Dave's Burday Cake - cause I love him ;o)

I slaved over this cake Monday morning into the afternoon with it's necessary homemade frosting. But the end result was a complete hit!! We've waved it under the noses of everyone who's walked through the door & they all agree - it's Delicious & worth the Diabetic Coma LOL!  I found the recipe at Kevin&Amanda's & let me tell ya this girl has some crazy talent :o)  The basis is a chocolate cake with cut up bits of Reese's cups in the batter YUM! Then a homemade frosting with a hint of peanut butter. Let me tell ya I'm NOT a fan of peanut butter but this cake is absolutely scrumptious!!

I cut up all these guys into quarters to make about 2 cups worth

Mmm then I mixed up the yummy chocolate batter. In the mix is devil's food cake & chocolate pudding *sigh* It's after my heart I tell ya!!

Stir in your pieces of Reese's & spoon the batter into your cake pans

YUM! They're all baked up & ready for frosting!!

The frosting is work, I ain't gonna lie but it's very worth it, promise ;o)

Throw all the goodies together, chop up more Reese's to put on top, & Viola! You've now got yourself a masterpiece.

Refrigerate this cake, otherwise these gorgeous beauties will melt

Dave's birthday is tomorrow. I made his cake early because we'll be leavin to spend the weekend back home in NC tomorrow night. So we had to eat this cake before we left & let me tell there's only a few bites left :o) Our friends liked it so it's definitely Friend Approved lol!

You can find the yummy recipes for this cake at Kevin&Amanda's, this girl is a genius with cake. Go forth and bake it!

Dessert is Divine

So I was feeling very Suzy Q Homemaker-ish yesterday & figured after making the Chicken & Dumplings that I needed a dessert. Apple Tarts were the outcome :o)

3 large green apples
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 9in pie crusts
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel & mince apples - I use a food processor to mince :oP

Combine brown sugar & cinnamon in a small bowl

Sprinkle lemon juice & butter over the apples & toss them in the bowl with cinnamon & sugar until coated.

Unroll each pie crust - You can use puff pastry if you like. I didn't have any that was unthawed so I just used a pie crust I had in my fridge. Slice them into quarters.

Place 2 Tablespoons of apple mixture in the center of the pastry pieces.
Fold them & pinch closed.

Place them in a baking dish.
Brush or drizzle with milk/cream & sprinkle with white sugar.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

The aroma will fill your house, it's so delicious to smell, you can imagine the taste :o)

Chicken & Dumplings

Keep in mind this recipe is for MY family of 6. If you're family is smaller then halve the recipe :o)
2 lb chicken breasts(boneless, skinless)
12 bouillon cubes
2 quarts of water
4 cups of Bisquick
1 1/3 cups milk
1 bag of Frozen veggies
salt & pepper

Slice chicken breasts into strips.
You need a LARGE pot, place chicken & bouillon in pot & cover with 2 qts water. Bring to a boil & simmer for about 20 mins or so.

When chicken is done remove it from the water & set aside.
Mix Bisquick & milk until a sticky dough forms. Drop spoonfuls of dough into hot chicken broth in pot. Simmer over low heat, covered 10 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes.

While your dough is cooking, boil your frozen veggies in a pot until tender. Or if you want you can use fresh veggies, it's just a lil more work.
Chop your chicken into bite size pieces & add to your veggies when they're done. Salt & pepper to taste.

When your dumplings are finished add your chicken & veggies into the Large pot. Stir to combine then ENJOY!

It's delicious, very tasty, & perfect for a rainy day or Fall/Winter :o)

My Secret Summer Love Affair

I'm terrified of spiders, been on meds phobic kind of terrified but it's normally only the ones that catch me by surprise. My girls from back home didn't creep me out & I miss them terribly. For some reason GA only has brown recluse spiders - they're quick on their eight furry stick thin legs & I don't like them. I want some of my girls back. What girls you may ask, well let me introduce you to them :o)

This is Ms Spidey & her boyfriend

He's so tiny compared to her but he hung around for a day or two

Not long after her boyfriend took her love & left, Ms Spidey started gettin plump

& then one morning there was a masterpiece

A lil over a week later there was another

I don't think I've ever LOVED a spider but I must say that Ms Spidey was after my heart & I willingly gave it up ♥ She listened to my morning mumblings for over 3 months. She hung out & was an everyday part of my life. The next day after the photo above was taken Ms Spidey was not to be found & I shed a tear or two. I had done my research, knew it was going to happen but I was still saddened by her disappearance. My front picture window would no longer hold it's morning appeal & would never be the same.

At the same time that Ms Spidey showed up in my window I also had another visitor, Charlotte. Oh what a beauty she was :o)

About a week or so after Ms Spidey's man ran out on her Charlotte had her own boyfriend, Fred, pop up.

Fred was such a skittish thing but nothing could keep him from her lovin'

Oh he loves her, he wants her, so he makes sweet, sweet love to her

Theeeeeeen she decides she's hungry & eats him - all in a day's work :o)

So in eating the man who wooed her, she stole my heart ♥ It was seriously one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed in my life. Those are my girls, they were the bomb, & if I could have kept them forever I definitely would have. But I did get to catch the taking off of their babies come Spring this year :o)

There you have it, my secret summer love affair, one I will never forget ♥





PS  All the photos except the last 2 were taken with my Kodak point & shoot camera, it's totally kick ass. The last 2 were with my Canon heavy duty which is why you can even see the micro spiders lol! They were hard to see with the naked eye but my Canon caught enough to let me be able to share :o)

Mmm Chinese Food Part Deux

So I made the Wor Su Gai recipe last night. It was definately good but not even close to what we're used to. The sauce/gravy was completely different. The chicken well you can't really mess up chicken lol! It was yummy but not exactly what I was lookin' for. I'll share the recipe with you, let ya know what I tweaked then you can make it & decide for yourself :o)

2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut in half

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry sherry
**I left out both the salt & the sherry, it's a wee bit too much salt content for me**
Sauce:
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or storebought (low-sodium is best)
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms (optional)
3 tablespoons chicken fat or butter
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
**I left out the bouillon granules, again it's a lot of unnecessary salt & you've already got chicken broth so you really don't NEED anymore chicken flavor. I DID include the mushrooms & added some sliced water chesnuts to the sauce**
Batter:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
**No need for the water. I dipped my chicken strips(I cut them into strips BEFORE I fried them) into the egg then tossed them around in a bowl with the other ingredients**
Remaining Ingredients:
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/3 cup toasted, slivered almonds
1 green onion, finely chopped (green and white parts)
Oil for deep-frying, as needed
**I left out the lettuce & served with fried rice instead. Left out almonds & the green onion is more for decoration than anything so feel free to skip that if you aren't an onion person :o)  I added a side of mixed veggies, steam them or sautee them**


Sprinkle chicken with salt and sherry and marinate for 15 minutes.
**I didn't include the salt or sherry so no need for marinating but I did slice my chicken into strips(it cooks faster lol)**
While chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce. Mix together the
cornstarch and water in a small saucepan until smooth.
Gradually mix in the chicken broth, mushrooms (if using), chicken fat
or butter, soy sauce, and bouillon granules.
**Again the bouillon granules are optional in MY version of the recipe & I added the water chesnuts**
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for 1
minute, and keep warm.



To prepare batter:
**You can prepare the batter as it says here or do it my way like I stated above, your choice :o)**
Beat together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, egg, and water
until smooth.
Coat each piece of chicken with the batter.
Heat wok or a large skillet and add oil to a depth of 1/2-inch.
Heat to 375 degrees. **Or when the oil forms a few bubbles**
Cook coated chicken pieces in oil until they are golden, turning them
once. This should take about 5 - 7 minutes.
Drain the chicken on a tempura rack if you have one, or on paper
towels.

Cut the chicken diagonally into strips.
Reassemble the strips into chicken breast shapes and place on a bed
of shredded lettuce.
Sprinkle with almonds and green onion.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
**I pre-sliced my chicken & used a bed of rice instead of lettuce**

The sauce:

The chicken:

Finished plate:

Even though it wasn't exactly what I was looking for sauce-wise it turned out deliciously. It was something different to make & a simple recipe even though it seems long. I'm not big on frying anything, hell the last time I used oil for cooking was when I made funnel cake over a month ago. The thought of consuming oil grosses me out a bit lol! But the chicken was juicy & flavorful. So give it a try if you're looking for something a lil different for dinner. It's quite tasty :o) Enjoy!

Mmm Chinese Food

I'm on the hunt for a great Wor Su Gai recipe. Not one Chinese restaurant down here has a clue what WSG is so it's now up to me to make it myself. So tonight I'm making one of the recipes I found, we'll see how good it turns out lol! There will be pictures of it accompanying my next blog so do not fear. If it doesn't come close to the original then I'll be asking for the recipe when we go back home from our favorite restaurant, Hong Kong Cafe :o)

Mmm speaking of back home, there's so many places I wanna eat at!! As sad as it sounds I miss home for the thousands of restaurants. There's food on every corner, not regular food but good stuff. There's restaurants here but only 1 or 2 that are must-eats. The rest are your typical fast food junkets, ewww! I want REAL food. So eating, lots & lots of eating is on the agenda for our trip home :o) & family, of course!

In other news I have found an awesome set of actions for PS. I adore actions. They enhance regular photos in soft or dramatic ways, depending on your mood that day ;o)
Such as my latest set:

I've found another set of actions, it's totally kick ass & as soon as I can get past the amount of moolah it costs I'll show it to ya LOL!

I've managed a couple days of rest *sigh* I probably shouldn't have said that. But on my calendar there's nothing planned for Tuesday or Wednesday which is nice. I had appts today & errands to run. Last week was a smorgasbord of fun & tedious meetings, appts, etc. So my plan is to make some graphics & a layout or two for my blogs & myspace. I've got ideas running around in my head I've just been waiting for the time to jot them out.

Dave's leave starts this weekend YAY!! It'll be nice to have him home & do some family things with the kids for the next couple of weeks. This damn deployment is creeping up on us. One day I think I'm ready & the next it overwhelms me, should be interesting to see how it plays out...

I've been having recurrent dreams involving tigers lately. Quite a few of them these past few weeks. They're always chasing me or trying to get to me. No clue what it means but I've had no contact with tigers so it's not something that's playing out from a real life event or knowledge. It's weird but I'll figure it out.

So that's pretty much what's been going on with me or inside my head these past few days. Next blog will be full of Wor Su Gai, hopefully it'll be good LOL!

Oh & another thing before I go because it's important to me.

I've decided to stop drinking, period. It hasn't been a problem for me in a long time. I'm able to have a drink with dinner or a couple with friends without getting shit faced. I've realized though that I don't even WANT to drink anymore. I'm laying it down, I'm done. This is a HUGE revelation for me, it's another addiction down, & this my friends means I am good to go. My life is so much better for it & I'm proud of myself :o) My children will never look at me with pity in their eyes or have to wonder how many times I cared for them while drunk or if I drank while they were nestled in my womb. I've made this decision not only for myself but for my CHILDREN because they mean the world to me. I want to be the best possible mother for them & drinking only hinders that. I want to be the best possible ME & I am well on my way ♥

Hodge Podge

Yep that pretty much sums up my life for the next lil while. A hodge podge of events & emotions so I figured I'd share them :oP My last post sparked some emotion & of course I continued writing long after I stopped typing. I do that. I write. I don't think I'm half bad at it either. I've actually wrote a romantic short story. I finished it back before I met Dave so it's been sitting in the darkness, boxed up for over 11 years. I found it last week, had a little laugh to myself, then realized that with some tweaks & character development it would be a decent story to tell. I read & wrote a lot growing up. Since 4 monkeys took over my life I don't have time to write anymore. I sneak in some journal time here & there but not as often as I used to *sigh*

I also used to draw & paint. My art teachers were always putting my work in contests & quite often I'd receive a ribbon or certificate for being kick ass. Now I just draw for the kids & painting is out. I haven't painted or drawn anything significant in YEARS. Now I kinda feel like my talent has petered out & moved on to other openings. I do a lot of digital graphics. I haven't got into it hardcore or anything, just some piddling here & there. Mostly things for myspace or my blogs or things that sit in a folder on my computer to catch digital dust bunnies :oP

I've also recently taken up photography. I've framed some of my own photos & decorated my house. I plan to do more I've just kinda been in a photo lull. Though with this deployment coming up I'll be photographing everything we do- Documenting our time together.

I'm more "comfortable" with this deployment now. I was scared to death when I first learned David would be going. Terrified doesn't begin to cover the fear I felt. Like I said in the last blog, learning their mission this go round really helped settle my nerves. As a Soldier's wife I can take the separation, the being apart. I know the love we have for one another will not fade during the year he's gone. I know that my life will go on without him living in our house. I know.

