Greek Festival

I love the Greek Festival!! I look forward to it every year. If you have never been, you must put it on your calendar for next year. On Thursday, Alina, Lesli, and I went to the opening night of the festival. We got there about an hour after the ribbon opening ceremony and already it was packed!! We had to wait in the food line for over 30 minutes, but it went really fast considering the large number of people that were ahead of us. The festival is always so well organized. Here are a few pictures of us after we've feed our faces.

Me and Alina.

Lesli and Alina.

Me and Alina cracking up over how funny we are when we get together.

Labor Day Vacation

Well, I'd been back at work for two weeks and was in desperate need for a vacation when Labor Day Weekend came along. When I went to work on Friday, I made sure that my bags were all packed. After work, I immediately left and headed for the airport. I jumped on my flight and an hour later I was in Phoenix. Sweet!! My dad and my grandpa picked me up and we went straight to Chase Field to see the Diamondbacks play the Astros. I'm not a huge fan of myself in this picture, but my sweet grandpa looks so great, I had to include it.


On Saturday I headed back to Chase Field, again to see the Diamondbacks play the Astros, but this time my mom came with me and my dad. My mom's not a huge fan of baseball. In fact, by the 7th inning, she's ready to go, and if it goes into extra innings she has a kanipshin. But Saturday she was very excited. Saturday was the 12th annual Hispanic Heritage Day at Chase Field. There were going to be mariachi bands, dancers, and the like throughout the stadium and my mom was excited to see it. But the biggest reason she wanted to go - Miguel Montero bobbleheads. My mom loves Montero. She thinks he has the cutest smile ever and she couldn't wait to own a bobbly-headed version of him. Here's a pic of me and my mom with our free bobbleheads.

Sunday was dedicated to a day poolside, but Monday I was back at Chase Field to see the Diamondbacks play the Giants. I was really excited for this game because I love Giants' catcher Buster Posey. I'd seen him play earlier this year, but really wanted to see him again. This time my cousin, Cody, joined me and my dad.

As soon as the game was over, I had to head to the airport to return back to SLC. Stupid work - it ruins everything.

Baby Amelia

So, I'm officially an aunt. Baby Amelia was born last week on August 30th. I can't believe my brother is a dad. When did we become real adults?! I know we're now in our 30s, but it seems like we've been pretending to be adults up til now. Well, he can't pretend any more. He has to take care of an another person. A little person. A beautiful, little person. A precious, beautiful, little person.

So, when Baby Amelia was born, I bought and sent her a Sock Monkey. I knew Kyle and Megan would love it and believed Amelia would too. She'd have to - it'd be in her genes.

So, Kyle sent this picture to my phone with the following message: "Aunt Mandy, Thanks for the sock monkey. I live it. Love, Millie." (Italics and Bold added for emphasis)

A few minutes later, I got a new message that said, "I mean, I LOVE it. Give me a break. I'm only 4 days old and this texting thing is new to me. Crap, I gotta go - here comes Mom." Hahaha - I loved it!!


So, I haven't met Baby Amelia yet, but I'm going to see her tomorrow!! Yay!! More pictures to come.

Phong Phu Restaurant

Yay!! A new Vietnamese restaurant recently opened near my work. I started back at work three weeks ago and that's when I noticed the big "Now Open" sign on the Phong Phu Restaurant. I was so stoked. So, last week I took Alina there for her birthday. The food and service were excellent. When we sat down, our waitress asked us if we'd like complimentary soda. Of course we said yes. She then brought us the free soda and she brought us free egg drop soup. Later on she also brought us free scones. The food was so great that I got take out from there again tonight. While I was waiting for my order, the hostess brought me another free drink. This will definitely become a once a week place to visit.

