Happy as in....

Coming across a Canadian lumberjack with Tom Selleck’s mustache having a nice conversation with Sasquatch.

That’s right. My hairy-toe knuckle cousin by marriage, Brynlie (as in my Cheerwine Fanatic cousin by marriage) has started a blog originally known as "The skeptically humorous 6 foot tall hairy primate living in the Northwest region of the U.S.", which in my opinion would have been a very long name for a blog and I’m glad she stuck with the short version: The Sardonic Sasquatch. So “the Squatch” is now virtually ranting for the world to hear. Last night, I became the first follower of hers and made her as happy as squeezing a small puppy until its eyes popped out and a bit of shart to escape from it’s bunghole and propel across the room splattering on someone’s face.

As a tribute to Bennie I have awarded her with a virtual copy of Sasquatch Summer by Nate Wragg in hopes someone will love her enough to buy a real print for her to hang in her college dorm room. Congrats on your blog! :D

9999 cans of Halcyon on the wall.....

Last Saturday to expand our 4 and 6 year old children's horizons, we toured a local brewery here in town. Tallgrass Brewing Company in Manhattan, Kansas brews up lots of tasty craft beers and we joined them for a taste and tour. We tasted Oasis, Halcyon (Unfiltered Wheat), Buffalo Sweat, Ale, IPA and their newest craft beer that their head brew-master made.  On the tour, we learned the process of brewing beer from start to finish. 

  The grain room, the mash tanks, the transfer to the fermenting tanks and learning the importance of having giant fermenting tanks named after the original American Gladiators. Well of course they named the smallest tanks after two of the female gladiators. We learned lots and my husband and myself  found new beer we both enjoyed. 

However, with the addition of two older gentlemen attending the tour, who were equally impressed by 3 service members of the U.S. Army attending the tour with their spouses, a pair of little sweet Southern boys and a few locals from Kansas State University, kept us entertained and our glasses topped off from start to finish on our tour. These older men, obviously wanting to keep their identities a secret, but one of them spilled the beans when  Tom went to get a refill within the first 5 minutes of the tour. Just met Tom Clancy & John Locke from "Lost" today while on our tour at the brewery. Tons of doppelgängers in Kansas. :D   

Yep, Kansas is full of doppelgängers. Tom wasn't writing his next novel, Locke wasn't chasing black smoke on an island, nope they were both two guys doing some pre-game drinking before K-State took on Kent State and inviting everyone out to St. Mary's for a barbeque. Check out Tallgrass Brewing Company and see where you can pick up some of Kansas' best craft beer close to you. :D

Might be an Addicition...

The sweet cherry nectar from the South aka Cheerwine is now in my possession. Eleven cases were smuggled cross country from North Carolina to Kansas and onto a military installation by my in-laws. This is my private stock pile and hopefully I'll be able ration it out to last 25 weeks until we go back to North Carolina for my birthday/Thanksgiving. That is unless, someone breaks into my home and steals it. Do you think renter's insurance would cover such theft? :D

C25K Week One...done!

I finished up week one last Saturday morning. I enjoyed pushing myself, going out and doing the program. This is Week 2 and I'm slightly off track with all this rain and tornado warnings we're having, but I walked Sunday and Monday evening to the local Shoppette (Convenience store) on post with a few of my neighbors. I didn't get to do my usual C25k routine yesterday, but I'm going to attempt my run this evening if another tornado warning doesn't ruin my plans. Wish me luck as I continue my goal! :D

C25K-Week One........Excuses

Here goes- I'm holding myself accountable and updating everyone on my weekly progress. As I mentioned I was to begin my Couch to 5 K (C25K) program last Tuesday. Well, that kind of didn't happen and this is why....

Last Tuesday following my last entry, our power went out in our neighborhood and the temperature was still hovering above 90* at six o'clock that evening. Not knowing what time our power would be restored and not knowing the next time I could shower, I forgo-ed the first day of training to sit under the carport in the shade with my neighbors until the power came back on almost 4 hours later.
Wednesday wasn't a planned training day, but I debated on whether or not to run since I missed first day of my program. Instead, I decided to sit in my yard and chat with my neighbor while enjoying a nice alfresco dinner that Clay had prepared for me. Clay had made some fresh seafood that we had picked up in town earlier that afternoon. He fixed Black Peppered Shrimp and Caesar salad for me and he enjoyed some fresh scallops. Much later that evening I found myself having the worst stomach ache in my life. Early Thursday morning laying on the floor of my bathroom, I convinced myself that I was dying from food poisoning. It was the worst kind of sick imaginable and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. If you've ever seen Drop Dead Gorgeous, just imagine the part of the movie were all of the beauty pageant contestants get violently ill from a seafood buffet, you would have a small glimpse of how I felt. It took me until 3 o'clock in the afternoon to make it down to the couch and regain the ranks with the semi-living. I am especially grateful for my husband for caring for me and acting as Mr. Mom for the entire day. I surely couldn't run on negative calories and I laid in bed looking pitiful for the rest of the day, the hour long couch adventure was way too much work.
Friday, I was still weak, but not sick and this was a major step towards feeling better. I took it easy and didn't run that evening either. Saturday, I figured that there was no point on trying to salvage the beginning of my C25K program, so I went around the neighborhood to the yard sales and our family attended a birthday party for our neighbor's daughter at the indoor pool.
So, TOMORROW I will begin (again) my C25K program. I'm excited about running, having some "me time" and avoiding shellfish for an undermined amount of time. Wish me luck as I begin this new adventure.

Breaking/Making Goals....

I'm starting a new adventure and ending another. I just finished one month of going Vegetarian (again) and I'm shifting gears and going back on the meat band wagon. It was fun, it made me appreciate the discipline that die-hard Vegetarians and Vegans do and expanded my options for meat-less meals, even more than last time. I'm sticking to seafood, poultry and limiting my intake of pork and beef products. But, I still failed short of my long term goal of cutting out as much processed foods as I could. No one tells beginning Vegetarians (or second time around one's like me) that any convenience food for someone on a plant based diet is as just as processed as regular foods with meat in them. I have a ton of appreciation for those who continue this lifestyle, but for someone who loves to cook as much as I do, the whole month I was miserable thinking that a lot of my favorite foods were "off-limits". No more Beef Wellington and roasted Brussels Sprouts for special occasions, a nice piece of grilled chicken topped with a fresh avocado salsa, Honey glazed Salmon with wild rice and steamed veggies. You get the picture. As good as I felt, I was slightly unhappy meat-free. Maybe my body needed to be reset and enjoy a hiatus from meat, but I'm still going to incorporate Meat-less Mondays into our menu.
On a brighter note, today I will be begin my Couch to 5K challenge. I'm excited and ready to start this evening as soon as the temperature drops below 90*. I'll track my progress and hopefully will be running 5k (approx. 3 miles) without difficultly by mid-June.

Fortune Cookies.....

The other night my husband, 2 boys & I went out to a Chinese buffet and at the end of the meal we opened our fortune cookies. Surprisingly, everyone's fortune fit the intended person. Mine & Clay's were a bit vague like they normally are, but Chris & Ayden's fortunes fit them. We had fun reading them. :D

Clay's fortune ~ An important discussion about you will take place today. (I'm sure people talk about him all the time)

My fortune ~ Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling. (Most people's roads to glory are rocky.)

Chris' fortune ~ You find beauty in ordinary thins. Appreciate this gift. (This is Chris to a "T". The child can find beauty in anything.)

Ayden's fortune ~ Your goal will be met in two months. (I hope this fortune is referring to potty training, because that's the only goal we're working towards.)

What's the Deal with the Crazy Weather Here?

Just in the last week here at the Big Red One, we've had snow, hail, thunderstorms, bright sunny skies and warm weather. Last Sunday night/Monday morning we had a whopping 2 inches of snow dumped down on us, followed by a few nice days of highs in the 70's, then Saturday night was capped off with thunder storms complete with marble sized hail. We welcomed the first day of spring with a high of 83* degrees, sunny skies and a light breeze. We fished all afternoon at Moon Lake, resulting in sunburnt arms and legs. However, I'm excited that spring has finally sprung and the smallest signs are appearing all around us. School is out for spring break, the husband is off work for a few days and we're enjoying the warmer weather that Kansas has finally decided to show us. Today we enjoyed a awesome afternoon at Milford Lake. This is as close to the Atlantic Ocean as I can get for now. The breeze was just as it is alongside the ocean and if I closed my eyes that salty sea air filled my nose. It was wonderful and the boys & Clay had a blast throwing sticks and rocks into the water. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. :D
I checked the weather, right after I published this post. Here's my FB rant for the day:I'm sunburnt from 80* weather from 2 days ago and now they're calling for more snow & sleet on Saturday. Really? Good grief. :O

Living on a Military Installation is a lot like being....

Retired.

You heard me right. We've been in our new home for about a month and we're slowly adjusting to life on post. But to admit that it feels like we live in a retirement community is almost embarrassing, but so true.
I had posted a picture on FB of my son, Chris giving the D.A.R.E. mascot a high-five at a USO dinner we attended the first week we were here.My cousin Liz, said that "I think you live on a resort instead of an Army base!" Almost, but not really. We have a lot of similarities to a retirement community here at the Big Red One. Some "perks" include:

A Gated community with 24/7 Security
Golf course and Driving Range
Neighborhood pools
Shopping-PX, Mini Mall, Shoppettes or the Commissary
Fine Dining-Food Courts at the Mini Mall, Burger King,
Pizza Hut & a Starbucks
Speed Limit 30 mph and under enforced
Fitness centers and gyms
Social Clubs
Arts & Crafts
Sports Leagues
Bowling Alley
Theater
Houses of Worship
Dry Cleaning Services
Barber Shops on every corner
Hair Salon & Spa
Private Hospital and multiple Medical & Dental Clinics
Special Events at our conference center
and of course the BINGO Hall!

Yep, I'm not even 30 and I'm retired. I spend my days crafting, reading books, spending time with my family, knitting, cooking, bike riding, walking the neighborhood (which reminds me to get an awesome track suit to wear) and peering out my door wondering why the MP's are down the street at the neighbor's house. As shameful as I am to admit this, I'm enjoying retirement. :D

So I just saw another doppelgänger…

Have you ever seen How I Met Your Mother? You know that hilarious sitcom on CBS. They’ve all seen each others Doppelgänger, have you seen yours? What is a Doppelgänger, you might ask? Well……

Doppelgänger (from Wikipedia) -In fiction, folklore, and popular culture, a doppelgänger is a tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil. In the vernacular, the word doppelgänger has come to refer (as in German "doppelt(e)") to any double or look-alike of a person.
The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. Doppelgängers are often perceived as a sinister form of bilocation and generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death.

So around this time last year, a craze began on Facebook with all of your friends asking: What celebrity do I look like? Hence everyone was changing their profile pic to their doppelgänger. I read a neat article on it the other day.

So far since Clay & I have been in Kansas, we’ve seen several doppelgangers in person, not just googling someone that looks like you. I find this funny because back home in NC, we never really saw anyone who looked like someone else.

Our list of “seen” Doppelgängers now includes:

Ghétto Bird & Thuggy D look-alikes... (my nephew, Jonathan and his friend, Dylon in NC) We were driving across post the other week and we see two teenagers carrying skateboards, who matched their description to a T.

The maintenance man who did some repairs at the house had to be Steve Buscemi's doppelgänger. Wow.

And Clay’s battle, Bus from Texas (but it was his female doppelgänger.) See our pictures for proof. So, if Bus were female, sporting a Mohawk and liked to dress in goth, this would be his exact Doppelgänger.

Bus (left) Clay (right)

I’ve asked before “Who do I look like?” and have never had a famous celebrity Doppelgänger of my own. But, when I worked in retail years ago, someone mistook me for this person who I looked exactly like. Weird, huh? My husband has 2 semi-famous Doppelgängers. Have you seen 8 mile? His is Cheddar Bob or the guy wearing a black beanie in the Papa Roach video “Last Resort”, but that’s the 13 years ago version.Crazy enough, I did a post last year that had a semi-famous Doppelgänger in it.

Check it out.

Hello Kansas....

Well, we've been in Kansas for almost a week.
We drove cross country and stopped in
Metropolis, Illinois to see Superman.
We saw the St. Louis Arch, too.
Living on post is different, but nice. Chris started his first day of Kindergarten. We moved in our new home.
The movers came & we unpacked.
Check out this recycling.
And we even met a few neighbors. lol Oh & some of the crazy stories from our
1100 mile road-trip are to come soon.

Leaving NC….

Well, we’ve said our goodbyes and we’re packed up and ready to go on this new adventure together as a family. The movers have come and packed up all of our stuff, which is the equivalent of being robbed while watching and not able to do anything except offer them water to drink.

We’ve got a few days of travel ahead of us, getting keys to the new house, enrolling Chris in school and then the fun task of unpacking and settling in to our new home. I’m doubtful that I’ll post a new piece on the blog until February. I know I promised mobile blogging, but I’ll be taking note of all the crazy adventures we’ll have on the way. So, until then….

Preparing for the move...

