Bath and Body Works

There is a Bath and Body Works OUTLET in the mall by my house...  Yeah, buddy!!!

AIFM

On Thursday night I attended an Interfaith dinner at Heritage Park, downtown Phoenix.  Hosted by the Arizona Interfaith Movement.   I heard about it at church and thought it sounded interesting.  Dinner was provided, to be followed by "stimulating conversation".  A few people from the Sikh community provided the meal, known as a "Langar", a three-course, vegetarian meal.  We ate on the floor and left our shoes at the door.  It was fabulous!!  There was a garbanzo bean dish that was to die for!  The meal started with four different prayers from four different religions; one Buddhist (chanting a prayer that took me back to the temples in Tibet), one LDS, one Christian, and one Muslim.  SO cool!

After we ate, we formed groups consisting of 5-7 people in each.  In my group, there were 3 LDS (which I bummed about...boring!  I know about them!  I was hoping for someone from one of the Eastern religions, oh well.), one Unitarian, one Community of Christ, one self-proclaimed Atheist, but turned out to be Agnostic, and one Church of Divine Love.  We were given 4 questions to answer; 1- list the two most important teachings of your faith, 2- pick one practice that means the most to you, 3- tell about your journey to the beliefs and practices you now participate in, and 4- to be done in 10 mins, solve the problem of world peace through one idea/practice.

As we discussed these issues, practices, beliefs and experiences I came to the realization that everyone had the same basic, underlying ideas and beliefs, but called them by different names.  Some used "energy", others "spirit", some felt as if their ancestors were with them, while others said it was God, while someone else said angels.  The bottom line was this, all of us are in this together, we each have the opportunity to have a positive impact on those around us.  There is something or someone out there bigger than each of us.  We must channel the energy we feel from that source and use it for good.  We must stop judging, we must serve others and love our fellow man, regardless of age, race, status or nation.

It was wonderful to be a part of something so open and welcoming to differences.  Something that really celebrated differences and saw that as a positive rather than a negative.  It was a way to enhance and expand one's mind, a way to widen one's perspective.  An evening I will not soon forget.

Puerto Penasco

Hola, mis amigos!

We just returned from a quick trip south of the border!  Janelle came down from Reno on Thursday to attend her high school friend's (Shawn) wedding in Puerto Penasco, aka Rocky Point.  Carly acted as the translator, I was the tag-a-long and Dave was the new guy (a friend of Shawn's and Phoenix resident) and bodyguard.  We left at 5 am yesterday morning and weren't even there for 24 hrs!  But what a blast!  The wedding was held in the "backyard" of vacation rental home on the beach.  The backdrop was sand and water!  After the kiss and "I do" they walked off into the sunset and down the beach.  There was a pinata for the kids and kegs for the adults.  The ceremony took all of 10 mins and then the party started!  It was beautiful and very low-key, fabulous!  We watched the sunset and then listened to a guy and his guitar long into the night!  We ended the evening with a little night swim in very warm sea water!  It was such a great weekend!

This morning we attended church and were lucky enough to catch the Primary Program!  Those little ones are so funny!  After that we went to pick Dave up and headed off for our 2 hr wait to pass through Border Patrol.  IT TOOK FOREVER!  We waived off probably 15 people selling tamales, 5 window washers, 3 people selling big vases, 2 purse salesmen and 2 slingshot/turtle salesmen.  Gotta love Mexico!

Of course, I bought a blanket.  

AZ license plate

So, last week I traded in the good 'ol NV plates for the ONE AZ plate.  While I was at the MVD (aka DMV), I had the greatest clerk!  I know what you are all thinking, "A nice clerk! At the DMV!!?"  She was so much fun!  When I got to the window, she asked me to find her a good man, I said, "Honey, I can't even find one for me, let alone someone else!"  We got to talking about men, and she told me about how she moved here from California with a guy who pretty much cheated on her, was engaged to someone else before they were even done.  Then there was another guy who just up and left one day.  ALL we ask for is ONE decent guy, just ONE!!  Is that really such a tall order??

