The 30 Day Countdown Begins

Well, here it is! The last month of my life as a pre-missionary! It's... difficult to describe these feelings. It's kind of like this....

My thought process: ONLY 30 DAYS LEFT!!!! ....oh my gosh.... only 30 days left.... I'M SO PUMPED GET ME OUT THERE!!!.... I'm not going..... I'M GOING TO BE THE BEST MISSIONARY EVER!!!!....I'm going to be the worst missionary ever....

Ya, that's pretty much it.

But, in honor of my 30 days until I report I thought I would post 30 things NOT to procrastinate on while preparing for a mission!

30 Things NOT to Procrastinate on While Preparing for a Mission:

1. Immunizations. Seriously, I'm leaving in 30 days (!!!) and still haven't gotten one of my Hep shots, I'm so worried I won't be able to go...
2. Shoe Shopping! As soon as you get your call, start asking around and finding out the best shoes for that climate. Go find them where you're going to buy them, if they're already on sale, buy them. If they're not on sale first ask for a missionary discount, if that doesn't work then keep watching the shoes until they do go on sale. If they don't go on sale and you're like a month from leaving just suck it up and buy them.
3. Bag Shopping. A mission bag has been one of the hardest non-clothing items to find. It's worth the time to look around and find good quality, good sales, and good fashion ;)
4. Reading the Book of Mormon. I was already reading the BOM consistently, but I only recently committed myself to reading it cover to cover one more time before leaving.
5. Reading Preach My Gospel. Just starting reading it! Please!
6. Going through the temple. Go as soon as you can! Seriously, it is the most beautiful place and the most important work. Go and go often.
7. Taking Mission Prep classes. Even if you're just thinking about a mission, sign up for an institute mission prep class and go. It will give you good pointers and might tell you if you're supposed to go or not.
8. Sending in your Acceptance Letter. Try to send it as soon as you get your call. The sooner you send it in the sooner you'll hear from your mission president (in most cases).
9. Watching The District. Start watching it now so you can re watch it and re watch it as many times as you want! And believe me, you'll want!
10. Starting Family History work. I'm not a huge family history person. I feel bad, but it's really not my strong point. Get started early so you're not rushing to get it done before you go.
11. Compiling a complete packing list. No matter how long you have until you report, start your list. This way if any family asks you "what do you need? I want to help!" you can look at your list and say "I need a mini PMG, or a mini hymn book, or a travel size alarm clock!"
12. Memorizing important scriptures. This is will bless you on your mission. Start memorizing early so you can really get the words and the meaning behind them ingrained into your mind.
13. Getting a driving record and have your license renewed. The DMV sucks sometimes. Scratch that. The DMV sucks all the time. Just get it over with.
14. Start collecting addresses. Tell your friends and family that you want to leave with an address book full of addresses so you can start telling them about your adventures right away!
15. Settling bills/debts. I had a doctor bill up until a few days ago that I was really worried about because I was trying to pay for mission stuff, not doctor stuff! Get all debts settled so you can peacefully save up for the important stuff!
16. Working out who will be in charge of your finances while you're gone. It could get awkward if you're a week from leaving and your parents or whoever is incharge of money doesn't know how/what to do for financing the mission! Meet with them and your bishop at the same time so you can work it all out.
17. Figuring out your health insurance for while you're gone. Cause it's not fun to be on the phone with an insurance company a week before you leave trying to explain your situation.
18. Waking up earlier. I know. I'm not ready to get up at 6:30 AM everyday for 18 months either. But any preparation for this is better than none.
19. Getting in the habit of DAILY study. You may study the scriptures and PMG consistently 4 or 5 days a week, but that's not enough out in the field. Just try to get in the habit of studying at least a little bit every single day. Without fail. And no. I'm not good at this. But I try.
20. If you have a job, settling when your last days will be and if you'll be able to come back after your mission. It's so nice to know you'll have a job after being away for a year and a half. Managers will most likely want to know if you plan on coming back and when you plan on leaving pretty early on. And make sure you don't tell them your last day is going to be the day before you report. I'm leaving my job about 2 weeks before I leave so I have more time to prepare and say goodbyes.
21. If you're going to school, making an official deferment. This is SO important. I go to BYUI so they are pretty easy going about this sort of thing, but if you don't go to a church school make sure the school knows exactly when you'll be gone and why and all that jazz.
22. Telling your bank where you're going. You'll want your debit card to work while your gone (providing you're going somewhere where you'll be able to use it) so make sure you let your bank know where you're going so they don't deactivate your card because they think someone stole your identity!
23. Start following any mission rules feasible to your daily life. Preparing to follow these rules will help you transition a little more easily into the missionary life. But hey, I am not by any means saying you should give up dates before you go! Fill your canteens girls! ;)
24. Getting ready to walk/bike A LOT. Ya. I'm not so excited to have to bike everywhere. But refusing to believe it's going to happen and blocking it out of my mind will only make it more difficult when the time comes.
25. Start talking to people who live in/have lived in/served in your mission. I'm serving in Arizona. Without fail, every single time anyone finds this out they say "oh my gosh look out for my cousin that lives there!" or "ah! my missionary is serving there! Look out for Elder so and so!" or "I used to live there!" or "I have family down there! If you meet any generic-last-names tell them I say hi!" Every. Single. Time. And you know what? I don't remember a single name anyone has told me to look out for. Sorry, not sorry. But in all seriousness, if you know anyone who served in your mission ask them questions! Ask them about the weather/climate, ask them about the president, all that jazz! Getting advice from someone with first hand experience is priceless.
26. Starting a mission journal. As soon as you get your call. Or even as soon as you start your papers. Dedicate a journal to missionary-related journal stuff!
27. Start writing all the missionaries you know for advice. Even all those guys in your ward that you don't really know all that well but you have their address anyway (you all know there are so many of them!) send them a card and tell them where you're going and ask for one piece of advice!
28. Trusting the Spirit. Acting on prompting from the Holy Ghost is such a big part of missionary work, start that right now! Pray and ask for missionary experiences and act on ALL prompting you receive! Practice makes perfect.
29. Starting your missionary work! Like I said above. Pray for missionary experiences. Before your mission is the perfect time to tell people about the church, they will more than likely be curious about what a mission is and why you're going. Tell them and bear your testimony to them.
30. Making memories with family and friends to last you 18 months! You won't see these people for a year and a half! Take pictures! Make memories! Have fun! These fun times will carry you through your mission when you are missing them like crazy.

