Before I announce the winner I just wanted to thank CSN stores for allowing me to host this giveaway and to all the participants.
Now for the good stuff, how I chose the lucky winner. I used the number generator and I placed all of you according to number. So basically the first person to comment was #1 and the second #2 and so forth and so forth.
Please contact me within 24 hours of the announcement being published at thefewtheproudthewife@gmail.com. If you don't I will forfeit you and I don't want to do that :(
As you can tell by the title, Brownie did it again. This time, thank goodness, the damage was way less than yesterday.
I don't know how she did it but she managed to tear, and possibly eat, the material that covers underneath the couch. The pictures will help you better understand what I'm talking about:
our couch and what I'm talking about is underneath the couch,
as you can see there seems to be no space between the couch and floor
the damage
She's almost 11lbs and she's not that tiny to fit under the couch, but somehow she did it. If she does something like this again then DH and I are going to go and buy a crate or another baby/dog gate. DH and I have refused to buy a crate because we both feel its inhumane, that's just our opinion. She does have a baby/dog gate, but she's managed, I don't know how because she's not tall, to jump over it....hence as to why I said "buy another baby/dog gate".
So we'll see what we end up doing...a crate or put her in the laundry room with the door open and two baby/dog gate's to stacked on top of another.
I'm just hoping this is the last of her temper tantrums as I would like to call it :)
When it comes to dogs I melt. Seriously, they can destroy an entire house but when they lays those sad-dog-eyes on me its over...I give in. But sometimes I have to be the bigger person and realize that dogs cannot get away with everything.
I don't know what it is about today, but I'm not the only one dealing with the "fun" adventure of dogs...ahem, Nicole at Flip Flops and Combat Boots :)
Brownie is only 9 months old. We are still trying to house train her, but it has obviously failed on us (it was going great with her before her accident, but when she came back from the hospital we were taking care of her and then we just lost track of it all). She hates the sound of the hair dryer and thinks the broom is her newest toy. She has "stolen" all but two of my stuffed animals that DH gave me. When she first saw them she growled at them and then decided that they would be her newest addition to her toys...go figure!
The newest incident occurred tonight. I was at work and so was DH. Brownie is usually fine 99.9% of the time, except 1% which was today. So I came home and DH says hi and is motioning me with his eye to the carpet...Brownie decided to destroy the house's carpet....AAAAAHHHH.
Here's the picture:
pardon the blurry picture
She has never done anything this crazy. Brownie is tiny, not toy-tini but tiny, so for her to make such a huge destruction was odd/weird/crazy/etc. I don't know what happened. Like I said, she has more toys than any child gets on Christmas morning. She goes outside to play and "chirps", I swear that's the sound of her bark, with the dogs in the area. When DH and I got to work we leave her sufficient food and water and she has the entire house to run around and play, so she isn't by no means cramped. We show we love and affection. We play with her 24/7. She always ends up sleeping between DH and I. So why did she do this? beats me.
So DH said that she's grounded!
[thank you ladies for all your wonderful comments in my last post. its nice to hear i'm not alone, but its also sad that the majority of us are in that same position.]
here's a happier post :)...
I ♥ when DH makes me breakfast in bed.
I'm addicted to any Jersey-based reality TV.
I ♥ when Brownie cuddles up next to me.
I'm addicted to Converse sneakers.
I ♥ baking, but I don't really eat any baked goods.
I'm addicted to blogging.
I ♥ the first fall of snow (but not the after part where it gets nasty).
I'm addicted to Coca-Cola.
I ♥ when DH leaves me cute love "post-its" around the house.
Is there anything about your like that you want to change right now?
Yes, where I'm living right now. I think everyone knows from my posts/rants that I hate 29 Palms and
I'm just not happy here. But that will hopefully all change in a few months :)
What is you favorite TV show?
Just one isn't possible for me :)
Here's the list:
NCIS
90210
Bones
Gossip Girl
Glee
Desperate Housewives
What is the best advice you have ever received?
One time I went shopping with a friend and she broke things down for me: you either "need" something (ie: food) or you "want" something (ie: pricey jeans). Have used it ever since.
What is your dream job (if you don't already have it)?
Working at the UN.
Where did you or want to go to college and why?
For my BA I went to Manhattanville College and for my MA I went to the University of Essex, but I still hold true to my "main" alma mater: Manhattanville!...MVILLE!
