Concerts and Comedy

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to see the Afters, Sanctus Real, and Casting Crowns in concert as a part of their Come to the Well tour. They were incredible!

I mostly went for Sanctus Real, even though they only sang about 5 songs. I have been a fan of them ever since I started listening to Christian music a lot, but their latest album, "Pieces of a Real Heart," has meant the most to me. It came out at a time in my life when I was struggling a lot spiritually and emotionally, and every song on that album blessed me in some way. But it was great to see Casting Crowns, one of the first artists I started listening to when I started going "rebellious" and listening to that "devil music with a beat," and The Afters as well.

The Afters were on first. Here they are belting out "Never Going Back to OK."

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Sanctus Real next. Awesome guys.

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This is not the most flattering picture of him, but I think I might have a wee bit of a musician crush on Matt, the lead singer. Is that allowed? ;-)

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Here's my favorite song of theirs, "I'm Forgiven," which they performed at the concert.

Casting Crowns was last. They are fantastic live, and I will definitely be downloading their new album when it comes out. The songs they sang from it were great.

From Blogger Pictures

Overall, a great night. If you enjoy Christian music, check to see if the Come to the Well tour is coming to a town near you!

On Friday night, Andrew and I went to a comedy show at the club on post. I won tickets by answering a question correctly on the Ft. Bliss MWR's Facebook page. I didn't care for two of the acts; although they did make me laugh plenty, they just weren't the kind of comedians I enjoy. But the 2nd act I thoroughly enjoyed. The comedian was Steve Hofstetter and he is hilarious. He does use profanity a lot, but he is not nasty just for the point of being nasty (which is why I hate the majority of comedians--is normal life not easy enough to make fun of without resorting to non-stop filth?). Here's a good bit of his if you've never heard of him:

Anyway, it was a fun week for live entertainment!

Cheap Meals

This morning I posted on Facebook about a show I watched on the Food Network called "Sandra's Money-Saving Meals," where the hostess made a meal for $20 (without even using something expensive like steak or seafood!) and called it budget-friendly. I'm sure her show might be helpful to some people who aren't used to cooking at home and need to start with some baby steps. But it sparked some fun discussion on my status about what we all typically spend on groceries a month and how much our average meals cost. It varied, but one thing we all agreed on is that $20 is NOT money-saving for the average family for a weekday meal! =)

Anyway, I am not at all an expert when it comes to sticking to a budget for grocery shopping. Andrew can certainly attest to the fact that I have blown way too much money on groceries too many times to count! My problem has always been not sticking to meal-planning consistently, as when I don't meal-plan, I go haphazardly through the grocery store grabbing everything that inspires me, top that off with the ingredients for a few recipes I'm wanting to try, and then faint when I get to the register and see the total. Add another fainting session when at the end of the week I realize that a special vegetable I bought for a certain recipe was forgotten about and is rotting in my veggie drawer because I got distracted with all the other cool things I bought. It's really appalling. =)

Now that I have more time on my hands, I'm working on being consistent in the thrifty habits that I know work if I use them. I am still spending more than I would like right now because there are a lot of items that I keep as staples in my pantry/fridge that had to be thrown out when we moved, and I'm slowly replacing them. Moving sucks! But it is still encouraging to break down my grocery bills and see how much our meals are actually costing me. And on average, mine cost about $3 to $6 depending on what meat I'm using. Speaking of meat, I like to buy it in bulk. Last week, I bought a big package of chicken leg quarters and a big pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for a total of $20, and that worked out to enough meat for 8 meals. Nice!

I can attribute my ability to make cheap meals mostly to the fact that I grew up cooking for my family of 12. Cooking was one of my daily chores and it was one chore I didn't mind having! However, we couldn't afford fancy ingredients or expensive cuts of meat, or any of the processed ingredients that can make cooking easy. I learned how to work magic on chicken, ground beef/turkey, beans, and cheap cuts of pork, even if the recipe I was trying called for something we couldn't afford or keep in the pantry.

This is a meal my mom found originally and I still make periodically to this day. It is cheap, delicious, and not at all bad for you! =)

Salisbury "Steaks"

Break up 1lb of lean ground beef into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs or 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder, 1 beaten egg, and a generous sprinkling of parsley.

From Blogger Pictures

Mix and form patties. Place the patties in a heated deep frying pan. If the beef is very lean add a bit of oil to the pan to keep them from burning.

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Cook the burgers for about 4 minutes on each side, then take them out and put on a plate.
Add 2 cups of beef broth to the pan. Stir to deglaze the pan and let the broth heat up til almost ready to boil. Dissolve a few tablespoons of cornstarch in half a cup of water and slowly stir into the broth a little at a time until it has reached the thickness you want. If you accidentally get it too thick, just add a little water.

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Add the burgers back into the pan and reduce the heat to low.

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Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until burgers are cooked through. Add a bit of salt to the gravy if needed. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. Yummy!

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A few notes: This meal probably cost me around $4, and made enough for 3 people (meaning I had leftovers for lunch the next day!). You can use ground turkey instead of ground beef (just switch the beef broth to chicken), and also add mushrooms and onions. Also, I use chicken and beef broth a LOT. I would spend a lot of money on it if I hadn't discovered "Better than Bouillon" organic condensed stock. Costco has jars of both chicken and beef  for about $6 each that make 78 cups of stock. The grocery store carries a smaller jar that makes 38 cups of stock for $4. It's not quite as convenient as the bottles/cans of stock, since you have to dissolve the "gel" in hot water first, but the price makes it more than worthwhile!

Kitteh can haz tuna?

Cats have amazing noses. Ever since Reilly smelled me opening a can of sardines a few months ago (yes, I like sardines--don't judge), he has associated the sound of cans opening with the scent of fish, and he comes running. If he can't hear the can opening, but it's some kind of seafood, his nose will tell him to come running.

Tonight he was sleeping in our bedroom and I was in the kitchen making dinner. I got out two cans of tuna, opened one, and then went in the living room to say to Andrew, "I just opened up some tuna; I wonder how long it will take Reilly to come running."

The words were barely out of my mouth when here comes Reilly from the bedroom, looking all expectant! LOL He followed me into the kitchen and gave me pleading looks and did his loud, special I-want-fish meow until I gave him a bit.

 

I love cats!

Wine festival!

This weekend was the Harvest Wine Festival in Las Cruces, New Mexico (about an hour away)! We decided to go today. Andrew is not a huge wine drinker--he would much rather have a beer--but he took me anyway and by the end of the day he was even choosing his own samples and critiquing them. I was proud of him. ;-)

From Texas Army Adventure

It was a little on the hot side today--around 100--but I must say, it's rather a nice change to go to an outdoor festival and be able to count on not freezing your butt off or getting rained on. Haha

From Texas Army Adventure

It wasn't unpleasantly busy, which was nice. We picked a good day to go.

From Texas Army Adventure

Getting my sampling on! Our $15 tickets included a wine glass to do all our drinking in, plus free tastes at all of the wine vendors' booths. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

From Texas Army Adventure

Yummy fresh quesadillas for lunch! Andrew refused to let me take a picture of him for this because he said there was nothing special about it, but I argued that since this is the first time we've gotten fresh Mexican food at a festival/fair, it was worth documenting. He doesn't get pictures sometimes. ;-)

From Texas Army Adventure

So many yummy wines to try! I'm no wine expert but I'd say New Mexico does a pretty good job at representing in the wine industry.

From Texas Army Adventure

Andrew tried a wine slushie! I'm a little bummed I forgot to try one myself before we left.

From Texas Army Adventure

From Texas Army Adventure

From Texas Army Adventure

The bottles that came home with me. I could've bought so much more! But these were two of my favorites. A semi-sweet white wine (Symphony) that had been named best of the festival and a sweet red that I particularly loved.

It was a fun day and I'm looking forward to going again next year! I also made sure to bring a bunch of brochures home with me so I can visit the wineries themselves, perhaps with some girlfriends!

Happy Finds

Yesterday I went on my first Costco trip since moving to Texas. I love Costco. There are a lot of things I buy in bulk there, particularly my cooking/baking basics like flour, sugar, stock, meat, rice, butter, etc. Anyway, I've noticed every Costco is a little different. At this one I was overjoyed to find these two items:

From Blogger Pictures

Grapeseed oil and quinoa!

I've been using grapeseed oil as my only cooking oil for a couple years now. It's the healthiest oil out there and, unlike olive oil, is also mild enough to use in baking recipes. I was so excited to find a 2 liter bottle for $7.98! As for quinoa, I've been trying to find it for awhile, after trying it and liking at a friend's house. El Paso is not exactly the capital of healthy eating enthusiasts, so I was afraid I was going to have to order it online, but lo and behold! This 4lb bag for $9. I'm really looking forward to trying some recipes I've been finding and using it to occasionally replace my never-failing side of starch every dinner.

I also discovered they carry Greek yogurt for a good price! I love Greek yogurt. I didn't get it this time though since I still have some in my fridge.But my health-nutty side was definitely satisfied by yesterday's trip to Costco!

I also ran into Ross and Marshall's and found some of the organizational items I had on my Container Store wishlist for fixing up my kitchen. I love Ross and Marshall's!

From Blogger Pictures

Pictures to follow when I've used these to get my chaotic kitchen drawers and a few cabinets in order!

Wine in miniature

 

These are so perfect for trips and hotel stays where you may not have access to a wine opener! And who doesn't love miniature versions of delicious things? =)

I have the organizing bug!

Do you have any idea how exasperating it is to have caught the organizing bug when all your household goods are currently crammed in boxes on a moving truck somewhere between Washington and Texas? Auggghhhhh!

As much as I've been looking forward to having my stuff back, a little part of me was dreading it. We don't have a ton of stuff as far as furniture goes, but we do have a lot of other stuff (ie, clothes, Army gear, books, camping equipment, papers, etc.). Our new house has a few rooms that are the same size or bigger than our old one, such as the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, but the rest of it is going to provide more of a challenge and truth to be told, I've been worrying about trying to fit into a slightly smaller space.

That changed when I found IHeart Organizing and discovered there are plenty of ways to make a small space work! The key is to organize that space effectively. =) I have found so many perfect ideas and put a handful of cheap organization items in wish lists online so I can order them and get to work right away when our stuff arrives. Here are some areas I'm excited to work in the most:

1) KITCHEN
As I mentioned, our new kitchen is a good size with a lot of cabinet space. However, being a cooking and baking enthusiast, I have a TON of kitchen stuff. And if I don't purchase some tools to keep it all displayed and stored effectively, I'm going to feel like I'm bursting out of the seams again. Particular collections I need to work on are my pots and pans, baking pans, plastic food containers, and herbs/spices. I have plans for all of them! For example, I'm getting 2 of these for my herb/spice collection:

 2) PAPER
Oh my gosh, we have SO MUCH PAPER everywhere in our house! I have always sucked at keeping paper organized. We have one small and overflowing file cabinet that we may not have room for now, so I am going to clean that out and utilize a binder system instead that can be stored on our bookshelves. I'm also going to come up with a better system for sorting and storing things that come in the mail. And one more thing that is a top priority: magazines! One whole bookshelf in our bookcase is taken up by several years' worth of Real Simple and In Style magazines! Ridiculous. =) I'm going to go through them all, tear out any pages I want to save (both magazines have lots of ideas and pictures I would like to have filed somewhere for reference), store them in an indexed binder, and then get rid of the magazines. If I make a habit of doing that as magazines arrive in the mail, I'll never have to deal with this problem again. I've already done this with a cooking magazine I subscribed to for awhile, and it has worked out amazingly. Plus I actually end up trying the recipes. Go figure! ;-)

3) BEDROOM
Our new master bedroom is a little smaller than our old one, and the closet is definitely smaller. However, it's still a good-sized closet and if both mine and Andrew's stuff won't fit in there comfortably, it obviously means I have too many clothes. =P I've gotten a lot of ideas for making the most out of a small closet space, so I'm excited to implement them and do some more purging. I've also decided I'm going to sell my cedar chest. It's this model exactly:

It makes me kind of sad to think of getting rid of it, because I wanted one for a long time growing up, finally got it for my birthday about a year before I got married, and used it to store stuff for my future house. But...we are not going to have room for it, and it's not the finish I would pick now. Cherry completely clashes with all of my black furniture and it has bugged me for awhile. One day I'll get another one, in a lighter finish so that it complements the rest of my decor.

So, as you can see I have my work cut out for me! =) But I have the next few months off from work or school, which makes this a great way to use my time. I will be putting up pictures and status reports of my progress, so stay tuned!

8 Foods I really wish I liked

I grew up a rather picky eater. Some foods I have learned to like, mostly because of trying it cooked in different ways at restaurants or in my own kitchen, like mashed potatoes, eggs, zucchini, and broccoli. But there are some foods I have always despised and apparently always will. Some foods I don't really care that I don't like. Others, I really really wish I liked them because they always seem to put so much flavor in recipes. Not to mention it severely limits my restaurant dish choices sometimes!

