We have been playing tennis 3-4 times a week, and are finally starting to see improvement! Since we have never had a formal lesson, I looked up videos on YouTube for us to watch on how to hold the racket properly, how to serve, etc. We were practicing what we learned for about 45mins a couple weeks ago, when a couple who had just finished playing, came over. I am guessing they felt sorry for us, as they watched me having trouble serving like the guy on YouTube. They introduced themselves, saying they were tennis coaches at Roswell High School (as if I was not embarrassed enough). They kindly took the time to give us a mini-lesson and a few pointers. At first, it seemed following their guidance made it harder. But the next time we played, it was much smoother sailing. With practicing what we have learnt over the last couple weeks, it is rewarding to finally have that visible improvement, and more fun.

Spencer saw this "little" guy today while out working. 7 inches long! Lovely.

I have been having nightmares about scorpions and other native insects. While sweeping at work, I came across a dying cockroach. My coworker, calling me a sissy, swept it up and said they do not bother her, only spiders. I told her spiders do not bother me as much. I was proved wrong. Apparently, I did not even know what real bugs were until moving here. Later that day, we saw a gigantic black tarantula bathing in the sun right outside of our door, at work. A client, in the middle of getting his hair cut, came to all of us screaming girls' rescue, by standing up (drape and all), grabbing a broom and killing it. It was easily as big as my hand.

Peaches! <3 Summer is here! So what if they are from the grocery store?

This last weekend was spent in town.

Saturday, after I got off work, we went to Roswell's third annual Fiddle & Griddle event. Part of Main Street was blocked off for the event, which was happening in the middle of the street. It was pretty cool to get a taste of the town and see some of the locals come together. They had prize money (totaling $20,000) for the best fiddle players and grillers. I felt as though we had stepped back in time as we were able to swing dance around Main Street and the neighboring court house grounds.

It has been a hot couple weeks.

It gets hot here, but the weather is prone to dramatic shifts. On our way to our car, before driving to the event, our neighbors warned us of a tornado warning, informing us that it looked large on the radar. How reassuring. This is not the first warning since we have been here. We have had several. They rarely seem to hit the town itself however, because of Roswell being it's own little valley; but rather they skirt on the outside. This one, for example, was 15-20 miles away. We have regular thunder and lightning storms, however. Unlike the California storms we are used to, this is very in-your-face continuous flashing and booming. It is a bit intimidating, but neat to witness.

Vinegaroon. They have them here. Smell like vinegar. Luckily haven't experienced yet.

Spencer says I am going to give him a heart attack. There have been multiple occasions similar to the following: The other night, we walked over to the laundry room on premises, opened the door and switched on the light. I swear I saw what looked like a cockroach scurry under one of the driers. I screamed. Spencer said his heart stopped, imagining that someone was pointing a gun at us. On another occasion we were going to bed, when I heard nearby papers rustle. I look over to see a creepy crawly. I screamed. They say everything is bigger in Texas...well this is close enough. Bugs here are huge! He shot out of bed, eyes wide. Let us just say that he does not very much appreciate my screaming at what he calls "non-emergencies." I, however, take these occasions very seriously. A heart attack this young, he told me, is not the way he wants to die. He proceeded to teach me what I was to do with him, in the event of him passing out. He taught me to roll him on to his side in what he said was the "recovery position" as to insure that his tongue would not fall back in this throat and choke him. I think he is the dramatic one.


Sunday we allowed ourselves a late start. Waking up to an "apple-pie" breakfast was a treat. It cooked overnight in the crock pot and consisted mainly of apples and steel cut oats. We spent a couple hours on the phone with our families, catching up. At the park, we played tennis for about an hour and half. Our skill levels are close to equal, but not as high as one might think. Afterwards, we got some extra cardio in, by jogging. We are happy to report that was about as eventful as our weekend got.

Mending Spencer's work uniforms

Oh, and have I mentioned that I love being Spencer's wife? He makes it so enjoyable to cook and do things for him. He volunteers to do dishes after I cook and acts grateful each time. With the cooking, cleaning, ironing, and sewing... I think I am finally uncovering my inner "homeliness".

Practicing violin

4:30AM...when he has to wake up for work

Chicken and gravy over rice

Roswell is an interesting city. One that we probably will not come back to once we leave, but will make the best of in the meantime. We have learned some interesting things from the locals.

In case you were not already aware, Roswell is famous for being the UFO capitol. Even though the alleged UFO crash-landed 75 miles away from town. Similar to Tahoe's wooden bears decorating the streets and outside buildings, Roswell sports frequently-spotted neon-green wooden aliens. The lamp posts on Main Street watch tourists with their alien eyes, and the town's hotels and fast food restaurants advertise with "UFO Parking." We are not in a rush to visit the UFO museum here.

I talk to a wide varitey of the population in Roswell, including an ambulance driver. I mentioned how scary the crime rate here is. He nodded in agreement, explaining that on the FBI's crime list for cities with a population of 40,000 to 60,000, Roswell leads in 7 categories. As if I was not worried before... We are looking forward to when I turn 21 next month. I can not wait to buy some hand guns and get my conceal carry permit.

They have a variety of bugs, coming in all shapes and sizes. Luckily we have heard centipedes that can be two feet long are closer to Texas. But we have seen our fair share of other creepy crawlies. We ran over a giant tarantula on our way back from Ruidoso a couple weekends ago; that is the road kill here: giant bugs. You can not seem to go for a jog here without running through a few swarms of flying insects either.

Yesterday we saw the temperature get to 107 degrees. Hello, June! Luckily the heat does not effect you as much as it would if it was humid. The dry heat seems to be more bearable - you are not immediately wet when stepping out the door. We woke up early to "beat the heat" and drove to a nearby park to kick a soccer ball around and get our cardio in. No road trips this weekend - we stuck close to home, got our shopping done and chores around our apartment. It was a nice change.

Flooded on-street parking

Roswell actually had a nice storm though last weekend. It was the scariest we have witnessed. Continuous flashes of lightning in your face, accompanied by booming thunder. They broke their rain-record from 1991 in that single night. The ground in this town did not know what to do with this water as it rarely comes in contact with it. It flooded parking lots and driveways, but it took only a couple days to be back to dust.

They have grown even taller since.

Our first plant was inspired by Pinterest. I was tipped off that if you save the bulbs of green onions and put them in a cup of water, they will grow back! I am here to tell you that I have tried and tested this and can confirm the validity of this helpful hint. They had grown a bit before our camping trip, but we were shocked when we came home and they were just as big as when I had bought them originally! So yes...our one plant is a green onion. Hey, do not judge, I feel proud of my green thumb... Putting it in a cup of water is a lot of work.

Spencer has been keeping busy at work and impressing the bosses. I am so proud of that man. They have been increasing his responsibility and it is sure to help him resume-wise. The past two weeks he worked over 25 hours of overtime. I do not know how they work such long hours in this heat. Spencer also saw his first rattlesnake of the season on a job site. Let's hope those knee-high boots do not have to be put to the test in that way.

I love making smoothies