Oh Where oh Where has Our Little May Gone?

It's 11 in the morning and I'm not spouting off about how the hydrogen bonds between adjacent water molecules cause water to have a high surface tension and low vapor pressure. It must be summer! I heart summer.

My first inclination that it was summer was the momma bird that found refuge in our quaint tree in our front yard. By now I presume her babies have left the nest. I didn’t know we would be “empty-nesters” pre-kiddos.

Secondly, I knew that summer was upon us due to our once lush winter lawn and green foliage.

I had such high hopes for our gardenias. This one produced 1 bloom before finally giving out.

I knew that summer had arrived when I found James in his current condition- passed out on the floor. The culprit- finals! Luckily, he gets to take a break from school for the summer.

Lastly, the monsoon season is near! You non-Arizonan's out there would never believe it, but for the second year in a row the 92 graduation ceremony held at Tiger field was accompanied by rain. Along with the usual contraband that supplements graduation ceremonies (beach balls, silly string, bubbles, etc) both graduates and faculty alike donned umbrellas, ponchos and towels. Although the rain was not as fierce as the previous year, it lingered through all 782 names and through much of the weekend.

I must pay homage to the leading perpetrator of summer- The blasted sun! May is almost vanished and summer is in full swing. Here’s to the next 5 months of unbearable heat. Drink up!

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Last time I checked, I was 5...Now I'm up to here in grading and haven't had a decent meal since Christmas... of 2007!

Here is the dashboard of my car:

My family room:

More piles in the family room:

What my desk feels like (although I am much more OCD than this- I have piles. My piles have piles, and, they too have piles- color coded, sorted by date and alphabetized):

What I feel like:

What I could do at any moment:

What I tell myself I look and feel like. My students don't buy it...neither do I!
What a load of crap:

Nine more days...nine more...

I reaked of lost luggage and tarmac

Since my recent riffing (aka pink slip, lay- off, canned, etc) from my latest teaching position I realized my well-deserved personal and sick days were being disposed of via the large mouth Billy Bass that is our economy, along with my teaching contract for the upcoming school year. I did my math and realized there was no possible way (aside from me simply not showing up each day), that I could use ALL my days by the end of the school year… I’m pretty sure administration did their math as well. Regardless, I decided to, at the very least; use my personal days and attend my cousins wedding. It was only two days, a Thursday and a Friday. I’d be back in time to get ready for the next week, but spend enough time away to visit with family and friends.

My departure time was 4:55 on Wednesday, which meant I would need to leave work by 3:30 at the latest. I should have known better based on my customary schedule of leaving work just before I have to be back the next morning. I was rushing, but optimistic I would make the flight. I continued to stay optimistic as I approached the ticket- counter- lady and reluctantly coughed up my 15 hard-earned dollars for my meager piece of checked luggage. After the ticket-counter-lady stopped chatting with ticket-counter-lady #2 and spent 15 minutes typing presumed nonsense in her computer she told me there was not enough time for my luggage to be checked and loaded on the plane. Seriously, how long does that take? I told her I’d load it myself if needs be. Ticket-counter-lady did not seem amused. She then went back to her keyboard and began typing again. After another 15 minute display of her mind-blowing typing skills ticket-counter-lady informed me of another flight leaving at 8:47pm, arriving in SLC around midnight. Great, where do I sign? She then went on to add that the flight was oversold. I asked her to check for morning flights. There was another 15 minute typing spree, only to inform me the next open flight would cause me to miss the wedding. Awe-some!

This is just how I wanted to spend my “personal days”, with ticket- counter-lady and creepy-over –eager-to- frisk you-security -guy. Again, can you feel the enthusiasm? At least my luggage would enjoy the wedding. It was certain to arrive as planned. Seriously, where is the logic in being able to send luggage sans passenger, but not passenger sans luggage. I strongly believe all airports have a curse placed on them to interrupt and destroy any pleasant experiences you may have incurred on your trip, had you not chosen the path of flight.

In spite of ticket-counter-lady’s incessant typing I was still hopeful that I would meet my luggage on carousel 3 sometime before the wedding. I made my way to the gate and was prepared to sit and wait it out, praying for a pile-up on the 143 and long security lines in hopes that I would make the flight. As dinner time rolled around and not planning on spending my evening with ticket-counter-lady at Sky Harbor I began scouring the terminal for someplace decent to dine. My choices: Starbucks, pizza hut, random shoe-shine kiosk, some steak-sandwich joint and CPK. Hands down- CPK (California Pizza Kitchen)! As I moved toward the counter I caught sight of salads, soft drinks and a spatter of cookies. Not seeing any pizzas my eyes wandered to the menu, and still no pizza! I then surveyed the whole area and along with the lack of pizza I noticed a lack of kitchen. This was no CPK. How can you have CPK and not serve pizza? And where was the kitchen? Seriously airport, what were you trying to pull?

