Meatless Monday's and John flying!

I'll get to the food portion, but first let's talk about John ... who has been FLYING for the last week!! He flies almost daily and is still home at a decent time (1400 ish). He has had some awesome landings. In his words, "It's exciting. It's fun. It's challenging." On Wednesday I heard a plane that sounded low, so I jumped out of my seat and went out back with Belleau to check it out. Sadly, I couldn't see it through the trees, but about two minutes after I came back in, I received a text from John that said, "Hey look North, I just waved." How cool is that? He really is loving it.

I wish I were learning to fly ... I am still jobless. I had an interview that went very well yesterday, but got the call that I didn't get it. I personally saw eight other people that were interviewing for the same position. Talk about competition. Surprisingly, I don't feel so bummed today. It's in God's hand and I'll leave it at that for now. To keep busy (when I'm not doing homework) I have been making cards rather religiously, which I thoroughly enjoy. If anyone has a need for some cards, let me know.

Belleau is getting so big, so fast. She has had multiple play dates with other dogs and she is just the friendliest thing you'll ever see. She played with a puppy Golden Retriever last week, and completely crashed after the puppy left ... I'm talking slept 14 hours! She is a riot. Her latest best friend is a French Bulldog, Meya. She copies everything Meya does ... while they run around at the beach. And she LOVES the ocean ... even with the waves crashing in. It's so adorable. Then she is absolutely pooped afterward, which we love. Belleau (or Bells, Belly, Bell, Belsa) is sleeping till 0700 every morning! It's been great. Such a big girl, and still no accidents in the house or crate.
Just noticed her update is getting to be the longest ... guess that goes to show who gets the most attention around here.

On to food:

Last Monday, John and I had our first "meatless Monday"... meaning I made dinner without meat. Ha. This NEVER happens (we even add meat to frozen veggie pizzas), but I thought I'd try it once and see how it went over (great way to cut down the grocery bill a little). It went great! We had Greek spinach feta burgers. They were SO yummy. And meat eating John agrees completely. The leftovers were fought over.
We will probably have the exact same thing for the next "meatless Monday".
The full recipe can be found on this blog, but I'll give a quick run down here.

For the burgers you need: 
1/4 olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 cup herb stuffing mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
salt and pepper

Combine everything and form into four patties, heat a skilled to medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and cook the burgers for 4-5 minutes per side. The outside should get crispy and brown.


for the simple tzatziki sauce you need:
1 small container non fat greek yogurt
1 small cucumber chopped finely
1 minced garlic clove
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

To make the sauce, add everything together in bowl and stir. Set in fridge to chill.

to assemble the burgers you need:
4 whole wheat hamburger buns ... toast them!
red pepper ... don't skip this, it's a must!
red onion. sliced thinly
tomato slices
extra feta crumbles


and you get ...

bugs bugs bugs bugs

Let me tell you what I don't like about Florida. THE BUGS. They are everywhere. I get bit on average 4 times a day, and that is no lie. The first two weeks we were here I had 19 mosquito bites. NINETEEN at once. It was horrible and has not been any better. I spray down every time I take Belleau out and still manage to come in with new bites. Currently I have ten. Three of which I JUST received after taking Belleau out for five minutes (and they have inspired me to write this). Insane. My skin cannot take this. I have never been as ready for winter as I am now. I love the sun, love the beach, but the bugs out weigh those perks. Any secrets, friends? I have tried several "heavy duty" bug sprays, AND candles, and pants/jackets. They just love me.

I wonder how the summer bugs are in Virginia? Cause I sure miss it there. I miss Crate&Barrel, Cheesecake Factory, outlet malls, free museums, friends galore, substitute teaching, West Elm, having the best base nearby ... ah, that was the life.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Florida. In fact, when my bites aren't itching, I really do enjoy it here. Our house is adorable, the beaches are great, lots to do and fantastic places to eat.

Enough with bugs, all this talk is only making me want to scratch more.
Belleau is getting bigger (duh) and has been a GREAT pup. She really has. She is now officially potty trained (haven't had an accident in a loooong time). She did get a little sick and is now on medicine, but she is getting back to her wild self.

fell asleep on my lap

John is studying away! This Friday he will complete the ground school part of IFS and next week will get to fly! He does homework everyday on base, then comes home and does more homework. Poor guy. He is taking in so much information and most days says his brain hurts.
I am still on the hunt for a job, but have a good lead ... so pray. I am staying busy with making cards and working on my homework. Only two more weeks of my current classes then TWO classes left and I will have a Master's degree. Guess it's time to think about what to get next.
Food. Oh, we are eating yummy food as usual! :) Favorites lately: new steak marinade, Italian drip sandwiches, pesto-corn pizza ... is it lunch time yet?

marathon!

A kayaking marathon. It really was a marathon. John picked our route for the trip and picked the 26 mile route on purpose. Now that it's over and done, I can say I am happy about it. But Saturday around 4pm, I was not a happy camper.

This was a fourth of July for the books. We drove to meet the wonderful Eckhardts for a kayak/camping trip. We did a lot of kayaking! Friday night we sat up camp and got little sleep (setting up camp after 10pm is not recommended). The birds woke us up bright and early and we packed up. We then drove to drop off our cars at our ending location, and hopped into an SUV that took us to our starting location. We somehow managed to pack everything into and on our kayak... by everything I mean: food for five meals, a tent, sleeping bag and blanket, two sleeping mats, camping stove, fishing gear, loads of water bottles, and other misc. items. It all fit. I was amazed. Shame on me for doubting my overly prepared husband (by overly prepared I mean he guessed right).

So once in the water, the paddling began. The lake, I mean river, was still as can be. It was not functioning properly, i.e. not flowing AT ALL. So lots of paddling, lots and lots. We completed 16 miles on Saturday! And our bodies were feeling it. There was one mishap this day ... other than the burns and hunger and thirst ... a kayak flipped, and it wasn't ours.

Quite the excitement and it had to happen at least once. Everything was saved and nothing was ruined but a deck of cards. Oh just writing about this 16 hour day is making my shoulders hurt all over again. We pulled off to camp and it was quite the night! Started off with a family giving us cold drinks! We were desperate for something cold (eight hours in 96 degree weather will do that to ya). Pepsi and Mountain Dew never tasted so good.

We then had some dinner, no hick-ups there. Then played a little Phase Ten and all decided it was time to retire by 10pm. So off we went to our tents, and less than thirty minutes later we were all wide eyed and watching a 'coon go through all of our stuff! They primarily wanted Bran's "snack" bag, who can blame them? So we scared them off, and moved things inside the tent, and back to the tents we went. Lo and behold, there they were again. After the peanuts and other random snacks were placed at my feet, I was convinced they would tear through the tent to binge eat. Needless to say, Brandy and I were up most of the night. The husbands had no worries. Call me crazy for being scared of fat 'coons. 

Back on the water we went Sunday. Sun burnt and exhausted, but the day was fantastic in every way. We stopped several times for a swim (we had less miles to travel), and had lots of laughs. We made some great time on the water, and no one flipped over. By the time we made it back to our cars it was 2pm and we all felt very accomplished. We set up camp again and went for one last swim in the evening. Then we decided to shower and GO TO DINNER. That's right, the campsite had a little, tiny restaurant. We came back and played Farkle. Such a great ending to the weekend! Nothing went "wrong" on Sunday. In fact, I slept best that night (minus the wind storm). Overall, I would do it again. With the same people (they are our favorites!). Hope your fourth of July weekend was a memorable one!