Betty and Veronica Take A Trip!

Quick Update

2009-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just to let all know...Deanna and Kim are now in Arizona and should arrive in California tomorrow evening. Hope Labor Day was well for all!

2009-09-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

Deanna and Kim have arrived in Nashville, TN. Blog updates will be limited (including pictures) because they are currently without internet service. Check back tomorrow for updates.

2009-09-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Just to let all know, today is Deanna's last day in NC. We'll keep you all updated as Deanna travels back to CA and as Shyana continues to do life here in NC! Hopefully exciting news to come!

FREE REDBOX PROMO CODES!!

2009-08-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hey all! So, there hasn't been much to report over here since we last posted. So, we thought we'd let you all know what we do around these parts of town when we would like something to do for cheap. Number one, we often frequent the local Sonic about once every one to two weeks and we have our orders ready. We don't go for food. Ever. Just drinks. Yes, we are that lame. Shy usually gets a diet cranberry limeade and Deanna usually gets a Diet Coke with extra ice, around $1.70 and $1.40 respectively. Sometimes they even have live music at Sonic! Random, but drinks and entertainment for cheap! Another thing we have discovered is that Sonic sells a 10lb. bag of ice for only $1.29! This is thrilling for Deanna! For those of you who are passionate about your ice and have ventured to try Sonic's ice, you know what we're talking about! The second big thing that we do is visit our local Harris Teeter grocery stores. While we are in there we usually sample all of the foods that are out for our pleasure and then we head to the Red Box. If you have discovered the Red Box, you are really missing out. An explanation: You can rent recently released movies for $1 a night. So, it's super cheap as far as renting goes, but some downfalls are that you have to return the movie the next night or be charged more and, secondly, not every Red Box has the same movies. Below we've given you the web address for Red Box so you can find your closest Red Box location and so you can see what movies are available at most Red Boxes. Also below you will find 2 Promo codes you can use to get your movies for free. Take one of these codes and when you are placing your order with the Red Box, type the code in the box labeled Promo Codes. Note that these codes can be used only once per credit card. To get around this little detail, we just use each code on each of our credit cards. So, really, we've gotten about 12 movies all for free! Hopefully this makes sense, if not, let us know and we'll clear it up! Anyways, hope Wednesday has been good for you all! Check back in another week or so for more updates!

http://www.redbox.com/

Promo Codes:

DVDONME

BREAKROOM

Changes...

2009-08-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

So, there will be some changes coming soon. After being here two months, Deanna has decided to head back to California. Many may be confused as to why this is. Deanna has come to realize that North Carolina is just not for her. Although Shy and Deanna have known this for some time, both were hoping that Deanna might begin to enjoy it more and learn to love it here the way Shy has. Perhaps there is a reason Deanna has applied for so many jobs and not gotten much out of it. So, Deanna will be heading back to California around labor day, approximately three months since she first left. Shy will continue to stay in Raleigh and live the life that she is loving right now. There are no bitter feelings at all, as Shy would rather have Deanna do what's best for her individual life than stay somewhere where she is unhappy. So, we will keep you all updated with the things that are going to be happening over the next few weeks and keep you posted on all of life's happenings. Hope all is well.

We're Still Here...

2009-08-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

So, we have been feeling a bit of pressure from you all who read our blogs to update more frequently, but in all honesty, there isn't enough that has happened to really blog about. Shy is still working at Cracker Barrel and continues with her temp job which could possibly turn into a permanent job! She also did get an offer for a 14-week job that she originally wanted with United Way. So, needless to say, she will definitely have some decisions to make this coming week! Deanna has Bath and Body Works and is hoping something permanent comes up within 2 weeks as money is getting very tight!

In other news, we have both been attending the Summit Church faithfully for over a month now... http://www.summitrdu.com. We both really like it and have managed to join a small group full of girls our age from the church. The first outing we had with some of the girls from our small group was going Contra Dancing. Here's the youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9L0dz3qmsc for what Contra Dancing looks like...kinda like square dancing mixed with some sort of Celtic dancing...random, but fun and such a workout! Below is a picture of all of us who went after 2 hours of dancing! Other than that, we've had quite a bit of rain and thunderstorms all

week that we really like! We actually have a use for umbrellas for once! Well, that's about it for now, maybe within the next few days we'll have more info to post!

