Let's Talk Guitar

It's been a while.

Because of spring break and our visitors, I haven't been practicing on a regular basis. Also, since Ruthie the Cat came into our lives and into our home, I haven't seen Genevieve as much. You know what they say--out of sight, out of mind. Here's what I used to see as I walked down the hallway:

Genevieve would always call to me. Okay, Genevieve, let's play some chords. One thing would lead to another, and an hour later I'd continue on with my daily tasks. She'd often whisk me away to a pleasant diversion, but now this is what I see as I walk down my hallway:

That is not inviting at all, is it? Nothing beckons me to open that closed door. And that's really a pity. 

Although Genevieve is getting to be close to a year old, she is still in perfect condition. She has zero bumps or scratches (knock on wood), but Ruthie has front claws. I'm taking no chances leaving my guitar exposed as Ruthie has graced us with her musical stylings on the piano on the few nights when I forgot to close it up. There is no door to the room in which our piano sits so this is what I do for its protection every night:

Beautiful, huh? It really makes the room pop.

I need to make an effort to open the door to "the guitar room" more often, though, because I'm really starting to miss it. And it should go without saying that I need the practice. Although, I had another lesson with Bob today and he thinks I'm doing just great. He's very please with my progress, and I admit that I enjoy hearing him say that. I managed to cram two weeks of practicing into one hour right before I left for my lesson, and it was like college studying all over again! Somehow it worked today, and he was surprisingly so taken aback by my playing and enthusiasm that he gave me an assignment that I feel is way beyond my ability.

I'm picking chords then picking chords with different notes in the bass (I don't even know if I'm explaining that correctly) and adding an upstrum with just three of the strings in each bar. The song is "Whiter Shade of Pale." Oh my. Good luck, sister! I walked out of there and left my brains on the sidewalk. I was putting my guitar in the back of my car thinking, Do you know what you're doing? Are you going to be able to figure this out at home? You know that you can't replay Justin's tutorial until you get it, right? You are on your own. Totally alone! No one can help you for a whole week. This is it. You need to work on this and work on this a lot. You're gonna need to open that door to your practice room often! 

I was sweating and my heart was beating fast, but when I turned on the car I heard George Harrison sing as if on cue, "It's gonna take patience and time. Ooooo. To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it right, child."

The coincidences in my life really blow me away sometimes, but I know how to take a hint. Okay, George. It's gonna take patience and time, and I've got my mind set on this.

On To Paul

I'm still feeling the effects of February's Beatlemania. I'm also inspired by Elizabeth's voracious reading. Somehow in the past two weeks, the two came together (groan, sorry) to produce the idea that I should read all about each of the Beatles. A quick pass through the library's biography section indicated that I should begin with John Lennon as there was practically an entire shelf of books dedicated to him. I chose one written by Cynthia Lennon, his first wife. I'm not sure why I was drawn to that one.

From the beginning, I wasn't impressed with her writing, and her accounts--though probably filled with truth--left me believing that even more truth was omitted, possibly to make herself look angelic and victimized. I'm sure her life with him wasn't easy, but perhaps a more honest approach wouldn't have left me thinking that she wrote this book only to show that she was something special, too. That aside, I enjoyed delving into the life of such an icon. Except despite his artistic genius and peace-loving ways, he wasn't a very kind man to those closest to him. That's nothing new, but reading about how harsh he could be was sometimes cringe-inducing.

Next I chose to read about the other deceased, and also my favorite, Beatle George Harrison. There were only two books on him on the library's shelf that day so I checked out them both. I read the biography on Saturday, and made it through the more coffee table-like book today.

Why is he my favorite? Because he seemed the most down-to-earth. Not so much the showman, he appeared to be the most uncomfortable with their popularity and he sort of shunned the press or didn't say much. However, like most "quiet types," he certainly had a lot to say, and the sheer quantity of songs he wrote proves as much. I thought I knew a lot about him, but turns out I knew very little. Reading about his life was enlightening, but I admittedly was surprised and disappointed to learn about quite a few flaws to his character. One could chalk it up to the times or the drugs or the power being a rock star holds, but the truth is he made a lot of bad choices. He seemed to recognize his errors and  make up for them later in his life, so I was less distressed about it all in the end. Though ideally, he could have made an attempt to make peace with those he hurt earlier rather than just make an effort to not make the same mistakes with the new people in his life who took over those roles.

Back at the library today, I couldn't find a biography about Ringo or Richard Starkey, so I chose one about Paul. I'm well into it and am enjoying reading about so many of the same events from yet another perspective.

My obsessive personality is proving that I get through these books pretty quickly, so until I track down a copy about Ringo I figured I better load up on something else to hold me over. I chose this one. If you're wondering why, then you should read a George Harrison biography.

Heartbreaking

That's that. Such March madness indeed. Said Elizabeth of my couch-coaching, "I've never seen you so interested in basketball." I watched that Arizona/Wisconsin game with fervor, and my pleas to the players rubbed off on Matthew who chanted "Defense" with me and begged the Wildcats to "Get ahead on this possession. Please!"

Then in overtime, as the referees analyzed a play for what seemed like an eternity we both repeated aloud, "Arizona ball. Arizona ball. Arizona ball." It worked! But it was all for naught. It slipped through their fingers and Sean Miller remains "the best coach to never make it to the Final Four." Well, he couldn't have gotten them any closer. And if he gets them a little better every year, then next year it will happen.

Nerds Rule!