As my hopeful new departure time came around I made my way back to the gate only to see mounds of ticketed-travelers. It did not look good! About an hour prior to boarding they started soliciting anybody willing to give up their seat, because the flight was massively oversold. And oversold and overbook it stayed for the next hour as I stood, and followed the gate attendants around like an irritating gnat at a picnic lunch. My hopes grew dim as I watched my luggage taxi off to the runway.

James graciously came and took my back home. My only consolation was my Oreo shake from Chic-fil-a, and the decent night sleep I was going to get in my own bed, with James! However, I had no toothbrush, no face wash, no lotion, etc. It was safe and sound at carousel 3. I think I missed my Sonicare toothbrush the very most. Once you go Sonicare, you never go back!

The next morning I was back at the airport 2 hours prior to my alleged departure time. This time, the flight was only oversold by a few, and I was able to bypass ticket-counter-lady. Once at the gate, it was time to wait…again. It was akin to a reunion, seeing many of the same faces from the previous night that were also vying for a coveted seat on the plane. I let the gate attendant know I was present, and kept my eyes fixed on her every move. After yet another bout of frantic typing she told me she would call me if there was room on the flight. A few minutes later, she announced there was a broken seat amid the aircraft and was again pleading for ticketed passengers to surrender their ticket in exchange for some future flight deals. Again, amazing news for me.

As all the haughty passengers with their pompous boarding passes boarded the little puddle jumper I counted. The plane normally holds 50, minus one for the broken seat, which left 49 fortunate people who could potentially make it to the ceremony. I just hoped I was part of the 49. After counting the ticketed people I counted the stand-by people. There were approximately 10. I then began sizing them up. Where did I fall on the priority list as compared to each one of them? At the very last minute a family of four boarded, and I resolved to miss the ceremony, and at least make the reception on the next flight. At the very last moment, the gate attendant called my name. I leapt up from my seat, tossed the boarding pass at the podium and left the gate attendant mid-type on her precious key board. I was not about to wait for her 15 minute typing session only to find out there was a error. I raced down the stairs and onto the tarmac where I anxiously boarded the plane.

After a brief hour and half flight I had made it to Salt Lake with a few minutes to spare to locate my luggage. However, when I asked for my luggage, luggage-counter-guy tried to make small talk while trying to locate my luggage via the key board. While he was typing he told me I looked tired, and asked if I had to spend the night in the airport. Seriously, is insolence and boorishness requisite for these counter positions? Luckily it had arrived, and was awaiting my arrival at the luggage counter. I incautiously threw my luggage in the back of the car, changed at the local gas station bathroom, ran a comb through my incredibly static-ridden and ungroomed coif and managed to take a sigh of relief and enjoy the ceremony! Note to self, never take a personal day again, it’s way too much work!

The Germans are coming!

Some time ago, long before blogging… heck even before the internet was a craze; we hosted a German Foreign exchange student. We like to call him Wolfie… mostly because that's his name. Anyway, it was a gloomy day at Sky Harbor when it was time for him to return home to Germany. Since then he has made numerous jumps across the pond to come and see us. We are all just too self-centered and poor to do the same for him. (Not to mention Europeans customarily retain at least 6 weeks of vacation a year. I get two…DAYS!) On his most recent venture to the states his niece, Johanna tagged along. They saw New York, Vegas, San Diego, LA and, naturally, AZ! It is always refreshing to see Wolfie again --Although, his stay was too brief for my liking. Someday I presume we will take a holiday and visit him on his turf!

We went bowling.

Ethan and James bet on the game. James bowled a 128, Ethan a 127!

Ethan bowls a Strike!

Johanna Bowls two in a row!

The Easter Bunny turned us into popsicles!

As overheard from our Sunbeams today in church:

Sunbeam 1: "Brrr. It's cold in our class today."

Sunbeam 2: "Why is it so cold?"

Sunbeam 3,4: inaudible teeth chattering

Sunbeam 1: "I'm gonna turn into a Popsicle."

