Like I mentioned in an earlier post, not every day of the Zero to Hero challenge has a writing component to it. The day before yesterday I played around with LOTS of different themes for this blog (Day 5), and today I experimented with various headers, backgrounds and fonts (Day 7). If you like them, let me know! If you hate them, please don’t tell me that in those words because I dislike like wearing my frowny face. But you’re welcome to offer up some constructive criticism or ideas! Oh – and an extra treat for you – I now have a few different headers randomly cycling through at the top of this blog, so stop back often and collect ’em all! 🙂
Author Archives: Marci
Vancouver in February? Screw That! Hellooo, Arizona!
February is the PERFECT time to escape the Pacific Northwest. It’s rainy, overcast, gray, possibly snowy (or slushy, more likely) and you’re probably itching to see the sun right about now. Seasonal Affective Disorder makes me so SAD!!! So, why not go somewhere warm and sunny? It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, AND I’m turning 40 later this month, so Chris and I decided to turn mid-February into a Sunny-VD-BD Extravaganza by heading out to Sedona, Arizona!
I did a lot of hiking, camping and backpacking in the arid desert canyon-country parts of the US while I was in grad school (Fort Collins, CO, by the way) and I haven’t seen these parts in YEARS. I really miss the desert – as I biologist I’m completely fascinated by how various life forms have evolved and adapted to survive in such a harsh environment. Further, the rock formations make you feel like you’re on a completely different planet. So, I’m very excited to get back to the desertish parts of the country and enjoy the sun, fresh air, and warm temperatures! Happy birthday to ME!
We left EARLY on Thursday morning, flying out from Portland, stopping in Phoenix, and arriving in Flagstaff. We picked up a car and decided to eat lunch at MartAane’s Burrito Palace, which was AMAZING…if you like BLTs and grilled cheese sandwiches and guacamole, the Ultimate BLT is for you. I highly recommend the curly fries, as well. And a strange aside, they DO NOT offer diet soda! Oh well, I’m on vacation, right? Yum!
The smallest baggage claim ever, discovered at the Flagstaff Airport.
I ate this whole thing. Do I regret it? My answer is no. I know you are jealous.
MartAnne’s – Amazing artwork by Emma Gardner graces the walls.
We had some time to kill before our hotel room was going to be ready, so we headed over to Williams and spent a couple of hours at Bearizona, where you can ride an open-air bus (or drive your own car, should you wish to exercise that particular insurance risk) around the park and see wolves, bears, sheep, buffalo and all sorts of other critters. We had a good time feeding the goats in the Bearizona Barn Yard, but watch your fingers! Chris almost came away with only nine of his!
Just a few pictures of Bearizona…if you request them, I can send you about 200 more. Lemme know.
Finally, we headed down 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and arrived in Sedona at the Amara Hotel. Just in time for sunset. Just in time for desert and drinks (the Almond Joy actually does taste like Almond Joy candy bars, and I had to get three of them just to make sure that this assessment was correct). What will the rest of this vacation bring? You’ll just have to wait for the next installment to find out!
Related posts:
Day 4: Complete
By the way, I completed the Zero to Hero Day 4 assignment. Boom.
DO NOT PUSH THE SHINY RED BUTTON!
In the beginning…there was A Very Marcilicious Blog…
Here I am, trying to be contemplative about this blog post on my lunch break.
It’s Day 3 of Zero to Hero. And before you start thinking “SLACKER! It’s only the third day and she missed Day 2!”, you can just stop right there because I did Day 2, it just wasn’t a regular blog post. The assignment for Day 2 was to edit my blog title, tagline, and add a widget that gives a short explanation about my blog, which I did, and you should pay more attention next time. That’s one of the things about this Zero to Hero thing; it’s not just about writing a post every day, there are other blog-related assignments in addition to writing. However, today is not one of those days. Today, I write (on my lunch break, of course).
Today’s assignment is to write about what was on my mind when I first decided to blog. A bit of history first, though; Fuzzy Undertones is the reincarnation of A Very Marcilicious Blog, which I started way back in July 2005. At the time, I was recently out of graduate school and mostly living on my mom’s couch trying to piece bits of my brain back together. I had a part-time job at the San Diego Wild Animal Park as a tour guide for their overnight camping program (best job ever, by the way, maybe I’ll blog about it some day). Since I have a record that captures why I was thinking about starting a blog at the time, here’s a little quote for you from my very first blog post, dated July 8, 2005:
I’ve decided to start this blog because it might encourage me to do something so that I have something to post on my blog. Who knows if this cutting-edge experimental technique will work, and I can’t promise that I’ll update this blog very often, so you’ll just have to hold your breath and keep your pants on.
And what a grand idea, in a circular-logic kind of way! My reason for reviving this blog is pretty much the same – I want to draw more meaning from the events in my life, my thoughts, my actions, and the world that surrounds us. I’m a natural-born observer, but I find myself all-too-often glossing over daily life. In fact, when I was a kid (like, under ten years old), I distinctly recall thinking “why do the grown-ups walk around looking like they’re asleep? Where are the smiles and the emotions? I don’t ever want to be like that”. But unfortunately, I’ve caught myself falling asleep as an adult. Writing might just help me stay awake. And if you have any other pro-tips for staying awake in life, I’d love to hear about them!
