Hello, Cupcake

I have to say that one of the most important things that military life has taught me is to be welcoming to new people. It is very humbling to move to an area where you don’t have family and you don’t know a soul. Thankfully, we’ve had so many people that have welcomed us along the way that I always want to make sure to do the same.

There are a couple of new people on Husband’s team at work, and we decided to host a small lunch for them and a couple other friends this past weekend.

We had fajitas, Mexican rice, chips/guacamole, and fruit salad. I wanted to do something different for dessert, and I decided to make these key lime cupcakes . (I thought maybe the “lime” would fit in with the Mexican theme – maybe?) I was overjoyed at how they turned out. They were so, so good! This might just be my favorite cupcake ever. Really.

I followed the recipe as is, except I added a drop of green food coloring just to give it a little color. I also cheated and used store-bought vanilla frosting. I did add a small wedge of lime on the top for decoration.

Even if you don’t have any new people in town to welcome, then at least do yourself a favor and welcome these cupcakes in your life.

P.S. Husband liked these cupcakes so much that he said he is going to make them on his next day off. My stomach is hoping that his next day off is very soon.

Say It With Sugar

I got the best surprise this morning.

Husband left for work, and then he came back into the house a few seconds later.

“Did you forget something?” I asked, thinking he forgot his hat.

“Yes,” he said and handed me this. He had bought it for me yesterday and forgot to give it to me.

My heart swooned. Though I do love flowers, I’ll take a bag of candy any day over a floral bouquet. Especially sour patch candy. Especially in a flavor I haven’t tried.

This is the best day. Or perhaps that’s the sugar rush talking.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend had just about all of my favorite things: 1) Time with Husband 2) Seeing a great show 3) Sushi for dinner 4) Fresh bakery pastries for breakfast 5) Browsing around a bookstore 6) An evening walk 7) Gorgeous weather You better believe I’m going to be scheming a way to repeat this weekend in the near future.

Rainbow Sky

I’ve been a little bit in a funk the last couple days.

I think it’s mostly because a dear friend of mine is dealing with a very tragic and unexpected loss of a close family member. I feel just heartbroken for her (and a little helpless, too, since I live so far away from her).

But, last night, I happened to go to the window, and I saw this very beautiful rainbow that took up the whole sky. It’s a wonderful reminder that though things aren’t always perfect, things will still be ok.

And on a happier note, Husband and I have a fun outing planned for tomorrow, and I can’t wait. We are both ditching work. (Well, since we are not the rebellious types, we are both taking a vacation day, but ditching sounds much more exciting.)

Happy Wednesday.

The Weekend of Eat, Pray, Love

It was perfect timing this weekend. Husband’s military trip out of town coincided with the release of the biggest chick flick of the year: Eat, Pray, Love.

Husband doesn’t know it, but he dodged a bullet. That is, a bullet that is 2-hours long about a woman’s journey to find herself. I figured that if I was going to see the movie, this was the ideal time.

The movie did not disappoint. I read the book a while ago, and I liked it. But, I have to say that I really, really liked the movie. Julia Roberts seemed to make the main character a little softer and more relatable. That’s not to mention that for 2 hours I feasted on colorful, beautiful eye candy of 3 exotic places around the world.

So, if you happen to like 1) Julia Roberts, 2) traveling, 3) eating, and/or 4) chick flicks, you will enjoy this movie. (I feel the need to clarify that though it was a chick flick, I definitely wouldn’t classify it as a romantic comedy, although it certainly did have some moments of romance.)

And, without meaning to, I had my own little Eat, Pray, Love weekend.

Eat: Ate loads of veggies (since the carnivore in my life was away), some BBQ on a night out with the girls, and an entire box of Sour Patch Kids during the movie (and suffered a slightly numb tongue afterwards).

Pray: Church on Sunday.

Love: Loved having some time to myself this weekend, even though I, of course, missed Husband. To round out my girl weekend, I also watched When Harry Met Sally, saw a couple episodes of Say Yes to the Dress (a show that revolves around wedding dress shopping), and finally got my hair cut.

To summarize, I ate, I prayed, I loved. It was a good weekend.

I Fear I've Given Away My Secrets

A couple days ago, Husband brought home a series of racing DVDs that his friend let him borrow. Husband immediately put on the first DVD and watched it, completed transfixed. Then he started speaking in a language I didn’t quite understand, “Check out that Z06!” and “Notice that 564 series has much better performance than the R300.” At this point my eyes glazed over, and I may have been starting to nod off. I decided to entertain myself by making a blueberry and banana crumble for dessert. Husband loved the dessert. (Personally, I thought the bananas got a little mushy, but it was still tasty.) When the first DVD ended, I stopped him before he could even think about putting in the second one. “Please! I can’t take any more!” Husband seemed shocked that I didn’t enjoy the video as much as he did. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Yes, I’m sure. In fact, I made that dessert because I was so bored.” That was the point where Husband made a stunning revelation. “Let me get this straight. I put in a racing video, and I get to watch a show I love and then get a yummy dessert? Sounds like a win-win to me!” Sounds like I just lost-lost all my secrets. And I fear that if I had a fortune cookie right now, it might say something like: “There will be more racing videos and desserts in your future.”

Daily Affirmation

I just found this video recently, and I can’t help but smile every time I think about it: Jessica's Daily Affirmation (If the link doesn’t work, go to YouTube and search for “Jessica’s Daily Affirmation.”) And apparently I’m a little late in hearing about it, since the video has gotten almost 4 million (!) views. These are my thoughts: - I love the enthusiasm. - I love the hand motions. - My favorite part is the ““I…like…my…whole…house!” line, complete with an enthusiastic clap. - In a close second is the “I like my pajamas!” line. - I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how many times I’ve watched this (probably close to 10, and counting). - She has reminded me that “I can do anything good.” Enjoy!

Care Package

One of Husband’s friends has been deployed for a couple months, and I figured it was about time we sent him a care package.

Years ago when I was deployed, I loved getting care packages. It was most definitely the single most exciting part of my day. Many generous family members and friends sent me more care packages than I can count. I was humbled that so many people thought of me.

Now that I’m on the other side, I find it just as fun to send care packages. I love picking out snacks and candy the person might like, and I even enjoy packaging it up. (I guess the only part I don’t like is standing in line at the post office, but who does?)

This particular care package includes: a variety of candy (Sour Patch Kids, Red Vines, Jolly Ranchers, and other non-chocolate candy), gum, chapstick, wet wipes, beef jerky, and a mini flashlight.

I’m always looking for ideas of other things to send. What are your favorite care package items?

Changes

This seems like the week of changes. In just the last few days, the following things have happened: 1) We just got new neighbors, after our friends (a fellow military family) moved out. 2) Another military family we know just moved away. 3) Two good friends of ours just found out that they will deploying soon. 4) Husband is up for a new position in the unit. 5) I’m realizing that summer is almost over. On the positive side, these are a few things that are still the same: 1) We’ll probably be here (in our house that we love) for another year or so. 2) My job is going well. 3) Husband makes me laugh every day. 4) I’m still cooking. 5) I’m still happy.