Julian of Norwich

It's amazing how much I learn about God in my classes at the university.  A place where most intellectuals try to shut Him out of. I'm taking a women's literature class right now and we are beginning to read works of literature written by women over 900 years ago.  One of the author's Julian of Norwich was a devoted, in our modernized world many consider her a fanatic, religious figure.  To be honest though, I don't find her works fanatic at all.  They describe her visions of God and it is surprising (and not at the same time) that her descriptions of God are extremely similar to the way God is portrayed in even today's modern churches.  "The Trinity is our maker, the Trinity is our keeper, the Trinity is our everlasting lover, the Trinity is endless joy and our bliss…"  (A quote from Chapter 4 of her book A Book of Showings) Is this not what believers today think of when they think of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

Sometimes it gives me goosebumps when I get these revelations in my classes.  It's nice to know that God stays near.  He is in our schools, our books, and even in the people around us whether they realize it or not.  It's all about allowing God to open your eyes to his wonderful works.  Letting him reveal to me how he is the same now and he was in the 1300s is a wonderful feeling.

Goodbye 2012 Hello 2013

So 2012 is behind us now and here I am anxious yet nervous for the start of this new year.

2012 had started off badly for me.  The change I sought for in the beginning of last year really wasn't the change I needed in my life but I'm glad I was able to open up my eyes in time to make a turn for the best.  I did end up improving several things though and I'm proud of myself for it.

My marriage has blossomed into something amazing in the last six months and continues to grow healthy and strong.  My military career is evolving everyday.  I received two scholarships last year to help me pay for school.  I am a part of an amazing sisterhood.  My puppies Maya and Hailey celebrated their first birthday and my big puppy celebrated her fifth birthday.  I can't believe how time has flown with them.  

They have been some bad things in 2012 also.  One of my aunts is causing great separation in our family and her two young children suffer from her promiscuous lifestyle.  My family members try to help but she is ungrateful and too prideful to admit she needs help.  It's sad.  My mother's Fibromyalgia condition is getting worse and my little 12 year old cousin has been diagnosed with lupus and is undergoing chemotherapy to treat her symptoms.  

These are some things that have made my heart heavy this past year but I am optimistic for the future.  My older sister will be getting married this year.  My younger sister is going to be 21!  And my parents are still my entire world. Family is the best gift of the year every year and I'm happy to be earning another brother.  =)

  

For 2013, I do have some resolutions I'd like to accomplish but I also have a prayer list too.

Resolutions:

- Keep striving for A's in school

- Score a 300 on the APFT

- Budget my money

- Kick butt at LDAC

- Find a way to surprise my husband somehow

My prayer list:

- Pray that my mom and cousin are healed

- Pray for my aunt to gain focus of her children and not herself

Do you have a prayer list?

Happy New Year everyone.

Winding Down…Finally!

Life is finally winding down!  I've had a VERY exhausting month.  Lots have happened in this past month and the last part of October.  Let's back track…

October
I celebrated my 24th birthday.  It was quiet and spent with close friends and neighbors at my favorite restaurant Carrabbas.  My husband surprised me with two beautiful Pandora bracelets with a few charms and a delicious Tres Leche cake (my fav!!!) to share with all our friends.  =)

November

So you might be wondering who these wonderful ladies are above…well they are my Line Sisters!  Yep!  I pledged a sorority! Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc to be exact!  I might have brought it up a few times before last semester but this semester is when I actually underwent the pledge process.  I won't say it was easy but it was definitely worth it.  I stressed a lot because of how busy I already was before the process but those ladies pictured above helped me sooo much and I love them even more for that.  =)

Here's some pics from our probate which was performed early November:

In cognito!!!  ;-)

Locked up!

Removing my mask!

Finally wearing my letters!

