

The next day was full of rapids. We floated awhile, it sprinkled, the day was overcast which was awesome. It was cool and comfortable. So, we floated awhile before pulling over to have a little pow wow about how each boat should approach the rapids. We were told there was a chance the boats could flip, etc so we needed to hold on tight, be prepared, and our guides studied a bit with each other. It was fun! We all made it through perfectly fine. We headed through another rapid after that (I was on an oar boat again this day) and pulled over to camp. My new favorite place, which is nicknamed "Ledge" because there is a ledge you can sit on if you swim across the river. So at this site we had a layover day-- meaning the following day we didn't get on the river, we just stayed at this same place and hung out all day. It was a big beach, no ants!, a great place to swim, and awesome places to sleep. We spent a lot of time in the water that day. And that night the adults all sat up talking, and laughing hysterically. The kids had all gone to their beds, like we had just switched places. You know when you get slap happy. Always a good time. I slept like a baby. Although it did sprinkle a bit over night. We all have tarps so we just pull those over the top of us and keep sleeping. The following day (Friday) was another one of my favorite days-- although everything past day 1 was really great--once I got through my adjustment period! We spent a lot of time under umbrellas on the beach just hanging out. Playing in the water, the sand, playing games, talking and laughing. And actually a lot of time just sitting in silence, watching. It was so ridiculously peaceful. I remember thinking...this is why tribes do so well. There's a small group of people who just work together to meet their basic needs and anything past that is just living life & fun. There's a leader who they respect and just accept as the leader and that's that. Nothing to worry about, nobody to impress, no money to make, just be happy, spend time with people, and do whatever you want to do. Want to hike? Go for a hike. Want to swim? Go for a swim. Want to nap? Take one. It was a beautiful thing and I thought for a moment, I could do this forever with these people. I guess I can't really explain how relaxing it was. When I would go to sleep at night I would try to think of things from home that needed thinking about--the house, the wedding, and I literally couldn't even envision it. Just had a blank mind. I didn't know I needed any relaxing until I was totally relaxed, if that makes sense.

The exciting things that happened on that day was that a couple of storms came through. We'd just be sitting there looking at this beautiful sunny sky and then suddenly it was-- GO GO GO! Strap down anything that could blow away, put things away, put on rain gear, sometimes hold onto things, and just wait. The wind was like no wind I've ever felt--because remember even in the worst winds you're usually just sitting in your house...we were standing on a beach ya know? But it was awesome. We just turned our backs and let the wind and sand pelt us, it rained, and thundered hard. I loved it because I hardly ever get to hear thunder anymore! So this was cool. Afterwards it all went sunny & calm again...for awhile. Before round 2 came through which we were much more prepared for.

That night was our last night so there was much to be done. On each trip they end with a sharing circle. We all sit in a circle and reflect on what the trip has meant for us-- we go around and say something we learned, something we'll be taking with us, or what our favorite thing was. Maybe you can imagine how emotional this can be. I haven't talked much yet about the amazing people on this trip, how close you get, the stories you hear, the bonds formed but that is what makes these trips. It's pretty incredible. So, the overall theme of circle was how people learned/and would take with them-- being positive, working hard, getting through a struggle, trusting each other and people we meet, feelings of acceptance, and just an overall appreciation for each other. I was the 6th or 7th person to talk in the circle and I had been biting my lip thinking I can't believe nobody else is crying yet! So when it was my turn I was the first to lose it. I was just overwhelmed, which you all probably don't know about me but I cry at everything! Humane Society commercials, abused kids, half of Oprah's shows, just stuff like that. I get kinda overwhelmed by what people live through. So anyway, what I shared was just that-- my favorite thing, the thing I learned, and the thing I hoped to take with me was to really listen to people. I had so many intense conversations with people and when I started thinking about it as I was talking it was just so sad and yet happy to think about the things many of them had been through and seeing the kind of person they were. Like I was saying earlier, the people walking down the street that look like they have everything going well--have histories (or current) struggles with addictions, disabilities, disease, injuries, abuse, etc... I just learned a lot by others' struggles and was also so happy by knowing them and seeing how completely happy they were. That's about as good as I can explain it at this point. I know there are people on this trip that I want to know the rest of my life, and probably people I feel closer to than friends I've had for years and years. We all hear that situations like this will do that to people but it's true. And we were only together a week. But you had the time to know people and little to no distractions. It just really be quite a wonderful world if life could be like that. So the point is I suppose to try and carry that with us and make life as much like the river as we possibly can. As many others said, I totally agree with, it just gives us a little time to put things in perspective. A little pick me up. Which I've definitely realized is totally necessary.

So after circle we had a great dinner and a talent show, which was so much fun :) The kids and adults alike had a great time and showed some great talents too! The next morning (Saturday) was time to pack it all up and head down the river. Once we unloaded everything we got on the bus once again and headed to Flagstaff for a night in the hotel to clean up, rest, and came back to Phoenix today.

So I think, or at least hope, I've made it pretty clear how emotionally awesome this trip was-- both for clearing my head, learning, and creating some crazy close bonds. Aside from that, it reinforced some things I want to add to my life-- I always think about and sometimes talk about wanting to get into hiking, camping, and kayaking and I definitely want to make an effort to do that. I think I had an awesome crash course and get out there and do it! Plus I have a lot of new friends now with those interests to try it all out with. Next week we have a pizza party to view all the pics that were taken by the city staff, and at the end of August we have a reunion camping trip, where we'll all get copies of those pics, and a copy of the journal which we've all doodled in and wrote in all week :) So, I don't have many pics at this point because I didn't take my digital for fear it would get hurt. I'm getting my disposable/waterproof one developed and will post those soon-- there's not many and I don't know what the quality will be but they're coming!

