The Longs in Italy

Fill in the blank Friday

2012-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

I saw this while reading a blog tonight and thought it would be fun to do!

Go here to link up!

1. My favorite place I've ever traveled to is...... Belize, Central America....AMAZING! Although, I really enjoy Croatia also, and my favorite thing I have ever done was in Grand Cayman (swimming with string-rays). To be honest, we have been here four years and yes, it is cool to travel but history and architecture BORE me to tears. I enjoy tropical, paradise, gods beauty type of travel!

2.    Fiji or Maldives    is somewhere I'd love to go someday. BUT I would love to go to Africa too

3. I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by     Sleeping! I am a champ at sleeping while moving! If not, I like to talk or listen to music!

4. My three must-haves when I travel are     my camera, sunglasses and my pillow

5. My favorite travel companion is    my husband or my sisters

6. The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is something I saw!   While tubing through caves in Belize, a lady got close to the embankment, before we enter the cave.  All of a sudden a wild animal attacked her head and was making this crazy hissing sound! They told her to hold still and the thing stopped. I swear it looked like a raccoon/monkey mix.

7. The most exotic food I've ever tried while traveling I would not consider these things exotic, maybe some would.. I have had ostrich, horse, escargot and conch... maybe one day I will eat something crazy, like brain or balls, lol

8. If I could live anywhere else, somewhere on an island or back to the southeast! ; )

9. I have been to 15
states and the District of Columbia in the U.S.

I made a map to show where I have been! And the arrow, well, that is where I am moving soon... hoping I can add some stars to the surrounding area!

Dear Pinterest...........

2012-01-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

Why, oh why, must you be so lovely, fun, inspiring and most of all addicting!? I have a million things I want to make once I get to the US, hundreds of recipes I must try, outfits I want to put together, and the list goes on. Ok, so maybe not a million but it seems that way!

I seriously have to limit my time on your site, and sometimes that is hard when I get pinning happy! Hey, at least my husband has enjoyed all the food I cook that I found on you!

Thanks for the love/hate relationship!

Speaking of, I will share some of my recent pins with you all! Ok, just a couple of food/drink ones! If you want to follow me on pinterest you can!

Photo from skinnytaste

This is one recipe we have made a few times before! Crock pot santa fe chicken! It is easy, low in fat, low in calories, very tasty, and filling! We eat ours over brown rice, we don't use cheese and put a dollop of low fat sour cream and some salsa on top! So, for us I believe it may be even more healthy than mentioned, maybe not!?

Another recipe we have made a few times is this grilled balsamic-garlic crusted pork tenderloin!

We eat grilled pork tenderloin a lot in our house because it is such a lean cut of meat, not to mention, tasty! I love trying out different dry rubs and marinades and this one is yummy!

Photo from blog website.

We had some people over for New Year's Eve and I made this champagne punch, I loved it!

Source: betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Tomato Pie Recipe

2011-12-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

Tomato Pie

The other week, a dear friend of mine asked on facebook what to do with all the tomatoes someone gave her. She had already made sauce and wanted some other suggestions. One thing I suggested to her was tomato pie! Funny thing is, I have not had tomato pie in a couple of years but after telling her I suddenly had a craving for some! So, what did I do? I made one! Y'all, there are tons of different recipes for them but I am going to share with you what I did!

Tomato Pie

What you will need:

1- 9 inch prebaked pie shell - I cooked mine a few minutes less than the package said since it was going back in the oven

4 Tomatoes, peeled and sliced - (for those non cooks out there, google how to blanch tomatoes, it will make your life so much easier)
8-10 basil leaves, chopped--- I took the leaves, rolled them like a cigar and then sliced them
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup of grated cheddar -PLEASE do not use the prepackaged kind, take the time to grate your own!
1 cup of grated mozzarella or try something different like monterey jack
3/4 cup of mayo
salt, pepper and garlic powder

What to do!:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F- Europe gals, that is about 176 C.

Place the tomatoes on some paper towels and pat or place in colander in the sink, sprinkle with salt and let drain for 10 minutes.

LAYER like so: tomato slices, sprinkle with seasoning, basil and onion, repeat until you have used all the tomatoes.

I included two untouched photos because man do those tomatoes not look amazing! Plus I was playing with my new lens! I still have tons to learn!

Combine the cheeses and mayo together.

Spread cheese mixture on top of layers. Like so:

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cut slices and serve warm!