Well, there are my 30 things not to procrastinate doing while prepping for your mission. Hopefully it's been at least a little informative! If you have anything to add please comment below or email me! Thanks for reading and come back soon for more!!

An 18 Month Packing List?!?

My life for a whole year and a half is limited to fitting into two suitcases and a shoulder bag! I guess I can only speak for myself, but I feel like many girls my age could probably fit half their wardrobe into that, not taking into account toiletries, accessories, books, etc... And yet, here I am, compiling a packing list that is to last me a whole of 18 months. This is my first draft of a packing list, please feel free to tell me if I forgot anything or have something here that I won't need! Keep in mind, I'm going to Arizona, so I don't feel the need to pack any really heavy winter clothes. Hopefully this will be helpful to other sisters out there!

Arizona Here I Come!

·        Clothes

o   Missionary clothes

§  Skirts

§  Blouses

§  Dresses

§  Jacket

§  Cardigans

§  Tank tops

o   P Day Clothes

§  T shirts

§  Jeans

o   Exercise Clothes

§  Shirts

§  Pants

o   PJs

§  PJ pants

§  PJ shirts

o   Shoes

§  Flats

§  Flipflops

§  Sneakers

o   Unders

§  Garments

§  Underwear for exercise

§  Bras

§  Sports bras

§  Spandex Shorts for Biking

§  Slips

o   Accessories

§  Belts

§  Necklaces

§  Bracelets

§  Earrings

·        Toiletries

o   Teeth

§  Toothbrush

§  Toothpaste

§  Floss

o   Hair

§  Shamp/Condit

§  Hair brush

§  Bobby Pins

§  Hair Ties

§  Hair spray

§  Curling Iron/Straightener?

§  Blow Dryer

o   Make Up

§  Foundation

§  Eyeliner

§  Mascara

§  Eye Shadow

§  Lip balm

§  Lip Gloss

§  Brushes

o   Skin

§  Lotion

§  Face Wash

§  Sun Screen

o   Body

§  Deoderant

§  Towel

§  Hand Towel

§  Wash Cloth

§  Biotin

§  Mini ibuprofen/Tylenol

§  Insect Repellant

§  Kleenex

§  Razor

§  Shaving Cream

§  Soap

§  Body Wash

§  Q-Tips

o   Feminine

§  Tampons

§  Pads

o   Nails

§  Clippers

§  Polish

§  Mani Set

·        Misc

o   Gospel books

§  Scriptures

§  PMG

§  True to the Faith

o   Clothes Hangers

o   Journal

o   Pens/pencils/highlighter

o   Notebooks

o   Shoulder Bag

o   Camera and Charger

o   Bedding

o   Alarm Clock

o   Laundry Bag

o   Small Flashlight

o   Batteries

o   Stationary (stamps, paper, envelopes)

o   Ipod and Speakers?

