#30. Go to a pro baseball game

I was able to cross off another item off my 101 in 1001 list... Go to a pro baseball game.  I had never, ever been to a pro game before last night.  I know, it's sad.  I keep saying SOMEDAY I'll make it to Fenway.  But that's for another time...

We were given free ticket for the Mariners (thanks Michelle!)  We grabbed some friends and took the ferry over to watched the Angels beat the Mariners.  Some memorable moments include the garlic fries and the wave that went the field around 5 times.  Fun times!

Entering Safeco Field

In our seat before the game started

We were behind home plate and up high...great view!

 

There was some fun with Twizzlers

 

 love how it looks like we photo shopped us in!

Putting Down Roots

When we bought our house, we knew we wanted to plant trees.  And not just any trees, but fruit bearing trees.  We have a vision of having a mini orchard with apples and cherries.  And because The Man is sentimental, he wanted to plant our first tree at our first house.  When we have our first child, we'd like to take seeds from the apples and grow a tree for the child.  The tree will grow with the child and be their tree.  When they get married, we'd love to be able to give them a sapling from their tree.

Our first apple tree

In talking and dreaming our our house, tree and children (to come), it made me think about putting down roots.   One of the things that can be hard about being a Navy military family is that it can be hard to put down roots.  We're required to move every few years and while that can be fun and exciting it doesn't allow you to really settle in.  Granted, I'm writing this as a navy wife of 1 year at our first duty station so I haven't dealt with moving that much...yet.  I didn't move at all growing up and went to the same school system from kindergarten to high school (Go Hornets!)  I went away to college and then moved to Asia for three years after graduating from college.  Then I moved back to MA and it was so nice to return to the familiar.  To a place where even though things had changed, things had stayed the same.  When you've been away for awhile, knowing that some things are unchanged are comforting. 

This past year  was a little rough for me.  There was a lot of change...I was a new wife, in a new place, trying to make new friends, in a new church, and I was no longer working full time as a teacher but was now a stay at home wife trying to be my business going again.  We also bought our first house and got a dog.  I'm just now starting to feel like me again.  We have a year of marriage down, I've made friends, we love our church, my business is picking up and I've become familiar with the area.  I've put down roots, shallow though they may be, and I'm excited for them to go deeper.

Friday Fill In #10

It's Friday again and that means it's another Friday Fill-In with Wifey at Wife of a Sailor.  Enjoy!

 1.  What secret indulgence do you act on while your spouse is away?

I love to cook & eat foods that The Man doesn't like.  He doesn't like Mac & Cheese, tomato, basil & mozzarella salad or any dish that has meat and fruit together (like lemon chicken). 

 

 2.  If you were a spice, what would you be?

I think I'd be cinnamon.  It's a common spice but you can use it in a  lot of different ways....in main dishes, in dessert...cinnamon gets around!

3.  Where do you go for support when your significant other is deployed?

I find support from family & friends, from church and from other sub wives who know what it's like to have a husband in the middle of the ocean.  

4.  What is the oldest thing you own?

 I have a few of my grandmother's things...an old metal iron, a dresser, some dresser scarves and pillowcases with embroidery work done on them, a soup tureen.  I don't know which item is the oldest but I do know they are all older than me!  I also have a bunch of old family pictures that I need to finish scanning so I can get copies to everyone in my family.  The pictures are my favorite item as they are more personal and meaningful to me.

5.  How did you vision your future pre-military?

 I met my husband in my late twenties and I had already done a bit of traveling and living overseas.  I was hoping for more of the same.  It didn't bother me when I met him that he was in the Navy...it's just another adventure.  I was wondering if I would ever meet the "right" someone and get married.  While I don't love moving I can handle it.  I'm totally OK with orders overseas...in fact I told my husband that I want him to get orders overseas at some point...I miss living outside of the US.  I didn't envision spending a good part of our marriage apart but we'll make it work and be stronger for it. 

Great questions this week...Thanks Wifey.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Simple Woman's Day Book

For Today, August 25, 2010

Outside my window...it's bright and sunny out with a gentle breeze.  I'm enjoying it cause I think there's rain on the way tomorrow.


I am thinking...I have a lot of phone calls to make!

I am thankful for...my amazing husband who vacuumed for me today since I was out working for most of the day.  He also made dinner tonight...I'm so blessed by him!



From the kitchen...homemade pizza.  It smells delicious!

I am wearing...A green shirt and khaki shorts.

I am creating...I'm trying to figure out what kind of shelves I want in the sewing room.  I'm also getting ready to pain the sewing room...then I can get back to sewing!

