Best Saturday Night, Ever

Now, before I start, I just want to let everyone know I support my friends 100% while their husbands are deployed. This means listening to venting, hanging out, bringing dinner, etc. I have no problem with a little bit of the deployment blues. What I do have a problem with, is women (and men) who feel like they are the only ones in the world who have gone through a deployment and like to complain about it on a daily basis. Over the years I've run across a few of these, and in the beginning, I was understanding, but, after months of complaining and whining about their husband being gone, I had to keep myself from telling them what I really think. And, because of this, I've lost a few friends. Good news is, they weren't that great of friends to begin with. It was usually me giving, and them taking, and nothing reciprocal. Definitely not my idea of a great friendship.
Anyway, last night I stumbled across a Facebook post on a military spouse group. It said that this girl told her friend to suck it up after she had been complaining non-stop about having to have a child while her husband was deployed. Having done this, I can relate where a lot of women cannot. Most women aren't forced into that situation, and I'm glad. But, in all honesty, it wasn't that big of a deal to me. It's not like John was such a HUGE help while I was in labor the first time, and I was planning on having my best friend Andrea and my mom along my side anyway. So, yeah, I understand complaining a few times, but on a daily basis? It's not going to change the fact that you need to be a strong woman and get through the situation on your own two feet. When you marry a man in the military, you know full well going in that you're going to spend a lot of nights alone. It comes with the territory.
So, after stating my opinion on this group (which is what it's for) all sorts of women started jumping down my throat. It was hilarious. First, the were arguing my words, which is what a good ol' fashion debate is supposed to be like. And I was enjoying it. But, all too soon was this great debate over and people were throwing out words and phrases that not only had I never heard, but put a terrible taste in my mouth. I can swear like a sailor if I choose to, but, for the most part, I feel like I am more intelligent than that and can articulate a thoughtful sentence without dropping the F bomb every other word. That and the grammar was terrible. I happen to be an English nerd, so I understand not everyone enjoys putting a sentence together correctly or even knows how, but, at least take advantage of the spell check on your computer!! It's hard to ignore a word underlined in red, and even easier to click on it and choose the correct word.
After that, one girl (and then a few of her friends) decided to start attacking me personally. I guess they were running out of things to say about the topic (perhaps I had argued my point well?) and started bashing me about the sweater I had on in my profile picture. I have had numerous comments on my sweater, so, I'm really not sure what they thought was so ugly about it, but, whatever. I happen to love that sweater, and could care less what a bunch of drunken (yes, they made numerous comments about drinking Smirnoff, which is a whole other hilarious side to this thread), inarticulate, uneducated, women have to say about my appearance. I just thought it was hilarious they kept telling me I had an ugly sweater, over and over again. I actually at one point even told them that the ugly sweater comments weren't working and they should find something else to bash me on. I believe I also threw in "sweetheart." Funny thing is, that stopped the personal attacks. Ha.
Anyway, towards the end, I decided to just take the high road, and be nice, which turned the whole thread into a nice little light-hearted conversation. That's about when I left the thread, but I kept checking back on it and another girl came in and started talking smack about me and a couple of my friends who were backing me up. I decided to refrain since it would have just been far too easy to prove my point once again, but, it definitely took a little internal fortitude. I really wanted to defend myself, but I know that's exactly what they wanted. Especially when they started calling me and my friends Stepford Wives. I don't know which is funnier, that, or the ugly sweater...
So, looking back on the conversation this morning, I feel like it's something I need to print out and save because it is just too hilarious. I never stepped over the line and held myself like an adult, which is more to say about the rest of them. I have met some amazing women both on Facebook and in real life who are friends I know I can count on for anything (and have) during my military spouse career so far. It always amazes me when I find a woman who is SO much different and thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread, but, when the military hires young men and women straight out of high school, and they don't have the opportunity to really grow up, it's easy to hang on to that cattiness so many school age girls have. It's unfortunate and I hope, for their own sake, they learn to mature in a way that will bring them happiness in life. Because, we all know, it's those catty girls that are attacking others to make up for their own short comings.

Why Friday? WHY!?!

I'm back!! I know, you're thinking, I had no idea she went anywhere! Well, you're right. I've actually just been going crazy (turns out, it is as bad as Hollywood makes it seem). March has NOT been nice to me. And neither have my children. If you're interested, let me just give you a run down of TODAY.

9:00AM: Find Victoria with red nail polish.
9:02AM: Notice the red nail polish has been shared with Anneliese, who is now finger painting her high chair tray.
9:28AM: Finish wiping entire kitchen/dining room down with nail polish remover. This includes throwing out a couple plates.
9:30AM: Calm down enough to allow Victoria out of her room.
10:22 AM: Find Anneliese near the cat box in the bathroom while Victoria is going potty. Annie is chewing on something.
10:22:30AM: Learn the item in question is not actually cat poop, but a raisin. Laugh and call mom.
11:14AM: Friend arrives, and promptly enters the car to head towards the fabric store.
11:45AM: Arrive at store, Victoria tries to bolt into traffic.
12:30PM: Leave fabric store, Victoria, once again, tries to run into the parking lot towards car.
12:35PM: Head to new fabric store (John will not like this place for financial reasons), and fall in love.
2:00PM: Get girls home and down for a nap. Time to relax.
2:30PM: Tori decides she doesn't want to take a nap. Scratch relaxing.
3:30PM: Remember to defrost cube steaks for dinner. Frantically throw them in microwave.
5:00PM: Toss cube steaks in pan, find bag of coleslaw in fridge. Follow directions, and after making the coleslaw, remember you really dislike it. Skip veggies for dinner and eat only steak.
5:15PM: Finish dinner, and go sit on the couch to digest. Hear Victoria rummaging around in bathroom. Call Victoria to front room, see she is covered in make-up. Send child to time out.
5:18PM: Remove child from time-out and make sure they are clear as to why playing with mommy's make-up is bad. Point is not received, despite numerous efforts.
5:49PM: Grab children and head towards car to run few quick errands before bedtime. Pull on door handle 3-4 times, each pull slightly more frantic.
5:50PM: Look on center console of vehicle, and see car keys. Call husband, who refuses to be late for work to bring me spare.
5:52PM: Yell in garage.
5:53PM: Head inside, and inform fellow errand runners you will not be joining them.
6:30PM: Victoria finds garlic powder and decorates floor. Sent to bed early.
8:45PM: Anneliese is still wide awake and giggling.
9:30PM: Mommy is tired, Anneliese is not. Going to be a long night.

