Go Hogs!

So, the Regional Razorback Watch Party last Saturday was, ahem....a bust. After driving an hour through crazy traffic to Scottsdale (they choose to do highway construction here on weekends because I guess technically there's less traffic than during the week...problem is, we only really take the freeway on the weekends) we made it to Sugar Daddy's for the game.

Well, that would have been if the Arkansas vs. Texas game was shown on one of the 500 channels on the tv....but it wasn't!!! No one else showed up for the event, so after 30 minutes or so, we headed out. But, we did take some pictures to commemorate the watch party that never was.





Driving back to Glendale, we stopped to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant we saw. It was crowded so we decided to stop in. It was pretty good and fast. Back at home, Josh watched other college football games and I took a nap and called my mom because it was her birthday.

On Sunday, we went back to Christ's Church of the Valley. I really like this church. I think it's the best church I've been to, overall. It's just very professional and modern. The band, the singers, and the pastor are very talented. After church, Josh and I went to get haircuts...finally! Josh's hair (and mine) was getting a little out of control. After that, we went to brunch at Mimi's Cafe. We really like this restaurant for their big breakfasts and cute provencial France decor. After brunch, I dropped Josh off at the house so he could do work and I went to Lowes and Walmart.

Josh and I are planning to book a vacation to Mexico for Thanksgiving (I think we've finally decided to stay at the newer sister hotel, Excellence Playa Mujeres, of the resort we've been to three times, Excellence Riviera Cancun. Also, we're planning a trip in early November for my mom to come out and visit.

I have a sore throat :( which apparently is due to the change in weather that is coming (not germs) according to one of Josh's coworkers. Either way, it hurts.

Strengths

So, you know how different organizations do different tests to assess what type of personality you have in order to teach you how to get along better with your co-workers? At Fayetteville, the true colors test was popular (I'm a blue), however, at Arizona State University they use something called Clifton's Strengths Finder. You answer over 150 questions to see what your top 5 strengths are (out of 34 strengths). My top five, in order, are: positivity, communication, harmony, woo (winning others over), and learner.

According to this test, we'll have more success and get better results in work/life if we focus on using our strengths rather than trying to improve our weaknesses (which is what we are typically taught to do). I love the idea behind this theory that says you will feel more energy if you use your strengths (try to use them 80% of your day) and feel less energetic if you don't spend time on your strengths. This whole concept has really impacted me enough to say that if I'm ever asked in an interview about my weakness again, I sincerely think I'll say something to the effect that I want to put my energy into utilizing my 5 strengths/talents and I don't think about my weaknesses. Hmmm...that could be the positivity side of me taking over, too.

So, my boss and co-workers have taken this assessment too and we were having lunch and talking today and Monica, the Recruitment/Retention counselor, said that I should have her job. And I said, "I know, after my interview I went home and told Josh I should be doing Monica's job instead of the Tutor Coordinator job but that her position was not available."

I really love talking to people, selling people on ideas, presenting, etc. It makes me happy. Paperwork...not so much. Being the "bad cop" when someone is late or doesn't show up to an appointment doesn't jive with my strengths. Can I do those things? Sure. Doing so though is just not the best use of my talents.

Speaking of talents, or the potential lack thereof, I scheduled an audition for the Vagina Monologues in October. Crazy, I know. I was the first to call to set up an audition that doesn't even take place until October 25.

Well, I'm attempting to change the direction/narrative of my life. What I mean is, in high school, I wanted to audition for a school play but I was so shy that after I walked all the way to the M building of Cabot High School, I got to the door of the classroom where they were holding auditions, stood at the door, and then turned around and left without going in.

I don't want to stand in the hallway anymore. I want to walk through the door and try the things I've always wanted to do.

I should post the video of me doing the commercial in acting class. It's silly but a start. At least then my mom could watch it online because the file was too big to send in an email. In some ways I'd like to continue to go to acting class because I think it's fun to act, however, I don't want to pay for it :)

On a completely different front, I'm looking into getting my teaching certification. The only problem is they want math and science teachers. What's a social science person, even one with great credentials, to do? Well, I'm going to the informational session on October 7 based on the recommendation of the program advisor. I'm curious to see if they'll be like, no, you should really try to teach Biology instead.

Again, on another completely different note, I wrote a cover letter and resume for the travel agency down the road from our house saying that I could be available to work Saturdays if they needed someone. I just need to send it off.

