New Mission Blog

I am serving my mission still but, we are allowed to use the internet. Every once in awhile, I post something on a new blog:

http://thoughtsfrompescadora.blogspot.com/

I would like to invite you to follow me there and learn more about what I believe as I share my testimony with others. You can also see my profile at mormon.org at:

http://mormon.org/me/782Y

Keep smiling! God is always there for us.

~Hermana Fisher AKA "Pescadora" :)

Leaving for a Year and a Half

Well, I am signing off for a year and a half on Monday and I am not sure if I'll be back on here before then so, here is me saying good-bye. I am off to serve a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Utah Ogden Mission, Spanish speaking for a year and a half. I know my Redeemer lives and that this is His gospel. I cannot wait to serve my fellow brothers and sisters in Utah and help bring them closer to Christ.

My weekly emails will be posted to a different, private blog that my family will be taking care of. However, if you would like to send me a little note once in awhile, I would not be opposed. Here will be my address from July 9th (once I reach Ogden) until the end of my mission:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sister Chelsey Fisher

4380 S Orchard Ave

South Ogden, UT 84403

USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for following with me on life's journey thus far. Keep smiling and moving forward. The Lord loves each of you so much. Just turn to Him when life gets you down. See ya in a year and a half world!

My Favorite Day

Well, it's official. I never thought I'd say this but, Monday is now my favorite day of the week. Why you ask? because of one simple thing: missionary emails. Recently, the email policy for missionaries changed and they can now email other people than just family. At first, I thought this would create no change for me because I like writing letters and, most of the people I keep in contact with are in the states so, what would be the point? Well, I forgot that I had several close guy friends who were outside the USA who sent me their email addresses. There were also a few friends in-state who asked for my email to forward their home emails to me. What a fun twist to my Monday. I wake up to a couple emails from those out of the country and then, as the day progresses, I get a couple more from all over the world. It's such a miracle to be able to keep in contact with close friends who are out serving the Lord for a year and a half to two years. And, hopefully, this will allow me to be able to keep better contact with them when I head out to serve a mission in.... (DUN DUN DUNNNN) 22 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!! I am so nervous but, extremely excited to serve the people of Ogden and to learn how to talk about one of my favorite things in Spanish (church). I know my Redeemer lives and that this is His will for me and I cannot wait to give my all for Him.

Letter Writers for my Mission??? Please??? hehe

I came across this little gem online and thought I'd post it here because it made me laugh so much. :) When I leave on my mission, please write! :)

