Saturday, October 4, 2014
The End
The Arizona Adventures of Erie comes to a close today as I leave on my next adventure: Girl Meets World: Salt Lake City. Thanks for reading!
Stress Away
There is a store in Christown Mall in Phoenix I like to frequent called Stress Away. It's a great place to get a quick massage. They offer options such as a chair or bed acupressure massage. Also there is a foot detox ionization. That's where you soak your feet in hot water for about forty minutes while resting on one of their beds watching the movie, Rush Hour. I am not kidding. Every time I go into this place, it is the same movie. I've been tempted to buy them Rush Hour 2 & 3 just to get some variety in the place. (The movie is silent with subtitles so as not to disrupt the relaxation process.)
If you ever get a chance, I would give this place a try!
If you ever get a chance, I would give this place a try!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Phoenix Monsoon
This weekend Hana's family went to Salt Lake City for the Utah game and I stayed here to watch the house and the dogs. I remember Angie saying it was supposed to rain all of Saturday but when I texted her around noon the sky was blue with a few sparse clouds.
I went to my casita and took a nap. I was awakened about two hours later by a loud sound. I opened my blinds and looked out the french doors. The sky had turned gray and it was raining hard. There was thunder and some lightning. The wind came in gusts. The bushes outside my doors kept swaying in front of my window and hitting the casita. I looked up in the sky and saw a piece of black debris fly by.
I opened the internet on my phone to check the weather. The report said that severe thunderstorm warning and that winds were in excess of 60mph. I began to worry about the possibility of a tornado. I knew the safest place to be was in the main house with the dogs who were probably scared. I put on my sneakers for better traction and put on my hooded jacket. I waited until a gust of wind subsided then quickly opened the door and ran into the house.
It was really dark inside. I took off my shoes and turned on some lights. The dogs found me and I petted them and said it was all right. I went to the front window and looked out. The two large screens were blowing hard. The bungy cords holding them down had come loose. The strings connected to them were mangled so trying to pull them up was pointless.
I tried turning on the tv but the storm had messed with the cable signal. I texted Angie to let her know we were okay. Finally the storm died down. The cable signal returned and I felt safe again.
Things in the backyard had been tossed around. The bushes outside my casita were a mess. Half of the hot tub cover had blown off. There was a large puddle on the ground. The pool was filled with fallen tree leaves.
"Branches and debris littered streets around the city and at least one traffic light was knocked over. Some trees were toppled by the ensuing wind. The Salt River Project utility said that about 31,000 customers were without power as of Saturday afternoon."
What a way to spend a Saturday! Sunday I stayed home with the dogs and tidied up the place. The family returned home that night. Hana gave me a hug! Now for the next adventure: Hana's grandma comes to visit as I prepare to move back to SLC.
I went to my casita and took a nap. I was awakened about two hours later by a loud sound. I opened my blinds and looked out the french doors. The sky had turned gray and it was raining hard. There was thunder and some lightning. The wind came in gusts. The bushes outside my doors kept swaying in front of my window and hitting the casita. I looked up in the sky and saw a piece of black debris fly by.
I opened the internet on my phone to check the weather. The report said that severe thunderstorm warning and that winds were in excess of 60mph. I began to worry about the possibility of a tornado. I knew the safest place to be was in the main house with the dogs who were probably scared. I put on my sneakers for better traction and put on my hooded jacket. I waited until a gust of wind subsided then quickly opened the door and ran into the house.
It was really dark inside. I took off my shoes and turned on some lights. The dogs found me and I petted them and said it was all right. I went to the front window and looked out. The two large screens were blowing hard. The bungy cords holding them down had come loose. The strings connected to them were mangled so trying to pull them up was pointless.
I tried turning on the tv but the storm had messed with the cable signal. I texted Angie to let her know we were okay. Finally the storm died down. The cable signal returned and I felt safe again.
Things in the backyard had been tossed around. The bushes outside my casita were a mess. Half of the hot tub cover had blown off. There was a large puddle on the ground. The pool was filled with fallen tree leaves.
"Branches and debris littered streets around the city and at least one traffic light was knocked over. Some trees were toppled by the ensuing wind. The Salt River Project utility said that about 31,000 customers were without power as of Saturday afternoon."
What a way to spend a Saturday! Sunday I stayed home with the dogs and tidied up the place. The family returned home that night. Hana gave me a hug! Now for the next adventure: Hana's grandma comes to visit as I prepare to move back to SLC.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Hana Is Singing
Hana is always amazing me. She's learning the words to all kinds of songs. She can sing along to the theme song of Little Einsteins. Now she has learned to change the pitch of her voice to sing high and low and to whisper.
