Writing for Ranger School

The first thing B. told me was to cheer him up. He told me how much my letters meant to him at LDAC, and how happy they made him -- then, how terrified. See, when I didn't hear from him for a few weeks, I started flipping out. This was our first separation where we didn't talk, and I was convinced that something was wrong. Other woman replaced me, wild Manbearpig ate him, he decided that the whole "dating Courtney" thing wasn't for him... yeah, hello, I'm a drama queen.

And most embarrassing of all, I let it show in my letters. I can't remember specifics, but basically I wanted to know why he hadn't written. Then, I got all his letters within a span of three days, and they went from "I miss you" to "Are you not getting my letters?! I'm really worried by your tone!" Yeah. Worst girlfriend in the world >>right here<<.

So, I'll state the most overtly simple lesson: Keep it positive. Even the smallest negative can take your guy's head out of the game, and that is not what needs to happen in this stage of his training. He needs to know/think everything is just peaches and cream without him, and you're thriving. Don't lie, but don't take up a paragraph telling him about that douche of a maintenance man who was 4 hours late and tracked mud throughout your house.

Next: the elements. I read this on another blog, which I'll post at the end, but the men are not given weather forecasts. So when they're out there sleeping in their hooches, they wake up and are just as surprised by the weather as the cavemen were. SEND THEM THE WEATHER FORECAST! Because I have no idea when mail call is, I sent the 10 day forecast in my last letter. I'm planning on doing the 15 day forecast with each envelope I mail out, in the hopes that he'll get the most current one and get some use out of it.

 News: Again, send them the good stuff. Their presidential candidate is ahead in the polls, the stock market doing well, even the Sunday funnies if they're into that. B told me that I was his break from Army, his way of "checking out" and leaving work -- that's difficult enough to do via text message or over the phone, but to do it through letters? Very, very difficult.


And finally -- for you. Stay BUSY. I work 40 hours as an IT consultant, then I tutor ACT/SAT/English/Homework/Organizational skills for local kids who need it. Then I work out. Then I go home. There was one Friday last week where I wasn't busy -- worst day in a very, very long time. I went to my mother's house and moped around. Resist the urge to submerge yourself in everything regarding Ranger School. I watched "Surviving the Cut: Ranger School" on Netflix, and read through a Ranger's journal online within 24 hours. I was lost in it. Maintain your own life. Maintain your own life. Maintain your own life.


And, with a little luck and a little hope, those 62 days will not be lengthened by recycling, and they will fly by.

Army Spouse Jobs -- What in the who?

This is just a desperate call for information -- I'm an IT consultant, and was wondering what there was in way of jobs in this area, were I ever to become a military dependent? Envision: type A personality, the absolute need for work, probably would drive herself to the brink of insanity without it.

I've looked at usajobs.gov, but was wondering if there was any more substantial information? I've also heard of the Military Spouse initiative, or something along those lines, which helps spouses of military personnel get jobs. Thanks guys, any and all help would be awesome.

Thank God for Army SO Bloggers!

For those who don't know me, I am, and have been, an Army SO (significant other) for nearly 3 years now. B and I met in college, and started dating November of our sophomore year. Aside from the summers apart where he would go to Airborne, LDAC, or CTLT, we had a normal college experience, relationship-wise. Not to be mushy or any of that crap, but he's truly the best guy you could hope to have around, and I am beyond blessed to have him in my life.

Last Sunday, September the 9th, I got a FaceTime call at 7:30 CST from him -- he was off to Ranger school! I put on a brave face and told him to kick ass and take names, and then fussed over him (just a little!) to write down the contact numbers for me and his family for the pay phones on base. Then, away he went.

The rest of this week ("gee, a whole *four* days, how do you do it, Courtney?") was spent trying to keep busy and find a routine for life. It went pretty well! I've got my work, which has really picked up since our project implementation is set to "go live" on October 1st, as well as my on-the-side tutoring gig. Plus, I'm counting calories again, so that's another full time job in and of itself! (Seriously, how did all that weight creep on during college?!) So far, so good.

