Day 26 - Temptation

I hang out with a group of ladies who decided to participate in a little fall festival at a local elementary school and do an upscale bake shop. We signed up, forked over some $$ and are setting up for business.

While fun, it's been REALLY, really, really tough to not sample the products. Okay maybe NOT that hard, but hard. We have some awesome bakers in our group, I am notsomuch one of them, but I can come up with a solid item or two to contribute and I did! Can you say yummy pumpkin cookies, dipped pretzels and little pain in the bum acorns along with gingerbread and regular rice crispy treats? Yep, that's me!

 Working on the acorns!

 The very labor intensive acorns!

 A few of the dipped pretzels, which were kind of fun to make :)

We went with a fall theme so our scrumptious items included pumpkin spice cupcakes, turtle, caramel apple and pumpkin cheese cake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin and snickerdoodle cookies to name a few. It's going to be fun and since the weather is changing to a little bit cooler temps it might even feel like fall and that's gotta be good for business, or at least we hope!

 My FAVORITE pumpkin cookies!!!

Happy Friday to you!

Explanation of the Day+# posts here!

Day 10 - Cooking

I enjoy cooking! I used to do it much more frequently. I am not so much of a baker though, I wish sometimes I was especially when I need to take something somewhere. I do have a couple standby recipes and that's normally what I show up with. Seems more often then not when you are asked to bring something it's a dessert!

The schedule we keep doesn't really allow for me to make what I call sit down meals much anymore, which truly is better for our waistlines! Seriously, in our younger days our meals were meat, potatoes w/gravy and a veggie or two along with rolls/bread. If I ate like that now it would be serious trouble. So I only cook that way occasionally! MiB still enjoys meals like that so it's a treat when he gets it!

Most meals as of late with our little bit cooler weather are homemade soups. We love veggie soup and will eat on a big pot of that for a few days, also chili, we enjoy homemade chili, usually vegetarian! I love the roasted veggie version and MiB will take it anyway he can get it, beef or veggie kind! I won the base chili cookoff earlier this year with my roasted veggie version, thankyouverymuch! I made an African Stew recipe earlier this month that was awesome served over a scoop of quinoa! It was a new recipe that may continue to make an appearance on our table.

We aren't vegetarians but I would say it wouldn't be a stretch for us to be. We don't eat much meat. It's just not something we feel we have to have. Not anymore anyway. Now that's not to say that MiB doesn't fire up the grill and make us a great little petite filet to go with a baked sweet or white potato and green salad. And I also love a good hamburger and so does MiB (which IMO is not that easy to get so I usually stick to getting them at only places I know they rock) at White Grill in my hometown.

It's a part of ordinary life to cook, I do enjoy it but I do not find myself in the kitchen preparing meals so much as I once did. It's all good, it's just a season, I'm sure making meals for two will once again be part of my ordinary life again, maybe sooner rather than later~

If you are thinking what's up with these Day + # posts go here to find out what's up!

Thursday Thoughts and TOES :)

Great day to you, temps are still warm but not so HOT, makes this girl smile. Love the coolness of the mornings as I am for my morning run/walk, it's sooooo nice! Today was Attic day, I was so excited to see the girls as it's been two weeks since I have been able to go. Life has been full as of late. Going to the Attic is something that I so totally enjoy. Even when I hear grumblings. But really I don't hear many, seriously. I mean there are somedays when you hear more then others about not so great things. And sometimes I happen upon circumstances that I can assist with and that always makes for a good day. Amazing, what a phone call can do when someone has been trying for weeks to get a pay issue straightened out or a housing maintenance issue that seems beyond ridiculous has been going on for weeks, it's good to be able to help out, I like that :) 

I also enjoy hearing about experiences by way of conversation. Today a young Airmen met an Airmen of the Month board for the very first time. Hearing about his experience was awesome, he was so proud and excited and was very complimentary of his supervisor who had walked him through the process "took care of him" so to speak. He actually felt sorry for the other two candidates as their supervisors had not given them insights into the process and they were nervous and ill-prepared, he was gracious enough to share with them what he could as they were waiting. THAT is a GREAT WINGMAN, This young man will go far!

Another perk of being at the Attic is seeing all the babies. Today there were many, some with painted toes, it was adorable!

. These are pretty toes :)

Those toes belong to New York...isn't she adorable!

More adorable toes!!!

Those belong to Wyoming :)

Thoughts:

• I'm gonna miss this...
• Fall is coming, I know it!
• Proper supplies have been secured :)

Happy day to you, I'm fixing dinner, black bean soup, yummy!

It's been a week, missed you!