I am going...nowhere at the moment.  Bible study is here tonight!

I am reading...Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban.  I'm rereading it for the 11th time (at least!)

I am hoping...that today was profitable for my business

I am hearing..Mythbusters season 1 is on the tv and traffic outside.
.
Around the house...things are calm at the moment.  I have a kitty beside me and a puppy on the floor.  Also the two rosebushes outside gotten taken out today!  We're very excited about it...now we can get started on the garden.

One of my favorite things...picking blackberries with The Man.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  I have two more shifts at the county fair.  We might head into the city this weekend...or maybe we'll stay home. 

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

 If you'd like to participate, head on over to Peggy's blog to link up.

Not to Be Left Out

Yes, I am that cat lady.  The Man says I love the boys, especially Edgar just a little too much.  I have to agree.  There's a chance that when we eventually have kids the cats will fall by the wayside...but I hope not.   Since I've posted a bunch of pictures with Miss Molly a lot and I don't want to the boys to feel left out I'm going to share some of the kitties...so here you are.  Enjoy!

Do you mind?  We're napping

Who need a pillow when you have your brother?

Edgar wondering what the bump in the bed is...

Allen not happy that Edgar woke him up. 
He was quite comfy under the covers!

Road Trip

The Man & I were  talking the other day about how we live in a gorgeous area but we haven't seen very much of it.  So we decided to do some exploring.  

 We started off by heading towards Port Angeles since we hadn't been there before.  Besides the ferry to Victoria there isn't much there.  We were hoping to find a place to eat with outdoor seating since we had Molly with us but we couldn't find anything.  We did look around an "antique" mall with Molly.  She loved all the smells and managed not to break anything with her tail!

In the antique mall

 Port Angeles had some funky street art.  Many stores were also trying to cash in on the Twilight craziness.  The Man did mutter as we pulled out of town " I hope we don't see to much more twilight crap!"  Um, baby, we're planning on going through Forks....what do you think we're going to see!?!?

Port Angeles Street Art

We followed 101 through some gorgeous scenery...the National Forest is so pretty!  We stopped at East Beach on Lake Crescent to stretch our legs and let Molly play.

Us at the Lake.  Molly wanted to play, not get her picture taken!

East Beach with an eager Molly

We were getting hungry so we didn't stay long at the beach.  We drove and drove and drove some more.  Finally we reached Forks and found a place to eat.

The In Place.  Good food and good prices!

After we ate we headed out of Forks.  Neither of us are twilight fans.  I haven't read them or seen the movies and I don't really want to.  I may someday but I'm ok being out in the dark about it! 

We drove some more.  Through the National Forest and the State Park and the National Park and the National Forest again.  It's beautiful.  At one point The Man saw a sign for Ruby Beach and he pulled in so we could see what it looked like.  I was so glad he did.  There were waves!  and rocks!  and driftwood!  and miles of pristine beauty.  My pictures don't do it justice.

Molly & I overlooking the beach

Ruby Beach

Playing in the ocean

A sea star on the rocks

We reluctantly got back in the car to keep driving.  The plan was to get to Ocean shores and build a campfire on the beach while watching the sunset.  It's great plan.  But the clouds didn't seem to agree.  It would be cloudy and then clear up and then get cloudy then clear up as we drove.  And it seemed like we drove for HOURS.  We eventually made it to Pacific Beach and stopped by to see the Pacific Beach Resort & Conference Center.  The outside doesn't look like much...we're still undecided if we want to stay there sometime.  We then headed 16 miles south to Ocean Shores.  We visited Ocean Shores last summer and fell in love with it!  We love that we can drive on the beach and build a campfire by the ocean. 

Around sunset at Ocean Shore

A happy, dirty, sandy puppy

Dinner

A great day with my love.

After the sun set we headed home.  It was a long fun day.  I can't wait till we can spend more time in all these places!

Mil Spouse Friday FIll-In #9

It's Friday again...and it's hard to believe it's the middle of August!  The summer has flown by.  It doesn't feel like summer today...it's overcast, drizzly and in the 60's.  Boo.  I'm hoping warmer weather comes back before summer's over.

 Since it's Friday that means it's time for MilSpouse Friday Fill-In hosted by Wifey at Wife of a Sailor.  Head on over to join in!

1.  If you could be a fugitive from the law for whatever reason, what would your crime be? (from It's a Hooah Life)  

 When I think fugitive, I think of an American hiding Latin/South America living near the beach with money they stole/laundered. 

