Asics Gel Nimbus 12

My husband is a running shoe genius. He knows how to test arches, what stability is needed in a shoe, the difference a few ounces can make and why heel to toe height matters. When he told me he found the perfect running shoe for me and my difficult feet I didn't hesitate. Bring em' on home! I haven't had new shoes since February 11'. A HUGE no no when you're logging 15-25 miles a week. I had ran 2 half marathons in my new balance pair and knew they we're in desperate need of a replacement. 

He brought home the Asics Gel Nimbus 12 for me to try. I have always been a NB girl until yesterday when I took these babies for a spin. The shoes have an asymmetrical shoe lacing pattern, so instead of lacing up straight down the middle, they follow the top contour of your foot which provides a more snug fit. Less movement within the shoe = less blisters and hurtful rubbing. Most running shoes contains layers of foam and rubber in the midsole. These Asics have replaced that with a gel midsole which has amazing impact protection, which means you don't feel like you're pounding pavement. I did a three mile test run in them and they were wonderful. My husband gets to pick out all my shoes from now on!

Best VDay Yet

February 14 will always be special to us because that was the day we became "engaged" into our life long journey together. We thought what better way to spend it then in Bricktown, OKC where we became engaged in the first place. The day started off with a bang because I happened to weasel out of a very expensive traffic ticket. Then we headed for yummy sushi, walked to the Thunderdome for some NBA basketball, and of course there is no better way to end the perfect date than with fro-yo! All in all an awesome day for us.

This particular day will always live in our memories for another reason. After waiting 9 months and 7 days we finally heard news that made us BOTH scream, jump up and down like highschool girls. We. Have. Orders.!!!!!! I had checked my e-mail that morning (on Valentine's day) and still no word. We kept saying the whole evening how awesome it would be if we got them on that day. It would just be the cherry to an amazing day. Looks like somewhere someone was ease dropping on our conversation. I checked my e-mail this morning and WAAALAAAA! There they sat. We are BEYOND excited! Sadly we have to wait another four weeks longer than planned, but at this point who cares? At least we have a light at the end of the tunnel. 

We go active on April 15 and report on April 16. The first step is calling the TMO (in charge of moving) office at Tinker AFB. We need to set up a time to sit in on a class to explain to us how to do a DITY move. A DITY move is a "do it yourself move". The AF gives you three options when moving from base to base. You can move yourself (DITY), have the AF pack, store and move your household or do a half and half meaning the AF movers take the big stuff and you do a partial DITY move. We want to do a DITY move because while we have such a small amount of stuff, due to a huge garage sale we hosted last  summer, the move won't be as tough, and the AF will pay us to move our things. We have student loans breathing down our necks so that extra $$ will come in handy. 

The wait has paid off. We really are moving. I really will be an officer in the USAF. Texas, the McVays are ready for you!

The Perfect Cheesecake

We had our first post-college snow day today. What did we do with it? We frolicked in the snow, watched Mississippi Burning and made a delicious cheesecake from scratch. This recipe is from my husband's Aunt Dori. Not only is she an excellent baker, but I hear her key lime pie is a must to try. I'm quite a diaster in the baking side of the kitchen, so my husband did the nitty gritty work. I just made the crust and snapped some photos. I highly recommend this recipe, so tasty!

Traditional New York Cheesecake

Crust : 1/4 cup butter, melted
            1 1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (35 cookies approx)

Cake : 2 pkgs ( 8oz) cream cheese, room temp
          1 tsp vanilla
          1/8 cup cornstarch
          1/8 tsp salt
          1 cup, 2 tbsp sugar
          2 eggs
          1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
       
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brush bottoms and sides of a 9" pan with 1 tbsp of the melted butter
3. Stir remaining melted butter into vanilla wafer crumbs in a bowl until crumbs are moistened. Place crumbs mixture in pan and press evenly onto bottom and sides with fingers.
4. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese on med speed until smooth, no lumps.
5. Beat in vanilla, then add cornstarch and salt, beat until smooth.
6. Add sugar beating on low until blended, add eggs beating just until combined then stir in heavy cream with spatula.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 min.
8. Turn oven off, open door slightly and leave cheesecake in the oven for 15 min. Then remove cake and run a knife around side of cake to loosen from pan and let cool completely.
9. Cover, refrigerate and enjoy!

Taking Photos Is My Hobby

   I love photography. Last Christmas I asked for my first SLR. It's one of my most favorite items I own. I take it on vacations, walks, weekend trips and just about everywhere. I believe that life moves to fast to not snap a couple pictures here and there.

   Today I had the pleasure of conducting my first photo shoot! Yes, I was nervous BUT you have to do your first one sometime. I don't want to start my own business or anything. I just want to be good enough and know my way around my camera (and Photoshop) well enough to take beautiful pictures of our life and the people in it. Especially of our children when the time comes. As a child I loved pouring over my parent's old photo albums. The photos were often blurry, discolored, had horrible lighting or just very poorly done. I knew that I wanted to leave behind pictures that were beautiful and could be enjoyed for many generations. What better way to practice than to take photographs!

   A coworker wanted some pictures of her daughter and boyfriend, so I happily obliged. I was pretty nervous and scatterbrained but I think I did pretty well for my first time! Here are some finished photos from the day.

The blog won't let rotate this one...sorry!

Welcome February!

   It's finally here, February. We've been looking forward to it since October! We have MANY reasons to be excited about the next 29 days. First, we became engaged 3 years ago on Valentine's Day. Crazy how quickly time goes, and that's why I love reminding ourselves of these little anniversaries every year. Secondly, (as I cross my fingers and knock on wood) we should be receiving a little som-something from Air Force....ORDERS! Once we have orders we'll be able to schedule our move (think we have to take a class), Kit will be able to start applying for E.M.T. positions, road trip to San Angelo TX to scout out apartments/rental houses and best of all put in our two weeks notice at our current jobs! We're trying not to get our hopes to high because we know it's a HUGE possibility that the minds at be could change, but we're still hopeful nonetheless. Thirdly, it's tax return month! Who doesn't love a big lump sum kickback from the government? Here's to the month of February!