Hi! It's Saturday....I never blog on Saturday!! That's not to say I can't....

In my last care package from my mom, she sent a few seed packets, and I decided to try some pots on the balcony. I planted Cherry Belle radish seeds (I love that name!) on Saturday afternoon, and Thursday morning I went outside before work and they had sprouted overnight! I'm so excited. I move the pots around the balcony after breakfast and again in the afternoon because our balcony isn't very big, so there's not a space where they can always get some sun. I might be just a little smitten with my baby radishes. :) I also planted some Morning Glory seeds (Heavenly Blue- which I found out are a hallucinogen!). I didn't get them in a pot until Sunday because they have tough hulls that need to soak in water before planting. I expect they won't sprout until Wednesday, maybe even later. You can bet I'll be excited when they do! I don't know why I didn't think of balcony gardening before! It's great fun.

My very first Cherry Belle baby. Expect weekly updates!

Tonight I'm going to a Spouses' Mix and Mingle that a friend is putting on. The idea is to get somewhat dressed up, drink non-alcoholic cocktails, and munch on bite-sized yummies while we get to know some new people and catch up with old acquaintances. I don't know what I'm going to wear OR what I'm going to bring to eat.... I think I've got it narrowed down to Cream-filled strawberries or brie cherry pastry cups or those little cookies that you push a candy bar down in to. However, for two of those recipes you need a mini-muffin pan, and I don't have one, so that will depend on the PX having what I need. I'll let you know what I decide! I'll try and snap a couple pictures while I'm at it.

Oh, I haven't talked about working out in a while. I'm still running 3 days a week and walking/ hiking on the other days, and doing yoga in town 2-3 times a week. For those of you wondering about how it's going running in Fivefingers....I had a setback this week. I'm in week 7- actually today I'll be finishing week 7 if I can get out there- and on Wednesday I ran into foot trouble. I finished the run but I could barely hobble home! I'm suddenly experiencing top-of-foot pain.... I looked it up online and it could be from tightening the strap on the top of my Fivefingers too tight, which is possible because the FIRST thing I did when my run was over was lean down and rip the stupid straps open. It could also be stress fractures in my feet, or a bunch of other things relating to my feet not being used to flexing so much during a run. All I know is it hurts!! I'm going to have to switch back to running in tennis shoes, at least for the time being. I still want to do all my walks and hikes in my Fivefingers because it's comfy, it feels great, and it's fun! But I just don't know if my feet can hack it for the amount of running I want to do. Which is sad. The tops of my feet are still a little tender, and I think a little swollen, because the other night after I took off my (Army) boots, my feet and lower legs were not in good shape. I'm going to put a picture....feet gross me out so I understand if you don't want to look. You don't have to.

Gross, right!? I don't know what happened- I wasn't even on my feet, really. I spent most of the day parked at my desk. Oh well, last night I took off my boots for what SHOULD be the very last time (God-willing). I feel bad for my husband, who is currently wearing his boots non-stop for at least 16-18 hours of the day. He would never even think to whine about it though...that's MY specialty. ;)

Not only does Ted never complain, but he doesn't ask for anything, either. If he wants something done, he just does it! The other night I was washing dishes and I went to put something away in the dining room and Ted was sitting there with a thimble and needle, stitching away. It's entirely possible that he's noticed all my unfinished sewing projects from over the years and decided it might be best to take matters into his own hands. ;)

He's too cute. I miss him. Anyway....

-Here's my plan for today (in no particular order):

-Shop for a mini-muffin pan with all the hope in the world, and not be surprised when they don't have one

-Shop for groceries for tonight's yummies

-Make tonight's yummies

-Find a dress to wear

-Get out of my bathrobe (sooner rather than later)

-Pick up the house

-Go for a run if my feet are okay, or a hike if they're not. Both, if the sun stays out!

-Continue to write my "List of things to tell Ted when he calls".....if any of your significant others go away for a while, you should try this. Ted has a tendency to call when I'm either getting ready for bed or am already in bed, and I can never think of ANY of the things I had wanted to talk to him about.....so now I have a LIST! I can't wait to tell him about my Cherry Belles. I know he'll be as excited as I am....

-Mix and Mingle with all the other ladies (cross your fingers for FUN and not AWKWARD)

There. That'll do for today. Hope you have a bright and sunny weekend!!

I almost signed this with Love, Ash like I would in an email. Ha! I do love a lot of you, but......

