One year apart

Yesterday marked one year since Ricky first left for this deployment.  To read back at how I was feeling about a year check this out.  As I look back on the year, I notice several things:

1. My love for Ricky has grown leaps and bounds. Being apart makes you have to work at your relationship in different ways.  Neither of us understand what the other is going through so we had to learn how to deal with that.  Communication is key when going through a deployment, and I have been very blessed to have a man that calls me whenever he can.  Who can't wait to call me just to catch up on what all is going on and tell me how much he loves and adores me.  Even from halfway around the world he sure knows how to make me feel special.

2.   I am a MUCH stronger person.  I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through this last year and I have become stronger and much more independent.

3.  Deployments are lonely.  I expected this a little, but I didn't really know what I was in for.  When you have a bad day or a good day and all you want to do is tell your best friend, but you can't call him....you just have to sit and wait for him to call.

4.  I don't ever want to have to do this again haha.  There is no telling if this will be our last one or not and I give a huge congratulations to those families that go through 3, 4, or more deployments.  I'm just not sure this girl has it in her.  If we do have another one, I'll make it through just like I did this one, but I don't want to have to find out.

I know there are many many more things I learned but these are at the top of my head.  We are in the final countdown and March could very well be the month I get him home for good :)

Recent Thoughts

I haven't posted a personal post in awhile and I've had a lot of things on my mind that I just want to put into words.

Deployment:
We have approximately 42% left still of this last leg and while in months that doesn't seem long, 42% sounds long.  Ricky hasn't been going out on missions since he moved to a new base, which I'm VERY thankful for.  I'm hoping things will just coast until his return home.  And I'm SOOO glad this is the last one, no more tearful goodbye's (for this deployment), no more temporary visits, no more nights alone, and so many more things I'll be glad to not have to do again.  The thing that keeps me going is the hope of our future together, the wedding, moving in together, having my best friend by my side each and everyday, and so much more!

It's been 11 months since this deployment started and in the past 11 months I've seen the person I love most in this world a total of 26 days.  You never get used to it, it's hard every single day.  Sure some days are better than others, but I still hurt inside.

Wedding Planning:
Things are coming along really great.  All the vendors are booked and now all that is left are the DIY decorations (which some have been started) and put it all together.  I'm hoping it looks as good as it all does in my head haha.  I'm so ready for Ricky to be back though to help, I need him to be the mediator sometimes ha.

Weight Loss:
Here is finally once aspect that I feel I have somewhat control of. Since July I've lost 15 pounds.  However, I didn't really get serious and step up my game until after Thanksgiving.  So I've lost the majority of that since then.  I joined Fit Body Bootcamp in Tulsa and it's the best thing I've ever done in the workout department.  I'm not a fan of monotony in exercise and everyday you go to bootcamp, it's completely different.  I've built so much muscle and toned up in areas I didn't know I could ha.  I've also been using My Fitness Pal to keep track of everything I put into my body.  I have been trying to eat 1200 calories a day and get a good 400-500 calorie workout 5-6 days a week.  No I haven't been eating lots of chicken and veggies (although those are quick easy meals).  I've been trying new healthy versions of some of my favorites to curb my cravings.  And even if I do want to splurge on that pizza or hamburger, I do, just in moderation.  So there ya go, I am aiming to lose another 10 by the end of February for my dress fitting.  I still have about 35 to get to my ultimate goal but I'm in no rush. I'm really starting to love my body again and feel good about myself.  Slow and steady win the race :)

Issues:
I had this whole long thing typed out about issues that have been on my chest and bothering me, but I'm trying really hard to see the good in situations and not focus so much on the bad.  So I'm just going to talk to God about it and pray he will help me though it.

129 days until I get to marry my man!!!

Hungry Girl's Tiny Taco Salads

This week I have been craving all kinds of things, first Italian, now Mexican.  But instead of driving across the road to El Tequila and consuming 1,000 calories on a Mexican Fiest, I found this awesome recipe on Hungry Girl's website.

Instead of me re-typing everything, just head on over to her website and browse around while you are there :)
Tiny Taco Salads

I have had 2 servings (4 tiny tacos) at each sitting and they are really pretty filling.  You could pair it with a salad if you are still hungry.  I even braved it out and tried the Boca meatless soy crumbles and paired with the refried beans and taco seasoning, I thought it was real beef.  Or it tasted like it.

Happy eating!

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

I love me some Italian food, especially the creamy goodness that goes on Fettuccine. However, alfredo sauce is really bad for your health and waistline.  So I found this recipe and HAD to try it.  And it was absolutely fantastic.  Same texture and really good flavor of an alfredo dish at a restaurant. 


