crazy arizona monsoon season

We can't believe we've lived in arizona for ONE YEAR already. It's gone by so quickly, as we assume life will from now on. This summer we've experienced some genuine Arizona weather. Earlier this month, we had a massive Haboob engulf the entire valley with a mile high wall of dust. Also, high winds and ferocious rain accompanied this crazy storm. Then we had another smaller dust storm. I remember being in the hospital working, and looking out the window of the 6th floor to see the nice view of Camelback mountain...less than a mile away. Five minutes later, it was completely gone. That's how terrible the visibility is due to the thickness of the dust.

Typically each day is sunny and in the 100s. And then all the sudden a monsoon with sweep on by and dump a ridiculous amount of water on the valley, so intense it produces "flood warnings." These monsoons are often accompanied with lightening storms and/or hail.

Just weird, huh?

One year and counting

Woohooo!!! Chase and I have been married one year!

On Saturday (June 25th), Chase and I celebrated one year of marriage together. I worked during the day, but I had the next day off, so we decided to do something fun fun fun. Chase got us some reservations for dinner at Modern Steak. It's a Fox restaurant - just like the Culinary Dropout (where we went for my birthday). It had the most beautiful decor. We had seats right next to the open kitchen, it was interesting to watch. We both chose this DELICIOUS three course meal, and I got the wine pairings. It was pretty awesome, esp. since the last drink was a sweet champagne.

Before the dinner, Chase surprised me with a gift. We really wanted to do wedding gifts one year later, because a year ago on our wedding day, we couldn't really afford to get each other nice gifts. We wanted to get each other classic gifts that would last and could be passed down in our family. So amazed to get these:

These pearls are absolutely beautiful, and the perfect length. I got Chase a croc-embossed, black leather strapped watch with our wedding date and a verse engraved on the back. We'll remember these gifts forever. Probably won't ever be able to top them - there is a lot of meaning behind them.

After dinner, we went to our next destination. We booked a room on hotwire (so we didn't know which hotel we'd be staying at until after we booked it) and we were delighted that we got a room at the Hyatt Regency Resort! It was a blast! The room was great, but the best part was the brunch and pool area. We went to the Southwest Bistro at the Hyatt for their famous Sunday brunch - and WOW. It was probably the most elaborate thing I have even experienced. Everything from Eggs Benedict to scallops, to a roast, to king crab. Seriously. They literally had every single kind of breakfast food you could want. And then they also had salads and dinner items. I loved the fine cheese table with prosciutto. My favorite of course was the smoked salmon and bagel with all the toppings. This is something Chase got me hooked on on our honeymoon. I was absolutely overwhelmed with all the choices. Especially because I knew I wouldn't be able to try everything, there was just too much.

These pictures are a little blurry and do not do it justice! I was trying to take them sneakily while we walked out.

Oh and the desserts! AMAZING! My favorite was this little thing with delicate chocolate petals with this delicious chocolate cream in the middle. It was like a little peony. But all the desserts looks too good to be real. I felt like I was in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory and everything was edible.

The have this huge area with 14 different pools patterned around each other to make it one big pool area. On one side, these is a sandy beach. We had a blast going around to the different pools and enjoying the sun.

We had an absolutely wonderful time. Thank you for all our anniversary cards and wishes!!!

Halcion, oh Halcion

Last Monday I got my wisdom teeth out. Just because they were really far back there and hard to clean and started to get cavities, so rather than put money into them (with fillings) my dentist suggested I just get them taken out. I looked into it, and it didn't seem like a bad idea, so I signed the consents and scheduled a date.

I had a local anesthetic, and also to "relax" me, they prescribed a benzo called Halcion (similar to Versed). I took it sublingually at the beginning of the procedure. It's supposed to sedate me, it also has amnesic properties...oh boy! I remember parts of the first half of the procedure, but then things start to get a little hazy. After the procedure was over, the dental assistant wheeled me out to our car...in a wheelchair. I think I was embarrassed to ride in it, but obviously not embarrassed enough because when we reached our car, I suddenly remembered my extracted teeth and told her I wanted to see them. The dental assistant, at my request, wheeled me back inside the office to see my teeth. And then I wanted to keep them. So she put them in a little sterile baggy for me...where they have remained for the past week.

I believe the Halcion was in full effect after the procedure was over, when Chase and I were at Walgreens. I absolutely insisted on going inside (Chase has a video of this, which I refuse to share...it begins with me trying to put chapstick on the lips I can't feel for about 30 seconds). I believe I insisted on going inside to Walgreens because I didn't believe Chase could get the prescription of percocet (a narc) filled for me without the pharmacy techs at walgreens seeing me.

I don't remember much about Walgreens, other than that I tried to grab gauze off the shelf while Chase was in line with my prescription. I had no idea why Chase wouldn't let me get the gauze that I would obviously need...until we got home and I discovered that the dentist already gave Chase gauze.

