Merry Christmas! This year we've decided to forgo the holiday cards ...not that I was very good at ever getting them out on time anyhow ...and send an electronic greeting instead!
Josh & I had another great year together. We celebrated anniversary #2 this past October. We also welcomed our new addition that same month - our puppy, Cobain. He's 5 months old & has us wrapped around his paw! He hasn't learned how to pee "like a boy" yet, so he's earned himself the nickname of Pee Pants ...because he ends up peeing on himself (usually his front paws) all the time. Not that he minds, at all. So he ends up getting plenty of baths, which he enjoys as well. Now that I think of it, maybe he's got us snowballed... or I guess as you'd say in the desert, tumbleweeded. Our other two, Hurley & Tequila, are doing just fine, although they haven't quite accepted little brother yet. He bugs them too much!
Volunteerism. Our involvement with the environment & others in need has increased alot in 2009. We've done some fun volunteer work with the Sierra Club - taking water samples at the Verde river, pulling invasive weeds, cleaning up trash along the highways. And, in April (as he constantly reminds me) Josh became a vegetarian! I renewed my commitment to veganism, so as you can imagine, we're just a ton of fun to go out to eat with! Actually, there are quite a few vegan/veggie restaurants in Phoenix that are really, really good! And, thank goodness for me, both sugar & beer are completely vegan!!
We also volunteer about every other Saturday at the animal shelter down the street from us. We take "pet photos" of the dogs which then get posted on the county website. We also get to play with the dogs & help adopt them out ...and as you might have guessed, that's also how we found Cobain!
In addition, this year, for the first time, we'll be delivering Christmas dinner to less fortunate home bound families thru the Salvation Army... I'm really looking forward to the 25th! So, as you can see, we like to keep ourselves busy by helping others in our community & mama Earth too!
Sports. Other ways we like to stay active is playing sand volleyball & running. Our friends started a volleyball league a few years back, so about 2-3 times a week we're on the courts. And, 2009 also saw us run our furthest race... 12k's. It's basically 1/2 of a 1/2 marathon :) Someday we might go all out and do the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon... someday. My knees are still sore from the 12k and that was weeks ago! And Josh hasn't been bugging me to get up early to run lately either, so I'm guessing he's feeling the same way!
Travel. This year we made our 2nd annual trek to Coachella (Palm Springs, CA) for the 3-day music & art festival there. Paul McCartney was one of the headliners... it was like watching history. And it's fun to say that we got to see & hear a Beatle! We also took our yearly trip to Rocky Point, Mexico for a volleyball tournament. Nothing beats hanging out on the beach & drinnking Coronas while Josh & friends compete in a friendly game :) And our travel highlight was our first-ever trip to Portland, OR this summer. We stayed in a hostel, took public transportation every where, visited cool music shops & ate great vegan food! As some of you already know, we hope to move to Portland in the near future.
To pay the bills. Josh ended his long career with Stanley this past April when the company decided to close the west coast sales office. He now works for an online school, helping to get students signed up for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. While it's not his dream job, he's met quite a few good friends who have now become our concert buddies! I was able to hang on to my job as a buyer at B/E Aerospace... just finding out last week that I'm staying while more than 75% of my department is getting laid off. Tough times all around us, and we're grateful to have what we have. And we're looking forward to moving towards our goals (house on the beach, anyone?) in 2010.
I'm sure there's so much more to tell you all, but that's about all I can remember for the time being. Josh & I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy your time with your families & friends!
"May you never forget the flavor of snowflakes"
Yesterday was Josh's 35th birthday! So I surprised him by taking the day off of work & we headed up to Flagstaff with the intention of going snowboarding. I say intention because when we got there the place was already at capacity & they weren't letting anyone in... and that was at 9:30am! We drove around for awhile on the hunt for a cheap sled, but to no avail. Most places wanted $16 for a cheap kiddie sled. Instead, we pulled off the road, hiked around in the woods for awhile, threw snowballs, made snow angels & generally got wet & dirty. Then we headed to the cute downtown area where we ate lunch at Josh's favorite Thai restaurant. Then we shopped around for awhile (music shops, book stores, all those sweet indie shops)... and ran into our friend Rob Nunez and his crew, who were also in Flag for the day to play in the snow. Around 4:30p we started our journey back to Phoenix... it was slow going because the roads were covered with snow. We made it back safe & sound and Josh ordered Oregano's (pizza) takeout for this special bday dinner. We watched a movie then headed to bed. All in all it was a great day, even without the snowboarding. We're going to head back north in a few weeks to try our luck at the slopes again! 
