10 Years ago Today...

I walked into the MTC and began one of the most amazing adventures of my life!! I will be forever grateful for the experiences I had on my mission. I just had to commemorate this day by looking back on the many joys I experienced and by noting how old I am all of a sudden!!!

I always get such a kick out of looking back at the pictures from my mission and from reading my journal. It reminds me of all the fun times and the intense struggles I had at that time in my life. Here are some pictures I just had to share:

The first one is of me and my MTC district. We were certainly a unique group. Never a dull moment!!
This picture is of me and several of my companions. I didn't realize it till now because at the time, my new companion had just arrived and we were taking my previous companion to the train station to return home. The other two sisters were my roommates at the time and it just so happened that at one time or another I was companions with them as well. You can never have too many sister missionaries!!
This picture is one of my favorites because...When else will I have a monkey climb on my head!?!?! We went hiking to Monkey Mountain in Gaoxiong on our P-day.
This picture is also one of my favorites. Sis. England and I were two peas in a pod. We kept each other sane when times were tough and I learned a lot from her.
There's a quote that I always think of whenever I think of my mission. I think of it because it sums up my experiences so well! It goes like this:

“In the meridian of time, among other things, the Savior gave a touch here, a kind word there, food (both real and spiritual) to the hungry, advice and counsel to those in need. He gave prayers with the frightened, kindness to the passed-over, respect and affection for the children, loving care for those who are burdened. ‘And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.’ (1 Nephi 16:29) ‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.’ (D&C 64:33)”
- Stephen A. West, of the Seventy
May 1999 Ensign Conference Report “Out of Small Things”

I think of that quote because I remember when I came home that I was TIRED. I was physically, emotionally and mentally TIRED. When I think of all that our Savior has done for us and the example He set for us time after time, I came to understand that the service I had performed in Taiwan was only a tiny sample of what it must have been like for Him. I came to truly love and appreciate my elder brother so much more by serving a mission and I know I am better equipped to face the challenges I have now because of those experiences.

A WICKED Weekend

Andy and I went and saw "Wicked" (the Wizard of Oz musical). It's all about how the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch were best friends prior to their encounter with Dorothy. It was very funny, the music was great and the costumes/scenery were amazing. We saw the performance at Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. That place is very "Old Hollywood" (extremely ornate art deco style). Andy especially enjoyed the performance (in spite of his observation that most of the attendees were women and young teenage girls) because we got the tickets for free from my work. All-in-all, it was a fun night.

President's Day Weekend

As I mentioned in my last post, Andy and I spent the long weekend in North Carolina with Emma. We had a lot of fun. Among other things, we watched two movies; Charlotte's Web and Game Plan. We built a couple forts.

We played at Wilson's (a lot like Dave and Buster's). We went to Jungle Rapids--where they have an indoor play facility with lots of slides, jungle gyms, bounce houses etc. And we had lots of Treasure Hunts--including a President's-Day themed Treasure Hunt. The President's Day Treasure Hunt was a real doozy! Andy created one for Emma and I that took us to places like the microwave, the kitchen drawer, the dryer, under the bed, etc. Here are some pictures:

When Emma and I had found all the clues, she and I made up a treasure hunt for Andy! I wrote out the clues and Emma drew pictures on the backs of each clue and placed them in the correct places. We had a lot of fun.
One thing we did was to have Emma decorate a birthday cake for me. She did a fabulous job. We let her pick out some decorations like icing, M&Ms and pretzel sticks for additional candles (I didn't bring nearly enough candles). Here are a few pictures of her decorating the cake:
Notice that the icing says, "Happy Birthday Jamie 31"


Of course, when the cake had been decorated, Andy and Emma created a treasure hunt so I could find the cake--which was set up out on the balcony with some of Emma's stuffed animals and Care Bears to join in the fun.

Birthday Bear

So Andy and I are in North Carolina. We left last night, stayed overnight in Dallas and arrived in NC this morning. Andy was so sweet and had arranged for the hotel we stayed at last night to set out some cookies and other Valentine's decorations as a surprise. We just dropped off Emma after seeing her for only an hour. She had a karate class earlier which prevented her from spending more time with us because she had to be home by 6pm.

When Andy picks Emma up, he likes to have her go on a Care Bear Treasure Hunt. He hides Care Bears with little clues in various locations. Today my Care Bear was Birthday Bear. So far, it's been a bit of an unusual Birthday--lots of traveling, but it's been fun nonetheless. We'll probably go get something to eat and then see the movie Juno.

Thanks to those of you who have sent your birthday and well wishes. I am feeling a lot better from the tonsillectomy. The last three days have been a lot easier. I actually had a burrito today. Swallowing is not nearly as painful for me. So my will to live has been unscathed!

Hopefully I will be able to have more time this weekend to update the blog as we go.

I needed a good laugh!!

So this morning, I woke up at about 2:30am in extreme pain! I felt like my throat had done a thousand sit-ups and was stiff from the exertion and on top of that it felt like there was an elephant sitting on my throat. I wasn't sure how an elephant had gotten in my mouth, but it sure was an unwelcome guest. I knew that taking painkillers was the obvious solution, but I just couldn't stand to take them. The meds I've been given taste so nasty I get a gag reflex as I lift the spoon to my mouth. I tried to just ignore the pain and go back to sleep. In spite of waking up two other times because of the pain, I finally got up at around 8:00am.

