Going Solo

Yesterday I made my first solo trek out to Arizona.  I was a little bit nervous about taking the 6 hour trip by myself, and apparently for good reason.

The road-trip deities were not with me…

I should start by saying this trip was taken in our 1999 Ford Explorer, Gary.  I spent last week getting him up and running, and was pretty confident he would make the trip…which he did.  However, 40 minutes into my drive the “ABS” light came on.  I’m not a car person, so I figured Gary was reminding me I needed to work on my abs.  I mean, summer is coming and all.  Just in case I pulled off to look up the owner’s manual in my phone and apparently the “ABS” light signals that there is some kind of malfunction with the anti-lock brake system and to service the vehicle immediately.  Since I didn’t plan on braking all that much anyhow, (it only slows you down you know) I decided to keep going and work on my abs when I made it to Queen Creek.

The second hurdle was just outside of San Diego.  From just after Viejas Casino to the downgrade past Jacumba there was fog.  LOTS of fog.  As in, can’t-see-two-car-lengths-in-front-of-me, drive-30-miles-per-hour-with-my-hazards-on kind of fog.  It delayed my trip a bit, but not as much as the next guy I saw…

I took this pre-fog because I thought it was pretty...
20 minutes into my slow fog-drive I was over the "pretty"...

Because on the mountains down from Jacumba…right out of the fog…there was a semi truck FACING me!  Yep, he was definitely going the wrong direction.  I would have panicked, but half of his truck was hanging off the cliff so I figured he wasn’t going anywhere.  Don’t worry, he was out of the cab and there were already quite a bit of police on the scene…I wish I would have gotten a picture, or at least stayed long enough to see how they planned to get the truck back on the road and facing the right direction.  I mean, how does that even happen!?

From then on it was pretty rough sailing…the drive was okay but it was WINDY so I was pretty swerve-y.  It also probably didn’t help that I was getting bored and started singing and dancing in the car to pass the time.

Overall an eventful trip and I made it!  And bonus of taking the trip alone is getting to listen to all the music I love that Mr. doesn’t…like Justin Timberlake and Nine Inch Nails!  (Two musicians that totally go together, no?  Don’t judge…)

I should have known it wasn’t a great day for a road trip right from the start…after a great sunny week in California it was raining that morning.  Probably mourning my leaving for good…California and I are pretty close like that.

"Home"
(Eventually the quotations will go away and it will be home...don't rush me!)

Roots

Lately I have been having this overwhelming feeling of complete panic. 

It's ridiculous. 

Our lives are finally starting to come back together since our move from Spain.  Mr. has an awesome job, we're building (with the exception of it being in Arizona) our dream home, I'm signed up, ready, and able to go to school full time and finally finish my degree.  Everything is going great.

Then I realized that we are actually setting down roots somewhere.  In Spain it was temporary...and really every place I've lived up until now has been.  And yes, I know that this too could be temporary.  But it's a longer-term temporary.  We'll have a mortgage, we're starting to think more seriously about kids in the near(er...don't get too excited) future, we'll be buying actual adult furniture for a place we know we'll be in for awhile...

Panic.

My heart literally yearns to be back in Europe.  I desperately miss traveling, and I am just now allowing myself to comprehend that we're at the point in our life where trips will be few and far between.

I get it, we were lucky.  Most people my age haven't been to half the places we've been to.  I don't care.  I WANT that.  I've never been more at home than when I was seeing the world with Mr..  It was hard at first to be away from everything that was comfortable to me...family, friends, California in general.  But as time went on it became more comfortable than any of that ever was.  It's like I was finally doing exactly what I'd always wanted to do, and I was where I should be.

I'm excited for Arizona.  It's a change, it's different, and lots of exciting things are in our future there.  I'm excited to get to see my family and friends more regularly and share (in person) life with them.  I'm just terrified that setting down such permanent roots will never give me that same feeling of contentment I had when traveling.

So...I suppose the best way to deal with this is to plan a trip!  Obviously it'll be a while until we can afford and take the time off to take it, but having that plan will give me some sense of a light at the end of the travel-less tunnel. 

And until then I'll work on appreciating what we had and what we now have...because we truly are lucky to lead such an amazing life.  I have so much to be grateful for.

