Uh oh

Ryan and I got to Omaha on Thursday and my efficient husband was done with all of his packing/unpacking by Friday.  I, however, am putting most of it off.  I decided, however, that today was the day.  I opened up the giant tote labeled "Caitlin's Clothes" and began switching out the seasons.  (We dropped about 60 degrees when we arrived here). 

As I started digging I realized I'm missing a few essential that I believe are buried deep in our storage unit. Crap.  Unless we dig or I buy new stuff (which I definitely do not need) I will be surviving this winter with two pairs of jeans, no socks taller than my ankles, no tights for church, and worst of all, only one pair of sweatpants.  Heaven help me.

I also realized I have way too much clothes.  I'm ready to purge but will save that until the final unpacking after all this moving junk is over.

Clockwork

Bodies are so weird. In many way, but here is just one example.

For three days in a row last week I woke up at exactly 4:28 am.

For the third day in a row this week it's been 5:20. How do they do that??

Here we go again!

Today is what now... Tuesday?

Guess what Thursday is.

Ryan's last day of work here in Arizona!

Can you believe it? I can't.  Where did the past three months go?  I feel like we just drove across the country and now it's time to pack it back up and do it again.  It's time to test our Tetris skills to see if we can fit everything back in the Jeep.  Wish us luck!

And of course, everyone here is reminding us that we're leaving at the wrong time.  It's just finally starting to cool off.  And by cool off it's still highs in the 90's.  BUT, I will say it is much more bearable and the mornings are beautiful.  Will I miss this place?  Probably not.  Sad to say, but we didn't really connect with anyone here or fall in love with the area.  More than anything, it has been a wonderful vacation for me - a time to develop my sewing, crafting, and cooking skills as I've enjoyed being a stay-at-home wife.  But all good things must come to an end. 

Adios, Arizona!!

Say "Hello" to My Little Friend!

[I've removed the picture because apparently the website I saved it from has occasional problems with Malware]

Meet... my bike.  I don't have a name for him/her, yet. 

We'll see how things go as we become better friends.

Ryan and I are constantly trying to find things to do together and especially things that will keep us active and healthy because we spend too much time on our comfortable couch enjoying Fall's new line up.  A month or so ago we decided we should get bikes.  Keep in mind, it has been probably 10 years since either of us have really ridden a bike, so maybe it wasn't the best idea.  But we're going with it. 

 Someone told us now would be a good time to buy 2012 bikes as stores make room for 2013.  However, brand new bikes are expensive and nothing seemed to be on sale more than $50 or so.  Then a friend recommended we look on Craigslit and that Phoenix would be a great place for used bikes.  Boy, was he right!  Ryan likes new shiny things, but I like a good deal.  So the hunt was on.

We started looking Sunday night and Ryan found one he was really interested in and felt really good about. The owner was super nice and agreed to hold it until we could get there.  I was shocked when Ryan trusted me to look for my own bike.  We did our research and had a list of brands and types we wanted and we knew base prices so we felt fairly educated on the whole thing.  I was still nervous.  Ryan is picky!  

I downloaded the Craiglist app (I remembered you loved it, Maegan!) and got to work.  When I got out of the shower I saw a posting for a 6-month old Trek 7.3 (purchased for $590) being sold for $250.  The poor woman needed cash fast.  I was going to put off calling but felt prompted to call then.  I found out someone was going to look at it later that day but it was first come first serve and I could be there in 45 minutes so I threw on some clothes and hopped in the Jeep.  As I was driving I realized I was in a sketchy part of town, but it was noon and we were meeting at a Walgreens.  I felt safe enough.  

This was my first Craiglist purchase and I had to please Ryan so I was nervous throughout the whole thing!  I felt like I wasn't asking the right questions, or really any questions at all, but I could tell it was the new edition of the bike and despite a few dings, it was in good condition.  Holly, the owner, was really nice and sad to see it go and I felt bad that she was in such a position in her life that she so desperately just needed the money.  The ATM I went to only gives $20's so I actually gave her an extra $10 (aren't I so nice?).

I texted Ryan but didn't expect to hear anything because the most I ever hear from him throughout the day is maybe one text over lunch.  But he did call over lunch, shocked at what I had done.  See, it's scary trying to please this man, sometimes.  But I happened to be right by the hospital so I swung by and showed him and he approved! He approved even more when he saw it at home.  I did awesome, phew.

So awesome, he really wanted to go find a bike when he got home.  We drove all over the valley (over an hour away) looking at new and used bikes but no luck.  We ended up driving even further away to get to the original bike that Ryan found online.  The owner was fantastic and lived in a reallllly nice area.  He let us know which house was his by telling us the white BMW 328 was in the driveway.  Then, we happened to see a Porsche and Harley Davidson in his garage.  This guy has some cash to spare.  The bike was bought in Abu Dhabi a few years ago but is in pristine condition.

Long story short, here is Ryan's new bike:

[I've removed the picture because apparently the website I saved it from has occasional problems with Malware] 

I went for a 5-mile bike ride this morning and it's much harder than it looks.  My legs are tired and my butt hurts.  Recommendations for comfy seats? I have a bony butt and I don't think I'll last long on mine.

Sorry for the long-windedness of the post.  Moral of the story: We bought ourselves our early Christmas presents and got two very nice bikes for nearly half price.  Go Craigslist.

"I'm not a girl"

The other day I said to Ryan, "I was just thinking today about how I'm not a girl."  I continued to explain (which I will shortly) and he corrected me that I am in fact a girl, according to my parts.  I was informed that what I meant to say was I'm not girl-Y. He's right.  I'm not girly and I'm very low maintenance.

I posted this picture on instagram around the same time I was having this realization. 

