TOMORROW!

Tomorrow I will be reporting to the MTC in Provo Utah at 1:30pm. My flight, however, leaves at 6:20 am, so I will not be sleeping tonight ;). I will be set apart as a missionary at 7:00 pm tonight. I am so excited to be a missionary!! WOO!! I have the biggest excitement/anxious butterflies in my stomach. If you would like to hear about how I am doing on my mission, my weekly e-mails will be posted by my good friend Sarah on http://www.madisoninthemission.blogspot.com

Adios!
Hermana Taets

10 days

Good news! I am less ohmyheck-why-can't-I-find-long-skirts stressed and more itchin-to-put-on-that-nametag-and-baptize-the-world excited! The only thing that is really concerning me is the mound of clothes, books, nylons, etc. on my bedroom floor that seems to exceed the maximum capticity of my luggage :/ oh boy. I finally bought a backpack!!! YAY! I love it too! It was only like 10 bucks at Wally World, it is grayblackpurple and had a hole for an "insulated bladder", which I also bought for 20 bucks. SO my super hydration/scripture-carrier device has been purchased, and I love it already. Rebecca, I also took your advice and bought a grip of nylons Walmart as well, and let me just say.... me and nylon are going to hate each other for the next year point five. I don't see the point for their existence and they will be the first thing I burn once my mission is over. Although I still could not find anyyyyy long skirts while shopping practically every dadgum day, I expressed this, among other concerns, to Bro. Calton last week and he had his wife sew me a long skirt! I LOVE it! It is Loooooong and gray and has cute little pockets in the front and I wish I had 4 more in different colors because I know it will be mi falda favorita. I think I said "my favorite skirt". I am almost done shopping for the mission! I just need the basics in order to have good hygiene and then I will pack and woooo done! Weeelll not quite. Still have a million people to bid farewell to, finish some family history temple work,overnight camping trip with Addie, play golf with poppa, line dancing saturday?, speak in church, party with familia y amigos, get set apart. Ha ha. At least all of these things will be fun! I seriously have something going on everyday this week, and not to mention work every day!

Well to sum up everything... I love my life! I am so excited that in only 10 days I will be a full-time missionary and will have the opportunity to serve my Father in Heaven's children and to invite them to learn the things that I know to be true, without a doubt. I can't wait to become a better version of me, to be charitable, kind, meek, reverent, organized, goal oriented, loving, bold. Hopefully I can gain access to at least one of those attributes within 18 months.

WOO HOO! Cinco Alto!
Hermana Taets

18

Only 18 days until I leave for the MTC! Oh my lanta!!! There are so many thoughts in my head that I can't sleep! Which is why I might as well write them all down while I am awake at 4 am. boo.

1. Are my skirts long enough?! Are they going to send me home because my skirt hemline is an inch above the exact middle of my calf? Am I a bad missionary just because they don't sell long skirts in this desert wasteland?! Let's hope not. At least I have one long skirt, but it's not really a personal favorite. I could never wear it everyday if they MTC people decide that my several-inches-below-the-knee-but-not-quite-mid-calf skirts were just too skimpy for missionary work.

2. Why does my plane ticket departure time not match the departure time located on the airline website? Am I departing at 6:35 or 7:30? Please be 7:30. Heaven knows I am not going to get any sleep the night before. What if I miss my flight? Do I not get to go on my mission? Am I allowed to report but am shunned for tardiness?

3. Do I have enough shots? I keep looking at my immunization record over and over and over. It seems like I have them all...except maybe that booster thing for my HepA. Are they going to make me sit outside until I have been properly vaccinated? Will I look like a terrorist trying to infiltrate the MTC and spread HepA to all of those precious missionaries? Should I be bringing my shot record? Or just the form that came with my call? Do I really just put the dates I received the shots without any magical signatures from an authorized physician? Am I going to look like a loony for not getting any magical signatures?

4. KNEE HIGHS! Why can't I find you? You would think they are a common article of clothing that can be found in most stores. Unless you live in Arizona where all of the universal clothing rules and regulations just melt on the pavement. Blast.

5. Am I supposed to bring my copy of Preach My Gospel? The list says "Do not bring any books not listed above" so technically it should be a no brainer not to bring it, since it is not on the list. But what if it is supposed to be a no brainer to bring your Preach My Gospel on your mission so doy, they don't need to mention it on the super extensive intensive list. "Why is this sister missionary ridiculously unprepared?!" uggghhh.

6. "Backpacks or shoulder bags should be in dark, conservative colors with no apparent logos or insignias." Where on this planet do I find a backpack that doesn't have a logo on it? Blast. Should I just wait to buy one in the MTC? Do I want a normal one or a Camelback? Mmmmm Camelback with its water dispenser conveniently close to my mouth om nom nom. What if water baggie bursts and ruins all of my libro de mormons and scriptural goodness located inside backpack?

7. What can I do for my family before I leave that will help them not be bitter that I can't call them? Should I get one of those tape players dealys so I can send them tapes instead of letters? Can I even fit one of those in my already jam packed suitcase? Would they even use it if I bought them one? Corey says his family enjoyed tapes...for a few months. Too bad my family cares much less about the mission so my success with tape recording rate is significantly lowerrrr.

8. Whyyyyy Cannnnnn't I Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep? Brain, you need to shut off, right now. Ready? GO!

Waiting, not so patiently, for my laundry....

...so I will waste some time with this thinger-ma-jig I stole off of a friend's blog.

I feel: anticapation for a new week filled with excitement and an event everyday. yeehaw.

I want: to get paid. like yesterday.

I love: the temple, and am counting down the days {3} until I can go again.

I miss: living in Tempe :( a lot.

I crave: adventure. which sounds unlike me to the untrained friend. BUT I didn't say my adventures would have to involve danger, because that would be very unlike me.

I heart: my testimony, and how much it has changed my life.

I know: I should be sleeping right now.

I live: to please Him, even though sometimes I don't have a clue what exactly that entails, but I do my best and according to what I know to be true.

I dig: boys in white ;) nothing is more attractive to me than a man who is self-motivated in attending the temple regularly and who will take me there one day. yum.

I adore: everyone. I feel like I have a ginormous support system right now and it is helping me press forward to serve my mission.

I covet: the "perfect" families I am meeting in the family ward, with the beautiful, loving husband and wife with their adorable little babies. It's sick how much I want that.

I believe: scratch that. I KNOW.

I can't: believe I am going on a mission. really. Was that call really addressed to me? Because it feels like I am just leading my normal life and telling people I am serving a mission that doesnt seem to be real.

I struggle: with becoming the kind of person I envision myself being.

I have: a ridiculously dirty car. Service project anyone?

I am: wishing my laundry was finished so I could go to sleeeeeeeeep.

I remember: everything. Including all of the lyrics to a song after hearing it
once. And everyone despises it.

I cherish: life. love. faith.

I hope: for things that I can't see.

I wonder: where I will find some frumpy missionary clothes.

I smell: fabric softener

I think: the sunday school assignment of writing a letter to your spouse (or future
spouse if your name is Madison and you are the only single person in the
Garden Lakes Ward) is going to be an interesting project.

I dream: the weirdest craziness imagineable, and usually narrate my dreams all
throughout the night to anyone willing to listen

I dislike: the smell of my clothes after I get off work. Hence my nickname "the Burger Tease". Reallll Attractive.

I laugh: when I am with Addison. She is the weirdest kid I know. I have never
laughed so much and so hard in my whole life.

I have: too much to do and only 52 days left to do it

I try: to be better.

Abundantly Blessed

I have never felt so blessed or felt like My Father in Heaven is so near and aiding me in every step as I prepare for my mission! Every single day I have witnessed seemingly small miracles from the Lord, and it makes me feel so comforted to know that even though I feel like my family is not always on the supportive side that I have my Heavenly parents' support and that they are helping me to prepare. I know that the Lord is using so many of his servants here on the Earth to help me as well, so many friends, "adopted family", and even my real family, have extended a helping hand to me in the last few months.

