Gratitude Project: DAY 1

Two days in a row of blogging? Yippee! I've accomplished on of my hardest goals in life and can now say that I truly lived life to the fullest. Juuust kiddding. But seriously, blogging consistently is a big deal for this chick right here cause it's never happened before. So lets all have a mini celebration by ourselves at our own computers... go ahead and hit play on your itunes and have a 30 second private dance party because this is indeed something to celebrate!

K. Moving on.

I wanted to do a 30 days of Gratitude project for the entire month of November since I have a LOT to be grateful for (surely more than 30 things) and its November which means it is Thanksgiving where we give thanks for our blessings (duh.) But of course I am behind as with everything else in life (which is a true story, not an exaggeration) so lets make this the 24 days of Gratitude project. How's that for unique?

DAY ONE: ARIZONA

Arizona aka the Grand Canyon State aka 'Zona aka the most glorious place in the whole world aka heaven. All of those are acceptable names for my most favorite state ever. My love for Arizona grows greater and greater each time I leave and realize how truly beautiful it is. It's true, you don't really appreciate things until they are gone. Moving to Utah has made me realize how great Arizona is.

People always try and convince my AZ heart that there are so many negatives about living in the valley (no change in seasons, its too hott, its all cactus and no pretty green lush trees, blah blah blahhhh) and that I'm weird for loving it so much. And i say, THEN BRING ON THE WEIRDNESS! Cause all this AZ love isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Five perks of Arizona life are as follows:

1) Circle K's on nearly every corner = 79 cent 44 oz beverages = 44 ounces of coke slurpees = the fulfillment of all your dreams. Whenever I return to the valley of the sun, my first stop is always Circle K.

2) THE PEOPLE! oh my gosh gosh gosh. Most of the greatest people I know live in//are from Arizona. I'll always love this place for bringing me to some of the most influential people i know. It's funny because even though I currently live in Utah, I still mostly associate with Arizonians. We all bond over our love for Arizona and like to constantly remind others of where we are from. ARIZONIANS UNITE.

3) Real authentic Mexican food. K once I moved to Utah i realized how great the Mexican food in Arizona is. The hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants in phoenix? DIVINE. Also, the Arizona burrito from Filiburtos is among my favorite foods.

4)  The sunsets. Honestly, of all the places I've visited, never have I ever seen a prettier sunset than those Arizona ones. They're seriously breathtaking. I can't even do it justice.

5) The outdoors! K Arizona is a superb place for hiking, lake-ing it up, running, exploring, etc, etc etc. Seriously, hiking in AZ is one of my favorite activities, along with canoeing on Tempe Town Lakes and running in the Riparian Preserve behind my house. I LOVE IT I TELL YOU!

5b) Gilbert. Gilbert deserves its own sub category cause truly it rules. So much character and greatness. Its a town that has both farm life/big open green acres and shopping malls and normal life stuff. Its the perfect balance of a slow and fast paced lifestyle and I think its the greatest town ever. It has the cutest main street, best food, best wildlife, best people, prettiest homes, AND we are even getting our very own temple soon!

Obviously, five is a VERY select few of the reasons why Arizona is the greatest. I could go on all day and write a 575784395610 page essay on the greatness of AZ but I'll stop here because I don't want to scare anyone with my obsessive personality.

Arizona, thanks for never turning your back on me and for being one of my truest friends. I love you long time.