And then the Leans bought a 2012 Toyota Prius V Hybrid

When Andy and I got engaged in March 2010, we both had our own vehicles. He had a single cab dodge 1500, of course with a HEMI and 9 mile per gallon mileage. I had a Nissan Xterra, which was not much better on gas. We both were very surprised when I learned I was pregnant with Clara only one month later...and as everything in our life was changing dramatically, we always kept the vehicle conversation in the foreground.

Upon moving to Missouri, and selling both our Alaskan vehicles, Andy bought a '99 Toyota Camry that had about 180,000 miles. I almost died. He just met the with owner, took it for a test drive, and bought it. It was an awesome car, the same car that got us from Scottsdale to Fort Irwin on one tank of gas! The Jeep Commander on the other hand was not such a wise investment. Andy was gone 15 hours a day while we were in Missouri, and a lot of times that included weekends. I did not want to go look at a car all by myself, especially at 8 months pregnant...and 2 months of crying and feeling sorry for myself didn't help. Finally. two days before I went to the hospital, Andy went to look at the jeep on the used car lot that was located on the military post. I told him I had researched the jeep commander, it was not what I was looking for, that he should just test drive.

He came home 10 minutes later with this jeep. "Yeah, I just wrote him a check and drove it home".

Poor Andy. He was trying so hard to provide for us, and I was very, VERY lucky that we were able to afford a second car to begin with. But, I was also beyond upset that he had bought a used vehicle, FOR A SECOND TIME, without taking it to a mechanic to get checked out. Unlike the Camry, the jeep had some electrical issues, which we learned when the head lights shut off as we were going 75 mph on the I-40. But to defend my providing husband, he did get us another car, despite the circumstances.

We drove this jeep to California, and realized quickly that we used a half of tank of gas just to get to the nearest town and back. (I don't consider Barstow a town anymore, I never stop there for fear of my life, or patience)

Long Story Short: We have been looking for a new car. It started with me looking at a mid to large size SUV with 7 seats. I wanted to be high off the ground, and I wanted space!
 I was tired of having an SUV that I didn't accomodate tall people in the back seat.

So we bought a Prius wagon when I was whining about my car not being big enough? I know, I'm getting there.

Once gas started climbing, Andy knew our search for a new car was going to need to change. We started looking at small SUVs, trying to find the best gas mileage for the best price. It was going to be our first big loan together and we both had different...ideas of comfort when it came to the vehicle. I of course wanted Bluetooth and gps navigation and even a DVD system while Andy would be happy with manual windows and locks.

As gas hit $4.29 a gallon last month, we decided to take the Camry on a trip to Orange county. It was then that I finally realized how economical it was to have a smaller car. We talked it out. We are not worrying about hitting a moose in the middle of the desert, so that alleviates one reason for wanting a large vehicle. We also do not need 4 wheel drive, as it doesn't even snow where we are. We ALSO only have one child. The plan is to have another sooner than later, so this new car will have to hold 2 car seat/booster seats.

There is still the idea of 'what if we go to Alaska next'...it was be stupid to buy a 2 wheel drive sedan car. Yet, the odds of us going to in Alaska are not ever in our favor, and there is a higher chance that we could head right back to Missouri, or even north to Fort Lewis, Washington..both places where we can get away with a smaller car that has awesome gas milage.

This is a Prius V with a DOUBLE jogging stroller in the back

And then we looked at hybrids for fun, especially Toyota since we are so happy with the Camry, and we realized that the Toyota Prius V, which is a size larger than the original prius, is the same price as the small SUVs we were looking at. We did a side by side comparison with the Prius V and the Subaru Outback(our other choice)...and the Prius V has more cargo space, is the same height off the ground, and the leg room is about the same. BUT: That Suby has AWD, where the Prius only has 2WD.

We decided to take one for a test drive, knowing that this new car sounded like it was going to be a pretty good fit for our family, we weren't sure if it was going to be a good 'fit' for our size! And honestly, Andy rides with his seat reclined SO far in every car we have ever been in. I'm not sure what his deal is. I'm only 3 inches shorter than him, and our seat preference is ridiculous! We never change how far 'back' the seat is, just how far reclined.

We left that day with a brand new 2012 Toyota Prius V. We didn't even take the car seat out of the back after the test drive. It is the fanciest car I have ever driven, with a push start ignition and a push button for park. The voice activated commands blow my mind, and you better believe we had to call our family from the car on the drive home. "We are calling you from our car!" "Um, you guys shouldn't be on the phone and drive.." "No, it's hands free! You are coming out the speakers!"...


 Small town Alaskans, we are.

Andy and I are extremely happy with our purchase. The hybrid technology is amazing, and highly beneficial for where we are. We get 44 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. With a hybrid, once you stop at a stop sign/street light, the engine switches over to a battery. This battery is charged by the engine, especially when the break is pushed. You can see how this model is outstanding for stop and go traffic in the city. The other benefit about the battery is you can run in "EV" mode, which is electric when traveling under 25 mph. Anyone ever visited a military base?   It's all about the slow speed limits!! I travel from the commissary and back entirely on battery. Granted, it's about a mile away, but it all adds up in the end.

The next fun part...is decorating the car. We realize that we almost had to give up our "Alaska cards" by purchasing this vehicle. I guess we are going to be the moderatly conservative example that says, "dude, it doesn't have a HEMI, but we can still pump more money into the economy by what we have saved in gas"...



Yet, understandably, you do not see a lot of 25 year old young parents rocking a Prius V. So we have started looking into bumper stickers. Please, send your hilarious ideas our way.

428 miles on one tank of gas: The trip to Scottsdale, AZ and back

She's my best friend no matter where I live!

When Tennelle called and said she would be headed to Arizona for the week of her Mom's spring break (Peggy is a teacher), I jumped at the idea of seeing one of my best friends. We worked it out that I would take the I-10 to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, and then we would head up to her hometown of Cottonwood, Arizona. I was so excited to get to visit HER hometown, as we met and she now lives in mine. It seemed only fair. :)

While all this planning was going on, I realized that I would never in a million and a half years be able to travel the seven hours to Phoenix and then 1.5 more hours to Cottonwood in one day. I have a cousin who lives in Scottsdale that I had recently made contact with. Fred and I had even made plans to see each other in Vegas when we head that way for Andy's military ball! Fred will be in Vegas that very same weekend celebrating like it is his 21st Birthday, when in reality he will be turning 30.(But we aren't talking about it)

 I decided to overstep my comfort and ask my cousin, whom I hadn't seen since I was 12, if Clara and I could spend the night with him and his wife the night before we picked up Tennelle. With a warm invitation and excitement from both ends of the phone, I pushed the uncertainty to the back of my mind. It wasn't until I was driving on the I-10, with Clara crying in the back, and her Disney character cd that incorporates her name into every song (Jake's girlfriend nailed it in the Christmas department)...that I realized perhaps I was taking too big of a risk. It wasn't that I didn't trust my cousin or his wife, I was very excited to see them! But I was driving to another state, another time zone at that, with my darling daughter who has the nickname "Hurricane Clara" for a reason...and I hoped that Fred and Stefanie would not care if I walked in the door with a sticky fingered toddler who could destroy their entire home in less than 5 minutes.

I thought about changing my clothes..changing Clara's clothes...freshening up in a gas station..washing my car...but we had already lost quite a bit of time stopping for Clara breaks, and I knew they were waiting on us to get dinner. So when we found their home in SOUTH Scottsdale(As I hear them reference often), I was glad to see my cousin running outside to greet us.

It turns out he was just as excited for us to visit as we were to be there, and we were welcomed into a home with three sweet loving dogs that only wanted to lick all the sticky fingers of my toddler. It was a feeling I cannot describe, but in a sense, these strangers had welcomed us into their home with the pretense that we were 'family', and our incredible bond formed before the night was over.

I have only ever experienced such comfort and relief in a relationship one other time, and that was when I met my cousin Cassie in Florida for the first time. A very similar scenario, another cousin who I am related to on my mom's side. Her and I had so many similarities down to which side of the booth we tried to sit on in a restaurant, to the way we tilt our heads for a photo, to the life or death need for McDonalds french fries after and not so sober night.It still amazes me how quickly I was able to categorize both said relationship as family, when I had in fact only spent little time with these individuals. In both cases, with Cassie and Fred, it was such a relief to know I have family living near me, as I grew up with all the Hartley cousins only a few hours away.

