About Me

First things first

Hi, there! Are you in the mood for cat stories, dry, sarcastic humor that doesn’t translate well on the Internet, and the occasional recipe? Then you are in the right place. I’m Lisa, the writer of Extra Black Olives. I’m a Jesus fan, Hokie, Alpha Gam, Dr. Pepper addict, Army wife, and crazy cat mom. I’m also a pizza fanatic, student affairs professional, Bigfoot non-believer, and an enthusiastic wearer of bear and moose sweaters. This guy is Mac, my Army officer husband. We met back in college and have been married for eight years.

In this crazy Army life of ours, we’ve moved eight times in twelve years (North Carolina before the blog, Georgia, Virginia, Colorado, Georgia again, Kansas, Texas, and Virginia again). We adopted our Purrburger on a whim the day after we moved to Georgia in 2013, and our Super Bowl baby, Bagel Bites, joined our family the week after the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win in 2016. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage, sit back, and stay a while!

Why the blog?

Once upon a time, I really wanted to blog for Weddingbee. My first posts were all about wedding planning. After our wedding, I kept blogging as a creative outlet and fell in love. This little space has evolved and has included our lives (and many moves), recipes, and our adventures. It’s also brought a great community of readers who have become friends.

What’s with the olives?

Black olives are easily one of my favorite foods. I eat them straight out of the can, on pizza, on sandwiches, and about everything you top with olives. If I can add olives, I will. I always ask for “extra black olives,” so the name made perfect sense. Plus, Sorority Life to Army Wife took a really long time to type.

What you’ll find here

Food. I love to cook, and I love to experiment with recipes. Some are my own, and some are recipes I’ve wanted to try. Most of them are pretty easy, and I hope you enjoy whatever you make.

Travel. We move a lot. Life as a military child and a military spouse has led me on lots of great trips and adventures, and I really want other people (military or civilian) to get out and explore our country and world. I’m also a big fan of the National Park Service and have a life goal of visiting every single property. I created travel guides for our NPS stops and a few other places. The world happens outside, let’s go explore it!

Check out some of my most popular posts!

Copycat Cheesecake Factory loaded baked potato tots