My name is Ashley. I am a 27 year old mom of 2 little boys. Jakob is 9 and Conner is 6. I have been married for 7 years to Jason who is a TSGT in the USAF. We are currently stationed in Belgium and have been for almost 3 years. We are heading soon back to the states! When we first got here I started a blog called Strawberry Sprinkles. I am a very new blogger and I can’t post every week with how busy we get but I try to post recipes and just little tidbits when I get a chance to. My blog is here http://strawberrysprinks.blogspot.com and I have a page on Facebook with the same name. I bake to help the stress of being deployed overseas. I have 2 dogs. Daisy is a super lazy black lab and Leo is my super active German Shepherd. They are a huge part of making our family work. I got Daisy when my husband was on his 5th deployment, this time to Iraq for 8 months. My boys were devastated and not handling the deployment very well so she really helped them cope. I love my wonderful crazy family.
How did you meet?
We met through a friend. My husband was retraining from being a A 10 mechanic in the USAF to Satellite Communications. He was at Fort Gordon and that was only a few hours from me. We talked a few times on the phone, and finally met for a date and I guess you could say the rest is history.
What did you do on your first date?
We went to Fatz Café in August near Fort Gordon. I had never been to a Fatz and my husband was appalled at the fact. We both picked desserts from the menu and laughed at other the whole date. We just talked and pigged out.
What’s the best romantic getaway you’ve been on?
We went to Edelweiss lodge & resort in Bavaria Germany. The kids were there with us but it was romantic just being surrounded by snow and mountains. We got to see Neuschwanstein Castle and the love story between King Ludwig and his cousin is super romantic, with a tragic end for the king. We got to go see the church in the valley where there was supposedly a statue of Jesus that cried. We got to eat these really good fried dough ball thingies that were to die for. It was the best trip we’ve ever been on.
What would the ultimate romantic getaway be?
For me it would be Disney World with just me and my husband, no kids. J and I are really into having fun and just being silly together so this fits us perfectly. It would be fantastic to go and ride all the rides we want to and actually getting to go into adult restaurants and eat something other than chicken nuggets. I would love to just take a day to graze through all the food at Disney as opposed to riding rides. We both love food and I am a baker so of course I feel the need to try everything. So for me that is the ultimate romantic getaway.
What are your songs or favorite albums that make you think of each other?
My husband said for me the song that makes him think of me is U2’s With or Without You. The song I would choose for him is Ella Fitzgerald’s I’ve Got Beginners Luck. I can’t speak for my husband but as for my choice I really do feel lucky to be with him.
If you were to make a special dinner for him, what would you make?
My husband’s favorite dinner is Stuffed Shells. I always pair that with a salad & garlic bread. It’s time consuming to make but totally worth it. I found it one day in a Taste of Home magazine that I bought on a whim at the Commissary on base.
Italian Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 garlic clove, minced ( I use the kind that comes in a little jar already cut up)
* 2 cups hot water (add 3-4 cups if you use 2 cans of the tomato paste)
* 1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste ( use 2 cans trust me)
* 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
* 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 2 cups (16 ounces each) 4% cottage cheese
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 24 jumbo shell noodles, cooked and drained
Directions:
* In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, tomato paste, bouillon and oregano; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
* Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg, cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Stuff shells with cheese mixture.
* Arrange in a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Pour meat sauce over shells. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
What’s the coolest gift you ever bought him?
The coolest gift I have ever bought my husband would have to be his Darth Vader watch from Fossil. We were dirt poor when we first got married but I really wanted to do something nice for him so I scrimped and saved. I was browsing Fossil mostly just drooling over some purse I think it was, and there it was a really nice Darth Vader watch. It was something he could wear with his dress blues too. You wouldn’t put classy and Darth Vader together but it really is a nice watch. The Darth Vader lights up in the middle. It’s hard to describe so I added an image to show you. Out of all our years together and all the gifts this is his most favorite.
What is/are your favorite gift(s) that he bought for you?
Absolutely hands down my most favorite gift is the Le Creuset pans and cookware he gave me money for. There is an outlet in France that runs a Soldes (sale) in January. He gave me money to go and shop. It was the best gift I could have ever gotten. I ended up getting tons of bakeware and all in the colors I love. I have used those pots, pans, and bakeware almost every day since I brought them home. My favorite piece is the French oven.
Finish this sentence, ‘It makes me laugh when my husband…’
It makes me laugh when my husband tries to a bake and it’s a total failure. He tries so hard and I love it! His baking failures are always horrendous and you can’t help but laugh.
What are some every day ways that you show love for each other?
My husband lets me sleep in and he gets up and gets the boys off to school when he is off. That means the world to me because I hate getting up at 7 am. I am not sure how he gets up at 5 am to get ready for work. He also comes in the kitchen with me while I am baking and talks to me most of the time and helps me with fractions when I need to halve something in a recipe.
I bake for him almost daily, and feed his co workers. One of the things he likes to do is play his StarWars game online and I leave him alone for a few hours to play when he gets time off. He works 12 hour shifts only so he is a tired guy and he doesn’t get a lot of down time. So I like to leave him be and have alone time to do what he likes to do. I also make the holidays super special for him!
What are some things you like to do together?
We love to watch movies together! We’ve been known to just take all weekend and have movie marathons with our boys with all the Star Wars series, Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, The UnderWorld series, etc. etc. We like to go grocery shopping together, walk the dogs, do our chores together, and play games with the boys.
If you could give your husband anything, what would it be?
If I could give him anything it would be an hour with George Lucas! My husband is an epic Star Wars fan and I know that is epic nerdy but he would freak out! The only way I could top that is if the cast of the movies 6, 7, and 8 were there.
What cologne do you love your husband to wear?
My husband has never been a cologne guy mostly because anything too strong gives me bad headaches. So I went on the hunt to find a light, yet good smelling cologne. I finally decided on a Dolce & Gabbana’s The One.
Finish this sentence, ‘My husband is especially attractive when…’
My husband is especially attractive when he is wrestling with our boys. J is such a good dad and there is nothing better than watching all three of the loves of my life wrestle and laugh on the floor. It is the best thing in the world.
Finish this sentence, ‘I love my marriage, because…’
I love my marriage because it’s perfect for me. J really is the other half of me. We are so different yet compatible at the same time. We finish each other’s sentences, give each other those looks when something is hilarious but you can’t talk about it front of other people, for the inside jokes we share, for the kind of dad he is to our children. We have a military lifestyle & I love our first kisses when he comes back from deployments and those first huge hugs he gives our boys and the tears that well up in his eyes when he sees us for the first time in over 8 months. It’s all the little reasons that I love my marriage.
~ Ashley