Switch Belt

I don't know about you but I am constantly fighting my belts.  For some reason they always seem to fit me in between the holes.  This means I either punch a new hole in the belt or I deal with pant gap.  That embarrassing gap in the back of your not quiet secured pants showing off Victoria's Secret.

Travel Hardwear Money Belt, Wallet, Passport Holder with Free Luggage Straps

I hate having to grab and change things in and out of the diaper bag into my purse.  Worst is having to lug around both. I can pull octo-mom arms all day, but their are times when one less bag or one smaller transition would be a huge time saver!

Mary Jo's Magnificent! April 13, 2013

After nabbing our shots of the spotted owl at Beatty's we headed to our other favorite birding spot at Mary Jo's!  We love her set up!  It is so relaxing to just sit and watch the birds.  The other birders are usually pretty respectful keeping the conversation quiet, but more then willing to help each other spot a bird, get a shot, or give advise on camera's to get!  This visit was no exception!

A Shut Up Sighting at Beatty's in Miller Canyon AZ

On the way back to Madera Canyon during our weekend away in April we decided to stop by some of our favorite birding spots.  Our first stop was to Beatty's.  We had heard about a Spotted Owl and wanted to see for ourselves.  We stopped by the store and asked directions to the bird.  We then paid our donations, which for all the work they do is too little if you ask me and I can say that with the feeders we own, then headed off to find the bird.  We made sure to be quiet and not to disturb this beauty when we finally found him.

The Bummer at Bisbee

The weekend of April 14th we took a trip and stayed in Madera Canyon.  I have heard about the shopping down at Bisbee and wanted to take the opportunity to check it out.  Lucky for me, my husband indulged this desire of mine.  We got down there and things started off well.  We got out of the car and then my husband spotted a trolley tour of the town, so we hoped on!

Killer Time at Kubo in Madera, AZ

The weekend of April 12-14 2013 we went down to Madera Canyon in Arizona.  We stayed at Madera Kubo, you can check out my review HERE.  It was a great place to stay.  While we took a day and headed South to Bisbee and then to the Miller Canyon area we really enjoyed checking out the birds in Madera Canyon as well.  We had some surprise sightings while staying at Madera, Kubo!

Kubo's Cozy Little Cut-away!

The weekend of April 12 through the 14th the hubby and I decided to take a much needed break.  My parents watched the kiddo's and fur-babies while he and I headed a few hours south.  We decided to book a room/cottage in one of the canyon's we like to hike in, Madera Canyon.  We were calling around and finding most the rooms booked for the weekend!  Luckily for us, the people at Madera Kubo, called us back to say they would be willing to let us stay in their recently renovated "Tree House".  They have a house they are slowly remodeling into places for people to stay.   It is unlike their normal adorable cabins, they built those from scratch themselves, as it is a property that is being remodeled.  I wasn't sure how to picture it, but having met the owners before and enjoying their feeders before decided to take the change and stay there.  My husband had reserves as it wasn't a cabin on their site and recently remodeled can mean a lot of different things.  Still off we went....

Anatolian Days and Nights Book Review

Biographies are the readers version of reality TV. They usually entail twists turns, human interest, human depravity or flaws, and all the juicy things we enjoy watching only many times (unless they are biographies of a celebrity) we get the added ability to exercise our minds recognition of proper grammar and the potential to learn something. The added ability to learn something is probably why I prefer a good book over a reality TV show, game-shows and sitcoms are another story for me. What does this have to do with Anatolian Days and Nights, well I preferred this book over not only the reality shows but some of my normal sitcoms as well. It wasn't full of smut either, but had an amazing balance of human story with history, culture, and language exploration. It all starts with the thoughts and experiences of two woman and becomes a love-story that I didn't see coming.

Post-Op Day 3: Angel's Landing

Why do they insist on labeling things with amazing names that inflict so much pain?  My shoulder was sore and I still couldn't lay on it, but I could change the bandage and clean it making showing much easier.  After loading up, we pulled up front to check out and I advised the man behind the desk of our intentions to hike Angel's Landing.  He let me know he had been hearing about snow and ice on the trail and recommended clamp-ons.  I let my husband know and he didn't feel he needed any, but I wanted to be safe having just had the surgery I didn't want to slip and fall on some ice.  We found some cheap at the local grocery store and set off to park.

Post-op Day 2: Zion

We spent most of the day walking around Vegas.  So, we left late for our drive to Zion in Utah.  The drive was beautiful, but painful.  We arrived late in the evening and went to the visitors center, but it was closed.  We drove through the tunnel which was gorgeous and interesting the way that you literally drive through a mountain.  We turned around and went back and started looking for a place to stay.  We had thought about doing a hike which uses legs and not arms so would be a good way for me to get fresh air and my body to think about the soreness of my legs and not the pain in my arm.  No, such luck with how late it was. I could tell you why this was a bad idea, but you'll have to come back for the next post to find out about day 3. We stopped at a few places looking for something comfortable to rest our heads.

Recovery Night 1- Vegas

Neither of us have been to Las Vegas and we both imagined it as a place of prostitution, a lot of trash and it being overall dirty, drinking, rudeness, and gambling.  Basically, a place you visit when you are young and drinking is fun and social or for those stuck in their variation of addiction.  To our surprise, on the drive up that I woke up for, we ran into a sort of forest of Joshua Tree's.  They always seem to be so lonely when you see them in the movies, it was interesting to see so many of them together.  I'm sure for my husband the drive with a mostly sleeping wife was a long one.  It was a relief when the first signs of Vegas appeared.  We could literally see the lights from over 40 miles away.  If Vegas has anything to offer it is the shear amazement that the site of the strip is what makes the trip one to take even if it's just once.