A So Cal Girl in the Desert

Before I get to the part about the exploring, I have to tell you, at my stepson's request (don't worry, he doesn't actually read the blog, he just knows about it), about what our dog, Kermit, did last night. We went to the bark park at about 9:30 PM, when it was cool enough for him to run around. There weren't too many dogs there, but there was one in particular who couldn't get his nose out of our dog's butt. It was literally like a magnet or crazy glue or something. He even lifted Kermit's hind end up a couple of times so it looked like he was wearing him as a mask. Poor Kermit was on the run the entire time. It must have been exhausting, and the stupid owners rarely called their dog off or grabbed him. After all of the exercise and excitement, we got in the car to head home. Kermit gulped down a bunch of water from his portable bowl, and when we were just about home, he started to do that gagging "I'm about to throw up" thing that dogs do. Well, he's on my lap in the front seat, so my stepson is cracking up as I'm saying "Pull over! Pull over! He's gonna puke!" My husband is saying he can't because we're on the highway. Damn! The dog is still gagging and choking, so I unroll my window and stick his head out, just in the nick of time. "EHHHHHHHKKKKKKHHHHHH..." he erupted, and as we're speeding down the highway all of the puke went splattering across my stepson's window. I thought he was going to pee in his pants laughing. He was laughing so hard he was barely breathing. I didn't find out until we got home that Kermit had also puked all over my shorts. I guess I wasn't as efficient with the window-opening as I thought I was. That really made the kid laugh. Now I'm going to make him do the laundry and see how funny it is then. This is how Kermit looked...



Today was much calmer. We went (sans Kermit) to explore Old Scottsdale. We walked around and looked in all the Southwest shops. They have some great stuff, and I think we'll definitely be back for furniture once our home is complete. In one jewelry shop, a lady gave my stepson a little bear carved by the local Native Americans. He thought it was really neat, and told me that we could pretend it was a dog, if I wanted to. He knows me so well. I was fine with it being a bear, though. The lady told him that it was for protection and healing. He seemed to really subscribe to it, which was nice to see. Most things at his age are met with "yeah, right," so this attitude was refreshing. He carried that thing around all day.

We went to a restaurant called "The Border" for lunch. The atmosphere was "southwest industrial." They claimed to have the best burgers, and they did. We shared a BBQ burger after chowing on "Fried Green Beans." We had to have them. When have you ever heard of that? They were encrusted with coconut and chili flakes and fried. Sounds weird, and it is, but it was delicious.

After Old Scottsdale, we went to an Asian market near our apartment. We were on a mission to find Mae Ploy sauce, which is much easier to find in California. We had fun poking around all the new foods and scaring my stepson with dried anchovies and chicken feet. We found the Mae Ploy and purchased some Bok Choy, too. We're looking forward to going back when we have more time to explore. When we stepped out of the store there was a huge dust storm. We ran to the car, and when we were pulling out of the parking lot my stepson said "Good thing I have my bear!" Awwwwwww! Sometimes he's so damn cute! After the Asian market we had to stop by the regular old grocery store. It was still dust storming when we got there, and my step son said to me, "Kristen, you can hold the bear this time, if you want." Isn't he the best?

It was a great family day. I'm really enjoying our adventures together...so glad we moved here.