Literally Living on Love

Dallin and I are about as well traveled as a piece of gum under somebody's shoe. Between the two of us, we have traveled a ways, but we have been stuck in the same spot for some time. We would like to be less like a piece of gum, and more like... Well, less like a piece of gum.

In the next year, Dallin's family is planning a BIG family trip to Japan to pick up Dallin's little brother, who is serving his LDS mission in Kobe. 

JAPAN!

Dallin and I have never even been out of the country! Being able to go to Japan, see Elder Fukui after two long years, and be able to tourist about for a few days would be an amazing opportunity!

But. Going to Japan is no small feat for two broke college students. It's important though, so we are trying to hustle to stash some cash so that we can go with Dallin's family.

In order to help with this, I've decided that I'm going to start doing meal plans. Planning out our meals in advance and having a shopping list will probably help with our Japan Fund. Right? I even started searching out menu plans and shopping lists. So far I have found a lot of recipes that require a lot of time, effort and ingredients.

Oh heavens.

Fresh rosemary and cilantro? Homemade dough? Spinach inside the chicken?

How about biscuits from a can and gravy from a package?

I'm not a great cook. I made French toast for dinner yesterday, burned it, and then smelled like the inside of a toaster for the rest of the night. And with school in session, time is short. I haven't even had time to go to the grocery store since the semester started. Five weeks ago.

We are literally living on love.

However! I may have found a meal planning solution.

And on weekends, we will have cereal!

I know that THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA. We would blow up like balloons from the amount of salt in every package, and then we would die of malnourishment.

So what do I do?
Everyone is busy, so how do you still find time to make real meals?
What do you make and how do you find ideas for new recipes?

Leave a comment below and share your ideas!

Pause. Long Pause.

Ever since I married Dallin, I keep having these reoccurring conversations.

"How do you say your last name?"

"Foo-Koo-Ee."

"Oh! So you are..." Pause. Long pause. Always a pause.

 I'm white. Can't dance, can't sing, can't tan, can't spend a day at the beach without continually bathing in a tube of sunscreen.

My nieces even play this game where they compare their olive skin tone to my pasty skin and then laugh.

So when the world sees my fair features with my last name, people just get awfully confused. I'm usually nice and tell them that it's not me, but Dallin, that is half-Japanese. Because I'm married and this reflective skin could have only come from European countries where the sun just don't shine.

If I were more outwardly sassy, I might say something like this to fill in that long awkward pause,

"An ever loving Aggie? Every day."
"Going to eat this entire cupcake by myself? Of course."
"Dancing my little heart out? Most likely."
"Using milk jugs for work outs? Thanks for noticing!"

Or better yet, I would not say anything and embrace the awkward silence.

After I teach the world to look for a wedding ring, I'm going to rid my conversations of awkward pauses around my new last name. Mostly, this will be for Dallin, who puts pauses in all the wrong places.

"F-U," Pause. "K-U-I"

It's a work in progress.

One Big Hole

I'm not a very crafty person. In Home Economics in middle school I tried to make a pair of polka dot pajama shorts and ended up cutting a big hole right under the bum. I also got docked points for using blue thread. In my defense though, I thought it matched. My mom ended up helping me fix the hole, and I still wear those polka dot shorts because I made them. However, that is my crafting life, one big hole under the bum.

This summer, Dallin's mom and sisters asked me to help throw a bridal shower for a cousin on the Fukui side of the family. Not just any bridal shower, but a bridal shower with Japanese themed decorations. "Cherry blossoms and kokeshi dolls," they said.

"I don't know what that all means," I said. "So we will see how this goes."

In order to get my craft on, I had to visit the Holy Grail of all that is good and evil in a world of glitter and hot glue guns: Pinterest.

And as luck would have it, I stumbled across this little gem.

I tried to make my own, with a few modifications. A spool for the body, beads for the buns, paper wrapped around the spool for clothing, and a ribbon for that extra flair.

Her head turned out to be too small, one side of her face is smudged, and I accidentally gave her weird cheekbones. Whoops. 

However, a trip to Hobby Lobby, some origami paper, a spoonful of painting talent by Dallin's mom, and lots of hot glue later, between the four of us, we were able to make these:

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

Handling the hot glue gun might have cost me a few fingerprints, but this experience just might have put a few stitches in my big hole under the bum crafty life.