It's Fall!

 7/22:  We registered Nathan for his junior year of high school.  He was disappointed to see that they put  him in AP Calculus AB instead of AP Calculus BC.  He thought he met the requirements to bypass the AB class since he got an A in Pre-Calculus last year and studied during the summer to prepare for the BC class.  He found out that they changed the requirements and he no longer met the new requirements.  I think they are now requiring that you take honors Calculus first or something like that.  I personally don't think that is fair.  If they want to change the requirements for incoming freshman that is one thing, but upperclassman should be exempt from those changes since he already had most of his courses planned out for all 4 years.  He also doesn't like the AP Calculus AB teacher he has this year.  He was hoping to get his same teacher from freshman year for AP Calculus BC.  However, he still has a tough course load this year.  He is taking AP Calculus AB, AP US History, AP Physics, AP English Lit and Comp, Law & Public Safety and Culinary Arts 1.  As of this post, he is already in the final week of the 1st quarter.  He was doing fairly well, but he attended some events for culinary that took him out of his other classes for 4 days the last couple of weeks.  Missing those days meant that he missed tests and homework and is now trying to catch up all in the final week of the quarter.  Some of his grades slipped as a result, too.  Right now he has an A in AP Physics, an A in Culinary Arts 1, a B in Law & Public Safety, a C in AP US History and a C in AP Calculus AB.  I am hoping that he can get some of these grades back up this week before the quarter grades are finalized.  The good part is that it is only his semester grades that are calculated into his GPA.  Thus, he has time the rest of the semester to improve as well.  However, I am not sure how many more culinary events there may be that will potentially take him out of his classes again.  We did not realize that this would be the case when he put Culinary as a choice for his electives this year.  This class is part of JTED, which has partnered with his school.  Nathan was also elected the treasurer this year.  He has another culinary event this Saturday at the school.  We don't like this elective class interfering with his other classes, especially his AP classes.  However, Nathan seems to really like this class and has an interest in culinary.  He is already talking about taking Culinary 2 next year.  I think he likes holding an office position and may be wanting to be president next year.  I think he may also be considering a career in culinary.  He wanted to go into Aeronautical Engineering to design military equipment, but now he says he isn't sure what he wants to do.  He thinks that AI will replace many jobs, including Aeronautical Engineering.  I have talked to several people who have relatives working at Raytheon and they assured me that they don't think that is the case.  I have learned that it is difficult to get a job at Raytheon, but we do have some connections there which could help if he pursues that path.  He said that to make money as a chef, you have to get a level of certification that is not easy to get.  So I am not sure if that is something he wants to try to achieve or not.  He had expressed an interest in going to U of A, but I don't know if there are other schools he is interested in since he isn't even sure now what field he wants to study.  It may be better for him to go to Pima Community College first.  I am also concerned about the cost of college, particularly U of A which is not cheap.  They now require freshman to live on campus, I think even those who currently live in Tucson.  Room and Board is not cheap.  I also worry about him having enough money in our 529 plan, and getting enough scholarships and/or financial aid to pay for college.  He is smart, but he is not a straight A student.  He is also not involved in sports or clubs.  Right now his only achievement outside of academics is being treasurer this year of his culinary class.  I also heard that U of A has raised the admission standards this year so even students who had a GPA of 3.6 were not admitted.  So Nathan may not even be able to get in U of A if that is where he decides to go.  Luckily, we have more one year after this year for him to figure it out.  But I know how quickly time goes by and that time will be here before we know it.  I am scared for him.  Scared for him to become an adult and have to make it on his own. He still doesn't have a drivers license.  He was supposed to study for drivers ed test this summer and possibly get driving lessons, but that didn't happen.  It would have been much easier if he took drivers ed last year at school, but he and his dad didn't want him to.  I also think Nathan doesn't have a clue about financial management.  He doesn't have a job yet.  He doesn't have a credit card, checking account or anything like that.  He doesn't know how to do laundry or how to keep a clean place and he is VERY messy.  He can be lazy.  He is a homebody and never likes to go anywhere.  He doesn't hang out with friends.  So I worry about him making it as an adult on his own in a couple of years.  I worry about him staying in church and keeping God first in his life.  I worry about maintaining a close relationship with him after he moves out.  As his mom, I will always worry about him.     

7/28:  Nathan and I went to OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale as a last outing before the first day of school.  He was very excited to see that they added an entire tank of pufferfish!  I researched camera settings before going to the aquarium, but I was still very disappointed in how the pictures came out.  So then I researched again after the fact and would like to go back with my added knowledge and to have more time without being rushed by Nathan.  I haven't made it back there yet, though.  I continue to research my cameras, settings, lenses, etc..  I did find out that my newest camera, the Nikon D850, is a full sensor camera.  My old lenses are compatible with it, however, they are crop sensor lenses.  Using those lenses with the camera essentially voids the potential quality of the camera by cutting the full sensor to a cropped sensor.  Thus, I need to get new lenses for the camera and lenses are expensive.  In the meantime, I also use my Nikon D7500.  I had it repaired not long ago so they fixed the shutter speed by cleaning the sensors.  I am still having trouble getting sharp pictures with both cameras, though.  I get a lot of grain or pictures blur even after researching settings and applying those settings.  It is frustrating to say the least, but I don't give up that easily.  

8/3:  Nathan's first day of school.  

8/4:  My June Noon bloomed.

8/8:  Paul and I went to Apple Annies to pick peaches, apples and veggies.  We also ate some yummy roasted corn on the cob.  We took a short drive to Bowie to see the "Home of Rambo".  It was disappointing with only a wall painted of him on the side of a gas station.  

8/11: I had my annual ob/gyn and mammogram appointments.  Everything checked out ok.  Nathan also had a dermatologist appointment.  We are doing 4 additional intermittent months of Accutane, where he takes it only for the first week of each month to hopefully maintain his cleared up acne.  I also went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens that day.

8/14: I made apple crisp with the apples we picked at Apple Annies, peach salsa with the peaches we picked and sauteed some of the purple green beans I picked.  The salsa and beans were good.  The apple crisp we kept putting back in the oven because the apples were still hard, but then it ended up being mushy.  

8/20:  My June Noon bloomed again.

8/25:  I met with Pastor King to get counseling about my marriage.  

8/26:  I met Tessa from church at Sauce for lunch.

8/27: Mountain View High School had their open house where we got to meet Nathan's teachers.  Nathan didn't go with us this time because he said he had too much homework to do.  

9/1: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Mesquite Valley Growers.

9/3: I went to Reid Park Zoo.

9/6: my Fusion 2014 went over 150k miles!

9/8: Nathan had his dentist appointment at Aeris Dental.  This was his first time there, but he had Kim as his hygienist since she used to clean his teeth at Cortaro Dental.  The bad news we got is that he needs to have all 4 of his wisdom teeth removed because they are not coming in straight.  We are still trying to find a place that is in network and figuring out how much out of pocket expense it is going to cost us.  My First Light had a bloom this day and an Apricot Glow flower tried to open, but never fully bloomed.

