Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeño Salsa

I made this recipe this week and even though it's not a Traveling Tuesday recipe I really had to share it! First of all, it was really easy. Which is nice with a toddler running around. And of course, it smelled and tasted fantastic! It was equally approved by Matt and Nicholas alike. :) And I could see this being cooked ahead and used throughout the week for lunch. Let's get started!!!

CILANTRO-LIME GRILLED CHICKEN WITH STRAWBERRY-JALAPENO SALSA
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Marinade
 
2 limes, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
4 thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts (or regular chicken breasts..just pound them thinner)
Kosher Salt
Coarse Black Pepper

For the Strawberry-Jalapeño Salsa

2 cups diced strawberries
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon minced red onion
1½ tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
½ lime, juiced
Kosher Salt 

The first thing I did was get everything together to marinate the chicken. I received this particular Microplane/zester as a gift for Christmas (I have two in fact!) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE both of them. They make prep time easier for the ingredients that I use most--zest and garlic. I encourage every cook to have one. Or two. Or three. In any case, zest was gathered. Limes were juiced. And the rest of the marinade came together super fast.


I put everything into a 13x9 glass dish because it was easier to just throw some plastic wrap on it and stick it in the refrigerator once I was done. I whisked together the zest, lime juice, cilantro, and olive oil in the dish. Then I got to work on my chicken! I had to pound the chicken out, since I bought just regular chicken breasts and not the thin cut ones. Each chicken breast took turns in the Ziplock bag and I used my heavy wooden rolling pin to pound them out. I didn't take pictures of this. I apologize. It was chicken-y looking!! And I think we all know what that looks like.

I salted my chicken on both sides once I was done.






I did, however, take pictures of the marinating chicken! In fact, I almost forgot to! Hence the plastic wrap seen in the upper right hand side of the picture. These chicken breasts were so large once I was done flattening them that Matt and I split one in half and Nicholas got half of my half. Pretty gigantic! Haha! But great for leftovers!!!

Anyway, I marinated the chicken for about four to five hours. The recipe says about two at the very least! I say the more time spent marinating the better!!








Once I was done with my afternoon run, I threw the strawberry-jalapeño salsa together. (Fun fact: apparently this phrase "strawberry-jalapeño" is spelled incorrectly and one of the choices, for it to be correct, was strawberry-jalopy. I don't know about you, but that kind of a funny picture in my head!!) This salsa is very easy and super pretty!!











All you have to do is combine the strawberries, jalapeño, cilantro, red onion, lime juice and salt. Easy peasy. Once you have everything mixed together, put some plastic wrap on the bowl and put it into the refrigerator for all the ingredients to get yummy together.

Now we were ready for grilling. I am not very good at grilling, but I think they came out pretty awesome for the most part.

I served the chicken with salad and cous-cous. And of course the salsa. It was delicious. Very flavorful. You could definitely taste the lime in the chicken.

This was not a Cooking Light recipe (surprised?), but I found a similar recipe here and the calorie count was 149 per serving. I also found a similar recipe on the Cooking Light website for Chicken Cutlets with a Strawberry-Avocado salsa and it was 211...and that's with Avocado! So I figured that this dish is most certainly under 250 calories per serving. Probably around the 200 mark--which is great! I love that it was so tasty for leftovers as well. It re-heated well and the salsa...well I could eat that just by itself!!




I found the original recipe here, which was of course on Pinterest. I think there are many versions out there though, which is great because you could honestly make it your own! I think this is a great recipe for the end of summer and to take advantage of the (still) warm days before it gets too chilly. Although the cold hasn't stopped us from grilling. But then again, now we live in Alaska. So. We will see. Ha! Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this post and I hope you try this recipe out! Let me know if you do!!

Talk soon!!

Howdy from Alaska!

That title sounds funny. :) In any case, we made it to Alaska...in case you were wondering! :) We've been here now for a little over a month and boy was it a crazy one. When I last blogged, I was getting nervous about our drive from Colorado Springs to Anchorage and I can now thankfully say that it went really well!! It was really hard leaving Colorado to be honest. I think it's because so many wonderful things have happened since moving there three years ago and it was just a really great place to be at. It still makes me sad when I think about it--so I try not to.

A little bit about our drive! We started out on the 4th of July and drove from Colorado Springs to Ogden, UT. I'm going to be a little honest with you. It was kind of boring. I will say that at first it was really interesting terrain, but after awhile...kind of boring. I apologize!! In Ogden we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn which was placed in their downtown area that has been revitalized and was actually a really cute area. If we had had time to look around, it would be been fun to do so. Our hotel was about two blocks down from a gigantic Mormon Temple (seen in the picture there). It was pretty impressive. We took Nicholas swimming in the hotel pool and he loved every minute of it. We also had to sneak our animals in, which was super exciting! That's one thing that we learned well on this trip, as MANY of the hotels that we were staying in were not pet friendly. This was because there were many towns/cities that we had to stay in that quite frankly had one hotel. And I wasn't going to spend the night with the animals in the truck.

An example of Yakima wine country

The next day we drove from Ogden to Yakima, Washington. Again...sorry. Kind of a boring drive. We went through Idaho, Oregon, and into Washington that day. I will say that Oregon had some gorgeous parts and I was super impressed that around the Yakima area there are wineries...everywhere!!!! It looked really crazy because it was desert-y looking and then GREEN vineyards dotted across the landscape. Again, if we had had more time I would have LOVED to have gone on a little wine tasting trip. :)


From Yakima we drove into Seattle which was probably the best drive out of the whole trip because it's only a two and a half hour drive. We stayed at the Homewood Suites there outside of Seattle. We had a lot of fun there. It was a good break from all of the driving. We swam in their pool and explored the city. We went on the Seattle Ducks Tour, which is a tour of the city by land and water! I definitely encourage anyone visiting Seattle to do this. The tour guides are really goofy and they make it really enjoyable. I won't lie, I was pretty nervous when we went into the water haha! But ultimately, we survived (obviously). :) We even were able to see water planes landing and taking off. Nicholas enjoyed seeing the water and I enjoyed holding onto him for dear life to make sure he didn't try to go swimming. We also explored the Market area (very crowded), we did not visit the first Starbucks (the line was really long), but we did go to eat at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub, which was featured on Ghost Adventures! We did not see a ghost, but we were served by the owner (she was on the episode!) and she gave Nicholas some yummy Irish stew and an Irish Soccer Doll to play with. Our reasoning behind being in Seattle in the first place was that we were dropping my car off to be shipped up to Alaska. So we ended up staying an extra day in Seattle due to the fact that once we were done with our appointment of dropping the car off it was about 11:30/noon-ish and I really didn't feel like driving the next leg of our trip and getting in past midnight. I'm so glad we did this because we were able to just relax.

