Here it is!

http://shaneanigan.blogspot.com/

New Blog!

I haven't started it yet, need to get through this batch of finals (is it just me or do I ALWAYS seem to be dealing with finals??!) but I will be starting a new one since a new chapter of our lives is beginning and with my debate on deleting facebook, I need a space to keep my friends and family updated with life and of course pictures of my monstrosity of a child! So keep an eye out for a link to that! And I promise, I will be more faithful this time! Just need to figure out this fun thing called balance!

Thanks for reading!

HE'S HOME!!!!!!!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

But also makes you a terrible blogger!

I'm back for now. Probably going to need a new blog since we'll be welcoming our soldier home VERY shortly!

The move went as well as any move could go I guess. It took Amy and I 20 hours to get from Massachusetts to Clarksville with stops at West Point and DC. I don't think my tush is every going to be the same.

I am loving our new place, the proximity to post, and being with my girls again. Shane had a rough adjustment period paired with incoming 2 year molars made for a very tired and stressed momma last week.

Here are a few sneak peak pictures of the new house:



Once the hubs is home safe and sound and we've gotten settled, I'll post more of the new abode and of course homecoming pictures!

ACU wreath

He's Okay

Sorry to leave everyone hanging.

Now that we are in the clear, I'd like to let everyone know my husband is going to be fine. He gave us quite a scare and we are very, very lucky that he's alive. It very easily could have gone the other way.

I'm not going to go into details until after the deployment is done because of OPSEC but for those of you who left encouraging words, thank you very much.

The Call No Military Wife Wants...

And I got it.

I'm grateful he is alive.

The words med-evac just ring in my ears now.

We aren't 100% in the clear. He is under observation for a few days.

I still feel numb.

I'm Back! And with a MilSpouse Fill in!

1. Were you named after anyone?
My first name was just a name both of my parents liked and my middle is after my great grandmother, Marie.

2. What color, if any, are your toenails usually painted?
I usually go french or a deep red.

3. How do you flush a public toilet? Hands? Feet? Something else?
Depends on how skanky the bathroom looks but mostly my hands and I just wash very well afterwards.

4. When you were a little kid, what TV character did you have a crush on?
JTT. Yep, I admitted it. Well more so Leonardo DiCaprio. I swore I was going to marry him.

5. Let's say you had to lose one of your five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell). Which one would you choose?
I think taste. I'm not one of those "food lovers" so I could go with everything tasting bland. Sure would help with weight loss :)

Wordless Wednesday

Update about not updating

(I've needed a whole lot of this lately)

I am going to be MIA for the next few weeks. I am drowning in school work and with finals only a week and a half away I need to be focused on getting through those.

Have I mentioned I haven't even looked at the syllabus for them yet?

These classes are going to be the death of me. I have had the heaviest work load without much room to take time and work on my final bit by bit.

Its almost over. Then I've got to figure out how to pay for the next two until myCAA actually does their job and pays my tuition like they promised.

2 months till we head back!

Milspouse Friday Fill In

1. Are you a night owl or an early bird? I kind of have to be both at this point serving dual roles as a mom and a student. Shane is up anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30 and I am up to usually midnight working on school work.

2. What makes you jealous? Moms who bounce back like they didn't just have a baby. It's been a long road for me...

3. Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!)

Yes and am actually almost done. I have everyone's gift picked out if I haven't already ordered it! I plan to not be in a retail store after December 1st.

4. What would you have a personal chef make you tonight? Ohhh... some sort of fabulous salad with steak and gorgonzola cheese. Okay mouth is officially watering.

5. Where was your first kiss? Is it bad that I don't really remember? I remember the first silly kiss when I was like 10, but I really can't remember my first actual kiss.... I DO however remember Matt and I's first kiss. All of our first (well ALMOST all... you'll see why its an almost) happened on a front porch of some sort. The first time we kissed was on our friend Paul's front porch and the first time he said "I love you" was on his parents front porch.

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!

63 days.

63 days till Christmas.

Can that even be real????

With all the changes/moves we have in my family, I really like to make sure we send out a fabulous Christmas card to our family and friends all over the country. The military has allowed us to make some great friends and also take them away from us so we're spread across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Shutterfly is a great (and affordable) place to create your Christmas cards. I'm excited to create and share our Christmas card this year with our family pictures we had done while Matt was home on R&R. Check out their holiday photo card designs! Also, I don't know about you, but I DESPISE writing out my address over and over so here's some adorable ideas for Christmas address labels. Besides Christmas cards and labels, Shutterfly also has some fabulous places for gifts as well. Just visit the main site and see for yourself! I've ordered my husband a few photobooks through them!

