Desert Living

I heart living in the desert.

I love the cactus, the succulents, the colors that most people don't even know exist in the desert. The last month has been filled with yellows, greens, purples. I love the Sonoran desert I live in, where I can drive an hour to snow, a few hours to the beach, but I can drive 2 minutes and be in a canyon to hike.

But what I truly love about living in the desert....the sounds. Where we live, we hear a variety of sounds: owls, quail, bats squeaking, coyotes, javelina barking, rattle snakes- all from the comfort of our second floor porch.

Last night was a menagerie of sounds. D$ came in to wake me up at 10pm as we could hear a bobcat or Mountain Lion on our roof. Then at 5am I hear a pack of coyotes, um, shall I say dining?! Perhaps on the bobcat from our roof! I have learned to distinguish hunting coyotes, eating coyotes, playful new born coyotes (they learn to get their howl like a car that won't turn over...bark bark how- cough, bark, bark , bark hoooow- cough).

I never fail to wake with a smile on my face when I hear the coyotes. What a nice reminder of the special place I live!

A tad bit of regret

We went to a wedding this last weekend, our first as a married couple. Sitting through the ceremony and reception- D$ and I had a blast and chuckled about our wedding and remembered how much we loved x,y,z at our wedding, but how cool a,b,c was at this wedding.

I have no regrets about our planning or the results of our wedding. Let me be honest, it was bad-ass. I loved it, every minute and would do it all again, no changes.

However, my TucsonBFF got engaged this weekend and I am sooo pleased for her, but filled with regret. D$ didn't ask me to marry him, he didn't get down on one knee. He didn't have a ring. We didn't have a huge announcement, in fact when we called to tell his folks, their phone was out of order, so we told my folks- then had to wait another day to tell his. This after being engaged for a week without sharing with anyone (that part I don't regret!). So I read all 44 and counting comments on facebook and I am bursting inside for her! But also a bit regretful that we don't have an engagement story.

A few inspiration boards

whew...Since I found out 10 hours ago that my TucsonBFF got engaged, I've found and made a few inspiration boards for her.

I know her favorite color is light blue and her style is simple and cute. So here are a few inspirations I have for her. (note, just ideas, none need to be taken seriously).




From Tastefully Entertaining I found this board that was published almost a year ago.

From the great Snippet & Ink I found this lovely board that mixes blue with a flashy yellow. Yum!


And finally, one I threw together myself.

Man, I am pleased to have some wedding planning to think about again- well here's hoping she'll want my help!

Whirlwind weekend!

Hey y'all I'm back from Texas!

A few highlights:
1. I had a dog tour of Texas. As I am not currently a dog owner, it was great that everyone we stayed with had wonderful lovable dogs.
2. I put a 5 month old baby to sleep during the wedding mass on Saturday. Not being catholic, I was eager to hold baby Evelyn (D$'s cousin's kid) during the ceremony, so I could walk around and coo her to sleep.
3. BBQ. We went to Smitty's, which is in the top5 best Texas BBQ according to Texas monthly. Holy cow, literally- it was out of this world good.
4. Tubing we floating down the Comal river with good friends and good beer.
5. One of my BFFs got engaged this weekend! She called to tell me this morning and I couldn't be more happy for her!
6. Reconnecting with family, good friends and more family. D$ and I had a great fun time.
7. Running around Austin town lake...man Austin, if you'll have me, I'm yours!

I'll fill you in more about the wedding we attended, dogs I played with and upcoming weddings soon!

New wedding vows

Every time D$ and I hear a story or go through an experience that points out a flaw or loophole in our relationship, or anther's, we add a vow to our marriage.

D$ had a stupid stupid friend that received a sext (is that what the kids call the dirty pics via text thing?) from a woman not his wife. So we added a vow: no nudie pics from anyone other than each other. Done.

My dad's BFF died yesterday. He was sick and ignored his symptoms to the point of no return. So we made a new vow: fight for each other, even if you can't fight for yourself.

Rick was a great guy. He was funny, loved life and lived hard. I guess that's why he didn't want to fight, he didn't want to be weak. I am going to miss him, but I don't understand if he couldn't fight for himself, how could he not want to fight for his wife? My parents don't understand any better. So last night D$ and I made a new vow- fight for each other, even if you can't fight for yourself.

Between Rick and GoLightly's fight in the hospital I've been really burdened by grief. I have been surprised everyday by D$'s love and support for me. Last night, knowing how sad I was, he made me grilled cheese and tomato soup, complete with a bottle of wine. It is that love, his caring, his support that makes me hope and believe that if I were sick, like on my death bed sick, I would be fighting tooth and nail for him- so that I could stay with him.

These situations have also opened the door on sensitive topics. We talked about our wishes and about our living wills.

Have you added any vows, or any conditions to your relationship?

Updates and donations

If you are reading Pecos Girls blog, you will have seen this update yesterday about GoLightly. Some really great news regarding her functions and then of course a few set backs.

A trust is being set up to raise money for Golightly, she lost her job in January- and with that she lost her health insurance. I have emailed Pecos girl for the info, so I'll be happy to share it with you. I know any bit we can pull together would be helpful.

I hope all of you are well and please keep praying/thinking/vibing/meditating your good juju to GoLightly!

What I've been up to...

Linda inquired about what I've been doing to keep me away from the blogosphere. To answer her question, I've composed a list:


1. My parents came to visit for 5 days.
2. I am running again and now training for a half marathon in June.
3. I received a promotion at work and have been actually working, not blogging from my job!
4. I got and iPhone for Valentine’s Day that accesses my email and facebook, so I really haven’t turned on the laptop at home for 2 months.
5. I have a few ideas about my new improved blog in my head, weekly features, etc. When I have been writing, I have been stocking those up, so when I launch the new blog I will have a few weeks of blogs to pull from.
6. March Madness- I ran the office pool at work.
7. Dieting. D$ and I are fatter than ever. Seriously. Two weeks ago we both hit the highest weight we’d ever been. Since then I have lost 2.5 lbs and he has lost 2. So we cook a lot, walk, work out and talk about dropping weight.
8. Reading. I received a gift subscription to the New Yorker for Christmas. It is a great magazine, full of great contributors and articles. It is a heavy read. AND it comes once a week. Seriously, it takes a lot of time!
9. Gardening. A friend gave me her plant stand, perfect for my containers so I have remembered my love for gardening.

None are great excuses, but reasons none the less. We are traveling next week, but I'll plan to post a few times before we leave.

Happy weekend everyone!

Good Blog Vibes

Hi y’all, I know I have fallen off the blog radar, but I am moving this blog in a different direction and haven’t put all the pieces together yet. (And no, I’m not pregnant).

The main reason for this post, is for support. One of my bestest blog-friends Golightly was in a series car accident a few weeks back. If you read either of her blogs: Tidbits of Drama or
B-squared Bride you’ve noticed some in activity.

All I know is from updates on this blog. Thanks to Pecos Girl for her updates of Golightly! I am so saddened by this, Golightly and I had made tentative plans to go to brunch in 2 weeks, when I will be in Dallas. She was just recently engaged and right in the middle of planning a wedding, her fiance Cowboy was recently returned from Iraq and I know they were really enjoying being together again. Life was perfect, she was at the top of the hill.

I know a few of us have blogged about our blogger friends...and how weird it is to be touched by someone reading or writing far away. But there is no doubt now in my mind that I have a few great friends online (Blablover and Linda this means you!) and my care and concern for them is as great as a friend I have actually met.

I don't know if you pray or meditate or what. But however, whatever you do, please think of Golightly.