Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Life in the desert category.
Purposefully Planted Palms
I know I said today was going to be about working out while pregnant but since it’s Friday and I have had a day full of pregnancy brain errors (yes, it’s a real thing) I am going to opt for something a little more simple.
I was also thinking since it’s November and the month of Thanksgiving, every Friday I would write about what I am thankful for. We all know I am thankful for my family, friends, good health, future child, yadda yadda yadda. So, I am going to try and look harder for things to be thankful for.
Today, I am thankful for the lack of palm trees on Litchfield Rd. Ever since I moved here, the sparsely planted King Palms lining Litchfield Rd. has really bothered me. It honestly looks like someone quit halfway through planting them. I also love palm trees so to see them so carelessly planted annoyed me. Until Monday morning.
My husband, friend, and the two pups went for a hike in a nearby mountain park. It was a beautiful morning and we were headed home.
Hiking in the White Tanks!
Driving back to base, actually talking about how the sparsely planted trees looked so bad, when my husband saw a car coming straight at us. In our lane. He swerved the car onto the shoulder and so did the oncoming car. There was no way not to hit the oncoming car straight on except to go between the palm trees – where, thankfully, they were planted so far apart, we had plenty of room.
We safely (but quickly) swerved off the road, into dust, between palm trees where we stopped. The car flew past us, in our lane.
It was a good reminder that sometimes even the things that bother us serve a purpose – to help us, sharpen us, build us up, and even sometimes, to save our lives.
Don’t Be Such A Haboob.
Haboob. It’s a new word for me. And a new experience. That’s right, folks. Last week we had our first Haboob. I didn’t know what is was either. Apparently, it’s a massive dust storm.
Looks a bit like Armageddon, huh?
I actually thought it was rain and I got really really excited because I can’t even remember the last time I saw rain! I ran outside and my husband was so excited to sit on our patio and watch the storm roll in! I was out there with the dogs for less than a minute when my mouth started to get gritty and my eyes started to burn. I ran back inside not even knowing what I was in! The dust storm was over 10,000 feet high and 50 miles wide. It took over the entire valley. They were even calling for mud rain to follow the dust. Like rain, but coming through dust. Sick.
This midwestern girl was not a fan. But, the weather here is always hot and sunny and looks like this so I can’t really complain.
My husband leaves tomorrow for nine weeks so today is spent packing and getting everything ready. I did get back on the road this morning for a three mile run. I had to leave the house at 6 am so it was cool enough but it was still very hot. I have not spent a lot of time on the road. I spend most of my work out time doing Crossfit, which is a series of strength training exercises. I have built a lot of muscle and was worried about running after taking a few weeks off. BUT, my running was so much better than it was before. My new muscles carried me longer and faster than before. I am very excited to focus more on running and start training for the half marathon in the fall!
Enjoy your Saturday!
Due to Popular Demand…
well..not really. But kind of. A few of you have asked where I have been and why I have stopped writing. There’s really no reason, just that things have been busy.
May 8th, the date of my last post, seems so long ago! Since then, we have made Arizona our home and made new friends that already feel like family!
I have done some awesome fun things over the past two months. Here’s a few:
- Journeyed to the Grand Canyon
- Painted our house (inside only)
- Went to Las Vegas
- Had so many friends and family visit, its hard to count!
- Two months of Crossfit have left me MUCH stronger. I will write more about that later.
- Bunco Queen (every month I play and I have WON some category every time!)
- ALMOST completed my personal training certification class.
- Got my CPR certification
- Joined the Officers’ Spouses’ Club here and the Key Spouse initiative
- Made plans to go back to Chicago, back to DC and to Alabama
- Committed to my first half marathon!
I can’t wait to see where this year takes me. I am back and ready to share my experiences, the ups and downs, and mostly the fun parts of my life AND catch up on yours!
Reality Check and Breakfast Enchiladas.
Living on base can often feel like camp.
There’s bowling.
There’s Bingo.
There is a golf course.
It can really feel like summer camp. However, this past week has been a slap in the face that we DO NOT LIVE at military fun camp. There are actually two wars going on. Well, there are more than that. But, two big wars that most of our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen are fighting. The slap in the face started last week when 8 US Airmen were killed in Afghanistan. The slaps kept coming last night with the announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death.
I love living on base. There’s always a lot going on and a lot of people running around. But, if it’s easy to forget here, then it has to be super easy to forget off base when people aren’t in uniforms every day and they don’t play the Star Spangled Banner every day at 5 pm. Yes, they do that here. The truth of the matter is that whether we like it or not, we are still a nation at war and we will always be the land of the free because of the brave.
I’ll get off my soapbox now but just needed to add my two cents. I also wanted to share a quick and easy breakfast recipe. We ran out of milk last week – chaos ensued. For sure.
Here was my solution. I was in a hurry so I don’t have any pictures.