Hubby is so proud ;-)

Whoooooshhhh….let's fast forward now to last week.  Ok so I got into a pretty crazy car accident the weekend before Thanksgiving and what I'm about to explain all took place in just 10 minutes time.  I was on my way to an FTX for ROTC at 4ish in the morning and go figure a deer runs straight into the side of my car.  I can't steer right since the deer hit my right fender so I move to the median in the middle.  I put my panic lights on and call my 1SG and let him know what happened and then get on the phone with USAA.  Another cadet who happens to be my neighbor happened to see me pulled over so he stopped to help me out.  No more than two minutes after my neighbor pulled over to help me another car comes down the road and my neighbor was able to warn me and tried pulling me out of the way.  The car (who was in the lane I was in) rammed straight into my car.  My car hits my neighbors car and then turns into the median, knocks me over and flies straight into the opposite direction of traffic.  Time is now 4:59 AM.  What a way to start my morning.  Two hours later, my car, in pieces, is towed away and my husband is driving me to the ER.  Thank God I had no broken bones or internal bleeding but I am still very stiff from the impact of my car.  If it wasn't for my neighbor I wouldn't be alive today.  I'm very thankful that he stopped.

This my car after the accident:

I am walking and on muscle relaxers.  I'm hoping to be healed by the time Spring semester starts.  Unfortunately I can't participate in our Record APFT because of this so my last scores will have to go in my evaluation.  =(  I was shooting for a 290+ for this APFT but I guess a 285 will have to do.  Wasn't my fault you know.

Ok so Thanksgiving!!!!  The best part =)

Due to the accident we didn't go to Orlando as planned but we had a great day with our neighbors.  There was sooooo muuuuuch foooooood lol.  We ate…and ate….and ate….
Everything was amazing.  The apple cake I made was a hit!  I will have to share the recipe with you all soon.

I made the rice and roast pork

My neighbor's husband deep fried a 24 lb turkey!

My first time making pumpkin pie

Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake

After dinner we relaxed and prepared for…..Black Friday.  Now I'm not big on this American event but we did end up going to Wal-Mart Thursday night.  My neighbors were going because they had a 60" Vizio smart TV on sale for $688.  ?!?!?!?!  YES!  We wanted in too! lol So we got there at 6:30 and "camped" out for this TV.  It's a good thing we got there early before the chaos broke out.  Wal-Mart did two releases…one at 8 PM and one at 10 PM.   The TVs were at 10.  So we waiting…only about the 10th people in line for the TVs…got our TVs and were out by 10:35.  Sweet!

Black Friday Camping!

Didn't waste time setting it up haha

And last but not least…always a tradition in my family.  We put up our Christmas tree.  It's something my family has always done back home putting up the tree right after Thanksgiving.  This is Chris and my first actually Christmas tree.  Last year our tree was tiny and that is what we used for the last three years of our marriage.  This year we decided it was time to get a real tree…and we meant it!  My neighbor took me to a local place and we picked out our trees.  It was so much fun.  When I got back Chris and our neighbors taught us how to put the tree in the stand.  My hands were covered in sap lol.  Then we decorated our tree and now our home is ready for Christmas.  =)

I hope everyone is doing great.  I know this was a long blog but I had a lot to catch you guys up on!  Talk to you all soon! 

The Needle That Broke The Camel's Back

I need to vent.  My life has been extremely busy these last few weeks and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.  My days are all rolling together and my lack of sleep is making me into a very grouchy person.  Last week alone, I blew up on three people.  That is really not the type of person I am.  The hard part is that I am managing my time as efficiently as possible.  I keep a daily planner glued to my hip and yet I still find it hard to schedule in all the things I need to do.  ROTC has been very demanding lately and some of the cadet leadership above me have had me on the verge of pulling my hair out.  Thursday last week I went to bed crying because of how exhausted I've been and dreading going to drill this past weekend.  Luckily, drill was not as horrible as I thought it was going to be and I was glad to see my battles again since Annual Training.  Some of these things that have had my nerves tense I can speak about and the others I can not right at the moment but soon I will be able to share with you all the rewards of all my hard work this month.  I am very grateful for my supportive family, friends, neighbors, and especially my husband for helping me during this month and for understanding when at times I am no more than a distant ghost of the present. 