The menu has both traditional Chinese food items and Vietnamese items. I haven't ordered any of the Chinese items, but the Vietnamese items are delicious. If you've never had Vietnamese food, now is the time to do it!! The restaurant is located at 7640 S. State Street. It looks like a dive, but the food makes up for it. My recommendations:

• B7: Pho Tai (steak noddle soup) - this is my standard order whenever I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant.
• D6: Bun Chai Gio (egg roll vermicelli) - this is another standard, although the sauce can be a bit spicey.
• J6: Mi Ga (chicken egg noodle soup) - this is the free soup they gave us. Delicious twist on the standard egg drop soup.
• A1: Goi Cuon (fresh spring rolls) - this is a great appetizer. I've had better at other restaurants, but they're not bad. They were made with a lot of mint so if you're not a mint fan, you'll want to pass.

Be brave!! Visit this restaurant soon. I don't want to see it go out of business just to be replaced by another Applebees. If you need someone to go with you to walk you through the Vietnamese dining experience, give me a call. I could always use a good bowl of pho.

New Bag/Wallet

I have wanted to buy a new bag and wallet for a long time, but I haven't been able to find one that I liked. That was until today. Today I had to pick up some cosmetics at Dillards and as I was walking past the bags, this beauty stood out to me. I loved it!!


I then searched the wallets and found this great orange one on sale. Yay for sales!! They were a little pricey, but everyone who knows me knows that when I find a bag I like I keep it for years. With that in consideration, it's money well spent.

Blog Book

The Book Cover

A few pages from the book

Another page from my Blog Book

Because I use my blog as a journal, I've wanted to publish my blog into a book for a long time. I know a few people who had done this, but I wasn't quite sure what program/website I wanted to use. I finally decided on Blurb. I'm so glad I did. I couldn't have imagined a better book. The Blurb BookSmart program was so easy to use. I loved that I could edit the pages and layout exactly how I wanted to. I also loved that it wasn't too expensive - about $50 for an 80 page book, and that includes shipping and handling. Anyways, I think it turned out pretty darn good. What do you think?

My Annual Trip to PA

I just got back from my annual trip to PA to visit Ruth and Ryan. Although I had tons of fun, I only took one picture. I really need to start using my camera more often. Anyways, this picture was taken on our visit to the Indian Echo Caverns. It was way cool. We also visited Chocolate World and Hershey Park while I was there. Although I'd been to Chocolate World several times, this was the first year we went to Hershey Park. We went for Ruth's birthday and spent the entire time racing from one roller coaster to another. They have a lot of intense coasters!! Besides those fun things, we spent a lot of time hanging out and catching up. I love the Stewart Family and am so happy they invite me to come stay with them every summer. Thanks guys!!

D-Backs Update

Me and Lesli at Chase Field

I just got back from another week in Phoenix. It was great to see the D-Backs sweep the Mets. We also had tickets for the Giants series. Unfortunately, the Giants won that series, but we did get to witness Kelly Johnson Hit for the Cycle. My heart is breaking a little for two reasons. One, because the D-backs traded my favorite pitcher, Dan Haren, to the Angels yesterday and two, because I'm not going back for any games in August. I will rebound, though. I do have two trips booked for September to see games against the Astros, Giants, Rockies, and Dodgers. Yay for baseball!!

Highlights on the big screen of Kelly Johnson hitting for the cycle.
Sorry, the sound's not that great and you can hear Lesli and me talking in the background.

Mitch and Me at Mulligan's

Yesterday I took Mitch to Mulligans to go miniature golfing. The kid loves to golf. He's pretty good too. He was cracking me up (and everyone around us too). Every time he hit the ball into the hole, he stated, "That was a sweet ride." Apparently, that's his new phrase for everything. We played almost two courses of mini-golfing. We hadn't quite finished the first course when Mitch lost his ball into the water. We went and got another ball and played the entire course again. Mitch is pretty hard-core. He didn't want to leave and cried a little about going even after all that golfing. On our way out to the car, I noticed he had a blister on his finger. I'm telling you, that kid is hard core.

