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.  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 next appointment.  

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.

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 it 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.

Summer

 Our windows and sliding doors are FINALLY done.  They came back this week to finish up the sliding doors.  When they tried to install them with the windows, they discovered the new frame on the sliding door downstairs was cracked or something.  They had to reorder a new one and they finally came out this week to install it.  They also retrimmed the sliding door upstairs with a wider trim.  We will see if it makes a difference on our electric bill.  We need to replace our front door because you can see light through it.  It isn't sealing our house so heat and air are getting in that way, too.  

I lost a few pounds since going to the doctor 3 months ago.  I was doing good at first getting my 10k steps/day and eating healthier.  It's getting harder now so I fluctuate up and down a couple of pounds (145-147).  I still force myself to do 10k steps/day, but the diet is hard.  I cut down on my coffee, but I just can't give it up.  I was only going to drink it on Fridays, but that only lasted a few weeks.  I need my daily iced lattes.  So I am getting them daily, but I am getting smaller sizes, with less pumps of syrup, nonfat milk and 1/2 the caffeine.  I think a large part of the problem is hormone imbalance.  I have made appointments for my annual ob/gyn exam and to discuss HRT.  I am hoping that if I go on HRT that it will help me lose weight and help with a lot of the other perimenopause symptoms I am having.  I also had blood tests done after visiting my doctor.  The #s weren't good.  My blood sugar was slightly elevated and my cholesterol and triglycerides were high as usual.  The doctor's office contacted me and suggested that I go on cholesterol lowering meds.  I told them that I would try diet and exercise first, but going on meds is probably inevitable.  I am hoping that HRT will improve these #s, too, though.  I can only be "good" for so long.  I love food.  I love sweets and I crave certain foods from time to time.  So long term I don't know how I can ever eat heathy and never cheat.  Getting my steps and exercising is hard because I don't have a lot of energy and time and I am getting more aches and pains as I age.  Like my left arm has really been hurting the last few weeks.  I am thinking it may be arthritis.  I am supposed to get new blood tests and see my doctor again after 6 months which is less than 3 months from now.  This summer will make it hard to achieve my goals.  It's so hot outside that I can only get my steps by walking around inside the house which takes a lot more time and is not nearly as enjoyable as walking/hiking outside in the cooler months.  Plus, plantar fasciitis keeps trying to come back.  I feel like I can't win this losing battle.  My Cologuard test came back negative so that is good.  My heart rate has been good.  I am still not sure why it got so high a few months ago and wouldn't go down for like a week.  I think it just has to be stress, something that I can never seem to get rid of.    

Nathan got out of school for Spring Break on 3/14.  It was also the end of Q3.  He got an A in German 1, a B in Marketing 1, an A in Art 1, a B in AP Biology 5, an A in Algebra Honors 2 and a D in Pre-AP English 1.  I contacted the principal about the D in English.  Nathan is not a D student.  He has always had As and Bs in English and performed well on the state testing for English.  There is no reason why he should have got a D.  This teacher had it in for him (and other students) from the beginning.  The principal passed off my concern to the vice principal.  Supposedly, the vice principal talked to the teacher.  She showed an example of Nathan's work to her.  The vice principal replied to me and said that she concurred with the teacher and that it seemed like Nathan was not doing his best work.  I was shocked that she actually agreed with the teacher.  Nathan said that none of the other teachers like his English teacher.  I guess she is not returning to the school next year.  I am not sure what happened.  Nathan said Mountain View didn't offer her a position for next year.  Is that the same as getting fired?  Nathan says she is going to be teaching at a grade school next year.  I wish she would have left a year earlier because she crushed Nathan's GPA.  For Q3, he ended up with a 3.42.  I think that is still honor roll, but it could have been so much higher if he got a higher grade in English.  I would still like to have another English teacher read some of his English papers and give us another opinion.    

3/13, I went to Home Depot and Lowe's to photograph their flowers.

3/17, For St Patty's Day I made corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot.

3/19, I went to Green Things Nursery.

3/20, I went to the Wildlife World Zoo.  There was a kangaroo joey, a baby giraffe and a lot of otters playing together.   

3/22, we went to see the Thunderbirds Thunder &  Lightning Over Arizona air show.  

3/23, Nathan made steak.  He made it with garlic cloves, rosemary and Irish butter.  It was actually really good.  He had me buy him this counter top electric cooking device.  He's been watching some chefs and getting cooking ideas.

