My LOVE/HATE relationship with Arizona

When I was first searching profiles on an LDS singles network after my divorce, I only searched locally...because

I.

DID.

NOT.

WANT.

TO.

MOVE!

I LOVED Liberty, Missouri. I loved my friends, my job, my ward, the kids school, my neighborhood, and even my little townhouse. 

BUT, there were slim pickings with the local boys!

So, I broadened my geographical search, but got more picky and tightened my search criteria for the men.

When I came across Brandon, and I saw he lived in Arizona I almost quickly dismissed him, but I then I remember thinking, 'as if anything will come of this.' I wasn't trying to be pestimissmistic, but who really finds there soulmate and their eternal companion online?? Well, I did.

Within weeks we were madly in love...yeah, we feel hard and quick.

When the topic of marriage came up...so did the topic of moving to Arizona. It really was more logical for me to move here, than for Brandon to move to Missouri. He had a great job that he had been at for 8+ years, he had a house, a rental house...moving for him would be much harder! I was only in a lease, not a mortgage. My job was part-time and I had only been there one month when we got engaged.

So, Arizona, here we come!

After being here 7 months, these are a few of the things I have noticed and that I either LOVE or HATE about being here...

the HATE list

*It gets so hot here in the summer that the large water tanks that are above ground heat your water of course. So what does this mean? For about 4 months of the year, you can't get cold water from your tap! It comes out of the tap steaming hot instead. Nice.

*The sand storms. I HATE THEM!! They are these HUGE, giant storms that blow sand. You can't even see the house across the street, and is covers your car, and everything outside in a nasty sand film.

*It's brown here! The only things here that are green here, is my yard, and the entrances into the housing editions.

*In the summer everyone keeps the house dark to keep it from getting too hot and your electric bill getting too high. That means that for several months of the year, I can't open any blinds and let the sunshine in!

*It's sunny everyday...boring! (although this is also on the LOVE list)

the LOVE list

*It's sunny everyday. The good thing about this is that you can plan parties, and picnics and not worry about getting rained out. The weather is very predicable. Sunny everyday.

*The winter is heavenly. I can still wear flip flops, and it's jeans and t-shirt weather everyday. That means no shoveling snow!!

*All the highways and shopping centers are so clean and so well kept. No pot holes. No trash on the sides of the highway, and no roadkill. I literally have never seen such a clean city.

*The large number of LDS people. They are building a third temple here in the valley, and just in our city there are 8 stakes!! There is a brand new beautiful ward building every mile, and each building has 3-4 wards in it. I LOVE it! It's doesn't have the 'keeping up with the Jones's' mentality. Everyone is just really easy going. Happy with where they are in life, and happy with where they are going.

*We are close to a lot of fun family vacation spots. We are 6 hours to Vegas (Hoover Dam), 5 hours to the Grand Canyon, 5 hours to San Diego, and 6-7 hours to Disneyland in Cali. All less than a days drive away.

*Having my parents just two blocks away...it's a heavenly perk!

I am sure this list will continue to grow the longer I live here, and hopefully I will remember to come back and add more. But, really, I just hope that the LOVE list gets bigger and the HATE list doesn't.

Our home sweet home.