a mission call

i've been in utah all weekend for amy's wedding. on friday night i went to dinner at joe's crab shack with amy and jason, amy's parents, sisters, and grandparents. i got there a little earlier than everyone else so i was sitting in the car waiting for them to arrive when my mom called me.

"paige... guess what just came in the mail for you"

"MY CALL!?"

"YOUR CALL!"

i originally didn't want her to open it. i wanted to be the one to tear the seal, open the letter, and the read the words sent to me from president monson. but then i decided i didn't want it to sit at my house for two more days, teasing me because i didn't know what it said. so i told her to open it.

"mom, don't read ahead!!!"

"okay i won't, i'm covering the paragraph!"

"go, mom, read it!"

"dear sister munden, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. you are assigned to labor... FDJKLSJA OMG PAIGE JFLKDJFKLA OMG!"

"mom, where!?"

"YOU'RE GOING TO DJAKLFJDKLA!"

"omg mom, tell me!"

"you are assigned to labor in the SPAIN MADRID MISSION"

this episode of screaming and excitement was followed by lots of crying and hyperventilating and more screaming. people, i am elated. i feel like i've been waiting foreeeeever for this. i honestly did not care where the lord sent me. i figured if he wanted me in some podunk town in montana or something, i would be willing and ready! but let's be real for a second. i can't wait to go to spain. i am so excited. i can't wait to get home and see the letter with my own two eyeballs and to research everything i can about madrid. i feel so blessed with this opportunity and sincerely appreciate all the congratulations i've already gotten via call, text, facebook and twitter. 

basically, i'm going to madrid, spain and i report september 12th. and i am thrilled about it.

serendipity

no, i'm not talking about the frustrating kate beckinsale rom-com of 2001. i'm talking about my new place of employment! it's called serendipity -- cafe, gifts & sweet shoppe. it's a charming little place right off of main street. i'm so ecstatic about it. i walked in, applied, interviewed, and got the job all in an hour. wish me luck with my new employment endeavors!

here's some instagram goodness from the week:

1. i've started my mornings with these two cuties the last couple days. we watch cars. love me some lightning mcqueen.

2. lipstick and i are on good terms lately. never really been a fan until now.

3. some afternoon study of preach my gospel. i'm almost a missionary people!

4. i've come to realize a good workout solves just about any bad mood. plus i love my nikes.

5. that sink! it's at my hair place. "all who looked upon her were turned to stone." eeeeerie.

my decision

i gave it a lot of thought in high school. i knew it was what i wanted to do. i worked to prepare myself for when the time would come. but then, for awhile, i lost sight of my dream, and focused my attention on other things, people, and aspects of my life. but then, a few months ago, i had this experience and i knew it wasn't too late.

i have decided to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and i am beyond thrilled. i found a girl to buy my second block contract, i'm moving home next month, and will start my papers then. i've never been more sure of something in my whoooole almost 21 years of life. i know that this is what i need to be doing in my life right now and i can't wait to see what the next 18 months has in store for me.

the mess inside my head

my room is finally beautiful and clean and feels like home. i like it a lot. over my window is the "welcome peepee" thing that amy made me when i stayed with her last month. in the windowsill are all my books, along with the picture frame of hank and hannah the phillips gave me. on the wall by my desk is the graffiti painting brant made me. on the opposite wall is the craft i made with amy. above my bed is the classy black and white picture i have of the sacred grove, and on the wall to the left of my dresser is the shrine i made to ecuador. it includes billions of pictures, along with notes all my girls wrote me and caitlin and danny's wedding announcement. there will probably be pictures in the future. i'm just happy my room is finally done.

i'm not so stressed about money anymore. my mom mailed me a $300 check and my grandma sent me a $200 one. how lovely. i also have an interview with the managing partner of the texas roadhouse in idaho falls. thank you mother. it pays (excuse the pun) to have a big shot mommy. 

i've been sick since yesterday morning. it's the worst. i'm doped up on dayquil, vicks vaporub, nasal spray and cough drops with vitamin c. i just want to feel better. that's not too much to ask, right? the nice thing about being stuck at home though, is being able to catch up on all my shows, aaaand getting homework done so i can enjoy my sabbath tomorrow.

here's the real point of this post... i made a decision. just a couple weeks ago i was jumping with excitement because i finally got accepted to teach english in china this winter with chelsie. well, i've thought and prayed and talked to my mom a lot about it. and without getting into details, i've decided not to go. i'm really pretty bummed about it actually, but i think it's what's best for me right now. so this january i'm moving to orem, working full time until august, and then transferring to uvu. 

what i've learned this year is that sometimes, just when you think you have it all figured out, heavenly father has a funny way of dropping in and turning your world upside down. in a good way, of course. i'm just not used to not having a plan. but everything that's happened this year has helped me be better at going with the flow. so here's to that.

happy saturday, fraaaands

insert creative blog title here

okay, first off...

my family is moving!!!!!

i've lived in kansas for 17 years. it's all i've really ever known because we moved here from california when i was about 3, and like most 3 year-olds, i don't have hardly any memories from before then. but basically kansas has been our home forever. and it's gonna be really weird leaving, but change is good. and though i'm not going to be in kentucky for very much of the year, i'm really excited about it.

the other day i told you i've been obsessing over this blog. and well, it's rainy today here too, so her post this morning was so poetic and perfect and i really enjoyed it. the sky is doing crazy things today. maybe it has something to do with the eclipse last night.

aaaaalso, i've recently fallen in love with the shine project. this week is "fitness week" and after i saw this post, i grabbed my brother and we decided we're going to be better about getting our daily exercise. so far we've gone running and played basketball. tonight we're planning going on a bike ride. and i find it all too exciting. i've lost 20 pounds since last summer, and i want to continue to be healthy and set more goals. betsy told me about livestrong.com and how you can track what you eat, your physical activity, and the progress you're making. it's nice to be able to have a visual of my progress.

