Big Apple Weekend

Sigh.  I♥NY.

Some gal pals and I got to go to NYC this weekend for a little vacation.  It. Was. Awesome.

Friday - Marissa, Ashley, Jessica, and I arrived at the Newark airport at about 4pm.  We rented a car and drove to Scarsdale (about a 45-minute drive that took us three hours in Friday night traffic.  No big deal).  Ashley's aunt/uncle live there and were letting us stay with them.  Ashley's sweet aunt made us dinner and we headed out to the city on the train, getting there around 8:45pm.  We went straight to Rockefeller Square to get in line for ice skating.  We waited in line until about 10:40pm, then skated until almost midnight.  It was gorgeous and awesome!  There was one guy who I can only describe as the skinniest/tallest black guy in leggings I have ever seen.  He was an awesome figure skater, and that's all I will say.  I included the video I tried to get of him.  Sadly, I didn't catch him doing his fully extended leg lift.

We walked around 5th Avenue and down to Times Square, and we enjoyed the lights and Christmas feel of everything.  It was so beautiful!  The red ribbon made entirely out of lights was stunning around the Cartier store.

Saturday - We took the train to town and got in line in Times Square for discount theater tickets.  Since the weather report I checked three different times before traveling said it would be in the 50s the whole time we were there, I was smart enough to not bring a coat.  Hello, I needed the suitcase space for the Chinatown haul I was expecting!  It was 33 degrees on Saturday.  Just FYI.  We stood in line for 90 minutes.

Got 1/2 price tickets to Phantom of the Opera!  We then walked to Central Park.  I have never really explored the park before, so that was pretty cool.  Starbucks hot cocoa does wonders when you're frozen, too.   We also stopped for a tunnel performance by a woman in some sort of Lady-Gaga-inspired lighted tutu outfit and her male counterpart with lighted boots.  They did some sort of ritual where they touched each other at different places on their arms, screamed nonsense words, sang operatic notes, burned incense, waved a wind tunnel instrument over a candle, and played the violin. We left when we figured satan would come out of the ground any second.

 I made sure to give the girls a tour of the Carnegie Deli (my fave) on our way back to Times Square.  We also saw Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall.

The Church has recently put up all these ads in Times Square.  It was really awesome!

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (remind me to post the pic here) for dinner.  NYC on a Saturday in December is second only to London's Harrods on a Saturday in December.  You can barely walk down the street because it is SO crowded!  We waited for an hour for our table... at 3:30pm (pretty good, actually - though still weird for mid-afternoon), but the wait was 45 minutes at McDonalds anyway.

Ashley wanted to grab some earrings from Kate Spade on 5th before we left for Boston in the morning.  We had 1/2 hour before we had to be at the play.  We were 1.5 miles away from the store, but right by the theater, so we decided to take a taxi.  Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

As if we could get a taxi in that crowd!  We hailed every one we saw as we made our way up to 5th Avenue, and then arrived there before a single taxi stopped.  We tried Saks to no avail, then had 10 minutes to get back to the theater a mile away.  We were shoulder-to-shoulder with the crowds and couldn't move.  No taxis available.  A Pedi-Cab Rickshaw driver spotted us.  Eeeeeek.

"You girls need a ride?"  "NO, absolutely not."  "You sure?"  We thought for a moment and decided he might be our only hope.  "How fast can you get us to Times Square?"  "Five minutes.  This is the fastest way to go."  Ummmm fine.  We hopped in and had no idea what was going to happen next.

You can't see the tears streaming down my face or the hands clenched in terror.  Anyone ever taken one of these?  No, you're probably all too sensible for that.  We were screaming and laughing and lizzing.  At one point, there was a taxi bumper basically under my leg.  We almost killed a 90-yr-old who screamed "Oh!  You startled me!" and we watched her life pass before her eyes.  We were yelled at in entirely F-words from pedestrians we ran over or cut off.  We were honked at.  We were bracing for imminent death.

We got there in five minutes.

Still shaking, we recognized the two women behind us in line for the theater looked LDS.  We were right.  They were the second group we spotted that day and talked to.  The first group was in Central Park.  The next group was also at the play with us and had us take their picture afterward.  It was pretty funny.  Sometimes you just can tell.

The play was awesome, of course.  I was sitting on the edge of my seat!  I actually mean that figuratively and literally, since my long legs did not fit in that crammed theater, and I had to put the seat cushion up and lean on it while basically standing for the entire second half.  Good thing we were on the back row of the orchestra seats so I could do that.

Sunday - Jessica and Marissa stayed in NYC to see more sites (Jess had never been before).  Ashley and I took a day trip to Boston to see friends and family.  Ryan was leaving for a business trip right after Sacrament Meeting, so if I wanted to see him and make it to church, we had to get there by 10:30am to drop off Ashley and make my way to Belmont.  We left Scarsdale late at 8am.  The distance is about 200 miles and is supposed to take 3.5 hours.

