52 New Things

ASU Pipe Organ Concert

2010-03-07T07:12:00.001-08:00

Did you know that ASU built a small production hall to house this beautiful Fritts pipe organ? (Sorry for the poor picture from my camera phone.) I attended a Spirit of the Senses salon which featured the music of this wonderful instrument played by Kimberly Marshall, director of the ASU school of music and international organ concert performer. She also played an Italian Baroque organ from the 1700s for us - the music was very dramatic and she gave us some history on both organs and some background information on Bach and his organ compositions.

Tour of Coronado District in Phoenix

2010-03-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week the Coronado District opened their homes to the public. Officially, the Coronado district runs from the I-10 to Thomas and from 7th Street to 20th Street. The homes open for the tour were on the 1800 block of Willetta. I went with my friends Anne and Gail - even though it rained, we were still able to see cute homes all built from 1926 to 1946. They are being rennovated and the neighborhood is being taken back from gang activity and crack houses.We topped the afternoon off by eating at Cafe Barrio - a delicious Sunday brunch with Spanish guitar music to accompany us.

I Lost Count of the Days, But Not the Giving!!!

2010-02-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

OK - I have been hanging in there on my giving challenge, but I stopped writing down what I was giving and I think I lost track! Here are more things I've done, but I can't remember what days I did them on! Yesterday, I went on a errand of mercy to my sister's house as she had her battery go dead. I also dropped off some extra roast beef I made for her and my Aunt and Uncle. Last week, I helped my friend Nancy wrap her dog's foot up before I went to work - I also bought her popcorn the night before, so I combined these as one gift. I made some banana bread for everyone at work. I made two large pans of enchiladas for Lauren's ski trip - it fed 21 of her friends! Packed up more Roast Beef for Jack today and gave him some extra gas money. I did a day of calls to some friends I haven't talked to in awhile. And now I am forgetting... I know I only missed one day. I am on Day 25! I think the book says that if you forget one day, you have to start over. I think I will add two days on the end and call it even! This picture has nothing to do with my giving project - I just know it is one of my Mom's favorite pictures of me. I was playing dress-up pioneer women with my trusty dog Ginger in Michigan. I ran around all summer in barefeet. Behind me is an old farmhouse we were renting while my Dad built our house down the road. Ahhh, the good old days...

Ten, Eleven, Twelve

2010-01-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

More of the 29 gifts - Day Ten: I went the whole day and didn't really have the chance to do much for anyone, so at the end of the day, I texted to my cell phone and gave a donation to Haiti. Not much effort or money, but I hope that collectively - it makes a difference.
Day Eleven: I went to my book club meeting and delivered a Cat Stevens mix (all my favorite songs of his) that I had made for my friend, Liz. It had been sitting on my desk for awhile, so it was great that I could finally give it to her. She recently lost her Mom - so I've been thinking of her. Day Twelve: I passed along the book I was reading for book club "The Guernsey Society and Potato Peel Book Club" and the "29-Gifts" book to my friend Mary at work. She and I have similar reading tastes and she said she would be interested in reading the 29-Gifts book. She also does a great deal for the people in her life, and always has a pleasant word for everyone she meets.

The photo is one my sister had on her blog - it reminds me of the era of the Guernsey Society book. I can just picture the sheep saying weird things...

Gifts Six through Nine

2010-01-19T08:01:00.001-08:00

29-Day Gift Giving Challenge Day Six: My daughter Lauren recently moved back to town and in with me after her graduation from ASU (yay - we finally got her diploma in the mail two days ago!). I took her with me to a fun raggae dance class called booty quake :) It was an awesome workout and we had a great time. Who knew giving could be so much fun! Day Seven: Lauren was again the recepient of one of my gifts (I'm going to do more for other people - I swear). We went to a small nail salon and had pedicures. I tipped both of the girls who are from Vietnam more than I would have normally. Lauren said her nail tech was a single mother who was orphaned at birth and brought up by relatives before moving to the U.S. Lauren said she was grateful to have a good relationship with her mom - (another gift coming back to me - gratitude from my children.) Day Eight: The Garage Sale - I am clearing out a lot of things in order to put my home on the market. I had a garage sale and during the sale - I gave out a few extra things. I also bought salsa from a woman who was selling it to raise money for her grandson with a medical condition. At the end of the day - I packed everything up that was left and delivered it to Good will. Day Nine: I took my dog for a hike up Camelback Mountain - which he absolutely loves. (Yes, you can do things for non-humans too.) I also loaned Betty and Veronica - the names of my two beach cruisers (pictured above) - to my next door neighbor. I cleaned them up and pumped up the tires, so I guess that counts as a gift, right?

