Saturday, June 30, 2012

Confessional Friday #2

I'm linking up with A Blonde Ambition again for Confessional Friday. Time to unleash all these deep dark secrets...

 #1 I confess...I found a penny! And it made my day. I was at work and I should have been doing something productive than picking up another person's castoffs. I can't help it the shiny copper caught my eye.

 #2 I confess...I'm so ready for our vacation. 'Nuff said.

 #3 I confess...the closet at the top of my stairs desperately deperately needs to be organized. I have been avoiding it for months... and months...and months. I just keep throwing stuff in there and promising myself I will get to it. Not happening.

 #4 I confess...I admit while playing Words With Friends with my hubby. I got 36 points by adding an S to LOBSTER/RANT. Haha. My husband thinks that is the truest form of cheating on that game. I think it's the use of Qi and En and all other words that have no meaning!


#5 Went to see Magic Mike with friends. Let me say...those boys can move! Yikes!





Friday, June 29, 2012

InstaFriday: Summer Begins

Hello everyone! I am participating in my first InstaFriday link up hosted by Life Rearranged. This link up is perfect for me because I take more pictures with my phone than camera. We had a busy week and here are the pictures to prove it.

Monday: Work preparations for a major giveaway for expecting military spouses.


Monday afternoon: Trip to the orthodontist for child #2. I so went into the wrong profession!


Tuesday: Daughter's birthday. Knocking out the Summer Bucket List.  Check out my birthday post to see how much I adore her.



Wednesday: Dinner experiment due to upcoming vacation and desire to avoid grocery shopping. 
It's my take on Orange Tequila Chicken. 





Thursday: Blueberry picking at a local farm




...and Pinterest fun!

                      

Here's the only one in our family who knows what summer is all about!


life rearranged

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Ky's Birthday {summer bucket list}

Today we are celebrating our oldest child and only daughter's birthday!

Happy Birthday Ky!



I can not believe how fast time goes.
Here you are turning 12 and you look so grown up!
You act so grown up too.
What I wouldn't give to go back for one day
one hour
 to appreciate all of your
energy. creativity. love.

I remember the minute they laid you in my arms
and I got really scared
you were bald. puffy. red. slimy.
Not at all how I imagined a newborn baby would be.
But what would I know because you were the first baby laid on my chest.

I remember those first days after we brought you home.
You wanted the lights on. TV on. Fan on.
Or else you cried.
And we just couldn't have that!

I remember the first year of life.
You made great company
You learned so many things
 you caught on so quickly.
You were very smart.
Still are.
Everywhere we took you people would say.
She is so alert.
She is so smart.
Still are.

I remember the next year following you around everywhere.
You were my leader.
The only thing I could do was teach you how to make your way in your world.
How to walk. run. climb. jump.
Because your lack of inexperience wasn't going to stop you from exploring your world.

I remember all the super cute things you used to say.
Do you?
Do you remember when we use to go to the "pof-es"?
To mail letters?
Do you remember when you told everyone
"Stupid is a naughty word. We don't say that word?"
Do you remember when you would wag your finger, crook your head, and ask me
"Didju mommy, didju?"


I remember like it was yesterday.
I don't think I will every see you as anything more than
 a little chubby cheek preschooler
prancing around the house singing
with the biggest blue eyes
and
cutest little dimple.



I think the best and worst thing
I will do in my life
is watch you grow up.
The most difficult thing
will be
letting you.

I hope you will always know
You are important.
You are valued.
You are loved.


LOTS OF LOVE!!!

Monday, June 18, 2012

San Diego County Fair 2012

Sunday was our annual trip to the San Diego County Fair. As long as we have lived in San Diego, we have made one trip each year to the fair. I guess I'm a country girl at heart. Being from Iowa it should be expected. San Diego County Fair is a little more city than what I'm used too. Lots of food booths, rides, and vendors. Always a ton of people. Sunday was not an exception. It was a little overwhelming. I was kind of over it by the end of the day.



Every year there is a theme. Out of This World is the theme for 2012.


