Argh

Freaking time change. I'm wide awake, and have been for close to an hour already. It's now 5:30am. Growl.

Christmastime, finally!

I'm home!!!

It was so nice to walk outside and not have my lungs freeze to death when inhaling the air that was so frigid at school. I didn't even have to wear a sweatshirt part of the day at all today!

How lovely!

Also, even more lovely is the fact that I am done with finals and my first year of nursing school. Hooray! I can't wait for some time to relax over these next couple of weeks.

BYU vs Oregon State

I have tickets to this:



which makes me very

A very productive day

10/8/2009

0445: Wake up
0445-0535: Shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, gather things for clinicals
0535-0540: Drive to clinicals
0545-1130: Clinicals at the nursing home
1130-1735: Sort, wash, fold, and put away ALL of my laundry, clean my room, put flannel sheets on my bed, do the assigned readings for American Heritage and Nursing Care of the Older Adult, make dinner
1735-1745: Drive to campus, park, walk into the HFAC
1745-1800: EMS Training Group meeting
1800-1915: EMS Class
1915-1925: Walk to the JSB
1930-2045: Watch a required American Heritage movie (only staying awake because I gave my keys and money to Mat to go buy me a giant Dr. Pepper)
2045-2055: Walk to my car
2055-2100: Drive home
2100-2145: Hang out with Mat and Addison (spazzing out...thanks, caffeine)
2145-2200: Go home, chat online with friends
2200-2240: Mop the kitchen floor
2240-2245: Get ready for bed
2245: Go to bed. Completely exhausted. Slept like a rock.

I got everything done that I wanted to, though!

Grrrr

I HATE DRAMA!

The end.

A Change of Luck

Usually I have horrible luck in drawings/raffles. Since last Thursday, though, my luck has changed! I won the LoveSac at the Seven Peaks employee party, and then yesterday, I won a $25 gift card to the University Mall! I was entered into this raffle when I joined BYU SNA this semester, and I found out yesterday that I won! There were three $5 Coldstone gift cards, one $25 University Mall gift card, and one $50 University Mall gift card. Pretty sweet, I think. :)

LoveSac!

So I won a LoveSac last night at the Seven Peaks last employee party…and tonight, it tried to eat me. In a battle of epic proportions, I managed to escape. I was watching a movie (What Happens in Vegas) and ended up making a canyon about 3 feet deep in it. So comfortable. It's 5 feet in diameter and sky blue…and I LOVE it!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Seven Peaks 2009 Aquatics Staff

Facebook surprises

Since Sean is gone, he gave me access to his facebook so I could update things periodically on it. Well, I logged in tonight to see what's new on it, and I saw he had 4 unread messages in his inbox. One was from this lady who has asked to be his friend (and I haven't said yes or no yet), and the message said:

Hi Sean,

Guess that's your wife? Nice. You both look wonderful.

His profile picture is a picture of Sean and me, taken last November.

BWAHAHAHAHA...wishful thinking, I guess. Obviously this lady doesn't know that Sean's on a mission right now!

A Small Miracle

Since we're moving right now, I only get wireless internet if I go all klepto and steal it from the neighbors. Well, sometimes my computer can see the networks but just can't connect to the unsecured ones, which is really frustrating. Anyways, I knew that Sean's mom had forwarded me Sean's weekly email to her. As you can probably imagine, I was getting very frustrated with the fact that I couldn't connect to the internet long enough to read the one email. I said a quick prayer, and immediately it connected, and as soon as gmail opened that email from Sean, I lost my interent connection again. You know, that wasn't anything big or really important, but it sure meant a ton to me that my Heavenly Father cares enough about ME to answer a prayer like that. We are SO loved, and I feel so fortunate to have a Father in Heaven who loves me enough to do small things for me like that.

Light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm almost done...all I have left is my pathophysiology final, which I'm leaving to take in about 3 hours.

Good news: I got at 96/99 on my D&C final, so I ended up with a 94.87% in the class...a solid A!

I'm just studying my tail off right now for patho...and before I leave I have to gather everything I need for work, shower, get everything I'm taking for sleeping over at Natalie's house tonight (celebrating being DONE with spring term!), and everything I might need for tomorrow, as I won't be coming home until I'm off work then. We're going to have a blast...as long as I survive my patho final and she survives her physiology and bio-organic chem finals first. :)

Mmmmm...

I just had the strangest craving of grasshopper pie. Thought I'd share!

Too bad I have to do the entire second half of my D&C class and take 2 finals before Thursday on top of working, otherwise I would go make some.