·        Documents

o   ID

o   Debit Card

o   Driving Record

o   Temple Recommend

o   Family history Chart

o   Insurance Card

o   Immunization Record

o   Copy Of Mission Call

o   Address Book

Thanks for reading! Have a great week, come back soon for more! Follow me on Pinterest, email me at sistersparhawk@hotmail.com, or comment below!

Confessions of a Food Service Worker

So, I work in a restaurant. Obviously I'm not gonna say which one, but I work in an awesome burger-and-fries joint. Anyone reading this post who has worked in food service before will probably relate to a lot of these points. For anyone reading who has never worked in food service, this will be your insight into what it's like and the things that may go on while we're preparing your food!

Quick disclaimer!! I love my job, I love it so much and all the people I work with and for. This post is for humor purposes only, I don't want to offend anyone! I can assure you that wherever you go to eat all food safety laws are more than likely being followed and no food service worker would likely ever do anything to diminish the quality of the food you are receiving. Of course, I can only speak for myself!

1. It's hard to hear you sometimes! In my restaurant the register is fairly close to the fryers and grills we use to prepare your food. Fryers are loud. Personally, I don't have any problem being heard by customers(grew up on stage, what can I say?), but the customers have to speak up as well! If you mumble that you don't want tomatoes on your burger I might not hear it and you will have tomatoes on your burger and no one wins in this situation. Don't be shy about telling me what you want! It's your food, speak up and make sure you get what you want! It's my job to get you your food exactly as you asked for it, I don't want to have to lean over the register and ask "sorry, what? what did you say?" over and over again!

2. Yes, we talk about customers. If you are socially awkward, rude, attractive, unattractive, a good tipper, a bad tipper, or pretty much anything, we will probably talk about you to our co workers in the back kitchens. We know exactly where in the restaurant we can talk as loud as we want without being heard. If we are being professional, it won't affect how we treat you or how we make your food, but sometimes we need a good story to tell! And a story about a customer who spent 20 minutes trying to decide what they were going to eat while simultaneously telling me her life story and showing me pictures of her multiple cats and also trying to hire me into her pyramid scheme business is a good story!!

3. We like tips!

I'm not on a reduced salary, but I still don't make much money. Tips are a really important part of my income! I count on my tips to buy gas for my car! Even just a dollar or two will make us happy! And if we notice you tipping well we will more than likely pay extra attention to you and your food, making sure you're happy and your food is well made!

4. We can't just give you free food. In many many restaurants even the employees don't get free food. Even if we wanted to give you free food we probably wouldn't be able to. With how ordering works I have to input the food you want, then you have to pay for it. Only after you pay for it will the order be sent to the kitchen where it's made. If you don't pay for it then the order doesn't go to the kitchen and you don't get food. Even if there was a way for me to sneak people I know free food it would be a big risk to my job and honestly, giving you free food is so not worth me losing my job. Sorry.

5. We don't have any real power. I'm not a manager or owner. I just work at my restaurant (even though I say MY restaurant, that's just easier to say than "the restaurant that I work at"). It amazes me how often people will tell me to change rules or give me suggestions that I don't have any power over. I've had people tell me I picked a bad location for the restaurant (um, sorry? I guess I should have asked you where you wanted it before I even started working here). I've had people tell me to put different foods on the menu (ya, like I have that kind of power, please), I've even had people tell me to take certain foods off the menu (if you don't want it, don't order it)! Telling your cashier at a grocery store that the price of your gallon of milk is too high isn't going to change the price the next time you go in, so telling me that I should offer a different type of fry won't give me the power to make that happen. And in a few instances I will actually agree with whatever you want changed, if I could I would change that! Someone told me they wanted waffle cut fries once, I was like I KNOW RIGHT? Too bad though.

6. If you are attractive and we are single we might try to make your food extra delicious. To be honest, this might just be me. My life is a little sad like that.

7. Ask questions! If you don't know what something is on the menu go ahead and ask what it is. It's the employees job and responsibility to know what it is and to tell you. Don't be afraid to ask us to run down the menu for you. It's our job to show you what you are going to be eating, that's what we're getting paid for. People always act apologetic that I had to spend two minutes telling them everything that we serve, but I really don't mind it! Don't be shy!

