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What I read: March 2023

March 31, 2023 Randi

March was a pretty decent month for reading!

I kept busy with wildfire academy for work, multiple weekend trips to the Valley, a long-awaited Taylor Swift concert and a few other things, like knitting and hiking, but I still found time for five books.

We had an early March snowstorm that coincided with a few sick days at work. That snowstorm dumped literally two full feet of snow overnight, so it was nice to stay home, rest, and knock out several hundred pages of reading.

Then… it kept snowing all throughout March. So it’s been really nice to have a lot of cozy snowy reading days this month.

I’m definitely going to miss reading by our little faux fireplace once spring rolls around, but I am excited for (eventual) summer reading, once the chaos of fire season subsides.

One year teaching at YogaSix

March 31, 2023 Randi

It’s the one-year anniversary of the Flagstaff YogaSix studio…

…which means it’s also my one-year anniversary of teaching (and practicing!) at YogaSix.

Time flies!

I posted last year about receiving my job offer from YogaSix — which was brand new and just opening at the time — and then about undergoing Bridge Training, but then after that, I’ve mostly been quiet about teaching yoga.

…which is weird, because it’s been such a huge part of my life for the past year.

I wanted to give a little update now that I’m a full year in.

One year later… our Pela Lomi composter

March 29, 2023 Randi11 comments

It’s been about a year since our Pela Lomi countertop composter was delivered to our little Flagstaff apartment, pristinely wrapped in compostable bioplastic and recyclable cardboard/ paper tape.

…And, it’s been about a week since our replacement Pela Lomi was delivered to our Flagstaff apartment, wrapped in the same eco-friendly packaging.

Um. Yep.

I figured it was time for an update after a year with our Lomi composter.

Life lately, winter 2022/2023

March 20, 2023 Randi

After some record setting snowfall… it’s finally (officially) spring!

This winter was really, really busy.

And really, really snowy.

It wasn’t quite as busy as last winter — most of which I spent working and recreating out in northern California, with a big trip back to both Chicago and Michigan — but I still kept myself fairly occupied in and around Arizona, and even snuck in an extended weekend trip to Colorado.

‘Eras-zona’: Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour in Glendale!

March 19, 2023 Randi2 comments

I’m going to preface with this: If you’re looking for high-quality photos and videos of Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, this is NOT the place. We had cheap ($140) side-view nosebleed seats and I BARELY took any photos because I was way too busy singing and dancing and screaming and oohing and aahing and loving every single second of Taylor’s three-hour-long 44-song setlist in Glendale, Ariz.!

BUT, I’m very much still on my Swiftie high, so I wanted to write about how incredible the Eras Tour Glendale concert was!

Another year at Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy: ICS-300 / IS-300 and ICS-400 / I-400

March 17, 2023 Randi

OOOO I am tired.

But I can tell you all about National Incident Management Response framework and how it relates to the Incident Command System!

I just wrapped up five days of classes at Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy for the second year in a row.

What I read: February 2023

February 28, 2023 Randi

I read two books during February. I’m a little behind schedule, but I guess I’m at least two books closer to my goal of 50 for the year!

Backpacking the Superstitions: An overnight camping trip to the Superstition Wilderness Area on the Tonto National Forest

February 27, 2023 Randi

I spoke too soon!

Ryan and I were driving back to Flagstaff yesterday after a weekend spent backpacking through the Tonto National Forest’s Superstition Wilderness Area, and he asked how I thought the weekend went.

Despite an unexpected hailstorm we got caught in mid-hike out, despite the Maricopa County search and rescue team that approached us first thing Sunday morning and despite the high-velocity winds and rains that soaked through the bottom of our tent and into our sleeping pads, I said the trip was great.

“Nobody called search and rescue for us, I didn’t twist an ankle, I didn’t vomit at any point and I didn’t get any blisters. I’d call that a success!”

Except… again. I spoke too soon. I have a MASSIVE blister on the bottom of the ball of my foot that I somehow didn’t notice until this morning.

Regardless, I still think that our past weekend backpacking the Superstitions was a success!

Backpacking gear: What I packed for my first backpacking trip: the Arizona Hot Springs/ Lake Mead National Recreation Area

February 23, 2023 Randi

If you missed it, I recently spent a weekend out at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area camping overnight on the bank of the Colorado River by the Arizona Hot Springs!

I detailed it in the post, and — while the trip didn’t meet my snobby wildland fire expert Hotshot’s definition of “backpacking” — it was MY first time hiking all my gear several miles off a trailhead to stay overnight.

A weekend in southwest Colorado: Durango and Silverton

February 21, 2023 Randi

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday!

Ryan and I took advantage of yesterday’s federal holiday, and spent this past weekend exploring a little bit of southwest Colorado.