9/14: I went back to the ob/gyn because I started to have bleeding/discharge starting a couple of days prior, however I am now post menopause.  Dr Walker wasn't in the office so one of the Assistants examined me.  They tested to see if I had an infection and it came back that I did not.  So then they scheduled an ultrasound for me on 9/16.  The ultrasound indicated that I had a thickened endometrial lining so now they want to do a biopsy.  The biopsy is not scheduled until 10/5.  The waiting is brutal because I am so scared that it is cancer.  Dr. Walker said there is only a slim chance that is the case and that this usually happens when HRT needs to be adjusted.  We had increased my estrogen back in March because I was still getting night sweats and hot flashes.  We increased it from 1 mg to 1.5 mg.  I still continued to get the hot flashes and night sweats, though.  However, I finally reached menopause on 8/14.  I hadn't been in menopause long when I started to have the discharge/bleeding again, but it is mostly only when going to the bathroom and it isn't that much.  Still, they say it isn't normal.  With Dr. Walker's permission, I decreased the estrogen back down to 1 mg.  I am considering going off HRT altogether now that I am in menopause and having this scare with the bleeding.  If the biopsy doesn't show anything wrong I may consider stopping the HRT then.  There are advantages to taking HRT during menopause, but there are risks, too.  But first I have to get the biopsy and make sure that it isn't cancer.

9/18: Nathan had a culinary field trip at the JTED building downtown for officer training since he was elected treasurer.  I dropped him off at Mountain View and they all rode there together.  

9/19:  We went to Vivace for dinner to celebrate Paul's 56th birthday (on 9/20).

9/23-9/25:  Nathan went up to Williams for a culinary conference with JTED.  It was actually for all of FCCLA, which includes culinary and early childhood education.  His teacher gave Nathan some kind of award of best student in his group.  Nathan enjoyed the conference, but he had to miss 3 days of his other classes in addition to the day he missed the prior week for the culinary officer training.  This week is the last week of the quarter so he has a lot to catch up on.  He also just found out that he has another culinary event on Saturday at his school.  He will officially on Fall Break then, though.  He has half days this Thursday and Friday and then he is on Fall Break until 10/13.  We aren't going on any family trips during his break much to my dismay since Fall is my favorite season and I love to see Fall colors.  However, I have my biopsy on 10/5.  I am hoping to do some Fall activities on my own this Fall, but we I have to see how my biopsy goes.  Plus, I have been struggling with severe fatigue and sometimes pain to go with the fatigue.  But I hope to go to places like Mt. Lemmon, Apple Annies, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, possibly Madera Canyon and maybe even Flagstaff or somewhere up north.  I also want to see the Butterfly Magic open at the gardens on 10/1 and see the new opening of the Yume Japanese Gardens on 10/11.  11/12 starts the raptor free flight at the Desert Museum and I still need to get over there to see the lion cubs.  I want to be more active if the weather ever cools around and I want to enjoy this Fall and Winter.  A lot depends on my health.  But it also depends on how busy I get with other things, like making our Christmas card, doing donations, buying Christmas gifts, etc..  I pretty much already decided not to make a photo calendar this year.  There hasn't been much interest in prior years anyway.  We never took our Christmas tree down last year so I don't have to worry about putting it up this year!  I said I wasn't going to spend a lot of time this year on making a Christmas card, buying Christmas gifts and doing a lot of donations, but guilt always gets the best of me.  I enjoy doing these things, but they also make the holidays stressful for me.  So I wanted to relax more this Fall/Christmas.  I wanted to get out and enjoy the time instead of working myself stilly.  I wanted to work on my health, hiking and just getting out more.  But we will see if this happens or if it will be business as usual.  And again, a lot depends on my biopsy results.  

9/24:  While Nathan was out of town for culinary, Paul and I decided to go to dinner at Guadalajara Grill.  Nathan doesn't like Mexican food so we don't get to go there often.  It was good, but service was slow.  They actually got very busy.  When we left there were a lot of people waiting for tables, many of them even outside waiting.  It was a Thursday night so I was shocked that they were that busy.     

  

The end of summer, but not the temps!

3/30:  I went to Lowe's to photograph the flowers, to the Desert Museum and to Pima Prickly Park.  

We also got a letter from Nathan's pediatrician.  She will be leaving the practice to start up her own practice, but she will be utilizing a monthly fee based system as opposed to health insurance.  We are already paying for health insurance and Nathan only has a couple of more years left of needing a pediatrician so we are switching to another pediatrician in the current office.

 3/31:  I went to the Lord's Supper at church.  

4/1: I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden and Prima Prickly Park/

4/3: I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Mesquite Valley Growers and Pima Prickly Park.

4/5:  We went to church for Easter.  I got myself some honeybaked ham.  I made mashed potatoes, deviled eggs and cookies.  

4/6: I went to Tohono Chul Park, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Pima Prickly Park.

4/8: I went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers and to Pima Prickly Park.

4/9: I went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers.

4/11: I had flowers that bloomed in the yard.

4/13:  More flowers bloomed in the yard.  I went to Pima Prickly Park, Green Things Nursery, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Reid Park Rose Garden.  

4/16:  Nathan went to the dermatologist.  We decided to do another 5 month round of the Accutane.

4/18:  Nathan and I went to the church picnic.  I made Hawaiian salad.  There was good food and it was a nice social event.  They didn't really have any activities for the adults, but Nathan had fun playing ball with the other teens.  

4/21-4/24: Paul went to Charleston, SC for work.  

4/25:  I had more yard flowers.  I went by Oro Valley Hospital and the Argentine Giant "Big Bertha" was in bloom.  I also went to Home Depot to photograph their flowers.  

4/29:  I went to the Reid Park Rose Garden and Reid Park Zoo.

5/4:  I went to Wildlife World Zoo.  It was so much nicer being there on a weekday because it was much less crowded.  I got to see Jellybean, the baby hippo and the baby giraffe.  The cheetah cubs were not out, though.

5/5:  I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden and Mesquite Valley Growers.  I also had some yard flowers.  I examined my camera settings and realized that the image size was set to small which could explain why my pictures were not looking that good for some time.  I am not sure why it was set to small or for how long it had been that way, but I changed it to large.  Image quality was set to Fine so I was good there.  I'm still just trying to learn the technicalities of photography and to improve because I haven't been happy with my photos the last several years.  

5/6: I had more yard flowers including two First Lights and two June Noons.  I went to Lowes and Home Depot to photograph the flowers.  

5/7: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Mesquite Valley Growers.  

Nathan took his AP World History exam.  He ended us scoring a 3 so he should get college credit for it.  

5/8:  I went to Green Things Nursery and to B & B Cactus Nursery.  I bought Neon Dawn and a Peaches and Cream cactus at B & B.

5/9: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.

5/10:  Nathan and I went to church on Mother's Day.  He made me a nice graphic design using one of my photos and wrote Happy Mother's Day on it.  He has had two years of Marketing so he is pretty good at graphic design. 

5/12: I went to Lowes and Home Depot to photograph their flowers. 

5/14: I had more June Noon and First Light flowers bloom in our yard.  I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Mesquite Valley Growers.

5/17:  I went to the dessert auction after the evening church service.  I made a butterscotch pie which the Almeters ended up buying.  I bought a pineapple pie that Mr. Gaines made and some other goodies like cookies.

5/20:  I went to the Desert Museum to see the prairie dog pups.

