My next place of residence

So, I am moving to Texas. 

I have mentioned this several times, but today I need to discuss it with you all. Mostly I feel the need to tell you about my new city, El Paso. 

El Paso is where Fort Bliss is located, and anybody who has been in the Army has no doubt heard something along the lines of, “Ft. Bliss: ha! Oxymoron!” Therefore you can imagine my state of mind was somewhat devastated on finding out where my next home was going to be. I mean, El Paso is basically Mexico, and I certainly never imagined myself living in Mexico. Plus, I heard all the horror stories. I’m still hearing them (for instance: all the internet/cable providers apparently suck, the rainy season can cause major floods and shut the city down, there are wind storms, you need blackout curtains to block out the floodlights on the border fence, etc.), and some things I already know for a fact, such as I will NOT HAVE A TRADER JOE’S (it’s funny how it only takes 2 years for a delightful little all-natural grocery store to become indispensable in your life) and NO GOOD COFFEE (sorry, folks, Starbucks will do in a pinch but it is not good coffee). 

But once I got over my initial freak-out and gave El Paso a chance, I realized it probably won’t be so bad and heck, I might even like it! At any rate, I am going into it with a positive attitude. And since most people, like me until a few months ago, really know nothing at all about El Paso, I think everyone needs a post full of the interesting and non-negative things I’ve been gathering about it since I know you all care about me and where I end up in this Army adventure. 

* First off, since very few people seem to even know where it’s located, here’s a handy-dandy map:

From July 27, 2011

* It's in the desert, but look--there are mountains, and they're actually IN the city! The highest peak is North Franklin Mountain, at 7,192 ft.

From July 27, 2011

* It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States. It's also the 2nd safest city in the U.S. despite being right on the border of one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico.

* It is the only major Texas city in the Mountain Time zone, but TV broadcasting is matched to the Central Time zone. 

* The climate consists of very hot, dry summers (ie, almost no humidity) and mild, dry winters. But sometimes it snows in the winter since the city elevation is 3,800 ft! Average rainfall is 9.4 inches, most of which occurs from July to September in the form of thunderstorms. The sun shines an average of 302 days a year. It's very windy and dust-stormy in the spring.

* 75% of the population is Mexican.

* The movie Man on Fire with Denzel Washington was filmed in El Paso.

* About 2 hours away is a place called Elephant Butte, which is New Mexico's largest lake and biggest water recreation area. I intend to go there as often as possible. It has 200 miles of shoreline.

That's all I have time for now. But expect more to come once I get down there and start exploring. 

Movers come on Monday!

Recipe and blog reviews

I felt like a total lazy bum today. The only productive things I accomplished were some laundry, vacuuming, and making dinner. I feel like I should be doing something to prepare for the move (which is in 3 weeks...why am I not freaking out yet??), but I honestly don't know what I should be doing. Movers will supposedly be here around the 1st of August, so it's too early to start packing the things we want to take in the car with us. I've already gone through each room and thrown away bags and bags of junk. I've scrubbed floors and cleaned behind and under things (in preparation for the extensive final clean before we turn in our keys). So I can't think of anything else right now!

Anyway, I spent most of the day reading a new blog I found. Actually, two blogs by the same blogger. I first discovered Bakin' and Eggs, which is all recipes. There was much yumminess to be found, and I actually tried two of the recipes today: Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies and Spiced-chicken.

The brownies were definitely delicious. I am not usually a huge brownie fan, and honestly only made them because they use so much baking chocolate which I happen to have a huge stock of in the pantry (thanks to receiving leftover Christmas Nestle stuff from the store that we didn't sell). But they were a very good use of the baking chocolate! They are super moist and chocolatey but not over-the-top rich. Andrew really liked them. I didn't take a picture because they were not photographing well on my crappy camera and besides, Jen's picture is better anyway.

