Arizona Pros & one (pesky) Con

I have a love/hate relationship with Arizona. Truth is...it's turning into more of a love/love relationship every day. Especially now that it's "fall." Which basically means...I can justify flannel sheets (due to what the calendar says, not the thermometer). I put them on this weekend and although I may still have to sleep with a fan, I don't care. Give a girl her flannel.

Another perk...hiking in October....November, December...and pretty much up until May. Amazing. Running outside all year long (though not recommended in July-Sept...I did it anyway...kind of miserable). It's perfect now...in fact on Friday I thought "Man, I'm gonna have to wear a LONG-SLEEVE t-shirt soon." I know, amazing. In Utah, it's freezing and I'm guessing many are heading to the gym. In AZ, the gym membership dips in the winter...as everyone is outside.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's hike...not much to see, quite honestly, it was dirt, cacti and more dirt...and some cool white rocks that...according to the Hiker Man we met..."grew up out of the ground"...sounds good to me.

One of the not-so-great things about this blessed land...scorpions. When I was packing to move here, my biggest fear was snakes...have seen zero so far. In fact the last snake I saw was on trip to Utah...on Sher's front grass (remember that Pally?). Previous to that...dad and I found a small snake in the garage at home in UT the day we were loading the trailer to move here...dad joked "He wants to hitch a ride to see ALL his relatives where you live!" Mean.

This little guy was hanging out in my shower. Glad I found him before he found me. It is getting a little old, the whole scorpion finding-catching-freezing-disposing cycle. I am grateful that as the cold(er) weather comes, the scorpions disappear. Hallelujah. I will not miss them in the least.

New York

A few weeks ago Mom took Kim, Suz and I to New York. It was a great trip which included: delicious granola/yogurt breakfast every morning @ Fluffy's deli, bus tour of the city, empire state building, 2-hr scenic boat ride around Manhattan...including seeing Statue of Liberty (my camera did not cooperate, thus no photos of Lady Liberty), chance to play on the big piano at FAO Schwartz, delicious honey roasted peanuts purchased from street vendors, negotiating prices with the locals for amazing/imposter items sold as reasonable prices, chance to see the musical Lion King (loved it), walking through Central Park on a Sunday morning, being amazed at Times Square and the busy-ness of it even at 1 am, lots of walking, lots of people watching, and just 4 days full of new, fun things.

Office Surprises...

I often have little snacks in the corner of my desk at work to eat between sessions. On occasion these snacks create a distraction...in the form of darling children saying "I'm so hungry," or "Lunch at school was SO gross, so now I'm STARVING...I wish I had some food!" (as they very obviously eye the fruit or box of raisins or whatever it is that is hiding the the corner). I have no trouble sharing whatever I have with these little wonders, but I have to ask their parents to clear it...make sure we have no food allergies, yadayadayada...and then the parents get embarrassed and say "I promise I feed him!" So...to avoid this situation, I usually just keep my stuff out of sight. Sometimes WAY out of sight. Like 4-7 weeks out of sight.

Take this pear for instance.

Yes, it is (or WAS) a pear. I'm sure I hid it behind my books to avoid the "I'm too hungry for therapy "syndrome...but forgot it was there. To my great surprise, it shriveled right up, right there on my desk. It did not stink, no juicy debris melted out...just a perfectly shrunken and dried-up pear. For some reason...the fact that the little sticker held on for dear life, through it all...amazes me and I feel it would be wrong to throw this dead pear away. Brave little sticker. Hold on tight.

P.S. New York pictures coming soon...

Camelback

Yesterday my friend Natalie and I hiked the Echo Canyon trail on Camelback mountain. Not long in terms of distance...only 1.2 miles up....however, there is a gain of 1263 feet in elevation. So yeah...steep. Average grade is 40%...some places is more than 60%...hands and feet kind of steep...a good, hard hike.

At the top we made friends with a little chipmunk/squirrel (chipirrel, squipmunk...let's face it...they are the same animal to me) who enjoyed sharing my edamame chips...so much so that when I stopped feeding him, he came and climbed on my backpack that was sitting by me to beg for more. Sorry, Chippy, only brought a few and you got almost all of them-you little piggie.

Don't get mad animal people...the chips are organic. I'm sure totally safe for his tiny little system. (Confession: during a slightly less-focused part of my worship @ church today, I wondered if he was dead on Camelback mountain due to edamame intolerance). Look @ his cute little fingers... "Chippy"...

This is near the beginning...steep...two sections where there are metal rails...except when it's 100 degrees outside and the rail temperature is approximately 4,583,982 degrees-you use the fence instead...it's a tiny bit less likely to burn your hands.

Love this picture of cute Natalie laughing at the top...adorable. She's so fun. Such a great time...thanks Nat, love you much!

Whole World...Encore

Okay...I can't not post this. I had to decide between two...look @ this darling kiddo. It starts getting extra-darling around 1:16....stop it! I laugh OUT LOUD every time I watch it. Darling little wonder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Orv5v4rLfk&feature=related

Whole World in His Hands...

Today I had to do something that I knew would be hard (nothing Earth-shattering, just difficult, don't ask...I'll tell you later). On my way to do this hard thing, I was listening to the radio (KLOVE...a Christian radio station) and heard an artist mention that "Jesus has got the world in his hands." This made me remember a song I once learned and sang when I was about 3 or 4 and a member of a little singing group called Sunshine Generation. As I drove, I sang it and it made me smile. It's true. He DOES have the whole world in His hands. Including me. Always has. Always will. No matter what.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDG5rUexXRc

Attention Utah...listen up!

Dear Friends and Family in Utah,

Good news...my good friend Kathy Crouse is coming to UT...she's an amazing photographer...and will be in Utah at the end of this month. So...if you have a darling baby...cute kid...or other person who you love and want photographed (come on...admit it...the school photos...inevitably after recess and lunch...don't do your little one justice, right?) feel free to check out her work and get in touch with her....she has room in her schedule for a couple more shoots.

http://kathryncrousephotography2.blogspot.com/