Arizona Abs

I came to a very important conclusion today…something that would be selfish of me not to share.

Arizona = awesome abs

You see, Mr. has a job…which means he has a daily commute…which means he gets to drive our Prius…which means I’m stuck driving Gary.

Gary in his younger years...Lisbon 2009.  Please note my amazing parking job!

Did I mention that Gary has leather seats?  Great for when you have kids and messes to clean up, but otherwise I don’t see the appeal of this “luxury”. 

And in case you’ve been living under a rock and weren’t aware…Arizona is HOT!

So…when I decide to brave the heat and go out during the day, I’m driving a giant black SUV with leather seats and questionable air conditioning. 

Instead of getting the glamorous look I like to call “Arizona Sweaty-Back”…I choose to recline my seat to the full horizontal position and sit straight up avoiding any contact whatsoever between my back and the leather seats*. 

This is a GREAT abdominal workout!  I’m looking forward to my six-pack that I’m sure is just around the corner…only a few more mid-day drives to go!

*(Yes, I realize that I can get seat covers…and I actually have some.  But apparently Gary has super-heat-absorbent leather which heats straight through the covers…I swear; I could bake cookies on these seats!)

Going Solo

Yesterday I made my first solo trek out to Arizona.  I was a little bit nervous about taking the 6 hour trip by myself, and apparently for good reason.

The road-trip deities were not with me…

I should start by saying this trip was taken in our 1999 Ford Explorer, Gary.  I spent last week getting him up and running, and was pretty confident he would make the trip…which he did.  However, 40 minutes into my drive the “ABS” light came on.  I’m not a car person, so I figured Gary was reminding me I needed to work on my abs.  I mean, summer is coming and all.  Just in case I pulled off to look up the owner’s manual in my phone and apparently the “ABS” light signals that there is some kind of malfunction with the anti-lock brake system and to service the vehicle immediately.  Since I didn’t plan on braking all that much anyhow, (it only slows you down you know) I decided to keep going and work on my abs when I made it to Queen Creek.

The second hurdle was just outside of San Diego.  From just after Viejas Casino to the downgrade past Jacumba there was fog.  LOTS of fog.  As in, can’t-see-two-car-lengths-in-front-of-me, drive-30-miles-per-hour-with-my-hazards-on kind of fog.  It delayed my trip a bit, but not as much as the next guy I saw…

I took this pre-fog because I thought it was pretty...
20 minutes into my slow fog-drive I was over the "pretty"...

Because on the mountains down from Jacumba…right out of the fog…there was a semi truck FACING me!  Yep, he was definitely going the wrong direction.  I would have panicked, but half of his truck was hanging off the cliff so I figured he wasn’t going anywhere.  Don’t worry, he was out of the cab and there were already quite a bit of police on the scene…I wish I would have gotten a picture, or at least stayed long enough to see how they planned to get the truck back on the road and facing the right direction.  I mean, how does that even happen!?

From then on it was pretty rough sailing…the drive was okay but it was WINDY so I was pretty swerve-y.  It also probably didn’t help that I was getting bored and started singing and dancing in the car to pass the time.

Overall an eventful trip and I made it!  And bonus of taking the trip alone is getting to listen to all the music I love that Mr. doesn’t…like Justin Timberlake and Nine Inch Nails!  (Two musicians that totally go together, no?  Don’t judge…)

I should have known it wasn’t a great day for a road trip right from the start…after a great sunny week in California it was raining that morning.  Probably mourning my leaving for good…California and I are pretty close like that.

"Home"
(Eventually the quotations will go away and it will be home...don't rush me!)

Roots

Lately I have been having this overwhelming feeling of complete panic. 

It's ridiculous. 

Our lives are finally starting to come back together since our move from Spain.  Mr. has an awesome job, we're building (with the exception of it being in Arizona) our dream home, I'm signed up, ready, and able to go to school full time and finally finish my degree.  Everything is going great.

Then I realized that we are actually setting down roots somewhere.  In Spain it was temporary...and really every place I've lived up until now has been.  And yes, I know that this too could be temporary.  But it's a longer-term temporary.  We'll have a mortgage, we're starting to think more seriously about kids in the near(er...don't get too excited) future, we'll be buying actual adult furniture for a place we know we'll be in for awhile...

Panic.

My heart literally yearns to be back in Europe.  I desperately miss traveling, and I am just now allowing myself to comprehend that we're at the point in our life where trips will be few and far between.

I get it, we were lucky.  Most people my age haven't been to half the places we've been to.  I don't care.  I WANT that.  I've never been more at home than when I was seeing the world with Mr..  It was hard at first to be away from everything that was comfortable to me...family, friends, California in general.  But as time went on it became more comfortable than any of that ever was.  It's like I was finally doing exactly what I'd always wanted to do, and I was where I should be.

I'm excited for Arizona.  It's a change, it's different, and lots of exciting things are in our future there.  I'm excited to get to see my family and friends more regularly and share (in person) life with them.  I'm just terrified that setting down such permanent roots will never give me that same feeling of contentment I had when traveling.

