Winter Work

The Archaeology world slows WAY down during the winter. We can't survey (which is 90% of what we do) because of the snow and we don't have any excavation projects going on at the moment.

The winter is usually "clean up time" for our company. During the snow season we usually catch up on reports, clean the office, work on analysis and curation, etc.

My job this winter has been to shred "sensitive" paper work. We can't just throw out our old reports or site forms because if they fell into the wrong hands the site could be found and looted. In order to prevent this, we shred all of our forms.

Well, we have been busy this year so the shredding got put off and continued to build up over the last year!

I had 12 boxes full of "sensitive" information to shred and two very slow shredders to assist me.

[The boxes]

[My office with the two shredders]

It took me 2 weeks, working about 6 hours a day, to finish this project!

Can't complain. It's a paycheck!

And yes, all the paper was recycled : )

We Own The Packers!

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. This means if you own Packers stock then you own part of the team.

The Packers have only had four stock sales over team history: 1923, 1935, 1950 and most recently in 1997. A total of 4,748,910 shares are owned by 111,507 stockholders (no one person can own more than 200,000 shares to prevent an individual from attempting to take control of the team).

During the Sunday Packers vs Giants game, it was announced that the Packers would once again be selling stock December 6 at 8:00 am to raise money for renovations on the stadium. There would be 250,000 shares for sale for $250 a pop.

You better believe my die-hard Packers fan boyfriend and I were up at 6:30 this morning to be one of the first people to buy into the company! We bought 2 shares (one each) and we couldn't be more excited for the official certificates to get here! You better believe they are going to be framed and up on the wall : )


Merry Christmas to us!

Everyone Say "Awwww!"

I came home after a long day at work to my amazing boyfriend and these beautiful gerber daisies (my favorite flower BTW)! Doesn't it mean more when he gets them for you for no apparent reason?!

It's crazy how the simplest thing can make me so happy!

Christmas Spirit

Josh and I have the Christmas Spirit (Elf reference), do you?!

I have waited long enough! At least I made it pass Thanksgiving before putting up the Christmas decorations : )

[Josh and I on Thanksgiving... but excited about Christmas, I'm sure]

[The humble tree]

[Josh getting ready to decorate]

[Putting the star on top]

[All decorated!]

It's our little Charlie Brown tree just so cute?! Looks like it's gonna be a great Christmas!

P.S. All of the presents under the tree are all of my presents to Josh. I get my shopping done early. He hasn't started yet!

Thanksgiving and The Muppets

I was gone in Tucson (see here and here) for a week and a half before Thanksgiving. When I finally got back home to Cedar City, the fridge was FULLY stocked with Thanksgiving food.

[The 10 Pound Turkey]

[The Food to Prepare]

[Josh Getting the Turkey Ready]

[The Finished Turkey]

[Josh Carving]

[The Feast: Stuffing, Gravy, Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, and Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie]

We spent the day eating our feast and watching football. The food turned out great! For our first Thanksgiving together I think we did a great job!

I informed Josh that my family has a tradition of going to the movies on Thanksgiving. We were too involved in the games to pull ourselves away so we decided to go to a movie on Friday instead.

When I was a kid I was in love with The Muppets. I would watch The Muppet Show and Muppet Babies almost everyday. Can you guess what movie I dragged Josh to see?!

That's right!!

And it was well worth seeing. There were a lot of inside jokes from the previous Muppet Movies and The Muppet Show BUT even if you didn't grow up with the Muppets like I did you will still enjoy it. Just keep in mind that it's super cheesy and embrace it!

Well, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving like I did! I am so thankful for my family, my friends, my job, my country, and, of course, my man who makes me smile every day!

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Everyone told me that I have to visit the Desert Museum while in Tucson. Apparently it's a "must see!"

So we went. And it was fascinating!

This zoo, or wild animal park or whatever you want to call it, is one of a kind. They built the museum IN the desert. So most of the animals are in their natural habitat.

We were welcomed to the museum by this beautiful falcon.

And this barn owl.

From the entrance we had to make our way through the desert to our first stop, the Bird of Prey Show.

[Me with a giant Saguaro]

[Sam in the desert]

The Birds of Prey Show

[Hawk]

[Owl]

[Falcon]

[Raven]

After getting dive-bombed by raptors, we decided to continue our journey through the park.

[Bat ears!]

[Me and a snake]

[All of the turtles and tortoises were hibernating so we had to improvise]

Later in the day we went to the Live Animal Reptile Show

[Western Diamondback Rattlesnake]

[Gila Monster]

The show was very informative. We got to see and learn all about these two venomous creatures. Pretty much we learned that most of snake bites happen to men and most of those happen because guys are stupid and like to poke at the snakes instead of just walking away. 90 something percent of all snake bites that happen to men are on their arms and hands. 90 percent of all snake bites that happen to women are on their legs and feet. See a pattern here?

Later we saw the Prairie dogs! They are so cute and super social!

[Me trying to make a new friend]

[Sam with the crew]

The rest of the day we spent walking around seeing the other animals.

[Wolf]

[Black bear]

[Cougar]

[Coyote]

[Me climbing through the rocks]

[Fox]

[Adorable owl]

[Ocelot]

[Javelina! These things run wild in Tucson. We were greeted by a group of them our first night in town]

[Sam loves the Saguaro]

We spent about 7 hours at the museum and it was one of the coolest wild animal experiences I have ever had!

Mission San Xavier del Bac

My coworker Sam and I were invite to come to our company's corporate office in Tucson for 10 days. I won't bore you with details of work, don't worry.

I've never been to Tucson so over the weekend Sam and I did the touristy thing and went to a couple of the sites.

Our first stop was the Mission San Xavier del Bac. This church was built in the late 1700s and is still in use today.

[Sam inside]

[Snake door handle]

[Narrow hallways]

*All photos taken on my Droid