We made it in 2.5.

I got to see Ryan and go to Sacrament Meeting with them!  I then took a nap and played with the kids once they got home.  Marissa was kind enough to let me eat dinner with them and hang out for a while.  Those kids are so stinkin' cute!

Monday - We drove into town and literally onto Canal Street in Chinatown, marking my second time driving in Manhattan.  We parked about 100 feet from the stores where I have been craving a shopping trip for years (since my last one... see here).  We paid $24 to park for two hours, but saved about $60 overall for not taking the train and subway!  I bargained.  I got offended when they said they wanted $150 for my LV bag.  What do they think I am, an amateur?  I laughed in their face.  I got it for $50.  I got one for Kylie at work.  A watch, two other bags, and my perfume.  We even ran into our fourth LDS-looking people.  The Stewart family I grew up with!  Christian won a bowl game that day in Syracuse.  Diane was my YW Leader and I taught Stephanie piano.  The loot:

I was pretty stinking happy.  They all fit in my suitcase.  I was surprised that I didn't go into a single back room this time.  They just open hidden drawers now right in the main part of the store, or have you wait on the street while they bring you the bag you point out in the photo to decide if you want it.  It was super.  

I found myself suppressing the urge to bargain for anything else I bought that day, whether at the airport, Dunkin' Donuts, a vending machine, whatever.  Love.

We drove straight to the airport afterward and made it in like 15 minutes.  It was awesome.  

Thanks, girls, for an awesome vacation!  I will miss our Toyota Yaris, our non-curse-words, and our giggling fits at 2am. 

Take Two.

I have officially fired the cup holder in my car.









After my last post, it should come as a surprise that I would be stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.



This go-around, it was a frozen hot chocolate from Kneaders.

As I went through the drive-through, expecting to pick up a nice smoothie, I saw their new holiday drink menu.  FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE?!  YES, PLEASE!

I put it right in the cup holder and literally did not get 30 feet before it went soaring.

"Do you want whipped cream on that?"  "Yes!"  Yes, I did.

DID.

It was a mess.  I literally yelled this time, in my car, by myself.  "NO!!!  NO NO NO NOOOOO!!  NOOOOO!"  

I pulled into a parking spot (since I hadn't even left the dang parking lot yet) and ran inside for napkins and a tray to put them in.

Is it strange that while cleaning up the diarrhea, I was thinking, "I can't wait to blog this," and snapped photos?

This story has a happy ending.  My car smelled like cocoa all night!  I went inside and told them what happened, asked for another one and said I could pay for it, but they just made me one out of kindness.  Love that Kneaders!

Cup holder - YOU ARE FIRED.  FOREVER.  FAIL.

All I wanted was some enchiladas...

You know that feeling where you just think, "Man, I really have my life together.  I am strong and confident.   My life is truly charmed."


Me neither.


Take Wednesday's lunch, for example.

I really really wanted enchiladas. I was feeling it.  My gut was feeling it.  My brain was feeling it when I remembered the Wednesday lunch special at Mama Chus is enchiladas.  Boom.  Decision made.

When I got there to pick up my phoned-in order, I heard the waitresses talking to each other.  When I asked if my meal came with a drink and if I could get a Diet Coke, one of them in the back said to another, "Chico grande."  I thought they were talking about me.  I was sorely offended.  This is my favorite restaurant.  Do I have to stop coming now?  They are quite large, themselves.  The one helping me is "grander" than I am, so my thoughts immediately went to this movie quote (who can name it???) - "You're fatter than I am, why don't you go to camp!!?"

Once I got to my car, I remembered that chico meant boy... right?  Plus, it was mid-conversation - so maybe they were talking about something completely unrelated.  Maybe.

Still, I was in a sour mood.  I was not happy with that experience.

I put my Diet Coke in my cup holder, and drove off.  As I turned left onto 800 North, my drink fell right out of that holder and onto the passenger side floor.  It landed on the straw, upside-down, shoving the straw through the bottom of the cup, and dislocating the lid.  There is no shoulder on that strip of 800 North.  I just had to listen to the Diet Coke fizzle into the carpet while screaming.

"Right Lane Closed Ahead" sign once I hit University Avenue.

I pulled onto a dirt road and drove up to a business building lot.  The coke was completely gone, soaking into my car interior.  I was pretty upset.  Then - a stroke of brilliance!  I remembered that I recently started collecting napkins in my glove compartment!  I had several and used them all to clean up the mess.  I couldn't clean it all, obviously, but I felt better.  I ran up to the building and threw the napkins in the trash.

When I got back to my car, I picked up the enchilada box and as the lid pushed down on it, red enchilada sauce squirted everywhere.  All up my arm.  The back of my seat.  The arm rest.

Good thing I used all those napkins on the harmless Diet Coke.

Stroke of brilliance number two!  I recently purchased a pocket pack of tissues and had them in my purse, along with an old pack I forgot was in there!  I was able to use the two packs and clean up (most of) the saucy splatter.  Whew.  I went back to the building and threw away the soiled tissues.

When I got back to my car the second time, I got in with a huff.  Amazingly, my elbow went right onto the enchilada box, opening it, and letting it soar over my passenger seat.

OIJWOEIJFOIAJFAOEIJFAOIWERJO#I$J%O#I$JTOEIJFOIFJ

I picked up the spilled enchiladas with my bare hands and shoved them back in the box, then set the box on the ground outside my car door while simultaneously laughing out loud, screaming, and holding back imminent tears.

I now had no napkins.  No tissues.  Check the napkin they gave me with the meal!  Soiled in red sauce.

Rice in my seatbelt button.

Red, slimy, cheesy, greasy rice/beans/chicken all over my purse.
Red, slimy, cheesy, greasy rice/beans/chicken IN and covering my wallet.
Red, slimy, cheesy, greasy rice/beans/chicken all over the seat.
Red... you get the picture.

I picked up my wallet with my filthy hands and tried to take out the temple family names before they got messed.  They flew out of my hand and onto the ground outside.  I finally got them and threw them in the back seat.  I grabbed my wallet and keys and marched right into that building's bathroom.

After cleaning my wallet, I grabbed about 40 dozen paper towels, some wet, some dry, and headed back out to the car.  There was my meal on the gravel.  There was my car that people undoubtedly would have thought I just barfed all over in if they looked inside.  There was rice and beans on the ground by my door.

It was quite the sight.  I spent the balance of my lunch hour cleaning up my car.  Once I finally had to give up and get back to work, I was sweating to death and swore in vengeance that I would eat those heaven-forsaken enchiladas if it was the last thing I ever did.  And I did.  And I was exceedingly careful.

My life is a charmed one.

Mommy and Me: A Vacation in Two Parts

My mom and I got to take a trip together to visit her old stomping grounds, friends, and family!

Part One: Wisconsin!

We flew into Milwaukee, picked up my first rental car (woot), and drove up to Brit's house in West Bend.  My iPhone decided it would be fun to take me to the "sponsored" link in Grafton instead of the address I typed in.  That was exciting.  "Hey Brit, be there in 1/2 hour!"  "Hey just kidding.  1/2 hour later, and now add another 45 minutes!"  It was a beautiful drive.  I fell in love with Wisconsin.  IN LOVE!

I haven't seen Brit in a few years (and haven't seen Taytay in even more years).  Plus, I had not seen her newest child, Sophie!  We played with the kids and had a delicious meal (one of many this trip).  

Friday morning, we had quite an amazing experience.  Part of the reason for the trip was to figure out how to sell the cemetery plots we have for Oma and Opa (since they switched to SLC).  We knew they were in the Wisconsin Memorial Park, one of FIFTY cemeteries in Milwaukee.  My mom also wanted to see the grave of her bff growing up, Michelle Kindt.  Michelle died in a car accident when they were 15.  My mom was in the car and was one of two survivors.  Three people died, including her best friend.  My mom didn't really wake up until after the funeral had already passed for her best friend days later.  When I was born, she wanted to name me Michelle, but realized that might be a little too tough, and named me Lindsey Michelle instead.  I have always felt a connection to my namesake for that reason.

We had no idea where Michelle was buried.  My mom had never been to the site.  Since we were staying with Brit, and her Stake President is Chris Kindt (Michelle's cousin), we were able to get his number and do some detective work.  We ended up calling Michelle's two brothers, but they could not remember where she was buried.  They were very young when she died.  One said that he remembers it was on the way to Uncle Walter's, and that it may have been off Capitol.  Mom mentioned that the cemetery we were already going to was off Capitol, but they agreed it was too far west.  I did a little googling, and found this:

The same cemetery, out of 50!

We left for Milwaukee and went to the cemetery first.  It is almost a square mile big.  We talked with a creepy gentleman for a while, who clearly works with dead people all day, and found that the plots we were looking for were in adjacent blocks, about 100 yards apart.  He also showed us all the artwork in the main building, which we honestly didn't care about, but it was pretty.  "I can show you a 400-year-old reverse lampshade.  Yeah.  Come with me."  Umm... what?  "Remember the Chief of Police?  That's his crypt.  That's his window.  Isn't that amazing?"  Umm... yep.  He finally left us alone once we reached Michelle's grave.  It was rainy.  We were under an umbrella, emotional, and just stood there in silence for a few minutes.  We bought some flowers and my mom went over some fond memories.  It was really sad and sweet.  I was so glad I was able to be there with her for it.

After being told we needed to just sell Oma and Opa's plots on Craigslist and got the necessary paperwork for when that does happen, we left to see more of my mom's home town!