And for all my penny pinchers: Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards!

So keep an eye out for our cards in the mail in the next few weeks!

It's truly the little things in life

Food blog?

Okay so here is my new personal challenge:

One new meal and one new baked good every week.

In lieu of that, I was thinking of maybe a blog about that challenge a) so I don't annoy those who follow and don't want to look at my cooking and b)to have an online recipe list for myself for when I want to make that particular dish again.

Any suggestions? Yay or Nay?

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas!

These were FABULOUS and a nice play on the normal chicken fajitas! Really quick and easy too! My only suggestion was to add more than the recommended amount of vegetables.

1tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced onions
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp oregano leaves
1/2 tsp cilantro leaves
1/2 course ground pepper
1/4 lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
1 medium green or red pepper cut into thin strips (I used one red and one green)
1 medium onion thinly sliced (again, I used 2)
Flour tortillas


Directions:
Mix juices, oil, all of the spices and salt in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade. Place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

Cook and stir chicken in large heated skillet on medium high for 3 minutes or until lightly browned (doesn't have to been cooked through). Remove chicken from skillet. Add peppers and onion and reserved marinade and cook and stir for 5 minutes or until veggies are tender. Return chicken to skillet and cook another 2-3 minutes until heated through.

Place tortillas between two damp paper towels and heat in microwave for 45 seconds.

I served the fajitas with some shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and some extra hot sauce!

MilSpouse Fill in Friday

1. What are some things on your bucket list? I haven't thought to much about this. I'm so used to living day to day and "hurrying up and wait" but I know I want to buy a house, travel to Greece, visit the Eiffel Tower...
2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far? I have been a milspouse for 5 years and we have been stationed at Fort Myer, VA and Fort Campbell, KY.
3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far? Come Home- One Republic, Just Another Day in Paradise-Phil Vassar, Better Life-Keith Urban
   
4. What is your favorite kind of pizza? ANY kind of veggie pizza. I hate meat on my pizza. Just no olives please!
   
5. What are three good things in your life right now? First and foremost, my husband. I am blessed that he is in good spirits and healthy during his deployment. Second, my amazing little boy. He is beyond a blessing and I am so incredibly amazed at how much I could love someone. Third, my fellow milspouses. I don't know how I'd be getting through this deployment without them. It is so nice to have a group of women I can trust to talk to and know they understand exactly what I am going through.
   

Wordless Wednesday

Fill in Friday

1. What is the longest road trip you've ever taken?

Massachusetts to Tennessee. It took us 3 days with a 6 month old. Stopped in DC, then Knoxville, then the 4ish hours to Clarksville. We hit a rain storm about 25 minutes from Clarksville and we couldn't see 2 feet in front of the car the rain was coming down so hard! Luckily, drivers down there have come up with a method to drive safely by putting on their hazards to avoid accidents. I wouldn't have been able to see the car in front of me otherwise. Needless to say, its not a drive I ever want to do again but I'll be doing it in a few months.

2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it.

No but I love to take lots and lots of pictures. One of these days I'll create something with all of them.

3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?

Having my own space. Although since February I feel like a teenager again living in Mommy and Daddy's house.

4. What song brings a tear to your eye?

"Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood. Something I try not to think about but having your husband in a very volatile combat zone, its something I have needed to accept and realize is a very real possibility. But I still don't like to think about it.

5. Describe your first plane ride. (how old you were, where you were heading, etc.)

I was a baby, flying to Texas to visit my mom's twin brother and my godfather. I obviously don't remember but my parents said I was a pretty good flier.

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Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I have to give some credit to the fabulous Tearah at Always Onward for giving me the recipe (I tweaked it just a bit) for these fabulous cookies! I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make these bad boys and for some reason they always come out a bit better than when I make anything stirring my hand...maybe its all in my head. So without further ado...

Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening or margarine (I used shortening because we didn’t have margarine)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cup oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup dried cranberries





Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt in a small bowl. Set aside

Cream together your margarine, oil, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Then gradually mix in your sifted dry ingredients. Once your wet & dry are mixed well, stir in your oats. Mix well. Add your cranberries last.
KEY: Refrigerate dough for at least an hour before baking.

Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes & let cool on wire rack. Mine were done around 9 minutes.