Mother's Day

When I was a child Mother's Day gifts were hand made at school, a simple bouquet of flowers or flowers picked in the yard and breakfast in bed. I can remember bringing my mom soggy Cheerios, burnt toast, over sweet hot tea, and a glass with flowers picked outside. I was surprised by people over doing it. There is no need for extravagant jewelry or expensive meals out. Handmade jewelry, pictures drawn at school, and a home cooked meal prepared by someone else is all it takes to make me happy.
My husband and children always make breakfast for me and let me sleep in. This year I got wonderful handmade gifts from the boys, coupons from Avery, and a purse from everyone. The kids played a board game nicely at the table and I added a new blueberry bush and strawberry plant to my garden. It was a perfect day. John made a gourmet meal. This isn't out of the norm for a weekend for John though. He made prime rib, roasted potatoes seasoned with fresh chives, green beans with sauteed onion, and followed up with creme brulee. He is an amazing cook. To me the thought, time, and love put into a home cooked meal is one of the best gift a person can give.
To all of the Mom's out there I hope your day was a full of love and surprises as mine.

I have been neglecting my blog

My husband has been home for a few months now and I know that true to my habit I fell off the face of the earth for a while. Since his return we have started brewing beer, planted and herbs and veggies, gone on vacation, and decided that he will not reenlist in the Army if we can help it.
Brewing beer is fun and a much more cost effective way to have a ready supply. I like to have things to do but you can only bake so often without gaining a million pounds, crafts are great but can quickly turn to clutter if you don't have either people to buy them or just give them away too. Brewing beer on the other hand takes time to make and time to consume. It isn't ruined by forgetting about it for a few days at any point in the fermenting or carbonating process. This is my kind of hobby. Between kids sports (a blog for another time) keeping up with the ebb and flow of military life and maintaining a happy home who has time for hobbies that require constant up keep?
All of my plants are in pots. Unfortunately, we live on post and you aren't supposed to have a garden. My herbs are doing well. We have used lots of basil, cilantro, and chives. They taste so much better when you cut them right before you cook with them. This is the first time that I have grown potatoes. I found instructions for growing them in pots online. I have 4 pots going right now and they are doing better than all of the other plants. I can't wait to show them to you. I keep dreaming of the day that I can have a huge garden in my own yard.
Getting out of the Army seems like the best step forward for us. John has been stagnant in his career for a while now. Promotion points are high and he doesn't have the spare time for college courses. He was looking at ways to further his career while we were in Italy but our forced move to the Special Forces community at Campbell has made it impossible. He is no longer happy with his job. On our vacation to California we decided that we need to end up there. John was happy truly happy the whole time we were there and not just because he was away from work he was finally home. You can see the change in him as soon as his feet hit the sand. Now we are looking at jobs and cost of living. Trying to plan for our life after the Army.
My goal is to update at least once a week and include some pictures.