Tamales and Family

Spent the weekend in the Phoenix area. It was the first trip down there for my new dog, Duke. He traveled well, but, boy oh boy, he didn’t make friends and influence people when he found a mud puddle and then spent time on the couch. He also wasn’t too excited by my nephew’s attempt to keep petting him. Ah well.

The family birthday party was fun, as was our planned activity: making tamales. My sister-in-law, Mona, brought all the makings. She had cooked up the red chili with pork, plain masa, and the green corn masa for making the two types of tamales. We just had to clean the corn husks, spread the masa, add meat if making that type, then wrapping in paper. They were steamed for an hour, and they were so delicious. Great idea for a party.

Richard brought agility equipment to work with Sophie, his dog. I didn’t get a chance to try it all out with my dogs — hey, I was wrapping tamales! It looked fun.

I’m glad to be back home. It’s much more relaxing than being a guest at my sister’s. Sure, I’m comfortable at her place, but there’s something about the ability to walk around in nudie-bears without offending brothers-in-laws or nieces and nephews.

BBQing

This afternoon our office closed shop early and headed to Bushmaster Park for a BBQ. I think a good time was had by all. The little kids had the playground to romp in, the adults had good food and great company, and the dogs, including my new dog Duke, got to do plenty of wrestling and roughhousing with each other.

Family Fun – Let them Eat Cake and Being a Kept Woman

Went to Phoenix area this weekend for the “quarterly” birthday party. That’s the four-times-a-year party where we celebrate the birthdays that occurred in the quarter. This time it was actually a “halfly” as we combined the 2nd and 3rd quarters, as we never could get the parties scheduled to meet everyone’s availability.

Held at my nephew Jason’t house, we swam (finally got to wear my new swim suit), played Apples to Apples (my brother Steve beat us all), and watched the chocolate cake plop into my niece-in-law Maria’s lap. Don’t ask, it was definitely an accident. Of course, nothing stops my family from chocolate cake — we ended up eating it anyway.

Today I stayed longer so I could join my niece in watching Gigi, the 1958 musical. She found the first part a bit of a bore (just like the character Gaston), but once the romance part began she was into the story. There are some adult themes, so explaining the concept of “mistresses” or “kept women” to a 10-year old took some clever wording, but the word “sex” was involved, which dismayed my niece. She was relieved that Gigi ended up marrying Gaston, as that is what people in love should do.

A good weekend with family. Now it’s a week of crazy work as the semester is about to begin. I really think that I would rather have a chocolate cake in my lap.

Julie & Julia & Food

I enjoyed Julie & Julia. A group of us women went to see it and we all had a good time. Meryl Streep is marvelous as Julia Child and Amy Adams is a delight as the blogger who attempts to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook.

I’m reviewing it and had a devil of a time trying not to use any food comparisons as part of the review. I succumbed to the temptation and finished my review with this:

Two wonderful actresses with one good character and one larger-than-life character, a lighthearted script, competetent direction, and you have the ingredients for one tasty dish.

You will be thinking of food when you leave the theater. It’s hard not to. We see the two main characters love their food, so how can we not feel the same?

After the movie, three of us went out for dinner and drinks. I tried Oysters Rockefeller and Steak Diane. Not a cheap dinner, but trying new food seemed the Julia thing to do.  The dinner was delicious and the company good. I wish more movies inspired this kind of activity.

Baseball Night – Brian Matusz

Sure, the last few days have been all about the Arizona Cardinals and their stay here in Flagstaff for practice camp, but other sports are happening too. Tonight it was baseball. But I wasn’t watching the Diamondbacks (well, peripherally maybe). I watched the Baltimore Orioles.

Why would I head to one of the local sports bars, Granny’s Closet, to watch a team that I usually don’t care about? To watch the debut of pitcher Brian Matusz. There’s an Arizona connection. Shoot, there’s a family connection!

My nephews, Brian and Christopher, both played with Matusz at St. Mary’s high school in Phoenix. My brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Mona, hung out on the stands with Matusz’ parents. So when Mona tells me that Brian is coming up from Phoenix and wanted to watch the Orioles game to see Matusz pitch, well, I had to join them.

Matusz’ parents got plenty of camera time as the announcers discussed Matusz’ first major league appearance. Matusz certainly got plenty of time on TV. He pitched five innings and did a decent enough job — 5 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 run, and the win. He’s now got himself a lovely 1.80 ERA. Nice.

I also enjoyed hanging out with Steve, Mona, and Brian. So it was a lovely evening to conclude my five-day weekend.

Long Weekend Ahead

I’m happy. I don’t go back to work until next Wednesday. Relaxation, a few projects, go to Arizona Cardinals practices, hanging out with a friend, and meeting up with my brother and his family are on the agenda.

Let the weekend begin!

Having a Good Time

Doing the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. thing these last few days. My feet are tired, but I’ve seen a lot. This morning was a visit to the Capitol building and the Library of Congress. The Smithsonian museums are on the docket for tomorrow, hit the memorials on the mall (including the Lincoln Memorial) yesterday.

Star Trek review

For my birthday today I made it to another showing of Star Trek. I’m really stuck on this film. I love the action and plot. I have a crush on Chris Pine as Jim Kirk, and I still am trying to figure out what episodes of the series will never occur in this new alternate timeline (sorry about spoilers, but what happens does freak me out if I think about it too much).

I wrote not only a review for the paper I write for, but also a side article about the world of Star Trek.  Here’s the review. Here’s the article.

I’ve seen the movie four times and am already planning another one this Friday. My sister, another Trek fan, will be joining me in the Phoenix area for another showing. What an addiction!

Plans Gone Awry

My plan to meet up with an old friend from Phoenix didn’t end up as planned. She’s at a New Age gathering in Sedona (the home vortex for anything New Age), and I planned to drive down to see her. Our original plan had us getting together on Friday night after her events ended.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had something to say about that. We go snow. Not a lot, but it was enough. Driving in the dark and the snow AND down the switchbacks to Oak Creek Canyon? I don’t think so.

I have a feeling that where Jan is staying in Oak Creek Canyon, she doesn’t get cell phone coverage. I had hoped to see her today, but haven’t heard back from her. Dang technology.

So, I guess I could continue housecleaning. Or maybe I can cook up some chicken stock. Ha. Let’s just assume that I’m going to surf the web and then go to a movie. I’m just hoping those plans don’t go awry.

Facebooking, Finally

I finally created a Facebook account. It’s all my old friend, Wendy’s, fault. She was talking it up. I decided to just go ahead and do it, even though I grumble about the whole concept.

So I joined. I’ve already touched base with some old friends. Dawn, who headed off to earn her doctorate in Minnesota and my old drinking/theater buddy, Jan. Okay, I think I could learn to like Facebook.

Breakfast with Old Friends

My old roommate, Wendy, was up in Flagstaff over the weekend. I joined her and her husband, Eric, for breakfast. Can I say that she has the cutest kids? Sammy (soon to be 6) and Molly (3) are adorable.

Sammy had to show me his Bakugan cards and toys. Has anyone heard of these? I gather it is the in thing for kindergarteners nowadays. Though if you ask me, they seem designed for older kids. They certainly aren’t designed for 50-year olds — I was totally lost trying to figure out how the game is played. They were cool, no doubt about it, but my brain still struggles with a game of solitaire. I don’t think I could handle game cards that list powers and abilities, and using the “balls” to get those points.

Wendy and Eric are good people and it was great to see them and the kids. I just don’t see them often enough and there’s no reason not to. I’ll plan on meeting up with them next time I’m down in the valley for a long weekend whether they like it or not. Hey, that’s the fun of being old friends.

Back Home

I stayed down at my Mom’s place for the last few nights. Mom is finally feeling good enough after her heart surgery to be at home. She’d been staying at my sister’s house and she was feeling bored (I imagine my sister was feeling something a bit different than boredom — the guest bed was put away soon after Mom left).

It’s good to have Mom at home. The whole heart attack, heart surgery, and dips and valleys in getting better were not fun for any of us. Now she can take care of herself and hopefully stay better. I made her some chicken soup, cleaned a chunk of her house, and washed most of the laundry. She should be in decent shape.

