Saturday, January 31, 2009

My First Hummingbird!


I had my first Hummingbird today! After taking down my feeder for a week, I decided to put it back up and try it again. I took it down because it was leaking and one of the flowers on it is broken so I had some ants in it.

Friday for lunch I asked J if he wanted to meet me at Sauce for lunch. It's across the street from work and I've heard good things about it. They have pizza, pasta, salads, beer and wine. I opted for the chicken parmesan pizza and J ordered the chicken and broccoli pizza. The price was reasonable and the food was good. That night we went back to Tiggos to watch Ally and the Pinheadz again. Ally taped tin foil on herself as a "shirt", it was interesting.

Saturday was another busy day. I had to get up early to drive to a physicans clinic for a drug test as ordered by Edward Jones. Mind you, I've never done one of these before and It was really weird. There was a bible on the counter in the waiting room, weird signs posted all over the walls, like "throw trash in the trash can" and the so called reception lady was on the phone with a personal call the entire time. I had to put my purse in a locked box, pee up to a certain line and was told to not flush the toilet. The sink and toilet had signs all over them stating to not be used or flushed with red tape covering all the faucets and handles. Afterwards, I signed the paperwork, initialed the pee cup and took my purse out of the box all awhile she was still on the phone. That was it, results should arrive in 3-4 days. Afterwards, we stopped at Savers (a thrift store) since I was told they have some good stock in there. I found a dressy-type blue button down sweater for $5.99 and a blue vase for $4.99. Then we headed to Tropical Smoothie Cafe (my fav smoothie place) for a refreshing smoothie. I generally opt for the Blimey Limey, but today I did my second choice: Paradise Point. If you haven't been to this place, I encourage you to go. When I lived in my apartment in Nebraska there was one across the street from me at the Shadowlake Shopping Center and I frequently went there. They also have sandwhichs, soups, salads and breakfast.

Since it was such a nice sunny day, I thought we should go to the park and play some basketball. So we did, and brought Tory along. At this park there are several playgrounds, you can play horseshoes, basketball, have lunch on the many picnic tables, walk along the walking trails or hang out on the grassy areas. We hung out there for a while, and then we headed back. J napped and I washed my car. Saturday night we decided to check out Dillard’s at the San Tan. We had to check it out because it looks like the biggest Dillard’s we've seen. It was actually pretty busy and it was a great Dillard’s store. Afterwards we walked around a bit and then checked out the giant Barnes and Nobles. It was also very busy. This brings me to my next point... I just don't see a recession. The San Tan is completely packed! Every restaurant and store there was packed. It is every time we go. The Chandler Fashion Mall is the same way, and people ARE buying. But I guess people aren't buying the long term-high priced items, such as cars. I'd like to think that I do my part in keeping the economy going.
I'm looking forward to watching the Superbowl on Sunday. Even though we'll be spending some time moving our furniture getting ready for the tile guys on Monday. So the night should be relaxing.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Mix and Match

Our tile was delivered yesterday and Monday the installers will be coming. I can't wait for it to be complete!

I'd like to start out saying that I cooked my first turkey and made turkey gravy for the first time yesterday. It was so AWESOME! I bought one of those couple pounder Butterball Turkey roasts and cooked it in the slow cooker along with some carrots. I prepared a mini-Thanksgiving. All that was missing was the green bean casserole and stuffing. I made mashed potatoes alongside the turkey and carrots. I feel that I'm all ready to make Thanksgiving dinner now!

Today was quite the day for me. Our systems were really slow at work which meant alot of downtime. I had a one-on-one meeting with my manager for the first time. During my lunch break I drove up to Edward Jones to pick up my offer letter, benefits book and my sheet for the drug testing I have to have completed by Monday. After work I had to make it to my gym for my 5:30 appointment with my trainer, Rick. It was weigh-in and measurement time. I was impressed with myself. Although I may have only lost 1 pound by scale, I've lost 2 inches in my waist, gained muscle in my calves, lost in my thighs, gained muscle in my arms, and lost weight in my chest. Their body fat % thing doesn't work well (they don't use the pinch on the back thing like back in the day) it actually had me gaining a percent. Can't wait to see what my improvement will be next month!

