Jersey Adventures

Our Jersey adventures are ending...

2009-08-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we are moving back home with only our hopes and dreams in tow. No jobs, but saying prayers every single day that things start falling into place for us. Everything happens for a reason, right? I'm a strong believer of that. We picked the week of August 24 to start making our trip back down there. Not looking forward to our 19 hour drive home with 2 cars and one cat, but our end destination is home, so it will all be worth it. Leslie and Leo are awesome and are letting us stay with them for a little while. We just appreciate that more than you know. Well, I definitely didn't think we would be here for less than a year. Moving up here, we thought we would be here for about 2 years. Oh the drive up here! After driving 19 hours, one $300 speeding ticket, and helping with CPR on a person on the side of the interstate, we made it to New Jersey. Right when Cam said, "Take a right up here. Our apartment is on this street", I just started bawling! I just wanted to be back home with everything and everyone I was familiar with. Everyday was another day of crying, regret and anger. I was pretty bad off for a couple of months. If I talked to you, you heard how horrible everything was. ha ha Not sure how I made it, but I did. And now, it's coming to an end. I just looked back on all the pictures from our time here. There were a lot of good times. We met some great people, saw so many momumental and amazing places, and explored places that I never thought I would see. Looking back, I am so glad that I was able to tough it out and step out of my comfort zone in order expand my horizons. I have experienced it, learned from it, and can say that I have lived in another state, which is something I never thought I would or could ever do. I am going to miss the beautiful weather, being so close to NYC and other unique places, the friends I have made, and of course Wegmans (That store is awesome!). ha ha I know everyone is gonna be so happy to not hear me bitch anymore about missing home, but I'll be happy to not feel like bitching anymore, too. It hasn't been as bad as I made it seem. I just am so close to my family and friends and it took me a very long time to adjust to being so far away. Of course I would start getting used to being up here when we are planning to move home. I guess that's just how it goes. We're going to keep praying that we find careers that we love in Baton Rouge and begin the process of starting over AGAIN! ha ha "Live, laugh, love"

Just some stuff

2009-06-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile since I have written in here, but why not add something now? Cam and I are just hanging out watching tv. We went to see "The Taking of Pelham 123". Pretty good movie. We enjoyed. Also watched "Taken" last night, and that was pretty good, too. Yea, we watch a lot of movies. I know. :) So Friday we went to Six Flags. Our first ride was Superman, where you start out sitting down and then before you take off, they flip your seat so u are facing the ground, mimicking flying like Superman. It was a pretty good ride, but then it comes to the part where we get over the platform and they are supposed to slowly bring you to where you get off the ride, we stopped. A few minutes go by and we are all just hanging there, we see a few workers walk past us, a few more, and then a guy comes to us to let us know that they will get us down soon, but some dumbass guy jumped the fence to try to get in free and they had to make sure he wasn't near the tracks. We hung there for about 5-7 minutes and the funny thing is, the girl in front of us let us go before her cuz she was waiting on her friends. We laughed. We went on every one of the big rides except the scariest one of all. I was way too chicken. It's this rollercoaster ride that is shaped like an upside down U. You start going straight up and then straight down. It goes up to 128 miles an hour in 3 seconds or something like that. I couldn't do it. I went on all the other rides even though I was so dizzy. Motion sickness comes very easy to me. Thanks mom. ha ha But we had a lot of fun.
I'm super excited because I'm coming home on Thursday!!! I have so much stuff planned already. I am just so excited about seeing everyone. Cam comes home the next Wednesday and we are heading to the beach the next day. YAY for the beach, friends and family.
Well, other than job hunting for something at home, not much else has been going on. Keep ya'll posted when stuff happens.

Our day at the aquarium

2009-02-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Still can't get over the snow

2009-02-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

I know ya'll have seen snow, been in it and have taken your own pics, but I still love it. It snowed ALL day yesterday and last night. It is just so pretty. Here are some pics from our balcony. I want to go play in it so bad, but don't have anyone to go with. :( Cam is working and if I go by myself I'm gonna look like an idiot, because I have not seen one person playing in it. They really don't understand what it's like to never have snow like us Louisianaians. ha ha

So when Cam came home from work, he said we could go to Cooper River and play in the snow. He made my day!!

I guess playing in the snow wore him out.

Snowy night!

2009-01-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

After getting some drinks and hanging out, Erica and I decided it was time to play in the snow. So much fun.

