Spring is in the Air Swap!!

I've been trying to get out of this funk and have some fun recently. I really want to start enjoying spring so I thought that it would be fun to do this swap. It's being hosted by Flip Flops and Combat Boots . You should head over and check it out. Sign ups are closing soon.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

1. How did you and your spouse meet?

Andrew and I met my freshman year in high school, it was it his junior year in high school. We met at freshman orientation for JROTC. We didn't start dating until my sophomore year in high school.

2. What is the best thing about being a MilSpouse?

This lifestyle is unique in that it moves you all over the country. Because of this, most military people do not have family near by. Which means that your friends become your family. I cannot tell you how many holidays, birthdays, promotions, and good byes I have spent celebrating with my friends. Without them this lifestyle would surely become unbearable over time. One of the best things about the friends you make is that no matter who PCSes where you will always share this common bond and you know that there will be people at every corner of the country welcoming you with open arms should move.

3. What is the hardest part of being a MilSpouse?

Being alone is definitely one of the hardest aspects of this life. I know that I have the world's most amazing friends, but it doesn't make up for the fact that when I come home in the evenings my house is empty and there seems to be a hole in our family until he comes home again.

4. What is your favorite dish?

Oooo this one is hard. I love to cook and I love to bake so I'm not sure which one to choose. I think if you FORCED me to choose I would say that red beans and rice is my favorite dinner and fudge is my favorite dessert.

5. If you could change one thing in this world what would it be?

I would bring our troops home.

100 Snapshots Challenge

I found this while I was browsing the web the other day and I think it would be fun for me to do. It doesn't have a time limit and it doesn't have to be done in order both of these things appeal to me. I seem to have a problem with structure. lol

The challenge?
We've created a list of 100 words.
You're to interpret them any way you like,
And take a photo to represent each.
The goal is to finish all 100.
There is no time limit.
They do not have to be completed in order.

1. Safety
2. Stale
3. Feathered
4. Hot
5. Open
6. Forever
7. Love
8. Touch
9. Colorless
10. Blue
11. Smell
12. Growth
13. Irony
14. Wrong
15. More
16. Feel
17. Muse
18. Child
19. Within
20. Pale
21. Earth
22. Torn
23. Scars
24. Stray
25. Drops
26. Against
27. Dry
28. Fresh
29. Covered
30. Bold
31. High
32. Shadow
33. Concrete
34. Vein
35. Rush
36. Yellow
37. Empty
38. Cliché
39. Central
40. Loss
41. Wonder
42. Sweet
43. Poetry
44. Heavy
45. Fall
46. Chair
47. Statue
48. Kool-Aid
49. Dark
50. Breath
51. Garbage
52. Silk
53. Teacher
54. Cream
55. Wash
56. Corner
57. Rose
58. Field
59. Two
60. Red
61. Music
62. Rope
63. Decrepit
64. Chase
65. Dream
66. Dance
67. Smile
68. Smirk
69. Reflection
70. Soul
71. Lock
72. Key
73. Rust
74. Find
75. Lose
76. Drag
77. Wind
78. Rest
79. Swing
80. Meeting
81. Vacant
82. Hazy
83. Release
84. Gather
85. Swarm
86. Road
87. Wait
88. Stand
89. Distance
90. Trapped
91. Desk
92. Detach
93. Shatter
94. Home
95. Shy
96. Tackle
97. Begin
98. End
99. Time
100. Life

Weeks 4 & 5

Ok so I didn't clean my closet on week 4 either. We got back from Louisiana and I had so much to do catching up with laundry, cleaning up the mess the cats left me, etc that I didn't get around to it. So, this is week 5 and I've been working on my closet off and on for days now. I'll post the after pictures tomorrow I think, but here are the before pictures. Now I just have to figure out what to clean/straighten for Week 6.

