"And there's little chance we'll drive over a bomb today."

It is hot here in Ohio right now. I get it. I understand there are a lot of people who do not like the heat. Honestly, I don't mind it. So maybe I am just bias about my stance on this. I could live in Arizona or even down south with the humid heat. Actually that is where I need to live somewhere that it is warm all year around. Even last night Audrey and I were outside playing in water when it was 102 out! I turned my air on yesterday only for the dog (because he is dramatic & yes, I am sure he is hot) but otherwise I could do without. But what I am so tired of hearing is people crying and complaining about the heat as they literally sit in the air conditioning. I mean if you work outside... construction, firefighters, etc. then absolutely it has to be miserable. But just every joe schmo walking into my work or clogging up my news feed on Facebook with constant complaints of the heat drive me nuts! Plus it is summer, and we do live in Ohio this is not the first time we have hit 100. This should not be a crazy shock to everyone. Chris says that its 110 degrees by 10am in Afghanistan everyday and gets to 120-130 degrees... everyday. Full gear from head to toe everyday. I have not heard him complain once. I mean I am sure he wants to but he doesn't. So when you complain about a few hot days as you walk from your air conditioned car to your air conditioned office and back to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned home think about our troops who do not have that luxury. Not that they want sympathy because I know they don't. They continue on everyday  in the heat so that all of you have right to complain here. Thank you Megan for sharing this photo! I think it sums it up pretty well. Sorry for the rant!

Happy Friday! 

Married to the Military: 6 More Years

So for anyone who has not read the last posts or Chris' Facebook he has officially signed his reenlistment papers for another 6 year enlistment. And now a few days later as I have had time to digested it I think it is all starting sink in. It's funny when someone asks and I tell them Chris has reenlisted for another 6 years the first thing they say is, "so how many more deployments is that?" I have heard that from a so many people and my response is, "I have no idea." (because really I don't) I am thinking in my head I need to emotionally get through this one first before I can ever think about another one. He is a military man. He doesn't know anything else and while it is a hard life, really I would not change it. I am so proud of him. I mean I can honestly say that he is such an amazing person and soldier that I would  not change anything. Of course I would have him home with us over anything, any given day. And I know he is miserable in Afghanistan as the conditions are miserable but he is our hero.  I seen my Grandpa today at Wal-Mart and he asked about Chris and as I gave him an update on him my Grandpa got chills and I could see the tears begin to well up in his eyes. He is so proud. As are we. And although a reenlistment means potential deployments it doesn't mean anything for sure. As military life goes. You never know what or where the next year will take your family. So we "just go with it" together as a family as we have for the last 5 years. I cannot think about 6 years from now, my focus is getting him home from this deployment. Even though I am one to focus on the future I cannot think about that when it comes to the military because everything always changes... always. One thing I do know is how proud I am of Chris, how proud Audrey is, and how proud our families are of him and his decisions.

I remember having a conversation with Chris once a few years back (that I will never forget) when we were considering him joining the Guard knowing that there was inevitable deployment. And I asked him, "why did HE have to do it?" Thinking in my head (and being so selfish) why HE of all the men in the country why HE had to reenlist? He had already done his time in the Marine Corps, we had already done one deployment, why did we have to do this again? I remember sobbing and pleading. We had family, we were settled in Ohio, we were done with the military. Why did he "have" to go back? He replied, "I have to do it" I did not understand it then as I sobbed in our living room but I do now. I understand what he wants and needs to do and I understand how selfish I was being. I know his honor and commitment now and his love for our family and our country. I constantly have people thanking me and Chris for what he does for our country. And they always conclude it with, "I know how hard it must be on your family" and of course they don't. They can't unless they have done it. But that does not mean that we sincerely appreciate the gesture, because we do. God Bless all of the men and women away from their families. 

Becoming More Domestic: BLT past salad

Okay so I needed a quick side dish for Ann's cookout last weekend. We looove pasta salad so I decided to give BLT pasta salad a chance... it was a hit! Perfect for a cookout! I may make it again for the 4th of July cookouts we have this weekend!