Anyone else planning an amazing trip in the not-so-distant future?

School...again...

When I sat down and created my 30/30 list, there were a couple things that were more dreams/wishes than things I actually thought I would accomplish.  I know this probably seems pointless to have included them on the list, but you're suppose to push yourself and I figured this was the best way I could at least try to do that.

Recently, the two things I thought were the biggest long shots are coming to reality.  Buying a home and getting my degree.

This last week I enrolled at National University, and I'm giving myself no option to fail.  Mr. was lucky enough to get a great job where we can afford to live off his income alone, so my full-time job will be to get my degree.  The way the classes are set up I'll be able to complete my Bachelor's in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management in 21 months...when I turn 30!

It'll be hard...I've never been big on school...but it will be worth it!  And hey, it will have only taken me 12 years...

Here's to doing everything I can to check off every last item on the 30/30 list!  And here's to this blog...even with just 8 followers I feel like it's keeping my accountable!

Anyone else accomplishing any big goals soon?

I am not an RV-er...

Mr. and I are back in California.  450 miles apart, but still...we're both in California.  Mr. is training for his new job up in Pleasanton for the week, making money so we can afford the new house we bought. I'm down in Escondido packing stuff up, getting our Explorer (Gary to those closest) up and running so he can transport me and our stuff back to Arizona, having a girls day to get foot massages and take a cooking class, and getting my hair done.  Clearly we have equally important tasks for the week.

On the way back to Escondido, I spent the first half of my trip RVing with my parents.  We stopped in Yuma, since you have to go slow in an RV, and spent the night last night.  Basically a dirt lot next to what my mom called "the river" (a small canal). 

This night made me realize that I am not an RV-er.  I'm a fly-er and a hotel-er, or when we save up a bit more cash a spa-er. 

There was a woman who lives in a permanent mobile home across the way from where we parked.  She had a tree in her front yard with a bunch of bird feeders and A LOT of birds...I hate birds.

The birds, obviously not sensing my fear, fled when I tried to take their picture.  There are still some birds in the picture however, and I am dubbing this the "crazy bird lady house".

Another gem in the RV park was this display...which I am still debating the reason for...

These bird statues are either having a party or a face-off...

The one thing I did appreciate about my brief stint as an RV-er is that you've always got your refrigerator with you...so you've always got a cold drink at hand.

Enjoying a beer by the "river"...far away from the crazy bird lady house.

Needless to say I took my parents car this morning and drove myself the remaining 3 hours to Escondido.  Lucky too, since their RV broke down and they are having to wait an extra night in Yuma for a repairman tomorrow. 

I hope they last the night next to the crazy bird lady house...I'm going to enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty house!

It's Anniversary Season!

I’m pretty lucky.  Every year, I get TWO anniversaries!  Anniversary #1, which just happens to be today, is the day I trekked up to Orange County with my mom as my witness to sign paperwork to officially become Mrs. Howell.  Anniversary #2, exactly one month later on May 11^th, is the day we had our wedding.  This means TWICE the presents and TWICE the celebrations EVERY year…which is pretty much awesome.

For anniversary #1 last year, we went to Venice…Italy, not the beach;  the year before we went to the Campania region of Italy and toured the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii; and for our first anniversary #1, we went to the Running of the Bull festival in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain.

Needless to say it’s hard to top living in Europe and being able to afford and have the time to do those things. 

For example, this year there will be no jaunts to Italy.  Instead, we will be showing my parents our new home (the model of it at least), and then heading to dinner at Kona Grill in good ole Gilbert, Arizona!

Kona sounds pretty Hawaiian to me though, so I suppose if I squint real hard and drink a bunch of Mai Tais I may be able to pretend we’re celebrating our four year anniversary #1 in Hawaii.

AND, buying a home is on my 30/30 list…so I’m working towards a pretty huge goal too. 

Happy Four Year Anniversary #1 Mr.!  I’m so lucky to get to celebrate twice…and to be married to my best friend who has always worked so hard to make all my dreams a reality.  (Wow, that sounded cheesey, but it’s totally true!)

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

It's like sharks and crocodiles...but REALLY big!

Yesterday, as I was browsing through the channels on the little cable TV Mr. hooked up for us in our room at Mom & Dad H.’s, I ran across this gem.