3/25, I went to Lowe's, Home Depot and Green Things Nursery.

3/27, I went to Green Things Nursery and Tucson Botanical Gardens.

3/29, My pink claret cup bloomed and my ladyfinger cactus bloomed in our yard.  The first cactus flowers to bloom in our yard this Spring.

3/31, My pink claret cup bloomed in our yard.  I went to Lowe's and Home Depot to photograph the flowers and I bought an Argentine Giant "Big Bertha".  I also went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Pima Prickly Park.   

4/1, I went to Bach's Cactus Nursery.  I checked out the claret cups on Lambert Lane and there were some prickly pears blooming by Oro Valley Hospital.  Then went across town to the Reid Park Rose Garden.  It was the reopening of the rose garden after winter pruning.  The garden is starting to look nice again after the renovations they are doing since the COVID closure.  I also went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers.  

4/2, A different pink claret cup in our yard bloomed and I went to Home Depot to photograph the flowers.

Nathan bought a banjolele with the money grandma and grandpa had given him before to buy a banjo on 4/7.  

4/7, I checked out the claret cups on Lambert Lane again.  I also went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens and the Reid Park Rose Garden. 

My Argentine Giant bloomed on 4/9.  I went back to Lambert Lane to photograph the claret cups, to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Pima Prickly Park and Home Depot.

Nathan and I had eye appointments on 4/10.  There is no change to our vision since last year.  I felt like mine worsened, but my prescription is the same.  Nathan's vision slightly worsened, but still does not require corrective lenses.

My June Noon hybrid bloomed on 4/11.

My First Light bloomed on 4/13.

4/14, My pink cactus had two flowers.  I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden and Pima Prickly Park.  Roses were in full bloom at the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and the hollyhocks were starting to bloom.  Tucson Botanical Gardens had some beautiful wisteria growing.  

Nathan took a practice ACT exam on 4/14.  I still don't think we know the results.  

Paul's Argentine Giant in the front of our house bloomed for the first time on 4/15.  He didn't even know that it was a Argentine Giant.  The two pink cactus flowers that bloomed the day before bloomed again in addition to another flower so I had three of them in bloom.  I went to see the claret cups on Lambert Lane again and then there were some more Argentine Giants blooming by Oro Valley Hospital.  I also went to Home Depot to photograph their flowers.  I bought a pink cactus there.  

4/16, I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima Prickly Park and Lowe's.

I went to the Desert Museum on 4/17.  

4/18, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Tucson Botanical Gardens, The Reid Park Rose Garden and Pima Prickly Park.  

Nathan took a mock AP Biology exam on 4/19 to prepare for the actual AP Biology exam on 5/5.  I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.

Easter was 4/20.  We went to church.  I bought honey baked ham for myself.  We made deviled eggs.  

4/21, I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima Prickly Park.  

4/22, I checked out El Rio Preserve for the first time.  I only had my wide angle lens so I wasn't able to get good close up pictures of the birds there.  I also drove through Saguaro National Park.  

4/24, I went to Maeveen Behan Desert Sanctuary, Arthur Park Park to find the ground squirrels, Bach's Cactus Nursery, the Reid Park Rose Garden and Pima Prickly Park. My favorite cholla was blooming at Pima Prickly Park.  

4/25, I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Pima Prickly Park.  

My June Noon hybrid and pink cactus bloomed again in my yard on 4/27.

My pink cactus flower was still open on 4/28. I also went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima Prickly Park.  

My white cactus bloomed on 4/29.  It had one flower with five more getting ready to open.  My Argentine Giant also had a flower.  I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Tucson Botanical Gardens.  

4/30, My white cactus had 6 flowers open!  My peach cactus also had a flower.  I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and I drove out to B & B Cactus Nursery.  Tohono Chul had a lot of cacti blooming in pots, including the Flying Saucer.  Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens also had several Flying Saucers blooming.  B & B had a ton of cactus flowers blooming!  They also had a lot of different rocks for sale so I bought a small pistachio opal.  I almost bought a Neon Dawn cactus, but didn't.  I probably should have.    

5/1, I went to Bach's Cactus Nursery and Pima Prickly Park. I also drove across town to check out the roses at Mesquite Valley Growers.  I only took pictures there with my phone.