Not in Latin/South America but I could easily live here!

 

Stereotypical, I know.  So maybe breaking into a bank or laundering money so I could live near the beach?  I really have no desire to break the law (I'm sure non of you do!) and don't have a criminal mind.  This one was hard for me to answer!

2. How long do you think you will be a military family? (from Julie the Army Wife)

At the moment the plan is for The Man to do the career thing.  He didn't join right out of high school but in his mid 20's instead, so we're still looking at 15+ years.  A lot can happen in that time, so it's something that we regularly pray about.  We're open to other things so if something comes out we're OK with getting out, but are totally OK with staying in too!

3. What's your favorite recipe? (from Keep Calm and Soldier On)

I have lots.  My favorite thing to do in the crock pot is to put chicken (whole or pieces) with a powered soup mix (I often use Lipton Onion or Veggie soup mix or a seasoning works too!) with NO liquid and turn it on low all day.  The juices in the chicken come out and the chicken is super moist and yummy.  

As for an actual recipe, the one below is a current favorite.  Super easy and delicious!

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco 

4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
3 cups uncooked mezze penne pasta
3 cups chicken broth
¾ cup dry white wine such as Chardonnay
½ tsp each salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1¼ cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, divided
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about ¼ cup packed)
2 cups diced grilled chicken breasts
Additional grated fresh Parmesan cheese
and coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

1. Spray Deep Covered Baker with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Slice
garlic into baker using Garlic Slicer. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave
on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring after
2 minutes. Crush tomatoes using Mix ‘N Chop. Add pasta, broth,
wine, salt and black pepper.

2. Return baker to microwave; cover and microwave on HIGH 16-18
minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile,
coarsely chop basil with Chef’s Knife. Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish. Grate
cheese using Rotary Grater.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away
from you. Add remaining basil, cheese and chicken to baker; mix well.
Garnish with reserved 2 tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese and
black pepper, if desired.

4. What would you want your last five words to be when you leave this life? (from My Goal is Simple)

See ya in heaven!

5. Where do you hope to retire? (from Pennies from Heaven)

 We want to have a house where we are now and are also hoping to have one on the East Coast as well...in the New England/New York area (if we each get our way there will be one in Southeastern MA/RI and one in upstate NY).  Then we'd go back and forth between the two or three houses.  DH thinks he might like to teach when he gets out and I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up (I've already had a teaching career and while it was fun I'm OK with  not teaching again!)  I also think it would be cool to live overseas again and I'm partial to Southeast Asia.  I'd love to live in Ha Noi!

My favorite place in Ha Noi, Ho Hoan Kiem.

A perfect way to spend a Sunday...

It was in the 90's in the Pacific Northwest today.  So we wanted to find some water for Miss Molly to play in (we figured she was super hot in her fur coat!).  We tend to head to Fort Worden in Port Townsend but since we've been there several times we wanted to try somewhere new.  We headed to Scenic beach in Seaback.  It was a bit rockier that we like but we did manage to find a bit of beach without a lot of people where we could let Miss Molly off her leash.  She LOVES the water.  I even managed to go in...thanks to The Man.  He insisted that I go in...and since he pushed me in I went!.

Miss Molly ready to go for a ride

This is why they call it Scenic Beach

Molly giving the ball to The Man

Hanging out in the water

Miss Molly doesn't mind the rocks!

An action shot

And when we got back it was still hot out.  The Man was in a baking mood so he made tortillas and tried to make hot dog & hamburger buns.  My living room is 92 degrees...and who know how hot the kitchen is.  I'm not complaining cause now I have yummy tortillas for the week!

Randomness of my 1001 list

So there are several items on my 1001 list that I'd like to keep updated so I can keep track of them, so I'm going to put them all together on one page.

14.  Eat in 10 new restaurants

The Man & I used to eat our a lot and then we got tired of it so we stopped.  Plus we were trying to save money.  We realized that we weren't eating out at all so we've decided to try some of the non-national chain restaurants in the area. 

1 Fujiyama Japanese Steak House, Silverdale, WA  08.13.10  Super Yummy!
2 The In Place, Forks, WA  08.21.10  Decent food
3 Sonic, Morrilton, AR 08.20.10 
4 Fresh City, Newton MA 11.16.10
5 In-N-Out Burger, 11.10
6
7
8
9
10


29.  Go to 3 Ducks games
I'm not a huge football fan (I understand the game) but The Man is a HUGE Ducks fan so I've become one since I marrying into it:)  We didn't manage to get to any games last year but we are planning on making it down to Eugene this year.