But back to Day 3. I’m supposed to write the post I wanted to write when I envisioned myself with a blog (or reviving my old blog). I’m not sure I’m doing that now, although this post contains elements of that post – I’m trying to be honest, incorporate memories, and reflect. Maybe it is even humorous (well, at least I think I’m funny, sometimes). There will be other opportunities for me to write about specific things, but for today, a couple of somewhat cohesive thoughts will have to do.
And just so you know, Day 4 is a blogging community exercise. But I just might write a post anyway, especially for you!
Words that I live by (for shame!)
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it.
– Mary Wilson Little
Fresh-Squeezed Blogging
I started A Very Marcilicious Blog back in 2005. I can’t remember why, exactly, I started it, only that I really loved writing and humor, and wanted to connect with the world in some bigger way than I was at that time. My blog posts started with funny clip art pictures or brief thoughts on whatever topic passed through my mind. It then evolved into more of a “what I’m up to” blog, then a travel blog, and then a blog that I always had to catch up on, and then an overwhelming blog that just seemed unmanageable to deal with. Sad to say, it had turned into something that I looked at as a chore, and that I did largely to update a few family members and friends that I didn’t talk to regularly about my latest whereabouts. It was toned down, bland, and uninspired. I quit writing for a few months. I took some time off.
Enter 2014! I decided to revive A Very Marcilicious Blog, which I’ve renamed Fuzzy Undertones. I switched from Blogger to WordPress to breathe some fresh air into my blog’s appearance. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to write. I may not have everything fleshed out right now, but I know that I want to write more creatively. I do a lot of technical writing at work and it has been crushing my creative side. But it’s not dead yet, as evidenced by this blog’s re-emergence into the web-o-sphere! I will post pictures, random thoughts, irreverent rants, updates on my adventures, and everything you wanted to know (or not) about my cats.
I realize that blogging (and most social media) is all about narcissism…so much of it is about the writer. Honestly, why should anyone else care what one person (like me) has to say about anything? Why not just have a personal journal as opposed to a web-published diary of sorts? I think part of it, for me at least, is that I’m having trouble owning my ideas and thoughts as being valuable – and I don’t want my brain to settle for apathy. That scares the shit out of me. So to connect with other people who might have similar thoughts and ideas, or at least appreciate them, is almost a way of validation. It shouldn’t matter what other people think of me, and it doesn’t. I guess I’m just scared of not being thought of at all. And bonus – having a blog is like being given a little bite of low-cal immortality. Taste it once and you’ll want more.
I just started doing this “Zero to Hero” blogging thing, which is a 30 day process to better blogging. I hope you’ll understand (and maybe appreciate?) this little (albeit self-centered) journey I’m about to embark on – to be a better writer, a more creative thinker, and more of a participant in our human community. Maybe you’ll start or refresh your own blog, yes? If you do, let me know where you live online – I’ll follow you with all my support! ❤
…And in National Roller Derby News…
Note the absence of red tape on Gritty Cat’s helmet! She has leveled up to yellow…next stop, Green!
Snow Days: So Much Better as an Adult!
And no one is making me shovel the driveway, even!
At least I’m not allergic to Lucky Charms
Yesterday I was a happier person. Albeit, I was a person who sneezed and sniffled and had a nose so itchy I wanted to rip it off my face and throw it on the ground, (like so, below) but I was happier. I was a person who was not diagnosed as being allergic to anything.
Which I thought was odd, since my nose was determined to become the slimiest creature on earth, a title which is technically owned by eels, who produce the most slime per unit body mass of any other animal on earth. Why, nose, why go for such a title? How about something a little less mucousy and sneezy? I argued with my nose about the issue, but she was not having any of it. Hence, yesterday I took myself down to the allergy center to get tested so that I could potentially dash my nose’s dreams of becoming permanently disgusting.
You might notice that allergen 2 seems to be a lot angrier than the control (-) or allergen 1. Can you guess what it is that I am allergic to? I will give you five guesses (that’s your hint, btw).
So let’s start over again. Yesterday, before allergy testing, I was a happier person. When I walked into my house, this is what I used to see:
Awwwwww, right??? Look at those itty bitty kitties! So snuggly and cute (well, the white one looks a little demonic, but for the most part, they are pretty freaking adorable). WELL NOT ANYMORE, JACK, because since I’ve been allergy tested, all I see now when I walk in the door is this:
Which will inevitably lead to this:
And then this:
Or else this:
Which will obviously end up with me like this:
and
Until finally, I’m like:
And ultimately like this:
What’s a girl to do? How can I be a crazy cat lady AND be allergic to cats? Oh, the bitter, bitter irony. You taste like cat fur and litter box dust, all rolled up into one huge hairball of sneeze. Why, sucky immune system, why???
The good news is that I am willing to live the rest of my life taking potentially unhealthy doses of nasal steroids and antihistamines every day (or at least until all the cats die and I run out of cat refills). Also, I did not take any tests yesterday that indicated I am allergic to Lucky Charms cereal. So wow, bright side it is. Suck it, universe.
Fuzzy Undertones 
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