With that said....I cannot WAIT until October is OVER!!!

A new blog with a different path

I'd like to start off saying my feet and legs are SUPER sore.  This past weekend, I was running around the woods of Fort Bragg for an ROTC Field Training Exercise (FTX).  It was an experience for me that I surely won't forget.  I have to say though as an MS-3 that should have known what was going on, I noticed quickly that I wasn't as prepared as I thought.  There isn't much information out there that breaks down how these things work.

I've decided to create a separate blog just for those types of things.  I know it's in nearly every MS-3's dreams to score in overall E at LDAC.  It's definitely one of my dreams.  But I also want to share my knowledge so that other people don't make the same mistakes as I have.  Or maybe help some new MS-3's that didn't have the chance to learn some things as an MS-1 and/or MS-2.  I'm glad I was able to make mistakes and learn from them early on in my MS-2 year when it comes to Land Navigation.  I did  fairly well passing every event we did.  I will post some pics as soon as I get them from the public affairs people.

Anywho, if anyone is interested in checking out my new blog, here it is below.  I hope it helps some people out there!

An MS-III's Guide to Becoming a US Army Officer

P.S. - I will still keep this blog for my personal use.  I separated them since I want to keep the new one strictly for ROTC advice purposes.

Starting off the semester with a busy bang!

It's been too long my fellow bloggers!  Over a month I believe!  Honestly I've hardly had time to do much of anything besides school and work since the Fall semester started.  I'm actually a lot busier than I expected to be.  Good thing I took three classes over the summer to lighten my load this semester!  I can't even imagine where I'd be right now if I hadn't done that.  Probably ready to blow up.  My brain already feels like a pile of noodles right now haha.

So school started back up on the 15th of August.  I jumped right into ROTC starting as the Platoon Leader and then to make things worse my Platoon Sergeant was MIA most of the time so I pretty much had to do the tasks for that position as well.  This is all on top of getting our fresh new recruits organized, helping my squad leaders figure out the tasks they needed to do, working part-time in the school's IT department, tutoring two students in Calculus, and oh yeah…finding time to get my OWN classwork not to mention tend to my husband as a good wife should!  Talk about a mess. I seriously need to start USING this planner I had bought before the semester started.

So besides being extremely busy, life has been good.  We have 5 MS-III's for the year.  One ADO and the other three besides me are fellow cadets who were in the program with me last year.  I'd say we have a pretty good team.  We work really hard together.  I'm learning more and more as each day goes by.  Way more than last year…not to say I didn't have an awesome instructor last year, but our new instructor is a lot stricter but in a good way of course.  Were currently covering Combat Orders.

I have a great story to tell all of you but I will save it for this weekend if I have time to blog again.  I truly do miss putting my thoughts down in words.

Our first FTX is coming up really soon and I've already gotten word that I will be the Company Commander during the first iteration.  Talk about working up my nerves.  I always get nervous when I have to be in a high position.  Hopefully I do well though.

Classes are doing good.  Data Structures is kicking my butt.  I really don't enjoy the was my professor lectures.  He goes too quickly sometimes to comprehend.  And even when I try and talk to him after class, he rushes me through my questions and tells me he's sorry he can't explain it any better.  He is definitely no Dr. Turner.  I wish he was teaching Data Structures.  :(

My U.S. military history class is amazing.  It's a tough class but I'm loving the challenge and really enjoying all the events we are covering.  The only thing I dislike…is the amount of reading we have to do.  It's not that I don't enjoy what I'm reading…it's just hard to juggle with everything else I'm doing.  I'll definitely be keeping my books after the semester is done to keep on hand for some pleasure reading.  I know I won't have time during the semester to get a full grip on the content but just enough to get me as close to an A as possible in the class.

My human computer interaction class is too easy…sometimes I even forget it's an actual class I'm taking lol.

