Mission Prep and Super Dads

Sure tomorrow is Mother's Day, but that is tomorrow. Today my dad did me the BIGGEST FAVOR EVER:

Get my mission luggage!!

After a very long day of browsing/information gathering, my mom and I were plum tired of looking at luggage. It seemed like the cheap luggage was poorly made and not the prettiest. Mind you, I am NOT picky about what my luggage looks like, but I'm sorry, no spider-infested green bag for me (thank you, TJMax). The very nice, desirable luggage was always (not sometimes, but always) for waaaay too much money. I just wanted a simple set of luggage that would do me proud when I needed it to and looked kind of okay and really just protected my stuff against the torrents in the airport security bag demolition derby! Is that too much to ask? (agh.)

  The airline industry is one stinky place, I've decided. Besides having to pay extra for everything on your ticket, to get a lot of nothing (Southwest peanut, anyone? Though I must say, I'm more loyal to Southwest than any other airline), the luggage issue is a nightmare. No one wants to pay extra money to check more luggage, so luggage sets are not sold conveniently for 18-month excursions where you just plan on checking several bags and will probably go over the 50 lb limit anyway, because how else are you going to take 18 months of life with you? Exactly.

So this is what I looked like last night after searching all day...

The day-long search for the RIGHT luggage = no such luck. That plus watching the increasingly resonating heartache of Toy Story 3 (moving away, saying goodbye, change...) and missing chewing good food (when has a hot dog EVER sounded good? never. My point exactly) proved to be too much of an emotional roller coaster for one day. 

So my dad decided to join the hunt. After scoring over reviews and websites, he took off today on a mission to search out some luggage. And he found the perfect set! For a very reasonable price. (And my mom and I didn't have to do the thinking, deciding, determining...) what a HUGE RELIEF. And now I will always think of my Dad when I get lost in the airport or try to stick my luggage in some obscure corner in a tiny apartment after a transfer... :)

Dad purchased. Mom tested. Missionary approves.

Hooray!

THIS IS SUCH A HUGE RELIEF. Thanks to one very great dad!

Another great thing my dad did for me this week was buy me some flowers for getting my wisdom teeth pulled. They are beautiful, and cheery, and made one nauseated girl very happy. I had thought earlier in the day how nice would it be to get flowers, but really didn't expect that from anyone. Thank you Dad! 

So how's the mission preparations going, you wonder? Well, here are my "To Do" lists and "To Buy" lists...

The "To Do" list... yikes

The "To Buy" list... double yikes

Shopping for clothes is always exciting, involved, and usually pretty fun, if you find the right stuff... we'll see what I end up with.

The closet. Hooray for good return policies, Ross, and New York & Company.

Things are going well! :) I love reading Preach My Gospel, playing the hymns, studying the scriptures, spending time with my parents, personal pep-talks. Everything is preparation of some sort, no matter what it is or what form it comes in, and not just for a mission. I've really come to learn that everything we're given, from the time of day we wake up to how we handle our impatience at the stoplight, is meant for us to learn and from which we should prepare. Everything will pass us by, whether we want it to or not, so it all depends on how we take it in the passing.

(And I've never known a missionary that had a stable, emotionally normal mission. That would just be boring, right? :)

MTC Countdown: report in 25 days

Word of the day:  curious \ KYUR-ee-us \ , adj; 1.  marked by a desire to investigate and learn.

Wise Talk.

Smart man, Plato. One thing he forgot to mention was that wise men can talk, but if they get their wisdom teeth out, they can be as foolish as all get out.

Yes, today I did something I hoped all my teenage life never to do, but I guess I've moved onto adult matters; I had my two wisdom teeth removed. (Technically, my dentist ordered them to be removed, despite my disapproval, and my father paid for it, so the only contribution I provided to this adult decision was my presence.)

I have seen footage of post-anesthesia chatter from friends, and seen it in person with family, and vowed that I would not be loopy. I would NOT. The surgery went fine (despite several IV attempts, finally switching to the left arm (fourth time is the charm, these days), coming around a little too early... I remember thinking that I hadn't gone under yet (when I'd really been under for a half-hour), and could feel stuff going on in my mouth that was NOT normal, and trying to tell them that obviously, I was not under yet, and then hearing someone tell me to "just relax" in my headphones (the Beatles, if you're curious, was the CD of choice) and then poof, out like a light again. That anesthesia stuff is nuts.

I remember someone taking the eye protection off (when did that get there?) and feeling sleepy, but I was surprised! I felt totally level-headed. The nurse grabbed my mom (I think), and then I got into a wheel chair and assisted in to our van behind the building. But I totally knew what was going on, everywhere. I even told the nurse that my van was right there, coming around the corner. (Because obviously, there could have been a lot of confusion with all the parked cars nearby.)

