A peek into our kitchen.

Since AJ and I have been living together again I've really enjoyed having more time to think about what we're eating. I'm trying to keep us eating healthy for the most part, but I can always use more ideas so I don't get stuck in the same recipes. One meal I've discovered has become one of our favorites, and it's a new entree for me: salmon. Prior to moving here I had never really eaten salmon, much less cooked it, but after all the crazy things I ate in Ecuador I thought I'd give it a shot. I did, and now it's one of our favorite meals! And it's easy, which is the most important thing for me. :)

Baked Salmon

2 cloves minced garlic
6 T olive oil
1 t. dried basil
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1 T lemon juice
2 salmon fillets

Marinade for one hour. Place on cookie sheet and wrap in foil, back at 350 for 35 minutes or until flaky.

Asparagus

2 T olive oil
1/2 lb. asparagus
3 T lemon juice
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir asparagus in oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in lemon juice and cook just a little longer. Serve and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

I serve these two things with some rice and a squeeze of lime juice on top. AJ also likes to pour the extra marinade over his rice. So that's it! We love this and hope you do too. :)

Whirlwind wedding weekend.

This past weekend I actually made in appearance in Illinois for the wedding of a good friend from college. Although it was a splurge to fly in for literally just the wedding (to understate it a bit!) it was totally worth it for me. AJ left work early to drop me off at the airport and even stayed so that we could have coffee together before I went through security. My flight was delayed, so we even had a little bit of extra time. Of course, AJ didn't come because of the expense of flying and because it would be too hard for him to get a pass to leave post.

My beautiful friend and her hubby!

And then...things got a little rough. Long story short, my plane was over two hours late taking off because it was overweight. They took seven passengers off, and I suspect all of our luggage because they were carrying something else. After I got into Chicago things got even crazier, when no one's luggage showed up from our city and no one could tell us why. We waited for over two hours because we were told our bags would show up in 20-45 minutes. Finally, someone tells us that our luggage "is not at this location", meaning it was all taken off the plane in our departure location and was never sent. I didn't get to my parents' house until 1:00am. Needless to say, rough day.

Saturday made up for it, though. I got to watch my beautiful friend get married after a two year engagement and enjoyed some coffee with two friends I haven't seen in a very long time (one is from Kansas and transferred after the first semester, so we only see each other once a year). At the reception I got to see even more friends. The whole wedding itself was absolutely perfect, as I knew it would be--that's exactly how my friend is, and she had two years to plan after all! I couldn't believe how nice it was and it was a blast for us guests. Most importantly, though, my friend has begun her marriage solidly rooted in Christ, and their faith was so evident in the whole day. I, meanwhile, am so excited to gain a married friend, even if she does live 2,000 miles away!

Me, Kaitlyn, Megan, and Meg. Freshman roomies. <3

On Sunday I woke up and drove back to the airport with my mom. Although I didn't get to see anyone besides my immediate family (because I slept in their house!), it was nice to see them in person if only for a brief moment. And lucky for us, next week they're coming down for a family vacation!

So here I sit, back in the desert and missing my family and friends again. My visit was way too short. Being an Army wife is still a lonely gig, and I would still rather have had a choice about living near everyone I love--or at least somewhere that is appealing to me. If nothing else, though, I will be busy with school next week, so I won't have time to be lonely (fingers crossed).

A visit to the zoo.

This past weekend we finally got out and did something interesting. We found out that the zoo has a great military discount, and the elephant festival was going on. So, to the zoo we went. We had a great day, as long as a great view of Mexico from the Africa exhibit ;) Seriously though, when we drive along the highway in that part of the city we actually see much more of Mexico than we do of the U.S. 

In other news, AJ just told me that he's about to get a new job. A captain just recently PCS-ed (moved, basically) to AJ's unit, so it makes more sense for this captain to work AJ's XO job (executive officer, which means AJ's been the second-in-command). AJ's pretty excited about it, as he's ready to get some different experience and be relieved of some of the pressure that comes with being the XO on the rear detachment while the unit is in Afghanistan. He's gotten a lot of great feedback since October, so he's leaving the unit better than he found it. Proud of my man, as always. I'll keep you updated as to exactly what position he'll fill next.

My first FRG (family readiness group) meeting is tonight, so we'll see how that goes. I've been doing some things with PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel), a group of Christian Army wives stationed here. The great thing about the Army (and also the sad thing) is that someone's always new and someone's always leaving, so it's easier to get plugged in on post than in the civilian world. Although AJ and I make a point of spending time with the local civilians, having Army wives to relate to is also very important. I love being able to tell our story and having women just nod and not look at me funny, as if being away from my husband for nine months is nothing special. Because in the Army, it's not! I love how we automatically understand each other's lives and even speak the same language (seriously, take a look at my husband's work email and you will see more acronyms than actual words). Still working on meeting other younger, childless wives though--so far all of my Army acquaintances are older women with children who aren't career-driven like me. I told AJ to keep networking with other married 2nd lieutenants. :)

And now for our zoo pictures:

Settling in--in the Southwest.

Us with our anniversary cake in IL.

Today officially marks three weeks since I've been in our new home. Hard to believe! Since AJ's week of leave life has continued as usual, without anything terribly new or exciting to report. I've been doing the stay-at-home-wife thing, since I'm waiting for graduate school to start on June 28th. I'm slowly getting to know the area, although once in awhile I still panic and think I'm going to accidentally leave the country. I'm also getting acquainted with some of the people AJ knows, both Army and civilian. So far we've been invited to dinner with two different families, which was nice. One of the families is an Army family, so I now have at least a couple Army acquaintances. I've been invited to the main park on post with them and their kids, which means we get to hang out, play with kids, and get a tan all at once ;)

Chester the Friendly Cactus, a gift from my mom.

I've finally registered for graduate school classes and have finalized my field placement for this fall and spring. Yay! After two interviews, both of which accepted me, I've chosen to work with an agency that provides services to children. I'll be working within the foster care program, which means my clients will be children with complex trauma. I'll provide counseling services, manage a caseload of children, train foster parents, and work with a team of professionals including a psychiatrist, psychologists, social workers, teachers, the court system, and foster families. I'm going to learn a ton, and I've been told that they already have a project for me to work on! I'm really excited to take the next step in my career.

Last week was our anniversary, which we spent quietly by going out for sushi, one of our favorite treats. We dressed up in the same clothes we wore to leave our wedding, had dinner, and then celebrated with some cake purchased by my mother-in-law :) Not super eventful, but nice enough for us.

View from our apartment complex.

So that covers the basics of life down here. AJ and I are still getting reacquainted as husband and wife after nine months of being apart. To clear up what seems to be a common misconception, we never felt like we got a "second honeymoon" after being together again or during AJ's week of leave. For many military families, living together again is often just as hard as being separated. Things change when you're apart from your spouse for almost a year, especially if you've only been married a year and lived together for just two months of that year. Many Army couples find themselves working to rebuild the intimacy necessary for marriage after being apart. So, although we agree that being together is wonderful because that's how it should be, it's not quite as romantic as many people seem to expect. ;)