Reasons why I WILL ROCK THIS DEPLOYMENT...

So this morning I slept in, well actually I slept until my alarm went off at 6am. I wanted to start back with my miracle morning routine but decided to catch up on sleep since yesterday was very emotional draining. 

But after my workout this afternoon as I was transferring music from my old laptop to my macbook I started thinking. I was thinking about how in the military community, we talk about how hard deployment can be, and then we say all kinds nice things to each other that don’t really mean too much.

So I decided to make myself a list of reasons why I WILL ROCK THIS DEPLOYMENT. 

1. Because the internet exists… and until just a decade or so ago, the easiest way to communicate was by phone… and before that, it was letters.

2. Because somewhere, someone has it worse than you, and they’re kicking this deployment’s butt.

3. Because some of our grandparents (or great-grandparents– lordy, I feel old) spent four years apart from each other without R&R to kick Hitler in the face.

4. Because care packages are fun to throw yourself into. 

5. Because there’s something cathartic about crying in the shower.

6. Because you can watch all the chick flicks and ugly cry & laugh at the same time

7. Because you can buy pre-made icing and eat it out of the tub with a spoon. (Oh, that’s just me?)

8. Because deployment is a great time to spend a little me-time improving on something or learning something new.

9. Because I’m here for you (and so are a lot of other military spouses)!

10. Because The Mindy Project, New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, Chicago Fire, AHS...I could go on. (Do I need to explain that any further?)

11. Because you don’t have to shave your legs! (And the peasants rejoiced.)

12. Because there are Ryan Gosling memes to help you through the tough times.

13. Because this is the perfect time to do all of the things that he’s (or she’s) not too keen on.

14. Because that homecoming kiss is pretty awesome.

15. Because the homecoming picture is pretty awesome, too.

16. Because if Brittany Spears made it through the 2000’s, you can make it through this. (And you haven’t even freaked out and shaved your head yet!)

17. Because you can set a career goal and work towards making it happen.

18. Because, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.

19. Because this video exists and you can watch it for free… as many times as you want. Every day. Yes. Every day.

20. Because even though deployment feels like it lasts forever , it really will end. 

21. Because having something to look forward to is fun.

22. Because every time you feel like giving up and don’t, you’re getting stronger.

23. Because every time you give up, Nickleback releases a new single. Don’t let Nickleback release a new single.

24. Because of the kids.

25. Because asking for help is okay. 

WHAT DID I MISS? (THERE ARE DEFINITELY A LOT MORE REASONS!) I WANT TO HEAR ’EM!

An Open Letter to My Husband...

To my wonderful husband,

You are a soldier who has been called to action and have left today to serve your country. While I have known about this for quite some time, and I feel I am as prepared for it as I’ll ever be, I’ll never truly be ready to let you go and I need you to know how I feel and what you mean to me.

You came into my life when I wasn’t looking and you brought a kind of light that I’d never experienced before. You won me over with your charm, your charisma, and your beautiful smile and I was smitten from that first moment. Our first dates were mostly spent just laughing and talking, and I knew right then you were the one. It didn’t hurt that you showed me your nice guy side right away and I loved every minute of those long nights when we had nothing to do but talk and laugh. (And because of you I learned to be who I really am!)

I was also afraid. I was afraid to let myself fall for someone that fit me as well as you did. That something this wonderful couldn’t be real. That fear quickly melted away and my feelings grew into something much more, and it was visible to everyone in my life. Over the first few months of our dating, all of my friends and family came to know you. There was never any awkwardness between us. That they saw from the beginning that we were just us.

What I love most about us is that in finding each other, we not only found the person to share our love with, but we also gained a friendship that can never be replaced. You are not only my husband but also my best friend. You bring me excitement every morning and peace at night.  You are the person I can always count on and the person I can trust with my secrets and my life.  You complement me in the best way possible and have only ever added to my happiness. Our life together is the greatest adventure I have ever had and I could never thank you enough for taking me on your life journey with you.

I love the life we have created together.  The life that includes regular date nights, even if it’s just in the house. I love how we play games together so that we can get a little competitiveness out… even if it is over a game of Yahtzee.  I love how we have our shows we have to watch together. I love how you love going to a random village and exploring with me. I love how you ever so quietly try to get out of bed not to wake me when you have to go to work. I'm the lightest sleeper so I always hear you but it makes me smile as I fall back to sleep. Having you next to me at night is what I will miss the most. I love when we go out and paint the town red, blue, purple, green, or whatever color we are in the mood for.  You are as spontaneous as I am and you have made me even more adventurous.  You keep me grounded and at the same time, you lift me up to reach new heights.

But you are gone now. And I will miss you beyond words.  I’ve tried to hold it together, keeping in mind that each morning begins another day that gets us closer to the end of this deployment, but each days seems to drag on and on, and I feel like we missed out on trying to fit in all of the time we can while we still have work and other obligations. So while I wanted to tell you all of the things I love about us, I also wanted to tell you that I have wondered for so long, what will I do without you?  Here is my answer:

I will continue to build our home into what we want it to become.  A place of love, warmth, respect, comfort, and joy (and I will probably repaint all the furniture!).  I will love our kids hard enough for the both of us.  I will hug them harder, kiss them more, and simply highlight all of your awesomeness while you are away. And I will love you harder and more than I ever have. After all, it is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I will appreciate you more for the sacrifices you are making on behalf of others who you nor I even know. I will keep myself healthy. I will do things that make me happy. I will take care of myself! I will be strong!  And I will honor what I promised you the night we became husband and wife when I placed your ring on your finger “as a symbol of my love and honesty, as a constant reminder, that I have chosen you, above all others. To be the one, to share my life.”

With all of my love,
Your wife

LOW CARB PIZZA – TURKEY CRUST MEATZA

What better way to introduce my new lifestyle than by sharing the recipe that has been a mainstay in our household for the past two weeks: low carb pizza!

It all started with a random friend on Facebook finding out I was on the keto diet. After discovering that we were both on a keto diet, she sent this recipe, and said “Trust me”. 

I scanned the makeshift recipe with apprehension. A pizza made of meat? And turkey no less? I know pizza; pizza is like my family. I’ve had just about every kind of pizza imaginable and turkey was never invited to the party. 

And a low carb pizza at that? 

I wasn’t entirely sold on the idea, but copied the recipe down on a post it to try later. 

I shared the recipe with my guy and we rushed off to the grocery store to acquire all the fixings. What I saw as blasphemy to the pizza gods, he saw as everything his heart desired — meat on top of more meat. The only other time I had seen him that excited about food was when he found out that turducken is a real thing.

I whipped it up that night and never looked back. This low carb pizza is outrageously delicious. Seriously. I slapped the post-it into my recipe box after realizing the recipe was a keeper. 

Since then, I’ve tweaked a few things, played around with the ratios, cooking vessels, and a variety of toppings. I prefer to use a cast-iron skillet to get a nice crunch on the crust. Cast-iron skillets get super hot and stay that way, which is great for searing meat. Since your crust is made of meat and cheese, the meat is seared nicely while the cheese crisps up. 

If you don’t have cast-iron, you can use any oven safe dish or pan as long as it has sides to prevent the grease from dripping out.

The bigger the pan, the thinner the crust and vise versa. So if you like a thin crust, consider using a pan with a larger surface area to spread out the ingredients.

The following recipe has all of my favorite pizza toppings and comes to a measly 11 grams of carbs for the entire pizza! That’s less than 2 grams of carbs per slice! Feel free to swap the toppings out for your own faves, just be sure to update your macros.

I actually like this low carb pizza better than the delivery we used to order every week! If that’s not a testament to how spectacular this recipe is… then I don’t know what is. 

You’ve got to give it a try!

What’s your favorite type of pizza? Let me know in the comments below!