If you could punch anyone in the face, living or dead, who would it be?
The most hated man in the world, Hitler.
What is your favorite hobby?
I can't just say I have "a" hobby, I have a bunch of hobbies.
snowboarding
reading
blogging
cooking
baking
shopping
8) What was your worst year of your life?
It wasn't a year persay, it was mostly 2. From the time I got engaged until my wedding. You see, I always thought engagements and wedding were suppose to be filled with love and people being happy for you, but it was on the contrary for me. Two of my family members where against it and made sure to made those two years of my life a living hell. It wasn't until 6 months prior to the wedding that one of the overcame his "stupidity" and "selfishness" and realized that I was old enough to make my decisions and that DH was the perfect man of my life. The other person decided to carry-on his "stupidity" until the wedding, but, in his defense, he attitude did get better. Also, planning a wedding from overseas was hard. I was in doing my MA and was stressed out of my mind. Also, during those two years DH and I were apart, sans the last year where we saw each other every chance we could.
Now I have to come up with my own questions and tag eight (8) who I want to answer these questions:
What would be your dream vacation?
Whats your favorite book and why?
Whats the one thing you could change about your life? (it can be little or small)
Whats your most secret pleasure? (ie: reading trashy gossip magazines)
Whats your favorite meal?
Did you like high school or hated it?
Whats your fashion sense/style?
Name on thing you can't live without that isn't your family or pet? (ie: your cellphone)
Before I begin my Recipe of the Day saga. Don't forget, if you haven't, to enter in my CSN Giveaway: click here to find out more. Now on with the show...
Pan con Tomate is a very typical Spanish appetizer/snack and sometimes meal. Its origin is from Cataluña with its Catalan name of Pa amb Tomaquet.
Ingredients:
-A loaf of bread
-2 large tomatoes
-2 garlic cloves
-Extra Virgin Oil
-Salt
Directions:
-Cut the load of bread in half and peel the garlic cloves.
-Rub one clove all over one of the "halfed" loaves and repeat with the other half.
-Cut the tomatoes in half and with all your might and rub it onto the bread until you are left with the skin. Repeat with the half.
-Drizzle the oil on the both loafs and sprinkle with salt to your desire.
Note: in Spain some put jamón serrano or a small omelette on the pan con tomate.
This could be possible with my CSN GIVEAWAY:$35 Gift Certificate.
The RULES/REGULATIONS are simple:
You MUST be a follower of my blog.
You MUST post in the comment box why you should be the winner and...that's it!
The winner will be chosen at random, in accordance with two (2) rules above.
I will notify the winner via post, and Twitter, and the winner will have 24 hours to contact me via e-mail. If the winner does not contact me their prize will be forfeited and another drawing will happen. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR EMAILS, I WILL NOT EMAIL YOU IF YOU ARE THE WINNER.
The Giveaway will end SEPTEMBER 29TH (WEDNESDAY) AT 12PM PST.
G'LUCK
Also, don't forget to check out the CSN Store website here or its partners (www.cookware.com; www.allmodern.com and www.allcoffeetables.com)
So this past week DH was suppose to find out about his orders. The monitor came in on Thursday and spoke to them and told them that tomorrow, Friday, he will give them their orders. So Friday came, the monitor spoke to them for a pretty long time and at the end said that they weren't going to get their orders because something happened with the computers and that they will get them in October. WTF?!?!?! ARGH! Yes, I know what you are all going to say "Welcome to the Marine Corps!". I know, I know. This is not the first, nor the last, that something related to the Marine Corps and us has happened....trust me!
Its just its so frustrating. I would like to know now that way I can look for a job in my field wherever we may go, look for housing (not doing the whole 6 months in a temporary-tiny house again) and figure out if its possible to spend Christmas with my family in Australia (that's where they are currently living). But no, none of that is possible as of right now.
This week I have been an emotional stress. I dislike my job. I found out that its too expensive to go to my 10 year high school reunion (its the day after the Thanksgiving) or head to Louisiana for Thanksgiving or spend Christmas with my family (which I haven't told them yet, I'm just hoping a miracle will happen...*wishful thinking*). I'm also nervous/stressed about where we are headed next. I really want it to be a good post, not like here. I want to meet people. I want to have friends whom I can call and meet up at the local cafe or just hang out and chill. All of that added when DH came home on Friday to tell me "sooooo, we are not getting our order till October cause something happened with their computers."
Well, here's to hoping things work out!
On a good note, my Scensty order arrived and now my house smells YUMMY!
Have too many blogs to read and not enough time? Check out the "MilSpouse Weekly Roundup" and link up your favorite post and read everyone's else's favorite post of the week, this way you can catch up to everyone's blog!
Depending on what country, empanadas are different. Empanadas are originally from Spain (primarily Galicia) and Portugal and they are completely different in appearance, which looks like a large square pie. My mom was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina therefore I am also use to those kinds empanadas. I actually prefer that kind....sssshhh, don't tell the Spaniards :)
My favorite kind of empanada is of jamón y queso (ham and cheese), but I will be nice and post the ingredients for the original (beef filling) and jamón y queso.
-15 green olives, without core, cut in small pieces
-salt
-pepper
-glass of water
Directions:
-In a large skillet fry the garlic and onions until the onions are transparent, add the meat.
-Once the meat is almost cooked at the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and leave it to cook for about 10mins.
-Once done, let the mixture cool and then add the eggs and olives
-When the mixture is mixed, take a pastry round and fill it with a spoonful of the mixture. Try to not fill it too much for it will be difficult to close.
-Get a small glass of water -the water will allow you to close the filled pastry- and dip your finger in it, place that wet finger on the sides of the pastry and fold the pastry in the middle and press the sides together, use a fork glue it together.
-Preheat your oven to 350℉ and bake the filled empanadas for about 10-20mins or until golden brown.
-Serve at once!
Ingredients (jamón y queso):
-20 rounds of shortcrust pastry*
-9oz of packaged ham
-8oz of cheese, preferably Swiss cheese
-glass of water
Directions:
-Cut the cheese and ham into small pieces.
-Take a pastry round and fill it with a mixture of both ham and cheese. Try to not fill it too much for it will be difficult to close.
-Get a small glass of water -the water will allow you to close the filled pastry- and dip your finger in it, place that wet finger on the sides of the pastry and fold the pastry in the middle and press the sides together, use a fork glue it together.
-Preheat your oven to 350℉ and bake the filled empanadas for about 10-20mins or until golden brown.
-Serve at once!
*Note: you can click here for a great recipe on how to make your own pastry or you can go to any Spanish market and ask for empanada discs or shortcrust pastry.
This weekend, at the very last minute, DH and I decided to go camping. We've been wanting to go camping for a while, so we said "fuck it, let's do it. let's go." and went on our merry way to Big Bear Lake to camp. I think the last time I went camping was when I was 12 years, yes, a VERY long time.
The drive there was an easy 1½ hour, the drive to find an open non-reserved camping ground was another (who know you had to reserve prior going camping...who does that?!?!). We finally found a campground which ended up being a little better than the other ones we saw because it wasn't close to the town center or anything like it.
So we arrived and pitched up our new tent:
I told you it was new. Right out the box!
Voila
Our sleeping bags. Note to self: bring some
form of cushioning next time. My back was
killing me in the AM.
After setting up the tent and getting situated we headed in the Big Bear Lake Village. The Village reminded me of a typical German or Austrian town, all it was missing was snow :) I will be sure to make it back there for when snowboarding season starts!
typical style of the shops there.
Big Bear Lake
After walking around the Village we decided to head back to the campground and play some UNO (which by the way I was kicking some serious ass!), drink, eat, talk and eventually fall asleep.
The craziest part about this trip were the toilets. Now I didn't know that there were toilets in the campgrounds. I thought that we were going to have to squat and make sure no animal/bug bit you. Well, aside from there being toilets there was also a HUGE sign/poster which read "RATTLESNAKES SHARE THIS AREA. BE CAREFUL"...YIKES! So for a minute, in my head, I thought that they rattlesnakes where only found in the toilets (HEY! I thought that because the sign was there and nowhere else), so you would see me walk to the toilets with something that would make noise to scare them away [picture the 1963 Parent Trap movie where the to-be stepmother walks around banging two branches to scare away the mountain lions...hahaha].
All in all the trip was great and a great experience!
DH and I went to see "Going the Distance". The movie was great, better than we expected it to be. And, I know this may sound cliché, but this movie was us not so long ago.
