Steph's Adventures in the US of A

ARIZONA!!!

2008-02-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally made it!! I just arrived in town on Friday. It's a little strange to be back but it's been good to see my friends and be back at the church. We're almost settled on a place. I should have a definite answer by the end of next week. So, right now I'm just staying with friends until I get all settled. Thank goodness for that! OH, and I'm job searching so be praying that I find something that I'll enjoy that will pay me decently.

Other than that I'm enjoying the sunshine and the scenery. For some reason this transition feels different than all the others. Maybe it's because I'm not here with my job and there's not a "set" time frame that I'll be here...wierd!

Sooooooo.....I don't have much to say...I'm sure it's obvious from the randomness of this post...but I just wanted to post and say I made it...I'll keep you up to date with what happens in the next few weeks...until then...PEACE

Getting Closer!

2008-01-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that in less than two weeks I'll be in AZ!! I'm pretty much done with packing except for little last minute items and things that I'll be taking with me in the car. Now, it's the fun part...cleaning...NOT!! Oh well, if I start now and take it gradually it won't be so bad, right?? Since I haven't been working evenings it's been nice to get things done and be able to hang out with my friends before I go. I have something going on everyday until I leave! Yay! Thankfully one of my friends is coming along with me for the ride so I won't have to say a final goodbye until she leaves. Then the sadness will come...it will be bittersweet for sure.

So far everything is coming along pretty smoothly. Oh, a funny thing happened to me this morning (well maybe it's not so funny). It drizzled last night and everything iced over...therefore my car was covered in ice. I was trying to be patient and let it defrost and then trying to scrape off what I could but the drivers side windows just wouldn't budge. I thought that maybe if I tried to roll the windows down that it would loosen it a little and be a big help. Well, I don't know where my brain was and I was starting to fiddle with the locks instead of the windows. Once I was working with the proper buttons I still couldn't get the windows to budge. So, slamming the door I realized too late that I didn't check to see what the status of the door locks were. In my mind I was like "No, I couldn't have just done that", but sure enough....locked! I had to walk all the way to the front of the complex to the office on the icy pavement and then had to wait around for a locksmith. I figured I couldn't leave Oklahoma without having some sort of a crazy story. BTW...it was freezing cold outside and I already threw away my heavy coat. I was being optimistic!! :)

It's Official....I'm Moving back to AZ!!!

2008-01-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! I just recently got back to Oklahoma from being gone for 2 weeks at home. It was wonderful...there was snow, friends, family and fun!

On to the big news:

I'm headed back to Phoenix at the end of this month. It's so crazy. I put in my notice at my job today. That was really hard for me as I know they'll have to get someone in here to take my place and will have to try and figure it all out. It's such a relief now that it's out in the open.

I'm really looking forward to this new venture. Now I'll have a more appealing place for people to come visit. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to go to OKLAHOMA! Ha! For clarity's sake, I will say that I have met some reeeaalllyyyy awesome people. They helped to get me thru six months of being in a strange land.

Anyways, more to come on this! Be praying that all the move details will just fall into place!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2007-12-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

I'm headed home to see my family and friends! Woo hoo!! :-)

Yes, Jesus still loves me!! :-)

2007-12-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

I've had power since Saturday AND the big snow storm we were supposed to get turned into flurries.

Hooray!! Now if we could just do something about the cold...

Power Outage Adventures

2007-12-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Guess what?!?! I"m still without electricity! It's been 4 1/2 days now and still no word on when we should expect power back on. There were over 600,000 outages in the state and now we're down to about 250,000. My electric company only has 19,000 more to go (down from 70,000). ps. We're expecting a big snow storm this weekend.

So, what am I doing and how am I keeping warm? Glad you asked! Monday night I joined some friends who also didn't have power and we camped out on the living room floor with candles and flashlights. I thought it would be better to be with people with no power than to be by myself in the dark. Tuesday morning I got up and went home to get ready hoping power had returned, but no such luck. It was freezing in my apartment. I could barely get ready I was so cold. Plus everytime I am home I forget about the lights being out so I'll go into a room and try to turn the lights on. I have a feeling that when electricity is finally restored, every light in my apartment just might be on :-)

The saga continues with me going to work on Tuesday and there is no heat. Part of the ceiling fell in and water was all over the carpet by/in the bathroom. Luckily there wasn't any equipment right underneath. They've been working on the heat all week. I had been going to Borders/Panera to work but they bought me a space heater yesterday. It will do for now.