5/21:  It was Nathan's last day of school.  He is officially a Junior now. He got a B for Q4 and an A for the semester in Pre-Calculus, a B in German, an A in Marketing, an A in AP World History, an A in Pre-AP English and a B in Pre-AP Chemistry.  His German teacher said he Participates/highly motivated and is a Pleasure to have in class.  His AP World History teacher said he is Excelling in class and his Pre-AP Chemistry said he is a Pleasure to have in class.  

5/27-5/29:  Paul went to San Diego for work.

5/29: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Mesquite Valley Growers.

6/13: I had the upper body pain again so I went to urgent care.  I had tachycardia and I thought a possible UTI.  Their test indicated a possible UTI, too.  She pressed on my stomach and it was tender so she said it could be the appendix or something like that so she suggested I go to the ER.  I went to the ER at Northwest Medical.  They did urine tests, blood tests, EKG, chest xrays, a chest CT scan, etc...and could not find anything wrong.  The doctor said he thinks it is muscular/skeletal.  I asked why this keeps happening, though.  He said it could be Fibromyalgia.  I am starting to think that myself and I think stress is what brings on the pain.  I used to think I had chronic fatigue syndrome because I am tired all of the time, but with the pain I am now experiencing I think it could be fibromyalgia.

6/15:  I went to Aeris Dental for the first time to get a cleaning.  My former hygienist April is there so she cleaned my teeth.  Her husband is also working part time in the office and Kim, Nathan's former hygienist, is also there.  April reassured me that my gums are fine which was great news.  That is one less medical problem I have to worry about!  She said about 1k patients from Cortaro Dental Care have moved over to their office since the new dentist took over.  That indicates that a lot of the patients were not happy there because they are probably scamming the patients.     

6/20-7/4:  We took our Pacific Coast Highway trip.  

6/20: We arrived in LA and went to a Dodgers game. They lost to the Orioles 2-3, but Ohtani got a home run.

6/21: We drove to Santa Barbara. We ate on the pier and went to the small aquarium there. They had a cool octopus. We went to see the sea otters at Morro Bay. Then we drove to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas in San Simeon.

6/22: Paul had to work in our Monterey hotel room. Nathan and I went to the Monterey Aquarium. A few years ago I went there for the 1st time and loved it. This time it was very crowded and not as enjoyable. We couldn't even get to the window to see the sea otters the entire time we were there. We went with Paul later to see the sea otters and seals at Moss Landing.

6/23: Paul had to work from the hotel room again. After he was done, we did the 17 mile drive to Pebble Beach. That is a very pretty drive with cypress trees, ocean views, deer, etc. That evening we ate at a small Irish pub where I had some delicious chicken piccata!

6/24: Paul and I did a short hike in Point Lobos State Park. Then we drove to Big Sur and took some pictures of Bixby Bridge. We went to Pfeiffer Beach where there was beautiful purple sand. We stopped at McWay Falls which we had actually never stopped at before. Unfortunately, they had the trail down to the falls closed for maintenance. You could see it from up above, though. We did a short hike in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park where we saw a polar bear! Nathan was excited to meet a white English bulldog named polar bear. She really was a cute, sweet dog. When we got back to Monterrey we ate dinner at Bubba Gump.

6/25: We started driving toward San Francisco. We stopped at Shark Fin Cove. We stopped to take a few snapshots of Pigeon Point Lighthouse. We made another stop at Moss Landing to see the sea otters and seals. Once in San Francisco, we attended a Giants game. It was actually quite warm at the game which is unusual. Giants lost to the Athletics 6-9. After the game, we took some pictures of the Painted Ladies and went over the Golden Gate Bridge to get to our hotel in San Rafael.

6/26: We took the ferry over to San Francisco. We walked to Pier 39 and Fisherman's wharf. We saw the seals and went to the Aquarium of the Bay. It is a pretty small aquarium, but they had a cool octopus and a couple of river otters. We took a short cable ride to get near our lunch spot at The Stinking Rose, a garlic restaurant. I love garlic so we always eat there when we are in San Francisco. We had bruschetta for an appetizer and I had the 40 clove garlic chicken. I even tried the garlic ice cream which I thought was surprising good and not over garlicky. After lunch we took an Uber to the Conservatory Gardens. I went in by myself, but I was surprised to find out that their corpse flower was in bloom. Then just outside the conservatory they had a beautiful dahlia garden. We ate dinner at Applebees near Fisherman's Wharf and had ice cream at Ghirardelli's. It was foggy that day so we couldn't get good pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge.

6/27: We went to Muir Woods. The redwoods are beautiful and we spotted two banana slugs. From there we went to a couple of vantage points to get pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge since it was a clear day.

6/28: We drove from San Francisco to Santa Rosa. We stopped at Point Reyes National Seashore including the cypress tunnel (too many people to get decent pictures) and the lighthouse. You have to do a short hike just to get to the lighthouse. Then there are 313 stairs to go down to get next to the lighthouse which can be dangerous, especially because there is a lot of wind. I did about 1/3 of them and decided to turn around. We arrived in Santa Rosa in the early evening, which was home to Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. I am a big Snoopy fan. There were Peanuts statues all over town. We went over by the Museum and the Ice Rink, both were closed, but we took some pictures by them.

6/29: We drove to Point Arena Lighthouse and I got to go inside on a tour! I think this is the 2nd lighthouse I have been in (the other was the lighthouse in South Haven, Michigan). Then Paul and Nathan dropped me off at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens while they spent a few hours in Mendocino (Paul found another lighthouse). I got in the gardens for free with my reciprocal Tohono Chul Park membership. I liked the gardens, especially their dahlia garden! I also saw a lily with a tiny frog in it! After the gardens, we went to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. The glass there is very small, but all over. It was fun trying to find different colors of glass.

6/30: We drove through the Chandelier tree. We drove through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We took a tour through Ocean World in Crescent City. It is a small aquarium that you only go through by tour, but it was cute. We got to pet a leopard shark. Nearby we stopped at the Battery Point Lighthouse to take some pictures.

7/1: Paul and I took a short hike through Jebediah Smith Redwoods State Park. We spotted another banana slug! We briefly entered Oregon and then back to California. We stopped at the Bunny Flat trailhead in Shasta Trinity National Forest. It had beautiful views of Mt Shasta which still had some snow on it. We did our good deed for the day when a family approached us and asked if we had jumper cables. Their vehicle ran out of battery about 1/2 mile away. We didn't have jumper cables, but we had a portable battery pack. We let them borrow it. They came back within an hour to return it. They tried to pay us for letting them use it, but we told them to use the money to buy one themselves! That national forest also had an area with the most thistles I had ever seen together. I took a few pictures of course.

7/2: We went to Lava Beds National Monument. There are a lot of caves there. Paul and I just went in a short easy cave, Mushpot Cave. The rest of the caves require a permit (which the visitor center did give us) and proper equipment (flashlight and the such). We were fortunate to see two bald eagles on top of one of the trees within the monument. After Lava Beds, we drove to Mammoth, CA.

