Only The Good Die Young

Early Tuesday morning (Oct. 13) around 3am there was a horrible car crash just outside of Washington DC. 3 people were in the car and 1 was killed. I knew the girl who did not survive, and I can only think what a tragedy this is. Ashley was a year younger than me- 22 years old. She was full of life and bubbly and this just is just such a loss. I know her family must be devastated. She graduated a year behind me in high school and we ran on the track and cross country teams together. Though we have lost touch since high school, I can only imagine how her friends must be dealing with this. 22 is surely too young to die. So many have a lost a friend, and her parents lost a daughter and her brother lost his sister. She had her whole life ahead of her. Please keep Ashley and her family & friends in your prayers. Her viewing is today and she will be buried tomorrow. This is such a loss for a such a good person, but I guess 'only the good die young'.
Below is a link to one of the stories written about her:
Ashley Roberta

Creamy Chicken Soft Tacos

So today I wanted to make dinner. With having the new house, there is so much to do though. I didnt want to go out to eat however, because also with a new house comes spending a lot of money. So I pulled out my little cookbook "101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker". I figured this way I'd get it out of the way early and then just be able to get stuff done and run errands up until when dinner was ready.
I found a super easy, and very delicious recipe that I thought some of you might enjoy.
So here it goes, Creamy Chicken Soft Tacos:

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, frozen
(1) 16 oz jar salsa
1 cup sour cream
6-8 flour tortillas

In a well greased slow cooker, place chicken. Pour salsa on top. Cook 6-8 hrs on low or 10-12 hours on low. During last hour- shred chicken with a fork and mix in sour cream. Serve in tortillas with lettuce and cheese if desired.
In place one can use cream cheese rather than sour cream for a richer flavor.


MmmMmm. It turned out good. I did use cream cheese instead. Also my chicken breasts weren't frozen, so I cooked it on low about 6 hours total and it turned out just fine. My husband told me I have to make it again :) That's a good sign he liked it. I liked it too because it was so easy!

Anyone need boxes?

Well we have our stuff here! Woohoo. The downside- we also have boxes upon boxes of stuff to unpack. My mom and aunt are coming down tomorrow though to help me! How lucky am I?!
Anyways, as I am typing this I am sitting on MY sofa. I have missed it. I have a piece of my "coziness" back and set up. And I am so happy. I know I have lots of boxes to go through but I just wanted to reacquaint myself with my sofa for a bit.
Ahh my husband just pulled up outside...I better get off the internet and look like I have been unpacking boxes... later :)

Finally in our house!

