Homesick

Hey everyone, Greetings from Oklahoma, though I am far away and do not have access to the computer, I am continuing to write posts and have them published for me. Feel free to leave comments :)
They will be passed on to me. I hope you are all having a great new year!

I'm in Oklahoma and I miss home. 

I knew that I would be homesick, but holy moly I am homesick!

Salt Lake has been my home for my entire life. I've traveled to Italy and to Mexico, I've seen places all over the western United States, I've enjoyed what I've seen around me in all of these settings, but I'm always so happy to return home and to see everything that is so familiar.

I miss my bed.

I miss my wooby.


I miss Brittons, a little mom and pop restaurant at home...All I can think about some morning at chow is going to breakfast there with my family.

I miss the mountains. Oh goodness...I miss the mountains so much.

I'm going to miss watching the Winter melt into Summer (yes, melt into Summer...spring doesn't really get the chance to exist in Utah)

I miss my family and my messy house.



I miss my clothes! I am so tired of being in this damn costume.

I miss typing out an awesome blog post and clicking publish then watching the comments roll into my email.

I miss my guitar and mandolin...

And I miss my phone. Good heavens, I miss my phone...

I miss pinning endlessly when I can't sleep.

I miss sleeping late and 20 minute showers...

I miss Beans & Brews...

And I miss being home. Just walking into my house. Sitting there, doing nothing for a while and just feeling all the comfort of being in my own house...

+++++++++

When you leave home, what do you miss?

Your Age Is Showing!

What's up, blogosphere? As you may know, I'm currently in basic training. I'm eating food I don't have time to taste, running my guts out, and marching around in some camouflage learning how to be a soldier. In my absence, I've asked some bliggity blog friends to step in and take over my blog for my "While I'm away" series! 

Today, I have "A Girl" for you. She is married to a Marine. That means that she is also married to the Marine Corps. I have been reading her blog ever since I first started blogging seriously.  She has been a huge influence on me and my blogging style, so it's pretty exciting to have her here today! Show her some love and visit her blog! 

Today, she's sharing with you the proof that she is not the young spring chicken she once was ;)

Proof that I’m old

In my head, I’m still very much so a young lady (not even a woman). I shudder to

think that I’m hitting an age where people can start calling me Ma’am and that it

would be acceptable (though physical harm may come to those who dare to say it).

It’s strange to me that I’m not only NOT a newlywed anymore, but that people feel

very comfortable calling me Mrs. But, fewer things will make you feel older than

realizing that you remember a time before the internet existed.

Now, I’m sure many of you remember that too. I’m sure many of you remember all

the same things I do, but do you ever really stop to think about it in the terms of the

young’uns coming up now?

I vividly remember my now pre-teen nephew being born, as well as my youngest

cousins, two of which now have a driver’s license. I also remember being told they

got their licenses and having a small panic attack that my little baby cousins were

driving! They are still 5 years old! I just painted their nails pink and let them dress

up in my clothes last week, didn’t I?

But I see them on Facebook and it makes me realize a few things that I will share

with you in list form:

1. When I was their age, my mom was mad that I got a beeper. I paid hardly

any money for it and was one of only 10 kids I knew at my high school that

had one. And our schools hadn’t even developed a policy on that kind of

technology being brought to school yet.

2. My senior year was the first time our curriculum mandated that we use

internet sources for our papers. And people were PISSED! Most of us didn’t

even have computers at home, let alone the internet! And Wikipedia didn’t

exist, which meant internet sources were hard to come by.

3. When I was a kid, we had a rotary telephone. And that was normal. We were

even cutting edge and had the one with actual buttons. My neighbors still

have one with the wheel.

4. My grandparents had a super cool computer that used floppy discs that were,

wait for it, ACTUALLY floppy. No joke. And that was still very cutting edge

and I loved to visit them and play games in DOS.

5. We had a TV, but MTV was something you paid for and no kid in their right

mind would watch TV instead of playing hide and seek in the neighborhood.

6. We went trick or treating at actual houses. None of this going to the mall

crap. Where we live currently hosts something in the center of town and in

three years, we’ve only had one trick or treater come to our door.

