We are here. We closed on our house yesterday at 1:00pm and the movers showed up at 2:30pm. Is that not the fastest damn military move you've ever heard of?

More to come....

Must sleep...

Such is the life of a mil wife... on the move, making adjustments, and just plain sucking it up and dealing with whatever life (aka military) throws your way.

Lesson #1
Learn to Deal


Sure you can bitch and moan, get really pissed, yell at your husband, etc. etc. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, you nor he can change it.. 2 sayings that are very common in our household... "It is what it is" and "The needs of the military supersede your own needs"


No truer statements in my book. But it isn't all bad... I might bitch about it, but its doable and it is what you make of it...


Well with all that being said, WE'RE MOVING ON TUESDAY! We close on our house a week from today. And this girl could not move without sending out a moving announcement and the moving announcement has to have a picture of our children (aka our dogs).


The announcements are going in the mail tonight... So for those of you that will be getting one... this is a taste of what's come. Don't spill the beans to anyone else.


The names and addresses have been changed to protect the innocent...i.e. ME.

(Milo is gonna drive, Charlie is gonna hold the map...cross your fingers we get there!)

Thank you to Nina for all help and special thanks to Mrs. Newlywed for helping me be creative and witty, when it felt very hard to come by.

Nina is very easy to work with and does a fabulous job, so if you're in the market for a holiday card, moving announcement, etc... check her out.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for the shout out!!

Photo by Oeil Photography

Here's the front, you can't tell but we had all new railing put in and the front porch redone. Can't you envision beautiful hydrangea bushes in the front of the porch... Oh I can.

North Carolina... here we come...

Back to the story at hand...

Its from JCPenny and on sale. I got free shipping to the store and bought it for around $475. I purchased the CPU cabinet, rectangular desk top and a 2 drawer unit. I'm getting excited about this new adventure...

First things first...who out there knows what Italian Beef is? Anyone..Anyone...

When the Jetplanes moved to Pcola we rotated between a few couples and have dinner at each others houses. I made Italian Beef one night and entertained friends from Connecticut and Utah...both of which had never heard of Italian Beef. Later we had friends from North Carolina and Hawaii, never heard of Italian Beef either.

So I'm assuming its totally a Midwestern thing. I had no idea others didn't know about this awesome sandwich.


So what is it?

Definition of Italian Beef: An Italian beef is a sandwich of thin slices of seasoned beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long Italian-style roll, believed to have originated in Chicago, where its history dates back at least to the 1930s.


And what does it look like? Kinda like this...



This is an incredibly easy recipe that uses a Crock Pot..hello what is easier than that?


What you are going to need:

about 2.5 to 3lb roast (can you chuck, round, etc. just made sure its not too fatty)
2 Packets of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
2 Cans of Beef Broth
2 Cans of Beef Gravy (if you like it really spicy use 1 can)
1 Jar of Pepperoncinis
1 Packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 small onion thinly sliced (optional)

Italian Style Rolls, we also use multi grain long rolls
Provolone Cheese Slices
Additional Pepperoncinis and Giardinera optional


Now this recipe you can make really HOT or slightly MILD or not hot at all. This is how I make it for us...Mr. loves spicy and I do MILD.

1. In the Crock Pot dump the onion soup mix, onions, half of the pepperoncinis and juice, 1 dressing packet, and 1 can of beef broth. Stir together.

2. Place the roast in the mixture and the pour the 2nd packet of dressing over the roast. Then dump the 2nd beef broth can, 2 cans of beef gravy, and the rest of the pepperoncinis. Stir.

For SPICY - I dump all the juice in the pepperoncinis jar but only 2/3 of the pepperoncinis in the jar. If you like it spicy dump them all in and only use 1 can of gravy.

If you are concerned about the spice - use half the juice and half the peppers. You can also pour a little light beer (I prefer Bud or Miller Light) into the mixture.

3. Cook on low around 8- 10 hours. The roast will break down somewhat but you will have to break it down further prior to eating. (I usually put it on around 6:30am and have Mr. turn it off around 5 and we eat around 6.)


4. Then you're ready for the deliciousness. Take a roll and generously place some of the meat and juices in the roll. Then place a slice or 2 of provolone on top. If you want more spice you can dress the sandwich with more pepperoncinis and/or giardiniera.


Enjoy!

UPDATE: An Italian Beef Sandwich is not a Philly Cheese Steak nor a French Dip. I have ate both and they are very different things. They may look similar but they are very different, I'm pretty sure its a Midwestern thing. Its believed they were first created in Chicago.

Happy Pug Friday to all! For your enjoyment today I bring you this lil sweetheart who is transfixed on the cheese puff in front of him/her.


If you know anything about pugs, they are extremely food motivated and I'm in complete awe of this lil one's willpower.

And on a total side note... I talked to Mr. Jetplane last night!! Yeah!