Maybe I bit off more than I can chew?

After taking a load of really hard classes winter semester, 6 credits for spring semester, working >25 hours/week, having Sean gone, Leslie's wedding this Saturday, dealing with car problems...I think I'm almost in over my head.

Last night I ended up sleeping for almost 10 hours - I completely zonked out at 9:30 and only woke up at 7 because that's when my alarm went off...and then today I crashed again and took a long nap. I think my body is trying to tell me something.

I just need to get through June 17th. Then, life will calm down as school will be over. Until then, though, my life is crazy.

I'm flying home on Thursday afternoon for the wedding. Before then, I have:
-class Wed/Thurs from 9am-11am
-a test in pathophysiology
-work on Wednesday from 3-8:45pm
-swim 2 500s for work
-work on a giant diabetes project for patho that is due at the end of the semester
-plan an EMT inservice for work
-pack for my trip
-clean up my room

We'll see if I'll be able to pull this off. I can't wait to see my family, though!

Spring Semester

This semester is I-N-S-A-N-E. There's no other way to describe it. I'm taking 2 classes (pathophysiology and a religion class) and they are just moving so quickly. My patho professor said in class today, "Don't get behind during spring terms...they aren't forgiving!" So true. I'm taking a patho test today, I have 7 D&C lessons I need to go over before Tuesday night, a midterm for D&C to take by Tuesday night, and another patho test next Mon-Thurs. Then, it's a test a week until finals...which are in the middle of June...plus I'm working a lot at the waterpark, which opens next Saturday!

I guess I DID say that I wanted to stay busy this summer so I wouldn't miss Sean quite as much, but I just didn't realize how busy I would actually be! This is craziness!

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a good thing. I think I'm going to invest in some today.

I've gotten burned the last 2 days at work...and I'm tired of looking like a tomato.

Hooray for aloe vera with lidocaine in it!

Oh, wow. I want to see this!

LEVEL ZERO - Movie Trailer from Thaddeus Setla on Vimeo.

Shoes!

I bought shoes. They aren't the ones I was expecting to buy, but after talking to the sales lady at REI who has both Keens and Chacos, she convinced me to get the Keens because they will be better suited for my needs. Plus they were the same price, so that wasn't a factor in making the decision.

My favorite part? The yellow warning sign on the front. :-)

I <3 Southwest Airlines

One more movie. Mat sent me the link to this one today, and I thought it was pretty funny!

Jon Schmidt

Love Story (Taylor Swift) mixed with Viva La Vida (Coldplay). AWESOME!

Note to Self

Wearing booty shorts, a swim suit, a tanktop, a light-zip up jacket, and flipflops are NOT appropriate attire for when it is pouring rain. Unless you happen to like being cold and wet.

I had to work for my waterpark EMT job (but the pools there aren't open yet, so we were at my school's pools doing lifeguard swim tests), and after I finished there, I went to the EMS office on campus so I could do some paperwork for a couple of the calls I went on at the commencement ceremony. When I came out from working on that, it was pouring. Greaaaat...FML.

D-O-N-E

Well, I survived my first semester in the nursing program! I'm so dang excited! Now I just need to get caught up on about 10 bajillion loads of laundry that I haven't had time to do during the semester!

Some sad news: Leslie moved out of the apartment today and is driving back home with my parents first thing in the morning. This was the last time that we'll ever live together. :(

I'll be the first to admit that us deciding that living together this semester would be a good idea, was wrong. And even though we've fought a lot, I've realized that even when we're fighting, I still love her to pieces. Pieter, you're marrying a great girl, I hope you realize how wonderful she is. If you make her cry, I will personally come and hunt you down. Got it?

Since finals are over, I just have to clean my room, gather up my clothes, shoes, and computers (yes, I'll admit it...I have 2 computers), and pile it all in my car because I'm moving in with Laura for the spring and summer semesters! My landlords told me that since no one will be in my room this spring and summer and since I'm coming back in the fall, they'll let me keep my stuff here! Awesome!

Now, off to conquer the mountain of laundry I have created!

I know it's spring because...

It's finally gotten to be shorts and t-shirts weather here in Utah...for now, at least! It was probably 75 degrees today. Wanna know how I know that God has a sense of humor? The weather has been crappy UNTIL finals week, when all of a sudden it got warm, and now I'm stuck inside studying.

Today, though, I decided to go over to Natalie's and study on her trampoline in the backyard of the house she's living at (she's in the basement). Well, first of all, I'm naturally very white. Second, I'm in Utah, where the elevation is 4,000 feet above sea level, not the measly 400 feet that Livermore is. Third, I was in the sun all afternoon. Fourth, I had no semblance of a tan at all. Fifth, I didn't wear any sunscreen...see where this is going? I know it's springtime here finally because I got sunburned! (Yes, I know I'm doomed to have skin cancer when I'm older.)

I was in the testing center tonight taking my next to the last final of the semester (yippee!) and I looked down at my arms...the next thought that went through my head? "Holy crap, my arms are red. I need to buy some aloe vera with lidocaine in it!" So I went to Rite Aid and bought some...and my bill was $6.39. Funny, because Natalie's number is 639 and I got burned at her house! :)

ONE MORE FINAL! I just have my nutrition final left...and then I have finished my first semester in the nursing program! Yay! This spring I'll be taking Pathophysiology and the first half of the Doctrine and Covenants. I've hear patho is kind of a beast and that my professor is way hard, but I'm excited for it, nevertheless.

I like.

SHOESI like. I want. Please?

Funny shoes, huh? Thought about wanting them for about 30 seconds, then realized that my toes are probably too crooked to fit. Sad day. I saw a guy wearing these kind of shoes before (not these exact ones...some that had the same toe thing going on), and it just looked so weird! I couldn't keep myself from staring. And these ones are pink!

Inspirational/Funny Quotes

Wow! FOUR POSTS IN ONE DAY!!!

These are the quotes that I have on my Facebook profile. Enjoy!

"Wait, are you two twins?!"

Me: Well, you could douse the shirt in gasoline and show up with a match!
Sean: Yeah, I suppose. People do funny things when they're on fire.

Sean: So, um, how's your stalker file on me going?
Me: Uh, I'm not stalking you.
Sean: Because, you know, I would definitely be stalking me...

Sean: "Sweetie, I'm thinking of a man made out of meringue cookies. I have no idea what's going on."

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

"I heard that!" - The Sexy Swamp Goddess

"Never frown because you never know who is falling in love with your smile."

"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car."

"You don't have to be a genius. You don't have to be a straight-A student. You just have to do your very best with all the capability you have. You have to do your very best. and somehow, if you do that, God will open the way before you and the sun will shine, and your lives will be fruitful and you will accomplish great good in the world in which you take a part."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

"You haven't failed until you've stopped trying."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

"Trials are blessings I haven't learned how to use yet."
- Dan Jensen (a friend of my RA)

Natalie: "Wow, you're really vascular, Mike!"

Mat (for Natalie): "Speak Russian to me, Mike!"

Natalie (in her "drunk" voice): Take your fire hose...and shove it. Just shove it.
Amy: That's what she said!

Bagger at Macey's (talking to Mike, who was wearing his EMS uniform): "Are you a doctor?!"
And the funny thing was that I was standing next to him in my uniform too. His comment? "Why do the people you want to hit on you never do, and the people you DON'T want to hit on you do?!"

Provo dispatcher: "80 year old female, not conscious, but breathing."
My response to another EMT: "Butt-breathing? That sounds serious!"

"Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle." - President Monson

Mat: "Chastity bars are not conducive to napping."

"We were given: Two hands to hold. To legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else. For us to find."

Lack of blogging...FAIL

Sorry about the lack of new blogs. But there are 3 posted tonight, which I think is a personal record for me!

So, we had a funny call last night. I'm sitting in my anatomy lecture, and the tones went off, so I ran out of class and started running to the building on campus that it was in. The other 2 EMTs who were on beat me by only about 30 seconds, which is amazing based on where I was in relation to the location of the call and them. We find our patient in the men's bathroom, slumped at a urinal, being held up by a young guy and peeing. He finishes his business (apparently with help, I'm not sure exactly - I was kind of hanging back, since it was, after all, the men's restroom). We evaluated him to see if he had had a stroke (he had one back in February, we were told), and he didn't appear to have had one. He did smell like he had been drinking some, and he told us that he had had "2 pints of beer," no idea how accurate that was. His vitals were all a little high (BP, pulse, blood sugar levels), but his respirations were a little on the slow side. Anyways, at one point, the police officer who was with us asked the man if he thought that he was acting like this because of his drinking, and the man replied, "I do believe so, sir." It was hysterical. I just wanted to start laughing right then and there, but I restrained myself until after we were back in the office. Anyways, I think the police officers felt bad for the man, so they didn't arrest him, but drove him home instead and told him to stay there.

It was probably the funniest quote I have ever gotten from a patient before. :)

Oh, so when Sam was telling about me when I was getting the award in front of the class, I found out that in the last 2 semesters I have had 62 patients, 112 shifts, and over 400 hours of service. I was even a little surprised by those numbers! I get a call on about 55% of my shifts, which is a pretty good statistic for our agency.

Rookie EMT of the Year!

Tonight was our last night of EMS class for the semester, so there were some awards to be handed out. I got the Adam R. Cox New EMT Excellence Award. I got a letter from Sam and 2 movie tickets. Here's the text of the letter:

April 9, 2009

Amy Madsen

Dear Amy:

We are pleased to congratulate you on receiving the Adam R. Cox New EMT Excellence Award. This recognition is given each academic year to an EMT who, in their first semester with BYU EMS, shows enthusiasm for the work, a high level of motivation to learn, and a drive to improve his or her EMS skills.

We are grateful for your participation in BYU EMS. This year you have actively participated in trainings, responded to multiple medical calls, and shown a great desire to sharpen your EMT skills. You have given over 400 hours of service to the BYU community, no small achievement for someone in the BYU Nursing program. Your assistance with the EMT-Basic certification course is especially appreciated. Those students look to your enthusiasm and teaching to help improve their own skills. Our patients depend on EMTs like you to give them the best care possible.

We commend your willingness to serve the BYU campus community and to help teach other EMTs. Keep up your enthusiasm and hard work. We look forward to working with you in the years to come.

Sincerely,

Sam McKnight
EMS Director

Aaron Rhoades
Police Lieutenant

Randomness!

Laura posted something like this on her blog today, so I decided to as well. Here's the 18th picture of the 47th folder in my pictures!


This picture is of this little Mexican kid that Sean and I played with when we went sledding February 2008 up at the cabin. Sean got him to throw some snowballs at me, so I went up to the kid and told him that he didn't actually want to throw snowballs at me, that the person who he should throw snowballs at was Sean! The kid totally listened to me and started pelting him, which was great fun. :)

Update!

I've been really terrible at blogging this semester, but it has sure been a hectic one! This week alone, I have 4 midterms, 2 quizzes, a big EMS event (a mock Mass Casualty Incident) that I was part of the planning committee for, and a job interview, on top of everything else I'm trying to juggle. Oh, and have I mentioned that I woke up Monday morning feeling absolutely terrible, and it's Friday now, and I'm still horribly sick? Yeah. This rocks.

But here's some good news - I got a job for this summer! I'm going to be the EMT Supervisor at Seven Peaks Water Park, here in Provo, which means that I am staying here this summer, as well as going to school to get a bunch of my GE classes done. I am so excited. Basically, Becca, my boss, said that I am the head EMT! How cool is that?

Anyways, other news: Sean is in Houston, finally, after spending 9 weeks in the MTC and going through 2 companions. :) His first one left after 3 weeks to go to the Madrid MTC. I'm so excited for him to be starting out this new phase of his mission. Also, today is my tithing day, meaning that he has been gone for 10% of his mission already. Just 9 more times what I've already done and then he'll be home! Hooray!

I'm in the middle of writing to him right now, so I'm going to get back to that, but I just wanted to update on here really quick before I forgot!

I'm Stalling!

It's a scary week for me. I have so much to do, too many tests to study for, and not enough time to do all of it. But, I got to see Sean at the MTC last night (legally, too)! I also got to see him last week. I've been covering the MTC Devotional shifts for EMS, so I get to be in the same room as he is once a week, and the last two weeks, I've actually gotten to talk to him and shake his hand. :)

It's been pretty cool. (This picture was taken the day he reported to the MTC.)

Some good, but unrelated news - The parents of one of Sean's friends were murdered last year...and the suspect was arrested on Monday, finally!

Anyways. Enough stalling. Back to studying protista and fungi...

S.A.D.

Happy Single's Awareness Day.

This Valentine's Day sucks. Sean's gone. I can't be with him, and even if I were able to see him, I would only be allowed to shake his hand.

I saw this picture in the Wilk last night. I know it doesn't quite apply because he still loves me, but I just can't be with him or talk to him on the phone or hug him or anything right now.


Also, tomorrow, the 15th, is what would have been the "official" one-year mark of us dating. It's going to be a crappy weekend. I don't have anything to do, and I don't have classes again until Wednesday night.

EMS Update

I've had a pretty awesome semester, as far as EMS calls go. Here's what some of the chief complaints have been, just this semester:

-Fractured skull/temporal lobe brain bleed/trauma-induced seizure
-Chest pain
-Menstrual cramps
-Sprained ankle
-Seizures.
-Lacerations.
-Neck injuries.
-Faintings.
-Car accidents.
-Shortness of breath.
-Knee Pain.
-Panic attacks.