I might write some more about the trip as it comes to me, but I can tell you it was awesome and more then I expected for a million reasons!!

What a year!

I was just talking to my mom and realizing it was a year ago that I was in South Africa. A year ago today I was grocery shopping, and probably buying my new camera, at Bayside mall, and then went out to Mama Africa's for the first time. Margarita's, alligator, kudu, ostrich, and Zwelly...(the lead singer of the band I became a groupie of). Like it was yesterday! Like it never happened! So weird. I busted out my planner which I write everything in for moments just like this. I have planners all the way back through high school saying who's house I spent the night at and everything. Good times.

If this were 2008, tomorrow I would be heading to Robben Island, then working for 3 days straight, followed by shopping for woven bags in the township with Ursula and Rachel, then my Cape Point tour, which was rainy but beautiful...at the southern most tip of the world! About a week from now I'd be diving with great white sharks, then spending a day at the water front--which is when I bought my Nelson Mandela book...A couple weeks from now I'd go wine tasting, and spend the evening at a gala. Yet a couple more weeks would entail visiting some jackass penguins, getting my tattoo, a 'brai' with all the volunteers, sandboarding with Steph, my anti-climb of Table Mountain, spending the night at Vicky's Bed & Breakfast, followed by a day with Gloria's kids...

Wow. Seems like yesterday and never all at the same time.

What did I do today, in 2009? Browsed save-the-dates. And tomorrow, in 2009? House hunting. What a difference a year makes!

I found it!

I think I found my favorite website ever. I think this accurately portrays how I'm feeling:

www.anotherfuckingwedding.com

haha I'm enjoying it :)

Summer's here

So, now that I'm back from New York I feel like summer has really started, and by then I mean slowed way down! It's nice just doing whatever I want whenever I want, that is if it's free of course :) With no work of course comes no pay. And with trying to buy a house we're definitely trying to live on a pretty tight budget. Which shouldn't be too difficult, just boring more than anything. But I have my gym membership so I think I'll be working out more than ever since I have the time and I guess will use it as free entertainment?! We get Netflix so we have a steady stream of new movies coming in all the time. I am starting the Sex & The City series today :) haha After the tour in NYC I want to watch it from start to finish. I also have a pile of books to read. Sometimes I have book ADHD...I'll start one, see another two or three, start those, etc. I finished one yesterday but still have 2 others that I've started (Celebutantes which is like the Sex & the City of L.A. and Elizabeth Edward's book 'Resilience) and I have 3 on deck ('Love The One You're With--it's by that lady who writes the Something Borrowed, Something Blue books--Capote & this other book I can't think of the name of, which I bought in NYC). And I think I'm going to break down and read the Twilight series. I usually steer clear of the big hits-- never read Harry Potter or seen any of the movies, or Lord of the Rings...have never seen Star Wars either for that matter!) But, even I thought the preview for the new Twilight movie looked pretty good, and I'm spending more & more time with teenagers through the volunteering so I figure that will give us one more thing in common....we'll see! Oh, and I've got the pool to keep me occupied.

Aside from the free stuff I've got enough to fill my mind! So, we're back to house #1 that we bid on in March when my parents were here. The banks have yet again come back and said, "Ok if you want it, it's yours!" The listing realtor said he has approval from both banks but just needs to get it in the formal letter. We sought out a new lender which would approve Ivan on his own since my contract hasn't come through yet for next year, and are just waiting on full approval before I will get excited again. They pre-approved Ivan for more than what we need for this house but if there's one thing I've learned in these past 3 months, it's to not get excited too soon. So that's where it all stands--basically yes, we should have this house by mid-July, but I am not putting 100% truth into that quite yet! I'll let you know once we've signed all the papers and have the keys in hand. Then we can all celebrate!

Oh, the other free thing-- the volunteering with the kids. That is keeping me busy too. The other night a couple of my teens and I went to this place called the Luv Shack Ranch. This places runs completely on volunteers/donations and they take in neglected horses. They care for them and try to make them more adoptable. One of my teens wanted to check the place out so we went and are planning to go back every Tuesday night. They have the volunteers scooping out stalls, feeding, and grooming. As well as any other things that might pop up-- cleaning up the grounds, working on projects etc. It started out with the focus on the horses, and definitely still is, but they have also seen the good it does for the kids to learn about responsibility and respect etc. It was pretty neat. So we're still looking for more places to volunteer though. I'm waiting to hear back from the Salvation Army for a number of different things we can do there.

I'm still in class too. YUCK! My laptop has taken a turn for the worst yet again, so I'm using the neighbor's, or going up to the complex office, etc to get on the internet, or going on the Wii. It's slowly driving me crazy, because I am on the computer A LOT! Maybe God's trying to tell me something.... :)

Not too much else to say I guess. I'll let you know as soon as we know something FOR SURE about the house so sit tight.

NYC Pics

This link should work for you to see pics from the trip...if it doesn't....sorry! (Copy and paste if you need to)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042176&id=197103045&l=18bb316ab3

Just as I suspected...

Going to New York, and seeing Heather & Steph has got my mind all wrapped around traveling again. You know if we weren't trying to buy a house right now I'd have a lot of money at my disposal to just take off and go wherever I wanted for as long as I wanted and do whatever I wanted. Dang responsibility. It's something I struggle with a little bit, trying so hard to buy a house when in reality a house isn't the end-all be-all of life. The money we have set aside could cover so many experiences, or help so many people.

If you could see my internet history right now you'd see expedia searches to D.C, New Orleans, San Francisco, Florida, Vietnam, Thailand, South Africa, Scotland, home, and Fiji...yeah, I told you my head was kinda all over the place! Plus all I have is time to daydream since I'm done with work.

But, on the other hand if I look a tad big long term, buying a house will buy security which will eventually (hopefully) lead to more freedom to travel again, etc.

It's also brought me back to not wanting a wedding! So even though I've announced it'll be in Phoenix on June 19, 2010...don't buy your tickets and dresses yet. I'm still not totally sold on the idea but I don't know if I can sell Ivan on not having a wedding...so we'll see! Sometimes the thought of planning it (even a small one) is just overwhelming because it's not something I completely want ya know? And, not to mention we could use that money for traveling or fixing up the house, etc. I don't want to kill myself saving for a wedding or kill myself to fix up a house either ya know? If I'm sacrificing for something I'd like it to be for travel or something like that... I dunno. So then people say well just do a destination or Vegas and invite few people, but that still requires some level of planning. I would rather just wake up and be like, ok, let's do this today. And then go do it. I don't want any planning! We could be in Vegas in 3 hours, married in 4. Done! And then get on with life :)

Would someone else like to plan & pay for this and just surprise me the day of by telling me to put on a dress & show up?? Anyone???

Remember my dolphin internship?

Well, I just received an email the other day from the director of Dolphin Human Therapy, Dr. Dave telling all about his new therapy center. Some of you may remember he was beginning to do research about the use of animatronic dolphins since the use of real dolphins brings up a lot of issues-- cost, legality, weather, etc. In a nutshell, his research has shown that the same results can be achieved with these 'robot' dolphins. He's created a therapy center which will have therapy with the dolphins, miniature horses, dogs, art, music, and a huge sensory garden. It sounds pretty amazing. Anyway just wanted to share the info since that experience was big in my life. Here's the website if you want to check it out, and you can watch a video of these fake dolphins.. www.iactcenter.com

A New York Minute!

WOW! I cannot believe how fast that trip went. Literally every day we'd suddenly look at the time and it'd be like 8 p.m. and we'd be like, what the hell??! When did it become 8:00?!

First, I love New York!! There isn't one thing I disliked about the entire trip. Everything exceeded my expectations and was completely positive. I did not run into any 'typical' New Yorkers being all negative like I assumed I would. Everyone was very nice and helpful. I didn't feel crowded and overwhelmed by the amount of people. I never felt unsafe at any moment in time (although let me interject that obviously we were in touristy places that were well lit and as it is with any city, wandering down dark deserted alleys is likely going to get you in trouble). It was just so awesome all around and if I can make it happen, I will be a frequent visitor to New York City! I absolutely loved it. I would love to see New York in the fall, and at Christmas, and New Years :) So, I need to start saving again! My other big unexpected realization-- it's really green in New York. Yes I'm coming from the desert so my view might be a little skewed when compared to someone coming from a green place...but yeah, there were parks everywhere, lost of trees, etc. I was surprised.

Ok, so we landed Friday around 3:30 and met up with my friend Stephanie who flew in from Canada. So great to see her!! Ivan's brother lives on Long Island so he came and picked us up from the airport, along with Ivan's niece Lauren. Arnold basically gave us a huge overview tour and drove us around everywhere. We had dinner in Harlem at this placed called Amy Ruth's. Which is a soul food restaurant (YUMMY!). Since we were in Harlem, we asked Arnold to drive us by Bill Clinton's office (YAY!). So anyway, we got back to the hotel and collapsed when our other friend, Heather (from Scotland, traveling the world right now, on her U.S. stop) showed up! YAY! So we were all exhausted, aside from Ivan. He went to have a drink and us girls just sat and talked for a few hours catching up on life since Africa.

By the way, I couldn't have gotten more lucky when booking the hotel. I looked on Expedia.com at reviews and ended up choosing the Hampton Inn-Times Square North. This was the best location-- and reasonably priced. We were 2 blocks from Times Square/Broadway, about 4 blocks from Central Park, 3 blocks from the subway, 1 block from where the bus tour started & stopped, 3 blocks from 5th Avenue (shopping!), just walking distance to nearly everything-- CBS, NBC, Rockefeller Center...not to mention, there were tons of bars & restaurants on our street, although I think this is everywhere in Manhattan.

On Saturday we went on a double-decker bus tour. If you just sat on the bus the whole time the tour would take about 2 hours but you can get off at different stops and then get back on, a bus comes every 10 minutes. So we covered all of Manhattan on this bus. We drove through Times Square, by Carnegie Hall, Macy's (yes, Miracle on 34th street, it's really on 34th street), Madison Square Garden, Wall Street, Ground Zero, the Brooklyn Bridge, United Nations, Rockefeller Center, and many many many more places! We got off the bus at the Brooklyn Bridge which was cool because you hear so much about it and everything. And we got off at Rockefeller Center. Here we took a tour of NBC studios, so we sat on the sets of Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and even got to do some interactive stuff-- Ivan volunteered without knowing what he was doing. Turned out he was going to be a weather man! So he got to stand in front of the green screen and see how to do the map thing, and read from the teleprompter. I think he's got a future ahead of him :) It was pretty cool. At some of the stands around Rockefeller Center they were selling all these NY landscape pictures, which I'm a sucker for. I bought this black & white one of the Brooklyn Bridge, one that had a bunch of famous street signs, and these 4 that showed scenes from Central Park in every season--the picture is the famous tree-lined path that you see in pretty much every movie :) Pretty cool.

That night we went out to this club, the 40/40 club which is owned by the rapper Jay-Z. It was different-- upstairs there was this room with all these couches everywhere & a pool table where they had all the sporting events on which is where we were seated. Outside of that room there was kind of a balcony area with some couches, and downstairs there were these like hanging chairs. There wasn't any real designated dance floor but I think once the place gets packed people just dance wherever they are. Anyway, it was good, drinks were good, we managed to rack up a $272 tab which isn't hard in NYC.

