Katie's High School Graduation

I initially was going to title this entry "Mushu's Graduation" but Mushu doesn't seem quite the right name to be put together with 'graduation.' Which is sad to me. If I had my way, Mushu would stay baby Mushu forever, but it cannot be and this is just one step closer to her really growing all the way up! I was so happy to be able to go home for the occassion and only wished Alex could have been there too! I was able to visit the Oregon Coast, take advantage of no sales tax by doing some shopping at the outlet malls, Mom made sure I am well stocked up on hair products (thank you Mom!) Katie and I got our toes done, I was able to meet my new nephew Blake for the first time and visit with all our sweet nieces and nephews, visit with my Aunt Kim and Uncle Jim a bit,also with the Wales family, go to Church and the movies, out to many dinners with different family members and of course help in the celebrating of Mushu's graduation! (There, I put the two together and it didn't sound bad at all in a sentence! Maybe it's just the title where it just doesn't fit?) It was a great time home and thankfully, the time in between our next visit is short! Only 2 short months! Yay!!!

 

 

 

Last night Alex and I tried a new recipe from Rachael Ray! With the weather being hotter than the hubs, the only things that sound too apetizing are salads and anything BBQ! We tweeked it a little to make it more flavorful and to our liking and it turned out healthy and delicious! Here it is:

 



 

 

 Asparagus and Sticky Chicken with Rice:
8-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bunch of asparagus
1 bunch of green onions
long grain brown or white rice
For the marinade:
2 Tbsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce

Let chicken thighs sit in marinade overnight. Grill chicken until thouroughly cooked. Boil asparagus for 2 minutes in 1 inch of water in a sauce pan. Shock asparagus by immediately removing from boiling water into an ice bath. Next, grill asparagus. Slice Chicken into strips and place with asparagus onto rice. Thinly slice green onions at an angle and sprinkle on top of chicken.
Optional: Top with slivered and toasted almonds.

To Korea We Will Go!

 So much has happened the last couple of months and I feel like time is going by so quickly! Our most exciting news is that we are going to be headed to Korea! Our tentative timeline is August 22 Alex graduates from Flight School (hooray!!!) then the day after we plan to fly home for a couple of weeks to visit, then head to our new home in Korea, which Alex must report to by September 22nd! There are so many things we have yet to find out and the process changes from day to day. We won't know which duty station in Korea we will be going, either the largest post, Camp Humphreys, or the smaller K-16 which is closest to Seoul. We must ship most of our household items 60 days in advance, so in about a month we will be packing up the house! We also must find housing, once we get to Korea we hopefully will be able to find something we like within a couple of weeks (I don't know if this is wishful thinking or not!). It will more than likely be a high rise apartment, as that is mainly the only type of housing available. I am still waiting on my "command sponsorship" which will allow me to travel with Alex to Korea, and it also allows us to ship more of our household items. I already have my government issued passport required to be able to live in Korea, so right now, we're just waiting for paperwork to be approved! We are both so excited about this new adventure, and looking forward to learning all sorts of new things while we are stationed there! It truly wasn't at all where we thought we would be going, since it wasn't even on the list of possible options to choose from for the aircraft Alex flies, but we know this is a blessing in disguise as it will allow us to be together more since it is considered a "deployment" and hopefully Alex will be able to get plenty of practice flying!

This entry's recipe is another pinterest find! Loaded Potato Buffalo Chicken Casserole! It's not the healthiest, but it was a big hit with my Meals on Wales customers and Alex (who typically does not like spicy food, but approved of this dish) Here is the link to the recipe: http://cooklisacook.blogspot.ca/2012/03/loaded-potato-buffalo-chicken-casserole.html