Kentucky Adventures! A Trip to The National Corvette Museum and Plant.

So as promised... here is the big post with LOTS of pics from our trip to Bowling, Green Kentucky last weekend. In case some of you didn't read the previous post... my in-laws, the munchkin and I took the hubby to the Corvette Museum & Plant that is up there. It was freakin awesome! There's actually so much history to the cars themselves, and to think... they almost didn't even make it to the assembly line! Corvette got its start by a man named Zora Arkus-Duntov, he is the man who saw Corvette for what it was... the American Dream Sports Car. He first joined GM in 1953 after he first saw the Motorama Corvette on display at GM's press release in New York. Most designers and engineers didn't feel that Corvette was up to snuff with Europes already very popular sports cars; namely Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and Mercedes Bendz. Zora saw the potential in Corvette and wrote to Chevrolet's chief engineer Ed Cole and told him it would be his compliment to work on such a beautiful car, and the rest is history.

The first generation Corvette was introduced late in the 1953 model year and ended in 1962. Often referred to as the "solid-axle" models because the independent rear suspension did not debut until the 1963 Sting Ray (which also happens to be be my favorite model). There are now six generations of Corvette and our's is fourth, hence the C-4 model. Ours is also a bit special because its part of the one millionth models that were produced in 1992.

Needless to say we had a GREAT time at the museum and touring the plant, it was the coolest thing to see how its all made, from the start to nuts and bolts of the engine block to the fiberglass hoods and coupe tops. It was really nice to walk around on the factory floor and see the people who actually make the car we drive. I was very impressed by all the fine workings of the assembly productions. I was unable to take pictures, in fact we had to leave our cell phones and my purse in the car while touring the plant. Yes! GM is THAT serious about their secret productions. ;)

But here are some of the pictures I took at the museum...

Us and my in-laws in from of the museum and cafe.

Our little future vette driver ;)

This particular display I found really cool, below the mural it has a display of pictures and stories from all kinds of military members and the stories of how and why they bought their vettes, I loved the one about a Marine who bought his first vette after his last deployment to afganistan, he had it dedicated to his friend who was KIA and on the hood it has their unit insignia and his name engraved in it.

"I'll take this one mom!"

I don't think any words are more true to my hubbies heart...

Inside the Corvette Hall of Fame, they have every model ever made in here!

And since I was unable to take pics inside, here's a pic of the front of the plant. :)

On Sunday in the morning we went to the Farmers Market where I picked up some wild Kentucky honey (ya, know... the kind that still has the comb in it!) and then that afternoon we took the munchkin to see Cars 2. We would have love to adventure off into the Lost River Caves but they are currently flooded by the torrential rain that Kentucky has had in the past few weeks. Never the less the movie was AWESOME! I almost loved it more than the first movie! And afterward we also found a...

Real White Castle!!! So yeah it was a Jess & Hubbers go White Castle moment! LOL!

Our Summer Time Adventures... and to come...

Things have been super busy around here... lately. We've been on the go since last Thursday. The hubby, the munchkin and I took a trip up to Bowling Green Kentucky last weekend to visit the Corvette Museum & Plant. It was an early birthday present to my hubby, since we all know how much he loves his vettes! My in-laws also went with us and we had a GREAT time! We are currently home for two more days and then on Friday we are on the go again! This time we will be heading South to Florida with a stop at my in-laws house and a stop in Orlando to see our old friend Jim's wife, and also to "visit" Jim, its hard to go to his grave to "visit" but its getting easier with each time we go down, some days its still hard for me to wrap my head around, espeically where I see things in the store or while were out and about that I knew he would love or think was cool. After that were going down to Ft. Myers where my parents live and will be going to my 10 year class reunion... OMG! LOL! I can't believe its been 10 years since I graduated! And somewhere in the middle of that were also going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures with the munchkin! I flippen CANT wait to take the kiddo to Superhero Island where she can meet Spiderman, the Hulk, and alot of other Marvel characters! The look on her face will be worth it alone! I too cant not wait to see the new Harry Potter World and to grab me a Butterbeer! Woohoo! There's a funny story as well, as to how we come about those Universal tickets... I dunno if I have mentioned it but a few weeks ago, hubby got a ticket while diving in his corvette, he went to court and still had to pay a hefty court fee of $150 bucks... today, he comes home and says "Honey... I've got some bad news..." all I could think of was OMG here it comes... the big D word that all military wives HATE... instead, Im like ok... what happened? "I got a ticket" as he shows me a yellow carbon copy folded up paper... I'm like "WTF?! Again?! What happened? Was it on base?! You know... you shouldn't be speeding! This is why YOU of all people shouldn't have a sports ca....wait?... Is tha...OMG! A brochure to Universal & Islands of Adventures?! Ahhhhhhhh! I LOVE YOU BABE!" He really did have me going! LMAO! So... the adventures are to be continued! And I'll have a post all about our trip to Kentucky here soon.

