Monday, December 31, 2007

A Mojo New Year to You!!


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Originally uploaded by Amber Wildermuth
Happy New Year!! As always, the new year is a chance to reflect on what has gone by, what you would like to happen, and how you are going to accomplish that. Good luck, and Best Wishes in achieving all the goal's you set. . . .

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Peace On Earth!!




Merry Christmas to all!! I would like to wish everyone a calm and peaceful holiday.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Rainy Day Rose


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Originally uploaded by Amber Wildermuth
Just a random shot when I was out walking in the rain this weekend. Enjoy!!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Seattle Trip



I went to Seattle to visit my aunt & uncle for the Thanksgiving holiday. Seattle was beautiful; the sky was clear the entire weekend, and even though the highs were only in the 40s, it was great weather, and with proper layering, walking around outside was quite pleasant!! The neighborhood they live in is a pedestrian neighborhood, there are tons of restaurants, bars, and shops within a few blocks. Also, there is a lake, a zoo, and a park! On Friday we went whale watching up in Anacortes, about an hour and a half north of Seattle. The water was as calm as glass, and even though we didn't see any whales, we saw lots of other wildlife. Being on the water for a day was good enough! On Saturday we drove up to Snoqualmie pass so my aunt could get some snow pictures for her Christmas cards. It was very cold up there, especially for a desert dweller such as myself, but peaceful, to hear the wind through the trees, with no traffic, and the sound of a running creek. I enjoyed my trip, and look forward to visiting Seattle again soon!!



Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Blogging to you live from Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. . . . Thankfully Thanksgiving day is not as heavy as a travel day as the Tuesday or Wednesday before. However, just to be prepared, I arrived at the airport 3 hours before my 8:50am scheduled departure. I didn't check a bag, and it took approximately 7 minutes to get through security. So, while I'm very happy I missed the traffic, I am now stuck with a few hours of downtime. The people watching at the airport is great. Many of these people here today only fly once or twice a year, a lot of them are chasing small children around, and everybody still looks sleepy at this point. We are all probably daydreaming about getting to our destination, having a some turkey, and watching a lot of football!!

Anyway, I just wanted to wish all of my faithful blog readers (the 3 or 4 of you know who you are) a Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope the day goes well for everyone!!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Beowulf

I went to see Beowulf tonight, the new movie starring Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother (even in the tale, she is never given a name), Ray Winston as Beowulf, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, and John Malkovitch. I saw the movie in 3-D, which is the version I highly recommend if you are going to see this film. I never read the tale this is based on, but the movie had looked interesting from the previews, and one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, adapted the screenplay and was an executive producer. I thought the movie was well-done, although a bit graphic as the monster Grendel is ripping people apart. All in all, I would rate it a 3.5 out of 5. If you are looking for some action, and nostalgic about 3-D films, add this to your list.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Harvest Moon

I was driving home tonight, gazing out the window without really seeing anything, when out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the moon. It was one of those beautiful moons, disproportionately sized, and blood-orange. It was only a sliver of a moon as well. Before when I have seen moons that size and that color they have been full moons. I was on the freeway when I caught sight of the moon, so I exited and drove a little bit further out past the city lights, but by the time I did, the moon was gone. Whether it was hidden behind some clouds, or the atmosphere had shifted, I'm not sure, but either way, I missed my chance at a picture. The moon was haunting though; I'll have the image in my mind for quite some time.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

To Boldly Go Where All Nerds Have Gone Before


Today I took part in pop culture history. I attended a showing of Star Trek: The Menagerie at the local AMC theatre. This showing is a kick off event for the launch of Star Trek: TOS on HD DVD, coming out this Christmas. Now, I cannot lay claim to being a true Trekkie; I did enjoy the movies in the theater and I will watch reruns occasionally on tv, but I can appreciate the impact the shows have had on society, the advances they made in special effects, and of course, watching a young William Shatner parade around the television or movie screen, in this case. (Although my favorite Star Trek characters were always Spock and Data. I think this will make sense to those who know me). From a technical standpoint, watching this in the theater was amazing. The crew has taken the original film, frame by frame, and remastered it into High Definition. The difference in the quality of the color and picture was amazing, even if the laser beams were still a little cheesy.

The crowd there was quite diverse, and while I didn't get any photographic evidence, there was one person in costume. I thought that strange, I was guessing there would be quite a few more. The funniest thing that happened all evening was at the end of the movie, while waiting for the crowd to thin out, when this woman asked this man, obviously in his mid to late 40s, if he was going to go out afterwards. And he said "of course mom, I have the keys to the car." Hmmm. I guess some of the stereo types do hold out. :)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Cardinal's Game


Cardinal's Game
Originally uploaded by Amber Wildermuth
It was such a great game! The stadium was amazing, and it was nice to have a chance to explore. Becky & I wandered around for about an hour wandering around killing time while traffic subsided. After the game, The Cardinal mascot comes out and leads all the small kids in aerobics and lets them run around the field. This is good for any parents to note, because you can wait after the game for traffic to clear, and the Cardinal wears your kids out so they can sleep on the way home! I was hoping that a player would come out to sign autographs, but no such luck.

Cardinals Beat Detroit!!!




Ahh football. I won tickets to a Cardinal's game through my work United Way Fundraiser. They were great seats, in the upper deck, but on the 50 yard line. There really isn't a bad seat in the University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinal defense was on fire, and the Cardinal's pulled off a 31-21 victory. It was the first game for both my friend Becky and I. We enjoyed getting to explore the stadium, both before and after the game. I got a new Cardinal's hat; I chose a funny hat, rather than a ballcap, which was nice when the Air Conditioning kicked on (it is November, I know).



The Westgate shopping center was also very nice. We arrived at the game a few hours early, and found seats in the bar at Gordon Biersch (the Yard House and Fox Sports Grill had waits over 2 hours) and were able to watch the some of the morning games. It was an odd football morning, with a ton of safeties and low scoring games. Pittsburgh pulled out an improbable victory, and Minnesota lost Adrian Peterson to a torn lateral collateral ligament. My Bears also won; defeating the Raiders at Oakland!!!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Sheer Joy


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Originally uploaded by Amber Wildermuth
Wouldn't it be wonderful to be enjoying life this much?

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Meghan's Graduation



My sister graduated with her Master of Arts in Education yesterday. That is quite the accomplishment at 24, especially with working full time (usually two jobs), having a young son (he turns 2 today!!), and managing her family. The ceremony was very nice. It was opened by a Scottish marching band, including bagpipes, which I really enjoyed. Congratulations again Meghan!!



Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!!





I don't have kids of my own, so on Halloween and other holidays I "borrow" my friends' kids. That usually means I just tag along and take pictures. My super-girly niece Elizabeth actually asked to be the Ogre Princess Fiona for Halloween. Her mom Becky put some green makeup on her face, and she had the official Shrek 3 Fiona dress (purchased by her Grandma). She was a cute Ogre!!



I've also included some photos of my friend's work Halloween party. If you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the photo's will be even funnier.



Sunday, October 28, 2007

Halloween Mojo Style!!




My friend's band, the Mojo Farmers, played at Hollywood Alley last night. They unveiled a new song, Day by Day, written and performed by my friend Jim King. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my camera into movie mode (still working on reading the instruction manual), so I don't have a video, but it was an awesome song. Hopefully I will be able to steal a portion of the clip from Becky's video camera.



The bar is an awesome dive bar half in Mesa, half in Tempe. There is actually a line down the bar that shows the city division. Bar hopping and band watching in Arizona is much nicer now that it is smoke free indoors!!



Happy Halloween!!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Mud Run 2007


The Mud Run at Camp Pendleton, what a blast!! This event happens 4 times during the year, and is a 10K through the Pendleton Marine Corps Base, complete with 3 mud pits, a tunnel crawl, two creek crossings, and a mud crawl. Everyone gets dirty, everyone has a good time, and the money goes to the ASYMCA foundation. I ran with one of my friends from Phoenix, and two of his grad students visiting from Spain, and my sister ran with another team. Fun was had by all! I can't wait until next year. Hopefully we will finally get team t-shirts made up.



