Monday, April 23, 2012

Ooey Gooey whattt!?

Good evening bloggers! How was every one's weekend? I had a wonderful weekend.  Kyle's sister came into town out of the blue and we decided to surprise him and he actually was pretty shocked... I'm not very good at keeping surprises a secret but this one was definitely a success!! We went to dinner at Applebee's Friday night when Kyle got off work and then on Saturday it was gorgeous outside so we all went to the beach and she flew back to Ohio on Sunday- burnt and all :) 

Kyle and Britt at Applebee's

Britt and I at Emerald Isle
 Today starts the Recipe of the Week for my blog!! I hope you guys at least try making these delicious items... I promise whatever I post is good :) This week I decided to start out with a desert because I absolutely love baking.  One of my favorite recipes that I have stumbled upon thanks to Pinterest and Picky-Palate.com is the:

Ooey Gooey Cookies and Cream Cake Bars

Be prepared-- these can be messy once they are ready to eat--- but they are very worth it!
What you need:
  • 1 Devils Food Cake Mix
  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups choc. chips
  • 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 14 oreos, broken into bite size pieces
  • 13x9 pan, foil or wax paper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
 
Mix devils food cake, egg, and butter into large bowl
 
After mixing, you can use your hands if you want in order to get a very dough-like texture, like so:
 
 
 Place dough into lined pan in chunks

 
Take palm of your hand or spoon and smash dough to form an even surface
 

Take your 14 oreos and brake them into bite size pieces
 

Spread pieces over dough evenly-- if the oreo's don't cover the dough completely, you may need to break them down into smaller pieces
 

Take the condensed milk and pour entire can over the oreo's to cover completely
 
 
Lastly, add the chocolate chips
 
 
Bake for 23-25 minutes and remove from oven.
After 5 minutes of cooling, run knife around edges to loosen--this makes it easier to remove from foil. Let completely cool and remove foil from pan.  Cut into squares and serve! 
Makes 12 bars.

I hope you enjoy them! They are extremely good!! Let me know how they turn out!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Good Vibes

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  As I previously mentioned in one of my posts,  I had a phone interview with Enterprise.  It went really well and the interviewer asked me to come to her office for an in-person interview on Monday.  That also went very well, and so now I have another interview tomorrow with the area manager.  Something she recommended to me was wearing a suit to the interview tomorrow.  Well I don't have a suit and also don't have the money to splurge on one for a one time thing.  IF I do get hired, yes I will go get a suit, or three. But the way I see it, I'm sorry, if a company doesn't hire someone based on self-induced conclusions about their dress code, then it probably isn't the place I should be working at.  I am going to wear black slacks and a nice shirt so hopefully it will be enough, I am crossing my fingers at least.  I would love to get the position. Please send up a prayer for me, or two :)

So on a different note, Kyle and I decided that our best option for moving is going to be moving into a townhouse/apartment.  He gave me a link to a place called Stonebridge Apartment Homes.  
I looked online and they have a special going on right now where the rent is lowered, allowing it to be in our budget.  Its right by the Greene, which is really close to my best friend Katie Taylor's house so I got really excited about that as well-- and the Greene is only about 15 minutes from both our parents' houses.  So I decided to call them and see if there was any way we could 'lock in' the sale rate but not have it applied until we moved in.  They said that would be fine. (YAY) and so when we go home we will walk through some of the units and see if we fall in love or not.  I'm looking forward to it- I think it will be nice and its a good location :)

Something I will definitely miss, however, is being so close to the beach.  Kyle and I got our first true sunburn this past weekend- Kyle looked like a lobster, I just looked like a shade of pink hahaha.  We went with another couple that we enjoy spending time with, the Combs family and Kyle's friend Shawn.  It was a lot of fun.  A little windy, but still wonderful
Here are some pics from the day:



 

So as you can see- we really enjoyed just being out in the sun and getting some color.  I think we are going to go back this weekend- probably bringing Bailey.  She hasn't been to the beach since she was a puppy and was terrified of it lol.


This was back in January and she was literally only 4 months old. So were hoping she actually might enjoy the water this time around.  She is such a skittish dog naturally so it may be a struggle. 

Alright everyone, I feel like I am rambling on-- I am going to start a "recipe of the week" series and post some creative recipes that I, myself, either am going to make or have made.  I think it will be fun-- especially because I love baking and cooking. So check back on Monday for the recipe of the week starting next week! Have a blessed day.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Count your blessings--