1. 09.04.10, New Mexico Lobos, 72-0, Ducks won.
2.
3.


61.  Read the entire Bible.
It's been awhile since I read the entire bible so I thought it would be good to add to my list.  I won't be reading it in order, so I'll be bolding the book as I finish it and put the month I finished reading it.

Old Testament
Genesis  January 2011

Exodus January 2011
Leviticus January 2011
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
First Samuel
Second Samuel
First Kings
Second Kings
First Chronicles
Second Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

New Testament
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
First Corinthians
Second Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians July 2010
Colossians
First Thessalonians
Second Thessalonians
First Timothy
Second Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James September 2010

First Peter
Second Peter
First John
Second John
Third John
Jude
Revelation


 71.  Send/Receive 10 postcards via postcrossing.com

10 Sent

10 received

I'm really enjoying this!  It so much fun to get mail that isn't bills!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

It's Friday again and time for another Mil Spouse Fill-In hosted by Wifey at  Wife of a Sailor.  Grab the questions and add yourself to Mr. Linky if you want to join in! 

 

 1.  What is ONE thing you’d like civilians to understand about being a military family?

That I'd love to be able to give you a concrete date/time/schedule (about anything!) but I can't.  Very little in my life is written in concrete.   I'm sorry you don't like it.  There's nothing I can do about it...and how do you think I feel about it?!?!?

On the up side, I must say that the majority of my family & friends are great when it comes to this.  They don't push me for info or seem annoyed when I change plans a lot (I've been trying to set a date for heading back to the east coast for about six month and it keeps changing...though I think we may have figured it out...YAY!)  They have been an amazing support as I transitioned from military girlfriend to fiance to wife.  They are amazing!


 2.  What is your favorite mistake?

Hm.  Good question.  I do enjoy it when we forget we've paid a bill and then go to pay it again but realize it's already paid...yay, more money for us this month!

I met DH online and I had a routine of talking online, over email and over the phone before meeting in person.  It was a several month process and with DH I kinda threw it all out the window...we did all those things but in a very condensed version of about 2 weeks:)   
 
3. What indulgence could you give up for a year?

 I'm not a big drinker, so I could easily give up drinking for a year.  I could give up cable ...heck, I can give up having a TV (I lived without one for a few years and was content).  If I want to watch movies I can watch them on my computer...just don't take away my computer!
 
4.  If you could be a winged animal, what would you be?

 A winged animal...I think it would be kinda cool to be a dragon.  How cool would it be to able to to start a fire no matter what the weather?  You'd never be cold.  I'd want to be a nice dragon though.  The scales might not be comfortable...Eustace in Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis didn't like being a dragon.  It might be kinda lonely.  A flying squirrel might be cool.  Or a bird.  Or maybe Superman!
 
5.  What is one question you’d like to see asked in a future MFF?

What about....


What would you do with 1 million dollars?


or


What is one vacation spot you'd like to visit that you've never been to before?


or


If you could play any character on TV, who would you be?


or


oh, wait, you only wanted one.  Oops! 

Homemade

We like to make things from scratch (The Man makes it and I like to eat it).  We decided to try to make pasta.  The Man turned to our trusty red & white cookbook and realized that pasta is pretty easy...basically flour and eggs.  We added some spinach & smokey red pepper seasoning to it.

Rolling out the pasta dough

A close up of the dough

Drying the pasta...we ran out of room so we had to lay it out on paper towels

While we were waiting for the pasta to dry, The Man made bread

He made a cinnamon & raisin loaf

The finished pasta dressed in homemade basil pesto

The pasta was delicious paired with peas and grilled steak

The finished loaf of bread

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when the man disappears under the water again...guess I have to learn to make bread!

Sad Miss Molly

Oh poor Miss Molly.  She's moping today...The Man wasn't home much yesterday and is working all day today...so she's missing him.  I guess I'm not a good replacement...even though I've thrown the ball with her several times today.  The sun is out now so we'll be headed out again soon I'm sure.  She is a puppy that loves her daddy!

She would have you think that she is an unloved puppy which is so not true!

#99 out of 1001...Movies

99.  Watch 26 movies I've never watched starting with each letter of the alphabet 

I haven't seen a lot of movies, so I'm not expecting this one to be too difficult.  The Man will often start to quote a movie, but 9.9 times out of 10 I haven't seen the movie.  Hopefully this will help me see more movies and maybe I'll know what he's talking about in the future!  We also just got Netflix and we're enjoying the instant streaming (Mythbusters is currently on...love that show!)  It's great to have more access to movies we haven't seen!