Days 4 and 5 of Gift Giving Project

2010-01-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

I am continuing to read the book 29 Gifts and continuing with the gift-giving project. On day four I had lunch with my friend Tessa. Here husband recently had knee surgery and I think she was ready for a bit of a break. I picked up the lunch tab as my gift of the day. Tessa is the type of person who does so much for her family and friends, that it was nice being able to do something for her. On day five, I packaged up a gift for my friend Debbie's daughter, Missy. She just graduated with a degree in Nursing from U of A. Along with her graduation check - I included the book - Chicken Soup for the Nurses Soul - so she can get inspired by all the wonderful, selfless things nurses do for their patients. I wish her all her luck in taking her boards and know she will be an awesome nurse. (She already got a job working with cancer patients in Houston. Yay for her and Debbie!)

29-Day Giving Challenge

2010-01-10T20:06:00.001-08:00

OK - on Friday - three days ago, I decided to do the 29-Day Giving Challenge outlined in the book - 29 Gifts. It is the story of a women with M.S. that took at "prescription" to give 29 gifts in 29 days. When she did, she found out that giving brought her more than she expected. I read about her story on Friday morning and that day, when I went to yoga, my instructor was talking about what a great "gift" we give ourselves when we practice yoga. His whole talk was centered around giving and gifts, so I took it as a sign that I should try the 29-day challenge.

So here goes - Day One - I bought my friend Kelley a tea and salad after yoga - which she was resistant to at first, but then I told her it was part of my gift for the day, and she let me do that for her. She is such a good friend and always has a kind word for everyone, and does so much for everyone around her.

Day Two - I was going to the movies and there was a swarm of cars all trying to park in any spot that opened up. A guy in a red sports car and I were vying for the same spots, and when one became available that I was obviously first in line for, I waived him in and let him have it. He gave me a wonderful smile :)

Day Three - My son came over and I did his laundry and went to Subway and got him a sandwich and a cookie. (He, in turn, helped me take out the trash, rake leaves and set a trap for the dreaded roof rats in the "hood.") I probably would have done some of these things for him anyway, but instead of resenting him a bit - I was much happier doing it when I thought of it as a gift!

The book talks about giving all kinds of gifts and things that don't necessarily cost money, but maybe a kind word, a call to someone you haven't talked to in awhile, a thank you note, etc.

We will see how the challenge progresses. I will chart my progress here.

Three New Restaurants

2010-01-10T19:43:00.001-08:00

Recently, I've been to a few new restaurants that were really good. St. Francis (on First St. and Camelback), The Parlor (32nd & Camelback) and Backstreet Wine Bar (36 & Indian School). All were great and I would recommend them. I will definitely go back to all three. (I've been to the Parlor a few times already.)

Phoenix Farmer's Market

2009-10-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

I ventured down to the Phoenix Farmer's Market today to see what kinds of local veggies I could find. I got some baby eggplant that I will saute today. I also got some tamales from The Tamale Store (recommended by my friend Ames) and some Coconut White tea for brewing. I bought some cous cous salad to go, as I brought along my dog, Dudley, and he was not into sitting still. Note to self: don't bring cute and energetic dachsund with you when you want to shop. He attracts all sorts of people, but mainly lots of nice old ladies :)

More Journal Pages from Workshop

2009-09-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

These are all journal pages from my Goddess and Poet Journaling class by Suzi Blu - still working on the lettering. I wrote the poems, but I don't like my handwriting... I've got to work on that.

Finished Art from Workshop Sketch

2009-09-04T14:00:00.001-07:00

Online Art Class

2009-07-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here is my first attempt at drawing a face for my online art class (Suzi Blu - The Goddess and the Poet Journaling Class). The first lesson was fun, but I think I need a lot of practice! I won't even show you my guy that I did - he kind of looks like he is wearing lipstick...

Week Whatever!

2009-06-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

OK - I have been doing things but have been so bad about posting them. I am getting back on track now that graduation is over, etc. I went to a restaurant with my son on Sunday - yes he wanted to have lunch with me! We went to a place on Scottsdale Road and Camelback called Stax. It was a trendy small slider joint and we had a sampling of their burgers (salmon, angus beef, turkey and Jack's pick: wild boar) with their sweet potato fries. It was very tasty and the servers were very friendly.

Week 34 - Sunrise Trail Hike

2009-03-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hiked up a new trail in North Scottsdale by 136th Street and Shea area - See my Arcadia Living blog for more photos and description.

