What's for dinner?

Sometimes I get tired of trying to figure out what to have for dinner.  I shouldn't...I have TONS of cookbooks and access to many easy and delicious Pampered Chef recipes but we sometimes get stuck in a rut.  So after having that dreaded conversation of what's for dinner (you know the one, where you go back and forth offering suggestions that the other doesn't want and it goes on...and on...and on...) we decided on grilled pizza.  And then I had a brilliant idea...calzones!  The Man shot it down initially but after thinking about it for awhile he got on board.  Score!

So making calzones start with The Man making the dough, then the sauce, (we like to make stuff from scratch around here!) grated the cheese and then got the other toppings together.  Hamburger, Kielbasa and Mushrooms for The Man,  and (microwave) roasted garlic, fresh basil, zucchini and hamburger for me.  Both of us had cheese and sauce too!

The making of the dough.

Getting started on the sauce...we love our kitchen tools!  I think he likes to make pizza since he gets to use the mixer & food processor!

My calzone before adding cheese and closing it.

 We realized once they were finished that we should have made them on the stoneware...moving them was fun!

 Yummy baking goodness!

The finished product! 

The Man and I both thought they were delicious and we will be making them again!  My bottom fell apart, either because the inside was too wet or the dough was too thin.  We'll make sure we have an even circle of dough rolled out next time.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

I'm coming late to the party, but decided to start doing the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In hosted by Wifey at Wife of a Sailor.  Here's what happens...she posts questions and you answer them and then link up to her site so you can read everyone's answers.   Sounds fun!

1.  What is your spouse's best feature?

      I love his gorgeous blue eyes.   They are one of the first things I noticed about him and I love looking into them.

2.  Mild, Medium or Hot sauce?

I prefer mild but can handle some mediums.  Before living in Asia I couldn't handle ANY spiciness but since you can't avoid it in Asia it's either eat it or starve.  At least it was for me!  And call me clueless, but I didn't know that when I moved to China that they LOVE spicy food.  I was so surprised!  Must have been cause my family never ate any of the spicy "Chinese" food here in America. 

 3.   What is the worst uniform you had to wear for a job?

Hands down it was the uniform I had to wear when I worked at the Disney Store in college.  It consisted of a white button down shirt, a sweater and tan pants.  The sweater was icky but the pants were the worst...so uncomfortable.  I hated them!


4.  You have invisible powers… where is the first place you would go?

Hhmm.  I think I'd travel the world.  Though I should visit family/friends first...then hit Europe from there and go on around.  I've always wanted to go to Luxembourg...


5.  What’s left on your “to do” list for this summer?


Camping, more camping, enjoying the beach, grilling as much as possible on our awesome deck, getting the area for next year's garden ready, start a compost pile, visit either Rainier or Mt. St. Helen's, go blackberry picking, make blackberry jam, learn to can...I could probably go on, but if all these things get done I'll be amazed!

The Mouse House

That's what you should call us now.  The Mouse House.  I totally understand if you don't want to come visit.  Though I would say they don't last long...Iggmans gets them.  Alley Cat could care less so at least we have one cat on the mouse elimination detail.  And if you missed my last mouse story, you can read about it here.

And now the story:

After a delicious dinner of stuffed pork chops (my man can really cook...he makes the best meals!) The Man took Miss Molly outside while I started on the dishes.  I heard him come in and say "Good boy!" to Iggymans who was in the bedroom.  He said it several times so I became curious.  I asked him why Ig was a good boy and he told me to come look.  This is what I saw:

I immediately said "Good Boy!" and ran to get the camera.  Cause he is a good boy even though I'm not a fan of mice.  They're  totally not cool.  But what was cool was that The Man was home to take care of it!  Finally!  He's never been around in the 2 1/2 years we've been dating/engaged/married to take care of the 8 or so mice Ig has caught.  So I was very happy to leave the getting the mouse away from Ig and disposing of the body to The Man.  After all, it's part of his job description!

Thank you baby!

And a few more pics of the hero of the day:

Here Iggymans is resting up for his mouse catching adventure.

And here he is showing off his ferocious teeth.  Mice, be scared!

#60 of the 101 in 1001...Books

I love to read.  I've loved to read ever since I was a child.  I remember seeing my mom reading and wanting to be able to read like her.  Once I learned in school there was no stopping me.  I was much happier reading a book then watching TV.  In fact, when my parents had to punish me, they would take my book away (usually cause I hadn't folded the clothes like I was supposed to!)

