First Hike of the Season: Superstition Mountain

Beginning of Gold Mine Trail

Beautiful Desert: Superstition Mountain

Zdenek waiting for me...I don't believe I'm that slow!

Phoenix in the distance: You can see the smog (:

The only wild flowers we saw today

Zdenek is always prepared!  We are trying our new water system out!

Which Direction?  Where's the trail?



He's not impressed with us!




 

I hope he brought me an apple too!





How many Cacti can there be??





Couples Differences

All couples have similarities and differences.  We learn to live with both.  But sometimes our differences clash.  Still, we learn to cope!  Although I have many things that Zdenek and I like together (such as our style) I believe he wishes I would be more like him as far as a someone who was neat about their personal space.  We both have areas, which we believe are our personal domain; for example, I cook so the kitchen is part of mine.  We both have a room/office that is totally our own.  Here’s a glimpse into our areas:

His tool drawers:

My kitchen drawers:

Zdenek has his say with
this drawer to keep peace in
our house!

His office:

My sewing studio:

I know where everything is!

Now, I don’t usually post pictures about my messiness.  But I refuse to be fake so I’m doing so.  I can clean a house that my mom would be so proud of, just ask my sister!  But I can make a mess faster than most kids! I believe this drives my husband nuts somedays.  He gets so many bonus points for not pointing it out to me on most days.  But just like my messiness can (OK, does) drive him nuts, so does him being so neat drives me nuts.  For example, I can be cooking a recipe and have everything I need out on the countertop and the dryer buzzer goes off.  I’ll go to take care of the clothes and when I come back to cooking, all the food has been put away! My honey didn’t know what I was doing but thought I just left the stuff out and put it away!  IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!  But somehow we live with each other in harmony!  I just find it fascinating how couples manage life together when we have different ideas, backgrounds and standards.  It must be *l*o*v*e*! I wouldn't trade him for the world! I hope he feels the same way; I'm afraid to ask!

Look Who's 28!!!

My son, Mathew, turned 28 yesterday.  It's just so hard for me to believe he's that age.  I remember me at that age and it doesn't seem like that long ago...

Mathew and me about 3 years ago visiting wine country in Napa Valley

Mathew with his cousins, AJ and Brittany

Mathew, with his brother, Jason, and Brittany

(This picture was taken about 4 years ago)

My sister thought it would be cool to play a joke on me so

she took this picture of Mathew with his arm in a tattoo sleeve.

I thought it was real and
 called him in about
two seconds flat and asked him:

 "What the heck were you thinking???"

He asked what I was talking about....

I said, "Your arm looks awfully decorated!"

He says, "Doesn't it look great!?"

He didn't tell me it was a tattoo sleeve for a few minutes....

Then he told me it was my sister's idea!!!

Well, this is one of many things I love about him....

He can make me laugh...

Mathew, Happy Birthday!

P.S.  It's not that I don't like tattoos.  It's just that one!  I know he has a couple but nothing like that one on his arm.  

What Happened to Me???

So, it's been a month since I have written on my blog.  What happened?

In one word, family.

Oh my gosh... I don't really know where to begin but I do know I WANT TO COME BACK!!!

FAMILY
Remember this guy???

MATHEW, MY SON

Well, well, well,  he surprised me in a BIG way.... can you guess?  It was absolutely shocking to me. Well, I won't leave you in suspense any more.  Here is Mathew...

                        

with a new WIFE!  What a surprise!  Mathew called me up while I was working. Here's our conversation:  "Mom?"   

"Yes, Mathew," I say.  He says, "Are you sitting down?  Are you in a good mood?"  Now, all you moms know this isn't gonna turn out good!  I say right away, "Spit it out, just tell me what you did." (as my stomach does the belly flop).  

He says, "Well," (long silence) "I got married."  I said, "You did what?"  (I Couldn't have heard him right, right?)  He said it again, "I got married."  I said, "Are you in Vegas?" He said he wasn't.  I said, "What is her name?"  Now, don't you think a mother should have already known the girl's name if her son was planning on marrying the girl?  Well, as you can tell, I was taken by complete surprise.   This past month I have been taking in what just happened.  The idea that: 

• Mathew got married. 
• Mathew didn't elope to Vegas but had a small wedding in Alabama without me (his mother!).
• I didn't even know her name.
• Now, I'm a mother in law to someone.

IT IS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT!

Wonderful Wedding Anniversary:

Today was my 6th wedding  anniversary.  I had an absolutely wonderful day with my husband.  We got up around 7am and I made us a breakfast of omelets and fresh French baguette.  After a yummy breakfast, we packed up and went for a 3-hour, almost 4-mile hike. Now, let me explain: walking 4 miles really isn't that hard.  When we walk around our own neighborhood, it takes me a little less than an hour which is also about 4 miles.  So you can imagine what the terrain must have been like for me to take 3 hours to do the same distance.  Let me share some pictures; they will tell the story...

I had to be careful around all these prickly cacti!

It would be embarrassing getting them picked out of my butt if I fell on one!

The trail wasn't really marked well; it was very rocky plus it wound up and down that damn mountain.  I was really pooped when I got home!  The only thing to remedy this was to go straight to the tub for a good soak!

Isn't he a hottie!!!

I had to be careful  not to fall on one of these!

This is the type of wild life we have in Arizona

Luckily, we ended our day having dinner at the Roaring Fork restaurant.  They made us a wonderful meal.  When we arrived at our table, this was waiting for us:

  The service, food, and atmosphere gave us one of the best dinning experiences we've had in a long time.  It reminded me of our wonderful wedding.

Have a fabulous day!

PS:  Three things I'm grateful for:

1. Hiking Stick
2. Hiking Boots
3. My Husband

(Not necessarily in that order!)