If me under the effects of Halcion wasn't diva enough, I insisted Chase get me a smoothie from Smoothie King - a rare delicacy. He gratefully obliged - under one condition...he drop me off at home first.

This is me being devious and seeing if I could drink from a straw without sucking too hard and dislodging the clots...I'm a terrible patient.

Thank you to my wonderfully patient husband who puts up with me regardless of the circumstance and takes beautiful care of me!

Quarter Century Birthday!

I can't believe I am 25! That just seems so old. Well, I don't really think 25 is old, but it does mean that I am half-way done with my twenties, rounding 2nd base to 30, and that is old. Not to mention that my handsome husband is only 24!

We had a wonderful night. I worked that day, but Chase came and met me for lunch at the hospital. He brought a pizza party for two. It's always so nice to see him in the middle of my days. It makes the afternoon go quicker. After work, Chase picked my up from the hospital (he had driven me to work that morning) and took me out for dinner at The Culinary Dropout, which is in downtown Scottsdale. It is a happening restaurant! The decor was very modern with low tables and couches both inside and outside. We ate outside and had a couple couches to ourselves. There was live music, a band of young guys covering some awesome songs. We ordered a few drinks and then a delicious appetizer of soft pretzels balls with a delicious cheese dip.

I started opening my cards (they were all very sweet - thank you!) and I saved Chase's gift for last. It was a small package that I had seen sitting on our table earlier in the week. When I opened it, I realized it was a small memory disk for my digital camera. Chase said that I am always running out of room on my digital camera and now I could just pop in another memory card rather than having to find pictures to delete. I thought that was very sweet, but an odd gift, but at the same time Chase has a very logical mind, so I could see how he would think that's what I wanted. My digital camera is 3 years old and wasn't even that nice for it's time, so it's at the end of it's life. But even so, I was thinking that it was nice of Chase to consider that I needed another memory card. Although, I did notice that this memory card looked very sleek and nice, not at all like one that would fit my old model camera.

Just as I was admiring the memory card, Chase whipped something out of his pocket and said "You'll need that memory card to go with this." I looked down and saw a brand new, beautiful, sleek black digital camera! He had been hiding it in his pocket the whole time! And for days before, he had been hiding it in our apartment! I couldn't believe it. We've never exchanged big gifts before because we just haven't had the money. Chase took the time to research digital cameras and find a perfect one for me. And it's the same brand as my last one, so I know how to work it. I absolutely love it! And he definitely got me on the surprise factor. I always think I know what Chase is up to, but moral of the story: I don't.

After a delicious dinner of modern american cuisine, we returned home to yet another surprise - Chase had made me a birthday cake. Not just any birthday cake. He made me a HOMEMADE from scratch THREE LAYER chocolate cake with MINT filling and chocolate frosting with chopped up chocolate mints on top. WOW. wow. My husband, who has never really baked from scratch before, pulled off an incredibly difficult cake. And it was DELICIOUS:

And how cute is he with that skinny tie on over the untucked button up?

Chase has such a methodical mind and loves following directions that of course he is going to be a natural baker.

He has also had another surprise of flowers and candlelight for me. He knew I needed to relax after a day of work - not to mention another one coming up which makes for a very early morning. Not just any white flowers - but my favorite: peonies and roses :)

Woohoo for being 25!!

Hello Seattle!

About 3 weeks ago, Chase and I took a fantastic trip to Seattle! We had a wonderful time. One of our favorite things to do together is explore new cities. We both love downtown areas with the high rising buildings. What is neat about Seattle is that since it's near the water and has a small amount of land (compared to phoenix), so the city is forced to build up and not out (phoenix)

Chase had to fly up to seattle for business on a Monday and Tuesday, so we decided it would be fun if he flew in Friday and I joined him for the weekend. Another nurse graciously switched me a work day so I had Monday off. Chase booked a hotel through hotwire.com and it ended up being the Westin, which is smack dab in the middle of downtown Seattle and within walking distance of EVERYTHING!!

We got in late Friday evening. Our flight was delayed, so we didn't get into Seattle until about 12:45am. What was such a bummer about this is that the light rail from the airport to downtown seattle stopped running at 12:10am. So instead of paying $5.00 for both of us to hop on the light rail, we paid $50 for a cab ride. This didn't make my man too happy. The next morning we woke with a great view of the city (the westin is a cylinder and every room has a huge window). I knew that this being seattle, I would want to have a lot of coffee on the trip. The day was cloudy and chilly (compared to Phoenix!) so we wore jackets and headed out to this delicious little bakery in Belltown that Chase found. It ended up being named one of the top bread bakeries in the country by Bon Appetit. This bakery, called Macrina Bakery, was so cozy and small. It had a great feel to it, and we had to wait awhile for 2 seats, but it was SOO worth it. While we were waiting, I had a latte served in a big round mug. It was so delicious I didn't even use splenda. The coffee had such a high quality, smooth taste.

