One of my favorite things about Tucson is the scenery. If you are even the slightest bit of an out-doorsy person then Tucson/Arizona may just be your heaven. Each morning, I walk out of our apartment and am greeted by the gorgeous Catalina mountains. I always felt that it was too easy to get sucked into your own world living in NOVA. I never had a reminder of just how big the world is and how small my part was in it. Not saying that I like to be belittled, but its nice to have your head pulled out of a certain place every once in a while. Too many times I forgot to enjoy life and appreciate the things around me. I was too concerned with finding the best way to beat Fairfax traffic, or racing someone to find the best parking spot at the grocery. It's amazing how quickly a person can change and become drone-like when living in that type of an environment. Sorry if you feel like I'm ragging on NOVA, but lets call a spade a spade. NOVA is a fantastic place to live for certain people. Not saying they are good or bad, but NOVA is much more suitable for the entrepreneur or the work-to-live type of person. Not me. I craved to be constantly reminded of the world's beauty, the fascination of others' cultures, and the way of a slightly slower lifestyle.
If I had to describe AZ in one word it would be: humbling. Ever have one of those experiences where you are presented with so much beauty it just takes your breath away and silences you? Arizona does that to me everyday. I live at the base of the Catalina mountains and am 5 minutes from some of the best hiking in Tucson. Hiking in Sabino Canyon is one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Every other Saturday or so, Dylan and I venture out early in the morning and start the 8 mile, 5 hour hike. Midway through, you are presented with huge rock structures that are bigger than any building I have ever seen, gorgeous views of the valley, and so much raw natural beauty it makes your heart want to stop. Stunning. There is nothing like standing next to a huge rock formation which appears to be defying all laws of gravity and physics to take your breath away and make you realize that you are just a small part in this amazing world.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Honey, What's That Thing On The Wall?
5:33 am: For some odd strange reason Dylan and I have been waking up at exactly 5:33 am everyday for the past few weeks. Yesterday Dylan came home early with a nasty bug so when we woke up yet again at the same time, he wasn't sure about going into work.
Fast forward to 6:30. Normally the Scott/White household is hustlin' and bustlin' to get out the door, but not today. This morning we took it easy. I decided to make whole wheat banana bread pancakes and Dylan got ready for work. Right now I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Everyone knows that I go through cycles where the second I get hooked on a show I have to watch through all the seasons. The dork in me decided to bring the laptop into the kitchen so I could watch Greys while making pancakes...I must admit it made for a quite enjoyable cooking session :)
Fast forward to 7 am. Dylan and I are sitting down discussing the ridiculous price of pure maple syrup. (Yesterday I was at the store and realized that a tiny little bottle cost anywhere from 10-23 dollars). So I bought the nasty fake stuff that we all grew up with as kids. As we were talking, I suddenly noticed a spot on the wall. "Honey, what's that thing on the wall?" I asked. Dylan looked over to his immediate right and his eyes went as big dinner plates. He slowly looked at me and said "that is a bark scorpion". You can imagine my horror. "Well...that is a tiny one, right? So is it like where there is a baby there is a mama?!" By this point I was jumping up and down like an idiot. "No...I don't think so at least." Lovely. "Well, sweetie I think for the next few days we should be checking our shoes before we put them on our feet". Did you know that scorpions LOVE shoes? Oh yes they love to hide in them. I think what scared me the most was that Dylan seemed to be genuinely frightened. As we all know, when Dylan gets scared, something is SERIOUSLY wrong. So we grabbed a glass (and by we I mean Dylan) and a piece of paper. Mr.Scorpion was covered with a cup and hurried out of the apartment. At first Dylan was looking at the cup as though Mr.S wouldn't come out of it. At that point, I shouted out the door, "he can have the cup if he wants it!". Oh, no. It's not that Mr.S wouldn't come out...it's that Mr.S wasn't in the cup. Thankfully a couple seconds later I heard Dylan say, "there he is! and his tail is raised". Nevertheless, Dylan put on his boots and quickly "squished" the problem.
A day in the life of an arizonan. Happy St.Patty's Day!