Afterwards, I went to DSW to advise them that I no longer needed a part time job. It was good while it lasted though. Now I'll have my weekends free again!

I'm excited about watching the Superbowl this Sunday. It's pretty cool that the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the same year we came down. We'll be routing for them for sure. We've been invited to a bowl party and I'll be bringing cheese dip.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Big News

I failed to mention that I tried a new sub place on Friday for lunch. The Taco Bell line was too long for my patience, so I opted to try out the new Port of Subs across from work. Remind you that it was hard for me to give up staying in line at T.B. since I haven't had it since moving down here. My favorite sub shop is Blimpies, but I've only seen one of those down here and it's not close to the house. Port of Subs is the next Blimpies, minus the lack of bread choices. They do the fresh sliced meat like Blimpies and have good, but simple toppings. The prices were reasonable and cheaper than Subway. I got a combo for about $5. I'm glad I chose to eat there instead.

Now back to today's training and good news. Today's training consisted of 7 hours of diversity. I had no clue how there would be 7 hours of diversity to talk about, but it wasn't so bad. We played a couple of games and watched a couple of videos. Our trainer works in HR and she was really cool and laid back and most of all-Real.

I had been checking my phone all day to see if I've missed an important call that I was hoping for. Finally at 3 J had texted me stating that D from Edward Jones called and I was to call her back before she left at 3:45. SWEET! So I quickly jumped up from training and attempted to call her only to leave a voicemail. About 10 minutes later she called, so I jumped up again and frantically walked-half ran out of training to take her call. We've played phone tag previously so I didn't want any of that going on today. She offered me the position I interviewed for last Thursday, Mutual Fund Trades. YAY! I'm so excited to start this new opportunity/career. Edward Jones is listed as #2 on the Best Companies to Work For per Forbes (last week they were #4). In my previous posts I failed to tell you about the outcome of my first interview for their transfer position, that's because I received a reject letter. But I wasn't going to let that stop me, it was my intention to apply again when I got out of training with Wells Fargo. Instead, my HR contact called me on January 12 (same day I started Wells Fargo) and wanted to offer me another position to interview for. She stated the interviewers had good remarks about me and that my knowledge and experience in the industry were a great asset. It felt good that they called me and wanted me to work there. I felt like I've established a relationship with my HR lady since we've talked so many times, played phone tag many times and she has to be the nicest, most professional HR lady I've ever met. She asked me to call her back tomorrow to go over a few things, she has been great about working around my work schedule with Wells Fargo. What an opportunity this will bring to me. I get to choose my shift schedule, which will be awesome. On a last note, I'll be working with Canadian trades, which means I'll have Canada holidays off instead of U.S. holidays, but it also includes a couple extra holidays.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hummingbird

Saturday after work I stopped at Wal Mart to get a Shepard's hook and was looking for some flowers. I got a steal on the hook! Only $11.00, I guess it was last years model. Target had them for $40.00, so I got a heck a deal at good ol' Wally World. HAHA Anyway, the reason I wanted one was to hang my new Hummingbird feeder from. Places around here are just starting to put out their garden stuff, which surprises me that they don't have it year around. I was unable to find other gardening supplies that I was looking for, guess I'll have to go back when all the stock is put out. I was able to find some bright yellow flowers that are called "Sun Animal" so we'll see how they go.

I was eager to put up the feeder, so I spent some time Sunday morning getting the feeder ready and potting my new flowers. Hummingbird nectar is 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. You can imagine the sticky mess I had to clean up when I spilled it on the floor and on my sandals, LOL. I'm excited to see how long it will take for a Hummingbird to find their new feeder. I guess we have one in the neighborhood that goes back and forth between a couple of yards, so maybe it will add my yard to it's list.

I had to work at DSW again today. So I wasn't able to enjoy the whole day outside, like I would have wanted. The weather has been beautiful the last couple of weeks.

