L'aventure américaine

It was my Phoenician year anniversary last Wednesday and I toasted myself a few times throughout the day. I just reviewed my postings from last year and revisited my Scottsdale neck of the woods yesterday when I took Odie to the vet. And I'm trying to reflect on lessons from my first year in Phoenix. 1. Do not run straight into Jumping Cholla cacti. (I actually learned this vicariously through Odie.) 2. If you leave a candle outside in the summer, you will have to fish inside the wax for the wick, which has long since sunk to the bottom. 3. Saguaro Cacti might be the coolest plants on earth (I have learned a lot of cactus facts.) 4. Odie may NEED shoes to run on the asphalt during the summer, but he doesn't like wearing them. 5. Inviting yourself to parties and camping trips pays off when you meet new friends. 6. Said parties and camping trips go down easier with a bit of beer. 7. Oncology is hard and sad and inspirational. 8. It's important to find a happiness/sadness b...

I am home for Halloween and got dressed up for the first time in a few years. However, my mom's enthusiasm and ability to scare small children far outshone the rest of us. It's so good to be home.

Dear Phoenix, I know that it's not my birthday yet, but I wanted to give you a preemptive thank you. Even though you threaten thunderstorms tomorrow, the high temperature is 86 degrees. While I appreciate your flashy wrapping paper of lighting and baseball-sized hail, a simple cold snap will do. However, I'm grateful no matter what the presentation and I look forward to enjoying a temperate day with you. Love, me

Birthdays are fun. Especially when you add wine and cheese to the mix. I threw my first party last night for my 28th and it was a success. I labeled all of my wines, my cheeses and got my Pandora station ready. I was a little worried when only two people had showed up at 7:30pm (the party "began" at 7pm), but more guests soon arrived with libations and fun. It was a rousing success and my little house held us all and my first birthday party in Phoenix was excellent. And so commenced my birthweek! Here are the remnants of the party. Macaroni and cheese will be on the menu for days to come.

I visited Sedona for the first time this weekend and it was quite the getaway. I have heard about the vortexes (vertices... evidently both pronunciations are correct) and the red rocks, but mainly, I had heard that it was 10 degrees cooler there and I am sick of the heat here. Did you get that? The high is 107 degrees today. Honestly. Phoenix, for my birthday, I want a cool 85 degrees, okay? Okay. The Good Doctor (hereby referred to as TGD) took me on a weekend getaway and it was fabulous. We stayed at L'Auberge with a fantastic view of the Red Rocks and I learned what "turn-down service" was. I had the best scallops that I have ever tasted in my life and got to shower in an outdoor shower. Of course, I'm not quite sure why an outdoor shower is so luxurious, but for some reason, it was, so I used it the entire time. TGD and I hiked along the West Fork of Oak Creek and watched the sunset from Schnebly Hill. It was so beautiful up there on the red rocks and w...

The weather was bearable enough yesterday for a hike around South Mountain and Odie and I were excited to put our hiking shoes on once again. Midway through the hike, I commenced another Phoenician intitiation ritual when I saw my first rattlesnake. We were at the top of the mountain, a little off trail to get a better view and when we started the trek back, I saw a snake about the width of my wrist. Odie snuck forward to investigate and a head popped out and the rattle commenced. Say what you will about my dog, but when I use my panicked voiced to call him, he comes!! Unfortunately, the snake was blocking our only trail, so we had to hightail it off trail, going the long way around to avoid Mr. Rattler. (Upon further investigate on Google... I think that it was a Sidewinder Rattlesnake .) I think that I reached my target heart rate yesterday. In other, more mundane, news. I have promised house pictures for ages. Note my "Welcome to Adulthood" couch. I'm very pr...

I believe that I have made many of blog readers watch this already, but you should watch it again. The Oregon Trail Official Trailer Funniest thing I have seen in ages. Plus, who didn't name a character "Poopface"? In other news, I'm back in Phoenix and it is hot. (Shocking.) It's good to be back and Odie was quite pleased to see me. He peed all over the porch in a fine form of salutation!