World peace, combos, and a complete lack of jeans and shoes

I really really really miss being able to blog frequently.  I will try to keep it up I swear I will but I'm thinking once or twice a week is just about as much as I can manage out here.  I do have a couple of things to say while I'm online, however.

One, I'm tired of food.  All food.  And yet, I get excited by the strangest types of food.  I know that seems contradictory but you'd understand if you were here.  It's a smorgasbord of eats here.  There are crab legs and lobster tails...ribeye and indian food...chinese buffet...salads...soft serve ice cream.  Honestly, it's everything you could want to eat.  But it gets so...freakin'....old!  I don't know what it is. I think part of it must be because I like the act of putting together a meal.  There's something satisfying about chopping up fresh vegetables and slaving over a hot stove.  Throwing things on a crappy used plate atop a brown plastic tray just gets a little unappetizing after awhile. 

Then again, there's the COMBOS.  I never knew how much I loved combos.  You know what I'm talking about.  Cheese filled, pretzel encrusted, salty combos.   Funny how you're surrounded by piles and piles of food and all you want is pre-packaged, cheese filled crapola.  But oh how I love the crapoloa.

It's almost the same way I love cereal right now.  Life, Sugar Smacks, Special K...you name it.  If it's normal, I WANT it! 

And now for something completely different...

How SUCK SUCK SUCKY is it that the one box that didn't get here was filled with jeans and tennis shoes?!?!?!  How...does...that...happen!?!?!  It's like I'm being punished or something.  I am functioning on cargo pants and hiking boots and this is really NOT ok.  Not to worry friends and countrymen/women/people/whatever...amazon ships to APO addresses and they ship pretty quickly as a matter of fact.  Too bad I shipped everything I wanted out here to...wait for it...wait for it...RICHMOND!  ergh! 

Other than that, all is well.  Movies are $5 a pop, nevermind you can hear the people laughing in the theater because THEY ACTUALLY FILMED IT WHILE THEY WERE WATCHING THE MOVIE AT THE MOVIE THEATER!  I'm not kidding!  At the end of "The Help", I saw the shadow of a person leaving the theater.  I poop you not! 

And if the excellent movie quality doesn't convince you to move to the desert, then the super duper awesome SATELLITE internet connection will!  WOOT WOOT.  It only takes me 17 hours to download a 5 minute you tube video clip...now THAT is technology. 

OR OR...there's the recycled sewer water they use to water the grass.  A novel and very "green" idea but a wee unpleasant as you're strolling to work with your cup of java.

But the people are great, the work is better, and I'm pleased as peaches to have hubs here with me.  I could complain (and obviously I will and do) but really, I'm a pretty lucky girl.

Did I mention the booze DID arrive!?!?!  :)

Baghdad is a circus

OR...there's a circus in Baghdad.  Yeah, that's what I meant to say.

In all seriousness, I thought this was pretty cool.  It's the first time the circus has come to town in Baghdad since probably 2003 or so.  I'm not a huge fan of the circus anymore but I was when I was a kid.  I loved loved loved the clowns and for a while I collected all sorts of clown figurines.  That is, until I read and later saw the movie, "It".  Needless to stay, that put the breaks on my appreciation of the circus.  Having said that, going to the circus ought the be an inalienable right as a child.  It seems really sad that all the violence here has kept the children from being able to enjoy the bright lights and pageantry of a three ring circus.

It's heartwarming to hear that they've brought it back even though, apparently, they are still waiting for the animals to clear security at the airport (seriously).  The show did go on though with acrobats and magic and other....circusy things so I thought I'd share a few of the photos that I found. 

Most cat sounding dog I ever heard

So this is what I heard on the way home from work tonight.  Apparently, they're all over Iraq but until I laid eyes on the little guys, I thought the ruckus belonged to a herd of angry cats.  Seriously strange sound.  I've heard coyotes and wolves but this was a new one on me.  I definitely wasn't prepared for the noise to belong to a dog lookin' thing.  According to all of the super lame research I've done tonight, they aren't scared of people and are known to carry rabies.  Glad I got all my shots.  Too bad about Z :(  Guess I'll have to put him out of his misery if he starts foaming at the mouth.