Johnny Rockets

Saturday I worked at DSW for 4 hours. When I got home J and I decided to go to Ruby Tuesday to use up a coupon for a free entree for supper. It's been a long time since either of us had been to one so we were really looking forward to it. I ordered the ribs for the first time and they were actually pretty good. If you haven't tried them, you should. It came with mashed potatoes and broccoli, but I subbed those for green beans. J orderd the sirloin and it came with onion straws, (which were awesome!) mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Afterwards, we headed across the street to San Tan Village shopping area. There are tons of restaurants and shopping over there. I don't know why I never ventured over to that part of the San Tan, but dang there is everything you could think of for shopping! We walked around there quite a bit, but knew that the stores would be closing shortly since they close at 9 and it was 8:30, but there were alot of people out and about. We found another Helzberg and decided to stop in ( I wanted to see if they had a better sales person). We were helped by an awesome sales lady named Laura. She was very helpful, knowlegable, and paid attention to detail. I was ready for some ice cream so we found the famous Johnny Rockets and had a shake. It's an old fashioned diner, even the employees look the part. You can pick out a song on the small juke box for a nickel and listen to oldies- "Louie Louie" (the song I picked). It was a great time!

The Elephant Bar

Friday night J and I headed to the Chandler Fashion Mall to see if we could use up some coupons I had for American Eagle. We didn't find anything appealing so I headed over to Merle Norman to buy my makeup. After my purchase, we headed over to Helzberg to take a gander at rings. It went fine but for some reason I think their sales people like to double team. We were fine with having one lady help, but then another butts in and then before you know it they both are yakking and trying to help you. I don't need more than one person and I'm not into casual conversation going on when all I want to do is look and ask questions. It took longer than I had wanted, but it went well.

I've been wanting to check out a bar/restaurant called The Elephant Bar for a while now so we headed over there. The decor was awesome! It was like stepping into a safari. The bar was one large circle, leopard print flooring, animal print booths/chairs and animal sculptures throughout including a giant elephant waterfall coming out of the wall in the entrance. I ordered a fruity drink and decided on the Mahi Mahi Macadamia Nut crusted fried fish and chips with coleslaw. It was very tasty! J orderd the Jambalaya and also thought it was good. I'd highly recommend this place for anyone looking for good food, good atmosphere and great drinks!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Tile Time




There's nothing like eating some Chinese take out and watching The Office! That's what I did tonight.

Today J bought tile for our downstairs. The color name is Travertine Mocha and it's an 18 inch size. We've decided to do the brickwork pattern for the layout. It is being purchased from Monterey Tile (the one we visited last weekend). Our sales guy called to inform us that he sold some already and that if we wanted it, we needed to act quick since they only had enough of that tile for 5000 square feet. We bought 1100 square feet of tile. Throughout the week, we've had 3 guys come in and give us an estimate. We went with the middle of the road guy who is retired from 21 years of the National Guard. He moved to Arizona a few years ago from Maine. The areas to be tiled will be the kitchen, living room, dining room/sitting area, entryway, hallway including the closet and the laundry room. They will need to take up the carpet and the existing tile in the kitchen and entry way. They will be delivering the tile next week and installation should start a couple days later. The picture is our carpet, existing tile and the new Mocha tile.

Yesterday we had our yard sprayed for weeds. Ever since we've had all this rain, weeds have been growing in between the rock in the front and back yard. Hopefully the spray will take care of it.

Tomorrow is my last day of classroom training. Starting next week we'll have "on the job training" (OJT) for 4 weeks. After that we'll be placed in our cubes with our managers and be on our own.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Crickets

It's been a few days since I've posted. My Sunday day off was nice, minus the time I spent cleaning the bathroom. Monday training drug on severely. I think our department was the only one working.

Today after work I went straight to Fitness Works to take their Body Pump class. I can barely move my arms and legs now. The fitness instructor was hardcore. I used the same weight through the whole class, but it's the repetition and going slow that kills you. I'm going to be really sore tomorrow. I made an appointment with my trainer for next week for our monthly check- up. I guess you'd say I've lost 3 pounds so far, but I'm sure that won't be good enough for him since I'm supposed to hit my goal weight by the 2nd week of February, which would mean another 5 pounds. That's not going to happen.