I think I almost cried when I saw his picture on my caller id. We had a good talk, short but great. He's very tired and hungry and dirty...he wanted a shower, food, and beer. I checked his Facebook status this morning...looks like he may have ate too much after we got off the phone... not eating real food since Saturday and then chowing down on hamburgers, fries, and beer probably won't make your belly very happy...

He's on base for a couple more days and then back out in to the wild on Tuesday through Thursday and then HOME on Saturday...

And then we move on Tuesday/Wednesday!! OMG!
Happy Friday!!

Pug Photo Found Here

Mr. Jetplane is supposed to be coming out of the wilderness today, well rather tonight, but still YEAH!!

He's been playing (if we can call it that) Mountain Man since Saturday and now they are supposed to be coming out tonight. I know he'll be exhausted and mostly likely a little pissed off (he gets annoyed when he is hungry), but I can't wait to talk to him.


It will be kinda interesting to see if he's changed at all from this experience. We know people that ran off and got married after someone got back from this trip. So we shall see...



I will say that while we were dating and Mr. Jetplane went off to OTS (Officer Training School) when I went down to visit his just before graduated, he was different VERY different. So different in fact that he asked me if I wanted to go look at rings... yeah..that's what I mean as to different. He was also 110% more affectionate and held my hand in public all the time. It was a welcomed change and I asked him what he did to my boyfriend because this is a guy I had never met. I'm happy to say that the changes stuck and our relationship took a giant leap forward with us moving in together shortly after that in Pcola.

I guess being in certain circumstances makes you realize what you have and how much you love it.

Can't wait to talk to him...he still won't be home until 8/22, but atleast we'll be able to talk to each other and Skype every once in a while.

Thank God for technology!!!

Can someone please explain to me the interest in taking naked pictures of yourself? Especially when you are a teenager and a 'famous' teenager at that?

I also don't get the sexy looks that teenagers (including Miley) give the camera and then post these ridiculous pictures. I've seen my cousin's facebook page, she's 17...I don't get it.

But HEY!!! Miss High School Musical girl... this one's for you... seriously girl this is the 2nd time in under a year...keep your damn clothes on, or at least don't take pictures of yourself...




HomeGirl got called out! Too freaking funny!! Hey kids...and adults for that matter... don't email people pictures of yourself naked...nothing good could ever come from that.

Crazy Story- At my previous job we fired a guy that I supervised. I wanted him gone for months but my boss wouldn't fire him. Finally he did some very bad things and we got his ass canned. But whatever... I ended up having access to his inbox so I could monitor incoming emails from clients since he wasn't working with us any longer. I had to go through his inbox to ensure that he had followed up with all his work since he was doing a poor job in his day to day activity.

Guess what I found on his computer.... Emails from some girl who sent him naked pictures of herself. And guess what this scumbag had done.. He emailed those pictures to some of the other guys at work...I was completely and utterly disgusted. I'm so glad we was finally fired...

Take that as a warning girls...send naked pics of yourself...they take on a life of their own and guys will send them to other people... whether your famous now or not...

More Eric in a tank top...

Can we all just stop and pause for a moment and appreciate how freaking awesome True Blood was last night? I mean...seriously did that or did it not kick some ass last night? That was some serious action packed in that 1 hour show.

Eric looked incredibly hot the whole episode, didn't he? He smiled... how hot was that? And they better make this love triangle happen. I need more Eric? Who's with me?

Jason Stackhouse! You were a true hero... and hilarious too.

So what do you think is going to happen next....

**Here's to hoping that they still have the Fangtasia calendar like in the book... I'd buy that..you hear me HBO store?

He's been gone a little over a week and we're getting along pretty well. I miss him, I always do when he's gone, but today we said goodbye and we won't be able to talk until late Thursday night.

Good Morning... Happy Pug Friday!

People think pugs can't or won't swim. I don't think there is anything further from the truth. Milo loves to swim in a lake, pool, or ocean. I started him with a lifejacket in my parents pool when he was a puppy and now you can't keep him out of the water.

He thinks he is a retriever and attempts to swim out with all the 'big' dogs at the dog beach and tries to retrieve the toys... too bad his lil mouth isn't big enough.

Picture found here....

As I have talked about from time to time on this lil blog of mine, Mrs. Jetplane is a HUGE fan of all things 80s. As a child born in 1980 and raised by a single parent, someone may have watched ALOT of television and movies.





I fell in love quick and hard for all things John Hughes. National Lampoon's Vacation, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Curly Sue, Uncle Buck, Some King of Wonderful, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Home Alone... Come on people this man was a freaking genuis.

My ALL TIME, most favorite movie in the world is Pretty in Pink. My 2nd favorite movie in the whole wide world... The Breakfast Club.... yes this girl loves the Hughes and Ringwald tag team.
What's #3? Maybe Can't Buy Me Love...

There is just something about 80s movies that can't be found today. I cringe when I see those High School Music idiots in movies trying to remake the perfection that is 80s teen movies this closest that they ever came was Can't Hardly Wait and that was in the late 90s.

Thank you Mr. Hughes for giving us wonderful movies. Thank you for making me love movies. Thank you for giving me movie quotes that I repeat till this very day....

To test your Hughes knowledge... what movie did the following quotes come from:

1. I'm off like a dirty shirt...

2. Ladies and gentlemen, you are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to play a little tune for you. It's one of my personal favorites and I'd like to dedicate it to a young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today...

3. The next time I have to come in here I'm crackin' skulls.

4. Waiting for your sex?

5. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

6. Did you know without trigonometry, there'd be no engineering? Without lamps, there'd be no light.

7. That's a pretty stupid thing to do during flu season!

8. Money really means nothing to me. Do you think I'd treat my parents' house this way if it did?
9. I'm here to kick your ass, and you know it, and everybody here knows it, and above all, you deserve it. In fact, I think it's safe to say that this party is about to become a historical fact.

10. You know, there's going to be sex, drugs, rock-n-roll... chips, dips, chains, whips... You know, your basic high school orgy type of thing. I mean, uh, I'm not talking candlewax on the nipples, or witchcraft or anything like that, no, no, no. Just a couple of hundred kids running around in their underwear, acting like complete animals.

This working from home is stuff is all good. Yes, I have been talking about this with my boss for probably 18 months but honestly until we sat down and had a real honest to goodness talk about bills, logistics, etc. it didn't feel free. It felt like this was something that could be taken away, we have nothing in writing to hold them to it or anything.

But we had a good but very brief meeting. I had a conf call to get to and we were both running late to the meeting due to work.

So we met and discussed that I will take with me my computer, 2 monitors (I work from dual monitors, once you try it you can't live without it), office chair, large write on wipe off board, and all my office supplies. They are going to set up and pay for my phone line and Internet. They will buy my printer/scanner/fax/copier and phone with headset. (Yes I wear a headset, once again, once you start using one you can't stop, I'm on the phone literally 3/4 of the day.)

He asked me about a desk, but I want to keep my desk so I will be buying that.

Speaking of which I have located a new white desk that is very similar to the PB and Target versions I like. It is a little more than Target but still less than PB. I refuse to spend over $700 on the PB desk and that doesn't even include shipping. I'll discuss the new desk once its ordered. I'm having it shipped to the store and hopefully I'll have some people help me go pick it up and save myself about $120.

Thanks for all your support on this desk situation, I appreciate it.

Finally, spoke with Mr. this morning, today at survival school is top secret. Someone ran his smart ass mouth yesterday and had to write a 500 word paper about the plants he could eat. I guess he was joking with one of the other guys that got in trouble for forgetting to bring some of his gear to class. The instructor gave him the essay initially. Mr. Jetplane told him that it wouldn't be that difficult and he should be able to bang it out in about an hour. The instructor said, "Oh yeah Lt., well then you can do it too..."

So he did... he said, "Well I needed to learn this stuff anyway."

My husband will forever and always be a smart ass.

Happy Thursday to you all... I am meeting up with a fellow blogger for lunch today and I'm very excited... but us mysterious bloggers won't give you all any details.

If there is anything to know about me, besides being short, sassy, and having an addiction to shopping, it is that a have a love for television. I always have and I always will. Its sad when one of the best things in my life is my DVR. What the hell did we do without those things?


I am beyond excited that Mad Men is coming back August 16th. I am freaking obsessed with this show, the drama, the fashion, and the hot men.





What else am I excited about:

Flipping Out
Project Runway

Top Chef


Yes I love some good Bravo reality television, and yes I know PR is now on Lifetime which I'm still really pissed off about. Set your DVRs now...

Update: I believe I have located a substitute for the Target desk but I will not be discussing it until it is bought and delivered. The Target desk can only be purchased online, it is not at the stores. So I can't go to the stores the days of delivery. Target itself is out of stock of both the white and black options of the desk.

Add'l Info: The WW Greek Salad that I blogged about over the weekend is 3pts and 4 servings.

Happy Wednesday!

My desk is out of stock. Yes, the desk that I have been looking at online for over a month now. The desk I look at every single day is out of stock today. Today the day that I was actually going to buy it...its out of stock.

Its probably my own fault to blogging about it and now its out of stock.

We sold our office desk on Craigslist last week and now I have no desk.

I called Target and it was a pointless conversation with someone who gave me no information. Just basically keep checking the website. No I can't look for you to see if and when it will be back in. She didn't even ask me what I was looking at. Just keep checking the website.

That's a BIG ASS FAIL! I'm pissed. I'm UBER pissed.

