Christmas in July Adventure

One of the local breweries had signs up for "Christmas in July" complete with alcoholic Christmas drinks and Hawaiian Christmas characters. I'll raise them one better: Dessert for dinner and watching a Christmas movie in PJs-at home!

I actually planned out Christmas in July adventure long before I saw that sign downtown. I'd had the limited edition pumpkin pie cup of noodles around since Christmas and did not want them to go bad. 

And I had the idea of making an illusion of dessert for dinner. That took a little bit to figure out, but I eventually settled on making an illusion of this spaghetti with green beans from The Pasta Project. I used the pumpkin noodles for the noodles, spinach pancakes (Rooted at Heart) cut into strips for the green beans, and cinnamon disc candies for the tomatoes. As a side, I added "cheese" of easy cottage cheese cheesecake (The Protein Chef) baked in silicone muffin liners and then removed.

For our movie, I chose The Christmas Mixer. 

This was in part because dessert was soft sourdough discard Christmas cookies (Muscle Momma Sourdough) made with sprinkles left over from our Christmas gingerbread house.

The movie was pretty cheesy, with some faux pas like mispronunciation of the word llama, as well as fumbles like, "leaving in the lurches." Still, we enjoyed it, as it gave us some Christmas cheer, as well as some viewing of cooler weather.

And what's Christmas without a little gift? 

My husband really likes this coco-nut trail mix from Target.

I added some mushroom chai, as he mentioned wanted to trying it after hearing about mushroom coffee from family and friends.

We didn't need to go out to celebrate. We had a Christmas adventure of our own all at home. Bonus, all we had afterward, maybe, was a little bit of a sugar crash!

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 29)

This Week's Eats:

Easy cottage cheese cheesecake (The Protein Chef)

Historical casserole (365 Days of Slow Cooking)

Meatball pizza (Taste of Home)

One pot chicken and cabbage (Hungry Happens)

Protein overnight oats (The Real Food Dietitians)

Soft sourdough discard Christmas cookies (Muscle Momma Sourdough)

Sourdough discard pizza dough (The Pantry Mama)

Spinach pancakes (Rooted at Heart)

Noteworthy Repeats:

Big-batch Instant Pot white beans (Epicurious)

Cottage cheese egg bake (The Real Food Dietitians)

Shredded chicken (365 Days of Crockpot)

Sourdough gravy (The Pantry Mama)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Homemade ketchup without sugar (A Sweet Pea Chef)

Homemade pizza sauce (Budget Bytes)

Sourdough blueberry muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough bread

Sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough discard banana bread (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough meatballs (The Pantry Mama)

Half-Day Mogollon Rim Adventure

Some time ago, my husband told me that he wanted to plan a day trip for us. It would include hiking and we would need a picnic lunch. He asked me if I wanted to know details about location, and I said I didn't. I just needed to know enough specifics to plan, and plan I did.

I have been going through some body changes and not liking how my clothes fit, so I decided to buy something new to wear. Did I need to? No. Did I buy something I did not yet have in my closet? Yes. I bought a tennis dress, convenient because it has shorts built in, inconvenient because it is one piece, and required wearing a jacket to ward off the chill. Still, in the end, it helped me get excited and feel more confident as we got ready for our adventure.

The Sourdough

I also planned our menu for the trip. My theme for trip food was sourdough, and I prepped our meals the day before. For breakfast, we had sourdough discard egg muffins and sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins. For our picnic lunch (that we ended up eating at home), we had snack boxes of carrots, cheese, sourdough meatballs, and homemade ranch dip, with protein boost sourdough chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I have to say, everything hit the spot. Adventure has a way of increasing the appetite!

The Travel

We left our house for our adventure a little after 6 AM Saturday morning. (We planned to leave at 6:00 AM sharp, but as usual, I ran late, and then packing the cooler took extra long.) The drive was foggy and rainy. The rain lifted some by the time we got to Payson, Arizona, and we decided to look for some coffee. (My parents sent us money for a coffee date for our anniversary, and we had not used it yet.) We found Smashley's Coffee at the edge of town, and stopped in. The shop was small, but the coffee was fresh. (My husband got a carrot cake latte and I got a light pour over coffee.) While we waited, we browsed the various olive oils and other food stuffs in the shop. Somehow, we managed not to buy anything.

The Adventure

Then it was off the Mogollon Rim, located just past Heber. I didn't know we were going there yet, but my husband has been there many times and knew just where to turn. We passed the main trailhead and pulled off at one of the first overlooks. From there, we walked on a gravel path and through some wet grass to join the paved Rim Lake Vista Trail. My husband hoped for views. I didn't know what we were missing and just soaked up the loveliness of the pine tree forest and peaceful, misty, air.

The Rim Lake Vista Trail stops off at several overlooks. Of course, my husband had to go to the edge. Something about heights makes me woozy, so I stayed pretty far back.

We took the Rim Lake Vista Trail to the Meadow Trail, and that to Woods Canyon Lake. I was thrilled to get to the lake, as I had not known where we were going, and I thought views plus forest, plus lake made for an awesome trip!

It started to sprinkle at the lake, and we had already walked over three miles, so we headed back. The fog cleared a little, but not too much. That gave me a taste of views that might be had, as well as time for lots of conversation. Some of the things I enjoyed most about dating my husband were the long conversations we had about life, and society, and dreams and faith. This time, we spent almost our entire walk dreaming about what could be in our future. Maybe it is possible. Maybe not. Still, it was fun to toss ideas back and forth.

We did need to clear the path for a stretcher to pass as we walked back. We had seen a police car barrel up the road on our way out to the lake, and saw the sheriff with a lady who was lying down. We tried to give everyone a wide berth and mind our own business. On the way back, though, EMTs were wheeling the lady out, and her family told us what happened. We took a minute to stop and pray with them, and then travelled back to our car.

From where we parked, my husband drove me out to the forest road where he and his friends camp. It was gravel, and a little rough for our car. He offered to park and let us walk out the rest of the way to the camp site, but given that I had just hiked 6.3 miles, farther than I have in ages, I decided I probably shouldn't. So, it was back in the car and homeward bound.

The skies cleared as we drove home, allowing for beautiful views. I love Arizona for many reasons: the mountains, the saguaro, the trails. My, how blessed we are, and how blessed we were to take this trip. Life is not about comparisons, but perspective does help. Taking our first active trip since my injury and then seeing someone get terribly injured gave me that, and made me extra, extra grateful. Thank you God and husband for this adventure!

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 28)

This Week's Eats:

BBQ chicken sandwiches (Budget Bytes)

Homemade BBQ sauce (Making Thyme for Health)

Protein boost sourdough chocolate chip cookies (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough cheese sauce mac n' cheese (Turner Farm)

Sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough discard egg muffins (The Healing Slice)

Sourdough meatballs (The Pantry Mama)

Noteworthy Repeats:

Big-batch Instant Pot white beans (Epicurious)

Egg bake casserole (Food 52)

Homemade ranch dressing (with Greek yogurt) (It Starts With Protein)

Shredded chicken (365 Days of Crockpot)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Apple cider and cheddar buns (Brit in the South)

Overnight sourdough blueberry muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Seeded PB oat energy balls (The Dietitian Runner)

Sourdough bread

Sourdough discard banana bread (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough gravy (The Pantry Mama)

Arizona Quirks

Arizona is a weird and wonderful state. Before visiting, I think a lot of people perceive Arizona as this sandy desert where it's only ever hot, dry, and windy. Far from it! (This is not the Sahara, folks!) With that being said, though, Arizona does have a few quirks:

1) Yes, it gets hot, so hot you can make chocolate covered strawberries inside your car (Peterson, 2022), cook a steak and potatoes in a dutch oven on your dash (Webb, 2023), or make a grilled cheese on the lawn.

