First, some of the best news: Andrew finally got into his unit! Yay! I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that he's finally getting to do something close to his job, which is fixing weapons.... and yes, if he saw that, he'd be saying, "Not just weapons, Hun, artillery too." *rolls eyes* Weapons and artillery. Fine. But it's good news, because he'll start enjoying at least some aspect of the military again, which means he won't be complaining to me about it all the time, and so both of us will be less stressed and happier ppl all around. That's never a bad thing.
Also, although I haven't actually bought the ticket yet, it looks like I will be going back to AZ for my Ducky's 2nd birthday. It was so cute the last time I talked to her. Megan said, "Mattison, ask Auntie where Uncle Andrew is?" And I hear this precious little girl voice on the other end say, "Ann-tee, Uncah Androo?" I just melted all over myself, and then I had to tell her, "Oh, baby, Uncle's at work. He'll be home later and I'll make sure he calls you." Broke my heart, I tell you, at least the unmelted pieces.
So that means I'll be staying out there with Matt and Megan probably from about September 30th to October 7th, because I want to be back here for our first anniversary, which is the 11th of October. I can't believe we've been married an entire year, or that we've been together for 7. SEVEN YEARS. That's a long time for any relationship outside of marriage, but one like ours? Wooey.More good news is that Gardy is finally getting the hang of the idea that the floor is his, my shoulder is his, and his playpen is his... and that's it. Not the air of the living room, not the ceiling fan blades, and not anything past the hallway. I took him out this morning and he did great. He played on the floor with me, and almost got on his playpen. After that, he nibbled my dress for a while, because my clothes fascinate him for some reason, he loves to chew on them. I took him to the couch on my shoulder, and he stayed there while I played on the computer for a while, and I took a video. He's a sweetheart when he wants to be, which isn't often.
Bad news now: Our money still hasn't transferred from our BOTW account into our new BOA account. We're down to very little to deal with until the funds become available. I believe, however, that our savings should be there on the 19th, but Andrew's entire paycheck from midmonth won't arrive until the 21st, nearly a week after it was direct deposited. If you're anything like me, with one income, living from paycheck to paycheck, that week is killer. I'm grateful that the original transfer was enough to get us even this far. Andrew asked me today if I was okay, because he saw the amount of hair in the shower stopper, and I was like, well yes, I'm fine... but we spent too much on groceries this week, we've spent too much this week in general, the car is in major need of an oil change, spark plugs, and probably a tune up from the drive across country, I don't know how much longer than dining room set will be there and I really want it for our home, there's stuff to give to Goodwill, dinner to make, laundry to wash and now we're out of quarters, and a myriad of other things that may or may not be affecting the amount of hair coming off my head. That's pretty much all the bad news though. I'm grateful for that.
So today is Monday, the Monday after Payday, which means I just finished our three week dinner menu. I've decided to make this a bimonthly occurrence, with the invitation that if you see something on here that sounds awfully yummy, leave me a comment and I'll send you the recipe. I'm always trying new ones, because a woman should have a good collection of meals for her family, as sexist as that is. But since I'm a housewife right now, my entire job is to make sure that this house is clean, welcoming, and well-fed. Once I get a job, it's still important, but because I don't have one, and Andrew is supporting me, the least I can do is make sure that when he comes home, he's happy. So, here we go:
Monday 17: Beef Stroganoff
Tuesday 18: Chicken Potato Bake
Wednesday 19: Apple Pork Chops- corn
Thursday 20: Frozen skillet meal
Friday 21: Lasagna
Weekend 22&23: Good luck.
Monday 24: Ranch Chicken- cooked carrots
Tuesday 25: Betty Crocker Boxed Meal
Wednesday 26: Bacon, eggs, and maybe hashbrowns.
Thursday 27: Hamburgers- french fries
Friday 28: Frozen skillet meal
Weekend 29&30: Grilled cheese, maybe?
Monday 31: Banquet Boxed Meal
Tuesday September 1: Hamburger Helper
Wednesday 2: Potato Beef Cassarole
Thursday 3: Tuna Helper
Friday 4: Cream of Chicken Cassarole
Weekend 5&6: Pizza? Sandwiches?
