Yummy Bread and Quilting..

I've been really horrible about blogging! When I actually have something to blog about I Facebook it and then forget to write more later.. it's how my journal is too so I just am bad, but want to do better about it!

A little while ago I was thinking about how nice it would be to make my own bread instead of paying so much for the kind that I really like, but I needed to find a recipe first and wasn't horribly motivated to find one. However while I was browsing Pinterest one night I found a recipe for honey oat bread... the kind I buy! It looks so good! So I pinned it with the plan to make it.. like all things on Pinterest that get lost and never made. This time though I decided I was going to do it! So today I printed the recipe and made it.. Oh my goodness!! So so good! I had my parents and sister over to have some as soon as it came out of the oven and it was amazing! It's been too long since I've had fresh from the oven bread! (recipe link is in caption of photo)

http://bakingdom.com/2011/09/homemade-honey-oat-bread.html

While at the Kinsman Family reunion this summer (yet another thing I failed to blog about) one of my Aunts suggested we make family quilts. She would send the first patch and we choose a material to go with it and cut it into 8 1/2X8 1/2 inch patches and mail the patches out and keep one for ourselves. The deadline is in January to send out the patches and then we put together our quilts however we want. At the next family reunion we will get together and help those who need help putting together their quilts and then show each other our quilts and see how everyone decided to put theirs together. All different quilts, but from the same patches :) I'm pretty excited for this quilt! These are the patches I've received so far, the material I picked is on the bottom far left. Tonight I cut out the patches and packaged them, all ready to send out on Tuesday!
I'm also really excited that my mom found me a sewing machine for pretty cheap at a garage sale!! :) Now to practice because it's been way too long since I've sewn. Here's hoping it goes well!

North Carolina Trip May 2013!

I just got back from NC a few days ago and I had a BLAST!!! :) It was great seeing the guys again and meeting one of their girlfriends. I spent the majority of my time there with the 2 of them and we had a great time! We went and spent one day in Wilmington, NC and at first just walked around. We found this reptile house by the water and decided to go in and check it out.. and we made it in time for feeding of the snakes.. Yay!!... not lol. Chris and Katie were stoked for the feeding time, I did better with it after the first snake, I think mainly because I was on the second floor, not right there. 

 Right in the entry way they had these birds (there were 4 or 5 of them) not in cages, just sitting on these structures right in the middle of the entrance. They are beautiful! I was shocked to see them free! :)

 This snake kept following me the whole time I was right there, he would follow me and just stare at me. Kind of freaky, but he was fed later and didn't follow me after that! To feed them these guys would set up a fence around the display and then lift up the glass and feed certain snakes right in front of us. One of them, I can't remember the name, but they said it was one of their most poisonous snakes and that that kind of snake had actually killed the curator of one of the reptile places once.. kind of freaky! Anyway, that was the first snake they fed, and I couldn't watch, the more they talked about it the more it freaked me out, almost bit the guy feeding it. They waited for a little bit after that before feeding the next one and he was pretty shaken. When they fed the king cobra they actually asked everyone to be quiet and hold still because that one really freaked them out to feed, and the king cobra wasn't even interested in the food at first, it just kept heading for the guys feeding it until they started frantically getting it to eat the food they had for it. They shut the glass as soon as it had the food. Really can't blame them! I really hope those guys get paid well! 

Another day that I was there Chris, Katie and I headed off to Asheville, NC to the Biltmore Estates. It was absolutely amazing!! So worth it to go. Next time I definitely want to spend more time there though! We took a tour of the mansion (self guided) and it took almost 2 hours, I wish we could have taken pictures of the inside! We also took a tour of the winery and ate dinner there before having to leave because Chris had work and early PT the next day. It rained the whole time we were there, which maybe was a good thing or else we wouldn't have left ;).

I definitely want to see the gardens next time I go instead of just driving by them. I also want to spend some time in the village and see other parts of the estate that I missed. I loved it there! :) Hopefully I will be able to go again! I told the guys though that it's their turn now to visit me! Chris will hopefully be able to visit over Memorial weekend. We're still waiting to find out if his leave has been approved. Fingers crossed!!

Robotics State Competition

Tayler and Sydney's team went to State for their robotics competition. They did an awesome job! Made it to semi finals, won an award, and came in 3rd for the Inspire Award which if they had won they would have gone to World. They did a great job and their robot was working amazing! 

Cool name tags they got made the night before the competition.

How the gym was set up for the competition.

The team competing (they're in the black on the left) :) The pics were either too dark or too blury, the dark ones turned out better than I thought they would.

Another picture of them competing (black shirts)

What I've been working on

I have started working out again. It's been way too long since I have and I decided to get my butt into gear. I decided I needed to workout with someone who would make me workout. Well that person is Jillian Michaels. That woman scares me!! I've been working out to her 90 day body revolution. I haven't been doing her meal plan (it's a lot of fish, I can't eat that much seafood!) but I have been trying to eat healthier and smaller portions. She is kicking me into gear that is for sure! It's been great so far. I'm on week 3 and feeling it! I feel so much better and I have actually been sleeping at night! I haven't had a sleepless night since I started this workout! Can't wait to see how the rest of the workout goes and how much it helps me :)

Busy Busy

I was just talking to my mom about all my plans up to September.. Wow!! I'm going to be really busy this year, but I am so excited!! :) Lots of posts to come! Hopefully lots of hikes, I know there will be lots of trips, and a few events. The beginning of which will be...

Regional Conference in Tacoma for Gold Star Wives. A day of meetings, but otherwise a good weekend to spend with other widows in my area from WWII to now. I always learn so much from these women! This year I get to go up to Tacoma instead of just to Portland. I won't be making National Conference in Colorado this year, but next year I know it will be in Tacoma or Portland which will be a lot easier! Especially if next year is anything near as busy as now.

I always get together with GSW once a month for a meeting. This will be my second year going to Regionals.. It's crazy to think it's been almost two years of being a military widow!

 http://www.goldstarwives.org/  

I just finished the "Tiger's Curse" series recently. (Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, Tiger's Voyage, Tiger's Destiny) I loved them! They were an easy read, but at the same time I learned a lot about Indian and Chinese culture and religion. These books are based in Oregon, India and various countries around it. They are in libraries and they sell them at Deseret Book (so they are also a clean read).

Tiger's Curse

by Colleen Houck

Synopsis

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and  mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.
 

 "I was wrapped up in the sweet romance and heart-pounding adventure of TIGER'S CURSE.  I found myself cheering, squealing and biting my nails--all within a few pages.  In short, it was magical!"  -Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times best-selling author of HUSH, HUSHhttp://www.tigerscursebook.com/book

Exhausted

I just got back from Dallas, TX tonight and I am absolutely head to toe, mentally and emotionally exhausted!! It was a great weekend and a lot of fun, but it was so bittersweets. Snowball Express is an amazing organization for the children of our fallen troops since 9/11 ages 5-18.. so you can see why it was so exhausting. The families, volunteers, and companies who donate are absolutely amazing. There were a couple thousand people there. I definitely want to volunteer again next year! As crazy of a weekend as it was it was amazing, and I was able to meet and spend a lot of time with some amazing people and children.

http://www.snowballexpress.org/