1. The Hofeling Family. Most people know that I consider them my "Mormon Family", since I have looked up to Bro. Hofeling as a kind of Mormon father figure since I joined the church and had him as an institute teacher. This family has been such a blessing for me! They have always been willing to help me with anything, usually just answering the million questions about various church related topics and an occasional delicious Sister Hofeling dinner :) I am even more grateful than usual for them for the time they took to prepare me for going to the temple for my endowment. A few days before I went through on Aug. 4th The Hofelings sat down with me and talked about the temple, read scriptures, and answered the questions I had that were okay to discuss outside the temple. Then on Aug. 4th Sister Hofeling was my escort as I went through for my endowment and both of them were on either side of me during my session. They really have been like a second family to me and I know that having them with me for my endowment was a huge comfort to me, since making such a huge step of faith without the support of my real family was somewhat disheartening.

2. The King Family. Corey King is a manager at my work and I met his family after I started baby-sitting their awesome kiddos. They also were there for my endowment and were also a huge blessing of added comfort and support. Lately they have been such a huge help in preparing for my mission! I recently went to their home for a delicious sunday dinner and Corey and I went through his mission stuff and talked about his experiences, and it was so nice to have someone to in a way pass down their knowledge and experiences in serving a full-time mission. I think most missionaries have a parent to coach them as they prepare to serve, and since I obviously don't have that, I feel like the King family has filled that void and has contributed so much to making sure I am a successful missionary. Last week they did the nicest thing ever! I had to fight back the tears while in the backroom at my work when Corey handed me a bag from him and his wife that contained a brand spanking new set of scriptures (beautiful triple combo and bible in maroon with my name on them), a scripture case, and a journal (and exactly the kind I wanted with the 3-ring binder style). I felt so loved and supported and I am just so grateful for them! They even had their kids draw me some pictures! Caleb drew my rocket ship that I told them I fly to their house, eliza drew an abstract piece (aka scribbles, she is only like a year and a half old), travis drew a car, and westley drew a picture of me teaching a cowboy on my mission :). AND since the Kings are moving to Utah in Oct. they have also offered to pick me up from the airport in Salt Lake and take me to the MTC! I am so grateful for them and love them so much!

3. My Mommy. Although she is kind of on the fence concerning my membership in the church, she has been relatively supportive of my decision to serve a mission. When I got my call she said, "Why couldn't you go to Maine? I really want to go there on vacation!" After some careful explaining that she can't come find me during my mission she said, "So...are you happy about Texas?" and I said that of course I was, and she said, "Well, if you are excited than so am I, WOOOOO!" (while jumping up and down). My mom is the best. Even though she doesn't understand why I would want to pay to go get doors slammed in my face for a year and a half she is supportive of me and knows that I am making good choices for myself. Last month she called me, while I was at Marshall's looking at the luggage, and said, "I was just at Last Chance and saw this awesome Swiss luggage set and bought it for you! This guy tried to fight me for them but I got them!" She got me the nicest luggage! And it is all exactly within the requirements of what I can bring on my mission! Then last week my mom, my sister and I went to Last Chance and we all tried on coats together and picked one out to bring on my mission (it is SO nice, long black Calvin Klein winter coat for only 40 bones!). They were so much fun! My mom was trying on snake skin coats and Alli tried on some neon yellow one, and we were all laughing and having fun, while doing something that was related to my mission, which is weird since usually Alli has a really bad attitude about me leaving. While at Last Chance my mom also found me some PERFECT missionary shoes! They are black Kenneth Cole shoes with a legit sole for walking and they aren't ugly! They are actually quite trendy! And they were only 30 bucks! YAY! And to top it all off, when we got to the register, my mom took my stuff from me and said she would buy it as a mission present :) She really is the best, and I know that I chose her to be my mother in the pre-mortal world and that she is the perfect mother for me and that she will always be a great example to me of a mother, regardless of whether she joins the church or not...but hopefully she does.

I am so grateful, and so excited!!! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! I have so much more to do and a whole new wardrobe of frumpy clothes to buy!

adios mi amigos,
Hermana Taets

Llamados a Servir! (Called to Serve)

YEEEE HAWWWWW Texas Houston Mission, Spanish speaking, here I come!!! Well, at least not until October 28th when I report to the MTC! I am so excited! My mission call is perfect! I have never been to Texas so it still feels foreign, ha ha, yet my parents are finally at ease knowing I will be remaining in the country for "that long trip" ha ha. I am so excited, or, estoy muy animado, to learn spanish! No, I do not already know spanish, but I took two years in high school and I remember a lot, plus everyone at work now calls me "Hermana" and speaks spanish to me, so I hope I will pick up the language pretty quickly. For my own sake than for yours, I will now be posting some photos of my future home! haha

BAHAHAHHA This is no joke the first thing that popped up when I googled "Texas"


Houston Temple. BEAUTIFUL. I can't wait to see it in person!



Yes, this is a house in Houston that has been constructed with..beer cans. Don't worry, by the time I leave Houston they will have re-built it with Soda cans!



Okay last one. Don't ask me why, but this one just made me laugh out loud.



Oh Gee, if our President loves Texas than Golly Gee Bob.. SO DO I! He looks ridiculous in that hat, BAAHHHAHAHA.

YAY TEXAS! I AM SO EXCITED!

Bonus Nachos,
Hermana Taets

Especially for Everyone

I have decided that EFY (Especially for Youth) is not only for the youth, but is for everyone! I have seen EFY bless not only the youth, but everyone who came in contact with EFY. Allow me to explain...

Especially for Youth

Since this program was created for the youth, it is no wonder that they gained huge benefits from attending. First, I have to say that I was completely blown away by the amount of knowledge these kids had! Both sessions I had 14-15 year old boys and girls and they knew so much about the gospel and about the scriptures! Most of them had already started seminary, so they had all these scriptures memorized and they were able make all these cool applications to daily life from the scriptures and from games we would play throughout the week. I was just so impressed! One thing I feel like I might have taught them, and that I just loved teaching, was how to study the gospel. I showed them how to use the Bible Dictionary, the Topical Guide, Footnotes, the Hymnal, the General Conference Ensigh, and the Joseph Smith Translation. I would have them pick a topic (they chose fasting one week, and charity the next week) and we basically went on a studying "adventure", using all of our resources to learn more about those topics. I loved seeing their excitement when they learned something new, and that they could find these things on their own. One of my boys in the first session loved the JST's and after gospel study shared with the group some of the verses that had translations and how they completelely changed the meaning of the scriptures. It felt so good to watch them get excited about studying the scriptures! I really had the best kids ever! Another thing that made EFY worth it for the kids, and for me, was a little thing us counselors called "pay day", or thursday night testimony meeting. Almost all of my girls bore their testimonies, and they were so unique and beautiful, I actually wrote parts of them down. There were two boys in my company who said they never knew the church was true and that they felt the spirit so strongly throughout the week that they couldn't deny it. I loved watching these amazing kids realize that they had testimonies of the gospel and find a passion for it. It was even cooler to watch the nonmember kids that were brought by friends, learn more about the church and also gain a testimony, and announce their decision to be baptized. I would have done EFY for free to have the opportunity to witness all the miracles that happened at EFY.

Session One: They Think They are Wise

My Baby Girls


My Ninja Boys


Session Two: Become Strong

My Beautiful Girls


My Goof-Ball Boys


Especially For Counselors

I never imagined that I would go through so much spiritual growth, and learn so many things that helped me to become a better teacher of the gospel, aka mission prep! I had to rely heavily on prayer just to make it through the day! With barely any sleep, and a million tasks to worry about, I know I couldn't make it through the day without some help from my Heavenly Father. I noticed that I felt so much closer with my kids and felt more guidance in my interactions with them when I prayed for them everyday and specifically by name. I also learned a very valuable lesson about effective teaching! For my first session I prayerfully prepared my devotionals that I would be teaching the kids every night, and I feel like they turned out so well! Not because of me, but because I was able to ask the right questions that would allow the kids to teach themselves. For the second session I just used the same lessons because they seemed to be so effective, but throughout my second week I couldn't figure out why my devotionals didn't seem to go as well. Finally about midweek I realized that I had completely different kids, with completely different needs! Unfortunately, I only got to fix one or two devotionals, but I think that it didn't really hurt the kids ability to learn throughout the week, it was more like I needed to experience my mistake for my own learning.
Being at EFY also gave me an even stronger desire to serve a mission and teach others about the gospel full-time! I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to serve a mission! I also just had a flat out blast at EFY, playing ninja destruction everyday, learning and then teaching the line dances at the dance, watching all the talent the kids have at the variety show, discussing our cows (crush of the week) with my girls (yes, they made me have cows, but thats between me and the girls). And, I made new friends! I became friends with some awesome counselors and am so excited to get to know them better now that we are back in the valley!

