New Year, new me?

I'm usually not one for new year's resolutions, and I'm not sure if my determination to get back to being in my whole body and not just my head qualifies, but there you go. 2008 was a tumultuous year, full of extreme highs and lows. I'm ready to take care of myself more in 2009.

Which is why, in part, I started with the soup. (It was a hit, by the way). And why yesterday, instead of punishing myself for not getting through my "to-do" list, I still went for a quick hike in Sabino Canyon with La Essin.

Sabino Canyon is one of those lovely, very popular hiking areas in The Coronado National Forest (for those of you who think "forest" and "desert" are mutually exclusive, think again--but embrace the fact that this particular forest is full of scrubby trees and saguaro at its lower elevations). About five years ago, many of the trails at Sabino Canyon were destroyed by flash flooding, but the folks around here did a lot of fundraising, and now all of the areas are once again open.

Sabino Canyon is a busy place--perhaps busier than places I normally like to hike. Yet it was a gorgeous sunny Saturday afternoon in January, so you put up with a few extra people to feel the sun on your face (and to wear shorts comfortably!). I took a few pictures, but it's hard to capture the ragged expanse of things in the desert.

Despite getting more winded than I wanted (I'd love to blame it on the cold from which I'm still recovering, but really, I've been that much in my head over the past year that my cardio is pretty shot), it felt so GOOD to be out and enjoying the weather. I am determined to do that more.