2) We have a few issues with wildlife. Like bears roaming around grocery stores (Sillman, 2023), bobcats living in attics (Sarabia, 2026) and sitting on roofs (Johnson, 2025), and appearances of new species of big cats (Ottman, 2025).

3) Cacti lean.

4) Less than a tenth of an inch of rain qualifies as a "chance of precipitation."

5) Phones overheat regularly.

But hey, Arizona is still a great place to live, quirks and all!

References:

Johnson, J. (2025, November 25). Bobcats spotted resting on Scottsdale home's roof. Fox 10. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/bobcats-spotted-resting-scottsdale-homes-roof

Ottman, M.K. (2025, December 3). New Jaguar Confirmed in Southern Arizona. Mountain daily star. https://mountaindailystar.com/new-jaguar-confirmed-in-southern-arizona/

Peterson, Matt. (@MattPeterson). (2022, September 15). Making chocolate covered strawberries… inside of my car. [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CiiItZtth5X/

Sarabia, S. (2026, June 3). Not rats, not raccoons: Bobcats found living in Scottsdale attic.

AZ family. https://www.azfamily.com/2026/06/04/not-rats-not-raccoons-bobcats-found-living-scottsdale-attic/.

Sillman, J. (2023, June 4). Bear found roaming near a Prescott Valley Safeway Sunday morning

AZ family. https://www.azfamily.com/2023/06/04/brown-bear-found-roaming-near-prescott-valley-safeway-sunday-morning/

Webb, B. (2023, July 14). Dinner's ready! Mesa man cooks meals on his dashboard on hot days. Fox 10. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/dinners-ready-mesa-man-cooks-meals-on-his-dashboard-on-hot-days

Real Life Marriage: We Are Family!

I looked at the name scrawled in black sharpie against the cooler sitting in my parents' garage and thought, "Who is that?" And then I realized, "Oh yeah, that's their last name, my OLD last name." Somewhere between getting married and year six or seven, I actually started seeing myself titled by my married name, and somehow, that made my maiden name seem foreign.

I chose to take my husband's last name when we got married. It is not something all women do, and honestly, it was a bit of a pain. My name change required not only a Social Security alteration, but also a change to my professional licensure (which might have been just as much or more of a pain). Changing was name symbolized new life, however, and that is what I saw myself beginning when I got married, so I made the outward change.

It is not that the name change suddenly made me only a part of my husband's families. I think I am still getting to know them and learning my place in them. It is just that somehow, over the course of marriage, my husband has become my family. He is my home. Thought we are very different, we belong together, and I just cannot see it any other way.

Some people see family as a mom, dad, kids, and relatives. For my husband and I, it is just the two of us, but we are family, nonetheless. We are bonded, a unit, and by God's grace, may man not turn it asunder (King James Version 1987, Matthew 19:6).

Reference:

King James Bible. (1987). Bible gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 27)

This Week's Eats:

Brown butter sourdough brownies (Daddio's Kitchen) with homemade whipped cream (Sally's Baking Addiction) and mini chocolate chips

Creamy paprika chicken pasta (Made by my husband)

Homemade ranch dip (Dash for Dinner)

Lemon garlic roasted broccoli (Simple Fit Vegan)

Mediterranean chickpea and chicken soup (The Kitchn)

Potato wedges (RawManda)

Sourdough blueberry muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough fried chicken (The Pantry Mama)

Stuffed portabello mushrooms and roasted broccoli (Made by my husband) 

Noteworthy Repeats:

Big-batch Instant Pot white beans (Epicurious)

Cottage cheese egg bake (The Real Food Dietitians)

Shredded chicken (365 Days of Crockpot)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Apple cider banana bread muffins (Buttermilk by Sam)

Overnight sourdough waffles (The Pantry Mama)

S'mores sourdough bagels (Sourdough Jesha)

Sourdough banana fritter muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough bread

Sourdough discard protein bagels (This Jess Cooks)

Sourdough gravy (The Pantry Mama)