So...I suppose the best way to deal with this is to plan a trip!  Obviously it'll be a while until we can afford and take the time off to take it, but having that plan will give me some sense of a light at the end of the travel-less tunnel. 

And until then I'll work on appreciating what we had and what we now have...because we truly are lucky to lead such an amazing life.  I have so much to be grateful for.

Anyone else planning an amazing trip in the not-so-distant future?

School...again...

When I sat down and created my 30/30 list, there were a couple things that were more dreams/wishes than things I actually thought I would accomplish.  I know this probably seems pointless to have included them on the list, but you're suppose to push yourself and I figured this was the best way I could at least try to do that.

Recently, the two things I thought were the biggest long shots are coming to reality.  Buying a home and getting my degree.

This last week I enrolled at National University, and I'm giving myself no option to fail.  Mr. was lucky enough to get a great job where we can afford to live off his income alone, so my full-time job will be to get my degree.  The way the classes are set up I'll be able to complete my Bachelor's in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management in 21 months...when I turn 30!

It'll be hard...I've never been big on school...but it will be worth it!  And hey, it will have only taken me 12 years...

Here's to doing everything I can to check off every last item on the 30/30 list!  And here's to this blog...even with just 8 followers I feel like it's keeping my accountable!

Anyone else accomplishing any big goals soon?

I am not an RV-er...

Mr. and I are back in California.  450 miles apart, but still...we're both in California.  Mr. is training for his new job up in Pleasanton for the week, making money so we can afford the new house we bought. I'm down in Escondido packing stuff up, getting our Explorer (Gary to those closest) up and running so he can transport me and our stuff back to Arizona, having a girls day to get foot massages and take a cooking class, and getting my hair done.  Clearly we have equally important tasks for the week.

On the way back to Escondido, I spent the first half of my trip RVing with my parents.  We stopped in Yuma, since you have to go slow in an RV, and spent the night last night.  Basically a dirt lot next to what my mom called "the river" (a small canal). 

This night made me realize that I am not an RV-er.  I'm a fly-er and a hotel-er, or when we save up a bit more cash a spa-er. 

There was a woman who lives in a permanent mobile home across the way from where we parked.  She had a tree in her front yard with a bunch of bird feeders and A LOT of birds...I hate birds.

The birds, obviously not sensing my fear, fled when I tried to take their picture.  There are still some birds in the picture however, and I am dubbing this the "crazy bird lady house".

Another gem in the RV park was this display...which I am still debating the reason for...

These bird statues are either having a party or a face-off...

The one thing I did appreciate about my brief stint as an RV-er is that you've always got your refrigerator with you...so you've always got a cold drink at hand.

Enjoying a beer by the "river"...far away from the crazy bird lady house.

Needless to say I took my parents car this morning and drove myself the remaining 3 hours to Escondido.  Lucky too, since their RV broke down and they are having to wait an extra night in Yuma for a repairman tomorrow. 

I hope they last the night next to the crazy bird lady house...I'm going to enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty house!

It's Anniversary Season!

I’m pretty lucky.  Every year, I get TWO anniversaries!  Anniversary #1, which just happens to be today, is the day I trekked up to Orange County with my mom as my witness to sign paperwork to officially become Mrs. Howell.  Anniversary #2, exactly one month later on May 11^th, is the day we had our wedding.  This means TWICE the presents and TWICE the celebrations EVERY year…which is pretty much awesome.

For anniversary #1 last year, we went to Venice…Italy, not the beach;  the year before we went to the Campania region of Italy and toured the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii; and for our first anniversary #1, we went to the Running of the Bull festival in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain.

Needless to say it’s hard to top living in Europe and being able to afford and have the time to do those things. 

For example, this year there will be no jaunts to Italy.  Instead, we will be showing my parents our new home (the model of it at least), and then heading to dinner at Kona Grill in good ole Gilbert, Arizona!

Kona sounds pretty Hawaiian to me though, so I suppose if I squint real hard and drink a bunch of Mai Tais I may be able to pretend we’re celebrating our four year anniversary #1 in Hawaii.

AND, buying a home is on my 30/30 list…so I’m working towards a pretty huge goal too. 

Happy Four Year Anniversary #1 Mr.!  I’m so lucky to get to celebrate twice…and to be married to my best friend who has always worked so hard to make all my dreams a reality.  (Wow, that sounded cheesey, but it’s totally true!)

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

It's like sharks and crocodiles...but REALLY big!

Yesterday, as I was browsing through the channels on the little cable TV Mr. hooked up for us in our room at Mom & Dad H.’s, I ran across this gem.

There are no words...

Yep, you’re seeing that right.  Mega Shark v Crocosaurus. 

Since our little TV doesn’t have a menu guide, I actually had to imdb this movie to get the title, which led to me finding out there was a prequel!  Mega Shark v Giant Octopus.  Clearly another winner…

It has Jaleel White in it…you know…Steve Urkel from Family Matters?  So I’m glad to see his acting career is still booming. 

I’m sure this must be a cult film thing or something…right? 

So as not to deprive you all from this experience, I’ve done the research for you and here’s a link where you can buy this masterpiece on Amazon.  Only $14.99 plus shipping and handling, what a bargain!

Enjoy!