Weekend Site Seeing

6 years we have lived here, and never have we gone to the Beirut Memorial or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (which are at the same spot).  So, this weekend, we became local tourists!  Enjoy the pictures!

A steel beam from the 9/11 carnage.

Explaining what happened in Beirut, Lebanon.

Someone left dog tags and some little wreaths at the statue as a personal memorial.

The names of the military members who lost their lives there.

The Veitnam Veterans Memorial

Jason walking on the wrong part of the bridge.  Looks like he's singing, doesn't it?

The surrounding glass wall is engraved with all the many, many names of the veterans.

Jason's uncle was a Vietnam vet.  He finally found his name.

The fountains are so pretty.

Me:)

Self portrait.

This was such a neat place, and I'm so glad we finally went out to see it.  It has sparked our interest in visiting other places around here that we've never been to.  It's a cheap, fun day date.  I encourage everybody to look around where you live, you may find some things and places you have never explored before, and it will bring a newfound appreciation for where you live.  We recently found out that they are building a Museum of the Marine here in town this year.  Can't wait to visit it!  I think we may be going to the Battleship in Wilmington soon:)

And the WINNER is...

  Names and comments ready to go!

Time to draw...

   My lovely assistant

It's Shannan Roussel!

Shannan, please send me a comment with your address, and I will not publish it.  Your package will be sent out this week :)

Thank you for all who participated, your beauty tips and recommendations were wonderful, and I have a ton of new things I'm wanting to try now!  Please stay tuned for new things to come and more giveaways in the future!

Homemade Pizza Dough/Breadsticks

Pinterest has become like a drug to me.  I am so addicted and am CONSTANTLY finding yummy looking, new recipes to try.  Not good for my arteries.  Must pace myself.  It's not only good for recipes, but for DIY tutorials, crafts, fashion, etc. etc.  Anyways..after seeing this "pin" and being in the mood for pizza, I tried my hand at making this, pinned here.  (You can click on the link from there to find the recipe.)  It looked so tasty.  So here are a few pics from our afternoon in the kitchen.

Ingredients ready!

Jason watching for the yeast to "foam" and "bubble".  He's been very interested in my kitchen projects lately;o)

 The dough ready to rise.

 An hour and a  half later, size doubled.

 Spread out with minced garlic and butter smeared on top.

Added pepperoni to half since we decided to use the garlic bread recipe (and because of the fact that I didn't have pizza sauce).

Baked, gooey, and ready to eat!

Needless to say, it was delish!  Next time, I think I'm going to try using an alfredo sauce and using spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan as the toppings.  (A take on Cici's spinach pizza.)

5 Surefire Ways to...

...tell if you're OCD.

1.  Your closet may be color coded, and then micro-sorted into shades of that color, and from long sleeves to short sleeves.  Do NOT refer to previous post.  

2.  You have a designated reject cookie plate for the cookies that do not turn out perfectly round.  Then, at that point, you demand that your husband or any other person with a hearty appetite in the general proximity eat them immediately, as to not tip off the insanity gremlin that dwells within my your soul.

3.  When you decide that it's time to list your beautiful, brand spanking new house for sale due to the fact that you have found evidence that a small field mouse may be taking up residence in your mud room.

4.  If you follow your white fluff (dog) around with the stick vac after you have vacuumed as to avoid getting clumps of fur on your freshly cleaned carpet. Or your husband is on his hands and knees looking for vicious fur balls as to avoid a nuclear meltdown from his wife.

5.  While in a standoff laundry hiatus with your husband - over putting his clothes in the laundry basket instead of on the floor wherever he decides to strip, you decide after 10 minutes of sitting on the bed in tears that it's Just. Not. Worth it.  He wins.

This is soooo not me ;o)

Yay, a Giveaway!

It's a giveaway!!!  While the contents of this fun little package are a surprise, I can tell you it's beauty related.

The rules are:

1.  Leave me a comment on this post with your favorite beauty tip or favorite product (be it hair, makeup, accessories, etc.).  It doesn't matter if you've been reading for a while or you are new here, just leave a comment, I will do a drawing so the results are fair!

2.  Make sure to leave your name, and if you have a blog, let me know so I can check yours out too!

3. You have about a week or so, all comments are due in by Saturday, the 28th!  The winner will be announced Sunday, the 29th!

And, that's it!  Good luck!

Oh!  My sister, Ashley, over at Confessions of a Chocolate Junkie, is also hosting a giveaway this week.  Be sure to check her out too, and double your chances of winning a giveaway!

