State Fair Top 10

I was SO happy that while we were home in MN, we got to go to the MN State Fair. I think I have gone every year of my life (at least every year that we were in town). I was so sad thinking that I may not have gotten to go this year since I moved away. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to go as it is one of my favorite times of year.

Mostly, I love the fair because of the food. But here are my top 10 favorite things at the fair:

1) Cheese on a stick - This is my absolute favorite food at the fair. I ate two while I was there this year since I only got to go one day. It is a stick of cheese that is deep fried in a corn batter and served on a stick. I recently bought a cornbread pan specially for making stuffed cornbread muffins and am experimenting with how to make it taste like cheese on a stick.

 

2) Cheese curds - Yeah, yeah I love cheese. If you know me you know I have a ridiculous love for cheese. Cheese curds are a must at the fair, but no way I can eat a whole order on my own. WAY TOO MUCH GREASE.

3) Sweet Martha's Cookies and the unlimited milk stand - These are not just any ordinary cookies. There is nothing like getting an overflowing bucket or cone full of hot gooey cookies and heading to the milk stand to stuff your face full of chocolate chip goodness.

4) French fries - LOVE the french fries at the state fair. That's all I have to say about that.

5) Pronto Pups- Not your ordinary corn dog. I believe these are made with a wheat based batter instead of corn. I like that the booths say "Wiener dun in a bun."

6) New crazy foods (often on a stick) - This year the new food I tried was deep fried cookie dough on a stick. I wasn't sure how it would look, but it was 3 balls of fried dough. Super ooey gooey, hot cookie dough complete with powdered sugar making it near impossible to eat neatly. While we were eating this in the food building a couple from NY was sharing out table and the woman was majorly struggling with eating it off the stick...amateur. They thought we were nuts for putting everything on a stick.

7) Baby animals - The miracle of birth building is both adorable and disgusting. While I do not want to watch a live birth of a cow (especially multiple times, seeing it once was enough), I do enjoy seeing the babies that have already been born. Like these adorable little duckies.

8) Alpacas - There is a booth by the animal buildings that sells alpaca woolen goods, and usually has a couple cute alpacas hanging out there. I always want to buy the hats, but I don't. I also always want to buy an alpaca, but I can't...

9) People watching - The MN State Fair is a prime people watching location. If you sit anywhere for more than 5 minutes, you will watch seas of people wander by. Often these people have horrible outfits, hair, fanny-packs, etc. If I did more picture taking than I did eating, I would take more pictures of things that make me laugh.

10) Fine Arts Building - Most of the buildings at the fair are pretty boring, but I love the Fine Arts Building. There are a lot of talented artists in MN. There were too many staff members in there this year so I wasn't able to take a picture of the amazing mosaic that was there this year. But it inspired me to pick that hobby back up.

There you have it. My top ten. What's yours?

Weddings

My beautiful best friend (aka my wife) got married last weekend. It worked out that both my husband and I could be there together, and I am so glad we got to be a part of my friends' big day. Everything was perfect, including the weather, for their intimate outdoor ceremony and reception. My favorite part of the day was hearing them read each other their vows. I cried the whole time. Plus, one of my other best friends was officiating the ceremony. It was super emotional and beautiful. I am so happy for Mr. and Mrs. Jones!

While we were home my husband and I also did some planning for our renewal of vows ceremony and reception coming up in October. It still seemed like some far-off wedding fantasy until we actually sat down with the pastor and wedding planner at church and planned out the order or ceremony, music, and things like that. It finally feels real and I am getting really excited to finally wear my dress and pledge our love to each other in front of our family and friends. The first time around we were in a court house across the hall from a bunch of prisoners in orange jumpsuits with random legal assistant people as our witnesses. If we had known that would be our only "wedding" for the first year and a half of our marriage, we would have thought it out a little more and at least brought our own witnesses and have someone take photos.

So our turn is coming up in just a few short weeks now. Just keep your fingers crossed that we can get enough leave approved so that we can go on a honeymoon too!

Home :)

My love is home! It was a great day getting to see my husband walk off the plane and get to hug him and know that he is ok. I am so thankful that the whole unit came home safely. 

It was a strange feeling when we were united because although this year has been the longest year of my life, once we were together again it felt like we were never apart. I didn't cry like I thought I would, but I was so so happy to get my husband back. It feels so normal and right to be together now, so it's hard to believe that we spent so much time apart. It's when I see his pictures and the company slideshow and things like that that make me realize how much happened this year and remember how much I worried, and that makes me emotional. I'm trying to focus on the present now and just enjoy every moment. No more worries for now.

It's great to have Will in our new house. After all the short visits we've had with each other over the past two years, it's amazing to have a home that is OURS and know that we are not on a time limit. We can enjoy each day and actually share normal life with one another. He is such a blessing in my life and I could not be any happier or feel more loved. I am one lucky girl.

Waiting (not so) Patiently...Again

This deployment is finally almost over! This has definitely been a long and difficult year. I have had my share of stress and tears. I did not enjoy it, but I know it has made me a stronger person. It has strengthened my faith, given me time to spend with my family and see the birth of my best friend's first child, and has solidified even more my feelings for my husband. Our relationship began based on communication, and that has really helped us get through this year apart. Even being thousands of miles apart, I still love him more each day and am so thankful for having him in my life. I cannot tell you how happy I am that he is coming home safe (just one minor injury from last fall), and that we can finally start our life together as a married couple.

However, I think I have become a little spoiled having this whole house to myself and no responsibility. I'll have to get used to only sleeping on half of the bed, doing dishes more often than every 3-4 days, doing stinky boy laundry, and watching things other than HGTV and Bravo all day long. Since we have never lived together, it will be an adjustment for sure. But I'm still looking forward to all the normal, everyday things that come along - good or bad.

Most of all, I can't wait to kiss this face!!


Just a few more days... :)

Book Blog: The Color of Light - Karen White

This book was listed on some recommended booklist that I saw a while back. It is about a mother, Jillian, who returns to an island she spent summers at as a child and teenager. While she has great memories of the island summers, there is also the mystery of the disappearance of her best friend Lauren. She hopes to make peace with her past and find a place for her and her children to live simply. But when Jillian's daughter starts talking to an imaginary friend named Lauren, and Jillian reunites with friend Linc who was blamed for Lauren's death, all kinds of secrets come out. I can't really say much more because it will give things away.

At first I was weary of the whole ghost-related part of the story, but I actually really liked this book. It's like Nicholas Sparks meets murder mystery, but none of the main characters die in the end (I hate that about Nicholas Sparks books). This book had great characters that I could really picture as real people and I wish I could meet some of them if they were real. I got so invested in the story that I couldn't put it down. This is a great beach or pool read.

Smart Cleaning

Since I now have to clean a whole 3 bedroom house, here are some of my smart cleaning observations/reviews:

I have quickly come to realize how much I miss carpet. Sweeping and mopping an entry way, kitchen, dining room, giant living room, hallway, bedroom, and two bathrooms is really not an enjoyable activity. And non-messy me is the only person living here at the moment. I have decided to try to make this chore a little easier by finding something to replace the broom and dustpan. Since my vacuum is kind of clunky, and I was already planning on getting a dust-buster type of handheld vacuum, I found this: the Electrolux Ergorapido.

It is lightweight, cordless, and the little handheld part pops out. It is also kind of pretty as far as vacuums go. I tried it out today and it was MUCH better than sweeping. Living in El Paso means you consistently have a layer of dust on every surface inside and out of your house. I guess I'll find out when I actually get to mopping how much dirt it leaves on the tile, but I think this is a big improvement to the broom. Plus, the filter is easy to empty, and it is washable.

(Besides that electronic wonder) I have been trying to switch over to "greener" cleaning. I purchased some washable cleaning cloths instead of using paper towels. I used one to clean a couple windows today and was disgusted at how much dirt was on them. It was only the glass patio doors, and two windows, and this is what I was left with:

Gross. I don't even want to know how many paper towels I would go through cleaning ALL the windows in my house.

Another product I like is the Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop. It's much like the Swiffer WetJet, but it's not as wasteful. You can use any cleaner diluted with water in the reusable bottle, and the cleaning pads are washable. The Swiffer mop always seems to leave a filmy residue on the floor, but this does a better job at leaving a clean surface. It's great for spot cleaning or quick cleaning when you don't feel like using a mop and bucket.

Happy cleaning :)

Coming soon

I love when movies are made of books that I loved. Here are a couple that come out soon!

The Help (based on the book by Kathryn Stockett)


This one comes out August 10.

Sarah's Key (based on the book by Tatiana de Rosnay)


Online it says this is out on limited release in the US today, but it doesn't appear to be showing anywhere in my area. Hopefully it gets here at some point, otherwise I'll have to wait for Netflix.

I highly recommend these two books if you want to read them before the movies come out!