Right around the corner from this place, we stumbled upon Mars Hill Graduate School. Mars Hill is a newer church in Seattle that has a wonderful pastor, Mark Driscoll, who preaches God's truth in a really authentic way. This church is completely changing Seattle, which used to be America's most unchurched city. This past Easter, Mars Hill church has their Easter service at Quest Field and over 17000 people came in the rain. They have several campuses and even a "graduate school" for christians wishing to pursue a higher level of christian studies.

There is so much in Seattle to see. We worked our way back downtown, walking along the water and occasionally walking out on a pier. We stopped at the Seattle Museum of Art. My favorite room was one full of this fantastic porcelain. I'm not usually too overly concerned with porcelain, but the beautiful hand-painted designs on these pieces from all over the world dating back hundreds of years combined with the incredible lay-out and lighting of the room was enough to awe me.

We visited the world-famous Pike Place Market, which was amazing! It was so fun and so crowded! The fish was unbelievably fresh. A fisherman told us that it was caught up by Alaska 2 days ago and flown down the day before. They were passing out samples of smoked salmon - absolutely delicious. There were fresh fruit and vegetables everywhere. But of course, my favorite part was the sea of freshly cut tulips.
We saw the first original Starbucks, which of course had a line out the door.

We found a gum wall...

Nearby we went and sat on a lawn that overlooked the marina and Puget Sound. Even when it's cloudy we both love the city, but oh boy, when the sun is shining, it's one of the best places on earth!

We were really excited to try out Mars Hill Church at the downtown campus for a Saturday night service. We finished up the night with a dinner at the famous Crab Pot. We saw it on the Travel Channel and really wanted to try it! We ordered the Seafeast for two - which has clams, crab, potato, corn, shrimp all cooked to together and then just poured out on the table right in front of us! It was DELICIOUS!! Of course being in Seattle, we just HAD to try the seafood!

On Sunday we got up and wanted to hit the city again. We met my cousin, Chris, downtown for lunch. He moved out to Seattle a few years ago because he used to come out here to visit and absolutely loved it. He climbed Mount Rainer 2 years ago! Pretty impressive when you actually see the peak poking through the clouds from downtown seattle. It was awesome to visit with him. Chase and I decided to be even more touristy after lunch as we visited the Space Needle. At first we were just going to hang out in the area that it was in, which is a really neat mall area with lots to do, but then we said why not? Lets go to the top and have a look around. And I am so glad we did, because the clouds opened up and the sun peeked out and it was GORGEOUS!!

We finished up the night with another trip to Mars Hill church, but this time to the main campus in Ballard. We took the metro bus to get there - that was quite the experience!!
We had a great experience in Seattle and truthfully may find ourselves living there someday. Definitely can't rule it out!

Birthday time!

I can't believe it's already April. The years go by faster and faster as I get older. I first started noticing the years going by quickly after my freshman year of college. Up until then, in middle school and high school, they seemed to go by slowly. I had my whole life in front of me! Now being almost 2 years out from graduating college, the years are rolling by like waves. Chase and I will celebrate our one year marriage anniversary in a few months!

But before our marriage anniversary, we are celebrating Chase's 24th birthday with a lovely trip. We are taking 4 days and going to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. In Sedona, we will do some hiking and rent an ATV to ride around the red rock. We are staying in a hotel that offered a wine tasting (courtesy of a Groupon). The next day we plan to drive up to the Grand Canyon and hike a little down in there. We are staying in Flagstaff that night.

We are excited to have these experiences together. We've already done a day trip to Sedona where we hiked, but we are excited to stay the night and really see the town. I have been to Sedona twice before. Once with my club soccer team in high school for a huge tournament (complete with college recruiters...yikes!), and then again with my collegiate team when we came out to play a few AZ teams. With my Ball State team we visited the Grand Canyon. Chase has also seen it before with his family. But we are excited to make memories together!

What Chase is EQUALLY excited about is his birthday ice cream cake that I will be making from scratch. It was a good excuse to finally buy some 9 inch round cake pans. I will be making this tomorrow so Chase can eat it all day long on Friday and Saturday while I am at work. Lol - he requested this. Let's hope my first attempt at this is a major success...for Chase's sake.

Quick update

It has been a month and a half since I've posted! Chase and I are living such busy lives right now. We didn't see each other for half of February with him flying to Cincinnati for a week for work, and then me working every other weekend and also flying back to Indiana for my sister's bridal shower. Life has definitely been in the fast lane. I am getting very ingrained into Scottsdale healthcare, and I absolutely love it. Chase is loving his work too. It's weird to think that his MT program is already half over.

Today I fly out to Indianapolis for my sister's wedding on Saturday! I couldn't be more proud or excited to see my little sis walk down the aisle. It's going to be a great weekend full of fun and family!