You can even add some cream cheese to the cheese mixture, just cut out a little of the other cheeses!

So good y'all, even some non tomato eaters will eat this yumminess!

SFS Christmas (Holiday) Party!

2011-12-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we attended Curtis' work Christmas party. He is the president of the defenders council, so he was actually in charge of helping put this party together! Sadly, this was our last one here in Italia, so very bittersweet!

I just wanted to share some pictures with you all and have them on my virtual scrapbook!

My handsome love and me at the end of the night!

* Oh and a shout-out to my friend Kayla! The red dress I ordered was to big, thankfully she had a dress I could borrow!

Us with some of our lovely friends, The Castros and The Speeds

This guy, well, he was a character and the highlight of the end of my night! He really thought he was tearing up the dance floor, had my laughing a lot!

And I can't leave out my sweet lil guy!

Us at the end of the night!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve is EXTRA special to me! It is also my 6th wedding anniversary! So, Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! Every year gets better and better, and I look forward to many more! Thank you for being my best friend, my rock, my knight and shining armor, the one I share all my ups and downs with, forgiving, funny and the most helpful man I know!

I got a new camera lens for my anniversary so hopefully I will have some pictures to share soon! ; )

Cheers Y'all!

A little of this and that

2011-11-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

This is just my random dump post, I wanted to document one of these events for Kyler and then just share some other random things!

** Sunday we took Kyler to his first ever movie, Puss in Boots, in a theater! I want him to see Happy Feet II soon so, I decided to test him out before we go see that. He did so great! He sat still the whole entire time and did not say a peep. I mean not a peep, I asked him if he wanted something and he would not even answer, just nod his head. It was cute when we walked in the door, he just stood there, frozen, staring at the very large screen! I am not sure he knew what to think at first!

** I love embroidered shirts, especially when I am supporting friends of mines businesses! Here is Kyler in two different shirts, made by two different friends! The first one I had to get because my mom had breast cancer, the saying is cute and it had camo lettering! You can find her business under Snipes, Snails and Fairytales on FB. Some of their stuff is sold in a boutique in the Charleston, SC area and was featured on Zulily! The second shirt was done by Cutey Patootie and she can also be found on FB! Kyler’s first and second birthday shirts were done by her also. This one I fell in love with as soon as I saw it, because of the saying of course! It reads Some Heroes wear capes mine wears combat boots! ** I was not paid to say these things and they have no idea I am even posting this!

Not sure what he is looking at here, my child is silly!

** My husband and I love James Morrison, especially his song I Won’t Let You Go, my DH is the one that got me hooked. The regular version is fabulous but the acoustic version is even more amazing! He has such a wonderful, refreshing voice, which is a little raspy, which I love and is relaxing to me! I am not sure if he is as well known in the states as he is here, which is sad to me. He has a lot of songs and I seriously want to buy them all! Check him out y’all! * I like; You Give Me Something, Nothing Ever Hurt Like You, and you may know the song Broken Strings, featuring Nelly Furtado! But I promise you, they are all amazing!

http://youtu.be/sgRb_lfIZ6A

http://youtu.be/26PAgklYYvo

http://youtu.be/rRxccy-zcJ8

** Last year I bought a pyramid here and last Christmas it did not work after I put it together. I was a little sad because it cost me $200. Y’all, I don’t spend money that often so for me to spend that much on this was a big deal. Well, the guy I bought it from was at the base not long ago. I told him my problem and he gave to two tips to fix it, to see if it would work. Last night someone posted one they bought and I remembered about my conversation with the man. What did I do? I jumped up and went up in the attic to get it down. I set it up, lit the candles and waited. Sure enough, it worked! It was all because I did not have the slats on top tilted enough.

Well, my toddler wanted to touch it and I told him no touching. He then decided to run around the table as the thing spun. The next thing I knew, he had turned out the lights, was signing happy birthday and blowing out all of the candles! HAHA. It cracked me up! He was so proud that he started clapping. I guess that means we will be displaying it somewhere where he can not touch the thing, or blow out the candles!

** I have finally decided to take my camera off of auto today, I did pretty good on manual, maybe soon I will post a few pictures!

Hope everyone is getting ready for Turkey Day!! I know I am ready to eat, just not ready to consume so many calories. I read today that on average people consume 4500 calories on Thanksgiving. SAY WHAT?! Not I said the girl that loves to eat, but I am sure

Ribbet, Ribbet

2011-11-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

This year my little guy dressed up as a frog for both the Fall Fest on base, and for the squadrons Halloween thing! I must say, he was the cutest little frog I have ever seen and we heard a lot of people say they loved his costume! And we had so much fun at both events, although the Fall Fest was a little crowded when we left!

