every other orange

There were so many of my friends from last year in Hueco again this year. I had a great time catching up and climbing with them. I also met a bunch of awesome new people. I mostly hung out with a group of guys from New York... and I kicked some serious ass in fooseball :)

Beau's trip definatly started out worse than mine. He hates riding in the car and to make me feel bad he went on a hunger strike for the first couple days. He definatly dropped a few pounds while we were gone but I am working very hard to get him looking healthy again. Beau's days in Hueco were spent lounging around alternately in the sun and then shade, playing with the other dogs around the Rock Ranch and chasing my car as I left to climb for the day. I found out that he can keep up with my car when I am going 30 mph!!

I finally decided that I needed a vacation (well, a climbing vacation that is) and made a plan for 5 days down in Hueco. Everything started out well... work was easy to get off, the car packed easily and the first 5 hours of the drive went quickly. Then, right in the middle of no where, my car started acting funny. Because it was 10:00pm and I didn't have any cell reception, I decided to push on at slower speeds to try and make it to Flagstaff. I did eventually make it to Flagstaff and completly exhuasted I decided to find a hotel parking lot to spend the night in. I woke up rather early, crawled into the driver's seat, found a mechanic and 90$ later, was back on the road. The drive from Flagstaff to Pheonix was stressful due to my increased alertness to unusual car activity and the incoming storm (pictured above) but after that everything flew by. I was even able to climb a little when I got to Hueco that evening :)

When I moved into my van I started getting really into cooking and that has only grown since I moved out. Now that I have my own place I've started to invite people over for dinner. Tonight was a delicious salad and a peanut tofu stir-fry. I had a request for the salad recipe ... so here it is. Like just about everything I make, I really have no idea how much of anything I put in, but I think my guesses are close. Youll have to play with the dressing a little to get it right.

Raspberry Vinegarette:
1 1/2 cups spoon crushed raspberries
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
35 sprays Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
table spoon lime juice
table spoon honey

-a whisk was helpful to mix it all together and remove some of the extra pulp

Salad:
Honey Roaster Pecans (Pecans drizzled with a healthy amount of honey and some cinnamon - hand mixed and roasted at 350 for 15 minutes - sprinkle with some brown sugar while cooling)
Pickled Beets
Dried Cranberries
Baby Spinach


hope that helps and let me now if you run into any problems!

A few mornings ago I awoke to a shadow falling on me from the window above my bed. When I opened up my curtains I discovered this cute kitty staring in at me! I was able to take a few pictures before Beau noticed and came running up to check out the now fleeing cat. This cat was the second visitor to come to my new place and he is more then welcome to come back :)

I hope to be able to start posting more often, but right now my lack of internet is really hurting that. My horrible credit and lack of plastic made it impossible to get without personally handing over a deposit at the comcast store. They wouldn't even schedule an installation before I came! I am still very much enjoying my own apartment.