The last Milwaukee home the Strangfeld family lived in, and the only one in a neighborhood we could enter now:

 Lake Michigan, where my mom and her friend, Abby, would go to the beach and hang out on Lake Drive:

 The awesome homes of her friends growing up, on Lake Drive:

 The church my mom found her testimony in, had a reception in, and went to church in all growing up:

We drove back up to West Bend for the evening and played with Brit and the kids.

Saturday, we went to breakfast in Port Washington, a charming port town that made me really want to live there!  Apparently, this guy also lives there.  Yeah.  This is his house:

He is sure a long way from Screech Powers these days....

After touring and breakfast, we drove up to Plymouth for their Oktoberfest.  We were so excited to have that authentic German/Wisconsin bratwurst and party!  When we finally did find it, it was in a tent enclosure the size of a Sizzler, and there was a Polka band playing.  We left.  

We got back to West Bend, packed up, and headed off to part two!

Part Two: Illinois!

Mom and I drove down to St. Charles, to Kiera's house.  We were staying there for the rest of the trip and surprising Aunt Uschi for her birthday!  Side note - Brit's mom was friends with Uschi (coincidentally) when they were kids, and uploaded an actual video recording of Uschi as a Primary kid in the 1950s to show at the bday party!!

We got to Kiera and Josh's phenomenally gorgeous home and got ready for the surprise party.  Ushci thought she was coming over to babysit Benson and Cason while Kiera and Josh went to a work party.  Josh's boss is in their ward and lives down the street.  It was a perfect cover for the cars!  There were about 70 people there.  Tori and Jared flew up for the occasion from Utah as well.  Katie and Luke and fam drove from Ohio.  Uschi's friends and neighbors were all there.  The Blonquists did an awesome job of keeping it secret from Uschi for months!  Noel drove her over, we hid behind the walls, and shouted, "Surprise!" when she walked in.  She was in total shock and was mad that she was in regular clothes with no makeup.  Haha!!  She was greeted by her daughters at the door and screamed.  My mom and I waited in a corner so she could catch her breath and see all her friends before our surprise.  She finally came around to our area, and my mom walked right up to her.  Uschi stared at her for a second or two, not processing it... (looking in a mirror, maybe?), then screamed again.  They hugged for a good minute while we cried and adored.  It was so precious.  

 Here I am with Katie's son Spencer - who feels a closeness to his namesake, too!  He points out Spence in pics!

The party was 1950's themed.  I cannot rave enough about Noel/Katie/Kiera/Tori throwing this party.  Luke  and Jared were perfect soda jerks.  There was Elvis music playing.  People dressed up in '50s costumes.  It was so fun!  We danced and partied the night away!  

Poor Tori and Jared both got super sick that night and were out of commission the rest of their trip.  It was so sad!

Sunday, we went to church and then toured the renovations on Noel and Uschi's house in Batavia.  We had dinner there, and as proof that no good deed goes unpunished, I tried to help with the dishes afterward.  As I pushed a glass onto a shelf, it pushed another off.  That glass shattered on the counter and I screamed in horror.  Uschi's kitchen is sacred ground, and I offended.  It wasn't until she pointed out that the glass had crushed her favorite hand-carried-from-Mexico-glass-pitcher-that-she-bargained-for-and-loves, however, that I started bawling.  Josh seized the moment to get me back for years of torturous mocking for doing the SAME thing to my mom's favorite hand-carried-from-Austria-crystal-goblet-that-we-searched-for-again-and-love.  He had every right to do so, but I still yelled at him with great fervor, "JOSH!  I CANNOT HANDLE YOU RIGHT NOW.  GET OUT."  I was a mess.  It was so awful.  I still feel awful.  Anyone planning a trip to Mexico soon????

We said our goodbyes and left Monday morning.  I absolutely loved the trip and wish we could have stayed longer.  I don't get to see Kiera nearly enough, and I miss her so much.  I hadn't seen Brit in years - Katie and fam, Uschi, Noel, all of them!  I got to spend time with my mama.  I loved it!  

The big 2-3!

I turned 23 this week.








Hahaha.





Okay, I'm a little older than that.  In my mind, I'm still 23.  At Ward Prayer, they asked us what we would wish for if we were granted one wish.  I said "Turn back the clock."  I've reached that level of feeling elderly and wanting to go back.  I think my Singles Ward friends are surprised I don't live in a nursing home yet.

I had a thought the other day while stuck in traffic and having intense anger toward every other driver on the road... that maybe I could just ram my car into them and that will teach them a lesson.  Plus, it could be fun, like Bumper Cars.  Then I thought, "and then maybe I'd be in a coma in the hospital and lose weight easily."  Then... "and then what if I don't wake up for two years and two days, and when I do, I'm 30!!!!!!!!??!?!?"  That was the scariest thought of all.

So, having enlightened you on my thoughts of my advancing years, I shall now move on to the positives.  My birthday was AWESOME!

Thursday, 9/6 - Pedicures and Cold Stone with Tori.  You rock, girl.  My toes rock.  Thank you!!