First night out in YEARS

So last night I went out for a friend's birthday party in SLC. It was a blast. We went to a dueling piano bar, and it was so much fun! The pianists knew so many songs and people would make requests, so the music was so many different genre's. Anyway, I haven't gone out with friends for so long. It was really nice to have the break from my kids. I love how I don't need to leave them for long for me to miss them and "renew" my appreciation and love for them. So, this morning when I woke up, it was great to see their smiling little faces and cuddle with them.
So, thank you to my wonderful husband to hanging out with them pretty much all day and letting me go out to celebrate my friend, Carole's, birthday. I love you so much. Next time though, I'm dragging you out with me!! No pulling the old man card, I won't take no for an answer. ;)

Sliced my finger WIDE open

So last night while I was making dinner and washing off my cutting board between chopping up some things, I made the mistake of running my ring finger on my right hand down my VERY sharp chef's knife. Lots of blood, and a few whispered cuss words (my children were hanging out in the kitchen with me) and John was heading to the bathroom to get me hydrogen peroxide and a bandaid. Turns out, the bandaid was not enough. I soaked through it in a minute. Haha. So, I went to gauze and tape, which also were soaked through, but slowed the bleeding down, switched the gauze out again after I finished cooking dinner, and taped it up like a mummy.
This AM I looked down and noticed (after cooking breakfast) that the bleeding had started again. So, took off the gauze, cleaned it up again, and put on a clear bandaid (it's pretty rad) really tight. The bleeding has stopped. So, now I just need to keep my fingers crossed that I don't need to go get stitches. I REALLY don't want stitches. My pulse quickens just thinking about it. :( Ha. I know, I'm a pansy.
Anyway, really sucks. Especially when I forget and try to type with that finger.

Samosas with Mint Dipping Sauce

Some people have been asking about my vast collection of recipes lately, so, I've decided to start posting them as often as I can on here to basically put my collection online for all of you to access. I'm also organizing all the past blogs to make it easier to search for what you're looking for! Thanks everyone for reading this and keeping up with me and my beautiful little family. XOXO

SAMOSAS WITH MINT DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients

• 1 large potato (about 1/2 a pound, use 2 if needed), peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeds and stem removed, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger (about a half-inch piece), grated
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock, a little more or a little less to loosen filling
• 2 tablespoons (about a palmful) fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 package (2 9-inch rounds) store-bought, raw pie dough
• 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
  
  
  For the Mint-Cilantro Dipping Sauce:
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic
• 1 one-inch piece of ginger
• 1 bunch fresh mint, leaves removed from stems
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves removed from stems
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and stem removed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Yields: 4 servings of 4 samosas each

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Drain and reserve in the same pot you cooked them in.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add EVOO. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes, then add jalapeño, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds, curry powder, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the drained potatoes, tomato, peas, and cilantro and cook another minute. If the filling seems too thick, add a splash or two of vegetable stock. Remove from the heat and let cool.

On a lightly floured surface, unroll both doughs. Cut each dough round into 8 equal wedges, like a pizza so you have 16 long wedges.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the potato filling onto the middle of each wedge. Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash and fold up, bringing the three points up to each other, then pinching at the seams to form a small pyramid. Brush the outside of each samosa with egg wash and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

While the samosas are in the oven, prepare the dipping sauce: Place garlic and ginger in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the mint, cilantro, jalapeño, sugar, salt and lime juice, and puree until ground. Add water and EVOO, pulse to combine.

Serve up the samosas with the dipping sauce alongside.

Fire Safety

Thank you Groupon.com for this dose of laughter this Wednesday morning:

For as long as matches have existed, so has fire. If you suspect that your house may be aflame, stay safe by following these simple steps:

S-M-O-K-E

S: Search for the source. The only way to protect yourself is to be informed.
M: Measure the diameter of the fire. The firemen need this for their records.
O: Open a window next to the flames so that a stiff breeze might blow the fire out.
K: Kiss all of your favorite possessions. You won't have time to take them with you.
E: Escape up the chimney (the last place a fire would look for you) and wait quietly on the roof for rescue.

The concept of democracy

Children apparently cannot grasp this concept. I am currently watching my friend's two kids, ages 1 and 3 today for awhile and attempted to hold a vote for which princess movie we were going to watch. So, after having Princess and the Frog win 2-1 (Annie was asleep, and wouldn't have cared anyway), the one who had not voted for the movie threw a bit of a fit and went to lay down in a different room. Ha. Whatever makes them happy. My house is actually quiet. Victoria was so tired, she passed out before the movie even started! Ha. 

Anyway, more to come, but at the moment, I am going to take advantage of the quiet and get a bit of cleaning done!!

Just kidding, Annie woke up, and I don't think 1 of the girls I'm watching is going to take a nap... oh well. A few moments were nice. :)