The First Epistle of the Elders to the Dead Letter Writers:
By: Unknown
Chapter 1:
1. In the beginning was the mailbox and the mailbox was void of letters.
2. And the missionaries said, Let the mailbox be filled and the box was not filled.
3. And the missionaries beheld the continuing void and were not pleased. 
4. And lo, it was the first day of the week and there was no mail delivered, but this was good.
5. But on the second day mail was delivered, yet the mailbox remained empty.
6. Yea, even from the second day unto the seventh was the mail delivered.
7. Even so the box retained its void.
8. And yea, great mists of darkness spread forth from the void and enshroud the Missionaries. Yea and did bring much sadness to their otherwise cheery days.
9.  Even the long hours of fruitless tracting, being chased by the fowls of the air, and being pursued by the beast of the field were not as disheartening as the lack of sacred objects known as letters.
10. Yet they persisted.
Chapter 2:
1. And, lo, on the second day of the second week the mists still encircled the sacred mailbox.
2. And on the third day, from within the depths of the void was a single postcard.
3. And this postcard put forth a single ray of light which did pierce the darkness and did overcome the mists.
4. And the Missionaries were well pleased and there was much rejoicing.
5. But, alas, their joy was not to last. For the mailbeast had made a mistake and the postcard was for someone else. 
6. But if their joy was so exceedingly great over someone else's mail, how great would be their joy at partaking of their own mail.
Chapter 3:
1. And we give unto you the parable of the Two Letter Writers.
2. At the hour of noon a certain scribe sat down to write a letter.
3. And the scribe did think of many things to write, but, he spent so much time thinking that he did not write.
4. Nevertheless he felt good because he had great intentions.
5. At the same hour a publican sat down and wrote a few words as he ate.
6. Yet he felt guilty at not writing enough.
7. And, lo, the 24 months passed and the Missionary returned home and passed by the scribes' house.
8. Yea, he went even unto the house of the publican and did visit the publican.
9. Verily a letter is like unto a prize in a Cheerios box; the which if a man knows it is in there he selleth all that he has that he may buy a case of Cheerios that he may obtain it.
Chapter 4:
1. Even more blessed than the Missionary receiving mail is a friend of relative writing letters.
2. And if you should spend 5 minutes writing a letter how great shall be your joy.
3. And if your joy be great with one letter, how great shall it be with many letters in the mailbox of a missionary.
4. Else why do they build Post Offices if letters are written not at all; why then do they build Post Offices.
5. Yea, though I speak with the tongue of men and angels, and write not letters, I am nothing.
6. Letters never faileth; but if there be good thoughts they shall fail; whether there be unsent mail it shall vanish.
7. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child.
8. Even as I have put away my childish things, ye must replace them with unchildish mail.
9. And now abideth thoughts, intentions, mail; these three. But the greatest of these is mail.
10. Yea, if thou lovest me, write me letters.
Chapter 5:
1. But some will say, a letter, a letter, we have already written a letter. We have no need to write anymore letters.
2. Know ye not that there are more days than one. And more events than one in a day. Why think ye that these events need not to be reported.
3. Yea, and ye need not worry that your letter will go unanswered.
4. But you should say, I will go and write the letter that a missionary requests. For I know he giveth no request except he be prepared to respond.
5.  And we give unto you the parable of the Self Addressed Envelopes.
6. When the missionary departed into the far off land he gave a certain number of self-addressed stamped envelopes to his friends.
7. Unto one he gave 5, unto another he gave 2, and unto the third he gave 1.
8. And while he was gone he that was given the 5 envelopes write 5 letters. Then, in his zeal wrote 5 letters more.
9. The same with him that had 2 envelopes; he wrote 2 letters and then 2 letters more.
10. He that was given the self addressed envelope became slothful and careless. And he lost the envelope, even that which he was given.
11. When the missionary came home he went unto his friends. And he that had written 10 letters was warmly greeted. 
12. The same with him that had written 4.
13. But he that had written none at all was given nothing more than a Fishy-Whimp like handshake.
Chapter 6: 
1. And it has been said; blessed are the letter writers for they shall receive mail in return.
2. Blessed are they that keep in touch with a missionary for they shall know all that happens to him.
3. Ye and your letter are the light of a missionaries' day.
4. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
5. Neither do men write letters and put them in a desk but in an envelope that it giveth light unto all that are around the missionary.