I've had thirteen calls (I think) this semester, from running 17 shifts, which is a pretty impressive average. (Watch, now I'm jinxing myself by saying that.) Some people might scoff and say, "That's a little less than one per shift!" Well, at BYU EMS, we don't get many calls, so we feel pretty lucky to get one call each shift! We've run about 170 shifts so far this semester, and there have been about 65 calls. I think I've been pretty lucky, so far. Last year, though, I got to go on a lot of calls at the beginning of the semester, and then I just stopped getting any. Let's just hope this semester isn't like last semester!

My Amazing Knock-Off Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos

Knock-off Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos, Enchilada Style

I made these for some of my friends on Sunday night, and it was a great hit, so I decided to post the recipe for everyone to see!

Sweet Pork Recipe:
3lbs pork roast
8oz taco sauce (I used enchilada sauce)
1/2 can Coke
1 cup brown sugar

Cook pork in crock pot about 6 hours, until it shreds easily. 2 hours before serving, shred pork and return to crock pot (discard juice from pork). Pour taco sauce, coke, and brown sugar over pork and mix well. Cook for 2 more hours.

Almost Cafe Rio Lime Rice
4 cups water
2 cups white rice
1/4-1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
3-4 T fresh minced garlic
4-5 tsp chicken bouillon
Juice of 1 lime

Saute rice in butter with garlic, cilantro, bouillon, and lime juice over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir in water, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Makes 6 cups.

Heat up some beans on the stove for the burritos. I used a 19.75 oz can of La Costena Whole Pinto Beans, as well as a smaller can of whole black beans so people could choose what kind of beans they wanted.

For tortillas, I used the uncooked tortillas from Costco (and then cooked them, of course).

Assemble the burritos and flip them so the seam side is down. Pour salsa verde over the top, sprinkle Mexican Fiesta cheese (or equivalent) on the salsa verde, and stick it in the oven or the microwave just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve hot!

This recipe makes TONS of food. I fed 5 starving college students (4 girls, 1 boy), and it barely looks like we made a dent. Enjoy!

Easiness factor: 9/10 (easy enough for someone with little to no cooking experience --me-- to make with no difficulties!
Yumminess Factor: 10/10 (tastes just like the Cafe Rio pork burritos. Yum!)

The Facebook "25 Random Things About Me" thing.