My Elizabeth and her teammate won the Battle of the Books competition at her school this week. In this club, fifth and sixth graders form teams, read a few books, and then have their reading comprehension skills tested, quiz show style. She takes it seriously, as does her partner Iris. Elizabeth read each the four books included in this latest battle at least twice, and she took notes on the books, too. Even during spring break she'd read herself to sleep with one of her BotB books. She and Iris both tried really hard, and they were nervous for this last battle since they held the points lead from the previous three battles. As soon as I picked her up from school that day I was so thrilled to learn that their hard work paid off with a win. Next up is the school district battle at the city library where they will represent their school. She's excited and anxious and is currently in bed reading. I love that girl and am so proud of her!

Worst Mom in the World

That's what Matthew called me today.

I went with him on his class field trip to Usery Mountain Park. We went on a delightful one-mile, one-hour (truthfully!) ranger led hike. It was a simple stroll through the desert in which the ranger stopped several times to tell us about the mountains, cacti, birds, lizards, javelina, and other plants and animals in our desert. The weather was beautiful and it was a very pretty hike, but all the kids were getting hungry towards the end. We arrived back to our ramada, some dads fetched the baskets full of our packed lunches, and we found a spot to enjoy our lunch.

That was the plan--to enjoy our lunch.

If it had been just me and Matthew and Elizabeth, he would have been happy. As it was, our group included another boy and two girls, and whoever packs their lunches is way more fun than I. Though I'm not sure fun is the right word. Would you believe that every one of those three kids had a Lunchable? One kid's had chicken nuggets, dipping ketchup, and an Oreo-like cookie. Along with that he had a bag of tortilla chips and a two-way packet of salsa and liquid cheese, a bag of Doritos, and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. One girl's Lunchable was chips, salsa, liquid cheese, and a brownie, while the other's was a sandwich but she dropped the meat on the ground so it was simply bread and cheese. She also had a bag of yogurt covered pretzels that would feed our family for a week.

All those kids seem healthy, and I do not judge their parents. I understand parents are busy, especially if they work, and because I do not work I acknowledge that I have more time to make my kids' lunches a priority. It's my choice to not send heavily processed and overly packaged junk food for them to eat at school. I admit to making things harder than they should be with the six lunch containers I have to wash after school each day (three for each kid), but it's my small contribution to making the world a better place by keeping that many more plastic bags and drink boxes out of landfills. As to their lunch contents, my kids get a peanut butter and honey sandwich, some plain yogurt with a small container of granola to mix into it, an apple or pear, and a "candy treat" which is a cookie or, depending on the season, a piece of their Halloween, Valentine's Day, or Easter candy. They get a treat, but their entire lunch is not a treat. And that's what Matthew can't understand.

Have you ever tried to convince a seven-year-old boy that he gets the lunch that he gets because you love him and want to keep his body healthy? Don't even try; it's futile. I can only hope that he wraps his head around this concept sooner rather than later because if feeding my kids low-fat, highly nutritious, healthy, real food is wrong, then I don't want to be right. I'll wear my World's Worst Mom crown with pride.

Pet Project

Ruthie the Cat is still here, but I don't think for very much longer. As my friend Aimee says, the loner cat is turning out to be a loaner cat.

She has spent over a week under a bed or couch during the day, then after the kids go to bed she wanders out to her litter box and food dish but never near Brian or me. If we so much as look at her, she freezes. If we move towards her, she darts back under the bed. I've tried squinting my eyes at her, calling her in a sing-songy voice, and tempting her to come out with wet cat food. Nothing works. I think she just wants to be alone. I thought maybe the kids were too much for her, but now that it's just her and me here during the day it's much the same. Today I was talking to her while she was under the bed, telling her that we wanted her to come out so we could see her and get to know her. She meowed twice and I was excited, but then she hissed at me and showed me her fangs. It was abrupt and mean and, to be honest, a cat hurt my feelings. What did I ever do to her? Feed her? Make sure her water dish is full? Empty her litter box and vacuum the kitty litter surrounding it daily? Try to show her that we want her to be happy and feel safe and loved? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Well she's having none of it. I realize these things take time, but I'm running out of patience. We are good people who'd never hurt her and I don't know how else to show it. Maybe we're trying too hard. Does she want to be ignored? Fine. That's my strategy tomorrow. The clock is ticking, but maybe she just wants to go home.

Refreshed

Ahhhhh. Spring break has ended. It had a nice run, but the last few days were trying and I longed for our comfortable routine. The kids did, too; they just didn't know they longed for it. Either way, they returned to school this morning. It's Tuesday so I had my copying job to do, but it was fairly quiet in the workroom and I accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. It was nice to see everyone and I'm looking forward to going back in a little bit to help in Matthew's class for their reading rotations. A teacher and I were chatting over the copier and she said something about this being the first day back. "Well second day for you guys, right?" "Yeah, but I consider the day the kids come back as the first day. It's so weird here when the kids aren't here. But then I think that must be what it's like to work everywhere else and be around adults all day long." Yes. Yes it is like that everywhere else.

Schools are also unique when it comes to vacations. And I'm not just talking about working nine weeks and then getting two or six weeks of vacation. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another workplace where everyone gets the same two weeks off at a time. In offices, that just can't happen. Co-workers start jockeying for days off around Christmastime as early as August, and February is when everyone starts scheduling summer vacations. It can get competitive. Teachers may have a lot to deal with and worry about, but you can't deny that their twelve weeks of vacation are a pretty sweet perk.

