Take a good look at your face

We're back from our fun filled emotionally exhausting weekend with A's family. I need time to relax before I decide whether or not to post about it.

What I will do tonight though, is review a few movies.

Why Did I Get Married?
I absolutely LOVE Tyler Perry movies. They're always funny and endearing. This one...was very annoying. I kept getting bored, and the boredom caused me to fall asleep. I didn't even have the motivation to re-watch the parts that I missed, and I definitely don't plan on seeing the second one.

Away We Go
I'm not really sure why it took us so long to see this, because Aaron and I both love John Krasinski [Jim from the Office]. Anyway, it finally came in the mail via Netflix. I wasn't expecting much from it because I hadn't heard ANY reviews of it. It ended up being really funny/awkward/sweet. Definitely worth watching.

Iron Man 2
As if Robert Downey Jr. & Scarlett Johansson aren't reason enough to go see this movie, go for the action. Seriously. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time. Despite my extreme hatred for Mickey Rourke, I still recommend this to any/everyone. Just make sure you watch the first one, too.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
If you have read/enjoyed the book, you will probably NOT like this movie. I expected this movie to basically be reenactments of the scenarios in the book. To me, it seemed completely different. I did read the book over two years ago, so I may be forgetting some things, but the only scene from the movie that was actually IN the book, was at the end of the movie. COMPLETELY ridiculous. In fact, I'm considering re-reading the book just to make sure I'm not totally wrong.

Let's just say...

I am over working in the food service industry.

Anyways, Aaron and I are leaving bright and early in the morning to drive 5 hours north to Huntsville.
His brother is graduating high school and we are meeting his dad's new girlfriend....and if everything works out, we will be hanging out with our long lost friend.

Hope you guys have a happy Memorial day weekend! Don't forget to thank a soldier!

It's Growing!

About a month ago, I shared with you all my make shift vegetable garden.
It's growing so well, and I'm so excited!
This was the first time I planted/took care of a garden on my own, and I think I'm doing a pretty good job.

To see before pictures, go here.

After just one month:
Tomatoes
Squash, with my pepper plan in between
& Okra!

Now, head on over to Leah's blog.
She's hosting her very first give away!!
Show her some love, people!

life & other news

Since my last post:

• I have finished all 5 seasons of Weeds, and am not so patiently waiting for season 6.
• Aaron came home!! He is officially an Air Assault graduate.
• My job is so lame I feel like I lose millions of brain cells every time I have to go in. It also hurts my feet. & I don't want to hear 'a job, is a job & this is the recession......' b.s.
• Saw Bruno for the second time. It is funny. WATCH IT!
• I have started reading the gossip girl books. So far, so good!
• Saw Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and stayed thoroughly confused the entire time. I love Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, and Tobey Maguire, but I feel like the only way to get through this movie and acutally like it, is to be on drugs, which I'm not willing to do. Sorry guys.
• And, I got this award from Sara! So sweet.

What do you do when you're bored?
Watch T.V. or a movie, read a book, paint, dork around online.

Are you an Autumn or a Spring?
Definitely Spring. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel that is Winter.

Quick! You're stuck at an airport for hours, and the only options are crossword puzzles, or an old novel nobody's ever heard of. Which do you pick?
Crossword puzzle hands down.

Jane Austen or Emily Bronte?

Emily Bronte. I had to do a report on her when I was in the 6th grade, so I had to read a lot of her poems/biography/etc.

Do you feel prepared for the five other questions coming your way?
I kind of feel like I'm on myspace again, but sure...let's do this.

Who’s your hero?
HitGirl

Favourite word?
food :)

Are you one of those “checklist” people, or are you a “wing it and hope everything goes well” sort of person?
I am a list maker to the n'th degree. I HAVE to HAVE my lists.

What phrase has stuck with you in your life?
too legit to quit? HA

If you were to choose between coffee and tea . . . which would you go with?
Tea, but only if it was ice cold and sweet.

Who do I think deserves this award?
How about....

Cassie
Haley
Jeanette
Lisa
Amber

I have a serious problem

Thanks to my dear ol' friend, Matt for re-introducing me to Netflix, I can't stop watching Weeds.
No, seriously....In less than 24 hours I have watched TWO FULL seasons of that show, and am now starting on my third. It's addicting.