This is a perfect picture of my ideal outfit.  It's actually way cuter than what I wear most days.  Take today for example.  This picture was taken on Tuesday when I actually showered  and styled my hair.  Today is Thursday and I have not washed my hair since that picture.  And my outfit?  Men's soccer shorts and an Under Armour Duke Rowing shirt that I bought for $5 at their merchandise sale.  Yesterday? Men's basketball shorts that go down past my knees and a work-out shirt.  And yes, I even go out in public dressed like this.

Now let me say this.  If it weren't still triple digits here, I would be wearing jeans because I do love them.  But it's hot and I sweat so if I wear workout clothes all day it's okay to sweat, right?

Other examples of my low maintenance, non girly ways:

• I don't know how to "officially" do my makeup.  I just make it up as I go.
• I use the same purse every day
• Toms go with everything, right? Because I wear them every day
• Ryan will most likely never buy me any jewelry and that's the way I want it
• I only wear jewelry on Sundays and date night
• What I consider "dressing up" is all y'alls daily outfits
• I go shopping these days and have no idea how to wear any of the "in style" clothing

My few "girly"ways

• I do love my hair.  I don't mind a ponytail, but if it's down, it needs to be styled.
• I refuse to have pictures taken of me unless I look "cute."  I don't care if strangers see my slob ways, but heaven forbid it is posted online or worse, our permanent photo albums!
• I never go make-up less.  Our family is blessed with thin, light-ish eye lashes and purple bags so I need me some daily mascara and good cover up.  Otherwise, I get asked if I'm tired or sick.  True story.
• Sexy Sunday 

Sedona

We went up to Sedona, AZ on Thursday afternoon to stay the night and hike all day Friday.  Oh my goodness, it was beautiful!  I've gotta say, of all the vacations we've been on, this is definitely in the top three.  I realized I love to be outdoors where it's peaceful and quiet and breathtaking.  I already feel too old for the hustle and bustle of city life so this short little trip was divine.  It was hard to narrow the pictures down because every single one was gorgeous! Now if we could just afford one of the gorgeous mansions in the rocks...

Los Angeles

FACT: I've never been to California.

FACT: We currently live 6ish hours from LA

FACT: Chris and Erica live in LA-ish

FACT: We went to see them this past weekend

FACT: They need to always live close

After only five hours of sleep, Ryan and I hit the town on Friday morning. Our first stop was the Warner Brothers Studio Tour.  I am so fascinated by everything that goes into making movies and TV and how much they can do right their on their set.  

Top Left: This scene was used as part of Jurassic park when the Jeep is

 being chased as well as many other movies/TV that I can't remember.  

But they fooled us into thinking they're in the middle of nowhere!

Top Right: This city has been New York, Chicago, Gotham, Cincinnati and so on...

Bottom Left: This is Loralee's house in Gilmore Girls (I believe) but 

it's obviously only used as a facade.

Bottom right: Russel Brand's Rolls Royce Golf Cart

We then wandered through the prop areas.  If you are making a movie/show you can just walk through and put a label on what you want and rent it for the time needed.  They have a price per week listed.  I'd never really thought about how everything from furniture to lights to centerpieces and vases had to be thought out!

Top Left: Their sculpting department.  Who knew you'd need a sculpting department? 

They also had carpentry, metal work, painting, etc.

Ryan absolutely loved this next part.  These are the real cars, not replicas from Batman, 

Chuck (the Nerd Herd Car), the Space Capsule from Big Bang (LOVE that show!) and 

the General Lee from the original Dukes of Hazzard.

Our guide took us to see the Friends set before they take it off to the Smithsonian.  

Again, this is all the originals (or so they tell us).  Check out the giant/small laptop!

We got to see the Warner Brothers tower but sadly no Animaniacs.  The timing also worked out

perfectly for us to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour fly over on it's trip around Southern California. 

Talk about once-in-a-lifetime experience!

 

We tried going to the Griffith Observatory which is supposed to be really neat, but we didn't connect

the Space Shuttle with Observatory.  When we got there, they had closed it down to clear it out.  

They had thousands of people there to watch the fly-over and they needed to get them out 

before they could function again.  Bummer.

So on we went to the Hollywood Boulevard! 

After driving down Route 66 (Santa Monica Boulevard) we hit the coast and the Santa Monica Pier. 

Erica, Chris, and Hattie joined us for a beautiful sunset, dinner and some good friendship.

I love this picture in the bottom left.  

Ryan was trying to get Hattie to smile which made Chris and Erica laugh.  

Aren't they just the cutest family?

On Saturday we slept in, which was heavenly.  Bless Hattie, she's a champ for letting us sleep until 10! I needed it.  All day Friday I had a headache that developed into the worst headache I've ever had.  All I wanted to do was sleep it off but sadly it was still there when I woke up.  Thankfully, I have a very skilled husband who relieved the tension in my neck and back so it magically went away.  Those PT skills have come in handy quite often in this household.

We packed our beach bags and headed to Huntington Beach where Ryan was once again in heaven.

This kid is such a California boy at heart.  Except the water was much colder than what we're used to so we all opted to watch the National Championship Beach Volleyball tournament.

We are so grateful Chris and Erica let us stay with them and were willing to drive all over to spend time with us.  We're excited to see them and the whole Jensen clan at Christmas in Omaha!

On the way out of town on Sunday we stopped and had lunch with Ryan's Aunt Pearl.  She is his (adopted) mother's sister and she is something else!  She is a spicy little thing that even at age 74 always has a boyfriend.  I had never met her before but I'm glad I got the chance.  I also got as much information from her that I could about her parents and grandparents so I can do more family history.  I'm on a roll. :)

 

Next stop? Sedona this upcoming weekend.