Friday, 9/7 - We carried on last year's traditions with Tori bringing me McDonalds breakfast and then a trip to SLC for dinner at the Blue Iguana and walking around!  We were so tired and hungry and I was on a royal crankfest from the aforementioned traffic predicament.  This mini-trip cleared that all up and we were SO happy to eat that glorious food and be serenaded by our favorite missionary couple!

I slipped them a little tip and said, "Come sing to us again!"  They said they would, but didn't.  I guess the two dollars I had in my wallet wasn't enough for an encore.

We then walked around City Creek for a bit and drove home.  On the drive, I got a call from Spencer asking where I was at.  Heather deduced that he was in Orem!  "Wait, are you at my house?!?"  "I'm at MY house.... my parents' house."  Spence and Caitlyn came up for a surprise visit!  We got to talk with them for a bit and I was just so excited and happy!

Saturday, 9/8 - Had a party at Nickel City.  I didn't want to clean my house for hours and spend money on food for everyone, so I decided to take the party elsewhere this year.  We had fun and I got dead last on my team in Laser Tag, per usual.  I think I beat a 6-yr-old on the other team.  I think.

Sunday, 9/9 - I will spare you the details of the crazy morning, but Head and Tori made me pumpkin gingerbread chocolate chip waffles with homemade buttermilk syrup and real whipped cream.  I die.  We die.  It was bomb.  THANK YOU, LADIES, FOR AN AWESOME WEEK!!!  Spence then made coconut and chicken Paella at the Wilson's and we didn't have to prepare or clean up dinner!  It was SO GOOD.  We all loved it.  I couldn't stop quoting Estelle Costanza, though: "What am I going to do with all this Paella?!"  Creme Brulee custard for dessert... good night, nurse.  You can probably guess the next quote we all had a problem suppressing:

Spence and Caitlyn left, and we had cake and ice cream at the house with Oma and Tom.  Always a good time.  I recently watched Fiddler on the Roof and love the Sabbath Prayer scene with the candles.  I was trying to reenact that with my number-close-to-30 candles.

I then saw this pic on my phone and about died.  What the possessed?!??  HAHA

Andrea came by with Sof and Dia and gave me my annual salsa gift and some CUTE blocks that spell out "LAUGH" - so dang adorable!  Unfortunately, the salsa leaked and exploded yesterday, so there is no liquid left, just veggies I had to smash down during the commotion.  I was really looking forward to it.  I might still eat it.  Botulism can't grow that quickly, right???  RIGHT??

What a GREAT week it has been.  THANK YOU EVERYONE who participated in any way and made me feel special!  Thank you for all the Facebook posts and all the love.

You guys keep me young.






P.S. I just want to take a moment to express my love and sympathy to all those who lost loved ones on this day 11 years ago.  I was driving to school with Andrea when her car radio announced the first plane had hit the tower.  We watched the news in our classes that day and called loved ones.  I weep when I think of it.  In my last class of the day, Mrs. Crampton told us we would not watch the news, because Americans are about rising from adversity, and we would continue on learning.  If we stopped working, that was a win for the terrorists.  Though I can see her point, I was devastated that she wouldn't let us watch.  To those firemen, policemen, service workers, any others who helped remove people from the disaster, I offer my heartfelt thanks.  Lives were brutally taken that day for no good reason, as we all know, and I just wanted to say I will never forget.

Sigh. It is done.

to NURSING, nursing

TJ - It looks like I, unfortunately, will not be able to attend anymore at this time.  It may be an option down the road, but right now I cannot commit to this program.  Please accept my apology and give my spot to someone who can do it.  I greatly appreciate the acceptance.  I will hopefully get everything figured out in the coming years.

Thank you,

Lindsey Andersen

Oh, just a few little things...

Spencer is MARRIED!!!!!!  I am SO excited for him!  Caitlyn is perfect.  We love them!  I am so happy that all my neighbors and relatives have NOT said "You're next!  We need to get you married!" because it wouldn't be like I haven't been trying for about a decade, or anything.  Psych.  They have. Hahaa.... but that's fine.  I agree with them.

 They look so beautiful!

We got to see a ton of family for the event.  Ryan and his family came to town for three weeks!  Evan and his family came for 10 days.  We loved, loved, loved it.  Plus, I ALWAYS love it when my parents visit!  I didn't do the dishes once!

Okay, I did help here and there, but I sure loved having mom here.  Not going to lie.

The fabulous Tiffany did my hair and we wore champagne-colored formal dresses for the reception.  Cute nieces as flower girls!!

A few of the enormously fun things we got to do this month with the family:

1. See the hot air balloons take off by Provo High School
2. See fireworks for the 4th of July and 24th of July in random Salt Lake City suburbs we had never gone to.  We are a little weird in that we are really good friends with Ryan's and Evan's in-laws.  We hope the Wilsons follow suit!  We happened to grow up with the Youngs and Seegmillers.  Because Sasha (Young) Willardson's husband does kettle corn at events, we sometimes tag along - hence the different cities than we're used to!  It was so great.
3. Get to know the Wilsons.  They hosted a BBQ at their house and we all decided we will have no problems getting along.  They had me at "Our mom is just like Lucille from Arrested Development."
4. Go to Seven Peaks for the first time in over a decade.  I am pretty sexy in a bathing suit, so I don't know why I'm not there every day.  I sucked it up (literally) and went!  It was a blast!  Jordan has been on every ride there.  I am 20 years older and live here.  And I have not.  And I will not go down those free-fall ones as long as I live.
5. Go jet skiing for the first time in over a decade.  I got to drive my own and it was SO GREAT!  I absolutely love jet skiing.  
6. Lose my iPhone in Utah Lake
7. Lose my license in Utah Lake
8. Get a new pic for my license (hated the other one anyway)
9. Get a new upgraded iPhone (Hello, Siri) with my insurance (maybe when the next one comes out, I'll "drop" this one in a lake too...)
10. Yeah, ok, I know I was stupid to take them on the water with me.  I thought (yes, actually) I was being smart.  If I ran out of gas or died and needed to be identified, I was prepared.  What if I'm trying to get to a bathroom, I can't find it, and ... my bladder explodes?  (Name it). They were in double ziploc bags in my deep board short pockets.... but I guess I like speed and wave jumping.  So sue me.  Actually, don't.  This month was expensive.  
11. Mani/Pedis with mom, Heather, and Jenn
12. Go to a wedding.  Duh.  See above.  The luncheon was at La Jolla Groves (drool) and the reception was at Sleepy Ridge.  I loved seeing extended family!
13. Go to Tabitha and Scott's baby Vera's blessing.  It was so beautiful.  Uncle Tom got to bless her, and it was the sweetest experience for all of us.   Stevie, you look so pretty in the background.
14. Raft down the Provo River.  I have lived here since 1988 or so, and have never floated the Provo River.  It was so beautiful and fun!  No trauma this time, though I did remind Jenn of my favorite rafting moment ever.  She was there.  She remembers too.  It was in Flaming Gorge.  That's all I will say.
15. Celebrate Ben's 5th Birthday!  We got to go to Nickel City and have pizza and ice cream cake at the Seegmillers'.  He's such a handsome little guy!
16. Run a 5K!  I know earlier this year I posted about my family planning on running in San Francisco this month.  The following people dropped out: Spencer (wedding/honeymoon/studying too much to train), Ryan (injured hip), Heather (injured hip), Dad (working too much to train), which left me.  Mom didn't even try because of her injured hip.  My genetically-programed hip didn't hurt at all during training!  Until this month.  We decided nobody could make it to San Fran, but Evan/Jenn/Sam were still running a 5K here.  Since it was my goal all along, and I really wanted to meet it, I ran with them!  We just did a Provo 5K for Pioneer Day.  My hip hasn't stopped hurting since.  Yay!  Think I'm done with running.  Evan was the biggest sweetheart ever and stayed by my side the whole time.  I am NOT a runner.  I was TERRIBLE at it, but I finished.  I walked twice for a little bit, but ran most of the way.  52 minutes.  I know that's laughable.  I know.  I worked really hard for that, and I'm so glad I got to do it.  I lost zero pounds from running these past six months.  That's also laughable.  Still so glad I did it.  My overall health greatly improved!
17. Decide against nursing school.  Turns out the debt will be greater than anticipated because I won't be able to have even a part-time job, and I will still need to take care of the house and live... plus all the back and forth on wanting to go was pretty much my answer that I shouldn't.  I do feel like I failed, like I'm a quitter, like I'm a loser going back to my desk job every day.  Thankfully, those feelings are fleeting and don't last very long.  My job is pretty great, and I have the means to travel, and no homework or wiping fecal matter from patients.  When I saw ONE of my textbooks for the LPN program, I almost hyperventilated.  It wasn't for me.  Not right now.  I really wasn't sure about it in the first place, and the one thing I am sure about (marriage/family) is something I don't want to bring a ton of debt into.
18. Visit Aleta in the hospital (enough hospital visits for a lifetime in that family this year) after she had her beautiful baby Dallin!!
19. Sink my teeth into lobster at Lobsterfest with the Youngs
20. See cousins, aunts, uncles, old friends and neighbors, etc

All in all, it was the busiest July of my life.  It was the BEST July of my life!

Tight Security

When you visit Primary Children's Medical Center, they scan your driver's license and print you a name tag with your pic on it.  Subsequent visits can be made with them just looking up your scanned card and matching your name and picture.  I went to visit Holland (see below for details) on Saturday and again last night, when they already had my ID scanned from Saturday.

The conversation went like this:

Receptionist: Have you visited before? 

Me: Yes, a few days ago.

