Thanksgiving Week on the East Coast

I have a feeling that this blog is going to end up longer than I intend for it to be...so, I'll be brief with words and let the pictures do a lot of the talking. :)

Our first stop on the east coast was in NYC for two RH concerts. The first concert was near Greenwich Village at a cool music hall/ bar called "Rockwood Music Hall". It was a fun time of listening to my favorite band and seeing friends I hadn't seen in a long time! Kolleen (my roommate from Ireland) and her fiance, Doug, came to the show, and so did a high school friend that I hadn't seen in 9 years (Melissa and her boyfriend Jordan....in picture below). After the show we went out to a great Italian Restaurant and hung out until 1:30am...I don't know when I was out that late last, but we had to live it up since we were in the city that never sleeps.


Our great friend, Paul Ma, let us stay in his apartment while he was gone to Boston for the weekend...his place has the most incredible view...here is a photo from outside looking over the Hudson River.


We had the day off on Saturday, and had wanted to go to a Broadway show, but every single one we attempted to get tickets for was sold out! So, we walked around the city, had a great lunch, saw some hip hop street performers, and hung out in Central Park.



That night they had their second show wich was near Madison Square Gardens at a christian coffee shop called "The Underground". A ton of Ryan's friends from h.s. came, which was really fun! The place was packed...they had to keep bringing out more and more chairs for people to sit at...I think this may be a great new venue for RH shows in NYC!

On Sunday, I threw a baby shower for my friend Liz in Boston. It was a co-ed shower, with lots of games, and amazing Ugandan food (I didn't cook the food...Liz's friend Jen did the cooking). It was such a unique experience, as Liz had never even been to a baby shower before, let alone one for her! It was such a great day, and has put the bug for wanting to go to Africa in Ryan and I big time! At the end of the night one of the guests, Jen, said a little speech and explained how in Africa it is custom to give a gift to someone who puts on a party or does something nice for someone else, so she gave me a gift of a beautiful African dress!

Jen, Liz, me, and Ryan...


After the shower, RH played a show at Club Passim, a great folk venue/vegetarian restaurant. Our friend Rache who had been in Kuwait for the past 14 months just came back to the US and was able to be at the show...


And, our friend Phil was there and out advertising the show in the Harvad Pit...he's so great!


We had a quick visit actually IN Boston, but we did get to meet up with our wonderful friends Peter and Clare for a fabulous fall dinner at their place.

Then, we were off to Maine for our annual Thanksgiving at the Sady's! This year Jana was there as well, which made it even more special. Thanksgiving morning the ladies went for a run around the harbor....



While the guys played their father/son golf tournament (Ryan was on the 'sons' team...which won!)....


We had a great Thanksgiving dinner! Then, went for a walk to make room for pie...

Jana, Jill, Abby, Ryan, and Ian (Jill's brother)




We spent the rest of the night having fun playing charades (which is wayyy fun and should be played more often!), scrabble, scattegories...and of course lots of talking. :)

The next morning, Ryan and I had to leave to make our flight back to Tucson. We took our annual photo in Jill's driveway...hugged...and cried...can't wait to be all together again!


Oh...and on the way to the airport, we stumbled upon the Tom's of Maine outlet store and stocked up!! :)

Botanical Gardens Cafe

There is an incredible organization in Tucson called Cafe 54 (www.cafe54.org). It's a unique cafe that hires and trains individuals with mental illness to work at the cafe to gain job skills and confidence with customer service, food prep, serving food, counting money, etc. Whenever the trainees are not working, they can spend time at the Clubhouse, which is a day center located nextdoor to the cafe, and work on their resumes, coverletters, check email, attend meetings, etc. Once they are feeling confident and ready, we then encourage them to start applying for jobs out in the community and then coach them through the interviewing process, etc.

Well, to make a long story short, the Tucson Botanical Gardens has a horticulture therapy program for individuals with any sort of mental or physical illnesses, where they garden for therapy. The Botanical Gardens love that Cafe 54 is a like-minded non-profit, so they asked us to start a Garden Cafe. I've been helping out at the Garden Cafe as a job coach for about a month now, whenever I am home...and I LOVE IT!

It's a little adobe cottage set in the most beautiful surroundings. Right now there is a huge butterfly exhibit going on, so everyday I go over and check out what stages they are in and also see many butterflies just fluttering around the gardens.

It's a really tasty menu with prickly pear and raspberry hibiscus iced teas, goat cheese tarts, salads, mediterranean plates, pesto/mozarella/tomato sandwiches, etc...oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the carrot cake and chocolate souffle bars!

Here's the front of the cafe...there are tables out in front, but they are hard to see in the picture...


Here is the ramada area where a lot of people sit to eat...

Happy Halloween!

I got home from DC on Monday at about 2:30pm. I was really missing Ryan, so I decided to book a flight to LA to have dinner with him and spend the week at the Rock 'n Roll Hotel! (Thank goodness for Southwest vouchers!!)...so by 5:30pm, I was back at the airport and on a plane to LA! While Ryan drove to the airport to pick me up, Cameron made a great dinner and we were able to bundle up and eat outside by candle light...so fun!