From Seattle we drove up into Canada which was really pretty! I have only been to Canada when visiting family in New York and we would go to Niagara Falls, so being able to see the other side of Canada (as well as driving all the way up through Canada) was interesting! We started noticing the sunlight disappearing at night when we arrived at Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory and of course dealt with it when we first arrived in Alaska and stayed in Tok (pronounced toke). It's really strange to me that it stays so light for such a long time!! It was baffling that I would look out the window at 9:30 at night and it would look like it was only 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. It definitely took some getting used to especially when the sun would start coming up at 3:00 in the morning. Luckily, now, it's actually getting darker at night and staying darker later. Of course, in a few months it'll be me complaining about how it's so dark all the time...but we will get there when we get there.

We arrived in Anchorage on the 13th of July, as Matt had to report in on the 15th. We went and looked at JBER and creeped by our house to see where we would be living (I say creeped because it was still occupied at that time). On the 14th we went gym hunting. I had already done a lot of research on the gyms up here and one of the major things I wanted was childcare. I really like the idea of being able to drop Nicholas off so he can burn off steam AND he's in the same building as I am. Another thing I wanted was consistency with group fitness classes and I wanted the gym to have something that I was used to (i.e. a class like Body Pump or a class like RPM, which is spinning). The first gym that we went to look at I had seen online and was really excited to see it in person. It's part of a small chain in Anchorage, which I don't mind at all. Unfortunately, it was a little different in person. I didn't get a good feeling and usually my feelings about stuff are pretty spot on. I like to feel like I belong somewhere, as I'm sure everyone does. If I don't get that "at home" feeling, I start to feel uncomfortable. Needless to say, we went back to the hotel and I was super bummed. I knew I could never find a gym like Villa Sport; I had already gotten that thought in my head. I just wanted a gym that I felt comfortable going to. I hopped onto the computer and did some more research. I knew I had seen a gym with Body Pump up here, but it turns out the map was older. However, this led me to discover a gym that I had not initially seen in my searches before. Again, it was a chain up here in Alaska and there ended up being a location down the street from our hotel. We went and checked it out...and signed up that day. :) It's called The Alaska Club and they have several locations around Anchorage. The location that we signed up at was convenient for me because it was literally down the street. They also have a class that is pretty much Body Pump, called Group Power, and a class that is like RPM, which is called R30. I later found out that LesMills (the company that does Body Pump and RPM, along with many other amazing classes) and the company that does Group Power and R30 (and others) were joined at one time. Which makes sense because the choreography is pretty much the same. Or as the one instructor said to me when I told her it was my first time, but I have been doing Body Pump for four years..."It's Coke and Pepsi.." :) While I love my LesMills classes, this is a great alternative when you can't do LesMills. I love group fitness classes. I love the camaraderie that comes with it and I love how they push you to be better. I started going to the location that we signed up on the 15th and had a great time. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the schedule. The summer here means low attendance which means a different schedule. I was finding that the classes were inconsistent (Group Power one day, boot camp another day...). I wanted to have three days of strength training and two days of cardio. So I looked at the other locations and found one closer to post (which made more sense anyways) and the schedule was exactly how I wanted. I started going there about a week and a half after we signed up and have loved it ever since. I know each location is different and each has their quirks, but I will say that I felt more at ease at the new location. The instructors are more friendly, as is the staff, and the best part is that the childcare is great. The location I go to now has a more secure sign in and I feel safer leaving Nicholas there. I still miss my Villa Kids though...I think about that every time I drop him off. *sigh* Oh well. In any case, that was our gym excitement.

We got our keys on July 30th and received our household goods a week later. We are finally starting to get settled. It's been difficult with a Nicholas running around. :) We don't have a basement here, so the basement boxes were put out into the garage. Which is all fine and dandy, except with one of us having to watch Nicholas and the other trying to go through boxes it gets a little crazy. This next weekend we are going to be bringing the boxes in finally and storing them in the provided storage closets we have built into the house. We will be storing some things with the Army as well. We can't touch it until we move, so we are making sure it's stuff we 100% don't need. All in all though we have settled in, for the most part, quite well! Matt's job is slower paced which is nice. He is able to come home for lunch and come home at a normal time. We get to do an afternoon run together too! I really enjoy that. :) This weekend we are looking forward to the new Ghost Adventures season (Season 11). I decided I wanted to do something fun for dinner on Saturday for it. I wanted to do this last season premiere, but....Grad School. Yep. Anyway. It's kind of silly, but I have planned a few appetizers based on each guy's first name. So far I'm making (Baked) Zucchini Sticks with Marinara Sauce (for Zak Bagans), (Skinny) Artichoke Dip (for Aaron Goodwin), and (Skinny) Jalapeno Poppers (for Jay Wasley). I know you probably don't know those names, but there you go! :) It should be fun and the recipes are healthy...so we won't feel bad indulging a little bit. I still need to come up with one more for Billy Tolley, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I hope to blog about it for next week and include pictures as well!

Well I've already typed WAY too much...so I will end here. I have a lot of recipes saved up, even ones that aren't a part of Traveling Tuesdays, as well as an idea for Mondays--so be on the look-out for that! Thanks for reading and we will chat soon!!

A trip to San Antonio, Traveling Tuesday (but it was really Thursday)...and A BIRTHDAY!!

