Thursday, April 30, 2009

oregon...here we come!!

Joe and I are just a few hours away from heading to the airport to fly out to Oregon to visit friends, Heidi and Mike, and their family in Oregon.

They live in a town called Veneta and I think it's about halfway up the state and about an hour from the coast. They actually live fairly close to Euguene, and Allegiant Air flies directly from Mesa to Eugene. We've never been to Oregon and up until last year I didn't even realize that Mesa had an airport! So I'm really looking forward to this new adventure!!

Plus it will be really good to visit with Heidi. Both her and Mike are unbelievably sweet and actually bought our trip out there as a wedding gift. Can you BELIEVE that?? I really can't say enough how awesome of a gift this is!!

I am actually kind of nervous to be flying with the swine flu going around (they have actually closed a school here for a whole week because of the pandemic). And I was actually beginning to think that we weren't going to find face masks anywhere because we literally went store to store the other night in search of them, but they were all sold out. Joe then had the brilliant idea to go to Home Depot after work yesterday and found a bunch of them there. So we're all set. Still kind of scared of germs, though. I definitely don't want to get this swine flu thing-a-ma-jigger. But Joe is so more susceptible than I am because of the immuno-suppressants he is on. His immune system is so low because of the medications that he REALLY needs to be careful!! So we've got the masks and I have refilled our hand sanitizer bottle to bring with us (yes...the bottle is under 3 ounces).

Also, it always breaks my heart to be away from Lucy. It may sound like I'm just whining. But I really love that dog. I love coming home to her after work and seeing her happy and excited to play with me. I love when she rolls on her back and does the cockroach. I love how loud she is when she yawns. I love how cuddly and sweet she is in the mornings and how rambunctious and playful she is in the afternoons. She's just a gem. Shamefully, I even cried when we dropped her off before our trip to Hawaii. This time, she will only be there for 5 days/4 nights, so it's not quite as long. I'm still going to miss her, though.

Besides all of the nervousness about flying and leaving our puppy behind for a few days, we are SO EXCITED to be going to Oregon. Oregon has been on my "to do" list for quite some time and I am so excited to see my friend and her family. I am just so grateful that they are sending us out there for a few days. It will definitely be a nice break from routine. Not only will it be mid-60s during the day and COLD at night, but it will be GREEN and hopefully (fingers-crossed) my allergies will have a little break from flaring up.

Wish everyone would come with us!! But, don't worry....we'll take lots of pictures.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

craigslist = completely unreliable people

I bought a camper shell off Craigslist for my truck, it was really cheap, but did not fit perfectly. I thought I would just modify it a little to make it fit and then we could use. After driving with it on my truck for a day or two I realized it was really, really obnoxious because it has no windows, so I cannot see behind me to back up, and I now have huge blind spots when I try to change lanes. I decided to put it back on craigslist to recoup my money, and since then I've realized that 90% of CL users are idiots. The first guy who emails me actually shows up to look at it, but it doesn't fit right so he decideds not to buy it. No problem. The second guy who emails me barely speaks english, but manages to convey a date and a time he wants to see it. He arrives, but isn't driving a truck. He looks at it, asks a few questions, tells me he'll be back the next day with his truck to buy it... he never shows up, doesn't call, doesn't email so I contact the next person who emailed me. He shows up, with his truck, but has a shell already on it. He takes some measurements, tells me he'll be back the next day to buy it. When i wake up the next day he has already called and left me a voicemail telling me he won't be coming to buy it. I then call the next person who emailed me, who mumbles something about being somewhere, and he'll call me when he gets back to Phoenix... that was about 30 hours ago, still no call. I haven't gotten anymore responses, so it's still sitting on my truck, which I must add looks like a smurf because the truck is blue and the cap is white.

here's my ad:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/pts/1125879688.html

It's time to panic

Has everyone been following the news about the swine flu ?

"Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses has been documented. From December 2005 through February 2009, a total of 12 human infections with swine influenza were reported from 10 states in the United States. Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in the U.S. and internationally have been identified."

Apparently it's killing otherwise healthy people via pneumonia (81 people in Mexico)... and it's coming from Mexico, which is directly south or Arizona. They have confirmed cases in California and Texas (on either side of AZ), so basically I'm screwed. if healthy people are getting it, what chance do I have with my drug suppressed immune system ? Maybe now would be a good time to secure our border ? Well at least the government will put someone capable in charge, right ? Nope, it's former AZ Governor Janet "let's just throw money at the problem" Napolitano. Great, I need to go buy some masks now, I'll be wearing them for a while.

LINKS:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_swine_flu_emergency

http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2649351120090426

Saturday, April 25, 2009

photos by Sam

Hey everyone!! I just wanted to take a minute to post a slideshow of some new pictures from our wedding day. These photos were taken by Samara Link, talented photographer extraordinaire.

And I told her this already - that I’ve looked through them all at least 10 times already. But they are so awesome!! More than we hoped for. She captured the whole day and everyone so wonderfully – from every little detail to every facial expression. Looking at them, I just remember how happy that whole day was.

Thank you so much for your photographs, Sam! We really can’t put into words our appreciation. We will cherish them for always!

Enjoy!

Monday, April 20, 2009

looking back

Last year at this time....
  • Joe had recently started dialysis
  • I had been notified that my company was going to be closing and I had to look for a new job
  • Lucy was only 6 months old and still in the process of being housebroken
  • We hadn't gone camping anywhere in Arizona yet
  • Joe hadn't gone any further West than Arizona
  • We hadn't gone hiking at all in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve (which is literally 1 mile from our apartment)
  • We just bought a brand new computer
  • My nails were all long (past the tips of my fingers) and my hair was at least 7 in shorter
  • Joe had just popped the question!!
This year at this time....
  • Joe has an AWESOME new kidney...thanks to his sister, Jen
  • I have a new job working with the University of Phoenix
  • Lucy is a little over a year and a half and hasn't had an accident inside since I don't even remember when
  • We have gone camping pretty much every month (or every other month) since last May
  • We took an amazing trip to Hawaii, so now Joe has gone much FURTHER West than Arizona
  • We have started to hike as much as possible in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve
  • The computer is still up and running with no problems (knock on wood) and has been wonderful (iMacs are seriously a wonderful investment, by the way)
  • My nails are all gone (sadly) and my hair is getting a little too long and scraggly
  • Joe and I are now married (to each other, DUH!!) and it has been nothing short of wonderful!!!
I'm sure there are many other things I am forgetting here, but it's amazing how much can change from year to year, huh?

Saturday, April 4, 2009

photographs

What's up, home fries??

I just wanted to let you all know that we're in the process of updating our website. Some of the pages are still under construction, but take a gander at the photographs page when you get the chance (you'll be ESPECIALLY please to notice that we've added the photographs from the table cameras at the wedding).


Have a great weekend, everyone!!!
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