The spiced chicken...oh my word. DELICIOUS. I bake chicken pieces a lot with various spice/herb combinations and it is always good, so I was not expecting to be blown away by this recipe (despite the glowing testimonials on two different blogs) but was merely hoping for a little something different. Instead, I was indeed blown away! I don't know what it is about this spice combination, but it is incredible. It only took half an hour to make and I also discovered that my big stainless steel frying pan does just fine put in the oven as the recipe calls for (I've seen this technique a lot but have always been afraid my cookware wasn't of a high enough quality). Anyway, it was so good I ate two thighs because I knew it wouldn't be as good or crispy left over, and my tummy was rather uncomfortably full. But it was worth it.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

 I'm going to copy the recipe here so it's easier.
Note: I used only a sprinkling of chili powder instead of the 2 tsp called for since I'm not a big fan of chili powder except in actual chili. And yes, I am the cooking enthusiast who has things like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon on hand at all times in her spice cabinet. If you don't, well, remedy that. You won't be sorry. ;-)

Spiced Chicken
(Recipe adapted from Gourmet, April 2000)
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the pan
2 bone-in chicken breasts or 2 leg/thigh combos
1/2 cup white wine, chicken broth or water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and pat dry chicken.
Stir together spices, salt and 1 tablespoon of oil. Rub all over chicken. Heat another two tablespoons of oil in an ovenproof heavy skillet (preferably not non-stick) over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides, about 6 minutes (3 minutes per side).
Transfer skillet to middle rack of oven and roast, skin side up, until just cooked through, 20-25 minutes. The internal temperature should read 160 for breasts and 170 for legs or thighs. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Place skillet over medium-high heat. Add water, wine or stock and deglaze, scraping up brown bits. Let reduce for 2 or 3 minutes. Pour pan juices over chicken and serve.
Yield: 2 servings

Jen's other blog is called Peanut Butter Runner. I've been reading her archives all day, and I think she's a new inspiration to me. For one thing, I've really been wanting to start doing yoga regularly and her blog makes me even more determined. Also, I love her balanced approach to eating and exercise. She definitely eats way healthier than me, but I love the fact that she loves desserts and is not ashamed of it. I get irritated with blogs or super healthy people who never let themselves have dessert or re-do every yummy recipe until it's devoid of anything "unhealthy" (and therefore becomes un-yummy). I like that she avoids sugar substitutes and low-fat processed food items...those are a pet peeve of mine. (Sugar-free and fat-free items are NOT HEALTHY, people!!) Anyway, she proves that having a sweet tooth and being healthy and in shape are not mutually exclusive. Check out her blog if you're needing some inspiration in looking great and living a healthy, moderate lifestyle!

Photo Catch-up

I am the type of person who takes a random photo, thinks, "I'm going to make an awesomely creative blog post about this," and then promptly forgets about it until unloading the camera and finding a sprinkling of said random photos that are no longer worth a blog post or putting on Facebook. Oh well. But I do feel like the pictures should make an appearance somewhere.

From Blogger Pictures

Last month we went to our first Roller Derby bout, featuring the two Ft. Lewis teams. It wasn't quite as intense as the scenes in Whip It, haha, but it was still fun date night material. It's certainly the only "sport" we've ever enjoyed together!

From Blogger Pictures

We finally figured out the trick for our charcoal grill! A fireplace starter. =) Since then we've had flawless grilling. These teriyaki kabobs we made were delicious!

From Blogger Pictures

I made cookies to send to my two dads for Father's Day.

From Blogger Pictures

I also sent some cookies to a friend who was having a hard week. I liked this flower cutter!

From Blogger Pictures

These are my two favorite cleaning products. There's no point buying any others since they clean everything! I heartily recommend them for all your cleaning needs. ;-)

*blowing off the dust*

Wow, I've been neglecting this thing big time. What's new, huh?

From Wear Blue

I wanted to write about last week and my first half-marathon! I don't think it would have made near as much of an impact if I had not done it with Run to Remember. The whole week was an inspirational high...with a few bumps.

The excitement started on Tuesday when we had our last team run. We got together at the park for some team photos and also some pre-race advice from Greg Klein, owner of South Sound Running. He had some great advice to offer. Then we took off on a 3-mile run. That's where things started to go badly for me. I've been having trouble with allergies for over a month now, but Tuesday afternoon after cutting the grass, I noticed my chest was feeling really tight. Running didn't help. I was having so much trouble breathing it scared me. It felt like my chest was being squeezed in a vice--I was gasping for breath and wheezing. After spending a miserable and sleepless night like that, I was able to get a doctor appointment where he informed me I had allergy-induced asthma and gave me an inhaler and prescription-strength Allegra. I'm sure everyone dreams of having this happen the week before their first half-marathon, right?? The meds helped but not completely...I was pretty sure I either wasn't going to be able to run or was going to have a miserable time of it.

