Here Comes the Sun

For the two weeks that we have been here we have experienced such extreme weather changes.  When we first arrived we were in the normal May showers.  I personally love rain, but it was a little weird, since the first time we lived here it was 4 months of straight sunshine.  Well, after a few straight days of rain we were embraced in the most beautiful 80 to 85 degree weather for about a week and a half.  It was perfect and I couldn't soak up enough of that Vitamin D.  And then out of nowhere, the weather sky rocketed to over 100 degrees!  Talk about HOT HOT HOT!  It weighed on you so heavily that you didn't even want to leave the comfort of your air conditioned apartment.  Honestly, I would expect this in July, but mid May!  Luckily, the weather forecast for the next week shows us back down to the high 80s/ low 90s.  I better stock up on that sunscreen because I am anticipating a sizzling summer!

Great Times with Extraordinary People

This summer, Chris and I aren't only surrounded by beautiful weather but we will also be surrounded by some pretty amazing people.  Each summer that we leave it usually means saying our goodbyes to family and friends and us going off to experience the summer, and all the fun things that come with it, on our own.  But not this summer!  Not only has my brother and his family decided to come out, but so has Chris' little brother, Ryan, and our good friends, Taylor and Vanessa.  Talk about spoiled!!!!  I am so excited to go off and experience all the things that Northern Cali has to offer with our family and friends.  It should make for some pretty unforgettable memories and experiences.

This past Sunday, my sister-in-law Ashley invited Chris and I over for Sunday Dinner at her apartment.  We had been living off of take out and fast food for the last few days, so naturally neither of us could wait for some good home cooking.  And to make it even more appealing and mouth watering, she made one of my favorite meals.  Yummy lasagna and home made bread sticks.  Totally delicious!!!  Thanks Ashley!!!

Ashley showing off her hard work.

It wouldn't quite be a Sunday for Chris and I unless there was some sort of card game to play after dinner.  We were at the store, the night before, and came across the Monopoly card game, called DEAL.  So we decided to give it a try.  So worth it!!!  It is so much more fun than the regular Monopoly and it is so addictive!  

The game in progress.  If you look closely I'm winning :)!

Chris and I enjoy this game so much that we have played a couple rounds almost every night since we have gotten it. 

My niece, Mya, and I playing with the camera.  Too Cute!  

This Sunday it is my turn to cook.  I am so excited because Ryan and his friend will be here to join us.  Talk about a "Full House"!  You gotta love it! 

Readjusting

So, I am officially all unpacked and settled in!  Yay!!!  I love the area that we live in.  We are surrounded by so much... shopping, entertainment, and of course great food!

Every summer that we leave it takes me about a week or so to get back into the swing of things.  It is a big readjusting period for Chris and I.  We go from a house that is almost too big for us, to living in a small 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment.  Then there is the whole issue of having one car for the two of us to use.  It is hard for me having to work my schedule around Chris' schedule just so that I can run to the grocery store or do an errand.  And the newest major issue that we have had to adapt to is going from a king size bed to a queen again.  Chris and I are not the snuggle up close all night type of people.  We have basically established in our bed that this is "My Side" and this is "Your Side" and please try not to cross it.  So needless to say the last few nights have been a little restless as we are both silently defending our small space without really trying to wake the other.

But there have been some major benefits moving back to a place where we have already lived. For instance, I remember how to get to all of the stores that I like to visit on a regular basis. All my favorite restaurants are all just a short drive away, and the ones that I had wanted to try but never had a chance to are right where I remembered them and just waiting for Chris' and my Saturday date night.   So basically, having all these little bits of knowledge has made the transition for me a little easier to cope with.  

You would think that it being my fifth summer out I would be a pro at this stuff already :).

HELLO from California!!

Well after a very long 10 hours of driving, Chris and I finally made it to the place we get to call home for the next 4 months.  We left Thursday night and got to Citrus Heights early Friday morning.  Compared to the drives to Philadelphia and New York, this drive to California was almost like a small vacation of sorts.  Besides my brother nearly hitting a couple cows that were standing on the highway (other than needing a clean pair of pants :) everything was fine), the ride went unbelievably smooth.  The first thing that Chris had to do when we got here was fill out the paperwork for the apartments.  Going on 24 hours of no sleep, this normally simple task turned into a nearly impossible feat.  The poor lady assisting us had to repeat everything on average about 4 times in order for it to sink in, and then at one point my poor husband even forgot his initials (he liked mine better, he kept putting DB instead of his).  Well with the apartment keys finally in our possession, the first thing that Chris and I did was throw a blanket on the mattress to catch up on some much needed Zzzzz's.  It was some of the best sleep imaginable.  Next up, the dreaded unpacking.

