The baby is the size of a turnip this week. Wow! These emails I get weekly are helpful because they compare the baby's size to food...however, I have no idea what a 5 oz. 5 in. turnip looks like. So no help. Then there was the jumbo shrimp week, the cumquat week, medium lemon....Totally not helpful. Yet still funny.
This weekend the turnip and I ate some great food, and some not so great as well. Josh and I decided to try out a local pizza place Saturday night called the Mellow Mushroom. It was pretty good. It's no Minsky's that's for sure, but it was still delicious. Then Sunday after church we got invited to Applebees by a friend and I can't even tell you how bad their water tasted. It was like they had taken a glass that had been used to scoop up dirt in a garden, and then put it in storage right side up for about 10 years and then filled it with water. There could have been enough dirt in there to plant a turnip! Well, so it tasted. Sick. So, needless to say, I was forced to get raspberry lemonade. :)
Today is a boiler outside and it's not even 11am. Josh's office doesn't have AC so he's not going to be a happy camper. He's been trying to get it fixed for the last 3 weeks. Apparently it hasn't worked in 3 years. BUT, he's not giving up- he's been on their case to get something done everyday to get it closer to working. Hopefully he doesn't have a bad reputation with the maintenance dept. when this is all said and done! :)
I'm getting ready for a super fun trip starting on Thursday full of Kansas City and project friends and Michigan and family time! Whoo hoo!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
That Boy Loves Sweets Part 2.
When I Was Little and The College Years!
I know it's been awhile since the first installment, forgive me, I think I will dive right in.
When Josh was little, he was VERY sugar driven. Here are a few examples:
-When eating Starbursts, the 'double wrapped' candy became a problem...solution? Remove outer wrapper, eat individually wrapped candy, waxy paper and all.
-When his parents were out, Josh would make No-Bake Cheesecake and demolish all evidence that such a dessert was present in the house before they returned.
-The same could be said about brownie or cake batter. Everyone loves licking the spatula or mixers. Josh made just the batter, and finished as much as possible before caught, or forced to bake the remainder. If parents weren't present, it was hardly unreasonable to eat it all.
COLLEGE:
After Josh finished his college football career, he decided to take up a more cardiovascular oriented work out to change his figure from strong and intimidating to strong and lean machine. He did a pretty good job of making good sugar decisions, but on occasion, his monumental love of sweets would surface in full effect.
One day after a work out, Josh was really hungry for desert. He went to a gas station, bought a pack of Oreo's, then headed to Dairy Queen and ordered a large Oreo Blizzard and a large Shake. He added the Oreo's to the Blizzard and proceeded to sit in the parking lot and finish both off.
One night his roommates (one being Mr. Ryan Thomas) returned to the apartment to find Josh sitting in the dark, alone, watching Schindler's List with a pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade and an economy sized bag of Skittles (sorted on the coffee table by color). If Mike's wasn't sweet enough already, he would put Skittles in the drink to add flavor. :)
It's well known that one of Josh's favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's. I like to think that it's because you can actually get a lot of veggies in the food there (and I know that this is in part, one of the reasons he does like it). But, the prevailing reason is the Great Wall of Chocolate: six layers of rich chocolate cake frosted with semi-sweet chocolate chips served with raspberry sauce. When ordering this desert he is also known to ask the waiter for a large glass of milk. Side note: What makes this story so great, is he's never shared this dessert with anyone until he took me there on a date. :) Either he really likes me, or I can be fairly intimidating to people withholding chocolate...you can pick! :)
When Josh came back from Basic Training, my sister made him a 'Better Than Anything' cake to celebrate. I think it was gone in less than 12 hours. Speaking of Martha- every time we go visit, she makes cookies. Not just once. We were there for a few days one time and Josh would ask her to make more whenever they ran out. She made cookies 4 times. And I'm failing to remember any time we've left Michigan without a Ziploc FULL of cookies. Josh talks about them all the time. Whenever there is a chance that Marth and Ryan need our help with something, Josh bargains for DOZENS of cookies. "We'll be happy to...but it'll cost you 'x' number of cookies."
