Rants, Recipes, and Running

Days like this make me miss San Diego. Makes me dream of snow storms. Causes me to fantasize about living in an igloo somewhere in the arctic........ It is 107 degrees Fahrenheit today. Yesterday was 106. Tomorrow is a predicted high of 108 degrees. I feel like we live in hell right now. 2 weeks ago, we were in San Diego, where it was a lovely 72 degrees Fahrenheit. We were refreshed with a nice salty breeze off the ocean. Heaven. However, getting through these summer months of AZ is (to me) similar to "toughing through" the miserable winter months I survived when we lived in the Midwest. However, they are 2 different breeds . As the heat doesn't hurt , turn off power , or cause car accidents . It just makes me really sweaty, dehyrated, and sluggish. I can't wait for November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

1. What are you really good at? What are you really bad at? Good at ........organizing, listening, geting a lot done in a short period of time, teaching (a new discovering..since my role at work for the past few weeks has been teaching!) Bad at ........taking negative criticism, being nice to people who irritate me, playing team sports 2. Have you ever been in a car accident? What happened? They day I got my driver's permit, I totalled a vehicle by hitting a deer. It really sucked. I also lost control of my car on an icy night in North Dakota while going on a sharp curve. My car turned many times, and I ended up in the ditch. Amazingly...the car didn't roll! 3. Why did you attend your college? I moved to Tucson, where I was considered out of state. The waiting lists for nursing school at the U of A was about 2 years.....and that was just not an option for me. Ryan ended up finding out about Grand Canyon University, which had a nursing program that had a hospital pay ...

We've returned from our blissful anniversary trip! We're going from this............. To this........... ( http://images.inmagine.com/img/radiusimages/rds118/rds118281.jpg ) Okay, so our normal daily life does not consist of running on a hamster wheel.... But sometimes it feels like it........ ;) especially when you compare it to the essence-filled life in San Diego! I will say, I'm laying my head on my pillow tonight feeling extremely blessed, happy, and pleased with life.

2 Years ago today.......... I was the hungriest I had ever been (I didnt eat anything but a Mimosa & a bran muffin until 7pm) I was in a dress w/ undergarments so tight that I had a difficult time sitting. I smiled so hard that my face hurt all day long. I had to graceful & elegant for an entire 24 hours (which is a huge feat for me) I was surrounded by the most important people in the whole wide world for an entire day. My heart raced and my stomach had butterflies when I saw Ryan for the 1st time that day. I married my best friend. Ohhhh that is such a cliche statement. It's in every wedding card, Anniversary card, and love song pertaining to weddings. "Today I married my best friend" But I mean this is all seriousness! He truly is my best friend -- and every day I get to spend with him makes me feel extremely blessed. He keeps me motivated, driven, balanced, and happy! He reminds me to slow down and just enjoy life sometimes. He makes m...

There I was last night, at my favorite casual restaraunt, sipping a orange brewery beer on the patio, gazing at the Santa Catalina Mountains, with my husband, analyzing the market of the area we're putting an offer on a great home, deciding together what we're going to offer... ...and I had one of those moments..... One of those moments, where you almost "step outside of yourself" and say "Who am I?" 3-4 years ago, I didn't understand how a credit card worked.....  I didn't understand what interest rates were. I had never heard the word "PMI Insurance", "Active Contingent", or "CAPA". I had no idea about the time frame of polybutelene pipes and lead based paint. I was concerned about...my hair and making sure my class schedule was good. I always hear people say "Hang on and look around often, because the years go quick". I've never quite " bought into that " until last night -- when i...

In the next few weeks we're heading on a mini-vacation. Because of that - I decided it was time to treat myself to a little retail therapy. I used to love shopping. I could've done it for an entire day. Yesterday, it was overwhelming & almost stressful. For the following reasons: I am so out-of-touch with the "fashion world". I don't even know what is "hip" or "in" these days. My time is most spent with a 24 year old male (my husband). When I'm not with him, my time is spent with predominantly geriatric clients on a cardiac floor. I wear "Galaxy Blue" scrubs to work every day. My method of "spicing" up my outfit is to wear fun styles of socks with my scrubs. (My favorite is my orange argyle plaid socks) Malls are irritating. Period. That's a blog in itself. My favorite outfit to wear is running shorts and a race-back tank paired with a nice pair of Mizunos. While some people refer to media such as mag...

We are on the house hunt....again. We have been in this "limbo" for about 1.5 years now searching for the right home. We get aggressive for a while..... Then we get frustrated & take a few months off. We even started building a house a year ago. But the builders screwed that one up. (PS...that house is still on the market! In fact...every house in that development is on the market. Yep. I sure am glad we went with our guts and got out of that money trap!) May I also say that I feel like I know every home for sale in the Oro Valley area? Which there's a lot . Like...hundreds. I also feel like I can know within the first 5 seconds of standing in a home whether it's a foreclosure or not. The indicator? Weird paint colors. Seriously! It seems all the foreclosures we look at have "multi-colored walls". It's like people turn their home into a rainbow when they get that letter from the bank...... In 2 weeks, we have looked at 26 homes. The ...