The King

So, today when I brought the garbage in I found the following snake under our recycling can. I killed it with a ninja like quickness:

Well, guess what: that was a really bad idea. This is the "common kingsnake". He kills other snakes. He kills rattlesnakes and basically everything else deadly that slithers. We have just killed our only snake friend. It's kind of like the Snape of snakes. Bummer dude.

Times Are A Changing - 2008

Hello and Happy New Year. This is our cyber-letter. We have decided to go green or go cheap or enter the 21st century depending on how you want to look at it. This is our family blog, so if you want to stalk us—here is your opportunity.

Our year was filled with change. We moved from Brooklyn to Phoenix. Dominic went from being a medical student to a doctor. Katie changed from someone who talks about sewing to someone who actually sews. And Effie changed from a toddler into a little lady. Listed below are some of the biggest changes we have experienced from New York to Phoenix.

Transportation – After 4 years of relying on the wonderful MTA, we are now car owners. Costco is no longer a trial to be endured and Target is (somewhat unfortunately) no longer a weekly workout. Best of all, road trips to see families are quick and easy. We hope to continue to get use out of our bikes as it was one of our favorite past times in Brooklyn. In May, we took part in the 5 borough bike tour.

Housing – What we gave up in charm we have made up for in space, price, and fire-proof wiring. For the past 4 years, we have loved our little “brownstony” (as described by our realtor) space that we called home. The years of hiking laundry, groceries, mail, and Effie up the 4 flights of stairs will never be forgotten. We loved hearing the hustle and bustle from the street down below and our stoop sitting memories will always bring a smile to our faces. But we have moved onto suburbia for now and the space is wonderful.

Employment – We found out in March that our new destination would be Phoenix, Arizona. Dominic graduated at the end of May and is now an employed doctor at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. While being a student had its perks, it is nice to have a paycheck at the end of the day. Regardless of how small it may be.

Heat – While New York was one giant communal sauna that left everyone looking really gross, Phoenix is a giant incinerator or potter’s kiln. The silver lining on this cloud is central air. We love you New York, but where’s the central air?

Pests – If forced to make a choice between mice in New York and scorpions in Arizona, we would take the mice any day.

Our Constants

Music – It is one of the things that brought us together and it continues to provide a lot of joy, release, and dancing in our lives. First musical thing to note from this year is that Dominic sang the National Anthem at Carnegie Hall for his graduation ceremony. There is a saying that goes “the only way to get to Carnegie hall is practice, practice, practice”. Well Dom found a way around that. Endure 4 years of medical school and then be the chosen one to sing at graduation. Big ups to Dom.
Next musical highlight: The Lower West. With our friends Jeff Jeppesen and Jen Morello, Dom put together a band to rock out with. They recorded an album which they are hoping to release in early 2009.
Lastly, we are happy to say that Effie is as big a music enthusiast as her parents. She learns a new dance move each week and her favorite songs, as of late, are Will You Be There by Michael Jackson, Catch My Disease by Ben Lee and A Punk by Vampire Weekend.

Family and Friends – While enduring some of these changes, it was nice to have each other. Looking back on our 4 years in Brooklyn, our marriage and family has grown in ways we never would have expected. We have been very lucky in love and we are excited to see what the next 3 years hold for us. And we have always been lucky to have the support of our family and friends.

We love you all and hope you have a wonderful New Year filled with constant love and happy changes.

Love,
Dom, Katie and Effie

The Return of Santa Claus

Yes, Effie still strongly dislikes Santa. We did, however, make a little progress this year. She now talks about Santa and likes the overall idea of him. She just isn't comfortable with the idea of sitting on his lap or making direct eye contact. Maybe next year.

These pictures were taken at a Christmas party our neighbors across the street held. She invited her grandchildren along with some other kids from the street and had her husband dress up as Santa Claus. This saved us from waiting in a long line at the mall just to have Effie scream and shout.

P.S. Yes, Dom is laughing while Effie is crying. We find the whole thing very amusing.

Christmas Town, AZ

One of Dom's former patients lives up in Prescott, Arizona and his parents invited us up for their town lighting. Prescott, Arizona has been dubbed "Christmas Town", AZ and with a slogan like that, we couldn't resist the invitation. It is a quaint little place with a beautiful town square. Each year they have a big gathering at the court house where everyone sings Christmas carols and then they light the tree along with the rest of the town square. We were happy to get out of Phoenix to experience some colder weather and to meet up with this nice family.

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, we were able to reap one of the benefits of living in Phoenix by eating our Thanksgiving feast on our back patio. We had our friends the Hobbs over along with several of Dom's fellow residents. Everyone pitched in by bringing several delicious dishes. It was a fun, exhausting time.

Things to Note:

Dom's smore pie. This was take 1. The finishing touch of the smore pie is to softly brown the marshmallows on top. We may have gotten a little carried away. When Dom opened the oven to check on his masterpiece, it was completely covered in flames.

Orange Soda. Effie knew that she would be getting an orange soda on Thanksgiving because we had been promising her one all week. Thinking that this may be her last time to ever enjoy an orange soda, Effie seized the moment by drinking her own soda and then every other can left unattended.

Trip to the Children's Museum

about once a week effie and i meet our friends at the phoenix children's museum. they have many cool attractions. one being a giant forest of noodles (yes, noodles, the swimming toy) that the kids run through. another being a market place for the kids to shop in. they grab a shopping cart or earth friendly "go green" bag and walk around the market throwing bananas, avocados, onions, grains, cereal, or frozen dinners into their selection of goods. effie's cart is usually filled with sweets, but that's only because we raised her well.

p.s. yes, effie's sweater is just for looks these days as the weather is still reaching up into the 80's. we just like to dress ourselves in winter garb to try and deny the hot weather. if you ignore something long enough, it may just go away.

One Year Ago Today