Kierste, Kim, and Myself


Especially for..Everyone Else!

Probably my favorite part of EFY was watching those on NAU's campus interact with the participants and counselors at EFY. I think at first the staff was curious, and maybe a little shocked at how well-behaved, polite, and just happy, the kids were, and that made a huge impact on everyone around the campus! the kids were always saying hi and even hugging the staff in the cafeteria. Even I got myself some amazing hugs from the lunch staff, and really miss some of them. One of the best interactions on campus was with the housing staff. One of the RAs was always working in the lobby and the kids and the counselors made sure to welcome them into the group. Two RAs, Jason and Mason, started going to the morning sides, the classes taught by seminary teachers, and testimony meeting, and on the weekends when the kids were gone they even went to church with us! After church Jason set up an appointment to meet with the missionaries! To make a long story short, and to avoid stealing Jason's thunder, EFY made a huge impact on Jason, and changed his life forever.

Counselor Dan, Myself, and Jason :)


I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to experience EFY as a counselor! I wish I was able to do more this summer, but I think it's time I get things in order for my mission. I think I will be devastated though if I don't get to experience this all over again when I come home from my mission.

Missing my EFY babies,
Madison

Mrs. Jensen?

This was the ongoing theme tonight while I was working...That I will marry Brian Jensen. Who is Brian Jensen? I have not the foggiest idea.

Madison: Corey, guess what? I am turning my mission papers in the day after I get back from EFY, so only like two more weeks!

Corey (LDS Manager at INO): No, you're not.

Madison: What do you mean I'm not?

Corey: I just know you aren't going, I have this feeling that you are supposed to get married instead.

Madison: Uugggghhhhh! Why does everyone say that?! I am going on a mission!

Corey: Are you sure?

Madison: ... ... unless Heavenly Father says I have to get married instead *stubborn frowny face*

Corey: That's right...I think his name is Brian..... Brian Jensen.

Madison Jensen...HAH! I don't know anyone named Brian Jensen! Corey said he will be on the lookout for him for me. So for the remainder of the night everyone decided that if they all focus on me marrying Brian then it would come true and I wouldn't have to leave for 18 months, which actually was nice because I didn't realize they would miss me. At the end of the night I was complaining, in a joking way of course, about how bad my feet hurt from my new pair of safety shoes that I have yet to break in, and someone mentioned that its a good thing I have Brian waiting for me to come home to rub my feet. Then another co worker said, "at least we know Brian is good for something other than keeping Madi here". I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass, to say, "Oh that's not all that Brian is good for ;)" Corey made a disgusted noise, and another coworker told me that this is a family restaurant! Ha Ha, and then I got to go home two hours early! All thanks to my wonderful husband Brian.

Brian Jensen, if you are out there, particularly at EFY, please don't fall in love with me until after my mission. I really really really want to go on a mission! I know this might be a difficult task, what with how charming I am ;) but please, just be patient, I will be worth the wait.

Love,
Mrs. Jensen

2 years

I regret to say that I barely took notice that today marks the two year anniversary of a marvelous day: My Baptism. I hoped that today would have been a day to go to the temple and give myself time for serious reflection and evaluation, but of course my life never takes a break and I have been on the run all day long. So, even though the day is almost through and it will probably be tomorrow once I am done writing, I would like to take this time to reflect.

I decided a good starting point would be to read the reflection from my one year anniversary, found here, and see what kind of changes I have made and what things I may have accomplished, and am surprised to say that I have gone through a whole bushel of changes in just one year. A goal I mentioned in that particular blog was to "blend in", and I am sad to say that I may have accomplished this, but that it wasn't what I was hoping. By blending in I wanted to be just like any other member of the church who has been a member their entire life, but after trying so hard to blend in I feel like I have lost a little bit of my fervor and excitement about everything associated with being a member. A year ago I would have been ridiculously excited to hear, see, or do anything that was associated with the church, and I find myself dragging my feet to relief society and missing out on great opportunities for growth. I think it is time to set a new goal: To be 100% myself, to gain as much knowledge as possible through experience and study, to act like a new convert fresh from the font every single day and remain excited about my knowledge of the restored gospel, but do not rely on my conversion as a crutch. I think it may be fun to not even tell new people I meet that I am a convert, just so that if a time comes when it is appropriate to discuss then I can see if they are surprised! So, that will be my new game, and I am excited.

Some things I cannot believe happened in only one year include 1. my mother's decision to take the first missionary lesson, and her newfound support in my religious beliefs. This took me completely by surprise, and if you would have asked me a year ago if this was even possible I would have said no. I cannot express how grateful I am for the growing support from my family members. I hope that I can be an example to them and that I can be a better daughter, sister, cousin, niece, and grand daughter to all of them and just love them until they can't stand it. 2. my decision to serve a mission. This decision came about probably within the last 4 months, and pretty much changed everything for me. I changed my plans for my education and decided to take a leave of absence, I stopped right in the middle of my management training at In-N-Out, I even moved back in with my dad in Avondale. I still cannot believe at times that I am really going, hopefully that isn't a sign that it won't work out, since my papers can't go in for another two weeks. I am SO unbelievably excited to serve a mission, and I already see that it has blessed me and my family so much. 3. I began teaching the new member lessons to recent converts. This one still baffles me, I don't understand how I can be teaching them when I feel like I still have so much to learn! I have loved it so much, and I feel like I just connect and create great friendships with those I teach. I really hope that I can be a beacon to any new convert who has questions or is struggling, since I have walked in their shoes.

I would like to end this memoir by saying that I know, without any doubt whatsoever, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ upon the Earth today. To those readers who may not be members it may be difficult to understand how exactly I could KNOW such a thing, but believe me, I know. I can feel it. When I read the Book of Mormon, when I attend church, when I bear my testimony to others, when I attend the temple, I can feel a noticeable change within me, as if my heart is so full that it cannot be contained in my body. It is a feeling I hope I never, ever, ever have to live without, and I know I won't have to, so long as I follow the example of Jesus Christ. Although, I am not perfect in any way, I can be made perfect through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I feel like this year I just began to understand what that means, and I still have a lot more to learn. What I do know is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me, as an individual, and they know me. I know that Jesus suffered and died for me personally, and even if he had to suffer the Atonement so that only I could return to live with Him and Heavenly Father, that He would still have done it. I am unmeasurably grateful for that sacrifice.

I love this gospel. I love this church. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I love my life.

And I love you all,
Madison

Gone Fishin'

This last week I went tubing down the Salt River with a bunch of kiddos from my work, and got super fried in the process, but the focus of this blog revolves around the triumph of Andrew. Andrew brought along a cheapy fishing pole and sat in his tube during the trip and attempted to go fishing in the river. The whole time I "naysayed" him and said it could not be done. I was wrong. Andrew caught TWO rather large trout in the river, and now, I am on a mission to catch three. Today I bought this beauty at WalMart...




This state of the art, Dora the Explora, fishing pole is going to help me achieve greatness on the great Salt River on Thursday, the 11th of June. It shall be Glorious.

Love,
The new Ruler of the River

Bluer Skies

I have much to be joyful about. The move to Avondale has surely shaken up things in my life, but I feel like things are finally coming together and I am finally seeing why I was supposed to move to Avondale. I would like to take this opportunity to bask in my joy, that has long anticipated.

