So This is Fredericksburg

I had to take my car in today because the connections between the buttons on the dashboard and the actual heating/cooling unit weren't working. They had to replace the whole part which was GREAT because it was covered under the extended warranty (Thanks Dad!) and they ended up putting all new buttons in. AKA SHINY! It did not take very long but my new friend Kelli came to pick me up. She took me to Old Towne  Fredericksburg and it was fabulous! It is filled with boutiques, antique shops, candy stores, tea shops, restaurants, and other wonderful things.

Some highlights:
Lunch at Foode
http://foodeonline.com/

This insane store called "Taste" where all they sell is Oil Vinegar Spice
http://tasteovs.com/
(Seriously, Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar would truly make an amazing salad dressing. On anything. And I would absolutely cook with the majority of them. It was so fun. They just let you try a little bit and they have three sizes OR six packs of  small bottles, and you can pick the six. Seriously a fantastic place.)

There is a store that is filled TO THE BRIM with NOTHING but CAT things. Katherine would just die if we went here. They was even a live cat running around.
http://thecatscloset.com/

I easily could have spent the entire day there. There was an antique shop with tons of green dishes and depression glass that I could have added to my collection, but I specifically told Kelli to slap my hand if I tried to buy anything. :)

After we were all down in Old Towne, Kelli took me to Wegman's, the big grocery store around here. It is HUGE. And unbelievable. The selection of crabs, oysters, lobsters, and everything is unlike anything I have ever seen...so fresh....so huge. It's wonderful I can't wait to branch out in my cooking to include all of these things. The selection of everything there is really large. It reminds me of a high class Baker's. The best part of everything is the craft beer selection. The microbrews. Oh goodness I was just in Heaven. Although they don't carry Lucky Bucket (how could I be so lucky) they do carry a lot of my favorites from home. I bought Chris a six-pack of Dogfish IPA which, while we lived in Nebraska, you had to go to Colorado to get. I am personally drinking Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, which is delicious and dark and smooth. Luckily Kelli had enough patience to wait for me to decide. The selection was overwhelming. There is a selection for New York beers only and I have never had a beer from New York. I am very happy to say that I now have at least one plan for the summer--try a lot of different beers. :)

Nalli has been moping around the house all day long. She lies in the middle of the floor of the living room and lets out big sighs to make sure that I know she is not happy she can't go outside due to the rain. Now she is lying next to the door to the deck in a horribly mopey position with sad eyes to make sure I know how depressed she is by the rain. I let her walk to the mailbox with me but I guess that just doesn't cut it.

I have Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Chops in the slow cooker. These were on the menu for YESTERDAY but the funny thing about slow cookers is...they cook slowly. So when you forget to start it up until 1800 they probably won't be done when the very hungry husband comes home. So they are on the menu for tonight and yesterday I made Padre Island Shells instead.

Yesterday ended up being both an emotional and frustrating day. I'll start with the frustrating part first. Every person I called yesterday either didn't answer or I got a busy signal. I spent most of the day moping around because it is incredibly hard to find a job here for a new graduate. There are a million nursing jobs but nobody wants someone without experience. So here I sit with this nursing degree I should "be able to take anywhere" and "get a job anywhere with" and instead I sit here at home playing happy housewife. It was fun for about three days.

Yesterday was truly emotional. A friend and old co-worker of Chris' clipped a power line flying out of Norfolk over the weekend and his plane crashed. Both he and his passenger died. It hit really close to home. Dale was his name. He was one of the people at the airport who was always really easy to talk to and I know Chris really enjoyed his company. It's hard because nobody out here knows who he is so it's just kind of Chris and I coping out here on our own. It makes me really sick because Chris and I have flown that same flight a bunch of times. We've flown into Norfolk, eaten at Barnstormers, and flown back more than once. It could have been us. It wasn't, and it's unfair. Dale was like us--young with lots of potential and lots of life ahead of him. I can't stop thinking of his friends and family because I know what a nice guy he was and how much he will truly be missed. (Although I didn't know his passenger, I feel just the same for her, her friends, and her family.) I don't know why things work the way they do sometimes, but something that has always helped me get through times like that is this: New International Version (©2011)
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

The First Weekend

Chris started his training on Tuesday. He came home fairly late almost every night except for Tuesday and Friday I believe. Now that I type that it really does not sound that terrible...but there is something very lonely about having dinner warm and ready and having to re-heat it three times thinking he would be home soon and then wasn't. I felt bad for him, too, because he did not get much sleep and even the paperwork can be kind of strenuous when it is all new and for such important things.

Needless to say, when the weekend came we really took some time to relax. I feel better just knowing he is in the house, even if it means he is playing Battlefield in the basement while I'm upstairs cleaning. We got a little bit done this weekend. Cleaned a little, did some laundry, grocery-shopped, went to Prince William Forest Park, Chris got his weekly haircut, and I planned out the menu for the week. So far I have stuck to it. (One day in-haha!) I really wanted to order Chinese last night but we are broke, so it just did not seem worth it.

