Two friends, a necklace, and the Grand Canyon. . .

What happens when two totally insane friends decide that they MUST get away from the harsh winter weather of the great northwest. . . and travel a bit further south to the sunnier climes of Arizona for some R&R, SUN, and ADVENTURES?

Well. . . . you're about to find out.

My gal pal--whom I refer to as 'Heidi' (because that's what she likes me to call her) and I decided to take a trip this past November and see that great ball of burning gasses in the sky (known to some as 'the sun'):

and to shop and play:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and visit friends and some of the members of my family:

 

 

 

Note that Heidi is letting my mother in law wear the necklace for the day.  We almost had to pry it out of her cold, dead hands before we could get it back after it was clasped around her neck.  She LOVED it!  We ended up going into her bedroom, ransacking the place, finding it, and taking it back before heading back home again.

 

My sister will probably KILL ME for putting this photo of her up on my blog.  But hey!  What are sisters for?  (and besides, I live 2,000 miles away--so I'm not too worried about it)

We really had a grand time--soaking in TONS of vitamin D and basking in the warmer weather.  We took in a musical comedy show called:  'Church Basement Ladies"

And took in some of the local southwestern scenery:

 

We visited the Mesa Temple and toured the grounds:

 

 

 

One of the fun little adventures we had was to take a drive up to Jerome (the old ghost town) taking that HAIRBALL highway that goes up Mingus Mountain with about a BAJILLION twists and turns and NO GUARDRAIL, for the love of Pete!  WHEW! But I managed to not drive the car off the cliff like Thelma and Louise and get to the top:

 

 

We ate at an old hospital--now converted into a 'Grand Hotel' with a restaurant located up on the top floor called 'The Asylum' which was aptly named by the guy who greeted us upon entering:

 

 

 

Of course 'the necklace' was with us at this event--so we had to commemorate the occasion and leave a lasting reminder.  (until the waiter tore the paper tablecloth off):

We also went to Sedona and took an amazing 'Pink Jeep Tour' that allowed us to four wheel through the canyons and see some of the most amazing desert vistas at sunset:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And what trip to Arizona could be complete without touring the Grand Canyon?  Certainly not this one:

 

 

 

 

So of course, this is where Heidi decides that 'the necklace' should have it's own 'death-defying' experience and nearly drops the poor thing off the south rim:

Now you see it:

 

Now you don't:

Oops!

 

Just kidding!  The necklace (as well as Heidi and I) made it back to our native home and hearth safe and sound minus a few bucks, some sleep, and missed therapy appointments--which thanks to the trip--we won't need after all!

GOOD TIMES!

Holy Smokes! My life got in the way of my blog!

Ya know, some will say it just couldn't be helped.  Some will scoff and say I got rather lazy.  Some will smile and say:  "I told you so". . . and some will be just fine because they don't read my blog anyway. . . and then there are those few precious souls who won't care a whit because they are just so doggone glad I am FINALLY POSTING AGAIN!

Woohoo!  I found a moment to breathe and man, oh man!  do I have a lot to catch up on!

Let me see. . . . maybe I should start in reverse order.  Today I will give you 'The Necklace' updates.  (since that's the most recent thing I can think of at the moment.

Here are the lovely recipients so far of this rare gem:  (and if you've been following with wild abandon,  I posted about this back in Sept/Oct of 2009)

First it went to Karen the staunch and stalwart:  (when she reads this, I will get an earful about why I chose those descriptions for her)

Next it went to Heidi the reckless and recalcitrant: (who nearly lost it at the Grand Canyon on our trip to sunny Arizona)

Then it went to ME, the sparkly and  showy:  (I ended up wearing it to my big singing debut, which now puts me on the path to rivaling Brittany Spears)

And now it is on the neck of Elaine the giddy and gleeful:  (she was just so doggone excited to get the necklace she could barely contain herself)

Yes--there are AMAZING and simply RIVETING  stories that go along with these women and their adventures with the necklace. . . but I will have to add those details in future posts. .

For now--just want to wish my blogger fans a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR of 2010. And please don't get snarky about my lateness in posting. . . because well. . . it just so happens that I've already broken a few new year's resolutions already--one of which was to try and not tick so many people off anymore. But I kind of ticked myself off when making that resolution--so naturally I broke it.

And hopefully you had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your family and friends.  We had quite the time ourselves at the 'Showmethesale Chateau':  But the ultimate moment was when my oldest grandson, Sam, opened his BIG, HUMONGOUS present from the old man and me and declared with a triumphant jumping dance of joy:

YES!  YES!  YES!  I've been waiting for this my whole life!  (score one for 'Nana' and 'G-Pa'!)

There was also an unpredicted snowstorm that left us with a blanket of snow (and mayhem for the drivers and those trying to just get around town)

And while my middle grandson will be the first to tell you that:  'Crimmus is over now'. . .it's still kind of fun to look back and smile over the memories.  Thanks to oldest son and Grandma Carol for coming and spending the holidays with us. . . 2009 was quite the crazy, fun, unpredictable year. . . can't wait to see what 2010 has in store!