SNOW DAY!

We got a real chunk of snow last night/early this morning. I got a call at 5:04 a.m. from my dentist's office saying that they were not going to be able to open and that I'd have to reschedule. Here's a pic of the house and front yard covered in snow. Oh, and Mark is the man in the picture too. He stayed home from work today and I had the day off anyway. This is how deep it was. Our patio table looked like this:And Mark shows you from a different angle how much snow we got.And of course, would the day be complete without some home baked cookies? Of course not.
Last night we went over to our neighbors' house for dinner (Mitch and Katie). Dinner was awesome! We had fillet mignon, sweet potatoes, salad with strawberries and pine nuts, homemade bread, and then chocolate lava cakes hot out of the ramekins for dessert! Yum, yum! We left at nearly 10 p.m. after viewing a slide show of their recent 3 week trip to New Zealand. It was amazing. They're having a baby that is due in about 3 weeks. It's a little boy. We wish them the best!

mam, your passport has expired.

Ever since I got married I have been meaning to update my passport with my married name. But I just never seemed to get around to doing it. So, I'd drag along my birth certificate in case they needed proof of the difference in name.

Well, I got a little push to change it now. Mark and I booked a trip to the southern Carribbean for March. And they recently changed the "rules" that now you must have a passport for the Carribbean, whereas previously it was unnecessary. Paid all of my fees, airfare, etc. And then thought, "ya know, I think I booked all of that in my MARRIED name and my passport is in my MAIDEN name." Well, I got my passport out and it doesn't matter anyway because it has EXPIRED. Awesome. Now I have to fill out a form and get it expedited to make sure that it's here before we leave.

Never put off today, what you can do tomorrow. My reversed motto has gotten me in this mess!

In other news, Sprinkles (the cat) made a visit to a new vet last week and he is doing very well! He got a shot of antibiotic, a shot of steroid, and his updated rabies vaccine. He is more playful, doesn't sleep all day, and is more tolerant of the other cat, Miss Marble. But I think since he's been awake more, he has become bored. He follows me around during the day room to room, and just sits and watches me. It's been too cold for him to stay outside long. Supposed to get even colder this weekend!

The bad news is that Sprinkles may have some cancer on his nose. Squamous cell carcinoma, to be exact. I thought it was just some dirt he had nosed around in, but the vet thinks otherwise. We'll have to schedule him for a biopsy later. I want to make sure his throat gets completely cleared up before I put him through something painful like that.

2009: A New Year

When making some of my resolutions, it turns out to be more of a "to do" list.

-Get my SECOND lasik eye surgery to fix my left eye that didn't completely correct with the first surgery.
-Finish kitchen cabinets
-Tile backsplash for kitchen
-Staining the deck and replacing some boards
-Finish decorating the study and master BR
-replacing some light fixtures
-painting the house (outside)
-New stove (the old one is the most inefficient appliance I've ever used). It's the last appliance to have to replace.
-Go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
-Travel

There are more little odds and ends, but I won't bore you all with them.

OH, and I almost forgot: my new resolution is to post on my blog very frequently--at least three times a week!!! Let's see how long I keep this one up!

Can you figure out what is wrong with this sign?

At the Grand Canyon.

Montezuma's Castle

This place is like a tiny bit of Mesa Verde, except you can't go walk up to it because it's carved in the side of a mountain. I have to admit that it is very interesting, but wished I could have gotten closer. It was absolutely shocking just how many visitors this place gets during the year. I hope that we will soon be able to go out to Mesa Verde in the four corners region and see it sometime in the near future.

Scenic Drive

This is the view of west Sedona from the airport. The road we traveled was known as "Airport Road". There's a "coffee cup mountain" somewhere in the background, but I never could really see it.

Jerome, Arizona

Jerome, AZ is an old mining town (copper) built on the side of a mountain. There are few residents left but a whole lot of history remains. It was once known as the "wickedest town in the west". Whoa.

Joy and I discussing what we're going to get at the "sweets shop".

Joy got some ice cream and I decided on a frozen chocolate dipped banana rolled in nuts. And it was totally delicious!! And yes, I shared it with Mark.

Our camera batteries died after this photo, otherwise we'd have more pics of the town!

Chapel on the Mountain

This was the Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the mountain which provided spectacular views of Sedona and the surrounding red rocks.

The Grand Canyon

Mark and I made a quick drive up to see the entire South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Near where the big canyon looks like it starts

Mark at a lookout

It didn't take nearly as long as I had thought it would to see the big hole in the ground. But it was a beautiful sight.

New Year's Day (and night)

We and the Hoffmans booked the "Broken Arrow" Pink Jeep Tour. It was two hours of driving over very rugged terrain and onto some of the large rocks. It provided beautiful vistas for photos. Here Joy and I are getting ready to go on the tour after making reservations for dinner at the Cowboy Club for New Year's night. It's MUCH nicer on the inside than it looks to be on the outside. It's famous for being the place that John Wayne, etc would come and eat after filming their movies.Joy exiting the pink jeep:Mark at our first stop for pictures: Us at a popular place for couple photos:Here I was falling off of a rock: Really, I'm lying on my side and we just turned the photo. But it looks pretty real, doesn't it?

And here is Joy falling from the rock:

Our tour guide told us to pose like this. Looks pretty neat, huh?Until he told us to turn around and we look like the Class Officers for the Senior Class Photo.And here we are at dinner at the famous Cowboy Club. A very nice place. Mark had salmon with butternut squash and steamed vegetables and I had two lobster tails and shrimp on a bed of pasta with a lobster bisque sauce. Ended with a delicious warm apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream. YUM!

And guess what we ordered as an appetizer: Cactus Fries made from REAL cactus!!! It had a bit of a tang to it but really was quite good!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! We're on our winter vacation to Sedona, Arizona. We planned it to be at the same time as the Hoffmans were going to be here (pictured above). We both got in yesterday afternoon and met for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. So much fun! But we were so exhausted from travel and our bodies being two hours ahead that we just couldln't stay up and welcome the new year in last night.

This morning we woke up early, got ready and headed out to watch the sun rise over the beautiful red rocks in Sedona. We drove all around the place looking for a restaurant that served breakfast and just couldn't believe that nothing was open. Do they eat breakfast here? We finally realized that it was in fact a holiday (we had forgotten). So, we found a great local bread company and ate breakfast there. Lots of fresh fruit, a fritatta, and banana nut bread. Plus coffee and some fresh squeezed orange juice.

Of all things: I forgot my coat. Thankfully, there was a Gap outlet right up the road and I bought a fleece piece to get me through.

This afternoon we're meeting up with the Hoffmans for a "Pink Jeep Tour". I can't wait to get all of the fantastic photos and share them with you!