Look who's back from the dead!

Okay, I guess its not that hard to guess... but IT'S ME!
I realize that I have been home for oh almost 2 months and haven't written on this here blog BUT...... (actually i dont have a good reason) I am doing it now!
So tomorrow will be 8 WEEKS since I have been home! And although I realize my life is not as interesting now as it was when i was living in the back woods of Tennessee and Kentucky I figured I would try and keep updating this vast interweb on the ramblings of not only a former zoo employee but a former sister missionary.
So back to the beginning...
The last day of my mission was filled with great excitement! Sis wood and I drove down from whitley city kentucky to knoxville tennessee... it was a sad drive but i was soooo full of anxiety!
we got to transfers and saw a ton of missionaries that i have served with which is always my favorite part of transfers! and this time i wasnt assigned to a companion and it was really weird...i had no new area, no new awkward companion moments, and no more responsibility on my shoulders. IT WAS SUCH A WEIRD FEELING.
I had a great surprise at the meeting... TOMMY came! He brought me a belated birthday gift and came down to say goodbye. there were a few tears shed and lots of love as we said goodbye. but the surprises didnt stop with tommy DON came and he came with a great surprise as well. after the meeting was over and we bore our final testimonies don asked me to come over to him because he had something to show me... he opened his little bill fold and inside was a TEMPLE RECOMMEND! I cant even describe how i felt. yet again i burst into tears! but oh no the people i love couldnt stop there. SANYA ( who recently went through the temple) came from rockwood and brought me a pan of apple dumplings- they are my favorite ya know! okay right now as i am typing my eyes are all watery and I am reliving that wonderful day! i was overcome with the feeling of being loved. But it didnt stop there. SHYLA took some of her favorites out to lunch... and i guess i was one of them! :) sis lilly and i went while the other departing missionaries went off in knoxville. It was a blast to sit with shyla and talk... her and her husband are being sealed next month! i could not have asked for a better day
president griffin made us dinner and then we had another testimony meeting. IT WAS FABULOUS! then us sisters apparently thought sleep was optional and we stayed up entirely too late! we talked and gabbed and worried and cried and laughed and took awful pictures! but it was a blast! there were 7 sisters going home that day so there were lots of different things going on that night.
but thursday morning came and the butterflies that had made a home in my stomach became more like a swarm of bees... or you know that poem there was an old lady who swallowed a fly and then swallowed all kinds of other animals well i think there was a full grown animal in me thrusday morning. we went to the airport where sister stapleton and i had a delayed flight! shocker.. i have never flown with out something going wrong. we got stuck in denver together ( luckily i wasn t by myself) but eventually my flight home boarded and the pit in my stomach grew. dont get me wrong i was so excited to be coming to see my family but i was leaving my new family. i was going on to a part of life where i have no answers and lots of questions.
the flight was great i sat next to a woman who had lots of questions about the church! and then the long walk happened. i was so overcome with emotion that i dotn really remember much of it. other than sobbing but nothing really coming as far as tears were concerned i was more just gasping helplessly for breath. awaiting me was a glorious sight! my family! and some dear friends! ( wow with the exclamation points!)
after a whirl wind of questions and pictures ( which sorry this doesnt have any on this post see facebook for pics) we went home and then the WORST THING EVER happened.. president witt came to release me. He asked me a few simple questions about my mission and lessons learned and then he asked me to take off my nametag. i felt like my world had just imploded. that tag had been worn everyday of my mission except one when i tried to wear a different tag and i felt weird. that black piece of plastic had been my best friend for 18 months, it had been through rain, snow, humidty, baptisms, anti, tracting and teaching. It had caused numerous conversations and ended many rumors. and he was asking me to never put it on again?!?!?!?!? i had a little break down after he left and went up to my room and cried and prayed and cried and prayed.
But we all know that i cant remain down for long( or so i like to think) and i realized that just because i was no longer a missionary did not mean that life ended. so downstairs I went.
the next week was full of shopping ( which was weird) and hanging out with some friends ( which was even weirder) a few awkward "RM" moments but nothing too bad.
in true mclelland fashion there was another big event on the horizon- you know us we wouldnt want life to be you know average or uneventful and non exciting... MEGAN GOT ENGAGED.
oh yeah and i met scott her fiance now husband. the house quickly turned into holdaway wedding central with burlap and mason jars everywhere ( okay mainly in moms room but it sounds better to say that it was everywhere)
I started working for century builders/monte vista homes/the alvarado group... which is all the same company kind of i sit in the same cubicle for all of it and do whatever boss man says... which happens to be dad so its okay.
In this part of life i decided I HATE WORKING IN AN OFFICE. the zoo was the life for me which yes was an office for most of the time but there were animals and human interaction and did i mention that there were animals? lots of 'em in fact. Here at the alvarado group there are grey cubicles and labels to make. forms to type. folders to assemble.... but dont worry there is no intelligent work needed.
I am more used to social gatherings... all awkwardness is gone.. except when i am the ONLY single one with all my married/dating friends. other than that though its all good. I have realized fresno IS NOT the place for me whatsoever. i love being with family and i love my old friends. BUT i changed alot on my mission like a whole lot and have felt pressure to be what i was before so the winds of idaho were a calling...
BYUI and i will once again reunite in a few weeks and i couldnt be more anxious. i wish i had some grand love story to tell you but not yet... that chapter hasnt been published, shoot it isnt even in rough draft stage. But I am so happy! ive been trying to find the perfect balance of premission katie and mission katie to get this wacked out version of post mission katie.
I have spent many hours on the phone with good friend and trying to not become addicted to the internet so hopefully i can continue that way... i doubt it!
but now that this post is entirely too long i bidyou farewell until the next post!
love ya