Happy Birthday Ozzie!

Ozzie turns 2 today! He’s already lived big for being so young. He became a dad at 9 months, neutered at 10 months, got lost in the rain at a year and a half, and broke his hip the day before this recent Thanksgiving. Here’s to you, Ozzie, and the great cat and friend you’ve been to me!

I’ve Made My Choice

So after apartment hunting for a few weeks now, I’ve made a decision on where to live next. I was really leaning towards renting a town home on Power Road and the US 60, but for the sake of cost and general liking of the place, I’ve decided on Borrego apartment homes in Gilbert. Now the last decision I have to make is which floor plan I want. I’ve looked at both in person twice.

There’s a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with a den that I really like. The kitchen wall is open so it really makes the place look bigger. The den is perfect for my futon and computer desk. And the master bedroom is bigger than the master bedroom in the two bedroom floor plan. But it’s a bit smaller than my apartment now. Also, the bedroom and bathroom aren’t connected, so I’ll have to risk the cats rushing into my bedroom when I need to go to the bathroom at night. And my cats are constantly waiting to dash in as soon as they hear me move in there. Here’s the 1 Bed + Den, 1 Bath Floorplan:

The 2 bed 2 bath floor plan is much spacier and space is nice. The master bedroom connects to the bathroom. The master bathroom is a lot bigger than the first floor plan. And I already have 2 sets of bathroom things (trash cans, shower curtains, floor mats, towels, etc). The second bedroom is great for the futon and computer desk, plus there’s a closet for more storage. Here’s the 2 Bed 2 Bath Floorplan:

So if anyone has an opinion on which one they’d choose and why, I’d love to hear it. The money on these two is not a deciding factor since they’re close in range. I’m going to try and put a deposit down next week and I’m just so unsure of which one to choose.

The 2 Loves of My Life

I love the way Dave interacts with our cats. Isabelle is such a nut, and when she sees a bug on the wall or ceiling she runs to Dave and wants him to pick her up. She’ll meow at him so loudly and stand on her back feet and reach her front paws towards him. It’s so funny, and so cute to see that she’s saying “up.” He picks her up and holds her so that she’s sitting in his hand while he supports her with the other, and he sticks her way up high towards the ceiling so she can get a better look at the bug. He plays with her by saying in a high voice “Oh, where’d it go? Is it here? Do you see it? There it is! Get it!

He does lots of little fun things with all our cats. I try to get pictures when I can, but I recently was fortunate enough to have my camera in the room when Dave was playing Peek-A-Boo with Toki.

In general, Dave is considered a friendly playground to most kittens.

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is one of the few days of the year when Dave and I get to do something special together. We always try to make each other’s birthdays fun and memorable, as well as Christmas and New Year’s. And it’s always nicer than dinner and a movie, which is our typical date.

I think the first year we were together we went to a nice restaurant and rented a movie. I can’t remember, it was a while ago. But earlier that day I picked him up at Arizona Mills Mall and he handed me a little velvet box. I opened it to reveal a little chain bracelet that was engraved “Adrianne Bliss.” I was so touched! Dave’s last name is Bliss, in case you didn’t know. We had only been together for 3 months.

The second year was amazing. Dave kicked me out of my apartment for a while. He finally called and asked me to come back. As I’m walking up the stairs, he opens the door for me, and he’s wearing black dress pants, and a long sleeved dress shirt and a black tie (talk about sharp-dressed man!) and his long hair was perfectly groomed. He led me into the apartment where all the lights were off and many candles were lit. At the table was a home made chicken alfredo pasta and cooked squash, with sparkling apple cider in tall glasses. He had a red carnation in a tall vase as the centerpiece. To top it all off, he even had Coldplay (my favorite band) playing in the background. Earlier in the day he had come over with a bouquet of flowers and a card. It was really romantic.

Last year he took me to Red Lobster. It’s one of our favorite restaurants and we both love seafood. I got crab legs and and lobster tail with mashed potatoes topped with lump crab meat, and he got a steak covered in crab sauce with shrimp and potatoes on the side, and we both shared an order of seafood stuffed mushrooms before our entrees arrived. It was fun for us to just order whatever we wanted without being so money conscious. We’ve never been able to do that before and we enjoyed it.

This year Dave and I got reservations to the Tiburon Restaurant. It’s located at Arizona’s largest aquarium. The aquarium is built around the restaurant, so you can watch all kinds of fish and sharks swim by as you’re eating. They’ve got a pretty lofty menu as well. We weren’t sure if we needed to call for reservations. But just to be sure, I called and would you believe it I got the last reservation for Valentine’s Day! Here is the link so you can check it out for yourself: http://www.tiburonrestaurant.net/

It’s That Time Of Year Again…

My lease will soon be up here at my apartment. I had originally wanted to move back into my first apartment in Mesa; I enjoyed living there and rent was more affordable. But the only reason I want to go back is because I miss the way it was. It won’t be the same to move there now, so I’m trying hard to find a new place to live. I would like to live in the Gilbert area.