Matt and I got back a week ago (today) from San Antonio. We spent two weeks there seeing family and friends and really just enjoying ourselves. We had so much fun doing different stuff and I think it was made even better having Nicholas with us since he's at an age where everything is exciting to him. He got to go swimming and he played in the sprinklers. We took him to a bounce house place which was amazing! He got to play in a sand box and see animated ice age animals at the Witte Museum. We also took him with us on a ghost tour of Victoria's Black Swan Inn; he was more interested in the two baby goats that were in the yard though. Overall, it was fun for us to see him so enamored by everything. Matt and I also got to go to a movie (Jurassic World) with my mom and aunt! We (Matt and I) hadn't been to a movie since early December 2013 right before Nicholas was born, so it was pretty awesome to be able to go and enjoy ourselves. We even paid a visit to our old apartment complex to see if anything had changed. We saw the same group of ducks, which was awesome. We even saw a mommy duck with three babies. The babies swam over to us (probably because they thought we had food), but their mother was not excited about them being so close to us. They swam back fairly quickly to her, which was probably smart because I'm sure they would have gotten a whoopin' from mommy for disobeying her! :) It was a great trip, but in the end I was sad knowing that we wouldn't be there again until Christmas.

We leave this weekend actually to begin our next journey which includes a seven day drive from Colorado Springs to Anchorage, Alaska. It's going to be pretty intense, but I also think it's going to be fun seeing parts of the US that I've never seen and also seeing Canada! I am nervous about having two cats, a dog, and a one and a half year old in a car for that long...with numerous hotel stops...but I think we will be okay. Ha! I plan on taking pictures along the way and I'll definitely post them once we are semi settled up in Alaska. We have a house already and will be living on post. I'm excited to be on post again. Where we live right now, it takes Matt about 40 minutes to get to Fort Carson. We are both looking forward to not putting so many miles on our cars and I'm looking forward to Matt being able to sleep in a bit before having to get up to go to PT/work or even possibly being able to come home for lunch! :) I've already looked into a gym, however I'm sad that they do not have Les Mills programs up there, well except for Body Pump at one of the gyms I looked into, but the times were really weird (I prefer to get my work outs done in the morning) and they didn't have childcare available--which is what I was looking for. So the one I found has the childcare and has a class called "Power Pump" which sounds a lot like Body Pump *wink wink*. I would work out on post at the gym there, but I really prefer to have childcare at the facility as it's easier and faster for dropping off Nicholas and picking him up. We will see!! :) In any case, I'm having a hard time thinking about leaving VillaSport. I've loved being a member there and I've loved being able to take Nicholas somewhere that he enjoys being. Perhaps we will be stationed here again one day--you never know! :)

This week is a little odd as we are being packed out (as I type actually) and I'm going to try my hardest to make a "Traveling Tuesday" dish, since we are staying at a Homewood Suites and they have everything there to make you feel at home! :) If it doesn't happen though, I apologize!!! For my  "Traveling Tuesday" dish from last week, I asked Matt on the looooong drive back from San Antonio to pick a letter. He picked "K" initially, but I couldn't find anything that was simple. So I decided to do the 'ol "close my eyes and point" trick and came up with North Africa! The recipe I'm going to be sharing is called Spicy North African Tenderloin and boy was it tasty! While it may not be a definite authentic African dish, it has all the taste of the Middle East/North Africa and it's super simple to make. In fact, Matt said it tasted very similar to dishes he had in Kuwait!!

SPICY NORTH AFRICAN PORK TENDERLOIN
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup bottled roasted red bell pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 

3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided

1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 garlic cloves

1 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt 

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees! 

The first thing I did (after preheating of course) was mix together the ingredients needed for the sauce/marinade--which are: the bottled roasted red bell pepper, olive oil (two tablespoons), lemon juice (two tablespoons), sambal oelek, salt (1/4 teaspoon), cumin (1/2 teaspoon), ground coriander, and garlic. All of this needs to go into a food processor which makes things super easy! 












Then you just pour the mixture into a bowl! Which I was using my AWESOME (!!!!!) new glass mixing bowls. My mom and aunt bought me them because my other mixing bowls were plastic and well loved...and I needed new ones! :) I love them!! 














Next thing I did was salt and pepper the pork tenderloin, added olive oil to a pan, and got it browning! Meanwhile, I mixed together in a small bowl the yogurt, mint, one tablespoon of lemon juice, and the cumin (one teaspoon). Then I put it in the fridge to keep it cold.














After the pork was done browning, I put it into the bowl that had the red bell pepper mixture and coated it. Then it went back into the pan and into the oven for about 15-20 minutes or so...at least until the thermometer reached 145 degrees. I did use some of the red bell pepper mixture for brushing halfway through, just so it was coated well throughout the cooking process--but remember to throw away the rest and don't use it unless it's getting cooked because raw pork touched it...ew.














I let the pork sit for a few minutes and then sliced it up for us. I served the pork with the yogurt sauce, cous cous, and salad. I really enjoyed the pork by itself, but honestly wasn't too excited about the yogurt sauce. Only because I'm not a big cumin person. I felt like I could have served it with some reserved (non-porky...this is a technical term) marinade and it would have been great. I also feel that you could leave out the sambal oelek if you aren't into hot food. I don't think it would change the flavor too much. I will definitely make this again and at 283 calories per serving (which includes three pork slices and a tablespoon of yogurt sauce), I think it's a great recipe for company or just everyday! 

Here's the link: Spicy North African Pork Tenderloin



Lastly here on the blog, we are celebrating a very special birthday! Matthew is 39 today! Unfortunately, at the moment, we are celebrating by having our house packed out, but later, for dinner, we are going to his favorite place to eat, Texas Roadhouse. I think he's pretty excited! :) It's a little crazy around here, but we are trying to make the best of it for him. Here's a picture of the birthday boy!! Looks a lot like Nicholas to me!!! Which is very cool to see. :) 

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!! We love you very much and hope that you have a great day!!!

Adobo-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Grilled-Pineapple Salsa ....and a YuMmY dip!

When I first looked at a map to start Traveling Tuesdays again, I closed my eyes and ended up putting my finger on India (did y'all know that the process was so involved in choosing a country??). I did make the recipe that I chose for India, but I'm saving it because I'd like to modify it and try it again before posting about it. To be honest, it was a disappointment because I marinated the chicken overnight and once grilled, it ended up tasting just like plain grilled chicken and not Tandoori Chicken. So I have vowed to make it again! Soon :) 

I've made this particular recipe (below) before, but I never actually wrote a post about it. It's a Spanish-y (not a word...I know) dish; so not necessarily authentic authentic, but it has wonderful flavors and I just love making it, so I had to share! 

