Where I've been... and where I'm going

I never would have thought that I'd go this long without writing at least something. I guess where I've been and what I've been doing has been rather all consuming. Right after summer school ended, I headed to VA to visit with Brother and his family and to help out with Mom and Dad. Each day I'd head over to their condo to help out in whatever way I could - make lunch or dinner, help mom with her therapy exercises, play cards, chores around the house, etc. Mom is getting better, but the process is slow and sometimes difficult. I can't imagine what it must be like for her having to re-learn to walk, talk, eat, breathe - all those things we take for granted. How frustrating and maddening! But I now know how difficult it is for Dad having to do all those things that she once did and helped out with, on top of having to take care of her, make sure she gets to doctors, make sure she takes her medicine, and does her exercises, and doesn't fall down, etc, etc, sometimes with no one around to help. Also frustrating and sometimes maddening!

Then each night I'd head back to Brother's to spend time with my niece and nephew. Both angels, both red heads, both so different from each other in every way down to the color of the red in their hair. They don't particularly like it, but they let me smooch them as much as I wanted. Sorta.

Brother and Nephew followed me back here to AZ the day after I got back. In the week they were here we went camping and watched an old west shoot out in Williams, AZ, took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, went on a 3 hour jeep tour of Sedona, and visited the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome on our way back to Gilbert. We hit the Arizona Science Center where we watched an IMAX movie on black holes in the planetarium, and the Arizona Museum of Natural History where Nephew and I panned for gold. The rest of the time we spent swimming, watching movies, chillin' and eating.

Speaking of movies and food, as I look back on the past four weeks, I realize I have watched A LOT of movies, read A LOT of books, and eaten A LOT of incredibly good food. And I mean A LOT. I must make you a list.

Books I read
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris

The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

I am completely hooked by Harry Potter right now. Yes, where have I been, but better late than never! I find myself calling people "muggles" and blasting away dementors with my own special patronus. I mean, wouldn't it be great if you actually could blast away the ick of day-to-day life with an impassioned "EXPECTO PATRONUM" and a bite or two of chocolate?? The 'Dead' series is the one that inspired the HBO series "True Blood." I LOVE me some vampires! I have quite a few more to read in the series and I'm looking forward to each one. The books by Paulo Coelho are amazing. I look forward to reading all of his books as well. If you're into spiritual principles, and prefer your spirituality in creative, imaginative, enjoyable fable and novel format, these are the books for you. He doesn't preach. He merely tells a story that, I'm quite sure, will fit your life as if it was written for you.

Movies I watched
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Gran Torino - an AMAZING movie by the AMAZING Clint Eastwood
Bottle Shock - a fun movie about the wine industry in Napa before it was NAPA
Elf - because who doesn't love Will Ferrell?
Bedtime Stories - because who doesn't love Adam Sandler??
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - What an interesting premise! How would you live life if you lived it backwards?
Public Enemies - Johnny Depp. Need I say more?
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Star Trek

The list is in no particular order and are a mix of kid friendly and adult only ratings. (Not THAT kind of adult only!) I enjoyed each and every one of these movies tremendously. I would recommend them all!

Food I ate - ah, the food!
Mango Lassi - While with M&D I decided to try my hand at making one of my favorite Indian treats. I have not yet perfected this yogurt and mango "shake," but I will!
Coctel de camarones - This is my own spin, my own recipe that I created by mixing 4 different recipes I found on the net, of a Mexican classic. It continues to be my favorite hot weather meal since there is no cooking and it lasts forever.
Salad Nicoise - I also have my own spin and recipe of this classic, and I love it. Hmmm. It could be what's for dinner tonight!
Huevos Rancheros - Another Mexican classic. My mom wanted some, she currently can't cook, so I tried my hand. I need practice, but it was delicious anyhow!
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies - A smoothie on the list of yumminess? Yes, when Brother makes it, yes!
Ribeye/Prime Rib - OMG. Brother got it in his head one night to grill this amazing cut of beef (don't ask me exactly what cut because I'm not really up on cow parts.) It was thick, it was grilled to perfection, and it was amazing. All we ate with it was broccoli. Nothing else was needed.
Rolls and coffee - Brother and I have a tradition. We go for Vietnamese rolls - cha gio - and coffee (slow drip, condensed milk, luxurious) every chance we get. I've gone on my own when I need a pick me up, but it's not quite as good without Brother there!
Famous Dave's BBQ Nachos - my friend, I'll call her Vietnamese Puma (don't ask me why!), and I love to go to Famous Dave's. This time around we tried the nachos, and let me tell you, chips with BBQ pork, baked beans, coleslaw and other, more traditional nacho fixins... as crazy as it sounds... oh soooo good! Try it!
Bassetts Ice Cream - Thanks to one of my favorite cousins who sent a care package of about 7 pints of Bassetts ice cream to my parents. It was gone in days!

So those are the highlights of my trip to VA. The rest of this list is what I had just in the last week while Brother and Nephew were here. Let me preface this by saying Brother and BIL are both foodies, so... I'll let the list speak for itself.

Huevos Rancheros at Old Smoky's in Williams, Arizona. So good I had them twice!
Campfire Dinner - Seared scallops with red pepper sauce, grilled corn salad, and dark chocolate s'mores. Yeah.
Campfire Breakfast - Bacon, sausage, hash browns, blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, cowboy coffee. Uh huh.
Cafe Mocha and berry crisp - at Macy's in Flagstaff, AZ. Great joint in a great college town.
Calamari - after a long day at the Grand Canyon and a gorgeous ride through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona we were ready for a casual, quick dinner. Turns out Pago's Pizza has INCREDIBLE calamari!
Cafe Mocha - Breakfast at Desert Flour, across the street from our hotel in Sedona, with a view of Bell Rock. Delicious with a breakfast croissant of spinach and feta!
Cheddar Burger - At the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome, AZ. The actual haunted hamburger has bacon, green chili, guacamole, cheese and a ton of other things so I didn't order one of those. Brother did, and it looked amazing. Equally amazing were the onion rings!
Pollo Relleno - We met up with an old friend from high school in Geneva for dinner while Brother was here. Padres bills itself as "modern Mexican cuisine." Who cares? The guacamole, queso fundido con chorizo and main courses were delicious!
The Final Dinner - As I said earlier, Brother and BIL are foodies. Brother was in the mood to cook and create and so was BIL for Brother's final night in Gilbert. The result was nothing short of spectacular, and worthy of any Iron Chef. Grilled swordfish and shrimp ceviche, plantain and chorizo 'sliders,' grilled tri-tip with a sugar spicy rub, grilled potatoes, a roasted red pepper sauce and chimichurri, and bananas foster for dessert. I wish we had taken pictures. Everything from ingredients to execution to presentation was perfect. Apparently the wine was amazing too, but as I do not partake I can't speak to it. But judging from the oohs and aahs, it was spectacular too.

That pretty much sums up the last four weeks of my life. I got to see a lot of friends, but didn't see many others. I read a lot, caught up on movies, and had many spectacular meals. As I look back on all of these wonderful memories I realize I don't yet want to turn around to see what's coming. School starts shortly. Very shortly. I'm not ready. There is too much to do yet to be ready. Things to clean, things to sort, things to file, attitude and mentally to adjust... I'm not ready.

So for at least another day I'll continue to look backward and enjoy the view.