These are a few of my favorite things...

I was driving around town the other day and I started to think of Michigan and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I miss the smell of Lake Michigan on one of those cold and dreary days when the waves are pounding the shore. I miss walking into my parent's home when my mom is cooking a stew, with buns, and possibly dessert (yes, please!!). I miss spring when everything is starting to turn green and there are flowers every where. Nostalgia...it's a love/hate relationship. I love the memories, the smells, the feeling. I hate the empty and lonely feeling that comes with it as well. I was pining for familiarities when it hit me that sooner or later, I will be doing this about Tucson...perhaps not to the same degree that I do about my family and Michigan, but I will miss it here once I'm gone.
I was driving North and the Catalinas were staring right back at me as the sun was setting to the west. The sun paints the Catalinas a pink that is so amazing I can't take my eyes off of them...I must remember to look...at...the...road. :) I know that I will miss this when I'm gone. As I continue my drive around town, I realize how much I have "slammed" this place.
The slams:
I hate the lack of good restaurants (it's like a hunt for a treasure around here...geez), the terrible sprawl of Tucson and why there is no freeway that is built that runs east/west. The summer is unbearable, the brown landscape can get downright depressing and why must EVERYTHING be built in a strip mall??? I could go on...but I am stopped by the things I do enjoy about it here.
A few of my favorite things:
Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles...ok just kidding! For real though...
I know of the best, cheapest, and most authentic sushi place in town. Matt and I have dinner there once/week since June of last year. They even let us customize our miso soup.
I have a great place that I can wash Rider at called Dirty Dawgs. The owner is great and her place is awesome...I don't think Rider loves it there as much, but he always looks like such a stud once we leave.
I know where the best pastry place is in town and their jalepeno bread is great toasted.
I can take Rider for a walk/run on the riverwalk right outside my apartment and he can always chase the rabbits and praire dogs that line the sidewalk
The sunsets are amazing...nothing more to be said
Mt. Lemmon is the best place to get away
I am only 5 hours from the Grand Canyon...it is amazing
The Plaza...the best wine/beer selection and the friendliest employees. I have only been here once, but it is my new favorite place. (Think of Fortino's for those who live in Grand Haven/Spring Lake)
There is a silly pizza place that has great pizza/pasta with a Greek fellow who plays the accordian. Please don't get him talking because he will go on about the Greeks...think of the Dad on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." That is this man!
I will miss the sound of the morning doves outside my window every morning
I will miss the live music that plays at the two greatest restaurants in town that are across from my apartment. I have a show every night for free!
I will miss the old guy that lives at my apartment complex and always asks about Matt and I (when are we getting married, but he will never come out and say it...instead it will be more like this, "you two still aren't connected, huh?")Ha..to top it off he will give Rider a treat for fun.
I will miss the maintenance guy who waves at me every day and says hello. I wave back and smile, even though I am irritated that his music is playing too loud in his shed which is joined to my apartment.:)
I will miss the monsoon season...wow, it is amazing!
I will miss Club Congress and the Rialto theatre where some of my favorite musicians have come through to play
I will miss going to the Corner Cafe and listening to old school country on Wednesdays. The menu even has a "Big A$$ bowl of Captain Crunch" for $2.00 - exactly how it is on the menu...makes me laugh every time
I suppose I could go on, but I will stop...


If you have made it through my blog, good for you. This blog is more for me...to remind me to enjoy the here and now because sooner or later it will be gone. The smells, the landscape, the food, the people...sometimes we have to slow down and find the good in any situation (or in my case, where I live). It's about wanting what we have...not what we haven't got.

I look forward to Africa, but I hope that I enjoy the life that I am living TODAY just as much as the days ahead that I look forward to...or in the days that are long past that make me feel nostalgic.

What do you love about your day...right now???

Much love,
Jen