Liquid Laundry Detergent

I decided that since I had run out of laundry detergent that I was going to make my own. I got the recipe from a friend who has made it before and set to work today. It was actually way easier that I thought it was going to be. I only had one little mishap which I was nice enough to take a picture of so you can laugh at me!

Everything you need. I used a tidy cats bucket as a 5 gallon bucket because hey it was free and on hand. I made sure to wash it well. You'll also need an old detergent container, washing soda, borax, and a bar of soap. The recipe calls for a specific kind but I just used Dial hypoallergenic soap.

The ingredients. Washing Soda, Borax, Soap

Step one: Grate the soap. I used the really small side of my grater.

Step two: Heat the soap in 4 cups of water over a medium-low heat until the soap is completely melted.

Step Three: Fill your 5 gallon bucket halfway with hot tap water. This is where my oops came in. See the water spraying with no hands. I taped it. I figured 2.5 gallons of water that'll take a while. Well I didn't count on the sprayer slipping off the side of the bucket and spraying me and the dog.

Step Four: Measure out one cup of washing soda and add to the half full bucket.

Step Five: Measure out half a cup of Borax and add to the bucket.

Step Six: Stir in soap mixture. Mix until the powder is dissolved.

Step Seven: Fill the bucket the rest of the way up and let set over night.

Step Eight: Fill detergent container half full of the concentrate and the rest of the way with water. Shake container before each use.

Me after encountering the sprayer of doom.

Shadow being very unamused that she got soaked.

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe

4 cups hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar (I couldn't find this so I used Dial you can also use Ivory)

1 cup washing soda

1/2 c borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is completely melted.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.

Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, Cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Stir and fill a used, clean laundry soap dispenser half full of soap and then fill rest of the way with water.

Shake well before each use (will gel) MAKES 10 GALLONS (5 gallons concentrated, 10 gallons once you do the half/half with water)

FOR A TOP LOADER: Use 5/8 cup per load (approx 180 loads)

FOR A FRONT LOADER: Use 1/4 cup per load (approx 640 loads)

THIS IS SAFE FOR CLOTH DIAPERS.

Deployment Induced Insomnia

I don't know about the rest of you military spouses, but I definitely believe Deployment Induced Insomnia is real and here to stay! Whenever Andrew leaves I always have trouble falling asleep. I keep the oddest hours and it generally makes me a cranky person to be around since I'm not getting enough sleep nor am I getting quality sleep. I know some days it's just because I've had a bad day and I'm lonely. It's hard to face the empty bed on days like that, but I don't want to sleep on the sofa and start bad habits for the pups. Normally when Andrew leaves for a couple of days I sleep on the sofa with the pups, I can't do that for a whole year though. Tonight I just can't seem to fall asleep. I'm sure this whole day light savings time isn't helping me. My body feels like it's only 1 am while it's really 2 am. Everyone else in my house is sleeping though. I wish I had the life of my dogs or cats for that matter.

Tango sleeping on the sofa. She has been refusing to cuddle since I got back from Louisiana.

Shadow snuggled up next to me. She's such a cuddly dog.

Sue and Munchie snuggled up in the bed.

What I've been up to

Holly and I left early Thursday morning to go to Louisiana to celebrate Mardi Gras and what a great trip it was. The trip down we were entertained by Mr. Bear. He so kindly danced and told bad jokes. He also gave the bear butt to the rude drivers around us.

Friday we went out to eat several times so that Holly could experience all of amazing food that Louisiana has to offer. We had lunch at Peck's seafood where we ate boiled crawfish, fried pickles, and roast beef po-boys. After our huge lunch we headed to the Abita Brewery for free beer and a tour of the brewery. Then we had dinner at Shaeffer's with mom where Holly had seafood gumbo and a stuffed crab po-boy and I had salad and a stuffed crab po-boy. Then we went off to meet my crazy friends from high school and watch Selene, a night parade that rides in my home town.