ADOBO-MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH GRILLED-PINEAPPLE SALSA

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes)

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 pounds pork tenderloin 

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil 

Cooking spray 

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions

GRILLED-PINEAPPLE SALSA

Ingredients:

5 (1-inch) slices fresh pineapple (about 4 1/2 pounds)

1 red bell pepper 

1 yellow bell pepper 

Cooking spray 

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons minced crystallized ginger

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced

1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced

*Note: Since it's just Matt and I (and Nicholas doesn't eat a whole tenderloin ...yet...ha!), I picked up a tenderloin that was about one and a half pounds. I also used bottled lime juice because I had it on hand and we are playing the "let's try to slowly get rid of things so we aren't throwing massive amounts of food away when we move" game. :) I also used jarred garlic. My auntie bought some for her famous Greek Chicken while she and my mom were visiting for my graduation and it's easy and quick to use! For the salsa, I actually used canned pineapple slices (I would have done fresh--and I recommend doing fresh, but I was in a hurry). I again used the bottled lime juice and lastly, I used just plain fresh ginger. I bought crystallized ginger back in Leavenworth I believe, and it haunted me for a while. :) Plus, I couldn't find it in the store! But mainly the memory of the crystallized ginger haunt was enough to steer me away from it...for a while at least!

 The first thing I did, was mix the first six ingredients together (lime juice, black pepper, oregano, cumin, salt, and garlic). I mixed it all in a Ziplock bag. I then put the pork tenderloin into the bag and schmooshed (technical term) all the ingredients around to coat the pork. Then I popped it into the refrigerator for a few hours/most of the day. The recipe says one hour, but I wanted it marinating for a longer amount of time. Every once in a while I would schmoosh it around, then place it back in the frig. :) 

Next I started the salsa by grilling the pineapple slices and my bell pepper (both red and yellow). I would have done this out on the grill, instead of inside on my grill pan, but it was raining at the time...and I love y'all, but I really didn't want to stand outside grilling. Once you are done grilling the pineapple and bell pepper, all that's left to do is chop up all the ingredients, mix it together, cover the bowl, and place it in the refrigerator.

This salsa is super colorful and easy!!

The end product!

When we were ready to eat, I had Matt light the grill (he's a great cooking assistant!). It wasn't raining anymore thank goodness! I made sure it was on medium to high and put the pork on the grill. It was grilled until the internal temperature reached 145 degrees. The recipe suggested 160; however, there are new cooking guidelines for pork, in case you didn't know! :) I know, I was a little iffy about this as well, but 145 degrees is perfect. Trust me!

Once the pork was done, I let it rest for about 10 minutes or so. I cut it into medallions and made it purdy with a sprinkle of cilantro and green onions! :)

Matt was impressed with the presentation :)

The end product was delicious! I served it with cous-cous and (all together now) a salad! :) Y'all know me too well.









I love this marinade because you can really taste the lime and garlic in the pork. The pork itself is not spicy at all--only the salsa (hello chipotle chiles and jalapenos!). In fact, Nicholas ate the pork. He has a very fancy palette already. So, if you wanted to make a non-spicy salsa, I would maybe suggest leaving out the chipotle chiles (even though it wouldn't technically be "adobo" anymore). I would also make sure to seed and remove all ribs from the jalapenos OR leave them out all together. I think the pineapple and other ingredients could shine on their own just fine!

Ready for the calorie count?? 194 per serving! And that's for 3 oz pork and 1/3 cup of salsa! Oh, and guess what??? Matt and I LOVE using the salsa for just a chips and salsa snack as well. I make extra salsa for this reason! :) Just a suggestion!!!

The dip I am showing you next has received rave reviews every time I make it. It's delicious and yes, it takes a little bit of time with the onions (you'll see)...but it's so incredibly worth it and honestly really fast--once you cook the onions!! Ha! ....plus it has bacon. So...yea, it's awesome.

CARAMELIZED ONIONS, GRUYERE, AND BACON SPREAD (OR DIP)
Serves 8
(I'm assuming this is if you are solely eating the dip with friends...[or by yourself...no judgment here]...which I have no doubt would be a great choice because it's that yummy!)

Ingredients:

Cooking spray 

3 1/2 cups chopped onion 

2 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded and divided

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided

1/3 cup canola mayonnaise 

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 

*Note: I used green onions instead of chives. I also used Swiss cheese since Gruyere was $8 at the store I was at. And it was a less amount of cheese than the Swiss. C'mon people. I also may or may not have used more than 3 slices of bacon. I won't tell if you don't....Oh....and I also used pre-cooked bacon because it's faster. All you have to do is heat it up!

First, I shredded the cheese. Easy enough....good start, yes?? Make sure to reserve a little on the side for the top of your spread/dip. The picture is not the reserved cheese by the way haha! Or is it???? No ...it's really not. But again...no judgment if you choose this path.

Next, I chopped up about 4 cups of onion. I know the recipe says 3 1/2, but I had this little sliver of onion left and didn't really feel like storing it...so I cut it up!

Coat a pan with cooking spray, heat it to medium-high, and add your onion. Here's where patience is important. Saute your onions for about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook them for about 20 minutes or until a golden brown. Stir occasionally!

Next, cook (or heat up) the bacon and chop up your green onions (or chives). Then in a bowl, mix together the majority of the cheese, green onions (or chives), mayo, sour cream, salt, pepper, and bacon. Now, I will say I have made this about three times. I used regular mayo for the first two and decided to follow the recipe for this third time and use the canola mayo. For some reason, it didn't seem to be as firm as the other two times. I suppose it's a preference, but I liked the consistency of the regular mayo. Anyway!!!


Once the onions are cooked (look how pretty they are!), allow them to cool for a bit and then add them into the bowl with all the other ingredients.

Mix it all together and then pour it into a baking dish (I used a small Pyrex). Top with your reserved cheese. I also added some more green onion (and a few pieces of bacon) on top for color and to show what else was in it.

When you are ready to eat, bake it at 425 degrees for about 20-25 minutes allowing for it to get nice and bubbly.





I served it with Triscuits. It's 101 calories per serving, which in my opinion is great for such a cheesy dish ....with bacon. :) And may be slightly higher with the extra bacon...but c'mon...bacon. Like I said, I've gotten rave reviews and it's usually one of my go-to dishes for an appetizer. 

Well that's that for these two dishes. I put the links below for your viewing pleasure! :)

Please Enjoy!!!

Adobo-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Grilled-Pineapple Salsa

Grilled-Pineapple Salsa

Caramelized Onion, Gruyere, and Bacon Spread 

 

After almost *TWO* years of not blogging....I'M BACK! :)

Oh goodness....where to begin honestly. 

I suppose an apology is in order. 

I'm sorry that I basically gave up on my blog (for two years)...I'm groveling at  your feet in fact...

BUT it was for good reason--I SWEAR! :)

My last post was our announcement that we were having a baby boy. 

Well since then...SURPRISE(!!!!) we had the baby boy--and his name is Nicholas :) He was born on December 28, 2013 at 2:21pm after 27 hours of labor (thank you very much). He's currently about to be 17 months and is a very sweet, very active (ugh), very intelligent little boy with a larger-than-life personality. He's a wonderful mix between Matthew and I. 

I think we did pretty awesome--not trying to brag or anything. Or maybe I am...

He was fascinated by the camera...maybe because I always have my phone for pictures

The reasoning behind my blog abandonment was due in part to that little boy being born and not having time to really post anything...let alone cook...or take a shower for that matter. The main reasoning, however, was because I was in Graduate School and when you are already having to write papers and read hundreds millions of books...well, there isn't much time for doing a blog. That first semester was brutal! I was reading 4 books a week and writing 2 papers a week (combined page range was about 8 to 10 pages per week....). It was crazy! Then there was the following semesters where we had to write an original research paper...times 3! Yes, 3....which ranged from 25 to 35 pages each (my first paper though was 45....oops)...

Needless to say, my fingers are spent :) and so is my mind...for now. It was all worth it though because on May 15, 2015 I walked that stage and officially became 

Jennifer Lawrence Broderick, M.A.

*cue trumpets and confetti blasting through the air*

It was an accomplishment that I thought would never happen, yet it happened too fast. Two years of constant stress, countless hours of reading and researching and editing and writing and writing and writing (....did I say writing??). Not to mention taking care of Nicholas and trying to write in between his naps and trying to give him 110% of my attention, yet feeling as though I was neglecting him because I had to read for class. And let's not forget being active in the spouse's club on post (I was 1st Vice President and then Secretary...I successful ran a Holiday Bazaar too!), being active within Matt's Brigade and then Battalion...too many hours driving back and forth from Fort Carson...there was a deployment, many hours out in the field, a training trip to Germany (all of this was Matt by the way...ha!)--and all the while I was still reading...and writing...and taking care of Nicholas. Not to pat myself on the back, but how the heck did I come out alive on the other end with all of that going on??? I feel that my degree was well earned and I was very proud to don the cap and gown and hood and walk the stage with family looking on: my mom, aunt, Matthew, and of course the little boy who was with me from day one...my Nicholas. I doubt very seriously he will remember the time his mommy was in Graduate School or being at her graduation--but I think when I tell him everything I did during those two years so that I could better myself and better his life through obtaining a higher degree, I think he will be very proud of me as well. 

Now that everything has died down and I find myself idle, I decided that I would jump back onto the blog and start right where I left off! I'm going back to my "Traveling Tuesdays" and sharing recipes from around the world...and I'll of course be blogging about life in general in the Broderick household! 

One of the bigger things that's going on is that we are moving! Yep...our time in Colorado Springs is up after almost 3 years of loving, learning, and exploring the city and surrounding areas. I must say, I'm digging my heels in. I don't want to leave. I love adventure...I love traveling...but I really don't want to leave. Too many things have happened here. There are too many amazing memories, too many amazing people, and too many amazing places. Alas, we must though and it'll be okay amazing...I know it will. But I still don't want to do it.

This summer should be a whirlwind and I think it's going to be fantastic. I am actually getting to focus on myself now that school is done and I get to take Nicholas swimming or to the park! Whenever I want! We are going home to visit family and friends soon as well. I always love going home; sometimes it feels like I never left! When we get back, we will have a few weeks before the packers come...and then the movers...and then we will be gone. In those few weeks, we are planning on spending time with friends and checking things off our "To-do before leaving Colorado" list. 

It's quite a list!! 

1. Do the incline (together) 

2. Hike up Pike's Peak 

3. Do the Cog Railway one last time

4. #2 and 3 will only happen if it stops snowing up there!!! 

5. Visit Cripple Creek one last time

6. Maybe visit Estes Park one last time

7. Play pool at Phantom Canyon 

8. Probably go to my favorite winery together one last time (D'Vine Wine!)

9. Drive up Pike's Peak

10. Rock Ledge Ranch Historical Site

11. The Mays Natural History Museum 

12. Attend The Renaissance Festival one last time

I hope you enjoy my posts from now on and I'm glad to be back to share all the happenings in my world and all the yummy recipes we're trying and hopefully loving! Ha!

Welcome back and enjoy!!!! 

Now that it's officially out there I can say.... WE ARE EXPECTING!!!!

Because you wanted to see my pee sticks

You read that correctly....we are expecting! We decided to wait until we knew what our baby was gender wise before we announced the pregnancy. So now that we know...

Matt and I would like to officially announce that:

We are both very excited and are looking forward to this journey! Ready or not, right???? I thought it would be fun to do a weekly questionnaire for you guys...and also for this week I found this cute questionnaire and decided to fill it out...because it fills you in on all the pregnancy details of the past months!!! :) So have at it!


About the Mommy!
Name: Jennifer (duh)
Age: 27
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
First Child: Yes

About the Daddy!
Name: Matthew
Age: 37
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel (although sometimes they look yellow! like a cat's! ooooo)
First Child: No, Matt has two boys :) and this one makes three!!!! Man...he's on a roll!

Finding Out!!
What day did you find out?: April 24, 2013
How did you feel when you found out?: Scared, nervous, excited...disbelief.."well that happened fast!" haha! We only started trying in March and then April...boom!
Who was with you?: No one--Matt was at work still and I took the test at around 6:00pm after feeling funny in Body Pump...
Who was the first person you told?: Matt of course! :)
How did they react?: He was excited ...maybe shocked...??