My mom and I went on our way, and I pulled out my camera, because I knew beforehand I would be a little crazy and I wanted to see for myself later, but in all honesty, I totally thought I was being perfectly normal. And I was ... you can see for yourself:

And I really did feel fine, until just a few moments later when the anesthesia got to me and my insides were "all over my pants!", poorly aimed into a plastic sack that unfortunately had a hole in it. My poor mother was torn from trying to help me, drive, and laugh. But I got my Frosty and all was well, so no worries after that. (For the moment. It will be an interesting few days.)

And how funny it is that perspective and state of mind COMPLETELY changes everything. It makes me wonder how often I think I am doing a good, right thing, or in the right way, but someone from outside my personal opinion/influence can see that I am headed in the wrong direction, or could be doing things in a different, more effective way. My mom didn't criticize me for missing the bag, even though she started to tell me to use a different one that didn't have a hole. I wasn't in a state to really aim very well, and though I heard her advice to use the other, sturdier bag, I stuck with my original plan (which was a fast plan concocted... your stomach isn't often generous with decision-making) and she helped me the best that she could. She probably would have loved to not scrub the car seat after I crawled into bed, but she did, and then continued onward to being the best nurse ever. (warm casserole puree for lunch, anyone?)

That is true wisdom. Caring for others, offering advice when we can tell it will be truly helpful despite being afraid of retaliation, and being continually supportive even if advice is not heeded or nothing changes. Or maybe it is motherly love. Or maybe it is both. (But it definitely isn't wisdom teeth.)

I hope to be more wise and more like my mom as my days continue to pass, because right now, I don't particularly favor scrubbing car seats, literally or figuratively.


MTC Countdown: 27 Days


Word of the Day: bushwhack  \ BOOSH-hwak \ , verb; 


1. To defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way.
2 (other common, boring, not nearly as applicable definitions)

April Showers bring April Finals

I don't get mountain weather. Well, I guess I do. It snows all the time, no matter what time or day or month... like today. It's been doing that raining snow thing all morning, and last night.

April is the worst time to have finals. Either the beautiful weather is too taunting to ignore or the rainy weather discourages any venturing on campus to study. (Wonder why I'm blogging for the first time in over six months?)

But you know, I actually love this weather. I love the misty breath, the rain, the quiet it seems to bring... it can be so peaceful. And I will certainly miss it, so I must take advantage while I can.

Oh yeah, I'm going on a mission. :) I forget that I haven't told some people what I'm doing for the next 18 months, and they get a little confused when I tell them I'm not living here in the fall or applying to my program or getting married to anyone. ;)

I've been called to serve in the Arizona Mesa Mission, specifically the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors Center! I report June 1st to the Provo MTC, which means I'll be in Arizona the first week of July.

And in that first week I am probably going to be fried alive.

The average temperature in January is 67 degrees, while in July it is 106 degrees. Although today, it is apparently 44 and raining.  (I'm on a weather kick, if you haven't noticed.) Getting used to the heat will be a bit of a challenge, I'm guessing... I've always been a heat pansy. (especially a humidity/heat pansy.) But to my credit, extreme heat usually = extreme sunburns for me, and I am terrified of getting more sunburns. I've freckles enough to worry the skin doctor, so the last thing I want is cancer. obviously.

Maybe you're wondering: Have you ever been to Arizona? Indeed I have. To Gilbert, actually. And all I remember is walking neck-high in a couple of lakes and being so weirded out that walking outside at midnight still felt like an oven. And the bugs were really loud.

Mesa is the 3rd largest city in Arizona, 37th largest city in the country, and largest suburb in the country, and has 440,000 people, and I could go to prison for 25 years if I cut down a cactus.

And it is unlawful to refuse someone a glass of water. So if your bladder can handle it, that's one way to do tracting... :)

How many temples are there? Well let me tell you...

- Mesa (where you will find yours truly for 18 months, and is the most attended temple outside of Utah)

- Phoenix (which the groundbreaking is waiting to be announced; maybe I'll get to go? It's only 20 miles away)

- The Gila Valley - (the groundbreaking was Feb 2009, and the dedication was May 2010. SPEEDY.)

- Gilbert (In my mission boundaries, and waiting official announcement of completion, but estimated 2013. I am crossing my fingers it will be fast like the Gila Valley Temple, so I can be a part of the open house and dedication. But I don't mind a planned post-mission trip already in the works. :)

- Snowflake. (Probably a nice irony for those living in Arizona.)

I'm excited to have this new experience! There are so many thing to think about and accomplish before then. 

... like school. (only three more days of classes!)

So in art majors, everything is almost always due the last day of class instead of the scheduled final time. Which means my next four days are trial by fire. :(  But that also means finals week should be a breeezeee...

 I suppose I better get my on head straight and keep working. 

Word of the Day: tenterhooks, \ TEN-ter-hooks \  , noun;  1. On tenterhooks, in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety.