In the next 5 years...

I would like to either be a teacher or be doing something that has to do with my degree.


Kyle will (will!) be done with school. Yes, he will.


I want to be living some where other than Merkel/Abilene. Still in Texas, just not this part of Texas. Probably the Dallas area, but I wouldn't disagree with Austin, or the coast. Or even farther east. Just some where new.


I will have at least one more tattoo. At least. The next one I get will be to commemorate my marriage. It will read "What God brought together, let no man separate" with our wedding date.


I hope to have a new ride. Even though I have vowed to be nicer to the Green Machine (aka Canadian Bacon, Squishy II, etc.), she isn't really my style. And she makes strange noises which constantly make me anxious while I'm driving her. Currently, I'm leaning toward a newer Nissan Altima, black with chrome accents, however I haven't ever been inside an Altima (they just look pretty on the outside), so I don't know if I would even like it. They are moderately priced, though, which is a plus. Really my only hope is to have a vehicle that will be safe to carry precious cargo.


Which brings me to my next hope/wish. I hope that Kyle and I are stable enough to start our family together. I absolutely cannot wait to experience the joy that is motherhood. I truly believe that God has been preparing me my entire life to be a wife and mother. And since I have already conquered the first, I'm excited to conquer the latter.


I want to be involved in a church.


I will make a point to be a better family member/friend/wife, etc. I will send all those I love cards for their birthday, Christmas and all other holidays. I will also make a point to call/email to stay in touch. I will do this. I will.


I will finish the blanket I started knitting before Christmas. It may take me all five years, but I will do it.


I will collect a significant amount of books to fill the library that I will have one day.

And I will turn this blog into something significant that will hopefully impact the lives of others. :)

Foody blog post!

My first real foody blog post! And my second post in one day! The amazing things you can accomplish when you have a day off.

Kyle and I have developed a healthy obsession with ground turkey. We eat it at least twice a week. At least. So needless to say I am always looking for new recipes that use ground turkey. Hence: turkey meatloaf.

I found this recipe from Annie's Eats. How ironic, right? Well, I didn't have exactly what it called for so I made my own version:

Healthy Italian Turkey Meatloaf!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped white onion

2 tsp. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. Italian seasoning

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup chicken stock

1 lb. ground turkey breast

½ cups Italian bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup ketchup

Now, I'm not one of those cooks who is real exact with my measurements, so the measurements you see above are the ones that were provided by Annie's Eats. I'm more of an eye-baller, to taste kind of cook.

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 325°.  Line the bottom of a loaf pan with two slices of bread to soak up the grease during cooking.

In a medium sauté pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme until translucent but not browned, approximately 15 minutes.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste.  Mix well.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg and onion mixture in a large bowl.  Mix well. 

I mixed these ingredients together first.

Then added the onion mixture.

Press into the loaf pan. 

You're hand will likely be all nasty. Ground turkey is more mushy than ground beef. See below.

Spread the ketchup evenly on top.

 Bake for 1 ½ hours until the internal temperature is 160° and the meatloaf is cooked through.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

While it's cooking, sit back, relax and watch your favorite tv show. Or not. But that's what I did. Criminal Minds was my show of choice. I'm obsessed. Probably unhealthily so...but whatever. Judge me if you want. I also happen to find Dr. Spencer Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler, to be as yummy and delicious as this meatloaf. Of course not as yummy and delicious as Kyle.....but.....uhh...I think I just heard my timer go off! :)

So here is the finished product, along with some asparagus that I roasted at 400 degrees for 8-10 min with some olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Yum yum!

Okay, so it doesn't look impressive but it was really, really good!

5 things I have learned about or from marriage thus far

So as our one year anniversary quickly approaches, (it's been a year already...can you believe it?!) I've decided to look back at the past year and share some things I have learned.


1. You will never be able to read your spouse's mind. You are probably thinking, you've only been married a year, so how would you know! What about people that have been married twenty years? Doesn't matter. How do I know this? Because since being married, older married couples are full of advice and kind words that they graciously offer which make you realize that you are not alone, strange or wrong. You may be able to accurately guess what your spouse may be thinking about something in particular, but don't assume you know exactly what they are thinking all the time because all that will do is cause misunderstandings and arguments.


2. However, having arguments is not a bad thing. You simply can't agree on everything and that is healthy. And you won't agree on everything, so don't think that you will.


3. As cliche as it may sound, communication is key. You have to talk to each other about what is going on inside. As I mentioned in number 1, even though we have been married a year, I cannot read your mind so I need you to tell me what is going on in there. Capisce?


4. And on the topic of communication, chances are you and your spouse won't communicate in the same way. One of you may like to talk things out via conversation and the other may want to think everything through before saying a single word to the other. Neither is right, or wrong, but you have to respect the other person so that when communication does occur it can be done effectively.


5. When arguing and communicating in general, choose your words carefully. Don't purposely say things to push each others' buttons. And don't bring up past fights or discretions. This makes everything worse. I should know because I'm terrible at doing this.


There are many other things I have learned, but as of now, I will leave you with these.


Marriage is work. It's as simple as that. Don't be fooled in to thinking that it is going to be all sunshine and rainbows, because I guarantee there will come a time when the thing you want to do the most is punch your spouse in the face. And that's perfectly okay. Just don't actually do it, because that's abuse and I'll have to call the people on you.