I guess it only seems fair, right?
1. The mountains are so beautiful, I've always thought they looked like painted movie backdrops.
2. More democrats. It will be nice to return to our people.
3. Many, many more memorable restaurants. I can really only think of two places I will miss in Phoenix- Greek Wraps in the West Valley and Someburros. But in Tucson there are so many more unique and great places to eat- Mi Nidito's, Rosa's, Molina's, Eegees, El Minuto, Caruso's, Zachary's (is that still open?), Sinbad's, Ali Baba... I could really go on and on. If you can't tell we like to eat and will undoubtedly be eating our way through Tucson.
4. My family. I am one of 10, nine of which live in Tucson and all of which I love and have missed equally.
5. The U of A and everything about it.
6. There is nothing like the smell of rain in the desert. Tucson gets more of it, and it somehow even smells better.
7. An abundance of rocks and gravel. If we get a haboob, we'd probably not even be able to tell the difference.
8. My friends! Yay!
9. It works hard to maintain a homey, small town feel
10. Old adventures from when I was a kid to re-live with my own babies.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
12 Days Countdown: Independence
Moving away from Tucson was a big deal. I knew even as a kid that town was not for me and definitely not big enough to fit all of my dreams. When Brooks mentioned moving away from Tucson was his plan I knew it was our plan- there was no way (and we didn't even discuss it) that I would not be going with him. So we started making our plans. It seemed to happen pretty quickly, without guilt or hesitation or sadness.
Phoenix was a great first step away; in fact I always thought it was just the first step away to bigger and better things. I didn't hesitate to leave my family, my school, my job. It was maybe the first time I made such a big decision without asking for advice of consulting anyone. I was doing it for me because it felt right and that is probably why it was so easy.
We loved having all the perks of a big city- more attractions, freeways, better housing and job opportunities, making new friends. We figured everything out on our own and managed to do it just fine for about 8 years.
Because of this when we began talking about trying to move out of Arizona, we knew it was the right thing to do and something we could easily do. I knew we'd make new friends (and still keep our old ones), we'd come back to Arizona every so often and we'd live someplace cool that others would want to visit, we'd figure out places to visit and things to do, we'd conquer a new place easily and on our own. I thought we'd gotten pretty good at that.
When the opportunity to move back to Tucson came up, it was such a hard decision for me. For Brooks it was easy and logical and made perfect sense. For me, it felt like I'd failed. As if I had left and tried to make it on my own and then couldn't and had to come back. Even though I knew this was not the case at all I couldn't help but feel that way. He had to remind me about a hundred times that this was not the case, but I can't say I am quite over it yet.
So I will miss my independence. I will not miss what I left behind in Tucson when we first left- in fact I hope to never again have anything but pleasantness in our lives. I am older and wiser now and I think Brooks and I have managed to do a lot. We are great parents to our amazing and beyond adorable babies, he has a great job- hopefully soon I will too...there is so much going right with us that going back does not have to be a "wrong." It's a temporary move and something that we are meant to do in order to be even better and wiser.
So, goodbye Phoenix. I will miss you, I will visit you and I may even drive through you when we finally make that move out of Arizona for good. And I know that eventually we will.
Phoenix was a great first step away; in fact I always thought it was just the first step away to bigger and better things. I didn't hesitate to leave my family, my school, my job. It was maybe the first time I made such a big decision without asking for advice of consulting anyone. I was doing it for me because it felt right and that is probably why it was so easy.
We loved having all the perks of a big city- more attractions, freeways, better housing and job opportunities, making new friends. We figured everything out on our own and managed to do it just fine for about 8 years.
Because of this when we began talking about trying to move out of Arizona, we knew it was the right thing to do and something we could easily do. I knew we'd make new friends (and still keep our old ones), we'd come back to Arizona every so often and we'd live someplace cool that others would want to visit, we'd figure out places to visit and things to do, we'd conquer a new place easily and on our own. I thought we'd gotten pretty good at that.
When the opportunity to move back to Tucson came up, it was such a hard decision for me. For Brooks it was easy and logical and made perfect sense. For me, it felt like I'd failed. As if I had left and tried to make it on my own and then couldn't and had to come back. Even though I knew this was not the case at all I couldn't help but feel that way. He had to remind me about a hundred times that this was not the case, but I can't say I am quite over it yet.