8. Speak up when something is messy or wrong. If we forgot to put cheese on your burger just tell us and we will be more than happy to throw some queso on there for you (as long as you're not rude about it, then we will be less happy, but we'll still do it)! If the bathroom is out of paper towels we won't know unless we go in or someone tells us! It's not rude to tell an employee "hey, the bathroom is out of toilet paper by the way." But it is rude to say "Ew, your bathroom is nasty, go take care of that."

9. If you enjoyed your meal, tell us! Some of my favorite moments as a cook are when a customer takes the time to tell me personally that they enjoyed their meal. One of my favorite days at work was the day when a woman got a to go order and actually took the time to call the restaurant later and tell my manager that it was the best burger she had ever had! She remembered that it was the only girl working at the restaurant at the time that made it and told him to tell me good job! I was so happy and proud of myself that day! That kind of thing will improve a workers attitude and efficiency.

And yes, this happens every single time. Sorry.


10. If you are a rude customer we won't ruin your food, but we will think about it. Let me repeat that. I would NEVER purposefully ruin anyone's meal because they were rude to me, but I will most definitely fantasize about it. I will probably trash talk about you later and dream about giving you extra pickles when you asked for no pickles. But I won't actually act on it. Promise.

Well, there are my confessions of a food service worker. Hopefully you found it a little funny, more than a little accurate, and a little informative. Next time you go out to eat, be nice, speak up, tip, and say please and thank you!

Thanks for reading! Come back soon for more posts! Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest and feel free to comment below or email me at sistersparhawk@hotmail.com

Hot and Cool Adventures

So lately I've had two very different adventures/experiences I would like to document. While traveling home from South Dakota we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Park. Such a cool place if you've never been! You need to register to go into any of the caves, but it's free and easy as long as you haven't visited any other caves in the past few years! The day we were there was a hot day, walking around on the surface of the park I was sweating. But going down just 3 feet into a cave and suddenly the air was like 15 degrees cooler! Craters of the Moon has some really awesome caves for all levels of caving. Some of them you could just scramble around jumping on the rocks, a few we were on our bellies army crawling and wishing we had knee pads.

Here I am down in Buffalo Cave. At one point I found a kind of nest and eventually saw the creature living in it, it was an ROUS (that's a Princess Bride reference if anyone wanted to know; Rodents Of Unusual Size)! But I really had no idea what it was, I only saw it's bum and tail, it looked like a giant rat.
One of the craziest things about the caves was the temperature difference! One of the caves, Boy Scout Cave, was actually filled with ice! I could be very comfortable in my swimsuit on top of the cave, but as soon as I got down into the cave I would be more comfortable in a sweatshirt and gloves!
Caving really is such a cool.... what do I call it? Sport? Hobby? Past time? I'll call it a sport I guess. It's a really cool sport! It's so fun finding tiny cracks in the lava on the surface, squeezing yourself down into it and finding a whole cavern that you could have a picnic in! It's just not for the claustrophobic. At all.

So the next adventure I had is less an adventure, more an experience. I tried Hot Yoga for the first time!

And let me tell you, it kicked my sorry butt and had me down in Child's Pose for at least half an hour. I was one HOT mess, and I don't mean in a good way. As I was signing up for the class the teacher told me that since it was my first time my main goal was to stay in the room the whole time. I naively thought "ya, ok, EASY, I can sit in a room for an hour" Nope. Not easy. I almost wasn't able to stay in the room for the hour and 15 minutes. In case you don't know, in Hot Yoga you are basically folding yourself into a pretzel multiple times in a room that is heated to between 105 and 108 degrees F and usually with elevated humidity. Now I've done regular yoga plenty of times before, I'm not good at it, but I know what to expect if I go to a class. That barely prepared me for Hot Yoga. Same moves, but your whole body is slippy slidey with sweat and sometimes you can't see because sweat is in your eyes or your hair (my ponytail is pretty long) is sticking to your face. I have literally never sweat that much in an hour in my life. Doing regular yoga, I can mostly do the moves (just not well), but in Hot Yoga I got so heated and nauseous that every 5 minutes I was collapsing down onto my mat and sitting in Child's Pose (also known as the This Is Way Too Hard For Me And I'm In Over My Head Pose) for embarrassingly long times. Every time this happened the teacher would say in her soft flowy yoga-teacher voice "remember there is no pressure to perform all the postures, listen to your body, take as many breaks as you need" just so everyone in the class would know that somebody (me) had to rest because she couldn't even complete a full sun salutation. Embarrassing.
And yet, I kind of enjoyed it! Since it was my first time I got a new-student package, two weeks unlimited yoga for 20 bucks, a good deal as long as I actually go! So, I'll be going back a few times a week to see if I can actually get to the point where I'm doing Hot Yoga, not just Hot.

