Category: Uncategorized

Utah Vs. Arizona

valmanwillLeave a comment

Seven years ago when my husband and I were preparing to move to Arizona, we were looking everywhere for information on what it would be like compared to where we already lived: Utah. At one point we clicked on a YouTube video that was titled “The differences of Arizona and Utah” and it ended up LITERALLY being a thirty second video of a guy saying, “They’re about the same”. Lol

Well, now that I’ve had a decent handful of years in both states, I decided that I’m going to be that blog post that I was searching for in the spring of 2018. So I know this is a super niche post, but yeah it is what it is.

SO HERE ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UTAH AND ARIZONA

(also no real organization. Just writing whatever comes to mind)

Whenever I visit Utah and relatives ask me about Arizona, they only want to talk to me about the heat haha. And I guess that’s everyone’s first consideration about Arizona is how hot living in the middle of a cactus forest is.

So yeah, it’s hot. And summertime is bunkering down into survival mode honestly. I’ve said this before (which is also a good post about AZ) but the heat is very similar to when you have to bend down and pull cookies out of the oven. But it’s only when you go outside. The weird part that I never really hear people other than Arizonans talk about, is that during the summer here in the valley EVERYWHERE (stores / vendors / businesses) is completely REFRIGERATED inside. It’s really bizarre. Because it’s 120 degrees outside, but the AC is pumped SO HARD inside Texas Roadhouse that you’re shivering lol. I’ve literally seen people walk into the grocery store in the dead of Arizona summer and bring their jackets with them.
It’s sort of weird though, okay. Because during the summer you’re in the constant extreme temperature changes and it’s bursts of refreshing feels. Like, I don’t know how else to explain this? You’ll walk from your car into the doctor’s office sweating like crazy and then as soon as you get into the building you’re like “Ahhhhh that feels amazing.” And then by the time you get out into the heat from the serious AC you’re like, “Ahhhh that feels amazing.” Hahaha!

As far as compared to Utah. It’s the same as the winter, just opposite timing. In the wintertime you stay indoors. And here in the summer you stay indoors. That’s pretty much it. Utah winters, it’s a pain in the ass to scrape your car, shovel your driveway and navigate I-15 in the snow. And Arizona summers, it’s a pain to touch your steering wheel when you get into your sunny car. Literally a pain. But other than the super sweaty car seat, I don’t think the maintenance of the heat is quite as bad as the maintenance of the snow. That’s my opinion of living here. Like, yeah you might have to turn on your AC and cool your car down. But it’s not like you have to turn your car on to warm it up and also physically dig it out of the ice to get to work. I don’t know. So in my personal opinion, I think the Arizona summers aren’t quite as challenging as Utah winters. As far as maintenance or commuting. Like if you WANT to take family pictures you really could year round. Whereas in Utah it’s a little more challenging to do that around the weather.

If you are familiar with Utah and their cities and you’re wondering which area of Arizona you want to move to (at least in the Phoenix / East Valley), I can tell you what compares. I would say Mesa is comparable to West Valley or Layton. And Gilbert is just Provo basically. Like I’ve seen more BYU bumper stickers in Gilbert than in Provo itself, if that gives you some idea. Scottsdale is like Park City, it’s beautiful and got cool things to see but unless you’re a professional baseball player I don’t see how you could afford to live there. Phoenix equals Salt Lake. That one’s easy. Apache Junction is like Vernal if it got overrun by a fentynal zombie apocalypse.

Okay, so if you’re on the fence about moving to Arizona from Utah. I’ve created a little quiz to help you decide:

QUESTION ONE: Can you eat a plate of fries without fry sauce? if the answer is no, stay in Utah.

QUESTION TWO: How many golf courses do you need within a 2 mi radius? Because if the answer is more than three, you want to be in Arizona.

QUESTION THREE: Do you like the color beige? If the answer is no, stay in Utah.

QUESTION FOUR: Do you need trees to breathe or can you get oxygen from turf?

QUESTION FIVE: Would you rather maintain a pool or shovel the driveway?

QUESTION SIX: Would you rather scrape ice off of your windshield with a credit card or have a pair of oven mitts in your car just in case you need to drive somewhere in the summer?

QUESTION SEVEN: Would you rather have an incredible 4th of July at a park with soft grass you can actually sit on? Or have a magical Halloween day where you don’t need a jacket over your costume and everyone’s outside on their driveway actually participating in trick or treating?

QUESTION EIGHT: Would you rather experience a full four (winter, spring, summer and fall) season? Or just a two (“Arrakis Hell” and “Snowbird”) season?

QUESTION NINE: Scorpions or Black Widows? It doesn’t matter, Arizona has both.

QUESTION TEN: Do you have a hobby of skiing or snowboarding? If yes, that’s fine we have Flagstaff.

QUESTION ELEVEN: Do you generally go 40 miles over the speed limit in any condition or street? If the answer is yes, welcome to Arizona.

21 Days “Around the World”

valmanwillLeave a comment

First and foremost, this is REAL Americanized okay. I tried my best!