So I will miss my independence. I will not miss what I left behind in Tucson when we first left- in fact I hope to never again have anything but pleasantness in our lives. I am older and wiser now and I think Brooks and I have managed to do a lot. We are great parents to our amazing and beyond adorable babies, he has a great job- hopefully soon I will too...there is so much going right with us that going back does not have to be a "wrong." It's a temporary move and something that we are meant to do in order to be even better and wiser.
So, goodbye Phoenix. I will miss you, I will visit you and I may even drive through you when we finally make that move out of Arizona for good. And I know that eventually we will.
Monday, July 18, 2011
12 Days Countdown: My Seester
My oldest sister Araceli and I barely tolerated each other as kids. I called her mean names, she decapitated my favorite Barbie and then colored her body with markers. It was a classic case of sibling rivalry at its finest.
Now though, she and I are very close and although we are complete opposites she is one of my best friends. She cooks me veggie omelets with raw cheese and organic eggs, then fries me up some taquitos and refried beans. She tolerates my potty mouth, loves my babies like they were her own and has opened up her home and her supply of almond milk and Craisins without hesitation.
For this and 12,000 other reasons I will miss my Seester.
Now though, she and I are very close and although we are complete opposites she is one of my best friends. She cooks me veggie omelets with raw cheese and organic eggs, then fries me up some taquitos and refried beans. She tolerates my potty mouth, loves my babies like they were her own and has opened up her home and her supply of almond milk and Craisins without hesitation.
For this and 12,000 other reasons I will miss my Seester.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
12 Days Countdown: BizEWorks
We started out as eight moms who met on Mamasource, a nifty little website that I think is now called Mamapedia. Anyway, the idea was that we would all meet monthly and share tips from all of our individual businesses. This is actually how I had met my Mary Kay upline, she was at an event with her networking group and it gave me the idea to start my own. This was in 2006 when Taylor was just about 18 months old. I really only worked my Mary Kay business for a few months, then my time and attention went solely to BizEMoms (what we called ourselves when we first started). We did a few showcases where we all had tables and then sold extra tables to those outside and group and continued to meet regularly, refer business and help support one another. After that first year we grew from the original eight to now 40 different businesses, alternating meeting at each other's homes.
We changed things up a few times- we moved to a clubhouse as our meeting location, then to one of our member-owned deli's, we began to have guest speakers, developed a new fancy website, started the bridal show, held a few events at a school including the craziest fall festival ever. We went back and forth between being a support group to a business networking group, we worked with several different charities and organizations, spent a morning cleaning a townhome for a homeless family, walked a few 5K's, organized a Christmas present bonanza for a family with cancer, and started up the still going Mother/Daughter Glamour Day with Hope Kids.
BizEMoms became an official business in 2009 and we changed the name to BizEWorks to incorporate all the different divisions. By this time we had gone from just myself doing the planning to me and three others, to me and Tamara and one another and eventually just me and Tamara. We both had our second kids during this time; the group itself had enough babies we joked to newcomers not to drink the water; Tamara's daughter had gone through and survived cancer and I had survived running the show without her for a bit. We also gained so many friends; our "network" was more like family. Some businesses did great, some maybe not but that did not matter. I am happy to say that somehow we had the perfect mix of women (and a couple of men!) that made it all work and work well.
The experience was great, I would not go back and change anything. But it was so much work and completely took over our lives. I get that businesses do that and there were many times when we did have excited chats about how far we could go with this and what exactly we could do- should we add a magazine? Do two bridal shows? It really came to the point where the bridal show completely overwhelmed everything else, we struggled to make the whole thing function just the two of us. And then I dropped the bombshell on Tamara that we wanted to leave Arizona. If that happened, was there a way to make it work?
Even though we did not end up moving out of state, we decided that we'd have to let it be and we were happy to go out on top. I am even happier to say that we are still close with many of our members and I am amazed and all the things we did over the course of the business.
I am forever changed by the people I met and the tips, advice, love, understanding and support that was shared. I sometimes cannot believed I owned a business and I know now what it was: Tamara and I helped others and I loved every moment of it.
12 Days Countdown: Sports Teams and Stadiums
Saturday, July 16, 2011
12 Days Countdown:Things Left Unfinished
I guess one of the things I will miss about Phoenix are the places we have yet to visit and the adventures left not-had.
