Introducing...

In an effort to make our blog more exciting we're officially introducing what will be two weekly posts from none other than Alan and myself. Alan will start the week off with "Alan's Two Cents" where he'll give us all helpful money saving tips. I know we all can use more pocket change, right? And I'll conclude the week with "Steph's Pick" where I'll highlight various fav's of mine - recipes, gift idea's, websites, entertaining idea's, etc.

This will all begin next week!!! I can hardly wait.

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Lake Tahoe

We had the incredible privilege of traveling to Lake Tahoe this past weekend for a long weekend of skiing with our dear friends, Kyle & Nealy! Now we had heard multiple people tell us how beautiful it is - but we had no idea. We were certainly in for a great surprise. As you can see in the above pictures - it is probably one of the most beautiful places in this country. God was certainly displaying His magnificent glory when He created the snow-capped peaks overlooking the beautiful waters. The view was something you might figure to only see in a magazine - Majestic!

While there the guys skied three full days and the girls two. We enjoyed some great food and got to spend some very enjoyable time with Kyle and Nealy - it really was a perfect long-weekend. I hope we can go back soon :)

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

(Alan) What better time to start contributing to our blog than now? The most wonderful time of the year is upon us. No, it is not December...it's March. And that means only one thing in our household...March Madness!! I can't wait! In the span of 10 days (over 3 weeks or so), there will be 64 games of college basketball. Four teams will make it to the coveted Final Four and only one will be crowned National Champion. And of course there will be many shining moments.

I think there is a basketball gene in my family, seriously. It does not matter if we are watching or talking basketball. I grew up as a child filling out brackets with my family, and just moments ago completed this years round of brackets. It has become a tradition in our house. Like some people may always go to Sunrise Easter service - each person in the Flies family faithfully fills out a March Madness bracket. (I realize this comparision is weak)

I look forward to watching as many of the upcoming 64 games as I can - and with any luck I might win the coveted title of winning the Flies Family ESPN bracket tourney and have my own shining moment.

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The Bucket List

Last night I finally saw "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Now I have to be honest, although the plot of the movie sounded okay it didn't sound overly inspirational: two guys from different sides of the tracks end up in the same hospital room after discovering they probably have terminal cancer. They endure chemotherapy treatments together, waiting for test results together, getting sick together, and the stages of response as they both find out they have terminal conditions. It sounds a bit depressing, but it’s actually as inspiring as it is heart-warming (bring tissues ladies).

Anyone who’s ever walked through this season of life with family and close friends will find a warm embrace from a film that embraces your pain. Anyone who hasn’t gone through it yet will be better equipped. Even better, though, is a big-screen invitation to write down the things you want to do before your run is done…and do them!!!

Nonetheless, upon driving home from the theater last night I decided it was our turn to create a "bucket list" of some sorts. So here's our first item on the list - LEARN TO SURF.

What's on your list?

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Turning Back Time

I bet most of you remember the popular Cher song, "If I Could Turn Back Time." Right? Just thinking of that song makes me want to sing it out loud. :) For some strange reason that song reminds me of Daylight Savings Time - the reason for this post! Now, most of you reading this blog moved your clocks ahead an hour this past weekend. But since moving to AZ we ceased doing this bi-annual ritual. So a couple times a year we confuse ourselves all over again trying to determine which time zone we're really in and how many hours apart we are from our loved ones. And why? Why in the world does AZ not observe this practice?

In an effort to find out more information I did a little research this morning that I thought might be intriguing to you all. Wikipedia says "the state of Arizona has not observed DST since 1967. This is in large part due to energy conservation since the temperature in and around Phoenix and Tucson is hotter than any other large U.S. metropolitan area during the summer, resulting in more power usage from air conditioning units and evaporative coolers in homes and businesses. An extra hour of sunlight while people are active would cause people to run their cooling systems longer, thereby using more energy." Just a little food for thought!

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our annual addiction

I have an addiction. I am not to be trusted around anything sweet, particularly Girl Scout cookies. Just last week while both Alan and I were running errands, we stumbled across the smiley faces of our annual brown/green-vested cookie friends - the Girl Scouts. Please note that during this occurrence we were not together. So as you can imagine - we both came home with boxes of cookies from separate places. This certainly put smiles on our faces but a few too many cookies in our pantry.

Since last Friday, I have indulged in one full box of Samoas cookies (not to mention a number of Thin Mints). I feel terrible. And not just the mental ramifications of eating that many cookies. Physically, I feel as though I've consumed a lot of waxy, coconuty, fake chocolate pain. My belly is just churning. I realize that these items can be enjoyed in moderation, but my brain knows no moderation when it comes to stuffing my face with desserts.

I mean - honestly - sooner or later the annual Girl Scout cookie sales will be right up there with my dreaded Thanksgiving and Christmas sweet consumption. It might as well be a holiday in and of itself. (only joking obviously)

All that being said - my greetings go out to you - Happy Girl Scout Cookie Consumption Month!!!! Hear hear!!!

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Siphon Draw

After much anticipation we finally hiked Siphon's Draw - a very intense hike just east of The Valley at Lost Dutchman State Park. Alan had hiked it about 2 years ago but I (Steph) had never done it - mostly b/c I was afraid I wasn't in good enough shape. But yesterday I came face to face with the fear of not being able to make it to the top. Luckily I was able to make it just fine and we had a good time along the way.

Here's to fears conquered!

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