Here is me with my little guy at the squadrons party!

And me and my little prince charming, in frog form of course, the next night for the fall fest! This picture was taken by my friend Dianna!

Us three at the Fall Fest!

And Kyler with his daddy!

And little guy picking out a pumpkin at the patch! Since we don't have pumpkin patches here in Italy, the base made one! The kids got to pick out a free pumpkin and then decorate it with stickers or paint! We loved that idea!~

This was our last Halloween in Italy, and it was a nice one! However, I am looking forward to having a more real Halloween experience with Kyler next year!

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween!

My Erin Condren planner is here!!!! and a few goodies for lil guy!

2011-10-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today I got excited when Curtis called to tell me the package my parents sent got here!! I knew that it was for Kyler but did not know what all was in there! It had a lot of new clothes for Kyler, a cool Harley Davidson motorcyle jacket, a sock monkey costume my sister bought him, then my mom put a cute thanksgiving cup in there and Christmas books! I was excited for him, he kept opening all the books up and wanted to put the monkey hat on! Oh and he put the jacket on also, it was so funny! The jacket was something from my moms coworker!

Here are some Christmas books!

I can't wait to read these to him!

The white one has three seperate stories inside and the Polar Express comes with a cd and an ornament! Kyler was excited about the Cars one, as soon as he saw the characters he said cars, cars!

And what I wanted to share that was in the box is my Planner! Oh boy, this is the planner of all planners, for real! I got it for $25 instead of $50 because I found a code online! Then had it shipped to my mom. Y'all, if you like planners or need to be organized, this is the one! Best of all, it can be customized! They have a lot to pick from too!

This is the outside of the box that was shipped!

Enjoy, that I will!

When you open up the box it is wrapped nicely, I love companies that take the time to make things extra special! This company did that in many ways.

Then when I pulled it out I smiled ear to ear! The one I picked out has such pretty colors and I love that I could add my name to it, I seriously love the thing!

It has tabs, not sure if you can see that. Oh and if you order now you get the rest of this year plus next year.

This bad boy is thick y'all! Not a whimpy planner at all!

All through the planner there are nice quotes and colorful of course!

When you open it up there are a few things on the front few pages, such as all the months with little places to put birthdays and such and then you get to the months. You get a few blank pages like below at the beginning of each month!

Then you have the whole month and then the part I love. Every day has plenty of room to write stuff! They have it broken down in columns for morning/day/night.

Here is how the page with the whole month looks

Then you have 12 pages for notes and then these stickers in the back, 2 pages that have things already written on them and then 5 pages of 10 different colors for you to write things yourself. I could use one color for each person, or all red be dr appointments, blue be hair, the possiblities are endless!

There is harder piece that has slots to hold things such as stamps. It has a pocket on both sides!

A pouch to put things in and inside was some goodies for me! I got a bunch of stickers of all sorts for different things, some cards and 3 ring type things to mark spots in my planner!

Then I also got this envelope, inside contained 10 of the stickers pictured on the envelope! They will be perfect for little gifts to people!

And the page page had this for 2013 and 2014!

Plus there are a few other things I did not show you! Ladies, if you have seen these and were on the fence, hop down now and go order one today! I promise you will smile as big as I did while looking through the thing! Just check online for a coupon of some sort, keep checking because I have seen them on a lot of sites at different times!

Today was a super happy package day! I love any surprise package (I did not know what Kyler was getting) but this one was a super one because my planner rocks!

** I did not get paid to write this. This company does not even know that little ole me exsist!

The Longs are off to........

2011-10-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day, the day we found out where our next journey in life will be taking place! I was in the office with Curtis when he checked, and he just started laughing. I knew right then that it was not the first few places on our dream sheet, which was all SE areas or LA from our list, but was hoping it was still somewhere I wanted. Well, it was the last thing we wrote on our dream sheet, so I was not disappointed but not overly excited either! There were 4 or 5 other places on our list that were worse to me, so, I say, it could have been worse, haha! The thing I am very happy about is that one of my good friends, from here in Italy, is there!

Then I decided to get online and "look" around the state, I am now very excited and thrilled! There is a lot to do (if you like outdoors stuff), and it is a stunningly beautiful state. Plus, I have never been to this part of the USA so I am excited about that, plus I will be very close to Canada!

Our new home area looks like this:

from google images

From my friend's FB images

And the state is beautiful, here are a few facts, maybe you will be able to figure out where our "home" will be!

Three of the Five entrances to Yellowstone National Park are here as well as Glacier National Park, on the Continental Divide! The state is known as "Big Sky Country", the state has a lot of prairie land, part of the great plains, I will see a lot of snow, and a lot more! I can't wait to get there and take Kyler fishing and camping!

My friends, we are headed to Montana! Great Falls to be exact!

Here is a great website about MT.

Corn-Bean Casserole-

2011-10-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

I love comfort foods and this is one of those casseroles that screams comfort, IMO of course! I may hurt some feelings with my next two sentences, so, if you are in love with green bean casserole don't read, haha!. I, ok I know my mom and husband too, may be the only Americans I know that thinks green bean casserole is the nastiest thing ever. I just don't understand how people think that stuff is good, it is a few already nasty ingredients thrown in a dish and cooked. It just taste weird and does not have any good flavor to me, haha.
This casserole I am sharing is like a green bean casserole on crack. It has cheese and sour cream, two things I love! It has a lot more flavor, is colorful and well, tasty, something that is important to me! Please try it out, I promise you will probably kick that other recipe to the curb!
And yes, it is more unhealthy but you can use lowfat ingredients!

CORN-BEAN Casserole:
(I have seen a different version that is silmilar called shoe-peg corn casserole on allrecipes, this one is my moms though)
1 can Frech-style green beans (you know the long skinny ones) DRAINED
1 can shoe peg corn (I believe it is white) DRAINED
1 small jar of pimentos (if you hate these I am sure it would be fine to leave out)
1 can of Cream of Celery soup
8 oz sour cream
8 oz shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
1 onion chopped
salt and pepper
1 cup of crushed ritz cracker/cheezits/frenches fried onions, etc.
2-3 tablespoons of melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 2 qt. dish

Mix first 7 ingredients together and season with s/p. Evenly spread in dish. Then combine the one cup of topping and butter and spread on top of mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly! Allow to sit for about 5 minutes or so.

This recipe can be frozen and cooked later!

I will be making this tonight and will add a picture tomorrow if I remember to take one before I dig in!!!

Where oh Where will "home" be next?!

2011-10-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Military life is different in many ways, I mean, my whole life I grew up in a civilian family and lived in the same house basically most of my life. Not all, but most. My little sister, she has lived there since one day old, until college time. But with military life, oh military life, you are constantly moving! Or so it seems. We have been here almost four years, but to me, it seems shorter. I honestly can't believe it is almost time to leave Aviano, Italy. But more on that later, I have a lot to say about leaving here!

And with the military you don't just say, "um, Honey, do you want to move? How about North Carolina? Or how about to South Dakota or New York? Ok, great, lets move in two months."

Nope, it does not happen that way. And it happens a bit different, depending on if you are overseas or in the states. Overseas it looks like this:

Around 6 months before your Deros (the day you are to leave the place you are currently residing) you get a list. That list is for the military members JOB and RANK and what places have openings for those said things. You then look at it, cry, laugh, jump for joy, etc.... depending on if it is great or horrid! Then you make up a "dream sheet", submit it and cross your fingers, pray, or whatever it is that you do to hope you get somewhere you want. You can put somewhere not on that list, but it is better to stick to that list and put in the exact order of where you would want to go. Then the military looks at that list, decides on where they want you and BAM, that is what they give you. Not always somewhere you want to be. A few weeks later, you get a rip and then hard copy orders. It is a waiting games my friend. Then you act like a chicken with your head cut off, until you are settled in that new "home".

Lucky us, Curtis has a job that has tons of openings. One of my friends had two things on her list, I guess that makes it easy for them! So, I guess you are wondering what the heck is on our list? Where could we call "home" next? We have 40 openings in 11 places and this is what it consist of:

Here it goes my friends: (in No order, I will not share where we want to go)
Eglin (Florida)
Patrick (Florida)
Hurbert Field (Florida) We actually don't want that one but prefer it over another
Barksdale (Louisiana) They have 4 openings for that
Hill (Utah)
Malmstrom (Montana) they have 6 openings
Mt. Home (Idaho)
Langley (VA)
FE Warren (WY)
Offett (Nebraska)
and last but not least Minot( North Dakota, 19 openings, EEKKKKK)

Y'all, I don't like cold nor do I like snow. So, this should be interesting. No matter what though, I will make the best of where EVER it is the military sends us. I just am hoping it is somewhere on our top 7 we put down!

Have any of you been stationed at one of these bases or know someone who has?

Some new European goods!

2011-10-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our base had our Bella Befana Bazaar, where vendors from all over Europe come and sell their goods. It started on Friday and since I was going to Paris the following morning, I went that day, twice! My husband is the defenders council president, that means he was in charge of the whole thing, from setting it up on Thursday, making sure things are running smoothly, to tearing it down on Sunday. So, I went once with Kyler right when it opened and again later on to look with Curtis!

Enough on that, let me show you what I got!

The first two things are antique pieces, which I am loving lately! These two pieces go great with my Demi-John.

I have been wanting a French riddling rack since the first time I saw them, however, they are hard to get. The last bazaar, which was six months ago, I got my name put on a list. I was hoping that I indeed was getting one of these beauties, and was happy to know I did!

Picture before I knew where to put it, and before adding wine! This picture gives you the true color of the rack.

And after:

It holds 60 bottles total!

Please excuse the basket, it holds my modem and phone!

I also have been really wanting a large dough bowl! Did you know that they have these on Pottery Barn? They do but I think they want $299 for theirs, I paid a little less than half of that.

The thing is huge y'all! There is so much you can do with it though! At first I had it under our coffee table to hold blankets, then I moved it and now it holds our shoes near the front door! One pair each, plus my favorite cowboy boots.

I decided to get one that had metal around it, I think it adds character to the piece!

Here are some ideas on what to do with one of these.

* add pumpkins and gords to one for fall decor on table

* Christmas balls and large candles for the holidays

* Seashells, wine corks, easter eggs with paper confetti, ice with beverages for a party, magazines, and the list goes on

I am going to put it on our kitchen table soon with fall decor so I will be sure to show you all.

And here is some more goodies I got:

Wine and some grape juice that is just grapes and $14 a box, haha!

Cheeses, salami, wine stoppers and some amazingly yummy stuff I get every time. Two people sell the same type of stuff but one is nasty to me, this place in Porcia is amazing! You can add the stuff to bread or pasta, I have tomato kind and olive!

Oh how I will miss this type of stuff!

Check out this blog!

2011-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Check out my little sisters blog!! http://www.thesouthernpeacock.blogspot.com/
While there be sure to check out her wreaths she sales, there is a post about them on her blog) two post down I believe)! And go like her FB page as well! When she reaches 100 people she is doing a giveaway. For the month of October she is donating money from her wreaths to Breast Cancer Research in honor of our mom.

And if you go, yes, today is my 29th birthday! No, that is not why I want you to go read, haha! Just saying that because she gives me a shout out.

I will post Paris pictures this weekend! It is hard to add pictures and blog while watching my very active 2 year old.

I hope everyone enjoys their Friday! I am excited, it is suppose to be really cool here in Italia, no more hotness.

Ok, that was all a bunch of random things but that is my mind at the moment!

Paris or Pair-eeee

2011-10-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have lots more to share! Tons! However, 500 pictures is a lot so I need to go through them and pick a few to share. I thought this would do for now! Straight out of camera shot because I am not good at editing pictures!
I am thinking of paying my friend to edit some of my pictures because I want to hang some on the wall. What do you think?

I forgot to mention, I LOVE it there. A-MAZING folks, words can not even explain how much I enjoyed my three day trip to Paris with my friend! A BIG thank you again to my wonderful husband for the best birthday present ever!!

Waiting on the post man!

2011-09-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, not exactly, but I am waiting on these things to arrive in the mail!

American Eagle boyfriend jean

I am tired of pulling up my pants, and wanted a new comfy pair to wear with flats, so I bought these! Yes, I know, they make belts but I am not a fan!

Plus I have some of my very own money saved up, so why not?!

A new Erin Condren life planner! I have been eyeing one of these personalized beauties for a while, then a friend on FB asked for a coupon code. Well, I did some searching and on someone's blog found a code for $25 off!

I will be sure to show you guys when mine arrives! I had to have it shipped to my mama first!

Some new riding boots from my parents for my 29th Bday! I have been searching and searching for a pair I liked when I found these at DSW! However, they did not have my big foot size, but my parents had some sent to them from a store in GA! I am hoping they get here before my trip to Paris!

