Birthday Bliss

Ok, so one of the many downsides of the Army is that DH can be, and usually is, gone for important events such as holidays, birthdays, or special events like weddings (not your own, but other peoples...) or the births of children...

This past Sunday I turned 24. Woo hoo!! Partied really hard - rock star style...yea right.. more like I sat around and made curtains for my kitchen... They look fab btw. Picture is a little dark, but the morning sun was shining through - they are a cream and red toile print






 For all of the time that we have been together, DH has yet to be present for one of my birthdays (and I would like to point out that I have been present at all of his! - guess who's winning in the game of Who Loves Who More?) But seriously, despite him being gone, and me wishing he was here, I understand. Its really not that big of a deal - in fact, Im not even one to make a big deal of birthdays... Dont talk about it too much, dont insist on a big shebang, in fact, I realized (right as I was about to walk down the aisle in front of 200+ guest) that I really HATE being the center of attention. (Mom, I know you dont beleive me, and if my actions during my teen years entire youth, led you to believe otherwise, I am sorry - but fact is I've grown, and no longer want it to be all about me) I will however say, that having good friends, you dont get off the hook that easy!

 My neighbor, who mind you, has a 3 week old baby, insisted on having lunch together, while another friend brought a cake. It was such a treat! She, amazingly, made a delicious home made lunch, sat and talked for a few hours, and the three of us enjoyed some very yummy strawberry cake for dessert (and also enjoyed it for breakfast for the next 3 days...) They were awesome and truly appreciated! This is what us Army Wives do for each other, even when not asked, we are there for one another. They both knew that neither one of them would want to spend their birthdays alone, and took it upon themselves to make sure this girl didnt either! To top it off, the next day, two of my other friends and I went out to eat at a yummy mexican restaurant, which satisfied a pretty intense craving! And, I received a package from my love - the complete series of my favorite show Friends. It was such a surprise! The reasoning behind such an awesome gift? I had, long ago, mentioned how much I love that show, and how I would even like to watch it during labor, to help distract me (laughter is the best medicine right?) So DH bought it for me, saying that, in case he cant be there during the birth of our first child, I would still be able to have my friends with me! Aside from my friends Rachel, Monica, Ross, and the rest of the gang being there - little does he know what awesome - real life - friends I would have there by my side as well - My Army Family! Great friends that are more like family, is one of the wonderful perks and realities of the life of an Army Wife!

Dinner suggestion:

Once again, I have a "my husband isnt home, I just have to worry about myself" kind of suggestion. One of my favorite things to do is to buy a rotissarie chicken (the kind that is already done in the deli section) come home, and shred it all, and store it in the fridge. This provides many opportunities to eat well, and easily, over the next few days! Options of things to do with the meat:

Put it on salad:

I like it plain, with ranch or ceaser

I like it with sliced strawberries and raspberry vinegarette dressing

I like it with BBQ sauce (think Panera Bread, BBQ chop salad)

You can put it in a taco shell with...

BBQ, or Salsa, or just cheese and lettuce

You can eat it with BBQ sauce plain, or in a bun/bread

You can put it on Nachos ...plain..with salsa, or with BBQ, yum!

You can put HOT sauce on it and ...eat it plain, on nachos, in a taco, on a bun, or on salad!

basically, the options are endless! I use what I have left over from other meals I've made - I HATE wasting food and am often creating new or creative meals with the ingredients I do have... AND I really must suggest using a shredded rotisserie chicken instead of buying chicken to boil and shred....they are just so moist and yummy!!! Enjoy your simple, easy dinners during those times when you are alone!

~ The Army Wife

JRTC - 'J'etting Ready (for whats) To Come

Ok, so the title may be a bit of a stretch... but a girl can try :)

JRTC really stands for Joint Readiness Training Center - and it is located at Ft. Polk, LA (yuck) and is a place many soldiers attend before a deployment to take classes and training to help them prepare. The down side to this training is that it is usually right before the scheduled deployment time. Now, while this might make sense as far as training goes - allowing the soldiers to be the most prepared - it really stinks having them gone for a month, knowing that soon after they return, they will be gone for 9ish months. In our last few months together, one of them is spent apart. Congratulations. You've been Armied.

Of course one could argue that JRTC is not just a great training time for those deploying, but also for those of us that are staying at home, doing the sometimes harder job of waiting and worrying. Now I dont know many people that are excited to "practice" being apart from one another, and most everyone would agree that it does not help prepare you for the lonely nights that are yet to come -but it has shed a little insight as to what positive things I(we) have to look forward too! There are certain times when that is all you can do. Focus on the positive to get you though. As for deployment, so far the things I have come up with are:

1) More money. - Would I choose for my husband to be in harms way just to have money? NO. But, since he is deploying, the extra pay is a nice touch.

2) I dont have to shave my legs as often. I mean, lets face it ladies - its nice to be able to take a break every once in a while, instead of the usually daily routine.

3) Less laundry! No Pt's to wash, no uniforms with annoying velcro, and the few times he does get to wear regular clothes, well, none of those either! Just what I wear - meaning laundry is cut to about half. :) 

4) I spend less money on food. It takes a lot to feed my husband! He is a bottomless pit, and I love him for it because we NEVER have to throw away left overs...but its nice to go to the commissary and spend half as much :)  (although I will admit that money saved on food may or may not be used on a little retail therapy!)

5) I dont have to cook every night! A. I have left overs from when I do cook. B. I am perfectly content "grazing" a few random items until i've had enough to be called "dinner". A few crackers , half an apple, maybe a few bites of yogurt...ok. dinner is done!

