Hello Again!

I know, I know. It has been forever since I last posted, but I promise you I have good reasons.

Remember on my last post when I said their were big life changes happening, well they have officially happened. I have moved to Texas due to me getting a job! My husband, well he is still in Alabama finishing up his flight training. Him and his dog will move here with me and my dog after he graduates sometime in April.

As for my job, I love it! I get to do a bunch of creative work and the people I work with are amazing. I'll post more information on it later. I am also finally "settled" into our new apartment and about an hour ago, I finally got connected to the world after two weeks of living without cable or internet.

It was nice to see my husbands face again, thank you Skype. It is also nice to get back to blogging. A lot more to come soon.

xoxo

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Hopefully you all get to spend some time with your loved ones.

As for the traditional Monday Meal, this weekend was full of fast food. There are big changes happening in our lives and it was easier to do quick meals, I did not even make these cupcakes. They were made by one of my friends. I will write a full post to fill everyone in on the madness in the next day or two when I finally catch my breath.

Once again, Happy Valentines!

Duty Stations: No Worry for Me

Yesterday, my husbands, and the one after his, Blackhawk class found out where their first duty stations are going to be. I was very excited for some of our friends because they got one of their top three choices. However, about 50% of the people did not get anything on their list.

This is one of those moments I am happy I married a National Guard guy. We knew what state and post we belonged to before my husband even graduated from college and the colleges ROTC program because the state paid for his schooling. It also makes me happy that we did not have to deal with the disappointment of not getting one of our top three duty station choices.

Hopefully, our friends will turn their moods around and realize that in two or three years they get to go somewhere else. I also hope they realize that everything happens for a reason and once they get to their new homes great things could start to happen.

Once again, I am happy I don't have to go through this emotional flight school, and general military step, but once again I feel for those that do.

Getting Crafty

As a graphic designer and photographer I feel that I have a very strong, and good, creative side. I guess my friends down here think so too because I have been asked to help in a little scrapbooking project. The catch to this, I have only ever scrapbooked one other time in my entire life.

So far, so good though because once we started I realized it's just like designing magazine pages, only more color and extra flair. I also realized that I like it! It lets me do something creative, while remembering fun moments I had with my husband, friends, and family. It also gives me something to do throughout my day, while my husband is on the flight line.

My friend and I should finish her scrapbook gift, for her and her husbands first wedding anniversary, by this afternoon or tomorrow. That means that this weekend I am going to go through my photos from my husband and my trip to Europe and start making my own scrapbook next week.

Hopefully, I can make something that looks good and not to girly so my husband can appreciate it too. I will keep you posted and hopefully show off some of my pages. I would also suggest trying it yourself, it can be relaxing and, as I am figuring out, some good me time.

Monday Meal

As you all know, the Super Bowl was last night. In honor of the game, we had a big party with a bunch of tailgate type of food, along with frosty beverages. Many of the party goers did not really care who won the game, my husband and I were another story. Jordy Nelson is a fellow K-State alumni so we had to root for him and his team, the Packers. We were very happy they pulled out the win, but disappointed in Jordy's overall play, we were wanting him to get MVP. Oh well there is always next year right?

Now back to the food. One of the things I was in charge of making was the guacamole, my mothers recipe.  It was a big hit and I feel like it's a good staple dip that anyone can make.

Quick note about the photo, it's the only one I could get because everyone had their hands in the dish.

Guacamole

Ingredients

3 Avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled

1 Lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 Red onion, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix avocado and half of the lime juice. Mash together with a potato masher.

2. Once mashed to a almost smooth consistency, add salt, cumin, and pepper. Mix well.

3. Then add onions, tomato, cilantro, garlic, and the rest of the lime juice. Mix well.

4. Taste to see if you need to add a little bit more of anything (sometimes the lime can be over powering).

5. Let sit for 30 min. in a refrigerated area.

Hate the Cold

I know everyone, by now, has heard about the weather in the mid west. Well that storm front has now brought a cold front to Alabama. Yes, I know I went to school in the middle of the U.S. so I should be used to the cold, but I lived in the desert for 18 years and don't think I will ever get used to it, or like, colder weather. My mom even called me this morning to let me know that in my home town of Tucson, it was 17 degrees. Absolutely ridiculous.

Hopefully, if your unlucky like me and are stuck in a colder climate, this will help bring a little sunshine into your home and help you think of warmer times.

Quality vs. Quantity

Our Labor of Love Photo

While people were over for my husbands birthday this weekend, I got into a good conversation with my, best friend down here at Ft. Rucker, husband. We talked about the military community and making friends while we could move at any moment, and could live in cities that don't have a strong military community/understanding for what we go through (for us guard folks).