One of my friends here in Norman invited me to stay over at her house since her family had power (I love Kallie P.). I went over Tuesday night and we babysat the cutest, most polite children, watched the Sound of Music, drank hot chocolate and just vedged. So much fun. Kallie's aunt told me that I could stay with them until my power came back on. Thank God for them. It's been so nice to have a place to go and shower and stay warm :) I'm trying to come up with the best way to return the favor.

I'm really hoping the electricty comes on soon. I put up my Christmas tree last week and only got to look at the lights for a few days. I guess I could leave it up a few extra days when I get home after the new year. Who would know but me!? hee hee

Ice Storm 2007

2007-12-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

That's what they're calling it on the news. They say it will probably go down in the history books as one of the worst in Oklahoma. It started early early Sun. morning and is expected to continue until tomorrow where the temperatures will hopefully be above freezing so the rain that we'll have thru Wed. doesn't freeze and we can get on with things.

Apparently, Oklahoma has been declared in a state of emergency due to all of the power outages, etc... More than 405,000 people are without power. The largest amount in the histroy of the state. I was supposed to work Target yesterday and today but called in both days b/c I didn't want to have to make the 20-30 mile trek on the highways. I almost wish I was there now as my power just went out about fifteen minutes ago.

My car was frozen over with layers and layers of ice. It took me about an hour to clean it off. Who knows what it will look like when I go to it again, but at least I got a start on it so it wouldn't be so awful tomorrow.

Anyways, now that I'm officially bored and don't know what to do without power, I'll bid you adieu.

Ah...the crazy life of OK. I hear they don't get much snow...just ICE!

Is anyone still out there??

2007-11-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Geez! It's been almost a year. I forgot my password and that was just the end. I've gotten into myspace and facebook a little, so therefore the blog suffered. I'm sure everyone that's still around is just crying their hearts out over it... I'm actually back on here for my friend Melanie :) Let's see if I can keep this up again. No promises!! LOL

Hello My Peoples

2006-10-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been super busy! Kamilah came to AZ at the beginning of October and we had a little bit of an adventure. After showing her the wonderful areas around my place (kind of like a glorified Orland Park with upscale shopping and resorts/spas & don't forget the palm trees...hee hee), we ventured to my favorite place in AZ so far....Sedona. We were really on our way to the Grand Canyon but I couldn't be so close and not give Mimi a chance to see it. The Grand Canyon was pretty "grand". Ha Ha. I would like to go back and do some hiking below the rim. The mule ride down the canyon sounds fun too, but I'm thinking that once we actually got going I might be kinda scared. Not that I'm afraid of heights, but it's different when you're high up on a mule and riding on a little trail and if you fall off, you're falling a looooonnnnggg way down. Yeah, so I probably won't try that. Tho I did sit on the edge of the canyon. Mimi thought I was crazy...she eventually moved closer too :) It's funny because even when we were at the GC, her mind was still on Sedona. We were going to head back to Sedona for some hiking the next day but we decided to chill out instead. I didn't take any pictures, but she did so...add that to the list of pictures that I am waiting on. It was a treat to be able to spend time with my friend. Thanks for coming out!

A few days later I paid a surprise visit to my mom for her birthday. I won't go into details, but let me tell you, she was surprised! It was great. I had been so worried she would find out. That's why I pretty much told nobody except for a few people that were helping me out. Everything worked out wonderfully and I was able to spend a few moments with a couple of my friends as well. I was also able to surprise/visit with my grandparents as we took a trip to Wis. to celebrate the birthdays of my grampa, mom & uncle. Yay!

Since I've been home I haven't done much. I went out to Sedona one day and did some hiking. It was wierd to go by myself but truly freeing. Don't worry, I wasn't off on some lonely trail where noone was and the boogey man might get me. I scoped out the situation before I actually started the hike. There were tons of people there...very safe. Other than that it's been a little boring. That's ok tho. You can't have fun ALL the time :) I need to just sit and relax sometimes. Like right now I'm at Barnes & Nobles. Seems to be my new favorite hangout. As far as work goes, I did hire one event coordinator about 3 weeks ago. She's working out great so far. I have to hire one more person to start in two weeks and in the end I will have a staff of 3-4 people. It's kinda funny to be the boss but I am learning sooooooo much.

And so ends another wonderful saga in the chronicles of Stephanie's journey. Ha Ha!

