The Good and The Bad of Phoenix

You may or may not remember my post about the pros and the cons of living in Tennessee.  I wrote it almost a year ago.  Well, now that I've lived in Phoenix for over six months, I feel like I can do a similar post for our new home.  This is what I have learned so far about the good and the bad of living in Phoenix:

GOOD:

- I feel like Phoenix has almost every store or restaurant that I could ever want.  Believe it or not, before I moved to Phoenix the place that I missed the shopping the most was actually Utah, followed closely by LA, and then Nashville.  (There were some great things about Nashville, but shopping was NOT one of them).  Now I prefer the shopping in Phoenix over anywhere else.  It has stores like DownEast, H&M, Charming Charlie's, (best jewelry store EVER) and basically any other store you can think of.  I live down the street from a really good Ross, Target, and Hobby Lobby.  I love the shopping here.  If we had a Tai Pan, I really wouldn't be able to ask for more.

-There is a high LDS population without having to live in Utah.  :-)  (I don't hate Utah, I hate snow).

-Phoenix is within driving distance to places that we want to visit often, such as Vegas, LA, and Utah.  I also like that we're close to Mexico, because Mexican farmers drive their produce up to random markets up here and we can get boxes of strawberries for 50 cents each.  Love it.

-The cost of living is pretty low.  This is great for our financial situation at the moment.  ;-)

-Good job and housing market.  We might be able to get into a home a lot sooner that I originally thought we would.  I've already started joining the rest of the Pinterest world in planning out my future home. 

-Michael wants me to add that there are pro sports teams in every sport that "matters," and that the Phoenix Suns play here.  

-The weather.  I am putting this in between the good and the bad, because it is both very good, and very bad.  

Fall and winter were seriously amazing.  I am so whiny about snow and freezing weather, and finally, this last winter, for the first time since I left my parents' home seven years ago, I had nothing to complain about.  I wore a sweatshirt maybe 10 to 15 times, and I didn't even touch my winter jackets.  I went on walks in the middle of January and didn't have to worry about bundling up Matthew.  (Random, funny side story:  I love the old people here.  One day in February, this old lady comes up to me and asks me if my baby is too cold because he was wearing a shirt and jeans and no sweatshirt.  I felt like a bad mom for a quarter of a second until I remembered that it was quite warm.  Apparently, 75 degrees is freezing to old people in Phoenix.  I laughed, and then realized that she was serious.  And then I really started noticing that unless it was over 80 degrees, old people wore their winter coats.  Hilarious).  :-)  

Anyway, the weather is also very bad.... in the summer.  Today it got to 100 degrees and it was way too hot for me.  Then I got anxiety because I realized it's only April.  I am actually scared for the weather this summer.  I have been told by several people to run my errands first thing in the morning or in the evening.  Guess I'll have to start doing that.

BAD:

-Heaven knows me and Michael aren't huge "nature people," but I can appreciate some trees, pretty hills, bodies of water, or even some grass!  I told Michael that Phoenix has no "nature" and he looked shocked and pointed out all the cacti.  Gross- who the heck likes cacti?! 

-There is nothing super cool or unique about Phoenix.  When people come to visit us, I don't feel like there's anywhere special that I should take them.  For example, when you visit LA, you have the beach.  When you go to Vegas, you can go see the Strip.  And when people came to Nashville, we showed them Opryland and even just downtown.  Phoenix?  Maybe I just haven't lived here long enough, but I can't think of anything cool to go do or see.  So unless you want to see a cool cactus, maybe WE should come visit YOU. 

-Awful traffic, but this really isn't any different from any other big city.

-It's brown, dry, and dusty.  Unless you're downtown, all the buildings and houses look the same.

-Desert insects/snakes are scary.

And there you have it.  Overall, we like Phoenix.  Great people and plenty to do here.  I have no idea if we'll live here forever, but for now it suits us just fine.

Old?