Saturday all of the New Orleans parades we had been planning on seeing were cancelled due to weather. So, we went outlet mall shopping in Gulfport instead. Then Saturday night I took Holly to the drive through daiquiri shop. Gotta love the south!

Sunday we went into New Orleans where we started our day on Bourbon St. at Pat O's with hurricanes. Then we went to Jackson Square and watched a performance and then went to Central Grocery to get muffalettas. We walked down by the river to eat them and then walked towards the French Market and picked up some daiquiris. After wandering the French Market and some of the art galleries on the French Quarter we headed back to Bourbon for hand grenades from Tropical Isle. After we walked Bourbon Street we headed home to Slidell to sleep off our eventful trip. Monday we recuperated so that we could have one last hurrah on Mardi Gras.

Tuesday we met Michelle and Ginny and headed out to Metairie for the Mardi Gras parades there. We got to see Argus and Jefferson roll. We didn't stay to watch the East Jeffersonian roll because we opted to leave early.

Wednesday we headed home in a huge storm. We managed to get ahead of it for a while, but we didn't stay ahead of it. We ended up driving through the rain all the way from Mobile, AL to just past the SC state line. It was freaking miserable. We ended up taking like 16 hours to make the 13.5 hour drive. Luckily we got home around 10p so I was able to pick up the puppies. Then I came home and immediately passed out.

Thursday was our 4th wedding anniversary. I wish that Andrew could have been here to spend it with me, but since he couldn't my wonderful friends stepped in. We went out to a sushi lunch. Then we went to Gus' for line dance lessons and lots of drinking. It was the best anniversary I could have had without the hubby there.

Today marks 2 months down in this stupid deployment. I'm spending it in my pj's until I head to knit night tonight with the girls.

Let him eat cake

So, I sent Andrew red velvet cake in a jar for his birthday. Now he is requesting cake with every package! (Not happening love!) Anyway I figured that Easter is coming up and I've been wanting to make these rainbow cakes so I figure hey rainbow cake in a jar for Easter!

I cheated and used a yellow cake mix instead of making it from scratch.

Then I sectioned it into 4 bowls and mixed in lots of food coloring.

After I mixed in the food coloring I realized I had forgotten to wash the canning jars. (oops!!) So, I washed and dried the canning jars.

When I make cake in a jar I always put them in a 9x13 pan to make them easier to handle. I know in this picture there are 8 jars, but I ended up only making 6. I also preheated the oven to 325 degrees.

Next I filled each jar one color at a time. I used a little more than 1/8th of a cup of each color in each jar. I thought that each color would spread to touch the sides of the jars, but they didn't.

My filled jars. It's amazing how much the cake expands in the jar.

At this point I realized I forgot to put water on to boil so that I could boil the lids and rings. (Oops again!) Anyway bring the water to a boil then turn it down to low.

Once you turn it down put in the lids and rings. I just let them simmer while the cake bakes. I ended up baking these for about 30-35 minutes. I used a bamboo skewer to do the toothpick test. Once it came out clean I knew they were done.

Take your cakes out of the oven. Use tongs to carefully remove lids and rings from the pot with the water and place them on the jars. Finger tighten lids so they are just screwed on. Let the jars sit over night to seal then finish tightening rings. Once they are sealed they'll keep just like canned goods. So, in this case long enough to make it to Afghanistan in a care package. I guarantee you they don't last much longer than that. I don't think Andrew waits at all to open and eat them.

Week 3

I know that I said I was going to clean the master bedroom closet this week, but I lied (get over it!). I'm leaving on Thursday to go home and celebrate Mardi Gras with my awesome friends and family. So, while I have started cleaning my closet there is no freaking way it will be finished tomorrow. I turns out that my master closet is HUGE and while I love that it tends to attract excess clutter. So, while you're all giving me a mental kick in the butt for not finishing in time I will be enjoying the parades and some hand grenades on Bourbon St. I promise you that next week we will be back to our regularly scheduled programing and my closet will be clean!