Sunday, November 30, 2008

To Ohio and Back

Chris and I have been in Ohio for the past nine days and each day was packed with fun activities…to many to list! Some of the highlights were the bachelor/bachelorette party, Cleveland Browns game, Thanksgiving and Tim and Danielle’s wedding. We are now back in North Carolina and back to almost normal life. Chris goes into the field tomorrow for the next 10 days and I return to work. The vacation was fun while it lasted!





North Carolina Thanksgiving



A couple of weeks ago we got together with our North Carolina friends for Thanksgiving dinner before we all went home for the holidays. Chris deep fried a turkey and I roasted a turkey, made mashed potatoes/gravy and pecan pie. We had twelve people gather together and about every thanksgiving dinner item you could imagine!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

First Snow in North Carolina

Today we had our first snow in North Carolina! It lasted just 5 minutes but it was nice while it was coming down. From this morning until Friday Chris is in the field doing training with his squadron. I'm sure they didn't enjoy the snow or the fact that they will be sleeping outdoors for the next few nights.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Photos!

Our friend Chelsa took photos for Chris and I this morning to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary and she already has some up on her site!!!! Check it out on the right (scroll down to Chelsa Schaefer Photography). We had a great time with her and her husband Ben.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Cuddle Time!



I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Chris and Max cuddling in bed. On days that I work but Chris doesn't we put Max in bed with Chris so they can get more rest.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Arrgh…I’m a Pirate!

Literally, an ECU Pirate! I’ve officially been accepted to East Carolina University to start my graduate work to earn my Masters in Business Administration. In January I’ll travel to Greenville, NC for my campus visit and orientation and then classes start shortly after.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Corn and Shrimp Chowder

I made this soup for Chris and myself on Friday night and we both enjoyed it so I thought I would share the recipe:

Corn and Shrimp Chowder

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium carrots (coarsely chopped)
1 large onion (coarsely chopped)
1 stalk celery (coarsely chopped)
20 ounces frozen whole kernel corn (2 bags)
28 ounces chicken broth (2 cans)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 ¾ pounds medium shrimp (I used frozen peeled and deveined)
½ cup half and half or light cream

In a large (5 qt.) saucepan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add carrots, onion, and celery, cook until veggies are tender.
Reserve 1 ½ cup corn. Add remaining corn to pot, stir in chicken broth, sugar, thyme, cayenne pepper and 2 cups water (I only added about 1 cup water to mine so it would be a little thicker). Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, slice each shrimp in half.
In a blender at low speed, with center part of cover removed to allow steam to escape, blend soup in small batches until smooth. Pour soup back into saucepan and return to medium heat.
Add reserved corn and half and half to soup until hot, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque throughout.

We both really enjoyed the soup but thought it would be awesome a little thicker with chicken and sausage added as well.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Year 2

Yesterday Chris and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. For some reason it feels like so much longer than that (maybe it’s the 6 years that we dated before getting married). The nicest part was being able to roll over at 4:30am when Chris’s alarm went off and say “Happy Anniversary” in person. Last year we didn’t have the luxury of being together on the day because Chris was in Iraq. This year, we both worked a normal day and I made a special dinner (Chicken Parmesan). Just being able to spend time together today was special enough. We are having portraits taken by our friend Chelsa to celebrate in a few weeks and I'm really excited about it…check out the link to her website on the right.

3 + 3 does not equal 4 + 5

My running schedule has gotten a little off track this week due to a number of reasons: a weekend out of town, rainy days in Fayetteville, daylight savings time means it’s dark by 6pm and a running partner with a strained hip flexor. I did my long run (7 miles) on Sunday instead of Saturday making Monday a rest day instead of the 4 miles on the schedule. Tuesday I did three miles on the treadmill instead of the 4 miles from Monday and Wednesday I did 3 miles until it got dark instead of the 5 miles from Tuesday….were you able to follow all of that?!?!?!? Fayetteville isn’t the safest place to run so I try to run either with my running partner Caitlin or in daylight hours…which are fleeting because of the time change. I’m not worried about missing a couple of miles but I do want to follow the training as close as possible. Hopefully next week will be back to normal and Caitlin will be feeling better!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Family, Hiking and Fun!









Over the weekend Chris Max and I drove to see Allan, Tanna, Will, Emma and Jack at their home near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While visiting the WEJ, we enjoyed a bonfire on Friday night with their awesome neighbors. We even got the chance to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire. Max got some treats as well…popcorn left unattended!
On Saturday, we had a leisurely breakfast and then drove an hour to Pilot Mountain State Park for some family friendly hiking. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the leaves were stunning! It was a great way to spend the day. Max went along and enjoyed running up the trail with Will and Emma. He was definitely the smallest dog in the park! We had a nice BBQ chicken lunch grilled by Allan and then attempted to find some more trials but the driveway to the other section of the park was flooded out. We checked out a historical farm instead and had the pleasure of seeing some real life guineas (a chicken like bird that squawks very loudly)! We ended the evening with Thai take-out, great wine and college football.
We started Sunday with a walk around the neighborhood and then packing up to go home. As always, Max was a perfect traveler in the car. He spent all of his Sunday either sleeping on our laps or sleeping in the sun recovering from the busy weekend. All of the kids were really great with him and he enjoyed the constant attention! Chris and I definitely enjoyed being with family and as always had a great time with the WEJ!