New Job and a what better way to celebrate!

I started a new job a couple weeks ago. I am finally in the field I have wanted to work in since I graduated 2 years ago! I work for a study abroad office in Phoenix :) It is a very prominent international institution sending thousands of student abroad all over the world each year. And the big perk is the office is only 15 minutes away from my house! I cannot tell you how much of a life change this is... an improvement I should say :)

I work as an admissions counselor for the study abroad program, helping people choose and enroll in the program of their choice. Whether they wish to study Italian in Rome or Art History in Paris or International Business in Barcelona, I help them dream of a life abroad! So much fun!

Granted it is my first week, but I know I will really like it!

I ended up with a few days off between switching jobs and so how else would I celebrate a new job? ... um... DISNEYLAND!

Ready to go in the park!

A glorious site :)

It truly is springtime!! gorgeous garden roses on Main Street!

Favorite tree in the whole park!

DREAM COME TRUE!! Actually not to finally sit on one of the porches along Main Street and people watch! Love this spot :)

Aaron was not pleased with how wet he got on Splash Mountain! First time on the ride and he was right in the front... poor guy :( Luckily the weather was warm, so he eventually got dry again

New Princess Fantasy Fair area :) A little Tangled in the park now!

Redwood trail! 

It will probably be a little while before we are able to make it back to our favorite place, so I am glad we got those two days in the warmth and sunshine to enjoy the park!

Wedded Bliss Part 1...

DON'T WORRY!!! I will not be breaking down each week of marriage by week, but the first week of marriage was particularly eventful, so I wanted to share a few fun details about our first week of wedded bliss.

Lets start with our awesome wedding night hotel!!! I am a travel agent in an international programs office (no, I can't help you plan you vacation to the Bahamas, or find you hotels in Southern California for cheap... I work in an international programs office, so unless you are studying abroad with one of the universities we work with, I can't do much for you...), and every so often I find some pretty sweet agent discounts. It is rare and most of the time I can find an equally go deal for the general public on Trip Advisor or Kayak. I wanted to take a chance for our wedding night accommodations and low and behold, I found it!! Note: I have checked a couple times since November and have not found this deal at all since!

Aaron and I got to stay at the Royal Palms hotel for the night for 85% off!!!!

The Royal Palm hotel is one of the fanciest hotels in Arizona, nestled at the base of the iconic Camelback Mt. It boasts to be the most romantic hotel in the Valley. So gorgeous! What a treat! It was such a sweet gift for us and something we never expected. With the low cost, Aaron's parents paid for it as a gift.

So as Aaron and I drove away from our wedding, we drove to the Royal Palm hotel, gave our car keys and baggage to the valet and walked into the lobby. It has been a dream of mine to walk into a public place with my wedding dress... to have people stop and stare and know that we just got married. I think it is because I love when a see a bride and groom at a hotel or Disneyland or around town taking their wedding pictures... it just makes me so happy to know this is a magical day for them. So walking through the Royal Palm lobby was everything I wanted. People congratulated us and asked us how the party was. So fun!

We got to our room, which was an upgrade from what we booked. They put us in a private room in the back of the property. Very secluded and romantic. The back patio opened up to have the most gorgeous view of Camelback (however, we couldn't see it till morning).

"Have you met my wife, Miranda Mertz?" - Aaron posted this on facebook just moments after we arrived at the hotel

Just moments after getting to the hotel room, there was a knock at the door and Carl (our booking agent) had sent over a platter of chocolate and fruit with champagne!

Thanks Carl!

There was a fireplace in the room too... and although it was probably 67 degrees outside at the time, we turned the AC up to make the room chilly, so we could use the fireplace - hey, we aren't paying the power bill :)

The next morning we woke up early and ordered room service to eat on the patio. It was such a yummy breakfast and after a week or pre-wedding nerves, my appetite was coming back and I was starving! We walked out onto the patio and this is what we saw...

Seriously Phoenix! With all it's heat and desert and brownness... there are moments when we get a glimpse of majesty and beauty! Good job Camelback Mountain! Way to look awesome for my first day as Mrs. Mertz!

We requested late check out, so after an early breakfast, some relaxing and a nap, we left in the late afternoon to head home. Both of us were so ready to be at OUR HOUSE! To go home for the first time TOGETHER to the SAME PLACE! After living 45 minutes away from each other for our entire dating relationship, this was a definite highlight so far of being married!

When we walked it another joyful sight met us...

GIFTS!!!!