He started off by saying how happy he was that his wife and I were such good friends. I was a little shocked that he said that, but happy that he did. Then, he went on to say that if her and I knew each other in college that we would have been friends there too, maybe even inseparable. Once again, surprised, but happy. I also agreed with him on both of those accounts and let him know, that for us Army wives, to have a close friend in this crazy world of ours makes it so much easier.

Not to mention, the friendship and bond he and my husband have formed since going through flight school together, is also amazing. The two of them will always be there for each other and, as both guys have put it at separate times, would be there in an instant if anything ever happened.

The conversation then went to a more overall conversation about friendship. They, like me and my husband, know a lot of people, and are friendly with everyone they meet. However, we would both rather have a small group of quality friends than a million of them.

In the military, I think this type of friendship outlook is more important than ever. We need our own close and small nit group that knows us and what we have gone through, and more importantly share what we are about to go through.

I am so thankful for her for this, and many other reasons. I know, no matter where she and I go we will make other friends, even some close ones, but her and I have been through this Army ride together since the very beginning.

The conversation came to a close by him telling me that I am going to have it harder than the active duty wives because my husband and I are guard. I never thought about it until that moment, but it's true. When they leave Ft. Rucker, they will be stationed at another Army base, where they live and are emerged in the Army community. My husband and I, however, will be back in the "real world," and while we have the guard family, we will be dealing with a non-army community. The friends I make won't understand what we went through at Ft. Rucker and the challenges ahead. No, I am not saying they will not be supportive or there for me when I need them, but like my husbands friend from home said after visiting this weekend, he would never get what I went through if he had not come down.

This again makes me so happy and grateful for the quality friendships I have made, not only here at Ft. Rucker, but in life. I consider my friends my sisters and would do anything for them. I also know, that throughout the journey I have a head of me, there are more quality friendships to be made.

Monday Meal

Saturday was my husbands 24th birthday. To celebrate one of his best friends came down and surprised him on Friday, he was totally speechless, and we had a party Saturday night. We cooked steaks, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and the piece de resistance, a home made Oreo Chocolate Cake.

It turned out amazing and put everyone in a chocolate comma. I hope you enjoy this sweet treat.

Oreo Cake

Ingredients
For the Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix {with or without pudding}
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
10 crushed oreos

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of (2) 9 inch round cake pans with parchment and grease pans thoroughly.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, salt, vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the crushed oreos and divide batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking the baking time. Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

For the Oreo Buttercream

Ingredients
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
3-4 tablespoons very cold milk
25 crushed oreos

Directions
1. Cream the butters in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and combine well.
2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency, and fold in crushed oreos.

Clean Bill & The Roommates

Well, I got the tube out of my ear and another quick check-up from the doctor and she said, that she is giving me a clean bill of heath as long as I promise to finish out my meds. I told her that would not be a problem at all. So, will just a little pain left in my right ear and the tiniest hint of a runny nose I should be 100% by Monday. This will also make the puppies very happy because I can finally start running again, meaning they can burn some of that energy off.

As for the other topic of discussion, the roommates. I know I have not mentioned it before, but when my husband moved down to Ft. Rucker he was roommates with a guy from his unit who owned a townhouse, which was nice and helped us financially. Then, right before that roommate "finished" school, they got another guy to move into the house. Fine by me, at least that's what I thought.

Then my plans changed and I moved down at the beginning of summer so it was the three of us plus my dog. To add to the madness, his wife and two children came down for the summer. She is a teacher and their children were young so it was the best thing for them to do so they could spend time together.

Finally, they left and it was the three of us again...until, we got word from my husbands unit that there was another guy coming down and was looking for a place to live. Guess what, he moved in too.

While I was not bothered at first due to the financial situation, splitting everything four ways, it is now taking a toll on me. In my little over a year marriage I have only lived with my husband, just me and him, for about two months. Now, I am to the point where I see the light at the end of the tunnel (graduation in April) and am ready for it to be just our little family.

Yes, I can stick it out for the next few months but I have seen this living situation take a little toll on our married life. The only time we can really talk is right before we go to bed, but that's hard because he goes to sleep two to three hours before I do.

Sigh....

Oh well, it's only a little over three months, it helps us save money, and our roommates (one more than the other) are really nice, chill guys. I also need to remember that this roommate situation is just a small blip on the radar of my husband and my life together.

Foggy Day

It rained here early this morning and brought a heavy fog in this afternoon. I couldn't resist getting out of bed and take some photos.

It's the most fog I have ever been in, and strangely it gives off a beautiful, ere presence.