Valley Ho

I have not been a good blogger over the past few weeks...I've gotten busy with the day-to-day usual, and not had the mental energy to blog! I got plenty of sleep last night though and one cup of Earl Grey tea in, I have mustered the energy to catch you all up on our goings on!

Last weekend and this weekend (today) we are in Scottsdale, AZ (a part of Phoenix) for a meeting Jason is attending. He had a room at the Valley Ho Hotel, a GORGEOUS hotel in Scottsdale that is on the list of Historic Hotels of America. It has a retro lounge decor, and was a hot hotel for celebrities in the 1950's and 1960's. It went into disrepair for a number of decades, but went through a 3-year renovation and re-opened in 2005. Their restaurant,Trader Vic's, is a chain featuring French Polynesian and Chinese food that was more popular in the early 1900's, but still exists in larger cities. They claim to have invented the Mai Tai. I didn't see the inside of the restaurant, but Jason had dinner there and reports that the Mai Tai's are quite authentic.

Ok...it is now Sunday. I wrote the first half of the blog on Saturday, but Jason's bacon and egg breakfast lured me from the laptop into the kitchen. Fast forward 24 hours, we went back to Scottsdale yesterday, I drove back up to Flagstaff today and Jason is at another meeting until tomorrow afternoon. Great weather in Phoenix this weekend; 70 and partly sunny -- it was so refreshing to wear shoes with no socks and walk around outside without a snow jacket! I did some shopping and caught the movie Dear John. It was a pretty decent "girly" flick, but I really liked the scenes of Charleston and the SC Coast -- many great memories in those places.

This week we have the career fair on Campus Wednesday and Thursday, which breaks up the usual routine nicely. On Tuesday evening I am taking a homemade lasagna to a co-worker and his wife who just had their first child, a baby boy named Cael. Thursday evening Jason and I are going to an NAU basketball game, and I am being recognized at half-time for my advising work with student-athletes and support of athletics. Jason is taking me out to dinner before the game:) He is busy with work, and may be managing a clinical trial in the near future.

We're looking forward to a weekend with no plans! I do have to work Saturday morning, but other than that I'll be focusing on laundry, packing, and finishing plans for the trip to England -- 14 days away -- we have a countdown on the refrigerator.

Here is another picture of our hotel -- so fun! Have a great week XOXO

A Slow Week

Jason and I were just commenting this morning that this week feels like the slowest on record! It's about that time of the year; post holiday let-down, and too early for spring break excitement...no man's land. Things are pretty slow in Flagstaff around this time of the year; everyone is trying to stay out of the cold air and snowy streets. Luckily, we haven't had any fresh snow for over a week, but more is in the forecast for today and the rest of the week...time to hibernate!

This past weekend Jason and I both got out of the snow; Jason to Las Vegas and I to Phoenix. A former WPI roommate of Jason's was in Las Vegas for business, so Jason left after work Friday to spend the weekend causing trouble with him in Sin City. In his absence, I drove to Phoenix with a friend for some outlet shopping. Nothing too wild and crazy, but very nice to walk around outside without fuzzy boots.

This weekend I have a happy hour at a girlfriend's house Friday night and Jason and I are going to a Super Bowl party at the house of one of Jason's co-workers on Sunday -- Super Bowl Sunday, one of my favorite "holidays"! We've decided to cheer for the NO Saints seeing as how both our teams are out of the picture. Other than that our activities will probably depend on how much snow we get over the next couple of days.

Jason heads to Amelia Island, Florida next Tuesday for a conference. He'll fly back to Arizona Sunday the 14th, Valentine's Day. I've been promised a home-cooked meal when he returns:) I've been working on filling my week with events while he's out. Luckily, I've been developing friendships with a group of women I work with, so I have people to do things with while Jason is traveling (not that Madeline isn't excellent company).

XOXO