Two Thousand Thirteen

Wow...it's 2013. The Mayans were wrong - or our interpretation of the Mayans was wrong - and here we are. The holidays were crazy, per usual, and I haven't taken the time to post on here the way I meant to. I've been thinking back on all of the wonderful memories I made in 2012, and marveling at just how fast time goes by. There was the trip down the coast at the start of 2012, ringing in the new year with friends in Malibu. There was the half marathon training, followed by the race, trips to the Sierras, Mendocino, and Bodega Bay. There were concerts and ball games, Las Vegas and Palm Springs trips, my first fundraiser with St. Jude and, of course, glimpses into the foreign lives of my not-so-distant neighbors. Thoughts of last year make me smile. And who knows what this year will hold?! But it's not without a heavy heart that I begin 2013.

New Year's Day brought the very sad news that a very dear person, and mother of an old friend, passed away. She was the epitome of loveliness and a wonderful reminder that life is what you make it when you choose happiness each day. She once helped me up when I was down, and I want to dedicate this post to her memory. I hope we all can make 2013 a beautiful year, despite life's inevitable heartbreaks and unavoidable disappointments. In the words a wise woman once spoke to me: We never know what the future will hold, so we must always be curious. Let's make it a great year :-)

Mojave Moonscape

Somebody's excited for a road trip

  Volcanic cones Time warp

Into the Mojave

While down south in Palm Springs, C and I took a trip out to Joshua Tree. The park is fascinating and runs through two large deserts: the Mojave and the Colorado. It was sort of a hazy day, which made it difficult to capture all of the amazing things with as much clarity as I wanted, so I’ve posted them here in black and white. The desert is a really special place, and I hope you visit the park if you ever get the chance.

You're literally looking at the San Andreas Fault here. You can see where the earth has shifted and created deep valleys and peaks all along the fault line. They say that at the same time next year, the spot you’re standing on when you look out over the valley will have shifted by two inches.

Internal irrigation

Pining for Palm Springs