I love, love, love getting away and going to new places. Phoenix is closer to the middle of the state, which means our drives were that much shorter. Yeah, Tucson is only two hours away but that's two extra hours in a car with kids. I think that means it is much more like 4 hours away when you factor in the extra potty breaks, extra stops for water because they drank it all (already!), gray hairs from worrying, hoarse voice from yelling, cost of visiting the chiropractor from having to turn your neck 45 times in one hour...this could really go on and on. We still have not been to the Out of Africa Wild Animal Park and Bearizona. We'll go- I might just have to do a little drinking while Brooks is driving to make it there ;) I kid, really. Maybe. California is a much shorter drive from here, as is Vegas. We'll still go to all of these places, I just may think about it a little more before making the suggestion.
There are also places in Phoenix we've yet to visit: Sea Life, The Arizona Science Center, We haven't been to the Fire Museum since Taylor was too little to remember. We've only been to one of the water parks, never been to Lake Pleasant or experienced the Dolly Steamboat tours. That leaves our stay in Phoenix feeling a little incomplete and unconquered. Now I guess these will all have to be reasons to come back and fun adventures to be had on those trips.
I love, love, love getting away and going to new places. Phoenix is closer to the middle of the state, which means our drives were that much shorter. Yeah, Tucson is only two hours away but that's two extra hours in a car with kids. I think that means it is much more like 4 hours away when you factor in the extra potty breaks, extra stops for water because they drank it all (already!), gray hairs from worrying, hoarse voice from yelling, cost of visiting the chiropractor from having to turn your neck 45 times in one hour...this could really go on and on. We still have not been to the Out of Africa Wild Animal Park and Bearizona. We'll go- I might just have to do a little drinking while Brooks is driving to make it there ;) I kid, really. Maybe. California is a much shorter drive from here, as is Vegas. We'll still go to all of these places, I just may think about it a little more before making the suggestion.
There are also places in Phoenix we've yet to visit: Sea Life, The Arizona Science Center, We haven't been to the Fire Museum since Taylor was too little to remember. We've only been to one of the water parks, never been to Lake Pleasant or experienced the Dolly Steamboat tours. That leaves our stay in Phoenix feeling a little incomplete and unconquered. Now I guess these will all have to be reasons to come back and fun adventures to be had on those trips.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
12 Days Countdown: Malls
Honestly, I really am not that much of a shopaholic. I have met others who are waaay worse. One thing I am appreciative for though is the ample supply of malls, shopping and the general selection of stores in Phoenix. In Tucson there is Park Mall and Tucson Mall as well as the long neglected El Con Mall. Having only those few selections means that they are generally more crowded and that makes for a less enjoyable experience. We not only have more malls, we have more stores like my beloved Trader Joe's and Sprouts. I think there is only one Sprouts in Tucson which is on the other side of town, but worth the trip.
One thing I won't miss about Phoenix though are the parking lots. People in Arizona don't know how to drive in general, but this is particularly bad in parking lots. To find a car without dings from other car doors, or to even go a day without witnessing someone barreling through a parking lot is a rare thing.
One thing I won't miss about Phoenix though are the parking lots. People in Arizona don't know how to drive in general, but this is particularly bad in parking lots. To find a car without dings from other car doors, or to even go a day without witnessing someone barreling through a parking lot is a rare thing.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
12 Days Countdown: Big Movie Theaters
Just a quick post as somehow the day has escaped me and now I find it almost bedtime and I certainly can't miss posting about one of my favorite Phoenix phenomena: big movie theaters.
Brooks and I love to watch movies; of course with our two little adorable suckers of alone time , this never happens anymore. That is, except for summers when Grammy and Papa return from Spain and babysit for us. When we first moved to Phoenix and before Taylor was born, Brooks and I discovered the 30-plex in North Phoenix. When I was pregnant and running an internal temperature to rival the Arizona heat we'd head to the theaters three nights a week at least. We may or may not have even movie hopped a time or two.
So now going to the theater is a total treat and a super fun date. Although we have watched far more uber guy action movies than my beloved chick flicks, it's still a yummy bucket of popcorn and time alone with my honey. Yeah Tucson has theaters, but not as many, definitely not as big and certainly not as many happy date memories.