Ok well you are half way updated with where I am at this point.  I hope to get a recipe or two up within the next month.  I definitely have tons of stuff I want to share with you all.  I just pray I have the time and energy to share it!

School on my fellow bloggers!  ;-)

Rainbow Tie-Dyed Cupcakes!

So back in April I had a little obsession with rainbows.  Last week I was in my rainbow mood.  (Always makes me happy lol)  So I decided to make rainbow cupcakes.  I had seen a video of someone making them and it inspired me to do them myself.

It was super simple.  Especially for many who like to take the easy way for baking and use boxed cake mix.  Here's what you'll need:

1 box of white cake mix (plus ingredients in back)

mixing bowl

six plastic cups

six forks

food coloring (original and neon colors)

muffin pan

muffin liners

Once you mix the cake mix as directed on the box, pour the batter evenly into the six plastic cups.  Then mix your colors appropriately (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple).  After that pour about a teaspoon of each color in each hole in your muffin pan (with liners).  Bake for about 22 minutes.

You might be having trouble getting your red cake mix to be a vibrant red.  If you want to do a little twist on your cupcakes, you can use red velvet cake mix like I did.  You get a beautiful red plus a twist of chocolate on the bottom of each cupcake!

I just love the way they came out too.  I didn't even put frosting because of how cute they looked. They have a beautiful tie-dyed look on the top and side views.

But when you slice them in half…you have a perfect little rainbow.  Enjoy and happy baking to everyone!  =)

I want to learn

Pure dedication

The long road goes unnoticed

But I choose that road

Pure motivation

Lingers vibrant in my soul

I choose to push on

Pure frustration

Long sleepless nights so bitter

But I want the best

Pure jubilation

For victory is so near

I am almost there

Pure education

Always better, won't take less

Smart and strong I am

Pampered Chef Toys: Beer Can Chicken

I have a confession to make...I love Pampered Chef!  Haha yes, I love ordering their cool make-life-easier cooking tools.  Their recent catalog introduced tons of neat stuff to use on the grill.  One of my most recent purchases was the BBQ roasting pan & can holder.   One thing I love about ordering new things from Pampered Chef is that most of their items come with a recipe that you can use with you new tool.  My roasting pan came with a recipe to make Beer-Can Chicken.  It came out amazing and now I'd like to share with you all my edited Rican version.  Happy grilling to everyone this weekend!

Beer-Can Chicken

Ingredients:

 Adobo

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbs minced onion

Montreal steak seasoning

 1-2 tbs olive oil

5-6 red potatoes

3-4 lb whole fryer

1 can of your preferred beer

1. Prepare grill for indirect cooking over medium heat (350-400 degrees).  Rinse and cut potatoes into wedges.  Combine Adobo, black pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, and cayenne pepper.

2. Trim excess fat from chicken and sprinkle combined seasoning onto the chicken.

3. Combine potatoes with olive oil and then sprinkle the Montreal steak seasoning lightly.

4. Pour out about one-fourth of the beer from the can and place the beer can in the can holder.

5. Place the chicken over the can holder so that the can is upright in the cavity  of the chicken.  Place the potatoes around the chicken.

6. Place the roasting pan on the grid of the grill.  Cover and grill for 65-75 minutes or until the thermometer reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part  of the breast. Make sure to rotate the pan at least once (preferably 35-40 minutes in).

7. Carefully remove the chicken and serve with potatoes and iced tea! =)

Get in touch with your Rican: How to make Pastelon

Long time no blog!  Ok so I've been a busy body as usual but I have been cooking/baking up storms in my kitchen...just no time to blog about them!  I will make sure to find time before I kick back up with ROTC in August.

So one of my husband's favorite dishes is called Pastelon (pronounced paust-teh-lone).  The ingredients are quite simple but it is a long a tedious process.  I call this a weekend dish because it can easily take an hour and half to two hours to make by oneself.

Now forgive me for my photos.  I've made this several times but picked my best photos from each to show you the process.

