Daylight Savings...

...is KICKING our TRASH!!!

It has been over a week now since we jumped forward an hour...and it IS getting better

BUT STILL!

Arizona is smart.

WHO wants to screw up their internal clock for a bit JUST to be able to get out of bed earlier???

Make any sense?

Didn't think so.

Why don't we just wake up when we want to?

I like that idea.

Who seconds it?

We wake up when it is still dark.

NOT A FAN!

And go to bed when it is still light.

What the HECK?

My perfect day would start at 8am when I wake up

WITHOUT

an alarm clock...

Open my office at 10am...

Close the office between 1pm-3pm for naps

(Hey! Other countries have a rest time each day! Let's do that!

And then I will be okay with the idea of saving daylight.)

And leave at 5pm...

Then go to bed...around....I don't know when....

Sounds like the perfect day for me!

=]

I remember last summer, just after arriving here in Utah,

we ran to Sam's Club for some shopping after work.

We entered just after 8pm.

The sun was still out...

At 9:15pm we left...and when we walked outside, the SUN was STILL UP!

I looked at Nik and then my watch.

We were so confused!

Anywho...Nik and I only have to deal with this for another 3.5 weeks.

Then we go to California which is the same time as Arizona right now...and what we were used to just 2 weeks ago.

Then we will go to the wonderful Desert Land....and stay the same time allllll year long!

We like that idea!

Loves!

Arizona...Here We Come!!!

Nik and I have made the decision that it is time for us to come HOME! We have enjoyed this adventure of being newlyweds in Utah...but our journey up here has come to an end. 

Maybe it is more me than him....but we want to be home with friends and family. We want to be home with the desert. We want to be home to the place we have lived our whole lives. 

But there is one little pit stop on the way...San Diego!

Next month we will be heading to San Diego for a summer job. Nik will be selling Pest Control and I will be working in the office taking care of the appointments and paperwork for that company. I am excited for a change but to still be working in an office. I love the office job. I am excited to be working with Nik. Nik's best friend Josh got him an interview with the company and luckily we were hired on. Now we get to spend the summer with friends! Josh and Kylee did this same thing last year and enjoyed it. We look forward to the great opportunities it can bring. Living in San Diego in the summer is going to be AWESOME!

Then in August we will leave San Diego and head back to ARIZONA! I couldn't be happier. Sometimes you just have to go with what feels right...and this totally does!

There is one thing Nik and I will not agree on.....being sad about leaving our jobs up here. Yes, he has been so blessed to have a Full Time job but it was just one of "those" J.O.B.s. = Just Over Broke. He is happy to get out of there and do something he WANTS to do. As for me...I am going to miss my boss and his awesome family. They really took us in under their wings. I felt immediately like family. They had us over for their family Independence Day party, an Office Christmas Party (which was only Nik and I and their kids all playing RockBand 2. It was so FUN!), and then they had us over for The Superbowl. It was so fun to be around little kids. Their 2 youngest are the same ages as my 2 youngest sisters. They are so cute. Paul also helped Nik and I move into our 2nd apartment, helped us after the deer accident with towing, and picking me up at home for work when Nik was at school with the car. I am going to miss Paul (my boss) and Mary (his wife). They were so nice. It helps when you love your job to have a great boss. Thank you Paul and Mary.

Well....now the word is out. Hopefully you are all as excited as we are! We can't wait to COME HOME!!!! 

Let's have a party when we get there! K? K!

WHAT the HECK!!!

As this is mine and Nik's first winter with snow, many have warned us about Spring Fever.

Spring Fever is when the weather starts getting warmer and the snow melts away, you get really excited for the new season. New season of windows being left open, flip flops popping out, and short sleeved shirts.

This last week has been in the high 40's and low 50's.

BEAUTIFUL!

Then out of NOWHERE comes this storm.

Let me describe this GLORIOUS day for you....and hopefully you could catch the eye-rollage I just gave.