Receptionist: Last name?

Me: Andersen.  E-N.

Receptionist: What???  E-N-D-E..... what?

Me:  Andersen, with E-N at the end.  A-N-D-E-R-S-E-N.

Receptionist, sorely confused: Your first name is Ian?

Me: No, it's Lindsey...

Receptionist: And you're visiting an Andersen?

Me: No, that's my last name.  I am visiting the Youngs.

Receptionist: Oh... 

Me: I was saying E-N as the spelling of my last name, not Ian.

Receptionist: Yes, okay, I found you.  Here you go.

It wasn't until I was leaving when Aleta pointed to my shirt and said, "Um... that isn't you."

I hope she handles all the important medical records too.

**Aleta and Bryan's 3-yr-old daughter, Holland, has been in the hospital recovering from brain tumor surgery.  You can read more about it here.  The tumor biopsy showed it is benign, and they still have not been able to remove it all.  They will try again in three months, since Holland has stopped breathing multiple times under sedation and has gone under the knife twice in the past week for major brain surgery.  Good news, they got most of it out, it isn't cancerous, it shouldn't grow back, it shouldn't affect her functioning at all!  Bad news, she'll have to continue the MRIs and surgery later.  Prayers are appreciated!  

When I visited Holland last night, she had just received Valium and was laughing and smiling.  It was so good to see her like that again!  I brought her pizza and she was mad that I ate some too.  That's my Holland! 

 Poor Aleta's belly can be seen here as well - 34 weeks prego and living in a hospital.  She is such a trooper!

ACCEPTED.

May 30, 2012

Dear Lindsey,

Congratulations!  You have been accepted into the Fall 2012
Mountainland Applied Technology College Practical Nursing Program.
Final acceptance is dependent upon the following:  (1) satisfactory
results of a background check and (2) satisfactory results of a drug
screen (3) current copy of CNA certification or re-certification letter
(4) attendance of the mandatory orientation meeting. Please respond by
e-mail and include in the subject “LPN Program Acceptance” or “LPN
Program Denial” to [email protected] by June 4th by 2 PM.

If accepting, please complete the background check and drug screen, CNA
certification/re-certification letter, copy of immunizations, TB, CNA,
and CPR (Health Care Provider or Professional Rescuer), MUST NOT EXPIRE
during the program; (August 21, 2012- May 17, 2013.), an official
transcript of prerequisite course completion. All documents must be
received by the assigned due date or an alternate candidate will be
selected.

●       Official Transcripts of prerequisite                    June
15th, 2012
●       Background Check & Drug Screen                  June 15th, 2012
●       Immunizations & CPR                             June 15th, 2012
●       TB                                              June 15th, 2012
●       CNA certification or re-certification letter            August
7th, 2012

Fall semester practical nursing courses at MATC begin on Tuesday,
August 21, 2012.  There will be a mandatory orientation meeting for new
practical nursing students on Monday, August 20, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. at our Thanksgiving Point Campus on 2301 West Ashton Boulevard
in Lehi.  The nursing department is located on the second floor, room
227.

When clinical sessions begin in September you may have obligations on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Times may vary depending upon clinical
sites.  If you confirm your acceptance into the practical nursing
program, you will be expected to attend ALL classes, labs, and
clinicals. You must make a full-time commitment to this program! There
will be a fall break on October 11-12, 2012. The MATC practical nursing
program consists of two semesters, August through May.  You will receive
a separate mailing regarding registration and tuition.  I look forward
to working with you!

Sincerely,

TJ Carter, MSN, RN
801-753-4159
[email protected]

Perhaps it's a sign

So, check it out.

I have been having second thoughts, doubts, reconsiderings, whatever-you-want-to-call-its about going to LPN school.  Don't freak out.  I'm still applying.

The problems I have encountered include the following:

• I met a working CNA during my clinicals who has applied to my program THREE times, with a 3.9 GPA, and has been rejected.  She is even working in healthcare, AND her mother works at MATC (where I'm applying)!
• I met a working LPN during my clinicals who went through the program at MATC and also had a 3.9 GPA.  He was also male and I think that helps in a program filled with female applicants.
• My GPA could be more like an okay golf score than anything else.
• Doing clinicals and coursework made me suddenly SUPER grateful for my office job - which, if you recall, was the whole problem to begin with - that I was looking for something more and was so sick of office jobs.  This whole process was just what I needed to feel good about 8-5 M-F again.
• Looking for LPN jobs online has proved absolutely fruitless.  If there are jobs, they are part-time, on-call, working basically as a CNA.
• I am taking care of my parents' home while they are gone to Eastern Washington and paying utilities.  I am just getting by on my current full-time salary.  How will I afford it in school?  I know there are ways, but I don't want to do anything damaging money-wise if I already have a degree and the end goal is to raise children at home.
• This is not my dream.  It was a means to feel better about life while getting to my dream of being a mother and hopefully staying at home.  I don't like the idea of pouring money into something I'm not hoping will be the end result.  
• A lady in my home ward who doesn't know I am applying to LPN school wrote on my facebook wall "I worked an office job all through my LPN school and by the time I finished school, I wish I had just stayed at the office job" and regretted doing the LPN thing.  This came the day after I really prayed for an answer on what to do.  