As you all know DH and I met at his first duty station in Vienna, Austria while he was on MSG duty.
(When these Marine's join the MSG they have to sign a contract stating that they will not get married while they are on the MSG. Hence as to why our engagement was LONG!)
We dated for about a year until we got engaged. We actually got engaged a year, to the day, when we met (December 15th, 2007). Two days later he left for his second duty post...in Nepal. Crazy, right? It was a hard engagement due to the long distance relationship we were going through, and also due to the two family members who where not in the least bit supportive, but that's for another blog. From the time when he left until late June we did not see each other. We skyped, emailed and did whatever we could to keep the relationship going. It was hard as hell. But we knew if we could surpass this we could surpass anything. In late June we met up in Thailand for 10 days of bliss. After that it was another 6 months till we saw each other again. I had started grad school and he stayed with me for two weeks until he had to go check-in in his last duty station in Germany.
Him being in Germany and me being in the UK was perfect. We were at least in the same continent, so to speak, and only with an hour difference and a two hour flight. We began arranging our lives so we could at least see each other every month (thank you EasyJet!). It did of course get tiring, but anything was better than not being able to see each other for 6 months.
As we sat there and watched this movie I couldn't help stop thinking about how that couple was us not so long ago, how we endured all of those emotions that they did. It was a hard and complicated 2-year-engagement but we did it!
Currently I'm in a human rights mode. I blame reading Amnesty International all morning :) Also, I have began to create another blog dedicated solely to human rights -its still "under construction"- but if you would like to check it out, for the mean time, here it is: A Perspective of Human Rights
For my MA thesis I decided to write on Argentina's Dirty War which occurred from 1976-1983. Why did I focus on that subject? Well, my mom was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina until she moved to Madrid to carry-on her studies. This subject hits a little close to home because of the stories my mom would tell me, she had a cousin who was a desaparecido and another who almost became one, and because she partially lived it until she moved to Spain.
When I began writing my thesis there were several times where I had to put down the article I was reading. Why? Because I didn't have the stomach, at the moment, to read them. They spoke about the different ways the de facto-Government would torture their victims in great detail. Writing it was another hard part. As I would read, I couldn't stop picturing my mother's cousin...the things that could've happened to him.
I interviewed my mother about the events during the Dirty War and it was very interesting to hear it from a personal point of view rather than a book or an article from some author who I've never met. She told me that at home people talked about the new government but voiced their opinions with the most caution possible. Outside the home was a different story, if you spoke you had to look over your should every second to make sure you are not being watched.
Now you might be asking, for those of you who don't know, what was the Dirty War?
Argentina's government wasn't, and still isn't, one of the most stable governments. From the day of independence until its last military government it had about 5 coup d'états, the last one being the most horrendous and anti-human rights of them all.
From 1976-1983 the country's government was thrown out and replaced with a de facto-military government. Since Argentina was, and still is, a very liberated and opinionated country, the new government made sure that this was forbidden. So basically they arrested thousands and thousands of Argentine's and prisoned them, some killing them and some where forced to leave the country. It is believed that over 30,000 Argentine's disappeared during the Dirty War, no record was ever made. Parents never knew what happened to their children and/or grandchildren.
The military government was finally overthrown by a number of things: the loss in the Falkland War, the failing economy and the international attention the country was drawing.
What happened to the person's responsible?
The majority of them fled the country and went to places like Spain. In the last 5-10 years the Argentine governments have been cracking down and have arrested and tried the person's responsible.
The bad part about this is that it took the government this long to finally seek and try them. At this time the person's responsible are in the late 70s or 80s, which means that they have basically lived their lives. Unfortunately with the arrests, parents still do not know what happened to their children or grandchildren.
Aside from people being disappeared, there was also the people's children disappearing. Usually what happened, for instance, was that the government would "arrest" a young couple and they could've been pregnant. Well, in jail the pregnant lady would have the child and then they would kill her and adopt the child. These children where never in the public records and adoptions like these were extremely common. Most children who were born during that time wonder if they were one of them.
Al Jazeera did a great documentary about the Dirty War, check it out below:
"People & Power: Blood Trails" Part 1:
Part 2:
*Desaparecidos- (English: disappeared) was the name given to those who where forced to disappear by the Argentine de facto government.