After my workout, I took Tory for a stroll through the park. I noticed I was hearing crickets chirp. It was nice to actually hear them chirp because I associate them with summertime. Back in Nebraska when you hear the crickets you know it's summer.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Saturday Night Fever

Saturday J and I went up to Monterrey Tile to check out different tiles and prices. This will rid the lower level of carpet and replace with nice big tile, easier to keep clean for sure.

The weather was beautiful as well. I busted out my shorts and Tshirt for the day. The night's are still cold, but the daytime highs are in the high 70's. We have misters on our patio area, so I hooked up the hose to it to see if they'd work since we've never tried them out. They worked and it was awesome! That will come in handy in the dead heat of the summer for sure.

Last night, after my 3 hours of working at DSW, J and I headed to try out La Casa Blanca Mexican restaurant (they don't have a web site). It was a quaint looking place with awesome Mexican decor. It's an adobe looking house with an indoor and an outdoor fireplace. There was actually a wedding reception going on outside so the restaurant wasn't busy, but we didn't get there until 8:45. The food and drinks came really quick. The chips were just OK, but their salsa was great! I've noticed down here that every Mexican restaurant we go to they serve chips with salsa and beans. In Nebraska the chips are only served with salsa. The food was just OK, nothing too special. Kinda smaller portions than some of the other Mexican restaurants and the food actually could have been warmer. After supper we headed over to San Tan Brewery to check out another band called JG and the Modrockers Band . The band was good.

I finally have Sunday off from DSW! This will be my day to get things caught up and just RELAX! I don't get Monday-MLK day off, so I'll be making the most of my one day off.

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Week is Over

My first week of training is finally over! It went smoothly and the trainers find a way to make it fun. On every Friday the cafeteria workers will grill out hot dogs, hamburgers or chicken in which you can include chips and a pop. Today we were given pizza in honor of the Cardinals playing on Sunday against the Eagles. This is huge for Arizona as the Cardinals haven't been very good for many years. Although, their fans have stuck by, they are really excited about this game.

After work, J and I met at Sidelines Bar & Grill, which is less than 5 minutes from my work. I invited my new work friend named Stephen to join us. He's a big golfer so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to J. We had a couple of drinks then J and I shared mozzarella sticks and S ordered the Reuben sandwich. We noticed allot of older folks coming in, but we think it had to do with the fish fry Friday. It was a good time and will probably be going back there someday.

We ended the night eating at Old Chicago with Uncle B.

I can't wait to sleep in on Saturday! This week has been hard to get up early and get into a schedule. Although, I do have to work at DSW on Saturday afternoon, at least I get to sleep in.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Day Four

I skipped yesterdays 3rd day of work for blogging because nothing much happened and I was really tired. I stayed up until midnight watching Real Housewives of O.C. the night before; it comes on at 11:00 Arizona time. Training is training and it's been a gradual process. I spend my hour lunch outside in the sunshine and I actually get red on my arms form the sun exposure. Tomorrow we get pizza for lunch in celebration of the Cardinals game on Sunday.

Tonight J and I did the Body Pump class at the gym. This class is basically weight lifting. It involves squats, abs and of course the arms. I definitely feel the burn afterwards! I'd like to do more of the classes like the Yoga and the Body Jam (dancing). They are a good change and mix- up from the standard circuit weight machines, stairmaster, bike and treadmill. I've been good about eating regularly throughout the day. I actually eat about 5-6 times a day: 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. I've been working out about 3-4 times a week all of which include weights and some sort of cardio. I can say I have lost a couple of pounds and have been feeling MUCH better along w/ more energy!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Day Two

This morning's drive to work was much better. I took a different way to avoid the construction. Today's training consisted of going through slideshow modules, the intranet site, Regulation E and we had a couple guest speakers from other areas, one being the QA (Quality Assurance) team in which will "grade" 10 of our work items per month. I've been impressed with the training, it's been organized, efficient and informative. Most of the employees who work there have been with the company for many many years, some as many as 12, 10, 15, 18, or 35 years! There must be a good reason why they stay with the company. During my lunch break I sat outside, rolled up my jeans, listened to the waterfall, and relaxed in the warm sun. Tonight I've been watching American Idol, which took place in Arizona. Interesting stuff, I must say. There is actually a girl in my training class that tried out for it.