Well as I got on, I noticed that my last post was nearly 2 months ago- that was 3 days before the movers came to get our stuff in WA state. Since that time, we've had a cross country road trip and and ended up in Virginia. We put over 4000 miles on our car and traveled with 560 lbs of of our stuff and a 5 month old dog. But we did it- in a Civic nonetheless!
We've been in temporary housing and just this past week we got into our house we decided to buy. And then we finally got internet set up just a couple days ago. With all of the craziness- something had to give and ahh yes it was my blog.
Anyways this past week we have been busy painting. The tenants decided to paint the ENTIRE downstairs a uhh lime mixed with olive green. It was not pretty. Not sure what they were thinking. But nothing a new coat (or 3) couldn't fix. We have arranged for our stuff to be released from storage and in 2 days we'll get it back. I can't count the number of beds I have slept on since our stuff was moved, including the air matress we've been sleeping on now since we got into our house last week. I miss my bed. Its more comfortable than nearly any bed we've slept on. There's nothing like your own bed. I miss it so much when I just go away for week, so by now- I feel like peanut butter without my jelly lol.
Aside from missing my bed, we've had an amazing couple of months. Our roadtrip was incredible- we stopped in San Fransisco, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Albuquerque NM, Memphis TN, and Nashville- those were out biggest highlights. The Grand Canyon was amazing. Albuquerque was a pleasant surprise as was Memphis, but truly the biggest highlight and surpirse of the trip was Nashville. We unexpectedly got to see Keith Urban- my favorite country singer!
He was at the Country Music Hall of Fame announcing a charity concert and on the Sunday we visited the museam we found out he'd be there the next morning! We were supposed to leave early and continue on our way East, but I was able to convince my husband how important this was!
Well apparently not many people knew and we got into a small theater- seating maybe 200 peopple. He played "Making Memories of Us". So special. These kinds of things never happen to me lol. And speaking of things never happening to me- I also got his autograph. When he was leaving a handful of people from inside the theater stuck it out until he left and he was kind enough to give each of us an autograph from the other side of the fence.
It was tough for him writing on the Hall of Fame napkin I was able to scrounge up last minute and it came out a little 'sloppy'. But he said to me- "Its a little weird, but its there sweetheart" in his Aussie accent. Ahh Keith Urban called me sweetheart, which came out more like 'sweethot".
So yeah pretty amazing.
You know what else is amazing- today is our first anniversary. Its hard to believe we were married a year ago. Seems like it was yesterday literally! My husband did well- he got me a camcorder. I love pictures and videos and he thought of a perfect gift! I only had quick video thing on my regular camera. I am blessed to have him. He makes life worth living. Ok yeah I know, enough of the sappy stuff. But I love him :)
So as we get the house together, I'll be posting pictures for anyone out there who may actually still check my blog from time to time. For now here's some photos of the trip.
Take Care and Happy Autumn- its one of my favorite times of the year!

San Francisco- me and Frank our pup :)

Vegas

Grand Canyon


Albuquerque

Keith Urban signing my autograph :)

My Wedding Dress

Oct. 4th, 2008

I've seen some people sharing their wedding gown lately and it seems like a good idea! I had my heart set on a different dress actually. I saw it in a magazine just after we got engaged and when I tried it on I loved it, but I still had A LOT of time before our actual wedding. So we went back a couple months later to get officially sized and my mom mentioned that maybe I should try another dress on just to be sure.
Well I did and that was it. I KNEW this new gown was the dress for me. I loved the train and the pearl beading. The aisle that I walked down was very long and so I only saw a long train to be fitting. I closed my eyes and envisioned myself in it walking up the chapel. I chose it to be white, instead of ivory to match the choker whites my husband would be wearing on that special day. I also wanted my dress to be truly unique. So we had the seamstress put on a small blue border across the top to coordinate with the "blue jay" blue that my bridesmaids wore.

Here is a picture from the back, just before my dad walked me up the aisle showing the train.


Here's a shot of the aisle. It makes that long, heavy train on my dress appear quite small haha. The chapel holds thousands of people, so my mere 130 wedding guests barely filled it :)

This shows the blue trim across the top

I wish I could wear that dress again. I love it!

From mountains to beaches

Well the time has come. The movers are coming in just days to pack our stuff in preps for our PCS move. This experience I have had in the Pacific Northwest has been so much better than I could have ever imagined. See when I moved here, I came from Maryland. Washington State was a far off place that no one in Maryland really knew much about other than "Oh Seattle, I hear it rains there a lot, good luck!"
Well yeah, it does rain a lot, but really not as much as I'd expected. I also didn't realize how much I would love the mountains here. This place is beautiful. Much prettier than Maryland (on a nice day of course haha). I guess over the past couple of months as my time here has drawn closer to an end, I have learned to appreciate it more. But now I do know what I have here and I know what I am going to miss.
What I am going to miss most is of course the people. Another thing I didn't expect was to make such good friends in only a year. I met people who will go out of their way, and help you no matter what. That's a true friend. I get teary eyed just sitting here thinking about soon it will be when I say goodbye. The end is so near and I am so not ready. I really do love my apartment here and we are settled and I have learned the area. I have so many great memories here.
The funny thing is who would have thought? I cried, actually sobbed, for weeks before I was due to move out to Washington. There was not one part of me that really wanted to be here. I didn't know a single person except my husband and yes he was the one thing that got me here- he should feel special haha! I imagined it would be awful, dreary, cold and rainy. The day I left and said goodbye at the airport to my family before I moved out here I was a wreck. My mom was crying. My dad reassured me it would be okay and though tearful my mom told me it was time. I just didn't see it being time.
But it was time. I loved the independence that being all the way out here allowed me. I was truly on my own, not able to call my mom when I got pretty sick to have her take care of me for example. I guess though I can't say truly on my own. I met some special friends out here, Bry and Lindsay. I saw Bry EVERYDAY that our hubbies were deployed. My husband will not be on the next deployment as we are leaving, but her's will. She often asks what she will do without me? Bry I don't know what I am going to do without you when I leave. I know Ethan won't be deployed, but Bry and I had some great times together. The girl is just like me in so many ways- people often ask if we are sisters. Nope just really great friends.
So here we go in just days to Norfolk, VA. Its only a few hours from where my family lives in MD. And I am super excited about that. I missed every holiday with them while living out here, and that won't be the case living in VA. I'll be less than 30 mins from the beach. I love the beach :) Oh and we had an offer accepted on a house, so barring any obstacles, we will be homeowners!! Everything is looking up for us, but I just can't help but cry when I think about leaving. I am ready, but then again, I'm not. That's the odd part- I cried when I moved to WA and now I am crying cause I have to leave. I know I will meet people in VA. In fact I have a friend marrying a former submariner who lives there. So I know things will be okay, I just have to get there and actually have things be okay.
We'll be driving back east here soon and I'll update as we stop places. We'll be seeing cool things like San Fransisco, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Nashville oh and an awesome friend in CA and also one in OK plus hubby's family hopefully.

Any words of advice from those who have been through a similar and somewhat emotional move would be greatly appreciated. Here we go......
Here's a picture of me and my pup in front of the Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge in WA. I really love it there :)

A Northwestern Heat Wave!

As you may or may not have heard, its been HOT in Pacific Northwest. Today high temps were near 100. I kinda laugh to myself though because growing up in Maryland it was not uncommon to get many days like this. But then ahh I think back and remember I'd go inside where it was air conditioned. Now we live in a top floor apartment that gets direct afternoon sun and the place is unbearable from 3pm until 10pm when the sun finally sets and enough cool air sets in that you can tolerate sitting here. No AC, just fans to blow around the hot air during the day though.
I feel so bad for our little pup. I think "gosh if we can feel this heat he definitely can". The pets must really feel this being covered in fur. Poor little guy just lays around and normally he doesn't stop running in circles on a day with comfortable temps.
And so tomorrow we can hope for better, but the forecast is only predicting it to be hotter. I'm getting my hair cut, then back to the (indoor) pool, its the only relief you can get! Plus Bry and Lindsay are coming again too. I am so lucky to call them my friends out here :)

How the tables have turned

Jon, even you have managed to make Kate look good. What a shame, because just a month ago, people actually felt bad for you and what you dealt with for 10 years. But now I am wondering if you were treated that was because you behaved inappropriately and she was really dealing with 9 kids instead of 8?
How do you file for divorce and 2 weeks later find yourself in the French Riviera with your much younger girlfriend? I guess you forgot your 8 kids at home that you should be there for as they are going through what can only be a very difficult time. How heartless and distasteful to have done this to your family. Again I will repeat from my last post (many weeks ago woops) that everything that has gone wrong is now captured in print and on video for your children to see. They will grow up and realize how awful you are for doing this to them and their mother. I am disgusted by your actions.
Now Kate, yes this twist does allow more sympathy for her. It does seem she has been left to care for the 8 alone while he is off being an idiot. I hope though that she will learn from this though. By now she has written off most of her friends and family. If they are willing to forgive her this would seem like an ideal time for her to rethink her actions and live more of a modest life which would include good friends/ family. I would hope she will care less about the fame and fortune. It seems her values have changed over the years as she has become very materialistic. This may be the answer to prayers. I think she became so wrapped up in herself and being famous that she forgot what was important. I still think she has been a bit of a b*tch over the years, but now these children need her more than ever. The money that their fame brings in can not replace what 2 loving parents could provide. I know these children have so much, but gosh, they don't have it all. They are missing 2 happily married parents. And now one is off reliving his twenties because I guess he wants us all to feel sorry for him that he had 8 kids by age 27. Its not something I'd wish on anyone, but uhh Jon I think its hard to deny that you played a significant role in the procreation of your children. Yes fertility drugs were involved, but you knew what you were getting into. Do not leave those beautiful 8 children without an active father figure. I wonder if we see you more on the news/ tabloids than your children actually see you in person. This story just keeps taking more twists and turns. We'll see what's yet to come.

My 2 cents on the 8

So normally blog is a journal of my life... but I recently stumbled upon another blog, written by "Aunt Jodi's" sister, called "Truth Breeds Hatred" ~Bias of Priene, Maxim. It gives her thoughts and updates on "Jon and Kate + 8" 's life from a behind the scenes look. Aunt Jodi is Kate's sister- in-law, married to Kate's younger brother, Kevin.
When I first began watching the show I really liked it. I have watched it literally from day 1- I saw the episode that was a documentary of their life, which became so popular they gave the family their own show. I used to really like it. I thought the kids were cute and I was amazed at how the family ran things with so many kids being under the age of 5. I noticed then that Kate wasn't so nice to Jon, but I just thought, gosh I'd probably be stressed out too if I had her life. And watching reruns now, it appears in the beginning her "digs" on Jon were not so serious. How my opinions have changed. I now realize she is an awful, uncompassionate witch. To think she was a nurse- I wouldn't have wanted to be one of her sick patients, she was probably so harsh.
As the show progressed I began to get annoyed with the "freebies" the family was getting. Like come on, their already getting paid way too much for their show, why do they need to stay in a house at a ski resort for a week valued at $5000? And then their trip to Hawaii. I thought it ridiculous before. Now that I've learned the vows were completely staged there, YUCK! How disgusting to lie to your children and tell them "this is forever" and not even mean it. Apparently at the time of the trip their were already problems in Jon/Kate's marriage according to Jodi and Kevin.
And how about this one (also from Jodi/ Kevin)... about 6 months ago, the marriage was over. Kate had Jon sign a contract that he could have girlfriends and be on his own. The catch was that he had to show up for filming. Such fake tears she showed on that season premiere- "this may be our last family photo". Well if you didn't want it to be the last one, you should have thought of that months ago when you told Jon the marriage was done. His allegations of him cheating and pictures showing him with girls in the early Spring... well its true he was with them. My thoughts on cheating? Legally the couple is married, but a marriage is a hell of a lot more than a legal document. That's the least of it. When emotionally and spiritually you are no longer married, is it really considered cheating at that point? I never condone cheating of any sort, but I believe she drove him to it.
It made me sick to see "poor Kate" on the cover of People magazine making herself out to be the victim. Gosh get rid of that awful haircut first of all and those fake highlights (uhh zebra stripes) and tell us the TRUTH. You are an awful person and a liar.
Now the worst of it. This train wreck is now captured forever and ever for those 8 children to see. Bad enough they have to experience this once, let's film it all on TV and document lies in magazines, Kate.
She claims she is a Christian and she is a follower of Christ. I believe I was 10 or 11 when I saw a sign that said "A true Christian cares". Kate you care about no one but yourself. You are a hypocrite. You say you love your kids, but you use them to profit in your show. Without them, there'd be no show and without the show you'd be nothing. You are trash, I'm sorry.
My thoughts. Sell your 1.1 million dollar home so you don't have mortgage payments that you need the show's income to finance. That way you can quit the show and stop having your children lead double lives. Stop telling them everything is okay so you can rake in the bucks, while in reality its not!
At this point, I believe that those 8 kids need prayers. They have lived on a TV set most of their lives. What kind of childhood is that? I do believe the show has lucratively allowed them to have the finer things in life, but I wouldn't trade my simple childhood for anything. I am glad that when I was scolded as a kid it wasn't caught on video for all of America to see. I'm glad my parents are still married today. Those kids won't be able to say that most likely.

looked like fun!

Thanks for the idea Lindsay

What made your week?

Favorite alcoholic drink?

What kind of phone do you have?

Is there somebody in your life you could not live without?

Favorite candy?

The one thing that gets you through your day?

Is there a place that you haven't been in a while that you would like to visit again?

(Annapolis, MD)


What are you currently listening to?

(Frank squeaking his ball)

Would you rather fly, drive or travel by train?

Are you saving your money for any big purchase right now?

Favorite thing that is green?

Last movie you saw in the theater?

Perfume you wear?

Have you ever been in a castle?

Favorite season?

Shampoo you use?

What is your jewelry essential?

How would you describe your personal style?

Favorite magazine?

Favorite nail polish?

If you had three wishes...(Have a vacation home in Charleston)

(Live on the water in Annapolis)

(visit Italy)

Where did you get married?

Favorite thing about where you live?

win a bike!

This would be sweet if I won this... I could carry around Frank in the back :) Thanks for the idea Lindsay! Click on the picture for details!

Simply put...pictures!

Here are some photos as promised from yesterday's post.

This first one is of Frank in Seattle. He is the "best dog in town" in our opinion ;)
The one beside it... Frank fell asleep upside down on his bed, which he also flipped upside down. He is one silly pooch!




Then here are some from our trip to the Olympic National Park. Frank was able to join us!
These first 2 are at Hurricane Ridge... Its amazing there!! Pictures don't do a justice.

Here are a couple from the Hoh Rainforest. 2nd one is of my husband, dad and brother hiking.



Here are some Seattle pictures. First day E joined us, and here are the flowers I got. 2nd photo is our next trip to Seattle, of my family at the top of the Space Needle :)

Where has the time gone?

I am trying to get better with this blogging thing. I'll get on, then get side tracked for weeks and realize I haven't updated my blog or checked other's for awhile!
We had my family in town this past week. My parents and brother and sister. So we went from 2 people and a pup to 6 people in our 2 bedroom place. But it worked out great. They had a vacation, I called it a "stay-cation" for myself. Ethan had to work during the week, but he was able to join us all last weekend for our trip to the Olympic National Park. Ethan and I had been twice before, and Hurricane Ridge did not disappoint this time either for my family. That is my favorite spot in the park- also happens to be where he took me the day we got engaged 2 years ago, hmmm maybe that's part of why I like it so much? Could be... but its just beautiful! We had amazing views of the snow capped Olympic Mountains. I can see them from my back porch, but this was up close and personal. I love it there!
We also were able to see Lake Crescent, and the Hoh Rain Forest. I am on my husband's computer now and the pictures are on my laptop, so tomorrow I'll fire mine up and add a post of pictures of our trip out there.
The rest of the week consisted of day trips, a couple into Seattle. I love Pike's Place Market. Its the longest running farmer's market in the US I believe. The sites and sounds are a treat for the senses. And I love bringing home fresh flowers.
So their visit came to an end yesterday and of course I cried. I look forward to the day when we live in the same state as my family and I can see them weekly for dinner and other get togethers. For now, we have 3000 miles in between. I am lucky they were able to make the trip out to visit though!
And I will have to post pictures of Frank. He has gotten bigger. Our little pup is not so much of a "baby" anymore. He's still a pup, but he's begun to develop that dachshund nose and he has grown since we first brought him home. He also chews... alot. I now have lovely little teeth marks in my end table to always remind me of Frank's puppy days... Thanks Frank!
Well if I you haven't stopped reading by this point (its a bit of a long post) then look forward to pictures to follow!