:) Seriously. He makes me laugh. I'm learning though, the last time I made jello cake, I purposefully bought a large Cool Whip container knowing I wouldn't use it all. I just put the left overs in the freezer. We'll see if there there next week. :)
I know it's been awhile since the first installment, forgive me, I think I will dive right in.
When Josh was little, he was VERY sugar driven. Here are a few examples:
-When eating Starbursts, the 'double wrapped' candy became a problem...solution? Remove outer wrapper, eat individually wrapped candy, waxy paper and all.
-When his parents were out, Josh would make No-Bake Cheesecake and demolish all evidence that such a dessert was present in the house before they returned.
-The same could be said about brownie or cake batter. Everyone loves licking the spatula or mixers. Josh made just the batter, and finished as much as possible before caught, or forced to bake the remainder. If parents weren't present, it was hardly unreasonable to eat it all.
COLLEGE:
After Josh finished his college football career, he decided to take up a more cardiovascular oriented work out to change his figure from strong and intimidating to strong and lean machine. He did a pretty good job of making good sugar decisions, but on occasion, his monumental love of sweets would surface in full effect.
One day after a work out, Josh was really hungry for desert. He went to a gas station, bought a pack of Oreo's, then headed to Dairy Queen and ordered a large Oreo Blizzard and a large Shake. He added the Oreo's to the Blizzard and proceeded to sit in the parking lot and finish both off.
One night his roommates (one being Mr. Ryan Thomas) returned to the apartment to find Josh sitting in the dark, alone, watching Schindler's List with a pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade and an economy sized bag of Skittles (sorted on the coffee table by color). If Mike's wasn't sweet enough already, he would put Skittles in the drink to add flavor. :)
It's well known that one of Josh's favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's. I like to think that it's because you can actually get a lot of veggies in the food there (and I know that this is in part, one of the reasons he does like it). But, the prevailing reason is the Great Wall of Chocolate: six layers of rich chocolate cake frosted with semi-sweet chocolate chips served with raspberry sauce. When ordering this desert he is also known to ask the waiter for a large glass of milk. Side note: What makes this story so great, is he's never shared this dessert with anyone until he took me there on a date. :) Either he really likes me, or I can be fairly intimidating to people withholding chocolate...you can pick! :)
When Josh came back from Basic Training, my sister made him a 'Better Than Anything' cake to celebrate. I think it was gone in less than 12 hours. Speaking of Martha- every time we go visit, she makes cookies. Not just once. We were there for a few days one time and Josh would ask her to make more whenever they ran out. She made cookies 4 times. And I'm failing to remember any time we've left Michigan without a Ziploc FULL of cookies. Josh talks about them all the time. Whenever there is a chance that Marth and Ryan need our help with something, Josh bargains for DOZENS of cookies. "We'll be happy to...but it'll cost you 'x' number of cookies."
:) Seriously. He makes me laugh. I'm learning though, the last time I made jello cake, I purposefully bought a large Cool Whip container knowing I wouldn't use it all. I just put the left overs in the freezer. We'll see if there there next week. :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Carroll.....Darrell?
I have been asked to present more information...so here it goes! :)
-We are 15 weeks pregnant...we are...I am...you get the picture and we are super excited. 4 months on Saturday!
-I am showing a little, not much. We'll put up some pictures as soon as we start taking them. I feel like it's not exciting yet, so maybe when I am actually pregnant looking, I'll put up some.
-Both Josh and I really like the specialist the Army referred us to. He's great, and has been doing high risk pregnancies/deliveries for 25 years. He even has another patient who has my exact heart defect repair right now.
-I am feeling really good. No major discomforts, and I have the opportunity to get plenty of sleep so that's great. The baby is about 3 1/2-4 inches long and weighs about 1.5 ounces.
-My technical due date is January 2nd...but since I'm high risk the Dr. told me to expect to have the baby around 37 weeks...which makes it December 11th.
