Not feeling well

I am not feeling well today. (You may feel like this is TMI, but I use this like a journal, so I want to post it.) Today I woke up feeling kind of gross, and it only got worse. I threw up a few times and then started getting an awful pain in my side. I knew immediately that I was having a pancreas flare-up. It turns out that my pancreas is swollen, and I need to go get blood work, but I might have slight pancreatitis. Having a swollen pancreas is about as painful as it sounds. It STINKS! Pretty much you just have to take life SUPER easy and let the swelling go down. I'm going to have to call off work this whole week, probably only go to school for an hour or so a night, and spend the rest of the week in bed. *ugh* Not exciting, but it's life. We'll see what happens after I get my blood drawn tomorrow. Sometimes I hate being sick!

Me in all my glory! *ugh*

I have put up ALOT of posts tonight. I just finally got all of my pictures uploaded and I'm so sick and can't sleep, so I'm posting them all tonight.

My mom asked me to take pictures of me in my uniform before school started. So the very first night of school I "suited up" and had my roommate Nicole take some pictures. She was like a professional photographer yelling out poses she wanted from me. I feel like these pictures are AWFUL (I'm not a huge fan of my uniform...not very girly...) but I took the pictures, so here they are. DON'T JUDGE!! ;P
Me and my "gun" pose. I had a hard time being serious.

The full body shot of the gun pose.

The side pose. Hot outfit, eh? NOT! It doesn't flatter my figure at all, and I love the blousing of the pants over the boots. Fortunately, you can't see it too much in this picture.

And me in all my glory. My pants with a million humungous pockets, my manly boots (that p.s. aren't comfortable...8 hours of not being able to bend your ankle gets annoying!), my hot tucked in shirt, and last but not least, my man belt with the brass buckle. And I wear my hair up most nights (since having it down doesn't really work well in police school) so sometimes I don't feel very girly at all. I try to wear a colored hair tie on my wrist and my pink watch to feel a little girly, but it doesn't always work.

I am loving school though. It has been such a blessing. I have wanted to do this for a long time, and I'm glad I finally decided to do it. It's hard, and it's time consuming, but it is 100% worth it. I wouldn't change a thing. I've got to work hard to get my run time down so I can pass my PT test, but it's worth the work. And, we took our first quiz tonight and I got 96%!! Only missed 1 question. I was so sick all day but had to run over to work to take the test. I was really worried about taking it while I was so sick, but it turned out pretty good. I LOVE IT!

Lunch with my roommates.

So I haven't been in the same place with all of my roommates in ages. We are all so crazy busy. I think we may all be home some mornings from like 0200 to 0500, but that doesn't count since we are all sleeping. We tried to plan a lunch out with all 4 of us, but we were only able to get 3. We are still determined to find a day though (or a couple of hours) for all 4 of us to hang out. But the day the 3 of us got together was fun too. We went to Olive Garden and had a really fun time just being silly and catching up with eachother. And of course, we took pictures. We are getting much better at remembering our camera when we go places.

This was in the car on the way home. I put the camera up on my head and just took a picture behind me, and this is what I got. SO funny. I love Megan. She can be so silly and I love that about her!

Nicole took my take-home box and was going to write my name on it. She took a LONG time, and by time I got it back this is what it looked like. I thought it was funny so I had to take a picture.

Megan at the resturaunt just waiting for our food to come. She is such a good roommate. She is moving out in August and I'm totally going to miss her!

Nicole writing on my take-home box. She was being "mysterious" in this picture. She is such an amazing roommate too. And, like Megan, she is moving out in August and is going to be SO missed!

And last but not least, another silly picture of Megan. There is never a shortage of these. She's a good sport!

