Because I know how much everyone loves it when I do these...

Rob is on his way up to MD for the weekend (!!!) and it's hot outside and I'm not feeling very original... so here's one of those "What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read...." Have a great weekend, guys!

1. Your ‘ex’ and You= wha? who?

2. I am listening to= My air conditioning kicking in. HECK YEAH

3. Maybe I should= do the dishes

4. I love = Rob

5. I cant = play the harmonica

6. I don’t understand= Swahili, Quantum Physics, my thermostat...the list goes on

7. I have lost my respect for= Pres. Bush

8. I last ate= potato chips, hey, DON'T JUDGE ME!

9. God= Amazing. I truly don't know that I can put Him into words.

10. Someday= kids :-)

11. I will always hate = when I forget my coffee on the counter in the morning

12. Love seems to= make me a better person

13. I never ever want to lose= my keys. Yet I do. ALL. THE. TIME.

14. My favorite food is = I normally tell people it's Grilled Salmon but my actual favorite is Kettle Cooked Potato Chips (I'm sick and twisted)

15. I get annoyed when= I need clothes from the dryer that are still damp

16. My family is = A blast. Seriously. You wish you were one of us on the inside. C'mon, admit it.

17. Today I = got something for nothing!

Off we go into the wild, blue yonder...

Today I was able to attend Heather's PROMOTION CEREMONY! I must say, I was pleased to find that the Air Force is a TAD more organized than the Marines (Re: Rob's Last Promotion). But I wouldn't go much farther than a tad. We showed up at the required time, and ended up sitting in a building with no air conditioning (it's 90 outside today) for 90 minutes before the ceremony even began. We kept joking that "It's a good thing it's not super hot and her uniform isn't made of wool, or this would SUCK!" yep. Swealtering. Although I did learn a new tradition the Air Force has. As one of the two people "promoting" Heather, I got to punch her in the arm (???) during the ceremony. All i could think about was how if someone at my office actually hit me in front of everyone, that guy would be fired and I would probably sue.
The military is weird, y'all.
The highlight of the event, however, was watching Heather try to recall the words to the Air Force song as all the newly promoted Airmen were required to face us and sing. I was so proud of P-street's little rockstar. She tried so hard... hahaha (yes, I'm that friend).

Table For Four, please.

So now that we're on our third summer living in Crofton, we finally decided to get with the program and buy a set of deck furniture. To test drive our new purchase, we invited some of the P-Street gang over for dinner...and yeah, it was awesome. You guys have to try these recipes, perfect for a warm summer evening:

Entree: Asian Invasion Salmon Salad

Ingredients:
1 Salmon Fillet (fresh, approx 1.5 - 2 lbs)
1 Block of Tofu (extra firm)
1 Heart of Romaine Lettuce
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Can of Water Chestnuts
1 Cucumber
1 Cup of Cherries (fresh, halved, pitted)
1/2 Lime (zested)
1 Cup of Fried Chow Mein Noodles
1 Cup of Mungu Bean Sprouts
1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce (reduced sodium)

Directions:

Slice Lettuce, Pepper, Water Chestnuts, Cucumber and Cherries. Set aside. Mix lime zest with soy sauce in a small cup. Heat two non-stick skillets to medium, and pan sear tofu and salmon separately for approx 15 minutes, basting with soy sauce mixture occasionally. When done, both tofu and salmon will be firm when pressed.

Remove tofu and salmon from heat, flake salmon and slice tofu appropriately. Mix remaining ingredients in large serving bowl to make salad base, top with tofu and salmon. Serve immediately with ginger or balsamic dressing.

Serves Four.

(Note: Rob just made this one up. Tofu is optional.)

Dessert: Sangria on a Stick

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3. 1/2 lime, zested
4. 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
5. 2 dried star anise pods
6. 1 1/2 tablespoons white rum
7. 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
8. 2 1/2 cups dry white wine

Directions:

1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, ginger and lime zest. Add the pineapple and toss.
2. Scrape the pineapple into the skillet, add the star anise and cook, without stirring, until the pineapple caramelizes, 5 minutes. Stir in the rum and let the alcohol burn off, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice, scraping the bottom of the pan; let cool.
3. Discard the anise. Puree the fruit mixture in a blender. Stir in the white wine and pour the mixture into icepop molds. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours.

(Note: Star Anise is optional. Thank you, Rachel Ray, for using the most random, unattainable spices imaginable in your recipes. )

Yield: 12 pops.

Get Cooking, People!!

The Debut of the Erales!