These are the explicit tools you will need:

10" skillet

pot (to cook ground beef)

12" skillet (for frying)

tongs or fork (I use both!)

basting brush

a roll of paper towels

1 cookie sheet

And your ingredients:

1lb of ground beef

2 cups of shredded cheese

1 raw egg scrambled

5-6 sweet plantains

 (make sure the plantains are yellow on the outside and a little soft when pressed)

2 cups of oil (to start)

1 tbs of Adobo seasoning

1/4 cup of Goya Sofrito

1 envelope of Goya Sazon

1 bulb of garlic minced

4 olives sliced

The first thing I do is cook the sweet plantains. Get your 12" skillet ready with 1 cup of oil heating on medium.  Also take your cookie sheet and place two layers of paper towels down on it.

1. First you have to peel the skin.  I cut off both ends first and then peel.  

2. Once all the plantains are peeled begin to slice them the long way about 1/8 inch in thickness.

3. Once all your slices are ready to fry, start placing them in your 12" skillet.  Each side should fry about 2-3 minutes.  Stay on top of them though, you don't want them to burn, just slightly golden and soft. Use your tongs and/or fork to flip them gently.

4. After frying both sides, carefully move the slices of plantain from the frying pan to the cookie sheet to let the slices dry.  Once you run out of room, do another two layers of paper towels on top of those slices and keep stacking.

Once all your slices are done frying, set them aside to cool and begin on the ground meat.  Take your pot and set it on medium heat.  

5.Place your ground beef in the pot with begin to mash and mix your Adobo seasoning into the meat.

******I love using the Mix 'N Chop from Pampered Chef for this!  Grinds of the meat just perfectly while mixing the seasonings in!******

6. After the meat is fully cooked, drain out the fat and place the meat back into the pot.  Change the heat from medium to low.

7. Take your envelope of Sazon, the Sofrito, the minced garlic, and the olives and mix them into the meat.

8. Let this cook for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Now comes the tricky part!  Molding your Pastelon into that beautiful pie shape!

9.  Take your 10" skillet and place it on medium low heat.  Start taking your plantain slices and forming a sort of crust around your skillet.

10.  Once you have a nice layer of "crust", take your basting brush, dip it into your egg wash, and baste  the plantains.  This will act as a glue to keep the plantains together.

It will look like this, but remember to create the side of the crust as well.  (This is just the bottom):

11.  Next you will take a handful of shredded cheese a spread it on top of the plantains.  (Another way to "glue" your plantains together)

12.  Take your warm ground been and fill your plantain crust evenly.

13. Next, take the rest of your shredded cheese and spread it evenly on top of the ground beef.

14. Lastly, take your remaining pieces of plantain slices and cover the top like a pie crust.

15.  Take you brush and baste the top with egg wash.

16.  Cover it and let it cook for 5 - 10 minutes until the egg wash is cooked.

It should look like this:

Once, it's all cooked, you can now flip it onto a big serving plate!  This is the easiest part.

Make sure to have an oven mit for this though!  Place your serving place over the top of the skillet. Take your skillet and pan together and then…FLIP!  Viola…you have yourself an authentic Puerto Rican tasting Pastelon!

Enjoy!

I must warn, this is not an easy dish to make.  It took me several tries after making it one time with my aunt.  But trust me, this indulgence is definitely worth it.  A perfect combination of savory and sweet for dinner!  I serve with rice, and steamed veggies.

Restaurant Review: Mi Pana

Hope everyone had a great fourth!  It was pretty hot outside and a perfect day for a restaurant since most people in the Fayettevile Metro were grilling or having fun at the Fort Bragg celebration.  We went to the celebration last year and it was lots of fun but this year we went to Carrabas with a close neighbor of ours.  Her husband is deployed right now so we try and have dinner with her as much as possible.  She's practically family to us now.  I know she would do the same for us any day.  Anywho we're saving our grilling and fireworks show for tomorrow.  It just seemed weird to celebrate the fourth in the middle of the week lol.  I already have some baby back ribs marinating in the fridge right now.  Mouth watering...I know lol.

