After a few month hiatus, we are BACK! Here's what has been going on...

I'm back and all settled in! Things have been CRAZY the past couple months but I couldn't be happier with where Adam and I are now.

Oh, hello there.

Here's a quick recap..

We made it to Vegas! We successfully moved [almost] all of our things to Vegas and have started our life here! Adam drove a friends parents UHAUL since they were relocating from NY to Las Vegas; WHAT ARE THE ODDS? We were able to get a lot of our things in the back of the truck!! It was PACKED but what luck!

Holy pack job..

We both got vehicles and jobs pretty quickly and are starting to look for the perfect place. We have some incredible friends who have so graciously opened their home to us [in exchange early on for some house help! haha] while we figure life out, and we couldn't feel more lucky for that.

My JUKE! I love it!

Some powerwashing fun!

Wall sanding!

Thanksgiving and Christmas were quite strange being away from friends and family. 

Thanksgiving we went to a casino buffet which was quite possibly the worst idea we have had to date. We stood in line for 3+ hours to get a seat. Why? We have no idea. We were committed by hour 1 and couldn't turn back. How was the buffet, you ask? It was a buffet. I don't even like buffets. Next year we will cook. Also noted to never go to a casino buffet on a holiday ever again. 

Christmas Eve we stayed busy. Adam and I walked around the Bellagio checking out the beautiful decorations and taking photos of what we were doing and sending them to my dad in real time. 

This guy was made all from flowers! The polar bear, too...

We then went on a Christmas Eve Jeep Run down the strip with 40+ jeeps that were DECKED OUT with decorations!! 

Awesome Jeeps!

Me & Shanda!

Merry Christmas!

Check out this video that Shanda & Adam made after we got back. It was SO MUCH FUN.

Christmas morning was spent drinking coffee and Face Timing my parents while we opened gifts that we sent each other. Apparently my dad and I had the exact same idea to get each other these scuba tank water bottles. All we could do was laugh as we opened them up. Love it!

Since the holidays, things have picked up with work and getting comfortable in our new state! I found an amazing yoga place that will become part of my daily routine now. There is nothing like starting or finishing your day with yoga. Absolutely love it. Namaste.

SCUBA! We have met an incredible instructor, Kelly, who is excited to take us through all of our trainings and continue to Instructor level. This is literally a dream come true to live somewhere where diving can be year round. I may need to get my drysuit certification sooner than later, but it's possible! Adam is in the middle of his certification and will complete it within the next few weeks- so exciting!

Scuba- pool practice at Nellis Air Force Base

What's next...

Mexico! Because the travel bug is never far when you realize how much better it is than reality! This trip though will be much different! It will include some great family time, relaxing, and two incredible incredible words: ALL INCLUSIVE. Yes. This is going to be great, as we are used to counting every cent we spent while on our trip. I will eat lots of meals and drink lots of delicious drinks at the pool bars. This trip will be the trip of relaxation [and more SCUBA diving!] and I can't wait! Also can't wait to see my parents! Woop woop!

GoPro will be in hand and hopefully we will get some amazing shots.

Adam has been continuing to update Instagram during his hikes and posting some sweet shots over there. I have started rolling with the scuba shops Instagram so make sure to check out Blue Gravity Scuba while you're on! Under both photos below will be the links to these Instagrams.

Click the link at the end to check out Adam's Instagram: @the_bautz_adventure

Click the link at the end to check out Blue Gravity Scuba's Instagram: @bluegravityscuba

Have an awesome week!! 

<3 <3 <3

East Coast Living with a West Coast State of Mind

The leaves are changing and it’s starting to get COLD! We didn’t think we would be here long enough to feel the fall weather, but part of me loves throwing a hoodie on and feeling the chill. Let me stress: part of me.

A few things have been decided since we made our west coast road trip and cross-country drive back east. Most importantly where we will be settling down; Vegas, Baby! Woo! With the locations we visited, nothing compared to the feeling we felt while in Vegas. Not only is it a great travel hub, but the outdoor lifestyle you can live while there can be year round. Hiking, mountain biking, paddle boarding, and all things outdoors can be easily done 12 months a year, which is perfect for us.

We particularly loved Summerlin and the surrounding areas near Red Rock. Our hope is to rent a house somewhere around there which would make us 20 to 30 minutes from the strip. The common misconception about Vegas is that it’s all about the strip, which is unfortunate. Las Vegas has so much to offer and the strip is such a tiny part of what it’s all about.  We are excited to make this move and can’t WAIT to finally put our feet down somewhere we can call home.

Now, WHEN are we moving? That is still up in the air. It is proving to be extremely hard to job hunt from across the country, but moving out there with nothing lined up is terrifying to me. Do we spend our time on the east coast where family and friends are [and living is free] while looking for jobs remotely OR do we head to Vegas fingers crossed in hopes of landing a job quick and being available for immediate interviews. There are pros and cons to both options right now, which is making just about EVERY decision difficult.

You think I would be better at just going with the flow after doing so while out of the country, but this is totally different to me. Employment and the employer are both extremely important to me. I love to work, and I would love to find a job that I enjoy going to every day. I don’t want to just settle for a position to have a job, but would rather find something I’m passionate about… and that’s HARD when you don’t know the area or companies to look in to. It’s the main goal I’m sure for everyone to love what he or she does, but it’s hard to find that something when you are across the country. The struggle and the STRESS are real.

Woosa…

It’s funny how certain things can hit you different ways. I find myself extremely stressed about what is going to happen not remembering how lucky I am to be healthy and living with a roof over my head while trying to figure it all out. I should not be consumed by stress related to the job hunt, but thankful I am healthy and able to go to work. 

If this Ellen episode doesn’t make you tear up and be thankful… I don’t know what will.

Now wipe your eyes and be thankful. Hug your loved ones and know that even people going through the worst things imaginable still have the strength to smile. And this is where I tell myself to ‘MAN UP’.

Let’s bring it back up with two words: TED TALK!

Boo-ya! This little lady sent in an application with some Q’s and A’s and got picked to attend the Tedx Buffalo [independently organized TED event] event on October 14. Never heard of TED Talks? Do yourself a favor and visit: www.ted.com or better yet, watch my favorite and one of the first Ted Talks Below.  

Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity 

I love listening to this talk. You may agree, you may not- but it will get you thinking. This is the point. One of my favorite parts is “Frank sent this.” HAHA It makes me laugh every time.

I am so excited to attend this event and feel very lucky I was picked to be one of the 200 who will be in attendance. This has a little something to do with staying on the east coast as well. Once I got the email that I was picked, I REALLY didn’t want to miss out!

Keeping the motivational vibe rolling… here’s another good speech.

Alan Watts- What if Money Was No Object 

So. Good. Here’s a snip:

What would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life? Well, it’s so amazing as a result of our kind of educational system, crowds of students say well, we’d like to be painters, we’d like to be poets, we’d like to be writers, but as everybody knows you can’t earn any money that way. Or another person says well, I’d like to live an out-of-doors life and ride horses. I said you want to teach in a riding school? Let’s go through with it. What do you want to do? When we finally got down to something, which the individual says he really wants to do, I will say to him, you do that and forget the money, because, if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid.

Give it a listen. It’s a shorter one but also gets you thinking. I love the message.

So as this was more of a blog rambling post than a photo update happy post, I always feel better when I write and can analyze WHY I’m feeing a certain way. This may not be as exciting, but writing this did exactly what I needed it to and for that I am thankful.

In short: Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Las Vegas, Nevada