i spent my yesterday with hank and hannah! we played on my old elementary school's playground (hello nostalgia), went to the library, ate pizza, went to the pool, had a kool-aid stand, and went to get peachwave with the money they earned from selling kool-aid. it was a blasty blast.

also i got to skype with cass and mads and that made me really happy. only 69 days til i'm in the pacific west!

prepare yourselves

first of all...

my laptop is baaaaaaaack!

i have a lot to say. and when i say "a lot," i mean i'd-like-to-catch-you-up-on-everything-that's-happened-since-my-laptop-broke-but-for-now-i'll-just-talk-about-yesterday.

my mother's day started at about 1am when i got home from work. i very quietly, as to not wake up my house, carried in an armful of stuffs including my keys/wallet/sunglasses/phone, flowers, a card, and my drink. i decided to put the flowers i got my mom in water in a vase and set it on the kitchen counter along with her card so it'd be the first thing she saw when she walked downstairs in the morning. well, everyone stayed asleep while i did such. except our pets. my puppy josie walked downstairs and whined at the back door so i let her outside. and then boo (our kitty) crept down with her. after i had cut the stems, put the "flower food" in the water, and the flowers in a vase, i set them on the counter as i had planned. while i was at the table writing in my mom's card, i heard this rustling noise. i got up to see what it was, and boo was eating my mom's flowers! i proceeded to lock the naughty kitty in the room where we keep her food and litter box, hoping to keep her from mischief .

sunday morning i got ready in exactly 50 minutes. including a shower AND blow drying and straightening my hair. that's impressive for me, if you ain't know. 

church was great. i love the sundays that are effortless. the ones where i don't struggle to stay awake and focused. the ones where i don't beg my mom to scratch my back while i doodle on the sacrament meeting program. i enjoyed two of the most wonderful talks on motherhood. also, a baby was blessed. i think baby blessings are pretty neat. officially presenting a newborn child to the congregation, and to heavenly father -- i don't know, i just think it's cool. but for some reason this one was different. i immediately thought of my babies from ecuador. and i started to tear up. i know you're probably so sick and tired of hearing about ecuador, but i seriously still think about it everyday. i wish all my babies got to be blessed and welcomed into a loving family.

i believe i mentioned that i get to teach the ctr 7's now, right? well, i do. and yesterday's lesson was about how being obedient shows heavenly father and jesus our faith. so i was telling ruthy, susie, robbie and joshua about when lehi's family left jerusalem and explaining that they had to leave behind all of their friends and almost all of their possessions. i told the kids to pretend they were lehi's family and asked them what their most prized possessions were. some of them asked what that meant, and i explained that it was their favorite toy, book, game, or movie. susie said her most prized possession was her babydoll. robbie and joshua both said theirs was their legos. when i got to ruthy she responded with "my mom." i told her that it had to be something not living, because their family got to go with them. and she goes, "well i still want to pick my mom if that's okay." it was the cutest thing. and ruthy gave the closing prayer and in it she said "we're thankful for our parents, especially our mothers. and please help us to do whatever we can to make them happy today." ugh, i seriously love her. i want a ruthy. after she finished making her mother's day card she gave me a shoulder rub. and when it was time to go she hugged me and said she liked me. it made my whole day.

we also had the missionaries over for lunch. i looooooooove missionaries. especially the ones serving in our ward. they're so cute. they both go home in a couple months. one's from washington and one is from orem. i plan on loving/dating/marrying the one from orem.

but really, i love my mom. i do. she's the greatest thing in my life. everything i have, am, and hope to be, i owe to her. she's the only person in my life who has been there for me always. sometimes i'm hard to love. and i know that. but she always does. no matter what.

this has to be one of my favorite pictures of the three of us

that's all. i hope everybody had the most fantastic day yesterday celebrating their moms. i'm so happy to be back. hoooray.

the GREATEST news

i have an announcement to make:

baby micaela is out of the hospital!

she had a minor freak out yesterday and was put back on oxygen, 

but this morning she was released!

thank you for your prayers :)

in case anybody was wondering...

...im home :)

today, im lucky

uhm, so i am THE unluckiest person on the planet

its just how it is

i never win anything

i never have extremely phenomenal days

im just... not lucky

however

today when i got on facebook

i had a message

and it said this...

Hello Paige!

Congrats! You have been chosen to win a pair of tickets to see 3OH!3 at the Knitting Factory in Boise on November 16th. Please send your name/address/phone number to blah blah blah. Thanks and Congrats!

PhotoFinish Records Crew

i won i won i won :)

now the issue will be getting to boise

which is 4 and a half hours away

cooooooool

IM GOING TO BOISE

two months and counting

small announcement:

guessssssss whatttttttt...

...i will be in ecuador

two months from today!

is that not so exciting?

i absolutey cannot wait

p.s. i love juelaine and betsy con todo mi corazon :)

ms. tiny veins and the "goodbye, goodnight" tour

i have two very exciting things to tell you. okay ones not that exciting, it just plain sucks. but im so excited about the other thing that it just doesnt bother me anymore.

and that would be the fact that after waking up at 5, waiting for an hour, missing two classes, and going back to the plasma center at 2 to fill out a ton of paperwork, it appears my veins are too small to donate. noooooot cool. however, the man who brought me this horrible news was incredibly, incredibly good looking

now for the good part...

i will be seeing mae on their "goodbye, goodnight" farewell tour and i am beyond excited. i saw them 4 years ago when they came to kc with relient k and sherwood. but i dont think you're aware how much i love these guys. and since i made the decision yesterday to go? ive been listening to nothing but mae, and im not even ashamed :)