Shots Fired!

There have been storms pounding our country over the past few weeks. A couple of days ago a really bad one came through here. Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely hate storms.

Cody decided we'd watch a movie to help get my mind off the storm. It worked! At least for a little bit. All of a sudden we heard an extremely loud bang and pop (no it wasn't thunder) and a bright flash. We both jumped up, terrified. It seriously sounded like an explosion. Cody later told me he thought it was a bomb or some sort of explosion. I had thought it sounded like a loud gunshot.

We looked around the inside of the house making sure the source of the explosion wasn't inside. It wasn't. We went outside and our neighbor came out with her son and drove over. She was terrified too. None of us knew what happened. She had seen a ball of fire right after the explosion.

Turns out two trees in our back yard got struck by lightning. Most of the storm had passed when we discovered it. You could smell the burning of the tree. Luckily, nothing caught fire. But regardless, it
 was a terrifying situation. And that's the reason I hate storms.

Crock Pot Chicken Recipe

I have an addiction to my Crock Pot. It just makes life so much easier! You just put the ingredients in and let it go for a few hours and BAM! It's done and ready to eat. So I've been trying to come up with more recipes just for my Slow Cooker.
Here's one of my favorite Crock Pot Chicken recipes.

Ingredients:

•  1 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 23oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 Packet of Italian Dressing Mix (Found in the salad dressing aisle w/ ranch mix)
• 2-4 chicken breasts
• 1 package of rice (I use chicken flavor)

Directions:

• Put cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in crock pot. Turn on low and let cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cheese and soup should combine and be smooth. 

I used crockpot liners. They make cleanup a lot easier.

• Once cheese and soup are combined, place chicken breasts in crock pot with mixture. 

• Sprinkle the tops of the chicken breasts with the Italian Dressing mix. Use the whole packet. It adds more flavor. 

  

• Turn on high and let cook for 6 hours. 
• Check and make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked.
• Cook rice according to directions on the package. 
• Serve over rice and Enjoy! 

Respect. It's Mutual.

A military relationship is a special type of relationship. It's one of those things where you don't completely understand unless you've been there. We experience things that most people would never experience in their lifetime.

Many times, those who are in military relationships tend to befriend others who are also in military relationships. It helps us to feel like we aren't alone and that there's someone who actually understand the obstacles that we encounter on a daily basis.

But now there are so many people out there who put down women (or men) who are in these relationships, or "MilSOs." There are military wives who look down on military girlfriends. My question is why? What makes the wives so different than the girlfriends? Don't we both face the reality of deployment and training? Don't we both experience the same things?

Then there's the whole "dependa" or military spouse bashing that is occurring. I don't understand why it's a bad thing for a wife to take pride in the fact that her husband is in the military. It should be seen as a good thing that she's supportive of his career choice.

We shouldn't be tearing each other down. We should be supporting one another. Sometimes, we only have each other to turn to through the difficult things that we face.

Just a Thought

The Army throws so much stuff at us all the time and I tend to forget the positives. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing man in my life. He's so caring, supportive and loving. Sometimes the military puts a strain on us, but honestly, I can't imagine my life being any other way. I can't imagine not having this man in my life. I love him so much and I will forever.

Time to Kick it into Gear!

I'm pretty excited. I've decided to take the first steps towards being healthy again. I used to go to the gym everyday for at least an hour and a half. Then I got in a car accident that hurt my back to a point I could barely walk. I was down for months and I ended up gaining weight. Then I just never really went back to the gym.

But with news of our new duty station, I'm determined to lose the weight I've gained. I'm off to a fairly good start. I got a FitBit Charge and it helps me to track my activity, water intake and caloric intake. I've already lost 4 pounds! I have an Aria scale coming in, which will help me also.

I'm thinking of either creating a vision board or a fitness binder to help me see my progress.

Geocache Basics

In my previous post I wrote about how Cody and I went Geocaching. As promised, I'm going to tell you what Geocaching is and why you will absolutely love it!

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is basically a worldwide scavenger hunt that uses GPS coordinates to lead you to hidden caches.

What is a Cache?

A Cache is a container that is hidden by a fellow geocacher. You use the GPS coordinates given to find them. The size of a cache can range from extra small to large. Within each Cache is a log. On this log the geocacher who finds it, writes down the date and their geocache name. Some Caches contain "swag." "Swag" is just stuff that people leave in caches for other geocachers.  It can range from cheap trinkets, to more expensive things, like DVDs, to Trackables.

What is a Trackable?

A trackable is a type of swag left in caches by other geocachers. Each trackable is given a code. The trackable is moved from geocache to geocache and the code on the back is logged. You can see all the wonderful places that it has traveled.

How do I get started?

 When starting out, most people download the free Geocache app from the app store. It's available on both Android and Apple. You register for a basic account (later you can pay the $30 to get the year long Premium membership, which is well worth it). The app will then show you what caches are in your area. You click on the one you choose to find, and hit start. The app will then lead you to the cache. Some are easy to find and some aren't. Once you find it, log on the app that you have found it.


If you still aren't convinced, here are some of the caches that we have found.

Geocaching is a great way to stay active and have fun without spending money!

New Orleans Road Trip

We just spent five days in New Orleans and let me just say, I absolutely loved it. It was so gorgeous! I loved getting the history of all the places we went.

While there, we did some shopping (of course), went to the WWII Museum, walked all around the French Quarter, bought some local artwork, took tons of pictures, and took a cooking class at The New Orleans School of Cooking. I totally recommend doing this if you're ever in the area. The chef was super personable and we learned to make some very delicious food.

On the way back we decided we were going to take detours all the way home, since we weren't in a rush. It added  three days to the trip, but was well worth it.  We did a lot of geocaching (I will do a later post explaining all about what that is). It was tons of fun and definitely broke up the drive back to Georgia. We stopped at a lot of cute, historic towns along the way. One of our last stops was to the town where they film The Walking Dead. We had no idea they filmed there, until after we stopped. But anywho, we saw the set of the show and actually had one of the actors let us cross the road in front of him. So that was pretty cool.

I will be making a post later that will include pictures of our wonderful adventures!