I will make this quick because I want to go to bed.. But I also have a bajillion photos to post because I had some EXCELLENT Seattle adventures this last week. Ex-cellent.

But as of this moment, this is what's on my mind.. I have a goal, I like to call it a quest. And it's something I want desperately. Both are achievable, just a little work involved.

1. Go through the temple. It's constantly on my mind and has been for a while now.

2. Move OFF the island and get further south. Not necessarily Seattle per say.. but somewhere near it. There's so many outlaying cities that I would be totally okay living in. I guess at this point I just want to not feel impeded by a body of water. Besides Seattle being freakishly cool.

BUT! Till then, I will suck it up... work hard and do everything I can to conquer my quest. Obviously grad school is on the list of importance, but these are my top dudes at the moment.

over and out.

I've got Dad's big flat feet and Mom's skinny ankles..

Dad's long legs but Mom's short waist.

I've got Dad's hands and his long fingers.

With Mom's lips but Pontes teeth,

A combination nose and smile.

Mom's eyes and ears but Dad's chin.

Dad's hair with Mom's dark color.

Dad's boisterous laugh

Mixed with a bunch of Mom's.

But Bekki's toes, supposedly..

It's unclear where those came from.

What's yours?

1234- ha, liza...

It's late.. I should be sleeping.. Alas.. Here I am anyway. I have no purpose in this besides to write the nonsense that usually blathers through me into written form. Welcome to the madness, one and all. I feel kind of morose as of late. That's such a perfect word to describe. Not sure exactly what the problem is, but I'm working on finding the cause so it can be kicked in the rear.

I have to note that I've started working. Couple weeks ago actually. At a lovely inn. I've become a master bed-maker (ha.) and I feel like there is some other Cinderella story in the making through this experience. I'm not sure what it is about that story in particular that resonates with me.. Because I've written a couple different versions of it. Maybe it's that stupid shoe. The shoe always bugged me.. One girl with one stupid dainty foot. Nonsense..

Anyway... the work is good. Lot's of running around. Lot's of stairs.. (which will be my downfall or my salvation) Cleaning.. beds.. rinse and repeat. I like the girls I work with, for the most part. I love seeing things neat, clean and organized. Saying I am this way in my personal life would be a falsehood.. but I sure don't mind keeping other people organized. And in the midst of the cleaning, I am in deep with toxic cleaners and other peoples icky filth.. and I look out and see the sea.. and can breathe again, away from the toilet I'm currently cleaning.

Last week or so I went to UW for this information session. What they're looking in applications, stuff about the program.. So on and so on. It was great information and I'm so so so glad that I went. Come to find out that they are no longer looking at the GRE for the applications. (shoot and score) Downer is that they're going private so it doesn't matter if your in state or out of state. It's all just pricey. It was a plummet to death, I tell ya. Because for tuition alone, it's going to be a lot and I'm pretty sure "first born" just won't cover it anymore. The problem continues because I like this school. I like their program, and I really don't want to go anywhere else. (Partially cause at this point, it's all gonna cost the same now that I'm a WA resident and I've grown attached to the idea) I have a tentative idea, however. A plan to pay for school and not go into insane amounts of debt. It all depends on getting accepted, but I have a feeling that this time around I'm going to have a seriously kick-a application that's going to hit all their points and this will work in my favor-and rock some serious socks off. Just you wait.

I went to Seattle on Thursday? Friday? Sometime, I can't recall the day. What's important is that I went, mainly because I had to get off the island. I went to Gas Works Park in Seattle.. (Seattle really does do parks right. Holy wow) It seriously sent me into total giddiness. If you can imagine, my heart was full and overflowing with this ecstatic joy to be in the city, surrounded by people even though I knew no one. It was enough that the sun was shining, that I could see that Seattle skyline, that people were around. I could hear their chatter. It felt normal. I appreciated the feeling, and it furthered my resolve to work and save and get off. I just sat and read for a bit, watched people and relished the joy of being there. I tried really hard to take that foolhardy grin off my face, but I couldn't contain it. It surprises me at times how okay I am being alone. I mean, it's certainly not something I want all the time, but it's nice not to feel like I have to chatter on and fill the silence to entertain my companion. There's no companion. Just me. I guess I like finding these places too so I can show them to people later. "Look at this great park, beach, trail, etc.. to explore.."

I had some minor flashbacks today of many many moons ago. A loss, a tragic sudden loss. Obviously not comparing but empathizing. I would imagine it'd be something I could wrap my head around but once again, along with other times of shocking news and sudden awareness, I remain in stunned silence wishing there was something I could do. Words aren't enough, but I will do what I can.

So not too long ago, I went on a fantastic adventure BACK to Utah for my friend's wedding. Let me tell you, this became the most jam-packed 4 days of my LIFE. oy. I had things to do and people to see. Shoot. So, just for fun I'm gonna map it out a bit..

Tuesday night (late)- I fly in (yaay). Which coincidently I got to the airport roughtly 4/5 hours before my ACTUAL flight so mom wouldn't hit Seattle traffic on the returning to "the island." Which makes for a long day.

