My Own self- inflicted "Boot Camp"

For a while now, I have been thinking about all of the things Alex has had to sacrifice in order to pursue his dream, comforts that I know I take advantage of every day without giving them a single thought, so I decided I wanted to pursue for a week my own little personal boot camp and taste just a little bit of what my husband is going through.  I made a list of things that are not only time wasters for me, but also things that I have come to maybe depend upon a little too much and decided to eliminate them.  I decided no T.V., no internet, no radio, no sugar ( I made the exception of coffee) I also wanted to wake up at 5:00 am every morning and start the day with exercise (or PT in military terms) Those of you who know me well, know that I DO NOT exercise in front of anyone and am horrible in this area. I don't even like the feeling after I work out that most people claim they get a "high" from. Gross. I know, I'm horrible.

The week I chose for this adventure, turned out to be the week everyone at work got sick, and I ended up working 47 hours at the coffee shop, so it did not go like I planned, but I have learned for the next time I embark on this project again ( which I am planning to do again before WOCS is over for Alex) I succeeded in eliminating internet and television.
 For the first 3 days I did not listen to any music, however, I gave in after working the afternoon shifts alone (besides the few customers that stopped by the coffee shop) and listened only while I worked. Instead of internet and television, I had the time to grow spiritually and prayed, read my Bible and other awesome books. Here is a list of the books I have read the last couple of weeks, and I reccommend every single one:
Wrestling Prayer by Eric and Leslie Ludy. I have read this before, and then my friend and I decided to read it together! Alex and I are planning to read it on our road trip together to Alabama.
Rees Howells, Intercessor by Norman Grubb. An incredible biography about an amazing man. I did not know or understand what intercessory prayer was until I read his life story, incredible!
Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom. I think one of the most moving stories about forgiveness I have ever read.
The Pastor's Wife by Sabina Wumbrand. A real life love story that is even better than "The Notebook." Sabina's husband was imprisoned for many, many years, (I think something like 20) and Sabina herself was imprisoned for 5 years in Communist Russia after WW2 and into the 1960's. They were tortured and brain washed, and still kept their faith in God. Truly inspiring.
Sons of Encouragement and Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. These stories bring the Old Testament to life. Francine Rivers is my very favorite author. I always finish her books within a couple of days!

This week Ginny and I are also starting to read "The Brave Hearted Gospel" by Eric Ludy. We get together every Friday and always have a great time!
I regret to say that I did not get up at 5:00 am every day, but did get up at 7:00 am and did not exercise but once. Saturday I broke my no sugar rule (except in coffee) to eat a delicious berry cobbler and home made ice cream made by Aurora. All in all I was really happy I tried this experiment, and next time I know what will help me better succeed! I know it is not really comparable to what real boot camp is like, and I am not nearly as disciplined as I needed to be, but it was a good experience none the less! I will do better this next time! I am also highly addicted to caffeine, working at a coffee shop with delectable FREE coffee all the days I work, I have noticed headaches that creep up on me when I don't get my fix, so I am going to try and SLOWLY cut back, and maybe by the time I start my next "boot camp" I will be able to go without it for a week, or at least not have the awful headache!

My recipe for this entry post is one I made when my brother and sister came over to my house about a month ago? They both love cake batter, and I am convinced the possibilities are never ending when it comes to recipes using the magical powder! Cake batter cupcakes, truffels, cakes, muddy buddies, brownies, ice cream, rice krispy treats, mousse, cheesecake, etc! All too delicious and scrumptious to be true! I made them cake batter muddy buddies:) They LOVED them!

Chex Funfetti Cake Batter Buddies

Adapted from: So Very Blessed

Ingredients:

5 cups Chex cereal (I used Rice Chex, but Corn Chex would work great!)

10 oz (5 squares) vanilla flavored Almond Bark

1 1/2 cups Funfetti cake mix (any kind of cake mix would work)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vegetable shortening

Directions:

1. Melt Almond Bark according to the package directions, adding vegetable shortening to thin (I heard that you can make it without the shortening, but it worked great for me to use it).

2. Pour the cereal into a large bowl and drizzle the melted Almond Bark over the cereal. Mix gently with a large spoon or spatula.

3. Dump the cake mix and powdered sugar onto the cereal and mix gently with large spoon until all the cereal is evenly coated.

