I barely had enough room in my life for super Steeler and Suns fandom, and, suddenly, with Matt around, I've morphed from casual observer of Buckeyes, Cavs, and Indians games to a pretty faithful fan of all sports in general. I must say that I'm ready to close the baseball chapter in my life for good. I just can't stand having to question whether or not it's talent or drugs that makes an athlete great. Suffice to say, if asked to choose, I'm a Steelers, Buckeyes, Penguins, Suns fan for now.
In the Keefer/Cooper house, most of November and December involved football, holidays, over-eating, family, and settling in. By January, we managed to start having some fun as well. We visited the Desert Botanical Garden for the Chihuly: Nature of Glass exhibit (see my photos on Flickr). There are very few things in this world as beautiful as the combination of nature and blown glass. You should all find a reason to come visit and check it out!
February was jam-packed with partying, with a good friend of mine's 35th birthday bonanza, which involved lots of booze and an out-of-control bonfire that included an intense session of alley hunting and the burning of 6 Christmas trees. We also took a road trip to Vegas for a quick weekend and tickets to Love. We ended up running into Topher and Emily, walked until we had shin-splints, and enjoyed every casino between the Mirage and the Bellagio.
March has been basketball/baseball spring training month. We had tickets to the Suns v. Lakers game, which was an incredible game and HUGE win for the Suns, and tickets to the Suns v. Cavs game. Although the Suns lost the Cavs game, Matt was in heaven, and, I have to admit, I enjoyed being a Witness to the King. This year the Indians debuted in their brand new spring training facility in Goodyear, so I thought it would be nice to surprise Matt with a few sets of tickets. So far, we've gone to Indians v. Brewers and Indians v. Dodgers. We also have tickets for Indians @ Cubs this weekend. As soon as basketball is over, and baseball has started, it will be nice for me to take a break from sports and rejuvenate before football season starts.
Next week, I'll be in Denver for a work conference. I get to fly back to a ½ day off and tickets to see The Boss. Bruce Springsteen is on "the list" for both Matt and me, so it was an easy decision for us to go. Easter weekend, I'm heading to Pittsburgh for an uber short visit with the parents. I think we also have a Diamondbacks v. Cubs game at the end of April. (The Cubs/Bears are my back-up teams these days. It seems everyone and their mother who I've met down here is from Chicago.)
In May, I'll be spending four days in Bowling Green for Mr. Chris Bloomfield's graduation. If my good friends were on one hand, Chris would be the opposable thumb. And there's nothing that would stop me from being there when he walks across that stage. Also in May is THE concert of the spring: Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction. In the words of Borat: Very excite. The following week, I get to enjoy the company of Pinkelman while she's here for a conference. I'm hoping she joins Matt, Chara, Tim, and me for our 2nd Annual Memorial Day Weekend Camping Chaos. And then, before you know it, I celebrate my one year anniversary with Nlets!
June starts off with a bang, as we are traveling to Chicago for The Wedding Celebration of Meredith Deubler & Michael Ansenberger. It will be a quick, but inevitably raucous and memorable trip. July will partially suck because I'll be on a plane on my birthday en route to "sunny" Savannah for my work's annual conference. I look forward to the humidity and long work hours. The rest of July will be full of what I anticipate to be our yearly attempts to stay out of the heat and keep ourselves entertained. We're thinking: take dance or maybe cooking lessons; join a gun club; re-watch our favorite TV series; indulge in an ever-growing pile of sports DVDs; and, enjoy our pool and new garden.
Oh, yeah. Our garden!
Two weekends ago, my friend from work come over to the house and helped us plan our garden. We have a number of terracotta pots and a big, U-shaped planter. We decided on a sweat equity barter: We help her weed her garden; and, she helps us plant ours. We got somewhat of a raw deal, seeing as though she has a HUGE garden that required six straight hours of weeding on an abnormally hot day in March; however, she and her husband provided us with invaluable green thumb knowledge of growing in Phoenix, as well as a few hours of manual labor. We planted herbs, veggies, and a mixture of bushes, succulents, cacti, and ground-cover. If you need to find me between May and October, chances are that I'll be by the pool with a book in my hand.
With the garden planted, every box unpacked, and most household quirks discovered, I guess you could say that Matt and I are finally "home."
Okay. Back to our crazy calendar of events.
In August, we will celebrate Phil and Julie's wedding in San Diego (drink it in). But, the main event of the month is our summer vacation. So far, the plan: starts with a road trip to San Francisco; includes a weekend with Brian (though, we have yet to confirm this, as it seems everyone is including Brian in their 2009 travel plans!); is followed by three days at in the city, where we'll stay at a hotel at Fisherman's Wharf; then moves on to two days of camping at Big Sur; and, finishes with a mad dash to an overnight stay in L.A. with the Lydeckers before driving home to Phoenix (or, a drive home straight from the coast). We are insanely impatient for this trip to begin!
Beyond August, plans haven't solidified yet, but are starting to come into focus. We might do a long Labor Day weekend at Sandy Pond. The Killers concert we were supposed to see in April has been postponed until late-September. I'm pretty sure Columbus Day weekend will involve either Portland or Bellingham. We will probably uphold our Thanksgiving tradition and attempt a fourth tasty turkey. We have ever so slight discussed spending Christmas up north with our families. It would be nice to get all parents and siblings and miscellaneous family to come to us for the gorgeous winter weather in Arizona, but we don't know if we can make it happen.
Wow! That was like a novella/vignette/autobiography in 1,500 words or less! I figured I owed all of you a serious update. If you couldn't read between the lines, here's the bottom line:
I'm happy!
Very happy!!
Very very happy!!!
Very very very happy!!!!
Very happy!!
Very very happy!!!
Very very very happy!!!!
(P.S. Matt/Coop says hi. And, no, I don't think he'll EVER get a Facebook account.)
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