Pics from Sedona

2006-09-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Sedona

2006-09-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

My first exciting weekend in AZ! Sedona is beautiful. What started off as a day trip ended up being a weekend. Let's see...how did I manage that? Heather and I headed there to do the Pink Jeep Tour on Saturday afternoon. We arrived a little early so we scouted out the little shops etc... along the little strip called "Old Sedona". About a half hour before we were supposed to check-in for the tour, we came upon a sign that said "Ask me how to receive a complimentary night stay". Ok. Out of curiousity we had to check it out. Turns out all you had to do was go through one of those 90 minute time share presentations and you could stay at the Hyatt "Vacation Club" for free. Of course we went for it. How often do you get to stay in Sedona for free at a $400 a night "hotel".

The Jeep Tour was awesome. We drove up, over and down the rocks. The only thing holding you in was your seatbelt. I definitely recommend sitting in the back for anyone that goes. Tho, these trips aren't for the people with bad backs. You definitely get jostled around. How fun would it be to drive one of those jeeps? I decided that maybe I would start a new career. Watch out Sedona. LOL. After the tour was over we hightailed it over to the Hyatt for the presentation. I couldn't find the entrance so I asked a lady where the entrance to the "hotel" was. Her response...."Oh honey...that's not a hotel, it's a "vacation club". Yeah, I pretty much was thinking, just tell me where the entrance to this place is, I don't care what it's called. As her little frufru dog was sitting on her desk just chillin. Anyways....so presentation over, we go outside to find that it's pretty chilly. Yikes. We only had shorts, short sleeved shirts & flip-flops. The guy who did our presentation told us about these outlet malls and by the time we arrived they had just locked their doors. I ran to the Gap outlet and asked the lady if I could at least talk to her for a minute. Turns out Wal-mart was at least 30 minutes away so she was so nice and let us in for 5 minutes. We were rushing around the store trying to find pants and sweaters. It was nice b/c they helped us find what we needed. Yay people at the Sedona area Gap outlet.

The next day we got up and drove up this road that you really shouldn't drive unless you have a rental car or SUV. We had a rental so it was all good. :) It was a pretty neat drive...the road was rocky and bumpy but well worth it once we got to the top. The view was amazing. After that we went hiking in the Coconino National Forest. Great hike. The trail was not mapped or marked so we only knew we were going the right direction when we saw other people. That's how crazy it was. Not your normal trail. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get in...well all the way to the first end of the trail (it ends at little creek that you wade through to get to more hiking) and we got out in 30-40 minutes. We're supposed to go again tomorrow for more hiking. Can't wait!

Ok...so can this post be any longer? I am sure you didn't want to know EVERY single detail...so I spared you. Ha ha ha.

What's the Dilly Schmilly?

2006-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been crazy! I moved into my apartment Saturday and have been doing furniture shopping galore. It's wierd because I like it and I don't...the furniture shopping that is. I like being able decorate but when you can't find what you're looking for it's frustrating. Work is going well. I've been working from my hotel/apartment since I arrived because my office isn't completely set up yet. Hopefully by Monday I'll be able to get in.

I met a girl at the pool one day and we've been hanging out sometimes. She's only here until the end of September. Last night I went with her and some of her colleagues to a baseball game. As if I haven't gone to enough this summer right? I was actually very disappointed when we walked in and found out their dome doesn't open. I thought I had heard of indoor stadiums where their roof opened. I felt like I was watching the game on tv....which I don't like to do. Part of the fun of baseball for me is being outside, not closed in a bubble. I don't think I paid very much attention to the game at all. After thinking about it I figured it's probably best that they have an air conditioned stadium for the at least 100 degree weather. It probably wouldn't be so fun to sit out in the hot hot sun and fry to death.

There's not much else going on here. Just trying to find a good church and some fun stuff to do. I am starting to find my way around pretty well so that's a plus. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss u guys!

Sorry I Broke My Vow

2006-09-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

(Night out with some girls from the Springs)

Ok..so it's been waaayyy more than a week since I have posted. Things have been crazy busy. I have been in Arizona for about a week now. That's crazy in itself. I got an apartment yesterday..woohoo! I move in next Saturday. How exciting. Furniture shopping time. There is an IKEA in Tempe so I will definitely be checking that out. Oh yes, I am in Peoria about 15-20 minutes from downtown Phoenix. It's a nice little suburb that might remind you a little of Orland. Everything is in one area which makes it pretty nice for me not really knowing my way around.

