It's 1:30, again. Yeah, I am a confirmed night owl. I doubt this will ever change.
So, after capping things off last night about 2am and then reading for a while (an hour or so) I drifted off to sleep somewhere around 3:30ish. I was awoken this morning to some kid beating on my bedroom window. I am not sure what the little tyrant was using, but it sounded like a stick or something. Of course, this didn't please Hershey which prompted him to bark at the sleep terrorist. After tossing and turning for about 35 minutes with no success in falling back to sleep. I arose. I had been in bed for all of 6 hours, meaning I got about 5 hours sleep. Did I mention that I don't do well without sleep? Like really, do.not.function. So I pissed and moaned around the house all day. Being pissed off at the world is a stressful undertaking.
I took all of that mad energy and focused it on my bedroom. I tore apart every drawer, etc. I went through everything, again. I got my closet buffed out, and even pulled all of the clothing out of the guest room to go through.
Austen got all miffed, so I sent him to his room where he cried and cried and begged forgiveness. Evidently when I said, "You need to go to your room for the night." I was not clear in what I meant. I meant, "You need to go to your room for the night." After listening to him for quite a while, I played on the computer and dorked around the house again. Then decided to head to bed.
"Oh crap!" I had forgotten that there was a pile of clothing on my bed. So I figured I might as well dive into it. I tried on everything. Most all of it fit. That rocks. Things that I haven't worn since 2001 and earlier fit me again! I even got into a pair of old Calvin Klein size 14 jeans. I haven't worn those since I was 22-23ish. Yes, that's ten years. Yes, I realize it is weird to cart around jeans that don't fit you for ten years, but I did it. Now, don't misunderstand me. They were tight as heck. I will not be wearing them out in public anytime soon, but I got them on and buttoned them. I also got on some of my dress slacks that are 14s. There is a huge disparity in sizing between designers. My Ann Taylor 14s fit pretty darn good. the Larry Levine were snug, but not too tight. My AF jeans were doable, but probably too tight to be comfortable.
Anyway, which brand pants fit me is not relevant to this post. What IS relevant is that in January my size 20 pants were TOO TIGHT. 20 - 14 since Tom's been gone. That made up for the kid beating on my dang window this morning at the unholiest of hours.
Sunday, July 27
Saturday, July 26
It's 2am
and I am doing math. Not for a class or anything, but for school. I am realizing just how much this education I am pursuing is going to cost me. I am sorta freakin' out. I know that I looked up all of these interesting little tidbits before I went and registered for my very first class last spring. However, the information must not have sunk in. It's certainly sinking in right now. It's sinking in $150,000 deep. That's just tuition. Yeah, just tuition. There is SO much more on top of that.
It's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth it. If you say it three times, it has to be true, right?
This is the program I am working towards. I think it is really the only option that will mesh with my husband's career and our geographic limitations. We will be moving next summer and then again 3-4 years later. Oh, and guess what else? The average GPA of students entering the program is higher than 3.8. ummm, whoa....
And this, my friends, was a message brought to you by too much ice tea late at night.
It's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth it. If you say it three times, it has to be true, right?
This is the program I am working towards. I think it is really the only option that will mesh with my husband's career and our geographic limitations. We will be moving next summer and then again 3-4 years later. Oh, and guess what else? The average GPA of students entering the program is higher than 3.8. ummm, whoa....
And this, my friends, was a message brought to you by too much ice tea late at night.
Wednesday, July 23
Busy Week
So, I am getting ready for the big move back to Del Mar. I am pretty excited to have a nice house in a nice location. We had the ratty house in the nice location and now we have the nice house in the ratty location. Put the two together for a slice of heaven, eh? If it were only going to last more than a year or so... lol. Oh well. Being married to the Corps means you don't get too comfortable, eh?
Yesterday I bought a decent china hutch. It's older and a little beat up, but it will work until we settle someplace where I can have investment quality furniture. No point in letting nice things get beat to crap. Today, I took the wrought iron bed that my great grandfather, grandfather, father, uncles, brother and now son have slept on to the powder coating place. My husband assures me that powder coating is better than painting. Can anyone confirm this? Anyway, she sent me back home to polish all the brass accents on it first so that she can give me a complimentary clear coat so that they never have to be polished again. I think she might be a saint. I hate polishing metal (hence the aforementioned china hutch). The bed has been green, red, blue, and black. I think I am going to have them do it a dark cherry red. It is just pretty like that. Plus, every dang wrought iron bed you see is either black or white and that is just boring. The other colors seem a bit to collegiate for me, though. At least red is easy enough to coordinate.
Tomorrow I am going to go get all registered for school. I was supposed to do it today, but they were short on counselors and heavy on students. I didn't see any point in waiting.
