Well, I'm not dying. So that's good.

Thanksgiving came and went and my first Thanksgiving hostess job was a great success! The turkey came out wonderfully and everything tasted pretty good.  I broke the cardinal rule of hosting and used a few new recipes that I'd never tried before but all in all they were good.  We had some friends over and had a great time!  The wine I picked out was even requested the next day! (I know my wine)

Overall, the highlights are:
* Remind your husband not to eat all the apples you will be using for your apple pie, or all the cheese you will be using for your green bean casserole, because said husband will have to brave the grocery store on Thanksgiving day if he does.
* Your back and feet WILL hurt after standing all day in the kitchen.  Surprise!
* While rubbing butter all over the turkey and then under it's skin felt extremely dirty and risque... my husband didn't seem to mind since he was taking pictures of the whole thing.  I promise we're not that weird fetish couple... but really, it felt like the turkey and I had a special relationship.
*Timing everything is hard.  Especially with an apartment sized kitchen. All in all I think it turned out ok, but I wouldn't mind investing in some warmers.

And now on to my trip to the big white light.

So, you've all heard about my root canal episode, which if you were wondering, takes place tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.  I am just praying the infection is gone - especially because the dentist made it a point to tell me "If the infection isn't gone it will fight off the anesthesia and then you'll feel it all." Nice. Well because of the whole abscess tooth thing I've been taking the antibiotic, the pain killer, and most frequently - Aleve.  because I've still been going to work and it's not really appropriate to be high on Lortab's while working (although some days I feel like it would be a happy medium) I've been taking Aleve like it's going out of style for the tooth pain.  So what if the box says only take one per day... one per day is not working!  So I take two... ever 3 hours or so... and it works just fine.  What harm could come of a little OTC pain reliever?

This started last Tuesday... but then Saturday morning I woke up with horrific chest pain.  Sporadic tightening but constant dull pain... it sucked.  I chalked it up to heart burn even though I've NEVER had heart burn so I don't really know what it feels like.  It got worse when I'd eat something, and it was worse when I laid down but I got some antacids and figured it would start to get rid of some of the pain.  It didn't.  This continued for two days. Monday I went into work - same symptoms - and was just feeling really off... then I threw up... a lot and my throat didn't burn, which I thought was weird if I was experiencing heart burn.  And then the more I honed in on my problem the more I realized it was really pain down the center of my chest but at about the top of my boobs (for lack of a better, more medically correct term)  to about an inch past them.  So then I called my doctor's triage line...

"Hi, these are the medicines I'm taking, I took way more than directed of the Aleve... what do you think I should do?"
"Well you should probably come in. So your symptoms are just vomiting and heart burn?"
"Well I don't really know if it's heart burn, because I've never had heart burn before... it's just bad chest pain."
"Well, I'm just going to put heart burn for now because if I put chest pain the doctor will just tell you to go to the ER."

Umm... wait... so should I go to the ER?  I immediately had a flash back to Heath Ledger and freaked out thinking I needed to go to the ER because my heart was about to explode. (did I mention I'm also PMSing?)
My husband convinced me to call the nurse back to get more information about the difference between chest pain and heart burn just to make sure I wasn't scarring myself for nothing. After talking to her again I agreed to go see the doctor first.

The diagnosis? Severe Peptic Ulcer. (or Stomach Ulcer)

Oh and I'm not allowed near the Aleve anymore.  Apparently that's a bad side effect of taking too much - stomach bleeding. Fun huh?

So now, I'm cursing my tooth pain as a catalyst for all of this (I certainly can't blame myself... I was in a lot of pain) and I'm even more sad about my no coffee, no Red Bull, no wine, no chocolate, no bad for you foods for a while until this heals up. 

So, like I said, I'm not dying... but without Red Bull and wine for an undetermined amount of time, I just might be anyway.  Stay tuned.

My First Thanksgiving

Well tomorrow is D-Day folks.  My very first role as the Thanksgiving hostess. 

Sgt. and I just had the wedding of our dreams down in Texas which meant frequent trips by me, and a good amount of money spent by us both so to save my employer from any more heart attacks by asking off and to save money by not traveling - we're staying home.  Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple.  We've invited over some friends who couldn't make it home for the holiday either so we should have a nice little group of ROTC cadets and their significant others along with a friend from work, her husband and her little girl.

So, here's a little preview of our menu (so that you can say a prayer for me)

Appetizers:
Deviled Eggs
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Pepperoni and bacon puff balls

Dinner:
Turkey (and yes, I am cooking it in a bag)
(possibly also a spiral ham)
Green bean casserole
Sweet potato casserole (with brown sugar and pecans - not the one with marshmallows)
Mashed potatoes (made by one of the guests)
My Grandma's stuffing
Rolls

Dessert:
Mississippi Mud Pie
DAR's Carmel Apple Pie
Pumpkin pie (brought by a guest)

Most of the recipes I have stolen from online (one being from a blogger :) ) other than the stuffing.  As far as the turkey goes - I got one of those pop up timers, and so far everyone has just said to stuff it with whatever I want... so I'm putting garlic, apples, celery, cilantro, onion, butter, and seasoning in it.  Any other suggestions?  Any ideas on ANYTHING?  Really, I will take all the tips I can get.  For example... I'm wondering how to keep the spinach dip warm while it's sitting out without sending it back to the microwave every thirty minutes.  Also, any wine recommendations? Like I said any tips for the newly wed would be great!

I hope you all have a fabulous turkey day!  Oh, and how do you like the new look?!

The Great White Chili

** Please excuse the un-appealing look of my blog.  I'm still waiting on my new design to come through!

So, we had a chili cook off at my school as the finale for our canned food drive.  I was determined to enter a white chili.  However, finding a recipe I was happy with was a little more difficult. I could have sworn I saw a recipe on my friends blog so I looked and looked to no avail. (Now, I still SWEAR I saw it on someone blog so if it was yours... send me the link to put my crazy mind at rest.) Finally I found one I was willing to try (this IS a contest after all) on a favorite recipe site of mine - Food.com. (Formally recipezaar)  The result?  WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! That's right - I won. I'd like to thank the Academy and the official taste tester at the Cabin Fever Household - my husband.

Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seed
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
1 cup chopped onion
2 (9 ounce) packages frozen white corn, thawed
2 (4 -8 ounce) cans chopped green chilies 
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 -3 teaspoons lime juice
2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans, undrained
crushed tortilla chips
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer)

Substitutions I made - I did half water half chicken broth instead of all the water. I used yellow corn because that's what I had around the house. I added in more garlic (because I love it) and some of a homemade seasoning that we have around the house that includes Lowrys, lemon pepper, black pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, and some other something that I can't remember now. Didn't use tortilla chips to serve.

Directions:
1. Mix water, lemon pepper and cumin seed in large saucepan and heat to a boil.
2. Add chicken breast halves, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Remove chicken from pot and cut into 1 inch pieces.
4. Add chicken back to liquid in saucepan.
5. Heat olive oil in skillet and cook onions and garlic for a minute or two and then add to saucepan with the chicken.
6. Stir in corn, green chilies, ground cumin and lime juice and heat to a boil.
7. Add beans and cook until thoroughly heated.
8. To serve- place crushed tortilla chips and some shredded cheese into each bowl and ladle hot soup over them.


My opinion on it was that it was good - not fall-down-pee-on-yourself-delicious but pretty tasty.  Actually I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted a lot like tortilla soup to me, which I've been looking for a good recipe.  It wasn't very thick as far as chili's go, more like a soup. Definitely worth a try though!  Let me know how it turns out for you!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Cabin Fever is about to get an overhaul.  So stay tuned!  We're talking new look, easier navigation of pages, and maybe even a new name!  I've been away from my blog for far too long and now that I'm back, I can't wait to give her a face lift!

** And please ignore the pink and green mess that it is right now.  This is just so that I can have something plain from blogger on there before the design comes in :)

** And now please ignore the second option while it's STILL under construction...

One Month!

