Halloween/Boyfriend

I have returned to Greeley Colorado and it hasn't changed. Still the cute small, poo smelling town that I left. LOL. The nice new perk though is that I have a boyfriend now named Brad Douglas Bertoch and he's fantastic! Let me start from the beginning.

I returned about a week early so that I could settle back in and get ready to head down to New Mexico with my mom. My first Monday back though I had decided to stop in at FHE to see some friends and catch up a little. Well I walk in and see my friend Becky who is engaged to Bo Bertoch. I see his brother (not knowing who he is) playing with Bo's son Brady. So I walk over and hug Becky and catch up a little then I turn to Brad and introduce myself. We said hello and established that he's Bo's older brother of 25 years of age that I'm Natalie 20 years of age and friends with Becky. We keep talking and hit it off really well. After FHE I call up Becky trying to figure out all I can about him from her and tell her we should go on a double date. So Becky hooks me up and we all go out bowling on tuesday night! (turns out that he wanted to go out on double with me as well. I found out later from Becky. hahah) Bowling went really well. We got to talk a little bit and then went and all got Ben & Jerry's and watched Transformers over at Becky's place. He drove me home instead of Becky! Wednesday he called me up and invited me to a concert over in Fort Collins, CO to see a band called The Bridge. Of course I said yes. As we were driving I asked him again who the band was that we were going to see because I had forgotten when he called. (a little too distracted by the fact that he called!) He said "The Bridge". I was stunned, shocked and out of place. This band was the band that lived in the apartment above our local office in Maryland over the summer!!! How random is that!? I was floored. I said, there's no way that this is the band! They were really cool guys! I myself have talked to them frequently when they were coming in and out of the apartment just to get to know our neighbors a little bit better. They gave me one of their CD's. Brad couldn't believe that I knew them. After their performance I went up and talked to them and they were shocked to see me as well. It was a great date! haha. Then Thursday night we went out again to a corn maze. It was a blast as well. Got scared and got lost. It was great! Then Friday morning mom and I headed down to New Mexico.
It was a good 7 1/2 hour trip down there and it was so worth it. I got to see my cute little nieces and play with them a lot and also catch up with my brother Brian and sister in law Brandy. It was way awesome. Brandy is now pregnant and I'm rooting for a boy! They have 3 beautiful girls already and I think they need more man in the house. Even it out a little.
Makenna, Morgan and Madison dressed up to go trick or treating. Makenna=The Cat in the Hat Morgan=Thing One Madison=Thing Two. Me and Willow(the dog) dressed up too! I was a safari chic and willow was a Lion. It was adorable. Every Morning the girls would wake up eat breakfast and then get intheir dress-up's. Mom and I got pampered and got spa treatments. It was so nice and so fun. Oh how i do miss those little girls.
It was a nice retreat. Mom and I were there for a week.
We came back on friday and that same friday Brad and his dad went hunting for a week so I didn't get to talk to him or see him for 2 weeks in a row. While I was in NM we would text and talk to each other frequently on the phone. We got to know each other a lot more. After another week of not seeing him he came back and I've seen him every day since he got back! Which was the 9th. We have been girlfriend and boyfriend since the 12th. We've seen each other on every day since the 9th....2 weeks strait! It's been great!!! I'm super happy and I love his family and he loves mine. We went on a date up to Estes Park Yesterday and it was awesome. So beautiful!
Well that's my update so far and If ya'll have any questions or anything you can leave a comment or e-mail me. Love you all.

Bellport, New York aka Long Island

I haven’t written anything since I have relocated to Long Island NewYork and it’s pathetic. I’m sorry. I’m not going to make this long because I know most of you don’t have the time and because frankly, I don’t want to type a novel. LOL. And here we begin.