Good Morning! I'm writing this BEFORE I go in to work! I enjoy being an early bird. :)

So the other day, when I posted the frog videos? After I posted that, I went back out for a walk to photograph the yellow flowers I had really been after in the first place. I got just a block away, when I saw something I wanted to take a picture of, but my camera was as dead as a doornail. I turned around and walked back home, realized I didn't have any extra camera batteries, and decided to go to town and get some (I had to go to the library and check the mail anyway). No sooner had I pulled out of my driveway than it started to rain. As soon as I got to the library, it started to HAIL. Violently. I was sitting in my car texting Ted to go look out the door because I had never seen anything like it. The hail wasn't big, but it was coming down in a fury. It covered all the streets, piled up on the cars, and made quite a scene. Oh, and it was lightning, too! If my camera batteries hadn't been dead, I would have been at least thirty minutes away from my house wandering around in a field. Phew, dodged a bullet there!

This was after I had already gone to the PX and got new batteries, so it had already had a chance to melt some.

By the way, next time I'm in the market for a camera, I won't buy one that can't be charged via a wall outlet. Batteries are really annoying.

Anyway, after the hail, the sun came back out, so I went back outside to grab a picture of the beach I found!


Sand and everything! The day I first found it the temps were pretty high and school was out for Spring break- the sandy area was full of teenagers and a gang of boys on four-wheelers. IF I got there on a warm sunny day when no one else was around, I might just lay out a towel and soak it up!

I was walking back from the beach, and I went to go through a pasture that I had just gone through two days before, but it was fenced off (previously it was just an open area). I looked up, and a couple of calves were looking back at me!


Well, hello, Cutie Pies! They looked downright content to be sunning themselves in a field of dandelions! I couldn't figure out what two (beef!) cows were doing out by themselves. It's very rare to see any cattle outside in this area, and this is the first time I've seen it in our neck of the woods. I kept on walking towards home, and on the other side of the ridge, I was surprised to see a whole herd!

I'm so excited. I went back again yesterday, and a couple of them came right up to see me. I'm not sure yet if it was because they felt I was threatening their babies, or if they were actually curious. My guess is the farmer put these mamas out to fatten them up on Spring grass, because they are looking pretttty lean and judging by their poop, I'd say not all that healthy. Not that you care....sometimes I tend to over-share. ;)

Oh, Ted got a buffer this weekend! He got busy on the truck, because if the clear-coat got messed up on that it wouldn't be quite so serious. Turns out he had no need to worry- he's a natural! The truck looks great after several go-rounds. I don't think Ted could feel his hands when it was all said and done!



While he was working on the truck, I went for an afternoon run. For years I've been using an iPod holder that clips to my shorts, but recently it has lost it's grip and my iPod has gone plunging to the ground on several occasions. It finally gave out completely in the middle of one of my runs, and I swear I'm not a litterbug, but I threw the stupid thing in a field. I was just so mad at it. I hate having to carry the dumb iPod in my hands- I need both hands free to tug at my shorts and pick buggers. I didn't find a new case at the PX so I tried the next best thing:


Duct Tape! It even matches my iPod. It held for the whole run, but since then I've been forcing myself to just carry the iPod. I'm probably going to get online and order a new workout holder for it soon.... but at least I have options.

Okay that's enough for today.... I need to get out the door. Have a great day!

As you can tell, it is now AFTER work. Even being an early bird is no match for how long it takes to upload pictures to blogger. Oh well, better late than never!

Feelin' Froggy!

Okay, you guys. I fixed my technical difficulties. I had to find a way, because I have the best video(s) ever to share with you today!!

I was out for a walk, and I came to a junction I walk by on about 70 % of my walks and runs. The last three days, there has been a chorus of frogs singing just as loud as can be, but I never had my camera with me. When Ted and I walked by the other night they sounded so darn pathetic, like they were drowning and needed saving. I think I actually said, "Ohhhhh...." in a sympathetic voice.

Well, today I had my camera because I was heading for a field of yellow flowers that has been begging to be "picturized", but I got sidetracked by the frogs. They were louder than ever, and everywhere I looked I could see froggy bumps in the water. I stepped closer - all the frogs plunged under water- and the music stopped. I parked my butt in a field row and waited...and waited....and waited. After twenty minutes I was about to get up, when a few frogs started croaking. I thought, okay, well maybe I'll stay put a little longer. I got a few great videos- you HAVE to have the sound on and turned up a bit. I don't even care if you're at work- shut the office door and listen to my froggies!