My 25th birthday was on the 26th, and it was great. Well, except for the part when Michael got a horrible migraine. However, he came home from work early, took a 3 hour nap, and felt pretty good after that. I got lots of nice calls and texts from friends and family and Michael made sure I was spoiled and didn't let me do any chores. Love him. We went to dinner at Carrabbas and they brought me a brownie cake that was seriously amazing.


On the day Michael turned 25, (a year and a half ago) he felt like an old man. He has felt this way ever since. Well, since misery loves company, he asked me on my birthday if I felt like an old woman. Haha, no. Sorry. I think I'll save that for my 30's. ;-) However, maybe I should start feeling old... after all, I've found myself already saying things like, "Kids these days......" and "A couple years ago when I was in high school.....oh wait... I guess that was more than a couple years ago now...." more often than I care to admit. And some of my very favorite things from my childhood are considered ancient. Yikes. Here are a few of my favorite childhood things that I really miss:

-Books - Oh man, for a while I was absolutely obsessed with the Goosebumps books. Whenever I'd get a new one I'd be just giddy over it. I had quite the collection. I also loved The Baby-Sitters Club books. I didn't have a huge stash of my own though- I'd steal one from my sister's collection or get a few at a time from the library. Claudia was my favorite character because she loved candy, just like me. I never got into Nancy Drew, which is sad because I think if I had given them a fair chance I would have loved those too.


-Food - Do they still make Warheads, Gushers, String Things, and Squeeze-Its? Opening my lunch to any of these items made me so excited.


-Fashion - I proudly wore a few skorts. Shorts in the back, a skirt in the front. Very stylish, let me tell you. I also loved jellies. Please let those come back in style someday. Oh, and remember when butterfly clips were super popular? I still have a few, for old times' sake.
-Cartoons - Cartoons these days are not what they used to be. I loved Doug, Recess, and The Rugrats. Tom and Jerry was pretty awesome too. I was obsessed with Nickelodeon.


-TV - I really, really miss the kind of TV shows that were on in the 90's. My favorites included Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Are You Afraid Of The Dark?, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince, Sister Sister, Full House, and Boy Meets World.


-Entertainment - In kindergarten, I loved to play with trolls. Their bright colored hair with matching jeweled belly buttons were just awesome for some reason. Then I went through a phase of loving beanie babies. I also loved the Skip-It, rollerblading, hula-hoops, playing the hand game Slide really fast, and double dutch jump rope. I was awesome at double dutch. Anybody else remember the digital pets? I had a Tomagotchi and I absolutely loved it. I think I also went through a brief phase of liking pogs.


-Games - My favorite board game of all time was Pretty Pretty Princess, but we never actually owned it so I'd have to play it at a friends' house. If anyone ever sees that game, please buy it. Best game ever. I also loved Chutes and Ladders, Uno, and Trouble. I make Michael play Trouble and Uno with me at least once every few months. :-)


I miss the 90's, and I guess missing a decade really does make me older than I feel. However, I definitely still appreciate the fact that I'm only in my 20's. And I plan to make my 25th year of life a fabulous one!

Grandparents > Parents

I remember my grandma telling me a long time ago that the best part of a vacation is the part when you get to go home. Well, when I'm the one hosting someone else on vacation, them leaving to go back home is my least favorite part of them coming. It always feels empty for a while when company leaves, especially company as good as my parents. I feel like I'm on vacation when they're here.... which probably doesn't say very good things about my hosting skills. :-)

My parents were only here for a day and a half, but it sure was a party. They took Matthew on walks, showered him with attention, gave him goodies, and told him stories. They also baby-sat so me and Michael could go see The Hunger Games together. Matthew is already bored with me and Michael. Grandparents are so much more fun!