Hey!

2009-07-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Sorry for the late update on life in this part of the country! A little sad to say, but we don't have many updates since our last post! We still don't have full- time jobs!!! Surprise! Haha! Shyana has managed to attain a fabulous job at good ol' Cracker Barrel! She even has her very own name badge and apron! She has also managed to secure a few temp jobs on the side with a local employment agency! She also had an interview for a sweet job at United Way that could possibly give her loads of opportunities for work in non-profit in the future! She won't find out if she got that job for a few more weeks, so for Cracker Barrel and some temp jobs is what it will be. Deanna was able to get a job at Bath and Body Works and has also been doing some temp work on the side. Waiting for interviews and call backs seem to be the name of the game for both of us out here! A waiting game it most certainly is! With each passing week it gets a bit harder to just sit back and wait! We both know that with time we will get things a bit more straightened out, but sometimes the waiting makes it much harder! On a lighter note, our activities lately include getting drinks at Sonic (because we know no other place has the best ice around!), going to get lame movies at the Red Box at one of our local grocery stores and taking all the samples out of the sample boxes at Harris Teeter so we don't have to buy as much food in their store, and we also get free lightning shows most evenings which is nice. We haven't seen each other much the past week or so because Shy has been working long hours between her jobs, but at least we are making a little money along the way. Sorry for the lack of photos with this blog, but as you can see we haven't done too much! Hopefully this will keep you all amused for the next few days until we have more to update!

as of late...

2009-07-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, not too much has happened since our previous post, but we've decided it's about time to update yet again. Since we last updated, we had our first holiday here. Fourth of July! We wound up going to a local park that was putting on 4th of July festivities, including a parade with more participants than spectators, donut eating contests (of which Shy competed), watermelon eating contests (of which Shy competed), and other activities on the lake. Later in the evening we headed to the State Fairgrounds where we tried a deep fried Snickers bar (a bit overrated!) and sat waiting for fireworks for over an hour. When the big event was upon us, we sat and watched it, but were a bit upset that the show only lasted 15 mins!! Oh well! All in all, our 4th wasn't too bad at all! In other news we both have continued to apply for jobs across the board. Deanna was able to catch an interview with Corvel Corp in Raleigh and Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA and Shy landed an interview with United Way in Raleigh. So, Deanna had her interview with Corvel Corp a few weeks ago and actually was offered a job with them, but put everything on hold to go interview in Virginia to see if working at that University might work better. So, on Friday July 10th we headed up to Virginia Beach, VA (about 3.5 hours from Raleigh) to check out the area and let Deanna go through the whole interview process. After a looooooong day out and about in the city, we liked visiting Virginia Beach, but really realized it probably wasn't gonna work out for Deanna to move there. But, during Deanna's interview, her interviewers mentioned that it was Cow Appreciation Day at Chic Fil A, so they suggested we use the school's library to print out cow costumes from the Chic Fil A website so we could get an entire combo meal for free. So what did we do? We went to the library and paid $00.30 to make our cow costumes and we headed to Chic Fil A dressed in our cow garb to get our free food. So, all in all, not a bad day. A seven-hour drive, forty minute interview and free dinner! Thank you Chic Fil A. So, that was that. Saturday we headed to the State Farmer's Market which was sweeeeeet! I think we were both impressed at the whole range of products for sale and will be hitting it up again for sure! Sunday was church day. We headed for the second week to the Summit Church in Durham and both seemed to enjoy it, especially meeting new people! So, that's about it for now. Shy has her United Way interview Tuesday which she is super psyched about! Hopefully it will work out for her! Deanna is hoping for a job this week sometime! If neither of us have heard much of anything by Monday we are both going to be headed for Cracker Barrel and Starbucks, among other places, to seek any kind of employment that pays the bills! Until next time, we will leave you with a few pictures and a list of things we have learned in the past month of being here!

Some things we've learned...

- humidity is great for hair...straight or curly

- we can't leave bread in the pantry or it molds in about 3 days

- the signals here on not tripped by cars waiting at the light, so we spend most of our traveling time waiting for the light to turn green at a signal with 2 cars

- people put white towels/bags outside their cars if they have broken down to let everyone know that their car is out of service (and they have 20 days to get their cars towed!)