Monday, January 12, 2009

First Day

My alarm went off at 6:15 this morning. I have only been up before 7:00 in the last 3 months 3 times. It was my first day at Wells Fargo. I wanted to be about 10 minutes early, so I left about 7:30. I had to go through two construction sites and a school zone slowed down to 35 mph on my way. I was still able to make it there in 20 minutes with all that action. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get there minus the construction, but due to my efficient driving skills I was still able to make it in time. But I ended up standing in the lobby with the rest of the newbies for about an hour. They took us two at a time to get our badge picture taken. After that was done, we went up to a room to be fingerprinted. Our manager's then joined us and took us on a building tour. There are two break rooms on my 4th floor with a South Mountain view and two bathroom areas. On the first floor is the cafeteria which includes a deli station, a coffee & breakfast station and a made to order station, which today's special was pizza. It is a nice big cafeteria area with TVs, booth seating and table seating. They have a nice courtyard too between the two buildings which consists of a waterfall and tables with chairs. The rest of the day was filling out paperwork and getting computer passwords set up. They are very organized with their training, we even put in multiple Web sites in our Favorites. The dress code is casual, which means I can wear sandals, flip flops, shorts, jeans, Tshirts, sweatshirts etc. just no tank tops and midriffs showing basically. Good deal! This easy dress code will save me time in the mornings of mindless searching for something to wear and shoes to go along. Everything sounds and looks good, I'm excited about it.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Cover Suspects

Saturday was another busy day. Started off watching the NE boys basketball. I love watching these guys they are so great! After they won, I had to go to work a few hours later. Work was was slow so I got off a half hour early. After work J and I decided to go to San Tan Brewery to check out another live local band. The name of this band is called The Cover Suspects and they were real entertaining. The lead singer came through the crowd a few times and also congratulated the bride, groom and wedding party that joined in the fun towards the end of the night. Apparently, the reception was a floozy since everyone decided to come to the bar to finish their night. We ordered a Big Nacho and a couple of drinks and sat back to enjoy the music and do some people watching. The nachos were awesome! Defiantly be getting those again.

Today I read that Rescue Me will be coming back in April. I love this show! It is the best show on cable (FX) and the most well written show I've seen. Dennis Leary is not only good in his stand up comedy acts, but has the best character in showbiz. I hope it continues for many seasons and that there won't be any more writers strike to push back the seasons.

In case you miss your favorite show you can go to Hulu and watch them for free, pretty much commercial free except a short advertisement here and there. I've used this site twice, but I need to use it more often to get caught up on some shows. You can also find old TV shows that haven't been on TV for years. Cheaper than buying the DVDs and works for those of us that don't have DVR. You can also watch movies on the site. Great stuff! You can also go to TV Shack to watch your shows, you don't have to wait 8 days for the show to air, like you do with Hulu. Happy Watching!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Tiggos

Friday was an interesting day. I decided it was time to get my Arizona license plate and register my car. I asked J to join me in this interesting voyage. He was rather "thrilled", hehe. First you have to stop at Emissions and give them $27.75 for less than 2 minutes of their time. Last time we went for J's car, there was a line, this time, nothing. From the time I pulled into the lot, got out of my car, dug out the cash and left the lot, it was 5 minutes. I still think it's all a sham. Then I go next door to the DMV or as they call it the MVD (Motor Vehicle Department) and get my car inspected. This process is always pretty quick and smooth. I was concerned that she didn't ask me for my emission paper to see if I passed. About 5 minutes there and I pull into a parking spot and head in to get my numbered ticket and wait for an hour. Apparently Friday is not a good day to go to the MVD, I made a mental note of that. As always, it's great people watching, eavesdropping on conversations, and a test of your patience. I got my plate and paid $118 for 1 year and I still didn't get asked about my emissions. Then I wanted to get a new picture for my drivers license since the last one was horrific. This took about 15 minutes and the picture turned out MUCH better! So an hour and 30 minutes at the MVD wasn't so bad, I just know not to go on a Monday or a Friday. But now I can renew online from now on.

