Allergies, Cactus and T.V.

The month of March has been going by really fast. I can tell Spring it here due to the blooming flowers. Some cactus have flowers on them, which makes the cactus pretty and less dangerous looking. Some of the trees are growing their leaves back and everyone seems to be hitting up the nurseries getting big pots and flowers. I've noticed butterflies all over. Just tons of monarchs flying around in the parks and backyard. All of this blooming gets every ones allergies all flared up. I never would have thought allergies would be so bad around here. I had someone tell me that I must not have allergies because I was sitting outside enjoying my lunch. I don't have allergies, but when I first moved down here I noticed my nose was dry and I'd blow out blood. This has been happening again, I don't think it's allergy related, but more likely because the dry weather lately and the bad amount of dust blowing around from the strong winds we've been having.

Uncle B cut off some of his cactus for us to plant in our yard. I hope they take, but we shall see. I've killed regular houseplants, so we'll see if I kill these too. I didn't do any research before planting them in the ground, which I should have done.

One of my favorite Monday night T.V. shows is Rules of Engagement, I highly recommend watching this show on CBS. It's funny and a great way to finish out a Monday-back to work-night. In fact, the whole line up from 7-9 is great on CBS on Monday nights.

I actually went to the gym on a weekend. Yesterday was day 1 of the new "trying to work out 4 times a week". Tonight was day 2, half way there!

Coffee Anyone?

How is the no coffee for lent working out for me? Well, it's been going fine. I haven't had one drop of it. I've been drinking more water which is better for me anyway. But I can't wait to have some coffee and my first drink will be at my parents. They make pretty good coffee.

Last night the Mutual Funds department was invited to free drinks and appetizers by one of the fund companies. Naturally, I took up on this offer. I sat at Jilly's American Grill from 4:15 until 7:30 and took in as many free drinks as I would allow myself to have in order to still drive home safely. The appetizers were rather tasty and the conversation was interesting. There's nothing like getting to know your co-workers like loosening up at the bar. The stuff that comes out of the mouths of others when they have some poison to loosen their lips. Good stuff. The wind was blowing like crazy, tumbleweeds blowing across the freeway, dust blowing as though it appeared to be foggy. It sure made for an interesting drive home.

Hectic Week

It's been a pretty hectic time for me around here. More of a challenge than hectic I should say. The job has been going well. I've been working and staying busy. That's been fine.

When I took my car into Honda for an oil change, the first time since moving here, they came up with a small list of things that needed to be repaired. Which just frustrates me because I know that I have a lot of miles on the car and that this would happen eventually, but I didn't want it to happen right now. That is how everything happens to me; all at once and in full force. It's something I don't get used to, I just accept it. Well, it's been a pain calling around to see if any other places could do the same thing for less money. Generally, I like to take my car to Honda places since they specialize in them and know what can or can't be done and what's a priority and what's not. The first thing to take care of is the brake pads. Next will be the leaking struts and then someday a new timing belt with water pump. Ultimately, we've decided to take my car to Honda and get the best service and knowledge. It may cost a few bucks more than those other places, but they aren't going to tell me to do something that isn't necessary as some of the places we've visited for an estimate. Honda also has great customer service and a luxurious waiting area.

In the meantime, I've been shopping for car insurance. Since I've moved states apparently you have to get insurance in the state you live in no matter what. I am currently under my parents name which means my premium is discounted and dirt cheap. AZ has the largest auto insurance in the nation. I haven't been able to find insurance cheaper than $549 for 6 months! I just can't believe it. That's how much I've been paying for one whole year. There is one minor problem that is making it a little larger. In 2006 I backed into my parents metal trashcan. I won't get into any details, but there is small claim on my VIN now which raises a flag and won't be erased from my name for another 2 years (5 years total). I have decided to stay under my parents name until the underwriters catch wind that I've moved states. My insurance company was cool with it. Once that happens, then I'll start shopping for insurance all over again. At least now I know what to expect.

I wanted to start going to the gym 4 times a week, but that hasn't been happening. In fact, I haven't been to the gym yet this week. I have been unusually tired the last week or there has been something going on.

Catch Up

Today was another day of "training" which consisted of Operations Orientation which meant I started at 8 and got to leave at 3! Love those days! When I came home I had a nice little surprise awaiting for me. My Bissell Green Tea Steam Mop! I was so excited to see this awesome machine. The price dropped $10.00, so I thought I'd better snatch it up right away. You can only order this mop online; not sure why they don't sell this in stores anywhere. Probably because it's so awesome that they wouldn't be able to keep it on the shelves :) Naturally I dug into the box right away and wanted to use it. It works really well and only requires water. It comes with two machine washable microfiber pads. I decided against the Swiffer wet jet because it wouldn't get in between the grout lines, I'd have to change the pads a hundred times, buy the chemicals and pads continuously, and it streaks.

Tonight I added larger weight in the Body Pump class. They recommend increasing your weight every 6 weeks. I've come along way since I first started that class it's pretty cool to feel yourself making progress. I'd like to start going to the gym 4 times a week rather than the 3, but it can be hard to get the motivation for that extra day.

J and I will be coming to NE over Easter weekend. Plane tickets have been purchased today. We'll spend a day and half with each family to balance it all out. The trip will be another quick one, but with me having Good Friday off, has made it a lot easier to plan.

Over the weekend my brother announced his engagement. It took us by surprise since we thought he never wanted to get married and has never made any mention of it.

We bought curtains for our living room area two weeks ago, but they just sit and wait for curtain rods to be purchased. It seems that stores never carry enough of the same rod. We need a lot of rods so it makes it difficult to find enough of the same ones, but also finding the correct size and color.