On Sunday we took our first trip on the subway, which happens to be incredibly easy to use. I was worried it would be all complicated. But once again, people were helpful and everywhere we needed to go was easy to get to, quick, and safe. So we took the subway to the Bronx for the Yankee-Phillie game. That day I got a major sunburn!! It was a good time, and it was Stephanie & Heather's first professional game, Heather's first game ever :0

After the game when we got off the subway there was a big street fair going on do we wandered around there buying purses, eating lamb kabobs, and stopping at a palm reader... ready for this? I'll be engaged by the end of the year... :) haha To be fair, I told Ivan to hold my ring before we walked up to her because I didn't want her to know so I guess if you're going to believe in these people you have to be honest with them. Anyway, she did say "The one you're with is the one for you, stop questioning it, he's telling me he's your soulmate, etc" and she went on to say she sees a wedding next year (wow, me too!) and kids soon after that (hmm...) She sees twin boys, and another child. Which I have always wanted twins and have 4 sets in my family so I think I'll hold onto that and choose to believe her ;) haha

From here we wandered into Central Park...at which point I fell in love. I don't know what it is, it's just a park when you cut through the crap, but I loved it. We just sat there for a couple hours sitting in the grass talking, and Ivan took a nap. I just loved it. I don't know what else to say about it other than I loved it.

That night we took it easy and went out to eat at a pub down the street, which turned into hours of talking. Wandering back down the street to the Cosmic Diner for a late night cheesecake stop, and more talking. That was the best part of the whole trip though, just all the talking we did. Obviously it was great to catch up with each other, but also just to have conversations anything and everything, deep ones, shallow ones, about similarities and differences, etc.

On Monday, Memorial Day, we went to Ground Zero. Which as I've been told many times, is just a construction site at this point. True. It's so weird, and a little amazing, to think that almost 8 years later it's just a pile of rubble. We wandered a bit more and into St. Paul's Cathedral, which turned out to be a huge 9/11 Memorial. This is where all the rescue workers who were working after the towers fell would come to eat, rest, refuel, and get back out there. This place was a bit too much for me. I could look at certain things, and then there were several different displays that showed pictures of people who died in 9/11 and I just couldn't look at them. I tried for a minute and knew if I stayed I'd be a balling mess. So I kept on moving. After Ground Zero we wandered around Wall Street some more.

Then it was time to get back to the hotel because Ivan was flying out that day, he had to get back to work. We grabbed some pizza (gigantic slices!) and he took off. So the girls and I headed back to our new 2nd home...Central Park! We decided to take a tour with this poor Italian man pulling us around on his bike :) "Charlie" (his name turned out to be Marco but he went with Charlie), rode us around the park for an hour pointing out famous places; some buildings surrounding the park where the Kennedy's lived, Marilyn Monroe, and where people currently live-- Celine Dion, Al Pacino to name a few that I can actually remember! And, where John Lennon was shot, and Yoko Ono still lives. We went to the "Friends" fountain, and even got in it for some pictures, the walkway I was talking about earlier, tons of places. And of course we then found ourselves laying under a tree for awhile. Then we wandered from bench to bench before landing on a rock...well I call it a rock but it was actually this HUGE rock that has been there for like 800 million years or something ridiculous. And when I say rock please understand hundreds of people could sit on this 'rock.'

That night we grabbed some Mexican food, talked for more hours, and then wandered around Times Square, went to the M&M store, and the Hershey store. YUM.

Tuesday we slept in (finally). That afternoon we went down to Chelsie Piers for our helicopter tour of Manhattan. This was pretty neat. And it was kind cool to do it later in the trip because as things were pointed out we could recognize them and stuff from seeing them on land. After that we grabbed a cab and headed to Battery Park, where you catch the ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty. We took the ferry out to Ellis Island and went through the museum there--which is the actual building that immigrants would pass through when coming to America. It was all really neat.

At the end of Tuesday we were exhausted, and starving! We went into the first restaurant we saw and stuffed our faces :) Then passed out!

Wednesday we went on a Sex & the City Tour! This was super cool. The tour was 3.5 hours long and took you all over Manhattan pointing out where things were filmed and telling what the scenes were. The tour started at The Plaza hotel (also where Kate Hudson & Anne Hathaway were having their weddings in Bride Wars-- "June at The Plaza!!", amongst many other things) Directly across the street is where they shot the opening when Carrie trips, and the Paris theatre where Carrie goes on her date night with the City; cruising along 5th Ave, we see Bergdorf & Goodman, where Charlotte & Trey register for their wedding, and Tiffany's where Trey re-proposes to Charlotte, another store where Carrie announces she's "taking a lover" while looking at perfumes... We saw the alley where Carrie got mugged, the bar where Samantha threw a dirty martini in the 'dirty bastard' Richard's face, the park where Miranda was with the baby when meeting Steve's new girl for the first time and she tripped and fell, the "Pleasure Chest" sex shop where the girls took Charlotte and got her the rabbit :) We drove through the Meat Packing District and saw the shops where Miranda did the math for Carrie on how much money she's spent on shoes, the building where Samantha was suppose to live, Miranda's gym, Big's apartment, this awesome little bakery where Carrie & Miranda were sitting in front of when Carrie was eating a cupcake and told Miranda about Aiden for the first time. We got some of these cupcakes-- might be the most fabulous cupcakes EVER! We also went to Steve & Aiden's bar, and.....had a cosmo! Very cool. The tour ended by the NYC Public Library, where Carrie & Big were to be married, on the street where Carrie beat him up with the flowers. The really cool thing about the tour was that the guide was called a "Sexpert" and she was young, cute, and hip. And, after we'd see a building or something, they'd show the scene from the show or movie that correlated with it. So cool. I have this whole new love & appreciation for Sex & The City now. I want re-watch everything, I've fell in love all over again.