I mean, if Josh can have three jobs, maybe I can have at least two jobs :) Either way, yard sales tomorrow...yay! And, we're hosting the watch party for the Arkansas vs. Texas game at a bar in Scottsdale...we're not expecting anyone else to show up so we'll see what happens. GO HOGS!!!

Whoa, Craziness!

Two weeks without an update...bad blogger. Anywho, my work life is INSANE! I have been so busy here and my to do list is NEVER completed. I feel better/more knowledgeable about what is going on in the position, however, there is just SO MUCH to do. The students are still great and I love talking with them. I did find out that the guy who held the Tutor Coordinator job before me (for 8 years!) just left one day...no two weeks notice. That's a mystery I'll need to unravel...very interesting.

So, life in Arizona...loving it! Truly, I'm a Sun Valley girl. I can't say enough about how much I thrive on sunshine. I facebooked (is that a word) Susie the other day and told her that one evening I was kinda sad when the sun set, like I missed the sun and couldn't wait for it to come back. When I told Josh about how I felt, he told me that was weird...oh well, that's how I felt.

Two weekends ago, September 13, our neighbors down the road were selling their patio furniture at a yard sale. Josh and I picked up a table and chairs for 4 and an outdoor couch/ 2 chairs/coffee table set for $350. We still need to buy new cushions for the set...but we figure we came out ahead on that deal and now we have patio furniture. Granted, we've probably used the set three times in the last two weeks, however, it is still over 100 degrees here most days and we don't get home until about 7 pm most nights!

After Josh carrying/me driving the patio furniture down to our house, Josh told me there was this candle holder the couple was selling that he really wanted. So, we walked back down to the neighbors' house. For $30, Josh got the candle holder and the lady kicked in an umbrella stand and some knick knacks I could use in the china hutch....score!

Other news, I went to a yard sale THIS Saturday, September 20 (as per my usual routine...Saturdays=yard sales for me and college football for Josh). I found a leather sectional on sale for $1,500. Josh and I needed a sofa for out informal living area i.e. the big empty room off the kitchen. I went home and told Josh about the sofa. The owner told me he had paid $5,500 for the sofa a year and a half ago from Creative Leather.

Saturday passed without buying the sofa and Josh and I went to church on Sunday morning at Christ's Church of the Valley. Interesting note: I'd seen these C and V shaped symbols on bumper stickers on peoples' cars throughout the Valley. I always wondered what the symbols stood for (the stickers only have the symbols not the words shown below). On Saturday, when driving around looking for yard sales, I saw the symbols on the sign for this church and decided that Josh and I should check out this place.

The church is a 10 minute (at most) drive from our house AND starts at 11:15...two positives in our book. Well, the church is awesomely huge...13,000 weekly attendance. However, I feel like if I can sit through 1.5 hours of service without feeling like "when am I going to get out of here to eat some lunch?" that has to be a good thing! The service is very contemporary and professional and there is obviously a lot of cash that comes into this church. We plan to go back next week.

After church, Josh and I went furniture hunting. We went to Creative Leather and the sales guy told us that we should go ahead and buy the sofa I'd seen at the yard sale because it would be a much better deal than buying the sofa new. Apparently, Creative Leather is top quality leather and couch frames so we'd be getting a deal.

Josh and I arranged to have the guy drop the leather sectional off yesterday after work. Oh my goodness!!! The sofa looks SO FREAKIN AMAZING in the space! And, it's comfortable...can you believe neither Josh nor I sat on the couch BEFORE we bought it...we were too worried with thoughts of "is the color right," or "will it fit in the house," etc. Check it out:

Updates, Updates

So, I can't believe it's been a week since I last blogged! OH MY GOODNESS...time is going by so quickly here because we've been so busy. My workday goes by fairly quickly because there is always a student popping in the office or a student to call regarding the tutoring schedule. My head is still officially above water, although my to do list is never completely checked off by the end of the day. Ah well, I like being busy.

Last Friday, Josh and I met up with some co-workers he knows from the ASU-Downtown campus for dinner at a Mexican restaurant downtown. Although the food was good, I think it's just fundamentally wrong to pay $75 for 5 beers and MEXICAN FOOD! Seriously, even dinner at La Huerta's was less than $20 (excluding drinks). Josh and I were like, that's almost the cost of dinner at the Wynn buffet and that's gourmet all you can eat!!!

