Once in a lifetime experience

I have to jump back to Japan because I have so much left to share. Especially this particular day that will forever be engrained in my brain as one of the neatest most amazing experiences of my life. Not many get this opportunity and I was honored to be a part of it.

The day after arriving in Japan, I got to go on the USS George Washington, the nuclear aircraft carrier, for an entire day. I got to experience it leaving port, going out to sea, an airshow, fighter jets taking off, landing, a personal tour throughout the entire ship (by my one and only), and it returning to port.

In one word it was AMAZING

We had to get up fairly early to get breakfast on the boat, and let me tell you…ship food is something to pass up. I feel for the deployed. It was served in the hangar bay, and holy moly, it was so incredibly humid there, every single person was dripping sweat, and all the military personnel had to be in their uniforms. I felt for them even more.

The halls and ladders require a person to be in shape. Stepping over, climbing up, walking through, going down… it had me lost and turned around, all while {quietly} (…I have a reputation to uphold) huffing and puffing as we took ladder after ladder to go higher and higher.

Walking around the flight deck had me so giddy and nervous inside. Between you and me, I get really nervous around G-man’s work because I want to act proper, not mess anything up, and play by the rules. It’s like I imagine myself as a child walking through a china shop and having to hold my hands together so I won’t bump or break anything. I get that nervous. I loosened up eventually but as I told G-man at one point, I just don’t want to embarrass him in any way around his peers.

-he quickly put it to rest that I could never embarrass him-

Like everyone else, we had free reign of {almost} the entire ship, walking around at our leisure, enjoying all the little ins and outs of the ship, so G-man let me take my time as I walked around the flight deck, soaking it all up. It was memorable.

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40 years later

October is in full swing with the crisp mornings and just perfect afternoons here, and they’ve been so lovely to enjoy. I find myself getting outside on the back patio more and more soaking in the softer sun as I listen to all the little birdies chirp.

The weekend was much of that. The sun, the birds, the constant hunger… I mean… I’ll save that topic for another day.

Today marks a pretty big day over here in this family. It’s a day of celebration. 40 years ago, my parents said “I do”.

40 years ago!

Craziness.

In that time they moved countless times, been through a number of ups and downs, had 4 beautiful children {if I may be so bold to say…not to mention the 4th kid, she really is something extra special..} and 11 grand children.

plus… this little bean

Blessed.

4 year anniversary

I discovered a box of photos and have had fun looking back over their years (if you can’t tell). I’m so thankful they’re my parents. They’re gracious and loving, supportive and encouraging. And I get to call them mine.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad. I love you both!

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What have I done!?? Day 1 of 30

It started out very simple. My friend and I were texting back and forth about her workouts and eating habits and I made the small suggestion of tweaking her diet to see if that would further her goal to get fit.

Cutting out sugar was mentioned, she said it would be very difficult for her, and before I knew what my fingers were doing, I asked her if she’d like me to join her in cutting out sugar, to help keep her motivated and she came back with yes.

::panic::

You know when you casually suggest something for moral support but weren’t exactly prepared to follow through with it? Or at least have the other person come back with an “are you sure?” to have that little out?? That didn’t happen, and I was in the thick of it. So YES I said, I’d be happy to help her because it would mean “helping me”.

Yes, I actually fed that line to myself.

Now don’t get me wrong. I need this. She needs this and I agreed excitedly (if not with a little fear) because we could all stand to rein in the sugar intake. She’s going to have just as difficult a time as I will so we can lean on each other when we’re in the fetal position suffering major withdrawals.

Once I told my mom of this, she wasn’t all that thrilled. (sorry mom). The entire month of October? This is the month of FALL. Of homey warm deliciousness, of baked goods and comfort foods…how on earth could I possibly of all the months in the year, do this to October??

::hangs head in shame::

Knowing that, it will be tough. Even before knowing that, I knew it would be tough, but I’ve committed to my friend, and no {refined} sugars will enter this mouth for the next 30 days. Dear Lord, this will be a detox like no other. All I can say is thank GOODNESS I’m down to a 1/2 a spoon of sugar in my coffee. If I had agreed to do this while still taking 2 mounded spoons of sugar, I honestly don’t know what would have become of me.

It wouldn’t have been pretty, friends.

So, today marks day 1.

Any words of wisdom, strength, prayer, uplifting quotes, poems, passages, supportive words, virtual hugs you have to spare to get me through this time is begged for welcomed.

                                                         cue dramatic music for the many steps to climb.

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Not your average Snickerdoodles

Years and years ago, my Sergeant brought in these cookies and he was kind enough to give me one. I remember I went nuts for them. Declaring my love (to the cookie) and demanding he get the recipe from his wife. I didn’t even know his wife, but I didn’t care. I wanted more and she had to supply it to me.

Thing was, she was a little reluctant to give it. Instead of a recipe, she’d give me a clear bag of all the dry ingredients mixed together with the remaining instructions to bake the cookies. It satisfied my need for them, but not for having it broken down so I could make them as often as I wanted.

3 more times she gave me the bag of dry ingredients, before I pleaded with her to give me the recipe. By this point months had gone by, we had become friends (it helps when you gush over someone’s cookies), and she finally conceded and I had the recipe in my hands.

First thing I noticed was how simple it was. So very simple. I’ve seen many other snickerdoodle recipes and they called for so many things, but not this one. That only served to have me fall in love with them more.

I made them and they were perfection. what can I say? I’m an exceptional baker.

Having it for years, I think it’s high time I share it with you all so you too can have perfection in the form of a snickerdoodle cookie.

One tip of mine while baking them. Under bake. I’m a major advocate for soft cookies. Hard cookies aren’t enjoyable to me. They crumble… no no no.

So when it says bake for 8-10 minutes, plan on taking them out around 8-9 minutes. I tested the first batch (in a new to me oven) this last time at 9:15 minutes and though they were soft, I took all the others out at 9. Maybe you think I’m crazy, but it’s a science and 9 minutes made them perfectly soft yet firm. (my old oven I would take them out at 8) Snickerdoodles are meant to be soft.

just sayin’

Snickerdoodles

In a bowl combine the dry:

2 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

((if you want to give this as a gift, combine all those above in a cellophane bag with a ribbon and give them the following instructions))

1 C softened butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a mixer or large bowl, cream the butter until light, add the eggs and beat until the mixture is smooth. Add the dry ingredient mix slowly and continue to beat until the dough begins to form. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mix. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Go forth and make many merry, my friends, by making these delectable cookies.

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Weekend roundup

Last day of the month! Crazy this is the end of September…already! It couldn’t have ended any better than how it did, with my family coming to visit. Ok, so they didn’t come to visit me as much as they came to visit everyone, but it was great all the same.

With my brother here with his family and my sister with hers, it was a full house. 8 kids and 7 adults; with the tv on, made for a very loud house, but the giggles and cuddles made up for the noise level. We had taco night Wednesday, a massive BBQ Thursday and a birthday party Saturday. I’m pretty sure that was the busiest my schedule has looked in months… ok, years. It would have been bigger had I remembered I was supposed to go to a college volleyball game with my sister Friday.

Some from the long weekend.

Yes, that would be my mountain man brother and little bitty sister.

It was a great time spent with family with naps in the sun on the patio snuck in. I’m becoming quite fond of naps.

How did your weekend turn out?

Oh Oh and you have to check out this article (if you haven’t heard about it already). It’s about a UT football coach who suspended his whole team. Well the neat thing is, is that I know the coach! He was at my high school when I was there, so it makes it an even greater story, not to mention seeing where he is these days.

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how to pack for long trips (part 2)

I’ve been thinking awhile about it and thought back to my first trip ever outside the US (I choose to ignore my Tijuana day trip), to Europe in 2010, and I really wish I had known what to pack.

I wasn’t blogging then…didn’t even know the word “blogging”, so I had no one to reference (let me rephrase: I had no woman to reference) to be sure what I should pack and what I should leave at home.

It was a 2 1/2 week trip, spanning 3 countries in the DEAD OF WINTER. Please anyone, talk us out of that next time. It was completely romanticized, going for Christmas and New Years to Rome, Paris and England, but then Paris had the worst winter they’d seen in over 100 years and our friend’s house in Northern England had radiators dispersed in a room here and a hall there that they didn’t like using (as often as we wished) so us poor {sick} Americans were fully clothed with jackets and blankets on almost the entire time.

But packing for that winter was hard!

I digress.

Since that trip, I’ve traveled quite a bit more. I’ve made several trips to Hawaii, and while that’s not international, it’s still a big trip that was generally no less than 10 days, at most 3 months at a time…the shortest, 2 1/2 days…(which I'll never forget). Then I’ve been to Mexico and Japan twice.

Even though they’re completely different in the way of climates, I became methodical with the clothes I brought to maximize space, reduce the over-packing and still have outfits to wear. It hit me with all my trips to Hawaii, that I tended to wear the same t-shirts all.the.time, so my packing became non existent over time, though I’d still bring 1 nice top or maxi.

This last trip to Japan, I knew it would be blazing hot and incredibly humid. So light was key, but again, I definitely wanted variety and as much as I tote the I’m a ‘light packer’ bit, it’s really not true. So to help fit everything in, I read up on the supposed ‘flight attendant’s way to pack’…and I’m a believer!

