Central Arizona

Living in Central Arizona is so amazing. Yesterday the temp was 9 degrees and with the wind chill it was 3 degrees... fricken cold! and today, we don't have to wear our jackets, or scarfs or mittens and our windows at work are open, its around 55 degrees and warm. I love Arizona.

My Friend Chris

My friend Chris hasnt blogged since Nov 13th. sup wit dat?

They seem smaller in the forest.

This past Sunday, my husband and our two teenage boys ventured up to the Grand Canyon to cut a Christmas tree ( legally of course, we had a permit from the forest service). After several, what seemed like hours, of walking thru the forest, we found "the tree". Dave and I walked back to our truck to get the chain saw, while the boys stayed with the tree.. as if someone else would remotely be cutting a Christmas tree near us and try to take ownership. So, Dave fired up the chainsaw and the tree fell in the forest, and yes...yes... it does make a sound. Dave and the boys carried the tree to the truck and it was then that we realized just how big of a tree we cut. It is well over 12 feet tall. I can't wait to get it into our home and decorate it.

Thanksgiving with Family

Dave and I hosted Thanksgiving at our home yesterday for 20 people. Dave and I, our three kids, plus Daniel our host son, and Aaron’s girlfriend Ashley, My mom and Dad, Dave’s Dad, two of my siblings and their spouses and children plus two cousins from Phoenix, and my ex-husband. What a perfectly glorious day. The weather was so beautiful that we were able to eat outside. Dave and I fixed soooo much food. Turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, apricot glazed ham, The Green Bean Casserole, fresh cranberry relish, deviled eggs, tossed salad, candied yams, fresh baked rolls ( thanks Dad), corn and green chili casserole (thanks Mom) and 8 pies. I am looking forward to a turkey and cranberry relish sandwich on one of my dad’s home made rolls.

The moments that stand out for me from yesterday are:

The pure joy that was reverberating throughout our home from the laughter.

How wonderful everything tasted

How happy all the kids were to see one another

Dave’s Thanksgiving Prayer

The warm weather

How relaxed my mom and dad were

How relaxed Dave and I were and although it was a lot of work, the whole day seemed effortless.

How beautiful our home looked

How quiet and still everything seemed to be after everyone left

20 Cents, Pair Of Dimes, Paradigm Shift

I have recently had a Paradigm Shift in my life as it relates to friendships. I am not a freshman in highschool looking for drama with a girlfriend, I am a grown woman who thought I had solid relationships with other woman. Actually, my shift, as most shifts occur, happened over a period of time. One day its perfectly fine to be held hostage periodically by your friends, because, come on you just put up with the good and the bad. But... then...one morning you wake up,and realize that its not okay to be held hostage by your friends. Friendship should not be based on being worried if your going to hurt someone's feelings. Friendship should be based on that if you do hurt their feelings, its not a deal breaker. So I have recently began protected myself, and with that, I have withdrawn from both sets of my friends -- professional and personal.. (not talking about you Chris, first; your not a woman, and second; face it, you are part of my family). I'm certain there is some confusion on their part. But to tell you the truth, I'm not worried about what they think. I'm taking care of Me. I feel myself changing and that is scary and exciting.

Thursday.. update

Instead of going shopping on my lunch hour, at 11:00 a.m. my boss told me he needed me to go to Sedona with him to look at some road problems. (or something like that....). Only if we get to swing thru Jerome and eat at the Haunted Hamburger I said. It was a good hamburger.

Thursday, before a 3 Day Weekend.

How much better can it get? Its Thursday, and tomorrow we have a day off to celebrate Veterans Day. Overall, it has been a good week. Will got a C+ on his biology exam - Thank God! Dave was re-elected in a landslide victory ( okay.. so he was running unapposed..its still a landslide victory). Things here at work are smooth ( uh oh) and the fall weather is absolutely amazing. OH, and I'm going shopping on my lunch hour. Its a beautiful day.

I am grateful that its Friday and that I don't have any.. ANY big plans for the weekend. Do you know how wonderful that is? (well, unless you consider killing gophers "big plans"..) but other than that.. No Big Plans.

