Living in a Desert ...

 Growing up in the mid-west, as far from the desert as one can imagine, I was use to grassy plains, fields of alfalfa and corn, furry creatures running around and amazing summer storms.  The desert is completely opposite, with blooming cactus, desert flowers, no rain and my personal favorite, the Joshua Trees, many things are so different here from the mid-west, but one thing remains the same, Allergies.

Some of you are probably laughing at me right now, as you know the mid-west, especially the part in MO where I grew up, is considered the allergy belt of the United States.  You may be thinking, 'How can a climate that is so dry be the same for allergies as in MO?'  Well, let me tell you a few similarities.

1. The Pollen:  Desert flowers and all the imported trees that bloom here have just as much pollen as the blooming mid-west does.  Yes, it is a different pollen, but pollen is pollen and it still has a way of creeping into my nose, making it drip.

2. The Dust:  In the desert there is a constant layer of dust laying around.  Only, its not your typical "dust", its a desert sand dust, complete with the outside smells and mixed with the outside pollens and dander.  Open your windows on a nice breezy day and be rest assured that you will have to dust at least 3 times to keep it clean and even then, it still manages to come inside. 

3. The Wind:  The wind is the worst thing here in the desert.  Don't get me wrong, I love the breeze and how it has a way of cooling everything off in the heat.  However,  when spring time comes, we get wind advisories, no rain and severe thunder storm warnings here, just wind, and when the wind comes, it blows everything that sat dormant all winter up into the skies, blowing and blowing, making a girl with allergies (that's me) feel as though she were back in the mid-west again.

The one thing I have come to love during the windy season here in this beautiful desert I call home, my Nasopure.  What is a Nasopure you ask?  Have you ever heard of the Neti Pot? Well, a Nasopure is the same concept, without having to tilt your head and hurt your neck to get the salt water solution to run through one side of nose and out the other.  Twice a day, once when I wake up and once when I go to bed, my wonderful Nasopure comes out and makes it all better.  I won't go into detail of the exact thing that happens when using the Nasopure.  It can be slightly gross and I would not want to make you feel queasy reading my blog. ;)

So, where the desert is extremely beautiful and has sunsets that paint the skies and mountains amazing colors, my nose most likely still thinks we are in MO.  Same old sneezing. Same old runny nose.  Same old itchy eyes. 

Having Patience in Apartment living

Today I realized it has been a while since my last entry and as I sat here thinking of what to write, there are MANY things going on outside my lovely apartment.  Therefore, I thought I would share with all of you the patience one must have daily while living in an apartment complex. 

First, you must know that I absolutely LOVE the apartments we live in.  There are 2 pools, one of which is heated and has a beautiful rock formation with waterfall and palm trees all around it, making you feel as though you have left the US and are vacationing somewhere fabulous.  The other Pool, where I tend to spend most sunny mornings getting a little sun, is quiet, peaceful and extremely relaxing.  Both pools have a hot tub, which I have not taken advantage of yet.  There is a walking path at the back of the complex, it is a gated community and no one living inside has a criminal record, I know this because I was checked before they allowed us to move in and for this I am very grateful.  These apartments are safe and when living in a big city like we do, safety is always a good thing.

On to my point of writing today.  Like I said, there are MANY things going on outside.  My windows are open since we are having amazing weather lately and with the windows open, you hear EVERYTHING and smell everything!  Here is what I generally hear and smell on a daily basis.

Hearing: 

1. Kids playing in the street, something that I love.  The sound of their little scooters racing down the sidewalks, the balls bouncing as they play four square and the laughter as they have fun just being kids.  

2. Our new neighbors most annoying dog barking constantly.  This is something I dislike very much.  The people who use to live there had a little barking dog, and now the new people do to.  He is a VERY cute puppy, looks like a baby Ewok, but really, do they have to let him on to the balcony and just bark non stop without even trying to stop him? Then you add the 2 year old child they have, who mimics the dog, it was cute at first, now not so much.  Makes me think about how every person is different in training, both animals and their children.

3.  Golf Carts.  The amazing maintenance staff here all drive golf carts.  They have a very distinct sound.  Its not something that bothers me, its peaceful.  It is also nice knowing if I needed something, they are right there to help with whatever it is, changing a light bulb, fixing the garbage disposal, changing the air filters, our maintenance staff is amazing and for that I am very grateful.

4.  Airplanes. Depending on the weather and the wind, the airplanes fly literally over my house sometimes.  At first this kind of freaked me out, now it has become a relaxing background noise to life. 

5.  And lastly for today, one of my most favorite sounds I hear in the evening, the Ice cream Truck.  Do you know how long it has been since I have heard the sweet kid like music from an ice cream truck? It comes by just the outside of my apartment where the school baseball field is in the early evenings and each time I find myself with a smile as I remember the joy of eating ice cream as a child from these wonderful trucks!!

As far as the smell, there is only one thing.  I never smell the garbage bins that are just across from us and I never smell jet fuel as they fly too high for that.  The only thing I ever smell is the disgusting stench of cigarette smoke.  Living in an apartment, you don't get the best sealing for your windows, so even with the windows shut, the smoke seems to work its way into my home.  The worst of it is when the people behind us smoke in their home and the stench comes into my bedroom making it smell as if we were the ones smoking, which we are most definitely not!! 

Apartment living has its ups and downs just like any other thing.  I for one have learned to have more patience with people living here and hearing unwanted noises than living in a house where you feel all alone inside.  Here, there is always something going on and whether you want to be a part of it or not, sometimes you just have to be patient and live with it knowing life is just too short to get your feathers all ruffled up over something as silly as a dog barking constantly, so I say it is better to sit on my porch and enjoy a good book, and yes, with that dog barking in the background.

Big City Lights

Living in a Big city has its ups and downs just like living anywhere else, but the one thing that never gets old here for me are the beautiful lights of  Las Vegas.

The "Ups: ...

The Lights!! My husband and I still love to take a drive at night down the famous Las Vegas Strip and I always feel like a tourist with my head cocked up to the sky looking around at all the flashing lights, with my window down listening to the fountains at the Bellagio or the crazy music coming from the bars, this never gets old. 

The amazing food!! Everywhere you go there is an All You Can Eat Buffet, which can also be bad due to the amount of food consumed there.  We have found a great little Italian sandwich place called Cappriottis that has the best cooked to order sandwiches. My favorite is called the "Bobbie", a great little mix of cold turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, all on a whole wheat bread. YUMMO!! There is also pizza, sushi, Thai food, authentic Mexican, Asian, fast food of all kinds, and exquisite sit down restaurants that can cost you a little or a whole lot!

The Weather!! Now, I know I really shouldn't brag about this one too much, and I promise I won't, just for all my friends in the mid west.  But, come on, to not have to wear the heaviest coat, gloves, hat and scarf you own in the middle of January, that is something to be really happy about!!  So, that is all I will say there!!

The "Downs" ...

The Prices!! Where there are several amazing discount shopping malls around and some great free things to do for fun, the cost of living is way different than that of the mid west.  Rent is higher. Gas is higher.  Some food is higher.  Going to the movies is higher.  And most, if not all, locals do not do "touristy" things in town.

The People!!  I hate to say it, but the people here are most different than anything else to me.  People stick to themselves for the most part, are not too friendly and are very hard to make friends with for that matter.  In the short amount of time we have lived here, I have 1 person that I hang out with regularly.  The city is full of tourist and that is what keeps our city hoppin!!

The Driving!! Oh yes, lets not get me started on that one!! hahaha!!!! I do not ever, in any circumstance take the freeway here.  I will avoid it all costs and take a longer alternate route if needed.  I know I sound crazy, but after witnessing 2 cars race coming onto the freeway and spin out across 6 lanes of traffic to the other side (unharmed thank goodness)  my first week here, I just don't do it!! However, I do love driving here.  I have learned to be the patient driver as everyone is always in a hurry, not using their turn signals and cutting you off if they can, so I suppose that is a good thing since I learned to not have so much road rage. hahaha

There are many many other Ups and Downs of living here, but these are just a few I think of on a regular basis.  Living in a big city has been the most drastic, hard and wonderful transition I have ever made.  Las Vegas may not be the choice of many people, but for us, it is where we were led to come and have each and every need met daily as we continue to put God first and let our Light shine no matter how hard life in this so called "Sin City" can be.