Post Secret

This was on the Post Secret website a few weeks ago and it made me laugh. A month or so ago I was driving on the 51 and they have a carpol lane and if you have a hybrid sticker on your license plate in AZ you can drive in the carpool lane with only 1 person. I soooooo totally took advantage of that, although there was no traffic and I probably could of gone faster in the other lanes, but the whole time I was thinking how much better I was than everyone else. Has anyone seen the humble pie? I really need a slice right now :)

Week In Review

Welcome to another edition of "It's 6am on a Saturday morning and Erin is wide awake". So sit back and enjoy...

MONDAY 5/26: We spent the weekend in San Diego, so today we drove home. Well, Adam drove and I slept. For some reason the I always seem to wake up right before we get to Yuma because I know it's time for breakfast/lunch/dinner. We had a really great time at home. I read James Frey's new book in 2 days!!! YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK NOW - Bright Shiny Morning. It is his first novel, but it is also a history of Los Angeles, so kinda a fiction/non-fiction mix.

TUESDAY 5/27: Start new job! Yeah! I love it! I have 3 states that I am in charge of for setting up schools and veterans, so this week has been a lot of making lists of schools for mailings and calls as well as contacting the veterans that have already signed up to do presentations and finding new ones. Did I mention I love it!

WEDNESDAY 5/28: We (read Adam) made homemade Mac and Cheese for dinner. I'm on the DL (Disabled List) now after an incident with the cheese grater. I guess there is a reason they have a plastic guard on the grater so you don't cut a chunk of your finger off. I guess I should of read the directions "Protect your hands while grating your favorite foods with this box grater. Slider attachment protects fingers and knuckles from accidental abrasion while insuring added control. Just place food against the blade, close the door and slide up and down along the channels in the frame until the desired amount of food is grated. Grater can also be used without the slide attachment. Features razor sharp blades and a large grating area. Dishwasher safe." That slider attachment was getting in the way. Plus Adam had to run to the grocery store to buy condensed milk and wasn't there to supervise me.

THURSDAY 5/29: LOST!!! OMG!!! One of the best episodes ever. During the Ben/Locke scenes, Adam and I were laughing out loud! I always hated Ben, but after this season he is one of my favorite characters. And Locke in the casket! I don't think Jin is dead though - he was on the deck when the explosion went off, so he was probably thrown in the water and swam to the island...speaking of the island, Adam and I think the island was "moved" in time, not necessarily location. And here's another crazy theory we came up with - Charles Widmore used to be on the island, but had to move it like Ben and couldn't get back, but now he wants to go back. And I never saw it coming that it was Penny's boat out there. How are we going to survive until NEXT YEAR without any LOST???

FRIDAY 5/30: I got to see one of our veterans give a presentation to a group of kids at a local YMCA. He was great! I was totally thinking it was going to be some grandpa WW2 vet...nope, this guy served in Beirut, Somalia and Desert Storm. He had a a ton of great things to say and brought his old flack jacket and helmet for the kids to try on, as well as pictures and all sorts of neat things from around the world. After work, I met up with Adam and some of his friends from work for happy hour at The Yard House at the Scottsdale Fashion Square (read half price appetizers). Then we walked around the mall and I tried to buy something at Tiffany's. I have a huge dilemma - I've been trying to spend this Tiffany's gift card my old boss at Supercuts gave me when I left (bet you wish she was your boss!) and I just can't find anything I like! I tried on a bracelet last night, but we still would of had to pay a pretty penny after the gift card amount. Sigh, my life is so hard :)


THE WEEKEND: If you close your eyes and listen carefully you can hear the pool calling my name "Erin...your tan is fading...Erin...we need you here before you completely loose your tan." I have a coupon (YES!) to DSW Shoes so I want to run down there - I need some more shoes for work. I miss wearing flip flops everyday! So I'm sure we will have a pretty relaxing weekend and hopefully I will blog more often so I don't have to type so much at one time :)

You Know You're From San Diego When...OR Why San Diego is better than Phoenix (with whining, I mean commentary from Erin)

Your high school had a surf team. (Nope, we were ghetto, gun cleaning club maybe)

You can correctly pronounce: Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Jamacha, Jamul, Cuyamaca, and El Cajon. (Yes Sir I can...but if I could only figure out why they call Prescott "Preskit" and Payson "Paysown")

There are four distinct seasons: Summer, Not Quite Summer, Almost Summer, and Oh Hey! Look Its Summer Again. (Phoenix Seasons - hot, hot, hey we broke a record today, and my shoes are melting)

Chula-juana is a real town. (Just as real as Nasty City)

Your house is worth more than some small countries. (Sad, but true)

You know what MB, OB, IB and PB stand for. (Now its AJ and QC...just not the same)

Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas don't have this. (I lived on "L" Avenue, so not very Spanish...but you would be surprised how often we received mail for "El" Avenue)

You can determine the accuracy of someone's "I'm ghetto" claim by knowing their high school. i.e.: El Camino High School or Crawford High School. (Hilltop High School = ghetto, but not Crawford or Morse ghetto, a different kind of ghetto as in white kids being ghetto...also know as HillPOT)

You see weather forecasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised. Ah, The Micro Climate Weather. (I miss the Micro Climate Weather and Matt Baylow...but now I've moved on to Bill Bellis and seeing how many days we've gone without rain and how many days this summer we'll be over 110)

You've gone to Mt. Soledad in July and know you still need a jacket. (July and jacket in the same sentence???)

