Date Night Setbacks

Every week Douglas and I attempt to set aside one night dedicated to doing something fun with one another. We call it date night. Douglas’ work and school schedule has caused our recent date nights to get repeatedly postponed. It’s hard to get upset about that when it is neither his fault nor mine. Everything comes in waves. At the time work and school were creating higher waves than either one of us wanted to ride, though I knew it would all slow down soon.

When the week began we saw that there was a community potluck being held for all the Americans. These potluck dinners are usually lots of fun. Last time the group split up into two teams and played Jeopardy. Many of us did not know the answers but we all made some hilarious guesses.  Douglas and I signed up in advance to attend and bring a dish. Although we knew it would be enjoyable, both of us weren't really feeling the event. We just wanted to spend some quality time alone. That is when the light bulbs inside our heads turned on simultaneously. If we skipped the potluck we could have our much needed date night. The fact that we both felt the same way made the decision that much easier. Besides, there is a different community event held each month. We could catch the next one.

For date night we planned to dine at a delicious Turkish restaurant, pick up some yummy Italian gelato to take home, put up Christmas decorations, watch a movie, and end with some adult fun. The Marine driver was scheduled to pick us up at 6:00 p.m. from our residence. I was so thrilled to get dressed up in something other than my everyday comfort clothes. Douglas was also happy to wear something besides work attire. The night was going to be great! 

First Setback: The Marine driver informed us that the Turkish restaurant we wanted to eat at was closed on Fridays. There are less than a handful of acceptable restaurants in Algiers that serve good food in a nice atmosphere. We resorted to eating at Hippopotamus instead, a restaurant that would have been our very last choice. Even with the condiments I had squeezed into my medium sized purse, our dishes could still be described as only edible. We made the most of it; all the while thinking about indulging in some delicious gelato later that evening.

Second Setback: To our convenience the gelato shop happened to be located right beside Hippopotamus. As we exited the restaurant and turned left to go inside the gelato shop, our jaws dropped when we saw the metal gate pulled over the entrance. It was closed! This now meant no gelato for us. It’s not like in America where you can go to another ice cream shop that is just as good. This was the only gelato shop we knew about. The food portion of our night did not go too well, but the evening wasn’t over yet. We waited outside for a few minutes until the driver arrived and drove us home.

All the Christmas decorations were already laid out on our dining room table. The first order of business was to put up the tree. Our living room space is tight, leaving little room for a tree or even a small plant. We were determined to find a spot for it though. Without the tree it wouldn’t feel like Christmas. Eventually we agreed it would look best directly behind our dining room table. After setting up our pre-lit tree, Douglas and I had to plug it into a transformer box. There was an extra one lying around the house collecting dust. We plugged it into the wall and then plugged a surge protector into the transformer box. To avoid damaging our American products, using a surge protector with the transformer is highly recommended. Before plugging the tree into the surge protector I thought it would be best to turn the transformer box on first to ensure it was working properly. Thank goodness we did.

Third Setback: As soon as Douglas flipped the transformer switch on, we heard a loud pop and saw a flash of light come from the box. The burnt smell from the unit confirmed our thoughts. The transformer blew our surge protector out. Maybe that surge protector was bad. This is what we told ourselves, hoping that it wasn’t the transformer box itself. We had another surge protector that was brand new. Douglas then plugged that one into the box and we watched as the same loud noise and bright spark appeared again. Nope, it was the box! That was it! Two surge protectors now destroyed and a tree with no lights. Just as I was about to forgo decorating the tree at all, Douglas convinced me that I would much rather see an unlit tree up than no tree at all. He wound up being correct. At least we are conserving energy, not that it was ever our intention.

Once we finished the holiday decorating portion of the evening I wanted to lie down, cuddle up with my husband, and watch a new movie on Netflix. A few days prior, the temperature outside dropped severely. It went from high 60’s to low 40’s practically overnight. To make matters worse, our heating unit suddenly stopped working. And to top that off, when one unit stops working then all the units stop working. The inside of our house felt just as cold as it was outside. I typically do not prefer having heat on, but our home was so cold I craved for heat that night. I was dressed in sweatpants, long thick socks, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood tied on my head. I almost came close to putting on my winter coat too.