On halloween, we drove to Venice Beach to have lunch and spend the day with our friend Owen and his sister and brother-in-law. Owen, then came back to Fullerton with us, where we got dressed up, played guitar, and passed out candy to the kids...followed by having take-out Mexican!

So, Ryan's facial hair really did have a purpose bigger than being a fun surprise for me the other week!...but, the days of experimenting are gone, and so his facial hair as of today. :)

Run Jill Run!

Last weekend Jana, Jill, and I met up in D.C. for the Marine Corps Marathon...well, we weren't all there to run, but we were there because of the marathon. Jill was the focus of attention as she beautifully ran her first marathon!! Two years ago when I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, Jill met me at mile 22 and ran the rest of the way with me, so this year, I met her at mile 22 and did the same thing. It was so neat to be there and in it with her...she's a true gem!

Here's some photos to document the weekend with my ladies...

Pre-marathon preparations included writing JILL across her stomach in sharpie so that everyone could cheer for her along the way!


Looking so fine at mile nine...


Finishing strong on the uphill with only .2 to go!...


Yeah...she finished!! (and never has to run another marathon again if she doesn't want to...goal accomplished!)

Hip hip hooray for tax day!!

This was my first year as the official RH accountant...it took taking an extension on our taxes...but they are now done and on their way to IRS land...and I'm sooo happy!! :)



And, as a celebration that night...Owen Plant (www.owenplant.com), our good friend from Boston, was on his cross-country move to L.A. and stopped in Tucson for an outdoor show! (Ryan+Cameron joined him for a few songs as well!)

Happy Belated Bday!!

Ryan turned the big 2-5 last Wednesday! It was soo nice to have him home for a few days so we could celebrate with lots of family! We went over to his mom's house for dinner on Tuesday night, where Grammie had a close encounter with a rattle snake! We had to call the fire dept to have them come and take it away! Grammie has lived here for 50 years, and this is her first time ever hearing or seeing one, so don't worry...they aren't too commonly seen here, however they do exist in our desert sands...

On his actual birthday morning, we had breakfast at home together, followed by present time before heading to the airport for our Northwest adventures!


Ryan will soon be projecting movies in our backyard for movie parties!!...

We spent the evening in Seattle for dinner...

and amazing dessert from the Chocolate Factory...


And then a solo Bruce Hornsby concert!...


It was so fun to have a whole day to celebrate Ryan!

The Great AK

It has been surprising for me to learn that Alaska (Anchorage) isn't really any colder, nor does it get more snow than Michigan. However, their winters are much longer (October-April) and they have the whole 'lots of day light in the summer' to 'hardly any day light in the winter' thing going on. While we were there, the sun came up around 8:30ish, they said in December it won't come up until about 11:30 and then it sets around 4pm!

We had a a few good days to really explore the beautiful scenery through lots of hiking. Everyone we met there was so hospitable and wanted to show us around their home state (and I thought Texans had state pride!?!?!). We spent one day exploring with the director of Activities and a couple of students from UAA. They took us south on the Seward Highway to Windy Point for a hike...


On our drive we saw this marshy area with about 40 wild swans in it! Mike told us that it was a very unusual thing to see this many in one place...here's a photo of some flying in...

Our next hike was at Flat Top...another beautiful view!


We had a great lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse, where they not only have the freshest of seafood options, but they also have housemade rootbeer and cream soda!
The show at UAA on Friday night was really really good! The guys were totally on in full humor mode about conquering the world, one non-contiguous state at a time. AND, jewelry sales were up as well!! We sold 3 necklaces and 2 pairs of earrings!

On Saturday, we met up with Amy, we first met her last fall at a show in Washington, however she is from Alaska, so she flew home for the weekend so that she could see RH play in her hometown, Palmer. We started our morning with brunch at Gwennie's...complete with the Alaskan treat of reindeer sausage...I know, it sounds mean, but I promise Santa will still be able to fly his sleigh...it was actually really really good!


Our next stop on our trip out to Palmer was at a Glacier River surrounded by mountains. Ryan and I competed at skipping rocks...I think we about tied...

Then Ryan and Cameron practiced throwing rocks with their left hand...neither one of them even got as far as runner-up. There's Amy in this picture...can you tell she's the Alaskan with her gaucho pants and flip flops in 30 degree weather!

There was a cute reindeer farm that we stopped at...


Our next stop was at the Butte...Amy taught us about riking (run/hiking)...I think Ryan outdid us all with endurance...

From the top, we had a beautiful view of Palmer...


Saturday night they played to a packed house at Vagabond Blues, a club very similar to Passim (veggie restaurant/coffee house).

Amy joined them on stage for a Nickel Creek Song...the three of them together harmonized sooo beautifully! Here is a picture from soundcheck..

