Slister’s Visit

My darling sister, Katie, came to visit for her mid-winter break (one of the small luxuries of teaching at a private school….it doesn’t really make up for being underpaid, overworked, and having horrible health insurance, but still it’s nice when February rolls around). My sister and I are super close and always have been (except for that one time she kicked me in the shin with her big black boot in fifth grade and made me limp home from the bus stop), so it was great to have her here. For the past two years we worked at the same school (which is why I have the credibility to make the above observations about working at a private school), and we got to see each other every single day. Now we are states apart again, and I miss her!

So here is a rundown of our week. We cooked… A LOT. We made chicken and dumplings, homemade french dip sandwiches, donut muffins, homemade guacamole and beer batter fish tacos (recipes forthcoming). We also enjoyed Chick-fil-a TWICE. Once for breakfast, one for lunch. You have to. We hit up Sprinkles and bought 8 cupcakes for a sampler for our family dinner with our aunt, uncle, and cousins, and cousins’ babies (cutest babies ever). Sprinkles samplers are the best by the way. If you need an easy dessert for a group event of 4-8 people, go to Sprinkles the day of and pick out 4-8 different cupcakes. Then when you are serving dessert, you cut each cupcake into fourths and each person can sample a few different flavors. This is not a cheap dessert however, since Sprinkles are over $3 a pop. But it’s fun for special occasions. And Katie’s arrival was definitely a special occasion. Katie also visited ASU and watched me teach my English 102 classes. We went shopping. Katie got some new cowboy boots and we hit up Saddle Ranch Chop House that night so she could show off her boots and ride the bull. And, yes , they gave us more free stuff as usual. We got a round of free drinks while we were waiting for a table AND free chips, guac, and salsa while we waited for our biscuits and cornbread to finish baking. Love that place.

Unfortunately, Katie happened to come during a cold week sandwiched between two hot weeks. The week before she arrived it was in the 70s and even reached 80 once or twice. This week it’s back up to the lovely upper 70s and its beautiful. Last week, however, consisted of the most consecutive cloudy days I have seen since moving to AZ. I think one day it reached a high of 66. It was not our best weather to be sure. But Katie was a trooper and laid out every single day she was here. I even laid out with her twice, shivering and grading papers at the same time. I don’t know if she was more tan when she left, but she definitely improved her bikini-in-cold-weather tolerance and got a lot of Harry Potter 7 read by the pool. Here are some pictures of our adventues. Come back in August sister, and our 120 degree heat will get you tan in five minutes flat!