While moving around decorating the house, we managed to stay fairly warm. But once we sat down the coldness kicked in big time! We sat on the living room sofa preparing to watch a movie on Netflix. I told myself to focus on the movie. Maybe then I wouldn’t notice how cold I was underneath the thick blanket we had on top of us.

Fourth Setback: Douglas pressed play for the movie we selected and our blu-ray player froze. Yes, it stopped working! Douglas unplugged the system to try and restart it, but even after that we still could not access Netflix. We have DVD’s, but neither one of us were in the mood to watch movies we had already seen. And our cable provider, the American Forces Network (AFN) which consists of ten channels, had nothing to our liking coming on that night.

It was now becoming rather hard to ignore the effects from our cold house. My fingertips were wrinkled and blue, and my nose was turning red. My teeth clattered every few seconds. And the way I was shivering reminded me of standing outside in New York City in mid-winter, waiting for either the train or bus to arrive. There was no way we could continue sitting on the sofa, freezing our butts off. We decided the bedroom would suit us much better. Moving like we were in a race, we cleared out of the living room and proceeded to the bed. I placed one leg underneath those sheets and it felt like I was lying in a refrigerator. We didn’t think about how cold it would be underneath the covers. Douglas wrapped me in the pretty turquoise blue, white and brown afghan that my mother made me a couple years ago.  I rolled onto those chilled sheets and as best as I could I cuddled tightly with Douglas to stay warm.

Fifth Setback: Earlier, when we pictured ourselves in bed at the end of this date night, we never imagined to be fully dressed in layers of clothes and a blanket. Neither of us was planning to remove one layer of our clothing, just to have some much needed “fun” in that icebox of a room. My toes were now numb and my head was hurting from the declining temperature. By this time it was almost 10:30 p.m. All that I could bring myself to do was go to sleep. The only thing that went right the entire night was that Douglas and I got to spend it together. On the upside, this was probably our most memorable date night ever!        

First Time Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

Nearly every Thanksgiving or Christmas I go to someone else’s home for dinner. I can usually be found at my mother’s house, but this Thanksgiving we are overseas in Algiers. We arrived in March 2012 and even then I was anticipating where we would celebrate the holidays. After a few months in country I pretty much decided that I would host our holiday dinner. It wouldn't be just Douglas and me though; it would be for all the Marines. I absolutely love doing anything that may help Marines be reminded of their homes in the states. They really appreciate the generosity and I certainly enjoy doing it. It’s a win-win situation!

A few weeks prior to Thanksgiving I started planning the menu. My girlfriend, also named Nicole, said she would help by fixing a few dishes too. We both enjoy cooking so this was right up our alley; however, she has hosted several Thanksgiving dinners in the past. This was a walk in the park for her. As for me, I was treading water very lightly, a bit nervous to jump right in and swim. But once I got into the groove of things, I felt like a natural! It quickly became fun and never once felt like a task. I didn’t just want the dishes to taste good, I wanted them to taste great!

For my first Thanksgiving I can say I did awesome! I’m generally very organized and love to plan things. One thing I dread in the states is grocery shopping for holiday dinners. The stores are tightly packed and bring about many frustrated emotions. And if you have the misfortune of going to the store just a couple days prior or the night before the big day, you typically find bare shelves, emptied by the previous shoppers. It was quite the opposite in Algiers. Shopping for Thanksgiving was no different than any other day. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in this country. They do have similar holidays. At that time the stores and markets here are also crowded with hoards of people. My Thanksgiving shopping experience was painless and enjoyable.