Ingredients:

12 ounces of corkscrew pasta

1/2 cup milk

12 ounce bacon

3 ripe tomatoes

1 tablespoon thyme

1 clove garlic

kosher salt & pepper

1/2 mayo

1/4 sour cream

5 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Cook pasta in large pot as directed. Drain and toss with milk in a large bowl. I used skim milk.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. I used turkey bacon (always trying to keep it healthy)

The original recipe said to drain all but 3 tablespoons of bacon grease but since I used turkey bacon I used what little grease was left in the pan after the bacon was done. 

Add tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes and just cut them in half) thyme and garlic... I also think I added to much thyme. Anyways add those 3 ingredients to the hot pan with the bacon grease and toss until warm. Add a little salt and pepper.
Cut or crumble bacon into bit size pieces and toss in the with the pasta along with the tomato mixture.
Then mix in the mayo (I used Miracle Whip) , sour cream (I used fat free) and chives until combined. Season with kosher salt.
Add in lettuce... I think this really makes it work! I will probably add more lettuce next time. I think this may have been the key ingredient!

The only issue was I think I used to much thyme... you could taste it! I do not like tomatoes personally but I added them anyways for taste and it was fine for me. If you like tomatoes add more I did not add tons but since I was taking it for a cookout I figured people would like them. It was a hit! What is better than BLTs and pasta salad mixed together?! Nothing! And if you use a some alternatives on a few of the ingredients (turkey bacon, Miracle whip, fat free sour cream) you can keep it relatively healthy! It was light and perfect for the cookout! 


Here is the blog with the initial recipe: A Bird and A Bean

Ann's Birthday... we are getting really old!

I've got a really great sister in law! Always willing to help anyone out and she's been through a deployment with my brother so she's always willing to listen to me vent! As her birthday was last week she was having a little cookout last weekend! Pool, family, sunshine!! Audrey and I had so much fun! 

Baby Carter's first time swimming!

Audrey in heaven

Zeus in the pool!

My best friend!

Lounge Lizard

The easy life

Racing! Ann never let go of her drink :) That is dedication!

Loooove this picture! I want to get it framed! 

And even I jumped off the diving board! I cannot even think of the last  time I jumped off of a diving board!

Haha! To fun! Sometimes its nice to be a kid again!

Happy Baby!

S'mores!

What a great day! But Sunday Ann and I were both dragging. I mean a day in the sun is enough in itself to make you tired but add in drinking and sitting by the fire until all hours of the night once Audrey went to bed... we are officially to old for that! So much fun though!! Happy Birthday to a great sister in law!! 

Week 25!

25 Weeks! Pretty simple week here last week! During the week was pretty routine I finished up one of my summer classes but the weekend was nonstop!

 After a very emotional rough few days I needed a break so I joined the ladies Friday night for a little time out. We had a lot of fun... don't mind the shirts it was a work thing! I love the flag behind this picture!

Probably would not get through this deployment without these two :)

After an evening out on Friday, Audrey and I spent all day Saturday at Ann's Dads house for her birthday! Pool, sunshine, & family :) It does not get better than that! 

Audrey helping Grandma water her flowers

Anyone who knows me knows how much I looooove Christmas! I love everything about it!! Audrey grabbed this book out of her stuff and started reading it while putting the sing along in her mini DVD player! We had Christmas cheer in our house last weekend :) I was so proud! (sorry for the blurriness I snagged this pic with my phone)

And then on Sunday we headed to our favorite place! The Zoo!!

Naming all of the animals on this board! And of course she knew them all! So smart!

What a great girls weekend :) Things with Chris got a little tense over the weekend. I have said this in the past that I love the technology during this deployment but sometimes it can work against us. It is wonderful to be able to talk to Chris as much as we do but sometimes it causes more stress. When I don't hear from him for a period of time and when he doesn't hear from me we both stress out. Also, I know he wishes he could be home to do all the fun stuff I am able to do with Audrey. The days are long in Afghanistan and I know he wants to be home.  I cannot have my phone on me 24/7 so if  I don't get a chance to respond it causes some tension. But I think most of it is stress from him being gone for 6 months now. I think we are all hitting out limit. I think the last 3 months will be the hardest but we cannot give up now! Chris finally got the other part of our Father's Day gift! Unfortunately it did not turn out how I thought! I ordered him a cake from a website that sends them to deployed troops. They made it sound like they could get these cakes there and somehow they would still be eatable... that was not the case! It is really cute but with the heat out there he could not eat it :( So my plan backfired.. I mean imagine getting this wonderful cake and then realizing you can't eat it! I felt horrible. Although it was a good gesture I will not be sending him a cake anytime soon!

