Hiking in the desert

I'm on a roll now. Might as well post while I'm hot. ;)

We went on a hike in late January and it was gorgeous. Spring comes early around here.


And there are saguaro cacti everywhere you look, not to mention, prickly pear, teddy bear cholla, organ pipes, cane cholla, claret cup hedgehog and barrel cactus... just to name a few.









And then there are the mountains...

Hiking - Part deux

Here are some pictures from a couple hikes we took in April. It was already getting very hot and we knew we had a limited window of opportunity for hiking so we went as often as we could.

You really can't hike in the summer unless you start out very early in the morning or get an unseasonably cool day... it happens, but not often.

The area here has pretty flora and fauna, and then there are the bad boys of the desert. We came across this guy sunning himself and figured he had to be a tough guy. Half his rattle was missing.

We went to a place with petroglyphs on one hike. Unfortunately, a very popular place. So much of the native art has been defaced it's hard to tell what was original and what is carved graffiti.

The pool there had loads o' toads and the lizards were running every which way.

Ian and I climbed all the way to the top of an outcropping to get away from the crowd and had a pretty good view.

Spring Activities

One of the things we had to get done this spring was put in a lawn. When we bought the house it had been abandoned for about a year (it was a foreclosure) and the landscaping no longer existed. The lawn was dead and the plants had reverted to their natural state... that is, wildly overgrown.

We started getting notices of non-compliance from the convenant nazi about a month after having moved in. sigh.

So we took it from this:









To this:










We hope to get some neat, compact bushes for the graveled area and then pull out the rounded bush in the background... eventually. It's really hot here and hard to stay out in the sun for too long.

And then there's the back yard. sigh.

Busy, busy, busy

Wow. Amazing how time flies when you're just living your life. It's been awhile since the last post, but what can I say? We've been busy. To update you all quickly:

The boys completed their first school year here in May. They both did well (after a somewhat rocky start and really, who can blame them for that?) They both met or exceeded the requirements for the ridiculous standardized test required by Arizona and each have a strong GPA (3.5 & 3.8).

We've been to California again to hang out with family and hit the local theme parks. This time it was California Adventure. Loads o' fun and family. So much, that we're headed back again next weekend!

I've got 9 months under my belt at work and things are going well. The company is going through the same issues most others are in this economy. We've had a couple layoffs and restructurings, and some ongoing changes to the "road map" in terms of what we're releasing and when. But I can't complain, they pay me to come in every day no matter what I'm doing (or redoing) and as Martha would say, that's a good thing.

ASU went through their own "layoff/restructuring" though they use different terminology... something like "mandatory furloughs", anyway, since Alec's paid through a grant it didn't affect us. Luckily. In the meantime, he's been chugging away at some interesting research and that always makes him happy.

Another thing that makes Alec happy is Ian interning in his lab this summer. Ian is having a good time too and learning much more than how to wash glassware or wield a pipette man. What more can you ask?

Ian has been delaying getting his drivers license we think because it's a little scary to drive around here. People drive very fast and don't obey many rules of the road. Even driving in our development is a stress inducing event. But we're hoping he'll feel more comfortable by the time the new school year begins.

Mac and Ian attended a video game camp for two weeks earlier this summer and both had a good time. Mac's individual game took 3rd in the class (of 50 kids) and his team game was voted Best because it was 'difficult but fun.'

We're trying to figure out when we can send them both for a visit to their friends in Montana but everyone's schedule is so crazy...

We finally got an offer on the house in Iowa, after taking it off the market last winter and relisting it in May. We're waiting for the closing date (July 1) before we celebrate though. We're going to take a huge loss on it, but it's better than carrying it for another year. And we didn't have to go into foreclosure like so many other people. Whew.

I've just come back from Seattle, visiting Alyson for her bridal shower. The wedding is in August and we're all getting very excited. Everyone has some part in the ceremony, Alec walking Aly down the aisle, the boys acting as ushers and me, well, I get to be the MOB, which for some reason has high importance attached to it. ;)

Got to see loads more family as there was a mini reunion happening that weekend. Check out my Facebook page for more photos.

We've been watching the news from Iran with interest and following an old friend's blog (Ron Aaron who moved his family to Israel) which gives us a view into a world we are unfamiliar with and not likely to experience soon.

We're hitting the hottest "season" in our desert now, so anyone planning to visit should put that idea on hold until September or October. To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, "You know you live in the desert, when it's 80 degrees at 6 in the morning."

That's about it for now. No promises on when I'll next post. We have the wedding in August, the boys are back in school on the 3rd of that month, and before you know it the holidays will be upon us along with the cooler weather.

We're on Facebook now

I'm on Facebook now. Ian and Mac are as well. We might get Alec up there eventually. ;)

End of Year Update

It's been awhile since I posted but that's because things got busy for us. I interviewed for a job in August and didn't hear back so figured I'd hadn't gotten it. I'd been on only two interviews after sending out hundreds (no kidding) of resumes and applied to another hundred or so online applications through Monster, craigslist, ASU, etc.

I figured it was gong to be a bleak future indeed since we still haven't sold the house in Iowa and Alec took a huge pay cut with this job at ASU (but something is better than nothing, yes?), but I don't borrow trouble.