A
B
C Couples Retreat;  August 20, 2010
D Despicable Me; August 13, 2010
E
F
G
H Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part I November 22, 2010
I Innerspace August 22, 2010
J Julie & Julia October 1, 2010
K Karate Kid May 6, 2011
L
M Marley & Me, August 7, 2010
N Night in the Museum  February 4, 2011
O Oh God!; August 12, 2010
P The Princess and the Frog  March 4, 2001
Q
R
S Sweeney Todd, January 16, 2011
T Tron, December 28, 2010
U
V Voyage of The Dawn Treader, December 26, 2010
W
X
Y
Z

ed81b06c-2bba-47bf-bc43-580e1e6dc847

1.03.01

Trying Again

My amazing husband surprised me this past weekend by building me the flower boxes I've been wanting for two of our windows.  He made it so it wraps around the side of the house...I love it!  So I'm trying again to plant things this summer and not kill them.

I had a great time at Lowe's trying to figure out what I wanted.  I brought Miss Molly along to help but she was more interested in sniffing the ground and getting me tangled in her leash than helping.  I ended up with some pansies, a gorgeous yellow dahlia and some herbs/veggies.  And dirt (but not enough cause I had to go buy more!)

Here's what we have:

 The boxes before I began

The supplies

One side finished

The other side is finished but I haven't taken pictures yet.  I've been remembering to water everything so everything is still alive...for now:)

Friday Fill-In

YAY, it's Friday again!  I hope you have some fun weekend plans for the first full weekend in August.  To start off today I'm participating in the MilSpouse Friday Fill In.  Thanks to Wifey at Wife of a Sailor for hosting!

1.  What is something you wished you’d learned to do earlier in life?

 I wish I had learned how to sew, knit & crochet earlier.  I've been sewing for about 5 years now and am just getting around to learning how to crochet.  Knitting is up next.  I wasn't interested in learning when I was younger but looking back I can see times when it would have been useful to know! 


2.  What is your biggest pet peeve with the military?

I'm having a hard time answering this one.  I think it's the red type and run around that you encounter.  Seriously, not getting a straight answer can drive me nuts!  It's kinds nice knowing that if you don't get an answer you like you can call back, talk to someone else and maybe get a different, nicer answer.  But really, I don't like stalking and would rather call once and get the "RIGHT" answer.  It would be nice to call back, talk to someone else and get the SAME, "RIGHT" answer.  I can handle schedules being written in warm jello but having other info written in warm jello just annoys me.

3.  What tourist attraction near you have you never seen?

Um, Point Defiance Zoo?  Mount Rainier?  Something in Seattle (The Space Needle & Pike's Place Market have been done) like the Seattle Art Musuem, the sculpture park or a whale watch (I really, really , really want to see some Orcas.  I look for them every time I'm on the ferry but no luck yet)  



4.  What are you avoiding doing right now?

Vacuuming, doing the dishes...general household stuff.  It will get done, I'm just taking my time enjoying my morning cup of tea.


5.  Wine, beer or liquor?

I'm not a big drinker but occasionally I'll have a glass of wine or a mixed drink.  I very rarely go for beer...and The Man usually ends up finishing it.

One Year Ago Today...

I married my best friend. 

It's been an amazing year.  It hasn't been perfect but it has been growing and stretching and learning.  I am so blessed by the man that I married.  I am thankful that I waited 28 years for him.  God knew what he was doing, I just had to be patient.   

One year down baby, and forever to go!

And now a look back:

 I love this picture of my brother in law explaining to my mom why they were an hour late.

My daddy was extremely sick and in the hospital in the month before the wedding.  We weren't sure he was going to be able to be at the wedding, never mind walk me down the aisle.  It was a major blessing to have him there with me.

 We were very thankful that The Man's pastor from Florida was able to fly to Massachusetts to marry us.

 We were making faces cause I spilled the sand on the table.  The sand thingie made it in one piece cross country without getting too shaken up too!

 Our families

I miss these ladies.  Such great friends!

My in-laws.  It was their 35 wedding anniversary.  The Man and I are the 3rd generation to get married on August 4.

It was also their 3rd wedding anniversary.
What can I say, we were unoriginal!  I was in their wedding and it was a joy to have them in/at ours. 

This is one of The Man's favorite photos.

One of my favorite pictures.  And if you look real close at the bottom, you can kinda see my red shoes!

Our first dance
Absolute contentment
Completely in love



I hope I didn't bore you...thank you for allowing me to remember and share with you!