Thursday, October 18, 2007

Third Thursdays at Tempe Marketplace





As if there weren't all ready enough; a new shopping center has sprung up in Tempe. I have to admit after walking around the Marketplace tonight, I thoroughly enjoyed the set up, with the brick walkways, water features, and even an outdoor fireplace! (I know it's Arizona, but in the fall and winter, an outdoor fireplace makes a nice, romantic touch.) There are several great restaurants, tons of shopping, a gelato shop, a Harkins Cine Capri, and even a Dave & Busters if you feel like gaming.



Every Third Thursday the Edge 103.9 is going to have a live band (or 2) playing in the open air amphitheater. The event is sponsored by Budweiser, so there is beer to purchase. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Thursday, wandering through the shopping center, drinking a beer, and listening to great music. Tonight's band was Authority Zero, a national band that started right here in AZ! It's always great when the local guys make it big. I'm looking forward to spending many more 3rd Thursdays at the Marketplace, especially with the excellent weather Arizona is currently enjoying!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

F1 Racing-Hybrid takes the Cup!!



For our annual team building event, my coworkers and I went to the F1 Race Factory in Tempe. It was a blast!! We did two separate races, each consisting of 21 laps. I love to drive fast, but mostly on flat, straight freeways. The curves on the track are slightly harder for me, and I finished third to last and second to last, respectively. Eric took the trophy, with a healthy lead over second place, held by Kevin, and the bronze trophy went to Scott. Afterward, we had dinner at Monti's Casa Vieja, a good steak place in the oldest building in Tempe. I'm looking forward to racing again soon!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Total Colorado Vacation

I thought I would try out the SlideShow. . . .

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Pike's Peak



This morning my friend Doug drove us up to the top of Pike's Peak. It's an hour drive, versus a nine hour hike, so I was happy with the chosen mode of transportation. The morning was perfect. The drive up the mountain was wonderful, and I got a chance to take quite a few pictures from the passenger side. The summit was freezing, and there was a lot of cloud cover rolling in, which made for some breathtaking pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!


Saturday, October 6, 2007

Hiking in the Springs. . . .

I'm on vacation this weekend visiting my buddy in Colorado Springs. Last night we had an excellent meal at the Blue Star Wine Bar
consisting of tapas and a bottle of Rioja!!.

This morning we got up and took a 6 mile hike, we finished in under 3 hours, and the guide said it took 3, so we kept up a good pace!!
There was a small creek flowing down the mountain, then we also stopped at Helen Hunt Falls for a photo op. It was quiet and peaceful, the perfect way to spend a vacation day. The weather was beautiful, just a tad windy at the top of the mountain.




Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Laughlin

I spent 24 hours in Laughlin this Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, I was not able to snap any pictures; the security guards frown highly on cameras in the casino area. However, I did enjoy playing many different slot machines. I discovered Hot Hot Jackpot, which I won $90 on, and Monopoly, where I lost my $90. I was in Laughlin with my parents and some extended family, including two of my great-aunts, a great-uncle, my grandma, and my aunt and her boyfriend. We played BINGO, we bowled, we gambled.

I, unfortunately, decided to take the scenic route home from Laughlin. I completely missed the turnoff for Wickenburg from Kingman, so I ended up going home through Ash Fork. It wasn't a horrible detour. Traffic wasn't bad, the weather was nice, and I got to see more of Arizona. I did finally make it home safely, and am looking forward to my next trip this weekend to Colorado Springs!! I will have my camera on that trip, and plan on taking plenty of pictures for the blog. Until then. . . .

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Yucca Tap Room

Fortunately the live music scene in the Tempe area has started to thrive again. Last night my friends and I enjoyed the music of Greyhound Soul at their CD release party at the aforementioned bar.




The two opening acts were also very good, one was strictly acoustic, which to me is amazing when a band can sound great without any electronic amplification.



We also saw a bachelorette party in progress. The girls all had wigs on, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were handing out condoms, requesting condoms, dancing, and just all around providing entertainment for everyone else in the bar!