The Army makes a Liar of me AGAIN!

And that is the truth! Whatever I tell any of you concerning our life and the Army- you should never, never beleive it. And someday I will learn to just say, "I don't know anything" becuase whatever I say will not be the truth 3 months from now.

So our year long Florida vacation is not going to go down. It appears that the Army just can't afford to send Keith to another year long school because of the big build-up that is going to occur in Iraq- THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT - November 2008 can't come soon enough. And Keith is needed 'right now' as a commander.

So, where are you going you ask?

Back to Keith's roots....

Where is that you ask?

Well he is a Texas boy- so we will be stationed at Fort Hood, Texas (near Killeen and Austin). We will be there for at least 3 years so I better get used to the idea of Texas and there better be a cruise ship leaving out of there somewhere because I really ,really need to take one. That was the one thing I was really looking forward too in Florida. I am very disappointed but used to it at this point.

So if you know anything good Fort Hood- give me a holla'

On The Road Again

Well, we have only lived here since November, and really I am looking for escape! As for the reason why, its more than I want to get into here, but I am leaving for North Carolina tomorrow to hang out for the next 10 days with a friend. I am packing up the homeschool goods, the wok, some pans (I don't like my friend's pans), and some other things to keep me busy while I am there. I can't wait to leave. Oh ya, and Keith is leaving tomorrow also because he has to go to Maryland for a month for some additional training.

I have this goal to eat the same meals for a week while I am in NC. A banana with natural peanut butter for breakfast, pesto pasta salad for lunch with arugula and goat cheese, and stir fry for dinner. I don't know why I want to do that- I just do.

Creativity coming out our ears!

So, all this I have been having making cupcakes, Bridger wanted to get in on it. So I gave him like a 15 minutes lesson in crocheting and he picked it right up. And now he is a crocheting machine much to Keith's dismay. He used up all my yarn so we went to Micheal's to pick up some more. Right now he is making a blanket for Pepsi because as you saw before, Pepsi can appreciate a blanket.

Here is Bridger at work.



But that is just the beginning. Some friends of ours son had a school project to do and as many of you know, life gets in the way and it is due tommorrow! So we worked all day on this diorama of the Sioux Indians. I wanted to help with it because I knew Bridger and Jadyn would get a lot out of it and we just studied the Sioux Indians about 4 months ago. So from about 2pm until 8pm we worked on this. Check out the results. I think it looks fantastic and really, the kids did most of the work. I just directed where to put what.

The glue is still wet so that is the reason for some white spots.



And here is the picture of the hard workers.



So I am completely beat-- this was the LONGEST homeschool day ever but very satisfying in the end.

Fat Free Cupcakes

I have been letting some creative juices flow and made (crocheted) these cupcake purses. They are so darn cute. Check them out!



They have drawstrings at the top so you can open and close them.



Now I just need to go the the store so I can buy some different frosting colors. I tried a plain pink color and I think the multi-color yarn is a little cuter. I want to try a varigated white yarn. These would make the cutest treat bags at birthday parties or just really cute to put a present in for a little girl. I might try and get craftier and line them with fabric.

Mom- I am thinking of stuffing them with beaded socks and sending them to you for your Special Olympics Silent Auction-- I just need to find a really cute 'cake box' to package them in.

Here is a picture of my favorite cat. Well this was before she brought home 2 birds this week but dang, she is so cute. Looks like she fell asleep while watching Animal Planet.



She misses her old neighbors who used to always give her treats. She always ran across the street when they came outside to get them. Now she is hanging out at the 'across the street neighbors' here and doesn't understand why they won't open their window and let her in for some kitty chow. At least they like her (and us)enough to put up with it!

Growing up

So, two girls come to the door and ask if Jadyn can play, but they are like a foot and a half taller than she is. I call Jadyn to the door and she goes out on the porch to talk to them for a minute and then comes back in and asks to go to the park with them. Ummmm no...they are way too old for you Jadyn!

But mom, they are only 10. I am 8. That is only 2 years older.

WHAT?!?

Poor Jadyn, Poor Mom!!!!!

New Hair

Jadyn and I have new hair- yes we do! Jadyn got her long hair trimmed up and now it looks nice and sleek and not long and stringy. I also got mine trimmed up and it is a chocolate brown. I have always like that color on me but Keith prefers blonde (WHY?) so I have stuck with that. Problem is- it gets boring after a while and that is a bad problem to have. Maybe some pics later!

Finished all my tamales this evening- not eating them but making them. The last batch is in the freezer and I definitely had a learning curve. It was mainly just not following the recipe as closely as I should have and I made some dumb mistakes. But no one has complained about them, just raves so far. I am going to get myself invited to a lot of parties now that I know how to make tamales!

Speaking of parties, I am trying to talk Keith into having another one this weekend. Except this time everyone can bring a dish so I am not in the kitchen for hours on end and our grocery budget is not through the roof. I was thinking Brisket, hummm...we will have to see.

So much fun!

We had a GREAT weekend! We pretty much invited all of Bridger and Jadyn's friends parents over for the past two nights and and I cooked massive meals and bought plenty of plastic plates and cups and we had a wonderful time. It was good food and hilarious conversation and now we are lounging around today trying to catch up on sleep and energy.

Didn't make it to Old Town Petersburg or Richmond this weekend- but that is OK. Definitely making more plans like this soon.

Weekend Adventure

Keith has a four day weekend so we decided to make it as exciting as possible and keep busy. Today we went back to Jamestown again, but this time to the actual excavation site which is about a mile away from where we were last time. We had a good time.

Here is a picture of Keith and the kids standing at one of the only buildings to make it several hundred years on this site.



