Rants, Recipes, and Running

I am a few weeks late, but better late than never! We stayed at a Sandals Resort. Why Barbados? Because they were supposed to have some of the best scuba diving out of the Sandals locations. The resort was awesome! We love the all-inclusive idea. It's so nice to be on vacation and order what you wish to order, and not have to think about price. Especially if you're "cost-conscious" like both Ryan and I tend to be. It is a really good deal to do Sandals if you are a scuba diver. You get 2 included boat dives/day. If we were to go on a normal vacation and do that, that would cost about $150/day to drive. Just for the diving + gear!!! The restaurants at the resort were amazing. We had 9 to choose from. Our favorite was definitely the Indian restaurant. They had sushi, Indian, seafood, Italian, a desert/pastry shop that was French-inspired, swim-up bars, wine bars, you name it! On the beach you had unlimited use of paddle-boards, ocean kayaks, and you could take...

It is no surprise to anyone that is friends with me on Social Media...I have been busy in the kitchen this month!! It has been so nice to have a spacious kitchen again. We also made a pledge to do no restaurants all month of July to help save money for house furnishings, etc. (Restaurants are SUCH budget-suckers!!! Good Lord!) Ryan has been working a ton lately - and weird hours +  it's his "finals week" w/ grad school. - so had lots of "me time" to spend in the kitchen and wanted to spoil him with good food. I like to send him with baked goods to bring to his squadron on the weekend's he works. And his request was White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies . I went to make them Friday night, and realized I didn't have any Macadamia nuts. So I improvised: and crushed up almonds, and used a little pure almond extract. They turned out SO GOOD!!! I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman . Definitely a keeper of a recipe!! Saturday I wanted to send h...

I'm sure the title of the blog post could raise a few eyebrows to those who know me well. Ryan and I will be celebrating our 7th (!!!) Anniversary in about 2 weeks. Which is really hard to believe. Over the past few months, I have been asked about "The 7 year itch". To be honest, I wasn't really familiar with that. So I did a little googling. What is the 7 year itch? Well, besides a movie from 1955. It is a phenomenon that occurs in many marriages. Scenario #1: The couple has raised 1-2 children through the sleepless and stressful infancy years. They reach 7 years of marriage, and they have lost touch with their bond. And they get the itch to seek other things, lifestyles, or in some cases, relationships. Scenario #2: The couple have spent enough time together that they realize they are not excited about their partner anymore. A philosopher once said that the human develops in "7 year cycles". These changes/cycles can be mental, emotion, and physical...

Happy Monday! And Happy last week of July. Normal parts of the country are morning this. I am celebrating. It is so. Freaking. Hot. Especially since the jist of our weekend was spent outdoor cutting down cacti/brush and painting/building furniture! Since I've last been on here - we have moved. And have we ever been busy!! But we are absolutely loving the new nest!! More to come on that. In the meantime, to "warm" myself back up to blogging - I'm joining in on this fun little post. Getting To Know Me Through 17 Questions, which I borrowed from my sister Lisa. 1. What brings your the greatest joy? I'd have to say being outdoors in nature. Especially with Ryan. And spending time with my family. 2. What are your vices? Cheese and crackers - especially sharp cheddar. That is my go-to snack. And now that I work at home, I'm guilty of just having that for lunch sometimes. Which is terrible! I used to pack healthy salads - but now it's so easy to just sl...

I live for the weekends that Ryan is not working! His current schedule has him working 2 weeks on, and 2 weekends off. So we really try to pack in a lot! This weekend we decided to really try to get a mix of fun and rest -- as we know the next couple of weeks are going to be insane! Friday night he surprised me, and got tickets to see Gabriel Iglesia - aka "Fluffy". Such a good show! There is nothing more healthy for the soul than a comedy show, I always say! The concert was held at the "Ava Amphitheater" - which is at a casino west of town. It is actually a really cool venue - as the seating is out in the lawn and you are surrounded by mountains. We went to our favorite Mexican food truck for some late night eats after the show: Karmelo King. I swear this is the best Mexican food I've ever eaten.  Karamelo King : A food truck in a random parking lot in a shady part of town. They only come out at night. And you have to order in Spanish - or point to ...

Tonight has felt a bit surreal, so I figured a good ole' blog post was due. A little over 5 months ago....we were packing up our house. And during that time, I thought the next time we "pack up", we would be heading to Texas and then on to South Dakota. I had a completely different job. And almost a different life (!?) 5 months ago, I never would have imagined that the next time we moved...it would be into a home in Tucson! It is insane how much life can change in such a short amount of time. I'm kind of pinching myself. Any who asked me over the past month "How is the apartment?" .... they most likely received sort of a negative response. In my defense...I work in this apartment for 40+ hours per week, and Ryan is working night shift. So it's just been a little "too close for comfort" But in reality, this apartment has been great for us. Really made us appreciate our space, our city, and the luxury of a back yard! The countdown is ...

I think most anyone that reads my blog is well aware of this information, but I feel it's time to put it all into writing. In fact, when I am get to play "99 questions" about this and all the details from acquaintances ...maybe I should just give them the url to this post. Back in August of 2015, Ryan decided to pursue his childhood dream to become an F16 pilot. He made many decisions in his life to pursue this: worked as an Avionics technician, got his Electrical Engineering Degree, got his private pilot licence, followed the F-16 jets from Fargo to Tucson that he was maintaining. Then we sat down, and picked out the locations we could move to. And he interviewed all over last fall. And guess what? He got the job!! And it wasn't any job. It was an F16 slot in Sioux Falls, South Dakota!!! 3-4 hours from my family and 3-4 hours from his Nebraska family. Do you ever make the "best decision of your life", and then get underwhelmed by it? Maybe feel like...