The weather has been perfect for the past week. Upper 70's and low to mid 80's. The 80's are my favorite temperature.

Ba ba ba barrraa cuudda!

Our pool vacuum cleaner broke down last week so today J went to buy a new one from Leslie's Pool Supply. He bought the Baracuda. The brand we had was Hayward and they constantly need repairing. We have been getting the pool ready for our first visitors coming in April. We still need to replace the pole to our basketball hoop and will be getting a volleyball net. Lots of pool games to be played! Just need someone to play them with.

The weather has been warming up nicely within the past week getting up in the 80's. This week we will probably see a few days in the 90's. I've been told between now and May the weather is perfect.

It's nice that the price of gas had begun to fall again. We are sitting at $1.87. I never thought I'd ever see it below $2.00 again.

Ostrich Festival

Every year Chandler hosts the Ostrich Festival. Of course we had to go check this out. It started on Friday and ended Sunday. We went Friday right when it opened. The Ostrich races started at 5, Jousting at 6, Mark Chesnutt at 7 then Foghat at 9. It was a rather entertaining, busy night planned for us. The tickets were only $8 per person. They had alot going on, so we missed a few things like the pig races and sea lion show. I wanted to try out the Ostrich burgers, but they were pricey. We opted for BBQ sandwich's and a caramel funnel cake instead. Mark Chesnutt put on a great show! Foghat was just OK. We were dressed like it was summertime though. The low was in the 50's and we had shorts, t-shirts and sandals on and we were freezing. I couldn't feel my toes! We both agreed that this festival was better than the state fair and this was only a few miles from the house.

Not Much

It was kind of a low profile weekend. Friday we were invited to Bogeys in which we met 3 more people through Tim and Stephen. After we filled our bellies some of us headed over to a bar called Pranksters Gar and Brill. We will need to go back to this place because their wings smell awesome! I wished we would have eaten there because you get large portions for very little money. This place was another dive bar. I'm actually going to rate it as my #1 pick with Bogey's as second and O'Kelley's as third. O'Kelley's would be second but their hightop tables don't have seat backs (that's a big one for me).

Saturday I slept in until 10:00, I haven't done that in months! Then we got ready to head out to Ace Hardware and Kohl's. We went to the Ace Hardware down about 5 miles from our house at the Sun Lakes location to look for air filters. When we got there it was full of old people outside lining up. They were giving away free hot dogs and pop. You see, Sun Lakes is an age-restricted community and when someone advertises free stuff they take full advantage. Of course we lined up to get in on the action, but they were out of buns. We headed inside to pick up the filters and a toilet seat and headed back out to see if they had more buns in. I went to get my hotdog and tried to snatch one up for J, but some old person grabbed from underneath me! They need to simmer down, it was a hot dog frenzy out there! We made it out alive and then headed to Kohl's to see if J could finally find some shorts. He didn't find any shorts, but found shirts instead. Saturday night we went to Ruby Tuesday for supper.

Addiction

I'm an addict I've recently discovered. I'm not sure how or when it happened. It's like crack. It's in front of me everyday and everyone has it. Coffee is evil! I decided to give up coffee for lent. I didn't think it would be hard at all since I only have 1 cup a day, if even that. I think part of the problem is when I make it, I don't make it very strong so when I have someone else theirs is strong and that hooks me in. I crave the taste of it and love the smell. Have you ever noticed how everyone seems to have a coffee in their hands? Or a mug/cup which you assume has coffee in it? Everywhere you go there is coffee. I've been drinking green tea, which I drink from time to time anyway. Green tea has some caffeine in it, but it doesn't have that awesome smell of coffee. Everyday I struggle with this, but in the long run it makes me stronger and I realize how much I can control my head.

Dive Bars Rock!

Saturday J and I went to Hoosiers for breakfast. This place is known for their breakfast and hometown feel. It's basically a diner-looking restaurant with home cooking. It was really good. Afterwards we had planned to head downtown to the Chandler car show. Uncle B had his Charger there. They had food vendors, live local bands and lots of cars. We spent a good 3 hours there and had a good time relaxing.

Saturday night Stephen invited us out again to meet up with Tim and Randi, whom we met a few weeks back. We met up at Bogeys and had some grub and a drink. It was laid back and oldish, you know, not quite the hole in the wall, but on the border. I love these kinds of bars. Around 9ish me, J, Tim and Randi headed down the street to a biker bar called O'Kelly's to watch a band called the Cover Junkies. These guys rocked! They play rock and roll, the good stuff like Alice in Chains, AC/DC, Metallica, Motley Crue, Tesla etc. This bar also rocked! It was normal, average Joe type-people, including bikers. No metro-sexuals around there! We'll be going back there for sure.

Sunday afternoon, J set out to find sandals, shorts and a belt. He found sandals and the belt, but no shorts. Old Navy had a $5 sale going on. Two flip flops for $5, tanks and polos for $5. I snagged up some flip flops and tanks. The rest of my Sunday was filled with cleaning and laundry, yee haw.

It's Been a While

WOW! It's been a long time since I've written and there has been a lot going on. Last weeks training has been going well. It started out with me and another guy in training on Thursday, then on Friday I was told it was just going to be me since he got called to come back and work. Since it's just been me for the past 3 days, I'm outta there between 2-3 and I get to come home. It's been nice going to work at 8 and coming home at 2:30. I can get used to this! Too bad it all ends tomorrow.


Friday Stephen invited J and I out to Rock Bottom Brewery then we went down the street to Z' Tejas for a drink and try out their cornbread. It turned out to be a good night and was nice to try out some new places.