Please update whatever it is you’ve got me on… I’m still here, just in my new place.

*Kisses & Hugs*

Despite the Valium hazed flight from Kansas City to Memphis (?!?) then on to Vegas, I arrived in one piece around 2200.  Waiting at the hotel for me was none other than Tammy Munson.  We ran up to our room so I could drop my bags and then headed out on the town in search of a late dinner.  We settled down at the Bellagio then slowly made our way back to the room.  Both of us fell immediately into a blissful slumber around 0300.  Ouch. Considering we had to be up at the crack of dawn to make it to the conference.

I met BarmyMama in our hotel lobby and instantly adored her: a former Marine and one helluva Army Wife, she’s a doll.  Once we arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the expo, we set up in the MilBlog room and I finally met Laughing Wolf of Blackfive.  A quick glance at Twitter, I read that Bouhammer was in line to check in at the conference.  HOLY CRAP!  I was so excited to meet this dude!  Unfortunately for him, but very fortunate for me… he brought the lovely Mrs. Bouhammer and poor Bou became part of the background noise (kidding! I totally adored him too!)

Way too quickly our time of socializing ended and it was time to accomplish the things we were there to work on.  First up, Tammy Munson, BarmyMama and I took to the microphones.  The panel went by too quickly.  Things we discussed: Obviously, our own websites and what our mission is.  Suggestions were made regarding a dedicated blogger for each squadron (or comparable unit for the other services) on the squadron website where spouses could access up-to-date information that has already been filtered by the commander.  We discussed OPSEC and what it means to us individually, of course, each of us having a different view.  We discussed the role of military wives and how our little community works as a family.  Each of us shared our best and worst blog moments… which was interesting.  Tammy is still feeling the backlash of her controversial post.  I also talked about how ironic it was that when you have a baby, there are a million books on What to Expect When You’re Expecting… but when you marry into the military, there really isn’t a great resource we can go to.  Tammy, BarmyMama and I all think it’d be a great idea to have a Mandatory Fun event for new wives as part of in- processing.  A Boot Camp, if you will.

The rest of the panels were very informative as well.  During the Best MilBlogs You’ve Never Read, were some of my favorite people! (Okay, there wasn’t a single person there that I didn’t consider one of my favorite people).  Featured was Greyhawk and Maj. Chuck Ziegenfuss (one of the funniest dang people I’ve ever met!), Jihad Gene and Toby Nunn.  For the record… if you’re military and you aren’t reading these websites, you should.

Cdr. Phibian Salamander sat all by his lonesome for his panel (and I didn’t get a picture of him!) An awesome representation of the Navy!

Of course, the day would not be complete without a little humor.  Blackfive, Bouhammer,  CJ Grisham and Scott Henderson had great information about the future of social media and MilBlogging. The entire panel was recorded live through YouServe.  Check it out and listen to the show!

The trip would not have been complete without the appearance of Boston Maggie, Jihad Gene, Toby Nunn, Kanani and the Soldiers Angels who were there to support.

A special thanks to Laughing Wolf, who made all of this possible.  Laughing Wolf is one of the kindest, warmest people who seriously knows how to make someone feel welcome.  Mr. Wolf (not to be confused with Laughing Wolf) was also a great guy regardless of his penchant for sneaking up on people, thanks for everything buddy!  Another special thanks for Bouhammer for bringing the Mrs..  It was a pleasure to meet both of you!

I may be back to share some stories about the nightlife and fine-tune the impression I want you to have of these fine individuals (because they’re all excellent people and I think you’re life would be more worthwhile if they were in it)… perhaps I won’t share any more.  I’d hate to start a war of pictures from the evening activities.

Again, thanks to the Army for supporting us and having such an awesome setup at the convention.  Maybe next year the Air Force can participate!

Wow. I can’t believe I’m leaving for Las Vegas today!  It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was asked to join the group of MilSpouse bloggers who were doing a tract, The Also Serve: MilSpouse Bloggers.

If you’re in the Vegas area and are wanting to attend the Blog World Expo, this is what you can expect…

Thursday, October 15th
0945  The Also Serve: Spouse Bloggers
Panelists include: Tammy Munson, BarmyMama, and myself  (Seriously, we’re going to tear the town up…)

1100 Best MilBlogs You’ve Never Read
Panelists include: Greyhawk (Moderator), Vampire06, Maj. Chuck Ziegenfuss, Kudzu630

1330 MilBlogs: Not Your Standard News Source
Panelists include: Cdr. Phibian Salamander, Old Blue

1600 Getting The Picture: What’s Next for MilBlogs?
Panelists include: Blackfive (Moderator), CJ Grisham, Bouhammer, Scott Kesterson

I’d love to meet as many of you as I can. I hope if you’re a long-time reader or a newbie to me, that you’ll take a minute and come visit us in the Army Lounge at the Expo.