I’ve found several apartments that I’d really like to take a closer look at and visit the property. Problem is, I’m getting really negative reviews on all of them. People report horrific cockroach, ant, and spider problems, uncaring management, unsafe parking lots, etc. But that’s what all the reviews said about my apartment in Mesa. Apparently there was a massive scorpion population, but I never saw one scorpion the whole year and a half I lived there.

I’m really not sure what to do. I don’t want to compromise safety for price, but I need to be able to afford the place.

Also, my car lease is up in June. I’m so dang spoiled with 35 MPG right now, I just can’t see how I would settle for anything less. However, my job is beginning to require a larger vehicle. I was thinking of buying a small used truck, but is that something I want to drive all the time? Plus, driving about 400 miles every 2 days in a truck with low MPG would really add to the gas expenses. So I’ve got some decision making to do. It makes me uncomfortable, really. I always worry whether or not I’m making the right decision, the most cost-effective and rational choice.

In other news, Ozzie turns 2 next week. Happy Birthday Ozzie!

$5,000,000 Estates and $50 Crack Houses

I have the opportunity to see all kinds of homes around the valley. The majority of houses we service are in extremely poor shape. There’s not a lot of work to do; it’s like polishing turds. They’re mostly in unlivable conditions. The floors and walls weren’t even built right, so they crack and fall apart. The occupants, most of the time, are so lazy and lacking in parental discipline that we often see writing and drawings ALL OVER the place. Simple math equations are written everywhere in the house, on the walls, floors, counters. 4 + 4 = 8, 1 x 100 = 100, and so on. The children use the walls as their canvas. It’s obvious to see they made no effort to keep up their homes, and had no interest in the resale value of it either.

We visit at least one house each day that gives us chills down our spines because of the neighborhoods in which they are located. We serviced a house with about 30 bullet holes through the kitchen and bedroom window, a white powdery residue and lighter in the cupboard (meth or cocaine), and you can’t help but hesitate and wonder what happened there. Sometimes windows are completely boarded up, giving the house a cave-like atmosphere. There are stains which appear to be blood (and too much of it to just be a scraped knee), sometimes gang members frequent these homes because they are vacant and we’re always on the look out. It’s quite frightening.

On the contrary, however, we’ve had the pleasure of servicing million to billion dollar estates in the rich snob parts of the valley. Estates that have 10+ bedrooms, designer bathrooms, gold toilet paper holders, diamond encrusted faucets, elephant tusk ivory counters, etc. Sometimes we frequent model homes that smell like flowers and sunshine, nothing is suspiciously stained, everything is clean and in working order, and you can walk out the door without a wrench in your hand. Homes so nice you don’t have a panicked feeling in your body and the haunting idea that homicide is a common household occurrence.

There’s a lot to be done, and someone’s got to do the dirty work. Hey, at least it’s good money.

Field Asset Services

I am now employed full time through Brad’s business, Cooper & Black. I work for FAS, Field Asset Services. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiry as to what the position entails, so I thought I’d give a detailed job description.

At night Brad emails me a new route, usually consisting anywhere between 6 and 10 houses, their addresses, lock combinations and the service being rendered (recuts, maid, or both).

I get houses in Tolleson, Glendale, Peoria, Apache Junction, Scottsdale, Mesa, Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Surprise, Laveen, well, I pretty much get to see the whole valley.

I try to get up as soon as it’s light out, because this job requires a lot of day light. I meet Brad at the Quik Trip behind my house and he brings Dave. Brad tops off my tank and Dave is my route partner.

We use a GPS to get everywhere. When we arrive to the house, I begin shooting pictures of everything. If it’s a maid service I get pictures of: the house address, the realty sign, the whole exterior, the entry way, the living room, the tiling, the kitchen counters, the kitchen sink, the microwave, inside the microwave, under the microwave, the stove, inside the oven, outside and inside the dishwasher, the windows, all carpeting, all bedrooms, all ceiling fans, any exposed wiring or damages to the property, bathroom counters, bathroom mirrors, inside and outside all toilets, bathroom sinks, inside the bathtub or shower, previous air fresheners, and a pool if applicable. Then I get pictures of Dave cleaning all of this. Then I do after pictures of it again.

We bring air fresheners, each house gets 3. They are marked with the date we were there and I fill out the work order (reporting what condition the property is in). I take pictures of the work order and we proceed to our next site. Recuts require pictures of the back and front lawn, pictures of it being cut and blown, and after pictures as well.

I make $10 a house and can typically do 8-10 houses a day. This is a pretty good business to get into, as the market has crashed and left Brad’s business with tons of properties to maintain. I enjoy this job. It’s very decent money for the work.