And NO, I did not get all of these! Can you guess which one these La Mer Collection watches my husband bought me? I already know, because I picked it out! It was a hard decision because I like every single one on their website! I think next time I want a colorful one!

It will be like Christmas for me when these things arrive because I never order/buy things for myself! What are you waiting to get?

M.I.A

2011-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! Wowzers, it has been some time since I blogged. I just have not been in the blogging mood but think I am ready to jump back in! I have so much I missed telling you guys! We went to Pisa, camping at Camp Darby, had company for a few nights, I went back to Nove and finished up my Lenox collection, etc!

* We are on the downward part of this rollercoaster I call Italy! We got here in March of 08 and now only have 5.5 months left! Lately I have been having mixed emotions about leaving. Honestly, it is a bitter sweet thing! I will very much miss the amazing friends I have here, I have gotten to be very close to a couple of ladies that I am really going to miss. BUT I know that it will not be a goodbye, I will see them again! I will miss the food, oh the food, and the wine too! Plus my amazing view and drive home. Oh, and I will miss not having my gas pumped for me! But I am ready to be back in the USA, it is where I belong and am glad to be an American, for sure! I will be closer to family, can visit target, get things at all times of the day and will never have to shop at a commissary again(I strongly dislike them). Plus I can talk on the phone or skype and not have to worry about connection problems! I could go on and on with why I will be happy to be back! I just am ready to know where "home" will be next!

* My birthday is coming up soon and my husband got me the best present ever!! A trip to Paris, France! I am going with a friend while Curtis stays home and watches Kyler! I have some friends from SC that now live in LA, CA that will be there so I get to see them too! He lived in France for a few months and was not a huge fan, so he did not really want to go, but knew that I really wanted to mark that off my list! I tried to tell him the place the military sent him years ago probably was nothing compared to Paris but he said, GO, HAVE FUN! So, that I will!

*Be looking out for a video blog soon! Or vlog! I am going to attempt one about something I think would be funny for me to do!

That is it for now folks! I really am going to try to get back to blogging at least 3 times a week!

CIAO!!

Oh how I love thee! Like I am obsessed!

2011-06-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

First, yes, I am writing two post within 24 hours, shocker these days!

Ok, ladies and gents, I am in LOVE and I mean obsessed kind of love with Pinterest!

http://pinterest.com/

Have you tried it out yet? If not, go now, I mean now! Pinterest is a site that lets you "pin" images you find from all over the internet! On your page you can make "boards" which are collections of anything from DIY projects, hair styles, ideas for rooms in your home, recipes, etc. The possibilities are almost endless! You can even follow people on there or follow their boards! Or you can just browse through all the millions of "pins" on there! When you click on the picture of a pin it will take you to the website that person got it from. So, you can see where to purchase it from, how to make a diy project or the recipe!

To join the site you do need an invitation but there is no benefit to me for inviting you. So, let me know if you would like to join. Or just leave me your email and I will send you an invite! Just this week I have got like 6 of my friends hooked, ha!

If you are on pinterest, find me! http://pinterest.com/mrsmslong/ and for those that want to join you can go see my boards to see if you would be interested in using this site!

Happy Pinning y'all!!

2011 International Sportswagon Festival- (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, and many more!)

2011-06-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Velden Am Worthersee, Austria

This past weekend Curtis and I took a trip to Austria to meet up with some friends of ours! This was our first ever trip or even night away from Kyler. Thanks to our lovely friends/family here. I was so nervous the entire time, I kept asking Curtis if we should text them to check on him! Not because I did not trust our friends but because of Kyler's terrible two behavior! I must say, we had a blast and it was nice to be able to have time together, just the two of us. We laughed and laughed and laughed some more Friday night when we went out!

I also know this was the first and probably the last time I will ever see this many expensive cars at one time. I would say millions of dollars worth!

I took 200 pictures but I will just leave you with some of my favorite ones! From cars, to our drive and some from our night out on the town!

Ferrari anyone?

Lamborghini backsides!

The car that was at our hotel!

I will miss this view! Isn't it amazing? This was even taken through the windshield! And is straight from camera, the sky was that pretty!

My friend with her free hat from crazy-bull in Austria! All of us gals ended up getting one!

The love of my life!!!

The view from my hotel room balcony

Not sure about this color!

Even some super expensive Mustangs!

Tent-check, grill-check, camping chairs-check!!!