After the tour we did some shopping on 5th Ave--this is home to Louis Vitton, Tiffany, Kenneth Cole, etc etc etc. And in between all of them are stores we could actually afford :) But it was cool just to be there. That night we had a nice dinner at this Italian restaurant. Which by the way, in the window was a letter from Oprah thanking the owner for a wonderful meal when she had eaten there ;) After that, we headed to Broadway for Mamma Mia! It was of course a great show, and great to actually see on Broadway. I could have seen a show everyday if we had the time and money. I love that stuff ;)

So after that it was time to pack up. Thursday morning I headed home. In the cab on the way to the airport I get the voicemail that my flight had been cancelled! Luckily it was very easily fixed and I made it back to Phoenix only a half hour later than planned.

Anyway.....it was a great trip, I loved New York, can't wait to go again, want to head back specifically for shopping and Broadway, and loved seeing the girls.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it was Fleet Week. This is when the naval ships dock and the sailors are ALL over the city. For the Sex & The City fans you'll remember this :)
Talk soon!

I love May!

Hola! So it's been kinda busy around here. Although work for the second job is at a stand still pretty much; budget cuts and activities slowing down for the summer so I haven't been working. Which has been kind of nice to have time to just be a total bum.

This past weekend was my birthday, big 2-7! I might be able to handle 28, but after that I would like to stop time. I'm pretty happy with life and don't wanna mess it up! haha Anyway, Ivan got me a new camera since I lost mine in Chicago and a new purse. We went out to eat at my favorite place, Yard House, and then out for drinks at Brookside, the regular place in Surprise (there's not many choices here!) But it's always a good time. We had about 25 people out between Jeff & I (Jeff's birthday was May 6th so we celebrate together). Great times.

Yesterday I also got to meet 2 of my teens that I've been paired with for River Rampage. They're sweet and seem like they are ready to do the work to earn this trip. I have one more to meet who couldn't make it yesterday. So now me & the other "sidekicks" are busy trying to come up with volunteer opportunities for the teens. A busy & exciting time, the trip is only a month away!

Ivan & I are off to New York on Friday to meet up with Heather & Stephanie who I met in Africa. So excited! I'm done with work on Thursday, yay summer!

No good news on the house front. Our house we've been waiting and waiting on, well the banks have now decided to just foreclose on it rather than accept a short sale! So stupid, they have nothing to gain, and thousands to lose by doing this. So we'll just continue to bid and look. We can always try to catch that house when it forecloses but hopefully we'll have something else by the time that happens!

Alrighty, check in after New York!

P.S.-- The pic is from my birthday night out last night :)

Bowling for Columbine

Ok so I'm home sick and catching up on my netflix, one of the movies I got is "Bowling for Columbine" which is a Michael Moore documentary about violence in America. There are a lot of different opinions out there about Michael Moore, and think what you want, but you can't argue that he doesn't spark some thought. Personally, I tend to see most things in a similar way as Michael Moore.

Anyway, one particular part of the movie was like-- what I've been thinking for awhile now! Most recently with the swine flu pandemic scare. As all of this has been happening I've been thinking--it's almost like people want some huge tragedy to occur. News and 'experts' scream at us all the time about all these possible, horrible things that might happen. I swear people are disappointed when everything ends up being ok...like it always does!!!

In the movie he talks about the Y2K thing when life as we knew would just come crashing down because of a computer glitch-- people stocked up and were scared to death and everything was fine...the killer bees were going to come out of Mexico and spread through the U.S., the swine flu...which we're now being told isn't any different than any other strain of flu really.

Why does it seem that people thrive off of horrible things? And to add to that, this goes back to my theory that we publicize too much crap. We report all these horrible stories which I think it makes other potentially crazy people feel more normal about what they do or want to do. I've always felt if we didn't know what other people were doing we'd be better off. If kids had never seen or heard of kids shooting up their schools, do you think they'd have the idea to do it?

This Canadian woman on the movie just said it so perfectly-- "People over there (U.S.) just react, they don't think about it." AGREED! Another girl just said, "The U.S. seems like they solve things by fighting--in the news people are shooting or fighting, the government just sends troops to kill someone rather than negotiating,"....hmmm....TRUE!

Anyway...just some thoughts.

Still no word

Hola! So not much to say really but it's been 2 weeks since I last wrote which made me think I should.

Still no news on the house. We're going on 2 months now but it looks like things are progressing, that or they are just telling us that to keep us sane. Either way it's kind of a blessing that this has all been taking so long because we're still waiting on little documents and bit of paperwork here & there to actually get approved for a loan anyway! Which good grief if we don't after all the crap we've been through preparing for this loan and house hunting I will go nutty. You won't even have to read this to know, you'll just hear me wherever you are! So we've still been looking and bidding in the process. A couple weeks ago we asked our realtor to take us back to "our house" (the one we've been waiting on) just to make sure we still liked it after seeing all these others and it literally felt like home when we walked in. It really felt like that's where we're supposed to be. So that was a relief; I was worried we wouldn't even like it once we saw it again. We've seen some pretty amazing houses since then and when we walked back into "MJ" (this house is our Michael Jordan. Others we've bid on have been nicknamed LeBron and Shaq) we both agree it was like getting our priorities straight again. LeBron was pretty amazing though...beautiful house and didn't need much to it but we found out too late that the bank had accepted an offer. Shaq, well, much like Shaq in real life is a HUGE house, 5 bedroom, huge dining & living rooms, etc. Great big house with lots of potential long term, but needed some work and was higher priced for needing the work. We bid, and raised our bid once, but then it went beyond what we wanted to pay and that was ok. I was feeling a little panicky actually at the thought of actually buying Shaq. So we continue to look, just for the hell of it now I guess because we know deep down we love MJ. Shaq was too big but we got carried away. And we looked another that was just beautiful but that was the day we went back to se MJ and realized we were getting carried away with the giant houses! Not that MJ is a little guy by any means, but he's no Shaq. Did you follow all that?! hah

What else...work has come to a screeching halt on the second job. Which I am totally ok with. Our busy times are over, plus there have been budget cuts so they have cut a lot of part time hours. Work at my 'day job' has been going so fast, we have so many meetings since it's the end of the year and everything. Only 19 days of school left!