Baby Blessing

Remember that baby that Jessie and I had been babysitting? Well she got blessed this month. Katherine is such a loveable baby. I love her and I love her mom. Rosa (the mom) is here alone since all of her family is still in Mexico. So our family has adopted her and Katherine and we love them so much. Jessie and I tell Katherine every time we see her that Auntie Jessie and Auntie Kayla love her. We're teaching her while she's young! =D

The story of her blessing is kind of cool. Rosa is catholic and wanted Katherine to be baptized in the Catholic church. Rosa went and talked to the Priest or Minister (I'm not quite sure what he's called) and he said that because Rosa hadn't attended church regularly, he wouldn't baptize the baby. Rosa got angry and went home and told my grandpa about it. (She was staying with my grandparents at the time so they could help a little with the baby since she was so tiny.) She asked my grandpa if we baptize in the LDS church. He explained that yes we do, but we do it when children are 8. She was kind of disappointed, but then he explained to her about LDS baby blessings. She asked my grandpa if Katherine could be blessed in the LDS church even though Rosa isn't a member. My grandpa said of course, but explained to her that Katherine's name would be on the membership of the church and that because of that, Rosa may at some point be contacted my missionaries. Rosa was so cute, and said that it was ok, because her and Katherine will probably end up Mormons some day anyways if they keep living in Utah and being with our family.

I was so happy that she decided to have Katherine blessed. And it was such an amazing day. They had a small group of people stand in the blessing (my grandpa who blessed her, my dad even though he was so sick that day, my brother Rickey, and the bishop) and it was a beautiful blessing. My grandma was even able to get a day pass from the rehab center and my grandpa picked her up so she could go to church for the blessing. After the blessing we had a family barbeque at my grandparents house. It was just such a special and memorable day. We sure do love Rosa, and Katherine already has a special place in my heart! I miss watching her on Saturday's and a couple of weekday's, but I've had school. I just can't wait until August when I can watch her more again.
(I stole this picture from Jessie's blog again...sorry Jess.) She is adorable! Rosa bought this beautiful dress at a store Dressed In White. She looked beautiful. And Jess took some amazing pictures of the baby. I love this one with her eyes open and alert and her holding the flower. Such a cutie!

My Daddy!

My dad is the best person I know. I couldn't ask for a better father, example, hero or friend. He makes me want to be the best person I can, and he has taught me by example. I love him so much. The most scared I've ever been in my whole life was the day we found out he had cancer. I didn't know how I could ever live without my dad here with me. I didn't know what to do, and for days I walked around numb. For those of you who don't know, they did surgery to remove the cancer from my dad, and they tested his pancreas. The pathology on his pancreas came back clean and it was so good that he won't have to have chemo or radiation. What a blessing and relief! I cried when I got the text from my mom. (She texted me because I had worked a grave and she didn't want to wake me up. She could have woken me up though...it is definitely something worth waking up for!)

Fathers day was tough. Even though the cancer is removed, my dad is still quite sick. He is so nauseated all the time and still has some pain. He has gone back to work part time (he is not one to just sit home) and I think it's been tougher than he thought it would be. For fathers day we went in on a gift and got him a queen size fleece blanket with the fire symbol on it. It is a very cool blanket and as soon as my mom asked if I wanted to go in on it I knew he would love it! As soon as he opened it, my mom took it, took the blanket off my dad, and put the new one on him. Even though he was sick, he was happy and he loved it.

This weekend was also my dads birthday...the big 50! We threw him a fun surprise party at the fire station. He was sick and didn't want to go (we tried to just trick him into going for a ride) so we kind of had to spoil the surprise. But he was a good sport (he hates being the center of attention). He had SO many friends and family members come to support him and wish him a happy birthday. It was so much fun and I'm glad that for an evening, even though he was sick, he enjoyed himself.

I have a few pictures of my dad that I wanted to share with you all. I borrowed a few of these off Jessie's blog (hope you don't mind Jess) and got the rest off facebook. There are a ton more pictures that I will post, I just have to get them from Jessie.
My dad on the fire engine.

He had such a fun day the day they burned this down. This was right after we found out he had cancer, but he wanted to go, so he went. I'm glad he was able to make it and not be sick. (He was hospitalized just a few days after this.)

My dad with a bunch of his friends. I'm so glad he works at the fire station. It makes him so happy and he has some of the best friends there. I cannot say enough good about the people he is friends with at the station. They are amazing!

Being the good sport that he is, he posed like this for his girls. I think he looks cute! And he is so happy!!

Doing what he loves to do. I am so glad he got into the fire department. Not only does he have amazing friends and support, but he truly is happy when he's working!

