MITH Podcast: Military Spouse Amy Pottinger on Food Network & Family Life

Welcome back to Millspouse in the House. I'm your host, Christy Nix. My husband and I have been married for 22 years and he served 21 years in the active duty army. And I'm proud to say we were married for all 21 of those years. He just recently retired. We just hit our one year retirement milestone and we settled down in the Fort Stewart, Georgia area after our last assignment. And I am currently the head coach and trainer at our local Anytime Fitness. Today we're going to talk about something near and dear to all of our hearts, food. We're talking about meals that bring people together, meals that show love and meals that make military life a little easier and a lot more joyful, all with an expert guide. I'm thrilled to welcome our guest today, Amy Pottinger to the show. Amy is an Air Force Reserve spouse, a Food Network star alum, and the creator behind Caviar and Crayons, a hub for recipes, entertaining tips, and family-friendly cooking inspiration. Amy, we're excited to chat with you and hear about your experience behind the scenes at Food Network. But first, we have a quick rundown of the latest news impacting military families brought to you by Mealspouses.com, a site built by military spouses for military spouses. First up, a heads up for service members and families, 2026 basic allowance for housing rates are about to be released. These rates can affect your household budget, especially if you're PCSing or planning a move in the new year. So keep an eye out, we'll break down what's changing and how you can make sure you're getting the right amount. For all the football fans out there, it's almost time for the Army-Navy game. One of the most iconic rivalries in sports and a tradition that brings the entire military community together. Whether you're cheering from the stands, your local base, or even overseas, this game is more than just football. It's pride, camaraderie, and history on full display. Who are you rooting for this year? Go Army or go Navy. And finally, if you or someone you know is a military family and need the season, there are several nonprofits offering holiday support. From gift drives to meal programs and financial assistance. Organizations like Operation Homefront, USO, and Toys for Tots make sure no family goes without during the holidays. We'll provide a full guide on millspouses.com so you can connect with the resources or even volunteer. Between the parties, the presents, and the planning, the holidays can pile on the pressure, especially for military families juggling so much already. Remember, staying informed matters, but so does taking care of you. We'll be right back after a quick message from Talkspace. Being a military spouse comes with its challenges, but you don't have to navigate them alone. Welcome to Millspouse in the House, your go-to podcast for real talk, support, and community. And thanks to our sponsor, Talkspace, getting the mental health support you need is easier than ever. Talkspace is a secure, HIPAA-compliant therapy platform where you can connect with licensed therapists anytime, from anywhere. Now in the TRICARE network for all TRICARE recipients, for children 13 and up, retirees, veterans, and active duty spouses. Because mental wellness is for the whole family. Visit Talkspace.com slash Millspouse today and take the first step toward support that fits your lifestyle. Welcome back. As we mentioned, we're here with Amy Pottinger. Amy is a military spouse. She's appeared on multiple shows on Food Network. We definitely cannot wait to hear more about that. She is a mom of two, a dog lover, and a self-proclaimed cooking rat, a playful nod to the movie Ratatouille, and a perfect description of her passion for creating crave-worthy dishes at home. You make me sound so fancy and special. Ratatouille is actually a family favorite over here as well. So Amy, tell us a little bit about yourself, your life as a military spouse, some of the places you've gotten to live, and how you got into cooking. Yeah, absolutely. So my husband and I have been married about 18 years, pretty similar to other stories. We met and got married very quickly. And he flew the F-22 for 12 years. I went through pilot training with him. We had some kids along the way. He went to weapons school. And there's a pretty few bases that are associated with that airplane. We have Alaska, Florida, Virginia, and Hawaii. And then when his pilot commitment ran out, he said, active duty has been great. It's been busy. I'm going to go be a full-time reservist and spend time with my family. So he actually made the decision to leave the airframe platform he was on. And now he flies T-38s, just, you know, super chill, chill job out in San Antonio. And naturally, we follow him wherever he goes. Yeah. I just continue my adventures there. So you guys are in San Antonio, Texas? Yep. Yep. Just a little bit north from that. It's a day and a month. But yeah. So why there? Was that home? Or is that just the opportunity that was on the door for the reserve portion of y'all's life? Yeah. So Texas is home for him. I grew up in the Seattle area. And so he really wanted to get back to