So today was pretty lax.  My husband had off so I took off from work as well to spend the day with him (and lengthen my weekend haha).  We decided to check out a new restaurant that opened up close to our house.  A Latin-Caribbean Cuisine restaurant called Mi Pana.  Here in the Fayetteville Metro, there aren't very many Latin cuisine places...at least not like the variety we have in my hometown Orlando.  And the ones we do have are at least 25-30 minutes from our place.  Mi Pana was much closer so we've been anxiously waiting for it to open.  About a week or two ago, they finally opened the doors to the public.

This is their mobile trailer where they started.  They now have a stationary location on
7599 Rockfish RdRaeford, NC 28376 

The place was not packed but steadily busy as we came in.  It's a very comfortable setting, lots of fans which is good to keep the place cool while the kitchen is going.  The waitresses were all very friendly...definitely reminded me of the atmosphere at our Latin restaurants in Orlando.  I was pleased with the customer service and the menu as well.  The owners are Panamanian but the menu has a great variety of Latin cuisine...emapanadas de maize (corn) which is Colombian style, empanadas frita (fried) which is how us Ricans like it, and even baked empandas which is how Cubans make them.  They also has chivo (goat) which is a popular Dominican entree and jerk chicken (a popular Jamaican entree).  They served Caribbean beverages like sugar cane juice and passion fruit juice.

So what did we order?  Well I order 3 empanadas frita de carne (beef), tostones (plantain), and passion fruit juice.  My husband ordered chivo (goat) with white rice and beans (it also comes with sweet plantains) and sugar cane juice.  The food was AMAZING.  The chivo was very tender (even better than mine!).  Now I have to warn, it's made with curry in case some of you don't like curry but I thought it was delicious and I'm not a big curry fan.  The beef empanadas were awesome too and I can tell it was made with curry too (maybe it's a Panamanian thing).  The passion fruit juice was great.  The sugar cane juice was a bit on the sweet side.  If you don't like it very sweet, I would ask for a side glass of water, that way you can dilute it a little.

Overall, the food was at a 9/10 for Latin cuisine in my book.  The service was great, we didn't wait long for the food or for our check at the end.  The prices are decent too.  Most of the entrees $10-$15, appetizers $4-7, extra sides around $3 each.

I encourage all who live in the Fayetteville Metro to try this place out!  Have a great weekend!

Mail Time!

I got some awesome gifts in the mail today!  From myself to myself haha.  I new Wilton muffin pan, special cupcake liners, and some new decorating tips.  Can we say excited????

I've been waiting on these items to arrive so I can start on the Hulk cupcakes.  Check back soon to see what they look like. =)

Music Mondays

So Mondays will be dedicated to music.  I'm always listening to music and sometimes I rediscover music on my iPod that I've forgotten I had.  Today is dedicated to one of my favorite R&B singers.  He's never failed lovesick people everywhere. With more than 10 amazing albums, I'd like to present Brian McKnight!  I can't believe he is already 43!  He is still just as handsome if not more with age lol.  He has made many great hits like "Back At One", "Anytime", and "Love of My Life".  But I came across another song that just makes my heart melt every time I hear it.  It revives my heart and really motivates me to never give up on love.

Today's song is called "The Rest of My Life"

Avengers: Hawk Healthy Cupcakes

Hey everyone!  It's beed a while.  I was down visiting my family in Florida for a week which has kept me pretty busy.  Things are not very good health wise for a few of my family members and it's been quite a weight on my chest since I can't be there in person for them.  I ask you all to please keep my family in your prayers.  It is much needed and very much appreciated.

So while I was down there, I got to baking with my little sister.  Her and I love to be in the kitchen.  I told her about a recipe I had been wanting to try out for the longest.  They are cookies and cream cupcakes with a twist...a HEALTHY twist.  =)

I've decided to name these the Hawk Cupcakes.  The Hawk in the comic books normally has a purplish outfit, but in the movie, his outfit is black.  I couldn't find much else to relate to this character in the movie.  When I think of a hawk, I think is something fast and agile.  Well to be fast and agile, you have to be fit and healthy!

