Christmas Dinner

I had been drooling all day Thursday, Friday, and until that food was put on the table come Saturday evening.  I even barely ate (except what I stole while cooking, of course, and sampling the desserts was a must, too.) in the days leading up to Christmas dinner - and I wasn't genuinely hungry. That's very strange for me. Pregnancy has made me apathetic to food, for the most part.

We got quite a bit of snow Christmas Eve into Christmas day, and so our 4-5 people eating ended up only being 3, and the 4th for sure person ended up snowed in at a friend's house.  Our company showed up early, too (I hadn't finished cleaning the bathroom or kitchen, and had JUST gotten out of the shower when he arrived.) due to snow.  He lives in a more... hilly part of town, in a valley, kind of, so it's always worse out there. Bryce is a cool guy, though, and I'm sad to see him leave in just a couple months, now.

KR got a replacement Xbox 360. I saved it for last to open. He loved is so much, he hugged it. This wasn't even posed, by the way.

So while I finished cleaning and such, the boys played video games.

Now, on to the fun stuff! Food!!!

Main course for the night, the ham.  Started cooking it in the slow cooker around 11:30am.

This lovely ham was in the slow cooker about 7 hours.  It was scored, rather deeply, to help the juices get in there.  It was in a bunch of apple juice. It was covered in brown sugar, I poured maple syrup over it, drizzled some honey over it, added cinnamon and nutmeg to the juice for spice. And, finally, added clementine peel and some slices to the mix as well.  I am not usually a ham kinda person, but this 3.36 pound beast was basically demolished by 3 people in one night.  KR & I barely had enough for lunch the next day.

Next we have mashed potatoes.  I would like to tell you they were homemade, but I wanted to enjoy most of my day and opted for the simple "add water and milk and stir" kind.  They were butter & herb, which I haven't had in forever and I'm happy to say, it worked amazing with the ham!

 Next to that, we had carrots. Nothing special about them, but added some color and healthiness to the table.

Next on the list: a request from Bryce, jellied cranberry sauce. I love this stuff, KR's not a big fan, so I don't buy it usually. I was glad to eat some. We basically ate 3/4 of the jar - just the two of us!

This menu item looks a bit strange, and could easily be mistaken for a dessert.  But it is in fact referred to as either fruit salad or marshmallow salad.  It is a little heavier on the marshmallows than normal since I kinda ended up with a bigger bag than I needed and didn't feel like measuring the proper ounces of marshmallows.  It contains:  3 cans of fruits, marshmallows, and cool whip. (I bought the light stuff, but then again, I always buy the light cool whip.) It's light and refreshing, and a lame excuse for a fruit side. But it is delicious, and since Bryce wasn't a big fan of it, I've been munching on it all week and I've finally been able to move it to a smaller container!

Another strange main course item, especially for a bread.  I'm a bread kinda girl, so there has to be a side of bread for any kind of get together.  I flipped through my Bisquick recipe book and I wanted these. They are fruit-filled muffins (filled with strawberry and peach preserves) and then glazed in a simple confectioner's sugar & water frosting.  They are surprisingly dense, and they didn't really get eaten during dinner. The next morning, however, they really hit the spot. I had to freeze some from having too many to eat!

This was our dinner table, all set family-style and ready to go.  After this picture we carved the ham and dug in!

And on to desserts!

These are technically called Spritz cookies, but I've always called them butter cookies.  They are a secret family recipe I am forbidden to pass along, and are shaped with a cookie press.  One batch makes more than enough cookies.  I still have 3 fake-tupperware containers of these in my kitchen still. They are not a "sweet" kind of cookie, and they were a tad dry this year, but they were otherwise what I was hoping for.  I swear, I could eat 10 of these in one sitting and not even feel sick.  They are just so easy to eat!

These are homemade oreo truffles.  KR is obsessed with them, but unfortunately, they are SO RICH, I really can't eat them like I would love to. He really is going to eat them all on me... I found the recipe on the back of a coupon at the commissary - it was worth it.  You finely crumble a bag of oreos, mixed 3/4 of it with cream cheese (I chose to do this messy part by hand.), and then form into small balls.  Then melt Baker's chocolate down, and dip the balls completely in the chocolate.  Put it on wax paper, sprinkle with the left over oreo crumbs, and let it sit it the fridge until it's time to enjoy.  It was messy, took a while, was not hard at all, and there were plenty of steps that allow you to lick your fingers.  I am certain KR will ask for these every year now!

KR never did make his no bake cookies, and I suppose it's just as well since the majority of the desserts are still sitting somewhere in our kitchen.  It was a good time - and most importantly, for once in my life, I had stuff done AHEAD of time (except what had to be cooked at the last minute). It was great having everything set aside and ready to go and actually being able to enjoy the day without going crazy cooking.  I simply cannot imagine doing this for a lot of people, though. It was a challenge enough cooking for 4!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

My favorite Christmas album is almost near banned in this house now. Nsync Christmas has been on my list of must play Christmas music since I got the CD - the year it came out. It's amazing. Too bad my husband won't let me play it simply because "Nsync" is the artist - the quality of the music doesn't matter. Boo.

It was a crazy, semi-lazy week.  We didn't get near as much cleaning/organizing done as we expected, but the place looks pretty good.  Didn't get any of the mail we were waiting for - including the pictures and my winter coat.  At least my boots came in! They are AWESOME. So comfy and warm, and most importantly: super cute!

Yesterday, I attempted for the first time by myself my mom's family's secret recipe for cookie pressed cookies, a tradition I grew up with my entire life. Had some problems with my cookie press, but the cookies themselves taste AMAZING.

We are having a (small) Christmas dinner at our place tomorrow.  2-3 people are coming over - the 3rd depends on deployment something or another.  If he comes, I hope we'll have enough food.  On the menu for tomorrow night is: (And this will be repeated, with pictures, in the days to come.)

1.  Slow-cooked ham.
2.  Mashed Potatoes
3.  Carrots
4.  Marshmallow salad
5.  Jellied cranberry sauce
6.  Fruit-filled muffins

Nothing too special for the dinner menu - The most time being spent on the ham and the muffins.

For dessert, we will have:

1.  Secret-recipe cookies
2.  Oreo truffles
3.  No bake cookies (KR's family's secret recipe)

SO FAR, I have the following done and ready to go:

Marshmallow salad, muffins, secret-recipe cookies, oreo truffles (seriously, it tastes like professional candy, I couldn't believe it!).  The ham is defrosting in the fridge - I am excited to put that all together, and I definitely cannot wait until the house starts smelling like amazing sweet honey ham! I am cheating on the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Hey - as much as I'd love to cook everything homemade, I'd really like to enjoy Christmas, too.

We are exchanging gifts with our friends, and they are staying over while we enjoy the night with movies and video games, and possibly drinking (except for me). I cannot believe the day is almost here!!!

Tomorrow will be a busy day... We still have to clean up the apartment, obviously gifts, I'd really like to work mass in there, but I have a feeling KR will convince me otherwise, and prepare the ham.

Ok, my beautiful hubbin's falling asleep on the couch, so it should probably be bed time now!

Merry Christmas to all!

Cash Monies!

--- That isn't in the bank!

Ok, so finally we sucked it up and bought Quicken to help us get a tad organized in the financial department.  And granted, it factors your spending for the past 30 days, so obviously, it being the month before Christmas... It's not an accurate depiction of our usual monthly spending.... (We took advantage of a lot of deals on stuff we needed to buy for the baby/apartment). But even still, the fear has been realized. KR left before I even finished putting the budget together. Not sure if he was upset at himself for spending so much, or not making enough to cover everything. I, on the other hand, still feel responsible for having the loans to pay back and not working to contribute. Yes, growing a baby is a contribution, but it doesn't pay the bills. Unfortunately. It CAN be done, that much we know, including saving a little bit each month, but it's still too tight for "comfort" so to speak. Military men REALLY don't make that much money - AT ALL. At least where we're at in the rankings!

So again, we have the dilemma.  Me getting a job. Risk my health, my sanity, over-doing it, pain... We toyed with the idea of being a cashier for a couple months - just to earn SOMETHING, although I'd earn lots more if I went back to the CDC. I just have to change my mentality about the place. And hope my immunity is good as getting random illnesses kids tend to carry all the time and those random illnesses tend to be... questionable for unborn babies.

Oh, decisions, decisions!

I hate Sallie Mae.