Sunbeam 2: Did the Easter Bunny make it this cold?"

Sunbeam 6: "Why does the Easter Bunny want to turn us into Popsicles?"

Happy Easter to one and all!

We were NOT on a break!

Apparently, there was a break...in spring. Commonly refereed to as "spring break". Even Webster knows about it. It can be defined as follows: Spring Break:/n/A period of recess, usually lasting one week, during the spring term at school. I do remember not going to work for a week and a huge rush of family in town, but I do not recall a "break". Here's what I do recall...

Attending the baptism of the newest member of our sunbeam class. Ok, so she didn't get baptized but her family did. It was amazing!

Lisa and Rocky came into town and we celebrated Emily's birthday. James is definitely workin' the hat. There was a pinata. The loop to hang it by gave way, and they ended up noos-ing the poor sucker. It was disturbing. With the Zamora brigade in town in its entirety we celebrated Grampy's birthday. Here he is with all his grand kids. However, we were still missing 4 dogs and 2 cats.

All the ladies! Woot-woot.

Someone poked me in the eye.

It might have been me. I do have curiously unruly phalanges..

A trip to Ikea? I'll never pass that up. Amy, Lisa and I got the best of the as-is section, scouring for the best deals and pondering the many uses of unwanted cabinet-fronts, drawers and mis-matched hardware.
The three little drama-mama's.

I want some fun pj's like they have! I always ask them if I can borrow them. They tell me they won't fit. I tell them they are calling me fat. They get a little frightened and end up backing away slowly. Nieces are so much fun!
Watching Lisa and Amy play the Wii is high-lare-eee-ous! Note to self: next time take video.

James was the cook! He made carne asada burritos and meat. Yes, just meat. The men wanted meat. Everyone else kept inquiring as to what would be partnered with the meat. They looked at us as though we had just taken crazy pills.

We were very fortunate to be able to take a jaunt over the San Diego for a few days. We stayed with my Aunt Zan and Uncle Larry in Poway. We also wrangled our friends Shaleb (short for Shanna and Caleb) into going as well.

The boys surfed. Well, at least made an earnest effort at the sport.

The beach was nice and FREEZING!! I stayed on the sidelines with Shanna, bundled up in blankets and towels.
I love this pic of Shaleb. Caleb's rockin' the surfer look and Shanna's got the beach babe thing covered.

James found it most convenient to surf with his head and ended up with a nasty bruise on his noggin.
We ventured into Old Town and ate practically all of Mexico. He had enchiladas, Chile relleno, tacos, etc. The best part of the evening was Caleb. We are unsure as to why, but he was awkwardly sweating the entire night.

No trip to San Diego is complete without a stop here.

Beautiful inside and out!

Shanna is with child and neither Shanna nor Caleb had never been before. So, we were off to see Shamu!

James doesn't like heights. Note to self: bargaining chip, could come in handy.

The flowers were beautiful and so well manicured. What are they feeding them I wonder?

At Sea world...at the beach.

I love the starfish.

Shanna... not so much.

This is her "OK, I realize I'm much bigger than this thing and it's not going to bite me" face.

We saw a few ships docked in the bay and then it was off to the outlets for some shopping, and then back home. My intention was to relax, go to bead early and have a little time to unwind before Monday, but alas, we pulled in our driveway and were greeted by 25 members of my husbands family... whom I love dearly. At 11 pm. They wanted to take a family picture. At 11 pm. After we had just driven for 6 hours. In a car. At 11 pm.

Seriously, Ross, we were not on a break!

The F.D.A. would have a cow...and so did I!

Whilst in Mexico we had the auspicious opportunity to sample some legitimately authentic Mexican cuisine. As previously mentioned, we initiated our voyage with Carl’s Jr at the airport, so our point of reference was presumably distorted. However, if the food was anywhere close to Monica’s cooking then I knew we were in good hands! It was my aim to capture every meal on camera for this very purpose. Does anyone know how to say “It’s for my blog” in Espanol?

The next morning we ate at Quetazallcoalt, which means "feathered serpent" which was the white God that was supposed to save the people. The Aztecs thought Hernando Cortes was Christ, which is why they greeted him so eagerly. So, basically, we ate at Christ.

This juice was seriously celestial. This wasn't a pitcher for the whole group, it was my cup!

The fruit had a "tree-of-life" quality to it! If this was any indication of the rest of our trip I was gonna have to break out the elastic waste band. We went to a market in Tepic. These were positioned right between the typical obnoxious Mexican knick-knacks (i.e suggestive mugs and tequila glasses) and the knock -off handbags.