Also, thanks to my job for not scheduling me to work until Wednesday, because now....I am taking way too many breaks to watch this show while I'm trying to finish organizing my house.

I've heard about this show for quite some time, but since we only get basic cable at our house, I have never seen it. But, I saw 5 seasons worth of it on netflix, and obviously couldn't help myself. Mary Louise Parker has been one of my fav's since she played Ruth Jamison in Fried Green Tomatoes. This show is fresh. As far as I know, there hasn't been anything like it...and I watch A LOT of t.v.

Anyways, if you have showtime, netflix, or any kind of access to renting dvds, I would suggest you watch this. I mean, if obscene language, nudity, and drug paraphernalia do not offend you.

A long time coming

Since Aaron has been gone, I have rented a few movies I know he wouldn't want to see.
Here's what I thought....


Did You Hear About the Morgans?
I was a little disappointed in this movie because I thought it was going to have some kind of thrill, excitement, or at least be DIFFERENT.....but not. It was so cliche. I love SJP, but come on...this movie was lame.

BandSlam
I'm a sucker for nerdy movies. I guess by nerdy movies I mean movies with nerdy boys as the main character [ha!]. I thought this movie seemed fresh, but it wasn't. It was 'okay' at best. I'm not going to lie, I kept falling asleep and it was like 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Mamma Mia!!!
I know this one has been out for a while, but I recently became kind of obsessed with Amanda Seyfried. I was REALLY excited about it because I lovvvvve musicals. Umm, this one just did not do it for me. I fast forwarded through a lot because I kept getting annoyed. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

An Education
I was really surprised by this movie. I had heard both negative and positive things about it, but I had never heard what it was about. I just went out on a limb and rented it. I actually enjoyed it. Things happened that I didn't expect to happen. The guy who played Doc Ock in the Spiderman movie was the main character's father, so I ALMOST wrote it off to begin with. [I really don't like that guy] But I gave it a chance, and I'm glad I did.

I'm looking forward to renting:

Defendor

The Informant!

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Blind Side

Just one more reason why I'm amazing.

I've been trying to come up with this post in my head for days.
You see, I started my new job on Monday. Today was day three, and to be quite honest, I am probably the best thing that hit little caesar's since the hot-n-ready.
Just sayin'.
It took me only a few minutes to understand the register, and while I'm still learning all the combos & prices, I think I'm doing way better than the average bear.

At my old job, I was used to dealing with military men and women. Now, I'm dealing with the general public. It's a TOTALLY different ball game. As if the stories I had before weren't enough, I can tell [just by day 3] that I'm going to have some pretty good ones.

I'll just start by telling you people a few things I've learned..

• don't send your kids in, who can't read and/or can't count money to order YOUR food.
• if you speak softly, be courteous and speak a little louder when you order...OR don't get pissed off at the cashier when she can't understand what you said.
• also, enunciate. in case you don't know, that means to speak clearly and pronounce words the correct way.
• if your credit card gets declined while trying to buy a $5 pizza, you don't need to go dig in your car for change, you need to go to the grocery store and buy some ramen.
  
• wearing a see through tank top with a hot pink bra and white pants with no underwear in public is NOT okay.
  

I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind

I've done it.

I can't even begin to describe to you guys how amazing I feel right now.
Remember these?
They were amazing. Chocolate + Cherry is my all time favorite flavor combination.

This recipe came to me in a dream. No, it really did. I guess I'm a real fat kid now.

I am going to call it Chocolate Cherry Fantasy Pie.
And, because I love you guys, I will divulge my recipe that I just perfected today.

1 box brownie mix [I used Betty Crocker's original supreme]
+ eggs, oil, water according to package
1 8 oz package cream cheese [room temp]
1 8 oz container whipped cream
1 cup powdered sugar
+ more for decoration
1 14 oz can cherry pie filling
1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Prepare brownie mix according to package. IF you want, you can use the pie pans with crust in them already. I am not a big fan of those, so I just opted to use a glass pie pan with NO crust. For thicker brownies, use entire package in one pie pan, for thinner brownies, spread into 2 pie pans. I used a 9" pie pan, filled HALF full with the brownie mix, and then baked the rest in a smaller corning ware so I could give it to a friend. Bake brownies for 35-40 minutes.

While you're waiting for the brownies to bake, strain your cherries.

