Memories

So I'm was going through my t-shirts the other day cause I want to make a t-shirt blanket since I never wear them anymore, but they have so many memories tied to them! The one above is from Japan and their version of English. I got this when I was over helping Sarah teach English with a church. They love to just write anything on anything and it doesn't make any sense! "Beans from Health, - enjoying doing this beans" Hahaha... that was so fun

This t-shirt is from my college Biblestudy. We loved each other and self proclaimed ourselves "The Few, The Proud" We were pretty proud to be us, haha. It was a surprise to our Biblestudy leader, Lindsay because on the front we had "MLB's Biblestudy" - aka Momma Lindsay Brown's Biblestudy.

And then this one, haha, was when Sam and I met each other at JMU and hit it off. We decided to make t-shirts for each other, because clearly everyone else needed to know why we loved each other. The front said, "Sam and Anna's Top 10" and these things were all things we either had in common or loved together. Gosh, this is making miss college! What was the slavemaster again?... gonna have to ask her about that.

Green thumb

This is first flower to bloom on my gardenia plants in the front yard. I was SO excited when I saw it! After putting the plants in, I became nervous about whether or not they were getting as much sun as they needed, since the front beds get very little sun, but I think they're doing great. Sorry the pic is a little fuzzy - it was taken with my phone.

JUST DON'T DO IT!

Ok, so this sign is posted on the wall of the Tinker Air Force Base pool. Rachel and I couldn't stop laughing. It just goes to show you the type of precautions the Air Force takes - a LITTLE overboard sometimes if you ask me. You have no idea how many times Eric or I have been at the commissary, gym or library on base and bad weather rolls in. If they see lightening and its within 5 miles, they shut down the building. That means you're stuck. No leaving, and if you're on your way in and you don't know, you're the sucker that gets stuck too. Anyway, thought you'd enjoy.

No. Big. Deal

If you don't know who this guy is, then you obviously don't want the Foodnetwork Channel, which happens to be the ONLY thing I watch when I'm at the gym on the treadmill. I love it. It got me through the long days of living in Florida with no job. I had my favorite cooking shows and I never missed. This dude is Guy Fieri - the creator and host of the Foodnetwork show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He travels around the USA, visiting local diners and restaurants that have their own local flavor and usually finds something on the menu that they are well known for. Its a fun show to watch, because they aren't fancy restaurants that you can't ever visit. He came to Norman, Oklahoma to visit The Diner, which is located directly across the street from where I work. This morning I saw all kinds of people lined up outside of the Diner and didn't know what was up - and then there he was! It was so fun to see our little town get recognized. Guy was super friendly and easy to talk to.
He always drives up in his convertible and this time was no exception. They did about a million takes before they got one they liked.
This is the Diner that had their 15 minutes of fame. Well, actually more like a 1/2 hr cause the show lasts 30 minutes. Look out for The Diner, from Norman Oklahoma if you ever watch the show!

Summer has begun...

Rachel and I have made a list of things we would like to do while she is out here. I thought I'd share with you:

1. Go horseback riding
2. Visit a winery
3. See a movie at a drive-up movie theater
4. Start taking yoga classes (We already started, and I'm actually sore, kinda sad, I know)
5. Watch as many chick flicks as we can (Note because our husbands/boyfriends don't like them, but just cause we can)
6. Get massages (We found this massage school where the students give hour long massages for $30!!)
7. Be a vegetarian (Although we're eating fish. So far it hasn't been hard at all. I thought I'd really miss my meat)
8. Go to the pool as much as possible.
9. Do something physically active every day.
10. HAVE TONS OF FUN! - that one is easy

Margaritas and Sisters

Rachel is here! She arrived Saturday evening and it is so fun already. I absolutely love living with her and cannot believe she'll be here for a full month. We have already started traditions, number one, Margarita Sundays.:) We have all kinds of plans of going to the pool when it opens, working out as often as we can, going to free outdoor summer concerts and just enjoying life together. She has been able to get a job nannying for a family here for 3 days a week and will probably pick up some shifts at Red Robin. I love! I wish she was here all summer.

Ice Ice Baby

We have discovered that Ellen loves ice. And she has figured out where the ice comes from - the ice dispenser in the refrigerator door. Its hilarious. Anytime I fill my glass or push the lever for the ice to come out, she comes running. These pics are from her waiting eagerly or just sitting watching the ice dispenser, hoping it will give her a treat.

Biblestudy!

