Ahhhh relief

Blogger's note: Because my life is quite uninteresting and I have little else to talk about, you may start seeing more posts about my favorite products.

My life is a constant search to find the best hand lotion. Okay, there's more to my life than finding remedies for dry skin, but I am very particular about lotion products, especially during the colder months when my dries up even more so than it usually does in this barren desert land.

I fell in love with Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream after my roommate gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago, sounds right up my alley right?. Almost right. The only problem was this line of amazing skin care products is they are rather expensive; this product in particular costs $18 for a 2.5 oz bottle.

However, redemption is mine! After spending way too long in the lotion isle of Target I found a substitute product that is almost, almost just as good. Curél's Intensive line has Ultra Healing hand and body lotion that comes in a 2.5 oz travel size (about $4) and a 13 oz. pump option (about $8). I have the small one in my desk drawer at work and the large one in my bathroom at home. It has a subtle fruit scent and the best part is it relieves dry skin without being greasy, one of my biggest problems with supposedly "quality" hand lotions.

Try it. Your life will never be the same.

How do you know?

You can convince yourself of anything, so what does that say about instinct?

The Giving of Thanks

As a lot of you may know, Thanksgiving isn't the best time of the year for me and my family and as such, my family is usually split up during this traditionally family oriented holiday. However, I still have a lot to be thankful for and in honor of Adriana's list, I shall now make my own top 20 things I'm thankful for in no particular order.

Chocolate, without which I couldn't make it through the day
My family being .3 miles away, it's sick but convenient
My girls and Monday night dinners, the thing I look forward to the most every week
Jimmy, who always knows how to make me smile and laugh
Jakey, as my personal heater and my live in psychologist
The internet, without which I would not have a job
Fresh air, which is all the more precious to me now that I rarely get to experience it
My aunt, who is my reason for never giving up
My health and having all my limbs, because I'm a big baby and couldn't imagine having to suffer like that
Music, it makes my world make sense
My bed, it soothes me, it comforts me and it relaxes me
My cell phone, because it connects me when I need communication the most
Comedy, because almost nothing does me better than a good laugh
Rufio, he's not very eco-friendly, but he gets the job done
Netflix, what else would I do on a Tuesday
Rain, even though I rarely see it
My camera, it inspires me to do more with my life and makes my memories real
My trip to Europe, because it made the world seem tangible and brought my life into focus
Independence
Water, it brings and sustains life and makes my pee less yellow

Horses make everything better

I love this story.

My patchy friend

For the past three months I have driven by a piece of horse property, positioned randomly next to huge power lines and in between two neighborhoods, on my way to work. This family's land is small but has three long, narrow, dirt-filled pens. The one closest to the street had a vivacious white and brown paint horse, who I had become accustomed to seeing everyday.

If you don't know me, then you should know that I am a self-proclaimed lover of horses, so seeing this horse twice daily made me smile, even when I wasn't in a smiling mood. Usually he was eating, sometimes he was relaxing in the shade of the lone tree in his pen and other times I found him jaunting about, just like a happy horse should.

On more than one occasion I had planned to stop on my way home from work to make friends with the animal that unknowingly brought me so much joy. During one of my snack phases I had been brining baby carrots to work and usually did not finish them. I thought I could use them as an offering of friendship. I had often seen a mother and her child bonding while petting the horse; something my mother and I used to do when I was little.

Of course, I never remembered to stop. And a couple weeks ago, I was sorely disappointed as my excitement turned to concern and despair when I saw that my horse friend was not in his pen. I hoped that afternoon or the next morning he would reappear, thinking he was away on a competition, getting new shoes or at the vet for a minor check-up. Unfortunately that has not been the case and now there is another new horse in the pen next to his. Did the family trade him? Did he die? Is he on sabbatical? I've honestly contemplated stopping to ask the family, but decided against it.

I still have a view of horses to see on my way to work, even more than before, but it's not the same. I know there was something special about this animal, even though I never physically interacted with it. I miss him or her, but I keep faith that he or she will come back. After all, they haven't put another horse in his or her place yet.

Photograph

I want more opportunities like this to use my camera

I Hate Phoenix, Let Me Count the Ways

It's still reaching 94 degrees in NOVEMBER!

The only natural green is too dangerous to touch, it's a desert wasteland

We don't have an interesting accent

There is no culture

The state's claim to fame is a big hole in the ground

Chain stores dominate

It's so hot that pieces of cars start to melt

Southwest decorations abound

People still think the city is a ghost town with saloons and tumbleweeds

It keeps growing and growing full of old people

The sports teams almost always seem to disappoint