I'll Be Home For Christmas....

So leaving Germany was...difficult- to say the least. I absolutely loved it there. I made some incredible friends (who are pretty much family now) and learned to love and appreciate another culture. When Bengt dropped me off at the airport all I wanted to do was cry. Part of that may have been drama with checked luggage and having no Euro, but I was also pretty choked up about leaving.

Three flights later, two extremely long layovers and one awful head cold later I landed safely in SLC. I was so excited to see my family. I called to let my dad know that I landed and of course he told me that he would not be there for another 15-20 minutes, needless to say I was bugged. I went down the hallway past security and hopped on the escalator.Who starts yelling and screaming? Oh yeah, the fam. BUT the best surprise of the night was that secretly my parents got in touch with Mark and he surprised me...oh life was complete! :)

Over the last two weeks there has only been one day that I have not seen him, and life is incredible. He makes being away from Germany not just bearable but enjoyable. For Christmas Eve Day we had breakfast together, and then watched multiple episodes of Community, and then I convinced him to watch Sound of Music.

Once we were completely sick of tv, we went home and changed and went to his parent's house. I love his family. We had dinner, played with his dogs, and just chatted with the whole family (except for the lucky Laos goers). Once we had spent some fun time there we came up to my house.

My family is crazy. I love them, but they are crazy. But, Mark somehow deals with them and has come to love them too! We got to spend Christmas Eve opening Christmas PJ's and watching ELF. What more could you ask for? Pearl earrings and a bracelet? Oh...well I didnt have to ask- he just got them for me.

Is life good? Yes, yes it is! :)

ian :)

oh this little guy...he never misses a chance to make me, or any one else, laugh. like his dad, he is naturally funny and is always saying THE funniest things...exhibit a....

Today I ask him if he wants to have a party with me before I leave. He instantly jumps off the couch and yells, "YES!" He then comes running into the kitchen and says that he wants to but that we have to have rules. What are his rules you might ask?

1. No hitting

2. No guns

3. No smoking (this one came as an after-thought because Bengt and I told him that he needed to stop pretending to smoke)

Yes, after telling us the rules of this LDS Young Single Adults Party he then decided to draw posters to hang up to make sure that everyone knows the rules. Funny kid? Yeah, I think so!

Weihnachtsmarkt 2011 :)

Weihnachtsmarkt: Incredible Christmas themed market. With amazing shops lining the streets filled with "snicker-snackers" (if you have not seen Modern Family you won't understand). It is absolutely amazing!

Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt 2011

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the trees, the decorations, hot cocoa, great tunes...so many amazing things associated with Christmas time, but my most favorite thing about Christmas is the spirit that comes with it. Everyone is just a little more nice, a little more patient, and a little more giving.

I love that our focus changes from ourselves to others and that we take the time to think of those who are less fortunate. This time helps us to see what is really important in our lives.

This year I am so excited to be home for the holidays, to be with family and friends, and to be able to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

What do you do to celebrate? What is your favorite Christmas tradition? What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

apple pie!

So, my Uncle Bengt is really good at baking pies- and I have been lucky enough to help him twice now. I thought that I should blog about our successes (and our failures!) so that you can make great pie too!

Pie Crust Recipe

1/2 Cup Butter (chilled- 15 min. freezer)

1/2 Cup Crisco (chilled-15 min. freezer)

1 Cup Flour

1 Tsp. Salt

2 Tsp. Sugar

1/4 Cup ICE Water (put in spritz bottle)

Apple Pie Filling

6-8 Granny Smith Apples (slice as thin as possible)

1/2 Cup Butter melted, plus another 2 Tbsp. solid

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1 Tbsp. Nutmeg

1/4 Cup Water

So you can use a food processor, we live in Europe and do not have one here...so we just sacrifice our hands. After the Butter and Crisco have been in the freezer, take them out and quickly cut them into small cubes.

Combine flour, salt, butter and crisco until the dough still has pockets of butter, but is well combined.  (Using a wisk or two knives works best) Spritz mixture with water, mix through flour mixture and then repeat until dough can somewhat hold. We have found that the less you work the dough, the colder it stays and the less water you use the more flaky the crust.  Split dough in two, wrap in plastic Then place dough in fridge to chill, about two to three hours.

After it is done chilling, pull dough out of fridge and let stand 5-10 minutes. Place saran wrap on surface and then cover with flour. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Take edges of saran wrap and flip the dough into a pie pan. Flute edges.

