Trekkies... in costume!!

We had quite a whirlwind of activity the past few days- we left for Denver on Wednesday night and by Friday we were in Tulsa. The Denver trip was last minute and unexpected. Mike's grandmother passed away. :( She was an amazing lady and we loved her dearly. I have a separate post planned that will be dedicated to her. Our Tulsa trip has been in the works for a while- Trek Expo!! Yes, we go to a Star Trek convention. I have to admit the first year he had to drag me kicking and screaming, now I keep track of the date and the guests they add all year long- I'm hooked!! My husband has definitely allowed me to embrace my inner geek and I love it.

One of the best parts of the con are all the costumes! Here are some from this weekend:

Princess Leia in the slave costume and a jedi:

President Laura Rosslin & Kara Thrace aka Starbuck from BSG

a jedi, Darth Vader, and a stormtrooper

"Q" from Star Trek

one of the many Captain Kirk's


Borgs and a stormtrooper


some trekkies and a tribble!


the ghost buster car


and the ghost buster dude!


2 of my favorites- vulcan Star Trek girls


a green chick


adorable mini trekkie


Mike being attacked by a stormtrooper and protected by 2 jedi's


and to prove we were not in costume:



I have pictures of the celebs that attended (Leonard Nimoy!!!) and I'll post them later this week!

Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy

I saw this on Jackie's blog and had to participate!

Here are the rules:
1) List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy.
2) Mention and link to the person who tagged you
3) Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along, and comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged. (Yeah I'm not doing this! If you want to participate, go for it!)

1. Changing purses/wallets. Super weird, I know! I just got a new wallet- and I just enjoy moving the stuff from one bag to another or moving my cards/ receipts, etc to a new wallet. Haha!

2. Packing. Whether it's for a week long vaca or just an overnight trip, I love it.

3. Vacuuming. I love the lines it leaves on the carpet, how clean it makes the house smell and look. Lame!

4. Getting snuggles from Jack Bauer. He is such a little lover and even though he's a giant, love when he climbs up on the couch and loves on me.

5. Decorating for holidays. Doesn't matter if it's for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas-- even the 4th of July. I love it.

6. Planting flowers. I just started doing this a few months ago and I'm addicted.

Thursday & Friday Recap

just some pictures from the past few days. Thursday morning my mom, dad and little brother came to pick me up. We headed up to St. Louis so Connor could leave for Japan. Yes, it's ridiculous that they had him fly out of St. Louis, but it did give us the chance to have a family road trip- the kind we use to have when we were kids.

the view from the backseat- mom:


dad:

most of our time in the backseat was spent playing on my iPhone:


Connor showing off his Marine "Devil Dog" tattoo:


and my favorite tattoo that he has- a copy of our late grandfather's signature. I love it:



Finally at the Hilton, Connor perusing the room service menu:



a series of self portraits- the only one that Connor actually smiled in normally and I didn't get the memo that we weren't doing funny faces!

goofballs:



Connor will be in Japan for 2 years- he only had 3 bags to pack everything in! I "edited" his stuff a bit and this was Con showing me what he thought:

and this is Connor being a smartass when I told him to hurry up with the packing!

Some family pics at 3:30 AM waiting for the airport shuttle:



no pictures from the airport, too sad. :( Connor is gone and should be in Okinawa by now. I already miss him terribly.

coping

My mind is all over the place tonight and it has been for the past few days. Connor is leaving on Friday. Not just leaving for another school, or for more Marine Corps training... not even to another state. Bright and early Friday morning, Connor will be spending his entire 22nd birthday on a plane to Okinawa, Japan. I can't even type that without getting tears in my eyes.

If he was just being sent to Japan for two years I could handle it, but he's not. He'll be sent to Afghanistan at some point in the near future. And I have no idea how I'll handle that. My Dad has been deployed to Iraq twice- and while it was difficult, the circumstances were completely different. Dad was on a huge base- and he rarely, if ever, left the base. I worried most about him flying in and out of the area. Now this is not to say that there wasn't any danger- of course there was. But nothing like what Connor is going to face.

How do people handle it? How do you continue to live day in and day out knowing that your loved one is in danger? I don't know. People do it everyday. I guess you just don't have a choice so you deal with it...

I don't know how specific I'll get on here about Connor's job- most of you know what he'll be doing and how freaked out I am. I appreciate your thoughts (and your prayers!) as Connor starts out on this journey. Please keep my family in your thoughts on Friday. It's going to be a tough day. I know we're not the only ones going through this, but it doesn't make it any easier.

A Success!!

some pics from the first ever Solano-Farrar Yard Sale Extravaganza! It was fun and we made some moolah!

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.