Sorry for the absence...Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hi guys. Sorry for the absence. I've been so busy at work that sometimes the last thing I want to do is get on the computer at home. But don't worry, I'm alive and well. Lost of pics and things to show over the last couple months.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! As cliche as it might sound, please remember to think of those less fortunate than us during this holiday season. Merry Christmas.

More Hiking

Shelly and I went on another little Sunday hiking/road trip a week ago. This time we decided to drive up to Crown King, Arizona. It's an old mining town between Phoenix and Prescott. Tiny little town with not much but a Bar and Saloon (it actually claims to be Arizona's oldest saloon and brothel), a general store known for the Crown King fudge they make, a volunteer fire station, and some wood cabins. We went for a hike on a nice trail up there. Then we went back to the saloon (I do say "back" as we of course visited there for a pre-hike beer and bloody mary) and had some beers and watched the football game with the locals. Good times. On the way back, we ran into this alive rattlesnake in the road and this cow near Cleator, Arizona. By the way, Cleator is this tiny town- maybe two houses and a bar. I took a picture of one of the houses below.

Rim Liquor

Went hiking a couple weeks ago around the Mogollon Rim with my sisters. It was a nice hike. Then we stopped at this tiny little bar in Tonto Village, Double "D" Bar & Grill, for some Sunday bloody marys and beers. I think we were definitely outnumbered by some serious hunters! I sat under a Rim Liquor hat. Okay you dirty minds out there, it's a liquor store in Mogollon Rim country of course. What else would it be?

Def Leppard, Styx, Foreigner

Def Leppard, Styx, and Foreigner were awesome. Okay I know I'm a geek and that we're not actually still in the '80's, but I still love getting rocked to Def Leppard!

I love it!

Oh Japan!

So funny

The newest Brown member

Meet the newest "Brown." This little girl came into the shelter and I just knew my parents would fall in love. They did of course.

Pictures from Chicago

I went to Chicago a couple weekends ago to visit old Peace Corps buddies Haley and Lauren. Jan and Karen also flew in for the visit. It was a great time! Lauren had just gotten back from Benin, where she lived for a year. She had some fun stories- many reminded us of Gabon. We all reminisced about Gabon- which always involves loads of laughter. We saw some sites- Michigan Avenue, Lincoln Park, Millenium Park, South Side (where Lauren lives), and of course Haley and Jeff's fantastic home! Jeff ironed all my clothing and organized my things. All in all, a great time.

The view from Haley and Jeff's second story deck. Perfect view of the Chicago skyline. A perfect place for BBQ'ing and margherita making.

The "Married With Children" fountain!

This sphere thing is downtown and really allows for some great pictures of the skyline.

The Millenium Park area has some really great fountains, sculptures, and buildings. This one forms a little water pool for people to play in. The screen changes images every few seconds.

Of course we had to stop and say hello to these boys in uniform. Reminded me of "fleet week" from Sex and the City.

Funny

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a Naval Conference that included 20 Admirals from U.S. Britain, Canada, Australia and French Navies. At the conference he found himself standing with a group of Officers that included personnel from most of the countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they were sipping their drinks, when a French Admiral complained, that whereas Europeans learn many languages the Americans only learn English. He then added why is it in these meetings we have to speak in English, rather than speaking in French. Without a moment's hesitation the American Admiral replied, "Maybe its because the British, Canadian, Australian and Americans arranged it so you would not be speaking German." You could hear a pin drop after that.

Good Luck Liz

My good friend's sister left for Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan a couple weeks ago. In her honor, we had a going away party. Pictures below. Good luck Liz. Oh, and this is what happens when your firefighter friend comes over straight from work, changes, and then leaves his clothes in your room- we find them!

Bowl-A-Rama

Bowl-A-Rama time! Every year, the Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA (where I work) gathers together a bowling team. Yes, it's just bowling and it's goofy. But together with many other organizations, we raise money by collecting pledges and raise awareness for animal welfare. This year, our team is me, Lauren Stevens, Kristin Dorn, Misty Hudek, Shawn Fletcher, Hillary, Gretchen Legg, and Kristin Heldt. I can't guarantee I'll be the best bowler, but I will be out there raising awareness. If you want to sponsor me as a bowler, I would be grateful! The money goes directly to the Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA to help rescue animals.

Last year, Haley Struxness and Lauren Murphy were witness to this event! I'll never forget the look on Lauren's face when Haley and I picked her up at the airport dressed like cats! It was, in the words of Haley, "a look of fear and confusion." So funny. What a trooper Haley is!

