Peace out :D

I'm officially 'Sister Farthing' and it feels so cool haha.

Finally the time has come and I get to serve the Lord in the Arizona Tempe Mission. Thank you everyone who came to my setting apart last night, it was sooper awesome to have you all there and to give you big hugs.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me get ready, who have calmed me down, who have donated time and money, who have offered kind words of love and support and who have been awesome in general. I honestly have the MOST Fabulous FRIENDS and FAMILY. I love you all!! 

See you all in Feb 2013 :D xoxoxooxox

NOTE: For the next 18 months my Blog posts will be C/O Tania who will post the weekly emails I send to my Family. She will also put my current addresses and contact deets on facebook.

Not as easy as I thought

This whole mission prep experience has been soo much harder then I ever expected. Like, hooly crap hard! But I am a stronger person because of it all, and hopefully a little bit more prepared. Tonight I will be set apart as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints and I.Cant.Wait!! :D I'm sure I will write about that later, but for now I have a massive issue to resolve... I haven't finished my list!!


Somehow time ran out (I only had 139 days! how is anyone supposed to achieve anything in such a short time frame?)


Here is the update if you care slightly..

Boogie board down the Number 1 (dressed as sooper heros) FAIL

Flash Mob PASS, even though it was slightly lame

Roady to Pokeno FAIL

Roady to McLaren Falls + Tauranga FAIL

Camping FAIL

Cook something delish ...yep pretty much FAIL

Get some Mission clothes PASS - Thank You Mum

Contact International Licence people PASS

Send Acceptance letter PASS

Get final immunizations (Medical stuff) PASS

Busk FAIL

Pay Taxes PASS

Apply for tithing Rebate (2009 + 2010) FAIL

Transfer Camera Payments PASS

Quit EDS fooreeverrrr!!!! PASS!! Yess

Dance in the Rain FAIL

Scavenger Hunt FAIL

Have a Disney Movie Marathon FAIL

Have a Dress up Party.. semi PASS/FAIL, there was a dress up party but well we all know how that turned out hehe

Have a slumber party :D FAIL

Clean/Pack up room PASS

Clean out boxes in Garage PASS

Hot-and-Cold adventures FAIL

Dress up Fab and go out to dinner FAIL

Update Photography Blog!!! PASS/FAIL

Do a back flip PASS - thank you horizontal bungee :D

Learn something new PASS

Get my Bike + Camel Back + GHD + Bedding sent to Mission Office IN PROGRESS

Get an amazing Camera (Canon Powershot G12) FAIL

Make Sky Lanterns and fly those pretties PASS/FAIL - I am currently in possession of some amazing Lanterns thanks to one of my Fabulous friends (Matty your awesome!). I intend to fly those pretties pronto!

Go on an intense Hike FAIL - unless queen st in auckland counts?

Run 10km non-stop EPIC FAIL

Tough Guy/Gal Challenge FAIL FAIL FAIL

So thats what I've been up to mostly, Tomorrow I will have waay cooler stories to tell, but for now good night :D

Cuddles

Have you ever had a daydream that got out of hand? I was just thinking about my visa and what would happen if it didn't arrive and pretty much wanted to cry, my imagination is too good for my own sake!

Speaking about things that are too good, here is a top 5 of awesome things that have happened lately (in no particular order)...

1. I was searching for my Mission Call (that I may or may not have lost for a couple of weeks) and I found $200!! I think its Tithing, but its still $200 that I forgot I had.

2. Got hired to photograph a HighSchool Ball. $800 for 2hrs isn't that bad now is it!!

3. Went to Time Out For Women and had the most amazing time being filled with inspiration and determination to be the most amazing Sister Farthing EVER!!

These are the quotes that got me the most...

• Don't you DARE be the ONE THING standing in your way!!
• The Greatest privilege in life is to know that God has worked through you - Pres Monson

Wonderfully wonderfully wonderful!!

4. This little gangsta was born (I'm a bit delayed I know)

5. And then this one was born :D

And a bonus just for fun, I learned that if a mailing address has R.D in it, it means Rural Delivery....not road... now i know... thanks Brooke

'to do' list

Assuming my Visa is processed and arrives on time, I have:

2 Months

or

9 Weeks

or

62 Sleeps

or

1488 hrs

or

89280 mins

  

I guess all this waiting is good since I have alot of things to do. Here is my official list of things to do before I go:

