Home

Something funky is going on with my camera. I can take photos…just not transfer them to my computer–either the PC or the MAC. Maybe it’s the USB cord, huh? Anyways, I was planning to show some photos of our new place and the incredible sunsets we can see from our apartment..but Dirty Footprints Studio is experiencing technical difficulties! My blog posts feel naked without some kind of images to accompany them–so I grabbed that beauty off of Photobucket–it’s the best example of the magnificent show Hansel and I get for free every night from our living room.

So I need to tell you how absolutely happy we are with our new place. (I wish I could show you photos damn it!) Our new home makes us feel that we have been living in a dungeon for the last three years! Each room is simply flooded with natural light from all the huge windows. Even our bedroom has one wall that is made up of sliding window doors that leads to a huge outside patio. Awesome! I love waking up to sunshine, and I especially love, love, love eating dinner every night staring at the amazing sunsets! We just open up all the blinds and sit back and enjoy! Plus, the houses in our neighborhood have terra cotta roofs–last night we had pasta and I pretended that we were actually in Italy!!!

My biggest worry about moving was that I would not have a great place to run in the morning, plus walk Nyla. We used to live right across from a trail that made it’s way around a pretty rustic and barren desert landscape and then snaked its way through a college campus. Even though it wasn’t the most scenic of paths, it was safe and a bit of an escape from the noise of the busy streets. My first morning here I got up really early and set out to explore the neighborhood. It’s funny, we only moved about two miles northwest from where we used to live–but it feels like a world away. We now live in a gated, apartment community in the middle of a neighborhood that is made up of multi-million dollar homes, gourmet restaurants, high-end grocery stores, and even fancy gas stations. I always poo-poo’ed living in the suburbs, but after this past year of craziness living in our former apartment, we felt it was time to make our way to where things could be much more peaceful , quiet, and safe. I am so happy we did.

Like I was beginning to say, on my first morning here I went exploring for places to run and walk Nyla. Literally a five minute walk from my doorstep I found a beautiful trail that circles and bends around lakes and over little waterfalls and through trees and patches of green grass. Heron and ducks were doing their morning thing, while other dog walkers were taking in the day’s only low temperatures. I couldn’t believe it!! Not only do I live by one of my most favorite mountains here in Phoenix, I now found this sweet little oasis in the desert it feels like! BINGO!

As I made my way drinking in every footstep that led to a new view, a new surprise–I couldn’t help but begin to feel emotional. Because, for months now I would walk Nyla at our old place and in my mind I would imagine our new place–imagine in my mind how it felt, how it was full of warmth and sunshine, and how it was connected to nature–even though it was still in the city. I imagined my daily walks with Nyla around a beautiful area. I asked the Universe for all of this, and she was listening, and feeling generous!

Things are definitely changing! It is especially exciting when your environment can change along with you–when your outside world begins to aid in your transformation. Here, we can not escape the light! Here, I believe we–both Hansel and I, begin a new journey of really looking at ourselves, really stepping into the light. Since I’ve started running, Hansel has now started his own fitness program too. We are both diving into the wonders and challenges of reclaiming our health and recreating our bodies. I am so blessed to have a partner to share the struggle, celebrate the little victories, and to grow together strong with!

“We arrive at where we are in our lives one day at a time. If we wake up one morning and realize that we have drifted off course, we still have to make our way back one day at a time. There are no short cuts from where you are to where you want to be. You must be dedicated to the process of change, however slow that change may occur.”

-from THE COURAGE TO START by John “The Penguin” Bingham

Peace & Love.