It's the worry about his safety, the constant, nagging worry that NEVER leaves my mind at peace that wears me down. The millions of "what ifs" that always circle around in your head even when you're not paying attention. I can handle him coming home wounded, no matter what it is. I canNOT handle him never coming home - the thought makes my heart ache. Yes my life would still go on but I would be a shell of my former self. He is so much more to me than my husband. He is my Best Friend. No one knows me the way he does. We are each others opposites in a way that together makes us COMPLETE. Where I am weak he is strong & vice versa. We make a damn good team :o) I love him ♥

& because my body will literally want to shut down when he leaves I have decided to make 1 new recipe a week when the deployment begins. When he leaves is normally when I drop weight, for whatever reason my body's need for sustenance bottoms out. I don't eat & somehow my blood sugar remains level, it's a strange occurrence but it happens every time. So I've made a pact with myself, even if I don't eat it, I must make ONE new recipe a week. It could be an old handed down recipe like chicken & dumplings, a recipe from another site, or one I make up myself but it must be one I've never made before. This will help open my kids up to new food & give me a chance to work my cooking magic :o)

& this concludes the hodge podge blog lol!
Love Him ♥

Deployment Chaos

My life has been running full speed ahead on Empty since Monday's deployment briefing. There was so much information threw at us that I was taking notes so I wouldn't forget anything. Dates were being thrown around & yes we got some definitive dates *sigh* For OPSEC reasons I won't post them here of course but if you wanna know just shoot me an email, I'll fill ya in on the details as of today.


After the briefing there was a fair not a funnel cake & candy apple fair(dammit lol!), more like a job fair layout. There was kiosk after kiosk full of information for military families. It took FOREVER to get outta there. The briefing was about an hour & a half, the fair took about double that. I literally pulled into the driveway right before the kids hopped off the bus - talk about cutting it close lol!


Monday evening our garage looked like this:

With this hidden in the background:

The deployment packing list was sent out & Dave commenced to packing. Oh Lord what a mess it was, well still kinda is. He's got some of it packed, there's sensitive items they have yet to pick up but soon they will be packed on milvans ready to ship to Kuwait/Iraq.

Monday Dave signed his dwell time waiver *sigh* Not something we wanted to do but in order for him to stay with the Troop he's in, it was necessary. He likes these guys which says a lot. I met quite a few of them Monday. Some of them with their baby faces, others with their war time hero gazes. He's got guys who have never seen combat & some that have so hopefully they can help each other.

We were given the mission objective at the briefing. I let out a huge sigh of relief, I did really. He won't necessarily be running the kinds of missions he was earlier this year. Thank God. It in no way means it's less dangerous, just means he won't be subjected to quite so much violence. He's booing at those thoughts but I'm cheering :o) & the news of the mission definitely lifted my spirits a bit. If I could tell you about some of his previous missions you'd understand why I have been so worried. But the briefing made me a lil less worrisome.

By Monday evening I was exhausted. I think I was in bed before 10 & was out, didn't even know when Dave climbed into bed. But I had a list of things I needed to do so Tuesday morning I was making phone calls, running errands, & going to appts. I managed to get my kids registered with CDC so that I have a babysitter for any Dr's appts that "I" may have. For families of deployed soldiers we get 16 FREE hours a month PER CHILD, which I think is absolutely awesome. I'm not looking for a full time sitter but I was beginning to worry about being away from family & having no one to take the kids when I needed a break. But that's solved, it won't be an over night break but a couple of hours peace & quiet can make a big difference to a stressed out Army wife & mother of 4, trust me :o)

So I've got appt after appt through the end of September. Dave gets leave end of Sept/beg. of Oct which will be nice. We're planning on doing lots of fun things, visiting family back home, & just being together - a year long separation is a LONG time no matter how quickly time flies. But we'll make the best with what we have, there's no other choice for us.