Telling the Grandparents!!!
How did your parents react?: I Skyped with my mom, dad, and aunt after we had had the 8 week ultrasound...I wanted to make sure there was a heartbeat, etc. I told them I wanted to introduce them to someone and they were all very excited when I showed them the ultrasound.
How did his parents react?: They were excited for us
Are they helping with baby names?: I've bounced names off of them for feedback...so sort of! :)
Have they bought anything for the baby yet?: Are you kidding me?? This child will be well clothed and read too! :)
How often do they call to check on you?: My mom calls me every night...Matt's deployed so she calls to check up on me to make sure I haven't gotten kidnapped ;-) don't worry! I'm still here! I've got a gun....

About the Pregnancy!!!
When was your first appointment?: May 28, 2013 @ 9:10am...Matt was able to come to it with me! It was so cool...the ultrasound was more detailed then I had expected...I'm almost positive I saw it's nose and hands...
When is your due date?: January 4, 2014 (I thought that was cool with the 01-04-2014 look) If it was 10 days later, it would have fallen on my maternal grandfather's 100th birthday! 
How far along are you?: 25 weeks, 5 days
Have you had any ultrasounds?: Three total (one at 8weeks, one at 12wks, and one at 20 weeks)
Have you heard the heartbeat?: Yes! I recorded it on my phone too so Matt could listen to it later over video chat :) The baby was moving quite a bit!
What was the heartbeat?: @12wks it was 170, @20wks it was??? I don't remember, but this last appt it was at 158
Sex of the baby: A BOY!!! YAY!!!!!

About the birth!!
Do you know what you are taking with you?: In true Jeni fashion, I have lists saved of what to take :) the internet is great for that! No need to take more than what you truly need...
Who is going to be with you?: My parents will be in town so they will be at the hospital, but in the delivery room, just my Matthew and the doctor/nurse.
Are you going to videotape it?: Absolutely not..no one is allowed down there unless they are supposed to be!! :) That's just me...I'm a private person.
Natural or Medicated?: Medicated please!
Do you think you will need a c-section?: I am hoping no, but knowing my entrance into the world--things happen! Sometimes baby needs to come out a little differently then what was planned... :) I was under a lot of stress so I was taken by c-section--hmmm kind of how I stress out now...should have known, mom!
Will you cry when you hold your baby for the first time?: Most likely...but who knows!
Do you think Daddy will cry?: That I can't answer...but maybe? The manly answer would be no... ;)
Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold him/her?: Not really...but maybe commenting on some physical feature that might be a reminder of Matt or I...which should be interesting! We both have very dominating genes! :) maybe "I'm glad you're here...let's celebrate!" :)

Names!!
Do you have a name picked out?: Yep!
Is your baby going to be named after someone?: First name, no...but middle name yes!

Other Random Questions!!
Have you felt the baby move?: Yes!!!! Crazy kid in there if the moving around is any indication...we may have a night owl on our hands
What was your first symptom?: I was in Body Pump and noticed my heart rate was CRAZY high on my HR monitor--that was the first thing I had noticed when I was pregnant in September 2012 before miscarrying--I found this odd and kind of thought to myself "hmmmm I wonder if I'm pregnant...." so I finished the class and went straight to Walmart to get a pregnancy test...then I went home and BOOM...sure enough. I remember thinking that the line that popped up was so much darker than what I had been seeing in September...I felt like that was a good sign...
Will your baby have God-Parents?: No
What is the baby’s room theme?: We are going for a monkey elephanty giraffey....type theme :) focusing on chocolate and sage green colors. I decided this before knowing what the sex was...because it can go either way really! It'll be perfect for him though.
What was the first thing you bought for the baby?: Hmmm...I actually haven't bought ANYTHING for the baby...I'm a bad parent already! :-/ But clothing has been bought by my mom and aunt :)
Will you cloth diaper?: Nope
Breastfeeding or Formula?: Both...with my crazy schedule I would like to pump enough to be able to bottle feed if I'm somewhere public (I'm ubber private about stuff and really don't want to breastfeed in public)...or if I don't have breast milk with me--formula...and depending on what's going on during the day, I may have to supplement with formula. I have a plan in my head...in any case, the child will be well fed! :) It just may not be what some people agree with...but I have to do what I have to do.
What is your favorite pregnancy book?: I have What to Expect When You're Expecting..."the pregnancy bible" so I enjoy looking at that...BUT my favorite is actually a book that my mom gave me that she had when she was pregnant with me...it has pictures of what the baby looks like inside of you. If you can get past the 1960s look of the lady and the wording in the book--it's quite informative!
What do you look forward to doing again once you are no longer pregnant?: Running!! And working out like I used to...I've been working out, but I can't do it like I did pre-pregnancy...it's just soooo tiring. And slightly depressing...I haven't been able to get used to that yet honestly...I've had to go down in weights in Body Pump and I still get so breathless...ugh. And half way through the hour I feel so sluggish and ready for it to be over with. Sometimes I feel like I am going to pass out and honestly, I don't look pregnant. I have enough of a pooch to look like maybe I ate too much Mexican food the night before :-/...I also am looking forward to (and please don't think I'm an alcoholic..) WINE! I miss having a glass of wine...when I want! 
What physical features do you hope baby will get from Daddy?: His smile :) and nice eyes
What physical features do you hope baby will get from you?: My hair maybe my eyes too...I don't know!
Is he ready to be a Daddy?: Maybe? We still have some time yet...I guess he should get ready if he's not!
Are you ready to be a Mommy?: I have to get there...I'm ready, but I am also very anxious about it (we go back to the whole schedule thing...I just want to make sure I can handle everything and then I'll be fine and not so worried) <---I'm a worrier and I stress...school + baby + commitments=STRESS! But I can do it! :)