And a video that shows just how much fun Matthew had with my parents.... :-)

Happy Birthday Oreo

I have always liked Oreos, but I became a true Oreo fan my freshman year of college. It was at this time that I discovered the Peanut Butter Oreos. I could only find them in the small Cannon Center grocery area, (and I didn't yet have a car to go to a real grocery store) so I made the trek several times from Heritage Halls (waaaaay on the other side of campus) to the Cannon Center to pick up these amazing cookies. Then, sophomore year of college, I discovered the Double Stuf Oreos, and I fell in love all over again. I haven't eaten a regular Oreo since.

As you may have heard, Oreo celebrated its 100th anniversary on Tuesday, March 6th. I'm not the type to celebrate any little thing as an excuse to celebrate, although I should make it a goal to become that way. Why NOT celebrate as much as possible? Anyway, I just had to use this 100th anniversary as an excuse to throw a little Oreo party with the fam. And also, yes, as an excuse to buy some Double Stuf Oreos.

Happy Birthday Oreo. Thanks for the fattening, yet good times.

Pictures in black and white in honor of the Oreo. And yes, I let my 6 1/2 month old try one.... mother of the year strikes again. :-/

Oh, The Places We'll Go

Lately, me and Michael have been dreaming about all the places we'd like to visit before we die. I haven't been out of the country except for Mexico (more specifically, Cozumel, and that was really awesome) and I'm excited to get out and see the world. Actually, there are also many places here in the U.S. that we're dying to visit. Sooo, here's our list, which will probably get longer as time goes on. The first bunch is places we'd like to go within the next 10 years, and the second bunch is places we'd like to go during our lifetime..... or in other words, very expensive places that will require many, many years of saved-up money. ;-)

In the next 10 years:

-Hawaii. I feel like going there is some sort of rite of passage. I also feel like I'm one of the only people my age who hasn't been there. Oh, except for Michael. He hasn't been either, which is pretty perfect. Ideally, I'd like to go for our 5 year anniversary, so we've got a while to save up. I want to do all the Hawaii-ish things I see in movies, like hike to a waterfall and maybe even a volcano, and enjoy the amazing beaches with an umbrella in my drink.

- New York City. I spent one day there with my family almost ten years ago, and it was awesome!!! I wish we could have stayed longer. Such a cool city. Michael really wants to go here too, (he's never been) and while we're on the East Coast, I'd also like to take him to Boston. Boston is pretty cool too, and has so much history.

- San Francisco. Also a very cool city that's fun to explore. And again, Michael has never been, which needs to be fixed. Luckily we can travel here pretty cheap thanks to family living close to this city!

-Florida. I've been to Jacksonville and Orlando, but Michael hasn't been to Orlando and wants to go. We both also kind of want to check out Miami..... I think? Miami is a cool city, right? And we have family here (Orlando) as well. Woohoo!

-Nashville. I know, I know, we just moved away six months ago.... but we're already dying to go back to visit! We both agree that we still wouldn't want to live there forever, but Nashville will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was such a cool adventure to pack up and move there literally right after our honeymoon. I've missed it a lot lately. Southern life is different, and I'm so glad I got to experience it for a year. Plus, I want to take Matthew back there eventually and show him where he was born. :-)

-Chicago. I've just heard that it's a cool city. Anyone been there who could confirm/deny this for me?


Before we die:

-China. Don't ask me why, but I've always wanted to walk on the Great Wall.


- London. Michael has obviously been there.. (that's where he served his mission, and then he went back a few years ago with his mom) ....but I haven't been and I want to go so bad! Michael will be thrilled to go back again, I'm sure.

- Santorini, Greece. Every time I see a picture of this place, I think about how awesome it looks and how much I'd like to go there.

- Jerusalem. Oh man, the history. I absolutely must go here before I die.

- French Polynesia. This one is Michael's, but I have absolutely no problems with staying somewhere like this.... hello, Bora Bora:

- Italy. Venice and Rome, please.



We probably won't make it to all of these places, but we can dream, right? Any suggestions of anywhere else that we must go?