Brooks and I love to watch movies; of course with our two little adorable suckers of alone time , this never happens anymore. That is, except for summers when Grammy and Papa return from Spain and babysit for us. When we first moved to Phoenix and before Taylor was born, Brooks and I discovered the 30-plex in North Phoenix. When I was pregnant and running an internal temperature to rival the Arizona heat we'd head to the theaters three nights a week at least. We may or may not have even movie hopped a time or two.
So now going to the theater is a total treat and a super fun date. Although we have watched far more uber guy action movies than my beloved chick flicks, it's still a yummy bucket of popcorn and time alone with my honey. Yeah Tucson has theaters, but not as many, definitely not as big and certainly not as many happy date memories.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
12 Days Countdown: Splashpads and Parks
When I lived in Tucson, we used to complain that all the money went to Phoenix. It totally does, but then that's what I love. I love seeing landscaping with grass (yeah, another round of collective "that is so wasteful! We live in a desert!") But it's pretty, I say. Phoenix roads are in much better shape, there are far more beautification projects. And as I already mentioned- tons of parks. And really great ones!
Probably my favorite splash pad is at Tempe Beach Park. It is huge and even has a small water slide. There is also a great one at Desert Breeze, and Rio Vista in the West Valley has a great splash pad next to a really cool play area. When we lived in Ahwatukee, there was even one in the park right next door. There are far more than I've mentioned here; it's almost like a requirement to have a splash pad at a park. And there are tons of parks! Practically every development has at least one, plus there are tons of city parks- small ones and big ones with grassy fields and most have shaded equipment. Probably our favorite park is Tumbleweed in Chandler. It has a ginormous barn themed play area that is shaded, it also has a city play area and a sandy dinosaur dig area.
Tucson, you need more parks and splash pads. Give kids and parents something to do.
Monday, July 11, 2011
12 Days Countdown: The Wedding Industry
It's sort of a long story, but the gist of it is that my BEW business partner and I decided to try a bridal show. I mean, it made perfect sense as we were working to create showcase opportunities for local businesses- why not try this avenue? Our first show was about 55 vendors, certainly not small but nothing compared to what it would grow to be. The next year we moved to a hidden gem of a venue in Mesa. Beautiful and within our budget, which in all four years never included a salary for ourselves, The Windemere Resort housed shows two and three. In year four we moved to The Chapparal Suites in Scottsdale and about 20,000 square feet of my wildest fantasy. Fashion shows, thousands of dollars in prizes, amazing displays, a Groom Room lounge, over 100 vendors, a budget to rival many people's annual salaries (and still no salary for us)...I cannot even begin to describe how much I absolutely LOVED this experience. Of course there were high maintenance "PITA's" (pain in the aardvarks"), endless errands, phone calls while hidden in rooms with screaming babies in the background and praying the person on the other line couldn't hear it, and we dealt with the unexpected so much it should have been expected. But I LOVED it. Every missed meal, 2:00 am email, panicked moment when we had to figure out a plan B. I love it all, and when I look back am totally amazed and proud that we did this.
So what did we do? I'd like to think that the Arizona Bridal Affair was a refreshing dose of how business should be done in Phoenix. It was not just about selling for us; we so cared about each and every business that signed on and really wanted to do everything we could to help them grow. We were totally novices in the beginning and cherished every little tidbit of advice and insider knowledge that was passed on to us. We learned that some of our big goals had to be compromised and that was not necessarily a bad thing. We also learned there were some bad apples out there, but oh so many more good ones. Doing business with others who were in the business helped us be better.
This last year was my favorite; I loved our new venue, I loved all the networking events we went to (thank you, thank you to Curtis Whipple and WEN), I loved the support we received, I loved when people passed our info on to others or when people started remembering our name, I loved the many faces we met and most of all I loved our show. I loved how pretty it was, our pre-show party for our vendors was amazing, I loved celebrating the people who had stuck with us since the beginning and I loved that when it was all over I really think we shook up the way other shows worked. I loved turning business associates into friends- thank you Jennyvi Dizon for EVERYTHING!
