Thursday, March 24, 2011

Husband's First Flight in B-52

I've mentioned before that we are in the Air Force. More specifically my Husband is training to be a Navigator on the B-52. Also known as the Big Ugly Fat Fellow. When he was assigned this plane I thought I had no idea what it was but in fact I'd seen it a lot. Ever watch any Vietnam films or documentaries? Well the Buff is the one always dropping an obscene amount of bombs. Like in this video

Ok, so now that you've seen what it can do you can probably understand why their training is one of the longest.  But back to the videos. I apologize for the weird angle in the first one. This is the front view of their take off.

This is a better video at the other end of the runway taken by the pilot's wife.
Isnt their son adorable at the end?!

And thank you to all the family and friends who have supported us on this journey. Its been crazy and as you can see will only get more so.

Monday, March 21, 2011

"Sentence First- Verdict Afterwards"

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." - Lewis Carroll

When I read this quote it gave me a little shiver. It so perfectly represents those times in our lives when we are faced with decisions and uncertainties that seem insurmountable. I cannot count the times I've felt lost like that in life, especially since we joined the Air Force. But the beauty of it is, decisions or no life goes on! Without our permission. I was talking with a bunch of Air Force ladies one day about how our lives are one big question mark. I said my solution is to have plans A through F knowing full well we will have to make up plan G on the fly because none of the others worked out. Its just my way of pretending to have control over the situation. The funny thing is, Plan G always turns out better than any of the others could have been. And its because it wasn't really mine.
My Brother is currently a senior in High School and contemplating where to go next year. I remember how overwhelming this felt and wanted to share a little thought with him. No choice is the wrong choice. Not really. I mean sure we make mistakes, that's a given, but when you make a choice with the right intentions you cant go wrong. How? Because what may feel like the wrong choice now, can end up being one of the best looking back on it. So what's my point. Keep trying. Stay positive. Life is going to happen to you no matter if you hide in a closet so why not make the best of it and try to enjoy the uncertainty?
By the way, I'll let you know when I finally take my own advice.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Mojo Slow Cooked Pork

 Some of our Floridian friends recently introduced us to Mojo sauce. Usually its used as a marinade or dipping sauce, but I love slow cooked roasts and thought I would play around and see what kind of magic my crock pot could create with this. The result was fall off the bone tender and very juicy. I served this with cuban black beans and rice



  1.  1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as canola
  2. 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
  3. 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  4. 1 1/2 cups orange juice
  5. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  6. 4 cups chicken broth
  7. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  8. 2 teaspoons cumin
  9. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  10. 3 lb bone in pork roast
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and cook the onions and garlic while stirring constantly until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes or so.
  • Add the next 2 ingredients and bring to a boil.
  • Cook until reduced by half. (I check the beginning depth using my stirring spoon and use that to gauge the progress of the reduction.)
  • Stir in the cilantro and cumin then season with salt and pepper.
  • Pour in chicken broth and simmer for 2 minutes
  • Pour liquid into crock pot and wipe out skillet
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet
  • Pat roast dry and cook a few minutes on each side until browned.
  • Place in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours
  • When roast is done, remove to cutting board 
  • Pour crock pot liquid in saucepan and simmer, skimming the fat off the top. Use this to pour over pork and serve.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Modge Podge!

So I've really been wanting to start an herb garden in my kitchen and have been looking for some cute little planters. After a few months of looking I decided I would have to buy some ugly ones and MAKE them cute.  I bought a few of these plain planters that were on sale

Then got out my modge podge and painted little swirly designs on them. Once they had dried I spray painted them red. Much better if I do say so myself! When I was bringing the big one inside, there was a grotesquely hairy bug on it! So naturally I dropped it. Before I started over I thought I'd try to glue it back together and I think it gives it a little extra character.

Now to plant some basil, cilantro and garlic. I'll let you know how that goes....

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

"Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes"

One of the many joys of the military spouse is the extended time off between jobs whenever you move. (My current euphemism for being unemployed.) I'm sure this sounds delicious to all you 9-5ers, but after awhile you've got to find ways to feel productive! Again, I have stumbleupon to thank for my next project: an Acorn Wreath! (Courtesy of Dana-Made-It.com. Click on the link for detailed instructions)

I received a book on Feng Shui for Christmas that I found very entertaining. Some of the suggestions are a bit hocus pocus for me: Covering all drains so chi can't escape down them, mobiles to stir up stagnant chi... My favorite is the remedy for a household that has trouble holding onto money, place a rock on the inside of your backdoor to keep chi from escaping. Maybe this makes it harder to sneak out the back to buy those shoes you've been eyeing. In which case why stop there? Barricade yourself in! Rocks everywhere! But lets not get overexcited.

One of the concepts I do agree with is that an attractive entrance to your home is welcoming to guests and therefore good chi. So what better way to make your front door attractive than a nice looking wreath? Thus Zoe and I set about collecting the required acorns for this venture, surprisingly easy for February. The only suggestion I have for collecting the acorns, should you find yourself attempting this, would be to bring some kids with you. It will make you look far less...bag lady-esque. At one point a concerned citizen approached me to make sure I knew that acorns are not for 'people eating'. After assuring him I did, we hurried on our way so as not to disturb anyone else. The next step was to bake the acorns so that anything living in them didn't end up infesting our wreath! After assuring yet another concerned citizen, my husband, that we were not having acorn for dinner it was time to start gluing. Another suggestion, buy lots of glue sticks! I ran out with this much space left to go.

And then, of course, bought the wrong size glue sticks...

One other problem I ran into, was that the hot glue really didn't hold the acorns to the wreath well. We have some pretty intense winds here so that just wasn't gonna work for me! So I got out my trusty Modge Podge and used that to secure the acorns. Naturally, I went to the book of Feng Shui for color suggestions. I found that red is said to be a lucky color that is believed to bring happiness, good fortune and fame. So we will see if it works. But really, I just like red.

All in all I am pretty pleased with the final result.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Spring is Here!

It was such a beautiful day today I decided to take the camera around base and capture it. Here are a few.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Bienvenue a Mardis Gras!

Mardis Gras! Or Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting for Lent. Also celebrated with masks, beads and yes, the occasional flashing. I had never really celebrated before but we moved to Louisiana four months ago and it seemed down right sacrilegious not to this year. So we packed up Zoe in her traveling bag and headed down to the parade to get a dose of the local culture. And let me tell you, every stereotype you can imagine was out en force. Grown men in camouflaged ones-ies, one even told me he had eaten a squirrel the size of Zoe once.... People with bad teeth, three teeth, NO teeth. Women wearing clothing that must have once belonged to a toddler. And what should have made us feel safer, policemen in riot gear. Witnessing all this, it stretches ones imagination to fathom the festivities in "N'awlins". All these prejudices aside, once the parade began and the beads started flying I found myself, as well as the group of rational and sane adults we were with, to be overcome by the hedonism and crazed by the need for MORE BEADS!!

After the parade we marched back to a friend's house to wait out the traffic and found ourselves counting our beads much like the way we counted our Halloween candy as children. I am proud to say that Z and I collected a grand total of 110 strands of beads!


However, we did not anticipate the way a dog would view the Mardi Gras shenanigans. What with people screaming, and throwing things at you, trucks honking, sirens blaring. Though she never used to, Z is now thrown into a tizzy by any blaring noise. I fear she may be suffering from doggie ptsd, but I am sure will be fully recovered in a few days.

Naturally on Fat Tuesday, I wanted to make something festive for dinner. I didn't think far enough ahead for gumbo so I settled for a quick Jambalaya and some fried fish. I think tonight was one of my better efforts so I will share it with you.

Ingredients
Zatarain's low sodium jambalaya mix
1/2 c. rice
1 green bell pepper chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 small white onion chopped
1 large breast of chicken chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
12 oz sausage (I used kielbasa) cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 c. Salsa (Pace)
3 1/2 c water
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Emeril Lagasse's Cajun Essence
1/2 c. frozen okra
2 T. olive oil

- Heat 1 tbs oil in dutch oven over medium high heat and add sausage. Sprinkle one tsp. Cajun Essence and stir to coat. Once sausage has browned remove to a bowl.
- Add chicken to remaining fat in dutch oven and season with remaining Cajun Essence. Cook 5 minutes, stirring so all sides are cooked. Remove to sausage bowl
- Pour 1 T. olive oil in dutch oven and add garlic. Cook 30 seconds and add pepper and onion. Saute until onion is softened.
- Meanwhile combine water and salsa in a measuring bowl. Add to onion mixture and bring to a boil.   - Stir in jambalaya mix, rice and meat and return to boil. Sprinkle cayenne over liquid then cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes.
- Add okra with ten minutes left to go on cooking time.
- Fluff and serve immediately

Friday, March 4, 2011

Southwestern Chili

Since it is starting to get too warm for Chili, I decided to make it one last time and actually write down the recipe this time! I like cooking this in the crock pot because it really melds the flavors. Also, this is pretty spicy so if you aren't a fan of spicy, start with one tsp cayenne and one dried chili. For those of you who think its not spicy enough unless your nose is running and you are sweating, go ahead and try 1T of cayenne.

Ingredients
1 1/4 lb beef for stew
1 onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 T chili powder
1/2 T paprika
1 T cumin
1/2 T cayenne
1 can beef broth
1 can seasoned diced tomato sauce for chili
1 can diced tomato zesty jalapeno drained
2 dried red chilies
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 T corn meal
- In lightly greased crock pot combine beef, onion, pepper and garlic. Add the next four spices and mix well with beef mixture.
- Pour in broth and two cans of tomatoes and stir. Place chilies on top of liquid and cover.
- Heat medium low for 4 hours
- Half an hour before the chili is done add the beans, corn and corn meal.
- Garnish with cheese and cilantro
- Serve with tortilla chips
ENJOY!