Friday night we decided to try out a new bar and see a live band for the first time since moving down. Live local bands aren't a big deal down here. We went to a restaurant & bar in The Foothills of Ahwatukee called Tiggos . J ordered the special, a Flatiron steak with garlic mashed potatoes and baked potato soup. I ordered the club with Cesar salad. The meal was great and reasonably priced with lots of brews on tap. The band that was set to play is called Alley and the Pinheadz, an 80's band. I met Alley in the bathroom and we chatted for a few, she was in there changing into her costume/80's outfit. Their Web site shows her with black hair, but she recently colored it blond, which I think looks better. The girl has quite the work history with background in modeling, appearing in videos for Eminem, Gwen Stefani and Pink to name a few. We stayed through two of their sets and made the 30 minute drive home. The bar was a fun bar, with a small town feel and lots of friendly people. Being up close to the band, we naturally attract dancers and drunks. Including a guy who liked to take his flip flop off and spank himself and others with it, he also taunted J a few times. It was a good entertaining time and we'll be going back soon I'm sure.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Brown Cloud

Today it was warned to stay inside if you have asthma or a respiratory problem, to carpool, and no fires due to the brown cloud. HUH? I had to find out more about this, so I used my trusty Google for search. I found This interesting article that explained it all to me. Basically, the air on the ground is colder than it is above so it traps in any pollution and junk in the air, when the temperature rises the cloud starts to lift and results in a brown colored haze. I guess this is typical all over different parts of the world too.

I've decided to use Google's Picasa as my choice for picture albums and storage. I was using Kodak Gallery, but they recently changed their software in which resulted in the computer freezing up, sometimes resulting in slowness and a reboot. This was not only happening to me, but to the receivers of my albums. I've decided to switch to Picasa and eliminate all the mess. I didn't have good luck with Wal Mart's either, which caused me to try Kodak. Now I won't get nagging emails from Google wanting me to order from them and filling up my inbox, Kodak is bad with that crap.

As for some advice, do not buy The Dispenser (I, II, III, or IV). There was one left in our master shower and in the upstairs shower. They were moldy and pointless. I had to research how to take them off because they are held up with double sided tape and silicone. J had to use an exacto knife to cut it from the silicone and then I spent at least 30 minutes trying to scrape off the silicon and sticky tape, thank goodness for Goo Gone. They don't hold much liquid anyway and they don't have any choices for shampoos, conditioners, body wash. It's not like you can find Redken or Matrix as a choice for great looking locks to put in the dispenser.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Chillaxin


Today I got my hair cut and colored to get ready for the new gig. I forgot how good it feels to get your hair done, especially the shampooing. So after years of doing my hair myself, I think I'll treat myself every so often to just getting it done by someone else. I think it was one of those things that since I went to school for it that I can save lots of money doing it myself, but it's nice to save time, cleanup and sometimes strain from doing it myself.

J and I went to Target and found a great find! I found chaise loungers for a mere $7! They must have been left over from last year, but they had a lot of them and many colors to choose from. Chaise loungers are expensive! I've never seen any below $40. Now there is a place to lay out and bask in the sun comfortably by the pool!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Fall Has Come and Gone

Today I discovered 3 places that upped and closed. All next to each other too. Marcos Pizza, Jamba Juice and Aunt Leena's Creamery (you know the one I blogged about earlier that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives) all in the Fulton Ranch area. I guess Aunt Leena's packed up and left, they were originally from NYC so I guess they went back. What about your faithful Arizona visitors? I'm disappointed. J also read in today's paper that Caraba's will also be closing their doors for "unspecified reasons" at the Alma School Road location. While they keep building more strip malls, the existing ones are becoming just extra space.

Since the frost hit last week, the leaves turned colors and now are falling. It seems weird to see Fall this time of the year, but up North it's defiantly winter. It's nice to know that I will still see the Fall season, one of my favorites.