Also, this week Chris signed his reenlistment paper work. I am married to the military for another 6 years (and longer I am sure)! That is okay with me. This is all we know. This is our life, its not easy but I love him so we've got this!! 3 more months until he comes home and we couldn't be more excited!

Looking forward to getting through this week and spending next week off of work and school! Gargac 4th of July party, heading up to Dad's, then to Columbus for a girls weekend! Should be a nice little break :) Have a great week everyone!

Long Day... Glad it's almost over.

Today was stupid. Work was okay but pretty stupid. The only good thing today was a message from Chris that said, "It'll get better I promise" because he knew I was having a bad day. And I know it will get better but that is hard to swallow on tough days. Tomorrow has to be better. I know I've said that in the past and normally it holds true. Tough days are inevitable. Everything is annoying me. So I am just going to bed. That way I can't hate the world and our circumstance. Today is over, tomorrow WILL be better.

Life on Hold

Yesterday was great! Dinner, park, ice cream! Audrey had a blast but today on the other hand... well, I am over it already. Not sure why? Tired, annoyed, burnt out,  and unmotivated?? That's a bad combo. I do not want to go to work... there are few days that I do not want to go to work and today is one of them. I don't really want to deal with the general public. And while browsing the internet for houses this morning I realized that our life was on hold. Literally on hold. I mean I can't do much for the next 3 months. I don't like sitting in one spot for a long time. I am constantly looking at the future but as I was looking at houses today I don't think I can buy a house until Chris gets home. I can't do it alone. I need his input, his thoughts and quite frankly I don't want to do it alone. The only problem waiting until he gets home is we are stuck in this house probably until Christmas... life on hold. I hate it. Also, neither of us really want to stay in Northwest Ohio. So buying a house here to just to get into something bigger for now seems silly. When we go on vacation in September we may never come back... no really it's true. We would both love to live down there. Other than my family I have no reason to stay here anymore, after I graduate we have nothing holding us here anymore so why buy a house here now?  I would love to just pick up and get out of here once Chris gets home. So maybe I will land this great job right out of college and we can move to the mountains and live happily ever after... ha, what a nice thought! Oh well, I girl can dream right? Anyways my whining is over I guess I will go wake Audrey up for school and get going with this morning... What I would like to do is either go run or go back to bed. Either one would make me feel better but since neither is possible I guess I will get on with this day! Another day over is another day closer to Chris coming home. 

It's Backkk!! Becoming More Domestic!

Like I said in the last post in the last few months I was lucky enough to get dinner on the table let alone pics, recipes and posts uploaded! Audrey and I have been on the go but I wanted to get back to it because Chris will be home... here in oh, a few months and guess who still does not know how to cook... yea... me! So here we go with my shot of Crock pot Babyback Ribs! Chris is great on the grill... I on the other hand. Well... I have never cooked on the grill but Audrey and I could not go the whole summer with out some BBQ ribs so I figured I'd give them a shot. In the crock pot that is... still do not think I can pull off cooking on the grill. Lame, I know. Anywho, here it is!

Dry Rub Ingredients:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 Tbs paprika

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt1 tsp ground coriander seed

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp black or mixed peppercorns, freshly ground

3/4 tsp ground oregano

1/4 tsp regular white sugar

Okay honestly I didn't have half of this stuff in the cupboard... again, lame I know. But when Chris makes dry rubs he just throws a bunch of stuff together and it's fantastic! So that's what I did. I stuck to the recipe for the most part no coriander seed (sadly, I don't even know what that is) no freshly ground peppercorns. I mean I added a little pepper! Anyways, it turned out great!! I was shocked! 

Put the dry rub on the ribs

Then put in the crock pot like... meat side out! 

