Heirlooms

I am too excited. I just booked my flight home in October. Now it's just a waiting game until that time rolls around! I will be working then, so I hope it isn't too much trouble to ask time off from work.

I took a job as a medical-surgical nurse at the local hospital. I do not start until the second week of September, though. Until then, I'll be fine-tuning my brain, watching a lot of crappy TV, organizing my closet, and cooking a bunch of new recipes because, well, I have the time.

I also started playing volleyball with a team on base. It's just for fun, and it really is! Most of the players are boys in Chris' squadron so last time I played I had to come home to tell Chris, "If everyone is talking about the girl who got smacked in the face on the first play yesterday, that was me. I'm sorry!" He tried not to laugh as he hugged me.

Yesterday I caught up on "The Mindy Project" (new favorite show) and worked on Excel spreadsheets for the cabinets, fridge, and freezer. Yes, I am that nerdy. I have my reasons. I can't stand the idea that I might go buy another can of evaporated milk at the store when I have one at home. I've also been organizing closets. All of this is great, but I still have two rooms that I really need to clean up. My priorities are out of whack. :)

Anyway, on to the more enjoyable things-last night's dinner was FABULOUS. Chris and I have a ratings system where he gives it 1-5 stars. If something gets 3 or less stars and I can't improve it, I never make it again. We can do this because I've got 30+ cookbooks (no joke) and we don't have time to waste on "okay" recipes. This brings me to "Heirlooms". When I die, what I would love to be able to give our grandkids my cookbooks with all of my notes scribbled in them. The notes are overly honest and often I scribble how to improve the recipe in the margins. I've been known to write, "THIS IS CRAP" when something really sucks. This did not suck, and it was not overwhelming with the wasabi. I'm sure you could lessen or increase the amount of wasabi if you wanted to!

Well, here is a five-star recipe (in our opinion):
Wasabi Beef Fajitas
1 large sweet red pepper, julienned (I used a green pepper)
12 green onions with tops, cut in half lengthwise (I used 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion)
2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
1 lb. uncooked beef stir-fry strips (I used flank steak)
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp prepared wasabi
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced garlic (I used two, we like garlic)
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
1 cup coleslaw mix (I just used chopped cabbage)

Directions:
In a large skillet, stir-fry pepper and onions in 1 tbsp oil for 3 minutes, add cabbage, saute until all ingredients are tender. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, stir-fry the beef in the remaining oil for 5 minutes/until no longer pink.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, soy sauce, wasabi, ginger, and garlic until blended over beef. Bring to a boil; cook and stiry-fry for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return pepper mixture to the pan, heat through.
Spoon 1/2 cup mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold one side of tortilla over filling and roll up. Serve immediately.
Makes 8 servings.

We added guacamole with the typical ingredients: avocado, onion, tomato, cayenne pepper, garlic, salt and pepper, but I've made a new discovery down here that I haven't seen before-fajita seasoning. I added a tsp or so to the guacamole and it made it very, very delicious. I was quite impressed.

Enjoy! :)

I might be a bit psychotic about my cookbooks, but since I have about fifty of them I feel the need to be, not to mention all of the recipes I get from allrecipes.com and pinterest. I always write down the best recipes from the internet so that if the internet ever crashes and burns I will still have them all written down. I flag allof the recipes I want to try, and I just added two excel spreadsheets to my list: "Recipes to Try", and "Favorite Recipes". This way I can keep track of what we will try and what we have tried and loved. This is easily the most organized section of my life.

The Saga Continues...

I just got back from a little grocery run at our local mart--Dollar General.

That's right, our Dollar General meets most of your grocery needs. They sell beer, wine, cream cheese, clothes, underwear, etc. I was surprised at how many things they actually sold! When we moved in our landlord said, "You'll frequent Dollar General. Everyone does."

I wasn't sure what that meant then, but I know now that means that if you need bread/cheese/milk that's where you go. I like that there is at least an option. I obviously bought the things that matter, like candy corn and peanuts because FALL is coming. Yes, I am your typical white female, I friggin' love fall. It seems I shopped there just in time, as they close at 3pm every day due to A/C issues. And in Texas, A/C issues are much more than issues.

Today is a busy one for me, I'm getting my hair colored, back to red, later this afternoon. This morning I had an interview for a job that I would really, really like. I'm hoping to hear from them this afternoon or tomorrow, because I was offered another job yesterday, and have an interview for yet ANOTHER job possibly tomorrow. It would be really great to know which direction to head. The job from yesterday would be great experience and the staff seemed incredibly nice, but it's a drive and there are on-call hours, which could mean upwards of 120 miles on my car each day. The job from today is closer, the staff is really nice, and it's a small hospital that could teach me a lot. I've got my fingers and toes crossed.

Nalli ran away last week. I ran around a town with 3,000

Bart "not" in the kitchen

people crying and whistling. An unforgettable sight I'm sure,

I could be the talk of the town now. After running around in

110 degree heat for a couple of hours, I decided to go home

and get a drink before I passed out. Suddenly, I hear the

front door close tighter and I figured it was someone about

to knock that I would have to talk to. Somehow, miraculously,

my prayers were answered, and it was Nalli leaning against

the front door just waiting for me to come home or to let her back in.

I went to open the door, but I was down on my knees, sobbing

and crawling toward her. She skillfully avoided my attempt at

a hug and went straight to the water dish. These dogs sure do

know how to make you feel loved.

Our kitchen here is set up differently than the one in Florida,

where the carpet made lines so that the dogs knew they

could not cross into kitchen territory, but here the dogs

have to cross through the distant end of the kitchen to go

outside. We put down some electrical tape to draw the line, 

but as you can see here, that's working very well.

Nalli, testing the boundaries

 

 Bart is impossible to keep busy. We gave him a huge knuckle bone (larger than my fist) and it kept him busy for no more than a few hours. He really is something. He won't stay in his kennel so now we just lock him in the bathroom.

Ruby was sleeping in a puddle outside to stay cool, so we decided to cover it with rubber mulch. She no longer wants to sleep there. She found a new puddle to sleep in. We cannot win with this dog. I don't even want to give her a bath anymore, because within the hour she will be dirty again. Oh, Ruby.

Chris officially starts the next portion of flight school on Monday. It means I will be seeing a lot less of him-either when he is gone or because he will be in his man cave, studying. I've enjoyed the last couple of weeks, though, only worrying about having time to hang out with him.

We had a friend of his over for dinner a few nights ago-a fellow Marine jet pilot whose wife is in the Navy and is currently deployed. They haven't really lived together since they've been married! I can't imagine going through what they are going through, and both being selfless and fighting for our country and our freedom. That's an admirable couple.

Now that we have pictures hung on the walls, and less boxes around, our house is really starting to look like a home. It's much smaller than our last place, but it's cozy. I wish we were closer to home because it's the type of home you'd want to host Christmas in.

Robin Williams died this week, by suicide. Social media is cruel in a way that it shows you the same story, in many different ways, at all hours of the day. There was little privacy for the family. I know that suicides happen every day, but it's been quite a few years since I felt personally affected by the loss of a dear human life to suicide. I have never been there myself, where I felt so down that I thought it would be better to be dead. My heart aches knowing that another soul felt that way. Robin Williams was in a bunch of movies and even more as a voice actor. My brother, who has autism, has worn out his tapes of Flubber and Aladdin to the point where I can't even believe they play anymore. Every year growing up, my family watched a movie on New Year's Eve. To begin 2000, we watched Bicentennial Man. Chris watched Mrs. Doubtfire with his four sisters and his brother in their van on nearly every roadtrip. His favorite movie is Good Will Hunting. Countless other movies affected our lives and he was such an entertainer, and so cared for our homeless and our troops; it's just really hard to know that the world is a bit of a darker place with him gone.

I stopped and asked Chris the other night, "Is it dumb to care this much about someone I didn't know?" He hugged me and told me it wasn't. I'm so glad I have someone that doesn't make me feel silly.

I've had time to make some really wonderful dinners lately, as I've had the time and Chris has been around to enjoy them. I'd like to share some of my favorites below:

http://www.marthastewart.com/314671/penne-with-creamy-pumpkin-sauce

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/04/wasabi-roasted-asparagus.html

AAAND

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cottage-Meatloaf/Detail.aspx

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.



Y'all Get to Texas!

Let's see, 19 days ago we found out we were moving to Texas and Chris would be flying jets for the rest of his career as a Marine Aviator. 15 days ago we got orders. 14 days ago we scheduled movers to come pack our things and move us from Florida to Texas. 8 days ago the packers came to put everything we owned into boxes. 7 days ago movers loaded all of our belongings onto a truck. 6 days ago we arrived in Texas and saw our new home. 5 days ago our belongings arrived at our new home with about 700 square feet less of space. 3 bottles of Moscato later, our house is somewhat put together. Today I hung pictures on the wall, and that is a pretty big deal, my readers.

The town we live in now is called Bishop. We live near the famous King Ranch (http://www.king-ranch.com/) and that's pretty much the only claim to fame around here. It's weird to be back in a small town after living In Omaha, living near D.C. and then in Pensacola.

I think the only way to accurately portray what I'm going through is by interview, so here goes.

What is your favorite thing to do in Bishop?
Well, when I used Google Maps to research "entertainment", all that came up was one RedBox and one bar. We haven't utilized either.