You've tailgated at Qualcomm Stadium, and for a bonus point, also tailgated when it was Jack Murphy Stadium. (Qualcomm = yes, Jack Murphy = no, but nothing beats Chase Field - its just like Petco, but with no views and the roof closes and they turn the AC on...sad, just sad)

You have a favorite- the WAP or the Zoo. (Nothing beats the San Diego Zoo)

You've been on a field trip to see an IMAX movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (Yup - 6th grade)

You still call it the Del Mar Fair. (I will ALWAYS call it the Del Mar Fair and for the record the Arizona State Fair is GHETTO)

You say "I'm going to the track" and people know what you mean. (Yup...although I've never won)

You understand what May-Gray and June-Gloom are. (Yup, now its May-HOT, June-HOTTER, July-HOTTEST, August-KILL ME NOW)

A famous skateboarder or surfer lives in your town. (Hmm...I don't think we had any in National City, maybe famous gang members or drug lords. Wikipedia says Gail Devers and Sam Walton aka Mr. Wal-Mart who's house was actually a few streets over from mine)

You have no problem determining where North County, South Bay, and East County begin, but have no idea if or where Central County or West anything is. (Exactly...here everything runs into each other...am I in Mesa or Gilbert? Maybe Chandler)

"Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan Moves You!" (No fun jingles here...)

You know what it means when two guys are walking in Hillcrest. (Does Phoenix even have a Hillcrest? Not that I'm looking...)

You know what it means when a girl in a skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd. (I'm sure they're here too)

You've gotten stuck in the Horton Plaza parking structure traffic after a Padres game. (I never parked there for Padres games, but I've gotten lost many times in Horton Plaza)

You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour. (The good old Merge, now its the 101 which is ALWAYS under construction just like the rest of Phoenix)

You've been to Belmont Park. (Yup, at night even....scary!)

You've ridden the little Fire Engine and the Train at Balboa Park. (Fire Engine = No, Train = yes. I made Adam ride the train too...)

You've taken the Coaster and laughed at people sitting in traffic on the 5. (Nope, I was stuck in traffic)

You call it "The 5" and the "The 805" as if they were important landmarks. (It will ALWAYS be "the 5", "the 805" - inside family joke..."I took the 5 to the 805 to the 54)

You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa and maybe you remember Serra Mesa too. (Kinda...see above reference to Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert)

You've gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off. (Um no...you'll never catch me in the front row)

You've been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on the 5 and the 15. (Too many times...yes officer I am a US Citizen and no I don't have any fruit in the car)

There are more bands than people in Ocean Beach. (I guess...was never my scene)

Your house doesn't have air conditioning. (No AC at the O'Connell's. I would die if we didn't have it now, did I mention it gets hot here?)

You know it's San Diegan, not San Diegoan, or San Diegoite. (Amen!)

Everyone has their favorite beach, and no two are the same. (Coronado for sure, they have the "Tempe Beach" here...get this - a man made beach!! HA!)

No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. (It is part of the SDSU dress code that you will wear flip-flops everyday, rain or shine...as it is here too. A side note, my brother wears shorts EVERYDAY)

You live on, near or are surrounded by hills. (Not really, we didn't have those things in the ghetto)

You hate tourists and their bad driving. "GET OFF THE ROAD ARIZONA, NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE. SERIOUSLY, GO HOME!" "SAY NO TO ZONIES!" (For all of you who thought I was kidding...sorry, but Zonie is a derogatory term in SD)

You have family and/or friends that have moved to Arizona. (---> raises hand)

You used to, and sometimes still do, ride the carousel at Seaport Village. (Best Carousel ever! Don't forget the golden rings!)

You know someone who doesn't own pants, and have a neighbor who doesn't seem to own a shirt. (Andrew = doesn't own pants, but I think my neighbors wore shirts)

You know what Santa Ana's are and that they have nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana. (I live in a constant Santa Ana...)

If the menu doesn't have California burritos on it, forget it, its not authentic Mexican Food. (RANT TIME - Ok, they seriously call them "Arizona Burritos" here, oh I'm sorry "Burros"...it just has wrong written all over it)

And if you're NOT from San Diego, well, that's too bad. Lo Siento! (Now you know why I can't bring myself to change my cell number to a Phoenix number)

I'm a REAL American Now!