2011-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are leaving to go here:

To do this:

except probably on a more rocky area

so we can watch these:

And to eat, eat, and eat some more! Did you guys know that I love to eat?

I am very excited because I love to camp and even better that we get to do it with great friends! I will post pictures Sunday night of our camping/speed boat adventure! Monday we leave to go on another adventure that I will tell you about when we return! Oh how I love when my husband is on leave! (that is like a vacation for you non military folks, except he can take like 30 days straight if he really wants to).

* Also, I will do post on our stateside adventures soon. I kept forgetting to upload the 900+ pictures but finally did!

Wordless Wednesday! What dance is this?!

2011-06-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

ALL ABOARD!!!

2011-05-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what I am in the process of doing?!

Here is a sneak peak!

I am getting really excited planning Kyler's 2nd birthday party!

In one month you can see all the details and links on where to find things!

CHOO, CHOO!!

I'm BAAACCCKKKK.. for real this time!

2011-05-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

I took a blog break while I was in the good ole USofA and well, I. Am. Back.

Kyler and I got in yesterday around four in the afternoon, ran a few errands on base and then came home to enjoy some time with Curtis! Which was so nice!

I felt like a zombie all day for the last few days so I finally went to bed at 11 pm and I woke up at......

1:30 pm today! Ha! The crazy thing, Kyler was still sleeping. So, I went in his room to get him up. He heard me come in and I thought he would be all cranky.

NO!

He jumped up and said WHOA! I guess he was refreshed and ready for the day!

I have a bit to share and I will start on that sometime this weekend! So, be ready for some blog post!

Oh and can I tell you, I was SO ready to get back to Italy! Never thought I would say that!

What's going on...................

2011-04-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Just wanted to say hello and that I have been missing in action because I have been in the good ole USA for a while! I have a lot to update and will start sharing some photos soon! We have been doing all kinds of fun things but we are also missing Curtis A LOT!

AND I have a lot of blogs to read! It has been nice because I have been taking a computer break and have decided I need to do this when I return to Italy too!

Kyler is having a blast here and has become a little comedian! He is SO friendly to everyone and makes everyone laugh, even strangers. And the child does not like to leave anyone out. If he gives one person a hug, kiss, high five, fist bump or hand shake he has to give every single person around him one! It is so cute and sweet!

Today it is going to be 90 and we are going to go enjoy the sunshine and celebrate my little sister's birthday, which is tomorrow!
Ok, I know this was all over the place but it is funny because that is how I have been since being here!

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T02:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but this day makes me smile!

It is free!

Silly!

And I love all things Irish! It's in my blood folks!

Here I am in Savannah, GA for the huge St. Patrick's Day celebration they have there! Guys, they have a whole weekend worth of celebration and it is listed as one of the top 7 places to go to celebrate. I will say this, it was fun, crazy and probably the only time I will ever go! I can say been there, done that but I don't have the tee-shirt to prove it, ha!

This my friends was four years ago I believe and I did not know the leprechaun! He just made me smile because he was so festive!

Enjoy your day!

Pain in my neck......literally!

2011-03-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

So this may be TMI for some but it is nothing horrid, I promise!

I have had this tiny bump on the back of my neck for a while and all of a sudden this week it got really big, red, and painful. Like, wowzers!

Well, I went to the clinic here on base and the dr asked me a few questions, pushed on the bump and then talked with me some.

The verdict...... I have an infected sebaceous cyst. I have to take antibiotics- 2 pills/4 times a day and then next Tuesday I go back in for him to examine the thing. Then, I may have to have it removed so that it does not come back. Folks, let me tell you! When a MD tells you something, do not go home and look it up! I do not get sick to my stomach often, well, pictures on the internet did it for me! A few days ago my sister even sent me a real website to look at and well that was no fun to read either! What I mean by real website is one that is actual true information. Not some dot com website that any joe blow can create and write under. So, just don't do it, you will thank me later!!

Oh and I got some "pain meds"! I was thinking motrin because that is what we like to call Air Force candy but it was Naproxin instead. I just laughed because well, I have that at home!

Also, I have been having some other issues for a while. I decided to address these problems to the physician after we talked about the cyst. That got me sent to the lab and 5 vials of blood later I was sent on my merry way! So, I am guessing I will find out the results next week?! Lets hope they figure it out and get me fixed! That is something that does not get done sometimes here!

Well, sorry for the boring, nasty post but that is what has been going on here for the last few days. That and RAIN, RAIN, and more RAIN! Oh how I will enjoy being in SC soon!

