Fill In The Blank Friday 3

1.  When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is, check my Facebook...that's embarrassing .

2.   I can hardly wait for   my sister coming to visit in about two weeks and getting to move! We got news that they're trying to push hubby through training in time to graduate June 6 instead of June 30. The people I've met here have been awesome and I love the beach...other than that I can't wait to get out of here  .

3.  The quickest way to my heart is     fro-yo   because    it's incredibly delicious, like ice cream, but I can rationalize it by telling myself its healthy(er than ice cream...) and I can top i with lots of yummy fruit.

4. A little known fact about me is that     I play guitar! I took lessons for three years and continued to play several times a week until I was 20. I don't play very much anymore, and never in front of people  .

5. The best part about my job is    ...I'll get back to you when I have one...

6. Something I just couldn't live without is    my furbaby Miles. He keeps me company while hubby is gone and makes me smile when I really don't wanna.

7.  Something useful that I wish I knew how to do is   coupon. I tried my hand at it for awhile, I just don't get how people do it!

fill in the blank friday 2

I'm taking a break from packing for this weekend to write a quick post. I'm lacking any great inspiration so this will have to do! 

1.  Today is a great day because, I'm going to Alabama with the youth group I volunteer with for a weekend retreat. I'm not particularly excited about being in Alabama, but spending time with the amazing kids in the youth group is always a good time .

2.   Tomorrow I will   be exercising a great deal of self-control because the girls will undoubtedly keep me up until 3:00 or later tonight, followed by a 7:00 wake up and I will be incredibly grumpy due to the sleep deprivation.

3.  My favorite time of day is    the evening     because   it's the only time of day when Jon is home and every now and then had a few free hours to relax with me.

4. Sometimes you just have to    sleep 'til noon. I don't care if you judge me!

5. A song that I just can't get enough of lately is   'We Are Young' by Fun!

6. My favorite accessory is   my engagement & wedding rings obviously!

7.  My favorite thing about this week was  um...this week really sucked to be honest...I guess I'll go with finishing 'Catching Fire' and being this close to finishing 'Mockingjay'.

Deception

Every night I go to bed determined to wake up and go run or go to a class at the gym, or both! And every morning I wake up having totally and completely lost all determination I had built up the previous night. I follow my routine of eating a bowl of cereal while watching The Rachael Ray Show, The View, The Chew, etc... and sitting around doing housework and school work and telling myself I'll workout with Jon when he gets home. The problem is, sometimes he gets home at 8:00pm. Sometimes he gets home at 5:30 when I have to leave for youth group or bible study at 5:45. There's my easy excuse.

Today I woke up and was legitimately planning to do some P90X or go running or biking or to the gym. I was so into the idea that I made the resolution to blog about my fitness goals and progress. I even took the "before" pictures! I ate some breakfast and sat down to do some schoolwork to allow my stomach to digest. I did my work and then went and changed into my workout gear, put on my shoes, and put CardioX into the dvd player. I did the warm up. Then I began telling myself it was too hard. I couldn't do it. I'm not strong enough. I'm too out of shape. I might as well quit now. And I did. I inexplicably turned off the tv, went upstairs, took a shower, and forgot about the whole thing.

As overwhelming the feelings of regret and defeat are, it's not enough for me to go try again. I face this struggle every single day. Not just with working out either, but with anything I'm uncertain of. I never leave my comfort zone. I rarely try new things. I'm so afraid of failure and rejection that I don't even try. I let my doubt convince me that it's better to not even try. There are so many things in my life that I'm unhappy with. Some I can honestly do nothing about. But for the most part if I just had an ounce of real determination I could accomplish my "goals". I'm unhappy with my body, not just because the way it looks, but because I know it symbolizes a deeper problem. I'm unhealthy. I'm unhappy with how much crappy food I put into my body. I'm unhappy about how long it's taking me to do finish this course I'm taking. I'm unhappy with my lack of spiritual growth.

Perhaps I need to turn my attention away from myself for once and focus on something bigger. God. I'm not one of those crazies who is always yelling 'the Devil made me do it' or looking for a demon under every rock. But I do wholeheartedly believe that every single person who claims the name of Christian faces a spiritual battle. Satin is always trying to turn us away from God's path for our lives in any way he can. The number one thing I've learned about Satin is that he is a liar. A deceiver. Upon reflecting on my current predicament, it's clear to me that my struggle lies deeper than the mundane problem of not wanting to work out. I'm so out of touch with my Creator, my Savior, that I am listening to every single one of Satin's deceptions. He tells me I can't do it. And I believe it. Whether it's working out or sitting down to pray. The resolution to every problem in my life, EVERY problem, is that I don't follow God's word. I don't spend time in the Bible, I don't earnestly pray. I don't listen to his guidance and will. How much easier, better, happier, healthier could life be if I did?

Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

broccoli rabe

Yesterday my hubby finally came home from his weekend away for work. I wanted to have a super yummy dinner ready for him when he came through the door. This recipe is one of my favorites. It's fairly healthy, made with chicken sausage and broccoli rabe (aka rapini). Prior to this recipe I had never heard of broccoli rabe before (and I still don't know how to pronounce it...) but it's delicious! It had a pretty bitter taste, but mixed with the savory chicken sausage and the spicy red pepper it is amazing. It's a leafy vegetable that I have only found at Publix, usually placed with the lettuce, collard greens, and herbs. It has weird little heads that somewhat resemble broccoli on it. Chicken sausage can have varying nutritional value. I used Publix organic Green Wise chicken sausage.

Orecchiette - 'little ears'

Orecchiette is something else that I had never heard of before this recipe. It's a small, round pasta that means "little ears". The only place I have been able to find this, unfortunately, is Wal-Mart (which I desperately try to avoid). I cut the recipe in half when I make it, since the recipe makes a ton, and Jon and I always half left overs from the halved recipe! The original recipe was from Gina's Skinny Recipes, where you can find the full six serving recipe and nutrition information.



For 3 servings:

Ingredients:
-1 bunch broccoli rabe, washed and trimmed (I use a full bunch even when I cut the recipe in half because I like I like it so much!)
-1/2 lb lean chicken sausage (could use a vegetarian sausage substitute!)
-olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
-5oz orecchiette
-1/2C low sodium fat free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
-1/4C grated Parmesan cheese
-crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the broccoli rabe in quarters and add to the water when it comes to a rolling boil. Blanch for about 2 minutes, drain, and set aside.

 Bring another pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook to al dente. 

In a large pan brown sausage on medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces. Mine came in a casing so I just cut it open and took out the sausage. When cooked, set aside.

Turn up heat to medium high and coat pan with olive oil. When olive oil is heated add garlic and cook until golden. Add brocoli rabe back to the pan. Mix well with salt and pepper to taste and sautee about a minute.Add the cooked sausage to the pan and mix together. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. 

Reduce heat and stir for a few seconds. Add the broth, parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. Add more salt and pepper if desired.Toss everything together until well mixed and serve. YUM!

Sunday Blessings Link-up

• LOVE: Today marks day three of being husbandless. For flight school he has to do a certain number of 'cross country' flights. They don't actually fly across the country usually, just several hours away, this time to Nashville, TN. They say that absence makes the the heart grow fonder. Having spent three years of our five year relationship in a long distance relationship we know both the truth and the falseness of this old saying. One of the great things about being married is that we get to see each other every day, but it's also a bit of a curse because, as with anything, I get to used to having him that I begin to take him for granted. One of the things about the military that I have a love/hate relationship with is that it forces us to be apart more than we otherwise would. It sucks having to be alone, to have to go to bed at night without another body there, to have no one to make dinner for, but the time apart always gives us a chance to reset and appreciate each other. It's sad that we have to spend time apart to realize how much we enjoy each other. Of course we love each other, but being apart makes us realize just how much we do actually like each other. Jon is my absolute best friend and he means the world to me. When he's gone I miss even the things he does that drive me crazy. I can't wait to see him tonight!

• FAITH: After a long two days of being alone I went to church this morning, as usual. I've been feeling pretty down this week because Autumn moved on Wednesday and she was basically my last friend here. Combine that with Jon being gone this weekend and I was miserable all week anticipating the weekend. I got to church today and just immediately sighed with relief. Our church here is awesome. There are so many kind, caring people who are genuine about their faith. They truly live out what they believe. Being someone who has to move a lot it's been my experience so far that finding a church family that truly welcomes you and offers you opportunities to become part of their family when they know you will be leaving is rare. But LTC has done that for us from the very first day we stepped in the door. Today I was surrounded with church family, some that have become good friends, and was just reminded of how blessed I am to have these people in my life, these people that even though I've only known them for less than a year, would do just about anything to help me. 

• EDUCATION: I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I'm currently working on getting certified to do medical coding and billing. The work is boring and tedious and I really have no interest in it, other than it may help me get a job. The blessing lies in the fact that I've been able to do this course for free through a military spouse assistance program AND that as of Friday I'm officially 3/4 of the way done with it!

I hope everyone has a great week! I encourage you all to link up with Kaity and spend some time thinking about how you've been blessed this week!

Fill in the Blank Friday!