It's been a whole week since I've posted. I feel like it's been much longer. Life marched on, we came, we went, we got through another week. I am meeting this week with a not so full schedule and MiB traveling. It's been awhile since he's been away. In fact its been a long while come to think of it. Oh well, he won't be gone long and I will be laying low and staying close to the home front. I have many little chores I would love to get done but seem to never find the chunks of time to do them. This week while he is away I plan to find some of those chunks of time. I may spend a day in my PJs as well, been too long since I've done that and I'm ready for a PJ day along with a good book!

Hot is what it's been here, like really, really hot. We were in Dallas over the weekend and it was sweltering. I was glad for good AC. I was also thrilled to get to shop at ALDI. Got stocked up on some of our favs along with a few panty staples. Always enjoy going and really loved the $1.49 filet Mignon that we snagged and had for dinner last night. Ohmygoodness they were good, not to mention the sweet corn on the cob, baked taters which we used plain Greek yogurt on and garlic bread. We had caprese for a starter and this time I soaked the tomatoes in the balsamic, next time I will also soak the cheese, it was sooooo good! We were way to full afterwards! UGH but it was some really good eating. Best part is we have two more filets for next weekend when MiB returns!

This evening is the Uniform Depot which my neighbor spearheaded and I have pledged to be her helper during the event. It's such a great deal for our military families. All the schools here require uniforms. That's not a bad thing but it can be costly. The Uniform Depot is going to help A LOT of families and save them A LOT of money so it's win-win!!! 

I gotta run, lots of get done, MiB flies our EARLY tomorrow and I have a big to do list before he goes. Ima be really productive while he is away, really I am!

The bag is back!

In late breaking news, the bag is back...I know you were waiting on that so wanted to get the word out.  Jimmy, the baggage delivery guy, after calling at 8:40 A.M. on a sleep in kind of day called to say he was on his way. At 11:42 A.M said bag was in our possession. I am not sure where Jimmy came from as it is less then 30 minutes from our house to the airport. We met him at the industrial gate as he would not have been able to do a doorstep delivery as they promised seeing as how we live in a "gated community" LOL You like that? We live in a gated community! I like that, I'm going to start saying that, I live in a gated community!

So anyway, today is the SuperBowl, not sure who you will be cheering on but I will be cheering for the Pats, I like their colors, I know I have told you this before, but sometimes you forget things! Maybe you will be cheering no one, maybe you are not SB type, whatever floats your boat. I happen to like a little football!

The neighbors are gathering for the game. I have a pot of veggie chili simmering and made a veggie tray along with some yummy pineapple cupcakes. The cupcakes were a new recipe and they are a keeper! SOOOOO super easy. There will also be soup, queso dip, pizza and another yummy dessert!

This is the cupcake recipe. Combine a yellow cake mix with a can of 20 ounce crushed pineapple with juice. Mix on medium speed for a couple minutes. Bake just as the box states for cupcakes as far as temperature but for much longer then the box says. I think in total I baked mine for almost 30 minutes. I had to keep resetting the timer cause I knew they weren't done. The first batch is a little less done, but the second batch I think is spot on!

Mine are not frosted yet but I am going to cream some cream cheese with cool whip and add a little bit of very well drained crushed pineapple and smear that on them. However, they are delicious without frosting, not that I ate one or two already!

When I make them again I am going to use a lemon cake mix. I am also going to try it with a spice cake mix. The whole grand idea behind using the pineapple and not the eggs and oil is that it significantly cuts the calories. They are less then 100 calories per cupcake this way, that is a win in my book!

If I remember I will take a frosted picture too!

Hope you enjoy a very happy Sunday, I plan too!

UPDATE:

Frosted Cupcakes

They were a hit. No one even suspected they were low calorie!! YUMMY for sure...SAD that the Patriots did not win, but that's the way it goes. Not everyone is a winner, the end!

Thursday Thoughts...

Another week is nearly in the books, hard to believe. It's been such a full week and I will be ready for the weekend for sure. I do wish we were able to have pulled off the road trip we had tentatively planned but maybe next time. It's still all good.

Thursdays have quickly become my near favorite day of the week. I enjoy my time at the Attic. It's such fun to interact with the young ones . Today has a bit more then just the Attic since I will also be going to a MLK event this morning and then this afternoon there is a Shirt retirement. Good stuff!

I may stop in the commissary on my way home, but hopefully not! I'm trying to avoid all shopping, using what we have in the pantry and already own. This is not a new concept to me, but one I sort of got a way from and I want to get back to it. I want to really ask myself do I need it or do I want it. This is not really in regards to my food shopping, but more for our other buying. However, with the food shopping I want to ask myself is it good for me or do I just want it. I am still on that quest of ridding myself of those #'s so thought this mindset might help. We'll see.

Anyway, on to thoughts!

• Do I need that?
• Do I really want that?
• I don't like shopping anyway...
• Weekend plans will be low key!