Yup, another list...

I'm grateful for my child. Will is struggling with biology. I admire his strength. I'm so proud of him. He doesnt give up, even when we gave him the choice to change classes. ( okay, he is a freshman in high school and this class is a college prep course...he is an amazing child).

I'm grateful that my husband loves me and still thinks I'm beautiful... after 12 years together.

Gratitude list continued ***

The fall colors.. omg... its so odd how much alive they are..ironic because they are lacking in in photosynthesis, which makes them die.

Aaron and Whitney who have come a long way.

Dave - for cleaning the kitchen while I was getting my hair cut last night...

Dave - for taking me out to dinner after my haircut last night and ordering me my favorite wine.

Dave - for not giving me a nudge even when I got wound up last night telling Janice Ann and Oren stories from our trip to Ireland.

My new chiminea - with three openings!!!!!!

Change in direction

I decided that with all the wah wahing I did last week, well okay and some this week too, I have decided to write my GRATITUDE LIST:

M y husband.. who puts up with me even when I'm impossible. I love being in his arms, where all my journeys end.

Will, who makes me laugh. I love watching him grow into the wonderful young man he is becoming. He loves me even tho he is a teenager.. and its not so cool to love your parents. What a blessing he is to us. I can totally overlook the F in biology.

My beautiful home - warm and inviting, where only those we love are invited in.

Scout - my cat that has only one marble. He keeps my feet warm at night and is always happy to see me.

Zoe - the other cat, who licks my nose in the morning and when I get home... when I know she really wants to bite me.

August - my lab.. who would protect me to his death.. and always has someones shoe in his mouth. Its an adventure every morning finding a pair ( that matches). He carries a stuffed bunny in his mouth, when he doesnt have a shoe... and we call the bunny his baby.

My friend- who always lift me up and never let me down. Love you.

My family - even though at times I am sure they dont want to admit it. I don't see them enough and then only live 10 mins from me. My bad.

More to follow....

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesay

So much has happened, and most of it I can’t put in to words… much less write about it. Its been an emotional roller coaster this week with personnel issues. It will take several glasses of wine to sort thru it all. I can’t wait for Stacy and Chris to get back. Chris has sent me random text messages (whew!) and Stacy has sent me text messages and then called me… Thank God! Have I mentioned how much I miss them?

Friday's bloglog

Lets say that Friday I had an emotional hangover. Got the kids off to high school, made it work on time (as usual). I made up my mind that I really needed to take care of myself. I think my blood pressure has been astronomical this week, but didn't' have the time to stop and have it checked. I had lunch with M&G and our five place. It was a nice break. I cleaned up a few things on my desk and went home around 4:00. I went straight to bed. Now if you really, really know me, you would know that this is odd beyond words. I stayed in bed until I heard Dave come home from his glorious, stress free week in Phx. We ordered out dinner from somewhere... and ate by the fireplace. I went to bed early. I'm sure Chris and Wendy are having a super duper time in Hawaii and that Stacy is having a blast with her family in Florida. humph! There should be some sort of "friend law" where both of them can't be gone at the same time.

Thursday/Friday bloglog

Okay, let me start by saying on Wednesday evening, I arrived home to find that the crows had opened up our trash can and lovingly scattered all our trash in our yard, the neighbors yard and in the vacant lot across the street. After the day I had... I could have screamed or cursed. But I got out of my car, got a trash bag, and calmly bagged up the trash again... for the second time. I made dinner for the boys and I told them that if they cleaned up the dishes I would make banana nut bread. It was a deal. During the process of making banana nut bread, I was reaching for a wooden spoon and I bumped a bottle of wine on the counter. It fell to the floor in slow motion and then exploded ALL over the kitchen, me, and the boys. At that point in my day ( after the crappy day at work, Dave in Phx and having to pick up the trash) I wanted to just walk away and go to bed. But instead I asked Will to get the trash can, and Daniel to get me a roll of paper towels. I quickly cleaned up the mess, although I'm sure I will be finding parts of the wine bottle under the fridge, etc for years to come. I finished making banana nut bread, and the boys and I watched "The Biggest Looser"... which surprisingly enough, was not about my life. Heard from Dave, he is ate in the lounge where he is staying... not to be confused with the 4 mile bike ride he took last night and then had dinner at Monte's La Casa Vieja. He ate at the bar, had a couple of rum and cokes and watched the baseball game. 100 miles removed from the daily activities and responsibilities of biscuit.

