The Storm I Didn't Chase

Every now and then during the Monsoon, I don't work. Surprise, surprise. And on occasion, there is weather going on close by on those days I don't have to work. What are the odds? Balancing home life, being a mommy and all that comes with that, going out to chase storms leaves a pretty small window of opportunity. Luckily for me, sometimes storms come near by and I'm able to witness some pretty cool stuff.

Still learning how to take the right photos of storms and clouds, it's amazing the beauty that can be seen from a distant severe thunderstorm producing strong winds and heavy rain. And paired with a sunset. That's epic!

I did a little post editing, but I'll show the originals too. This storm was south of Avondale, north of Gila Bend, August 27, 2013.

Original

Edited

 

Original

Edited

Original, black and white

Edited

Original

All photos are mine and were taken by me on a Sony DSLR camera. 

#MarchGoal

Halfway through March already. Spring is nearly here. Of course "spring" in Arizona means 90°F days are coming fast. It was 95 on Thursday.

Halfway through March also means we are halfway done with the #MarchGoal challenge. Did you participate? How is it going for you?

For me, my initial goal was to run/log 30 miles for the month. I got off to a good start with a half marathon on March 2. Bringing my total up to just over 15 miles. I'd say I have some work to do! Another goal I have, but never really "technically" declared it a goal, was to eat healthy every single day. So far, I've done great. Aside from 3 days when we had company, I even did well on those days. I have been doing a combo of push ups, crunches, lunges or squats each day and as always a plank everyday. 

Checking out some 'goodies' at the finish line of the Phoenix Marathon

A good handful of people have joined this challenge. Some through twitter, some through facebook and some just have mentioned it to me. 

There are no hard rules to this challenge. Pretty cool, huh? So why not join in. There is still half a month to go. Plenty of time to start making a difference NOW.

Neon Clouds in a Pre-Dawn Sky: Contrails

If you were awake before 5:30am today and happen to be looking to the East, you may have caught a glimpse of this too. This was before sunrise, but the Sun was reflecting off of these contrail clouds way up high in the atmosphere and created a "rainbow"of colors in the top portion.

Almost neon looking, they aren't Noctilucent Clouds, which are very rare to see and quite beautiful. It was a contrail from a missile that was launched in New Mexico. These are seen from Tempe, AZ. Viewers as far away as Las Vegas, NV and Salt Lake, UT were able to see this. As the sun came up, the clouds disappeared and became almost invisible. The news in Arizona (ABC15, 3TV, KOVA Tucson) and Colorado (9News)had stories on the event. Some people called into TV stations saying they thought it was a weather balloon or rocket launch, which is pretty common for New Mexico.

Do you see the crescent moon to the right? The sky was so gorgeous for the entire morning. Perfect that it was clear! Definitely a sign the Monsoon is nearing the end. As temperatures transition to "cooler" and we dry out and head towards "fall" in the Desert.

I've lost my wisdom

So what's been happening lately?


For one, I was lucky enough to have to have two of my wisdom teeth out. I'll pause for the cheers. Oh wait, no one wants that! I did pretty good actually. I think my jaw was more sore the afternoon after it was done than the next day. I remember in high school everyone having their wisdom teeth out. For some reason I was lucky (?) enough to miss that train. Oh well, better late than never, right??? This will be my diet for the next few days: 

{source}

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As soon as I can eat real solid foods again, I'm looking forward to some strawberries and salads and spaghetti, of course not all together.


Here are some photos:

Making a mess playing with toys. Messes are so fun!

Lots of feeding ourselves going on here. 

We celebrated our (Jackson's) first 4th of July. We went to watch the fire works in Chandler. What perfect weather it was that night, warm and humid, which is kinda rare for the desert but man it was nice!

Tough to get a good firework photo with my phone.

Bright flash makes us look funny!

While the 4th of July just wasn't the same since we all had to work and go to daycare, we did get to spend the evening together. Watermelon, strawberries, sitting at the park and playing. We missed the parades we used to go to. The BBQ's and family get togethers.

Lots of naps with our bunny and uncle jimmy bear. Gotta have a friend to cuddle up with :)

Enjoy your week. I'm on zombie shifts so I'll be backwards from you all. Looking forward to getting a few miles in this week in between the heat. Man oh man, we must be in July now:

Check out those overnight LOW temps only in the upper 80s and low 90s. Hello A/C!

Hello Arizona, The clouds are coming

The Monsoon has arrived in Arizona. Even though it may not seem like it quite yet, we're on the look out for storms. Dust storms have made us pretty newsworthy over the past year (read haboob) and some of the most amazing video, timelapse and photography have come out of it.

Here's to another active summer. But maybe a little less dust?!

These pictures are from Wednesday June 27th. Looking to the southeast.

{Heat & Family Life}

Happy Weekend to everyone! If it isn't your weekend yet, like me, Happy Saturday!


Can anyone else believe it is June already?! Wow, time is just flying by. Along with it being June already, the heat has welcomed us back to summer here in the desert. Ah, how we missed  forgot about did not miss you. Alas, more time in the pool and with air conditioning will be spent.

This was yesterday June 1, forecasting 113 degrees for some areas.

Most places in the lower deserts broke/tied records. Why not start summer with a BANG?!


The best thing about the heat this summer: I'm not preggers and the size of a whale, so I should feel quite a bit cooler. Sweet. 


We've started swimming a couple days/nights a week and Jackson seems to like it. He's pretty unsure about it at first, since all he's seen is his small bathtub and this is one huge bathtub to him.

That swimming is tough stuff! He loves his hat though, he wears it like a champ!