Scary smoke:

NYC Trip #1

2009-01-26T19:15:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Erica, (pictured below: eating her first Philly Cheese Steak)

is here visiting this week. It is so great to have her here. Well, we went to New York yesterday and had quite an adventure. We drove

about an hour and twenty minutes (btw I have my own city)

to Liberty State Park

and took a Ferry to Ellis Island

and the Statue of Liberty

After we did the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty thing, we took our last ferry to NYC. First stop, Ground zero. It was just so surreal. It put it all in perspective.

After eating some calzones in a place right by Ground Zero (which gave me heartburn. How old am I?) we headed to Times Square. We caught our first cab, where we found out our cab driver was a self proclaimed philosopher. He parked the car when we got to Times Square and continued to preach to us as we were drooling over the sites of Times Square through the cab windows. FINALLY, he stopped preaching and we jumped out at the first chance we got. Time Square, here we come

Here is a piece of the WTC.

So around 5:00pm we all decided that we would head back to Liberty State Park where we parked and took the ferry. We still had about an hour and twenty minutes left to drive home. We took a taxi from Times Square and made it to Battery Park to catch a water taxi back to Liberty State Park. We had all this planned out the night before. Erica called to get info about getting a taxi home, but they failed to tell her about their Sunday hours, which meant no taxi after 5pm. So we asked a cop where we could go and he sent us to Pier 11, which was about a twenty minute walk. So we began our walk and finally made it and we saw taxis going to Liberty Harbor. So we sit and wait for a taxi to come and when it did the guy said a place that was definitely not Liberty State Park. I went out and asked him which taxi would take us to New Jersey. When I heard his answer, I didn't wanna go back in and tell Cam and Erica what he said. He told me that none of their taxis went there and that people always mistake them for taxis that go to N.J. After he finished telling me this bad news, I saw Erica and Cam walk out and they automatically knew we weren't in the right place. We went and woke the security guard up to ask him where we needed to go and he told us to go back to Battery Park and get a water taxi. We told him that that is where we just came from and they sent us here. So then he said we needed to go on a subway and ask someone how to get to 34th and Penn. So we walked like four blocks to the subway and the man told us we might as well walk to another station and take a train. Off we were again walking in the 25 degree weather to another station. Once we found one, we went down there and looked for someone to ask, but instead we got a map. Didn't help us one bit. We asked random people all over, but every answer was different. We walked to another subway and Erica saw a sign that said Jersey City. So we figured what the hell and bought a metro card. When we got back to the sign that Erica saw, I noticed it said "Jersey City Ferry". We already knew the ferries weren't running. Not knowing what in the heck to do, we all sat on a bench until Cam said, "Screw it, let's just get on and see where it takes us." So we jumped on the train and were just so lucky to be sitting next to a guy who was sound asleep snoring away. No clue how he stayed asleep with as loud as that subway was. Miraculously, we stopped at 34th and Penn. We all jumped off and just stood there looking around thinking where now? A man saw us all looking like we were in a foreign place and said, "Ok where do ya'll need to go?" We told him and he was very specific about where to go and what we need to look for. Well, we go to where he told us to go and we stood in line for a train ticket. When we got to the front of the line, we told her where we needed to go and I just knew by her face that we were in the wrong place. Then she says, "Oh you can't get there from here, you have to go to the other station and get a ticket from there." We all looked at each other and just laughed, well me and Erica did, Cam didn't find it so humourous. Off we went and found the next station. Once again we stood in line, asked where to go and were of course told we were in the wrong place. We needed to find another station. We found one and bought another metro ticket and jumped on. We really had no clue where we were gonna wind up, but we had the smallest sign to follow. There was a picture from like the 1940's with a sign in the picture that said Hoboken/Jersey City. Cam made the decision that we were going to get off at Hoboken because the sign said it was by Jersey City. We made it to Hoboken. We got off and were lucky to have the conductor hanging out of his window. Who else would be able to give us the right directions? He started off by saying, "Well, you need to go up those stairs and take..." Then he says, "Ok, well since ya'll paid to get down on here already, just get on here, get off at Grove, get on the other subway to go toward WTC then go toward Exchange Place. (Or something like that) We made a lot of guesses along the way and finally made it to Exchange Place, which was very close to Liberty State Park according to the map. Once we made it to Jersey we just started walking, cuz what else was there to do. We walked and walked and finally could see our car in the far distance. One lil problem though, there was a body of water between us and the car. We found some guy outside (it was a ghost town!) and he said, "Oh yea, it's about 4 or 5 miles to Liberty State Park." By this time we had been on our feet for over 12 hours and of that time, 3 of those hours we spent lost. Erica and I couldn't help but laugh as Cam stayed his stern self. We went into an apartment complex and surprisingly there was a guy who let us in. He told us that we need to catch a train and we would make it there. Here we went looking for another train. Found one, jumped on and made it to Liberty State Park, but no car in site. We then found a security guard who told us we were the 3rd group of people who were looking for our car. He sent us down a dark road where we walked for about another mile and evenutally we found the CAR!!!!!!! Needless to say, we slept like babies that night.