So, this was the first month that I needed to make payments on my school loans.  Total, they are ugly, but they aren't near as bad as they could be.  I have the  majority of my loans through Sallie Mae, and a few through Direct Loans, but a much less amount, and MUCH more manageable. So, for some reason, my first payment for Sallie Mae was not what my monthly payments will be, I assumed because it was the first month, or perhaps, because some of them are smaller than others (I have about 5 different loans through Sallie Mae, and each has their own payment due and a different interest rate. I only have to make one payment each month for them all, but if I over pay, I have to email them with special instructions for what to do with the extra money or else they will choose and it's usually not the best option for the money. Ghey.). So I set up my online payment last Tuesday, it was due Thursday.  I know, it was cutting it close. I clicked "Pay full amount due," put in my information, and it went through on time.

My mom is my co-signer for my 2 big loans. She called today to set up an online account so she can help me out when she can or else basically, just make sure I'm not screwing up her credit as well as mine. I had already told her I paid the bill and it went through, so I know she wasn't calling them to check up on me. Well, when she called, they told her I was delinquent on my loans by $71 and some odd change. UM, WHAT?! I paid what was due. If I owed more, why wasn't I told this? I never got a bill for the month anyways, but I check the website periodically, and knew it was coming up.  Nowhere on the website did it say I owed another 72 bucks, OR ELSE I WOULD HAVE PAID IT.

So now I have to try to figure this out and hope that it doesn't screw up  my credit/affect my incentives because otherwise, I screwed up ON MY VERY FIRST PAYMENT WHEN IT WASN'T EVEN MY FAULT.

Note: Don't go to college. It's not worth the money. At least, if you need loans for it, it's not. I have 25 years of hell to look forward to, and half the money I'll make every paycheck going to them. Oh, which, by the way, is actually KR's money, which in turn, is our money for furniture we need and baby stuff. But hey, who needs a stroller and a winter coat?

The Bears are Losing. Terribly.

My husband is so upset that he glared at the TV, turned it off, and went to bed without saying goodnight.

I'm pretty mad, too... But since everyone expected them to lose and the majority of the Bears' wins have been either against crappy teams or simply pure luck, I can't complain. Then again, I like the Bears. I would definitely not be at a game with 9* wind chills in the snow cheering them on while scantily dressed to gain the attention of the cameramen.

We were mostly productive this weekend, though.  Still haven't made it to a Christmas Markt which is a HUGE fail on our part. We are, however, too busy getting gifts together, planning Christmas dinner, and trying to get this apartment looking like a home and somewhat organized. Plus, KR was on standby, and I swear, at about 7am this morning, I could've broken that phone it was pissing me off so much.

Anyways, got some laundry done, some organizing, some fun play time, and dishes and finally got some pictures framed and hung in our apartment, yay!

Well, in a fun, emotional turn of events for the night, I am out.

Things I miss.

My list of restaurants that I crave regularly and miss severely has expanded.  They of course include:

1. STARBUCKS! (happiness in a drink. Instant smiles no matter what the mood is. THAT is addiction.)
2. Chik-fil-a (ohhh myyyy, how I miss Chik-fil-a!! Born and raised in Georgia - what do you expect?)
3. Jamba Juice (Baskin Robbin's super expensive fruit smoothie blast simply does not cut it.)
4. Steak & Shake (24 hours. Burgers, fries, chicken tenders, yummy desserts. Cheap. Amazing.)
5. Buffalo Wild Wings (Even though BBQ is off the list of foods I'd eat, my mouth still waters thinking about their  honey bqq boneless chicken wings.)

Other than that, I really just miss a good American mall, and English, and TARGET. I know, I know, I worked there for 4.5 years and endured 4 grueling Christmas seasons with them, but it's still fun to shop there, even if I don't get the discount anymore.  I do, however, have their Target charge, and I get half of my old discount if I use it.

I would, of course, never, ever return to my old store. Except maybe with my husband. To show off how amazing and better my new life is. And only because ONE person works there I would love to see again. And because they have the best clearance selection and prices in the entire Valley.

Oh, man, I miss America.

Grawr!

Yesterday, I spent like 2 hours searching online for some winter boots. I tracked down my friend Taryn and figured out what size she wears in Bearpaw boots b/c we have the same size shoes.  I managed to find some 12" winter boots by Bearpaw for $35-40 bucks on Amazon.  I told KR when we got home about them, I saved them in my account, and we decided that today, we'd go to the BX to see if they had any to try on or else buy.

