Cruisin'

My friend A called me a few weeks ago and told me of a deal that Argosy cruise lines was running; half price tickets for members of the military.  She wanted to know if we wanted to join her for a lunch cruise?  Our response?  YES!

We took the ferry over to Seattle.  I love taking the ferry.  It's relaxing and I never get tired of the view.  We didn't have much of one today due to the fog.  We did see some sea lions relaxing on some buoys, which is a common sight.  I REALLY want to see some orca before I leave the Pac Northwest so I always keep an eye out for them.  It's rare that they'll come that far in but it does happen. A girl can hope!

We got there a little early so poked around some of the shops on the waterfront.  They have cute stuff, even if most of it is aimed at tourists!  I picked up a few postcards for the postcard swap & for postcrossing and a few other things as well.  As we made our way to Pier 56 it started raining (drizzling) harder.  It was ok since we were going to be inside!

My friend A

We were shown to a window view table in the dining room.  It ended up being pretty empty which was nice.  We were given the menu and able to chose from some delicious options.  After much debate we decided what we wanted.  For the next two hours we enjoyed delicious food and good conversation.  I don't think that there is a better definition of great afternoon.  The only thing that would have made it better was a clear day so we could enjoy Mt. Rainier  & the Olympic Mountains.

Because I LOVE to take pictures of food you'll get to see what we enjoyed while cruising around Elliot Harbor.

Our pre-meal drinks.  Mine was the one in the back, a peach cobbler.  Super yummy and I could have drank it all afternoon.  Our drinks were followed by warm bread.

Our first course was either soup or salad.  The Man got the salad, A & I decided to have the butternut squash soup.  It had a deep, earthly, cuminny flavor.  Amazing.

While we were waiting for our entree we passed more sea lions being lazy.  We also passed a Navy ship.  We tried to figure out what ship it was but were unsuccessful.  Oh well.  We all decided to have the flank steak.

The flank steak was delicious.  It had a Thai teriyaki sauce that had a nice little kick.  After that it was time for coffee (tea for me) and dessert.  Oh my.  We were already pretty full but managed to to make room for our choices.  A had raspberry cheesecake while The Man & I got the Dark Chocolate tower of decadence.  It was rich and chocolaty. 

Are you hungry yet?

During the second hour we were able to listen in to the Harbor Cruise Tour Guide.  I learned some interesting things, like Boston gets more rain that Seattle.  Really?!  I think we just have more cloudy days here.  I also learned that the Port of Seattle is the 5th busiest in the country and that Elliot Bay is as deep as the Space Needle is tall.  Another interesting fact is that a lot of the Alaskan fishing fleet is housed in Seattle, including most of the boats featured on Deadliest Catch.  We got to see some of the Coast Guard Ice Cutters and some container ships.

The view pulling away from the pier

We got home in time for The Ducks football game.  It was a chilly in the house so we turned up the heat and built a fire.  A great ending to a great day!

In case you were wondering, The Ducks beat USC, 53-32.  We're loving our Ducks...#2 in the country:)

What did you do this weekend?

Who Knew?

Back in the day, when I would think about the future and what my life would be like, I didn't think it would be like this.  It's so much better than I could have imagined.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up.  An oncologist to be exact.  A pediatric oncologist.  This was largely influenced they the fact that my dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was in 3rd grade and again when I was in 7th grade.  At some point, I'm not sure when, I decided that I didn't want to be a doctor (probably when I realized  I would have to go to school for years).  I wanted to be a nurse for awhile and then not.   I don't remember what I wanted to be after that.  I do know that I wanted to have a career I enjoyed, a husband I loved and the most adorable kids ever.  I would be one of those women who had it all...career, husband, kids.  It would all be juggled amazing well and nothing would suffer.  I would be able to do it all and do it all well.  I  WOULD NOT, under any circumstances be staying at home.

Out of that scenario, I have a husband that I love.  Lots.  We don't have kids yet.  When they come along I'm sure they will be adorable.  How could they not be?    What I don't have is that career.  I did teach for 6ish years after I got out of college.  I enjoyed it.  I loved seeing the light bulb go off in their heads.  I just didn't want to be in the classroom for the rest of my life.

