Baby You're Never Alone

 [I have this framed in my office. It says "Not Alone"]

Never Alone - Lady Antebellum

May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when it's time to go home
May you always have plenty, the glass never empty
And know in your belly, you're never alone

May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having
As every year passes, they mean more than gold
May you win and stay humble, smile more than grumble
And know when you stumble, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

Well, I have to be honest, as much as I wanted
I'm not gonna promise that cold winds won't blow
So when hard times have found you and your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when it's time to go home
So when hard times have found you and your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

Love, Heather

xo

Ingredients of a Wife

What are some of the qualities of a good wife? I may have only been married for 2 and a half months before my hubby deployed but I think of this year as a way to tweak some skills. One of those skills that needs a lot of tweaking is cooking! I love baking and I'm very capable of following instructions. My list of recipes is short. Therefore, I've made a goal to learn one new recipe a week while Zack is deployed. This Thursday will be 4 weeks so I'm still on track as of now.

Homemade Meatballs

 I love meatballs. I love spaghetti and meatballs...I love meatball sandwiches...I love meatballs by themselves! However, I got the idea to make them from an email from The Nest (sequel to The Knot). I learned to switch over to other sources. These weren't bad, but I've had some really great meatballs and these just didn't compare. I will definitely be trying a new recipe!

Moroccan Carrots

This recipe was also from The Nest. It involves a lemon-based sauce over the carrots with hints of honey and cumin. I dipped the carrots in the sauce first and I had to try 5 pieces before I decided to nix the sauce and just eat cooked carrots. I love the taste of carrots and lemony carrots was kind of a weird flavor. However, I'm so used to eating raw carrots that it was a nice reminder that I should add cooked carrots into my meals too.

Baked Ziti

 Thanks to Kate for commenting on my last post and directing me towards some of her favorite recipes on her blog! This baked ziti is amazing! This is another one of my favs so when I saw it on her blog (today), I decided to go to the store to get the ingredients. I made it with all fat free cheeses, wheat pasta (Barilla plus), and the recipe already calls for Italian turkey sausage. Zack and I enjoyed the baked ziti at an Italian restaurant in Copperas Cove and this is a less sinful way to indulge in some delicious pasta.

 Madison

 In an unrelated topic, this is my adorable dog bumming out at my parent's house over the weekend.

Decor

A wife is also in charge of beautifying the house. I love this excuse because I love shopping for decor. These are my new candles. One of my end tables needed a little something extra. Over the next year, I'd like to replace some of my decor on a budget. I'll be a regular at Hobby Lobby (and I refuse to buy anything for less than 50% off!).

Love, Heather

xo

Consider Me a Regular

[March 12, 2011]

Zack deployed almost 2 weeks ago. I've been posting various pictures on facebook to show Zack what all is going on.  Well I realize that a lot of my friends may not necessarily care about things such as the frog that Madison likes to play with/torment got squished today. I figured posting all of that here would be more appropriate and less annoying to my facebook friends.

For starters, I got a new haircut yesterday. Everyone who has ever worked on my hair tells me I have twice as much hair as the average person.  Having really long hair in the summer is almost unbearable unless I wear it up everyday.  I realized also that I hadn't gotten my haircut since Christmas time. I had been planning on getting it cut for the past...ohh...3 months now? The best part is that I went to a new place and it was only $30! I feel like I have been getting ripped off for the better portion of my life by hairstylists.

I told myself that when Zack deployed, I would start trying lots of new recipes so I can pretty much be Betty Crocker when he comes home.  I found a couple of recipes on one website and I think I might have to venture to a new one. On Sunday, I made some meatballs cooked in tomato sauce. The only thing I changed up was that I excluded the veal because my grocery store doesn't sell it. Well they came out kind of bland. They weren't bad, but they weren't exactly show-stopping either. Fast forward to tonight and I decided to try some Moroccan Carrots. I boiled the carrots and mixed the sauce but after I strained the carrots, I decided to dip one in the sauce and try it before pouring it over all of them. I probably tried 5 or 6 of them before I decided that it probably wasn't for me. It had a very lemony taste. I could see it served in a restaurant somewhere but once again, it wasn't for me. So now I'm eating a big bowl of carrots for dinner lol. I think I'm just going to start surfing the Food Network website from now on. The reviews and ratings are really helpful on that site.

Well that's about all for today. Lots to do before bed. If you have any wonderful dinner, lunch, or breakfast recipes, feel free to share!

Love, Heather

xo