We don't know her route, or when she will actually arrive in Iraq, but at least we finally got her official pictures.  She has grown up so much, it makes me feel old.  Her picture, which was taken in the last few months, is below:

Her beret is red because she is attached to the 82nd Airborne Division, though her job in Iraq will be as an MP.

This is very different from her other "military" outfits---dresses she wore to the Marine Corp Birthday Ball.

One of Alyssa's "uniforms" for the Marine Birthday Ball

The newspaper apparently doesn't have a webpage, but if you click on the button below you can read the article (it is 250k+, so it may take a minute to come up):

We already had the memorial service for my mother, though we will be waiting until March to spread her ashes.  I received several e-cards, and my sisters and I really appreciate the kind thoughts, prayers, and words.

Ronald has been working in restaurants since May of 1981---which means I have a hard time cooking for him.

I will admit that it is easier now than when he worked for Piccadilly Cafeterias.  Back then, he spent almost a year learning how to be a chef.  Which left me with a really bad case of performance anxiety every time he came home for dinner.

Recently I have been doing quite well.  Banana cookies, Lamb Crockpot Stew, and Quail with Rice--all things I made up on the fly with a little help from recipes on the Internet that I changed to my preferences.  The original lamb crockpot stew recipe called for rutabagas.  Both Ronald and I really dislike rutabagas.  It also had almost no other vegetables or spices in it.

So I used the part of the recipe where the lamb is salt and peppered--then I also added onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika and kneaded the spices through the meat.  Then I rolled the lamb in flour and browned it in oil--but instead of vegetable oil as in the online recipe, I used olive oil both for flavor and the omega 3 fatty acids.  I transferred the lamb to the crockpot, then used the remaining oil to brown the onion.  But instead of throwing away the rest of the flour that I rolled the meat in, I browned it along with the onion.

Then I added 2 cups of water to the onion mixture like the online recipe said, stirred it around until all the crunchy bits on the bottom of the fry pan came loose (the frying pan was another deviation--the recipe said to use a dutch oven, but I just couldn't reach in well enough).  Transferred the mixture to the crockpot.

The online recipe then calls for "baby carrots".  Frankly, I hate baby carrots.  First of all, most of the commercially available "baby carrots" aren't baby carrots--they are whittled down big carrots.  Secondly, taking the exterior of the carrot off removes a good percentage of the vitamins in the carrot.  Thirdly, baby carrots have less texture than big carrots.  So I definitely do not use baby carrots.  I pick out two nice big carrots, clean them (I do not peel them), sliced them, and add them to the mix. 

Then I add a chopped up big celery stalk to the crockpot, which isn't in the recipe.  And about four medium potatoes, peeled, and chopped up into eighths.  Then I add my seasonings.  Paprika, thyme, rosemary, savory, and more, just a bit of everything.  (I don't think any seasonings beyond black pepper and salt were mentioned in the online crockpot recipe.)

I let it stew on high in the crockpot for about three hours.  Then I add a can of mixed vegetables and a can of stewed tomatoes, neither of which is mentioned in the online recipe.  (I am hoping that our garden turns out well enough this year that I won't have to used something canned from the store, but my own canned veggies for this later.)  The stewed tomatoes are the sliced ones, so they are large enough to give texture, but not so large that they are big lumps in the stew.  The mixed vegetables adds some corn, cut green beans, and peas to the mix, again adding texture.  After adding these, I stir the crockpot well, turn it on to low, and let it cook for about half an hour.  Then the stew is done.  (The online recipe is for very slow cooking, it leaves the stew on for eight hours on low, probably for people who set it up in the morning and want it for dinner when they get home.)

Of all the recent recipes I have made up (with help), I think this lamb stew is Ron's favorite.