Superman, dinosaurs, elk, and some love

I've been working on this for awhile now and finally decided I just needed to post it!  Be warned that it's a long one!

To kick off our spring break one of my best friends from high school and her husband came for a visit. From here on out they will be known as Mr. and Mrs. S or just the S’s because that’s just so much easier! A little history – Mrs. S and I became friends in fifth grade.  During our junior high and high school years we most definitely got in some trouble together (nothing serious of course) and probably encouraged some not-so-smart decisions of each other but we managed to have a lot of fun and make some great memories.  Once we called my brother and sister-in-law to rush over to the house to fend off the attacker we heard on his way to get us.  I still SWEAR that we heard something but of course no one was there when they got there…just us locked in the bathroom deciding if it was bad enough that we should break the window and make a run for it.  At least we knew we had people to come save us though!   

Mrs. S is one of the friends I haven’t kept in super close contact with as much as I’d like but I know she’ll always be there if I need someone to listen and I think she feels the same.  She and her hubby tied the knot this past year in NE and Mr. C and I were lucky enough to be able to attend.  We were super excited when they said they wanted to visit over spring break because we hadn’t had much time to spend with her new hubby until then and with the distance I hadn’t seen her too much since moving to AZ either.  In case you were wondering, we decided that we still like her and he’s pretty awesome too :)

Friday

Friday night we picked the S’s up from the airport and headed over to one of our all-time favorite dinner spots, The Spaghetti Factory.  As usual, I thought the food was amazing and nothing beats spumoni for desert!  However, the most exciting part of our restaurant excursion happened before we actually got into the restaurant.  I’m so disappointed in myself for not taking a picture because I doubt you’ll believe this next part but I'll tell you anyhow.  Mr. C parked the car while Mr. and Mrs. S and I walked into the restaurant.  I looked to the left to check out the lightrail and you’ll never guess what I saw.  Just try.  Nope, guess again (I’m just assuming you’ll never guess but if you did then my apologies).  I saw Superman!  Yes, I said (or wrote) SUPERMAN!  He was standing at the lightrail with his hands on his hips and his sunglasses on.  He wasn’t just loitering or hanging around; he was obviously on a mission and looked pretty serious.  He was most definitely facing the restaurant looking very superheroish.  Like I said, I’m super disappointed in myself for not having a picture.  When I finally realized I could take a picture on my phone I turned around and he was gone. 

Saturday

The next day we headed over to the stadium for my very first spring training game.  It was the first warm day this year I can remember but being in the shade made for some perfect weather.  Mr. C fell asleep every once and awhile, I zoned out A LOT, and Mr. and Mrs. S wandered around every now and then but I thought it was pretty fun overall.  Sometimes I like the idea of doing things better than actually doing them!  The IDEA of a game is great but then I get there and don’t even realize when it started.  I’m not saying this happened but I’m not denying it either… 

Sunday

The next day we left early for the Grand Canyon.  This was definitely my favorite day with the S’s.  Apparently there was a little communication error and Mrs. S thought the trip was 4 hours in total but it was really 4 hours each way.  Thank God for gmail so I was able to prove that I wasn’t crazy and I really did tell her 4 hours EACH way.  We had a good laugh and no one threw anyone else out the window during the drive so it worked out.  Being stuck in a car with someone for 8 hours is a great way to find out more about them!

On the way to the GC there’s this random Flintstone camping/diner area so of course we stopped for some random pics.  So there’s a Flinstone car, a huge Fred, a dinosaur and of course a jet.  What?  A JET?  Yes, I was confused at first too.  After careful deliberation however I realized that the jet must have come to protect the flinstones from the dinosaurs.  This clearly explains why the dinosaur is a skeleton.  I’m just brilliant sometimes.  Here are a few of my favorite pics from the Flinstone/jet stop.  Notice how super strong Mr. C is in one. 

After lunch I drove us into the park.  I saw something down the road a little bit but didn’t think much of it until we got closer and I noticed it was a big ELK!  I stopped a little suddenly and the Elk hung out for a few minutes.  I’d never seen one before and I have to say I was pretty impressed.  I always get mad when I see those signs that say to watch for certain animals for like 100 miles and then I NEVER see them.  Of course we didn’t see any other animals but at least I got one checked off my list!  This was my fourth trip to the GC and it never gets old.  In the words of Mrs. S, it’s “very grand”.   We drove around the south rim stopping every now and then for pictures.  Mrs. S and I were a little jumpy when the guys got close to the edge to get some pics.  I really didn't want anyone in our group to be in the news for getting too close to the edge.  Obviously we all made it out alright and they probably weren’t that close to the edge…we were just edgy.  Ha ha. 

Monday

After lunch we headed to the Scottsdale Civic Center area to look for this love sculpture I’ve always wanted to check out.   Since we had the new camera we figured it would be perfect to take some pics there and I’d get to see how my photography skills were.  I’m not sure I learned much about my photography or directing of people skills though.

A spring training game was going on so we couldn’t find a parking spot, well not a legal one anyhow.  We were going to just park in a not-so-legal spot but I was a little worried about a ticket or coming back to no car.  Then we spotted a guy leaving so Mr. S ran down to stand in the spot while Mr. C pulled the car around.  Group work!  Thanks to that the car was not towed and we managed to find the sculpture (which is amazing cuz my directions left a lot to be desired.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots. Dave and Buster’s was our last stop before the airport and I was so excited to be going on a Monday.  Weekdays off work are like candy to me!  They’re just the best!  We racked up a bunch of tickets and had a lot of fun playing games even though I did pretty horrible on about everything I tried.  I think the little kid next to me on skeeball got like 20 tickets in one game.  I only got one per game and I think that’s just the pity ticket so you don’t leave empty handed.

So, a great weekend and such a great way to kick off spring break!  I’m so glad we got to spend the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. S.  We hope to have many more fun weekends with them, especially if the plan to move closer pans out!

#91 and a bunch of ramblings

Some weeks it feels like I rack my brain to think of something to write about.  Other weeks, it seems that I have too many things floating around my head and not enough time.   This week is one of those occasions I have A TON to write about!  I actually took some time off this year during spring break and have a bunch to write about that!  Unfortunately I was so busy that I didn’t have time to write so I’m catching up now (after having caught up a little bit on sleep).  First up though is a little “housekeeping” - one of my 101 in 1001 items that I’m super excited to have checked off my list.

Mr. C and I have been shopping around for over a year for a D-SLR camera.  I don’t know about you, but I think a year is a very long time.  We didn’t even shop around a year for mattress, or wedding rings, or a computer, or socks.  Hey, socks are super important and should not be selected lightly.  And, wedding rings are forever!  Anyhow, we knew we wanted a Canon but didn’t want to run out and buy just any camera.  We shopped around, I watched for deals, stalked the reviews on amazon.com and we FINALLY decided on a Canon Rebel T2i. 

We were still waiting for the right time though and couldn’t quite take the plunge.  A few weeks ago we were in Sedona taking pictures of the beautiful scenery with our little point and shoot camera (which I still love).  The pictures weren’t turning out like I wanted because my zoom just couldn’t cut it and everywhere we looked there were people with their amazing SLR cameras taking amazing pictures with their amazing zooms (I’m sure zooms is a technical term).  That was it.  When we got home I found the best deal I’d seen since we started looking.  Last week we proudly walked out of the store holding our new purchase.  We were like little kids with our bike, or tickle-me-elmo or something like that.  Although tickle-me-elmo is awesome no matter what age you are.  Elmo just rocks.  Not sure how this is related to the SLR purchase at this point though…but nevertheless Elmo rocks.

In the beginning it was just me that wanted the camera but then Mr. C started catching on.  He says he always wanted it but I don’t remember this and it’s my blog so we’ll just say he wanted one after I began obsessing over them.  We both knew we’d like the camera but I never expected to love it as much as we do!  We might have to eventually buy another (a long ways down the road!) because we’re fighting over who gets to use it already!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the clarity of the photos.  The night we got it we were super excited that it showed the dust particles on the dresser!  (Yes, I know this is totally lame, and probably means I should dust more often).  Plus, it just does stuff our old camera just couldn’t.  I’m also excited that the lenses are compatible with other Canon SLR’s so if we upgrade down the line or end up purchasing another (we joke that we’ll become a wedding photography duo soon on the side) then we can still use our lenses which I LOVE!


Luckily we purchased the camera before our spring break guests arrived, meaning that we got some great pictures of off the festivities.   I tried my best to take lots of pics so the next posts will probably be packed full of them.  It might end up like a picture book with like three words for every photo.  I’ll try to contain myself! 


I also feel the need to mention that I know I’ve been slacking on my 101 in 1001 list lately.  I just get so busy that at times I forget about it (gasp - I know it’s terrible).  I’m sure you’ve all been distraught at home wondering when I’d get to my list.  Right?  Yeah, I know I’m not the centner of your world (get it!) but you never know!  When I read the 101 list I get tingly and excited all over again (because we all know about my love affair with lists).  So, after checking #91 off my list, I’m hoping to start getting serious on #’s 5-12 which are my scary fitness goals.  Honestly, most of them aren’t that scary, they just require a little time and some accountability.  Stay tuned for more riveting posts on these.  I know I’m rambling but I’m just telling you so I don’t flake out on them :)   My friend told me the other day that I’m really good at saying a lot of words without actually saying anything.  Why yes, I do believe I’ve perfected that art.  I considered taking a poll on this but I assume the outcome wouldn’t be good for me!  Ok, I’m stopping myself now. 

Reality Check

On the books today: a little more serious post that’s actually NOT about me, well not really….

I’ve had some rough days in the past couple weeks.  I’ve been anxious, sad, happy, worried, and a bunch of other emotions.  I sound a little crazy when I put it this way, but there is a point to this.

I like to keep up-to-date on current events because I think it’s important to understand what’s going on in the world and to have a focal point other than myself.  Obviously the tragedies in Japan have been flooding the news lately.  It’s amazing what these people have been through, first the earthquake, then a tsunami, and now issues with radiation.  They don’t know if they can trust the news they’re hearing and who can blame them?  Today I’m tired, have a headache, and have so many things running through my mind.  But, the point is that this doesn’t even begin to compare with the devastation these people are going through.  At the end of the day I go home to my house, husband, puppy, and know that my family and friends are safe and tomorrow will be a new day.  I can catch up on my sleep, take something for the headache, and I know that my small worries will work themselves out.  It’s heartbreaking to watch videos, to see the numbers of dead and missing growing too quickly, and to consider the emotional toll of losing even one loved one.

This weekend was a great weekend for me and I’ll be blogging about that later, but when I logged online this morning to check on the latest in Japan it hit me that I was so lucky to be able to take a “break” from the media’s depressing news stories.   How great it would be to take a break from anything bad in our lives.  These people cannot take a break from this though.  I watched a clip of a man in a shelter and thought about how different my life could be.  I can’t even imagine being in a shelter, knowing I had no home to return to.  I’m not even sure what you do all day.  I’m pretty sure I’d want to just sleep until it was all over.  I have days like that now and they’re pretty minimal.  Disasters are so devastating because they’re fast and unexpected.  At any time something like this can happen and shake us all out of our happy, safe, and too many times self-centered bubbles we live in. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook but this week I was fascinated with the comments posted concerning prayers for those in Japan, videos shared, the comments from people who have family and friends in Japan, and even Farmville’s encouragement of donating.  I guess it just reminded me that we’re all connected and we all have to look out for one another.  This tragedy hit Japan, Hawaii, and the West Coast, but it should affect all of us in the sense that we’re all mourning for those who lost their lives and the ones left behind who now have the responsibility of picking up the pieces.  We can all help in our own little ways.  While I know I can’t help literally pick up the pieces, I can donate and most of all I can always pray.  So last week, today, and for many days in the future, my heart and prayers go out to those who are dealing firsthand with this terrible disaster.  I hope we can all remember just how blessed we really are, even when it feels like the sky is falling down on our little world.

Oh Relationships

Relationships take a lot of work.  In the beginning, whether it’s a friendship or a romantic relationship, it’s easy.  Or, it’s supposed to be easy.  If it’s not easy in the beginning I think that’s usually a bad sign!  After awhile though, the honeymoon stage ends, life gets in the way and making time for each other becomes a little harder. At times it feels like everyone is playing tug-of-war with your limbs, each one being pulled in a different direction. 

At some point you make a decision.  Either you put in the effort or you don’t.  Either you’re there through thick and thin or you’re not.  Either it’s a two-way street or it’s not.  Either way, a decision is made.  It may not be a conscious decision but it’s a decision nevertheless.  Maybe it’s the choice to post big news online for everyone instead of calling a friend directly.  Maybe it’s the choice to simply stop making dinner plans together.  Maybe it’s the choice that there’s just not enough time to talk.  Maybe it’s the choice to let the distance win.  Maybe it’s the choice to avoid the hard times when you’re needed most.

With thoughts of moving on my mind, I’ve been thinking about friends lately, those I’ve made since I moved to AZ and those I’ve lost. Losing a friend is hard; it leaves an empty void that is not easily filled.  Each friend brings something different to the table and they all seem to fit together to complete a puzzle of niches.  I have friends I know will be there at 3am, friends that always make me smile, friends that are great at just listening, shopping friends, friends that call me on my crap, and friends that just understand. 

I know it will be hard to leave (assuming everything works out) but I also think of the amazing friends I’ve made and the ones I still have yet to meet. Some friends were there for only a short time and made an impression in my life they will never know. It is hard to imagine not seeing a friend at work for our morning tradition, not meeting my grouping sister on Saturday morning, not dropping in on my mother-in-law as we drive by, or not being able to grab lunch with women who make me laugh until it hurts. I found this quote online and I think whoever wrote it was trying to sum up my thoughts -  “Moving on is simple, what you leave behind that makes it difficult”.

So, thank you to all my friends who have changed my life for the better.  You are the ones who have inspired me, encouraged me, kept me sane, listened to me complain, cry, and scream with happiness.  We live in a fast paced world where we don’t always remember to tell everyone how much they mean to us.  So, if today is it I want you to know that you’re amazing and I’m so glad you’ve been a part of my life.

"If we discovered that we had only 5 minutes left to say what we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them." 
-Christopher Morley