Playing Catch Up

Things here are good.  We are just rocking and rolling along.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week.  We are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for Don's element (that's a flight to those of you on larger bases).  I love that even though we don't get to go home, we will still be surrounded by a great group of people and celebrating all that we have to be thankful for.  I'm starting to get everything planned- I'm not the only one cooking, but we still have some things to do to the house to get it ready for company.  One of those things is decorating- my favorite!!!

Tomorrow we are heading to the base gift shop which is another WONDERFUL place I have found to spend money; it's run by the Andersen Officers Spouses' Club (I haven't joined yet, but it's on my to do list).  I was only able to stay for a few minutes when I went for the first time yesterday- but I have my eye on several items (you can kind of see one in the second picture on the right column- the bowls shaped like stars and scallops- they have some in an incredible green color- they will be mine!!!!).  I can't wait to go back tomorrow and help the AOSC raise some money for their charities.   

Speaking of charities, two weekends ago, we went to a fundraiser for the Med Group's booster club.  It was a rug auction.  We bought one!  I didn't think we would since most of the rugs were a bit out of our budget, but the one we bought didn't sell originally, so we bought it after the auction was over.  I am in LOVE with it. It's a little too small for our dining room, but I know we'll have it for years to come and will look better once we have more furniture in the dining room.  Here are some pics (I'll post more pics of the house once it's decorated)...

 

Last week, I decided I needed to do something to make it feel like fall around here.  It absolutely, without a doubt, DOES. NOT. FEEL. LIKE. NOVEMBER!  I decided to bake, with pumpkin.  I hoped that maybe baking with one of the season's most bountiful fruits and filling the house with the aromas of spices (nutmeg, clove, ginger) that feel like fall would help.  It did (but I still miss the brisk crisp fall air we had in Ohio this time of year, although I can't complain too much- we are in a trade wind cycle right now- so it's very pleasant during the day and the evenings are amazing, even with disgusting shrews scurrying across our patio).  

I found a great recipe for pumpkin bread; I substituted applesauce for most of the oil and added chocolate chips to 2/3 of the batter.  I made muffins (one tin of chocolate chip, one tin plain) and a bunt cake instead of 3 loaves of bread.  Because I really want to be like Pioneer Woman or Smitten Kitchen, I tried to document my baking with photos...

 

These pictures illustrate why I probably won't ever be a successful food/cooking blogger- look at the mess- and this was BEFORE I started baking.  I also forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but let me tell you- it was worth it.  I'm starting to like baking more and more- I just have to reign myself in and remember that baking is an art based on physics and science and that measurements must be accurate to be successful.

This week has been educational.  Last night, I learned how to hula dance.  It was quite beautiful (not me dancing the hula, but the hula itself).  Each dance tells a story and there are common signs used in dancing.  The women who put the lesson on were great!  They brought sarongs for all of us to wear and gave us flowers for hair.  Did you know, there is significance to where you wear your flower?  If you wear your flower on the left side, it means you are taken, on the right side it means you are looking and in the middle you are undecided.  We also ate traditional Hawaiian food and had the most to die for, delicious piña coladas made with fresh coconut milk and fresh coconut chunks.  The fresh coconut tasted like white chocolate and literally melted in your mouth- I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat the stuff out of the bag again.  There are places here in Guam that you can bring coconuts from your trees and they will milk them and grind them for you.

Every day, I feel more and more thankful and blessed that we are having this amazing opportunity!