I'm not expecting it to be hard to read 50 new books in 1001 days.  Though the challenge for me is that they need to be new books.  I'll reread books I love, such as Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin, any Harry Potter, Pretense by Lori Wick...I could go on. 

But here is my list of the 50 new books I've read...I'll add to it as I finish the books.

11.  The Year She Fell by Alicia Rasley

I got this for free for my Kindle.  I really enjoyed it.  It was very different from The Hunger Games, which I read right before this.  There is an interesting plot and characters.  The ending wasn't what I was expecting and that made it even better!

8, 9, & 10.  The Hunger Games Trilogy.

AMAZING.  If you haven't read them you need to.  RIGHT NOW!  Go to Amazon and order all three because you're not going to want to wait once you finish the first one.  Promise!

7.  The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
     I picked this up at the Charlotte airport.  It's a very compelling read.  It's about an Irish girl who's parent died on the voyage to America.  They were indentured to a plantation owner who takes the girl and puts her to work in the kitchen where the slaves become her adopted family.  I highly recommend it!

6.  Brothers by Angela Hunt
      The next book in the trilogy and picks up from where Dreamers left off.  It goes until Pharoah has married his first wife.  There's one more book in the trilogy and I'm looking forward to reading it!

5.  Dreamers by Angela Hunt
     An expanded version of the story of Joseph, from when he was sold by his brother to when they first show up in Egypt.  It's well written and an interesting way to look at the story.

4.  A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr
     An easy, fun, quick read.

3.  Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
      A great read!  Very interesting and I loved the ending.  It's a about a 93 year old man remembering his time spent working for a circus and his relationship with the people he met there.


2.  How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Trooper.
      It's an okay read.  It's about a 29 year old widower a year after his wife dies.  He explores dating and reaches out to his stepson and starts to understand his family.  I skipped a few pages that were a little explicit.  This is a book I most likely will not read again.

1.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
     A very interesting read.  It takes place during WWII Germany and is about a 9 year old girl living with her foster family.  It is narrated by Death and explores her relationships with her foster family, the Jewish man they are hiding, her best friend Rudy and the people in the neighborhood.

Note to self

It's probably not a good idea to grill chicken over night.  If you do, this is what you will end up with:

Sunday morning I was woken up by the smoke detector going off.  I thought it was the batteries dying, as this has happened to me several times over the past year.  So I rolled over and asked The Man if he would go take care of it (dealing with smoke detectors is part of his job description as a husband).  He got up and realized that it was going off due to smoke...coming in through the window from outside.  It turns out that he (we) forgot the chicken that we were grilling the previous night.  We grilled some brats and kielbasa for dinner Saturday night and threw the chicken on so we could have it for lunch the next day.  Except the chicken wasn't done at the same time as the brats, so he brought in our dinner and said "Don't forget about the chicken."  We ate dinner, played some Wii and headed to bed...and never remembering about the chicken, so it cooked, on low, all night on the grill.  We're really glad we didn't burn down the house...and that we still have some propane left!

101 in 1001

I like to make lists so I can cross off the things I've accomplished.  Don't get me wrong, lists are a great way to stay organized and keep my brain from exploding but there's something about crossing things off.  I love feeling like I've gotten something done and that I'm closer to the goal of being done.

It's in that spirit that I've created a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.  I got the idea from another blogger and there are tons of people doing it at the Day Zero Project.  Maybe crossing things off lists is something humans like to do, I don't know.  But I've joined the masses in this project.  And you might be thinking I'm crazy (I married a man who works in a metal tube that submerges in water...we already knew I was crazy!) but I think it will be fun to do these things and cross them off the list!

Here's what you do:  create a list of 101 measurable, clearly defined tasks and try to achieve them in 1001 days (2.75) years.

Here's my list:

