Sweet Relief

Quote of the Day: "He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills." Psalm 147:8

This time of year, with the weather we have been having, our move to England cannot get here soon enough! We have had 100+ degree weather for 14 days and 26 days with no rain. Unlike the UK, who, according to The Weather Channel, has been having much more tolerable weather (temperatures in the 60s and 70s and plenty of rain. I'm so jealous!)

For the past three days, the weather has teased and taunted us with heat relief, but just wouldn't give it to us. It has been cloudy. It has been humid (extremely). It has thundered and sprinkled. On the first day that we were teased with rain, the storm clouds went all around us but we didn't get a drop. Even though it was "cooler" that day (93 degrees, because it was cloudy), it was incredibly humid so you hardly noticed the temperature difference. The next day, it was the same temperature and cloudy sky, and even some parts of the state, including towns not 20 miles from my home got a few short showers. It skipped us. But today, finally, we got rain!

The kids have even been looking for rain. It's a pretty desperate situation when children even want it to rain. They wanted it to rain so badly before the 4th of July so that they could do fireworks. Better late than never!
It thundered and lightninged and poured for all of ten minutes.  But we are so happy it finally rained! (Now, if you walk outside, it feels like a sauna!)

Rain always puts me in a "cold weather mood." And I love cold weather. (Which is great since I'm moving to a very cold and wet place, right?) It makes me want to get into pajamas, brew some hot chocolate, and cuddle under a soft blanket with my honey. As soon as the thunder clapped, it was as if my comfy sweat pants were calling my name. And comfort food seemed to be the perfect dinner menu so I decided to make good ol' Southern Red Beans and Cornbread with Fried Squash.

Now with this Southern Comfort Food, we had to have dessert. I had some plums that were on the verge of going bad so they inspired the perfect Southern dessert: cobbler!

I used this recipe from my favorite "go-to" website for recipes. I tweaked it a little by substituting 5 of the peaches for plums and adding a pie crust layer for the bottom of the cobbler (using my grandma's pie crust recipe, one of my most treasured possessions). I also added almonds to the crumble on top. My hubby, Matthew, likes nuts in his desserts.

I am like most people and want vanilla ice cream with my cobbler. I came across a recipe for homemade ice cream in this month's Women's Day magazine. This recipe is perfect because it does not require an ice cream maker (which I do not have, but hope to remedy that soon.) And it was so easy! Only three ingredients. Three simple steps. And it tastes divine.

I will say this about the ice cream, though: it does not melt into liquid like regular, churned ice cream. When it begins to melt, it takes on a texture more like whipped cream or Cool Whip instead of turning to liquid. Apart from that, it was the perfect substitute and I can't image an easier way to make ice cream.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

This review is coming a little "behind the times," as I have just learned that Samsung has released the Galaxy Tab 2 and mine is the original version. However this review my still help sway you if you are teetering between iTunes devices or those with Google Play.

 Let me start off by saying that I wanted a tablet for a long, long time. Well, since the appearance of the iPad. I waited though. My hubby, (whose name is Matthew, by the way) is a major researcher when it comes to buying anything, especially technical stuff, so I waited patiently for him to decide which one is best. (For more "technical" information on why he chose this particular tablet, and not the Apple version, visit his blog at Sole Perspectives) Lo, and behold, on Valentine's this year, my hubby surprised me with this tablet. And we have been attached at the hip ever since. (Me and the tablet, that is.)         

                                    

 

Now I don't want this review to sound like I'm gushing, but I absolutely love this thing! (I'm typing on it right now with my handy-dandy bluetooth, silicone keyboard.) Here goes.

Part One: Smart-Phone, Laptop, or Tablet? Oh My!

   

 First and foremost, this thing is soo convenient! Much more so than a laptop or a smart phone (I like to think it is sort of a cross between the two.) I have a smart phone (which is out-dated, slow, and buggy) that I could use for quick internet searches, games, e-mail, etc. but I always pick up the tablet instead. It is super fast, easier to use, and much more versatile than any smart phone. It is less bulky and much quicker on the draw than my laptop. It is also easier to transport than my laptop. One downside to the convenience of this tablet is that my 32G version does not come with a 3G option (or 4G) so I cannot add an internet plan to it, a similar issue with laptops. If I am not home and need to use the internet, I have to be within a wi-fi range in order to use the tablet. That being said, I will still choose the tablet for internet usage over the other two devices whenever possible.

What does it do?

I guess the best way to put this is to say what it doesn't do, which, so far, is just make phone calls and support PC gaming. With the right apps, you can do just about everything else a laptop or desktop computer can do, and certainly everything else a smart phone can do. I type and print documents from my tablet. I e-mail and blog from my tablet. I take pictures with my tablet. I manage my bank account from my tablet. I surf the web and play games with my tablet. I take it to class and type notes with it. I can watch movies or listen to music on it. Yadda yadda, etc. etc.