Nathan made us grilled cheese sandwiches on 5/2! 

5/3, I went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum to see the spring flowers.  There wasn't as much in bloom as I had hoped.  However, I found the coatis.  I love seeing and photographing them.  There was a baby, too.  I then went to the Mesa Community College Rose Garden for the first time.  Most of the flowers were not doing well with the heat, but there were a few good ones here and there to photograph.  I am glad I finally checked it out, but I still prefer the Reid Park Rose Garden and it is right here in Tucson!  Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens also has nice roses in the Spring.  Then there is Mesquite Valley Growers on the other side of town that has massive varieties of roses!  

Nathan called 5/5 Cinco de Bio since he took the AP Biology exam.  We have not heard back yet to see if he passed.  

Tucson Window and Door installed our windows and door the week of May 5th.  They had to come back this week to finish the sliding doors.  They sliced my ethernet cable on 5/6 when they were working on the upstairs sliding door.  They said the company would reimburse us, but I was able to find a cable the same day at Walmart and it was inexpensive.  

5/7, I went to Pima Prickly Park.

5/8, My peach cactus bloomed again and I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.

5/9, My pink cactus bloomed.  I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Green Things Nursery.  

5/10, Nathan made me a steak for dinner for Mother's Day.  The next day, Paul cooked chicken shish kebabs on the grill, per my request.

The saguaros have put on a show this year.  Unfortunately, it's because we haven't had much rain.  They produce more flowers when dehydrated and they bloom up and down the sides instead of just on top.  There was a saguaro by Fry's on Ina & Thornydale that had a ton blooming on 5/11.

5/13, I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things, Pima Prickly Park and Bach's Cactus Nursery.  I discovered a new cool flower at Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens - Bells of Ireland. 

5/14, My First Light had two flowers and my June Noon had one flower.  I went to Tohono Chul Park, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden and Pima Prickly Park.  Tohono Chul had another big cactus bloom in their pots.  

5/15, My peach cactus bloomed and the First Light and June Noon flowers from the day before were still open.  Paul's Argentine Giant in the front yard had four flowers.  I went to Oro Valley Hospital, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery, Pima Prickly Park and Home Depot.  Green Things Nursery had a lot of cactus blooms.  There were several pretty cactus flowers near Oro Valley Hospital, but they were starting to close up by the time I got there.  Pima Prickly Park had several cactus flowers, including one of my favorites, Apricot Glow.  Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens was in mass bloom.  There was a whole bouquet of Flying Saucers.  There were several June Noon flowers in bloom, too.  Unfortunately, it was a Thursday so all of the workers were there.  It made it a little more difficult to get pictures.  

5/16, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Reid Park Rose Garden.

5/19, I went to Ajo Way to photograph the nesting caracaras.  That was the first time I saw such a nest in the wild.  There were a lot of other photographers there.  My pictures didn't come out the greatest because I could have benefited from a longer lens than my 300 mm.  It was still very cool to watch, though.  From there I went to the Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park.  On the way to pick up Nathan from school, I noticed a saguaro on Linda Vista that had a ton of saguaro flowers so of course I had to stop to take pictures!  

5/20, a large piece under my car came loose so I took it to Pep Boys.  They fixed it for free.  A couple of bolts/screws got loose.  While it was there we also got an oil change.    

Nathan's last day of school was 5/22.  He is now officially a sophomore.  He ended Q4 and S2 with an A in German 1, a B in Marketing 1, an A in Art 1, a B in AP Biology 5, an A in Algebra Honors 2 and a D in Pre-AP English 1.  His S2 Pre-AP English grade was a 69 and he needed a 69.5 to have a C.  It still seems like the teacher was intentionally giving him undeserved poor grades.  He said his last paper was really good and he thought he should have got an A on it.  She gave it a failing grade!  Something doesn't seem right with that.  His Q4 and S2 GPA was 3.42.    

5/23, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Pima Prickly Park.  I discovered the caper bush flower at Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, the same plant that produces capers for my chicken piccata!  

Also on 5/23, I got the first of the 2 shingles vaccines at CVS.  I have to get the 2nd one in 2-6 months.  It was the only vaccine that my doctor strongly encouraged.  

My June Noon bloomed on 5/24.