Weekly Questionnaire<---this one I'm going to try to update each week!!! :)
This week, Baby is the size of a: Zucchini
How far along? 25 weeks, 5 days
Due date: January 4, 2014
Total weight gain/loss: gain of 6 lbs from my 8 week appt, gain of 10 lbs from after losing some weight the first trimester
Maternity clothes? I have a maternity skirt I'm wearing because it's comfy and then I've been using a rubber band on my shorts, that's about it! I have a whole GREAT bin of clothes that I was given and can't wait to dive into those once I need them!! :) *Thanks April!*
Sleep: I'm having bits of insomnia :-/ I can never fall asleep until around 3 in the morning...although it may be because Matthew is not there :(
Best moment this week: Feeling him move so much I guess! Sometimes it's kind of scary...haha!
Movement: I definitely feel him...I try to feel the exact place where he will kick, but it's always the opposite...sneaky kid. He likes to "swim away" as Matt and I say...he avoids stuff such as when the Doctor uses the Doppler to listen to his heart beat, he literally moved away...not joking.
Food cravings: No real cravings honestly. Nothing like I HAVE TO HAVE (fill in the blank)...the other day I thought a Twinkie sounded nice...but I didn't go after it. So it must not have been a true craving....
Symptoms: My back hurts. My lower back to be exact...it's really annoying.
Gender: It's a BOY!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? in
Feeling toward Pregnancy: I'm kind of bored with it...I know that's a harsh thing to say, but I really am...maybe it's the waiting that's boring? I don't know...I'm not really enjoying it like people say you are supposed to...I don't think that's a bad thing and I don't think it makes me a bad mother to be, I just don't enjoy it and I think it has a lot to do with feeling awkward and not being able to just get up and go do things like I'm used to.
What I miss: I miss my Matthew...a lot. And I miss wine :) Matt and wine...hehe!
What I am looking forward to: getting the pregnancy over with/having that baby in my arms and figuring out a good schedule....I'm all about the schedule. Once I figure that out for the first bit...I'll be good to go and not as stressed.
Milestones: Ummmm I'm not really sure...we found out the gender but that was 5 weeks ago. It was still fun though! :)

And just because I know you want to see him, here's our baby! Matt and I kiiiiind of think that he looks like he's flipping us off...naughty child. But seriously...it looks like he is. Right? haha! 

Guess who's back....back again!! Jeni's back....tell a friend....(a little Eminem for ya) :-D

This picture has no purpose

*sigh* Seriously folks...I looked at the last time I posted and it was in March. I know my thousands of readers have missed me...riiiiiiiiight. I know I always have excuses, but honestly this time they are legit. I'll take this opportunity to catch up with you all because MAN have I been busy.

First of all (and it's big one)....Matt deployed. :( I know...I'm really sad too. A king sized bed is just too big without him in there at night. And of course, this also means that I have not been cooking...so unfortunately, I can't share any new recipes with you guys, but I can always chat--share what I've been up to during the week...at least until he gets back and maybe put up some recipes I've done, but never shared. My cooking has consisted of putting stuff in the microwave and making small salads for myself...whoo hoo! :) Fancy. Only the best. I have said it before and I will say it again though, I feel so blessed to have had the time that I did with Matt. It was so great to have him back here on rear detachment for a bit and to spend that time with him. I felt very lucky.

So what have I been doing? Let's break it down by month I guess....

APRIL

The Ditchley Portrait

April was crazy!!! With the weird snowy weather (that happened all the way up until May by the way!--this is not a complaint!! I love the snow) my class got cancelled quite a bit during the semester. So there was always a paper due at some point...but then it was moved to another date...and then it caused another paper to get moved. So basically the last two months of school I was typing my little behind off with postponed papers. I did a research paper on Elizabeth I and one of her portraits. The research for this was amazing! I always knew, from my own random research, that she always had messages within her portraits. Political usually. But I didn't realize HOW MUCH! I examined the Ditchley Portrait and really enjoyed writing it. Which may or may not be a nerdy thing to say! :) April was also my birthday month! Whoo hoo! I had a GREAT birthday with my bff Stephanie coming into town to surprise me! We had so much fun catching up. On my birthday we went to lunch, got pedicures, went wine tasting at a place in Manitou Springs called D'Vine Wine, saw an elk...yes, just sitting there...a random elk, and went to dinner with Matt. It was a great day and weekend with her. Made me miss Leavenworth and being able to see her everyday! :)

MAY

Maggilicious is not outdoorsy

More paper writing...and Matt's brother, Mark came into town. He's in the Navy and had been deployed. So he decided to come see us while on some leave. It snowed the day before he got here which was crazy. But it melted which was good for landing in a plane and driving to Denver to go get him! We played a lot of disc golf, which I've missed! We also took him to play pool at our local pool haunt. I'm not 100% sure who won most of the time, but I know I beat Matt at some point...maybe. :) May was also the end of the semester of course and I honestly was sad it was over. I loved my class!!!! It was so interesting and exactly the subject I love: Tudor history. I could literally sit and listen to our professor for HOURS. Our last day of class was so awesome. Being in a more concentrated subject, you obviously have smaller classes which I like...you get to know people better and the professor gets to know you better too. We had a class discussion over Leviathan (this was our last graded assignment) and as a class gave her cards and a gift while eating pizza. She is a really neat lady and I look forward to picking her brain sometime :) May also brought the end to an era...in this case I'm mean my poor Kia Optima. It had to be retired. My poor little car made it so far, yet wasn't performing to the best of it's abilities anymore--meaning it was stalling and doing weird things. We were sinking money into it and it was just time. Especially with Matt deploying. I know enough people to call if my car stalled on the side of the road, but it was just getting to be slightly dangerous and Matt felt uncomfortable leaving me like that. His Avalanche is also having some problems--so it was a decision that had to be made....to get a new car for Jeni. We put it off as long as we could since I didn't have any car payments, but with Matt's car about to be paid off (yippee!!), we decided it would be an easy transition. We went with a GMC Acadia and I love it! It's a great car...rides wonderful and it's up high! Which I have been so used to being low in a car...ahhhh to have an SUV and be up high...so nice! :) We also went to Matt's family cabin in New Mexico! We took Maggie and left the kitties. It was so peaceful. We went hiking and exploring. We went to White Sands and the space museum there. I also had fun laughing at the hummingbirds coming to the feeder at the cabin. One would always wait for another to come to feed and it was chase it off! Meany! It was cute to watch though. During May I was also officially elected into the Mountain Post Spouses Club as their 1st Vice President. I'm super excited about it as my "big jobs" are a holiday bazaar in November and a super fun casino night in March!!! This group of ladies are AMAZING and I'm so looking forward to getting to know them better and having a wonderful year!!

JUNE

June was spent going places and doing things. Matt deployed towards the end of the month and we wanted to spend as much time together as possible. We even got to stay in the Stanley Hotel!! Spooky!!! It was really neat to stay there...even if I was scared and didn't go to sleep until 4am. :)

We also went to Estes Park...fed some chippymunks...went hiking! 

