( saturday in bean town )

Ty had to run into work this weekend, so we decided to make it a family event and spend the day in Boston.

We visited his office (the Coast Guard station), wandered around the North End, had lunch at a pretty decent Tex-Mex restaurant (complete with Lone Star Beer and queso!), and battled Paige (who either wanted in her stroller, or out of it, depending on which way the wind was blowing).

All in all, a fun summer day in the city.

{ shoyu chicken }

Over 20 years ago, Ty's first assignment in the Coast Guard was at USCG Station Maui -- tough one, right? As a young, single guy, he lived large on a small budget. He still talks about his Maui days as if they occurred last week, rather than decades ago. Some of his favorite recollections seem to revolve around the food he ate and the friends with whom he shared it.

Ty loves pretty much any type of Asian food, but Shoyu chicken (Hawaii's answer to teriyaki chicken) remains one of his favorites. Chicken thigh meat is marinated in a sweet, spicy soy sauce marinade, then grilled and served with rice (shoyu is Japanese for soy sauce). Last night, I finally got around to diving in and making it for him ... and it didn't disappoint. According to Ty, it was some of the best he's ever had.

We'll be making it again. And again. It's a simple, healthy dish that packs a ton of flavor with just the right amount of kick and that perfect grilled chicken char that's so good.


Add a glass of cold white wine, and it's the perfect meal.

Shoyu Chicken
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water
•  6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion (or 1/2 large), chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 5 pounds skinless chicken thighs

Process

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic, onion, ginger, black pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and paprika in a large glass bowl.
2. Trim any extra fat off the chicken, and add chicken to the soy sauce mixture. Use tongs to maneuver chicken around the bowl to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (the longer, the better!). I marinated mine for about 4 hours. 
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.              
4. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and discard the remaining marinade. Grill the chicken thighs on the preheated grill until cooked through, about 15 minutes per side.
5. Serve with a white rice.

{ pink }

Valentine's Day. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with the whole thing.

Of course it's nice to dedicate an entire day to those whom you love, but should it take a greeting card industry to mandate such a thing? But I guess the same can be said about any day that's celebrated annually.

There's just so much pink. And so much sticky. And so much sweet. And so many hearts.

But there's also chocolate. And champagne. And silliness ... and those are good things.

Here's a set of cookies I made for the Boston Coast Guard Spouse Association's upcoming bake sale. I hope they're enjoyed by people who love pink, sticky, sweet, hearts -- cause it's all wrapped up in there, baby!

 

{ bands for arms }

A few months ago when Ty first deployed, I read about an organization that produced arm bands/bracelets, created from donated military uniforms -- Bands for Arms.  

According to the  B4A website: 
Bands For Arms was created by Nicanor P. Mendoza III to bring awareness and support to our American military, by having Service Members, their families, and all of our patrons display their support with a bracelet made from an actual Service Member's uniform. We at Bands For Arms Int'l Inc., are proud to be able to recognize all five military branches with our bands, and hopefully help Service Members and their families feel CONNECTED.

I ordered four different bands, grateful that the U.S. Coast Guard was included (many opportunities for military families often leave out our Coast Guard men and women). And this past week, our bands arrived -- each one beautifully packaged with a photograph and card detailing the information about the soldier who donated a uniform to create the band.

Aidan now proudly wears a USCG blue band, as do I. Our sweet little Paige is still a bit young to sport one of her own, but she adores playing with the bands on both her big brother's and mother's arms, where they will remain until Daddy gets back.


Our bands won't bring him home any sooner, but they help us remember why he is where he is, and that he loves us.

coast guard cookies

Boring title, right?

However, if you knew how many times I've googled those same three words over the past few weeks, and how unsuccessful the results were, you'd appreciate the bluntness of that simple label -- Coast Guard cookies. Basically, no examples of USCG cookies can be found on the internet. Frustrating? Yes. Opportunity for creativity? Hell yes.

So from now on, any lost cookie-making soul on a quest for Coastie cookie ideas can now find at least some possibilities here in Lone Stars and Stripes-ville.

And here they are ... more 'Coast Guard cookies' for Ty and the MSST Boston crew.

lighthouse cookies

My husband's unit is leaving for an extended (difficult) deployment in a few weeks, and I've been trying to come up with some Coast Guard-themed cookies to periodically send with him to work to share with his crew. Corny, I know. But who doesn't like a good cookie, especially after a long day of training?

So if you're a regular reader here in my little corner of the internet, look for more nautical/Coast Guard-themed cookies in the near future. To start things off, here's my first attempt at a lighthouse cookie.

Oh, and did you know when black gel coloring gets on your skin, it stains it purple? It's a royal mess. HA!

he's smiling because he's coming home

Ty was promoted this past week and is preparing for his new unit in Boston.

And currently, he's somewhere around Abilene, Texas on his way home to us -- a great start to summer.

Proud as peaches.

going green (or blue)

Talk about an awesome way to recycle some of Ty's old uniform shirts!

Britina from Burnt Toast Designs custom made two large tote bags for me, and they turned out super! They're just begging to be filled with a good book, a few magazines, and a beach towel.

I love cute and crafty!

change of plans

I'm married to a good man. A very, very good man.

He puts up with my craziness. He's a fantastic father. He's excellent at the grill, but can also more than hold his own in the kitchen. He's a true guy -- he fixes things (or at least gives it a great effort ...), thrives when he's in the great outdoors, drives a truck (and not some pretty sports car), loves sports ... but smells good, and is about as supportive a husband as there is.

Our recent years with the Coast Guard have been tough. No, they've sucked. He was deployed way more than he was home, including during two hurricanes (one a major one) that we were forced to brave without him, he received orders to a duty station where we were unfortunately unable to join him as a family. We fought a fight against something we believed in, and then lost. As a result, we've been focusing on the eventual date when we could get as far away from the military as possible.

But life, true to form, enjoys games. And fate has a funny sense of humor. Yesterday we found out that Ty made the final cut to become a Chief Warrant Officer. So in June 2010, he'll accept his [monumental] promotion and sign up for another three years serving our great country.

And I'll be there with him, smiling and wondering where this journey will take us next, and grateful that he's by my side.

unsung heroes

As Hurricane Gustav currently pounds away at New Orleans, I, along with the rest of the country, am following the coverage closely on the news.

Once again, as was the case three years ago during Hurricane Katrina, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard have stepped up and are admirably serving without hesitation. A runaway barge was just secured, in chaotic conditions, by the swift and heroic actions of the USCG. FOXNews' Shepherd Smith went as far as saying that it could've been a definitive move in saving the city.

I've expressed my frustration time and again over some of the sometimes random and seemingly unnecessary operations and trips that Ty has been forced to endure, at the expense of distance away from our family -- and Lord knows I've been vocal about the shortcomings and "wrongs" that we've felt from this branch of the military.

But when push comes to shove, it's times like the current state of things that remind me why he's doing what he does what he does, and why it's very much needed. Even though most folks don't even realize the Coast Guard does anything but board boats checking for life jackets and alcohol, I'm glad they're out there doing what they do, day in and day out.