Mitch telling me about golfing and showing me his blister.

Arizona Update

I just spent two glorious weeks in Phoenix. Most of that time was spent poolside and at Chase Field to see some MLB. It was a much needed vacation after a very long school year. I went with my mom and dad, although they couldn't stay the whole time so I was by myself for a big chunk of the two weeks. It was great to relax and do pretty much nothing. I got super tan and am already having pool withdrawal. I only have one picture to show for the entire two weeks. This was taken at the Diamondbacks/Yankees game on June 21st when the Diamondbacks totally spanked the Yankees.

Me and my dad with the Diamondback's mascot, Baxter.
(Don't ask me why their mascot is a bobcat -
I haven't figured that out yet.)

LOST - Things I will Miss Most

There are so many things I will miss about LOST. Here are just a few, in no particular order:

Eye Candy

• Richard and his amazing eyes.
• Sawyer minus his shirt.
• Desmond with his super sweet voice.
• Jack's all-over good looks.

Hurley's Comic Relief. He always makes me laugh. Here's a few great quotes:

• "I mean, dogs can find pot and bombs, so I'm sure they can find water."
• "Dudes, listen. Our lives suck. Everyone's nerves are stretched to the max. I mean, we're lost on an island, running from boars and monsters ... freakin' polar bears!...Look, all I'm saying is if we're stuck here, then just surviving's not gonna cut it. We need some kind of relief, you know? We need some way that we can ... you know, have fun. That's right, fun. Or else we're just gonna go crazy waiting for the next bad thing to happen."
• "Until he rises from the dead! Dude, I know how this works. It ends with you and me running through the jungle, screaming and crying. He catches me first, because I'm heavy...and I get cramps."
• "Dude, dogs eat stuff. This one time I had this jar of change and apparently the was like some smarties or something in there and the next day my dog pooped out 1.35 in nickles."
• "Okay, that thing in the woods: maybe it's a monster, maybe, it's a - pissed-off giraffe! I don't know! The fact that no one is even looking for us, yeah, that's weird, but I just go along with it, because I'm along for the ride! Good old fun-time Hurley! Well, guess what! Now, I want some friggin' answers!"
• "So, Rose's husband's white. Didn't see that one coming."
• "In Empire, Luke found out Vader was his father, but instead of putting away his lightsaber and talking about it, he overreacted and got his hand cut off. I mean, they worked it out eventually, but at what cost? Another Death Star was destroyed, Boba Fett got eaten by the Sarlacc, and we got the Ewoks. It all could've been avoided if they just, you know, communicated. And let's face it, the Ewoks sucked, dude." (This is from one of my all-time favorite episodes, "Some Like it Hoth.)
  

Sawyer's Nicknames. One of my favorite episodes is "Tricia Tanaka is Dead." Sawyer uses a ton of nicknames in that episode. Watch it!! Here are a few of my other favs from the entire series:

• The Artist Formerly Known as Henry Gale (Ben)
• Kenny Rogers (Lapidus)
• Dr. Quinn (Jack)
• Magellan (Kate)
• International House of Pancakes (Hurley)

But most of all, I am going to miss the excitement, theories, and anticipation of it all. It has been a thrilling six years and I'm sad to see it come to an end. I will miss it all very, very much.

LOST - Missing Scenes

As you can tell from my last two posts, I loved the Series Finale of LOST. There were, however, a few scenes I wish I'd seen:

• A realization scene between Daniel and Charlotte. Daniel Faraday was one of my favorite characters and I would have loved to see a more in-depth realization scene between him and Charlotte.
• Again, I wish Daniel and Charlotte had been in the church. I know they weren't original Oceanic survivors, but either was Desmond. Because I loved Daniel so much, I would have loved to see them there.
  
• Also missing from the church - Richard and Miles. Again, not original survivors, but if Ben was invited into the church and Desmond was there, why couldn't they be there as well.
  