Texas and he wanted to get into a non-deployable unit because it was a very busy lifestyle, even when they weren't deployed, they were always TDY. They were working six-hour days, you know, 11, like, sorry, 11-hour days occasionally. And so he just wanted a different pace. He wanted to be more present. So he was able to do that here in this location. I like that. Good for him. So I am, I do not know anything about these numbers you've said, the T-38. Yeah, the T-38, it's just like, it's a trainer airplane from the 1960s that they used to spin guys up before they go to, like, it's a fighter track. So like the T-1, if you go to heavies and you fly the T-38, if you go to fighters. So he teaches introduction to fighter fundamentals in the T-38, and then they'll go on to the next airframe. That's great. So he's the constant in that program and people are coming to him. Very cool. And tell, you have kids, what are the ages? They are 11 and 13. Josh is obsessed with baseball. That's pretty much our life because he plays travel ball. And my daughter is an equestrian. They could not have chosen more expensive sports and hobbies and yet here we are. I think the only thing I've heard is maybe like the cheer route for moms. Like the cheer program is quite expensive. Funny story for our listeners. I don't know that I've ever shared this on a podcast. My husband enlisted before he got his commission and he was a Huey mechanic in the Army. And are y'all Army or Air Force? Air Force. Okay. Yeah. Huey mechanic. And so that was in maybe like 1997. And nowadays people, you know, they don't fly Hueys anymore. So that just tells you how, you know, outdated all of that is, but, um, well, very cool. I love San Antonio. I've been there a few times. It's beautiful. So cool place to get to hang out and raise your kiddos. Yeah, it is. I wish we had more seasons. It's like summer, 10 months of the year, but besides that, it's been good. That's awesome. So, uh, let's see. I think you said Alaska, Florida, Virginia, and Hawaii, Texas. Yeah. Those are our bases. We did pilot training in Oklahoma, Florida, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Texas. So, um, I don't want to step on any toes, but he tried real hard to avoid Langley and managed to do that. So, uh, we, we did not hit that one up, but yeah. So of those, what do you feel like was your favorite? Honestly, of Hawaii, um, our kids were like between the ages of two and five. Three and six and everybody kind of lived on base there because it was such an expensive place to live. And so they just ran around like happy, feral, shoeless children with all of the kids. And, um, I was really into hiking at the time, so we did some really cool hikes. And so beach trips were easy, just a really, really good supportive community. I was actually talking to my husband about this ago. It's so funny because I have really good friends here, but we're, we're reservists. We live like 40 minutes away from the base. So I'm not as involved in the squadron. And I go, I have such good friends, but I feel like, you know, when we were still active duty and we were in Hawaii and we were in that community, I could have showed up with all my possessions on somebody's doorstep and been like something bad happened, take me in. And they would've been like, great, move on it. Come live with us for a month. That's fine. Like, you know, so there's, I definitely miss that active duty community. That's probably why I, like Hawaii was kind of like a last hurrah there. And so I definitely look on it with fond memories for a myriad of reasons, but yeah. I love that. Do you feel like the kids have good memories of it or were they just a little bit too young? My daughter is definitely old enough. I don't think my son remembers as much as he was two to four or five, but my daughter, my daughter loved it. One of her bucket lists is to go back. We just went to Alaska last summer because that's where she was born, but who wants to go back to bellows air force base? It's just this tiny base and obviously if you'd be military to get on and it's literally like cabins on the beach and the beach is perfect and nobody's there and it's not overpopulated. So that's our, that's our go back to place. Oh, that's so cool. I love that. Um, well, so one of the fun parts about living in so many of these different places is really getting to try the regions food. Have you picked up some favorite recipes or some inspiration as far as that goes along the way? Yeah, absolutely. Hawaii was another one where I loved the food. Um, I grew up in Seattle, so I actually grew up in a culture or in an area that was very rich and diverse food culture. So, um, from a young age, I was just all of them. Like, I don't think there's any foods ethnicity that I don't like, but I love, I hate this term Asian food because when you say Asian food, people are thinking Chinese, but like it's really so diverse. You have Thai food, Filipino food, Japanese food. And, um, even though Hawaii wasn't necessarily any of those cultures, there was a lot of that influence in the food culture and that was a good one for me. Oh yes. You're making me hungry. So would you, is that one of your favorite things to