This week both Angie and Jeff had birthdays. For Angie's birthday we had homemade spaghetti and a cake I picked up at the store. I gave her a gift basket I had put together which included a pug birthday card. She loves pugs!
Today is Jeff's birthday. Usually I wouldn't have a clue as to what to get him but he gave me an idea about two months ago. I bought him the book set of Bunnicula books. It's about a dog and cat who solve mysteries. They think the new pet bunny is a vampire so they call him Bunnicula. It was great to read as a kid and it turns out that he read them too.
We went out to eat at a local pizza place. I was so hungry that I ate my individual pizza all gone before we left. Hana was fussy so Angie and Jeff ate what they could while taking shifts with her.
The best part was the ride home. Hana had us all sing a Daniel Tiger song over and over again. She just kept asking, "One more time?" Here are the lyrics:
This week both Angie and Jeff had birthdays. For Angie's birthday we had homemade spaghetti and a cake I picked up at the store. I gave her a gift basket I had put together which included a pug birthday card. She loves pugs!
Today is Jeff's birthday. Usually I wouldn't have a clue as to what to get him but he gave me an idea about two months ago. I bought him the book set of Bunnicula books. It's about a dog and cat who solve mysteries. They think the new pet bunny is a vampire so they call him Bunnicula. It was great to read as a kid and it turns out that he read them too.
We went out to eat at a local pizza place. I was so hungry that I ate my individual pizza all gone before we left. Hana was fussy so Angie and Jeff ate what they could while taking shifts with her.
The best part was the ride home. Hana had us all sing a Daniel Tiger song over and over again. She just kept asking, "One more time?" Here are the lyrics:
Goodnight, Sleep tight
Dream dreams as sweet as you.
Then she looked at the toy train in her hand named Gordon and said, "Sing Gordon!" so Jeff used his deep singing voice I never knew he had to pretend to be Gordon. Then we clapped so we could all be done singing that song. I remembered how Hana was learning to hum to the song Little Bitty Pretty One so I started her off and she began humming. Angie joined in but Jeff didn't know that song.
Before we got home (this was a short car ride) we switched back to the goodnight song. It was great to partake in this family moment!
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Death
Lately I have been feeling sad like someone has died. It's like this aura of death is wrapped around me.
There have been contributing factors. Actor Robin Williams died a couple of weeks ago. I have always admired him. When I was a teenager and a radio host asked the audience who we would pick to be our celebrity parents, I chose Mariah Carey as my mom (this pre Honey song/Glitter) and Robin Williams as my dad. I watched Dead Poet Society right after he died and it made me cry. Still, this was before I started feeling this way this week.
Second factor: I have been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer series for a few weeks and I recently watched the episode where Buffy's mom died. It was sudden and done very realistically. Buffy comes home to find her mom dead on the couch with her eyes open. She had survived a brain tumor only to succumb to a blood clot or something. I teared up for this. Who wouldn't?
Third factor: An elderly lady from my home ward in Omaha pass away recently. I found out through facebook. I used to call her Grandma Wilcox. She was a kind woman who always had a hug and a smile to share. I hadn't seen her since college when I was home for the summer. I found a picture of us and posted it on her obituary commentary page.
Then this morning I received a scary phone call from my sister, Katie. She told me that last night, Colten almost died! He was being watched by his dad, Brad and his grandma. While Brad was putting Brayden down, Grandma was watching Colten. He became tired so Grandma put him down on her bed. He likes to sleep on his tummy. Shortly after falling asleep, Grandma checked on him and he was pale white with dried blood on his nose. She rushed him to Brad who called 911. Katie was called and she rushed home from work. EMTs were working on him when she got there. Colten was rushed to the hospital.
Colten is doing a lot better. The color has returned to his face. So far all of the tests have come back clear. He's still at the hospital but should be released soon. She's supposed to let me know when he is clear to go home.
Question: Is this all hormonal or an I intuitive? Did I sense that something bad was going to happen or was I just grieving over current losses?
There have been contributing factors. Actor Robin Williams died a couple of weeks ago. I have always admired him. When I was a teenager and a radio host asked the audience who we would pick to be our celebrity parents, I chose Mariah Carey as my mom (this pre Honey song/Glitter) and Robin Williams as my dad. I watched Dead Poet Society right after he died and it made me cry. Still, this was before I started feeling this way this week.