Monday 7: Mushroom Cubesteak- green beans
Tuesday 8: Rice and Roast Beef
Wednesday 9: Frozen Meal
Thursday 10: Restaurant to celebrate another month married.
Friday 11: Chicken Enchiladas
Weekend 12&13: Leftovers, lol
Monday 14: Cream of Mushroom Noodles
Keep in mind that there's two of us. Some days, it's unnecessary to cook a lot so I try to put things that don't make a whole lot next to things that do. It's hard to tell with us about leftovers, because we never know when we'll have company, how much we'll eat, etc. This menu is incredibly flexible: if there's enough of last night's dinner to eat again, I'll put that recipe at the end of the menu and our groceries last us another day. It's a system that has worked for us for almost two years, ever since I started meal planning and grocery shopping by recipe. Of course, things will change once we have kids, but hopefully, this will still be in play even then. I like it a lot.
Today has been nothing but cleaning and blogging, with a little chat thrown in. Andrew was gone for PT early this morning, and for some reason, I slept in. I'm usually awake when he comes home, but once in a while, I get into a good dream and don't get up. Not that it made much difference, it just meant that he had to unlock the door. I probably wouldn't have started anything until about the time he came home anyway.
I still have a few dishes to do, and laundry to hang. The laundry is pretty much all his. I only had enough for one load and with me not really going anywhere, why should I was mine? It's all ACU's and PT's (Advanced Combat Uniforms, dirty looking digital camoflauge) and (Physical Training clothes, black shorts and a gray t-shirt that says ARMY on the front). Oh, here's an anecdote for you. I went to get the dirty clothes from the utility room today, and Andrew missed the basket with a pair of PT socks. So I picked them up and jumped back, because underneath was a big, black spider. Spider was not squooshed, I repeat NOT SQUOOSHED. But oh boy, it was very very dead. Cause of death? Probably the PT socks. I texted Andrew about it. He came home laughing... until I made him get the dead spider :D.
Now, I also have to tell you about the free concert that we went to last Friday. It was pretty awesome. It was part of a biannual called the Week of Eagles here, to salute the troops that have recently returned home and who are leaving soon, and it was huge. They were expecting 10,000 people to show up, as it was open to the public as well, even though it was on post, but no. 75,000 people came to the concert. 75,000!!
I can't even fathom. We got there about an hour or two before the show started... and it wasn't soon enough. It was standing room only by the time we were there, with blankets and chairs and people and food everywhere. The stage was huge, and I wondered to myself, what's going to be so great about this? Then I realized: this concert featured John Rich, formerly of Big & Rich; Hank Williams Jr.; Jake Owen; and Carrie Underwood. Half the crowd was women under 15. The other half were women over 15! Add a little redneck, and a few people that just wanted to see a concert, and there you go: 75,000, quick and easy. So I took as many pictures as I could, mostly of us and of course, of Hank Williams Jr.
It upset me, but Carrie Underwood didn't do as good a job as I was hoping for. She felt very fake on stage, her voice was obviously not in good shape, and all I could think of while she sang was, Stop screaming! I mean, she was good, but I just couldn't enjoy her. I loved Hank Jr. though. He sang songs that I grew up on, and a few I didn't know, but all in all, he was the best performer. He caught my attention and held it, as well as struck a cord in me more than once, and he was very very real. He sang one of Hank Sr.'s songs that I love, Kaw-Liga, and when he sang Family Tradition, I called my mom and let her hear it over the phone. I had so much fun, and of course, Andrew was there and we enjoyed each other's company. We always do. He's everything I need to feel wonderful in life.
We had funnel cake, and sang along, and just enjoyed it. It was my first concert. I won't forget the pleasure it was to watch one of the most talented men in country music play the guitar, then the fiddle, then the piano on stage. Now that was an autograph I would have waited in line for hours for, Hank Jr's.
hank! nice!
ReplyDeleteyour menu plan looks good.