Jackson has also been doing great trying out new foods. He wasn't so sure about watermelon, but there is still time. He was more into playing with it and trying to grab the slippery pieces.

And some berries I eat like crazy, can't get enough fruit these days!

Man what a big boy he is getting to be. We had some fun taking pictures of him recently :)

Eating mangoes on a walk with mommy.

Toy mountain around Jackson.

Building and playing in a tent before bedtime.

All this fun wore me out. Gotta have my Uncle Jimmy Bear :)

Chicadee China, The Chinese...Cabbage?!

Officially in the 3rd trimester already...WOW! Can't believe it. Only 12 weeks to go? 3 short months? Time has been flying by ever since the nausea stopped, which I'm thankful for! 83 short days left...holy moly!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 28 Weeks on Saturday
Size of baby: size of a Chinese Cabbage?! (and weighs 2lbs 6oz and is 14.8 inches long)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Since last Dr. appt: 16 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and shirts. Regular T-shirts are starting to fit weird are just about too tight to wear!
Gender: Baby Dewey is either a Girl or a Boy :)
Movement: I've been kicked and can feel hiccups! Now I can start feeling when Baby is changing positions. And the kicking downward is uncomfortable!!

Sleep: Have been very tired and now starting to get uncomfortable
What I miss: Nothing really...my regular clothes?!
Cravings: Food?! I'm just hungry now.
Symptoms: None, have some heartburn/indigestion, hiccups for both baby and me. Can now tolerate dairy?!
Labor Symptoms: Might be starting to have Braxton-Hicks ?!
Milestone: Doctor appointment on June 15th marked my last "every-two-week-appts".
Best Moment this week: Baby kicked Josh in the head when Josh was talking to my belly :)

What I'm looking forward to: My belly growing (more) and feeling MORE and constant movement!

Looking back at this post about the progression of my belly pictures, I got a lot of responses. Thanks everyone! I had fun with it and am loving taking pictures of my belly. Though, I have forgotten a few times, and am trying to get better, it happens that most of my pictures are on my phone and taken in the bathroom. I guess next time I'll have to have a designated place and someone else to take my photos :) I'm trying to stay in the same position so each time I can see the progression. I love seeing it grow! 

In the last 2 weeks I have noticed how much heavier my belly has gotten and have, sadly, had my hands and feet swell a little bit (and...shhh...a few stretch marks!). Which now requires me to wear my wedding ring around my neck on a necklace. Takes some getting used to by not wearing it every day but I still have it with me. The swelling and shh..stretch marks...will all be worth it though!


In other news, staying cool (or trying to!) in Phoenix as we're well into the double digits in the 100's. Yes, daily highs above 110. Joy. Our overnight low temperatures have been in the 80's, and upper 80's at that. That is right, we "cool" down to around 84 degrees overnight. Lovely. Welcome to the desert!

The Monsoon - Weather for Arizona!

What's that you say? Arizona has weather? That's right! And we're just gearing up for an active weather season this summer. Arizona has a Monsoon Season, which is a lot like a severe thunderstorm season.  Starting June 15 through September 30 this denotes the Monsoon Season for the Southwest, namely Arizona. 

Temperatures during the summer here in Phoenix can get as high as 120 degrees with overnight low temperatures in the 90's. That's right, "cooling" down overnight to near 90 degrees. Yuck, I know. But with these extreme temperatures we also can see severe thunderstorms, just like the rest of you out in the plains and east of us.

Along with the start of the Monsoon, we also focus on how to avoid dangerous situations during hazardous weather events. There are many dangers about weather; heat, flash flooding, lightning, to name a few. 

This weather geek is pretty excited about the start of the season and is hoping for some good storms this summer!

Summa Time & New Hair

Summer has officially started. Well I guess not "officially" but here in Phoenix, it has warmed up enough to say it has. However, we've just barely hit the 100 degree mark, and our warmest day so far was June 5th with a high of 105. This time last year we were well into the 100's consistently day after day and on track to hit double digits above 100 toward the later part of June. So far, we've only had a handful of days actually at or just over 100. Take it while you can, because once it gets to 110+ it won't stop. So it has been nice, but odd. 

Satellite images of two large fires burning in Arizona; Smoke now spreading into mid-west states

 Also with our "warm" up, but not so warm start to summer has been the dryness. Yes, we know Arizona is a desert, but consistent days of 2-3% humidity? This has only aided in the growth and devastation of two of the large fires burning in Arizona. The Wallow fire, as shown in the above satellite image, is now grown to 389,000 acres and burning with no end in sight. It is just massive and very sad. So many people evacuated. The smoke plumes reached parts of Colorado, Wyoming and beyond. It has become the #1 fire priority in the nation, growing by the hour.

Smoke has been seen as far east as Iowa, Wyoming, Colorado. Forced planes to divert. Ash has fallen over New Mexico.

Not a great start to summer in that sense, but just a heads up as to how dry it is here in Arizona. 

 Since summer is fast approaching, so is our Monsoon Season here in the desert. I can't wait and hope we get some great storms this year! This week has been Monsoon Awareness week as we look for all of the weather hazards that will become evident this summer. 

Now on to the personal life a bit...

That's right, I've chopped my hair again. Thought it was getting a little long and wanted to change it up a little. Do something fun. Well it sure is a lot shorter now! A little shorter than I really wanted, but its grown on me and I like it. Plus, at this rate, it will be nice and long by Christmas.

The before hair picture

...And the after! Way short!

 Shorter, but I like it so far. Can't put it up in a pony tail but its so nice to dry and takes almost ZERO time to get ready in the morning (or whenever time of day I'm working!).