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

When in Rome...

I don't think anyone would mistake Jason and I for "outdoorsy" people, but if there is one thing we need it is the ability to get out of the house even in the deepest and snowiest of winters. I have learned to enjoy a quick hike in the many parks and trails in and around Flagstaff. As you can imagine, that becomes increasingly difficult with 5 feet of snow on the ground. So, we have joined the legions of snow shoe owners in Flagstaff. As I said, when in Rome...

We have been out twice; once in Buffalo Park about 3 weeks ago and yesterday in Thorpe Park. If you remember, we also tried cross-country skiing last year, but have decided snow shoeing is much more enjoyable -- cheaper and far less skill involved -- you walk with oblong discs on your feet...I can handle that. The scenery is always peaceful and untouched; I got some nice pictures yesterday...





I estimate that Jason and I will never become "hard core" hikers, bikers, or snow shoe-ers like many Flagstaff natives, but for now it lets us get out of the house and enjoy our city. We are contemplating a weekend camping trip in the spring, but I have many reservations about sleeping outdoors and a potential lack of indoor plumbing, so we're working on that one:)

It is Sunday and the snow has finally stopped. We were able to get out of the neighborhood yesterday, and should be "ok" until later in the week -- we are expecting more snow -- it never ends. Nothing out of the ordinary happening with us this week, just staying warm and dry. Jason is driving to Las Vegas next Saturday to see a visiting friend from WPI, and I have a "girl's" shopping / movie day planned with my good friend, Sonia.

On a different note, I am sure you have heard about the unfortunate passing of former Clemson University football player and alum, Gaines Adams. Gaines' smile was second to none, and he had a big heart and quick wit that could lighten any space. He was a bright young man with a bright future and was lost too young. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and former teammates.

Have a wonderful week to all our friends and family; we miss and love you always!
XOXO

The Snowstorm of 2010!

The big storm of 2010, or the "western wallop" as Al Roker has insisted on naming it, is upon us! We were hit with 3 waves of the storm, the smallest on Monday, the next on Tuesday night into Wednesday, and the biggest began Wednesday night and it is still going as I type at 5:20pm on Friday evening. I worked a full day on Tuesday, had a 2 hr. delay Wednesday and NAU was closed Thursday and Friday. Gore closed its plants on Thursday at noon through Friday evening; they haven't closed in over 20 years -- that should indicate the level of the storm. We haven't left our driveway in 2 days, but we've been reading reports of a number of collapsed and sloping roofs in town. The big one is a HUGE used book store called Bookman's and Jo Ann's Fabrics. The snow is supposed to let up tomorrow afternoon, so we are hoping to go out and get more groceries and survey the damage. I think we've been out to shovel on an average of 3x/day, getting lots of use out of the best investment of 2009, our snow blower. We only bought a baby snow blower, but luckily the retirees who live either side of us take pity on Jason and have helped us multiple times this week shovel the end of the driveway with their super-charged, big-gun snow blowers. Jason now dreams of being a retiree with a giant snow blower, waiting anxiously for the next snow to go out and rescue young, clueless shovelers like ourselves. Here is Jason with the snow blower...

HUGE snow piles at the end of our driveway...

Walk through the snow tunnel to the front door...

Backyard; the snow is over 1/2 way up the fence...

Not sure we'll get to our recycling bin anytime soon...

Even once the snow fall stops we won't be driving too far until next week, but we do hope to get out and use our new snow shoes this weekend. If the roads are as bad as they are now, we may be using them to get to the Circle K gas station to stock up on milk, bread and beef jerky.
Thankfully our electricity and dish TV are going strong. We're hoping to watch Conan's last night as host of The Tonight Show this evening.
Have a great weekend! XOXO

One Year in Flagstaff!

We have survived our first year in the wild, wild west, and as promised here is a slide show of our past year in Flagstaff. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Here's to another wonderful, eventful year for Helen, Jason and Madeline Hemmer!!

Go Pack Go!!

Last weekend Jason and I got tickets to the Arizona Cardinals vs Green Bay Packers play off game in Phoenix. Jason wore his Tom Brady jersey and we also watched the Patriots game in a bar outside the stadium (not the best game ever for Brady). The Packers game was one of the best games we could have been to; if you watched you know what I'm talking about! We met people who had flown in from Wisconsin, Patriots fans, and some random guy who wanted to develop a strategy with Jason on how best to beat the Jets. Unfortunately, neither of our teams were victorious that day, but were glad we had the opportunity to go.
The first song on my playlist this week will probably only sound familiar to those who have spent any significant time living in the state of Wisconsin. You've got to love polka's ode to the Green Bay Packers!


I would have written earlier, but this week has just flown by! Students came back on Monday the 11th and things have been picking up for both of us this week at work.

I have a long weekend coming up for observation of MLK Day on Monday. Snow is in the forecast for Monday - Friday; they are projecting upwards of 3-4 feet, so who knows when I'll go back to work next week!

On a side note, as of this week, Jason and I have been in Flagstaff, AZ for one year. Jason moved on the 5th of January, started work on the 12th, and I followed on the 14th. We're going for a celebratory dinner tonight at Tinderbox (super yummy restaurant) -- I'll try to put together a slideshow of our last year sometime this weekend. If we get the amount of snow they are projecting, I'll surely have time:)

Have a great weekend; Happy MLK Day!

XOXO

Hemmer's Christmas Vacation

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a fun and relaxing holiday season. Jason and I went to South Carolina on the 22nd to stay with my family. We ate, drank, slept in, played around, and had a great time seeing my Mum, Dad, Rich and Tim. We went to see Avatar, watched Hangover, listened to a lot of Christmas music, fried a turkey, made a cheesecake, and spent a lot of time just hanging around together. We had our Christmas Eve dinner at High Cotton, the site of our wedding reception. Here is a picture of Jason and I at the restaurant


On Christmas day we were able to "skype" with Jason's family in Massachusetts, and my extended family in England. It was the first time I've seen my whole family on Christmas, and the first time most had "met" Jason - such a great addition to the day! My favorite pictures from the gift opening






Christmas dinner! I just love this picture...


During Christmas dinner. The party hats come in Christmas Crackers, an English tradition -- we've even got Jason hooked!


And no Bailey Christmas is complete without a good game of charades...



Our friend Malay and his new wife, Chitra, came to visit on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas). So great to meet Chitra and catch up with Malay.


Jason came home on the 28th, and I stayed until the 30th. While still in SC, I did some shopping with mum and Tim, and drove to Columbia to visit with my friends Mary Beth and Adam Russell and their 7mth. old daughter, Emily, and Caroline Hartley, who just announced she is expecting! So excited for Caroline and Jimmy!

For New Years we stayed in Flagstaff and went downtown to watch the giant "pine cone drop". It's a 6 ft. lighted pine cone that is dropped from the top of the Weatherford Hotel at midnight -- sort of like Times Square, but not. It was crowded and we saw a lot of different friends -- definitely a Flagstaff experience.


Back to the grind today -- hard to get the wheels going at 6:00am after a week and a half of vacation! Jason is on his way to Miami, FL. tomorrow until Thursday (very jealous). It isn't supposed to snow or be overly cold this week though, so I won't make him feel too guilty. Have a great first week of 2010!
XOXO