1. I hung out with my Grandmother last week and told her about temple work and got her permission to baptize my Grandpa in the temple (which I will be doing today). While explaining this to her she asked if I could teach her more about what I believe and about what I feel about religion, and said she has seen how important it is to me and wants to understand it better. Of course I was thrilled and I was moved to tears when my Grandma agreed to meet with the missionaries :) I also feel so excited to do the temple work for my Grandpa. This will be the first time I will be doing temple work for someone I have actually met and been close to, so the feeling is a little different than when I have done ordinances for other ancestors. I just start to cry when I think about witnessing my Grandpa's baptism and know that this is what I should be doing.

2. EFY is in a little over a week. Although I am pretty nervous, I am even more excited! I know this will be an amazing experience for me and I am so excited to work with the youth and be able to teach them more about what is really important in life. I will be leaving for Flagstaff next saturday and am beyond stoked!

3. The day after I return from EFY, Sunday June 28th, I have my missionary interview with the Bishop! I have already talked to him and he said we will have my interview on sunday, then turn in my papers the wednesday of that week, then I will just have to wait to meet with the stake president and it will be off to Salt Lake with my Mission Papers! I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by and how soon I will be turning my papers in and eventually receiving my call. I cannot express in words my anticipation at receiving my call.

4. I have recently been assigned a new teaching assignment for my calling as ward missionary. I am now teaching the most super legit and amazing new convert, Sarah. I have had two lessons with her, but they are really more like discussions. I feel like I am learning a lot with her because I am still a new convert too, kind of, so as we discuss the principles of the gospel as they are presented in Preach My Gospel we also discuss what those principles mean to us personally and what it was like for us to learn about them the first time before we joined the church. I love her to bits and pieces and I feel like we have such a great connection and we agreed on a lot of things. Unfortunately, I will have to transfer my records to the West Wind Singles Branch out in Avondale once I get my mission call, so we are going to have to try and finish her lessons before the middle of July. I know I will remain close with her after I move to the other ward, but I still would like to finish the lessons with her so she doesn't have to get a new ward missionary.

5. Today was my Dad's Birthday celebration, which went really well, everyone behaved and there weren't really any arguments or problems, which was great. I was talking to my Dad about how he needs to get out of the house more and we decided that we would start doing things on Monday nights (It can be like FHE without the spiritual part!). So, next Monday we are planning on walking around our neighborhood, which is almost 3 miles. I am really wondering what I will talk with my Dad about for the length of the walk, which will probably take 45 minutes if we walk at a leisurely pace. I really really hope I will be able to really get close with my Dad, to where we can talk about almost anything, and eventually about the church and why it has changed my life so much.

6. Addison friend who she babysits for, Chalon, wants to take Addie and I to see Wicked at the Gammage on July 11th, and I am pretty much freaking out about it! I have always wanted to see it, but now is now the time for me to be spending money I don't need to spend. I am sososo excited and looking forward to seeing Wicked!

Things are obviously looking up :)
Love, Madi

Avondale

I haven't posted in awhile, but yes, I am back in Avondale, for the first time in two years, and it has been a pretty strange two weeks. I won't lie, it is rough out here, but I know that I will learn a lot from what I experience here, so long as I keep my faith and I just hang on.

So far I have learned...

I hate the drive from Avondale to Tempe for work almost everyday

My Cake Mix Cookies match my potholders (a deep insight from my father)

Summer Nights are perfect, even when I am enjoying them alone

Addison is my best friend, hands down, I have never had someone who was willing to do so much for me

There is an awesome hill on the way to my mom's house, and I can coast on my longboard for an extended period of time

West-side Mormons are quite a bit different than what I am used to

Tivo was created by divine inspiration

Everyone can appreciate a glass, multi-colored fish

I am very stubborn and I think Heavenly Father is teaching me to change, the hard
way

Satan does not want me to serve a mission, but I am going to anyways

I need to learn to stand on my own two feet

This will be quite a summer. Bring it on.

Attitude Change

Yeah yeah yeah so I had myself a little pity party on my last post, BUT good news is...I feel one hundred percent back to normal, yay! The reason why? I went to the temple. I realized I hadnt gone the previous week and that must have been what made me feel like crap all week! So I went twice this week and am back to normal! So, to redeem myself after making that horrible sad list, I am going to list all the things I am EXCITED for!

1. EFY. I was hired to be an EFY counselor for the summer! Although I haven't been able to accept any contracts yet and do not know where exactly I will be working, I am stoked beyond belief. I have never been to an EFY because I was 18 when I was baptized, so I am very excited to get to experience EFY and also to be a mentor for youth in the church. I feel like there are so many things I experienced before I was baptized that kind of give me the credibility in saying that the "strict" rules of the church are really for our own good, and I am so grateful for the commandments.

2. Moving. Now I know that I recently complained about this, but now I am seeing my move in a new light. I am really excited to spend more time with my little sister, she is seriously the coolest kid I know. She is very random like me so I can only imagine all the amazingly random childish things we will do together. I also will get to spend a lot of time with my mom, who is amazing and I love so much. I really hope I will have many opportunities to talk to her about the gospel, and bear my testimony, I have this feeling that I will and that she really needs to hear whatever the Holy Ghost has me say. Another great thing about home is that it is in a relatively safe neighborhood so I can start running again! I have really missed being able to run outside, and I sure could get into better shape!

3. Illinois. So, my whole dad's side of the family lives in a farming community in north western Illinois, about an hour north of Nauvoo, and I only see them once a year, if that much. So, since I will be leaving for a mission this fall, and since my grandparents are reaaaaalllly old, I feel the need to go see my family this summer. My dad doesn't want to organize an official family trip, no surprise there, so my sister, me, and Addison are going to do a cross country road trip to see my family for a week or so. I am not excited for the drive, but I just feel this is something I really need to do before I leave. I love all of my family in Illinois and the beautiful green landscape, so I am way excited!

4. Elder Loper. My beloved friend and fake brother Matt has received his mission call!!! He has been called to serve in the Massachusetts Boston Mission, Haitian Creole speaking! I am so proud of him for how far he has come since his conversion, and for the huge sacrifice he is making to serve a mission. It makes me so much more anxious to get my papers in and receive my call, I can't wait to go! Only like...two more months til I can send in papers and get my call!

I am glad that my happiness has returned in full force. Yay for life!

Love, Madi

Sorry, I need this

I have always tried to be fairly positive about all aspects of my life. I usually welcome trials as an opportunity for growth and with the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows I can survive it. But lately I have just felt the exact opposite. I feel so unenthusiastic, nervous, scared, and overall just lost. As a way of hopefully confronting these odd and rather disturbing emotions, I am going to get right at the source!

Possible sources:
1. The semester is ending.

Normally this would be cause for rejoicing, but since I am not going to school next semester I feel like I am closing a door that I am not ready to close. Yes, I know I will be right back in school once I get off my mission, but still! I don't feel any closure to this part of my life and it just seems like this is not the right time for me to be postponing my education.

2. The mission

I am 100% super stoked to be serving a full-time mission for the church. I wish I could leave right now! But, despite my excitement and my willingness to serve in this capacity, I regret to admit that there is some fear attached. What will it be like? Where will I go? Will I be successful? Will it be dangerous? How will I afford it? Will I be the same person when I come home? Will I still have a group of loving and supportive friends when I get home? Will my family learn to support me? Wow, more questions than I anticipated. I understand that these uncertainties are probably common, but it still scares me that I have no many concerns. Fear is the opposite of faith, so I definitely do not want to fear, I want to just know that whatever happens is going to be for my best.

3. Moving

In about a week I will be moving back in with my Dad in Avondale so that I can save money. I haven't lived with him since I joined the church, and he is not too keen on my religious beliefs, so that makes me nervous. I have no good lds friends in Avondale. The family out in Avondale that baptized me has moved to Michigan and I don't even want to think of what Avondale is going to be like without them being there for me. I feel like I am at a point in my life when I am going to need a lot of support and strength, especially as I prepare to enter the temple and to serve a mission, yet I am moving to a place where there will be very little strength or support. This will be a true test for me, and to be honest, I am scared out of my mind. I do not want to fail, but I feel as if failure is looming over my head.