These are my Biblestudy girls, with one missing, Carol. Starting from the back on the left handside, is Sarah, Alex (both freshman) and then Lauren (soph.) On my side starting from the back is Courtney (freshman) me, Laura (freshman) and Sarah (sophomore) These girls are incredible. I have only had them for 1 semester and we have grown so close already. They are SO much fun, love being together and are constantly growing in the Lord. We just completed Breaking Free by Beth Moore, which was so great. I did it my junion year of college and felt like it could apply very well to these girls lives. I love being with them and was so sad for them to leave for summer break.This is Carol. She went to a school in Oklahoma City for the dance program, but during this past spring, the Lord led her to drop out of the dance program and transfer to OU! We are so excited she will be with us on campus in the fall.

Lauren, Alex and Sarah. Lauren is a RA on campus and does a great job. She is spending her summer in Spain - so fun! Alex is our pagent queen. She has the crown of Miss Oakcliff, a district in Texas and is running for Miss Texas this summer! We all want her to win so bad, but at the same time it would mean her not coming back to OU. Sarah is my only Greek girl, which is pretty impressive considering OU has an extremely strong Greek presence. She is so sweet.

Courtney, me, Laura and Sarah. Courtney is so fun, so quirky and so easy to talk to. She is in the Visual Arts Program and is spending her summer hanging out with Jr. High kids are her church. She has such a great heart to love on those kids. Laura is my talker. She always has a story and they are always so interesting! She is spending her summer in Denver, helping to take care of a really good friend that broke his neck while snowboarding on spring break. And Sarah, last but not least, is a RA as well - she is so so fun. She is a photography major and I want her to take all kinds of pics for me and Eric. She is amazing at it I love these girls so much. They have become so much apart of my world. I love what each of them brings to the group and how they have grown to love and take care of each other in only a short couple months. I am SO looking forward to when they return in the fall.

First night alone... and what do I get?

I couldn't help but literally laugh and laugh lastnight when I'm home alone, first night without Eric, and the sirens go off. I knew we were going to have a bad storm, not a tornado! When those siren go off, it means there's one thats been spotted and its coming our way. After a friend called and told me to look at the news, I flip on the TV and the very first thing I hear is, "Well, right now, its directly below I-240 and I-35, right on 89th and Eastern." Um, THATS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! Haha... I just started laughing. Because the thing they tell you over and over, is that the weather, appliances, cars all have sensors for when spouses deploy, and then they immediately start breaking. I couldn't help but laugh! My sweet neighbor came over a couple minutes after that, getting completley soaked in the meantime, and asked if I wanted to come over and hang out in the storm shelter until it passed. The above picture is some of the lightening that was lighting up the sky, and below, is me in our neighbor storm shelter, hanging out with the neighbors and their kids. They are so sweet.
And the adventures begin....

The Melting Pot

One of our last meals together for quite sometime. So we decided to splurge. But of course not without a coupon.=) Millers don't got anywhere without their coupons. We got a free chocolate for two for signing up for the "Melting Pot Club" - basically just annoying emails updating me on whats going on with the Melting Pot. ANYway, this was Eric's first time to go and we were pretty excited.

Starting out with our first course: The Swiss Cheese Fondue, completed with veggies, granny smith apples, and 3 different kinds of bread as dippers. It was SO yummy.

Second course: the California salad - walnuts, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and topped with a black walnut raspberry vinagerette.

Third course: The meat cooked in a broth that was full of herbs and garlic. There was salmon, filet mignon, sirloin, chicken and shrimp to be cooked, along with broccoli, potatoes and mushrooms. Then there were 5 different sauces to top them off! Curry, plum, teriyaki, a spicy horsiradish style one, and a bleu cheese sauce. SO SO good. Our favorite thing from the whole evening were probably the mushrooms. They came with their own special filling, of sour cream, cream cheese, chives and other yumminess, to make a sort of stuffed mushrooms. A-mazing!

And fourthly, the Chocolate. There were so many choices of types of chocolate, with all kinds of goodies mixed in, but in the end, we picked the plain dark chocolate. So so good. So good, that we dug right in and I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful arrangment of strawberries, brownies, marshmellows, pound cake, bananas, cheesecake and rice krispies. It was incredible.
All in all, dinner took about 2 hours, which I loved. We had such a good time being together, talking and enjoying our last moments together. It is such a gift from Jesus to not only be so in love with each other, but to reall really like being with one another. Praise Him for He is good.

Happy Mother's Day, a day late

I forgot to post for either of our mom's yesteday, but Eric and I did an activity that is very much in honor of both of them. Every year for Mother's Day, for as long as I can remember, my mom's request was to either be outside playing a game, or working on the yard. We have cleared many of beds, and worked on her tomato plants, or played kick-ball in the cul-de-sac. No matter what it is, as long as we can be outside. I am not a green thumb by nature, but our front yard needed some serious help. So, to Lowe's we went and bought several different kinds of plants and soil. Unfortunately, we are far behind in what Eric's mom has accomplished in her years of gardening. She has grown all kinds of vegetables: tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli, corn, potatoes, cherry tomatoes. Maybe one day we'll get there.

This is me digging everything up. I was so excited to get the hodge-podge of plants out of the bed and make it look pretty!This is my man, getting the hose ready for some serious watering. Look at those guns!=)

Here's the finished project! I left the strip closest to the sidewalk for impatients. Thanks Mom (and Dad) for teaching the very little that I do know about gardening. I used Miracle Grow, topsoil and Peetmoss - aren't you proud?=)

Detoxing is no fun

This is how much Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper (or affectionately known as DDP) Eric had in less then 3 hours. The boy is addicted. And he has just gone through the process of detoxing this past week in preparation for deployment. Not because there is no soda in the Middle East, but because there is an unlimited supply for Eric's addiction. The soda on base where Eric is deploying is free, flows like milk and honey, and this fountain of... carbonated, osteoporosis inducing, cancer filled beverage, is located very near to his dorm room. Eric has high hopes of creating a new eating and exercise regiment with some of his buddies while in the desert and he wanted to start out caffeine free.

Jack Johnson is full of good ideas

Eric and I listened to Jack Johnson all through our dating years at JMU. And of course we know all the words to "Banana Pancakes". I don't know when it was during our first year of marriage that we started the tradition of making banana pancakes every Saturday morning, but 3 years later, we're still going strong. It's probably one of the biggest things I'll miss when Eric leaves.

These are not your typical bisquick pancakes though. They are a from scratch, whole wheat, flax-seed recipe from my mom, which I grew up on. And we've added something new. We both love over easy eggs, which is placed on a pancake (regular, not banana) and eaten together. It's SO delicious! Here is the recipe if you so wish to try them. I dare you.=)

Whole Wheat, Flax-Seed Banana Pancakes:

1 C whole wheat flour

1 C skim milk

2 Tablespoons of oil

2-3 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 of salt

Sliced banana

Makes 8-9 small pancakes. YUMMY!

Smallpox anyone?

Disgusting, I know. But its so fascinating too! This is Eric's arm about a week after he received his smallpox vaccination. He got 15 pokes of cowpox vaccine in the same spot. Ouch. Gotta love the pre-deployment shots. And his puss-filled bump really isn't as bad as some of them get. Apparently there are guys that had to change the bandaging several times a day. This is probably worst for Eric. Its now scabbed over, and only sometimes itches. Its been annoying to be careful around it though. He changes the bandages with gloves on, can't get his arm wet, (therefore he showers with one arm, and the other is stuck either out of waters way or above his head) and I always forgot about it when I would go to hug him, and he'd flinch away. Apparently if it bursts and the puss touches new skin, it will spread and infect the surrounding area. Nasty. Anyway, thought I'd share alittle bit of an airman's life ready to go save the world.=)

What gets Ellen excited

Ellen's favorite place in the house is in the office, sitting by the window with her chin of the window sill, watching all that happens in the cul-de-sac outside. And there is this nieghborhood cat that Ellen get SO excited when she sees. Sometimes I wonder if all the hours that she so calmly lays by the window, she's actually just waiting for the cat to reappear. She gets beside herself she doesn't know what to do! She starts whining and pacing, and then runs from the office out into the living room as if there is another place she see the cat or get to it, realizes "oh yeah, I can see it from the office!" and runs back to the window. Its hilarious! I love how worked up she gets. Its so different then her chill, lazy attitude that she normally has.

So I had a friend refer me to this place called Pink Swirl. Its a knock-off of Pinkberry, if anyone has heard of that. Pinkberry was started in L.A. and we have seen 2 variations of this store in Oklahoma City so far, one called PassionBerry and now, Pink Swirl. Its pretty amazing, and is extremely easy to overload on fruit and toppings since you make your own sundae and then are weighed by the ounce. Eric got 14 ounces!=) He's a little bit of an overkill.... but because its fat-free and you're eating fresh fruit on top, its hard to feel guilty.