So because everyone just had two weeks off, they're all in a good mood. The teachers recharged their batteries, and the kids were happy to see their friends. No one's sick of each other yet. I should watch to see how long that lasts. I think I will. Like Bastille, I'm "gonna be an optimist about this" and say it's going to last longer than through the end of this week.

What's On

I watch very little television. I don't have it on during the day while I'm home alone, and it doesn't come on until around 5 pm after the kids have finished their homework and played for awhile. When they were younger I used the TV as a babysitter as I was getting dinner ready and that habit stuck. It's okay. They watch either the educational Ruff Ruffman or the innocent Disney Channel so I don't fight it. Besides, making dinner is more enjoyable that way, and it's always turned off by the time we sit down to eat.

As for me, I watch four shows per week. I'm sure Breaking Bad truly was the best show ever made, but it sounds like a real downer and something I would not enjoy. We don't have Netflix (gasp!) so I don't know a thing about Orange is the New Black. I don't care for zombies, vampires, headless horsemen, political thrillers, scary fairy tales, or horror stories of any kind including traumatic medical dramas. Scandal? Lots of people love it but I'll pass. Game of Thrones? Um, have we met? Also, if we don't have Netflix it should be a given that we don't have HBO either. Madmen is a show I would like to watch but I'm sooooo many seasons behind it will remain on the back burner until I have nothing better to do. And isn't there always something better to do than seek out a new TV addiction? In any case, here's what I do watch.

My favorite sitcoms are Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. Phil Dunphy makes me laugh, Claire Dunphy makes me rethink everything I do, Sheldon Cooper is an annoying hoot, and Howard Wolowitz is so disgusting it's funny (but I didn't feel that way about him until seeing Simon Helberg as himself on a late night talk show). Those shows are fun, funny, and well-written escapes that sometimes make me wish thirty minutes lasted longer.

My other two favorite shows are reality shows, but they are none of the horrible ones like The Real Housewives or The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. I am proud to say I've never watched any of those shows and never watching them will be the easiest thing I ever do. I know very little about either show, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't relate to those housewives in any way so I'm never going to bother to tune in. As for the idea of finding the marriage of your dreams on a TV show, all I can say is ick. The concept of one man in a house full of women competing for his "love" is disturbing and utterly sickening to me. I don't understand why anyone would willingly agree to go on that show, but I have a hunch it has very little to do with finding love and happiness in a long-term relationship, nor will I ever understand why reasonably intelligent people are drawn to such smut and sleaze. No thank you. I'll stick with more traditional competitions like those on The Amazing Race and Dancing with the Stars.

Okay, okay. DWTS is made fun of often. I get it:
"Are they stars?" No, not always. 
"Can they dance?" No, not always.
"Are they entertaining?" No, not always. But those stars usually go home early.

It's not a perfect show. Even I can't stand the mind-numbing repetition two nights in a row, so I watch only Monday night (on DVR, of course) and read about the person eliminated on Wednesday. Wow. My standards must be pretty darn high if this is the way I talk about one of my favorite shows, huh? Well here's what I love about DWTS. Even though the stars come on this show with ulterior motives of promoting themselves/their own show/their record/their movie (I'm going to spin this positively in just a moment, I swear!), they've still agreed to enter a ballroom dancing competition, and the majority of them have never danced like this before. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there in front of three professional judges and an audience of millions of at-home judges. This year two of the competitors are Diana Nyad (who swam from Florida to Cuba) and Amy Purdy (a Paralympian snowboarder with a bronze medal and two prosthetic legs). If you're not inspired by them, then perhaps you'd enjoy The Bachelor.

Occasionally there's a person whom you don't care for and they can't dance yet their fans keep voting for them to stay in the competition. Frustrating as that is, I can't get upset because I don't vote. I have, but I usually do not. I'm mostly rooting for everyone to do well. I like the costumes, the music, the live band, and the enthusiasm. It's just a fun show and I look forward to watching the dances each week.

I also look forward to Sunday night's The Amazing Race. What's more exciting than racing around the world doing challenges that showcase foreign lands, cultures, traditions, religions, languages, and more? Nothing. Nothing is more exciting than that! Though I wouldn't want to be on the show. I'm a horribly anxious person in every day life. Add racing, global travels, fatigue, and emotions and Sara on The Amazing Race would not be a pretty sight. I'll stick to watching it. Although, Brian and I did participate in our city's version of the race twice a few years ago. Guess who won? Yeah. Both times. We make a good team. Probably because the TV isn't on a lot here.

Nature's Playground

The other day when we hiked at South Mountain, we took the National Trail to Hidden Valley. It's not a strenuous or long hike, but the kids love it because it has a fun destination. Fat Man's Pass is a crevice between two boulders and it's probably less than a foot wide at its narrowest point. It's fun to pass through, but there are some rocks to climb and slide on so we like to spend some time there while the kids play. I took some videos and photos and good old Google made us a cool movie. Thanks, Google Auto!

They're Playing Basketball

Basketball is my favorite sport. I love the way they dribble up and down the court.

Sorry. I'll stop. I rap almost as badly as I sing.

