Showing my support...

Etsy.com is one of the best websites. If you haven't discovered it (or stumbleupon.com, or pinterest.com)...well...you are missing out. People around the world sell their handmade, craft, and vintage items and it's a great website for home decor ideas as well as gifts. Once Ben left, I decided to canvas the site to see if they had any fun things for military wives...well little did I know...there's pages and pages of jewelry, signs, keychains, clothing, mugs etc that support military families and people who have loved ones overseas. I went right away to ordering some fun stuff to remind me of Ben while he's gone.

First of all, we all know my love for anything coffee. I found the neatest mug online that you can personalize. It's two little birds on a tree branch. On the tree trunk the girl painted a yellow ribbon and our names to look like they were carved on the tree. I now drink coffee out of this every morning...next thing to order is a personalized tervis! lol.

You can order it here

Another neat thing I found on Etsy was a yellow ribbon bracelet. Works really similar to tying a yellow ribbon outside on a tree (but I will not do because i live alone....)...Except it's on your arm. It's a little brass bow and a black cord. You're supposed to tie it on your arm and wear it constantly until your soldier gets home. Then break it off! I ordered this as well. I have friends whose husbands are leaving soon and think it's an awesome gift idea as well! :)

Having these things help remind me that there is a bigger purpose to this than just Ben being away from me. He is helping in the fight for our freedom, my freedom. I am so proud of him and so thankful for what he is doing.

PS.

Of course I didn't want Taco to feel left out. I ordered him a new dog tag with a yellow ribbon. Now he jingles everywhere he goes, and I smile every time I see that ribbon on his tag.  He also gets to wear a cute little bandana around his collar- "I'm on duty while dad's deployed."

and just like that...He's gone.

Day One.

My husband left for Afghanistan this morning...our first deployment.


Since I've moved to Texas it's been this dark cloud hanging over our heads. You wait for months, wondering when you're going to get THE date, wishing, hoping, praying that time will just please slow down. Then you get that date. Then the counting down starts. You always have this countdown left of the days you have left together before he leaves. Eventually the stress and anxiety of a deployment can really take a toll on a relationship.

I didn't have any idea how I would feel when he finally had to walk out that door. I spent the week stressing about how upset I was going to be and how I was going to get through the day.  As hard as I wanted to be strong for him, I couldn't get my mind away from how hard it would be to say goodbye. Most of yesterday was spent in sporadic bursts of tears- a song, a sign, hugging him.

We woke up at 3:25am, helped him pack the last of things. And then I hugged him tight, kissed him, told him I loved him and blew one last kiss as he walked out the door. And then...

I was okay. While it felt (and continues to feel) like a part of my heart was missing already, I felt this strange sense of calm and relief. Its. Finally. Here. No longer do we have to count up, now we can count down. No longer do we have to wish time would slow down, only for it to speed up. Deployment in a military life is inevitable, and while this will be a difficult time for both of us, each day brings us back to being together once again.

 

I am overwhelmed with the support from friends and family. There are so many people who have offered prayers, thoughts, and encouragement over the past few days. It means the world to both of us, and I can't thank everyone enough.

He put a Ring on it!

I have the sweetest husband. He likes to plan nice weekends for us to go enjoy together when we both have a few days off together. Last year he took me to Cancun, in February he took me to San Antonio for Valentine's Day.

So, when he said he wanted to go away for a weekend over Easter, I agreed right away, not thinking anything out of the ordinary. In the morning we agreed to sleep in, and as soon as we woke up I gave him his Easter basket!

Side note: Easter has always been a fun holiday for me, especially being a pastor's daughter (yes, I am one of those). My parents *excuse me* I mean, the Easter Bunny, would always hide my basket in the house for me to find. And it became a tradition every year to get a chocolate bunny. One year my mom introduced me to frozen chocolate- and every year I began putting my bunny in the freezer so I could eat it frozen later.

This year, our first Easter together, I packed B's basket with all sorts of silly things. After I gave him the basket, he told me that I had to wait for mine until we got to The Hollows- the place where we were staying for the weekend. So we finish packing and go on our way.

The Hollows is a vacation spot on Lake Travis, a large, gorgeous lake in Texas. We checked in at the front gate- little did I know that he had rented our own condo! We actually had to drive about 3 miles from the visitors center. We get there...and this is not any condo.

TWO bedrooms, TWO bathrooms, a LAUNDRY room, a GARAGE, a full kitchen, a BBQ grill and a huge porch with a dining area and a couch too! I was in awe (and yet still clueless that anything was up).