I also loved being able to breathe when it was all over with and spend time with my babies, who had patiently waited while mom had spent the past four years with a phone at her ear and a computer on her hip. I also love my husband who only grew frustrated a few Phoenix wedding industry- you are amazing! Thank you for supporting and working with us. Thank you for the endless memories of enjoying your work, thank you for being kind, thank you for talking with us, hanging out with us and not laughing when Tamara and I snuck seconds and thirds at the food stations. If I renewed my vows, I honestly would not know who to hire as there is an endless supply of talent and caring professionals. What do I mean if? We will, because this gal has been planning her wedding since birth and June 24, 2005 needs to be celebrated again and again. And, in case you can't tell by all the pics, I think for sure we'll have a photobooth ;)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
12 Days of Phoenix Countdown: Ikea!
My mom has this Swedish friend she works with, who would laugh at our Ikea obsession. She said shopping at Ikea for them was the equivalent of shopping at Wal-Mart for us. Well, since being American isn't exactly synonymous with having great taste, I give you my next favorite thing about Phoenix.
Ikea is just awesome. I really love it. Brooks says he is ready to graduate to the next level of nicer furnishings, but I still find things in that massive blue store that I NEED. We were here when Ikea first opened it's Tempe location and the news covered how people camped out to be one of the first through the door who would also get a free, funky Poang chair. I shouldn't diss that chair- we eventually bought one as well. It was probably equally fun shopping and trying to figure out how to pronounce the names of items. My mom and I could easily spend about 4 hours making our way through the displays and marketplace, laughing at the names and finding way too many things we thought we needed. The kids loved hopping in the beds and trying out all the chairs and couches, then finally making our way to the kids area where they'd play and we'd have to bribe them with ice cream to be able to get out of there. Taylor loved the ice cream so much that we had a heck of a time convincing him we could get plain vanilla cones at other places and not just Ikea. One time we gave him a cone and happily pushed him about in his stroller, and when we looked down again he'd eaten every last bite of his cone including the paper wrapping.
Quite honestly, almost all of our furniture has come from Ikea. Brooks jokes that Ikea furniture is great until you have to move. He is right about that one. Since you have to assemble it yourself, it isn't always the most durable, and since we've moved a few times our furniture has definitely seen better days.
But regardless, I still love this store! Even though the drive will be a little further, I will still find excuses to spend a few hours looking around and buying little gadgets with unpronounceable names.
Ikea is just awesome. I really love it. Brooks says he is ready to graduate to the next level of nicer furnishings, but I still find things in that massive blue store that I NEED. We were here when Ikea first opened it's Tempe location and the news covered how people camped out to be one of the first through the door who would also get a free, funky Poang chair. I shouldn't diss that chair- we eventually bought one as well. It was probably equally fun shopping and trying to figure out how to pronounce the names of items. My mom and I could easily spend about 4 hours making our way through the displays and marketplace, laughing at the names and finding way too many things we thought we needed. The kids loved hopping in the beds and trying out all the chairs and couches, then finally making our way to the kids area where they'd play and we'd have to bribe them with ice cream to be able to get out of there. Taylor loved the ice cream so much that we had a heck of a time convincing him we could get plain vanilla cones at other places and not just Ikea. One time we gave him a cone and happily pushed him about in his stroller, and when we looked down again he'd eaten every last bite of his cone including the paper wrapping. Quite honestly, almost all of our furniture has come from Ikea. Brooks jokes that Ikea furniture is great until you have to move. He is right about that one. Since you have to assemble it yourself, it isn't always the most durable, and since we've moved a few times our furniture has definitely seen better days.
But regardless, I still love this store! Even though the drive will be a little further, I will still find excuses to spend a few hours looking around and buying little gadgets with unpronounceable names.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
12 Days Countdown: Morning News
I remember when Brooks and I would come up to Phoenix to stay for the weekend and I caught my first glimpse of a real morning news program. It was hilarious! I first watched AZ Family Channel 3 and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. It was not news like I was used to; the newscasters didn't blandly report- they bantered back and forth, told jokes, played music not muzak...maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal but the first time I turned on a TV and saw this I thought it was yet another way that Phoenix was oh so much cooler and hip than Tucson. The local Fox channel had a funny morning program as well and one time I saw the Fox weather guy in line at the 99 Cent Superstore. We also saw one of the Biggest Loser contestants at the Golden Spoon on another occasion. She rode her bike and came clomping in with her bike shoes on.This was before the finale and she was barely recognizable, but I still couldn't help but stare not-so-subtly.
Back to news, little did I know that during our time living in Phoenix, I would be on the AZ Family Good Morning Arizona program seven times with BizEWorks, and one additional time as a jean model. We were also here for the devastating helicopter crash between channel 3 and the ABC station.
I've watched the local news a few times in Tucson during trips back, and recall some of the same reporters from when I was a kid still reporting and looking quite old. I guess they love Tucson. Morning news is just one of many reasons I will miss Phoenix.
Back to news, little did I know that during our time living in Phoenix, I would be on the AZ Family Good Morning Arizona program seven times with BizEWorks, and one additional time as a jean model. We were also here for the devastating helicopter crash between channel 3 and the ABC station.
I've watched the local news a few times in Tucson during trips back, and recall some of the same reporters from when I was a kid still reporting and looking quite old. I guess they love Tucson. Morning news is just one of many reasons I will miss Phoenix.
Friday, July 8, 2011
12 Days of Phoenix: Freeways!
In honor of our move from Phoenix, I'd like to share some of my favorite things about this city. You're probably thinking: Laura- you are from Tucson. Is moving back really that big of a deal? Well, yes it is. Moving to Phoenix was the first big step in getting away from Tucson and moving on to bigger and better things. I know plenty of people love Tucson and now in my older and wiser state of mind I can see why. But, when I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to move on and get on to those bigger and better things.
Bigger and Better thing #1: Freeways! And lots of them!
Tucson has no freeway though town, only the I-10, which does not go through town, just around the outside of town. So that makes it virtually useless unless you are drivingfar, far away to either Texas or California.
Moving to Phoenix then was totally exciting for this no-freeway gal. Big freeways, with wide lanes and very well maintained asphalt! In all my travels (albeit maybe not as wordly as I wish), no other city has freeways quite like we do. They're beautiful and I will miss them. Especially you, state route 51 with all the pretty houses perched on the hillside. I used to imagine the pro athletes lived in those houses. And you- the ugly and neglected lanes of the I-17 and the 60- I will even miss you too. And you, 101 with your bad traffic but your proximity to every place I ever needed to drive to. I will miss you, but I will enjoy your carpool lane when we visit, which will hopefully open soon.
I will never forget our nephew Kyle's first trip to Phoenix. He was taking pictures of the freeways and I thought it was both cute and funny. That may be me soon.
Bigger and Better thing #1: Freeways! And lots of them!
Tucson has no freeway though town, only the I-10, which does not go through town, just around the outside of town. So that makes it virtually useless unless you are driving
Moving to Phoenix then was totally exciting for this no-freeway gal. Big freeways, with wide lanes and very well maintained asphalt! In all my travels (albeit maybe not as wordly as I wish), no other city has freeways quite like we do. They're beautiful and I will miss them. Especially you, state route 51 with all the pretty houses perched on the hillside. I used to imagine the pro athletes lived in those houses. And you- the ugly and neglected lanes of the I-17 and the 60- I will even miss you too. And you, 101 with your bad traffic but your proximity to every place I ever needed to drive to. I will miss you, but I will enjoy your carpool lane when we visit, which will hopefully open soon.
I will never forget our nephew Kyle's first trip to Phoenix. He was taking pictures of the freeways and I thought it was both cute and funny. That may be me soon.
Big News!
Whoo-hoo! We are moving!!
I could go into a real long tale of what the past year has been like for us, but I'll be brief.
We have wanted to move out of Arizona for what seems like forever. We tried, gave up and then out of nowhere Brooks gets contacted by a company he had previously interviewed for. This was on a Wednesday, in fact this past Wednesday. On Monday he interviewed with one other person, on Tuesday he was offered the job. And that was it!
Where is this exciting city we'll be moving to with amazing schools and superb Autism support? Welllll, that's the catch. It's actually none of those things, it's Tucson. But- this is a big company with offices in at least 30 cities so the opportunity to get the eff out of Dodge is far greater than if we stay here. And that is what swayed the deal. It's also Brooks' very own building, an opportunity to get experience with tenant improvements and construction (which seems to be what every other company wants) and possibly less work for a little more money. He'll be going from 1.5 million square feet to 140,000. That's fewer tenants, fewer roofs for rain leaks, less copper pipes to be stolen and sprinkle systems to get air stuck in them and then accidentally alert the fire department. You know, just an average day in the life of a property manager.
By divine chance, we had planned on going to Tucson last weekend anyway, so while we were there we filled out registration paperwork for Taylor at Sonoran Science Academy (Paragon's sister school), and found an apartment. We've reserved the UHaul, scheduled the electricity and now are just counting down the days.