And what’s their way? Rolling. Friends, let me tell you this is the most space saving way I’ve ever packed.

You can see that all of my clothes are on the bottom, nice and neatly rolled. I definitely didn’t leave anything behind. I made sure I had plenty to get me through the 3 weeks I’d be in Japan and I have to say I wore every single article of clothing too, except one top…and that wasn’t for lack of trying either. Darn pants didn’t match. But everything was utilized.

As I continued packing, I put all my bigger items on top. of course I had to bring Dunkin..

I still had a ridiculous amount of room left over for my makeup bag and final bathroom essentials I’d put in there the morning of the flight.

There’s a lot of things that I have to take on the plane when I fly. I mentioned the essentials yesterday, but beyond those, I have to carry on my laptop (can’t risk another broken screen!), my camera, 2 lenses, my iPad, phone, wallet, sweater, socks, and headphones (with it’s horribly bulky case).

It’s A LOT!! So I put everything into my new favorite travel tote that I got at Kohl’s. It’s not all cutsie and it doesn’t scream I’m into fashion. It’s practical with 3 compartments, its big and sturdy and it works wonders. Just how I like ‘em.

With all that inside, it becomes incredibly heavy. (I blame that silly laptop), but having to carry everything on the plane really helps free up more room in the checked bag. And it works as my one personal item, so I ditch the purse (you can see I packed it in the checked bag), and use the tote the entire flight.

After my 3 weeks was up, and I gave G-man all his little goodies, I discovered that I had a lot less stuff. So I challenged myself to fit it all into a carry on bag and I couldn’t believe it, but I did it!

I’ll admit that I left my moccasins, my big jewelry travel case (the teal thing in the above pictures) and my hair towel behind but everything else I rolled up and fit in the carry on and all the tote items went right back into their proper places. It was a tight squeeze, but I was thrilled I succeeded in packing 3 weeks worth of stuff into the carry on.


by the way, the yellow thing is the bag with my shoes in them…in case you’re curious.Rolling. It’s the greatest thing to do when packing for long trips. I highly recommend it. If anything, it allows you to pack more..I mean..who am I kidding, I mean pack more!

How do you pack?

Have you ever done the rolling method?

Or are you such a light packer, it doesn’t matter how you pack, you’re a carry on person regardless?
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What should I bring on the plane? (part 1)

Do you ever wonder what you should take with you for an international flight? When I first flew internationally in 2010, I had no idea. I blindly followed the flight attendants, wishing for this or that when I didn’t have something that would have been useful and made due.

Since that trip, I’ve traveled quite a bit more.

With international flights, there are some things that you absolutely can’t live without while on the plane. Here are just a few I’ve found vital.

+ Pen! – you need a pen to fill out your customs cards. Its best to fill them out before landing since the lines can be very very long. (just imagine your entire plane of 200-300 people racing toward that one line) Stopping at the tables to fill them out will only serve to put you at the end of that very long line.

speaking of very long customs lines, if you’re a US citizen…
+ Global Entry card. If you travel and fly into an international airport that has Global Entry, GET IT! It will allow you to bypass those hideous lines, scan your passport and leave those poor sad tired people to stand there for (sometimes) hours. It’s been an incredible lifesaver for every single one of my re-entries.

+ Passport and airline ticket. These are needed for your customs cards, so its best to have them next to that pen, for easy access. Sarah shared this great travel wallet that would take care of that for you.

+ Socks and sweater. The flight is cold. There’s nothing worse than being cold the entire flight when all you want to do is be cozy and sleep.

+ Noise canceling headphones. For international flights, they’re practically mandatory.

+ A back up t-shirt. You never know if you’ll spill or…ummm stink up the one you’ve been wearing for the past 15 hours. Smelling fresh is always welcome with a clean top.

+ iPad and movies pre-downloaded. I say this, but check with your airline to see if they offer individual tvs w/free movies on the flight. Air Canada did, so I never touched my iPad once, while Hawaiian Airlines makes you pay $15 to watch their movies, so I made sure to load up my iPad in those cases.

There’s plenty of small things that can be brought as well that don’t make my essential list:
water, snacks, credit card to buy duty free food if you get hungry, comfy pants if you aren’t in them already (I wear my leggings), hair tie for the crazy static that can happen, neck pillow… to name a few.

a little flashback.
Mexico

Japan

Hawaii

Italy

France

What are some things that you have to have while on your flight? The essentials I missed that come with you no matter what?

Tomorrow I’m going to show how to pack for 3 weeks in a full sized suitcase and then in a carry on. Oh yes, it happened. Be amazed…

ps..I realize Hawaii isn’t international, but it’s still a minimum 5 hour flight, so these become necessities just as much as everywhere else.

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