Anyway, Friday night the team was having a pre-race Dinner of Remembrance. My friend Teresa was planning a great deal of the event and she was stressed out of her mind, so she recruited me to help set up. I spent most of Friday doing that. I caught a little bit of the stress, haha, but by the time we all convened back at the venue dolled up in our dresses, it was all done and went off beautifully. It was also a very emotional night. We had Gold Star families in attendance (parents and family members of some of the fallen soldiers we run for), the picture of a fallen soldier at each table, and some very moving speeches and videos. I think we all came away completely inspired and pumped up to run our butts off in honor of these brave soldiers who had given the ultimate sacrifice.

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 3:30. We were all riding buses to Seattle and the volunteers (which included Andrew--R2R was doing one of the water stations and he agreed to help) were leaving at 4. We had 3 full buses of volunteers in blue--it was awesome! The runners left at 5. We were all in great spirits considering the early hour; the buses were buzzing as if they were full of schoolkids off on a fun field trip. =) We arrived at the starting line in time to make a mad rush to the gear check and portapotties before collecting in our corral. It was awesome to look around and see our crowd of blue in a sea of runners! The announcers also called out what R2R was about and read the names of the soldiers over the loudspeaker, and then we took off. It was an awesome moment!

The first 5 miles honestly flew by. I realized pretty quickly that I was not going to be able to run any hills due to my breathing issues, and being that we were running in Seattle, hills are a given. So I walked them and decided that my only goal was to finish the race, no matter how long it took me. By mile 6 I was starting to struggle--the pressure on my chest was really sapping my energy. =\ But what kept me going was the impatience to get to mile 7, where the Wear Blue: Run to Remember team was holding 41 flags with the 41 names of fallen soldiers and handing out water. I knew it would be emotional and inspiring, but I honestly wasn't prepared for the impact that Wear Blue mile was going to have on me and everybody running around me. There was a picture of each soldier along the route...runners were clapping, saluting, and some stopped to take pictures. It was great to get cheered on by my team and get a fresh burst of inspiration from the faces and names of the soldiers for whom I was running. It was also cool seeing Andrew and my friend Tasneem too handing out water. The energy from our awesome group kept me going for the next two miles.

But then I started to struggle again and this time willpower was futile. I had to stop and walk for a few minutes quite a few times and also had to stop and stretch. The last mile and a half was ROUGH. It was so discouraging to have trained so hard and have my body konk out on me for reasons beyond my control. My inhaler medicine was wearing off but there was nothing I could do about it. FINALLY the finish line was in sight and I managed to propel myself down the home stretch. My finishing time ended up being 2:39. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit it was pretty disappointing. But hey, I finished and I ran almost all of it and that was really all my body was capable of doing, so after the initial disappointment I decided to be content. I'll do better on my next one--hopefully I won't have allergies!

From Wear Blue

Emily, Mae and I, happy to be done!

Despite my body making things difficult, it was still one of the most exhilarating days ever. I am so proud of my group, especially the two moms running their first marathons in honor of their sons who were killed in action! I was so honored to be a part of it!

Here's some video news coverage of the race!

Relevance 101

I feel so sorry for my English professor sometimes. He picks out deep, thought-provoking essays for us to read and discuss in class, and makes up good discussion questions to go along with them. Even when I don't agree with him or everyone else, we've had some awesome discussions and even debates on some great topics. I have a handful of really intelligent classmates (almost all guys, incidentally) and most of the time it's me and them tossing ideas/thoughts back and forth. On those days I leave class with my brain on a kind of high--I just love thought-provoking conversation.

But on some topics, things go completely awry. Without fail on these days, one of the, er, less bright members of the class always derails the discussion with completely irrelevant and unhelpful comments. Take today, for instance. We were discussing an essay by Virginia Woolfe, "Shakespeare's Sister," about the oppression of women throughout history. Very good stuff. It could've been a very interesting discussion, too. But no, it was not to be. The professor read this quote out loud:

"Indeed, if woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance; very various; heroic and mean; splendid and sordid; infinitely beautiful and hideous in the extreme; as great as a man, some think even greater. But this is woman in fiction. In fact, as Professor Trevelyan points out, she was locked up, beaten, and flung about the room."

