2012 NAMI Valley Walk

This past Saturday, Scotty, our friend Joe and I participated in the 2012 NAMI Valley Walk, a walk for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The NAMI Walks are set up to raise funds for awareness of mental illness and what's required to treat it and help people recover from or handle it. Scotty works for a behavioral health company, and his company contributed a large group of walkers. It was a nice fall day - a little warm but with plenty of shade and water available. There were two walks - a 1.2 kilometer and a 3 kilometer. We did the 1.2 because I had brought Raiden along and I was a little worried about him walking the whole way (turned out to be a good idea - he was pretty tired by the end).

Some pictures...


Us in the parking lot, before the walk.


Raiden enjoying the shade (he was such a hit with everyone, and a real sweetheart).


Me with Raiden - taken by one of Scotty's coworkers.


Us after the walk - in front of the Arizona State Capital Museum building, which is absolutely gorgeous!
I had a lot of fun and now have definite plans to return to the Capital Museum and check it out. I ducked in there to check it out briefly and loved it - I'm a history geek and I love Arizona so it was heaven for me.

Looking forward to the 2013 walk!

May in Pictures

May was a fun month, especially with Phoenix Comicon in the middle of it! My previous post has photos from the con - here are other photos from May 2012...

This stuff smells SO GOOD.

Working on a project for when Doctor Who comes back...

Scotty injured his knee in May, only downside of the month :(

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on May 17.

Mother's Day at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, Arizona! I love my mama.

Mother's Day breakfast at Schenpf Farms.

At Phoenix Comicon

This weekend was my very first con. I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going in. I've seen Paul after all. And I'm a geek. These are my people.

I have to say the Phoenix Comicon was everything I expected and more. There was so much cool stuff there, and so much to see, I admit I got overwhelmed on Friday. I felt better about the whole thing by Saturday. And by Sunday I wished there was just one more day of the convention.

There was everything from Daleks to medieval warfare, LEGO cities to Jedi. We went to various panels and got to hear from voice actors Phil LaMarr, Maile Flanagan, and Quinton Flynn, and authors Janni Lee Simmer, and Kevin Hearne. We bought a bunch of art prints, ate at a bunch of yummy places in downtown Phoenix and in general had a lot of fun.

Some of my pictures...

Our friend Joe. You could actually fight with those lightsabers

A panel on voicing video games

Wednesday Hodgepodge, 5/23/12

1. What's something you miss about the 80's? If you're too young to miss the 80's how about the 90's?
I was born in 1986 so too young to remember the 80s much at all. Something I miss from the 90s though... Nickelodeon shows. Doug, All That, Rugrats, Clarissa Explains It All (she seemed so old and wise to me! haha), The Amanda Show. I love that they are showing them on tv again.

2. Do you have a library card? If so, how often do you visit?
I do indeed have a library card. In fact I work for a public library. Haha. So I am there 4 days a week (10 hours a day). The library I work for is pretty awesome.

3. What's the secret to success?
Motivation.

4. This is National Backyard Games week...what's your favorite backyard game?
I am not sure... I like playing bocce on the PlayStation 3 so maybe I would like it in real life.

5. If I dropped by today what would I find on your coffee table?
Oh gosh, it's a mess. There is a blanket on there, a pile of papers, the remotes... probably some random things I am forgetting.

6. Do you own a bicycle? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Is that something you enjoy?
We have bicycles, and I actually love bicycling, but we haven't gone out to do it in quite awhile. It's one of my favorite active things to do though. Much better than just walking everywhere. Haha.

7. What's your favorite cheese?
Dubliner.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I'll share a picture of us. We just had our fourth wedding anniversary (nine years together on the 25th). Love this guy.

Love.

Today my husband and I are celebrating four years of marriage... and on the 25th of this month we'll have been a couple for nine years.

2003.

We were high school sweethearts - we met when I was a junior and he was a senior, and have been together ever since. I look back at those photos and think how young we were but then I know we are still young. In ten years I will look back at photos I took this year and think the same thing.

I am so happy I get to share my life with him. It's not always perfect and that's okay. We disagree, we have different opinions about things, but as he always says, we are on the same team. Sometimes it's hard to remember stuff like that when you are angry or upset, but it's important. To have somebody you feel comfortable with, to face the rest of life together, is really great.

Marriage advice at my sister-in-law's wedding.
His card: "Always have fun. Always forgive. Always love. Never forget,
you're on the same team."

He helps me not to worry... and I worry a lot. Sometimes he may not think he's doing much for me, but everything he does helps me. And I hope I help him in small ways, being supportive. A good teammate.




There are goals we have met - graduation from college for him, careers, pets, a house to live in for a long, long time. And there are goals we haven't yet met - my college graduation, kids, etc. I'm looking forward to meeting those goals, and making new ones, as our life progresses.

Love you babe.

My Sister-In-Law's Wedding Day

This past Friday, my sister-in-law got married - my husband's sister. I'm so excited for her and her new husband Chris! I was a bridesmaid in the wedding, which was held at Shenandoah Mill in Gilbert, Arizona. I didn't get any pictures of the ceremony, since I was in it, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from the rest of the preparations/celebrations.

Cousins :)

My brother-in-law Reuben and husband Scotty