Nutritional Infomation:
Servings: 2
Calories per serving: 347
Fat: 11
Carbs: 46
Protein:  17
Fiber:  7


Ingredients:

• 4 oz. whole wheat fettucine
• 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup skim or lowfat milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1-2 cloves, pressed through garlic press
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• 3 wedges laughing cow cheese OR 1/3 cup light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Optional: sprinkle of fresh parsley to garnish on top
• Optional: grilled chicken breast

Method:

1.  In a large pot, bring water to a boil.  Add noodles and cook until just tender.  Drain well.

2.  Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan, combine the flour, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper together over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-high.

3.  Add the laughing cow cheese (or cream cheese) and Parmesan cheese to the saucepan.  Stir until the cheeses melt and are well combined into the sauce, then take off the heat.

4.  Taste sauce for seasoning, and add more salt of garlic if desired.

5.  Pour sauce over hot pasta and sprinkle on parsley for garnish.  Serve warm!!

My sauce was pretty thick so I had to add a little more milk to make it creamier.  I also cooked a small chicken breast to eat on top.  Delish :)

Best of 2011!!

Sorry I'm a week late, but I had to re-cap the year.  When I starting looking back at my calender to find some great events, I really didn't think I would find too many, due to the deployment.  But I actually found MORE great and wonderful things than I did in 2010!!

1) Hawaii Vacation! I got to start the year off right on the beaches of Maui!


2) My very first Oklahoma City Thunder Game!

3) Oklahoma Snow Storm

4) Baby Presley came into the world :)

5) Ricky left on February 27th for Training

6) Ricky came home for a few days and asked me to marry him!!!!!! March 25th ;)

7) In June I got to go to Mississippi to spend 4 days with Ricky before he left for Afghanistan.

8) Great summer activities! Drillers game, 4th of July, Redneck Run, and Harry Potter finale

9) Ricky and I's first skype date!

10) Ellie Kate sang her bubbie Happy Birthday :)

11) I ran in the Warrior Dash!! It was brutal!!

12) Oklahoma State's Best Ever Football Season!!!

14) Ricky's R&R!!! We did so many things.  Check out Part 1 & Part 2

15) Bedlam!!! OSU beat OU (I know it doesn't happen often) But it was such an amazing game!

When I look back, 2011 was a fabulous year, even though I had to spend most of it apart from the person I love the most.  I am thankful for my amazing friends and family that I have to do all these really fun things with.

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps

I found this recipe on Pinterest and discovered it's actually on Skinnytaste.com which is a site that I find lots of healthy recipes!  There were pretty delicious and I can use the leftover meat to make a taco salad or something.


Nutritional Infomation:
Servings: 4
Serving Size: 2 taco wraps
Calories: 134
Fat: 1.7 g
Carb: 9.7 g
Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 21.3 g
Sugar: 4.3 g


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 99% lean ground turkey (I actually used ground chicken)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2 tbsp bell pepper, minced
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 oz can tomato sauce
• 8 lauge lettuce leaves from Iceberg lettuce

Method:

1.  Brown turkey (or chicken) in a large skillet.  

Using my new tool my mom got me for Christmas

Cooking in my new apron :)

2.  When no longer pink, add dry seasonings and mix well. 

3.  Add onion, pepper, water and tomato sauce and cover.

4.  Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes.

5.  Wash and dry the lettuce.  

6.  Place meat in the center of leaf and top with tomatoes, cheese, salsa, sour cream (any or all of the above).  Extra toppings are extra calories. 

I had small pieces of lettuce so I made 3 small ones.

 You really could simply add a taco seasoning mix to the ground meat, but making your own uses less sodium, no sugar, no preservatives, and no msg.  I would recommend this to anyone!

Ellie Kate's 4th Birthday!

Ellie Kate's Birthday is the day after Christmas so I headed back to Tulsa so I could celebrate with her (and do a semi-late Christmas with Ricky's parents).  She LOVES princesses so of course her small party we had at the house was decked out in Princesses.

I got her a princess tent/castle for Christmas and then a princess sleeping bag for her birthday (which she immediately put into the tent).  And my mom got her a small fleece Princess blanket (which also went into the tent).  So she was set on princess gifts haha.

Her parents got her a Princess Jeep! Which she loved and we took it outside to test drive immediately.

The princess tent

Ellie in her Birthday outfit in front of the Christmas Tree

Sitting in her Princess Jeep already talking on the phone haha

The birthday girl and I. She was really excited!