Well, there it is, time to stand a little taller, paste on a smile, and try my best to survive. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. :)

Eulogy

For my Public Speaking class we had to do a special occasion speech, so I decided to do a Eulogy. Enjoy. :)

My friends, it is with a heavy heart that I speak on behalf of our deceased friend… Facebook. I am sure it all came as a shock to us when Facebook was diagnosed with the swine flu and found dead only days later. Today I would like for us all to cherish the great times we had with Facebook, and fear not, for we truly can move on.
Facebook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 4th, 2004 and is survived by his creators, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. These three men created Facebook while attending Harvard University, originally for the use of Harvard students only. The original Facebook was a simple application where the ID photos of students were placed two at a time next to each other and users would choose which student they found to be “hotter”. Mark Zuckerberg was able to create this site by hacking into the protected areas of the Harvard computer network and copy the student ID photos. As we all know, Facebook became loved and sought after by students nationwide and became a common name in every household.
Facebook and I had so many amazing experiences together that it is so difficult to just speak of a few. My most fond memories came late at night as I spent time with Facebook, perusing the photos of my classmates and acquaintances, reading the conversations that occurred throughout the day between my friends, and searching diligently for new friends who may have accounts with Facebook. Facebook never failed to distract me from the stresses of real life and allowed me to waste the little amount of free time I had.
Facebook also aided me in becoming more of a socialite while in college. With the use of the “events” application I was able to know what parties were scheduled for this weekend and create an agenda for myself several days prior to the weekend. The only downside to the “events” application was deciding how to kindly reject invitations to events that I would never be caught dead at. I have learned, however, that the best way to avoid any hurt feelings, or an obligation to attend that girl’s ridiculously lamesauce party is to simply RVSP with a “maybe”. By doing so, the host of the party will not be upset that you rejected the event they so painstakingly created, yet they will not be angry with you if you decide not to show, which we all know you really weren’t planning on doing anyways.
Finally, one of the most memorable moments I shared with Facebook was one of the many times my so called “friends” logged onto my account and created havoc under my good name. The one that truly made me cringe then, but laugh about now, was the time 3 of my friends teamed up to change my status. I will never forget coming home from work at about 2 in the morning, logging onto Facebook, and being shocked to find an irregular and enormous amount of comments on my status. As I investigated further I saw that my status had been changed to “Madison is upset that she has wet her bed AGAIN after her afternoon nap.” Not only was my status changed, but my friends had changed theirs as well so that mine would seem more believable. Their status’ read: “Abby is out buying Depends for Madison,” “Matt wishes he knew how to help Madi with her bed-wetting problem,” and “Katie is the only friend Madison has left”. Good times.
Although Facebook only lived to be 5 years old, he touched the lives of over 200 million people worldwide. I ask that you do not mourn this terrible and unexpected loss, but that you always remember the hours upon hours you personally spent with Facebook, and to seek diligently for new ways to waste your time in his honor.

make it stop :(

Oh boy. :D

Somehow a large amount of butterflies found their way down my throat and into my stomach. It's so funny that for so long I wanted to feel that again, that rush and excitement that comes with having "butterflies", but now I just want them to leave before they ruin all of my plans.

Movin' on up!

Now that tuition is bought and paid for this semester, the charts are creeping for the mission fund. I almost have two months paid for! yay! only sixteen...more..to go.. :( I can do it!!



Scheduled my physical for next week..woo hoo. It's scary how time flies and I only have like two more months until I can turn in my papers! I feel like I have so much to do!

676 miles later..

I had the most amazing, exhausting weekend ever! I had the awesome opportunity to drive up to Utah with Ashley, Matt, Katie, Abby, Mo, and Addison to see General Conference!

The drive up was not the best. We left around 5 pm in Arizona and got to Bountiful to stay with Abby's Grandparents' home at around 6:00 am. I admit I did not drive the fastest because it was night and I was paranoid about hitting a deer, I counted 8 deer on the side of the road as I drove! I also got pulled over in Page, I was not speeding, it was right after Ash threw a banana peel out the car window so that's what we figured it was, but actually my tail light was out, so no big deal. After the cop left we blasted "Rollout" by Ludacris, and it was hilarious. Once we got to Utah it was snowing and I had never driven in snow before, and you couldn't see the lines on the freeway, so my knuckles were white on the steering wheel for a few hours. We made it there safely, but everyone was definitely in dire need of a nap and I was very stressed out.

After getting some sleep we all got up and went up the street to the Bountiful Temple, which was beautiful, and did baptisms!


Following baptisms we went out to Salt Lake to go shopping at Gateway and then dropped Ashley off in Provo to stay with her friend Lauren. While in Provo we went to the missionary mall and the sister missionary mall and explored. On the way back home we went to Sandy to pick up Elise, who is amazing and I wish she lived in AZ, and we stopped and said hi to one of the elders who was in our ward who recently went home, Eric Irving.

Saturday we didn't quite make it up in time for the morning session of conference, BUT we did go to the afternoon session and got AMAZING seats right in front, thanks to Elder Petit's mom, who was pretty much the coolest.

After conference we were able to explore temple square. I loved just sitting and looking at the temple, it is so beautiful. The visitor's centers were very neat, and I really enjoyed talking to the sister missionaries. I am not sure if I would want to serve a temple square mission, I want to be out proselyting all day every day :).



That night we just partied it up at Abby's grandparents home, they fed all of us plus Elise, Clark, Spencer and Mark a delicious roast beef dinner and then we all watched a movie. Abby's Grandparents are amazing! They were so kind to let us stay in their home, and they fed us dinner everynight and even dropped us off at conference so we wouldn't have to worry about parking! I am extremely grateful for them!
Sunday Morning Ashley, Mo, Addison and I went to conference with the tickets we received from Bishop Matheson. It was a good session, but I think all of us had a hard time staying awake after being up so late. We tried to get into the garden on the rooftop but it was closed :(


This weekend was amazing. I had so much fun with all of my amazing friends and I loved seeing everything in Salt Lake!

The New and Not So Improved Primary Songs

The people I work with are amazing. We do extremely outlandish things at all times to keep us all in the cheeriest of moods, which usually entails some form of singing. We mainly sing with Disney songs, but yesterday Addison and I decided to be sneaky. We came up with a little game where either Addison or me would begin a church primary song and our coworkers all scrambled to finish it correctly. This was either shocking because they got it right OR hilarious. What a great way to sneakily teach all our coworkers about Mormons :)

Correct Responses

The wise men built their house upon the... ROCK
I like to look for rainbows whenever there is... RAIN
I am a child of... GOD

Incorrect Responses

Give said the little...PUPPY
The Lord commanded Nephi to go and build a...FARM
Famillies can be to...SCARED
I will go, I will do, the things the Lord... TELLS ME TO
I hope they call me on a...LOVE TRAIN

my mother's irreplacable logic

Today my mother called, oh how I love her. She asked how my break was going and how my mini road trip to flagstaff went. Then she asked if I had seen any more doctors or talked to anymore church officials about my mission, and I said no. Then she launched into the usual "I don't think you should go" discussion, which is my favorite. Here are some of my favorite reasons why my mother thinks I need to stay here.

1. "If you have to fly somehwhere there could be terrorists on the plane that could crash the plane." I told her that could happen if I flew to Illinois to see Grandma, to which she replied, "No, it wouldn't happen then, it just wouldn't"

2. "I can't see you for 18 months, and I might miss something" I then asked her what she might be missing while I was gone and she said, "well....your hair could change color, or you could get obese..." wow, thanks mom.

3. "When you come home you might not like us anymore" I told her that would be impossible and that you are family and I have no choice but to like you. I said that jokingly of course, I really do love my family, and nothing will ever change that.

4. This one was my favorite, and showed true desperation. My mother, who is against the concept of marriage, said "Maybe you should just stay here and get married...at least you would still be here." I told her that if someone wanted to marry me they have until June 28th to express that, because once my papers are in then I am going. Then she said, "Well I will just go find those missionaries and set them up with you." I informed her that missionaries can't date on their missions and she said, "Well..I am sure they know boys who you can marry."

I love my mom to pieces. When it comes down to it she really is supportive of anything I choose to do, she just worries about me like any normal mother would. I am going to miss her the most when I leave.

It's Official..almost

Last week I began the early stages of an amazing, yet daunting journey. My Mission papers. On Monday I met with the bishop and he gave me all the paperwork, all 23 pages of them, eek. This is why I decided to start them so early, since I work so much and there is so much I still have to do it will probably take me quite some time. I cannot submit my paperwork until June 28th, so that should give me plenty of time to get the paperwork done, go to all four doctors appointments, get all the clearances, get my wisdom teeth out... :/, and so on and so on. As soon as I had those papers in my hands I knew that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. For the last year I have bounced back and forth, never really coming to a conclusion, but now I am firm in my decision and am so excited and wish I were able to leave sooner! Unfortunately, I don't turn 21 until September 28th so I have another 6 months until I can leave. Fortunately, this gives me enough time, hopefully, to raise all of the money for it on my own, spend time with my family and try and leave them with an understanding of my motives and gain their support, and party it up with my friends who I will terribly miss for the one point five years that I am serving. Anonther big deal is that I am moving home to live with my dad in Avondale as soon as school gets out so that I can save money. I will still be driving to Tempe pretty much daily to work and for church on sunday but I will be trying to spend as much time with them as possible before I leave.

My biggest fear about the mission is that I will get so caught up in being this perfect Mormon that I will lose myself in the work, in a negative way. Some of the sister missionaries I have met seem so...fake? lacking personality? void of fun? constant companions with the little white handbook? I don't know about you but I don't think you need to be boring to be a good teacher or to share what you know. I hope as a missionary I will be fun and full of energy and life. I don't want to become a boring version of myself. I think the elders are pretty good at staying fun on their missions..at least the ones who taught me the lessons were good at being a blast and a half


(their instructions were: Look as if Jesus were ascending from the heavens)



See! Missionaries can be themselves and be fun and people still get baptized! haha :)

The Current Trend

Today's "Everyday Shakespeare" Calendar Quote

"I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live. The rest shall keep as they are." -Hamlet

Translation

"I hereby declare we will have no more marriage. Whosoever is already married (except one person I know) will stay married. Everyone else will have to stay single"

My Thoughts

It seems like everyone and their mom is getting married..or maybe everyone and MY mom, haha, she's engaged but doesn't have a date..long story whatever. Anyways, it seems like every sunday someone, or sometimes two couples stand up to announce their engagement. I have a plethora of wedding announcements hanging in my kitchen and am so excited to go to the receptions and party it up and celebrate their awesomeness as a newly married couple. I just thought this quote was really funny, especially since everyone is getting married. What if President Obama had a press conference and said this? How bizarre would that be? Thank goodness that would never happen, and that even if it did I am sure our church would find ways to allow its members to marry since it is so pivotal to our growth and becoming more like God. It seems like the topic of marriage is always buzzing around me, from friends, roommates, Brother Hofeling, etc. Last week I told Bro. Hofeling about my decision to serve a mission and he is still set on me getting married this summer, which seems so funny to me! 1. I don't date, which is not a problem or a complaint, I don't have time for a boyfriend or dating. 2. How am I supposed to be married in the next 6 months if I don't even have any potentials? Brother Hofeling is convinced that I am surrounded by potential husbands, anytime I mention a boy doing something nice for me, even if its just a hug when passing, Bro. Hofe usually says, "Oh maybe he is the EC! Want me to talk to him?" I love Bro. Hofe but goodness gracious, he can be so ridiculous sometimes. I will love being married one day, when the time is right for me and when Heavenly Father thinks I am ready and sends me someone who is perfect in everyway to spend eternity with me. But, for now I am 100% content living the single life and am even more excited to serve my mission!

Tithing

I am a firm believer in the power in paying a full tithe. There have been several times in my adult life, since leaving home, when I couldn't afford to get all of my bills paid and then at the last moment I received just enough money to pay my bills randomly. Although in this instance I wasn't about to miss a bill payment, I was just stressed by the amount of debt I have acquired since losing my scholarship. Recently I had been praying for help financially, for a way out of this debt so I can begin saving, and last week my prayer was answered. My dad called me up and said that he had filed my taxes for me, and although I had paid almost 3,000 in taxes this year he regretted to inform me that I was only going to be getting 300 dollars back for my refund. I wasn't too upset, it's better than nothing, I was just hoping it'd be a lot more. My dad then said that he had gotten a lot back and was going to give me 700 so that my total refund would be 1,000! This might be something normal for some, but for me it was VERY unexpected. My parents haven't given me money since I was 16, so this was definitely a blessing for my faithful tithe paying. Then on the same day I took my mother to the temple visitor's center (which was amazing, ask me in person if you want to know why) and after leaving and going to get lunch my mom gave me 200 to help with bills! This money was exactly what I needed to pay off my credit card in full :) So, all that was left to pay off was my tuition for this semester. Yesterday I got a pretty awesome paycheck and was able to pay for all of my tuition except 100, so I am almost debt free!!! YAY!

Once all of my debt is paid I can finally start saving money again. Right now I only have like 150 in savings, which is the smallest amount thats ever been in there and it makes me so sad. In an attempt to motivate myself to save more and spend less I made this chart to hang in my room. It is pretty overwhelming right now but I really want to save money just so I can pull out the red marker and color in more.




Isn't that little sliver of red oh so depressing? haha. And yes, I think I have finally come to a decision on my plans for next fall: full-time mission :) I turn 21 in september so I can turn in my papers in june I think. Just about everyday Bro. Hofeling says I could be married by then, since I think he would rather see me married than on a mission, but I just laugh and tell him that this is what I want. I can't wait to go! On the huge blank part on the right side of my chart I want to put scriptures that talk about blessings and sacrifice and missionary work, just so I can have the right perspective about all of this. If you know of any good ones please let me know!!

test your awareness

We watched this is my human development class today and I found it very insightful/hilarious. I laughed ultra hard. enjoy.

Thanks Mommy

Every year my mommy gives me a Valentine's Day gift, and let me just say that my mom is the best gift giver in the history of gift giving. It's not because she buys super fantastically expensive gifts but because she puts her heart into them. My mom has a huge heart and is full of charity, and is a great example to me! Anyways, this year I received a goody bag full of amazingness. Most of it contained things I need on a daily basis, and most of them were things I had run out of this week and needed to go purchase, such as shave gel, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. There were also some fun things, such as the "grow a boyfriend" who was said to expand 600% within 2 days! false doctrine, according to my mother he is just like a real boyfriend: good for nothing, haha, love her. My favorite part of my care package was actually a regift, something that was given to my mother that she didn't care for so I have been blessed with the regift. It is a day by day calendar, you know like the kind where you tear off the day as time passes, you know those kind. This one was made by Sparknotes and has a different Shakespeare quote and a translation of the quote for everyday. Some are boring when taken out of context, but some are way funny, so I have decided that when I come across a quote that I like I will try and share it on here and share my thoughts. Today is the perfect day to begin.

Original: "I would it were otherwise. I would my means were greater and my waist slender."

Translation: "I wish it were the other way around: that my bank account were huge and my waist were thin"

Thoughts: True Story. I feel like this quote isn't exactly what I am experiencing, but relatable to my own situation. I have never wanted too much of an excess, I just want to be able to survive and have a good chunk of money in my savings account, which I had been able to do the last few years. This year, however, things have changed. This past year I lost my scholarship at ASU that completely covered tuition, and not because my grades were below par but because my parents made too much money. This really upset me because my parents do not support me financially, at all, but what can ya do? So this year I have been working my tail off to live on my own in Tempe, pay tuition without taking out loans and without any financial aid, and working around 40 hours a week at in n out. So, needless to say, my means are not great. I have acquired some debt, but not so much that I won't have it paid off by the end of the semester, but just the same, it feels like such a burden to have a large amount of debt for the first time and rather frightens me. I am hoping that I can find some scholarships/grants before next year so I can pull myself out of debt and get my savings built back up.
The part about the slimmer waist applies of course, I think everyone always has the desire to be more fit and in shape regardless of their current condition. I don't feel like I NEED to slim down, and feel pretty comfortable with my image, BUT I definitely miss running. In the last year I found a love for running and a couple nights a week I would run from my apartment down tempe town lake and back and felt such a huge stress relief from that. But, now that I work from 5 pm to 2 am most week nights I can't find the time to run since I have class during the day. Another obstacle is that I would usually run at night, I always carried pepper spray and ran where it was well-lit and felt safe, but a month or so ago someone was stabbed to death on my running route, therefore I have chosen not to run by my apartment anymore. You may suggest that I just go to the SRC and run on the treadmill, but it could never replace the feeling of running outdoors, the chill in the air tickling my skin (depending on the season that tickling sensation might just be sweat), the glitter of tempe down lake in my view, watching the world pass by as I project my body in a forward motion. mmmm. If only I had some big strong man to run with me for protection, or a big dog with sharp teeth.