I'm loving being a stay at home wife.  I'm as surprised as the next person at this but I'm enjoying it.  I don't love cleaning but I love having a clean house for my husband to come home too.  I love having dinner ready for him to eat after working hard all day.  I love having the time to do crafty stuff and to be able to help others.  It's not what I ever imagined but it's wonderful.  I'm looking forward to the day when I'm staying home with our kids.  I love that my husband that supports me in whatever I want to do.  I'm blessed with a life I love.  What could be better than that?

What did you want to be when you grew up?  What is your job now?

It's Friday

Well ladies & gents, it's that time of the week again.  It's time for the Milspouse Friday Fill-In with Wifey from Wife of  a Sailor.  Is there a better way to start the weekend?

So let's get a start on the weekend fun:

1.  What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

The nicest thing a stranger has done, more than once, was to help me communicate.  You see, when I lived in Asia I lived in countries where English was not the major language.  As for me, I am HORRIBLE at languages.  Especially tonal languages (I'm tone deaf).  I tried learning the language of the country I was in but more often than not I couldn't make myself understood.  More than once a stranger, who spoke some English, came to my aid.  One of my favorite memories is when I was on a 15 hour train ride and the women all around me were asking me questions.  They managed to find a middle school student with a little English and we spent several hours chatting.  Other times include getting help in getting a key made, making change and getting directions.  

2.  If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?

When all else fails, I get up and spend some time on the computer.  This is especially helpful if I can't sleep because my mind is racing with thoughts.   

3.  Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again. 

Toys R Us.  

4.  What is something you never believed until you experienced it? 

Love at first sight.  While it wasn't exactly love at first sight with The Man, it was pretty close.  I left our first date pretty sure I had just had my last first date.  I just kind of knew.  It was the same for him:)

5.  What can’t you say “no” to? 

Getting something from Starbucks.  Harry Potter.  Buying tile at the Habitat for Humanity Store.  Getting a bargain or a deal.  Spending time with The Man.  

Don't forget to head to  Army Dogs to link up to the MilSpouse Weekly Roundup!

What's For Dinner?

Does anybody else struggle with this question?  This past week has been HORRIBLE for my trying to figure out dinner.  I think I get tired coming up with something new EVERYDAY.  I mean, I get one day figured out and then what do you know?  I have to figure it out all over again the next day!  It's kinda like how there's always laundry and dishes to be done!  Some weeks, most weeks actually, I don't have a problem coming up with a dinner plan.  Maybe I'm in a rut?  I would meal plan but I can't get The Man on board.  I'm working on it though.

Most of the week has looked like this:

 It's been rainy and cold.  These are the days that you wanted something warm to eat, some comfort food to warm you down to the tips of your toes.  So  I thought and thought.  Looked through a few cookbooks and looked online.  And decided to try something new.  Something I had never made before.  Something that my parents had never made (that I can remember anyway.)  I decided to make.....are you ready for it?

Chicken & Dumplings

Seriously, I'm not sure why my parents never made this delicious dish.  It's what I usually get when I go to Cracker Barrel (though I think my version was much, much better).  My grandmother grew up in Arkansas.  My mom lived there for 3 years and my aunt for 17.  I've never had anyone in my family make it.  Weird.  I was reading that it was time consuming and blah, blah, blah.  I didn't want to spend forever making it.  So I did what every smart women does.  I made it in my crock pot.  I loosely followed the crock pot lady's recipe.  By loosely I mean I didn't measure anything and left out the mushrooms cause we didn't have any.

The chicken & veggies in the crock pot.  I didn't have enough mixed veggies, so I added extra peas, corn & green beans that were just hanging out in the freezer.  I need to buy more mixed veggies though...it's a great way to sneak in veggies that The Man doesn't normally eat, like green beans and Lima beans.

We were also out of cream of mushroom soup.  We buy it at Costco and somehow forgot to buy more on our last trip.  Oh well.  I made a white sauce instead with the crock pot lady's instructions.

Then I didn't have any biscuit mix or refrigerated biscuits so I made my own.  I mixed up some baking soda biscuits and plopped them on top.  When I lived in China, my roommate Amy would make these when we wanted biscuits.  I still use and love my Wycliffe International Cookbook.  It has a little bit of everything.  This book is a MUST for any missionary or anyone living overseas.  It has recipes for things that we buy in the US (marshmallows, pancake syrup) plus great ideas for substitutions for ingredients.  Anyway, here's what it looked like in my crockpot right before we dug in:

It was super yummy.  I have permission to make this again!

It was the perfect meal on a cold, rainy day.  It didn't end there either.  I was in a baking mood so I whipped up some apple crisp.  I threw in about 1 cup of frozen wild blackberries.

Thankfully The Man is making dinner tonight so I don't have to figure it out.  YAY for a night off from cooking!

What's your favorite dish to make for dinner?

64

Wow, I have 64followers.  I am in shock that that many of you want to read what I write!  I started the blog so family & friends would know how we're doing and it's turned into more than that.  I discovered the wonderful world of Milspouses and crafty people.  You guys rock!  I'm honored to have a place among you.

I though I'd tell you a little about myself since I haven't really done that.  I'm Poekitten, a name I've used on the web since high school.  It is the nickname of the cat I got when I was 16 and she now lives with my parents.  I tried to take her but my parents wouldn't let me since they said I "abandoned" her when I went to college.  I think they just got attached to her:)  The short story of my twenties is that I graduated college, taught English as a Second Language in Asia for a few years, taught in middle school in the public schools for a few years, married a submariner and moved cross country. 

And a few random things that are me:

1.  I love my kitties & puppy just a little too much.  You'll get to see plenty of pictures of them...more than you want probably!

2.  We recently bought a house and we LOVE being homeowners.  We have a long list of projects planned!

3.  I spend way too much time online.  Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook is a weakness of mine as is blog hopping

4.  I'm 30.  There are timess when I read some blogs I feel old.  Overall though I've enjoyed my 30th year and am looking forward to the adventures that my 30's hold!

5.  I think my husband is pretty amazing.  He's crazy, which works out just fine for cause I'm a little crazy too.

6.  I lived without a TV for several years.  We only have one now cause The Man requires one.  I do too now that we have Netflix.  I've watched all 11 seasons of Law & Order SVU.  I'm currently working on Law & Order: CI.  The Man & I are working on all the Mythbusters.

7.  My favorite TV show of all time is West Wing.  I own all seven seasons and watch them all, in order, a couple times a year.

8.  I don't mind doing laundry but I HATE folding it.  It tends to sit downstairs, clean and unfolded, in the basket for days at a time.  This is a pet peeve of The Man.

8.5.  The Man & I met online.  We dated for 4 months and were engaged for a year.  It would have been shorter if it hadn't been for a pesky deployment. 

9.  I dislike going to the dentist.  I hate oral surgery.  I've had way too much.  I'm good.  Forever I hope!

10.  Going along with the whole dentist thing is the fact that I walked around for 9 months missing 2 teeth.  In the front.  Yeah, that was fun.  I could have had fake teeth but they were more trouble than anything else.  I got my implants 4 days before meeting The Man for the 1st time.

Me missing 1 tooth (the second came out a few months later).  This was the day my mom got her kitty Dale Thomas, DT for short.  He's cute here.  He's now that fattest cat I have ever seen.  I like to call him Fat Cat.  Mom isn't amused!

So there ya have it, a little bit more about me.  Thanks again for reading!

Dangerous Place

I've come to the realization that the Habitat for Humanity Builders Bargain store is a dangerous place (in a good way!)  You can find some amazing things there and they are CHEAP!  My favorite item to get is tile.  They have tons, in different colors and they are about 10 cents apiece.  I've been making coaster (I'll post about it soon!)  At the rate I'm going coaster are going to cover every surface in the house.  My husband might just put a ban on buying more tile!

I also found a cabinet door.  I saw this and thought that it was great.  And easy.  I can do that!  So I found my own cabinet door to make it with.  I just need to get some spray paint and decided what picture I'd like to use.  It could end up like the coasters though,with me making a bunch. 

What's great about the store is that besides helping me by crafty, 100% of the proceeds go towards building houses.  I read on the site that the store is usually able to provide the funds for 2 Habitat for Humanity houses a year.  How cool is that?  I also love the fact that it's cheap and it helps YOU with projects at your house while keeping costs down.  Cause if I've learned anything since becoming a homeowner, it's that doing stuff around the house tends to be expensive!

Trunk or Treat

Our church holds a trunk or treat every year.  We participated last year but wasn't totally sure what we were supposed to do.  Our car wasn't very decorated but we did have candy so the kids were happy.  We used it as a learning experience for what we wanted to do this year!

My husband loves Halloween.  He loves decorating and coming up with cool effects.  I know it stems from his time working as a theatre Technical Director.  We on his birthday we went a looked at costumes at the Halloween stores to try to figure out what we wanted to be.  They had some great costumes but decided that we were going to be Mario & Yoshi.  He's always Mario when we play Super Mario Bros. Wii & I'm Yoshi when we play Mario Kart.  But after looking at the costumes we decided that The Man would be Mario, I would be Toad and Miss Molly would be Yoshi.

We were able to find a Mario costume and a Mushroom hat for me.  We couldn't find a Yoshi costume for Molly.  Not surprising.  So I decided that I would make her costume.  I've been quilting for about 5 years and have never ventured into sewing clothes but figured I could handle a dog costume.  I took me about an hour and a half but I did it!

A close up of her hat

She didn't like the hat and kept shaking her head

The body.  I couldn't get her to look at me!

The Man made a coin out of wood, attached it to a sewing machine motor and a switch.  The kids stepped on a box and made the coin spin.  It was very fun and the kids enjoyed making the coin go.  Or maybe they just liked getting the candy we gave them once they stepped off the box!

You can kind of see the coin...it's on an angle.  The box at the bottom of the picture is what the kids would step on.

I don't have a picture of all three of us...it's on a friend's camera.  I'll add it once I get it from them!

What are you (or your kids) dressing up as this year?


I linked up with The Girl Creative

Easy Potato Chowder

I love soup, all kinds.  I find soup/chowder/chili to be a comfort food.  With the weather getting colder it's perfect for soup.  Or chowder.  I decided to make one of my favorite recipes for dinner the other night.  It's easy, quick and delicious!

First you take 3 potatoes and cut them in half.  Place them in a microwavable casserole dish.  Add a 1/2 cup of milk.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Take them out and put the inner potatoes on the outside while moving the other ones in.  Microwave for another 8-10 minutes or until they are soft.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk 4 oz of softened cream cheese until smooth.

Then slowly add 3 cups of milk, whisking to mix together.  It will become bubbly.

When the potatoes are done, mash the potatoes.

Add the cream cheese mixture (and butter but I forgot....I just added it later) and microwave for about 4 more minutes or until it's warm.

While that's cooking, chop up some green onion (chives also works well) and grate some cheddar cheese.

I also cooked up some bacon to use as a topping.  YUM!

Remove the casserole dish from the microwave.  Add the cheddar cheese, green onion and some salt and pepper.

Carefully mix everything together until the cheese is melted.  Serve with toppings such as bacon or sour cream if you'd like.  I like to add fresh parsley and chive.  Enjoy!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

It's that time of the week again...FRIDAY!  Even though I don't work I still love Fridays, especially when The Man doesn't have to work.  I love weekends with my husband.  It doesn't matter what we do, I just like having him home or having the option to go and do something.  Anything.  I think we're going to a quilt show this weekend.  I'm very excited.  The Man saw it, mentioned it cause he knows I'd love to go and wants to go with me.  Just one more reason why I love him!

Now on the the Milspouse Fill-In.  Head on over to link up at Wife of a Sailor.

1.  Are you a night owl or an early bird?

I'm a night owl.  I get so much energy late at night.  In college I wouldn't start studying till about 10:30.  I'd be good till about 1:30, 2.  I laugh when I think about it cause in high school I was always in bed by 9:30.  I had to get up at 5:30 and if I wasn't in bed early I was a zombie the next day in school.  Anyway, now I go to bed at the same time as The Man, which tends to be early since he gets up early.  We put a movie on to fall asleep to.  I always watch more than he does.  I tend to get about an hour into the movie before I fall asleep.  I could go to bed later but since I love to fall asleep in The Man's arms, I'll take going to bed early.  On duty nights it's not unusual for me to stay up past midnight.  

2.  What makes you jealous?

I'm very happy with the my life that way it is.  I love my husband, our house, our life.  I'd love to be a mom but I'm not jealous of those that have kids.  I don't cry and get upset when that time of the month shows up and announces that I'm not pregnant.  But I am thinking about it a more than before and am hoping that I get pregnant sooner rather than later.  I'm also not happy with the amount of weight I've gained in the past year but there's no one to blame but me.  I need to watch my portions and exercise more.  I know it and just need to do it now.  

2009 Christmas tree

3.  Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!) 

I haven't bought anything but I do have ideas floating around in my head.  I'll start the day after Thanksgiving probably.  I prefer to shop when it's Christmas time and there's the Christmas music.  And since I don't like to listen to Christmas music till after Thanksgiving, it means I wait.  Though if I see something before I'll get it.  I plan on making a few things too...I need to get organized.  EEK!


4.  What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?

My personal chef (who happens to be my husband) would make me stuffed pork chops with peas and a baked potato.  Or maybe some of the delicious food we had on our cruise.  It was so good...we loved eating in the main dining room.  The food was delicious!

5.  Where was your first kiss?

 Oh yes, my first kiss.  It was in the hallway after school to my then boyfriend.  Super romantic, yes?

Don't forget to head over to vist JG and link up for the Mispouse Friday Round-Up! 

 

Wordless Wednesday

The fog burning off the sound

Taken Tuesday, October 19, 2010 between 10:30-Noon.

Yes, that little bit of blue between the trees is Puget Sound.

The view is better in person!

Decimating a Pumpkin, Part III

I love pumpkins.  There' s just something about them.  I love going to farm stand to get my pumpkin.  Going out in the field to pick it works too.  Unfortunately Kitsap County is lacking in pumpkins this year.  One didn't have a good crop and another had a family death, so both are closed.  I'm sure there are others but we don't know about them.  So we went to Safeway.  The ambiance was lacking but the selection was pretty good, considering it's a grocery store.

The Man's 2009 Pumpkin

 We can't have uncarved pumpkins at home for very long.  Last year we bought our pumpkins the first weekend in October and carved them.  They didn't make it to Halloween.  This year we were a little smarter and waited till the middle of the month.  The Man LOVES to carve pumpkins.  Last year he did a skull pirate thing.  I hadn't carved in years and did the traditional triangles for eyes Jack O'Lantern.

We had a hard time deciding what to carve this year.  The Man did a face...free hand.  I was boring once again and did a traditional face.  Again.  With triangle eyes.  What can I say, I'm consistent!  And I drew mine on first...I'm not as good as The Man at doing free hand!

Here are a few photos of our fun:

Our pumpkins

Where we did our work

Time to clean out the pumpkin!

The Man gets some Molly help.

Hard at work

The finished product.

Decimating a Pumpkin, Part II

I finally "planned" my day well. I ran my errands while it was sunny out this morning and was able to do some baking while it rained this afternoon.  I love it when it works out like that, even if it happens by accident!

Since it was raining this afternoon I thought that it would be a great time to use the pureed pumpkin sitting in my fridge.  My friend from college, Jill,   was kind enough to share her pumpkin bread recipe.  She was a great baker back in college so I figured her recipe would be better than a random one off the internet.


I started off by combining 3 cups of flour, 2 tsp of baking soda, 2 tsp of baking powder & 2 tsp of cinnamon.  I also added some nutmeg and all spice (didn't measure, just tossed it in.)  I was supposed to add salt but forgot.

Then in another bowl I mixed 2 cups of sugar and a 1 1/2 cups of oil.  It was very runny and not very yummy looking.

Then you're supposed to add the flour mixture to the sugar & oil but the bowl I used for the sugar & oil was too small, so I did it the other way around.  It worked out just fine.  It got a bit hard to mix.

Then to that you're supposed to add 2 cups of pumpkin puree and 4 beaten eggs.  This is where I ran into a little bit of a problem.  It turns out that my roasted pumpkin didn't give me two cups of pumpkin puree.  I only got a about a cup and a half.  Boo.  After staring at it for a few moment and praying that the amount of pumpkin would magically increase, I decided to add some applesauce.  I had some homemade in the freezer and so I pulled that out, defrosted it and added it.  Then crossed my fingers that it would still taste okay!

Don't forget to add 4 eggs!

Once the pumpkin & eggs were added the mixture was a nice consistency.  I decided to add just a little more yumminess...chocolate chips.  Cause just about everything tastes better with chocolate!

This is enough to make two loaves.  Instead of doing two loaves, I decided to do 1 loaf and some muffins.  I like to freeze muffins and then I can take out them out as I want/need them.  Not that there is room for muffins in my freezer, but I'll deal with that later.

You bake the loaf for about an hour at 350 degrees.  I had the muffins in for about 30 minutes but that was a tad bit too long.  Your house will smell yummy while it's baking.  If you time it right you husband will walk in the door, take a deep breath and compliment you on how good the house smells.  Maybe there is something to the stay at home wife thing after all!

When they're done, enjoy!  They're really good with a cup of tea (or coffee).

I linked up with The Girl Creative Party Blog