Okay, so the Townleys are awesome. I'm just putting that out there. We put in 8 hours of moving yesterday for our friends (who lived on the 4th floor of an apartment building). And came away with the most Amazing sun burns. I have the female version of the 'farmer's tan' which is the thick sports bra lines crossed with a tank top. Oh, it's Hot. Stand back boys, I'm a married woman.
Afterwards we headed down to...I can't even remember...somewhere south. (I think it starts with an "D"...whatever, you don't care) to visit a true blast from the past. The Erales. When we were kids we were stationed EVERYWHERE with this family so they're like cousins. Anyway, I'm so proud to say that we arrived to find my parents playing Beer Pong. (I swear these aren't the same two parents I had when I was in college). And we got to catch up with two of the three Erale 'kids'; Erica and Brian (Angela is out serving out country and getting ready to deploy to Iraq) whom we haven't seen since we were all kids and playing 'hide and go seek' with walkie-talkies. (We had a 'few' beers last night and I'm beginning to think you readers should have a couple also to catch up. It will make reading more fun! Whatever, it's my blog.)
Anyway, so the big concern of the evening was if the party would make my oh, so prestigious blog. And I think it's worthy. But, we brought our camera without the memory card, so I have to wait on pictures from other people (cough*Erica*cough) which I'll post upon arrival. Oh, the blackmail....

Closing Time, you don't have to go home...

Dude.

This would be a picture of our set of keys TO my sister's NEW HOUSE!!!

CONGRATS LAURA!!!

HAPPY CLOSING DAY!

-Did I mention she's moving about 200 yards away? Seriously, LOVE my sister.

Flower Power

We had a busy weekend. Okay...not really. But on Saturday we went to wine in the woods- always a good time- and then headed home to watch a movie. "The Last King of Scotland" more specifically. Yeah. Not exactly a 'feel good' movie. I liked the history aspect...could have done without some of the gore.

On Sunday I got it in my head that we should try and not kill flowers this year on our deck. Normally I am the anti-cooking/anti-gardening type and I'm not sure why all of a sudden I have an interest in flowers except that our neighbor has started gardneing? maybe I'm just copying her. (Copying is supposed to be the most sincere form of flattery...so....)

Anyway, we wound up at Home Depot yesterday taking a crash course on how to buy and plant various flowers. We're starting small with just one flower box. If time goes by and the majority of the flowers survive, we'll move on. Here's our warriors!

(just so you know, some of them are SUPPOSED to be drooping- no smart comments!)

Thaaaaanks. From all of us.

Okay. So I think my office is about to stage an intervention with a coworker who is a repeat offender for COMING IN TO WORK SICK. I don't know anyone who enjoys taking time off from work so that they can sit at home with their head in a toilet (too much info? yeah.. i thought it might be). But c'mon now! If you're contagious (which I have no idea how to spell) suck it up and stay home!
Anyway, said coworker came in yesterday with a nice helping of the stomache flu. (there were witnesses if you'd like proof).. and today a few of us left feeling "less than stellar". It's not looking good. I'm hopeful that the only reason I'm feeling queasy is because I tried to cook salmon last night and remember thinking it might not have been the "healthiest" shade of pink...

Happy Mother's Day

Hope you guys had a great mother's weekend. (My mom informed us it's not just one day, it's the whole weekend). We went back to P-town for the weekend along with Laura, and Jay (Rob's "brother from another mother").

First things First. We took my mom's 'new' BMW out for a spin while the boys took our Xterra.

And I, like, totally hit on this hot guy we saw at the beach eating ice cream

Since we don't believe in "guests" (only extended family) Jay did the grilling for Mother's day lunch

And Rob and I ended the weekend with nice, relaxing, 6 hour drives in opposite directions... see you next weekend honey!

(You gotta admit, at least we have our humor)

Just Have To Say It...

Not that this is by any means a political blog, but I make exceptions when they're warranted. Yes Yes Ya'll...check it out.

www.fred08.com

This guy is leading in a lot of polls...and he's not even in the race.

Because we care

Our Small Group has decided to start reading a book on marriage. That's right, not only do we throw baby showers and play ultimate frisbee; Occasionally, we're down with a good book.

We're reading "The Sacred Marriage". (Look at that! I linked it for you and everything!)

Well, half of us are reading it. (The women). We actually have cliff notes for the guys because, well, we just know better. Although I will tell you that Rob's all into it. (sniff. he just makes me so proud!) We've just started this one, and it rocks. If you're looking for a good "us" book, this is it. I'm impressed already- but beware- it's not a "skimmer". It is IN.TENSE.

Anyway, we've been looking for a good book on marriage forever so I thought in case any of you were also looking, I'd hook you up.

Consider yourselves hooked.

Updates. Oh, the Updates

Okay, so I'm sucking at the posting thing. My bad for having a life.

We've been a "little" busy around here.