Fast forward to 6:30. Normally the Scott/White household is hustlin' and bustlin' to get out the door, but not today. This morning we took it easy. I decided to make whole wheat banana bread pancakes and Dylan got ready for work. Right now I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Everyone knows that I go through cycles where the second I get hooked on a show I have to watch through all the seasons. The dork in me decided to bring the laptop into the kitchen so I could watch Greys while making pancakes...I must admit it made for a quite enjoyable cooking session :)
Fast forward to 7 am. Dylan and I are sitting down discussing the ridiculous price of pure maple syrup. (Yesterday I was at the store and realized that a tiny little bottle cost anywhere from 10-23 dollars). So I bought the nasty fake stuff that we all grew up with as kids. As we were talking, I suddenly noticed a spot on the wall. "Honey, what's that thing on the wall?" I asked. Dylan looked over to his immediate right and his eyes went as big dinner plates. He slowly looked at me and said "that is a bark scorpion". You can imagine my horror. "Well...that is a tiny one, right? So is it like where there is a baby there is a mama?!" By this point I was jumping up and down like an idiot. "No...I don't think so at least." Lovely. "Well, sweetie I think for the next few days we should be checking our shoes before we put them on our feet". Did you know that scorpions LOVE shoes? Oh yes they love to hide in them. I think what scared me the most was that Dylan seemed to be genuinely frightened. As we all know, when Dylan gets scared, something is SERIOUSLY wrong. So we grabbed a glass (and by we I mean Dylan) and a piece of paper. Mr.Scorpion was covered with a cup and hurried out of the apartment. At first Dylan was looking at the cup as though Mr.S wouldn't come out of it. At that point, I shouted out the door, "he can have the cup if he wants it!". Oh, no. It's not that Mr.S wouldn't come out...it's that Mr.S wasn't in the cup. Thankfully a couple seconds later I heard Dylan say, "there he is! and his tail is raised". Nevertheless, Dylan put on his boots and quickly "squished" the problem.
A day in the life of an arizonan. Happy St.Patty's Day!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Update :)
We are pretty much all unpacked...minus the few boxes in the living room. I am still working bit by bit on our apartment which is GORGEOUS :) Without a doubt this is the most beautiful place I have ever lived. So much has happened in the past month I can't figure out where to start!
It took a surprisingly long time to unpack everything. When I was in college it normally took two days MAX to unpack everything. Well, a month later there are still a few boxes and our guest bedroom has become a room for everything we don't know what to do with.
I got some pretty awesome news 3 weeks ago: I got into the U of A! I start my masters program in May and will finish in May 2012. One year of hard-core studying and working. As much as I would like to say this will be my first and last masters...I know I will be going to school again to get another one.
There is an adorable lizard that lives on our steps...tricky thing is that he changes color so you have to be really careful as to where you step. He is quite cute though.
In other exciting news, five days ago Dylan and I were driving home from his parents' house and we decided to swing by the mall. We wandered around then finally made a pit stop into Kay's. Thirty minutes later, I put a down payment on his wedding band :) We are going to have my wedding band made here shortly. I am so excited because I feel like our wedding is finally becoming a reality. I am really enjoying looking through all the bridal magazines and folding down the corners of things I think are pretty or neat. Being a bride is fun :) The best part of all this is that I am marrying the most incredible man I could ever ask for.
It took a surprisingly long time to unpack everything. When I was in college it normally took two days MAX to unpack everything. Well, a month later there are still a few boxes and our guest bedroom has become a room for everything we don't know what to do with.
I got some pretty awesome news 3 weeks ago: I got into the U of A! I start my masters program in May and will finish in May 2012. One year of hard-core studying and working. As much as I would like to say this will be my first and last masters...I know I will be going to school again to get another one.
There is an adorable lizard that lives on our steps...tricky thing is that he changes color so you have to be really careful as to where you step. He is quite cute though.
In other exciting news, five days ago Dylan and I were driving home from his parents' house and we decided to swing by the mall. We wandered around then finally made a pit stop into Kay's. Thirty minutes later, I put a down payment on his wedding band :) We are going to have my wedding band made here shortly. I am so excited because I feel like our wedding is finally becoming a reality. I am really enjoying looking through all the bridal magazines and folding down the corners of things I think are pretty or neat. Being a bride is fun :) The best part of all this is that I am marrying the most incredible man I could ever ask for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)