1. I've never written a note on Facebook before.
2. I've never taken one of those "let's have everyone jump at once!" pictures.
3. I'm an EMT and volunteer for BYU EMS. And I love it just a little too much. People tell me I'm a sick person. I would say that I'm a workaholic when it comes to EMS. Except I don't get paid, so maybe I'm a volunteeraholic?
4. I highlighted my hair ONCE in eighth grade. It didn't turn out very well (it was one of those do-it-yourself kits), so I don't plan on ever highlighting it again.
5. I'm in nursing school right now at BYU. And I'm starting to go crazy with all of my classes this semester that I have to take for it!
6. I want to be an emergency flight nurse and fly in helicopters.
7. I saw the Star Wars movies for the FIRST time this last summer. And the LOTR movies came out in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and I didn't see ANY of them until August 2007.
8. The first boy I kissed was in kindergarten. Does that even count? It was behind the bookcases in our classroom when we were supposed to be outside playing on the playground. Nothing more than a peck, though! If that doesn't count, then Sean was the first boy I kissed.
9. I hated Provo all throughout my freshman year. I didn't want to come back, but I knew that I needed to be at BYU, so I didn't really have a choice. Now I love it! (But I don't plan on ever living here permanently).
10. I started asking for a cat when I was five. My parents finally gave in when I was 14. Then I went off to college 4 years later and they still have my cat. We had a cat living in our apartment last semester. His name was Zoram, and he was a little runt. Super cute, though! He was totally a devil. I think he was possessed. Now he lives in Arizona with one of my roommates who moved out after fall semester.
11. Pink is my favorite color. If it's pink, I'll probably like it, unless it's a car. I'm not a fan of pink cars (guess I'll never be a Mary Kay dealer then, right?)
12. I've only ever had one boyfriend. Sean. I dated him for a little more than a year, and he left almost a month ago to go on a mission to Houston, Texas, where he'll be for the next two years.
13. I'm thinking of learning Spanish, or at least SOME Spanish. Sean's learning Spanish at the Missionary Training Center right now, and I want to be able to talk to him that way. AND, knowing Spanish is almost a necessity if you want to be a nurse in California. Or anywhere, basically.
14. Because I took 5 years of French in high school, my parents took me to France during spring break of my senior year.
15. Monterey is one of my favorite cities. Sean and I went on several dates there.
16. 16's been my favorite number since I was 9. It was my number in class because when everyone was listed in alphabetical order by last name. And I was #16 when I was ten, too. And I was in room 16. It's Sean's favorite number too!
17. Sean and I have a ridiculous amount of things in common.
18. Apparently I'm a pretty good cook, but cooking stresses me out, so I don't like doing it.
19. I hate hate hate doing laundry. So much that I let it pile up until I have like, no more clean clothes, and I'm forced to do it.
20. Sean asked both Leslie and me on a date at the SAME time to the SAME place. That's when we started realizing how many weird little things we have in common (see #17).
21. I'm working on a project of transcribing all of my Grandpa Madsen's journals. It's going to take a long time - there's a lot of them!
22. I try and act like I'm doing really well with Sean being gone, even if I'm not. I don't like people seeing me as vulnerable. Most of the time I am doing okay. But sometimes it's just too hard. But letters and tapes from him are the BEST!
23. I've ridden my bike from Livermore to Yosemite TWICE. Yes, it was long. Yes, it was hard. Yes, it was 170 miles. But I love my bike. It's a Specialized Allez. Oh yeah, baby. We've gone through a lot together.
24. I didn't like the Body Worlds exhibit. Sean and I went to see it when it was in Salt Lake City, and we both came away feeling like it was disrepectful. Well. Some of it. The blood vessel parts were neat. Also, because of this, I think, I don't like the cadavers in Anatomy very much. And yes, I realize that it's for a good cause (science and learning and all of that) and that it is a wonderful teaching tool, but it kind of creeps me out a little. It might be better for me if I knew something about these people - what they did for a living, how many kids they had, etc. But I don't know. We'll see how this semester goes in Anatomy Lab.
25. I LOVE my desktop computer. It's pink (my favorite color)! I want to see how my laptop would fare vs. gravity out my bedroom window a lot of the time. But don't worry, I won't test that one out because it still comes in handy once in a while!

YAY!!!

I GOT A LETTER FROM SEAN TODAY!!!

I'm awesome, he's awesome, and life is GREAT!!!

Elder Herrmann

Coping

Sean is five days into his mission. I'm coping. I think I'm actually doing a decent job. If someone were to ask me, "How are you?" I would be lying if I said good, or great, or awesome. But I'm okay.

I just hope that he's okay too. I hope he's soaking up the the information that's being presented to him - that he's learning how to teach people, that he's learning the scriptures and messages contained therein, that he's learning the Spanish language.

I still miss him, sure, but he's where he needs to be. I'm where I need to be. I'm really hoping to hear from him soon - I want to know how he's doing so badly!

I talked to a friend who sent off a missionary (and married him after he came back), and she told me that she wouldn't trade the two years that he was gone for anything because it was such a wonderful opportunity for the two of them to grow - both individually and as a couple. I just need to take advantage of this. One of the emotions I felt when Sean left was a feeling of self-evaluation. Sean's giving two years of his life to the Lord, doing His will. What am I doing? Well, starting last night, I've made it a goal of mine to read the scriptures and study them everyday, even if it's only for a little while. I'm doing great so far - I'm 1 for 1!

Saying Goodbye. Again.

I loaned my best friend to the Lord today for two years.

I thought saying goodbye last Saturday was the hardest thing I'd ever done, but this was harder. After he hugged his family goodbye, he turned a shook my hand, said "I love you," and nearly ran out of the chapel, out the door "Missionary Exit." I walked out the door "Family Exit," fighting back the tears. I told him I didn't want him to see my cry today. I'm afraid he might have seen a few tears from me, but at least I didn't completely lose it. I suspect that he nearly ran out the door for two reasons. 1) I think he was close to crying and didn't want us to see him tear up. and 2) He is actually excited to go, which is wonderful.

He looked so official with his name tag on that said "Elder Herrmann" with "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (in Spanish) stamped onto it.

I came home, gave Leslie's wedding dress to his family to take back to California, and then cried. Yes, I'll admit it. I bawled like a baby. My best friend is gone for two years. I'm so used to being able to pick up my phone and call him whenever I want to, and now I can't. This will certainly be a big adjustment for me.

He'll be a great missionary, and he's doing what he needs to be doing. Besides, I'll see him in two years. Hopefully the time will go by faster than it has in the 3.5 hours it has been since I watched him walk through that "Missionary Exit."