In preparation for the move, I really haven't been grocery shopping in a while. Other than picking up milk, bread and eggs, for the several "snowpocalypses" since Christmas, we've been living off what's in the pantry and freezers. Tonight was a realization that we had no food in our house, just random food items. This is what I had to work with:

Cabinets- A vat of butter flavored Crisco, AP flour, enough coffee to make one pot, cornstarch, baking powder,Nesquik (Chocolate or Strawberry), vinegar, S&P, cocoa. Pop-tarts, grits, popcorn, oatmeal, fake potatoes,
miscellaneous canned goods and pancake syrup.
Fridge- Almond milk, chocolate syrup, Cheerwine, cranberry juice, pickles, jalapeno pepper, salsa, *baking soda, eggs, 2 slices of cheese, leftover rice, Fettuccine Alfredo from lunch, organic beef broth,hot sauce, an assortment of condiments, honey butter, crushed pineapple and the brown bag has Clay's chocolate turtles from Christmas in it.
Little Freezer- ice cubes, fish sticks, cubed beef, shrimp,
half a bag of French fries, chicken nuggets, veggies, a jar of yeast
and Chris' itty-bitty Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Big Freezer-Ice pop, anyone?

*That said baking soda-not even five minutes after I took that picture, my youngest takes it out of the fridge, opens it and begins making "sandcastles" on his little table. Then he & his brother rake it off onto the floor and begin rolling in it. Good times. Hey, they did help me vacuum. :D

Chris & Ayden ate "Daddy pancakes" and pickles for dinner. (Clay makes a whole box of pancake mix at one time and then freezes them individually so the boys can have pancakes that their Daddy made anytime he's not with us. Sweet, huh?) And I had a 2 egg cheese omelet with salsa and jalapeno peppers. Yep, crazy dinner, but it was tasty. Look's like I'm going to get very creative with dinner the next few days.

Goodbye BBQ Capital of NC……

I’ve made a list of things (not people, so don’t get your panties in a wad) that I’ll miss in North Carolina, a TOP TEN if you will. Drum roll please……

10. Infinite numbers of BBQ restaurants within a 10 mile radius, all proclaiming theirs is better than the other 12 you passed on your way there. I’ll miss “The HoneyMonk” the most. Lexington is famous for its western NC-style BBQ (chopped pork with a vinegar- and tomato-based sauce, usually served on a bun).

9. Door to door salesmen or evangelistic groups knocking on my door on Saturday mornings.

8. Traffic on I-85. (Dang, I’m going to miss all the construction work at the Yadkin bridge.)

7. Mountains. From what I hear Kansas doesn’t have them.

6. The BBQ Festival-one whole day devoted to bbq pork cooked just the right way.

5. Food Lions. Yep, I’m going to miss my Food Lion shopping experiences.

4. Bojangles. Kansas doesn’t have them. :(

3. Cheerwine, available in any store: a single can, 6-pack of bottles, 2 liter, glass bottle, 12 pack, in Slushie form, and even when made into Cheerwine Cake. ($25 just to ship some to Kansas. *sigh*)

2. The shores of the North Carolina coast. The ability to drive 4-6 hours and reach the nearest beach of my choice…Carolina Beach or OBX (North or South).

1. Small towns and the people that live in them. (aka-Tyro, Reeds, & Churchland)

Count Down to Kansas.....

Yep. It's January 2011, the year the Army sends our family to Kansas. I can't pack, I can't prepare, I can only wait. I took my husband to the airport on Sunday for a flight to his new duty station and here it is Wednesday and we have a house waiting for us later this month. The "Hurry Up & Wait" hasn't happened with this somewhat fast paced PCS and I'm unsure of how I feel about that. Normally I have time to prepare myself for things, but this is happening whether I like it or not. We have a time frame for moving and everything, even an address for the new house, I know which school my son will be attending and things to do within a 4 mile radius of our new home. (A bowling alley & a rollerskating rink-enough said.) <- check out that link! Oh & I about forgot to update you all on my 12 weeks of Wal-Mart cold turkey. Well....I made it 5 weeks before my youngest son had a vomit-fest in the back of our Jeep while visiting my husband in Va. I did get a really great deal on a long sleeve shirt & pair of pants for him. Anyway...I tried to stay away, but vomit overrides any "goal" that I've set for myself. So, I'll be mobile blogging in the next 2 weeks while traveling & settling into our new home. The next time you hear from me, I might be on my way to Kansas in our Wagon Queen Family Truckster.

(It's not metallic pea green, but it'll do.)