Well, here we are, officially married a whole month!  Now, typically I'm not into celebrating monthly anniversaries - I tend to forget which day it is the whole ANN as in annual or anniversary (to turn yearly).... so Sgt. gets away with the one date and I don't have to set fifteen different reminders about the day start figuring out my own definitions for long standing words and languages. Trust me, I don't think he minds in the slightest.  However, I will break the rules for the first one because hey, it's cool to say I've been married a month!  (and six months when the time comes)

We've had an amazing month of wedded bliss.  Here's what I've learned during this first month of being married:  Hardly anything. Yep, I know. I said it. Some of you might remember a while back (circa 2008... wow) when I posted THIS.  How my biggest fear about moving in together and living together meant that it wouldn't be any different when we got married.  Well folks, I'm hear to tell you my biggest fear has pretty much come true.  And you  know what, it's not that bad!  I mean really, we were incredibly happy and in love before, and we are still incredibly happy and in love.  Not a bad place to be.  I still do the dishes, and he still unloads the dishwasher.  I still get home late, and he still gets up way too early.  On the weekends we run errands, go to the grocery store, and clean the apartment.  He will still grab me and dance around the living room with me when there's a good song on the tv or radio.  We still eat like college students sans a few nights a week.  Life is amazing.  Why would I have wanted it to change?  It's funny how the things you're scared of sometimes work out to be what's best.

It's not that NOTHING has changed.  For example, I started doing the Sunday supper thing I posted about a few days ago.  And I call him husband now. Oh, and he introduces me as his wife now, which is pretty great :).  I mean there is definitely that idyllic honeymoon period where we're all "We're MARRIED! I love you!" but we're pretty happy anyway.  I have a new last name now... which is neat, and is taking some getting used to! (sometimes I forget that my card has my new name on it and sign the wrong one... oops).  He wears a ring now, which makes me smile to see, and I have an extra sparkly one on mine (which, lets be honest, I LOVE.)

The question I get asked most is "Hows married life?" and my response is always "Great!" because it is... but life with him is/was great anyway.  Not a bad place to be :). I love that we're married, and that I can call him my husband but I'm also glad that life didn't take any more drastic turns... I think we'll have enough of that in the next two years (which I'm SO SOOOO excited about!!) so for now... I'm ok with things being the way they are. 

Veteran's Day - A different perspective

*** This is a disclaimer that it's possible that the following post came out wrong, or heartless. So, if what I said can be taken two ways, and one of those ways made you angry, sad, hurt, or upset.... I meant the other one. Thanks.

I always think back to where I was when Sgt. was deployed.  I remember how worried I become and how any hint as to what he was doing or where he was could bring comfort.

It seems as though there is a very fine line between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

It's been a little over two years since Sgt. was deployed and we've been able to enjoy a lot of time spent together in our in-between Army world.  Green to Gold was such a blessing for us both and I am still in awe of how much we've overcome and conquered since we met 4 years ago.

My husband is a Veteran. He is incredibly stressed out about school, he likes to match his shoes to his belt (thank the lord), he can cook a mean steak, and he's a Veteran.  We've fought and laughed and gone on trips and shared heartache. We have LIVED.  And we can do that, because he's a Veteran. A person who has been to war, and came back. Did you catch that last part?  He came back.  He's a Veteran who's still here!  How amazing is that?

You see... I think a lot of people have Veteran's day wrong.  Sure, it's a day for respect, gratitude, and acknowledgement, but it should also be a day to CELEBRATE.  You should celebrate for those who are able to tell their story. 

Yes every person who has served in our Armed Forces is a Veteran, there is no doubt about it, past, present, and future.  However, there is a special and solemn honor for those who have fought and died as Veterans. It's Memorial Day.  Please understand that I'm not saying that fallen or passed on Veterans deserve any less thanks and appreciation on Veterans Day than anyone else... I am just saying that today, on November the 11th, we get to honor those who are still here. 

The fact that I woke up this morning and told my husband "Happy Veteran's Day,"  means I don't weep over a grave on Memorial day.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be on the other side of that fine line.

I have the privilege to be a part of this special club that is our interconnected little family we've made out of military spouses, friends, and family.  I have met some of the most amazing people over my last 4 years in the "Club." I've heard amazing stories, laughed, cried, made friends, and felt a little more at ease knowing that no matter where my Soldier was, I wasn't alone... atleast, you don't have to be anyway. 

So, I hope that for those of you in the club too, that you celebrate today.  Celebrate that Veterans Day is your day and that Memorial Day is not. 

