Tommy and I bought art! I feel so grown up... It's from a local artist who we met at a street fair. She paints beautiful Arizona skies!
Speaking of being grown up... I haven't stayed up past 11pm in a VERY long time! I usually am in bed before 10pm... It's pretty sad, but I need my sleep! :)
Speaking of sleep, I'm catching up on sleep from when Mary and Michael came to visit! It was SSOOO much fun! We got to tour the city with them and do things we had intended to do but hadn't yet. It was a fun and jam-packed week and nice to have company! :) Plus, they we VERY flexible with the car, which was perfect... considering we only had 1 car and 4 of us :) Willow enjoyed their visit a lot too because Michael gave her TONS of attention :)
Speaking of attention... I've been paying close attention to the NCAA Basketball Tournament because I filled out my first bracket this year. Which is another reason why I feel grown up, because it was a work bracket that me and my co-workers always talk about over lunch :) I'm not doing very well though... but it's still fun! Tommy has Mizzou going all the way! Our fingers are crossed!!
Speaking of Mizzou... How about that AMAZING shot that Mizzou made at the half-time buzzer from beyond half-court!! It was incredible!!!
And speaking of incredible... Tommy and I just ate an incredible dinner, and now I must go to sleep :)
Good night.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Willow the Menace
I just wanted to share with everyone our new addition to the house. Tommy made Willow a fantastic scratching post in hopes of deterring her away from wrecking the couch... it hasn't worked, yet :) But it looks great and she uses it! This just brings us to the fact that Willow is very spoiled. She has taken to having conversations with us more. Whenever we come home she greets us at the door and tells us how her day and how lonely she has been. She then goes on to blaming us for her sorrows and then running up to her room. Willow has also managed to train us to give her ice cubes anytime the freezer is opened. If she hears the freezer, she will constantly whine until she has at least 3 ice cubes strategically placed in her water bowl. She then commences to watching the ice cubes melt for the next 2 hours. It is rather entertaining for us! In order to further understand Willow, we have been dissecting her past with us and we think we have found the problem. The following pictures are evidence:
The poor thing... :-P Her life has been so hard!Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.
~Unknown
Monday, March 2, 2009
"Like sledding on jagged rocks"
Here are some pics from my last ride. Don't worry, my bike wasn't harmed and is still running smooth. I was skeptical about getting this Giant xtc frame, but I've done this to it many times without the same issues that plagued the "crackandfail" cannondale.
This is an awesome trail system in Tucson Mountain park. It has plenty of this super technical rock sledding, fast windy singletrack, some tough hills, nasty staircases, and too much wash riding. A wash is an empty creek that's filled with rocks of all sizes and has no bottom. The primary purpose of a wash is to make bikers wonder why they got off the sofa, which has the same ability to swallow entire humans.
This is the second time I've fallen hard on this section. Both times I was glad I didn't fall into the ravine (wash) on the right of the trail nor on the cacti bordering the left. The rocky trail is the least worst choice to land upon. The first time I fell, my bike went in the ravine, and I was terrified something had happened to it. It was perfect. Good bike.
I have to carry more speed to clear the rocks, but that makes it scary. I can either ride this at a speed that I'm comfortable falling at and fall, or I can go a too fast to really consider falling a viable option, be terrified for a second, and then get the rush that keeps you coming back out. It's all about attitude.
In either case, falling is not comfortable.
Other obstacles I haven't encountered include but are not limited the following:
smuggling, illegal immigration, and vertical horizons.
"take care of yourselves and each other," j. springer.
This is an awesome trail system in Tucson Mountain park. It has plenty of this super technical rock sledding, fast windy singletrack, some tough hills, nasty staircases, and too much wash riding. A wash is an empty creek that's filled with rocks of all sizes and has no bottom. The primary purpose of a wash is to make bikers wonder why they got off the sofa, which has the same ability to swallow entire humans.
This is the second time I've fallen hard on this section. Both times I was glad I didn't fall into the ravine (wash) on the right of the trail nor on the cacti bordering the left. The rocky trail is the least worst choice to land upon. The first time I fell, my bike went in the ravine, and I was terrified something had happened to it. It was perfect. Good bike.
I have to carry more speed to clear the rocks, but that makes it scary. I can either ride this at a speed that I'm comfortable falling at and fall, or I can go a too fast to really consider falling a viable option, be terrified for a second, and then get the rush that keeps you coming back out. It's all about attitude.
In either case, falling is not comfortable.
Other obstacles I haven't encountered include but are not limited the following:
smuggling, illegal immigration, and vertical horizons.
"take care of yourselves and each other," j. springer.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Netflix!