I read an article somewhere that did a survey of high school (and some college)

aged kids. All of them new what icon to click to save a document in Word, but the

majority of them didn’t know what the icon was a picture of. I just about died. A

picture of a floppy disc has been the icon I’ve clicked my entire computer using life

and it never occurred to me that my little baby cousins would have no idea what the

picture was of.

Dear Lord, I am OLD!

Want to see more from A Girl? 

I know! Me too! So...

Check her out! I'm sure that she would love to hear from you!

    

Until next time, bloggers!

A Little 'Bout Love

Happy Valentines Day, everyone!  If you're wondering what the bunny has to do with Valentines day..well the answer is nothing, but that heart...that is exactly what a heart that I colored would look like, so this little piece of clip art is simply necessary. 

I'm not the biggest Valentines Day lover in the world, but I figured I would give you guys some love from basic!

Kiss your sweetheart if you've got one.

If you don't...well, the way I see it, you've got two options: You can hate this day, wallow is self-pity and wish you were like your friends who got flowers and are going out to dinner tonight.

Or you can just...not care. Valentines day is a greeting card holiday that people use as an excuse to go out. No need to hate it, it's just another day!

I thought I would use today as an excuse to throw out some good quotes about love...That might sound kind of dumb, but I think that we forget what love is and we need to be reminded, and other people tend to say it better than I. 

And that's all I've got for you today. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

I Haven't Been Everywhere

I've said time and time again that I have always just wanted to be grown up. Ever since I was a little girl, I just wanted to be big.

Well, that is still true, but I have been looking at it a little bit differently lately. The Army tends to change your perspective just a little bit. I haven't been here long, but I've been here long enough to be changed forever...

Although I'm not wishing that I was still an innocent child, I am really learning to embrace my youth. Basic sort of makes you think about things you wouldn't have otherwise. It's like you finally get it. You finally see that this world is so much bigger than you and me. That there are forces of nature that are working against you, but you have to overcome it. You have to embrace whatever comes your way. 

It got me thinking about this random, completely non-special day cruising when I saw that someone had pinned all these cute things about travel. 

In high school I had the opportunity to go to Italy for a week and Mexico for two weeks. It was such an amazing experience to go away and I just keep thinking about doing it again. As I sit here writing this, I feel this wander-lust set it...I just want to get up and go...everywhere! 

Source: pinerly.com via Katie on Pinterest

I'm really excited to finish up here and start my next chapter. I'm excited to go to college and have new adventures there. I will hopefully get to go some cool places with my unit on our two week training deals during the summer...Now that I am at this perfect age to live like there is no tomorrow, I really want to.

Before I left for basic, I was doing a pretty good job of this. I was going out with my friends, partying, wandering around downtown Salt Lake...I was just trying to remind myself what it's like to be young. And it worked...Now, I just want to run off and do everything. See everything. Be all that I can be.

What's on your list?

What's Cooking?

Hey Everyone! Right now, I'm getting yelled at by a Drill Sergeant and probably wanting my mommy a little bit...In my absence, I've ask a few friends to take over my blog for the "While I'm away" segment I've set up for each Monday morning!  I will be around from time to time, posting from afar somehow so keep your eye out for updates on how I'm doing in basic! 

Today, she is sharing a recipe! Little didshe know, these happen to be one of my favorite desserts! And I am not a dessert person!

Without further ado, I give you, Stephanie!

Hi there, Camo-Colored companions! I'm Steph from over at Stephanews and I'm here to fill in for the fabulous Miss Katie while she's away at Basic Training (seriously, how awesome is she?!).

You ought to know that I am a shameless addict of the Food network. But even though I spend most Saturday mornings on the couch soaking up knowledge from my girl Paula Deen, I am not the next Top Chef (see: chicken flop).  I do enjoy a cooking adventure and as much as I get frustrated, I love pretending I know what I'm doing. So I'm going to share a recipe with you. It's delicious, easy, and close to my heart! 

One snowy afternoon in Minnesota, my then crush (now husband) called me up and asked if I wanted to make "Snowman Turds". He trudged all the way over to my dorm with the ingredients and we made these gooey, chocolatey, messy balls of deliciousness. I've since learned that a more glamorous name for this treat is Oreo Truffles, and have added a few twists. 

This is obviously not my own photo. I would never leave a half-eaten oreo.

 Begin with a package of Oreos (this is one time I will recommend not using double stuff). Eat a couple, and you'll have the perfect amount...but seriously, use about 30. Now you have to crush them. Using a food processor is easy and fast but putting them in a bag and crushing them with a rolling pin or hammer, or your hands is therapeutic and fun. When they're nice and crumbly you need to mix in a block of softened cream cheese. It will look like this. 

If you're feeling zingy (I'm all about zing), this is where you would add about 1 tsp of mint extract.

 Ready to get messy? Good. Forget the spoon and use your hands. Roll this mess into little balls and slap them onto your wax paper-covered baking sheet. Now it's time to dip. You'll need a bag--maybe two, depending on how big your balls are...yep. went there--of white chocolate chips melted nicely. My preferred method is to put them in a heat-safe bowl and put the bowl over a pot of boiling water. 

Now, while being careful not to burn your little fingers, dip and roll your balls in the chocolate (a fork or slotted spoon will work nicely) and set them back on the baking sheet! Now would be the time to decorated them if you're planning on doing that. Since I added the mint extract I used candy canes to top them. You could use any kind of sprinkle, nut, or whatever you'd like! 

Candy cane bits = more crushing. 

Sprinkle your topping on before the chocolate gets hard, then pop them in the refrigerator (or freezer, depending how much time you have) until the chocolate is set. Voila! Delicious candy coating on the outside, rich and gooey oreo goodness on the inside. 

Thanks for reading! Walk-ins are always welcome at my blog, so feel free to stop on by!

xo Steph

Want to see more from Steph? I'm pretty sure that you do...

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Check this girl out! Go follow her!

The Life of Ms. A Bish!

Hey Everyone! Right now, I'm getting yelled at by a Drill Sergeant and probably wanting my mommy a little bit...In my absence, I've ask a few bloggy friends to take over my blog!  I will be around from time to time, posting from afar somehow so keep your eye out for updates on how I'm doing in basic! 

Today I've got my girl Ashley from The Life of Ms. A Bish.  She is the first lovely participant in what I'm calling my "While I'm away" Series. Every Monday while I'm gone, I have lovely ladies starring in their very own guest posts on my blog! I hope you enjoy getting to know all of these great people and definitely pay their blogs a visit! You won't regret it!

Ashley and I are so much alike, and we hope to one day be IRL (that's in real life) friends! I hope you enjoy what she's got for you today! 

Hey y’all! I’m Ashley. I’m a cheerful 22 year old trying to find my place in the world. I’m a Virginia born girl but South Carolinian at heart. I was raised saying y’all and drinking sweet tea. I love dogs and crafting. I am a college graduate with trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my two degrees. But I figured out a long time ago that I am in love with a man I call J; a man who is currently serving in the Air Force and found a way to win over my heart. 

What is your favorite thing about being a MilSO?  What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing is when I see him for the first time in a week or two weeks or a month. It’s like time stands still and nothing in the world can touch or hurt me. Suddenly I don’t feel so empty inside. Simply holding hands has so much meaning.

Conversely, saying “see you later” is the worst thing that could ever be. Since the first time we had to part we started writing notes before we left and that helps, but nothing can replace him being with me.

Name some of your favorite things to do and why you love them?

I love to craft; crocheting, scrapbooking and cross stitching are my favorites. They are very calming to me. Plus I feel so good when I can give somebody a homemade gift. It means so much more in my eyes.

I enjoy geocaching. It’s where you find objects hidden in plain sight using a GPS. One of my goals for this year was to try to find more adventure in my life. This has surely done it and taken me to some truly beautiful places in the process. If you want to read a better description of geocaching, you can go to geocaching.com to see what it’s all about.

I also love to go wine tasting. I love tasting new flavors of wine and just experiencing new things.

Who do you look up to and why?

My mom is the one person I've always looked up to. She has grace and is kind. She is a hard worker and never runs out of advice, even when I don’t want to hear it. She is an excellent cook and a wonderful wife and mother. I hope that I can be half as good as her someday.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

I’m excited to see where life will take me. I’m kind of at a cross roads in my life with my future kind of wide open. I hope to find myself a little, experience life and make some great memories in the process.

Want to see more from Ashley?

The Life of Ms. A Bish