And, like I said, if this made you mad then maybe you'd prefer the other post I usually make about Veterans Day HERE

Happy Veterans Day!

New Tradition

I keep meaning to post about this new tradition we've got going on around here.  You see, I am a commuter, a worker drone who wears heels and carries Starbucks into the office everyday.  I am a salaried slave to the early childhood education field.  This equates to leaving my house by 8:00am and not returning to my house until 8:00pm (yeah, seriously).  I don't have a cubical, but I do have a pretty sweet desk.  I smile and answer phones and help disgruntled or nervous parents.  I review curriculum and lesson plans and every piece of paper that is leaving a teacher's hands and going on to a parent's hands.  I encourage and reprimand my staff when each is appropriate, I plan family events, go over billing projections (through MAY?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?), and other generalized tomfoolery. So... I stay busy.

All that to say, I was really hoping to be able to cook dinner for my new husband.  Call me old fashioned, but there's just something about me being a newlywed and preparing a beautiful and tasty meal at the end of the day, then sitting at the table with my amazing and sexy husband, talking over a glass of wine (or three) about how great the food was, how beautiful I am, and how I'm the best wife ever. I daydream about this type of newlywed life. Instead it's more like:  I get home so late that it's really not a great time to be eating dinner anyway but hey, we have to eat, and my husband is sweet enough to wait for me.  He cooks dinner, usually something quick and easy*** (our menu's this week consisted of a baked potato for me on Monday because he had something till 9:00, pizza for him on Tuesday because I had a staff meeting till 9:00, Beer and Chinese food on Wednesday, tonight I think we're having spaghetti, and Friday tacos.) We then sit in front of the TV, watch a little recorded Tosh.O, drink water-not wine because I'm dehydrated from all the caffeine I drink during the day, and then we hit the hay. Not exactly the fantasy world I dream up.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cuddling on the couch with him, and I don't really care what we eat for dinner - I'm a girl with simple tastes, but every once in a while....

So! We came up with every once in a while :) Sunday is my newlywed fantasy day where I cook a nice supper, we sit at the table and he, of course, tells me how beautiful I am and that I'm the best cook/wife ever. We're on week three this week and I'm still deciding what to make but so far I have conquered meat loaf (for the record, I hate meatloaf, but Sgt. likes it and requested it so I figured I'd give it a shot... the title of the recipe was "World's Last Meatloaf" and they were sooo right... I hate meatloaf but I LOVE this.) and almond crusted Tilapia. (In the book it was pecan crusted red fish... so I worked with what I had in the kitchen) Both were AMAZING... and both were out of this book:

If you like a good cook book this is definitely one you need to pick up.  It has great, great recipes and is peppered with hints and stories from southern kitchens like grandma used to have. I love it! I am thinking I'll try a recipe out of a different book this time around but I've had such good luck I'm almost scared to change it up.  I'll let you know how it goes!

*** It should be noted that while he cooks something easy most nights, it's not because he can't cook.  Sgt. was raised by a chef and is an amazing cook! Ok honey, is that cleared up enough?

The Dentist

So, last night I woke up to excruciating pain in my lower jaw.  We're talking punch-you-in-the-face-wish-I-had-a-way-to-rip-my-tooth-out kind of pain.  I brushed my teeth again... not helpful.  I poured ambesol all over my tooth and gums... still didn't help.  Water was too cold, and closing my mouth at all was too much pressure.  I tried and tried to go back to sleep when I finally caved, kissed my husband on his forehead, and dragged my pillows into the living room to sob myself to sleep (I felt bad for keeping him awake, and he tends to worry about me). 

I should preface this with - I hate the dentist and I get serious anxiety when I have to go to the dentist. 

When I woke up the pain was a little bit better, but still there.  I decided to make an appointment first thing and try to do something, anything, to make this better.

The outcome?  Abscess.  Antibiotics for 10 days and pain killers to "see what happens" but a possible root canal in my future.

Did I mention last week I fell down the stairs?

This is my second week of married life and I am falling apart.  I called my husband to tell him the news and then said "I'm sorry honey"  "for what?" "apparently I require expensive upkeep."

Send good-non-root-canal thoughts my way please!