I work sun up to sun down, and I feel good being able to stand on my own feet now. The more houses I do, the more money I get and the better I can pay my bills. Yay for work.

A Fun Saturday Date

After visiting the Zoo Lights for New Years Eve, Dave and I decided we wanted to return to see the entire zoo during the day. Saturday we were able to get there around 1pm. We enjoyed seeing lots of different animals, unfortunately, many of them were too far away to capture decent pictures of.

We walked around the park for three and a half hours, and my feet were sore due to tight tennis shoes. When we realized the park was closing in 20 minutes, we hurried through to see the animals we had been looking forward to. There are still some that we weren’t able to see, so we’ll have to plan another trip to the zoo. We also have another 50% off admission coupon, which we used to save big at the gate.

January is the perfect time to go (or at least during the winter) because it’s nice and sunny out, but you’re not treading uphill in 120 degree weather. We really enjoyed our date. Here’s some pics!

Happy New Year

Last night (New Year’s Eve) Dave and I decided to go see the Zoo Lights. Admission was $9, compared to the $16 for the Zoo. We weren’t really able to see any animals, since it was dark and they were all sleeping anyway. But we enjoyed going to Stingray Bay and petting the stingrays. Yes, petting them! We didn’t get stung because they clip off the stingers. We also watched lots of horseshoe crabs making their way along the bottom of the pool.

We headed down the walkway and got to see where the elephant lives, but she was so far away my camera couldn’t capture a picture of her. We went to see the flamingos and Dave called them “God’s skunks.” I said “Dave, God already made skunks, and they’re called skunks!” We then made our way to a light show that featured music from the Nutcracker as the nearby trees lit up in rhythm. When we got back to the start of the Zoo Lights, Dave wanted a churro so we stood in line and purchased two. We sat on a nearby bench and enjoyed them while looking out at the lights. Dave admitted that he’d never had a churro before now and I didn’t believe it! It was his first.

We looked around the gift store and had fun looking at the suckers with crickets and scorpions inside them. Dave was going to buy me a little stuffed giraffe with HUGE eyes, but I told him it was too expensive. It really was, though. Gift store items are so overpriced. Plus he didn’t have much money left until he got paid again so I wanted him to hang on to it.

We left the park and took pictures of the ducks swimming beneath the bridge we were walking on. Oh, when we arrived at the Zoo Lights they gave us these white 3D glasses that made all the lights look like prisms. It was kind of hard to see where I was going so I didn’t wear mine much, but Dave enjoyed them tons.

We came back to my apartment and drank some Martinelli’s Apple Cranberry Sparkling Cider and watched the ball drop on TV. We shared a few kisses and then shared our resolutions with each other. Unfortunately, Dave had come down with a fever just before midnight so our celebrations were a little short. But it was a great night and Dave is feeling better today. Happy New Year!

2009 Resolutions

I have several resolutions for the year 2009. And one big one. I’ve never even worked on a resolution before. It’s just been something I do to feel like I’m part of the New Year’s tradition. I haven’t always stuck out my goals, the longest thing I’ve committed to is Dave. So, that being said…

One of my resolutions for 2009 is to control myself better. I mean not overreacting, not sweating the small stuff, learning to deal with things as they come, and learning to ask for help sooner than later. Another resolution is to improve my relationship with Dave. We’re doing great, don’t get me wrong, but I think sometimes we distance ourselves from each other after arguments, and I’d like to learn not to have them in the first place.

And, my biggest goal for 2009? Lose weight! Yes, I know that’s on EVERYONE’S to-do list, but I’m serious. I want to have a ton of fun on our wedding day (and honeymoon ) and I think I would feel better about myself if I were thinner and healthier. But I’m not just doing this for looks. I truly want to be healthy. I want to be more active and be able to go running and swimming, or to even be able to wear a cute swimming suit. I want to be healthy for eventual pregnancy, and Dave and I have been talking about having kids soon after marriage, since we’ve already been together for 3 years (4 by the time we’re married).

I won’t say how much I want to lose, because then you’d be able to figure out how much I weigh now! But I want to eventually be about 150lbs. And that’s a lot for me. Well, whichever one comes first…150lbs or my high school jeans that are size 9. So far my rules are:

If I’m out and must eat fast food it has to be a salad or chicken wrap, or something of the like; otherwise no fast food because I’m just being lazy
Everything that comes from the grocery store has to be whole grain, low fat, or diet
More fruits and veggies
Less carbs and calories
No soda, less milk, more water
Start out with exercise 3 times a week for half an hour; work my way up to 5 times a week for one hour
Get a workout/losing weight buddy (check)
Don’t give up!

So, wish me luck! This is going to be the most difficult full-time job I’ve had in my whole life!