There are no words...

Yep, you’re seeing that right.  Mega Shark v Crocosaurus. 

Since our little TV doesn’t have a menu guide, I actually had to imdb this movie to get the title, which led to me finding out there was a prequel!  Mega Shark v Giant Octopus.  Clearly another winner…

It has Jaleel White in it…you know…Steve Urkel from Family Matters?  So I’m glad to see his acting career is still booming. 

I’m sure this must be a cult film thing or something…right? 

So as not to deprive you all from this experience, I’ve done the research for you and here’s a link where you can buy this masterpiece on Amazon.  Only $14.99 plus shipping and handling, what a bargain!

Enjoy!

Hey look, we bought dirt!

Yesterday Mr. and I bought a house!  I know, can you believe it!?  We’re such adults now!

Mr. is such a good sport!  The construction workers were totally watching us!

I guess it would be more accurate to say Mr. and I bought dirt. 

That's OUR dirt!!!

It’s brand new, so it’ll take approximately 5 months to build…mid-late August according to our builder.  We signed what felt like a novel amount of paperwork and got our financing in order, and now we wait. 

Patience…definitely not my strong suit.

We get to break up the long wait next month with an appointment at the design center to pick out all our details…the floors, cabinets, countertops, hardware, etc.  I’m SO excited!!!  So far all we’ve chosen is to add the hobby room to the floor plan (for a home gym of course!), the placement of the ceiling fans, and the exterior colors and roof tiles.

Pretty awesome colors and roof tiles if you ask me...

I cannot wait to move in and get to decorate and furnish our very first non-rental, non-military-issued home! 

If you want to check out the area or the house, click here! 

Yay for being dirt/homeowners!!!

Margarita Man

Yesterday Mr. and I went to the Diamondbacks v Brewers preseason game at Chase Field.  Although I’m not a Diamondbacks fan, I figure as long as they aren’t playing my Padres I can root for them to win…which they did.  (The Padres also won their preseason game…go Padres!) 

We started our night off with a lovely dinner at T.G.I. Fridays Front Row restaurant. 

I pretty much could have just stayed here to watch the game...what an awesome view!

Then we made it to our seats which were REALLY close.

Okay, I suppose I'm glad we eventually left TGIF!

Look, we’re sitting at the game.

I was wearing a blue tank top which is apparently one of the Brewers colors...thanks for the heads up when I was choosing my outfit for the night Mr.!!!

Then something amazing happened.  I spotted this man.

Sorry for the slightly blurry picture...he kept moving, like he was working or something...

Yep, that is a margarita machine strapped to his back.  How awesome is that!?  I’m pretty sure I need one of these instead of a boring old Camelbak. 

Although they won the game, and it was an overall fun evening, this made my night!  Thank you Margarita Man!  And thanks to Mr.’s Aunt Karen for hooking us up with the last minute tickets!!!

"Unshopping"

I have come to the realization that I have what I am dubbing an “unshopping” problem. 

unshopping   [un-shop-ing]

noun

1.       A person who shops, but does not buy

adjective

2.       Pertaining to examining yet NOT buying merchandise

Example: Shana found a really cute Kate Spade lobster purse at Nordstrom Rack, but did not purchase it, making her an unshopper.

Yep, that’s right.  A few weeks ago I found a super cute Kate Spade lobster purse at Nordstrom Rack.  After pining over it for about a minute, I talked myself out of buying it.  Why?  Because two weeks ago we had no jobs and spending money on a lobster purse that would go with about two outfits I own didn’t seem like a very responsible decision.  Now I am regretting this line of reasoning as I decided I should get it, went to Nordstrom Rack here in Arizona today to find it and there was no lobster purse…

Mr. pointed out that I do this a lot.  We shop, I find cute stuff, I talk myself out of buying it, I go home and think about said cute stuff, I decide I DO want it and I SHOULD buy it, I go back to get it and it’s gone, I spend hours (and sometimes days/weeks/months) looking for said cute stuff.  Sometimes I’m lucky and I find it, other times my now obsessive desire for said cute stuff goes unfulfilled. 

So here, online where things go to be forever in the internet ether, I am vowing to stop over thinking my purchases and buy when I see something I want. 

Better to buy and return, than to not buy and perpetually long for…right?