Nathan had minor surgery on 5/29.  The podiatrist removed part of his toenail on his big toe.  Earlier in the year it was digging in his skin and got inflamed.  The pediatrician gave him an antibiotic.  That did not get rid of it.  The dermatologist gave him the same antibiotic, but had him stay on it longer, two weeks instead of one.  It helped, but still did not eliminate the problem.  She said he had to consult a podiatrist who ended up removing part of it.  He said it wasn't anything Nathan did, but that some people have this problem, particularly young males.  The nail just starts growing down into the skin on the sides.  

5/30 I went to see Jacque at TMC.  She was having surgery on her shoulder that day.  I got there and had trouble finding parking, but I got to see her just before she was taken back for surgery.  Her niece Dorothy and Sue Slankard from church were there, too.  Sue and I stayed with Dorothy while Jacque was in surgery.  

6/2, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and I drove out to Mesquite Valley Growers again to photograph their roses.  Green Things Nursery had the biggest hibiscus I have ever seen.  It was called a swamp rose mallow.    

6/6, I went to Tucson Cactus and Koi for the first time.  There weren't many cactus flowers, but there were two pretty waterlilies. 

6/9, I got up early and went across town to Sandy Kaiser's house to see her cactus flowers.  We counted almost 40 First Light cactus flowers.  She also had Easter Lily cactus flowers blooming.  From there I went to visit Jacque at rehab.  On the way home I stopped at Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and they had several cactus flowers.  That evening I went back to the other side of town to help with VBS.  This year we had 4 of us helping with the pennies - me, Sandy Kaiser and new members John and Jan Torchia.  It still got a little crazy, especially during last minute calls, but at least this year we didn't have to write down every child's name with how many pennies they were buying.  VBS was 6/9-6/12.  Boys won 3 nights and girls won 1.  The last night was close, but the boys won.  They brought in $6k-$7k for the week with the money going to our missionary kids.  11 souls were saved including 10 kids and 1 teenager who was observing VBS.    

 6/10, I had two flowers on my hedgehog cactus.

 

      

Spring, but no flowers

 1/16: I went to the Reid Park Zoo

1/26: We went to the Phoenix Zoo

1/29: I went to Catalina State Park to see the snow on the mountains.  

1/30: I returned to Catalina State Park to get more pictures of the snow on the mountains, but there wasn't much left. I did see a bighorn sheep, though. 

2/6: I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Lowe's.

2/10: I went to the Desert Museum to see the raptor free flight show.  They only do the show Friday-Monday now which makes it hard to get there and see it.  This was my first time seeing it for the season.  A javelina got in our garbage.  One returned the following day the middle of the day when the window people were here getting final measurements.  

We're buying new windows (17) and 2 new sliding doors from Tucson Window & Door.  It is going to cost $37,798!  The house was built in 2003 so the current ones are 22 years old.  We had to put 1/2 down (charged 2/5).  Work hasn't started yet.  I think they said it would take 6-8 weeks to get everything before they can install them.  

We're also having our balcony resurfaced because it was bubbling.  They started the work 3/5 & 3/6.  What they are doing doesn't seem to be solving the problem, but we shall see.  They have a couple of more days of work, but they said they would return this week since there was a chance of rain last week.  It did rain on Friday.  However, we haven't heard from them this week and it may rain the rest of this week, too.  We are paying $3,581 for this project and we already paid 1/2.  

2/14: I went to Reid Park Zoo.  I also went to Lowe's.

2/15: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.

2/18: I went to Green Things Nursery.

2/20 & 2/21: Nathan had off school for Rodeo Days. on 2/20, Nathan and I spent a mother son day at OdySea and then ate lunch/dinner at Grimaldi's.

2/23:  Taxes are done!  We are getting $ back from both the Fed & State.

2/25: I went to Tohono Chul Park.  I was disappointed because there was not much blooming.  