Childhood Flashback

My daddy used to build us forts and "camp out" in the living room, where we would watch movies and eat popcorn with him on the weekends.  The other night, I told Jason that I really wanted to build a fort to sleep in, in the living room.  So being the wonderful husband he is, he got to work on a mental schematic.  We got it put up, and had our camp out.  I was a happy girl.  And I don't care that we are adults and still making forts to sleep in.  Age is only a number:)  In my book, it always does a person good to be young at heart.

We drug the mattress in from the guest room to sleep on, and clothes pinned the sheets together to make the tent part, then draped them over chairs and made the pitch by running a wire through the sheet and tying it to the ceiling fan.  Glad it's a sturdy ceiling fan.

A view of the inside.  Cozy.

Jason and Kojak trying out the hideout.  Kojak was not happy that he wasn't allowed IN the tent, but I could just see the outcome of that one turning out in catastrophe.  Plus, he is shedding so horribly right now, he is about to be shaved EARLY!

It was a fun night, and not one I will ever forget.  J is so good to put up with my silliness sometimes.  But then again, I think he might enjoy a little.  This will have to be a repeat experience for sure!

Yes, It's True.

I've mentioned in posts in years gone by that I'm a little over the top when it comes to organizing and the phrase "a place for everything and everything in it's place" describes my methods perfectly.  So here it is.  My closet.  I was not exaggerating.  It is color coded, and sectioned into shades of each color, from long sleeves to short.  Jason's section is the back left one.  I try to organize his this way too, but he has no part of it, and usually has something misplaced the same day.  At least he humors me a little, and for the most part will keep the colors together.

The cubbies have been a life saver for boots and purses.  

I tried to bully talk J into letting me use the ones on his side, but it didn't work.  He has bullets and shoes on his side.  I could have thought of a better use for them.

More storage and a custom made cushion cover that my grandma made me for Christmas.  The pink is just me, and I love it.  Jason tolerates it.  I nailed up some little wire racks (on clearance from Target) on each side of the mirror to hang all of my jewelry, since I didn't want to invest in a jewelry chest.

So, now that you have seen it, don't judge.  We all have our quirks, right!?

Potato & Shrimp Soup

With the cold front that blew in this weekend, potato soup sounded like the perfect dinner.  So, I got to looking for a recipe and stumbled on Paula Deen's Potato & Shrimp Soup.  Let me tell you, it more than hit the spot, and warmed from the inside out.

All the goodies ready to go:

 Diced onion and butter, sauteing.  

Boiling soup, by this point the whole house smelled heavenly, and the tummy grumbling was uncontrollable (you can see Jason's hand in the side of the picture, he was lurking awfully close the last 5 minutes).

I cheated a little and bought already cooked shrimp, thawed them, and cut into pieces.

 Adding the shrimp, and almost done!

Disclaimer:  This is not a quick, tidy recipe, but the results are so worth it.  I am usually obsessively pretty clean, but not when it comes to cooking.  I am a messy cook.  But it doesn't sit long.  My OCD won't allow it.

 And then, Jason ruined his by adding oysters.  Nasty, slimy oysters.  My delicious soup was defiled.  I added bacon, cheese, and green onions to mine, which was just perfect.

 

My beautiful bowl of soup

Jason's "creation".

And while I was cooking, my darling made me a fire.  It was the perfect setting for a delicious dinner and a movie.  

And the recipe for those of you who want to taste:

Potato & Shrimp Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced about the same size as the onion
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 cups milk, whole, reduced fat (2 percent) or low fat (1 percent)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups salted water
• 1 pound medium shrimp
• Crumbled bacon bits, for garnish
• Grated sharp Cheddar, for garnish
• Dill sprigs, optional garnish

Directions

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion and carrots until both are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, milk, and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to dissolve into mush. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper.

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp all at once and stir well. Watch the shrimp closely; as soon as they all turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes, turn off the heat and drain. The shrimp should be slightly undercooked. When they are cool, peel them, and chop roughly into big chunks. Add the shrimp to the soup and stir well. Serve soup sprinkled with bacon bits and grated cheese. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Cook's Note: If you don't have access to shrimp, use corn.

Home Product Review

Just my opinions on some products we've bought and used recently, just in case someone stumbles across this and was thinking about trying one of them!

My favorite laundry detergent ever!  It not only leaves your clothes smelling delish, but your house smells amazingly while doing laundry.

 NOT a fan.  Iron out in powder form works great for removing rust like stains while cleaning but smells icky. Especially if you have well water at the East coast, orange like stains can be common and a pain to remove.  So I thought these would help stay on top of the problem for the toilets.  It smells like Iron Out every time you flush and if you've ever smelled it, you know this is not a good thing, AND it did nothing to help.  I'll stick with the good ole fashioned blue toilet tabs, they work better and make your water a pretty shade.

 Bissell Steam & Sweep, an excellent buy!  It sweep vacuums and steam cleans your floors all at the same time, all you have to do is add water and plug in, plus it comes with two reusable, washable microfiber pads so you don't have to buy new pads for each use.  Our hard floors are so clean!  Steam, in my opinion, is working better than water and soap in a bucket.

Not a fan of this one either, I like Affresh better for my HE cleaner, does a better job and has a better smell.

And, lastly, my favorite new home product/appliance!  My new Bissell Rewind Premier Pet Vacuum.  We did not want to invest the money into a Dyson, even though I've heard they are great, so we went with a middle of the road vac.  I'm so pleased with it, I never realized how much Kojak fuzz my old vac left behind, or how much fur was ground down in the carpet, hidden to the human eye.  After one go-round with the new one, the tank was full of..you guessed it, tons and tons of fur.  Enough to make two pomeranians!  Plus it has pet friendly attachments for furniture and hard to reach spots.  And it doesn't hurt that it's pink.

I'm dreaming of...

So pretty.  However, I don't have much faith that we will see any of it this year.  I'm sad, I've really been wanting snow this week.  Even though it's nice living at the beach, I'm more of a mountains person.  I bet they have snow up there right now.  Sigh.

Happy New Year!

So, I took a blogging break in December, and just enjoyed my favorite time of the year (even if half of it felt like spring time at the coast!). Christmas was wonderful, as always.  We were so happy to be able to go home for two weeks this year, and spend some much needed time with our family.  We miss them so much, and weekend trips just aren't enough time with them.  I also got to see some wonderful friends that I don't get to see enough either, including my long, long time friend, Mandi.  We are both military, and are hardly ever back home at the same time, but we finally timed it right, and had a wonderful time catching up, I can't believe we've been friends for 23 years!  Where does the time go?  Christmas Eve was mostly spent with Jason's dad, which was nice since we don't get to see him much, and then an early dinner with that side of the family, after which we made a bee-line to the cabin to eat (again!) with my side of the family and play "Dirty Santa" and open our traditional Christmas Eve PJ's.  My mom declared Christmas Day to be PJ's only day, which was so nice to just be comfortable and lounge all day, gifts were opened after stockings and our yummy Parker House coffee cake breakfast, and Christmas lunch was started and cooked as we felt like it, no set time for lunch, just a slow paced, relaxing day.  We also got to stay through New Year's Day this year, which we haven't done in years.  And we all made it to midnight after playing board games and watching Christmas movies to watch the ball drop together.  We all miss our loved ones that are no longer with us on earth, especially at Christmas time when you really feel the loss of their presence, but can you imagine the Christmas they had?!  Even though they aren't here any more physically, their love and our memories remain.  Grandaddy, Aunt Mel, Uncle Skip, Grandma Jordan, and sweet baby Landon, how we miss you here, but we can't wait to spend Christmas in Heaven with you.

2011 was a tough year, as have been the past several years.  But our family always pulls together and makes it through.  Life is not easy, it isn't promised to be, but how blessed we are to have a God that promises to always be there for us.  As 2012 is in full swing now (I'm still in denial that it's been almost 12 years since I graduated AND that I am almost 27 again for the 4th time which is a milestone and kinda tough for me to think about), I am praying that it will be a good year, a year of blessings, recovery, health and a year for big decisions.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but it is possible to be nervous and excited at the same time.  I have faith that God holds our lives in His hands and wants good things for us, and even though the past few years have been trying, I hold the hope that this year will be a wonderful one.

I don't typically do New Year's resolutions, but just things I want to improve on or change.  As the new year kinda signifies a new start, it always feels like a good jump start for things like that.  I want to read my Bible more and have a stronger prayer life, I want to do devotions with J, I want to make eating healthy and exercising a way of life and not just something I feel I need to do to lose weight or satisfy a doctor, I want to find an exercise I actually enjoy (fat chance, lol), I want to learn how to cook new dishes and rekindle my love for cooking, I want to paint our mudroom and kitchen, just to name a few.  I have other things I am hopeful for in the coming year, but they are things that aren't totally in my control, and for those things we are trusting and praying!

To wrap up, I thought I'd share some holiday photos!