Second factor: I have been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer series for a few weeks and I recently watched the episode where Buffy's mom died. It was sudden and done very realistically. Buffy comes home to find her mom dead on the couch with her eyes open. She had survived a brain tumor only to succumb to a blood clot or something. I teared up for this. Who wouldn't?
Third factor: An elderly lady from my home ward in Omaha pass away recently. I found out through facebook. I used to call her Grandma Wilcox. She was a kind woman who always had a hug and a smile to share. I hadn't seen her since college when I was home for the summer. I found a picture of us and posted it on her obituary commentary page.
Then this morning I received a scary phone call from my sister, Katie. She told me that last night, Colten almost died! He was being watched by his dad, Brad and his grandma. While Brad was putting Brayden down, Grandma was watching Colten. He became tired so Grandma put him down on her bed. He likes to sleep on his tummy. Shortly after falling asleep, Grandma checked on him and he was pale white with dried blood on his nose. She rushed him to Brad who called 911. Katie was called and she rushed home from work. EMTs were working on him when she got there. Colten was rushed to the hospital.
Colten is doing a lot better. The color has returned to his face. So far all of the tests have come back clear. He's still at the hospital but should be released soon. She's supposed to let me know when he is clear to go home.
Question: Is this all hormonal or an I intuitive? Did I sense that something bad was going to happen or was I just grieving over current losses?
Friday, September 5, 2014
Sacks
There is an sandwich shop I've been to a few times and I always order the same delicious sandwich. The shop is called Sacks. It's right outside the neighborhood and it serves sandwiches with a cookie and you can add chips, drinks, and desserts like brownies and lemon bars.
My favorite sandwich is called Sacks Dali. It's egg salad, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese and mayo on a 12 grain bread.
My favorite sandwich is called Sacks Dali. It's egg salad, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese and mayo on a 12 grain bread.
I come here with Angie and Hana on Angie's lunch break sometimes. Hana loves cheetos the most. Jeff gets jealous that we go here without him so we bring him a Sacks lunch home. (Ha ha pun)
My New Schedule
Now that Hana is in preschool for about fours hours a day, my work schedule has lessened. Some days I drop off Angie at work then take Hana to school and then have free time until 11am when I pick her up. Hana always falls asleep on the car ride home. I wake her up long enough to eat lunch and read books and then I put her down for her nap. Other days I don't start my morning until I go to pick her up at 11am which is nice because I can sleep in a bit.
Hana doesn't quite like school yet. She wimpers when I drop her off. I sing the Daniel Tiger song "Grown Ups Come Back" and give her hugs and kisses before I leave. Picking her up is more fun. She sees me and says "Hello, Erie" and begins to cry as she hugs me. She refuses to walk so I carry her from class to the car. It's not easy for an almost two year old to answer how her day was. The most I have gotten out of her is that she plays with her friends.
I've been keeping myself busy with online classes. I took a bookkeeping/accounting class via groupon which was a total bore. You have one test at the end of countless pages of reading and you only get to take it once. Then I took Excel 2010 & 2013 via another groupon deal. That was more interesting. They read the text outloud and it's a UK site so the lady has a British accent. There's a quiz after every module and you can review the answers you got wrong and retake it. Now I am taking Microsoft Word 2013 via universalclass.com and yes, I bought it via a groupon. This course is good too and so far I seem to be passing.
I am also applying to jobs in the Salt Lake City area. It's frustrating because most employers want someone to start right away. I can't exactly fly out for an interview at any given moment. Still, I want to have a job lined up before I move out in October.
Hana doesn't quite like school yet. She wimpers when I drop her off. I sing the Daniel Tiger song "Grown Ups Come Back" and give her hugs and kisses before I leave. Picking her up is more fun. She sees me and says "Hello, Erie" and begins to cry as she hugs me. She refuses to walk so I carry her from class to the car. It's not easy for an almost two year old to answer how her day was. The most I have gotten out of her is that she plays with her friends.
I've been keeping myself busy with online classes. I took a bookkeeping/accounting class via groupon which was a total bore. You have one test at the end of countless pages of reading and you only get to take it once. Then I took Excel 2010 & 2013 via another groupon deal. That was more interesting. They read the text outloud and it's a UK site so the lady has a British accent. There's a quiz after every module and you can review the answers you got wrong and retake it. Now I am taking Microsoft Word 2013 via universalclass.com and yes, I bought it via a groupon. This course is good too and so far I seem to be passing.
I am also applying to jobs in the Salt Lake City area. It's frustrating because most employers want someone to start right away. I can't exactly fly out for an interview at any given moment. Still, I want to have a job lined up before I move out in October.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)