Day Five, No Meat

I gave up meat five days ago and I really haven't missed it. I'd been thinking about doing this for a few months and even mentioned it to Bruce and a couple of friends recently. I always came back to "I don't eat meat enough for it to really impact my health and I do love steak/chicken/roast beef." I was eating chicken once or twice a week and red meat maybe once a week and the occasional serving of shrimp, steak, bacon, or bbq.

Why cut something out completely if I don't eat it that much to begin with? Well, I'll tell you why. The other night Bruce and I watched Food, Inc. It was shocking and it made me re-think everything I've been putting into my body all these years. For example, you think you're eating this nice lean steak you picked up from the grocery store. Nope, there's a really good chance you're eating meat from a corn-fed cow (feeding cows corn makes them more susceptible to the e-coli virus because they're designed to eat grass. I don't remember the exact details, but it's something about the acidity of corn vs. grass. Many or most farmers now feed them corn because corn is subsidized and incredibly cheap to grow/buy and it makes the cows fat quickly) from a feeding lot. Many of them stand around in knee-deep manure all day so if one of them has e-coli, guess what? You guessed it, the chances of other cows catching it are high.

Ever wondered why that chicken breast you bought is so large? According to this movie, chickens can now grow full-term in about half the time it took them 50 years ago. They have been engineered to develop bigger breasts because most people prefer white meat. One farmer was brave enough to explain that in the chicken coops these chicken companies want the chickens raised in, they rarely, if ever see the light of day and can barely walk because their internal organs and bones can't keep up with the chicken's rapid growth.

I knew the cow/chicken/pig business probably wasn't pretty. I mean we all know what has to happen if we want to buy a steak, a turkey, chicken, or bacon. However, I never imagined anything like this. Please watch the movie - you may not think a thing about it, but everyone deserves to know where their food comes from and who's behind production. (I also wanted to say that I do realize there are probably a lot of family farms/farmers out there who raise their chickens, cattle, turkeys, etc. the old fashioned way. I do not mean to offend anyone or step on anyone's toes with this post.)

Now don't get me wrong, I won't hesitate to eat deer meat from a deer Bruce kills this fall and if we buy half a cow or chickens from a real farm, I'll eat that meat too. I also don't plan on giving up shrimp or fish. I'll just be more careful about how much I consume and I'll be sure to know what kind it is and where it came from. It's not that I'm opposed to eating meat, I just feel more informed now and I'm opposed to eating the wrong kind of meat. So I guess it's time to start searching for vegetarian recipes!

If You're In Biloxi

Generally speaking, when people think Biloxi, they think casinos. Well, this town has a lot more to offer than that. Here's a rundown of a few of our favorite places (and by favorite places, I mean restaurants) If you're ever in Biloxi, check them out!

Kenny Ward's on Government Street in Ocean Springs. Without a doubt, the best filet I've ever had in my life! And I'm not just comparing it to an Outback steak either. Their martinis are yummy and the seafood is also delicious if steaks aren't your thing. It's pricey, but worth every penny. Promise!

Darwell's in Long Beach. This restaurant was featured on an episode of Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives. It's funky, local, and fun. Bruce orders the crawfish etouffe and I order the crab cakes. Both dishes are winners and you can't go wrong with either. Their cajun side dishes complement the main courses perfectly and there's live music most nights.

Tom's Extreme Pizzeria in Ocean Springs. WAY better than any of those chain pizza places and less expensive than Mellow Mushroom. A very good pizza at a very good price...what family doesn't love that. We ordered a cheese pizza and one word sums it up: addictive.

Anthony's in Ocean Springs on Washington Avenue. Gorgeous views, delicious seafood, and great service. Anthony's isn't overly fancy, but the view more than makes up for it. Bruce orders the stuffed flounder and I usually opt for the crab cakes ponchartrain. This place has a special place in our hearts, we ate here the night before Sullivan was born. It's a great date-night kind of place!

Yes Noodle in Biloxi. Bruce doesn't really care for any type of Asian food, but I do. I love it all...Chinese, Thai, Japanese, I think it's all wonderful. Yes Noodle is quick, the portions are large ($8 for an dinner entree that could easily feed two adults), and it isn't heavy. The owner does most of the cooking and is really friendly. To me, a lot of Asian take-out places have a heavy, greasy, artificial taste and Yes Noodle's does not! Give it a shot, I highly recommend the beef and broccoli and the shrimp fried rice.

Tato-Nut on Government in Ocean Springs. Homemade doughnuts - Need I say more? Bruce and I tried Tato-Nut for the first time on our last morning in Biloxi. I can't believe it took us so long to try their doughnuts! It was probably a good thing though, they were yummy.

Mahony's in New Orleans on Magazine Street. So I know this isn't one isn't in the Biloxi/Ocean Springs area, but if you're in New Orleans please have lunch here! Also featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives, Mahony's po-boys are fantastic and so are their sides. It's a little more pricey than your average po-boy place, but these aren't your average po-boys. The day we went, we were in line behind about a dozen locals and when that happens, you know you're in the right place. We order the grilled shrimp/fried green tomato po-boy - perfection!

I started this post about a week ago, so we've already moved to Birmingham. It's just been really busy around here and I haven't had a chance to post until now. I miss Biloxi, but we're loving our new house and settling in well. I'll try to get some house pictures up this week. We've done a lot already! It's starting to feel like our own.

Happy Father's Day Bruce

To my sweet husband...thank you for all you do for our family. Thank you for being my best friend and my rock. Thank you for going above-and-beyond the call of daddy duty every single day. Thank you for teaching Owen how be a little gentleman and for possessing the qualities that will undoubtedly be the qualities Sullivan and Kathryn look for in a husband some day. Thank you for cooking when I'm too tired and for folding that mountain of laundry in our bedroom that always seems to get away from me. Thank you for remembering to change my tires or oil before a long trip and thank you for always fixing little things around the house that wind up making a big difference in my day. Thank you for always doing right by others and for the sacrifices, big and small, you make for us; you always, without question, put your family first. Thank you for teaching me how to work smarter, not harder and for always giving me sound advice. Thank you for always making us laugh and teaching me how to see the humor in things. Thank you for holding my hand and dreaming with me. Thank you for looking so darn cute in your flight suit. Thank you for eating cereal with Kathryn each morning, rough-housing with Owen each night, and going with me to get Sullivan out of her crib when she wakes up in the morning. The babies and I cherish those little moments with you. Thank you for being my teammate and our team leader...we love you with all of our hearts and think you are the best daddy and husband in the whole world! Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads and granddads out there! I hope you enjoy your special day.

Last Flight

Bruce flew the C-21 for the last time ever yesterday. It was bittersweet - we're moving on to the next chapter of our lives and Bruce will move on to a new plane and while that's exciting, the C-21 life and community is all we've known since 2006 and it's been very good to our family. He flew over for us a few times and even after five years of watching this plane take off and land, I'm amazed at how fast it is when if flies over. Owen, Kathryn, Sullivan, and I were on the ramp as Bruce taxied in for the last time. I even got to "marshall" the plane in...I put on the noise-blocking headset and used the orange cone-shaped wands to guide the guys in. I'll be honest, I think Bruce and Dave could have gotten the plane to the right spot with or without me there. For the record, stuff like that makes me so nervous, I was afraid I was going to cause some ramp traffic jam or something crazy. I kept asking the maintenance guy to repeat the instructions and once it was over I was like "oh, that was it?" Obviously they wouldn't put a spouse in charge of something they could actually mess up so I don't know why I was nervous. It was fun and I'm glad I did it. Well, we've come along way since that night in August in 2006 when we found out Bruce would fly C-21's. It's sad to leave and it's been a great adventure thus far, but in the Air Force it's never good-bye, it's see you later.

The Same, But Cheaper

It's no secret that I'm always looking for a good deal. Even if it's just free shipping, I feel like I've won somehow. So when I scored these items for way less than they were going for in another store (*ottery *arn) I felt like I had hit the jackpot!

Our new dining room chandelier...seriously, it's the exact same chandelier that other store was selling, but for $120 cheaper and free shipping!



Our new family room rug. Bruce and I both picked out the rug on the bottom, but at different times. I thought if we're picking out the same rug and not together, that's the rug we need/want! So I went looking for an almost-match. While the rugs aren't exactly the same, they were close enough for us. We saved $200 and got free shipping! Both rugs are 100% wool too, so the quality was the same. It's only a good deal if you're comparing apples-to-apples.





Everything is coming along well with the new house. The painters fininshed last week and our chandeliers for the foyer and dining room have arrived. The window treatments for both kids' rooms and the family room have come in, and the new carpet in the kids' rooms should be down before we move in next week. Sullivan is still using her crib, but Owen and Kathryn will get all new furniture when we get to Birmingham - they are ready for their twin beds and we finally got them a dresser and nightstand! I'm having all three babies' letters painted for their room and I can't wait to see how they turn out. Bruce and I finally ordered the upholstered headboard I've been dreaming of for forever and our rug for the family room should be here soon. The paint alone has made the house look so different - I can't wait to see the house once it's finished and our things are moved in! Here are a few pics Bruce took with his phone last week.

The freshly painted master bedroom...I love this shade of gray!


A picture of the sitting room and dining room - we picked "Kilim Beige" for the sitting room and "Clary Sage" for the dining room.


We chose "Lemon Chiffon" for both kids' rooms...gender neutral and pretty.


I'm really looking forward to seeing the family room now that it's painted. It had wood trim, doors, and window casings and now it's all white to match the rest of the house. Bruce said it really brightened it up that room (it's on the backside of the house) and we picked a khaki color for the walls, but that wasn't up yet when he walked through. All of that should make a huge difference!

I guess that's all of the house updates I can think of for now. Bruce's final flight is tomorrow, I'll try to get pictures of that up this weekend.

Pantry Clean-Out

Before each move, our family goes into pantry clean-out mode. Knowing we can't take certain foods with us and not wanting to haul only a few cans of soup, half-empty bags of flour and sugar, or almost-empty boxes of cereal, we're getting creative...and our meals are getting strange. We're only buying the must-haves so we can use the other stuff we need to eat. For example, I just made a chocolate cake with chocolate glaze. This allowed me to use up flour, the rest of the butter, the rest of the vegetable oil, some confectioners sugar, some cake flour, almost all of the cocoa, and so on. Last night we cooked deer sausage that we needed to eat and today I bought hamburger meat so we can use up the last jar of spaghetti sauce, rotel chiles and tomatoes (I add this and the kiddos love it!), and spaghetti. For lunch yesterday the kids had rice pilaf and to that I added extra orzo and feta cheese. They seemed to enjoy it and I finished off the feta and half of the orzo.

I'm trying...my goal is to have only a small box of spices, canned goods, baking items, etc. to carry with us. Not only do we not want to carry a bunch of food items with us, but it feels sooo wrong to dump good food out! Here's a shot of the cake I made this afternoon. It was very tasty, so if you feel like baking, check out the recipe for the cake and glaze. (The links aren't showing up, so if you want the recipe, click on the word cake or glaze.) The kids devoured it and so did I - very small pieces of course!

Mimi Update

My Mom (or Mimi as the babies call her) is doing well today. Her surgery started around 6:00 or 6:30 last night and they were done by 11:30. It took a couple of hours longer than expected, but length of surgery aside, everything went as planned. I took Kathryn to Panama City yesterday, (she does the best with long days, no naps, and long car rides) while Bruce kept Owen and Sullivan in Biloxi. We were able to sit with Mom until they took her to pre-op; Kathryn was even allowed to ride on the stretcher from Mom's room to the pre-op area and I think that cheered Mom up. I talked to Mom this morning and when I asked her how she was feeling she just said "it hurts." If my Mom says something hurts, I know it must really hurt - she's not one to complain! Thank you for all of the prayers, calls, and texts. We appreciate all of the love and get-well wishes. I'll try to post another update in a few days when Mom leaves the hospital.

Prayers Please

I'm requesting prayers for my Mom today. I got a phone call yesterday from Russ, my stepfather, and I could tell something was wrong immediately. He told me that they were in the hospital in Panama City Beach (on vacation with my Mom's side of the fam) and that my Mom had broken her hip. They were all riding a banana boat yesterday and that's how it happened. She fell off or landed wrong or something, they got her out of the water, back on the boat and drove her to the beach where the ambulance met them and took her to the ER. My Mom is an orthopedic operating room nurse so of course she was set on driving back to Huntsville to have the doctors and nurses that she works with on a regular basis operate on her. In the end though, I think she realized that a six or seven hour drive with a broken hip was not the way to go and she'll have surgery today in Panama City. Russ and my Mom are confident that the orthopedic surgeon who will operate on her will do a great job; that's saying something considering the two of them have spent about 35 years combined, give or take a few years, around doctors and in hospitals. If you know my Mom, you know she doesn't seem like the kind of lady who would break her hip. I was totally shocked when Russ told me what had happened. My Mom is strong, active, energetic, and it just didn't seem possible. My Mom is also very determined and I know she'll make it through this just fine. Please keep her in your prayers!

Beach Day

Yesterday Bruce and I took the kids to the beach - it was probably our last beach day before our move. The babies will leave with my Mom and brother next Saturday and spend five or six days in Huntsville/Hartselle with the grandparents while the packers/movers are here. It was an easy day at the beach and I got some super cute pictures of my babies! Kathryn and Owen spent a good half-hour tackling and wrestling each other in ankle deep water and had the best time. I've seen them do that before, just not in the ocean. I don't think I'll ever forget it! It was just one year ago that Kathryn refused to stand alone in the sand.

Leaving Biloxi is breaking my heart. Our house (and neighborhood for that matter)isn't exactly what we would have chosen if we were going to live here permanently, but for the last two years this house was home. It's where my babies learned to walk, where they said their first words, tried their first bite of solid food, had their last bottles, nursed for the last time, learned to ride a tricycle, and in Kathryn's case, learned to use the big girl potty. It's where we brought Sullivan home from the hospital; Biloxi is her hometown. In this home we've worried about having enough money with only one parent working outside the home, found out our family would grow from four to five, gotten up at all hours of the night with babies, suffered right along with our teething toddlers, recovered from surgeries, had many "in-home date nights," dressed our babies up for Halloween, and said good-bye to our sweet Parker (who's now living a fantastic life in Birmingham!). I really like my doctors, dentist, the kiddos' pediatrician, and the new salon I recently found. Life here has been laid-back, easy-going, and sweet and if you know our family, that's exactly what we needed the past couple of years with three babies/toddlers. I know when I think of this house I'll think of two of the most precious and hardest years of our lives. I'll think of Kathryn and Owen chasing each other around in their diapers and hearing them laugh hysterically. I'll think of the hundred of hours I spent playing in Owen and Kathryn's room with all three babies, reading and doing anything else I could to entertain them. I'll think about the snowy day (yes snow!) we brought our newborn home and walking in and being greeted by our 13 month old twins. It's seems just like yesterday I pulled up with my Mom and our four month old twins to see our new house for the first time. I was excited about having the next two years off to take care of my babies and husband and enjoying our new assignment. Where has the time gone?

I was 27 weeks pregnant with Kathryn and Owen when Bruce called me and asked me if I would be interested in coming down here. It was a tough call... move to California with infant twins and have Bruce gone six months a year or Biloxi where he'd be home almost every night and no deployments. Just kidding! Biloxi was the clear choice for us and this assignment has been a blessing for our family. I know we're moving to a great city that's closer to home and we are going to make wonderful new memories in our new house. I'll hopefully go back to work in a few months and the kids will start daycare/preschool and Bruce will have to train in Oklahoma until late October/early November. The timing of it all feels right and we're ready for the next chapter, but life is going to become very different, very fast. But such is life for a military family. Before Bruce and I got engaged I remember his ROTC commander telling us "if you're not at least a little bit sad to leave whatever city you're living in, then you're not doing it right." When I think about it like that, it makes me happy to be this sad to leave Biloxi...I guess we've done it right. Here are a few pictures from our last beach day. Enjoy!

Sweet sisters


Say cheese!

On our way to the beach. Owen and Sullivan's almost-identical look cracks me up in this one.

Let's play!

Hauling water and sand in a bucket is hard work.

My babies look so big!

Owen and his "Mr. Pabby." (that means Mr. Crabby)


Testing the water and having a snack

She's my girl. Sullivan is a little bit more reserved about the ocean than O and K are...just like her mama. For us, a little water on our toes is enough.

One Of My Favorites

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures. I took this picture two years ago in Destin. The people in this picture are my wonderful grandparents, Fran and BJ. Kathryn, Owen, and I joined my parents, brothers, and grandparents for a long weekend at the beach not long after we moved to Biloxi. It was a really fun, laid-back trip (as fun and laid-back as a hot weekend at the beach can be with two four month olds) and on this afternoon I had the privilege of spending the entire afternoon on the beach with Grandmother and Granddaddy. What I love most about this picture is that they're holding hands...after 59 years of marriage, they still hold hands. They also still attend marriage seminars, which I think is not only precious, but inspirational; they still enjoy spending time together and take care of their relationship. My grandfather always makes sure my grandmother has everything she needs off of her grocery list, takes care of things around the house, works full-time, and prays with her every morning and every night. My grandmother goes with my grandfather to 6:00 Sunday morning service each week to hear him preach, cooks almost every meal for him and is always more than happy to whip up anything he's craving that day. She honors their budget and works with him to save money. She treats his family the same way she does her own and vice-versa. I can remember making so many trips to the nursing home to visit my great-grandparents, her in-laws, when I was younger and I always remember my grandfather getting along so well with my great-grandmother, his mother-in-law, and helping take care of her as she got older. My grandparents truly are best friends and teammates.

Not too long ago I asked my grandmother how she met my grandfather. Long story short, they met through church and while I don't remember the exact details, I know that a long car ride with a group of kids from church on a youth group-type outing eventually led to them dating. I guess they just really hit it off. After they had been dating for a while, it may have actually been after they were married, my grandmother asked my grandfather how he knew he wanted to marry her. His response? "Because you made me happy." So when I look at this picture, I see two people who have made each other happy for more than half a century and that makes me happy. I love you Grandmother and Granddaddy.