I arrived in New York Long Island very early in the morning on August the 29th. I got to my apartment and crashed, in a nice made-up bed that Gwen put together for me, at around 330-4 AM. My old manager Justin Erekson and I unloaded the U-HAUL and started unpacking. I hauled my things across the street to my town home and unpacked everything within a couple hours. Time went on and I started catching onto Reps names and Techs names. It took me a couple weeks before I really got the jist of everyone’s names.

I found a group of people that included some of the guys that I worked with in Baltimore to hang out with and chill on the weekends. There was Nicky and his wife (now ex wife. Long story, don’t ask) Tiffany/Tiff/Sissy. And Rufus, Devin, Jason, Poeut, KK/Kal/Kalpesh, Darren and Stan. These are pretty awesome guys and way more fun to chill with than married couples. Haha. Although I do miss the married couples. Poeut, Darren and Stan are Asian and they make rockin food! Well Poeut does anyway. Stan is one of our technicians and he’s amazing!

Since I’ve been in Bellport Long Island I’ve hung out with all these people and gotten to know them as good friends. We have gone out dancing, bowling, movies, D&B’s, to Manhattan, causing mischief around the neighborhood. We’re a crazy bunch of people. We’ve all had a blast hanging out with each other and creating inside jokes and creating memories we will always remember.

There is another group of people I like to chill with and watch football with or play games or watch them play poker and loose. Haha. There is Steve, Darren Cook, Mike Thomas, Nick, Dylan, Jared, Jordan, Nick Rothacher, Kyle, Paul Hanson and Kendall. This is a diverse group of Techs and Reps. They’re all goofballs and are far too amusing for my own good. I’m going to miss those crazy guys.

Working with Gwen Allen has been awesome. She’s a great colleague and an amazingly hard worker. She’s really fun to talk to and get advice from of all sorts of things. Plus she reads the newspaper online so I get my random daily facts from her. Like people trying to ban Cupcakes because of children’s illnesses. Who does that!?!?!? The law wasn’t passed just so you know.

This summer has been very interesting and one to remember. It didn’t go according to my plan what-so-ever! But that’s the joy of life and the path that you take to lead you where you’re supposed to go. I’ve posted some pictures of my adventures here in New York. ENJOY!

I will talk to ya’ll when I get back to CO.

My Second Trip To New York City

Continued.... Yes ladies and gentleman I have yet again ventured to New York again. This time I had the pleasure of taking Saturday off so I could have more time to spend in the city and hanging out with Tony. I also had the pleasure of traveling with one of our Technicians, Michael Tester. I was talking about going to New York 3 weeks prior to going and he wanted to go as well so we both bought bus tickets to travel up there. It was kinda nice to have company and not go by myself. Mike is a pretty cool guy. Tony actually recruited him as well from Ball State in Indiana. Mike and his friend Tyler are both in my office here in Baltimore but were Tony's Techs. Tony had too may Technicians so they got transferred. Small world.
We left Friday night of July 20Th at 9:45 pm and we almost missed our bus because we couldn't find the darn thing. lol. But we found it and made it safely on the bus and made a nice 3 1/2 hour trip to New York. It wasn't a half bad ride. I had my portable DVD player and we watched Pirates of the Caribbean - The Dead Mans Chest, well part of it, then the battery died on us so we couldn't finish watching it. Oh well. (DVD player was given to me by one of our Technicians that left and didn't want it anymore. yay for me! For those of you who were wondering) But we made it to Manhattan and Tony picked us up and we went back to his apartment complex.
Saturday morning rolled around and Tony went to work while Mike and I got to relax, breath finally, and watch TV for the fist time in months! It was stellar. Mike and I decided to venture off and go to the mall. I bought a really cute brown leather purse for only $10 at a store in the mall that sells items made/designed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Her line is called Bitten. I can't remember the name of the store though. But it was amazing. Everything had a designated price. Purses were 10-sunglasses were 10- leather flip flops were 6-headbands were-4 etc. There was no price change everything/every style had their own price. It rocked. I loved it. Then Tony came home from work and we headed to another mall to get a Yankees hat and a shirt for Tony and a hat for me. Then we took the Subway to the Yankees Stadium. It was rockin.
It was Mike's first time traveling on the subway so of course we documented it. We got to the game and had an amazing time. We had a hot dog which is freaking amazing because it was from New York/Yankees Stadium. They have the best hot dogs I've ever had. After the game we took the subway back home and hit the hay so we could wake up and go downtown to have some more fun.
After a good nights rest we woke up and headed to town. Our first stop, The Statue of Liberty. She was amazing. There was a ferry that passes right by it from Manhattan to Staten Island that is free of charge. So we hopped on and took pictures. In order to actually go to Liberty Island you have to buy tickets in advance and they cost lots of moneys. We went the free way and got some great pictures taken. After seeing our lady in all her glory we headed over to the Twin Towers Memorial. It was def a sight to see. Basically it looked like a construction sight. IT was all fenced off and they had a Memorial set up for all of those who were lost. Then our next stop was the Bull! And what a pretty bull. After taking a picture with him we headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge and took some pictures of that as we passed by. We couldn't stop because we would have been doing it illegally but i got some good shots anyway. After that we headed to Times Square to go eat lunch at Planet Hollywood. Very Pricey but good food and an awesome atmosphere!
On our adventures around town we did Take a cab ride twice which was also Mikes first time doing that. We had passed by China Town but not long enough to stop and take pictures or soak it all in.
After we ate we headed back to the car and Tony dropped us off at our bus stop across from Macy's. We had about a half our wait and then we were headed home.
It was pretty much one of the funnest weekends I have had in a very long time. It was awesome to walk around Manhattan and see Tony and all the things that make up New York. I recommend going there for anyone who has not already traveled there. God Bless America and God Bless Our Troops!

My First Trip to New York City

I have finally made it up to New York City! My co-worker Jami and her boyfriend wanted to go up to New York and I asked if it would be cool if I came along as well. It was Saturday night of July 14th 2007. It was a long trip but we made it safe. They dropped me off at Tony Barnhart’s office/apartment complex and they drove to their hotel. I hung out with Tony for about an hour just catching up and decided that I needed to hit the sack so we could wake up and start off the day with some good breakfast and some good spiritual learning.
That is exactly what we did. It was a beautiful morning on the 15th of July 2007 and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We woke up, got ready for church and ate breakfast at this really adorable diner that was in his neighborhood. It was all retro and the food was awesome. Good French toast and potatoes and eggs. Yummy! After eating we drove back to the apartments and picked up Preston, Sheena, Gwen and Amanda to go to church. We arrived at the church building which is also the Manhattan Temple. It was really cool to see a temple right in the middle of New York and see how much it stands out from all of the buildings around it. It was awesome to see.
We just went to sacrament meeting and then we all changed and went our separate ways. Tony and I split off and headed to Times Square and the Empire State Building and the rest of the group headed to China Town to do some shopping. Times Square was exactly what I thought it would be. It ROCKED! We headed to the Empire State Building and waited in line for about 5 min and then realized that we wouldn’t have enough time to do this today so we left. We had to meet up with 2 other offices in the NY area to play Football in Central Park. I believe it was NY East and NJ North. I could be wrong though. It was a blast. We hung out in Central Park and ate pizza….yes I know I don’t like pizza but it was there and free and I was hungry so I ate it. It was a cheese stake/sausage and onion and pepper pizza. It was way good. I’m one of those people that likes a lot of flavor and when it comes to pizza it HAS to have more than just 1 topping. Preferably 3 or 4 is what I like. I am in love with the BBQ pizza from Papa Johns. Anyway. We all met up and played a fun game of football. Well the guys did. Office against office. We had to play on a dirt patch outside of the gates of Central Park because apparently they don’t allow “organized” games to be played on the huge grass area. Although there was a road block the guys still had fun getting all dirty and muddy. I didn’t even play and I was covered in dirt. It was gross. Haha. Then after that a bunch of people, even some of the girls, played a quick game of soccer.
After a tiring day of walking around and playing sports and goofing around we decided it would be best to go back home and shower! So that is what we did. There is nothing better than taking a shower and washing off layers of dirt and grime and getting out of the shower and feeling squeaky clean. Haha.
Shortly after that Tony drove me back to Manhattan to meet up with Jami and Dave near Grand Central Station. It was a long drive back because we were all 3 dead tired of walking around and site seeing. Jami and Dave did one of those double decker bus tours of NY and had a blast. It was close to 11:30 before we got out of Manhattan. Around 2 AM Dave decided it would be safe to stop and take a short nap to re-boot. We stopped and slept! We woke back up and headed back on the road around 3:45. Jami decided to give Dave a break and drive the rest of the way. I stayed away/forced my eyes to stay open the rest of the way home so make sure that Jami was okay and that we weren’t going to drove of the road or hit anyone. It was hard. I can’t imagine how hard it was for her having to force herself to stay up while driving. But we made it home safe and sound. I got ready for bed and hit the sack around 5 AM.
It was an amazing trip but of course was not long enough. Next weekend will be just as fun if not better……to be continued

