Take the Cake

Josh and I LOVE ice cream. This is a commonality we've shared since we were teenagers, and most people do know this about us. We should have had ice cream at the wedding...

Our current favorite ice cream is Edy's low fat "Take the Cake."
When I was 15, my first job was at an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt (ICBY, not TCBY...) and Josh would visit me quite frequently. Well, I think he was actually more interested in the ice cream than me at the time... but I digress. I thought working at an ice cream shop would help me to not like ice cream so much, or maybe even I'd get sick of it and not want it anymore. This was not the case, and I actually became more of an ice cream afficiando (read = snob) than before.

I was introduced to cake-batter flavored ice cream while I was in college living in Gainesville. This little shop called Coldstone Creamery came on the scene with this flavor, and I loved it. We all did, actually, and I still do to this day. We visited Coldstone all the time... which probably contributed to my gaining the Freshman 15 in my Junior year...

However, Josh always got coffee flavored ice cream - wherever we went, whatever we bought, it was just coffee flavored. I know many of you won't be surprised by that though. I finally got Josh to try my cake-batter ice cream after several previous failed attempts. His reaction wasn't over-the-top like mine, but he acknowledged that it was "pretty good."

Since that day, he orders cake-batter everywhere we go. He even hunted down a cake-batter flavored ice cream at Wal-Mart because it was the only store that sold it at the time. I guess he thought it was more than just "pretty good" lol.

When we saw the new Take the Cake flavor last year, we thought we'd just try it to see if it lived up to it's name and advertising. It supposedly had cake icing and candy-coated chocolate sprinkles mixed into the cake-batter flavored ice cream. Well, sounds good, right? And we wouldn't have to go to Wal-Mart anymore because Edy's ice cream is at all grocery stores, which I was thrilled with. (That's an entry for another day.)

It's amazing. It tastes just like birthday cake. I'd even go so far as to say it is better than Coldstone's cake-batter ice cream... but don't tell them I said that. ;) And it's lowfat, by the way.

We always have a container in the freezer. If I've eaten the last of it and Josh is coming home from Clearwater, I'll make a special trip to Publix to get a new carton so it's here for him.

Yes, it's that important. And that good. =)

Josh, Kim & Abby

Greetings from Clearwater

Josh took this today from 1,600 feet in the air on a Blackhawk helicopter. He sent it to me from his phone. I just loved it, so I thought I'd share it with you all. I can't imagine this being my job - no wonder Josh loves it so much.

They're flying over Clearwater, you're looking towards Tampa Bay. I forgot to ask if Big Pinky is in the picture, which is the affectionate name they've given the Don CeSar Hotel. They use it as a reference point when flying, but none of the guys can remember it's actual name... so Big Pinky it is.

And this is from Monday, when they were still on the ground at the flightline. There's no flying in any kind of weather, and yes, this is a tornado... I'd say that's definitely "weather", yes? It was over Tampa, across the bay, so you can tell how big it really was. I don't think it did any damage to any homes. At least I didn't hear about it, and I haven't looked it up on the news.

Isn't this picture incredible??
Josh, Kim & Abby

"Texting is stupid"

When Josh first moved back to Orlando, he did not understand what the big deal was about texting. In fact, he thought the whole concept was stupid. "Wouldn't it be easier to just make a phone call?" he'd ask me. Texting had become very popular in the three years he was overseas and was standard on all cell phones by the time he got back, so this was still all new to him.

I tried to explain that it was just like Instant Messaging on the computer, which he and I did 24/7 while he was in Honduras and Iraq. He disagreed, it was not similar in the least. I pointed out that there are situations when you're just not able to make a phone call, i.e. at work, in a movie, at dinner, etc., so you send a quick text instead. Nope. He still protested that it was stupid. I gave up trying to explain, and just called him like he wanted, even though it was sometimes inconvenient for him or me. But, you pick your battles.

That was three years ago.

One of the questions asked to both me and Josh as part of a bridal shower game was how many times a day we call/text each other. Josh answered "probably 10 phone calls a day, and 40 texts." The funny thing is, he really wasn't too far off. And most of them are from him to me.

For someone who didn't even understand the concept of texting, he certainly has come a long way. Josh and I are constantly texting. It's like one ever-continuous conversation. He will send me texts throughout the day to remind me he loves me, say hi, ask what I'm doing... I'll ask what he's doing, we'll send pictures back and forth, or plan our upcoming weekends. He's a texting fool, I tell you.

And I love it. The fact that he wants to check in through the day. Wants to remind me how much he loves me and misses me. Wants me to do the same... All via something he thinks is stupid. But it's all we have during the day at our jobs, so he uses it. Because he wants to talk to me. Wants me to know he's thinking about me, even though we're apart.

I know, I'm bragging a little on my husband. But some days I realize how good I have it, how good he is to me, and how blessed I am. I pray I never take him for granted and always remind him how much I appreciate the little things.

Little things, like texting me, even though he hates it.

Josh, Kim & Abby

NatGeo

For the first three days of our honeymoon, Josh and I watched National Geographic whenever we had the TV on. Not because we wanted to, but because it was the only channel we got. Well, NatGeo, St. Lucia's version of PBS, and the TV Guide Channel.

We were perplexed as to why we only got one channel when we paid so much for our week at Sandals, and really thought more channels should be included. We discussed possible theories for only receiving one channel.

• Theory 1.) Maybe Sandals management thinks supplying only one channel would limit the amount of time couples spend watching television, thereby getting them out of their room and partaking in activities around the resort.
• Theory 2.) Maybe management limits channels because statistically the TV's are barely ever on in the rooms anyway, since most of their guests are honeymooners. =)

Whatever the reason, NatGeo is all we got, so NatGeo is all we watched. We saw shows we'd never seen before, saw previews for upcoming NatGeo specials, even started planning a few dinners around being able to see NatGeo specials we had seen previews for.

NatGeo is addicting.

So the third or fourth night of our stay (which was halfway through our trip) we went to dinner at one of the 2 sister Sandals resorts and dined in the Japanese hibachi restaurant. This is one of those restaurants where you sit 10 people to a table and watch the chef cook your dinner in front of you.

For several reasons, this was one of our favorite experiences of our trip, due to the unique group of people that made up our table of 10. Four of the five couples clicked so well that we all met up after dinner to sit on one of the decks and socialize. It was here that we asked their thoughts on why Sandals only supplies one channel.

We got a unanimous "What are you talking about?" with incredulous looks. Every other couple had a billion channels. Including one of the couples that was also staying at our resort.

Fast forward two hours when we got back to our hotel room, and after much fiddling, we realized that our TV required us to actually type in the channel numbers instead of just pushing the Up and Down arrows. We too had a billion channels. Of course. Why wouldn't we? It would be silly to not have a bunch of channels for guests when they're paying that much for a week at Sandals St. Lucia. Especially since there's also a TV Guide Channel showing you what's on all the other channels you get...

I thought of this blog entry as we were sitting here watching a special about an unsolved 1971 hijacking of a Boeing 727, some guy named D.B. Cooper... on the National Geographic channel. Even after we figured out the TV in our room, we still ended up watching only NatGeo every day of our honeymoon. We still waited to see the shows whose previews we'd seen. We even made plans to watch one the week we'd get back home because it looked so interesting.

We're still totally addicted to NatGeo. And we have more than a billion channels.

Josh, Kim & Abby

Abby's Toy Habit

I've said million times that I'm just going to start tying dollar bills in knots and give them to Abby to chew up. Why? Because every time I give her a new toy, it's destroyed in less than 5 minutes. Seriously.

So I buy her toys from either the dollar section at Target (LOVE that section...) or the Dollar Store itself. I actually buy her baby toys, because they make them without hard plastic pieces that a baby (or an Abby) could swallow, and they also usually have a squeaker in them. She loves squeakers.

