July Happenings, 2017

In this summer, I think I have learned the art of becoming a hermit.  The blaring sun has me with drawn blinds and hissing at the thought of venturing out to even visit the garden.  Admittedly, the lack of attention to the little patches of green in our southwestern desert is showing but I am hoping with the cooling months ahead (you know, a few months down the road), I can squeeze back out there to finish the projects and most likely start new ones that will suffer the same fate next year.  Hey, I am 30 years old and I have learned to accept that reality: I start projects, and just before I am about to finish them, I start another one.  Yes.  I am one of those.

There have been some beautiful moments this month, however, and I decided to start this series to collect precious memories and share with you some glimpses that remind me of the finer things in life.  Here is the rundown for this month:

 

1. Canoeing Under the Full Moon

Yes, this is me with a paddle in my hand and a life vest hugging my body.  I don’t know how to swim so this life vest was not just me following instructions, this was me holding onto dear life.  I was clearly told that most of our side of the Colorado River can be walked on with the head above the water. “Most”. That is not enough for my short little self and so admittedly, there was some hesitation involved.  Oh but why have I waited this long?  My husband decided to surprise me with this adventure and caught me completely unaware. I had a feeling there was water involved so thankfully I did not wear my nice clothes but as you see me beginning to peddle down the river above, my feet are soaking in my sneakers. Sloppy, wet, splashing inside the shoes kinda soaking.  This wife was surprised at the canoeing and the ability to tolerate soaking, wet socks in sneakers.  Still, this was one of my favorite nights and the moon was a sight to behold while gliding between trees in the warm, summer evening.  Husbands, take your wives out to canoeing and, to save your marriage, try not to give too many instructions if you are sitting in the back.

2. My Sister’s First Visit

These tiny little feet are my sister’s traveling companion: my niece, Maryem.  It was such a surreal experience to have my older sister become the first person from my side of the family to visit our little town.  Coming from the rainy happenings around Seattle, WA, she was in for a shock in our triple digit weather.  It just so happened that her first day here was a whopping 112 degrees.  She surely took it with grace – and lots of hats and sunglasses. Her visit here was a blessing from Allah.  Having family around, sharing stories and embarrassing photos, making new memories for years to come was an incredible experience.  For me, the biggest change was having a toddler running around.  Maryem, in her glorious almost-3-year’s experience on this planet, was chasing the cats (who were running for safety towards any furniture space they could squeeze under), wooing everyone with her story-making skills, and helping me memorize Land Before Time as if it will be asked about on the day of judgement.  After their departure, I am still humming songs from shows that I can not even remember the names of.  While watching the videos captured in my camera, I couldn’t help but want to hear her voice again and share the delights of healthy baked goods with my sister.

3. Sprouts!

You know it is a big deal when a city is humming with excitement months before a grand opening. Our little town was blessed with the wonder that is Sprouts. Organic vegetables, health food items, bulk bins full of all the nut-butter ingredients, I might have gotten more excited than I should have.  The bank account was definitely not as happy as I was.  Our first trip resulted in a bigger surprise: Kosher meat! If you have been following my instagram stories,  you know that we venture out of town on a 3-hour drive every few months to stock up on Zabihah meat and have been doing so for the past 5 years.  Currently, we do not have a halal store yet. We have been grateful for the ability to do the traveling as I am aware that not everyone (especially those with kids – now I speak from experience!) is able to make that journey.  So finding kosher meat in a store less than 10 minutes away from our house was ease upon ease.  Not only were we able to find meat, but Sprouts also made easier for me to follow my diet changes for my auto-immune companion, Hashimoto’s.  Count me as a boring adult: My excitement stems from having a new grocery store in town.  Wait until I tell his to my 19-year old self!

4. Finally, Pizza

From among the list of things that I was missing ever since going on that restrictive diet, pizza was among the top.  Traditional pizza at least contains grains (even if its gluten free) and dairy, both of the things being banned from my plate for a while. Then a window opened in the form of this Paleo Pizza Crust recipe that left me drooling and running around every local store I could find in search of arrowroot flour.  Actually, none of the stores carried it but I settled on tapioca. It was frustrating but pizza was on the menu for the day and there was nothing else to be whipped up for dinner in the house.  Great wife status was not won, for that evening. We came home, blended a smoothie, and I jumped on my kitchen aid mixer to get my carb-y fix. I reclaimed the status, wore the crown, and enjoyed the remaining night with a full belly, cheesy breath, and no-pizza cravings. From then on, however, I am making sure to have arrowroot flour on hand. And you know what? The newly opened Sprouts carries it. YES.  It was a bit daunting to create a dough unlike any other dough that has passed through my oven.  It was not stretchy, but was spreadable.  I used a cast iron skillet to make it and it elevated the look of the entire experience. You guys, I can not begin to express the happiness I felt while taking that first bite.  While eating, there was no bounce to it but it was still delicious.  It made me not want to miss pizza and that is a great accomplishment.  My husband enjoyed a healthy dose of mozzarella cheese on his side while I whipped together a nutritious, vegan parm cheese blend that has been my pantry staple (and my husband’s favorite) since then. We both loved it, found it more filling than expected, and enjoyed a great dinner together.

On a quick note, anyone else feels the Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute seasoning blend? I feel that it goes with everything.  What a great little bottle to have!

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I believe that’s a perfect end of the month.  The idea of collecting favorite moments on the blog came to me at a too-late time but do look out for more frequent such posts.  Being grateful is the first lesson we learn in the Qur’an with the word “Alhumdulillah”.  Always, always be grateful.  So I hope to remind myself of that with such post and to remind you to capture the little moments and celebrate them with your heart.

-S