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 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.