goodbye crackberry, hello "high" phone.

If you thought I was addicted to my blackberry, then I have a serious problem with my new iphone.

This phone is SO wonderful.... so easy to use, so fast, takes great pictures, and the apps?! OMG!!! I could spend HOURS finding new ones... 

Here are a few of my faves:

• Hipstamatic - takes awesome pictures, from a bunch of different old camera lenses, flashes and types of film... 

• White Noise - I used this when I was traveling in Cleveland last time. I've been having a hard time sleeping lately in hotels, and I love the Fire/Water/Wind combo. You can play it for as long as you want and have an alarm go off at the end!

• Talking Tom - Ok, this one is just silly. You say something and then this cartoon cat (Tom) repeats it in a high, chipmunk voice. If it doesn't make you laugh, then you just don't have a sense of humor.

• Toon Paint - You can take pictures and make them look like black and white cartoons, and then paint them with your fingers :)

• Toon Camera - Similar to Toon Paint, but it takes the picture in color, so it just looks like you're in a comic book.

• Hey Tell - It's basically a walkie-talkie with whoever else has Hey Tell. Stefan and I use it all the time instead of texting and driving! 

And it's true, once you go mac, you never go back.... (I know, I know, that was terrible.)

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today, I am thankful for our pets.

Growing up, I had fish and a dalmatian named Sugar. We only had Sugar for a few years, and we had to find her a new home when we moved from our Lakewood house. Other than that, I didn't have any other pets and never really considered myself an "animal lover." Not that I didn't like animals, I just never really appreciated or understood the bond between a person and their pets.


Stefan had dogs and cats growing up. I'll be honest, I never really liked cats. I was allergic to them and my best friend Angie had one growing up and it was the meanest cat in the world. I went to her house every day after school and it would always hiss at me. That cat didn't really like anyone.


When we were in college at UPS, Stefan thought it was time for a kitten. Yes, kittens are adorable but I didn't think I would really get "attached" to a dang cat. We got Zoe from the humane society and a year and a half later, got Oliver from the same humane society. I never thought cats had personalities, but they really do. Zoe is very dainty and sweet, not much of a cuddler, but loves affection. Oliver is pretty outgoing, he's very vocal and likes to sit at the top of the stairs and howl to get our attention. He's also allergic to feathers, trees and several other things, including.... humans.

A few years later, we stopped into a pet store and fell in love with a little black cat, who we named Carlo. Carlo was the sweetest little kitten, but didn't stay with us for very long. He had a liver problem and we had to put him down when he was only 2.


Then came the dogs. Two months after we got married, we became the parents to two crazy little weimaraner puppies. We originally were only going to get one (Brooklyn) but they were just the cutest things in the world, and Stefan fell in love with Bentley, so we ended up getting both of them. I'd like to think it was one of the best decision we've ever made... they are the best of friends and get along so well. They've taught us so much about patience and love - I can't imagine my life without them, or any of our animals.

In January of 2008 (right after we moved to Arizona), we got Tucker. He's also a black cat and was our attempt at "replacing" Carlo. While he looks pretty similar, he's got a very funny personality. He thinks he's a dog, and we often find him laying on the dog beds with Brooklyn and Bentley. I'm not sure if it's a black cat thing, but last year we had some emergency vet visits with Tucker and he ended up having a pretty serious liver problem as well. Over $8k later and visits from both "grandpas" to help feed him through a tube for a couple months while we were working, he's now happy, healthy and very spunky.

There really is nothing like the bond a pet parent has with their pets. No matter what you do, they just want to make you happy. While they can be expensive and sometimes break things and drive us crazy, their intentions are always usually good.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

Today, I am thankful for technology and social media.

At 28 years old, I am amazed at what life is like with such advancements in technology and the growth of social media. I think back to my parents and grandparents who didn't have color TV (or TV in general), computers, internet, and listened to music on a record player or 8-track! Growing up, I remember going to the library to check out books and learned about the Dewey Decimal System for looking up books. And encyclopedias! Remember when you had to write papers and (outdated) encyclopedias were the best source of information?! Or calling the radio station to request a song, only so you could sit by the radio for hours waiting for them to play it so you could hit the "record" button on your tape player?

Just a few of the things I can't imagine living without....

HD TV

DVR

iTunes

iPhone

iPad
appleTV

(anything made from apple/mac)

navigation system in my car

computer
surround sound speakers
texting
internet (no dial up!)

3G (soon to be 4G)

And then we have social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs.... the list goes on, and will continue to change the way we interact with people and our networking capabilities. I used to write in a diary growing up and loved the outlet it provided me to write down all of my thoughts. I've always been a very linguistic person, I'm much better at thinking about what I have to say and articulating it in writing versus saying it in person. Blogging has provided me this new outlet again, and I couldn't be more thankful. Even if no one else reads it. :)

 Facebook.... oh dear God, what did we do without Facebook?! First it was IM's and chatrooms on AOL, then MySpace.... and now Facebook. I love Facebook. One of my favorite things is "seeing" someone on facebook I haven't heard from in years. I love catching up with people, and the simplicity of saying hi and catching up is incredible. Networking with peers, collaborating on ideas and just posting a topic to generate conversation is really pretty cool. Our entire training department was asked to join Facebook a couple years ago and it's fun to see where people are traveling, what classes they're teaching and what their thoughts are on a variety of issues. I love seeing pictures of friends and family members... pictures of weddings, their kids and everything they've been up to.

