sí señor

Hi all. I have a confession to make: I'm not in the mood today, for anything. I have hardly gotten any sleep in the past few days, my appetite is unfortunately off, and although I have ridiculous amounts of work to do, focusing, is nearly impossible. There, I said it, feels good to get that of my chest, although I do apologize to you for the Tuesday gloom.

To make it up to you, I thought we'd take a look at the birthday afternoon, first spent eating here, 

and then, doing something new here. But perhaps I should get into a few more details?

We quickly lunched at Señor Taco, a local chain; Beginning with this scrumptious appetizer,

then enjoying our separate meals of tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, 

and a vegetarian burrito with black beans, guacamole, rice, lettuce and tomato for me.

Next we were off to the big, exciting, birthday present of an activity for Miss Deanna...

HORSEBACK RIDING!

It was a first time for my sister and brother, the first in a long time for my mom,

a way overdue millionth time for my former "farming cowboy" father,

and a second for me. Remember my day of an introduction to horseback riding in Chile?

The hour and a half long ride was beautiful. 

I hope you're enjoying the photographs I took from atop Colt. 

And despite my brother's ever obvious enthusiasm, we had a fantastic time. Horses amaze me.

"I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."  -Agatha Christie

to be a teen

While we were on our trip, my little sister turned 15. It blew me away, and it still does. I cannot believe how much time has past since she was a baby and am amazed at the wonderful person she is becoming. And right now, I can't help but wish to be in her shoes. She is able to mature yet childish, responsible yet free, and she is still innocent enough to believe in hope, and love, and dreams beyond any imaginable extent; it's all okay, and it's all more than possible.

On the morn of February 13th we both woke up fairly early, and finally rested, to Starbuck's that my father had picked up for us on his morning drive through Scottsdale.

Flavor my senses, sweetens my disposition, stirs my imagination, and nourishes my dreams... is that coffee they speak of?

I had an egg, cheese, and spinach sandwich on a ww english muffin alongside green tea.

And then we began our day on the Lost Dog Wash trail, this time with the entire family.

My dad and brother actually began to jog up the ridge... while the girls and I walked behind them :). There's so much beauty to take in, why rush it? 

There were spectacular views of the Valley of the Sun, also known as the greater Phoenix area, on our way up. But before we knew it, it was time to go back down for Deanna's birthday present. Don't ask what it was, rather what it was that we did :) and you shall find out soon enough!

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination."   -Robert Fulghum

the mesquite room

Hello, my sweets, me again! I don't know what I would do without the comforting reliability of the blogosphere, and all the wonderful people in it, and, of course, my best friends in the real world :) I just wish someone had an antidote to numbness. Now where was I? 

Ah yes, Arizona. To conclude our first day of fam re-bonding underneath the clear Arizona sky, we decided to lie low and eat out at the hotel's restaurant, Ahnala. I had never truly had any Native North American dishes and had no idea what Mesquite cooking was, so I was pretty excited about it. Plus, "many house specialties showcase citrus, pecans and herbs grown locally at the Fort McDowell Yavapai Farm."

Although the wine list was impressive, dehydrated and exhausted as I was, I stuck with water and this incredibly spiced (not sure how else to describe it) bread that took me through the entire meal.

Appetizers: Goat Cheese Mousse | Goat cheese whipped with cream cheese and formed in to a mold. Goat cheese is covered with caramel that has been made with ancho chilies. Dish is garnished with pumpkin seeds and served with tortas (Spanish style cracker that can be sweet or savory). Calamari | Almonds, Arugula, Tomatoes, Preserved Lemon, Chimichurri.

My first course: Cauliflower Soup | Bacon Caviar, Preserved Lemon.

Entrées around the table: Wild Salmon | Mole Sausage, Anasazi Beans, Chimichurri, Chili Corn Broth. Beef Tenderloin | House Pancetta, Singh Farms Vegetables, Cabalas-Date Tart.

My second course: Crispy Salad | Chicken livers are soaked in buttermilk for twenty four hours. They are dredged in a flour mixture and deep fried. Mixed greens, arugula, pistachio, grape and preserved lemon are tossed with green grape vinaigrette. (+ a most perfectly-ripe avocado).

Each plate got mixed reviews, aside from my two simple choices. I may have been the only one that left the table happy but so are the risks when you try new things, I suppose. On a nostalgic note, I am so thankful to my parents for including me in on the family trip. I was almost not going to go because it was such a long flight for such a quick visit, and I had a million other studious things that would have happily kept me company all weekend, but the ever present reality of my growing up quickly reminded me of how few things all five of us will easily be able to do together from now on. And following our first night, the fun continued... ¡Hasta mañana chicas lindas!