After dinner, we drove to Central Library to attend First Friday, the art gallery walk that is held in Phoenix on the first Friday of every month. We got on the first trolley outside of the library which went North. After reaching our destination (5 galleries next door to each other), the trolley driver proceeded to open the door for 1.5 seconds, nobody got off the trolley, and we found ourselves riding back south to the library again. What a freaking waste of time!!!

We got off the "Trolley to Nowhere," and took the last trolley of the night that was heading East. At least we were able to disembark from this trolley at an art gallery. Except, "art gallery" is a word I use loosely....and I have a high tolerance for what may be defined as "art."

At this first location, there were a few paintings and, in the back, behind the building, there were three overweight girls belly dancing with candles in the palms of their hands while being video taped and watched by an audience of twenty people....I kid you not.

We continued our walk through the city. My overall impression was that this was a very high school/undergrad scene. For example, there was a huge group of teens sitting on the lawn outside one older house that was an art gallery. It was like a frat house scene from a movie. It was not upscale art with wine and cheese that I had expected. The best part of the night was walking into the older homes and viewing the architecture (except the fact that these homes had NO AIR CONDITIONING)!

Also, because First Friday is held downtown, I'd expected the city to be very cosmopolitan and for the streets to be paved. However, there were times when I was walking across the desert dirt in my sandaled feet....an unpleasant texture to feel the dry dirt across my toes. I didn't want to feel this way, however, I felt like I was being a snob. Maybe I am a snob. First Friday is fine for what it is, I just had a totally different idea of what it was going to be.

Then, I had to work last Saturday which would have been fine if I was comped the 8 hours I worked that day. I got two hours comped...nice. The day was good though because I was able to spend time with my students at tutor training. I say it a lot (maybe because I'm just so surprised by it all) but I love my students. One student worker in our office gives me a hug to start and end each day she works...seriously, that amazes me!

Sunday was spent shopping and doing things in the house. Monday and today were all about work. I got a free Starbucks today because the cash register was broken...AWESOME! Tonight, Josh is meeting with some of his Arkansas co-workers who are in Scottsdale for work.

Tomorrow night I'm going to acting class with one of my students. I told him I have always wanted to act but I have been too shy to try acting and he invited me to attend his acting class. We'll see how that goes. The set-up reminds me of how they say people start into drugs, "The first time's free." So, the first acting class is free and then if you go back you have to pay for it! Tomorrow's commercials-yay! Another one of my acting students told me about an audition for a web series I could audition for...uh, we'll see how tomorrow goes before I put myself out there for that :)

What else? We're having a Regional Razorbacks Watch Party for Arkansas vs. Texas this weekend in Scottsdale. I haven't had any RSVPs yet...not a good sign but Josh and I will be there anyway with the other Arkansas couple coordinating the event!

I think that's life for now. Stay tuned for future updates.

Las Vegas Weekend

So, Josh and I know ourselves pretty well. The reason why we'd considered going up to Vegas on Friday night was because we thought if we went up on Saturday, we'd get a late start....and that's exactly what happened.

The plan was to leave on Saturday by 10 am in order to make lunch time prices at the Wynn buffet. Well, we WOKE UP at 10:15. Great, already off to a late start. So, I skipped taking a shower and doing my hair as that takes an hour. I wore my black hat to cover my bad hair day. Josh was able to squeeze in a quick shower. We would have been doing ok on time until Josh realized, as we were walking out the door, that he needed to send out a couple of emails for work...since the Internet at the hotel would not be free. We were finally on the road at 11:15.

The drive from Phoenix to Vegas was nice....desolate, but nice. There was a long stretch of highway without cell phone coverage and only Country and Spanish music on the radio...we were glad to have our CD player in the car. We pulled into the Wynn self-parking lot (no valet for us) around 4:15 (dinner prices began at 3:30). We didn't have to wait in line which was great, although they'd upped the prices for the meal due to the holiday weekend. Anyway, the food was STELLAR! We chilled out eating sushi and creme brulee for 2 hours. Delicious.

After eating, we went to Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon to check-in to our room. It was great. The hotel is located on the Strip, on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo. So, it's center Strip (next door to the Flamingo and across the street from Caesar's and Bally's/Paris). There was no line and although we paid the "regular" price, we were upgraded to a room with a view of the Bellagio fountains across the street. That would have cost us $20 per day extra, so it was a nice savings. We really loved the room and we agreed that we'll only try to stay here in the future (great price, great location).

I took a shower and did my hair. We went out for the night and Josh watched the Sirens show at Treasure Island. I'd seen it in April and knew it was lame but Josh had to see it for himself. Afterward, he agreed about its lameness. We played video blackjack at TI and video poker at the Wynn before eating a midnight snack at McDonald's and calling it a night at 1:30 am.