I know, I know it looks gross. I was thinking the same thing but I turned on the crock pot and left for work! Whats the worst that could happen?! 

But it was great! And I was shocked how tender the meat was from being in the crock pot all day! Almost to tender... ya know how people say "so good it's fallin' off the bone" that's how it was. This was so easy because there was no upkeep. Literally ready to be eaten when we walked in the door last night. The only issue I ran into was getting them out of the crock pot because they were falling apart. I think a little less time cooking next time would be perfect!

Added a little BBQ sauce and those were some fantastic ribs! Chris would be proud! Excited to try some new stuff this weekend and for the next few months to really surprise Chris with my culinary skills that are evolving slowly but surely! Have a great Wednesday everyone :)

No idea why the fonts are all screwed up... I am defintely not a computer person and I have no idea how to fix but you get the gist! Oh and I almost forgot to include where I found this lovely recipe at! Here ya go!
Adios :)

Week 24!

Another week over... we are flying now! 

And we are in such a routine that it makes life so much easier.  I love June because we do not have a ton of obligations... just time for Audrey and I to hang out on the weekends. This week was a busy one that was interrupted by an Urgent Care visit for me on Thursday. Turned out to just be pink eye (thank god) but it sidelined me or a day or so. And I still cannot wear my contacts... ahhh I am struggling but oh well my new contacts should be here soon so I'll struggle a few more days. No biggie. I played catch up this weekend with housework and homework and we had some rain but that didn't keep us inside.

I cannot wait to buy a house... hopefully with a pool! Until then, this is her diving board

 And of course we celebrated Father's Day even if Chris could not be home!

Summer Baby

We also made it to the beach!

 Lunch at the beach! One of our favorites!

Sand castles

Then back to the diving board

If that doesn't say summer I don't know what does! Cannot imagine having a kid who didn't like to be outside!

And Hudson boy looking at as big and cute as ever!

This made me laugh. I have a Christian Ethics class this summer for school and I must not have proofread my homework. This is the result. It was suppose to say "Christ" instead I wrote Chris :) Thinking about the husband much??

As for the boys in Afghanistan, enjoying some time off... with some O'douls! Love this picture

Father's Day Smoothies!

Pretty sure these two are connected at the hip

And here we are more than half way through June! Getting closer and closer every week. I must say it is getting easier here. I can't believe those words even came out of my mouth. But it is. Sometimes I feel bad even thinking it that. But it does get easier and life is so routine right now that it makes everyday go by much smoother. Not that we do not miss Chris any less but almost 6 months into the deployment and I think life is settling down :)

I finished up one of my summer classes this week (with an A!) and have another that goes until the end of July. Then a quick break before 3 classes in the fall! Then done! Hurrayy!! I have started working with advisers and teachers to try and figure out "what I want to be when I grow up" because at 26 I don't have a clue! But they have got me on the job hunt already, working on my resume, and all that jazz. Woah, is this real life? Am I going to graduate?! What an exciting next 6 months this will be for our family.... Chris coming home from Afghanistan, buying a house, and me finally getting my bachelors! Whewww! Stay tuned for the ride!

Also, its back... "Becoming More Domestic"! I took a little break from cooking, pics, and posting of the recipes because it became to much. Well not the cooking part but all the pics and blog posts. Once we hit May life was so crazy we were on the run all the time that sometimes Audrey was lucky if she got a turkey sandwich for dinner. I'm kidding, of course I fed her. But I wasn't trying much new stuff. So today I am making crockpot ribs! Audrey is such a good eater... she will eat anything! Asparagus, tomatoes, all veggies pretty much, fruit and of course "meat" as she calls it. She loves meat and ribs so I picked up some babyback ribs last week at the store but there is no way I will trust myself on the grill and its suppose to be 100 degrees this week.... can't turn on the oven. So I found a recipe on Pinterest for crockpot ribs! Perfect summer dinner! 

Well we are off and running this morning again. Well I am headed to the treadmill for runnning while Audrey sleeps but then its to work and school and another busy week is underway! 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister in law, Ann! Excited to celebrate this weekend with sunshine, the pool, and family. Come on Week 25! Let's do this :)