6. Let your letters so be read by missionaries that they may see your good works and show and increased love to you.
7. And we give unto you the parable of the Prodigal Letter Writer.
8. A missionary had two friends while he was laboring in the field. 
9. One was faithful and wrote every week to the missionary.
10. Meanwhile,  the other friend spent his stamp money on riotous living and wrote no letters.
11. But after 23 1/2 months he felt deep sorrow and did write a letter unto the missionary.
12. Who when he received it did go and kill the fatted Macaroni and Cheese box and did feast and was merry.
13. For it was meet that he should make merry for the letter writer which was lost and was now found.
Chapter 7:
1. Unto you is given some stationary, and some paper, and some envelopes, and some pens and pencils.
2. For the writing of the letters, for the cheering up of the missionary, for the improving of your English skills. 
3. Till the missionary return home, till we all come to be together again in the bond of friendship.
4. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose.
5. A time to contemplate writing and a time to write. 
6. A time to put letters in the envelopes and a time to stamp the envelopes.
7. A time to mail the letters and a time to start the whole process over again.
8. Now we beseech you brethren concerning the coming home of our missionary and our gathering together to meet him.
9. That you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by word nor by any letter from us that the return missionary is at hand.
10. Let no one deceive you by any means for that day shall not come unless there first be an abundance of letters; and the man of mail be revealed, a true friend.
Chapter 8:
1. And the missionary said unto his friend, lovest thou me?
2. And the friend said, of course I love thee.
3. He saith a second time, Friend, lovest thou me? and the friend said, thou knowest that I love thee. He then said, Feed my mailbox.
4. He then spake a third time saying, lovest thou me? and the friend said, thou knowest all things, thou knowest I love thee.
5. Then the missionary said, stuffest my mailbox.
6. And the vision is become unto all as the words of a letter which is sealed in the envelope that the men deliver to one who is not serving a mission saying, read this, I pray thee; and he saith I cannot for it is not mine.
7. And the letter is delivered to him that is serving a mission saying, read this I pray thee; and he saith, why sure.
8. Therefore you should proceed to do a marvelous work among a missionary, even a marvelous work and a wonder by writing a letter.
Chapter 9:
1. And the word of the  Missionary came unto his friend saying,
2. Moreover, thou friend of mine, take thee one piece of paper and write it for a missionary and for the house of the Mexico City North Mission, his companions; and then take an envelope and write upon it  for a missionary and for the house of the Mexico City North Mission, his companions.
3. And join them one to another into a letter and they shall become one in the and of the mailman.
4. For what doth it profit a man if he say he hath thought, but write no letter? Can thoughts save him?
5. If a brother or sister have a birthday,
6. And you say unto him, Happy Birthday, notwithstanding you give them not a cake with candles upon it. What doth it profit?
7. Even so, thoughts without letters are dead, being alone. 
8. But if we say we have no thoughts, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9. Therefore, since ye have thoughts, write ye letters.
Chapter 10:
1. And now we wish to tell you the story of the Anti-letter-writer.
2. And there dwelt in the land at the time a certain Anti-letter-writer who went about convincing the people that there was no need to write letters.
3. Indeed so persuasive were his arguments that many people did cease to write letters to missionaries.
4. Then the returned missionary did confront the Anti-letter-writer and didst dispute his arguments.
5. Then it came to pass that the Anti-letter-writer did ask for a sign that letters should be sent, then would he believe.
6. Then the returned missionary said, just as assuredly as letters are to be sent so wilt thou be struct down.
7. And at that moment the Anti-letter-writer was run over by a mail truck and was dragged even unto the Post Office, where he was subsequently mailed to Zimbabwe.
8. Now when the general public saw this they were priced in their hearts and said, Men and brethren what shall we do?
9. Then the returned missionary said, repent, every one of you and write ten letters unto each missionary that he may forgive thee of thy thoughtlessness.
10. So now we leave you. Be of good cheer, and remember this last vision.
11. For I saw the dead, small and great stand before the judgment bar, and another book was opened which was the book of letters;  and the dead were judged by the letters (or lack thereof) that they had written to the missionaries.
12. So now we ask, what manner of men ought ye to be? ye ought to be letter writers. 