Thankful for breakfast in my own kitchen...

I know I have lamented about the eating establishments around this area or more specifically the lack thereof that appeal to MiB and I so as of late every time MiB suggest eating out I counter offer, "how about I fix ya something special" or "nah, I just feel like eating in". This serves two purposes, it keeps us from being disappointed yet again with the local flare and saves us some $$ and who doesn't want to save some $$? Dontcha know I feel so smug :)

So this morning, we considered our options and our plans for the day and then we decided on a plan...we would make breakfast! We have some awesome ham from our day after Thanksgiving meal, we had a few hash browns left in the freezer from another recipe and of course we had eggs on hand and bread for toast. It was very yum, MiB utilized a leftover kaiser roll and made a sandwich with his hard egg and ham and added a nice slice of cheese. I went the traditional route and had a soft egg, toast (whole wheat even!) with jelly (sugar free cherry! YUM) and ham and we both enjoyed the hash browns!

Breakfast is served!

So in reality the thankfulness is for our breakfast this a.m. but in the bigger picture of this thankfulness season it is more about that...that I am thankful that we have food, that we are not in need, that we have a pantry that is well stocked, a freezer that is pretty darn full and a refrigerator that although at times it does not always contain what we want, it does hold things that will sustain us, we are not wondering where our next meal is coming from, that is what I am really thankful for. 

We are fortunate that this is the case when so many are not certain where they will sleep tonight, how they will pay their bills or make their next meal. So many are needing jobs. It's a sobering thought and I know it doesn't always hit home how blessed we are, we have not personally been touched by circumstances such as this. However, volunteering at the Airmen's Attic and seeing the gratitude on these young ones faces that we offer food as part of our program and that we increased the limit from 5 food items to 10 this last week made me realize that right here within our own blue suits times are not easy! It's sobering...

I've said it before and I know I will say it again, it's all in perspective as to how you feel about where you are...there is ALWAYS someone doing better then you and ALWAYS someone doing worse The takeaway I get from this is to be thankful for where ya are and whatcha got!

So imma out of here, we are off to find an adventure today!

31 Days of Military Life ~ Day 15

Wow, the day got away from me...we got home from church and I made dinner and thought, oh my I still need to get a post done! OOPS

I am going to keep it short and somewhat pictorial.

 From the MAC picnic, yesterday!

Oh, the veggie chili turned out AWESOME, I did make several tweaks to the recipe I posted and it was yummy! The dinner was great, there was lemon cake for dessert and yes, I had two slices! I know, those scales aren't going down if I'm doing that, but I am SUCH a sucker for all things lemon! And hey, I won the "high girl" score for the card game we played, which was a new game for me. You moved tables each "hand" and if you moved that meant you won, if you were 1st you collected two points, 2nd you received 1, so I got the most points and won for the girls! I know right? Starbucks gift card is now mine :)

Today we did get a few things accomplished and we supported the current ALS (Airman Leadership School) class by getting BOTH of our cars washed. They did a good job!

At the "car wash"! Lil Smartie was EASY to wash!

After our car wash we took a drive, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon and explore the area. We found a few back roads and short cuts that could be handy in the future. We really didn't have a plan we just drove and looked and ohh and ahhed in a few neighborhoods, then found our way home before making our way to church.

 Dinner tonight for me...cauliflower crust pizza, really good, honestly, I blogged about this already so if you are intrigued or want to know more see here!

MiB had regular crust cheese and onion pizza, I did have a SMALL SLIVER of his :) 

G'night!

Hey there!

Just wanted to check in and let you know all is well in LA. We are settling in, busy and hoping to have a home by the end of the day... I'll let ya know how that goes!

The first week has been a wide spectrum of events, thoughts and experiences. From a memorial service to a impromptu dinner with the boss and leadership, it's been ALL GOOD. The 2nd seems happy to have us and we are definitely happy to be here. The leadership team is a good group and at first look we will mesh well. that is a great feeling!

We are still in billeting and will be for several weeks to come as we work out the housing and wait to receive our household goods, which have been in storage for, oh say the past 16 months. I have to admit I am getting a little excited to get "our stuff" and get in a house and get settled in. I wasn't really feeling like I had missed my things until MiB returned. Now I have him I am also ready to have our things and get back into the swing of living together amongst our stuff!!! 

It has been great to have a kitchenette and actually fix meals this past week. And while they have not been elaborate meals they are still "real food" as MiB puts it and he has enjoyed my cooking...I laugh cause I have definitely put food on the table so to speak but don't at all feel like I am "cooking" for him. I have very limited supplies to work with both food wise and dish/serving/prep/cooking ware. It's laughable really, but fun!

Hope your week is going good, life is good here and we are living the dream in LA!