Wowee...I have done so many things since my last posting. I went camping, whitewater rafting, went to FOUR baseball games in one week (of which I payed for one), watched some movies outdoors at Red Rocks and much more. When I found out I was leaving Colorado I had to fit in everything I wanted to do very quickly. Now here I am in AZ trying to figure out what to do. I'm sure there is tons I just have to find it. Had lunch with Yolanda today. She was in from Chicago visiting some relatives. It was definitely nice to see a friendly face from home.

Sorry if I seem a little scatterbrained. So much is going through my mind right now. I officially start in my new position on Tuesday. Say a little prayer for me if you think of it. I think that's it for now. Be on the lookout for more pictures etc... soon.

ps. Special thanks to a great friend.

Extry Extry Read All About It

2006-08-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Arizona here I come! In a few weeks I will be leaving Denver to become a project manager in Phoenix. This came as quite a surprise to me as I was just starting to get settled in here. If you remember, I've written about things here being super slow and possibly not having anything to do until November. Rather than have me sit here doing nothing, they decided to promote me and send me on my way. What an exciting opportunity. Colorado was fun but I guess it's on to new adventures. Stay tuned for more info...

Rock Pile

2006-08-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Went to the Rockies/Brewers game, ate tons of stuff that should make you sick, Brewers lost, nuff said...

Taste of Cherry Creek

2006-08-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Right outside of the hotel there is a biking/walking path that leads to downtown and other surrounding areas. Everyday I look at the bikers and imagine that will one day be me. Yes, I am in the market for a bike. There are trails everywhere around here. Anyways, this path intersects with a small park that was hosting the "Taste of Cherry Creek". I had seen signs for this all week and wondered what it was. Especially because the sign said free food. So, last night I decided to walk over and check it out. Needless to say it was a complete waste of my time. They had one area with hotdogs, chips and pop and then booths set up here and there that really didn't carry much information. The only interesting thing was that there was a section for kids to make birdhouses...well really the parents made them and the kids watched. I thought about making one myself for the fun of it but changed my mind when the lady asked me how old my child was. I only hung around for 10 minutes...plus it started raining...the park is surrounded by trees and a creek and I didn't feel like getting struck by lightning.

Our hotel offers a free membership to the 24 hour fitness center located across the parking lot...pretty cool eh? After the "Taste" I went there and was about ready to hit the Elyptical (sp?) when I noticed a class was about ready to start. I love going to classes. Turns out it was a dance workout class. It wasn't all dance movement but it was nice to do some of the basics again. It's been a year since I have actually been in class...sad. So, Yay for something to help keep me in shape for when I DO go back.

Peace

Copper Mountain Fun

2006-08-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Copper Mountain is a lovely ski resort community. During the summer they have activities such as rock climbing, go karts, boating, and more. What originally peaked my interest about the place was that they have something called a "Diggler" that you ride down the mountain. Come to find out the diggler is an off road scooter...to me it's like a skate board on larger wheels with a handle bar and brakes. What a ride! We took the ski lift up to about 11,000 feet and rode the scooter all the way down. It was so much fun. The first time we went down it took longer because we were stopping along the way to take pictures etc... but the second time went by way to fast. You're pretty much coasting the whole way. It's bumpy but the first time you don't really feel it. At least I didn't. I think I felt every bump the 2nd time around because my body was worn out from everything else I had been doing.

We climbed a real rock. I'm saying that b/c I've only ever done rock climbing on those fake walls with the grooves in it for your feet. This was the real deal and I was so proud of myself because I made it to the top. It took me about 5-7 minutes. Emily was like spider man crawling up the wall. She's a pro...well semi pro. The quad jump was fun (that's the contraption that has you hooked to bungee cords and you jump on a trampoline). The guy had me flying....and I mean flying in the air. He wouldn't let me off until I did a flip so I overcame my initial fears and pulled off 2 or 3. Woo hoo! Let's see...what else did we do? Oh yes, we did bumper boats (we felt like we were 12 again) and wow did we get soaked. I didn't know they had super soakers built into the things. After that we rode the go karts to dry off. It was a generic track which was one circle.

After about 4 hours of non-stop activity we headed home. I was beat. What an exhilarating day! I almost forgot to tell you about the drive there. It was beautiful. Remember I said the drive to the Springs was pretty? Well that was trash in comparison to this. I didn't know any better. Mountains were on every side of us. I would love to live in one of the little mountain towns...probably super expensive. I don't think I can adequately describe what it was like so I guess I will leave it to your imaginations. If I hadn't been driving I would've taken more pictures. Maybe next time :o)

Pics of the Mountain

2006-08-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

The ride up

It's snow in July! Dirty melting snow at that.