Today is the only Off day I have lol! Tomorrow is full of more meetings, orientations, & a Troop Cookout. Friday is Alysia's 10th Birthday(where does time go!), she will be having a sleepover. Camden's class is also having a Parent Picnic for the letter P Friday afternoon. Next week Alysia & I have an ID card appt - she finally gets to have one & I need to update mine - it still has Dave's PFC rank on it from a couple of years ago LOL! & Brendan has an opthamologists appt at the end of the week, if the damn people ever call me back with directions *sigh* Then Friday the 25th Dave's leave starts. It's really gonna be a rushed couple of weeks so if my blog gets slow you'll know why :o)

We survived deployment #1 & we'll survive #2 even if they're back to back :oP

The Same Thing We Do Every Night Pinky

I woke this morning ready to take on the world. Really I did. Not sure why considering the circumstances but I guess it's my brain's attempt at a lil self-preservation. But let's start with a few random things today :o)

Kanye West, Taylor Swift, & the VMA's. Dude what the hell?!! Kanye is a total ass. I mean to interrupt someone's acceptance speech so he could say he didn't think she should have won - that's arrogance. Of course what do we expect from a guy who likens himself to God?! Don't get me wrong, the guy has some good songs, I listen to his music. Would I consider him God-like? Um Hell NO. I wouldn't even say he's the best music artist!! The guy has a serious problem, it's called Narcissistic Personality Disorder, any psychiatrist would diagnose him in a heartbeat. So good luck with that Kanye. Way to be an Asshole!

Tyler Perry :o)
I love this man. He has made some great films. There's always a heartwarming message. You laugh, you cry, and walk away feeling a lil lighter. If you haven't seen any of his films I suggest you do so immediately. He's got a new one out : "I Can Do Bad All By Myself". I saw the play & cannot wait to see the film :o) & he's doing a sequel to another of his recent movies, it's due out next year: "Why Did I Get Married Too". The first movie was outstanding, I recommend it to all married folks.

Now on to the Deployment stuff. Ahhhh where to begin. We were basically given a choice Friday afternoon. Dave could deploy soon with his current unit or change Brigades & deploy with them at the end of the year. Wow that's some great choices, hmm let me see, deploy or deploy? That's a hard one.  So we talked it over. Really we did. & Dave will be staying with his current unit. He's got a good group of guys & command. In choosing this option he will have to sign a dwell time waiver... *sigh* Nice big shaft, thanks a lot ARMY.

I want it known that Dave doesn't WANT to waive his dwell time. He has absolutely no problem Deploying but after spending 12 months in Iraq already he feels that he deserves his 12 months HOME. And HE DOES. So here we are preparing AGAIN for a deployment coming up in a matter of weeks. I'm pissed off, I'm worried but at the moment the anger is consuming the worry. I've got a plan, an idea, ready to execute should something go wrong during this deployment. Hell Hath No Fury. And in the words of Forrest Gump "That's all I have to say about that." :o)

Scrumptious Chicken Quesadillas

The recipe is simple. The original recipe was a Shrimp Quesadilla style on Pioneer Woman's site. I was gonna go all out & do it big but then Dave called & said he'd be working late today. Poor guys have been putting new track on Bradley's for 2 days now. So I decided to go simple & tasty, make it my own :o)

I cut up my chicken before I threw it in a skillet with some water. I like my chicken cooked thoroughly but not dry, hence the water ;o)

While that's cooking up I grab my griddle to heat up, & chop some of these beauties

I don't do too much cause the kids will start to get suspicious lol! "Mom there's green stuff in the chicken" Oh I'm busted. God forbid I feed them anything GREEN!!  Throw these babies on the griddle that you were heating up. I like mine crunchy so I don't leave them on long.

When the chicken's done cooking then throw some enchilada sauce over it. Not a lot, just enough to flavor it & make it pretty

Throw the peppers in there & mix it up YUM!

Place your flour tortillas on the griddle, I use small tortillas. You can butter the griddle a lil first or throw some EVOO Pam spray on there, which ever you like.

Place a handful of cheese on first then your chicken mixture then an extra bit of cheese. I like mine cheesy :o) Can you really say No to these? Didn't think so!

Once the cheese is melted on the bottom or the tortilla is to your liking then pull them off the griddle. Top it with another tortilla & flip it back on the griddle so your fresh side can grill for a few minutes.

When it's to your preferred crispiness then pull them off & gobble'em up :o)

This was a very simple dish. There's about a thousand things you could add to it. Rice- inside the quesadilla or on the side, jalapenos, chilis, whatever floats your boat. It's versatile and yummy for my tummy. So go try it!!