Southern Utah Drive

Over the weekend, the stars aligned and JP and I took our long awaited day trip to Utah. Nothing compares to the red rocks of southern Utah. The land there is awe-inspiring. Before I moved out here, I never understood why people lived in the Southwest. Wasn't it just hot desert wasteland? Now I know better because I've been there.

best memories:

1. soft red soil

2. raindrops in my hair

3. flowing water

4. yellow-lit vistas

5. towering red cliffs

6. cool breezes

7. deserted roads

8. taking the long way

9. feeling surrounded by magic

10. experiencing mother earth at her best

Even though she tires of it at times, there are so many things this East coast girl has to be greatful for in her Southwestern life.

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Home

JP and I are FINALLY back in Las Vegas after spending eight days on the East Coast visiting family. It was a very good Christmas week. And we brought my mom back with us.

The flight back was super long -- five hours and twenty minutes. I think it might have ended up being more. There were also a lot of bawling children because, let's face it, no one really wants to be on a plane for five hours late at night. It was a pretty uneventful flight, though, and the portable DVD player definitely helps the time pass.

Mom and I just went to the market and spent an hour stocking up the fridge with food. Tonight we are going to have appetizers and then we are going to go watch from afar the fireworks they shoot off from the casinos.

I am really happy to have my mom here and to have her see Las Vegas when it's not 100+ degrees like it's been all the other times she's visited. Anyway, I'd better go help her cook!

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Rain

Today was a rainy day in Las Vegas. It is a rare sight, to be sure. It hasn't rained for weeks and before that there was no rain for nearly five months!

It is something I don't take for granted anymore. Even when it is only in the 40s and my nose and hands are like ice cubes, I still open the door and breathe deeply. There is nothing like the scent of rain, especially in a dry valley.

Of course, all logic seems to fly out the window when it rains here, plastered to the earth and gasping for breath. The rain on dry and oil stained roads makes a slick surface, but if the people were to go slower than 55 in a 45, well, that is WORSE than dying. So there are a lot of accidents. Like, for instance, the fifteen accidents making people's 6pm commute home from work absolutely nightmarish right now.

Oh well. I will enjoy my rain while I can and stay as far away from other Las Vegans who have forgotten that in this rain stuff? They still have to exist.

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Randomness

Today JP and I played Dance Dance Revolution for over two hours straight. By the end I thought my ankles were going to give out and only then did I stop. I have to say, I am wildly impressed with my skills -- we have only had the game for a month or two and I can play the basic level in pretty much every song. I think that to play on a harder level would require something my brain and body just aren't designed to do.

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The weather has turned cooler here. We have had the heat set at night for a couple of weeks. But with the cooler weather that blew into town Wednesday, we finally have it on during the day as well. I think the temperature actually got down to 39 the other night. Brrr!

But I enjoy this time of year. I like having the comforter on the bed. I like wearing slippers. I like to hear the wind gusting against the windows while I am protected in the nice warm house. I like being able to wear long sleeves. I like being able to drink hot tea without it making me feel too warm. These are welcome changes after about seven months of warm-to-very-hot weather.

What do you do to stay toasty in the winter months? How warm do you keep the temperature set at night and throughout the day? We keep the thermostat around 65 through the night and around 70 during the day, especially downstairs where the floor is tile. And lucky us -- we actually have a thermostat upstairs and another downstairs so we aren't heating both floors simultaneously! It is definitely one of the best things about this house.

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Thanks

Today I am grateful for

my family

cooler weather

a warm house

new games

silly tv shows

books to read

... and my determination to get through posting each day this month!

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Thanksgiving

Tomorrow JP and I are spending Thanksgiving with his boss, his boss' S.O., her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. I really wish I could jump in the car for a few hours and be home, but unfortunately that is impossible to do from here. Any sort of travel requires a large object that flies through the air at hundreds of miles per hour and involves useless takings off of shoes, unnecessary puttings of laptops in plastic bins, and pointless screenings of teensy bottles of liquid.

But at least I get to be with JP and at least we know someone who is nice enough to invite us over for a holiday. I can be thankful for that.

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Anniversary

Today is my four year anniversary with JP. It feels weird saying that because it really doesn't feel that long. But in other ways it does because I can't really remember what life was like before I knew him. It seems like a distant memory.

He got me a two bunches of flowers.

As you can see from the last photo, he got me the SUPERMODEL perfume. It smells as good as I thought it would, and the packaging is as tacky as I had imagined. He also got us the Super Mario Galaxy game, so that will be fun.



I am glad I have him in my life. I am glad to have him to go to sleep with and wake up to and play games and other things that I am not even thinking of right now. He makes me happy, and that is what a relationship is really all about.

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Gratitude

Today has been a pretty low key day, and I am just feeling kind of quiet.

Today, in no particular order, I am grateful for:

JP
fun new fonts
packages in the mail
my comfortable bed
Sunsweet Ones California Prunes
Orbit chewing gum
lots of blogs to read
finished homework
old friends
perfect weather

I hope you were able to ease into Monday. Catch you tomorrow.

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