Banana Business

Last week I had a cake order that called for a banana cake. I bought my bananas about six or seven days ahead of time in order for them to get nice and overripe. Unfortunately, the weather has been so cold they were stuck in a stagnant yellow. The day came for me to make my cake and they weren't anywhere near close to ripe!

Did you know that you can put them in a 300 degree oven for 20-40 minutes and get your bananas to the proper ripeness? You did? I didn't. 

They looked absolutely disgusting but the method worked really well! I'm definitely keeping this in mind for any last minute banana bread or banana cake baking.

The One That Got Away

Before Russ came home I was looking for some cheap storage solutions for our downstairs. We have the smallest closet in the world and I was looking for a dresser that could fit next to his wardrobe that we both could use. After trolling Craigslist and bidding unsuccessfully on some newer-looking Ikea dressers, THIS popped up and I immediately pounced!

$50... yes, $50! This dresser sells for $179 at Ikea and 1) it was closer than Ikea and 2) I wouldn't have to put it together! After a brief correspondence, I grabbed my brother to help me get my AMAZING Craigslist score. 

I measured the Jeep to make sure it would fit, close but after some finagling I figured we could easily get it home. 

"Get outta my way, everyone, I have a dresser to claim!" I squealed as I drove down the I-5 to claim my prize. 

We finally made it around the maze of homes in Queen Anne and got to the seller's address. The house was lovely, I would have moved in in a second. I'm sure it had been a lovely home for my Ikea dresser to have lived in and I knew it would be in good shape. I backed my Jeep to the garage, we picked up the dresser to shove her in and... No. 

It was close but... it wasn't going to fit. 

After about five minutes of discussing the best way to try and wedge it in my Jeep, I gave up. They handed over my $50 and, with my head down, I retreated to my vehicle and drove away. I wanted to paw at the window and wave my final goodbyes but... I had to drive. 

What a sad day. 

I've still been looking on Craigslist but I'm afraid of being hurt again. I'm afraid of getting my hopes up of a pre-fabricated Ikea dresser only to have them bitterly squelched when the dresser refuses to fit in my cargo area. 

Maybe one day, my heart will heal and I will find the cheap dresser of my dreams or I'll bite the bullet and just get one from Ikea... and then curse like a sailor while I put it together. 

Home Again

Aww, my poor little defunct blog! Will I ever come back on a scheduled basis? I don't know. But, what I do know is I'm not going to pop in here and apologize for being gone because, let's face it, I'm sure your world has kept spinning without my goofy little corner of the internet being updated constantly and I'm sure you're fine. 

Deployment is now officially over. In two days Russ will have been home for three weeks and time has absolutely flown since he's been home! There's been the homecoming, the family day cruise, the ship's decommissioning ceremony, and the holiday party (yes, we already had our holiday party last week...). Combine that with having to juggle one car, the truck activities, and doctor (for both of us) and vet appointments and we've been very busy since he's been home! 

So his ship was scheduled to come home on October 27th but due to a really bad storm in the Pacific, it was pushed back twice. I know I should have expected something like that to happen because when it comes to the military, you never know what's going on. But, those two times that his homecoming was pushed back felt so grueling. I can't imagine what the sailors felt hearing that homecoming was being prolonged. 

They officially came home October 30th at around 8 a.m. It was a cold, cloudy and windy morning (though, I think it's always windy standing out on the pier). There were families, friends out on the pier, braving the cold to finally claim their sailors. Camera crews were stationed on the pier as well, anxious to get the misty-eyed embraces on camera for the evening news. 

After a while he was finally able to disembark and head home with us! 

He nearly crushed me here, I think I felt my ribs crack! 

I am so grateful for many things: that Russ has returned to me safely, that Mom and my brother were here to keep me company and help me, and that we're staying in Washington even though his ship is decommissioning and we could have been sent anywhere- San Diego, Virginia, Japan. It really is lucky that we are staying.

I really didn't realize how really miserable I was while he was gone. Mom and my brother were a great comfort to me but I still felt a hole inside that they couldn't fill. Until these last few weeks I didn't even realize how much was missing. I was just used to feeling the emptiness, I guess. There's a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, that's for sure.