Phoenix Botanical Gardens

Saturday was a lovely day to get out with this gal, J. Do you ever wonder what all those funny images are on your camera? I'm sure one is for sports (the running man image). One is for scenery (the mountain image). But I just don't know what the one below is for.


Anyway, J and I took our cameras and went out with our friend S (who has a totally legit camera, being a real professional) and went to the Botanical Gardens. I love that place. And now, you can love it, too! (We had the good fortune of catching all the desert plants in bloom. They are fantastic!)

I love the green in this shot, contrasted with the white. This plant never fails to catch my eye.

I really like this particular picture--I think it's the yellow specks surrounding the cactus...

We stopped in for a brief visit at the Butterfly exhibit. (Most of them were hanging upside down on the plants getting ready for sleep because the sun had started going down. We did catch a few of them out and about, though...)

I would like to sit on this bench...for a few hours. With a book. Anyone care to join me? The weather is in the 70's and upper 80's...

I don't really know the name of this plant, but I love the red and green...

Did you know that cacti have the most wonderful textures and colors?

It was a lovely day! And to think I almost didn't go...

Around town...

I had the great opportunity to get out and enjoy the Mesa Arts Center recently. I mainly wanted to go so I could mess around with my picture. Note that I have to say "mess around"...because I'm just not all that sure what I'm doing with it. Anyway, it was a great day to go. For whatever reason, they've intertwined thousands of strips of fabric along the guardrails around the place. It's a great place to take pictures of water and plants. AND, as luck would have it, I ran into another band, but unlike last time this group had lovely hats.

My favorite picture of the entire day. By far.

I just love these plants with those silly little strings all over them!

I love this--the hats, the suits, and the cheap white sunglasses.

Green Smoothie Trend

It has been recommended to me as of late that I should avoid canned foods. Not that I eat a ton of canned foods, but the comment was made by a well intentioned person worried about my nickle intake (!). I've actually thought about this quite a bit since the discussion. I actually think that it would be really great to eat only all natural foods, etc. But the reality is, I don't have the time. I had a friend who ate no processed food (all raw) for a number of years. It would take at least an hour a day to prep food. And, guess what? He got a full time job, and....that was the end of that (to some extent). I've been reading about "going raw", and I keep reading that it takes a lot of time and it's a huge adjustment. My friends who have also considered going "raw" have had the same comment: it just takes too much time. (On a more positive note, I've read and heard that everyone seems to loose a lot of weight, gain a little back, but then stay low. Not that I'm worried about weight. It's just an interesting little comment I've heard here and there...) All of that to say, I've been intrigued by the "green smoothie" trend. I was hesitant to try it, but finally decided to after going on a great run. I followed instructions given from a friend and created a FAST, GREAT smoothie recipe, and was thrilled to find IT. WAS. AWESOME. The recipe is below:

Spinach-Strawberry-I'm-Running-Late-For-Work-Smoothie

• 1 large handful of spinach


• 4 strawberries


• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen pineapple (make sure it's frozen--this makes it so you don't have to add ice.)


• 1/2 cup of greek yogurt (added simply because I'm a fan and it has a ton of protein)

Instructions: Put in blender. Blend. Add some water if it's too thick, and blend again. (Oh--blend on the highest level possible and until it's as smooth as possible...) Enjoy.

Clean up: Add HOT water and dish soap to blender. BLEND. Rinse.

Now this is something I have time for. AND, it tastes like a yummy Jamba Juice! Don't worry about measuring out exact ingredients. It doesn't matter. Just try it! You'll love it!