¡Adiós, Elder Herrmann!

Saying Goodbye

"Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear
Goodbye's the last time I will hold you near
Someday you'll say that word and I will cry
It'll break my heart to hear you say goodbye."

I had to say goodbye to Sean on Saturday. It was one of the hardest things, if not THE hardest thing I have ever had to do. Sean and I have dated for a year, and I have come to love him more than I ever thought I could, so it was really hard to say goodbye. He is leaving on a mission for church - he'll be a missionary serving in Houston, Texas, speaking Spanish, and will be gone for the next two years. As I've told him, the Lord is the only one I am willing share him with for that long. We stayed outside in his car talking (and crying, for me at least) for a while, and then he came inside to say goodbye to my family. When we were inside I gave him one last present - I played on the piano and sang "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" for him, which is one of his favorite songs. I had the hardest time singing it because I was crying. After I finished, I said to Sean, "Sorry, it was really hard to sing and not cry," to which he said, "It was really hard to listen and not cry." He loved it. My parents, who were in the kitchen (and not supposed to be listening!) said that it was beautiful and a wonderful present for Sean. Sean and I went outside again because he had to go to San Mateo, and we hugged for a long time, neither one of us wanting to let go of each other. When he finally drove off, I went inside and found my mom and dad waiting for me just inside the door with open arms to comfort me. Next time I see Sean, the only physical contact I can have with him is a brief handshake, as he is now a missionary. I'm going to dinner with him, Linda, Joe, and one of his sisters and her baby boy when they get to Provo to take him to the Missionary Training Center, where he'll be for nine weeks, learning the Spanish language and learning how to teach the gospel to the people of Houston.

I love him more than I can say and will miss him so much. Good luck on your mission, Sean. You will be a wonderful missionary and servant of the Lord. Godspeed.

New Years!

Happy 2009 everyone!

Like I said...I'm behind on this thing, so I'm trying to catch up.

Sean, Pieter, Mom, Dad, Leslie, and I went up to the cabin in Arnold on New Year's Eve day. We had almost made it (we were less than 2 miles away from the cabin), when we faced a hill covered with a sheet of ice in my dad's Camry. Unfortunately for us, the treads on the tires on that car were about worn out, coupled with the fact that neither Leslie nor I had ever driven in snow before, so we didn't make it up the hill. We were stuck, and my mom and dad, who were with the dog in the new CRV (which conveniently has 4-wheel drive and good snow tires) made it up just fine and then looked behind them and saw that we weren't coming anymore. They turned around, and my dad came down to rescue us (sliding down the ice all the way from the top of the hill down to us, which was pretty awesome). We all got out and he got in. He didn't have any control over the car either, but he got it so it was sliding down the hill again instead of being stuck in the middle of it. He also managed to do this really cool 180 so the car was even facing in the right direction! Go Dad! (He takes no credit for the 180. He says it was all the ice, and nothing more. I'll choose to believe that my dad has superpowers. It was THAT good.)

Anyways, we piled into the CRV and made it up to the cabin, where Sean and I started shoveling the driveway, which is REALLY steep. Put it this way - when we're not up there and it has snowed, the neighbor kids use it as a sledding hill because you can get going really fast. Just watch out for the asphalt of the road at the bottom after the roads have been plowed! We had a good 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, and there was a layer of ice underneath all of it, so it took a really long time to get the driveway clear enough for car to make it up (the Camry got to camp out at the bottom of the driveway. No way was it going up at all).

We had dinner, played a game of Risk (Leslie and Pieter cheated, so they destroyed Sean and I), watched Serendipity, and then Pieter ended up coming down with a really nasty 12-hour flu, so he was sick as a dog that night. We brought in the new year by going up on the indoor balcony that overlooks the family room and threw serpentine and mylar confetti stars everywhere. We made such a mess. I even got my New Year's kiss, which was fun. New Year's Day was pretty low-key...Baby New Year came and brough each of us a candy bar. Baby New Year is a Madsen family tradition started by my grandparents because they would shop the after-Christmas sales and then Baby New Year would bring presents for the kids when times were financially rough). Leslie ended up getting the bug that Pieter had, so she was miserable for a while. The day after New Year's, Sean, Pieter, Leslie, and I tried to go sledding up near Bear Valley, but it started snowing and the roads were getting really bad, so we turned around and went back to the cabin. Sean and I went on a walk in the woods behind the cabin and ended up back at the cabin having a mini-snowball fight, taking turns hitting each other and then throwing snowballs at the sliding glass back door of the cabin because my dad was on the other side of it. We found Pieter with a shovel at the front of the cabin, so we started chucking snowballs at him too, which was fun, until we realized that he had a distinct advantage of being able to throw tons of snow at once with his huge shovel. We came inside, soaking wet, but it was so fun. We made it home without incident, and we even got to stop at In-N-Out in Tracy on the way home. I love In-N-Out, and it makes me so sad that there isn't one anywhere near Provo...