Thursday March 4, 2010.
Wake up at 6am.
Turn on the news at 6:30am.
Weather is at 32degrees.
I thought to myself "Oh what a wonderful day this will be!"
The weather man lays out the temps for the day...
Morning: 32. Noon: 50. Afternoon: 46.
Grant - KSL's weather man, says that in the afternoon there will be rain with a chance that it turns to snow.
Now, just so you know, Grant has not been the most accurate when it has come to these storms.
I didn't believe him...or maybe just didn't WANT to believe him.
Nik and I went to work with short sleeves (mainly because we were going to be inside all day) and I brought a light "Arizona" jacket to ride home in.
We leave for work at 9am and it is a beautiful morning.
The sun is out, people are jogging, and I am happy!
Nik comes over to my office for lunch at 1pm and there is a little cloud cover.
He leaves from lunch at 2pm to go back to work and there is a slight drizzle.
Now the fun begins...3pm hits and the rain comes down harder.
In my office, I have a glass wall and door ahead of me, so I can see everything going on outside.
The rain begins acting strange.
The rain comes down casually, then hard, then casually, then SNOW, then hard rain, then BIG SNOW, then a drizzle, then a spray, then SNOW, then hard rain...over and over again.
All of this goes on and each new change lasts only a few seconds to a minute of two and then it is on to the next change....snow, rain, barely anything, rain, snow, etc.
Well, 4pm rolls around and Nik needs me to run to BYU's Surplus Sale right down the street.
They sell their used electronics and he wanted a new flat screen monitor.
I told my boss about it and he wanted to check it out too since he has never been before.
At this point it is snowing but not sticking...Hallelujah!
This was good.
So I took a picture of what my office parking lot looked like before my boss, Paul, and I went to the sale.

Paul and I stood outside for at least 20 minutes at this sale waiting in line to get in.
We got in, I found Nik a used, but in very good condition, flat screen monitor for $50.
Paul wasn't impressed with anything he saw...but for poor college students, these sales are awesome!
Paul and I went back to the office.
5pm rolls around and this is what the parking lot looks like.

CRAZY!
When we were standing in line, I was catching HUGE snowflakes. The size of quarters!
It was awesome but so freezing because I was in my "Arizona" jacket...i.e. a thin hoodie.
When Paul and I were driving back, you couldn't see a quarter mile ahead of you because of how hard and fast it was coming down.
I was so scared because I knew that in an hour I would have to drive down and pick Nik up from work.
Luckily the snow slowed down to where I could drive when I got off work at 6.
Here is a picture of the top of my car when I was leaving.

That is at least an inch. Maybe 1.25 inches.
I should have put something up in the picture to give reference. sorry.
Anywho....here is a pretty tree right in front of where I parked.
Remember, 3 hours earlier this was a brown tree and completely green grass.

Pretty, huh?
See, I can handle the snow if I can be inside my house.
It is very pretty to look at when wrapped in a blanket, watching a movie inside, and having a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for dinner.
I was able to pick Nik up safely and return home with both of us in one piece.
I was lucky the snow had slowed down and so it wasn't difficult at all to drive.
It was just very weird that EVERYTHING was white when only hours before it was green and brown.
He is a panoramic shot of the front of the building Nik and I live in. Cambridge Court.

 

And here is the shot of what we see outside our window every day. Glenwood Apartments.

It is very pretty....and cold.

Now this morning I woke up to the cars slushing outside on the streets.
Snow has covered even more of the roads and sidewalks and trees.
I wish I could stay home with Nik and we could cuddle up with The Office, lol, and some hot chocolate.
We can't wait for Spring and to be done with this white STUFF.

Here is a picture Nik sent me (sorry it is from a phone) this morning as he was headed to class. This is our parking lot...and it didn't look like this last night. Thank goodness we were able to find a spot in the parking garage.

Now, don't think this is a "downer" post. We are very happy to have to opportunity to live up here and go to school and have all these learning experiences. Neither of us have lived outside of AZ, except for the 2 years Nik was on an LDS Mission in Japan. We have learned so much about ourselves and what we want in our future.
Thank you Utah for being so pretty, but please cut it out with the snow.

The End.

Rock Climbing

Some of Nik's co-workers invited us to go rock climbing with them a few weeks ago. It was awesome. We didn't even know the rock gym was right around the corner from our apartment.
Nik and I have found a new fun thing to do in Provo. We can't wait to go again!
Here are some pictures from our date.

My Handsome Man

Waiting to belay.

Now it's my turn to climb. And I made it to the TOP!

 

We went up to the second story to do Free Climbing (no ropes attached). Nik made it all the way up to the top...and then some. I made it this far and it took all I had to hold on long enough for the picture.

Here is one of Nik's many times at the top of the climb. He is a fast climber...it makes my arms really tired when I have to belay him.

