Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Recipes

Ok so here is the deal. I LOVE cooking. I love creating new dishes but I really love trying things that other people love. So, I wanted to get some ideas from anyone on some great recipes! My husband and I eat everything so no holding back! haha.
I will cook them all and share my favorite at the end.
Also, here is my favorite recipe for some delicious, I would even say heavenly baked beans!

Greg's Sweet and Sour Beans

8 Bacon strips, diced
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (28 ounces) baked beans, undrained
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) lima beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. In the drippings, saute onions until tender. Add brown sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. In a slow cooker, combine beans and peas. Add onion mixture and bacon, mix well. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until well heated through. Yield: 15-20 servings.

Greg is my mom's boyfriend and let me tell you he is one hell of a cook! Don't let the name fool you. They are nothing like they sound. They are sweet and delicious and absolutely to die for!! They are great if you need a covered dish for a party or just for your backyard bbq!

I hope you enjoy!




And don't forget, I want YOUR recipes! :-)





Semper Fi<3

Sunday, March 28, 2010

A little stressed out

Online classes are NOT for those who find motivation to be a virtue they don't have. Normally I would get all of my work done during the week but with my family and friend visiting this past week I could not bring myself to find the time. SO I was stuck doing it all tonight. BUT I did do it! And let me tell you it feels great to get it done.

I have recently discovered intramural volleyball on base. It is absolutely FANTASTIC!! Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-1 I make my way over to MCAS New River to play volleyball with a bunch of old guy Marines haha. Mostly gunnys so it is kind of stange but I love it! It isn't like college Intramural volleyball where people who have no idea what they are doing play. Every one is good so the level of play is awesome. We have a tournament so I wanted to join a team. Turns out I am now coaching my own team of stragglers haha. Everyone who is not part of a unit that participates is on my team. It is stressing me out because no one has the same schedule so I can't get everyone together.

I was trying for this coming weekend but then I remembered that my mom and little sisters will be here this weekend so that is out of the question for me. I don't know how I am going to get everyone together before games start. Oh which is April 8th!!! AHHH!!!!

i'll figure it out somehow. I might have to skip the weekend with my mom....doubt it. haha.



I hope everyone is doing wonderful. Keeping you in my prayers.




Semper fi<3

Friday, March 26, 2010

Moments

I apologize for not posting in quite a while. I have had company over for the past week and my schedule has been hectic. My post today is about something that happened yesterday that just took my breath away.


I had just finished taking my dog to Onslow beach to have some fun. I say several helicopters flying around which immediately made me think of my husband who was on an HST later that night and would be standing under them. One of my favorite things about being on a marine base is how low the helicopters fly. It's like you can reach out and touch them. It's incredible to see. My walk on the beach was great. It was relaxing. Which I really needed.

On my way home I was doing my usual daydreaming while I drive, just taking in everything around me when I saw it. There was an eagle flying right beside me. I had to blink a couple times to make sure I was really seeing this. It was a breath taker. All the stress and worry about my husband leaving in a month just went away and I felt peace. It was like all it took was that eagle to remind me why I have to be strong. In that second I felt so incredibly proud to be married to one of our countries finest and bravest men. It made everything we go through as wives that much better. It was an "Oh right, that is why we do this. DUH!" moment.

I have chosen, and will always chose, to have one day a year with the man I love than every day with someone else. He is worth every goodbye and ever tear because when I see him again it's like they never happened.








Semper Fi<3

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

One year down.

One year ago today my husband, then fiance, left for boot camp on Parris Island. I couldn't even say goodbye to him because ironically I was here. All I could think about was how this was going to be. I had done a lot of research and talked to a lot of girls but I was no where prepared for what was up ahead. 3 months of hell is what a lot of girls like to call it. That is a pretty damn good description. I waited for his letters while writing him at least 1 letter a day. He was getting ripped down, thrown around, and built backup into the amazing man he is today.

June 19, 2009 was an extremely special day for us. It was my birthday and from what I hear the year you turn the age of your birthday is supposed to be your luckiest year. Well for me it was. I turned 19 and I watched my husband graduate from boot camp. It was the most amazing birthday present. All through boot camp I worried that I wouldn't get to see him because it is so easy for people to get dropped. But he constantly reassured me that he would never let me down and even if he got hurt he would push through to make sure he graduated on time. He is such an amazing man and sure enough I got my birthday present.

