The Grove is a free, monthly magazine produced by Estrella Publishing for the residents of Sterling Grove.
A magazine for Sterling Grove residents From Your Neighbors, For Your Neighbors ™ The Grove
July 2026
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Published by Estrella Publishing LLC, PO Box 6962, Goodyear AZ 85338.
Catherine Uretsky, Publisher and Editor Talia Ebert, Assistant Editor Al Uretsky, Publisher and Sales Executive 623.398.5541 info@EstrellaPublishing.com
All contents © 2010-present Estrella Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or part, without written permission from Estrella Publishing LLC is prohibited. Estrella Publishing accepts freelance contributions, there is no guarantee that materials will be used or returned. Estrella Publishing is not responsible for the content of contributing writers and advertisers and assumes no responsibility for errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Advertisers. Estrella Publishing reserves the right to restrict all advertisement to their proper classification and to edit or reject any copy at its sole discretion. Neither this publication nor Estrella Publishing is an agent of or in any way affiliated with the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association, or any of their respective affiliates. This publication has not been approved by, sponsored by, or endorsed by the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association in any way.
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From Me To You... I am officially resigning as Chief Technical Officer of my family. After thirty-four years of managing every technological advancement that crossed our threshold - researching, purchasing, installing, and explaining to everyone how to use the thing I just installed, I am done. My brain is full. Actually, I think it is broken. versus WAP3 security protocols than any person my age should ever have to know. I followed the
instructions carefully and locked myself out of my own internet dashboard. I spent the rest of the day signing every single device in the house back onto the network. The television. The thermostat. Things that should not require a password but apparently do now. In a moment of clarity, I took the camera to a friend’s house to test it there. It connected immediately. Without a single complaint. Which means the camera works just fine and I have to go home and split the bandwidth again, knowing full well I will have to sign everything back in one more time. Wanted: Household CTO. Applicants must be comfortable with ambiguity, allergic to instruction manuals, and willing to work for nothing. Previous experience explaining the cloud to people who remember when clouds were just weather is a plus. Catherine Uretsky Editor, The Grove Magazine info@estrellapublishing.com 623.398.5541
The breaking point was a camera. Not a complicated piece of military equipment. A security camera. One single additional camera to add to a system I had already successfully built and expanded over the years. I know this system. I built this system. And yet there I stood, like a stranger in my own home, watching the little device refuse to connect to the internet. I did all the right things. I troubleshot. I called customer service and spent two hours on the phone with a technician who walked me through every step I had already tried. We agreed the camera was faulty. They sent a new one. I plugged it in with a blend of optimism and dread and that camera also refused to connect to the internet. So I went to my secondary technical support, which is to say ChatGPT, and spent an afternoon learning more about routers, gigahertz frequencies, and WAP2
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
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July 2026
Independence Day
What Does the Fourth of July Actually Mean? Every year we celebrate our independence on July 4th. But in the quiet days afterwards, it’s worth sitting with what we’re actually celebrating, and why it still matters. There’s something about the days right after the Fourth of July that invites a kind of quiet reflection. The fireworks are done, the coolers are empty, people are back to their regular routines, and the flags that lined the streets of Glendale, Goodyear and Surprise are still there, slightly sun bleached and a little windblown, but still there. It’s in that stillness that the holiday starts to mean something beyond the festivities. something light up the sky. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Celebration is part of what it’s for. But the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th, 1776, was not a party invitation. It was a radical and dangerous document, written by people staking their lives on a set of ideas that had never been successfully Independence Day is easy to treat as a summer occasion, a reason to grill, to gather, to watch
tested at scale: that government derives its authority from the consent of the governed, that certain rights belong to people simply because they are people, and that when those rights are violated, people have not just the right but the responsibility to say so. None of that was guaranteed to work. It still isn’t, technically. Every generation has to recommit to it. The experiment is ongoing, and the people living in it are the experiment. That includes everyone here in the West Valley, in neighborhoods that didn’t exist fifty years ago, built by people from everywhere imaginable who chose this place and this country deliberately. Patriotism at its best isn’t blind loyalty. It’s honest engagement, caring enough about an idea to want it to actually live up to itself. The Fourth gives us a day to celebrate what’s worth celebrating. The days after give us a moment to ask what we’re willing to do to keep it worth celebrating. That’s not a heavy question. It’s actually a pretty hopeful one. The answer starts right here, in communities exactly like ours.
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Why Affirmations Actually Work The science behind positive self-talk is more grounded than you might think, and incorporating it into your daily life doesn’t have to be awkward. Say the word “affirmations” in a room full of people and you’ll get a split reaction. Half the group nods enthusiastically, the other half quietly cringes. This is understandable. There’s a version of affirmations that can feel performative, like standing in a bathroom mirror telling yourself you’re a millionaire when your checking account says otherwise. But that’s a caricature of what affirmations actually are, and what the research tells us is worth taking seriously. Positive self-affirmation, at its core, is the practice of intentionally focusing on your own values, strengths, and identity, particularly under stress. A body of psychological research, much of it rooted in self- Wellness
affirmation theory developed by Claude Steele in the 1980s, has found that affirming your core values can buffer against the psychological effects of threat, failure, and anxiety. When you feel secure in who you are, your nervous system tends to respond differently to challenges. You become more likely to stay solution- focused and less likely to spiral. Neurologically, repeated positive self-talk has been shown to activate the brain’s reward centers and reinforce neural pathways associated with self- competence. In plain terms, the more you rehearse a belief about yourself, the more naturally you’re able to access it under pressure. This is the same mechanism behind athletic visualization. Elite performers don’t use mental rehearsal because it’s a feel-good trick. They use it because it works. The most effective affirmations aren’t wishes. They’re grounded in something real. “I am someone who handles hard things” lands differently than “everything will be perfect.” The former connects to actual evidence from your own life. The latter floats above it. When you anchor an affirmation to your genuine values and demonstrated abilities, you’re not lying to yourself. You’re reminding yourself of what’s already true.
You don’t need a morning routine, a journal, or a motivational poster. You need a few intentional sentences and the willingness to say them like you mean it. That’s a surprisingly low bar for something that can genuinely shift your day.
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Bright Days Ahead. Bright Days Ahead. Keep Them Crash-Free. Keep Them Crash-Free.
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JUNE 12 THROUGH JULY 25, 2026 CATS is a mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that transports audiences into the mysterious world of the Jellicle Cats. Through breathtaking dance, stunning visuals, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s unforgettable score – including the iconic ballad “Memory” – each cat shares their unique story. CATS is a spellbinding journey of rebirth, acceptance, and the magic of the feline world. Special thanks to Dr. Keith and Kim Haar
623.776.8400 Get tickets now at azbroadway.org
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Cook With Zona Charred Corn Guacamole This 4th of July
• 1 teaspoon Chile Lime Seasoning • Flaky salt and pepper to taste Chips • Vegetable oil or avocado oil • 6 small corn tortillas • 1 teaspoon Chile Lime Seasoning • 1 teaspoon Flaky sea salt Instructions 1. Make the Chips: Cut tortillas into triangles (about 6 per tortilla). In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Fry the tortilla triangles in batches for about 1 minute per side until golden and crisp. 2. In a small bowl, mix the Chili Lime seasoning with the flaky salt. Transfer chips to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Let cool. 3. Char the Corn: Brush corn with olive oil, season with salt and a pinch of Chili Lime. Grill over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side until lightly charred. Let cool slightly, then cut kernels off the cob. 4. Make the Guacamole: In a large bowl, combine avocados, lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeño, Chili Lime, salt, and pepper. Mash to your desired consistency. Fold in the charred corn. 5. Serve immediately with chips.
try this souped up version of a classic side, you don’t have to make your own chips but you’ll be glad you did!
Ingredients Guacamole
• 3 ripe avocados • 1 lemon juiced • 1 lime juices • 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño • 2 ears corn husks and silks removed • 1 teaspoon olive oil
Want to see previous recipes by Zona? Scan the QR code to see all past recipes on our website!
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
The Bug Guy Welcome to West Valley in July, Where the Bugs Are Bigger Than Your Rent
Bark scorpions glow under UV light, which means the only thing creepier than finding one in your shoe is finding one in your shoe and owning a black light. Pro tip: ignorance is bliss. Buy the blacklight anyway. You’ll thank yourself later, possibly while screaming. So what’s a Phoenician to do? Hire pest control, obviously — preferably a company whose technicians show up in long sleeves in July without complaint, which alone qualifies them for combat pay. They’ll spray your baseboards, seal your foundation, and look you dead in the eye and say “you might still see some activity,” which is desert-speak for “we have made peace with the scorpions, and so should you.” In the summer pest control isn’t about winning. It’s about negotiating a temporary, sweaty truce with creatures who were clearly here first — and who, let’s be honest, are handling the heat far better than we are.
