Friends 4 life

College Roomies for a year....Friends for life!! ❤ 

Always surround yourself with amazing people! 17 years ago we were put together by chance, today we are together by choice. Love these girls! Xo 

A Beautiful Angel....

My sweet T earned her wings August 28, 2012 It was a sad day here but I know Tiff had a welcome to heaven party for her. I can only imagine the shenanigans they are getting into up there. Tiff, Tanya and I.... The 3 Musketeers is what the hospital staff started calling us. From all our late night Starbucks visits, to mastering the Wii while still staying 3 ft apart, the late night talks, well the list goes on and on. I am grateful for so many great memories I share with them... my musketeers.

T and I at starbucks of course :)

So Sept 1 Amanda, Ron and I headed to Idaho for T's funeral. Amanda spoke and did such an amazing job. Her talk was perfect and I know T was smiling down at her...

Amanda's words for T

Tanya Lynn Taylor Downs was born on 7/11/83 (In case she hasn’t told you they give free slurpees away for her birthday.

  Tanya came into my life as a patient and left me as a best friend.  For those of us fortunate enough to know Tanya she had that effect on people.

  I met Tanya in 2006.  I had just moved to Utah from Nevada and had only been a nurse for one year.  I started working at the University of Utah Hospital on 2 East, which many of you know became T’s home away from home.  When I was given the job my manager was explaining to me the different types of patients on the unit and while explaining it to me she said CFers.  I had no idea what CF was.  Working with all the other nurses on the floor they would tell me our CF patients mean a lot to us and they know more about their disease then we ever will.  They explained to me how they have been in and out of the hospital most of their lives.  The nurses would tell me how they are very particular with their care and often request certain nurses.  They said don’t be offended if you notice some of us having more CF patients then others.  

  Then one morning I get to work and on my assignment was Tanya Taylor I will never forget she was in room 239.  I walked in so nervous just to see her happy smiling face watching a movie with Jackie.  Tanya was getting to go home that day so I had to de access her port.  (Port a caths were permanent catheter used for their IV access, they were also know as thipples “Third nipples” by Somer and Tanya).  I get her ready to go thought I did well and then realized I had forgotten to put heparin in her port. (Heparin is what keeps it from clotting).  I thought oh crap. I screwed up my first CF patient.  I am calling her frantically on her cell phone and she answers as she is pulling out of the parking garage and I told her what happened.  She said oh I will be right up, she came up to the floor and let me repoke her, and I will never forget what she said, you are a really good nurse and I liked having you even if it was only for a day.  That is the type of person Tanya was she found the good in everyone.  From then on out I was always T’s nurse.

  Tanya had to spend many holidays in what’s known as the joint.  Whether it is Thanksgiving, Halloween or her Birthday she was always ready to celebrate.

  Tanya had CF, CF did not have Tanya.  Right before her transplant she was in the hospital a lot, but she would always have fun.  With Tanya came great friends and family.  Tanya always had someone with her and I will never forget one night she said she was going for “a walk” little did we know that she had a get away car outside waiting to take her to the Moon. (No I don’t mean space I mean the bar).  Starbucks was a big hangout and thank God the one at the U was 24 hours you never knew when Tanya would need a starbucks run.  If everyone wanted to go down together and a doctor was around I would be directing and sneaking Somer, Tiff and Tanya to get away each taking a turn down the elevator (because there is a rule where CF patients have to be 3 feet away from each other).  You would walk by Somers or Tanya’s room and they would have the WII set up perfectly 3 feet apart.

  I know as soon as she saw Tiffany they gave each other a never-ending hug.  We will always have a sweet angel watching over us, but she is with one of her partners in crime so they will be watching us with their newly empowered angelic beings with a touch of teasing and joking too.

  I have to share two remember when’s.  No matter when I would talk To Tanya whether it be a day or a week she would always say remember when.  The first was when Tanya was staying at my house her and I were eating at Taco Bell and across the parking lot was a Hollywood Video, as we were eating I said hey do you want to hear something funny.  I have a 150-200 dollar late fees there (I know who has that much money in late fees at Hollywood Video) after she quit laughing she said lets go take care of this.  This was pre transplant and Tanya walks in with her oxygen and said I am Amanda Hankins I am not paying my fees cant you see I am sick, the lady at the counter said oh maam I am so sorry I will take care of that.  Thank you T.