The "Diggler"

Helmet Girl

After the bumper boats

Where I WAS staying

2006-07-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's where I stayed when I first arrived. Actually, this is the 2nd place I stayed because when I first got into town the hotel didn't have the room that I was supposed to be in available. Someone had extended their stay and they didn't have any availability until August for the one bedroom suites. I'm glad because I didn't like that place very much. This place was nicer and just up the street from the first place. The only thing was that it was 1/2 hour from work with traffic, even going back roads. The drive was getting to be really annoying and Emily (the girl from Wisconsin) wanted to move closer to work as well. We searched the areas by work and finally found a place that was nice and within what we thought would be our budget. It took 2 weeks but we now live not even 5 minutes from work and across the parking lot from a Super Target. Woo hoo! I will have pics and details of the new place soon.

The "Living" Room

Kitchen & Dining Area :o)

Bedroom

Update

2006-07-31T07:13:00.000-07:00

Howdy everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to give updates. I have been having computer problems. Hopefully it will be fixed soooooooooonnnnn. Since I last wrote I have moved hotels (closer to work and nicer), rode a scooter down the mountain (whee!) and been bored out my mind at work. Things are somewhat slow there right now because of technical difficulties. Wednesday I go to a Colorado Rockies game against the Brewers. My brother will be so jealous. He's definitely a Milwaukee fan and is trying to pattern his kids after that. LOL. Tho I think Jacob likes the Cardinals now. Speaking of birds I never want to eat at Red Robin again. I went there like 5 times in two weeks. I love their french fries but they don't love me. You get sick of them after awhile.

Soon I will have updates with pictures of where I am staying and what I've been up to. I, Stephanie, do solemnly swear to update my blog with pictures and/or writings of what is going on here in Colorado. I promise to do this at least once a week no matter what problems I encounter. Should I fail to keep my vow I will not do anything fun for the rest of my time here. That way you will know exactly what I am doing...........nothing.

The Mill

2006-07-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

There's a church in Colorado Springs that has a great 20 Somethings Ministry. Of course being only about 45 minutes away I had to check it out. I was originally going to head over there by myself but Michele wanted to come with me. She had been before and loved it. She also said she never wanted to leave. The drive was pretty....except for the rain. It has rained almost every day since I have arrived. Thankfully it is supposed to stop by Tuesday. The web says that the service is supposed to start at 7pm, but it's a lie. LOL They were luring us there early to fellowship and drink coffee. Ah yes, lots of Starbucks, pop, and a table of breads, brownies and bagels were available..for free. Over 100 people of all ages show up to this thing. The music is by the Desperation Band. Holly uses some of their songs with Ignite. ("From You" is one of them). I loved it! The speaker talked about Grace. During his message he used a flannel board. It took me back to my Sunday School days. He tried to say they were coming back in style. How hilarious! What was even funnier was before he spoke they played an announcement video and at the end of it the guys did their own music video to Backstreet Boys "As Long as You Love Me". I so wish I had it to send to you guys. I'm still laughing. As it turns out we came the same night as their "Welcome Shindig". At this "thing" we met two girls about my age and talked to them for awhile. We were all hungry so we went to eat together at the Village Inn (it reminded me of a Denny's/IHOP kind of place but better).

Michele, Debbie, Sarah & Me :o)

Whistle While You Work

2006-07-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I started work this past Wednesday...finally. What's funny is once it actually started I wished I had more time off. Go figure. Didn't do too much the first day...or really the first three days. Once things get going I will be pretty busy. There are some fun opportunites coming up. For instance, we will be going to New Mexico, Vail (sp?) and possibly New York for some of our events. Traveling to new places definitely makes the job more interesting. If working in the basement of the Mexican Consulate is not interesting enough.....Yeah.

Pics from the 4th...details below

2006-07-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

This was how dark the sky was..it was not even 8pm yet...

I loved watching the violinists (is that a word?). It reminded me I want to take lessons.

The end to our evening @ Denny's :o)

Happy 4th!!!