We went to the Renaissance Festival and watched a really neat cat show (like big cats...not domestic cats!)...of course we people watched! :) That's the king and queen by the way! ;-)

And then of course Matt deployed...which was sad. I was lucky enough, though, to have my mom fly up here so we could drive down with the fur children to San Antonio. That was at the end of June...

JULY

Back in San Antonio! Yay!! I miss San Antonio so much sometimes. It's a lot of fun to go back...plus I was able to spend about 3 weeks there so I got to see a lot of friends and family. My oldest brother, Greg, was actually there for a bit when I first arrived and it was so great to see him after many years. I really enjoyed catching up with him and it was an extra treat for my trip that he was there. My family and I had a lovely 4th of July with fireworks courtesy of Six Flags from the side of the road. We ate my dad's spectacular macaroni salad and had hamburgers/hotdogs! I got some Taco Cabana--which Colorado doesn't have (grrrrrr) and went on my mom and aunt's weekly grocery shopping trips to HEB (I miss HEB). I was able to see some volleyball teammates (yay Begging for It!) and watched them play one night. I really wanted to jump in!!! I miss playing and I especially miss playing with them and the whole group that we knew through the Sports and Social club. I was able to see my cousin April and her little boy, who is too cute! :) I just really enjoyed my time there. It was relaxing and fun at the same time. Going on walks with my aunt and mom, spending time with my dad as we went to the radio station that he takes care of in Seguin. And of course Miss Maggie Moo had a wonderful time being loved on by her grandpa :) Funny story though about my Millie kittie...well funny now...not at the time people! So, I go off to bed around 12:45/1:00 in the morning and I make sure Tiggie and Maggie and Millie are all in the room...however...no Millie! Where is she I wonder??? I look in the closet, under the bed, behind the dresser...in the bathroom, in the other bedroom...in the living room...kitchen...dining room...you get the point. My mom ends up coming out...sees me in a panic and we spend about 45 minutes actually looking for her. Maybe it was more...maybe it was less...I don't know. We look outside...we look inside...we shine flashlights on the roof...we look in the garage (this whole time we are yelling her name and I'm banging on things to see if she'll come out). No Millie....you see that day was grocery shopping day and we thought maybe she got out when we were bringing the groceries in. So of course I'm in tears...how could I lose her...I'm a horrible pet parent. She's mostly black with little white paws...how am I going to find her at NIGHT!?! So we are standing outside in front of the garage calling for her...suddenly...I hear it. A meow...her meow. Is she on the roof? No...is she on the side of the house? No...where is she??? I run into the house and into the garage...I call her name again....*meow* I call her again and I see her come out of her little hiding place...what the heck Millie. Apparently since we brought the groceries in through the garage she had decided to explore when no one was looking. Poor cat was out there from about 2:00pm until way past 1:00 in the morning...in the heat. What she did out there all day, I have no idea. But at the time I really didn't care...I gave her the biggest hug and took her into get water and some food. I'm 100% sure she won't be going exploring anymore. And I'm also very happy we found her because it could have gotten dangerous with that San Antonio heat :( so like I said...scary/sad at the time...but now slightly funny because all I can picture is her exploring all day and then being like "Alright! I'm done!....how do I get out of here??!?!" Silly Millie. Anyway...I came back to Colorado around the 25th of July. I needed to get back to get going on some spouses club stuff and school things as well. My mom drove back with me and I ended up  taking her up to Estes Park. She got to experience the joys of chipmunk feeding and I showed her the Stanley Hotel and drove her around trying to find the sheep and elk, but alas they made a liar out of me...probably payback from calling Matt a liar when he took me there the first time! :) She enjoyed herself and that's what matters!




AUGUST

And suddenly we were in August...how did that happen!?!? Not too much went on except meetings and such for the spouse's club. Maggie's AND Tiggie's birthdays were both on August 5th. I know Maggie is for real on the 5th, but Tiggie was so close to the 5th that that's what we decided on so we could remember it. Millie's is actually close to Matt's so we put it on the 29th of June with his. I bought some cupcakes for Maggie and me and I also bought her a new toy as well as the kitties some new toys.  I ordered my books for school--22 of them by the way. Yea. If you just said something like "oh my gosh!" or "you have to be kidding me" ...that's EXACTLY what I said. I did have a potluck to go to to meet people within the history department since all I had met last semester was the Director of Graduate Studies, my professor for my class obviously, and the admin assistant for the department. It was nice to meet new people--and meet students within the program as well. I also was able to meet one of my professors for this semester. We also had Super Sign Up for the Spouse's Club and Destination Fort Carson...all fun events to hang out with my fellow spouses and show what we have to offer!!!

SEPTEMBER

Ah...September. And here we are almost at the end of it too! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE the fall. And right now the weather couldn't be more perfectly fall!! September has been pretty much the same as August, except with reading and papers due every week. I am learning a lot in my classes and enjoying them for the most part. I am making great headway in the preparation for the Holiday Bazaar in November. We have 64 vendors and counting. My last push for vendors will be tomorrow at a craft fair on post and then there's a craft fair at a church over near where I live on the 5th of October that I'm going to go to as well. Both events I will have applications in hand. Once those two are done, I think it'll be time to stop pushing. That doesn't mean I won't accept any more of course! But I'm just really excited that we are at 64 right now. It's been such a fun experience so far working with these vendors and seeing all of the different products they are selling. I am definitely doing some Christmas shopping at the event! :) I put my fall decorations up this past weekend. I am still looking for something to go on the porch. It needs something. I'll figure it out! :) The end of September means the start of October, which means that Matt should be coming home soon. I'm really excited and looking forward to giving him the biggest hug ever. I know it'll be here before I know it since I've been so busy. But being busy is good thing! :) Anyway...that's been my past 5 months or so. I apologize it's taken me this long to get everything written out, but now that we are caught up...I can attempt to get back to a regular basis of posting. It may or may not be boring considering I'm not doing a lot of NEW things...but I can still keep you up to date with stuff!

Well I hope you enjoyed my posting...come back for more!! In fact, I'm about to post another one too! hehe! You're so lucky. :) Alright...onto the next!