We will have more people arriving throughout the week and we are so excited to get this summer's selling season kicked off.  Chris has got a great team put together and I know that they will all be successful this summer.  Not only is Chris the most outstanding husband in the world but he is an awesome leader and manager. I have all the faith in the world that when this summer is over, that everybody that has joined us in this venture will walk away a winner and triumphant.  GOOD LUCK AXIS PROTECTION!

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day today I decided to post a little something on how we can all be a little "Greener" in our everyday life.  The following list is a great way to becoming Earth friendly without changing your lifestyle too much.  And if we all just implement one of these things it can be a huge step in the direction of fighting global warming.

1.  The Three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)!!!  I think I learned about this simple saying in kindergarten, but I didn't start applying it to my lifestyle until I was in my 20's.  You can take the simplest steps and make the biggest differences.  Examples:  Reduce- Turn off water while you brush your teeth, Reuse-  Instead of using plastic bags at grocery stores spend the extra dollar and buy reusable cloth bags, and Recycle-  This is my favorite.  Many of the things we use everyday is recyclable material (ex. pop cans, milk cartons, water bottles), so pay attention to where you throw things away and if you happen to be by a recycling bin, make the effort to throw things there.

2.  Skip on the bottled water.  Here is a fact for ya.  Each year Americans throw away 25 billion individual bottled waters.  This is stuff that just ends up in landfills producing large amounts of container waste.  So the solution, buy a water filter and a reusable water bottle.

3.  Eliminate "Phantom Power".  Basically, if any sort of appliance or charger is left in an outlet (even if it is turned off) it will continue to use power.  So to help stop this, simply unplug your devices or invest in a power strip.  It will even help cut back on your power bill.  Saving money is always a plus.

4.  Stop junk mail!   By subscribing to the following two websites you can eliminate up to 70 to 90% of your junk mail.  That in return is not only nice for you but it will help cut back on the over 100 million trees that are destroyed each year and saves the 20 billion gallons of water that is used.  So visit www.41pounds.org or www.greendimes.com and for a small price you can be pretty close to junk mail free.

5.  Use reusable dishes instead of plastic or styrofoam.  A great example I found was when you go out for ice cream, get the cone instead of the cup.  You are basically eating your silverware instead of using and then just throwing away plastic.

6.  Use natural chemicals to clean your home.  Check out the Green Works Natural Cleaners by Clorox.  I love this stuff.  Not only does it make my house super clean and sparkly, but I am not putting any harsh chemicals into the environment.  Double Plus!!!!

7.  Change your bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs.  They may cost a little more, but they last up to 15 times longer.

8.  Buy organic produce.  Honestly I didn't understand the big hype over organic foods, but after I researched it a little more I can see why it is such a good thing.  Since organic food doesn't use pesticides, it uses less energy.  So not only is it healthier for you, but it is healthier for the planet.

9.  Take advantage of your local farmer's markets.  This is one that I totally want to get into.  It may cost a little more, but the quality is likely to be better.  And it helps save energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport foods and other items all over the world.

10.  Save water to save money.  This is the one that will be the hardest for me, but I am willing to try.  Take shorter showers to reduce water use.  This will help cut back on water and heating bills.  For every two minutes that you take off your shower, you save 10 gallons of water.  That can add up to so much.

And here are some facts on how long it takes to biodegrade:

Brown paper bag

1 to 5 months

Cigarette butts and filters

12 years

Plastic bags, caps, and lids

Decades

Aluminum cans

2 to 5 centuries

Styrofoam cups and clam shells

Virtually forever

Now lets be honest.  Do I do all of these?  No.  But I do what I can to be aware of my surroundings and what I can fit into my everyday lifestyle to do my part in being eco- friendly.  So with that said, I hope that everybody had a fantastic Earth Day, and I hope that we can all strive to be a little "Greener".

California Here We Come

Well, it's official!  In about a week and a half I will be a "California Girl"... again.  Our new home is in Citrus Heights, CA (it is right outside of Sacramento).