I wait until there is no doubt that trouble has found me and is pounding me into the ground. :)

Anyway, in early September I got a call from the recruiter who'd pre-interviewed me over the phone and arranged the physical interview and she told me that they wanted to offer me the job but that I couldn't start until their new fiscal year in October. Like that was going to make me say no?!

The company is Sage Software. They're UK owned and they produce software many of you may have heard of: ACT!, Peachtree Accounting, SalesLogix, and more. They're enterprise oriented (=medium to large size businesses) and I work on the SalesLogix (aka SLX) product which is a customer relations management software.

I'm the tech writer for all the documentation for that program, all of it's child programs and other programs that customize it (Intellisync, Visual Analyzer, etc. which are helper programs that make SLX more versatile). It's a steep learning curve and they were well into the development cycle for a service pack release when I started, with an RTM (release to manufacturer) of Feb 09 on the calendar.

I made the Beta date (in December) with no time to spare and am now tweaking to make sure that when we go RC (release candidate) this month that my stuff is in good shape. I'm busy all day and sometimes don't even realize it's time to go at the end of the day. I love it and the people so it's the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately, it's in Scottsdale and we live 45 minutes south. So, it's back to the long commute, but they offer the opportunity to telecommute a couple days a week after the probationary period so I can look forward to that.

Can I just tell you the fact that I have a job is great? Whew.

So, in the five weeks I had before I started work I painted nearly every room in the house, stopping only with those rooms I knew we were going to gut and completely redo. The bathrooms and the kitchen. It really only served to highlight the friggin popcorn ceilings but that's for another day.

Alec is doing well in his lab. He has issues of another nature there. Academia is so very different from bio-tech and big pharma. There is no incentive to update practices or upgrade equipment (esp since there's very little money to do so) and the grad students are only taught what their professors know. Depending on the professor sometimes that's pretty old knowledge.

Ian and Mac finished the semester with respectable grades after a tough start (3rd new school in 6 years). Both are in the upper 3.0s (something like 3.5 for Mac and 3.2 for Ian).

Ian tried out for but did not make the basketball team, though the coach asked him to manage the varsity team. We think he must have already had his team picked out but liked something he saw in Ian and wanted him around. There are only 3 managers for the varsity team. One is a senior who just transferred here this year and another is in a wheelchair and couldn't play but has great spirit. Ian's been having a good time with it but the schedule is pretty grueling. It doesn't leave a lot of time for him to practice driving so he can get his license in March. (!)

Mac has been keeping the home fires burning in World of Warcraft and seems happy that way. He's got friends at school but schedules and distance preclude hanging out after school. Fact of life in an urban area: you don't necessarily live in the same neighborhood as your friends from school and everybody's parents work and want you at home and no friends over.

It's just as well. We're all up and out of the house by 7am, the boys get home between 3 and 3:30 and Alec and I get home between 6 and 6:30. Ian and Mac catch separate buses at different times and Alec and I have different travel paths to work as well. So those schedules don't leave time for much after you factor in homework, dinner, dishes, basketball practice and/or games, etc.

Ian continues to be very involved in music. We found a brand new electronic keyboard with synthesizer features at a garage sale this last fall, so he's added that to his growing assortment. Our development does this huge weekend sale where every other house (it seemed like) clears out their garage and storage and sells it all. And let me tell you there was some good stuff. Note to my family: first weekend in November this is the place to find ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.

Mac has continued to hone his comedic skills. He really is a funny guy. Not sure where he gets it from but he's a quick wit and delivers an original line like a pro. I'm also not sure when he finds the time to develop his stuff, he must do it in his sleep, but he keeps us laughing which is a good thing.

We all continue to wrestle with the different weather here. It just did not feel like Christmas with 80 degree temps and no snow in sight. It's cooled off considerably since the summer and we have seen the temps dip into the 30s at night (it IS the desert after all), but it's just not the same. We really miss the snow.

So, we're headed out New Years weekend to a cabin in Greer, Arizona for a little snow fix. The boys will head to the slopes at Sunrise and ski while I curl up by the fire and read.

Then after a couple days of bliss it'll be back to the daily grind, which, truthfully, is welcome. The alternative is just too terrible to contemplate.

We're so thankful that we both have jobs after the nosedive our country's economy has taken. We're grateful we haven't lost anything and can pay for the roof over our head and the one that isn't. That we can take a trip to the snow and ski and that we're probably safe from all the layoffs that have happened and appear poised to continue to happen.

We're very happy with the outcome of the election (and yes, there are some pretty disgruntled McCain supporters here in Arizona... I work with some of them) and hold hope that things will get better for everyone... eventually.

We wish all the best to everyone in the new year and hope to see some or all of you at some point. We visited family in California over Thanksgiving and had a blast reconnecting with some people we hadn't seen in almost 10 years. The rest of you are next!

That's it from ClanSutherland for now. Hopefully I'll find time to post regularly again and yes, perhaps to finish the Iowa blog as well. I know some of you are dying to see the final pictures and it might be a little easier now to look at them. We'll see.