For the rest of you… please say a prayer for me!  I spent last night cooking up a storm so The Husband doesn’t have to starve to death while I’m gone.  I’m also terrified a wee bit scared of flying (claustrophobia), something my pilot husband cannot understand.

General McChrystal requested an additional 40,000 troops to aid the fight in Afghanistan.  Only 13,000 are being sent.  To me, the numbers don’t compare.  If General McChrystal was appointed to be the commander of the war in Afghanistan, then why not take his suggestion?

The saddest part is this: the additional troops would save lives of our men and women.  Why is it such a hard decision when the simple fact remains: more troops equal saved lives.

My heart aches.

If you like to help, go visit Claire, she has information on how you can help a unit who was ambushed a few weeks ago.

Picture stolen from http://www.ccftucson.org/

I have several friends who are in the throws of emotional and spiritual war.  I’ll keep this short so that you can spend your time reading the words of my friends and get to praying.

T & K* are “real life” friends of mine who have seen me through deployments and a few very difficult times in my own life.  I’ve celebrated, cried and died inside along with them in their own situations.  I honestly thought the day we all left North Carolina, that our friendship would change… we’d grow apart.  God has different plans.  I’m attached to them spiritually (even though the stinkers moved all the way to Korea!).  I ask you to keep them in your prayers, be a prayer warrior for them.
*Newer entries after the link above for a bit of an update.

Another military friend is Matt, who has battled alongside his 5 year old cousin, Sean, while Sean’s parents deployed.  Matt sat with Sean last weekend as Sean slipped away to Heaven.  Sean’s parents are on emergency leave but weren’t able to make it home in time to say goodbye to their little man.  Please, keep them in your heart and prayers.  Please keep Matt and his mother (who is expecting a baby very soon) in your heart and prayers as well.

One last request for prayer.  I won’t give out too many details because my friend (here in KS) hasn’t made these things public, but if you could please pray for my friend Diana who is going through one thing after another right now… well, I’d appreciate it.  She’s suffered great loss recently and the hits keep coming.

Fall has officially made her presence known here in the Midwest.  The sky is dark and dreary today with a nip in the air that makes you reach for that cute new jacket you bought for a steal at the end of last season.  Flip-flops lay abandoned by the front door, still clinging to the hope that they may have one more day in the sunshine.  Alas, the boots will make their way into the rhythm.  It’s time for long, soft cotton socks with separate compartments for each toe.  

Fall brings the scents of apples, pears, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin(!), hay.  The smell of fall is almost indescribable.  The crisp air that is no longer green, but dry and promising of the cool weather it will bring.  My window is open as I listen to the patter of the rain hit the roof, tomorrow may bring the dance of the leaves but I suspect it will be a few more days of this dreary cool rain before I see the sunshine again.  No matter, Fall also brings the excuse to wear the Tortoise shell glasses without any inhibitions.  And plaid!

No matter the season, The Husband and I slurp soup at least once a week.  It has become our comfort food, not to mention something so easy to reheat for lunch or even dinner the next night.  Soup almost always tastes better the next day, making it so comforting no matter how hot or cold it may be outside.  It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was making our Summer Corn Chowder but there’s no turning back now.  The red in the leaves and the cool breeze leave me no choice but to forge ahead with our Fall/Winter version.

Cheddar Corn Chowder
Adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T butter
1/4 c flour
1/4 c dry white wine
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 t dried thyme
6 c chicken stock
3 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed (1/2″)
1/4 c heavy cream
4 c frozen corn
1/2 c shredded white cheddar
2 scallions, sliced

Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat and saute bacon until crisp (I don’t particularly care for bacon, so I always over cook it hoping I’ll like it a little more).  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reduce heat to medium.  Discard all but 2 T bacon grease.  Saute the onions and garlic in the bacon drippings along with the butter for about 5 minutes, until tender.

Once the onions and garlic are tender, stir in the white wine and let reduce by half (about 3 minutes).  Stir in flour, salt and pepper and cook about 1 minute for the flour to loose its taste and become a paste (ha!).  Place potatoes in the pot and just cover the potatoes with chicken stock.  Stir the pot so the flour paste becomes incorporated with the chicken stock.  Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are just tender.  Stir in the corn and heavy cream.  Allow the corn and cream to heat through and thicken (about 10 minutes).

Serve garnished with white cheddar, bacon and scallions.

Please, accept my sincere apologies for my unintended absence the past two (!?!) weeks.  I wish I had a good story to tell you, something wild and crazy that kept me away.  Alas, I have a whole pocket-full of nothings that have kept me from visiting with you (and all of my friends).  

One small thing I’ve done over the past two weeks was pull out the Autumn decorations which adorn our mantel.  There isn’t another season that brings me such joy as Fall.  I seem to have the opposite feeling of many of my friends, while they look at Spring as the season of new life, I see Fall as a new beginning.