-Martha is 7 weeks ahead of me (due Nov 15th)...but if all goes according to plan and I have the baby at 37 weeks....the cousins will be about a month apart. :)
-We are 15 weeks pregnant...we are...I am...you get the picture and we are super excited. 4 months on Saturday!
-I am showing a little, not much. We'll put up some pictures as soon as we start taking them. I feel like it's not exciting yet, so maybe when I am actually pregnant looking, I'll put up some.
-Both Josh and I really like the specialist the Army referred us to. He's great, and has been doing high risk pregnancies/deliveries for 25 years. He even has another patient who has my exact heart defect repair right now.
-I am feeling really good. No major discomforts, and I have the opportunity to get plenty of sleep so that's great. The baby is about 3 1/2-4 inches long and weighs about 1.5 ounces.
-My technical due date is January 2nd...but since I'm high risk the Dr. told me to expect to have the baby around 37 weeks...which makes it December 11th.
-Martha is 7 weeks ahead of me (due Nov 15th)...but if all goes according to plan and I have the baby at 37 weeks....the cousins will be about a month apart. :)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Change of Command Pictures
Turns out, one of Josh's soldiers took a bunch. So, here they are! Well, I guess I should explain what you're seeing first.
There is a formation of soldiers that are in the 35th MP Det. The 1SG (First Sergeant) calls them to attention. The Emcee then greets everyone and chats a bit about what's happening. The National Anthem is played. Then whilst the Emcee talks, a soldier presents the Out-going Commander's Wife with red roses...for love I guess. Then they present the In-coming Commander's Wife with yellow roses for friendship I guess... that's me! Then the command group ---Battalion Commander usually a Colonel or a LT Colonel...2 (LTC) or 3 (COL) ranks above Josh and about 10+ more years of experience...and the Out-going Commander (who Josh is replacing) and the Incoming (Josh)---- march out to right in front of the soldier formation and the 1SG represents the soldiers. The Guidon (the Company's colors) ((flags are very important in the military)) are passed from the "soldiers" to the current Commander who relinquishes command to the Battalion Commander who then gives command of the company to Josh by passing the guidon to him. Then Josh hands it back to the "soldiers" for some symbolic reason... Then the command group marches back and speeches begin. Col H goes first, then the Out-going Captain (no longer the commander at this point) says some closing remarks, then the new Commander speaks a bit about himself and closes by saying to the formation of Soldiers, something to the effect of..."all policies will remain in effect until further notice". Then the Commander (Josh) goes in front of the formation and tells them something, people salute each other, and then Josh turns and salute the Col. Then we all sing the Army song. (And usually the MP song, but I think it was getting to hot to add everything). Then we take formal pictures by the flags, and then the new Commander hosts a reception, and everyone mingles. :)
Ok, now you're prepared to see the pictures:
There is a formation of soldiers that are in the 35th MP Det. The 1SG (First Sergeant) calls them to attention. The Emcee then greets everyone and chats a bit about what's happening. The National Anthem is played. Then whilst the Emcee talks, a soldier presents the Out-going Commander's Wife with red roses...for love I guess. Then they present the In-coming Commander's Wife with yellow roses for friendship I guess... that's me! Then the command group ---Battalion Commander usually a Colonel or a LT Colonel...2 (LTC) or 3 (COL) ranks above Josh and about 10+ more years of experience...and the Out-going Commander (who Josh is replacing) and the Incoming (Josh)---- march out to right in front of the soldier formation and the 1SG represents the soldiers. The Guidon (the Company's colors) ((flags are very important in the military)) are passed from the "soldiers" to the current Commander who relinquishes command to the Battalion Commander who then gives command of the company to Josh by passing the guidon to him. Then Josh hands it back to the "soldiers" for some symbolic reason... Then the command group marches back and speeches begin. Col H goes first, then the Out-going Captain (no longer the commander at this point) says some closing remarks, then the new Commander speaks a bit about himself and closes by saying to the formation of Soldiers, something to the effect of..."all policies will remain in effect until further notice". Then the Commander (Josh) goes in front of the formation and tells them something, people salute each other, and then Josh turns and salute the Col. Then we all sing the Army song. (And usually the MP song, but I think it was getting to hot to add everything). Then we take formal pictures by the flags, and then the new Commander hosts a reception, and everyone mingles. :)
Ok, now you're prepared to see the pictures:
Monday, June 29, 2009
Random Catchup!