4. Enjoy!! It's so good! :)

Note: Instead of almond bark, I used white chocolate baking squares because I could not find almond bark. Almond bark is just a cheaper, more processed version of white chocolate;-)

W.O.C.S

Well, Alex is half way through week three of W.O.C.S. which stands for Warrant Officer Candidate School and I wanted to share a few of the things that Alex has written about, hopefully, after he graduates, he will be able to make a few posts and tell you all about it himself!
In one of his letters dated Sunday, 3/25/2012 he writes:
"They do inspections of our rooms and inspect every drawer, sock and shirt. They also measure how far away all the furniture is from the walls and things like that and if it is not all right, they mess everything up and I will have to fix it again."  (side note: I think I would do well at this part of W.O.C.S since I was trained from a young age on the white glove inspections at home as well as at Grandpa's summer camps;)
"It is so much better than basic training. It is a lot of classes. Our day usually consists of waking up at 5:00am, get downstairs and do PT for about an hour to an hour and a half then we get about 10 minutes to shower, which we never do because we don't have time then we clean up the barracks for about 20 minutes. After that it is mostly class work and lectures throughout the day, kind of like college. Last week we learned all about the "Law of War." It was pretty interesting. Then we eat dinner, clean the barracks again (but a lot better this time) for about an hour, have study time for about an hour then go to bed about 11:00pm. That is basically my whole day."
"I was put on flag detail for a few days which means I had to get up at 4:30. I was in charge of 5 other guys who would go to the main flag pole on base and when the morning bugle call went off we would raise the flag. It was kind of cool besides having to get up earlier."
"Right now everyone wants their phones back. In order to get anything we have to write a memo requesting it. As of now we do not have any good "rights" because all our memos come back with formatting mistakes. Just another way to keep us busy and teach us the proper way to write Army memos. We just yesterday got approved to to have our "computer rights." Next I think they are going to ask for coffee, but they probably won't give us that yet :)"
In a letter dated Saturday 3/25/12 Alex talks a little bit about the TAC Officers:
"I am just now getting a few minutes of down time and I just had to write to you again. Things here have been absolutely CRAZY!! We have very early mornings and late nights. The TAC Officers ( the warrant officer drill sergent equivalent) give everyone about a hundred things to do but only enough time to do about ten of them. That is their whole plan. They try to stress us out and make us decide which tasks we will choose to get done first. With all that said, I am actually enjoying it for the most part. I of course miss you so much but being here is so much better than basic training. It is a lot more stressful, but we are treated like future Officers and they don't yell hardly at all. Even when we do really hard PT in the mornings, all the TAC officers do it with us. They tell us that they lead by example, like we all should. I enjoy that. They also don't drink coffee around us or talk on their cell phones since we can't have those either (yet) I have a lot of respect for all of them.  Anyway, they keep us unbelievably busy."

As of today, Alex has not recieved his phone, he said in his last letter that he himself was going to write up a memo requesting their phones for Easter Sunday! Keep your fingers crossed! If they do recieve phone privileges, the days he can use them would be Wednesdays and Sundays for about a half hour or less.

Alex's letters are nearly as plentiful as when he was in boot camp, but each one is special and I treaure every one of them! It means so much to me that, even in the midst of all his crazy busy schedules and duties, he makes every effort to write to me, even if it is only a few lines just to say he loves me :-) He is the best! Not very many wives recieve love letters in abundance like I have had these past months, I am so thankful for every one!

This last Saturday I got to spend time with the Wales family! All of them except Alex :-( I meant to bring my camera, but forgot it :-( I loved getting to cook for everyone, although I hated having to say goodbye, especially to Hunter, Peyton and Emmy since I don't know for sure the next time we will be able to see them! I sure do love them- they are so much fun!

(Emmy's birthday gift from Alex and I was the musical movie "Annie" and a matching Annie wig. Kendra sent this to me and I personally think Emmy is the cutest "Annie" I've ever seen!)

 I made quesadillas with my panini maker, although they taste great when you fry them as well! I think these quesadillas are fool proof, and are Nancy and my Mom's favorite! Here is the coveted recipe :-)
 Quesadillas:
Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium red onion
1 c. frozen corn
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can of refried black beans (the absolute best brand is the authentic Mexican brand La Costena)
12 taco shells
2 1/2 c. of cheddar (or pepper jack for extra spice!)
Optional toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole

Dice the onion and red pepper, place in pan with about 2 Tbs. of oil. and let simmer until onion is not quite translucent and pepper is not so crunchy (but do not let them get mushy) add corn and red pepper flakes. It looks so pretty and fresh!

Meanwhile, spread beans evenly over 6 tortillas, careful not to spread beans too far on the edges of tortilla. Grab the panini maker, or oil for frying and let them reach the hot temperature. Place corn mixture over beans, then add cheese and place a plain tortilla over the top. Only take out of oil or panini maker when it is nice and crispy and browned! I use a pizza cutter to slice the quesadillas into fourths. Yum Yum! So delicious and nutricious! I think these will always be a family favorite! Easy, simple, nutricious and delicious!