recent happenings

Life has been busy. really busy. Which has been good....until i started feeling the crazy set in from too much busyness. They say pictures are worth a thousand words so, in lieu of writing a whole bunch of crap that would take a while to read through, I'm posting pictures of recent happenings. 

enjoy.

best. halloween. costume. ever.

This costume is actually a friend's 7th grade dance costume. 

Yep, i actually squeezed my 31 year-old ass into 7th grade spandex. 

T-bone's still got it.

I started my Thanksgiving day off with The Boulevard Bolt, a 5 mile race in Nashville.

This is an action shot, of course.

(i am NOT the one wearing the turkey hat...in case you were wondering...)

My friend, Heather (who IS the one wearing the turkey hat in the above picture) and I wanted to have a low-key Thanksgiving. I had no interest in slaving away for an entire day making a meal for two people. I had recently acquired a collection of crock-pots (don't ask...) and thought it would be an interesting experiment to crock-pot our entire thanksgiving dinner. And crock-pot we did. It was amazing! After an hour of prep time the night before, I plugged in all four crock-pots before heading to the race on Thanksgiving morning...and voila! Dinner was ready by 3pm. genius. At this point, I am planing on crock-potting Thanksgiving dinner from here on out. I honestly can't think of a reason not to. 

Thanksgiving Menu:

Organic Turkey with wild rice stuffing

Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Tomatoes

Roasted Asparagus

Fresh Cranberry Sauce (which, in full disclosure, was the only thing I cooked fresh on the stove top)

Chocolate Brownie Cake 

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I also bought a new mattress (my very first brand-spankin'-new mattress) in hopes of improving my insomnia. I didn't bother to include a picture of the mattress because that would be BORING. And if there's one thing this blog is not, its boring. The jury is still out on if the mattress is helping with my insomnia...(sigh)...

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Here's a shot of Justin Bieber and me. It was the weirdest thing--I went to see a movie and there he was, right there in the middle of the concession stand area! He was really nice and posed for a picture with me. After this photo was taken, my friends started calling me a cougar...but that just makes me feel weird. I much prefer "totally-relevant-cool-enough-to-hang-with-j-beebs-kouns". 

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I have also recently started drinking gin...which feels a *little* bit like I'm cheating on my first love, tequila. I don't really know what to say other than, change isn't always a bad thing. don't i know it. 

........

In the spirit of advent, I hope you are living your days in anticipation of a season of great joy.

All will be well,

and all will be well,

and all manner of things will be well. 

tlk

Esperanza

This past week I visited dear, dear friends in Esperanza, B.C. Esperanza is off the coast of Vancouver Island; it is remote...it is absolutely beautiful. There have been too many good things about the trip to share in this post so, for now, I will share some of my pictures with you: 

More to come...

tlk

Hair of the Dog

Attempting to improve upon Miss Dottie's current facial hair situation:

Apparently, she would prefer to stay with her current look. So I guess that means...

El Bandito

only in the south: part 1

At the shoe repair shop today:

Me: I bought these vintage riding boots and when I got home one of the heels promptly fell off.
Old curmedgeon who repairs shoes: Well, that's whatcha get fer buyin' old shit.
Me: err...right.

Then he took my boots and repaired them for free.

only in the south...

lady in waiting

My roommate took this picture to show me what Miss Dottie does when I leave the house. She camps out on the chair in front of the window that looks out onto the street. Apparently she assumed this position for well over an hour, waiting for me to return, after I left the house this weekend. It's kind of cute...but I also think it means we are running low in the dog toy department...

I heart Sedona

     I flew home from Sedona today. It is good to be home (and good to be with Miss Dottie again). Yesterday I took the day to revisit my favorite places in Sedona, then I climbed to the top of a vortex to watch the sunset. A Native was chanting and playing his drum as the sun went down; it was one of the most peaceful moments I've had in a while. It felt like the red rocks were my companions as I said goodbye to Sedona. After the sun set I went back to my hotel, sat on the terrace and watched a heat lightening storm in the clouds. It was the perfect way to end my trip.

always hoping...

my trusty steed

goodbye...

cliff dwelling

     Today I took the scenic route from Sedona to Flagstaff. It's about a 30 minute drive through the mountains of Arizona. I rolled the windows down and listened to NPR the whole way. I was in heaven. I decided to go to the Walnut Canyon National Monument, which is the ancient home of the Sinagua Indians. The Sinaguas lived in cliff dwellings in the canyon and I got to see some of the preserved ancient ruins. I love learning about Native American culture, so I was curious to see how these people lived on the edge of a cliff.

     As I descended the 240 steps into the canyon I immediately began to sweat. big time. The first reason is that Flagstaff's elevation is 7,000 ft., which means there is 23% less oxygen in the air than I am used to at sea level. I thought I was in fairly good shape. Nope, not at 7,000 ft. The second, and more pertinent, reason for my extreme sweating is this: I am kind of a 'fraidy cat and have a *slight* aversion to heights. I kept envisioning myself tripping and falling off the edge of the cliff. Plus, I had a dress on, so if that happened people would DEFINITELY see my ass. Which, for me, would be way more embarrassing then falling off a cliff and rendering myself unconscious in the middle of a National Monument. Pretty sure I looked like a freak scooting around the cliff (on the cement path with a guard rail, mind you) trying to stay as far away from the edge as possible. I also think the park ranger made fun of me when I passed him. jerk. 

     But I have to say, the dwellings the Sinaguas made in the cliffs were remarkable. I can't imagine that being the landscape of my daily life. I would be a nervous wreck. My tribe would probably trade me for some decent pottery. I kept thinking to myself, "What about the toddlers? How many of them just toddled right off the edge of the cliff?" On my way back up the 240 stairs, I ran into the park ranger again and managed to have a conversation about the toddlers in between my pants and wheezes. He compared their cliff-dwelling existence to our present-day life where we navigate traffic and city blocks in order to get to our destinations; we adapt to our environment. I kind of think he's an idiot for comparing cliff-dwelling to traffic, but maybe that's just me and my issues with heights. 

     beautiful scenery. descended into a canyon and walked along the edge of a cliff in spite of internal misgivings. relaxing evening at the hotel. I'd say today was a good one.  

cliff dwelling (about 1/3 from the top)

closer...

ancient cliff dwelling (the walls are made of stacked 

rocks, plastered with red clay for insulation)

inside a well-preserved room (doorway leads to another 

room; each dwelling had multiple rooms)