So with an open mouth, we proceed to unpack our bags and explore our new surroundings. Ben brings in my Easter basket and hands it to me. Explains: its not as packed as the one you gave me because this weekend is your Easter present (duh). There was a large chocolate bunny sitting on top of my basket. So B asks, "Why don't we go explore the Hollows and find a place later to watch the sunset and we can bring the bunny and eat it?" And I say, "Okay! Good idea. Let's put it in the freezer!" He looks at me strangely but proceeds to put the chocolate bunny in our freezer.

After spending the day exploring, we found a spot to watch the sunset. We cooked a delicious dinner in our kitchen, grabbed the bunny, and headed out to our special spot to enjoy the rest of our evening.

We chose a spot called  "the amphitheater", a hollowed out place with a beautiful view of the lake. After sitting and talking for awhile, B asked me if I was ready to eat the bunny. I said, sure! (STILL utterly and completely clueless). Then he goes, "Do you want the feet or the ears?" And I said, "The ears." Then, "I'm going to show you a trick. Count to three..."

1...
2...
3...

He breaks the bunny open, and nestled inside was the most beautiful, unexpected sight. A little black box. And inside, is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.


And the rest is history :) I said, "yes!"

Super Easy Spinach Dip

I have a spouses group from B's squadron that I get together with every once and awhile for dinner/a get together. Our most recent get together was a pot luck and makeup party. I go through stages with food where I crave certain things all the time (does anyone else have this problem?). Most recently it's been spinach dip. I normally just buy it from restaurants, or TGI Friday's frozen version, but for our pot luck I wanted to try my hand at making it from scratch! I found a super easy recipe here.

I was nervous about picking a recipe with frozen vs. uncooked spinach- this one had uncooked.

So here it goes:

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• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch baby spinach, rinsed (you need a TON of spinach- at least two bags)
• 1/2 cup white wine (a nice chard)
• salt and pepper to taste
• hot sauce to taste 
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (i added cream cheese instead)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (this wasn't on there but i added it)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and add garlic, baby spinach, and white wine. Cook until spinach is wilted. Mix in salt and pepper and hot sauce. 

I cooked the spinach for at least 7 minutes. And oh boy, does your kitchen smell good.

After the spinach is cooked, remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl.

Mix the green onion, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese (or mayo) and half and half into the bowl with the spinach mixture, and then transfer to a medium baking dish.

I found that I didn't use nearly enough spinach. It's hard to judge how much you are using when the measurement is a "bunch." I think next time I'm going to try one package of defrosted frozen spinach, and see if that adds a little more to the recipe.

Bake the mixture until bubbly and lightly browned, around 20 minutes.

Everyone loved the recipe (despite my lack of spinach). You can't really go wrong mixing cheese and white wine together and baking it...

Can't wait to try this recipe again and I would definitely suggest bringing it to a party!

I am so thankful to have found this group of ladies. They understand all that I am going through and I know that I'll be able to lean on them throughout Ben's deployment. We always have a blast and I am looking forward to our next get together! If you're a 3WS Spouse please feel free to shoot me a message on my facebook- we'd love to have you join us!

I wanted to bring a dessert to our little potluck as well, and decided to try these next Cheesecake Brownies by Pillsbury. Add some chocolate chunks on top and they are to die for. I would definitely suggest them as an awesome "out of the box" recipe!

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It's All in the Details

I have a whole new appreciation for DIY weddings and details. We had a small wedding with less than twenty people- and that was stressful! Luckily, many of the small details we were able to do ourselves.

one. instead of ordering my bouquet and our table centerpiece flowers, we were able to go to a small wholesale place in downtown Orlando. Yes, I spent the day before my wedding in a floral freezer with a winter coat on, picking out flowers for my wedding. How many brides get to do that!? We got 75 roses and many other flowers for less than $60.

two. we arranged our own flowers and bouquet. I sat on the floor and hand tied my bouquet together, and added all the pins. We tied raffia bows around mason jars and my family helped us set the tables.

three. we bought a super low-cost wedding arch at Hobby Lobby- but with a little tulle, ivy, and fresh flowers- it was perfect for our ceremony.

I never had any idea just how many details come with a wedding- I can't imagine how any of this could have happened without my family. I was so worried that everything wouldn't pull together- but it did- and it was a perfect day. DIY may seem cheaper, but you can't forget how much extra time it takes to actually "Do It Yourself." I've already hired a wedding coordinator for next year- and she'll decorate for me! More on our special day later :)