The gym workouts have been going great! Although I haven't been following that meal plan to the exact, I have been feeling good about it all. If I don't follow the meal plan, I eat whatever I want, but I just cut down the portion size. If you deprive yourself of the food you love you'll end up binging and ruining it all, so eat what you want, just in moderation. You'll burn calories at the gym and in your daily activities anyway. Calories in, calories out!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Burial

Bow your heads for Dwight. My little Betta fish died today or sometime in the night. He was found floating at the top of the bowl w/a puffy head. Poor guy, I feel bad and responsible. It had been a while since I'd changed his water. I buried him next to a plant in the front yard this morning. I'll miss the little guy!

Today at DSW I learned the register. I used my DSW 30% discount for the first time today also. It's been hard to hold off this long. I can't get over how much nicer people are here. When I worked retail for Gordmans people were so drab w/ no manners and let their kids run wild and would make tsk tsk noises. People around here don't. They discipline their kids and the kids listen, people are friendly and have manners. Today was a rainy day and you'd think a rainy cloudy day would make a person kinda down, but people like the rain here. Not to mention alot of the people are from out of town, so they are probably happy being away from their stressful homes, but even the locals are friendly. It's easy to start a conversation w/ anyone and I'm not that outgoing of a person. One thing I love is the fact that I know no one. I find myself looking around and sometimes doing a double look because I think they are a person I know.

Murphy's Law

I had to work at DSW for 6 hours. Now this job may be the most brain-less job I've had, but it is booorrring. I basically get paid a few bucks to walk around for 4-6hours, that's a lot of walking! For some reason they have a ton of people working too as if we all weren't bored enough. I don't understand their logic w/ scheduling, payroll and their "extended hours". But it's nice to have a few bucks and I'll probably keep it for a little while after I start working full time.

J's been moping around and depressed the last few days; nothing for him to do. I can think of a list of things to be done around the house, but he's "on vacation". So I decided to try to find a place that has live music/band. I found a place 10 miles from the house and it seemed really cool and had a ton of locations in Arizona including 1 in Kansas. We get there at 10, since I didn't get home from work until 9:30 and discovered the place was closed. Their lights were on, but barstools up and no one around. It was weird, it didn't look like it was closed for good since there weren't any signs up on the doors. The place is called Famous Sams and if you look at their Web site it looks like a cool fun place to hang. Maybe we'll call them and see what the deal is.

Here it was after 1o and now where should I take J to forget his boredom? He wanted to check out Murphy's Law Irish Pub since it was brand new and it was close to home. It's actually next door to the San Tan Brewery in which I've talked about in an earlier post. The place was pretty cool. Lots of drink choices, your typical Irish decor, large bar and a great crowd of 20 and 30 somethings. It was pretty packed when we got there and as the time went on, more and more kept coming. One funny thing we saw was a cab came to pick up a bunch of guys, 5 in fact. Five big guys fit into a taxi cab! It was fun to watch them figure out how they were going to fit. The drinking and driving laws are extremely tight here. I will not drink and drive here after having 2 drinks, it's not worth the risk. If you get 1 DUI, your license will be taken for 12 months and you could go to The Tent & This. We don't need any of that. Anyway, we had a good time at Murphy's Law, perhaps we'll spend St. Patricks day there and I know we'll be heading back sometime beforehand. Now we just need some friends to come visit or make some friends to hang out with!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year

Happy 2009 to everyone! J and I spent our Eve at the Insight Bowl game in Tempe. We were invited by J's cousin to see the game and go to the block party afterward. The game was fun and exciting. Our seats were 2 rows from the bottom on the 40 yard line; we were on the Kansas side and each seat had a pom pom on them. The game started out w/ 5 parachuters coming in to make a landing on the football field, followed by the national anthem and fireworks. With every touchdown and field goal there was fireworks. Half time was funny, Kansas did there performance which included Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Minnesota also had that in mind. They did their "Thriller" version and by far surpassed Kansas's performance. Minnesota's band is awesome! After the Kansas win, we headed over to the block party on Mill Avenue. They had lots of things for kids to do including carnival rides, air guitar contest, rock climbing wall, guitar hero and about 4 stages for bands. We ate at Gordon Biersch Brewery and had an awesome meal. Afterwards, we walked down to the lake where the fireworks would be and Styx would perform. Three firework displays and an hour and 20 minutes of Styx we headed home. It was a good night to ring in the new year, a little cold, but it was a good time.