I know this blog is long, but it was a long night, but so much fun!!

Snow!!

2009-01-15T09:47:00.001-08:00

I know ya'll had a lot more snow at home, but just wanted to share with ya'll.

So Cam gets home from work and takes off his suit and is left with his long johns on. Well, yesterday he was doing some work on the computer and I looked over and busted out laughing. He went out to his car like this and stayed like it:

Long johns tucked in the socks cuz they are too short. Flip flops with socks and big coat on. There are so many things wrong with this outfit. HA HA Gotta love him.

Presents!!!

2009-01-13T12:39:00.001-08:00

Here are all the new updates to our apartment thanks to all of our Christmas presents. I'm using our crock pot today to cook a yummy roast.

We're back

2009-01-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been some time since I wrote some stuff. Well, that's cuz not much has gone on. So an update on Meadow's potty training. I can sum it up in one word....Finished! And not finished as in all she needs to do now is flush the toilet. Finished as in I have cleaned up too much pee and poop on the floor to continue on with the process. The last straw was actually kind of funny. When she jumps off the toilet she kicks some litter out onto the floor. She then pushed that litter, which was about 10 little pieces, into a pile and proceeded to pee and poo on that. Needless to say, that little bit of litter failed to soak up anything. Well, after cleaning the rugs, her towel, and the floor more than the toilet litter box, I was done. She is now a happy lil camper with her long lost friend back...the litter BOX. ha ha I know she is too old to grasp the concept, but I would have always wondered if it could have happened. Now we know.
My birthday was this past Wednesday. It was just another day. Cam worked, I sat home and we went and got sushi that night. I guess it's true what they say...the older you get, the less special your birthdays become. I did, however, get many birthday wishes, cards and gifts, for which I am truly grateful. Thank you again to everyone for the birthday wishes.
Cam and I have a lot to look forward to. My cousin Erica is coming to visit at the end of this month. (Less than 2 weeks!!!) Then, my friends Kelly and Jenn are coming at the end of Feb.. Leo and Leslie are coming the end of March and my mom is coming at the end of April. Cam just talked to Carla, and she said they are looking into coming too. I am so excited. All these guests show just how blessed we are to have such great friends and family.
Well, tomorrow I am on a mission. My mission is to find a job. I'm in a kinda weird situation though. I don't want to get a job and then have to work the whole time everyone comes to visit, so I'm cautious about where I work. I want them to understand our situation and work with me, but I also don't want to be that employee who takes off of work every other week. We shall see what these places that I have written down say.
I asked Cam if he wanted to say anything in the blog. He said, "Tell everyone I'm gonna look shredded the next time they see me." We are getting back in the gym, cuz he is getting ready for Leo's Bachelor Party, which is a cruise. He also said I was taking good care of him. Cooking good meals and cleaning the apartment. I have been on a cooking trip. Using the cookbooks we got for Christmas. I'm learning different things, slowly but surely. Cam is taking good care of me, too. He has a lot to deal with when it comes to me, cuz I have been so homesick the past week. Knowing that I have no plane ticket home scheduled, pretty much makes me even more homesick. I miss you guys a lot! I'm gonna stop talking about home, before the tears come. Anyway...
I have been doing some Mary Kay. Attending my meetings and going to retirement communities. It has just been really hard for me, because as outgoing as I am, it is really hard for me to talk about Mary Kay to people. It's hard to explain.
I am going to take some pictures of the apartment and the new decorations that we have thanks to our Christmas presents. I want ya'll to see what ya'll helped us get. The only things that we have left to get are a kitchen table (which we have picked out), shower curtain for the guest bath and a brown comforter for our bed (also has been picked out). Those things will come in time. Well, I'm off to hang out. I'll post some pics later.

Christmas Time

2009-01-07T10:28:00.001-08:00

Sorry it's just pics. Don't feel like really typing anything right now. Maybe later.