- cops here are undercover most of the time and it's really annoying!

- polo shirts are everywhere! ahhhhh!

- there is a significant lack of tattoos or piercings out here

- the homeless in Raleigh wear reflective vests that make them seem as if they are construction workers...not sure where they get them

- it is far easier to let your parents pay for everything!

- you will jump at free things when you lack in the finances department

- you get used to the humidity

- people here consider 20 minutes a long drive and completely unnecessary

- people are genuinely nice and will actually let you over in their lane when you are driving

- check back for more to come later!!!

What we've been up to...

2009-07-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Aside from looking for jobs during our weeks here, we have also done a bit of exploring and searching around. We also got the chance to go to the shooting range in Raleigh and try out our shot! Thanks Phil and Laurie for spoiling us as well as you have! To top the day off, we went to the local Frozen Custard place near home. It's odd... apparently North Carolina has no frozen yogurt stops, only frozen custard. I think we both agreed it was rather good and probably a bad thing we even let ourselves test it!! Anywho, have an enjoyable Fourth of July weekend and check back for pics from our 4th of July outings!

One Man's trash is another Gal's treasure

2009-06-29T13:32:00.001-07:00

I (Veronica) have learned a valuable lesson this past weekend! Always say yes to free stuff. After being invited to join my family in Orlando to celebrate my younger brothers graduation from Film School...I did what any good gal would do. I scavenged for our new empty apartment. Man did we score...*dvd player, dishes, food, pots and pans, casserole dish, bookshelves...woo hoo!

And let me just tell you...while the laundry mat experience was a WONDERFUL experience, we have stunning news. WE (betty and veronica) are now the owners of a set of lightly worn washer and dryer set! YEP...good old dad helped us move it up to our third story apartment! Let us just see how much our water and electric bill goes up:)

Job Update: Still searching. We are applying to any and all jobs...just waiting next to our cell phones to hear the words INTERVIEW. Any contacts...you just let us know:)

So thus far it's pretty much the same as last week. We are scouting the neighborhood for the perfect NC 4th of July celebrations and hope to get connected with a young adults group soon!

Job Status= Still Unemployed...

2009-06-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was a bit of a stressful day to say the least! First "official" day of job hunting and it was pretty awful. Although we both knew that job hunting would be hard, I don't think we anticipated it being this hard! So, with day one behind us, we hit the ground running yet again today. So, at the end of the day today, we are much more pleased to say the least! Although neither of us have real interviews or job offers yet we are encouraged to know that we will make it work. One way or another. This is Deanna speaking on behalf of Shyana, so I don't know fully what she thinks, but can only express what each of us has chatted about in between our running around today. I know yesterday was an exceptionally tough day for me and I started to get stressed out...I mean, majorly. The culmination of everything we have done in the past few weeks began to be too overwhelming. So, I woke up this morning wondering why I had stressed. When I started to think things through, Matthew 6:25-34 came into my head all morning. Although we still have no jobs, we don't need to stress. We are making an exceptional effort to get where we want to be...even if that means waking up everyday and getting dressed as if we are going to work, yet finding we don't have a work place yet. Taking the time to remember that soon enough we won't have this time is something worth keeping in mind. Understanding that we can only do what we can do is somthing that I know keeps both of us going for now; well, that and the few things we have to look forward to throughout the week like new church bible studies and random outings in our cars where we just drive and drive trying to figure out where we are! Well, that's about it. We will continue to keep all updated on the progress that we make as we make twice as many uturns as we need to and search high and low for jobs that pay the bills and keep us learning. Hope all is well with you all.

Please, Please, Please sign your name so we know who you are!

2009-06-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to see if you all can please put your name somewhere in the comments box if you choose to leave comments for us! All we can see is "anonymous" if you don't have a blogger account! Thanks so much!

The moments that changed everything:)

2009-06-20T15:00:00.001-07:00

A few of the moments that have helped us see that everything has changed...