Endometriosis Awareness Month

2011-03-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

This month, March, is Endometriosis Awareness Month. If you do not know what that is, here is information taken from endometriosis.org

Endometriosis affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide regardless of their ethnic and social background.

Many remain undiagnosed and are therefore not treated.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (the endometrial stroma and glands, which should only be located inside the uterus) is found elsewhere in the body [1].

It is generally acknowledged that an estimated 10% of all women during their reproductive years (from the onset of menstruation to menopause) are affected by endometriosis [2]. This equates to 176 million women throughout the world, who have to deal with the symptoms of endometriosis during the prime years of their lives [3].

Endometriosis lesions can be found anywhere in the pelvic cavity: on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and on the pelvic side-wall (peritoneum). Other common sites include the uterosacral ligaments, the cul-de-sac, the Pouch of Douglas, and in the rectal-vaginal septum .

In addition, it can be found in caecarian-section scars, laparoscopy/laparotomy scars, and on the bladder, bowel, intestines, colon, appendix, and rectum. But these locations are not so common.

In even more rare cases, endometriosis has been found inside the vagina, inside the bladder, on the skin, in the lung, spine, and brain.

The most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain.

The pain often correlates to the menstrual cycle, but a woman with endometriosis may also experience pain that doesn’t correlate to her cycle – this is what makes this disease/condition so unpredictable and frustrating.

For many women, the pain of endometriosis is so severe and debilitating that it impacts their lives in significant ways.

Endometriosis can also cause scar tissue and adhesions to develop that can distort a woman’s internal anatomy. In advanced stages, internal organs may fuse together, causing a condition known as a “frozen pelvis.” This is not common, but it does happen.

It is estimated that 30-40% of women with endometriosis may not be able to have children (if you suspect you suffer from infertility, please see our section on endometriosis and infertility).

If you, or someone you care about, has endometriosis, it is important to research the disease as much as possible. Many myths and misconceptions about endometriosis still persist, even in the medical literature.

For many women, management of this disease may be a long-term process. Therefore, it is important to educate yourself, take the time to find a good doctor, and consider joining a local support group.

And here is some things I found

Some symptoms according to endometrisis resolved are:

•ovarian cysts
•ectopic pregnancy
•Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
•irritable bowel syndrome
•ovarian cancer
•fibroid tumours
•colon cancer
•appendicitis

The most common symptoms of Endometriosis are:

•Pain before and during periods
•Pain with intercourse
•General, chronic pelvic pain throughout the month
•Low back pain
•Heavy and/or irregular periods
•Painful bowel movements, especially during menstruation
•Painful urination during menstruation
•Fatigue
•Infertility
•Diarrhoea or constipation

Other symptoms which are common with Endometriosis include:

•Headaches
•Low grade fevers
•Depression
•Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
•Anxiety
•Susceptibility to infections, allergies

So, if you know someone with Endo then realize these things could be going on with them. A lot of the time women live with this without even knowing they have it but others have pain everyday. Some go undiagnosed, some live with this and not only have the pain from it but the pain from infertility. Or have other problems that go with this. It can be VERY painful having Endo!

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that I have had ovarian cyst removed more than once in my life. But after reading some things I think the last one was an Endometrioma. I am not 100% sure but I put some things together after reading and remembering what the Italian dr. described to me. I am actually going to ask my doctor here the next time I go in to see if it is in my chart. The last one,whatever it was, I am thankful for because I had to have Laparoscopic surgery. While removing my cyst they realized I have endometriosis. They did not do anything with it but I now know why certain things go on with my body and have been for years. And I will be honest, I am scared, I often wonder if I will ever be able to get pregnant again. But I also know some things to look out for and know that I can talk with a doctor about concerns or symptoms I have.

I also have someone very close to me that has endometriosis worse than I do and I really feel for this person. My heart hurts for them.

I just want to make all of you aware of this often quite disease.

* I want to also say this, if you know someone that does not have any children do not assume that it is because they don't want a child. That is hurtful and I would guess 9 out of 10 times far from the truth. There are many couples out there with infertility problems or problems with keeping a baby and it is because of all different types of things going on, maybe even from painful endometriosis. I just wish more people would remember that and be a little more compassionate!

If you are having any of the symptoms mentioned above I suggest bringing those things up with your physician!
You can also check out this blog, Endometriosis: the silent life sentence.