Once in a Lifetime

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012, I had the opportunity to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Space Shuttle Discovery was flown from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Dulles Airport in Virginia. And it just so happens that the building I normally work in at Dulles has a wonderful view of the airport. :)

Wide Angle shot

 

Approach for the first flyover of Dulles

It was such an amazing sight to see but kind of a sad one too. I used to want to be an astronaut when I was younger (specifically a payload specialist/scientist). My grandmother even bought me a replica of the jumpsuits for Space Camp. I wore it for Halloween several years. :) My parents used to live near Edwards Air Force Base and would watch this same sight when the shuttle needed to land in California then be ferried back to Florida. Mom even told me that one of my granfathers worked on the shuttle program.

Now that the shuttle program is ending and the shuttles retired, it's also the last time this amazing site will be seen. Well, for Discovery at least. Enterprise will be ferried from Virginia to New York on Friday (weather and other conditions permitting). Endeavor will be ferried to Los Angeles sometime this fall. But for Discovery, the journey has ended here. It will be intriguing to see what the next chapter holds for space exploration.

Banking to make the approach for landing

Godspeed Discovery!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Chicken-scented Memories

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Mom's chicken pot pie! It is easily my most favorite meal and one I asked for constantly as a kid. I love the smell of it as it's cooking and the leftovers are *almost* as good as the first time around. We always got to request our favorite meal for our birthdays and Mom almost never had to ask what mine would be. When I got married, we made sure that she passed the recipe down to us since my husband loves this dish almost as much as I do!

Since then, I have shared this wonderful treasure with several friends, whether taking them a meal to celebrate a new baby or inviting them over for dinner. For me, it's just one of those things that is made even better when shared with friends. And in that way, many more people have been introduced to the wonderfulness that is my Mom's chicken pot pie.

Of course, that leads to multiple requests for the recipe :) So instead of always typing it up/writing it down...I've decided to post it here! (With Mom's blessings, of course!) :)

Mom's Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Pie crusts (I've tried store brand crusts but they never seem to turn out as good)
1 16ox package of frozen mixed veggies (preferably microwaveable steamer bag)
1 large can of chicken breast meat
1 small can of cream of chicken soup
3-4 medium sized red potatoes
black pepper, seasoning salt, and onion flakes to taste


Wash and cut potatoes into even-sized cubes. Steam potatoes until just able to be pierced with fork.
Partially steam frozen mixed veggies (if microwaveable, I usually put them in for about 2/3rds of the stated time)
In a large mixing bowl, mix soup, spices, and liquid from can of chicken meat.
Cut canned chicken into smaller pieces and add to mixing bowl.
Add veggies and potatoes and mix thoroughly.
(Side note: I usually have the potatoes going while I'm mixing stuff together and then throw the veggies in the microwave just before I'm ready to add them. I try to overlap tasks as much as possible to save some time.)

Spray pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 375*
Place one crust in the bottom of pie plate and fill with pie filling.
Place 2nd crust on top (if you use a cookie cutter to create vents, cut out the shapes before placing crust. If just cutting slits, can be down after crust is on.)
Crimp edges of two pie crusts together.

Cover with foil and place on cookie sheet to catch any spills.
Bake at 375* for one hour (I rotate halfway through for even cooking).
Remove foil and continue baking for another 30-45 minutes until crust reaches desired brownness.
then...ENJOY!

And here's a trick I learned from my mom about the pie crusts. Sometimes, the bottom crust isn't quite big enough and the top crust is too big and crimping becomes difficult. So after you put down the bottom crust, unroll and fold the top crust gently into fourths and trim some of the dough off of the curved edge. This excess dough can then be used to extend the bottom crust by pressing the two together (sometimes with a little water as glue).

I've also been asked where I got the small cookie cutters I use to decorate my crusts. I can't take any credit for them :) Mom gave them to me for my first married Christmas as a stocking stuffer. She found them at Michaels in the cake decorating section (for using with fondant). It's special touches like this that upped the awesomeness of Mom's chicken pot pies!

Enjoy the tastiness! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Adjusting to Domesticity: Leaving...

I'm loving these "Adjusting to Domesticity" blogs :) They're fun to write and share our experiences of early married life and what we've learned. So when the mood hits me, I'm going to continue to add to this series.

My husband doesn't travel for work often but when he does it is so hard for me to let him go. Near the end of last year, he had to travel more often than not. In fact, he was traveling for 11 out of the 14 days after Thanksgiving. I missed him terribly even though I knew he was traveling for good reasons and it would give me time to work on my own projects.

This time around, he left the afternoon of Easter. But this is only the start of things. There will be at least one trip per month from now until September and sometimes multiple trips in a month. In fact, there's a chance he could be gone for up to half of a month since he'll be traveling for both of his projects at work.

I've learned though that I need to keep myself busy. Moping around the apartment does neither of us any good and is counterproductive. Some of my favorites are getting uninterrupted time to work on crafting projects and things around the home. After I dropped him off with his co-worker this past Sunday, I ate, got my Sunday afternoon nap (a must most weeks), and then took off! I got my gardening set for the moment, moved laundry around, unloaded/reloaded/re-ran the dishwasher, made dinner, and even had a little time to watch an episode of "Jeeves and Wooster" (fun, British, Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie comedy that Dan introduced me to). The following days have been slightly less productive (work kinda gets in the way) but you get the idea. :) I've even been able to try some new recipes that I knew Dan wouldn't enjoy but I loved.