--It was yesterday as Betty and I sat in our very first laundry mat, cutting out coupons, and figuring out our budget that I felt it. That sudden slight panic, followed by a quick squeel. The one that starts to over take you and before you know it, you are laughing so hard you feel like you are going to pee your pants! We were actually on our OWN! With spanish soap operas in the background and the sound of quarters in the coin machine, we were living!

--It was the moment that we both looked at the clock and realized it was lunch time, but couldn't get ourselves to spend another dime. So we had our snack of water and rushed home to a 3:30 lunch...NO eating out for us!

--It was the moment we walked through TJ Maxx and chose the mattress cover instead of the adorable pillows. *Oh gosh they was cute...we are adults now ha.

--It was the moment we both got in our cars and just drove around in search of nothing. Just to simply explore the town. No agenda, no directions, just freedom!

--It was the moment we realized that garage sales are cut throat around here...you best be at the doorstep at 8 am or you will get NOTHING. We did find a few cheap bookshelves thankfully!

--It was the moment that I thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk. Until I walked out our door and was met with 95 degrees and 40% humidity. HA...the walk lasted about 5 minutes.

--It was the moment that we looked at each other and just smiled. For while we do not have much money, no friends *yet, and really no idea what we are doing...we are loving life.

--This is just the beginning....these are the moments I knew... everything has changed:)

Before and After...

2009-06-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as promised here are the most decent before and after shots of our apt...enjoy.

...let's see if you can see which

bedroom and bathroom belongs to whom...

Greetings from our new home!

2009-06-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but we have been insanely busy with getting things together for our new place and the availability of internet has been somewhat limited. We finally have an apartment right outside Raleigh! I think that all of us have come to the conclusion that North Carolina hides everything extremely well! The trees are so large here that the big box stores that are normally visible to the rest of the world are out of sight no matter where you are here! So weird! We have also gotten a taste of what weather down South might be like during the past few days here as it has been raining (more like pouring!) It literally poured the whole time we were moving our things from our cars to our 3RD FLOOR apartment! Good news is that we live on a golf course! The Prestonwood Country Club and Golf Course! It's pretty sweet!! Anywho... that's about it for now. We have attached a few pictures, but keep in mind that the golf course was really like a lake when the pictures were taken because it was raining so hard :) Hopefully we will be able to update more frequently as we get used to things being adjusted! We will post before and after pictures of our apartment just as soon as we get our furniture in and get everything set up! Keep checking back!

WE MADE IT!!!

2009-06-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends and Family!!!!!

WE ARRIVED!!! We made it into NC about 2:00 this afternoon. Slightly freaking out to say the least. Too bad we still had a good 5 hours to drive to get to Raleigh... ha. (Let's just say... that last hour felt like forever!)

But we are here. We will post tomorrow more in detail after our crazy apartment search. So many to choose from, so little time. Should we get the one on the lake... or the other one on the lake? You don't see these kind of apartments in Riverside:)

Thanks for all the warm wishes and we will update soon! - Betty and Veronica

2009-06-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Internet is spotty here in Mountain Home, AR so this post won't be too long! We drove our longest drive on Thursday from Amarillo to Mountain Home. Will update soon. Here are some pictures for now of the past few days...

Howdy Y'All!

2009-06-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hello from Amarillo, TX! This is Betty here (AKA Deanna). It is currently 10:45pm here and so far we are doing well. Today was the first day that all of us (Deanna, Shelby, Shyana, and Phil) were together when we were traveling. We left at about 8 am this morning. We were going well until Shy's tire somehow attracted a nail that decided to stay in her tire for a little while. We reached Albuquerque and then took her car to a tire shop to make sure the nail didn't do too much damage. After getting the okay from the car guys we headed to Sonic to grab some lunch! We hear though that there are better Sonics as we continue to travel east so we look forward to that and to finding a Cracker Barrel so Shelby can experience some good cookin'. After our little unexpected rendezvous in Albuquerque, we headed back on the road to reach our destination for the day...Amarillo. Little else happened on our trip to Amarillo, but the real fun came when we took the spray paints we brought to go decorate cars at the Cadillac Ranch! Wish we had pics up, but our camera cord is currently unavailable, so check back later for updates and pics! So, that's it for now! We hope that your Wednesdays have been great! Check back soon!

Day One - According to Veronica

2009-06-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

We made it to Flagstaff!!!

