Changes

Well I have to apologize for taking a few weeks off from the update front but my oh my have we been busy! (I think that is even an understatement) Moving with a ten month old and two dogs along with a workaholic husband who refuses to take off hardly any days from work, was definitely a chore! I must say though, we were so lucky to have a wonderful moving company and crew that did most of the hard work for us :) After a trying month of dealing with realtors, financial peeps and the bank, we were glad to finally get to close on our beautiful new home in time! Things are now coming along very nicely and we already feel more at home here in Albuquerque.

So I am sure everyone knows all the joys of moving so I will move along from that to discuss some of the changes we have noticed here in the city of Albuquerque....One of the fun parts of getting to move all over the place is getting to experience the differences in people, scenery and customs. After being here over a month now, Nick and I find ourselves sitting in the hot tub most evenings (our favorite new evening activity) and discussing the day to day happenings and those experiences we have encountered. I figured I will just go ahead and make a list of some of those fun or not so fun things we have noticed :) ( I sure hope this doesn't offend any of our new ABQ friends because I promise, we do like it here!)

1. DRIVING!!! Oh my....first off, NO ONE stops or even begins to slow down at yellow lights! So make sure if you are on the other end and a light turns green, you wait a few seconds before proceeding. You also have 2 kinds of drivers, the crazy maniacs that never follow the road rules or the retired grandma and gramps who drive like turtles....there seems to be no in between! Now traffic on the other hand, compared to DFW is a piece of cake! A traffic jam here doesn't compare one bit to what we had become used too... Oh my gosh, I almost forgot to mention...BICYCLISTS!!!! They are EVERYWHERE so you must beware!! ( I do like that people tend to lead a more active and healthy lifestyle here but I must admit, it is a bit annoying to be dodging bicyclists constantly!)

2. FOOD....would you like Red or Green Chili with that?? You get asked this at nearly every restaurant even if it is not a Mexican restaurant. Even burger joints commonly put this on their burgers so watch out...both are extremely spicy and way too hot for my liking! There are oodles of restaurants here though both chains and locals so there are lots to choose from, we do like that :)

3.TATTOOS....We have seen a definite increase in the amount of people with tattoos and I mean tattoos all over : ) This mama is even considering getting her next one here soon too!

4. HEALTHY LIFESTYLE....Nick and I both like the fact that because ABQ is so outdoor centered, there seems to be a lot more healthy individuals. There are lots of health food stores to chose from and fitness centers to join. People here seem to be in a bit better shape for the most part...

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE...Now on this one...we miss TEXAS :( Sadly it seems hardly anyone in the retail or service industry here likes their job....we have had several run in's already with quite rude individuals when asking for help from the post office to Home Depot. I guess we just got to spoiled with that Southern Hospitality in Texas where everyone was friendly and willing to help others out. Don't worry though, I can too can be rude and persistent too then if need be, lol

6. CREATURES....yes, I mean crawling, scaly, slimy ones, everywhere!! I guess this has to do with living in the desert but I have seen some insects I have never seen before in my life. Not to mention our new neighborhood park now has a rattlesnake warning in effect...eeekkk!

7. PETS...people here LOVE their pets! I have seen some very pampered pooches here and can't believe the number of pet salons and spas in this small of area. Also, there are city ordinances that don't allow most dogs in apartments because of the lack of space they need to roam. This made it very difficult for them to find us corporate housing too...

8. KID'S ACTIVITIES...this one I love!!! There are numerous parks, museums, fun centers, playrooms, etc for kids to go to. Even those as small as Nora can lead a very busy schedule with nearly daily activities. We have been lucky to try out several of them and had great experiences!!

9. WEATHER...yes it is still HOT here, it is the desert, but the good thing is...it cools off at night! Unlike Texas or even Kansas as it seems lately, as the sun goes down, it is very pleasant to be outdoors. Evening walks and dinner on the patio are very doable even in the middle of summer. There is a lack of rain of course but we were able to experience the "monsoon" season in July where it rained every single day. It would only be for a few minutes but each evening, a storm would whisk in and down would come the rain. SUN...it is so extremely bright here! I can't quite explain it but it is brighter then I have ever seen, so even days that the temperature says it's only in the 80's or 90's, it feels much hotter!!! We have learned to wear sunscreen every day and just put it on as part of our morning routine.

10. ( I felt like I needed a 10th to complete my list) VEHICLES...coming from the land of luxury automobiles (TX) where a BMW, Mercedes or Lexus were the norm, it is far from the opposite here! It is quite interesting to see even those beautiful, fancy houses here, have very used transportation. I am guessing it's because the housing market here is more expensive so people seem to spend more money on their home and less on their cars???

Disclaimer... Like I said, these are just some opinions of Nick and I :) We are enjoying it here and think it is truly a beautiful place to live and invite any of you to come out and visit!!

I hope to post again here soon with some more pictures of the new house, it is looking so great, I love it :))