This picture is of Bridger standing right above the foundation of the actual little church- they have preserved it under glass- this church sits right on the James river and right outside they happened to be digging up graves today. They wanted to search the soil above the graves and redo the nameplates. Sounds like a cool job actually.



Picture of Captain John Smith looking out on the James River. We have learned so much about this man in the last couple of months that I feel like I really know him. That same little church is in the background.



Here is a pic of Jadyn sitting in front of some Memorial that I didn't get to read about, but it still looks good.



We happened to swing by Williamsburg on the way home- what a fantastic town that was. It was really breathtaking and anyone who lives there or goes to William and Mary College should consider themselves lucky. We have plans to go back and really explore that place.

Tomorrow we are going to Old Town Peterburg which is really right up the street from us. We discovered it accidently when I needed to get a microdermabrasion and ended up in this little piece of paradise surrounded by quaint shops and resturants. All the buildings date back to pre-civil war era and they are trying really hard to revitalize it. There were a ton of antique and consignment shops that I am dying to check out so that is tomorrow's agenda.

Sunday, I am hoping to go to church and Jadyn has a birthday party to attend, so that day is kinda of a bust. But I think we will have some friends over for dinner- they are requesting Steak Pinwheels!! And then on Monday we are going to go into Richmond and visit Hollywood Cemetery so we can see some famous graves- one is President John Tyler's whom the kids are just sure we are related too. And who doesn't love a good cemetery!?

My cornhusks came today! And I don't think I will have the time to swing the tamales this weekend--- a BIG maybe for Sunday, but I will keep you posted.

More Randoms thoughts and pics

1. Football is over in this house- The Cowboys lost their last game and it was terrible! There was a lot of yelling, screaming and swearing. People even came over to watch Keith watch the game for the entertainment value. But at least it is over until next year.

2. One of the people who came over is Auri. He is a foreign national from Lithuania who is in the same school as Keith. Keith is responsible to help in school and to socialize him. There are supposed to be two different people who do this for each foriegn national, but Auri really likes Keith and wanted him to do both. So Keith brings him to the house often, and especially for football games. He has taught Auri the rules for American Football and has trained him to say, "how about them Cowboys!"

He take him to resturants often and his favorite so far is Mexican food. He has asked me to find him a cookbook that he can take home. I also feed him often to give him a flavor of all sorts of food. He has really enjoyed everything thus far.
Here is Auri trying really hard not to let me take a picture of him.



3. So talking about Mexican food- I have had to put my tamale making on hold. The cornhusks were not coming through so I had to order them online and they will be here sometime next week. So the meat and broth are in the freezer waiting for these dang things to show up. Such a bummer because I need to make them and make them soon!

4. Well I am really liking my kitchen more and more. Not really for "the looks" of it but for the size of it. It is much bigger than my last kitchen so moving around in it is much nicer and I have been cooking way more. I tried this awesome recipe and even took pictures because it is so pretty! The family is begging me to make it again and soon- so here it is!

Here it is before I cooked them in a broiler



Here it is right out of the broiler



This is a 1.5lbs flank steak that has been pounded thin to approximately 12 x 8 and then layered with 8 pieces of cooked bacon, spinach and parmesan cheese. Then it is rolled up and secured with toothpicks one inch apart and cut into one inch pieces. Oh my, it is soooo good!!

5. I got roses in the mail a couple days ago from a friend! Lucky me!!

Random Thoughts

1. Boiling a whole chicken is really disgusting. I hate the smell. Next time just buy 5 pounds worth of chicken breasts so I don't have to deal with the bones, skin and fat. Who cares if the broth is not that good.

2. Boiling a pork roast is equally gross. Next time I will purchase a brisket instead. Who says tamales have to be made with pork!?

3. WHy am I the biggest crybaby? I KNOW Charlotte is going to die. I have read the book- seen the cartoon and the movie still got to me.

4. I am trying to attract the perfect dinnerware to me. I have a picture in my mind of the exact plates and cups- I have yet to find them, but I know they are coming.

5. Dasani bottled water is the best.

Hot Tamales!

I am on a mission and I can't stop thinking about it until I get it accomplished. I want to make tamales---yes, tamales!! We are a Mexican food loving family, but you don't get tamales at many resturants- or the ONE resturant here in this town at least. So, I have done my internet research and found a site that even has pictures of all the equipment and food you need.

So today, I bought an 8 pound pork roast, a 5 pound chicken, 4 pounds corn flower, corn oil, a stock pot with a steamer thingy and after all that- I could only find ONE BAG of corn husks in this town. With all the meat- I could probably make 100 tamales to freeze for later-- but the corn husk thing is slowing me down. And there are no Mexican food grocers in town either- I looked! Blah!!! I might have to wait until Walmart gets some more or maybe see if I can buy some off the internet.

All I know for sure is- we will be eating tamales very soon- YUMMY

Well all this talking of eating....and NOT LOSING!!! I am holding VERY STEADY at the current weight-- looks like the 2 miles a day deal is not really cutting it yet--I am going to kick it up a notch-- I don't have a choice if I want to keep you people around!!

The kids and I start back to school tomorrow- I thought I would start out a little bit easy so I got some paint-by-number kits they are going to work on tomorrow and we are going to do a science project also. Doing this kind of stuff makes them really, really like homeschool.

I also signed them up for a drawing class- if they enjoy it I will let them it take more since you pay for it by the class.

Been scrapbooking like crazy lately- can't seem to get enough of it. I was thinking I would take some pictures of my layouts and post them here. Kinda funny taking pictures of your pictures- don'tcha think?