But the hard times hit as well, even if I feel like I've been holding it together pretty well. I broke down one night after not hearing my husband's voice for almost 48 hours and only getting to chat for two minutes because they were still working on something. And he found out they were going to have to stay an extra day which always puts a damper on my hopes for a speedy reunion. I once told a friend who is a military wife that I don't know how she does it and she told me that the first week is always the hardest. So while I'm glad his trips are short, it also means I'm reliving the worst part of the separation each time he has a trip.

Overall, though, keeping busy has been the most helpful thing I've done during Dan's trips. Find something that you enjoy, something you don't always get to do and run with it. Periods of separation are hard, but the reunion is always sweet. It can be easy to get bogged down in the emotions and situation but God gives us situations for a reason and works them together for our good.

Now...please excuse me while I go prepare for Dan's return tomorrow! :D

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Reading List

So I haven't had a post recently about what books I'm planning on reviewing, but with good reason! My husband got me hooked on reading "The Count of Monte Cristo". I've never read it before and it's fabulous! It was actually the first book we purchased for our Nook e-reader my brother got us for Christmas and let me just say that if you're going to read an 1,100+ page book and carry it around with you...an e-reader is definitely the way to do it!

Anyway, since I'm less than 80 pages away from the end of that addictive, convoluted, intriguing tale of revenge and humanity, I've been looking forward to the next book on my list. I had to wait an extra week to request this one due to publishing issues, but I finally have another BookSneeze book to review! And I'm excited to say that it's my first e-book from them!

I have the joy of reading and reviewing "Simple Secrets to a Happy Life" by Luci Swindoll. Here is the book description from BookSneeze:

"Is it possible to stay full of life, laughter, love, and the Lord through eight decades in this crazy world? Is that even realistic? Yes! There is hope, and Luci Swindoll is living proof.
With heart and humor, this best-selling author and beloved speaker lays out the truths that can help us all become a little more creative, organized, healthy, and happy. This is not a complex prescription for how to become superwoman. These are simple secrets, the wisdom produced by years of walking with God and living well.
We don’t need more tips for “having it all,” but we could all use insight on “having what matters,” and there is no better guide than Luci Swindoll.
Luci has spent eight decades accumulating the stories, memories, verses, and practical tips that make up Simple Secrets to a Happy Life. Whether traveling the world or building life-long friendships, singing in the opera or working for Mobil Oil, every step has taught her a little more about how to love God, love her neighbor, and love herself.
The result is both personal and universal. Organized into fifty short chapters, her reflections form a simple and profound outline for making the most of the lives God has given us.
We could all use a little more joy in our lives, which means we could all use a little more Luci. Visit her through these snapshots of wisdom. You’ll find yourself drawn back again and again."

I look forward to reading and letting you know what I think in my review! After reading "The Count of Monte Cristo", I feel like this one will be a breeze to read through! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Hotel

(*I apologize in advance as this turned into a bit of a rant...you've been warned.*)

Have you ever stayed in a hotel? I have stayed in a myriad of them over the course of my life. For the most part, I haven't minded most of them and the occasional annoyance can be overlooked in light of the short stay. But there's one hotel that I'm not really a fan of...my workplace.

You see, to make the offices more flexible and allow people to work closer to where they live, the company I work for removed most of the assigned office spaces and made it "hoteling" space in the DC area. Basically, I have to reserve a desk to work at each day I plan on being in the office. But I can only have 5 office reservations at a time. And I have to cart my laptop back and forth between my home and the office.

The system is supposed to be helpful for everyone as it allows people to move around more freely and not be tied down to one office. It allows them to work at the office closest to where they live (the office they "map" to) with the flexibility to visit other offices as needed for meetings, etc. And it theory, it's a great idea.

It would be a fabulous idea...if I were allowed to work from the closest office more often. I'm working with a team based an hour away near Dulles Airport in Virginia. Because no one there knew me in the beginning, they wanted me to be in the office so people could get to know me and so the team could gel since this was an entirely new contract. Okay, I get it and agreed to be there for a time. In December, I was allowed to go back to working from home one day a week which was wonderful, especially since it meant using less gas and one less day paying the toll to get home (which is now $2.25 one way).

But living an hour away from the office and having to fight Beltway traffic takes its toll. The knowledge that I'm passing at least 4 other offices on the way doesn't help either. And now, the company has released what it considers to be the "Guiding Principles" for this system and the first one listed is flexibility! One of the statements in there is that staff can work anywhere (subject, of course, to client requirements which is understandable). Here's hoping my project manager is listening!

One of the big downsides to hoteling in general, in my opinion, is the utter lack of any personalization in my workspace since I have no stable space. It just feels so drab and utilitarian. There was actually a study a couple of months ago that said workers are more productive if they have pictures of family and loved ones in their workspace. I believe it...

Basically, I can see the benefits for people who move around frequently or who usually work on site with clients. I think more of the benefits of the system would be realized if managers were more willing to work with a geographically dispersed team. I think there's still some ingrained thought patterns in the working world that make dispersed working an uphill battle. And I'm caught on the front lines...

</End Rant>

Thanks for letting me vent! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan