What the F?

There have been so many times throughout this deployment that I've felt like I've completely hit a wall. It's not that I want to give up or throw in the towel-- that's not, and never will be, an option. But it's just a tiredness, such an emotional exhaustion that makes everything seem unconquerable.

When John left after his R&R, I sat in my car in the airport's parking garage for at least 30 minutes because I just couldn't get the gumption to turn the key. I couldn't even find the energy to put the key in the ignition, for goodness' sake.

When I did get myself back to Baltimore, I tried to snap myself out of that awful funk. I went on a shopping spree for food for John's care package. (You already know this if you read this.) I'm really bad at estimating, so what I though was enough for a box and a half ended up just barely fitting into three large USPS Priority boxes.

I decided to take the food I had bought and try to organize it into cute themes. I took all of the soups and made the Souper Super Bowl box up. And then, I realized that I had so many fish products and fruit products that they could fill an entire box.

A box so awesome it would sum up my thoughts on this whole deployment. A box full of F words!

I sent a lot of fruit cups, bags of dried fruit, packaged tuna lunch-to-go packs, and a lot-- I mean a lot-- of of ready-to-eat Sweet and Spicy StarKist tuna. (Those are John's favorite. For some reason, they sell all of the other varieties at the PX on his base, except for that flavor. This would be the second time I cleared a shelf of it at Wally World. I think I'm getting a crazy cat lady reputation there.)

The outside of the box was kind of (exceptionally) awful. I had fish, fruit, and letter "f" stickers that I stuck all over it. (It was cooler in my head than what it turned out to look like.)

Stay tuned for a the last box in the trio! It'll be on the blog tomorrow! 

A Very Cherry February!

Ever since I was a little kid, February has meant cherries. Maybe it's because cherries are Valentine's Day red. Maybe it's from elementary school President's Day celebrations.  Maybe it's just because I was a weird little kid and made strange connections

I absolutely love cherries and cherry pie filling. I rarely eat cheesecake, but when I do, I really get it for the cherry topping. In fact, when I graduated from high school, my friends gave me cans of pie filling as a graduation present. And, yes, I have been known to eat pie filling directly out of  cans with a spoon. 

So, you can imagine my excitement when found this recipe on Pinterest. (Is there anywhere else to find recipes anymore?) 

You'll Need:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (I omitted this.)
• 2 8 oz packages Neufchatel cream cheese
• 2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• About 6 full-sized graham cracker sheets, crushed
• 2 20 oz cans cherry pie filling (I only used 1 1/4 cans on the cookies.)

Directions:

1. In one bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flower, baking powder, and optional salt). 
2. In another bowl, mix the Neufchatel, butter, and sugar until creamy.  
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix together. Mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated.
4. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
5. Roll a tablespoon of dough in graham cracker crumbs. 
6. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Push the bottom of the teaspoon into the middle of each ball of dough. Drop 2 cherries into each indentation. 
7. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

These cookies are much better completely cooled than hot out of the oven. I know, I know-- that's a weird thing to say about cookies, but it's true. It'll be hard, but wait until they're cooled, and then eat until your heart's content!

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Go, Baltimore Craisins!

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Living in Baltimore, I've got a special investment in the outcome of tomorrow's game. While I'm not really an NFL fan-- college football is more my thing-- the (hoped for? prayed for?) word on the teacher-street is that if the Ravens win, possibly, maybe, hopefully school might be cancelled the day the ticker-tape parade rolls through downtown Charm City. You know who I'm rooting for.

John's beloved team is out of the running, but that's no reason to not celebrate the Super Bowl! I've mentioned before that, when John left after his R&R, I freaked out a little. Part of my freak-out included a Supermarket-Sweeps-style shopping trip so that he doesn't have to eat at the DFAC every day (or ever). 

Prior to this box, I have never sent a box with the intent of actually feeding John. I sent fun foods and things that I thought he'd miss-- including homemade goodies. This time, though, shopping for the care package was different. John has requested that I send him healthy (or healthier) options than what he can get at the DFAC. And they had to be staples for his diet. And they had to be able to be eaten cold or with very minimal prep.

Sadly, it is tougher to find products that meet all of those requirements. Here's what I packed in this box: dried fruits, nuts, Healthy Choice Lunch Express meals, microwavable individual soups and one-serving canned soups (broth- and tomato-based-- not cream-based). 

Because my mad Tetris skills come in handy when packing every centimeter of John's care packages, I was able to fit in nine tubs of soup... perfect for a Super Bowl package. My sister and I brainstormed awesome puns for each team-- the Baltimore Craisins (and yes, I included a bag of craisins), and the Forky-Niners (of course, I forgot to include the forks I was going to mail along). (Rachel wanted it to be the SPAM Francisco Forky-Niners. It does have a very nice, dorky ring to it.) 

I wrapped the box in Mardi Gras green gift wrap (my little homage to championship host-city, New Orleans) and topped it off with both teams' helmets.

After John left, I sent him five care packages; three of which I'll be blogging about. You've got the first one; the next two will be forth coming! Get pumped!

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