Apartment Update & Other Fun

So we are just a few days away from signing our renewal contract to stay at our apartment complex. And John has been furiously researching and making calls about this program that supposedly says they will kick us out if we make over a certain amount. Let me just tell you, this is war.

John has found out that not only did the apartment manager lie to us on several occasions in this whole situation, we could sue her for the things she's told us. John has all the supporting legal documents and policies which he will bring when we go to sign the contract. And I don't know if I want to be there because it's going to be rather awkward. But John's excited... The manager is just lucky we're not litigious people or she'd be in real trouble. As it is, I think I might make her cookies just to ease the sting a little.

The lessons I've learned from this is to always be as honest as you can, don't be afraid to say you don't know, and be careful when dealing with people because you just never know who you might be offending.

On a fun note, I discovered this blog last week and it made me so happy. First, because I love baking and cakes, and second, because it is freakin' hilarious. Check out Cake Wrecks.

On an even better note, John has only a few more days to go at his internship and I'll be bringing him home with me this weekend. It's almost over! Yay!

And then I think about all the things I was going to do while John was gone and realize that I haven't done hardly any of them... but I'd rather have him home. I will be a happy wife next week.

M.A.S.H.

If you are even close to my age it is likely you have played the Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House game. On the four sides of a square you write MASH, names of boys (or girls) you could marry, number of children, then a city or place. Based on a number you pick the choices are eliminated until you have one of each. I always thought a shack would be the worst type of habitation, but I am quickly learning that an apartment isn't much better. At least, not one owned by someone else and 'managed' by some random assistant.

It is time for us to renew our contract so we can keep living in the apartment we've been in for the last year. It is not my favorite place, as most of you probably already know, but the price is right, the location is good, and the pool is close by. When John and I went down to the office last weekend to sign our new contract we were surprised by a 'bond program' we apparently signed on for last year. We remember signing the papers, but the office girls who explained it to us neglected to tell us that if we exceed a certain income we would have to move out of our apartment. That's right, I make too much money so they were going to kick us out. Seriously?! Seriously.

Long story short, we've figured it out, but it has been a huge hassle every step of the way. If one more thing had gone wrong or if they had made me jump through just one more hoop we would be moving somewhere else. As it is, John and I are both bitter about the whole thing now. Fortunately, we aren't planning on being here much longer than a year so we won't have to go through it again. Hopefully. You never know...

Visitors Welcome

That's right, Lauren and Julia came to visit this last weekend. I always have a fantastic time with my sisters but this time was great because it's been so long since we've all been together. We went to dinner at Macaroni Grill (it was dark in there and the pic didn't come out great), helped Lar with her A1 Sauce contest entry, went shopping where John found some awesome shoes, and had fun just hanging out. It reached record highs here in Phoenix this weekend, but they didn't mind - Ju said the heat was 'exotic.' They might think differently if they actually lived here, but maybe not. I was so glad to have them here - I absolutely adore my sisters. We really are three peas in a pod although maybe differently shaped every now and then. We're hoping to get together again the end of August cuz fun like this needs an encore. There's no one like sisters!

Happy 4th of July in CA

It was so nice to be in California for July 4th because the weather was lovely. We got to see Srun and Harry, too, which was fun. We went to an Angels game and they had a really good fireworks show afterward. It was even better than the show we saw the next night at Disneyland. We also went down to Laguna Beach and John got to go swimming in the ocean for the first time. The lifeguard actually came down to make sure he was okay after a really big wave.

On the holiday we visited with Srun and Harry and their family which was so much fun. We sat around talking and ate great BBQ. John got his pic taken with a monster truck and we watched fireworks. It was actually quite cold out and I had to wrap up in a blanket while we ate chocolate pudding snack pies. It was a great weekend.

Thanks Srun and Harry! And thank you California!

Visit to San Diego

This last weekend John and I did some exploring in San Diego. I hoped to go to the famous Zoo but when John woke up feeling sick and I woke up with a headache we didn't get up in time to make it worth the admission price. So we started at Balboa Park and figured we'd see what it was all about. And it was awesome! I loved the architecture and all the museums plus we saw a guy playing the diggery-doo (or however you spell it).

After the park we went to a Padres game. Petco Park is absolutely beautiful, probably the nicest one I've been to. It was great to just hang out together and watch a ball game. Unfortunately, traffic was horrible on the way home and we got back pretty late which did not help John feel better. But he's doing better now. Side note: he's almost halfway done with his internship now.

*I discovered Picasa and I think I like it... what do you think of my collage?

It Was a Happy Birth-week

Yes, I am another year older. My only consolation is that I am still younger than John!

I feel like I've been celebrating my birthday all week, which I am definitely not complaining about. The actual day was Wednesday the 10th but some of the girls took me out to dinner on Monday. Annika couldn't come on Monday so she and I went to dinner at Tipps 88 Thai (my absolute favorite thai restaurant ever) on Tuesday night and had a fantastic time. Thanks again to all my friends for remembering and making me feel so special on my birthday week!

I woke up Wednesday morning thinking "Happy Birthday, Rach." (Yes, when talking to myself I do use nicknames). And, guess what? It was a very happy birthday! My coworkers all remembered and we celebrated with ice cream novelties (lovin' the eskimo pies) and a lovely card they wrote to me. I won a gift card to Wildflower Bread Co. and free tickets to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on stage at the Gammage by entering contests on Twitter. Then the lovely ladies a church took me to dinner and ice cream. When I got home after all that fun I had to quick do laundry and pack for my trip to California. My Mom called me from Hawaii and the family all sang me a little ditty over the phone which just made me miss them terribly. And I talked to my husband who also had wonderful birthday wishes for me.

I have fantastic friends, loving family, great coworkers, and an amazing husband. What more could I want on my birthday!?

Nothin Special

The last few weeks have been pretty normal, for me anyway. This last weekend John flew out to Arizona since I had an event for work on Saturday. I was actually a little sad not to be able to go to California and missed the lovely weather, but I was glad to have John home. I worked a half day on Friday so that gave us some time to run errands and hang out with Brandon. We went to a movie that night at the real theater. We usually only go to the cheap theater but since our friends were going to see the new X-Men movie, and I really wanted to see it, we tagged along. I liked it, so I was glad we went.

I worked the morning on Saturday and it wasn't too bad. Our event went great and John got to come up at the end and have lunch since there was food left over. He helped me clean up then we went to a movie at the cheap theater (State of Play was pretty good) and shopping at the outlet mall (I got 2 new pairs of jeans and shoes - Happy Birthday to me!).

Sunday was a very lazy day, but we had a wonderful time together. John left that evening and I had the apartment to myself again. It was strange this time because the weekend made me feel like things were back to normal and then John had to go back to California. So it was kind of a hard goodbye. I really shouldn't complain, though, because not all of the MBA wives get to see their husbands so often.

So it's back to normal life again - work and stuff. John is working hard out in Cali on his projects and I'll get to see him again in a few days. Meanwhile, I went out with the girls last night for dinner at Pita Jungle, which was awesome. I got this amazing salad that was so big I brought home 3/4 of it for lunch today. And I had a great time with the girls (thanks Mel, Kristy, & Jen!).

I'll be sure to take more pictures in CA this weekend - I think we might explore Laguna Beach some more. Mostly, I'm just grateful I get to see John as much as I do and that life is treating us so well right now. Thanks life!