Jade (former work-mate... sanity in times of Payless) picks me up, then gets pulled over. (bwahahaaa)

Wednesday: Jade and Kj did a swap/switcharoo. Kj took me to Kneaders (so so delish), I gave her the boot and headed to Orem. Holy smokes that felt like the longest drive.. I just wanted to GET THERE.. Saw Tistine, took her to work.. Saw Matt Stacey (neighbor/friend in Orem) and pestered him endlessly. Which followed pestering Tistine at work and tasty subzero ice cream. laadedaaa.

Kj, Brittany, Tistine... etc

Acoustic Night! Brittany and Christine sang. (love!) Which I dont have pictures from, BUT! Let me tell you.. Hearing Christine sing is seriously one of my favorite things in-the-world. I have missed that. She would just pull out her guitar, and I'd pretend not to hear.. but I'm sure that angels pause to listen. It was a good night, full of fun music and good friends.

Thursday: Spent the morning hanging out with Kj and looked at some fun stuff that Soren sent her. (Love that kid) Then! Went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple with Christine and Liza. (We used to go together when I lived in Orem) I realized that, really, as jam-packed as my days were.. there at that time doing that work, there was nothing I would rather be doing..

We went to Sammy's after. (so tasty..) Sweet potato fries and a raspberry lemonade cupcake shake. (If you CAN go there, give it a look- it's joyous to behold)

Then-wedding prep. Lots of tying bows around chairs for the luncheon and cutting and stabbing fruit. I got to see the Johnsons (Jackie's fam) who I love and adore! Thursday night... ? What did I do... Hung out with Matt and went to the neighbors for a birthday.

Friday: (yay (finally) pictures!!)

Jackie and Par! Let me tell you, I love these two. I've known Jackie for about 13 years, and Par (I call him Peach) was in my ward in Orem. They met at my house during a flapjack friday. That kind of makes me happy a little.

At the luncheon. They had it set up, you came in and looked for your name tag on a bag of swedish fish and went to corresponding table. (Par is Swedish) It was a beautiful array and display. Jackie was a beautiful bride and thankfully not a beast, like some brides I have seen in the past. There was a fun video of interviewing between Jackie and Peach, and then roommates/friends who were there to experience the "along the way." Toasts were spoken, stories shared. It was really a beautiful affair.
The reception was held at the Johnsons house. Beautiful, but a lot of work to be done.. so in those precious 3 hours between luncheon and reception/pictures.. I helped out preparing food and setting up. It was actually really nice to have that time to help out and really be of use. I hate being useless. And they definitely could use the extra set of hands. And it gave me more bonding time, I think. I like those times. haha. The food was great... the cupcakes.. mm. The older sisters made up all the food for the reception; actually.. I think they did everything, with help from others.. but still. Wowsa.

It all seems to have gone by so fast..

Here's me and Jackie. As far as I understand it, her mom took a dress and snipped it up a bit and re-designed it. Beautifully done. (and.. i may or may not have made mine.. cough cough) Seriously.. Jackie was great.

(Although I found out yesterday that someone took some of their wedding cards, sliced them open and took the cash inside... and left the cards. merh!?!)
The cutting of the cake.
After that, we went home.. long day.. but Kelli, Brittany, and Jamie came over and hung out for the evening. Full of nonsense. Oh, and I learned a song on my guitar and played it. Shoot, that was nerve-wracking. The past 8 years never having to perform in front of people has really done a number on me.

Saturday:

I got together with my friend Amberlee who just came home off her mission. She was a friend I met on the British Literary Tour.

We went bowling.
Here's a sweet action shot that entertains me to no end..
After we went to Jamba, pestered Christine at work. (Which obviously I enjoy doing... a-lot.)

And met up with Travis (also from the Brit-Lit-Tour) for lunch. I enjoy our conversations. Lot's on writing, which is very important because I can use all the help I can get.

THEN! I went to Michaels (where i used to work) and saw some friends. I do enjoy them. I got to see a bunch, which was nice. My boss even let me go into the back room even thought I didnt work there anymore. I felt very sneaky. ha.

(this is my friend Makelle)
Following that was making cookies and cupcakes for a saturday night shindig. Music, games, nonsense.. Me laughing a lot. I miss laughing that much. There is little cause for that excessiveness here.. at the moment. Anyway. It was fun, and I loved being able to see friends from before.. and some I'm thinking I might not see again. ha. haaaaa.

but. this is kelli. She's pretty stellar. We're good friends. We make funny faces. This is not one of those times however.

Me and Matt Stacey. Someone said we were matching. Oh the horror-we're both wearing black and white.

Liza, Jamie, me and Brittany.
Ahh. My apartment. In our element. In complete nonsense.
This pretty much sums it up..

Needless to say, I was somewhat devastated to leave my friends. We had a really good time and it was awesome to see them. It was kinda killer to have so many of them say- "you know.. you can come back.." Oh! oh! A punch to the gut every time, because I know it's true and it would be so easy.

