Vernal, UT

After seeing Logan's maternal grandparents for a few day and helping my sister move we went to Vernal, UT to see my bestie Megan and her family. While we were there we went on a rafting trip. Here are some highlights:

Apparently to be a fun rafting trip you had to get into the water. It was freezing cold but with a little encouragement we all ended up getting in! 

As you can see by my face, we pretty much flash froze our bottom halfs. It was fun looking back on it now :)

Bailing out the raft. 

While we were there we also got to go to a dinosaur museum called the quarry because they have a wall of partially unearthed dinosaur bones that you can see sticking out of the dirt. It really was fascinating being able to see what they look like before scientists take them out of the ground. 

Colorado

We spent a few days with family at my grandparents cabin in our drive up to Washington. It was especially special because my sister Katie flew down and my other older sister Cynthia and her family drove there so all of my family except my bother in law Jeff were there. I always love it when me and all my sisters are all together!

While we were there we helped fill in the old root cellar, went fishing and had a great time being together as a family.

Dad walking up the stairs pretending to be drunk. 

Kara Selfie! 

and of course teddy gets one too.

The Cluff Girls! 

My fish!

Lake Vallecito

Moving from San Angelo, TX

This was our first military move. Up until this point, we have always moved our selves. I think we learned a lot from it and what to expect in the future. 

I was weird to not help out but quite nice to not have to spend days packing up and usually hurting my writs in the process. I know that I could have done a better job and I'm sure we will get some broken things but as long as they will replace them, I don't think I'm particularly that attached to anything. 

On our way out of town, we stopped at our favorite place that we found in San Angelo. It was called Peasant Village. It is a great Deli during the day and a nice sit down at night. Unfortunately, all of the high school students were also there but it was worth it once we got our yummy sandwiches. 

Our car was pretty well packed up on our way out of town but not all of it was actually going with us to Japan. 

Then we started our drive to Albuquerque, NM. Our first stop! 

When we were about half of the way there, we got stopped in a huge line up of cars. It was because of a really bad accident and we saw several ambulances and a life flight. It added about 45 minutes to the drive. 

Once we got going again we got stopped AGAIN for a mandatory State Police ID check. They made everyone stop and show drivers licences and registration. 

So, it took us a little longer to get there but eventually we did! 

Saying Goodbye to Friends

It took me a while to get friends when we came to San Angelo but by the time we left 8 months later it was actually really hard leaving all the people that we had come to know and love. 

I ended up being really close to all the girls that were in the Relief Society Presidency at church with me. They are amazing and great people! I especially became close with Cassie. She is one of the kindest and sweetest people I have ever met! We had so much fun getting out and talking. 

Logan had a great training class that made work fun and were all really great! On one of our last nights there, some of us that were still there went out to eat. I wish you all the best! 

Zumba Girls

One thing that I stared to do while I was in San Angelo was Zumba. I've known about it for a while but never tried it till I got there. After my first time, I was hooked! It was so fun and didn't feel like working out so I was a total fan.

The other great thing about it was the girls that I did it with! They were fun and amazing people! I love them and will miss them a ton!

We also had a fun time burning and eating calories all in the same night!

Funny Moments with Logan

So I have these cute little green bowls that my sister gave me a while back. I use them all the time but the only place they get clean is in the very middle rack of the dishwasher because they can sit flat. If I put them anywhere else, they tip over and fill with water. I have of course told Logan this.

So the other day when I went to load a green bowl, I find this! Logan had put all his lunch Tupperware right in that middle row that I needed. 

Annoyed, I went into the office where he was at the computer and said, holding up the green bowl, "I'm glad you loaded your lunch dishes but you put them right in the middle row, the only place these can go!".

Logan turned around and innocently said "I knew there was something important about the middle row. Kinda like when Tony Stark brings Pepper Strawberries." We both start laughing and I tell him "Okay, you get credit for that." I gave him a kiss on the forehead and left to go fix it with a smile on my face. How could I stay mad at him ever! He makes me so happy!

Just now, I looked up the lines and it's funny how close our conversation was to theirs in Iron Man2:
Pepper - Did you bring me strawberries?
Pepper - Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I am allergic to?
Tony - Allergic to strawberries.
Tony - This is progress, Pepper.
Tony - I knew there was a correlation between you and this!

I got some pics of my last activity that I did for my ward (Thanks Tracy!). Logan helped me set up and I did most of all the food and decorating. It all turned out great! I was pretty happy how cute it was considering I only spent $2 on all the decorating!!