Just before the show...we saw a beautiful sunset that turned the mountains purple!

We took the red-eye flight home last night...so we're feeling a wee bit sleepy today!

Alaska: The Last Frontier!

We have arrived in Alaska and it's absolutely gorgeous!
Here's a shot from our plane ride in...

The campus activities director and a student picked us up from the airport and gave us a mini-tour of Anchorage this morning. This afternoon we spent hiking one of the many beautiful trails along the water. Most of the leaves have already fallen, but a few trees are still brilliant in color...

It's about 40-45 degrees here as a high right now, which is very chilly for us desert cats, but we're dressed for it, and enjoying one of the many seasons that Tucson doesn't experience.
We had a great lunch at Snow City Cafe. It's the perfect weather for hot cocoa and dessert, so we indulged and had cream cheese pumpkin pie!...here's a photo from our walk 'home' after eating...

This evening the guys played a teaser set at the University of Alaska Anchorage to promote tomorrow night's concert. The crowd was quite receptive, which was fun. Then we had dinner in the dining hall, which is always a fun experience...unfortunately the frozen yogurt machine was down though! :(
The Student Activities Director who has been showing us around is from the Boston area and has a wicked thick accent even though he's lived here for 30 years, so it's been fun spending time with him and hearing his stories of both Boston and Alaskan adventures. Tomorrow morning we driving down the Seward Highway to Girdwood for a hike on the Winner Creek trail and then up a cliff to see some mountain goats. I guess there are moose all around this area, so hopefully we'll see some while we are out and about tomorrow (hopefully not while I'm runnin though! :)...and it's also a perfect time of year to see the Northern Lights...hopefully there are less clouds tomorrow so we get a good glimpse! :)

anonywho?

Hello dear friends and family!
Thanks so much for always checking our blog and posting...we love it...we love you....and we'd love to know who posted what! :) So, if you don't have a blogger account, just post under the 'anonymous' icon, but then please write your name after your message so we know who you are! thank you thank you thank you!! :)

Today was a little warm for fall weather comfort...a good ol' 89 degrees! Grammie came over for lunch this afternoon and we sat and talked for a couple of hours, which was really nice. Then this evening I went to our young-marrieds small group...even though we're a small church, there is a good number of people who are in the same stage of life as us, which is so fun!

sassy squirrels and sad cider

It's funny that I just posted pictures of our zinnias that have been blooming so beautifully all summer...I guess one thing that I didn't mention in that post, was that there have been holes in the soil in that flower bed off and on throughout the summer. We thought for a while that it might be a tarantula nest, then when the hole seemed to be getting bigger, we thought it must be a prairie dog. Well, when I got home from Utah and talked to Grammie, she said that with how big the hole has gotten, she thought it must be a groundhog! Sure enough, this creature's hole has taken over half of the flowerbed and the other half is now the mound of dirt which he threw in digging his hole(s)...

I went to Home Depot to see if they had anything that would help deter this creature from living in my flowerbed. The helpful employee wanted to make sure they knew what kind of animal it was before recommending a product...and in describing the size of the hole and the mound of dirt to her...she determined that it was most likely a ground squirrel. I was a bit baffled at first since I'm used to seeing squirrels living in trees, and being overly people-friendly in The Commons, NOT hiding themselves under the ground. But, sure enough, her mention of this brought me back to the afternoon when Ryan and I were so puzzled by a little creature on our back patio that we took a picture...only to laugh at it later when we realized it was a squirrel...something that went from being so common to see in Michigan and Boston, to being so rare in AZ that we didn't even know what it was at first!

I've put stuff in the squirrel's home so that he should hopefully stop digging holes...and I re-planted what was left of the zinnias on the side of the house...


Now, on to the next portion of this blog's title...
In my effort to fully enjoy the beautiful "fall" (AZ-style fall that is) weather we've been having, I decided to go to the grocery store to get some apple cider. I looked all over the produce area of the store, which is where I thought apple cider is commonly found, and couldn't find it anywhere! I finally decided to ask someone who worked there to point me in the direction of the apple cider. She responded by telling me that it'd be in aisle 1 with all of the other vinegar. What? No, not cider vinegar, I thought to myself. Then I explained what exactly it was and she pointed me to the sparkling cider area. I had to further explain what it was...and finally she said she thought it'd be next to the apple juice (I didn't know what to think by this point, so I just went with the flow of things). Sure enough next to the apple juice was a bottle that said apple cider. Now, it didn't look anything like apple cider to me, and the ingredients were EXACTLY the same as the apple juice ingredients, but in my attempt to not judge a cider by it's bottle, I decided to try it. And, sure enough, it tasted just like apple juice without a hint of cider involved. Rumor has it, that they may have REAL apple cider at Trader Joe's...


In my complaining about AZ's apple cider (or lack thereof) to a friend yesterday, I was reminded that we probably do have one of the best salsa selections, so I need to quit being such a negative nancy. :)