After a long night of climbing we ran across the street (and through the snow storm) to The Pizza Pie Cafe. They have pizza, pasta, and salad buffets. It's awesome! 

Nik and I love this place. The owners were so smart to put it in the middle of a college town.

Oh deer.

Friday Night

6:05 pm

Dark Highway

Open field to the East

50 mph speed limit

Truck

Deer

BOOM!

 

 The big dent on the hood is from the deer's head.

The damage to the grill is from the body.

The bumper didn't budge hardly at all.

Dead stupid deer.

The antlers broke off from contact to truck and asphalt.

The nice police officer lady drug it off to the side of the road for safety.

 

Look at that hair on the bumper.

Pretty sick.

I would show you the poo smear on the driver side but figured I would lose a few Followers of my Blog.

I know my Mamma would appreciate that picture being left out.

 

Here are the antlers that we picked up out of the street.

The right one broke in pieces but the left looks like a clean whole break.

Truck in shop

Hopefully:

It's declared a "Total Loss"

Brother (owner of truck) gets check

We fix truck (if worth it)

Everybody is happy

Now we are back to one vehicle.

Not too hard with our schedules.

Luckily we only work a mile from each other and only a mile from home.

P.S. I have one huge thing to be thankful for in this mess...Nik wasn't hurt one bit. Thank Heavens.
And for those of you who know me...you know my reaction to this was not as lite as described...I just figured I would save you the details because I bet all of you could picture it yourself. :)

The Rude Awakening && Some Laughs

I’ve never considered myself to be claustrophobic but in this last year I have found myself to be more and more scared of being trapped. This was all proven even more so this last weekend. Let me start from the beginning.

Saturday morning Nik and I woke up to find snow falling down ever so nicely and lots of snow on the bushes and cars across the street in the parking lots. It was so fun to look at that and realize we lived in a place that SNOWS! Snow is pretty and it is fun but I don’t like to be cold or wet…so we shall see how long I really think it is pretty and fun.

We finish getting ready for the day and around Noon we are ready to head out and run some errands. The snow had stopped and the snow on the bushes and cars had melted. I ran down to our parking garage to get the car while Nik finished getting ready. I brought the car up and parked it right in front of our door for an easy leave. The sky was blue and pretty and I thought it was going to be a great day out. WRONG! I ran inside to finish packing up my purse and waited no more than 2 minutes for Nik to finish up. We walked outside to get in the car…and it was SNOWING. HARDCORE!

Just a reminder…we are from Mesa, AZ and we were lucky enough to get an inch of snow 1.5 years ago that actually stuck to the ground. That was a crazy fluke. That never happens. So we do not like the snow, nor are we used to it. I was sooooo scared driving. I couldn’t see far ahead of me nor could I see too far behind me. The windows were fogging and so I to take care of that while making sure I got the snow off the windshield, so on and so forth. The snow was coming down so fast it would just sweep across the street. I felt soooo claustrophobic because I couldn’t see all my surroundings clearly. I was so afraid of getting in an accident. I HATED IT!!!!

Luckily we got to our destination safely and that storm only lasted about 15 minutes. Then it was clear blue skies the rest of the afternoon.

Did I tell you I hate snow and am not a big fan of Utah??? We are going to AZ for the holidays to thaw out. Thank heavens!

Onto the funnies. Nik and I stopped at Sally Beauty Supply to get some hair clippers so I can cut his hair, which turned out great! While we were checking out Nik decided to check out the little cheap items right there in front of the register. The one item was one of those collapsible brushes that you have to open up and then push the bristles out and then you can use it. Well, Nik opens it up but pushes WAY too hard on the bristles and snaps the brush, causing some of the plastic connector pieces to fling across the store and down the aisle. His face was priceless. My face was shocked. The cashier’s face was caught off guard. And all in all we couldn’t stop laughing. Nik ran over to get the plastic piece as I just stood there stunned at what just happened. The cashier was nice enough to not make us pay…it was only a dollar. No biggie. We got in the car and our sides were hurting so bad. I wish I would have been able to take a picture of his face when it happened. It was HILARIOUS! Then all throughout the day we would just randomly say “Remember the hairbrush?” and bust up laughing. We were laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our cheeks.

I am so happy to be married to my best friend who makes me laugh even when I am miserable because of the snow and being wet…all because of a hairbrush!

Slower Traffic Keep Right

Ok....lemme tell ya....I am not the biggest fan of Utah drivers! They are always speeding and driving crazy and seriously I miss the speed cameras in AZ. When I was there in AZ I hated them but now they seem like a really good idea. Well I guess there is a law here in UT that does not allow for such cameras and it really ticks me off! Do you know how many red light runners I see on a daily basis?? At least 2! How about speeding?? Too many to count! This really scares me because what is going to happen when snow and ice come? The same thing!!! And of course there is never a cop around when you need one. So...here comes by story...

Nik and I live in Provo and on this one Saturday I was heading about 20 minutes south to Payson to help my Aunt paint her house that she is trying to sell. I am heading down the freeway and there is tons of construction. I watch for the speed signs because the last thing I need is for a ticket and especially a ticket in construction where the fines double for speeding. I finally find the speed limit sign and follow it going just a little over 5 mph over...I was trying to keep up with traffic.

Well the speed limit kept changing as I went in and out of construction. It goes from 55 to 65 to 75 to 55 and so on and so forth. I kept a pretty good eye out and always went 5 over what it said.

Sidenote: I got a ticket about 1.5 years ago for going 15 over...all because I wasn't paying attention and never saw the new speed sign. So a cop on a motorcycle on the other side of the road WAVED ME DOWN! He didn't even come after me with lights and all...he WAVED! Ugh! So I turned around to go get my flippin' ticket! I was afraid that if I didn't turn around he would come after me and I would get in even more trouble. DUMB! So yes, I got a speeding ticket and it was a nice $172.75 fine. Let me tell ya...I am very cautious now when it comes to speeding because I know what it does to your insurance, as that is my line of work. It scares me to death!

So...back to the story...I am driving along with traffic and as I turn a corner I freak out because I see a cop standing next to his murdercycle with a speed gun aimed at traffic. I was in the middle lane and hoped he wouldn't have caught me because I forgot how fast I was suppose to be going and what my actual speed was. I flipped out, let go of the gas pedal real fast, and couldnt keep my eyes off the rear view mirror to see if he was coming after me.

After staring for like 30 seconds behind me....HE WAS AFTER ME...LIGHTS AND ALL! I was shaking and tears started filling my eyes. I was trying to come up with some horrible excuse about some friend of mine in the hospital and I was her only friend so I had to RUSH there...but nothing was coming to mind. ugh! He is after me at full speed. Comes right up behind me for what felt like an ETERNITY!!! My heart was racing, my hands were shaking, and I was sweating.

After probably 15 seconds, he turned his blinker on and moved in the lane to the right of me and sped off. WHEW!!! He was after someone else. Now...I was freaking out but this time I was not going to "give in" and get a ticket like I did last time from a simple wave of the cops' hands. I was thinking that if he really wanted to pull me over he would put on his sirens and I would make him work for it! hahaha. Thank goodness it wasn't for me. whew! The whole rest of the drive I was shaking and so scared. Even when I got to my Aunt's house I was shaking and still short on breath. And let me tell ya....the whole 20 minute drive back home guess which lane I occupied. THE RIGHT! Yep. Let all them UT drivers pass me and get them some tickets!

But wait...the story doesn't end there! That night Nik and I went to West Jordan to visit one of his comps who is half Japanese and his mom would make us a traditional Japanese dinner. (Nik went to Japan for his mission so that is why this is cool to us). So...on the 40 minute drive there I was so worried about speed. We finally got our selves in the HOV lane and figured we would be safe. Only 15 minutes into the drive we saw a cop car coming full speed behind us with lights on and everything. GAH! My heart dropped - AGAIN! Luckily the cop was just trying to get in front of some other vehicles to be able to move across the lanes all the way to the right and off he went after some other dude. The thing was....the car he pulled over looked to be going the same speed as everyone else, so I don't know why he got pulled over and I never will...but if that cop just felt like picking him out of the crowd that was all going about 12 MPH over the speed limit...then the cop could have pulled ANY of us over...Nik and I INCLUDED!

GAH! Speeding scares me and the tickets that follow. Not a fan! Twice in one day....scary!!! So the right lane is my new favorite place to drive. I don't care...I will not speed....I will go a couple over the speed limit but I will not get myself another speeding ticket. They cost so much money and stay on your insurance for 3 years!!!