I know some of you have seen some of these pictures before, but I love them and wanted to share them again. Dad, I love you! You are the best person that I know and I am blessed beyond words to be your daughter!

How true is this?

I was driving home from school tonight, completely exhausted (as I am most days since school started) and I was just flipping through channels on the radio. I happened to stop right at the beginning of a song (I don't know, maybe it had a catchy tune or something) and it made me really think. So I thought I'd share it with you. We can all fill in the circumstances in the verses...and I think the chorus is true for all of us!

Sounds Like Life To Me
Got a call last night from an old friend’s wife
Said I hate to bother you
Johnny Ray fell off the wagon
He’s been gone all afternoon
I know my buddy so I drove to Skully’s
And found him at the bar
I say hey man, what’s going on
He said I don’t know where to start
Sarah’s old car’s about to fall apart
And the washer quit last week
We had to put momma in the nursing home
And the baby’s cutting teeth
I didn’t get much work this week
And I got bills to pay
I said I know this ain’t what you wanna hear
But it’s what I’m gonna say

(Chorus)Sounds like life to me it ain’t no fantasy
It’s just a common case of everyday reality
Man I know it’s tough but you gotta suck it up
To hear you talk you’re caught up in some tragedy
It sounds like life to me

Well his face turned red and he shook his head
He said you don’t understand
Three kids and a wife depend on me
And I’m just one man
To top it off I just found out
That Sarah’s 2 months late
I said hey bartender set us up a round
We need to celebrate

(Chorus)Sounds like life to me plain old destiny
Yeah the only thing for certain is uncertainty
You gotta hold on tight just enjoy the ride
Get used to all this unpredictability
Sounds like life

Man I know its tough but you gotta suck it up
To hear you talk you’re caught up in some tragedy
Sounds like life to meSounds like life

This is the true me.

I saw this on my friends facebook and thought it was fun. And since I still have a ton of posts to do with pictures but don't have my camera with me at work tonight, I thought I'd post this instead. Feel free to put it on your blog too if you're ever looking for something to post!

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to Ten Different People. (but don't say their name)
#1 Thanks for helping me make this decision!
#2 You can judge me, but I still think I'm doing what's right.
#3 I know you are only my friend because I gave you your way.
#4 I know you're lying to me, and that something is really wrong.
#5 Thank you for sticking with me no matter what.
#6 I don't think I deserve a friend like you.
#7 You don't know what's best for me.
#8 Thank you for always loving me no matter what!
#9 I wish I lived closer to you.
#10 I will prove you wrong, and the more you discredit me, the harder I'm going to work!
Nine things about myself.
#1 I know sign language.
#2 I'm in Police Academy.
#3 I've worked 4 jobs at the same time.
#4 My birthday is in less than a month and I'll be 26!
#5 I love reading.
#6 I am super organized when it comes to school.
#7 I hate being late.
#8 I'm not the most social person
#9 I still sleep with a stuffed animal.
Eight ways to win my heart.
#1 Give me a true and sincere compliment.
#2 Treat me like I'm a princess.
#3 Call me when there is no reason, just to say you care.
#4 Mail me a card or note.
#5 Listen to me and let me know you value my opinion.
#6 See me as an equal.
#7 Bring a little treat, note or gift just because you're thinking of me.
#8 Be there for me no matter what or no matter how often.
Seven things that cross my mind a lot.
#1 School.
#2 My family.
#3 Finances.
#4 Dating.
#5 My friends.
#6 Church.
#7 Work.
Six things I do before I fall asleep.
#1 Brush my teeth.
#2 Sit-ups. (new thing since school started)
#3 Brush my hair
#4 Put on my pajamas
#5 Take my medicine.
#6 Say my prayers.
Five things you wish you could change about yourself.
#1 I wouldn't be OCD.
#2 I would be better at relaxing.
#3 I would be more social.
#4 I would be more in shape.
#5 I would be a better friend.
Four things you're wearing right now.
#1 Orem Police sweater.
#2 Navy blue knee-highs.
#3 Polyester navy blue pants. (stylish!)
#4 The best tanktop ever!
Three bands that you listen to often.
#1 Josh Groban (Not a band...I know)
#2 Rascall Flatts
#3 Jericho Road (Church group)
Two things you want to do before you die.
#1 Have a family.
#2 Adopt a child from a foreign country.
One confession.
#1 I am afraid that the things I am doing aren't good enough to get me where I want to be.

Too tired to keep updated!

Have you ever had that feeling of complete exhaustion? I think I might be there right now. I do have alot to post about, but 0% energy to do it. I started Police Academy a week ago, and I LOVE it! I have such a great class and really it is better than I thought it would be. It's also more tiring than I thought it would be. The hardest part is going to school and then going straight to work, and then sleeping about 6 hours, getting ready for school, and then doing it all over again. And school is 6 days a week, so I don't really get a break from it.

Also PT (physical training) is exhausting! There is no other way to describe it. We did the full PT test the second day of class, and then tonight we had our second PT session. Tonight's was awful. We ran from the school, down 1200 West to Center Street, turned around and ran all the way back to the school. (That's about 2 miles...a little up hill but mostly just flat.) We then walked around the field and then went inside for more PT. That's right...1 full hour of it, and not a minute short! Inside PT was painful! We started at 25 reps and moved by 1 up to 30. We did girl push ups and guy push ups and sit ups and crunches and diamond push ups and alot of other things that completely wore me out. Finally we stretched for a few minutes and I never have been so happy to stretch in my life! Not bad, right? Wrong! After hour 1 hour of PT we had to go sit in class for 2 more hours and learn about use of force. Classroom time isn't bad at all, it's just hard to do after working out.

I would love to say I went home after school and showered and went to bed. But I didn't. Not even close. I went straight from school to work where I have been for the last 8 hours and still have to be for 2 more hours. My bed has never sounded so good! I just keep trying to forget about the part where I sleep for 6 hours, shower and then go back to school for another hour of PT. Oh but no worries, we don't have classroom after PT tonight...we have 3 hours of defense tactics...so basically more PT only this time with handcuffs and tackling. *sigh* It's exhausting, but it is worth it!

So I have pictures of me in my uniform to post (my mom made me take some before I started school). I also have pictures of my dads 50th surprise birthday party at the Fire Department, and pictures we took of my cousins one day at the park. I'm sure there are some other things too, I'm just to tired to think about them! I don't work after tonight until Sunday though, so hopefully this weekend I'll get around to posting some pictures. And it will probably happen to, because I can post them while laying in bed! ;P

A girls night up...and out...

The other night we ended up having a girls night. It wasn't planned. We didn't mean for it to happen. It was one of those spontaneous things that turns out to be just what you needed, right when you needed it! And boy did I need it. Girls night couldn't have come at a better time!

Leah came over to visit, and we got talking on a bunch of random topics. Brandon and Litto stopped by, Jessie was there for awhile (and we're sad that she had to go to bed...but she had work and school), Nicole was in for just a short time and then left. But Leah, Meagan and I just kept talking....and TALKING, and TALKING, and TALKING!

I have been feeling a little anti-social lately, but not really... (I know, confusing, right?) I have been making myself be anti-social, but it's because I haven't really had anyone to just really talk to. I almost went to bed the other night, but thought I would stay up for just a few to visit with these cute girls. Who knew that "just a few" would turn into 10 hours and a visit to IHOP!?

I live with Megan, so I talk to her alot...(or alot when we aren't both crazy busy!) But I haven't ever really talked to Leah that much. Leah is an AMAZING girl, but I always thought she was too good to be my friend. I don't think that anymore. I think we all are closer to each other and appreciate each other more than we did before. I love it when friendships change for the good like that!

The three of us talked about EVERYTHING! And I'm not joking when I say that. We talked about our ward and the church. We talked about boys we like and boys we don't like and the things boys do to drive us crazy and things we wish they would do more often. We talked about our families and our pasts. We talked about the things that have made us who we are today. We talked about our lives now and our lives growing up. We talked about grade school and middle school and high school and our experiences there. We talked about our hopes and dreams, our goals, our struggles. We told funny stories and experiences we've been through. We talked about school and work and being social. We really talked about everything, and it was SO MUCH FUN!