Sunday: Mountains and morning sun saying its farewells.
Ahh. this is the life. My flight to Seattle was SUPER empty. I got my own row.
Flying into Seattle. I love this city-i just wish i got to see more of it.
Alright. So the trip was beautiful.. but done. Up next? I've started working. Finally. I'm so so glad. Let me tell you.

And some friends have hinted at coming to visit me.. which is the ultimate joy in life! haha. (But you cant come in July. Just know, I love you all.. but you CANNOT COME IN JULY! It's off limits.)

I'm so done. I'm bored with this post. Sorry to everyone I may inflict this on. BUT! I had to post pictures BECAUSE I made a bet with my friend Jade. She's giving up caffeine, and I'm shunning the internet. Apparently that is equal turf. We'll see how long she lasts. haha, jade. i will OWN you.

and scene.

slight update includes a huge rewind!

(reeereweererrrrr)

for those of you in the vhs era

if you happen to ever talk to me about music, you're already aware of my love of a particular band called "the classic crime." you might also know that i got to see them in seattle a few weeks ago.. ok maybe going on a month. magic, i tell you.. ma-gic. the only way this show could have been any better is if bekki had been by my side. having her on the phone just wasn't enough. it was an awesome show. they had an awesome set list, and i was right up front. seriously, it was an awesome mesh of all their albums. and i really think that they really could appeal to any audience, hard core to mellow. i fall in an in between so i just love it all. but, in particular they played a song called 5805, which matt (lead singer) said they hadn't played since the release of their silver cord album.

now, at this point i have to say that i made a snarky request on their facebook page requesting this song. (one of those kinds of moments that i potentially think i am WAY funnier than i actually am.) the opening line-"friends i will keep you like trophies in my heart to remember how loneliness was a faded dream.." this line has been on repeat since i opted to move to washington and when the song started i stopped in my tracks as people began to sing along around me. so, as much as they might deny, i am going to pretend that it was considered per my request. man. even thinking about it now kind of gets me a little giddy. please note that this is not normal amanda behavior. there is something about this band and their music that makes me want to see them again and again. especially since they're so nice. if they were within a 5 hour radius i think i would make a point to see them. not counting when bekki and i were up in washington for ileah's wedding.. does it count that we came from az/ut and then add the drive to lynden on top of that? eh. who knows.

obviously these are some shots from that night and i only could really get the guts up to invade on the lives of 2 band members before wanting to bolt.. (next time.. justin, skip, alan! i think you're super cool! i'm just a pansy!) however.. the girl in the upper left corner.. yea, that's matt's wife, kristie. i need to explain this a bit.

kristie makes pretty stellar custom "tcc" merch and bekki (sister) at some point asked if she made kids clothes.. (my niece cassidy is a super huge, true blue fan. no, i'm not joking or embellishing in any way.) through the course of correspondence, cassidy began to think kristie was just the coolest person and even opted to move her to best friend status. so, when bekki took kaylie & cassidy to a show in scottsdale and she drew a picture and gave it to matt to pass along to kristie. this is purely 4 year old adoration, i tell ya. and i love how fully she loves. thankfully, kristie thinks it's cute.

so while at the show, bekki becomes insistent that i go talk to kristie and get a picture for cassidy. enter me in panic mode- no way! i'm sure while waiting for her husband to perform, all she needs is fans of the band to come and pester her. bek "tweets" her informing her of my attendance to the show and lets her know of the request made. obviously since there was a picture taken, i did in fact do it.. but.. it wasn't until later and much internal struggle. I approached, mentioned that my niece had opted to take her as her best friend, and recognition showed and thankfully she recognized my reference and i didn't feel like a total loon. just a bit of one. i got the picture and talked to her for a minute. she's so nice and i hope that tcc does a show in seattle while bekki is here so cassidy can actually meet her best friend. (and i realize that i shouldn't be surprised by people being nice, but i'm not one to normally go up to strangers and start talking to them or ask them for a photo. i-find-that-strange.)

but, to top off my evening, i talked to matt and thankfully i didnt.. as in times past.. stutter through my awe and wonder, and actually used my words (rolling eyes). i mentioned cassidy at some point and shoot, she's like the golden ticket, because he looked at me questioningly for a second and said.. "are you.. amanda? and your sister's.. bekki?" (well knock me over with a feather, matt macdonald!! i picked my jaw off the floor and continued speaking..) it was great. it was good. i went away with fantastic memories that i feel like i can rehash on occasion and do an internal jig. can you tell i'm excited about this? even a month later? wowsa.

anyway.. next up.. i've had a couple weekends of OH MY GOSH I LOVE SEATTLE moments.. here's some photos. it happened to also include hanging out with my aunt one saturday, which i have to say was one of thes BEST days i have spent since moving up here. seriously, the best. we just drove around looking at houses (i love these brick houses and the gables! oh!) and we went to lunch and walked around lake washington. it was a per-fect day. but here's some shots of that weekend. blogspot decided to make them not all center, but sometimes it's so fickle i'm not going to really complain.

next up is gonna be last weekend-utah, jackie's wedding, etc.