Thank you in advance if you are able to pledge me. If so, click here: http://www.aawl.org/calendar_events_detail.asp?contentID=43

Normal?

So it's Saturday night and what are my sister and I doing? Well we're drinking lots of wine and watching Enrique Iglesias videos. I'm pretty sure that's not normal. But my sister has a new Enrique Iglesias obession. Does that make me a good sport or equally pathetic?

Surprising article about wildlife

Sudan's migrating wildlife wows scientistsMore than a million animals have been unexpectedly seen living and migrating across Southern Sudan, where no surveys of wildlife had been conducted for the past 25 years due to civil war in the region.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19191023/from/ET/

Africa

So I'm going back to Africa next year...but just for a visit. Started planning the trip this week. Going to Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland, and South Africa for a month. Even though we won't be going for a year, it's just a nice feeling knowing you're going back in the near future.

Let's Get Rocked...Again

Third year in a row- Def Leppard! Whoohooo! No Journey this time, but Styx and Foreigner will be fun.

Bermuda Triangle

Okay, I've been called out on my disappearance from my blog. It's easy to get busy and then think people don't read the blog so why post anything anyway, but I guess people do read it. So I'm back and I promise to be better at my posting.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! Hopefully you are doing something to help the environmental state of our planet today. Even one small thing can help. Today, I changed all light bulbs in my house to the 14 watt (60 watt equivalent) coil bulbs. Now I know I didn't just save the planet from my house today, but at least it was one small thing. Or consider sponsoring an endagered species at www.wwf.org. Have a good day!

iRack

Trip to Gabon anybody?

Gabon starts building for 2012 (from BBC Sports)

"Gabon have opened tenders for the renovation of two stadiums and the building of training grounds and accommodation for the country's hosting of the 2012 African Nations Cup finals. Gabon is to co-host the tournament with Equatorial Guinea and seek to upgrade the sport complex in the capital Libreville and extend the stadium in Franceville for the 16-team event.
The sports ministry said it also sought to build five training grounds and an Olympic-style village to host the teams during the tournament. The next Nations Cup finals are in Ghana next year while Angola are to host the 2010 event. In 2014, the tournament will be hosted by Libya."

I'm dying to see this!

Me and Johnny

Strong Beerfest 2007

Oh Craig! Gotta love the shirt.

Gotta support the Four Peaks.I love this. We just found this guy passed out, glass tipped over by his side. Oh beerfest. Fantastic.

Arrrrhh!

Arm wrestling stangers- must have been about 12 tickets down.

Happy Valentine's Day

Miss Malee

Meet my office buddy for the next three weeks. I'm dogsitting my parent's dog Malee while they're overseas- London, India, Nepal (nice, huh?). Malee's become quite the good little office buddy.

Arrrrrhhh

I finished!!!

So I did it...finished the P.F. Changs Phoenix Rock N Roll Marathon...well, the 1/2 marathon. It was a freak anomoly in Phoenix that morning- 29 degrees at 6:30am. I think the high that day was in the 40's. Everybody was freezing cold. Nonetheless, 37,000 of us braved the elements and ran the race. It was a lot of fun and something I had always wanted to do.
Freezing cold before the race: The starting line (well, the start of my corral- corral 19. With 27,000 or so running the 1/2 and 15,000 running the full, it was a given that starts were staggered). The start of the full marathon. The winner was from Ethiopia (big surprise there). He finished in 2hr14min.

Surprise Visit

So I got an email from Kathy, my roomate from Peace Corps and one of my best friends, last Friday. Keep in mind that Kathy lives in Colombia, South America. She emails me that she is in TUCSON- a town 1.5 hours away- but would come up to see me one night before she left. Oh Kathy, so random. That would be like me calling from the next village over in Colombia like: "Hey Kath, been over here in Manicales for a week now, but I'll stop and see you tomorrow before I leave." Anyway, we had such a fun time! We went to Four Peaks Friday night for some beers and laughs, then to dinner with my parents the next night before taking her to the airport. Even if for a day, I was so happy to see her. Just makes me realize how much I always miss her.
Kathy with my parents:

San Francisco New Years

Rang in '007 with Sarah and Maresa in San Francisco. Gay bars and trolley cars...what could be better?! SF is a really fun and beautiful city, with a lot of diversity and unique spirit. Here are some fun pics:

Day Trip to Sonoma/Napa:
'007 at the Irish House: Trolley Ride: Fun Architecture: