Summer Break - Week Four (Phoenix Edition)

Last week (week three of summer break) I was at Lake Powell, this week I'm in Phoenix, and next week I'll be in Canada. Crazy summer traveling. Anyway, this week I've done the following:

• Went out to lunch with my old roommate, Emily.
• Went to FHE with another old roommate, Mary. While we were at FHE, I ran into fellow Leonard's Lawn member, Travis.
• Went to the movies with my parents. We saw Get Smart.
• Went to the movies with Mary. We saw Hancock. I liked it - there was a little too much profanity, but some interesting twists that I didn't see coming.
• Went swimming.
• Started reading The Battle of the Labyrinth - the fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
  
• Went to the spa for a manicure and pedicure - very relaxing.
• Sat in Ronnie's massage chair for about an hour each day. Again, very relaxing.
• Went to see the Diamondbacks play the San Diego Padres. They lost - Padres 4, D-backs 2. Here are a few pics:

Chase Field
They kept the roof closed because it was 106 degrees.

My cute padres

D-backs & Diet Coke - I'm one happy girl.

The Wedding Festivities - May 17th & 18th

Mike and Jesanna's wedding festivities took place in Gadsden & Birmingham, AL. They were married at their home in Gadsden and had a small reception following the exchanging of vows. The next day they had a large and lovely reception in Birmingham. Congratulations and Best Wishes to the both of them!!

The happy couple

Me and my mom at the reception

Best of Friends

Alina just finished a facebook project - she added old pictures of all her friends. This is the picture she added for me. The caption she wrote said, "Mandy and I became friends in High School. Even back then we were fans of the Smiths and playing cards." I love this picture - some things never change (aside from the fact that I now wear pants - seriously, what was I wearing? Super short shorts?)

Shadley, Me, and Alina

Val's Birthday Party

On April 7th, we went to Tepanyaki's to celebrate Val's 30th birthday. As Shawn put it, "An Asian man flicked bits of shrimp into my mouth and it was just so nice."

Val with her B-day Treats

Group Photo

Profiles of People We Like

I've been really lazy about posting. I'm going to be better . . . but not right now. This is just a plug for a post on another blog. My friend, TJ, writes these really funny posts on a group blog we belong to (Leonard's Lawn). They're titled, "Profiles of People We Like." Anyway, he just wrote one all about me - "Profiles of People We Like - Mandy." To read it, click HERE.

Manly Movies vs. Chick Flicks

This weekend I saw two movies - Cloverfield (manly movie) and 27 Dresses (chick flick). I actually enjoyed both of them, but which one would be victorious? Which one will receive my recommendation? The winner is - the manly movie. That's right, Cloverfield. It was an exciting, surprisinly funny, movie. I was kind of nervous because I knew it was filmed with a hand-held camera, similar to The Blair Witch Project. But, no need to be nervous. It wasn't annoying nor did it give me motion sickness. Not only that, but it actually had a story and characters you care about - at least I did. So, there you go. If you're trying to decide between the manly movie and the chick flick, definitley go with the manly movie.

As a side note, I'd like to thank all my manly (Kevin & Kyle) and chick (Alina, Lesli, Christi, & Larissa) friends for enjoying the movies with me.

Cloverfield

27 Dresses

New Years Eve - Part 1

I started my New Years Eve by meeting some old school friends for dinner at Tepanyaki. It was nice because both Mike and Travis were in town and joined us. Here are a few pictures:

Mike, Travis, & Kevin

Val & Kyle

Christi & Me

Alicia & Summer

Kyle, Mike, Travis, & Kevin

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

On Wednesday I had a party at my house for some of my high school friends (Leonard's Lawn Crew). Although, Val was in charge of everything, it was at my house. Here are a few pictures (of those who would let me take their picture) from The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (sorry the pics are so blurry - I don't know what's up with the camera).

Val, Megan, and Summer sporting their ugly sweaters.

Alicia & Me

Me, Kyle (w/ his lazy eye), & sexy Summer.

Shawn & Kevin

Val & Sum

Val & Meggie

Past Pics

Some of these pictures are several months old, but I just received them or found them so I thought I'd add them:

Me and Christi during game night.

Me, Kyle, Heidi, Pat, Brandon, Jen, & some women with a baby (obviously, I don't know them).

Me and Kyle

Trent, Trent Reznor?

