Watermelon Woopie Pies

 So I was invited to go to a young adult group thrown by a fellow fire wife (I love them already!). And being me, I hate to go empty handed. So, as I tried to think of what I should bring, I had an inspired moment.The cookies were simple, a favorite recipe of mine that I use all the time. I did a little over 1/3 a cup of oil because the half just makes them WAY too greasy. There are plenty of substitutes for the oil, I just didn't use them this time.

 So after mixing the cookie dough, I added 2 different shades of green. I mixed them just so they were evenly spread throughout the dough but not perfectly blended together.

 As you can see, I chose to wear gloves when rolling the cookies. The green food coloring was messy and I didn't want it on my hands FOREVER. 

 I would think you can use any two shades. I just used whatever I had at the house.

 You roll them into balls the size of gumballs, but it really depends on how many little sandwiches you want to make.

 For the center, you have lots of options. I combined a little pink and red dye to get the really bright pink. Duncan Hines makes mix in flavors if you want to be super creative. I just like the vanilla flavor best.

 Chocolate chips equal seeds

 Find two cookies about the same size.

 Put a nice bit of frosting on the cookie.

 Sprinkle it with chocolate chips

And you have little WATERMELONS! So cute for summer!

The New Life Begins

So yesterday, the hubby started his first day with Grants Pass Fire Department and from the sound of it, he loved it. All the nerves from the past few weeks disappeared as he found himself in the familiar routine of firehouse life. I'm excited for him-- this has been his dream for years and years. The end goal has always been a true Fire Department job. Volunteering has been great, because he's been able to get experience and still do what he loves, but it doesn't pay the bills. And the Forest Service was great because, again, it was experience.

But it was rough on us both. Our summers were spent at home, waiting for the call for overtime. Summer meant fires and money, which was always needed. And that meant 2 weeks or more for him out on the wildfire line, working his butt off for hours and hours on end. Doing it for days and days without any sort of long term relief. Usually after 14 days, he gets two days off before it starts all over again. That was our life for as long as we've been together. His winters, in the beginning, were spent working part time for our fire dept in Colorado. And when he finally was offered a full time job with the Forest Service in California, it was a no brainer. He took the job and spent the 2008 fire season working long hours during one of the worse fire seasons on record.

It's so weird to think that I'm not a Wildland Fire Wife anymore. I know how to be a Fire Wife. That part of this whole thing is easy. From day one of our relationship, I knew that his life revolved around fire. Now, I'm fitting into the life perfectly. We love everything about the Fire Department family. I'm so excited to get up there and finally live in the area, tour the stations and meet everyone that is a part of our new family. This is all so crazy. Each and every day goes by so slowly. I just want to be up there already, settling into our new home and getting into school and everything.

When he gets home on Thursday, we will be making lots of decisions about retirement, health insurance, life insurance and what not. I can't wait for the better benefits and pay.

Is this really happening?

Late Night Musings

So I'm laying in bed, listening to the hubby snore next to me while I watch 'Deadliest Catch' and I start to think about our future. The day was spent with close friends, celebrating a birthday with a home cooked meal and a few drinks. These are our best friends and they live in the apartment next to us-- totally like Lucy and Ethel. It's incredible and at the same time, it makes me sad that they won't be moving with us to Grants Pass in a few weeks. While yes, they will visit, it won't be the same. When you have an open door policy with your next door neighbors, it's not something that can be duplicated on a visit. I know that I will be okay with this, simply because I'm really good at adapting. It will be harder on the hubby.

Luckily for us, said friends are looking at moving to Medford in the near future, so they will be a short 30 minutes away instead of 4 hours. It will be nice to be able to have our weekly get togethers and random date nights with them. I will, however, miss my ally at the fire dept events.

In other news, I've officially packed my first box for the move. Yes, it was simply sheets, but still, I feel accomplished. I know I will have to pack like crazy (our apartment has a surprising amount of stuff in it) as we go, but it will help that I'm doing it a little at a time.

Until The Hunger Games comes out to theaters, I'm going to wear my hair in the tradition braid every day, because I'm that much of a loser. The last time I was so excited for a movie/book series like this was for Harry Potter. I'm a nerd and proud of it.

So with that, I will say this....

HAPPY HUNGER GAMES!

An Update

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've last posted. We were just getting settled into the new apartment, fire season getting underway and me getting used to the new town. A lot has happened, including a few career changes for the hubby and I.

I'll start off with the hubby, since his changes have been much less severe. The 2010 Fire Season left anyone in wildland fire fighting for whatever overtime could be found. I think he barely broke 500 hours of overtime, which is very rare during fire season. He ended up taking a temporary job 2 hours away just so that we could catch up on our bills and get ahead. So during the week, he stayed in the barracks while I stayed at home and we met back up on the weekend. For us, being separated is not something new. We do it all the time, whether or not it's for 4 days or for three weeks. I'm highly use to being on my own, being independent and taking care of myself. Plus, with him not being home, I was able to focus on school and then focus on him on the days when he was back. For all those wildland fire wives out there, you understand that to make money, you can't stay in a place for very long.

So when the opportunity to apply for the Asheville IHC, he applied. And out of 200 applications, his was picked with 19 others to spend January through May fighting fires in the South. While it's an honor to be chosen and a great chance for overtime in the winter, it was still 6 months apart. But the need for the money was much greater than the idea of being apart for 180 days. So we packed up him and drove him to North Carolina. He spent 6 months making friends and fighting fires all over the South. And by the time he got back, he was ready to focus on schooling. The fires in Arizona and New Mexico kept him busy in the summer and when the season was over, he decided to go to Paramedic school.

The past few months have been filled with studying, clinicals and tests. But not only that, they've been filled with testing for city Fire Departments, which has always been his dreams. And just today (can it be true?) he was offered an official full time job with Grants Pass Fire Department in Grants Pass, Oregon. He is working his last month with the Forest Service. It's so weird that our lives are going to be somewhat normal again. He'll work for 2 days, then have 4 days off. This has never EVER been the case for us. It's going to be a trial having him home all the time, since I've gotten used to being on my own and going to school. But I am looking forward to being able to take vacations and having time with him. These last 2 years have been so busy and so hectic that reconnecting will be amazing.

And as for me, I finally picked on a career path. I, myself, decided to go to Paramedic School. I'm all finished and Nationally Registered, but because of Oregon's requirements for reciprocity, I have to get my AS degree. And I'm only 2 classes away from that, so I'm working my butt off to get that done by August so the hubby and I could move to Grants Pass. For now, he'll be commuting until he's finished with Paramedic School and until I'm finished too. It will be nice because we have time to find a place that we want to be rather than being rushed into finding a place that is just okay. And now, since we have 2 dogs, finding the perfect place in crucial. Plus, I've now got to look into nursing schools in Oregon. Hopefully it will be easier to get into and to get a job up there.

Right now, I'm listening to the new group of students (including the hubby) study at my dinner table for the medical test that I'm proctoring on Saturday. There is so much we have to button up-- changing jobs, insurance, life insurance, retirement and job hunting-- but we are looking forward to it all. With a new car and a new start, who knows where we will be in a few months?