7/3: Paul and I got up early to drive around and look for bears in Mammoth. We didn't see any (we did see deer and even a coyote). Ironically, we saw a bear from the shuttle on the way to Devil's Postpile National Monument. Neither of us got good pictures of it. The day wasn't planned very well. We weren't prepared for hiking. We thought the shuttle would take us right to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls. Both required hiking, however. The hike to Devil's Postpile was only .4 miles, but we took the wrong path which went up over the Postpile and was 1.1 miles. It was a tough hike with stairs and we had no water. My feet and knees were hurting (especially after days of walking/hiking elsewhere). You couldn't even see the Postpile from that path. Then the hike to Rainbow Falls was another 2 miles away. We went about a mile before we decided to turn around. We didn't have much time that day and we decided to go back and see the Devil's Postpile that we missed. Nathan then started getting dehydrated and dizzy. So we didn't go to Rainbow Falls and we also didn't do the gondola ride that we had already paid for that morning. We ate lunch and headed out of town. We started making our way back to Arizona, stopping at Hoover Dam to see the patriotic light display and large American Flag. It was very busy there. We stayed the night in Kingman, AZ.

7/4: We went to Bearizona. It was warmer there than expected and crowded. They changed things around a lot since we went last. They no longer had the turkeys that Nathan loved (the reason he doesn't eat turkey to this day). Nathan was hot and complaining the whole time (which he did for most of the trip because he never wants to go anywhere). Toward the end he and Paul went back to the car while I saw the best part in my opinion, the river otters. There were 4 of them and they were very playful with each other. They even let guests feed them fish. On the way home we stopped at my favorite pizza place, Grimaldi's, in Chandler to eat lunch/dinner. That night Paul and I just watched the Marana fireworks from our back balcony.

So that was our long, very busy two week vacation. The last couple of days involved a lot of driving and so I was tired of being in the car! It's nice to be back home, but I actually miss California. California has its issues, but the weather was perfect and it is a beautiful state, especially along the coast. Nathan didn't really like the vacation, but we tried to plan things for him. We went to two different baseball games. We went to four different aquariums to look for pufferfish, but none of them had any (ironically, Arizona has two aquariums that does - Wildlife World Zoo has a ton of them and OdySea has some). Nathan got to see a turkey on the side of the road with some babies (I had never seen turkey babies before). He got to see several English bulldogs during our trip, including polar bear (he wants an English bulldog so bad). We also bought him a nice soccer jersey when we were in San Francisco. The boy is such a homebody and never likes to go anywhere. I think we are going to do a European vacation next summer and he sort of wants to do that. We will see!

7/22:  Nathan has his school registration and he will find out what his classes will be there this year.  Then he starts school on 8/3!

End of March

1/19 Nathan made homemade pizza!

1/21 I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Tucson Botanical Gardens.

1/24/26 All 3 of us attended the Missions Luncheon with New Testament Baptist Church.  Nathan was initially excited about the 3 course meal, but ended up not caring for it.  

1/25 was the parade of flags at New Testament Baptist Church.  Once again I carried a flag.  Nathan didn't have to this year.  

1/26 I photographed the flowers at Lowe's and Home Depot.

1/28 We ended up taking Nathan to the pediatrician because he still had his cough.  She concurred that it probably turned into bronchitis and prescribed an antibiotic.  At first she prescribed a penicillin, but we called her to explain that we thought he was allergic to penicillin.  She asked when he had an allergic reaction and what kind of reaction he had.  I honestly couldn't remember.  I know past reactions he has were full body rashes, but I think that was for bactrim.  Since I am allergic to penicillin and bactrim, I think we erred on the side of caution and said Nathan was allergic to both as well.  However, the pediatrician agreed to prescribe something else, azithromycin.  That night after taking the first dosage, Nathan woke up in the middle of the night having hallucinations, seeing shadows and people.  We ended up taking him to northwest emergency center at Marana which is part of the Oro Valley Hospital network.  They did a bunch of tests on him to make sure there wasn't something else going on to cause the hallucinations, but everything checked out ok.  After spending hours there, the hallucinations had stopped and we returned home.        

1/29 I was supposed to have a gingivitis follow up, but since we got home from the emergency room with Nathan early in the morning, I couldn't make it to my appointment.  I called and rescheduled for 2/2.  I thought it would be a quick and easy visit.  Instead, I was there almost an hour while she picked and prodded at my teeth.  She said my gums looked a little better, but the visit was actually painful.  After that visit, I rushed to the Desert Museum to catch their free flight show.  My pictures didn't come out that great because I was having problems with the shutter speed.  I finally took my camera to Tucson Camera Repair and he had to clean the shutter magnets and the inside of the camera for $225, but it seems to have helped my shutter speed problem.  I got it back on 3/13 in time for the air show we went to on 3/22.  

2/4 I photographed the flowers at Home Depot.

2/7 I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  Then I went to Mesquite Valley Growers to photograph their flowers.  I love that place!  It is probably my favorite Nursery in Tucson.  Green Things is probably 2nd.  

2/12 I went to Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens and Lowe's to photograph the flowers

2/17 was our 23rd anniversary.  Paul and I went out to dinner at Wild Garlic.  

2/18 I went to photograph the flowers at Home Depot.  

2/23 I went to Catalina State Park and hiked the Alamo Canyon trail to check out the wildflowers.  There were some, but not as many as we saw there a few years ago.  I did see a rattler, though.  I also saw some coyotes in the distance.  

2/25 Nathan had his annual pediatrician visit.  We usually go around his birthday in December, but we couldn't get him in until the end of February because his doctor was on maternity leave.  At his visit, he measured only 5' 8 or 9, but we think he is more like 5'10.  I think he weighed around 145.  She agreed with me that he should see his dermatologist again because his acne was returning.  She also suggested that we see an allergist since he seems to have so many allergic reactions to medications.  She referred us to Banner.  However, I am putting off contacting them because there is too much going on right now.  He missed several days of school during the 3rd quarter because of his bronchitis and some of his grades suffered as a result, particularly German which he was excelling in.  I don't want him missing more school time during the 4th quarter for doctor visits.  Plus, starting up acne treatment again will mean monthly visits for that.  Nathan also had to miss some school time that day for his pediatrician visit.  After I took him to school, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Mesquite Valley Growers.

2/26-2/27 were Rodeo Days.  Nathan didn't want to go with us, so Paul and I took a drive to check out wildflowers on 2/27.  We went up to Bartlett Lake.  We saw some wildflowers, but again not a lot.  In fact, a week or so prior I think there were more.  We had an early wildflower season this year due to early heat and even though we had good winter rain, the heat also shortened the wildflower season and prevented a superbloom.  Areas in California got a superbloom, like Anza Borrego Desert State Park and Death Valley.  After Bartlett Lake we drove to Round Mountain Park in Globe.  It was getting late by then so the lighting wasn't the best, but there was some night-scented stock still in bloom.  However, once again I think we were several days late because the bloom was already dying down.  We also ate lunch at Grimaldi's that day.   

3/2 I had a follow up with my gynecologist about my HRT.  We decided to increase my dosage since I was still having night sweats.  I asked to do blood tests to determine my current hormone levels.  She agreed so I did the blood test the same day in their office.  The results came back showing my levels were "normal".  She sent me a message and said it seemed like my body was absorbing the estrogen medication well and that the increase she prescribed should be OK, too.  After my gynecologist appointment, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Tucson Botanical Gardens and Home Depot to photograph the flowers.  

3/6 I went to Lowe's to photograph their flowers.