... and if you haven't seen Social Network yet, go see it! We finally saw it last night and it was incredible!!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today, I am thankful for the experience of living in Arizona.

Stefan was born and raised in Washington, and my family moved to Washington from Montana when I was in 2nd grade. Besides vacations, we've never really left Washington. We both went to college in Washington, and we bought our first home less than a mile from both of our parents in UP. When I applied for the corporate training job in Arizona, I don't think we really thought 1) that I would even get the job; and 2) that we would actually be packing everything up and moving to another state when I got the job offer. The word "scary" was an understatement when we finally made the decision for me to accept the job.


I'm was so fortunate to get the job because it's given us an experience that has helped us both grow as individuals and as husband and wife. While we really miss our friends and family in Washington, we've made so many decisions on our own that have really helped us grow in our relationship. When we had our parents so close, it was so easy to just call my dad and ask him to come help us paint, or have my mom come assemble a cabinet (I swear she loves putting things together), or have Stefan's dad meet us at Costco with his truck so we could bring a new piece of furniture home.

It was extremely difficult moving somewhere and not knowing a single person. We quickly made some new friends, have great neighbors, and work with wonderful people. We've managed to make due with the fact that we don't have Stefan's dad or his truck just 5 blocks away.... but we do have an awesome neighbor who met us at Pottery Barn last summer when we bought new chaise lounges for the backyard that wouldn't fit in either of our cars. While we hate asking other people to help us do things, we've realized that sometimes you just have to ask. We've met some amazing people here and we're so thankful for what it's taught us about being self-reliant and dependent on each other.

Stefan has become quite the handyman and knows the ins and outs of maintaining a pool and continues to learn about home maintenance. I think the biggest thing I've realized is that life is all about experiences. Living in a new place brings a lot of challenges and things that leave you out of your normal comfort zone. Making the most of the experiences are really what makes the difference between being happy and being miserable, while living in an unfamiliar place.

While we don't consider the desert landscape to be as gorgeous as the Pacific Northwest, we've been able to find some beautiful hikes and attractions in the area that have allowed us to appreciate this area of the country more than we ever did. The more experiences we share will continue to leave us with wonderful memories and experiences that we can learn from and use as growth opportunities.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 3

Today (should've been yesterday's post) I am thankful for modern medicine.

This almost seems too obvious but I think we often take advantage of the fact that doctors and hospitals are so readily available in the United States. I'm thankful for health insurance and the ease in which I can go to the doctor or hospital.

My dad had 6-bypass surgery a couple years ago and was able to go home after a few days. Prior to this surgery, his doctors did some tests to reveal that he had a "silent" heart attack, requiring the bypass surgery. Without modern medicine and technology, he probably wouldn't have made it very long without that procedure or the doctors who completed the test to reveal he had the heart attack in the first place.

There are still many illnesses and diseases that need cures, so we're not completely living in a perfect world, but to think that only 50 years ago, the first coronary artery bypass surgery was completed. We've made great strides to the type of procedures that can be completed with technology and through scientific research.

Thank goodness for good doctors, nurses, researchers and anyone else involved in advancing medicine.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 2

... just as a side note, these are not going to be in any particular order, nor are they of equal importance...

Today, I am thankful for Beecher's cheese :)

I'm thankful for good food in general, but Beecher's cheese is probably one of the best-tasting things out there. If you've never tried it, it's a must. Add it to your bucket list if you need to, the Flagship in particular.

A few more things I'm thankful for:

Stores that sell it in Arizona (I about passed out in the store when I saw it for the first time)

Pike Place Market - that's where it's made!

World's best mac and cheese!!

(Click here for the recipe)

My dad who went to Pike Place to get me the frozen mac and cheese so I could bring it to AZ and have it for dinner last night :)

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 1

As the holiday season approaches, I thought I would follow one of my friends who is doing this on facebook.... hopefully I can just remember to do this every day for the next 30 days :)

Today, I am thankful today for my husband.

The past week I have been sick with the flu and still have an annoying cough that keeps me (and him) up at night. He came home from work whenever he could tell I needed something last week and when I came downstairs in the middle of the night because I didn't want to keep him awake coughing, he came downstairs and told me to come back upstairs because he knew I would be more comfortable in our bed. He made me all the soup and grilled cheese sandwiches I could ask for.... even after I told him "just one ice cube in the soup this time, 2 makes it too cold."

I couldn't be more thankful to have a best friend that is so genuine and loves me for who I am. I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty stubborn, independent and like to be in control. He's made me realize that life isn't about one person leading everything all the time, and in a marriage, it's about a team effort. We've been a great team for the past 12 years that we've been together. Sure, we've had our ups and downs, but I couldn't be more thankful for a lifetime partner who I know I can always count on no matter what. He's the love of my life and I'm so thankful he's stuck around this long to put up with me. :)