Wordless Wednesday.

I did it. I created a recipe!

I love cooking. Yes.  It's true.  I wouldn't have admitted that four years ago.  I've certainly come far! That being said, I'm afraid to create my own recipes.  I like to find recipes and use that as a base for the food I'm going to make.  I've never been adventurous enough to go into the pantry/freezer to say "OH! I know exactly what I'd like to do with this!" Yesterday I took a leap of faith and trusted myself enough to try something completely different.

The result was... A success? I guess.  I mean, it was edible.  I'd definitely make it again. Of course I would tweak it a bit as per the suggestions of my lovebugs.  But, it's something.  And I am ever so proud of myself for doing it.  I don't know that I'll be doing it again any time soon, LOL.

That's my proud moment of the weekend.  It's just been a whirlwind of chores since the road trip and I'm thankful for a Monday to catch up on the chores that I neglected over the weekend.

Mini Road-Trip!

On Thursday, we made another whirlwind road trip to Dallas.  We left around 0900, making a stop at Shipley Do-Nuts for our road trip tradition: sausage and cheese kolaches and donuts! The kolaches were simply delicious and probably my favorite item at Shipley. We packed snacks and lunch foods so that we could save money along the way but we always budget in a stop at Shipley.  You've got to enjoy the fun little things; it puts a smile into our day.

Best kolaches EVAR!

After the fiasco of the June road trip to Dallas, we opted to use the Austin toll road to bypass I35 traffic in Austin.  This proved to be the best decision of the day.  It shaved off a small chunk of time but the stress level was at a minimum which made the extra miles and money worth it.  Admittedly there is not much to see along the toll road so finding some good road tunes is a must.

80s pop? Yes, please.

Nothing to see here... Except corn that is dry and brown.

The car shade is broken, so a makeshift fort will have to hide Lola from the sun.

Yummy watermelon for an after lunch snack. Perfect.

Skyfall? YES! My second favorite Bond theme!

We arrived in Dallas just after 1400 and we weren't going to be able to check into our hotel until 1500.  Hubby decided to talk to them to see if they would be willing to let us check in early because it was an extended stay place.  Not only did they let us check in early, they had to move us to a smaller room which we got for less than the original room would have cost us. We settled into the room and headed down to the pool for a quick swim before meeting some friends at The Tilted Kilt.  We came back to the room after a quick trip to Target for some necessities and attempted to get Lola to bed.  Not only were we trying to get her calmed down enough to sleep, we had to feed the three-week-old puppies that we are fostering.  It was not an easy feat but we accomplished it!

Road trips are exhausting.

Sisters. :) 

Friday morning I went to the airport alone so that the others could sleep.  I arrived early and had plenty of time to spare because the plane was slightly delayed due to weather.  A lovebug arrived and we headed back to the hotel to get the others and head back to SATX.  Mass mayhem! We loaded up and were on our way! Nodding heads and snores filled the first half of the trip.  We stopped for lunch and to feed the puppies.  We arrived home around 1700 and all were in bed before 2100.  What a whirlwind trip.  

So exhausted!

The weekend has been spent cleaning and doing laundry.  The week will bring room organizing.  It's nice to have my lovebug home.  I am so thankful of the time that she spends in MN.  It's so good for the two of them.

I'll be spending the week finalizing school and menu plans.  Yikes! Exciting times.

Move on. Letting go. Keep moving forward.

I'd like to say that when issues come up that are from my past, I let go of them easily.  It's not the same with certain issues from Mr. Lovebug's past.  It's nothing new.  I can't change it.  Why do I feel the need to remind him of his mistakes every time that it comes up?

Good advice that I like to share with my kiddos.  Why can't I extend that sentiment to myself? What happens today doesn't define me.  It's just a snapshot of a day in my life.  Put it in the book and leave it there.  MOVE ON.  Let it be a small reminder to keep moving forward.

Through my flaws, I find beauty.  I am who I was meant to be.  It flaw is so carefully stitched together.  I am a masterpiece.  There is nobody else quite like me.  

And, this.  It really is important to move on.  Let it go.  KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

All that has happened in my thirty-five years of life has made me the person that I am.  I am not perfect.  I get angry.  I get sad.  I say mean things out of frustration.  I can't let the past stop me from moving forward. Letting go and forgiving... easy to say yet hard to do.  May this be a constant, gentle reminder to KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Courage: The small voice that says "Try again tomorrow."

