The Inherent Dragonfly A journey of discovering hope, change and love within myself.

I am so late posting my 2024 Reading List that I have already read (listened to) the first seven books on my list.  I enjoy my Boundless book club, but schedules are difficult for a consistent gathering, so often I am reading in a vacuum.  I was interested to discover while having dinner with an past colleague of mine that we were both reading  The Kingdom, the Power ; and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta  which led to a fascinating conversation about the book and the topic of the book. This is one sadness I carry about reading a book on my own.   I would love to discuss the others if and when I find anyone else that has read them.    This year's list is an eclectic collection of biographies, history, and thrillers - some are by my favorite authors and many that are suggested to me.  As requested by several readers, I have included a brief description and photo of each book that I obtained from GoodR...

 I have struggled with a negative body image just as a reported 79% of other women have in their life time. My teenage years I saw myself as too small with no curves.  I had the body of an 11 year old boy until I was married to which then my body morphed into a lumpy, bumpy mom body after the birth of my first child where as I gained over 72 pounds.  In truth, I only weighed 93 pounds when I got pregnant.  After my first child was delivered via caesarean section, I got the dreaded C-section shelf which is the excess layer of fat that lies just above the c-section scar.  For years I did sit ups and other suggested exercises to "tighten" the area. It was somewhere after the next 16 years, I finally gave up the exercise and food battle and talked with my doctor.  We discussed a tummy tuck, which would be the only way to resolve the issue, but it something I did not want to do.  Oddly, the discussion with my doctor helped me to come to terms with my c - sh...

 I sat down this morning wanting to post about my observations of a recent trip. I have spent 1 1/2 trying to log into my blog account having to enter new varying passwords that I likely will not remember. As well as changing my input methods between my phone and computer. This is frustrating to say the least and occurs a couple times a year. I have decided to delve deeper into the possibility to switching to a new blog host. Will it happen? I am not certain, but it is worth looking into. I enjoy writing and putting my thoughts down and have often gone back to reflect on my thoughts and actions of past. Yet the frustration of being blocked from writing when the urge arises is not measurable. Stay tuned and follow The Inherent Dragonfly on facebook. UPDATE:  Check Out my New Blog Site at : https://theinherentdragonfly.blogspot.com/ I am currently uploading all of this year's content.  Previous content can be found at: https://www.theinherentdragonfly.wordpress.c...

 Here is the cost breakdown for my daughter and I's week long spring break trip to the Sedona Area.   DIRECT FLIGHTS  - $490    Cleveland to Phoenix - 2 people - SouthWest  $450   - $0 (voucher from previous flight)                                                               Luggage $    0    Phoenix to Cleveland - 2 people - American Airlines - $320                                                                          Luggage - $  70 LODGING - $1,372     ARBNB 2 bedroom condo in Oakcreek Village for 7 nights  RENTAL CAR - $668     AVIS Preferred Member S...

Departure Saturday had arrived.  We woke in the morning to make the 2 hour drive back to Phoenix from Oakcreek Village to drop off the rental car and head to the airport.  Other than a major road rage incident between two drivers that had me a bit nervous, the drive was uneventful. There is one note I would like to make regarding gas stations in the area.  There were three gas stations in Oakcreek Village.  The Circle K had no unleaded gasoline for the seven day duration of our trip.  The Speedway that was very close to our condo, ran out of gas on the second day of our trip.  I was notified that they were waiting for a delivery truck.  We checked several times through out the week.  That delivery never came.  Luckily, the Chevon had gasoline so it was our primary fill up location.  We filled up the night before we left knowing I would want to top off the tank before returning the car.  To no surprise of anyone, the only gas station...

We were blessed with great weather at the beginning of my daughter, Christina, and I's spring break trip to Sedona, Arizona.  The weather turned mid week which is probably good in hindsight.  We had seen and done a lot in the first 5 days and we were in need of some respite.  So we spent our 6th day wondering among the raindrops in Sedona.  We walked around Tlaquepaque Shopping Center.  We stopped into gem store, art shops and even a liquor and olive oil tasting store.  Shopping doesn't hold much interest for me but I found the wandering in and out of the stone front shops fun.  I purchased a beautiful set of stud earrings and a bracelet at the gem store.  I also came home with some Rose Petal liquor to heighten the taste of my white wine and it smells fabulous! After our walk about the shopping area we headed into Sedona to the  1912 winery .We were wanting to do a wine tasting, but even more so we wanted to answer a questions that had had ...

My daughter, Christina and I knew that day 5 was going to be our best opportunity to travel the hour north to Flagstaff, but it likely was not going to be pretty.  Waiting for a good weather window, we headed from Oakcreek Village to Flagstaff around 11 a.m. where we stopped for a tour of the Riordan Mansion that is located adjacent to the Northern Arizona University.  We were lucky that they allowed us 2 travelers trying to escape the cold to join the 1 hour tour of the home without a reservation.  Though we have many photos of this historic location, we agreed that we would not share any on social media as requested by the guides.  The tour of the 13,000 square foot was fascinating and well worth the $12. It was filled with the history of the Riordan Family, who helped in the development of the town of Flagstaff including employing many people through their lumber business.  The unique house was filled with the families artifacts down to their bed sheets and ...

Keeping to our plan of a day of travel, then a day close to home, we decided that on our 4th day in Arizona we would explore the Red Rocks of Sedona.  This proved more challenging as we got a late morning start as we recovered from our long day at the Grand Canyon the day before. We headed out about 11 a.m. which was prime hiking time for families so parking was difficult to find.  We debated driving into Sedona to grab a shuttle, but I feared the wait time.  We drove up and down the road seeking out parking at one of the trailheads.  On our second loop of the trailheads along the highway, we finally we found a spot at Little Horse Trail head, but when we saw the warning sign for bees and multiple people getting stung at the opening of the trail head, we decided to move on.  We found a spot at Yavapai Trail Head.  Another benefit for the National Park Pass, it can be used to cover the $5 parking pass at the Red Rock trail heads. We planned to hike over to B...

Weather is unpredictable in northern Arizona in March.  My daughter and I had been watching the everchanging weather for months.  On Monday, March 11th was our best day to visit the Grand Canyon.  Luckily, we were still on east coast time so getting out the door by 7 a.m. for the 2 hour drive from Oakcreek to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon was relatively easy.  We packed our backpack with water, lunch and snacks, my hiking sticks and the Arizona playlist my daughter curated and were out the door.  It was an easy drive up route 89N to Cameron and then west on Route 64. Once we passed Flagstaff it was an open road with few cars. It wasn't long before we were hopping out of the car for a photo at the Grand Canyon Entrance sign. And yes, we covered the sign. On my past trip to the Grand Canyon, I purchased a GuideAlong audio tour and history of the area.  My link was still good so we turned it on and allowed it to play through the car stereo guidin...