There is a lot of space stuff in the main exhibit hall. I cannot make sense of it. Boys loved it but not my thing!




My favorite things to see are the photography exhibit and the collection displays. It's so interesting to see what people collect. My favorite this year was a collection of geo- caches. We have been thinking about trying out geocaching for awhile. I put it on our summer bucket list so I think this might be the year!



We always love to see the animals. My daughter is such an animal lover. I got this cute photo of her with the goat. This same goat who was trying to eat the shirt off my husband's back. Don't let that sweet face fool you...on either one.


The goats were feisty, the chickens fancy, and the baby ducks were a hit with my daughter. Do you think we could sneak baby ducks into military housing?




You always have to check out the fair food. I was most impressed with the Bacon A-Fair. I left my heart in tact and skipped this booth.


Here is another impressive food booth.



Other than food, the rides are something to investigate at the fair. Father and son stood in line FOREVER for the chance to race soapbox derby cars for free...BOYS!


And the winner is...



There was one paid ride he asked his dad to ride. It makes me sick just looking at this picture. This ride twists you this way and that. Proof enough is all the coins laying on the ground under the ride. Yikes!



All this fun was to celebrate my husband and the father of our three fun, energetic children. He is awesome. He takes such good care of all of us. In fact, I struggled to take care of him on Father's Day because I'm so inexperienced. We are lucky to have him.

Baby, you are an...



Friday, June 15, 2012

Last Week of School {in pictures}


Is it Friday yet? I've been asking the question since Tuesday. It's the last week of school for the kids and things are busy. There is always something to buy for a class party, a performance to attend, or paper to submit. Not to mention all the other school day activities happening in a snowball effect this week. May I just say, I looking forward to not packing lunches at 6 AM for the next two months. Yay me!

With all these energy zappers, I decided to post with minimal effort today. This is my week in pictures from Sunday to Friday.

Last weekend was not a happy weekend. My husband had been gone for two weeks of training and his return day was being changed every five minutes. Oh yeah, I went there...I was crabby AND sad AND irritated with all things military. By Sunday, I knew we needed to escape the house and get a little happy back in here. So, we went to the library....


...and we spent two hours in the kid room where my daughter read, my sons played on the computers, and I perfected my chair balancing ability...

Lots of Penned Up Energy
Monday my husband finally came home after two weeks on the boat. The honeymoon stage lasted all of five minutes because he decided his 'mini-vaca' was exhausting...


...and that does not sit well with someone who just spent two weeks single parenting three children and a dog...


...oh yeah, Charlie has taken center stage this week because I'm secretly preparing a birthday gift for my daughter involving photos of her beloved...




Tuesday we were back to our regular family activities, HIKING...



 I don't do much of it when my husband is gone because I get scared.

Wednesday I was in the kitchen trying my hand at a new Pinterest find...

Shrimp Fried Rice. Yummy!

Thursday was ho-hum but the much needed day to catapult me into FRIDAY.




Finally, the last day of school! Let the fun begin! It's time to start checking off the Summer Bucket List.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

In the Kitchen: Shrimp Fried Rice


A new week brings a new recipe. I found the Shrimp Fried Rice recipe on SimplyRecipes.com. This was a 'must' make because everyone in our family loves fried rice. This recipe is easy and a healthier spin on typical fast food Chinese. The ingredients are simple and affordable.


The key to this recipe is day old rice. Using a rice cooker is ideal, but boiling in a pan works too. It has been recommended to me to wash your rice prior to cooking. Washing your rice is supposed to cut down on the starchy-ness of the rice. This would be important when using a pan to make your rice. I did use a pan to cook my washed rice; however, my rice still held more moisture than I would have liked. My last piece of advice is to gather all your ingredients prior to cooking because everything is cooked quickly.

Eggs cook super fast. Don't get distracted!
End results: My kids loved it! It was very filling for our family of five (note it says serves four). I served with a salad and ice cream for dessert.
Shrimp Fried Rice from SimplyRecipes.com
I’ve listed the recipe for you below:
Shrimp Fried Rice
INGREDIENTS
         8 ounces small raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
         1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
         freshly ground black pepper
         1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
         2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
         3 eggs, beaten
         2 stalks green onion, minced
         4 cups leftover rice, grains separated well
         3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
         1 tablespoon soy sauce
         1 teaspoon sesame oil

METHOD
1 In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, 
add just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.