It's official...Adam and I are true Americans. Why now you may ask? Well, last night we went to Wal-Mart and waited until midnight to buy Wii Fit.

I know you are all shocked...I actually stayed up past 9pm! But it was easier than waking up early this morning and standing in line waiting for Best Buy to open. I guess this is what it feels like to spend your Thanksgiving day camped outside of a big box store waiting for Black Friday sales. I brought a word search book and some Diet Pepsi; Adam people-watched. I do have to say that people watching at Wal-Mart should be some sort of Sociology class - I would of totally taken that class! Here are my observations during my 2 hour wait at the Happy Valley Wal-Mart:

1) This Wal-Mart was actually clean and neat and (dare I say) organized.

2) The employees were actually working AND helpful! We asked a guy where the humidifier filters were and he was actually able to tell us (in English even! GASP!)

3) Parents were actually shopping at 11pm WITH THEIR KIDS! Ummm...shouldn't they be home in bed? I mean, it was way passed my bedtime and I'm 27!

4) Most of the Wal-Mart shoppers were very "East County" looking. For my non-San Diego readers, "East County" is a term we use to describe people who live in the eastern part of San Diego County (El Cajon, Santee, Lakeside, etc). They're kinda red-neck, kinda white-trash, kinda people who go to "the desert" on the weekends to drink beer and ride their 4 wheelers, etc. If they were Barbie's, this how they would be described:

Santee Barbie - This pale model comes dressed in a shirt, and a Tweety Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Coors Light and a Hank Williams, Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's back side when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

Lakeside Barbie - This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a
pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased Beer-Gut Ken out of Lemon Grove Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter top. Also available with a mobile home.

East County Barbie - Was a cheerleader in middle school but now only rides with Desert Rat Ken in his California lifted Ford F-150,
complete with white unfinished flair fenders, bed floor removed for
spare tire holder, and no carburator. F-150 can only be purchased by
parents who live in Alpine. Both come with optional Weed from Harbison Canyon and/or barbed wire tattoo. Will party in the desert all through her 20s and then finish her AA at Grossmont College when she's 35.

In conclusion (I feel like I'm writing a paper for a Soc class!), my Wal-Mart experience wasn't so bad. I'll still take Target over Wal-Mart any day though...

Song of the Day

108

Yup, you heard me right...108. That is what the high is supposed to be in Phoenix today....heaven help me

Bermuda, Jamaica....

OOOOOHHHH I wanna take you...ok, enough singing and picturing Jon Stamos playing the bongo drums in the background...We FINALLY book our trip to Jamaica :) More details to follow...but here are some pictures to make you all (and by all I mean the 3 of you that actually read this blog!) jealous:

Get Culverized!

Phoenix has finally arrived! We are now the proud home of 2, count them 2, Culver's!!! What's Culvers you may ask? Only the best hamburger goodness ever (shhh, don't tell In-and-Out I'm cheating on them). I had my first Culvers "butter burger" two Christmas's ago when I went to Minnesota and I fell in love (with Adam I mean...duh!). About three weeks ago they opened one just up the road from our apartment and I think we've been there about 4 times now! And did I mention their frozen custard??? YUMMMMMMMMM....

Goodbye Rhino, Hello Joe Foss!

Next Thursday will be my last day at Rhino Sports, then it's a weekend in San Diego, and then it's time to start my new job! I'll be a Assistant Coordinator for the Joe Foss Institute, a non-profit that promotes patriotism in schools. Read this entry on Wikipedia: Joe Foss and visit the Institutes website: Joe Foss Institute. It's a bittersweet change of jobs, but it is time for me to move on. I'm really excited to work for a non-profit and I think this may be my niche!

It's SATURDAY...

...and I can't even sleep in! I've been awake since 6:15am!!!

Not much to report on, same old same old. I'm getting my haircut this morning. I found a gal at church who owns her own salon so I'm giving her a try. It's so hard when you move to a new city and have to find a new person to cut your hair! I was totally spoiled at Supercuts - I knew who the good stylists were as well as the ones to stay away from - and it was FREE! It's so hard for me to actually PAY to get my hair cut :( But, the show must go on, and I will pay and I will like it!

I bought some more scrapbooking supplies this week. I finally started our "travel book" - it's not really a scrapbook per se because I refuse to make it look all cutesy. It's more a book with pictures and information about the places we've traveled in Arizona. So far we've been to Sedona and Tucson and we saved every little brochure and piece of information worth saving.

AND...we finally put wedding pictures in FRAMES!!! Can you believe it, we've only been married almost 9 months!!!

Well, time to eat breakfast and get ready for my haircut...we'll chat more later!