I pulled the recipe off of one of my favorite blogger's site, Chocolate & Carrots.  Mrs. Caroline always has delicious yet healthy recipes and she's always on my go-to list if I'm ever in the mood for a sweet yet healthy treat.  Click here for the recipe for these cupcakes.

First off you'll need the following ingredients to make the cupcakes (AND powdered sugar which I forgot to include here)

Now the Oreo cookies are something we added ourselves since we didn't have Cookies N Cream eggs.  

The batter was extremely simple to make and already it was tasting amazing.

Next we improved Cookies N Cream kisses for the eggs since it's no longer Easter. =)

SIDE-NOTE (The next time I make things, I'm going to try them with the mini Oreos in the middle.  I think it would give it a really nice Cookies N Cream taste.  The kisses were fine, but you have to constantly check on the cupcakes as to not burn the kisses.

And finally the finished product! They were sooo good.  And who would have thought black beans would make sure a great dessert!  Now the icing was a bit tricky. It took a while to get the consistency the right way but just do as the recipe says, keep added powdered sugar and whipping cream until its nice and thick and can stand up on its own.

Enjoy!

Blog Favorites

Whose up for a little procrastination huh???  Well I guess I am!  I've been pretty ocupada lately with school and work...and vacationing!  I just spent a nice weekend in Myrtle Beach with my family celebrating my sister's birthday and Father's Day.  It was a beautiful weekend out there nice and sunny the whole time.  I came back with a nice bronzy tan. :)  It was great to get away from the Fayettenam metro area.

My sisters and I with our awesome Dad <3

I know I've been talking about these Avengers treats for a while, it's just taking me forever since I haven't had much time to bake lately.  I promise I will complete this themed special for you all soon enough!

But for now I'd like to share with you all some blogs I've been enjoying from some of my favorite dedicated bloggers!

Congrats to my friend Steven and his beautiful bride...check out their pretty vintage wedding.

Need something quick to make? Baked Havarti Chicken

After visiting The Night Circus through my imagination while read this amazing book, it was lovely to be able to see one of my favorite bloggers bring some of the books to-die-for treats to life.

What do you really know about your shampoo?

Need some ideas for some super cute summertime sweets?

Tips on Packing for the Field

Hello all!  Its been a very busy few days for me.  Normally I can get my food blogs in during the weekend when I have more time to dance around my kitchen.  But this weekend I had to drill with my Guard unit.  So counting being back to work at my civilian job today...it's been 8 days of non-stop work.  What fun!  We drilled out at Camp Butner for the weekend.  We got everyone qualified at the ranges and then some Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) training.  I got to meet the Captain I'll be working under and all I can say is I'm loving my job so far.  It's going to be a very busy job since they are training me to be the temporary S6, but the experience I'll be getting is priceless.

So I'd like to talk a little about packing...specifically packing for field training exercises.  Some people pack too much for these things...comfort I guess.  And then others pack too little...probably last minute packing.  Even though Guard field exercises are different from ROTC ones, I still pack the same way.  

Tip #1: Take what's on your packing list.  It's there for a reason!

Tip #2: Review your packing list at least a week before (or as soon as you get it if you get it less than a week from departure).  This way you can make sure you acquire the things on the list before you leave.

Tip #3: Hygiene kit includes the following: toothbrush, toothpaste, BABY WIPES (a definite must), deodorant (so you lessen the stinkiness of being out there).  Those are the basic necessities.  Anything else is for comfort.  I usually bring floss too and a bar of soap incase I have time for a canteen shower.  

Tip #4: Sleeping system - If you are sleeping outside, check the weather!  You might not have to bring the whole thing if it's going to be cool or hot out.  The less excess stuff you have to carry, the better.