And then I head to New York for a week to see my girls from Africa-- Heather (Scotland) and Stephanie (Canada). It's gonna be so unreal to see them again, and on my turf-- that being America, although I've never been to NY so I'm really excited about that. I'm not sure what I'm most excited about, aside from seeing them of course. I think Central Park. I'm sure seeing them again will spark some crazy need to travel the world again. Africa was like my end-all be all and I kinda got that out of my system. I still love traveling but I don't have that need like I did. It's kinda scary because I'm worried it means I'm getting old. Like I don't really want to leave Ivan for that long again, and I don't really want to travel alone. It's great for meeting people but I know I'd love to share it with Ivan. I think I'm just at a place now where I feel a little bit more settled and am happy and I really think mostly that Africa was THE place for me. We'll see what happens when I see them though! haha Ya know I also think it's kinda hard because it was so amazing but can be kind of isolating when you get back because nobody understands it because they didn't experience it. That's why it'll be so nice to see Heather & Steph, and that's also what makes it so special, all the while though it kinda makes this lonely type feeling. I can't quite explain. All I know is that from now on I'd prefer to share it with someone but I did what I needed to do, to see & do what I wanted, and I don't regret that for a second.

Alrighty well I'm gonna get out here. Peace

Here & there

Nope, still no word on the house. Apparently there is some question on who is first on the title—the first or second mortgage and it needs to be figured out. All we can do is wait. We’ve been looking at other houses in the process and found some alternates, but none we have bid on and these things are selling like hot cakes. I don’t want to get in a bidding war with 5 other people when there’s so many other houses out there but we might need to start moving faster too. I think it’s just because we have “our” house waiting for us. We’re not in a rush but I would like to seal the deal sometime in the near future. We have to give our notice to the apartment complex by May 15th (conveniently my birthday) so I don’t think it’s asking too much to know something by then. It’s now been 1 month exactly since we bid on the house…

Outside of thinking about the house we’ve been pretty busy lately. I’ve been working a lot with the second job, and thankfully baseball (our busiest season) is almost over! That keeps me working at least 3 days a week, and we have tennis going on right now too. After that things will really slow down and then I’m taking the summer off, undetermined as of yet if I’ll be coming back in the fall. We’ll see!

Last weekend I came home for my friend Becky’s wedding. It was a fast & furious trip home but so much fun and jam packed. I landed in Bloomington around 10:40 Friday night, and my brother picked me up and we went to Steak & Shake (had to squeeze in a visit to SnS!) Saturday morning was Braydon & Kage’s first soccer game so I got to go see that and then we grabbed some McDonald’s. Then it was time for the wedding. The wedding was really pretty, and the reception was so much fun. Icing in the cake—it was at the DoubleTree and I LOVE the DoubleTree so I got room there and slept like a baby. The next day all my mom’s family was over making Easter candy so I got to see them too. That night I went to see my sister & her kids so I saw as many people as I possibly could in 2 days I think! The flight back was fine…a little annoying though. I was standing in line near some college students who have apparently been living under a rock—they had no idea you couldn’t take liquids on the plane and kept complaining about it. I’m like really??! It’s been this way for YEARS! Then, on the plane I had a 3 year old kicking my seat the whole way. I was having a very hard time showing restraint, but what could I do? The mom mouthed “Sorry!” I’m thinking…I don’t need you to be sorry, I need you to make her stop! Make her sit criss-cross or something, try telling her no! Something! And on top of that we had 130 mile per hour headwinds, which slowed us down by like ½ an hour. Yuck. I guess that was making up for the wonderful flights I had on the way to Illinois—I was the only person in the entire 6 seat row! It was glorious :) haha

As going to a wedding always does, it made us think about our own and we had to make some decisions. So it will definitely be out here in Arizona at Cibola Vista Resort & Spa where we own our timeshare. (Did I mention we bought a timeshare after that free night? We did, very happy about it too). We are keeping it as small as possibly while still inviting the necessary people. If it was totally up to me it would be & Ivan on an island, literally nobody else. But that’s not going to happen so the compromise is keeping it small. With that said, don’t be offended if you don’t get invited! Of course we would have everyone under the sun there if we could but it costs money you know :) haha And we’re thinking about having some cook-outs or something back home later on so you will definitely still get to celebrate with us. You just won’t have to suffer through the boring part of the wedding, and all the expenses of flying to Phoenix (and sitting outside in the heat in June). Consider it a favor! Haha So we have chosen our bridal party—Jyll (my sister), Heidi (my sister-in-law), Megan (bf since kinder), and Celeeste (bf since college). Ivan is having three of his childhood friends- Tommy, Sylvester, Jelani, and his cousin Graley. We decided to keep the party small—you know some people have like 10 people stand up with them but I think it just gets a little crazy at some point, and in the spirit of keeping things simple we stopped at 4. And we figure we’re already asking people to fly out here and book a hotel, rent a car or shuttle etc, so we’ll let the rest of our friends just enjoy themselves! Haha As of right now we are not going to have a flower girl or ring bearer. Obviously the flower girl would be Maddie as she’s the only girl (old enough) out of our nieces & nephews, but there are way too many boys to choose from! (Braydon, Kage, Connor, Clay, Evan, Drew, Dawson) For me it’d be all or nothing, I’m not choosing between them all and certainly can’t have a pack of 7 little ring bearers...or could I? Plus, again, it’s really just an added expense for their parents, which Jyll & Heidi are already in the wedding, and everyone will be flying out etc. I told Ivan I think we should have our little girls (Lucy & Charlie) be the ring bearers but he’s frowning on that. I’ll keep working on him though :) We can just tie the rings to their collars and they’ll run straight down the aisle when they see us. Hah What else…I guess that’s about all you need to know. I’ve got a list of caterers, bartenders, DJ’s, and a photographer & flower lady. I’m pretty sure I have favors picked out, the bridesmaid dresses are chosen, I’ve got my dress narrowed down I think. I’m all about seeing something I like and then just choosing it because too many options and too much time makes things so much more difficult, as my dad says “Think long think wrong.” So I see it, like it, book it. Done! I just want this to be as fun as possible, and more importantly, relaxed! I don’t want it to be too formal, I want it to feel small and just like a fun gathering of friends and family, I want to be able to actually spend time with people. Right now I think the only thing I can’t make up my mind about is what to have the guys wear…if I want to keep it semi-casual I don’t want them in tuxes, and I also am considering the fact that it will be 115 degrees out! So I want them comfortable and cool as possible—so I don’t even know if I should do a full suit , should I do light colors? Linen suit? I’m stumped on the guys really. Because my girls will be in black dresses so I don’t want the girls to look way more formal than the guys. I will just be doing some picture research on the internet, but will take any ideas! Whew, so that’s that.