2006-07-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

Today was my last chill day before I start work tomorrow. I'm starting to get accustomed to sleeping in a little bit....sad..oh well I am anxious to get started. It was a beautiful day for the most part. Around 5 I went to Christi's house and we had a little cookout. Their dental hygienist friend Tara came over too. She's on the left. After cooking out we left to go hear the Aurora Symphony outside at their municipal center. When we got there the sky was dark and rain was definitely in the forecast. We had no sooner set our blankets down when they came out with an announcement that the music was going to be delayed at least 20 minutes and we needed to evacuate the park. So, we decided to go sit in the car and wait to see what happened. Of course it rained... We still had hopes we would hear the orchestra. It turns out that the orchestra moved all their instruments inside and played in the center of the municipal building. It was quite the experience. I spread the blanket on the floor and people were camped out in chairs everywhere..we just brought the outside indoors. When the music was done they said the fireworks were going to start. It was pouring down rain. We found a good spot though underneath a tent. We saw some members from Christi's church standing by us and one of the guys was very loud, especially his commentary when the fireworks started and during the whole show. If he shouted one more time....LOL. Before the show started they were playing depressing music. It almost made me cry..could we get something a little more uplifting please? It was cold so it was decided we go to Denny's for some hot chocolate. Tara was dropped off and Christi's sister Michele was picked up. She had to work so she wasn't able to join us for the rainy festivities. What a nice way to top off the evening. When Fabian, Christi and Michele get together they are super silly. All in all it was a great day. I should probably go to bed now so I can be refreshed and not cranky in the morning for work. Pray for me :o) Hope everyone had a stupendous day and saw awesome fireworks!!

Day of exploring

2006-07-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

When the day started, I was super cranky. Lack of sleep, good food and a few other things combined caused me to be that way. Denver wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I thought nature would be right outside my door. Not that the mountain view isn't wonderful. So, with this being said, after a good lunch (Yay!) we headed towards the mountains. We just kept driving until I saw a road going up a hill. I was determined to find this road b/c I thought it would be so fun to drive it. It was a twisty/turny kind of road. We finally came to a parking lot by this fun center. They had a ferris wheel and little shops, etc... At that point I realized that I wouldn't be able to get to this road. I was really bummed as I sat just staring at this road. All of a sudden I realize there is movement on this road...but it's not a car. I turned to Courtney and said "It's not a road, it's a slide!!" That was funny. So, of course we went on the slide. We had to take this little rickety ski lift up to the top of the hill (pictured below) and there were these little carts that we took to slide down. Mine was a little slow, other than that it was great. After that experience we drove around and found lookout mountain. It was pretty there. I have some pictures below of that as well. Oh and we also saw Buffalo Bill's grave site if that's anything. That evening we met up with Christy and her husband for dinner. The end of a beautiful day :o) Ps..if you can't tell..it's a baby deer below. So cute!

The Drive = 14 hours...

2006-07-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hey...it's the mountains!!! NOT...that's some stupid hill we saw on the drive. It was probably in Iowa because Nebraska was as flat, as long and as stinky as a state can be. Seriously, it was the longest stretch of the trip. If you can make it through Nebraska you can make it through anything. My wonderful friend Courtney rode with me to keep me company. Nothing too exciting happened on the way, at least that I can remember...LOL. We arrived in Denver around 1:30am Thursday. Phew..It had been a long day.

Goodbye for now..

2006-07-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Pat and friends threw me a wild (and I mean wild..LOL) going away party. My close friends and family were there..some didn't make it..hint hint..I missed you. I really appreciated everyone coming out and spending some time with me before my journey. They even brought gifts! I wasn't expecting that but it was very thoughtful. The thing I will miss the most about being in Chicago is the people and relationships. So...come see me :o)

I love you guys!!

"Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone"

2006-06-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ah...the Town Center Bank gang. What a great group of people to work with. They started singing this song to me a few weeks before I left. We had fun pretty much all the time. From the left we have Andy, Seema, Baby Steph (BS), Karen, Joan (Andy's wonderful wife), Mary, Schnepper (Dave), and Dave (Ficus got treated). I will miss those guys...

Car Trouble

2006-06-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

My brakes started squeaking/grinding last night. I was praying that it was just an after effect of the rain or something but no...they sounded worse this morning. I was driving to work thinking, oh my goodness what in the world is happening to my car. I dropped off my car to get it checked out and it turns out that my brake pads are worn and it's affecting the rotors. Oh the fun...not...but it's better that it happened before I got to Denver. Imagine..Stephanie in Denver..driving down the mountain...brakes fail...there goes Stephanie over the cliff...

Everything's a go

2006-06-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Alright...my official moving date is June 28th!