Side note: Abby likes to squeak the toys incessantly as she bounds around the house with them, and if you ignore her, she'll come right up to your face and squeak them louder. Josh gets so annoyed that he'll take the squeaky ones and hide them around the house, so I'll periodically find a plastic hamburger in the bathroom drawer or under a couch cushion. She's really excited when I give it back to her, but I earn no brownie points with my husband.

It's the stuffed toys that she destroys immediately, and she makes sure the fluff goes all over the house in minutes. The rubber squeaky ones last a couple of days because they take longer for her to work at tearing apart. But, once she's destroyed them all, she'll play with the leftover fabric casing for weeks, as if it was a complete toy itself. It's just the funniest thing when people see her running around with what used to be a stuffed dolphin like it's her prized possession.

Here's the process of Abby getting a new toy, documented for you.

A brand new stuffed flip flop from Target with a squeaker inside. Isn't it cute? She knows it's for her.
Time elapsed: 1 minute
She also moves around some when destroying a toy. This time it was probably more because I was chasing her with a camera...
Time elapsed: 4 minutes
"Mom..... why are you interrupting??"
"All done! Aren't you proud of me??"
"Where's my next toy?"
She's the only one of the three puppies that does this to her toys. My parents have her sister Shelby, and whenever we visit they have to put away her cute stuffed hedgehog, soccer ball and army-patterned donut... or else Abby will make them hers in the first half hour.

This is when I ask myself why I waste time and money on buying toys in the first place. I should just wad up a dollar bill, or a five dollar bill in some cases, and let her at it.

But, I also know she the joy she gets from pulling out all the stuffing and making a huge mess in the apartment... so I keep buying them.

It really is pretty entertaining, for us and for her. Well, except for the loud squeaky ones when we're trying to watch TV.

Josh, Kim & Abby

Not Zeppoli but...

Last night I hosted my first grown up party - Pampered Chef. We had so much fun hanging out together, looking at the catalogs, playing with all the gadgets, and eating lots of FOOD.

Karen (my PC consultant... and Sales Manager at the hotel...) says that normally she and the hostesses only make one appetizer or main course item, and one dessert. But, me being a former Bostdorf, I knew that definitely wasn't enough food. I'm all about the food.

So we made 3 appetizers, a main course, and a dessert.

The one that was devoured in 2 seconds was the Pizza Dip, and it also happened to be the easiest one to make. Karen threw it together the night before and we served it with Ritz crackers I got at Publix when they were buy one get one free. Done and done.

Here's the recipe. You've gotta try it.

Pampered Chef's Hot Pizza Dip

• Combine one package of cream cheese (8 oz.) with 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning mix and spread on bottom of a small microwave-safe serving dish.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of Fiesta Mix shredded cheese on top of cream cheese mixture.
• Pour on one can (8 oz.) of pizza sauce.
• Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of Fiesta Mix shredded cheese on top.
• Cook in microwave for 5 minutes on high.
  
• Top with chopped scallions if desired.

• Serve with crackers or tortilla chips

It's amazing. Go try it. Now. =)

I wish Josh liked cheese. Then I wouldn't eat all of it myself. =(

Love,
Josh, Kim & Abby

Date Night

To most people, Josh is a hard guy to buy gifts for. If you ask him what he wants for Christmas, Birthday, or any other gift-giving holiday... he says he doesn't know. And a lot of times he won't ever give you an answer. Me? Just grab me something Vera and call it a day.

So because of this, we end up with a lot of gift cards. To everywhere. Currently, we have PF Changs, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Chili's and an almost empty Amex Card in the gift card drawer ready for use.

And we typically end up using the restaurant cards for our Date Nights. Josh and I try to make a point of doing something together every couple of weeks, just the two of us, which we are pretty successful with. We love eating out together, so it works.

I am also able to get free movie tickets to the theater in my hotel's plaza quite frequently, so this makes up the second half of our date nights, as long as I don't suggest a chick-flick. Josh is incredibly picky about movies and feels that most are a waste of time. Usually the ones we end up at are somehow historically founded (Valkyrie was very good) and always have lots of action.

Last night's Date Night was Olive Garden and the movie Public Enemies. Total cost: $7 for the tip at the restaurant. lol

Public Enemies is the true story of John Dillinger, the notorious bank robber from the 1930's. It has lots of shoot-em-up action (had to close my eyes a lot), but Johnny Depp was outstanding and very likable, and there was also a love story plot line that I thoroughly appreciated. Gave me a break from the shoot-out scenes. =) We'd both highly recommend it. Especially if you can go for free. =D

Oh! And we didn't have time, but Olive Garden has this new fried dessert that smelled absolutely delicious!! The table next to us ordered it as we were leaving, so on our way out we asked our server what it was because it smelled so good we couldn't stand it. She said it's their new Italian donut thing called "Zeppoli".

We're going to try to make them at home... and if we fail, we're going back to get some.

Hopefully Josh and I will always be able to make time for our Date Nights. It's something we will always try make a priority to do, even when life gets crazy, which we know is going to be inevitable in the future.

And even more hopefully, they'll always be so cost-efficient! Guess it's a blessing he's hard to buy for.

Josh, Kim & Abby

Josh's Future-Marriage Predictions

My sister-in-law's birthday is on Monday, but we're celebrating tomorrow night since Josh is coming home (finally!) for the weekend and leaving again on Monday.

Whenever her birthday rolls around, I smile to myself about my husband. I'm pretty sure she giggles about her brother, too.

When Josh was a teenager, he had several predictions about his future marriage plans. At one point he claimed he would never get married. Although his family knew he was all talk at the time, he still swore this to be his life decision.

Once that one dissipated, Josh promised he would never marry a woman the same age as his little sister. Something about girls her age being very immature, and he wanted an older woman to combat this problem.

Lastly, he also predicted that he would marry someone taller than himself, so that "his children at least stood the chance of being tall." His theory is that if he were to marry a shorter woman, his children would be at least as short as himself or shorter, and he did not want that.

Results?
Josh married me.
I'm taller than him. (My limit for heels is one inch, which is equal to the first joint of my index finger. Can't carry a ruler around to every shoe store!)

and... drum roll...

I'm one month apart in age from his sister. Which Kristen and I both remind him of each year.

Happy (early) Birthday Kristen! You're a Quarter Century! ;)

Love you husband. =)

Josh, Kim & Abby

5 months vs. 31 years

Josh and I will have been married for 5 months on the 22nd of this month.

My parents have been married for 31 years, today.

I remember being in my teens counting down to 20 years when my mom got out her wedding dress for the first time... of course I had to try it on. And then I remember 25 years while I was in college - the Silver Anniversary, so I got them a big silver engraved frame and sent them to Olan Mills for portraits.

And here they are, 6 years later, on number 31. I know what a rare occurrence my parents are these days, and I am so proud of them.

If that weren't enough though, my grandparents, Josh's parents and his grandparents are all still together as well. Our family is a phenomenon. We have a lot to live up to!

The great thing is, I know it will be us in 31 years, and I am excited for it. We know we will be counting the years, seeing what each anniversary is - paper, silver, eventually GOLD. I know I'll be getting out my dress on our 20 year anniversary, we'll get pictures done at 25 (Josh will still be complaining about getting his picture taken), then we'll pass the 30 year mark. We'll be looking back on experiences, remembering so many life-changing moments throughout our married years, and watching our children start to get married.

Love is a decision, every day. It is not a feeling - feelings come and go. Love is a commitment. It is a life-long work-in-progress with such rewarding results. We have learned this from our parents and we are so grateful for them, and their Godly example for us to follow.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. We love you!

Josh, Kim & Abby

Miracle Grow Endorsement

I previously mentioned that my mom gave us Miracle Grow for our garden on the patio. I will admit, I haven't used it once. I'm supposed to put it on the garden once a week and it was supposed to help me keep the plants alive.

I haven't used it once, because my dear husband has used it almost every time he waters the garden for me. Which is so much more than once a week...

I don't know whether he doubted the power of Miracle Grow or just wanted to see what would really happen... but either way, this is now our massive garden:That's our basil. It's like 2 feet tall.

And this is the zucchini plant. It's like the bully of the garden, trying to take over everything and suffocate the mint. I usually have it propped up with the "Welcome" stone so it stays on its side of the planter, but I moved the stone out of the way so you can see how big the plant is.And now for the tomatoes. They are growing out from the bottom like they're supposed to, but now they're growing UP towards the sun! This plant is now as tall as the zucchini on the top side, and it's growing through the patio's fence!!
This all happened in literally 4 or 5 days. Amazing.

Moral of the story - Josh isn't allowed to touch the Miracle Grow anymore. I hid it. Otherwise we'd eventually have tomatoes the size of pumpkins, and a forest on our patio.

We don't have any actual little zucchinis or tomatoes yet, but it hasn't quite been long enough from what the packages said. A few more weeks, hopefully!

Josh, Kim & Abby

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Josh has been in Virginia since Friday. Before that, he had been in Clearwater since Monday night. Now, he's back in Clearwater and he won't be home until Thursday night.

I miss him.

Josh had to fly up to Newport News, VA for an Army conference this weekend that he would have rather skipped. In fact, he was quite upset about having to go. I mean, they weren't staying in a Gaylord like his Nashville trip, so really what's the point? ;)

The silver lining of his trip though, was the impromptu 57th Med Unit Reunion. This is the unit he was with on his last tour of Iraq, ending in '06. A couple of his very good friends from the unit drove down to Virginia while he was there to see him, and several others are stationed there already, so they all got together Saturday night. Josh said it was "really cool" to have a bunch of them together in the same place again, and I was really thrilled they got this opportunity. All but one from this group also couldn't make it down to the wedding, so there was lots to catch up on.

My only big news is that Mom picked up my wedding dress! I had it preserved, and we were expecting it to just be in a box with paper, but this is how it came:
in a cute little window box on a cardboard figure so it is filled out. It's beautiful!! My veil is in there with it, and I'll be putting in my Mamaw's brooch I wore and also my wedding jewelry I made. It's at my parents' house at the moment, until I clean out a nice little spot in our closet for it.

Sidenote:
I don't know if everyone knows this, but I only ever tried on one wedding dress. This one. I knew what I wanted in a dress and I searched online for MONTHS. I found this one on a wedding dress designer's site (Maggie Sottero), called around town to find the sample, then went and tried it on with my mom. It was perfect. And such a relief, because this was the one thing both my mom and I were dreading... I always had a horrible time finding dresses for formal events growing up for some reason, and I hating trying a bunch on. God took pity on my mother and me lol.

Have a great week!

Josh, Kim & Abby

The 4th, 2009

"You were pretty as can be, sitting in the front seat,
Looking at me, telling me you love me, and you're happy to be,
With me on the 4th of July."
--Shooter Jennings

We had a laid back Independence Day weekend this year. We started the holiday with dinner at Carrabba's on Josh's way back into town Thursday night. We love Carrabba's. The bread, the oil/herb dip stuff for the bread, the chicken marsala (that's all Josh orders... ever.) and their tiramisu... outstanding. Really, we love that restaurant. lol

On the 4th we had Ryan over and cooked a ton of food (actually, we didn't even cook all of it because the boys got full... wimps). But we did make some killer kabobs with rum-marinated chicken that rocked. Rum, Sonny's Sweet BBQ Sauce (it's all we had), lime, garlic, olive oil... it was amazing.
No fireworks though. Did you hear about all the people that got hurt this year?

Today felt more like the holiday because had a busy day of visiting lots of family and friends. With lots more food. We love food.

Josh has a 4-day weekend because of the 4th, so I took off tomorrow so we can have some "us" time. He has to fly up to Virginia at the end of this week for an Army Conference, so it will be nice to spend time together before he leaves again. Josh finally saw my new car this weekend... we bought it a week and a half ago and he just now saw what we purchased. He approved; well, as much as he's going to approve a RAV4 lol.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Have a great day back to work and a fantastic week!

Josh, Kim & Abby