Let’s get one thing straight: in the West Valley, “pest control” in July isn’t a service, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a full- contact sport played at 115 degrees against opponents who have survived ice ages, asteroid impacts, and your neighbor’s “all-natural” peppermint spray. Take the scorpion. Sonoran scorpions don’t fear the heat — they commute in it. While you’re sprinting from your car to your air-conditioned house like you’re being chased by a small fire, a scorpion is casually strolling across your patio in full sun, sipping nothing, sweating nothing, judging everything. They’ve been doing this since before the dinosaurs, and frankly, they act like it. And don’t even start on the crickets. Every July, we experience what locals affectionately call “Crickmageddon,” when millions of crickets decide that the inside of your garage is exactly where they want to die, loudly, all at once, in a chorus that sounds suspiciously like they’re cheering for their own demise.
Submitted by Larry Cash, of Estrella Mountain Pest Control.
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
You’re Not Just Talking to Yourself: Why Affirmations Actually Work Wellness Say the word “affirmations” in a room full of people and you’ll get a split reaction. Half the group nods enthusiastically, the other half quietly cringes. This is understandable. There’s a version of affirmations that can feel performative, like standing in a bathroom mirror telling yourself you’re a millionaire when your checking account says otherwise. But that’s a caricature of what affirmations actually are, and what the research tells us is worth taking seriously. Positive self-affirmation, at its core, is the practice of intentionally focusing on your own values, strengths, and identity, particularly under stress. A body of psychological research, much of it rooted in self- affirmation theory developed by Claude Steele in the 1980s, has found that affirming your core values can buffer against the psychological effects of threat, failure, and anxiety. When you feel secure in who you are, your nervous system tends to respond differently to challenges. You become more likely to stay solution- focused and less likely to spiral.
Neurologically, repeated positive self-talk has been shown to activate the brain’s reward centers and reinforce neural pathways associated with self- competence. In plain terms, the more you rehearse a belief about yourself, the more naturally you’re able to access it under pressure. This is the same mechanism behind athletic visualization. Elite performers don’t use mental rehearsal because it’s a feel-good trick. They use it because it works. The most effective affirmations aren’t wishes. They’re grounded in something real. “I am someone who handles hard things” lands differently than “everything will be perfect.” The former connects to actual evidence from your own life. The latter floats above it. When you anchor an affirmation to your genuine values and demonstrated abilities, you’re not lying to yourself. You’re reminding yourself of what’s already true. You don’t need a morning routine, a journal, or a motivational poster. You need a few intentional sentences and the willingness to say them like you mean it. That’s a surprisingly low bar for something that can genuinely shift your day.
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Travel Tips
Phoenix Sky Harbor is proud to be a family‑friendly destination where travelers of every age can enjoy a comfortable and memorable experience, and where even the littlest of travelers can look forward to their journey. Inside the terminals, a variety of shops offer toys, books, snacks, and travel essentials tailored for young travelers.
Families with extra time can also explore Phoenix Sky Harbor through self‑guided tours or discover even more kid‑focused activities on the airport’s Activities and Education page. Families looking for enriching experiences can stop by the Culture Corner. This space hosts monthly cultural activities and performances that highlight the
beauty and cultural diversity of Arizona, along with fun interactive learn-and-go activities for travelers of all ages. All activities are free and offer families a meaningful way to discover something new while navigating the airport. Phoenix Sky Harbor looks forward to welcoming families and helping little travelers enjoy every moment of their journey. For additional information, visit Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Tips for Traveling with Children page.
Phoenix Sky Harbor also supports parents and caregivers with Nursing Rooms available pre‑ and post‑security in each terminal, as well as at the Rental Car Center. These rooms feature comfortable seating, changing areas, and outlets. In addition, several Mamava nursing pods are available in Terminal 4 post-security. Family restrooms throughout the airport provide added privacy and convenience for those traveling with little ones. The Sensory Room is designed to help children or adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities escape sensory overload. Located pre-security in Terminal 4, it offers a quiet and private space equipped with tables, chairs, puzzles, and books. Children can enjoy the Play‑viation Park in Terminal 3 near Gate F6, a fun and engaging aviation‑themed space ideal for play and exploration. Young readers will enjoy the PHX Free Little Library in Terminal 3 between Gates F3 and F4, where they can take or leave a book for their flight.
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Puzzles & Games Fill in the grid with the words on the left. Solutions are on our website www.EstrellaPublishing.com, or scan the QR code.
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Red, white, and… water stains?
...not this year!
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