I've become such good friends with so many of these girls! I will miss them! 

Glass Etching

I was released this last Sunday from the Relief Society presidency. It was a fun and challenging calling and I ended up loving the girls I worked with! For our last presidency meeting, we got together and did glass etching! We were trying it out for our next RS activity because none of us had ever done it. Now, I'm an expert!
I loved my font I chose but wished I had remembered to put the middle of the d and o in the second dish. Still, I think it looks okay. If you guys ever want to etch your casserole dishes just let me know! It is so fun and easy!

Banana Bread

I can't bring all my recipes with me in my suitcase but I wanted to make sure I had the ones I need when we get to Japan and before our stuff gets there so I thought I could share my recipe and have it in a place I could find all at the same time!!

I got this recipe from my roommate Megan.

Banana Bread
1/2 C Shortening (I used half shortening and half coconut oil because I'm trying to use up what I have. BTW they turned out really yummy with that ratio).
1 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2-3 Bananas (I peal them mash and freeze them flat. Then when I need them, I just put the baggie in the microwave for a minute and they are ready to go straight in the mixer).
3 tsp Milk and 1 tsp Vinegar (You are supposed to let them sit to make sour milk but I usually just put them in my mixing bowl at the same time).
1 tsp Vanilla
2 C Flour (Could probably use GF baking flour?)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 C Chocolate Chips (or walnuts, or BOTH!)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and mix. Add mashed banana, milk and vinegar and mix. Mix in vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, salt and mix. Add Chocolate chips! I love using my mini loaf pan to cook them in. They take about 30 minutes ('till a toothpick comes out clean) but if you make one large loaf it might take closer to an hour. 

One Week

I can't believe Logan Graduates in one week! It just doesn't feel real! This last week will be hard. Logan has 12 hour days and can't come home for lunches. He wakes up at 4:30, work starts at 6am and then he has to stay until at least 6pm or later depending on how much needs to be done. Bed time for him is then at 8. Needless to say, I won't be seeing him much for this next week. The good news is after that, he is taking leave until we get to Japan on the 20th.

The weirdest part is that usually I would have everything packed by now so it would feel like we were moving but right now everything is still in its place waiting for the movers to come and pack us up. I keep thinking I need to be doing more but not sure there is much to do other than pack our clothes!

In Numbers

I've been working on running faster. Something I pretty much have never done. I was perfectly fine at running and sports until puberty hit. After that, any Fat Amy quote could work for me ("mmm...better not" "Yeah, no. Don't put me down for Cardio" "Horizontal Running") haha I love Pitch Perfect! So, if I ran a mile or two at a 11 or 12 minute mile I was pretty happy.

Logan told me that to get better you have to push your self. He also taught me that a lot of running is a mind game in telling your body to not stop when it thinks you should. So this is what I have been trying on the treadmill at the gym (it is WAY too hot to run outside).

Here is some of my progress. I know that it is not amazing but it is good for ME and I am improving - that is all that counts. (By now, I know that I cannot compare myself to Logan when he somehow runs two time faster than me). Plus, I probably ran my best mile in my whole life today!

My workout in numbers....

workout times per week - 4
fastest mile two weeks ago - 10:15
fastest mile one week ago - 9:40
fastest mile today - 8:34!!!!
3 mile time today - 31:58
5k time today - 33:14
average minutes per mile today - 10:39 (I'd like to get this down to 10)
average pace (miles/hr) today - 5.6 (includes cool down)
fastest pace today - 7
squats - 50
brownies eaten so far - 1/2
brownies earned - at least 3 more!!

My Decorating Style

Thanks to Pinterest I've realized that I don't know what my decorating style was. I see my friend's pins and think wow, they really know what style of home decor matches them. I was jealous.

The only thing to do was search in Pinterst "decorating style quiz" and I was on my way to new self discovery! I found several quizzes and got results like "Polished Casual" and "Cottage Chic". When I looked up the results back in Pinterest, I really didn't like anything I saw.

I then switched to just searching on Pinterest for styles I already knew: Country, Modern, Contemporary, Cottage, Southwest, Traditional... and BAM, once I started looking at the Traditional Home Decor I loved almost all of it (as long as they were in my color pallet). I had found my style!

Now that I know what home decor style is me, I feel like a more complete person! It was so exciting, it earned a new board on Pinterest. It is called my Dream Home and I really feel at home "walking" through all the images. I bet you didn't know that I was so fancy but there really is a part of me that just wants to always wear long jackets and cropped pants and shop at Banana Republic and Pottery Barn for the rest of my life.

I am very specific at what I don't like and just like with the foods I hate, it seems easier to list them then the things I do like. The things I usually don't like can usually be described as: red, chunky, ugly floral, dark colors (except for on wood), marble. polka dot, animal prints, industrial, vintage, aged, eclectic, too much brick, rusty, leather. It is totally fine if you like some of those things but this is just what I prefer. 

Here are some beautiful images that show what I do love!

Its SO pretty!! I will probably never have anything that is just like these but now I can start to focus on the things that I collect so that someday my house will be full of Traditional Decor! 

Confidence and Dreams

I went to a luncheon the other day with some of my girl friends. It was a lot fun and we talked about lots of stuff including self image. It seemed like all the girls said they could relate at one point or another. It must have been because of that I had the dream I did a few nights later.

In my dream, every morning when you woke up there were two people there to weigh and measure you. I got out of bed and there they were waiting for me like a scene from the Hunger Games Capitol, all dressed up holding a scale and measuring tape. I then had to stand and turn as they proceeded to measure my waist and height. Fashion and looks were really important in the alternative world and everyone knew the size and measurements of everyone else each morning as they were broadcast out like Facebook statuses. 

I remember generally observing these people and thinking how shallow they all were. I could also tell that their looks had become either a source of pride or cause for much depression and self-loathing. 

I continued to think on this after I woke up. Sadly, I think the world is closer to this then not. But just like in my dream, I don't think appearance is everything or a source of happiness. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that people should be well groomed and dressed appropriately. I also am one of those people who love to clothes shop and buy new accessories but I think that how we feel about ourselves is always more important. 

Personally, I think the most attractive feature is confidence. This is something I learned while at collage. It was the beginning of my Junior year that I realized it doesn't matter what others think of me as long as I am trying to be my best self. Confidence to me is not apologizing for who you are but knowing that you are a daughter (or son) of a loving Heavenly Father that has blessed us with so many gifts and talents we can hardly recognize them all. When I started to live they way, the number of friends I had sky rocketed and I started getting asked out on multiple dates each weekend. Obviously, my looks didn't change but the way people saw me did.

I don't mean to make this "Anna's Soap Box Post" but I do think this is important and I wish I could share this with so many of the women at church that have so much to share but don't or feel like they are not worthy of showing off their talents because they might be in some way inadequate. I know that sometimes I fail at this too but I do hope to always try my best to really understand and live with confidence because I know who I am a spirit daughter of and I have so much to share! If I live that way, I know that I will always be beautiful to my family and Heavenly Father.

New Phone Number and Weekend Updates

When we get to Japan, we will be able to call anyone in the US for free using our new MagicJack. It uses our wifi for calls so we don't ever have to worry about minutes and any one can call us (please make sure what time it is first in Japan before calling!).  The number is 425-270-4174. I already have it set up as my cellphone is being stupid (and it will go away forever in a month) so feel free to call me on it now. 

One thing I did love about my cell was being able to use my headphones and being hands free. Now that I use the home phone more often, I needed to come up with a solution! With the help of a hair tie and headband was able to get just that! Ta Da! This is how I talk with all of you now and it is fabulous! 

This weekend, I put on my last Relief Society activity! It was a Friendship brunch and I made crepes for everyone. It was a lot of fun but I would have never been able to do it with out Logan because both of my committee members were out of town! He was very supportive of me as I made crepes all Friday night (right when our air conditioner broke!), helped me set up and clean up after and was nice enough to help with childcare after I volunteered him for it :) 

For all his help, I promised I would make him steak so we bought some t-bone steaks (that were on sale!) on Saturday and I cooked them up with mushrooms and sweet potato fries for Sunday dinner. He loved it! I liked mine too but only made it about half way through. When Logan was done, the only thing left was the bone! He said he was happy to help me out anytime!

That night I also made scones for the kids in his class. They were Vegan/Kosher so pretty much everything but gluten-free (but could probably be made that way very easily). They were really good! I liked the orange cranberry ones but I loved the lemon blueberry! I have decided that fresh blueberries are my favorite fruit! 

Life Questions

I know you have all had one question burning in your mind so I am here to answer it for you!

Where do rollie pollies go to die?

Great question and the answer is that they take a long pilgrimage on the rollie pollie highway that is behind my couches and when they get to the last leg of my love seat they have completed their life's work and are ready to pass on to the next life!

