More Mission Fun!

Emily took a video of me opening my call, but I can't figure out how to put it on here...bummer.

One of my professors gave me this Alabama state flag. It was so nice of him! 

My FHE sisters made these cute sister missionaries! 

The tag said "Called To Serve: preaching the gospel to one peep at a time!" haha! It made me laugh :)

If You're a Mormon, You Will Appreciate These

http://snarkandtestimony.tumblr.com/

Catching Up

I have actually started using instagram recently and since I've been so behind on my blog, I'll just share my pictures.

it's slowly starting to get warmer here in provo and I cannot get enough of that sun!

I finally got to pull the fire alarm! It's been on my bucket list for years and my dream came true! Luckily it was just a fire drill and not a real fire :) another one checked off :) I guess I was kind of nervous, given the look on my face haha!

pretty proud of those lips ;)

loved this cute valentine's day package :)

some of my favorite girls! we made valentine's day boxes as a relief society activity to put outside our door. it was so fun!

you know you're an RA when you wake up on  a saturday morning and still have your nametag on because you fell asleep right when your head hit the pillow after your 1:30 am rove.

my quote of the day: "i just really need some candy!" thank goodness  for valentine's day.

yesterday, I caught up on missionary letters. I have definitely been slacking in that area. I was responding to one that was from november...uh-oh! I'm sure I'll appreciate prompt responses more once I'm out in the mission field haha! love these four elders :) 

Sweet Home Alabama

Dear Sister Blackner:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints.
You are assigned to labor in the Alabama Birmingham Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.

What an awesome day February 7, 2013 was. The mission calls have been delayed around here. Probably due to the fact that they are about a million that come every week. So it didn't come on Wednesday and I still didn't get an email on Thursday. By this point I was a little bit bummed, but I went down to the Central Building on my way to class and say a guy with a white envelope is his hand. I went straight to the desk and there they were! I asked if I could have mine now instead of waiting for the email haha! They found mine right away and it was in my hand! I was freaking out just a little bit and had previously been on the phone with my dad and told him that they hadn't come yet. I called him right back and said it's here! My heart was beating super fast and kind of just wanted to open it right then and there. It sat on my lap in my class and I tried to pay attention while also trying to find service on a corner of my desk to let all my friends know that it had arrived and that I would be opening it at 3:30.

I still had an hour and a half to wait once I got home from class but it was amazing to me how everything worked out and everyone was able to make it. I printed out a state map and a world map and had everyone guess as they walked in. I seriously have the greatest friends and family. We had my family + grandma on skype on one computer and Susannah on another computer. We were kind of crunched on time because we had RA class at 4 and I was only allowed to be 10 minutes late. But everyone got settled down, and I started to open the envelope. I honestly had no idea where I could be going but for some reason, I was thinking foreign, I just couldn't pinpoint a specific place. I had to be careful that I opened it the right way and covered the call with the packet. As I started to slide the packet down, I didn't exactly realize that the place was on the second line so I might have seen it, but that's okay haha! I was more than a little surprised, but even after I read the Alabama part, I was still thinking English. So Spanish speaking was the real shocker. Three years of french and now I'm going to be learning Spanish and southern? What an adventure that will be!
Amid the chaos and rambunctiousness of all in the room, I slowly started to get used to the idea that I would be spending the next 18 months in the South. A place that I've only heard so much about and longed to go to ever since my love of country music started in high school. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I knew right when I opened it that it was where the Lord needs me to be and that as a missionary, I will have so many amazing opportunities that will prepare me for the rest of my life. I am beyond thrilled about my call to serve and I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and my needs and who will always be there for me no matter what. I know that the announcement made at conference came from God and that it has a divine purpose. It has been amazing to see all the young adults of the church make their decisions to serve and spread the gospel around the world. It honestly couldn't have come at a better time and I know that there will be nothing that will compare to this exciting time in not only my life, but the lives of those around me.
It has been amazing to see all the love and support of all my friends and family. I am seriously so blessed!

So I definitely have a lot to learn but here's a few things I've picked up on:

-The SEC is a big deal...if you don't know what Roll Tide means; you're in trouble

-Every drink is a coke. The follow up question is what kind.

-It is gorgeous down there!

-Words are very drawn out and syllables are added

-Y'all is for one person. All Y'all is for two or more people

-I'll probably be spending a lot of time on people's front porches

-Watch out for the people from the backwoods...that's a whole culture of its own

sometimes I laugh at my facial expressions haha!

Feeling Domestic

If you're wondering what domestic means, here you go:
domestic
adj.
of or pertaining to the home, the household, household affairs, or the family

Today I proved that I will be a great cook haha! Or at least can follow a recipe :)
I was hungry and felt like eating, but nothing sounded good. I pulled up pinterest and looked at my recipes. Right in front of me, three of them looked amazing, and I had almost all the ingredients! Score!

So here they are, they all turned out great!

Cafe Rio Flour Tortilla

INGREDIENTS

• 3 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. shortening
• 3/4 c. very hot water

DIRECTIONS

• 1
  In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Cut in the shortening with your fingers or pastry cutter until the flour is crumbly. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl, cover with a slightly damp dishtowel and let sit for an hour. Divide the dough into 5-6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (if you are making soft taco sized tortillas, divide it into 10-12 pieces).
• 2
  Preheat a large skillet or pan to medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (if you want it perfectly round, get a large round plate or serving platter, flip it upside down over the dough and cut out the circle). Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly, golden, and no appearance of doughy-ness, about 1 minute (DON’T OVERCOOK.. remember these are supposed to be soft flour tortillas, you don’t want them to be crispy); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer or on a large plate, covering with a slightly damp towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients:
Makes four ¼ c servings
2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. honey
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. oats

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Combine peanut butter and honey in a bowl and microwave until peanut butter melts (approximately 20 seconds). Stir.

Stir cinnamon and vanilla into peanut butter and honey mixture. Add oats and stir until oats are completely covered in peanut butter mixture. Spread out oat mixture onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 7 -8 minutes until granola is slightly browned. Let cool until granola is crunchy.

Strawberry Nutella Milkshake

ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup strawberries
2 big scoops of vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup Nutella
Whipped cream, sprinkles, and extra Nutella, optional for serving

directions:

1. Add milk, strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and Nutella to a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Add a spoonful of Nutella to the bottom of a large glass. Pour the milkshake into the glass. Garnish with whipped cream and sprinkles. Serve immediately.

Emily and Kenzie were with me and after the cooking was done, we watched Miss Congeniality and Mamma Mia. It was a great friday night. Oh, and we did a little homework too :)

The Puzzle Pieces are Coming Together

Last week, this popped up on my computer screen...

In case you can't tell, it says recommendation has been submitted! A few days later, I had my interview with the stake president (I rushed to get there after leaving early from our basketball game). It was such a wonderful experience and it totally confirmed that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. 

Last night, my parents got an email from my bishop saying the my assignment had been made! And in just 5 short days (hopefully...the mail has been a little crazy around here recently) I will have my mission call! It's slowly starting to become more real and I am getting so excited! What a blessing this will be in my life and I love the anticipation of finding out where I will be serving and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. More updates to come soon :)