Warning: Sharp Turns Ahead

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. Actually, that’s an understatement; it’s more like, upside-down, backwards and inside out all at once!

After lots of discussion and careful consideration, CPT Fromage has made a big decision, one I’m super excited to get behind…

He’s getting out of the Army!

(that is, he's submitting the packet and we're crossing our fingers and praying it gets approved. This isn't the real world, so he can't really quit at will. It's unlikley that they'll prevent him from leaving, but it's not beyond realm of possibility that they'll decline him.)

Neither of us has enjoyed this lifestyle and he’s been more disappointed with his job every day, but until recently the plan had been for him to stay in for 8 years in order to give things a chance in his new branch. What changed?

First of all, the more (soon to be former!) CPT Fromage learns about things in his new branch the more he’s been disappointed. It’s really not going to be much better than the situation he’s coming out of, and in all likelihood even if he doesn’t hate it he won’t like it enough to make a career out of it (And if you don’t stay in the Army for 20 years, you might as well have not stayed in at all… no benefits if you get out a day before two decades). Why spend 3 more years doing something he hates if it’s not going to take him anywhere (except on another few deployments!)? Might as well jump ship now, there’s nothing in it for us by delaying the inevitable.

Next, job prospects are less promising the longer he stays in. Again, since he’s not planning to make a career out of military work (he doesn’t even have a desire to get on with the FBI, CIA, etc, where top secret security clearance, etc, would be appreciated), he’s not gaining any skills that will transfer into “the real world”, putting him 8 years behind his peers who are also competing for jobs. Sadly, the fact that he’s a West Point graduate with military leadership experience won’t offer much of a push when it comes to seeking employment later (outside of government or police type work). Once again, it looks like it's going to be best to get off this path now and start down one that’s going to be more productive for us.

Then there’s the obvious: deployment, time away from home, lack of stability and all of the other disadvantages to serving in the Army. With Baby Fromage due next month, the idea of those things sounds even less appealing than it did before. It’s a sucky lifestyle, and it only gets worse as we go.

There are some personal opinions and feelings about the military, and Army in particular, that came into play, but it’s not really my place to broadcast CPT Fromage’s feelings about that here and now.

So what’s next for our family (Hard to belive that in less than 7 weeks until we grow our household by 1!)? I’ll tell you in my next post!

Lessons Learned

Ah, the joys of being novice renters...

Always, always, ALWAYS take pictures and do a thorough walk-through with careful documentation when you move in and out of a rental. More than 2 months after turning in our keys to our place in the Little Apple, we’re only just now done dealing with the headache that was our security deposit.

Despite leaving the place in mostly better condition than we found it and multiple walk throughs where we were told, minus some minor damage, things were great, our previous landlord never returned our money (or our calls… or responded to certified mail…) Once he got a call from a lawyer, we got an itemized receipt and check pretty quickly; however the check was for an insultingly low amount, and the itemized list was…. Wel, silly. Let me share some of the highlights…

$150 dollars for cost of dirt, to fill holes left by dog

True story, Erika digs. We did indeed leave some holes behind, but isn’t dirt supposed to be, uh, “dirt cheap”? Some price checking at the home store indicates that according to his claim, he had to purchase 6,000 pounds of dirt for those holes. Folks, that’s THREE TONS! I’m hiring our dog out for excavation!

$140 for hose, sprinkler and watering

Ok, I understand the need to grow some grass in all that new dirt, but since we weren’t provided lawn care supplies when we moved in, I don’t believe we’re responsible for leaving any behind for him upon move out. Also, forgive me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t the lawn need to be watered no matter what shape we left it in?

$505 for carpet replacement and labor

“Landlord absorbed cost since carpet was not new when tenant moved in” Well sir, obviously the cost was not absorbed, since we got charged…. And the thing is, the carpet sucked when we moved in! They were going to replace it before we got there but only left it because we asked them to (who wants new carpet when you’re potty training a puppy? Not me).

$65 for… Clorox!

Seriously? Dude, wherever you buy your bleach, you’re getting ripped off…

This story does have a happy ending (for us, anyway, I’m sure the landlord would have a different opinion!). Thanks to CPT Fromage’s buddy who happens to be a consumer rights lawyer, another check is on it's way and we're getting back every penny we deserve. Not only that, but he made all of the phone calls, handled all the documents and saved us a lot of hassle. A big shout out to CB for all the help! We know better for next time!

Old Boobs

Before I start, let me preface with this statement: I am fully aware that 27 isn’t that old. To some of you, I may still be a young whipper snapper. However, it’s hard not to feel a wee bit… seasoned…. when I’ve pulled 2 gray hairs in the last month and have been carded for liquor fewer times than that in the last year. My 10 year high school reunion is next spring and my firstborn son will graduate with the class for, gulp, 2030! Maybe CPT Fromage’s new nickname for me (“Old Boobs”… he means that lovingly... I hope!) isn’t that far off.

Nah, really, it’s not so bad. 27 is my favorite number for one thing, and besides, I feel like I’ve done a lot in the last little while…

I’ve spent the last 5 years building a relationship with my best friend and this year we’re starting our own family. I don’t have a 9-5 job or career that comes with a 401K, but I contribute to my IRA every month, we’re financially stable with some spending money in our pockets and I’m about to start my dream job: Stay at home mom. A far cry from the frozen dinners and take out in my “younger years”, I’m cooking homemade meals almost every night, even mastering dishes like duck and salmon and I finally own some cookware, dishes and small appliances I can be proud of; heck, I even have my own china and silver serving set! In the last few years, seeing as I finally feel more like a grown up, I’ve started treating myself to the finer things in life – better beauty products (No more 98 cent Suave shampoo), professional hair coloring now and then instead of a box of L’Oreal and even an expensive bottle of perfume. Part of me will never grow up; I still enjoy young adult fiction once in a while and I can’t sleep without my stuffed cow, Sir Loin (See, mom! I didn’t grow out of it!) and I will forever have a love of boxed macaroni and cheese. Some things never change.

Nope, 27 isn’t so bad (but I sure could do without those gray hairs! As soon as Baby Fromage makes his big appearance, I’m making a salon appointment!)

Happy birthday to me! CPT Fromage took me to a Motown musical dinner theater this weekend, where we had a BLAST! Baby Fromage even treated me when he finally rearranged himself so he’s not in the most uncomfortable position possible. Thanks, guys!

Water and Watermelon

Last night CPT Fromage and I decided to grill. We totally would have done it over the weekend but everyone and their brother was grilling! It’s not that we’re too cool to do something if it’s already trending, but rather that our apartment complex won’t let us have our own grill (lame sauce) and our entire development has to share ONE propane grill. Double lame sauce. So we waited until the weekend was over to bring our brats and “good dogs” (dude, tofu dogs are my new favorite food) outside. Know what else we brought? Wait for it…

Watermelon.

Yes. We totally grilled watermelon. And it was UH-FREAKIN-MAZING. I wish I could describe it to you so you’d be totally excited to try it, but I can’t even begin to start. The texture; it’s gets almost meaty, and the taste is indescribable except to say it’s smoky, it’s spicy and it’s heavenly! We ate it as a side dish, but I hear it’s also good in place of a burger (slap some cheese on it and throw it on a bun? I’d try it!)

Grilled Watermelon

4 slices of watermelon, 1 ¼ inches thick (My slices were quarters, if that makes sense… A half of a half slice) ¼ cup honey
juice of 2 limes
dash of cyan pepper
dash of salt

Combine the honey, lime juice, salt and cyan pepper in a glass baking dish and add the watermelon slices. Flip them over so both sides are coated and let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Turn your grill to medium-high heat and grill watermelon slices for approximately 5 minutes per side (you’re looking for nice, dark grill marks)

Serve and enjoy! You can thank me later.

So about that water... it was good luck we planned to grill last night, because we got hit with a pretty fierce storm about 45 minutes before we started cooking. The wind and hail broke one of our windows, wrecked the cars (and we just last week picked up one of them from the shop for hail damage repair… FML…) and knocked out our power for 12 long hours. We’d have had no way to cook a darned thing inside with the power out! Our A/C didn’t work either of course, and our apartment wasn’t the only thing getting warm… I had to throw out the week’s worth of groceries I’d bought just that afternoon… Lame sauce. At least the watermelon was delicious!

Today’s post brought to you by the letter B

Babies: Why must baby things be so expensive? I suppose the hit to our bank account would be less if we stuck to just the basics – car seat, crib, diapers… But how am I supposed to simply close a browser window when an etsy seller has knitted such a darling newborn size cow hat? (obviously our newborn will need a knitted hat… in September) Or the personalized burp clothes with cow print trim? (if it doesn’t have his name on it, how will we all keep up with who’s burp clothes are who’s?)

Boys: We don’t know a whole lot of people here in Lawton yet. Mostly because we Fromages are sort of recluses. CPT Fromage has made a few friends from his course but of course, none of these guys have wives, or hardly even girlfriends. One has a fiance… who’s in New York. Lamesauce. So my only social interaction outside of my better half, is with his friends. While I have a potty mouth myself and enjoy a good “That’s what she said”, I’m finding myself missing girlfriends. A “thank you for cooking supper” or “the steak was great, thanks” would go a long way. Why don’t boys know about those polite gestures? I will also never be able to erase from my mind some of the dirty stories (and accompanying visuals) shared over the supper I spent hours cooking. Ugh. I miss girls.

Best Steak Marinade in Existence: So, I can’t vouch for this personally, since I’ve never eaten a marinated steak myself, but, I’ve made more than my fair share of them and CPT Fromage agrees that this one is top notch.

I can’t take credit for this recipe, and you can see theoriginal share here, but to save you the trip, I’m posting it on my blog as well…

Best Steak Marinade in Existence

Ingredients

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons dried basil
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic (optional)

Directions

1.     Place the soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, basil, parsley, and pepper in a blender. Add hot pepper sauce and garlic, if desired. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed.

2.     Pour marinade over desired type of meat. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Cook meat as desired.

*I skip the blender step, eliminate the hot pepper sauce and used fresh minced garlic instead of dried. I also prefer to marinade much longer, starting the night before so it’s almost 24 hours. Was incredible on rib eye and sirloin, and I’m sure we’ll be making again and again!