This video is the beginning, when a few of the less-shy froggies paid me no mind.

I sat and waited some more, afraid to even move a muscle. What happened next was just astounding. The frogs came to life.... Singing and jumping and swimming and I truly have never seen anything like it.

I think there's some monkey business going on in this video (watch the left side of the video at around 40 seconds). Could it be...*ahem*...mating season? Or possibly the frogs are just...feeling froggy?! :)

It's like I'm in the midst of a tropical rainforest. I could have sat there all day, but I hit the max on my camera's memory card!

Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool. I wish my camera would focus better in video mode, but it did a pretty good job capturing the sound, which was the coolest part anyway!

I have pics from this weekend, but since I've got so much tied up in these videos, I think I'll save them for tomorrow. See ya then!

Technical Difficulties

Hiiii everyone. It's been a few days...I'm experiencing problems getting my photos from camera to computer. I'm sure it's an easy fix but for now I will see if there are one or two pics from last week I can throw in here!

I hope you all had nice Easter celebrations with your families. We had great weather here the whole weekend, and Ted and I went for hour-long walks on Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday! My husband's a trooper for sure, and I love the time we get to spend together walking and talking.

I also had a lot of time to lounge in the sunshine and catch up on some reading. I grabbed the book American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld) from the library a few weeks ago and I found it to be a great book. It follows a young girl to adulthood, wherein her husband eventually runs for President and becomes quite unpopular after a long War on Terror. Supposedly it is loosely based on Laura Bush's life.... I had to pick up her memoir (Spoken from the Heart) to read next to see which parts of the book had any correlation! I'm only a few pages in to the memoir, but so far I'm enjoying it. She's talking about her father and his role in WWII and I always find personal accounts of that time period worth reading.


I always choose books from the library, because it's free!! Usually they can use the inter-library loan system to get me anything I want (from other military bases in Europe). I had requested the book Better Off by Eric Brende, so when it finally came in I had to put my other reading on hold. This book is about a married couple who moves to an Amish-like settlement and spends 18 months living a minimalistic lifestyle- no electricity or engines, and living off of food they grow and housing they trade labor for. I was intrigued from the moment I heard about this book, but I found the whole thing irritating. The author had a lot of theories about technology and society that I didn't really care about...I just wanted the juicy, day-to-day account of what it would be like to give up everything in favor of a truly simple lifestyle. This book did not really provide that (yet I read the whole thing anyway). What that says about me as a reader, you know, the part where I don't care to be enlightened or learned....well, I don't care! I read for pleasure, so I can be choosy!

I don't know what to say without my pictures to tell stories for me. I guess I'll throw a couple in from last week and call it a day. If you don't enjoy reading, then I apologize for the book report- I'll try to get back on track tomorrow!

Nature wearing some dainty little earrings.

Sometimes my mom sends cartoons in my care packages- this one is my favorite, and I have it taped to my computer. She sent it at least two years ago- Still makes me smile.
*If you can't read it, click on the photo to enlarge.



Ted gave me this warmer in my stocking last Christmas. I love it. I use it every single day. You can change scents so often, and the smell fills the house very quickly. Everyone should have one!

There are SO many scent options! I love the lavender vanilla- I'd say that's my favorite this month. So kudos to Ted for getting me such a great gift (he always does!) and to everyone else, you should probably go buy one of these. :)

That's all the pics I could find for now, and besides, it's 8:30. Time to wind down for the day. Wish me luck for the computer problems!

I'm Ron Burgundy?

Good Mooooorning!

I have to start out by showing you this video, because some of you haven't seen the movie Anchorman.

Ha.... Anyway, the other day I got a new T-shirt, thanks to my loving and thoughtful husband- it's a long-sleeved t-shirt, which I adore... He must have noticed that I've been wearing HIS long-sleeves for the last two weeks and decided I should have one of my own! Or maybe I was embarrassing him by continually wearing over-sized clothes in public, but either way, I got a new shirt (in my own size!) that I haven't taken off in several days.

Later that night, as we were in bed reading, I had to admit to Ted that I didn't really get what the shirt was trying to say.


I asked him," Do they mean DID you do it yourself? Do you WANT to do it yourself? CAN you do it yourself? PLEASE do it yourself?" Without even looking up from his book, which is called Differentials (the man reads car manuals for pleasure- one of those things I find endearing about him but will never understand), Ted says, "I'm Ron Burgundy?"