JAlexanders

2009-03-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tried out JAlexander Restaurant on Wednesday with Liz, Ames, Kelley and Carol. It is a new restaurant in the Borgata. The restaurant was very similar to Houstons (almost a direct copy) - but I prefer Houstons. I had the grilled vegetable platter with couscous. It was pretty good. Carol had the grilled chicken finger salad - that looked better!

Week 33 - Luke Airforce Base

2009-03-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

I went to an open house at the base the night before Luke Airforce Base's big Air Show Desert Thunder. These are not my photos - but I did get to see the incredible "Wall of Fire" and a MIG flying and doing a pirotechnique show. (My camera batteries were dead :( )

I have lived in the Phoenix area for more than 30 years and had never been out to the base. It is the only F-16 training facility in the world and they have trained more than 55,000 pilots there. It was fun to see all the planes and I just couldn't get over how fast the jets fly. It is so impressive to see them fly in person.

Week 32 - Heirloom Restaurant

2009-03-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

I recently ate at Chef Michael DeMeara's (from the Citadel) new restaurant up in DC Ranch called Heirloom. It is promoted as using all locally grown produce and organic meats. Well I guess there is nothing that is growing now, because they didn't have any produce on the menu. I had the tomato basil soup (which was very tasty) and the lobster (three bites on a plate) and we split a couple of deserts - a mango tapioca creme brulee concoction and the custard-filled home made donuts. I know they promote it as being able to sample several different courses (all of which were some sort of meat) - I am still thinking their small sampling is just a way to get people to spend more money. We had a reservation and still had to wait for about 15-20 minutes, but they offered wine while we waited. At least it made me think that the enconomy is not quite so bad when the restaurants are starting to be full again.

Week 31 - Ski Lessons

2009-03-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

Not a great picture since it was taken with a throw away camera - but my friend Margaret Ann and I got free lessons from an old pro at Vail last week. His name was Bob Martin and he was a professional ski racing instructor for 20 years. He now volunteers his time at Vail as one of those information folks on the slopes. We must have looked like we needed help, because he took us all over the mountain for about three hours. It was a glorious day and we got in about 13 runs - perfect for the last day of the trip.

Week 30 - ASU Art Exhibit

2009-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Went to the Herberger College of Fine Art at ASU (where my son Jack attends school) to see their most recent exhibit. They had a reception for this artist - Kurt Weiser- who did all these wonderful painted ceremic pieces. They were mostly global shapes with nature and people mixed - I think the exhibit was called Eden Revisted. He was originally from Michigan, so of course I liked it! Went to House of Tricks after and had the salmon (again) - it was great.

Week 29 - Out Dancing

2009-02-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Went to some old Phoenix jazz clubs last Friday - Chez Nous and Chars - no pictures, but we had fun. It seemed just like I was in Chicago!

Week 28 - Writing Seminar - Diana Gabaldon

2009-01-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

My friend Vicki B and I attended a writing seminar featuring Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, Firefly in Amber) today. We rode there in style in Vicki's new Corvette.

Gabaldon was very witty and inspirational. She talked about her writing process and gave us some pointers on researching for historical fiction writing. She recommended looking for random things and to not be afraid to stray off your path when doing research. "Turn over a rock and see what crawls out."

She is coming out with a new book this fall-- the seventh in the Outlander series. I believe she said the title will be An Echo of the Bone. She also said Outlander has been optioned out for a movie. She graciously agreed to let me have my picture taken with her. Horrible photo of me, but she is very lovely.

Week 27 - The Mission Restaurant

2009-01-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

Went to eat at The Mission restaurant in Scottsdale on Brown Ave. It was a very happening spot on Saturday night. We had homemade quacamole, mahi mahi tacos and some spicy chicken dish (Pollo de Braso or something like that). I liked the Sangria the best! The food has a trendy mexican/spanish influence with lots of speciality drinks and tequilas. It also has a nice cozy patio in front with a fire place. I highly recommend The Mission!

Week 26- Chihuly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Gardens

2009-01-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures I took when I went to the Arizona Desert Botanical Gardens Chihuly art exhibit last night. The glass sculptures were really unique and beautiful. I will put a whole series of these on my flicker photo page if you want to see more.

Week 26 - Scottsdale Farmers Market

2009-01-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

I rode my bike over to the Scottsdale Farmers Market this weekend. It was small, but had some very interesting specialty food items. It was really easy taking the bikes along the canal, so I think I will do this more often. I snapped a picture of this cool old mission across the street. It is next to the restaurant, The Mission, which is owned by my friend's son, so that will be one of my next new things, trying it out. It looked very cozy and fun.

Week 25 - The Light Rail is Running!

2008-12-31T15:52:00.001-08:00

Jose, Heidi, Traci, Amber and I rode the train from work down to eat at Alexis in downtown Phoenix and back. It only took three hours! We are hoping that the free fair and the novelty was the reason for the crowds. Everyone was very friendly, maybe too friendly, on board. (I met a nice guy who told me that my money was hanging out of my purse.) It was very crowded, but I am glad it is finally up and running. I think it will be good for Phoenix - I just don't want to take it to have lunch again!

Week 24 - True Foods

2008-12-07T07:09:00.001-08:00

Lauren and I visited the new restaurant at the Biltmore Fashion Park called True Foods - http://www.foxrc.com/true_food_kitchen.html This restaurant was created by the Fox group here in Phoenix (Olive and Ivy, Bloom) and health guru Dr. Andrew Weil. In fact, he came in and had lunch while we were there. (He did not have to wait for a table - but we did!)

The food was really healthy and very good. I would highly recommend this place. I did not see any red meat on the menu, but there were lots of veggies, fish and some chicken. I had the Medicine Man juice drink and the salmon sandwich. Lauren had the Miso Sea Bass. Everything was delish!

Week 23 - Writing Workshop

2008-11-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

My friend Vicki and I went to the Third Annual Fall Writers Workshop this past weekend at the Scottsdale Civic Library. I attended the following breakouts: How to structure a compelling novel; Villains Have Feelings Too - delving into the mind of diabolical killers; Terms of Engagement - engaging your reader with emotional intensity; and Plotting. The main speaker, Vicki Lewis Thompson, who is a NY Times best selling author, spoke on How to Become an Overnight Success in 25 Years or Less. What a great workshop - and all for free! It was sponsored by the Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America, but it was not romance writing oriented. I think I learned a lot in one day. We will have to see when my novel comes out!

Week 22 - Phoenix 5/10K

2008-11-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

OK - so I only walked/ran the 5K of the Phoenix 10K - it still was a first for me! I walked it with my co-workers, Cynthia (pictured here with me), Adela, Jena, Ashley and her daughter (who cheated because she was in a stroller!). Hats off to my other co-workers Heidi and Jose who ran the 10K that day.

Week 21 - Pilates

2008-11-02T10:20:00.001-08:00

My daughter and I have been taking a few Pilates sessions at the Village with Linda. We haven't done the move pictured here yet! Maybe next week. The workout feels really great and stretches out my back. Wish I had one of the reformers at home.

Week 20 - David Sedaris and House of Tricks

2008-10-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

I went to see author David Sedaris who read from his very funny books and diary. He was quite entertaining. Another first was going to House of Tricks in Tempe before the show with my friends, Chris, Stephanie and Dana. It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside on the patio. I had the salmon and it was delicious. I would highly recommend House of Tricks! And I would also recommend reading any of David Sedaris's books - but be forewarned, he is very liberal and tells it like he sees it.

Week 19 - Sway Dance

2008-10-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Nancy and I went to Sway dance company (owned by my friend Maggie Kline and her daughter Marissa). We took Marissa's Boogie Mix class. What fun - and a great workout too. I love to dance, it is so much fun it doesn't seem like your exercising. Although I bet we burned tons of calories. Visit Sway at http://www.swayaz.com/ for a listing of classes. They have Zumba classes there too.

Week 18 - Kinesis Wall

2008-10-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

I took at intro class at the Village (my gym) on the Kinesis wall. It is a wall with pulleys and you do a workout in about 20 minutes that targets most of your body. It was different and will be a good way to add some variety to my workouts. I really felt it in my back. Next on the list is trying Pilates...

Week 17 - One more Mac Class

2008-10-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Week 17 - One more hour of Mac training and we were able to edit a video of a seminar at work. Now we need to post to our Web site for an RSS feed so we can make a podcast for our members. One step at a time....

Week 16

2008-09-17T18:37:00.002-07:00

This week I went to a class at the Apple store and learned about iMovie with my friend and coworker Traci. Only she will get the reference to the Grouper picture - a similar guy was featured in our movie we created at the store. While I do not own a Mac, I will be able to use iMovie to create things on our Mac at work, so I am looking forward to that!

Week Fifteen - Eddie's House

2008-09-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

I went to Eddie's House (Chef Eddie Matney's new restaurant) in Scottsdale this weekend. The food was great. I had the Sea Bass - it was wonderful! Here is the link for their Web site: http://www.azeats.com/eddieshouse/thanks.html We saw basketball star Grant Hill eating there with his family.