Boil sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water in saucepan.

Place one layer of apples into crust. Place three small pads of solid butter sporadically on top. Then drizzle approx. 2 tablespoons of sugar mixture over first layer. Repeat this three times. With apples slightly mounding. Pour the rest of the sugar mixture over apples.

Roll out other half of dough, 1/8 inch thick, and place over pie. Slit the top. Bake for 15 minutes at 450 F, and then reduce heat to 375 F for another 35-45 minutes.

Let stand 10-15 minutes, then ENJOY! :)


I hope this works well for you, I would love to hear any tips/comments that you have!

thanks.

i love thanksgiving- not because of the food (although it is GREAT because  my dad always does amazing new recipes, and my mom does all of our great stand-by's) but because it gives me one day a year to think about how truly blessed i am. earlier this week i was feeling kind of down and bugged...and then i realized how ridiculous i was being! i have so much and have been blessed with so much-

Family   

Mom, Dad, Es, Tan, Benson, Sydnee and Macie

Boyfriend   

Mark- yeah, I am lucky!

Traveling   

 Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Germany, France...and more!

Religion  

Book of Mormon, President Monson, Joseph Smith

Work   

I start at Ancestry.com when I get home

Friends 

Alli, Breanna, Ali, Trevor, Jake, Josie, Kelsy,  Kim and Kris- to name a few!

I have been so blessed, for all the things I have learned in my life and the people that were placed in my life to help me learn them. I don't know what I would do without all of the amazing examples I have in my life. Today is a day to be THANKFUL and to remember that even when life is hard, there is still SO SO much to be grateful for. 

Brunhilde and Blessings

Bleh. I hate kidney stones...they hurt, make me angry, and they always come at the most inconvenient times.

It is almost like my body thought, "Oh, you think you are going to Italy for Thanksgiving...yeah THAT is not going to happen." Lame. 

This one I decided to name Brunhilde. I liked how German it sounded, pretty fitting I know. It lasted from 1-5 am keeping me, Bengt and Kelly awake. Luckily they had some left over pain killers, which knocked me (and the pain!) out. 

I am still keeping an eye on the situation, but still no  more pain. Cross your fingers for an uneventful next two weeks :)

Enough complaining though, this is a time to be thankful. And even though last night was definitely not fun, there is a lot to be grateful for. I am SO thankful for such an amazing Aunt and Uncle who were so sweet and took such great care of me, for my Dad for listening to me whine and cry, for my Mom doing the same, and for modern medicine that makes us completely forget the pain and everything else, and last I am SO thankful to be here in Germany, it is a beautiful country and I will take a night of kidney stones in exchange for being here ANY day! 

Paris!

So, seeing as it would take me forever to tell you everything I loved about Paris, I will just do the main sights- that you all know about.

The Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, I didn't have four hours to wait to go up to the first level, so we just looked around and took some incredible photos. It is stunning.  None of the pictures you see do it justice. One of my favorite things there is the park surrounding the Tower, you can wander through yet still see the Tower no matter where you are.

Notre Dame. This was my absolute favorite sight of Paris. It was breath-taking. There is a tradition that if you stand in a certain spot and spin around then you will return to Paris, don't worry mission accomplished- I will be back! :) I loved going in and seeing the amazing cathedral inside. I saw this first thing in the morning and then I ended up coming back to see it again later in the day. Right across from Notre Dame is the Latin Quarter- which has such a different feel from the rest of Paris, this was also one of my favorites.

The Louvre. I was unsure if I really wanted to go in. I appreciate art as much as the next non-art major, but I only had one day in Paris and I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend it in a museum, but I decided that even if it was only for a couple of hours it would be worth it. I of course saw the Mona Lisa, which in reality is tiny- not too exciting, and WAY too many people around it. I was more amazed by the other work in that section. I saw most of the levels of the Sully and one floor of the Denon. My favorite painting was a Georges de La Tour, Magdalen with the Night Light. It is beautiful. I loved going in the museum, and it is worth seeing even though you can't really see the whole thing!

Opera House in Bastille. This is famous for The Phantom of the Opera. You cannot go inside without tickets, but it was fun to walk around the outside and get a feel for the building. I would love to go to a play there!