Immediately a female student's hand shot up. "I just don't get that! I've told all my boyfriends, if they EVER hit me, they better hope I'm not able to get off the floor!"

Umm, okay. Thanks for completely missing the point of the entire discussion (sexism in history). I'm glad you won't ever be the victim of oppression, Classmate, but Virginia Woolfe was talking about how women in the old days didn't have any choice but to be oppressed. But no, we didn't get to discuss that for more than a few minutes, since the topic went to the birds after that. Especially after that same classmate, after expressing extreme disgust with men who look down on women, turned right around and started talking about how men are so much dumber than women and how her husband hates it when she crushes his ideas. (Poor guy. And that's not sarcasm.) Professor S. tried valiantly to bring some depth back to the topic but it was in vain.

If I could teach a college success course, I would teach one on "Relevance: How to Intelligently Contribute to Class Discussions." Dream on.

Life lately

This has been a nice weekend. For one, I got a 3-day weekend from school--no class on Friday! I took the day completely off from all responsibilities (except for work =P) and relaxed. It was a beautiful day so I invited a group of girlfriends to go to the Olympia farmer's market it with me for part of the day. I really love that place. So much unique, local products, yummy food, and--of course!--weird people to stare at. ;-) Andrew and I also grilled out for dinner for the first time this year! And Friday night I saw Water for Elephants with Emily...it was good but sad! I need to pick up the book now.

Yesterday I started off the morning with running 3 miles with Kelly and WB:R2R (abbreviation for the awesome running group I have mentioned here before, Wear Blue: Run to Remember). The weather was beautiful again and warm enough that we felt really heated when we were done--gonna have to start getting used to that! I've gotten so good at running in the cold, haha. Anyway, I was supposed to run 12 miles but it just wasn't going to happen. I've been having some back trouble and running 8 miles last week before I was completely better caused a major flare-up. I have plenty of time though; the 1/2 marathon is still over a month away and so far my longest run has been 11.5 miles at a pretty decent pace. I'm starting to feel pretty confident that I'll be able to accomplish my goal of finishing the race in under 2 hours! Btw, here's a recent professional photo of my afore-mentioned running group (I'm standing, 5th from right):

School is going well. I can't believe there are only 4 weeks left though! I have an essay to BS my way through this week for English class--all the topics to choose from were completely uninspiring, but I've managed to pick one and have a good headstart on it. I'm definitely going to get an A in this class. =) My business class is going to be a little more stressful but I've been making pretty good grades so far and should be able to keep it up if I really buckle down the next couple weeks. My teammates and I have a big project due and then I'll have some big-time studying to do for the final. Math...is math. I'm doing okay, but am a little behind. That's the only thing stressing me out slightly, but I'll finish.

We are officially moving to Texas in August! I'm pretty excited. I'll do a separate post about that soon. =) It's completely different from WA (or FL!) and definitely going to be an adventure!

Technology Sucks

Apparently Blogger decided it would be okay to delete the comments to my last post when they did whatever-it-was-they-were-doing to the site this week. Me no appreciate, Blogger!

The argument could be made that I have no business complaining really since it's a free site, but my counter-argument is that I would gladly pay a little to use Blogger if they could guarantee they won't just delete stuff on my site. =P

Of beans and chocolate chips

Today I'm going to pass on two cooking/baking tips that I have added to my repertoire of cooking/baking skills! One I cannot take credit for at all, but the other I like to think is mostly my own innovation. If you think it's not, that's fine, but keep it to yourself. Everyone deserves a little glory. ;-)

So, #1. If you are like me and love a big pot of beans, but think the process is a time-consuming drag, I've learned a way to eliminate the "soaking" step! A commenter on allrecipes.com explained that you cover the beans with cold water, bring it to a boil, and boil for about 10 minutes. Then put the pot in the sink, and throw in 1/4 cup of baking soda. Start stirring it around and an amazingly disgusting-looking green/yellow/brown foam starts boiling up. Keep stirring vigorously til the foam disappears, and then rinse the beans and pot thoroughly. Put the pot back on the stove and start the cooking process! I am used to having to carve out about 4 hours to make beans, but this method shaves off about 1.5 hours. Awesome!

