Grown up stuff is hard.

Most of my blogs are pretty light hearted and full of our little goings on around here. But there is a lot that has been bugging us lately and its just plain old hard. It all comes down to decisions. Decisions are tough. Especially the potentially life changing, permanent kind that don't go away or are really hard to take back.
When I accepted my job here in Phoenix, and Chris accepted his in Flagstaff, we thought 'hell yeah we can make this work.' It's been almost two years and we are sick to death of it. The driving has added thousands of miles and wear and tear to the cars. The gas price flucuations are always looming, and worst of all, the time apart is down right unbearable. Chris has been at work the past week and a half, when he gets back Saturday it'll be a two week stretch, and the longest we've been apart in a while. It's difficult to get the dogs fed and taken care of every day, let alone another human being! Can't put them in the kennel with a water dish. Or can I?
To make matters worse, we've been trying for the past year to get our proverbial 'ducks in a row' so that we can save more and start thinking about a family.
I think its been very good that we've waited so long to have/adopt kids. We have definetly not been ready, and still aren't. The little buggers are awfully expensive when you look at the details (a $5000 pregnancy deductible? WTF?). Not to mention the time off from work that I won't get paid for (no maternity leave here in conservative-ville Arizona).
However, all this time has given our relationship the time that it needed for healing, and I have certainly enjoyed a lot of time for myself. How many girls can say that? But lately I'm getting kind of tired of myself and think it'd be fun to have a little someone to hang out with.
This brings us back to the job issue. How in the world are we supposed to start a family with all this going on? How am I going to do it alone if Chris is at work for weeks and weeks again? Is it possible for us to work AND live in the same city? Without taking a huge financial hit? Because that would be super. And if we moved again- what do we do with our house? Ughhhhh

This pretty much sums it up.

Mexico

Who's glad the holidays are over?!

WE SURE ARE!!!

I have to alternate holidays on call. This year I was on call for Christmas. So Chris and I kept it light and went out to dinner with Mary and Elin in Tempe. They were doing a fake snowfall in the center of the Tempe Mall. It was almost like home. Except it was only ten minutes long, warm, and soap-based (do not open your mouth in a fake snowfall).

The next morning we made a yummy breakfast, opened presents, took the puppies to the park and then met up with some friends for a movie. A mellow, but happy holiday. A good time was had by all humans and dogs alike.

However, last year at Christmas time we made plans to go on a vacation together with our families. After many months of planning Sam and I decided on Cancun, Mexico. All in all seven adults made the trip - Ma, Paul, Sam, JM, Chris, Mary and I. We had a great time! Here are a few of my favorite pics.

Snorkeling in Akmul. The turtles were amazing!


Tulum Ruins



Our hotel beach

The hotel bar


Two of our favorite people


An amazing birthday

The gang!


We had so much fun. Thanks to our families for making the trip fun, and for such an amazing birthday.

Bachelorette Party

Our fun friends Erin and Tyson are getting married soon, in fact next month. We met these two while camping- kind of a funny story actually- Chris and I went up to Payson to get out of the heat and do some 4wheeling. We parked the quads in the middle of the road and walked over to the view point. There didn't appear to be anyone nearby, so we leisurely enjoyed the view and took a few photos. Once we started walking back to the quads we realized that someone was in fact driving on that road, and waiting for us to return to the quads. It was two guys about our age, they insisted they were not upset, and asked us to come over to their camp for a beer. We followed them over, met their wives and friends, got their numbers, and now we see these fine people every week. That was almost 2 years ago! We laugh over the way we all met, but are SO glad we did. Such a fun group!

Anywhooo, Tyson has been in Afganistan for the last year. While on a vacation break he and Erin traveled to Thailand and he proposed. Chris and I are looking forward to their wedding, and the other parties that go along with it. Tyson is planning a guys trip to Vegas ('The Hangover' anyone?) and this past weekend was Erin's bachelorette party. Us gals rented a room in a swanky downtown Scottsdale hotel. We played a few games, drank champagne, ate Sushi, and then went out on the town. I've decided to post a few of the 'tasteful' photos. I could only come up with 4. Enjoy!!

Utah Trip!

For the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able visit Salt Lake and see my family. It's been at least 6 months since I was there last, but feels like forever. Chris unfortunetly had to work, where he managed to get sick. I felt so bad being up in Utah having a blast while my hubby was sick at home alone. He survived by playing video games and appears to be fine now.

I got in SLC wednesday night, where I was greeted by a frigid 14 degrees. It felt like walking into a wall! The next day I went on a long walk with dad, then ate the big meal at Mom's house. We were joined by Stu, Paul's daughters and their significant others, and 3 very happy dogs. It is always so good to see Mya and Kira- here is a picture of Mya with Abby's daughter Phoenix-



I don't care what you say Mom- she'll always be my little girl.

As we were preparing the feast, Mom dug out some old aprons. The blue apron I'm sporting used to belong to my grandmother. Those are Stuart's handprints from his younger years! The green one Mom has comes from Aunt Jo. All in all, I think we are two smokin' hot aproned women.



The next day I met up for breakfast with Chris' friends from his childhood swim team. They are all married with kids now, live all over the country, and don't swim any more, but we all stay really close. The wives and I were brave enough to go shopping after breakfast. We only went into one store, but I scored some major deals. All of the Utah summer clothes are crazy cheap- and still totally wearable down in Phoenix right now. Yahoo! Why don't I do this more often? Note to self...