Another day.  I'm awake.  I'm alive.  That's the best that I can hope for.  This summer has been somewhat more difficult for me than last summer.  Last summer was busy, filled with PCS preparation.  This summer, while still busy, has been hard on me emotionally.  I thought that saying good bye to my friends in HI was going to be the most difficult thing that I've had to do in a long time.  I was wrong.  Living with the reality of what it means to be here has been harder than I could have imagined.

I need to make changes in my life.  Food. Exercise. Social interaction.  I need to change my outlook on the situation.  I need to cultivate my relationship with my husband.  We have struggled quite a bit this year and our relationship is bruised but not broken.  We can heal.  We will heal.  It's not going to be instantaneous.  It'll take work.  It'll take time.  We're worth it.

So, everyday that I wake up and I'm alive is a successful day.  And sometimes, at the end of the day, you just have to say "I'll try again tomorrow."

Summer in Texas. HOT HOT HOT

In my thirty-five years of life, I have lived in six states: MN, WA, NC, CO, HI and TX. I have experienced several different weather elements.  MN has unbearable winters because of the cold and unbearable summers because of the humidity.  WA has mild winters and even milder summers but lots of rain.  NC has a mild winters with little snow and somewhat cooler temperatures and summers that bring heat, humidity and bugs that together are moderately annoying but manageable.  I spent only late summer/early fall in CO and have no complaints about the weather in any way.  HI is a near perfect 80 degrees in every season and the only changes you really notice is the rain that comes more often during the rainy season which is October-April. TX winters have vastly different temperatures from day to day and while it doesn't snow, it certainly gets cold enough to and the summers have had the warmest temperatures that I have ever encountered, reaching the triple digits.

It's safe to say that summer in Texas is HOT HOT HOT.  There isn't a problem with humidity which I am thankful for but the heat does get unbearable.  Yesterday it was a high of 97 and I've got the AC set to 75 during the day but it felt like the AC was running all day.  I'm trying to save some money on the heating and cooling bill but I don't think that the AC running all day is helping the cause at all. Not only is hot, there aquifer level is low so this means very little relief from running through a sprinkler.  Some of my fondest childhood memories involve running through the sprinkler.  I'd love it if my children could experience the same happy memories.

Summertime is grilling season.  Unfortunately, we left our grill behind in the last PCS.  We didn't think that it would make the trip across the ocean because of the condition that it was in.  While we were living in HI, we used the grill almost daily.  I miss it.  There is something wonderful about the taste of charred chicken.  I don't enjoy standing over the stove in the summertime because it feels much hotter. That being said, I've found my kitchen mojo again and started to get creative with the meals again.  It feels good.  I love that I have had more successes with new recipes than not lately.  I feel a sense of direction again.  It's pulling me out of the funk.  I just wish that it wasn't so hot!

The point of this rambling post is that we may be put in circumstances or places that we don't necessarily want to be.  How you handle them is up to you.  If you want to be miserable about the situation, be miserable.  But, in the end all you will be is miserable.  Is it worth it? Maybe.  Maybe not.  I know that I was (and still am, at times) madder than heck about being "stuck" in Texas.  I didn't want to enjoy myself.  I didn't want to have FUN.  I was unhappy about leaving my "framily" in HI.  I was angry about orders changing at the last minute.  I was angry about all the crap that transpired as a result of us moving here.  So, I wallowed in my misery.  And, I still do form time to time.  Then I realized that just because nothing can change for a few years, I can absolutely change my outlook on it.  That's what I'm doing.  Slowly but surely I am finding my motivation, inspiration and mojo.  I don't have to like it here but I do have to live here.

I'll be sharing some of the recent recipes on the blog in the upcoming days.  Thank you to those that are reading this blog.  It means a lot to me.  It's not much, but, it's a spot where I can release a lot of what I'm feeling.  Life is messy and I'm no exception.

Foto Friday.

Let's re-cap the past week in pictures.

Fourth of July snuggles with my littlest lovebug.

Sauce for the "fireworks" sausage!

Week five summer read!

Manicure Monday! OPI: Pussy Galore + NYC Starry Silver Glitter

Dinner and beer! Paulaner Munchen Hefe-weizen and baked chicken taquitos.