Song of the day

It should really be no surprise to anyone who knows me well that it's Rihanna. (I used the alternative video, as the official one would take my blog from a G rating to R/possibly NC-17.)

Week 14: Kowtow to the IRS

Well, my goal for week 14 was no fun at all, but it had to be done. What was it, you ask? I needed to do my taxes. I'm normally a send-them-off-in-January kinda gal, but I just didn't get around to it earlier this year. This was probably partially because of the move and the new job, but mostly because I knew I wasn't going to be getting much money back. In fact, I made so little money last year that I actually qualified for the EIC for the first time ever! (I'm not sure I should be excited about this, but apparently I am.) I felt a little guilty even making this one of my blog goals, because I did it... in about 15 minutes. Ha! Amen for TurboTax Freedom Edition. I had anticipated this taking me the better part of Saturday morning, but I was finished before I had even organized all of my paperwork.

Since I had so much free time on my hands afterwards, my two wonderful housemates and I laid out by our pool. It was gorgeous here this weekend, so we spent about 2 hours baking in the sun (SPF 45 dutifully applied) and catching up on our lives. I also got around to reading a great nutrition article that has been sitting on my shelf for weeks. After sunning ourselves, my housemate S and I decided to run a few errands and ended up, conveniently, at Yogurtland, where we treated ourselves to some fro-yo. Then, feeling fat, we rode our bikes up and down the Greenbelt for about an hour and a half before settling in to watch Beasts of the Southern Wild. All in all, a great day. Thanks, S!

Greenbelt - photo via

PS: Today would have been my beloved animal's 7th birthday. Happy birthday to you, sweet boy, and thank you for sharing your too-short life with me.

Apologies for my absence!

Hi friends,

I'm sorry I've been such a bad blogger lately. Things have been busy around here! In week 11, my dear friend L was in Phoenix with her family for spring break. We enjoyed dinner at one of my favorite spots, True Food Kitchen, on Tuesday night. On Saturday, we lounged by the pool at their resort:

(both photos courtesy of L's family)

It was SO great to see a good friend in my new town! Thank you, L and family, for coming to visit and for adopting me for the day! I am enjoying my new sun hat while I sit by my own pool. :)

In week 12, Dad and D came to visit! We had tons of adventures. We visited the art galleries in Old Town Scottsdale, ate at Sol Mexican Cocina, watched the San Tan Criterium, checked out Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, and had another great dinner on the patio at El Chorro, watching the sun set against Camelback Mountain. On Sunday, we took a day trip to Sedona:

I absolutely LOVE the red rocks out here. They're so beautiful. And look at that sky!

Dad and D left town on Monday of week 13, and Tuesday was a very sad day for me. My beloved dog, who I have had since 2006, unexpectedly passed away. Here's a very old favorite shot of us together:

I have no words for the grief of being without this guy. He was the best thing in the whole world.

Thankfully, the visits weren't over yet! On Wednesday, a.k.a. the best timing ever, my other friend L came to Phoenix! We had a fun-filled weekend, complete with a day trip to Las Vegas and celebrating my housemate's birthday with a party here in town. L was just what I needed as I tried to deal with the reality of losing my dog. On Thursday night, we had a lazy evening of takeout from Green and watching Hotel Transylvania, which was absolutely adorable.

Friday evening took us to Las Vegas, where we met up with D and J to see Mystère. This show was amazing! It didn't hurt that we had phenomenal seats, courtesy of D and J's friend M, who stars in the show. Afterwards, L and I got a backstage tour! Here we are:

Photo by D

And here's one of us and D, on the Mystère stage:

After the show, we got drinks at Mix Lounge at Mandalay Bay. This place has an incredible patio with a view of Las Vegas that is not to be missed. We returned to Mandalay Bay the next day for a delicious, all-you-can-eat tapas brunch at Border Grill, where L's friend A works - but not before riding the roller coaster at New York New York. I'd say that ride was well worth the $14 admission fee! So, so fun. I will be eternally grateful to L for being there for me in my tough time, and just for being her. She's one hell of a gal.

Now that life has pretty much returned to normal, besides the obvious gaping void of doglessness, I'll be back and ready with some goals in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!

How I feel today...

Week 10: Read for pleasure

My goal for week 10, much like the one for week 8, is one that I'm surprised I had to "resolve" to do.

Reading is one of my greatest pleasures in life. For this, I blame - and thank - pretty much my entire family. My grandma used to take us on trips to the library when we were little to entertain us. My grandpa gave me the complete works of Shakespeare as a birthday gift... when I turned 10. My parents, sisters and I spent many a Friday night at an independent bookstore called The Library, Ltd. when I was growing up. (This bookstore, tragically, has gone the way of too many independent bookstores and is now closed.) My oldest sister has been teaching English for about the last 10 years, but I think her vocation really began approximately 20 years ago in our basement. I won a book collector's contest in college. We are all voracious readers, and I am incredibly grateful for that.

An old candid, taken by my friend Sue - December 2007

Despite my love of books, I haven't sat down to read a novel since I was in North Carolina. I did listen to a few audiobooks, and Elle was kind enough to read this adorable book aloud to me on our trip. Now that I have passed my RD exam, I decided that my goal for week 10 would be to sit down and read a book for fun. Audiobooks just aren't doing it for me.

So, did you do it? Half and half. I started one, and though I haven't finished it yet, I'm sure that I will soon. It is so good! Here's what I'm reading:

Photo via

I've been on a little bit of a Native American lit kick lately, so this book seemed perfect. I've never actually read one of Louise Erdrich's novels before! I've only read her short stories. I kept being drawn to this book every time I went into a bookstore in recent months, so I finally downloaded it; I haven't been able to put it down since. So far, I'd put it in the "highly recommended reading" category, along with Stuffed and Starved.

What great books have you been reading lately? Do you have any Native American literature recommendations for me?

So proud!

Today, I am excited for my sister M, who is making big life moves. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds! Good luck, M (and R the Wonderdog)!

Week 9: Drumroll...

A few weeks ago, I mentioned studying for my RD exam. On Saturday of week 9, I took it. Obviously, the only goal I had for the entire week was to study, study, study and then kick that exam's butt. I answered about 1300 practice exam questions, listened to many hours of lectures, and read way more information than I could possibly retain. I still didn't really feel ready for the exam when it rolled around, but I knew I just had to bite the bullet, show up, and do my best.

I arrived at the testing center early and got to have a nice little chat with M before walking through the doors. While I was waiting for my name to be called, I made the acquaintance of a lady from North Carolina who was taking the DTR exam, so we had a lot to talk about! I had foolishly worn a Carolina T-shirt and a Duke sweatshirt to the testing center. My thought process was that no one in Arizona would care enough to judge me for my traitorous behavior. Boy, was I wrong! Live and learn. :)

After the exam, I spent a tremendously stressful 5 minutes trying to see my score, which the lady at the testing center had said would show up on my screen after the test. It didn't, so I logged out of the system, logged back in, and saw the message, "Test has been interrupted. Please see proctor." That elicited a higher than normal heart rate and a mild state of panic. Eventually, we got it all figured out and my score popped up on the test center computer screen. I passed!!!

This is how I felt when I saw my score:

Photo via

In fact, it's still exciting every time I think about it, and I'm a little surprised each time - it's really over! I really passed! And now, I can really get on with living my life and working hard at my job!

To celebrate the good news, I hopped in the car and headed to Anaheim, California to see one of my very favorite artists play a show at House of Blues. I have wanted to see Ryan Bingham live for... I don't even know how many years. This was the perfect way to celebrate being an RD. He put on a fantastic show that was well worth the 6 hour drive. His opening band, Honey Honey, was pretty great, too! I'll leave you with a song from each of them.

This was my favorite of Honey Honey's songs.

And here's a classic from Bingham, which he performed beautifully on Saturday: