Hello, I'm Andie! I'm 25 years old, and originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I'm currently living with my husband of 5 years in the small, desert city of Twentynine Palms, California. What a huge change for a girl who grew up in the city of Milwaukee, and spent 3 years living just north of San Diego! The city I'm currently living in has a population of 27,000 but the majority are stationed here at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. (WOW! What a mouthful!) My husband is in the Marine Corps and has been for almost eight years. As much as I dislike living in this sleepy little town, I've sure changed since moving here in the Summer of 2010!
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| My husband and I. Oops! I forgot to shave before our photo shoot. |
When living in San Diego, I spent my day working at a salon and always going a mile a minute. Money ruled our world, and I never had time to take a step back and enjoy the view. I could see the ocean from my backyard (No, I'm not kidding), and I could probably count on 1 hand how many times I actually stopped to enjoy the view. When I found out that my husband had gotten orders to Twentynine Palms, I thought it was the 'kiss of death' to not only my career, but also our marriage. It's been a joke for years that Twentynine Palms has the highest divorce rate. While, maybe it is true (or maybe not) I could see why: We're in the middle of the desert with no shopping or restaurants, and no place to really just get away. I'm sure many couples just never leave their home, and end up driving each other crazy. Sounds like the perfect recipe for disaster!
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Middle of nowhere sure makes for beautiful pictures.
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Just before moving to the desert, I was staying with a friend who made me go running with her one morning. At the time I was the least athletic person, and I couldn't even make it the 3 miles that she had planned for the day. Dying would be an understatement! Once we got settled into our new home in Twentynine Palms, I decided that if I couldn't have a job living in the middle of nowhere, I'll make working out/running my new job. It hasn't been an easy road until now, there have been buckets upon buckets of blood, sweat and tears that have gone into my journey. Even though it's been hard, I love the person that I'm becoming. I'm less stressed, and I'm loving the camaraderie between runners. There isn't anything that I've seen anywhere, quite like this. I love being a part of this new 'club', and I don't want to ever leave!