  The second remember when was when my husband would bring my son Brenden up to see Tanya every Sunday.  Brenden did that about every Sunday she was in the hospital for his first 8 months of life.  He would just lay on her bed with her and as he was getting older he would mimic her cough.  Tanya would cough then Brenden would cough.  Then T got her lungs and once she was up and able to talk she said you know what I am going to miss Brenden's cough, since I won’t cough anymore neither will he.  That was Tanya always finding the humor in everything.

  Lets talk Ambiem the 2-east sleeping pill, which Tanya would often entertain us on.  If you have seen the commercial you know the side effects: People using this medication have engaged in activities such as driving, eating, and making phone calls and later have no memory of the activity.  Well I can say she didn’t drive but she did do all others.  Many of us out her probably got the infamous text of her combing Avril Lavanges hair; cats were coming out of the walls. Oh Tanya how you always made us laugh.

  I was blessed to get to be with her friends and family waiting for her while she got her lungs.  She was so brave and I have said this many times Tanya I aspire to be half as brave as you.  Tanya loved Reba McIntyre and I remember after she had gotten her lungs but was still sleeping a lot Reba had called her cell phone and left a message.  Oh my goodness she must have made me listen to it 100x. I took a quote Tanya had on her facebook. She was so grateful for her donor.  The quote says “There is no greater love then this.  There is no greater gift that can ever be given.  To be willing to give up your organs, so another might live.  There is no greater love then this.”

  Tanya you taught me so much.  You taught me to love when things are hard, you taught me to smile regardless of the fight we are fighting, you taught me to walk on.

  Tanya I will miss you everyday.  I will miss you and your dogs having a sleep over at my house, I will miss are dinner dates, I will miss your laugh and your “oh hells” the phone calls and the texts, but I know you are with us each day taking deep breaths and smiling.

  Tanya I would like to tell you to rest in peace, but don’t’ rest it is your time to run, dance, laugh, and breathe.

The photo above was when we were at her graveside T didn't have her Love to Breathe necklace on and Tiff and Astra both had theirs. On top of her casket were 65 beautiful roses and Amanda took her necklace off and placed on the roses so now T can have her Love to Breathe necklace with her forever too.

Breathe Easy T! You Lived, You Loved, and now you can Breathe!!! Xo infinity your musketeer

Roomies 4 Life!

I can't believe it's been 15 years since we all shared a dorm/apartment together. So many fun, crazy, silly, awesome memories from that year. We are bonded for life!!

We all tried to get together this summer when everyone was in town but life is crazy. I'm glad some of us were able to still meet up. Love these girls!!

Has it really been 3 moths?!?!

Holy cow! I cannot believe what a slacker I am.

Well I have some catching up to do. How is already Sept.? I am looking forward to cooler temps this summer was a scorcher. I am a little tired of being a human salt lick ;) The babies on the other hand love my salty legs.

This Lil Mr turned 8 in June I am not even sure how that happened. Just the other day I got something in the mail from my vet that said how to take care of your senior pet for Lilly, I got Oscars last year makes me sad both my babies are seniors :(

I went and saw Sheryl Crow in June. I saw her last year too she always puts on a great show.

July was even hotter and the air was SO smokey from all the fires everywhere... Thank goodness I had some amazing visitors that were in town. I was SO excited to be able to meet up with Sharlie when she was here for her family reunion. She looks Amazing and is running circles around everyone so exciting to watch all the new things she is able to do with her new lungs and heart. I love my BCF!!!!

I went over to my bros on July 4th for a bit but I headed home before fireworks. The 4th isn't one of my favorite holidays too smokey and I was SO over fireworks this year. I'm a very protective of my babies and they hate fireworks too, so I try and keep my music on a lil louder so they don't hear them.

All of the Lander fam was in town in July so we jumped on the opportunity to get a updated fam photo and of course its not a fam photo without Ricki and I in matching dresses....

Ricki and I plan matching outfits most of the time... So it was pretty funny when I went to pick her up to go to the farmers market without discussing our wardrobe prior, and we still managed to wear matching outfits. Great minds think a like...

I hope everyone had a great summer full of fun memories and lots of time spent with loved ones. Xo

The Triple Triple

Woop Woop!!!

I am 33 aka the Triple Triple, you know me ever year there has to be a theme!

I had a blast celebrating with friends and family. My friends surprised me with the cutest Madonna themed cake and it was so yummy too. We have some friends that are very talented when it comes to cake making skills click here and you can see some of their creations.

Here are a couple pics from my bday weekend...