Haahaaaaaaaa! I burst into a giggle fit for like fifteen minutes. His quick-witted sense of humor is one of his best qualities, wouldn't you say!?

If Rockauto.com ever sees this, I suggest you make it an exclamation point. Do It Yourself!

RockAuto has become a bit of an institution at our house. Ted has become well-known around these parts as the man who can fix your car or TEACH you to fix your car, and he's done numerous jobs on our own vehicles as well. Somehow I have started to enjoy these parts orders too, simply because they send a free magnet with every order! I get all excited to rip into the box and see if it's a new magnet or one we already have. I know. it's weird. Then I hang them up on the fridge to showcase....I don't know what, really.

All the new and original magnets get the honor of the FRONT of the fridge.....

All the duplicates (and unfortunately, Christmas cards, since it's April now) have been relegated to the SIDE of the fridge. Yes. RockAuto magnets are a big deal at our house.

Since I've already talked so much about Ted, I have one more story to share. Monday morning, Ted came to my "office" where I was doing my "dailies"- you know, checking emails and Facebook and blogs, and his shirt was ridiculously short. He wanted to know if maybe my t-shirts got mixed up and put away in his closet. It was his, so he went to go find a new one that could at least be tucked into his pants. After he had already left for work, I went through the house to pick up random items and put them away, and I came across this:

Another endearing quality I will never understand: the need to rip off the offending piece of clothing, Hulk-style. I used to think this little ritual was mostly for my benefit- last time he had a pair of jeans that ripped out completely, so he grabbed ahold and shredded them until he was wearing a hula skirt made of denim. And yes, I laughed my little heart out. Now I know he does it for himself, because I completely missed this last episode of Ted the Hulk!
Women: gently take off a piece of too-small, too-tight clothing and set it aside for the rag-bag. Men: The Hulk. Keeps life interesting!

Oh, I want to show you my new flip-flops:

I snagged the brown ones last year from Bass Pro Shops in Altoona, and when I saw the black pair yesterday I didn't even think twice- I had to have 'em! Some say flip-flops are not fashionable....I say, I don't care!

Okay, I need to get out of the house for some fresh air! One thing I have barely learned to tolerate in this country (among many things) is the fact that the stores don't open until late morning! I can't remember if the PX opens at 10 or 10:30, but I get up at 5:30 with Ted and when there's things on my to-do list, I want to do them NOW! I miss Wal-Mart dearly. One of the things I need to pick up today is a birthday card for a certain someone....(Tony's birthday is coming up, but you didn't hear that from me! ;)

So anyway, off to kill some time before I can do my shopping. Have a fabulous day!

Flutterby

I worked this weekend (finally, right?). See:

You'll have to click the pic to make it big to see me- sorry, it's the best I could do!

There I am (in Ted's fleece, which is why I look like a pudgy-pudge)- the look of consternation is because I was trying to find my ten runners among the 53 people on the track (I was grading a PT test). When I showed Ted the pic, though, he said I always have that look of consternation. Hmmmm.... ;)
Saturday I took MY last PT test EVER! That felt good! Tomorrow I have an appointment to turn in all my Army gear and some random issued items I've been dragging around since Basic Training, because, well, the end is in sight!

I had intended to get all my gear cleaned, sorted, and packed up today, but after a few days of rain and a couple in the office, the beautiful weather proved to be irresistible! I left the bed unmade and the dishes undone and went for a long (but sloooow) wander in the woods.

I walked this way today. This made me think of the Hundred Acre Woods, which made me think of Winnie the Pooh, which makes me giggle because when I was watching Kristof the other day I heard a German commercial and they call him Winnie Pooh (no "the") and that's just funny.

These are sooo cool! I was just tickled pink to come across them.


They're like a strand of Nature's Christmas lights! Only...they don't light up. Well, you know what I mean. They're a strand, at least.

Once I came out of the woods, I noticed lots of moths drinking a brunch of dandelion juice.... So maybe they aren't butterflies, but either way I think they're gorgeous!










Pretty, even if a little furry. :)

I've got a few things to wrap up before I hop in bed (when the sun goes down, so do my eyelids!), so I better get to work. 'Bye!

Baby-sitting!

Today I got to spend the day with my little friend, Kristof! Of course, I couldn't forget my camera....

"Oh, hey, Ashley!"

"Come on, girl, lets go check out my toys!"


"See, I've got all this. Pretty sweet, huh?"