See, hardly any scenes I thought were missing. There absence didn't detract from the finale and I can even see reasons why they were left out, but I would have liked to see them because of my own selfish reasons.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a list of what I will miss most about LOST.

LOST - Flash Sideways Scenes

As I mentioned yesterday, the LOST Season Finale met and exceeded all my expectations. Yesterday I focused on the Island Scenes I loved. Well, here are the Flash Sideways Scenes I absolutely loved:

• Hurley shooting Charlie with the tranquilizer gun. Hilarious!!
• Jin and Sun's ultrasound being the catalyst for their realization. Having Juliet as their doctor was a nice added bonus.
  
• Boone and Shannon. I loved seeing Boone again. Shannon - sure, why not? I wasn't rooting for Shannon and Sayid, but I also wasn't opposed to it. I just don't think their reunion was on par with some of the others - Claire/Charlie, Sun/Jin, Sawyer/Juliet, Jack/Kate.
• Charlie seeing Claire from the stage. Followed by his realization, with him kissing her then touching little Aaron.
• Locke's catalyst for his realization - Him moving his toe after his spinal surgery. Loved the original scene when he moved his toe while on the beach.
• Jin's goofy grin when Sawyer comes to check on Sun, then hearing him tell Sawyer, "We'll see you there."
• Sawyer telling Jack, "Thanks Doc," after Jack tells him where the vending machines are. I know it was a super small scene, but so reminiscent of the island.
• Without a doubt, the best flash sideways scene was the realization scene between Sawyer and Juliet. I loved this and could watch it over and over again. Over the 6 seasons, Juliet's death was the hardest for me. I was just as heart-broken as Sawyer was when she died. Their realization scene was both sweet and funny. My favorite from the episode, possibly the entire series.
• Ben's scene outside the church. First his apology to Locke and Locke's acceptance of this apology. Then Hurley telling Ben he was a real good number 2. Despite Locke's forgiveness and Hurley's praise of Ben, Ben still didn't feel worthy/ready to move on. A little sad.
• Christian telling Jack, "Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you." So reminiscent of "If we can't live together, we're going to die alone."

Stay tuned tomorrow for Scenes I wish they would have included in the finale.

LOST - Island Scenes

The LOST Season Finale met and exceeded all my expectations. I loved, loved, loved it!! I loved seeing how everything played out on the island and in the Flash Sideways. Here are the Island Scenes I absolutely loved:

• Rose and Bernard - Happy and well. They were minor characters I always liked seeing.
• Richard realizing he's aging after Miles points out his gray hair.
• Lapidus!! He's alive.
• Jack's group and Locke's group reaching the top of the grassy hill at the same time. Jack had said that they were all going to the same place so I knew they would meet up, but I thought it would be in the bamboo forest. The music and sweeping landscape of the grassy hill made that scene awesome.
• Jack coming right out and telling Locke he's going to kill him and Locke replying, "Let's get on with it."
  
• Jack punching Locke in the face, causing his mouth to bleed. Then hearing Jack tell Locke, "Looks like you were wrong."
• Ben saving Hurley from the falling tree. See, Ben can be a good guy.
  
• Jack and Locke charging at each other on the cliff near Jacob's cave. Loved the scenery, music, rain, and hatred behind that scene!! Then seeing Jack kick Locke off the cliff. Such emotion!!
  
• Jack's parting scene from Sawyer and Kate, shaking Sawyer's hand and wishing him good luck then kissing Kate.
  
• Jack telling Hurley, "It needs to be you . . . if someone has take care of the island, if someone has to protect it, then it should be you." Hurley has such a big, loving heart. Of course, it should be him.
  
• Hurley asking Ben to help him protect the island. What redemption for Ben. Plus I loved his counsel to Hurley when he said, "You do what you do best - help people."
  
• LOST ending, as it began. With Jack in the bamboo forest.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my favorite Flash Sideways Scenes.

