Brainstorming: The Avengers

I can't stop thinking about how great the movie Avengers was.  I didn't really elaborate in my last blog but seriously, it was an awesome movie.  I might just go and watch it again today or tomorrow.  So I've been thinking....I'd like to dedicate a few blogs to the movie and make some treats in tribute to the characters of the Avengers team.  First on my list will be the Hulk or Captain America since I found a neat ideas for their themed treats.  Be on the lookout this weekend!  =)

Parents Vist: Airborne and Special Ops Museum

Wow that was super quick!  Principles of Biology in just 10 days time.  I've never had to absorb so much information in such a short amount of time!  But it paid off in the end.  I ended up with a 97 in the class.  Yay me!  And tomorrow, I start Music Appreciation.......blahhhhh.  I mean don't get me wrong, I love music, but I just took a look a some of the notes for the class and boy is it dry material!  "What is an octave?  A tone?  A pitch?  An interval?"  Yep, I'm glad I'm taking this during the summer too.  Enduring the pain for a shorter amount of time.  =)

Anywho....this past weekend my parents came up to visit and let me tell you...I was overly excited to see them.  The last time we saw them was during Thanksgiving.   I missed them so much.  And they surprised us with my mom's parents tagging along too.  That was awesome because my grandparents on my mom's side had yet to see our house.  They loved it.  We had such a great time while they were here.  I took them to the Airborne and Special Ops Museum in Fayetteville and they had an amazing time there.  I also took them to UNCP so they could see the university I'm going to now.  As we were driving around the school my Dad asks me "You never thought you'd be going to college in North Carolina did you?"  I had to laugh...there were a lot of things I could think of that I thought I'd never get to do.  =)  I also got to take them to my favorite BBQ place in Pembroke called Papa Bills.  They have some of the best ribs ever and thats's exactly what we had.  It was so funny to hear my grandmother try and communicate with the waitress.  You see in Pembroke, there is a huge community of Lumbee Indians and they have a very strong thick southern accent.  And well my grandmother straight front the island has a very strong Puerto Rican accent.  So there was a language barrier haha.  I had to translate for both of them.  It was funny because I've grown so accustom to this place and the way people talk and act that it wasn't until that moment that I saw how different things are from Orlando.  I guess I just adapt well and quickly to new places.  =)

My parents left on Sunday morning back to Orlando.  I was pretty sad but my husband took me out that night to cheer me up.  We went to Hope Mills and ate frozen yogurt at TuttiMelon and then went to the move theater to watch Avengers.  It was an awesome movie.  I've actually been craving to see it again!  After the movie we stopped for some wings so I didn't have to cook and then spent some time with the pups when we got home.  It was a good way to help me not feel so sad about my family leaving.  Overall, I can say had a perfect weekend.  Thanks for listening guys and enjoy the pics! =)

Nick Rowe was a POW in the Vietnam War for 5 years...he contributed a lot to the military's SERE school

Mom and Dad sitting where paratroopers sit before a jump

Abuela too!

Sky Soldiers were everywhere in the museum :P

My lovely parents

Daddy's girl =)

Dad having a flashback =)

Mom and Abuela

Dad says I'm a trader for switching lol

Dad representing his branch of service proudly!

The husband ready to devour the pastelon my mom made :P

Motivational Push

So today I've been re-evaluating my life...where I've been, where I'm at, where I want to be....that sort of stuff.  I have a set goal in mind, a strong dedication to that goal, but sometimes my motivation tends to lack.  Even though my routine is still going great....school is better than ever...I'm doing fantastic in ROTC...it's all rolling perfectly fine but sometimes I feel so late in the game.  I feel like I should already have my bachelor's degree and that I should be working a full time job being a "real" adult you could say.  Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of adults in my classes who are getting their degree for the first time but many of them have lived a good...maybe hard...but good life with maybe kids and/or a spouse.

I live a good life with my husband.  We have no kids though...nothing to really tie us down so school is a good option right now...but we can't really do all the things we want to since money is tight because of me only working part time and paying for tuition suckssss.

So with that being said...sometimes I feel like I'll be over exhausted before I get to my goal....

And other times....I feel like my goal is still so far away....

And a lot of times...I feel like I spent a good part of my life like this...

And so I stress myself out because all I wanna be is here...

Can I get an amen people?  Am I the only that feels like this? lol  Ughhhh...that's life right!

So I've been looking for ways to motivate myself....my family, my husband, my close friends.
It get's hard but I know that I can get there.  I have a great support system.  It's me that I have to keep convincing that time is going to fly and before I know it, all my dreams will happen.  In the mean time...I should post a few of these all around me house!

Heavenly Breakfast: Avocados, Eggs, and Stuffed French Toast!

So this morning I got experimental.  I found some more yummy recipes online and decided to pick two of them to make this morning.  Eggs and avocado with strawberry stuffed french toast.

The first one is from a blogger I follow.  Yummy avocados and eggs.

Here's my edited version

1 avocado

if you are making for two like me, 3-4 eggs

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 green pepper

1/8 sweet yellow onion
Adobo to taste

1 tsp of olive oil

1. hard-boil your egg(s) using your preferred method. let cool, peel and mash roughly (you’ll want it to be chunky).

2. slice the avocado open, scoop out the innards, and dice.

3. rinse and halve your cherry tomatoes. dice the bell pepper.

4. place all veggies in a small pan and sauté with olive oil and sprinkle with a few shakes of Adobo.

5. mix all ingredients together.

6. eat.

The recipe for the french toast comes from tastykitchen.com

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com for the batter.  

You'll also need:

- whipped cream cheese

- sliced strawberries

- sliced bread (I used Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread)  

1. Spread cream cheese on two slices of bread.

2. Place sliced strawberries on one of the slices of bread. Then place the other slice of bread on top (cream cheese sides facing inwards...like a sandwich)

3.  Dip each side into the french toast batter.  

4. Cook each side in a frying pan until golden brown.

Ok so there are the recipes...and here is the finished product!

Sinful Summer School

I really don't know why I do this to myself lol.

So last week I finished my Spring semester ending my first year at UNCP.  I'm happy to say that I ended with straight As once again but the best thing was I got no A minuses.  Just 5 pretty little A's.  I was ecstatic.  =)

So you'd think I'd reward myself with a nice long summer by the pool sipping lemonade right?  NOPE!  This summer I'm taking three classes, one during each summer term.  Here at UNCP we have a Maymester term, which started this past Monday, where you can take one class in just 10 days.  Seems easy right?  Yeah except you have to be in a classroom for 4 hours a day and you take a test everyday that counts for 17% of your grade.  So fun.  I'm doing well though.  It's BIO 1000 which is the most basic science course offered (can you tell I'm not a fan? haha)  I should end with an A- or an A.  I just need to study really hard for these next 7 days and I'll be right where I want to be.
The other two classes I'm doing online so it won't be too bad.  It took me a few years to really figure out how to take an online class.  One of these days I'll have to post some tips for you all that are thinking about taking one.  They can be easy but your studying techniques are a whole lot different than an classroom course.

So its been very busy lately.  I know I've been MIA since the beginning of finals week.  We had our company's commissioning ceremony this past weekend.  It went well.  I'm happy to announce that 5 new highly trained officers have entered into the ranks of our military.  I couldn't be more proud of this group.  I worked very closely with most of them this past semester to keep our company running smooth and they will be surely missed.  I wish them the best of luck on their new endeavors.  And I'd just like that say a big congrats to all the 2012 Commissionees.  You did it!