Our Hot Dog

I am finally here to update my blog. We have had the pup now for about 10 days, and in that time I also got my wisdom teeth out. So between being busy with the pup and my minor surgery I am just getting to the post now.
We decided it was time for a puppy. Ethan had just finished his deployment and we've now been married 7 months. After talking to some friends, we decided to go and look at the shelters. We liked the idea of saving a pup from a shelter, but after some searching, it just wasn't working out for us. We are not allowed to have any pit bulls at our apartment, and many dogs at the shelter are pit bull mix. Also we felt limited by size. We only have a 2 bedroom place right now, so we didn't feel it would be fair to a larger breed dog. So after our 4th try at the shelter we decided to get what we have wanted since we started dating- a dachshund!
We looked around and we found a breeder in Oregon who had a litter of miniature dachshunds. I have to admit I was a bit nervous getting him. A puppy is a big commitment and I was hoping we were up for the challenge. We both grew up with dogs, me growing up with a "spunky" dog, so we considered ourselves experienced.
We arrived at the breeders and we were torn between a little red pup and a black one. The black one seemed to take to us and so he became ours!
On the way home we had to figure out his name. We had wanted to name our dachshund Oscar for awhile, as we'd thought about getting one for several years. But we decided we wanted something more original. So we went down the list. How about Nathan, after Nathan's Hot Dogs? No, that sounded too much like Ethan. How about Coney- Coney Island Hot Dogs. No, I didn't like Coney, and then Ethan came up with it- Frank! Our little "Frankfurter". We looked at that pup and Frank it was.
We go back and forth between Frank, Frankie, Mr. Frank, Franks... you get the idea, but any version of Frank is what we call him. He has been great so far. He is a sweetheart- he loves to snuggle. And we think he may be kinda smart. We even catch him watching TV for bits of time. He is a tiny little thing- only weighed 4 lbs at his first vet's appt!
There will be more to add, but here's a couple pictures for now :)

Homecoming!

Well the sub finally made it home this past Thursday! I say finally because not only was it a long patrol, but it was pushed back a day. Now I know you are thinking, just one day, but when you wake up and think he will be home tomorrow and then the phone rings and they say, actually they are delayed +1, its pretty much heartbreaking.
But anyways, the day finally came. I woke up at 7:30 am and I don't know the last time I actually woke up that early on my own. I had to finish some last minute cleaning then I went to get myself ready. Then to the NEX to get welcome home balloons. And then back to the apartment to decortate our entrance. Here is a picture of that!

So things were ready at home and it was off to catch the boat (they call the sub "the boat") make its way throuh the Hood Canal. Bryanna and I raced up to the Hood Canal Bridge. We were lucky because it wasn't raining and we were able to see the mountains as an added bonus to an already spectacular day! It was surreal watching the sub coming in and thinking- "oh my gosh, he is really coming home!" It is a relief that words can not even describe. Here are some pictures of the boat coming in and then going through the bridge that was lifted for them.

So it was on its way at that point and very close to base. Unfortunately we were not able to have a pierside homecoming, so we waited at a cafe on base where they bused the guys up to us. Waiting at the cafe seemed like the longest hour and a half of my life! But yes finally his bus arrived and I plowed through the other guys to make it to my husband. It was the best hug I had ever gotten and I am lucky enough to have pictures of it!

We had a great night- went to our favorite restaraunt our here, Silver City! It was so great to finally be able to talk to him and hear his voice and his laugh after so long!
He had to work the next day and he came home and told me unofficially we are "penciled in" for Norfolk, VA for a shore tour. The Navy is not writing anyone orders now (yes I could do a whole posting on that), but if everything works out, we'd probably get there around the Fall of this year. The best part is its only a 50 min plane ride from my family and it happens to be the area where Ethan was born!