There the noble rollie pollies stay forever until I come with my vacuum to suck them up and give them a new resting place.

Sunday Relief Society Lesson

Thanks mom and Katie for helping me with my lesson!!! It went very well today in Relief Society! I honestly just introduced the topic and let people comment, every once in a while I'd share a new quote and we would continue to discuss that. It was seriously the easiest one I've given and lots of sisters said I did a great job. whoop whoop! Honestly, it wasn't very much because of me but because of the awesome participation I had and with the help of the Spirit.

The lesson was on Humility and I really loved learning about it this week! Here are my notes and materials that I used. If you need a quick FHE lesson or a uplifting thought I encourage you to give it a read and share with me your thoughts and feelings!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VHoo4WGGLG3kHwD0U4ldcOjmTLqbsAlP2NctOr5U27w/edit?usp=sharing

Silly Stuff Logan Says

I know I don't have a funny two year old but my husband sometimes says the funniest things. Sometimes I wish we had a quote board like I did with my roommates back in Collage. Here are a few funny things he said just this last week:

Logan: I'm going to go call my mom, you can go play with your barbies or something.

Me(looking at Logan from the kitchen): What cha doing?
Logan(sitting on the couch squinting his eyes looking off into the distance):Just tracking orcs...in my head.

Logan: I just can't get these doinky-doinkies to do what they're supposed to!

lol! I know there are better ones but these are all I can think of right now. He makes me laugh so much. And yes, I did ask him before posting this if that was okay and he said he didn't mind.

Homemade Horchata!

I made homemade Horchata (Mexican cinnamon rice milk drink) today and it was SO good!! Ten times better then at any restaurant! Here is the recipe I adapted:

click here for recipe and image source

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup raw or blanched almonds
2/3 cup white rice, uncooked
2 1/2 cups water + 3 cups water
one 3-inch cinnamon stick + dash ground cinnamon
2/3 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large blender canister or large bowl combine almonds, uncooked rice, 2 1/2 cups warm water, cinnamon stick, blend on low for one minute and place in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours (overnight).
2. Remove canister from the refrigerator, remove the cinnamon stick, and blend the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes on high speed, or until blended as smoothly as possible.
3. Add sugar (to taste), vanilla extract, 3 cups more water, a dash of cinnamon and blend again for 2 more minutes, or until mixture is as smooth as possible.
4. Strain horchata through a cheesecloth. Serve immediately as is, over ice, or refrigerate and serve chilled, shaking before if mixture has separated. 

Notes. I used raw almonds, jasmine rice, added a little more water and cinnamon and did less vanilla extract and it was PERFECT! yummy yummy yummy! I also strained mine through a regular tea towel because I didn't have a cheese cloth (the cheesecloth would have probably been easier) but it worked perfectly fine. Make sure you strain it really well or you will have a very "gritty" drink.

Tender Mercies (big and small)

I feel so blessed! Sometimes it is for small things. Like last night when I was at Walmart. I wanted to get some sponges with the scrubby side to clean my bathtub - it always gets dirty so fast when all I wear are sandals. When I looked at one of the stacks, someone had left a coupon that expired that night! So I got 75 cents off because someone was nice enough to leave a coupon they didn't need.

I've also been trying to figure out a problem with my dental insurance. They were saying I owed $260  because the dentist I saw was out of network (and they weren't).  So after not getting any real questions answered from them I called the dentist office and found out that they had been paid by my insurance finally (after requesting it 4 times) so I didn't owe them anything at all! I can't tell you how much inner turmoil this was causing so it was great news not only to get it taken of and done with but to also not have to pay anything additional.

Another huge blessing is that today we got orders! I know that doesn't sound that exciting but it means we can finally schedule our move and get things taken care of to move to Japan! The later we got them the longer all of that would take and it could mess up our plans. Now we also know that we will live in Japan for three years! It's 100 percent happening and we will be there in September!

And this is probably the biggest of all! This last Monday Logan took his last graded test! Everything after this is pass/fail so it was the last thing to affect his gpa. He has been working so hard and I felt a little bad taking him out of town the days before the test. But Logan studied so hard the days before that and was blessed for all his hard work. He got a 100 percent and that gives him a great chance to get top graduate! If he got that award, it would follow him on his résumé AND he has the chance to get nominated to go to AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) and that would mean he could basically get a free masters! We won't know if he got it until graduation on the 28th but he has done everything possible to get it! I'm so proud of him!

I have so many more blessing big and small and I am so grateful for all of them! The Lord is so full of kindness and love!