Here's a list of foods I hate but really really wish I liked.

1) Corn.
Corn is probably my most hated food. I almost have a psychological fear of corn. No matter how it's cooked, I despise it. I can barely stand to look at this picture. I can force myself to eat it if I'm served it at someone's house, but it takes a lot of willpower. I've also never tried corned beef because it has the word "corn" in it.

2) Celery.
Gross. I hate the flavor, I hate the crunch.

3) Olives
Chopped olives in a dish are a sure way to have me shuddering with horror.

4) Onions
Now, onions can be a little complicated. Overall, I don't like them. I refuse to eat them raw. I can tolerate them in dishes if they are cooked down to mush. I will occasionally add them to soups and stews because I like the flavor and they help tenderize meat, but I either leave them in huge chunks so I can pick them out easily, or make sure they're chopped so fine I won't notice them once they're cooked down. With onions it's more of a texture thing with me than a flavor. Also, I do like green onions, surprisingly enough. I can't explain why.

5) Cucumbers
I have tried cucumbers so many times, determined to like them. I like most vegetables, so why not cucumbers? But it's impossible. I just can't like them.

6) Avocado
Again, another food I have tried over and over again hoping I'll like it, yet I never do. I feel especially lame when I go to a Mexican restaurant and order my meal with no guacamole. I'm pretty sure they walk back to the kitchen thinking, "Stupid American white girl, why is she even here??" and I don't blame them one bit.

7) Peppers
It makes me really sad that I don't like peppers. There are so many recipes I find with almost no ingredients besides peppers and I can never make them. But alas, peppers remain yuck on my palate.

8) Thyme
Thyme is technically an herb, not a food. But I think it counts. I'm crazy about herbs and spices. But I was surprised when I discovered that any dish I put thyme in was ruined for me. I've had to come to the sad realization that I just don't like the flavor of thyme, and it's not worth it to keep ruining dishes in an attempt to change that.

I'm in Texas

Well, we have been here in Texas for a little over a week now. I haven't taken many pictures yet, so this is going to be a photo-less entry. I apologize.

* We have a place...a 2-bedroom duplex with a good-sized kitchen and living room and a cute patio. Overall it's a little on the small side but our BAH (housing allowance) is really low here and since we can't live on post this time around, we need a place with rent enough below BAH that we can include utilities and cable/internet. In a couple months we'll be able to afford a 2nd car, which will be so nice.

* However, we are not in said place yet since the movers have decided to take their sweet time in getting our stuff to us. Hopefully by this time next week we will have it but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I sure miss my stuff! And I miss cooking! I've gotten obsessed with watching the Food Network since there hasn't been much else to do in the hotel, and it's getting me really antsy to get back in the kitchen!

* So far I think I'm going to like El Paso. The mountains are beautiful and you can see them almost no matter where you are. The neighborhoods you can see from the main highway are pretty scary, but once you get off and get farther away from it, there's plenty of really nice neighborhoods, restaurants, and shopping. I can't WAIT to save up some spending money and go to the fantastic outlet mall that has everything an outlet mall should have--I've never been this close to one before. We've already tried one yummy Mexican restaurant and have a few more on the list to visit. There's so much to do over the next few months: a wine festival (we're near some great New Mexico wineries!), a free Chopin concert festival, an air show with the Blue Angels, New Mexico state fair and rodeo, etc.

* Ft. Bliss is nice too. The Freedom Crossing (PX, commissary, movie theater, restaurants, etc.) completely lived up to my expectations. I've never seen anything so nice on a military installation. We did decide though that Ft. Lewis had more superior gyms. The one here is nice but is lacking in a few areas.

* We thought Andrew was getting put in a training unit, but when he signed in he got put in 1st Stryker Brigade, 1st Armored Division. We're both okay with that. We've heard good things about this unit. The infantry life is what I'm used to and I handle it just fine. I'm looking forward to volunteering for the FRG again if they need anything!

* I hate to end on a not-so-positive note, but it must be said...I really miss my friends. =( I had the best group of girls ever at Lewis! Words can't express how much it sucks to not have them around anymore. And I'd better stop now before the waterworks start!

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!