Champs De Elysses. Dude, DO NOT (I repeat: Do Not) walk this in boots. You may be thinking, like me, that your boots are incredibly comfortable, and they complete your outfit and make you look more European. Although all of the above may be true, walk three miles in my boots and then you will agree a nice pair of Nike's would have been much more suited for the 1.5 miles up and 1.5 miles back. Yes, I was stupid, but Champs is worth it. The shops along the Champs are amazing, not that I can afford them, but it was fun to see. At the end of Champs De Elysses you have the gorgeous Arc De Triomphe. They were having a memorial the day that I went (not sure if this is a daily ritual or if there was a special occasion) but there were soldiers, French flags and gorgeous flowers/ fire around the base. It was really neat to watch, and it was fun to walk around the Arc.

My Daddy- Blessing Dos :) and My Mom- Blessing Three!

Jesse David Washburn

Yes, I still call him Daddy and not even just when I need/want something. This is my hero. He is my best friend. He is the most kind, patient, loving person I know and I am lucky enough to call him my Dad. He is incredibly hard working- and always puts other people before himself. 

I remember growing up he would come in at night and tell Estee and I stories. We each had our favorites (mine was the porcupine story) but they were always about him growing up. I loved listening to him and falling asleep to his stories. 

Another favorite memory of my dad is his business trips. It was never fun having Dad traveling for business (which he did a lot) but he would ALWAYS brings us presents when he came home. New movies, chocolate, dolls, toys...and then once we started to get older we got things like hotel shampoo and a bar of soap- those were not all that exciting.

I just love this guy. I love that he is my best friend, my hero and my Dad. I am SO lucky to have been raised by him!

Talking about my Dad, I could not pass up the chance to tell you all about my Mom, who in a completely different way is also my hero and best friend. 

Sue Ann Boyack Washburn (aka Sue Ellen ;)

This is my mom. She is beautiful. She is SUCH an amazing person. Everyone that knows her will  tell you how selfless she is. She is always the first person to volunteer to help and the last to stop working. 

Some of my favorite memories of my mom center around visiting her at work. I love getting to talk to her- and getting to watch her interact with all of the kids. She has changed so many lives at that school- and all of the kids love Mrs. Washburn! 

My mom has been through a lot. Over the past few years she has had more trials in her life than anyone deserves/ or needs, but no one could have handled it like her. I don't know how she does it- but she is ALWAYS positive. Even when she was sick she was still serving other people. 

I love her. She is the best mom in the world. She is an amazing example to not only me and my sisters, but to everyone around her!

I am always amazed by how truly blessed I was when it came to my family! I love love my parents. Growing up I was always trying to do things on my own, usually doing things wrong, but I was so stubborn. I could not wait to move out- until I did and then I was calling my mom every morning on my way to class, and my dad every night on my way home from school. Yes, I am a Daddy's Girl AND a Momma's Girl. I LOVE them and as cliche as this is I am who I am today because of them.

*Up Next: Paris Trip! :)

Baby Benson- Blessing One :)

So, since it is November, and such an amazing month to celebrate blessings and being thankful I thought that I would talk about this little stud....

Benson David Shaw

If you were about to say that he is the flippin' cutest baby you have ever seen- I would have to agree with you 100%. I love this little guy! He is happy, smiley and loves to snuggle.  :) 

This chunky monkey now weighs almost as much as baby Britta who is 10 months old, and at only three months old is wearing 6 month clothes and growing out of those, too! For Christmas I bought him the cutest outfit- in 12 month sizes, just in case. 

Since I am in Germany I am missing this little bug a lot. He is growing up so fast- he now giggles! I can't wait to get home and play with him again! 

*If you want to stalk this little baby more (and see cute Halloween pictures!) go to: tanandes.blogspot.com

Schloss Lichtenstein

Schloss Lichtenstein- Baden Wurrtenburg, DE

Bengt calls this the midget castle. All of the doors are really little (they seemed just right to me but...) and compared to a lot of other castles it is pretty small. It was a lot of fun, we took a tour and were able to wander around inside and out.

The castle stands on a hill overlooking the village of Lichtenstein- so not only do you get to see the gorgeous castle, but you overlook a gorgeous view. I have never liked fall- until I came to Germany, and was able to see castles with fall colors all around...it is SO worth wearing a jacket! 

This castle was built in the 1200's, but has since been destroyed twice and rebuilt. During WWII it took some attack, but again was restored. It is still owned by the Duke of Urach, who is also the founder of the University of Tubingen (which is about 5 km away from where I live).  