The next few months of life are going to be hectic and this makes me smile. That means the time will fly until I see Tom. October 1 we should see each other. That's just TEN weeks from today!!! OMG!! I am so deliriously excited that I can hardly see straight. I am a bit worried that the two weeks is going to fly by way too fast and make the subsequent three months drag by. I hope with every little fiber of my being that this is his last deployment. Although, he told me last night that if he gets this gig in Oahu, he will be going to school for 18 weeks. 18 weeks is a long damn time... grrrrrrrrrrrrr.... oh well. At least he won't be in another country that has no commercial air service. I will be able to visit him at will.
Other than that, here's a picture of our new house:
Yesterday I bought a decent china hutch. It's older and a little beat up, but it will work until we settle someplace where I can have investment quality furniture. No point in letting nice things get beat to crap. Today, I took the wrought iron bed that my great grandfather, grandfather, father, uncles, brother and now son have slept on to the powder coating place. My husband assures me that powder coating is better than painting. Can anyone confirm this? Anyway, she sent me back home to polish all the brass accents on it first so that she can give me a complimentary clear coat so that they never have to be polished again. I think she might be a saint. I hate polishing metal (hence the aforementioned china hutch). The bed has been green, red, blue, and black. I think I am going to have them do it a dark cherry red. It is just pretty like that. Plus, every dang wrought iron bed you see is either black or white and that is just boring. The other colors seem a bit to collegiate for me, though. At least red is easy enough to coordinate.
Tomorrow I am going to go get all registered for school. I was supposed to do it today, but they were short on counselors and heavy on students. I didn't see any point in waiting.
The next few months of life are going to be hectic and this makes me smile. That means the time will fly until I see Tom. October 1 we should see each other. That's just TEN weeks from today!!! OMG!! I am so deliriously excited that I can hardly see straight. I am a bit worried that the two weeks is going to fly by way too fast and make the subsequent three months drag by. I hope with every little fiber of my being that this is his last deployment. Although, he told me last night that if he gets this gig in Oahu, he will be going to school for 18 weeks. 18 weeks is a long damn time... grrrrrrrrrrrrr.... oh well. At least he won't be in another country that has no commercial air service. I will be able to visit him at will.
Other than that, here's a picture of our new house:
Monday, July 21
Freezer Foods for Fisch
Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef (use soy crumbles in place of part of this if you’re going to use them)
1 pound Italian pork sausage (as spicy as you like)
1.5 cups bread crumbs (I use the progresso seasoned ones)
1-1.5 cups parmesan
1-2 eggs (just so that it clumps nicely)
Basil, oregano, thyme, etc to your taste
Crushed garlic (3-5 cloves depending on strength)
Course salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Roll into balls, pan sear and then bake in oven for an hour at about 375. Or pan sear then freeze. Or place in stock pot and slow cook in sauce.
If you make really big meatballs, you can slice them for meatball sandwiches, which is awesome. Or you can use the slices in lasagna, which is fabulous, too.
Ham and bean soup
Soak beans overnight and drain (I usually use one small bag)
Add stock to cover (tell me if you don’t make your own stock, it’s so easy and SOOOOOOOO much better). I use chicken or veggie, but beef or tomato would work, too.
Add a couple of smoked ham hocks
Add onions, celery and garlic that have been sautéed until soft in olive oil
Cut pork steak into small (bite sized) chunks and add to soup
Salt and pepper to taste
Red beans and rice is pretty much the same as ham and beans. You cook the red beans like the beans above, but use some more spice (Tony's Chachere's) and take it up a notch. Also, the guys like andouille sausage in it, but I prefer without. So, I just add that on each serving as I dish it out.
Chicken soup is a cake walk, I know you can make that. Add any old thing to some good chicken stock and all is well. Dumplings and noodles can be added after you thaw it to use.
Things like chicken cordon bleu can be assembled ahead of time and frozen, too. Chicken cordon bleu is pounded chicken breast with a piece of ham and swiss cheese inside. Then you roll it, dip it in flour then egg then a bread crumb/parmessan crusting. After that you pan sear and then bake. It can be frozen cooked or raw. It's good either way.
Other than that, my dear, there are all types of soups, etc that you can freeze. I had the most amazing soup up in San Fran last month. Chicken stock, dungenous crab, cilantro, green onion, water chestnuts... wowsers! I bet you could freeze that, too!
I have a few ready-made things that I buy as entrees and pair with fresh veggies or a salad for a quick meal, too. Schwan's has a few fish entrees that are really nice. Also, I really like stuffed shells and things like that from the freezer section. Oh, one other thing that I put together and freeze for a quick meal is stir fry. When I am making it for our dinner one night, I chop twice as much and freeze half. This way I can just toss it in the wok and go to town on a night where I have no time.