Breakfast Enchiladas
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 corn tortillas (flour is fine too but corn is a bit healthier)
- 3 egg whites (you can use all of the egg if you prefer, but again, whites are a bit healthier)
- 1 egg
- 1 Bell Pepper, chopped (I went to the grocery store and they were SO expensive so I cut these out)
- 1 Onion
- 1 Tomato
- 1/4 cup cheese, reduced fat
- Pinch of Salt
- Pinch of Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Salsa
- 1 Tbsp Sour Cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Scramble egg whites and egg until cooked. Add chopped bell pepper, other veggies and cheese. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Place 1/2 of mixture in one tortilla and the other half in the other tortilla. Folds end of tortilla in and roll up. Place seam down on baking sheet. Put in oven until tortilla is browned, 5 – 8 minutes.
Top with salsa and sour cream.
It’s a quick, easy breakfast fix and you can use whatever is in your kitchen.
We are off for a quick run before dinner, which tonight will just be leftovers. 
Still Unwritten
Growing Season
It seems like everyone is racing tomorrow! Yay! I know I should have taken the day off, or even just cross trained but when I got to the gym this morning, I was ready for a workout so I jumped on the treadmill and ran at an incline for 2 miles. It was a good workout and a good confidence builder for tomorrow’s flat 4.2 mile run. I am really excited to share the details of the run with you!
I am also super excited because I used my persuasive skills to coerce nicely convince my cousin to do the race too. This is going to make the hour drive to Tempe and the nightmare that parking is definitely going to be much much more enjoyable!
After my run, I sat and brainstormed t shirt ideas for the Ladies Crud Tournament. And came up with…nothing. Any ideas?
It’s been almost a month since my planting extravaganza, so here are some pictures of our back yard plants! I am super proud I haven’t killed everything although planting was much easier when my mom was here to give advice.
My pink rose plant. My favorite. Obviously.
Hibiscus. There are two of these plants, one yellow and one pink. Gorgeous.
Tomato plant. I also have a squash plant, a rosemary and a pepper plant. The bunnies really like the pepper plant.
Bougainvillea. I think this is a native plant. It’s drought resistant so probably not good that I left the hose on it last night. Oops.
My faithful partner in crime helps me water every day. Now, we are off to make dinner!
Still Unwritten
Green Thumb
Happy Friday! It’s another beautiful day in Phoenix. Butterscotch coconut cookies are in the oven and stuffed peppers are on the stove. Perfect way to start a weekend.
Living on a military base means that yards and houses have very strict standards. Everything is white and beige and very standardized. So, when a giant bird pooped on our front upstairs window I had to venture to the housing office and get someone to clean it off since no other houses had giant bird poop. If they had, we probably could have left it. Seriously.
When I went in, I thought it would be a a good time to mention that I hate white walls and the lack of desert landscaping in my front yard. Just like that, I got permission to paint my indoor walls (provided I paint it back before we move) and plant whatever I want in the yard!
I started with some serious weeding in the back. Stafford was laying there for scale. 
Then we ventured into our front yard and added some color. After a quick trip to the store and finding a sale on all gardening items, we were hard at work. I even planted cactus seeds in the front yard. Don’t hold your breath.
I did manage to add some color, and by some color, I mean color at all!
Maybe I’ll have to add gardening to my long list of interests, especially if those cacti grow…
Still Unwritten
Back on Track
I was up early to take the husband to work and off to the gym. Since I slacked off yesterday, today was 4 miles or bust…and it was the easiest 4 miles of my life! I did have a little break at mile 2 for a phone call but jumped right back on the boring treadmill to finish out the last 2 miles really strong.
I wasn’t able to complete my originally schedule 7K run because we had to come to Arizona, so I registered for a run in Arizona! I just found it online. It’s the Luck of the Draw 8K and should be a super fun and pretty run through Peoria, AZ. I hope it’s not too hot in late April. I am excited to be focusing on something new and working towards an established goal.
After the gym, I decided to attend a women’s bible study at the chapel on base…where I was the only woman under the age of 70. And I am not kidding. And I loved every minute of it! Some of the women were actually here when the base opened in the 1940s and hung out with Gene Autry. He had a radio show here during World War II. While my first instinct was to hightail it out of the chapel when I saw that I was going to be only young’en there, I decided to stick it out. My thought process went a little something like this: I should leave. What would I say? Furthermore, I would go home and do…what? Pull weeds? Nah, let’s just see where this goes.
I am so glad I showed up and so glad I stayed. These women have awesome stories to tell and were really encouraging telling me their own cancer survival stories, reminding me that people do overcome their circumstances.
THEN, the best part of my day. Two old high school friends (who are now married) are here on spring break and I got to go to the Cubs/Dodgers spring training game with them! We spent the afternoon on the lawn chatting and enjoying the Arizona sunshine. It was great to see faces from home and be with people who know me.
Also – today is one of my most favorite days of the year. Today is the day my best friend in the whole entire world was born. I am so lucky to have a friend like her. She has been my best friend since we were 13 years old and we haven’t even lived in the same state in 9 years. I know friends like her are in a million and I am so grateful for her! Happy Birthday Sunshine!