Tip #5: Do a Pre-Combat Check (PCC) before you leave your house to again make sure you packed everything.  A few times I've forgotten to pack something even though I went over the list before hand to make sure I had it.

Anywho...I'm looking forward to this work week ending (Thursday will be my Friday!  whoohoo!)  I'll be making my way to the beach for some fun in the sun.  Can't wait!

As for my Avengers treats, I'm still working on ideas! I will most likely have my Hulk treat done this week.  I'll give you a hint...they are cupcakes...but don't make them angry!  They might grow to abnormal sizes! Haha...stay tuned!  =)

Simple Birthday for my Simple Man =)

So yesterday was my husband's birthday.  He turned 26!  I had many plans for him and was going to get him a bedside gun vault for his handgun but he insisted that he didn't want us to spend anymore money since he had gotten himself his big present a few weeks ago.  I was ok with that since his big present was a hefty purchase!

So the morning didn't really start off as planned.  My husband came home from PT and came back to bed.  I woke up late rushing to get ready for work.  I completely FORGOT to say Happy Birthday to my beloved husband!  Talk about a horrible wife lol.  I didn't realize it until I left the house on my way to work.  So I called him and apologized a million times over lol.  Then I asked him where he would like to go for dinner.  I was thinking Carrabbas since we both love that place but instead he tells me "Let's eat at Beba's Kitchen...I hear they have great food there."  Haha!  He would say something cute like that.  So instead of going out, we stayed in.  I cooked his favorite salmon recipe (you can find it here) with ranch red potatoes, and a caesar salad.  Not to mention our favorite (ok my favorite) red wine.  ;-)

As for dessert of course, birthday cake!  Two of our neighbors came by and we sang happy birthday to the birthday man and stuffed our faces.  I made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Now the cake tasted AMAZING.  But my decorating on the other hand was not my best.  I'm not sure what happened today...maybe I woke up with two left hands haha but at least everyone was raving about how moist and yummy that cake was.  =)

And well, that was it!  A nice simple birthday for a very special man.

Today is a special day in our history.  68 years ago our country invaded the Normandy beaches leaving the lives of many American soldiers on those beaches.  Today let's remember the sacrifice our country did on that day.  It was a day that not only changed America the world. 

These are the words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower on that day:

"You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you..Good luck! And let us beseech the blessings of the almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." June 6, 1944 D-DAY

Let us remember this day forever.  America: The home of the FREE because of the BRAVE.  Amen.

Avengers: Captain America Blueberry Cupcakes

Ok So I know I'm late on this but Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  So on my last post, I talked about making some yummy treats dedicated to Avengers.  I decided to go with Captain America first since Memorial Day just passed honoring our soldiers and military history.  Ok and maybe because he is super handsome too.  :-)

So for my treat, I decided to make blueberry cupcakes with white buttercream frosting and a slice of strawberry for taste and decoration.

My awesome neighbor came by to taste test for me too.  =)

As the military would say...IT'S A GO!  :D

 Blueberry Cupcakes Recipe


1 Box of White Cake Mix (follow mix direction on the back)
2 cups of frozen blueberries
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of water
Neon blue and Blue food coloring

(Preheat the oven to 350°)
1. Combine ingredients following box directions. (set aside)
2. In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, and water. 
3. Let this mixture simmer stirring occasionally until you see the liquid come to a slight boil.
4. Once the mixture has come to a slight boil, remove from heat and let it cool.
5. Blend the blueberry mixture until finely chopped and then add the whole thing to your white cake mix.  (This will turn your mix purple but not to worry!)
6. Now add the food coloring to until you get a nice vibrant blue.  I used a mix of the neon and regular blue.
7. Pour the batter into a prepared muffin pan or cookie sheet with aluminum liners.
8. Bake each batch for 20 minutes.

 After letting them cool from the over, ice with buttercream frosting.  I like the one from Chocolate and Carrots.  And then top with a sliced strawberry for decoration.

And viola!  You are done! Captain America cupcakes. =)