Weeks 13 & 14

2008-08-27T07:07:00.001-07:00

I went back to Santa Monica to move Lauren home from her internship at MTV. We rode on a solar-powered ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier. We also ate at several restaurants including the Ivy, STK, the Coast and our favorite Urth Cafe. We are addicted to boba - if you see it you've got to try it.

Week Ten, Eleven and Twelve

2008-08-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy doing things that I have not had time to put them all down in my blog. I will catch up a bit through the end of July and then do August next week. I figure I get credit for doing something new in that I dropped everything and planned to go the Grand Cayman in two weeks. I never do anything that compulsive. Cayman was great and I was able to do a few new things there, including trying conch shell fritters and swimming with the stingrays. And while I have snorkeled before, I am usually too claustrophobic to enjoy it much. I was able to overcome this and had an "ah ha" moment when swimming with a group of Blue Tangs. It seemed the more I tried to get close to them, the more they spooked, so I just floated on the current (much like they were doing) and they let me glide along with them no problem.

I also learned how to post some video to my other blog - so check out more Cayman photos and the video at http://www.arcadialiving.blogspot.com/

Week Nine- Getting Pumped

2008-07-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

Went to Venice Beach last week with my sister. We happened upon a weight lifting contest sponsored by Gold's Gym there. That was definately a first for me - although we didn't stay to watch very long, I was able to snap a few pictures. The group of women we saw were in the over 40 age category - and one of them had to be at least 60. They were in awesome shape, although I don't like the orange fake tan all of them were using. Yuck!

Week Eight - InDesign Class

2008-06-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

I took a one-on-one class this week to upgrade my skills in the InDesign program. Now I am all jazzed to do more with it! Thanks Dave at PrismaGraphics!

Week Seven - Using Craig's List

2008-06-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

I actually used Craig's list twice in the past few weeks for the first time. Once to find a sublet apartment for Lauren for her MTV internship in California. And because she was gone, I sold the Kanye West tickets I purchased with the help of my friend Traci. Both transitions went smoothly, although I did see some very interesting and strange things on Craig's list. I suggest using it with caution.

I would have liked adding that I saw a Rap/Hip/Hop concert to the 52 New Things list, but didn't want to go without my homey Lauren to protect me. (It is too bad as Lauren's BFF Martha would have gone with me - but I already sold the tickets. I made $80 on the deal.)

Here is a picture of Kanye anyway! Go out and live the Good Life!

Week Six - New Restaurant

2008-06-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

See my regular blog for a picture of the Birthday girls having lunch at HumblePie in Scottsdale.
Great restaurant with gourment salads and pizzas. The veggie chopped salad, butternut squash and pistachio pizza were great. (Good choice, Liz.)

Here is a link to the restaurants Web page: http://www.humblepieusa.com/

Week Five - Cooking Class

2008-06-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

I took a cooking class this week and we prepared peppered steak, a vegetable relish (which I got to chop all the veggies) and a great dessert - a mousse between two delicate cookies. The class was at Sweet Basils in Scottsdale. They had wine pairings with all the different dishes. This was not a picture of our actual meal - I did not bring my camera!

Week Four - Garden Group

2008-06-17T18:52:00.001-07:00

My friend Dawn started a Garden Club in Arcadia. I attended our first meeting - there seems to be a lot of people interested in gardening, but not too experienced at it (I am definately including myself in that group). Our first outing will be to a neighbors garden who was recently featured in Phoenix House and Gardens.

Here is a picture of my own garden out back.

Week Three - Guided Meditation

2008-06-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

My daughter Lauren and I went to try an hour of guided meditation at the Emaho center in Scottsdale. The first time we went we sat on the pillows on the floor and discovered how hard it is to sit cross legged for an hour. The center's resident buddhist monk was on a book tour, so we listened to the apprentice, who has a beautiful chanting voice and a tape of the "regular" monk. We liked the tape so much we returned the next week for the real thing and will probably try to attend one of his seminars in the future. The two discussions before the meditatations were on together as sensient beings (not alone but all one) and on loving kindness.

I took this picture in Hawaii last summer. It was a very peaceful spot at our hotel.

Week Two - Yoga Class with Wayne Morrisette

2008-06-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

On week two, I tried a new spirtual dance/yoga workshop at At One Yoga in Phoenix. The class was led by Canadian Wayne Morrisette (brother of singer Alanis Morrisette). My friend Nancy joined me and we participated in the class that incorporated yoga, music, dance and a bit of chanting. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. I do love to dance!

Week One - Blogging Class

2008-06-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

I took a class from the wonderful Mike Putnam on how to blog at Mystic Paper in Mesa, Arizona. I started my own blog http://www.arcadialiving.blogspot.com/ and have been enjoying the world of blogging. Here is the header from my first blog.