Now dont get me wrong, i LOVE to cook! Love to bake, love to cook, love to eat! BUT it is no where near worth the energy and time spent in planning the meals, doing the shopping, prepping the food, cooking, and then clean up - just for little ol' me, when I am perfectly happy with a peanut butter an jelly.

I hate cooking for myself. There. I said it.

Like I said, this isnt much to hold on to - but it is the "training" that I am getting from our JRTC experience and hopefully will help me when the real deal is here in just a few months! I mean, if you cant make lemonade out of lemons, then you're screwed.

(*side note, you would think I would have learned these things during our first deployment...but somewhere between newlywed bliss, devastation that my husband was gone, and stress from a boss who the movie "horrible bosses" was based on....I lost track of my sanity what was going on.)


Ok, Dinner suggestion: ....uhh.... PB&J!

 Im talking the good ol' fashion kind your momma use to make you! My personal favorite: honey wheat bread, extra crunchy Jiff, and Raspberry preserves.

Nothing organic, nothing all natural. Just good ol' fashion yumminess!

(No, this picture is not mine, but honestly, when is the last time you took a picture of one of your sandwiches?)

As for directions - all I have is this: If you spread your jelly first, on one piece of bread, you can then
 use the other piece of bread to wipe off any excess jelly off of the knife, before you spread your peanut butter, so you do NOT get jelly in the PB jar! ~ a personal pet peeve of mine.

Bon Appetit!

~ the Army Wife

Do it Live!! :How to deal with unpredictable timelines...

We'll Do it live!!! -- that my friends, is a favorite quote of my DH and several of his friends - essentially saying "screw it, we'll wing it!" It is inspired by Mr. Bill O'Reilly - and one of his shows back in 2008. Here is the video, though, I warn you, its graphic and for "explanation of the saying" purposes only!

My point in mentioning this, is to talk about how the army, in unfailing ways, will almost always mess with whatever life plans you have, at least in some way! Whether you are meant to PCS(permanent change of station) or not, are trying to plan a wedding, a vacation, or a trip home, or are deciding when would be the optimal time to have a child, the Army, will almost always, step in and change your plans for you! Welcomed, or not - here it comes, and the only thing you can do is put on your big girl panties and deal with it. Go with the Flow. DO IT LIVE!

DH and I found out in late December that he would be deploying in May/June - instead of late fall as earlier planned. Surprise # 1.  We then found out in January, almost a year to the day that we said "I Do", that we would be welcoming our first child into the world in September! Yay! YaY! YAY! ...oh wait, DH wont be here...in fact, he will be very far away, and really busy, and I'll be left doing it alone!....great... Surprise #2.

Now of course we are both very excited about the arrival of Baby R, and are trying to make the most of the experience while he is still here, AND focus on the positive (like the fact that he will only miss the early, "non exciting" eat, sleep, poop phase of the babies life) but its still a little sad when we face the facts that he will still miss the birth. Miss those early teeny tiny days. Even miss things like ultra sounds and being able to feel the baby kick and watching my belly grow... once again, Thank you Army!

But then you think, is it really the Army's fault? I mean yes, because my DH is in the Army, we live an unpredictable life where the mission always comes first. But thats what I love about him! His unfailing commitment to do the Harder Right, instead of the easier wrong. To step up and fight, where others wont. The real problem lies within ourselves! Our attitudes and expectations. There is never going to be a perfect time to do anything while in the Army. No matter what, things are going to change, birthdays are going to be missed, and holidays are going to be lonely. Its what we signed up for! Is it easy? No. Are we strong enough to do it? Hell Yeah! Its what makes us Army wives! I came across this, and thought it was very fitting! Not only does it take a special person to choose to fight for and serve his country by being in the military, but it takes an equally strong and committed person to be married to someone in the military!


Although being pregnant while your husband is deployed is no stranger to the Army, it will still be hard and I am looking forward to sharing more tips, stories, and recipes to help us all get through the struggles of being in a relationship with the Army, struggles through deployments, and pregnancy ups and downs! (no matter where you might fit in that equation!)

After all, Such is the Life of the Army Wife!!


                                                       

Baked Cajun Whiskey Salmon

Dinner suggestion:

 In the season of Lent, I was experimenting with one of my favorite things to eat - Fish! Yum!

This is one of the easiest things to make, and is both healthy and satisfying! (even for my steak loving DH!)

I went to a GOOD grocery store. For me, the best one available is Publix. They had an excellent fish selection, and I was able to get some fresh, never frozen, salmon steaks. They were cut to size - a 7 oz. for me, and a 12 oz for DH! I was also specific to get them the same thickness, so they would bake evenly.

After I got home, I sprayed a baking dish with some pam, and put the salmon skin side down.

Meanwhile, I was preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven was preheating, I prepared the salmon by sprinkling a little cajun seasoning, a small amount of "Emerils original" seasoning, and a TINY bit of lemon pepper. I then added one cap full of Whiskey, we had Jack Daniels, to each piece of salmon - just slowly pouring on top of each piece. I baked using the following general guide for fish:

Oven 350 - Bake for 10 min per inch of thickness. For example, 1 inch fish should be about 10 min. 2 inch fish will be about 20. 1 1/2 inch fish will be only 15 min. and so on...

Now, this is only a general rule and I always double check my fish with a thermometer / flaky-ness test to make sure its done to my liking!

When the fish was a few min. shy of being done, I took about 1 T. of melted butter, and poured it on top of each piece of fish - tying all of the flavors together! It. Was. Perfect! All that was left was to add your favorite sides!

I dont mean to toot my own horn, but I have never had a Better salmon dinner - to include the many restaurants I've happily eaten at! This was fabulous and I insist you try it! Its much easier to make a yummy fish dinner than most people think!

- The Army Wife