Book Review: Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 6: Lover Enshrined By: J.R. Ward

In this "frightening addictive" paranormal romance saga, there's a war raging between vampires and their slayers. Here are the stories of a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now a dutiful twin must choose between two lives... Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As primal of the Choosen, he is obligated to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the tradtions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished. As his first mate, the Choosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself. She is drawn to the noble responsibility behind the emotionally scarred male. But Phury has never allowed himself to know pleasure or joy. As the war with the Lessening Society grows grim, tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, and Phury must decide between duty and love...

J.R Ward just simply amazes me! She captivated me with the struggle and power of Phury's book. I loved this book, because it shows a side of Phury you normally don't get to see in the other brotherhood books. His story is very unique and inquisitive. I am also happy with the progress of the series at this point, in this book you learn alot more about things that will ultimately make or break the brotherhood and the vampire race. Im so excited to read the next book about Rhevenge! J.R you are incredible!

We be jamming!

Yesterday was my first experience in jamming, jarring, canning or whatever ya want to call it. My friend (who lives across the street) went blueberry picking this past weekend and brought home LOADS of fresh, organic blueberries from a local farm. They are so sweet and amazing! And since she had all the supplies, we decided to try making Jam out of the blueberries for the first time. We figured it we screwed up we still had plenty of regular blueberries to eat LOL! But... it actually turned out FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC! Yes, thats right... you heard! FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC! LOL! I am seriously proud of the Jam we made and I wish you all could taste it, because its good! And to be honest the process is not that hard and alot less messier than I thought it was gonna be. So here's what we did...

First off, we had to sort through the berries, because some were just not ripe yet. You want the ones that are kinda big and squishier, and you also have to go through and pull any remaining parts of the stems off. Then we washed them and counted out 24 cups of blueberries and place them in a pot. Then grab your GIANT potato masher (yeah, that's right the kind you make your mashed potatoes with) and start smashing! Get them pretty well smashed and then you want to put them on the stove to boil.

It will also start turning the blueberries into juice. Next add lemon (The juice of 2 whole lemons squeezed) and then your sugar. We used 15 cups of regular baking sugar and then added 2 boxes of Jell Sure (which is the preserves) and let that come to a rolling boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. Once you've let it boil for 5 minutes, then you can start pouring it into your jars. (We washed all the jars and lids in the dishwasher before hand just to sanitize them and keep them warm) Once you've poured them into the jars, you want to start putting the lids on immediately. After you got all your lids on place in boiling water and begin the boil bath. Boil that for about 5-10 mins. then take out and place on cooling racks to let settle. The lids will pop up on their own and will seal themselves. They are good up to a year unopened and in the fridge for a month!... that is, if it lasts that long ;)

Sorry for the crap-tastic pics, they were taking with my cell phone, during the process so I had to be quick lol. I'm thinking of trying apple cinnamon jam next time? Or maybe a stawberry or cherry one? What flavor Jam is your favorite? Above all... I can't wait to take a jar to my grandma, she is 91 years old and LOVES jam! She STILL makes her own jam, and I think she will be proud of me for this one. ;)

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

1. Underwear Parties, how old is too old? submitted by Wookie & Co.

Ok, I have nooooo idea what kinda party this is? If its referring to a type of sleep over with your girl friends, then yeah... I believe I'm a little too old for that. But seriously... just what is a underwear party? I've never heard of it...

2. What was your favorite class in high school? submitted by Adventures of M-Squared

Art! Well that and Chemistry was my favorite... mostly because I had a crush on my chem teacher ;) Art was just fun, and we had alot of cool, creative, (hot guys) kids in our class.

3. Have you ever convinced packers/movers to pack something they aren’t supposed to for a PCS? submitted by Ground Control to Major Mom

Um, yeah once... it was our move from Oklahoma to Georgia... it was a few of my new candles I just bought from Yankee Candle... I convinced them because, I had never used them yet and it was a drive of 21 hours with a 13 month old baby in the car, we had so much crap packed with us as it was that I just didn't have room for anymore stuff. We already had to take ALL our cleaning supplies and the stupid carpet shampoo'er. They were really nice guys though, unlike the ones we had in Georgia... where we lost 5 moving boxes of DVD's alone...

4. Blogging plays a growing roll in the media. If you were asked to embed as a blogger with a deployed military unit, would you go? What do you think your blog would be like? submitted by To the Nth

No, I would not go. And I'm not going to go into why.

5. Do you think kids should attend year-round school? submitted by Marrying the Navy

I think its a pretty good idea, most other kids through out the world go to school year round. Its really not as bad as it sounds. I know first hand... because I went to school in Germany, not a DOD school but a REAL German school. We had a few weeks off during the Summer, a few weeks off in the Spring, a few weeks in the fall and a few weeks off in Winter. I really didn't mind it because, I saw my friends all the time. And honestly by the time I got back to the states I was ahead of the curriculum that they were teaching at the school I went to. The only thing I lacked in was my English, but then again... that has always been crappy lol! ;) And from a parents point of view, it would be alot easier not having to worry about finding someone during the summer to watch your kids or a summer camp that's not going to charge an arm and a leg.

Scentsy: Bring Back My Bar!!!

They’re Back!!!

You begged. You pleaded! You voted for your favorite fragrances as part of this season’s Bring Back My Bar. Now it’s time to reunite with the lush florals, juicy fruits, and fresh herbs still lingering in your memory. We tallied more than 2 MILLION vote- a new Bring Back My Bar Record! To determine which 20 fragrances you simply can’t live without. You’ve got one month to stock up on all the scents you’ve been missing- These fragrances are available as Scentsy Bars for July 2011 ONLY! So hurry and get your orders in before it’s too late!

Bring Back My Bar Combine and Save Packages

Scentsy 3-Pack: 2 Scentsy Bars of your choice

Scentsy 6-Pack: Buy 5 Scentsy Bars, get 1 FREE!

Bring Back My Bar Sampler: Get ALL 20 bars

And finally… what you’ve all been waiting for… the list!

Banana Flower: A Delightful combination of fresh, sweet banana mingled with soft florals. Spring & Summer SB-BNF

Banana Nut Bread: Right from the oven with ripe bananas, nuts and spices. Bakery SB-BNB

Cashmere: Sheer floral bouquet combines Moroccan jasmine, lily of the valley, and bergamot. Romance SB-CAS

Coconut Palm: A blend of tropical coconut and musky patchouli with subtle green notes. Tropical SB-CCP

Cutie Pie Cupcake: Sweet Clementine and yellow cake batter with vanilla and sugary icing. Bakery SB-CPC

Exotic Vanilla/Velvet Spice: Spice up your home with a blend of vanilla bean, jasmine, patchouli, and sandalwood. SB-EXV

Fresh Cut Cantaloupe: Vine ripened melon with hints of juicy orange. Fruits & Flowers. SB-FCC

Fried Ice Cream: Vanilla with a nutty touch along with cinnamon and caramel. Bakery SB-FIC

Grape Granita: Sun-warmed grape and pineapple with undertones of honeysuckle. Spring and Summer. SB-GRP

Irish Cream: Smooth and mellow, highlighted with hints of coffee and chocolate. Bakery SB-IRC

Lemon Lavender: Inviting blend of tangy lemon and sweet lavender flowers. Fruits & Flowers SB-LMV

Luscious Lemon : Light, creamy lemon. Fruits & Flowers. SB-LUC

Orange Dreamsicle : A classic combination of fresh orange, swirled with vanilla cream. Favorites. SB—ODS

Oxford: A masculine blend of ginger and frankincense with woody cedar and amber undertones. Scentsy Man. SB-OXF

Red Delicious: Crisp, juicy apples, fresh from the orchard. Spring & Summer. SB-RED

Root Beer Float: Concoction of old fashioned root beer and creamy vanilla ice cream. Scent of the Month. SB-RBF

Spiced Orange Harvest: Strong, sweet oranges spiced with cloves and cinnamon. Favorites. SB-SOH

Stawberry Sweetie: A fruity delight of strawberries sprinkled with sugar and vanilla. Fruits & Flowers. SB-SBS

Tuscan Garden: Mediterranean floral bouqet, enhanced by cassis, apples, berries, and rosemary. Nature. SB-TUS

Watermelon Patch: Sweet, vine-ripened watermelon. Fruits & Flowers. SB-WMP

I would also like to thank Christina over at Simply Christina for placing her first order with me! You ROCK Christina! Any if anyone is interested in ordering, please email (My email address is on my side bar) me your information and I will send you one of the catalogs.

Here's the skinny on getting preggers...

So yeah... here's the skinny on me getting preggers. I went to the doctor (Endocrine-Reproductive Fertility Specialist... mouthful isn't it?) in Mobile last week and had an appointment with his nurse (she's freakin awesome btw) she did an Ultrasound on me to see if there were any follicles from this cycle of clomid. There were! There were 2... I'm trying not to get too excited over this because they could have been there all along, meaning they could have been there before I even started the treatment, we just don't know because they didn't take an ultrasound at my first visit, which now of course we are all regretting... The follicles both came from my right ovary and they are both in the correct "postion" if they mature or not is another story... one is 16mm and the other is 20mm. Again though, I'm not going to get my hopes up for many reasons... one being that I did NOT have a positive OPK reading this month at all...(but then again I forgot a day or two, of testing...) and two... who really get's pregnant on their first round of clomid? Yeah, its like 2% of all women treated. However, it was pretty neat-o seeing all my parts on the inside. Don't get me wrong, I've seen ultrasounds before... he'll I've even done one on someone before... I've just never had one done on myself lol! So now we wait (my most FAVORITE part of all this) can't you tell I'm excited... :P

So the plan is to either take a test once I'm officially late (which is Sunday) and bada-bing! I'll be giving you my next post that I'm pregnant... Or end up with AF knocking on my door and we start next month with another round of clomid, and at that time I've been informed that my dosage will be increased.... yay! Bring on the random crying and emotional rollercoaster LOL! Hubby is gonna looooooooove me! :D On the bright side, while having the ultrasound done... nurse awesome didn't find anything abnormal'ish and it doesn't seem to be that I have PCOS... on the other hand... we still don't know exactly what IS wrong with me... and why my body will not ovulate on its own.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

1. When you vacation what type of vacation do you like to take (beach, historic, adventurous, food oriented, etc.)? submitted by Megan Dub-Yuh

Honestly... I like just about any kind of vacation I can get my little hands on ;) I like vacations that I just get to go "home" and see my family, I like vacations where we go places that are new (both of which we are doing in the next few weeks) and I like vacations that you go to the amusement parks... but my best vacations have always been when traveling in Europe! I just LOVE Europe!

2. What is your best memory associated with a song (you know we all have tons!) submitted by Ramblings of a Marine Wife

OMG! Anything from my high school days… those are my best memories! I would kill to go to the vans warped tour again! So yeah to answer the question… lots of Green Day, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Violent Femmes, Sonic Youth, Filter, Sublime, Radiohead and The Ramones of course! Ohhh such great memories!

3. If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with your time? submitted by Married to the Army .

I’d go to school to become a Kindergarten teacher… oh what do ya know… I’m doing that anyway LOL! Seriously though… I’d drag my big ass camera and myself all around Europe and Asia and get hired by National Geographic or Fodders or something and travel with my family for a living ;) Yeah, yeah… I know… wishful thinking lol! Oh well… maybe in another lifetime ;)

4. What is one thing about you that people do NOT typically notice at first that you wish they would? submitted by Our Motto is Patience.

Wow… yeah… I’m not real sure how to answer that… because… what you see, is honestly what you get… I do not sugar coat who I am or what I’m like… but I guess if I had to pinpoint it… I’d say my politeness… it’s not to be taken advantage of… and it’s because I get that a lot. Its honestly something I hate and what can ultimately kill a friendship with me. I hate when people take advantage of me just because I’m that “nice girl”.

5. …. submitted by The Three Turners: It’s a summer of sequels, and if you had to live in one of each of the following “worlds” (there are three total) which would you choose and why?

–X-Men: Be a Mutant, what would your power be?

Oh I love this one! Rogue has ALWAYS been my favorite, but I also love Dr. Jean Grey (A.K.A Dark Phoenix) Lady Death Stryke is freakin cool as well and I also love Domino! There are just simply too many cool reason as to why I pick these awesome ladies...Yeah, yeah… I know I’m a geek…

–Harry Potter: Be a Witch or Muggle? Without a doubt, Witch of course! The reason... well.. its two words...Expecto Patronum!

–Twilight: Be a Vampire or Werewolf? Vampire… particularly a member of the Cullen Clan, and I think you all know my reasoning behind this lol! ;)

New Independent Scentsy Consultant!

So guess who has become your new, friendly, bloggy-hood, independent scentsy consultant?... Yes! This girl! ;) I have recently hopped on the scentsy bandwagon and for the record its a very fun bandwagon to be on! I have been in love with scentsy products ever since I went to my first scentsy party! So what is scentsy? They are wick-less candles! They are warmed by low watt light blubs which melt the formulated wax so there are is no flame, smoke or soot! Just awesome smells! There are so many scents, that there is literally a scent for EVERYONE! I have also found that they last twice as long as the stuff you buy from retail stores. The warmers are alot bigger and they have such a great variety of styles! And that's not all... they have plug in warmers, car freshners, room freshners, antibacterial fragrance foam, travel tins, and scentsy buddies! Which are soooo cute! I just bought Lenny the Lamb for a friends baby shower, so yes most of my money is going right back into the pot lol!

So if any of you are interested, please e-mail me (you can find my email by clicking the link on my side bar) your address and I'll be happy to send you a catalog! :)

There are also warmer's and scents of the month coming out every month and they are always on sale! The month of June is Star Spangled, its a beautifully rustic, patriotic star shaped warmer, wrapped in the American Flag, perfect for celebrating the summer! The scent of June is Peach a 'la mode! Which is amazingly yummy!

And speaking of all things patriotic... they also have military service branch warmers too! Yes, that's right... Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard!

Aren't they adorably awesome!?!

Weekend Coupon Adventures!

So what did I do this weekend?.... I went shopping with coupons! And it was fun! And exciting! And less stressful than I thought it would be... thanks to my pre-planning and organization skills. ;)

I ended up getting everything you see pictured above for $25.44 without coupons and sales promotions it would have cost me $66.28! I saved a total of $40.84. I am NOT an extreme couponer (yet) but, I think I still did damn good in savings!

Here's how I did it...

Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion was $11.99 at Walgreens and on sale for BOGO I also had 2 coupons for $2.00 each off from prior Sunday circular's which = $7.99

Colgate Cavity Protection Toothpaste was on sale at Walmart for 0.97 cents. I had 7/$1.00 coupons from (MANY) prior Sunday circular's which gave me -0.03 cents overage on each tube of toothpaste! They will NOT of course give you the extra money back, but you can use the extra cents to go towards other items you buy in the same purchase. This was my BEST deal of the weekend!

Suave Body Wash was on sale at Walmart for $1.93 each and I had a coupon for BOGO from the prior Sunday circular making 4 bottles cost $3.86

Benadryl Anti Itch Stick was $2.46 I had a coupon for $1.00 off from Benadryl.com making it $1.46

Neurtogena Wet Skin Suntan Lotion was on sale at Target for $8.99 I had 1 Target coupon for $1.00 off and 1 manufacture coupon from the prior Sunday circular for $1.00 off which = $6.99

Degree Travel Size Deodorant is .97 cents at Target I had two manufacture coupons for .75 cents off each from the prior Sunday circular (and was able to use it on the travel size, because the coupon doesn't state an amount that has to be purchased) which = .22 cents!

Snuggle Exhilarations Fabric Softner is on sale at our Commissary for $2.49 I had 2 printable coupons from after "liking" thier facebook page for $1.00 off each which made them = $1.49 each

Curade Bandages are on sale at our Commissary for .99 cents each, I had two coupons for .50 cents off each from the prior Sunday circular and that made them = .49 cents each

Chap Stick brand chapstick is on sale at our Commissary for .99 cents each, I had a coupon for .25 cents off from the Commissary which made it = .74 cents.

So there ya have it folks! Simple savings you can do at each little shopping trip! Planning and organizing my trip took me a total of... maybe 20 minutes? Is saving $40.84 worth the hassle of 20 extra minutes to me?... I think... heck yes it is! lol!