A Big Day For Birthdays!

Today is a big birthday day!
Happy birthday to my beautiful sister Chris, Dan's brother Clark, and my good friend Felicia!!!
Hope all of you have a fantastic day!!!
Love you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

House Progress

Since Dan was gone "over there" the past 10 days, I didn’t want to go view the exciting changes on the house without him.
After getting in (safe & sound! Woo hoo!) @ about 2 am last night and a few hours of sleep, Dan decided we should make the trek up to Columbia to check the goings-on.

Besides, in the words of Dan, who needs to rest up and get back to Eastern Time when the new house is changing daily?
A lot of things had indeed changed since we last saw it.
The wood floors are in and have their first layer of stain....and a thick layer of dust.
The fixtures are almost complete; we're just missing the chandelier.
The shutters are up and the doors on the decks are painted.
Dan was ecstatic to see the driveway & sidewalks were completed. (He says, "I get ecstatic?" And I say he was as ecstatic as one can get over concrete...seriously, I heard a "woo-hoo!")
There's a SOLD sign!
My awesome appliances have arrived.
And the tiling work in the bathrooms & laundry is finished.
I've taken some pictures, so make sure to take a look...Just keep in mind that lovely layer of dust I mentioned. It's deceiving on some of them. Next time I'll bring a broom. The Monica Geller in me was dying to clean. :-)

In the spirit of sharing recipes....

Since my favorite sister in the world started this whole recipe sharing idea, I've decided to divulge one that is truly popular and very easy!
I probably make this once every 3-4 weeks. It’s a hit and it makes A LOT!!! Leftover city! I usually either freeze the leftovers into individual portions for a quick and great reheat, or half the recipe for the 2 of us (still lots of leftovers when I half it).
I’ve made it for work functions, when necessary, and everyone raves about it.
It’s really low calorie, per serving, too.
I also usually add a side salad for an addition.
Also, you can make it with beef, if you prefer, but I’ve always done it with turkey.

Turkey Macaroni Soup
1 lb (97/3%) ground turkey
1 medium onion finely chopped (I turn the onion into almost liquid in the food processor b/c we’re not onion fans…if you are, leave them more substantial)
2 small cans (15 oz each) Veg-All
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 to 2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni (or regular elbow macaroni if you’re not a whole wheat fan, of course that will change the calorie content)
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
Colby cheese (optional for serving)
Saltines (optional for serving)

First, place 2 beef bouillon cubes into 2 of the 4 cups of water. Put in microwave for 60 seconds. Stir, dissolve and set aside.
Brown onion and ground turkey in large soup pot.
Add in Veg-All, crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper, Worcestershire sauce, beef bouillon mixture and bring to boil.
Add the remaining 2 cups of water and the elbow macaroni. If you want it soupier put in 1 cup of the macaroni; for thicker stew add in 2 cups of the macaroni.
Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until noodles are soft.
Salt and pepper to taste. Add a few slices of Colby cheese and crackers if desired at serving.
Enjoy!!

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! Off to a New Home We Go!

After 6 months of living semi-unpacked and using the upstairs bonus room as my "closet" and tons of other storage (arranged like Sam's Club aisles) Dan and I decided to break down and shop for a new home. Even though it didn't bother me to make the trek upstairs for clothing everyday, it bothered Dan...so off we went shopping.

The pro's and con's of moving were heavily examined because there are many pro's to staying in the rental house. It allows Dan to have a short 5 minute drive to work; it lets him come home for lunch with me everyday; it keeps us close to the base amenities; and if something pops up at the last minute, I can drive over to attend or help out by picking up special deliveries.

But the pro's for moving to Columbia far outweighed the con's. Even though it will be a longer drive, similar to the drive Dan made every day in Little Rock, the houses up there are great. It's a big city with lots to do, lots of opportunity and who can argue with having a Best Buy near you??? ;-)

The little private, members only, community we chose nestled in Columbia, SC is really neat. The houses sit on or around the private lake, there's lots of green space, 2 huge pools, 2 parks, lots of playgrounds, a few pavilions (each with 15 foot high brick grills/fireplaces with adirondack chairs and picnic tables), a dog park is a month away from completion, miles of neat sidewalks and trails, and a small "town square" with an ice cream shop, barber, veterinarian, coffee shop, etc. Every Thursday they have a farmer's market in the little square and every Friday they have "movie in the park" night. You can choose to cozy up on a blanket or bring your own chairs onto the grass. Or if you prefer, go climb into the pool a couple hundred yards away because they blow up a pool movie screen there too. Way cool!

With this move, we also decided to dive head first into the South Carolina lifestyle and we fell in love with the "Charleston Style" houses.
After a few options, we decided on a house currently under construction.

It's gorgeous and will easily fit both of our combined belongings, and then some.

We chose this house at the exact right time and with the help of Mom, I was able to pick the stain for all hardwood floors, tile, etc. It already had the cabinetry, granite countertops and paint, so the task was complimenting all of those with the remainder.

Ginger will definitely love the backyard and the green space it backs up to, I'll get to enjoy planting everywhere and hanging plants on all the decks, Dan looks forward to living in an actual city, the kitties will love observing all the wildlife out all the huge windows, porches, decks and 9 foot doors, and it'll be a toss up of what Dan and I will enjoy together the most...the lake we can go boating on again or the exploring we'll get to do biking and walking around all the trails and parks.

The end of construction and closing (and moving...again!) is scheduled for the 2nd or 3rd week of July (probably July 5th-15th) so we're in the home stretch...pun intended!

We've taken some initial pictures but of course it's a work in progress.
More to come!!

The New Toy!

I’ve been dying for a new super camera and since the one we

wanted wasn’t available a month and a half ago, I got a belated birthday present last week….Dan got me the latest and greatest Canon!
It’s sooo cool! He ended up getting a whole slew of goodies…tripods, 2 HD lenses, backpack, memory cards, mega batteries, external flash, UV lenses, even a professional case that resembles the president’s “football”. I swear it looks like I should be carrying the Hope diamond in this thing!

Here are the first initial pictures. I’ve been messing with

it non-stop and the animals are definitely tired of posing and modeling. :-)

Happy Armed Forces Day!!!!

To all of you who keep us safe and protected,

Thank You!

Happy Armed Forces

Day !!!

May 16th, 2009

Home again, Home again, Jiggity, Jig

My good friend Felicia got married this past weekend and I think she secretly planned it to work out perfectly with Mother’s Day!
Dan had a meeting with the General so we got a later than anticipated start on Friday but during his meeting I took over the packing duties and got everything all picked out and packed up into the Tahoe for both of us and Ginger.
We set out for home, and the exciting 13 hour drive (sense the sarcasm :-)), arriving about 1:30 am, Little Rock time. Whew!! That’s a long drive!
The weekend was fantastic! We really enjoyed all the time with Mom plus I got to see all the girls again at the beautiful wedding. Ginger even decided to take advantage of “Not the mama, but the mama” (aka Grandma) time by snuggling in with her instead of us at night. She’s a sucker for Grandma.
Mom’s day weekend was so great! I didn’t realize how homesick I was until we crossed the boarder and I started seeing all the landmarks again.

We were able to stay through Sunday and headed back early Monday morning. On the drive back Dan opted to take the northern route instead of through MS, AL, GA because of the storms. We got to drive through Smoky National Park. So beautiful! I only wish the roads weren’t 100 times more crooked than the Pig Trail. I started getting nauseous with all the twists and turns. The green mountains were absolutely incredible though. Definitely worth the dizzy turns.
Happy Mom’s Day!

The Easter Bunny Delivers!

What does an adult get for Easter nowadays? I’ll admit that I still purchase that classic egg dye and honestly enjoy experimenting and making every egg a different color. We both despise Peeps, thank goodness, so there isn't a presence of weird, hardened, multicolor, marshmallow-like goo in the house. I’ll even buy Dan the occasional chocolate bunny or Cadbury crème egg (ick!) but I’m guessing Mom and Dad received best Easter Bunny delivery ever! They were able to score Masters tournament tickets!
The timing and location worked out perfectly. They flew in via Atlanta and Dan and I drove in to meet them in Augusta.

Mom and Dad attended the festivities all day Saturday starting right as the gates opened. They were able to walk the course and enjoy the all the scenery before any celeb teed off. I’m sure it was awesome seeing first hand all the famous stone bridges, sand traps, water hazards, etc that they see on TV every year.
Right around tee time, they put their chairs down at “Amen Corner” and proceeded to scout the best place for a secondary view. Unfortunately you can’t bring phones or cameras onto the course, but we got to hear how Tiger, Phil, and most all the pro’s were within arms length of them. Too exciting! It’s definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity because the only way to get tickets is to know someone. There is no waiting list and you have to know someone, who knows someone, who has had “season” tickets since 1970-ish.

While Mom and Dad enjoyed their mecca, Dan and I drove in and enjoyed the city. The whole town was buzzing and decorated in celebration for the once a year event that puts the small town on the map. We met up Saturday evening, heard all about the day, grabbed some BBQ, relaxed, visited and got ready for our big Easter day.

I was able to do some pretty good gumshoe work for this trip. I located an amazing cathedral right down the road from an old plantation mansion known for its upscale accommodations and quaint Georgia charm. The Plantation Inn was so beautiful and a perfect place for Easter brunch! We attended Mass in a gorgeous setting and then enjoyed a yummy buffet.
Dad even got introduced to shrimp n'grits (yum!) and of course the Plantation Inn had Georgia pecan bourbon pie and Georgia peach cobbler. Whew!

The 2 days were really great! The kids enjoyed the new scenery and the parents had a blast. Most of all we got to enjoy the family visit. The only thing missing from the tradition was Chris, Trent, and the boys dressed in their super cute outfits. Thank goodness she gets pictures every year for us to ooh and awe over! How cute are they?!?!
Happy Easter!