A Mystery Unfolds

Picture this. I return to my wonderfully noisy apartment at approximately midnight-thirty on saturday night, Saint Valentine's Day, after a night of laughing until my sides were sore with the Hofeling family. I am in the living room exchanging tales of the night's excursions with my roommates when we hear several quick, yet loud, raps at our door, followed by the sound of heavy footfalls upon our stairs. I remained in my seat, slightly fearful of whoever is pounding on my door so late and so unexpected. Addison opened the door, then without explanation, "Madison..come here". I slowly get up from my seat and make my way to the door, wondering what on Earth could be going on. Before my eyes is quite the surprising sight. Scattered on the cement are several colored construction paper hearts, a bundle of tulips, a package of cookies with balloons attached to them that have "Happy Valentine's Day Madison" "From Mr. Valentine" written in marker on them. My first reaction: Ashley and Katie have done this because they pity my single status on this blessed day for couples, yet they seemed just as shocked as I, and Ashley was actually rather upset that the perpetrator had not informed her of the upcoming deed. Next Reaction: Some guy friend of mine must have wanted to make me feel special, which was definitely accomplished, I am still all smiles after this unique treatment. My friends are trying to convince me that I must have a secret admirer, but I am going to assume it was just a friend being kind until this "secret admirer" reveals himself.






This week I will be studying samples of handwriting from all eligible priesthood holders I come into contact with and will be sure to post my findings. The evidence thus far, proving that our culprit is of the male species are as follows:

Handwriting: would have been prettier and curly if by a girl trying to send a romantic message. Handwriting also contains random capitalized letters, and it is well-known that a female would not subject herself to such grammar mistakes.

Cookies: Store-bought, any female would have home made them, no offense boys, the store bought ones taste just fine, but we females like to add our love into that cookie dough before we bake it and serve it to you. Also, the price tag was left on the bottom of the cookies, a female would not have missed this detail.

A substantial reward will be presented to any with information about the perpetrator's secret identity.

EFY?

Wow, haven't posted in like a month! Sorry! I have been extremely busy working the usual 35 hours a week..trying to not prorastinate this semester in school..and actually having fun and enjoying my life when I can find the time. One exciting thing I have experienced was my interview last week to be an EFY counselor over the summer! I want to get hired pretty badly since I never had the opportunity to attend an EFY, I was 18 when I was baptized..I should have gotten baptized sooner! The interview was a group interview, so there was about ten of us and one person who asked all of us questions. First we all introduced ourselves and then she said she was going to give us about 2 minutes to just discuss what a "climate of revelation" was. I had absolutely no idea what that was and had never heard that term before. The other girls started talking about having a good environment for the youth at EFY so that they can receive personal revelation there, so I started to figure out what the phrase was generally about, so I said that I thought it was even more important for us to teach them how to prepare themselves to receive and understand personal revelation, so that they can receive it no matter where they are. Then we each drew a scrip. out of an envelope and teach a 2 minute lesson on it, I drew Helaman 5:12, and I totally nailed the teaching part. Then she asked individual questions to each of us, my question was to tell about an experience where you had to make a difficult decision, and the whole group laughed because they all knew I was a convert. So, I went with the obvious and talked about how I joined the church even though I didn't really want to be a Mormon, I just knew it was what God wanted for me, and how I had to do it with very little support. I think the interview went really well! I feel like the interviewer really liked me :) Hopefully I will get hired, we shall see in 6-8 weeks!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Several things caused me to laugh today, and I mean really laugh. It felt great. So I want you to feel great too when you read about them.

1. While I was gallavanting around the LDS Institute I left my binder and longboard at one of the tables where my friends were sitting. When I returned to my things I noticed a note had been inserted into the clear part of my binder. I have a quote on my binder that says, "A woman's heart should be so lost in Christ that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her." I really like this quote and think it helps me keep focused on trying to be like the Savior and improving the relationship I have with Him instead of worrying about stupid boys ;) Anyways, I come back to my binder and find a piece of paper had been inserted next to the quote that read "But no matter which path he chooses, any man is likely to get lost trying to find a woman's heart". Oh those silly boys. It made me laugh though.

2. Today I went to the temple, and since I usually go around the same time every tuesday I feel pretty comfortable with the temple workers that normally work that shift. So, on my way out of the baptistry I asked Brother Peterson, the Baptistry Cooridinator, "Why do the towels smell like glazed doughnuts?" After a a good chuckle, Bro. Peterson went and grabbed a towel out of the locker room and smelled it, then had all of the other temple workers smell the towel. None of them agreed with me! Even my own friend Abby sided with them and said it just smelled like a towel! Then the Brother at the front desk said it must be the spirit telling me to eat some doughnuts! I am telling you, every week I go to the temple the towels smell like glazed doughnuts!! Ii am positive that they are using Krisy Kreme brand fabric softener. So myself and all of the Baptistry workers shared a hearty laugh today and it was awesome.

3. At work I have a manager named David who is very funny, mainly in a teasing kind of way. It is very common for him to sing "Madi Madi Bo Badi Banana Fanna Fo FATTY" whenever I am working, and we all just laugh. Today, however, he told another associate today that he took my place as the fatty, so I decided to sing, "Niko Niko Bo Biko...FATTTTYYY!" That is exactly what I said. I didn't really sing much of the song, since his name wouldn't work anyway, but I still wanted to get my point across. But everyone working, included myself and Niko, were just laughing so hard for a good 5 minutes. It felt so good to be enjoying work and laughing with my co-workers.

If you see me sometime soon, make me laugh, and I will love you forever and always.

Soon-To-Be Math Wiz

You guessed it, that is a b-e-a-u-tiful, 100% plastic, calculator watch. One of my managers was commenting at how horrible I am at math and suggested I get a calculator watch as a joke, but I decided to take it seriously and invest in a device that will aid me in doing the inventory at work. I honestly am starting to wonder if I have some sort of mental disability related to math skills, it is truly embarrassing how bad I am at simple math and at counting. BUT thanks to my new watch, I will be doing math equations accurately and in record time!!!

Straw Fries

Today I began my shift at work at approximately 4:30 P.M. and almost immediately was asked to speak to a customer who need assistance. I went over to the man and greeted him with a great big smile and asked how I could help. The second he began speaking my smile was replaced with a nervous grimace. This man was VERY upset because he had just come through the drive-thru and had received "straw fries". He said that this happens to him everytime he comes through the drive-thru and that he is sick of being "frauded" by In-N-Out Burger and their nasty fries that taste like straw. He explained that our fries cost more than a whopper jr. at Burger King, and that has meat and cheese on it, and that he is personally being ripped off by In-N-Out. He then proceeded to shove the fries into my face and crumble them with his hands onto the counter, asking me, "Do these fries look light to you? I ordered my fries light, now tell me, do they look light?" Of course I agreed with them, the customer is always right ya now, and then he took it to the extreme and said he wanted it in writing. I was rather surprised by this, and was curious as to what he would do with this form of documentation. What I should have said was "No, I can't sign anything sir, it is against policy," but what I did do, out of fear, was scribble on a napkin, FRIES WERE NOT LIGHT and signed my name. Bad Move. I then asked if there was anything else I could do for him, and offered to refund his meal, but no, that was not enough. He wanted me to refund him for the last three meals he had purchased because they too had straw fries, wanted me to give him the customer service number, and as he was making his demands he was waving his new documentation in my face, and in every other manager's face. Eventually I let someone else handle him because I just could not find a way to please him.

