New Books!

Misawa Air Base had a garage sale this past weekend. One where a person can rent a table and sell whatever they have on hand. It was mostly baby clothes and toys, with some decorations and crafts thrown in. But one table caught our eye...



One of my co-workers is clearing out her house in anticipation of a PCS, and mentioned she'd be getting rid of some books and movies. You know Jeff and I were all over that. She had dirt cheap prices, so we just started stock-piling. Some of the books I'd been eying, like the Philippa Gregory ones, and some I just grabbed because they were $0.25 and looked interesting enough. Jeff said the same thing about the movies. We were thrilled to spend maybe $25 for this whole pile. Not shabby, eh?

We explored Japan a little after that, but of course I did not have my camera and we didn't see anything too interesting.


I keep meaning to post more often, but I can never think of anything interesting to say! Our day to day lives are pretty monotonous, and a lot of details I obviously can't or don't want to share. We work, we relax, we get up and do it again. I'll have to work on some more ideas for the blog... maybe remembering my camera now and then would help!

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In

I haven't done one of these in a while!



1. Are you a different person than you were five years ago?

I was 18 five years ago, so yes. I was fresh out of high school and ready to go to college, my husbandboyfriend was in Italy, I was preoccupied with worrying about who my roommate would be and what she'd be like (Answer, boring, shy, and way too small town for a semi-medium city like Aurora. I was much happier with my second roommate). I've learned a lot in the last five years. Besides the obvious attaining of a degree, I've traveled and met a lot of people that have opened my eyes to new things.


2. If you could go on Amazing Race, who would you take with you as your partner and why?

My husband and I have actually talked about this. We could never do anything like that together, because we'd fight too much. We're both stubborn and have our specific ways of doing things, and we just don't work well under pressure together. I could probably do it with my brother, though. He's pretty laidback and has lived with me so long that he doesn't usually get annoyed by my annoying personality traits...



3. Does Facebook or Twitter actually bring more stress or good in to your life?

I don't use Twitter, and I don't go on FB too much. I do admit to the occasional stalk fest, because I enjoy seeing what people publish about their lives. I'm nosy and like to know everything, which means I may look up old friends from junior high or high school or friends of friends or what have you. But I only do that once every couple of months. For the most part, it's a great way to stay in touch with everyone back in the states. It's my main form of communication with most people, except our parents who both have Vonage World and get free calls to Japan ;)



4. June is National Soul Food Month- what’s your soul food?

It's gotta be garlic dip. It's a family tradition and I've grown up having it at every family get together and celebration. So now, it's synonymous with laughter, family, tradition, holidays, and just a good feeling. If I'm having a rough week or celebrating a holiday away from family, it's something that's guaranteed to make me smile. I've also built up my husband's love of garlic, because a love for garlic is a requirement to be part of my family.


5. If you could live in any other era than the current, which one would it be & why?

I always say the 1920's without a really good reason. I'd love to go back to every era and see the good and bad of it. It's why I love literature, it's a way into that piece of history or present. It's also why I love cultural studies and history, and my husband and I have talked for hours and will no doubt continue to do so about certain cultures and time periods we both love. It's a fun past time. So my answer is..every single one? I'm a horrible decision maker and I want to see and learn everything...


Hope your weekend is relaxing! It's rainy and overcast here, so I'm thinking watching some movies and snuggling on the couch sound like the perfect solution.

Three Years Ago

Three years and two days ago (I'm a little late!), I was doing this:



To go say something special to someone special:



And we started a new adventure together:



Three years ago exactly, we celebrated our new adventure with our family and closest friends:







Jeff and I got married on June 19th, 2008. It was a whirlwind of planning a wedding before a deployment with him overseas and me recovering from surgery, but we got it done. We had a courthouse wedding with immediate family, then celebrated in a small reception with family and close friends on June 21st.

Who could have imagined in just three short years we would have lived in CA, finished my degree, survived a year of deployments, moved to JAPAN, and started a real family of our own - the two of us and our adorable little furbabies. We've figured out how to live together and not want to strangle each other, most days. We've started traditions of our own and continued our favorites from our families. We've made plans for the future and made the best of the situations life has thrown at us. And of course, had a lot of fun along the way.

I don't know how I got so lucky, but my husband is pretty amazing. In the way of rubbing my sore and tired feet while I'm adjusting to a new job, bringing me toast when I'm sick or hungover, letting me sleep in late every weekend, only picking movies I'll actually watch from his extensive movie collection, and enduring my incessant need for hugs and snuggles. He's not perfect and sometimes I want to strangle him (I'm sure the feeling's mutual), but I'm happy with my life and the way it's shaping up.

I can't help but wonder where we'll be three years from now! I never would have expected actually moving overseas, so to say some things surprised me would be an understatement. Other things were as expected --having pets was always at the top of my list. I think Jeff's just surprised I've stopped at two.

Just wanted to share. This anniversary was pretty special after all the chaos of moving and adjusting to life overseas.

Becoming a Runner??

Long time, no talk.

I still haven't touched my camera. We've been meaning to get out and do a few things for a few weeks, but either the weather or our laziness keeps spoiling our plans. So lately Jeff and I have been working and watching lots of movies.

And working out!

Today, I started the Couch to 5K Running Program. This is my second attempt. My first had a couple problems. I repeatedly ran outside on the unforgiving concrete, which is so not good on my troublesome feet. I ran in old shoes, with not enough support for my troublesome feet. I didn't do many other workouts in addition, so all I was really doing was running. My muscles were being worked in one and only one way, I got burnt out and bored pretty quickly, and when it started to hurt, I just stopped.