3/7 I went back to Catalina State Park and hiked part of the Sutherland trail because I heard there were a lot of wildflowers on that trail.  They were right!  I thought there were more wildflowers than what I had seen on the Alamo Canyon trail a couple of weeks prior.  

3/10 Paul had his dentist appointment.  I think he had the same hygienist as me this time and she tried to get him to do the laser gum treatment, too.  She quoted him even more than what I paid.  He refused, knowing that they did the same thing to me.  Additionally, every other time he has gone there they have told him that his teeth and gums look great and that he is a model patient.  So he found it fishy that all of a sudden he would have gum issues.  We suspected that they were trying to scam us.  I did a little research and saw some Yelp reviews from other patients saying the same thing.  So this new dentist who took over appears to be dishonest.  I also noticed at my visit on 3/2 that Ryan in the front office was not there and neither was the dental assistant who used to work there with the previous dentist.  So it seems that ALL former staff is no longer working there.  

3/11 I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Home Depot to photograph their flowers.  Later that day, Nathan had his dentist appointment.  We were really curious if they were going to try to pull something with him, too.  He had the same hygienist as Paul and I.  I think she recognized me so she said something to her assistant about his teeth still developing so she didn't want to pick and prod at them.  So she just did the standard cleaning.  She did mention to him that he needs to spend more time brushing his gums.  Then she asked me if I had already scheduled MY next appointment.  I said yes, but I couldn't remember when it was.  She looked it up and told me it was 4/22.  That confirmed that she recognized me so I think that is the main reason that she did not suggest that Nathan get laser treatment for his gums, too.  It would look too suspicious that I needed it and my son needed it.  She probably did not realize that she treated my husband the day prior and tried it with him.  So now we are considering transferring to Aeris Family Dental where our previous hygienist April works.  We need to call them to set up appointments and then cancel our next appointments with Cortaro Dental.  We need to do this soon since my next appointment is in a few weeks.  I wondered why my next cleaning is in April when my previous cleaning was in December.  That would only be 4 months and then I remembered that she wanted me to do 3 cleanings during the year because of my gum issues and that one of those cleanings would have to be paid out of pocket.  That is another reason why I do not want to return there.  My husband pointed out that we don't even pay that much for our dental insurance for all 3 of us for the year.  So the amount they made me pay out of pocket for the laser gum treatment was ridiculous.  I paid $148.  Now they want me to pay for a dental cleaning, too.  I hate to think the worst of people, but it sure does seem like they are upselling and taking advantage of us.  I believed it because she asked me if I was having hormone changes or extra stress and I was.  I was going through perimenopause, I recently started HRT and I was stressed because it was during the holidays.  So I believed her.  But when she said the same thing about Paul, that just didn't seem right.  

3/12 and 3/13 Nathan had half days for the end of Q3 and then he was off for Spring Break until 3/22.  3/13 I went to Lowe's to photograph their flowers.  3/14 Paul and I decided to go to Catalina State Park since I told him how good the wildflowers were on the Sutherland trail.  Unfortunately, it had been hot that week so I was afraid that there wouldn't be many wildflowers left.  I was right, but there were still some and Paul was satisfied with what we saw.  We also ran across 1 or two rattlers that day (could have been the same one that we saw twice).  After doing a good portion of the Sutherland trail, we decided to do the Canyon Loop trail.  We did get to see some mariposa lilies on that trail.  I was getting hot and tired by then, though.  It was another hot day.  

3/21 we went up to Phoenix to go to a Phoenix Suns game.  We stopped at Grimaldi's and had lunch.  We checked into a hotel for the night.  Then we went to the game.  They started out strong, but then ended up losing 105-108.  3/22 We went to Luke Days to see both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds perform.  It was a great show, but unfortunately, very hot at 100+.  It was slightly cooler than the Saturday show and there was a little bit of cloud cover that day which helped, but it would have been much more pleasant if it weren't so hot.  Nathan wasn't a happy camper because he didn't want to go in the first place.  He ended up getting some sunburn even though he put some sunblock on.  

Nathan ended Q3 with a C (78.8) in German, an A (100) in Marketing, an A (93.7) in AP World History, a B (86.1) in Pre-AP Chemistry, an A (89.9) in Pre-Calculus and a B (87.7) in Pre-AP English.  His German teacher said He Participates/Highly Motivated and a Pleasure to have in class.  His AP World History teacher said he is Excelling in class.  His Pre-AP English teacher said he is a Pleasure to have in class.     

3/23 I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Green Things Nursery.

3/24 Chas Roberts did our Spring Maintenance.  They said we needed a capacitor for the upstairs A/C which we turned down the previous time so we did it this time and paid $365.  I saw that we paid for 2 capacitors in 2024 and 2022 and since we have 2 A/C units I am not sure why we have had to have 3 capacitors replaced.  He also mentioned that soon we will probably have to replace the whole system.  We installed that system in 2014 and paid $15k.  So that will be a big expense if we have to replace the system again before we try to sell our house in a few years.  

3/25 I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens, Pima Prickly Park and Home Depot to photograph their flowers.

3/26 The claret cups were blooming on Lambert Lane.

3/27 Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society came and removed the saguaro that Paul had put in our backyard.  I thought it would eventually cause problems and be even harder to remove the taller and bigger it got.  It was close to the pool as well as our back fence so I feared it would cause problems with those, too.  I finally got Paul to agree so they removed it for free and they are going to relocate it.  I initially thought they were going to put it in Pima Prickly Park, but now I think one of them may put it in their own yard.     

  

A New Year

11/11: The northern lights were visible in Tucson.  

11/13:  I went to Mesquite Valley Growers and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens

11/17: I went back to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens

11/19: I went to Reid Park Rose Garden

11/20: I went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers

11/22:  I was the photographer at Dean And Karen Sjogren's 50th anniversary party.  I tried to tell them that I am not a portrait photographer, but Karen insisted that she wanted me to take the pictures.  I took pictures with my DSLR and my phone just in case the DSLR pictures didn't turn out well.  That evening Nathan made us German potatoes with his counter top electric cooking device.

11/27:  For Thanksgiving, Paul and I went to the Desert Museum.  Nathan didn't want to go so we let him stay home.

12/1: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Green Things Nursery.

12/4: I went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers.

12/11: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Tucson Cactus and Koi.  

12/15:  Nathan turned 16!  He has not had drivers ed yet so he does not have his drivers license.  Paul didn't want him driving yet so probably junior year he will take drivers ed.  Grandma and Grandpa came to town to celebrate Nathan's birthday.  They got here a couple of days before his birthday.  They stayed for about a week, but I requested that they stay in a hotel this time.  Nathan was still in school most of the time they were here, doing finals and finishing up the semester.  Them being here was somewhat of a distraction for him trying to concentrate on that last week of school before the holiday break.  Paul was also working most of the time while they were here.  He only took one day off to go up to the Phoenix area with us.  The visit ended on a sour note, however.

12/17:  Nathan made his German potatoes for grandma and grandpa.

12/18:  We took grandma and grandpa to Vivace.  Mary Bell was supposed to join us, but she ended up not being able to come to Tucson.  She was having shots in her back and couldn't drive.  

