The end of the beginning

one of Connor's instructors said that their MP (military police) graduation wasn't the end. It was the end of the beginning- so far they've been training non-stop. From 13 weeks of boot camp to their military police training- that is all over. Now they really start their lives as Marines. Here are some pictures from the day:

the Marines, waiting to graduate:


Connor, accepting his diploma:

here is a short video of them singing the Marine Corps Hymn:



a random shot of him in that goofy hat!
Connor will be driving/ shooting out of the top of these:






and this is what happened after about 5 minutes in the car! He snored for about 100 miles. :-)

Connor is on leave for a few days before he reports to Okinawa... and then to Afghanistan. Yuck. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

loving this plate

my most recent decor purchase:


I love this thing and it works in so many different places in our house! I really need to go back and get a few more.

Birthday Flowers :-)

lots of pictures of my gorgeous birthday flowers:

a big thanks to my in-laws for such a beautiful arrangement!

15 years

that's how long I've know my friend Mandy. She was one of my very best friends from high school and I had not seen her in way too long! Mike and I drove to her country house yesterday to spend some time with her and her family- it was so much fun!

Here are some pictures from our day:


Mandy & her adorable daughter Pema:

Roller Derby!!! Mandy was one of the founding members of the Kansas City Roller Derby team- now there are teams all over the country. We watched the Arkansas Killbillies vs. The Kansas City Roller Warriors-- so FUN!!

The lighting was so weird inside and I was experimenting with me new camera- so all the pics are a little weird!


And finally, here we are holding our motivational sign... LMAO!!!

what a great day! I'm so glad I've reconnected with Mandy and I can't wait to see her again!

30 is the new 29

It's 12:13 am and I'm officially 30 freaking years old!! I still can't wrap my head around it!

New Favorite Recipe!

So I haven't really said anything on here, but my healthy eating for the past few months has kind of morphed into a vegan diet. I'm not entirely vegan because I refuse to give up fish (I've got to have my sushi!!) or honey. And I still wear leather, wool, silk etc. But my diet is dairy free and mostly meat free. Because of this change I've been exploring some different recipes. Here is one that Mike and I both LOVED. It's easily adapted to be just a vegetarian meal (by adding real cheese instead of the vegan cheese). But seriously, try it- this is so yummy!!

Veggie Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of refined coconut oil ( you could use olive oil)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow or green bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups enchilada sauce
1 cup fresh corn, cooked or one cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
12 corn tortillas
4 oz. vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally until all vegetables are tender- about 10 minutes. Transfer the veggies to a large bowl and add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, the corn, olives, salt, cumin and coriander. Warm the remaining enchilada sauce in a small saucepan. Then transfer the sauce to a small round 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Working one tortilla at a time, use tongs to dip the tortilla into the enchilada sauce, dipping to soften the tortilla and coat both sides. Transfer the tortilla to a plate and spoon about a 1/4 cup of the veggie mix down the middle of the tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam side down in the 9x13-inch baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and make 2 rows of 6 enchiladas. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, covering them evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

YUM!!! I can't wait to make these again.

some pics of the kids

all taken with my iPhone:

such a big boy!

watching tv:
giving me the "side-eye":

in his doggy jail: (normally he has a big fluffy blanket in there, I'm not a mean mom!)


Pinkie was annoyed while we were packing for our last trip:


she demands to sit in Mike's lap while he plays xBox:

random-ness

I haven't blogged much lately. I'm having a hard time focusing on writing a post when I'd much rather be outside enjoying this awesome weather! So here are a few random things that are on my mind:

Mike and I worked all day in the yard. I love living here- our backyard is so pretty and I can't wait to continue all the improvements we're working on.

I planted my first flowers ever the other day! It was so fun- I loved playing in the dirt. :-)

I turn 30 on Friday. Whoa.

I miss my little brother and can't wait to see him at his Marine MP graduation.

I'm addicted to hummus. I could eat it at every meal.

I can't wait for the New Moon trailer to air tomorrow!!! SO excited.