Not. Ketchup. Sick.
Lots of updates from GA. First of all, it's so dang hot here, might as well be a second tour in Iraq.
Secondly: We bought our very own second vehicle! The sharing a car was getting a little complicated. Wanna see a couple pictures? Ok. It's a '98 Honda Accord and we got a great deal on it! :)
Tri-ly, and most importantly: Josh is now officially a Company Commander! His change of command ceremony was last Friday morning, and I forgot the camera. Sorry. But, the pictures wouldn't have been very great from where I was sitting...front row, facing the sun. Not the most pleasant seat, but thankfully it was a short ceremony. So now we are attached to Army life 24/7 again. No late night phone calls yet though (I know it's only been 3 days). And, as the incoming Commander's wife I get yellow roses! :)
Quadruply: Josh found this in our kitchen a couple nights ago. He is petrified of spiders. We managed to scoot his wedding ring close enough for a size comparison, before I killed it.
Lots of updates from GA. First of all, it's so dang hot here, might as well be a second tour in Iraq.
Secondly: We bought our very own second vehicle! The sharing a car was getting a little complicated. Wanna see a couple pictures? Ok. It's a '98 Honda Accord and we got a great deal on it! :)
Tri-ly, and most importantly: Josh is now officially a Company Commander! His change of command ceremony was last Friday morning, and I forgot the camera. Sorry. But, the pictures wouldn't have been very great from where I was sitting...front row, facing the sun. Not the most pleasant seat, but thankfully it was a short ceremony. So now we are attached to Army life 24/7 again. No late night phone calls yet though (I know it's only been 3 days). And, as the incoming Commander's wife I get yellow roses! :)
Quadruply: Josh found this in our kitchen a couple nights ago. He is petrified of spiders. We managed to scoot his wedding ring close enough for a size comparison, before I killed it.
Monday, June 22, 2009
That Boy Loves Sweets!
I'm not sure I should say this out loud, but there is something I really like about Josh that I've never admitted before. Most of you know just how much he enjoys sweets, but the fact that sometimes I am so astonished at stories or experiencing incredible dessert feats with him I just can't stop laughing in disbelief...is something I kinda of enjoy. That is probably something I'll regret admitting in public. He does not seem to have a limit. There is no "too rich", "too sweet", "too full".
I try as hard as I can to help him make better decisions...and most of the time I am successful- he has gotten much better! The biggest help is that now that he really enjoys running and training for longer distance races, he can tell when he hasn't been eating so well. The closest I came to a successful moderation campaign was the few weeks I had Josh convinced that if he wasn't more careful about sweets he would develop a form of diabetes. (Since he was running 20-30 miles a week at the time I knew this was false, but he didn't). It worked for awhile till I had him so worried he started doing his own research and discovered the truth. It was pretty funny.
Well, I wanted to share with you, some of my most favorite stories about Josh's stomach. I've laughed so hard I've cried so many times listening to him, or others tell me about the experiences I wasn't around for, and the same for the ones I've personally witnessed. And, as hard as it may be to believe, all of these are true. I hope you enjoy Installment #1 of That Boy Loves Sweets! In no particular order...
Actually I just glanced at my list and noticed there are themes here, so today's theme will be....While the Wife was Out/What Happens in the Iraq...Stays in Iraq.
--When Josh was deployed, I think it was month 13 (after the second Christmas) there was a container of frosting sitting in the office mini-fridge towards the back, that had been there since Christmas. I believe it was vanilla. After being tempted for several weeks, Josh finally asked if someone was planning on using said container of frosting. Receiving unanimous 'No's' he grabbed a spoon, and that was his lunch. When asked to estimate how much he ate... "17 Tbsp" was the answer.