There is also a whole room full of armour, guns, bow and arrows, and cannons. This was Ian's favorite...and a bunch of questions ensued about how many people you could kill with what weapons, which weapons could blow up other castles, etc. - all of which Kelly, Bengt and I struggled to answer. This was a really neat castle, and I would definitely recommend going if you are ever in Southern Germany. 

Garmisch...Week One

Zugspitze- Garmisch, DE

This is beautiful. It is also the tallest peak in the German Alps. My Uncle is a comedian and had a show my first weekend here down at the Edelweisse Resort (army resort in Garmisch) and this was the view from my hotel room balcony. 

Kelly and baby Britta were sick that weekend so it was just Ian, Bengt and I. Bengt had a show that night, so I stayed in with Ian. We watched Spider Man, ate chips and Haribo Gummy Bears (best things EVER! go to the store and see if you can find some :) they will change your life), and spent some time listening to music and jumping on the beds! It was an epic night. 

The next day we went into town and had hot cocoa and lunch and then came back to the resort and Ian and I went swimming. There is the most amazing hot tub outside which I loved- and luckily there were some cool fountains to keep Ian entertained. 

It was such an amazing, relaxing weekend. On our way home we also tried to go to Neuschwanstein. Can I just say that crowds annoy me?  And of course, there were TONS of people trying to go up to see the castle. Standing out in the freezing cold, waiting four hours for the next Spanish tour (English and German were sold out so we went for the next best language that we can speak) hiking up to the castle, and then shuffling through with a huge crowd and little Ian did not sound fun to Bengt and I, so as soon as I got the pictures that I wanted from the outside we hightailed it out of there. 

Despite the jet lag, cold/cough that the whole family passed around, and the random bout of rain in Garmisch week one in Germany was a complete success! 

5/1 Steinstrasse Dettenhausen, DE

For those of you who do not already know...I am a few thousand miles away from good old Orem, UT- I am in GERMANY. I love this country. I am living in a little farming town in Southern Germany called Dettenhausen.

My Aunt is stationed in Stuttgart with the Air Force, so every once in a while I get to come over here and play nanny. I watch the kids during the week that my Uncle is doing shows in America (he is comedian!) and then for the rest of the time I get to play. Good deal? I think so. This time I will be here for three months.

So far I have been to Garmisch to the Zugspitze, Paris, Rothenberg Ob Der Tauber and of course Stuttgart, Tubingen, Lichtenstein and all of the small towns around here! I am going to try and catch up on all of my travels, but the real reason I love being here is not seeing the sights or the amazing shopping opportunities. It is because of my neighbors here.

Gerlinde, Frieda, Vince and Andreas, and then of course the Cyrone Family! They are some of the most AMAZING people I have ever met. Frieda has been teaching me to cook-which props to her, because for those of you who know me know how extremely difficult teaching me to cook is. She is patient, kind and I have learned LOADS! (i have also gained loads-don't worry exercise plan in place!) Gerlinde comes by daily to do our yard work- and usually ends up bringing some winter lettuce, or some other amazing German thing for us to try.

I love this culture, I love these people and as much as I love seeing the amazing sights that Europe has to offer when it all comes down to it- I will miss the people here more than the castles, towers, and cathedrals.

conference- definitely a love!

Oh how I love Conference! I grew up in a family of all girls, so the Super Bowl was pretty nonexistent, but Conference is like my twice a year Super Bowl and life is always so much better after these amazing weekends! This Conference one of my favorite talks was by Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy. If you haven't heard it go here- http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2011/04?lang=eng/ It is amazing! My favorite is when he said that there are "marvelous blessings on the heel of affliction".  For those of you who know me know that the last few weeks have not been the most pleasant (car wreck, kidney stones- you name it) but that little one line has changed my outlook. There are blessings ahead, life is hard. Sometimes I get the cute idea that life is only hard for me. Lately my question has been, why me? I am sure you have all felt similar at one time or another, but listen to Elder Johnson, there ARE marvelous blessings ahead, so keep a lookout! And let me know what you find!
PS-I would also LOVE to hear about what talk was your favorite and why :)

the beginning

So i have found that to be a legitimate adult it seems like a prerequisite to own and maintain a blog...we will see how long this will last. I feel that you deserve a little heads up- I am not an incredibly crafty person that can blog about my many creations, I am not a chef that likes to experiment in the kitchen, and I do not have any children so there will probably not be any cutesy baby ideas. Now that you are forewarned, this blog is more just for the things that I enjoy. I love music, I love photography and I especially love hair and make-up. I hope you enjoy!