I'm not all that into sports, but if there's one sport I know a lot about it's basketball. My brother was always athletic growing up so I was dragged to lots and lots of games. He played soccer and baseball and had a brief stint as a football player, but his main sport was basketball. Unlike soccer and baseball, it was fast-paced and there was a scoreboard with a clock counting down that proved to me this would end in ____ minutes. Somewhere along the line, I learned how the game worked and I was drawn in. Where this knowledge would lead me in high school would likely be a shock to anyone who knows me only as an adult. However, if you ever need someone to keep the official scorebook, keep track of rebounds, assists, and shots taken/made for up to three players at a time, and even run a scoreboard or control the clock, I am your girl. Yes, I traveled with the boys basketball teams for four years as a statistician. My dad also ran a summer league for varsity high school teams at the White Oak Athletic Association, and he had me gather my friends as scorekeepers and schedule their shifts. We each made $2.50 per game, and I normally worked four games a night Monday through Thursday and four games on Saturday morning. That's $50 a week, ya know, for watching cute boys my age play basketball. My friends and I had it rough!

If my love of basketball is not surprising enough, perhaps you'd be even more shocked to learn that my life once revolved around Pitt basketball. When the NCAA tournament rolls around every year, it takes me back to that time when I was in seventh grade. I was a super fan! I knew all the players and their stats, and I never missed a game. Sometimes I was lucky enough to get to go to games with my dad because he and his friend had season tickets at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. It was a small arena and their seats were in the top row. On the nights when Dad had both tickets, my brother and I would take turns going.  When it was my turn, I'd always wear my navy and gold rugby shirt from Gap (because it was 1989 and rugby shirts were so in). We'd park on Aliquippa Street in the cold and snow, walk the icy streets to the fieldhouse, and by the time we got to our seats we were sweating. It was so hot up there and it only got hotter as the game when on, but I didn't care. It was a blast! The pep band was playing "Hail to Pitt," the Fieldhouse Fanatics were going nuts behind the hoop, the student section bleachers were across from us and they were in constant motion, the fat and wealthy alumni sat in their fancy chairs behind the team benches, and all of us were cheering on our Panthers. My dad would even make sure we got there well before the start of the game so that we could stand outside the locker room as the players came out for warm-ups. They were huge! And so pumped up! It was unbelievably exciting and I loved it. Loved it!

Back then I had two favorite players--Pat Cavanaugh and Sean Miller. Number 12 and Number 3. How do I remember that? I don't even know, but I'm telling ya. This was big. I was obsessed. Eventually those two graduated, Dad didn't go in on the tickets anymore, and we visited Duke and UNC during our family vacation to North Carolina one year. My brother is a die-hard North Carolina fan, but my Pitt basketball obsession turned towards Duke. Blame it on Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Coach Krzyzewski. In high school, my friend Melanie and I knew everything there was to know about Duke. She even wrote a letter to Chris Collins asking him to go to the prom with her. He responded! He said no, but he responded! She may still have that letter in a Ziploc bag somewhere.

So yeah, college basketball was big for me then. It's coming back, though, because Sean Miller is now the head coach at Arizona. He followed me. Ha! I'm a Wildcat fan now. Woooo! Go Cats! Bear Down, Arizona! I don't even know what that means. I guess I'm not that quite obsessed yet. I have work to do.

Total Turnaround

Maybe the universe gives you the occasional bad day so you can appreciate the good days that much more. Today was the polar opposite of yesterday. Yesterday was full of strife; today we were loving life!

Brian took the day off, and we went on a family hike at South Mountain early this morning. It was an easy jaunt to Fat Man's Pass. The kids love climbing around that place. Afterwards, Elizabeth and I met with some of her girl scout friends who decided to work together towards the Bronze Award. Next, Brian and I took the kids to see the new Muppet movie, and we all went out to dinner to one of our favorite places--New Mexican Grill. When we got home, the four of us enjoyed toasting marshmallows on our patio fire pit.  It was a day of fun filled with lots and lots of smiles and laughs.

Watching Kevin Bacon cut loose on The Tonight Show in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Footloose was the icing on the cake.

What.A.Day.

Today was a tough one. A lot didn't go right. I didn't handle a lot of it right either,which only makes everything worse. But. But! At breakfast I noticed that my banana was perfectly ripe. Sometimes they're not quite there yet and sometimes they're past due, but today I was mindful that that banana was perfectly palatable.

So what happened today? I had the best piece of fruit at breakfast. That's it. That's all. I'm thinking good thoughts like Colbie Caillat.

Uh Oh

Maybe I didn't think this through.

I've never been a pet owner. Is 36 hours too soon to declare you never should be? Does it take more time? If it takes more time, how long does it take?

Ruthie the Cat spent yesterday under our living room couch. We occasionally checked on her and let her know we are good people. After we went to bed, I heard her come out from under the couch and I was hoping she'd find the litter box okay. I left the laundry room light on to lead the way. A few hours later I heard her meowing. Around 2 am, Elizabeth came into our room. I asked her if Ruthie was bothering her, and she said she was under her bed. I said, "She can't be under your bed." Turns out she was.

So I lay with Elizabeth in her bed, and Ruthie was quite animated under there. Then she came out and I was sleepily petting her next to the bed until she jumped up next to me. Scared me to death! She meowed loudly and I guess she wanted to play. So I got out of bed and was petting her in the middle of the night. She left for awhile, I went back to Elizabeth's bed because by this time Matthew was with Brian in my spot, and Ruthie was making noise, scratching the carpet under the bed, and trying to open the shutters for a long time. Geez oh man at least we're on spring break is all I can say.