Fun In Baltimore

Friends and Family,
I'm here in Maryland enjoying my years of being single and free. I'm working and making friends. Maryland is beautiful and a fun place to be. I'm in a town called Owings Mills just outside of Baltimore. Our Firstline Security apartment office is just 30-45 min away from downtown Baltimore. I've gone down there a few times and have had a blast each time I have gone.
I have seen the Aquarium which in my opinion is nothing compared to the one in Chicago!!! I've walked the streets of Baltimore and had a blast doing so. I've met a lot of bums and seen a lot of cool places. There is a Hard Rock Cafe just off of the Harbor which we went to for dinner as an office. There's The Cheese Cake Factory, The ESPN Zone, PF CHANGS and many many more awesome places to eat. There is a couple streets grouped together and it's called Little Italy. There are a lot of really cute Italian Resaurants there.
I have also gone to an art history museum with some of the mothers that are here with their husbands. Their kids went as well. It was a blast. I took some pictures and of course got some great ideas for sculpting and vessels. I can't wait to be able to start that up again.
Recent event just here in town have been going to an Italian Ice store just a few blocks away. It's kind of like Giffords Ice Cream (for those of you who do not know what that is, it's an ice cream shop in Main where you just walk up to a window and order and then sit on benches and eat your yummy treat) It was really good Italian Ice. I got a Mango flavored Pint for only $3.50 give or take some cents. But I didn't pay for it because it was on Firstline's tab!!!
We get together as an office and go out to dinner at the end of the week if we reach our sales goal. For example if last week we sold 47 than our goal for this week would be 57. The goal increases by 10 each week. It may be just 5 I'm not entirely positive because they change it up a lot. So if we reach that goal we'll receive $10 each to spend on dinner that Saturday. We choose a place at the beginning of the week and the reps work their butts off to reach their goal so they can get their dinner money and get to go out to eat. It's always a blast going out with everyone and just relaxing. We have gone to The Hard Rock Cafe, Rainforest Cafe, Had a BB-Q at a park and we waited 3 weeks to get our dinner money because we all wanted to go to Six Flags but we didn't hit our incentive so we never got to go so we just received the money. It's been fun though. Gives you time to just hang out with everyone and get to know the people you work with.
It has been fun here meeting new people but it's also been pretty hard as well living here without family or good friends around. I've been thinking about all you guys and how much you all mean to me. I love you all and wish all of you the best at your pursuits. I'm now in my own apartment to myself, paying for utilities, rent and food. It's been quit the experience and although it may be hard I know it is much needed.
God bless you all and stay safe and Smile, things could always be worse. hehehe