February 6, 2014 by Stephanie

So I Lied

I may have said that every half marathon that I have done will be the last. Time and time again, I make some grandiose statement to Tom that this “one” means this to me, and this is why it will be my last. And I will promise no more!

I lied.

Not intentionally though. I really do mean it in the moment.

But then things happen.

After every race, I am on a high and go searching for that next race. After a few weeks, I begin getting stir crazy and want to have another race to aim for. I feel it in my gut to go after that next medal.

I am addicted to race day!

Although much like my last race, I need to be realistic about how I train and how I run. I probably will never PR again because I want to be able to use my knees when I am forty.

So what is a girl to do?

Get creative.

I have signed up for my next race in April. This one in Nashville will be my fifth half marathon.

There is a twist though.

I ran my very first half marathon with my sister-in-law. “With” being an operative word. She came in under 2 hours, which is much faster than I ever hope to run.

We ran to honor her birthday back in 2011.

But the fact is she was a big reason that I started running and signing up for races in the first place, so I suggested doing this one actually with her, especially knowing her infatuation with Nashville. Plus, neither of us really grew up with a sister (we both had younger pesky brothers), so it will be fun to do some sisterly bonding with her.

303184_748554439311_1513098294_n

Instead of running for a PR, we decided to do a scavenger hunt while on the course.

Yes you read that right. We are going to do a 13.1 mile scavenger hunt.

We will run some of it for sure, but it is meant to be all for fun and doing something different together.

So for 13.1 miles we are going to be on the lookout to pose with just a few things.

port a potty
someone dressed as a character
cheer team
band
a cop
someone in a military uniform
best road signs
historic places
Nashville icons
best road side snack
beer stop
water stop
start/finish

We may not find all these, and we may add others along the way. We will be taking tons of pictures regardless.

We are also going to be dressing up in costume to fit the Nashville country theme. So that will be entertaining.

I am really looking forward to it.

And who knows maybe this will be my last one. I like that it would end on my fifth race. Five is a nice round number to me.

We’ll see a couple months into the summer how I am feeling after the fact.

Here’s to Em and I taking over Nashville one scavenger hunt item at a time!

1509164_10100379090951061_1315827832_n

Do you have ideas to add to our list? Anyone else running a race soon?

February 5, 2014 by Stephanie

Crochet Cowl Scarf and a Give Away!

This was another Christmas gift. I finished this in a few hours on the drive home to Missouri.

I used some left over yarn, but it happens to be my mom’s favorite color so that worked out in my favor. You can use any yarn or any size needle. You just need to figure out the effect you are wanting. The chunkier and bigger holes will warrant a bigger needle.

To make this cowl neck here is the pattern I used:

First row: Make a chain for your desired length. (I measured it around my own neck, and did my best guess at how the cowl part would factor in. You’ll need to make it like a necklace at first.) Once you have the length, you combine the ends with a slip stitch. This will make it seem like a seamless circle. No sewing involved!

Second Row: Single crochet all the way around. Slip stitch the last single crochet to the first single crochet of the row.

Third Row: Double crochet all the way around. Slip stitch the last double crochet to the first double crochet of the row.

Repeat 2 and 3 until you have the thickness you desire. Using my own neck as a judge still, I kept going until it looked right. You will also end on a single crochet row.

The design in progress in the car.

The final product.

As you can see, it looks like it is twisted. I did not do this intentionally, but it worked out to look nice! I must have twisted it on the first row without noticing, and by the time I realized it was happening I was half way done. So I just went with it.

So there is the crochet.

Secondly, I want to wish Susannah at Simple Moments Stick a happy blog birthday! So here I am participating in my first give away along with several other bloggers to help celebrate!

Today, Simple Moments Stick is two! Birthday parties are the best way to celebrate but, since we can’t all get together to party, a group of twenty-three bloggers teamed up to offer up an absolutely AMAZING prize!!!

It’s a $200 Paypal Cash Giveaway!!!

1. Susannah from Simple Moments Stick
2. Amy from The Silver Lining
3. Kotryna from Girl with a Movie Camera
4. Becky from Rebecann’s Random Thoughts

1. Sarah from Life as Always
2. Sybil from Peace it all Together
3. Wendy from Effie Girl
4. Elena from Cropped Stories

1. Jayda from Avocado Grove
2. Erin from Simply Just Lovely
3. Ginny from My New Favorite Outfit
4. Kelly from Sparkles and Shoes

1. Jamie from Handling with Grace
2. Charity from The Word of a Nerd
3. Julie from Tidbits and Scraps
4. Stephanie from Just a Little Bit Louder

1. Elizabeth from Oak and Oats
2. Lisa from Mostly Lisa
3. Caroline from In Due Time
4. Stephanie from Army Crafter

1. Jenn from Quirky Pickings
2. Amy from Taking Steps Home
3. Ashley from Have Chashley, Will Travel

a Rafflecopter giveaway

February 4, 2014 by Stephanie

Crockpot Apple Butter

I love my crockpot, so when I saw this recipe I knew it was going to be on the Christmas giving list.

So are you ready to set it and forget it?

Crockpot Apple Butter

Ingredients

1 dozen apples, peeled, cored, cubed
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon All Spice

Step 1:

Core and peel apples. Once you cube them put them in the crockpot.

Step 2:

Stir in water, sugar, and spices with apples.

Step 3:

Set it on low and leave overnight. I left it around 16 hours on low. You can shorten this time on high, but I would watch the apples more closely. Even on low, I periodically stirred the apples to break them up faster into the mush.

Step 4:

Once the apples are a mush, stir it to further smooth the mixture. You can put it in a blender to smooth out further. I left it fairly chunky, almost like applesauce.

Step 5:

Put butter into storing containers. This recipe allowed for 6 smaller canning jars.
(I also took this step to taste test it. Yummeeeee. I would eat it by the spoonful.)

You could jazz up the jars with ribbon and labels, but I didn’t quite go that far. These would make a good spread for toast or bagels.

cubed apples

all ingredients

final product

February 3, 2014 by Stephanie

Armucation: Homecoming Ceremonies

I was one of those people who thought that as soon as the soldier got off whatever vehicle transport they came in on, they would be free to go home.

This is a huge misconception. There is a lot more that goes into a homecoming than the banners and hugs.

These are just my observations of the Army and how Ft. Campbell does homecoming. Every branch and post may do their own variation of things.

Bangor, Maine is the first stop in the US for many of our troops. There are a band of greeters who meet the soldiers as they touch US soil for the first time in months. These greeters come to the airport at all hours of the night to welcome home our troops. Tom said this was one of the greatest parts of coming home. It is very touching to watch videos from here.

Bangor Homecoming Greeters

They can come at all hours of the day. I joked that going to a homecoming ceremony during the day is a myth. I have only been to them in the dead of night. The schedules are also unpredictable. When Tom came home, I feel like they changed the time they were supposed to arrive about every hour that week that they were scheduled home. So there is a lot of waiting.

Glinn Photography

Once the troops get home they have to line up for a short ceremony.

Glinn Photography

From here, they are released for about 20 minutes to meet with their family.

Glinn Photography

These are the moments that are inspiring and the ones to live for.

Glinn Photography

After this very little time with family and friends, the soldiers line back up to go back to their company areas. The families go to a waiting room or classroom in the company area to wait for an hour or more. During this time you are not allowed to see your soldier. The soldiers are turning in all of their sensitive items, getting housing assignments, and other various administrative tasks. For me this was the longest couple of hours because I knew Tom was right outside but I couldn’t see him.

After they are finally released after what seems like days, then kind of everything is up for grabs.

The soldiers are not allowed to drive for 24 hours that first day, and many of them don’t have cars anyway because they sold them before the deployment. So they have to make plans for that.

The units will have a reintegration class they have to attend every day for the next week. It is a way for them to have some stability and routine when their whole world just changed.

Then there are the personal things that you have to get use to again which can take time depending on the soldier and family they are coming home to.

So there is much more than what you see on TV for homecomings, and it ends up being a long process of reintegrating back into the country. It is a very interesting and wonderful experience, but it was frustrating at first that I couldn’t just keep my soldier to myself.

I would encourage people to go to a homecoming ceremony once in their lifetime. It is very awesome to witness!

Have you been to a homecoming ceremony for any branch? What things did you notice from the experience that I did not mention here?

As a side note, Tom and I are being featured on “Date Night Is” for our date nights. Pretty sweet!

January 31, 2014 by Stephanie

Friday Filter: Book “Between Sisters”

217432

From Goodreads:

Meghann Dontess is a woman haunted by heartbreak. Twenty-five years ago she was forced to make a terrible choice, one that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a hotshot divorce attorney who doesn’t believe in intimacy–-until she meets the one man who can change her mind.

Claire Cavenaugh has fallen in love for the first time in her life. As her wedding day approaches, she prepares to face her harsh, judgmental older sister and their self-absorbed mother. It is the first time they have been together in more than two decades. Over the course of a hot Pacific Northwest summer, these three women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.

I had never read anything by Kristin Hannah, but this book was on one of those Kindle daily deals. It seemed intriguing so I figured you couldn’t pass up a 99 cent book.

Boy am I glad I didn’t! I just flew through this book. You know those reads that you stay up way to late reading? This was definitely one of those for me.

The story line flows through three characters: Meg, Claire and Joey. Meg and Claire are sisters, but I was not really sure why we were following Joey around until half way through the book. This ended up being a huge page turner for me because I wanted to know who he was supposed to be in all of this. She kept alluding to his connection, but never actually gave you the story until much later in the book. Sneaky!

Throughout the book, the story eludes to moments in history between the characters. You never full understand each one’s significance until the later half of the book. It is definitely the epitome of peeling back layers to understand the full scope of things. However I think that is why this book was so smart because on more than one occasion I stayed up until 2 am trying to understand how all the pieces fit together.

Meg and Claire have a sorted past “between” them that keeps them from getting close until a few key events happen. All the stars aligned basically for them to come back to each other and provide support for one another. You see all that is between them in unsaid words and unspoken memories. The coming together story is not easy and you see all the awkwardness that ensues from their past mistakes. But eventually, they become extremely important for one another and begin to change each other’s lives for the better.

There is romantic love and family kind of love woven throughout this book. You see how our pasts can shatter our future outlook without realizing what guards we have put up. It is a lesson in forgiveness and moving past heartbreak to open yourself up to new experiences.

I really did not see the end coming, but that is what makes a good book to me. I wont spoil it for you; you will just have to pick it up yourself!

It is a great read, and it really got me back into the feel for reading again.