I was browsing the Internet today and ran across this picture of Nine Inch Nail frontman, Trent Reznor.

First of all, Trent still has it. Second of all, it made me remember a funny story from high school. I've been laughing about it all day so I thought I'd share. When I was in high school I was invited to go to Lake Powell with some friends. When I asked my mom if I could go, she asked who else was going. As I was listing the other people who had been invited, I said Trent (a relative of someone else who was going). When I mentioned his name, my mom asked, "Trent, Trent Reznor?" At that, I burst out laughing and my mom got a very confused look on her face. Obviously, my mom had no idea who Trent Reznor was, but my friends and I (more I than my friends) loved him and talked about him as if he were an intimate member of our circle of friends. "No, mom. Not Trent Reznor. I wish." (And I still do).

Halloween Hilarity

So this weekend I went to a few Halloween parties (Ward Halloween Party & Summer's Halloween Party). I wasn't really in the mood to dress-up so I pulled out my old gypsy costume. This year I give Alina and Shawn the award for best costumes (There is no actual award for this honor). Bishop Bowman's was pretty good too - he gets runner up. Here's a couple of pictures from the festivities.

Ward Party:

Lesli, Alina, & Me (plus the Bishop)

I'm reading people's fortune's by using the Bishop's Date Ball - the Eight Ball for Dating. He seriously uses it to give people counsel. Plus, the Bishop came as Steve Carell from Evan Almighty aka Noah, but he kept saying he was Moses from the movie Evan Almighty. Several times we had to remind him, he was Noah. I even suggested he might want to read The Bible to learn a little more about the two men.

Me playing (and winning Family Feud).

The Family Feud Winners!!

Summer's Party:

The Girls: Val, Alicia, Alina, Me, & Summer

Best Costumes:

Alina as Ugly Betty

America Ferrera as Ugly Betty

Shawn as Alex DeLarge (pictured w/ Val)

Malcom MacDowell as Alex DeLarge

The Lyrical Genius, Part II

A few songs by The Lyrical Genius, Morrissey:

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To read more about the concert, click on Alina's Blog.
(Do it just to see a picture of Alina's belt buckle).

The Lyrical Genius

Last night Alina and I went to the Morrissey concert. Yes, I just saw him a few months ago, but I would see him every few months for the rest of my life if I could. Here is a sampling of his lyrical genius:

I've been dreaming of a time when
to be English
is not to be baneful
To be standing by the flag not feeling
shameful, racist or partial
- Morrissey, Irish Blood, English Heart

In our lifetime those who kill
The newsworld hands them stardom
And these are the ways
On which I was raised
- Morrissey, The Last of the Famous International Playboys

I could have mentioned your name
I could have dragged you in
Guilt by implication
By association
Ive always been true to you
In my own strange way
Ive always been true to you
In my own sick way
Ill always stay true to you
- Morrissey, Speedway

Ready with ready-wit
Still running round
On the flesh rampage
at your age!
- Morrissey, Trouble Loves Me

So you stand by the board
Full of fear and intention
And, if you think that they're listening
Well, you've got to be joking
- Morrissey, The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils

For another post about The Lyrical Genius, click HERE.

Alina's Blog

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Alina, finally started a blog. It's entitled, "Random Ramblings of a Wandering Spirit." The title pretty much says it all. To view it, click HERE.

Good Friends / Good Family

Good Friend: Lesli and me at the Ballet

Good Friends: Val, me, and Alicia at T.J.'s birthday dinner

Good Family: Adam, me, and Louis

I have the best brothers ever. Obviously, they didn't want to take this picture with me, but I wanted a picture with them and since they love and adore their older sister, they cooperated. Kyle (not pictured) is also a fantastic brother. I've missed him a lot lately, even though in the past two weeks I think we've spent close to three hours on the phone.

Funny Pic from Saturday Night

A cheesey picture of Val, Me, and Shawn (Notice our hands).

Never Trust a Person Who Doesn't Like The Smiths

Yesterday Alicia and I just bought tickets to go see Morrissey in concert. He will be here next Tuesday. I'm so excited. The first time I saw Morrissey in concert (10 years ago) I got so excited I cried, threw up in mouth, and passed out. I know it's a little bit ridiculous. I've matured a lot since then, but I still love him. He is, after all, a lyrical genius. Here are some great examples of why he is a lyrical genius.

