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Active Living in the US Navy Even Has an IPhone App! DoD Blogger Roundtable
“They have an IPhone App for their program…” Spring seems to be a great time to get started on new workout plans, healthier eating, gardens and more! May is even designated as physical fitness and sports month so it was great timing for the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss the US Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System and some new and better ways to help stay healthy! As a long time advocate for a healthy lifestyle I was very interested in the topic but wanted to make sure that it would be interesting for our followers. Diana Strock, Physical Fitness and Injury Prevention Program Manager said they had “resounding feedback”…
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How do you organize your family calendar?
We are more than a month into the new year and for us it is a pretty quiet month as far as individual and family activities. This is a great month to get organized so that when the craziness starts (and it will start!) we are in a routine. How do you organize your family calendar? At the beginning of the year I went to the big box store and bought a brand spankin’ new multi pack of sharpies. (Woo hoo, they were even on sale!) They were perfect coupled with my new calendar with great big spots for each day of the month. I designated a sharpie for each family…
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Talking Turkey (leftovers) Tasty Tuesday
A crowd fills the house at Thanksgiving each year. Chairs are mixed and matched to heights of a child’s lap. Tables are added domino style… fitting this end, turning a corner with several tablecloths draped over them. My table is a center point of the Thanksgiving action for me. For me. Now, for more than half of us it is the Macy’s Day parade which spills into football. Hors d’oeuvres fill the gap from the yeasty breakfast rolls or bowls holding fruited steamy oatmeal to dinner. A steady aroma of turkey feeds an appetite that nothing else can satisfy. Our menu has turkey highlighting the table at 2 P.M. and…
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Mad Housewife
Isn’t it fun sometimes to just not be serious about yourself? I take myself too seriously sometimes. Dinner preparations, school work with the kids, household to keep straightened (I can’t even begin to keep it clean), a husband to keep track of. So when I ran out to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up staples for the week (after my usual Sunday afternoon menu-planning) a bottle of wine practically jumped into my cart. I had a glass this evening with a great big grin, a cheers to me — mom, spouse, Household 6 — all while remembering that sometimes it sure feels good to take moments for myself. I hope you can do the same.…
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Flat Daddy
My husband crashed a party. First of all he made his way to a big Kissinger Family party. His original RSVP said he wouldn’t be able to make it because of a prior commitment (something about serving in the Army National Guard in Iraq). So weren’t we surprised when he showed up! Can you find our very own Flat Daddy Kocsis? He visited the ladies room. (You really have to watch this guy!) He helped the local law enforcement keep the rowdy Kissingers in check. He even “helped” the hotel staff. (He didn’t quite have the customer service skills they were looking for though.) Then he crashed it… a wedding happening at the…
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Menu Monday: Italian Meatballs
Ah Family! We had a wonderful time visiting my brothers, parents, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews this weekend. We are quite a crew. From the humble beginnings of ‘The Lt and Mrs’ to Grandma, Grandpa, three adult children & spouses, and nine-grandkids. When we get together we rock the house! This weekend’s visit was to meet my brand new nephew and niece. Twins!; born on January 3rd to my youngest brother, his wife and their two older sons. I was excited to meet them but couldn’t dream of putting work on the new family so I planned a big meal of Spaggetti and Meatballs. My brother, James, invited my folks over…
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Spouse’s Corner: Traditions – The Backbone of the Holidays
By now the decorations are up, the menu is being set, the cards and invites are purchased and stamps have been budgeted. Well, maybe in a perfect world. But the thought process has traveled down that project list. We hold traditions to keep the family on track as to what the family does: traditions help define family values and heritage. Some of these traditions can be left by the wayside without hesitation. I grew up in a Norwegian household. Lutefisk was always there on the table, but not anymore! Now I don’t even know if it is available in Michigan where I live. Oranges and walnuts were stuffed in our…
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Pan Seared Steak with Horseradish Mashed Spuds
I was never sure about horseradish. It is oh so strong. I like hot peppers, but there really is nothing similar other than a strong taste. I love zippy salad dressings… again the strong taste. Then we were in Nashville and I had an order of fried green tomatoes with a horseradish dip. Whoa! Oh so good! So, I began to experiment with this new taste sensation. Mashed potatoes was the perfect playground. And with potatoes comes steak… my man is a fan!This menu is for two… a beautiful night if you can manage adds so much to the event. 🙂3 large potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold, but any large…
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Menu Monday: Pigs- and Cows-in-a-blanket
Ah Summer! We no longer pack lunches for school in the morning but fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants at lunch time. Frozen pizzas cooked in the toaster oven, PB-and-J, cheese sandwiches… all favorites around here! But this weekend when I was grocery shopping I picked up a few packs of refrigerated croissant rolls. YUM! So much diversity in one little package of raw dough. A fun and perfect summery lunch in my kids’ eyes is what we have dubbed ‘Pigs-in-a-Blanket’ and ‘Cows-in-a-Blanket’. The “pigs” are half a cold hot dog rolled in one raw-croissant roll. The “cows” are half a cheese stick rolled in a raw-croissant roll. After you have them rolled up stick…
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Tasty Tuesday: Shrimp Scampi Improvised
My boys have a favorite meal; Shrimp Scampi! Only trouble is Hubs HATES shrimp. SO we don’t do the shrimp ‘thing’ when he is home. However, he was in the field the past two weeks and so when I was meal planning it was easy enough to add the favorite meal to the menu! The morning of the planned-meal came along and I made sure we had a bag of shrimp in the freezer … However, what I did NOT account for was the fact that we had opened the bag before and there were about 15 shrimp left. (15 divided by 3 … not nearly enough for my boys.)…