"Yoga? Yeeaahhh, I've done a pose or two in my day. Check this out! FlexiBLE!"


"Did you hear I got my own ride? It's a '10. If you've got the time I'll take it for a spin..."

Homeboy cracks me up in his jeep- I love how he pauses to check out whats on TV, and then at the end he just zips right into the other room! Maneuvers like an old pro!

After a morning full of jeep rides, reading books, and playing with toys, we decided it was pretty nice out, so we stepped outdoors for a bit of fresh air.

He seemed a little perturbed by the things I suggested he touch....

But in the end he decided that being outside is pretty awesome.

:0)


Thanks, Sam & Michaela, for letting me photograph...er....steal...I mean WATCH your baby for the day!

That's it from me today, folks. I hope your week is turning out to be wonderful- next time you hear from me it will be FRIDAY!

The Bees Knees

Look what I found yesterday!

A beehive!

Oh, and this, too!

Pretty cool, huh?

Finger Lickin' Good!

Good morning, everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! Ours was filled with relaxation, excellent weather, and some gooood food!

You all know by now that I love to go for walks in the sunshine, and Ted and I decided to head over to the Vilseck area and do some exploring! It was so beautiful outside, and the conversation was great....doesn't get better! We happened upon a goldfish pond and stopped to soak up the sun and check out the fish.




We also completed our customary weekend grocery run. I come up with a list of meals for the week so we can get what we need and get out, but this trip was not so successful. I know everyone heard about the whole government shutdown debacle.....well, that shutdown would have meant our commissary would be closed until further notice. People took the warning to heart. I turned the corner to get meat for the week and the shelves were EMPTY. Completely and totally wiped out. No pot roast, no pork chops....pretty much all that was left was beef for fajitas, and we JUST ate those. I truly have never seen anything like it, even during the snowstorm panics. Okay, plan B: Ted found a rack of ribs in the freezer section!

I'll be honest with you- I don't like to eat food that requires work- i.e. chewing meat off bones, peeling shrimp before eating it, breaking lobster out of it's shell...I'm so lazy! Ted changed my mind with these ribs:


The man misses his smoker (we had to leave it behind when we moved- but we'll be back for it!), but I have to admit, he sure knows his way around a grill!


You better believe I didn't mind chewing the meat off those bones! I did, and Ted brought me more, and I ate all that too, and by the time I was done I needed to launder the BBQ off my clothes and *ahem* take a shower. My Top Chef outdid himself again!

I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a dentist appointment in a little while and I need to go mentally prepare myself. I hate the dentist, and no lie, I'll probably need snacky-treat therapy at some point today (i.e. cupcakes and/or candy bars and/or gummies) to get over the torture. The worst part is that this will be just a temporary fix until I can get to the (scary) German dentist because the on-post clinic doesn't treat family members. Waaaaah... :(

Comfiest pants ever......

Yes, you read that right- I have discovered the best pair of dress pants I have ever owned! Ted and I had to go to a Battalion dinner last night and we needed to wear church clothes.... I almost always wear dresses and skirts, because I can never find a pair of pants that truly fits....until yesterday that is! I went to the PX for one last, desperate look around, and just happened to try on a pair of Dockers, and lo and behold- they fit! I'm...*ahem...curvy....but these pants fit at the waist, hips, and thighs, and they were just the right length for heels. Too long to wear with flats, probably, but I think they do come in petite and long sizes as well. They are a khaki material, which makes them super-wearable in my opinion, but they don't have a khaki look to them at all. The only thing I will say about them is that around 9:30 p.m. they started to stretch out in the thigh area, so they probably will require a wash after every wear...hopefully they wash well. I took pics to show you!





Here's the details for the pants if any of you ladies need to add some COMFORT to your work or church wardrobes (they're on sale right now at Kohls!).




Oh, I did come out of the dinner with a lovely little jewelry box as thanks for being the FRG treasurer for the past two years. :)


Sorry to bore you with shopping and jewelry boxes, gentlemen. I'd say more, but I've got a date with this little hunk....

His mama is back from attending a (long!) Army school, and we're going for a walk on what is shaping up to be a repeat of yesterday's gorgeous weather! Gotta run, Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!

Wait, Random Photo! I have just enough time....


It's T&J Knust, Ted's parents, circa Thanksgiving 2010! Are they going to appreciate being featured on my blog? Probbbably not. Can they stop me? NO! ;) Besides, it's a great pic.

Okay, now goodbye for real.