3/3: I went to urgent care.  On Friday, 2/28, my heart rate was consistently above 100 and I couldn't get it lower.  It stayed this way through the weekend so I went to urgent care on Monday, 3/3.  They tested for flu & covid and both were negative.  They did an EKG which was normal except for the elevated heart rate.  They suggested that I go to the ER.  They recommended either Oro Valley Hospital or Northwest Emergency at Marana which is an extension of Oro Valley Hospital.  Northwest Emergency is right by our house and since it is not a main admitting hospital I thought it may be faster to go there.  They did another EKG with the same results.  They did a CT Scan of my chest and that was normal.  They did some bloodwork and nothing was abnormal there.  They gave me an IV.  They concluded that there was no sign of a heart attack, no blood clots, no kidney problems, etc...  They suggested I follow up with my primary doctor.  Northwest Urgent Care actually set me up with a new primary doctor.  His name is Ryan Brenza with Northwest Primary Care of Oro Valley.  I met with him on Tuesday, 3/4.  I found out that he is from Crestwood, IL and he is a year older than me.  It's a small world.  I really liked him.  He took the time to listen to me and he was easy to talk to.  He went over the notes from the ER.  He decided to order a couple of other blood tests that they didn't do.  I go to Sonora Quest on Thursday, 3/13 to get those done.  He ordered me Cologuard which arrived today.  He does not push vaccines and said it is completely up to the patient.  He did recommend the shingles vaccine, however.  Paul got the shingles vaccine recently.  Unfortunately, his office doesn't do the shingles vaccine so he said I would have to go to a pharmacy like CVS to have it done.  That is on my to do list.  You get the first dose and then the second dose 2-6 months later and then you are done for life.  Once my heart rate started to elevate on 2/28, I immediately changed my diet.  I quit coffee, I have been drinking a lot of water and I am eating healthier.  I am still getting 10k steps 6 days a week, too.  At the doctor's office on 3/4 I weighed 154.  That was with a tshirt, sweatshirt and jeans on and it was midday.  But it was depressing because I was down to 142 November 2023.  Today I am 151.  I have a lot of weight to lose to get to my goal of 120.  That is a hefty goal considering I was around 130-135 when I got married and haven't been below that since.  However, I was only 110-115 when I graduated college.  I am a lot older now, my body has been through pregnancy and now it's going through the change of life.  It's probably unrealistic to think that I will be 110-115 again.  But it would be nice to be 120-130.  One day at a time.  My blood tests will probably indicate that my cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar are all high.  It will take awhile for my better eating habits to make a difference, but I am hoping I can do this without being put on medication.  

This week my heart rate finally seems to be back to normal.  Yesterday, 3/10, I went to Catalina State Park.  I was disappointed  because I didn't see one flower.  It was warm out, too, because there was no cloud coverage.  I cut my hike short and went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Home Depot.  

Next week, Paul has to travel to San Diego for a few days for work.  He will be gone 3/17-3/19.  That also happens to be Nathan's Spring Break.  We aren't doing a vacation this year because of the home improvements we are doing.  This Friday is Q3 end for Nathan.  Saturday, 3/15, Paul and Nathan are going to a picnic at Sun & Shield Baptist Church.  Nathan is going with because the teens will be having nerf gun fights.  

Another Year

 11/22: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and the Reid Park Rose Garden.

11/27: I went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  The place was amazing.  The Fall colors were at peak.  I watched a family of 4 coatis, including a baby.  This is the first time I have seen coatis in the wild other than one in the distance at Sabino Canyon.  I also saw an English Bulldog so I took a picture of it for Nathan.

11/28:  Thanksgiving was low key.  I made a turkey breast for myself.  Paul and Nathan had pizza.  We ordered a new computer for me for Christmas/my birthday.  Windows 10 will no longer be supported in October 2025 and my computer will not support Windows 11.  So I have to get a new computer.  My current computer is 8 years old so it is time to upgrade.

11/29: Paul and Nathan went to see Gladiator II

12/4: I went to Reid Park Rose Garden and to Green Things Nursery to see their poinsettias.

12/5: I went to Sabino Canyon to see the last of the Fall colors and to Lowe's.

12/14: I went to Beverly Harvey's funeral.

12/15: Nathan celebrated his Golden Birthday, turning 15.  We went to church and then to lunch at Cheesecake Factory.

12/19:  Nathan's last day of school.

12/20: We went to Winterhaven.  

Shortly after we went to Winterhaven, I started to feel ill.  I was sick for Christmas, New Year's and my birthday.  I went to urgent care on 12/27 and they confirmed it was the flu.  I hadn't been sick like that in a long time.

Since I was sick for Christmas, we didn't do much.  Paul painted our patio.  Nathan and I watched Office Space, Tommy Boy and Blue Streak.  