--Around this same time, Josh began training for the Lincoln half marathon he wanted to run when he came home. In typical Josh form, he started an Excel spreadsheet listing every thing he was eating, along with the approximate amount. (I say approximate but in typical Josh form, it was probably exact). He started emailing me his spreadsheet at the end of each month so I could see what he was eating. January: 42 1/2 cups of ice cream, 60 Tbsp of Peanut Butter, 17 Tbsp of Vanilla Frosting, 43 1/2 cups of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 41 Creme Sandwich Cookies, 34 Graham Crackers, 24 Granola Bars, 54 1/4 cups Honey Nut Cheerios, 5 large assorted Otis Spunkmeier cookies, and 1 Tootsie Roll. ((This is not a conclusive list of all things with a high sugar content)). I could no stop laughing. Can't you just see him! :)
--My brother, Evan, was studying abroad in Brazil during the 1st half of Josh's deployment, so my sister, Martha, sent them both Girl Scout Cookies. She bought 4 boxes of different kinds and switched the sleeves of cookies around so they would each receive 4 assorted flavors, in 2 boxes. We got to talk to Evan awhile after that and he said it took him about 2 weeks to eat his. Josh....45 minutes.
--Before we were married, Josh was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth about 3 months before I got there, on the weekends, he would drive from Kansas City to Lincoln so we could go to our Pre-Marriage classes. I wasn't really aware of this until after maybe a month or so, but he would stop at Sam's club on the way out of Lincoln and buy a package of cookies (2 dozen in a box) found in their bakery section. Maybe you know what I'm talking about, but these cookies are not small. Oatmeal raisin and Monster Cookies are his favorite. He would eat 12 or so on the way home, and the rest the next day.
--That October, we were getting ready for Halloween, and I bought a jumbo bag of individual packs of Peanut M&M's to hand out as treats. As the day grew closer, I mentioned to Josh how excited I was to have kids come to our door and how fun that would be. He didn't answer. I knew immediately. "Did you eat some of the candy?", I asked... the response "It's gone.". "So, even though you had to open each individual bag before eating it you still finished all of it?". "Yes"
--Then comes one of my favorite stories. Last summer I went to WI to visit some friends from Summer Project. I was gone for 3 days. The first night for supper, after I had mentioned he should try to eat some veggies....Josh ate an entire bag of frozen corn for supper. Then, a week or so after I was back, we were at the grocery store and I remembered I had wanted to try a recipe for homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches. I went to go pick up chocolate graham crackers and made some off-hand comment about how I had intended to make them awhile ago. Conversation is as follows:
"We don't have any cool whip."
"Oh yes we do, I bought it awhile ago, I just hadn't got around to making this yet."
"We don't have any cool whip."
"Yes, we do. I bought it forever ago and it's in the back of the freezer"...(it now starts to dawn on me, I turn around from my graham crackers selection), "...wait, are you serious? Did you eat it?!"
It was one of those moments where you want to be angry but you can't help from laughing!! So while I was gone he ate an entire container of cool whip and a bag of corn (there was more I'm sure...but really what more do you need).
--Last one in this category, when Josh was at an Army school....Basic or Officer School I forget which one (before we were even engaged) they had to assist with a fundraiser. What were they selling?! Krispy Kreme donuts. Not good. Josh ATE 18. In 2 hours. I don't know how many he sold.
Stay Tuned for: When I Was Little
and The College Years
I try as hard as I can to help him make better decisions...and most of the time I am successful- he has gotten much better! The biggest help is that now that he really enjoys running and training for longer distance races, he can tell when he hasn't been eating so well. The closest I came to a successful moderation campaign was the few weeks I had Josh convinced that if he wasn't more careful about sweets he would develop a form of diabetes. (Since he was running 20-30 miles a week at the time I knew this was false, but he didn't). It worked for awhile till I had him so worried he started doing his own research and discovered the truth. It was pretty funny.
Well, I wanted to share with you, some of my most favorite stories about Josh's stomach. I've laughed so hard I've cried so many times listening to him, or others tell me about the experiences I wasn't around for, and the same for the ones I've personally witnessed. And, as hard as it may be to believe, all of these are true. I hope you enjoy Installment #1 of That Boy Loves Sweets! In no particular order...