Anyway, it’s good to be back home. I’m ready for a lazy day tomorrow, a scheduled day off. Okay, so I have a dentist appointment, still, it can be a relaxing day. Please?

Super Bowl Anticipation

It’s hard to believe that I’m finally watching a Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals playing in it. It’s such a different feeling than any past Super Bowl I watched. This time my home team is playing!

It’s a very strange experience. I’ve cheered on other teams and felt happy or sad depending on the outcome, but I never had the butterflies in my stomach and increasing anxiety about the game. I go back and forth from worrying that the Cards will lose in an epic fail to a joyous thought that they can win this thing and the game will be one great Cardinals victory. Oh, please let that last one be the case.

It’s funny to see how many folks are wearing Cardinals shirts. On Friday I headed to the mall to pick up a short-sleeved t-shirt to wear Saturday. I wasn’t the only one buying shirts. I drove by city hall and there are two signs announcing that Flagstaff is a “Proud Home of the Arizona Cardinals Summer Camp.” Those signs usually display only when the Cardinals are here.

Driving down to Phoenix yesterday, cars and trucks had flags, banners, and soaped signs on windows that declare their owners support of the Cards. It’s so different than other years.

I’m watching the game with family. They all went off to church wearing some form of Cardinal red in their church outfits. I wonder how many other places are seeing a certain color dominance today?

Anyway, I’ve got my Larry Fitgerald jersey on and am looking forward to the game. I’m praying to the Football Gods that things turn out good. Oh please, oh please, oh please!

Off to the Valley

Heading Phoenix way to hang out with family. Mom is back at my sister’s house, so will visit and possibly bring her dog back up here if Mom is going to stay there a while.

Hey, it’s also Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow. I can watch it on Sue and Larry’s big-screen TV. Fingers will be crossed, my Larry Fitgerald jersey will be on, and my hopes will be high. Please, oh Football Gods, do not let my hopes be dashed.

Good Week; Bad Week

The Arizona Cardinals winning the NFC Championship was phenomenal. Seeing Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th president was great. Feeling healthy and active is exceptional. Unfortunately, the week hasn’t been made of just those things. Some things are sucking the big one.

My mom refuses to be active. Hearing that she is getting weaker and unable to do much is hard to accept. My poor sister is feeling so down as she is the sibling taking care of Mom. There’s still hope that Mom can discover the will to do what needs to be done to get herself active again. We’re hoping.

The other bad thing? Budget cuts. Arizona is hurting badly. As an employee of the state of Arizona and working at one of the state universities I don’t expect much from our state legislature, especially now that Janet Napolitano left to take charge of the Homeland Security. We now have a governor who is liking many of the other conservative yahoos in our legislature: a tax cut aficionado and higher-education hater. The announced budget cuts to the state universities total $600 million over the next 18 months. Lovely.

Our department could have possibly survived those cuts with lots of belt-tightening, but what really hurts us is how we are funded. Most of the funding is based on a program from state sales taxes. Arizona’s economy is spiraling downwards and the projected funds are disappearing fast. To make ends meet we are voluntarily cutting our hours. So instead of a 40-hour a week paycheck, I’m now getting a 38-hour paycheck. We’re now hearing that we may have to do something more drastic. It could end up as a non-voluntary eight hours a week cut. Goodbye discretionary funds for fun.

If we have to do it, I can go back to scrimping again. It just pisses me off. I’ve been working hard at getting some old nasty debt paid off and I’m not close, but I’ve made tons of progress. Now I’ll have to cut back on the debt payments, which means a longer time frame to pay them off, and living without a large amount of savings. That’s all I want — more than $1000 in my savings. I want to put more towards retirement too. Of course, I’m lucky. I have $1000 in savings, a regular paycheck, a financial plan, and I’ve seen that debt go from five figures to four. There are no debt collectors calling at all hours, no maxed out credit cards, no children to clothe and feed (though the way I keep losing weight I’m going to need some funds for clothes in smaller sizes!).

Anyway, good week; bad week. I like the good, hate the bad, but life is more than just a lifetime of average weeks.