After the market we stopped for some Auga Frescas.

Again, heaven in a bag!

The flavors of choice were Pina and Strawberry.

After the market in Tepic we headed to Club Del Valle (the valley sports club) for some more food and family fun. Almost a billion people showed up- all related to Monica. I don't even think she knew all of them!

This was a banana from their back porch. Delicious and adorable. A winning combination.

Late one night we ventured up and down the curvy streets of Tepic and ended up at a "house-by-day-taco shop-by-night" It was called tacos el guero. Which means "best-tacos-from-a-garage-I've-ever-had. period"

I had uno chorizo, uno asada, uno pollo, and a fresca! James had all of the above, plus a chili dog. And two Frescas. And whatever I didn't finish. And then he proceeded to spend the rest of the night keeled over in misery.

At the playa (beach) we had shrimp and chicken and some other types of fish. And fresca. And probably a little sand as well.

In Puerto Villarta on the boardwalk we sampled some tacos al pastor. They were twice the price and half the size as the "from the garage tacos". Still delicious though. Oh, yeah, we also had Frescas and Coke.
Later on the boardwalk we were hungry again. This time the team opted for some less traditional Mexican. We ate the Hard rock cafe. Can you guess what's in the glass? More FRESCA!!!

I had macaroni and cheese. I had been craving cheese. Cheese on tacos, cheese on burritos, cheese on enchiladas is more of a Carly thing...not a Mexican thing.

On the trip back from Villarta we stopped at a fruit stand for some pina and coconut.

The fruit is grown and picked across the street. Can you get any fresher?

James was quite the sport to put up with my camera antics. I rewarded him with a fresca.
You can purchase the fruit like this, or you can pick your own and they'll slice it up just for you. All the real Mexicans doused their fruit in chili. I personally like my fruit, well fruity!

If I recall we ate this for breakfast. It was supposed to be lunch, but we didn't get around to eating it until the following day. Long story- look for future posts to explain why. I don't remember exactly what it was, except that it was good and spicy.

The picture doesn't do this indulgence justice. Deep-fried banana wrapped in a tortilla and covered in caramel. By this point in the trip zippers are not only down, they've popped off!

Although we didn't actually partake, I had to capture this "ornament." Yes it's a Christmas ornament. Yes, it's ginormous. Yes, it's on a tree. Yes it's in a mall. Yes it's a Corona.

Snow Cones anyone?

This is Stephanie. My new favorite person. She is Monica's niece, and I tried to fit her into my suitcase and bring her home. Shhhh, don't tell I.C.E...I had the pina. It was good, but different than your run of the mill American version.

This is the guy who made them. Yes, he made them. Not a machine. That's the shaver he's holding and all the flavors are in the jars. Again, this was another shop right out of his home!

Just before leaving Tepic we had to sample Jorge's Tacos for dinner.

And for breakfast!

the salsa: too hot for my Gringo blood.

Did we mention we love Mexican Fresca. We ultimately had to upgrade to the 2 liter

bottle. Salsa in a Gatorade bottle. Why not!

These were the breakfast tacos. By the time we were done at Jorge's we had downed over 75 tacos.

In Guadalajara the Crowne Plaza offered a deluxe buffet breakfast. The juice and fruit were my favorite. Here, the women were cheaper than the men.

In telepaque there was an auga fresca called zarzamora. We're practically celebrities down there!

Yes that a snout. Yes that's fur. No, there is no administration to keep this from getting cooked and served to unsuspecting travelers such as ourselves.

Ice cream cones! Just like the golden arches makes 'em. I think we probably paid 5 pesos each. What a steal. It was the highlight of the day for James!

I know, it looks reminiscent of prison slop. Some taxi driver recommended this place. Apparently they hold the world record for speediest food-to-table service. Unfortunately, it was reminiscent of prison slop... I guess you can't win 'em all! You may be asking yourself, "self, where are the churro snapshots? Surely, no one could go to Mexico and resist the compelling lure of the churro?" And you are punctilious! I couldn't resist the churro, however, I captured my churro experiences on video! Besides, they didn't last long enough to even take a picture. And, as soon as I figure out how to get the video off the camera and onto the computer you have the chance to share the memories with me. Side note- we have a digital camera, and I spent an hour searhing for the eject button for the tape. I'm that smart.