Perhaps the reason I feel that way is because Fall is the beginning of a new school year, which, ultimately is what life centers around as a child.  Does that mean I haven’t quite grown up yet?  Regardless of why I’m so polar-opposite of everyone else, seeing new life instead of the inevitable decaying of nature to make way for the coming of cold, I love Fall.  Besides Christmas, Fall is the only season I decorate for.

It never ceases to amaze me as I pull the Fall decorations out of the storage closet, trudge downstairs and tug the lid off.  It’s not much, a banner for the mantel, a few pumpkin baskets, a tealight holder, some glittery pumpkins covered in shiny beads… then, my breath catches as my hand caresses tissue and the memories come with a rush.

Our first Fall as a married couple, I bought a craft pumpkin and drew a little design on it then asked The Husband and my brother to punch holes where I’d drawn.  Of course, they went at it with an ice pick, barring their chests and roaring like lions only to grow frustrated a few minutes later and attack it with the power drill and treat it like a man.  They also cut a hand-sized hole in the top for me to work the insides.  Leaving all childhood pumpkin lessons behind, they wanted the hand hole to be even. They kept at it with sandpaper and a small carving knife… making the hole, of course, larger than the top so that it dropped down into the pumpkin.  Ahh!  Afterward, I poked Christmas lights through the holes in the cute swirly pattern.  Each year we’ve taken the pumpkin out and chuckled at the top that falls into the pumpkin and watched as the lights slowly stopped lighting.

The first year The Husband was deployed over Fall, I dashed out at the first sign of the craft pumpkins and bought a smaller pumpkin than the one with the sloppy top.  I, too, attacked the pumpkin with an ice pick only to swiftly give in to the drill.  I punched the holes, weaved in the lights and sent it in a box to The Husband.  I couldn’t let him not have Fall without a little bit of home with him.

Each year I pull out the decorations I get a little nostalgic.  I see the tissue paper guarding something special and my heart is flooded with memories without him.  Inevitably, The Husband will see the decorations, wrap his arms around me and kiss my cheek and forehead.  His eyes, which speak so many unspoken words bore into my heart and whisper, I’m home.

This year, the first pumpkin, the larger of the two, only made it a week before we had to give in and hand it over to the trash man.  Only half of the lights were working, a sad reflection of the time that has passed.  We’ll do another pumpkin this weekend for the homefront.

Product spotlights (do you care?) and a few more randoms: The jack-o-lantern tealight holder was a gift from my Uncle when we first moved to KS (you can get one here or here).  It is, in all honesty, the only piece of Halloween decoration I own.  I have an unreal distaste for Halloween.  The only thing I like about Halloween are the memories of trick-or-treating with my nephews along with the never-ending tradition of mom’s chili and warm apple cider simmering on the stove.  The chili and cider was a welcome treat after we returned from hours in the mist-soaked streets of Kansas City.  The banner is something I made a few years ago with scrapbook paper and mini laundry pins.  The candles, oh… the candles!  Thanks to my friend Sarah, I have a new candle obsession (don’t get me wrong, I still love Yankee, but seriously… you have to try them!).  The lit candle is Mulled Cider, the unlit jar candle is Mulled Harvest.  If you like good quality candles with maximum scent, these are the candles for you.

Come back tomorrow for a corn-chowder that will blow your socks off!

When I was young (and still today) my mom called me Paula Perfect.  The moniker refers to my never ending desire to do things right, no matter the cost… to make a pretty life.  I strive endlessly for the right attitude, the perfectly straight hair, the organization which would make a sane person itch, the perfectly cleaned home and ready to serve munchies for friends stopping by.  

As I get older I recognize the beauty in imperfection.  Don’t get me wrong, I still put forth the effort to create perfection, but I have my moments where I simply acknowledge that sometimes… perfection isn’t always best.  Sometimes, a chocolate cake is perfect just as it is.  Without the fancy adornments of piping, flowers and perfectly smooth frosting… slopped on frosting allows the people you love to dig into a piece of cake and simply… enjoy. This is the perfect cake for such a pay-no-attention-to-detail frosting job.  This cake… this cake is moist, delicious, full of flavor and… perfect.

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake
Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 c flour, plus more for pans
2 c sugar
3/4 c good cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa)
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1 c buttermilk, shaken
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 c freshly brewed hot coffee
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 c butter, at room temperature
1 t pure vanilla
4 c confectioner’s sugar (may need more depending on humidity)
1 -2 T heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter 2 (8″) round cake pans.  Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.  (I never use parchment… sorry!)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.  In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.  With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal.  With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting.  Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

For the frosting:

With an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter together until well combined and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla and gradually add in confectioner’s sugar, adding heavy cream and  sugar until it reaches desired consistency.

PS: Is there anyone else that usually loathes chocolate, but loves chocolate cake?