12/19:  Paul took (most of) the day off and we all went up to Scottsdale to meet Bob & Ann Alvir at Grimaldi's for lunch.  Afterward, we took grandma and grandpa shopping in Scottsdale to try and find resale shops for grandma.  She didn't find what she was looking for, but she spent some significant time in a wig shop.  Later that night, I arranged to do a drive through holiday light show in Tempe put on by World of Illumination with Rockin' Christmas as the theme.  The lights were synched to Christmas music.  I sat in the back and let grandma sit in the front to have more room which meant I didn't have the best viewing point to take pictures.  Plus, the venue was right off the highway so the background wasn't the best.  But, it was a good experience.  

On the last night that my parents were here, everything went sour.  My dad sulked at the kitchen table while the rest of us watched Christmas Vacation.  Then after the movie, they briefly said goodbye and left.  I noticed that one of them left their glasses so I went out to catch them.  I asked them if they were upset about something.  My mom said they were hurt.  I asked why, thinking that it was because Nathan didn't spend much time with them on their last day and was playing on his computer most of the day.  That is when my dad ripped into me and said it was because of me.  That he asked me a direct question about a cactus, that I knew the answer, but that I deliberately would not tell him what it was.  I told him what I told him when we had the original conversation, that I had no idea what he was talking about.  He kept accusing me and I finally had enough.  I couldn't believe that he was mad about something so trivial and was willing to ruin the whole week because of it.  He accused me of something I didn't even do.  After years of this kind of behavior, this was the last straw.  I told him to just leave then.  So he took off like a bat out of hell and nearly ran me over in the process because I was right next to the car.  I was so upset after that.  Upset by his childish behavior and that he was actually doing this to me again.  I vowed to never have contact with him again.  Paul agreed with me.  He said he was there for the cactus conversation and he had no idea what my dad was talking about either.  He couldn't believe that my dad was actually mad about it.  Mad at me.  Not at Paul for not knowing what he was talking about either.  He excused Nathan's behavior saying he is a teenager.  But me he gets mad at over something I didn't even do.  The only good thing that came out of that evening, is that Paul has been really nice to me ever since.  Our marriage hasn't been good for years because Paul has ignored and neglected me, putting all of his focus on work.  He saw how upset I was that night and realized that I was not at all to blame.  He said he was on my side.  So he has been spending more time with me and finally treating me how a husband should treat his wife.

12/22: Paul and I went to Winterhaven.  Again, Nathan didn't want to go so we let him stay home.  It was good, but there was no Christmas Vacation house!  I looked it up after the fact and that house was recently sold so they are no longer decorating it as the Christmas Vacation house :(

12/23: Paul and I went to Agua Caliente Park to see the saw-whet owl that has been hanging out there recently.  The owl was sleeping most of the time we were there so I didn't get any pictures of it with its eyes open, but I got a picture of it with it's head turned and eyes closed.  Something is better than nothing I guess.

Christmas was very low key.  Nathan's big birthday/Christmas present was an acoustic-electric guitar that we split the cost with his grandparents and Aunt Lisa and Aunt Tracy.  So there wasn't much for Nathan to open up on Christmas Day.  

12/26: Paul and I went to Sabino Canyon.  By the time we got there, the trams were booked up until like 4 in the afternoon.  I think it was around 11 when we got there so we just started walking.  We ended up going to about tram stop 5 or 6 and then walked back down.  There was a little bit of Fall color left and a little bit of water flowing.  I got over 20k steps for the day.

For the first time in years, we all stayed up until midnight to celebrate the New Year.  I always try to come up with a few New Year's Resolutions:

1) Good Health in 2026. Continue to lose weight. Unfortunately, I have to find a new doctor again. The new doctor I just started seeing in 2025 and loved is leaving the practice. He supposedly is going to be working at Northwest Urgent Care in charge of the whole Tucson area. A promotion for him, but not good for me :(

2) I am removing toxic people from my life.

3) I am no longer being a people pleaser. I am not putting forth extended effort to those who put zero effort back. I am not trying to sound selfish or cold, but I don't have the energy for it. I don't care anymore if people like me or not or if they think I post too much on Facebook either. I am who I am. I strive to always be a better version of myself, but God is the one who I need to please.

4) I am concentrating on my marriage and my son.

5) Declutter! Declutter! Declutter! This is always on my list and it is something I continually work on.

6) Improve my photography. This involves getting out there more, hiking and just being outside. I hope the weather cooperates for this one. This past year was HOT! Also in this category, I am always trying to find time to go through the pictures I have already taken and to "scrapbook". I gave up the delusion of making traditional paper scrapbooks some time ago, but I would like to make digital photo albums/scrapbooks. I am still trying to weed out all of the nonessential pictures and memorabilia. I do have one immediate project in mind and that is to create a digital scrapbook of Nathan's life to give to him when he graduates high school in a couple of years. That coupled with a personal handwritten letter from myself to him.

7) No more complaining! I like to vent, especially to those closet to me. But I need to stop.

8) While this is last on the list, it is always my #1 priority - to be a better Christian. I want to please God. I want to spend more time in my Bible, more time in church, more time getting closer to God. I want to be a better wife, mother and friend.

1/2:  I turned 51.  I had recently had the stomach flu or something so I really wasn't up to eating at Grimaldi's, but we all went up to the Wildlife World Zoo.  We had a nice day.  Nathan didn't enjoy it that much, but at least he got to see a lot of pufferfish!  We ate lunch there at Dillon's and had a nice meal.  

1/4:  I picked up my sloth birthday cake at church that Kelly Price made and Linda Almeter paid for.  It was amazing!  That evening, I went to the last night of the Reid Park Zoo Lights!  It was nice not having as many people there, but there were actually more than I expected.  

1/6:  Nathan went back to school.  There still isn't a report card in the system for the 2nd quarter and 1st semester, but I think he ended up with a B in German, a B in Marketing, an A (89.9) in AP World History, a C in Pre-AP Chemistry, an A in Pre-Calculus and a B (89.6) for Q2 Pre-AP English and an A (89.6) for the semester.  So she bumped up his semester grade for English since it was so close to an A, but his quarter grade was a B.  It is the semester grades that really matter, though.  Now his Marketing grade was disappointing.  Right up to the end of the semester he had over 99% in there.  Then during finals week it changed to 87.1.  He said it was because he was unable to do a final project where they were to evaluate group projects.  He said the group they were to evaluate didn't do their project so there was nothing to evaluate.  Furthermore, that is a significant drop to go from 99% to 87.1%.  He said he was going to talk to his counselor or someone in administration about it, but I don't know if he actually will or if anything will come out of such a conversation.  I told him that he should talk to someone about it, though, because I agree it was not fair.  However, I am not going to fight this battle for him.  He needs to start sticking up for himself and handling these things on his own.  

1/8: Paul and Nathan went up to Phoenix to see the Fiesta Bowl game between Miami and Old Miss.  Miami ended up winning so Paul was happy.  They didn't get home until after midnight, though and Nathan had to go to school the next day.  

1/10:  Nathan went to Greg Lyons' house for a nerf day.  Colin and his brother were there.  Amelia and Amber Davis were there.  Even a friend of Nathan's from Mountain View High School was there.  While Nathan had fun there, Paul and I went to Madera Canyon.  We watched the birds at Santa Rita Lodge.  There were a lot of turkeys.  I didn't see any hummingbirds, but Paul said he saw one.  I got an awesome eggnog iced latte there.  We drove further up the road and there was actually a little bit of snow on the sides.  I had overheard a woman saying that she saw the coppery-tailed trogon earlier in the day along the Proctor trail so then we headed back down the road to go to that trail to find the trogon.  Along the way we stopped in a parking lot to let another car pass and there was a group of deer in there.  We photographed them for awhile then headed down to the Proctor trail.  It was getting late in the day.  We prayed about seeing the trogon because I had never seen one before.  They are somewhat common at Madera Canyon, but not as much during the winter.  We were fortunate because as we started on the trail I looked up and there it was!  It wasn't facing me, but I knew it was the bird.  Paul almost walked right by it.  He put on a show for us flying from branch to branch, but always staying close to the trail.  Most of my pictures came out dark because there was so much shade along the trail and it was later in the day.  I also didn't get a lot of head on shots showing his beautiful colors, but I got a couple of decent shots.  I was just excited to finally see the bird in person.  I heard that there was a bear sighting there I think the same day, but we never saw one.  Bears have been sighted in the canyon recently so I was on the lookout.  While it would be cool to see one, I think it would be a little scary, too.   

This morning, 1/12, Nathan was getting ready for school and started coughing up blood while he was taking a shower.  Paul looked it up and said it could be the start of pneumonia so we let him stay home.  Hopefully, he will be able to return to school tomorrow.

It's Almost Christmas!

 I can't believe the holidays are here already and the year is almost over.  It seems like time goes faster and faster.  It's been awhile since I updated this blog, too.

8/13: I went to Reid Park Zoo.  I got to see the elephants playing in the water and the baby zebra.  

8/28: My First Light bloomed.  We also attended Nathan's open house at school to meet his teachers.  It's not one on one meetings, but all of his teachers had positive things to say about him.  

8/29: Paul's Argentine Giant "Big Bertha" bloomed in our front yard.  It had two flowers.

9/3: I went to Green Things Nursery.

9/6: I started having severe upper body pain again.  Lasted for about a week and finally went away.  

9/12:  My June Noon bloomed.  

9/16:  The hummingbird moths returned to our yard for the year.  They come out around dusk and like our lantanas.  I saw them out there almost every night that week.

9/20: We went to Vivace for Paul's 55th birthday.

9/23: Nathan had a cold or something so I made chicken lemon orzo soup.  He only ate one bowl!  Good thing I like it.  

9/25: My June Noon bloomed again.  I also had my 6 month checkup with my doctor.  He said everything looks good. He said my last bloodwork looks good. My cholesterol is a little high, but he wasn’t that concerned. He said we’ll check bloodwork again in 6 months. I mentioned the upper body pain I had a couple of weeks prior. He wasn’t as concerned since it mostly went away on its own. He said if it happens again I can come in while it’s happening and they can do some tests. He said otherwise I am doing really good. I don’t always feel that good! Perimenopause and turning 50 is kicking my butt. I'm 4-5 months in with HRT (as of today 11/10) so I’m hoping that will start making a difference. So far I haven't experienced anything positive with the HRT. However, I have experienced some negatives. The first couple of months the estrogen patches didn't bother me or leave that bad of marks. Now, however, I have pretty bad red marks all over my abdomen. They itch a little when the patch is on. I'm worried that they are going to leave permanent scars. I know that this reaction is a common side effect, but I'm not sure if it is should be this bad. I have a follow up appointment on 11/17. Then around 10/19, I started having constipation and a hemorrhoid flared up (one I got while giving birth to Nathan). It got pretty painful for days. I read that the estrogen patch could cause constipation. However, I also recently switched from Naturemade Cholestoff to Garlique and that can also cause constipation. The swelling finally went down, but I continue to have issues. I am being mindful to take my fiber supplements, eat more fiber, drink more water, stay active, take epson salt baths, etc... I also stopped taking the Garlique.

9/27:  We all attended Michael Hoogendoorn's wedding.  It was Nathan's 1st wedding.  It was a large wedding at NTBC and they had a private reception that we were not invited to.  They sang to each other during the ceremony and both her pastor and Pastor King performed the ceremony.  

10/1:  Butterfly Magic started at Tucson Botanical Gardens so I went to see them.  I also went to Reid Park Rose Garden and stopped at Sweetwater Wetlands.  They drained Sweetwater Wetlands early this year which I did not know until I got there so there was not much to see.  

Nathan had Fall Break from 10/3-10/13.  We didn't go anywhere this year which was very disappointing to me because Fall is my favorite time of year.  Paul said he had too much work to do.  Plus, we bought the windows earlier in the year which greatly reduced our savings.  I thought about doing some day trips around Arizona, but there wasn't much Fall color yet at the time and there was a threat of rain toward the end of the week.  

10/8:  I went to Apple Annie's to photograph their sunflowers.  Since there was a threat of rain later in the week, I decided to go and photograph the sunflowers early while I had the chance.  

Q1 ended just before Nathan's Fall Break.  He made honor roll, although I guess they no longer give out honor roll certificates.  His GPA was 3.625, the highest he has had since starting high school.  He got an A in Pre-Calculus, a B in German 3, an A in Marketing 3, a B in AP World History, an A in Pre-AP English 2 and a C in Pre-AP Chemistry 1.  It is telling that he got Cs and D in English last year, but that this year he is back to getting an A.  Nathan said the teacher had something against him and other students of the same demographic in the class.  It is unfortunate, but I believed it to be true.  When I addressed the issue with administration, I was shocked when they backed the teacher up.  She showed the Assistant Principal a sample of his work and she concurred that Nathan was not performing to his potential.  Funny seeing as he always had As and Bs in English up to that point and performed at or above average on state testing.  Now this year he is back to an A in English.  It is a shame that last year's English teacher had to ruin his GPA.  She is no longer at the school either.  This year, his German, History, Chemistry AND English teacher all said that he is a pleasure to have in class on his report card.  

10/14: I photographed the flowers at Home Depot.  I also ate lunch on the patio at First Watch and shopped for Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes at Hobby Lobby.  

10/16: I went up to Mount Lemmon to check out the Fall colors.  They were barely just getting started.  I went to Bear Wallow and then had lunch at the Iron Door.

10/23: I went to Reid Park Zoo and to Reid Park Rose Garden.  

10/24: I ate pumpkin pancakes at First Watch.  I took pictures of the flowers at Lowe's.  Then I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and to Mesquite Valley Growers.  

10/25: Paul and I went up to Mount Lemmon.  Nathan didn't want to go so we let him stay at home.  This is the first time we have let him stay at home by himself  for that long.   We hiked the Bear Wallow area and it was pretty much at peak.  I was surprised because just a week prior the colors were barely getting started.  We ate lunch at the Iron Door.  On the way down, there was a fatal accident involving a motorcyclist.