This is the place we get to call home for the next 4 months.  We lived in these same apartments 3 summers ago and loved them!  They have their own washer and dryer in the apartments and that is absolutely priceless.  No scary basements for this girl to do laundry in.  YAY!!!
Where we are going to be living is so close to so much stuff.

We are about 2 hours from San Francisco.  You gotta love those fish and chips.  YUMMY!

And then we are about 3 hours from my favorite Northern Cali beach town, Santa Cruz.  Chris and I love this place.  It has so much charm.

My sight seeing goal for the summer is to make it to this place.  Yosemite National Park.  It looks stunning and is only about 3 1/2 hours away.  Not too bad.

This summer is going to be pretty hectic and crazy for both Chris and I, but I know that a few fun adventures are just around the corner for us.  It wouldn't be a summer without them.  I am so excited to get this summer started.  I have extremely high hopes and goals for AXIS Protection's first summer, and I know that the summer will not disappoint.  So wish us luck on our next adventure.  And watch out Cali...  the Burrup's are back!

Our Mini Vacation To Vegas

Chris' job presented him with a 3 day getaway to Las Vegas this weekend, and of course I had to tag along.  Although it was short and mostly job related, we still had a spectacular time.  We got to Vegas early Thursday afternoon and after we checked into our hotel room we headed straight to the "2009 International Security Conference & Exposition".  Chris and I walked into this thing thinking that it was mostly going to deal with his line of work, home monitoring.  We were so naive.  Basically, this gigantic building was filled with the newest technologies for all of your security needs.  Hundreds of companies were there displaying and demonstrating all sorts of equipment ranging from surveillance cameras, to metal detectors, to doors that only allowed access after if scanned your finger or eye, all the way to your everyday taser and rotating doors.  It was all very interesting.  There was so much to see that we spent Thursday and some of Friday there.  After we left I couldn't help but feel a little sad that such extreme security is needed.  But it was also a relief to see the amazing efforts that these people put into their work to help protect the safety and well being of everyone.  Technology is an amazing thing.  

Friday was an unbelievably cold day in Vegas.  So after we left the Expo we went to the Strip and shopped around a little.  We decided to call that an early day and besides just going to dinner we didn't do too much.

This was a one of my favorite displays in a hotel.  What you can't tell from the picture is that it looks like it is raining from the ceiling.  It was beautiful.  

Saturday on the other hand,  we crammed with as much as we could since we were leaving early the next morning.  First stop, the Stratosphere so that I could ride the rides (something that I have never done before).  Now first off I have to tell you that I am not easily scared, I mean I went sky diving without so much as a hesitation or butterfly in my stomach.  So you would think that I would be able to handle the ride called Big Shot, yeah, no problem... right?  That was so not the case.  I was not only scared I was FREAKED!  I kept telling Chris on the way up "Honey, I'm scared".  And he would look at me with confusion written all over his face and all he would say is "Really?"  So I didn't find much comfort there obviously.  So with sweaty hands and a stomach filled with butterflies I climbed into the seat to face my fears.  In the end I realized that I had nothing to fear.  The ride was absolutely amazing and completely exhilarating.  I would totally do it again.  We also went on the other two rides and they were awesome also, but neither gave you the rush like Big Shot.  

Chris and I at the top of the Stratosphere before the "RIDE".  I hide fear well if I do say so myself.

Big Shot.  The ride I conquered.

The rides Insanity

and X-Scream.

Chris and I went to Vegas under the impression that we were not going to spend much money.  Well, he remembered that I have been talking about this certain show that I wanted to see for so long and he talked me into splurging and buying tickets for us to go later that evening. Well, I was naturally elated, because I finally got to see "The Beatles LOVE Cirque Du Soleil" show.

It was by far my most favorite part of the trip.  The entire show was so visually overwhelming and artsy that it took my breathe away countless times and the fact that it was filled with some of my favorite Beatles songs only made it that much better.  It was an absolutely incredible show that swept you up into a world of fantasy and imagination and it never disappointed as it went from song to song.  Chris even enjoyed it and that is saying a lot because this usually isn't his sort of thing.  

When you first walked into the theatre this is what you walked into.  It honestly felt like you were walking through clouds.  I loved it.

So needless to say we had a great time and it was nice just getting away.