Menu plans as of now:
Sunday: pizza noodle bake (mom's friend's recipe)
Monday: sweet 'n' sour pork chops (2008 Quick Cooking page 162)
Tuesday: chicken marsala over rice (Campbell's Skillet)
Wednesday: pork 'n' potato skillet (2008 Quick Cooking page 256)
Thursday: TBD
Friday: crunchy baked chicken (2010 The Best of Country Cooking, page 45)
Saturday: padre island shells (Taste of Home Pasta, page 92)

Planning the menus are so fun, even if it isn't fun to go spend the money to buy the things to make them. But we have to eat and the people in charge of Chris specifically told us to make sure they were eating a lot at home, and since I would feel terrible if he had to eat in the chow hall much, I make sure to make a lot of whatever it is so he doesn't have to pay for meals. When we get done eating, I have been making him rate whatever it is. I have just been drawing stars in the books so I know if it is worth ever making again. So far, so good, but we have only done this for some cookies I made the other day.

I forgot to mention that the day we had the spouse's luncheon we all ate in the chow hall. I barely touched my food, but also didn't realize that there were choices--which meant I tried the chicken that was the ugliest, blandest color I had ever seen, the over-steamed broccoli, and the crunchy rice. It was just not good.

I have gotten up a bit earlier than Chris every morning he has had to go so far, just to make breakfast and talk to him a little and make sure he has everything he needs. I am not so good at breakfast so it's usually just toast and eggs or bagels or something of the sort, but I would think it is better than nothing and even better when he doesn't have to spend time making it. The trouble is that it is really hard to get back to sleep after he leaves unless I sleep on his side of the bed so I can smell him. This morning might be easier because the birds are singing and it is still dark because Virginia blessed us with some beautiful rain this morning. I love it; Chris is not as excited because he has a PFT this morning.

So, here's to hoping that breakfast burrito I made helps him get as many pull-ups and sit-ups as possible, as well as a great time on his run.

We Made It!

I can't believe we packed up our things and left Nebraska almost a month ago already. The movers came a day later than expected due to snow, and we were lucky to leave when we did because Nebraska continued to get snow off and on up until a few days ago. Chris and I drove 1,299 miles to Virginia over the course of three days. We had good weather and prayers on our side, as we made it with very few mishaps, two somewhat relaxed dogs, and some quality time together.

I was very lucky to have Chris throughout all of this. He planned our route, made all the reservations, and even let me stop to pee as much as I wanted to with very little complaining. Luckily, I could also use the dogs as an excuse... "Oh, Chris, I think Nalli might have to go again..."

The night we arrived in Virginia, we took a couple of minutes to unload into the hotel room, settle the dogs, and freshen up before heading right back out the door. We went to meet a potential renter about a house that looked great online. Turns out he was a corpsman and she is the head of an organization that helps military families. It was meant to be. The house was even cuter in person and the owners of the house could not have been nicer people. We had signed a lease within two hours of arriving in Virginia.

We left some cleaning supplies that were in my car there overnight so we did not have to lug them across town again. We went out for burgers and beer at Buffalo Moe's to celebrate. After three days of driving, it's hard to be awake enough to celebrate.

The next morning we went to base and accidentally stumbled upon the office we were looking for to register our vehicles. We then drove around a bit figuring out where Chris would take classes, and then headed back to the hotel so that we could get everything packed up and out of the room and into OUR NEW HOUSE.

Since we did not have much with us, the first few days were just spent cleaning and getting the house ready for the movers. It did not take more than a couple of days for the two of us to get kind of stir crazy. We made the time pass by seeing Jurassic Park in 3-D, going to Prince William Forest Park, going to the Marine Corps Museum, and just generally getting to know the neighborhood.

By Wednesday, I had already decided it was time to plant the garden. In just a few hours I weeded the front and back of the house, went to the nursery down the street, and bought tools from Lowe's to plant everything. The front of the house just has a mixture of wildflowers and zinnias and things of that nature.

Our backyard has a raised flower bed, where I planted cucumbers, sweet corn, jalapenos, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, sunflowers, and cabbage. So far the sweet corn, potatoes, onions, and cucumbers have popped up. The tomatoes, jalapenos, sweet peppers, and cabbage started as little plants and they have at least doubled in size. It has been so fun watching things pop up--it really makes me feel as though I have a green thumb I did not know about!

This past week we had a luncheon for the wives and husbands of Charlie Company. I met SO many nice people. It is unbelievable how similar we can be even though we come from completely different backgrounds and places. I guess that's how it goes when you get thrown into an unknown situation like this.

More on that later. As broke as we are, we are trying to figure out where to order Chinese from in Stafford.