First things first. Our neighborhood is little smaller. Again. Josh deployed on Friday morning of last week. I got to drive Heather and Josh to the airport in the wee hours of the morning to say good-bye. It's a true labor of love. I've driven Rob three times and let me just tell you- it's not full of smiles and jokes, but I didn't think it would be so hard to take a friend there.

Surprise. it is. And it sucked.

So keep Josh and Heather in your prayers. (And Layla).

I realize I'm posting these events out of order. Notice I'm not fixing it.

Thursday night we had a surprise Baby shower for all four of the pregnant girls in our Bible Study. (Relax, I'm not one of them). I swear though, there's something in the water. I'm sure all the girls reading this have been to a baby shower before and all the boys who were reading have closed out and gone on to something more interesting so I won't bore you with details, but here are the fantastic four. (I realize they have no super powers...but the idea of pushing a kid out of your....yeah. They are fantastic).

Congrats girls!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

This weekend was Rob's 27th birthday and when I say we celebrated...it may very well be the understatement of the year.

Saturday morning started off with mimosas and waffles in our pajamas with Laura. Afterwards we all attended our friends' wedding reception/cookout complete with games of horseshoes, a moonbounce and copious amounts of alcohol. We ended the evening around 1am at a swanky seafood restaurant in D.C. with Rob's buddies from Iraq. But the fun doesn't stop there. A few short hours later (Sunday morning) we met up with my boss and his wife in Annapolis. They took us out on their sailboat all day and we watched a TON of sailboat races. It was pretty much the nicest day we could have asked for. We took our camera everywhere this weekend, but it didn't occur to me to take pictures until we were out on the water...so I have a few of those. The first pics are from the boat races and one of the sky, cause wow, it was gorgeous. The ones below are us goofing around. You'll just have to imagine the others...

This is Rob hanging out on the front of the boat (the bow? I don't know...I grew up riding jet skis).

And yes, that's me pretending I OWN the boat.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Honey! I hope you had a great weekend! Love you!

Let the games begin!

Remember that croquet game Rob was talking about last week? Well, we went. And it ROCKED. St. Johns had a landslide victory over the Naval Academy. (again). It was very "Annapolish" (yep, made that one up) and pretentious in a way that only Annapolis can pull off while poking fun at themselves.
There really isn't much else to say that Rob didn't already cover, so I'll just post some pictures. I find that's what keeps me popular. ;-)


This is us before we left with our SO photogenic pup.


You may have to maximize this pic to get the full effect. But the "Johnnies" are the guys in old shoes, tight jeans and "Bud" T-shirts carrying beer bottles and cigarettes all over the match. The Naval Academy are in their dress whites and letterman sweaters. (I might add it was EASILY 80 degrees).

I don't know why you say good-bye I say HELLO!

This news is almost a week old, but here it is. On Saturday we said goodbye to our old pal, the Jeep. While we loved it (it was the car Rob picked me up on for our first date) it got to the point where it needed more work than the Kelly Blue Book said it was worth... and you did start to get the feeling you were taking your life into your hands when riding in it. (Just ask Karen and Eric circa de last year's baseball game).
Anyway, we were feeling kind of nostalgic saying goodbye until we laid our eyes on this puppy....

BAM
This is the New, 2007 Nissan Xterra. (We know a guy who knows a guy who got us a SWEET deal). Everything about this SUV Rocks the house! We've spent the last week creating errands to complete, short of bringing the groceries home item by item. If you need one of us, don't even bother with the house phone. We're out on the road enjoying that "new car smell".
Peace Out.

Gatsby, Wickets and Champagne

So this Saturday holds in store the perennial grudge match between St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy in that most violent and physical of sports: Croquet. It's kind of an Annapolis tradition - the Mids turn out to face the Johnnies every year on the great lawn on St John' campus amidst a sea of Annapolis' landed gentry, many of whom show up in 1920's suits or flapper dresses and hats in true "lawn party" fashion (though formal attire is by no means required). The champagne corks pop and the picnics and strawberries come out at 1pm (and the game starts as well, though for many it's an afterthought) and the party goes well into the night, this year with a encore of Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" (You'll know it as the basis for the musical My Fair Lady) put on by St. John's Theater Troupe. For the more "cotillionesque" crowd, there's a formal dance later in the evening, and much celebrating through the wee hours thereafter. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention...it's all free. Well, you bring the food and drink, they supply the croquet and silliness.

Ok people, really this is a lot more fun than it sounds. The event is covered yearly by Sports Illustrated and GQ among others, who knows who you'll see there. The Johnnies show up every year in a new uniform (last year it was a team rendition of Napoleon Dynamite, repleat with Vote For Pedro picketers on the sidelines), and, when in dire need, they even bring out a "croquet mistress" with a tray of drinks to distract the attentions of their opponents, the all-too-straight-laced Naval Academy Midshipmen. Coolers of Red Stripe and Miller Lite are ubiquitous, as is general mirth and Big Band style music.

