I ran into this guy (Mark) in the parking lot of Walgreens. He was wearing a full body Scooby Doo suit and I asked him for a photo. He was very proud of the fact that he had been featured in four newspapers and one magazine. He just got into town from Albuquerque, looking for warmer weather. I gave him a few dollars and he said he was going to Wendy’s to buy some food. This morning his photo (taken in the Wendy’s parking lot!) was in the Sun News. I guess that brings his total to FIVE newspapers.
“Scooby Doo fanatic Mark Kammerdiener, 45, shares a moment with his dog, Buddy, on Monday as they sit in the Wendy’s parking lot off of Walton. Kammerdiener, who has been homeless and traveling for more than 20 years, has sported his costume every day for the past three years. “I make people smile when people see me. Do you know how many lives I’ve affected? It makes me feel better,” Kammerdiener said.” [LINK]
In other news, I must have dropped my new (gulp!) phone in the parking lot when I went to take his picture. Mike and I were eating lunch when his phone rang. “Why are you calling me?” he asked. “I’m not! I don’t even have my phone with me.” A man found my phone and redialed the last number. Mike offered to give him $20 for finding it but he refused. He left it for me with the cashier at Walgreens. Talk about the kindness of strangers! I hadn’t even realized it was gone. There is no way I could have replaced it so I am VERY grateful!
24 January 2012 ♥ 4 comments
Mike and Bleu, all dressed up
21 January 2012 ♥ 2 comments
The Land of Enchantment… I wasn’t always enchanted. When I was younger, I hated the dirt, the rocks, the wind and the sand. I longed for green growing things and moisture in the air. But something changed: I fell in love with this beautiful state. There is a peacefulness to the wide open spaces that speaks to me. On January 6, New Mexico celebrates its 100th birthday. I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate! Here are some of my favorite places in New Mexico:
White Sands Balloon Fiesta
“Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, dunes have engulfed 275 square miles of desert creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.
White Sands National Monument preserves this dunefield, along with the plants and animals that have adapted to this constantly changing environment.” [link]
More of my photos of White Sands on flickr: set | slideshow
“Rock formations like those at the City of Rocks State Park exist in only six other places in the world. Imaginative visitors may see the rock formations as a small city with houses, chimneys, courtyards and streets.” [link]
More of my photos of the City of Rocks on flickr: set | slideshow
Bisti Badlands
“The 41,170-acre Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a remote desolate area of steeply eroded badlands which offers some of the most unusual scenery found in the Four Corners region. Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations and fossils. It is an ever-changing environment that offers the visitor a remote wilderness experience. Translated from the Navajo language, Bisti means “a large area of shale hills” and is commonly pronounced (Bis-tie). De-Na-Zin (Deh-nah-zin) takes its name from the Navajo words for “cranes.” Petroglyphs of cranes have been found south of the wilderness area.” [link]
More of my photos of the Bisti on flickr: set | slideshow
Rio Grande
6 January 2012 ♥ 3 comments
Walgreens, January 2011 |
I like using coupons, searching for sales and organizing shopping trips to save the most amount of money possible. It is like a puzzle, putting all the pieces together. Money gets tighter and tighter every month, so it is worth the time I spend clipping coupons and making lists. Not only do I save on stuff I buy all the time, but I’m able to splurge on items that I normally wouldn’t be able to afford. For example, when if I buy makeup I usually get the cheapest thing possible. Today, I found L’Oreal makeup with SPF 27 (normally out of my price range) for just $.19 each. This makes me happy.
Today was a rough day. I cried for no reason and got a terrible headache. Time for some retail therapy!! I had $2 in my purse and Mike gave me another $8. I headed to Walgreens and came home with this.
4 January 2012 ♥ 3 comments
White Sands, New Mexico: Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim
Almost four months without blogging. I was tempted to shut this down and be done with it, but the truth is that I miss it. I miss having my day to day life documented. This has been a busy semester for me. Lots of schoolwork, lots of worries but also lots of blessings. The most exciting thing is that Mica got married! Another high point from the past few months was Thanksgiving. My brother and his family came and we went to White Sands (where I took this picture).
A year ago I made a few goals… read more, take pictures and continue with school. Here’s how it went:
Books
I met exceeded my goal of reading 52 books this year. Mike got me a kindle for Christmas, so that should make reading even easier. The only bad thing about it is that my ‘I Read This‘ photos won’t be nearly as interesting! I’m going to stick with the same goal this year – a book a week. If you have an account with goodreads, add me.
Photography
Eh. This was a distinctly uninspired year. Echo threw dropped (depending on who is telling the story) my camera and it won’t focus well. Most of the pictures I take are worthless. I had a great time taking pictures with my ipod though. This month I tried out a new app for Hipstamatic: Disposable. The idea is that you invite friends to share a ‘roll’ of 24 pictures. You can’t see the photos as you take them, but when all 24 are used up everyone who participates gets a copy of all of the pictures.
Hipstamatic Disposable pics from a roll taken with my cousin David
The bad news is that my ipod was stolen out of my van while I was out Christmas shopping. That sucks!
On a positive note, I did sell a photo this year. It was used as the cover of a book in Italy. This year, I hope to do a few more projects and save up some money for a new camera.
School
Another year down! This year I took 13 classes:
- Native Peoples of North America
- Introduction to Anthropology
- The Planets
- Contemporary Social Problems
- Sociology and Film
- Intro to World Cultures
- Sociological Foundations
- Advanced Comparative Families
- Contemporary Southwest Native Americans
- Technical and Scientific Communication
- Human Sexuality
- Sociological Theory
- Sociology of Education
All A’s. Looking back, it was a lot of work but totally worth it. I am really proud of myself for following through on a long term goal. I am taking six classes in the Spring and three in the summer. I’ll graduate in August with a BA in Sociology (Minor in Anthropology). I’ve applied to graduate school for the fall. Hopefully I’ll get in. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
30 December 2011 ♥ 5 comments
On the 7th, Echo turned 8 years old. We had a little cake for him while we were camping the weekend before and another one on the actual day. My baby isn’t a baby anymore! See a slideshow of pictures from the past year.
I love you Echito!!
14 September 2011 ♥ 1 comment