That evening I had a delicious Thai dinner with Dad and Colleen, followed by a movie. On Saturday morning I got to go to Power Pump! For those that don't remember, Power Pump is a weight lifting class I've done 3 times a week since my senior year of high school. The instructor, Bethne, is an amazing woman that has become a friend to myself, mom and even Chris. She even came to our wedding with a handful of other class attendees. You could say it's a pretty tight-knit aerobics class. And yes, the class is still brutally hard. I was sore for 2 days afterwards!

Then I met up with my high school friends- Rachel, Lizz and Paige. I haven't seen them all in quite some time. Rach is expecting her first baby, Lizz has one and is ready for #2, and Paige has two! I'm definetly felt like the odd one out, but oh well. Here is a picture of us girls. It was SO fun to see them!



After that I headed to Dad's for the Utah vs BYU football game- also know as 'The Holy War'! It was a nail biting, anxiety filled game, but in the end, Utah pulled it off. Very very fun.



After that I had dinner at mom's with an old friend Terry, another friend I haven't seen in so long. We played a fun game called 'Mexican Train' and had a blast. Then next morning I headed back home, completely exhausted!! Lots of running around and lots of eating!! Whew- I'm just tired from typing all this, let alone doing it. Utah trips are too short and I never get to see everyone I'd like to. Next time perhaps.
Thanks to everyone for the fun filled trip!

Workcation

A few weeks ago I was asked to go to Prescott for work. I've been there a few times before, it's a small town about 2 hours north of Phoenix. They have 2 surgeons and 1 perfusionist. They aren't too terribly busy, but occasionally their perfusionist uses his vacation time and needs someone to fill in. I think because I'm alone a lot (Chris' busy work schedule) and because I don't have kids, they ask me to go often. I don't mind one little bit.

They put me up in a nice hotel, pay for my gas, ALL my meals, and a little extra on top of that- it's so nice I call it workcation. It's a lot like being on a paid vacation. When they told me they would pay for my food- my first question was "what about...uh...beverages?" they replied, "keep it to one bottle of wine per dinner please." CAN DO! hehehe
I also found out my first trip that Prescott is a very dog-friendly little city. My future visits are now escorted by my lovely sidekick Zeus. The hotel insists well behaved dogs only. So Fritz didn't get a turn and neither does Hera. For now.

Until then, Zeus has found that he thoroughly enjoys being a hotel dog. He gets his own queen size bed that he doesn't have to share with anyone, several long walks per day, and handouts at every single restaurant we attend. Also, they have several dog-friendly shops he can come into (where he usually gets treats too). If you're my dog, you gotta like to shop. Everywhere we walk, he receives praise and attention from strangers for being so handsome and calm. I've also been told twice 'well no one would mess with you with that dog'. Does that mean these people were planning on messing with me? I don't exactly know, but I've decided it's good to bring along 100 pounds of supposed protection. He could be mean if he tried. Probably.

Anyways, here are some photos I took. Sorry they are blurry, I forgot to bring my real camera.
Downtown Prescott


Prescott actually has trees, which change in the fall and make me homesick. I love them!




Center Square- all the downtown action happens here. We saw them putting up lights, I want to see it when all the lights are on!


A total find!!! I saw it-loved it-bought it. I am totally in love with this new ring.



That's all for now!

Welcome back little blog

Hello there friends and family!

I've decided to relaunch the blog. I really enjoy writing this thing, so I thought I'd give it another go. Its good to stay in the loop. As many of you know, our first blog, um, went away for a little while. While down in Tucson attending school, Chris and I spent some time apart. After a few roller coaster months, we are happy to report our marriage is back on track and doing well. I've learned a lot in the past two years, one being that life isn't as linear as we'd like it to be. Sometimes it takes you places you didn't anticipate. Also, that marriage is hard work. Grad school, working, roommates and poverty make it even harder. We no longer have to tackle the same obstacles, so things have changed a lot for us and our relationship. For the positive. It has definitely made us stronger.

So a quick update- we left Tucson after graduation and headed to Phoenix. Chris landed a great job in Flagstaff and I had a job 'in theory' in Phoenix. About a week after moving, I got a phone call from a surgeon I'd worked with in Tucson. He was practicing in Phoenix and heard there was an opening in his group. This offer was full time in comparison to the per diem position I was initially offered. After some discussion, Chris and I decided to take the job. It has worked out well so far.

We also took a huge leap and bought a house. After several months of looking, out bidding, and failed offers, we finally found the perfect place. It is 3 beds, 3 baths, and has a fabulous pool. The neighborhood is friendly, clean, and has parks and playgrounds all over. We've made good friends with our neighbors. But most importantly- we got it in time to collect the government stimulus program. Score! Thanks taxpayers!


We put a lot of updating into the house, new floors, lots of paint, tile, and cleaning. After such a crazy and busy period of time, we took a well deserved vacation to Fiji. A place Chris had always wanted to go. It was our first international trip and it was amazing. I'll post a few of my favorite pics soon.

Since then, we've been hanging with friends, working hard, and saving up for next years trips. We are excited to go to Mexico this winter, New Orleans next spring, and possibly a trip to Hawaii in the summer. Fingers crossed!

Whew this seems like a lot of writing so I'll end it for now. More posts of all the mundane details of my new life to come. Until then, know that we couldn't be where we are today without the tremendous help and support from you all. Thank you for your friendship, compassion and love.