Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Strawberry Fields Forever...

So I've been raggin' on the South a lot lately. It. Is. So. Hot. (And it's only May!!!!!!!)



It frizzes my hair to the point of troll doll-ness. While those are cute in a really creepy way, it is definitely not cute for reals.



It is not kind to my skin, and I am here to tell you that no amount of oil free makeup or celebrity endorsed bottles of proactiv will completely combat the climate.



....can I just say, that last image is rather disturbing and I apologize. Anyhoo.

So...okay all of those things are still true, but I am an Army Wife. Even if the South is not a completely ideal home to me, I am going to be here for the next ~8 months because that is where the Army has us right now. I can either complain and hate it the whole time or decide to find good things and focus on them. I'm choosing the latter...but get back to me mid July.

This weekend, Kyler and I went to a berry plantation that a fellow Army Wife told me about. Thank Jesus for other wives looking for ways to kick their husband's out of their computer chair and off of their various online gaming addictions. It was such a neat place!!! You can pick your own basket full of strawberries for right around 5 dollars. As soon as we got our basket and started walking over to the berry picking area, Kyler laughed at me and told me I had a spring in my step. There is something about being outside on a nice Spring day away from buildings and traffic and yes, computers, that is very relaxing to me.



As soon as we got to our row to pick, we were hit with the amazing smell of strawberries. We were surrounded by a whole field of them, the sun was out, and there was a breeze that made the heat very tolerable. It was so cool to see the berries go from on a plant in the ground...



...directly to my basket to take home.



They were the prettiest berries I have ever seen! They were the deepest red, and so sweet...and way cheaper than those excuses of strawberries they sell at Wal-Mart.





When we got home I made us some strawberry cobbler that is no joke. I got the recipe from a pamphlet they handed out in their little shop at the farm. Kyler is not usually big on sweets, but he ate almost the entire pan of cobbler by himself just that weekend, and I already made another batch for him because he kept asking about it. It is the best cobbler I have ever had.

I know it is something really simple and we didn't go to Europe or New York City or LA or anything like that, but that was a great way to spend my morning with my husband. I felt very alive and rejuvenized.



So. While the South does give me troll doll frizz hair, the occasional light on the pepperoni pizza face, and makes me capable of sweating just by sitting my butt on the couch, if I wasn't here right now I would not have got to spend a beautiful morning picking fresh strawberries with my husband, and for that I am thankful. Possibly the best part of the day? We were not playing video games, and Kyler said, "it was fun".