Saw someone sell something like this for missionaries and decided I wanted to make one for myself. :)

Sneaky Mail

A little part of Chelsey's day is checking the mail. After waiting for the mail man to leave, she snatches the mail key and stalks down to the mailbox to look to see if today is a lucky day or not. Usually, there is not something there but, it is all the more fun when there is a letter, or two, from missionary friends. One thing that not fun is getting the ads. The "ad days" are the worst because you go down to the mailbox and open up. You see some sort of paper product inside and get SUPER excited just to find out it is only a little packet of pages telling you all the "great sales" everyone is having. You pick it up, throw it in the nearest trash can ('cause no one in your apartment uses them) and sludge back up to the third floor to put the key back in the drawer  and continue on with you life until tomorrow at about the same time. For this reason, this morning, I decided ads are "sneaky mail" because you think you have something and then, you do not and they sit there laughing at you. That's why I throw them straight into the trash can. Yes, I'm probably missing some great deal but, at this point of the semester, I do not need anything else so I won't be using them and I know my roommates do not so why leave the laughing pages sitting on my table to continue to laugh at how they tricked me again? It does not seem quite reasonable. Oh well, time to go get the mail and see if the ads are hiding any real mail beneath them. haha

Just what I Needed

This morning I awoke quite exhausted because I stayed up late doing dishes. I was stressed and was struggling with all the stuff I had to do. The day slowly got better but, it wasn't quite right. Then, I went with a friend to the temple and, after, I was sitting outside waiting for her to finish and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. As the light slipped behind the mountains, a group of 12-14 year old young women climbed up to the front of the temple. They began to hand out cookies and quotes to those who left the temple and said, "Thank you for serving in the temple." It was so sweet to watch these young girl's faces light up as they served and watch the faces of those receiving the treats. Everyone seemed to glow and it made my heart swell to watch this. It was beautiful. Service is such a beautiful thing and youth serving others can be quite touching. Suddenly, my day was perfect.

I love to see the Temple. I went inside that day.

I realized I did not post anything about this on my blog, only facebook. Well, this is about to change.

On Friday the 15th, I flew home to Chicago to go through the temple there. It was beautiful. For sacredness reasons, I won't go into details but, I will say it was wonderful to be with family and to be able to go inside a building I have longed to enter for many years. For those who do not quite understand what I am talking about, the temple is a place of great sacredness and anyone can enter if they are a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if they have a recommend and this event does not typically happen unless a member is about to get married or go on a mission. Since I will be leaving on my mission in a few weeks, I took the opportunity to go home and go through with my parents. A temple is, as I said, a sacred place for worship. We make covenants, or two-way promises. It is a place of peace and comfort. It is where we can be sealed as families for all eternity. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had and cannot wait to continue to learn and grow.

My daddy & I outside the Chicago temple.

64 days until I report to the MTC [Missionary Training Center] for my mission!!!

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

Yesterday, my aunt, Heather Buss, passed away. It came as quite a shock. We were fasting for her but, thought we had a few more months with her. As I saw the text after church letting me know, I was in complete shock. I was quite a wreck for the rest of the evening, off and on. I had not really known anyone who had passed on, personally. Heather's passing reminded me of how fragile this life is and the importance of the gospel in my life. Yes, I had believed that families were forever through the sealing power of the temple but, this let me really reflect on this testimony I had. I still believe families are forever, and this is where I have drawn a lot of comfort from, but, if anything, that testimony has been strengthened. It makes me want to work harder to be able to return to live with my Heavenly Father again so that I can see my sweet aunt again. To see her in a perfect body and to have every hair restored to her head. I gain comfort in imagining the reunion with her in heaven. Another part that has been hard to deal with is picturing my two little cousins who, now, have no mother. They are young so they may forget the memories as they grow older. I cannot imagine not having my mommy with me to help me through this life. Any time I imagined my cousins, I broke down into heavy sobs because I ache for them. Then, last night, I posted on facebook asking for prayers for them. One friend responded with, "Those children now have a most dedicated Angel watching over them. We will be praying for them, her husband, and you and your family." I was so touched as I realized, yes, my cousins may not have their mother in their home with them physically but, she will always be watching over them, spiritually. That brings me so much peace to think of it in that way. 

When I was told my aunt's cancer had come back, I immediately thought of the lyrics to "Where can I Turn for Peace?" since we were singing it that night at our choir concert. In the actual concert, I found the lyrics piercing my soul and testifying to me of their truth. Yesterday, during my church's testimony meeting, I got up and talked about this experience. As a side note, I do not typically bring up personal things in any sort of public setting and especially not over a pulpit. Well, I talked about this experience so, when I heard my aunt had passed away, these lyrics were still fresh in my mind. They have been such a sweet blessing to me as I keep moving forward. It is hard but, I know I will see her again and that, if we am faithful, we will all live together in Heaven again. I know my Savior lives and loves us. I know temples seal families forever. I know the Savior knows what I am going through and can help me, and my uncle and cousins, and extended family, feel at peace and comforted through this hard time.

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

1. Where can I turn for peace?

Where is my solace

When other sources cease to make me whole?

When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,

I draw myself apart,

Searching my soul?

2. Where, when my aching grows,

Where, when I languish,

Where, in my need to know, where can I run?

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?

He, only One.

3. He answers privately,

Reaches my reaching

In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.

Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.

Constant he is and kind,

Love without end.