I have isolated myself a little lately...sometimes because I'm not feeling super well (which I get made fun of for), sometimes because I am tired from working, sometimes because I have to go to work, and sometimes because I feel like it would take too much time to explain what I'm thinking about so it's easier to just be alone. But I needed a night with the girls. I needed a night where I could say anything and not be judged. I needed a night where we all were sharing things and just being open and I could get things off my chest. I needed a night where I could just enjoy myself...not worry about anything except for talking with the girls and just having a little fun.

And we had so much fun! We sat for hours (really...it was 10 hours) just talking and laughing and taking picutres. At 0600 this morning we decided to go to IHOP for breakfast. (Why not, right?) We just let loose and let ourselves be silly and just didn't care about anything other than being ourselves and letting things out. So thank you Leah and Megan for helping me let loose and just have a fun girls night! And here are some silly pictures we took at IHOP.
Leah making her I'm-so-happy-and-haven't-slept-in-two-days smiley face! :P

MMMM....Megan REALLY liked her hashbrowns!

This is Leah being the "Happy Asian" (as she puts it)!

Megan was super-duper hungry! Look at all that food! :D jk...and don't mind my creepy stare down I'm giving her...

And last but not least, Leah is doing her Police Pose. Why? Well because we were talking about Police Academy and police stuff and she decided to striek a pose. LOL If really the officers did poses like this...that would be FUNNY!

Dodge Ball

Tonight for FHE the ward had a dodgeball night. I didn't got (I had a headache) but I had a good time watching my friends get ready. They wanted to get all dressed up, and dress up they did! :) Carly and Megan were getting ready, and I think they looked fabulous! What do you think?

My dad and grandma

I hope you all know that I am giving constant updates for an actual purpose. There are so many caring family members and friends who don't live near by and don't want to bother my parents with phone calls. I have just found that this is really the best way to keep everyone, near and far, up to date!

My dad is still out of the hospital and doing ok. He has his days when he has more pain or more nausea, but overall he is hanging in there. He is still on a super bland diet which isn't the best tasting, but since he's not super hungry, it works out ok. We are still just waiting, but hoping to hear the results from last weeks tests by Friday. We obviously would like to hear sooner, but we'll settle for Friday and just be pleasantly suprised if we don't have to wait that long!

My grandma was put back in the hospital. She woke up the other night to go to the restroom but couldn't move. My grandpa and aunt tried to help her up but she didn't have any strength to support herself. And she was in immense pain. They laid her back on her bed and called the ambulance. They paramedics came and got her on the stretcher and took her to the hospital, where the ER doctor decided to admit her. She has been in the hospital since Saturday night and they still aren't quite sure what's wrong. She has a type of sepsis because her heart isn't pumping hard enough to get the blood into her extremities. They are going to do an MRI tomorrow to check her spine and hips. And then if that checks out fine they will slowly start to get her up and try to get her moving. They are going to transfer her to Stone Henge Rehab Center in Orem. It's a long and short term rehab facility. She will be in the short term part and will have constant nursing care and have nurses and therapists who will help her get up several times a day and start moving again.

I think both my grandparents are nervous about her going to the rehab facility, but I think it's going to be the best for her. She is going to have help getting her back to her normal so she can go back home. And my grandma has her sister, my aunt Elaine, in town from Idaho to help her. I think the extra support has been a huge help to her! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! We love you all.

PG Fire Department breakfast article

So I posted a few days ago about the breakfast at PG Fire Department that they decided to donate the proceeds from to my dad. Apparently the Daily Herald did a story on the breakfast. I tried and tried to find this online, but couldn't. So I know this is slightly ghetto, but I wanted to share the story. So here it is. It's kind of confusing, but is should go column by column. And the last few columns were too long so it's the top part and then the bottom part. You just have to find where you left off. Confusing? I know...but hopefully it makes enough sense so you can read the story. (This was in the Our Towns section of the Daily Herald on Sunday June 1.)

This is just the over-view of the first half.

An over-view of the second half.

A picture of the firemen cooking.

I know it's confusing and not the best picture quality. I'm still trying to find it online and if I do I'll post it! Thank you all for your support and a HUGE thanks to those my dad works with at the Fire Department in PG. They are some AMAZING people!