Lessons Learned:

Do NOT put straw in the fryers, apparantly they do not taste half as good as the potatoes we traditionally serve.

The customer is always right, unless he is a rude, nasty old man, who is just trying to ruin your day.

NEVER sign your life away on a napkin, this form of documentation is more binding than signing your soul to the devil.

Driving University

In December I took a lovely trip up to Snowflake to visit the temple and on the way back was unsuccessfully learning how to drive through mountains and was pulled over for speeding; apparantly I suck at downshifting. So, today, all day, I took an online driving course and this is what I learned...

The refrigerator was patented in 1899
There are 119 grooves on the side of a quarter
Brontology is the study of thunder
Celery has negative calories
The black box in airplanes is actually orange
Creators of computer viruses are usually between 14-24 years in age
Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed and ran over his dog on his 40th Birthday
The exterior used for Jerry Seinfeld's apartment is Los Angeles

In order to ensure that students actually read the content there were quiz questions at the end of a section. Sometimes the question was relevant to the content, other times they referred to the random facts that were embedded in the content. They were my favorite bits of imformation to come across.

Aside from the random facts I did learn some new things about driving, such as "It is better to wait and arrive at your destination a few minutes later, than to arrive at a premature death in a head-on collision." The course was VERY dramatic, and was constantly warning me of the my potential death. At the end of each section it would say, "Be smart while driving your one-ton weapon"

I think I will ride my bike to work today.

Level 7

Oh Yeah.

That is not an accurate photo of me, my management team put that on there to be funny since mine doesn't have a picture.

Finally Finished

I was reading a friend of mine's blog and she made a list of 100 things she wanted to do before she died, and it was really neat, so I am copying her and making my own list!

1. Learn to play the piano and play the hymns regularly in my home
2. Serve a mission (either full-time or couples mission later, not quite sure what my plan is yet)
3. Go to primary and learn all of the songs, hopefully once I have a family I can either go with my kids or will get a primary calling
4. Go a whole year without missing a month of Visiting Teaching, I have the hardest time with it!
5. Get good at playing my guitar, right now I am pretty weak sauce at it.
6. Get sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa Temple
7. Fall in love and stay that way forever. I want to still be holding my husband's hand when I am 40,60,80, and forever after that.
8. Go to Ireland and see all of the greeeeeen. I want to roll down the hills, visit the castles, do some intense family history research, and find a leprechaun.
9. Go to France and see the Eifel Tower, go to the Louvre, ride a vespa, and eat some yummy foreign food.
10. Raise children who have strong testimonies of the gospel and who will be able to teach me how to be a better person.
11. Go camping! I know, tragic, but I think this one will happen in the next year.
12. Go snowboarding, also semi-tragic, I can't help it that I didn't have a childhood ;)
13. Be an example to EVERYONE of the gospel of Jesus Christ..and thus baptize the world..ok maybe just lead several good friends, co-workers, and family members to baptism.
14. Buy a house and decorate it, with my husband's help, and make it look super duper cute, yet organized and functional.
15. Have a tree house in my backyard.
16. Learn how to can and have the most bomb-diggity food storage
17. Meet my great-grandchildren, which also translates to: live til I am old, real old., ha ha.
18. Get a massive chunk of my family history/temple work done, and be able to do the ordinances for family members in the temple with my children.
20. Have a week of total seclusion from the world, my husband would be able to come, but that's it. Out in the middle of nowhere in a cabin with no tv, computer, or cell phones
21. Run a marathon.
22. See a musical on Broadway.
23. Have a big Mormon Road Trip, hit up SLC, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Nauvoo, Sacred Grove, etc.
24. Learn Spanish.
25. Learn Sign Language.
26. Send out all of my children on missions.
27. Be able to make and eat a sit-down dinner almost every night with my future family.
28. Go to every temple in the United States, and some out of the country as well.
29. Play with my kids. I can't wait to meet them one day and just have fun with them. I bet they will be pretty cool.
30. Write something, a book, a poem, a song, a haiku, whatever, just something.
31. Keep a journal, but keep it secret until I die, then I could care less who reads it.
32. Jump in a gigantic pile of Autumn leaves.
33. Have a huge garden, half with vegetables and other yum yums, and half with flowers and other pretty things.
34. Have a porch with a swing and a view, where I can sit and think or read in the evenings.
35. Buy lunch for a homeless person. I have always wanted to do this, but fear that I would be endangering my life, some of the homeless people in Tempe are pretty scary.
36. Go to my mother's baptism.
37. Go to my father's baptism.
38. Go to my sister's baptism.
39. Go to my children's baptisms.
40. Come up with my own 100% orginal recipe, and keep my recipe a secret.
41. Have a huge library in my house, just like the one in Beauty and the Beast
42. Learn how to sew.
43. Meet the prophet.
44. Attend the temple with all of my children.
45. Make lots of home movies with my future family.
46. Keep in touch with all of the amazing friends I have currently, forever!
47. Drive less. I want to be able to bike, walk, and light rail more.
48. Walk through Central Park.
49. Make my own family traditions.
50. Get in shape and stay in shape, I definitely do not want to "let go" of myself, ever.
51. Listen to my children sing primary songs when they are young.
52. Get my Teaching Certification
53. Get a Master's Degree
54. Live in another state.
55. Kiss someone in the rain.
56. Be serenaded by a gorgeous boy with a song that was written just for me. :)
57. Ride a train.
58. Go to Jerusalem and walk where Jesus walked.
59. Be best friends with my little sister. We don't get along that great right now, but I am working on it, and hope one day we can be BFF's.
60. After all the movies have been released, have a Harry Potter marathon and watch all 7 in one sitting.
61. Ride a tandem bike.
62. Be 100% debt-free, I am sure this won't be until I am very old, but it's worth a shot.
63. Retire, then travel the world with my husband.
64. Be a Grandma and spoil my grandkids rotten.
65. Paint a picture worthy to adorn a wall in my home.
66. Ride a horse.
67. Go to Washington D.C. and see all of the historic monuments and such.
68. Grow apple, orange, and pears trees in my backyard.
69. Learn how to ballroom dance.
70. Take my family on awesome family vacations as often as possible. We rarely did family vacations growing up, so this will be really important for me to do with my own family.
71. Sing alone in front of a crowd.
72. Act in something. I did drama in 7th/8th grade and loved it. I don't know why I stopped but wish I hadn't.
73. Go to a high school reunion. I don't really have an option, since I was senior class pres. I have to plan all the reunions...ew.
74. Read as many books as possible.
75. Host a Murder Mystery party. This year perhaps?
76. Make a scrapbook of my family.
77. Have a family reunion!
78. Go on a hike in the Salt Lake Valley.
79. Have a secret room in my house, like a mystery room that can only be opened if I pull an old green book off of my huge book case.
80. Bake sugar cookies every Christmas.
81. Read the scriptures with my family every night.
82. Pull off an amazing, intricately planned practical joke.
83. Attend General Conference!
84. Dye my hair a ridiculous color...not all of my hair, but like put a streak of purple in it or something crazy.
85. Read "Jesus the Christ"
86. Make my kids' Halloween costumes. My mom always hand made mine and they looked so cool, so hopefully I can carry on that tradition.
87. Make a quilt, one that will put those Amish quilts to shame.
88. Go on a Disney Cruise.
89. Lay in a hammock on a secluded beach beneath a palm tree.
90. Plan and participate in a massive scavenger hunt with a group of friends.
91. Go to Latin America and see the Myan Temples.
92. Lay in a field of sunflowers and look at the clouds.
93. Come up with an analogy and use it in a church talk/lesson.
94. Give a random stranger a big hug.
95. Overcome my fear of guns by shooting one, at a shooting range of course.
96. Turn an everyday situation, like work, into a musical, where my friends and I dance and sing about the situation at hand.
97. Bear my testimony in a foreign language.
98. Be in the Easter Pageant at the temple grounds.
99. Read all of the Standard Works from beginning to end.
100. Never let one day pass without a smile. Find the good in each day and enjoy my life to the very end.