New Blog!

Check out my new blog: http://journeywithaslightlycrunchymom.blogspot.com/
It is about my life as a new mom and a newlywed.

Adventures in Portland

At the beginning of this school year I moved to Portland to go to PSU. It was a really big change for  me, because when I was little I had grown up on a 5 acre farm. Then later on I lived in the city of Wood Village with a population of around 3,000 in 600 acres. For one thing Portland is different. When I first moved here I noticed the tall building that are taller than any sequoia I have seen. And the people, lots of people.

Now that I have lived here for  8 months I come to the conclusion that Portland is not for me. I will stay here and get my associates degree while my fiancé finishes his bachelors degree and then we will be on another adventure to look for someplace new.

My next mini-adventure is to move from a 975 sqft apartment to a 450 sqft apartment closer to campus. Let's see how this goes. :) Hopefully Benjamin, his father, and I can draw up some design plans to build a free-standing bunked style loft. I move in this Sunday so let's see how it goes.

Family Time

Today I  got to hang out with my best friend Libby after church, I haven't seen her in ages. And she finally got to meet Ben (she is at a different college four hours away.) We got to spend time with her family (which is like extended family to me.) It was nice to spend time away from the city on the farm again.

Then later in the evening I got to spend time with two of Benjamin's brothers, Stephan and Andrew. Dinner was nice with them and I got to know them better and hear stories about the crazy stuff that Benjamin used to do.

Adventures in Ikea!

So today my fiancé and I went to Ikea to put together our wedding registry. He now refers to it as the "the adventures in the bowls of hell" or "entering the great beast ikea." Benjamin is now demanding matching t-shirts that say "We Survived Ikea." Needless to say I love the store for the design concepts in the rooms and now we shall recount our adventure in "There and back again."
We found some wonderful items such as:

-A Pax Wardrobe

The Malm Storage Bed that raises and things. <--- It's cool. :)

-The Norden Table

-The Kallax Bookshelf <--- Ikea hack plans in progress.

-The Poang <--- Most comfortable chair I've ever sat in.

-The Kivik Chaise <--- So comfortable my fiancé fell asleep on it.

-The Stenstorp Kitchen Island

We are moving into our own apartment after we get married so that's why we asked for furniture :)

Pictures of Benjamin on our Adventure in Ikea aka The Bowls of Ikea or Men's Purgatory :)

Ben "Claiming this room as his "man cave."

And Making funny faces.

He didn't want to leave this spot.

This was the longest amount of time he sat still in one spot.

Ben in front of the Pax unit Serious & Funny. Such a clown :)

Ben being silly messing around on the ikea desk chairs.

He's faking his death...

Finally Ben finds his favorite piece of furniture after 4 hours of "torture" and falls asleep.

Needless to say he wants that couch now.

Engaged!

On March 28, 2015 I got engaged to the most wonderful man in the world. Recently I just got my wedding dress and we are currently in the process of planning our wedding :) Does anyone have any cute military themed wedding ideas? I would love to hear from you.
Soon I will be a cadets wife and someday I will be an Army officers wife :)
We are planning to get married on August 8th or 9th due to all of the military training weekends and drills. I realize though that I have it lucky, because some of my friends' boyfriends and fiancés are currently deployed.

You can find out more information here: http://danarobertsonauthor.blogspot.com/p/wedding.html

Raising my APFT Score

     I have decided to undertake the 100 push-up challenge so I can improve my APFT score through ROTC. My goal is to max the push-ups in my age group which is 42 perfect form push- ups. In my first APFT back in October I was only able to do 17, but I want to be able reach greater goals with my APFT. After I finish the 100 push-up challenge I will be moving on to the 200 sit-up challenge to raise my sit-up score. The max for sit-ups for my age group is 78 sit-ups in 2 minutes.
    My goal is to improve my score in the long run through the push-up challenge and the sit-up challenge along with doing PT with ROTC three days a week and Remedial PT the other two days a week. I would also like to implement  daily doubles into the days that I have remedial PT by doing this workout.
Daily Double Workout:
-100 Push- ups
-Sprint a lap
-100 Sit-ups
-Sprint a lap
-40 Burpees
-Sprint a lap
-40 Squats
-Sprint a lap
-20 Pull-ups

What Are You Thankful For?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Have you sat down and thought of what you are thankful for this year? Personally I'm thankful for that my stepmother with whom I am quite close to survived cancer this year. That my grandparents that have health problems are still with me for another year. I'm thankful for the opportunity to pursue higher education, because I realize that not every individual gets that chance. I am also thankful for my siblings growing up together was tough, but I still know that I have their back and they have mine. I'm thankful for my wonderful boyfriend who loves me in the good times and the bad. Mostly this year I'm just thankful for the wonderful family, friends and that have always been there for me. Before the rush of thanksgiving hits and everyone gets excited for Black Friday, take time to realize what you are thankful for and maybe think about giving back to the community. Whether it be helping at your church, at a homeless shelter or an elderly couple who needs help maintaining their yard. We all have countless things to be thankful for why don't we show that thanks by lending a helping hand to others!