Actually I just glanced at my list and noticed there are themes here, so today's theme will be....While the Wife was Out/What Happens in the Iraq...Stays in Iraq.
--When Josh was deployed, I think it was month 13 (after the second Christmas) there was a container of frosting sitting in the office mini-fridge towards the back, that had been there since Christmas. I believe it was vanilla. After being tempted for several weeks, Josh finally asked if someone was planning on using said container of frosting. Receiving unanimous 'No's' he grabbed a spoon, and that was his lunch. When asked to estimate how much he ate... "17 Tbsp" was the answer.
--Around this same time, Josh began training for the Lincoln half marathon he wanted to run when he came home. In typical Josh form, he started an Excel spreadsheet listing every thing he was eating, along with the approximate amount. (I say approximate but in typical Josh form, it was probably exact). He started emailing me his spreadsheet at the end of each month so I could see what he was eating. January: 42 1/2 cups of ice cream, 60 Tbsp of Peanut Butter, 17 Tbsp of Vanilla Frosting, 43 1/2 cups of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 41 Creme Sandwich Cookies, 34 Graham Crackers, 24 Granola Bars, 54 1/4 cups Honey Nut Cheerios, 5 large assorted Otis Spunkmeier cookies, and 1 Tootsie Roll. ((This is not a conclusive list of all things with a high sugar content)). I could no stop laughing. Can't you just see him! :)
--My brother, Evan, was studying abroad in Brazil during the 1st half of Josh's deployment, so my sister, Martha, sent them both Girl Scout Cookies. She bought 4 boxes of different kinds and switched the sleeves of cookies around so they would each receive 4 assorted flavors, in 2 boxes. We got to talk to Evan awhile after that and he said it took him about 2 weeks to eat his. Josh....45 minutes.
--Before we were married, Josh was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth about 3 months before I got there, on the weekends, he would drive from Kansas City to Lincoln so we could go to our Pre-Marriage classes. I wasn't really aware of this until after maybe a month or so, but he would stop at Sam's club on the way out of Lincoln and buy a package of cookies (2 dozen in a box) found in their bakery section. Maybe you know what I'm talking about, but these cookies are not small. Oatmeal raisin and Monster Cookies are his favorite. He would eat 12 or so on the way home, and the rest the next day.
--That October, we were getting ready for Halloween, and I bought a jumbo bag of individual packs of Peanut M&M's to hand out as treats. As the day grew closer, I mentioned to Josh how excited I was to have kids come to our door and how fun that would be. He didn't answer. I knew immediately. "Did you eat some of the candy?", I asked... the response "It's gone.". "So, even though you had to open each individual bag before eating it you still finished all of it?". "Yes"
--Then comes one of my favorite stories. Last summer I went to WI to visit some friends from Summer Project. I was gone for 3 days. The first night for supper, after I had mentioned he should try to eat some veggies....Josh ate an entire bag of frozen corn for supper. Then, a week or so after I was back, we were at the grocery store and I remembered I had wanted to try a recipe for homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches. I went to go pick up chocolate graham crackers and made some off-hand comment about how I had intended to make them awhile ago. Conversation is as follows:
"We don't have any cool whip."
"Oh yes we do, I bought it awhile ago, I just hadn't got around to making this yet."
"We don't have any cool whip."
"Yes, we do. I bought it forever ago and it's in the back of the freezer"...(it now starts to dawn on me, I turn around from my graham crackers selection), "...wait, are you serious? Did you eat it?!"
It was one of those moments where you want to be angry but you can't help from laughing!! So while I was gone he ate an entire container of cool whip and a bag of corn (there was more I'm sure...but really what more do you need).
--Last one in this category, when Josh was at an Army school....Basic or Officer School I forget which one (before we were even engaged) they had to assist with a fundraiser. What were they selling?! Krispy Kreme donuts. Not good. Josh ATE 18. In 2 hours. I don't know how many he sold.
Stay Tuned for: When I Was Little
and The College Years
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