#2. After receiving a ton of mini chocolate chips leftover from Christmas baking items at my job and not sure what to do with them, I decided to throw them in some chocolate chip cookie batter. Voila! My new favorite cookie (and everyone else's, apparently--I have gotten rave reviews on these cookies whenever I make them)! I use the basic recipe that's on the back of most chocolate chip bags, but when it comes time to add the chocolate chips, I add a ridiculous amount of mini chocolate chips. You definitely don't buy one bag of minis for a batch of these cookies; buy a couple. If you're not willing to do that, well...why are you bothering in the first place? Skimping on the chocolate in chocolate chip cookies should be a crime.

Anyway. Basically, my rule is: if you add the mini chocolate chips to the dough and it looks like enough, add a little more.

This tip is what takes your cookies from the "oh nice, you brought chocolate chip cookies," level to the "OMG! These are the best cookies ever!" level. =) They stay chewy, moist, and immensely chocolatey in every bite. YUM!

Honest Scrap Award

Awhile back I got a blog award from my friend Jenny over at Erasing Shades of Grey! Thanks, Jenny! I'm not totally sure what it's about, but apparently I have to tell you five things about me. You are all in for a treat!! Just kidding, I'm not really that egotistical. ;-)

1. I am very self-reliant, almost to a fault sometimes. I refuse to ask anyone for help until I've exhausted every means of doing something or finding something myself. For example, in a store I will wander around for half an hour trying to find something rather than just ask a sales associate (and I'm rather embarrassed to admit that there have been times I've gone without the desired item due to my stubborn refusal to ask--how dumb is that?). If I'm confused by a school assignment, I'll read it over and over again to make sure I can't figure it out on my own before asking the professor. I won't ask anyone to do anything for me unless I absolutely need it and absolutely can't do it myself. I haven't figured out quite why this is such a matter of pride with me, but I think I just enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when I've done something all by myself. I think it ties into my being a hands-on learner, actually.

2. I used to think I was a dog person rather than a cat person. I liked cats too, but I always had dogs growing up and it wasn't til every attempt I made to get a dog the last few years fell through that I decided to "settle" for a cat. Now I'm pretty sure I'm a cat person. ;-) I fell head over heels for my two kitty cats and can't imagine life without them! I still love dogs and want one eventually, but I don't think they're near as entertaining and eccentric as cats. Cats just do the oddest, craziest things on a regular basis; every aspect of their personalities just fascinates and makes me laugh very hard.

3. I'm obsessed with cookbooks and recipe blogs. One shelf in my pantry is almost full of cookbooks. I use them, too!

4. I twirl my hair in my fingers incessantly. It used to bug the crap out of Andrew but he's given up trying to get me to stop because I just can't do it, haha. I get very self-conscious about doing it in class because I'm afraid I'm annoying anyone sitting behind me, but the other day I decided not to care. My fingers won't be still and it helps me concentrate. If anyone ever complains, I'll tell them that when they stop asking dumb questions in class I'll stop playing with my hair. ;-)

5. My love language is quality time. This goes for my relationship with my husband as well as with other people; I feel the most loved when someone wants to hang out with me.

Easter, and other things

It has been brought to my attention that I need to post. I have known this, but as usual letting myself go so long without posting has made it daunting to get started again. I'll give a few short updates and then share about the weekend and start fresh from there.

* I started up school again the last week of March, and this quarter I'm going full time--another math class, English 101, and Intro to Business. It's definitely a completely different experience from last quarter where I was only taking the one math class! The classes I'm taking may be basic, but the amount of homework and studying required is definitely keeping me on my toes. It helps that I'm loving the classes though. My English professor is a little odd, but I look forward to class every day because he is more interested in critical reading than writing and we are spending more time reading and discussing essays this quarter than we are writing, which suits me just fine. I love the discussions with my classmates. As for my business professor, he is everyone's dream professor. He's genuinely funny and interesting, and I never imagined I would enjoy such a "dry" class so much.

* As with any "update" that is Army-related, I always hesitate to make any definitive statements because every time I say one thing, it's completely changed by the next week. I am completely paranoid about saying anything now. =P But, it appears to be fairly certain that we will be PCSing to Ft. Bliss, Texas in August. I'm reasonably excited. I am going to miss Washington painfully, but I've really been getting the urge to move and Bliss will certainly be adventure. It is also not as horrible as I've always heard either. I have really learned the last few years not to pay too much attention to the opinions of other people and keep an open mind about things. Anyway, I will say more about this when Andrew has officially reenlisted and we have orders in our hands and I don't feel like I'm "tempting fate."

I think those are the two biggest things going on right now. So there, you're all updated. =)

On Easter, I decided I needed to do something I'd never done before. That's right, folks, I have never dyed Easter eggs. Growing up, Easter was a pagan holiday in my house (as were most other holidays on the calendar that pretty much everyone else I know has fond childhood memories of =P). My parents did not allow us to celebrate Easter in any way, shape or form. I remain puzzled as to how cute children dancing about on the grass with cute baskets searching for brightly colored eggs can possibly lead to dancing naked in the woods around a ritual fire chanting to the goddesses, but be that as it may. I can't really make up for the fact that I've never experienced an Easter egg hunt in my deprived childhood, but at least I could decorate some eggs! Andrew was all for helping me, so I think we've started a nice little tradition this year that I'd like to continue. =)

From Blogger Pictures

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Next year I'm going to be more prepared and have more supplies, but it was a fun first attempt!

Life lately

Whew, it's been so busy lately! I've had so much to do that every time I sit down, I feel like I should be working on something. Even right now, I feel guilty for writing a blog post when I should be working on math, addressing baby shower invitations, or finishing up my FRG roster. Arghhhhhh.

My math class is almost done. I have one short chapter left and then my final. I must say it's been rather stressful trying to finish it a week earlier than everyone else. But I've made straight As on all my tests so I'm very proud of myself! I never thought I could do so well on math. We'll see how the next class goes in a few weeks, though. I'm also taking English 101 and Intro to Business. (I don't think this is going to be the most fun quarter. =P)

Andrew had a four-day weekend for President's Day, so we got out of the house for a little bit. One day we went to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge to walk the new boardwalk trail. It was such a pretty walk.

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We also went up to Seattle and visited the Ballard ship locks (very cool) and Chinatown. It was fun to do some less typical touristy things since we always seem to do Pike's Market and the waterfront every time.

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Last week we had some crazy weather. It stayed below freezing for several days and we got several inches of snow. It was beautiful, but I think we are all ready for spring now!

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On Thursday I went to Olympia and rescued my friend Keri, who was here from Arizona visiting her fiance (a soldier in our battalion). She had never driven in snow so she was housebound while it lasted. I've gotten fairly good at it so I picked her up and we went to lunch and explored snowy downtown Olympia.

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I also introduced her to one of my favorite coffee shops, Batdorf & Bronson.

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They do such beautiful coffee art!

More to come....this post is long enough already!

Real Housewives of the Army

On Tuesday I got to attend the Ft. Lewis annual spouses dinner for the 3rd year! It was not quite as crazy as previous years, but this year was still the best because the 3rd Brigade ladies brought it big-time, and won the grand prize for participation/theme! It was so much fun.

Our brigade theme was "Real Housewives of the Army," and each battalion did "Real Housewives" of a specific Army post/region of the country. My Tomahawk ladies and I were Ft. Drum/New York. The other battalions did Ft. Lewis/Pacific Northwest, Ft. Stewart/the south, Schofield/Hawaii, Ft. Carson/Colorado, and Ft. Hood/the west. Everyone went all out and we all looked fantastic. We knew we had the contest in the bag as soon as we showed up, especially after we did our skit and brigade cheer. ;-)

From Blogger Pictures

1-23 Tomahawks ladies

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Me, Kacey, Keri, and Alisha--I love these girls!

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With the fabulous Kelly and Teresa

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The entire 3rd Brigade party!

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Alisha and me

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My lovely Brazilian friend Susy, who I met at church but is actually in 3rd Brigade as well.

All about food

I apologize in advance if this entry causes any mouth-watering or cravings. ;-)

On Valentine's Day we decided to stay in and have a nice dinner at home, since it was a work day for both of us and another fancy dinner out did not fit into the budget after having just celebrated my birthday. I decided to try a meal featuring scallops, since they are Andrew's favorite kind of seafood. I found a recipe that used the broiler (I have become very obsessed with using the broiler lately!) and they turned out very well! To go along with them was fettucine alfredo, garlic bread, and salad with homemade Italian dressing. Oh, and don't forget the wine--it is very important. ;-)

From Blogger Pictures

For dessert we had chocolate fondue, with strawberries, marshmallows, graham crackers, pound cake, and bananas to dip in. But I completely forgot to snap a picture of that.

I also got the urge to practice with my sugar cookies with royal icing again, and they turned out really cute!

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

I regretted using that blue though--it turned out much too light. And I need to get a smaller tip for writing with.

A few days ago I noticed a dish on the cover of a Wildtree catalog that looked yummy, but there was no recipe for it, or even a description. But I still wanted it! So I decided to try to concoct something similar myself. It had chicken breast, fettucine, broccoli, and fresh tomatoes, in some kind of creamy white sauce. I needed to use up some chicken thighs though so instead of cutting up chicken breast, I popped the thighs in the oven to roast, topped with garlic and salt and pepper. Then I made a white sauce with butter, garlic, cream, salt, pepper, and a few pinches of Italian seasoning. I added some parmesan to thicken it, and then tossed it with some pasta, steamed broccoli, and fresh tomatoes and parsley. It was so good! I love creating my own concoctions. =)

Accomplishments and Lessons

I went running again this morning with my new running group, Run to Remember (picture above snagged from their site). I am excited to say that, despite fighting the onset of a chest cold, I ran 5 miles for the first time in my life! My leg muscles were hurting quite badly the last mile, but I managed to push through and finish with overall little difficulty. I still can't quite believe it! About a year ago I was claiming I couldn't run, haha. Running with this group has been so amazing. Not only does it feed my patriotism and love for the military (the group was founded in honor of the dozens of soldiers killed from one particular infantry brigade from Ft. Lewis in their last deployment to Afghanistan), but it's given me people to run with every week and keep me encouraged and on a training schedule.

On an entirely different note, I've learned a few things this week, both completely unrelated to each other.

Thing #1: Sometimes the person you would most expect to know better than to start drama can turn out to be the complete opposite. And I must say I consider that sad.

Thing #2: Accusations and/or judgments from people I'm not close to no longer bother me. A few years ago, a confrontational email from someone--anyone!-- would get my blood pressure up, tear ducts going, and my fingers flying madly across my keyboard. No rest could be had for this girl until she had fired back an immediate, long, and defensive response!! Now? I just shrug my shoulders and say, "Whatever." Life is too short to worry over judgment from people who don't know you inside and out and only see you through a computer screen.

Travel, runs, goodbyes, and more

Hmm, what to blog about?

* School is still going well. I've been making As on all my tests, and I'm looking forward to taking some more classes next quarter!

* I have my plane ticket to go visit my family in Florida next month. I'll be there for about 10 days, and I'm so excited to see my family--it's been over two years. I'm also so excited to go spend a few days with this girl:

We've been close friends ever since we were 16 and it's been forever since we've gotten to spend any quality time together! I need me some Amy time. =)


* I've been getting back into running, after being a huge slacker for quite a few months. I'm going to be running a 15k with my aunt and uncle while I'm in FL, and I have decided to do the Seattle Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon in June! So I have motivation as well as deadlines, which is what I always need to accomplish most things. I know I can do it, but at the same time, it is going to be a big challenge. I was running around the airfield on post (4.3 miles) this morning and thinking, "WHY does this always sound fun until I'm doing it?" Haha But running the 1/2 marathon will also be a "last hurrah" with a few of my good friends before they leave this summer.

* Speaking of friends leaving, too many of them are doing just that. The next few months are going to contain one goodbye after another. It's so sad. =( I've decided the hardest part of military life is not the deployments, as sucky as those are. It's saying goodbye to all the friends who become as close to you as family. But as the saying goes, "It's a small Army." There's always a good chance I'll run into some of them again one day at another post!

* I have a purring kitty in my lap. Does life get any better than that?