I got chosen for the River Rampage volunteer program I had mentioned!! Quick recap: This river outing will consist of special needs kids and disadvantaged kids. They earn their trip by doing 40 hours of volunteer service. As a mentor I will be paired with some kids and help them meet their volunteer hours, and then go on the trip with them. It’s a week long camping/white water rafting trip in Utah. I’m so excited! And scared of course! So I will be doing that June 22-28th. There are three different trips throughout the summer and I had really hoped for a later trip but this is the one they need me on. Unfortunately this means I won’t be able to go with Ivan to Indianapolis for one of his friend’s weddings. That was pretty disappointing. But this trip might never happen again (yeah I know neither will the wedding…) With budget cuts happening all around us this could be the last year for the trip and I think it’s an awesome program so I want to be a part of it.

Although I can’t get to the wedding with Ivan this is the first year I will be going to his family reunion. Ever since I’ve been invited I’ve always had something else going on—I was in Florida, in Detroit for a concert, working, in Africa, etc. So this year is the big year, and I think it’s fitting since we’re actually engaged. And Ivan’s mom told me that each year they go around and say what they’ve been up to and everything. I guess last year Ivan said he was planning to propose sometime, so this year I’ll actually be there. I told Ivan people probably think he made me up or something because for the past 7 years he’s been showing up saying he has this girlfriend Chelsey but conveniently she’s always traveling elsewhere on reunion weekend! Anyway, this year it is Memphis and I’m excited. Every year they have a theme also, like last year it was white—so everyone was wearing white dresses and everything. This year it’s a Jamaican theme, so bold colors, etc. I’m just excited to go shopping for some dresses for the reunion. Haha

Well I guess that’s about it…I’ll get going

The House Situation

Ok, so everyone keeps asking what the status is, and I kinda need to vent and get this all on "paper" so here goes.

Two and a half weeks ago we fell in love with a house. It was listed at $130,000, and was a short sale. Basically a short sale is kind of the last stop before foreclosure for the owners. Typically these can take months to get approval, and even then that selling price may not get approved by the bank. However, our house was listed as preapproved for this price, which cuts out the months of waiting. We put in our bid for the asking price just to get it all done. We hoped to have a response within a few days but it's been 2 and a half weeks and we just heard something today.

Unfortunately it wasn't exactly what we wanted to hear. Basically the bank had received an offer months and months ago of $135,900, so they came back saying this is what they wanted. Basically our option now is to accept that offer. Once we do the bank will do an appraisal. No matter what the appraisal is, the highest the price will be is $135,900, but there's the chance it will appraise for less, in which case that would be the price. So the options are either buck up and pay $135,900 or possibly less.

We're in a tough spot right now basically just because we're so pissed off! It's not so much the price because if the house had already been listed at that we would have bid anyway. It's more about, 'like what the hell else are we gonna be told that isn't true'? I mean, if the house isn't really going to be sold for $130,000 then it shouldn't be listed at $130,000. And we kind of feel like 'screw you, keep your house, there's plenty more, and probably for less.'

So that's that. We're both kind of going back and forth between different thoughts. Of course the screw you is at the forefront of my head right now but running right beneath that I'm trying to look at this through 'the secret' point of view. The universe (God, whoever you want it to be) is doing this for a reason...maybe the house will be appraised at a lower price, maybe it won't but it's buying us time for some reason, maybe we'll find something we like better... I don't know.

I told Ivan we really don't have anything to lose by offering the $135,900. There's the chance that it will be appraised for less, and even if it's not, we can still decide we don't want the house. So it's worth doing just to see if we get it for less I think. If we could just get our pride and stubbornness out of the way.

As for other houses, yeah there are plenty of other houses for sale, even cheaper ones, and even in better condition. But you can't change the location--this house backs up to empty land so you feel like you have space (although that could change down the road), it's in a neighborhood we know and like, and we have friends very close by. So those are all the upsides of this house. I dunno. But anyway, that's where it stands and I'll be posting when I know something!

Hey there!

Not much going on. Still no word on anything I wrote about last time! The state has yet to make any decisions on the budget cuts, therefore the schools can't make any decisions either. I'm hopeful though that even with cuts I will keep my job. Even if I don't want it forever, I'd like it a few more years to just build up some security.