“Being a Marine is inherently dangerous but this is a shock to all of us.  Our primary focus right now is making sure our Marines and their families are taken care of.  We send our prayers and sincere condolences to the families of these Marines and mourn with them through this tragic event.”
-Col. Frank Donovan
 Being in a relationship with a Marine never comes easy.  I think anyone you ask that is in a relationship with one would confess that as well.  And its not just marines that this struggle comes with, its anyone in the military.  I know some people belittle other branches and challenge other branches, but at the end of the day every branch does some part in keeping us all safe.  Just recently 2 marines were killed and 2 were severely injured in Morocco due to an MV-22 Osprey crash. This crash didn't happen because of a mission the marines were on, it happened during a bi-lateral training exercise. These marines just left 2 weeks ago for deployment.  Their unit was literally next door to my boyfriends unit.  It's so close to home that it really tugs at my heart- so much that I'm writing about it.
 Since being with Kyle, he hasn't deployed and I am beyond grateful for that.  He almost deployed, but in the end never did.  He is getting out of the Marines in September/October of this year and so from here on out he wont ever have to deploy again.  Kyle has deployed 4 times.  I still get to hug him everyday and hold his hand.  I get to eat dinner with him and be goofy with him.  I get to love him. The wives of the 2 marines will never be able to hug their husbands, hold their hands, kiss them in the morning, just touch them.  It breaks my heart. 
 I preach all the time about how short life is and how each moment should be cherished and never taken for granted.  God has a plan for all of us...a plan that we aren't supposed to know the blueprint for.  We need to live as if each day is our last day here on Earth. I can only pray for the families that have been affected by this crash, and that includes the 2 marines that are injured as well.  It has to be a scary, tough, and confusing time.  Sorry doesn't fix the pain and only time will.  The Lord will never put you through something you cannot handle.  I have learned that over time and it is very true.  Always cherish every moment that you have with someone, because ultimately anything can happen.  Your husband doesn't have to be in the military for an accident to occur. Anything can happen at any time under any circumstance.  I just ask that you be thankful and count your blessings. 

R.I.P. Marines. All gave some, some gave all.


Fly high. Semper Fi.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

For Rent--

So lately life has been pretty stressful... My birthday is less than a month away and Kyle and I are going home to be with family for it.  We are planning on going home around May 6th and staying for about 8 days.  I absolutely cannot wait-- I miss my family so much! When we get home we are going to look around at townhouses/apartments for when we move back in September/October.  Originally, we were going to buy a house that way we only had to move once and everything would be great- but as we all know 
>>>its not that easy<<<
So of course as I am looking at houses I find one that would be perfect. Literally in every aspect.  It had wooden floors, a basement with a bar in it, 2 car garage, it was under our budget, and it had a flag pole in the front yard for an American Flag and Marine Flag.  It was gorgeous.
This is it. Perfection in a house.

So after looking at steps necessary to buy a house, we then realized it was next to impossible to do. Reasons are as follows:
  1. Kyle and I would have to be married for me to be on the VA loan and were not rushing a marriage because we want a house.
  2. He had to have a verifiable job set up in Ohio in order to be eligible for the VA loan- which isn't going to happen right away as well.
  3. As much as I wanted to, we weren't ready to plunge into being home owners yet, I mean, were not even married.
 So I swallowed my pride and let it go.  So now were currently looking at townhouses and apartments near home that is within our budget and allows pets :) As exciting as it is to be back home and with family, it can really be a big stress.  Any of you looking to buy homes-- take your time because it really can be overwhelming.

On another note, my best friend Emily has been staying in the hospital here because her 2.5 month old developed RSV and it kept getting worse-- BUT she got to go home today with a healthy baby and a happy husbandGod is so great. I'm so glad they are finally home.

I got an email the other day requesting a phone interview for Enterprise Car Rentals so I'm excited about it! I hope I do well!!! Fingers crossed.  

How was everyone's Easter by the way??!?! I had to work the morning of at the hospital but then I got to go home and be lazy-- it was nice.  I hope everyone had a very blessed day. 

Well the Reds are playing and I need to start watching it-- My boy Stubbs, #6, is up to bat...he's the best by the way! I cannot wait to go to a game when we get home for my birthday :)
Go Reds! Beat the Cardinals!!!

Have a wonderful night everyone...

Friday, April 6, 2012

Intro...

So this is my first time making a blog and I'm actually pretty excited about it! I needed a place to just go and write and post various things so I could get things out of my head all the time! I guess I will start with a little about myself.

My name is Erica Bedel and I am originally from Dayton, Ohio. I was raised in Dayton and moved to a town called Miamisburg at the start of the 4th grade.  I went to college at Bowling Green State University- Go Falcons! - and graduated in May of 2010.  I just recently moved to Jacksonville, NC and have been living here since August 2011.  

I have a beautiful sister named Jenna. She is my best friend and what my world revolves around.
My sis :)
My Dad and I
My Momma
My parents mean the world to me and are constantly guiding me through life.  They have such selfless love for my sister and I and I couldn't ask for better parents.

So the reason I now live in North Carolina, 11 hours away from the people that mean the most to me is because I met this man: 
Kyle <3
This is Kyle. He is currently in the United States Marine Corps and has been in for 9 years.  He is one of the most amazing individuals I truly feel I will ever meet.  In just 11 months, we have been through so much together, battling life's complications and learning to love again after being hurt in past relationships.  We really have grown together and stuck by each other when any other person most likely would have left.  He is my rock. 

 Meet Bailey: A Chocolate lab/Australian shepherd mix.
Bailey was a Christmas present from Kyle in November of last year. She was born on September 26 and is one of the best gifts I've ever received.  Kyle was working night shifts and I would have a hard time sleeping at night due to anxiety of being in a new environment alone and so he figured what better gift than a puppy to keep me company! We treat her as if she were our daughter and love her beautiful self so much :)

So that is a little bit about me, I don't want to give away too much right off the bat! I am very excited to blog about various topics and I hope people enjoy it! :)