Weekly Favorites

I got this idea from my friend Cari. I'm going to write some weekly updates on a regular basis, with recurring ideas! Should be fun!

I Love My Dog Because:
He's a fast learner with tricks! Just this week I have taught him to wave and relax. Go Jack!

I Love My Cat Because:
He's a cat, and I love cats. Huey is an awesome cat.

Cupcake Flavor of the Week:
Nicole and I will be making lime-coconut cupcakes on Wednesday! Super excited! I love lime and coconut!

Current read:
I'm currently reading two books, The Princess Bride and Under the Greenwood Tree. Both extremely good, I would recommend them!

Starbucks Coffee blend of the Week:
I bought Starbucks medium Pike Place Roast. Yummy yummy! It doesn't have the normal Starbucks burnt taste, yay!

Picture of the Week:


Jack loves his pool!

Current favorite song to blast:
Love Kelly Clarkson's Stronger. I know it's a break up song, but I think it can apply to anything troubling, really.

I'm looking forward to:
The return of my favorite TV show, Bones! It's been on a hiatus since Christmas and I can't wait for it to start! YAY!

Hello, Cupcake!

I seriously have been bitten by the baking bug... I've always loved to bake, but right now it just seems I can't bake enough! My neighbor Nicole and I have started working out together and baking cupcakes, and that has inspired me to bake even more! We follow recipes, but once we get comfortable I think we're going to start experimenting.

Our first batch was Red Velvet. They were delicious! Maybe a little dense, but the frosting, which was cream cheese with a hint of lemon, was SO YUMMY! Our second batch was even more delicious, Cafe Mocha Cupcake with espresso buttercream frosting. Um, yummy! We even spiked the frosting with some Bailey's. Oh, yes! This week we are going to tackle lime-coconut cupcakes. I'm going to garnish them with some lemon peel and toasted coconut. And I might try making the frosting with coconut milk instead of regular milk.

I came up with some ideas of our own cupcakes: chai cupcake with chai frosting and caramel drizzle. Nicole doesn't like chai, but maybe she'll try and make some with me :) I also came up with an idea of a vanilla cupcake with rum batter frosting. Have you ever had rum batter? If you haven't, you should. It tastes a lot like chai, but you're supposed to drink it warm. I, of course, just eat the batter because it's that delicious.

This this the website I have fallen in love with and we use: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/ If you like baking, READ THIS blog! Words cannot decide how yummy everything looks. Nicole and I are going to try and make all the cupcakes she has posted. I think the best part about this website is she doesn't use cake mix, you're doing everything from scratch, and you all know I'm kind of a purist when it comes to baking. I don't like to use any kind of boxed mix.

On a side note, I have recently made pumpkin scones and Chai spiced glazed donut muffins. Both have been scrumptious. I think I need to start my own baking catering company. I like nothing more than spending time walking my dog and baking the rest of the day while listening to show tunes.

So tell me: what's your favorite cupcake? Maybe it will inspire some of my own creations!

Life is Good!

It's amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it! About a month ago, I had some serious negative feelings. Nothing drastic, but I was just not happy. A lot of stuff at work was frustrating and absolutely not fair (when it totally could have been), and Jack was going through a severe "I don't feel like listening to you" stage. I felt bored all the time. Matt was coming up towards the end of his Phase 2 training, so I had to do everything around the house by myself. Needless to say, I was not in a good place.

Then my parents came and visited. My mom taught me some new knitting stitches and got me some yarn, so I can now try my hand at knitting something more than just scarves. I think I severely needed that interaction. Since then, I have also become closer with a few of my friends here at the Air Force base, good enough friends that I now don't feel weird asking them to do things with me.

So in the last few weeks, I have told myself that I will enjoy everything more, and guess what... I have! I don't feel bored anymore! My neighbor Nicole and I go to the gym together and have started baking cupcakes every week... just because we want to! I'm not sure if it's the exercise or the sugar that's making me feel good, but that doesn't really matter :) My friend Erin and I occasionally grab some coffee if we don't have to work and our dogs are best "frenemies." Jack is listening more, and even though he still likes to jump on people, he is getting better, especially now since I have more people coming over to visit.

The work situation isn't all that better, but I won't have to work there forever. Working with the locals here frustrates me more than anything, and I don't always agree with how management runs things, but I'm not letting it bother me as much anymore.

I just need to keep my head up! We will be out of here before we know it!

So far, Nicole and I have made Red Velvet Cupcakes, and we're going to tackle Cafe Mocha Cupcakes today. I made pumpkin scones yesterday, anyone have any ideas of what else I should make????? I think I'm going to try (Key) Lime Coconut cupcakes, Nicole has a recipe that is apparently very awesome!