Then, yesterday, a friend from college texts me about the "Surviving the Cut: Ranger Edition." Sure, I've got time, let me re-watch that, I think to myself. For those of you reading this who do not know -- this is a documentary showing a portion of the suckage that our men go through to go to this elite combat school. It lasts 62 days, and consists of 3 phases. It was not the best thing to watch when the whole time you're sitting there thinking "That face could be B. Or that one. How can they do this to them?!"

The guys get to talk to their loved ones three times in those 62 days -- and I'm skeptical that I'm going to hear from B at all. Why? Just because the men with wives are typically allowed to cut the line to call them first. Understandable, definitely, but I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy to be in the wives shoes, if not just for this one instance. All I can do is send letters to let him know how much he's missed, and how much I support him! And I do.

To get back to the point -- I was operating under the assumption that I had to wait to mail B all his letters until he got back to me and told me what Company he was in -- not true, I find out! Thanks to Katy, an Army wife we knew in college, I got to mail B his letters today! Woohoo! She also linked me to these incredible blogs, both from SO's who had their men go through Ranger school back in the summer of 2011. You can find them here (The Girlfriends Guide to Ranger School) and here (Communication During Ranger School: A Recap).

Being in Texas, while he's in Georgia, is pretty sucky -- but, I keep reminding myself, it could be worse. He could be at his duty post, in Alaska, or he could be deployed. Every time I start feeling sorry for myself (I'm so lonely, I miss him so much, blah blah blah) I just think about how lucky I am to have AC, food, water, and more than 30 minutes of sleep each night. Then I feel like an ungrateful brat. But I think the most important thing to remember is that I'm not alone in all of this. Attached to dang near every one of those Ranger candidates is an SO, mother, sister, aunt, etc, feeling the same anxiety as I am.


So, with that rant (vent?) being out of the way, and the envelope with B's letter/news in the mail (the iPhone 5 comes out yesterday, and he's not even gonna hear about it?! No, ma'am/sir) I am going to sign off.

Rock on and HOOAH.

Gettin' Creative - On A Budget

So here's the deal. I love baking. I do not love what it does to my hips. And butt. And stomach. Mainly because I bake things loaded with carbs, smothered with cheese, with a side of chocolate-y fat -- especially when B. is in town. Hello, saddlebags. Nice to see you muffin top.

And being creative with cupcake flavors is something that I'd totally love to do -- but it busts the bank! BIG TIME. And since I live alone, it doesn't make sense for me (or my waist) to mix up a dozen cupcakes that may or may not work out.

AT LAST. A reasonable solution. Here is a recipe for cupcakes for two people! Just imagine all the customizing you could do with these basic ingredients to get the desired fancy gourmet cupcakes you want!

And, here is a Buttercream Frosting recipe to match those 2 cupcakes:

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for Two
Adapted from Sweet Peony
1/4 cup (1/2) stick unsalted butter, softened
1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

I have to thank the all of blogland for presenting these awesome finds. I am so excited to make these for dinner for B.'s first night. He raved about my strawberry cupcakes I made, so I will try my hand at it again and post the recipe later on in the week.

Anyway. 

I recently moved into my new place -- I got my parents' old bedroom furniture, which is still in near-mint condition from the day my dad bought it nearly 30 years ago. However, the king-sized headboard didn't fit my queen-sized bed. Bummer.

So, I looked around on Pinterest (I can hear my mother snickering about how much I'm on there), and decided to go cheap.

On one of my many trips to the Home Depot during my move, I went and snatched up paint samples. One of each shade in blues and greens that I wanted. (My mom had a little freak out session -- "They're going to think you're stealing those!" Sweet, Mom. You're never going to be a partner in crime with me.)

I ended up with probably 20 of them.

