Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's beginning to look a lot like Pittsburgh. And not in a good way.

This is our third consecutive day of dark and dreary skies and rain. I've had enough. I grew up with this kind of weather as the norm, but after moving to the valley of the sun seventeen years ago I've come to expect bright and cheery days. Sunny weather brightens the mind; rainy weather just seems to make everything go dark.

I had to skip my run yesterday due to rain, and missing a run sets off a chain of bad vibes. I've tried to redirect my bad energy, but there's only so much I can do until Mother Nature sets herself straight.

Right now, the four of us are trying to come up with Plan B after our family mountain biking ride was washed out. What a drag this is on our first day of vacation. The rainy outlook for Christmas Eve is no help, either; more wet weather is expected all day tomorrow. Four days of this? We have to figure out a way to bring out our sunny attitudes even though the sun is nowhere in sight.

Blast from the Past

I had a double-sided tape emergency the other day, so I had to make a run to Walgreen's. While there, one of the best songs of my childhood came on. As I surprisingly sang every single lyric to that thirty-year-old song silently in my head, the man in line behind me was loudly whistling the tune. As I paid for my purchase on the keypad, the cashier was drumming his fingers on the counter to the beat.

I couldn't help myself. I said, "Look us us all jamming out to Uptown Girl!" The guy behind me--obviously oblivious to his whistling--proclaimed, "OH! I know, right?!" The cashier just sheepishly grinned, and I walked out of there giggling.

If you're holiday-stressed, then listen to this song and watch the silly video.  You'll immediately lighten up.

Guess It's Official

I was honestly hoping for a miracle today. It didn't come.

I suppose I believed that since THAT happened, then THIS could happen. It didn't.

So I'm still caught up in this depressing and hopeless and uninspired funk that I've found myself in for the last six weeks. I expect it to last for four years. God, don't let it be any longer than that. Please, America.

Here's to 2020. It can't come soon enough.

Happy Campers are Victorious!

Last night we took home the big prize at our friends' family Christmas party. They had a scavenger hunt, and families had to walk around the neighborhood gathering cellphone shots of everything from doing a good deed for a neighbor to finding cats and dogs to political bumper sticks and specific colored cars. It was super fun except those seventeen or eighteen moments when we got frustrated and angry with each other. But let's not dwell on the negatives.

Matt helping by pulling in someone's garbage can

a shot of us with a "cute kid"

Brian shaking hands with a neighbor

"Hey, new friend. Do you have a cat or dog by any chance?"
"Yes. Yes I do."
"Great. Can we get a picture?"
:)

a house with a bench outside

a picture of Elizabeth's reflection

a red car

our human pyramid on the greenest lawn in the neighborhood

us with a boat

It was a really cute idea--that I'm sure hailed from somewhere on Pinterest--and everyone had a fun time, especially us because we ended up with the most points. Actually, we tied with the points because three of our photos didn't come out clear enough, but we prevailed in the pick-a-number tie-breaker. We brought home bragging rights and a basket of movies and candy.

Way to go, Happy Campers!

Today Matthew's class hosted a wax museum. It was the culmination of a two-month-long biography project each of the kids did on a famous Arizonan. They dressed up as their subjects, stood before their homemade backdrops, and presented their memorized two-minute speech.

I know their teacher was very stressed out about today, but like most things we stress over it all came together right when it needed to. The kids were adorable and, like Joe Garagiola, they knocked it out of the park.

Here are some photos from the big day:

Matthew as Joe Garagiola: Baseball Player to TV Personality

Stevie Nicks

Frank Lloyd Wright

Joe Arpaio

Doc Holliday

Wyatt Earp

James Gadsden, diplomat

Pat Tillman

Cesar Chavez

Gabby Giffords? Well that's who she said she was anyway.

Father Kino

Rose Mofford, politician

Jacob Waltz aka The Lost Dutchman

Ansel Adams

Mary Colter, architect

Dan Harkins, Phoenix-based cinema mogul

Lynda Carter

John Wayne

Phil Mickelson, left-handed golfer

Sharlot Hall, Arizona's first female politician

Um. I can't recall. As ridiculous as it sounds, some Civil War battles were fought in Arizona. I think he was a general.

Pearl Hart, The Queen Bandit

Pilgrim Visits at Thanksgiving

When the chance came up to host a talented duo who travels the country in an Airstream, stopping at houses all along the way to give donation-based concerts, well, I had to take it. Why wouldn't I want to support dedicated musicians who are living their dream of creating and entertaining while also seeing the country in what I consider to be the best of ways? Two months was a long time to wait, but the day finally arrived, and Katie and Aaron--aka Pilgrim--pulled up in their Airstream with their little daughter Magnolia.

Admittedly, it was a little awkward as we met for the first time and I tried to get over being so star-struck. "Be cool, Sara" played in my head like a mantra. I tried to accommodate their needs and make them feel as at-home as possible, but sometimes I felt like I might have been overdoing it. I didn't know what I was doing; I'd never hosted musicians before! But they were very grateful and kind and pretty much had everything they needed already, so they set up and got ready, had some snacks, and our guests started to arrive.

There were about sixty of us altogether. Some guests brought their own guests as this all went down the day after Thanksgiving so some friends had family in town. "The more the merrier," I said. I set out some snacks, punch, and fruit-infused water (so fancy!). People brought their own beverages, and soon everyone settled in for the concert. The music started at 5:00, so the sun was setting and the ambiance got better and better as the concert progressed.

Pilgrim was fabulous. I don't know how the crowd received them during the concert because I was sitting towards the front, but I will say that every single one of us was experiencing our very first house concert so I would label the crowd "cautiously unwild," mellow even, because none of us knew exactly what to expect. However, that in no way meant they weren't enjoying themselves because afterwards so many people were praising Pilgrim personally during the meet and greet and telling Brian and me later both how awesome they sounded and cool they are. Here are some photos from their 60-minute acoustic set in our backyard.

even the littles were enthralled

Our guests loved them, and so did we. We got to spend some time with Katie, Aaron, and Magnolia the next morning because they hooked up to our electric and slept in their trailer on the street. Sadly, I had a race to get to in the morning, but Brian cooked up some eggs and pancakes and Katie made some toast for breakfast. When I got home later that morning, I was so pleased that I hadn't missed them. After filling their water tank and chatting awhile, they sadly headed off to run some errands and get to their next house concert that night.

It was a pleasure welcoming Pilgrim to Arizona, and if they're ever in your neck of the woods I'd recommend hosting a concert. I'd be open to hosting more events like this, but I don't really know how to track down the talent. This opportunity just kind of landed in my lap, but if you know of an artist who wants to do house concerts feel free to give them my number.

In the meantime, give Pilgrim some love and support by visiting their website. Here's a video of their latest original song, which just happens to be my favorite. Look at little Magnolia dancing in the background with the guitar strap. They're the cutest little family in the world.

Tree Hugger

It's a sad day. We had the tree in our front yard cut down this afternoon. As I listened to the chainsaws and woodchipper from my kitchen, I kept reminding myself that the tree already died a long time ago, or at least a few months or so ago. We're not exactly sure what happened to it, but a few experts have said this summer's intense heat was hard on a lot of trees. We'd been meaning to take care of a for awhile, but we called someone to do it after I caught Brian looking at chainsaws on Amazon last week.

Nope.

I found a few tree removal places, we called for quotes, and we went with the guys who could do it in less than an hour for $280. I believe it's well worth it considering taking on a project like that would have taken Brian and me an entire weekend. Plus, cutting down trees is considered a risky business.

The front yard looks different now without our tree. It had been there for about sixteen years, so it's understandable if I miss it. However, it's not all gone quite yet. We asked the guys if they could save the main trunk of the tree and larger branches for firewood. Now our tree is taking on a new purpose and getting to travel. Aww. It's like it's retired.