LOST - Person of Faith

In 2004, I was flipping through the channels after a long day of work, hoping to find something semi-entertaining to watch on TV. As I was flipping through the channels, a commercial came on announcing that the pilot episode of LOST was on next. I remember thinking, "Oh yeah. I've seen previews for that. It has the hot guy from Party of Five on it. I'll watch that."

What followed next was an awakening. It was a turning point for me and I became a dedicated Follower. Now, I know several people who started off as Followers, but have since fallen away. I just can't understand that. To those lost souls, I say, "Why do you find it so hard to believe?" Now if you're one of those lost souls, you may be asking, "Why do you find it so easy?" Simple, I'm a person of faith. Since the beginning, I've had faith in LOST. Faith in the Beginning. Faith in the Journey. Faith in the Ending. So, now that it's ended, is my faith intact? Yes. Yes, it is.

Stay tuned all week long for posts dedicated to LOST.

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

After our Mother's Day dinner, I raced Zack and Mitch around the block. It was exhausting. We then crashed on the lawn to relax. Well, Mitch found something a little more cushiony than the lawn - Me.

Testing it out - Yep, pretty cushiony.

My thoughts - What the?!

Okay, sure. Why not?

Then we played a little baseball. It's becoming one of our Sunday night rituals.

Mother's Day Festivities

The Picture of Domesticity -
I made this delicious cake for Mother's Day.

A close up of the cake (and me).

Me and my beautiful mother

Heartache

Spoiler-Alert: If you have not yet watched last night's LOST episode, "The Candidate," stop reading!!


Last night's episode of LOST left me heart-broken. I have lived with and loved these characters for the past 6 years and to see 3 of them die (4 if you count Lapidus), broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Sayid's death didn't hit me as hard as the deaths of Sun and Jin. Sayid's pretty much be "gone" this entire season so it was good to see him officially go out as a hero, saving the others from death and informing Jack about Desmond's where-abouts. I also loved hearing him say, "It's going to be you, Jack." Agree, Agree!!

The deaths of Sun and Jin, on the other hand, where so unexpected and gut-wrenching, that I'm still reeling. I don't know what else to say about it. I hope their death doesn't nullify the question of which Kwon was the actual candidate? Even though they're gone, I still want to know.

I'm glad that for once and for all there's no doubt about Locke/The Man in Black. Since his appearance, I believed he was evil. I don't know why some fans still questioned his intentions. He's the Smoke Monster - Why would anyone think he had good intentions?! Anyways, I'm hoping Claire now sees it as well.

After last night's episode, there's only three episodes left - Now that's causing a little heartache, as well.

Then He Said the Magic Words

Today I asked Zack my standard Sunday question, "What did you learn at church today?"

He gave me his standard Sunday answer, "Um, I don't remember."

I did a little prodding, "Was it about Jesus?"

"Oh yeah," he responded. "There were a lot of waves and they were getting into the boat."

"Was Jesus there?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "He was a sleep in the boat, but he woke up and then he said the magic words and it stopped and was all quiet."

I burst out laughing and asked, "What were the magic words? Abracadabra?"

"No," he said, in all seriousness. "Peace, be quiet."

What a sweet boy!! Not quite right, but pretty close. Mark 4:35-39

A Baseball Saga in Two Parts

Part 1:

The first weekend in April marked the beginning of the baseball season. This year I was able to attend a game on Opening Day and it was awesome!! Here are a few pictures of us at Chase Field.

Me in my new black D-Backs shirt
(I bought it a few days before at a pre-season game)

Ronnie in his Opening Day hat.

Sweet Opening Day sign.

Part 2:

Mitchie is our little athlete. He's a pretty good ball player for only being two. Today we went out and played a little catch. He's hilarious - he calls his glove his basemitt. These pictures aren't too good because my dad took them through the window.

Mitch with his "basemitt"

Me with the baseball.