presents ... for me!

As promised, here are pictures of what I bought myself in the Chapel of the Holy Cross gift shop.



This is a hand-crafted Native American angel whose purpose is to protect me from a broken heart. If only it was that easy :)


The second piece I purchased was a hand-painted Mexican nativity. Growing up, my mom had what I considered to be a creepy nativity that she put out underneath the Christmas tree. We weren't supposed to play with it, but we did ... and I believe the black wiseman had to have his goatee glued on more than once. But really mom, I think the dog knocked him over! Anyway, a few years ago, my grandma turned me onto Talavera, a typeof brightly-painted Mexican pottery which I now collect. I also have a weird obsession with Dia de Los Muertos figurines. Anyway, I have been looking for a nativity that would suit my style, and when I saw this, I fell in love with it, but was afraid to ask the price. I stopped by again on my way out of town, only to learn it was $45!!! I was shocked at the low price and bought it then and there. I can't wait to put it out in December.

sedona recap

Last fall, when I found out I was going to Sedona this September, I was indifferent. In my mind, Sedona was where you went if you were into psychics and crystals, or mountain biking. However, as September approached and I heard more about it, I thought, hmmm, this place will be interesting to see.

So on Tuesday morning, I flew into Phoenix and boarded the seemingly endless shuttle bus ride to the rental car center. Seriously, as we continued driving for 15+ minutes, I wondered if the rental cars were in fact located in a different county. After learning the ins and outs of my PT Cruiser, I set off for Sedona.


As I continued driving through the desert (pictured above) I began to wonder where was all of the red rock everyone exclaimed about. Then as I turned off the 17 freeway and onto the small highway leading into Sedona ... there they were!

After checking into the Hilton and taking care of a few items of business, I had the afternoon to enjoy myself. I did a bit of shopping, but to be honest, Southwest art/jewelry isn't particularly my scene. My mom called while I was out and told me about the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is an Catholic church built into the red rocks. It was built by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright...and it is beautiful! It was 100 degrees when I hiked up the road leading to the chapel, but I am so glad I did. The views were extraordinary and I am so glad I went. While visiting the giftshop I bought a few items - I'll post pictures later. When I returned to my suite later that evening, there were complimentary chocolate-dipped strawberries waiting for me, a perfect end to a perfect day ... so I ordered room service, watched Without a Trace and went to bed!

The next morning I woke up early and went on a brief hike. Again, everytime I looked out at the surrounding mountains, I was amazed. Not only are they beautiful, but they make you feel peaceful. While not my cup of tea, I can definitely see why people come here for "new age" healing and sprituality.

That afternoon and the majority of Wednesday was occupied with work. I am the District 6 Director for the National Council on Marketing and Public Relations, which is a national communications group. This means I had to attend all events and schmooze. While the past few months have been stressful, I have met some great people I would not normally have met ... including the ladies below.


We had a free afternoon on Thursday so one of Yavapai College's staff members took a small group of us (picture below) on a 2 1/2 hour hike. The weather had cooled off a bit and we hiked down into Oak Creek Canyon and had an up-close-and-person view of the red rocks. Even though I hiked twice during my stay, I want to return and hike even more!


After the conference was over on Friday, I stopped at Montezuma Castle, which was just off highway 17. According to the National Forest Service, Montezuma Castle is one one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. I was only there for about 30 minutes, but found it fascinating.


Then I continued onto Phoenix, only to arrive at the rental car center to learn my flight home was over 2 hours delayed. I raced to the airport and managed to get on an earlier flight, but my luggage did not. Luckily, LAX is only 15 minutes from my house so at 11:30pm that night, a VERY tired Andrea returned to baggage claim to pick up her suitcase.

sedona, i love you

I am currently in Sedona, Arizona for work, and well, a little bit of play. I will try and do the place justice when I get home and have more time, energy, and pictures, but let me say that ... oh my god Sedona is absolutely gorgeous. Huge red rock moutains everywhere ... literally everywhere, just rising out of the sky, left and right.

If you haven't visited here before, I strongly urge you to check it out. It's beautiful, peaceful, and spiritual. I feel better already.

gratuitous cat shot

I have admittedly neglected my blog for some time. Potential changes in my life have made it hard to find time for posting. To tide you over, here is the greatest picture of AnnieCat. When all else fails, post picture of your cat. At least that's what I say.

labor day weekend 2008

I had a very nice Labor Day weekend visit to Chico. Didn't do much of anything exciting, but laughed a lot, ate a lot, drank wine a lot, and sweated a lot :) Here are my two favorite pictures, which I believe sum up the weekend quite nicely ...