Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Spring!



Hooray!
Resurrection Sunday is a wonderful day!

New clothes are an Easter tradition since the first Christians


I happily found a dress at the last moment:
dress: Calvin Klein
bag: Kenneth Cole Reaction
shoes: Aerosoles
nametag: not cool, but necessary!


And it's my favorite colors: blue and green
(with touches of mustard)!


 It started out at $119, but no way was I paying that!


Thank you, eBay, for providing me my dress for much less moolah!


Greg ran sound for three services on Sunday.




I got to hang out with students and other volunteers for two services and had a grand time.
I love holidays in my classroom!

*************

I found a new lotion I LOVE that seems to work better for my sensitive and dry skin.
Andalou AGAIN . . . my whole skincare routine (and almost all my hair care) is from them now!
find it here


 This agate lamp is a gift from my brother and his family for our anniversary and
it's gorgeous!
We're still working on finding the best place for it.  It's a rock, so we need to keep it somewhere stable because if it falls, it could crack the tile.
similar


Moving right along to some snuggle baby photos!

Allistair:






Stephen: 



Look at those bright eyes! 


He likes to droop like a sloth: 



Look at that handsome face!
He has a lot of whiskers. 


Claude: 


Little fuzzy paw:



My parents headed back to Minnesota early this morning.
I miss you already!
last dinner at Barro's for the year

Friday, March 25, 2016

Wispy Clouds & Chair Re-Arrangement



We have been having glorious weather!
It's chilly in the mornings and in the 80s in the afternoon and
SUNNY!  

The other day we had some beautiful wispy clouds.




It's been a full week + now that our babies were exposed to a poisonous plant, and in the spirit of that experience I wanted to share with you a list of plants that are known to cause health problems (or death!) for cats.

Amaryllis (Amaryllis sp.)
Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale)
Azaleas and Rhododendrons (Rhododendron sp.)
Castor Bean (Ricinus communis)
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.)
Cyclamen (Cyclamen sp.)
English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)
Lilies (Lilium sp.)
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa)
Oleander (Nerium oleander)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.)
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Poinsettia
Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta)
Spanish thyme (Coleus ampoinicus)
Tulip and Narcissus bulbs (Tulipa and Narcissus sp.)
Yew (Taxus sp.)


That's a LOT of plants!!!!!
Most of them I had no idea.
I have had a number of them in my house (and oleanders grow over the fence from the neighbor's yard, but Juvy has never eaten any, as far as I know).

 As I mentioned, everyone is fine.

Allistair went crazy with the scratchy arch the other day.


"Now you've caught me in the midst of undignified behavior."


And then got really sleepy. 


Sleeping in the sun while Mommy works in her office is even better!



Stephen was sleepy, too.


It's very difficult to get a good photo of him!


It's not easy to take a photo of Juvy, either, but at least you can see her pretty little pink tongue!


I presented the Chirp Curriculum on Sunday to a church in the area
(it went well)
and wore this outfit:
dress: Calvin Klein
shoes: STEVEN by Steve Madden
bag: Betsey Johnson
camisole: I'm not telling because I HATED it!



Here I am in their bathroom right before I started my little talk!


My Mom's toenail polish (selected by my Dad!)
would have matched my outfit.
Such pretty feet!


Do you have Truly Nolan where you live?
Their cars are dressed up like mice!
When they're stopped, the ears flap up . . .  


. . . and then they fold down when the car goes forward.
I think they're adorable. 



I decided to move the two white kitchen chairs into the dining room for a little changeroo.
I think I like it!





The kitchen looks different, too, since two of the dining room chairs are now in there.


And I reorganized my make-up drawer (about time!)
Now there's only stuff I actually use.
Ahhh, feels refreshed!



I found this photo on my phone and wanted to say that we celebrated our anniversary last week in grand style - with pizza! 



Happy Friday!!!

Friday, March 18, 2016

Massacre Falls Hike


Cindy was on spring break this last week, so we took advantage of some of the last cool-ish days of the spring to hike on a trail new to both of us: Massacre Falls trail in the Superstition Mountains.

Good reflection in the back window of the Cube!
We were excited to get out there.


Lots of stuff was blooming - it's rare to see the desert as colorful as it is right now.





This particular hike has a LOT more greenery than many of the desert hikes I've done.
 It felt lush.





The Ocotillo are blooming! 


I feel as if I was blooming, too.
I had amazing stamina and positivity in spite of the long hike and the heat.
I am not known for my ability to tolerate heat or long physical exertion, so this feels like a whole new me!  I attribute this to my eating pattern shift I started last July.


Look at the textures and colors! 



This hike was around the back of the Lost Dutchman Treasure Loop. 

Cacti were blooming in brilliant pink: 








Trails in Arizona are typically marked by cairns, which are little piles of rocks.
When we don't see any for awhile, we assume we've veered off track. 




I love taking photos of cairns because they're pretty and organic and interesting,
and this one had an extra BONUS: a little lizard! 


Can you spot him from afar?




I couldn't stop taking pictures of him, and he seemed to know it because he posed for me!


As we ascended, the ground got rockier.


There's Four Peaks!
I always try to keep that in my mind because then I know where I am. 


There was plenty else to see, though! 





We stopped in this shade because it was already HOT (around 86 for a high): 


The cool rock felt wonderful on our sweaty backs!


The view was pretty, too! 



I saw this little plant that I've never seen before!
 A sedum, perhaps?



We found a fault line.
This area all used to be volcanic mountains. 


The rock was tricky to climb because it was smooth and steeper.
I thought it was a fun challenge because I have mountain goat genes and gecko feet.




There were caves sprinkled around in the rocky terrain. 


We got to Praying Hands, a rock formation that is part of the Lost Dutchman park . . . 
and we knew we had gone too far.
The information we read about Massacre Falls led us to believe we would find the "falls" before Praying Hands.
And by the way, the "falls" only have water after a BIG rain.

We ate our snack in the shade.



On the way back, I investigated an area off the trail and up a steep incline.
There were holes in the rocks that looked good for shooting arrows through . . . 
 (the name "Massacre Falls" comes from an actual massacre)


The black on the rocks leads me to believe that water has flowed here . . . 

I think we went too far north by taking a different trail.
I will definitely be trying again! 



The rocks were beautifully green with moss and lichen. 

And I was up very high!


On the way down, it was hot.
But we made it!!! 



Of course, we took the wrong fork to the parking lot and ended up a ways down the road from the Cube.  Oops! 



We made it, though!


I got home and snuggled the little babies . . . 







And I was thankful for such a beautiful world!