I stared prepping food two days prior by cleaning, peeling, and chopping several items. I got my baking out of the way the day before. I made a carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, sweet potato pies, and homemade rolls. Unfortunately I didn’t make the rolls gluten-free so I can’t comment on their taste. Everyone else spoke up for me and said they were delicious! Dinner was set for 2:00 pm. I was up bright and early like every other cook on that day. I made macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, candied carrots, corn pudding, apple crisp, pot roast, and of course the turkey. Nicole made corn bread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, potatoes au gratin, cranberry sauce, red velvet cupcakes, lemon meringue pie, and vanilla ice cream. We had more than enough food! The best part of this dinner was that no dish was off limits to either Nicole or me. We are both gluten-free and prepared the majority of food with that in mind.

Since pork is not sold in this country I selected roast beef as the second meat. My husband is a pot roast lover, but I am not. I rarely eat beef. I opted to cook the roast in my slow cooker to avoid occupying my oven more than necessary. My husband and I have a rule we follow. He must be 100% honest about my cooking and I must not take his criticism negatively. In order to have outstanding dishes we adhere to this rule strictly. So when he told me this was one of the best pot roasts he has ever eaten, I knew it was good to go. I couldn’t taste the dish because I seared the meat with regular flour and added regular flour to make the gravy too. But it looked absolutely perfect!

In addition to the roast, I was extremely proud of myself for cooking my first large turkey, an 18 pounder to be exact. Thankfully we got our hands on an American Butterball turkey. The turkeys were flown in from the states. They do have turkeys in Algiers, but there is nothing like an American one. I looked up several recipes, compared them, and then took the best ingredients and tips from my top choices and made it my own. I love how juicy my chicken comes out when cooked in an oven bag, so I opted to do the turkey the same way. Two days before Thanksgiving I rubbed the turkey down with my basic seasonings and then gave it a second rub down with herb butter I made. The morning I went to cook it, I sprinkled paprika all over the skin to ensure it turned golden brown. I placed it in the oven bag (breast side down) with some dry white wine and 3 hours later my 18 pound bird was glowing! When Douglas cut into the turkey the juices were flowing out. I took the advice from a few reviews and placed the breast down instead of up. They all said the breast would be juicer than ever and it was! Even after four days that turkey was still mouthwatering. Everyone enjoyed all the dishes that both Nicole and I made.  

I was most grateful for having the opportunity to share my first holiday hosting experience with our Marines, good friends, and my wonderful husband. While Douglas could have been deployed by himself during this time, God blessed us to have this experience together. It was such a pleasure for Douglas and me to use the blessings God has given us in money, food, and cooking skills, and share that with others. Talk about a Thanksgiving to remember!

Macaroni and Cheese

Candied Carrots, Corn Bread Stuffing, and Rolls

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Pudding

Potatoes Au Gratin

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Apple Crisp

Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Algiers

The Marine Corps Birthday Ball is the most anticipated annual event for every Marine and spouse. I have had the honor of attending two birthday balls prior to this one. Douglas and I are still in the newly married phase. If you speak with a seasoned Marine Corps spouse, he or she will tell you they have attended so many birthday balls they have lost count. I do look forward to saying that one day.

Since Douglas is in the Marine Corps band, he works at different birthday balls every year. Band members often miss their own birthday ball because they have to play at others. The birthday ball is usually put together by a specific person assigned to the event. He or she works with various people to put it all together. Douglas would now become that person in charge of coordinating his own birthday ball with the help of the Marines at post. Douglas got to have his hand on every single detail of the event from start until finish. The weeks leading up to the ball are usually stressful for anyone involved. It was no different for Douglas and his fellow Marines. The most difficult task was probably working through the language barrier and cultural differences. 

I quickly got adjusted to Douglas working very late hours, long days and many weekends all for the ball. It wasn’t just work without play though. The Marines held a couple parties and a Happy Hour to assist in raising money for the event. That was the fun part! Often times a detachment will have to hold many events and sell lots of their products to raise enough money to pay for the expenses of their ball. Fortunately, this detachment did not have that problem. This meant they could enjoy fundraising without much concern over their profit. And it was one less thing to stress about.  

The biggest items on a woman’s to-do-list in preparing for a ball are purchasing a new dress, getting her nails done, and deciding how she will style her hair. I planned to wear a dress already in my closet I wore on a cruise last year, but this would my first time flaunting it at the ball.  Many women steer away from wearing a ball gown more than once. This is mainly because a photo is typically taken of the spouse and their Marine at the ball. Not many spouses wish to see themselves in a dress they wore the year before. I say whatever works for you and your budget, go with it! You and your Marine may be able to take a nicer vacation next year simply because you saved money on purchasing another new dress this year. Something to think about!

I also saved money on my nails because I decided to do them myself. My bigger reason for not getting them done professionally is because I always worry about the cleanliness of all tools used in the process. About five years ago I caught a foot fungus from a nail salon I went to in Studio City, California. This was posh salon in an excellent neighborhood and that clearly didn’t mean a thing. I do miss the pampering experience, but I did as good a job as anyone else has previously done on my nails. 

The last item on my list was my hair. Now, this is an area that I would have opted to have professionally done if a stylist were available. They do have hair salons in Algiers, but I can’t imagine they have ever put a comb or brush through anyone with my hair texture. I surely was not about to be their first. I wanted to wear my hair down. I typically do not blow dry or straighten my hair, but thought it would be a nice change for such a special occasion. I knew it would take a lot of time so I planned for that. 

The Marine driver was scheduled to pick me up at 6:30 p.m. to leave for the ball. I started my hair at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon in order to give myself plenty of time. I never like to feel rushed. Douglas and the other Marines had already at the venue since 11:00 that morning. I had the house to myself with no interruptions. But sometimes plans just don’t work out like you would want. At 6:30 p.m. I was flat ironing my hair for a second time with no end in sight. My hair experience went wrong in so many ways. I washed it, conditioned it, blow dried it, and all was great. Then I flat ironed it and each section I finished looked like I never did anything to it. When I was done my hair looked like I spent the day outside in extreme humid weather. I thought by flat ironing my hair a second time it might look better. No such luck! I really wanted to laugh, but simultaneously I needed to figure out what I was going to do with my hair. There was no way I would enter the ball looking like a troll struck by lightning! By the time 7:00 p.m. rolled around I decided to go with something that might display elegance. I pulled out my brush, a large jar of soft gel, a hair tie, and began to slick my hair back like my life depended on it. I tossed the back of my hair into a quick bun and that was a wrap. I hurriedly got the rest of my accessories together, put on my shoes, and sped out the door. 

All the vehicles were already at the venue. I was now over an hour late and the ball was scheduled to start in thirty minutes. One thing I hate is being late. I couldn’t believe this was happening, but I knew at the same time I would just laugh at it later, which I did! I made it to the venue with just enough time help the Marines put the finishing touches on the room and mingle with guests. The first thing Douglas said when he laid eyes on me was, “Wow, you look beautiful!” I thought to myself, “If only you knew what it took for me to put this together.” 

The event was held on November 9, 2012 at a hotel in downtown Algiers. It was a gorgeous venue, fitting for such a formal event. Apparently it was also one of the best locations and balls that has been held at this post in years. That was a huge compliment to Douglas and his Marines. There were over 200 people in attendance, including several people from the many different embassies and companies in Algiers. It was one of the most diverse groups I’ve ever been around. The Marines did an excellent job executing the ceremony, with just a few hiccups regarding the DJ playing specific tunes at the appropriate time. It proved there is absolutely nothing like having your fellow Marines from the band play at your ball. They never miss a cue, at least not one that is noticeable to anyone else. I danced until my feet hurt and my dress felt like it was about to pop. If men only knew the amount of discomfort we women go through for a dress to look perfect! For Marines it must be nice to wear the same comfortable uniform every year for their birthday ball. Overall, everyone had a blast! It was a successful and quite memorable event. Douglas and the Marines could hold their heads high for a job well done.

Douglas and Ambassador Henry Ensher

Douglas introducing Guest of Honor

Cake Cutting Ceremony

Passing first slice from oldest Marine to youngest Marine

MSG Driver "New York"

Large Sheet Cake

All service members in uniform present

Douglas with former Marines