Though I can live with disrupted sleep occasionally, I don't really care for it. All her scratching last night though had me a little concerned. The kids and I woke up and went to Petsmart to get her a scratching pad to use instead of our carpet or furniture. While looking in the cat aisles, there were tons of sprays and medicines and basically something for anything that could possibly go wrong. And judging by the amount of products on the shelves, there's a lot that can go wrong. My heart started to beat a little faster, but when I really wanted to run out of Petsmart--and possibly run away from the whole idea of having a pet--was when the dog behind us in line started pooping. Ew.

The worst part of the past two days, though, is that during the night or while we were gone this morning, she peed on our family room couch. I didn't realize that cat pee smells like something burning. It was over by our charging station so I unplugged everything thinking our house was about to burn down from a bad battery. I'm glad to know it wasn't that, but cat pee really stinks. Maybe she didn't want to play last night and instead was trying to tell me she had to go to the bathroom. I was deliriously tired so it's possible. In any case, let me revise my first sentence:  I didn't think this through.

We just wanted a little fuzzy thing to pet and play with and love. Our house isn't pristine by any means, but being marked by a cat is a first for it. I don't want it to happen even a second time. The litter box is front and center in the middle of the house right now. She cannot miss it. I also kindly reminded her that we got her a scratching pad today and requested that she get a good night's sleep tonight. It's a give and take, Ruthie.

Who am I kidding? There will be no sleeping well tonight. It's late, and I'm getting irrational. I'm worried about this pet situation, we found some antique keys in Matthew's room that he obviously stole from GiGi's house so he's a kleptomaniac, and my back is itchy and I'm two seconds from Web MDing it and finding out it's something serious.

Good night, all!

Bye Bye, Birdies

Pardon his French.

I saw this on Facebook this morning and laughed. Then I laughed some more. Sure it's ridiculous, but you know what? Samuel L. Jackson as Bob Ross is very wise.

So yeah, Little Problems. Fly like birds. Fly, fly away! This house is no place for you anymore. Besides, we're bringing home our cat soon so it's best if you don't stick around.

That's my roundabout way of announcing that we're getting a cat. Today. We're hoping it's permanent but for now it's a three-week trial run. The admin at school has a cat who's a year and a half and constantly tormented by the two dogs in her house. She said Ruthie the Cat should be in a quieter, dog-free home. Hey, that's us! Ruthie's affectionate, likes people more than dogs, and doesn't shed much so we're hoping this is a good match for both sides. If it's not, Gayle says we can bring her back with no worries and I know she means that. Hopefully, we're a good fit for each other.

We expect Ruthie will disappear into our house for three to four days at first, though. If and when she comes out of hiding, I'll try to snap a photo of her. Patience all around.

On Track

I'm not the kind of person who weighs herself daily, and I haven't weighed myself in months. I'm certainly not going to do it now. The past few weeks I've felt a little larger in the middle and I know exactly what it's from. I indulged like I said I would over the holidays, and I ate like I don't usually eat while we had visitors the past two weeks. So after the kids and I dropped off Brian's parents at the airport this morning, I declared that today is the day I go back to eating right.

At the risk of sounding as boring as I used to, this morning I had a protein-heavy breakfast of plain, non-fat yogurt with chopped almonds and a drizzle of honey. Then later I had a few toasted almonds along with some raisins for a snack. At lunchtime I had Swiss cheese rolled up in a slices of ham and some carrots with hummus. Matthew and I took Elizabeth to her drama club practice at school, and when I came home I saw that those giant blueberry muffins from Costco that I've been avoiding all day were still sitting on my counter. See this is the reason I don't buy things like that. Because I will eat them; I can't stay away. I tried all the tricks. I drank a glass of water. I distracted myself with an activity. I waited ten minutes. After the minutes passed I was mindful that I was still hungry for half a muffin. And damn it, one was already cut in half! So I ate it and now I feel like this.

How? I feel bloated and yucky and no less hungry for a muffin than I was before I ate it. That's the trouble with baked goods with little nutritional value. Not only do they not satisfy you, but you're left wanting more bad stuff. Sometimes you feel like you already ruined yourself today so you might as well have something else. But no! That's not me today. I'm paying attention to how I feel and I'd rather have that lighter, stronger feeling that I had all morning and afternoon up until now.

Bad choices and setbacks are part of life. They happen to all of us. If you're smart, you allow yourself to learn something from them and then figure out how to set yourself back on track. And I am smart. I mean I'm really, really, really smart.

Kid-Free Weekend

Bob and Sue took the kids over to GiGi's on Thursday afternoon. They've been busy swimming, going to the park, the movies, hiking, and probably doing lots more fun stuff with Grandma and Grandpa. They don't get to see each other often so it's nice that they have this time together.

It's also nice that Brian and I can be alone for a few days. The timing wasn't all that great with his in-town conference and major project at work this week--in fact, he's at work today--but I'm grateful we had a chance to dine finely late Friday evening, hike yesterday morning, relax yesterday afternoon, and then go out to eat again last night. We tried a new place in downtown Gilbert called SoCal Fish Taco Company. We really liked it, and we'll never visit Rubio's again. No one's paying me to say this, sadly, but I thought I was in San Diego. We ate on the cute patio in the back and enjoyed what really felt like San Diego weather. The patio reminded me of my friend's beach house that we visited last fall. There was even a little sitting area with couches and a coffee table. And the food was good, too! The menu isn't big but they have different kinds of tacos as well as beers from San Diego breweries we've visited. Brian had ahi tacos, I had mahi tacos, and our bill was less than $20. It was cheap, yummy, close, and the servers were friendly (perhaps the one non-authentic characteristic of this place as my friend Jennifer astutely points out that California customer service often lacks warmth and sincerity). It was a good meal and a delightful night out that we capped off with some shopping and frozen yogurt.

I miss my little buddies, though. We're going to GiGi's for dinner tonight and bringing everyone back home with us. We have just this evening with my in-laws before they depart for Atlanta tomorrow. It's been a great visit, but it always seems to go by so fast. At least we got to do everything we wanted to do and had planned to do this time. We're going to miss having them around. I sometimes wish we didn't live across the country from our families. Then again, I love it here and don't want to move back there. Our parents should move out here.

Subtle, Sara. Real subtle.

Picture Perfect Hike

Today the kids were still safe with Grandma, Grandpa, and GiGi so we didn't waste the chance to go an another ambitious hike. Camelback was fun and one we've wanted to try for a while, but we were up for a bigger challenge today. Siphon Draw to Flatiron in the Superstition Mountains is a popular trek for avid hikers. It's one of the most strenuous hikes around, but the weather conditions were perfect and we really wanted to do it. So we did!

It's not easy. At all. It's less of a hike and more like rock climbing, really. There are no ropes or cables and once you get past Siphon Draw the trail isn't an official trail. The hike begins in Lost Dutchman State Park, winds into the Tonto National Forest, and then goes on into the Superstition Wilderness. There were times when we had to really think about which path to take and which rocks to climb, but it all worked out and we ventured off course only a few times. Maybe. It's so hard to tell because, like I said, it's not a marked trail. There are a few painted dots here and there to use as guides, but for the most part you're heading straight up so you can't make too big of a mistake. As long as you're going up, you'll get to Flatiron eventually.

We arrived around 8 am so the sun was just coming over the mountain. We hiked in the shade practically the entire way up, which was cold at first but then very comfortable once we started the steeper climb. The hike starts out innocently as a steady grade towards the Superstitions. 

At nearly a mile we entered the Superstition Wilderness.

We were maybe 45 minutes into it when we looked back and realized we had climbed pretty far already.

We reached Siphon Draw after 1.5 miles. It's a slick rock basin from the rain runoff. It's a cool little spot, but it's very steep and very smooth and very scary to walk on. I created my own switchbacks towards the bottom to about halfway up.

Eventually it becomes so steep that you just have to have faith in your shoes and go for it.

When you lose faith, you bend over and grab onto anything you can to pull yourself up or keep yourself from falling backwards.

After Siphon Draw, the rest of the way is hand-over-foot climbing on the rocks. Everything is natural but it's like it was made for man to climb it because there are plenty of notches and footholds. You simply find the best way for you and take it.

It really was quite a leg and arm workout, and it's so steep that I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. It's a challenge even if your cardio is fairly strong.

Near Flatiron, there's a twelve-foot rock wall that you have to climb straight up. I made it but was worried about how I would get down.

After two hours, we had traveled three miles and climbed over 3000 feet in elevation. It was worth every heart-pumping step. You have never seen a view like this after getting somewhere on your own two feet! 

We relaxed, ate our sandwiches, and explored the top of Flatiron for about thirty minutes.

It was windy but very peaceful. And it felt like you could see forever from up there.

I was very nervous about going back down. I'm a slow descender, but it wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be. We took our time and took it slow. We are the presidents of the We Don't Want to Get Hurt Club, and we didn't care that it took us a half hour longer to get down then it did to get up there.

I don't know what he's pointing to...

I was just holding on so I wouldn't die.

Here we are back at Siphon Draw, and it looks even steeper from the top than it did from the bottom.

I went back to creating my own switchbacks and walking very, very slowly.

You can see Flatiron in the background here. Occasionally I'd turn around to remind myself how far I've gone and how far I've come.

After it was all over, we felt very accomplished. We got back to the car at 1:00 pm, so round trip took us five hours. That's a long hike for sure, but let me tell you.... I'd rather do this hike than a five-hour marathon. This was way more pleasant!

Siphon Draw to Flatiron is a breathtaking hike in more ways than one. I'd love to do it again sometime, but we're open to suggestions for new places to go and see.

Retail Therapy

The kids are spending a few days with my in-laws at GiGi's house. Brian went to work. Our home is house guest-clean (which is cleaner than regular clean, if you're wondering), so it is truly a break now. What to do?

Well I woke up slowly, enjoyed my coffee, breakfast and shower, and then I decided I should go to the mall. My watch battery died last week and it's still under warranty (it's a miracle!) so I figured I could take it to get fixed and do a little shopping while I'm there. As soon as I dropped off my watch I began my shopping spree!

Except I'm not much of a shopper. I think it would be more fun if I had a lot of money. Or if I didn't care about having debts. I did, however, have a bunch of gift cards from the holidays that I slipped into my purse so I mostly headed for those stores.

Elizabeth received an American Eagle gift card for Christmas from Brian's brother. Over winter break we went shopping there, but she's only ten so the smallest size was too big for her. She opted to take the cash value and give the gift card to me, so today I decided I would cash in the card. I used to shop at American Eagle when I was in high school and college. Have you been there lately? Yeah, it's still for young people only I'm no longer young. It's like shopping in the juniors' department. I found some safe solid t-shirts in size medium. Thanks, AE! Vanity sizing that is not. I also bought Elizabeth a graphic t-shirt in an extra small. She'll grow into it eventually.

Next I headed for Bath & Body Works. The school staff generously gave the PTO board members gift cards last May. May? I should really get out more. Anyway, I sampled nearly every fragrance until my head almost exploded and finally settled on a few lotions and shower gels. I found a hand sanitizer and holder for Elizabeth's backpack, too. That will be a nice touch to her Easter basket next month.

After I retrieved my watch, I decided to check out Eddie Bauer. I always go there. I used to work at that store so sometimes I know the sales associates. Plus, EB has nice clothes that are kind of like the grown-up version of American Eagle's outfits. Huh. I hadn't thought of that before. Weird. It was my destiny all along, I guess. Anyway (warning: tangent ahead), I was looking around and this song came on and stopped me in my tracks.

I know this song. It's not on the radio, though. It's not popular. How do I know it? Is it Matt Wertz (that guy Holli and I went to see at MIM)? No. Why do I know this song?

Then I realized I had heard it only one other time before. It came on while my friend and I had been in the middle of a conversation, and I was trying to listen to the music, the lyrics, and her all at the same time. It wasn't working however, and she's one of the nicest people in the world so I didn't want to shush her with a violent, "Shhhhhhh." I should have known the song would find me again sometime, someday. And here it was today, in Eddie Bauer of all places.

It's a sad song but so pretty. It also sounds and looks pretty hard to play. And that is quite a fingernail, John Butler. Guess that's what I'm going to need because I'm really starting to dig this fingerpicking thing, but I have way too much more to learn first, I think. You're inspiring, though!

OK. Back to shopping.

After lunch, I went to Old Navy to freshen up my spring wardrobe and use some more gift cards. Mission accomplished. I got a dress and some tops and I'm home and ready to try them all on again with the stuff I already own. Loving it!

I don't shop often, but when I do I like to get a lot. That's probably why I liked back-to-school shopping so much when I was younger. And because new things feel nice!

Good therapy session today. Thanks to my generous family and friends, I'm not even out any money. What a sweet deal!

Story of Your Life?

This song comes on the radio and I think it's something I'm going to love because of the into. Then they start singing and I realize, Oh crap it's those One Direction jerks. I fall for it every time! The first time I heard it, Brian and I were in the car and I said, "What is this song?" He replied, "You don't know it? It's One Republic, I think." Goodness gracious, Brian. Haha

What are they singing about anyway? How is it the story of their lives? They drive all night to keep her warm? What are they talking about? I don't get it.

But this. This! This is how I hear this song in my head now. And it's so funny.

The Perfect Place

Right now, we live in the perfect place. It's spring break and we're hosting visitors from the East. They are loving every moment of our sunshine, cool breezes, and clear skies. There is no better place to be right now. Temperatures are in the high 70s or low 80s. The sun is out and not going anywhere. There is no rain to ruin outings. The springtime blossoms are blooming. It's paradise.

Even a seven-year-old boy can appreciate it! Yesterday I took Matthew along with Brian's parents to my favorite park. We explored the trails, and Matthew took along a journal to document everything. Wonder where he gets that? Hmm. He noticed everything from the ducks to the flowers to the ants to the waterfall and either wrote about them or drew pictures.

We're absolutely loving our weather and spending as much time outdoors as possible. It would be sacrilege not to! When the kids go back to school though, I'm going to start researching our summer vacation options. Because while this is the best time to be here, summer here is the opposite of paradise and the best time to get the heck out of Dodge. And I have tons of ideas.

A Walk among the Butterflies

Over the weekend we visited a place called Butterfly Wonderland with Brian's parents. We weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a pretty cool place. Even if I sang "Your Butterfly is a Wonderland" in my head practically the entire time.

The experience begins with a 3D movie about butterfly migration. It was told through a generational story that was easy for all ages to understand. Well done. Then we walked into the butterfly sanctuary which is a large greenhouse with butterflies fluttering all around you. It's a little unnerving at first, but once you get used to them flying around your head and landing on you here and there it's really pretty neat. Unless a huge one lands too close to your face. Then you're just like, Oh my god get this big bug off my neck!

It really does take some getting used to.

When one does land on you, everyone points to you and lets you know there is a butterfly on you. Even strangers do this.

Elizabeth was the one person in our group who really, really, really wanted a butterfly to land on her. As is common in situations like that, no butterfly was coming to her even though she purposefully wore a brightly colored shirt for the occasion. Finally, we had touch down!

Bob has a little friend in that photo, too. Matthew wasn't too sure about this whole experience but he was thrilled to go out for froyo afterwards.

Star Student

Today was my second real life guitar lesson. I showed up ready after a week of practicing my strumming and picking. He asked how it went, I said fine, and then he had me do the note-picking song. You know what he said when I finished? Of course you don't; you weren't there. Let me tell you then.

"Wow. That was exceptional! You got some good practicing in this week! That was just one week, right?"

Now, I want it to be known that he was not praising my guitar skills. Not at all. What he was impressed by is my work ethic, and I do think that could be called exceptional. If I really want to learn how to do something or get something done or figure something out, I work at it until I get it. Trigonometry and physics were never, ever that something, but right now guitar is. I spend a lot of time at it, and I was pretty excited today that my teacher recognized that. I'm probably a teacher's dream because I listen, ask questions, practice at home, and have that desire and passion to learn.

But it's not time to rest on my laurels! No way.

Bob taught me two more scales today, and I came home and practiced them right away while they were fresh. He set me up with some sweet backing tracks that I can play along with, so I'm hitting notes on the scale in time with the drum beats. I gotta say it's a lot of fun and sounding pretty cool. It's better than having a partner to play with because if I mess up, no one judges or is annoyed or is disappointed and I'm not embarrassed. I go back in two weeks so I have an extra week to work on this. And you know I will. I really, really will.

Conquering Camelback

We came. We saw. It kicked our ass! Not really but maybe a little bit, and I like thirty-year-old humor from "Ghostbusters," don't you?

Brian and I made it to the top of Camelback Mountain today. That's me huffing and puffing at the last few steps to the summit. It's Phoenix's tallest peak and one of the steepest to climb in Arizona (that most anyone is capable of doing). Everyone I know who has climbed it says it was harder than they thought it would be so I guess I went into it thinking it would be super difficult. There were spots that were challenging, but we never had to stop to rest. Even at the top we didn't have to sit down. We looked around for a few minutes, took some photos of the spectacular view on such a clear day in Phoenix, and headed back down. It took us an hour and seven minutes to get to the summit from the car (which was exactly one mile from the trailhead--more on that in a moment), but I'm a slower hiker on the way down so round trip was just short of two and a half hours.

In the photo below an older lady is passing me. Though I can climb better than the average person, I like to take my time descending, yo. I methodically find my line, secure my footing, and hike in a controlled manner. Slamming my legs into the ground at a brisk pace is bad for my knees and also feels like I'm going to tumble down, so when my legs feel like jelly because I'm holding myself back so much, then I know I'm doing it right.

My in-laws are in town this week so the kids were busy with them and Brian's riding buddies were headed out of town, so I suggested we hike Camelback. We knew it would be busy on a Sunday morning and everyone, everywhere writes that it's best to get to the trail by 6 am to get a parking spot. They do not kid. We got to the Echo Canyon trailhead at 7:30 and the lot was full. There really wasn't anywhere to park in the neighborhood so we headed to its sister on the other side of the mountain, the Cholla trailhead. I bet 80 percent of the people hiking the Cholla trail tried Echo Canyon first as it's the more popular trail. I think it's supposed to be prettier on the way up or something, but this one did just fine. Someday, maybe, we'll do the other one. For today, Cholla it was!

When we couldn't find a parking spot over at Echo Canyon, I was reminded of that Scottsdale/Paradise Valley exclusivity and got annoyed. Add to that the police car just waiting to ticket hikers who tried to park remotely close to the trail, and I was really starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. "Lot's full. Go home. You don't get to hike here." The ritzy homeowners don't want cars parked on their street because it ruins the beauty of their neighborhood. Well maybe they shouldn't have ruined the mountain by building their houses on it. Ugh. I need to be more tea about this.

So we headed to Cholla. Though there isn't a parking lot (or restrooms), you can park on one side of the street and walk a half-mile to the trailhead. We parked a half-mile from that so our would-be 3 mile hike became a 5 mile hike. Ha! We're fit so you can't turn us away! On our walk up to the trail we noticed the police ticketing cars that were half in and half out of the parking zone. Give 'em a break, huh? Four feet? It's hurting nothing. All we want to do is hike. Why don't you go after real criminals instead of trolling this place for "violations." You guys really suck.

I'm letting.it.go. Now. Zen. I'm zen. So zen. See?

The Try Something New Club

After a few members moved away, one went a little nuts, and the rest of us were no longer motivated to read the monthly choices others made for us, book club fell apart about two years ago. Jennifer revived it this January under a different concept as the Try Something New Club. Membership is extremely exclusive. Although there are only four of us now (and one lives in Omaha!), we do have room to grow by invitation only.

In January we went to the Verde Valley to visit a few wineries. You already heard all about that.

In February, we went to an art studio in Old Town Scottsdale for one of those "painting with wine" classes. We painted Sunset in Venice by Monet, or some version of it. My mother is an artist, but that doesn't mean I can paint. In fact, I can't paint well at all and I don't know why because my mother is an artist. It was difficult for me to let it go and not get frustrated at my lack of ability. Well, it was difficult until the wine kicked in anyway. We sat in the very back row and when I complained about how mine was coming along, Jennifer looked me in the eyes and slowly said, "Look around!" Oh. Yeah. I wasn't too bad then.

My painting is currently behind a chair in the family room. Not above a chair; it's sitting on the floor behind a chair.

It was my turn to chose the activity for March. After much research and worrying about pleasing Jennifer and Allison, I finally settled on trying an aerial fitness class. What's that? It's this:

I'm sure my friends and I looked just like these photos. Well, just like that minus the grace anyway.

Aerial fitness is like yoga or pilates except you're suspended in a hammock. It was a very cool experience, but I think it's something that takes some getting used to. I can definitely see how it strengthens your core and allows for an efficient and safe workout, but the inversions hurt my head. Like anything else, I'm sure the more you do it the better your body handles it, but holy cow it was hard to be completely upside down for even a short period of time. You can really feel your body elongating in certain poses though, and the stretching is both easy and challenging at the same time. It's easy because you're supported, but it's sometimes difficult to figure out where your hands and feet need to be and what they must do to get your body to that position. I wasn't as afraid of falling as I thought I would be, and the physics of the whole thing makes falling difficult or even impossible in some situations. Besides, you're only a few inches off the floor anyway.

I'm so glad we tried this. Everyone loved it! I invited a few more friends to come with us today. Because they are awesome ladies, they were also invited to the club. Maybe they will join us for April's sushi-making class and sake bombers.

Here's to trying new things, jumping out of your comfort zone, taking care of yourself, and living life!