Text: Emma Loud Thayne

Music: Joleen G. Meredith

Finally, the Mission Call Opening Video!!!!

The Mission Update

The day had finally come. A white envelope had arrived to the silver box outside Chelsey Fisher’s apartment the Evening of February 7^th, 2013. The rest of her classes seemed to consume her life, and the little patience she had still, as she waited for the time to come when she could open this packet that would change her life, as she knew it, forever. For weeks, maybe even years, she had been waiting for this day to come, and now, the only thing keeping her from knowing was Time.

Friends and family gathered at 7:50 in the living room and kitchen of Chelsey’s apartment. The love of those present was quite a comfort to the girl who, all day, had not been able to contain her excitement. The immediate family, and best friend, Hilary Harris, gathered back home in Aurora, Illinois around a computer screen and webcam to use a video chat through Skype to communicate with those gathered in cold Provo, Utah.

Finally, the time had come. With letter opener and letter in hand, Chelsey began to open the corner of the white envelope. The room was silent, as the letter opener sliced through that paper product. Now, the document was exposed to the extra carbon dioxide that, a second earlier, had been filling the apartment air. Then, the pages were torn from the comfort of the white heaven and covered so as not to reveal the answer it concealed.

The reading began, “Dear Sister Fisher…” Chelsey had thought she would cry but, pindrops of diamonds gathered in the corner of her eyes. She continued reading, “You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Utah Ogden Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. You should report to the Provo Mission Training Center on Wednesday May 29, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish Language.”

The room erupted with sounds that were inaudible to any human ear as Chelsey just died laughing and continually repeated, “I’m going Spanish speaking!” and “The Lord has a sense of humor!” All sentences clamored together and hands clasped together and Chelsey just laughed. Hugs were shared. It was done and Chelsey felt excited and at peace. The world would have to see if she slept until her report date arrived. As the crowd dispersed and Chelsey had a chance to catch her breath, she was so grateful for the opportunities which had befallen her so that she could go out and serve the Lord and help bring others to her Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Can't Get it Out on Paper or into Words

Well, tonight, after finishing some homework that is due tomorrow, I was organizing some bookmarks and one that REALLY needed it was my "Youtube Videos" folder that was just full of videos I had found amusing or uplifting or were just of a song I liked.So, to make sure I wanted to keep all these bookmarks, I decided to watch a few and I noticed that a few were original songs which reminded me of the few videos I had published via youtube. This led me to wishing I could get the ideas I have in my head into words and be able to get them on paper or combined with music to get some thoughts out of my mind. With so much that has happened the the past few years, there are many ideas I've had for writing songs about but, I get self-conscious or they do not come out the way I want them to. This can be frustrating, of course, but, I think the hardest part about it is that there are things I want to express through music because I cannot do it with words but, they do not come out in either way. The question is: do I keep trying or just give up and let my mind continue to be filled with these thoughts? Guess we'll see...

Little did I Know...

Well, funny story... I was looking at my blog thinking if there was anything  I could/ wanted to write about. Then, I was seeing the "Popular Posts" and noticed one I had done several months ago after saying good-bye to a friend leaving on a mission. I had re-written the words to "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid to wanting to go on a mission right then instead of waiting until I was 21. Little did I know that October sixth would bring that wonderful announcement that young women could serve missions at age 19 instead of 21. I was reading the lyrics I had written and I just laughed at how clueless I was to the changes that were coming but, so willing to go out and serve the Lord with "my boys." It has been about 6+months since several of them left and it has been hard but, it is amazing to see the Lord's plan unfold and reflect as I prepare to get my mission call to be able to go out and serve the Lord for a period of 18 months. What an amazing world we live in....

For those who do not know what post I was referring to, it can be found at this link: http://cisprettyfishy4cfishy1992.blogspot.com/2012/07/part-of-your-world-sister-now.html.