Everyone was telling me all through it that he would change and I would have to learn to deal with it. Well the only thing that changed was he was a little taller and loved me a hell of a lot more than either of us knew was possible. I am sure a lot of the girls who have gone through boot camp with their man knows what I am talking about. You appreciate them more, love them more, and know that nothing will ever tear you apart. It's like at that very moment when your bodies finally touch again after 3 months they form this unbreakable bond.

One year later, one wedding later, and we still feel the exact same way we did when he left for boot camp. Scared, anxious, excited and completely in love.

The man I hold hands with today isn't that recruit anymore. He is one of the finest marines I have ever come across (I'm not just being biased either). He has always been someone to respect and admire but now that he is well on his way to being a corporal in the marine corps there is more to admire.

Congratulations papa bear. I don't know how much longer we have in this crazy life but you know I will be right here every step of the way. I am so proud of you and honored to be your wife.





SEMPER FI<3

Friday, March 19, 2010

Thank you!!

I have received my first blogging award!! How awesome! Thank you Nicole, from Something Beautiful.
She has passed along the "You're going places baby" award to me. Along with receiving the award I have to tell where I see myself in 10 years so here it goes...

In 10 years I will be 30 and my husband will be 33. Hopefully we will have our 3 little ones by then. He wants a JR so we will have little Jonathan Christopher Jr, and then another boy Kale Leon, and our little girl who's name is still in the debate stages. Which is fine if our plan goes right and we get two boys and then a girl (HA). My husband says he is only going to do one term in the military but for some reason I feel as if he will reenlist. Either way is fine with me but I would love to have him home to myself and be past all of this worrying. I will be hopefully working, at what I still haven't fully decided. If Jon is out of the military we will be in South Carolina. That is all I really have planned for that far ahead.
I just know that my husband and hopefully future children will be there with me.

I am supposed to pass this on to 10 more people but I think I am going to start my own giving of awards since so many of your blogs deserve them. I will start this after this weekend though because my family is coming to visit!!!




Semper Fi<3

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Give your loved one a hug.

Many of you read Rachel's blog, A little pink in a world of Camo. We are all so heartbroken to hear about the death of her husband while serving our country. He gave his life for our freedom and I will forever be thankful for that. It's difficult to understand why this would happen to such a wonderful person. When I heard I couldn't help but think how I would have reacted if it were my husband. I know that I would be devastated and question many things. Then I started thinking well he would have been taken away from me while giving me the most amazing gift of all, my life. So Rachel, if you are reading this, think of it this way. Your husband died so you could live and so your beautiful baby girl could live. He will forever be an amazing marine, husband and father but now he gets to add guardian angel to that list. God has a plan, he always does. Put your faith in him and he will get you through this.

We all share your tears and heart ache. If there is anything I can do please let me know.





Semper Fi<3

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

So thankful.

I am extremely thankful for my husband.
Every day I get to see him is a blessing.
I love you so much.







Semper Fi<3

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Place title here

I don't know what to title this. It's probably just going to end up as a babble session.
I never made it to the gym yesterday. I made it to the parking lot and then I had to go meet up with someone to get paperwork for the intramural volleyball league. By the time I found him and got done chit chatting I had to head home and get ready to go to a going away party for one of Jon's platoon guys. This is where my night got iffy. I was actually pretty excited to meet the guys and girls Jon spends his days with but I was upset before we even left the house. Jon is considering doing forestry at NC State. It requires a 10 week summer camp thing. So great, another boot camp. Anyways, that made me a little upset but I got over it. It wasn't until we got to Logan's that I really just got pushed over the edge. The hubs had to have a beer before anyone was even sitting down. First mistake. Then he knew that I didn't want him to bring up the fact that this one kid there called me an oompa loompa when he was drunk because I am so short next to my husband, but hey he did that anyways. The kid thought it was hilarious once again and this time asked me how it was working in a chocolate factory. Seriously. Such an asshole. (Sorry for the language).
I wanted to get up and walk out right then and there but I knew that would ruin my husbands night. So I let it go. Then he kept on with the beers. He was obnoxious and loud and just kept trying to kiss me all night. Normally I would have just kissed him but I didn't want to be "that" couple. It's so awkward when a couple is kissing right there at the dinner table in front of you. I didn't want to put someone in that position. So because I wouldn't kiss him he got up and walked out side to drink and pout with the guys, leaving me in a room full of people I didn't know.
To top it all off I had to drive a drunk guy to the barracks and my husband was nice enough to monitor my driving the entire way there! (sarcasm). The drunk guys puked on the outside of my car btw.

Needless to say my night was awful and I am still really upset with my husband.






Semper Fi<3

Monday, March 15, 2010

I have a task to accomplish

Today I gave myself 2 tasks to accomplish; find a new swim suit and get to the gym. Of course the gym is the harder of the two but I can't under estimate the difficulty in finding that perfect swim suit. My family is coming this weekend to stay in Myrtle Beach for the week and therefore I need to go get a new swim suit. I need to get in the gym just cause I hate being out of shape.

I think I will go take a shower and head to Target. There is always time for the gym later right?


I'll let you know...




Semper Fi<3

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Just pointing out...


Just pointing out that the deserts come out tomorrow!!! If you are unaware of what deserts are they are the tan camis. When these stroll out of the closet I absolutely melt. The sleeves get rolled up and my god they just look FANTASTIC!! Usually I stay sleeping when my husband leaves for work at 5:30 am but tomorrow morning I will make sure to get a good look at him, and then go back to sleep.

As marine wives we get little compensation for our men being put in harms way all the time, but I definitely consider desert camis one of them.








Semper Fi<3

Friday, March 12, 2010

TGIF

I have a new appreciation for the phrase TGIF ever since my husband and I moved to North Carolina. The Marine Corps gets him Monday-Friday from 5 am until 5 am at the earliest but usually later. If he is on a night HST he doesn't get home until near midnight. The nights he is home I love but what I live for are the weekends. Granted, they can take him if they put him on duty for a saturday or they are getting punished but usually the weekends he is all mine<3
If you are married to a man in the military you understand that wasting precious time with them is impossible. On the weekends he can get away with anything just because I don't want to argue over anything. Fighting is the biggest waste of time. I usually can just fight it out in my head and be over it lol. It sounds strange but it works.
Anyways, the point of this post is to express my love for "TGIF." Thank god I have someone so amazing to live for. He is my everything and I am so thankful that I have this time with him.







Semper Fi<3

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Resolution

It's a little late for a resolution so maybe this is more of a promise to myself.
I have decided that I will go to the gym monday-friday for at least an hour a day. I really need to get back into shape. It is wonderful living in the south because there is more beach time. Which also means that I am constantly worried about what I look like. My goal is to lose 10 lbs by May and get overall muscle tone. I am determined to do this. I need my confidence back!









Semper Fi<3

Emotional

Lately I have been so incredibly emotional. I find myself tearing up over every little thing and sometimes crying so hard I can't breath. I got in a little argument with my mother the other day over my choice to get my cosmetology degree while I consider my options for finishing my bachelors degree and I found myself crying so hard I couldn't breath. On the other spectrum of it I was watching something on tv where a couple that was broken up got back together and I teared up. I don't even remember what I was watching that is how insignificant it was but I mean come on! I feel like such a baby. I have no idea why I am like this but hopefully it stops.

Anyways, the point of this post was to share these words with you. I found myself reading them while looking for something to be read at my friend's wedding and then my mother in law sent them to my husband so I really feel like God knew I needed to hear this. It made me feel calmer so hopefully it will help someone else as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.





Semper Fi<3

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Time is precious.

Every second without him near me is another second I wish he was.






Semper Fi<3

Monday, March 8, 2010

Blog make over!!

I need some suggestions. A lot of you ladies have the most adorable layouts!! Where did you get them? How can I get one? I don't want to pay too much for a design because I love changing things up a bit quite often so I would have to buy one every time. Are there free layout templates any where??

Any advice is welcome!!




Semper Fi<3

Life. Choices. Plans.

My husband and I have been married for 2 months. We started dating October 19, 2007. We had our ups and downs. Our break ups were pretty rough but we always got back together because we are opposite magnets. We can't run away from each other we're just simply meant to be together. No one has ever made me feel complete like he does. Any problems we have we fix together and grow from them. I honestly feel like I have one of the few great men in the world as a husband. The only flaw he has is biting his nails constantly. That is it. I swear. He loves me unconditionally, thinks I am the most beautiful person he has ever seen, and isn't afraid to tell me his feelings. When I was younger and I dreamt of the perfect guy he is who I dreamt about. He towers over me which is the sexiest thing in the world. I love every inch of those 6 feet and 3 inches. He looks at me and makes me melt. He puts me before everything else in the world and I do the same. My husband is my life.

Jonathan asked me to marry him before he left for boot camp. I believe it was partially for a piece of mind for both of us since we planned on having a long engagement, at first. We were and still are madly in love. We chose to get married sooner because we wanted to be together. We could do the distance, it wasn't that. Remember I said we were opposite magnets? Well you all know how hard it is to pull magnets away from one another... We just want to be near one another, that is all either of us wants. I know deployment and distance is inevitable which is why I wanted to soak up as much time with him as possible. I love being his wife. I love waking up and seeing my husband every morning. I love ever choice we have ever made but this was my favorite choice.

We have plans. Plans for our future plans for each other and plans for ourselves. It wasn't until today that I realized the biggest difference between being married versus dating/engaged. We are married. That means we are our own family. Having children is the stereotypical family image. Well, having a spouse is having family too. This means we are first and our families are second. We discuss choices and plans with one another and the ideas of our parents are not as important any more. Granted I still value their opinions but I listen to my husband more now because what I do affects him directly. I knew getting married at 19 would cause challenges in my education. I know I will eventually finish my bachelors but I feel like I am wasting my time in classes when I don't really know what I want to major in. SO, I plan on getting my cosmetology certificate which will take me about a year while I figure out what I truly want to major in. This way I have a back up AND will be qualified to do two things after I finish my bachelors. I think this is a great plan. My husband thinks it is a great plan. I think it is something I will be good at and enjoy doing. My mom hates the idea and doesn't think I will ever finish my bachelors. I realized that would matter but I am married now and my husband trumps my mother. Strange, but I like it. Anyways, this is a long explanation for the fact that I love making plans with my husband for our future. Wether it is about children, education or EAS vs reenlistment. We lean on one another and do what is best for OUR life. My plans and his plans flow into OUR plan.



Semper Fi<3

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Check this out please!














This is a link from http://alittlepinkinaworldofcamo.blogspot.com/

Just wanted to spread the word!!





Semper Fi<3

So interesting night...

Well as you know we went on a double date last night. We barely got off base and my husband cracked my windshield!! It was an accident. He thought throwing the GPS at the dashboard would make it work. HAHA. Oh well, it was at least in a pretty star shape. Other than that we got Chinese food (YUMMM) and saw Alice in Wonderland. It was ok, obviously predictable and not all that exciting but it was beautiful. The colors were amazing and Jonny Depp, well need I say more <3

Over all it was a great night! I think we're going to see Shutter Island tonight? eh.

Plus the new neighbors are moving in today! I hope they like dogs because my dog LOVES their property haha.



Semper Fi<3

Friday, March 5, 2010

Date night!!

I am so excited because tonight is date night! Or actually it's double date night! haha. My husband and I are going to Carraba's for dinner and to see Alice in Wonderland! If there is one thing I love more than going on a date with my husband it's going on double dates. I don't really know why I love it so much I just do! I think I like being able to just interact as a couple. I really enjoy it. Mr and Mrs Follie will be going out with us tonight. I am so excited!! haha. I will let everyone know how the movie is!






Semper Fi<3

First dose of realty.

Although being married and living with my husband is reality itself, Jon is leaving for the first time next month. It's not a deployment or anything. He is just going to Yuma for a month to train people or something like that. I know I can do the distance, I'm a tough cookie! It's just our first time apart since being married. Hello Marine Corps haha. Oh well, here we go!



Semper Fi<3

Thursday, March 4, 2010

New picture from the new computer!




I am addicted to the photo booth! haha. Anyways, here is post number 1 for today. I have another for later!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

New Computer!!!

I broke down and bought the apple. I didn't really want to spend $1,000 on it but it is definitely worth it. I absolutely love it!
This is my first post on it. Sorry it's nothing special haha.




Semper Fi<3

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I need your help

I need to buy a new computer. My laptop is falling apart and since my husband has a laptop I think I want to buy a desktop. Can anyone give me advice on which one I should buy? I was thinking an iMac but gosh they are so darn expensive! I mean they are worth the money since they NEVER break down but still.

My husband wants to play this driving game on it so it needs to be pretty fast I suppose. I only need to use the internet so I am sure I will be good with anything haha.

Thanks for the help!



Semper Fi<3