I did a little activity with my family in January that I thought I would share! I called it “21 Days Around the World”. Each night we “travelled” to a new place somewhere in the world, had a dinner inspired by that location and then watched a Disney movie or show that takes place there. That’s it. It was simple, but really fun! My oldest is very interested in Geography so it was great to involve his interest and involve the whole family.

If you’re interested in doing something similar or just curious where we “travelled to”. Here are the pages from the little flipbook I made for the “journey”:

The Time I was Stung by the Most Venomous Scorpion in North America

valmanwillLeave a comment

And no, I’m not talking about the Scorpio who broke my heart in the 10th grade, but yeah, that freaking stung too, thanks.

The Arizona Bark Scorpion. Well, well, well… if it isn’t the little Satan bug itself.

First off, I have a really lovely house. I generally enjoy living in the sweltering desert of the East Valley. But what I don’t enjoy is being POISONED by arachnids in the comfort of my own home.

Our house was built on top of an old orange grove, which sure, it’s nice having a fruit tree in my back yard. But that also came with a neighborhood infestation of scorpions. And like, you can spray your yard all you want but those suckers crawl up the cinder-block walls. And if you have a neighbor behind you that cannot even be bothered to pick up his dog’s poop for months on end, you can rest assured that a handful of scorpions will find their way onto your property at night.

But no big deal, we bought a black light and we do a nightly patrol. And it’s been all cool, man.

And this one RANDOM afternoon.

My oldest had just got home from school and we were in the basement watching TV when suddenly my poor, worse-luck four-year-old SCREAMS and grabs his toe. So, as the kind-hearted and understanding mother that I am, I’m thinking, ‘Kid stubbed his toe and he’s being way over-dramatic about it’.

I try to assess the situation and calm him down. And right as I kneel down to get a better look at his foot. I feel this sharp prick on the side of my inner leg, just above my knee. So, I jolted away and looked at the carpet, legitimately thinking that I had just knelt on a pin. And then I saw that sucker… and when I tell you… the absolute GOOSEBUMPS that you get when you watch a spider scurrying away is NOTHING compared to the sight of a freaking Arizona Bark Scorpion slithering itself underneath your couch.

My scream was blood curdling. I yelled some curse words in front of the kids. I stood in the middle of the room on one leg, saying, “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”

“Call Dad!” my oldest yelled.

Dad! Right! An adult! An actual adult, not a pretend adult like I am. I called Daniel to report that half his family had just been stung by a venomous creature which was still alive and inside the actual house. I’m sure he loved getting that phone call lol.

Well, he didn’t know what to do either. WE’RE NOT FROM HERE, OKAY! WE DIDN’T GROW UP BLACK LIGHT HUNTING AMONGST THE CACTI! WE WERE NOT PREPARED FOR THIS EVENT! He told me to take our son to Urgent Care. And I agreed because children under six are more at risk for scorpion sting complications. SO AT LEAST WE KNEW THAT.

FUN FACT / PSA: If you or your loved one are stung by an Arizona Bark Scorpion, you can just call poison control. You do not have to spend hundreds of dollars suffering at an urgent care clinic. A tip that we did NOT get until we were already inside the patient room with the doctor. (Gee, thanks a lot)

FUN FACT / PSA: Probably don’t drive if a scorpion has just stung you on your leg. Because the venom will spread and spasm your muscles. And it will hurt like a b*tch. And you’ll be punching your steering wheel and crying the entire drive because you didn’t know life could be like this.

Yeah, I don’t know why but by the time we got to the clinic my four-year-old? Totally fine. Like nothing happened. Like as if he wasn’t just injected with a neurotoxin. (Thus the magic of children anytime you take them to a doctor’s appointment of any kind.) I, on the other hand, am trying to fill out patient paperwork while doing the freaking stanky leg at the check-in counter.

Daniel met us at the urgent care so that we could both get the news that no one was dying, it just sucked was all. But we still had a major problem. I SAW THAT YUCKY BUG CRAWL UNDER THE COUCH. THAT THING WAS STILL INSIDE OUR HOME.

Rather than listing our house for sell immediately, Daniel suggested we wait for nightfall and then find it via blacklight. So, we went out to eat at Red Robin lmao. That was both a genius and stupid decision, because after sitting for two hours the venom actually pooled behind my knee so walking to the van after dinner was like walking with an icy-hot bear trap clamped around my leg. But hay, this girl got her bottomless steak fries so, like, was it really that bad of a day though? #notasponsor

It was dark when we got home, so Dan was able to find it with the black light and kill it. On the floor of our basement. Why? How did it get there? I would also like to point out that this isn’t even the first time in my life I’ve been stung like this. When I was nine, I knelt down to color a picture and a WASP stung me on the knee. INSIDE on the CARPET. Buddies, WTF are you guys doing there? I refuse to kneel down now. I’m just going to squat every time.

I will say though, I am actually thankful that I knelt on it, because otherwise I wouldn’t have known it was in the house or why my kid was crying. The clout is also sorta cool, not gonna lie. Saw the Arizona Bark Scorpion episode of the Kings of Pain and laughed so hard thinking of how calm my preschooler was compared to these guys. I’ll post it below so you can feel like you watched a little reenactment.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XFUTHjAeXF8%3Fsi%3DDgyEjrXScMS1LWMU