Then I cut them up into large and small trapezoids, triangles, rectangles -- lots of angles. I chose those because they were the easiest to do. Just straight lines. I started off with some circles, but decided it looked just too uneven.

After all this, I bought 2 navy blue foam boards (like for science projects) at the local teacher supply store, and some rubber cement. $14 net, and the paint samples were free.

Then I began arranging. I knew I wanted these two boards to be my sub-in headboards, and I wanted it to be... well, pretty. Something I could potentially hang on to.


Once I got a design I liked, I glued everything down. These are great materials for making mosaics!

Here is the finished product (on the floor of my room). (Sorry about the purse... I just kinda chunked it when I got back from the store). 

I think it's awesome. And the WHOLE THING was $14? Can't beat that.

ANTS!!!!!

Brand-spankin' new town home (well, new to me, they're only like 5 years old). I was able to clean in there before I moved anything in (I'm talking hardcore sterilization here. Not messing around, my place smelled like Mr. Clean's dream for a while there). Now, five days after [nearly] everything is moved in (still waiting on my couch and chair), ANTS!!!

First one I saw was in my bedroom on the light switch. Okay, no big deal. *Smoosh.* Then, a few hours later, I see a trail of ants into my pantry. *Shudder, kill with Raid, wipe up with Blue Dawn.*

That was 2 days ago. Now, 3/4 of a bottle of Raid later, and countless swear words thrown about, I am officially skeeved out. They're in my laundry room, pantry, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and closet. CLOSET! Right, like in the 4 nights I've slept there, I've had a pig-out session in any of the rooms except the kitchen.

Plus, what kind of freak ants don't die with Raid for Ants? Mutant ants. I'm so angry because my pantry is SPIC AND SPAN. Airtight containers, no spills, no crumbs on my counter... my mother is happy to come over to my place, that's how clean it is. So there's nothing for me to clean up to make them go away.

So I called my apartment complex, and they said Terminex doesn't come until Monday, but they'll see "if the maintenance guys have anything." And I'm thinking "good luck matching my arsenal." But of course, I just say "okay, thank you."

If anyone reading this has any suggestions, at this point, I am all ears. I've made a point to clean their paths with cleaners so that the pheromone tracks are erased and unable to be discovered by their little buddies.

First Post -- Outback Mac'n'cheese Copycat

Howdy y'all! I'm Courtney, an early 20-something Texan who has recently graduated from a lovely, private Southern Baptist university in the heart of Texas. We recently had a Heisman winner, to give you a better idea =) I work as an IT business analyst now, and it's a fairly rewarding job.

I've resolved to try to blog as much as I can -- about what, who knows? DIY, recipes, crafts... probably recipes though! I love cooking and my waistline shows it (damn breads, they are my downfall!). I also love crafts and thrift shopping, although I tend to spend way too much money on that stuff. I've been trying to get into couponing, and so far have been fairly successful.


So -- TODAY I will bring you my ever-so-simple but ever-so-delicious

Outback Style Macaroni and Cheese 

Are you excited? Because I am. So, so excited.

Ingredients:
1 box penne pasta
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups (or 16 oz) of Velveeta cheese

1. In a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, melt the Velveeta cheese. Stir in the heavy cream, slowly but surely. Note: You can melt these together in a microwave-safe bowl if your microwave is big enough... and you have a bowl that is big enough.
2. While melting the cheese together with the cream, cook the pasta until it is soft, but not mushy. You'll need to look at the suggested cooking time and taste test for done-ness a few minutes beforehand. 
3. Heat the sauce until it is fully combined. Be very careful to stir frequently, as there is nothing more disgusting than getting a burned "scab" of cheese (that probably just made a few of you lose your appetite...).
4. Serve the pasta into dishes and let those hungry people serve themselves on the sauce for sauce control.

This is a total hit in my family for family holidays, like Thanksgiving. MmmmmMMM.