Thanks for reading and tolerating my ranting about the random things I do. Come back soon for more!

My Week of Vacation...so far.

The past week I've been vacationing in the beautiful state of South Dakota! My family and I wanted to take one last big vacation before I leave for my mission, I have a grandpa who likely won't be here after my mission, solution? Pack up and get out to gramp's house for a week. And so, leaving late Saturday evening, we made the 20 hour drive out here. Fun fact about Lindsey, I was built for road tripping. I love it so much. If I could just pack up some old hippie VW van pimped out with a bed in the back and curtains on the windows I would drive for months. Down the coast line then right across the country! Because I like to pretend to be useful, here are my best road tripping tips!

1. SNACKS! I can't stress how many times a giant bag of pretzels has saved my life in a cramped car. Use common sense while mixing healthy and nonhealthy snacks. A good variety is best ;)

2. A good audio book will make hours of drive time go by really fast! 

3. Bring your own pillow. It's good for sleeping in the car. Plus I have a problem with using other people's pillows if I happen to bumming it on a family friend's couch for a night, other people's pillows are always too hard or too soft or too tall etc... just bring your own pillow.

4. I've said it before and I'll say it a thousand times, skirts and yoga pants. My two favorite travel outfits are a simple shirt with a knee length cotton skirt and yoga pants with a t shirt. Comfort and style (depending on the t shirts you go with...choose wisely.)

5. Buy new music before leaving. This will save you from the same old tunes you've been listening to day after day. Even just adding one or two new catchy dance songs will give you something exciting to turn on when the cross country trek seems like a never ending plain of dirt, grass, and the occasional cow.

Now, the whole reason we took this trip was to visit my grandpa, maybe for the last time, so I thought anyone reading this post should understand just a little bit about him. My Grandpa Steve is one the silliest, sweetest old men you could ever have the pleasure of meeting. To give you a taste of how fun he can be, this is how he greeted us as we arrived at his place a few days ago; we drove up, groggy from our endless hours in the car, and he comes limping down the lawn with his one crutch, a small LED light attached to his wrist, blinking rapidly. As we approach he exclaims, "I knew you had to be here, I was inside waiting and my 'pretty-girl alert' started going off!" gesturing to the light on his wrist. As an uncle and some cousins arrive after us, he turns the light on again and suddenly it's a "handsome-boy alert". As you might be able to tell, my grandpa is a huge flirt. Doesn't matter if you're his granddaughter, daughter in law, a waitress, or a neighbor, he'll flirt shamelessly. My grandpa is also a collector. An avid avid collector. One of his obsessions is old cars. Mostly old Mercedes. He actually gave me my current car, a '78 Benz 230. Among his collection are several Benz's of many years and a giant black Cadillac that I really wanted to take out for a joy ride but never got the chance. But my all time favorite car of his is a sky blue '67 Benz 230E.

It is seriously the cutest little old car you've ever seen. This one I did get the honor of taking out for a short drive and it was one of the most fun I've ever had driving a car! In real life I don't really enjoy driving, but I just had a blast driving this adorable little car that I would most definitely name Dixie if she was mine. Anyway... I'm getting off topic. My grandpa loves cars and could spend hours working on them, restoring them from broken down to beautifully working machines. 

My grandpa also has cancer. Like I said, it's likely he won't be here after my mission, but as we were leaving his house the last thing he said to me was that when I get back he'll take me on a real drive in the blue Mercedes. I had done so well not crying up until then.

Well now you know a little bit about my grandpa! He's the best! I love him!

Now... on a completely different note. As of today, only 47 days until I report to the MTC! I feel like the days are just flying by and I don't have any time to prepare. I've done a lot of shopping for clothes and stuff (any future missionaries out there or girls looking for cute modest clothes, I suggest Sorella Bella), but there's still so much I have to do. I'm so excited to leave though, I want the time to fly by and also drag on at the same time. One of the weirdest thoughts is that I have 47 days to hang out with my friends and family. That's it. I don't get to make weekend plans for after September 25th. I don't get to plan on going to the Catching Fire premiere, or see a big concert that's coming to town a few days after I leave. And yet what I'm leaving to do is so much better than going to see movies or concerts or parties, I get to go serve my church! And I'm beyond excited.

I hope this post has been some sort of entertaining! Feel free to email me or comment below! Also follow me on Pinterest and Twitter!