Thursday- Dave still in Phx, and calls me to let me know which wonderful dining establishments he is going to each night, in spite of the fact that he knows I'm having a week which I do not ever want to repeat. Work was work, still stressful from all the personnel actions we will taking next week. Lunch with Phil again. I think we ate at the Taco Show. I can assure you it's not like having a real lunch hour, as I've mentioned before, love Phil, but 9 hours of going over and over the problems we have here at work, is not a "break". I guess I could tell him I have other plans, but in truth its either going with him, which is easy, or not eating at all. I miss Chris and Stacy...got home, more trash scattered around the house. A repeat from Wednesday night. I will not, repeat, will not have the wine bottle on the counter near my elbow tonight. I will have the wine bottle clenched firmly, yet lovingly in my hand. I talked to Stacy tonight. I texted her to let her know that George on Grey's Anatomy is gay in real life. She texted me back asking if I was lonely. um... yes. Then she called because she was a little lonely too. It made my whole day ( not the fact that she was lonely too, although I might admit it did make me feel a weesie bit better... but actually it made my day to talk to her and laugh). Dave went to PF Changs, had an appetizer, and entree and rum and coke, then he rode his bike to a park where allegedly there was a "festival" going on. He didn't think it was weird at all that he was in a park at 9:30 p.m. I asked him if he would think it was weird if I called him alone from a park in Tempe at 9:30 at night. Would he worry about me? He said "no". Hmmmm... troubling.

Blog Log - Wednesday

Chris is in Hawaii, Stacy is in Florida and my husband is in Phoenix all week. I told Chris that I would bloglog my days alone....I'm sort of pitiful. Friendless and pitiful... does anyone feel my pain? Noooooooo.

Like I said, its Wednesday. Plenty of action here at work. Never a dull moment. I have a stack of Letters of Reprimand to write. I am getting really good at it... and then on to lunch with Phil, where we discussed the various stack of Letters I am composing... not very relaxing lunch, in fact I don't even count them as my lunch hour, its more like a continuous stream of office talk. (I do enjoy lunch with Phil, we always find something to laugh about.) Its already 2:00. I have to go to Fausto's allbymyselftoday.... bummer. Its also RobBob's last day. He figured out he had 4 more hours of pto and asked if he could take 4 hours of leave without pay. We said "you bet". It is time for him to mooove on. I am supposed to be going to a meeting in Ashfork tomorrow, but since I will be spending my days with the folks over in HR, I had to pass the torch to MaryAn and Gay. I miss everyone. Its already 2:13.

Monday Night Meltdown -

My words cannot accurately describe watching the Cardinals "play" football last night. So I took these below written words from the Arizona Republic. On a brighter note, we had a great time with RP, Sparkle Kitty and the boys.

They opened the roof Monday night at University of Phoenix Stadium, and for nearly three quarters, the fresh air seemed to breathe new life into the Cardinals' season.They built a 20-point lead over the Chicago Bears, considered by many to be the best team in the NFL. Hope seemed alive for the Cardinals, who brought a four-game losing streak into the game.But the Cardinals showed Monday that they could blow a game outdoors, too. Chicago scored three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes - two on fumble returns and another on Devin Hester's 83-yard punt return - to beat the Cardinals 24-23.

The Cardinals had one last chance, taking over at their 38-yard line with just less than three minutes remaining. Rookie quarterback Matt Leinart moved them deftly down the field to the Bears' 22-yard line. But kicker Neil Rackers' 40-yard field-goal attempt with 37 seconds remaining missed left, barely, and the Cardinals (1-5) were left to cope with their fifth straight loss.

My last post for the day... I promise... its just been so long since I've actually had time to write. But anyways.......

I'm leaving early from work today to attend yet another Cardinal's football game vs. Da Bears! My husband and I are and our two sons, Will and Daniel and.. yes...our best friends -RP and Sparkle Kitty, the two people that make every event a party. You might remember me writing about the last time we attended a football game with them, RP told the guy next to us he looked like the Baseline Killer. Pretty much a conversation stopper. So, no telling what is in store for our adventure today. All I really know, is that we always, always have a great time, I laught until I cry and my sides ache. I come back with happy crazy memories and something to blog about. Speaking of laughing until I cry.. Did I mention that the Cardinals football team sort of sucks.. We Have Not Won Any Games and we happen to be playing The Undefeated Chicago Bears. Yes, you read that correctly - UNDEFEATED. I can only hope for a small miracle. Like... Dear God, please don't let our Cardinals get the crap beat out of them in the first quarter.

Not only is it National Boss Day...

Monday is National Feral Cat Day, so pet a feral cat in appreciation. You'll feel good inside as you pull back your bloody stump.

The Grand Canyon....

A friend asked me about hiking the Grand Canyon. It was her first time in the Grand Canyon and... and... she is recovering from surgery. Having hiked the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, this was my response....
I don’t mean to be “Debbie downer” but there is nothing in the world like Grand Canyon miles. It’s good that you have been getting in shape, but I can assure you it will be a rough hike. Bright Angel is longer but not as steep, and the trip to the 3 mile rest house might be your best bet. Any hike in the Canyon will be beautiful. Even a short hike always centers me. Sometimes there is nothing like single tasking, which is what you do on these hikes. I always am amazed to find my significance in the world, and my insignificance in the world while in the Grand Canyon. Its odd, its big, its beautiful, its harsh …. But magical. My husband and I have hiked both rims as well as South Kaibab and Bright Angel, deep in to the belly of the canyon. It always calls us back. But I digress…. You know your own body. Remember that whatever time it takes you to walk down the canyon, double the time for coming back out. I mean it… Not to mention having to give way to the horses and donkey’s/burro’s that are packing tourists from California in white jeans and white cowboy boots, looking fresh as a daisy.. whilst weary hikers, smelling less than fresh as a daisy have to endure their snide comments regarding ridings vs. hiking… those same weary hikers secretly wishing for one of the 4 footed animals to get spooked and perhaps toss said California tourist off the side of a cliff….oops… I’m getting off track again. But the pack animals do have the right of way, and you will have to and need to stand verrrrry still as they pass. Watch out for the puddles of pee and horse poop too. Its lovely as your humping it back up the canyon, gasping for air, trying to keep you mind clear and all you can smell is urine and poop. Loooovee those pack animals!!! Okay, serious again. Having layers of clothing on is important, seems like you have a handle on that. You will truly need to eat even when you don’t think you need to eat. Above all – take your time, enjoy the journey… try not to be the over achiever I know you are. If you have 9 hours to hike, and your hike lasts 6 hours, go up top and have a nice coffee and desert at the El Tovar Lodge. It overlooks the rim and you can sit by the fireplace where juniper wood will be crackling and warm. It is one of my favorite places on earth. It has a lot of rich history.

Last week was from Hell

Monday - I had to inform two employees that we would graciously give them an additional 30 days to get a certain certification, that they had 6 months to get, or we would have to let them go.

Tuesday - I voted ( which made me feel good).

Wednesday - I had to write a statement of facts on an employee, in order to give the employee two weeks off without pay, for a major violation of policy. Wednesday afternoon I was in Phoenix for shopping and a Van Morrison Concert. Van is getting old.

Thursday - I was tired from the concert

Friday - I arrived early for work to get some things done before the rest of the staff arrived. I heard someone walking down the hall , and it was a Sheriff Deputy. He had received complaints regarding an employee of ours and they were looking for the employee. I had to get in a car and go look for the employee... who is 69 years old.... I finally found him working in a rural part of our county and when he saw me he was so happy... it was then that I "got" to ever so gently explain to him that he could not drive a vehicle until he had medical clearance. It was a yucky way to end my week. I felt so sad. It would be like telling my day that I was taking away his drivers license.