That was over a year ago.

Today I started over. With new shoes, on a treadmill. I'm not going to focus exclusively on running each week. I'll aim for 2-3 days of running, mixed in with 2-3 other activities, whether that be weights or other forms of cardio. I'm not as concerned with following the program week by week as just progressing at the pace I'm comfortable with. I'm going to try to push my feet to adjust to running without injuring them, which is a balancing act that will prove challenging.

But Day 1 was pretty good. It was hot in the cardio room, so I was sweating bullets. I jogged nice and slow so my legs/feet don't cause problems tomorrow. It felt good to be jogging a little.

Someday I'd like to be able to call myself a runner. Living on a military base with all these active people around me makes me want to try. They have 5k runs nearly every other month, so it wouldn't be hard to train for and run one. I just have to get there. So for now I'm taking it slow and focusing on one day at a time.

One good thing that's come out of my injured feet is that I know my limits. I know when something hurts too much to continue, and when it's better to "push through the pain". There's a definite difference between fatiguing a muscle and real muscle pain, and I'm glad I learned that difference early.


Not much else going on around here. I haven't been cooking much since I started working. We've been living on easy meals and takeout. Our apartment is usually a disaster area, with only the couch cleared for relaxing. Oh well, as long as we're still eating, right?

Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls

There is no real name for this recipe. I call it something different every single time I make it, and Jeff never knows what to call it. But he loves it. The first time I made these, he said they were his favorite recipe of mine so far. He still inhales them. I believe my aunt was the first to try to stuff her crescent rolls, then my dad added broccoli, and eventually I tried the recipe and loved it. It's easy and quick and is so good.



I'm sharing because it is so easy and quick and delicious. I'm always in need of more weeknight meals, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.



I vary the amounts of chicken and broccoli, but basically you want some chopped chicken and some chopped broccoli. This time, I baked one chicken breast and chopped it into small pieces, then defrosted about 2 cups of broccoli until it was soft enough to chop, and chopped it into similar-sized pieces. (I was trying to use less meat and more veggies to sneak a semi-meatless meal into my husband's meat/meat/meat diet...) Sometimes I add chopped onion as well, but I was out of onions. Mix it with some salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you like. I usually use garlic powder and onion powder.





Take about 4oz. of cream cheese, softened, and stir into the mixture. I call it healthy since it's reduced fat.



Then add a handful or two of shredded mozzarella cheese. I also call this healthy when it's low fat. The cheeses make this extra creamy and delicious though.



When it's all combined to your liking (add more of whatever you want!), roll out your crescent rolls. Instead of eight triangles, you need four squares. Flatten and press the seam to form a fairly large, thin square/rectangle shape.



Separate mixture evenly between four squares. I almost always have leftover mixture just because this recipe doesn't have any specific measurements. You could save that for something, but I usually don't. I put just enough mixture so that I can close the square into a ball.



Which is the next step: closing the dough and trying to seal all the mixture inside the roll. It doesn't have to look pretty, mine never do.



Spray lightly with Pam so it browns on top, then pop in the oven. I follow the directions of the crescent rolls package, usually adding additional minutes until they're nice and brown on top.



Like this.



You could serve them with rice or something, but usually one roll is more than enough for me. It tastes really great on a cold evening. These also taste just as good warmed up the next day as leftovers. And since it's ingredients I almost always have on hand, this is such an easy meal to throw together!




P.S. I haven't actually cooked in some time, these pictures are from quite a while ago! Woops. I'm hoping to get back into trying new recipes and cooking healthier meals on a more regular basis soon.

I've Been Absent

I've kind of abandoned my blog recently. Between learning my new job, adjusting to the new schedule, maneuvering our one car between my husband's and my differing work schedules, all the usual things that fill up every day, AND getting some kind of bug this week, I haven't had much time for anything else. I spent most of the week either taking medicine or sleeping, so thankfully I'm starting to feel more like myself.

I also haven't had much to blog about. I haven't touched my camera in weeks. We've had plans to go hiking for a while now but things keep getting in the way, and this weekend we're going to take it easy just to make sure I stay on the track to healthy. We haven't been exploring for pretty much the same reasons. I haven't cooked more than chicken nuggets or hot dogs in the past week.

I did re-arrange some furniture and hang some more things on the walls recently. I'm pretty sure I snapped some pictures? Maybe. I moved a folding table into the bedroom and designated it my "mini-office". I never used the table in the living room, but still needed some place to keep things organized. It's actually really cozy and comfortable and fits just right in the bedroom, and I have some extra organization space in the bookshelf that holds our TV. Then because I'm Teri and was avoiding housework, I hung some pictures and shelves above the new desk so I had something pretty to look at. It makes the bedroom look much more "done", since it's always been kind of sparse without any dressers. If I do have pictures, or take some, I'll post some updated bedroom pictures soon.

I also got a new watch today! I found a pretty white athletic watch at the BX and couldn't put it down. I have tiny wrists and I never got my silver watch re-sized, even though I've owned it for 2-3 years. It dangles and slides and the face is always facing down instead of up and it was driving me nuts. So the pretty white watch with the buckle clasp that I could tighten to actually fit my wrist was calling my name. If I ever get consistent with working out, I might actually use all of its features.

As you can tell, life's pretty quiet these days, and I don't mind one bit. When I do something exciting, and more importantly when I actually remember my camera, I'll update again :)