Netflix has changed our lives! It is amazing! I'm not an advertiser, but I'm telling you... Netflix is incredible and I highly suggest it :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my two cents :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my two cents :)
Monday, January 26, 2009
Lunar Landing
We drove through south Texas to get to Tucson. Wow. The dramatic shift from the neon green jungle bayou to the moon got me pretty excited about getting outside once we'd gotten settled. There's no need to describe the stark olive drab expanse of the desert because everyone's seen western movies. Here are some pictures of comparing the southeast and the southwest.
southwest
southeast
southeast
Hiking
Em and I love hiking. Lots of other people do too, so we don't feel too bad about it. We went to the Smokey mountains when we lived in Kville. They are amazing. If you live in the Southeast and have never been there (or somewhere like it), you are wronging yourself. The natural beauty of this region is overwhelming but approachable. Anyone can look at a hundred year old moss covered oak surrounded by smooth brooks, river rocks, ferns, and fungi and see its beauty and worth.
Upon first arrival to the Catalina mountains in the Coronado National Forest, Em and I felt like we were on the moon. Overall, it looks dead. It's hot in January. And the sagauro cacti are kind of freaky at first, random pillars of thorns that look more like a dada sculpture than an piece of flora.
Romero pools are filled with snowmelt and people.
A little creek way down in a draw (southwest term for a holler)
The trails are intense and our hike became more of a scramble. We are not in bad shape, but there were times I thought we wouldn't make it where we were going. Thank God we are both stubborn.
Mountain Biking
These are two of my favorite places in Athens and Knoxville. The Woods swallow you. Tall trees block the sun. The soft soil and dense underbrush make the trail seem more like being inside some creature rather than outiside at all.
Then I got out on some trails over here. I never thought the east was tame (here are phone pics of Hill of Truth and a road on the way to I. C. King park both in Kville). I thought Kville was rugged compared to Athens and rightly so. There are legitimate mountains in east TN. That's not a typo on the sign; 19% is steep, even if you're from East TN. Hill of Truth is a long killer climb at Haw Ridge (that I nor anyone I know could clear) and will make liars out of 99% of people that call themselves bikers.
It is a different world in Tucson. My first five minutes of riding is spent mostly off my bike, scrambling up the same stuff Em and I encountered hiking. Downhill here is more like sledding down large (softball to volleyball sized), loose, and jagged rocks than mountain biking. Switchbacks are not just technically demanding but intensely scary.
This is a crazy staircase. Twelve to sixteen inch steps. It looks natural too. Why is this a bike trail? Hike-a-bike in my Sidis.
southwest
southeast
southeast
Hiking
Em and I love hiking. Lots of other people do too, so we don't feel too bad about it. We went to the Smokey mountains when we lived in Kville. They are amazing. If you live in the Southeast and have never been there (or somewhere like it), you are wronging yourself. The natural beauty of this region is overwhelming but approachable. Anyone can look at a hundred year old moss covered oak surrounded by smooth brooks, river rocks, ferns, and fungi and see its beauty and worth.
Upon first arrival to the Catalina mountains in the Coronado National Forest, Em and I felt like we were on the moon. Overall, it looks dead. It's hot in January. And the sagauro cacti are kind of freaky at first, random pillars of thorns that look more like a dada sculpture than an piece of flora.
Romero pools are filled with snowmelt and people.
A little creek way down in a draw (southwest term for a holler)
The trails are intense and our hike became more of a scramble. We are not in bad shape, but there were times I thought we wouldn't make it where we were going. Thank God we are both stubborn.
Mountain Biking
These are two of my favorite places in Athens and Knoxville. The Woods swallow you. Tall trees block the sun. The soft soil and dense underbrush make the trail seem more like being inside some creature rather than outiside at all.
Then I got out on some trails over here. I never thought the east was tame (here are phone pics of Hill of Truth and a road on the way to I. C. King park both in Kville). I thought Kville was rugged compared to Athens and rightly so. There are legitimate mountains in east TN. That's not a typo on the sign; 19% is steep, even if you're from East TN. Hill of Truth is a long killer climb at Haw Ridge (that I nor anyone I know could clear) and will make liars out of 99% of people that call themselves bikers.
It is a different world in Tucson. My first five minutes of riding is spent mostly off my bike, scrambling up the same stuff Em and I encountered hiking. Downhill here is more like sledding down large (softball to volleyball sized), loose, and jagged rocks than mountain biking. Switchbacks are not just technically demanding but intensely scary.
This is a crazy staircase. Twelve to sixteen inch steps. It looks natural too. Why is this a bike trail? Hike-a-bike in my Sidis.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Our New Jobs!
Hi everyone!
We are finally getting settled in here :) I am REALLY enjoying my new job at Cottonwood de Tucson!! I have been facilitating a challenge course (low ropes course), taking the patients kickboxing and on outings (local museums, hiking trips, canyons, caves...). I am also working with aftercare patients who have left Cottonwood and are staying in a more independent house. I am doing leisure education with this groups, in order to introduce them to tasks they can do once they are discharged back home. Working with people with addiction isn't as challenging as I thought it would be! It's similar to working with children and adolescents because they basically stunted their development when they started using. It truly is incredible to see the improvement in the patients.
While I was filling out paperwork with our HR lady at Cottonwood, she mentioned there was a position open in the kitchen. I mentioned it to Tommy and he applied and got the job!! The food at Cottonwood is SSOOO incredible! We have all non-processed and all natural food. I think Tommy is just glad to have a job in this economy. And it'll be nice for him to work in a kitchen without drug addicts and more accountability. :)
Tommy and I did some cleaning today and here are some pictures of our place :)
Standing in the kitchen, looking toward the front door.
Standing in the living room, looking toward the kitchen and backyard
Our huge kitchen! :)
Our master bathroom.
We're working on the upstairs right now, so stay tuned for more pictures :)
Love,
Emily
We are finally getting settled in here :) I am REALLY enjoying my new job at Cottonwood de Tucson!! I have been facilitating a challenge course (low ropes course), taking the patients kickboxing and on outings (local museums, hiking trips, canyons, caves...). I am also working with aftercare patients who have left Cottonwood and are staying in a more independent house. I am doing leisure education with this groups, in order to introduce them to tasks they can do once they are discharged back home. Working with people with addiction isn't as challenging as I thought it would be! It's similar to working with children and adolescents because they basically stunted their development when they started using. It truly is incredible to see the improvement in the patients.
While I was filling out paperwork with our HR lady at Cottonwood, she mentioned there was a position open in the kitchen. I mentioned it to Tommy and he applied and got the job!! The food at Cottonwood is SSOOO incredible! We have all non-processed and all natural food. I think Tommy is just glad to have a job in this economy. And it'll be nice for him to work in a kitchen without drug addicts and more accountability. :)
Tommy and I did some cleaning today and here are some pictures of our place :)
Standing in the kitchen, looking toward the front door.
Standing in the living room, looking toward the kitchen and backyard
Our huge kitchen! :)
Our master bathroom.We're working on the upstairs right now, so stay tuned for more pictures :)
Love,
Emily
Sunday, January 4, 2009
WE MADE IT!
Hi everyone! Tommy and I made it to Tucson! It is amazingly beautiful out here! The following is a recap our crazy, yet exciting, December :)
In the beginning of December, I was stressed to the max about completing my masters program before leaving town. I found out 1 week prior to graduation that I did NOT have to complete my internship requirement before I could graduate. Previously, I was required to complete 4 months of "internship" (my job in Tucson) before I could received my masters. This meant paying for 3 hours of tuition too. With that said, I officially received my Master of Science on December 13th! YAY! Because I found out one week before the graduation ceremony, I did not get to walk though.
Immediately following my graduation excitement, Tommy and I had to focus on packing! An empty ABF trailer was dropped off at our place in Knoxville. We packed the front of the trailer, using as little space as possible and then put up a partition (we only used 10 feet of the trailer length!). It was incredible how well Tommy tied everything down!
So, the truck was completely packed on Friday, December 19th and an ABF driver came to pick it up while we drove the dependable Camry to Atlanta for Christmas. :) It was VERY convenient!
While in Atlanta, we had a BLAST!! On Sunday the 21st, Tommy's sisters threw us an AMAZING engagement party! It was held in a completely renovated community center in There were delicious snacks, a fire place, wine, champagne toasts... it was so much fun!! We had so many wonderful friends and family come!
On Sunday, we went to Aunt Sarah's for her annual Christmas brunch. It was delicious! It is always nice to catch up with his family because they unfailingly have great stories and they love to laugh! I think their chattering volume rivals my family's! We ate so much scrumptious food during our week in Atlanta that we could have hibernated through the rest of winter! On Christmas Eve, Tommy's mom made perrogies from scratch and Aunt Annie brought over a salmon loaf and cookies! The butter I ate at that meal helped to lubricate my joints :) Then we went to a midnight mass at a monastery outside of Atlanta. It was so different from what I am used to! I really enjoyed observing and taking part in all of the Catholic rituals and traditions.
On Christmas day we went to Tommy's dad's house and cooked up ANOTHER feast! :) We had prime rib, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, green bean almondine, yorkshire pudding... Sport, the new puppy, had a BLAST at Christmas too! He and Willow became acquaintances over the week we were in Atlanta... but not quite friends :)
On December 27th, we left for Tucson on a new uneventful drive. We drove through New Orleans into Baton Rouge the first night. We then met up with my parents, Josh, Sarah, and Dom in San Antonio on the 28th. It was a random rondevous where we were all in San Antonio for very different reasons :) Sarah and Dom were there to visit friends and Dom's son Aiden. My parents and Josh were there for the Mizzou Alamo Bowl game, and Tommy and I were there on our way across the country. We then travelled into Las Cruces, New Mexico the next evening and then into Tucson the next day.
We finally got to see our new home in person, and we were VERY impressed! :) We LOVE it here! The city is completely surrounded by mountains, which we can see from our townhouse. We are only 14 miles away from a state park with amazing trails through the Catalina Mountains. It is very surreal. We equated it to being on the moon because the landscape is SSOOO different from what we are used to. Here are some pictures of our place through a progression. When we finish unpacking, we'll take pictures of the final product.
Well, I'm off to bed because my first day of work is tomorrow! Have a good week and we miss everyone dearly! :)
Love,
Emily
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