Rants, Recipes, and Running

If there's one thing I've learned since we moved to the Sonoran Desert, it's that you can garden and eat things from the ground. It just takes some serious labor and love. I cannot just plant tomatoes, water them every other day, and expect fruit. That's just silly and naïve . One must do extensive research! In  fact, I am currently starting my seeds for next years garden. As it takes much love and transitioning to get them ready for Arizona's awful, relentless heat! One thing we've really embraced this year - is making use out of our cacti. We have a beautiful prickly pear cactus in the corner of our yard that bears wonderful fruit! What does prickly pear look like again?   There are 2 distinct parts to the prickly pear. The green paddles (nopales) and the purple prickly pears.   Harvesting these isn't always fun. You will get hairs and thorns impaled into your skin. Unless you were smart and perhaps wore gloves?   The nopales pa...

Ryan and I have been living completely opposite lives lately. But I was able to finagle my work schedule around to get Saturday free, so we could have a day together. And it was worth all the finagling! We took a day trip to Saguaro Lake Ranch to do a kayaking trip on the Salt River. We had 13 miles to kayak, and the river gets very full of tubers during the summer. So we wanted to get an early start. We were on the road by 5:15 am, and on the river by 7:30! This trip made Ryan & I seriously consider buying kayaks. We had so much fun! I'm going to let the pictures do the talking.... We saw a variety of landscapes along the way. We started @ Saguaro Lake Ranch - which historically was the ranch that housed the workers who made the dams on the Salt River to create the various lakes near Phoenix. They provided the kayaks, and picked you up when you finished to bring you back to your vehicle.   Here I am getting the feel for my kaya...

As you know, I am training for my 1st 70.3 half Ironman in October. Looking back on my sprint triathlon I did last May, the biggest challenge for me was the open water swim. I just didn't feel like natural in the water. Which is funny. Because I am " the water girl ". I could spend all day in the water. This was the case as a child, and I never really outgrew that. I have a few friends who are on the Masters Swim team, and have brought me to a few workouts. The aquatic center is right by my house..... And let me tell you about this Aquatic Center. It is the " Taj Mahal " of swimming pools. Our city spent big bucks to have the best aquatic center in the city (it's one of the best in the state). The water is perfect. Best part? -- surrounded by mountains!   And it's only 4 miles from my house!   So after trying out a few practices, I am hooked! So Monday is my 1st official practice on the Oro Valley Masters' Team: " The Flying...

Our kitchen has been active lately with several new recipes. My favorite thing that is a'brewin' is our prickly pear infused liquors ! But there will be a post to come on that soon. I'm pretty stoked about it, though! We are actually harvesting plump, juicy, red prickly pears from our cactus, and infusing them in mason jars w/ vodka and agave nectar..... More to come that! Over the weekend, I tried to make comfort food for my husband who went on night shift starting the 4th of July. Right now our schedule couldn't be more opposite. He wakes up as I go to bed. But that's okay - we still live in the same household, and this schedule is temporary! A few of my comfort creations were: Salted Puppy Chow (sea salt, pretzels, puppy chow, #crack) - I made 2 big batches of this. One which I brought to the 4th of July party I went to, the other I sent with Ryan to work. Crockpot lasagna - super easy, super delicious! Why have I never tried making lasagna in a cro...

I've owned my bike for about 1.5 years. I have avoided learning how to change a tire like the plague. My strategy has been, "If I get a flat, I'll just call a friend." or "If I get a flat, I'll just run home (barefoot?)" The idea of changing the inner tube of a tire just seemed like this impossible feat - and a skill I am not interested in learning. It all kind of relates to my disdain for the sport of "road biking". In order to go road biking, my routine is: check tires air up tires to 90 psi get my helmet out get my cycling shoes out (which you can only wear cycling - they have funny clips on the bottoms) make sure my "bike bag" is all set with the appropriate tools, tubes, drivers license (in case I get hit by a car and end up in the trauma center & need to be identified.....Just kidding, Mom!) Then I have to load it onto my bike rack. Make sure it's bungee corded down. Drive it to a meeting spot, unload, ...

Another week of training is in the books! My training posts may bore some...so my apologies in advance. This week was a good reality check for me. Tuesday morning I had the most obstacle-filled run ever. It was almost like one of those "obstacle races". Minus the mud. But it reminded me that I am not some natural born, iron-woman. It reminded me that I need to take things in stride, and listen to my body. 5 am - 82 degrees F Mile 2 - Intense cramping in my stomach that almost had me in fetal position on the side of the road. Mile 2-3 - Desperately trying to catch back up with the group. Mile 3 - Wheezing. Didn't take my inhaler. Cannot get air. Keep pushing. Cursing at the palo verde trees I'm allergic to. Mile 6 - Raw, rubbing, pain in my foot. Blister. Mile 6-8 - Hobbling with an ugly gait, almost in tears because blister is so bad. Mile 8 - Finished! Shoe full of blood. Ran it in a sub 8 min/mile pace, miraculously! 2 hours later - Nauseated, ...

There's a special season in the Sonoran Desert each year called "The Monsoon". It's a portion of the summer where it rains for about 20 minutes around 4 pm every day (hopefully). People get a little crazy in the time preceding "the monsoon". There is worry it will never rain, that the earth will dry up, the animals will die, and we will be forced to eat cactus forever (until they dry up, too). We are in quite a horrible drought over the past few years, and it's getting concerning. A lot of people from other parts of the country find this statement silly. They say, "Well, don't you live in a desert? Isn't it supposed to never rain?" This is not true. Deserts can go a long while without water, but it still needs it. Without water, there is no life. ( Duh ). Yes, there are desert regions where it is all sand. But Tucson is not like that. We actually have a great deal of vegetation, gardening, and there are even farmers in Arizona! An...