Awesome Crock Pot Chicken Recipe

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken
1 large onion (or 2 small onions), sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact

The Directions:

Place onion slices on the bottom of the stoneware insert. In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves. Pour into slow cooker, on top of the onion.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook chicken-on-the-bone, the more tender it will be. If you use drumsticks, the ones on the side will brown and may stick to the sides of the crock, burning a bit. If this bothers you, you can rearrange them with tongs an hour before serving.

I cooked our chicken on high for 5 1/2-6 hours and it was very moist and tender. D said that is was like "buttah."

Shopping Spree a.k.a. Its Payday!

Woo hoo! Its payday in our house! That can only mean one thing.... I had to go shopping! AJ and I went out on the town this afternoon and had a leisurely lunch at Panera, then we hit up Old Navy in hopes of procuring swim suits for both of us. Unfortunately, in the store the smallest swim suit they had for babies was a 6 month. AJ is fairly small for a 2 month old, so none of the super adorable suits were going to work for her. We may go to Target or hit up the mall and check out the selection at Gymboree or The Children's Place this weekend.

I did however, find a suit for myself, along with some Summer stuff for both of us. I'll admit it. I shopped their website this morning before we left so I knew exactly what I was looking for in the baby section. These are just about the cutest thing I've ever seen:

You might think my previous statement is odd, but just look at the back side of them in this next picture:

Are those not the cutest little bloomers ever!?!

Here's the top I got to go with it:

I got myself this swim suit:

For some reason the bottoms look like a different color than the top, but they're actually the same as the top. Its super cute and covers the belly! I also got a cute summery shirt and a pair of fancy flip flops to wear with the dress I got for D's promotion ceremony on June 1!

Just had to share my awesome finds! Happy Friday everyone!

The Tacoma Top Ten

D and I have been talking about all the things we're going to miss about the Pacific Northwest when we move in a few weeks. We decided to put together a Top Ten of the things we'll miss in the Tacoma/Seattle area. Here it is:

1. Wearing Socks With Sandals

People in the Pacific Northwest love to wear socks with their sandals. They even have commercials that make fun of their sock and sandal wearing habits. This picture is of AJ sporting her sandals with socks!

2. It's Greek to Me

This is a little drive-through Greek restaurant that has awesome gyros and the most amazing fries ever! We didn't discover it until recently, but we've been there at least 3 times to satisfy our greasy cravings!

3. Mount Rainier

When "the mountain is out" we have some of the most amazing views ever! We go so many days in a row with cloudy, rainy skies that I sometimes forget how big Mount Rainier is. Truly an amazing sight to see.

4. 1SG Dietzman

1SG Dietzman and his family have been great friends to us while we've been here. He is a great guy and brings out the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) in D. They are like the dynamic duo in their unit, nothing can stop them.

5. Teriyaki

Nothing says Pacific Northwest better than a nice hot plate of chicken or beef teriyaki. It seems that teriyaki joints in the Northwest are akin to Starbucks around the rest of the US. Surprisingly, it seems that there are fewer Starbucks around this area of the country, probably because there are so many indie coffee shops.

6. Fort Steilacoom Dog Park

When the weather is nice in Tacoma, it is really nice! On the off-chance that we get a sunny day, you can find us here with our socially-awkward beagle, Abby. Even though she's unsure about the other dogs, she does love all the smells she finds here. This off-leash dog park is one of the best in the state (and I'm sure country as well).

7. Pike Place Market

Honestly, if we lived closer to downtown Seattle, I would probably be a regular here for our produce, seafood and flowers. The market is one of the staples any Seattle-bound tourist should put on their list. I know I have taken all our visitors here the first chance I get!

8. Point Defiance Park

For a dog who hates water, Abby sure likes to walk along the sound at Owens Beach in Point Defiance Park. We have been here several times and always enjoy it, regardless of the weather. The views are incredible and even though the park is situated in an semi-urban area, it feels like you're miles away from everything.

9. Puget Sound

The funny thing about the Puget Sound is that pretty much anywhere you drive around here you're not more than a mile from the sound. There are times that we wouldn't have known our proximity to the sound if it hadn't been for our GPS pointing it out to us.

10. Fred Meyer

Groceries, plants, clothes, jewelry, bedsheets, appliances, furniture, electronics, and so on! This store is like a higher-end WalMart. Their prices are cheap, their selection is huge and their employees are friendly. D and I can make an afternoon here.

Honorable Mention
11. IKEA Seattle

D does not agree with me on this one, hence it not making the official list. I will miss IKEA because we won't have one around us for a while and I genuinely enjoy IKEA. D, however, genuinely does not enjoy it.

Poor Baby!

AJ had her 2 month doctor appointment this morning and the poor baby had to get 3 shots! She was wailing and was not a happy baby for a while. Luckily though, the nurse gave me some infant Tylenol that I gave her and she is sleeping soundly right now. D's aunt is a Labor and Delivery nurse and she said that I should try giving her a bath later on when she wakes up to relieve some of the soreness in her legs.

I felt so bad for her during the shots and even afterwards when we got home. She was still fussing and I could tell that her legs hurt when I was holding her. At least I know that she won't need to have anymore shots for another 2 months. I anticipate the next round of shots being even worse than these ones though. She will be a bit older then and will have the potential to be even fussier and more unhappy with me.

I do have to say though, I will miss the medical care we've received here. MAMC is one of the best MTFs and AJ and I have received nothing short of the best care the entire time we've been here. Everything just seems to be so well-run and so much more organized than the care I have received at other MTFs. I can only hope that the facilities at Ft. Leonard Wood are as nice and well-run as the ones here have been.

Happy Mother's Day!

AJ's birthday, the day I became a mom!

I want to wish all the mommies in my life a very happy mother's day today. You have always been very appreciated, but now that I am a mommy myself, I can finally appreciate what a tough job you actually have! I'm just getting started on this journey called motherhood, and I can only imagine where it will take me in the years to come!

My mom and me on my wedding day (duh).

My mom and her first grandchild, AJ.

D has been so sweet to me all day, just doing little things to make my day more special. This morning he brought me coffee and a turkey sandwich (we're out of eggs) in bed. He took the baby so I could have 30 minutes to myself before showering and getting ready for the day. This afternoon we went to a local park (it was packed due to it being Mother's Day and the first nice weekend in the PacNW...70* and sunny!). We (D, AJ, Abby dog, Me and our friend W) walked along the water and enjoyed ourselves and actually ran into one of D's co-workers who was there with his family!

We came home and have been relaxing around the house with the windows open, enjoying the breeze. D fixed me dinner and brought me a healthy glass of red wine to wash it down with. Puppy and baby are both zonked and D and I are watching a movie. To top off all the nice things that he has done for me today, I also am the luckiest and got to go have a massage yesterday afternoon! We went out for dinner last night at one of our favorite places. The weather was so nice that we ate outside!

AJ hanging out while we ate.

D's half eaten gyro.

My Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day is on Sunday and I have already gotten a gift from D and my parents. The gift from D came early because I was at the mall and I finally figured out what I wanted so I bought it!


I got the Reebok RunTones! They're the shoes that are supposed to work your legs and butt out just by walking around. These specific shoes can also be used for running! I have been wearing them for a few days now and they're super comfy!

My gift from my parents was delivered by FedEx this afternoon at about 4 pm. I got a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries from Sherri's Berries! I didn't have time to take a before picture of the whole dozen before D and I tore into them, but to give you an idea of the size of these strawberries, here are two of them. Here's the white chocolate:


And this one is milk chocolate:


Here's the aftermath:

We justified eating all 12 of them in one sitting because the strawberries were super ripe and we didn't want them to go bad before we had a chance to enjoy them. D swore that they would be rotten by tomorrow! ;) Needless to say, they were delicious and no, I did not eat all 12 myself. I will admit to eating at least 2 (okay 4). YUM!

It's Official! We're Leaving....

D received his RFO today and orders are being cut as we speak! We will be leaving Ft. Lewis sooner rather than later! Part of me is excited about the move and being around friends and closer to home, but the other part of me will definitely miss being here. Oh, I'm also not really looking forward to moving half-way across the country with a 3 month old baby.

This move is going to happen fast. Faster than I'm used to and/or comfortable with. D is starting the CCC 9 July, so we are going to have to report to FLW before that. We are planning on using up some of his leave that he has accrued, so we're looking at clearing Ft. Lewis at the beginning of June. That is a MONTH away! Ack! Hopefully since we've been here less than a year the house won't be too hard to pack up. Yeah right. We have soo much more stuff now than when we moved here 4th of July weekend last year. We have a baby! LOL

The sheer amount of stuff that we're going to have to take with us for the baby is mind-boggling. I am just sitting here thinking about the things that I use for her on a daily basis. The next frightening prospect that comes to mind is the fact that AJ is not going to tolerate sitting in a carseat for 10 hours a day. This will make a long trip even longer with added stops and shortened driving time.

Even with all the negatives that I can think of, I am so excited! I am ready to leave the land of wind and rain. I'm excited to be closer to friends and family and I'm mostly excited to start this new chapter in our lives. D is no longer an Infantry officer, but now he is a Civil Affairs officer. I guess I have a lot of new things to learn!