On Sunday morning, Josh and I were up bright and early to stand in line at Tickets-4-Tonight by 10 am. This place offers discount tickets for the different theater shows in town. We stood in the bright sunshine for about 30 minutes (a staff member did bring us an umbrella for shade). They had tickets for Phantom of the Opera available, but I told Josh I could have bought those discounted online before we went on our trip, so if we bought them now it made standing in line pointless. In the end, we bought Category 2 seating for Love, the Cirque du Soleil show set to Beatles music. At $250 for 2 tickets, the price was high and Josh had to voice his opinion that he thought it was a waste of money even before watching the show.

Well, whether or not it would be worth the price, I didn't know. I'm not a Beatles fan, however, I am a Cirque fan. However, I don't think I'll use Tickets-4-Tonight again because they do not assign seating when you purchase your tickets. After you purchase your tickets, you have to go to the venue where the show will be and then they will give you assigned seating. Annoying. Thankfully, the Mirage, where Love plays, is close to the Tickets-4-Tonight booth.

After getting our Love tickets, we stopped by Caesars Palace, took a couple of pictures at the fountains and visited the Forum Shops. The gigantic Trojan horse and dragon are at F.A.O Schwarz. After Caesars, we returned to the hotel to chill out for a couple of hours in the AC. We decided to go to the Flamingo pool since when you stay at Bill's you get free access to the pool at the Flamingo next door. I'd read online that the Flamingo has a great pool and I'd missed getting to go to the pool in April (although I was staying at the Flamingo, I had too much work so I didn't get to go).

OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS!!! The Flamingo pool was so NASTY! Ok, granted I've been spoiled by the pools at Mexico resorts we've stayed at AND it was a holiday weekend. HOWEVER, this pool and lounger area was filled to capacity with bodies (adults and children). Trash was literally piled up by everyone's loungers (beer bottles and cans). The only open loungers we could find were next to the burger grill...yes, picture me laying on a sun lounger while burger smoke wafts over my body. Uh, disgusting.

Well, I was determined to give this experience my all. Into the pool we went. Into the sea of bodies, floating debris, and spiked beach balls. Awesome...not so much. Josh and I stood under one of the waterfalls and let the falling water massage/pummel us for a few minutes and then we were out of the water and out of the Flamingo pool area! Back to the hotel.

We got ready for dinner, choosing Le Village Buffet at Paris...$50 for dinner and very disappointing. I'll pay $88 for dinner at the Wynn Buffet any day because although it costs more money, the Wynn is worth the difference. The best thing at the Paris buffet was the fresh-made crepes. I had two-so good!

After dinner, we headed over to the Mirage to watch Love. When the show started, I was reminded of the Fetes de Nuit show we saw at Versailles in Paris in 2006 (that show was all in French and Josh and I were like, "What did we get ourselves into?!?!?). However, after the first 2 minutes of Love, the show was AMAZING and I had a HUGE SMILE on my face for most of the performance. There was one part of the show where I thought I was going to have a panic attack, but in order not to spoil the show for anyone, you'll need to ask me specifically about what caused me to mildly freak out.

Josh thought the show wasn't as great as Mystere which we saw in April, however, I might go so far as to say that Love was my favorite Cirque show over Mystere and KA. Maybe. Each show is different and yet you can tell that each is a Cirque show. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I'm not a Beatles fan...maybe I had low expectations? I don't know...I still thought it was awesome. Highly recommended.

After the show, we returned to our hotel and gambled for a couple of hours...unfortunately, we donated our money to "Uncle Bill" and didn't win anything. At least Josh was able to throw the dice in craps several times. That was fun. We were off to sleep at 3 am.

We woke up at 10 and checked out of the hotel. We thought we'd try the Wynn buffet for breakfast but they only offered a bruch since it was the holiday. There wasn't a significant price reduction for brunch over dinner so we opted out and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe before leaving town. Below are some pictures of the Strip as we departed Vegas. We even caught the Farewell sign for Vegas...next time, we'll capture the Welcome side of the sign! Sheesh, this was my 4th time to Vegas and I still don't have the Welcome sign on film!

Below are some pictures of the scenic drive from Vegas to Phoenix. Man, I LOVE the desert! While I'm not into Southwest decor at all (I think it's kind of tacky, personally) I love the landscapes of the Southwest. Enjoy!