So today, we went to the BX and sure enough, they actually had in stock some Bearpaw boots! They were THE ugliest boots I have ever seen in my entire life! It was some forest green with some weird decal/design thing on the outside, and then some putrid orange color, and then some sequenced thing, too.  I tried on a size 10 (they only had ONE!) to double check the size (they fit, yay!) and then put those ugly ass things back on the shelf.... There were women there who were like glaring at me if I so much as looked at them holding their box of ugly ass Bearpaw boots. Even Kyle noticed how frenzied their actions were around these boots!

So after we get home (we also bought a picture frame to FINALLY hang up our big wedding picture... and it was the WRONG size frame, ugh.) and I log on to my account to prepare to order the boots... In one day, the COLOR I chose for all my boots had gone up in price like 20 bucks!!! I was so livid I nearly cried. We are trying SO hard to save money and absolutely NOTHING we do is right! And we still need so much stuff for baby, apartment, etc. I ended up changing the color and the price went to $45 but I was still mad. We have gotten screwed on EVERYTHING  we have bought in the past few weeks. Mostly shipping... We've had to use shipitapo to get some stuff here, and honestly, I hope we never have to again! I don't recommend it. We've been SOAKED in shipping prices. We ordered a computer from HP (HP doesn't ship to apo) and they shipped each item we bought SEPARATELY - so we got charged shipping 3x for one order!!! The monitor, ($22 shipping) the external ($13!) and the computer itself (I don't even know!). Our awesome deal on the computer + monitor + 1TB external = not such a good deal anymore. Then we order a stroller travel system from Babys R Us.  They wouldn't ship this particular item to APO and boy, do we know why. We got it on sale for 50 bucks off!  But with shipitapo, we were charged $77 to ship the fucking thing here! That means we paid 25 more than full price to get the damn stroller here! And, you know, it still takes forever.

THEN, I found myself a wool pea coat for maternity from Target for 50 bucks. I don't expect TOO much from Target for 50 bucks, but I am desperate for a decent looking winter coat. Currently, my winter coat is from the girl's department at Target and was on it's end before the baby bump made it's presence - now, it's hardly cutting it, and with all the freaking snow/sleet/rain/whatever is always falling from the sky in this dreary country, it's urgent I get something and quick. So I find this awesome coat, I am so excited, I go to the check out screen.  As soon as I "view my cart" it automatically defaults to showing the coat size as XS as opposed to the size I REALLY ordered. No matter how many times I tried to fix it, the same happened every time. Even when I ordered through Target on Amazon! I was SO pissed. The boots I wanted, out. The fucking coat I wanted - wouldn't work! REALLY?!

IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY?

We are military, poor military. We don't get a lot of money each pay day, and it's basically gone in like 5 days. We have so much we need to get to get this place together and nothing we do works. I'm not working b/c my baby won't let me so I suck at life for contributing. And my lovely, lovely school loans are due um, THURSDAY, so there's another $415 bucks a month we'll never see for the next 30 years. So how exactly do people "get ahead" ? How do people have so much "stuff" and NICE stuff? We had to buy everything used or else we don't have it. I'm not complaining, I like what we have, and why spend 1k on something nice when you can get it for 120 bucks? But ya know, it would just be SO NICE if life was a tad easier and could just simply cut us a break! I'm sick of finding deals and then getting screwed on them. I'd rather not know - or else just let me get the freaking deal! KR's Christmas gift I could've gotten for 60 bucks cheaper if we were in the states, but noooooo websites won't offer the same deals online for Black Friday and so I had to pay regular price. What a waste! What's my incentive to use your company then?

Ok, I am done venting. I ordered my boots and my coat, and hopefully they will be here before the end of the winter season.

Wow.

I had my first ever nose bleed last night.

Oh, the joys of being pregnant.

Better now...

Still was a tad moody yesterday, but got better as time passed. KR passed his A+ certification today, so that is great news! And this week, tomorrow to be exact, he goes back to 6-3! Which sucks for an early bed time, but is GREAT because my husband will be home before the sun goes down! (Only about an hour before, but much better than 3 hours later!) This means that when he gets home, we have time to go out shopping, go for walks, get something done around the house, or simply enjoy sunshine TOGETHER. Ok, not sunshine, because it's like never sunny here, but at least DAYLIGHT. This was a big cause of my moodiness. Stuck inside everyday by myself until after 7pm? With no transportation? And it's gloomy most of the daylight day? LAME! Now I can sign up for some exercise classes and have a way to get there - and the two of us can go for a walk before the sun drops. We're from the midwest, so we aren't afraid of a little snow on the ground or falling from the sky. I used to hike to class with 8 inches of snow on the paths and in the middle of a blizzard that make it damn near impossible see. Oh, it was so much fun! Made phone calls hiding in buildings to see if someone could give me a ride since you couldn't keep your eyes open enough to see b/c the snow was coming down so thick!

Anyways. Got a little distracted. KR got home a little after 5pm today and it had been snowing all day, so the roads weren't so great so we decided not to go out.  We finished decorating the tree (yay, finally!)

But of course, got a little distracted along the way!

Then we moved some stuff around in an attempt to make the place look more homey/organized, had dinner, then started clearing off the island counter area that's been covered in papers for a while.  I crashed while going through all that, so it's not quite finished, but it is much better.  Apparently, we are having a couple people over for Christmas, so I desperately want this place looking like a home (as opposed to an institutional living environment) before Christmas. Plus, I think our friends and family deserve some pictures of our new apartment, and currently, the only ones I have are from when moved in and crap was everywhere. So, even though we have a ton of awesome pictures frames now... we don't have pictures that fit in them, and tons of pictures and no frames that fit them! Hah, isn't that how it always goes?

I just opened an account with Snapfish because apparently, they give the best deals on prints AND actually ship to APO address (hard to find) so I am excited to get that going, but - not gonna lie - I'm gonna go crazy trying to pick out all these pictures!

Ok, KR just got out of the shower, so it's time to switch gears and give him some attention before bedtime. 5am alarm will come quickly (for him)!

Ugh

Absolutely NOT in a good mood!

I don't even know what really happened, in the chain of events, but I've been upset for hours and it only seems to get worse.

And to top it off, my lovely husband fell asleep while I was laying in bed tear-stained texting a friend still doing that stupid gasping for air from crying thing. We didn't get in a fight or anything, I am just being an emotional hormonal wreck; however foolish it may be. And I HATE it!!!!! I know everyone needs a good cry every once in a while, but it's 345 in the morning, and with my tendency to sleep 12 hours lately, this does NOT bode well for tomorrow. Or the next few days following that.

Snow, snow, snow!

Well, it is a lovely snowy day here in Germany! It's actually snowed just about every day since Thanksgiving morning, and while it annoyed me at first, I'm getting used to it - and I love, love the way it trickles down so slowly here. If I were more energetic today and had winter boots (my snow boots are in IL and so new ones are on my list of things to buy) I would go for a walk in the lovely snow. Well, I also don't have a winter coat that quite fits, either, as that baby bump is starting to make it's presence known. That and my winter coat is from the Girl's Department at Target and a few years old... Hey, it was a freaking deal, and had 2 layers, and was about 2/3 cheaper than any coat comparable from the women's department at a department store (as Target doesn't sell true winter coats for adults). They seem to do a piss poor job of using salt and plows here, though, so the roads on base are already amber, and if the snow keeps up, I expect them to be terrible by the end of the day. I will just sit and watch it from my window until it's dark outside and I can't see anymore.

And now it's bigger flakes! Oh, how I miss the midwestern United States! And Starbucks, and Chik-fil-a, and shopping at Target!!! Oh, God, and those days I used to have all 3 in one day!!!!! I long for those days, again... Where we end up, they better have Chik-fil-a's there by then!!!!

Man, I miss America.

In other news, today they were checking the fire alarm systems on base housing so I've been up and restlessly sleeping off and on since 730am (and went to bed late of course) because somebody had to be home from 730-430 to open the door for a guy to check the sprinklers. He finally showed up about 1145 and they tested the alarm at noon. It took him about 30 seconds to walk through the apartment, no joke, and I totally could've gotten good sleep, so now my body is suffering. I'm getting some lunch together, and the hopefully I will get a good nap in and then be all energetic/productive like I was yesterday evening.

Moral of the story: I miss the United States. I will probably gain 20 pounds when we go back because I will engorge myself in all the tastiness I have been denied for 2 years. I. Can't. Wait!