Gazpacho is a another very typical soup/dish/appetizer/drink/whatever-you-want-to-call-it in Spain. Every region of Spain makes it a little different (ie: add more vinegar or less color, etc.) although it originates from the South. This is normally drank in the summer time because, for those who don't know, Spain can easily hit +100℉ and all one wants to do is drink and eat something cold and refreshing.
-In a blender put all the ingredients, minus the bread, if desired, and the ½ of the cucumber and ½ of the red pepper (leave those two for last) and blend.
-Blend until its soft and well mixed.
-You need to strain the Gazpacho just to get some of the seeds out, do so.
-If its too thick add some water. It should be liquid.
-Chop the cucumber and red pepper and cut the bread into little pieces so that when you serve this, this could be your "topping".
-Serve cold.
Note: Be careful when adding the water or vinegar. If you add too much water you'll end up making a drink rather than a soup and your will loose the flavoring. If you add too much vinegar you will loose all the flavoring.
As you all know from my posts, I met my husband while he was on MSG duty in Vienna, Austria. So we are going to go back time to that year, 2007, and a few months into dating. My husband and I went out to dinner and decided to head back to the Marine House to watch a movie.
So we arrive at the house and DH, or DF at the time, tells me that he has to run up to his room to grab something and will be right back (ps. non-Marines are not allowed to be in certain areas of the house, such as their rooms). I'm in the living room area and all of sudden the house phone starts ringing and another Marine's phone (another tidbit of info, there were a total of 4 people in the house including me, 3 Marines and me....the third Marine was visiting from another detachment). I see and hear commotion and DH and the other Marine are walking back and forth turning off the lights, TV and closing the curtain. I obvisouly have no clue whats going on so I stay seated and don't utter a word.
All of a sudden DH huddles us and says the 4 most scariest words: "we have a situation...". At that point I think my heart skipped a dozen beats and I was internally freaking out. I still kept quiet and hope and prayed that he was just pulling me leg.
Apparently, the police spotted an SUV circling the house with 4 people dressed in all black with AK-47 and all sorts of weapons. The Marines response to this was to evacuate the house.
I was told to go upstairs, incase the started firing, regarless of the non-Marine rules and given these items to carry and put on:
Kevlar Vest
Bulletproof Helmet
and what I thought was a flashlight...
(HEY! my defense what that no one told me what it was and
how to open it. All I saw was a "button" and put, what I thought, one and two together)
As I was putting on these items and trying to control myself, in the inside, I was like "shit, we are screwed.". I thought that because we were 3 Marines and me...what harm could we do?!??! As we were all gearing up we were told that we were getting picked up by the Detachment Commander in the armored SUV on DH's signal. So here we are, 3 Marines and me with my huge-bright-ass pink purse booking it across the backyard and jumping into the armored SUV. The SUV drove so fast that it had gotten 8 tickets/violations from that night (thanks to the Viennese mail!). Since I wasn't a Marine nor an American citizen I wasn't allowed in the US Embassy, that was their meeting spot. Instead I was asked where to get dropped off and from there on I took the tram home. I got home and my whole body was shaking. I was scared...and I'm pretty sure my heart skipped many beats. About 30-40mins later I get a call from my husband and he's laughing, jerk! Apparently, there was no attack or plan to attack the Marine House. There was a Halloween party a few houses down and the SUV spotted were just guests of that party dressed up.
Hello Fellow Bloggers, for the next few Fridays, Recipe of the Day'sthem will be: The Spanish Edition. The Spanish Edition will focus of foods primarily from Spain and Argentina and from my mom's kitchen :)
I hope you all enjoy and try these fabulous dishes...OLÉ!
-Cut the potatoes in rounds and fry them in a large enough pan with oil.
-While frying the potatoes, cut the onions into small pieces and add them to the pan.
-Keep frying until the potatoes become soft and the onions white, once that happens, smash and break the potatoes in the pan.
-In a bowl mix the four eggs with salt and pepper.
-Once the potatoes are done and smashed, pour them through a strainer and add the smashed potatoes to the egg mixture
-With very little oil, drop the egg and potato mixture in the same pan, or another one.
-Keep the fire on low/medium so the eggs can cook.
-When you see that the bottom is cooked turn the mixture over so that the other side can get cooked. Do this with a help of a dish the same size of the pan.
-You will know when its done when both sides look golden brown/brownish, like the picture above.
-Serve hot or cold!