All our lovely wedding gifts filling our guest room to the brim! We immediately opened all of them! Just the two of us... husband and wife... opening the beautiful things people gave us for our new home! It was so much fun to be in our house, with Aaron... my husband ;)


We had monday off of work and so we spent the morning around the house and then Aaron and I went to pick up Carla from Elisabeth's house (my old house) and bring her back to spend the afternoon with us before her flight back to London. We ended up taking her to Chelsea's Kitchen at Sky Harbor Airport for dinner (I love that the airport opened up some awesome restaurants!)

So hard to say goodbye!! She was here for a whole week and kept me sane leading up to the wedding. What a blessing it was to have her with us in all the celebrating :) Love her so much!



The next day Aaron and I went back to work... and then things got interesting! Aaron went home early on Tuesday with a horrible cold... and by Wednesday night I also was righteously ill! Seriously I have never felt that miserable in a long time... chills, aches, weakness, fever, runny nose - the worst cold! I was glad to have a companion to be sick with, but I was sad we were both so miserably awful. We also had our Disneyland weekend honeymoon scheduled for that Friday through Sunday and I was so worried I wouldn't be better in time. I went to bed praying my fever would break during the night and finally at 5:30a my fever broke and I was so thankful! Disneyland plans were not be thwarted!

In the words of my brother Shawn, "Disneyland IS the cure."

work work work...

Oh my gosh... I don't know how I am going to make it through the rest of the week. I know it is already thursday and so the week is almost done, but I don't remember the last time I was this tired or this sleep deprived. It isn't even like I have been sleeping so little, but because my sleep pattern has been thrown off and I have been forced to wake up earlier than I have in a long time, for the entire week, I think my body is giving out on me. I am definitely going to be sick soon... :(

Aside from the sleep pattern distruptions I have been good this week. I think I am going to like my job... although all I know of it right now is the data entry and knowledge portion of it. We are learning the booking system and basically about the products offered in each country. But I am feeling nervous about actually speaking to customers and I am interested to know how difficult or easy it is to sell them these products. I guess that is what the rest of training is for until the end of the month.

I have come to terms with the fact that although I will have a lot of discounts and opportunities to be rewarded with travel, I will be spending most of my time in a cubicle talking to people about their travel... which will be both exciting and depressing...

But I am feeling confident that I will get the hang of it eventually and this will be a great company to work for and stay with long term. I am really really really liking it! (But of course I like sleep a little better right now - hopefully they will even themselves out and work together to make a happy life).
Oh and the lady in charge of the international programs department, who interviewed me a month before getting this job in the general sales department, told me she was still wanting to eventually steal me for a position in their department. I would LOVE that! They work mainly with study abroad students and work abroad programs. I think I would fit really well there... so maybe later this year or next I'll get to transfer.

Alright... back to training.

New Job...

I start my new job today! Very excited and very nervous to begin this new endeavor. STA is an amazing company that books travel for anyone and everyone, but they especially cater to college students and young adults who are looking for Spring Break trips in Europe, service projects over seas, Eurail passes, hostel bookings, summer internship programs and study abroad opportunities. I used them when I studied in England and loved their company. I am so excited to be working for them!

I also love this new opportunity because I no longer fear the dreaded question - "What will you be doing with your history degree after you graduate in May?"

I'll hopefully be doing this!!

I feel very blessed and fortunate...

Travel Blog...

Alright people... this is going to be a new beginning to my blog!

I am passionate about travel, and for those of you who have been following me for a while know that I have traveled a lot in the past and it would seem it was during that time that you most enjoyed reading my blog. In all honestly it was more entertaining and interesting then. I apologize for my whiney blog entries about homework and being in the ASU library... that won't happen anymore. Mainly because hopefully I won't be in the library that much anymore...

I want to use this blog as an outlet for me to discuss what I am excited about and what I love. I also thought that since I just got an awesome job at STA Travel as a Travel Agent, I am going to be living and breathing travel for 40 hours a week... therefore I should impart my experiences in written form and in relationship to travel.

Travel, journey, adventure, inspiration, courage, sweetness, lovely... those are all things I think of when I  think of travel. They are all the things I felt and experienced and LOVED about traveling in the past. I want to live in that moment and those experiences every day... therefore, even everyday life can be an adventure... traveling and journeying through life takes courage, inspiration, and has many moments of despair and hardship, but also amazing moments of sweetness and loveliness.

So that is what this blog is about... my life... as a tourist for everything...