Patient Mission Paper Process

Alright, so, as I have mentioned before, I have been working on my mission papers to serve for a period of 18months for my church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]. I did the online information with insurance, personal info, family info, etc. Then, I did the medical and the dental and survived getting a shot, blood drawn, and TB tested (barely... haha). After that, it was a small "waiting game" until I got back to Utah to meet with my Bishop [leader of our congregation {group at church}] & the Stake President [leader over the Bishop]. Well, that first Sunday back I met with the Bishop and it was a great meeting. The spirit was strong and I was quite excited knowing that I only had one more meeting before the "waiting game" for my call. Well, I got a text from someone in the Stake that asked if I could meet early that next Sunday morning. Sadly, I could not make it so, I had to wait another week. So, yesterday, I went to have my meeting and once again, it went great! I actually met someone who knows my grandparents from Iowa and that NEVER happens...except this year... haha Anyway, as they were reviewing my paper work, they found that ONE QUESTION had not been completed. This made me nervous because, if I did not get them the information by the next morning, my paper work would be pushed back a week and I did not want to wait any longer than I had to.

Well, last night, I set my alarm for 8am so that it would be 9am Illinois time so I could call the hospital in the morning to get the information I needed. My alarm woke me up sooner than I wanted it to but, I called the hospital and got the information. Then, I texted the stake with said information and waited to hear if I had made it in time. Around 2pm this afternoon, I sent another text asking if I had made it in time and they said yes. Then, I bugged my lovely daddy to hear if it was submitted yet to the church headquarters [My dad is a bishop for my area back home and bishops are able to see, online, when the paper work is through the different parts of the process]. Then, tonight, at 8:49, I received a text from my daddy saying that my paper work is officially submitted to church headquarters. I felt such a relief to know everything was in and now, I just have to really play the "waiting game" until a white envelope with my call and information arrives.

So, here's to waiting patiently! We'll see if I make it and get any sleep.... haha

I'm a Poet and Didn't know it!

So, this semester I am taking an English class for Elementary Education Majors and it has been interesting learning about how everyone can be a writer as you open up yourself and practice. We discussed how the first several years can be full of junk but, if we keep working at it and just keep learning and studying it, we can, one day, become a great writer. I know I'll never be a Robert Frost or anything but, it was fun to create a writing journal and just write when I felt like it and know it is not perfect but, it's from me. Nothing I write is unique but, is individual. All the stories have been written but, I can make my own interpretation.

We'll see if I ever write anything I really like then. Who knows, maybe one day I will have  learned enough and given enough of myself to get published. If you really want something, you need to work for it. You cannot just sit in class and expect to be given all the answers to the world's problems. Life isn't supposed to be easy, just worth it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, I am in the midst of my second week being back in school and let me just say: it is TOUGH! Just when I thought it could not get any harder, it does. But, I am so EXCITED for my classes. Yes, they are A TON of work and I probably will have some nights that I just want to sit there and cry (actually already had a few....) but, I know I am going to learn a lot and improve myself as a future teacher and student. Every day I get a "Daily Message" from ldspodcasting@ldschurch.org [found on LDS.org at: http://www.lds.org/daily-messages?lang=eng ]that is uplifting. Today, it said, "The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father, and it is often during the difficult times that we learn the most, as painful as the lessons may be." —Thomas S. Monson. This really struck me. It really is during the hardest times that we learn the most, if we really try. 

Start to a New Year in Chicago

Well, I must say, this year has already begun with a bang! As a family, we took a trip to Chicago to go to the Science & Industry Museum. It was such a blast! They had "Charlie Brown and the Great Exhibit" that, within itself, was quite neat. It was cool learning about the Peanuts and the characters. We also toured the Farm Tech, as usual, and visited the U-505, circus, Toymaker 3000, and a Brrr-thday party with liquid nitrogen. I think I've found out what kind of party I'd like for a birthday the next time I have one.... (hint hint) Just kidding. It would be fun but, also VERY expensive and have potential health hazards... Oh well. It was still fun.


After the museum, we went to Roy's for dinner and each had a nice small meal that made our taste buds melt. I did not know food could taste so good and neither did my siblings. Nor, have I ever been in such a nice bathroom! They had hair-ties, mints, a lint roller, lotion, etc. FOR FREE in the BATHROOM!!! Craziness...

Who knew so many memories could be made on the first day of a new year? Here's to many more to come in the year 2013.