No word on the house either. It's a short sale which we've been told can take a very long time but this one was pre-approved by the bank so it should be faster. We were expecting faster to mean a couple of days but it's been almost 2 weeks since we made the offer. Our realtor has said although it's a waiting game to try not to worry. He doesn't see any reason why this house won't be ours. It's just a matter of the bank doing their job to get back to us and I would guess they are a little busy right now. On the other hand I'm ok with waiting a bit because I'm still waiting on documents to be mailed back to me to actually complete the loan process. It just sucks being at the mercy of someone else. I've done all I can do and now we wait. In the long run it will be for the best that it takes some time to save us money on double rent & mortgage for a few months over the summer. It's not worth breaking the lease on the apartment so we'll have both places for a bit. The longer the house takes the less we'll be out, I just want to know it's a for sure thing!! Giving me lots of time to daydream I guess.

This afternoon I have an 'informal interview' for this volunteer thing I applied for. The program is with the city of Phoenix and is called River Rampage. Basically, each year they take a group of kids-- some with special needs, some at risk kids (such as homeless, low income, gang related, etc) and take them on a week long white water rafting trip in Utah. The idea is to help teach the kids to appreciate diversity. There have been some amazing effects on these kids after the trips. The kids earn their trip by completing 40 hours of volunteer work, so there are clearly more benefits to the kids and the community which I am all for, plus I've always wanted to go rafting. So if I am accepted into the program my role would be to mentor the kid(s) and help them in completing their volunteer work--help them find ideas of where to volunteer, take them and participate with them if they need me to, etc. And then go on the trip with them. Everything about this program just sounds wonderful to me and right up my alley. I'm not sure if they require rafting experience or if they are looking more at experience with kids, etc. So we'll see!

Summer is approaching (only 43 days of work left!) and I'm actually pretty excited to not have much planned. I won't be working and I'm not doing any major traveling so I can do whatever I want. Although I can already tell I will 'accidentally' fill it up. If I get the rafting trip I will keep busy volunteering with the kids and the actual trip is 1 week long. My friend Cathy is coming to visit for a week, I'll be coming home for a week or 2, and probably going to Ivan's family reunion for the first time in Memphis. I also want to maybe finally do the volunteering with the IRC I've been talking about for years. I've been thinking about tennis lessons too...we'll see! Hopefully I'll have a new house to be decorating and enjoying. And Celeeste has just about talked me into doing the Chicago Maraton in October, which means I'd be training all summer. I don't really have a reason not to other than being lazy. And I need to get moving again anyway, I like working towards a goal, and will have plenty of time over the summer to train. So we'll see. I'm just worried I won't have the motivation to train since I've already done one.

Anyway I guess I'll get going. Ivan's mom flies in today, just for the weekend so that'll be a nice visit. We'll probably do some shopping and show her the house. Keep your fingers crossed on that!

New Developments

First of all-- it's Spring Break! yay! And we only have 50-some days of work left before summer, which is mind-blowing! I'm excited, and scared because we should know in the near future what the upcoming budget cuts mean for jobs next year. I could be needing a new job, which is partly scary, partly exciting too. I'm comfortable in what I'm doing so as much as I would like a change sometimes, I think I'll need an involuntary move! I'll keep you posted.

So, remember we were planning to rent a house from a friend? They are now going to try and sell their house, which is great for them, but a change of plans for us. So, with the economy going to hell the housing market in Arizona is perfect for buyers. Ivan & I decided just to see if we could get pre-qualified, and we did! So we've been house hunting a lot in the past week. The good (and sometimes bad) thing is that there are hundreds of houses to see so it shouldn't be a difficult process. In fact, the first house we looked at was perfect so we put in a bid...so did 37 other people! That house had only been on the market for 6 days and the bank actually accepted an offer about an hour before we got ours in. It was a very pretty house with granite counter tops, stainless steal appliances, plantation shutters, wood & tile throughout except carpet in the bedrooms, a pool, hot tub, built in fireplace & BBQ in the backyard...so you can see why it got so many offers! The downside (only downside I think) is that the backyard was just filled with all those wonderful things, no grass. But I was pretty sure I could cope :) So, we kept looking and have actually put in a bid on another house. This one has been on the market longer with no bids so I'm hoping everyone's already seen it and didn't want it so it will be ours! Although it needed a little more work than the other houses we looked at, Ivan & I both felt it was the right house with the most potential and had all of our wants in it. It's a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, with a pool and still a lot of yardspace, it's all commercial open lots behind the houses so you feel like you have a lot more room since you're not completely surrounded by houses, and it has a living room and a loft upstairs. Wish us luck! I spent a couple hours this morning with the loan people doing paperwork and still have a short list of documents I need to track down. I don't have pristine credit so I'm still scared at every turn that this could all go south! The mortgage lady seems confident so I should just trust but I don't want to get my hopes up and counting on something. I will keep you posted!

Mom & Dad just came to visit as they do every year around spring break. The first couple of days they were here I was still working so they got to lay out and hang around, at night we were looking at houses and one night went out to eat at this place called Rustler's Rooste. It's a pretty cool place--they have a Longhorn bull out front, sawdust on the floor, live entertainment, rattlesnake for an appetizer, and a slide you can slide down to your table. Kinda neat. Saturday we headed north to Prescott, had some lunch at this place called The Palace where Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday used to hang out, and did some shopping. Then we kept going up to Page which is close to the Utah border. Sunday we took a float trip down the Colorado River which was pretty neat. We had thought it was leading into the Grand Canyon but learned it stops just before it because inside the Grand Canyon is white water rapids and you have to do a multiple-day trip. We weren't quite up for all of that! When we came back to Surprise we spent some time just hanging around and more house hunting.

I'm off the rest of the week but I think a lot of my time will be spent doing stuff for this loan! I guess it's good that I'm off so I can do all of that. It will be my project tomorrow cuz after meeting with her this morning I don't want to think about paperwork!