On the counter was a little box where you could make a donation for the "Make a Wish Foundation", so I stuck in a buck.  Then she handed me a star and told me to make a wish.  I wrote something cheesy about everyone having health and happiness.  After we talked a little longer, I changed my mind about my wish so I asked her for a new star, she gave me a funny look.  On the second star, I wrote "I wish for Brenda to find a GOOD man!"  She laughed and said, "You just made my day!!"  It was probably one of the best times I've ever had at the DMV!  So, my wish to all of you is to make someone's day at the DMV the next time you get the pleasure of gracing them with your presence!! Have fun!!

In the beginning...

I'm finally here!  Where to start?  I've now lived in AZ for 5.5 days.  I've spent a total of, what feels like, 9.9 days just commuting to/from work or clients homes.  Because I am now a seasoned Phoenix driver I feel it's appropriate for me to share a few observations about driving in Phoenix for those of you who have never had the pleasure.  (for more great insights on driving, please refer to the China series at www.wayfunchina.blogspot.com)

1- Drivers here do NOT understand what purpose the "fast lane" serves.  I'll tell you one thing it apparently is, it's a place for the slowest drivers on the freeway to sit and stay.

2- Blinkers are OFF limits!

3- NEVER go the posted speed limit, go 20 mph over!  NOW...MOVE!!!

4- NEVER let mergers...well, merge.  They do NOT belong here, after all, I was here first.

These are just a few lessons I have learned as I've traveled "the 10", "the 17", "the 101", "the 60" and "the 101".  I hope this wisdom I have imparted will help you each in some way.

Now, can I just say that some of the most beautiful skies/sunsets I have ever seen have been in the Southwest!?  Incredible!!  I will post a picture soon, but it won't do it justice.

My job is wonderful!  People who provide care for those with Disabilities are some of the best people I have ever met!  Talk about a snap back into reality and the important things in life!  I can't even express how grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to work in this field with the people I do!  I am so blessed and so pumped!

I also have some incredible family here.  I've never lived close enough to extended to really get to know them and I am really excited about the chance I have to do this now!  I have 3 aunts here who have been so amazing!  They call to check in and see how things are going and if there is anything they can do, it means the world to me!!!  I love them for it!

The other day I was thinking about an experience Emily and I had in Oregon.  We were on our morning walk/jog....okay, we were wandering.  We walked down on the beach and then walked up to this cliff to get a look, we decided to walk further in to this forested area and see what we'd find.  It was a rocky point that jutted out into the ocean and we knew we'd reach the other side eventually and there were paths, at least for a little while.  The further we got into what became jungle-like, we saw fewer and fewer "paths".  (I kept thinking about that movie "Ferngully", that's exactly what it looked like.)  But, being the mountain-women we are, we trudged along, happy to have a new adventure.  When we came out on the other side we received a precious little gift.  Out on this point there was a Native American gravesite and just off the point, on an island-rock there stood a beautiful old lighthouse.  The island-rock was connected by a rickety old bridge, which was closed to the public, thank you state of Oregon for keeping us alive.  It was so picturesque!  We sat and just enjoyed the view and our thoughts.  Upon arrival to this quaint little spot, we noticed an older man walking around as well.  He also took notice of us and we exchanged a few words about the path to/from this location.  He shared with us the easiest way back to where we had come from.  He informed us he'd marked the trailhead so we could find our way back through less tick-infested forest.  We thanked him, wished him well and he went on his way.  Once our hunger got the better of us, we decided to head back.  We walked down the road we'd come across after our jaunt through the jungle and when we reached the end we realized we had not seen the trailhead he'd assured us was there.  We backtracked and upon closer examination found the marker he told us he'd leave.  He had formed an arrow out of sticks to guide us to the trail.  I am so grateful for people, who I often stumble upon, that help me stay on track or help me correct my course.  Each of you, in varied ways, have done this for me at one time or another.  I thank you.

The Big Move!

Hello!  Ni Hao!  Hola!  Ya' at' eeh!  

I finally moved!  Yeah for me!  Well, technically, I move tomorrow, but by the time you all read this I will be in my new home!  I hope you all appreciate my multiculturalism...I'm so cultured, aaah!  There really isn't too much to share currently, so check back in a few weeks and you can find out what new things, people and places I have discovered!  Oh, the anticipation!