A Lil Spring Cleaning

Holy Cow I can't believe it's been over a month since I have posted on here. Can you say Slacker!!! Sorry Blog Land!

Well after a great run (17 months) I was admitted into the joint, the theme was "SPRING".

As you can remember I am thippless so it definitely made this stay a lil interesting. Let's just say at the end of the 2 weeks I was missing my Thipple (portacath). I thought maybe just maybe my arm veins would of had a chance to heal on their nice 7 year break of no piccs. I was banking on just getting a Picc, but no such luck.  My veins are horrible and I am not quite ready yet to get something permanent again. So I felt like I was 8 again as I went with peripheral IV's the whole time. Total stay 5 pokes and 4 IV's total, not to bad!

IV #1

The Fam came up Riv and Makena had a blast on my bed going up and down, They loved the large elevator and the revolving door too. It was better than Disneyland I think they said ;)

I was quite colorful after this stay 

My mom playing Draw Something

My IV bag that goes everywhere with me connected to it 24/7 my fancy arm bracelet and my lil reminder that Astra was watching out for me. Between her and Tiff I was taken care of I was in the last room Tiff was in Im sure she planned that. I am glad she didn't pull any funny Business... considering I was there for April Fool's ;)

My bam bam doo! I pretty much wore my hair like this every day... lookin good ;)

Had Madonna's new album on repeat the entire time.... Love it!

GNO joint style! SO MUCH FUN!!! Cards Sushi and GREAT company! 

SPRING theme!!! Loved this theme Good job Momma

blowing smoke rings! Its a true talent ;)

The day I got home left Fake spring to Real Spring! 

Its amazing how you can do nothing for 2 weeks but yet you get home you are so exhausted. This  makes the transition from joint life to real life a bit overwhelming. Hopefully I can go another 17 months or so before I have to do it again.

Thank you everyone that made this stay a great one.... my fabulous Docs, my amazing nurses, The best  family and friends EVER you guys are ALL AMAZING!!! Thank you! Xo

Forever in my ♥

I want to thank everyone for ALL the LOVE, messages, support, texts, prayers, thoughts you have shown me and all that knew Tiff over the last week, it means a lot to me. She has touched so many lives and she continues to do so. Tiff's service Saturday was beautiful. It was up in Coalville and the weather was a lil snowy but the day ended so beautifully with the sun shining. I had the honor of speaking at her funeral and know she was there listening, in fact I am certain of it. I stayed pretty strong my voice wavered at times but I got through it, with her help of course. Tiffany definitely lives on in all of us that knew her and through out all of our hearts. Life can be tough at times and it's in those times where it makes you even stronger. I am blessed beyond measure and am so thankful for everyone in my life. Lots and lots of LOVE! Xo

My Tribute to Tiff

This all still seems so surreal to me. I still find myself wanting to send her a text or hear that one of a kind laugh.

Danny, Kate, Lynda, Crystal, Meghan and Tynj’a you’ll be forever in my heart. Tiff Loved you all SO much and Crystal she loved Charly, Chayden and Chandlyr so much she loved being an Aunt and every time she talked about your girls she would light up. She loved all her family and friends and would do anything for anyone no matter what. One of her favorite things to do in life was to give and she gave us way more than she ever knew was possible. She touched so many lives and so many hearts and I believe she will continue to do so.

Tiff was the life of any party she was such a free spirit. She lived life to the fullest, she loved life and always made every breath count. She said her vice was to laugh and boy did she ever. She was always making me laugh even in her hardest times last week she was still cracking jokes.

I am so lucky to have known Tiff and I know that I am a better person because of our 21 years of friendship. We were kindred spirits her and I. We have so many amazing memories and I am sure all of you share some as well, focus on those right now. It’s no surprise to me that thru all the great memories she still is making me laugh and smile.

I have to tell my fav story of Tiff and I …. We were at Primary at the same time with rooms right next to each other, I think we were around age 12. She was doing a oral glucose tolerance test and was sick of getting poked for blood draws, so we decided to hide. They kept calling her over the loud speaker and we were laughing so hard. We ended up down in the cafeteria and some guy came up and asked if I was Tiff I replied with no I am Somer then Tiff said and I am Angela it just rolled off the tip of her tongue. Our nurse eventually caught up with us and we got grounded to our rooms and from each other for the rest of that day. However the nurse didn’t know we had walkie talkies ;) Tiff had to redo her oral glucose tolerance test, which just goes to show she’s always done everything on her own time.

I believe Tiff  LIVED more than anyone could in a whole lifetime in her short 30 years. She LOVED everyone. And now my sweet Tiffer can Breathe. She was a perfect example of our mantra Live,love,Breathe Not only did God get an amazing angel on April  26^th but so did all of us. I know she’s smiling down at us right now and sending us her love.

Tiffany I miss you already so much, our late night talks our starbucks runs,  Football season isn’t going to be the same with out our hundreds of texts back and forth during the U games, but I know you will be cheering on the Utes trust me they are going to need some heavenly love ;) I am so glad I got to see you last week and it took all my power not to run in your hospital room and give you the biggest hug ever. One day when we meet again there will be no cross infection and you better prepare yourself for the BIGGEST hug ever.

I am grateful that you are no longer struggling, its just hard to believe you are gone but trust me Tiff you’ll NEVER be forgotten you will live on in all of our hearts. When you crossed that CF finish line you definitely earned your angel wings. You were so strong and so very brave. In your honor Tiff I am staying strong and I promise to continue to fight this fight even harder. I know you will make sure of that! Breathe easy my sweet CF Cyster. Xo infinity

I just LOVE this photo of her thanks Darren for taking it.

photo by Darren McQuade

Tiff is wearing this necklace for eternity ♥

Breathe Easy Tiff

TIFFANY RASMUSSEN Obituary: View TIFFANY RASMUSSEN's Obituary by Salt Lake Tribune

My Sweet Lil Tiffer

Yesterday was a very sad day for me. I can't believe my sweet Tiff is gone but definitely not forgotten. It all seems so surreal, at 3:46 am yesterday Tiff started breathing easier. She earned her angel wings without a doubt, God got one AMAZING angel yesterday. Breathe Easy Tiff!

Tiffany you LIVED more than anyone could in a whole lifetime in your short 30 years. You LOVED everyone and were always making us laugh, and now my sweet Tiffer you can BREATHE!!! Live, Love, Breathe. Breathe easy my sweet Cyster. I love you so much and am a better person for knowing you. I sure am going to miss my partner in crime. Seems like just yesterday we were grounded to our rooms at Primary, little did that nurse know we had walkie talkies. Or when we both had to have those nose probes in that went down to our stomachs to measure for acid reflux. We walked around like we were aliens with what felt like a permanent booger that wouldn't go away. Or our late night starbucks runs or our ambien crazed moments. In our 21 years of friendship we have so many fabulous memories, and that is what I am focusing on.

I already miss our late night talks and I even went to text you from bucks today. I know you are free from all pain and struggling, for that I am grateful. But I miss your contagious giggle, your smile that could light up a room and your free spirit that was always celebrating each moment of life and let's not for get your ability to always make me laugh even in your hardest times. I woke up this morning at 3:46 am to use the bathroom... A coincidence?!? I think not. I know you will be forever watching over me.

I am trying to stay strong Tiff and I promise to continue to fight this fight even harder. I know you will make sure of that too. Xo infinity

Lucky

Day 9 of the blog Challenge

A Picture of your friends


And what a challenge this is I don't have just one pic of my friends... So I could post a bunch of pics of all my amazing friends but what if I left someone out... To much pressure!

So I will just say this when it comes to my friends I again won the lottery, who knew one person could be SO lucky!!!

I have such an AMAZING support system my family and friends mean the world to me.

One of my fav quotes is

Friends are like stars you don't always see them but you know they are there!

LOVE is a BATTLEfield

One of my besties Erika Michelle Maymi married Stanley Mac Battle 6~20~10 on Father's Day!

The wedding was beautiful definitely the wedding of 2010...

I was honored to be there the first day they met and was honored to stand up and be a part of the bridal party at their wedding. Erika was breath taking and in true Maymi form it was an unforgettable blast filled with so many memories to last a life time.

Love ya DIK! Xo

All the wedding peeps

Mariel and I ( Mariel is Erikas older sister aka the MOH maid of honor)

My mom and John and My Dad and I

The BLONDES of the bridal party Tangee on the R came all the way from the land of OZ

Striking a pose

Me and the Couple of the YEAR!

THE MOST AMAZING PARENTS!

So you can see Erikas dress in full... So pretty!

Ricki's Parents My mom and John and Dad

My friend Erinn and I (This pic is VERY Thipplicious)

And it wouldn't be a Maymi function without a performance... During Mariels MOH speech which she killed BTW Amazing Job Mariel!!! The Maymi's had a lil something something planned.