What amenities are available to you?
Well, when I called to set up cable/internet last week on Wednesday, the customer service representative actually laughed at me when I asked if someone could come out the next day. Apparently that is unheard of.

Was it important to you to have a handicap accessible house?
Well, our movers really appreciated it, but the handicap accessible ramp was not on our list of priorities, no.

How many cats did you expect to receive with your new home?
To be honest, we weren't expecting any cats. Thank goodness the elderly lady who lived here previously (and did not die here, in case you were wondering), was kind enough to feed 13 stray cats who managed to hang around long after she was gone. Madison, a calico cat, was brave enough to sleep on our front porch the other day. A Nalli on a leash quickly taught her that that was a terrible idea.

What's your favorite game to play in your new town?
We may as well continue the cat conversation, as Chris and I enjoy counting cats while on our morning run. I won yesterday with 14 cats while he lost with just 1. Mind you, all 15 were seen in the first two miles of our run.

Where is the nearest hypnotic bullseye that makes you buy things (Target)?
35 miles away. I don't want to talk about it.

Is there a grocery store nearby?
Not in my town. The next town over has H.E.B. It's like a wannabe Hy-Vee but the H.E.B. is short for Henry Edward Butts. It's sufficient.

What have you been doing without Wi-Fi for almost an entire week?
I've been very thankful for our extensive movie collection, and trying to find room for all of my kitchenware/dishes.

How does Bishop keep up with the times?
It doesn't. If you want to pay for gas at the station with your debit card, you have to wait for the dial-up internet. Painful.

How did Ruby handle the move?
Pretty well. Her new "spot" is in the bedroom, with her head under the bed, trying to muffle the sounds of the rest of us being alive.

How about Nalli?
Nalli escaped twice in the first two days. Our house is lifted off the ground and she Army crawled right under it. The first time, we looked up out the front door and she was outside just watching us. The second time was after our landlord had been at our house for half an hour when he asked, "By the way, are all of your dogs in the backyard?" We ran out to check; she wasn't. Chris jumped in the Jeep and drove around the corner, she was trying to find shade in the terrible Texas heat, panting like she might pass out. She hasn't tried to run away since.

And Bart?
Bart broke out of his kennel the first time we left the house. He decided to devour an entire loaf of bread as well as rip open a bag of coffee grounds and fling them all over. He was awake for about 48 hours after that.

How do people like to decorate in Bishop?
The local trend seems to be mattresses in the yard. The really artistic townspeople have a mattress AND a boxspring!

What are you neighbors like?
We haven't really met any of them yet. The young daughter of one of the local mattress artists threw her small dog at us today-and I wish I was kidding, but we were walking Bart and Ruby and she picked the dog up, walked toward us, and threw her dog toward us. I remained very cool and said, "Honey, my dog is not nice to other dogs, can you please pick your dog up?" I swear to you, this girl did not know English, because she stared at me and then walked away. It's probably a good thing I didn't say what I really wanted to, which was something like, "Who the hell throws a dog? Where are your parents?! Where did you learn that you little monster?!"

Are there any landmarks in Bishop?
Yes! I use the broken-down school bus across the street to find our house.

Was it hard to move around the house with all of those boxes?
Yes, it was hard for all of us. Ruby had the hardest time, though. I went into the bathroom to grab something and she was standing near the toilet, presumably having just drank from it (which is not allowed). I shook my head at her and left. I returned ten minutes later with her in the same awkward standing position, not having moved an inch. "Okay, Ruby, what is wrong with you?" I walk over and realize that she managed to get her front legs over the cord but not her back legs, so she was just standing there waiting for someone to come save her.

Are you enjoying the wildlife?
Yes, but Nalli is enjoying it more than anyone. I came outside the other morning to find her foaming at the mouth because she tried to lick a toad.

Did you receive any housewarming gifts?
Yes! My most thoughtful husband bought me a bugzapper! We were disappointed, though, because this one is 50% quieter than other bugzappers. We had planned on drinking beer on the back porch listening to the sweet sounds of bugs' lives ending.

How did the dogs travel?
So well! The highlight was definitely when Nalli jumped out of the driver's side window of my car and followed me into the gas station. Thankfully, some lady in the parking lot said, "Uh, your dog like, jumped out of your car..." to me so I noticed before we walked through the door.

Is your new home suitable for people your size?
No. We hit our head on the light fixtures multiple times before we had to ask the landlords to replace them. We also crouch in the shower.

How is Chris blending in to Texas?
He bought cowboy boots. Fantasy fulfilled. ;)

How important are three-prong outlets?
Not important. Unless you want to plug in anything that's been made in the last ten years.

One last question, what is your favorite room in the house?
I can tell you my least favorite room! Did you know wood paneling still exists? It does.


Enjoy laughing at my pain, friends! Yee-haw!