The only thing we have had to sacrifice on is our planned vacation. Brooks' wanted to give 4 weeks notice, but the best they could offer him was 3 weeks so we had to scrub the trip in order to give Carlson adequate notice, since otherwise Brooks would have been gone for two of his last three weeks.
We've signed a 6 months lease, then will be buying a house which means we'll be broke for a while. Our only vacations then will be staycations and trips to Phoenix.
But we're all excited! I can't wait to finally unpack! And, crazy as it sounds I can't wait to pack it all again and move to our dream place.
I could go into a real long tale of what the past year has been like for us, but I'll be brief.
We have wanted to move out of Arizona for what seems like forever. We tried, gave up and then out of nowhere Brooks gets contacted by a company he had previously interviewed for. This was on a Wednesday, in fact this past Wednesday. On Monday he interviewed with one other person, on Tuesday he was offered the job. And that was it!
Where is this exciting city we'll be moving to with amazing schools and superb Autism support? Welllll, that's the catch. It's actually none of those things, it's Tucson. But- this is a big company with offices in at least 30 cities so the opportunity to get the eff out of Dodge is far greater than if we stay here. And that is what swayed the deal. It's also Brooks' very own building, an opportunity to get experience with tenant improvements and construction (which seems to be what every other company wants) and possibly less work for a little more money. He'll be going from 1.5 million square feet to 140,000. That's fewer tenants, fewer roofs for rain leaks, less copper pipes to be stolen and sprinkle systems to get air stuck in them and then accidentally alert the fire department. You know, just an average day in the life of a property manager.
By divine chance, we had planned on going to Tucson last weekend anyway, so while we were there we filled out registration paperwork for Taylor at Sonoran Science Academy (Paragon's sister school), and found an apartment. We've reserved the UHaul, scheduled the electricity and now are just counting down the days.
The only thing we have had to sacrifice on is our planned vacation. Brooks' wanted to give 4 weeks notice, but the best they could offer him was 3 weeks so we had to scrub the trip in order to give Carlson adequate notice, since otherwise Brooks would have been gone for two of his last three weeks.
We've signed a 6 months lease, then will be buying a house which means we'll be broke for a while. Our only vacations then will be staycations and trips to Phoenix.
But we're all excited! I can't wait to finally unpack! And, crazy as it sounds I can't wait to pack it all again and move to our dream place.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Each anniversay we debate the date possibilities. Then we realize we are kidding ourselves and end up planning something with the kids. This year we got tickets to see the the Greatest Show On Earth. Taylor remembered the last circus we went to, probably two years ago. He was very excited; Jasmine didn't start getting excited until she saw the commercials on TV.
The day of the circus we had a few other errands to run, then stopped at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant for an early dinner and even made it to the show early! We took the kids on the floor for the pre-show activities. Jazzy was in a bad mood and whinning about everything, so Brooks took her back to our seats. I managed to get the tickets soon after they went on sale, so we ended up with great seats. Taylor had a blast walking around the floor! We met a clown who was wearing dog tags just like Taylor. He was a former Marine and Taylor thought he was pretty cool. Taylor also got to have his picture taken with one of the trapeze artists.
Jazzy eventually decided she liked the show once the horsies came out. Taylor loved the tigers and added a new friend to his menagerie- Tigie the white tiger. He also told us that he would like to be a baby tiger trainer when he grows up. Although I would have loved to be out on a romantic date just the two of us, this was totally worth being married six years for.
The day of the circus we had a few other errands to run, then stopped at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant for an early dinner and even made it to the show early! We took the kids on the floor for the pre-show activities. Jazzy was in a bad mood and whinning about everything, so Brooks took her back to our seats. I managed to get the tickets soon after they went on sale, so we ended up with great seats. Taylor had a blast walking around the floor! We met a clown who was wearing dog tags just like Taylor. He was a former Marine and Taylor thought he was pretty cool. Taylor also got to have his picture taken with one of the trapeze artists. Jazzy eventually decided she liked the show once the horsies came out. Taylor loved the tigers and added a new friend to his menagerie- Tigie the white tiger. He also told us that he would like to be a baby tiger trainer when he grows up. Although I would have loved to be out on a romantic date just the two of us, this was totally worth being married six years for.
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