I thought that if you had An acoustic guitar
Then it meant that you were A Protest Singer
Oh, I can smile about it now
But at the time it was terrible
- The Smiths, Shakespeare’s Sister

You claim these words as your own
But I've read well, and I've heard them said
A hundred times (maybe less, maybe more)
If you must write prose or poems
The words you use should be your own
Don't plagiarize or take "on loan"
'Cause there's always someone, somewhere
With a big nose, who knows.
- The Smiths, Cemetery Gates

Fame, Fame, fatal Fame
It can play hideous tricks on the brain
But still I'd rather be Famous
Than righteous or holy, any day
Any day, any day
- The Smiths, Frankly, Mr. Shankly

I want to live and I want to Love
I want to catch something that I might be ashamed of
- The Smiths, Frankly, Mr. Shankly

Oh, the alcoholic afternoons
When we sat in your rooms
They meant more to me
Than any, than any living thing on earth
- The Smiths, These Things Take Time

Who comes sliding down the banister?
The vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
- The Smiths, Vicar in a Tutu

Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear
And don't go home tonight
Come out and find the one that you love and who loves you
- The Smiths, Sheila Take a Bow

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes in to us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine
- The Smiths, There is a Light that Never Goes Out

For the Good Life is out there somewhere
So stay on my arm, you little charmer
- The Smiths, Hand in Glove

Old School Friends

Last weekend, I went out with some old friends from high school to celebrate Val's birthday. We had tons of fun!! I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time; my checks were sore from laughing so hard. Thanks for being such great friends. We will have to do it again sometime soon. Here are a few pictures from our good times.

Alicia & Me looking fabulous.

The girls celebrating Val's birthday.

The boys celebrating Val's birthday.

A Myriad of Celebrations

It takes four days to celebrate the birth of such a spectacular person. Here is a breakdown of the celebrations:

Thursday: Kyle was kind enough to arrange a birthday dinner for Alicia, Kevin, and myself. Alicia turned 28 on February 5, Kevin turned 29 on February 7, and, as you may already know, I turned 29 on February 9. Here is a picture from that night.

Kyle, Me, Alicia, Summer, Val, and Kevin.
Kim and TJ were also there, but they're taking the picture.

Friday: It was a long day, so I didn't want to do to much, but my parents took Alina, Lesli, and I out to dinner. Here we are:

Saturday: Lesli and I went to the ballet to see Sleeping Beauty. Here's a picture of us at Capital Theatre.

Sunday: I went to my family's house for cake and ice cream. Here are pictures of me and Zack.

29 Pictures for 29 Years

29 Pictures to Celebrate 29 Years of Me. Sorry, some of these pictures are super blurry. My scanner wasn't working so I had to take digital pictures of my normal pictures. But even if they are blurry, I still look adorable. Enjoy!!

The Day of my Birth:

My First Birthday:

Adorable. What more can I say?

My Second Birthday:Christmas. I'm wearing a robe my mom made:

Curious, even at a young age:

I love this picture of Kyle and me:

A Young Speed Racer:

Doesn't everyone have a family photo on a turtle?

Entering the awkward years:

Getting better, but still fairly awkward:

Horrible picture, but it was my 16th birthday.

Here I am with my two favorite cousins, Carrie and Aimee.

Shadley and I looking fabulous for a dance.

Celebrating being an adult (my 18th birthday) with a road trip:Me, Emily, Shadley, & Jen at our high school graduation.

Freshman Roommates: Erin, Anna, Shadley, Jen, & Me.

19th Birthday: My mom sent me a great package.

One of my favorite pictures of Shadley & Me.

This was taken a week before we graduated from Ricks College

Me loving it in Athens:

My 21st birthday with the Hull boys.

80s Party with Alina, Camie, Ruth, Emily, & Me.

Chilling out with fellow DC interns: Scott, Mary, Susan, Me, & Matt.

BYU Graduation:

Hawaii: I'm holding a lizard I caught in Jana's house.

Lazy Lake Powell Days:

Striking it Rich in Alaska:

Yes!! I paid off my car:

Alina, Tara, Cha Cha, Me, & Kari at the Organ Stop Pizza:

Last weekend at Dinner.

Heather, Kira, Lesli, Me, & Katie: