122 Days (2016)

It's the first of May!  The official start of summer!

Not that you would think it was even remotely summer time based on the weather . . . it's cold and rainy and it actually snowed pretty hard last night and we've had the big heater on a lot the past few days.  I really don't mind it, I like having extra blankets on my bed still and getting to snuggle under them, and I like being able to wear sweaters and boots to work.

But either way, it is May 1st, which means that the 122 days of summer time is here.

This year, those 122 days will be devoted to completing the AZ Bucket List we've made--all the things we want to do before we leave AZ in the fall.  I'm actually really glad we decided to wait until September to move, because as nice as leaving earlier would be, getting to spend the whole summer here and move as it ends feels somehow fitting.  I like it when things tie up nicely like that.

So this summer we'll be doing as many FUTS trails as we can, hopefully taking a trip to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Havasupai (just to name a few).  I'm planning to do the Climb to Conquer Cancer in August with my sister.  And of course, we'll be packing and cleaning and getting ready for the big move!  I'm looking forward to summer and doing a lot of fun Flagstaff/AZ stuff before we leave.

In a couple weeks we're actually going to Prescott to see Alton Brown live, so I'm looking forward to that.  Jerbs is really, REALLY looking forward to it, so it should be fun!

Here's to my last summer in Flagstaff!!

Sunset Trail

We had to skip a few Trail Days for various reasons (rain, exhaustion, being out of town, etc.) so it's been a few weeks, but today Jerbs, me, and the dogs were finally able to get out on a trail again.

Jerbs picked Sunset Trail, and for the first time since I started Trail Day, we found the correct trail and did the whole thing.  Sunset's a short little hike (0.6 miles, so 1.2 miles total) that goes along McMillan Mesa, and it was probably the prettiest trail yet.  The views were amazing and we were quite a bit higher up than I expected.

The view!

These little bird (or bat) houses are scattered
along the trail.

Another little house.

And another one.

The view of Mt. Elden from the trail.

Evening primrose (I think).

The trail.

Hollyhocks.

And Hollie the dog.

Summer So Far

So far this summer has been really, really wet.  Seriously, we've had rain almost every single day since the beginning of June, and a lot of it's been some pretty awesome thunderstorms.  I love it, because the weather has been just amazing and not blisteringly hot, plus we haven't had any wildfires, which is always a plus!  (I'll never forget the summer of 2010, when Flagstaff was literally surrounded by fires, I'm in no hurry to repeat that experience).  I'm looking forward to the full on monsoon season this month.

Aside from that, it's been pretty uneventful.  I'm doing well health/fitness wise, work is good, Jerbs and the dogs are good . . . we have pretty boring lives, I think.

I am happy that I've been getting outside more and accomplishing some of the goals I set for the summer.

I'm also happy that the fireworks didn't get rained out tonight, because it did rain earlier in the day and was overcast all day long.  We watched them from our porch (not a super great show this year TBH), then spent a good chunk of time trying to convince Hollie and Max the world hadn't ended.  It took a lot of treats but they're fine now haha.

Next week Jerbs and I are both going on separate vacations (to CA and CO, respectively).  She's off to Comic Con and I'm going to a wedding, so that should be fun.  I legitimately don't remember the last time we were both out of town but not going to the same place.

And that's about it.  I'm hoping the rest of the summer will continue to be nice and rainy, and that I can get in a lot more outdoor activity as well.

Trail Day!

So a week ago today, on the 11th, I got off work a little early and wasn't really sure what to do with myself.  It was almost 5:30 and I knew I had to pick Jerbs up from work at 7, so I didn't really want to drive all the way home and do nothing.  I also didn't feel like putting in time at job # 2 (I'd already been there during my lunch break).  I thought about hitting up the craft stores or something like that, but it didn't sound appealing either.  So I decided to go home, grab my dogs, and take them on a nice long walk.  And instead of just a boring walk around home, I decided I wanted to go out on one of the FUTS (Flagstaff Urban Trails System) trails.  I've been wanting to hike/explore Flag more, so I figured why the hell not?

I drove home, changed, got the dogs and some water, and we drove to Fox Glenn Park, which is where Fox Glenn Trail starts.  I left my phone and pedometer in the car, so I didn't take any pictures and I don't know how far we walked, but it was a lot of fun!  The trail was pretty flat and easy, and the scenery was beautiful.  The dogs really enjoyed themselves, especially Hollie, because there were lots of prairie dog/gopher holes along the trail for her to stick her face in.  (I swear, she's going to end up with the plague one of these days).  We actually only walked half the trail before we had to head back.  It was a good work out and it wore out the dogs, both things that make me happy.

So I decided to make it a weekly thing.  I went to city hall and got an official FUTS maps so I know where all the trails are and everything, and I bought a backpack so I could bring water and the dog's collapsible bowl and all that stuff with us.  

Today the dogs and I did part of Switzer Canyon Trail (which was not the trail I intended to do, I just suck at reading maps).  It was so pretty and again, the dogs got all worn out and I feel like I got a decent work out.  This time I remembered my pedometer AND my phone (camera), so I got some pictures and I know I walked 2.09 miles.

The trail.

The scenery along the way.

Besties.

Adventurous puppies.

 

122 Days (2015)

Remember this post from last year?  When I was all woohoo it's summer I'm going to do stuff!?

Well, it's May 1st again, which means it's summer again.  And since last summer I did nothing, I'm extra determined to actually do stuff this summer.  My goals are pretty much the same.  I think my biggest  goals are to finally actually lose weight, and just to get outdoors and explore more.  I live in a beautiful place with so much stuff to do outside, and I feel like I should start taking advantage of that more.  I'd also like to make at least one trip to Kingman this summer to visit my family (a real visit, not just one on my way through to somewhere else).

I will say that I'm about to leave for Vegas, and I think that this summer starting with this trip is a really, really good sign that it's going to kick last summer's ass!

Galinas Tank Trail Hike

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but starting today I have a four day weekend from work.  The clinic is closed for Memorial Day on Monday, so I took today off to give myself a little mini vacation (I requested this off back in, like, February).  Initially my plan was to go down to Kingman to visit my family, but my sister is currently in Mexico and Austin is at his dad's house, so I decided to just chill out in Flagstaff.

By a random stroke of luck Jerbs also had today off (she did end up having to go in to work for a few hours but she was home by noon so it wasn't a big deal . . . plus her boss felt bad about her getting called in so now she's off tomorrow too!) so we decided to load up the dogs and go on a hike!

We set out to hike Bismark Lake Trail and find Bismark Lake.  We had directions but after awhile it became clear that they weren't completely accurate (we'd gone a lot further than the directions were said we were supposed to and still hadn't seen the turn off we were looking for), so we ended up just finding a random trail along Hart Prairie Road and hiking that.  It ended up being a really lovely hike.  The trail was easy and we had a beautiful view of the peaks in the distance and we were hiking through aspen trees.  About a mile in we found this abandoned/dilapidated old house off of the trail, which was really cool!  The trail skirted around this tall hill, and we decided to be intrepid and climb it; it was definitely a work out but worth it for the view!

The dogs, of course, had a fantastic time being off their leashes and running ahead of us on the trail.  Max surprised us by  being totally into it--he's not a very adventurous dogs and doesn't usually seem to care for long walks except to pee on things, but he was just all over the place today.  I was so proud of him!  He actually made it to the top of the hill first.  I'm glad to know I'll be able to take both of them out with me on more hikes this summer.

The view of the peaks from Hart Prairie Road on the drive out.

Aspen trees.

Aspen and flowers just off the trail we were on.

The front of the old house we found.

Stone steps ups to the front door.

The foundation of the old house.

The view through the front door from inside the house.
Because of course I went inside.

The house from the side.

The back of the house.

A view of the peaks from the hill we climbed, plus Hollie
looking very majestic.  Max is in there too, he's just blending in.

Max and Hollie were so worn out!  This was
roughly 10 minutes after we got back in the car.

After the hike we had lunch at Beaver Street Brewery and wandered around downtown for a little while.  All in all it was just a lovely day.  It made me feel very grateful that I live in such a beautiful place.  I'm looking forward to more summer adventures.

Summer Project: Jewelry Holder

So this is a project I've wanted to do for awhile now, I just hadn't had time or been able to find the right supplies.  I finally did when I was browsing at Michael's with Austin over the weekend.

It was really easy.  I just sanded and painted the frame until I got the look I wanted, then took out the plastic that would go over the picture and stretched fabric and netting across the frame backing.  The background fabric is just a fat quarter that's sand colored, and the main fabric is this netting kind of stuff that was with the nautical fabrics at JoAnns.  I initially wanted to do lace, but I thought the netting worked a little better with the nautical/seaside kinda theme I was going for.  For the posts at the bottom, I cut up a dowel and drilled holes to slide them into.

Like I said,really easy.

And here it is in action.  I haven't put many of my earrings on it yet but still.  Also the posts don't give quite enough space for my rings/bracelets so I'm thinking of either adding more posts or maybe making a smaller, matching piece to hang beside this one for additional storage.  We'll see.

At any rate, I'm really, really happy with how it turned out!

A Saucy Weekend

Yesterday my sister and Austin went to a Diamondbacks game in Phoenix; one of Jenny's good friends rents the pool at the field and invites all her friends and their kids and it's becoming a tradition.  One of my sister's friends and her boyfriend, who live here in Flagstaff, went with them this year, so Jenny and Austin got to spend some time in Flag before and after they went down to Phoenix.  Which, of course, meant I got to spend lots of time with that sweet little nephew of mine.

We went to Michaels and JoAnns, did arts and crafts, played with Max and Hollie, and fed the ducks at the pond.  I didn't get any pictures while we were at the pond (because supervising Austin, carrying all our stuff, and holding onto two dogs--one of whom wants nothing more than to throw herself into the pond after the ducks--made it a little hard to take pictures).

He colored with Auntie Jerbs.

And painted a pirate ship birdhouse.

And of course cuddled Max.  Because they're besties.

I love getting to spend time with this child.  He just makes my heart happy and I am so grateful that I get to be a part of his life, even if it's from a distance.

122 Days

It's the first of May!  And in my mind that means it's officially summer.  (Not that you'd have thought that if you went outside in Flagstaff today, but whatever).  I used to dread summer something fierce, and even though I'm not looking forward to the Arizona heat, I am kind of excited for summer this year.

I think of summer as May 1st to August 31st.  That's 122 days, and I have high hopes for those 122 days this year.

I am going to go outside.  I'm going to hike and swim and bike and be active and get fit.

I am going to take the dogs on lots of long walks and adventures.

I am going to paint my nails awesome summer colors.

I am going to wear my giant sunglasses and drive around with my sun roof open and my radio set to the country station.

I am going to hang out in Kingman with my family, and with friends in Phoenix.

I am going to read and write and paint and sew.

I am going to save money.

I am going to find a new doctor and get back on track treatment wise.

I am going to get a tattoo.

I am going to climb a mountain (like last year!).

I am going to take lots of pictures.

It's going to be awesome.