Elle and I will be there on Saturday afternoon, champagne, beer, strawberries and pic-a-nic basket in hand. All are welcome to join...the more the merrier. Give us a shout if you're up for it!

Here are some directions, info, et al.

Is That a Laser in Your Eye or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

So, due to some schedule openings, Danielle had her Lasik surgery this morning and is doing just fine (as if there was a doubt). I'll let her tell you about it in a later post, but suffice to say, the procedure went well, and her vision was taking drastic leaps of improvement on the drive home from Annapolis. She's taking her mandatory 3 hour "post-op nap" at the moment, but stay tuned people! Harrowing tales of scalpels, lasers and smallish, friendly Indian (dot not feather) doctors ahead!



A photo of our patient and her new, stylish eye protection.

Speechless...

Thoughts and Prayers go out to those who are friends and family to the victims at VA Tech.

This is why I'm hot

Aaaaand we're back.

Hope you guys had a fantastic Easter. We definitely did. We had some neighbors over for dinner and then went to the evening service at our church. Pretty sweet.

In other news, has anyone out there had lasik eye surgery? (I'm not even sure I'm spelling that correctly). After 15 years of contacts I've decided to give it a shot. Okay, actually ROB was the one who thought of it. I'm going in for a consultation on Friday. Am I scared? Um, yes. They stick a LASER in your EYE, people! I have to wear my glasses for three days before I even go in for the check up though. Yes, it's the return of "Librarian Danielle". For a limited time only!

Yep. This is why I'm hot.

P.S. Johnnie Avocado, I've been trying to comment on you for WEEKS now. Something's up with your word verification. Just didn't want you thinkin' we don't care!

REAL MEN WEAR CROCS

K, can I just say how funny I think it is that every guy who reads our webpage has gone from being terrified that Rob would get hurt in Iraq to being terrified that Rob would buy Crocs?! Hahaha. Anyway, no worries, boys, there are no Crocs in our household. I kinda wish there were now though.
Rob is currently driving back up to Maryland for two weeks of leave (YES!!!) and I came home from work early to monitor the installation of our new dishwasher. You know you're getting old when you're excited about a new kitchen appliance. (can I get an "Amen"?) Yeah, stay tuned...we have our eyes on a storm door down at Lowe's too. (ooohhhhh, ahhhhhh!)

Wanted: Desk Job, Lunch Box, Normal Life

Hey everybody! So wow...it's great to be home. No matter how full of preservatives, meaningless news headlines, overpriced real estate and ridiculous reality TV America gets, I'd still rather live here than anywhere else. Still getting used to some things (like driving...for some reason I now think it's normal to drive about 15 mph under the speed limit, much to Danielle's chagrin)...meeting some new people (apparently I now have a new younger brother and sister a few doors down), and finding out that the real world really doesn't stop the day I check out of the east coast for a few months: The other night Danielle and some friends suggested that we all get together and watch the movie "Children of Men." My response was akin to "which movie theater are we going to?! That sounds great!" - not realizing that the flick had come out on DVD a while ago...and we were just going next door to watch it on my neighbor's bigscreen TV. Some things don't change though, like the traffic on the Woodrow Wilson bridge...of all the deployments I've come back from, this return home brought me the closest to 'snapping' as I sat in gridlock traffic on I-495. Good times.

The future for the Townleys is still somewhat cloudy as far as job prospects go for me...I've been asked to come up and work with a research group in N. Va until I get out of the service this coming winter...now the only trick is getting that idea past my boss in NC. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer people, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Other than that, my stupendous wife and I went through my sadly outdated wardrobe today and threw out everything that was more than 3 years old (which left my side of the closet rather bare), after which she took me out to play dress up at the mall. Somewhere in between trying on some new Crocs and the blaring music inside Hollister, Danielle and I were offered a modeling job by some crazy manager who refused to take no for an answer, even after we told him that we have "real jobs"...I figure if we lose our office jobs maybe we can stand around at the mall and make faces in designer clothing for 7 dollars an hour.

To all you folks who sent care packages, left messages, said prayers, mailed holiday cards, helped move our house all over the east coast, and otherwise generally opened your hearts and homes to us Townleys while I was gone, thank you. Your support of our family over the last few months meant the world to both of us, I hope we can repay all your kindness now that we'll not be doing this deployment nonsense anymore.

Stay tuned for the next chapter everybody...it's called "The Townleys settle down and start a family." Valentine's Day in Ethiopia's got nothing on this one, people! Promise!