1.  Be waiting on the Pier for homecoming
2.  Become a director with the Pampered Chef
3.  Build a fire on the beach
4.  Buy a new sofa
5.  Buy membership to OMSI and use it 4 times
6.  Crochet a rag rug
7.  Donate blood
8.  Donate my hair
9.  Donate my hair again
10..Donate to Toys for Tots
11.  Earn a Pampered Chef Excellence Award
12. Eat at Sky City restaurant at the top of the Space Needle
13.  Eat at Sully's on Castle Island and watch the planes taking off & landing
14.  Eat in 10 new restaurants
15.  Finish 3 Quilts
16.  Get a dishwasher and a garbage disposal
17.  Get a massage
18.  Get a pedicure with the man
19.  Go a week without the internet
20.  Go apple picking in WA
21.  Go bowling
22.  Go camping in the Olympic Mountains
23.  Go camping in Yellowstone
24.  Go Fishing
25.  Go Geocashing
26.  Go hiking at Mt. St. Helen's
27.  Go horseback riding on the beach
28.  Go on a Brewery Tour
29.  Go to 3 Ducks games
30.  Go to a pro Baseball game
31.  Go to Disney
32.  Go to the Zoo
33.  Go Whitewater rafting
34.  Have a Baby
35.  Have a yard sale
36.  Have pictures taken in a photo booth
37.  Kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel
38.  Kiss in the rain
39.  Knit a Scarf
40.  Learn to Can
41.  Lose 25 lbs.
42.  Make a cake/brownies from scratch
43.  Make a dog bed for Molly
44.  Make dinner in the crockpot every day for 2 weeks
45.  Make homemade jam
46.  Make mulled wine
47.  Make my own granola
48.  Make my own yogurt
49.  Make Pajama pants
50.  Make Sangria
51.  Make sourdough bread from scratch
52.  Make/buy a butterdish
53.  Meet my new niece/nephew
54.  Paint the sewing room
55.  Pay for someone's toll behind me
56.  Pay off my student loans
57.  Plant 2 apple & 2 cherry trees
58.  Plant a garden
59.  Plant an herb garden
60.  Read 50 new books (1/50)
61.  Read the entire Bible
62.  Refinish a piece of furniture
63.  Remodel the bathroom
64.  Renew/change name on Passport
65.  Run a 5K
66.  Scrapbook my wedding/cross country drive/honeymoon
67.  See a bear in the wild
68.  See a drive in movie
69.  See a movie in 3D
70.  See an Orca in the wild
71.  Send 10 postcards via postcrossing.com
72.  Send a secret to Post Secret
73.  Send Christmas cards to family & friends
74.  Sing in the Rain
75.  Sleep in a Yurt
76,  Sleep in on Black Friday
77.  Spend the day in Boston
78.  Start a compost pile
79.  Take a dance class with the man
80.  Take a Photography class
81.  Take a spontaneous road trip
82.  Take a yoga class twice a week for a month
83.  Talk the man into getting a passport
84.  Visit 3 lighthouses on the West Coast
85.  Visit a new state
86.  Visit a winery
87.  Visit an art musuem
88.  Visit MA & NH
89.  Visit Martha's Vineyard
90.  Visit Mt. Rainier
91.  Visit St. Thomas
92.  Visit the Oregon Coast
93.  Visit three "new" forts with the man
94.  Visit the Tillamook cheese factory
95.  Visit Vancouver, B.C.
96.  Volunteer regularly
97.  Wade/Swim in the Pacific
98.  Walk along the beach with the man looking for seashells
99.  Watch 26 movies I've never watched starting with each letter of the alphabet
100.  Watch all 8 Harry Potter movies in 24 hours
101.  Watch the sunrise and the sunset in the same day

Yes, they are in alphabetical order (Thank you Excel!) cause they are easier to read that way.  I'll be keeping you updated as I do them.  If you'd like to help with any of them, please let me know!

A Warm Welcome Home

     I love coming home after being away.  It's fun to travel...and great to get home again.  Friday night was my second night home and I was enjoying sleeping in my own bed again (I have an unnatural fondness for my bed...it just so comfortable!)  The man and I were sleeping soundly when all of sudden I heard Iggyman and Alley Cats tearing around the bedroom.  I sat straight up and the man woke up as the kitties ran under the bed.  I was going to get up to figure out what was going on but the man told me to go back to sleep...so I did.

     Fast forward several hours later.  Iggyman jumped on the bed by my knees and as I moved to pet him, he grabbed something and jumped off the bed.  I knew this could only mean one thing...he caught a mouse.  Ig NEVER runs away from love...unless he doesn't want to share a mouse.  He doesn't even share with Al.  It's the only time he growls at you.  Thankfully he didn't come back on the bed but decided to play with the mouse on the floor.


     Molly and I went out to play and when we came back in Ig was still playing with the mouse.  I know from experience that he isn't giving up the mouse, so we left him alone.  I didn't want to be there while he ate the house...again, I've seen and heard it before.  Several hours later I returned  to find Ig sleeping on the bed, curled up with Al.  As I walked around the bed I saw it...the poor dead mouse.  He was missing his tail.  I can 'only imagine where the tail is.  I hope it's in his belly cause I don't want to come across it in the next few days!

     I have told Iggymans that the next time he catches a mouse he should do it when the man is home.  I hate getting rid of the mouse when he's done with it.  I'm thankful he didn't put it on my pillow this time!

 This was a cute little mouse Ig chased in MA.  The one today was MUCH bigger!

He is very patient and is willing to wait...and wait....and wait....

I'm going to need more room

I've found a new hobby and I'm going to need more room to store yarn.  I think I should blame my friend J.  She makes AMAZING items.  You don't believe me?  Check out her stuff.  Look at this one and this one too.  She's a great knitter/crocheter (though she'll argue with you).

So on one hot PNW (Pacific Northwest) afternoon, (while we were watching her adorable kids cool off in the pool while trying to keep Miss Molly out of the water) she taught me how to crochet.  I had a hard time getting starting....I was twisting the yarn and my stitches were all different sizes.  I must have started over again at least 15 times.  After about an hour I had had enough and put it away for the day.  The next day I took got the yarn and hook and settled down to watch some West Wing.  I managed to get started and was so much easier this time!

The first two rows are the hardest...once you get to the third row it's a breeze.  You get into a rhythm and there's something calming about it.  You just keep going and before you know it you have a bunch of rows done!

Of course I must have help...I can do no project alone.

Alley Cats can't have all the fun, so Iggymans had to check out what I was doing too.  Miss Molly could have cared less.

Once the boys lost interest I was able to finish much easier.  It's not perfect but for a first try I don't think my dishcloth is bad!

Ok, so now I need to get better at crocheting.  After that I'm going to learn to knit.  At some point I want to learn the art of canning...and to have stuff to can I need to have a garden (we'll see how that goes.).  Pickles and jam are on the list of items to be canned (someday).

Can you think of any other hobbies I should try? 

Are there any hobbies you'd like to learn?

Here's to Hero's

A friend of mine, who is the wife of a retired submariner, has started a petition for retired military to be allowed to participate in Busch Garden's program Here's to Hero's.  Right now, only active duty personal are able to use the program, which is a discount on a single day pass.  It seems to me that after serving your country for 20+ years, you're still a hero. 

If you'd like to sign the petition, you can do so here.  And thanks.

I confess...

...I did it.  I didn't mean too but the heat yesterday caught me by surprise and I forgot to water it.  I know that's just an excuse.  The poor parsley plant didn't do anything to deserve it.  I just have a mental block about remembering to water plants.  I was looking forward to enjoying the parsley in some homemade tabbouleh salad and now I'm planning a parsley funeral.

I love plants.  I love how God created the planet and the relationship between animals and plants.  However, God did not create me with a green thumb.  My thumb is black, as black as can be.  I've killed more plants than I can count.  I've killed cacti, veggies and flowers (please don't tell my father-in-law that I've killed the begonia he gave me!)  It's a good thing it's not a crime to kill plants cause I'd be in jail for a long time.  I don't know what it is.  Sometimes I kill a plant from overwatering, sometimes  forget to water and sometimes Iggymans eats the plant (he really enjoys spider plants and has developed a fondness for chives).

The good news is that my basil and chives are surviving.  The mint and cat nip are doing OK.  And some parsley is hanging on.  Maybe it shouldn't be in direct sunlight?  I should go look that up...

Do you enjoy growing things?  Are you good at it?  Any advice you'd like to share?

Welcome Summer!

Summer is finally here in the Pacific Northwest! This is the view today....water sparkling from the sunshine with a slight breeze. It's going to be in the 70's today...with it getting into the 80's and maybe even the 90's later in the week. I can't wait!

I love talking about the weather....maybe I should have been a meteorologist!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

~Thank you to my amazing husband who serves in the Navy.

~ Thank you to the men and women who have served and are serving in our military.

~Thank you to the men and women who have lost their lives while defending the United States.

~Thank you to the families of those serving, for supporting them during the long hours they often work while at home and for the long stretches of time they are away. Thank you for your single parenting and keeping things running smoothly on the home front.

and most importantly

~Thank you Jesus for dying for us so that we may have true and lasting freedom from sin and death.

Summer, where are you?

This is the view we have today. Overcast, drizzly and chilly. Not exactly the summer weather I was hoping for. But seriously. It's July 1st and it's FREEZING. OK, it's not really freezing but it's only in the low 60's...that's pretty cold in my book for the summer. The rain isn't helping either. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are times when I like rain...a nice, warm rain. Even a thunderstorm at times. But the drizzly-don't-know-which-setting-to-use-on-the-windshield-wipers type of rain isn't my favorite. Neither is a make-you-cold-down-to-your-bones kind of rain. I'm very thankful for hot tea, warm sweats and a snuggling puppy today.

I was told yesterday that the nice weather will start after the 4th. Here's to hoping!