cook or what is one of the favorites if it's not that? Yeah. I honestly, I think one of the reasons I like it so much, like I love sushi is because it's one of the things I don't cook. Um, I'm kind of a brat because the things that I do cook, I cook well, like we'll go to a really nice steakhouse dinner and I'm like, I could have done that better. I think I'm drawn to some of these foods because I don't cook them as often at home because my kids don't want to eat them. But yeah. That makes sense. I love that. That's a great way to look at it. Yeah. Well, um, okay. So you're on the Food Network. That's so way cool. So how did that come about? You know, I applied and never in a million years did I think that I would get a call back because it's literally like, you know, you send in a brief bio and a picture of yourself in an optional video and I don't even remember if I did that or not. And then they just, it's like a process where they just keep narrowing things down. So, um, I got a call back and they said, Hey, we're going to do this Skype interview back when Skype was still a thing. It was like a three hour interview. And what I found out later is they condensed it down to like a four minute video for the producers so they could, you know, not have to watch everybody's life story, but kind of get the highlights. And after I went through that, I had an additional step as a contestant because, um, I was one of the few people that like didn't have a huge food background. So I just have a food blog. I still have it, but I had a food blog and I guess they liked my personality for some unforeseen reason. And, um, they brought me on with that platform. So I had to do an additional audition process, um, from a culinary perspective where they just asked me a bunch of culinary questions, asked me to cook a dish because most people that were on there either owned restaurants or had, you know, done some level of professional cooking, which is why I jokingly referred to myself as a cooking rat because I have no formal training whatsoever. So I just kind of taught myself everything I know over time. That's amazing. So you were the underdog in the crowd. That's for sure. Yeah, I was. Yeah. Well, um, so where were y'all filming? Um, we were basically in the LA area. One year we were at Sony, one year we were at Warner Brothers. Um, I'm sure it's no real secret. Like it's, there's no, there's no Food Network Star Kitchen. Like it's a set. If that's, if that is a secret, then oops. Um, but I mean, you know, they, they set these sets up. Um, I mean, it's, they do a beautiful job. It's a beautiful kitchen, but it's, it's in a studio, a big studio, but the studio, oh, wow. Oh, very cool. Well, have there been any like crazy fun behind the scenes moments that you would want to share? You know, I can't think of anything like particular. I was, I was really kind of trying to think about this, but like, it was just such a surreal experience because one kind of like picked up out of obscurity, then they throw you in with all these people. And it was a very, um, I'm trying to say this lovingly, it was a very controlled environment. Like they were very deliberate about where they put us when we were allowed to talk the things we were allowed to know about the competition. So it was a little bit lockdown-y and I remember coming home and talking the first time and coming home and talking to like some of the friendships, the people that I had made friends with and being like, that was like cool, but also kind of traumatic because they just kind of like took us and like locked us away and put us on the show and was like, you're on the show. This is, you're not doing anything else. Like, this is your life. And so it was cool and rewarding and I'm glad I did it, but it was also kind of jarring to be totally honest. It sounds like a military experience. Like there was no room for crazy fun, just unchance moments. Yeah. I mean, I mean, there were silly things like people messing things up that didn't make it to camera, but there wasn't anything, you know, that, that exciting besides the trauma of it. Yeah. So like the mom in me is curious, like how long were you away from the family? Yeah. Yeah. That, that's, that was a hard one. It's about six weeks and so the first time we did it, family came in and helped out and we did have to hire like a part-time nanny when I was gone and I was actually just talking to somebody about this. The second time I went back, some parts of me are glad that I did it, but like other parts of me really were just leaving again. So what happened was one of the senior producers called and was like, Hey, we really want you to come back. So to come back the second time you have to compete on something called combat kitchen. And if you win combat kitchen, then you make it back on one person wins and they make it back on the food network star. So we're having this conversation and they're doing all these things to accommodate me coming back to the show again. And so in my head, I'm thinking, you know, there's this demographic that they're trying to fill because in my first season, we had three white males from the South and the top three. So I'm thinking, Oh, they, they, they want a male Southern, you know, chef. So maybe they have this mom demographic that they're trying to fill. And so I went back and left again and it was a long period of time and ultimately I didn't win. I made it into the top three. I did well, but I didn't win. And I got a call later asking to go back on the great food truck race. And I'm like, I thought this was going to be a opportunity that, you know, provided something else. Like I'm a mom. I can't, I'm not going to be able to compete on reality television for the rest of my life. Like, thank you for thinking of me, but like, no, I think that like, this is it, like we're done. Like, yeah. Yeah. Not like we're done, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the experience was the experience and you said yes, but you have an obligation at home. Yeah. Which most military spouses would a hundred percent relate to, right. We're living without help of family. We have children and our, our spouse's career is usually we're there to support that. And so being away is hard. Yeah. Good job for you for saying yes. Like, cause that's such an unknown experience to the first time I would imagine. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so do you have a favorite celebrity chef? I don't really have a favorite. I mean, every time you see somebody it's like, it's its own reaction because you experienced them on TV. I think as far as like just general likeability, when we were on comeback kitchen, um, Tyler Florence and Valerie Bertinelli hosted it and they like really took the time to come over and talk to us and get to know us. And we're super, super personable. The, um, other people were great. Like nobody was unkind, nobody was rude, but some people you could tell, you know, showed up and left and they seemed to really care. The other one that I really liked is the second time I was on the pioneer woman came in and like, she made a point to talk about God and church. So that was one where it's like the top five people and we all had to film these mini segments with her and she brought it up each time and it didn't make it to air anytime. But like from watching it on set, it was like, this woman's obviously trying to bring her personal values into what she's doing. And I thought that was, I was like, that made an impression on me obviously, but none of that made it to air. But yeah. Yeah. What goes on air isn't exactly the experience you had your own personal experience, right? And so she found value in that moment with you. I love that. So it doesn't even have to make air for it to be important to her. Very cool. What's it intimidating? Did you find yourself feeling intimidated having them judge you? Oh my gosh, absolutely. So the first, the very first night, my first season, um, there's this huge kitchen I've never cooked in a professional kitchen before. And at your station, you have things like knives and then, um, they're, they're little plastic containers, but they're basically, they're, they're for tasting bowls or for food prep. You're not supposed to use them to cook. You're supposed to use them to like mise en pas, like chop your onions, put them in there. And I was too intimidated to leave my station. So I'm sitting here like tossing whole bowls of food in these tiny bowls. I'm just, I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't thinking straight. And so it's definitely intimidating, especially, especially like when you're against people that really, really do this for a living, not just the judges, but knowing that the competition from a logical standpoint should be able to outcook you. Um, that's intimidating. Another thing that didn't make it to air, which I really wished it was Alex born in Chile. He told me I had Bobby Flay level Mexican food and I was like, Oh, please make it to it. Didn't, I didn't, I didn't. Dang. They won't send it to you. Can you please just send me that clip? That's cool. Well, so you've had multiple appearances on food network, but you also have an amazing blog called caviar and crayons. Yeah. So tell us about that and how you came up with that really cute name. Yeah. So, um, we were in Florida and I had, I had always loved food. I loved entertaining people. Like I loved creating things. I also paint, like I'm just, I'm just a very creative person and I wanted an outlet for that. And so somebody had suggested a food blog and I'm like, yeah, I guess why not? Like I had no idea what I was doing, but it was helpful that things like, you know, like waste and stuff, those were all coming online where you can kind of make your own website. And so sitting down, I was trying to come up with names and the first one I thought of was champagne and juice boxes and like, you know, kind of the play between sophisticated and kids. Right. And then out of nowhere came caviar and crayons and I'm like, okay, yeah, that's it. And then, so I instantly went online and searched like, is this taken anywhere and it wasn't. So yeah. And so what are you using the blog for? Are you sharing recipes? Are you doing tutorials? Videos? Okay. Full disclosure, it's only semi-active and it's my baby and I can't let go of it. I keep meaning to reboot it. But life has just been busy. Two years ago, we decided to take our kids out of full-time private school and actually I guess three years ago now, and they're in a hybrid program. So two, three days a week, they're home with me doing school. So all of these things that I am trying to balance, sometimes get kicked to the back room. I'm not saying I don't have time for myself. I do. I'm not saying I don't consume the things I like. I do. But I really do want to bring my food blog back. But it is mostly just recipes, but it's my neglected baby, my food blog. Yeah. It's funny because my oldest is almost 20. My middle is almost 18 and my son is 12 and a half and we're also homeschooling him. But when your kids are little, I look back and I'm like, wow, I was really still able to do a lot of things when my kids were little. I also started a social media website and blogged a lot when they were little. And then there's those in-between years where I do find it's a lot harder to pursue those passion projects, if you will. Yes, you can monetize them, but it's not out of a need. It's out of a desire and a passion. If your kids and your family are your number one, there's a lot of things buying for your time. I will say looking back, I don't regret at all either pushing pause or maybe downgrading the expectations of myself with the content I created because eventually they go away and they're in college or talking about college. And you'll be so glad to look back and say that you freed yourself up for them how you needed. So I totally relate to that. Yeah. Well, OK, so speaking of the kids, you do talk a lot about including them in the kitchen. How do you get your children involved in cooking and why is that important? Well, why why is it important actually is the catalyst for question number one, right? Like I think something I'm guilty of as a parent is sometimes I do too much for my kids and I'm trying so hard to make them do things themselves because I'll do it more efficiently and I'll do it to my standards. And I'm really having to let go of that because I'm a little bit of a professional. But they need to they really need to learn some of these basic skills that I think are completely lost in society these days. You know, everything's so automatic. That's kind of the why. Also, quality time together, full disclosure. They do cook with me a lot, but they kind of eat like Ninja Turtles. Like people are always like, oh, how do you get your kids to eat all these foods? I don't. Sorry to disappoint you. I wish they ate better. You know, we've tried saying we're not cooking anything else. This is dinner. Eat it. We're working on it. We're making progress. It's definitely an area of growth for us. So they do cook with me. But, you know, like we'll all make chicken fajitas to get like it's it's it's the same rotation of things I know they like because they don't they're not adventurous and it blows my mind because their friends will come over and eat my crazy food. But yeah, they're just like, no, I relate to that so much, especially, you know, when I'm in the grocery store with the fitness background, I feel like people are looking in my buggy and seeing that I am buying macaroni and cheese and, you know, maybe some sugary cereal because I you know, I do. We have to strike a healthy balance of where I'm pushing, what I'm teaching and also giving them the freedom to learn how to make the proper choices without making them miserable. That's for sure. Yeah. So the holidays are coming up. We're about to be thrust in them and they can be very, very hectic. So especially for the military community, what are some of your favorite tips to make holiday cooking easier and more fun? Yeah, I mean, I think first and it's an easier said than done one is like, know your limits and don't put pressure on yourself, because like the whole point of it really is, you know, community and stuff. And I definitely have a very, you know, Instagram feed with food. But like, that's just because that's kind of the gift that God has given me. Right. Like I said, there's things that other people do really well that I'm absolutely terrible at. So like, I think you need to like, just take the pressure off of yourself. The other thing that's important is like, you can there's so much stuff you can do ahead of time. Like, say you're hosting a big get together, like a day or two before you can get stuff chopped up, you can put it in the fridge, there's things you can make that freeze really well. I mean, you don't have to do everything the day of, especially for big holidays when we have family in town, I'll do like, easy breakfast items. So I'm not worried about providing people breakfast while I'm cooking dinner. So like, I have like a French toast bake, and just like an egg and vegetable bake that I always do. And people can just go do that while I'm doing my thing, and I've already done some of my prep. And then also, I think, you know, like, kind of like know the hits, right? Like, each year, you cook something that went over great, maybe it didn't like take note of that, like what did people like that way, each year, you're not trying to start from scratch and like reinvent the book and, you know, put more pressure on yourself to provide something new. Like, if you did it right last year, great, well, with it again, like, yeah. Yeah, that's great advice. I know, my kids are just like, they have like their few staples, and I want to master those really well. And if I bring those to them, they're usually pretty happy. So it's a lot of work, but totally doable. So holiday cooking can certainly be a real adventure, especially when your kitchen changes every few years. Amy's been giving us some great ideas to make the season delicious and meaningful. After a quick break, we'll get to a few of our listener questions for her. So stay with us for a short message from our sponsor. Being a military spouse comes with its challenges, but you don't have to navigate them alone. Welcome to Mill Spouse in the House, your go to podcast for real talk, support and community. And thanks to our sponsor, Talkspace, getting the mental health support you need is easier than ever. Talkspace is a secure, HIPAA compliant therapy platform where you can connect with licensed therapists anytime, from anywhere. Now in the TRICARE network for all TRICARE recipients, for children 13 and up, retirees, veterans and active duty spouses. Because mental wellness is for the whole family. Visit Talkspace.com slash Mill Spouse today and take the first step towards support that fits your lifestyle. And we're back and talking with Amy Pottinger, a military spouse, food blogger and home chef, all around rock star, if you ask me. So in this lifestyle, cooking isn't always just for our immediate family. So we're often cooking for our military community, whether it's a potluck, a meal train, unit gatherings. We've done a lot of SFRG get togethers where people bring a dish. So we've got some questions from our listeners in regards to a lot of that. What have you found to be the best type of meal to bring to a military family's home when they either have a new baby, someone's just returned from a deployment, or maybe they just moved in next door? Yeah, absolutely. So there's actually two opposite ends of that spectrum, which I'm going to answer because everybody's different, right? So if it's somebody I don't know too well, I'll typically do something that they could easily pop in the freezer because everybody's helping out, but everybody's helping out at the same time, right? So you don't want to eat 45 casseroles in one week. So I make sure if I make something like that, it's freezable. If it's somebody that I know, I always ask the spouse or friend that has less on their plate but knows about the person. And nine times out of 10, people will ask for a really good hearty salad because everybody's bringing them casseroles. And so I try to set it up in a way that it's kind of like a salad bar because not everybody eats the same things. They probably have kids. So my go-to, if people are adventurous, is I'll do a banh mi, which is a sandwich. Banh means bread, but I'll turn it into a salad. So I'll marinate the meat the same way, but I'll do rice noodles and the pickled vegetables and the lettuce. And then people can kind of just pick what they like and leave out what they don't. Wow, that's a great idea. I love that. No one's ever brought me one of those. I want one. Move to Texas. Yeah, that sounds amazing. I operate from like the busy woman mindset and it's like I just want to help that mama know that that block is checked, right? So even though I'm not a great cook, I know how to cook for my family and make them happy. It's not my strong thing, but I can do it. I always just want to offer my help. I usually do a freezer meal. I cook something and then freeze it for them and then write the directions on the top. And then when some of the meals calm down and they really need that spot of help, there's something in the freezer. Military families do that so well for each other. Well, I can do that kind of in my own home. Like if I make something like chili con carne or tiki masala, anything that slow cooks, I'll make like a triple batch and freeze it because there's going to be a night where I'm busy. I don't want to make something and I want to be able to take it out of my freezer. I mean. A hundred percent. Yeah. We're the big leftover family. Yeah. I mean, I don't have a great plan to cook something and know that we'll probably have it again in two or three nights. And then if we're able, I'll free some of that as well, but it's just called being organized really. So do you have, if you go to recipes to make for a like pot luck, like that are just always a hit? Yeah. Yeah. So I do. I don't do it as much anymore, but I used to like cater a lot of like penny flights and changing commands and stuff. And so I'll tend to bring similar dishes and stuff like that. I have a pulled pork. It's not a dish in itself. If I know I'm the only, like if I'm not catering for everybody and it's me providing something and I'll typically bring like cilantro, lime rice with it. So it makes sense. And it's not a standalone, but I have never served that and had people like not the recipe or all of it. So that's an easy go to that I eat or that I bring all the time. I don't think you can really go wrong with anything you can turn into a taco personally, but that's just my perspective. So the cilantro, lime rice is the dish or you always bring that in addition? I bring it in addition. So it's pulled pork and I just cook it big batch and it's like orange juice, chipotle powder, brown sugar, a bunch of other stuff. And then after it's cooked and you pulled it, you reduce the liquid and add it back into the meat and it just has so much flavor. And so everywhere I go, people are like, bring that, bring that, bring that. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. That sounds amazing. Is that recipe on your Instagram anywhere? I don't know. I might have to go back into the archives, but it's there. Yeah. Uh, one of our kiddos is a meat eater and so I'm constantly looking for dishes that it's a meat base, um, and then, but other ways to spice it up. So my family doesn't feel like we're just eating chicken every night. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So before we wrap it up, what are your top three tips for military families juggling cooking, entertainment, deployments, being far from family and all that during the holidays? I mean, honestly, it's, it's, it kind of piggybacks on what we talked about earlier for like the holidays. Like, I think a lot of times we put so much pressure on ourselves, especially as women to like do all of the boxes. So you'd like, you really, again, you just give yourself grace, like you're not going to do it all. And it really, it does, it does take a community. We were so fortunate, like in our airframe, again, only so many bases, only so many people flew that airplane that like, I mean, we just, we supported each other so much. So give yourself grace, like, and rely on your community. And again, it's, it's, it's, it's all kind of just the same thing that I said earlier. I know that's boring, but you know, like know what your strengths are, give yourself grace, prepare ahead of time. And something that I'm horrible at is letting things go when they don't go how I planned. Like I am a, I'm a planner. Like I know the outcome that I want in any given situation. And when things go awry, that really throws me for a loop. And so even just give yourself grace with not being able to accept the situation, inevitably going to happen. I guess that's not going to happen. So yeah. That's such good advice. It's a lot of like, keep the main thing, the main thing, right? Like you're filling people's bellies, you're creating space for time and community and you know, it's the holidays. So we have more free time to be together. And if you botch one dish or the kitchen's not perfectly clean, or the table's not perfectly set. If the main thing of community time fellowship and feeding people is accomplished, it should still feel like a big one for everybody. I agree. Yeah. Well, Amy, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing all of your stories, your recipes, tips, and it sounds like a lot of your wisdom. Where can our listeners find more of those recipes and follow along on your culinary journeys? Yes. So like I said earlier, it's severely neglected, but it does exist. Caviarandcrayons.com is my website. So all my recipes are on there. And then my Instagram, going to get a little redundant here, caviarandcrayons.com. Perfect. Yeah. Same thing for all social media platforms. So shy of providing my home address and my phone number. That's pretty much where you can... Let's not do that. No, let's not. No, actually I have found Amy on her Instagram on caviarandcrayons.com and one thing I love about my Instagram is the stories. They're just super easy. I don't have to think about them a lot. And so I feel like I've seen you posting some of those as well. So you can invite people into your day-to-day life very easily without having to do the whole landing page website, writing up, because we'll have time for that again one day, I would imagine. So thank you so much for being here, Amy. We really appreciate it. And congratulations on all your success. That is quite amazing. Thank you so much. You as well. Thank you again, Amy, for being here with us today. You guys make sure to go and give her a follow on her Instagram, caviarandcrayons.com. I've been following her for a little while and really have just enjoyed feeling like I'm a part of her life because I can relate so much to her day-to-day battle rhythm, but also just really appreciate the value that she's adding in her level of expertise when it comes to food, cooking, and just making it doable for the rest of us. I really enjoyed one of her most recent posts leading up to Thanksgiving. It was a make-ahead breakfast ideas. So when you're spending the day in the kitchen, you can relieve some of that stress before that day begins by making some things ahead of time that are going to be delicious for the whole family. So love that. Also, you guys make sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave us a review, and maybe even let us know what are some topics that you would like us to cover. Make sure to join the Mill Spouse and the House community and be sure to follow us on Instagram at thisismillspouses. So once again, I'm your host, Kristi Nix, signing off the net.