Q&A....It's About Time! Part 1

OK, so like a century and a half ago I said I was going to do a Q&A and several of you asked me some awesome questions and then I seriously lagged on the answers.

So, FINALLY, here we go.

Teresa asked: How long has your hubby been in the NG?

Stonewall has been in the NG since 2004 when he graduated from college...so five years. Since he was a little kid Stonewall wanted to be an Army Officer. Growing up, Stonewall got his first taste of the Army as a Civil War reenactor. From what I understand when you re-enact, for the weekend, you are a soldier - you belong to a unit, you are a certain rank, you salute and "Sir" your superiors. (Based on the stories I've heard reenactors take their hobby very seriously.)

Stonewall went to college on a ROTC scholarship. He's deployed to Katrina and to Iraq twice. (The first time was active-duty with a SF group and he's on his second deployment now with his NG unit.) Before this deployment he was on ADSW orders (basically he was active-duty with the NG), as well as the proverbial "Weekend Warrior" with another NG unit. (So, yes, he was with two different and separate units at the same time.)

When he finally gets home from this deployment...who knows? He's looking into AGR jobs, civilian jobs, or going active-duty. Eventually we'll make a decision.

Teresa asked: How many kids do you want? :)
Hmmm...this is kind of a hard one. Honestly, right now, just one. Partly because I love the time I get to spend with Lil' Mootz - our one-on-one time. I can't imagine loving another person as much as I love him and so I can't imagine having to split my time between him and someone else. And partly because even though these past few months have been the most amazing, they've also been the most difficult of my life. I don't know how I would handle having a toddler and another baby (or two) with Stonewall deployed. I know that thousands of military wives and single moms are doing the same thing every day and many with more than one kid, but maybe I'm just meant to have one baby.

However, I do think it's highly possible that in a few years, I'll forget how hard these months have been - kind of like they say you forget the pain of childbirth - and I'll want to share my heart and time with more babies. In that case, I want two more and I want girls. I want a girl because I'm such a girly girl and I want someone I can dress in pink and pigtails. Plus, I'm best friends with my mom and I want to have that relationship with my own daughter. Also, I'm a sister and I can't imagine being a girl and not having a sister, so I want two girls.

Teresa asked: What is your specialty recipe?
Sara also asked: Do you like to cook? If so, what's your favorite thing to cook? If not, then why?
I don't like to cook. I'm not a bad cook, I just don't really enjoy it. I love food. I would just rather have someone make it for me. This is why I like easy recipes. If it takes more than half an hour to make, it's probably not going to be made in my kitchen. That being said, I do have a few recipes I'm rather fond of and I get compliments on. Some of my favorites include Shepard's Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Stuff (that is the official name of the dish in my family), Ham and Brie sandwiches, and Sloppy Joes. My absolute favorite though is Macaroni Soup. It's quick, it's easy, and it's one of the few foods I'll eat as a leftover.

1lb hamburger
14.5oz box of Barilla Elbow Pasta
20ish oz (I don't know the exact amount...it's like 2 of a normal size can) can of Tomato sauce
Water
Salt and Pepper

1. Brown up your hamburger and drain
2. In a soup pot, put in your hamburger and can of tomato sauce
3. Add 3 cans (use empty tomato sauce can) of water
4. Add salt and pepper to taste (I prefer it to be a bit on the salty side. The salt helps take away some of the acidy tomato taste, so it's really a personal preference on how much you want to add. If you don't sniffle a bit when eating this soup, you didn't add enough pepper.)
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Add your box of pasta and let boil until noodles are at your favorite softness. (I like firmer noodles, so this is about 7-8ish minutes for me.)
7. Drain the broth part of the soup into a separate container. (This is the step that differs from my mom's and grandma's recipes for this soup. All that pasta will suck up the liquid quicker than you can blink an eye. I hate when that happens because then the noodles are all flimsy and it's Macaroni Goulash instead of Macaroni Soup. So if you drain the broth as soon as the noodles are done, you're soup will remain soup when you serve it. If you prefer the Goulash version though, then let the noodles sit in the broth.)
8. (If you drained the broth) Dish out your noodles and pour some broth over them.

This recipes takes about 20 minutes and makes about 6-8 servings. I love Macaroni Soup on a cold day served with hot bread.

Sara asked: If you could be described by way of a cocktail, what would it be? (hahaha)
A mimosa - a timeless classic. Fancy and sweet like the champagne with the bubbles to kick it up a notch and tangy like the orange juice. Wrapped up and served in a beautiful crystal champagne flute.

Leofwende asked: Where would you most like to go on vacation if money/childcare were no limitation?
I want to cruise around the world. I want to start in the Caribbean, go down around South America, head on up to Alaska, start across the Pacific, stopping in Hawaii and Japan, then Australia and New Zealand, cruising on to the Mediterranean, France, England, Ireland, back across the Atlantic with a pit-stop in Iceland before finishing up in New York.

That's enough for tonight. Lil' Mootz is getting sleepy, so it's time for bed. I'll answer some more questions tomorrow night. (I won't make you wait as long this time :)) If you missed the chance to ask a question earlier, feel free to jump in.