Because I've been horrible at keeping up this blog, I'm going to settle for a link up due to my utter lack of inspiration (and...they're kinda fun!). So here I go with

from The Little Things We Do!

1.  Today is a good day because I'm getting a lot done around the house (ok, not at this exact moment). Hubby is gone on a flight for the weekend so I don't have much to do except all the housework I've put off all wee. AND I just learned this morning that my Florida BFF that moved last week is coming back this weekend, YAY!

2.   The best thing I did all week was start reading Catching Fire. SO GOOD.

3.  The current weather is   sunny and amazingly perfect    and it makes me feel super bummed because I have no one to go to the beach with!

4. The best thing about spring is    PERFECT beach weather.

5. A fashion trend that I'm dying to try out for spring is  colored skinny jeans. I want some so very badly!

6. A person who made me smile this week was   Autumn, my Florida BFF! The suckiest thing about the military is having to say goodbye to all the amazing friends you meet, but we had a great last week together!

7.  The most delicious thing I ate all week was  probably a cup of raspberry Chobani. The husband and I almost totally abandoned our plant-based diet this week and basically subsisted off of crappy pizza. Embarrassing...

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! I'll be back Sunday for some Sunday Blessings!

[Palm] Sunday Blessings Link-up

Linking up (officially this time!) with (Bee)autiful Blessings for another dose of...

Family

My mother-in-law texted me this morning to tell me that she had gotten a call from a bride-to-be who was having a destination wedding in Jamaica this summer and asked her to be her photographer! Since she is a professional photographer this wasn't at all suspicious. BUT. Then she asked me if I would want to go with her to help her with her equipment and everything! Just as soon as I ecstatically accepted she reminded me that today is in fact April Fool's Day. What a let down. So as much as I would love for my first blessing to be that I will be going to Jamaica this year, I guess I'll 'settle' for thanking God for my family. While I may spend too much time agonizing over our differences, I'm blessed to have a fun, loving bunch of in-laws who have welcomed me into their family. They have helped me in so many ways, from letting me spend countless days and nights at their home visiting my now husband, to letting me ride with them to Virginia to see him graduate OCS, to helping us afford a honeymoon. They really have taken me in as one of their own and for that I am truly thankful!

Health

Thursday morning I woke up with a pain directly below my jaw and what felt like a bump, but since it wasn't visible my husband convinced me that I had just slept wrong and we ignored it. Friday morning I woke up and the right side of my face was about six time larger than the left. After calling the doctor and not being able to get an appointment I spoke with the triage nurse at the clinic. From the symptoms I described she guessed that it had something to do with my teeth or jaw and would require oral surgery. She instructed me to get to the ER before the swelling started to constrict my breathing. Naturally I immediately began convincing myself that I couldn't breathe and spent the three hours waiting for my husband to get out of work doing relaxation exercises to regulate my breathing. Once at the ER the doctors (after much research) diagnosed me with parotitis, or an infection in the salivary duct. With a steroid shot of the swelling, they sent me home with the expectation that it would be gone within five to nine days. We're on day three and the swelling is practically gone. I'm so thankful it wasn't anything more serious and especially that I didn't need surgery!

Miles

I don't mention him too much, but I have just about the cutest, fluffiest, most loveable little fur baby ever. My little pup makes me happy on my saddest days. When Jon works until 11:00 at night he keeps me company. When Jon has duty over night, or for three days, Miles keeps Jon's side of the bed warm. It's amazing how much having someone to care for, even if that 'someone' is a dog, can really lift your spirits! I'm pretty sure he could tell that something was wrong on Friday while I laid on the couch trying to take my mind off of my ever growing jaw because he hopped right up on my tummy and snuggled with me until Jon got home. I don't know what I'd do without my little Miles!

Friends

The one part of military life that I've been dreading the most is now coming to fruition. Saying goodbye. Three of my closest friends here have already left over the last few months. One of them I wasn't that close with, one of them was just one of those friends you could only take so much of at a time, and the third one was my first friend here and though I missed her, I still had a lot of other girls here. But now my closest friend here, and my last, is moving next week! I'm so not ready to say goodbye to her. She is fun, spontaneous, and outgoing. We've gone on a trip to Panama City together, had a few too many cocktails together on a few occasions, saved each other from gatherings with way too many breastfeeding babies, and gotten our ears pierced together. I will truly miss her. I always feel blessed to meet people, and befriend people, who are basically opposite of my personality. I'm quiet, reserved, and shy and I love being around people who make me break out of my comfort zone. We've made a pact to take a trip to meet each other for at least one weekend once a year. I know that's a tradition we will definitely be able to keep!