2 Add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the cooking surface area so that they are not overlapping. Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. 
Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.


3 Turn the heat to medium, let the pan heat up again. Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the pan into the same plate as the cooked shrimp.



4 Use paper towels to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok.



5 Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.
Serves 4.

Enjoy!!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Summer Bucket List 2012

Our summer bucket list is complete! One more week of school and summer will officially start for our family. This summer I am using a summer bucket list to keep us active and happy. What is a summer bucket list? A list that includes all the things you want to accomplish or experience by summer's end. Need some ideas for your own list? Take a look at ours!


*UPDATED*  click on the crossed off items to see blog post about the event


Summer Bucket List

swimming lessons Vacation to Florida Dog park write letters to cousins puzzles  Ky’s Birthday  Build a sandcastle Make a 1000 paper cranes Read a book under a tree Take family pictures Pizza Draw Play board games wash a car water balloons volunteer Sea World Science Center Picnic Photo A Day Mini-golf Library Lemonade Stand Geocaching Fireworks fishing
Disneyland go to the beach camping card games ice cream from the ice cream truck random acts of kindness

My goal is to put a check in every box. I will definitely do an update post at the end of summer to see if we made our goal!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

In the Kitchen: Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

One of my newest time suckers has been Pinterest. I can spend an hour just clicking through pictures of food, decorated rooms, crafts, and very randomly...manicures. The pathetic part is I'm not even a member, so I don't get to 'pin' things. Which means each time I visit I'm essentially starting from the beginning. I tell myself if I don't get involved then I'm less likely to be consumed. Oh the things I can convince myself to believe.

I have been drooling over these cookies for weeks. The recipe, Lemon Poppyseed Cookies is from Annie's Eats.  I managed enough time on Monday to whip up a batch of these yummy treats. The recipe calls for a kitchen mixer but I don't have one of those. I mixed everything by hand and the cookies were still perfect. They did make cookies before electricity, right?

The true test in this house is how kid-friendly something is. When the odds are 3 to 2 and more often, 3 to 1; the kids rule. My kids loved them! And this is a step away from our standard chocolate chip cookie recipes. The lemon poppyseed cookie is light and crumbly. The powder sugar and fresh squeezed lemon juice make a lightly sweetened glaze. However, I would recommend measuring your lemon juice because more than 2 Tbsp. might overpower the sugar. Final Verdict: A perfect coffee time cookie or guilt free dessert.




Monday, June 4, 2012

Introducing My Adventure-ous Family

Hello! and welcome to my little corner of the web. I've spent the last month as a stay at home mom after years of being employed. Four weeks later, I have my old job back and a couple new interests...like reading blogs. I really enjoy getting new ideas, eww-ing and ahh-ing over other people's creativity, and relating to absolute strangers who share similar lives/hobbies/dilemmas. Can you relate? I hope you enjoy my posts and always feel free to ask questions.

What to blog about? That was my first question. I suppose a person should choose something they have experience with. This is how I decided on the Semper Fi Family. My husband has been a US Marine for more than 13 years and I have been along for the entire duration of the ride. I guess I know a thing or two about the Semper Fi (Always Faithful) part.

Our "mode of transportation" for the Marine Corps ride.
 The Family is a given after 13 years of marriage, three children, and a dog! We got family covered.

Here they are!

This is Charlie.

Adventures are part of our every day life. The Marine Corps deals its fair share, kids & dog some more, trying to balance work & life, and the adventures I manage to find us. I have never found much contentment in being still. I like to move! I feel normal when I am running around and exploring my surroundings. I view adventures as things new and unexperienced. Positive or negative...I'm game!


As I set off into the blogging world, I'm ready for more new adventures. Please be patient as I figure things out. My plan is to be consistent in posting and offer my followers something interesting as often as possible. Let the adventures begin...or continue?!?