I went over to Sean's house after we got back and we worked on cleaning out his room before he leaves. I folded what felt like a never-ending pile of clean laundry for him, and then we went shopping for his Christmas present from me (an electric razor).

Christmas!

I am so far behind on blogging...

So. Christmas. I spent Christmas Eve with Sean's family and we had dinner, and then opened presents. I even got a few! I got a bracelet from Elizabeth (Sean's stepsister), Joe (Sean's stepdad), and Linda (Sean's mom) that is made out of paint. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like it'll be pretty cool. I got a box of homemade truffles (made by Sara, Sean's sister) from Sean. They're amazing. They look professionally made - and Sara said that she made 15,000 truffles this year - crazy! Best of all, though, I got a pair of pajama pants that Linda made for me! And they're pink! I love them. They have an LDS pattern too - pictures of a baby, a baptism, Primary kids, a Young Women's group, a girl reading the Book of Mormon, and a bride and groom standing outside the Salt Lake City Temple. Rinse and repeat. The pictures continue around and around, so the pattern just keeps going. They're so warm. Thank you, Linda!

Christmas morning was spent at my house with Mom, Dad, Leslie, Pieter, and Sean. I got a bunch of stuff, much of it is useful for me living on my own. I got a set of Henckel knives, which apparently are some really awesome and high quality, a "Sauteuse" pan to make crepes and other stuff in, a cookbook from my brother Scott and his family, a pass to go tubing in Midway from my sister Laura and her family, and a set of pens that look like syringes in different colors from my sister Aly and her family because I start the nursing program at BYU this semester. Sean gave me a brown sweater and a burnt orange long sleeve t-shirt. And stamps. Lots of stamps. I think he wants me to write to him while he's gone on his mission??? Leslie gave me a couple of long sleeve t-shirts as well as a beanie. It's like people think I live in Utah, where it's cold, because they keep giving me cold weather clothes! :)

We had a nice Christmas dinner, and then Sean had to rush off to work before dessert, so I went down to the movie theater where he was the manager (it was his last night of work too!) and gave him some dessert. Mmmmm...

I even got to have a third Christmas, on the 28th, with more of Sean's family. On Christmas Eve, it was Sean, Joe, Linda, and his stepsister and three stepbrothers (and the 4th is in Spain, so he wasn't there). On the 28th, it was Sean, Joe, Linda, and Sean's two sisters and their families. We had brunch and then the family opened more presents. It was so much fun being able to watch the kids opening their presents! After the fun of opening presents were over, everyone got ready to go to church. Sean spoke in church because he is leaving soon for his mission. Tons and tons of people afterward told me what a great job he had done. I'm so proud of him.

Ha! I almost forgot to talk about my excitement trying to get home for Christmas! I was supposed to fly out on the last flight going to Oakland from Salt Lake City on Southwest on Wednesday night. Well...our flight was delayed, and then eventually canceled. There had been a snow storm in Las Vegas that day, and the plane and flight crew that were supposed to be flying us to California got stuck there because of three lousy inches of snow. We were able to scrape together a first officer, flight attendants, and a plane, but we couldn't find a pilot ANYWHERE who would be able to fly us! We were stuck. We were able to get seats on the 6:30am flight out the next morning, but by this point, it was after midnight, so we decided it would be ridiculous for us to get a hotel that night or have Laura come pick us up from the airport, so we had a giant slumber party in the "Fishbowl" (I guess it's actually called the Rotunda) in the Salt Lake Airport. The people working there basically unloaded a plane and gave us all the peanuts, drinks, other snacks, earplugs (wonderful, wonderful inventions!), blankets, and pillows we could ask for. Of course, no one slept really well because there wasn't any really comfortable place to sleep, but I got a couple of hours of sleep, at least. Sean and I were both pretty bummed that we wouldn't be able to see each other that night and would have to wait until morning. We got on our flight in the morning, and made it, uneventfully after that night. Seeing Sean again was awesome. My mom and dad took us straight from the airport to Pieter's house, where we picked him up and then we went to Country Waffles for breakfast, and Sean met us there! It was so nice seeing him again - I had missed him!