Poor Man's Margarita

"The Bullfrog"

This is an old family recipe.  I can remember my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, mom, dad, and the rest of the family huddled over a game of dominoes drinking round after round of Bullfrogs.  I always thought they looked so delicious, especially in the heat of summer.  I never could understand why they wouldn't let me have one.  Now I do.  Mixed right, this is one potent little beverage but you'd never know it because the limeade overpowers ANY alcohol taste. 

 If any of you are like me, you are desperately clinging to what's left of summer (even though, technically, I guess it's over).  Either way, there's still time to drown your sorrows in a glass of the soon-to-be world famous...BULLFROG!

 

 1 can frozen Minute Maid Limeade
 Vodka
 Ice

Pour Limeade into blender (you can let it sit out for a few minutes to soften if you like).  Fill empty Minute Made can with Vodka and pour on top of limeade.  Fill the remaining space in the blender with ice.  Blend.  Serve in cheesy red Solo cups.  If you want to get super fancy, you can salt the rim.  I wouldn't recommend getting too fancy though...sorta defeats the purpose.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

"Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called walking." -George W. Bush

My mom will be a tad irked that I used a G-Dubb quote but it was so appropriate, I couldn't resist.  


I heart Texas, it's pretty obvious.  And even though my fanaticism has waned somewhat over the last few years (only because I have someone to keep me company now and I don't spend ALL my hours thinking about all my loved ones back home), I still am pretty loony about the Lone Star State. 

I've been thinking a lot about home lately.  Not so much because I miss all my peeps there (although I really do) but because the climate here is remarkably similar to Texas.  That got me to thinking about all of the things I love about Texas and since I am incredibly vain, I thought you might care...whoever you are...

So, here, in no particular order are a few things that remind me of my very favorite State:

Texas country music.  Yes, there IS a difference!

Bluebonnets, I'm glad there's a law against picking them dammit!

Our CHAMPIONS!!!  The Dallas Mavericks!  What a great season!!

Armadillos.  This dearly departed Armadillo's name is Earl Wyatt ArmeDadillo.  Cassie loves him..so should you!

A rapidly vanishing bit of our heritage...the horned toad.  Want to help his cause?  Go here: Horned Lizard Conservation Society

America's Team!!!

Big Tex:  "Well Howdy Pawdnah!"

Wide open skies and the storms you can see for miles away because there's nothing blocking your view

Hole in the wall Mexican joints

Big Hair, Big Fun!

There's NO BBQ like Texas BBQ!!

Ford's Fish Shack

 Yes, that's right...yet another restaurant we ate at while in limbo.  I swear we've eaten out more in this "transition phase" then we did over an entire year.  It seems like it would be great but honestly, I miss cooking and I miss not stuffing myself silly.  Having said that, I really enjoyed this meal at Ford's Fish Shack in Ashburn, VA.  Clearly the location is nothing remarkable.  Like a lot of things in Northern Virginia, it's located smack dab in the middle of a strip mall.  Right next to a nail salon, a chinese restaurant, and...well...you get the idea.  But don't let the facade fool ya...good food can be had inside and it's worth at least one trip.

We've been to Ford's before but this time was better.  I think it was because this time we were just going for a quick bite...perhaps my expectations weren't as high?  We arrived at 6:55 pm which gave us about 5 minutes to order from their happy hour menu.   They have some pretty good deals for happy hour.  Dollar shrimpies, dollar oysters (I think they were a dollar), 3 dollar drafts and 3 dollar wells.  We ordered a couple of beers and 10 jumbo shrimp.  And let me tell you, even though I forgot to take a picture, these shrimp were monsters and well worth a $1/each.

We both opted for the fish tacos (mahi mahi).  Zach had them the last time and said they were great and sure enough...they were.  I got the sauce on the side so I could at least control something but the fish was seasoned perfectly and the tortillas were perfectly cooked...warm and crispy but not falling apart.

It was a Wednesday night but they were still on a wait...I think they pretty much always are.  We ponied up to the bar right away though and were in and out in less than 40 minutes.  The service was friendly and the prices (probably in part because of the happy hour) were absolutely reasonably.