Peace out, and keep those attitudes positive! It's amazing what you can accomplish when you think positively!

And He's Flying...

It's not what we wanted, but Matt was "forced" to fly the fighter trainer, the T-38! While we wanted the leer-jet type airplane (T-1), since it's WAY more laid back, I think Matt is getting excited to fly this plane:




He will get more solo time, and learn to perfect his formation flying, which he does not enjoy doing. Flying this plane will be more stressful, for sure, and probably mean more hours studying, but the nice thing is that if Matt still wants to fly cargo, we can track every plane after the T-38. If you fly the T-1, you can only fly cargo.

So here we come, T-38! Even though we didn't want it, we're quickly learning that in the Air Force you hardly ever get what you want. Maybe next time :) At least we're accepting it, and moving on, and there are WAY worse things that could happen to us.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

Annnnd I Confirm My "Cat Person" Standing

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, cats may be less personable than dogs, but the last time I checked, they don't go out into the field and roll around in and proceed to eat other dog crap! GRRRRROOOOSSSSS! That is the only good thing about the 75 degree weather: I was able to take the hose to him.

Let's just say for the rest of the day, Jack will be on my Shit List.

Clothes!

As promised, since the puppy is still sleeping, I'm uploading some pics of my most recent online shopping spree. Yay clothes!


Now this one I've actually had since fall, but I'm just now taking a picture of it. I haven't worn it yet because, SURPRISE!, the South doesn't get cold enough. Oh, well. It will give me time to find the perfect pair of boots to wear with it. And some more long sleeve tees...



Dress from Ann Taylor Loft. I likey! It will be the perfect dress to wear for the office. But since I don't work in an office, it will be worn to Air Force casual functions. Or out for a nice dinner.


The back of the dress I bought from Modcloth.com You can't really wear a bra with it, but I guess I'll get used to that. At least I have a nude one if I absolutely need to.


The front of the dress! It's super cute, but casual enough I think I can wear it while out shopping or going out for coffee.


A sheer lacey top from Nordstrom to wear over other shirts. Adds some texture and shine! Perfect for me since I like my clothing subtle.


A skirt from Nordstrom as well (Vince Camuto). Love the colorful print! This is how I like to do prints, not too crazy, and in small amounts!



Another Nordstrom Vince Camuto purchase. This will go perfect with skinny jeans and either boots or booties.

Can't wait to wear all of these!

Update Update!

I have been neglecting all of you... my sincerest apologies. With a hyper dog, 40 hour week, and a house that I have to care for all by myself since my husband is busy, I don't get much time to write my heart out. But I tired my dog out (I love lakes) and now he's sleeping! I got laundry going, the dishwasher unloaded, the litter box is changed, the lizard's sand changed out, and the yard scooped! Go me!

So now I can take the time to write.

My parents visited it us a weekend ago. It was so great to see them come out! I feel bad, since there's absolutely nothing to do here, but we somehow made it work! My dad loves our dog (my mom, not so much), he even took him out for a walk while Mom and I went grocery shopping. My mom chose to love my cat instead, which is awesome, since Huey usually gets left out, much to his chagrin. I think he enjoyed all the extra attention. Jack, however, did not approve. Animals.

My mom also taught me how to do some more knitting stitches! I am no longer limited to just scarves! It's going to take me awhile to get the hang of it, but I think it's doable. She bought me a bunch of new circular needles, but unfortunately they are just too long, so I'm going to have to order some shorter ones for my new project: a beanie hat. Anyone want one? I need some practice.



I am making the white one the girl is wearing.

What else is new... Oh! I have bought some new clothes recently. Thanks to Brittany, a tax refund, and an excuse that since Matt bought a $400 iPad I should get to spend $400 dollars, too, I have bought some pretty awesome stuff! I will post some pics in a different post!

SOME EXCITING NEWS! Matt is done with T-6s! That is this plane:



So he is done with Phase 2! He actually failed is last check ride (formation), but only because he has a ridiculous check pilot who fails absolutely everybody (no, really, he failed another person the same day and failed 2 pilots the next day) and he makes up reasons why he fails them. That made Matt extremely cranky for a night, but he past the next day with a different pilot and even got to sit back and relax while his instructor pilots screwed around and did some dogfighting. Mark your calendars, everyone, for March 8th: we find out what airplane Matt flies next! We're hoping for the T-1 (a Leer Jet type plane), instead of the T-38 (the fighter trainer). The T-1 is much more laid back and less stressful.

Keep your fingers crossed!