If I think of more, I will put them on here, too.
1 pound ground beef (use soy crumbles in place of part of this if you’re going to use them)
1 pound Italian pork sausage (as spicy as you like)
1.5 cups bread crumbs (I use the progresso seasoned ones)
1-1.5 cups parmesan
1-2 eggs (just so that it clumps nicely)
Basil, oregano, thyme, etc to your taste
Crushed garlic (3-5 cloves depending on strength)
Course salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Roll into balls, pan sear and then bake in oven for an hour at about 375. Or pan sear then freeze. Or place in stock pot and slow cook in sauce.
If you make really big meatballs, you can slice them for meatball sandwiches, which is awesome. Or you can use the slices in lasagna, which is fabulous, too.
Ham and bean soup
Soak beans overnight and drain (I usually use one small bag)
Add stock to cover (tell me if you don’t make your own stock, it’s so easy and SOOOOOOOO much better). I use chicken or veggie, but beef or tomato would work, too.
Add a couple of smoked ham hocks
Add onions, celery and garlic that have been sautéed until soft in olive oil
Cut pork steak into small (bite sized) chunks and add to soup
Salt and pepper to taste
Red beans and rice is pretty much the same as ham and beans. You cook the red beans like the beans above, but use some more spice (Tony's Chachere's) and take it up a notch. Also, the guys like andouille sausage in it, but I prefer without. So, I just add that on each serving as I dish it out.
Chicken soup is a cake walk, I know you can make that. Add any old thing to some good chicken stock and all is well. Dumplings and noodles can be added after you thaw it to use.
Things like chicken cordon bleu can be assembled ahead of time and frozen, too. Chicken cordon bleu is pounded chicken breast with a piece of ham and swiss cheese inside. Then you roll it, dip it in flour then egg then a bread crumb/parmessan crusting. After that you pan sear and then bake. It can be frozen cooked or raw. It's good either way.
Other than that, my dear, there are all types of soups, etc that you can freeze. I had the most amazing soup up in San Fran last month. Chicken stock, dungenous crab, cilantro, green onion, water chestnuts... wowsers! I bet you could freeze that, too!
I have a few ready-made things that I buy as entrees and pair with fresh veggies or a salad for a quick meal, too. Schwan's has a few fish entrees that are really nice. Also, I really like stuffed shells and things like that from the freezer section. Oh, one other thing that I put together and freeze for a quick meal is stir fry. When I am making it for our dinner one night, I chop twice as much and freeze half. This way I can just toss it in the wok and go to town on a night where I have no time.
If I think of more, I will put them on here, too.
Tuesday, July 8
Destin and St Louis
Both of these trips were tremendously fun. Seeing one of my best friends did my heart a world of good. Seeing her blissfully happy and in love made me ecstatic. Here's a silly self-portrait after way too much champagne (and maybe a couple of shots?):
St Louis is an amazing city. I really did not expect to be struck by the city. The ballpark there is amazing and the arch is righteous. This shot is my fave:
This one is pretty darn cool, too:
All-in-all this has been an amazing trip. I am ready to be headed home, though. I'm going to spend a bit of time in Idaho, a day in SLC and head back to *my* house. I will enjoy it for a couple of weeks then we have to freaking move. Yay. I am actually pretty excited about the move, but it is always such a pain in the ass to move... grrrrrrr
Oh and here's a picture just for Tom:
St Louis is an amazing city. I really did not expect to be struck by the city. The ballpark there is amazing and the arch is righteous. This shot is my fave:
This one is pretty darn cool, too:
All-in-all this has been an amazing trip. I am ready to be headed home, though. I'm going to spend a bit of time in Idaho, a day in SLC and head back to *my* house. I will enjoy it for a couple of weeks then we have to freaking move. Yay. I am actually pretty excited about the move, but it is always such a pain in the ass to move... grrrrrrr
Oh and here's a picture just for Tom:
Friday, July 4
Having Too.Much.Fun!
If that were possible. Since my last post, I've traveled a LOT. I am currently in St Louis, MO expecting one of the biggest fireworks displays in the country. Should be fun. I am trying to get all of my photos uploaded, but there are just so darn many. Sleep seems to be the thing that takes precedent when I have extra time.
So, I am off to nap for a bit before I head out for the evening!
Hope this 4th of July finds you all safe and happy. FYI - Yesterday, July 3, was my amazing, fabulous, handsome husband's 23 anniversary as a member of the USMC. I am so proud to be a part of this journey of his.
So, I am off to nap for a bit before I head out for the evening!
Hope this 4th of July finds you all safe and happy. FYI - Yesterday, July 3, was my amazing, fabulous, handsome husband's 23 anniversary as a member of the USMC. I am so proud to be a part of this journey of his.
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