On top of all of this, and amid my feelings of confusion, I saw this sign on the back of a bus in front of me advertising my exact school and program.  Someone had vandalized the eyes on the nurse to look psychotically evil.  Hello!  Plus, do I even need to mention the irony of the "STOP" sign right next to it?  Twilight Zone.  Ok, I don't really read into stuff like that, but I thought it was blog-worthy nonetheless.  

Now, all my friends and family have really been supporting me and cheering me on and I feel like quitting this whole thing would be letting everyone down.  I also went through a lot to be able to apply and took some crazy classes!  I don't want that all to go to waste.  I have decided to apply and see if I even get in.  If I do, great!  There's an answer.  If I don't, great!  There's an answer that allows me to travel to Florida to visit HJolley when she moves there (congrats Daniel on the job offer!!), afford utilities, pay off my other student loan, and continue to live homework-free.  

CNA School - A blogger's dream.

Yes, it has begun! I am in CNA school right now as I prepare to apply for the LPN program. I literally leave my house at 7:45am Monday - Thursday, and get back at 10:30pm. I work 8-5, then race to AF for my class until 10:15. What a joy that is for me. What. A. Joy.

I'm so grateful that we don't have class Friday-Sunday (so I can catch up on everything and maybe get in a little sleep) and that it will only last four weeks.

So, to all my friends and family, I will see you in April.

This is what I have learned so far:

1. a few skills - including taking blood pressure, walking around holding a gait belt, changing a colostomy bag, securing catheter tubing, abdominal thrusts, etc.

2. I do NOT want to EVER be a CNA. EVER. Did you know poop freely flows from the large intestine through the incision in the abdomen and into the bag while you're changing it? Liquidy poop. You can see and clean the intestine as it hangs out on the outside of the body. Who wouldn't want to do that?

3. People who DO want to be CNAs are either Celestial angels sent from God or high school dropouts who smoke pot and have no less than two kids with a long road in front of them.

4. My class is made up of the latter and a few of us nursing school hopefuls who have all agreed to never be CNAs.

5. Vasectomies sometimes grow back.

These are some of the more interesting moments I have had from class so far (I could post daily about it, really, but let's not forget that I'm usually super awesome at keeping this updated all the time... no I'm not)

Danielle, a rich horse-loving teenager from Sandy, told us that the day "The Vow" came to theaters, her next-door neighbor slipped in his shower and forgot the past four years of his life. This started my distrust in her.... More on her later....

Mabel, a 40-something-year-old-Buddhist-Catholic from Chile, told us that she has a fear of doors.... and that someone will be on the other side to hurt her if she tries to shut it. She then told us that her friend, who is an alternative healer, taught her that it means in a previous life, someone killed or raped her with a door involved.

Last Wednesday, Danielle and Mabel were in the break room eating Lime Tostitos. Danielle offered me some and apologized that they were cold because they had been in the fridge. We all enjoyed them for a while, then Danielle put them back in the fridge. Thursday, we had a substitute teacher who normally teaches during the day class. During break, she pulled out the bag of Tostitos from the fridge and said "Do you guys want some? Lime chips are so much better cold." Danielle and Mabel said "sure!" and ate up... I whispered "I thought those were Danielle's," and Danielle and Mabel shushed me and said "We were stealing them!" Ok. I felt like I had to barf up any remnants of my accidentally hawked wares.

Last night, Annastasia bought a year's supply of junk food at the gas station and offered to share with us if we wanted. Danielle took the Corn Nuts and didn't even leave any for Annastasia. She then put the rest in her purse. I could not believe my eyes. Annastasia realized it and told her to just bring her a Pepsi tomorrow or something. It was so awkward.

Also last night, our instructor Vicki mentioned the reproductive system and said "gonads". Annastasia and Danielle both burst out laughing and couldn't stop. They were like, "That's a real word? We thought it was just something guys said." Facepalm.

Annnnd another from last night - Annastasia was reading a disease card and fumbled over the term "blood supply", saying it "blood suppry." I chuckled and whispered "brood suppry" and then she laughed so hard, she couldn't even finish the card. She finally got back to it and said "Ok, I'll try not to sound like a dang J** this time."

I decided to write some poetry about my experiences thus far.

"As I sit in the midst of racists and thieves, I can't but help but dream of Autumn's fall leaves.

Ere they talk of drug habits and religions and men, I want to return again and again.

Reincarnation and rapes done by doors, amnesia after falling from showers to floors."

That's all I have so far. I am so happy to have such a beautiful subject to draw my inspiration from.

This is my dream come true.