10/28: I went back up to Mount Lemmon.  I decided to do the Marshall Gulch trail for the first time.  I was glad that I did.  It was a tough hike, but the colors were amazing about halfway through.  I thought that the trail did a loop, but I was mistaken because it actually joins with another trail to make a loop.  So I got a little confused when I got to the end of the trail and couldn't figure out where to go from there.  I saw where other trails hooked up to it.  I decided to go back the way I came on the Marshall Gulch trail.  On the way back I followed a couple of other hikers who continued on a lower "secret trail".  It was harder to navigate, but was a little nicer being lower near the water, leaves and out of the sun.  If there were more water, you would be crossing the "stream" more during this hike, but there was only a little water flowing this day.  It was nice, though, because at one point I took a short video clip of the Fall colors, the leaves falling from the trees and the sound of the water trickling.  I stopped at Bear Wallow on the way back down because I really wanted to see how the colors were there, too.  

10/31: I went back to Apple Annie's.  I did a corn maze for the first time!  I chose the easy one.  Their clues didn't really help.  

11/2:  Donna Collins gave me a Nothing Bunt Cakes pumpkin spice cake and Tiffany Campbell-Cornwell gave me a bunch of sloth pens!

11/5: I went back up to Mount Lemmon to see the last of the Fall colors.  I went to the very top where there were still some yellow aspens.  It looked like they had the road to Marshall Gulch closed for construction so I didn't go there.  I went back to Bear Wallow.  There were a lot more leaves on the ground which was actually pretty in itself.  

11/7: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Green Things Nursery.

    

Back to School

 We returned from our trip to San Diego.  We stayed at Comfort Inn near Sea World.  On our first day, 7/30, I went to the San Diego Botanic Gardens.  The boys went to Oceanside and Carlsbad.  After they picked me up from the gardens, we went back to Carlsbad and then ate dinner in La Jolla.  7/31, We went to Birch Aquarium in La Jolla.  Nathan got to see his pufferfish.  Other highlights were the leafy sea dragons, blue penguins and the octopus.  We had been to this aquarium once before, but it rained on us that time.  This time we got to see the blue penguins outside much better since it wasn't raining.  8/1, I went to the San Diego Zoo.  I got to see the koalas up and eating, the panda bears, a baby giraffe and lots of other cool animals.  I ate at my favorite place there, Albert's and sat outside next to the waterfall.  The boys went to the Air & Space Museum that day.  We went and ate dinner over on Coronado Island.  Then we went to a Padres vs Cardinals game.  Padres beat the Cardinals 4-1.  Our last morning we went back over to Coronado Island to the dog beach and then over by Hotel Del Coronado.  The weather was perfect there the entire time - 70s during the day and 60s at night.  Beats the record braking temps we are having in Tucson!

Nathan started school on 8/4.  He only had a half day so I drove him back and forth that day.  We initially told them that we did not need bus transportation, but we decided that we wanted him to take the bus this year.  I confirmed with the front office that it was ok for him to take the bus.  This is the first time he has ever taken the school bus!  He always went to charter schools that did not have bus transportation.  Then last year when he was a freshman, Paul didn't want him taking the bus yet.  That meant I had to drive him back and forth again!  So now I finally get a break.  I have been driving him back and forth to school since he was in preschool, so 10+ years!  Paul doesn't want Nathan taking driver's ed or getting his driver's license yet this year.  But next year he probably will so he will be driving soon.  He's growing up fast.  He will probably get my 2014 Ford Fusion.  Paul will keep driving the 2018 Ford Fusion and then I will probably get a new car.  I will finally get the new car since I typically drive more than Paul now since he works at home and his church is close by.      

School starting already?

 6/28, Paul and Nathan went to Phoenix to see the Soccer Gold Cup at State Farm Stadium.  The first game was Panama vs Honduras.  They said not many people were there for that game.  The second game was Mexico vs Saudi Arabia.  They said there were a lot of people there for that game, mostly Mexicans.  They said it got pretty crazy, too.  Beer being thrown everywhere every time there was a goal and also profanity.  I am glad I opted not to go.  Plus, I needed the house to myself for a few hours since I rarely get that anymore.

7/4, Paul cooked out.  Paul and I watched the Marana fireworks from our balcony, but Nathan had no interest.  

7/5, We all went to see F1 with Brad Pitt.  It was a pretty good movie.  However, we went to AMC and they are currently under construction as they are rebuilding a new outdoor mall there.  They didn't inform us when we entered the theatre that the restrooms were out of order.  Of course toward the end of the movie I needed to go.  I was informed that I could go to Walmart in a nearby separate building.  It was too hot and would take too much time to walk over there.  I didn't have the car keys either.  They also said I could go to the front desk and get a refund on my ticket.  I didn't care about that at the time.  I just needed to go.  I went back in the movie because I didn't want to miss the whole end.  But once again I could not hold it for very long.  I went back out and ended up going inside the restroom that was closed.  I didn't flush just in case.  I was desperate.  So that ordeal somewhat ruined my movie outing.  The popcorn also wasn't very good that day!

7/9, My First Light bloomed.

7/10, My June Noon bloomed.

7/11, I had a gynecologist appointment to discuss starting HRT.  We decided to do the biweekly estrogen patch with a medium dosage and a daily progesterone pill.  Unfortunately, the estrogen was out of stock at the pharmacy and within 25 miles.  It took like a whole week to finally get it.  So I started the HRT on 7/20.  I am not noticing much of a difference yet, but I have been told it could take months to start working.  

7/18, we went up to Phoenix and attended a Diamondbacks vs Cardinals game.  The Diamondbacks  won 7-3.  Paul wasn't happy, but Nathan and I were.  Nathan wears Diamondbacks shirts pretty much every day!  We stayed in Scottsdale that night near OdySea so that we could get up in the morning and get to the aquarium when they opened.  Then we ate at Grimaldi's before heading home.  

7/22, I had another gynecologist appointment for my annual exam and my mammogram.  Mammogram results already came back normal.  My appointments that day were spread far apart because they are now in different offices.  I had some time to kill in between appointments so I went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  It was hot and there wasn't a lot in bloom, but enough to to keep me occupied before my mammogram appointment.  

7/24, We registered Nathan for his sophomore year of high school.  We got his class schedule.   He will be taking Pre-Calculus, German 3/4, Marketing 3/4, AP World History, Pre-AP English 2 and Pre-AP Chemistry 1/2. He starts school on 8/4. He already has a career plan, too. Most likely, he will go to U of A to study Aerospace Engineering and then eventually work for Raytheon. A lot could change between now and then, but he has wanted to design military equipment for a few years. Also at registration Nathan took his yearbook picture. Nathan will start school 8/4.

7/26, We went to Apple Annie's to go peach picking. Paul had peach pancakes. We picked our peaches and shared a peach crumble pie slice a la mode. We bought a bunch of goodies at the store like peach salsa, apple crumble pie for us and our neighbors, cheese curds, cherry preserves, watermelon licorice, kettle corn, crisp mix to make peach crisp, m & m fudge, etc... Then we went over the produce farm. We picked tomatoes to make salsa. They were mostly still green. I picked a BIG cucumber. We ate roasted corn. We bought some more goodies like local honey and cherry tomatoes.

At the last minute Paul decided that he wants to go to San Diego this week. We had decided against a spring break/summer trip because we spent so much money on new windows this year. Then they went to the soccer game and we went to the baseball game and aquarium. I guess that was not enough. So Tuesday, 7/29 we are driving to San Diego. We will be returning Saturday, 8/2. We are not sure what all we will be doing just yet, but I plan to go to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Botanic Gardens.