Nathan had a German project where he had to make a family tree, based on his family or a made up family.  He made his family the NCIS characters.  Tony and Ziva were his parents and Gibbs was his grandpa!  His teacher was very impressed and gave him an A.  He also got one of the highest grades on their German final, not just for the class, but since the teacher has been teaching that class from 2017 on.  He had a B the first quarter and the second quarter, but since he did so well on the final she gave him an A for the semester.  She also wrote on his report card that Particpates/Highly Motivated and is a Pleasure to have in class.

Art 1 Q1: A Q2:A S1:A

German 1 Q1:B Q2:B S1:A

Marketing 1 Q1:A Q2:B S1:B

Algebra Honors 2 Q1:B Q2:B S1:B

Pre-AP English 1 Q1:d Q2:C S1:C

AP Biology 5 Q1:A Q2:B S1:B

Q1: 3.42 GPA Q2: 3.29 GPA S1: 3.46 GPA

12/31: Nathan had his annual pediatrician checkup.  Paul took him since I was still sick.  He is 67 inches in the 50% and 143 lbs in the 76%.  He also hurt his toe cutting his nail too close so she gave him an antibiotic.  We didn't stay up until midnight because my family never stays up for New Year's Eve and I was still sick so we all went to bed early.

1/2: I turned 50.  I was just getting over the flu and starting to get my taste back so we took a drive to Chandler to go to Grimaldi's for dinner.  I got my free birthday pizza.

1/6: Nathan started back at school.     

Finally Fall

 On October 19th, we went to Apple Annie's to pick our pumpkins.  

On October 22nd, I returned to Apple Annie's to photograph their sunflowers.

On October 24th, I went up to Mount Lemmon to check out the Fall colors.

On October 26, we all went up to Mount Lemmon to see the Fall colors.  We ate at the Iron Door for lunch.  

On October 29th, My First Light had 2 blooms and my June Noon had 2 blooms.  While I was photographing them, a Costa's hummingbird came up behind me and checked out my flowers, too.  I got one decent picture of the hummingbird with my First Light cactus.  

On October 30th, I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Tucson Botanical Gardens.  

On October 31st, we decided not to participate in Halloween this year.  Nathan was going to dress as the mafia for Halloween, but we talked him out of that.  We decided not to trick or treat or to hand out candy this year (after I bought a bunch of candy!).  We decided that Christians really shouldn't partake in a holiday dedicated to Satan.  I felt this way for years ever since Pastor Joiner gave a convincing sermon.  Paul was never really on board and we didn't want Nathan to miss out on trick or treating.  Now that he is in high school, Paul made the decision (after listening to a sermon at his church) that we should not participate in Halloween anymore.

On November 5th, I went back up to Mount Lemmon.  Mount Lemmon had a recent snow so I thought that it would be a good photo opportunity to experience the last of Fall and Winter at the same time on the mountain.  I was right.  It was beautiful.  

On November 6th,. I went to Reid Park Zoo and the Reid Park Rose Garden.  The rose garden was looking pretty good.  They have been revamping it since the Covid pandemic.  It looks like they have about a 1/4 more to go.  There were some new varieties and I was surprised at how good it was looking.  There was a gentleman working there that day who was very friendly, too.  

October 11th was the end of Q1 for Nathan.  On Friday, November 8th, he brought home a Principal's Honor Roll certificate and it shows that his GPA is 3.42.  He had a D in Pre-AP English, but all of his other grades were As and Bs and his honors, pre-AP and AP classes are weighted differently.  I sent the principal an email over a week ago about his English grade.  I told her that he has always been an honor roll student and has always had As and Bs in English as well as tested above average in English on the state tests.  I said something doesn't seem right that he got a D the first quarter.  Some other students are having the same issue in that class.  They are getting a bad grade and they don't know why.

On November 9th, we drove up to Phoenix.  I went to the Wildlife World Zoo and the boys went to Sealife Aquarium and Rainforest Cafe.  I got to see the sloth in action.  They fed it while I was there and it very active before it settled down for a nap right in front of me by the glass.  I also got to watch the octopus move all around its tank.  I had trouble getting decent pictures of it because the lighting was very dark and there was a lot of glare.  I stood there for a long time mesmerized by this octopus that seemed to be putting on a show just for me.  The boys liked the Sealife aquarium.  Nathan got to see a pufferfish.  They said they were done in about a half hour because it was small, but that for the price it was worth it.