Clara and Allieska taking her jeep for a spin

But my new found sense of family did not stop in Scottsdale, because we picked up Tennelley and headed straight to Cottonwood the next day. We had the chance to visit her Grandma, Marsha Clara, who thanked me for naming my daughter after her. I think just about everyone I met insisted that her middle name was "claire"...but Marsha was pretty sure I named Clara after her, so I just went with it! Her house was a jackpot for Clara, as she often watches her great Grandchildren. It was so kid friendly that the tension in my shoulders from driving immediately disappeared, as I was able to let the hurricane do her worst.  It was the same when we stayed with Tennelle's Dad, their house was set up for Granddaughters, and the same when we visited Peggy's house. The time we spent in Cottonwood was enjoyable for me as Tennelle's friend, especially because I was getting a chance to meet all her family! (She is at so many of our family functions my Grandma Jo asked her at Christmas "Now, which Hartley are you?"!) But I was also able to enjoy my time as Mom, as Clara was always entertained by other children, or their toys!

We spent the last few days of our trip in North Phoenix laying by the pool. I had to make 3 different trips to WalMart to find the perfect flotation device for Clara's age. She did NOT want the round doughnut that she sits in the middle of, but she also was not ready for the chest floatation. SHE WAS, however, ready for the chest/water wing combo that keeps her floating on her stomach. We put that thing on her and she did not want to get out of the water for hours! It will be an awesome addition to the pool here this summer!!

We had an amazing few days hanging out. Tennelle, Tiffany and Allieska, and Peggy. We were able to celebrate her birthday in style! (Take out Pita Jungle!!)...and we even got to order the Great wall of Chocolate for PF Changs...which I almost single-handedly devoured. (Good thing I went on a 6.5 mile walk today with my work out divas..that great wall of chocolate decided to stick around for a while) Speaking of walking, we walked everywhere while we were there. We were a little less than a mile away from the shopping districts, so when I say I went to WalMart 3 times, we walked there. Or when I say we went to Paradise Bakery for lunch...we walked there too. Even when we got our days supply from BevMo...we clanked the whole way back to the hotel. It was great for us, and we joked about people who lived around there would think "Oh look, there goes the hobos who do not have a car... Oh look, today they have a floaty from WalMart..."

 It was nice and snug in our hotel room..with Tennelle, Clara and I sharing a bed, and the Grandma, daughter, and grand daughter in the other. But for 6 girls of all ages in one Marriott room? We did pretty good! Clara is definitely a bed hog, but you know someone is your best friend, when they will lay awake next to your obnoxious sleeping child at 3 am, but still give her kisses the next day.

Clara picking Lemons from Fred and Stefanie's tree!!

So now that I have a reason to escape to Arizona whenever Andy has to spend 2 weeks straight in the field, I am much more willing to spend that time on the road, knowing that when we arrive in the MUCH more beautiful desert of Arizona, we will be expected to stay for more than one night...and we are allowed to bring Ju-Ly.








But I think the ultimate deal breaker is the fact that our '99 camry made it from Scottsdale to Fort Irwin with 5 stops on one tank of gas.

 It will be amazing to see what our 
2012 Toyota Prius V hybrid will get.

Wait, our what??!

 Just wait until you see the next post. I am waiting until Andy gets home to take a picture. He LOVES this car..and loves searching for conservative bumper stickers to put on it. If anyone comes across a "Drill Baby Drill" bumper sticker, please send it to us in Southern California!
 The Leans have gone GREEN! (With money anyways...we have already gone 140 miles on less than 1/4 tank of gas! Whaaat up!! )

Arachnophobia 2012: Heidi's house in California

I have been getting all hot and bothered (seriously, it was like 80 F out there today) about the spider sightings in my house. After seeing enough, I had a pretty good feeling I could identify these spiders if I saw them in a line up. Guess who stood out of the crowd. Little ol' Brown Recluse.

Brown Recluse Spider. http://www.brown-recluse.com/

Yes, I am horribly afraid of spiders. Yes, I know that I am SO much bigger than a spider. But I absolutely cannot handle knowing that this spider could take me out with a bite. Dramatic...of course I am. I grew up with grizzly bears and frostbite...not spiders that can deteriorate your flesh with their bite. But they can, and they will.

I know I'm giving them a bad wrap. Mainly because when I called housing maintenance to request a visit from pest control, I was told by 'Kim':

 "Oh Mrs Lean, we do not have brown recluse spiders in California! What you saw was a Wolf Spider".

I was silent on the other end. She had to be joking, I've heard so many stories about people getting bitten and their flesh rotting out from under them. Or was that when we lived in Missouri? No that was here in California...or was that when I lived in Florida? Either way...all three of said states have way more scary bugs than Alaska, so as far as I'm concerned, these deadly spiders live in all of them. And don't even get me started on a Wolf spider. I thought maybe it was a joke...a Twilight reference, people are getting so out of control trying to integrate vampire and wolf fantasies into reality...