My dad and I took off early this morning from Northern California. Deanna and Shelby took off from Southern California mid-morning.

We decided to take the road-less-traveled and took the Nevada route to Flagstaff. Passing beautiful Lake Tahoe, the Hoover Dam (check out the bypass bridge that is being built...amazing!!!!), and a lot of desert. After 12.5 hours in the car, we finally made it to Flagstaff.

And I was finally reunited with my long lost roommate and friend! We had some great laughs about our fun day of driving. Deanna reported that the weather is not looking too great for the next few days...but we shall see!

Will keep you updated! - V

Our Travel Map...

2009-06-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

View Untitled in a larger map

2009-06-07T20:23:00.001-07:00

Hey! Anyone who wants to receive emails from us please email your name and email address to deannarmeyer@gmail.com or simply post your address on this blog!

Veronica here...

2009-06-07T18:49:00.001-07:00

I am facing a major predicament. With less than 36 hours before my dad and I head on down to meet up with D and Shelbs...I have got to face one last big challenge. It is not fear of the humidity or worries over making friends, it is not even freaking me out that we have no jobs! But what I cannot figure out how to do is...fit my entire life into one small Toyota Corolla. Yeah, so it is cute from the outside, has a sweet 6 CD changer, and even a nice AC...but the trunk space is WAY WAY WAY too limited:)

Aside from the lack of space, I am ready. I was talking to Deanna aka Betty on the phone the other day and realized what a nice chance it was to be home for a while. Leaving CBU was a really big deal for me and I think that having the opportunity to move home for a few weeks gave me the chance to grieve where I have come from and prepare for where I am going.

I think that both D and I have had our fair share of people telling us that we are crazy, but at the end of the day...i think most people would die for the opportunity to do what we are doing. While we have no jobs, only a slight idea of where we are going to live, and a few bucks to last us the summer...we are living on dreams!

As we leave on Tuesday, we will be frequently updating our blog to show the progress across the country. Fun stops, crazy stories, and pictures to reassure you all that we are still alive! Our good friend Shelby will be the passenger in D's car and my dad will be the co-captain in mine! (If you could just keep my dad in your prayers...he got pneumonia this last week and is still healing, but it appears he is still on board for the trip! )

Thank you so much for the encouragement and prayers as we start this incredible journey. We look forward to hearing from all of you and will continue to let you know how NC is treating us!

Shouldn't leave Archie waiting,
Yours Always,
Veronica

2009-05-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on the real Betty and Veronica... haha

Hey y'all! Do they even say that in North Carolina?!?!

2009-05-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not know us, allow us to introduce ourselves. The one with the blonde- hair is Deanna and the brown-haired one is Shyana; hence the reason we decided to go with the blog title of Betty and Veronica! We have just passed our 3-week and counting mark as of yesterday. On June 9th, Shyana and Deanna will be packing everything up and moving to North Carolina. Why, you ask? We don't really know. It's random. Shyana decided in Summer of 2008 that Raleigh is where she wanted to move after college, so she eagerly began researching and began to really fall in love with what she saw. Meanwhile, Deanna, her college roommate and friend, began researching thriving big cities to move to after graduation. January 2009 came around and Shyana was still ready to pack it up and head to NC. Deanna, on the other hand, began applying for countless jobs in cities everywhere, except NC. During Spring Break, Shyana had the opportunity to visit NC with her mom. She absolutely loved it! She was definitely moving there one way or another. She made a few contacts with locals and was able to get a bit of a grasp as to what the city of Raleigh was all about. After Spring Break, school began rolling once again and Shyana and Deanna were back in the groove of things; Shyana still going to NC and Deanna going anywhere but Riverside. As the school year begins to slowly wind down and still no job prospects or job offers outside the state, Deanna decides one day in class that she is going to accompany Shyana across the country to live in this place called Raleigh. So, here we are. Nearly three weeks away with no jobs and nervous as ever. We value each one of you readers and do hope you continue to travel with us through this blog and experience a bit of what we are experiencing so far away. Anytime you wanna come visit just let us know and we will roll out a sleeping bag for you since we won't have any money to buy furniture for awhile! Keep us updated on your lives and let us know how things are rolling your way!