More Winter Merriment

1. River of Lights at the BioPark
I took my little sister here tonight, and it was pretty fun. I only took one picture though, and it is of my sister, so I'm not posting it. I know enough about the internet to know not to put children's pictures up. So sad...

Anyway, first they had this nature crafts thing that was free. They had all kinds of stuff to make. My little made two Christmas ornaments, a bamboo picture frame, and a bird-feeding pinecone. They also had a quiz you could take based on the nature info, and they were giving out prizes for all 7 correct answers. I was expecting something pretty crappy, but it turned out to be a fairly decent sized stuffed animal. Very nice!

Then we finally went into the actual River of Lights. The garden itself was really neat, and the lights were pretty. We had hot cocoa and churros for dinner. (I am such a good influence.) The last place we went though, an old lady face first on the sidewalk and was bleeding quite a bit. Luckily other people rushed over to help, because I didn't know what to do with a 10 year old kid who would probably be freaked out by it. I feel a little guilty, but what can you do? You can only rescue one person per week. (Unless of course that is your job and then you are AWESOME.)

2. Office treats.
All of our vendors keep sending us cookies and candy and cheeses and all sorts of good stuff. Luckily my officemate and I started taking walks at lunch; otherwise I probably would have gained a ton of weight. Sometimes I eat so much junk food I forget to eat lunch.

3. Matt is out at his field site doing field work with snowshoes on. Snowshoes!

4. And just so we know it is winter in Arizona, we are scheduling a hike up Siphon's Draw that might require a hat.
So from skiing to hiking, anything that will get me in shape for those 3000 vertical feet in Ecuador. Can I hire anyone to be my Sherpa? At least I have the altitude advantage. I can now hike at over 10,000 feet without dying. I even did it without my inhaler the other day.

5. And just so everyone knows, my awesome friend KGS was named Employee of the Year at the state water agency.
Yeah it's really got nothing to do with winter except it's the end of the year. I'm hoping she has enough pull to pull some strings for me. Hehe. Today my boss tried to tell me my job is like being a reporter. As if. Also did anyone know they now sell things like Chat Divas Barbie? What does that even mean? I was about to complain about the new GAME of LIFE being all about rock stars and prima donnas until I remembered that the old GAME of LIFE was about getting married and having babies. Probably not the best message for tweens either. That has nothing to do with winter or with number 5.

6. And finally, holiday cards.
I have only gotten through about 12 on my list of over 40, so sorry if you haven't gotten yours yet. And if you don't get it before Christmas. It will come eventually. And it might still be during the holidays.

7. Go out and enjoy the fun winter stuff in your town!