You want to keep both the cherries AND the filling, but you need at least 1/2 cup of the filling [with no whole cherries] to add into the cream cheese.


Wait until you've pulled your brownies out to cool before you begin your cream cheese mixture. You want it to stay kind of cool.

Add cream cheese, vanilla, cherry filling [not the cherries, though!] and powdered sugar into a large bowl and mix. Once all of the ingredients have been blended together, add the whipped cream and fold in. At this point, your brownies should be cooled enough to put the mixture on top. Smooth mixture around to create a nice surface.

Last but not least, add your whole cherries on top and dust with powdered sugar. For an added touch, add chocolate chips, too! This pie tastes best after being refrigerated for an hour or more.

Update on Life

Warning: This post is going to be all over the place.

Aaron made it to Kentucky safe and sound. He called me last night to let me know he had finished in-processing, and then gave me some bad news.
You see, when he found out that he was going to Air Assault school, they sent him a list of things he needed to bring. I helped him get all of his stuff together, and we even made a special trip to the closest base to get the supplies he didn't already have. ANYWAY....what they didn't tell the guys is that they needed BRAND NEW uniforms/gloves/camelbak/wet weather gear. Everyone just brought what they had. So Aaron, as well as all the other guys that brought 'old' stuff, had to go buy alllllllllllll new stuff.

UMMM....seriously?? So there goes at least half of his paycheck, just on 'new' stuff, when I know GOOD and WELL that the stuff he had was more than sufficient.

Moving on.....Thank you guys for thinking of me! I got the job and I start on Monday. The lamest part I can think of right now..........I always have to have my hair in a ponytail AND I have to wear a visor. L.A.M.E. Oh well, at least I have a job now.

And last but not least....
Kami's new house came in the mail today. For so long we were opposed to buying her a kennel.
Until this happened.
Yep. We were gone for 30 minutes last week and she chewed through the bathroom door.
That was just the icing on the cake. We dropped a lot of money on her 'house', but she was just acting too crazy when we left. BTW we found out it's because she has separation anxiety, which she is now taking all natural tablets every day to help with that.

So, I'm leaving now to go spend time with my grandmother and aunt. Hope you all have a great Mother's Day weekend!!

Dear Friends.....

I have a job interview tomorrow. Although it's at an undesirable place, I really need this [at least until I can find something better]. So please keep your fingers crossed for me, or pray, or whatever it is you do when you need some good luck.

Thanks guys!!

Sore Eyes

I said goodbye to Aaron at 7:00 this morning, and have been pretty busy since.
I hate it when he leaves for training, but at least it makes me productive.
I'm currently working on a few paintings for Sara, and in between drying times
I made this:

It is now available on my etsy store.
My last final is tomorrow, which means I will have way too much free time [until someone calls me in for an interview]. I'm going to try to keep busy, so commissions would be very welcomed.

Mother's Day is coming up and I have a few ideas going on in my head for the special ladies in my life; update on that later. What are you guys doing for mother's day?





p.s. has anyone used the Shark brand Steam Mop? It's on sale this week and I REALLY want it, if it's worth it.

Embarrassment to Society

I will never understand why some people choose to air their dirty laundry out on facebook.
I mean, yes, it entertains me to read that you cheated on your boyfriend with a married man and now you don't understand why he doesn't want you anymore. Or that you had a baby and didn't know you were even pregnant, but COME ON people.....who in their right mind thinks it's okay to share that kind of stuff with the world your so-called friends? Don't we have any kind of values or morals these days? I guess reality t.v. really has rotted our brains.

MilSpouse Blog Hop :)

My sister told me about this Military Spouse blog hop being sponsored by Riding the Roller Coaster and I wanted to join in.

Hey ya'll! My name is Jamie. My husband Aaron is a member of the Army National Guard, and is currently enrolled in ROTC while finishing college.

We started dating in high school, and just got married this past December. We don't have any kids, but we do have one sweet puppy, Kami.

We're from a small town in Alabama, and although I know I'm going to miss this place when we start moving around, I'm ready to go!
Anyways, I don't have a theme for my blog, I just say whatever is on my mind at the moment. If you stick around long enough you will see anything from meal plans & recipes, to movie reviews & art work.
I'm looking forward to meeting other military spouses, so just stop by and say hi anytime!