But Kim was right. Brown Recluse spiders do not reside in California (Or Florida for those of you worried). Sorry Missouri, apparently you are where the 'Fiddle backs' hail. I'm sure we will meet again when we move back to Fort Leonard Wood for Andy's Captain's career course sometime down the road.

But in the mean time...

I was reassured by 'Kim' that we only have black widows, and that I shouldn't worry about them showing up in Clara's room or in my bathroom.  "The black widow is a fantastic creature...she never leaves her territory, not even if she's starving"... I am assuming Kim missed her calling as an aracnolologist (the very word makes my skin tingle) and instead works in the maintenance office at Fort Irwin.

I scheduled my pest control appointment regardless of her love for desert dwelling insects and spend the rest of my afternoon feeling a lot better about the big spider I had killed in Clara's room, in broad daylight. As well as the one I had killed my bathroom in the span of a week. I can handle the spideys in my room...but once they hit Clara's, they cross the line.

I noticed Clara had a little hard pimple on her upper cheek, below her eye. She still has that nice baby soft, smooth skin so I wondered where it came from. My mind flashed back to looking at photos of the brown recluse bites and my heart fell into the pit of my very large stomach. I had seen a picture of a br bite that looked exactly like that.

I REALIZE how out of control I was thinking. So I told no one and just watched her little cheek all day. I didn't notice any of the "bulls eye" coloring or swelling. But poor kid, I was staring her down the entire time she was awake. Once both her and Andy were sleeping, I crept into the office (which is my most cluttered room and I know there are about 12 spiders hiding in here. I can feel it) and began researching ONE more time...just to make myself feel better.

Kim said that we didn't have brown recluse spiders, so I could rule that one out.

BUT I CANNOT RULE OUT IT'S COUSIN THE DESERT RECLUSE SPIDER!!!

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!

This is the EXACT spider I have been killing. Several times. Ever since we moved in one year ago!

I just made this discovery ten minutes ago. So what did I go do before I even finished this blog?

yes, I crept into Clara's room and turned her lights on. Thankfully she was sleeping on her back and not with her baby bum in the air, and I peered over her crib to stare at her little bump on her cheek. Good news, I think we are okay. But first thing in the morning I'm going to go check again. I might even wake up and look one more time. I hope not...I honestly think I'm over reacting.

But come on. The Brown Recluse and the Desert Recluse? Give me a break Fort Irwin!!

Brown recluse

 My desert recluse research stated: Their bite is similar to the Brown Recluse and can have the same affect. Most bites may require no more than the general spider bite treatment. There may be some localized swelling and redness, but healing can occur without much intervention. However some bites may become necrotic. Rarely do these bites cause death. ((oh thanks)) Systemic effects, which are generalized effects, will usually occur within the first 3 days of the bite.

http://www.spiderzrule.com/dr.html

I know my research came from a " .com " but I as I shopped around, I found they were spot on. I just decided to give them the credit.

And now that I have successfully freaked out myself and the other Mojave desert residents stuck here...I am going to bid adieu to my readers laughing at how much time I wasted spouting my fears for an arachnid species. 

Just to let you know, this photo was taken by my friend Anna Toth in my neighborhood. Not even joking.

Featured:
(Clara, me, and the Desert Recluse)

I did it. I started a blog

I have spent almost 10 minutes trying to figure out something funny and clever to write for my first blog. But frankly, it all sounds cheesy and cliche, so I'll just get down to it.

Life is short, but I hope you still have a second or two to read about the details of my humble one. I like to exaggerate, make a big deal about something small (lately it has been the Brown recluse spiders coming out for spring in the Mojave desert) and look at pintrest before I go to bed. These three ingredients could brew a pretty entertaining blog...and I hope I can blow you all away. Please stand by as I get used to having a blog and finding funny things to post...or awesome recipes we cannot live without.

Hopefully this will be more fulfilling than the 2,468 photos tagged of me on Facebook. I honestly think about 1000 of them are of Clara.

Clara. She will be in this blog a lot, as my full time job is to keep her alive. She has been doing a pretty good job trying to accomplish the opposite...including diving face first out of her crib because she was too impatient to try and use her legs. Reminds me of someone I know. (her father). Okay fine, it is me. My mom says she always knew which craft was mine in kindergarten because you could tell the artist was really into the project for the first 5 minutes..and then slapped glue and glitter all over the paper, finishing with a HUGE signature.

I hope 20 years later I can keep it together enough to manage a blog.

Forward!!

-Heidi Jo