50 Things I absolutely LOVE!!

1. Tee
2. Baths/bubble baths
3. Pretty Woman
4. My wedding ring
5. Living
6. Laughing until my stomach hurts
7. Family chaos
8. Coke
9. Animal crackers
10. Traveling
11. Coloring with crayons
12. Cooking
13. Being sassy
14. The smell of babies
15. Animals
16. Being married
17. My friends
18. Summertime
19. Swimming
20. Water
21. Italian food
22. Home cooking
23. Culture
24. Sex and the City
25. Sports
26. The great outdoors
27. Working out
28. Sleeping in
29. Organization
30. The smell of freshly cut hay
31. Old movies
32. 1940s & 1950s style, glamour, and class
33. Lounging with my hubby
34. Getting my back rubbed
35. Camping
36. Fishing
37. Christmas
38. Onions (weird I know)
39. Reading
40. Margaritas
41. Living in the country
42. Laying on a blanket watching the night sky
43. Coffee mixed with hot chocolate
44. Dancing
45. Rain storms
46. Taco Bell
47. Learning
48. Driving
49. Bargain shopping
50. My life

Fabulous Friday

25 Things

I must give NaShae credit because I saw this on her blog first.

1. I have the best life I could ever hope for or dream of.

2. I married the man of my dreams, my best friend, and in a way my savior on May 10, 2008.

3. I love to travel. I consider my self a traveler not a tourist and believe me there is a HUGE difference.

4. I am all about the outdoors whether it is fishing, gardening, working cows, kayaking, or anything else you could think of.

5. My favorite color is green and pink is on up there as well. Depending on what I am feeling that day it changes regularly.

6. I am a student working on my bachelors and masters at the same time. Hopefully I will be finished by 2011.

7. I never liked coffee much (Piper can vouch) but I have a new found morning tradition: 1 cup of coffee with 1 pack of hot chocolate mixed in. It gives me the caffeine and the sweetness, so I hardly ever drink sodas.

8. I love homey crafts/hobbies. As I get older I get more creative and I love exerting that by home interior decorating, gardening, and cooking.

9. Speaking of cooking that is my all time favorite hobby and I would say my one true passion (hobby wise).

10. My all time favorite movie is Pretty Woman. I could watch it everyday and never get tired of it. A close second is the SATC movie along with the seasons.

11. Organized, Organized, Organized… everything must be organized. My husband tells me I can not organize all aspects of my life but I disagree whole heartedly and try anyways. Sometimes he is right, but SSHHHH don’t tell!!!!

12. On this day of May 2008, Tee and I bought our dream 125 acres out in the middle of no where. We now own 2 houses and 125 beautiful acres where we will build in HOPEFULLY 3 years.

13. With our 125 acres come my passion for animals and farming. Most know that I was raised on a dairy but my passion for farming is more than that it is in my blood. I could never go my whole life without it, I LOVE IT.

14. I am from Mt. Vernon but I currently I live in Iraq and I think it is awesome. I have learned so much about life and about people. After Iraq Tee and I will reside in Bogata.

15. I am not so much into fashion, I usually buy timeless pieces but purses and boots are my favorite. Let’s say I like to have a variety. LOL!

16. It is hard to narrow down my favorite restaurant because I love food and I love to eat it but, my favorite fast food restaurant is for sure Taco Bell and my favorite dine in restaurant is Culpepper’s.

17. Besides Piper my mom is my longest and truest best friend. I know that I can tell her anything no matter what and she is always going to be there. I have another person like that now, my husband.

18. From birth, I have always wanted only 1 child if I had to but if I could get away with not having any that would be great. NOW, I want a house full of kids.

19. I must agree with Shae that cuddling by the fire and having a movie date night with your hubby is about as good as it gets.

20. I think that married life is awesome and I would not trade it for anything.

21. If I believed in reincarnation I think that I must have been a fish in another life or I am going to be one in my next. I love to swim and be near water.

22. This is my age.

23. I love all sports volleyball is my favorite sport to actually play and football is my favorite to watch.

24. I have always been a pretty fit person and Tee is all about fitness. We go workout together and our family motto is –“ A Family that Lifts Weights Together Stays Together”

25. I am truly blessed by the life God has allowed me to have and I can only pray that it will always be so great.

Food for Thought

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."- J.R.R. Tolkien

After my food post I found this on the net while looking at recipes and thought I would post "a little food for thought". I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday and I will have a great Saturday night.

XOXO,
Meg

Cooking and Drinking Iraqi Style

My everything in the store "steak" stew

This is NEAR beer and if you notice the 0.0% you will understand

Dalibor helping mix the stew up

If you know me then you also know I LOVE TO COOK anything and everything. Cooking is the thing I miss most about home, besides my family and friends. I am always in the kitchen inventing something new or trying a new recipe that I got online or from a friend. In Iraq, we eat in a cafeteria for every meal and they try to make the food taste homemade but it really isn't up to par with what I am use to. So about a month ago I went to an Iraqi grocery store, we have here on base, and bought all sorts of vegetables and a bag of chic peas for under $20. We don't have stew meat and stuff like that at hand so I got some steaks from Robbi (Tee's mom) and cut them into cubes to make stew meat. Anyways after putting a ton of onions, garlic, bell pepper, potatoes, a bag of chic peas, and my handmade stew meat into a crock pot and letting it slow cook for a day and a half it was ready. My co-workers know I also love to cook so everyone was anxious to try my concoction. I, on the other hand, was a bit nervous because it is a bit weird cooking in a key room with only a small knife, cutting board, bottled water, and a crock pot. I also had never used chic peas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, to make anything so I was a bit uncertain of how it would turn out. When everyone dug in it was great. The meat was very tender and the peas gave it a feel that wasn't like regular beef stew. I always make too much food no matter what I cook or the occasion, so needless to say I fed approximately 18 people. LOL!! Cooking in Iraq wasn't at all like cooking at home but it did feel great getting back into the kitchen, so to speak. Also I added a new gadget to my homepage, the Food Network Recipe of the Day, so check it out. I love getting new ideas and recipes so if you want to share please do so.

Tee's New J-O-B

As everyone knows, Tee and I came to Iraq working for KBR. Tee recently switched companies and is now with Fluor. He loves it and I am so glad. He was very unhappy at KBR the past 7 months or so and I really think that this company is going to be the perfect fit. Not only is the job a way better job we are now back on the same base and that is wonderful. I can finally have my husband back living with me and have a fragment of normalcy in the crazy environment. Well now I must get to work at my own job. Stay tuned………

"Curious about Benjamin Button"

Tee and I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last night and OMG!!! It was a great movie but very sad in a way. I highly recommend that everyone watches it at least once. I know it just came out in theaters not too long ago but we have the inside track to pretty much any newly released movie. ;) Once you watch it or if you have already seen in let me know your thoughts; I would love to hear them.