Part Two: Hardware

I am not going to pretend that I know much with regards to what is inside this thing, what makes it do what it does, and all the technical jargon that goes with that. (Again, I'll refer you to my hubby's blog, Sole Perspectives). But I can give you my "layman's" version of it.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 uses the Android operating system Honeycomb 3.2. I will be honest and say that I was skeptical of the Android hype when it first came out because I was used to Microsoft on my computer and Apple on my phone. Learning a new operating system was a daunting thought and seemed very tedious. The first Android device in our home was my husband's Samsung Infuse 4G Smart Phone. And it has taken me almost a year to figure out how to operate the damn thing. In fact, I still have trouble. 

However, it took me no time at all to learn my way around Honeycomb on my tablet and it is absolutely so user-friendly. It is not as limiting as Apple's operating system. It can be customized in so many ways. It can be organized however is easiest for you. And best of all, it works with Flash! No more images of tiny blue squares with questions marks inside them when I surf the web!

 I was not impressed with the iPad when I played with it at the store. It seemed just like a giant iPhone and did not have some of the features and functions I was seeking in a tablet. (Like being able to type and print papers for school on it.) So my hubby did his research and decided he liked Samsung's version the best.

Then it came down to cosmetics. I wanted the biggest screen with the most memory capacity available. And, Voila! Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with 32G storage. It was not the cheapest on the market by any stretch, but it was cheaper than the Apple equivalent at the time.There are certainly a number of other brand tablets out now, so be sure to research and play with them to find the right one for you.

Now, after the features (but just as important) is the market that comes with a tablet. I am experienced with iTunes and I will say that they almost literally have an app for everything. The Android market is a little bit behind, but it is quickly catching up. As of now, the apps on my iPhone and the apps on my tablet are the same. I do not listen to music on my tablet (one inconvenience of its size over a smart phone) but I do watch movies on it and read e-books, and luckily, I can download them from virtually any source. They do not have to come from Google Play (or from iTunes, in the case of Apple devices). Only one item of difference comes to mind: iTunes is offering some new interactive e-books for kids (found here on mom.me) that have not made it onto the Android market yet. But, I am sure that will change soon!

All things considered, I could not be happier with this product!

                                                                         

Bummer 4th of July

Quote of the Day: "If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation Gone Under." -Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. President

 The one holiday kids (and adults) look forward to in the summer is the 4^th of July. Kids start watching for those famous big tents as soon as school ends. This year, with temperatures over 100 degrees all across the U.S., July 4^th just wasn’t the celebration we are used to. Long before the day arrived, it had been cancelled. There has been a Burn Ban on for weeks so I knew that fireworks would be a “no go.” But the city posted this sign up in numerous places just to remind people not to do them. (Of course, people tried it anyway. I heard police and fire sirens all day.)

 The ban on fireworks really wasn’t a surprise with the ground so dry it is cracking and the vegetation shriveling from the ground up. My daughter saw these cracks in our yard and asked if we had an earthquake!

 

We tried to substitute the fireworks for “waterworks” (via water balloon fights. Same concept right? Instead of setting money on fire, we filled it up with water and threw it at each other!) But that didn’t work out well. We were all too hot and the kids were too afraid of being hit with a water balloon. The only part of July 4^th tradition that we were able to do was grill out. It was miserable.  With two fans and a frosty cold one by his side, my hubby was still miserable at the grill. We did use this opportunity to try out a new beer. Since we are moving to the UK, we have been looking for European beers to try so we’ll know what we are in for. The two we tried are pictured here, both are pales. The darker one is supposed to be a British pale. (Although the label clearly says it was brewed and produced in the US, it claims the original recipe is British. And a local restaurant charges an import price for it!) The lighter one is an American pale. 

 It took a lot for me to learn to like beer, period. And the only ones I’ve come to like are the light ones. After drinking only American pales for a long time, the British pale had a lot more flavor than I was used to. But I was surprised to find that I liked it! My hubby was skeptical too, but braver than me, and tried it first. He liked it as well. It might be a small step, but we are making our way through preparing for the move!

New Kid on the Blog

So after what seems like an eternity (but has actually only been two years), two awesome things have happened: I finally got my blog up and running and my husband finally got orders! And where are we going? Mildenhall, AFB, UNITED KINGDOM! Whoo-hoo! We have been waiting on orders overseas with baited breath and now they are finally here! Well...sorta. We actually don’t get to go until January 2013. (And the thought of that British winter is such a tease right now in the middle of our 100+ degree summer!) We have so many things to do, hurdles to jump, and adjustments to make! I never realized how much goes into moving with the military. But I am glad we have plenty of time to prepare. Soon I will be experimenting with British recipes and posting my findings here. I’ll also be posting all about this awesome opportunity and the things my family and I are doing while we “pass the time” waiting for our departure! These things (like crafts, recipes, etc.) will be under the “Passing the Time” tab. Since I am an English major, I do some creative writing and research often and will be sharing that with you via the “PPAOR” tab. Hopefully, you and I will have a lot in common! I hope you will check back soon and stay in touch! Feel free to comment and thanks for stopping by!