If anyone sees this on Target.com please let me know. Not that I won't be looking 3x a day but still.

I know there are other desks out there but this is what I want. Its similar to my Pottery Barn inspiration desk that is $650... ugh... I need this desk to be at my residence prior to August 24.

Hey Target! Do you hear me.... I want my mother freakin desk...

Okay, so I complain and complain that even though I'm 29 yrs old I regularly get carded for alcohol and have even been carded when renting an unrated foreign film (that was a couple of years ago). I was also asked last year if I was getting my nails done for prom. Uh no, jackass I'm getting married and I'm missing my 10 yr class reunion because I'm going to be on my honeymoon.

Yes, I know..oh you poor thing... oh I wish I had your problem...oh cry me a river...you'll be happy when you're 30 and that still happens....

I've heard it all people.... but seriously it gets annoying.

I have been in a business meeting, giving a vendor presentation to prospective clients and at the end of the meeting the VP of Marketing turns to me and says, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you?"

(Excuse me... how am I suppose to take it.... you can't believe that someone my age (or whatever age you think I am) could be a compenent and knowledgable saleswoman???)

I told him I'd tell him how old I was if he told me how old he was. He laughed and said, "Wow you're pretty quick on your feet. But seriously, how old are you?"

I was around 25 then, and in all honesty looked maybe 21 on a good day.

But the point of this story is that while I may have been blessed with 'young' looks and clear skin, I have noticed that I have developed deep wrinkles in middle of my brows and I'm flipping out about it.

I started using wrinkle cream about 3 months ago and I'm even trying to stop myself from scrunching my brows and doing anymore damage to my face. I notice I do this when I'm reading, working, and having any sort of serious conversation.

So I ask you, what type of wrinkle creams do you recommend. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but these wrinkles need to stop pronto.

Help me!!!

This is the easiest recipe I've ever created. Yes, this is a recipe that lil Mrs. Jetplane created herself so watch out. It was created out of pure necessity when Mr. Jetplane's sister was in town with her, now, husband. She is a vegetarian so I need to create a pasta dish w/o meat and an entree with meat because boys need their meat I was informed.

Breaded Tuscan Chicken

chicken Breasts (2-4) - fat trimmed and washed
Kraft House Tuscan Italian Dressing and Marinade
McCormick Crusting Blends - Italian Herb and Cheese
1-2 Roma Tomatoes - sliced
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

That's it 5 ingredients, it doesn't get any easier. You can substitute the Tuscan Italian dressing for other Italian dressings, but I love this particular dressing. As for the Crusting Blends, I would still with McCormick instead of bread crumbs. First because the product is great but also they have panko bread crumbs instead of plain ol bread crumbs...any its really yummy.


1. Put the chicken breasts in a large ziploc bag and pour enough of the dressing/marinade to coat them. Let them marinade in the fridge for at least 30 mins. If you can't do that, its fine I've let them marinade for 5 mins, while its not as moist it still works.

2. Pre heat oven to 425.

3. Remove chicken and coat with Crusting Blend using about 1/3 cup per lb in a shallow bowl.

4. Place chicken in a glass baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.

5. Take chicken out and place 2 to 3 slices of tomatoes on top of each piece of chicken.

6. Generously sprinkled shredded cheese on top of each piece of chicken covering the tomatoes.

7. Bake for another 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted.

Say Hello to my sous chef!

Yes, sorry I got the trash can in the picture. Gross yeah... I know.

I generally pair this with a pasta dish. I'm a HUGE fan of buying a store brought pasta sauce and adding to it to make it my own.

I saute green and red peppers, onions, and mushrooms together and add it to a tomato basil or marinara sauce. I serve over angel hair pasta. ( I prefer Classico or Newman's)

Or I saute a little onion, lots of mushrooms, and broccoli and add it to Classico's Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo and serve over fettuccine noodles.

Enjoy!

Hello All! As promised I am trying to add more recipes to the mix here on Leaving and Loving.

Here is the Jetplanes' favorite easy Greek Salad. What makes it even better? Well its WW and its delicious to boot.

Greek Salad with Oregano-Feta Dressing

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil (I used EVOO)
1 garlic clove (I use a little more,I love garlic)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons water ( I use a little more b/c the dressing is thick)
3 cups of torn romaine lettuce leaves
1 tomato sliced
1 cucumber sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced (I'm not a fan of uncooked peppers so I remove)
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
6 large Greek olives,pitted and sliced

* I add a little radicchio, I prefer salad to have a variety of greens and have a lot of color.

1. To prepare the dressing, in a mini food processor or blender, combine the cheese, lemon juice, oil, garlic, oregano, pepper, and water; puree.

2. In a large salad bowl, combine the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with olives.

Its a great salad to pair with grilled chicken or just eat the salad for lunch. Mr. Jetplane loves it.

Enjoy!