Hobby Lobby is having an awesome sale right now- I bought a few things yesterday but I'm holding out to buy more on my birthday. It will be like a birthday present to myself! LOL!

that's all I've got! We're about to play some xBox together, hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

Ready for this weekend

I'm really looking forward to a nice long weekend with the family. I get to see Connor for the first time since January! He was granted his request to leave his Marine tech school and come visit us for the weekend. I am so excited to see him and spend some time together. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Not Guilty Your Honor

is the best sandwich EVER! I may have blogged about this before but I can't remember. I know the name is super weird (it's actually from a restaurant called First Watch) but it is so so so good! Mike loves these and requests it all the time.

It is so easy- stuff a whole wheat pita with: sauteed mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach leaves and hummus. That's it! Yum.

So Gorgeous

Finally posting some vaca pics:

The reason we made the trip- Rob's law school graduation:

the family:

The first group of pictures are from the Pisgah National Forest. Such a gorgeous place!
Looking Glass Falls:


we're dressed like bums because we're about to hike! (and I'm not as tall as Mike, I'm standing on a huge rock)



Mike & Rob- that pose was not planned- they are identical!


on the hike:


Natalie getting some pictures of the mushrooms:

the payoff at the end of the hike! I believe these are called the Twin Falls.




I'll post the rest later this week. I have to say that the Lake Lure area is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. I hope we can go back someday!

We're Home!

We're home from our North Carolina/Tennessee adventure and man are we tired! I think Mike needs a vacation after his vacation. :-)



We had an absolute blast- tons of driving, sight seeing, hiking, picture-taking, vegan food eating, gps-using, World War Z audio book listening and laughing. Being stuck in a car with my dear husband for 32 hours (yes 16 hours each way!) just reminds me how much I love him and what a lucky girl I am. Pictures to follow, probably tomorrow!

heading home!

We're somewhere between Nashville & Memphis right now- I am so ready to be out of this damn car!! We've had a fantastic trip and I can't wait to go through all of the pictures. :-)

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Damn you, Alex Karev!!

omg, totally bawling tonight at Grey's Anatomy!! When Alex said his vows I lost it. This show gets me every time!

It's Road Trip Time!

This time tomorrow I'll be dropping off Jack Bauer & Ellie at their kennel and Mike and I will be hitting the road! We're headed to North Carolina for a nice vacation. :-) Mike's brother Rob is graduating from the UNC School of Law on Sunday and we're so excited to be there to celebrate with him. We'll be staying a few days in Chapel Hill and we always have such a nice time there. We don't get to see mike's family enough so this should be a great visit. After the graduation we're headed to Lake Lure to this lake house for some nice time on the water!



I've been to North Carolina a few times since we've been married, but I've never driven there- I'll be traveling through parts of the country I've never seen. Definitely looking forward to traveling through Nashville and Kentucky, I've heard it's very pretty! So we'll be gone but I'll take tons of pictures (as usual) and may even blog while we're away.

America, you failed me!

Effing Gokey didn't go home. *sigh*

GTFO Gokey

I'm running around today trying to get a million things accomplished before we head out for our vacation. More on the vaca tomorrow- but first I HAVE TO SAY: GTFO Danny Gokey. Yes, I'm talking about American Idol, and yes I admit that I watch religiously, and yes I admit that I vote for my favorite, and yes I'm even admitting to attending all the American Idol concerts! I love AI, it's my thing.

With that said WHY WHY WHY is Danny Gokey still there?? He is atrocious. He is cheesy. He is irrelevant. He wore an effing preacher's vest ensemble last night to sing Aerosmith... seriously. You do not sing Aerosmith in a vest unless you're shirtless and wearing super tight leather pants. Ugh.

So please, if you watch AI, for the love of all that is good and holy PLEASE do not vote for Gokey.



and to prove my point on how Karaoke Gokey needs to be sent packing:

dinner is served...

on our new dining room table! We started looking for some new dining room furniture a couple of weeks ago. I loved the table we were using, but it was just in rough shape. It needs to be refinished badly and the quotes I got for the work were astronomical. So we found one at a local furniture store that we loved and it was delivered last Friday!

the old table:


the empty space waiting for the delivery:

and the new set!

the table expands to seat 8, so we;ll be buying 2 more chairs in the near future. The bench is my favorite part. :-)