Trip to the past

2008-12-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

Today Cam and I went to see some historical sights in Philadelphia. It was freezing, but we still had a good time. Here are some pictures:

Independence Hall

Cam and I at The Liberty Bell

I can hear home (LA) calling

2008-12-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

I decided to wait to post a blog about last night and today until I calmed down a lil bit. It is official, the worst drivers in the world are here in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is a good thing I don't carry a weapon in my car, because I would have had to use it today. I went to Pennsylvania today by myself for the first time. I had an appointment with a Retirement Community there for a Mary Kay demonstration. (more on the later) Apparently it is ok to cut people off and make a left turn from the middle lane, almost side swipe me like 50 times even when I honk, and then continue to come into my lane. I really hated driving in PA, can't you tell? So I made it to the Retirement Community, thanks to my GPS, and proceeded to search for a close parking spot cuz my feet were killing me in my heels and I had a lot of stuff to carry. No such luck. I walked up and down the hill with products, which I failed to sale. So I set up my little table and did a few demonstrations and then a lovely ray of sunshine graced me with her presence. I explained to this little elderly lady what products I would use on her hands, etc. and she says with sarcastic tone, "Wow, that is so exciting, I think I might puke." I just looked at her and thinking to myself, 'I refuse to ever be that bitter.' (Well, I'm bitter when it comes to driving around here, but whatever) Well, eventually she let me use the Satin Hands on her hands and her attitude faded, but that might be cuz I gave her one back. Another lady had me figure out how old she was cuz she couldn't remember and needed to find out. After I told her she was 90 years old, she said "Ha I'm still a hot bitch for being 90 years old." We got along great. She even hugged me goodbye. Well, I didn't sell anything, drove in hell, dealt with cranky ladies, but I made it home and soon or a later I will see the good in today. I'll let ya know when I do.

Last night was a lot of fun. I went with Cam and his boss and another rep to a Christmas party that they were throwing for one of their docs. Good company, good food and good beer, so it was a good night. Tomorrow I have another appointment with a Retirement Community I already visited. Saying a prayer that it goes better than today.

Cam is enjoying his job. He loves the flexibility and he looks so handsome and professional when he is all ready for work. :) Maybe one day he will write a blog about all he does at work.

Here is a video of our progress with Meadow's potty training. There is a litter box in the toilet that has very little litter left in it. I have been taking some out everyday. She has a problem with standing on the rim to go. Right now she stands in the toilet, but soon or a later there will be water in there. Hope she keeps using it. At the end, it looks like she is sitting there, but she is really peeing. Here is the video:

Sorry ladies, he's taken

2008-12-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm a nerd. I wanted to get a picture of Cam on his first (well first day that I'm actually here when he goes to work) day of work. He was looking too handsome to not take a picture.

It's beginning to a lot like Christmas

2008-12-14T18:09:00.001-08:00

Well after getting lost like four times, we went and got a GPS for my car. The driving around here is ridiculous. Pretty excited about it. So, now I can start driving more. I already have three places to go within the next two days. All Mary Kay stuff!!! Cam starts going to see all his docs again tmr. Slinging drugs, slinging drugs.

So tonight we found probably the biggest Christmas Tree ever and took a bunch of pics. Here they all are:

This is random, but it is to show everyone that I forced myself to cut an onion. I always use onion powder, but I'm trying to cook a lot better. Cam taught me that if you light a candle while you cut it burns off the acid that makes your eyes hurt. So this is me actually cutting an onion to go in our hamburgers. Ok, so he did help me some. My eyes are sensitive!!

Cam's Home!!!!

2008-12-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Cam came home this morning at like 7:30am. When I got out of bed, he had roses sitting there for me. He wanted to say thank you for making our apartment a home. He is the greatest.

Also, I am kicking my Mary Kay business up a knotch. I have two appointments set already set up and a new customer. So excited to get started!!

Well, I HAVE to go get some sushi before I fall over and die. :)

Kelli made me do it

2008-12-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

So Kelli suggested that I should start writing blogs to let everyone know how New Jersey is going for Cam and I. So far it's pretty boring. Cam has been in training for the past two weeks, so I have been making our apartment a home. Once we get the painting finished, I'll post some pictures of it. We already experienced some snow, but it was nothing compared to what ya'll got at home. I'm sure we will have more to come.

Well, we haven't been to too many places, yet. Mostly just Home Depot, Wegmanns, Target and Walmart. Ha ha We were talking about going to New York City next weekend to see the sights. Definitely looking forward to that.

We are coming home for Christmas on Dec. 24 til the 30. Yay for seeing everyone!

Here are some pics of the snow, Cam's new car and a few of our apartment. Oh and yea, I'm trying to potty train Meadow, my cat. I'll let ya know how that goes. ha ha