Quiet

I’ve been quiet. Things have been weird the last couple years and it wasn’t just COVID.

Right before the pandemic got bad in the States, after almost nine and a half years together (roughly six and half of those married), my husband and I separated. We had just moved into a new apartment with separate bedrooms, because who the hell can afford an apartment on their own in Phoenix in 2020.

Then COVID happened.

We were both sent to work from home for two weeks while this thing blows over. I am very sarcastically proud to say that we recently passed the two year anniversary of working from home for only two weeks. It be like that now, I guess.

Being stuck at home with the person who broke my heart was not good for me mentally. Fights absolutely did happen. Tears (mine) were definitely shed. I felt like I was going crazy as my world was crashing down around me. If it weren’t for my online friends who became my chosen family, I would not be here today. I’m eternally grateful for them.

Fast forward to summer 2021, I’m still in the apartment with my future ex-husband because COVID really fucked up apartment searching and as someone who has had asthma since I was three years old, I wasn’t eager to go out and about. Despite all of that, I feel better. Call it something clicked in my brain that told me I had no reason to be sad and jealous or call it the medication I’m on works.

At the end of last month, I started moving into my new apartment. My recent promotion at work has afforded me the ability to probably live on my own. But I think it’s super important not only for my friendship with my ex-husband, but for my mental health. I’ve even started dating someone. And reader, she is amazing. She is everything a partner should be. The downside to it is she living in Connecticut.

I was in Connecticut back in November to visit her for my birthday and it was wonderful. It was so nice to see fall leaves again. I even got to go to the Bronx Zoo in New York!

I plan on being a bit more active on this in the coming year. I have more trips planned, like going to Salem, MA in October!

Until next time!

-Sarah

California Dreamin’ – September 2019

I never expected to fall in love with California. But I did.

At the end of September, I flew to San Diego for TwitchCon. How I was able to afford it, I’m still not sure, but this trip was a big deal for me. It was the first time I traveled alone in 10 years. AND it was also the first time meeting online friends.

But, I can finally say I’ve officially been coast to coast in the United States. Yay!

My only gripe about the whole trip was that I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted. I wanted to swim in the ocean, I wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo, and I definitely wanted to go to the cat cafe downtown.

I ultimately decided not to take my good camera with me. I knew that if I took it, I would hate carrying it around, and/or it would get damaged.

The weather was…perfect. It was a nice break to escape the still 90°+ in Phoenix with actual sweatshirt weather. Phoenix has been extremely dry this summer, so it was nice to feel at least a tiny bit of rain while I was there.

This trip meant a lot to me as it was a chance to get away from home stuff. Not that home stuff is particularly bad, but it felt great to be my own person again. To be just…. Sarah.

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All in all, it was probably one of the best vacations I’ve had in a very long time. TwitchCon 2020 is set to be back in San Diego and holy shit, I can’t wait to go back.

Viva Las Vegas – May/June 2019

I’ve visited the City of Sin. And I loved it.

May 31/June 1, I took my first “vacation” in 3 years (when I went to Indy Pop Con in 2016). It was a quick trip, up one day, back the next, but it was worth it. This trip also had me on a plane for the first time since 2004.

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The one thing I noticed about Vegas is there is a lot of people. And I mean a lot.

After getting to Vegas and taking the obligatory Vegas sign selfie, we walked down The Strip. And yes, I did go to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.

Basically the trip consisted of walking down The Strip and drinking. A bit of gambling. I won $233.00 which was nice. Side note, I’m not much of a gambler.

I didn’t take many pictures with my good camera just because carrying it around with the large crowds was becoming a hassle.

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So now I’m finally caught up with pictures. (FINALLY!)

My next known trip will September for TwitchCon. I’ll be in San Diego. I’m still debating on whether or not I want to take my camera or just take pictures on my phone.

Phoenix Zoo – May 2019

I love living in a city with a zoo. I would go there more often if I had the time.

Here are some pictures from my trip back in May. Before it got ridiculously hot in Phoenix.

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Papago Park – February 2019

I know, I know….. I’m behind.

I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to want to do anything on my days off. I’m so exhausted from working all week, that I’m not really doing anything on the weekends except feeling overwhelmed.

This, of course, is causing me to get behind on a lot of different projects…including this one. I still have pictures from the Phoenix Zoo from May as well as a few pictures from my super quick trip to Las Vegas at the very end of May that I need to edit as well.

Be patient, please.

Anyway, back in February I went to Papago Park near the Phoenix Zoo to take some pictures on a nice winter day. So here’s a photo dump from that.

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Happy 2019!

I expect great things in 2019! Cheers, babes!

2019_

Adventures

Sometimes adventures are not just about going places, but finding yourself.

I have big plans for 2019.

Birthday #32

Last month I turned 32.

Since I turned 30, I’ve been fining myself less and less excited about my birthday. But this year I wanted to be different. I wanted the chance to start a brand new year. What better way to bring in a new year than to watch the sun rise.

So that’s exactly what I did. I woke up at an ungodly hour and took the train down to Tempe, climbed up to the top of Hayden Butte, and took pictures.

It was pretty refreshing and I couldn’t stop smiling. Here’s to another year of adventure!

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Adventures in Tempe

I’ve been trying to get back into photography lately since I have a lot of spare time on my hands. Particularly I’ve been messing around with the manual setting on my DSLR. I used to really know that stuff when I took photography classes in college using my trusty film camera.

Yesterday, the husband and I ventured to Tempe so I could take sunset pictures. Our plans were almost scrapped due to the dust storm that appeared out of nowhere followed quickly by a severe thunderstorm.

We waited out the storms and I’m so glad we did. This is just a few of the pictures taken yesterday evening.

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Goodbye West Virginia, Hello Arizona!

The move has come and gone. I’m happy to say we made it to Arizona in one piece, the cats survived, and our marriage still in tact.

We left a day later than originally planned and unfortunately left/threw out more than we had originally wanted. There were times during the packing that we didn’t think we were going to make it, leading stuff up until we were physically sick. But we did it. We left Huntington at noon on June 16.

Our first stop was St Louis, Missouri. My husband, being the expert driver he is, timed it perfectly to drive over the Mississippi River viewing the Gateway Arch at sunset. If it one thing I love, it’s a good sunset picture.

Day 2 had us driving from St Louis, MO to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was a long day of driving and the first time we started getting annoyed with being in a Uhaul of hours on end. It certainly didn’t help when the hotel we booked for the night (which said they were pet friendly), told us they were not CAT friendly (other pets were okay though.) We found a new hotel pretty quickly at least.

Athena

Ophelia

Day 3 had us ending in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We started feeling that desert heat. I got a sunburn for the first time in years.

New Mexico is absolutely beautiful. I wish we would have had more time to stop so I could take more pictures. Honestly I feel that way about a lot of places. But I did get a badass picture of sunset on our way back to hotel after dinner.

Day 4 was our last day on the road. I was beginning to get really exhausted and anxious about sitting in one spot for long hours. It certainly didn’t help that I had a cat carrier on my lap the entire time. We finally made it to Arizona.

The drive down from Flagstaff wasn’t so bad. The drop in elevation is what killed me. We stopped about midway down for bathroom break.

But when I saw the city come into view for the first time, all the exhaustion and anxiety from the last couple days didn’t matter. We had made it to our new home.

The cats have adjusted better than they did the last time we moved. Ophelia and Athena enjoy being Arizonan and honestly, so do we.

And I still haven’t seen an armadillo or a scorpion.