I wouldn't go to this place every week but it's a nice change of pace from our typical kabob/burrito/kabob/burrito rut. 

Neither of us had this but I am including someone else's picture because I coveted the corn.  If we ever make it back there, I am definitely ordering the corn on the cob...even if it doesn't come with my meal.  mmmmm.....

By the way, the waitress only charged us for 6 shrimp. Niiiiice :)

Bad to the bone!

This WILL be my dog one day!  Cassie loooooves the motorcycles and ever since I saw a teeny chihuahua snuggled in her "travel crate" on the back of some woman's Harley, I have wanted to try this with my little dachshund!! Clearly I'm not the first one to have this notion, you know, from a safety perspective.  There are all sorts of ear/eye/head protection options for motorcycle-man's best friend. 

I think she would love it and I would certainly enjoy having her with us on our road trips.  We'd start small, obviously.   A couple of trips to the grocery store or the dog parks but honestly, I think she'd go wild for it!  Heck, every time she hears a Harley, she gets all excited and thinks it's daddy or mommy.  If we could make a contraption that would keep her comfy and safe back there, it'd be AWESOME!!

Cassie could make friends with this bitch and they could start a little club!

This isn't what I'd consider the safest option in terms of mounting and I'd prefer the pup have eye and noggin' protection but the bag is pretty cool. 

Even when she was a puppy, she wanted to be on the bikes

If life gives you limes, make Margaritas!

I'm a bit late on this but to be fair, I have at least been thinking about writing this post for a while.  These guiltless margarita mixes are fantastic!  I love a good margarita every now and then but they are so so bad for you.  When my friend Brie told me about Skinny Girl margaritas, I was pretty excited to give it a try.  Unfortunately, we were deep in the summer months and the stuff was NOWHERE to be found!

I ended up picking up Scales Margarita mix at the grocery store and it was ok.  It tasted a little saccharin-y for my tastes so I probably won't buy it again unless it's the only thing around.

Next stop was the Master of Mixes Lite Margarita Mix.  I liked this one a good deal better than the Scales Mix.  It had a traditional Margarita taste so although I knew I was being good, it didn't taste like a diet margarita.

To be honest, I still haven't tried Skinny Girl BUT I did ship several bottles to our new place so that I could try it when we get there :).  I have heard lots of good things about it from girlfriends, mother/sister in laws, etc so I have faith it will be tasty. 

For a quick run down on the dunlop WON'T be getting with these drinks, you can reference the calorie count below:    DRINK UP BEEOTCHES!  (and for those of you who don't know what a "dunlop" is, you can find the definition at urban dictionary)

Skinnygirl Margarita - 100 calories per 4 ounces (Calories are higher because Skinnygirl has built in Tequila!)
Master of Mixes - 20 calories or fewer per 5 ounces
Scales Margarita Mix - 5 calories per 4 ounces

By the way, you should also note that most of these companies offer different flavors of their lighter fare.  For instance, Master of Mixes has Lite Strawberry Daiquiri and Lite Sweet and Sour Mix.  Scales has the same plus a Bloody Mary Mix.  Skinny Girl just released a line of Sangria.  All of them sound pretty darn good to me!!

Sunday crappy Sunday!!!! (Part one) AKA We're moving overseas for a year...oh wait...no we're not!

Starting the day off right with a bottle of champagne that we've had since we got married.

 The Richmond DeBords drove down and met us for lunch at Eggspectation.  We ran some errands and just generally had a nice day.  We were a little afraid our looming overseas relocation would paint the day with a shade of blue but it was really quite nice to spend the time with everyone.

Zach's mom and sister made us this wonderful collage.  Cassie figured prominently but pretty much everyone in the family was represented.  A very thoughtful gift that is traveling in my suitcase for sure!

I'm tellin' ya...she was on to us.  Look at those eyes.

My little girl and me...a few hours before our company arrived (to steal her!) ;-)

Ok ok...perhaps she isn't quite as smart as I think.  Clearly there are boxes packed and mom and dad are leaving me...but what the hell, there's this cool toy and dammit, I'm playin'!

Aren't we a cute family?!?!  This was about 4 minutes before the waterworks started.