Little Rhody Girl is a Quilting Machine

I have never attempted quilting, the shear thought of it was pretty overwhelming. I got my mom's old sewing machine that is as old as I am when I moved out and I have used it for a few small projects around the house but as I was finishing my beautiful afghan I was already deep in thought over what my next project would be. I decided to try a quilt. My MIL is a quilting fiend and she gave me some wonderful recomendations and on Wednsday I took the plunge and bought the supplies and fabric for my first project. I am pretty proud with what I have done so far.

I turned this....







into this....








pretty good considering this was my first shot. these will end up being the points of a star block. I will post pictures as I go. Wish me luck on my new project!

Afghan Completed!

I am a knitter. My mom showed me how when I was little and I started with scarves and moved up to afghans. I love sitting on the couch watching TV with a skein in my lap making something. Call me an old fashioned girl but I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish a project. This afghan is a combination of two patterns in one, knitted in three panels and stitched together. I worked on it on and off for a year but it probably took around 6 months to complete.

Drum roll please......







I took these pictures before I added the fringe. Here is the finished product, taking it's rightful place on the living room couch.Ta Da! I am so proud of myself. It is only my second cable knit afghan but it is the first project that I have ever kept for myself (and my husband haha). This will be passed down to my kids someday

Excuse me While I smash my Head in this Wall

During a break from my Trauma class today I was sitting on the outside stairs leading into the hospital soaking up the SoCal Sunshine chit-chatting with some fellow nursey co-workers when this happened.

"So -what's his face- is going to pick up my daughter today."

"What, that's your nickname for your husband? You call him what's his face? Not worth
remembering his name huh?" -snickers-

"Ha ha...yeah. Hey Sara, I guess you could call your husband that too, since you never see him."

"Um.......what?"

I resisted the temptation to cause some her some trauma (after all we could have used it as an example for class)

People's Idiocy Astounds me sometimes....

"I'm sorry don't you mean Thank you for you and your Husbands service to our country without which I wouldn't be able to live the way I do and our America as we know it wouldn't exist? That's what I thought.

by the way...you're welcome..."

I must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque...

Hey! ::waves::

No, I'm not dead or trapped under something heavy. I just went though a blogging slump over the last week. But I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

Happy October, Happy two months until my Hubby is Home! Happy start to the Fall Holiday Season! I love this time of year. It's a cornucopia of celebrations. It's pretty much a party marathon for my family

Quick Re-cap
September: My Birthday, My FIL's Birthday
October: Dad & Brother's Birthday, Halloween
November: Mom's Birthday, Thanksgiving, KYLE'S BACK!!!
December: CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!! (which for me lasts all month long!)
January: New Year's, Kyle's Birthday, our First Wedding Anniversary!!!!!

See what I mean? It's a marathon not a sprint people.

Well Sorry I went MIA. I was busy with ED classes and fiendishly finishing my cable knit afghan. I will update you all tomorrow with back posts about the last week. Right now...New Moon is calling my name (yes I've read the whole series, yes I am re-reading them, yes I love them...don't you judge me)

Cheers!

Little Rhody Girl :-D

My Fair cookie cutter wedding

Have any of you herd of this show "My fair Wedding" on We TV? I TiVo episodes of bridezillas to fulfill my quota of bad reality TV and I guess this show comes on after Bridezillas on Sunday night. I have never watched it just out of spite, and here's why.

I guess the premise of this show is centered around Brides who are planning a "disaster" wedding that must be saved by (hey!) this wedding planner to the stars. I can only assume that he swoops in and puts the bride in a couture gown and bedazzles her reception with thousands of dollars worth of flowers dripping in diamonds that no-one could ever afford without the help of a major TV network. Then of course, he is the hero by turning this bride into a image of herself that is only possible with lots of money, and thus perpetuating the idea that the only way to have a nice wedding is to go completely broke getting there.

Now I am not being judgy of bad TV, of course I would be a total hypocrite in doing so especially due to the Bridezilla comment in the first paragraph. My point is I thought that a Wedding should be about the couple, whatever the bride wants right? It's her day so if she want to wear a hideous gown and have a polka band at her reception, she should be entitled to do so, right?

What do you guys think? If anyone has seen the show and it isn't as much of a travesty as I think it would be please let me know. I am willing to give anything a shot once.

14 things you should NEVER say to a Military Wife

Civilian Friends...read this and take notes.
My Military Sisters....Amen.

taken from True Military Wives Confessions

14 things you should NEVER say to a military wife!..
Unless of course you are willing to take that chance on catching one of us on a REALLY bad day and we end up kicking your ass........remember our husbands are trained to stay alive....do you want to bet that they didn't bring their "work" home when they knew we were going to have to live and take care of ourselves for a year at a time because you can bet your ass my husband did!!!!

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
(This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our minds —but thanks brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.)

2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
(This is intended to be a compliment. Though, its just a little annoying. Here's why: it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.)

3. "At least he's not in Iraq."
(This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbandsare in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? Aninternational game of golf?

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"
(Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.)

5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
(Short answer: Try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife outthere who gets bored when her husband leaves. For the rest of us, those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people.That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored,and drinking massive amounts of wine always helps keep me busy.)

6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
(This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they"can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq b/c there is work that needs to be done.)

7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
(We do learn coping skills. We figure out ways to make life go smootherwhile the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before.The worry never goes away.)

8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."
(This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's threeweek trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 6-15 month or moredeployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference,nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D.,your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, and he flew comfortably on a commercial plane. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12 month combat deployment to a few weeks business trip is like comparing a crappy Hyundai Excel with a Mercedes convertible.)

9. "Wow you must miss him?"
(This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not and they're now divorced.)

10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"
(I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province ona map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, knowthat Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadris the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City ishis home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and thatit is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. Our country has been at war in Afghanistan for seven years and at war in Iraq for five years. These basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in thepapers every day —and on maps everywhere.)

11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there.
(Yes, ignorant, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects yourright to make stupid comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask tobe hit by anything, he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by theway, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fightingfor your freedom.)

12. "Don't you miss sex! I couldn't do it!"
(hmmm, no i don't miss sex. i'm a robot. seriously…military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most relationships probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation.)

13. "Well in my opinion….."
(Stop right there. Yo, I didn't ask for you your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our asses off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog, and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the President, esp. while we're trying to heat up our lean cuisines in the crappyoffice microwaves.)

Last, but not least….

14. "OH, that's horrible…I'm so sorry!"
(He's doing his job and he's a badass. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our marines/soldiers/airmen/coasties/sailors fight thewars abroad so those wars stay abroad.)

If you want to say anything...say thank you, after all, we are sexually deprived for your freedom.

100 top YouTube Videos of all time - in 4 minutes or less!

I saw this video on Crazy Days and Nights.
Watch it and see how many videos you recognize!

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

This was last night's dinner, absolutely spectacular! I was looking for something to make from the stuff in my fridge and when I suddenly had the feeling that It has been years since I had sausage and peppers. A simple iphone search led me to this recipe. It came together fairly easily and I was very pleased with the results. I served it on toasted french bread because that's what I had on hand but I think it would taste even better on a baguette. I wrapped the sandwich in foil to make it easier to eat (I do that with meatball grinders too. I am TOTALLY the type of person to get sauce all over myself when I eat)

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (I used Mango Chicken Sausage, added sweet flavorings!)
2 red bell peppers, sliced (I had one green and one yellow on hand)
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine (I didn't have Marsala Wine so I subsituted white cooking wine with no problem)
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
4 to 6 fresh Italian sandwich rolls, optional

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Serve in bowls. Or, if serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top and serve sandwiches immediately.