1. Boogie board down the Number 1 (dressed as sooper heros)
2. Flash Mob
3. Roady to Pokeno
4. Roady to McLaren Falls + Tauranga
5. Camping
6. Cook something delish
7. Get some Mission clothes
8. Contact International Licence people
9. Send Acceptance letter
10. Get final immunizations (Medical stuff)
11. Busk
12. Pay Taxes
13. Apply for tithing Rebate (2009 + 2010)
14. Transfer Camera Payments
15. Quit EDS fooreeverrrr!!!!
16. Dance in the Rain
17. Scavenger Hunt
18. Have a Disney Movie Marathon
19. Have a Dress up Party
20. Have a slumber party :D
21. Clean/Pack up room
22. Clean out boxes in Garage
23. Hot-and-Cold adventures
24. Dress up Fab and go out to dinner
25. Update Photography Blog!!!
26. Do a back flip
27. Learn something new
28. Get my Bike + Camel Back + GHD + Bedding sent to Mission Office
29. Get an amazing Camera (Canon Powershot G12)
30. Make Sky Lanterns and fly those pretties
31. Go on an intense Hike
32. Run 10km non-stop
33. Tough Guy/Gal Challenge

Yup thats my list of things to do, anyone 

7 reasons I will return obese...

We all know its going to happen, so why not identify exactly what the cause will be...

1. Mozzarella Sticks - Sticks of Mozzarella cheese that have been deep fried. Yup..deep fried goodness!

2. Cinnabons - mmmm smothered in delicious mmmmm

3. Candy- Soo much selection, soo much fat + sugar

4. Taco Bell - Cheep as + delicious as

5. Pizza - They don't have meat pies, but they do have delicious meaty cheesy pizzas mmmmmmm

6. Cheetos - Why is cheese so good!!!

7. Girl Scout Cookies - Made from real Girl Scouts

3 reasons I will not return obese...

1. I have self control (I hope and pray)
2. I am determined to exercise and NOT put on weight
3. I have been blessed with a pretty decent metabolism (although that didn't help me at camp..?)

the mother of all annoying days

OH heck annoying!!!! 

loooong story short, EPIC visa photo fail x3 and all in the same day!!

3 separate occasions, 2 different photo places, holy bad hair day, disgusting lighting, eeeeehhhgewww!!!

but ooh well (grrr!!) at least my Visa is applied for. Lets all pray it gets cleared faster than the current turn around of 4-6 months BECAUSE I LEAVE IN LESS THAN 4 MONTHS!~!!!!

Feel free to laugh at my misfortunes and lack of photogenic-ness. These are my photos in chronological order. I even ran my fingers through my hair before the 2nd one was taken!!! gosh!! 

I look like a convict!

Temple Square my foot!! :D

IT CAME IT CAME!!! And ooh my gosh Thursday 29th of April 2011 was the most exciting day of my life!! I'd been waiting for this moment since I decided to go on a Mission (thats exactly 17 weeks if your playing along at home).

I was at work and at 1.18pm I received a txt from Celine (who put her papers in the same day as me) which said "I got it!!". I got the shock of my life and after alot of 'Oh my gosh's' 'Holy Crap!!'s' Its here Its here!!'s' and Oh my gosh!! I called the family to check. They denied all knowledge, and drove me crazier but I knew it must be there.

After a change of Facebook status and blabbing excitedly to Brooke, I tried to get back to work. I finally got home at 5pm after a photo shoot, peaking into the letter box as I drove up the drive.

READING MY CALL:
Of course everyone already knew, so we took some photos and then sang Called to Serve. I was feeling the tears as soon as I sat down with my opened letter. I covered it with a piece of newspaper then slid it down to reveal the first line. "Sister Farthing" (cue shaking voice and hands). "You are hereby called (cue almost crying) to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". I slid the newspaper down one more line and accidentally saw it,  burst into tears then tried to read on. "You are assigned to labor in the Arizona Tempe Mission" Cue cheering + lots more crying. Luckily mum rushed to hug me strait away coz I was fully blubbing!!! (excited/happy blubbing haha)

I know this crying photo is UGO, but I love it haha.

After hugging mum and dad for a while I managed to catch my breath and read on. I had originally red it as Arizona TEMPLE, then re-read it and realised it was TEMPE. My bad, but still extra amazing!! Wow I finally knew where I was going, I was insanely overwhelmed and excited and happy and relieved and a bit of a mess haha.

Who would've thought? Arizona haha I am soo excited!! Not so much for the scorpions and rattle snakes, but YAY I got my Call!!

Just as I finished reading the rest of my letter, Crystal + Lian + Elle + Ryan appeared and I got to share the news with them. Then I called Grandmother and some friends, then it was on facebook for the world to see :D 

So now its official :D ARIZONA TEMPE MISSION!!!!

I've already acquired my first proper map of Arizona (thanks K) and have been staring at it all day. Exciting!!!

The next step is to write my Acceptance letter, then get my shop on :D Am I too late for the post summer sales??