I decided to go online and see if there were any websites where I could compare my experience with those of others--to see if what I was experiencing was normal. I really thought that when everyone told me it would take 1-2 weeks to recover they were exaggerating and that I would be back to 'normal' in a few days. In my quest to feel normal, I stumbled upon the following experience:

"Can someone please advise.. I've searched and searched for guidelines on recovering from a tonsillectomy and I've not found a straight answer. I had my tonsils out 6 days ago. I thought that my ENT was being melodramatic when he told me how miserable I would be and that he was preparing me for the worst so that it really wouldn't be that bad. He wasn't. Nothing came close to describing the abject pain and misery I have been in for the past six days.

The ENT prescribed me Tylenol with Codeine (are you kidding me?) and told me to drink enough fluids so that I would go to the bathroom every 8 hours. The second day after the surgery, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and as I sat down on the toilet, I blacked out. My fiancee heard a thud and found me on the floor in a pool of blood and unconscious. I was taken to the ER and told I was very dangerously dehydrated and my blood pressure was extremely low. They said I broke my nose and also had a sinus infection. CAT scan returned normal. In the hospital, no drugs would help. Everything worked on all other parts of my body except my throat. I can't describe the pain, I really can't but my will to live is being drastically depleted.

How long more do I have to suffer with this? Around Day 4 I started getting ear aches. I was sent home from the hospital yesterday (Day 5) with a prescription for Percocet but again, it does nothing for the throat pain and excruciating swallowing. When can I eat again? When does the pain get better? My neck is very stiff and talking hurts so much. PLEASE HELP. I'm at my wits end. These past 6 days have felt like a month and I can't remember what it's like not to have pain."

At first, I felt I could really relate to her explanation of the pain, but then as she described waking up in a puddle of blood and that her will to live was being "drastically depleted" I busted out laughing. I laughed so hard I cried and the scab-covered tissues in my mouth were in severe pain from the unstoppable laughter and I about drooled on myself because it hurt even more to swallow in my drugged-up state of laughter. The sad thing is that this went on for a good five minutes or so. I'm not sure if it's just been way too long since I've had a good laugh, the misery of this whole experience is getting to be too much or if the drugs are really starting to kick in. Either way, I am grateful that my experience hasn't been as bad as this lady's and that I can at least laugh in my pathetic state of being.

The Tonsillectomy Diet

Since I got my tonsils out on Monday, I think I have eaten about 1000 calories total. It has been so difficult to swallow and on Wednesday, I horked twice. I think part of the problem is that the medications I'm on (Amoxicillin, Codeine and Acetaminophen) are making me queasy--and they don't taste all that great either. It's a catch 22...I can live with the excruciating pain or take the meds and deal with the upset stomach or take the meds so I can choke some food down and then take my chances that the food won't come back up. I can only hope that I am losing weight like crazy!! Of course, I've been watching a lot of TV between naps the last few days and every pizza, cinnamon roll, hamburger etc commercial that comes on makes me want to order something and put it in the blender so I can at least taste it. So I'm looking forward to being able to swallow painlessly again.

Unfortunately, Andy left last night to go to Idaho Falls. His grandma passed away on Sunday. I wasn't sure how I'd react to the tonsillectomy, so I planned on not going--just in case. (Knowing now that I am still in quite a bit of pain, I'm glad I didn't buy a ticket and risk getting even sicker on the plane.) Andy has been very good at forcing me to take my meds (they're sooo nasty) and trying to get me to eat.

I wanna be sedated!

I went in to the hospital this morning at 5am and had surgery at 7:30am. Andy has been such a sweetheart to take me to the hospital so early and to be so attentive to what I need. There have already been several impromptu dance sessions--featuring some of his best work, in an effort to cheer me up. He's a good kid.

I've had to spell my first, middle and last names more times than I care to remember (every nurse who came to check in on me had to have me spell my name and state my date of birth). I got some sweet hospital jewlry too. Those bracelets are so sassy. It was fun to be anesthetized. As soon as the anesthesiologist started the good stuff, I remember the lights in the O.R. started moving around and I was out! The next thing I remember was a bunch of nurses milling about waking me up and I wanted them to go away so I could keep sleeping. It was bad enough that I had to be there by 5am. I also started coughing and trying to clear my throat. It's awfully hard to cough when there's an oxygen mask on your face.

I was taken up to a recovery room where Andy was able to be with me. The room had a beautiful view of the ocean and it was a beautiful day! That helped a lot. I stayed there for about four hours so they could make sure I was not going to hork or anything. The medication they've had me on, Codeine, has made me really sleepy. We got home at around 2:30pm and I slept for a couple hours. So far, it hasn't been too bad. I'm sad that I can't have Jamba Juice (fruit juices are too acidic and would hurt my throat). But Andy's out getting me some Slim Fast shakes now so I can get some nutrients in me rather than just eating Jell-O and popsicles all day.

In other news, I went to my first day of school on Saturday and it was kinda fun to be in a school environment again. It really is nice to be back in school and not feel like I can't afford the supplies I need. Some of the other youngins' in the class were a little overwhelmed by the long list of things we needed to buy. Anyhow, since I had enrolled in Ceramics II, I was able to throw on the wheel (make pots etc on the wheel). I quickly remembered how difficult it is to center the clay and keep it centered. My first try was a total flop and then I made two other pots and some pieces I will use to test the glazes.

It was a lot of fun to get back into the ceramics groove. It's such a fun, creative release for me. I still feel a bit rusty, but it's fun anyway.

I also haven't mentioned that I had to drop out of the OC Mormon Choir this term because I won't be around for the concert due to our trip to China. It also doesn't help that I got my tonsils out and would have had to miss a practice or two anyway. I hope to get back into it for the Spring term.